Monster Blood Tattoo: The Peltryman's Behest 6

Chapter VI:  Winstermill

Urchin - historied sources cite that urchins are specifically the more benevolent of the monster-lords, seeking to protect and aid everymen, with the wretchins being the more malevolent and the petchinins seeking to be left in peace to achieve their own ends.- Factotum  

Winstermill

3 Calor 1602 HIR

 Hearing the loud growling coming from the depths of Winstermill's undercroft, Angella noticed the agitated sparrow hopping about one of the outer walls.  Remembering Abdank's words concerning the aid that the Sparrow Duke had provided, Angella called out tentatively, "Help?"  The bird immediately flew off to the south east.

 Immediately thereafter, a host of revermen burst from within the fortress' foundations.  More were rushing towards them from the farther end of the fortress.

Meanwhile, Accural and Lorent who had been watching the cave-like entrance to Winstermill's lower levels, also witnessed the approach of these horrors.

Inside the fortress, the rest of the party had discovered Surgeon Swill's operating theatre, a horrific pile of bodies littering one corner.  As Frangelin plucked some of Swill's notebooks from the shelves, one of the bodies rose up. Frangelin struck at it with his shovel but the reverman was uneffected, striking a grievous blow in return.

As Alhambra cut the reverman down, more growling was heard in the outer office.  Alhambra glided out the door and danced about the reverman, his flashing blades striking several down.

There proved to be too many, one tore into Alhambra's chest dreadfully.  Frangelin took advantage of the distraction and slipped away down the stairs.

 Using his deductive reasoning, Accural was able to anticipate the revermen's movements.  He struck two down with a cudgel.

Lorent used his potives against the oncoming creatures.

 Angella and Fransalir attempted to rejoin their friends.  The reverman were about to catch up with them when the small calendar turned and hurled herself against the mob.  The reverman fell in heaps from her fulgaric attacks.

 Fransalir used a loomblaze to deter the oncoming horde.

 He enjoyed a great success and a wall of fire separates them from half of the host.

 Alhambra, Avi and Danny decided to follow Frangelin's line of retreat.  Alhambra staggered to the steps of the furtigrade.  The remaining two teratologists fended off numerous attackers.

 Avi came up with the plan of leaping through the doors to the stairs, dragging Danny with him and closing the doors behind him.

 Unfortunately, he did not communicate this plan to Danny who stepped aside as Avi lept towards the door.  Danny foundhimself surrounded by the revermen and the closed doors blocking his exit.  However, Avi soon turned around and plucked the reluctant laggard/wit from the room.

 Lorent took out one of the mushrooms they had collected in the strange forests by the shores of the Vab all those years ago.  He thrust it into the ground to to his surprise, a large animated tree sprang up rapidly.

Frangelin made it the fortress' kitchen where he is assailed by the never-ending flood of revermen.

Fortunately, Alhambra, followed by Avi and Danny soon joined him.  The quartet were able to win free from the ruins.

 Upon exiting, Alhambra proved too rash again and several of the reverman pounce upon him, tearing and clawing.  He was nearly undone.

With great difficulty, the party held the horrors at bay.  Fransalir was able to give Alhambra a healing script that saved the sagaar's ebbing life.

 Suddenly, the sound of a great fluttering was heard.  A dark moving cloud of birds raced over the countryside towards the fight.

 The birds swarmed around the heads of the monsters, squawking and pecking.

 While they did little actual damage to the reverman, the birds were able to discomfit the creatures so that the party was able to escape the horrors' grasp.

 The tree creature, having done terrible execution to the reverman, strode over  to the the crevice in the fortress' foundation.

It planted its roots into the ground just outside, and spread its branches, it grew into a mighty tree, trapping the revermen back in the fortress' undercroft.

The party hurried down the road.  Accural examined the ledgers that Frangelin had taken from Swill's files.  He easily broke the code in which they were written.  He discovered that a dozen freshly preserved bodies, including that of a newly deceased 13 year old girl had been sent to "Dr. Corvinus gravide fields."  There were vague directions to be given to the ashmongers transporting the bodies, "turn north at the second lamp upon entering the Ichomeer."  The Ichomeer lay nearly 200 miles to the east.

A few miles further on, they found their cart smashed and the donkey missing.  They noticed tracks of several creatures of enormous size.  The threwd of the place bore down upon them.  Their troubles on this road had only just begun.