Mas Bagus

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

"I have bombs that can divert the attention of the military troops. I'll mount them on my drone, drop them, and set them off to detonate at a key location, allowing us to pass through while the military perceives it as a siege from the opposite side.

Wat'cha think, Skipper?"Linceleste suggested to the party and looked on Carmen on last.

Carmen did not reply immediately. His eyes were glued on the outpost and the sentries. The question was left hung until Carnathia spoke about the importance of not starting another trouble before asking Lenceleste about the nature of her bomb.

Meanwhile, Osric seemed to agree with Lynx's plan. However, it was his question that made the Capitan twitch.

"This is... honestly maddening," said Carmen. "I don't think they had no inkling about the execution of our brethren, and if they were After Thomas, they should know his whereabouts. I know we had a plan to go straight to Sielse, but I am also afraid that we might miss an important clue if we just leave them be.

"Miss Carnathia, may I implore you to where and what route we must take should we refrain from crossing through their barricades? Assuming we follow your proposal and if our map is to be trusted, do we know the end of every alternative path and road? Is our supply of provisions enough for such a lengthy journey?"

The captain shook his head and looked again at the fortification with a twinkle of fire in his eyes.

"If none of us here know, and the distraction plan is doubting, I will head there and demand to speak with their captain. Some of us may stay here if you want. If all is well and we somehow reached an understanding, we could continue our investigation without being hounded by their faction, or at least we know that they were not the ones responsible. Who shall be my companion in this parlay?"

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

There was no objection to the proposed plan. Silently, all of them left the site, returning to the main road and the shortest path leading to the Province's Capital City.

Halfway through their journey, the party made a small detour toward the forest, away from the main road, to rest and prepare for lunch. After their foul fare with the soldiers, someone had to be on guard duty this time. Ludvig volunteered to be one.

The party did not waste much time. The fire was lit and kept low but steady so it wouldn't produce too much smoke. Stale bread, sausage, and omelet were on the menu today, prepared hastily and eaten equally so, as not to be savored but to nourish the exhausted bodies and minds. The frugality was generally understood by everyone.

When it was time for them to pack up and leave, Ludvig was nowhere to be seen.

Carmen could have sworn he saw the redhead do his escape trick as soon as he was given the clearance for guard duty, after that the guy disappeared like a phantom. To where? Nobody knew. The party tried to search for him and went as far as returning to the main road just to locate his whereabouts. Hours passed, and still no avail.

"We are running out of time." Carmen looked up to the reddish-yellow sky above and huffed. "I am afraid we will have to leave him. It's dangerous to continue searching in the dark. Whatever his intention might be, may God keep him safe. Let us move."

Carmen couldn't quite fathom why would he leave so abruptly and randomly. Was there something that he didn't know? A less noble motive perhaps? The captain tried to get rid of that distasteful guesswork, after all, he was hired by Sauniere, and if there were ill intention, as an inquisitor he and Mirielle would have noticed before they entered Sielse. All he could say was the man was as enigmatic as the dark sky above.

The party continued trotting through the unpaved country road, that hopefully led to Katwiz. As they rode back to the site where their previous standoff with the soldiers occurred, they slowed down and kept themselves alerted. It seemed the Soldiers had concluded their business in this settlement; a hamlet called Kardag from the noticeboard on the side of the road. The town looked as if it was devoid of life, doors barred shut, streets were empty, and only a handful of houses were seen with meager lighting inside.

Not far from the settlement, they could see a fortified installation built on the left side of the road. The outpost had two watch towers and walled by two-meter-high wooden palisades surrounding the emplacement. Two soldiers could be seen manning each tower, meanwhile, in the distance, no less than seven soldiers were guarding a roadblock. Two stood directly behind the blockade. Two soldiers guarded the garrison entrance, once sat near the fireplace, while the remaining two patrolled the at road and the edge of the forest.

The party quickly veered off the road, toward the treelines on the right side of the road so they would be out of the sentry's line of sight. The situation now called for careful consideration, but one thing was clear; they would have to ride past them to get to Katwiz quickly, or turn back and find another unknown road.

Map

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

May I suggest that we make approaching the 'traitors' or witch they mentioned our next priority instead? Our mission, first and foremost, is information gathering, making contact with major factions in this land is paramount, we've unfortunately has likely missed out on our chance to do just that with those soldiers, but perhaps their enemies would be more amicable."

Carmen looked a bit calmer now, and he maintained that by not glancing at the freshly made graves or the stakes beside them.

"I agree, we should gather information first, and to that end, I think the best course of action we should take next is to find a major settlement. Katwiz is a day or two from here according to our map."

Glancing at Amaris, he continued, "True, we have no business in their power struggle, but if their interests jeopardize our mission and our well-being, we will not back down. Whether this witch is responsible or whoever, all will be revealed in time. We will go to Katwiz, there will be more people to ask there, and not any less important, we need to restock our provisions."

Carmen remembered Lyxn's assessment this morning reporting their food supply was only enough for a week. It was still plenty, but along the journey, they had the luxury of hunting to preserve their reserve, but in this land, he feared there would be no more prairie hare on a skewer.

After checking his saddlebags, the Captain grabbed the rein and mounted on his steed.

"So the plan: We will go to Katwiz and gather enough clues. Do not engage the Red Stripes unless they fired on us first. Any questions or objections?"

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

"...show courage in righteousness, to bear pain in the suffering of others. Pray that we forget not the mercy for the downtrodden, and grant us the strength to prevail over the wicked-"

To that prayer, Carment silently whispered the word "amen"

Carmen has seen enough, and now, heard enough. Between the dispersing shadows and Carnathia's other long speeches, Captain Friston seeks a distraction by showing his stained hands to Ludvig and asking him to do one of his sanitizing tricks.

"Do your magic, amigo, Por Pavor."

"Huh? Ah, sure. Remove your gloves for me."

"I see, well. Give me a moment."

Carmen carefully removed his leather gloves. Giving it to Ludvig to be cleaned instantly with his magic. It was a pleasant change to relieve his hands of awful and damp sensation. A moment later, Ludvig returned his glove, fully cleaned through

"Here you go, two clean gloves"

"Gracias."

Smiling as he put back his gloves, Carmen at least found a small consolation to ease his bottled anger. However, distracted as he may, he remained aware of Carnathia's lecturings.

"Don't think too much about it." He said to Ludvig as the man himself spoke about his dilemma of identifying the so-called loyalist and the merit of sparing the soldiers they encountered a few hours ago.

And then, he returned, to her, right when his name was being mentioned.

"This neutral mindset you spoke of... and boundaries, I can understand the importance of it. I respect your effort to make us reconsider, Senorita Carnathia, although it seemed a lot for a party that hasn't made a uniform decision yet. For that, I thank you. Your second opinion is valuable for us."

Carmen paused to listen to Ludvig again who expressed his desire to not kill the Loyalists if they were somehow less stern in their methods. To this, he sighed and continued.

"But who they really are is way less important than the action we must take when dealing with them. Our investigation is far from over, and if they have the lordship of this land, our chance to run into them is unavoidable. I care not who their true allegiance is, and finding it out is an unrealistic task, so, let me ask you this: what is the best course of action we must take when they force our hands?"

@Randomguy

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

"As much as it annoys me to say so, there isn't much information to gather here other than what Dromele knows, or claims to know and the bodies themselves. According to what little we know about this region, this Ealdorman and his forces seem to hold the most influence around here. Enough to have his militia run around executing anyone they want to. They would definitely be the only ones capable of staging such an execution... Unless there is another group with similar influence... Maybe this witch and the traitors they speak about? Although It wouldn't make much sense for them to do this to members of the Order..."

After all was said and done, and a bit of Mirielle's blessing, Dromele started to leave. It was Carmen now who offered his hypothesis.

"I fought the red stripes for years in Dragon's maw, " said Carmen, stabbing Rezello's shovel into the blackened soil with great vengeance. "The Loyalist, Those who were still loyal to the Fredrin Dynasty should be their nemesis, but we never heard about them being mentioned. If the traitors they spoke of are the people who took arms, then You are right. Paladin Thomas's group was here to help, and if there were factions that didn't like a congregation of pious clergymen gaining favors from the locals, it should be the red stripes."

Pausing, Carmen might be a bit too drastic with his guesswork, but it was not all without reason. Paladin Thomas and his wife were powerful, and you could exert massive influence when you are both powerful and compassionate.

“I don’t think I can add any more to what has been said. But I’m sorry they ended up this way. I can understand losing someone important. At such a horrid way at that.”

Said Osric, Carmen could only look back and nodded, smiling weakly before returning to his duty.

Using his cloak as a stretcher, Captain Friston buried his first corpse, and it was such a grim irony that they were his brother or in faith. He gripped his shovel tightly and promised to the ones buried, the soil, the sky, and himself that they would be remembered. They would be remembered and their sacrifice would not be in vain. He would make sure of it.

And with Leinceleste's suggestion and everyone's help, they buried the five, all two meters under. All prayers had been said, and grief, expressed. Only the five charred logs, the evidence of the cruelty, now remained.

Carmen looked up to the sky and wondered what the Revered Areston would do in his situation. He uttered prayers, first for himself to be granted wisdom for days to come. The second prayer uttered when he picked up his lantern and held it steadily, he would pray to be shown the way.

And as if to answer his plea, the lantern glowed with a soft purple light that somehow outshined the clear sun above. Shillouete of shadow started to materialize around him. The logs were occupied again, but this time by moving, seemingly living people. Some moved weakly, others resentfully.

Then in front of the victim, materialized silhouette of a dozen people. With three standing right in front of the doomed priests. The spectators did not seem to be coming from soldiery sorts, but some of them were armed.

Meanwhile, the three executioners stood up with commanding poses. One of them had a bulky, muscular build with long hair and a sword on his back. The second executioner looked way more skinny, he wore a coat, and his face was covered by a mask resembling the beak of a bird. Finally, the last executioner was a stocky man who seemed to be coming from a more disciplined regiment. And curiously he wore a helmet that silhouette was identical to what the beaten-up Sergeant wore in Kardag.

A moment later, the silhouette started to speak in echo.

----

"Well well well, aren't you the tough one?" said the bulky executioner in a thick baritone as he walked toward the priest who tried to wiggle free. "The spell's already worn off I see. I pity for you, son, or maybe not, your friends will be in one hell of a rude awakening soon, so don't worry we, don't discriminate."

"Animals! All of you. All of this for what? Your sick experiments? May the Lord Creator put you in the deepest pit of hell!"

"Hey! Stop toying with the prisoner." said the skinny man with a bird mask. He was seen holding a parchment in his one hand, and a seemingly open metal container on the other. "We are told to make this quick, but I want to see the effectiveness of the new formulae. Gloves! Don't forget gloves. Put one in his mouth! I want to see how it reacts to proteins in saliva. Tired of hearing him blathering about Lord this and lord that anyway."

The bulky executioner said nothing and did what instructed, only quipping 'enjoy' when he stuffed something resembling a piece of rock into the priest's mouth and tied a rope around it. In a few seconds, smoke trailed from the priest's head, and he squirmed in a muffled pain.

"And next, its reaction to the proteins in the blood. Well, chop-chop! Do it to the others too. I want to see if it reacts differently."

The bulky executioner and a few people from the crowd moved forth and started to hack the remaining priest with swords and hatched. Some awoke with screams of agony while some others seemed too weakened to even sound a cry. And then, more of those rocks were shoved into their wounds, mouths, torn-open chest cavities, freshly gouged eye sockets, and all orifices the savages could find. Smokes engulfed the victims and spread out to irritate nearby onlookers and executioners so much that they couldn't take it anymore.

"Fine. Neutralize it!" commanded the masked man.

With a torch, the soldier ignited the smoke burning the priests in a colored flame of black. No oil, timber, or straw was needed, it quickly caught fire like an earth gas being ignited, and the executioners watched with awe from the moment when the screaming started until there was no movement the bending of immolated muscle and fat.

"Seems this batch's good and ready to be shipped." Said the masked man in a monotone, adding a checklist in his parchment.

"What about the rest of em? And their leader? The shiny arsehole and his brood?" Asked the bulky executioner.

"I don't know. Isn't that your job to find them?"

"Yeah, but I mean. Are you gonna do your experiment on them?"

"No... the General has a plan for the rest."

----

When those silhouettes started moving away from the scene and no words were uttered but their opinion about the gruesome spectacle, Carmen whispered the word of magic into his lantern and the scene unfolded before them suddenly froze.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

"You there, peasant. Explain who those soldiers are, and who they're fighting so desperately."

In front of Barking Mirielle, Dromele looked like a dried twig ready to be blown away by a strong gust.

"Re-revolutionist!" He stammered, and the next that came from his mouth was pretty much standard knowledge. "From the capital, sent here many years ago, been clashin' with the rebels for years also, and--."

Before he could finish, another question came. This time from the young blondie gal who had been easily quiet since they left the village outskirts. The way she looked at him further exacerbated the tension he felt.

"Tell me more about the witch from the mountain, Mister."

And then more came, this time from that lady earlier.
"While we are at it, sir, perhaps you can tell us about whom exactly the soldiers meant when they say traitors."

Dromele did not like it, not at all. The way they looked at him reminded him of the way the soldiers questioned him before they dragged him away to be hanged. He was a simple hunter with a simple wish to feed his family, he only knew how to live his ordinary life and survive. And the thing about surviving made something inside him click.

"How I supposed to know?! I ain't omniscience! This witch and this traitor, don't know it all! might be something the soldiers accuse us, ordinary folks just a fun of it? Who knows!?"

The outburst surprised Dromele to his core, and he was quick to apologize. Eyes were downcast, but his resolution to not divulge more remained unchanged.

"Please ask no more of those matters, good sir, lady. I wish no harm to me or me family. Both the rebels and the soldiers are vicious they wouldn't hesitate to burn the houses and fellow who tells words to the wrong kind of folks."

He looked at Carmen with hope. "Pardon sire, but I have fulfilled the end of me bargain. May I go back to Olbei? Me wife and son must be worried sick right now."

Captain Friston stood up. For a painful moment, he had endured listening to Carnathia's long-winded speech, urging the rest of the group to not seek retribution. For the record, he actually agreed with her about the importance of understanding the clear picture, but when he recalled her speech about not seeking justice and the mission parameter, something inside him started to boil. The last straw was when she reminded them that they were obliged to report to the 'Case officer'.

"No! No! We report to The Order!" he refuted abruptly eyes gazed sharply at Carnathia, and for that brief moment, it looked like Carmen was in terrible psychological pain. "Not some elven woman who thinks she knows it all. It is absurd! If only this damned Case officer did not stall our mission with unnecessary precautions, those... they could still be saved. What is the merit of following order if it impedes us from preventing unnecessary death?"

It was the first time Captain Carmen Friston showed his stern side before he retreated back to a melancholic man the party knew too well, sad, troubled, but reasonable.

"But you are right. We must not act rashly before we know what is happening to the fellowship, and the way I see it our investigation is far from finished."

He detached the lantern from his belt and then turned to the peasant.

"You can go now, Dromele." Carmen said wearily. "May your path be safe and we shall meet again in better circumstances."

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

"I am sorry for your loss..."

said Amaris, and Carmen, in his silence, expressed his grief in return.

"Are we sure our paladin and his companions are among the bodies? Even if they are not, I think this changes how we will deal with Ealdorman and his forces, do you agree? They are the only ones who would be capable of such, judging by the previous methods of execution they used and the power they seem to hold at the moment."

Asked Amaris after a moment. Carmen shooked his head but did not answer with words, for he was unsure what to answer. At this point, the bodies have been too damaged to identify.
If there was a question in his mind, that would be the whereabouts of the three others. Only five met their demise in this place, could that mean three others made it to the border? Or hiding somewhere? Or captured but alive?

One question developed into multiple conjectures, yet one critical question remained; were Paladin Thomas and Madam Ursula among the five who perished?

His thoughts were distracted by Mirille's outburst. That rapidly shifted from prayer to the promise of vengeance. Vengence, Carmen thought, wondering to who they shall direct their wrath. Amaris proposed that the culprits were the soldiers, and Mirielle did not find the idea implausible.

Revenge. Someone finally said that in his support of Mirielle's intention. A nod to a carnage they should have committed earlier this morning.

But what about him? What was Carmen intent on doing after witnessing this... undeserved cruelty?

He was still cutting the rope of the second victim when he glanced at Rezello. "Master Rezello, do you have something we can use to dig?"

With Mirielle's help, they almost released every corpse from their bindings. Insects and other tinny corpse eaters crawled out as the bodies hit the ground. The sight and smell were so horrible Carmen tried his hardest to not vomit.

@Valkon

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

"Ideally, we should make camp where you and Lady Mirielle could use your ah...expertise...to question Dromele. I understand that ascertaining people's claims is a core skill of people in your line of work. However, I will say that considering our lack of information regarding the current state of Sielse, wandering off without a guide hoping to find a good spot to camp seems equally foolish. I say we should let Dromele lead us to where the corpses are."

Dromle was understandably disturbed when Carnathia spoke about 'expertise'. He eyed the Captain's back, face contorted with fear, and he appeared like someone who prepared to jump off and rush toward the forest. But moments passed and he didn't make a run for it yet. He had seen a glimpse of what this party was capable of, and he wondered what was his chance of escaping them if a trained soldier could easily be intercepted?

Thankfully the man in charge was patient. And the lady who suggested interrogating him thoroughly couldn't seem to make up her mind, and so, once again Dromle finally found himself spared from a difficult predicament.

***

After giving an affirmative nod to the lady, the Captain asked him.

"How far we are from the victim?"

"Not too far sire, just two leagues more."

"Right." Camen said, now looking back at his parties. "Keep your eyes open, and look for movements in the trees."

Thankfully their vigilance was for naught. After twenty minutes of uneventful ride, Dromele asked to dismount from the hose and guide them by walking. He looked strangely enthusiastic when his thin fingers pointed at a plot of blackened land.

The site was a clearing located on the right side of the road. On there five poles stood sturdily but seemed to be placed irregularly. From this distance, Carmen thought they were scarecrows, but as they rode closer the smell became more nauseating, the Captain finally forced himself to confront with the grim reality.

Camen had thought that Dromele's description was hyperbolic, but this... this was worse. Five bodies, tied to wooden logs with faces mangled beyond recognition either by rot or injuries. Their bodies were blackened, not by the natural decomposition, but rather by soot and charrings.

They were tied on those logs, likely with wetted rope, with legs suspended a few spans above the ground. Some of the limbs and body parts had been skeletonized or went missing, probably picked off by wild animals. Hairs had been burned away, leaving only leathery-black skin beneath. Some were naked, while some were still robed with tattered blue clothing with patterns both Carmen and Mirielle knew all too well.

Their partially skeletonized faces told the same tale about the cruelty of their latest moment. All had their jaws wide open, and there seemed to be a handful of strange soot in their mouth. Some of the soot could be found in their eye sockets, noses, and cuts in their bodies.

The soot was still emitting a faint trail of smoke when Carmen dared himself to inspect them closer. There was a moment of silence before the captain took a step back.

"Who did this? Why them? They were good people, they don't deserve this..." he wailed, taking off his hat and placing it in his chest, asking nobody in particular. But Dromele the peasant, did not waste a moment to clear himself of potential blaming.

"I--I don't know sire. I found them three days ago and---"

Carmen tried to gather his courage and drew his sabre to cut the rope, releasing the priest's body from their restless bindings. Meanwhile, his mind wandered back to Helvetia, to the soldiers they spared, and to the hellish glade he was in right now.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

"Captain, are we sure trusting Dromele to lead us is for the best? While it is true that we have to gain some distance from the garrison, perhaps it's wiser not to go where Dromele attempt to lead us until we can verify the veracity of his claim."

Carmen slowed his horse.

The crossroad had already been behind them since a moment ago, and now they are riding toward a path of uncertainty. Although his hunch told him that this Dromele fellow was trustworthy, the skepticism has its merit.

"Lady Carnathia has a point there, Dromele." Carmen did not look back when he said that, his voice was calm and patient, that kind of patience that deep down hinted leniency you shouldn't cross.

"You have nothing to fear from us. And God is my witness, there will be no harm to those who speak the truth."

And under that charismatic gesture, the peasant finally wavered.

"It's... bodies s-sire. Five of em, tied on poles. Been rotted badly when I found them sir, but them--- I mean some of them wore same colors and priest clothing like you and Master Thomas wore. Pardon me words sir, but they've been broken like pit-roasted piglets, me thought they'd been dead for weeks."

There was a profound silence for a while. The horse remained trotting, but Carmen looked like he was sitting still. Until he inquired monotonely:

"Are you sure the corpses were them? You said you saw Paladin's entourage before in Katwiz, is there any of the bodies that matched with the priest and priestess you saw earlier?"

"Entrouge, sire?"

"Entourage, his friends."

"That I can't say for sure, sire, for crows've pecked their faces, or-or their faces were burned badly."

Carmen was silent again. Inside his head, a mixture of dejection and anger started to swirl. The first party he blamed was that damn elf from the council. If only she hadn't stalled the mission, maybe, just maybe, those priests could be saved.

"And you will lead us to them?"

"Ye-yes sire." still stammering, the peasant continued. "I am sorry for your loss sire. Again, I didn't mean to lie to you, but folks here including meself had seen the soldiers beatin' and killin' fellows who found their dead friends on many occasions, blaming us for siding with the rebels in mad anger. Sire, you wont be hittin me, aren't you?"

"No," Answered Carmen, still not looking back. There was another silence until he turned to Carnathia.

"What do you think, Baronesa Carnathia?"