Randomness

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Osric Griswall

---

Osric sighed as he pulled on the lever of his rifle. Once again, the barrel spun and locked in place, the hammer ready to strike the powder so soon after his last shot. He saw both shooters on the west tower slump over, their muskets falling from their hands. Despite the second musketeer’s attempt to find their attacker. One tower down. They managed to get off a shot, but from where he was set up, he would not know who or what that red stripe was firing at. Hopefully it didn’t hit any of his allies.

Many of the soldiers stationed outside quickly fled back inside the fort. Lynx’s explosions alerted everyone of an attack occurring inside. This was good, that mean he could remain where he was for the time being, focusing more on the people those on the ground would have more difficulty with. The east tower was momentarily blinded by something, perhaps Mirielle’s armor made of light, again. Either way, there was ample chance they would recover and start to shooting as well.

With no other distractions coming his way from the fort, Osric focused on the first of the two men still perched on the east tower. There was already enough trouble on the ground for those inside as it were. Having to not worry about what was above them would help increase their odds of victory, or escape. Once he was sure his shot was lined, he pulled the trigger. With a flash and boom, the drum rifle pushed back into his shoulder, his hands keeping it in place. Osric chambered the next round.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Osric Griswall

---

Osric waited, occasionally glancing to his left, seeing if his allies were still in their position or, if like him, decided to move somewhere more advantagous. He couldn’t see most of them, but it appeared Amanita and Lynx remained in place at least. It made sense for the young merchant girl. It looked like her drone would be adequate enough at range. A useful tool to be sure. The guards lingering about the gates returned to their usual banter, their words partially drowned out from distance. Though he was ready to take up arms, he remained relaxed. He saw no point in tensing up before anything even happened.

It didn’t take long. Carmen and his entourage were not immediately detained or at least executed. At least Osric surmised as much given the lack of commotion. Perhaps these military folk were a bit more reasonable despite the disrespect shown to the ealdorman. But the time to imagining the talks being held inside was soon halted. He saw the men on the towers quickly lift their weapons aiming somewhere down the east side of the fort.

Osric quickly raised his rifle, positioning it quickly to the east tower. Before he pulled the trigger, he noticed the men there ducking down, covering their eyes. Something must have either caught them off guard or blinded them. Either way, the men on the west tower didn’t seem as affected, so Osric quickly shifted focus. He took a shot at the first red striped man he saw. Letting out his breath, he cranked the lever of his rifle. The barrel spun and locked into place, the weapon primed to fire so soon after the other. He adjusted his aim to the second person, or the first, depending on how they reacted to being shot at from behind.

In his peripheral vision, he took note of the men on the outside of the fort walls. Muskets were not quiet weapons, and no doubt gun fire coming from the outside would alert them. Until they get close, Osric decided to stay where he was, only opting to move after his second shot. He trusted Rezello and Lynx enough to hold some if not all of their attention should they storm the treeline. But then distant explosions. Maybe Osric wouldn’t need to worry. Fire erupting from inside the fort might leave them scrambled and confused long enough to Osric to cull their numbers enough to force a retreat.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Osric Griswall

---

The plan was set, and the sun was down. As Carmen and his small group of distinguished women back tracked down the trail, Osric patted Lynx on the shoulder before moving himself closer to the treeline. He raised his rifle up, shouldering the stock, his gaze focused down the sights. He kept still, his eyes focusing first on the guards that stopped Carmen, and then slowly to the others. He remained as still as he could. His ears listening to the conversation between the two parties and his eyes watching the reactions of the red stripped men.

It was quick, but Osric kept his hands steady and his reaction in check. The moment the enemy muskets rose, Osric has his own rifle trained on the one with what he could perceive as the cleanest shot against his comrades. His finger rested just over the trigger waiting for the moment the sparks flew. Luckily it never came down to that. Carmen was granted entry. With the horses tied outside, and the gate closing slowly behind them, Osric lost sight of Carmen and his entourage.

“Now you’re on your own. I’ll do my best out here.” said Osric quietly to himself. He lowered his gun, letting his posture relax. But he wasn’t ready to stop his overwatch all together. He turned to the others, “I’m going to move into a better position. Rezello, I trust you and Amanita to keep anyone from approaching. If I have to fire, the noise will alert them. Lynx be prepared to detonate those bombs. If they walked into a trap, they could use the distraction.”

Osric nodded to the others and then moved deeper into the treeline. He found a position among the trees that gave him a clear enough ling of sight to the gate and its sentries, while also being close to quick cover to avoid any return of fire. He wasn’t near the compass enough to hear anything else that was going on, instead would rely on any commotion coming from the fort itself to judge whether he needed to intervene on the outside.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Osric Griswall

---

“I didn’t think you would be the one speaking. And if I can be frank here, with your hood up and your lips sealed, they might not notice you’re not what one might traditionally call human. I mean because of your teeth.” said Osric, finding himself trying to explain what he was thinking. He was simple when it came to matters of diplomacy. Amaris being what she was didn’t cross his mind until it was brought up. “I’m going to stop while I’m behind. I guess my thinking was more focused on the worst case scenario.”

Osric coughed and took a couple steps to the side, but still within the circle of discussion. His gaze shifted from the group to the guards meandering about the barricade, leisurely talking about this and that, barely audible that they were even conversing. Occasionally there would be a laugh, a sneeze, or cough. Osric counted how many soldiers stood guard outside the fort walls. His eyes darted between them, his mouth moving slightly with each count.

“Okay. You can trust me to watch your back, captain.” said Osric, “There is a number of them, but from this range, I can cover you no problem should anything happen. If you managed to get inside, that’ll be a different story. You’ll be on your own then. I warn you though. Once you’re up there, don’t underestimate the effective range from any of those sentries in those towers.”

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Osric Griswall

---

“Was it agreed? I’m sorry, my lady. I sort of lost track with what you all were saying during your long winded discussion earlier.” said Osric, obviously embarrassed about tuning out the potentially important information Carnatia was speaking among the grave sites. He coughed, eager to move on to the current topic on hand. Right now, there was a fort between here and the settlement it purported to be apart of.

At a glance, it looked like the fates of his recently discovered colleagues still weighed on him as the various plans and concerns being voiced echoed with his thoughts. Yet, even with the uncertainties, he chose a course of action. A risky option all things considered. They were outnumbered and outgunned. If their goal was to take the fort, acting on surprise would be the best option. Then again, with Amaris taking out an entire town by herself, maybe there would be a chance. Still, surrendering himself did not feel like a good idea.

“You’re really going to do this, huh?” said Osric. “Well you’ve heard Amaris and Carnatia. I have to say, I agree with them. This is a dumb idea. Hell, don’t let me stop you then. I’ll stay out here with the girl. If anything goes wrong in there, I will have a better shot at taking out the towers from out here.” Osric removed his rifle off his shoulder giving a quick look through to make sure all cylinders were loaded. Going in was going to be a balancing act. They needed few people to not appear threatening on approach, but enough to better support each other in a fight. Amanita stood out too much, so she should probably stay back as well. Her fungal appearance would work as camouflage at least. Rezello should probably as well on account of his mask. Also wouldn’t hurt to have someone holding a defensive line once shit hit the fan.

“Whoever decides to go with the two holy folks, be careful. We don’t want to lose anyone else.” Said Osric. He rested the rifle against his shoulder, holding it by the stock. He looked towards the woman in the robes of atonement, “That said, Amaris, I think you should go with them. Your reflexes with those chains of yours could be useful in close quarters. And I hate to bring this up, but you are quite capable in a crowd.”

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Osric Griswall

---

Well, Osric could not say he was surprised to see a well established outpost this far into the forest. He was hoping they could reach the next settlement before nightfall, but those ideas were quickly ended. He supposed it was too much to ask for the rest of this leg on their journey to be easy. But to be put into a predicament so soon after learning what happened to Captain Carmen’s colleagues. He was a little surprised Mirielle didn’t immediate suggest they raze the fort to the ground. After all, those soldiers seem aligned with the unceremonious killers from the vision.

“What are the chances those men are not already aware of our party?” said Osric. His gaze went from those soldiers wandering about the blockade and then up to the towers. He believed the party’s place along the tree line still kept most of the party hidden from any watchful eyes in those towers. Osric wanted to see how many men were keeping a lookout. Including both towers and the men along the road, it wasn’t impossible to take them on, but it also wasn’t going to be easy.

“I think I’ll have to agree with Carnatia on this one, with one caveat. We are not the only ones looking for this Thomas person. And I think it would be fair to say these red stripes have had a huge head start. So if we can get past here without being noticed would be best. I’m liking little Lynx’s idea. With her drone, she could remotely set up a distraction to keep their eyes from us as we pass by through the tree line.”

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Osric Griswall

---

Well, the day went from bad to worse. Perhaps it should have been an omen that once the monotonous surroundings had finally shifted into the woods, so would their endeavors. From a simple mission on locating the whereabouts and condition of Paladin Thomas, now they got a lot of news all at once. None of it good. From engaging with soldiers to the shaky testimony of a man caught in the middle of numerous affairs, it all culminated to the discovery of some of those poor saps that were with Thomas. Despite the warnings the peasant, Dromele, the scene was more tragic than one could have expected.

A gruesome way to end, the burned at the stake and left for the wildlife to pick clean. Already parts of their uncovered bodies, the head, hands, were picked clean, the bone dyed red and charred black left exposed. Osric did not blame any of the churches men their anguish. Carmen especially broke his normally calm demeanor as he cut down a colleague, resting him on the ground.

“Ah, give me a sec, and I can probably build a makeshift shovel myself. At least then we can have a second with Rezello’s and help ya dig.” said Osric as he readjusted his pack. He felt bad for Carmen and Mirielle. Those two were probably the closest to those deceased even if that only happened to be because of their order. “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.”

Osric bowed his head as reverently as he knew how. He didn’t want to say anything else. He didn’t know what else to say more likely. And it wasn’t really his place to talk about revenge. Backing away and turning, Osric then began to look around. He found a sturdy branch, and pulled out a knife. He whittled down a piece of it and then left to look for a flat rock or something else to build a makeshift shovel. It didn’t take him long, and the flat stone shovel was quite crude, but should last long enough to at least dig a couple graves for those men.

When Osric returned, he could see that tensions were rising. He could hear some of the conversation from the tree line, but now that he could see everyone clearly again, he wandered over puzzled. “Hey now. What makes you all believe he knows anything beyond what he just told us? If he actually knew anything, you’d think those soldiers would have been hanging him in the middle of nowhere? Let up and leave him be. We should be thankful he knew of this place to begin with.” It seemed that Carmen was of similar mindset, or was at least at his whits end when it came to the speculations. Still, he let the peasant go. With sound advice from some of the others, Dromele was no longer under the employ of the party. Not that he had any obligation to begin with. Osric sighed and he stabbed his stone shovel into a pit of soft dirt.

“Well, I’d say our first impression among the locals has been less than stellar. In less than an hour we managed to get on the bad sides of two different groups of people. The sooner we can find this Thomas person, the better. Now then.” said Osric as he looked at the row of bodies. No matter how many times he looked, his expression showed a hint of sorrow. He learned early on when he started to take up mercenary work that some people are truly sadistic and callous. It was one thing to kill or even make an example of one’s enemies. But to some people, that wasn’t enough. They got some sort of sick pleasure out of inflicting suffering. Though he grew more accustomed to the sight, it didn’t make him like it any less.

“Ideally, we would, Ludwig. If this is how these folks were left, I don’t want to think about what could happen to that Thomas fella. If he wasn’t among these folks, then it’s safe to say he got away. Lets hope that he did for a good long while.” said Osric. He walked back to his shovel and pulled it up of of the dirt. He held the end of the shovel near his shoulder and tapped it a couple times. He kept quiet about how close they were to the border. So as it stood, there looked to be equal chance the people they were looking for were either captured or managed to escape. Just not escape to the borders of Westernant. “For now, lets just give them as best service and burial we can here. We can put a mark on our map. When you Order folk get the chance, you could come back and give them a proper burial once we locate Thomas.”

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Osric Griswall

---

Well now, everyone was making quick work with the soldiers. Despite the varying degrees of harm inflicted upon those uniformed me, they were being dealt with minimal risk of fatality. At least, up until one of the men turned tail and ran. It wasn’t hard to spot, the soldier was wailing as he fled, calling out to those who were probably still in the town. Osric frowned. They already knew that there was some occupation taking place. Otherwise, the punishment for the crime the peasant was accused of committing would have been unnecessarily petty. Still though, while the group outnumbered the current lot, there was no telling how many others there would be. As it is, the gun shots alone might have alerted them and would be on their way regardless. Still, it would be better to stop the man. Just in case.

Osric quickly rose his rife, his cheek resting near the stock of his weapon. His eye focused down the sights with a clear line of sight. His finger slowly pressed upon the trigger then suddenly Ludwig appeared within view. That same trick again, this time the charismatic man carried with him not Rezello, but one of those dressed in red. In spectacular fashion, the fleeing man ran head first into the head of his comrade. The crack of their skulls colliding even audible from Osric’s position. He lowered his rifle and chucked.

“Well, I suppose that is one way to do it. Quite effectively at that.” Osric said smiling. He glanced down at the sergeant, ready to raise his gun again should the man have taken that opportunity to struggle again. Even if the material was weaker than traditional materials, at that size, Lynx’s drones would have weighed enough to keep the man subdued. A task Lynx kept it at.

“Well, that was exciting.” said Osric. “Perhaps we can stop this farce, and figure out where we go from here? Hmm… Judging by your expression, that’s probably not going to happen.”

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Osric Griswall

---

Well now. After another couple week of monotonous travel, it wasn’t quite the same as the first grueling leg of their journey before the borders of Tetragor. At least then there was a more comfortable ride in the carriage. Riding horses was not an issue to Osric, but compared to the more table seats of the wagon, there was a clear winner. The barren plains and stiff weather didn’t help either. Even going for hours, the scare change in scenery made it feel like they made zero progress.

Luckily before the party suffered too much from highway hypnosis, the next location peaked the horizon. The edges of the forest stood out among the barren plains as a welcome change of scenery. The new environment even came with an event, something to take their minds off the nothingness of the once proud land. Six men, five of whom were of some faction. Playing judge and executioner, they strung up the sixth. A poor looking man begging for his life, claiming to know the information about Carmen’s lost paladin friend. To be honest, the man was probably desperate to live. But to be executed for the crimes the soldiers claimed was absurd.

Osric pulled his rifle from the straps on his back, holding it in both of his hands, muzzle down. In the sight of three other gunman, this probably wasn’t intimidating in the slightest, but that wasn’t the point. Osric needed it ready in case things escalated. And by the tone the sergeant was spouting his nonsense, it seemed very likely. Then in a flash Mirielle dashed forward, and Ludwig disappeared with Rezello. A drone of ice manifest and tackled the sergeant just as Carnatia’s negotiations failed. This was a mighty shit storm, and to be frank, Osric wasn’t sure who would take the blame for pulling the trigger first. Osric sighed, it didn’t matter too much in the end. With this few soldiers, he didn’t really need to involve himself at all. At least he could save some ammunition this way.

Four were attacking the musketeers. After firing their shots, it was very unlikely they would be able to fire another. Besides, the four of them were capable with training or experience to back up their abilities. With the drone pinning down the sergeant, Osric shouldered his rifle, aiming down to the last man standing. Carnatia was already moving to engage him. Taking a deep breath, Osric took a shot at the soldier’s weapon arm, attempting to form him to drop it. With the barrel still smoking, he pulled on the small lever on the rifle. A quick click and grind, the barrel was now pointed at the sergeant. Unlike the musketeers of that leader in red, Osric didn’t need to waste too much time preparing to fire again. The drone looked to have a weapon already trained on the sergeant. But just in case, it couldn’t hurt to have some backup in case the sergeant had something up his sleeve.

“Don’t even try it.” said Osric, awaiting what the sergeant might do to escape his current predicament with the drone. There was no guarantee that thing would be successful. At least with another threat with his rifle, Osric might make the man reconsider retaliation.

Absolved Will Be the Saviors

Osric Griswall

---

Osric watched as Amaris and Ludvig was locked into a short lived, but oddly entertaining moment of embarrassment and confusion. Amaris at first seemed at a loss for what to say, but she was able to at lest respond. For someone capable of gruesome bloodshed, it was humorous to watch. He sipped his coffee as Amaris changed the subject, bring the personal matter to a more shallow one. Another compliment to the sausage rolls. A one off comment from the barkeep to keep things simple and raving for the food it was. Maybe it was because they were on the road so long, having something fresher made was a welcome change.

Osric downed his coffee as everyone else was finishing up their meals. Wooden flatware quickly emptying as forks scrapped up the last morsels. There was plenty of daylight out, and much to be done to finalize their venture into Tretagor the following morning. Osric would double check his supplies later. There was no telling what he could scavenge in the wilds should he be under prepared. Bullets were easy. Black powder would be a different story.

Osric listened in to Carmen as he answered some of the coming questions. He quickly sniffed the air and coughed before he spoke, “I get the church is more forgiving and welcoming than most. But if any of the stories I’ve heard about Tetragor is true, then I’m not hesitating to put down anyone who raises a blade against us. It’s my job to help you guys get there quickly safely. It’s already going to be a quarter of a year by the time we get there. And already if no refuges have made it out here since then, I’m going to have to be on my guard. We might not have the time or luxury to play therapist.”