The man's body is impaled to a tree, and he was horrible tormented before he died. His innards have spilled from his body through a huge gash just under his rib cage. There are teeth marks on his intestines. His eyes, mercifully, are closed.
You stand deep in the woods, five miles north of the Refuge camp. It's three hours or less till sunrise. Two sets of hoofprints lead north, towards Idris, which is perhaps two days hard ride north of here.
Kane turns to spur his horse northwards.
Thragga asks, "What now?"
As Kane turns to go he calls back to his companions and says, "There is nothing we can do for him, we must ride north."
Khom-Bei kicks his pony to a gallop and follows Kane.
Thragga races after Kane. "Don't go without us!"
As swift as Vorghol travel, even they cannot return to Idris before the rise of the sun. This is now the Hunter's Hour, the time just before dawn when your prey must seek a dark haven. Someplace to hole up before the fires of the sun scorch them. As you follow the trail north, it takes a slight detour to the northeast, into a heavily overgrown wooded area. The hills here are covered with old elms, and the underbrush is thick. The Vorghol were clearly in a hurry and the battered underbrush makes their trail easy to follow.
Kane calls to Thragga, "How long since they passed this way?"
Thragga kneels. "Not long. An hour, maybe less."
Kane turns to his friends with almost a pleading look, "We must save these boys and make the Vorghol pay for Gareth's death."
Thragga rises, gnawing on a bit of rabbit he stowed away. "Do you think this could be a way to lure us from the Refuge?"
Khom-Bei nods grimly, "It could be a trap, but we cannot let them take the children."
Kane says, "Like Khom-Bei says, we must continue.""
Thragga nods. "When the boys are safe, the Vorghol will know what true fury is." He pushes on through the brush.
It is becoming tricky for the mounts to make way in this uncertain footing.
Khom-Bei says, "If we can find where they have gone to ground, the daylight will cut their numbers."
Kane says, "Khom-Bei, when we catch up with them, if at anytime you can get the boys away, take them and go. Thragga and I will stay to cleanup."
Thragga nods, eyeing his axe. "Clean up..."
Khom-Bei dismounts and lets his pony lag behind. He frowns before answering Kane, "I will do as you ask, Kane, but only because someone must watch out for the boys."
Kane says, "Thank you friend. If such a time comes, also take my horse. Thragga and I can return on foot." He dismounts to lead his horse through the brush.
Thragga hacks at the brush with his axe. He chops again. Then he turns and passes Kane a swatch of fabric he pulls from a thorny bush. You saw Tyrin in such a tunic earlier tonight. The swatch is no more than a small patch, but a reminder of what has been taken away.
The glowing arms of sunrise now extend into the sky, limning the Hardstone Hills around you with a pink aura. The sun slowly pushes up above the ridgeline, the golden light of a chill fall day spilling into the woodlands.
Kane thinks again of Thragga earlier words about a trap. It seems strange to him that the Vorghol would risk sunlight for two boys.
In the sunlight, you can see much farther. Ahead of you, perhaps half a mile, in a steep cleft in the hills, squats a set of stone structures. They are quite overgrown and weathered with age. There are the ruined remains of an old stone wall in front, and through the gaps in the shattered wall, you can see a battered cross-shaped building. Vines and trees grow thickly about the stones. The Vorghol trail leads there. From its looks, it may been a shrine of some kind, from the old days, or the Crusades.
Thragga gestures to the muddied ground before you. It appears another set of hoofprints--four, by their looks-- has joined the ones you followed here. This seems like it may have been a rendezvous for more riders.
Kane checks to see if the new tracks lead towards the building or away in another direction. But the tracks all converge on the building about half a mile ahead.
Khom-Bei reads the sign nearly as well as his companions, "Half a dozen riders. We can't assume that there aren't more already inside the buildings."
Kane says, "Lets take a closer look." He ties his horse to a nearby tree and moves quietly in the direction of the wall.
Khom-Bei leans close to his pony and whispers, "Wait here. Come quickly if I call."
Thragga drags himself forward on his elbows, then secretes himself behind a tree to get a better look.
Khom-Bei follows Kane, bending low and slipping from tree to tree.
The sun is nearly clear of the hillsides, now...such direct light would be death for a Vorghol. And it is not easy on Urag eyes, either.
There is an old, broken fountain before the main building. This marks the shrine as once sacred to Ardis, goddess of healing. The shrine itself is a well-built old bluestone structure of one story, in a cross shape. The stone roof appears to be mostly intact. In all, it would be a good hiding place for Vorghol until nightfall.
No movement is visible inside the perimeter of the walls.
Khom-Bei slips up close to Kane, "The Dark Ones will have guards watching while they sleep."
Kane says, "We must do this carefully with some planning. There is no telling what they will do to the boys, if they know we are near."
Morning mist creeps down from the hillsides, helping to obscure you from prying eyes.
Thragga hisses, "We should strike swiftly before they know what is coming! Who is with me?"
Khom-Bei nods, "We should get the children outside as quickly as we can. The sunlight is an ally we must use to our advantage."
Kane looks to see if there are any visible windows in the temple. The simple country shine was built without windows. Glass would have been a luxury to the priestesses of the Healer. Shaking his head, he says, "But first we must know what we are up against. Too much haste could be our downfall...and that of the boys."
One set of double doors is visible at the south edge of the shrine, from where you crouch. There appears to be a set of steps leading out the back way as well, which you surmise would lead to the back door.
Kane looks for any signs of gaps in the wall or roof from which he can get a look inside the building. But he is too far, and the building too dark inside, to get much of a look from here. He takes a quick look around for observers and then quickly sprints to the broken down wall.He then signols for Khom-Bei and Thragga to follow him.
Khom-Bei waits a moment before following Kane.
As Kane sprints forward, three shapes lope forward from the west. Hunched, four-legged shapes, their great fanged heads held low to the ground, sniffing at it. Grey wargs, headed this way, on patrol.
The shaggy wargs growl as they scent Kane racing for the wall. The lead warg hunches down, gathers his legs under him, and launches forward. The other two are hot on his heels, a snarling, snapping set of jaws slavering for Kane's throat.
Kane curses to himself at the sound of the wargs, then draws his Urag blade. It's a big, heavy thing, made for chopping and hacking.
Khom-Bei focuses his mind on the second warg in line and attempts to bend its' will to his own, "Attack your brother." As Khom-Bei makes his imprecation, however, the warg snaps its jaws in fury and races for him.
Thragga emits a growl of his own as he springs forward wielding his axe.
The wargs charge forward, howling and slavering, sent by command of the Vorghol.
Kane quickly stands to meet the attack of the on rushing wargs. He swings the new blade towards the beast's gut, misses, but his blow clips off the creature's ear.
Khom-Bei curses under his breath as he swings his greathammer at the onrushing warg. He slams his hammer into the beast's ribs. It gives a horrid yelp as bones crunch.
Thragga spins his axe and leaps at the third warg. He shrieks in rage, bringing his blade down in a massive arc, and lops the creature into two bloody halves. Warg blood sprays over him. He whirls on Kane's foe now, and savagely hacks off the creature's rear leg. It screams in agony and animal fury and weakly leaps at him.
The second warg snaps its foaming jaws at Khom-Bei. It seizes Khom-Bei's wrist in its jaws, rending flesh.
Thragga kicks his injured foe away, evading its attack.
Kane's blade opens up the dismembered warg's midsection, spilling blood and guts. It fights on, in pain and terror.
Khom-Bei swings his hammer in great arcs at the warg. The hammer shatters the creature's snout. It gives a piteous yelp, staggers forward, dazed, and, confused, and bleeding, and dies at his feet.
Thragga seizes the creature by its neck and twists, lifting the mangled warg from the ground. There is a horrendous grinding noise as he snaps its neck, and he hurls the dead animal aside in contempt.
Khom-Bei flexes his bleeding wrist and smiles, "Just a flesh wound."
Thragga hisses, "Good, you will need that wrist."
Kane to his companions and says "Think they heard us?"
Thragga peers through an opening in the ruined wall towards the shrine. No movement is seen.
Khom-Bei kneels next to the dead warg at his feet, his hand on its' head, "Sleep well, brother, the Dark Ones will torment you no longer."
Kane says, "Now that's what I call luck, either that or they are waiting inside."
Thragga points. "If you can get on the roof, you can see inside...you could even fit in the hole..." There is a man-sized hole visible in the southwest corner of the roof.
Khom-Bei quickly wraps his wrist in a strip of cloth, stopping the already slowing flow of blood, "Perhaps we should try to get a look around the other side before we rush in?"
Kane replies, "Look around the side, I'm going to try and take a look from the roof. We'll meet back at the well."
Khom-Bei points off to the east, "There's some cover in this direction, we would be safer going this way to look around."
Kane says, "That works, as long as I can get to the roof. Lead on."
Khom-Bei slips silently from undergrowth to shadow and back to undergrowth, making his way around to the eastern side of the temple.
Thragga trots in a crouch right behind Khom-Bei.
Keeping his eyes peeled for guards, Khom-bei works his way around to the east and then a bit further in order to get a look at the north side of the temple.
You lean down behind the remains of a wall on the eastern side of the temple, surveying. There is still no movement seen.
Ducking behind the remnants of a crumbled wall, Khom-bei frowns, "I don't like it, Kane. It's as if they're all inside just waiting for us to come in. They could be looking out of the keyholes at us the entire time and we would never see them at all."
Thragga snorts. "They are Vorghol. They fear the daylight..."
Khom-Bei snorts in turn, "And their servants keep watch for them in the light."
Kane looks for a way to attain the rooftop. "I think we should head back and make for the fountain."
Thragga says, "We should split up. A diversion, like we used that time in Anghara, remember?"
Khom-Bei nods at Thragga's suggestion, "A diversion would be a good idea."
Kane says, "We can split up, but do nothing to draw their attention unless you are sure they spot you."
Thragga narrows his eyes. "I can make them spot me! Just give the word."
Khom-Bei says, "You should take the roof, Kane. Thragga and I will take the door."
Kane nods. "Wait till I give you a signal." He then sneaks off to the building.
Thragga rises, hefting his axe. "Do you have a prayer for us, Northerling?"
Khom-Bei nods, "Ancestors, bless us in this fight. We go to save the children."
Thragga bows his head, allowing the holy energy to suffuse his brow.
The eastern wall looks to be an easy climb for Kane. An old tree leans close by the shrine wall here. Kane works his way through the thin cover seeking the side of the building. He uses all the skills he has learned throughout the years to avoid being seen.
Khom-Bei moves swiftly, following behind Kane but angling toward the front of the shrine. Thragga is right behind Khom-Bei, axe in hand. Coming in from the east, Khom-bei positions himself just out of sight of the door and awaits the signal from Kane. Thragga waits, impatiently, next to Khom-Bei. "He climbs like a one-armed Gholibin..." the Urag mutters about Kane.
Kane finally finds himself at the base of the wall. He spares a glance over his shoulder to locate his companions then begins to climb.
The mist has begun to burn off as the morning sun rises higher.