The Howlester entourage sent by Rodderick Howlester and his close allies finally arrived in Jorrhildr the day after their meeting with the Urls. Magnus was excited to be back but hid his composure, while Othmar seemed more positive outwardly. Magnus and Othmar had talked over the night and agreed that the cage was unfit, as Othmar had resigned himself to the idea that Magnus's demands had won out. He was released from the cage, and the entire group including the two Url, Genevieve and Rodderick Howlester, Jared Kade, and a number of Howlester Guards trekked into the frozen expanse to follow the trail of the Maw Throngs.
Before long, Othmar and Magnus started calling out to the wind, beastly howls which were returned from afar. Othmar spoke to Rodderick announcing that there was good news. The Throngs would welcome them back, they were still loyal to Magnus, and better yet, they hadn't turned any of the captives yet. All of the Howlester Mercenary commanders and captains were still Human, and Magnus had called for them to remain that way. The group continued to walk into the same valley with the wicker man that burned last a Howlester thread there, only to find all the corpses snowed over and only a pile of rubble remaining where the Wickerman once stood. Rodderick passed his uncle's armor, tracing a hand on the frigid warped metal before they all continued with a stronger pace towards a series of barely visible cave entrances.
At the cave entrance, they were immediately greeted by a number of Urls with whom the Urls in the Howlester entourage exchanged greetings. The procession seemed rather positive, even Othmar was welcomed back by a number of savage looking Urls who started tearing his Regalian clothes off of him save for his leather undergarments. The whole experience was foreign to the Regalians but almost seemed to have a religious charge to them as Othmar was seemingly welcomed back into the fold with warpaint and joyous Url calls from the back of the cave. Magnus paid no heed to the Howlesters and their guards, but Othmar spoke to them with a positive tone, welcoming them in further. The guards, however, were barred entry. This caused some discomfort among the Howlesters and the Kade who were being led in, but being pragmatic, they realized that they were outnumbered a hundred to one here, and ought to just accept what was going to happen and hope for the best so they would all come out alive.
The upper levels of the caves didn't seem quite as much like a pigsty Magnus had made it out to be, the Urls kept orderly control over the cave, and had even created a system of beast-skin and fur carpets running along the major walking areas. There was music audible in the distance, and even some singing, as awkward as it sounded. When they moved into the prisoner area, the various Url including Magnus leading them on spoke to each other in their own language, though the tone of it seemed to concern Jared. He hawkishly inspected Othmar's facial features, seemingly the most human acting out of the group, and detected a tone difference in his speech from optimistic to almost hushed and rushed, as if he was disagreeing with something before Magnus made a noise that shut him up. His concerns were evident, but Jared chose not to speak up to offend their host, yet keep his hands clear on his hilt in case he needed to act quickly.
Passing through the prisoner area, the Holwesters became more optimistic. With each knave they passed, they found Howlester commander and captains one after another, with Magnus promising to release them all from their bonds, an offer far more generous than he had originally intended to reward the Humans for bringing Othmar back to him. Othmar all the while remained silent. Magnus had all of the Howlester commanders still in chains led to the main chamber, where finally, kneeling on a pedestal, they found Osric, still Human, but weakened greatly.
His posture was slumped, yet from a single beam of light emitting from the ceiling, his Howlester silver wolf tattoo on his chest was clearly visible, his shoulders covered in snow that had come in through the opening, and his face badly bloodied from presumed beatings. Genevieve quickly rushed forward to brush the snow off his shoulders while other Url and the Howlester prisoners were corralled into the larger room. Magnus delivered some sort of self-glorifying speech about how he was victorious once more and then changed into the Oorl language while other Url chanted along with him. Othmar offered a single shout, before quieting down, leaning to Jared while gently resting his hand on his saber hilt, ushering him to remain quiet above all, and to remember to protect the people who were not in chains by choosing not to act, instead of condemning them all in the den of the lion, so to speak. It was in this moment that released from the euphoria of the crowd in front of them and the Url around them, peered around to watch a number of Url enter the room with Oorl worms crawling over their arms.
From this moment, however, events transpired too quickly for the others to act. The Url chanting drowned out the noises of what was to happen. An Url approached, roughly seizing Genevieve by the arm and dragging her off. This display sent Rodderick into a fit, shouting all kinds of curses and threats before Othmar raced to his side, and punched him in the back of the head, knocking him out cold, but catching him in his arms before he could fall to the floor. Magnus meanwhile raised his arms, chanting some Oorl noise while Genevieve was dragged out of the room struggling, Othmar pacing after. Just as Genevieve was about to get dragged beyond the doorway, the orgy of screams started as the Oorl worms were put on their victims and the noises of ripping flesh and cries of agony filled the room. Jared was still there, pressed between Urls who did not even seem to acknowledge his presence, frozen at the nightmarish spectacle until the situation became too severe for him.
The screams gradually died down before they raised up again, followed by the gnawing and cracking of bones, it was as if the Howlester men were being butchered in that room then and there, and Jared quickly raced out, trying to keep his stomach contents inside and to look for Othmar and Genevieve. Jared would eventually find them just out of hearing range where the screams and popping noises were muffled by the Url noises, to find Rodderick with a makeshift bandage around his head laying on a wooden bed, Othmar sitting next to him and Genevieve throwing some kind of tantrum, occasionally hitting Othmar's bad from behind, though he seemingly ignored her. Othmar explained to Jared that he suspected, but did not know that Magnus would double cross them when they arrived and that Magnus only told him when they just got there. He relayed that Magnus truly hated all of Ailorkind as weak and that he had no intention of releasing such good specimens out of his Throng. The Isldar and the Howlesters and their guards were welcome to leave as they had been deemed too weak and small to be useful to the Throng, and Magnus saw no reason to kill them because he reveled in their anguish.
Genevieve eventually calmed down and sat down at the nearby makeshift stone bench, just having a generally frustrated look on her face, while Othmar inspected Rodderick who was still knocked out. Jared inquired why Othmar did what he did, and Othmar simply replied that Rodderick shouldn't hear or see what happened in that room because it would never leave him. Vaguely Jared agreed with the sentiment in silence, and before long, the hallways around them no longer echoed screams or Url chanting. Occasionally an Url would pass by, making the two hours an agonizing wait for the remainders. Othmar stepped outside to talk to the guards a few times until the hours of Symbiosis had passed. Othmar was about ready to lead the Howlesters out of the cave system until a commotion caught their attention. More and more Url were running into the conversion chamber and a variety of shouts could be heard, though only from Urls. The chaos in the cave system was unexpected and caused Othmar to rush the Howlesters out of the area. He eventually bid them farewell, and though they were reluctant to leave without Osric, the Url seemed to be turning hostile towards them because of the chaos inside, brandishing weapons.
While they argued with the Url outside, however, a huge dark-faced Url with a white stripe on its forehead suddenly barged out of the cave entrance, impaling one of the Urls who stood at the entrance with its horns and tossing it off like it was a hot knife on butter. The Url was large, at least a foot larger than the Urls all around him and started thrashing all around, attacking all Url in sight, and even the Howlester guards when they got into its sights. It was Genevieve that recognized that this Url was, in fact, Osric, able to recognize him by the Howlester Silverwolf Tattoo. The Url refused to speak and was merely making beastly war noises, however, charging left and right and trying to break free of whatever constraint that was placed upon him. Before long, he set off charging into the wilderness, Genevieve ordering the men to follow while her and Jared supported the unconscious Rodderick on their retreat. The Urls of the cave themselves also sent out a war part to track down the escaped Url.
The chase was long, both Howlesters and Urls occasionally chasing up to each other and overtaking one another until, by mere chance, both groups and the Url they were chasing ran into an Isldar patrol. The Isldar were dumbfounded by the sudden appearance of Url, though Jared, quickly catching up, was able to shout some initial words that caused the Isldar to open fire on the Urls, including the escaped one. Numerous arrows impaled both the Osric Url and the other Urls, who seemingly retreated from the struggle as the Isldar outnumbers them and caught them off guard, while the Howlester group managed to draw closer without getting fired upon. Jared communicated with the Isldar in a language the others could not understand, but eventually seemingly convinced them to try and capture the runaway Url. With the help of the other Isldar, and sending Genevieve ahead back to the town where their ship was with Rodderick, Jared tracked down the escaped Url and managed to chain him. The Isldar helped him bring the Url back to the ship and chain him to the main mast, before departing again.
It was several hours later that Rodderick finally awoke in a dark cabin with a few candles lit, Genevieve sitting next to him occasionally dabbing his forehead with a wet cloth, and removing the bandage as he sat up. They exchanged a few words about what had occurred when he was knocked out. Genevieve explained that Othmar wanted to prevent him from seeing what happened to his uncle, what happened in the two hours, that they were let go, and that Osric as an Url eventually broke free and caused a chase, but that they were able to capture him. She finally told him that the other guards were sleeping below deck and that they were on their way back to Regalia already, but that they were unable to either make contact with Osric in his current state or that any other Howlester mercenaries could be saved. She finally told him that Osric was still awake on the deck and seemingly calm now and that if he wanted to, he could take a look as long as he stayed at least six feet away from him.
When Rodderick stepped outside, the waters were quiet. An occasional wave hit the bow of the ship as it slowly trudged along, the ropes creaking in the wind. The captain behind Rodderick at the wheel gave him a quiet greeting before Rodderick paced forward on the deck. There, tied to the main mast, and looking forward while Rodderick approached him from behind was the Url Osric. He seemingly knew Rodderick was approaching, his ears gently tapping up and down as the chains rattled on his neck and arms. He was chained down by a head chain on his neck, wrapped around the mast and finally tied down behind him. His arms were pulled in an awkward position, chained to pull away from him so that should he thrash, he would risk dislocating his own shoulders.
Rodderick paced around him, taking in the shape of him, or more specifically the size of him. The Url was easily two feet taller than him, and with the horns on top appeared even larger. In perspective, it almost looked like the Url was twice his size, it almost made him feel three years old again when Osric lifted him up from the ground. The Url didn't look at him, but the eyes were unmistakably Osric's, and he had the exact same tattoos spanning his chest and arms, but his face was no longer there. Instead there was this angry and hairy bull-looking head with two huge bent horns and tusks poking out. His body strained in resistance to the swaying of the boat, and yet seemingly ignoring the snow that had formed layers on his shoulders and head from slowly falling down around them. Some snow had started gathering on Rodderick's own head as well, he slowly walked around the Url who seemingly ignored his presence by keeping his strained look forward over Rodderick.
He looked him up and down, the tersed expression on his face, the anger visible in his eyes, the clawing of his hands seemingly trying to grab at nothing in the air to squeeze the life out of. There was extreme tension sensible from him, but he seemed really calm at the same time and unusually quiet. Rodderick sighed, turning around, looking out over the darkness of the ocean stretching out in front of him. He stood there in silence in front of the creature that was once his uncle, but it was completely silent around him aside from the occasional wooden creak, and the loud and gruff exhale of the Url behind him. His uncle was back, and not dead, but it seemed almost as if he might as well be. He was caught in a huff of air from behind, it smelled familiar, like the same tobacco breath uncle Osric always had mixed in with too many bitter root beers. He closed his eyes for a moment before looking down at his shoes to kick some snow away idly in thought. As he kicked the snow, he noticed the snow had snowed over the six feet line that the others had made, and he was now well within harming range of the Url.
Instinctively he turned around to face him, alarmed, but was again met with a warm gust of air as the Url exhaled. The exhale wasn't violent or tense, it was gentle and smooth. The gust from the Url's big lungs was with enough force to cause the snow on Rodderick's shoulders and hair to slip off, clearing him from the cold. Compared to his own breath forming dew in the cold air in front of him, the Url's breaths were massive, and as he looked up, the eyes looked back at him, while the same breaths pushed out above him, almost acting like an umbrella and stopping the snow from falling on his head. The two merely looked at one another for a moment in silence, before the Url turned his eyes elsewhere and Rodderick turned around, daring a cautious smile from the corner of his mouth. Maybe Othmar was right. He had to be.
Before long, Othmar and Magnus started calling out to the wind, beastly howls which were returned from afar. Othmar spoke to Rodderick announcing that there was good news. The Throngs would welcome them back, they were still loyal to Magnus, and better yet, they hadn't turned any of the captives yet. All of the Howlester Mercenary commanders and captains were still Human, and Magnus had called for them to remain that way. The group continued to walk into the same valley with the wicker man that burned last a Howlester thread there, only to find all the corpses snowed over and only a pile of rubble remaining where the Wickerman once stood. Rodderick passed his uncle's armor, tracing a hand on the frigid warped metal before they all continued with a stronger pace towards a series of barely visible cave entrances.
At the cave entrance, they were immediately greeted by a number of Urls with whom the Urls in the Howlester entourage exchanged greetings. The procession seemed rather positive, even Othmar was welcomed back by a number of savage looking Urls who started tearing his Regalian clothes off of him save for his leather undergarments. The whole experience was foreign to the Regalians but almost seemed to have a religious charge to them as Othmar was seemingly welcomed back into the fold with warpaint and joyous Url calls from the back of the cave. Magnus paid no heed to the Howlesters and their guards, but Othmar spoke to them with a positive tone, welcoming them in further. The guards, however, were barred entry. This caused some discomfort among the Howlesters and the Kade who were being led in, but being pragmatic, they realized that they were outnumbered a hundred to one here, and ought to just accept what was going to happen and hope for the best so they would all come out alive.
The upper levels of the caves didn't seem quite as much like a pigsty Magnus had made it out to be, the Urls kept orderly control over the cave, and had even created a system of beast-skin and fur carpets running along the major walking areas. There was music audible in the distance, and even some singing, as awkward as it sounded. When they moved into the prisoner area, the various Url including Magnus leading them on spoke to each other in their own language, though the tone of it seemed to concern Jared. He hawkishly inspected Othmar's facial features, seemingly the most human acting out of the group, and detected a tone difference in his speech from optimistic to almost hushed and rushed, as if he was disagreeing with something before Magnus made a noise that shut him up. His concerns were evident, but Jared chose not to speak up to offend their host, yet keep his hands clear on his hilt in case he needed to act quickly.
Passing through the prisoner area, the Holwesters became more optimistic. With each knave they passed, they found Howlester commander and captains one after another, with Magnus promising to release them all from their bonds, an offer far more generous than he had originally intended to reward the Humans for bringing Othmar back to him. Othmar all the while remained silent. Magnus had all of the Howlester commanders still in chains led to the main chamber, where finally, kneeling on a pedestal, they found Osric, still Human, but weakened greatly.
His posture was slumped, yet from a single beam of light emitting from the ceiling, his Howlester silver wolf tattoo on his chest was clearly visible, his shoulders covered in snow that had come in through the opening, and his face badly bloodied from presumed beatings. Genevieve quickly rushed forward to brush the snow off his shoulders while other Url and the Howlester prisoners were corralled into the larger room. Magnus delivered some sort of self-glorifying speech about how he was victorious once more and then changed into the Oorl language while other Url chanted along with him. Othmar offered a single shout, before quieting down, leaning to Jared while gently resting his hand on his saber hilt, ushering him to remain quiet above all, and to remember to protect the people who were not in chains by choosing not to act, instead of condemning them all in the den of the lion, so to speak. It was in this moment that released from the euphoria of the crowd in front of them and the Url around them, peered around to watch a number of Url enter the room with Oorl worms crawling over their arms.
From this moment, however, events transpired too quickly for the others to act. The Url chanting drowned out the noises of what was to happen. An Url approached, roughly seizing Genevieve by the arm and dragging her off. This display sent Rodderick into a fit, shouting all kinds of curses and threats before Othmar raced to his side, and punched him in the back of the head, knocking him out cold, but catching him in his arms before he could fall to the floor. Magnus meanwhile raised his arms, chanting some Oorl noise while Genevieve was dragged out of the room struggling, Othmar pacing after. Just as Genevieve was about to get dragged beyond the doorway, the orgy of screams started as the Oorl worms were put on their victims and the noises of ripping flesh and cries of agony filled the room. Jared was still there, pressed between Urls who did not even seem to acknowledge his presence, frozen at the nightmarish spectacle until the situation became too severe for him.
The screams gradually died down before they raised up again, followed by the gnawing and cracking of bones, it was as if the Howlester men were being butchered in that room then and there, and Jared quickly raced out, trying to keep his stomach contents inside and to look for Othmar and Genevieve. Jared would eventually find them just out of hearing range where the screams and popping noises were muffled by the Url noises, to find Rodderick with a makeshift bandage around his head laying on a wooden bed, Othmar sitting next to him and Genevieve throwing some kind of tantrum, occasionally hitting Othmar's bad from behind, though he seemingly ignored her. Othmar explained to Jared that he suspected, but did not know that Magnus would double cross them when they arrived and that Magnus only told him when they just got there. He relayed that Magnus truly hated all of Ailorkind as weak and that he had no intention of releasing such good specimens out of his Throng. The Isldar and the Howlesters and their guards were welcome to leave as they had been deemed too weak and small to be useful to the Throng, and Magnus saw no reason to kill them because he reveled in their anguish.
Genevieve eventually calmed down and sat down at the nearby makeshift stone bench, just having a generally frustrated look on her face, while Othmar inspected Rodderick who was still knocked out. Jared inquired why Othmar did what he did, and Othmar simply replied that Rodderick shouldn't hear or see what happened in that room because it would never leave him. Vaguely Jared agreed with the sentiment in silence, and before long, the hallways around them no longer echoed screams or Url chanting. Occasionally an Url would pass by, making the two hours an agonizing wait for the remainders. Othmar stepped outside to talk to the guards a few times until the hours of Symbiosis had passed. Othmar was about ready to lead the Howlesters out of the cave system until a commotion caught their attention. More and more Url were running into the conversion chamber and a variety of shouts could be heard, though only from Urls. The chaos in the cave system was unexpected and caused Othmar to rush the Howlesters out of the area. He eventually bid them farewell, and though they were reluctant to leave without Osric, the Url seemed to be turning hostile towards them because of the chaos inside, brandishing weapons.
While they argued with the Url outside, however, a huge dark-faced Url with a white stripe on its forehead suddenly barged out of the cave entrance, impaling one of the Urls who stood at the entrance with its horns and tossing it off like it was a hot knife on butter. The Url was large, at least a foot larger than the Urls all around him and started thrashing all around, attacking all Url in sight, and even the Howlester guards when they got into its sights. It was Genevieve that recognized that this Url was, in fact, Osric, able to recognize him by the Howlester Silverwolf Tattoo. The Url refused to speak and was merely making beastly war noises, however, charging left and right and trying to break free of whatever constraint that was placed upon him. Before long, he set off charging into the wilderness, Genevieve ordering the men to follow while her and Jared supported the unconscious Rodderick on their retreat. The Urls of the cave themselves also sent out a war part to track down the escaped Url.
The chase was long, both Howlesters and Urls occasionally chasing up to each other and overtaking one another until, by mere chance, both groups and the Url they were chasing ran into an Isldar patrol. The Isldar were dumbfounded by the sudden appearance of Url, though Jared, quickly catching up, was able to shout some initial words that caused the Isldar to open fire on the Urls, including the escaped one. Numerous arrows impaled both the Osric Url and the other Urls, who seemingly retreated from the struggle as the Isldar outnumbers them and caught them off guard, while the Howlester group managed to draw closer without getting fired upon. Jared communicated with the Isldar in a language the others could not understand, but eventually seemingly convinced them to try and capture the runaway Url. With the help of the other Isldar, and sending Genevieve ahead back to the town where their ship was with Rodderick, Jared tracked down the escaped Url and managed to chain him. The Isldar helped him bring the Url back to the ship and chain him to the main mast, before departing again.
It was several hours later that Rodderick finally awoke in a dark cabin with a few candles lit, Genevieve sitting next to him occasionally dabbing his forehead with a wet cloth, and removing the bandage as he sat up. They exchanged a few words about what had occurred when he was knocked out. Genevieve explained that Othmar wanted to prevent him from seeing what happened to his uncle, what happened in the two hours, that they were let go, and that Osric as an Url eventually broke free and caused a chase, but that they were able to capture him. She finally told him that the other guards were sleeping below deck and that they were on their way back to Regalia already, but that they were unable to either make contact with Osric in his current state or that any other Howlester mercenaries could be saved. She finally told him that Osric was still awake on the deck and seemingly calm now and that if he wanted to, he could take a look as long as he stayed at least six feet away from him.
When Rodderick stepped outside, the waters were quiet. An occasional wave hit the bow of the ship as it slowly trudged along, the ropes creaking in the wind. The captain behind Rodderick at the wheel gave him a quiet greeting before Rodderick paced forward on the deck. There, tied to the main mast, and looking forward while Rodderick approached him from behind was the Url Osric. He seemingly knew Rodderick was approaching, his ears gently tapping up and down as the chains rattled on his neck and arms. He was chained down by a head chain on his neck, wrapped around the mast and finally tied down behind him. His arms were pulled in an awkward position, chained to pull away from him so that should he thrash, he would risk dislocating his own shoulders.
Rodderick paced around him, taking in the shape of him, or more specifically the size of him. The Url was easily two feet taller than him, and with the horns on top appeared even larger. In perspective, it almost looked like the Url was twice his size, it almost made him feel three years old again when Osric lifted him up from the ground. The Url didn't look at him, but the eyes were unmistakably Osric's, and he had the exact same tattoos spanning his chest and arms, but his face was no longer there. Instead there was this angry and hairy bull-looking head with two huge bent horns and tusks poking out. His body strained in resistance to the swaying of the boat, and yet seemingly ignoring the snow that had formed layers on his shoulders and head from slowly falling down around them. Some snow had started gathering on Rodderick's own head as well, he slowly walked around the Url who seemingly ignored his presence by keeping his strained look forward over Rodderick.
He looked him up and down, the tersed expression on his face, the anger visible in his eyes, the clawing of his hands seemingly trying to grab at nothing in the air to squeeze the life out of. There was extreme tension sensible from him, but he seemed really calm at the same time and unusually quiet. Rodderick sighed, turning around, looking out over the darkness of the ocean stretching out in front of him. He stood there in silence in front of the creature that was once his uncle, but it was completely silent around him aside from the occasional wooden creak, and the loud and gruff exhale of the Url behind him. His uncle was back, and not dead, but it seemed almost as if he might as well be. He was caught in a huff of air from behind, it smelled familiar, like the same tobacco breath uncle Osric always had mixed in with too many bitter root beers. He closed his eyes for a moment before looking down at his shoes to kick some snow away idly in thought. As he kicked the snow, he noticed the snow had snowed over the six feet line that the others had made, and he was now well within harming range of the Url.
Instinctively he turned around to face him, alarmed, but was again met with a warm gust of air as the Url exhaled. The exhale wasn't violent or tense, it was gentle and smooth. The gust from the Url's big lungs was with enough force to cause the snow on Rodderick's shoulders and hair to slip off, clearing him from the cold. Compared to his own breath forming dew in the cold air in front of him, the Url's breaths were massive, and as he looked up, the eyes looked back at him, while the same breaths pushed out above him, almost acting like an umbrella and stopping the snow from falling on his head. The two merely looked at one another for a moment in silence, before the Url turned his eyes elsewhere and Rodderick turned around, daring a cautious smile from the corner of his mouth. Maybe Othmar was right. He had to be.
