Jarod
Lei linas | The Keep Sempiternal 

Lei smiled at them in greeting. "Good morning, your grace," He then looked at his fellow craftsmen and smiled warmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I'm looking forward to with you. " 

He joined them respectfully at the table and hoped he wasnt doing anything wrong. He was still quite nervous as he did not know proper ettique when it came to being in the presence of nobility. He was ultimately clueless. Even all the cutlery looked different!
Ronald
**Jeanne de Lysse | The Keep Sempiternal**

"Hello meister linas," Said Renea. Her bother also waved his hand at Lei. By contrast, Lucien simply gruffed and suffed a piece of bread in his mouth, ignoring the cutlery entirely.

"Ehem," Jeanne cleared her throat. "Because of the nature of your work, you will work near the forest where there are plenty of trees. There is an abandoned outpost by the waterfall that House de Lysse has refubrished for you. If you would like..."

"I don't like it," Verne interrupted Lady de Lysse. "That forest is cursed. Tainted. Evil. It has a will of it's own."

Jeanne ignored the dour old man, but her whole body tensed up. "As I was saying, meister Linas: if you so wish, you can move there after we're done here. Alternatively, you can join us for a bath like ususal. I reckon meister Verne and his children have not seen the bathouse yet."
Jarod
Lei linas | The Keep Sempiternal 

Lei didnt really mind working in the woods. He was quite used to working in the wilderness thanks to living in a small corner town in Azarya. He knew his way around the wilderness. 

He ate some pieces of bread as neatly as he possibly could. What caught his attention next was the mention of the forest being cursed. 

"Cursed?... You mean... With... Ghosts?" Lei asked wearily, although he looked sideways in thought. He was skeptical of the existence of such things but... If such things like sorcerers and witches existed then maybe ghosts could exist too? 

What startled him more was the invitation back to the bath house. He paused as he chewed on some more bread. He washed it down with some water before over at her greatfully. 

"Thank you, I would love to see the place of lodging."
Ronald
**Jeanne de Lysse 🌲 The Oubliette**

Jeanne marched ahead into the forest, dressed in her riding attire. The Faure Siblings followed her closely. Only Verne trailed behind all others. His eyes went to one shade of the forest to the next. Expecting something to pounce out of the dark trees.

"We are lost. If we are not lost now we will be soon," He whispered Linas. "We don't call this place the Oubliette for nothing."

"This is as far as I can get you. But we can see the outpost from here," Said Jeanne. She pointed towards a small tower atop an immense waterfall. "You also can see the Keep from there. And the Keep can see you. Whenever you have made a breaktrough, ignite a flare and House de Lysse will answer."
Jarod
**Lei linas | The Oubliette**

The young inventor looked over at him and tilted his head. "I'm sure we will be fine. I can make some oil lamps to light the path from here back to the town so we don't get lost at night." Lei smiled at him. 

He looked over at Jeanne when she spoke, gently pulling the reins of his steeds to get him to slow down while they pulled his carriage. 

"Thank you very much, your grace. I will make sure to inform you of what we discover." 
Lei made sure that all his belongings were with him in the carriage, even the satchel that contained his burnt shirt.
Ronald
**Cardin Faure | The Oubliette**

The forest was lush in spite of the winter's cold. And yet, it was silent. There were no birds in the trees, or critters prowling the grass. Even the vermin avoided the place. The sound of the wind and the rustling of the leaves were muffled too, as if suffocated by the mist that surrounded the travellers.

Cardin was not concerned about his sister. She was smarter and stronger than him. But he was worried about the other two. Old Lucien, their surrogate father, was superstitious and prone to paranoia, while the new meister suffered from the opposite problem: he was too naive for Cardin's taste.

The oupost had been refubrished as Jeanne had promised, but the workers had done a lousy job. It was clear they had been eager to leave the place as soon as possible, and thus, the tower looked old despite it's repairs. From the outside at least, the small fort was assailed by weeds and thorny vines who desperatly sunk their long twigs between the wall cracks, seeking to break the fortress asunder with the strenght of time and nature.

"This will take an eternity to clean," Complained Cardin.

His father ignored him. With grim resolve, he had already begun to tear down the vines by the tower's door.
Jarod
**Lei linas | The Oubliette**

When Lei noticed the fog thickening he began to grow weary. He looked around as he tried to listen for any signs of life among these trees but he couldn't hear a thing... Not even a single bird could be heard singing in these woods. 

"Where are all the animals?..." He asked in concern. 

The pair of gold pelted horses stopped for a moment and one of them squealed in discomfort. He began trotting backwards against the weight of the carriage and the steeds brother whinnied in panic. 

"Woah! Calm down." Lei said trying to console his horses, their distress beginning to make Lei worry there was something off about this place after all. 

With some time calming his steeds Lei managed to coax them through the forest. Once at the castle Lei tended to his horses and began helping with tidying the place up, trying to forget about how strange this place was. He kept an eye on his horses who were secured in the stables. They were both on edge, and so was he. 

"This is so weird..." He spoke to himself quietly then shook his head, trying to stay in focus.
Ronald
**Renea Faure | The Oubliette**

As if answering Lei's toughts, the young woman echoed his sentiment aloud, telling the men to stay focused.

"We have to clean the tower first, then the outside, then chop some wood and get to work. Our first task is to copy these wheels," She pointed at Lei's carriage. "And adapt them for small siege engines."

Her father opened the door. A noxious smell of resin bursted from the small fort's interior. Renea covered her nose, and so did her brother. Their father didn't. He went inside the building and lit a torch. It was noon, but the tower was dark: plants had crept along it's walls and sewn its windows shut.

It didn't took long for Renea to find the source of the smell: There were figurines everywhere, hanging from the walls and ceiling or cluttering the tables in unruly mobs. Unlike the outpost's original supports they were crudely carved from wood, no doubt sourced from the local trees, for many retained traces of the vinous bark.

Her attention wandered to the many dolls infesting the room. Whether they took the form of carvings or statues they all depicted the same malformed figure. It was humanoid in shape, but asymmetrical in its proportions, with some limbs being monstruous and others twisted or multi-jointed. The deformities changed with every iteration, as is their maker couldn't settle on the right combination. But the head was always much the same: roughly spherical, and with a couple of red trails falling like tears from slits meant to represent the eyes.
Jarod
Lei linas | The Oubliette

The young forgeman followed his fellow craftsmen into the room to witness the eerie ornaments that decorated the room interiors. It looked very much like witchcraft to him... Lei took a worried step backwards towards the much more welcoming woods. He would much rather stay inside his carriage than spend the night in this terrifying place. 

The memories of his nightmare began to flash back into the corners of his mind as he saw the bloody tears of these morbid sculptures.
Ronald
**Lucien Verne | The Oubliette**

"LINAS!" Shouted the old man. He had noticed Lei's step. "Come back here and help us clean this mess! You don't get to run and hide!"

"Dad, calm down," Said his son Cardin. He had the bad habit of siding against Lucien in favour of total strangers.

"Silence son! We need to get rid of these by nightfall. I don't want to spend the night in that forest, so we have to free our only save haven from the curse of these dolls. Throw them all over the waterfall!"
Jarod
Lei linas | The Oubliette

Lei flinched and winced slightly at the sudden loud voice. "Sorry." He smiled nervously and looked down as he hesitantly walked further into the room. He did his best to avoid looking at those terrifying figurines as he began helping them clear the intrusive vines and vegetation around. 

When he was ordered by the older man to toss the dolls out, lei felt his breath get caught in his throat. That meant he needed to touch them. 

The frozen Azaryan slowly looked towards the table that held a cluster of those terrifying things. The terrifying bloody eyes creeping the hell out of him as he quickly looked down again. He grabbed a basket and hastily started sliding them off the desk into it. He shoveled as many as he could into the baskets and any sacks he could find so he could get rid of them quickly.
Ronald
**A̷͌̚ ̶̀͂P̷̋͌e̶͒̑ň̴͝i̸͗̿t̴̜̑e̸̜̾n̷̏͛t̶̅̑ | The Oubliette**

A metallic sound came from Lei's back. He had stepped on the armored boot of a knight, or what remained of him in any case.

_Half sunken in dust and utensils, the rusted armor of the warrior sat in an uncomfortable position. It's unclean and rusty plate was without ornament, but the warrior had put a crown of thorns above his helmet and used more of the thorny vines to tighten the grip on the bones he had nailed to the calves and shoulders of his armor. On the forefront of his helmet, a small circle traced with white chalk stood defiant._

The knight was dead however, and comapred to the wooden dolls, his presence felt almost inconsequential.
Jarod
**Lei Linas | The Oubliette**

Lei was busy trying up a sack of those wooden figurines when he heart the noise, turning around to see what it was. He saw the old armor seated there his eyes widened and he stumbled backwards in fear. "AHH?!?" 
His hips bumped into the table behind him, creating a painful wooden screech echo across the dusty interiors of the gloomy tower. 

"T-there's! Is that a dead guy?!" He exlaimed while pointing towards the suit of dusty armor. He was so sure he could see its bones through the crooks in its armor but he did not have the courage to pull the metal links apart to see for himself.
Ronald
**Faure family | The Oubliette**

"Linas, stop being such a wuss. Can't you stop babbling and shivering for eve..." The sight of the knight froze Cardin in his tracks. "What in the neither is THAT?"

Lucien rushed down the stairs, woodsman axe in hand.

"Stay back. Do not touch anything! We're leaving tomorrow morning."
He crouched by the fallen knight and threw it over his shoulder with prodigious strength, then carried it outside. Despite his age, Lucien was the burliest of all four.

"Well, so much for our patron's 'refubrished' outpost," Said Renea. "That lordsblood bitch lied to us. This place hasn't been cleaned in ages."

"Well, the outside was _somewhat_ clean," Replied her brother. "But yes, I agree. It's not what she promised."
Jarod
Lei Linas | The Oubliette

Lei looked down and rubbed his arm timidly after being scolded yet again. He was humiliated. 
So much for first impressions... 

Lei sighed and set the bag he was carrying down. He didn't want to say anything more. Hes already made too much of a fool of himself in these past few hours in this house. He was just happy that they were leaving in the morning.
Ronald
**Lucien Verne | The Oubliette**

Lucien deceed that they would take turns guarding the place in pairs. He didn't trust the night enough to allow all of them to sleep at the same time.

"Linas and I will take first guard. You two will take it from midnight. That okay with you Linas?"
Jarod
**Lei Linas | The Oubliette**

Lei nodded at him "Yes, of course." Lei spoke, trying to sound as if nothing happened earlier that day. He did not want to be seen as some coward. He looked off to the side with a faint look of self disappointment in his eyes. He knew he was cowardly but he hoped that he could toughen up at least a little. The other craftsmen seemed to want that from him and he did not want to disappoint any more than he already had. He got straight to working right after, hiding his emotions from the others. He did not want to burden them with his short comings.
Ronald
Lucien Verne | The Oubliette

Night had fallen over the forgotten outpost. Lucien stood by Lei's side, hesitant to make conversation. He told himself that it was because he found the craftman's lack of nerve comptemtible, but in truth he was scared.
Scared of the Oubliette.
The whole forest had an unnatural taint to it. Minor details, barely perceptible, yet always hinting at something greater. Never allowing human senses to fully grasp it, luring them with the promise of sated knowledge until it was already too late. Or so Lucien imagined.

"Why did you accept this job? I only let my children stay with Lady de Lysse because I was sure that you, the leader of our project, would refuse to work near the Oubliette. In my eyes, there was no risk in humouring them. But you accepted. You wanted to come here. Why?"

Lucien gazed towards the Keep Sempiternal. Jeanne had promised they would be able to see the Keep Sempiternal from there, but like with all other promises, this one had proven to be empty as well. There was nothing below but a yawning abyss and the howling wind.
Jarod
**Lei Linas | The Oubliette**

Lei looked down and crossed his arms as he looked around, trying to find an answer. He searched for anuthing that would have made sense or was pleasing to the ear but he had nothing. All he had was the truth. 

"I just arrived here, I am still very new to the land and was unaware of this forest being so... Unwelcoming." He sighed softly as he rested his back against the wall he stood against. "I'll talk to the Lady de Lysse... I'm sorry for causing your family the trouble."
Ronald
**Lucien Verne | The Oubliette**

"Unwelcoming..." The old man echoed Linas words. "Do you believe this is a forest?"
Jarod
**Lei Linas | The Oubliette**

He looked over at him with a confused expression, his eyes moving down briefly in thought. "What else could it be?..."
Ronald
**Lucien Verne | The Oubliette**

"The Oubliette is a fracture in the firmament of this world. It bleeds perpetually and hungers to salve that which cannot be healed. It is a serpent devouring it's own tail. And like this wound there are many others, gates into the..."

Verne was taken aback by his own words.

"What am I saying? This place is making me delirious. It's cursed. Like our tower. Did you know it? The Lysses built these outposts in the first years of the Oubliette, when the river could still be trusted. But then the taint waxed too strong and they had to abandon them. Now the only way to be safe is to get off the mountain, which is why we are leaving tomorrow.
I am taking Renea and Cardin with me. If you want to stay alone and keep working for Lady de Lysse, then so be it. But my children and I will be gone with the sunlight."
Jarod
**Lei Linas | The Oubliette**

Hearing him speak Lei began to hug his arms to his chest closer, trying to comfort himself as he was listening to this strange history of this place. At least that's what it sounded like at first. When he cut himself off Lei was unsure if he wanted to hear the end of that sentence. 

"No... I did not know of this tower until this morning... What do you mean, 'when the river could still be trusted'? What's wrong with the river?" 

Hearing him even suggest that he might stay here alone frightened him. He raised his shoulders and felt his heart racing. He had to bite back the embers that threatened to rise from his skin. 

"No! No way I am staying here." He whisper yelled. "Those dolls.. I- " He pursed his lips and looked away, bowing his head as he quickly tried to hide his fear. 

"If she really wants my help then I can help her by working elsewhere. Anywhere more peaceful and safe..."
Ronald
**Lucien Verne | The Oubliette**

"You will hardly find any place more peaceful than this one, but... It is definitively not safe," Said Lucien. "Where are you from, young man? You're clearly not from the Grey Hills if you are so clueless about our ways."

The lights had returned to the valley. The Keep Sempiternal and the town below were now visible from atop their crumbling fort.
Jarod
**Lei Linas | The Oubliette**

"Can I ask why this place is so unsafe?... What happened?" Lei tried asking again as his previous questions were not yet answered. He wondered why he wouldn't just tell him. Was it really that forbidden and cursed to speak of?

Hearing his question, he hesitated to speak. The last time he revealed his origins earned him a terrifying glare. 
His eyes moved towards the clearing fog. The sight of the distant towers somehow calming him. "I come from Azarya. Don't worry, I'm no witch or sorcerer." 

He looked towards the stables where his horses were. He hoped that they were resting well.
Ronald
**Renea Faure | The Oubliette**

It was midnight, and time to relieve her father from their vigil. She woke her brother and they both headed upwards, following the spiral staircase of the fort.

"Why are you there?" Asked her father. "It's not even been an hour, right Linas?"

"No," Said Renea. "It's midnight."

She was correct. The moon hung right above their heads.
Jarod
**Lei Linas | The Oubliette**


Lei looked over at him then up at the moon to try and tell what time it was. From what he could tell it was in fact midnight. Lei realized that he should try and force himself to sleep now. 

"It looks like it is midnight. "
Ronald
**Lucien Verne | The Oubliette**

Cold sweat fell over Lucien's brow.

"Change of plans: no one is going to sleep tonight," He said. "We will all stand vigil until the sun rises."
Jarod
**Lei Linas | The Oubliette**

Lei was surprised with Lucien's sudden change in demeanor. 

"What?... Are you sure?" Lei was a little worried for him as it seemed the everie atmosphere was getting to him. "We are all going to need some rest if we are going to ride back to town."
Ronald
**Lucien Verne | The Oubliette**

"Not me," Answered the old man. "I'm going to stay with my children. You go sleep if you want."
Jarod
**Lei Linas | The Oubliette**

Lei was speechless. He frowned at his words and sat down along the tower wall. 'Fine.' Lei thought in his mind as he rested his back against the wall and watched the shining moon light dance over the forest trees. "I can stay up..." Lei spoke quietly but loud enough to hear.
Frankie
Lord Albert Rhoderick
Iron Gate

A thrill rushed through him as he read the words "They are ours." One more pestilence driven out of Northwind. Proof that John wielded strength and power, enough to unite Northwind again and make it the power that Albert believed it could be. Power he would drink from, gaining riches and strength himself. And, if he played his cards right, John would remove every obstacle Albert faced and make his advancement to power that much easier.

A cold, mirthless smile spread across his face. A face scarred by his own greed, though by now he had learned how to hide the scar. A little bit longer hair, carefully swooped into place, and a bit of powder so that his shame was almost completely hidden. Yet, he carried that lesson with him everywhere. It had taught a young, brash man patience and wisdom.

 News such as this required a celebration! For years, Northwind had been plagued by wolfmen and other such bandits, and now John had driven them out. Quickly, he began to pen his own letters, as well as an announcement to be declared throughout Iron Gate.

To the council, he wrote, "Lord John de Burgh has rid Northwind of the scourge that has beset us for so long. The wolfmen have been conquered; Tharn Skorn is dead, along with his curse. Although some of you were swayed by the sacking of Burgh, I believe now you will see him for the leader he truly is. A man that will root out all manner of vermin and snakes. When he returns, he will return as our king, and I will aid him in ridding Northwind of vermin, within and without Iron Gates' walls."

The threat was thinly veiled, making it perfectly clear that Albert would stand with John and that it would be wise for all members of the council to join. Certainly, support for John had grown in recent months, with word of his victories spreading all across Northwind. It had faltered, somewhat, with the attack on Burgh, but now, with this news of defeat for the wolfmen? John could take the throne, and the people would undoubtedly support him. Albert had been working on drumming up support as well, and now, any man that opposed John... Well, he would be a fool.

To the people, he sent out a simple message to be declared throughout the streets. "Tharn Skorn is dead! The wolfmen are defeated, and John de Burgh and his armies return soon! A celebration will be held in honor of Northwind's victory!"