Wooden walls covered all sides of the motte and bailey as they approached. Doppel wielded the maul he acquired from the jotun leader. Flames would gently fall off the edges of the weapon. Small, writhing vines would try to crawl up the legs of anyone who stood still for too long. This only got more common and aggressive, the closer that they got to the gate. Volodar was pleased with the route that this was going as the desiccation used for bodies could also be applied on the plants around the area.
This could much easier than I could’ve imagined, he thought. The coven had the misfortune of going up against someone who countered them. Alongside Doppel’s flaming maul and Adelia’s use of fire magic, he had high hopes for the encounter to go well. Jotuns slammed against the gate as it was barred from the other side, however, it didn’t seem to affect the wood that much. “Hunter,” Volodar commanded, “would you mind scaling that wall and getting the door unstuck.”
One of the jotuns boosted him upwards as he looked down, “Sure thing, lord.” Gracefully, he climbed the rest of the way up the fifteen foot walls as he disappeared from sight. A few moments passed as a scraping noise could be heard and the jotuns pushed the door open. Hunter bowed as Volodar tapped him on the shoulder. Different buildings lined the inside of this area as they took a look around. Large vines would whip about and attack the party, but were dealt with in quick order. At the speed that the vines snapped about, there was no doubt in Volodar’s mind that they could be lethal to most people.
Nokken confirmed something as he examined the roots, “Don’t get hit by the plants, they have toxins that are similar to the spider flower. It’ll slow you down with each strike until you pass out.” Truly a disgusting piece of sorcery. Once they fall asleep, they will be used as fertilizer for the coven’s growth.
Volodar looked to his jotuns that were hacking away at the vines. He spoke, “Thankfully, my undead feel no need to sleep.” Piece by piece, Adelia and Doppel burned away the plant material that surrounded the stables and a location that looked to be the barracks. Many bodies were still in their beds from the looks of things as they found the servant’s quarters with beds filled with people. Bodies were also completely desiccated and beyond salvageable. These plants sapped the nutrients from corpses in an undergrowth that was quite sizable in scale.
Suddenly, the vines stopped their random attacks and started to form constructs as the creatures would be humanoid in shape with eight to sixteen legs formed from the vines. Wriggling their way with unnatural speed towards the group. Gaulk slammed one with his flail, only slightly damaging the tough exterior as he frowned. “I’ll just need to hit you harder then.”
The eyes of these plant constructs were hollow with blue orbs floating within. Across the way towards the motte, the earth itself seemed to shake as the dirt erupted from the earth. Bark could be heard snapping as its limbs bent and became limber, shedding off onto the floor around it. Purple miasma seemed to radiate off of the exterior as it lumbered over to the group. “That’s a treant,” Nokken said. “This one is made from corrupted energies, no doubt.”
“Doppel,” Volodar called out, “take care of the treant. We’ll support you.”
Steam rose from Doppel’s body as he exerted his new power, “Gladly, my lord.” What was once an exterior of flesh was hardened by the jotun’s power. His muscles were taut and seemed to expand outwards by an inch as he expended more energy. Doppel collided with the treant as he slammed his maul repeatedly into the sides of the creature. Rotten wood chips would splinter and fly off as Volodar instinctively closed his eyes to shield them. Adelia used her incantations to fend off the vines that desperately tried to wrap around Doppel.
Winding back its tendrils, the creature exposed its blue mystical core as it went onto total offense. Many vines piercing into Doppel as his attacks would be deflected by the multiple arms of the treant. Volodar waved his hands as the treant started to wither and become desiccated along its edges. During the conflict, it would appear that the witches came out to play as they blocked the bridge with many vines leading up to the keep. It was a handful of people as they continued channeling the spell.
Volodar was going to tell Hunter about them, but he already fired his bow before a word could come out. Two shots directly hit their targets as cries could be heard from a few hundred feet away. An impressive feat, but one that Volodar felt pride in witnessing as Hunter has been improving since he first created him. Gaulk was worse for wear at this point as the fatigue from the poisons were wearing on his body, even with his dwarven constitution fighting against it. Drake pulled out his adventurer’s pouch and tended to him with some provisions he brought along.
Doppel had plenty of piercings from the thorny individual, but he was relentless in his attacks as both of them cared not for their own safety. His maul got lodged within the roots of the creatures ribcage as he used his hand and punched through to the core. Grabbing it, he crushed it as steam rose from his hand. Such a tremendous force was used, that one could hear the cracking of glass within as blood seeped out of his hand. Blue and purple swirls that once indicated life within the creature halted as it went limp and crashed to the floor. As the husk of the treant rotted away, a humanoid with no discernable features remained. Where its heart should’ve been, only a hole was left in its place.
Adelia’s confusion set in as she looked at the creature, “What? It has the body of a human?”
Nokken spoke as he took care of the roots nearby, “I knew it was corrupt druidic magic. They probably used the captain of the guard or something.” Most of the plants and vines continued to poke at the group as they cleared a path to the witches.
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“Come here Doppel,” Volodar said. Holding his hand in front of Doppel, he channeled dark energy within the creature as its animating magics were restored. Markings of the vines were covered slightly as he repaired Doppel’s body. “Remember,” Volodar said, “I can heal your animating magic easily, but do not destroy your body. That is much harder for me to fix. Thankfully, it looks like the leader of those jotuns have increased your capabilities.”
His deep voice bellowed out, “It is true, lord. I can feel the wellspring of power before me. Thank you for taking the time to assist me.”
Volodar breathed deeply through the stale air as he witnessed the last of the vines being destroyed. They made their way to the stone keep as noise could be heard within. This keep sat upon a mound that gave it a defensive position, however, there didn’t appear to be anyone to take advantage of it. Blood from Hunter’s inflicted wounds led inside to the main hall. Doppel opened the doors with the help of a few undead jotuns as the room was lit. It was a simple design as it immediately opened into a throne room. There were two staircases that led up on either side of the throne room. One staircase seemed to lead down somewhere as well.
Nokken and Hunter seemed alerted to something as they looked around. “My lord,” Hunter spoke softly, “I believe they are upstairs at the moment. Faint chatter is happening up there.” His suspicions were confirmed by the positive mannerisms of Nokken.
Volodar looked to Adelia, “My army will remain down here as we go up the stairs then. I will be safe alongside Doppel and Hunter. The rest of you should wait down here.”
She reluctantly agreed as the three walked up the stairs alone. Volodar sighed as he could feel a weight off his chest as he travelled with his creations. He took a minute before speaking, “Hunter, if any of the witches run from here. Shoot them.” Hunter confirmed the order as the speaking got louder. They took the bleeding witch up the stairs and into a guest bedroom it appeared. Doppel was getting ready to take the door off its hinges before Volodar stopped him. “I may need this keep. Don’t damage my property.” He looked Doppel up and down before continuing, “Transform into me once more and see what their reactions are. If they are hostile, reveal your true form and make them regret their choices. Only kill those who engage first though.”
Doppel acknowledged the order as Hunter opened the door and stepped inside. Six women were within the guest room. One laid on the bed, writhing in pain. One of them reflexively casted a spell towards Hunter, shooting vines in his direction. Before they could even reach his destination, his bow was nocked, and an arrow pierced her heart. The plant matter turned black and dissipated as she hit the floor. Shrieks could be heard from the women as Hunter looked about dejected. “Ladies,” Hunter taunted, “allow me to introduce myself before doing anything stupid. I am in service to the necromancer, Volodar Oriynore. He is about to enter shortly, show him the full respect that a lord requires.”
Doppel bowed to Volodar as he entered the room. One of the women asked, “What do you want? Why is a necromancer attacking us?”
He strained his mind as he thought about an answer. “Well,” Doppel said as he cleared his voice. There was a good deal of trouble that he had controlling his voice when he transformed and he combatted that at this very moment. “Millstone was mine to collect and someone harvested my crops. Should I be happy when someone steals from me?”
Hurriedly, one responded, “We didn’t know. There was no way we could’ve known. We would’ve never taken root here if someone as powerful as yourself was here.” Doppel felt weird as he took responsibility for the orders. It seemed wrong in many ways as he tried to control his feelings on the matter.
“I like this castle quite a bit, where’s the previous noble?”
They seemed to have troubles speaking about this before one blurted out, “Dead. The previous lord is dead.”
Pacing around the room, Doppel looked out of the window towards the bailey. “What reason should I allow you all to live? As far as I’m concerned, I would love to simply add more bodies to my army.”
Five of the women were dressed in robes and acolyte garbs and one was in a high class attire. The one with fancy clothes was the one who received two arrows to the abdomen. Although, they appeared to have been removed and in the process of healing her. She sat up, her face brimming with malice towards Doppel.
Hunter took a seat with his bow across his lap, “You’re awfully young to be the head mistress of this gang, aren’t you?” She didn’t respond as she looked daggers towards the both of them.
“My name is Gratia Haldine,” she said defiantly. “These are my blood sisters of my coven.”
Hunter provoked her once more, “That wasn’t so hard, was it? Answer the master, he gets impatient when waiting too long.”
Gratia’s mind raced as she looked to Doppel, “I’ll teach you the art of my coven. Perhaps you can use my studies about mystic energies in your pursuit of knowledge. That will wash away the sins of my intrusion onto Millstone.”
“Will it now,” Doppel questioned, “I don’t know if that is true. It may be enough to spare your life alone, green sorceress.”
Volodar shook his head from outside in disapproval. I can’t trust them as group, Volodar thought. They just betray me when they get the chance. There’s no way I could enslave them either, that would be to lose my humanity as well. He sighed as he sent a message to Doppel, “Only the green sorceress can live this encounter. More than a hundred innocents have died by the hands of those witches. I believe that is what Adelia and Lucas would tell me. Do what needs to be done.”
Doppel travelled towards the door as Hunter got up to close them. Sounds of the door clicking shut is all that Volodar heard before screams erupted from the room. It only took a few seconds before all of the noise within the room halted before sobbing could be heard from inside. Opening the door, Volodar saw himself as if it was a mirror. That Volodar had blood that stained the right side of his face and the entirely of his right hand streaked with crimson red as he kneeled, “It is done, my lord.”
He placed a hand onto Doppel’s shoulder, “Thank you. You have done a great job today.” Doppel couldn’t hide happiness as he wiped the corners of his eyes. No description would do the room justice as the green sorceress found herself in an element of red. Hunter whistled as he washed his hands into a basin and tilted his head to Volodar.
“I believe that she understands her circumstances quite well, my lord. He knowledge is at your disposal.”
Stepping over bodies, Volodar slowly made his way to the woman. Her eyes were defiant and full of tears as he placed a hand out for her to take a hold of. “You are young and made many mistakes. Sometimes, those mistakes have consequences that are realized in time.” She refused to take his hand as she backed alongside the bedframe. “Find moral guidance like I have received, and you can start anew.”
Hunter’s agitation started to show, “Don’t make another mistake miss. The master is offering you redemption. He accepts only the blood price for fuckups. You paid yours already.”
A few moments later, Gratia accepted his help with great reluctancy.