Nostrum: Tales of Valor

Eldritch Chimes

With dusk approaching, numerous Nostrum awaken speaking in whispers, before rushing out of the quarters. As his mattress shifts from the weight of a bunk-mate hurrying off, Briar groggily pulls himself up and rubs his eyes. Once they're open again, he looks in the direction of the man that woke him, catching only a glimpse of his feet as he rounds a corner and darts down the hall. Curious as to what has alerted the others, and seeing that neither Belial nor Cronn are in their bunks any longer, he lifts himself up and follows the man's trail. With only the sound of bare skin slapping stone to guide him, he keeps as close as he can to the other but inevitably loses them among the corridors. Stopping at a point where the hall splits in opposite directions, he pauses and looks towards both ends before hearing a large door knock against its frame. Turning to the left, he picks up speed once again. Then, pushes through the same door the bank-mate did prior. As the light of a burning brazier warms his face, a cold gust of wind chills it once more. Stepping out onto a snow-covered balcony, he looks off into the distance, with several others doing the same, and one of them being Cronn.

"What's going-"

"Shh!" Cronn commands, never taking his focus off the horizon. "Something is happening out there."

Briar furrows his brow as he squints, trying to catch a glimpse of anything beyond the flurries surrounding them, but soon realizes that the anomaly is not something his vision will discover. Turning his head to one side, he hears it for the first time. The sound of a distant bell, echoing off surrounding landscapes and pouring into an otherwise peaceful moment. Then, another, and another, and another. As more bells are heard, it becomes dreadfully obvious that the echoes are not echoes at all.

"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us." One of the Nostrum states to another at their side.

"We've not even one contingent for each of those chimes." The other states matter-of-factly before turning away and marching back towards the door. "Best to rest up now. It'll be some time before we see these walls again once we set out."

When these words escape his lips, the majority of men and women follow suit, leaving behind only footprints in the soft white powder as they return to their nests. Cronn, Briar, and a few others remain outdoors. Listening to the bells ring out in a consistent, unending sequence. With those aside from Cronn and Briar migrating over to the brazer to get warm, Briar steps closer to Cronn and leans against an arched pillar.

"What do you make of it?"

"I think we've finally made a dent in their numbers." Cronn assumes with a sigh. "They're getting desperate and are in need of reinforcements until they can make up the losses."

"Perhaps we should venture out early?"

Cronn shakes his head lightly, keeping the bronze marbles in his head locked onto distant tree lines as he does so. With another sigh, he shrugs and kicks a small pile of snow away from his bare feet.

"It'd be for the best."

As Briar nods, a new sound splits the chilly evening skies. With clenched fists pressed firmly against their ears, they look to one another for answers but find none. The other Nostrum then begin to rush inside, seeking shelter from an unknown danger and alleviating themselves of the thundering roar that rattles their eardrums. Taking unspoken advice, they do the same; Being sure to shut the door behind themselves. As thick wood hammers against a frame, the sounds outside are muffled, but most importantly, bearable.

"What the hell is that?" Cronn demands, resting both hands against the door as he looks towards Briar.

"I'm not sure, but we need to arm ourselves before we seek answers."

Cronn agrees and both return to their bunks, gather up what gear they have, and rush back out into the corridors with weapons drawn. As another bellow punctures the stone walls, both Briar and Cronn look to the ceiling. A trail of dust and bits of loose, earthly debris trail to the floor between them. Speckling it with a fine layer of powdery substances and tipping the pair of them off on where to head next. Their stiff boots hastily clop against wooden floorboards as they travel up a large, cylindrical staircase, seeking only what mystery lies at the tower's peak. Bursting through a hatch and stepping out onto the plateau, they are once again met with a cold seasoned chill, but the bells have ceased, and so have the screams. Puzzled, but still on guard, they move further out, covering a small portion of the turret as they walk in a clockwise motion around a large, bronze brazier in the center of it. Once the furthest point becomes visible, so does a mound of hide clothing. As Briar nears it, he inspects every detail to the best of his ability, until one in specific becomes undeniably clear.

"Belial?" With confusion and concern clashing in his voice, he moves closer to the collapsed man, who appears to be unconscious and blue in the face. "What are you doing out here?" Running over to the motionless form, Briar pulls off his overcoat and wraps it around his partner, attempting to keep him warm in any way possible. "Belial?"

"Briar." Cronn beckons, expressing nervousness in his voice.

"Help me wake him." Briar demands, ignoring the call of his own name as he rubs the fabric against Belial's shoulders.

"Briar, there's something else you should see."

"What is it? What could be more important than this?" He snaps, looking back; But Cronn disregards his words, which in turn makes him curious enough to examine the findings himself.

Several feet away from where he kneels, just beyond the brazier, the mangled body of another Nostrum is strewn about. Large pockets of forcefully swept snow surround the victim and blood stains areas that are both near and far from the remains. The patterns are all too familiar to deny, so they sit silently for a moment, piecing together what might have done such a thing, and where it is now. As Briar looks about himself, he realizes that the entire area they are in has been disturbed. The clear tracks of a Great Beast have been printed into the snow, with little to no traceable pattern being offered to them. As he makes this observation, Belial coughs weakly and curls up as best he can. Showing clear signs of an unseen pain, he briefly scrunches up his face before relaxing it once more.

"Help me get Belial inside. We'll inform the others of our findings once we have him somewhere safe."

Cronn says nothing but willingly moves to the opposite side of Belial's limp body so that the pair of them can pull him up onto his feet, which drag against the ground as they take him to the hatch and carefully lower him back into the building. Leaving behind the corpse of a man who was unsuspecting, unarmed, and undeserving of such a gruesome end.