Steve Oldbury
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Registered: 06-2008
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It started with a drumbeat...
It started with the drums I think m'lord.
No m'lord, I'm not sure how many drums there were but it sounded like lots. From the beginning m'lord, oh your scribe got a bit upset. Right m'lord, I'll tell it again.
We were escortin' m'lord's gather reeve, keepin' 'im and the taxes 'e collected safe from bandits and the like. Sargent 'Obson was in charge, Goddess save 'im, and e' 'ad me, Ferret, Lil' Dave, and Nosher. We'd visited four 'amlets no trouble at all, been a good autumn m'lord, the orchards be fair groanin' still the farmers grumbled and made out they was skint, yer gather-reeve soon got them to pay up though, 'e knew his job, Goddess save 'im.
We were in Barohill, bit of a poor place that m'lord, first time I've been there, most of the folk are dirt scrabblers, sorry I mean free miners m'lord. Anyway, we 'ad stopped for the night at the tavern, a place called the Plough, seemed a stupid name to me, ain't no good ploughin' land up there. Well the place seemed alright, it weren't no Axebridge tavern, but they got us stew and bread and ale that was almost fresh so that was okay. Seemed friendly too, guess they didn't see much passin' trade, so anyone who'd travelled more than five miles from the place was exotic or somethin'.
Well we was turnin in for the night, the reeve got the innkeepers room, as 'e 'ad the money box to protect, and Sargent 'Obson had a watch all set an' proper like. Lil Dave 'ad a village girl convinced 'e was a nobs basta...begging yer pardon m'lord, I didn't mean no offence.
Anyway I 'ear somethin out in the dark, up the hill from the village, sounds like a tree creakin in the wind, except there weren't no wind. 'Obson 'eard it too and 'e looked worried, well 'e's a proper soldier so when 'e looked worried I almost soiled myself. Then the drums began, kind of slow, like they play at someone importants death, I remember as a kid seeing your dad's burial m'lord, the drummers clad in black escortin 'im, thats what made me want to become one of your company m'lord, them drums.
Anyway, these drum start and they are beating slow an' steady, but I can 'ear more and more of them, but there ain't an army nearby, them Osterune traitors, well there all up north and they can keep it I say, I 'ear they 'ave all kinds of monsters up north. Sargent sends Ferret to go get the other villagers up and into the tavern, lil Dave gets sent out and up careful like to see whats about. 'E was soon back, came clawing through the door almost, 'e was moving so quick. 'E's white as a sheep and...what m'lord? yes sheep. Sheet? I'ain't never seen a white sheet, m'lord.
Anyway, e's white as something, and says one thing, "the dead!" he says and all but collapses, the Sargent goes to the window and I followered 'im, and sure as true, the 'ill above us is swarming with the Lost, all boney and decaying like and stumbling out of 'oles in the 'ill, but there was more. I've seen dead'uns before but these ones were forming up like soldiers on a parade, and seems Barohill was some old burial mound, there were 'undreds of them. Amongst them I could see pale glowing things moving, spectres I reckon, at least wraiths or banshee's. Then the whole lot of them starts coming down the 'ill towards us and the Sargent yells at us to run.
And thats it, m'lord. I ran 'arder than I ever ran before and I got clear down the hill and away, the others? I dunno m'lord, mayhap some more will get back m'lord, at least I 'ope. I saw the Sargent pulled down, and Ferret, I lost track of lil Dave, 'e'd gone back for that girl.
Report of Yeoman Adam Wilkins, transcribed at Axebridge Castle, Fensgard
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