The Hall of the Hundred Hearths

[The Gambler]

Harrenhal's great hall. It has only thirty-four or thirty-five hearths, but is said to be able to entertain an army. Its floors are smooth slate and there are steps to two galleries above.

[Boros]

Hoster and his men came first into the Hall, scouting the way to make sure it was safe fore Lord Belric and the rest of their party.

[Lord Belric Blackfort]

Belric walked into the hall determined, each step an expression of conviction. He was dressed in full armor, carring his helm underneith one arm, the slayed raven sigil worn proud across his chest.

[Sigfry Deddings]

Yoren followed behind Belric, dressed in full armor as well and carrying his hammer in tow. He looked around the area, keeping an eye out in front, and behind them with the occasional glance back.

[Ser Willis Blackfort]

Willis was armed and armored as well, dressed in his chain, carrying his shield (still bearing the old sigil), and resting his well-worn waraxe on his shoulder. He walked next to Belric, looking around the massive hall and humming some old tune.

[Tim of Raventree]

Violet shivered behind the men. She was nervous about being part of this expedition and would almost have preferred to hide in her room, except that she didn't want to be around the innkeeper either. She felt a sudden pang of longing for the safety of the motherhouse. Pale and anxious, she drew her cloak around herself, wishing she had some better form of protection than mere wool. She kept touching the hilt of her dagger with her hand to reassure herself of its presence. It was the only weapon she had.

[The Gambler]

The first thing they are greeted with as they swing the doors of the great hall open is the smell, rotten meat and death. It was a smell that most of them were familiar with from the battlefield, but not one you ever got used to. Considering the massive size of the cavernous hall, that the nauseous fumes were so strong and so pungent was a feat in itself. They immediately saw the reason Ser Valarr had kindly recommended the Great Hall not be used as a parley spot, a scene. It was a charnel house, a nightmare brought to life. A feast had indeed been set up for Lady Lothson's knights, great truncheon table arrayed around her high table on the dais, platters of rotting meats and vegetables stacked on the long tables. Over a dozen men were dead, some butchered in their seats with a face of shock still present or food in their mouths, others on their feed managing to draw steel before they were cut down. A few were armored, but most were not, apparently not having expected their feasting hall to become a battlefield. At the high table upon the dais, Lady Danelle Lothson's decapitated head lay on its side upon a silver platter, dead eyes staring at the newcomers, perhaps a promise of the fate they would one day share. Behind the head, in the high chair, her body had been hacked into nine separate pieces, barely recognizable as a human now in so many bloody grisly chunks.

[Tim of Raventree]

Violet let out an almighty shriek at the horror of the situation. Sheltered in the motherhouse, she had not experienced war first hand, nor had she seen much of death itself, She had certainly never seen men slain at dinner. She fell to her knees, her whole body shaking.

[Lord Belric Blackfort]

"Spread out," Belric ordered as he drew his fathers great sword, the look of revulsion worn upon his face. "Search every corner of this tomb. And someone find me Whent!"

Belric turned to Violet as she collapsed to the ground. He placed a hand underneither her arm and pulled her back to her feet. He looked into his sisters eyes, trying pass on some of his strength. "Sister, you must be strong. You are a Blackfort, our words are written in blood and death is our legacy." He nooded too her, testing to see if she could stand on her own.

[Sigfry Deddings]

"What in the 7 hells!?" Yoren exclaimed as he looked over the scene, moving in closer towards  violet to keep watch for her, and completely on edge now as he did his best to push through the stench. He coughed a bit, but managed to keep down a gag, "They've not cleared out anything from this hall...how bad has this fighting been if the dead can't even be put to rest."

[Tim of Raventree]

Jun 9, 2016 19:21:15 GMT Lord Belric Blackfort said:

"Spread out," Belric ordered as he drew his fathers great sword, the look of revulsion worn upon his face. "Search every corner of this tomb. And someone find me Whent!"

Belric turned to Violet as she collapsed to the ground. He placed a hand underneither her arm and pulled her back to her feet. He looked into his sisters eyes, trying pass on some of his strength. "Sister, you must be strong. You are a Blackfort, our words are written in blood and death is our legacy." He nooded too her, testing to see if she could stand on her own.

She stumbled, her eyes wide as tears slipped down her cheeks, but she kept her feet.

"It's not my legacy," she said, between sobs.  "I'm not a warrior.  You've been in battle but I've never....never seen-"  She waved a hand at the corpses in her agitation.    She took a moment before she said "I've never killed anything bigger than a spider."

[Ser Willis Blackfort]

Not expecting the smell, Willis nearly retched when it first hit him. He took a moment to collect himself, and take stock of the scene before them. He moved toward the high table slowly, keeping an eye along the sides of the hall in case anyone living was still here.

[The Gambler]

Amid the corpses, there was one knight leaning against the wall, gothic helm torn off to reveal a pace pale with blood loss and pain. There was a halberd sticking out form his chainmail, having puncture the armor into his guts, leading to a slow and agonizing death. His breathing was labored and it was unlikely he had much time left. Other than that, the cavernous hall was just Blackforts and corpses, a large reinforced oath door in the back right corner presumably leading to Kingspyre Tower.

[Lord Belric Blackfort]

Belric walked over to the knight, keeping Violet close to his side. "What's happened here?" Belric asked directly, not wanting to waist time.

[The Gambler]

The knight coughed up a glob of blood, weakly raising his head to Belric, though didn't seem to really see him, eyes delirious in the limbo between life and death.

"Killed us all...Bruce....bastard killed us all...." he whispered, blood dribbling down his chin. "The meat...the meat...screaming 'bout the bloody meat..."