ONE LAST HOPE (closed)

[chewbacca71]

Cragen Rubystone

The three dwarves moved carefully through the now better lit passage. Rough stone on either sides of them showed that this was a recent dig. It had not been polished by the passage of many bodies. An opening appeared to the right and the dwarves went in. An overlarge room greeted their eyes, the far walls not visible in the torch light. As the dwarves moved further in the room, an unholy howl echoed in the room. Five forms pushed away from the wall and attacked the dwarves.

Keraz and Hicveb were the ones to meet the initial attack. Keraz had kept his axe out when they had entered the room. He took a hard swing of his axe at the first creature coming towards them. His hit cut the left leg off the creature, making it fall to the ground. Hicveb tripped over the body, dropping his axe as he hit the floor. The second and third creatures fell upon Hicveb, their sharpened nails savaging the exposed flesh of the dwarf. A luck strike blinded the dwarf. His exclamation of pain seemed to echo in the chamber for eternity.

Keraz tried to come to his comrades aid but the other creatures pushed forward, forcing him back. Cragen broke from his paralysis, the agony filled scream of Hicveb making his limbs active again. As he strode forward, two more creatures entered the room behind him. They twined their long limbs around his back and pushed him to the ground. Their weight held him down as they tried to rip him to shreds.

 

[chewbacca71]

Relthane

Relthane woke up slowly, swimming towards consiousness. He pushed his hand to the back of his head, feeling a hard sticky bump. It was bleeding, but had slowed down quite a bit. He grabbed the lantern out of his backpack, making sure it was still intact. Lighting his lantern , Relthane looked around the room he was in. He looked around the room as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. In a few minutes, the gloom had diminished to the point where he could make out some large objects.

Relthane reached into his pack to get out some of his rolled up linen. Fashioning a bandage for his head , Relthane wrapped it around his wound. Getting up to his feet Relthane tried to stop his head from spinning.. Putting his hand against a wall steadied his legs for a moment as he got his bearings.

Relthane noticed that he had landed in what could only be a burial chamber. He could see a large wooden sarcophagus dominating the middle of the room. Gold and silver inlay decorated the grand carvings on the side. He could see a dusty set of armor as well as a stand of weapons along a wall. Knowing that he needed a weapon, Relthane walked towards the stand.

 

[chewbacca71]

The Clan

The rest of the clan followed Austin and Amber down to the grate. Thrush used a simple light spell to send some light in through the grill. They were able to see what looked like the polished stone walls along the side of a slowly moving waterway. They agreed that this was their best chance. Devin grabbed the rusty grill and with a pull of his strong arms, dislodged it from the wall. Kyle took the lead as they climbed through the resulting hole in the wall. They stepped down to a small stone ledge along the side of the water. They spread out along the wall before stepping into the sluggish water.

 

[chewbacca71]

Lorwell

Golkis arrived on the side in time to see the one man on the side by himself get hit with a sword wielded by one of the skeletons. His man had acquited himself well by knocking the skull off of one of the skeletons that had come out of the window. The rest of the bones had ceased moving without the head. Golkis jumped ahead of the other man and gave a mighty swing. At the last second, he turned the edge of the axe. The flat side hit the skeleton fully and knocked the bones apart.

The man at his heels watched Golkis' work and tried to copy it. He was able to get in a hit, but he was wounded by a swipe from the skeleton. Golkis maneuvered himself behind the skeleton and cut off the legs. The skeleton fell forward, its sword finding a home in the body of the other guard. Golkis saw red as he saw another of his men down. His arms heaved as he chopped up the whitened bones to a powder.

Lors sent two of his men to one side of the cabin. He took the other with himself and went to the other side. He arrived in time to see the two men on that side in heavy combat with three skeletons. Lors pulled back in horror for a moment realizing that these creatures were an abomination to his god. He felt righteous anger fill his heart as he jumped into the fray.

 

[chewbacca71]

Cragen Rubystone

Using his great bulk, Cragen rolled to get out from under them. His muscles straining , he was able to push them off of his back with only some deep gauges in his back. His anger flared as he ran head first into the zombie in front of him. He pummeled the creature with his bare hands, in his rage the thought of a weapon forgotten. He encircled the creatures neck with his arms and twisted his torso. A resounding crack echoed in the chamber as the creature ceased to move.

Cragen picked it up over his head and threw it at the other zombie behind him. The two fell in a heap as Cragen ran to Keraz's side. Cragen pulled a dagger from Keraz's side and used it to attack the zombies. Fighting in defense of their friend, the two dwarves made quick work of the zombies. They reached Hicveb side at the same time.

Cragen gently reached down and shut the lids of his friends eyes. There was nothing they could do, Hicveb was gone. The zombies had eaten quite a bit of his flesh before he died. Cragen looked up as Keraz used his weapon to destroy the remaining zombie.

Cragen spoke to Keraz in a quiet voice. "We will come back and take Hicveb with us. We have to see if Rafel is alive before leaving. I strongly doubt it, but we are honorbound to look . Come on. " Picking up a sputtering torch, Cragen led the way further into the cavern.

 

[chewbacca71]

Relthane

Relthane looked over the weapons in the rack. He was impressed by the quality of them all. He understood that this must be the tomb of an important person. He ran his hand lightly over the swords that were present. He took up a sword longer than he was used to. The beauty of the sword was purely breathtaking, but mostly it felt right in his hands. He could not explain it , but he felt more comfortable , more fearless with it in his hand. Besides, he needed a sword to protect himself on the journey ahead.

Saying a small prayer of thanks to the spirit of the tomb, Relthane followed a passage out of the side of the barrow. After a few minutes walk, the passage ended at a stone door set into the wall. He pulled with his strength and was able to open the door. A fresh breath of pine laden air greeted his nostrils , replacing the fetid air of the barrow. Putting the sword in the scabbard on his back, Relthane walked out into the forest.

 

[chewbacca71]

The Clan

Devin stepped down into the water. It barely came up to his knees, the sluggish water wetting his breeches. He signaled for the others to follow him. As the stepped down, Austin plunged under water. Devin reached down a large hand and pulled his friend to the surface. "I guess some spots are deeper than others. Here my friend, ride on my shoulders. " Devin pulled Austin up onto his shoulders as they continued to follow the water.

They followed the light ball that Thrush had conjured , going around numerous bends in the stone tunnel. They came to an end where the water pushed through a small crack in the wall. Bragin studied the rock for a moment, using his dwarven senses to examine the rock for faultlines. Bragin pulled out his axe and struck a mighty blow to the rock on the left of the exit. A large section of rock chipped off, revealing a pale slice of daylight coming into the darkness. A couple more swipes cleared a path big enough for them all.

The clan exited the stone walls, happy to be out of the fragrant water. They looked around and realized that they had walked all the way out of the village, having come out into a forest clearing. Devin put Austin down as Kyle set up the team. He sent them out in two man teams to see if they could find out where they are. After a few minutes, Austin and Bragin came back with the information that the village was only a few minutes away towards the west.

Gathering up the group, Kyle brought them to a low hill that overlooked the town. Crawling on their bellys to stay low, the group reached the cusp of the hill. They were able to see down into the village. They could see some movement as creatures moved into the shelter of the buildings to escape the rising sun. Kyle brought the group back to the clearing . " Lets us get something to eat while the creatures get off the streets. I want us to be at full strength before we go back. "

 

[chewbacca71]

Lorwell

Lors pulled his sword from his scabbard in a frenzy of power. A pale red light shone around the blade. His senses were so hyped up by the sight of death, that he did not notice the light. He pulled the two men out of the way by the back of their tunics. He swung his sword in long arcs, the blade slicing through the hardened bone like a hot knife through butter. The skeletons fell to the ground, their bones seeming to blaze up with the fire of righteousness.

Lors took the three men with him as they went to the front. Golkis had been able to hold his own , taking a few swipes that trickled blood feebly to the bloodstained ground. Lors ran up behind his friend, warding off an axe swing that reflexively came from Golkis. He clasped his friend to him as he rejoiced that Golkis had survived. Releasing Golkis, he looked around at the carnage. Of the men they came up with only four of them survived.

Heeps of bones from the skeletons littered the ground. Golkis looked at his young friend. "Lors, we were lucky. These skeletons had to have been relatively old. The fresher they are, the stronger they are. Let us go into the cabin and retrieve the bodies of our fellow citizens. "

 

[chewbacca71]

Cragen Rubystone

Cragen and Keraz followed the bend of the cavern. They came to an end room with a blank wall. A pile of treasure was on the floor, obviously the riches of the group of bones they had run into before. They also found the body of their friend Rafel. Most of the flesh had been scoured from his body. Oddly, they had left his face mostly intact. That was the only way that Cragen knew who it was. They took a minute digging through the treasure, taking some gems and a couple of rings before filling their pockets with gold. Cragen pulled Rafel over his shoulders as they made their way out of the room.

Keraz moved Hicveb into a comfortable position on his back before following Cragen. They had no resistance as they left the cavern, bringing with them the dead bodies of their comrades. Once out in the fresh air the two exhausted dwarves put down their bundles. They sat for a few minutes, gathering their strength. Then they started to break up the earth with their weapons, making a cairn for their fallen friends.

 

[chewbacca71]

Relthane

Relthane used his father's woodcraft that he had been taught to find his way back to his campsite. The fire had burned down to embers but his things were still there. The meat he had cooked was of course gone , but all his other supplies were still there. He decided that it might be a good idea to move his campsite in case the wolves came back. He packed up all his things and walked futher into the forest. He came to a small cave with brush overgrowing the front.

He used his sword to cut back some of the brush. The plants gave away quickly before the sharpness of the blade. Relthane lit a torch and examined the cave. Satisfied it was safe, he gathered some firewood and created a campfire right outside the cave. The light would keep predators away and the smoke would not come into the cave, only the heat. Relthane rolled out his blankets and was fast asleep, his hands cradling his new sword to keep it handy incase of attack.

Mentrelis was content at this point to hide its intelligence. It did not want to startle the lad into getting rid of itself. Mentrelis would bide his time , seeing if there was anyone out their worth of carry him by his side. For now, this young man would have to do. Mentrelis scanned the young mans mind as he slept. There was fine metal in this lad as well as some skill. It all would have to be unlocked with courage. Mentrelis was well satisfied that he could supply that courage.

 

[chewbacca71]

The Clan

Kyle lead the clan into the dawn brightened town. He was thankful as the sun reached out and vanished all shadows from the town. They cautiously walked the street, noting that nothing moved in the early morning light. Kyle pulled them all together. "Amber, I want you and Devin to go to the local temple. We may need some help in combatting these undead. There may be some priest still alive to help us. If nothing else, you should be able to get some holy water.

Austin and Bragin, I want you two to check the general store to resupply what we need. Especially look for oil and torches. Those things are helpful against the undead, without setting the whole house on fire. " Kyle looked over at Thrush as he made that last point.

"Thrush , I want you to see if there is any magic shop or library here in town. There may be some mention to how to better combat these creatures. I will go with you to help look. No one is to do anything alone, is that understood? Always work in teams of two. If you are attacked, yell with all your might. The rest of us will come running. Now lets go. I want to be done with this before nightfall. "

 

[chewbacca71]

Amber and Devin

Amber led the way to her former temple. She cringed as she saw that the outside entrance had been mostly destroyed. She remembered days when she would sit out on the white marble benches and pray to her god. Now, those benches were small pieces of white rock scattered all over the ground. The impeccably clean columns of limestone had been covered over with filth that she did not want to try and identify.

Devin looked at the building with no small amount of wonder. As a child, he had never been in a temple. His father was always to busy working to have time to take his son, while his mother was to busy at home. As Devin grew older, he had a time or two in a small village temple before mostly to have wounds healed. This large stone edifice was beyond his experience. He could see that there was great beauty hidden behind the destruction of the undead. Devin followed Amber into the temple.

 

[chewbacca71]

Austin and Bragin

The two friends walked to the front of the general store. Strangly, this building was hardly damaged as compared to most of the others. Looking at the village, it seemed that the undead were as interested in destruction as in death. They slowly walked into the store, taking a few minutes to check every corner and both of the storerooms in the back.

After the store was secure, they checked out the store to see what could be salvaged. They found that most of the food had been broken into , the containers smashed on the floor in a quest to get them open. The only food left was a type of jerky , so they filled their packs with it. Austin found a couple of rucksacks in the back. They filled them with containers of flamable oil as well as stubs to use as torches. They also grabbed some more rope and a couple of lanterns. Bragin was sure that they would want as much light as possible when the sun went down.

Bragin was coming back from loading up the second rucksack when he saw Austin up at the money box. The halfling was using one of his picks to open the lock. Bragin grabbed him by his tunic and pulled him away. "Little thief, we have no reason to steal this man's money. I know that right now the city is deserted but the people may return when the threat of the undead is ended. He will need the money to rebuild his stock. I wish we had money to leave him to pay for these supplies, but our work will pay for what we took. Lets go back to the others. "

 

[chewbacca71]

Kyle and Thrush

Kyle watched as the others left the room. He held Thrush's arm for a second so that he would wait. When he was sure they were alone, he turned to his wizard. "Thrush, what do you make of this ? Why are all these undead creatures here in this village? What are the goblins doing here too? "

Thrush leaned against the wall for a minute. "I am not sure about all of this. But my order recognized the fact that over the last two years ; the number of undead has increased dramatically. They seem to be mostly coming from a place called Grimwall. It is the stronghold of a dark cleric named Jevram. I have heard stories about his great powers. Over the past year, he has started to overtly attack some of his neighboring lands. The head of my order has some wizards keeping an eye on him, in case he starts to amass too much power. "

"I do not have any idea what they want with this village. But it seems that the goblins have something to do with it. I suggest we check on the goblins first, since they are bound to be easier to deal with than the undead. First, lets check out the local magic shop. I have an easy way to get there. " Thrush pulled out his spell book and spoke an incantation that was only a few sentences long. As his voice grew louder, Kyle could see some light flashing out of pouches on Thrush's belt.

Thrush turned back to Kyle. "I have cast a detect magic spell. I only have to concentrate and my senses will lead me to the shop. The sheer amount of magic at the shop should sing out to me. Follow me leader man. " Thrush smirked at Kyle as he led the way down the street.

 

[chewbacca71]

Lorwell

Lors shifted his grip on the corpse, pushing it further up over his shoulder. Golkis was the only one not similarily decorated with the dead as the men made their way back to Kekrowoen. Lors had agreed that one man would at least have to be unburdened to defend the others if needed. They stopped many times to rest that night, finally stopping at a cave a few miles from the city. Golkis started a campfire as the others stretched out tired muscles.

"We will stay here for the rest of the night. You all need to recover your strength. I will take the first watch, then I will wake up the next man. We will all stand one hour watches then get back on our journey. I wish we could sleep longer, but I would feel safer behind the city walls. Now get some rest. "

The words were barely out of Golkis mouth before he heard snoring around him. He was relieved that the men were this secure in their faith towards his leadership. He had been badly scared by the skeletons. More so than he had for years. He vowed to himself that they would all make it back to the city alive. Pushing away from the fire, he made a quick ciruit around their camp checking for trouble.

 

[chewbacca71]

Amber and Devin

While the outside of the temple had been devastated , it was nothing compared to the inside. Unholy symbols were traced on all the walls with what looked like blood. Skinned corpses were tied to the ceiling , left to hang down for all eternity. There was not a single piece of furniture that was intact, and the altar was smashed to bits.

Amber looked away from Devin as tears welled up in her eyes. It had been a long time since she had made her last devotion in this temple. But she had received almost all of her training here. She had spent countless hours sitting beside the high priest refining her prayers. She could not bear to look up towards the skylights cut out of the marble ceiling . Her view was covered by the hideously tortured body of her mentor.

Devin could see her distress, it was evident in the rigid way that she held her back. He could see the sobs rip through her body as she tried to hide them. He spoke softly to her.

"Amber, Why don't you go look in the back rooms and the priest quarters. I will take care of getting down these bodies. See if there is anyone still alive and then come back."

Devin was saddened to see the spirit almost visibly leave her body as she walked towards the priests quarters. Whatever fury Devin had before towards the undead was doubled as he finally understood how this must be hurting her. Using his bulging muscles, Devin cut through the ropes holding the bodies to the ceiling. Slowly lowering them one by one, Devin gently put the empty shells on the ground .

 

[chewbacca71]

Jevram

Jevram studied his over large world map. His plans had been working so far with that one hitch at Far Ice. But his powers had quickly retified that situation. Starting out from Grimwall, a black wall of pain and suffering was emerging and pushing futher outward. His undead army was more effective that he had thought. Plus, in most places, he was able to aptly replace any lost warriors from that crop of prisoners. He was waiting for some of the other lands leaders to start to make a move against him. He was more than strong enough to stand against any one of them. He never worried about the leaders cooperation, since they never did. Jevram called out for one of his demonic minions. Jumping onto its back, he commanded it to start to fly towards the current perimeters of his kingdom.

 

[chewbacca71]

Cragen Rubystone

The stoic dwarf placed the last stone carefully on the cairn, one of its surfaces washed clean with a shed tear. Cragen felt the pain acutely since he had been in charge of the other men. Maybe if he had done something differently, than things would have worked out in another way. Trying to shake off such negative thoughts, Cragen signaled to Keraz that it was time to go.

Cragen looked up at the stars for a moment. After getting his bearings, Cragen led his comrade into the forbidding darkness of the forest. Cragen held no fear in his heart, since the utter pain left no room in his heart for anything else. The two dwarves tread the path on the way to their king.

 

[chewbacca71]

Amber and Devin

Devin had just finished covering the corpses with a large piece of fabric as Amber came back into the main room. She carried with her a brown rucksack bulging out the sides. Devin was about to ask her, when she pulled a vial out of the sack.

"These are filled with holy water. I collected all the vials from the rooms, I doubt if my fellow priests will need these any time soon. I also set up some incense burning to try and drive out any evil spirits that may have come into this temple since it was desicrated. Let us get out of here, I do not feel comfortable here anymore. "

Amber led the way out of the temple. At the entrance, she turned around and closed her eyes. She spoke a slow prayer, her voice rising as she spoke. At the end, there was a large flash of light and a ball of white hot light was blocking the doors to the temple. "That will keep the undead out for as long as it lasts. That was the best I could do. " Turning her body, she walked back to Devin as they moved towards the others.

 

[chewbacca71]

Kyle and Thrush

With no small bemusement, Kyle followed his wizard to a small shop. The dusty front window was dominated by swathes of dried herbs. No name was visible on the window, but Thrush was confident of where he was. Pulling on the door handle, Thrush frowned as he found it locked. "Step back Kyle. ", Thrush intoned as he pulled a few components out of his bag.

"Helgres, Veritis, Obertis immediaus." A small flash of light went from Thrush's hand and hit the door handle. The handle lit up for a moment, then the light went out. Thrush grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. Kyle followed him into the large room.

"Thrush, that was impressive. I do not think I have ever seen you use that spell before. You are truly becoming a master. "

A hearty laugh burst from the slender chest of the elf. "That is because that was not really a spell, except for the flash of light. The door was unlocked all the time, I just wanted to make it look good. " Ducking under a swat from Kyle, Thrush moved towards a large rack of goods on the south wall. There were a number of scrolls here, as well as a few rings. Nothing was marked, so Thrush filled his rucksack with as many scrolls as he could fit.

He was about to put on a few of the rings when he thought better of it. Later if he had the time, he would try and figure out what they did. He did not have the time now. Thrush looked at the other parts of the room and noticed that the store had been vandalized. The spell component jars had all been smashed to pieces. A shelf that must have held spellbooks was completely bare, only dust was still on the shelf. Thrush spent a few more minutes checking out the shop before going into the back room.

Kyle busied himself as he walked around the store. He looked at the dried animal heads that dominated the ceiling and upper walls. This store was totally creeping him out. He just about jumped when Thrush put his hand on his shoulder. Hiding a smirk with his other hand, Thrush gave a quiver to his friend. Kyle counted 20 arrows in the quiver.

He pulled one of them out looking at the arrow. He admired the fine craftsmenship, the fletcher that put these together knew what he was doing. As he went to put the arrow back, he noticed that there was no room in the quiver. Curious, he counted the arrows in the quiver. It was back to twenty. He shook his head and looked towards Thrush.

Thrush tried to hold back his laughter, but could not. He gave a short bark of laughter before speaking to Kyle. " That is a quiver of plenty. It is a magical item. As long as there are at least five arrows in the quiver, they will always multiple over time to refill the quiver. I thought you would fine good use for it. I had hoped to find things to help the others, but that was all there was of value in the storeroom. Lets get out of here. "

Kyle led the way out of the shop. The afternoon sun warmed their bodies as they came out into the street. They made their way to the fountain that they were all supposed to meet at. The others were already there. They sat down for a moment as they figured out a strategy of what to do.

 

[chewbacca71]

Relthane

Relthane woke up from a sound sleep. He stretched out his muscles as he poured his last remaining water on the glowing embers that were the remnants of his camp fire. He took a few minutes to get all his things organized. Whistling a traveling tune, Relthane moved further on his way to Briwelk.

Looking at the map, Relthane estimated that he should be at the village in another day or so. It was tough to be exact since he was not one hundred percent sure where he was on the map. Carefully folding the map, he placed it back in his pack. Another day until he could find his mothers relatives, hopefully to find solace in the arms of family he hardly knew.

 

[chewbacca71]

Lorwell

Golkis led his group back to the town. Wails of pain could be heard from the crowd at the gate as people identified loved ones. The men released the gruesome burdens into the care of their families. Golkis pulled his men together off to the side of the opened gate.

"Men, I want all of you to go home and get some rest. Speak nothing of what happened and what you saw. I will speak to our lord and find out what he wants us to do. For now , rest up and build up your strength. Your town may call on you again to come to its aid. "

Golkis watches as one by one the men walked off towards their homes. All except for one. Golkis smiled over at Lors.

"I take it this means you would not be able to sleep at this time. If that is the case, I will bring you with me. If I tell the lord all this myself, he will think I am crazy. With a second witness it will be tougher to throw me in the asylum. Follow me. "

The two friends walked together in companionable silence on the way to the lords manor. As they passed the temple that Lors had once lived in, Lors grabbed his friends arm.

"Golkis, I know you do not believe. But humor me for a moment. I want to go in and pray for the souls of those that were lost. Then I will go with you. "

Golkis stood silently for a second. Then he sighed. He did not believe that praying did any good. But at this point, any help he could get fighting these creatures would be better than nothing. He turned back to his young friend.

"All right Lors, I will come with you. It can not hurt. Just do not expect any miracles to happen. Then we will continue to the Lord's manor. "

The two friends walked to the steps of the temple. Two guards , resplendent in their uniforms looked at the two men. They could see the heavy cares worn plainly on the faces of the men. They also recognized Lors as one of their fellow guards at one point. They moved to the sides of the stone doorway as Golkis and Lors entered the temple.

 

[chewbacca71]

The Clan

Kyle decided that they should check out the area where Amber had seen the Orc's. Maybe there would be a clue there as to where all the townspeople had gone. Kyle watched as Amber led the way. The friends arrived at the opposite edge of town. They could see signs on the ground of where the heavy weight of the cages would have been . But the cages themselves were gone. All that there was left in this area was a small pile of bones off to one side of a burned out firepit. Kyle had Austin look around for in the woods for any other clues. While the thief was in action , Kyle fretted as he watched the sky slowly darkening.

 

[chewbacca71]

Cragen Rubystone

The dwarves arrived at the entrance to the underground city. A large arc of marble was inlaid into the limestone walls of the cavern face. A small guard room was the first room inside the large cavernous opening. Cragen sent out a shrill whistle as he approached to warn the guards they were coming. No sound was heard by the two dwarves. Fearing something ominous had happened , Keraz and Cragen slowly entered the cavern with their weapons out.

They both looked towards the guard room and were sickened by the signs of carnage. Three dwarves, or at least there were enough pieces to make three dwarves ; were scattered on the ground. Their weapons were on the ground by their sides, covered in a sticky mess of blood. Cragen studied the scene for a moment before turning to his comrade.

"Keraz, this is not good. Three dwarves in this narrow hallway should have been able to hold their own versus anything out there. Where are the bodies of the creatures whose blood was also shed? I do not understand this. We need to quickly move further in to see if the king is ok. But be on your guard, we do not know what has happened. Let's go. "

 

[chewbacca71]

Relthane

Relthane watched the sun's rays dissappear off of the top of the stone buildings. The village of Briwelk was not what he had expected. His mother was so sophistacated in both manners and looks that Relthane figured the village would be sheathed in gold. Instead he walked through streets that were littered with mostly stone houses with thath roofs. A few of the larger homes were made of wood, but they were few and far between.

Relthane could smell the pungent scent of smoke on the air. He noticed that a few of the buildings showed signs of recent fires. More disturbing by far was the complete lack of people that Relthane found. He had checked a few homes after he had walked by ten homes with no visible activity. In the homes that he searched, no one was home at all. He pondered this as he moved towards the town center.