Bull was completely unnerved by the awful howling which seemed to travel through every room and corridor in the fortress. Not catching a glimpse of whatever it was he thought he saw in the hallway, he ran past Venger's Laboratory and into the hall of balconies. He stood in one of the windows and looked down, while he panted for breath.What he saw gave him pause. The Storyteller stood between his men and the great doors, still performing her story of Ahya. The smoke covered half the room and the heroine was almost out of clothing at this point. Some of his men were looking around warily at the noise. But most seemed enraptured by the image and cheered fit to drown out the howls, or were leaning and laying upon the floor in what seemed to be a drunken stupor. None of them were concentrating on their duties. All the other performers had left earlier and... was that contrived? Did these performers have something to do with the howling that still echoed among the upper floors?
Bull wondered if he was just being paranoid when he saw the Storyteller take another few steps that placed her more solidly in front of the room's exit. All his men who were able, took a step or two back as the smoke drifted towards them, seeming to herd them to the back of the room in a group. Bull glared and realized that he'd never even notice something was strange if not for his vantage point.
There was a large bucket of water near one of the balcony windows, used for dousing the torches. He lifted the bucket and hurled its icy contents upon the men below. The enjoyment of the show had come to an abrupt stop as men shook their heads and shivered from the rude awakening. The horrid howls caught their attention and they all looked around, startled.
Bull bellowed from above, "Now that your wits have returned to the filthy lot of you, to your posts! Half of you to the towers and see to the prisoners!" He ordered the others, pointing below, "Take the Storyteller for questioning and go get the rest of those performers! Lord Venger's sure to want a word with them about this disturbance. And shut one of the great doors in the meantime!"
