[ooc]So if you are finished shall we get to the next part of our business here?[/b]
Cole pulls himself from the deep, sucking mud, not bothering to wipe it off. He shrugs over at Wultram, “Not something I’ve ever tried before.” He looks at the two captive lizard-men, still talking to Wultram, “and make sure they get our message.”
Then, he does a final check of his gear, retrieves the longspear, and follows after Will.
Rehil gathers up the lizardmen's melee weapons. He hands some to Cole, Nalverren and Wultram and keeps some for himself. "Just toss them into the underbrush someplace down the trail."
As the party readies itself, the elf looks at their two lizardfolk allies. "Ashshar, are you two coming with us, or are you returning to tell your village what we've found?"
Ashshar gives another of his 'not bothered' shrugs. "We will guide you for as long as you want us. So far we have not achieved Pooma's ends, so we will have achieved little if we return now. The Finbacks still threaten war." He pauses for a moment. "I can show you the way to Da'Sheth. But it sounds like it will be heavily defended - not just the humans they spoke of, but also watched, at the very least, by the FInbacks and their allies. I do not think our group can prevail by force of arms alone. What do you intend?"
Cole looks at Ashshar, "To follow the trail. Hopefully catch up to this other group before they cause any more trouble. I don't know what to expect when we find them, but hopefully we can turn up some more answers. I also don't know if what they're doing is illegal or not, but it's certainly not in our employer's best interests. Or your chief's." He shrugs, "We'll see."
Portforged listens in on Wultram's explanation.
At least, it thinks, if our companions don't insist on killing you now.
The group leave the prisoners tied up and head off, following the wide path of destruction through the forest. Trees appear to have been barged over as something - presumably the stone from the clearing - was dragged away. The mud is churned and the rain has made it a quagmire, but there are still signs of booted footprints heading away from the clearing.
The trail leads slightly uphil, back towards the river, and eventually emerges in a clearing - mostly stomped flat rather than natural - on a high cliff above the gorge. Here there a signs of battle - on the ripped earth lie lizardfolk, mostly in a poor state from exposure and scavengers. Also present are the bashed and beaten bodies of a few warforged, half-submerged in the mud. Of the stolen standing stone, there is no sign.
+1 vs traps
Nalverren pokes around the scene as well.
Cole surveys the scene stoically. If the inert bodies of his brethren bother him, it’s not obvious. And it’s to these bodies that he’s primarily drawn.
He follows Wultram’s example, crouching down to get a closer look at a number of the warforged frames. He initially looks for any identifying marks or insignias. Then he looks for any other physical indicators of their role or function, including any noteworthy armor or weaponry. Finally, he spends a bit of time using his practical experience repairing his own damage to try to determine if any of the fallen warforged are simply inert … as opposed to irreplaceably destroyed.
As he works, he looks over at Will. “You have any idea how long ago this fight took place?”
" i can most certainly try Cole"
he says continuing to follow the tracks left
Rehil wears a grim smile as he looks at the clearing. "Must have been a tough fight," he mutters.
So they flew it out? Why drag it here first? Why not just air lift it from where it stood. Hhhmm.
He walks across the clearing to the cliff's edge and peers down.
Perception
Rehil peers down into the gorge. He can't see any sign of the stolen monolith, but he can see flattened bushes and big gouges in the mud by the lip of the drop where something very heavy crunched through it. He also spots a backpack, snagged in some bushes perhaps ten feet down the cliff.
Looking around, Will estimates the battle site is perhaps a week old. The others poke about the bodies. The lizard warriors are accoutred as the others they have met, with wooden clubs and shields and not much else. The warforged bodies appear to have been largely stripped of valuables and weapons, and they are all smashed and dismembered beyond repair, but Cole's search turns up a couple of vials labelled "Repair". One of the dead warforged has, embedded in its chest, a disk of some sort of coppery material with a large eye engraved upon it. Lying under the torso of another, sunk into the mud, is a quiver containing three arrows made of steel and fletched with narrow metal flanges carved with runes.
Judging by the bits of heavy rope and the remains of block and tackle, the warforged were engaged in wrestling the monolith up the slope when they were attacked.
"once you are done gathering stuff up we really have to get moving we are so far a full week behind, but we are moving faster"
Rehil looks at the backpack. Easy enough. But why take chances?
"Cole, over here. Bring some rope."
Cole gathers all the vials with the 'Repair' label, along with any others that look like they could be similar.
Then he waves Wultram over to the warforged frame with the notable coppery disk embedded in its chest. "You able to identify that? Could give us some insight here."
Then Rehil's call gets his attention, and he stands and lumbers over next to the elf. He looks over the cliff, notes the backpack, and begins pulling rope from his pack. "You think they used the cliff as a dock? And were just pulling the stone thing over onto the airship's deck when they were attacked?"
Once the rope is knotted for climbing and coiled around his and Rehil's waist, he checks his grip on the rope and gives a ready nod.
Rehil and Cole peer about. There is no sign of the stone, and it doesn't appear to have fallen down the cliff, suggesting it has been spirited away somehow. Cole's suggesting is logical.
Securely held by Cole's rope, Rehil clambers over the edge, unhooks the backback from the bushes, and climbs back up without incident. Inside the pack are two more Repair vials, an Eberron dragonshard and a small cluster of faintly-glowing crystals tied together with silver wire. There'a also a pouch with some gemstones.
...
Then Rehil's call gets his attention, and he stands and lumbers over next to the elf. He looks over the cliff, notes the backpack, and begins pulling rope from his pack. "You think they used the cliff as a dock? And were just pulling the stone thing over onto the airship's deck when they were attacked?"...
Rehil nods. "Makes sense."
And that's why I don't do the heavy thinking.
...
Inside the pack are two more Repair vials, an Eberron dragonshard and a small cluster of faintly-glowing crystals tied together with silver wire. There'a also a pouch with some gemstones.
...
Rehil whistles a long slow deepened note. "They must have been in a hurry to leave the shard behind. " He looks over at the warforged. "I'll get Wultram to take a look." The elf slings the pack over his shoulder and trots over to where the mage is examining the other unusual items.
"Something else for you here, Wultram. I'd like the pack when you're done. The one I got from the lizardmen is just about rotted through."
"there is no other explanation, unless they lowered to a bigger carriage at the bottom of that cliff"
Portforged also examines the shards
"The crystal cluster," Portforged explains, "embeds inside a warforged to slightly improve its users' psionic energy."
Nalverren will look specifically for evidence on vehicle traffic... trees canted, burns from am elemental ring, wheel tracks or ruts from a sled.
william will look to see if it could have been possible to lower the artifact into the gorge. (and if there is evidence to that)
With Rehil safely back on solid ground, Cole pauses as he recoils the rope to help Will check for evidence of an airship or the massive stone along the edge of the gorge.
-------
Hearing Wultram's revelation about the coppery disk, Cole looks over at Portforged. "You want to use that?" It's obvious he's interested in the item if Portforged isn't.
Turning to Cole, it responds
"I shall take the psychic generator and cognizance crystal, as I am the only one capable of using either. Cole, I think you should have the essence of guard, since I am already taking another component."
Cole nods and accepts the component, spending a few seconds observing it before he works open a panel in his armor. With care, his thick fingers guide the component into place. Then he pauses a few more seconds as the component 's power works into his system.
...
"We got arrows that are very deadly against lizardmen. Rehil you are better shot than me, so you should probably get these, probably save them if we see more blackscales. The vials are for warforged healing, so Cole and Portforged you figure how to distribute. The disk is essence of the guard, will make make you more aware of your senses."...
Rehil stares a moment too long at Wultran, then a small smile creases his face as he accepts the arrows, "..Thanks. I will try not to miss."
***
Noticing that most of the others are staring into the gorge, Rehil turns his gaze to the treeline and their backtrail. While his eyes sweep the area he sidles over to Ashshar.
"..We've gone over the warforged. Is there anything we can learn from the dead lizardmen?"
Nodding at Cole, Portforged begins attaching the cognizance crystal and psychic generator.
The lizardmen watch in horrified fascination as the wartforged begin opening up their bodies, reveeling their inner workings of woody fibres, metallic endoskeleton and various sacs and other items of mysterious function, and installing the new components.
Will and Cole work out between them what must have happened. The crushed vegetation and earth by the cliff edge was caused by an airship "beaching" to take on board the monolith and the warforged titans that dug it up. Clearly the lizardfolk chose this moment to attack and, although they inflicted casualties, didn't stop the loading. The relic has presumably now been transported ro Da'Sheth. Although it would have been difficult to drag the monolith, the trees around its original position would have made getting it into the airship much trickier.
"Now that we know what exactly happened our task is to return to Poma and Bokehn"
Rehil shakes his head. "Nothing we found changes anything. The stone is gone; some lizardmen and war-forged are dead. We still don't know what is happening. We need to go to Da'Sheth."
Cole nods along to Rehil's words. "He's right. We still don't know why they're taking the stones. That's what the Chief needs most, I'd think."
He looks over at Ashshar, "How far to Da'Sheth? And is there an approach where we could get a look at it before they see us coming?"
Ashshar glances at Vaard. "I know how to get to Da'Sheth, but it is not Water Serpent territory and I haven't been there before. I cannot tell you what we may find. But it is about three days travel through Finback lands. We will also need to avoid the main Finback village, which is between here and there."
"How much time will traveling around the Finback village add to our journey?"
"It depends. Da'Sheth is within the Empty Mountain, beside the lake there. A river runs from the lake, down a valley and past the Finback village. Beyond the village it joins another river to form this one." He wave a scales arm towards the gorge. "If we go up this valley, it will take three days.
"The other river also rises on Da'Sheth, on the north flank of Empty Mountain. But this river flows in a great loop before it returns to the mountain. Following this valley would take much longer, perhaps seven days or more. And those are wild lands, filled with monsters.
"There is a third way. We could follow the second river for part of its distance, and then cross into the first valley, above the Finback village - there is a path. But we would have to leave our canoes. If we find new canoes, this could take us perhaps five days. But if we do not, it would take many days to walk to Da'Sheth."
"is it possible to avoid the Finback village while taking the first path?"
"We would have to leave our canoes and travel on foot to avoid the village. The village is by the river, so if we travel on the river they will definitely see us. And even on foot, close to their village, in their valley, it will be hard to avoid the Finback braves."
Cole looks at the different members of his team, then back to Ashshar. "How heavy are the canoes?"
"Heavy enough. It will be very difficult to walk the jungle paths carrying the canoes. And we would go slowly. Except for you, me and Vaard, I do not see that the others among you could easily bear the weight of a canoe on land for long."
" it looks like with any option it would take us at least 10 days to reach that destination. Here is an other question and maybe something for us to consider. Are there any other sacred site that have the same monolith that hey have stolen cause if there are they might try to steal them also. but if we could stop that attempt that could make them think twice and give us time to go to that place."
he ponders for a few seconds " if we want to bring back their relic it means we have to steal that air ship. Any one can fly one of these?"
"Heavy enough. It will be very difficult to walk the jungle paths carrying the canoes. And we would go slowly. Except for you, me and Vaard, I do not see that the others among you could easily bear the weight of a canoe on land for long."
Rehil nods as Ashshar answers Cole, he was wondering about portaging around the Finback village too.
" it looks like with any option it would take us at least 10 days to reach that destination. Here is an other question and maybe something for us to consider. Are there any other sacred site that have the same monolith that hey have stolen cause if there are they might try to steal them also. but if we could stop that attempt that could make them think twice and give us time to go to that place."
Rehil looks at the Halfling. If there was another such relic his plan could have merit.
" if we want to bring back their relic it means we have to steal that air ship. Any one can fly one of these?"
Rehil interrupts. "If we stop them, the lizardmen can drag the stones back themselves. I think we'll have done our part. But an airship would be nice to have. Imagine what we could do with one of those...."
"Good call on the possible intercept, if such an opportunity does exist. As to our options... could we time our travel on the river for when the village might not be as active? Or mask the appearance of the canoes somehow... Yes, I like that idea. Turn them upside down and tie logs and branches to them, make them look like driftwood. We would be underneath, holding on to the handles and shielded from arrows. And tie ourselves to the canoes as an added precaution."