Jamison sniffs the air, and spits tobacco juice liberally off to the side.
'S funny, that rat's dead, 'n yet ah still smell a rat. P'raps he's in that hole over yonder. Anybody get hurt?
Cinders agrees that checking out the cave is a good idea. "The wizard who created those illusions might be hiding in there. We don't want him sneaking up behind us."
Eseldra keeps concentrating on her detect magic as they make their way down into the cave.
Seeing that Eseldra is focusing on far more esoteric things, he walks next to her, sword drawn, ready to defend her.
The companions make their way carefully down the steep rocky slope to the floor of the cave some twenty feet below the opening. The cave itself measures approximately thirty feet across and twenty feet high. The cave wall directly across from the entrance sparkles slightly, with numerous freshly broken rocks piled at the base of the wall.
However, what immediately grabs the group's attention is the amount of blood splattered upon the walls and floor of the cave, particularly the large pool of the congealing liquid at the base of the entrance slope. The bloody remains of some type of animal (or animals?) is strewn about the cave as if torn asunder and scattered violently by a deranged creature.
Cinders turns her face away from the gruesome scene momentarily. "I don't like the look of this," she says. She draws her scimitar and keeps it ready.
Tyr's knuckl's whiten upon the grip of his sword. Wordlessly he closer, crouching down and over, inspecting the remians as he looks for clues as to whom these remains held allegance to.
"Hmmm...apparently someone has been doing a bit of mining down here, keep a close eye out for anyone or any of their tools."
Hiram looks closer at the blood and guts...then shrugs.
"Seen worse at a birthin'."
His attention goes back to looking about the room, staying close to Eseldra, and keeping a watch out.
Euron sniffs at the air, gripping his ranseur as he eyes the bodies.
OSt DC 17
Cp:
Es: ; Ep:
Eus: ; Eup: 21
Hs: ; Hp: 12
Js: ; Jp:
Ks: ; Kp:
Ts: ; Tp:
"These bloody remains are those of three human males," Tyr announces grimly as he crouches down to inspect the viscera strewn about the cavern floor. "But I can't find any sign as to who they might have been."
"Hello? Karthas? Are you all alright down there?" Vianne Hardesty's voice calls down from the cave opening above. "The bandits were scared witless by the sounds of your battle, so Granny gave each of them a heavy dose of her medicine to calm them down. Now they've all passed out," she announces. "Vala and Vanna are getting pretty nervous themselves - they're afraid more of those mud giants are going to burst up from the ground and slice them to ribbons. If you all are done down there, could we get headed back on the trail to Oleg's?"
"We'll be up in a minute or two..."
Turning to the others in the cave...
"Look for signs of another entrance, if there is not one, there is little we can do right now, and should move on."
Jamison does as the Kellid requests, moving into the cave to determine if there are any other entrances.
Tyr stands, looking around the cavern.
"If there is no other way in? Perhaps we can block the entrance? This seems too good a thing to allow others to fritter away." She squares his shoulders ready to help every one else however he can.
Cinders starts searching for any other entrances as well. "Blocking the cave entrance would be a good idea, if it's not too difficult."
"Gozreh's beard..." Euron grunts while examining the remains, "Nothing natural killed these men, at least nothing I've ever seen a'fore."
The druid wanders towards the glinting cavern wall. "All for this eh, shiny rock which wouldn't even make a good knife. I still don't know why men want gold so badly..."
Tyr looks from the 'shiny rock' to the sprawled bodies and back.
"Well...the virtues and values of different people vary by large degrees." He says, "So, what is the best way to prepare these bodies for proper burial? I think it should, perhaps, be some where outside?" Tyr begins to look for material of some sort to move the bodies in/with.
"Men?"
Hiram snaps his head around at the mention that there was anything more than just blood.
He peers closely at the rocks and the revealed bodies.
He is quiet for a moment, his jaw set, and his face turning slightly green.
"They...they been ripped and defiled."
He rushes out of the cave, past Vianne, and empties his stomach out on the grass.
When he looks up, seeing the girls looking at him, he turns crimson in embarrassment.
He keeps his eyes downcast, and moves towards his mules, burying his face in Gerdi's neck and trying to calm down.
Jamison and Cinders search the cave thoroughly but find no other entrances or anything else of interest. Euron and Tyr study the bloody remains scattered throughout the cavern but learn no more than that the victims were savagely slaughtered and torn to bits by some unnatural creature. The companions gather what remains they can and carry them out to the surface. Following the completion of that grisly task, Cinders summons forth gouts of holy flames to cleanse the cavern of the residual blood stains.
After a short while the group manages to gather enough fuel to build a funeral pyre for what's left of the three unknown victims, and Jamison conducts the Erastian rites to ensure their souls' safe arrival at Pharasma's Boneyard. The Hardesty women solemnly observe the proceedings alongside their heroes, and even the captured bandits bow their heads in respect for the ritual. Once the funeral pyre burns itself out, Euron and Jamison summon gallons of water to douse the remaining embers and scatter the ashes to the four winds. The somber group forms back into their caravan and resumes their trek north toward Oleg's trading post.
A couple of hours after leaving the Gold Cave, the landscape changes from the rocky hills and twisting valleys of the Kamelands to rolling grasslands and open moors. The dark, towering boughs of the Narlmarches remain everpresent to the west. The remainder of the day passes uneventfully, although by the end of the day the sky is covered by low gray clouds that have blown in from the northwest. As dusk approaches the party makes camp as best they can, unable to find a truly defensible postion out on the open moors. Chilled by the lowering skies as well as by the day's sobering events, the group shares a quiet meal before turning in for the evening. The night thankfully passes uneventfully.
The day dawns cloudy and damp, with a heavy fog covering the grassy moors. The companions break camp and continue moving north-northwest toward their destination, skirting the edges of the mist-shrouded trunks of the Narlmarches. The going is slow due to the reduced visibility afforded by the fog.
About an hour after breaking camp, the journey is interrupted by a cry from the mist-cloaked depths of the forest. "HELP!! PLEASE!! ANYONE!! MY LEG'S CAUGHT IN A TRAP AND I CAN'T GET LOOSE!! HELP!!!!"
Tyr stops his horse, slides from the saddle and draws his great sword. With a grim nod and smile he says,
"I'll go first to check it out. That way every one can easily cover the slow-poke of the party." He does grin at his own summation of his speed compared to every one else-s fleetness of foot.
He peers into the darkness and the mists of the woods as he walks forwards.
Eseldra has a careful look-see as well. Her elven eyes can penetrate further into the gloom than Tyr's.
Perception: Oooh! Look! A tree!!
Karthas follows behind Tyr, careful to not let his own speed overtake the more heavily armored man, and searches for the source of the yelling..
Perception:
Careful, fellers - 'n Miss 'Seldra, beggin' yer pardon. Any idjit caught in a trap screamin' like that's probly attracted predators from miles around. Best 't be careful, here.
The big man loosens his greatsword in it's sheath, ensuring that it can be pulled with a moment's notice, and follows alongside Eseldra.
Euron glances at his wolf companion at the sound of the scream - Niko's head turned to a side, with a single ear aimed at the rising sun. The druid sniffs the air and squints his good eye at the horizon.
Not seeing much, he shrugs. "Either a man's hurt, maybe got himself into a bear trap... or it's some sort of ambush. If it'n ambush, I feel sorry for the bandits for choosing us."
Peering into the fog, Hiram can barely see out to his hands.
Pulling his everburning torch from his shield sconce, he moves forward cautiously.
He keeps his lasso in one hand, and the torch in the other.
"Ye hurt? Can you see me torch?"
"Let's not get cocky now, Euron," Eseldra says, readying an acid dart for anything that jumps out at them.
Euron chuckles at Eseldra's warning as he looks around at their motley group, now numbering over a dozen people, including the captured bandits.
"Bandit's mostly like easy pickins', and ain't looking to enter a fight where they might lose a man... I'd say we'd look like just such a fight these days."
The druid follows Hiram forward towards the sound of the man's cries.
Tyr does frown a little at Hiram calling out to the voice in the darkness, but walks on slowly never the less.
Stay calm...you're representin' Erastil here. Stand up straight, an' help the helpless. This poor person...out here alone...in the fog...exactly why a body needs a community.
Hiram shivers slighty, and stands up straighter as he walks into the fog.
Hullo? I am Hiram, Hiram Salatin. Please keep talkin' so's we can find ya.
"Careful lad, lest we step in something..." the druid cautions.
W2s:
W3s:
W4s:
WSs:
The companions dismount from their steeds (or the wagons), leaving them in the care of the Hardesty women. Tyr warily leads the way down a winding game trail leading deeper into the forest. The fog-enshrouded trunks and undergrowth quickly muffle all sounds from outside the forest, while the trapped person continues to call for help from somewhere deeper in the woods.
After several long moments the game trail opens into a clearing. On the far side of the clearing the form of a man with his leg snared in a metal bear trap can be seen vaguely through the fog. "Oh, thank you!" his voice nearly sobs in relief. "I feared no one would hear me!"
Try gives a "Hssst!" and nod of his head in the direction of the shape moving away, though he does not slow down from walking carefully towards the trapped fellow.. Looking at the man's predicament he grimaces,
"That's a nasty thing to have fallen into, especially way out here."
Cinders slows a bit and looks in the direction that Tyr nodded. She stays at the back of the group, watching for any signs of ambush or trap.
"I feared no one would hear me!"
Euron looks toward the man with the look of an impatient parent.
"Aye, and if ye had half a wit, ye'd probably not be yelling -- Yer like to attract unwanted attention."
The druid continues to move forward, using his ranseur to probe ahead of Hiram and himself to check for unseen traps, unaware of any other dangers.
Hiram checks out the scene as he walks through the fog, slowly moving into the clearing. He looks back over his shoulder, calling to the others.
"Found 'em!"
He takes in the surroundings, looking to the trees, and to the bear trap.
As the others move in, he holds out a hand.
"Easy now. Somethin' just ain't right here."
His focus falls intently on the man, for perhaps a moment, but an uncomfortable one for sure.
Looking to the others, he ponders out loud as his brow furrows, he whispers to the others.
"What's wrong with this feller? He ain't even movin'. Look at the teeth on that trap...would you sit there all calm like?"
He squares his shoulder, stepping in front of the others in a protective move,
"Mister...I aim to help those that need helpin', but what are you on about...what's goin' on here. Somethin's wrong, and it ain't that bear trap munchin' on your leg."
Karthas watches, trying to once again find the shape that slinked back into the woods.
At Hiram's words, Tyr leaves the man to the knowledge of his comrades as he turns to face the surrounding woods, great sword held ready and braced. He takes up a position to hold one 'flank' of the group.
Eseldra will cast detect magic to see if some more illusions are at work here.
WSs: - fog conditions
Cp: - wary; surprised all
Ep: - wary, detect magic detects ventriloquism; surprised WS
Eup: - wary; not surprised
Hp: - wary; not surprised
Jp: - wary; surprised all
Kp: - wary; not surprised
Tp: 3 + 5 = 8 - wary; surprised all
Wi:
Ci:
Ei:
Eui:
Hi:
Ji:
Ki:
Ti:
The companions enter the foggy clearing and begin to approach the trapped hunter, only to be brought up short by Hiram's warning.
Glaring at the man in the trap...
"You had better pray that you were only being used as bait..."
Attack: (power attack)
Damage: (power attack)
Euron stops prodding the ground with his ranseur and frowns as he spots the glowing red eyes from the undergrowth around them.
"Ugh, didn't I say woe to whoever would try to ambush us?"
Ignoring the hunter, for now the druid suspects the "man" is part of the ambush as well, he asks for nature's assistance in dealing with the threat.
Euron also adds a quick "Guard" command to his wolf while gesturing towards Cinders and takes a 5-ft step forward to I-10 to threaten additional squares with his ranseur.
Presumably a worg that comes via G8, G11 or G12 to reach either Euron, Tyr or Hiram.
Attack:
Damage:
Eseldra starts the full-round action of casting a SM1 to summon some fodder.
F15r:
G7r:
O7r:
WSc:
Surprise Round:
Eseldra begins intoning the words of one of her summoning spells.
Karthas takes a step toward woods and enters a rage, preparing to strike any foe that may appear.
Euron moves to guard Eseldra as Niko moves to guard Cinders. With a quick prayer to the forces of nature, the druid causes the vegetation surrounding most of the clearing to come to life in a writhing, entangling mass.
Hiram holds his action as he continues to study the trapped hunter.
Without warning a blindingly bright flare of light bursts between Tyr, Jamison, Euron, and Eseldra.
As if the blinding flash of light was a signal, three unusually large, black-furred wolves with evil, almost intelligent lights shining deep in their red eyes leap silently from the undergrowth at the edges of the clearing and charge at Karthas, Tyr, and Niko. Anticipating just such an attack, the enraged Kellid swings his greatsword at the creature lunging at him - unfortunately he misjudges the creature's swiftness and his stroke flies wide. The black wolf lunges at the barbarian...
... its jaws latching onto his leg and dragging him down to the ground.
The large wolf attacking Tyr attempts the same maneuver...
... and knocks the warrior prone in a similar fashion.
The third black-furred wolf attacks Niko...
... and savages Euron's companion but fails to drag him down to the ground.
A fourth black-furred wolf steps out of the writhing foliage near the trapped hunter, while a fifth struggles within the entangling vegetation at the edge of the clearing.
Initiatives:
Eseldra - 22
Karthas - 21
Euron - 16
Hiram - 15
Tyr - 12
Worgs - 9
Cinders - 7
Jamison - 2