Since Vero threw the lamp oil, he has remained motionless, staring at the burned spiders; that is, until Nummil posed his question. Thankfully, before the rogue could reluctantly reply, Vaashti replied with her own story - releasing the vice grip of interest on Vero.
"Perhaps I can search the body now..." he said, trying to change the subject, at this point pretty much expecting the corpse itself to rear up and bite him.
Nummil stands by as the others search the body. He's wary for more spiders to appear and also reluctant to touch the bloodied corpse so he scans the area instead.
"Can't say I know much about herbs" Vero grimmaced
The rogue's eyes lit up when he saw the daggers laying on the table. The rogue moved efficiently and smoothly towards one the daggers to swipe it into his hands and examine it.
"It must have took a master craftsman to make this, the blade has been polished to a sheen, the edge could probably cut through an entire battalion without wearing."
The wielder of the dagger then began to make quick and precise movements.
"The dagger itself is light and sturdy, like I'm swinging a feather...even the grip feels like it was made to rest in a man's hand for days on end." Vero exclaimed, sounding the closest thing to excited as possible for him.
Merciful Healer 1 | AC 18 T 12 FF 16 | HP 10/10 | F +3 R +2 W +6 | Init +2 | Perc +3
"Sounds as if Master Vero has found himself another traveling companion."
"Well, if this place has been burnt for years, and no one has looked into this room before, I have to wonder about the chains and other blades here. Who put them to use...and why?"
Vaashti knelt beside the woman's corpse and inspected it for cause of death. heal:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Nummil stands still for a second and watches Vero put away a silver dagger.
"Wolfsbane and silver daggers... I've read about those two things in a book once. Lycanthropes...."
The sylph wavers slightly. Things were getting serious way too fast now. He almost wished he was back with his books. Turning back now wasn't an option though. Those poor children.
Merciful Healer 1 | AC 18 T 12 FF 16 | HP 10/10 | F +3 R +2 W +6 | Init +2 | Perc +3
"Would a lycanthrope child be able to? I don't know much about werefolk, but I thought they became exceptionally strong and vicious when the lycanthropy took hold of them."
Maqli nods at Vero's question and Vaashti's answer. "Same here. Also heard they do it just a few times a month, with the full moon, and that they grow larger in size and can rip a man in half with one swipe of a paw. 'Course, I also heard that they morph every night, and even some tales that they can do it whenever they want, but they're not that much stronger as a wolf or whatever." Maqli shrugs, as if silently commenting on the availability but lack of truth when it comes to information gleaned as a hotspur.
"Speechless eh?". Nummil left hand is still holding on to a black wand you've all seen him wave about. It looked rather ugly for a wand but Nummil didn't mind. It had helped him cast his first spell and still helped him do so today. Too bad it wouldn't help him think of what to do now.
Maqli shrugs. "Head back to town? Let them know what we've found? Or keep looking for the kids." She hefts the axe onto her shoulder. "I go where you do, young master."
Merciful Healer 1 | AC 18 T 12 FF 16 | HP 10/10 | F +3 R +2 W +6 | Init +2 | Perc +3
"I would think that heading back now would be a waste of valuable time. If the missing children did indeed make it out this way, there is every likelihood that they are still out here somewhere, and a lycanthrope int he area is bad news."
"Ah, Gorum's codpiece," Maqli curses, pointing. "Found the kids--and looks like some kobolds found 'em too. We'd better get a move on." Axe in hand, Maqli starts moving forward, following the tracks, though she makes sure to keep Nummil close at hand. "Keep up, young master," she says, actually sounding a little impatient.
"I think kobolds will be the least of our worries..." Vero muttered with his usual cynicism. The rouge then walked back to the table, took the wolfsbane and carefully put it in his belt pouch. He then grabbed the remaining dagger and offered it to the members of the group.
"Here. I don't want MY throat being torn out because of the incompetence of you four."Vero stated, showing very little respect for his comrades or the deceased.
Merciful Healer 1 | AC 18 T 12 FF 16 | HP 10/10 | F +3 R +2 W +6 | Init +2 | Perc +3
"Someone else had better take that. It seems that if the dagger is needed, my skills might be better employed elsewhere." Vaashti scowled at Vero, not for the first time, and wondered why the Everbloom had entwined her fate with his. Then, she adjusted her pack and headed off after Maqli.
Maqli pauses as Vero offers up the knife, and after a moment, she returns back and takes it. "Believe me, I know how to use one of these," she says before he can comment on her competence. "I've had to scare off and injure my share of would-be thugs."
With that said, Maqli sticks the dagger in her belt and resumes following the trail.
"Kobolds? Well they're a bunch of nasty creatures. But they're not lycanthropes as far as I know. But I'm not sure the kids are better off."
Nummil quickly joins Maqli and the rest, hoping that they won't have too much trouble following the trail. While he lets the others track the kobolds, Nummil tries to think of what he knows about kobolds, he hasn't read a lot about them but he remembers them being mentioned in several books on dragons and draconic magic.
Knowledge(arcana):1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27 Taking some liberty here, feel free to ignore the check if you feel it's not appropriate
They are small humanoid of the reptilian subtype, who generally live underground, and mine.
They can see in the dark, have tough skin, and tend to have loads of traps to defend their home.
They tend to look up to dragons and also tend to serve one if they get the chance.
As they follow the tracks Nummil slowly recollects what he has read about Kobolds. "Did you know that Kobolds are infamous for using a lot of traps to defend their homes? They're a bunch of devious little critters so we better be a bit careful where we walk."
The thought of traps had Nummil slow down a bit as if he expected to be a trap right in his path. He looked around and tilted his head a bit as he wondered what kind of traps the kobolds would build.
Take 10 on Perception: 10+4=14, then moving on again.
"What's even more interesting though is the kobold's fascination with dragons. Yes that's right, they revere dragons. But we haven't seen any dragon prints have we now?" Nummil tells the group with a big grin on his face.
Merciful Healer 1 | AC 18 T 12 FF 16 | HP 10/10 | F +3 R +2 W +6 | Init +2 | Perc +3
"I should bloody well hope not! Dragons might eb more than a fair bit more than we can handle. If the children are fortunate, perhaps we can catch up to them before the kobolds do."
