Pontia murmurs another brief cantrip, fingers extended towards the nest and twitching slightly as she concentrates.
Nicolai easily climbs the tangle of branches and arrives in the nest.
FInally, in the centre of the nest, ringed and insulated with moss and fur, lies an unhatched, pale-blue egg the size of a small barrel.
Knowledge (nature)
Nicolai pulls a mangy rucksack, and shows the contents to his compatriots. "Found something!" He holds up the two vials with interest.
Craft (alchemy)
"Oh, well done! Daxius calls out, waving his support.
If there's nothing more interesting in the nest other than a bit of sweet loot, Daxius will eventually look around for tracks that might have been made by bandits.
The potions are both the same: Enlarge Person
You don't know enough about Owlbears to be sure but you know that owls raise their young as pairs...
"Thanks for the worry, Nic, but the little bugger didn't get me." Seeing the alchemist start searching the nest, Hyngrot moves to see if he can salvage a trail from the bandits. "Let me know if you see any clues in there. Darn bandits."
There are no humanoid tracks here except for your group's tracks.
After discerning their properties, "These vials may come in handy - they'll increase your size! And looks like we have some scrolls and a few other goods as well."
He'll hand over the scrolls to Pontia, if she wishes to have them.
Pontia takes the scrolls and checks them with detect magic.
One is empty, the other contains two letters, sealed with red wax, there is no insignia in the seal.
Letter 1:
"Scarro, the time has come to increase your attacks. Do not doubt that your reward will likewise increase. This man, Fisben, will carry any items you wish me to pawn. There are two letters.
ED"
Letter 2:
"Scarro, demolish the alchemists gear, it is not worth retreiving. And kill the prisoner, claiming the reward would be too risky. There are two letters.
ED"
The scholar peruses the two scrolls, distractedly chewing on her lower lip. "Was the body in the nest wearing any sort of uniform, or fine clothing?"
The tattered remains of its clothes reveal simple, well-made but well-worn clothes designed to withstand the rigours of an outdoor life and in naturl colours (brown, green, pale yellow).
"These scrolls aren't magic...at least, not the arcane kind. They're messages, but the corpse in the nest doesn't look like someone traveling under the wand, even covertly. I think he's a bandit who looted the scrolls from the real courier. More research is called for once we deal with the rest of the bandits. For now, time to get back to work."
Though he's ready to proceed on the bandit hunt, Daxius can't help but ask. "These messages. What do they say?"
I wonder; would this late badit be of the same that we are tracking?
Nicolai feels a bit silly mot looking at the letters in the firstplace.
"Oh. Here, take a look--let me just move this spoiler tag so you can read them."
Pontia shares the letters with the group.
Letter 1:
"Scarro, the time has come to increase your attacks. Do not doubt that your reward will likewise increase. This man, Fisben, will carry any items you wish me to pawn. There are two letters.
ED"
Letter 2:
"Scarro, demolish the alchemists gear, it is not worth retreiving. And kill the prisoner, claiming the reward would be too risky. There are two letters.
ED"
"I don't recognize either of the names or the initials. They sound covert and rather cold-blooded, though...the sort of people we should be dealing with."
You are in the woods North of Westcrown, standing in a clearing by an owlbear nest. The sun is high overhead and dappled shade falls over the letters and bag contents as you examine them.
The tracks of the owlbear did not lead you to any bandits, but rather to its nest (and latest meal).
Insects hum, leaves rustle in a light breeze, damp, mossy smells linger in the air near the nest...
Daxius considers for a moment, commenting. "It appears that this ED fellow is orchestrating the bandit activity. He may be in it for profit only, but what if his interest is to sow chaos or fear? Once we get back to town, we need to determine if there are any wealthy sorts with those initials who might benefit from this bandit activity."
"Of course, we must find the bandits first. They may have an alchemist prisoner, if these letters are to be believed."
Pontia follows Daxius back to the body and stays out of the way while he looks over the area.
At the body:
The tattered remains of a dottari uniform hang off the corpse but his weapons and any valuables are missing, as is his lower jaw: it appears ot have been hacked off.
Pontia does quite well either assisting Nicolai or checking the body herself, but that leaves the scholar little time to help with tracks and other clues.
While the others examine the body, Hyngrot searches for any signs of movement. "There's some tracks here leading off into the forest. The trail's difficult to follow, so it'll be slow going. How does the body look, anything special on him?"
Grimacing at the mutilated body, Daxius says "Dead men with no jaws tell no tales." He then nods in agreement with Hyngrot's assessment, taking his usual place as rear guard in the marching order, arrow nocked.
Seeing that Pontia seems to be checking the body thoroghly, Nicolai rechecks to make sure his crossbow is still properly loaded, and retakes his position in the order. "These guys sure are no common cutpurses...reminds me of some Sczarni."
"I'm guessing that whoever stabbed him also looted the body." Pontia casts prestidigitation to clean her hands after the informal autopsy and gets ready to move out after Hyngrot.
"Well, at least they left us a trail to follow." Hyngrot takes the lead and begins following the tracks at half speed, taking care not to miss anything. He keeps his weapons out just in case, staying alert.
Together, Hyngrot and Daxius confidently pursue the trail through the woods: leading the group deeper into the forest. After more than an hour of careful movement through the greenwood you hear distant sounds of humanoid voices.
Nicolai seems to hear more of trees rustling in the wind and cicadas buzzing to make out the words. He looks about warily.
Perception
The scholar murmurs, "I think I hear voices, but I can't tell where they're coming from."
"I can't quite make out what they're saying either. We should try to ambush them, I think."
Daxius' spell has a powerful effect on Hyngrot, closing all of his wounds.
You are standing in fairly dense woodland: you can push your way through the undergrowth but it is easier to follow the many animal runs. The trees include ancient, strudy oaks and other tall trees as well as smaller, younger growth. Occasional clearings are formed by deadfall or areas where the underlying rock comes close to the surface. The terrain is rarely steep but often rises and falls in gentle slopes.
You have been heading roughly North, the distant shout and the trail you are following both seem to be in that direction.
Hyngrot quietly follows the trail ahead, attempting to stay quiet to see what ahead is making the noise. Preferring stealth, he stows his shield to give him a free hand .
He follows the trail until he finds what is making the noise, hoping the others follow behind silently.
What the hells did I drink last night... Oh right.
The woman he had tried to seduce threatened to make him a eunuch, then knocked him out.
He listens for a bit before he opens his mouth, but a glare from one of the other women in camp caused him to keep his mouth shut.
Well ye idjit, ye finallae hit rook bootum. Cannae even git a bandit tae lae wit' ye.
Pontia likewise follows, trying to be unobtrusive but managing to land on a startling number of dry branches as she walks. I never liked being outside the city, and now I remember why.
Nicolai bites his lip and tries his best to creep along, but it seems like he's finding a twig or two to step on.
Stealth
Daxius looks back every so often, checking if they're being followed.
Hyngrot ghosts forward, followed by a clattering cavalcade.
Realizing that his 'efforts' may be thwarting Hyngrot's, Nico hangs back.
Pontia also hangs back and lets the expert move in.
Though it takes every ounce of his restraint, Daxius stops in his noisy tracks.
As you slip through the trees, you come uncomfortably close to a human male in scruffy garb, armed with a shortbow and shortsword. He is atop a section of higher ground which is thinner in scrub and bushes than most of the woodland floor. Onl a small tree breaks up the space.
He looks bored but dutiful, scanning the trees in front of him occasionally and pacing back and forth around the small tree.
He is about 20' from you, and you are about 40' from your compadres.