As Adalwin and Eljoy move further out to look around, the girl steps out completely from behind the tree towards Jasper and Anor. She is rail thin, wearing a torn, dirty and faded dress that looks far from warm enough for the season. White scars criss-cross her bare arms and legs, barely visible beneath the dirt. She moves forward, then bends to pick up the food that Adalwin has left for her. She sniffs at it, then wolfs it down. “I’m Jeva,” she says between bites. “I think I saw those other children you’re looking for.”
Jasper begins riffling through the pockets and gear of the fallen. The dead woodsman has little of value or to identify him other than his axe (equivalent to a handaxe), a satchel containing some dried food wrapped in leaves (two days worth of rations) and a gold ring on one finger. The dead bugbears have a variety of weapons and armour between them; two morningstars, a heavy mace, seven javelins, a longbow, 16 arrows, three daggers including one that seems particularly well crafted, three suits of leather armour and three wooden shields, two light, one heavy.
Adalwin and Eljoy are able to easily pick up the trail of the human and the small, three-toed creatures, heading north. The trail is less than a day old. They also find more recent tracks of the woodsman, who seemed to also be heading north, and the three bugbears, who approached through the woods from the west.
"Hello Jeva. I was going to ask if you knew where the other children had gone, or been taken. But it looks like my friends found the tracks. Were they with the three-toed creatures when you saw them? Were they running away, or being taken?"
"We are going to have to pursue them, but I'd rather not leave you alone in the woods. Would you come with us? do you have family in town we can take you to?"
"This way. We found the trail again." Eljoy announces. More quietly to Adalwin he continues,"What do you make of these tracks?"
"I wonder if the woodsman was also following the tracks of the children, trying to find them? Looks like he was just unfortunate that he crossed paths with the bugbears at the same time... Still at least we know the kids were alive, until recently at least. We should hurry though."
Jasper pockets the ring for future examination. Maybe someone in town will recognize it. I don't want anyone trying to sell it until we try to find his family.
The well-crafted dagger is too large for him to wield, but maybe one of the others can use it, so he keeps a hold of it. "Weapons and armor is all the goblins had. Maybe we can sell them in town?" He leads Percival to the pile of weapons and attempts to load them on the poor mule.
"This way. We found the trail again." Eljoy announces. More quietly to Adalwin he continues,"What do you make of these tracks?"
[Dice= know local dead forester, untrained]1d20
He looks vaguely familiar, but with his face half bashed in it's hard to tell exactly who he was.
"Hello Jeva. I was going to ask if you knew where the other children had gone, or been taken. But it looks like my friends found the tracks. Were they with the three-toed creatures when you saw them? Were they running away, or being taken?"
"We are going to have to pursue them, but I'd rather not leave you alone in the woods. Would you come with us? do you have family in town we can take you to?"
Jeva shakes her head sadly and swallows the food in her mouth. "No, I don't have any family," she says. Then she suddenly smiles widely. "But I can come with you! I can help, I know these woods. The small lizard-monsters snuck up on the children and took them away. I think I know where they are going."
Jasper pockets the ring for future examination. Maybe someone in town will recognize it. I don't want anyone trying to sell it until we try to find his family.
The well-crafted dagger is too large for him to wield, but maybe one of the others can use it, so he keeps a hold of it. "Weapons and armor is all the goblins had. Maybe we can sell them in town?" He leads Percival to the pile of weapons and attempts to load them on the poor mule.
Anor smiles as the girl brightens up. "Good, we can use all the help we can get. Some of the boys" She nods towards Reekis and Eljoy "might get grumpy about it, but ignore them."
Adalwin starts edging along the trail he and Eljoy have picked up, looking back impatiently at his companions, but conscious of the importance of gaining the trust of Jeva.
"Guys, time may be a factor here." He calls back, trying to sound calm as he pictures the horrible fates that could be awaiting the children of the town.
"Almost done! Jeva, is it? The armor these monsters were wearing will hardly fit you, but you might want to carry one of their shields to protect yourself."
Anor grins at Jeva as if to say "I told you so" then says "Yes, let's get going."
Oliver stays mostly quiet and out of the way. Anor seems to have eased the girl, and the other men have handled spotting the trail. He doesn't want to be either a bother or obstacle, so he sits back until such a time as he feels his assistance is needed.
"Hey Jasper, what's... What?! She's coming with us now? We just met her. Send her back to the village if it bothers you so much!"
"I'd rather send you back to the village, she's probably more useful! She's young and scared, and needs our protection."
"We. Don't. Know. Her." Reekis runs his hand through his hair in frustration. "This forest is dangerous. She isn't one of the kids we are trying to find. Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit suspicious that we are looking for kids and - hey presto! - a kid shows up out of nowhere. Right where we find some man eating goblins and some poor sap with his head bashed in! Am I the only one who can see the juxtaposition here? I mean, give her some food if it makes you feel good about yourselves, but we don't want her or need her if we are going into a fight! Stop f%#!ing trusting things if they come with a pretty face! That's how saps get rolled." He turns to the girl. "You know Falcons Hollow, the village, right? Go there, see the herbalist, tell her..." He eyes Anor. "Tell her Anor sent you. She'll see you right. If you've been living in the forest you should get there fine by yourself."
"Reek, you're paranoid. She's unarmed! She stays with me, I'll take full responsibility for her. If she turns out to be a soul eating daemon I'll make sure to deal with her. Now move, before we lose the light."
Meanwhile, Jasper is slowly riding Percival away from the confrontation, looking from one combatant to the other and wondering who's right.
"Being paranoid has kept me alive. Has anyone even attempted to see if she's telling the truth? And since when do most monsters need weapons to rip your head off or melt your brain?" He turns back to the girl. "So what happened to your family? And how have you been surviving out here by yourself?"
Anor sighs, "We can do thus on the way." she takes the girls hand, and starts moving off with the others.
Anor smiles as the girl brightens up. "Good, we can use all the help we can get. Some of the boys" She nods towards Reekis and Eljoy "might get grumpy about it, but ignore them."
Jeva smiles shyly at Anor and falls in beside her.
"Almost done! Jeva, is it? The armor these monsters were wearing will hardly fit you, but you might want to carry one of their shields to protect yourself."
"Ah ... no thankyou," the slight girl says, looking dubiously at the shield. "It looks heavy ... and I've never used one before, I wouldn't know how."
"We. Don't. Know. Her." Reekis runs his hand through his hair in frustration. "This forest is dangerous. She isn't one of the kids we are trying to find. Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit suspicious that we are looking for kids and - hey presto! - a kid shows up out of nowhere. Right where we find some man eating goblins and some poor sap with his head bashed in! Am I the only one who can see the juxtaposition here? I mean, give her some food if it makes you feel good about yourselves, but we don't want her or need her if we are going into a fight! Stop f+*~ing trusting things if they come with a pretty face! That's how saps get rolled." He turns to the girl. "You know Falcons Hollow, the village, right? Go there, see the herbalist, tell her..." He eyes Anor. "Tell her Anor sent you. She'll see you right. If you've been living in the forest you should get there fine by yourself."
Jeva looks between Anor and Reekis wide eyed as they argue. The girl trembles slightly, rubbing her bare, scarred upper arms.
“I know the village,” she says quietly, “but no one wants me there. Miss Elara said so. You think I have a pretty face?” She smiles shyly at Reekis.
"Reek, you're paranoid. She's unarmed! She stays with me, I'll take full responsibility for her. If she turns out to be a soul eating daemon I'll make sure to deal with her. Now move, before we lose the light."
"I'm not a daemon. Really, I'm not," Jeva says anxiously to Anor. "I'd never eat a soul ... I don't know how."
Oliver, sitting quietly most of the discussion, adds his thoughts. "Reekis, is this poor child was some creature of ill-meaning, or a forest spirit, wouldn't it be wiser to be the one to offer aid or show mercy? If she had some great power, should you not worry also that she may take it out on whosoever treated her harshly?"
All the same, given the man's insistence, he casts a quick cantrip to be sure. "If she had some duplicitous power, I could possibly spot it by looking for magical auras about her." Turning to Jeva, he offers, "Do not fret child, it is merely a detection spell, and won't hurt a bit. We just want to ease the mind of our nervous companion."
"You think I have a pretty face?” She smiles shyly at Reekis.
"Don't try it on, girl," growls Reekis, "And anyway, you are too young for me."
"Ah ... no thankyou," the slight girl says, looking dubiously at the shield. "It looks heavy ... and I've never used one before, I wouldn't know how."
"Almost done! Jeva, is it? The armor these monsters were wearing will hardly fit you, but you might want to carry one of their shields to protect yourself."
With a cheerful smile, he climbs into the saddle. "Me too! They are too heavy for me and I have no idea how one would use it. Maybe as a wall for a night shelter!" He rides past the glowering lumberjack toward Adalwin.
"Can you tell from the tracks how many we are following? The girl said lizard monsters caught the children..." He turns toward the girl, but thinks better of raising his voice, so mostly asks the trees, "I wonder how big a lizard monster is?"
With a cheerful smile, he climbs into the saddle. "Me too! They are too heavy for me and I have no idea how one would use it. Maybe as a wall for a night shelter!" He rides past the glowering lumberjack toward Adalwin.
"Can you tell from the tracks how many we are following? The girl said lizard monsters caught the children..." He turns toward the girl, but thinks better of raising his voice, so mostly asks the trees, "I wonder how big a lizard monster is?"
Adalwin breathes a sigh of relief as the others finally ready themselves to continue. He sets as quick a pace as he can whilst still following the tracks, finding it hard not to race ahead and risk losing the trail.
He flashes a smile at Jasper as the halfling rides along side him. "Reekis is scared of a little girl." He chuckles, before answering his friends question. "I don't think they are very big, the tracks look pretty small. I'm not sure how many we are following, although it may not matter anyway - they could be taking them to a larger group or camp. I hope the kids are ok. They must be so scared." He stops for a moment, staring at the tracks and trying to determine the number of lizard creatures they are following.
You recall that the ruined orphanage you were just investigating was known as ‘Elara’s Halfway House’ before it burned down.
"Being paranoid has kept me alive. Has anyone even attempted to see if she's telling the truth? And since when do most monsters need weapons to rip your head off or melt your brain?" He turns back to the girl. "So what happened to your family? And how have you been surviving out here by yourself?"
“My parents were killed by monsters when I was little,” replies the girl sadly, tears welling in her eyes. “I was taken in by Miss Elara when no-one else in Falcon’s Hollow would look after me. Then there was a fire and all the other children and Miss Elara died. I don’t know how long I’ve been living here since then … I saw those children from the town yesterday, I wanted to play with them, but I was scared in case they wouldn’t like me. Miss Elara said that I was not the sort of girl that people liked …”
Reekis folds his arms. "Unarmed, yeah? So what's that dagger under her dress? And I assume it's not because she's pleased to see us."
Adalwin, based on their footprints you think that the three-toed creatures are small and light, probably about halfling sized. It’s hard to tell how many of them there are, probably more than 5 and less than 10.
"I thought I recognised that name.... the orphanage burned down years ago.... how have you survived so long?"
Reekis folds his arms. "Unarmed, yeah? So what's that dagger under her dress? And I assume it's not because she's pleased to see us."
"Oh this?" asks Jeva, wiping away her tears and pulling a dagger from a sheath resting under a loose flap of her dress. "I use this for all sorts of things - sometimes I catch little animals to eat, I need to cut out all the inside bits. Sometimes I use it to make marks on trees so I don't get lost. Sometimes I need to use it to scare off things like the lizard monsters, or the needle people, or the cold ones, or the bad men ... That's how I survived here," she adds, looking at Anor. "But you'll look after me now, won't you? I won't need this anymore." She offers the knife to Anor.
Anor takes the knife, and considers the girl.
"Lets just go. We can deal with what to do with her later. I take full responsibility for her Reek. But we need to go."
Reekis narrows his eyes at the girl, but gives grudging assent to her accompanying the group.
Oliver is somewhat following the exchange, but something the girl says gets his attention. "Wait. Who are the 'needle people' or the 'cold-ones'. I'm unfamiliar with this terminology or species, and would love to hear more about them."
"Looks like there are 7 or 8 of these 'lizard monsters', give or take. Not to say they wont be joining more though." Adalwin announces to the group, setting off again after the tracks, this time not waiting to see if the others are following.