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If'n it's all tha same, I'll keep me feet on tha ground. I can run fair 'nough, so I'll head ta tha town square, then come at 'er from tha roadway. If ye finds 'er first, hold ta position an I'll meet up wit ya an tha lass where ere tha be.
Bors will shoulder his pack, adjust his new sword arrangement for balance, and head off, watching both the roadway ahead for the lass and the darkening skyline for Bwana & associates to pass.
"What is the deal with this place?" she asks herself, quickly scanning the area for cover from the strangers and their mounts.
The nearest cover to Elisen is a a building maybe 30' away. An acrid stench of a tannery wafts faintly from the place. An outhouse stands across from the yard in front of the building.
Skerrin clings to the back of the giant bat, as the scything motion of its great wings eats up the distance to where Legba spotted the woman.
Where has she gone now? Do you still have a visual?
He then glances over his shoulder to check on Bors' and Augusto's progress; given the difficulty of the encounter with the Spriggans, he is reluctant to outpace the fighters too much...
Bors waves to the others flying off over the village, noting their angle of direction, then glances over his shoulder to Augusto.
Dinnae fret me friend. I'm sure tha others'll save some o' any fun fer us. Like me gran' used ta say, ne'er rains that ye don' get wet, ne'er bright tha ye don' get burnt. Life gives wat it does an' we makes o' it tha best we can.
With a nod, Bors turns back to the roadway and begins a full speed run towards whichever area the flyers seem to head.
What a choice, Elisen thinks, running toward what she believed to be the tannery. Once she enters the building, she immediately begins looking for a spot to scout the sky, looking for the bats and their riders.
Elisen reaches the safety of the tannery and runs in. Through the back window, she can see hides hanging in the yard. Through the front window, she can scout the skies.
Skerrin pulls-up his bat alongside Bwana's in the air outside the tannery.
"Don't land just yet" he conveys to Bwana via Message. "I would prefer to remain in the air until our 'ground support' arrives. Still, it would not hurt to open dialogue..."
He then turns to address the occupant of the tannery:
"Greetings. We were quite impressed with how you handled the boar. My name is Skerrin, and I have some skill in the arcane arts. We were sent here to discover the fate of the village. The rest of my companions will be along shortly, but in the mean-time, I think we can try to be civil...
Now, I am afraid we have a few questions for you: Who are you? Are you one of the villagers? If not, what are you doing in the area? Do you know what has happened here?"
"Civility would be appreciated, Skerrin, as I don't fancy hiding in this tannery all day, if I can help it," Elisen announces, still not sure of her situation. "I am Elisen Renard, a servant of Desna. I am not from this village; in fact, it sounds like I am here much the same as you. I am looking for someone who was in this town as well. What do you mean by fate of the village? Are there others missing?"
Elisen responds to the different voice she heard. "I haven't heard anything. My mother was in this village. She travels quite often, but after arriving here there has been no word form her. That is not like her at all. After a month of no word, I decided to come find her myself."
Thinking a bit, Elisen makes a decision. "I am coming out. Please don't have your bats eat me. That would not be very civil." She steps back out of the tannery, showing herself to the strangers.
Bors arrives a few moments later, with Augusto bringing up the chase.
Winded from the exertions of the day, Bors looks over the assemblage. Some of the mirth and humor returns to his face, lost over the day's previous battles and the realization that the townsfolk may have been lost to their fates.
Looks ta be, we've found ourselves a lost girlie. Not quite so fearsome a beastie as tha brutish fey we 'ad earlier. Still, kinnae be too careful. Legba best ta keep cap o'er us, whilst we learn tha facts o' it all.
Turning to the lass, his blades sheathed once more, If'n ye git ta changing sizes lassie, we'll be fer doin' ya right proper. We 'ad fair nough o' tha ta'dey. I am Bors Omanera, late of Mendev, an me an me assoicites 'ere hae been sent under charter ta discover the doin's o' Varnhold. I'd say ye arrived in town just in time fer nightfall, so tis fortunate fer ya. 'Ad ya arrived but a few 'ours ago, ye might've met much worse than our little band. Worse than a porkered piggie even. Might hae been much too much fer ye tis true.
Seeing the sun touching the skyline of the village, and falling fast Bors looks over the group once more. A'course, now ye be 'ere, we can nae let ya go, lest not till daybreak, as we kinnae vouch ferin yer safety an that o' our own, if'n ye gets ta wanderin round past dark. The town be forgotten by its peoples, but other nasties bits seem ta be takin' wit it. I be fer movin this party back ta tha fort, ta continue there lest ye'd gentlefolk prefer tha inn up the road there.
Looking at the one who introduced himself as 'Bors,'Elisen repeats the personal information she gave to the advance scouts only seconds earlier. "You clearly know much more about this area than I, so I would be happy to take your advice. However, I am no gentlefolk, I am a traveller of Desna. I have stayed in much worse places than an abandoned fort during my ventures."
She begins walking with the party. "What about size changers? If you had a tough battle with one, are any of you still suffering ails? Desna has blessed me with a miniscule bit of her talent for healing."
"Size-changers? Ah, well..."
Skerrin smiles and flexes his fingers.
"When we arrived in town, we discovered that it was infested with some size-changing fey creatures called Spriggans. Normally small, they can become large, and pack quite a wallop. There were a couple in the village centre, but the majority of them were clustered inside the fort. We cleaned those out, and were about to start a systematic search of the town when we were alerted to your presence.
Sadly, we found no evidence of what happened to the villagers, or even whether the Spriggans had anything to do with it..."
He then nods at Bors' words.
"I think that we should head back to the fort for the night. I would prefer a somewhat more defensible position, and then in the morning, we can finish searching the village properly."
Well lairds and lady, I'll be biddin' ya a good night. Wake me on me watch, or earlier if'n trouble starts. I learn't along time ago, ne'er pass up tha time ta sleep, ye can ne'er get it back, an ye always seem ta be needin more'n than ye got.
Bors rolls out his gear in a corner near the outer door inside the main building. In moments he's asleep, lightly snoring.
Elisen will sit on first watch with whoever normally takes it. She wants to find out more about what the gang have previously discovered, and more information about there being sent to investigate the village.
In the morning, she will be happy to help carry out whatever search plan the others have previously came up with.
A sign above the door depicts a rider clinging to the back of a madly galloping horse with a green mane and a fish's tail extending from its hind quarters. You notice a single word, apparently hastily scratched into the wood of the front door with a dagger in Common: "NOMEN". Inside, you see the inn's common room, painted a cheerful shade of yellow to match its red shutters. The tables of the inn are covered with half-full glasses filled with mead, that have spoiled. In the corner of the common room, near a booth, your eyes immediately fixate on the back of a spriggan that stands about 7' tall. It is not moving and is covered in a shimmering nimbus of amber. Bors points out to you that the back of the spriggan's skull is a shattered mess of blood and bone. You see a book on the floor entitled Secrets of Rashalka Mounds. You also notice a quill and ink, as well as other books in the booth: Iobarian Prehistory, The Centaur Skyles of Central Casmaron, The Untold Heritage of the Taldan Armies of Exploration. Each of the books has the same sigil on the cover.
You also see a letter jutting out at the bottom of the stack of books.
Perception for Brewery
Perception for Potter's House
Elisen walks into the establishment, looking for any clues to the whereabouts of the village. Instantly her eyes were drawn to the books, all of which had the exact same symbol on it. She looked closely to see if she recognized it.
Know. (History)
Know. (Nobility)
Know. (Religion)
Elisen spots a hidden door in the Potter's house and in a cushioning bed of straw, she finds an elegant set of flagons and platters, hand crafted in chased in platinum. There is a small placard indicating the set was intended as a wedding gift for King Novelski's eldest daughter next spring. It is worth 300 gp.
Elisen does not recognize the sigil on the cover of the books.
Knowledge(Nature) for Tannery:
Regarding the Inn:
Skerrin looks thoughtfully at the Spriggan, and the aura around it; he then casts Detect Magic and attempts to identify the aura/spell affecting the Spriggan... . He will then broaden his Detect Magic scan to checking-over the rest of the contents of the inn. Assuming that he notices nothing untoward, he will then move in closer to inspect the books.
Regarding the Inn:
Skerrin looks thoughtfully at the Spriggan, and the aura around it; he then casts Detect Magic and attempts to identify the aura/spell affecting the Spriggan... . He will then broaden his Detect Magic scan to checking-over the rest of the contents of the inn. Assuming that he notices nothing untoward, he will then move in closer to inspect the books.
Skerrin realizes that the "horse hides" hanging in the tannery are actually centaur hides with the human torso removed.
As to the inn, Skerrin quickly determines that the nimbus of amber is a result of a spell: Sepia Snake Sigil, used to protect books or works of writing. Skerrin detects no magic in the area. Skerrin inspects these books but finds nothing of interest.On the second floor of the inn, the party finds that only one of the 5 rooms was inhabited prior to the "incident" or "vanishing". By the personal effects, you can tell the occupant was a man named Ervil Pendrod, a professor of Iobarian ancient history at Oppara's Kitharodian Academy. Under the bed, you find a travel trunk of more reference books. The books have the seal of the Academy.
Skerrin is more than a little sickened when he realises the origin of the 'horse-hides' at the tanner's.
Skinning and curing the hides of fellow sentient creatures? I would have expected such behaviour from goblins, but not humans!
With disgust dripping from every word, Skerrin notes:
"Those hides came from centaurs! I sincerely hope that the leather-worker is dead; otherwise, he will wish he was shortly after I find him..."
He will then move to collect up the hides, and arrange for a suitable burial.
-----------------------------------------------
Regarding the Inn:
Looking up from the books and other notes, Skerrin comments:
"Interesting. It would appear that a village-member discovered a strange piece of jewelry, and sent for an expert, who brought all of these books, at least one of which was protected by a Sepia Snake Sigil, which is what that Spriggan ran afoul of."
Shall we move on?