Daphne holds her shot waiting to see if the wolf is hostile.
No sense provoking the thing. Veil has this.
"It's just a wolf, but wolves don't always hunt alone. Be wary. We should probably search that wagon and make camp once the wolf decides if it's going to be dinner.
What reaches your ears are the sound of the ghostly lion's roar and the loud yipe of the wolf as Coyote's jolt arches out and catches the wolf in the rear causing it to continue to run. The wolf disappeared into the blackness, greeted by a chorus of distant howls.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Alice calms down, and summons a light to examine the wagon by.
|
Coyote flutters up into the air, That wolf will think twice about messing with us now. She looks out into the blackness and studies the wagon in the distance. I suppose we should check that out and then make camp for the night. We are also going to need to be careful of other wolves. Smiling as she said wolves.
Kawa leans forward. Well, wasn't that a scare? She said. Don't suppose that was one of those things we were supposed to keep an eye out for?
She hummed to the sky. That late already, eh?
Sleeply Eva replies to Kawa
"I don't think so. There are likely much worse out here like Owlbears, Kawa."
Having just awoken, Io's mental voice is unusually 'loud'. OF COURSE THERE's WORSE- he thinks aloud, touching his head as he realizes he was projecting louder than he intended. He dials it down.
Sorry. I was only going to say that there is more dangerous things in the woods now. We are here.
He retreats back into the wagon, shaking his head and mentally chastising himself for forgetting to whisper.
Kawa rubs her temples at the sudden mental shouting. Owlbears? Thought those were folklore from the imaginations of those with too much to drink. She thought for a bit. Though with all the odd things I've seen, I'm not sure what makes them so strange. Must be the thought of an owl and a bear... yeah... .
They're real enough, although moon mad.
Alice nods at the sky.
We still have a little bit of light, best to make use of it and help any survivors. If there aren't any we'll still need to strip whatever is useful from that wreck, and bury the bodies before we can setup camp. Best to start quickly.
I'll keep an eye out, Onee-San. Kawa said to Alice, leaning outside the carriage and scanning the area as far as her fiendish sight would allow.
Alice begins searching the wagon with veil.
"This looks salvageable, we could hook it up and pull it if we had to. Hopefully someone is still alive in here. Hello the wagon?"
Eva checks the wagon over with the rest for anything of use or value.
"If the wagon is too damaged we could salvage parts like wagon wheels"
The area is mostly flat around the road, the further you move from the road you slop up into a small hill on the right with forest in the distance and on the left it remains flat and stretches off toward the woods the wolf traveled too. Upon investigating the wagon you find it is mostly intact and could probably still run if you had something to pull it. There is a body on the ground that you spotted from road. The body shows signs of predation, of being eaten at by the wolf.
Those with darkvision can see signs of what may be drag marks off down to the left of the wagon toward the woods. But the light is rapidly fading so those with low light can see only so much without closer investigation.
Eva upon investigating the wagon finds that it appears to be full of supplies such as furs, food, and other such material worth roughly 500 gold worth of material. Though some of the crates appear to have been knocked off the wagon and the one behind where the driver of the wagon has sat seems to have been knocked over on its side and there was blood on the wagon seat.
Kawa steps up to the body, looking over it. Judging by my vast experience with medicine, I think I can say with the utmost certainty that this body... She pauses for dramatic effect. Is dead. She laughed a bit to herself. Just kidding around, seriously though, give me a few seconds and... She trailed off.
"Most of the goods are in good condition, and it's total would be worth a lot, And I'm guessing someone slit the driver's throat, given the blood at the drivers seat and subtle hints of a struggle from the driver's seat."
Wolf ate the... fleshy pieces off of the neck. Not a lot of bone damage, looks like it was looking for a nice, soft meal.
She points to the odd, straight-edged cut. What do you think this is, it's not like the other wounds. It looks more like a weapon-wound than one from being mauled by a wolf. She hummed. Is it possible that the wolf was just... scavenging?
Do you need my assistance? Io asks from within the wagon.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Kawa gestures for Io to come over. Over here, do you have any ideas about this? She said, pointing towards the black-sheep wound.
"Well then. Mystery in the morning. For now, we burn the body and clean up the blood."
Alice sets about pacing off space for a pit to build a pyre.
"We can bury the ashes when we move on. It looks like the wagon is functional. So that's one less thing to worry about. Ugh, the mayor wasn't kidding when he said there was a bandit problem. Throat slit like cattle. Strip the unfortunate fellow. No sense burning his dagger, or arming his shade. Was he alone?"
She trails off noticing the marks.
"Change of plans. Someone tell me these aren't drag marks. Anyone? Time to look for tracks. So much for a restful evening, we have a missing person to find."
Io walks over to the body and stands still, examining it. At least, he could be. He could also be daydreaming its hard to tell without a face to read.
Ah... I've got it. he answers.
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
Veilwar respectfully makes a sign of blessing on the body, then turns to the group. "I'll scout around the camp for anything we may have overlooked. Alice, burning the body is a good idea.
Leaving the group behind Veilwar scouts the wagon and its perimeter, ensuring not to leave too far in case he encounters another creature.
Veilwar
Szo Cuta
Amusingly enough Io is the only one who really notices the drag marks and can clearly see them. Through the investigation of the drag marks he would notice they where a few hours old.
The body of the driver carried a dagger at the belt, a purse containing 6 GP. He didn't seem to carry any special gear on him.
Any of you who know combat better than dear Kawa know the signs and can confirm this man's throat was sliced from behind by the looks of it.
Those who investigate the drag marks can mostly tell they are old and drag someone or something off into the direction of the woods.
There was something heavy here. It was dragged away a few hours ago. Io tells everyone.
He will walk about 20ft in the direction the drag marks went.
-Posted with Wayfinder
How far? Does the trail lead anywhere? Kawa asked. Should we follow it? Kawa gets up to follow Io, searching around the area with her darkvision.
The trail continues beyond the 20 ft that Io initially follows it. It clearly stretches further perhaps all the way to the woods or thereabouts. The body will burn easily provided a fire is made for it meaning enough wood and such to burn the body.
For those who searched the body, among the small things you got off the body was what players will recognize as a wallet, it has his name on it at the very least. Gordon Wallace was the man's name and his merchant license had the symbol of Rustov stamped on it.
The trail would be very easy to follow, no one seemed to make attempts to hide the marks.
I will follow the trail. Come with me...
The gatekeeper starts down the tracks
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
Coyote adds an additional life link with Io, Veil. Io. Be careful as you look for the possibility of another who may have met a horrible death.
She then arranges the firewood for the burning of the body, and then uses Spark to begin the flame. She returns to Mr. Wallace's body to offer a pray to Desna for his departed soul.
My Goddess, may Mr. Wallace's soul find solace in the afterlife, for he met a horrible fate. Sanctify this body as we burn it to ensure that his soul does not meet an even more horrible fate as becoming an undead.
The two that track the drag marks will find pretty clear drag marks. But as they head closer to the forest the ground is softer and less hardened down presenting them with further tracks in the soft dirt along with the drag marks.
The body burns well and the prayer gives some peace to you all. After all there will be no undead to rise and attack you in your sleep. The fire burns brightly giving all there clear sight for 30 ft from its source. But by this point the sun has set and darkness surrounds you, its perhaps too late to continue on tonight.
"Camp or nighttime run through the woods after unknown assailants? Hrm. I think we have to camp, as much fun as a midnight run might be."
|
|
Yes let's make camp for the night, I know that I am ready for sleep. Looks around for a place to set up the Pavilion that Io got for the group and a place to set up her own tent close to the Pavilion.
Once the tents are assembled, Coyote spends a few minutes composing in her journal before turning in for the night. Wake me when it is time for my shift of watch.
This is what I have for shifts, if Frosch is still part of the group.
Kawa drops to her knees near the end of the trail. She didn't know much at all about tracking and the like, but what she could do was look for anything incriminating apart from the tracks, She searched the area from a worm's eye view.
If you don't mind my asking, Io, what are you, er... 'seeing', right now? I'm curious.
Kawa drops to her knees near the end of the trail. She didn't know much at all about tracking and the like, but what she could do was look for anything incriminating apart from the tracks, She searched the area from a worm's eye view.
If you don't mind my asking, Io, what are you, er... 'seeing', right now? I'm curious.
Much the same as you, I would suspect. Except from what I've been told you see something called 'color'. Io responds, his mental tone amused.
This is some kind of footprint, though I know not what kind of being it belongs to. Io responds after looking the footprints over.
They go that way, though The Gatekeeper responds, mentally projecting the complex thought of direction into her head.[/b][/i]
You set up camp just fine on the side of the road (At least I assume you didn't set it up in the road) and find the ground is firm and flat. The night is full of sounds of distant howls and calls from the forest some ways away, but nothing you can identify right away. It appears to just be the animal life of the region.
"Mallard was a knight, not a merchant, it's probably the bandits we were warned about. Still, we'll see what there is to be found in the morning. No use worrying about it on watch. I don't suppose Szo has a sister that wants to be a bow? I've always wondered what Larkwing would say about the trouble we've been in."
Daphne pats her bow and talks quietly with veil through their shift about weapons and past adventures.
Sometimes I wish I could see through your... eyes, so to speak. Kawa closes her eyes with the arrival of the images in her head. She soon finds those same images right in front of her as she opens her eyes. Way to go, Io.