"Well, well, this is interesting." Azri observed, casually ambling over to a particular part of the rubble and nudging rocks aside to reveal more of a body. "There's claw marks over there, but some kind of piercing spear wound here..." How very fascinating indeed.
Mihara soon catches up with the party, with Ayreth in tow.
"We figured it would be best to catch up with the lot of you before we got separated, since we heard no commotion."
"This is quite the interesting scene we've stumbled upon," she idly observes.
"Poor guy: that's one scared face. Do kobolds use spear claws, or something like that? At least we know who did this." the half-succubus comments, before looking around the roof. Squinting her eyes, she points to an heavily fortified building near the center of the island "I can see the wisp of a fire coming from there. Want to check?"
Aibek listened to the others while moving towards the bottom of one ladder; pausing at Ayreth's comments about the roof. Calling up, Aibek said, "Was that talk of claw marks? and fire? Which direction do you see the wisps of fires..." Aibek said, pointing towards various openings where they could see out while thoughts of claws danced in the witchwolf's head...
"Claw marks? How odd. I'll go take a closer look," Mihara says, leaping off and soaring to inspect the strange creases.
Azri pointed in the right direction for Aibek. She simply hadn't brought it up because she figured that ascertaining the immediate safety of her family was more important than checking out that little issue. Of course, they'd surely get to it in due time...
The gouges in the ancient sandstone are fresh, and have obviously been made by a large creature perching on the stonework, one of the few places that could support the mass of a larger than medium creature and anything it bore. Beyond that, however, it's difficult to say.
Aibek followed the motion Azri pointed, then found a stable hole where windows once were and perched on it. Using one hand to shade their eyes from the sun, Aibek around at the visible horizon and the area around them...
With the knowledge of where to look Aibek can also see the wisps of smoke. In addition, she sees something moving on a roof top near to the source of the smoke.
Perched on the windowsill, Aibek watched the smoke and movement silently before quietly getting down and moving back slightly from the window hole, leaning against one side of it while trying remain mostly in shadow. Looking back at the others still in the mill, Aibek tried to quietly motioned to the others that they'd seen something out the window before turning attention to the movement on the rooftop...
"All right, let's see what's going on over there." Azri said, slipping stealthily forward towards the area with the wisps of smoke. A little bit of scouting would help them know what was going on here... and what the best way to respond would be.
After stretching a little, Selena follows after the group as they move closer to the wisp of smoke. In proximity of the fortress, she stops to allow Azri and Aibek to scout ahead.
"Be careful, okay? As soon as you spot something, come back here and we'll take care of it."
It takes time to get to the other building. Detouring from blocked roads, around and through broken buildings, and around holes in the ground revealing basements that have caved in takes some effort, and shows how hard this particular area was hit. Here and there are the ghost of attempted repairs and restoration, but as it stands this island would be most useful as a source of masonry.
Eventually, however, you approach the hulking building. Across an open courtyard sits what the sign proclaims to be the Armoury. It's thick walls are still standing strong and tall, and it even seems to have the bulk of it's roof. A splintered pile of wood and rusted iron straps to one side is all that attests to the doors final fate.
Thanks to your approach, you probably haven't been seen...yet. But approaching from the front without being seen by anyone or anything within the Armoury will be difficult.
Azri tilted her head and looked at the armory - definitely an interesting place, and perhaps one that would have many useful supplies... but any threats inside could be well-armed, too. They'd need to be rather sneaky if they really wanted to investigate the area, and Azri glanced back at Mihara.
"Should we look for a backdoor or something similar? I doubt that waltzing trough the front door with a basket of fruit in hand will get us far. " the half-succubus whispers to her friends, looking at the building.
"I would suggest creating a distraction, that could show us if there is anything around to respond. As well as aid any attempts at infiltration. Do any of you have such spells?"
Were they in an urban area he would pay some locals, sadly unless they ran into a wild animal they could subdue then release. Magic would be the way to go, perhaps he would see about acquiring items for such tactics.
"Are we certain that they are hostile? For all we know, could we not be faced with ruin-dwellers who merely enjoy their isolation?"
Mihara's tone made it clear that she was hardly confident in the idea. As it were, sneaking up on these people would almost guarantee their hostility, while a more diplomatic approach had a slim chance of succeeding without anyone getting hurt.
Selena opens and closes her mouth a couple of times. "I...did not think of that." the half-succubus says, furrowing her brow "Maybe you could prepare to sneak in, while I try to knock on the main door and try to talk to them?"
"Maybe we should have watched them more from that mill window hole, though we may find a better watching point closer to here if we wanted too..." Aibek quietly commented while looking up at the buildings around them. Conflicted on whether finding a new watch point would be of use or whether they should focus more on finding a way in, Aibek continued to scan the area for anything that would help them with either but was unsure of what the others would fine useful...
"A wise plan. We may be best served by keeping watch for a time and seeing who we're up with. Going to their front door would be dangerou., Seeing if we can spot some of their scouts should prove safer."
Mihara looks with Aibek, hoping to find a good watch point.
Observing the armoury eventually reveals that it most certainly manned, and the people inside are on the defensive. They seem to be a mixed group with no real uniformity in terms of gear and equipment, and you see several species and races represented. They don't seem to have spotted you, but other than they are armed and prepared, your answers are illusive.
Noting the way that the others seemed to be missing the important details, Azri took a much closer look at the area, trying to see if she could notice anything they hadn't before they moved forward. She trusted her stealthiness, but... well, she didn't want to hurt anyone if they didn't need to be hurt. Who knew? Maybe these people could become the core of a city guard.
Selena watches the fort from a distance, moving her hair out of her view to see if the people inside looked like dangerous murderers.
Unfortunately, she notices that she was wearing one of her bracelets upside down, so she probably misses any important detail as she adjust it.
"It's no good. We're too far to get a good look; but any closer and they might see us. Shall we try a diplomatic approach?"
The additional time to watch the Armoury reveals nothing about the people inside, but it does reveal something about why they're so on guard. On top of another building Azri spots a small, reptilian creature with gold-tinged red scales.
The kobolds are watching this place too.
Nigrum helps Azri look into the group.
Azri quietly tapped Mihara's arm and pointed up to the roof where the Kobolds were watching. If they could eliminate the Kobolds, they might be able to get on the good side of this group and open a dialogue with them. Nothing like doing someone a favor to earn their trust, after all - and she needed all the trust she could get.
Nodding to Ayreth and Foxy, Selena walks towards the gate. Smiling, she waves to whoever is on the walls or at the gate.
"" the half-succubus tries to catch their attention, hoping not to be riddled by arrows "We're from one of the south islands of the city: we've heard there were people here too, so we came to check! Actually, we've started to work to get the city up and running with..." she gestures to the ruins around her "...less rubble and more actual buildings. What do you do here?"
"Uhhh...what?" A short man with a mop of blonde curls slowly moves out from behind what would have been a door post, if the door still existed, carrying a nicely made longbow. "What do we do? We're, uh, treasure hunters. We're hunting treasures." He paused a for a moment. "What are you doing here? I mean here, here. I thought no one came to this part anymore. Except us. 'Cos we're hunting treasures."
"As for our group, it's quite simple; we are merely surveying what remains of the islands. This one seems rather fascinating, with all these ruins. We are not troubling you, I hope? Have you been having Kobold troubles? We've seen some curious tracks and marks all about."
Mihara flashes the man her brightest, most charming smile, her elaborate - and miraculously spotless and unmarred by travel - outfit only accentuating her presence.
Azri didn't go forward - instead, she slipped to the side, aiming to get closer to the Kobolds so she could monitor their movements. Stealth was one of the things she prided herself on... and the fact that she didn't need to breathe and could hold exceptionally still was probably a major part of that.
Sneak sneak. Sneak sneak.
"Oooooh, treasure hunting! Found anything interesting?"
"You've seen the Kobolds? I mean, seen there tracks? Crap on a stick! Are they near here? We thought we'd managed to loose them." He glanced around, bow held warily - and professionally. Whatever else he, he seems to be a proficient archer. "Treasure?" he asked distractedly. "Oh, this place has a bunch of vaults and buildings that got sealed when the city got wrecked. There has to be something worth sealing, y'know?"
While Mihara struggles to pick up on the foolish guard's cues, Ayreth's insinuations are simple to pick up on.
"As for the Kobolds, I'm afraid they're rather close. We've spotted one of them not too far from here, scouting the area. Treasure hunters or not, we'd hate to see someone be injured by those creatures."
Azri carefully listened as she moved.
Of course, as the new rulers of the city, they had a vested interest in stopping people from looting areas and taking whatever they wanted. Indeed, outside of the slavery bit, that was the whole point of stopping pirates. Manpower was something they were still looking for, though, and officially-sanctioned treasure gatherers (who turned over most of what they found, and were permitted to keep a small amount) might be rather useful.
...Besides, they didn't want anyone absconding with one of the items they needed to run the city. Tracking such a thing down would be an incredible pain, even for an ageless undead like her.
The guard looked puzzled for a moment. "But if it's guaranteed, doesn't that mean someone else will already have gone got it? I dunno. The Boss says we look here, so I assume he knows what he's talking about, otherwise he wouldn't be the Boss?" The last part came out rather as a question.
"And yeah, those Kobolds aren't normal. Yarls says they got a frickin' dragon with them. Last thing we need."
Selena nods at her sister. "Yup! I wouldn't even think about fighting against a dragon! That's incredible of you!" she smiles at the guard.
Aibek stayed back quietly, glancing between the moving group and their surroundings. Selena, Mihara, and Ayreth seemed to have the guard in hand and even in the shadows, Aibek was not as stealthy as Azri. Feeling a little lost and dazzled by the light adn unfamiliar surrounds, Aibek moved back further into the shadows, though not hearing the comments about a dragon. Swirling thoughts of homes pulled through while Aibek tried to clear thoughts to find a shaded high places to get a better look at things...