"I've got one more of those potions from earlier, and if we could find some berries I could magic them up to heal people. We should find the most defensible building to hole up in if we're going to rest now. Don't want anymore creepy goblin mutants attacking while we sleep."
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"The most defensible is probably the food house. It is the only one without windows. But, it is also full of bugs and rotten food.
Perhaps the tool house? It only has one window and one door, which we should be able to barricade fairly easily.
There is no way to ward ourselves against the Ankhegs though, but a wooden floor might keep them from feeling our vibrations.
We should draw some water from the well and then make preparations."
After helping to collect water from the well inside the palisade, Simon is going to make a quick run through Arkley's house and the courthouse looking for secret door.
He will drink his elixir of Detect Secret Doors then spend just enough time attempting to detect the existence of secret doors before moving on.
Start with Arkley's house, then proceed to the courthouse only if there is time remaining to keep searching.
It lasts for a minute and has a 60ft range. Perhaps I could stand between the two buildings for two rounds to detect presence, number, and location?
Simon scans the buildings inside the palisade, but doesn't find any secret doors in any of them.
"I can create any water we need. Maybe a second floor to avoid the ankhegs."
Deciding the second floor of the government house is likely the safest place to avoid the ankhegs, you camp there to rest and recover. The sun sets after a few hours, and the sounds of nocturnal insects breaks the eerie silence of the abandoned colony. The night passes without event, and you awake refreshed and ready to continue your exploration.
Victrix stretches and puts her armour back on as dawn breaks. "Feelin' a mite better. Time ta check out the palm tree, then?"
"Sounds like an excellent plan. I'll be right back." Kip slipped out the window and scurried up the outside of the building up to the roof, and scanned their surroundings for both additional clues, and any new enemies skulking about. After his quick look, Kip returned to his companions, ready to set forth to the tree.
"...must've been 'alf-asleep. I meant plum tree."
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"I have been thinking.
Those strange tracks of the thing rolling a barrel down the trail were headed in the general direction of the plum tree.
Maybe we can start following the tracks and accomplish both tasks at once. If the tracks diverge, we can mark where we leave the trail and continue to the plum tree."
"Hmmm... I need to learn how to track things."
"Sounds good to me. Now let's go get some tasty plums!" Kip said enthusiastically and bounced outside.
Simon is able to follow the trail for a bit. The trail leads south through the open gate to the houses outside of the palisade. Rows of small cottages line the crossroads of two streets formed by months of regular foot traffic. The scene is silent and still. The houses are recently built, but there is no sign of life or activity. Many of these simple homes have no proper shutters, and in some cases even lack doors. Nearby, once-cut grass has begun to regrow undisturbed. Gardens and plots of farmland behind some houses have begun to grow wild as weeds threaten to choke out the vegetables and herbs.
Simon loses the trail at the crossroads, though, and is unable to follow it further. You head southeast near one of the overgrown vegetable patches. Standing near an evergreen tree south of the patch is a fruit-bearing tree with spiny branches and reddish-purple, apple-shaped plums. A few plums have fallen to the ground to spoil in the heat and birds have pecked at others. Nevertheless, there are still many fruits still fit to pick and eat.
Searching around the tree, Simon discovers a spot on the ground, next to a fist sized stone, where the earth has been disturbed. Digging a few inches beneath the soil yields a small, flat, leather pouch like a wallet. It seems to have been buried for a few weeks, but is not significantly deteriorated. Inside the wallet is a note:
After Dulin went on the “fishing expedition,” I thought it was smart to change the drop point, lest they drag it out of him. Rayland is becoming bolder and cockier now that more people have resumed supporting him. Don’t tell him anything, no matter how convincing he seems. If necessary, talk to Eliza, she’s on our side and it’s clear that Rayland resents her for usurping his authority. Some of us plan on taking the canoe—since those bastards conveniently took the boat—and finding somewhere to hole up until the supply ship comes. We can’t all go at once, so wait for the quarter moon and go down to the docks a few hours past nightfall. Barnabus will pick you up. Don’t get followed!
—Una
Victrix reads the note, her brow furrowing. "...well, this just got a bit more complicated. Smugglin', 'ere?"
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Simon leans against the tree and closes his eyes, trying to sort out everything that has happened.
"A secret cabal, perhaps two, within the original explorers. Yes, Victrix, I agree that smuggling artifacts was their likely intent.
Rayland does not appear to have been one of them, as they were working to undermine his authority. The wizard was involved, as well as people named Dulin, Eliza, and Barnabus.
Kip, what do we know about those names?"
Simon waits patiently for Kip to find the names in the charter and then continues.
"Interesting... Well, this Barnabus seems to have gotten himself caught by the other faction. At the time this note was written, the canoe was still in tact, and there was another boat as well.
They were (or still are) waiting for the ship to come. Are they still waiting? Are they even now at the alternate site with the ship and the rest of the colonists?
None of this explains why the settlement was suddenly abandoned, nor why Silas would have been killed."
Blinking up at the sun, he wipes his head with a handkerchief and stands up.
"There is nothing for it but to keep looking for additional clues.
To be thorough, we should examine the remainder of the structures outside of the palisade. I don't expect we will find much, but we need to be sure.
Then, we either need to try to figure out where those barrels were being rolled to, try to find where this cabal laid up, or proceed to the secondary landing site to warn them of the intrigue."
Kip quickly scanned through the document at Simon's request. "Do you think it was a cult? Or maybe one of the townsfolk was secretly a vampire, and spent the entire journey here plotting in the lower decks of the ship, and then when they arrived began preying on the townfolk and then building a group of vampire thralls and then Silas found out and was going to expose them to the whole village so they killed him and locked his body in the closet where no one except daring explorers would find him?"
When the others looked at him doubtingly, Kip added, "Or smugglers. Yeah it could be that too."
Before they returned to the town, Kip scampered up the tree and picked a few plums for later, offering some to the others. "Without more information I'm not sure where to start looking for the offenders, but we could look for people at the rendezvous location. Sounds like they might have escaped whatever Una and Barnabus had planned."
You already know that Una Hendrake was a mage and Rayland Arkley was the leader of the colonists. Other names you reference on the charter include Johann Dulin, Eliza Haniver, and Barnabus Braeton. Unfortunately, no further information can be gleaned from the document.
You search through the houses outside the palisade. The colonists' houses all tell a similar story: the occupants are missing and show no sign that they packed their belongings. There are a few useful mundane items--a compass, a sewing kit, cookware and the like--but nothing of great value. There are no signs of violence in any of these homes.
Atop a sloping hill stands a solitary cottage built apart from the rest of the colony. A stone well has been built not far from the house’s front door. A large stone near the entrance is painted with the words “Levin Farm.”
The house has a thatched roof, a single entrance with a working door, and a few shuttered windows. Just south of the cottage is a tilled vegetable patch that grows wild from neglect.
After a nights rest in the safest place they could find Emalliandra awoke and began to study her spell book intently. She didn't change much from her lineup, deciding to replace on of her spells with something more suited to combat given the kinds of things they'd run into yesterday. That accomplished she finished dressing and ate some breakfast as they made their plans to go to the plum tree today.
Ema read the note they found with interest while half listening to what the others said. Fortunately she was good at multitasking and finally said, "I doubt that it is smuggling, more likely there was some unrest because of disappearances and a power struggle over how to handle it. I doubt it was a cult and certainly not a vampire, why would either wipe out or disappear their potential puppets, followers, or food source. There was definitely something going on and I think we would be smart not to make too many assumptions with out more information as to what it was." She looked back towards the church, "We do know that at least one side was willing to kill for whatever it was so we need to be cautious regardless."
As they went about further exploring the homes in town and finding nothing Ema began to think they were wasting their time. It seemed the only place they had left to look was the Levin Farm and she looked at the place in discomfort as the arrived. Something about it seemed far too quiet for her liking but she kept a watchful eye out as she made a warding gestured and placed her hand on her chest while saying a few words. When finished a brief shimmer of what looked like armor wavered over her and vanished. She looked at the place and said, "How much you want to bet that something is in there and will try to kill us?"
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"I doubt that it is smuggling, more likely there was some unrest because of disappearances and a power struggle over how to handle it."
Simon carefully considered Emalliandra's assertions. "I do agree that we should avoid making assumptions, but we have found no evidence that disappearances were happening before this power struggle began.
Smuggling is the most obvious motivation, but there are certainly others. Perhaps you are right and the unrest began only as a result of monster attacks and such, but these political factions seem a bit too organized for my tastes. I fear outside influences."
Simon is quiet as they explore the rest of the town. Not expecting to find any other clues doesn't make the absence of clues any less disappointing. As the party approaches the Levin farm, he begins to get nervous about what they will find.
This Levin was obviously important, but he chose to build his house far from the rest of the town, and especially far from the palisade. Why would he do this?
"How much you want to bet that something is in there and will try to kill us?"
Simon chuckles, but can't deny that preparations are in order based on previous encounters. He readies his whip and hesitantly approaches the building.
"It can try, but it won't succeed!" Kip said and waved his rapier about menacingly as they appraoched the farm on the outskirts.
Victrix readies her greataxe and starts approaching the farm. "Moight be someone there who can fill us in on what's goin' on 'ere."
"Or someone who wants to kill us. Either one."
The interior of the house contains only simple wooden furniture and an assortment of common household and personal items. The house is in disarray, with chairs and tables flipped over, blankets torn to shreds, and produce such as corn and melons gnawed upon and then discarded to rot on the floor. Two doors lead into additional rooms.
Simon spots a loose floorboard just past the entry door.
The floorboard squeaks a bit as Simon prods it. While not a trap, had you stepped on it, it would have made a loud noise.
The doors lead into two large bedrooms in a similar state of disarray as the main room. In one, a barrel is on end beneath the window, while another stands across the room, clearly marked "ALE."
An odd creature reels in the center of the room. The hunched-over wretch the size of a halfling has long, pliable arms like tentacles capped with five wide, spiny claws. Once claw clutches a broken bottle. Its back is to you, and hasn't noticed you yet.
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Simon will point at the creature, hold his finger to his lips, and then slide a finger across his throat.
He will follow that up by attempting to trip it up so that its long reach will not immediately be a factor.
-Posted with Wayfinder
When Simon pointed, Kip sprinted into action, slipping past the creature's tentacles to help distract it while Victrix charged in.
Victrix barrels into the creature's side and lashes out with her axe!
While the others began their charge Ema said a few words and gestured sending a ball of snow flying at the creature they were attacking going for.
Simon wraps his whip around the creature's legs and yanks it off its feet. As it falls, Kip hops in behind the choker to menace it with his rapier. That's when Victrix charges in and buries her axe in its guts! Blood and organs fly, and the monster groans and falls still before Ema can even cast her spell!
Victrix grins and twirls her axe. "Well, that was a thing."
"Now, what was it doin' 'ere?"
"Oh man, that was AMAZING! Simon was all like... *whaCHAAA* and then I was like *SWISH* and then Vicki was like... *BUDDABUDDABUDDABUDDA* We're getting good at this!"
Ema saw the creature die as she began her spell and let the magic fizzle away without barely having begun. At least she didn't waste the spell. She entered the room then and looked at the place as Simon asked his question. She couldn't help a quirky smile crossing her lips as she asked fasiciously, Why do evil subterranean creatures do anything?"
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Simon gives a chuckle at Ema's quip.
"Point taken. However, when creatures start acting counter to their normal inclinations, I begin to suspect something more sinister happening."
Simon will examine the corpse closely. Under close examination does it still seem to match what I know of creepers? I'm going to throw in a Will save, as I am beginning to worry about illusions or other magic.
The choker seems to be a typical member of its species. It doesn't appear to be under the effects of a disguise or illusion.
Simon knows that chokers' just-better-than-animalistic intelligence grants them a fascination with the trappings of society even if they do not truly understand it. This fascination occasionally compels a choker to abandon its subterranean home for a closer study of the sunlit world's civilizations.
Victrix moves over to the floorboard Simon noticed earlier and pries it up.
With a mighty tug, Victrix pries the floorboard out of place. Concealed underneath is a longsword with a grip wrapped in green leather and gold wire, glowing with a pale emerald light. The workmanship and engravings on the blade and hilt are not similar to any made in the Inner Sea region.
Victrix's eyes widen and she waves the others over. "Over 'ere!"
"Bloody good lookin' sword, eh?"
With a few words and gestures Ema's eyes began to glow and she examined the blade. For reasons she couldn't explain though she simply couldn't grasp what the enchantments were on the weapon. She looked up and said sadly, "I don't know why but I can seem to identify it just now. Maybe after I've had some time to think on it I could try again."
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"Maybe we can determine its properties through experimentation then.
I'm sure it won't be long before we find another battle.
Does anyone mind if I use this sword?"
Simon will strap on the sword and continue exploring the house.
-Posted with Wayfinder
There doesn't seem to be anything else of value inside this house. It would seem all that remains is to explore the area of pitted ground north of the colony before journeying to the secondary landing site.
North of the colony, but well within sight, is a small field. Inundating the meadow is a series of large holes dug in at an angle. Piles of dirt surround each hole. A large copse of trees grows due east of this location.
"Sorry, I only know how to do magic that comes to me naturally. Not so good at the figuring out other magic. Nice sword though, excellent color."
When they headed north, Kip paused, "Oh.... looks like the giant bug monster might live here. Everyone ready?"
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"Yes, looks like a good place to find more Ankheg. Let's hope they haven't stayed around."
Simon will draw the longsword as they approach the field.
-Posted with Wayfinder
You cautiously approach the holes, but don't get too far before a fully grown ankheg emerges from the largest one. Big as a horse, it clacks its drooling mandibles and moves towards you!
Victrix's jaw drops when the large, insectoid beast bursts out of the ground before her.
Then she grins.
She bellows, running pell-mell towards it with her axe swinging wildly!
...and a little too enthusiastically.