Drow War Team 1

Game Master Tarlane

"You do realize that your entire argument is based solely upon on a dead man, right? Convenient, wouldn't you say, since we can't possibly ask him to verify the truth of your story. Unless of course you happen to possess the magicks to do so."

Turning to Davan, he continues "Thank you for your support. As a paladin of Brith, I of course want to see proper justice done. Sadly, if that means the hobgoblins must pay for their crimes, then so be it."

Letting anyone else chime in before I do responses from the NPCs.

Dead man? Justice? Hobgoblins must pay? What the hell happened here?
Hearing the Drow speech just makes him more confused, and so he walks up in the direction of the group, saying nothing in order to don't spoil whatever they are arguing about.

"Now, now Mr. Drow. I'm sure Jim was just speaking out of grief. The fact remains that someone killed his man, and we are all agreed that they should be brought to justice. I doubt if the Hobgoblins did it, they would want to be away from the Town and any prying eyes, but if not them, nor us then another party must be responsible. We need to find that party. Now show us this arrow, and let us see what we can see.

Having stood up on his tiptoes to peek through a window to see what was occurring, but Jim's latest comments make him crouch back down and hide. While the slang "gobbo dog" isn't something he's heard before, he knows enough to know what Jim is saying, and more than that, he knows what tends to happen in these situations. The humans band together, grabbing pitchforks and lighting torches and hunting down the perceived villain. Mogwai shivers, and crouches lower in the bushes, unsure if it's intelligence or cowardice preventing him from walking through the door.

Brutus isn't shocked to see Jim utterly ignore his diplomatic approach. "All he knows is conflict and brute force. When confronted with someone to oppose, it seems he will take it before an offer of an ally any day." As he moves closer, he sees Aetherni come in, and can't help but think, "I sure hope Mogwai isn't close enough to get into trouble..."

Stepping next to Drombar, Brutus speaks, saying, "As Davan has already said, suspicions don't amount to much. So can we kindly please stop throwing around accusations with little regard to the effect that they will have, and can we please, as my companions have already asked, turn our efforts to looking for and examining the evidence that is found in hopes that we can track down the responsible party."

Jim looks simply annoyed at the responses as if his blame weren't enough. Before he can speak again, Davan holds up a hand. "Look, we will take this with proper seriousness. Jim, you and your gang will accompany me to the guard house and issue your statement so that it can be looked into. You can file your grievances appropriately. Murphy, you come with so they have a witness."

He glances over towards you all and then towards the deputy. "Morton, you will go and investigate the body. See what state it is in and whatever you can find." He pauses and a small smile touches the corner of his lips for just a second, though it is only momentary and quickly hidden. "As there are only the two of us to deal with all this ruckus and clearly we can't just leave the newcomers to run off if they are suspects. And since we obviously can't keep you all in the same room together, Morton you will keep an eye on them while you are doing your investigation. Make sure they don't try and take off."

Jim starts to sputter but the sheriff motions towards the door and starts to wrangle them out, the mayor following after and giving you all a suspicious look. Davan pauses beside the bulk of the group, to add "You aren't going to have so long to sort out a defense before they will heading back to the mill. You all should be safe, but if you want the hobs not blamed I recommend you find some good evidence."

Oh, so it's one of Jim's who got killed! And he's blaming us! Ha so funny!
Aetherni puts his empty cup on a table, nodding to the Constable and following the others after they say anything they want.

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Outside he asks for the whole story, and hearing it he confabulates with the others.
"Well, I saw something in the mountains very close to the mine. There was something there, but I'm not sure what. Could be one of the cavern dwellers that left the place although I doubt they could do it so fast without the elevator. Could be the killer, or even something worst."

"I was afraid of that. I had hoped we would have more time before needing to investigate. But let's check out Jim's man and see if we can confirm it as coming from the mines."

Since it doesn't look like there is any plans for before NPCs leave or on the way, I'm going to move forward.

Morton gives you all a look with a brow raised as the others leave and the room loses its feeling of celebration. He escorts you out of the building and through the main part of town, out to the two story mill along the northern coast. A small stream runs by down into the ocean, turning the waterwheel slowly.

From inside you can hear several dogs barking, but there is no need to enter the actual building to see what you came for, a man's body laying slumped against the front door having come close to making it inside.

There is very little blood splatter around for him having been wounded, though it has formed a pool around him. The wound is an expert shot, having struck him directly through the throat from behind. Rather than a proper arrow, its more a crossbow bolt though its smaller than you would have expected. The fletching on it doesn't appear to be a normal feather, or if it is not of one you recognize, they are firmer and coarse almost like bristles.

"Damn, poor lad. He probably did not know what killed him. This looks like a crossbow bolt, doesn't it? I don't recall the Hobgoblins using crossbows" - he looks around to the others - "specially this size. May we assume it was a smaller creature who did this? I don't see what can we do beside tracking the creature, do you?"

He looks around, and although his darkvision helps, he cannot see much, or can he?
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27 The dice gods attack again! Shall there be battle!??

If you are going to be looking for tracks, make sure you guys add a survival roll on that too.

"Well, pretty sure this rules us out, since we don't use crossbows. Poor Jim, his entire world is crumbling down around him."

He looks around the mill "I say lets investigate the mill first. I wouldn't put it past Jim to off his own, just to try and frame us"

I'm looking for anything worth of note, like a dead dog or blood away from the corpse.

"What creature uses crossbows? and the fletching - whoever it is probably doesn't have access to feathers easily. That would suggest they do not live on the surface locally, so planar or subterranean in origin."

knowledge (Dungeoneering): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
knowledge (Planes): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

"and how did they get behind him? ambush? or sneak behind him?"

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Mogwai reappears as the others are examining the site, not saying anything but sniffing around to see if he can learn anything useful.

As Davan escorts Jim and his man out of the tavern, Brutus sees Morton move towards the door as well. He feels it in his bones, the mood that was so joyful and celebratory, has fallen with the news of another crime in Bronce. Turning towards the pub, Brutus quickly says, "This is indeed disheartening, but there is still much to be thankful for. Do not let this news dampen the celebration. Please, enjoy yourselves and celebrate these boys, who were lost, but now are found, who were captive, but now are free!" He turns and leaves following the rest of his companions out the door.

The trip to the mill wasn't long, and when they arrived the scene was as described. Jim's man was slumped at the door. Morton allows the companions to look around, and Brutus takes advantage. He first examines the body, the wound, and the weapon used. Then he moves off and examines the ground looking for tracks or other signs of the assailant.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Heal: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23
Survival: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23

"Well, to be fair, we were pretty well clear of charges anyways, as Morton here is a pretty good alibi, but I don't remember seeing a crossbow on Talks-with-Fists or his tribe either, so that should rule them out as well. Good news to be sure, but now we have a new mystery to solve." He says as he continues he search of the area.

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The heal check is for the examination of the body, to see if it could tell me anything specifically, like why the wound was so clean, why there was a lack of blood splatter, etc. Might not be necessary, but I figured I would throw it in there anyways.

Going to hook perception and survivals together based on the roles as a whole to paint a full picture instead of giving individual pieces.

Scouting around the area reveals that it appears this was an ambush. The body has been moved slightly, which isn't a surprise since you know that at the very least Jim took his cloak, but doesn't look like he was on his guard or readying for an attack. Whoever did this accomplished it without being seen.

The dead man left a clear trail back up towards the mine, he had slowed but if you follow the trail back a bit you can see where he was going at full tilt as you had seen him before. Just about 100ft from the mill, a second track is detected, mirroring his. This one is much more subtle and shows carefully placed light footprints. They are shoed and of a size similar to that of a human.

The dwarf looks agitated:
"Double crap. Well, we found footprints of someone who did it, and it's skilled. But it's dark and we're somehow tired, although we could force ourselves a little bit, but is that wise? We certainly want to find out who did this, and why, but are we able to do it now? Even worst, can we afford the luxury of waiting until tomorrow? The trail might be cold by then."

As Brutus kneels down to inspect the body, he realizes that the wound itself should not have done as much damage as it did. Taking a closer look he spots what he was looking for. "Here is another clue at the very least, whoever fired this crossbow bolt used poison as well to finish off this guy."

Glancing at Aetherni as he talks himself in circles, he smiles and says, "Woah there Aetherni, too many questions and not enough time to think. We do need to decide, but we need to take a breath first, figure out what is here, and then we can make a decision. Not to mention, waiting for Davan and Jim to get back here might not be the worst of options, as they might be able to help us out a bit as well."

As Brutus stands up, Mogwai moves in to sniff and taste the wound, though he stops short with his tongue hanging out, as Brutus explains that the man was likely poisoned. Closing his mouth, Mogwai takes a step back and looks up at the others. "Poison not common Hobgoblin way." He explains, looking more than a little worried. "If not them, and not us, then who?"

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

"Not much tell Jim and Davan. No evidence of who did. Still likely to blame us. Need more information." Mogwai moves over to the second set of tracks, sniffing along the ground and trying to discern if there is any more information to be gained from them. "Tracks not Hobgoblin, either. Too small. Light on feet."

Checks are to see if I can get anything more out of the footprints.

"I think we will be back on the mines sooner than we expected..."
Aetherni sighs heavily.

From your knowledge nature Mogwai.

While the goblin didn't quite actually taste the wound after all, he did get a good wiff of it and notices an odd smell. The poison appears to be a natural one, insects venom that works as a paralytic. It wouldn't have killed the man on its own but would keep him from getting away while he bled out.

Its hard to pick up too much more from the tracks. They follow along after the man's back towards the hill, the fact that they are wearing some sort of shoe or boot hides just what sort of creature they may be other than an approximate size and they are clearly civilized enough to wear clothing.

I have a theory, but I'm waiting to hear back from Tarlane

Answer is there. Was probably typing it while you were posting here.

Did we happen to find the track that the creature used to escape?

Sorry, I should have explained that. Its return tracks would have gone back up after where it came from, back towards the hills where the mine was.

Vorik takes a seat on a nearby rock and waits, as there's not much he can do to help here.

"So, we have a humanoid, man-sized creature or creatures that leave the mine or its vicinity, creep down here to where Jim's man was and kill him with a poisoned crossbow bolt. The bolt is made with bristles from what i would guess to be a spider. Anyone have anything else to add?"

Mogwai speaks over his shoulder at Drombar, without taking his eyes off the footprints. "Poison also from insect. Paralytic. Could be spider. Not sure who would use. Tricksy." He narrows his eyes at the tracks, wondering about the killer that made them.

"Well, the question that keeps returning to my mind is why? He should had come after us instead of this boy, so what's the point? We're a little tired, and a trip following the tracks would take a couple hours, so I would say it's unwise. Also..." he stops for a while, looking at his comrades, and then looks in the direction of the mines.
"... I think he was killed as a bait. A trap to lead us to where they are stronger. If that's the case, indeed we will take that bait, but we need to have a full force to do it, right? It would be better for us to rest now and leave first thing in the morning. What do you think?"

Brutus moves next to Vorik and says, "Well, it seems that we have a suspect who uses uncommon material, poison, and delivers silent death with a crossbow. That is a danger to be sure, and it is not someone I want running free around this town. We just returned Jed and Callum, this town should be celebrating, not mourning and hiding in fear. My vote is we push on, and we begin tracking the one who did this." He looks around at his companions, eyes asking for their thoughts.

So, in order to make a choice:
- what time is it?
- Do we risk fatigue or exhaustion by going after them now?
- How do you want to handle the leveling in that case?

It is currently just a bit after dusk. If you follow the road instead of cutting cross country, it will be bit more than an hour hour each way(assuming you are going to the mine). I would say you would risk fatigue towards dawn, so it depends on how long you think you will be investigating once there. Go ahead and finish your level, I'm fine with that having hit once you all got to rest a bit back in town. Any spells gained or powers per day will come once you have actually slept(or for the cleric, when his time of day to prep spells come. I suppose that should be established.)

Right now it looks like we have gotten a suggestion for the exact two opposite choices. I'm just giving you time to discuss and decide among each other. Morton is planning on sticking to you in order to keep an eye on you as directed, but he will come with you if you wish to go elsewhere than the mill. It was pretty obvious to him that the direction to watch you was to give Jim nothing to argue about rather than to lock you all down.

Vorik shakes his head in disagreement at the human. "I do not think that attempting to chase after our mysterious for is the smartest move at this point. We should probably investigate the mill further just in case, then meet back up with Davan and go from there. I get the feeling Jim's man was killed for getting to close to something. Perhaps in finding out what we might have a better idea of what we face."

"Another good hypothesis... Drombar? Mogwai?"

Mogwai thinks for a minute, before replying. "Jim not stupid, hard believe scout would be. Ambush killed him quickly, quietly. Enemy has advantage. Would be reckless give chase. Requires investigation, sneaking."

Brutus looks around realizing that he is quickly becoming outnumbered. Worse than that, it seems his suggestion to push on and track the enemy, was misinterpreted for a reckless chase after an unknown assailant. The emotions well up, threatening to overwhelm again, but after the events of the last few days, controlling those emotions has gotten easier, and Brutus takes a few extra moments, breathes deeply, and feeds his frustrations to the flame.

Looking up once more at his companions, he says, "So far, it looks like we are voting to take our time. We have already had one disagreement on how to handle matters like this, and I just hope that erring on the side of caution again this time doesn't cause any more harm than it already has, especially if it means that we lose the trail entirely."

Brutus looks around at his companions one last time, looks in his pack for a moment to see if there was anything he brought along that could make the search and the investigation go smoother.

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This isn't Brutus trying to pick up the fight from the mine, I promise, rather, using it as an example. We have already disagreed about whether to play it safe or not, and because we did, that choice led to this man's death, even if it was totally out of our control. I am simply pointing that out... so just to clarify, not attacking anyone, just conversing.

Morton considers the different statements quietly, biting his lip a bit as he thinks. "I can't condone violating another's property, even if it is some scum like Jim. I suppose though, that if I were taking a proper look at the body and the scene, it wouldn't surprise nobody if you slipped my sight for a few minutes until I caught up to you again and who knows what you might get up to in those few minutes."

He pauses again and adds "Jim's boys are with him sure, but he does keep a few dogs to watch the place so I don't know if you all are going to be able to cover going in there. And as Mogwai there said, Jim's not stupid, plus like most that view themselves as tyrants he's a bit paranoid. Watch yourselves if you go in there."

The mill itself is a sturdy building that looks almost like a two piece affair. The bottom half is solidly built stone while the upper portion is wooden and built on a swivel. A large waterwheel sticks from the stone level's side on a wooden spoke, rotating slowly from the weak push of the stream. The upper half looks like it was intended to function as a windmill, adding strength to the pathetic stream, but it was never fully completed.

There is a single door into the building, made of very solid wood. A cursory check can tell you that its locked.

"Well, so we have three situations here." He lifts one finger. "One, it's a trap, and we will ride right into it." Second finger is up. "Two, the man got close to finding something out, and thus got killed. Honestly, I don't believe it would be anything related to the Mill, drow," - he looks to the mill and its barking dogs - "but maybe he saw something on the way that's worth investigating. If you want to investigate the mill we can do that, just say it, but I think anything Jim made his thugs would be in the scheme." And finally the third short finger. "Three, whatever's been working here is evil and killed just because he could." He sighs heavily.

"To be honest lads, I don't think I'll be able to sleep with all this mistery. The previous night was easy cause we did not even hoped to find the kids, so there wasn't much of a expectation. But this is different. I think we can still afford some hours on a walk. It will be a beautiful night, and although the darkness is where evil lurks, the stars are always there to shine and guide us. We're unharmed and have nothing to slow us down, nor anything to worry about beside our own safety, which we usually do not worry about. Some of us can see in the dark, and for the others we can light the way. So, care for a walk?"

_________________________
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand finally the player's wishes have gotten the best over the character's.
Ninja'd by Tarlane. Let's take a look at the mill then.
_________________________
At the Mill:
"Do any of you see any windows?"

No need to take my post as a reason to use the mill, I just wanted to post the external details since that seemed to be the way you all were leaning about exploring. Morton certainly would have less to explain to the sheriff if you didn't do some breaking and entering right in front of him, so he's not going to encourage it. You just have enough of his trust that he is willing to turn a blind eye.

Whether you all decide to head towards the mine or investigate the mill, I wanted to make sure both options were fleshed out.

There aren't any obvious windows on the mill, which probably goes along with Morton's description of Jim being a little paranoid. There is a small gap in the stone wall around where the waterwheel spoke extends, but looking inside through there would just give you a eyeful of jumbled machinery. Mogwai might be able to squeeze into the gap(though he'd risk getting chewed up by the gears), but it doesn't look like anyone else could fit that way.

I actually agree with investigating, since it will take us no time at all, I believe.

"Hey guys, there's a small hole here, maybe one of us can squeeze inside?" He makes an evil grim and looks at the goblin. Aetherni moves to check the strength of the waterwheel. Can we slow the speed of the thing to make it easier for Mogwai?

The stream is slow flowing so it doesn't turn the wheel fast, but actually being able to hold back the wheel against the steady flow of the water is pretty unlikely.

I'm not against investigating the mill, though I believe it's a dead end, would involve some legal chicanery and could be dangerous (the middle one's not a problem for my character, but you lawful's need to think carefully about it). I think the mine is a stretch too far at this stage, we need to rest first. I vote we go back to Morton and report. We have already found out a great deal.

"Whoever did this, we cannot discount the possibilty that they may return, with reinforcements. We should let Morton know so that he can decide if a guard needs to be set on the old mine. We also need to check that it wasn't something Jim's man saw on his journey from the mine, though that will probably have to wait until the morning. It seems to me that whoever did this, it was a deliberate act. If they intended to scout the town, they would go to the nearest part of town first, not here. We will need to follow their trail to be sure, but I suspect they came directly here. That means Jim's man was his target. The only question that remains is why?"

"As I said, always returning to 'why'?"

The doubtless Aetherni adds when they get closer to the mill:
"On a second thought, if we are to take a loot inside the mill, if Jim finds out he will be certain it was us who did it. Also, Davan and the thug are returning at every moment."

Just to summarize(all subject to change as information keeps being exchanged), right now it looks like Brutus suggests pursuing, Mogwai and Drombar suggest waiting until morning and going to the mine, Vorik wants to check the mill, and the dwarf is agreeing with whoever last spoke.

Vorik gets up and starts to pace abit "I don't think going in pursuit makes to much sense just yet. We're supposed to be reporting back to Davan, and if we run off on the trial, it might give Jim time and opportunity to work up more 'evidence' against us. Not only that, but it would be really easy for to say 'Hey, those guys took off and vanished, they were clearly guilty'. Of course, Morton could wait here and try to defend us versus Jim, but that also makes him a lone target. If he opts to join us, then that could be turned around into us kidnapping him."

... and the dwarf is agreeing with whoever last spoke.

Is it my fault if I'm naturally agreeable? Or I would say 'I live to serve'!

"Crap. We all want to do things as we see fit. I know we're here probably for the same reason. The equinox of time has come, and we are all fighting for the cause of good. None of us seem to be more clever or wiser or more experienced than the others. We cannot see the future and thus do not know the results of our actions, which results in endless discussions, time lost and tempers raising." He looks to all of you, as if seeking comprehension. "I think we need a leader. A temporary one, at least, for a single day, let's say. Then we can all state our points of view to the leader and he will decide what will we do. What do you say?"

"And before you wander too much, I made a simple proposal and expect a simple answer."

Vorik chuckles at the Dwarf's suggestion "What's to stop us each from nominating ourselves?"

He stops his walk and turns to the group "Look, we all make good points, however, Mogwai and Drombar both suggest waiting till morning. I would like to investigate the mill, yes, but it is more important to bring to Davan's attention what we have already found, and perhaps attempt to figure out why this man was killed. Thus, three of us want to wait, one wants to continue on tonight, and the last would like to drink all the ale. Which can probably be done regardless of which other option we choose" He says, flashing Aetherni a grin.

Mogwai looks in confusion when Vorik laughs, unsure if the Drow is serious is not. "Could be rule." He replied. "No one can vote for self."

"All tribes need leader." He adds, looking a little embarrassed when he realises what he has said. Quickly changing the subject, he continues. "Mogwai fine with investigating mill tonight. Not sure will find anything there, but worth checking." He looks over at Morton, then back at the others. "Mogwai maybe should go inside alone while others go back. Mogwai already likely to get killed by townfolk. No sense endangering others."