"I'm not sure,"[/]he says, crouching down to the dirt. [b]"This spot is still well-traveled, picking out a trail could be difficult. Perhaps if we moved a bit farther into the forest, the trail might be clearer. Especially if her mother was following it herself." Bjørn stands, walking towards the sound of the woman's voice. "Calm yourself, miss. I know you're worried about your daughter, but if you're wanderin' around blind, all you'll do is obscure her trail. She's likely deeper in these woods, and with those wolves about you'd do well to keep your voice down regardless. Once I can pick up her trail, I'll find your daughter."
The woman, comforted by the villager, calms somewhat at the arrival of the party. Bjørn takes a few minutes, but is able to find the tracks of the child and her pet, heading further into the forest.
Leaving behind the child's mother and their erstwhile guide, the group follows the tracks north for about sixty yards. The trail ends at the foot of a large beech tree. At the base of the tree is the body of a female child, about six years old.
Nik'olo turns pale at the sight of the girl. Hoping without real hope she's still breathing, he turns uneasy to the witch, looking at her eyes for an answer, for a glitter of good news.
Despite her previous certainty that the girl would not be alive when they found her, Ashekara feels no pleasure in being proved right this time, only a distant sadness at the sight of a life snuffed out to soon, kept at bay by the sense of duty she feels as a former healer. Nik'olo's look catches her eye, and she sees the unasked question lurking behind his gaze. She huffs out a quiet sigh and answers the man with a shake of her head. Crouching down next to the girl, she examines the body with a critical eye, trying to determine the cause of her death.
Once she's certain of the circumstances surrounding the girl's demise, Ashekara removes her cloak from around her shoulders and carefully drapes it over the body. May Anu-Akma take this child's hand and lead her gently into the underworld. Turning back to the group, her eyes move from Bjørn to Nik'olo, briefly assessing them. "Who will bear her body back to the mother?"
Ashekara seems pretty sure the girl is dead, he thinks. The news settles in him like an iron ball landing in his gut. He swallows hard, going pale, and for once, unable to find anything to say.
Anger replaces dread, slowly. Why were we sent here? To arrive too late to rescue some young girl? What's the meaning of that!? His lips tighten and he can't look away from the girl.
"Lass, y'might wanna take a step back there," Bjørn says, gesturing up to the nest with his bow. "Might not seem like much, but you don't want that swarm comin' down on your head because you were lingerin' beneath it. C'mon then, let's get the girl back to her mother..." the ranger says, trying to slowly move the dead girl's body with Eerikki's help. "Slowly, now. Don't want to startle 'em."
Ashekara scans the darkening forest at the ranger's warning and readies her crossbow, fearing that the wolves have drawn nearer while she was studying the girl's body. Seeing nothing, she turns back, catches the man's eye and follows his line of sight up the tree. Heeding Bjørn's advice, Ashekara slowly moves backward, not even daring to rise from her crouch until she rejoins the others a few paces away. "No, they do not seem like much, and yet they caused this girl's death. She suffered multiple stings, and succumbed to her wounds at least a day ago."
As Bjorn and Ashekara's conversation make their way ever slowly through him, Nik'olo steps slowly back, his movement mirroring the others'. His mind spins and all he wants is a target, a mean to retaliate, to make this wrong right someway.
He thinks of the pig the girl followed, and of the man they met at the chapel, his stories, the bull... And his mind clears though his need for closure remains.
Turning to Bjorn, he asks with a soft voice: "Can you track that pig; it led the girl here, no?"
Before the group can move the body, the bees attack.
Ashekara watches the hive as the ranger and rogue move to collect the girl's body. At the first sign of activity, the witch warns the two men off of their approach. "Bjørn, Eerikki, get back!" Knowing her crossbow would be useless in warding off the angered vermin, and having no magic to call upon that would prove helpful either, Ashekara heeds her own advice and moves backwards along the path they traveled. The idea of leaving the child's body behind is not one that rests easily with the young woman, but it's one she feels they must consider. "If we cannot disburse them, we may have to leave her here for the time being."
Much like Eerikki, Bjørn takes a step back and snaps off a shot with his bow, hoping to strike the hive and cause the insects to scatter. "Go, we'll try and distract them! Try and get the girl's body," he calls as the bowstring leaves his fingertips, sending an arrow whistling towards the beehive.
Eeriki's arrow flies harmlessly through the swarm, while Bjørn's strikes the hive, damaging it substantially. If anything, though, this makes the bees angrier.
The bees make for Eerikki, gathering round him, stinging painfully.
Nik'olo takes advantage of the bees being furious at another to step forward and throw the girl's body on his back, lick a sack of potatoes, then prepares to get out of here, fast.
"No point fighting bees. Let's head back swiftly!"
Seeing the bees move away from the body and Nik'olo spring to collect the girl, Ashekara heads back, attempting to help the man however possible. "Come, this way." Catching a glimpse of her other companions, the witch grimaces at the sight of the bees swarming the ravenfolk. "We have her! Fall back to the village!"
Roll20 done.
Bjørn retreats backwards from the swarm, before snapping off another shot at the swarm and trying to reach the heavier part of the tree line, away from the swarm's notice. As he fires, he motions for Eerikki to follow him, hoping his shot and Eerikki's flight might disorient the cloud of bees long enough for him to make it to safety.