Sorin shoots a worried glance at Ameiko. This place affects her for some reason but it's beyond my ability to deduce or heal. Mother Koya can look after her best.
Though he dislikes leaving the caravan unguarded in light of Shalelu's warning, he'll follow the rest in searching the village.
Setomi reluctantly leaves Ameiko's side and heads back out into the village. "Where do you want me to search?" she asks Almar
Almar considers Setomi's question:"Better if you stay with us this time. We need to move as a group, it's bad enough Lisabett decided to run away in a fit of whatever passes in her brain, we don't need to disperse further"
"Indeed, the spells I can cast to support you only work if you are close to me when I cast them," Raziel says.
Stepping over the remains of the crumbled northern wall, you leave the old town hall and step once more into the streets of the modest village.
Directly in front of you lie a pair of ruined piers that reach out from the shore. Most of their boards have rotted and fallen away, but the thick supports that once held them yet stand firm. Some wooden debris floats just beyond the dock on the right. Perhaps the wreckage of some vessel? It is strange that it has not been washed out into the bay after so many years of abandonment.
Just north of the bobbing wreckage sits a lighthouse on an outcropping of rock. Its roof has long since collapsed, but the circular stone tower still stands.
To your left is a lagoon, choked with algae. The pungent smell that rises from its waters refreshes memories of Brinestump Marsh.
Still worried about Ameiko, Setomi is too distracted to notice almost anything.
Perception 1:
Knowledge (geography):
Knowledge (Engineering):
Perception 2:
As Almar moves silently among the ruins of the village his eyes trace the outlines of the buildings and streets, checking for possible dangers and trying to pry the secret behind the devastation surrounding him and his friends:"I think that ulfen boat there is not as old as the rest of this village. It seems it arrived recently and sunk. Possibly a natural hazard, but maybe this place is not as inhabited as it seems. As for the rest of the village... I can see only worthless ruins, aside from the lighthouse. It was well built and even now it seems quite stable to me. Maybe it's worth a visit..."
"There's also a beast of some sort half in the water, over there," Raziel says, pointing to the northwestern side of the lagoon.
He gives the lighthouse a jaundiced look. "If you say it looks sturdy... I think it will fall over in a good breeze."
"The Ulfen boat is probably from some raid long ago. It's been here awhile even if not as long as the village...though that begs the question of why it's still here. I don't know this area but in Sandpoint, a beached boat like this would have been carried back out on the tide ages ago."
Sorin will go and investigate the area around the boat.
Sorin doesn't notice the carcass until Raziel points it out.
"Maybe that's why it smells so bad here. What is it anyway, can you tell?"
"I didn't notice the beast's remains over there. Good eye Raziel. As for the boat, no, you are mistaken, Sorin, seems to me that's a really recent visitor to this harbor so to speak. Maybe the beast is the reason it's damaged. And the creature could be dead because the boat's crew slayed it. If that's the case we might be able to find survivors, although, given our recent experiences with Ulfens I can't say if that's a good thing or not..."
Sorin approaches the wreckage, trying to gather some visual clue, though he cannot get particularly close to it. He does see the deep scratches in the wood of the sunken vessel, though.
It takes you a couple of minutes to traverse the rocky outcropping leading to the abandoned lighthouse. The wood to the south seems to radiate silence. You do not even hear the voices of your companions in the ruined town hall, though they are not far from you. It is as if the village somehow pulls every noise from the air. The only sound to reach your ears is wash of the currents, coming from the river and spilling into the bay.
When you reach the stone structure, you are struck with how well-preserved it is. Only a handful of loose stones adorn the base of the lighthouse. The building is worn by weather, but you would not be surprised if it stood another hundred years, or maybe more. The doorway is marked red with the rust of hinges long since fallen away. There is no sign of the door that was once here. Perhaps it was washed away to sea long ago.
A staircase spirals up the inside of the tower, leading to the open sky above. With no crown, and no beacon resting within it, this ruined lighthouse can hardly keep its name. The stone in here is not so intact as that outside, and piles of loose rubble rest upon the tightly packed earthen floor.
Perception check:
Almar fails to notice anything, probably because he's more concerned for possible enemies than for chwecking the lighthouse itself after his initial evalutation.
"There seems to be something under that stone over there," Raziel exclaims, pointing out the stone in question.
Setomi goes over to the crushed box and examines it.
Sorin will use his javelin to help dig around the box so it can be removed from under the stone.
It is delicate work to pry the strongbox from the rubble, but with hand and javelin, you do manage to get it free. The metal is mangled and rusted, and the hinges and latches that once held the lid fast are warped and corroded. Those who handle the box are certain that the bonds could be broken with bare hands alone.
"An interesting find, though the money should go towards the caravan upkeep. I wonder what this key opens?" Setomi looks around for a door or other locked item that the key might fit.
"Yeah... a strange find indeed... go on and check the keys if you think it can be of some use" says Almar to Setomi right studying the entrance of the lighthose and entering.
Aside from the ruined lock on the strongbox, there is not a keyhole in sight, neither up the steep steps nor on the ground floor. If this key opens something, it is not here.
Almar tries to push the lighthouse's door open
"The walls look srong enough, I guess," Raziel speculates, "But there isn't anyplace to hide the wagons. We should continue our search."
"Yeah... I guess you are right although I hoped this to be a tad more... significant!", Almar follows the others seeming unconvinced.
"I imagine inside the castle it will be; these are just the outermost ruins. Let's move inwards a bit."
As you walk out of the lighthouse, your eyes drift to a low hill just to the south. Upright stones rise from the grass, encircling a stone structure that sits at the modest mound's highest point. It appears to be a cemetery.
"There is something odd about the cemetery over there. Can we stop by it to take a look?"
Setomi looks about, still in something of a daze, and nod her agreement to go and look over the cemetery, even though she can see nothing out of the ordinary.
"Cemetery?" Sorin looks where Raziel has indicated. "Why not? Let's take a look."
When they get close enough to the cemetery Sorin will use Detect Evil to see if anything stands out as such.
"Yeah... the cemetery seems as good a place as any to explore at this point, although one might argue the whole town is just a huge cemetery anyway Raziel..."
If Brinewall Village can be called a neglected ruin, the same cannot be said of its cemetery. The grass which covers the hill has clearly been tended recently. The granite grave markers seem to shine, and so stand in sharp contrast with the crumbling brick and mortar of the collapsing houses, not forty paces away.
Before you stands a stone crypt, free of moss and lichen. Not a spot of rust appears on its heavy, iron doors, but a lock the size of your fist hangs between them.
"This looks to be carefully tended. Best not to disturb things here. but I wonder who does the tending? Mayhaps there is still someone local around?"
"Since many of Desna's faithful are travellers it's not uncommon to find such shrines but they're rarely tended; esepcially in a place with such an ill-omen as this. I feel as if I should make an offering but I'm not sure what. It's probably better to do it at night in any case since that's Her time."
Almar follows the others, finding nothing interesting in the graveyard:"I can't see anything useful here, people. Shouldn't we search elsewhere?"
The water in the bowl is incredibly clear. The air above is noticeably cooler than the temperature elsewhere.
"This is very odd," Sorin mutters. "Desna's faithful are often diviners, who work hard to make sure that bad omens don't come true, travellers, and even many artists and musicians. They like to live life to the fullest but I can't see any meaning in this bowl of water. Perhaps a divining method or aid that I'm not familiar with?"
On sudden inspiration, Sorin pulls out his flute. He stands in front of the bowl and plays a quick and well known song of Desna. If that doesn't produce any effect, he'll do the same with the wooden flute that (if memory serves) came from the elves.
As Sorin's song comes to an end, the four of you become aware of a strange creature watching you from atop the crypt. A pair of green gossamer wings sprout from the tiny humanoid's back, twitching slightly as she studies you. At last, she speaks with a voice much larger than you might expect from one so small. "You bear a taint which I sensed a day past, yet foul hearts beat not within your chests. Explain your coming."
Surprised, Setomi whirls around, partially drawing her swords before she actually sees the creature. She stops and stares at the tiny creature, her mouth opened in a comical 'O'.