I suggest Lan scout out the place. He's clearly the best suited for that task. With any luck he will hear something at the door or see something through a window. He can then report back to us and we can decide what to do based on that information.
Jin blinks audibly through his helmet.. who's glowing eyes mimicked the action to the rest as he looked at Zaralastra. " BUT LAN.. IS MALE.. LAST I REMEMBER. THOUGH THAT PARTICULAR IDEA IS DANGEROUS... I WILL ONLY BE FINE WITH IT IF HE CAN SAFELY GET BACK AND FORTH WITHOUT BEING SEEN. WE SIMPLY NEED INFORMATION, AFTER ALL. "
If any of us can get safely there and back, it's clearly Lan.
" TRUE, HOWEVER HE IS ALSO ONE OF THE MOST TO SUFFER IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG .... THE CHOICE HOWEVER IS HIM.. "
It is dangerous, to be sure, but as the only one capable of genuine stealth, I am sure he expects that at times he will be the only one able to undertake certain types of scouting and spying missions.
I look forward to hearing Lan's report.
Lan moves toward the cabin, but on his way he finds a body lying in the snow. In the freezing temperatures, it's hard to tell how long it's been here.
Elisa sighed and sat down. "Great more waiting. "
Lan will examine the body to see if there's any -obvious- means of telling how it died... for example, if its leg is caught in a bear trap and all of its bones are broken... then he'll know that there are legitimately set up bear traps, and giants don't like trespassing.
If he can't readily identify cause of death, he'll shrug it off and move forward to gather more recon.
Lan finds the cause of death to be obvious, the man's been cut down by a slashing weapon.
With it being an obvious cause of death, he'll return to the others.
"Whoever lives within the house has no qualms about killing people. There's a dead body lying in the snow between us and the house."
(+1 v. Traps)
That's odd. I think we had assumed all along that these giants were a belligerent, violent sort. But if that is the case, why would they walk right by the cabin and just ignore it?
" MORE IMPORTANTLY WHY DID THEY CUT DOWN THE MAN THERE AND CONTINUE ON? PERHAPS THEY DID NOT WANT WITNESSES OR STUMBLED UPON HIM? THEY ALSO AVOIDED THE CAMP OF GREENSKINS IT SEEMS. THIS REQUIRES MORE INVESTIGATION. LAN POINT OUT THE TRACKS SO I CAN FOLLOW THEM, IF WE HAVE TO GO MUCH FARTHER WE CAN RETURN TO THIS BUILDING FOR CAMP. OR FIND A CAVE. "
How do we know the giant(s) killed that man? Perhaps the cabin's occupant did that.
" THUS MY STATEMENT 'STUMBLED UPON'. IT DOES NOT MAKE THE SITUATION ANY LESS ODD. THIS IS WHY WE ARE FINDING OUT INFORMATION, I INTEND TO CHECK THE BODY AND CABIN "
Lan would indeed do as asked. (And assumed!) "I am not a healer. The type of wounds may not tell me as much as one of you. I believe we could gauge whether it was the cabin-dweller or the giant based upon the wounds. If we believe the owner is gone, searching the cabin seems wise. If it is cold within, we will know it has fallen into disuse."
Jin's helmet strains to nod graciously toward the often silent Lan. " THEN FOLLOW ME IN FROM A DISTANCE, JUST IN CASE THERE ARE ANY SURPRISES. WE HAVE TO BE THOROUGH "
Lan shrugs. He still has several minutes left on his power, so he isn't overly worried about staying hidden. He'll give Jin a twenty foot berth so that he can quickly react to any danger that presents itself.
Zaralastra follows at a 20 foot distance.
Let's see what's in the cabin.
Lan would likewise look through the house, once Jin called them forward.
Near the dead body lay a sword, its sheath laying a few feet away. The man wears leather armor under several furs.
The door to the cabin is unlocked. Inside, you can see your breath, and you notice half eaten food on a table. You find modest furnishings, though there is no shortage of fur. A bow and quill full of arrows hang from a hook on the wall.
Jin sees that there is nothing strange (Well outside of the occurrence) and signals the rest to come closer.
Zaralastra scans the body, the gear, and the cabin for psionic auras.
It would appear that this unfortunate individual was the occupant of this cabin. The cabin may be useful shelter if we need to rest before continuing.
" AS I THOUGHT. E MAY WANT TO REPORT THIS MAN'S SITUATION AND HIS NAME TO THE COUNCIL. HRM MAYBE SOMETHING THAT MARKS THIS PLACE. PERHAPS HE WAS LURED OUT AND CUT DOWN, HOWEVER THIS SWORD IS MADE FOR SOMEONE OF OUR SIZE, NOT GIANTS. "
Jin examined the blade.
"Perhaps he attempted to strike first."
" IF THAT WERE SO WOULD IT NOT BE MORE INTELLIGENT TO MAKE USE OF RANGE AND TERRAIN AND STRIKE THEM FROM AFAR? NO, SOMETHING HAPPENED AS HIS BOW IS NOT USED AND NARY AN ARROW MISSING FROM THE QUIVER. I THINK IT MORE LIKELY THIS MAN WAS KILLED BEFORE THE GIANTS CAME... MAYBE HE WAS SILENCED AHEAD OF TIME? "
Perhaps they came upon him unexpectedly when he did not have his bow with him and he did his best to defend himself. Whatever the explanation, I recommend we continue following the tracks.
"That is true. He would unlikely be outside without his bow. Why leave behind the body, or the weapon?"
@Zaralastra The bow radiates a faint aura.
Zaralastra takes the bow and quiver/arrows.
There's something exceptional about this bow. We can scrutinize it later when we have the time.
"It's worth at least mentioning even if it might not be related, how far are we going to follow these tracks? If they just passed by there is no reason to give chase."
Jin looks to Elisa " WE STILL HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT WHAT THE GIANTS ARE UP TO NOR ANY FULL CONNECTION, WHICH WOULD BE A FAILURE OF A MISSION. WE NEED SOME SORT OF LEAD. BESIDES, THE CITY IS ONLY AT MOST A FEW HOURS BACK. WE TAKE SO LONG DUE TO USING A SLOWER PACE TO CAREFULLY TRACK. GOING HOME WOULD BE MUCH FASTER. EITHER WAY, I SET TO FOLLOW A BIT LONGER, IF WE FIND NOTHING PAST THIS POINT, WE CAN RETURN HOME WITH WHAT INFORMATION WE HAVE. "