When Drancis suggests that the group have no business of interest to the guards, "Then pass through... the Barony of Merebec awaits you"... ahead, and on the other side of the bridge, the trail leads away to the west along the coast.
Rav puts his stuff away, replacing the rounds he shot first, and then steps up to the half-orc, and, after swarming up his front, he grabs him by the collar. "We no want more trouble, didn't want trouble originally. We going to do our business, and come back this way. When we done, we come back this way, and if you smart, you no attack us or anything, or try to ambush. This be price for not blowing head off or jewels off." Then he hops down.
Once they're half a mile or so down the road, Rav spits to the side. "Need find new way back, not use bridge. Now they be waiting for us there."
Leaving the bridge behind, the friends travel for several hours... following the coast, the group trek into the Barony of Merebec. Dark clouds have started gathering out to sea, and the wind picks up from a steady breeze to a strong squall - an occasional rumble of thunder sounds in the distance.
A broad causeway of brown stone runs more than half a mile along the shore here with sea waves washing against the structure’s southern face. Part of the stonework seems blasted away creating a gap that falls away into inrushing seawater 30 feet below... the gap itself is a little less than ten feet...
And, on the other side of the gap, there is a ruined gatehouse where a long flag of tattered green cloth still flutters in the breeze... from this side of the gap, there is no sign of life in the gatehouse.
Drancis points out the approaching storm with a look of concern on his face, "We need to find shelter now before the storm hits," pausing to examine the gap separating the group from the gatehouse. "Hey look at this!" He points out the jagged edges of the stones with a concerned look on his face, "An explosion caused this, and judging by the lack of erosion, the blast took place quite recently...I'd say within a day or so!"
”if we can cross through, that gatehouse is our perfect chance to batten down the hatches and avoid the storm. If there is anyone in there, Palomia, hopefully they will appreciate giving respite to travelers. If not, we can give them the same treatment we gave to the other guards back there,” the ratfolk smiled.
Rav goes up to the blasted brick work, and then tugs a chunk loose and pops it in his mouth, running his tongue over the sooty remains.
"He's kinda like a baby or toddler," Relas remarks to the 'newcomers' as Rav wanders over to the blasted section of the walkway and tastes a piece of scorched brick. "Someone told me they learn a lot by putting things in their mouths too. Except I've never seen any babies or toddlers with sharp teeth or guns. Probably a good thing too, I bet their aim would be like Palo's!"
- the debris here has a taint of gunpowder... yet it is like no gunpowder the goblin has tasted before - indeed, it doesn't taste like any mineral from this end of Rythes...
...and still, as the storm starts to rumble in, there is no sign of life.
Drancis shakes his head at the news of the gunpowder, "Maybe one of the other Baronies assaulted the gatehouse recently...we should have questioned those half-orcs more closely." He grimaces at the gap yet gives a reassuring smile to the others. "I can jump across that gap and affix the rope for the rest of you, if Relas cannot hang onto the rope."
"I should be able to hold it in my teeth," the eidolon volunteers. "Can even fly Rav across if he wants, since he's small enough to sit on my back."
_______
Rav cuffs Relas in the back of the head, but it's a half-hearted thing, as he's distracted. "Not recognize taste, but is gunpowder. Strange ingredients. Think I recognize in future though." He grins, showing off row on row of shark like teeth. "Goblin babies have sharp teeth, why goblin mothers not wet nurse. Just throw scraps from table at babies. Sometime if not enough scraps, babies eat weakest one."
Rav looks over the gap, and nods. "Safer have two people on other side, or, one Rav and one Relas, which is kind like two people but not. Rav better at tying things, got posable thumbs. Palo no able imagine posable thumbs, so Relas no have."
Rav clambers up on Relas' shoulders. "Hah, giddyup kitty."
Rikkan waits for the others to try out their plan, knowing he wasn’t the most acrobatic sort and wouldn’t have much chance at running the gauntlet to get there without help.
Zoreck also looks at the blasted causeway.
"Hmm... Obviously, we need to get across here..."
He paces back a few steps and then, with a running start, leaps across the gap.
Running at the narrowest part of the gap, Zoreck leaps... and, momentarily suspended over the rushing waters, crashes down on the far side. And then, brushing himself down, catches any rope thrown over towards him - and secures it to allow his companions to cross.
Two levered crossing gates close off the causeway near the damaged gatehouse - a single wooden door into the structure lies between the two barriers...
Rikkan follows once the rope was secured. ”Zoreck, that was pretty awesome! I didn’t know you had that in you.”. Once he crossed over, Rikkan takes a look at the wooden door.
Perception
Once he has made his way across the gap, Drancis peers at the door closely, wondering if it was trapped in some way.
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Zoreck chuckles at Rikkan's comment. "Thanks. The kids of our clan used to dare each other to leap Klargman's Ravine... and I got pretty good at it! I only fell once!"
"It's okay," Relas agrees as he lands on the other side and allows Rav time to hop back onto the ground. "I mean, it'd be nice to be able to hold a cup properly but that's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things," he says cheerfully.
While the others investigate the wooden door into the gatehouse, the eidolon scans the nearby horizon for signs of life or other approaching dangers.
A cursory examination of this area notes a few dried bloodstains in front of the gatehouse door... and on the door itself. A more detailed examination, quickly though in the worsening weather, discovers an unusual blond feather wedged in a gap between the causeway stones.
...and so far, there is no sign of life from anywhere.
Drancis motions everyone back from the door, "Let me open this..." reaching out with his mind to pull the door open.
Rikkan makes a mental note to take that feather for further study once Drancis gets the door open. Might be able to summon one of those someday!
The office beyond the opened door seems damaged beyond repair — and is the scene of a considerable fight. A table and two chairs lay overturned, a third and fourth smashed to kindling, and some ceramic jars shattered with their contents spilled onto the floor. A battered metal strongbox sits beneath the overturned table, its lock broken and contents missing...
Dried blood spatters the floor and walls - worse than the gore outside - with crimson drag marks leading to a broken door in the southeast wall.
Rikkan nods toward the drag marks. He quietly moves in the direction the blood leads, looking around to see what he could find.
Stealth
Perception
"I am beginning to think we were hoodwinked back at the causeway. Those half-orcs were behind this, I know it!" Drancis whispers as he waits for the others to move inside.
"Don't worry, Rav and I, we'll keep Rikkan out of trouble," Relas whispers as he follows after the ratfolk.
"We will?"
The voice however, seems to come from nowhere, as Rav all but vanishes into the shadows of the room as he draws his rifle again.
Zoreck draws sword and gun, then follows.
More carnage lies beyond the door. The bodies of five bloodied humans form a garish pile in the northern corner, while two other corpses of hairless, hyena-headed humanoids with pasty skin covered in primitive blue tattoos, lie at the centre of the room. A third such creature sits propped against the east corner, three arrows protruding from its chest.
Outside the storm is building to a crescendo... rain is lashing against the windows and pounding on the roof whilst, somewhere out to sea, thunder starts to rumble ominously...
Drancis hurries inside the causeway, "We have to get inside!" He exclaims. Once inside he nearly gags on the stench here. "Well I think I can take a guess as to what happened here..." he mutters, swallowing his bile as he moves to examine the corpses.
As the storm continues to drive against the buildings walls, a harsh drumming sound that - at its worst - makes speech difficult, the group take in the scene... the bodies here, human and gnoll alike, have been terribly brutalised - savage wounds, some of them possibly inflicted post-mortem, are what have led to the trails of blood...
...and then suddenly, the gnoll in the corner - its chest peppered with a trio of arrows - coughs up a gout of blood and snarls at the group. It makes no effort though, grievously wounded as it is, to move...
Heal
Rikkan jumps three feet straight backwards at the gnoll’s movements. ”Is it alive or undead,” he whispers as he watches the creature. If he determines it is alive, he moves to use a healing potion of the wounded gnoll.
Drancis waves off Rikkan as the ratfolk moves to heal the wounded gnoll. "I can heal him...save your potion." He then turns to address the gnoll in the common tongue, "Do you understand me? Did you do," he waves his hand around the carnage, "this?"
Rav considers putting a bullet through the head of the corpse, when it moves, but instead simply takes up a position in the corner of the room, rifle ready, still hidden.
- the gnoll is fatally wounded, if it doesn't receive some medical attention or any other healing, it will surely die soon...
The gnoll, as Rikkan approaches, growls aggressively... and, accidentally jolting one of the arrows that pierces it chest, reaches for a gold chain slung around its neck.
- the gnoll is far from friendly... and its actions, reaching for the chain, seem strangely hostile.
"Rav think the gnoll be one of attackers. That gold necklace, seem like ones lizard's had yes? Maybe get rid of it before healing?"
Drancis waves off the goblin, "Allow me..." He reaches out with his mind to pluck the necklace from the gnoll's grasp...
Rikkan holds his ground, waiting to see how the gnoll behaves without that funky necklace strapped to his neck. If it doesn’t calm him down, at least he can bleed out safely out of range of the group.
Drancis' attempts to wrest the necklace from the gnoll's hand somehow, even though the creature is clearly dying, fails... and the less said about Palomia's attempts at speaking gnollish, the better.
Ravboom, from the far side of the room, fires... and accompanied by a shriek of pain from the gnoll, the necklace flies loose from its grasp. It momentarily tries to move towards the item where it lies... but growling in agony at the arrows embedded in its chest, it slumps back with a snarl...
"Ok, now heal enough it no die, but don't heal so much it attack. no sure what that did, but probably not good." Rav says, and spits to the side.