Kereek suddenly grins at Kat. "Kat, you am go that way, Kereek am go this way, we am meeting in middle!" Kereek heads south and east around the outside of the floor, motioning for Kat to head North and East.
Katerina: 27
Prazil: 17
Kereek: 22
Agnar: 6
Orin: 9
Antagonists: 5
Upstairs, Katerina and Kereek split, Kereek rushing south and turning to discover a couple openings near the bodies he and Katerina left earlier. Katerina turns the corner and finds an opening into what looks like it was once a bedroom with a large map of the Nomen heights tacked to one wall. The map has been torn to shreds, and the other bedroom furnishings are either similarly ruined or else missing.
Below, Agnar steps back and Orin and Prazil try to subdue the remaining spriggan, though it takes a couple blows before they manage.
S3: 15
Kereek meets back up with Kat and shakes his head. "Am no more giant-gnomes up here. And downstairs am quiet. Is Orin and Agnar and Prazil alive?" Kereek begins to move downstairs at flight, ready to avenge his comrades if need be.
The chamber to the east contains a small well and several full water barrels to provide a secondary water supply in case the stockade falls to attackers. Twenty buckets are stacked against the south wall.
To the north is a bunkhouse with bunks for a dozen individuals and hooks on the wall for clothing and equipment.
Northwest is a chamber that contains a bed, a chest of drawers, and a sparring dummy, which seems to have been searched thoroughly.
The final room on the floor is an armor, where a large number of weapons and suits of armor are stored—the gear seems to have been rifled through but not thoroughly searched.
This chamber is cluttered with the accoutrements of a kitchen, complete with a small fireplace and grill, as well as a larder for foodstuffs. Crates and boxes are stacked in the western portion, while the main area has been converted into a bedroom.
To the north, the quarters are now a chaos of broken furniture and scattered parchments.
Next comes the room with the damaged map that Katerina found, before getting to the room to the south of the guardroom where Kereek and Katerina entered, where wire cages hang from the rafters of this chamber, and the floor beneath is spattered with droppings. Sacks of seed are stacked near the door. The cage doors stand open and are empty but for a sprinkling of feathers.
Avoiding the pit, you find an area surrounded by a split-rail fence that, anchored at one end by a rough shed built from logs, serves as a corral. The corral is empty save for a number of gnawed and picked bones.
Next to it are two rickety outhouses, before getting to a long, low building composed of logs closely chinked with a mixture of mud and mortar. It contains a sizable store of dried fruits and vegetables, bags of grains, and assorted roots and tubers, along with a large number of tools and other supplies.
There's also the smithy you briefly entered.
Agnar will pick through the scattered parchment, trying to find something of note.
"I'm thinking these fellows are just squatters, not invaders. There's no signs of battle here except for the ones we left. The people were gone, so they moved in and set up kip. Ate all the animals, down to the messenger pigeons, looks like."
"That's the other thing. The storehouse is stocked. If people were going to leave, you'd think they'd pack up the food for the journey."
The mess is difficult to sort through, but you only find what appears to be mundane correspondence between the colony and Restov. Among them are a number of mentions of conflicts with the Nomen centaur tribe, but nothing to hint at what may have befallen the village.
Kereek is going to move through the fort, casting detect magic and searching for anything of worth.
Prazil stands vigil over their vanquished spriggan, asking him in the common tongue as well as draconic what happened to the Varnholders. As Kereek comes down the stairs intent in his magics, Prazil calls out, "Oh! Kereek! This one am not for answering Prazil's questions. You am good with talking, maybe you can be for asking?"
Meanwhile, Spike floats through the air in wide, lazy loops and arcs until Kereek's magics finally fade and the mighty fort-breaker settles once more to the ground. Loosing a mournful cry when he fails to stay in the air after several little hops, Spike then curls up just to the side of the giant hole he made in the front wall of the building.
In the armory, Kereek discovers 12 suits of padded armor, a masterwork breastplate, seven light wooden shields, 20 spears, three short swords, two handaxes, a shortbow, two longbows, four light crossbows, 2 heavy crossbows, a +1 morningstar, 200 arrows, and 220 crossbow bolts.
You also find the tough spriggan Katerina killed upstairs had several magical items including a potion of cure moderate wounds, a +1 breastplate, a +1 seeking heavy crossbow, a masterwork greatclub, and a magical bag.
He also realizes Prazil is trying to question an unconscious spriggan, which may be why it's not answering.
Kereek gathers the magical items and brings them downstairs, dumping them in a pile away from the gnome-giant. Walking over to the spriggan, he taps it with a claw, then peels back its eyelid. "It am passed out, Prazil. Maybe you am waking it up?"
Prazil bonks the spriggan on the head and shouts, "Hey! Wake up and answer questions!" He looks at Kereek as it remains unresponsive and the gray-scaled kobold shakes his head and shrugs.
Agnar will wander over, a few crumpled papers still clutched in one hand.
"There's mention they were having problems with a tribe of centaurs nearby. They might know something about what happened here. After all, enemies will usually keep an eye on one another, to be sure of what the other is up to."
He looks at the unconscious spriggan. "I can get him up and about, but you may want to tie him up first. I'll take care of any bumps and bruises we all have while I'm at it."
HP 30/43
Kereek lets out a sigh as some of his wounds heal and knit closed. "Maybe Orin or Kat am better for tying. Kereek am better for burning." He takes up a vigil over the giant gnome until it's time to talk.
Agnar's magic does its work, and the spriggan blinks awake, looking around wide-eyed as it realizes it's trussed and surrounded.
Orin looks out over the town from the fort's ramparts "Agnar's right. There are no bodies. If the town was attacked by these spriggan's the townsfolk would have defended themselves. There would be signs of a struggle at least. The only damage I've seen so far is the hole that Spike made. If they abandoned the town, for whatever reason, they would have packed their belongings and provisions for the trip. It's as if they've just disappeared. Kind of creepy, actually."
Returning to the fort Orin pulls out his sword and begins sharpening it in front of the captured spriggan "What can you tell me about the disappearance of the colonists? What did you do with them?" he say while absentmindedly sharpening his blade, the threat implied.
The spriggan stares at the sword.
"Nothing! Nothing! Village was empty when Chief Agai led Culcheks here. They probably found out we were coming and ran away in terror. You are not brave people!"
Katerina stifles a laugh. "And you aren't the smartest. Your chief died well at least. Is that what you meant by brave?"
"You attack by sneaking!" the spriggan complains. "You are supposed to go through doors, not walls!"
He looks at the spriggan, raising an eyebrow. "What do you know about the Nomen centaurs?"
"I don't think he knows anything. He seems pretty dim after all." Katerina looks down at the gnome/giant and shrugs. "We could give him a choice, flee like a coward, fight for his freedom and honor or simply help us. Of course if he chooses to fight it would be against just one of us." Her hand rests lightly on the hilt of her sheathed sword. She looks over at Kereek and says, "And this time no Kereek help, no matter how good at it you are." She smiles, her eyes reflecting the humor as she remembers Kereek's flaming bolts of 'help'.
Kereek laughs. "We am making door! We have big lizard for making doors! So gnome-giants am finding empty fort and am not seeing Varny-holders? Humph. Where am Varny-holders go?" Kereek nods at Kat and smiles, remembering how brightly the flames burned...
Prazil turns to Kereek during the interrogation and whispers, "Sneaking? Prazil am confused, Spike am very bad at sneaking."
"Oh, they are big nasty creatures, with bodies like horses and chests like humans. They are scared of Culchecks too and do not come near us!"
"Gnome giant am not knowing useful talk. Maybe No-Men will know useful thing?" Kereek shakes his head at Prazil. "You am very bad at many things. Spike am very good at making doors and am flying very good."
"Well if him not know what happened, who am for knowing?"
"I think Kereek suggested asking the centaurs. We'll have to be careful if their last friends here were on bad terms." She looks to the Spriggan and asks in general, "And what do we do with this one?"
"He can tell us where the centaurs live and how to get there. Then he can drag his ugly butt out of here and go back where he came from. If he's still skulking around here when we return, I don't think it will go well for him."
"They are to the east, but I don't know where. They were like humans and scared of Culcheks, so did not bother us!"
Prazil scratches his head and looks at Kereek, then the bigfeets. "What am cen-taurs? Am they also neighbors?"
"Imagine a horse. Then imagine a human. Then take the the part of the human above the legs and put it where the horse's head should be. That's a centaur. They're an old race that lives in the wilds, away from civilization. Great hunters and fine warriors. Might be Varnhold was built too close to the centaur lands, and that's why they didn't get along. Centaurs don't take kindly to other people moving into their territory. Not wise to make them mad either, not when they can kick you with hooves and stab you with a spear at the same time."
"Alright, then. Let's decide what to do with this guy and finish off checking the rest of the town before we head off to talk to these centaurs."
Prazil scratches his head at Agnar's description, trying to imagine such a strange thing as a human with horse parts instead of legs. As he continues to wonder over how the two disparate parts would look together, he catches Orin's question and looks at the spriggan. "Him can be for going now, yes?"
Satisfied, you let the spriggan go and watch as he scampers out of the village, his companions all slain.
Satisfied he's gone, you begin exploring the rest of Varnhold. Passing by several more apparent family residences, you discover a sod house dug into the base of the hill. Its heavy oaken door hangs askew. Inside, a broken hand axe lies on the table and debris is strewn about the house.
The path leads north to a building where, unlike the other houses in town, the front door has been broken down. A small yard adjoining the house and surrounded by a low picket fence holds the smashed remains of many clay vessels and statuettes.
This modest cottage is neatly kept and has curtains hanging askew in its windows. It appears to have been the home and workshop for the village tailor, as evidenced by the few remaining bolts of cloth and tools of the trade within.
Behind it, the long, low building partially surrounds a yard encompassed by a split-rail fence. A sign above a wide, barn-like entrance shows harness for a horse and a blacksmith’s anvil. Despite the abandonment of the village, it appears that many mounts and a great deal of livestock were left behind, trapped in the livery and yard. A half-dozen horse carcasses, decomposing and ravaged by the crows that continue to pick at them, lie sprawled in the yard. They caw noisily and shift uneasily as you approach.
Across the street, a two-story inn stands just off the village commons. A sign above the door depicts a rider clinging to the back of a madly galloping horse with a green mane and a fish’s tail extending from its hindquarters. The inn’s walls are painted a cheerful shade of yellow to complement the red shutters. You can see on the front door of the inn is a single word hastily scratched into the wood of the front door in
Common—“NOMEN.”
Kereek looks increasingly confused as the village yields evidence of a sudden, unexpected disappearance. "Maybe they am going to see No-men? Maybe No-men am coming to take them away? Maybe no-men cent-ars are hating horses because they am half-cent-ar? Kereek think we am needing to go to No-men land."
"Maybe it is No Men? Like someone doesn't want this place to be settled by men?"
At the sight of the livery and yard, Prazil spurs Spike a little more quickly, hoping all the animals aren't dead or food for the carrion birds. "Maybe there are horses or cows that am still ok! We can be for helping them!"
"I'm thinking it's a reference to the Nomen centaurs, as Kereek thinks, but whether it's an indication of where they went, or why they fled, I can't rightly say. I'll check the horses. Keep an eye out for any live animals."
Looking sick at the sight, Agnar will examine the remains of the horses, looking for cause of death and an estimate of how long ago they died.
Agnar:
Katerina:
Kereek:
Orin:
Prazil:
Antagonists:
As Agnar and Prazil approach the horses, the crows suddenly take wing and coalesce into a murder, clearly upset with the intrusion on their repast and willing to live up to their sobriquet.
"Kereek! I think these are yours!" Katerina does not back down, but she has no interest in slashing uselessly at a swarm of pecking birds.
Kereek looks up from poking around at the magic bag. "What? No, Kereek spies am no here. Kereek spies am home in Hartsland!"
"No! You need to kill them!" Katerina rolls her eyes at the kobold. He doesn't take subtlety well...
Prazil yelps as the birds take wing in unison, their squawks and caws suddenly rather daunting. He glances back at the others, "How am Prazil supposed to stab so many angry birds?"
"Why Kereek kill Kereek spies? Kereek LIKE Kereek spies! Spies am very very good! Spies am telling Kereek lots lots information!" Kereek shakes his head, sad that Kat doesn't seem to understand the intricacies of spycraft.
As the murder closes on them Katerina shouts, "They are someone else's spies!"
"Oh. OH!" Kereek springs to his feet and begins looking around wildly. "Other spies am bad! Kereek am making sure other spies am gone!"