Now that the owlbear is dead and no longer making a lot of noise, you become aware of a soft, high-pitched mewling coming from the other side of the wall. Rounding the wall, you see the owlbear's nest, and within it, a single baby owlbear mewling piteously.
Venedictus also spots a human arm lying near the nest. The arm sports a distinctive tattoo.
Fredrik peeks around the corner, and also sees Bear splattered in the owlbear's gory remains. He can only nod weakly at Vene's response, seeing the blood crazed look in Bear's eyes, he shudders inwardly, as he moves inside the abandoned structure and looks around. For some time afterwards, Fredrik studiously avoids approaching Udaya, or even looking at her.
On examining the arm tattoo, Fredrik mutters a curse, and says to the others, "This guy was an employee who worked for Garavin Vesst, a greedy mine manager who was bankrupted by Balabar Smenk several years ago and died early last year. He branded all his employees with it. Those employees now work for Balabar Smenk and are headed by Kullen, a local half-orc thug. Nothing but trouble, but why would he be interested in grave robbing, I have no idea."
Untrained Knowledge (Local) :
"This was one of Kullen's guys. Now there's a guy I wouldn't mind seeing make Bear angry..." He slaps his hand across his mouth, a horrified expression in his eyes. "Aaargh! This cursed town is rubbing off on me more and more each day. Please, forgive me and forget you ever heard me say such an ugly thing. It's been harder and harder to maintain my outlook...to add beauty to Baslwief each day, as this ugly town pollutes my soul more and more. Traveling with you folks, with some honest-to-goodness humour and camaraderie, has been doing me wonders, but I clearly still have a long way to go."
UU nods. "OK. So clearly at least four folks in town know what happened here. If we can figure out who lost this arm - whose gone missing recently from town - we should be able to figure out who his 'friends' here might have been. That seems like a good place to start after we go through the door Alastor promised to open for us... AND after we figure out what to do with the owlbear um... 'pup'."
Fredrik remembers something the spirit of Alastor said, So much for staying on her good side. "Umm, Udaya, I seem to remember Alastor said he wanted to be buried with his family, not just where they were originally buried. I imagine their spirits were disturbed as well."
He sighs and rubs his temple, on being reminded of the owlbear pup. He shrugs his shoulders irritably, "Do I look like a druid? I have no idea what to do with it! Somebody else in town might though."
"Umm, Udaya, I seem to remember Alastor said he wanted to be buried with his family, not just where they were originally buried. I imagine their spirits were disturbed as well."
"You might be right, Slick. But unless you've been conducting seances recently, we don't know that for sure until we check out that door again. If Alastor says 'boo', then we have an answer and you can say 'I told you so'. If you'd rather not go back to Alastor's spot, OK. I'm going to check it out, regardless, just in case."
He sighs and rubs his temple, on being reminded of the owlbear pup. He shrugs his shoulders irritably, "Do I look like a druid? I have no idea what to do with it! Somebody else in town might though."
UU looks surprised at his moody response and starts to give him a reply in kind, "No, you look like a..." but clamps down on her response and says instead in a tightly controlled voice, "The obvious choices are kill it or attempt to sell it. I think it is an unnatural creature, probably can't be put to good purpose, and would draw a LOT of attention to us if we brought it into town... so killing it is maybe the best answer."
"You might be right, Slick. But unless you've been conducting seances recently, we don't know that for sure until we check out that door again. If Alastor says 'boo', then we have an answer and you can say 'I told you so'. If you'd rather not go back to Alastor's spot, OK. I'm going to check it out, regardless, just in case."
"Yeah, sure whatever, yer the boss."
UU looks surprised at his moody response and starts to give him a reply in kind, "No, you look like a..." but clamps down on her response and says instead in a tightly controlled voice, "The obvious choices are kill it or attempt to sell it. I think it is an unnatural creature, probably can't be put to good purpose, and would draw a LOT of attention to us if we brought it into town... so killing it is maybe the best answer."
"Yeah, sure anything that might be a possible threat ya gotta split it in two...wait a minute, I think I heard of these creatures before!
"Yeah, sure whatever, yer the boss."
Temperature rising, UU responds "No, I'm not. If you think going to Alastor's is a waste of time then don't go. I'll do it myself. I'm not telling you to do a damn thing, get it?" Rather than say anything more, UU walks off for a bit, opting to search for any additional clues behind the ramshackle building.
Knowledge Arcana check for owlbear young
Udaya does not find anything on her search. :)
"Yeah, sure anything that might be a possible threat ya gotta split it in two…"
Bear stops wiping his blade clean to level a fierce look at the illusionist, "Next time we'll let it take your head off while you try to negotiate with it, okay? My rules… if it attacks, it's worth attacking. Makes things much simpler." He takes a look at the mewling little pup, "Frankly I don't care what we do with that. I mean, if it brings us some coin… great. But I don't have a clue what it's worth or hwo to care for it in the mean-time."
Having said more than his piece, he heads to help Udaya out with her search.
Fredrik glares at the retreating form of Bear, and mutetrs under his breath, "I was talkin' about the pup, ya big hairy...". He looks away from the couple and wondered why he was so irritable. actually he knew perfectly well why, he just hated admitting it to himself. Damn women!
He looks back to the pup, wondering what to do with it. While killing it may be sensible in the long run, a part of him recoiled at the thought. I wonder if its hungry. He takes out a trail ration and sets it next to the baby owlbear. I wonder if it finds the stuff edible, I know I sure don't.
The little owlbear squawks and moves cautiously towards the offered food. It sniffs it then gobbles it up. It then looks up at Fredrik and stares at him for several seconds, almost like it's asking for more.
Awww, how cute...
Fredrik digs into his pack and feeds the pup several more trail rations,
The baby owlbear happily eats the rations, then approaches closer to Fredrik. It rubs up against his leg affectionately.
Fredrik glances down at the baby owlbear pup, and glances uneasily towards the others. He had a feeling Udaya and Bear would be less than thrilled with this development. Still, he had never had a pet before. Umm, well I guess you need a name now. Ehh I can't think of one, now so I guess I'll call you Pup for now. I wonder if this has happened before in nature? His hand hesitantly reaches out to pet the soft fur.
Pup purrs softly as Fredrik pets him.
"Looks like ya got a little pet there, eh Freddie?"
Dara comes over to check out the little critter then recalls that she probably has the scent of it's mother's blood on it. She hangs back and comments, "Anyone think it's strange that the mom owlbear's wounds got treated? Looks like someone treated 'em with a hot iron."
"Yeah, well it seems a shame to let Pup here suffer, due to no fault of its own. I just don't know where I'm gonna keep him, though, and I don't know what they eat, probably meat I would think. I think someone in town knows more than I do. Maybe Vanelle does."
He pets Pup for a moment, and wonders, "Have they finished searching the place yet?"
hp
A thorough search of the remainder of the farm turns up nothing else. Pup continues to follow Fredrik around as he moves.
* Is Pup small enough to carry in a backpack since it seems Freddy has a (hopefully 'domesticatable') pet? If Freddy has any problems with Pup, UU will try to assist with food and/or Animal Handling.
If needed to calm an outraged Pup - Handle Animal 1d20+7
Upon checking in on Alastor, you discover that he is still there. He is surprised to see you return and shocked to hear that his family's bodies have been dug up. He implores you to find them, as he cannot rest until he is resting beside them.
With the way into the remainder of the cairn still closed, you return to town to track down whoever stole the bones of the Land family...
As the group approaches Balsiwef, Fredrik looks over at Pup, and wonders how he was going to explain this to his mother. When he told her he was going to find riches and wealth, he actually had not planned on coming home with a pet. Still, looking over at the pet, “Pup” he was feeling better about himself on having found him.
He also had to thank Udaya for her help in assisting him in leading Pup back through the cairn. After her initial outburst, she seemed to reconcile herself to the young beasts presence. He was glad for this. Even though he had reconciled himself to the fact there was no romantic interest on her part, she certainly was happy to be his friend. Maybe that is what he needed right now at this point in time.
Once they get back in town, he asks Udaya, ”Can you come with me, and keep Pup company? I need to talk to Vanelle, and get some advice about taking care of Pup. I imagine once we can get that taken care of, then we can work on disposing the loot, and tracking down the remains.”
UU nods, "Sure, I'll help. Just bear in mind that owlbears aren't natural creatures... I don't know if you can tame one and have it stay tame as it grows up. So, someday, you may have to let it go. But he is kinda a cute little bugger right now." UU will nursemaid Pup while Flash is making his inquiries.
Bear is happy to simply follow the group around, letting the talkers do the talking. It'll be nice to sleep in a warm bed for once, not some cave floor or warehouse flea-ridden cot.
"Hey, guys, when do we eat? I could use somethin' warm."
Pup is initially reluctant to stay behind when Fredrik goes to Vanelle's. He snaps a few times at Udaya , and has to be physically restrained a bit before calming down.
A redolence of fresh pine suffuses Vanelle's shop. The building itself incorporates intricate carved patterns and upright logs. The interior is somewhat chaotic with bows, crossbows, arrows, and other weapons and armour scattered about, some piled on tables, others sitting loosely on too-small dummies. Vanelle herself is a tall elven woman. She is seated behind a counter. A partially constructed crossbow sits in front of her. She looks up as Fredrik enters. "May I help you?" she asks, putting down the tools she's using to make the crossbow.
Fredrik puts on a charming smile, and says to her, ”Yeah , I have a friend who apparently has an owlbear baby following her around, and I wanted to know if there is anything special about taking care of one, like what do they eat, where can they sleep, stuff like that. I think they are pretty valuable, if they are tamed, right?”
Bear sidles up to Udaya while Freddy chats up the proprietor, picking up a light crossbow, "Hey, remind me to pick up one of these when we have the coin."
Vanelle leans forward and looks Fredrik in the eye. "An owlbear baby, eh?"
She smirks and moves back again. "Well, your friend--" she mimes quote signs with her hands--"ought to know that they are quite dangerous and not easy to control once they start to grow a little. Your friend--" again miming quotes--"should be careful. They're carnivores and eat a lot of meat. If this baby one isn't fed consistently, it might decide that your friend's friends, such as yourself maybe, look quite tasty." She picks up her tools again, and resumes working on the crossbow. "However, there might be someone in town who actually knows how to handle such a beast and might be willing to purchase it from you--I mean your friend."
”Well, I am sure my friend greatly appreciates hearing this news.”, although his face does pale at the thought. ”Can you tell me who this friend who would be willing to purchase the bear from is, and how discreet is he?”
Vanelle shrugs. "I suppose I can do that. There's a man, Fester Trollump--yep, that's really his name. He's a permanent guest at the Able Carter Coaching Inn. He's a trapper. Makes his living by selling pelts of badgers and other local wildlife. He generally keeps a low profile here in town. He's generally very interested in purchasing exotic animals. I have to admit, though, I'm not sure what he does with them after he's purchased them. Some say he sells them to people in Korvosa or Kaer Maga who want exotic pets. Others say he kills and skins them, selling their pelts just like any other animal. So if you're hoping to sell your owlbear to someone who won't kill it, Fester might or might not be your man."
Bear can only shake his head at the "conversation" between the lady and Freddy.
UU replies to Bear, "Food would be good, but I'd appreciate a bath even more." With a quirky grin and a wave of her arm that encompasses her entire body, she underscores the fact that she is covered head-to-toe in dirt from digging graves. "... and a drink. A drink would go down real well about now." To emphasize her point, she shakes out her hair. A blizzard of dirt rains down on Pup who chirps once at the strange atmospheric phenomenon.
"... but I'd appreciate a bath even more."
Bear waves a hand in front of his nose, "Yaaaah.. i been meaning to mention that.." Then he dances away, trying to avoid the imminent counter-attack.
From a safe distance, he bows and says, "The first drink's on me, little Hell-cat!"
Since Bear expertly predicted her counter-attack, UU pretends she wasn't even planning on launching it.
"Bear, I thought you liked 'down-to-earth' women... but I'll forgive your fickleness for that drink."
Fredrik returns to Udaya, and Pup. ”Well, I found out I may have a buyer for Pup, and it would be best to sell him, eventually.” There is a note of disappointment in his voice. ”Thanks, Udaya for watching him for me, but I know you probably want to get cleaned off,” he points at Bear as well. ”Since, I don’t think my mother would appreciate your company, I will bid you good bye for now, and we can meet up for dinner later at the Spinning Giant.”
"You are - as ever - too kind, Hellcat."
”Well, I found out I may have a buyer for Pup, and it would be best to sell him, eventually.” There is a note of disappointment in his voice.
UU is sympathetic. She clearly likes animals and wasn't looking forward to the possibility of killing Pup. "Well, at least you can enjoy the little fella for awhile yet."
”Since, I don’t think my mother would appreciate your company, I will bid you good bye for now, and we can meet up for dinner later at the Spinning Giant.”
"Wha? Mama Slick wouldn't like us? But we are such fine and pleasant people." UU laughs, "Don't sweat it, Slick. My own family didn't like having me around. Maybe Mama Slick has a point."
UU is sympathetic. She clearly likes animals and wasn't looking forward to the possibility of killing Pup. "Well, at least you can enjoy the little fella for awhile yet."
"Thanks, Udaya."
"Wha? Mama Slick wouldn't like us? But we are such fine and pleasant people." UU laughs, "Don't sweat it, Slick. My own family didn't like having me around. Maybe Mama Slick has a point."
"Hey, I appreciate that...My mom is not the nicest person to be around. Your own family didn't like you either?" Freddie asks with a look of surprise on his face.
"Your own family didn't like you either?" Freddie asks with a look of surprise on his face.
UU answers matter-of-factly. "Nope. I was a 'burden' on them with my tomboyishness and beating up would-be suitors. And when my questionable lineage became clear," she indicates the vague halo of light around her, "Well, I became a scandal in the making. Can't marry off a daughter whose parentage is in doubt. So, dear ol' Dad shipped me off to Avistan hoping I'd just disappear." She shrugs.
UU answers matter-of-factly. "Nope. I was a 'burden' on them with my tomboyishness and beating up would-be suitors. And when my questionable lineage became clear," she indicates the vague halo of light around her, "Well, I became a scandal in the making. Can't marry off a daughter whose parentage is in doubt. So, dear ol' Dad shipped me off to Avistan hoping I'd just disappear." She shrugs.
Fredrik stares for a moment, and realizes she has bared her soul even though she was not dramatic about. He says with a note of empathy, "Well, Udaya, from what I have seen of you so far, you certainly are no burden to Bear, or Dara, or me. Just thought you should know that."
"Hm, well... thanks, Flash. I wasn't real worried about that to be honest but it's nice of you to say. Guess I'll see you at the Giant later, eh? Feel free to leave your Mom at home." She chuckles a bit.
You spread out and head your separate ways. Venedictus and Udaya take care of selling the loot, and Pup causes quite a stir at the Williams household.
As evening arrives, you reconvene at the Spinning Giant.
A freshly bathed UU arrives at the Giant and commandeers a table for 'her' group... for oddly, she is starting to feel that way about them. With an advance on their total profits that Vene handed her, she has drinks and a bit of stodgy fare waiting when the others arrive. She can't believe how much money Vene was able to charm out of the local merchants.