You detect nothing with your detect evil, however as you approch you notice that the dark form is a dead humanoid body.
Having a good look it appears to have been bitten by a snake of somekind. Much of it's clothing has been rotten away and difficult to tell who or where he came from.
With a good, up close look you notice althrough much of his items have been scattered and removed by savengers or fallen into teh lake and washed away, he still has his masterwork short sword and a coin pouch with 87 gp inside. The coins look newly minted from the capital city of Tamran. They bear the likeness of Forest Marshal Gavirk, nominal leader of Nirmathas.
Though much of his cloths has rotted away, you notice that they do not suit anyone from Kessen. He was too well dressed and most likely from a big city.
The body appears to have been left there for months.
|
Amenhotep frowns.
"This man is not from around these parts - his clothes mark him as someone from a big city, not a small farming community like Kessen. Also, his body has been here for months. I wonder what brought such a person out to the middle of nowhere?"
Gathering up the man's weapon and coins, Amenhotep recites a brief prayer for the man's departed soul, and continues on his way.
|
She crouches beside the body, getting a closer look. "Dunno. You're right, though, he's too fancy to be from that back-- lovely town we just came from." She straightens and adjusts her musket on her shoulder. "Well, let's keep moving. 'Fore I eat him." She elbows Amenhotep and grins.
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
"Moving on! Please!"
Ellenar takes a look around, seeing if there might be something we missed.
"Anyone wish to use this man's weapon? He has no use for it."
"This man looks to be of more noble descent. He deserves a burial, and one I cannot provide. But perhaps I can do one thing."
A doleful tune plays for the departed man as Ellenar brings her violin out, the sad music not something she normally plays in the temples of Shelyn.
|
|
"Okay, fine," Adeah says in mock exasperation. Truth be told, the little paladin had a point; the Society wouldn't be happy if Adeah gained a reputation for doing her own thing. She extends one arm, fist closed, thumb pointing down. "I vote nay. We've got a job to do, and this ain't it. "
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
Tenzin finds a flat spot in the ground nearby. After performing a few short Tai-Chi like moves he stomps the ground in front of him opening a small chasm in the earth... big enough for the body.
"We may now bury him without taking time to dig the hole. It is not proper to leave him out. The way we treat our dead is what separates us from the beasts."
|
|
Ellenar jumps a little at the sudden hole in the ground, the rumble causing her fingers to slip and sound a sour note.
"Well that works out. We have the means, so let us proceed." Ellenar assists with laying the man to rest in the soil, trying not to disturb the man's sleep.
After he is layed, she assists throwing dirt over him, hoping that his soul find peace.
As a grave marker, Ellenar places the man's sword in the dirt, the light of the sun catching on the hilt.
"We've done all we can for this one. We should move on. And may he rest in peace." Ellenar presents her colors for him, then turns and waits for the rest of the party.
You manage to find a camp nearby that he possibly game from. However, this place appears to be abandoned and long since left alone.
You're pretty close to the camp.
Leaving the Gray Lake behind it takes you three hours to reach the valley that contains the Crypt of the Everflame. The trail leads ever deeper into the Fangwood, through a twisting maze of trees and confusing ravines. As it tops a small rise, a broad valley spreads out before it, the opposite side of which looks like a writhing serpent. Yet between the two lies a steep hill sloping down into the valley. A cold rain starts to fall, making the ground slick and treacherous.
This part of the Fangwood is particularly dense, making it a thorn-covered maze of bushes, treacherous roots, and uneven rocks. The map you all have points to this place, known as the Serpend Gorge, marking the crypt at the bottom. Getting down there, however, will be difficult.
As you slip down the bottom you find yourselves stable and none of you slipped or hurt yourselves terribly. You see the Entrance to the Crypt which is fashioned by an archway of stone into the side of a small hill at the bottom of this valley. Moss has overgrown many of the details, but one is still very clear. The keystone of the arch is carved with a flame symbol with a stylized rune in the middle. Beyond the archway is a darkened tunnel with a doorway slightly ajar, however, what first catches your eye is outside where a pair of horses and a trio of ponies lie slaughtered next to the archway, each corpse still tied to a post set into the ground nearby. A swarm of flies hangs lazily in the air above them
There appears to be scattered bones of a humanoid creature underneath one of the horses, possibly where the rest creature's remains still are.
There are still saddblebags that remain on the dead beasts. They appear to be empty from where you are.
Edit: Picture of the Scene
As you put your shoulder into it to move the creature aside you find a entire skeleton there. It doesn't take anyone with any great skill to point out that this is a ancient skeleton.
The horses appear to have been slain 2 days ago with blades or claws.
Amenhotep's movement of the horse he manages to find one of the saddle bags is actually still full. You manage to find 2 days' worth of rations, a pair of large comfortable pillows, a quiver with 10 blunt arrows (as normal arrows, but only deal nonleathal damage) and 2 pints of lamp oil.
|
|
Amenhotep looks thoughtful.
"These horses were slain about two days ago... and they killed by blades and claws. Given the presence of this ancient skeleton, it does not take a genius to guess that the undead may be involved.."
He collects the contents of the saddlebags, then gestures towards the entrance.
"I fear that we will only find more death within... these horses would not have come to the area by themselves, after all..."
Clutching his weapon tightly, Amenhotep moves cautiously towards the entrance, to take a look inside.
The archway has a large pair of wooden doors that appear to be very heavy.
As the heavy doors swing open, the faint light from outside reveals a long chamber with risen platforms on either side. A faded painting of Kassen is on the far wall. The room appears to be the site of a gruesome battle, with two bodies piled in the center and a number of skeletons scattered around. An echoing wail can be heard somewhere in the distance, beyond this foul chamber.
The many different skeletons are littered throughout the chamber. Some near the two bodies and others in different areas of the area.