"I think I've bumped in to most of you already though i don't know if i introduced myself. I am Vashina Hasak and I'm a wilderness guide. Although i'm more at home around the rivers of Andoran I hope my skills should still be useful for the colony." Vashina looks towards the land where the fledgling colony should be bustling with activity.
"I didn't think this would be the greeting we would get, but we must secure the place so that the others on the ship can be safe. I do hope the situation here isn't as serious as it looks though."
Kar.
The name is Jader. Forgive my rudeness and distrust. My upbringing wasn’t the most pleasant and in case you didn’t notice I’m what some would consider an abomination. However if you earn my trust I will be your fiercest friend. Willing to spill my blood on your behalf. But if you betray me I will hunt you down until my dying breath and beyond
Jader speaks in a matter of fact tone demonstrating all the commanding presence he can muster
He then doesn’t wait for response from anyone and turns his attention to the approaching shore
"It's quite the motley crew you and Ramona have assembled, Jader. Well, I for one am not planning on making any enemies, so I'm excited to work with you all. I leave my life in your hands, same as you can leave yours in mine."
Nodding to the others as they all assemble, Posh grabs an oar. "Shall we make our way to shore then? We wouldn't want to let our employers down just yet."
With a wink to Jader, he adds "I can understand your predicament in spirit, sir. I suspect we'll all become quite good friends."
Without another word, the older man begins to struggle agains the current with his oar. Though painfully obvious he's not the best suited for this task, he keeps at it.
Kar also grabs an oar and starts rowing, eager to get to shore.
Ramona can only offer guesses at the potential dangers. Honestly, it could be anything - it is an entirely new land for these colonists, with unknown dangers. She wrings her hands in frustration. I only hope that it isn't as dire as it seems from here.
You navigate yourselves down into the boat with some measure of dignity. The bay's waters are calm, with only a gentle rocking of the ship's boat. The short is approximately three hundred feet to the east, where a lonely dock is built off of a sandy beach.
Surprisingly, the aging Posh gets behind an oar and sets to it, using his determination and perhaps a superior knowledge of mechanics to set the boat into motion. Once Kar, and his more considerable strength join in, the boat settles into an easy pace.
When you're a bit over two hundred feet from The Peregrine, you notice a churning in the water, followed by three fountains of spray as figures leap out of the water to attack! Three wide, misshapen head filled with jagged teeth grin wickedly at the inhabitants of the boat as they raise very un-fish-like spears.
Jader prepares a swipe at the attacking creatures. But he wants to get a view of the situation
Kar will stand to attack the Grindylow near him. Features contorted with rage at this interruption, he summons lightning to his fist. (Elemental Fist)
Lightning damage
Total damage is 11 to the one next to Kar and Kalathiel. Kar's fist crackles with electricity as his balled fist connects with the creatures head, breaking skin and bone, and sending power coursing through the wound.
"Oh great, grindylows! Watch for their tentacles tangling your feet. There's a sandbar below, maybe five feet down. Looks OK to stand on." says Vashina as she grabs her sickle off her belt and tries to slice at the creature near her.
"Never heard of them. But I must say, that still looks a bit deep if you ask me..." announces the gnome. "So, you know if they have any special resistances or anything Ms Vash?"
Leaning back in his seat, he mumbles a few arcane words to himself. A quick motion with his wrists and a ball of ice forms before him. Eyeing the beast in front of Kalathiel, he gives it a flick. The icy chunk soars high over it's target, plashing down a few dozen yards away. "Oopsies..."
"Nothing really special about them that I remember, besides the tentacles," Kalathiel chimes in, drawing his rapier as he does so. Still seated and somewhat off-balance, he jabs at the creature closest to him.
The group immediately sets into battle roles, though its obvious that they've some self-discovery to achieve in order to work well as a group. Still, the response is immediate and deadly.
First, Kalathiel slips his rapier into one of the creature's mouths, driving it in and through the back of the creature's throat. He removes the blade, and the grindylow sinks into the water, gurgling as it chokes on its own blood.
Posh's attack, somewhat off target due to the...well...death of its target, instead flies off to strike the water and form a crystalline spray of icy tendrils where at its center of impact...well away from the enemy. Vashina is thrown off target as well, as the lurching boat proves to be quite the difficult surface from which to attack. Her sickle swipes by harmlessly, over a grindylow's head.
Kar refocuses and finds a target, slamming his fist into one of the creature's torsos. The electric shock of the strike spreads out from the point of impact and through the creature's limbs, forcing it to convulse even as it flesh begins to sizzle away. It falls away to float on the water, face up and still riddled with spasms.
Jader shifts to the side, and almost nonchalantly swipes his falchion across, severing the head of the last creature.
A rousing cheer sounds out from the Peregrine as it begins to move towards the north and towards the second landing point. Apparently you had an audience for the short battle.
Tess, a little slow to react, stands up, trident at the ready, after all the grindylows have already fallen.
"I-... uh... Wow. That was so fast! You're all amazing! I'll have to prove my worth to you all next time."
She sits back down.
"Well then, our work awaits!"
After everyone checks their various states of harm and judges them to be more than acceptable, the grindylow bodies are pushed out to deeper waters where they'll sink and not be an eyesore. Then, you progress towards the pier, and the village beyond.
As you approach, you get a good look at the settlement. A well-worn path in the grass rises up a slope toward a cluster of buildings to the east. The buildings are arranged in a rough triangle, with each point ending in a wooden circular enclosure with rectangular notches cut intermittently, like battlements. These round enclosures are clearly meant to be three points of a wooden palisade fence, which would enclose this first group of buildings once completed. The palisade fence, however, is complete only along the southeastern side of the triangle and is obviously unfinished elsewhere. The grass around the settlement looks like it was cropped at one point, and many paths exist between locations in the settlement, but in less well trafficked spots the grass has started to regrow.
All of the buildings are constructed of either rough timber or mud bricks set in a wooden frame, and have pitched thatch roofs. Many have open window frames, but only a few have actual shutters or even a canvas curtain for privacy. Doors are basic, wooden affairs, too simple for locks, and some buildings lack them entirely. The construction is new, quite rough and unfinished.
The settlement is still - too still.
A solitary dock extends from the beach into the bay. The construction is solid and looks recent, suitable for tying off a small boat, although no watercraft are visible. The beach inclines to the east before giving way to grass and trees. Further on in that direction, buildings and the palisade wall stand on the rise.
You note that there are no tracks in the sand at all...
Once the boat is docked and secured, Kar moves towards the buildings to investigate them. He says nothing and does not wait for any to suggest anything, he simply acts.
Jader has no patience for investigation and puzzles. He turns to Kalathiel and says Investigator! You have the wit and skills for these matters. What do you make of this? No tracks, no people, no evidence of foul play. Likely magic is involved but what? Gnome any cognitive thoughts or just more riddles
After speaking Jader climbs from the boat expecting the others to follow and chime in with their thoughts. He looks around as he follows the only tracks present of Mr Roden
Eyeing the scene, Posh frowns a moment. "Well, it seems inefficient to only half build a wall...someone should see to that. The whole place feels as if it were abandoned in a rush."
Scratching his head a moment, he calls out
With a shrug, his smile slowly returns. "You know, when I was a kid, we all hid from my grandma like this once. She came downstairs....we all jumped out...good times! I think it was celebrating something. Her birth perhaps? No, she was already born at that time...Hmmm."
"I do see a lot of potential here though. We could certainly fix this place up. Though the lack of tracks is concerning. And why build a dock, with no boats?" Glancing upwards, he frowns again. "Perhaps our recent abandonment came from the sky. It would certainly explain the lack of foot traffic."
Vashina is surprised how quickly the fight is over, but she's more surprised by how quiet the settlement is.
Vashina looks around while listening carefully for any signs of trouble.
On the shore, Kalathiel stops and takes in every detail he can of the area around the group. "Could be magic, could be mundane. Famine, disease, something like that. But you'd expect to see something if that were the case. Even just corpses. It doesn't seem like anything came from the water, either. Grindylows are unlikely." He frowns and shakes his head. "It's too soon to even begin to say, far too soon, and there's only so much one can glean from standing on the dock."
With that Kalathiel moves forward, his long strides carrying him swiftly up the path toward the settlement proper. He draws his rapier as he goes, holding it loosely at his side in case of trouble.
As you pull your ship in to dock, you notice a canoe on the seafloor off of the western edge of the platform. It's fully submerged...sunk...at about ten feet under the water.
You see the town before you, and a path leading in....
"Grim as it might be, corpses would at least tell us something. I say we look for any people, dead or alive. If they're dead, we can gleam from their corpses what might have happened. If we don't find anyone, they're clearly somewhere else. Maybe they were captured by some sort of native group to be taken as slaves..?
Anyhow, I agree with Kalathiel, we'd best get to investigating."
She readies her trident and looks around, and points at the buildings in front of the palisade .
"Should we start there?"
Climbing out of the small vessel, Posh leans heavily on his walking stick. "Well, those huts are on the way to the town proper. Makes sense for us to start there and make our way inward."
"But, I'll follow the lead of you strout fellows."
Jader will follow the group consensus of . He will take the rear with his scorpion whip and shield equipped
Hearing the discussion, Kar will move with the group, swinging his path wide around to the southern (presuming directions here) end of A2 so he has a clear line of sight to A15 and A16. He doesn't want to separate from the group, just to keep an eye out while they are doing their thing. And since everyone else is doing so, Kar will ....draw.... his... fists.
"It's as good a place to start as any, i guess." says Vashina, clearly a little unsettled by the situation.
She keeps her sickle in hand and tries to reassure herself that she is surrounded by allies who have already dealt with some hostile creatures.
Kar drifts slightly to the south, and points out what look to be vegetable gardens to the southeast. Some of the gardens seem picked over and sparse, while one remains completely undisturbed. He rejoins the rest and continues on towards what look to be tents.
Seven canvas pavilion tents were set up here, all of which are large enough to shelter two to three people each. All but two tents have collapsed due to wind, rain, and lack of maintenance. The two that remain standing lean haphazardly and do not appear to have been entered for a long time. Grass has begun to grow around them.
Tess pokes her head into the first tent.
Kalathiel stands among the collapsed tents, looking around. "Abandoned for quite some time, unless things here grow unusually fast," he mumbles as he puzzles over the scene. He moves and takes a look in the other tent.
"This is quite worrying. We still haven't seen any signs of a struggle though, so that's good, right?"
Kar grunts at Vashina. It would be better if there were signs of a struggle. Then at least we would have some sort of idea as to what happened. Now.... right now we have nothing. Do any of you have the ability to check for residual magical auras?
Darion makes the gestures and mutters the words that allow him to detect magical auras. He is worried about the possible outcomes. Either no magical auras or very strong magic. The very strong magic could be painful to his mental faculties. Despite the pain, Darion is more worried about no magical auras however.
Leaning against his walking stick, Posh watches as his younger companions search out the tents. Stepping forward at Kar's request, he notices Jader has it well in hand.
"Let me know if you find anything noteworthy."
With a smile, he looks out over the beach. 'Now what a strange scenario...no signs of anything afoot and yet...no signs of life. What happened here?'
Darion makes the gestures and mutters the words that allow him to detect magical auras. He is worried about the possible outcomes. Either no magical auras or very strong magic. The very strong magic could be painful to his mental faculties. Despite the pain, Darion is more worried about no magical auras however.
The tents appear to be salvageable, though one had some small animal nesting in it for a time and reeks of musk. Many of the tents still have common mundane personal items in their folds, such as clothing, mementos, cooking pots, and waterskins. Some of these items are ruined, but much of the mundane gear can be cleaned or repaired.
Jader points out four vials and a shirt embroidered with winged feet, indicating that they radiate a minor magical aura.
"It's not quite magical auras in my case, but I can try nonetheless..."
Tess attempts to Detect Psychic Significance around the area.
You find nothing of significance in the surroundings, though the shirt does ring with a faint resonance. You see a young man in your mind's eye, fleet of foot, always a step ahead of the others his age. He wears the very same shirt that lies on the floor of this tent.
Kalathiel approaches the vials and picks one up. He turns it over in his hands, examining it carefully. Placing it back down, he runs a hand over each of the other three, confirming to himself that all four appear to be the same substance.
"Healing potions. Not the most powerful, but they should be useful."
The elf's eyes turn to the shirt, and his brow furrows. "I can't say a great deal about exactly what the shirt does, though."
"I can have a look at the shirt. I wouldn't say i'm an expert, but it's a skill I've sometimes had to use."
Vashina picks up the shirt, mutters some magical words and holds her hand over the item while closing her eyes.
"I'm afraid i'm not sure. I think i may need more practice at this kind of stuff." says Vashina with a shrug.
Very good Kalathiel, the healing potions should be distributed amongst those most likely to be injured. Perhaps Mr Roden, Miss Tessamine, Vashina and either myself or Kalathiel. The shirt we should take to be identified. Perhaps you gnome Posh is it what can you discern
With that Jader waits a moment for any objections before handing out the potions and taking the shirt to be identified by Posh
"All I can say is that the shirt seems to have been worn by a very swift young man. Any magic it might have might be related to increasing speed in some way?"
Kar accepts the potion with a nod, tucking it into his gear in a easy to reach location. His attention then returns to the surroundings, keeping watch for anything that could approaching.
Turning towards the group, "Yeah, found something there? Let me see it."
Hobbling towards the tent, he mumbles "May my arcane might show us the nature of this cloth." Fingering the material, he turns it over a few times in his hand. "Ah, yes. I believe they call it a runner's shirt...anyway it gives one extra speed in a pinch. Takes a day or so to recharge afterwards though."
Kalathiel or Kor Roden which of you would like to be our scout? Who ever chooses to do so would be best for using this shirt. Decide amongst yourselves and then take the shirt unless anyone has an objection to this. Let’s keep moving to find more clues
When the party begins moving again Jader concentrates on his spell casting to cast Detect Magic. He then will focus in each direction for a moment as the walk to detect magic in those directions
Let Kalathiel take it, if he wishes. Or another. Kar continues following the group, but slightly off to the side in order to get a clear view of the surroundings.
It seems that you're at the limit of what you'll find in this place. The huts are disheveled and items are strewn about, but beyond a mundane worth, there's nothing else of note.
"Towards the farmland or inside the palisade? I'm particular to the farmlands first, just make sure the perimeter is clear before we enter the walled off area. What do you think?"
Kalathiel, you take the shirt I’ll take the healing potion. As far as where to go the perimeter sounds good to make sure we don’t walk into any ambush
Let us be about it then. I wish to know what happened to the people here.