"Then we shall avoid them," sums up Ordric. "Let's go into the forest."
For today? Probably. The morning would be peudent since you're mortal and all.
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"Teake, where can we rest for today?"
They don't have any 'inn' type businesses here, but Teake lets you use his place for the night. The house is small compared to the manors of the nobility, but its one of the largest houses in the village.
The next morning, you set out for the woods, hoping to track down where this 'witch' came from. Your first two hours are relatively safe; you see a few fangboars, but they barely rise above your shins in size. These creatures snort and snuffle whenever you see them, many simply fleeing to a 'safe' distance whenever you approach. Their fur is a shaggy brown and their tusks aren't that pronounced yet, though they are seen rubbing them against the particularly tough hardwoods of the forest, shredding off the bark and eating it.
However, boars aren't what you were looking for primarily.
”Would you look at that?” Drystan comments generally as the group sees the young fangboars shredding the bark. ”I never knew they did that,” he continues on into the woods, listening and looking for movement.
Kearan glances at the boars that Drystan points out, and he nods, silently agreeing with the lad's interest. He's left his horse back at the village for now, but his lance is in hand, held in place resting on his shoulder. The great weapon is odd enough to be used on foot, especially in quarters like this, but it could provide very useful for fending off a great wild beast.
The wagon has room to move until the group gets to the deeper, darker section of the woods, where the trees are now too close together to allow the vehicle to move.
Kearan rides his horse to the edge of the deeper woods, but dismounts when he must, looping the reins to the wagon. When he notices Annalise disembarking the vehicle, he steps to her side and offers his arm with a slight clearing of his throat, prepared to help guide and protect the fire keeper as they enter more dangerous territory.
Having never seen fangboars before, Alder is at first intrigued by their appearance and actions.
Ordric enjoys the ride, the forest and the air. Fangboars - not so much, so his hand rests on the pommel of the sword and he keeps a close eye on the surroundings.
Count Ordric and Drystan, alert for danger, manages to see signs of a large fangboar nearby when they enter the deep woods. Both find the fact that the big creature would have trouble navigating the wood with the trees so tightly planted. There are a number of places where the bark has been scraped off the trunks of the trees at chest height, with deep gouges.
There are more brambles in the forest this deep. Some places are cut off from you, as the briars rise well overhead, stretching from some branches to others. You'll notice that several twisting shapes in the briar; it must be your imagination, but several of the brambles seem to twist into human shapes, seeming to writhe in agony and pain. They aren't human, and they don't move, but that doesn't stop them from being creepy.
A path deeper into the woods has been created by the very fangboar you were worried about. Brambles have been crushed, trees scraped past, and the ground trampled. (it looks like it has been somewhat recent.) Moving forward, you eventually find the fangboar, and possibly the source of the attack.
A large rise of rock and dirt, too big to be a simple hill, but too small to stick out through the forest. There's a cavernous maw in the hill, agape like a broken jaw. Placed within the mouth of the cavern is a bonfire, though the flame is no longer lit. A cookpot, bedroll, and other camp supplies appear to be scattered outside the cave.
Rooting around before the camp is the largest fangboar you'd ever laid eyes on. It also looks to have wrecked much of the intruder's camp, so you'll probably need to kill it if you want to get any clues.
Ordric -3 Diamonds
Kearan -Ace Spades
Alder -4 Clubs
Drystan -3 Spades
Annalise -2 Diamonds
Fangboar -Queen Hearts
So Kearan, then the fangboar, then everyone else![/dice]
Kearan is wary of danger once the Count and Drystan point out the signs of a large fangboar, and he stays close to Annalise and the others in order to defend at a moment's notice. When the group finally comes upon the ruined campsite, with the great beast rooting about, he narrows his eyes under his helmet and shifts his demeanor from alertness to battle-ready. He gently pulls his arm from the fire keeper with a soft, "Beg pardon, milady," and steps forward, planting his feet and raising the lance in both hands. He doesn't rush in to attack just yet, but stands ready to leap forward and thrust should the beast come closer.
”Fangboar,” Drystan says with a gulp. He draws an arrow from his quiver with practiced ease as he hurries along the side of the brambles and wood facing the hill and camp. After pulling the bowstring taut, he releases the arrow at the fangboar.
The fangboar rummages around, but seeing the party enter into its new territory, and angrily charges towards Kearan, who is the most obvious target so far.
The fangboar's scimitar-like tusks crashes into Kearan.
But his armor manages to take the hit without much damage!
The boar squeals angrily as the arrow sticks solidly into its side, turning towards Drystan.
Ordric jumps down to the ground, dons his shield and runs in front of the fangboar, pushing it with his shield.
Alder concentrates for a moment in prayer, then points his finger at the fangboar and says "In the name of Lord Gwyn, I smite thee!"
And a powerful beam of frosty ice sprays at the fangboar, doing
points of damage.
Though the boar is bigger than Ordric, the knight's mass and heavy armor in combination with the beast's poor footing upends the creature, knocking it on its side.
Annalise will conjure a blast of pyromancy and place it between the remaining fangboars in the hopes of the fire driving them away.
”Aaagh!” Drystan screams as the fangboar turns towards him. He is halfway behind a tree when he realizes that Count Ordric has knocked it onto its back. Knowing the beast is vulnerable, he shoots a quick arrow.
Ordric - 7 Diamonds
Kearan - 4 Diamonds
Alder - Joker! (+2 to all rolls!)
Drystan - 4 Spades
Annalise - 3 Diamonds
Fangboar - 10 Spades
The fangboar is currently on its side, with a flame burning between it and the party.
Concentrating even harder, Alder, again points his finger at the fangboar and says "In the name of Lord Gwyn, I smite thee!"
=10 + 2 = 12
Doing
= 19 + 2 = 21 damage!
The boar's vulnerable underbelly is exposed to alder's magic, and it twists and squeals as it shudders and dies.
Any other fangboars in the area flee or go into hiding, so the campsite is free and available to investigate.
It appears that more than one person was camping here...
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After attempting to retrieve his two arrows, Drystan checks the area for human and horse tracks. He also checks the area to see how much wood is stocked in the cave.
"Is this her campsite?" wonder Ordric looking around.
Alder checks out the campsite briefly...
But doesn't notice anything in particular.
Kearan glances around, relying more on instinct and his eyes than any sort of strategic searching.
Drystan and Ordric get the most results, though everyone gets some kind of impression of what happened here.
It appears that the outside area of the campsite was for preparing food of some sort once. It's clear that for the last several months though that the campfire had not been used. The pot lies discarded near the fire as the wooden spit had splintered and withered away.
Inside the cave is a small entry chamber and then a single larger chamber beyond it. Though terribly dark, there's a strange faint light coming from somewhere in the room. It would seem that inside is a soggy, mildewy bedroll and blankets shoved to one side of the room, and a pile of torn up bags of spoiled supplies. The area there smells terrible.
Several talismans, crow wings, and bird-bone fetishes adorn the walls and are scattered on the floors here. In the far back wall on the right is a half-statue of a woman in robes, her upper face covered in a hood and her arms outspread as if receiving you beneficently. It only portrays her from the ground up but it looks to have been carved that way. Several lumpy puddled of cold and dried wax cover the floor before the statue.
Someone hasn't been living here for months.
The inside of the pot has residue of some kind of food, but has crusted to the sides of the iron and has not seen use in months. The supplies inside are also indicative of the same; however, you notice a very human-like heel (with limb connected to it) protruding from under the bag of supplies.
To the far back of the cave is a fissure in the rock wall. Now too small to allow anything but perhaps spiders passage, it looks like this is the source of the faint light in the cave. A faint bluish tinged glow is coming from the fissure, though no details can be seen as to the source.
You recognize this statue as being one of the Goddess Velka. Described as a black-haired witch and rogue deity, Velka is said to have a great range of influence even as gods are concerned. As the Goddess of Sin, it is Velka's job to define sin and mete out the punishment, though she offers absolution by means of her Pardoners. The crow is also a symbol of Velka.
The way of the white does not have any ties to her, nor are they enemies of her. They wouldn't dare draw her ire, even if there were reasons to. Still, she isn't a popular deity, for obvious reasons. Still, she never goes un-worshipped.
So, 1 or 3, depending.
Ordric hurries to remove the supplies from over the bag to check if that's an alive person or dead body. Or - the worst possibility - just the leg, without any body.
[dice=Smarts & Wild]d4; d6
So, 1 or 3, depending.
I was just going to give you the knowledge since it's something you'd have to have learned when people come to you requesting absolution. ;)
Shoving aside the bags of rotting, mouldering supplies, a rank stench reaches you. The boot is attached to the rest of a woman's body, though she's been dead at least a week, if not less. She is wearing a pair of boots, simple pants, and a threadbare red-hooded robe. Though she's obviously bloated from rot, it is obvious she was of some great age. Based on the crow-skull brooch on her robes and the talisman of Velka on her wrist, this woman might be the original resident of this cave.
Annalise stays away from the cave for now, unable to stand the smell. Nervously she calls for the group to inform her what's happening.
”There’s an old woman’s body,” Drystan calls to Annalise. ”And a blue light from a crack in the wall. The woman’s wearing red robes and has some sort of charm on her wrist.”
Drystan keeps glancing at the talismans and statue. He indicates them to Alder. ”These won’t curse us just by looking at them?”
Indeed it is made of stone. Ordric? got any images for us?
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Alder says "The statue is an image of the goddess of sin, Velka, whose image is that of a crow. The body also has a talisman of Velka on it, so she is probably the original 'owner' of the cave. The witch who came into town probably killed her so she could live here for a while.
And, no, Drystan, just looking at the statue and amulet won't curse us.
Anyone know anything about this blue light coming from the crack in the wall?"
= 4
Whatever power was in the crack in the wall, it is faded. For the life of you, you cannot discern if the crack even goes anywhere now, but you have heard folktales about a place between all others. There are no real details, as every story says something different. It looks like the glow is not going to do anything, though.
The woman's body still remains here. Do you wish to do anything about it? (standard tradition is burial, for what it's worth)
"I don't know what is this light," the count shakes his head. "But I know that we should bury the body."
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”Yeah, I know I saw the light in the crack. And now it’s gone.” Drystan says. He shakes his head. ”Well, I’ve dug plenty of graves. Let's get the shovels.”
He snaps his fingers, ”Oh, we should take the tusks from the fangboar before we leave. Good trophies.”
Sure why not.
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After a while, you manage to bury the dead woman in red. The fangboar's tusks are difficult to dislodge, but cracking the jaw and using a hammer manages to break them free. They're almost the length of a scimitar each, but not nearly as sharp.
As her body is being lowered down, her glove on her left hand slips off, revealing a simple ring that appears to be made of a thin strip of copper covered with some kind of markings. Surprisingly, her hand is practically mummified instead of bloated and rotting like the rest of her. It wouldn't be hard to remove the ring if you wanted.