"Would you look at that?" Drystan says, pointing out the woman's ring. "I don't know for sure, but I bet that rings keeping her hand from swelling. Should we take it?"
After burying the woman, Drystan stows the shovel. He pours water over his hands and dries them on his thighs. ”Well I guess we go back to the village?” Indicating the tusks with a nod, he smiles. ”I bet they’ll be impressed by those.”
"You want to rob the dead? We're not looters. Let her rest in peace."
"M'lord, don't think of it so much as looting the dead, as religious intellectual curiosity. I'm mighty curious why a ring would prevent the bloat of death, and I'm going to take it with me to study it. Perhaps the great Lord Gwyn can inform me of its purpose."
Since Alder doesn't work directly for the Count, he doesn't wait for permission, and goes ahead and takes the ring, putting it in his pouch for safekeeping.
Alder, you have obtained the Witch's Ring. You aren't sure what it's doing or how, but it feels strangely warm to you.
Kearan assists with the bulk of the gravedigging, his strong back and arms and physical stamina making it quicker work. When Alder takes the ring, he sniffs, but doesn't comment, and merely looks to Ordric. "Where to, m'lord? Toward the Prince's man?" After the question, he replaces his helmet and pulls his lance from where he planted it in the ground.
The Count just sighs and shakes his head when Alder takes the ring.
"Yes," Ordric answers. "We've lingered enough."
Drystan cringes when the count chastises him. He bobs his head in apology. ”Count, your pardon, please. I didn’t mean it like that. It was...strange is all. I just thought some healer or priest would want to see it. I don’t want it. Don’t even want to see it again.”
As Alder takes the ring, Drystan readies a shovelful of dirt to begin burying the woman. He wants to be gone from here as soon as possible. ”I said I’d be good. I said I’d be good,” he mutters to himself. ”I promised. Now he thinks I’m a thief, a scoundrel, a-a-a thief.”
Maybe we can take the time to put that statue out here by the grave?, he thinks right before Ordric speaks. ”Yes, Count. We’ve lingered enough. I’ll fill this hole as fast as I can.”
After Drystan finishes filling in the grave, we all take to the road, heading towards the Prince's contact.
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Annalise gives a quick prayer over the body of the fallen woman.
You leave the old woman buried, and return back the way you came with more questions than answers. The village is pleased to hear you're alive, and Teake seems particularly interested in the Fangboar you killed, more notably the lack of other large ones in that area. By the time you've left the village, a fair-sized party of them have gathered their tools and a few dogs and are setting off towards the wood along the route you took.
Your travels are relatively safe, without any major issues encountered. Four days of overland journeys pass before anything *new* of note occurs.
A large river cuts across your path, the water flowing fast and deep. The only bridge for miles is ahead of you. The bridge is a massive structure of stone and wood, easily broad enough for two carts going opposite ways to pass by each other without touching. The bridge is supported by six stone pillars on each side that rise above the waters of the river. Astora's seals are seen carved into the columns, marking at least 3 different houses were involved in the construction of this bridge. Pennants flutter in the breeze, and it would look utterly right and peaceful if it were not for the damage the bridge is under.
The center of the bridge has collapsed into the river, leaving a twenty-foot gap where no man could cross. The stone around that area has deep gouges in it, and several pennants are burned up or blackened.
On your side of the bridge, sitting on the path in front of you just before you would step onto the stone, is a knight of some sort. Their armor is incredibly bulbous and rotund, with corrugated ridges in it that gives them an onion-like appearance. Their sword (some kind of flamberge) is stuck point-first into the ground, and their circular spiked shield hangs off the handle as the knight sits with their back to you, their legs crossed at the ankles and hands resting on their knees in the only way such bulky armor would allow.
As you approach, you can hear the knight's voice faintly.
"Hmmmmm..." Quietly echoes out from within the helmet. "What to do?"
From this distance you cannot tell any more about the knight.
This is the armor and arms of a knight of Catarina, a neighbor that Astora is on good terms with. Catarina knights are generally jovial but can be greatly offended if their armor is mocked for their onion-like appearance
Catarina knights can be quite brave and staunch allies when needed but tend to take their time to think things over, which can lead to some unnecessary frustration from time to time. However, when they come to a decision, they can execute their plans like no other. Astora's nobility in general has tread carefully out of diplomatic concern for what Catarina could do if they were united against an enemy.
= 9
"Why, that is a knight of Catarina!" Alder says quietly to the group. "Do not comment on the shape of his armor..."
Raising his voice, he says "Hail, good knight of Catarina! How do you fare today?"
Kearan doesn't recognize the armor instantly, but upon Alder's comment of the stranger's knighthood and origin, he nods and pulls his horse up short, alongside the wagon with the others. He focuses more on the bridge than the knight--Catarina is no foe of Astora, so there's little chance the knight would attack, and honor would dictate a formal challenge and warning be declared.
What could destroy such a construction? The burned flags and tatters... some siege engine of war, perhaps. But why destroy a bridge with such a device?
The knight's head perks up at the sound of speech behind them, and the helmet rotates just enough you can see a thin visor slit as the owner regards your group as they rise. Quite strong, they get to their feet with the speed of someone used to living their life encased in that much steel.
"Oh!? Some travelers!" the voice rings out. As you get closer you can hear the voice is faintly feminine. "I was just pondering my next course of action, and along you came!" She won't even reach for her weapons, but she remains standing nearby. "Just the other night as I was riding along this bridge, a drake came out of the sky and crashed into it!" she turns to look back at the bridge. "Why it ate the men who had been traveling with me as an appetizer and flew off with my donkey! I would have died if it were not for my quick footwork!"
Bits of sand and dirt drift from the back straps of her armor, and from her position, you can see a strangely onion-knight-sized crater in the sandy earth alongside the river.
"I was just considering whether I wanted to try to recover my donkey and fight the drake, or try to figure out how to cross without him and continue my journey."
"My name is Ordric, Count Ethelred," the man introduces himself. "These are my companions. Where are you going? We may be able to accompany you."
"I would suggest that we focus on figuring out a way across the damaged bridge. I'm afraid your donkey has likely become the drake's lunch."
"I was going to look for my father." the knight replies. "Last I heard, he had traveled out of Catarina and passed through here. I'm heading towards Mina's Overlook, where I last heard he was seen." She answers while Alder takes a quick look down at the river.
The river looks to be deep enough you cannot see the bottom, and the waters travel swift. Unarmored and swimming, you would suspect you'd be carried a few hundred feet down the river at the least before you made it to the other side. Some kind of boat would probably fare better, though.
"Hmmm... I don't suppose you know a way to fix the bridge, then?" the knight asks, turning to look back at it. "There are plenty of large enough trees on the other side of the river that could be used to cross the gap, but on this side..." she gestures to the area around, trees on this side of the river are both too scrawny to be much immediate help without carpenters and time, and any big ones were at least half a day's journey away. "It's not exactly easy. If only I could get over there... but then I wouldn't need to make a bridge... Hmmm..."
Annalise sits on the edge of the wagon, blindly looking out over the conversation.
"Well..." she asks "could a rope be tied off so that one of our party may climb the gap?"
"Actually, a rope isn't a bad idea! With one of us tied to it, unarmored, the rest of us could stand at the bank and keep him from drifting too far downstream from the current. Then, once he's on the other side, he can tie the rope to a tree, and everyone can hang on to the rope as they cross the river!
...problem is, we'd have to leave the horses and cart behind. Not sure how the Prince would feel if we failed to return his property - he'd probably be pretty pissed off...
...and, does anyone have a rope long enough to span the river? Ok, maybe it *isn't* such a good idea after all..."
”If we had more than one rope, we could tie them together,” Drystan says looking at the river. He chuckles to himself, ”Too bad we can’t take apart the wagon, use it as a bridge, and then reassemble it.”
He continues to look at the river, ”Have you noticed any dangerous animals? We ran into some fangboars. That was not fun...if we get that rope line, I’ll cross the river.”
The knight shrugs "I've seen nothing other than a few rabbits." she replies. "I think maybe a deer."
"Let's first look if there is a path around. Maybe we will find shallow water, or another bridge. If we don't, then we will think of another plan."
"That sounds like an excellent plan! Shall we split up to cover both directions at once, and meet back here in an hour?"
I'll need to know who is going what direction, and then I'll need some Notice checks (And stealth if you're doing it sneaky). Also, does anyone enlist the aid of the Catarina Knight?
"Perhaps, sir knight, you could help us in this? To make up for my hands, at least, as my condition makes me poorly suited to be searching a river."
"Well then, let's divide ourselves," Ordric clasps his hands. "Drystan and I go left, Kearan and Alder go right. And if you sir, are willing to give us a hand, than you come with either group. Annalise, it doesn't feel right to leave you alone, so you should probably go with someone too."
The knight's helmet bobs as she agrees with Annalise and Ordric's words.
"Of course! I'll go with whoever's heading left along the river." she offers. "The terrain to the right is easier, so your fire-keeper should be all right."
= 4
Kearan nods and begins making his way to the right, keeping ready for any trouble or signs of a way across.
Drystan gives a nod to the others and takes his throwing axe from his belt. “In case we need to cut some branches down.”
The group splits up and heads left and right.
Kearan and Alder find that the river's side, is indeed easier to traverse. Searching the riverside, about 45 minutes down, you see a shallower area, one that could be sufficient to let you ford the river. You don't hear or see much about dangers, otherwise. Annalise doesn't 'see' anything, but manages to travel the riverbed without spilling and falling.
The riverbed along this way is deeper than even before for most of your trip. As you move along, the Catarina Knight will "Hmmm" and "Hummm", but doesn't spot anything along the way that you do not.
Nearly at the point where you will turn back, you see something further down the river. About another 30 minutes walk, you see a cluster of large rocks jutting out the river. It's too far to see clearly from where you are, but it doesn't look naturally formed.
"I'm- I'm alright. Have we found anything?"
"Not yet, my lady." Kearan speaks up, although still briefly. His eyes are open, and his helmet doesn't obstruct his vision, but it seems there may not have been much to find of yet...
”Those rocks...those rocks don’t look -- what’s the word? Natural!” Drystan says, pointing. He moves closer to the rocks, but careful not to get too close to the edge of the river.
Ordric follows Drystan, careful not to slip up and fall into the river.
= 5
Each group (minus Annalise) sees whats in their respective spoilers. Annalise can feel the presence of a potential bonfire nearby, but it's likely on the other side of the river
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"There is a bonfire nearby!" calls Annalise to her companions as they search.
The party traveling left will find that the stonework looks to be part of what was once a structure of some sort. There is no heraldry remaining, but it looks like a stone common to many of Astora's castles and fortifications. Though on its side, it appears to be largely intact and could possibly have openings on the inside.
Drystan will notice among the damage of being dropped on its side, the structure has claw marks that look similar to the bridges.
The party traveling right will see that while the area is shallow, there's not a lot of solid ground. It's possible to ford the river with the wagon here, but you'd run the risk of it sticking.
So, in an hour we meet up back at the bridge to compare notes.
"I suggest that we all go to the right, and try to cross where the river is shallowest. Perhaps we could empty the wagon and carry everything across, to lighten its load."
”That sounds like a lot of work,” Drystan says but shrugs in an accepting manner. ”We need to keep looking for more claw marks though. I think whatever creature destroyed the bridge also did it to that building we found. It might still be around. I certainly believe we're earning that money.”
"Let's get to work then."
Count will help carrying some of the lighter stuff.
Okay, I'll need some strength checks from everyone helping cross the river at the shallows.
Personal accounting