"In my search of the town ruins, I did not come across any fishing equipment. Mother Celeste was a fine fisherwoman but I did not find her gear", Sansa answers quietly. "There may be something of use in the old Watchtower, but it is at least a two mile walk."
Quinn opened his amber-yellow eyes the moment Sansa had begun to speak. He rose, gave a yawn and shook his fur then trotted over to Sansa.
Sansa ran an elegant hand with long nails through her overly-long, tangled hair. She looked up at the newling sun and then across at Amara.
"Yes, let us go find some food. Quinn will help, although he does prefer to hunt at night."
Amara, there are bits of rope that could be scavanged from houses, and after a short bit of looking, you find enough to make a snare, and I would give you a bonus for knowing the area, but with that roll along with help from Sansa (and Quinn) I'm going t say after an hour or so you find plenty of edible berries and 3 good sized hares.
Sansa, the town relied mostly on the river for fresh water, as it flowed over a mountain much further away, and the bed was rocky enough to give it a good "scrubbing". On days when the river was too dirty for whatever reason, it was filtered through clothes and coal into barrels. Everyone in town was taught how to do this. The river seems very clear right now, and there are even some fish that swim slowly near the surface. They look rather like koi.
Anyone walking by would notice the fish.
while the others search for food, Havak will try on the armor from johnas and see if it resonates with the dagger at all or if it is magical in some way (resizing to fit Havak, etc)
what penalties, if any, would Havak take for wearing it? would it be better AC than his studded leather?
Amara heads back to their camp with Sansa and prepares the hares. She spits them over the coals of the fire and attempts to preserve the skins like Samel taught her.
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By the river, Sansa (with Quinn looking on after he has drunk his fill from the river), fills the three waterskins she found in the town's rubble, and the bucket with fresh, cool water as the water appeared clean and clear enough. Placing the waterskins and full bucket to the side, Sansa searches out a longer piece of wood and then fashions a fishing spear and manages to impale five good-sized koi from the river to go along with the hares they managed to hunt earlier.
Turning to Amara, she asks the young woman to help her carry the full water bucket back into town, stringing the waterskins together with some rope and wrapping the fish inside the hem of her shirt. Quinn trots along beside Sansa.
Upon returning to the group, and as Amara skins and prepares the hares, Sansa hands out water to anyone who is thirsty and then sets about scaling and cleaning the fish. Quinn sits and with his head upon his front paws, looking upon Sansa as she works.
Elarya spends most of the morning looking over the armor that Havak had recovered, seeing if she could resize it for him.
She can be heard humming to herself as she works.
With all their group being industrious, Sansa looks over at Quinn, who meets her eyes, and then back to the quiet group around her. The five fish were scaled, gutted and ready for the skillet just as Mother Celeste had shown her. Perhaps Amara would know best how to cook or preserve them for travel.
"Will we be staying here and rebuilding the town or moving along to some place else?" Sansa had a feeling the topic would make some of the group uncomfortable; still they needed to discuss what would happen next. "There is nothing much left of Solace, not of the town we once knew. We could continue here for a few days at best but we must travel and find other people." Sansa's mismatched eyes travel from Garrett then to Amara, recognising the young man and young woman as the leaders of this small group.
"Havak has map to treasure. Might be what goblins were looking for. Whatever treasure is, Havak is sure goblins shouldn't have it if they want it specifically."
Sansa had temporarily forgotten about the map Havak had found at Johnas'. She had so much on her mind since waking from a two year sleep yesterday.
"Havak, what do you suggest we do with it? Do we find and unearth this treasure and take it with us, or, leave it buried but hold onto the map and come back for the treasure when the goblins are not so much of a threat?"
"Havak suggests we seek the treasure. Find out what it is. If we cannot take it, collapse the structure it is housed in. Learning of it may show why goblins may want, and give us knowledge for when and if we face goblins." Havak pauses for a second before continuing, "Johnas may not have been Havak's family, may not have always been friendly, but still something like family to Havak. Also was a mystery. Havak wants to know what treasure is, but we must also accept that maybe treasure is not sought by goblins, or isn't there, or means nothing in grand scheme of things."
Sansa stands very still and quiet as Havak shares his suggestion with her. Quinn is silent, too, sitting on his hind legs by her side and looking across at the blue goblin.
"Will you be seeking this treasure out this day? You are correct when you say that we must know one way or another what Johnas has buried in this town. I would like to accompany you when you go in search of it, if that is alright?"
"There is strength in numbers. Havak would like to go with people. Best not to split up anyway. Goblins don't like fair fights."
Amara looks around and realizes that although this has been her home all her life there is nothing left here for any of them. Five people can't rebuild a community. But where will we go? She looks at the others, You are right Sansa, we can't really stay here, but I know no other place, have never traveled beyond this town. Perhaps Elarya or Havak, who have at least lived outside this place, might know of a nearby town.
Havak's mention of the treasure brings a quick light of curiosity into her eyes. Perhaps Garrett is right and the treasure is the key.
I hope you are right Garrett. I am in need of guidance. Maybe we will find some answers. And if nothing else maybe there will be money for us to at least buy some supplies somewhere while we figure out what to do next.
Seeing that everyone appears to be done eating Amara stands and wipes her hands. We should hide what little we don't want to carry with us as best we can.
"I only knew the area around my home well. When I left with my uncle was the first time that I had gone further than a few miles from there."
Elarya packed away any tools still in good enough repair into a bag for carrying. She checked the dagger and axe in her belt. The sword crossed her back, hilt above her right shoulder. Funny, I still think of the keep as home.
"And who's to say, there may not be a town for many miles after that horde came through. We'll probably need to hunt for food and cure as much as we can."
Yesterday, Sansa had fashioned a knapsack with some sturdy cloth she discovered beneath the rubble of Mother Celeste's home. In it, she had placed the few childhood books she had found, the two healing potions and a waterskin filled with water. Her weapons were on her person, including her new weapon. She no longer required the leather armor which she had worn before the horde attack, so she would leave that behind unless someone else wanted it. Quinn was there, by her side, and earlier in the day, as the sun rose, she had sat quietly with Quinn, preparing her spells for the day, revelling in the nature of the new magic that appeared a little in conflict with her original/old power but seemed to find a way to coincide.
Sansa slightly turned her head to listen to what Elarya was saying. Yes, they would need to hunt and to patrol when they camped for the night.
"The horde may only have been summoned to kill us, this town. But as you say Elarya, who is to know what is out there since our two year slumber. We must, however, find out."
Sansa stands to collect any inedible food scraps to dispose of them lest they draw scavengers. One of the fish she had caught had been fed to Quinn and he could easily go hunting for more food later if he was still hungry. She drew some water from the bucket to rinse the skillet clean so she could leave it to dry in the sun before putting it away in her knapsack, as well.
Amara sees that everyone looks like they are ready to go and ensures that the fire is out. Not that it could really do any more damage.
She gathers up her meager belongings and asks Havak for the map. I don't think we should have much problem finding this, I recognize the landmarks on this map; it is near the graveyard. Let's go.
She shoulders her quiver and bow and heads out.
The morning is relatively nice, despite the sombre mood. The clouds, although present, have thinned quite a bit, and now resemble long whisps of spun cotton in the bright blue sky. The sound of gulls is just barely perceptible in the background.
"It seems the sky is clearing, best make use of daylight while we have it, right?"
After a bit of work, is able to adjust the blackened armor enough for to use. takes one last look at the camp-sight and is sure that no scraps are still about to attract predators to their site.
takes the lead, and they are off.
The hike to Johnas' stash is not an overly difficult one, but the hike up the hills takes some time, as there a a few areas that need better navigation and the elevation gradually becomes steeper. The group climbs carefully up the rocky hillside, and after just less than an hour, comes to the sight clearly marked on the map. From this spot, they can see the skeleton of the town below, and even the old watchtower to the north, that, at least from this distance, appears to be still intact.
The actual "hideout" as it were, is a group of rocks that almost appears to be the foundation of a rather crude tower itself. A half circle of stacked stones of various sizes with a diameter of about 15 feet. Further inspection reveals than under less than an inch of dirt, in the center of the half circle is a trap door in the ground, made of thin yet sturdy wood, with a simple hand sized ring set in the face like a knocker.
Sansa was relieved to see her watchtower still standing. She felt a need to move toward it, but refrained. There was business to be done in this spot. Quinn's eyes gazed to the north following Sansa's movement.
"Havak, this is your area of expertise now. Is the trapdoor safe?"
Sansa gaze travels across the area. "Quinn, is there danger here?"
"A tower. One that stood vigil until the elements and time took its toll."
Elarya looks off into the distance. Her eyes not quite focused on anything.
Amara is a little put off by the brief clouding of her vision but as it comes back quickly she just puts it down to the stress of the past few days.
Examining the area around the ruins for signs of tracks or that anything has been recently disturbed, Amara tries to recall if Samel or anyone else told her what used to stand here.
Havak will check for any sort of resonance or vibrations from the dagger, and then check out the door. Havak sets about his work industriously.
on the door to find traps (although i do not have trapfinding like a rogue so no magical traps)
if needed
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Quin sniffs the area, looking pensively at . After circling the area with a wide berth, the fox sends only one wave of emotion. Caution.
did indeed recall that many years before Solace was built, the general area was used as an encampment, and the Cythric, whom the empire eventually beat back, were supposedly going to put a castle in the hills form which to sweep out against the rest of the world. Obviously it didn't get far if this is the only remnant. Or perhaps it was destroyed by something? There are marks on the stones that seem to imply they were discolored by something, but whether it's clay or pitch or ash, it's hard to say. would recall this as well, from stories Erec had collected about the area.
There do also seem to be tracks in the area, those of a small group of small humanoids, between a few days and a week old.
The gem set in the dagger does glow slightly when waves it over the trap door, and it vibrates very slightly, but he sees no apparent traps on the portal.
Havak opens the trapdoor.
Amara relates what little she knows about the area to the others then more closely examines the tracks trying to determine if they were just passing through or if they had a particular interest in this spot. She follows them a little ways, trying to judge where they were headed and/or from which way they came.
To the others, Sansa warns, "Quinn can sense something and says we should employ caution."
Seeing that Garrett is ready to protect Havak and Elarya at the trapdoor, Sansa signals to Quinn and they follow Amara, hoping to give her aid with the tracks.
In her strange quiet voice, Sansa declares, "Quinn and I will come with you, Amara. We may be of better use to you."
when flips open the trap door, his senses are assaulted by the stench of decay. As his eyes focus, switching over to darkvision and peering down the doorway, he can see that the drop is about 15 feet straight down. The shaft itself is about 5 foot from side to side. Laying at the bottom of the the shaft are what appears to be a small pile of bodies. Hard to make out the details, but they appear to be some kind of small humanoid.
, and Quinn trace the tracks about 50 feet or so away from the site, into rockier terrain towards the north where it the trail goes dry. Upon further inspection, they do appear to be goblin tracks.
Backing away quickly at first for some fresh air, Havak says, "Bodies... decayed bodies"
"Like human bodies or animal bodies?"
Not wanting to split up the group on what might be a long and difficult search, Amara suggests they put off trying to pick up the trail until the cache is explored. She returns with Sansa and Quinn to the others and sees them peering down a hole. She looks through the door but can't see much though the smell does leave some clues as to what lies below. As Havak relates what he sees she asks, Is there any indication as to how old the bodies are or how they died?
She tries to judge by the smell of decomposition how old they are.
Havak will take a peek back down there after covering his mouth and nose, to see if he can see what happened with his darkvision.
Based on the smell alone, it would probably be safe to say they've been here several days.
Looking back down for a bit longer for more detail, now guesses that instead of a pile of many bodies, it may actually be only one or two, but in many pieces. Other details noticed are that it is not a plain natural shaft, but it is lined with chiseled stone bricks much like a chimney.
Also, the closer gets to the inside of the shaft, the more the crystal/gem in the dagger glows and the dagger itself vibrates.
About the bodies: It's hard to say. Definitely small humanoids, could be human children, or perhaps halflings, gnomes or goblins
Sansa looks into the hole, shielding her nose from the stench and using her more keen vision to peer into the darkness.
She wonders at the sight she beholds, about four feet down, and looks to see if any of her companions have seen it also. She looks down at Quinn who is semi-crouched by her feet, sniffing the air.
Sansa moves a little back from the others and casts dancing lights . When the four glowing spheres appear, Sansa directs them down into the hole so the others with less advanced vision can see what lies within.
With Sansa's light as an aid Amara also joins the group in peering down the shaft.
Havak will look again, once his eyes adjust to the dancing lights.