Spotting Ozz moving up, Cavell follows suit.
There is a slight, but audible crack as Ozz steps on something in his attempt to sneak toward the door, clearly heard in the silence of the storm.
The door guard nods along with Triss, apparently not taking note of it, and Geoff waves his goodby and shuts the door at the end of the passage.
"Oh yeah, just staring at the firelight until someone knocks, for the most part. Without another guy on the other side of this door to talk with, the passage post is a tedious thing."
There is a quality to the man's voice that tells you, just barely, that he is starting to grow suspicious about something.
Bindle nods along, but doesn't add much himself. Frug mainly just glares at the bridge with his lone eye. Frug has done a lot of general glaring the past couple of days, so this is no different than his usual temperament.
The next night, Bindle anchors the boat north of Stone Bridge, near the tributary from The High Woods. The sky has started to grow cloudy again, and the night is overcast. "We should be passing Yartar tomorrow, and you'll be getting off in a day or two after that, speed permitted. Still want to stretch your legs tonight? Should be safer than Goldenfields."
He will go on a mini-foraging run but stick pretty close to the boat. enough to stretch his legs and smell the smells of the wilderness, but not so much that he might get delayed too much to make it back by the time Bindle leaves.
Ozz looks at Cavell, trying to get his attention with some urgent head waggling, and looks at the doorway quietly. He'll look back at Cavell, and eye the door with a look of urgent tenseness.
Cavell really wished Ozz knew Thieves' Cant right about now. He makes some hand gestures out of frustration.
TC: What the hell are you saying?
Ozz watches Adrien gesture, with a blank look of confusion on his face. He huffs silently, and turns his attention back to the sounds from the door. Not wanting to make things worse, Ozz waits to see what happens next, ready to jump out in front of Trissae if needed.
Cavell continues waiting by the door, listening to what's going on inside.
"Well, damn... Guess I better get back to it too.." She sighs dejectedly as she says this, the sigh being rather genuine.
"Thanks for giving me a moments respite from the damned weather out there. Good luck with the rest of your shift eh?" she gives him a smile and turns to head back out the door. As she gets to the door she perks up suddenly and turns her head toward him.
"Oh by the way, the name's Willowisp. Catch you around!" She winks playfully at him and starts to push her way back out the door.
"Uhh, yeah. Yeah..." the man responds. "Burke. When did you sign up, Willowisp?" he says to her, not having yet shut the door.
The night is still and cool. There is no rain, no wind, and few clouds. The moonlight shines through the quiet night. Burke stands in the doorway, about a foot away from being able to see around the corners and the lurking Bogsharks there. His hand rests on the handle of the door, swung inward.
The man is definitely suspicious of Trissae, and his question is trying to find something more solid than just a feeling he is getting from her.
---------------
Bindle finds a snug spot to park his ship on the west bank of the Dessarin, the landing being better on that side to allow you to take leave. "Have a good ramble, Ugly. Remember, your time will be up with the sun."
He gives you a wave as Frug fusses over some blemishes on the bones of Jasper.
You go out into the night. The land in the region around Stone Bridge is rather hilly, but this is no terrain new to a Bogshark. From the bank landing, there is a steep climb to the rest of the wilderness of the area, but once past the hills are much more gradual. It is lightly wooded in places, which gives way to rolling plains.
As you explore the area, you stumble across a small pond. It reminds you enough of your home in the Evermoors that you descend the hillside to check it out. As you near it, a stench overwhelms you, and you notice the bodies of man and animal rotting on the banks of the pool.
Triss cocks her head and gives a little surprised look when Burke stands in the doorway. She takes a moment to read his body language before answering.
"Oh, silly me." she chuckles and her expression returns to normal."I'm a volunteer, I've only been helping for maybe.... the last 48 hours. Hardest 48 hours of my life by the way. I only just recently made it here." She leans back with a relieved expression.
"I keep forgetting nobody knows me here. I'm from Silverymoon, my father and I were here visiting on holiday when he grew fevered and ill. I think it was from one of the beggar folk... Anyway, one of the Shields came and saved him, took him off to the Happy hall? With no family and no place to stay I offered to help the people who helped us." She gives a bright cheery grin after the statement then continues.
"Since I'm not formally one of your folk, they've just had me doing odd jobs: gathering blankets, feeding sick folk too weak to feed themselves, check in on folks, you know how it is. That's where I met that hottie Silvers!" She chuckles and raises her eyebrows at Burke in a knowing fashion.
"Sorry, I can't help myself. I know it's improper to talk about a high ranking official like that. Oh by the way you can call me Trixie, Burke, I noticed all you folk call each other by family name around here. Just tryin to fit in."
As Trissae continues, she keeps trying to gauge Burke's intentions and to buy time for the others to act while she distracts the man.
As Triss' speech progresses, his face slackens from stern to one of realization. "Ooooh, a volunteer from Silverymoon. I suppose putting the volunteers in uniforms makes sense, considering how it is out there, the authority of it might save your life."
He chuckles a bit scandalously at her comment of Sergent Silvers. "Sure thing, Trixie. Not all of us do, but it's common. Call me Sean."
The guy bought it.
If when he examines them he sees signs of a struggle(wounds, etc), he will examine them manually to see what he can figure out. If there are sores, etc he will examine them with a stick for the same.
Cavell looks relieved and gestures for Ozz to stand down, afraid the half-orc would charge through at any moment.
Grellik notices no tracks or markings from afar, and so descends the hill toward the stinking pond. The pond is about 40 feet across at its widest, muddying the bowl formed by the hills beyond that.
The bodies are old and festering, bloating in the turbid pond waters. They have clearly been eaten from by small animals, indeed rats and bugs are seen around the bodies of the creatures. It looks like severe burning is the cause of death, but it is hard to tell because of the age of the corpses.
The people corpses are still wearing clothes so it doesn't seem as though they have been stripped, but any identifying marks or styles are hidden by the mud.
The rain that had been falling softly begins to pick up to a medium shower.
Grellik looks up at the rain hardening--better head back soon. Only so long fur will stand against the rain. He will find a long branch, snap it off if needed, and try to pole one of the bodies to the shore so he can examine it better.
You see some small grazing cattle, and even a saddled pony. There may be some smaller animals, but you can't make them out in the dark muck. You also can't distinguish genders or races from the humanoid corpses you can make out. You see about half a dozen bodies discernible.
Grellik finds a branch, already partially broken, and snaps it off the rest of the way. Using this, he is able to get one of the humanoid bodies close enough to search without going through the muck.
Grellick squats down and examines the corpse. I've never seen quite such a scene. Bodies burned, dumped out so far...was this the site of some dark ritual?
Or perhaps these people had some sort of plague... Grellick beings to question the wisdom of handling these people, but concludes that what's done is done and he may as well finish it
Grellik does know about burnings to contain plagues, however these bodies were burned too inconsistently to have been helpful. Large areas of their sloughing flesh are deformed by burns, but the corpses themselves are far from incinerated.
Flipping the body, you notice some slight gashes in one thigh, tears having rent through the pants there. You would expect that they were done by some sort of claws. Your finger spread is a little bit SMALLER than the spread of these claw marks.
Oh, your previous medicine check. You would guess that these corpses range from a month old to fresher.
You run your memory through any large, clawed monsters, and don't know enough to eliminate any of them.
"Well Sean.." she smiles at him "I should be getting back to it.... unless, you wanted to hang out for a bit?" she puts her hands behind her back and rocks her shoulders back and forth a bit as she says this.
"I haven't had a chance to see the tower yet." She shakes her head and sighs dejectedly again. "Wait wait never mind, I know you have an important job, I'm getting ahead of myself. But hey, maybe after shift change we can hang out?" She gives him a hopeful smile.
She waits to get a response from him and to see if he moves away from the door so she can exit.
".... But hey, maybe after shift change we can hang out?" She gives him a hopeful smile. As she does so she glances away embarrassed, using this motion she gives Adrien a knowing glance. Her eyes roll back to the side to indicate to him her intention to lure Burke out in a moment, a distraction ploy she's used in the past.
Afterward she waits to get a response from him.
Triss uses body language and her well-trained guile to try and lure the guard Burke out of the doorway and into the night while Ozz and Adrien crouch on each side of the doorway, Tease hidden behind Ozz.
She takes a step back as she talks, and flashes a winning smile. Giving Cavell a glance for him to understand what is about to occur, she takes another half-step backward to give the room for Burke to take a couple of steps out into the night.
The guard returns her smile, obviously taken in enough by her earlier deception that despite Trissae's emotions showing a bit more on her face than she's have liked, Burke interprets her slight desperation differently than what is true. "Well..." He begins as he swaggers a step out into the clear night. "Maybe. The night is clear now, hopefully relief will come soon." His grin broadens and he takes another step toward Triss, not noticing the men lurking just behind him.
Cavell slips past the enamored Burke, swiping for his keys as he goes (and on to 'storage' if he passes).
Being distracted by the Trissae made Burke easy prey for the nimble Adrien. Grasping they three keys together so they don't clang around, he unhooks the ring from the guard's belt and slides past him inside and toward the inner passage door.
Ozz stays back as Cavell slips forward, eyeing burk from a breath behind him. He looks at Triss, and wiggles his axe a bit, questioningly.
Trissae stands still to let Burke get as close as possible. She gives him the most innocent look she can and as he gets closer she motions to Ozz with her hand to knock Burke out.
She'll attempt to catch Burke after he's stricken so he doesn't hit the ground.
Ozz grins, and swings at Burke with the flat of the axe.
With an audible Crack! the guard's head suddenly tilts at the impact of Ozz's weapon, and Trissae is forced to catch the man to lower him quietly.
Some talking can be heard from the guys around the corner (the gate and balcony guards), small conversation barely audible, and it doesn't seem as though they have noticed anything.
Tease takes this opportunity to skulk into the hallway after Adrien.
Ozz gives Trissae a large smile, enjoying the chance to show off the might that few bogsharks can match. Ozz is no master of the sucker punch, and relies on brute strength to drop a trained soldier with a single blow.
He flourishes his axe a bit, before spitting on the downed guard and following Adrien and Tease into the hallway.
Cavell doesn't even turn when he hears the crack-slump of the guard going down, he just grins, never breaking stride. He doesn't slow down for Tease as he heads towards storage.
"Ozz!" Triss whispers out as he slinks off. "Help me!" She begins dragging Burke back into the hall. Once inside she begins to peel off his uniform and gear. If Ozz is near by she'll toss him the spear and begin sizing up Burke to her compatriots to find out who would be best suited to wear the outfit.
Once done with that she'll cover Burke with whatever convenient bit of clothing is left (either a cloak if he had one, or if not she'll use the prisoner clothes she's wearing since they're hidden under the illusion-wear)
"Ah!" Ozz says, and turns back to Triss and the downed guard. He hands Triss his axe while he lifts the man and hauls him inside.
He notices the cell room where he and Triss had been kept when sick. "Maybe in here?" he looks around for Cavell who has the keys.
Apparently the inner passage door wasn't locked, as Cavell passes through it easily enough.
You pass into the small, square room with the four separate doors and a single light source illuminating it. On the right is the infirmary, from is comes soft conversation. Ahead is the door marked "Storage". On the left is one marked "Barracks". The floor is slicked with water, looks like foot prints.
He will fish out another corpse and see what he can discern. If he does not find any pertinent info, he will find a big rock to throw in the pond on the off chance there is something in there, though that seems highly unlikely. If these fail, he will hold his chin in contemplation for a brief moment before searching the area around the pond. If all these fail he will give up for now, though he plans to return when he is not in such a hurry.
The second corpse has no claw injuries that you can see, but you do notice a bulge under one gloved hand that feels like a ring. ()
Throwing the rock into the pond, there is a small splash, but nothing else happens. You imagine that the pond is too shallow to easily hide anything large enough that could make those claw marks.
The search around the pond also turns up nothing.
Returning to the Bindle's boat with a couple of hours to spare, Grellik's strange off-adventure is at an end.
Peeling off the glove, you see a silver banded ring with a ruby and emerald on each side of the band, and a signet in the center. (History check)
He takes the ring and examines it
regardless of the result, he puts it in his pouches (after cleaning it relatively in the grass).
Adrien would be the best candidate for the uniform Burke is wearing.
The ring is worth 250gp for the materials alone, though a signet ring for the Wildwren nobles of Baldur's Gate might be worth more to the right person, in the right situation. The device is hawk with outstretched wings in front of the moon.
Cavell glances at the keys to see if they're labeled at all. If not, he'll start trying them on the storage door.
The keys are not labeled, and none of them seem to fit.
He tries to pick the lock.
Adrien begins to pick the door, and in the process notices that it isn't locked.
He opens the door quietly, peeking in and scanning the room.
The storage room appears to be a decent sized room, probably 40 feet long and half as wide. A couple of lanterns hang near the door, providing illumination, and another pair are hung near the far end.
The room is lined with shelves on the sides, though the bottom couple of which have been removed to make room for barrels and large crates. The shelves are lined with sacks, smaller crates (both opened and closed), and various other odds and ends. There are pieces of parchment near each container, describing what is in it. Near the door hangs a scroll case from a nail.
She shakes her hand "No, we'll just drop him off in storage." She then motions to follow after Adrien and helps to carry the unconscious guard.
The lot of pile into the storage room and begin looking around.
(Triss, read Adrien's last spoiler of what he saw when moving through to the storage room, you notice the same details)
The next days boat travel is much slower than normal. Bindle complains about a faster current because of the rain, and points out a pretty big storm going on near Yartar.
"Eh, it's no problem, doubt we'll capsize. My boats a pretty convenient thing. It's just... Slowing us down!"
Instead of passing Yartar during the day, he manages to only near it anchoring somewhere out of the way a handful of miles away. The next day, very few ships are seen traveling the Dessarin during the storm. Lightning crashes from time to time and the river has partially flooded from the rain waters.
Bindle shrugs. "F+!& it! We'll just blow past the city, doubt anyone will even try to stop us in this mess." he says, and calls his rowers to double-time it. Frug has spent his time in the cabin, sea sick from the rocking stormy river waters.
Even double timing it is a slow thing, and though he does blow past Yartar without incident, he doesn't make it up the river very far. Miffed at the lack of pace, Bindle lowers anchor past the city before sunfall, not wanting to try and navigate as it gets darker.