"This'ing to look like a massacre. Old ones wasing killed by bow... pups was'ing to starve afterwards?" Biter continues looking over what they have found. If the arrows were those of the natives, were the victims here also natives or were they colonists?
"Pete, Elorin, is'ing there any signs telling us if these dead villagers were from Arcadia or from our side of the Great Water?"
Some of the bodies wielding arrows were also killed by them. There's no pattern there.
Many of the skeletons with arrow wounds also wear rotten remnants of Skraeling dress. There are also a few of the smaller skeletons with wounds, mostly crushed skulls.
The bodies are not organized, nor do they look despoiled. You find no signs of animal activity on the remains.
Pete gives the goblin a shrug, "'Ard ta say, me guess is rival tribe o' th' skraelings wiped each other out. Mebbe 'Lexis knows more? Coul 'ave somethin ta do with the Undead chamber we found. Think once th' bodies are cleared away, it be a good spot fer th' colonists."
Pete gives the goblin a shrug, "'Ard ta say, me guess is rival tribe o' th' skraelings wiped each other out. Mebbe 'Lexis knows more? Coul 'ave somethin ta do with the Undead chamber we found. Think once th' bodies are cleared away, it be a good spot fer th' colonists."
"Hmmm. Maybe. Notting enough information to say yet. Notting know if Unliving chamber is related. Notting know why this village wasing wiped out. Biter is notting happy to move the new colony here without knowing why this village wasing destroyed. Possibly the location of the dead village ising tied to its massacre. Like Biter wasing saying... too early to tell." He looks around the village again, "Needing to take one last look, making sure we notting miss something, then go back to the boats to report." With no apparent threats, Biter goes and gets Tracant to help them with their final sweep of the village before heading back.
"Aye, aye Cap'n, mebbe have Abbas check th'corpses, jes ta be sure."
Elorin will also try to take an arrow shaft from one of the skeletons that appear to have been one of the attackers, or one that is in what appears to be a villager to bring back to show the team but clears it with Biter first.
Elorin notices that the design of both arrows he extracted are identical, right down to the tattered remains of the fletchings. It's quite possible that these two arrows were crafted by the same fletcher.
Burnsten is rellaying all the information to the others on the boat specially the fact of the interrogation of how they died and that Biter can truly "bark" some orders and is really good at his asigned duty.
"Rajkumari, please to forgive intrusion... I have a favor to ask. Know you are very busy and this is imposition but *sigh* would you please teach me Aquan language? Since you are only Aquan speaker - I think it would be good for you and me to share private language, if I am to guard you best."
"Oh it's no imposition at all," she says. "In fact, it is a much simpler solution than having to speak in hushed whispers or using my message cantrip. Excellent suggestion. Well, shall we get started then?"
Over the next few weeks, Alexis will help Ravarath to learning Aquan when she's not crafting or helping Abbas with his arcane studies.
"The village and area around it was'ing empty. LongEars was'ing to find some new plant and some new weed to go with it. You shoulding ask LongEars for details. The village was'ing a massacre site; bone bodies everywhere. Big and small. Seemed like two groups, but both groups looking to be from Arcadia. Villagers and attackers. Most villagers wasing killed by crude arrows with stone tips, some killed by crushed in bones, some little pup bones notting have obvious death markings. Oddly enough, some attackers also killed by identical arrows… again, LongEars having the proof. LongEars wasing say that the plants was'ing to die at least one year ago… maybe two, so it is making sense that villagers and attackers was'ing dead at least that long. Boring trip otherwise." The goblin scout seems surprisingly disappointed in that last point, but his report seems to be at an end. "With no immediate threats, scouting party is'ing recommending whole crew heads to village to do closer inspection."
- Elorin finds some rotted remains of what he guesses was planted there previously: a tall, leafy plant with rotten, leaf-encased fruit. From reading Gray's book, he deduces this must be what the natives call "corn". Enough of it remains to suggest that it was never harvested. The tall, leafy weed has totally choked out the field, however. Elorin's noticed this weed elsewhere through the forest, but never in this much concentrated quantity. Without knowing how quickly this weed grows, it's hard to say how long the field has lain dormant, but he estimates at least a year, maybe two.
As he's pulling aside weeds to better see the crop underneath, Elorin finds a human skeleton lying face down in the dirt.
- Elorin finds a chiseled-stone arrowhead lying between the body's upper ribs.
As you get closer to the village, you find more bodies: some in the central plaza area, some inside the houses, more in the field. Most of the bodies are in the central plaza, most on their stomachs radiating outwards from the center. Some have remains of arrows in them, some have crushed skulls, while others bear no marks on their bones whatsoever. The ones with no marks are much smaller skeletons and don't look as if they died fleeing.
- Some of the bodies wielding arrows were also killed by them. There's no pattern there.
Many of the skeletons with arrow wounds also wear rotten remnants of Skraeling dress. There are also a few of the smaller skeletons with wounds, mostly crushed skulls.
The bodies are not organized, nor do they look despoiled. You find no signs of animal activity on the remains.
- Elorin brought in two arrows, one from the body of a villager, and one from an attacker...
Elorin notices that the design of both arrows he extracted are identical, right down to the tattered remains of the fletchings. It's quite possible that these two arrows were crafted by the same fletcher.
He understands their need to use their own language "Well I won't learn Aquan from you Alexis to respect your privacy with Ravarath, but any other language I can exchange to learn new ones I'll be more than happy"
"Hmm, the lack of animal activity could be due to the collection chamber. We have no way of knowing how long that rabbit was in stasis. As for the dead, you say that the bodies are all in the town square radiating from the center yet that they are not in any sort of a pattern? Could you explain that a bit more because that seems contradictory."
After the details have been further explained, she says, "We can inspect the site of the massacre further tomorrow once all of us have had a chance to rest and regain spells. In the meantime, perform a cursory search of the woods to 'fill-in-the-black' so to speak."
"If an entire tribe was able to be wiped out by aggressors from another village, then we may very well wish to find a more defensible location on which to build. Take this time to do the following:
"It sounds like you have everything well in hand, Biter. Let the men know that I said to keep up the good work!"
Most of the bodies are congregated in the central plaza area. By no pattern, I assumed he was asking if they looked like they'd been laid out. The bodies look like there were a lot of people in the central plaza, and then they started running while getting their head smashed in and arrows in their backs.
"Hmm, it sounds like perhaps the group was enthralled or had otherwise gathered together for some purpose when they were attacked unexpectedly. It doesn't sound like a ritual suicide..."
Spellcraft Checks:
"...Take this time to do the following:
Allow Pete, Gregor, and Elorin to identify useful natural resources.
Have them mark areas that need to be avoided either for safety or preservation.
Identify ground that will support strong foundations on which we can build."
Gregor will wander off and begin searching out the usable resources in the area.
Looking back at Elorin and Pete,"Well, come on already these things aren't going to find themselves..."
Knowledge(Nature)
Knowledge(Geography)
Survival:
Perception:
Knowledge Nature for things relating to plants, poisonous/edible, etc., and Geography for figuring out if certain land formations are stable, safe, etc.
As the scouting party returns from the village, they see boats coming over from the ships, filled with soldiers. They soon land on the north side of the river and begin fanning out, securing the beach. The boats return to the ships to collect colonists.
Looking back at Elorin and Pete,"Well, come on already these things aren't going to find themselves..."
Perception:
"Shoulding Biter to help scout with those doing the looking?"
While doing these searches Gregor will cast Eagle Eye.
school divination; Level druid 2, ranger 2
casting Time 1 minute
component V, S, DF
range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
effect magical sensor
Duration 1 minute/level (D)
saving Throw none; spell resistance no
Eagle eye creates a magical sensor directly above you. The
sensor can appear anywhere above you, to a maximum height
equal to the spell’s range. You can see from this vantage as if
you were actually there, rotating your viewpoint 360 degrees.
You perceive with your normal visual senses. A caster using
eagle eye can easily see for a considerable distance. The spell
does not penetrate any solid surface, although it is unaffected by foliage and the like.
Correct, but use of Eagle Eye should help out a bit with that.
While doing these searches Gregor will cast Eagle Eye.
I'll get an expanded map up tonight.
Those arrows are similar in many ways in terms of the technological level and style, but not exact matches like the others he's found. Definitely not the same fletcher here unless he drastically changed his methods at some point.
Biter will accompany him... to watch his back... yah that's it.. WATCH his back.
"Shoulding Biter to help scout with those doing the looking?"
"If you have the expertise in such areas then yes. Otherwise, please maintain the group's formation and keep a look-out for them while they are distracted with their surveying."
"Well I would appreciate ingredients for making antitoxins and other useful items just in case since your going out searching for things, even poison if you want them for your arrows Elorin"
in the mean time while not helping Alexis with things, writing on my diary I'll be producing some antitoxin, poison or alchemist fire if I can gather materials with the searching party or with Tracant so I can be of some use.
Once invited into the village by Biter Abbas surveys the skeletons and strange plants.
There's nothing in Gray's book about these weeds, so Abbas has no idea. He also finds no clues as to how the children were killed, and confirms that they are the skeletons of human children.
Via Tracant: "Does Gregor have any idea what the weeds are, or at least their ecology?"
"Abbasss doesss not knowsss yet"
"Abbasss doesss not knowsss yet"
"I'm sure, however botany is Gregor's specialty, not Abbas'. Please ask Gregor for his input."
Other than an uncanny resemblance to wild pipeweed, Gregor knows nothing about this plant. He can guess that it's a weed and not something the Skraelings had cultivated, and that it's a fairly invasive plant. The field will probably require several burnings to be reclaimable as farmland.