Sense Motive:
"I believe you, Alastor. We will do as you say and put your soul to rest."
Valgrim searches for the boy's bones and any other valuables that may be present under the stone balls and upon finding them, places them in his backpack. He then climbs back onto the beam.
"Nothing else to do here, friends. We will be back shortly Alastor."
"I'm glad I didn't try to cross that beam! I guess we'd better dig up your bones."
Bubba descends the rope to the surface of the iron balls to help Valgrim dig them up.
You manage to cross the room walking on the iron balls without incident, and Alastor's bones are exactly where he said they would be. Will you be returning to Wolfstone then?
"Bubba, you seem to know your way around, you know where the Land farmstead is? If so, lead the way!"
You have no trouble finding the Land homestead. Just as with the bones, Alastor's directions are quite accurate. A copse of immense deklo trees shades a small, quiet clearing just where Alastor said it would be, about 10 minutes east of Wolfstone. Crumbling walls and a seemingly abandoned farmhouse stand vigil atop a small bluff overlooking the clearing, the
sad ruins of what must once have been Alastor’s home. Five grave markers stand in the clearing, each with a different name: Anders, Bemissa, Coldaran, Gertia, and Alastor. Open pits yawn from before all five headstones. Piles of fresh dirt and a pair of abandoned shovels suggest that the excavation took place recently, certainly within the week.
Chisora eyes the graves carefully. "Now why would anyone come here to dig up the graves of some farmers? Simple gravediggers, or something more sinsiter tied into the remains of the boy perhaps?"
"Boy, do you know why someone would desecrate you family's graves like this?"
"Grave-diggers! Don't like where this is heading!" Valgrim hoped he was wrong as he searched the area for tracks.
Survival check
Alas, after only a cursory search Valrgim finds the tracks of a wheelbarrow leading toward Wolfstone. A closer look turns up some tracks that tell a whole story. There are tracks of five booted Medium humans who walked all around the graves and eventually dug them up. Shortly after they looted the graves, the men who left these tracks walked off to explore the farmstead. Four of them seem to have come back very quickly, leaving for the road immediately thereafter.
There is also a four-petaled flower symbol on three of the tombstones, of Bermissa, Coldaran and Gertia, who all died in the same year (about 15 years ago). Alastor has no death-date assigned and Anders, the father, died some 30 years ago.
Heal 10 or Knowledge (history) or (local) 10:
"Five went up but only 4 came back...we should explore the farmstead and find out what happened. Whatever happened, those bastards stole the Land family's bones, for some nefarious purpose I'm sure." Valgrim follows the tracks to the farm.
"That's just not right! We've got to f-find those remains. But f-first, let's bury Alastor."
If the tracks head back to Wolfstone, Vug begs for an hour's detour so she can go back to her lab and (a) drop off her scoopful of mold, and (b) brew another mutagen.
"Let's explore the farmstead Vug and then go back to Wolfstone. I am curious why only 4 came back. Maybe they left someone to guard the place who could tell us something."
Chisora looks towards the famstead an grimaces. "If only four came out then I definaitely agree we should examine the house."
She draws her whip and starts to walk towards it, not waiting to see if the others follow, but expecting at least Valgrim to be not far behind.
Valgrim followed, axes in hand, in case the 5th man turned hostile.
The dilapidated Land farmstead consists of a crumbled wall and a sagging, unsafe house with broken windows and a sagging roof. Thick, sludgy puddles of dried blood and unidentifiable fleshy chunks litter the wooden floor immediately inside the front door.
"This looks bad."
Initiative:
Second behind Chisora unless we can change when we saw the scene. If so, would jump to first.
"Ew...something bad happened, all right. Maybe someone took offense to grave-robbing."
As you turn the corner you find yourselves eye to eye with an enraged and wounded owlbear, marked with a number of wounds and scars. It screeches in fury and storms at you.
Valgrim, Bubba and Vug can act. Chisora and Feres will need to beat initiative 7.
Valgrim delays, to let his teammates act first.
Bubba starts up another speech .
Valgrim delays till after the owlbear.
Initiative:
Vug rushes up to the corner and throws a bomb at it.
including PBS and bardic inspiration, , 5 points splash (Ref DC 14 for 1/2)
Strangely the owlbear does not try to duck the bomb but takes it full on the chest. Then with a ferocious scream it charges forth and scratches Vug for 5 points of damage, grasping her and pressing her to its chest as if to rub her nose in the bomb. It's holding her with one giant paw, hissing and sputtering and clawing at you with the other.
You can all act now.
Valgrim takes a 5' step to I21 and goes full attack on the owlbear with both of his axes, trying to get it to release Vug. He embeds his waraxe in the creature's chest to the hilt causing the creature to reel in pain, causing his second axe to miss.
"Pffft! Ptui! Help! This thing smells terrible! Owwww!"
Bubba moves to the spot Valgrim vacated and attacks with his scorpion whip.
Before Bubba's turn, and therefore before Bubba stops his speech , Urg steps up to the owlbear.
Initiative:
Chisora lashes out with her whip at the enraged Owlbear, hoping to distract it long enough to let the others move in and finish it off. Unfortunately its wild movements cause the whip to hiss harmlessly past its head.
Attack Owlbear with Scorpion Whip (Inspire Courage):
Unable to engage the enraged owlbear in the confining quarters, Feres prepares to channel divine energy to heal his companions if any are knocked unconscious by the creature.
Valgrim steps up and swings his axe at the monster, drawing blood, followed by Bubba's whip that slashes the side of its face, causing it to howl in pain. Urg moves into position, suffering a claw for 8 points of damage, but the monster can't hold you and Vug at the same time. Also it leaves itself open for a low cut, and Urg profits by the occasion. Poor owlbear.
The monster, which is bleeding profusely, lets go of Vug and lashes out in all directions, spreading its attacks among the people that have hurt it the most. Urg and Valgrim manage to fend off its attack but Vug is bitten for another 5 points of damage.
...and you're up.
Seeing its desperate raging, Chisora flicks her whip back around at the Owlbear in hopes to finish it off quickly but once more the beast's erratic movement prevent her from scoring a hit.
Attack Owlbear with Scorpion Whip (Inspire Courage):
Urg moves the remaining 5 feet into the corner, to give the others more room to close in.
Urg finishes off the wounded owlbear, sending it crashing to the ground.
Behind it in the corner you spy a little baby owlbear with fluffy fur. It looks at you with big endearing eyes. "Squawk?"
"Seems the creature was only defending its nest." Valgrim turns away, not feeling well after killing the baby owlbear's mother. He quickly looks in the nest and around the house for tracks or evidence that could help lead them to the missing bones. He looks for the 5th man, hoping he could be hiding somewhere.
Perception:
Survival:
Chisora looks down at the baby Owlbear and then looks around to see if she can spot any food lying around to feed it.
Perception Check:
After only a cursory search of the farmhouse you find a complete human arm with a unique tattoo.
Bubluka and Urg:
Knowledge (local) 10:
Knowledge (nature) 10:
Valgrim also finds the tracks of a second owlbear and not far from the house you find its rotting carcass as well as those of three more baby owlbears.
We could feed it this." Bubba holds up the severed arm. Wait, I've seen a tattoo like this before..."
"I think we need to talk to Garavin Vesst. He puts these tattoos on all his miners."
Bubba tosses the arm to the baby owlbear.
"Cute little fellow, worth a bit of gold if we can get him to town and find a buyer."
"Catch the owlbear and train it! Sounds like a great idea!" Vug agrees enthusiastically as she examines her wounds. "Valgrim, you like animals, right? How do we catch this thing without having it bite my hand off?"
She carefully rearranges her stick with a scoopful of brown mold so that no one is getting too chilled.