Morin looks about and says "Seems one spot's as good as another 'round here to set up camp, in this sea of grass, but there in the trees might be better than by the track here. Though I do wonder, what's with all the flies buzzing off the trail to the south? Anyone want to check it out, or have we checked out enough things of interest recently?"
"if it is something or someone dead, it will attract things larger than flies at night. We should look," says Sarusa.
"Ah, standing stones. How I love them." She spends a half minute extending her spirit sense.
"...I'll go gladly, as l-long as no one ends up being danglebait. Outdoors... we have a singular advantage, I think, and it might... it might just be a horse, dog, or deer, right?"
The oracle says that, granted, but her companions can easily spot a shiver. By the time flies are in the equation, there's little she can do for something dead except put it back down if it has the misfortune of walking. Still, there's always that chance that she'll find Schelle... in one form or another.
Chloe stares of in Sarusa's direction.
"Sarusa, Can you do that... that thing where you sense the presence of... of anomalies or whatnot? If we get closer, I mean?"
Karo stares hard in the direction indicated by Morin. Hmm, have to trust you on that Morin, I don't see anything. I suppose we should investigate. After what our two guests told us, it could another victim or....you know who. Let's have a look, hopefully its just one of the poor horses those goblins got after. Karo dismounts his horse and grabs his weapons. Corvus, fly over there and have a look around. Then come back and report. The raven gives Karo a one-eyed stare for a moment, then flies off.
Tekk nods his head in approval, and he puts his mattock over his shoulder. "Aye, let's see what's going on - I'd hate to pass by the tax collector's body."
"Doing it now, Chloe." Sarusa prepares a sling stone.
"Ah, yes... I'd forgotten about Corvus... Thank you, Karo." Chloe leans backwards and pets Dodi to ease some of the anticipation. The horse could still be skittish, after all. "A-and thank you, Sarusa."
"...Morin? Would you have that we approach on Dodi or.. or dismount..?"
Sarusa extends her senses through the land about her, feeling the age of the earth, the trees and the stones connected in a muted web of understated power. No untoward vibrations disrupt the flow of energy.
Corvus wings away to the south and lands several score paces away. For a while there is no sign of him, except for the occasional quorking caw, but soon enough he wings back, a grisly gobbet of white and red flesh hanging from his beak, and hastily swallowed down before he cries out, Dead dogs! Dead dogs in the grass!
Karo walks over to where the raven indicated. His holds his bow ready, scanning the area.
Examining the scene, he bends over and retrieves an arrow and examines it. These ate goblin arrows. It's odd they left the carcasses....unless they plan on returning.. he trails off, peering around.
Morin turns to look at Chloe over his shoulder and responds to her question, "I'd just as soon hop down and take a look. If somethin' happens, I'm better fighting on my feet than trying to be a warrior on horseback, though that'd be good fer a laugh."
He drops off Dodi's back and makes his way through the grass, swords drawn. Once they reach the scene of carnage, Morin studies the area a bit, then says "Well, these little arrows are goblin weapons, t'be sure. But it's funny they left so much meat layin' about. Wouldn't be surprised if they're planning to come back for it, once it's rotted enough for their liking. We might want to get a little distance between us and their larder before we set up camp."
"They must be full...maybe on our friends' horses."
Sarusa pokes around.
[dice=Perception]1d20 + 12[/dice
Chloe leads Dodi with her to the edge of the carnage and stands at the ready, petting the horse's muzzle as she waits for the verdict of whether to stay or run.
"I don't mind eating.. on the go, really..."
The trampled grasses around the mutilated dogs are covered with small, clawed footprints, chaotically placed. It his difficult to say how many individual goblins took part in this massacre without a detailed study of the landscape.
Sarusa narrows her eyes. "Here is dissection with a purpose. These animals have had---see?---here. A stomach, a gall bladder, both missing, and they even carved out the scent glands. Perhaps components for a spell? I thought goblins ate all parts of an animal indiscriminately."
At 'scent glands', she points to the hindquarters of the dog.
After some time, she ticks off a weapon and spoor count. "Perhaps a score of goblins."
Tekkis grunts as Sarusa explains the details.
After she finishes, he asks, "Is that type of surgical precision normal for goblins? I thought they just hated dogs and wanted to kill them. This sounds like more of a dissection... do they do that?"
"Okay, twenty goblins, doing weird stuff with dog entrails? Maybe I should take to the sea again, sea god's curse and all. Seems much safer than this quiet little path through the countryside. In any case, we should get out of here before they come back."
Looking at Corbyn and Sarusa, Morin asks, "Any chance you guys can tell which way they went? And maybe disguise any tracks we might have left, if Tekk's big armored boots don't make that impossible?" He says this last bit with a smile and an elbow to the half-orc's hip - if he were taller, it would be a friendly elbow in the ribs.
Chloe turns a decided shade of green at the thought of the small, spiteful buggers tearing through the bodies of the creatures with abandon. She can't really help the nausea, it truly is quite a disgusting thought... nothing like what she does every day with her surgeon's tools. Harvesting those bits of a creature's anatomy... Blergh. It is bad enough to simply treat them.
Not to mention dogs could be quite nice in comparison to a lot of other creatures.
She holds a fist in front of her mouth and prays her companions finish with the area soon. She wasn't a tracking expert, persay, but she knew enough to know that throwing up at the scene would not be the best idea...
With the number of prints, Sarusa has no difficulty in spotting where the goblins came from (the East) and determining where they headed (the South.)
The last sliver of red sun sinks into the west. The eastern horizon is already a deep, bruised violet where the first of the evening stars have begun to shyly emerge. Meadowlarks careen over the grasses, catching sluggish insects as the air cools. When the wind blows, there is a bite. Tonight will be colder.
"If we hunt them tonight, we will wear ourselves out considerably--and they will have the night to their advantage," says Sarusa, looking up from the sets of tracks. "Also, they are heading away from us. ...On the other hand, they could easily divert their course slightly and come upon our new friends unawares."
If Chloe has any input on the matter, she is incapable of communicating it, her eyes brimming with tears that have more to do with revulsion and the tide she's keeping at bay than sorrow.
"Seems to me they're heading away from us, and not heading for the folks we met last night. And like ye say, Sarusa, they're better at night than we are. I say we find a place to bed down, and do it soon. Maybe we can have a night of sleep uninterrupted by goblins, wandering minstrels, undead dogs and giant snake horrors. 'Course, it'll probably just be something else what wakes us."
Looking up at Chloe, Morin realizes what a state she's in. He climbs up in front of her on Dodi and says in a kind voice, "Let's get you back to the road, lass, and away from this place. Find us all a good spot to get some rest." He wiggles back and forth strangely in his seat, then says with an affectionate chuckle, "You mind gettin' the horsey movin'? You probably don't want me in charge of that."
Tekk removes his helmet and looks back at the dogs. Noticing Morin's comments with Chloe, the half-orc grumbles.
"Let's get back to what we were hired to do. Chasing goblins isn't paying the bills for this trip. Let's find a place to camp... somewhere else."
He pats Chloe on the leg, then gently takes Dodi's halter and leads the animal away from the carnage.
Chloe gives a grateful smile as she remounts Dodi and approaches the road, not thinking about goblins ripping through steaming guts and breathing the non decay-filled air in careful, measured breaths until she can resume normal speech. Though, in the meantime, her face is markedly turned away from her companions just in case.
"Th-thank you," she says, eyeing both Morin and Tekkis (mostly).
"-and sorry about that... Mutilation isn't my forte.... You'd think, after all this time, I wouldn't, but..."
Karo stands staring at the carnage, transfixed. He wants to turn away, but can't help to look, studying the inner workings of the poor beasts. Finally he tears his gaze away and addresses no one in particular. I agree, we should get away from this place before we stop to camp. I will follow in whatever direction is decided. I do hope our visitors made good time on the road today. He crosses his arms as a gust of wind cuts across the copse of trees. We should get moving though and find a suitable site, it's getting colder.
The remainder of the night passes uneventfully, although those of you who take a stretch of guard duty certainly feel anxious enough to make up for the lack of excitement. Eventually, the unknown terrors of the dark fade into the concealing mists of morning. You eat, pray, study, and dress in the muted fog, before once again continuing the journey. As the sun climbs higher into the sky, the mists burn off, and the pale green of new growth begins to dominate the grasses of the plain. The day is alive with the sounds of the wind in the grass, and the unseen animals, wise enough to hide as you pass by. The standing stones become fewer and farther between, the thickets and copses become slightly larger and denser, and you even spot an abandoned homestead, the silvery wood long since collapsed under its own weight.
Continuing on, the road becomes broader and a bit more defined, and by late afternoon, it has curved to the north. The waters of Ember Lake come into view to the east, and you begin to see small foresters cottages, farms, crofts and barns. A bit further north, the acrid stink of a large tannery brings tears to your eyes and the fleeting bucolic stillness of your journey is gone, replaced by the clangor of people gathered in close proximity. The soft dirt path turns to churned mud and gravel, and you are forced to share the road with weary farmers leading their wagons home from a day at the market.
The rough hewn timber walls of a small town rise up before you. Bored looking guards draped in chainmail with horns at their belts lean against their halbards, flanking the gates. More patrol the parapets above with crossbows on their shoulders. Above all, the hulking mass of a small fortress looms over the town, the dark grey stone of its walls stained with dark patches of soot and fading into the twilight.
Welcome to Galduria.
"Ah... w-well, civilization is back again, with a vengeance..."Chloe notes, nose wrinkling with the new smells, though she's not particularly observant of the nuances within. "I look forward to... to a goblin-free evening. Though, please pardon my ignorance... how much longer will we be going before we get to Ravenmoore?"
Chloe asks as they make their way into Galduria.
"Ah, Chloe, it's true Galduria doesn't smell so good as the open road - which in turn doesn't smell nearly so good as the sea - but I'm with you, a night where we've got little to no chance of meeting a goblin sounds like a good one to me. And being here on the lake shore, I might even be able to convince myself I'm at the docks in Magnimar, though quiet little docks they'll be, compared to where you and I met."
Considering Chloe's question a moment, Morin continues, "Well, we're over half-way from Magnimar to where we're headed. We'll follow the lake shore to Wolf's Ear, where our friends from the other night had such a nice visit. Then we'll follow the river from there. Probably three days' travel from here, I'd guess."
Tekk glances around, then continues ahead, looking for lodging that can accommodate the group and the animals.
"Morin, the sea and you... need some alone time, I think... It's your first love, and it... it doesn't seem possible for anything to compare to it in your book... That being said, I think I'll take a pier with less screaming...," Chloe says simply, obviously knowing the docks of Magnimar for their constant hustle and bustle rather than anything else. Or she could be referring to the incident in question. It is hard to be sure.
"I-I don't suppose anyone would be up to a nice splash in the lake, though..? I want to see it. I've been by here, I've just... I haven't seen the lake."
If you can get past the smell, this seems to be a nice settlement. I'm trying to remember if I've ever heard anything about the town.say Karo. He gapes at the small fortress standing above the town.
Sarusa has cast, ahem, Animal Messenger to warn the first group of people in the path of the goblins, with a small note telling the recipient to warn nearby towns.
"It's one of the many burdens of civilization, Chloe--at least now you know where your leather armor comes from. I had some as well, before I got leaf," Sarusa says, popping a fist back to rap her own hardened leaves.
Sarusa clop-clops her horse near a farmer's wagon. "Ho, good sir, could you tell us of the inns in Galduria? We need one with stables, ideally a paddock." She remembers to smile at the last moment.
After some hard looks an posturing, mostly directed at Tekkis, the guards wave your group through. While Chloe and Morin debate olfactory issues and anthropomorphic love, Sarusa spies an elderly couple loading crates into a small wagon hitched to a pair of donkeys. Most of the stalls are already closed for the day, but these folk have the ruddy complexions of those who till the soil for their sustenance.
At Sarusa's question, the old man fixes the druidess with one good eye (the other being covered with the milky blanket of a cataract.) Inns? he asks querulously. Well, the Horns brews a fine mug of ale! At this, the woman sniffs meaningfully at him, and he hastens to add But the Explorer's Arms caters to travelers of the innerestin' variety, beggin' your pardon. If they canna 'commodate ya, then they can surely point ya in the right direction. As he finishes, the woman proclaims, Those crates won't load themselves Hiram. And this cart is leaving in five minutes, whether you're on it or not. The man favors you with a charmingly abashed grin and tugs his forelock before turning back to laboriously load his provisions.
Galduria's claim to fame is the Twilight Academy, an arcane college housed in the fortress at the center of town.
Most of the thousand and a half souls who call this town home work in some way associated with the grain and lumber merchants who ply their trades across the waters of the lake and up the Lampblack River to the north. Others work the tannery, fish the waters, or are associated with the Academy in some capacity.
Ember Lake itself takes its name for the strange lights that illuminate it at night. They are rumored to be lovely to behold, although some whisper that the patterns they form are intentional, and hide dangerous messages.
As they make their way through the town, Karo tells the others what he recalls of Galduria. When they meet the old couple, Karo comes over and begins to help load the crates. Thank you for the information. Here, let me help you with those. As he begins to load the crates, he starts to chat up the couple. Have you always lived here? Is this a nice place to live? What can you tell me about the Twilight Academy? I've always wanted to visit and perhaps study here. And now look at this, I'm here! Karo continues to load crates until the job is done.
"Many thanks, goodwife and Hiram," Sarusa nods at the couple, then dismounts. She loads a number of crates quickly and neatly for them, places two gold pieces on top of a lower crate. She does a double take to find Karo at her side. "We could go into business loading Morin's ships," she says with a throaty chuckle, pausing, then grabbing another crate.
Many hands make the load light, and the cart is quickly loaded. Hiram takes on a "supervisory" role, directing where things should be placed as he answers Karozekas' questions. Oh yes, born here on th'Lake. Did a bit of travelin' when I was younger, all th'way ta Kaer Maga, but came back here, settled down, raised crops an'a family once Gertrude's pa said yes, of course. Hiram's wife actually smiles at this, and her weathered features take on a softer aspect, giving a glimpse of the girl she once was. Well, how could he say no when you brought all that fine silverwork as a bride price, she adds.
Stay away from the Academy though, if you can avoid it she hastens to warn you. They deal in the unnatural there, and care more for their studies than the harm they visit on us goodfolk. If you want to study there, well, that's your business. But don't say I didn't warn you! Come Hiram, that's enough gossip for one day. The chores won't wait, and you know it.
Hiram bows his head abashedly to his wife and favors you with one last grin. Gertie's got more reason than some to warn you, but she's only speakin' the truth. Best be careful if ya seek the Twilight. Those who hide in the shadows can become lost themselves, if'n they're not careful.
With these words, he stiffly clambers up onto the wagon and waves farewell as Gertrude clucks her tongue and the donkeys plod away.
"Well, that's not... not at all ominous...," Chloe whispers.
"Erm... Karozekas, I don't suppose... I could convince you to reconsider applying.. at least for now?"
Tekk curses as the two walk away. He shakes his head, then smiles, "Okay, I'm just going to forget about conversation. Let's find somewhere to bunk, and eat - maybe this Explorer's Arms. I'm craving mutton for some reason."
"Mutton... then the lake?" the oracle asks hopefully, hands drumming on Dodi's reins.
Morin watches the farmer and his friends load the wagon with a critical eye, thinking to himself, He'd better watch the trim on that load, it'll shift for sure if the wind kicks up from the stern. Though I guess that's less of an issue on a wagon than a cargo ship.
As Hiram's wagon rolls away, he says "Mutton, then the lake. Sounds like an excellent plan to me. Then a bed somewhere, and perhaps something other than mutton before bedtime. I wonder what the fish are like from this lake? A nice flaky, white lake fish, fried up crisp, would go down nicely with a pint or three of ale, don't ya think?"
"Remarkably delicious, I think. Oh, and if.. if someone gives me access to a bucket, I think I could stand to do some washing, too... Clothes, I mean... and if Karo's still bent on it, we might be able to drop by the academy in the morning."
Chloe smiles, face warming with happiness over the plans thus far.
"...Who knows...? Maybe once we're finished, we can come back here to fish..."