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Yukarii found the standing stones to be intriguing, she'd never seen the like before, and so she was a bit slow on getting into the examination. She heard what was said of them and found herself puzzled about why the runes were scratched out as well. "If something tried to scratch out those runes it must be strong or have tools, I wonder if it was the trolls that did this?"
As the pen was found Yukarii's attention was drawn to it and she thought that Xindyra's idea about who it could have belonged to was likely correct. Yukarii approached the pen and said, "Let me see what I can glean from it." She held out her hand for the pen and prepared herself to try and read the object.
Granted the ice trolls probably could deeply scratch stone, but you're all fairly convinced a chisel was used to deface the stones.
Suddenly you stumble on a rock you hadn't seen and your things go flying. You quickly gather them up and hurry onto the next location, but it was hours later before you realize that something was left behind.
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Yukarii finished reading the pen and realized it was nothing nefarious, it just got left behind by mistake. She looked at the pen and said, "I will get you back to your owner little pen, do not worry." With that she slid the pen into her pack and said, "The owner tripped and dropped their things. They scattered and the person picked them up but did not realize they had missed one until they were long gone from here. They were worried aboutThem coming for the owner."
With that Yukarii moved to the standing stones and went to one that had the damaged runes. She reached out hesitantly and touched it.
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Replying to Xindyra, Zendara says
Oh, that fits.
Then she watched Yukarii reading the site. Excellent idea. She hoped she gleaned something interesting. If the ice trolls hadn't defaced the site, she wondered who around here would have.
She reached out to one of the runes that someone had attempted to deface and uses her mending cantrip. Perhaps she could lessen the damage.
Yukarii had to resist the urge to yank her hands back from the rune as she felt the scalding heat, She had to really focus to try and determine what the various sensations were. She felt injustice, likely from the destruction of the runes, then some kind of sadness at the lost of something profound, Then came the vast quiet dignity of something quietly yearning for rebirth. It all made little sense at the moment.
Yukarii sagged as the contact ended and it was only the aid of a suddenly protoplasmic Yukaari holding her up that kept Yukarii from dropping to the ground. She took several deep breaths as she tried to come to an understanding of what she had just experienced but was a little stuck for how to explain any of this.
Finally Yukarii looked at her phantom self and said, "Thank you Yukaari-san." The phantom merely nodded and shifted back the ethereal before sliding inside of Yukarii once more. Looking up at her companions Yukarii said, "I do not entirely understand what I just experienced but these marks were damaged to prevent the re-birth of something important. I strongly suggest we try to repair it if we can, I think it might be an important part of what we are doing."
"How do we repair it?", Edwin asked.
Zendara's mending spell helped a little bit with some of the wear and tear due to time. The chisel marks were stubbornly resistant to her spell however.
I only have a cantrip, which seems to remove some of the normal wear and tear, but the chisel that was used here seems to have been magical, or perhaps just corrupted by something profane? I think a stronger spell would be needed. Perhaps Make Whole, which is a stronger version of the cantrip... or maybe it needs to be blessed by something holy to cleanse it from whatever was used to deface it? Not sure about stuff like that as much. If it is available, we could get a scroll of a more powerful spell, or I can make a point of learning that spell next time I dive into my studies.
"Let's press on the Durance,"Edwin suggested.
Yeah, on second thought, it doesn't seem like as good an idea as I thought it might be. Let's finish what we came here for, and then if we think there is time we can come back... and we can see if we can find something that will restore this ancient religious site as well, as Yukarii suggests.
Yukarii shook her head sadly as they talked of how to repair the stones and said, "I am afraid I have no way to repair it either. Asking in town does seem our best option."
When they shifted to deciding their next move Yukarii found the idea of the cave intriguing but dangerous. Fortunately the others seemed to be in agreement that teh cave should wait for now and she said, "Yes, let's get to town andrest. This place is close enough that we can return and spend a day exploring it with enough time to get back to the town."
It was decided to push on to Durance and with hindsight that was an excellent decision because an hour or so later the weather took a turn for the worse. Initially it was just a bit of snow, but then the wind picked up and it turned into a howling blizzard, sometimes with horizontal hail.
The trail was well marked with periodic red painted poles every few hundred feet. Earlier you wondered what their purpose was, but now it was obvious. The snow was getting pushed about in the wind, drifting here and there which made finding your way extremely difficult if it wasn't for the poles. The howling of the wind masked everything else, even the crunching of the snow beneath your boots and the labouring of your breath.
You followed the trail down for a long way and as you did the snow on the ground became thinner and thinner until it was less than an inch thick. Eventually you saw a sign which read: Durance (population 105). Technically you arrived half an hour or so before darkness but the storm clouds had cast a veil over the land, making it seem like twilight.
There wasn't a whole lot to see at Durance, at least on the surface. It had a single street, most of which was housing and there was only one inn, The Rusty Hammer. Large mine buildings brooded in the darkness, none of which seemed particularly inviting under the circumstances.
The university premises are supposed to be in the vicinity but you weren't quite sure where, perhaps you could ask at the inn. You also notice a few hardy looking types presumably hurrying home.
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"Let's go to the inn, and get rooms for the night!" Edwin suggested.
Wdin looked around the town, and noticed several similar signs.
"Aranis Corp": Does anyone recognize that name?"
Xindyra notices the sign too, just after Edwin. The name rings a bell, and after a moment of thinking..
"Hmm, i think they are a mining corporation. A big one at that."
Zendara hurries past her friends talking about some corporation something or other... normally she might care, but she was about frozen. She rushes ahead to the inn, and asks about a room for the night.
You find the door to be pretty stiff and it squeaks loudly when you open it. Inside the inn is dimly lit with oil lamps, there is sawdust on the floor and it smells of stale tobacco, spilled beer and sweat. The ground floor is given over to a large taproom with a polished hardwood bar at one end with an impressive collection of bottles, and a beer tap. There’s a cozy looking fire along one wall opposite which are steps leading up to rented rooms. There are eight trestle tables in the tap room, seven of which are fully occupied by workers you take to be miners. A single dangerous looking middle aged man occupies the final table next to the fire.
The barkeep is a fat man with a ruddy face who was needlessly polishing the gleaming bar surface when you entered. He noticed you entering but didn't otherwise react to your presence but the pianist, an old timer with white hair and liver spotted skin, did. He stopped playing and nervously scuttled upstairs. Conversation in the inn stopped and everyone turned to look as the dangerous looking man got up. You noticed a tin star stamped with the word SHERRIF on his puffed out chest, and a rather dangerous looking rapier hanging from his belt.
Hooking his thumbs in his belt, he addressed you in no uncertain terms, ”I hope I’m not going to have trouble with you, are you lost? Yousee this here is a company town, for company miners, not a tourist attraction. Most of the land around here is private property, and we don’t appreciate outsiders poking their noses in where they’re not welcome. I guess we’re stuck with you tonight on account of the storm but I suggest in the morning you turn around and go back from whence you came.”
He crosses his arms in a way that suggests this is final.
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Edwin guessed that it was pointless to argue with the Sheriff, and accepted the accommodation offered. Once out of earshot he whispered to the others,"Looks like we'll have to figure out where to search for the researchers tomorrow. I have a bad feeling about this town."
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That sounds like a good idea. Sorry, sir, we weren't aware that the inn was only for miners, and we appreciate you letting us ride out the storm here. That's awfully kind of you.
Uh, since we're here anyway though, perhaps you wouldn't mind if I sang something? Some entertainment in return for your hospitality?
The sheriff shook his head and started to demur when one of the miners interrupted saying, "Lighten up Caleb, it's dull as dishwater round here. We've heard every tune Lawson knows on the piano a dozen times over and besides they're gonna be gone tomorrow, what's the harm?"
This was backed by a dozen or more calls of, "Aye!" and "Lets hear her sing!"
Recognizing a loosing battle Sheriff Caleb sighed, "Very well, but no dancing." This seemed to be a line in the sand he was not prepared to cross.
Zendara tries to figure out what the Sheriff was trying to hide:
She isn't sure what his deal is, but at least they can stay and maybe figure it out as they go.
Deciding not to comment on the "dancing" line, Zendara gets up to sing.
She looks around at the miners and decides to start with something a little bit rowdy and funny, but from a different culture so hopefully they could follow along on the refrain, but wouldn't already know it.
Then she moves on to an upbeat adventure song...
And ends with a bow.
Thank you all for letting us come in out of the storm and spend some time with you.
When she comes down from the stage she sits down with some of the miners to swap stories. Maybe she can pick up on what is going on. She mostly just smiles and nods and lets them talk, but she fills in with a story or two to get them going as needed.
Edwin stayed in the tavern to hear Zebdara sing; she really was rather good. Despite sticking out like a sore thumb in his fine clothes among the roughly dressed miners, he tried to listen in on the conversation.
He decided that dancing was a bad idea, given the Sheriff's condemnation of the practice.
It took the miners a little while to get into the swing of it, but as the evening progresses all the miners on every table where singing along with gusto. To show their appreciation Zendera was bought all the drinks and food she could ask for. Even the Sherrif was tapping his boots in time with the music, although he was not singing.
The rest evening passed without further incident, rooms where provided at a reasonable rate. They where nothing to write home about, but at least the linen was clean and they were dry. In the morning you are given good directions to find the university outpost, it's about half a mile away from here in a hidden valley. There's no way you'd have found it in the dark last night, but by daylight it should be easy to get there.
A bit later when you asked if the strangers had anything to do with the university he said, "Oh nothing like that, the researchers are harmless, heads in the cloud academic types. Generally we leave each other alone unless we find something weird in the mines, like that gallery. No the strangers where all wearing these hooded cowls as if they thought they where secret agents or in a cult or something equally ridiculous."
After retiring for the night, Edwin told the others what he had learned about the strange incident in the copper mine. [see spoiler].
In the morning he got his gear together and prepared to walk to the university outpost.
While Zendara is singing, Xindyra tries to overhear any interesting bits of talk that the miners are discussing.
During the performance, she tries sketching the scene, something successful to write about next time.
When the singing comes to a close, she claps and gives a thumb up for the performance.
If any of the talk was any good, she tries to intermingle and fish for rumors and info.
You tried to socialize with the miners but they seemed very insular.
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Zendara eats a nice breakfast and then tells the sheriff that she heard something strange was found in the mine.
I mean, we're on our way elsewhere, but if you want someone to go down and investigate the cause, we could do the job for you. If there is something down there that they want, they are going to keep coming. But if we can pull anything strange out, maybe they'll stop bothering you. And we're legitimate archaeologists, so if there is a find that is worth anything to a museum, then we'd make sure the bulk of that profit came back to this community, minus a very small percentage for our time of course.
No problem if you don't want the help... we're definitely not trying to butt in. Just thought you might want someone neutral to check it out for you.
The sheriff was having breakfast when Zendara approached Sheriff Caleb who seemed to be in a better mood this morning, as she approached he said, "Say that was some fine singing last night ma'am." As he munched on his eggs and sausages he listened to her say her piece and he shook his head, replaying, "That's kind of you ma'am but I'd loose my job if I was to let anyone without proper authorisation into the mine. If you heard what happened you'll understand why Mr Stanton and the board members are real twitchy, if anything weird does get uncovered we have an agreement with Mr Da Vorre that the university will provide assistance so I'll take that under advisement."
He ate the last bit of sausage before saying, "Still if you're attached to the university I've got some lost property I've been meaning to return, perhaps you'd be so kind?"
He hands you a nice blue shawl, "My deputy found this up in the hills day before yesterday, on one of them standing stones. It's a nice shawl I reckon it must belong to one of the researchers. If you look here there's a label A. Meedes."
Edwin enjoyed the breakfast When the Sherriff mentioned the lost property, Edwin told him, "We'd be happy to return the shawl; I'm sure the owner will be glad to be re-united with it. Let us know if there is anything we can do in return."
Thank you, Sheriff. Totally understand. Perhaps we'll look up Mr. Stanton and see if we can get authorization.
Later, after they leave the Sheriff and are back together as a group, Zendara says
Yukarii, can you do that psychic resonance thing on this shawl? I want to make sure this was also just left behind and we don't have a kidnapping on our hands.
slowly you loose ground as the hunter closes in on you. You take a calculated risk, darting into the standing stones hoping to turn suddenly and loose them. There! You hear them rush past, you creep round a stone doubling back on yourself but then your shawl snags on a bush and your feet scuff the floor. You hear them coming and sprint away as though your life depends on it!
The sudden sensation fades, as you fall awkwardly to the floor. A flash of a red cloak and suddenly you're back in the room feeling disorientated.
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Yukarii let those who fit in better deal with the grouchy locals when they arrived in town. She ultimately listened to Zendara's performance, ate, and went to bed. The next morning she came out and sat down with the sheriff, like everyone else seemed to be doing, and ate breakfast.
When the sheriff asked if they could return the shawl to it's owner Yukarii looked at it curiously. She recognized who it belonged to from their earlier discussion and when Zendara asked if there was any resonance on it Yukarii put her utensils down, made sure her hands were clean, and accepted the shawl. She focused her mind, opening her thoughts to the shawl and tried to sense what she could from it.
Yukarii's body tensed up and her eyes began to move rapidly though they were looking at nothing in particular. She began to pant and flush like she had been running hard and then went quiet for a moment like she was trying not to be heard. Then she began to pant again and promptly fell from her seat and onto the floor, the shawl left behind on the seat.
Yukarii placed her hands flat on the floor for a moment as she tried to get her bearings. After a few moments she manged to push herself up and looked at the shawl, "Take that please Zendara." Once the shawl was out of her seat Yukarii got up and sat down on the chair once more. She was shaky but seemed to be calming down aas she fully returned to the present.
After taking a drink to help clear her head Yukarii said, "The woman was at the standing stones, running from a Hunter of some kind that was after her. She tried to duck into the standing stones for cover and sneak away but the hunter caught on and she had to run. The shawl got hung up on the stone and left behind." Yukarii took another drink before she added, "She felt that her life was in danger, or at least seemed to."
Oh dear. That is not good. Can we talk to the deputy who found this, Sheriff? Day before yesterday? I wonder if she is still in trouble.
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"Well, i reckon this is the same person whom the pen belonged to.
And who knows, she might well be alive. I mean, chances can be stacked against you, and fortune might still find you."
The Sheriff nodded "That you can. Deputy Anirudh found the Shawl, he's scheduled to patrol the western trails today, the closest of which leads to the university encampment. You could accompany him whilst en route to your destination."
"Then again, either the owner used different names, or they coincidentally found themselves under similar circumstances. Running for their lives."
"Which raises the question, what natural predators does this place have?"
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"If these climes are similar in inhabitants as other cold places known to civilization, i'd reckon ice trolls, remhorazz, winter drakes, all sorts.
But all of these, whilst territorial, tend to keep away from human populations. Which raises an ever bigger question of 'what -did- attack them?' "
Edwin suggested, "Let's go to the university outpost; it sounds like it's near here."