Fenna smiles wryly to herself at what she sees inside.
She saunters back to the well and announces "I have good news and I have bad news. Which do you want first?"
"Okay, bad news first. What did you find? Is the creature with the strange footprints in there?"
"The room I could get a peek into had some sort of incredibly smelly lump of liquidy flesh on the floor. If it's dead it's really rank. If it's alive it's probably something horrible. Don't know about footprints since it didn't seem to specifically have feet."
Fenna seems resigned at this point to there being no end to the list of bizarre and hazardous things hanging around in the abandoned outpost.
Fenna considers the putrid smelling lump. She has definitely smelled it before. Trying to place it .... Ah, yes, she realizes ... just about every hole-in-the-wall tavern with too many drunks. The smell reminds her of ale-induced vomit.
Fenna pauses and reconsiders.
"Come to think of it, I think it was a pile of booze vomit. Yeah, that's more or less the smell I smelled. Maybe that's better news than I thought? Maybe not, it's fairly fresh I think..."
Turning away from the well, Vexas frowns at the mention of vomit.
Eww. And there was a perfectly good well right here for that. But, seriously, should we find a way to prod the vomitious mass from the outside to see if it moves?
He takes out his crossbow suggestively to see what the group thinks.
"So perhaps whatever made the tracks is elsewhere in the house sleeping off the drink...
I think that more likely than the track-maker being under the pile of vomit. It would be a strange and unfortunate creature that could vomit enough to completely conceal itself."
Brannart is not unfamiliar with the consequences of too much drink. Such behavior is not encouraged by Cayden Cailean, but rather earns one some mockery and a gentle reprimand. His first year back from the Worldwound, he drank himself to oblivion at least once a week... a much rarer occurence these days. He thinks of how his brother Hamish and Hamish's wife Ailis had helped him.
"If anyone cares, the good news is it looks like there's at least one barrel of ale inside."
"Sure, I doubt the vomit is alive Vexas, but if you'd like to check a bolt is not that costly a sacrifice." Kowal says "Do we want to try and go though the window or just use the door?"
Vexas goes ahead and fires a bolt into the vomitous mass.
It flies wide and hits the wall behind. So tries again...
*Splorch*
He looks back at the group, clearly understanding he needs to justify.
You know... just in case.
"If you want to enter in force, I can take the lead.
If you want to try stealth, I can stay outside and watch the windows or any other doors."
Brannart waits to hear what the plan is.
Vexas looks through the window, then back away and to Sho. Hmm... nah.
Vexas's bolt slices into the pile of goo, separating and flecking pieces of the mass in several directions. Nothing stirs ...
Fenna watches Vexas do his shooting.
"Right. With that done now, I don't see any reason not to try the front door. Anything around and awake heard noise over here, not over there."
She walks around to the front door and puts her ear to it. If she hears nothing, she gives it a try.
Hearing nothing, Fenna opens the front door. Other than the home being in complete disarray with furniture and household goods tossed all over the floor, it is comparable in size and design to most of the other homes passed along the main street. There is a closed door to the east and another to the south which is where Fenna would expect the vomit-covered bedroom would be. The only other thing that catches the Bard’s eye is a warped floor board near the front door.
Vexas follows Fenna in and walks to the far wall where he retrieves one of his crossbow bolts. He walks over to the vomitous mass and stares at the other bolt embedded in it for several moments. Finally he decides that he's letting that one go.
If that stuff wasn't so disgusting to handle, I'd consider using it to add a charge of acid to my bolts!
Turning away, he looks to see what the bard has found.
Vexas's skilled eye can tell that this was no construction error. This board was purposefully removed, then reinstalled with a less skilled hand.
Removing the floor board reveals a hidden cubby and a sword wrapped in cloth. When the cloth is removed, Vexas finds a sheathed longsword. The grip is masterfully wrapped in green leather and gold wire. The workmanship and engravings on the sheath and hilt are unfamiliar to the Inner Sea Region. Unsheathing the sword reveals a soft, green-glowing light emanating from the blade.
"Do not forget the vomit is fresh, whatever made it could still be here." Malakar points out with his sword and shield at the ready.
Brannart remains outside, keeping watch.
He will go in if he is called.
After a full inspection, the rest of the cottage seems empty of other occupants. Although, Malakar is correct in his assessment that the vomit is not that old. The door to the east leads to a completely undisturbed bedroom. The door to the south has the empty keg near the window, but the other keg of ale is yet to be tapped. The rest of the room has stuff thrown everywhere.
Leading with her spear front and forward, Fenna takes a tour through the house. She checks each room for threats first, then has a look around.
Vexas follows Fenna through the house, looking for more distinct clues in each room.
Neither Fenna nor Vexas find anything else of interest in their searches.
Leaving the Levin Farm, the companions backtrack down the main street and through the palisade gate. The afternoon sun is to the left while you head north toward the colony square which was mainly overlooked due to all of the ruckus over the last two days. At the center of the colony, in front of the Government House, is a public well. Looking down the well, the water looks clean and potable and the attached rope and bucket are still intact. With the heat and humidity of the day near its peak, the well looks very inviting. Looking north toward the Government House, many faces are peaking out of windows and watching your actions. Ramona and Nymbleth are among these faces. The Tiefling offers a clawed wave and toothy grin as he holds his pointed tail in his other hand.
Just southwest of the well is a wooden scaffold with a set of steps, probably used to address an audience. North of the scaffold is a community firepit surrounded by huge stones, sufficient enough for a medium bonfire.
Finally getting back to the barracks, the ankheg mother’s tunnel leads farther north. Following the direction of the tunnel and passing through the north palisade wall through one of its missing sections, a small field is in sight. Moving closer, there is a meadow inundated with large holes dug in at an angle. These holes are comparable to the makings of the ankhegs in the colony and along the beach. To the east of the meadow grows a large copse of trees leading into the jungle proper.
"There were no tracks of that strange star-footed creature leading away from the cottage, but you didn't see it inside?
That is very concerning. Let's keep an eye out for such tracks."
Brannart waves to Ramona and Nymbleth as he moves through the town square.
"I don't see any danger," says Brannart, but he keeps his ranseur in hand while those with better eyes take a look around.
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Sho spots things of interest, using her better eyes
Some eggshell on the floor, more leathery than avian. Several eggs. One skeleton, human I guess, one finger short. Bones damaged by acid.No equipment or clothes left.And...
The ranger digs around the skeleton
One missing finger, with a ring. I think there are initial engraved, probably an E and an F. It's strange, but the ring isn't damaged by acid..
"I don't see anything of immediate concern." Malakar ponders a moment. "Let me take a look at those eggs maybe I can tell if they belong to the nymphs or something else.
Fenna finds the skeleton along with Sho.
"Maybe this is our point of origin for all the ankheg tunnels?"
She checks out the ring, but can only make a guess.
Copper isn't a strong metal. Since it's not showing any effects from the acid, and it must have been exposed, it might be magical. Not really my strong suit though. Kowal might know more."
Malakar looks over the eggshells found and determines that they are almost certainly ankheg in nature.
While Fenna is unable to determine the properties of the ring, she does sense slight Abjuration Magic instilled in the item.
Fenna hands the ring over to Kowal.
"Want to take a look at this? There's something special about it, abjuration I'm fairly sure. But I can't make out anything more."
By the way, in case some of you didn't notice there was a longsword under the floor board in the first room. Who's good with history and relics? It could just be a simple soldiers sword, but it was deliberately hidden, so who knows.
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Vexas doesn't like the look of the eggshells. I suppose we could have guessed at this, but this confirms there are going to be a lot more of them around. That's not good. I wonder if they could be coaxed to a different area and survive without interacting with the colonists...
With no more signs of danger in the pitted meadow, the companions complete a walk-through of the colony one more time. It appears the colonists found a solution to rid the Provision Building of the cockroach swarm, and the priests will handle the spirit in the church. With that taken care of, there appears to be no immediate threats to the colony. There are, of course, probably more of those goblins and grindylows on the island and whatever made the starfish footprint. Also, Vexas cannot forget about the mechanical creature he has disabled and has been carrying around.
All in all, it appears the mission of securing the colony is finally complete. It might be time to report back to Ramona.
The bigger mystery still remains though. What has happened to the first wave of colonists?
"While it is good to be cautious, I see no intact eggs and we killed the queen so I think we are free for now. Also with the colonists now about it would have attracted any stragglers."
Malakar ponders after completing the sweep.
After we report to Ramona I would like to find who will be in charge of agriculture and see if that corn can't be grown saftly is paddocks.
Also Sho I hope you are with me in that we should strive to make this colony sustainable without exploiting and destroying the wilds? We should teach them the best ways we can.
"Perhaps we can set up some traps in that house and leave it empty, counting on the creature returning at some point."
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"But if it came back, it would probably be coming for the ale. We can't let that happen..."
Listening to others plans, it sounds to Vexas like things might be settling down for a bit.
Agriculture... traps. Maybe things are at a point where we can wait for the next batch of trouble to come to us. Still, I don't wonder if we should take a scouting expedition after a short respite, perhaps look for more clues about the missing colonists. Until then... I've got my robot to tinker with.
"Be careful with that 'robot' machines aren't to be trusted."
Ramona approaches cautiously with her hand on the hilt of her sword. It is sheathed, but she appears ready to draw the blade at a moment's notice. She scans the area to her left and right, as she walks toward you. "So, what do you think? Is the colony secure?" She pauses for a moment with her questions and bites her lower lip, as she peers back toward the Government House. "I have a room full of anxious colonists. Setting them to work and giving them something to do will keep them busy. And," the leader pauses for a moment as she scan her surroundings, "with monster holes to fill, houses and shelter to construct, and food to prepare, there is a lot of work to do. I understand that you want to be thorough, but we now find ourselves on this crazy island with a palisade half built." She looks around again, "I wonder if we will ever be safe. There is surely a mystery to this place. What do you say? Are we ready to rebuild this colony today? Maybe some of these matters can wait until tomorrow?"
Vexas replies to Malakar Hmm, machines are just tools. It was disabled, and now I can study it and see how it works, possibly for us!
Just then Ramona walks up and addresses the group. Well, I'm a little hesitant given that we claimed it was safe before. However, we've now dispatched the queen and nothing is coming out of these holes right now. I do not think we'll be truly safe until we can figure out what happened to the original colonists, BUT I do believe we can reasonably fortify this place now.
"I think Vexas is right, Ramona. It's secure enough to start building. But we should start with the palisade, and make sure that everybody is trained in a basic weapon - like a crossbow or longspear.
I think we should help rebuild for a couple of days to see if that strange ale-loving creature returns. Make sure things are secure here. And then, as Vexas says, we should resume searching for the first wave of colonists. At least, that is what I would suggest."
The next few days go by with a flurry of activity. The primary palisade is almost fortified and the ankheg holes have been filled in. There is talk of extending the palisade around the main residences, but that would require additional time and resources. Along with perimeter defenses, colonists are being trained in weapons and combat strategies.
Other primary concerns are lodging, food supply, and the development of government. Homes and buildings are being rebuilt and constructed to provide shelter from the elements. Rations brought from Peregrine are being supplied with what was salvageable from the cockroach swarm. Fishing nets are being tossed to coincide with small game hunting for additional and immediate food supply. Soon the gardens, after being weeded and tended to, will start yielding some crops with the help of this sub-tropical climate. There is also talk of holding elections for positions in government.