Not for nothing, but if it attacked and killee people it should be put down, it has a taste for people flesh Adir still hasn't droppes his guard. He's incredibly paranoid now
Pash shakes his head.
"And what about when we come back? Or the next caravan that comes through here? How are we to know that the next attack it won't bring friends, assuming that it has any to bring? That thing killed that man before he was even aware that he was dead... what are you going to tell whomever cared about him, that you thought the beast was 'too pretty to punish' or that he was 'just misunderstood' or some such?"
"Let's tie it down with rope that it can chew through," says Yalyaane. "And I still don't understand. In the high country, wolves run in packs. Lone wolves are usually sick or old. Ercio, can you explain this?"
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Ercio is confused at Pash's words. He doesn't understand his concept of punishing. To him, the wolf was only following its nature. He stares at the halfling with a confused look. He just says "We should inform anyone who knew him"
Yalyaane cuts in and Ercio agrees and says "Yes, it's common for wolves to go in packs. There doesn't seem to be a pack with this one, maybe it was so strong it hunted alone. It is possible it was driven away from its pack for one reason or another. I say we leave quickly and let nature run its course". That was his favorite thing to say.
we should put it to a group vote. Those for killing it and those for leaving it
Pash shakes his head in agreement. "Yes, voting is fun. If the man had family, I think they deserve a vote as well, being the ones most deeply wronged by it and all." He looks at Ercio and raises an eyebrow. "Unless, of course, you have some way of bringing him back. Preferably in a less mangled state. I don't think anyone would thank you if you just forced him to try to go on living like that, after all. Oh, and we should probably have our employer get a vote too. Seems only fair given he is paying our bill. Not sure he is paying for funeral costs though."
The halfling tilts his head to the side as if he is trying to remember something.
"Oh, right. I vote to kill it. Preferably swiftly so that it doesn't have a chance to make anyone else into a snack. Possibly with the option of skinning it and turning it into a coat. Waste not, want not, after all. Not that I have much skill with such things." Pash nods to himself and falls silent, waiting to see what the others say.
"We should kill it. If it survives and is badly injured and crippled, it will try to attack humans again.". Yalyaane crosses her arms. "Is this not so, Ercio? And it attacked a person without hesitation. That is not natural or normal."
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Ercio replies to Pash saying "I don't understand how the man's family, if there is one, benefits from this wolf being killed or not. They wouldn't be able to eat it or use its pelt for warmth, as you suggest."
To Yalyaane, he says "By being this injured, it would probably just spend some time licking its wounds. The only chance for it to survive is to go for smaller game. Did you see the speed at which it charged the man? If it survives, it will be weeks before it can move like that again. Now, I agree there is something not normal here. Such an attack would be hunger driven, but there is plentiful game around here. But seeing that it was so fast, it wasn't exactly in danger by attacking the caravan."
A little tired of the discussion, he says "Kill it if it makes you feel safer, but I don't see the need for it, and if there is more to find about the nature of this wolf, I believe you shouldn't do anything that can't be undone."
Time passes as the group decides if they are going to kill the beast or not. Unfortunately before you come to a conclusion you would notice that it bled out and breathed its last breath.
Those who are knowledgeable of nature would know that this is not just a wolf, that it is indeed something else.
Looking over the body of the fallen man, you all recognize them as one of the travelers that was walking besides the caravan. Even though there is safety in numbers when traveling these roads this man was not as fortunate as most.
You cast detect magic and survey the creature and you detect nothing magical.
You might catch any faint lingering magics on the other guards if they have anything like potions or scrolls, but nothing rom the creature.
As the handlers continue to reign in the horses and clean up anything that spilled from the caravans, you notice Dugal and Bren looking into the woods where the fight was going on. Dugal with a hammer clenched in his first and Bren with two daggers. There is a sense of relief that comes over Dugal's face followed by him patting the boy on his back. Bren hides away his daggers and moves to tending to Dugals wagon and horses.
Mezdav is still watching his sector. He has gone back to carrying his sling loaded with a rock for small game.
As he guts another unwary rabbit : "Well, the game here sure isn't wary; that's rabbit stew for us guards tonight!"
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Ercio says "Well, it seems it was its time. It would be a shame to let it go to waste." He, then starts working on the carcass to try and extract something useful. As he's working, he comments "It would be good to let the caravan know that the danger is over. At least it seems to be", as he scans the area trying to verify that it is indeed safe.
Yalyaane speaks to Dugal when she gets a moment with the dwarf. She keeps her voice low, but clear.
"One of the travelers was killed. Does anybody know the man? I don't know your burial practices. The beast that killed him was a large wolf, larger than we have seen."
She looks at Dugal with large, trusting eyes. "If you can tell us of what you know of the dangers of the road, we will be better able to defend you."
Erico sets to skin the pelt from the creature and does so with ease. There is still more to be done with the skin before it is fully useable, but this is the start. You are able to collect some meat from the creature. This whole process does take a fair amount of time, but the wolf pelt will be worth it.
Dugal turns towards Yalyaane: "The man was not a paying member of the caravan, a tagalong who met an unfortunate end. If you feel the need to burn or bury the remains you can, but watch the fire and the underbrush. The elves already hold a grudge against those who travel these roads."
Dugal smiles at Yalyaane; "I don't want anything to happen to my caravan or those traveling with it. From what I have seen in the past are wolves, bandits, and goblins. Nothing like that creature that you all took care of, I am thankful that you handled it so quickly." Dugal lowers his voice and takes a step towards you; "If you don't mind, please keep the death a little under wraps. I don't need more panic than there already has been."
Adir sticks the beast with his blade once the voting commences, making the clean kill quick once it's clear the group agrees it's too dangerous. Adir makes a huge pyre as though he's done this before and lays the dead traveler on the pyre, barely saying a word A tragic end, but the beginning of then ext great adventure
Mezdav will hep Adir with building the pyre. He will also give the body a once over before it's burned.
+5 skill, + 2 scavenger racial to find hidden objects
Is there anything interesting in the dead man's equipment? Clue to his next of kin? Stuff of value?
He hums a folksong a he works.
Yalyaane bows to Dugan. "We'll keep it quiet. Thank you for the information."
She checks on the other travelers, doing a sweep of the caravan.
But gets distracted and winds up sniffing at perfumes for far too long.
She joins Mezdav and sings a harmony on top of his humming, wordlessly accompanying him. It's a high lonesome sound, but of the far off foreign hills, not of the familiar graves and stones of the Wold.
As the wolf dies, Pash shrugs. "Well. That is that, then." Lowering his crossbow, he heads back to the caravan and takes up his position where he was prior to the attack.
"I suppose we should probably be moving on soon. No sense in sitting here waiting for more trouble to find us. Or us to find it. Or its cousins and relations."
Ercio joins the caravan after working and as they move, he looks for any herbs that might season the wolf meat to be cooked when they stop.
Later that evening, when Ercio starts setting up his cooking. "Yah know, the rabbits I've been bagging seem pretty normal, if not used to people. That "wolf" though, something made it grow to abnormal size, and start attacking large groups of people. Not sure I'd be risking second hand exposure... Want some rabbit? Hunting was pretty good today."
Ercio understands Mezdav's reasoning and says "Well, if there is something in the flesh, shouldn't we find it out? I've heard that alchemists know about poisons. Can you tell anything from this flesh?"
"I'll take a look, but I still ain't eating any of that...I'm a trainee alchemist not a mage, so no guarantees..."; Mezdav examines the wolf meat (and pelt that I believe Ercio took) for alchemical residues and other wierdness.
+6 skill
+6 skill
Yalyaane wrinkles her nose. "Wolf is no good to eat," she says.
Yalyaane finds a few plants to season food, though, and fills up waterskins as she walks through the camp, casting her orison multiple times.
She decides to look for Bren.
Canine and predator meat in general is lean and tough. Not the best eats but better than nothing, closest i ever got was bear He walks with Yalyanne, for a brief stint, paranoid and keeping an eye on everyone as best he can
As they walk, Pash listens to his fellow guards discussion on the virtues of eating wolf meat with one ear, using the other ear and his eyes to pay attention to their surroundings. As the previous day, while walking the halfling seems uninterested in making small talk with anyone, giving at most one word answers to questions.
Feeling he is called upon to give his input, however, Pash just shrugs and gives a noncommittal "Eedenaugh," before continuing onward.
"Bear fat, that is good for many things," says Yalyaane in semi-agreement. "Adir, what do you think we'll run into next? I have a feeling this caravan will prove dangerous indeed."
Bandits, thieves, more wild animals. Nothing terribly dangerous as long as the group sticks together we'll be fine. Most animals are afraid of fire, so we should be using a buddy and stick near the group system Adir answers with a degree of confidence
As the party prepares the body for the pyre you go through the man’s pockets. Within them you find a folding pocket knife, a small pouch with 2 silver and 5 copper, a handkerchief, and an iron key. When he was pulled away by the beast his pack fell off and he dropped his walking staff, those are back by the caravan.
Standard Backpack
4x trail rations
Change of clothing
Wooden pipe
Pouch with tobacco
Small wooden box with 10 tendertwigs
As Mazdav and Ercio begin looking over the beast, there is nothing that would make them believe that the meat from the creature would make them ill. Seems like it would be perfectly safe to eat, though maybe a bit gamey.
Ercio takes some of the meat to Findal and the gnome raises an eyebrow; “A wolf you say? How big was it? Black fur? Humm..." Findal scratches his beard; "Well I could be wrong without seeing the creature, but a wolf is not what I believe attacked the caravan. I believe that it was a Worg... it is unfortunate that we could not capture the creature. It is said they they have the intelligence to allow them to speak. That being said, the meat is perfectly fine to eat. Though it might need to be a stew or something to help soften the meat up." He smiles at Ercio; "I am here to help as needed."
Dugal is easily seen making his way up and down the caravan line checking on everyone that he comes across. He spends a few moments calming the nerves of everyone and assuring that the hired guards have everything under control. Once he makes his rounds he lets out a loud shout; "We're going to be on now. Lets set some ground between us and this place before we rest for the night."
The rest of this day is rather uneventful until the party begins to make camp. The mood is somber, word travels fast and everyone knows of the attack on the caravan and the death of the man. Tales span from a wolf pup attack all the way to Hellhounds attacking, and everything in-between.
Mezdav is getting his belongings set up for the evening when he smells something, an overwhelming perfume aroma. Turning, Mezdav meets the eyes of the tall slender elven woman, the perfumist. "I heard the song you were humming. Was it some kind of tribal burial song? It was nice."
As Yalyaane seeks out Bren she hears a familiar sound before she is able to see the boy. It is the sound of someone trying to figure out how to use an animal call. Rounding Dugal's wagon she see the boy sitting on the ground trying to figure the thing out.
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Ercio hears Findal's explanation nodding and without wanting to sound not knowledgeable says "Well, of course I knew that. I was only exhilarated from the fight, my mind was hazy." Then, thinking, he says "It is indeed a pity that it died. The wounds were too deep. Do you know how likely we are to find more of them?"
As the camp is settled and the rumors start, Ercio tries his best at calming the moods, even though he has absolutely no people skills. He tries saying "Well, it was just a worg, and Bumi here took care of it. So worry not, Bumi's taking care of us all!"
Speaking to Ercio, "I didn't find any alchemical residues in the skin or the meat. I'm still sticking with rabbit though."
Later on, after Ercio consults Findal and speaks to the camp;
He tries saying "Well, it was just a worg, and Bumi here took care of it. So worry not, Bumi's taking care of us all!"
Mezdav sidles up to Ercio and asks "So what's a 'worg'?"
Mezdav will pile the "loot" from the dead man on his donkey, and will ask around a bit to see if anyone knew about the dead man, in particular any next of kin...
Untrained, -2 Cha
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He tries to be polite as he replies to the perfumist, but is shy about meeting her eyes, "It's a song the old gravedigger used to sing the 1/2 Orc ghetto; I don't think it's tribal. The lyrics ain't religious. I hum it, because you don't want to hear me sing, but the words go like this 'He don't mind the cadavers, he don't mind human remains, He got no problem sleepin' at night, ain't nothin' a little whiskey won't tame', and goes on in that vein..."
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Ercio replies to Mezdav as matter-of-factly as he can "A worg is a more than average intelligent creature. It looks like a wolf and some can be so intelligent that they can talk... Although I'm not sure which language. That could explain its attack. It analyzed the caravan better than a wolf would and attacked when we were particularly careless." He attempts to give the impression that he didn't learn everything he knew just now from Findal.
"Hello! I'm Yalyaane. What are you planning to call with that?" she says to the boy.
Yalyaane tries to figure out what kind of animal calling horn it is.
This is the same boy that you were talking to before, Bren. The call you would instantly recognize as one of yours that had somehow gone missing and replaced with a skipping stone.
"Oh, it's you, Bren. Say...you know that's mine, yes? You should ask permission before borrowing things," she says.
Once again, upon setting up camp for the night Pash becomes a chatterbox, letting everyone who will listen know about the excitement of shooting the worg earlier, how they should all count their blessings for not being eaten by the worg, and how the woods really should have signs along the way indicating the presence of worgs. Once again he sets up his tent a bit away from the caravan itself but close enough to keep an eye on it, breaking into yet another ration and eating the nuts, meats, dried berries, and various side dippings (like honey) that he has.
Pash looks up at the druid human with some curiosity. "Depends on what is needed, I suppose. And comes as a side effect of being overly cautious after a life of accusations and intrigue, so to speak. Besides, not like I am used to the big folk taking much interest in me. Which is fine, I may not be a halfling of much brains, but I am a halfling of enough brains to know when not to draw undo attention."
He gives the man a once over, then gestures to for him to sit down if he wants.
"Then, I imagine you have to be somewhat alone to volunteer to defend an expedition like this. Not like we will be having any comfy inns or family friends to spend time with for a spell. Or am I wrong? I do enjoy a good visit with friends, after all." He smiles and nods as if that should somehow need explaining.
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Ercio sits down at Pash's invitation. Bumi sits next to him, resting. The large amount of walking seem to have taken a toll on the cheetah, which is usually a stalking predator.
Ercio replies "I don't really find the idea of an inn very comfortable. Very easy to get cornered. Others in my circle like it though." He seems to be avoiding Pash's nudge about being alone. Ercio didn't know if he was alone or lonely. Bumi kept him company and for now, he doesn't seem to miss anyone else. At least Bumi doesn't pick on his so-called arrogance, like the other druids do.
Still curious, Ercio says "I like meeting people who are different from their stereotypical race. Where are your friends and family?"
As Erico tries to explain his brief memory lap about the worg, Findal gives a slight smile and knowing nod. “The worgs are unique beast. The best way to know if they are solitary or in a pack is based upon how they hunt. It seems like this one might be a pack of one. But to attack a caravan as it did is intriguing.” Findal thinks for a moment.
“Never the less, if you need anything else I am here.” if nothing else is said Findal returns to the business he was on before you arrived.
You are unable to find any next of kin. It appears as if the man was just using the caravan as a safe passage between towns.
The elven woman thinks over the words; “They are… grim words but placed over such a beautiful tune. It reminds me of the Aconitum flower. It is a beautiful purple flower that is highly toxic. If ingested it will cause convulsions, your heart to change in pace, and eventually death. It is a terrible fate, the suffering last between 2-6 hours…” she suddenly stops and gives Mezdav a playful smile. “You must forgive me. I get lost in my flowers… my name is Amara Glynneiros.” she holds out her hand “And you are?”
Bren looks up seeing Yalyaane; “This old thing? It’s broken. Take it.” Bren holds his it up as a pouty child would. He begins to silently play with a stick in the dirt.
Dugal comes around and gathers the five of you together at his wagon. Once all are gathered he places his hands on his hips and looks all of you over. “The lad and I were able to watch how quickly you dispatched the creature. You are clearly capable. It was smart that not all of you went in, thank you Mezdav for watching the caravan.” pausing for a moment; “But… we lost someone. He was not one of the paying wagons, but it still causes unrest. That will not happen again, or we will have larger issues at hand.” the will not happen again is said as matter of fact.
“We are only two days into this journey, it typically takes 20 days to travel between Mara and Grayhaven.” Patting an inner pocket of his vest you hear the clinking of coins. “If we are able to arrive without losing anymore members of the caravan, paid or otherwise, I will double your payment upon arrival to Grayhaven. I don’t know what you need to do about that, just make it so.”
“I know you might have opinions, state them now and then we will move on from there.”
Speaking to Amara, "I am pleased to meet you Amara, I am Mezdav O'Mara". He's a beat behind his speech in taking her hand; beautiful women make him nervous. "That's a pretty perfume you have on. Do you make it yourself?"
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Talking to Dugal and the group later on. " I don't think we have enough people to ensure that. There are 9 wagons and five of us. Unless a person at the front spots the critter before it makes a rush, it can find an open spot on the perimeter... If it's as fast and strong as the Worg that hit us today, the critter will get to someone. To secure a caravan of this side against that kind of thing, you'd need, ", he starts counting on his fingers, "Pairs on either side, every 3 wagons - that's 6 pairs - a pair in front an a pair in the back is 8 pairs, 16 guards ... and that's not having a reaction force."
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Ercio lets Findal get back to his thoughts. Maybe he will come up with a good idea about the worg eventually. The young man, himself, starts thinking about the situation. Eventually his thoughts wander away into the woods.
Ercio looks at all of them and says "I believe I should scout ahead of the caravan, about a hundred paces. I have good eyesight and ears and have a few resources in case of trouble. Bumi is there to help me also. If there is anything that might be dangerous, I can go back and warn the caravan. We shouldn't be caught by surprise unless an ambush appears at the exact moment after I've passed and before the caravan does." He chastises himself for not having think like such earlier.
"It's not broken. Here, I'll show you," says Yalyaane.
She gently blows on the animal call, then hands it to Bren, after cleaning the mouthpiece. "You just have to puff your cheeks, like a squirrel gathering nuts," she says with a smile.
No promises Dugal, but if you want to stop losing members there's an easy fix. Rules. No one leaves camp alone, we get things done before night, have supplies of water and everything in camp view. watch set ups, everything. Adir reappears after having been quiet and gone a bit
Ercio looks at all of them and says "I believe I should scout ahead of the caravan, about a hundred paces. I have good eyesight and ears and have a few resources in case of trouble. Bumi is there to help me also. If there is anything that might be dangerous, I can go back and warn the caravan. We shouldn't be caught by surprise unless an ambush appears at the exact moment after I've passed and before the caravan does." He chastises himself for not having think like such earlier.
"I won't stop you if you're volunteering, but if a wolf like what got that man today rushed me by surprise, I'm pretty sure I'd be really unhappy... and maybe dead. I didn't see the fight, but it took you 3 and Bumi to put it down. That's why I was saying pairs of guards. I suppose you and Bumi make a pair, but if you're 100 paces in front , help's pretty far away...
Ercio replies to Mezdav saying "Well, the big distance is supposed to avoid any ambushers from being too careful. Besides, I can slow any attackers down."
"It's a plan, and you came up with it... Your call"