"I wonder who the gnome was. This body seems to have been dead for a while. Let me see if I can track the boars back to their den. Maybe we can find more clues there."
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well, this looks like a dead end then. Doesn't look like this was any more than just some wild animals claiming some territory. looks around a little more for good measure
on to the mill and seeing what's going on there then, huh. Shall we?
Un-slinging his lute and strumming a chord, Kvothe breaks into a lively tune for traveling
Train rolls in at ten am
Kill the lamb for the lions, find some water for the elephants
Monkey on his shoulder, is a monkey on his back
Could I bum a cigarette, I done smoked my last pack
Throw up the big tent, throw down some sawdust
We don't open till the 'morin, step right up
"Sounds good to me! Let's keep an eye out when we get to the mill for some grain sacks that we can use to bag up the wasps if BumBum's idea works. Who wants to hold on to the smokesticks? I made sure to buy two of them."
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The mill isn't hard to spot--a large wheel is turning lazily under the current of the river here. You don't see any evidence of current habitation here.
The western half of the building is built on a rise, and is higher than the eastern half, where the mill itself is located. The stream drops over the rise here in a noisy rush.
To the east is a tidy, fenced garden.
Didymus and Ambrosius scan the building looking for open windows, cracks, gaps in he boards, basically anywhere that wasps could get in and out.
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Before we approach BumBum will drink the lesser antidote he purchased just for this."We found's us another antidote by boars, maybe somebody should drinks it."
As we approach"Maybe we should tries to be quiet, sneaky like." BumBum will be Avoiding Notice. Then he will looking for a trellis or easy way to reach the roof. Is the stream fast moving?
Didy whispers back, "Sneaky sounds good. Our best bet is to catch them still in the hive. You get the door, me and Ambro will follow. Al, Kvothe, you guys should hang back a bit since you're not as sneaky."
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Ok, give me one of them smokesticks.
BumBum will sneak up to the door and inspect it, not just for Hazards but for locks and latches and to see if it will be noisy when opened. Then he will listen at the door. If the door looks ok to open and he does not hear anything, then he will attempt to open it.
Didy gladly hands over a smoke stick to BumBum.
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This spacious chamber is two stories high and has a well-fitted stone floor. In the center of the space, a millstone grinds away at nothing but air, rotated by a wooden shaft projecting through the north wall. A second level of the house overlooks this room from the west, and a table and four chairs are visible near the top of a sturdy ladder. A double door leads east. A massive wasps’ nest hangs from the ceiling in the center of the room.
Wasps cover nearly every surface of this room. As the door opens, they rise in a buzzing cloud.
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BumBum will Delay for everyone, then pull out the lesser frost vial he purchased earlier, throw it Hero Point plus 1 splash damage and a -5 penalty to speed until the end of it's next turn. Then assuming no one has gone inside he will close the door.
"Maybe we's can slip the lit smokesticks under the door while it's up against it?"
If someone does stay inside he will be striding somewhere
Didy will observe the swarm for a second and relay his insights to the party.
"Holy crap, this big of a swarm is bad news indeed! It can poison and kill us in a matter of seconds!"
"I think we need to light the stick under the nest and let it fill up with smoke. If it works, they should get all sleepy, and we can scrape the nest off any put it in your sack."
The ranger and his companion join in the search of the building.
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The ladder appears to lead to a more residential section of the house. You can just make out a table and some chairs above.
Bum Bum and Didy don't find much of interest in this room. Didy isn't able to spot any tracks.
Kvothe keeps a careful watch outside, but no one appears to be approaching the Mill, although small numbers of townsfolk do appear to be going about their normal business.
The Hawftons apparently keep things clean and tidy, but Al does eventually spot a groundhog burrow outside the house, to the south.
A groundhog rises to the surface at the sound of Al's voice, blinking uncertainly.
"FEY FOLK? OH, DEARY DEARY DEAR. OH, DEARY DEARY DEAR. THAT'S JUST WHAT I NEED TODAY, IT IS. ALRIGHT, WHAT IS IT?"
"Well hello there, little one. Here, have a nibble of bread," she says as she hands over some of her trail rations. "My friends and I are looking for the Hawftons, the nice human family that used to live here. Do you know what happened to them? Done already? Oh, do have some more," she says handing over another morsel. "We heard that those angry wasps drove them away. We took care of the wasps, so they won't bother you any more either." she says with a light pat on the groundhog's head, "But now we are trying to find out where they've run off to. Can you tell us the tale?"
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The groundhog tears into the bread eagerly, scattering crumbs.
"HRM. I AM SEE YOU ARE CREATURE OF POLITE AND ERUDITITUDE. VERIWISE, I SHALL CONVERSONATE WITH YOU, TWICELY. THE HAWFTONS NOT RUN FROM STINGYBATS, THE WINGED EGGMEN TAKE THEM AWAY, WITH MUCH SADNESS. THE LITTLEST HAWF-TON GIVING ME EGG AND CRESSY BREAD SMOOSHIES ON MANY A OCASS-TIME."
The rodent's shiny black eyes do look a little sad.
"STINGYBATS GO IN WITH THE LITTLE TREETALKER. SHE LAUGH TO SEE THEM BUILD NESTHOME THERE. I THINK THEY EAT THE OTHER EGGMAN. HE NOT SMELL LIKE EGG THOUGH?"
Having finished the bread, it looks longingly at your pack.
Al grins joyfully and reaches into her pack for one of Pontypool's delicious hard-boiled eggs, then proudly presents it to her adorable new furry friend.
As he takes it, she turns and updates the party, "He seems to be referring to the wasps as 'stingybats,' which is just precious! But he says that they weren't what drove off the Hawftons. He says 'winged eggmen' took them away. The mephits perhaps? They did carry a map with this mill marked on it. Eggmen may just be his word for humanoids, I am not sure. The family here seems to have generously shared eggs with this little guy in the past and I think he associates the smell with them. I suspect besides the mill, we may find the Hawfton's may own a chicken coop, or simply were rather fond of eating eggs." she says with a shrug.
"He says that the wasps were brought here by 'the little treetalker' which sounds a lot like that druid we met, or at least another like her. What's more worrisome is that he says that he thinks that they (the wasps?) ATE 'the other eggman' who doesn't smell like eggs. If any of you have any insights, please let me know. I'll keep him talking as long as I can and try to see if I can get a clearer picture."
As her new friend finishes devouring his latest treat she resumes her conversation, "What a wonderful and sad tale! Thank you for sharing it with me, little one! Do you mind if I ask some questions? If you help me find the Hawftons I am sure that the littlest one will gladly share his breakfast with you again! Now, the eggman that didn't smell like eggs, was that one of the Hawftons? Or someone new? Maybe a companion of the treetalker or the winged eggmen? Can you tell me more about the winged eggmen? Were they about my size with blue skin? Or were they bigger like my musical friend here? Do you remember which way they took the Hawftons? Do you remember how many sunrises ago that was?"
Didy first does a quick search of the ground floor, looking for clues as to what may have happened to the Hawfton family.
Afterward he will climb up the ladder and explore with BumBum. He makes note of the scorch marks, and he and Ambrosius rummage through the cabinets, looking for more clues (probably food in the raptor's case).
Hearing Al's update from outside, he makes a point to sniff around and see if he recognizes the scent of the halfling druid or the mephits they encountered before.
Finally he opens the door to the small room to the north.
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"NO, ONE-TWO-THREE-FOUR-FIVE LITTLE WINGMEN GO IN. FOUR STINK LIKE EGGBAD, BUT ONE SMELL LIKE LOUD-STORM-SHOW. HE NOT COME OUT, BUT EGGMEN LAUGH AND LAUGH."
You can see the tiny gears turning in his tiny mind.
"...HE LOOK LIKE OTHERS, BUT BLUE SKIN NOT REDYELLOW. EGGMEN ALL LITTLER THAN YOU, BIGGERER THAN ME. DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY GO, I HIDE IN BURROW."
The creature slaps the ground a couple times. "TWO-THREE DAYS."
Didy doesn't see much. The area has some food and cooking supplies in it. The scorch marks were left by some sort of fire, but exactly what left them is difficult to say.
The room to the north is a bedroom. A bed, simple but well-made, sits here, big enough only for a single person. A cabinet here likely holds clothes and personal effects.
Al leans over and kisses the groundhog on the top of his head as she hands him another hard-boiled egg. "Thank you, little one, you were a tremendous help. I will do my best to return the Hawftons to you."
With that she rushes into the mill and calls out in a harsh whisper, "DIDY! BUMBUM! WAIT, I BELIEVE THERE IS ANOTHER OF THOSE MEPHIT THINGS LIKE WE FOUGHT BY THE RIVER, TRAPPED IN HERE SOMEWHERE. BE WARY."
Didy steps over to the ladder and gives Al a thumbs up and a nod. Then he gives BumBum a knowing look as he and Ambro creep back to the bedroom and begin carefully checking the room for a hiding mephit, looking under the bed, hiding up in the rafters, and finally inside of the cabinet.
Didy gives BumBum the all clear and moves over next to him. He gives a few quick sniffs at the southern door, trying not to make much noise, but checking if he recognizes the scent of the mephits.
He nods gravely to BumBum, then quiet steps to the ledge and motions for Al and Kvothe to join them. He readies his bow and waits for his goblin friend to open the door.