Looking at Tark he says Probably makes it a bit harder for you track too doesnt it boy-o?
Tark snarls.
Mad Marvin mutters while also surveying the ground to get any indication of numbers and such.
He cast Guidance.
Afterwards, the still muttering dwarf gets ready to make way.
The party manages to get the boat ready for moving downriver and after untying it, they paddle away from shore and begin moving downriver.
They spend the majority of the day moving down river before they spot a boat about the same size pulled up on a bank. The sun sits low on the horizon. All in all a peaceful bit of travelling.
Helgash strains to take a better look from afar - "That is probably the boat used by the children" - and steers their own vessel toward the direction of the boat on shore.
Eva spends most of her time on the river in silence, clearly not exactly used to traveling in a group. As soon as they spot the other boat, though, she's as active as ever, offering Helgash a pinch of the powder from her pouch when they get to the bank.
The group pulls their boat alongside the other identical boat and slowly pull it up on the bank, getting out and looking around. Helgash looks around and can see child size foot prints in the muddy bank clearly showing they pulled up here...the tracks look to have gone up a rise and over a small hillock. Tark is running around smelling the area, even as Eva kneels and offers the herbs to the Wolf.
earlier-
Alex nods. The town can count on us, sir.
now-
Alex watches his companions work. Raising an eyebrow slightly. For now, he leaves them to it. Instead, he walks around the area, looking for any other signs of happenings.
Mad Marvin (carrying Torag) quickly jump out of the boat to the surf, racing to drier land. They both then turn to the group and smile.
Helgash and Tark both look curiously as Eva scatters some strange powder over the ground. Tark sniffs it then sneezes, and turns to growl at the elf.
"I had never seen such thing" - Helgash comments as the tracks become more vivid - he had a hand on his companion to calm him - "What is it made of?" - he asks Eva.
Its quite easy to follow the tracks up and over the rise, where a make shift camp was abandoned. a circle of rocks with a burnt out fire, and some wax paper wrappings laying about. indentations in the ground where 5 people slept that were about the sizes of the kids.
Eva's eyes light up at the question. "Grape skins and seeds, mostly. Part of the effect is just physical — the powder is fine enough that it can closely adhere to indentations to increase their visibility without smoothing them over. But the oligomeric proanthocyanidins in the grapes also form a slight alchemical bond with living souls through their shared anima mundi, allowing them to selectively drift onto tracks left by creatures as opposed to natural disturbances in the ground."
Eva stops talking and looks up from the tracks to find that most of the group has continued on. She hurries after them up the rise, frowning when she sees the remains of the camp.
Eva tries to help search for signs of the children continuing on, but gets distracted once again by thoughts of the mechanism behind the powder. Hmm, "living souls" probably wasn't the best way to put that, "animating essences" would be more accurate. In theory it should work for undead or constructs, not that I've tried it on anything more exotic than deer.
It looks like we’re on the trail. If they left yesterday, we should hopefully be able to catch up with them. Can you follow the trail, Helgash? Cathoris’s voice sounds with tones of concern, relief, and annoyance.
Eva's eyes light up at the question. "Grape skins and seeds, mostly. Part of the effect is just physical — the powder is fine enough that it can closely adhere to indentations to increase their visibility without smoothing them over. But the oligomeric proanthocyanidins in the grapes also form a slight alchemical bond with living souls through their shared anima mundi, allowing them to selectively drift onto tracks left by creatures as opposed to natural disturbances in the ground."
"Grape skins and seeds..." - Helgash pondered - "I would not imagine..." - he continued, but then stopped short as the conversation started getting completely outside of his knowledge - "Understood" - the half orc added flatly.
It looks like we’re on the trail. If they left yesterday, we should hopefully be able to catch up with them. Can you follow the trail, Helgash? Cathoris’s voice sounds with tones of concern, relief, and annoyance.
"Yes" - Helgash replied - "They did not take the care to hide their tracks"
Mad Marvin (carrying the fox) walks up to the foot prints in the sand.
Be look'n likes da be walk'n dat way yonders.
The dwarf begins following them.
Well, let’s get going. Hopefully, we can get to them before too long.
Cathoris observes the area, trying to place where they are.
Cathoris looks around and realizes they are about 15 miles west of the village.
A quick check of the horizon and he also realizes itll be dark in about 20 minutes. Theres no road to follow and its rolling hills in this area. So very easy in the dark to get misoriented if they travelled at night.
"We can follow the tracks while we have at least some light" - Helgash points out to the others - "After dark there is no point"
"Then let's try to close some distance in the time we have." Eva continues on with the others at as brisk a pace as they can manage without losing the trail.
The group headed almost due north following the easily noticed tracks. WWhen the sun dipped low on the horizon theyd made it about a mile inland and setup camp. After a night of sleep, they arose and set breaking camp, ready to follow the tracks and find these would be adventurers...
As soon as the group is finished setting up camp Eva eats some rations, mixes herself a drink, and quickly retires to bed. She is up before dawn, working by candlelight with several vials of liquid and a strange funnel.
Mad Marvin sits down upon a flat stone. The dwarf takes out some jerky. He absently feeds himself and Torag, while watching Eva work.
Cathoris wakes with the rest of the party, glad for a good nights sleep, but wishing he were home instead. I still don’t know about my parents, and I’m off again. I hope we can get back soon, he thinks longingly.
He joins Helgash to help find the tracks, but finds that rather unnecessary.
Well, let’s get to it. Hopefully, we can catch up to them today.
Eva heads out with the others, following the tracks as quickly as possible.
Morning came and the band of adventurers broke camp heading due north still. About mid morning the came across the road heading to the fortified lumber camp number 1, on the edge of the forest dominated by the werewolf clans.
Reaffirming the tracks continued north they continued. It was a pleasant day travel overland in the rolling green hills of the region. If they weren't on a serious mission itwould be like a picnic. By late afternoon they crossed a hill and could make out the ruins of Elaras orphanage ahead in a small dell. The orphanage had burnt down under suspicious conditions a year ago. Why would the tracks lead straight to them....
Mad Marvin is seen skipping along teasing Torag with a random stick. The Mad dwarf is seen tossing the stick and shooing the fox toward it to retrieve it. Torag usually just stays by the mad dwarf's side looking up at him with wonderment in his little fox eyes. Mad Marvin is seen usually going to retrieve said thrown stick in attempt to show Torag how it is done. The Mad dwarf is seen crutching the same often thrown stick back to the line (Torag at his side) in his mouth in his attempts to teach the fox.
This goes on most of the morning trek; until Mad Marvin realizes the seriousness of this venture....
Both mad dwarf and foxy fox are then seen with only serious faces the remainder of the morning....
If they are within that ruin, it is likely we should hurry. A place for the unquiet dead if I have ever seen one.
Alex's face shows no sign of humor at the moment as he hurries off towards it.
Helgash and Tark followed after Alex.
The half-orc had passed by the old ruin more than once while foraging - he tried to remember what he may had heard about the place.
Eva moves quickly toward the ruins of the orphanage as well, ears peeled for any sound from inside.
But if there is a sound she doesn't hear it. Her mind is suddenly occupied by the memory of different ruins, a cabin that had also been home to children, now with blood pooling out from beneath the shattered wood. Eva shakes the image from her head and starts walking even faster.
Straug diligently plods along, keeping his eyes alert and ready for action the closer they get to the orphanage and listening intently for the sounds of children or anything else.
When the ruins come into view, Cathoris says, I wonder why they would come here of all places.
When Cathoris reaches the ruins, he casts detect magic and begins looking around the area.