??
”This was a storage room!“
”Here is a small metal chest!“ he says opening it.
”Hey, I found a set of tracks about a week old. These are some of the freshest tracks we've found today!“
Sette comes sniffing around, as she does. "Big house, big, leader of the expedition perhaps lived here, yes yes. Look there, a shiny on the windowsill! Gold wedding ring, inscribed. Who would leave it behind? Why did goblins not take, if they ransacked this place, hmm? Curious, very curious."
At the front door, she crouches to examine the tracks that Salaamati found. "They go that way. Strange tracks, like something large and heavy was pushed."
The chest appears to be locked
"What's in the chest, indeed... Stubborn chest, stubborn lock." Sette mutters for a while as she works on unlocking the metal container.
"My guess would be that something claimed whatever had been in the storeroom. Barrels there until about a week past would lead to the less dust by comparison, and the trail gives us s good idea where they went. Those footprints are really, really weird, though. Star-shaped feet? Is that an aquatic thing?"
After a little bit of trial and error Sette manages to open the box (which was not trapped).
The small chest contains five bags, each of which holds 5 pounds of powdered silver (worth 25 gp each), four blocks of incense (worth 25 gp each), and a pouch with 100 gp worth of diamond dust.
Would you like to follow the tracks or move to the next building?
"The barrel roll should make these tracks easy to follow for a while, yet. Keep looking through the buildings first?"
"Yes, we should clear the village first.". Coldir nods his agreement.
Sal tries to identify the tracks.
Coldir attempts to said Sal with identifying the tracks, but is too focused on scratching his bug bites..
Luimener joins the efforts to identify the duck-footed creature.
Nothing comes to mind for the tracks for anyone.
On your way to the next building you pass the gates in the colony's palisade.
This large gate set in the fence can be barred from within.
However the gate is open and the large wooden bar leans against the fence.
Beyond the gate you can see an unpaved road where homes have been built or are in various stages of construction.
The name “Arkley” is carved into a wooden sign nailed next to the doorframe of this log cabin. A single, closed door faces northwest, and the structure has two wooden-shuttered windows. The architecture is otherwise the same as many of the other buildings.
You recognise the name Arkley as the leader of the first group of colonists.
The only door is shut and latched, but not barred.
The inside of the house stands in contrast to most of the other buildings in the settlement in that it is relatively organized and tidy.
It contains plain wooden furniture, with simple amenities such as wall racks for weapons and armor, a modest dining table and chairs, and a sitting chair with a makeshift cushion and footstool.
A separate bedroom features a wooden bed frame and pallet mattress, a boot rack, and a large unlocked chest of folded clothes and other personal items. The entire house looks completely normal
You find just enough dust to ascertain that the house has not been entered for 3–4 weeks.
"The leader, maybe we find something valuable here that can help us."
He starts searching the house.
"This house not ransacked? Curious. Sette wonders why, it is leader's house."
"Curious indeed. The layer of dust in this room suggests that it has also been empty for a month or so. I also wonder why the goblins have not made a mess of this house."
"We see the leader's name and see an important location. They took a quick look around, and didn't find anything as important as food or heat. Once you learn to think like an animal, it becomes easier to understand motives of simpler creatures."
Sette's face scrunches up. "Not animals. They talk. They light fire. They don't look like you, so they're animals? Is Sette animal?"
The ratfolk is clearly very upset by Luimener's characterization of the goblins.
The elf sighs. "Right, because that's what I meant is it? Imagine fewer slights and you'll live a happier life."
"It's easy to imagine hurts when a lot of people try to hurt you. Sorta... the pain you feel is real and it keeps launchin' up even if the other person didn't actually take a swing." Sal frowns, struggling articulate where she's going with this thought. "Sette's hurt, that's real. And Luimener's hurt now because Sette lashed back, so he had to say somethin' to defend himself. That's real too. But as real as you're hurt, I reckon neither of ya meant to hurt t'other. Can ya nod to that and move on? We got a whole missing town to find."
She joins the search of the house for anything interesting. "Salamaati, you found anything over there?"
Sette returns Triix's hug and nods to Sal's words. "It's alright, he didn't mean it." Her tone is a little hesitant in the beginning, but she then nods to herself firmly. "Move on, yes. Look around, look for tracks, find the clues. Where did they all go? Why did they go?"
"No, I've seen nothing about what happened to the colonists, just what's happened to their things since. We might have to follow the things, and hope that the creatures which took them are willing to talk about what they know about the colonists."
As Sette looks around the room she happens to glace upwards and spots
the corner of a sheet of folded parchment resting on top of a crossbeam, 9 feet above the floor.
The parchment is actually four sheets that have been folded together and tightly creased.
When unfolded, it proves to be the Talmandor’s Bounty colony charter. This legal document declares the island and the colony to be under the protection of the nation of Andoran, outlines the colony’s relationship to the Bountiful Venture Company, and enumerates the rights and responsibilities of all colonists.
It bears the sealed signature of three members of the People’s Council, representatives of the Bountiful Venture Company, and every colonist that came aboard the Liberty’s Herald.
You remember being told all this as part of the debriefing and disclosures given to all colonists, and in fact signed a similar document yourselves before joining up.
The document is important for historical and legal reasons but is not intrinsically valuable in itself; a duplicate charter remains in Almas.
This document should have been stored in the
Government House where it would be safe and Rayland Arkley would have had access to it anytime he wanted so its presence in his house is odd.
Meanwhile Luimener finds a silver pocket watch in the cushions of one of the chairs.
Such timepieces are rare in the Inner Sea region, and this one also functions as a compass.
Its design is reminiscent of the Azlanti and it is amazingly still in working order.
Your best guess is that it is worth between 650 and 850 GP to a collector
Triix also spots something. She finds what is clearly an arcane spellbook tucked under the mattress in the bedroom.
Inside the front cover is an arcane mark that reads, “Hendrake.”
Arkley was a former military man, not a spellcaster
Sette points up. "Something there, on the beam, for tall people to get."
However, she quickly forgets about the papers when she spies the pocket watch. "Oh, that is very shiny, yes yes, worth much to someone who appreciates such things."
The spellbook is much less interesting, the ratfolk not having any use for it.
“Is anything magical?“ the cold blooded Undine asks.
"Tall?" The elf pulls his sword, brings himself up on his tip-toes, and stretches the blade upwards, trying to knock the parchment down off of the beam.
Luimener is just short of the beam but he sees a chair nearby that can give him the extra reach.
"May I?'. Coldir asks Luimener after he retrievers the paper. "Let's make sure this 'Hendrick' was a colonist.". Coldir will search for the name on the list of colonists.
"Of course." He looks around the space again, frowning. "Doesn't feel right. Does it?"
A quick cross check does indeed show a colonist named Una Hendrake
"Maybe they were shackin' up," Sal suggests. "The weird thing is why that fancy paper was hid in the rafters. I'm starting to wonder more if whatever happened here was just people being a normal kind of stupid with each other rather than outsiders takin'em all. Or at least they had internal squabbles that made'em drop their guard."
She shakes her head when the group wonders who can make use of a spellbook. "Takes me long enough to get through a letter let alone a spell book."
"Maybe we look for this Hendrake's house next? What does a wizard's house usually look like?" She steps outside and scans the area.
"From what I've seen, a wizard's house looks like a house. Often bigger and fancier than others nearby, but, just a house."
"Mystery after mystery," mutters Sette, stepping outside with Sal and looking around at the remaining buildings. "Well! Onto the next one, then?"
You notice one other thing. There a small check marks against the names of the colonists but not the colony’s officials. It looks like someone ticking off a list.
The spellbook doesn't have any non-spell entries though there is a a spell component pouch tied to a brass ring bound into the spine of the book.
You feel you have thoroughly explored the Governor’s House
Next door is one of the biggest buildings.
This wooden-framed, mud brick structure is currently the colony’s only two-story building, as well as one of the largest structures. It has the appearance of a rural courthouse or city hall rather than that of a residence.
The front features a small porch supported by rough log pillars, with double wooden doors facing west. Numerous window frames with shutters, some of them open, wrap around the building on both floors.
The roof is not thatched, but has wooden roof tiles instead.
The construction suggests this building was intended to be a source of community pride, but it still has a rough, unfinished appearance due to lack of paint and coarse materials. A few small shrubs have been planted around it.
Salaamati enters the building and looks around.
Sette follows, sniffing around and being quiet. She had a theory about why they didn't keep the important papers in the town hall, but didn't want to share it.
Sal looks for odd things, and for signs of recent passage by creatures.
Through the main doors is a foyer opening to a large chamber that occupies most of the main floor.
This room is open to the second floor, and two flights of stairs lead to a gallery that overlooks this space, supported by columns on the main level.
At the rear of the chamber against the east wall is a raised desk, like a podium. Tables and chairs are arrayed in front of it like a courtroom.
The gallery above has simple wooden chairs so that citizens can observe whatever business is conducted here.
Doors at the north and south ends of the main floor lead to what appears to be separate offices.
As you enter Sal, Luimener, Salaamait, and Sette spot a tiny clockwork creature move up to the railing on the second story.
Salaamati immediately runs towards the creature.
Being less thoughtful than the others, I guess, Luimener points at the object. "Hey, that's not natural! What is that thing?"
As soon as Luimener points the creature begins to move towards a window.
Everyone can now see it and can take a turn of actions.
Salaamati - Running (1 round away from creature)
Triix
Enemies
Sette
Luimener
Coldir
Sal