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Paul frowns.
She looks puzzled about more stones, as if the subject has never been apporoached before.
grabs onto the hem of tunic at the last minute but his grip does not hold and she stumbles past him. t falls also, but quick hands grab the side of the pit, and he tries to maneuver himself to aid the barbarian woman, but his own position makes that difficult. falls quickly onto the deadly spikes below . The spikes prove to be brittle and although they slash her up, many of them break under her weight, and she is not run through, suffering only minor injuries. stands stunned behind the goblin, unsure of what just happened.
Below in the hideout, and push hard on the faux wall and it swings up? much easier than either of them had expected, causing them to stumble several feet forward. Beyond, with the aid of magical lights, they can both see what lays beyond:
However, it seems was right to suspect a trap, as the floor is about 10 feet further down than they expected here, and lined with spikes!
Doh! I forgot about the dancing lights too. Sorry. That means that Elarya can see the things the others have seen as well, at least until the lights go out.
, mostly deductively, finds that one of the stones in the bottom corner of the deadend wall is loose, and suspects there is a trap behind of some sort there. comes to the for as well, and discovers by knocking on the aforementioned wall that the stones are quite a bit thinner than they appear, and the perhaps the wall is, in fact, a door.
approaches the end of the 20 foot hallway and comes close to the end. Moving the dagger around and using as a divining rod, he determines that he gets the most effect from the northeastern wall corner about a foot from the ground. , just behind inspects the area as well, looking around in the area just below the trapdoor. She finds other bits of corpses, although they are quite small and barely noticeable, having decayed to dirt many many years ago. It seems that besides the goblins, noone has been through this way for a long time. looks carefully at the ground watching for further tracks, but the further she moves from the small amount light coming in from above, the more difficult it becomes. stands at the ready, holding his position just below the opening. Above in the open, Quin looks to with a shimmer in his eyes.
After touching down on the bottom of the pit, can clearly see that the corpses are the hacked up remains of two goblins, clearly dispatched by the blade trap. Form his position, he can see a 5 foot wide square opening that leads off further to the north, and carries on for another 20 feet before coming to what appears to be a dead end. Like the pit, the walls are bricks of stone, and the floor the same. As he approaches the end of the hallway, the dagger's vibrations pick up, and the light in the pommel once again begins to glow. has to duck slightly through the first opening, but find that the 20ft hallway accommodates much easier, as the ceiling here is about 7 ft.
slides the strudy branch into place and watches for the results. Although a slight impact could knock it free, the eye symbol stays closed. If a bit of care is made, anyone could be lowered down to the bottomw of the pit with relative ease. Havak feel confident he could now climb down to the bottom without fear of the blades. Anyone who wishes to climb down will have to take additional precautions to avoid the branch, but if the rope is used it should be much easier.
finds that as long as the button is pushed, the eye stays closed.
As soon as drops the item, he can hear a quick clicking, and then below him, about 2 or 3 feet from the bottom, long curved blades swing out from unseen slots in the wall and spin for several seconds, striking the small object and knocking it out of view.
rushes ahead of (unless he tries to stop him), and begins climbimg dowm the wall.
At the level of the crystal stone, the goblin inspects it closer, and find that it is actually a button. Upon pushing it, the eye symbol on the other stone animates and closes, staying so for just over 10 seconds, then opens again. holds his position.
About the bodies: It's hard to say. Definitely small humanoids, could be human children, or perhaps halflings, gnomes or goblins
Based on the smell alone, it would probably be safe to say they've been here several days. Looking back down for a bit longer for more detail, now guesses that instead of a pile of many bodies, it may actually be only one or two, but in many pieces. Other details noticed are that it is not a plain natural shaft, but it is lined with chiseled stone bricks much like a chimney. Also, the closer gets to the inside of the shaft, the more the crystal/gem in the dagger glows and the dagger itself vibrates.
Perception DC 15:
Perhaps 4 feet down, there is a palm sized circular stone set into the wall of the shaft with a crystal set in the middle Perception DC 20: Perhaps 4 feet down, there is a palm sized circular stone set into the wall of the shaft with a crystal set in the middle. Another foot below that and opposite the first stone, there is a stylized eye carved into a similar stone.
when flips open the trap door, his senses are assaulted by the stench of decay. As his eyes focus, switching over to darkvision and peering down the doorway, he can see that the drop is about 15 feet straight down. The shaft itself is about 5 foot from side to side. Laying at the bottom of the the shaft are what appears to be a small pile of bodies. Hard to make out the details, but they appear to be some kind of small humanoid. , and Quinn trace the tracks about 50 feet or so away from the site, into rockier terrain towards the north where it the trail goes dry. Upon further inspection, they do appear to be goblin tracks.
Quin sniffs the area, looking pensively at . After circling the area with a wide berth, the fox sends only one wave of emotion. Caution. did indeed recall that many years before Solace was built, the general area was used as an encampment, and the Cythric, whom the empire eventually beat back, were supposedly going to put a castle in the hills form which to sweep out against the rest of the world. Obviously it didn't get far if this is the only remnant. Or perhaps it was destroyed by something? There are marks on the stones that seem to imply they were discolored by something, but whether it's clay or pitch or ash, it's hard to say. would recall this as well, from stories Erec had collected about the area. There do also seem to be tracks in the area, those of a small group of small humanoids, between a few days and a week old. The gem set in the dagger does glow slightly when waves it over the trap door, and it vibrates very slightly, but he sees no apparent traps on the portal.
After a bit of work, is able to adjust the blackened armor enough for to use. takes one last look at the camp-sight and is sure that no scraps are still about to attract predators to their site. takes the lead, and they are off. The hike to Johnas' stash is not an overly difficult one, but the hike up the hills takes some time, as there a a few areas that need better navigation and the elevation gradually becomes steeper. The group climbs carefully up the rocky hillside, and after just less than an hour, comes to the sight clearly marked on the map. From this spot, they can see the skeleton of the town below, and even the old watchtower to the north, that, at least from this distance, appears to be still intact. The actual "hideout" as it were, is a group of rocks that almost appears to be the foundation of a rather crude tower itself. A half circle of stacked stones of various sizes with a diameter of about 15 feet. Further inspection reveals than under less than an inch of dirt, in the center of the half circle is a trap door in the ground, made of thin yet sturdy wood, with a simple hand sized ring set in the face like a knocker.
The morning is relatively nice, despite the sombre mood. The clouds, although present, have thinned quite a bit, and now resemble long whisps of spun cotton in the bright blue sky. The sound of gulls is just barely perceptible in the background. Amara: As you look at the simple map, noting the landmarks you find your vision suddenly and abruptly go blurry, and feel a bit lightheaded for less than a second. After blinking a few times, your vision returns to normal, and all is as it was
Sansa: yes, certainly you may fashion a fishing spear like that. Since you already did survival I'll say you come back with up to fish. Its also safe to say that you would have found an intact bucket and waterskins when searching the ruins.
Amara, there are bits of rope that could be scavanged from houses, and after a short bit of looking, you find enough to make a snare, and I would give you a bonus for knowing the area, but with that roll along with help from Sansa (and Quinn) I'm going t say after an hour or so you find plenty of edible berries and 3 good sized hares. Sansa, the town relied mostly on the river for fresh water, as it flowed over a mountain much further away, and the bed was rocky enough to give it a good "scrubbing". On days when the river was too dirty for whatever reason, it was filtered through clothes and coal into barrels. Everyone in town was taught how to do this. The river seems very clear right now, and there are even some fish that swim slowly near the surface. They look rather like koi. Anyone walking by would notice the fish.
Indeed night has fallen, the last bits of sunlight vanish over the horizon.
Havak: That possibility does have some merit. Your former tribe is the only group of goblins you know that is a relatively short distance from here, although It is possible they were from a nomadic group.
Amara doesn't detect any other creatures in the immediate vicinity. The weather appears to be calm, and clouds are gathering, but they are thin and don't indicate rain.
Sansa would also see the same tracks that Amara had found, and they do indeed go to the cliffs, but it's hard to say how much further without actually going down to the beach. As for the other tracks (the goblins) she would see those as well, to the north of town by the road. Quin takes several sniffs around the area, and emotes Odd (past). Calm (now)
With Quinn's help, does find a few additional useful items. additional intact arrows from various places in town; potions of cure moderate wounds from the ruins of Abram's. More specifics for the armor at the Snow residence: it is masterwork chain mail. There is also a shield, a spear, a masterwork morning star, and a heavy crossbow. Everett Snow's sword is not among the items. Also, fishing through the town hall, finds stuffed under the benches a scroll tube with a number of sheets of paper stuffed into it. She may, but definitely would recognize it as Erec's.
Inspecting the tracks more closely, she can tell that they are of varying sizes, although mostly adult from the weight of their impression. Some are partially shoed, and a few are bare. There doesn't seem to be any other signs of humanoid presense, although, towards the north of town just off the road, does see signs of what appear to be goblin tracks.
Havak looks specifically for the knife and stuff that Johnas had secreted (that Havak found and put back while Johnas was drunk). Once he gets his kit of course. The floor of Johna's place is mostly intact although warped from time and moisture and the elements. easily pries loose the boards to the secret compartment he had found and retrieves the items his roommate had stashed away.
frantic search does eventually come to a kind of fruition. In the rubble of her room, quite at the bottom of a pile is her uncle's sword. Still in it's scabbard, although caked with dirt and ash.Searching through the rest of the smithy, she will also find that a number of the tools are missing, as she had become intimately familiar with each and every one of them. On closer inspection, It also seems that although not recently, the anvil and forge have actually been used in the past as there is far less debris and overgrowth around it.
The bridges are still intact, they were close enough to the water that they were only burned slightly, and are still fairly sturdy. At house, she finds little to asuade her fears. The damage done almost makes it seem as though noone ever lived here, cept for a few remnants of civilization. At her feet she finds the two wooden swords her brothers played with as children, hidden beneath the floor for years before this ever happened. Turning over a table that lies broken and blackened she finds a coat that her mother had been working on for her, almost complete save the fur lining she had intended to add before the winter came. Walking throught town, oddly enough, she does see some tracks. They are old, but they seem to be the bare feet of humanoids displacing the grass and toemarks in the dirt. Had it not been for her tutelage under Samel, she probably never would have noticed. There are a number of them, and they seem random at first, but steadily they gather and lead towards the cliffs. Towards the sea. At Samel's home, the sight is just as grimm. A skeleton of a house, mostly burned down. Under the rubble though, again finds a keepsake, in an old copper box, the doll that Samels daughter once owned. He never showed it to , but sometimes when he had had too much mash with Johnas, he would take it out and stare at it, barely fighting back the tears.
Sansa: yes, normally you wouldn't be able to use the shortsword without a penalty. However, instead of making you use a feat for just one weapon, I think that if Sansa made a concerted effort to train with the sword (assuming she'd want to) she could eventually negate that bonus over time.
Celeste's house, like the others, is mostly destroyed. Picking throught the rubble, though, finds (with the help of Quinn) under a pile of timbers a number of books wrapped up in a dampish cloth. Although there were not many books in Solace, Celeste did have a modest collection of storybooks, and a number of them seem to have survived somewhat. Most are childrens' books, and one Sansa remembers from her youth..."The Naughty Kobold". Although worn and faded, the figure of a little Kobold wearing a pot on its head can still be made out on the cover. On further inspection, also finds Celeste's shortsword, once "recently" made almost new by Wallace, now covered in dirt and ash.
Arriving at town, you find the place to be abandoned. Only foundations remain of most of the houses, and many of them are only blackened husks/frames, most of the walls burned or rotted away by the elements. At the center of town where the mill was once being constructed is nothing but a pile of decaying wood and a heap of stones. The grass has grown here as well, a bit more so close to the river. A good number of the odd flowers that Jerem had "made" grow close to the forest dot the landscape as well, their colors vivid, and full in bloom. The orchard, untended for so long, has seemingly gone wild, and young trees are sprouting up around the border, and wild grasses and vines grow over Johnas' former home. The barrels outside that once held delicious mash are blackened and falling apart as well, although once seems to still be sturdy.
At the smithy, which seems to have taken the brunt of the fire, the house is almost non-existant, although the working area is still mostly there, as it was built to be able to endure great heat and possible accidents. The tools are tossed about haphazardly, and grass grows wildly in this area as well.
Amara:
Survival will tell you that definitely more than one day has passed, and the time of day appears to be early evening. The sun is in the sky, although it is low. You figure about an hour, perhaps two before sundown. Perception shows the fox next to Sansa, and there is a definite glimmer in it's eyes that seems to be more than animal cunning, although more than that you cannot say. And finally Knowledge nature, judging from he growth of the trees and looking at your companions, you estimate that...could it be? all signs point to the fact that approximately two years have passed!
You all wake with a start, find a chilly breeze come over you. You can hear the wind through the trees, and feel the grass rise high around you as you lay on the cold ground.
Beside sits a young fox, staring at her with vivid amber-yellow eyes. Its fur is reddish-chestnut and it paws at her sowftly with black feet.
Garrett and Havak: Not sure how this would work, because everyone is different when it comes to growing a beard. You may have a thick one or thinner as you like, but based just one that, you can tell a significant amoun of time has passed.
When hand touches the black branch/hand of Corvina, his eyes roll up into his head. His muscles feel old and tired, and his skin feels tight and cracked with age. He feels as if something is squirming around under his flesh, wrapping tiny tendrils around his bones and pulling. Then a sensation as if he is falling and an instant of panic. As his senses snap back to his companions, there is a deafening sound like twisting rope, and the Tree that was Corvina begins to turn, rapidly growing, new branches erupting with vivid crimson-maroon leaves as her fingers curl inward and the last of her humanity dissapears from view. After a few seconds, there is an even greater sound, like thunder across the mountains, and a wave of force ripples from the spot. Although was able to catch one of her companions again, this time within 100 feet of the strange new tree is knocked off their feet.For a moment, everything goes black.
At this point, only occasionally sees a townsperson, and usually right before they're being struck down by one of the rampaging raggedly robed raiders ()The one she struck with an arrow turns away when she strikes it again, looking for easier prey. She slowly closes the distance between herself and the still unmoving Samel, and the rain begins to giveway to only a light misting. Above her she can see the clouds thickening, however, and flecks of ash move in the wrong direction up to the sky from the burning houses. There are still screams, but they are less common now, as the majority of the horde and whatever of the citizenry of Solace remains has apparently retreated back into the center of town. Samel lies face down on the ground, his face in the mud, the minuscule droplets of rain thinning the pool of red around his head. His bow lays next to him, about a foot away, cracked towards the top, string only still attached at the bottom.
When the fatigued blonde girl grasps out and touches the red hand of what was Corvina, a jolt goes through her. Her blood feels as if on fire, but not of heat. A burning chill comes across her, and her skin itches as her stomach churns, and she can't escape the feeling that she's being turned inside out. When finally comes back to the world, her whole body is numb, and she feels as if she's been walking, running for weeks straight. Her knees buckle under her as the last of her strength gives. perceptive nature proves well again, and noticing the other girl begin to fall, steps forward to help. With only a minor amount of struggle, she manages to keep from falling.
All of the invaders are now only within ranged combat, so with the exception of the one Amara just took a shot at, the others seem to be focused on other things. Everyone can also see with little difficulty that several of the houses are ablaze. Amara can see no sign of her family, but she can see the form of her mentor, Samel, lying still facedown in the mud.
quickly grasps the red outstretched hand of the Corvina tree and is almost immediately assaulted with sensation. His pulse rapidly increases, and he can feel the blood throbbing in his veins like a drum. Reflexively, he grits his teeth, biting his lip. Overwhelmed with a sudden need to rend and tear and bite, he comes out of the haze as quickly as it began. Dizzy, he steadies himself before woozily tossing his flaming concoction at the remaining enemy. Wounded as it was before, it takes the burning liquid square in the face, and screaming, goes to the ground.
stands over Jerem's heavily breathing body and with both hands around her axe, she buries it his head, nearly splitting it in two, the cut across the middle of his face, his eyes seemingly now looking in two opposite directions, she can only focus on the sneer that remains on his corpse.
comes to the defense of Wallace swiftly, and swinging overhead, comes down heavily on the hordesman's shoulder, sending him twitching to the ground. The only remaining immediately threatening opponent, nearest to , takes a stab at her with its jagged blade, screaming incoherantly as it lunges forward, wildly before running off to find an easier target
Elarya: 22 (acted)
The two hordesmen are burned badly, one from a direct hit, and one from the splash, but their rage and bloodlust seems to carry them through the pain as hey continue to harass our heroes!
Jerem is struck in the chest again by the anger of axe and staggers to the side. Then rushes forward and slashes across the foul preist's chest as well. The blood flows freely from his wounds as he wails defensively. One of the creatures seeing a new target, slashes at the defensive Wallace
As the combat continues elsewhere in town, Walace stands steady, defending as best he can the wounded Everett Snow. Just then, Jerem cries out "KILL THEM, KILL THEM ALL!" And as he turns, slowly, bloodshot eyes looking at the group, steps back, and lets loose an arrow. This time her aim is true, and her hand steady, as the arrow finds Jerem's neck.
Elarya: 22 (acted)
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