Salinthas ponders. "If we continue along the river we should encounter it this afternoon I would think."
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"The humans call this river the Shrike," Salinthas points out as you travel along beside the waters. "I have been this way once before. If I remember... There was a bridge a bit to the south. A man was keeping it, taking a reasonable toll for his trouble."
"Some items are created purely to ensnare the unwary. A trap for the greedy," Salinthas chimes in softly. He doesn't seem overly interested in any of the items. Rather, he has been keeping an eye on the surrounding lands.
Salinthas joins in the search around the base of the tree and before long he is crouched down near Sia, pointing out an inconsistency in the ground.
Salinthas already has his bow out and an arrow notched as he joins Kyrie in the approach to the cave entrance. Taking up a covering position, he motions for her to take a look, even as he raises his bow to sight down the arrow.
"I have been through some of that land. I can tell you that there are bridges here and here," he shifts his finger up-stream to the eastern extreme, and over again to a spot just below the thorn ford camp.
Salinthas gives a nod at the news of the condition and as everyone starts to leave their wepons behind he takes a seat nearby. "I will take the first watch. I am not bothered by the rain."
Salinthas catches sight of the beast as well, and gives Bregor a rather impressed look at his admission of knowing the language. He then looks back to Sia, "Do we all expose ourselves? Or do we send a few?"
In the mid-afternoon, Salinthas comes wandering back from his spot ahead. "We are nearing the river again. Up ahead is a marsh, around a stream that feeds the river. There are also ruins. It is possible something may have settled there. I have not been in this part of the woods before so I am not certain."
Salinthas shrugs, places the arrow back into its quiver, then heads off again to take the point in the direction they had been heading.
Salinthas makes his way back to where Kyrie and Sia are gathering. "The tracks tell me a hunter was here. Shooting into the trees there." He points in the proper direction. "Wolf tracks as well. Also heading off with the hunter. Do you wish to follow?" He is quite willing to deffer the decision to the group's defacto leader.
Salinthas looks at the patterns of the feet on the soft ground, he identifies two depressions slightly deeper than the rest, where the feet are about 18 inches apart. He surmises that these we made as the archer took his shot, and seeing the placement and direction, it looks as though the he took aim to the North-East, into a small misty copse of trees.
Salinthas takes another slow look about and goes a bit further in the direction the tracks had been heading, looking to pick them up again, or catch sight of anything of interest. If his search yields nothing, he will head back towards the party, but at least he will have given the area a good look over first.
Salinthas takes note of the footprints, then ducks lower and continues on as Kyrie does, keeping silent and to the shadows as he follows the prints.
Salinthas has his attention focused in a different direction but as Kyrie points out the sound he immediately shifts his path to come around in that direction parallel to the other elf. His bow is held loosely in his hand, an arrow on the string and ready to be fired as soon as his straining eyes see anything. Of course, the fact that no one got shot or even heard the 'thunk' of impact strongly suggests the shot was not meant for them... But it's always best to be prepared.
Salinthas is in no better mood than Kyrie, though it is likely harder to tell. He helps to set up camp, then takes his watch as it comes up. He spends it walking in slow paces around the campsite, his eyes always focussed out into the night.
Nodding his agreement to the3 others, Salinthas makes his way back to his horse. He takes a moment to un-string his bow once more, then takes up his horses reins and begins leading him around the outskirts of the troubled area. Once on the other side, he quickens his pace, trying to get as much distance as possible between them and that scared piece of land.
Salinthas is obviously stricken at the sight, sating a soft prayer as he looks on. He nods at Bregor's words but says nothing, his own sentiment having been summed up nicely. Instead, he takes a closer look at the body, and then moves around the surrounding area looking for any signs of the monster who would have done such a deed. He knows little of magic, and so must rely on his own more mundane skills.
Salinthas considers Kyrie's words for a moment, his eyes gazing at the hollow. "Only that it is not natural. Something very..." he pauses, trying to find the right word, "...wrong, happened here. He shrugs, unable to provide anything more definite without a closer look. "Come.." He motions for Kyrie to follow, glancing to Sia. "We will be quieter with only two. You will know if we need help." With that, he heads off, keeping low and seeking to blend into the cover as he moves forward and around, taking an indirect route towards the horse.
Going through his regular morning routine, Salinthas takes a bit of time to say a short prayer to Desna before heading out once again on the road. The talk of cooking the tatzelwyrms interests him, and he seems to entertain the idea for a few moments before deciding against it. Besides, the bodies were left some distance away and the night creatures have likely been at them already. Instead, he takes up his bow and spear and starts off, taking his usual position at the front, his eyes scanning for any signs.
Salinthas rides his horse easily through the stream, but pauses on the other side to wait for anyone else who may be having trouble. As he reaches the clearing he pauses, taking a close look at the surroundings as he waits for the others to catch up. As they do, he signals for them to stop, pointing down into the open space. "If you like, I can take a closer look," he comments while stringing his bow.
Salinthas spends his free time that night working on the heads in an attempt to stave off any short term decay. When he has done all that he can, he gives Bregor and Gorax each the head they were responsible for, glad to be rid of them. When his turn comes up, he climbs up into the tree for his watch.
Salinthas gives a nod, then goes back to his horse as well, storing the wyrm heads astill ready for travel before way and making sure everything is still ready for travel. He then leaves the horse with the group and heads back out to his usual position on point.
Salinthas shakes his head as well, in response to the armor. He has been spending the time working over the tartzelwyrm heads. After a time he places them each into one of the party's free sacks. "It is not in my practice to preserve... Trophies." In fact the by his expression the very concept seems rather distasteful to him. "However I have done what I can for now. I will work more on them at next camp." He looks to Sia as if to ask in what direction that will be.
Giving a sigh of relief as the last of the wyrms is laid low, Salinthas begins to make his way carefully over the flotsam, intent on retrieving what arrows he can. He gives Bregor an apologetic look as he does so, obviously sorry he was not of more help to the swordsman. As he retrieves his arrows, he keeps an eye out for anything else of interest about the nest.
Salinthas takes a deep breath, trying his best not to let frustration cloud his aim. Reaching back once again he determinedly pulls yet another arrow from his quiver, setting it to string and letting fly once again.
Salinthas looks over the route carefully. "I don't see any real problems with that. However, it would be wise to consider the river crossings. Most of the rivers here are not easily crossed at just any point. We were lucky in our last expedition to have met fords or headwaters that we could go around. We should be prepared to either ford rivers, or alter the route to find a ford." He squints a bit and points to the space to the east of where Kyrie had set as the return point. "Doesn't this leave very little space left on your charter? At least, by my understanding of it."
Salinthas finishes his circuit of the clearing then, seeing that everyone is gathering around the pool, he makes his way over to take a long drink himself. "I do not think we could have asked for a better place to make camp. We should definitely remember this location for the future. It would make an excellent forward camp."
Salinthas puts his forth arrow back into the quiver as he watches the clearing change. Seeing that his companions have the patching up under control, and knowing his own limitations in that regard, he begins to take a slow circuit of the clearing, keeping watch as the recuperations are made.
Salinthas walks beside Sia, an arrow drawn and at the ready. "This is indeed an ancient temple to Erastil," he murmurs. "But to hear the priest at the fort talk, it is Erastil's will that the temple be cleansed. If there is a guardian, he is no friend of the Great Hunter."
Salithas stops at the edge of the clearing, one hand fingering the crude holy symbol of Erastil around his neck as he gazes up at the towering stone carving.
Backing up, one slow step at a time for a few paces, Salinthas eventually turns and heads over to Sia to answer her question. "I do not think there is anything unnatural here. Even if they are a mating pair, I think that regular breeding and natural predator hunting should keep the population in check." He shrugs, "But there is no guarantee. Still, my advice would be to leave them be."
Salinthas shakes his head to Bregor. "I do not believe they are related. I have smelled this before, coming from under the earth. It is possible, however, that the frogs are using the smell to keep predators away." He stops where he is, as he already has as clear a shot as he's going to and waits to see what is going to happen.
Salinthas, quiet for most of the work, also performs a short rite over the burial site. Hearing Gorax's suggestion for a hunt he beckons for him to follow and, grabbing his bow, heads out ahead of the others. On the way he softly sings a song in elven. A hunting song, if he is asked, of an elf who hunted a great stag long ago.
Between them, they return with not just a rabbit but a young dear, which Salinthas spends the rest of the night preparing for the days ahead.
Salinthas points to a tent with a half finished arrow, saying nothing. If you've learned anything about him in the past week, it's that he makes a point of only talking when there's something that needs to be said.
Salinthas watches everyone hurry off, leaving him alone at the table with the map. After waiting a few moments to see if anyone will come back, he shrugs and goes off to find himself something constructive to do until tempers cool down. These outsiders certainly are something else.
Salinthas' look becomes even more curious. "That is... Interesting. If it is the fault of the drink, then why did you punish them? If you were punishing the people, would that not say that the people were at fault?" He leaves the question as more rhetorical than anything else, turning back to the previous matter. "I have not drawn maps of land that I have seen. But I have seen some of what you point to I think. The only thing I think you need to worry about, besides the usual, are the rivers. There are several rivers in this land, and few places to cross easily."
More than willing to admit his own limits, Salinthas gives a nod to both Kyrie and Sia. "I would say... to use hunting as an... addition. It would be foolish to leave without proper supplies." At Gorax's outburst he simply leans back, narrowing as he looks at the man more closely. Truly these are an unusual group of people. He watches the interaction, saying nothing to either side. For his part, he prefers good clean water when he can get it, but Gorax's complete aversion to a drink is quite curious.
Bregor:
Apropriate knowledge check Oleg:]1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7 You know nothing other than the obvious about Oleg. A man from Restov that now has a trading post here. Apropriate knowledge check Siarani:]1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18 She is certainly of noble birth, though she seems better and more roundly educated than you would figure for a Brevic noble. Apropriate knowledge check Jhod:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16 Nothing other than the obvious. A cleric of Erastil, traveled down to Oleg's. You may also have gathered on the road that he's asked you all to keep an eye out for a temple to Erastil in the forest. Apropriate knowledge check Svetlana:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18 Not much to know here, she's just a regular young woman from Restov. Happy to be the best wife she can for her husband. Apropriate knowledge check Kyrie:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17 Not much here either. You know she's a good friend of Sia's. So probably linked to the nobles as well in some way. Apropriate knowledge check Gorax:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5 A complete blank here. Apropriate knowledge check Kesten:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20 You do remember his family crest, that of house Garess. You recall the scandal when an affair between Kesten and a lowborn woman named Tania, a weaver’s daughter, became public knowledge. His father Evan, a cousin of the Garess family patriarch, disowned Kesten, who fled to Restov to serve as a mercenary. Apropriate knowledge check Salinthas:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22 You've heard of wild elves wandering these parts, but nothing specific about him.
Kyrie:
Without knowing what it is you're wanting to accomplish with the night's planning session it's hard to say. You certainly pick up a lot of rumors about what might be found in the wilds. Nothing that speaks to any imminent dangers, aside from numerous rumors about the Stag Lord. Still, even those don't point to any new moves by him since you left last. Oleg tells Gorax that his potions have indeed arrived, and he'll be sure to complete the transaction before they leave out again. As the group starts to form back up to discuss plans later that day, Salinthas quietly takes a seat. He's spent most of the day alone, though he did make a point of speaking briefly with both Jhod and Kesten that afternoon. Considering Bregor's comments, Salinthas nods. "With Spring comming, there will be more game to hunt. Travel will get easier." He shrugs, "Aside from the mud."
Salinthas is up with the dawn but eats his meal in silence, still content to watch everyone else. It is obvious that he has been alone for some time, as inter-personal interactions seem to both baffle and captivate him. He does listen to Sia's story about her dream with great interest, however, but as everyone leaves the table he also stands, cleans his place, then heads over to the little archery target that Kesten has set up to get in some morning practice of his own. |