Coralee has been walking by herself next to Monarch for a while, oblivious to what is going on around her. She isn't even paying attention when Fjyndel announces that they are being followed.
Drint says tentatively, "Yessss. By an animal, or by the one--or ones--that attacked Laural."
Girther doesn't notice anything but takes the words of his friends seriously. He says, "Separating our group at this time would not be wise. Perhaps we should here camp for the night."
Girther doesn't notice anything but takes the words of his friends seriously. He says, "Separating our group at this time would not be wise. Perhaps we should here camp for the night."
Drint nods uncertainly. "Good idea. But we should posssst a watch. I'll go firsssst."
Girther surveys the riverbank looking for a suitable camping spot. He looks at the group and says, “Drint and I agree that camping for the night is a good idea. What say you all?” Turning to Quirk, Girther adds, “Do any merchants or travelers ply these waters my friend?”
|
For Quirk
For Fyjndel and Drint
Drint looks uneasy. "The thing...I don't know what it issss...it'ssss been following ussss the whole way...I really don't like thissss. Yessss, it may jusssst be my uneasssse in the forest, but...I really don't like thissss."
Drint looks uneasy. "The thing...I don't know what it issss...it'ssss been following ussss the whole way...I really don't like thissss. Yessss, it may jusssst be my uneasssse in the forest, but...I really don't like thissss."
"It is not just the forest. I do not like this as well. I am having the same feeling inside my guts. But I do not have a clue what or who is following us." assures the gnome.
"Hm... we are too deep in the forest for merchants or activities from the woodcutters of the lumber consortium. I am most certain, whatever is folowing us is not from them."
The river is very wide and judging from the fact that you cannot see the river bed despite the clearness of the water, you know that it is also deep.
Girther takes a moment to discuss river-crossing options with Quince. "Any chance your talents can aid us in crossing this torrent?" he asks. As he talks he scans the area for anything that might be useful in making a raft...and enemies.
"Unfortunately not," Quince answers Girther. "The river is too wide. I'd just end up dropping people in the water half-way across. Is anyone a skilled carpenter to make a raft? We have plenty of wood, obviously."
Quince gazes out across the river. "If we have enough rope, we can send Quirk across with it, tie ourselves to it, and make our way across. It might be difficult with the animals, though."
Drint looks sick. "Is--issss there any other way? Do--do we have to crossss the river? Maybe...maybe further upsssstream or downsssstream there'ssss a bridge...or ssssomething..."
Sunlight is getting scarce, you can feel the air getting colder.
Coralee shivers at the cool air.
" well I agree with Stoney, I think we should set up camp here for the night and then decide what to do over dinner. O how I long for the taste of Cookie's stews instead of these trail rations. Never mind, one has to take the bad of the open road with the goods I suppose. So let's pitch our camp and get down to figuring out what to do over a nice dinner. Well I say nice, but well, you know trail rations and all."She then leads Monarch over to a sheltered spot behind a tree and ties him up with enough length to eat the graas, but not enough to wander far. She starts to unpack her tent from Monarch's saddle, then turns expectantly towards the others to make sure they are following her lead and they're not just gonna pack up and move on.
Fjyndel unloads Grendel as well, stroking him afterwards for a short while. Then he sets up his tent, time and again looking over his shoulder, to search the surroundings.
Girther will take the second watch. “Be careful Drint,” Girther says just before he beds down, “Wake me at the first sign of trouble.”
"If we're dividing watches evenly, I'd prefer the last one. But before we all go to sleep, we should decide how to cross the river."
"Drint, I understand your point, but I don't know if we can afford the time to find another way across the river. People may be dying in Falcon's Hollow while we're looking for the cure. If we have enough rope, it should be relatively simple to get across, though not without getting wet. So how much rope do we have? I have none, I'm afraid."
"Rope? uhhh..Looks heavy.. I don't have none of that. Not shiny."
"If we're dividing watches evenly, I'd prefer the last one. But before we all go to sleep, we should decide how to cross the river."
"Drint, I understand your point, but I don't know if we can afford the time to find another way across the river. People may be dying in Falcon's Hollow while we're looking for the cure. If we have enough rope, it should be relatively simple to get across, though not without getting wet. So how much rope do we have? I have none, I'm afraid."
Drint looks horrified. "You--you mean we have to crossss the river? In the water? There'ssss no alternative?"
He looks more than a little sick now.
"If we're dividing watches evenly, I'd prefer the last one. But before we all go to sleep, we should decide how to cross the river."
"Drint, I understand your point, but I don't know if we can afford the time to find another way across the river. People may be dying in Falcon's Hollow while we're looking for the cure. If we have enough rope, it should be relatively simple to get across, though not without getting wet. So how much rope do we have? I have none, I'm afraid."
Drint looks horrified. "You--you mean we have to crossss the river? In the water? There'ssss no alternative?"
He looks more than a little sick now.
"What's wrong with the water, Drint? It won't hurt you, it's just water. It shouldn't be too difficult, and we'll make it as safe as possible. But we'll need more than 100 feet of it. I think Fjyndel bought about 50 feet worth back in Falcon's Hollow, but that won't be enough. Coralee? Girther? Got any rope?"
"What's wrong with the water, Drint? It won't hurt you, it's just water. It shouldn't be too difficult, and we'll make it as safe as possible. But we'll need more than 100 feet of it. I think Fjyndel bought about 50 feet worth back in Falcon's Hollow, but that won't be enough. Coralee? Girther? Got any rope?""If we're dividing watches evenly, I'd prefer the last one. But before we all go to sleep, we should decide how to cross the river."
"Drint, I understand your point, but I don't know if we can afford the time to find another way across the river. People may be dying in Falcon's Hollow while we're looking for the cure. If we have enough rope, it should be relatively simple to get across, though not without getting wet. So how much rope do we have? I have none, I'm afraid."
Drint looks horrified. "You--you mean we have to crossss the river? In the water? There'ssss no alternative?"
He looks more than a little sick now.
"One hundred feet of water", Drint says, looking stunned, "We have to crossss that? A hundred feet..."
It shouldn't be too difficult, and we'll make it as safe as possible. But we'll need more than 100 feet of it. I think Fjyndel bought about 50 feet worth back in Falcon's Hollow, but that won't be enough. Coralee? Girther? Got any rope?"
Coralee goes over and rummages around in her backpack, finally producing a length of rope.
"I have this. It's 50' long but it's made of silk, so I don't know how well it will attach if noone else has silk. I know not everyone has silk rope. Most of the caravan guards laughed at me because I had silk rope. 'A good length of hemp rope's what you need little lady, none o that fancy silk stuff', that's what they used to say. I like it though. It's not as rough as hemp rope, which is good for my hands. Plus Monarch likes it better if I ever need to use it with him. Speaking of Monarch, how are we going to get him across? I can only think of putting him on a raft, but I don't know how stable that's going to be and we don't have a raft, well unless one of you has a magical collapsible one at least, so that means we would have to make one which will take us most of tomorrow. Would your magic be able to get him across? I think I could pick something small up with my magic and carry it, but Monarch is waaaay too heavy for me to do that."
"I think it is clear, that we can not cross the river right here, so we should search for another option. Even if it takes us two days. Maybe we can make that up, if I ride to Falcon's Hollow on Grendel as soon as we have all the ingredients. He needs half of the time to get there than I do, so maybe that works. How about that?
And I would like to be the second to last with watching out."
“Fjyndel is right,” says Girther. “Crossing the river here might be possible, but not without splitting up the party. With an unwelcome visitor or visitors following us that would be a bad idea. I think a trek up river is in order. If we follow the riverbank we may be able to find a way to cross. If not we can circle around the lake and continue on our way.”
“Fjyndel is right,” says Girther. “Crossing the river here might be possible, but not without splitting up the party. With an unwelcome visitor or visitors following us that would be a bad idea. I think a trek up river is in order. If we follow the riverbank we may be able to find a way to cross. If not we can circle around the lake and continue on our way.”
"Yessss, thank you Girther. Perhapssss there issss...a bridge...or ssssomething..."
"There is a part of the river, where it is not as wide as here. But the river is flowing really fast there. We call the place 'the whizzer', because the water flows so fast, that it makes little whizzing noises. It is nearly a half day's journey downstream. Or we hike around the lake, but that takes at least one more day."
"I ssssay we hike around the lake. Don't want to take any...chancessss."
Girther pauses and thinks for a moment. Then he says, "I'm with Drint on this one."
|
|
Evening arrives and everyone enjoys their meal. Those who stayed up to take watch did not notice any danger. Perhaps, the intuition of the others are wrong and it is just the vale playing with their subconscious.
Morning arrives and everyone breaks their fast and thereafter proceed to hike to the shallow crossing mentioned by Quirk. It is midday and you arrive at the crossing. From your vantage point, you judge that the river here is about three feet deep. The forest is unusually quiet.
Spot DC 10
Spot DC 15
Spot 1d20+5=13
Drint gasps. "Oh...my...gods. Oh my gods. Quirk, do you see that?"
Spot (1d20+3=23)
Survival (1d20+9=24)
"By Gozreh! ... Step aside, don't ruin the tracks! Now let me see..."
After investigating the tracks and the surroundings, as well as the tree and the bodies Fjyndel makes his report:
"Telling from the tracks I would say there have been three lumberjacks, one of them limping badly. They were here about a day, or a little less, before now. The track leads southwards.
The bodies... they were not murdered here. The fellers must have carried them..."
"Does that make sense to anyone? Quirk?"
"Poor guys," Quince murmurs. "Should we climb up and take them down?"
"Who--who could have done thissss? I've done my share of crimessss, I've even killed a man--by misssstake--but thissss...I've never sssseen anything like it. Ssssomeone did thissss...and wouldn't even give them a quick death. Those who did thissss...are evil."
"This... it can't be... Ljokel... Mixie... and, no, not Lalma... what have they done to you? Ripped out your wings and what else they could imagine...they.. they will reap what they have sowed."
Quirk sinks to his knees. Tears are running freely now down his cheeks, the tips of his ears are shivering. He sobs uncontrollably for several moments. Then he stops stands up, showing a face of determination and wrath.
"I swear unto Cavandel, the Winter Storm, and also known as Breath of Vengeance, I will search out these torturers and make them eat their own medicine... or testicles. I will find those responsible for this deed and make them pay in kind. If war it is they seek, then war they will get."
"This... it can't be... Ljokel... Mixie... and, no, not Lalma... what have they done to you? Ripped out your wings and what else they could imagine...they.. they will reap what they have sowed."
Quirk sinks to his knees. Tears are running freely now down his cheeks, the tips of his ears are shivering. He sobs uncontrollably for several moments. Then he stops stands up, showing a face of determination and wrath.
"I swear unto Cavandel, the Winter Storm, and also known as Breath of Vengeance, I will search out these torturers and make them eat their own medicine... or testicles. I will find those responsible for this deed and make them pay in kind. If war it is they seek, then war they will get."
"Quirk...you knew them? That isn't how it's supposed to be...the Faere Folk are not supposed to be...this is awful."
Coralee looks up into the tree and a look of horror appears on her face.
"Oh no, up in the tree there, that's terrible. Quirk those look like Pixies."
Hearing Quirk's mournful cries and words of vengeance, she quickly moves over to put her arm around him and offer comfort.
"Don't worry Quirk, we'll find who did this and I will make sure Desna's wrath will punish those who would do this to playful little Pixies. Let us hope we come across no more such grisly offerings. It is the same to me as if someone had done this to one of Desna's children, the Lyrakien. I have only met one once, but they are similar to Pixies and I will honour your brethren the same way. We will cut them down and bury them and I will sing Desna's Blessing upon them."
Girther surveys the scene with a mixture of dismay and disgust. He turns to Quirk and asks, “Were these friends, clan members, or family? “Not that it matters,“ he continues, “I will help you bring those who committed these acts to justice.”
As you stare at the dead bodies, a cold wind blows through the trees, moving the bodies in a cruel parody of life. And you think to yourself that the longer you start following the perpetrators' trail the more probable that they will be forever be beyond your reach.
Drint shivers. "I don't like thissss..." He whispers, "I grew up on folk tales, and I'm jusssst a bit superstitious, but I sssstill don't like thissss."
Girther says, “Fjyndel, can you follow the tracks? If not, maybe Quirk knows the way to the nearest lumber camp.” Girther pauses a moment and then says with compassion, “I know that these crimes cry out for vengeance, but we are already committed to helping the town of Falcon’s Hollow. Every day we spend bringing justice to the killers is another day that Falcon’s Hollow slips deeper into plague. I’m a simple warrior. This decision is to big for me.”