"Oh, thank Desna." Zareby grins slightly as he reloads his crossbow. "Of course, now the question is why they were in here in the first place."
"Eating," points out the plump halfling, tapping his left foot against the woman's body.
"Watch out for more, please," whispers Herral.
The attack goes so swiftly, and the ghouls go down so hard from the group's assualt that Dayle stands a little shocked - holding his bow for a bit longer than may be warranted. Herral's quiet advice seems to awaken him, and he swings the bow around for a bit looking for more threats before finally relaxing his grip. Perception:
"It's been awhile since I've had that kind of an experience...nice work," he mumbles off to nobody in particular. Months of insignificant patrols and errand running, even on the tense, Qadiran border had made him forget the sudden shock and fury that can come with a fight.
Upon seeing the corpse, his nervousness seems to fade. This work, sadly, he's familiar with. Ditch duty. Looking around for some cloth, he tries his best to keep the body together. "Will need to either dig a hole or find a small gully to lay her in - otherwise more scavengers may try to make this home." The last comment has him glancing at the remains of the ghouls. Hopefully, he can clean things up a bit so that they have a decent place to rest. Nausea:
Addy picks her bow back up, seeing the last ghoul go down. "Wow, those were disgusting." She looks down at the poor woman who the ghouls were making a meal of, and shakes her head sadly. Addy then uses her boot and rapier to start looking through the refuse and other detritus around, seeing if she can find anything valuable or that may give a clue what happened here.
Perception (take 20) = 28
Addy searches through the remains of the tower. The stairway leading to the floors above has collapsed and there are quite a few holes in the ceiling. She can see that much of the rubble has been pulled up and piled, some of it likely taken from the floors above given how much there is. In one corner there is a pile of yellowed bones, scraped and gnawed. Here and there the faint light catches gleams of metal: broken and discarded armor, weapons. A rusted scimitar snaps under foot and the half-elf catches sight of some torn scraps: uniforms, some with turbans. Poking around toward the rear of the tower, Addy finds an iron strongbox buried under some fallen supports. It is latched shut with a sturdy lock.
Herral helps with the dead, he goes to each and every corpse and sprinkles a little dust over the bodies, letting the wind blow away the chaff. As the halfling holds his butterfly symbol, he intones a quick prayer;
"By this earth, I commend thy body to solitude eternal, while thy soul is free to fly in joy and regain its rightful place of honour. Good luck on your travels."
"I wish I could do more for these poor people."
Will stands in shock at the suddenness and brevity of the fight. He also continues to hold his cross bow at the ready, slowly looking for other dangers, and praying silently that he doesn't find any!
When Will's eyes meet those of the also scanning Doyle, the mage relaxes just a little and lets his crossbow lower with a nervous smile. He starts to go over and help with the bodies, but turns a distinct shade of green as he draws near the ghouls. He backs up with an embarrassed half-smile.
He instead posts himself on watch as the others do their business, but he eyes the ghoul's corpses speculatively and mutters possible mystic combinations under his breath regarding using the smelly creatures ability as an offensive (very offensive!) spell.
"Well-said, friend,...well-said."
"Well, what do we have here?" Addy says, sommewhat oblivious to the religious rights being given by the halfling. She scans the lockbox thoroughly, checking for any "surprises". If she finds none, she'll try and see what she can do to open the lock.
Perception
Disable Device (if no traps found to open the lock; if a trap is found then add an additional +1 to disarm)
With practiced efficiency, Adelaine checks the lock box for any hidden mechanisms. Having found none, the lock provides little challenge to her practiced hand.
Addy:
"Well, son of a gun. Looks like they were saving up for a rainy day." Addy pockets one of the vials, then hands the other two to Zareby and Will. "Best have us 'back-of-the-line' types carry these; that way if the heavy hitters need 'em, we can distribute 'em. And there's a bit of cash, too; 225 coins by my count. That's 37 a piece, with 3 left over."
Having gone about the grisly work of clean-up, Dayle sets himself down to relax and take a drink of water.
His face seems a little contemplative as he looks over this rather curious band he finds himself with. Upon seeing Will's greenish tinge, he offers him a piece of dried, salt-beef rations, adding, "It tastes horrible, but will calm your stomach some from the stench...chew it slowly though."
His small revere is altered by Addy's exclamation and revealed treasures. He eyes the half-elf in a new light as she displays the bottles in one hand and bag of coins in the other. He displays a slight smile, while unconsciously touching his own ear.
"You Pathfinders seem to have knack for finding that hidden gem in the rough," he adds jokingly to her statements.
Will accepts teh bit of salt pork from Dayle, and chews it thoughtfully. He does look a little better. Less green anyway.
He also accepts the vial from Addy with a nod, and carefully wraps it in a handkerchief before placing it in his belt pouch for easy access.
He turns contemplative at Addy's joking comments about the ghouls saving up for a rainy day,...
"Oh, highly unlikely. Ghouls are merely the necromatically reanimated remains of poor souls killed by other ghouls. Although there are tales of ghouls rising spontaneously from the bodies of those of a particularly evil bent who practiced cannibalism in life. But either way, there has been no evidence to support that they remember in any way their previous life, and carry on with hoarding things like gold or potions. No, it;'s far more likely that this box was carried by the poor woman over there than her attackers. Oh by the way, did your small ceremony have any actual binding properties? I only ask because the poor woman seems mostly intact, and I would hate for her to come back after we've left,..." Will continues to ramble, obviously releasing a little nervous energy through the only currently available outlet, his mouth. While he talks, he pulls out his notebook and hastily begins sketching the ghouls on a blank page, paying particular attention to their teeth and claws,...
"She meant they saved it when they were alive. Still, her coming back is a chance I'm not willing to take, and that's saying something. Tossing a little divine energy at them can't hurt, after all."
So Bertha and me are heavy-hitters! well its true but I sure would have liked to be asked if I could have some magic. Maybe I could buy some with the gold?
Herral's eyes go wide at Will's suggestion. "No one has got up and walked away again. In fact I am sure I would know, people tend to let know you if that sort of thing happens. But then I suppose I do move around alot, Desna...you know."
Herral looks over his shoulder briefly.
"No, to be fair, that prayer has no great magical power, I doubt I have the magic to stop her rising if she really wanted to. But it would be neat. Will maybe we should stay and watch over her for a day or so just to be sure?"
"Or I could try to tend her wounds, cauterise the ghoul fever or whatever." The halfling looks about for a brazier or firepit.
“Chop her head off,” suggests Malatar, looking up briefly from where he sits on a fallen stone block, rummaging through his pack for some rations. He shrugs. “Not pretty or respectful, but if she does rise as a ghoul she won’t have much luck eating the next poor soul that stumbles in ‘ere.”
He nods in thanks to Addy and pockets his share of the coins, and appears to agree (or at least not really disagree) at the woman’s splitting of the potions. “Healing potions? Aye, keep the mages alive,” he nods, “for they’ll win you the battle.” It sounds as though he’s quoting someone. Then he tosses an apple to Herral with a brief grin. “Good idea to keep your healers alive too.”
Herral grabs the apple with amassive grin from ear to ear. "True! mages blow!"
Dayle seems indifferent to Addy's selection process, taking his share of coin to pocket away with a brief, "Thanks, miss," before turning at Will's rambling, detailed explanation and Mal's brief solution. The contrast in responses brings a grin to his face.
"Hmmm, well I'll defer to the Pathfinders' knowledge on this...just figured we needed to keep the stench to a minimum." He pulls his longsword and heads to the woman's body to complete the suggested task. "Hope Pharasma doesn't take offense at this act..."
Knowledge: Religion will tell you about ghouls, though. Let me know if you're making camp or pressing on or anything.[/ooc]
I assume after a brief rest, we'll continue following the trail into the late afternoon and evening. That's my 2cp.
“Right,” says Mal once he’s rested his legs for ten minutes and downed some trail rations. “The poor unfortunate over there likely escaped from our convoy – so we’re still on the trail and maybe not too far behind, given the ghouls hadn’t completely eaten her. We should press on, at least for a few hours into the night. More if folk can do it.”
Will blanches almost sheet white as Dayle heads to the woman,...
"Um, I'm not sure mind you, I'm no expert, bu I think that you may be confusing Ghouls with vampires,..." Will offers weakly, turning even paler as Dayle nears the poor woman's remains. He swiftly turns from the scene,
He takes sudden, intense interest in the others conversation. Especially Herral's comments.
"Hey. HEY! We do not!" Will declares huffily, deliberately NOT looking over his shoulder at Dayle.
"Well, unless you count 'Gust of Wind', or 'Wind Wall', then I suppose technically you might have a point,..." He adds weakly, obviously unable to keep from contemplating all possible interpretations of the word. He looks as though he'd love to keep the argument going, but just can't seem to muster the enthusiasm. Instead he sits next to the comforting bulk of Malatar, munching half-heartedly at his own rations. He nods when Mal mentions trying to catch up to the prisoners.
"Better sooner than later, at least I'm fairly certain THEY think so! I'm ready when you are."
"You know, maybe we should burn the remains. That's respectful, and it would go a long way in making sure she didn't come back, don't you think? And it would sure help out the smell a bit."
"Um, I'm not sure mind you, I'm no expert, bu I think that you may be confusing Ghouls with vampires,..."
"You know, maybe we should burn the remains.
As the various opinions are thrown about, Dayle shakes his head with bemusement. He sheaths his sword, crosses his arms, and waits a moment to see if any other "suggestions" are made. Assuming, there are none more, he proceeds to pull oil from his bag and craft a makeshift torch, mumbling something about "know-it-all Pathfinders." He then pours more oil upon the cloth he wrapped the woman in, and sets her remains ablaze - assuming he can do so without setting the whole tower on fire. Once the fire is underway, he'll proceed to take the ghoul remains, and pile them onto the blaze as well.
Once the process is resolved, he preps his gear, gives a nod to Mal, and makes for the trail to continue on the pursuit. A grin and a sarcastic comment are added, "I hope someone's got a tun of oil stashed with them, if we have to burn every body we find along the border I'll be out of supplies before we've traveled 5 miles."
Herral will help Dayle, its the first time he has ever burnt ghoul bodies, however after about ten minutes the halfling gets bored and goes off to search the fort for secret tunnels and cubby holes where they may have hidden all their rare treasures.
"Hmmm, hmmm, hmmmm" he hums as he feels along one wall up to about four feet off the ground.
"You know my people like to find secret stuff, so the best thing to do is hide it about five feet off the ground. Because we would never be able to reach it usually. Strange huh!"
Dayle (and whomever else wants to assist) drags the bodies outside and finds enough dry wood to start a small pyre in the courtyard. It takes a bit of time to get the bodies properly burnt, the ashes and fetid stink of corruption stinging the adventurers' eyes.
Herral's probing strikes pay-dirt when he removes a loose stone from the wall, revealing a secret cubby hole. Rather than cash, magic or other treasure, the halfling finds that its full of cheaply bound books that are now falling apart. Picking up one of the dusty tomes, Herral finds that this is a portfolio of pornographic woodcuts: most of them are cheap and conventional books, easily procured in the back room of any book shop.
This was a military outpost, after all.
Herral lets out a strangled cry, "what is he do-!" then shakes his head as he runs away.
Dayle continues to check the trail and look for any unsual changes or signs of the train's activities.
Perception:
Survival(Track):
Addy stays near Dayle, letting him take the lead following the trail but keeping her eyes open.
perception
The party sets out shortly after the fire burns down, heading east after Dayle picks up the trail again. The night is clear and cool in comparison to the hot day, the devastated countryside allowing breezes from the sea to travel inland unimpeded.
Dayle (and anyone with a DC 20 perception check):
Tracks (Dayle, again):
You travel about an hour, the humans and halfling stumbling here and there over tree stumps despite the lantern. The sparse countryside is broken up here and there by low hills, but mostly it's a flat expanse. Fortunately, there are no new corpses.
“Bah! Damn tree stumps, damn rocks,” grumbles Mal.
Dayle slows down, and quietly directs Addy to pause and remain quiet while they wait for the others to catch-up. He whispers to Addy:
He points ahead of them in the distance, and quietly says "There! Something a ways ahead of us..." It looks like a vague mass of moving figures: pack animals and humanoids, many of them small in stature. "We're a little closer to them."
He also points to some small clawed tracks, not unlike large rats. "These tracks break off from the train and spread out into the countryside...maybe something like that ratdog we fought a few days ago."
Finally he points ahead to the remains of firepits and the trampled grass that looks like a space for tents or bedrolls. "Looks like they camped here recently...they camped here during the day? This is damn puzzling..."
For Warden:
The wide swath of tracks continue east and you see signs of their camp where spaces have been cleared for tents and firepits.
For Warden:
** spoiler omitted **
"Ow. Oof. OW! Rassin-Frassin rocks! Stoopid nocturnal goblins! And,... OW! Felgarcarp tree trunks!
"Oof! Oh, sorry Mr. Dayle,... Warn a fellow next time,..."
The party spots four goblin outriders approaching, each astride a goblin dog. The flat countryside gives them little opportunity for stealth. They are spread out along the trail, two on your left side and two on the right. They approach at the edge of Addy and Dayle's low-light vision, about 60 feet away.
"Looks like we're closer than I thought...trouble," Dayle is heard to utter as he pulls his bow. "Taking left," is all he adds as he shoots at a goblin rider on the left.
Initiative:
Longbow:
Damage:
"Left. Right," Addy quips, as she fires a shot at a rider on the right.
initiative
short bow
damage
sneak attack (if applicable)
Mal nods and draws his sword, braces his shield, squinting away into the darkness at the approaching forms.
Herral lines up a shot at one of the middle goblin riders, and Bertha spits sixty feet!
"Left. Right," Addy quips,
Confused by the banter, and actually unable to clearly see his targets yet, Will swings his crossbow rapidly from one side to the other and prematurely fires, his bolt sailing completely between the goblins and solidly transfixing a lone sapling,...
"Well,... Goblin dung!" Will sputters as he hastily rewinds and reloads his crossbow.
"What are you all talking about?"
"Oh."