The Great Game IC

[Artemis97]

Our intrepid party of adventurers finds themselves on a road leading from the city of Xian. It is a small, but prosperous, city on one of the southern islands of the Eshi chain. The night before, a thief had stolen an important artifact from Xian's Cultural Museum. The museum's curator, an Autumn Elf named Akiko, has hired you all to track the thief down and return the artifact safely to its home.

The road itself is well maintained, clear of underbrush and marked with ruts from wagon wheels and horses, but to either side of this small strip of civilization, an ancient forest looms. The air is thick with the scent of flowers in bloom and the faint buzzing of insects can be heard all around. Visibility is low beyond the road, as thick bushes and thorny vines grow unchecked among the trees.

The next bend in the road reveals a small clearing, where wagons might rest beside the road, or allow one another to pass. Here, the party indeed finds a wagon, but it has been dragged off the road and overturned. The harnesses for whatever draft animal towed it have been twisted and torn, and there seems to be no sign of where the animal could have gone. The tarp which once covered the back of the wagon has been thrown aside, and the wagon's contents have been scattered and raided.

Poking out from the edge of the overturned wagon, covered in dirt and nearly unrecognizable, is what appears to be a human hand, covered in dried blood and another dark substance.


Please decide what square you're in.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/__jgUgIIxeZJqQ2o_YHSmRaFUKw4aOWgltu7miVyvQHz03YBcu B-49_BoHb1M_9oZTu9cLrRqJtatdVEuV3GdMsc-S26z36B6tK5PLeFawBWMfPDR30vLDfT_Q

Yellow = Road
Dark Green = Underbrush - It takes 2 squares of movement to enter a square of Underbrush. Offers Concealment. 20% miss chance.
Light Green = Brambles - similar to caltrops. Moving at 1/2 speed or less avoids damage.
Small Circles = Trees - +2 AC and +1 to reflex saves while occupying the same square
Large Circles = Massive Trees - provide cover to those behind them.

[Terumitsu]

It was nice that the forest canopy was blocking most of the sun at this point of the day. It was filtered enough that she could probably even take the hood off of her head but was deciding not to. Not because her darkly cloaked and robed figure mixed with her ash-white skin made her appear more mysterious (although she was aware that was quite likely as a side effect), but because one of her horns had caught a loose thread and trying to deal with it on horseback without a steady mirror would likely be a recipe for unsightly rips.

In any case, personal worries aside, the overturned wagon was.. Distressing. This was a well kept and therefore well traveled road so whatever happened here was a rather frightening departure from the norm.

Maybe a quick look around would give clues to what happened here?


Doing this carefully as dead bodies with skin on them is still kinda gross at this point in a young mage's career.

Search (For signs of struggle or animal tracks that might have done this: [roll0]
Knowledge Arcana on black stuff: [roll1]
Knowledge Nature on any tracks: [roll2]

[The Bushranger]

"...well, this is certainly pleasant, isn't it?"

This was the observation of the slender half-elf in the party, who shook her head as she looked over the wrecked wagon, running a hand through her two-toned hair with a sigh. "Nasty business. Better have a look around..."

And with a soft murmured word and a quick move of her fingers, a spell was cast.

Casting See Invisibility.
Spot: [roll0]

[Destro_Yersul]

Amnon Seti adjusted his spectacles, peering out at the clearing through glass lenses with the sort of curious disinterest his companions ought to be used to by now. Amnon was a scholar, and his interest in this affair was primarily concerned with the recovery of the artifact they'd been paid to go fetch.

"See anything?" He asked, looking over to the others. A man of average height with soft features, he would have looked entirely unimposing in his tan and blue robes, more at home in the library than on adventures, if it were not for the silvery breastplate and long scythe he often used as a walking stick, the blade snapped down into the handle to avoid accidentaly decapitating someone. "If not, we ought to keep moving. This could be recent."

[UncleWolf]

A little behind the rest, Miyuu frowns as she looks over the scene. She's a moderate height, a little under five and a half feet, with quite an impressive build. She had long and athletic limbs with an overall slender build. Her long silver-grey hair was tied back in a long braid that reached the back of her knees. Despite her apparent beauty, her green eyes seem quite cold to anyone who looks at them, and the wolf ears and tail she sported could throw them off even more.

And that's without taking the rather horrifying bone armor she wore into account. The bone itself was attached to a black underlayer. Her back was overlain with layers of ribs and vertebrae nearly where her own would be, though even more tightly backed, providing a strong and flexible defense. Her front was made of interlocking bone plates that provided good surface area and was designed to deflect blows away from her core. Her shoulders were capped by a pair of skeletal hands with too many fingers that extended down to her wrists, granting a little extra durability to an otherwise exposed area.

Finally, a skirt that reached her knees was also covered in smaller bones, a mixture of ribs and fingerbones to allow mobility. Overall, the armor appears slightly crude for now even though it's rather functional as well.

When Miyuu sees the turned cart and the hand underneath, she gives a frown before walking closer, her sandals making a clonking sound on the gravel until they get to the grass. She's silent for a moment longer before her right hand settles on the hilt of her Katana. "Is there any way to tell how long ago this happened?" She asks aloud, keeping her eyes on her surroundings.

[Mr. Moon]

Behind Leila, there is a tabby cat riding on her horse Dandelion's rear. She's an ordinary looking tabby, with medium fur and a rather fluffy tail. Black stripes line cream-coloured fur. Wide green eyes match a silk ribbon wrapped around her neck. Hanging a small charm of a black and white actor's mask, it's distorted grin warping around the centre. The feline, dubbed Molly, doesn't seem outwardly to be anything other than an ordinary cat - probably a party pet.

When the cart rolls into view, Molly's ears prick up. With a meow, she stands and paws at Leila's back before jumping up onto her shoulders for a better view. Her whiskers twitch as she sniffs the air, eyes narrowing at the overturned wagon.

How messy.


Spot and Listen (in that order) checks to see if she can't see anything more.
[roll0]
[roll1]

[Slii Arhem]

Leila's more thorough investigation of the area reveals no tracks that she can identify. Either her skills at investigation simply aren't up to snuff or whatever did this didn't leave tracks to find. However, her expertise with all things arcane does shed some light on what might have done this without leaving other traces.

Just from the small sample on the hand, you determine the substance that felled the person under the cart is almost certainly acid from some monster's breath weapon. Perhaps thankfully, it's also much weaker than you would expect from an actual dragon's breath, as the surrounding trees and earth has not been melted into a slurry. Apart from knowing it's acidic and likely not draconic, you can't tell any more at a glance.

The cat on Leila's shoulder does hear a larger than normal amount of noise from the forest to the northwest, as something moves through the underbrush close to the edge of the tree line.

Marle's spell sadly reveals nothing out of order that could lead her to figuring things out. Nothing has been hidden invisibly within her sight around the upset cart, unless one of her allies has something to hide.

[Terumitsu]

"The blood here is dry. So at least an hour or so." the witch said, estimating from that alone. She could get a more accurate reading if she were to touch the corpse but that was rather more gross than she was used to. Possibly a side effect of not casting spells that require bat dung. "Seems like an acid spitter was the cause of this. I'd assume it's either directed by something or intelligent rather than hunting for food or else I don't think the hand would have been left uneaten. Or at least I'd expect more mess." she said, trying to be analytical but still blaunching a bit at the idea of a person getting torn limb from limb.

Tapping at the side of her head as she thought, she started looking about at the wreckage of the cart, specifically what sort of things that it had been holding. Maybe a clue was there.. "Maybe something was stolen? Anyone have any other ideas?"

[UncleWolf]

Miyuu frowns at the news. "I think it's too conveniently placed next to the road for it to be a random animal attack" She admits, shaking her head. "I suggest we get ready before moving further, just in case." The warrior tells the others before closing her eyes for a moment and giving the air in front of her a slow vertical chopping motion as she murmurs under her breath.

A moment later her form shimmers away in a display of pink cherry petals that flutter to the ground.

If anyone pays particular attention however, they'll see her footsteps mark the grass as she heads to the other side of the wagon, invisible to the naked eye.



Miyuu casts Invisibility on herself.

[The Bushranger]

"I agree, this wasn't random. At least, not by wild beasts, anyway." Marle shook her head with a sigh, running a hand through her two-toned hair. "I don't see anything about this extraordinary, it was likely bandits."

[Destro_Yersul]

"If it was bandits, and this is over an hour old, I would expect them to have moved on by now." Amnon adjusted his glasses, moving to look through the various items scattered about the site. "Easiest way to check that is to see if anything valuable is left behind."

[roll0] Search test!

[Artemis97]

The rustling of the underbrush grows closer, and a creature steps out. It's a short, reptilian humanoid, with small nubby horns on top of its head and a stubby tail. It was dressed in leather armor, dyed green to match the surrounding underbrush, and studded with steel. It carried a spear casually in one hand. A small crossbow hung across its back, a quiver of bolts beside it. On its hip he wore a hunting horn. Upon spotting the party gathered around the overturned wagon, its large, slitted eyes go wide, and it yips in surprise.

The kobold is standing at 10,G on the map. Please let me know where you all are standing, and what actions you take, of course. Thanks!