Bumbling idiots in Ustalav

[Frendle]

“Wake up Stulart,” Marisha’s voice was urgent.

“What, woman, what is all the noise about?” The short, slightly built potter runs his hand over this face to wipe away the sleep.

“There’s something going on in the square. It sounds as if someone is being torn apart by a wild animal.”

Stulart jumps from the bed and grabs the walking stick that he keeps by the door. He rushes outside and in the dim moonlight he can just make out two struggling figures in the square. He runs towards them, warily glancing to the left and right. It’s not the first time he’d been woken from a good night’s sleep.


When he makes it to the open space in the center of the village one of the figures turns to look at him, then runs off into the dark. The other form falls to the ground.

As he approaches he sees the form is now a mangled body. It is only just recognizable as Tomas, the old soldier sent from Count Grevesi’s Company to act as watchman and constable here in the village of Sounder’s End. Tomas was well into his 6th decade and had lived a hard life, but the villagers were glad to have him and had done what they could to make him welcome in their community.


“Gods,” thought Stulart, “What devil of a being could do this to a man and yet walk on two legs?” Off away in the dark forest could be heard the maddened howling of a beast.


Stulart shivered as a chill fear ran through his body, “No, damn the angels no, not again.”


Kneeling down to stroke the blood matted hair from Tomas’s eyes Stulart says in a soft gentle voice, “I am sorry Tomas that you, who had lived through so many wars, should come here to be killed… like this.”

As more men come running into the square, Stulart makes the sign of the circle on the old soldier’s forehead. “May your life be avenged against this evil. We will send word to your Count. He will see to putting your spirit to rest… or to use.”


You are a member of a squad sent to investigate the death of the former sergeant Tomas at Sounder’s End. You start out led by an old friend of Tomas’s, Sergeant Chorial. The Count himself teleported you to the Village, quickly returning to his castle before you can ask him any questions, not that you’d want to really. --insert spine numbing chills here--

The first night the Sergeant tells you all to remain indoors while it is dark and places a sigil over the door to ward you. Then he and two veteran soldiers go off to “Scout the land.”

Two nights pass and you begin to suspect all is not well. On the third morning you decide to go out and look for signs of the three missing soldiers. Heading into the woods, with a small crowd of well-wishers from the village looking on, a few of whom draw small circles on your foreheads with clay, “To ward you” they say, you set off with cautious optimism.

Toward mid-afternoon you hear the sounds of vultures, or something like vultures, up ahead. Heading toward the sound, you hear the flapping of wings as of large birds rising.

In the path ahead there are three piles of bones with a little flesh on them.

As you approach you see…..

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=75323)

[Hamste]

Looks like these died awhile ago. Whatever killed them is probably long gone, particularly if the scavengers are setting in. Also unless if the scavengers are particularly aggressive here or the hunters very hungry it is unlikely to be the sergeant and the men at least. They were gone for only two days but the body has almost no meat on it. That and of course I doubt any animals would be able to kill at least one of them dying. I wonder what caused this though. Look the bodies are close together so either whatever killed attacked quickly enough that they didn't have a chance to flee or there was more than one hunter. Maybe it was a pack of hungry wolves, that seems to fit most of the descriptions I said. I'm going to check to see if the bones are human or not. Don't relax though, the hunters might have abandoned the body but they may have a den nearby. Shog said as he approached the bodies.

Heal check to see how they died [roll0]
Knowledge nature check to see if I recognize their species if it is not obviously humanoid [roll1]

I realize the checks may be interrupted but please use this checks if still applicable after the distraction is dealt with. Shog will walk the path.

[Plerumque]

Callas walks with a spring in his step. He feels good this morning, despite the superstition of the villagers. The world is his oyster, and ripe for the picking (not to mix metaphors). To him, so used to glittering cities, Sounder's End is little more than a collection of shacks, but that's a blessing in disguise, making it a perfect place to hole up until everything back home blows over. And then he'll be where he needs to be, at the heart of it all.

But he has to keep his head down for the time being, play along like a good little boy. Enlisting as a member of the Company seemed a perfect way to lend him that air of legitimacy so important in every game. But, alas, sometimes a job requires a little work. Thus, this morning's walk. He is friendly and open, always quick to a smile and a laugh. He tells stories, regales his companions with stories of his imagined past at odds with the grim surroundings.

Then they come upon the piles of bones, and Callas' smile melts from his face like it's made of hot wax. "Oh dear," he sighs. "Well, I suppose this was not entirely unexpected. Wolves, yes, that sounds about right. Not that I'd know much about it myself, of course. Seems these men weren't prepared for what was out here. Good thing we are, I suppose! Am I right?" The smile is back on his face as he scans the area.

Perception: [roll0]

I'm assuming if there was an immediate threat or other problem it would have been mentioned, but if any of this makes unfair assumptions I'll edit it out.

[Arkive]

Krakl liked Shog due to Shog's simple goblinesque name, but wasn't sure why the dwarf was doubting the three piles of bones could be the three humans they were looking for. He knew his own tribe could go through at least three humans in two days. Shog tribe not eat bigguns? More for Krakl and Skrn'kt. The little goblin turns to Callas and holds up green hand, sparks arcing between his fingers. Krakl always ready. With a wide, toothy grin he hops on his pet and urges the ugly goblin dog forward. More for Krakl and Skrn'kt!


Perception to find which pile of bones has the most meat left: [roll0]
Ride (in case something spooks Skrn'kt): [roll1]

[Plerumque]

Callas looks at the goblin with an expression of barely-disguised distaste. "You're not going to... of course you are. Well. I do so love learning about other cultures, don't you? Rhetorical question," he adds hastily.

[Hamste]

Shog looked at Krakl trying to figure out if they knew anything before putting it down to the goblin just expecting everyone ate everything just like goblins did. At least they ate everything they killed instead of just leaving the body.

It could be have been sentient attackers but that doesn't explain why the bones would be in the middle of the path in three distinct piles. If they were humanoid attackers that shared the food there would be just one big pile or the bones would be spread out everywhere. Animals just gnaw at whatever they can get at but smarter creatures can split up the corpse to make eating more comfortable and possibly to even cook the corpse in some cases. Maybe it could be used as bait to trick others into an ambush which we could be walking into right now but that doesn't explain why they went through the trouble of keeping the piles separate. A giant pile of bones freaks people out as much as three smaller pile of bones. Shog said as he kept striding towards the pile of bones.

[Frendle]

@Callas The scene up ahead calls your attention back to the present and you focus your attention on the surrounding area like you have done countless times before.
Everything seems quite. No telltale signs of ambush, a moving branch, a foot not quite tucked behind a tree trunk…. But you know better than to assume the situation cannot change in a quick minute. You remain on alert while your squadmates search the bones for clues.

@Shog The remains are easily identifiable as humanoid, and in fact there are still bits of chainmail hanging from the bones. The armor looks as though it was torn from these poor souls as though it was made of cloth and not steel.
How they died though is anyone’s guess, violently of that there is not doubt, but who or what could have torn chainmail like this….

@ Krakl looking at all three sets of bones it seems a dead heat which has the most meat left and very little at that. But the meat itself seems odd. You’ve seen meat on the bone your whole life and this looks too fresh to be hanging from bones so old. Must be a trick of the weather, it rained earlier this morning.

@ the party The ground near the bodies is disturbed. It looks, even to the ones not trained in searching for such sign, as though it had been trampled by many feet. As you are looking at the area surrounding the bones, Callas makes a sound to get your attention and points up to the trees. There you see several carrion birds circling overhead waiting leisurely for it to be safe to get back to their dining no doubt.

[AngryCyc]

Keyes follows along with the rest of the gang, carefully looking around through the trees. She keeps her familiar close to her, whispering to him in the breathy language of Auran occasionally. As they approach closer to the bones, she turns her attention to the birds and observes their movements closely. She's noticeably nervous, as she is not quite used to men being devoured so thoroughly. "Whatever could have been hungry enough to do this... I hope for our sake it is satiated now." she mutters quietly.

[Starbin]

Brandor had been one of the first to see the bones, having scouted ahead. He let the others do their forensics ... he cared little for what the bones use to be, and more about what stripped the flesh from them. He moved a bit away from the group, eyes scanning the woods carefully and methodically. As many of the others had probably intuited, the bones could be a trap, a distraction to pull in those without the discipline to look before they leapt ... the goblin seemed to be a case in point.

Drawing his bow slowly, he waited, still surveying the area, curious to here what the others might find.

Taking 10 on perception for a total of 27.

[Plerumque]

"Well, gentlemen, it seems our resident goblin is not the only one hoping to gain a meal by these fellows' misfortune," Callas says, gesturing to the vultures. "However, unless the predators we're looking for are invisible and intangible as well, I don't believe we are in any immediate threat."

[Arkive]

Krakl didn't know what 'cultures' or 'rhetorical' meant, but Shog was finally making sense. Animals would have scattered the bones, and smart-folk like goblins would make a big pile. Then there was the funny meat and the many footprints. Maybe it was an ambush. The others seemed worried enough. He lead Skrn'kt to the footprints and spoke some words in goblin, commanding him to track. "Meat look ..." he scratched his head in confusion. "...not right. Too new for bones." He glanced up at the vultures and pulled his hat snugger onto his head, while mumbling a goblin song and sighing.

"Never eat the meat that green,
blue or black or in-between.
Never eat the wormy-meat,
but meat that red? You eat, eat, eat!"


Skrn'kt's survival check to track by following footprints or by scent: [roll0]

[Hamste]

Good words to live by, though they do miss what you do with fish and birds. If you are really hungry though, we could just shoot down a few of the carrion birds and I will make them safe to eat. Their taste varies a lot depending on their diet but I find that they tend to be pretty good. First things first though, we need to deal with this. So, there are pieces of chain mail in among the bodies. That means whatever attacked them didn't care about the armor. Guess it is time to search the bodies and see if other valuables are left. Who wants to touch the corpses to search through them? I'm just going to be looking at the tracks for a bit. Shog said as he started staring at the pattern of tracks.



[roll0] survival roll to find out which direction the tracks lead

[roll1] to figure out what the tracks were made by (If they are not obviously humanoid and if they fall under knowledge (nature))

[Plerumque]

The things I do for the sake of playing along, Callas thinks, turning towards the bones. "It doesn't look like there's enough of them left to be hiding much of anything," he calls out to Shog, grimacing as he nevertheless begins sifting through the bones.

Perception to see if there are any other items in or nearby the bones: [roll0]

[Frendle]

@ The party The woods are quiet except for the croaking of the carrion birds overhead. Two have landed in the upper boughs of the trees.

@Brandor You move a few dozen feet into the woods. Enough to see deeper into it, not so far as to separate yourself from your squad. There is nothing to see there. At least nothing to worry about, if it weren’t for the pile of bones in the road and the carrion birds overhead it would be a pleasant wood for a walk.

@Shog The tracks are of two kinds
The first are of boots, more or less human sized, moving about in a circle around the bones. The manner of the impressions left could suggest they were made by someone moving about in haste. Maybe fighting?

The second are very odd. Not a track you’ve seen before, even as skilled a tracker as you cannot nail it down. Bird tracks are the closest you can come, but for the size.

However, the tracks leading away are ones you are familiar with, they appear to be the tracks of a large canine. Probably a wolf. Which would make sense given the bones. They head off to the north into the deeper part of the forest.

@ Callas Sifting through the bones, you find nothing of interest besides the ripped chainmail.

[Starbin]

Satisfied that nothing was lurking, he moved back to make eye-contact with the others, signalling that things were clear. Once they were done with their investigation, he would be ready to move to the front, in order to scout ahead.

[Plerumque]

"Well, gentlemen- and lady, of course- it seems that there is nothing else for us here, unless you wish to avail yourself of this rusty chainmail. Shall we forge on ahead, or follow whatever tracks there are?" he asks the group, standing up and dusting off his hands.

[Hamste]

Ok, so something must have grabbed the weapons as they are not here but been unwilling or unable to grab the armor. There are several tracks here, one of them is from boots and they move around the corpses. It could be their foot prints though. The other appears to be some large bird animal. We do know they thought they could fight it and didn't try to flee even when dying. Oddly, enough though canine tracks are the only ones I can see leaving the area and I don't see them coming in. That doesn't explain where their weapons went. Maybe there was another person who came after and looted. Shog said after he finished examining the tracks.




If I misinterpeted anything you said about the tracks please tell me and I will fix it.

[Plerumque]

"Follow the dog tracks, then?" Callas asks. "Technically we've already completed our objective, as we've discovered what became of the soldiers, and it doesn't seem like we have much to gain by continuing on with the path."

[Arkive]

Kralk bared his teeth in a snarl. "We get food after find dog. Our mission find three human. We found three human. Now we find dog." His snarl turned to a half smile. "Lead way, Shog!"

[Starbin]

Brandor frowned at the discussion. It was ridiculous to call their mission done ... they had seemingly found the remains of their comrades, but had not verified it was indeed them, or any idea what had killed them. Of course they needed to continue investigating.

Outwardly, he simply nodded to the decision to continue, moving ahead and scouting their path. He kept to the side to avoid stepping on any tracks, and would let their tracker take the lead as necessary.

[Hamste]

They had seemed to agree to follow the tracks and so Shog started following the tracks.Keep an eye out. Wouldn't want to be surprised like those poor fellows.


[roll0] rolling survival to follow the tracks

[Plerumque]

"Aye aye, captain," Callas says in a dry voice. Nevertheless, his eyes flick back and forth and his hands keep straying to his rapier's hilt.

Perception: [roll0]