Shattered Skies: Act 1 - Caelus

[aturtledoesbite]

The two of you awaken to a simple wooden room, decorated with just a dresser, a chest that doubles as a bedside table, and a crystal-powered lamp. You find yourselves on makeshift bedding, the kind that people who lack anything that could be considered a 'mattress' might consider comfort. Next to you lies two small plates with a couple of dry biscuits and a slice of fruit each, as well as a pair of cups of water.

There appears to be a single door out of the room. In the far corner, you see your various pieces of equipment. A small glimmer in one of the bags, though, is something you don’t remember having…

You obtained the crystal “Blast Wind”!

Blast Wind - Your Burst, Close Blast, Cone, Ranged Blast moves gain +1 area, -2 DB

Strangely, the crystal seems to be without color, unlike those you were given by the miners.

[The Walrus]

Immanuel woke up with a brief groan. Hadn't he just been falling to his death a few moments ago? The philosopher seemed to recall something about a dragon being involved, too. Hmm... maybe incidents like this were why that species of rock dragon was so rare among the floating Lands. The beast had seemed to show some degree of cunning in trapping the mercenaries in its lair and with its seeming ability to comprehend Zhelez's insults, but perhaps it was really just a creature of instinct, unable to comprehend the consequences of smashing apart the floor stopping it from plummeting off its island.

Or, wait - had the dragon fallen along with the mercenaries? In the confusion of the collapsing cavern, Immanuel hadn't noticed. Based on the timing, it seemed like it had intentionally coordinated the wing-disabling pulse from the gem deposit with its ground destroying stomp. But would it really consider seven humans to be enough of a threat to destroy part of its lair and risk falling itself?

After checking his head for bumps and adjusting his wig to try to cover up any he found, Lehrer looked about the room. The simplicity of the room and the makeshift nature of the furniture suggested a cabin on an airship, but the fact that those cups remained upright, contents unspilt, suggested that it wasn't one piloted by Jairin. Then he noticed Elliot.

"Are you awake, Mr. Estre? You got fairly close to that rock dragon during the fight - were you able to see what type of teeth it had?" Knowing whether the creature was a herbivore, carnivore, or possibly some sort of lithotroph could provide another clue to the beast's intelligence.

"...oh, and are you okay? I wouldn't have expected any of us to have survived that weight of stone collapsing on us, yet here we are... Can you still summon your wings? Hopefully that emission from the gem deposit didn't disable them permanently."

Feeling a sudden anxiety, Immanuel attempted to call forth his own wings, nervously glancing over his shoulder.

[Irrelephant]

The faint noise of shuffling wakes Elliot from his dreamless sleep. He stifles a moan as countless aches and pains make themselves known. He glances about in a daze as an indistinct voice seems to ask a question in the background, sitting up as his focus returns and he realizes what they are saying.

"I'm up," he replies. "The dragon... Right. No, I can't say I was too focused on that at the time."

His eyes widen as Immanuel raises the issue regarding wings and he instinctively flexes, calling his expression of the Goddess' blessing into existence. They arch and bend as he examines them closely. "...Mine appear to be fine," he adds. "You had me worried for a minute there. Are you having trouble with your own?"

"Where are we? Where is everyone else?"

[The Walrus]

The faint noise of shuffling wakes Elliot from his dreamless sleep. He stifles a moan as countless aches and pains make themselves known. He glances about in a daze as an indistinct voice seems to ask a question in the background, sitting up as his focus returns and he realizes what they are saying.

"I'm up," he replies. "The dragon... Right. No, I can't say I was too focused on that at the time."

His eyes widen as Immanuel raises the issue regarding wings and he instinctively flexes, calling his expression of the Goddess' blessing into existence. They arch and bend as he examines them closely. "...Mine appear to be fine," he adds. "You had me worried for a minute there. Are you having trouble with your own?"

With a burst of sparks, Immanuel's insectoid wings emerged from his back. Sighing with relief, the philosopher dismissed them after giving a few experimental flaps.

"It would appear not. Perhaps I was too quick to worry, but when dealing with previously unknown phenomena, one must be prepared for anything." How was it possible for any temporal power to disable the (supposedly divine) wings? For once, Immanuel was currently at a loss for theories.


"Where are we? Where is everyone else?"

Now, these seemed like more tractable questions.

"I'm afraid I'm just as in the dark as you are on these matters, but a few conjectures can made. Judging from the sparse decoration of the room, the improvised bedding, and those biscuits, which I believe are popular rations aboard aeronautical vessels, I'd say we're in a cabin on some airship - presumably the same one which must have plucked us from the sky after our fall. The rest of the group would be in cabins nearby, under that theory."

Immanuel eyed the modest repast laid out on the plates before him. Although he'd never payed too much attention to food before his career as a mercenary, he was still accustomed to somewhat more flavorful fare than the standard airship rations. Nevertheless, sampling those biscuits would help test his theory.

"Yes, these are definitely the quality one would expect of airship rations," Lehrer said after he consumed one with the aid of a few swigs of water. The fruit slice tasted slightly better, at least.

"It's rather curious, though, that an airship would be happening to pass by that island right as we fell. To my knowledge, the Gespelt brothers were the only ones who knew about that particular deposit, and this certainly can't be their airship. I'm sure these matters will be cleared up shortly once we can find someone else to talk to," said Immanuel, and went to gather up his equipment. The clear crystal caught his eye as he was doing so.

"Hmm. Is this crystal yours, Mr. Estre? I suppose you weren't making use of it earlier due to its situational nature. Are you familiar with other uncolored specimens? I was under the impression they always had a distinct hue derived from the shards that produced them, but I'm afraid the study of crystals is something of a blind spot in my education." The alternatives to the crystal being Elliot's were, One: That it had somehow been produced from the unprocessed shard deposit - possibly from an interaction with that strange pulse - and fallen along with the mercenaries, or Two: That the kindness of whoever had rescued them extended not just to providing them with food and treatment, but also to giving them free crystals. Neither of these seemed very likely.

[Irrelephant]

"Hmm," Elliot muses. "Yeah, that does sound pretty suspicious. Perhaps the Gespelts weren't as far ahead of the competition as they thought. Do you recognize anything that might tell us which country this ship is affiliated with, at least? They all look the same to me, to be honest."

He munches on one of the biscuits, before grimacing and hurrying to clear his through with a sip of water. "No, I've never seen one like that before. Maybe it fell from someone else's bag and our rescuers just assumed it belonged to us?"

"It seems highly unlikely they would give us a gift out of the blue"

[The Walrus]

"Hmm," Elliot muses. "Yeah, that does sound pretty suspicious. Perhaps the Gespelts weren't as far ahead of the competition as they thought. Do you recognize anything that might tell us which country this ship is affiliated with, at least? They all look the same to me, to be honest."

Lehrer shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Perhaps a shipwright might be able to identify some clue in the grain of the wood, but I have no such knowledge."

There might be some more clues available if Lehrer went rifling through the chest or dresser, but he felt that doing so would be somewhat disrespectful to whoever had provided the duo with this room.


He munches on one of the biscuits, before grimacing and hurrying to clear his through with a sip of water. "No, I've never seen one like that before. Maybe it fell from someone else's bag and our rescuers just assumed it belonged to us?"

"It seems highly unlikely they would give us a gift out of the blue"

"Ah, that would explain it! The crystal must belong to either Mr. Brockton or the Lady Zastruga, I expect."

Immanuel shouldn't have overlooked such a simple explanation, the philosopher thought to himself. It was a bit funny that their rescuers had assumed that either he or Elliot would have had possessed it. Out of all the mercenaries, Harke was the only one whose appearance suggested at elemental abilities of the sort the crystal could empower. Hmm... should Lehrer have been wearing some sort of bright yellow clothes that hinted at his electric powers? Neither Johnny nor Elliot seemed to be doing anything like that, but maybe this was some sort of fashion trend only nobles like Harke knew about?

While he was thinking these thoughts, Immanuel finished organizing his equipment to his preference. Donning his pack, he turned towards the room's only apparent exit.

"I don't suppose either of them would mind if you held onto their crystal in the meantime, though. I'll see if I can go find them along with the rest of our companions." Immanuel said, and attempted to open the door.

[aturtledoesbite]

The​ ​rickety​ ​door​ ​opens​ ​easily​ ​on​ ​its​ ​hinges,​ ​revealing​ ​a​ ​narrow​ ​hallway​ ​made​ ​of​ ​the​ ​same​ ​wood as​ ​the​ ​room​ ​you​ ​were​ ​in.​ ​To​ ​your​ ​right​ ​are​ ​three​ ​unmarked​ ​doors;​ ​to​ ​your​ ​left​ ​are​ ​two​ ​more​ ​doors and​ ​a​ ​staircase​ ​leading​ ​downward.​ ​Light​ ​filters​ ​in​ ​through​ ​the​ ​cheap,​ ​opaque​ ​window​ ​glass​ ​at​ ​the right​ ​end​ ​of​ ​the​ ​hall;​ ​it​ ​seems​ ​brighter​ ​down​ ​the​ ​stairs.

Pleasant​ ​voices​ ​carry​ ​up​ ​from​ ​below,​ ​those​ ​of​ ​a​ ​young​ ​man​ ​and​ ​a​ ​middle-aged​ ​woman.

”Will​ ​that​ ​be​ ​all​ ​for​ ​today,​ ​Mr.​ ​Harvey?​ ​We’ll​ ​be​ ​sure​ ​to​ ​keep​ ​an​ ​eye​ ​out​ ​for​ ​the​ ​items​ ​you mentioned.”
“Thanks​ ​a​ ​bunch,​ ​ma’am!​ ​I’m​ ​hoping​ ​to​ ​get​ ​a​ ​crew​ ​together​ ​before​ ​the​ ​Summerstorm;​ ​we’ll​ ​be sure​ ​to​ ​come​ ​your​ ​way​ ​again!”
“We’ll​ ​be​ ​waiting!​ ​Oh,​ ​if​ ​it’s​ ​not​ ​too​ ​much​ ​trouble,​ ​do​ ​you​ ​think​ ​you​ ​could​ ​bring​ ​more​ ​of​ ​those sweets​ ​from​ ​the​ ​capital​ ​for​ ​little​ ​Helen?​ ​It’s​ ​a​ ​splurge,​ ​but​ ​she​ ​does​ ​love​ ​them​ ​so!”
“Not​ ​a​ ​problem​ ​-​ ​I’ll​ ​even​ ​make​ ​it​ ​my​ ​treat,​ ​since​ ​you​ ​gave​ ​me​ ​way​ ​too​ ​much​ ​for​ ​them​ ​last​ ​time!​ ​I’ll be​ ​off​ ​then,​ ​got​ ​a​ ​long​ ​ways​ ​to​ ​go​ ​before​ ​sundown.​ ​Take​ ​care,​ ​Mrs.​ ​Bauer!”

A​ ​door​ ​shuts​ ​with​ ​a​ ​heavy​ ​thud,​ ​signaling​ ​the​ ​young​ ​man’s​ ​departure.​ ​Afterward​ ​is​ ​only​ ​quiet shuffling​ ​and​ ​rustling​ ​from​ ​the​ ​woman​ ​tidying​ ​up.

[The Walrus]

Well, these people sounded friendly enough, Lehrer thought. The talk about concluding some sort of transaction reminded the philosopher of his own financial situation, and he felt himself frowning slightly. Before Immanuel left on his recent adventure, his brother had informed him of the top priorities of any successful mercenary: 1. Don't die. 2. Get paid. Or was that the other way around...?

Either way, although Immanuel seemed to have succeeded at the 'not dying' portion, the odds of him receiving any kind of payment from the Gespelt brothers seemed lower and lower the more he thought about it. Even assuming he could manage to find them again, they probably wouldn't be very happy about their gem deposit either falling off the island or becoming buried underneath several tons of rock. At least they'd given him that blue crystal earlier - although, given the magnitude of his debt owed in Zemia, that by itself would probably just barely manage to cover the interest accumulated in the time he'd spent since departing Vestgaard.

What this added up to was that Lehrer needed to find a new source of income. That Mr. Harvey had mentioned getting a crew together, so maybe that was the answer - assuming Lehrer could catch up to him in time. Lehrer hurried down the corridor to the stairway, walking as fast as his sense of dignity would allow him.

[Irrelephant]

"What do you think," Elliot whispers to Immanuel as they trudge down the stairs. "Don't recognize anyone else's voice, so I reckon' it might just be the two of us for now. Unless the others are still recovering."

As they reach the stairs, Elliot makes sure to tread a little more heavily than usual, hopefully announcing their presence. Wouldn't do to give their rescuers a fright as their first impression, right? Well, first conscious impression.

[Elfbird]

The woman - Mrs. Bauer, apparently - turns at the sound of the stairs creaking under your boots and gives you a warm, welcoming smile.

”Welcome back to the world of the living, sleepyheads. You had us worried, but it seems you’ve recovered well enough! You should probably rest for a few more days to be safe; don’t push yourselves too hard and hurt yourselves again!

“Ah, where are my manners? I’m Faron Bauer. My husband and daughter found you both lying unconscious out in our field. That was about… three days ago, I think. Our family may be of humble means, but we’ll offer whatever aid we can to fellows in need.”

The downstairs area gives the impression of a small general store, packed with wooden shelves and barrels. A sturdy counter stands opposite the front door, with an inside door half-hidden past the crates behind it.
On closer inspection, the shop is actually quite poorly stocked. What little is displayed in the shelves and barrels is cleverly arranged to make good use of the space, given what she has to work with.
The last customer probably put a substantial dent in the existing stock too.

Stock without a listed quantity is “probably enough that it’s not worth keeping track of stock.” This will usually be the case; this particular shop is in a unique situation.

Travel Gear
Bait - 275g
Collection Jar - 110g
First Aid Kit - 550g (2 available)
Fishing Lure - 1650g
Saddle - 2200g (3 available)
Basic Rope - 110g per 25ft
Sleeping Bag (single) - 1200g (2 available)
Tent (4-person) - 4000g (1 available)

Medicines
Potion - 220g (8 available)
Antidote - 220g (4 available)
Paralyze Heal - 220g (2 available)
Energy Powder - 135g (10 available)
Heal Powder - 315g (5 available)
Bandages - 330g (4 available)
Poultices - 205g (4 available)

Food Items
Candy Bar - 80g
Honey - 100g
Enriched Water - 70g
MooMoo Milk - 450g (6 available)
All Tier 1 Berries - 135g (1d6 of each available, rolled at time of purchase)

Equipment
Snow Boots - 1800g (1 pair available)
Jungle Boots - 1800g (1 pair available)
Old Rod - 1100g (1 available)
Any crude small melee or short ranged weapon, or blank equipment (1 crystal slot, no additional effects) - 550g (1d3-1 of each available, rolled at time of purchase)
Walking Stick (crude large melee weapon, 2 slots) - 1000g
Old Bow (crude long range weapon, 2 slots) - 1500g

[The Walrus]

Wait, so they weren't on an airship? Lehrer was reminded of an essay he once read theorizing that there was no conceivable experiment one could perform in a closed room to tell if they were stationary or on an airship moving at constant velocity. The philosopher hadn't thought much of it at the time, but maybe there was something to it after all.

If Immanuel and Elliot hadn't been picked up by an airship, how could they have survived the fall? The only explanation Immanuel could think of was that their wings must have activated while the duo was unconscious, and slowed their descent enough for it to be non-lethal.

When the woman addressed the pair, Lehrer tried to return her smile, but the worry on his face was evident. If she had only found him and Elliot, where were the other mercenaries?

"You have my sincere thanks for your help, Mrs. Bauer. Were a pair of fellows unfortunate enough to find themselves lying on the ground unconscious in Rittwald, I daresay it'd take at least half a day before any of the hundreds of passers-by thought to check to see if they were injured rather than passed out from drink. But I see that the people of... er... pardon me, but do you know where we are? I wasn't aware that there were any settled areas beneath the fragment we fell from. Oh, and do you know if there were any other people found nearby us? There were five others in our group that fell with us, and none of them would've been in any better condition than we were."

It was unlikely enough for both Elliot and Lehrer's wings to have activated at the last second to save them, and it would be even more improbable for the event to have occurred seven times. A shiver ran down Lehrer's spine as he realized that five of the people he had just been working with were most likely dead now.

"Um, I believe I should explain how we came to be here. I'm Immanuel Lehrer, until recently a professor at the university of Rittwald, and currently a sort of independently contracted mercenary, as is my companion, Mr. Estre. We and five others were hired by a small shard-mining company to join them on scouting out a new deposit they had found and remove any troublesome fauna that might impede their efforts.

There was one particularly large creature we encountered - a previously undiscovered species, I believe - but maybe people in this region might know of it? It was a large, vaguely chelonian quadruped, perhaps over four meters in length, breadth, and height, with a rock-like carapace and draconic features. Additionally, the beast was intelligent enough to set a trap for us, having weakened part of its lair's ceiling so it collapsed and buried the entrance to its chamber after we went in.

At least, I believe that was intentional of it... well, after fighting the creature for some time, it seemed to grow quite wroth at our efforts, and shattered the floor of its lair with a stomp, leaving us to plummet off the bottom of the fragment. We would have deployed our wings at that point, but some of us had already been knocked unconscious by falling debris, and, at the same time the ground collapsed, a strange pulse emitted from the crystal deposit in the room- did I mention the crystal deposit? In the beast's lair, there was a massive pillar of shard matter, of such magnitude that the glow from it could be seen even outside the cave it resided in. That was the deposit that we'd been hired to scout, of course.

Um, so a pulse of light emitted from the deposit - did I mention that the beast's eyes started to glow red when this happened? It was as if it had some control over it- but, anyhow, the pulse seemed to cause all of our wings to dissipate- although, it seems the effect wasn't permanent, at least not for the two of us. At this point, I lost consciousness myself, and, it seems, fell into your field. Er, my apologies if I landed on any important crops. I can assure you that my mercenary missions don't usually- well, that is to say, there isn't a sufficient sample size yet to conclude that my missions usually end with me falling unconscious onto other people's property."

[Irrelephant]

"Yeah, we're very lucky to have survived. But I think you might be getting ahead of yourself a little bit. I'm sure Mrs. Bauer doesn't want to hear about all the gritty details of the expedition. You paint such a gory, vivid picture."

"And thank you," he smiles at the lady in question. "For everything. We'd be more than happy to restock here. Certainly need supplies for the trip home at least."

"So these are your prices?"

[Elfbird]

Mrs. Bauer continues smiling affably as Immanuel delivers his dissertation, not interrupting or looking away at all.
Faron’s eyes quickly become glazed over; it seems his elaborate and verbose way of speaking sailed right over her head and clipped her brain on the way.

”...Well, it seems you gentlemen had quite the adventure! Misters… Lehrer and Estre, was it? You’re welcome to keep resting or wander around for a bit; one of us will call you when it’s time for dinner. A patrol should be coming around from Rebe tomorrow or the day after. I’m sure they’ll help you get back to Rittwald!”

Rebe Fortress is about three days from Rittwald - somehow that bit of trivia stuck in your head, despite never having been in this area personally.

Zemian frontier patrols are very regular; saying one will come “tomorrow or the day after” is like saying “the bus might be here in an hour or two” in London. Her tone suggests they’re accustomed to this state of affairs too.

You hear the door behind the counter open and shut quickly, then a girl of 5 or so years patters into view. She examines you two appraisingly, circling the room by darting from object to object and peeking out from cover.

”Helen, why don’t you come say hello to our guests?”

The girl hesitates for a moment, then suddenly dashes up and hugs Elliot’s left leg, looking up at him with saucer-eyes and the beginnings of a smile. Her hair looks exactly like her mother’s.
”Wow, you’re taaaall. I bet you can reach all the fruit on the trees. Do you make candy with it will you share some pleeeease~?”

17 (rolled in Roll20)
Just to see what happens~

Faron chuckles softly but waits to see how you react before telling Helen off. Apparently this isn’t an unusual scene.

[Irrelephant]

"That's good to hear," Elliot responds with a smile. "Won't be too hard to find out what happened to everyone else once we're there. Thank you so much for your hospitality, and please, let us know if there's anything we can do to help out."

The puppy-dog eyes are too much for Elliot, he cracks. Turning toward Mrs. Bauer for support, "Well.... I don't know anything about making candy, but I've plenty of experience picking fruit. Maybe I can help you there. That is, if your mother agrees."

[Elfbird]

Faron nods thoughtfully to herself for a bit. ”...If you’re sure you’re up for it, why don’t you three go check which fruit trees are ready to harvest? It’s a little early, but I think some of the peaches might be good to go. Helen can show you the way.”

“Yay! And then the tall man can make peach candies! Yay!”

Faron gives Elliot a sympathetic smile. ”Y’all have fun now! Don’t wander too far, and stay out of the tall grass! I’ll call when dinner’s ready; Helen definitely won’t miss the sound, right?”

“Right! Dingdingding~!”

The Bauers’ small orchard is a ways behind the house/shop. Helen eagerly leads you to the peach grove, and sitting on Elliot’s shoulders, easily reaches the newly-ripe fruits to drop into the baskets you brought. You also find that the cherry trees are ready for picking, and collect some of them as well. It’s not a huge harvest, but should be enough to keep them in stock for a while once they’ve been preserved.

During a lull in the work, Immanuel pulls Elliot aside while Helen is focused on eating a particularly juicy peach. He intimates that his presence in Zemia is currently, ah… unwelcomed, for purely academic reasons, and takes the opportunity to see himself off before his association brings any unpleasant attention upon Elliot or the kind Bauers. Elliot is free to wait for the patrol or not, as he wishes; there should be no problems for him on Immanuel’s account.

You harvest the sum of Elliot’s and Helen’s Survival checks; once they’re sorted, Elliot is welcome to 1d6 of each - the slightly bruised and weirdly-shaped ones that are still fine to eat, just not to display.

Of course, you could always choose to take off with the whole harvest yourself...

Helen’s rolls:
Peach: [roll0]
Cherry: [roll1]

Elliot’s share:
[roll2] Pecha Berries
[roll3] Cheri Berries
The sun is rolling close to the horizon when you hear the dinner bell singing across the field. It’s right about then that you notice a distinct lack of Helen, and a freshly-trampled path leading into the tall grass at the orchard’s edge...

[Irrelephant]

Wiping sweat off his brow, Elliot takes a look down at the results of their labor. "Not bad," he muses to himself. Helen was more helpful than he'd expected, and the harvest was quite fruitful. He snatches a handful of berries from the sack, his "share" so to speak.

What could Immanuel have done in Zemia, anyway? Elliot didn't really know to much about the other mercenary's academic work, but how bad could it have been? He certainly didn't seem like the type to have worked on any top secret projects or the like. Eh, what's done is done. Elliot would wait it out here, and carry on all the same.

The silent moment gives him pause, Helen's constant, noisy, presence conspicuously absent. "Damn it!" he mutters, more angry at himself for not paying attention than at Helen for wandering off. He calls out for her, hoping she's not gotten too far away, as he follows her trail into the tall grass.

[Elfbird]

Racing through the untamed field, you find yourself instinctively avoiding the plentiful holes and furrows that the tall grass chokes out of sight. Here and there the waning sunlight catches on tiny shards, sparking flares of brilliant color amidst the sea of green. Perhaps that’s what attracted Helen…?

There’s no answer to your calls from the girl in question. From time to time you think you feel something brush your legs, but whatever it is vanishes by the time you push the grass aside to look.

Many of the holes are threaded with spider webs, becoming denser and more common the further into the field you go.

[Irrelephant]

"Helen?!" Elliot calls out, increasingly worried with each passing moment. "Helen, can you hear me?!" The flashes of color catch his attention, but are quickly forgotten as he feels something brush against his leg.

Searching through the brush for the source of the sensation, the young mercenary swears furiously as he begins to notice the numerous pits and tunnels that Helen could have fallen into, and more worryingly, the spiderwebs that cover many of them. But still, he reins in his first instinct to search frantically and takes a deep breath. Elliot focuses his attention on the vibrations in the earth below, hoping that might shed some light on where Helen is now.

Survival: [roll0]

Action: Use tremorsense to look for Helen

[Elfbird]

As you calm yourself and focus on your tremorsense, you soon locate a void - a cavern - that opens right ahead of you. Just two or three more paces and you would have fallen in, hidden as it was by the tangled grass!
You can feel the faint tap-tap-tapping of countless tiny legs through the soil. If Helen is down there, she’s not moving right now.

Judging from the feel of the ground beneath you, and the relatively soft soil, you reckon that the cavern is actually a sinkhole. You’re able to pick your way closer to the edge without risk of falling through.
Once you find a vantage through the grass, you can see a swarm of large crystalline spiders working their webbing across the hole’s opening. Ragged edges of webbing on your side float in a nonexistent breeze.
Each spider is about the size of a large housecat, with bulbous bodies and long, spindly legs. Their translucent bodies sparkle iridescently in the waning light, much like the shards you passed on the way here. If they’ve noticed you, they’re paying you absolutely no regard right now - you’re neither food nor threat to them.

[Irrelephant]

Elliot carefully works his way around the sinkhole, deep in thought. There was no easy way to climb down that he could see. And even if there were, would it be a good idea? Helen might not be down there in the first place, and he was uncertain about the kind of odds he'd be facing.

No, better to get help first. Nodding slowly to himself, he edges backwards, putting himself out of reach of the sinkhole. He keeps his mind focused on the ground below, hoping to get a sense of any human movement, as he rushes back to the Bauer home.

[Elfbird]

Your jaunt back to the Bauers’ house/shop passes without incident, given your ability to instinctively navigate the countless hidden holes. Mrs. Bauer is silhouetted by the sunset to her right, arms crossed and looking out over the fields with a mix of impatience and worry.

You spot a man’s head sticking out one of the upper windows, also watching the fields, and barely hear him call down to Faron:
”Ach, we’ve got a runner!”
Faron’s attention darts to your movement on the otherwise still horizon, and calls out when you get in speaking distance.
”Mr. Estre! We were about to start eating… without… you? Where are the others - Mr. Lehrer and Helen? What happened?!”

You have a scant moment to take control of the situation before panic sets in. Apparently mothers don’t much like it when their young children go unaccounted for, or something.