(IC) A Hard Time in Harrowdale

[Rhun]

Fayne moves forward, quickly but cautiously, looking for any signs of danger. Reaching the tarp, he uses the tip of his glaive to lift the edge and peer beneath the cover.

[Scott DeWar]

Evenar lifts the tarp that seems to be hiding something beneath and sees. . .

[Arkhandus]

Fayne enters the camp and passes two of the tents, Evanar following. They lift the tarp..........and find the mangled, shredded, gnawed-on corpse of the chandler's horse. It looks like the gnolls just dug in with their teeth and ripped out ragged chunks of horse-flesh in their jaws.

Most of the blood has apparently been drained or drunken, so the horse carcass is only slightly bloody. It is still mostly intact, just a few scattered chunks missing. The eyes have been plucked out, the skull smashed open, the brains removed, bites have been taken out of its neck, and small chunks of the torso are gone. It looks like the horse must've died in agony and panic.

You don't hear anything new, and nothing stirs from the tents.

Merrick and Tarven follow slowly from either side, in case anything bursts out to flee. Storn approaches a bit, but not too close. He's still badly wounded from trading axeblows with the gnoll leader.

[Scott DeWar]

Evenar drops the edge of the tarp, runs to the edge of the clearing and pukes his guts out.

[Voda Vosa]

"A nasty visage indeed. But it's just a horse. Where is the boy?" Says the calishite, apparently undisturbed, as he peaks into one of the tents.

[Rhun]

"Perhaps bound and gagged in one of these tents?" says Fayne, though his voice is not hopeful. With that, he moves to begin looking into the tents one by one.

[Myth and Legend]

Spoiler:

double post

[Myth and Legend]

"Ewwww" Abrielle was thoroughly disgusted with the grim sight of a half eaten dead horse. "Please, cover this thing again, and let's look for the boy."

She then joins the search for the lad:

Spoiler:

Search: Take 10 +5 = 15

[Rhun]

"If the gnolls didn't eat him, he must be here somewhere," says Fayne as he searches. "Or perhaps the gnolls sold him; I've known their kind to have sold slaves before."

[Scott DeWar]

between gaging, and coughing evenar mutters out the words faintly," people are not merchendise! they should not be bought and sold!!"

[Rhun]

Fayne shrugs at Evenar's words and continues searching. "While I may agree with you, we are but few in a very large world. And out there, such things happen. I have seen it in my homeland."

[Voda Vosa]

"Yes, it's not something strange. People make quite useful merchandise in the hands of a skilful merchant. I must say I distaste the idea, but I know many fellow merchants that use slaves in their business. And they make out quite a difference. I had to pay those good-for-nothing mercenaries for protection, and for what? They ended up dead anyway, and I was lucky to to be rotting with them." says the wizard as he searches another tent

[Myth and Legend]

"S-slaves?" Abrielle stuttered at the prospect of such an abomination, wide eyed and genuinely astonished. "This is absurd, nothing good can ever come from slavery. And master Wizard you should know full well that no slave would ever risk his life in earnest for his master - loyalty does not go hand in hand with atrocity."

The Elven girl put her hands on her hips and made a frown, awaiting a response from the Calishite.

[Voda Vosa]

The calishite leaves the tent, frowning to the elven maid. "Your words are full of sincere goodness lass, but of naivety too. Slavery is a fact, it happens and it is part of our world, as we know it. My people were the slaves of Djinns and other entities like those for many years. And I can assure you, that self preservation is a useful tool, more useful than loyalty in some cases. The genies had... perverse ways to improve the morale of their slaves. My country has a long history of been slaves of the genies and of slavers themselves. Slavery is part of my country's culture, like it or not. Slavers now don't have such treats with slaves as genies did, our slavery system is highly organized and standardised. Slaves now enjoy certain rights. I won't expect anyone to understand this, since none of you is from my homelands, I only ask you to accepts things as they are, since you can't change them."
he explains. "I propose you to keep this conversation for the moment when we are back in Harrowdale, finding the missing lad is our priority now, I think we all agree in that."

[Rhun]

"Indeed," says Fayne. "I didn't mean to start a philosophical debate on the morals of slavery. I was simply pointing out a possibility of what may have happened to the boy."

[Scott DeWar]

Evenar finally gets himself back together and mumbles :

"after being slaves and then become masters makes you as much the monster they were."

He then starts searching tents.

[Voda Vosa]

"Search, boy, we'll discuss these matters later." wizard just smiled at the lad comment, before beginning the search again.

[Arkhandus]

A few of you check the tents and talk, until finally, in the fourth tent, Fayne discovers the battered and bruised form of the teenager captured by the gnolls. The boy is unconscious, badly beaten, and crudely tied-up with a short length of rope, a gag in his mouth. Each of the tents holds a few items and a fur that serves as a bedroll for whatever gnoll was using it. The tents reek of canine and violent scents.

[Scott DeWar]

tent contents

if anything is of value above 10 gp, evenar will take it

[Rhun]

Fayne drags the unconscious lad out into the open air. "Selua!" he calls. "I believe your skills are needed!"