[Adventure] The Mine-Militia Identity. (DM: horticulture; Judge: covaithe)

[twilsemail]

His smile returns once more, hardly looking forced, "I'm glad we understand one another. Communication is key to a well functioning team, afterall." With that said he shifts off to the side, watching their tail again. This time, however, he's making a point of keeping Sharpe in his field of vision.

 

[pathfinderq1]

Mina looked over the scene for just a few minutes. "Are we going to go in there after them?," she asked. "Or are we going to wait and see who comes out?"

[sblock= OOC]
>Just to clarify, that was one uniformed human and three bugbears, not three bugbears and one human all in uniforms, right? Is there any clear indication that the ravening horde we saw earlier went into the enclosure/underground? Passive Perception only 16, but a group like that should leave a clear trail.
[/sblock]

 

[horticulture]

OOC: You're correct [MENTION=48394]pathfinderq1[/MENTION], just one guard in Daunton colors.

You can definitely see beaten and matted grass, as well as signs of booted feet, all the way up to the hilltop. There are also signs of a clawed creature either following the large group, or traveling amongst them. It looks like the group that was paralleling your trek through the forest has made it here first.

However, there doesn't appear to be any signs of the dragon being involved in combat. Maybe the guard got a few lucky shots in before being overwhelmed. Or perhaps there was a larger contingent of miners above ground when the bugbears came upon them and the dwarves were forced underground after the initial contact.

 

[Someone]

OOC: Is there anything on the guard that can be used to identify him? I was thinking either of something official, like dog tags or the like, or perhaps a personal belonging like a ring, necklace...

Prime sheathes his sword, but makes sure it can be drawn easily. He doesn't want it stuck in the scabbard - he may need it soon as nothing in his programming leads him to believe goblins like artificial being more than they like humans.

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*THIS IS WHAT THEY HAD IN MIND WHEN THEY HIRED US, I THINK*
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*WE SHOULD INVESTIGATE THE MINES*
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*AND TRY TO FIND ANY SURVIVORS*
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[MetaVoid]

Drew is already crawling across the top of the hill, leaving more investigative minded to speculate about the death of the guard and intentions of the duergar.

 

[horticulture]

After searching the body of the fallen militiaman, Prime comes across a worn golden ring with a small, cracked blue stone in it; blood - still wet - is smeared along the inside of the band. The ring should be proof enough of this man's fate.

Standing atop the stairwell, Drew can hear faint talking coming from below. The words are in a language the monk can't understand, but they obviously don't belong to dwarves or the other militia member.

The smoke drifting from stairwell finally subsides, leaving just the smell of burnt wood in the air.

 

[Someone]

Prime examines the surrounding area, looking for evidence that could lead him to believe the militia or the dwarves left the mine before the horde arrived.

If he finds none, then he deduces they must be inside and in danger from the goblins. Signalling Drew to go first for scouting, he leads the group into the dark passage.

 

[Luinnar]

Sharpe had his pieces of grass a dragon stepped on, and saw some dead bodies. That was enough to make him happy for the time being. He wandered about and wondered how much it cost to hire hobgoblins and if he could find a fifty gallon vat of barbecue sauce push Felix in.https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Barbecue

 

[horticulture]

Despite Prime's very astute observations, all the signs he finds lead him to believe that the miners retreated deeper underground, perhaps trapping themselves with no way to escape.

 

[Someone]

Prime clanks quietly

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*OK DREW YOU FIRST. WE'LL FOLLOW CLOSELY*
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*COME BACK AT THE FIRST SIGN OF DANGER*
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