-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Copperheads: Betrayal and Strange Runes and Burning Dead, oh my (short update 02/12)
- Thread starter arwink
- Start date
arwink
Clockwork Golem
Thursday, August 24th, 508 AF, continued
Following a hunch that whatever's going wrong in town is somehow linked to the ancient dragon lair in the nearby mountain, the majority of the information Halgo and Geoffrey try to get from Hobb revolves around the location of the old mine.
It proves pretty fruitless - Hobb is steadfastly convinced that the headaches and missing children will be cleared up shortly, and can't see any reason the old mine would be related to Othic's death. After several minutes of haggling, Geoffrey can sense the seeds of suspicioun starting to sprout in the mayor's mind.
"As you say," he states firmly, flashing a quick glare at his companions to shut him up. "We simply wanted to be sure that these things aren't connected and eliminate all possibilities."
With a stiff salute, the St Cuthban cleric leads his companions out of the square.
"Puny town," Blarth snarls as they head back along the road to Othic's farm.
It takes them the better part of the morning to get there, and it's not a pretty sight when they arrive. A quick search of the house shows no disturbance, but Othic's body has been left where it was slain in the barn. They can hear the buzz of several flies hovering over the corpse, and the pool of clotting blood is almost enough to turn the strongest stomachs in the group.
"Whatever got him, it did a good job," Geoffrey says, examining the body. He flips it over to get a better look. Almost instantly, everyone rears back in disgust. The farmer has a saddle-bit shoved into his mouth, done with enough force that it's snapped several teeth. Worse, his chest is a torn mess of gashes and ripped flesh. Covering his mouth, Geoffrey leans in for a closer look at the wounds.
"That's not done by any blade," he explains. "He's been torn apart by something big, with sharp teeth. Almost like he's been attacked by dire wolves."
"If wolf, how he get horse-bite in mouth?" Yip asks quietly.
"I don't know."
There's a breif moment of silence as everyone considers this.
"Were horses?" Halgo offers, in an attempt to break the heavy air. Everyone grunts, the humor in the comment lost as they consider the possibility that were-horses may well exist.
"Yip, go check the horses in the paddock," Geoffrey orders. The kobold nods once and sprints out of the barn. When he returns, he looks confused.
"All there," he explains. "All but two clustered at the far end of the field."
"And the two that aren't?"
"Othic's horses. Escaped ones," he pauses for a moment, as if debating whether to add his next statement. "Yip think they have blood on paws."
"Hooves," Blarth mutters under his breath. "Kobold not speak common. Puny kobold."
Yip glares at him.
"There more," Yip says softly. "Yip hear something speak to him. Something in head, speaking in Yip's voice."
"What'd it say?" Halgo demands.
"Singing, like human child." The kobold adopts a chirping falsetto and sings "We're going to get you, we're going to get you" in a sing-song chant.
"Were-horses, huh?" Goeffrey says, looking wearily at Halgo. The dwarf shrugs.
"If it makes you feel better, it'll probably be something much worse."
They troop outside to look at the horses in the paddock.
Following a hunch that whatever's going wrong in town is somehow linked to the ancient dragon lair in the nearby mountain, the majority of the information Halgo and Geoffrey try to get from Hobb revolves around the location of the old mine.
It proves pretty fruitless - Hobb is steadfastly convinced that the headaches and missing children will be cleared up shortly, and can't see any reason the old mine would be related to Othic's death. After several minutes of haggling, Geoffrey can sense the seeds of suspicioun starting to sprout in the mayor's mind.
"As you say," he states firmly, flashing a quick glare at his companions to shut him up. "We simply wanted to be sure that these things aren't connected and eliminate all possibilities."
With a stiff salute, the St Cuthban cleric leads his companions out of the square.
"Puny town," Blarth snarls as they head back along the road to Othic's farm.
It takes them the better part of the morning to get there, and it's not a pretty sight when they arrive. A quick search of the house shows no disturbance, but Othic's body has been left where it was slain in the barn. They can hear the buzz of several flies hovering over the corpse, and the pool of clotting blood is almost enough to turn the strongest stomachs in the group.
"Whatever got him, it did a good job," Geoffrey says, examining the body. He flips it over to get a better look. Almost instantly, everyone rears back in disgust. The farmer has a saddle-bit shoved into his mouth, done with enough force that it's snapped several teeth. Worse, his chest is a torn mess of gashes and ripped flesh. Covering his mouth, Geoffrey leans in for a closer look at the wounds.
"That's not done by any blade," he explains. "He's been torn apart by something big, with sharp teeth. Almost like he's been attacked by dire wolves."
"If wolf, how he get horse-bite in mouth?" Yip asks quietly.
"I don't know."
There's a breif moment of silence as everyone considers this.
"Were horses?" Halgo offers, in an attempt to break the heavy air. Everyone grunts, the humor in the comment lost as they consider the possibility that were-horses may well exist.
"Yip, go check the horses in the paddock," Geoffrey orders. The kobold nods once and sprints out of the barn. When he returns, he looks confused.
"All there," he explains. "All but two clustered at the far end of the field."
"And the two that aren't?"
"Othic's horses. Escaped ones," he pauses for a moment, as if debating whether to add his next statement. "Yip think they have blood on paws."
"Hooves," Blarth mutters under his breath. "Kobold not speak common. Puny kobold."
Yip glares at him.
"There more," Yip says softly. "Yip hear something speak to him. Something in head, speaking in Yip's voice."
"What'd it say?" Halgo demands.
"Singing, like human child." The kobold adopts a chirping falsetto and sings "We're going to get you, we're going to get you" in a sing-song chant.
"Were-horses, huh?" Goeffrey says, looking wearily at Halgo. The dwarf shrugs.
"If it makes you feel better, it'll probably be something much worse."
They troop outside to look at the horses in the paddock.
Last edited:
Similar Threads
