Dealing death gave Amina at least passing knowledge of the stages a corpse endured after severed from its mortal coil. Within a day, the pallor of death and stench of the grave drew flies. Within three, unseemly bloating and bleeding. Within a week, a change in hue and arise of vapors. Within several weeks, the nails and teeth sloughed off. Longer for the body to liquify, and longer still for a body to desiccate.
As Amina drew closer, she saw the corpse was a bearded man of middle age, his eyes chewed out and his face peeling...
The exposed hand lacked fingernails, but that could be the jackal's doing from chewing at the corpse's fingers. As the body was half-buried in soft sand, its other arm wasn't readily available for examination unless Amina dug it out and touched the corpse.
The corpse was adorned in a simple
jellaba (hooded lightweight robe) with a light brown color striped with black lines - the clothes of many desert travelers and pilgrims. A closer examination of his face revealed his lips had shriveled in the sun and his teeth were beginning to fall out. Ajan said the attack on Hakim Oasis occurred roughly three weeks ago, and the corpse's decomposition matched that timeline.
At the corpse's side was a scimitar sheath - but no sign of the blade - and a sheathed jambiya. The ivory hilt of the jambiya was emblazoned with a family sigil reading "Sarraf."
His state of impartial burial suggested there was either a windstorm that moved sand through this slot canyon after his death, or someone was interrupted while giving the man a hasty burial. There were no other corpses or graves readily apparent.
| GM: | Learning anything more will require a more hands-on examination using Wisdom (Medicine) or Intelligence (Investigation). Or asking specific questions. Or magic.
[MENTION=23]Ancalagon[/MENTION] Generally, when you're in "travel mode" I let short rests be pretty easy. But I also prefer to handle that "en vivo", so when you guys say "we want to rest here", then I respond with "ok, you rest without incident" or "fifteen minutes into your respite, suddenly..." Generally,
common sense applies. If you're in a hostile dungeon with enemies lurking about and you want to barricade the door to "get a short rest", that very very likely won't be restful. I treat rests as being not just "time passes" but that you actually have the opportunity to let your guard down, unwind, catch your breath, etc. |
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