(CSRHoD) Creamsteak's Red Hand of Doom II [IC]

[Arkhandus]

Warren agrees, "Makes sense. Not that I expect there to be any survivors." He scouts ahead on foot, keeping an eye out and staying quiet. The halfling pads off silently, short sword in hand but held under his cloak to conceal the gleam of steel in the daylight.
[sblock=ooc]Taking 10 on Hide until I get to the thorp and can't find anything to hide behind while I move. Taking 10 on Move Silently. 28 total for each of those. For noticing anything, my Listen modifier is +11 and Spot is +12. Going to check the inn and smithy, starting with whichever is closest. Using Child of Shadow stance for concealment (20% miss chance) in case any nasties notice me and get the jump on me.[/sblock]

 

[Creamsteak]

Warren scouts closer to the town, bypassing the light fortifications the small thorp had set up, and getting closer to the town. As Warren gets closer to the center of town, he can smell something beyond the smoke and ember - the smell of blood is in the air.

Up close, there are signs of arrows peppering the buildings - likely the same ones used by the goblin worg riders that have been seen in advance of the Red Hand Horde. Warren does not, however, see any bodies from either side of the conflict in the area.

 

[pathfinderq1]

As Warren began scouting, Tyrla swept up into the air again. The swirling shadows which bore her aloft bore an unsettling resemblance to the dark smoke still wafting from the village- but with 200 feet of altitude that gave her a sense of protective camoflage as well.

 

[Arkhandus]

[sblock=ooc]So no people or corpses inside the smithy or the inn? Warren will return the party if so, to report.[/sblock]

 

[Creamsteak]

I stopped you before you inspected either. Just the description of the town from ground level.

 

[SelcSilverhand]

Siobhan keeps her eyes on the woods around them as they approach the town. So far there had been no scouts from the town to challenge them, an ill omen in her mind. She looks towards the graveyard, wondering how many bodies will be added to it once the townsfolk begin to pick up the pieces.

 

[Creamsteak]

As Warren moves in closer to the inn, he can see cloth that the wooden shutters that once acted as movable covers for the windows have broken off. The doors appear to have been barricaded shut and then crashed down by whatever force saw fit to attack this town. Both the windows and the debris provide no obstacle for the halfling and he is able to advnance into the main room. The scent of death looms from the buildings walls.

Upon entering, he finds a surprise waiting for him. There are numerous bodies laid out in all manner across the room - every one of them goblin or hobgoblin in nature. They look like they were each shredded to bits by a large bear or wolf. To make matters more disturbing, many of the corpses have bled out, staining the floor a deep red color. The colors mix with the rich purple heartwood that makes up every other panel on the innroom floor.

The kitchen is largely in ruins, very little is left of the tools and supplies that once stocked this place - obviously a very meager stash given the structure. Tables are upturned or shattered, and the chairs have largely used to secure the windows and doors of the building.

Warren finds that the building is only one story tall with only four rooms on the first floor - the main room/kitchen, the bedroom, and two guest bedrooms. A supply closet, still locked tight, is also visible in the corner of the kitchen. Warren is able to get past the lock after some work (a surprising amount of work given the towns likely assets). Inside, only a single broom sits in a 4 foot square closet with freshly whitewashed walls.

 

[Arkhandus]

Warren is surprised to find the goblinoid corpses, and steels himself, though he's gotten used to some amount of gruesomeness. He finishes checking out the inn, and decides before leaving to take whatever valuables he can find on the corpses, if they even still have coin pouches or the like. Once that's done, he leaves the inn to check out the smithy before reporting back to the group.

 

[Creamsteak]

Warren finds 8 potions of cure light wounds, 2 vials of an ink-like liquid - the same as the substance acquired from the goblin worg riders. While most of their armor is shredded and their spears and arrows shattered, their swords are still in servicable condition. There are six blades in all, two longswords and four shortswords. A handful of clay cups and plates are also in respectable condition, but not likely to be worth much attention. It looks like any coins have been stripped off the bodies, as well as any of their supplies of food and water - if they were carrying any to begin with.

The smithy and stables is mostly open to the air. Signs point to the place being used recently, and remnants of a coal-based fire at the forge are visible, as well as lime and coke. The building has a respectable furnace and enough shelter to handle two horses, but not much else. A full collection of masterwork blacksmiths tools are arrayed around the room, as well as the heavy anvil and a well that provides access to cold water. A stockpile of copper nuggets in a bin below the tools is full, 50 lbs. in all, as well as two other bins - both empty.

The building itself is in good condition, and appears not to have earned much attention from the attackers.

 

[Arkhandus]

Warren stows the potions and other vials, and returns to the group, still keeping watch for any lingering dangers as he goes. Warren reports on what he found, but mentions that he doesn't think it's worth taking the swords, tools, and nuggets with them, unless someone else thinks they're valuable enough. He's not sure if the weapons were magical or not, but doubts it.

The halfling takes out the potions and vials, handing out a potion to each member of the party, handing out an extra to Avril for Mandla's sake and an extra to Tyrla just in case she winds up stuck in melee again later. He keeps one of the potions for himself, and inquires as to whether or not anyone else wants the black poison vials. He mentions that he still has some of that poison that he looted off of the worg-riders some time ago.

He finishes with "Looks like this town is a lost cause. If not for the smoke and the ongoing fires, there might be enough shelter there to make camp, but it's not worth it. Best we move on. Maybe follow whatever signs there are of the raiders that burned down the place. Judging from the gobbo corpses I found in the inn, the villagers might've had a shapeshifting druid like Avril, maybe even stronger, or just a good monster-summoner. If I had to guess as to what happened, the villagers tried to fight back when attacked, but were eventually beaten and dragged off as slaves......or meat for some more bloody dragons or other beasts."