In the Forest, at Gnoll Camp, Afternoon on Day Three.
It doesn't take long before the adrenaline rush fades and the events of the last three days - the forced marches, the fight, the final chase and all on top a lack of sleep since leaving the village - catch up with the characters. Fatigue weighs heavily on their shoulders.
The best of the afternoon has already gone. The light is starting to thin and the midday heat to leach out of the air. There is probably enough light to get back to Henri's place if the characters hustle.
Further consideration of the 'map' doesn't reveal anything more. Without a reference point to start at, its secrets remain concealed. The great big scuff mark through the middle doesn't help. Local knowledge might, or higher ground. Higher ground lies to the north east where the hills climb into the mountains.
The crude picture on the face of the cliff do look vaguely familiar. Eventually the connection is drawn between the them and the crude carvings on the bone disks. To Libros, who has read a number of texts on primitive societies, is pretty confident that some of the drawings on the wall and on the disks represent the same thing, and its likely to be of some sort of religious significance.
Jan gets nothing from the dead gnoll. There is no magic on the body.
The investigation of the area around the campsite unearth a small collection of bones and in water beneath the ledge and a small heap of ash between the stones lead up to the ledge suggesting that the camp has been in use for some time. Whether continuously or intermittently it is hard to say.
The sense of being watched grows. Eventually Axel's practice eye picks up the wolf and small humanoid rider sitting motionless in the shadows about 60 yards away on the other side of the water. The wolf is large and battle scarred, its fur streaked with grey. The rider is likewise clad in fur, its skin patterned with streaks of grey and back. The rider holds a short spear in one hand, its tip pointed down at the ground. As Axel's gaze meets the rider, the rider raises its spear in a lazy acknowledgement.
