This dead man's gear has less taint on it, although his chain armor has been pierced and slashed through by savage claw marks. His gauntlets are undamaged, and he wears a decent set of leather boots. A pouch is still attached to his belt and it holds another 6 platinum coins! These men have been paid well. Then you note the man's features. He isn't a human like the other one. He looks a lot like Caerth, although he's more savage looking, but he's not as bulky. He's likely a half-orc but with something darker mixed in his blood -- a fiendblooded*, perhaps. You dig a little deeper into the man's belongings and find a waterskin with fouled wine in it, a tarnished dagger with a serrated edge, a half-empty backpack containing spoiled rations, pieces of a torn bedroll, a clay mug (with dead bug in it), a useable flint and steel kit, and a sealed scroll case. As you turn his over, you note that he is lying on a weapon -- an axe. you have to roll the man down off the steps to get at it. It doesn't look tarnished at all and has runic writing on its wide blade, and its haft has an intricate metal skull on the end. It's probably the finest looking weapon you've ever seen, although its very disturbing to look at.Aureus puts the coins and the box into her backpack. Then she moves on to the body at the base of the stairs and does a thorough search of it as well.
This dead man's gear has less taint on it, although his chain armor has been pierced and slashed through by savage claw marks. His gauntlets are undamaged, and he wears a decent set of leather boots. A pouch is still attached to his belt and it holds another 6 platinum coins! These men have been paid well. Then you note the man's features. He isn't a human like the other one. He looks a lot like Caerth, although he's more savage looking, but he's not as bulky. He's likely a half-orc but with something darker mixed in his blood -- a fiendblooded*, perhaps. You dig a little deeper into the man's belongings and find a waterskin with fouled wine in it, a tarnished dagger with a serrated edge, a half-empty backpack containing spoiled rations, pieces of a torn bedroll, a clay mug (with dead bug in it), a useable flint and steel kit, and a sealed scroll case. As you turn his over, you note that he is lying on a weapon -- an axe. you have to roll the man down off the steps to get at it. It doesn't look tarnished at all and has runic writing on its wide blade, and its haft has an intricate metal skull on the end. It's probably the finest looking weapon you've ever seen, although its very disturbing to look at.
You work at the scroll case for a few minutes, but you cannot figure out how to get it open. You've open complicated puzzle boxes easier than this thing. Whoever created it either designed it to be extremely hard to open or protected it with some sort of magical seal.Aureus grabs the coins, the dagger, the flint and steel and the scroll case. She tries to open the scroll case but finds that it is a bit more difficult. So she places the other things in her backpack and pulls out her finely made tools. She then begins work on opening the scroll case. Once she has it open she looks at what is inside.