[Lakelands] Six For Adventure

[Samuel Leming]

Maldordo briefly considers going into the Dwarfie Run to look around and perhaps see if any of the rats are intelligent enough to communicate. He dismisses the thought quickly since one pair of eyes outside on gaurd isn't enough.

Maldordo does his best to keep hidden and still keep a look out for the manticore if it tries to attack from surprise.

 

[maddmic]

Eager for the prospective hunt, Kregor rushes forward to the entrance. He peers inside in a hushed voice calls out. "What do you see Dain?" He then looks around hoping that their quarry is indeed inside and not stalking them.

 

[Raven Crowking]

The Esk were a race that occupied this area prior to the Parthelonians. Their most direct descendents today are the Lakashi, though most human Lakelanders have at least some Esk ancestry. The carved spirals are a common Esk symbol, and probably relate to their religious interest in labyrinths.

An owl hoots softly as Horsom lights his torch. The human bones within the barrow seem to be those of peasants and shepherds, based upon the scraps of cloth that cling to them. As Horsom's light reaches the barrow chamber, you can see the light reflect of an infant's skull.

Somewhere, far off to the north, a thin scream cuts the air -- those still outside the Dwarfie Run can barely hear it (Listen DC 15) -- and then is silenced.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Torch held aloft, Horsom takes in the horrors that the flickering shadows do little to mask. "When the beast is dead, we should return and cleanse this holy ground." He steps carefully around the bones of a child. He thinks of Long Archer's dead and can't help but wonder if these bones are all that is left of Lasha Beldren, a shepherd's daughter gone missing a few days before Fellan assembled the posse. "The dead resting here deserve better than to have their remains serve as a nest to that creature."

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OOC: Horsom looks around for anything of interest: anything lying in the refuse, other passages, etc.

 

[wolfheart]

Dain responds to Kregor's question, "The cursed beastie ain't here. But, he's made quite a mess of this barrow."
Dain will search the barrow for anything of value or anything that seems interesting or out of place.

Hearing Horsom's comments, Dain replies. "I've half a mind to set your torch to the place right now. It is obvious that our quarry is not here, we should make haste back to the village, I fear we may have made a misstep by coming out here."

 

[maddmic]

Kregor enters into the lair after hearing the scream. He looks at Dain and shakes his head. "I don't know Dain. I fear we're too late for that action now. I heard a scream while outside. I think that our actions must be desicively determined at this instant. I do not know if the manticore believes we are intelligent enough to know the location of its lair. So it is possible that it will return. Or we could go off into the night and try to hunt it down while it continues to elude us, probably until the breaking of dawn. I for one believe that we need to wait and lay a trap for the beast. It is probably on it's way back as we speak if this is where it eats it's prey."

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

"Kregor, what direction did the scream come from? How far away did it sound?"

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OOC:

Let me save you the legwork: Kell's Reach is 3 miles north-west of here.

I'm putting in two conversation options: one for the scream coming from the village (can a scream carry 3 miles?) and a second for a scream originating closer to the barrow.

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A)

Horsom's eyes widen. "I wonder if the manticore doubled back to the village while we ran a fool's errand to this barrow? Kregor's right though: if we leave now and head back to the village, the thing may have left by then. In fact, that would be its wisest course of action. We have to assume that the beast returns here and set a trap for it. The only problem is that it would be a fool not to know that its lair is where we have come. What I'm hoping is that there is something in this barrow that ties the manticore to it and compels the beast to return."

B)

Horsom's eyes widen. "The miller and his son have made good on their promise to hunt the manticore, I fear. It must have run across them as it headed back to its lair. Some of us should lie in wait here while the others hide outside and attack from behind after it's entered the Run."

 

[Raven Crowking]

I'm putting in two conversation options: one for the scream coming from the village (can a scream carry 3 miles?) and a second for a scream originating closer to the barrow.

OOC: Indeed, a scream can carry much farther than three miles. When I was in the U.S. Army, I was surprised to learn that a lighter and normal conversation can be seen/heard if there is no obstruction or additional background noise for a good four miles (across water, anyway). You can't make out all that is being said, but you certainly can hear that people are talking.


More later.

RC

 

[Raven Crowking]

Dain will search the barrow for anything of value or anything that seems interesting or out of place.

After a cursory examination, Dain is able to tell that whatever ancient grave goods might have been here have either been looted long ago, or lie hidden. It is easy to find things that shepherds or farmers once wore, although these are seldom in good condition. What pouches he finds contain food that was never eaten, small mementos that seem valueless from a practical standpoint, little charms and wards that obviously did their owners no good, and the occasional copper coin.

How long does Dain search?

"Kregor, what direction did the scream come from? How far away did it sound?"

As Ulorian notes, Kell's Reach is 3 miles northwest of the Dwarfie Run. That seems a likely location, though it is difficult to be certain.


RC

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

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OOC: Horsom looks around for anything of interest: anything lying in the refuse, other passages, etc.

OOC:
RC, don't forget that Horsom is searching also. As to search time, I don't imagine much searching would go on after Kregor reports the scream. Five minutes? Ten, maybe?

more OOC: I fish quite a bit, so I know all about how far sound travels over water! It's pretty amazing.. you can clearly make out quiet conversations taking place in another canoe hundreds of metres away.