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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tumakhunter" data-source="post: 1037150" data-attributes="member: 12191">Mor'Gan's Tale"What the...  What happened here," asked Balin in an awed whisper as the train neared the town, echoing the thoughts of everyone on the train.I looked at the devastation with a grim sense of forboding twisting a knot deep in the pit of my stomach.  Nothing you could have told me could have prepared me for the absolute carnage that the town had become.  As the train pulled into the station, we could see the bodies of the townsfolk strewn about on the streets where they had been slain.  Just outside the town we had passed the bodies and, in some cases, disembodied heads, of the town's Sherriff and Deputies, all placed high on pikes.This was a warning.I was the first to step off the train, followed first by Balin, then Feldon, Tarion, his mountain cat Nymeria, and lastly Victor Hertzog, our supposed benefactor.  None of the other passengers wanted to leave the train, and in fact planned to stay only long enough to resupply before heading back north.Feldon walked around in a shocked daze, looking at the horror that had been wrought here.  Tarion and Nymeria began to scout around searching for survivors, and Victor looked on with a mixed look of disgust and indifference."Hey, do any of the rest of you see anything wrong with this picture," Feldon called from down the street.I ran over to where he was standing, trying to determine what he was looking at.  "If you mean that every man, woman and child in this godsforsaken town has been slaughtered by who knows what and their bodies left out as a warning, what do you think?""That's just it," Feldon responded.  "Not  every man, woman, and child has been killed.  In fact, if you look, there are no children anywhere.""He's right, you know.  Nymeria and I just did a quick circuit of the town, and every corpse is an adult, at least fifteen years old.""Any indication of who or what might have done this," I asked the others, who had all gathered nearby.  No one had an answer.  "Right, then.  First order of business is to find the bastards who did this, and feed them their toenails.  Anyone wants out, I suggest you go now, before that train gets too far away.""Well, I'll be staying.  It's a shame what happened to these people, but I still have my research to conduct.  Feldon and I will stay with you for as long as it is convenient to me.  Feldon?"  Victor looked around almost disdainfully at the silver haired scout."Yeah, I'm in," Feldon replied sheepishly, with a look around at the rest of us."Definitely.  We can't let an atrocity like this go unanswered.  And these bodies are fresh, too, not more than a couple of days old.  Oh, there's some hurtin' to be had."  Balin looked grimmer than I'd ever seen as he gazed at the carnage.  Tarion merely nodded his assent.Slowly we began to walk through the town, searching, this time, for signs of the attackers - bodies, weapons, anything out of the ordinary.  The only things we found were the bodies of the townsfolk.  Eventually we came to the ferry across the Parcadan River.  Word was, there was a mine there that many of the local folk worked at.  Perhaps we'd find some clues there, or maybe even survivors.The boat was still on this side.  Perhaps a good sign, perhaps not.  The train's whistle blew in the background as it began it's return trip north.  We all debated about who actuall knew anything about boating, until Victor pointed the guide rope attached to the underside of the ferry.  Without further ado, we climbed aboard and began to pole our way across.</blockquote>

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