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Stonefist Academy - The Beginning

As the group prepares, Ferro hears the concerns of Daelyn.
The lands around here are usually calm, as the Academy brings a sense of security. There should not be any bandits or such around these lands.


Turning south, you spy the winding creek that exits Springside and moves along at a leisurely pace. To your left, you walk in the shadow of the mountains. Somewhere up there, on one of the numerous peaks, Maximo made his name renown. From the tales you gathered on your journey, the dragon was a black dragon. Maximo, along with a few others, had set out to see if they could deal with the dragon. Now, he strives to teach those that care to learn on the beliefs of protecting those that can not protect themselves.

You continue down the path of the creek, as it winds its way south. The lands to the west are fertile grasslands with crops being tended to here and there. These must be where the town gets its produce from, as you see baskets being filled and taken north to town.

The walk is not arduous, as the sun is gently shinning down through the clouds above. The season is changing, and the harsh winter will soon be upon the lands. A cool breeze at your back moves you along, as you eventually stop and stare ahead.

You crest a small hill and find yourself looking at the forest edge in the distance. It is still some distance away, but the words of Ferro tell you that this is where you will need to turn your back to the mountains and head west. Deciding that now is a good time to refill the waterskins, you drink up and refill at the creek.

Keeping the forest to your left now and moving parallel to it, you head west, towards where Ghentir's farm should lie. Another hour or so passes before you start to see signs in the distance of life. You spy a trailing spiral of smoke ahead, reminding you of recent campfires that you attended on your way to the Academy. Eventually, you spy a wooden fence and a building in the distance.

The silence is broken as the barking of dogs reaches you. You spy a trio of dogs racing towards your group, keeping their distance but continuing to alert their master of your presence. From behind the building, you spot a figure moving to see what the commotion is. A shrill whistle is heard, as the dogs cease their barking and turn. They turn their attention back to you all, as you move towards the building.

A lanky man walks towards you all with thick matted hair, dark skin baked by the sun, and wearing an apron over his clothing. The dogs move to his side; one sitting while the other two race off to the fenced portion north of the building. You hear the sound of sheep from the pen, as the dogs take to checking on them.

"Can I help you?"
the man asks, looking over the group.
 

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Miranda

Miranda steps forward and greets the farmer.

"Greeting kind sir. If you are Ghentir, then we are here to help. We were sent by the Academy to investigate what is happening to your sheep."
 

Good, good! Now, to get to the point. As you can see, something’s been here and made off with two of my sheep. One was killed and eaten while the other was taken. The other sheep are scared to high hell! Only reason they are staying now is the fact that they don’t want to go away from the safety of the dogs. Must have been one big damn creature, as it tore through my fence. You sure you can handle this? You don’t look to be any older than my son!


[FONT=&quot]He starts towards the fence, showing you the damage and points out the carcass of what must have been a sheep. The broken part of the fence is on the south facing section. Not too far off, there lies the carcass of a sheep, half eaten.
[/FONT]
 

Silvas stops at the broken fence and begins to examine the damage. He searches where the breaks occur hoping that the culprit left some clues as to its identity. Maybe a bit of fur or hair was snagged on debris somewhere or possible distinct claw marks of some kind. Likewise he carefully examines the sheep carcass as well. Finally he will search around for tracks.

Without looking up from his examination.
Did you hear or see anything when this occurred Ghentir? Could you walk us through the event as you recall it? Retrace your steps if you will.

[sblock=ooc]
search the fence the carcass. Maybe a knowledge nature / survival check? How do you want to handle these. We provide the prompt to do it and the numbers and you roll?
[/sblock]

[sblock=Combat]
HP: 10/10
INI: +4
AC: 18 T: 14 FF: 14
FORT: +4
REF: +6
WILL: +1

Longbow (range): +5 = +1 (BAB) + 4 (DEX) / DMG = 1d8(P), CRIT x3, / 100ft
Longsword (melee): +3 = +1 (BAB) + 2 (STR) / DMG = 1d8+2(S), CRIT 19-20x2

SPOT: +7 LISTEN: +6 SURVIVAL: +6
KNOWLEDGE NATURE: +5
[/sblock]
 

Olek

Staring at the scene, and at the human farmer, Olek had little to add. He wasn't a tracker or a detective. Just a plain old soldier...and there was nothing to fight yet.

"Did you scare it off man? Or set the dogs onto it? If an animal is hunting for food it'll eat all of its pretyl before it takes another one. Maybe we are looking for two or more creatures?"
 

OOC: DC 14 Survival Check, DC 10 Heal Check, or DC 15 Search Check for more information. You may roll them yourself.


Happened in the middle of the night. I woke up and heard the dogs barking. By the time I ran out, they were at the fence, barking towards the south. This was all that was left, and another sheep was missing. I told the dogs to stay, as whatever could do that could easily kill one of the dogs as well. They are all I have to help protect my sheep.
 

While listening to the farmer describe his tale of sheep-napping, a medium sized black raven lands on Daelyn's shoulder.

Grrrain! Grrrain! it cawed loudly.

Ahhh Cinder, I'd wondered where you'd gone off to. I should have figured you'd return once your stomache started rumbling.

Daelyn absentmindedly feeds the bird a handfull of grain from his pocket while he investigates the scene.

Perhaps investigating the remains of the unfortunate sheep that was eaten might give us a clue as well. Did the culprit leave anything behind?

OOC: 0 rank skill check +3 int bonus


OOC: lol! I'd be lucky if I found my own bootlaces
 
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Ararion listens, though not particularly attentively. The information wasn't very detailed anyway... He joins Silvas at the fence and gives the broken spot a quick examination.

[sblock=OOC]
Using Search on the broken fence area - Take 10 for a 16.
[/sblock]
 

A search of the fence area reveals a few strands of dark hair; black almost. Too long to be from the dogs, so it must be from whatever came through the fence. The broken boards hint that the creature is possibly large, due to the force it would need to break this section.
 

Long fingers grasp a few strands of the dark hair as Ararion stands back up from his crouch. "Interesting... Hairs, from whatever the attacker was. Apparently big, too, and strong. Stout fence, but the thing broke through anyway. Perhaps just a large beast, trying to pick off easy prey," the lanky elf says aloud, though half to himself.
 

Into the Woods

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