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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carlo-One" data-source="post: 8218407" data-attributes="member: 7015827">After some final pleasantries, the four adventurers left the smith and his brother and decided to stop in at the guard barracks before heading out of the village. Guard Captain Calen greeted them and mentioned that the mayor had been to see him, in order to explain that they had been tracking someone unknown – not a ghost - who had been hiding at the manor. Shanni said they had just dropped by, to make sure the soldiers knew that. Calen immediately informed her that the guardsmen would now go recover their dead, mentioning in a grim tone that it would not be difficult to stay away from the manor afterwards, which was Shanni’s suggestion. He furthermore observed that there was nothing up there left to guard, and it would be easier for him not to have to split his forces defending the village.Dermot was curious if any of the guard patrols had scouted the outskirts of the village, including the logging trails. Calen replied that they typically kept to the village itself, the path out to Glees, and until recently the manor, since there weren’t enough men to do more. The ranger then flipped a lazy salute to the guard captain, receiving a crisp one in return, as the adventurers departed the barracks.  (It appears that Captain Calen made no mention of the adventurers' failure to bring back the bodies of the guardsmen as they had previously promised. While perhaps it would have been within his rights to complain, in light of the adventurers' efforts to resolve the matter of the killings at the manor and the inability of the guard captain to deal with the matter himself, I believe it was prudent of him not to raise the issue. Holding others to their promises, regardless of circumstances, often helps no one. --C)As they headed for the village’s western outskirts, Shanni in rather coarse terms expressed her confusion over what it meant that the Mayor had been told to report on folk arriving without coming down the Glees road. Perhaps the continuing rain had something to do with her foul mood, as Darrow encouraged her and the others to get a move on, since he wasn’t getting any drier. As they walked along the road, the Winnfall farm came into view and Aerikoth observed to the others that the door was open. The wizard wondered why the family would have the door open on such a foul day, as both Shanni and Darrow cursed at the possible implication of foul play at the farmhouse.The dwarf circled around back of the building as Shanni sneaked up to a window to peek in and Aerikoth stood in front of the door. Hal the ox driver then emerged from the opening, carrying a sack, and almost bumped into the wizard’s staff. The drover immediately apologized and said that he was just getting feed to the oxen. Shanni lingered a moment at the window to make sure that nothing was in fact amiss inside, then shook her head and said it was a false alarm, although she commended Aerikoth on his observational skills.The four adventurers left Hal to his duties as he grumbled about the rain and they continued on the path west into the countryside. Once in the forest, the little-used track became effectively invisible, but Dermot and Shanni recalled where the cave occupied by the beasts had been, leading the others to it across a rain-swollen stream. Shanni asked if they wanted to go in quiet like and Darrow motioned as if to shoo her in, the dwarf evidently deciding he would make too much noise. She and then Dermot crept into the opening, as Darrow listened for any sounds of fighting.The two re-emerged shortly afterwards and cautioned the others not to enter, saying that the entrance was trapped. Darrow commented ironically that it was crafty for a manticore. Shanni volunteered to use her "little fingers" to shift the tripwires out of the way, as Aerikoth asked Dermot if there were any tracks besides theirs in the area. The ranger, somewhat tense, replied that in those conditions, he had no idea. He then accompanied Shanni back in, to cover her while she attempted to deal with the trap.</blockquote>

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