Warriors Of The Coast

[DEFCON 1]

THE TOWN OF SEAWELL

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Silversun and Rodden leave the group with a nod, and travel back west to the southwestern gate militia outpost (the gate on the far left side of the map).

The rest of the party still stands in front of Mistress Juja's compound, but as the conversations continue, the group realizes they can finish up all discussions while walking, so they take off and head north to the northwestern gate (the most left gate of the three northern gates on the map). This was the gate that Rodden brought Jina in from, so they decide to try and retrace her steps.

Passing through the gate to get outside the town, they follow the road north past several houses and small buildings outside the walls, then about a quarter mile in Jina motions for them to turn westerly into the treeline. For two miles the group wanders through the marshy timberland heading west, and both Taviss and Ari are able to track the trail of Jina's blood (Survival TN 10 / Taviss 7+7=14 *success* / Ari 12+5=17 *success*). Eventually the group arrives in a small clearing of trees where they come upon the bodies of the two lizardfolk that Jina had killed.

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OOC: All characters have gained 350 XP thus far for party interaction. Expect further XP awards for individual performances as we now begin to advance through the adventure.

 

[drothgery]

"Did these two seek you out, or you them?" Khalia asks Jina.

 

[stonegod]

Ari wasn't sure how they did it, but some how they finally were able to leave town. Hope we did not waste too much time. The Nelson kid was in tow, and the hexer was not sure how we felt about that. Probably best to wait-and-see; if he did know as much about the local area as he claimed, he could be of use.

~~~

Ari kneels over the remains and, unless forceably stopped, begin searching the bodies. Weapons, notes in lizardish... dragonshards, anything that may give them an idea about Jina's attackers.

"Garrick, Neslon---anything about these two seem significant to you? Identify them as a member of a specific tribe or somesuch?"

"Did these two seek you out, or you them?" Khalia asks Jina.

At the Lady's question, Ari raised his head and looks a Jina. "You said these accosted you after you came too after being unconscious. So it is possible these creatures had nothing to do with Jango's disappearance. Did you awake here from your unconsciouness, or was that elsewhere?"

 

[Ringmereth]

As Ari begins searching the bodies of the deceased lizardfolk, Taviss gives the clearing a long look and then carefully follows the edge of the clearing, combing the ground for tracks--finding Jango, not a pair of dead lizards, is what he's being paid for. He examines each foot of ground for footsteps, blood, and other marks of passing scalies and a captive.

 

[Kralin Thornberry]

ooc:

Hey guys, I'm sorry I've been so quiet. I have it set up so that when a post is put up, I get emailed, but for some reason, I haven't been notified. I guess I'll go back to checking the board multiple times per day again.

I'll get a post up as soon as I catch up on my reading!

 

[Rayex]

Jina - Elven Swashbuckler

Looking around herself in the forest and the two dead lizards, Jina tries to remember. "Umm... I'm not sure.. I mean, they came at me with weapons drawn and yapping in their own language... Jango was gone, m head hurt.. I thought they we're taking me as well. Perhaps they didn't..." her voice trails off into nothingness, and she looks out into the forest in silence for a few moments.

I've made a mess, havn't I? I wish Jango was here, he would know what to do. It should've been me taken, not him. I hope he's still alive.

 

[DEFCON 1]

[sblock=Jina: ] You were knocked out probably a half-mile further west, and was on your way back to town to report what happened when you ran into these two lizardfolk. Both of you surprised each other, and when you each moved your hands to your weapons, the fight broke out. [/sblock]

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[sblock=Taviss: ] You search the small clearing and are able to deduce several things based on the footprints of the fight. You find what you believe to be Jina's running footsteps coming into the clearing from the west, and the two lizardfolk footsteps walking in from the north. There was then the great fight in the center of the clearing, and of course you already followed in Jina's stumbling footsteps and blood trail heading further east towards Seawell.

Based on the lazy footstep pattern of the lizardfolk, you suspect that they were not rushing to this area, and thus probably didn't know they'd find Jina when they arrived. [/sblock]

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[sblock=Ari: ] You find both lizardfolk to NOT be dressed for any sort of combat. They are wearing clothes but no armor, and they wielded only knifes (which appear more likely for skinning it seems than fighting). The younger of the two wears a small carved wooden medallion that depicts a silhouette of a lizardfolk standing in front of what you'd think to be either a sun or a moon. [/sblock]

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[sblock=Garrick: ] You immediately notice that the design of the clothing that the two lizardfolk wear matches color and pattern-wise to S'lar... your lizardfolk friend from the Twilight Walkers tribe.

You have met several other Twilight Walkers before (in addition to S'lar) and believe them to be a very peaceful group. They aren't a large tribe, but hold a good-sized area of marshalnd a few miles further north... coincidentally on the way to the Xothkazzik Ruins were you to try and get to them from here (ordinarily you would have followed the road out of town a few miles further north than you did today before cutting west to head to the ruins). [/sblock]

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[sblock=Khalia & Zan: ] You believe that the Xothkazzik Ruins are probably several miles directly north of the clearing you are all in. You know from your maps that there are wetlands and marshlands between the clearing and the ruins. [/sblock]

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[sblock=Amy: ] Whenever Symon Barr took you out of Seawell to deal with the lizardfolk problem... it was always out the southwestern gate and headed more west and southwest along the coast. You have never gone this far northwest of Seawell to deal with any lizardfolk problems. [/sblock]

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[sblock= Nelson: ] The color and pattern of the lizardfolk's clothes are not similiar to the outfits or armor of the few lizardfolk bodies you have ever seen brought into town by the Watchmen. You are pretty sure these two are not members of the Scaled Might, Three Claw, or Dark Eye tribes... the three tribes most commonly associated with the attacks on town. [/sblock]

 

[stonegod]

As Ari finishes his search, a sour look comes over his face. "These were not combatants. They were not armed for a fight. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I doubt they had anything to do with Jingo's disapperance."

You notice the hexer carefully remove an amulet around one of the lizardfolk's neck. He stands, and holds it out for Garrick, Nelson, Khalia, Zan, and the rest to see. It depicts a silhouette of a lizardfolk standing in front of what you'd think to be either a sun or a moon. "This mean anything to you? Looks like the town may have to appologize for a 'misunderstanding' or risk starting a fight on another front."

"Regardless, these are not the quarry we are looking for. As soon as Taviss find the trail, we should begin looking again. It does not pain me to admit that Nelson may have been right---that something unusual here is going on."

 

[James Heard]

"Mistress Juja, do you have any ungents or salves, perhaps a potion you could spare to us for poor Jango if'n we find him hurt terrible?" Nelson begged of the tiny woman with his best "second helpings please" look. Nelson might not have been Mistress Juja's favorite, or even his favorite Luttin child, but he'd certainly spent his requisite hours recuperating from the misadventures common to all children -and more so to Luttin kin- in Mistress Juja's care. Besides, Mistress Juja had the sense to give away sweets for free to tempted children rather than dare them t' plot and sin her pastries into grubby hands. That alone would have made her an icon of his youth, but she was also a fairly generous sort in her own right otherwise. Maybe it was because she had no daughters that could be reasonably appealed to by the village youths. Well, maybe Zan could do it. I'll have to ask him one day. That would be interesting to watch.

*****​

Leaving the rest of the group aside and trusting that he'd meet up with them later Nelson darted across town to the familiar "watering holes" where elder Luttins and other wiser heads more familiar with the lands outside the walls than perhaps most residents of the sleeping fishing village would, on account of certain activities and trade that normally didn't flow from the usually port to coven but was instead considerably more sly, and knocked nervously.

In a rush, Nelson spilled the details of the day to old smugglers and ne'er'do'wells, told them to remind his cousin Melmer that he owes Nelson a coin for being the first to see Jina Silversun's naughty bits no matter what the occasion, glossed over his long conversations with the rest of the people involved by saying "And I tried to explain to them where we should come first, but the rest of the town don't have no sense t'all," spent some small time complaining in typical Luttin style about the lack of trust and decency amongst people these days, exhalted himself for using axioms and truisms that several men here taught him, and finally asked what they think of the situation, if they could provide some help with keeping Nelson's own neck from being slit by foreigners and outsiders out to cause trouble with the Lizards, and if anyone would terribly mind if he had one of those exquisite smelling cigars that everyone is smoking.

*****​

"Garrick, Neslon---anything about these two seem significant to you? Identify them as a member of a specific tribe or somesuch?"

"Surely, but most importantly for th'sake of Seawell is that none f'them are Scaled Might, Three Claw, or Dark Eyes, n'those are the Lizards attackin' town...So I guess either n'these are folk they kicked out, are incognito-like, or we've just declared war on another tribe if'n we don't tie this square before the sails whip loose." Nelson frowned, chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully.

OOC: Knowledge (local) +6 checks to know more about the situation in general, Bardic knowledge checks +7 for rare trivia that might be pertinent, Knowledge (geography) +6 to fit in where any other tribes would likely have to be at, looking for symbols that might be deciphered with Decipher Script to tie it all together. Plus anything I might have learned from old men playing dominos in the scene I wanted to insert before we left.

"Regardless, these are not the quarry we are looking for. As soon as Taviss find the trail, we should begin looking again. It does not pain me to admit that Nelson may have been right---that something unusual here is going on."

"Thas' ok. Most of the town has trouble admittin' that most f'the time I'm right. I figger that jus' means it's just twice as sweet when I'm not wrong." Nelson said absentmindedly, clearly not putting his heart into it as he might have otherwise, distracted by the puzzles here at hand but speaking from a sort of Nelson auto-pilot of pithy responses. He sat on his haunches staring out into space in a most disturbing way, slowly chewing on the problem in his mind until the GM supplied him with answers. ()

 

[Bront]

"The ruins should be almost dead north of here, with a few miles of marsh and swamp between. It will be hard tracking anyone through there if they went that way," Zan says. "And unless you can match the lizardfolk footprints to tracks heading wherever Jango went, these dead bodies don't tell us much other than that they attacked Jina and couldn't take her."