Post by Cendar on Jan 27, 2015 14:49:14 GMT
From The Night Hunt...
Tracks were not hard to spot for the pixie; distinguishing them from the tracks of the panicked civilians and the militia members was another thing, entirely. Her sharp eye, though, picks out at least two sets of tracks, one leading out of the city, the other heading back towards the center of town. Both looked more like paws than feet, which was what made them stand out.
"There are pawed footprints here," Blossom states, matter-of-factly. "Two sets. One leads further into the city, the other seems to leave it..."
"Hmm," the kobold looked at the bodies for a moment, before taking a small hop off the side of the building, letting his wings spread to slow his descent, until finally he landed on his feet with nary a sound. "I don't know too much about monsters or creatures, so I'm just making a wild guess here. Those wounds look like some great beast took chunks out of them rather than there being weapon strikes, yet it doesn't seem to have eaten its prey, even whilst it had the time in the wild. Additionally, unless you or your men spotted it coming in, which I imagine you would have told us, it is either capable of moving remarkably stealthily, can become invisible... Or is capable of shape shifting... Werecreature, perhaps?" As he spoke, though, the kobold was looking over the bodies, investigating them for some clue... Whilst of course trying to be as 'civil' as he could be, despite the fact that they were now soulless husks. These surfacers, so sentimental.
Making a few clicking noises in the Thri-Kreen language, that translate to "Why must all humans be so ignorant", he then says in common, "Yes. Here to help. No blood. No crime. Should follow tracks. Split up. Go other different ways. I go that way," pointing to out of the city.
Then a cry came from the inside of the temple, and another page came rushing out. "They've taken High Priest Watchwill!" he cried. "The priest is gone!"
Noting nothing in the proximity of the crime radiating evil, the paladin calms somewhat and sheathes his large sword. "Sir, might I ask who are 'they'??" he asked the page. His limited knowledge of the situation told him evildoers were somewhere, and they needed to be fought. With utmost haste. For Justice.
"Not sure just what yet. Something strong and likely armed with large claws, big teeth, and a proclivity towards disemboweling things for kicks," the kobold replied, pointing towards one of the bodies with a flick of his snout. "Unless someone can provide me with a more accurate description of what they look like, I can take to the wing to follow one of the trails. No one should be able to see me coming, and I can see perfectly fine in the dark."
He thinks for a moment after that statement, tapping his chin before he turns towards the fey creature that had spotted the tracks. "Can you tell if the tracks are both heading away from this point? Or is it possible we are actually in the middle of one track, stemming from the town to outside with this along the way? If so, may I recommend that you follow the tracks further into the city? If this is some sort of werecreature, then its possible following the tracks might lead us to the home of whoever went for a midnight snack. That, and there's less risk of the trail leading out being covered by the ever stomping foot prints of guards and townsmen in a panic, so we can always follow up on that trail if the one into the city goes cold."
Blossom nods. "It looks like two separate tracks, both originating from here. Kind of weird if you think about it, but if no one ever saw anything until the attack happened, maybe that means two people snuck up before turning into beasts or something." The pixie suddenly gets a crazy idea, flapping her wings more energetically with excitement. "Ooh! What if the High Priest was a were-panther!? Wouldn't that be something?" Then she remembered all the dead right in the vicinity. "W-wait, no, that's terrible.."
"It would explain why he is missing..." the kobold responded, before turning towards the page that had just run out. "You! Quick question, just to rule out the possibility. Did the High Priest suffer any wounds shortly before or after these strange attacks in the countryside began?"
As he let the page respond, the kobold had another idea. Waiting until after the page had answered his previous question, he spoke, "I'm going to check the temple, see if I can't find some clue upon how or where the High Priest disappeared from. I'll catch up to one of the parties after I'm finished to rely the information, I should be able to find a mantis, half-giant, or golem pretty simply from the air." He then turned to the man, speaking to him now. "If there was any sign of a struggle inside the temple, please take me to it. If not, might you direct me to the High Priest's chambers? Anything I find there might help his safe return if he is a victim in all this."
"No, sir," the page responds through his tears. Then he catches sight of Gix's face and screams, running back into the Temple.
It is therefore the officer that escorts Gix into the High Priest's quarters. "Look around, but don't disturb anything you don't have to."
Blossom flies into the temple after the young page. "Hey! Don't be scared! Everyone is here to help!" she says, gently reaching to his shoulder to try and comfort him. She nods, affirming, "We'll find Mr. Watchwill and bring him back safe and sound."
"So, I guess I'll just...um...go this way then" Sarina mumbled, mostly to herself. The gather and dispersing of such strange individuals had left her somewhat flummoxed. Most everyone seemed to be heading into the town, but the tracks that were pointed out seemed to also be heading away from the center of the hamlet. It seemed a poor measure to only investigate the one direction. Of course, Sarina would much have rather gone with the larger crowd, she wasn't exactly the most capable traveler and especially so when left to her own devices. But it seemed there was nothing that could be done. "I'm sure it'll be fine" She said, addressing her familiar. "Just a nice peaceful walk. Into the woods. After monsters. Oh dear..."
Sneachtan arrived at the scene and grimaced. His raven was right, this was a truly repugnant sight. He knelt down to examine the wounds closely, to try and gather as much information as possible. After examining the bodies, he hears a woman who sounds vaguely familiar, talking about heading in the forest. Turning around, he gets a good look at her: She seems like some sort of arcanist, but of what sort he can't say. Probably here for the job. Heading over towards her, he says, "Heading in to the woods to look for the beast? Let me help ya out. I know I wouldn't want to be out there myself." He includes the last sentence on the end, as to make certain he doesn't accidentally imply that she's unable of helping herself. She could probably blast me in a dozen different ways if she wanted to.
Myth'rik sees the people head toward the temple, left in the street with the frightened woman, the half-ogre, and a man that just approached. He approaches the two and says, "No harm. Screaming One," raising his empty hands. "You go to woods. Yes? Myth'Rik follow tracks. You follow me. I good at such things. Hunting. Tracking. We kill beast together. Avenge dead."
A lot of what had been said went straight over the dense half-ogre's head. Talks of investigating, and which way tracks were going and other such details. Finally the oversized cricket said something that made sense to him. "Yes!!" he agreed, drawing his sword dramatically and pointing it into the air, "Let us slay the beast and avenge the fallen!!" He lowered his scimitar and looked at the bug man, "What is your name, good sir??" Terror and bloodshed was no reason to be rude, after all.
Sneachtan was used to scaring some folks a bit without intending to. After all, at 6ft. 5 in, with muscles to spare, he stood above most people. He'd never met someone who'd made him feel short before, but the half-ogre had done it. He'd been about to reply to the mantis creature, who seemed friendly enough, when the ogre came up behind them.
He immediately recognized the holy symbols of Torm that were on the Ogre's equipment. From the way he acted, it seemed at least plausible that he'd obtained these things legitimately. He'd fought an ogre once on his way down south from Bryn Shyner and barely gotten away with his life. If he had one on his side now, that could only help. Well, at least when it comes to fighting. Situations that require a bit more of social finesse may prove... interesting. He decided to give both of them the benefit of the doubt and made no objection to either of them coming with them. They both seem decent enough. And anyone can be good in spite of their ancestry, I suppose.
So we've got ourselves a tracker, a warrior, a mage, and a battle mage. Seems decent enough to defend ourselves. I wonder how this beast will react when it's prey tries to fight back. He thought to himself with a smile.
Tracks were not hard to spot for the pixie; distinguishing them from the tracks of the panicked civilians and the militia members was another thing, entirely. Her sharp eye, though, picks out at least two sets of tracks, one leading out of the city, the other heading back towards the center of town. Both looked more like paws than feet, which was what made them stand out.
"There are pawed footprints here," Blossom states, matter-of-factly. "Two sets. One leads further into the city, the other seems to leave it..."
"Hmm," the kobold looked at the bodies for a moment, before taking a small hop off the side of the building, letting his wings spread to slow his descent, until finally he landed on his feet with nary a sound. "I don't know too much about monsters or creatures, so I'm just making a wild guess here. Those wounds look like some great beast took chunks out of them rather than there being weapon strikes, yet it doesn't seem to have eaten its prey, even whilst it had the time in the wild. Additionally, unless you or your men spotted it coming in, which I imagine you would have told us, it is either capable of moving remarkably stealthily, can become invisible... Or is capable of shape shifting... Werecreature, perhaps?" As he spoke, though, the kobold was looking over the bodies, investigating them for some clue... Whilst of course trying to be as 'civil' as he could be, despite the fact that they were now soulless husks. These surfacers, so sentimental.
Making a few clicking noises in the Thri-Kreen language, that translate to "Why must all humans be so ignorant", he then says in common, "Yes. Here to help. No blood. No crime. Should follow tracks. Split up. Go other different ways. I go that way," pointing to out of the city.
Then a cry came from the inside of the temple, and another page came rushing out. "They've taken High Priest Watchwill!" he cried. "The priest is gone!"
Noting nothing in the proximity of the crime radiating evil, the paladin calms somewhat and sheathes his large sword. "Sir, might I ask who are 'they'??" he asked the page. His limited knowledge of the situation told him evildoers were somewhere, and they needed to be fought. With utmost haste. For Justice.
"Not sure just what yet. Something strong and likely armed with large claws, big teeth, and a proclivity towards disemboweling things for kicks," the kobold replied, pointing towards one of the bodies with a flick of his snout. "Unless someone can provide me with a more accurate description of what they look like, I can take to the wing to follow one of the trails. No one should be able to see me coming, and I can see perfectly fine in the dark."
He thinks for a moment after that statement, tapping his chin before he turns towards the fey creature that had spotted the tracks. "Can you tell if the tracks are both heading away from this point? Or is it possible we are actually in the middle of one track, stemming from the town to outside with this along the way? If so, may I recommend that you follow the tracks further into the city? If this is some sort of werecreature, then its possible following the tracks might lead us to the home of whoever went for a midnight snack. That, and there's less risk of the trail leading out being covered by the ever stomping foot prints of guards and townsmen in a panic, so we can always follow up on that trail if the one into the city goes cold."
Blossom nods. "It looks like two separate tracks, both originating from here. Kind of weird if you think about it, but if no one ever saw anything until the attack happened, maybe that means two people snuck up before turning into beasts or something." The pixie suddenly gets a crazy idea, flapping her wings more energetically with excitement. "Ooh! What if the High Priest was a were-panther!? Wouldn't that be something?" Then she remembered all the dead right in the vicinity. "W-wait, no, that's terrible.."
"It would explain why he is missing..." the kobold responded, before turning towards the page that had just run out. "You! Quick question, just to rule out the possibility. Did the High Priest suffer any wounds shortly before or after these strange attacks in the countryside began?"
As he let the page respond, the kobold had another idea. Waiting until after the page had answered his previous question, he spoke, "I'm going to check the temple, see if I can't find some clue upon how or where the High Priest disappeared from. I'll catch up to one of the parties after I'm finished to rely the information, I should be able to find a mantis, half-giant, or golem pretty simply from the air." He then turned to the man, speaking to him now. "If there was any sign of a struggle inside the temple, please take me to it. If not, might you direct me to the High Priest's chambers? Anything I find there might help his safe return if he is a victim in all this."
"No, sir," the page responds through his tears. Then he catches sight of Gix's face and screams, running back into the Temple.
It is therefore the officer that escorts Gix into the High Priest's quarters. "Look around, but don't disturb anything you don't have to."
Blossom flies into the temple after the young page. "Hey! Don't be scared! Everyone is here to help!" she says, gently reaching to his shoulder to try and comfort him. She nods, affirming, "We'll find Mr. Watchwill and bring him back safe and sound."
"So, I guess I'll just...um...go this way then" Sarina mumbled, mostly to herself. The gather and dispersing of such strange individuals had left her somewhat flummoxed. Most everyone seemed to be heading into the town, but the tracks that were pointed out seemed to also be heading away from the center of the hamlet. It seemed a poor measure to only investigate the one direction. Of course, Sarina would much have rather gone with the larger crowd, she wasn't exactly the most capable traveler and especially so when left to her own devices. But it seemed there was nothing that could be done. "I'm sure it'll be fine" She said, addressing her familiar. "Just a nice peaceful walk. Into the woods. After monsters. Oh dear..."
Sneachtan arrived at the scene and grimaced. His raven was right, this was a truly repugnant sight. He knelt down to examine the wounds closely, to try and gather as much information as possible. After examining the bodies, he hears a woman who sounds vaguely familiar, talking about heading in the forest. Turning around, he gets a good look at her: She seems like some sort of arcanist, but of what sort he can't say. Probably here for the job. Heading over towards her, he says, "Heading in to the woods to look for the beast? Let me help ya out. I know I wouldn't want to be out there myself." He includes the last sentence on the end, as to make certain he doesn't accidentally imply that she's unable of helping herself. She could probably blast me in a dozen different ways if she wanted to.
Myth'rik sees the people head toward the temple, left in the street with the frightened woman, the half-ogre, and a man that just approached. He approaches the two and says, "No harm. Screaming One," raising his empty hands. "You go to woods. Yes? Myth'Rik follow tracks. You follow me. I good at such things. Hunting. Tracking. We kill beast together. Avenge dead."
A lot of what had been said went straight over the dense half-ogre's head. Talks of investigating, and which way tracks were going and other such details. Finally the oversized cricket said something that made sense to him. "Yes!!" he agreed, drawing his sword dramatically and pointing it into the air, "Let us slay the beast and avenge the fallen!!" He lowered his scimitar and looked at the bug man, "What is your name, good sir??" Terror and bloodshed was no reason to be rude, after all.
Sneachtan was used to scaring some folks a bit without intending to. After all, at 6ft. 5 in, with muscles to spare, he stood above most people. He'd never met someone who'd made him feel short before, but the half-ogre had done it. He'd been about to reply to the mantis creature, who seemed friendly enough, when the ogre came up behind them.
He immediately recognized the holy symbols of Torm that were on the Ogre's equipment. From the way he acted, it seemed at least plausible that he'd obtained these things legitimately. He'd fought an ogre once on his way down south from Bryn Shyner and barely gotten away with his life. If he had one on his side now, that could only help. Well, at least when it comes to fighting. Situations that require a bit more of social finesse may prove... interesting. He decided to give both of them the benefit of the doubt and made no objection to either of them coming with them. They both seem decent enough. And anyone can be good in spite of their ancestry, I suppose.
So we've got ourselves a tracker, a warrior, a mage, and a battle mage. Seems decent enough to defend ourselves. I wonder how this beast will react when it's prey tries to fight back. He thought to himself with a smile.