Chapter 1: A Peaceable Kingdom

[Paul]

Cutter looks at the others. "Well what are we waiting for?" He nods his head in the direction of Kal. "Mr High and Mighty over there uses a lot of words when few will suffice. We must leave. I'll not be responsible for these peoples' deaths."

Cutter gets up and turns to the farmer. "Thank you for your hospitality. It's a rare thing in these times." He takes out a gold coin and presses it into the farmer's hand.

He turns and leaves the house. he pauses once outside, looking around for any sign of trouble. If everything seems normal, he heads for the barn.

[Jeff]

The Halmers look on in studdened silence as Kal (and Tangat), and then Cutter, proceed back out into the rain. Vars watches grimly but says nothing. Grafth is left alone in the house in the awkward silence...

Meanwhile, in the barn, Pellorien, Oss, and Goran hear their companions approaching again. Fenwolt nods at Oss's words. "I'm sorry, you're right." He slips his wand into a pocket at last.

To Goran, "Hey, I am talking, half-elf! No need to get pushy." The gnome seems edgier after Goran's sobering words.

To Pellorien, he says, "Miss, I can try to get this book open but not with all this shuffling about. I can't do this in a hurry. Are we coming or going?"

[Lara]

admin said:

To Pellorien, he says, "Miss, I can try to get this book open but not with all this shuffling about. I can't do this in a hurry. Are we coming or going?"

"I'd be grateful for your assistance. This needs to be treated carefully. At least one man died for it." She stuffs the book back into one of her bags. "It might be best to look at it again when we have more privacy."

She takes the bread offered her by Goran and tears a piece off the roll. "Thank you! I hadn't realized how hungry I was, and this is nicer than the dried fruit I brought with me. Ummm.... would any of you like a piece of that?" She pulls a sack out of her bag and offers it to Goran, Oss, and Fenwolt.

[Jeff]

Vars looks to the remaining member of the group still in the house. "You...Grafth, was it? There's obviously things going on with you folks that we'd best not get mixed up in. The Orien people will probably end up visiting us eventually, asking questions, since we're nearest the rail line. We'll tell them I don't know more...well, any more than you've already told us."

He shakes his head. "My advice is cooperate with 'em. But if you need to run, then run. I'm trusting we didn't invite a bunch of killers into this house, so I'm not going to give you any trouble."

[Darren]

Returning to the barn, Kalarian looks sadly at those who were not in the house. "Come. We must leave. We have caused the Halmers too much trouble already. Let's begin our trip back to Fairhaven."

[Ed]

Oss nods and says to Goran and Pellorian, "For once the egomaniac is right. The farmhand said those soldiers had their heads removed. That certainly wasn't our doing. Someone else is involved and they could be coming here. We need to get a move on for the sake of not getting these farmers involved, not to mention getting ourselves killed."

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Oss prepares to leave immediately.

[Josh]

Vars shakes his head. "My advice is cooperate with 'em. But if you need to run, then run. I'm trusting we didn't invite a bunch of killers into this house, so I'm not going to give you any trouble."

Still seated, though somewhat uncomfortably now, Grafth replies, "Yes... you can rest assured that no one in my group wishes you or this family any harm. Despite our armaments and our demeanors, we are all victims of circumstance here, trying to make the best of this grim situation."

He chuckles softly, and wipes his brow. "I must admit, I don't enjoy the company of others very often, and I choose my friends wisely. Yet something tells me that, despite knowing these people for mere hours, they are all worthy of friendship. Tempers have flared, probably due to the confusion and pain, but I have seen them all, in their own way, attempt to do what is right.

"Sometimes, as an outsider, you can get the wrong impression of another- but I wouldn't survive in my business if I didn't trust my judgement. We do what we must, and the careful observer, as you well know, can judge the truth behind every intention."

At that, the shifter stands. He straightens his coat, and retrieves his belongings. He stands at the threshold of the home for a moment, as if a thought has crossed his mind. Looking down, but not meeting the gaze of the dumbfounded family and their hand, he says, "If we choose to leave, we will do our best to cover our tracks, as well as yours, Vars, that lead from the scene of the crash. No doubt you will be visited. You would be wise to feign ignorance, and even to hide your young one... anyone who is out beheading injured soldiers is one to fear.

"Be careful. And thank you for the bread- it was perfect."

And with that, he walks out into the grey afternoon, letting the downfall splash his face and shoulders.


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Grafth is headed back to the barn to join the party.

[Jeff]

Vars gives a final "Good luck to you, then," to Grafth, then stands on the porch to keep an eye on the group, which seems to be gathering just outside the barn.

Within, Fenwolt asks. "To Fairhaven, then? Do you know the way?"

[Josh]

At seeing the party gather outside the barn, Grafth speaks, slightly perturbed, "Well, leaving in the middle of the afternoon on a day-long journey, in the rain, without the hot meal we would have been undoubtedly offered if we had stayed cordial... not the circumstances I would have chosen."

He looks up at the dampened crew, noting that Pellorien has joined them once again, and that the gnome seems to be more comfortable with the group as a whole.

"Then again- nothing today has gone right. I've got things to do, so let's get to it. We should retrace our steps to at least the border of the farm, and do our best to create divergent paths from there- throw any would-be pursuers off our trail. This rain will help a bit, too."

"No one asked me, but we need to be upfront with each other, if we're going to travel together." He looks around the group, his eyes settling on the large tattooed man. "I don't think I even know your name."

[Darren]

"I agree with you, my friend. I'd rather have stayed." Kalarian looks towards the porch where Vars is standing. "But I will not bring any unnecessary harm to these people just so we can have a hot meal. We may have already put them in danger just by coming here." He turns his attention back to Grafth.

"If we can find a dry place to rest for the evening, I will not complain. I will defer to your expertise with regards to covering our tracks. Lead on, and I will follow." A gloom seems to hang over Kalarian, his usual confidence not present in his tone. He seems to think for a moment. "Should we perhaps go back to the site of the wreckage and see for ourselves what has happened since we left? Vars didn't mention the survivors we helped. I don't know how much longer we have until the Orien investigators arrive, but maybe there is time to check before they get there."

[Jeff]

Fenwolt stares out nervously where Vars stands, but the half-orc makes no moves. He shakes his head. "I don't want to go back there. Can't we just...go? Away from here."

He doesn't have much in the way of gear and his only obvious weapon, the gnomish hooked hammer, is gone. He looks unhappy but ready to depart.

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Whenever the party is ready to go, just state this decisively. Whoever's making the decision (my guess is Grafth, since everyone's following his sense of direction?), just be as descriptive as to where you intend to go as possoble.

[Jeremy]

Goran sighs heavily and stands up, collecting himself.

"The hell with the hot meal, I was just looking forward to a few hours of rest. But it can't be helped. I agree with Grafth, we should not only get a move on, and the rain will help cover our tracks, but we should do what we can to remove any trace that we were here. We can start with this barn."

Turning to Grafth, he says

"I think between you and I we can accomplish this. But we should split up. One of us lead some towards the wreckage, see what can be seen and erase the trail leading from there to here, and the other can lead the rest out towards Fairhaven...wherever that is. Kal is right, it couldn't hurt to see if there is anything there to help us, but having all of us there is too great a risk. If you think this wise, then you can decide which trail you'd rather take, and I'll take the other. We can meet up, say, half a league to the north. I will make a bird call like this..."

(he whistles a birdsong, one not unlike the local birds make, but with a more urgent note.)

He turns to Fenwolt. "Don't be offended, my friend, we are all of us weary and frightened, though some, I fancy, won't admit it. If you stay with us, you have a chance at safety. Surely if you remain here you will die...or worse."

After Grafth replies, Goran looks at the others.

"Shall we go?"

[Darren]

Kalarian remains silent, and will follow Grafth when he's ready to leave. If the group splits, Kal will go with the group that heads towards the wreckage. Otherwise, he's ready to leave.

[Josh]

"Sounds good- let's go. I'll take anyone willing up to the site of the crash with me, and we'll meet soon."

To all, he says, "Keep your eyes open for anything we may have missed in our haste earlier."

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Grafth and whoever wants to will return to the crash site following their original tracks, and covering the trail where possible. There they will observe the current scene and spend a few moments creating divergent tracks around the area and observing any fresh/new trails that may have appeared in their absence.

[Jeff]

I need to know who will go with Grafth (to the crash site) and who will go with Goran (circumventing the site). The gnome will go with Goran. (If you don't weigh in before long, you go with Goran.)

[Ed]

Oss eyes Goran for a long moment before switching his eyes to Kal and back to Goran as he offers a nod.

"I'll join the two of you back toward the wreckage."

[Jeff]

Grafth's Team
(Grafth, Kal, Oss, Tangat)

A fifteen-minute hike beyond the farmstead through the rain brings you back to the crash site of the rail coach. A quick glance reveals that not a whole lot seems to have changed.

- The three horses of the riders are definitely gone. Given time, Grafth might be able to track those. No matter how cautious the mysterious party might be, it's difficult to hide the passage of a large animal, much less three—though the rain steadily erases tracks.

- The bodies remain as they were, though there is evidence that carrion birds have begun to appear. In the rain, it's hard to see how much or if they're still around. An unpleasant smell has begun. Grafth's keen eyes observe that some of the bodies have, in fact, been slightly moved. They've been searched, though the searchers have tried to make the bodies look unmoved. He can't tell any more than that, though.

- The red-haired young man and the injured halfling are nowhere to be seen. Another potentially track-able scenario for Grafth, given the time.

- Only two of the three riders are still here: the one slain by Goran's arrow and the one rendered unconscious by Oss's spell and Cutter's blade. Yet both have been savagely stabbed by a sword wound clear through the heart (several times, it would appear) and the heads have been cut off—also likely by repeated strikes of a sword blade, so it's not all that clean. Lingering over these bodies, the gore made more vivid in the rain, is nauseating. The third rider, the one slain by Kalarian, is simply gone, though his blood still slicks the wet grass where he'd lain. The rain has erased the blood trail, however.

As Grafth continues looking around, Kal and Oss both notice a flicker of light and movement on the northeast horizon. Grafth's attention soon joins theirs:

The rain minimizes long-distance visibility, but the distant glow of electricity heralds a soon-to-be-arriving vehicle along the lightning rail conducter. It doesn't look large enough to be a full caravan of coaches (the lightning rail doesn't run that often), but you've heard that House Orien sometimes dispatches smaller, faster conveyances along the line of conductor stones for their own errands...or investigations.

Goran's Team
(Goran, Cutter, Pellorien, Fenwolt)

Circumventing the area of the site crash proves easy. In fact, moving northeast, somewhat away from the rail line, allows Goran to spot a gravel road that seems to lead exactly in the same direction: toward Fairhaven. Traveling on this trail (no doubt a route used by merchants and farmers—like the Halmers—of the region) would prove faster than through the grasslands, probably cutting a few hours off the trip. But travel on the road will likely involve passing other travelers.

The walk is uneventful, but it gives you a glimpse of other distant farms going about their work (some working through the rain, others waiting it out) as usual.

Along the way, Fenwolt begins to shiver. "Curse this rain."

About two miles along (with one to go), Cutter notes a thin plume of black smoke due easter, only slightly off Goran's chosen route. He is certain it's not just regular woodsmoke.

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Kal's Spot = 15
Oss's Spot = 20
Grafth's Spot = 25
Pellorien's Spot = 6
Cutter's Spot = 22
Goran's Spot = 15

[Darren]

"I guess there's not much left to be seen here. I'd like to know where the halfling and the young man went, but we'll have to hope they survived. It looks like the Orien investigators are about to arrive, so if you'll show me what to do, we can clear our tracks and be gone before they get here."

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Kal is subtly checking the bodies of the dead soldiers to see if their belongings have been taken. He's not necessarily looking to take anything, just curious if whoever came along after them did.

[Ed]

Oss seems nervous at the spotting of the approaching rail vehicle and says, "Yeah, let's cover our way and get the hells out of here, now."

[Josh]

"For once, it seems we all agree- we should move away, and quickly."

He looks around quickly, then points toward the north. "The half-elf is right, the rain should take care of our most obvious tracks. Let's quit this scene, and make our way toward the group.

"There's not much here to hide our path with- our best bet is to walk intentionally through the thicker grass, and distance ourselves until we meet the rest. Stay in sight of one another, and follow me. Once we rejoin the others we should stay as close as possible to the Aundair River- an easy way to stay on course and get further from the rail line."

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When Oss and Kal are ready, Grafth leads the way to the meeting point.

[Jeremy]

Goran takes off his cloak and wraps it (folding it over so it fits!) around the gnome's shoulders, somewhat gruffly, but clearly he is interested in keeping the gnome alive. For himself, he will move better without it in this rain and gathering dark. He asks Cutter:

"Would you mind carrying the gnome? That will eliminate his tracks entirely...and if they're searching for him...well..." he turns to Fenwolt.

"Would you object to being carried?"

He moves now twenty feet or more in front of the group, his dagger drawn, bent over and studying the ground. Several times he reminds those behind him to mind their tracks, to step on rocks or fallen tree limps, or pools, as much as possible. After a while, he finds a spot that seems a good place to wait for the others, where some good cover can be found (Jeff? Can I make this assumption?). He motions to everyone to take such cover as they can, no fire, no naked steel (he sheathes his own dagger, and nocks an arrow on his bow.

He looks at Cutter, noticing the smoke now.

"What do you think that is?" he asks to big fella.

---

Jeff: a spot check once at the 'camp' area. Also a listen check if possible (can I request two at once, or consecutively, like that?)

[Paul]

"I was just wondering the same thing. Should we take a look?"

Jeff: How far is the smoke?

[Jeff]

Grafth's Team
(Grafth, Kal, Oss, Tangat)

Kal gives the dead soldiers a look-over. Indeed, their weapons have been taken. The wand that the missing rider once had, and that you had left behind, is also gone.

Soon, Grafth leads them away, fanning out through the thick grass. When the crash site is a quarter of a mile behind you, you can see the rail vehicle slowing down as it nears the site. Before it even stops, a team of people jump out from a wide door. You feel pretty certain that they don't see you.

Goran's Team
(Goran, Cutter, Pellorien, Fenwolt)

The black smoke was only a short ways off Goran's route. Even when he leads them to the rendezvous area, it looks like it might be a 10-minute walk or a shorter run to the smoke.

At Goran's suggestion, Fenwolt looks up at Cutter. "Uhh, no...no, I don't think that will be necessary."

At this point, however, you can glimpse Grafth approaching in the distance. No bird calls necessary, as there is very little cover out here to hide you from sight anyway. Goran sees or hears nothing amiss in the immediate vicinity.

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Skills like Search are active skill (say when you wish to do it), while skills like Listen or Spot are passive (you needn't state using them, it's automatic).

[Jeremy]

When the others arrive, Goran asks Grafth what they have discovered. Then he points out the smoke and mentions that perhaps he (Goran) and Cutter should investigate while the rest stay hidden and consider their next action.

As always, Goran is firm in his suggestions but never officious or haughty. He seems to lead or take action on behalf of others only by their permission, whether tacit or spoken.

Should this be their course of action, Goran stows his bow, draws his sword and then dips the blade in the mud (to keep it from reflecting light, of course), and with Cutter (presumably) leaps off in the direction of the rising smoke. His pace is quick but careful, ready to vanish at a moment's notice, and careful to make as little noise as possible.

Of course...if this doesn't end up being their next course of action...then I'll feel rather silly having described it.

[Darren]

Looking towards the smoke, Kalarian says to Goran, "I believe I will come with you, as well. I'm feeling a bit too restless right now to just sit here." To the gnome he says, "These others will be able to protect you while we're gone. It won't be long."

[Josh]

"I'll stay here and get my bearings. Be brief; we need to keep moving."

And with that, Grafth crouches down on the path, and closes his eyes, perhaps to allow his other senses some dominance.


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Grafth is resting, but also keeping his ears open for unusual sounds

[Jeff]

Goran, with Kal, Tangat, and Cutter in tow, march over to where the black smoke rises. There is an acrid stench about the place, from which Tangat shies away.

Right there in the open grass is a misshapen black lump—about a foot and a half in width—and a scorch mark in the earth. Certainly fire of some kind was involved in burning what it was, but its lingering, oily black quality suggests the fire was magical—or at least alchemical—in nature.

The smoke is slowly letting up, though. In time there will be little left of it, and certainly there is no threat of fire; the rain has quenched that.

As you look upon the charred mass, you come to a sickening realization: that really could be two head-sized objects fused together by intense heat. Whatever it was, it's little more than ash and burned matter now.

[Darren]

"Whoever did this may still be nearby. We should see if we can find any tracks or their trail. Tangat?"

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Does Tangat have a scent of anyone leaving the area?

[Jeff]

Tangat is very put off by the smell of this area and doesn't seem particularly cooperative with Kal at the moment. From what he's seen so far, Kal suspects Grafth would react the same. This even stinks to him.

Goran can see that there have been some tracks here, but they're very faint. It might take a while to try and follow them.

[Jeremy]

"There's a trail here. I think I should try to follow these tracks. One or both of you should stay here and keep an eye out. No offense, but you'll just slow me down as I follow the trail. I won't be gone long, if I don't find something soon, I'll turn back. Should be half an hour at the most before I'm back."

Goran follows the trail quickly, with all his skills at full and his senses on highest alert. His dagger is drawn, and once again he's smeared the blade with mud to prevent the steel from catching and reflecting any light.

---

Jeff, definitely a Move Silently check here, and Knowledge: Nature, if the opportunity/need arises. He is trying to determine not only where the trail goes, but what or who has made the tracks, was it more than one creature? What type? If a beast of burden like a horse, how heavily was it laden? Etc.

He will go no further than fifteen minutes' tracking will take him.