[Game Thread] Fires Over Brinestump

[The Fool]

Reynard laughs, having fun bantering with Chime. "Well, I'm King of the World, so if he does that, that'd be equivalent to a marriage proposal. And I think anyone who knows me at all knows how I feel about marriage!"

He blinks when he sees Xiao collapse, surprised. He hadn't realized that the monk was that drunk. On the bright side, getting an eyeful of Chime's descending neckline more than makes up for it. "You know, it's a pity I'd not brought any of Shalelu's camouflage paints with me. We could cover him with tiger stripes!"
As he speaks, he gets up and helps her move Xiao, grunting as he does so. Xiao outweighs Reynard by a good fifty five pounds, and Reynard is not exactly a strongman either, so it is only with effort and help that he is able to move the man. "How are we doing on provisions? I can gather us what we need if we're lacking in anything."

[Ehlana]

"Oh, I'm sure Walthus would prefer it be a marriage in name only." Chime teases Reynard. "You know how those political things are. Sure you -say- you're married, but then you have a party in your bedroom with six other people just the same." She eyes the peacefully slumbering Xiao. "We could cut off his braid." She suggests. "He's only lucky it's so pretty or I would. I -do- have my tattoo kit with me, but I don't think he's quite that drunk. Sticking needles in people is almost certain to wake them up. Shame too, I was thinking a pretty grouping of purple and yellow pansies would be just the thing...right on his left cheek." She stretches her back after helping to haul Xiao, another sight to be appreciated by the connoisseur. "I'm doing all right for food, unless we spend simply weeks here. But I can't speak for anyone else."

[Avelestar]

Walthus misses the witty banter between the group, though he would have chuckled heartily at it. During the night each of you hear noises during your watch, but never enough to warrant waking up the others. And definitely not enough to warrant going outside. The noises were like something shuffling close to the house and then leaving shortly after. Come morning the extent of what happened during the night is very clear. From the front and rear windows you can see that the bodies on the path are gone, dragging marks leading into the swamp nearby. Instead a pile of dung is in their place, and in a few other spots around the house. Some eerily close to the walls of the house, or directly below windows that you were looking out during your watch. Something visited last night, and it doesn't seem friendly. Before any of you can ask Walthus answers the question. "I have no idea what is going one, in almost five years I have never seen anything like it. Perhaps you killed its mate?" Spooky situation or no, you can see that there is much more life in Walthus today. He still seems weak, but his colour has returned and there is power in his voice. He looks fit enough to travel if he wished.

OOC: Sorry for my absence, sickness + getting ready for uni = distraction and forgot all about DnDOG.

[GrimDarkOtter]

"If that is the case," Emiri says, "Then you really should either come with us or go to town." Gesturing to the various signs, he says "Or we spend time hunting it down. But I am not much of a tracker, I fear."

[The Fool]

Reynard is already examining the tracks and the dung, sniffing the ground and peering around for clues. "Give me a few minutes...I may be able to track this thing. The ground was soft last night, which helps a lot. Let's see...."

[Ehlana]

"I think that if someone killed -my- mate, I'd do something a bit more definitive than poo outside his door and windows." Chime asserts, regarding the heaps with acute distaste and stepping delicately around them. "That seems more like something an animal would do than a human. Marking one's territory... or one's prey, in this case." She gestures vaguely, bangles on her wrist clattering softly against one another.

[The Fool]

Reynard looks up from his efforts at Chime and nods to her, his expression firm. "I agree...well, either that or this creature's some sort of prankster. Given his handiwork...I'm still not ruling that out. I mean, honestly, the only thing that's missing are the rotten eggs."

[Avelestar]

Despite any protests Walthus demands to come with you to track whatever it is that has been sliming his house. "I'm well enough to walk and fight, and I'll be damned if I won't be the one to chase this thing off my land." The day seems to be bright and sunny, which at the lagoon is lovely, but in the marsh itself makes for a very sticky journey. Reynard and Walthus can follow the tracks easy enough, and after about fifteen minutes they find the remains of the stalker stuck in the mud, his head missing. Another twenty minutes of following tracks and the five of you suddenly stop, a patch of relatively clear ground springing up from nowhere. Hidden in bracken you can see a ten-foot-high mound of branches, logs, and reeds lies amid the trees here, nestled in a narrow, muddy clearing. Flies buzz and swarm around the foul-smelling mound of rotting vegetation. "Looks like a home." says Walthus, chewing his bottom lip and stringing his bow.

OOC: Mound is 10ft in diameter, you can see no entrance from this side. But it definitely looks created, not natural. Make any relevant checks you deem worthwhile (knowledge, perception etc.)

[GrimDarkOtter]

Emiri moves forward, unshouldering his flail and loosening the chain. With his off hand, he raises a fist to silence the others. Making as little noise as possible, he carefully listens and watches, hoping to detect some sort of movement near the pile. Unfortunately, the rustling of his armor masks other sounds, and Emiri does not think he can discern anything.

OOC I got an 11 for Perception which....isn't great.

[The Fool]

Reynard is crouched on the ground, his lithe frame moving smoothly across the ground as he examines the tracks, his movements silent and seamlessly fluid. Then he stops short, seeming to freeze in place before looking up and taking in the mound and the surrounding area, trying to work out in his mind what it is he's looking at.

"That is...potentially dangerous," he says softly, holding out a hand to stop the others from going further. "It's not natural, that's for sure."

[Avelestar]

Reynard and Emiri don't see anything worth noting, but Walthus' eyes, much better used to the colours and shapes of the swamp, pick out a chilling detail. "There's a pile of bones on the right side of the mound, too far to tell what of. But a pile of bones none the less." Both Reynard and Walthus agree that nothing natural built this mound, barring the beaver damming a river animals never build structures like these. Doesn't seem goblin in nature either, there would be far more heads, spikes and dead things for many feet in every direction.

OOC: You're looking at the southern side of the mound, you have no vision of the northern end.

[Ehlana]

"Mound's more accurate than home, anyway." Chime remarks, winding one end of her spangled scarf around a wrist. "I can quite picture anything that lives in a place like this doing piles of dirty deeds under the windows back at Walthus'." She tosses her head, earrings swinging. "In any case, we're getting nothing done just standing here looking pretty..or in your cases handsome. Is there an entrance anywhere that anyone can spot?"

[The Fool]

Reynard gives Chime a wink and a grin. "Why thank you, you're not bad yourself," he says playfully. "Don't see an entrance...part of me just wants to burn down the mound. I mean, honestly, I just know that something horrible is going to jump out of there and try to assault us."

[GrimDarkOtter]

"Hold for a moment" Emiri says to Reynard, "We have a duty." Moving towards the mound, he gets close enough to examine the bones and determine which, if any, might be humanoid in nature. "Even if there are none to claim them, we must bury whatever remains may be left." The half-elf takes a sack from his belt and shakes it open, preparing to separate out the grim remains as needed.

[orangehatter]

"Hold for a moment,"

Xiao looks up, his hat revealing his inquiring eyes. While Reynard speaks of duties and burials, Xiao shakes his head solemnly, the beads on his hat swaying in unison.

"I won't," he states plainly. "Never touch bones of unknown beings." He glances at the mound curiously alongside everyone else, wondering just what was with that thing anyway...