Vapourware [Play-by-post] Lamentations in Averoigne

[Grimgravy]

Not having a torch to hand, Ganelon draws his sword and positions himself to shield Rolf.

 

[SoupNazi]

Finn locks his boyish eyes with one of the wolves as he was standing watch, crossbow locked and loaded. He lowers it to the ground and leans it against his knee so that the crossbow's easy to access and lift up should it become necessary. Eyes still locked with the beast, the animal handler turned monster hunter withdraws the wrapped up whip clipped to his side and proceeds to crack it high in the air, in the direction of the wolves. So the wolf pack leader's menacing growl is answered with several loud thunder-like cracks that echo across the land. Finn makes it a point to keep his back straight, shoulders back, and jaw steeled, showing no fear to the canines while trying to scare them with the threatening noises of the whip.

 

[Snorkack]

Daphne frowns at their companion's eagerness to enter another fight and possibly further decimating their own ranks. She kneels down to go through her rations and picks any bits of beef jerky, meat pies and other dead animal food. Unless she wasn't deemed a suitable lunch in the meantime herself, Daphne takes the bites and throws it towards the wolves as an offer of truce.

Spoiler

Some organizational stuff:
-remembered spells for the day are Gaseous Form and Faithful Hound
-Daphne rented a room with strongbox for the month where she keeps most of her money except some 50-ish sp (will update roll20 sheet tomorrow)
-If there was some leftover time in Vyones, Daphne would like to make some inquiries about that crimelord, and specifically about his vengefulness. It is really not the right time for yet another nuissance. So if he has any funny ideas, she'd rather take care of him sooner rather than later.

 

[SoupNazi]

Spoiler

Who's eager to enter a fight? We're trying to scare them away lol

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Daphne frowns at their companion's eagerness to enter another fight and possibly further decimating their own ranks. She kneels down to go through her rations and picks any bits of beef jerky, meat pies and other dead animal food. Unless she wasn't deemed a suitable lunch in the meantime herself, Daphne takes the bites and throws it towards the wolves as an offer of truce.

Spoiler

Some organizational stuff:
-remembered spells for the day are Gaseous Form and Faithful Hound
-Daphne rented a room with strongbox for the month where she keeps most of her money except some 50-ish sp (will update roll20 sheet tomorrow)
-If there was some leftover time in Vyones, Daphne would like to make some inquiries about that crimelord, and specifically about his vengefulness. It is really not the right time for yet another nuissance. So if he has any funny ideas, she'd rather take care of him sooner rather than later.

Spoiler

Don't think throwing foods towards them is gonna send them off. Might tempt them to stay.

 

[AdamReith]

Grima finds some high ground (climbing a tree if a suitable one is available) and prepares his bow.

 

[L'ennui]

Guillemin joins Requin's side, lights a torch and plants it upright before him in the soft earth. He readies his spear and shield in expectation.

 

[nikolokolus]

The group's various antics in the face of the wolves, eventually seems to spook them enough to reluctantly skulk away into the enveloping mists. Sancho the mule, bucks and brays a few times, but is quickly brought back under control with some soothing words from Finn. Satisfied that the threat has passed the company finishes their dig about an hour later, revealing a circular stone slab set into the face of the mound. The slab appears to be about a handspan thick and an armspan wide; it will probably take at least thirty minutes to an hour to break it down with picks and hammers (assuming you have them). Looking up at the midday sun, you realize that are you going to be very close to the point when you would need to return, if you want to get back to Les Hiboux by nightfall.

XP for the wolves

By driving them off, you each get 30 experience points.

 

[SoupNazi]

Once the wolves are repelled, Finn ties the whip up, clips it to his belt and leans the crossbow against the mound's wall. He walks around the closest bushes and rips off any semi-dry branches he can find, while (I assume) others continue working on opening the mound. Once he returns and finds an appropriate spot for a fire pit, he drops them all on the spot, and sets up a circle of mid-sized rocks around it. Even if they don't camp tonight, having a fireplace ready might come in handy later.

"The sun's getting low. Camping here might be pushing our luck, but maybe with a large enough fire, we can be relatively safe and save time going back and forth. Those other lads seem to be intent on doing so anyway, and plus... they could be waiting for us on the way back. So it's risky either way. There are two bedrolls and a tent in the mule's load, placed there by Mademoiselle De Beaupoil when she hired me."

Spoiler

Do we stay, or do we go back to the village?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Spoiler

I say we leave. Maybe take some time disguising our site so they don't look too closely.

 

[L'ennui]

"Call me spoiled, but if wolves and frogs don't get us during the night, these mosquitoes surely will..." Guillemin swats a worryingly large flying nuisance a mere inches from his face, visibly disgusted. "I say we hide the slab and hoof it, come back with more adequate tools if we need 'em."

Spoiler

If we go back to Les Hiboux, Guillemin will purchase a pick and a hammer, and load them onto our trusty mule.

 

[Grimgravy]

"We should go. Jacques told them it was madness to camp here. Let's be smart enough to listen to him."

Spoiler

I have a hammer, but looks like we need more tools in general, and more mooks too.

 

[SoupNazi]

Once the consensus seems to be there, Finn gives a nod and brings the gathered bush branches and sticks closer to the entrance, intent to help Requin with the bushcraft. Maybe spare a bit of water from his waterskin to turn the dirt and soil into mud to cover the rock, stick some branches and leaves about? But he leaves the majority of the work to the man from the marshes.

 

[Snorkack]

"Return to the relative safety of the village I say. And then travel back here as soon as dawn breaks. Then maybe tomorrow, after we finished digging what might become the grave of another few of you, we might even reach the place that we are actually after, eventually," Daphne expresses in a tone devoid of emotionality.

 

[nikolokolus]

Not wanting to tempt The Fates and Lady Fortuna and become enmeshed in their never ending game of dice with mortal souls, the troupe spends an hour or so carefully piling brush, and then covers it with a blanket of sod, making the entrance as obscured as they possibly can. Requin, does what he can to sweep their tracs, but the mule's deep hoofprints are beyond obfuscation without spending hours at it. An hour later they stand back and examine their handiwork. It probably won't stand up to careful scrutiny, but in the dense, lingering fog, it would probably take someone getting to within 10 or 20 paces to spot the subterfuge.

One by one, they file into line with Requin leading the way and backtrack across the plateau. When they pass the barrow where the other diggers had been at work, they no longer hear any sounds, nor see any figures atop the barrow.

Spoiler

Do you want to investigate?

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Not wanting to tempt The Fates and Lady Fortuna and become enmeshed in their never ending game of dice with mortal souls, the troupe spends an hour or so carefully piling brush, and then covers it with a blanket of sod, making the entrance as obscured as they possibly can. Requin, does what he can to sweep their tracs, but the mule's deep hoofprints are beyond obfuscation without spending hours at it. An hour later they stand back and examine their handiwork. It probably won't stand up to careful scrutiny, but in the dense, lingering fog, it would probably take someone getting to within 10 or 20 paces to spot the subterfuge.

One by one, they file into line with Requin leading the way and backtrack across the plateau. When they pass the barrow where the other diggers had been at work, they no longer hear any sounds, nor see any figures atop the barrow.

Spoiler

Do you want to investigate?

Spoiler

Yeah, rolling out bushcraft to check:
1. Sign of camp and state
2. Trail towards and if any away from site.
3. Signs of violence, if any.
4. If it should transpire that they are set upon by Swamp things, signs of the returning of such things.

If we find anything, then we take a call.
How long will it take for reading tracks, nikolokolus ?

 

[nikolokolus]

Requin cautiously approaches the mound and sees that the other group has decamped. There are signs of a mules everywhere, a busted rope lays useless on the ground and there is a toppled granite seal laying in the sod. There are tracks leading down into the stairs and back out and you notice the unmistakable signs of blood spatters on the ground. There are fresh tracks leading away to the north. It takes Requin about 10 minutes to assay all of this.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

There are fresh tracks leading away to the north

Spoiler

What tracks? Human, animal, Arch Stanton?

 

[AdamReith]

Grima gives the site a once over while for good measure also.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

There are fresh tracks leading away to the north

Spoiler

What tracks? Human, animal, Arch Stanton?

Spoiler

Nevermind, mistook that for blood spattered tracks northward.

Guess they broke camp for today and went back.
Might as well see what they get up to in Hiboux.

 

[SoupNazi]

Finn more closely examines the mule tracks once they are pointed out to the party by Requin. He's no tracker, but he knows his mules, and could potentially be able to tell whether the mule was loaded or even overloaded by comparing the depth of the footprint compared to a normal or lightly encumbered mule, or comparing the tracks leading to the mound with the prints leading away from it. Whether he can discern that or not, he agrees with returning to Les Hiboux afterwards.

 

[nikolokolus]

There are fresh tracks leading away to the north

Spoiler

What tracks? Human, animal, Arch Stanton?

Human shaped bootprints down into the stairs and out. then a whole bunch of churned up shod with mule prints and bootprints around the mouth. The tracks that lead to and from here are all pretty much the same: same depth, same stride length, etc. When they left, they didn't appear to be in any great hurry. The only exception is one set of mule prints leading away, that seem just a bit deeper than the others.

 

[SoupNazi]

"Either carrying an injured away, or loaded with treasure. I guess we'll find out..."

 

[nikolokolus]

Spoiler

Do you plumb the depths?

 

[SoupNazi]

Spoiler

Think the plan is to go back to Les Hiboux.