// Just for kicks, here's the map of the inn's interior //

The air of the pre-morning was calm and quiet. The three riderless horses left by the Zhentarim wandered the village a bit before finding the stables and entering for a rest of their own. As the moon slowly moved toward the tree-lined hills, Seviari finished his shift and woke Solace from her slumber in the inn.

When Solace's turn ended and she woke Rip, a lone owl was flying overhead, like a silent guardian, watching for trouble. The wind picked up as Rip huddled behind the protective watchtower walls.

But trouble did not arise. The fast-moving clouds on the eastern horizon were eventually lit from below with the sun's first rays, and as sunrise broke, the party began waking.

 Sadly, there did not seem to be any food available in the inn for breakfast.

Marav wakes up looks around seeing no food he looks around.

//Are there any other people around?//

The people with you thus far include everyone (minus "Ink") in the campaign (https://www.dndbeyond.com/campaigns/37898), as well as Beedo the goblin, Rip's new ward. The town is empty except for some roaming chickens, horses, and corpses—about a dozen goblins, four Zhentarim mercenaries, and a few villagers who were killed when the larger rocks fell from the sky.

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

A sun elf wakes from his trance, having gotten a good rest, warmed by a nearby fireplace and surrounded by strong stone walls. He takes stock of his surroundings—a two-level room. The lower level, where he is currently sitting, is the den. It is decorated with overstuffed chairs and bearskin rugs, and the walls are adorned with weapons, shields, and the mounted heads of wild animals. A decorative wooden ladder leads to a 20-foot-high circular balcony with a sculpted wooden railing. The upper level is a library, and its walls are lined with bookshelves. Several of these books lay open about the den area.

// Introducing Ink! //

//Marav is gonna go grab a chicken or 2 and start them roasting.//

"Save your rations, we might need them later." He explains to everyone.

//New NPC or PC//

Solace gets washed up and eats her rations. She then asks the party what the plan is for the day?

"I'd assume we need to head to the keep. See if there's any troubles there." Sev checks his weapons, making sure that his blades are sharp and his bow is in perfect condition. He walks over to one of the villager's bodies and looks down at it, mournfully. "If we can stop anymore deaths, we should. There's been enough bloodshed in this town."

"Sydiri!   Torem!  Alara!  Kalen!" Ink calls out. "I am going to check out on the activity that Quill noticed last night by the inn." Then, as if barking an order, "I need one of you to come with me - in case." {(intimidation? 3  if any other charisma check, just subtract 2)}

"If all is well, the volunteer can return to the keep and I'll move on, as planned."

Ink with volunteer (hopefully) in tow, quietly {Stealth 9 } makes his way to the inn where Quill, currently scouting ahead some as he's wont to do, to see what's left of the village and investigate last night's ongoing.

Quote from Hardcopi >>

//Marav is gonna go grab a chicken or 2 and start them roasting.//

"Save your rations, we might need them later." He explains to everyone. 

//oh crap, i'm the loot guy. almost forgot//

Quote from BriceJTodd >>

...He walks over to one of the villager's bodies and looks down at it, mournfully. "If we can stop anymore deaths, we should. There's been enough bloodshed in this town."

Quote from jr_el_leon >>

"Sydiri!   Torem!  Alara!  Kalen!" Ink calls out. "I am going to check out on the activity that Quill noticed last night by the inn." Then, as if barking an order, "I need one of you to come with me - in case." {(intimidation? 20  if any other charisma check, just subtract 2)}

"If all is well, the volunteer can return to the keep and I'll move on, as planned."

Marav adjusts his hood and waves, "Nice to see someone survived."

"Yes, perhaps...," responds Ink rather warily.  To Kalen, he asks in a whispered tone, "Anyone you recognize?"   {Kalen shakes her head in response to Ink's question. "He doesn't look familiar. But he's definitely not a goblin," she adds helpfully.} Ink gives here the slightest of a side eye.

"So, this village has seen a lot of trouble lately - and we don't recognize you as a local... may I inquire as to why you are here?"  Ink keeps his distant, no threatening posture, no draw of the weapon, just being observant for the time being.

Kalen shakes her head in response to Ink's question. "He doesn't look familiar. But he's definitely not a goblin," she adds helpfully.

"Yeah there were bandits here last night, quite the fight and no guards in sight." Marav looks around at the obvious problems the town has, "makes me wonder where the guards were when all of this went down. Charged with protecting the town and you seem fine, while the town didn't fare so well."

Perception: 16

//Are they friendly,, do they look like they are in "too good" of condition based on what happened here.//

From a distance of about 70 feet, Marav can see that the female guard looks tired and worn out, which is in keeping with the current state of the stone Keep. Her shoulders sag, even though she's trying to stand tall and at attention.

"We couldn't get to the rest of the villagers," she called defensively across the moat. "And besides, we were on duty when the giants came. We couldn't abandon our post. The other guards were with the villagers, and we saw some of them leave with them during the attack."

// I'll let jr_el_leon describe how Ink appears from this distance. You can see each other clearly. //

Marav sighs, "Just got here during the fight last night, come eat with us, you can fill us in on everything."

The guard brightens up at the invitation, but then looks unsurely at the 15-foot gap in the bridge. She looks to Ink for advice.

//Their any trees I might be able to cut down or is there another way across?//