Valerie, your Divine Sense does not detect any celestials, fiends, or undead within 60ft.
Dormark, the foul scent leads you to a human corpse half-buried in the underbrush about fifteen feet from the road. The young man appears to be a commoner. His muddy clothes are torn and raked with claw marks. Crows have been at the body, which is surrounded by the paw prints. The man has obviously been dead for several days. He holds a crumpled envelope in one hand.
The letter is sealed with a letter 'B'. Breaking the seal Dormark reads the letter;
Hail to thee of might and valor,
I, a lowly servant of Barovia, send honor to thee. We plead for thy so desperately needed assistance.
The love of my life, Ireena Kolyana, has been afflicted by an evil so deadly that even the good people of our village cannot protect her. She languishes from her wound, and I would have her saved from this menace. There is much wealth in this community. I offer all that might be had to thee and thy fellows if thou shalt but answer my desperate plea.
Come quickly, for her time is at hand! All that I have shall be thine!
As the group come to a halt, Ioben turns to face back down the trail from where they have just come, keeping his bow half-raised. Unsure of what they had found, he figured they would share the relevant information when they were done. For now, the eerieness of the environment kept his mind looking outward.
Dormark says a Dwarven curse under his breath bringing the letter with him back to the road. "A dead body lies a few feet from the road, looks like he was attacked by some kind of predator, but whatever did it wasn't after food," he says passing the letter to the paladin. "My guess since the letter was still sealed he was a messenger who was seeking help, but met an unfortunate fate in a land I sure he knew pretty well," he says letting the news sink in to the others. "Well this tells us two things. One, we are on the road to Barovia and two, we need to be prepared and watching, cause we are not alone out here," he says moving his shield unto his back and passing the torch Baern, he begins to walk back towards the body.
Valerie takes the letter and read. One thing that catches her attention is the name at the end of the letter. "Kolyan Indirovich..." She mutters the name for a few times then realizes something. She quickly takes out the mysterious note from her backpack and compare them. "Ismark Kolyanovich... Kolyan Indirovich... Why do I feel like these two are related?"
She is not certain that the two name have some relation with each other. It is either she is going crazy or it has some connections. She thinks for a moment then decides to leave it be for now. "Does anyone want to have a look?" She raises up the latter from the corpse.
At one point the dwarf does ask "did I hear you say you can suddenly do magic?"
Sandu turned his head towards Baern, taking care to keep most of his face hidden beneath his hood. 'If you're starting to hear things that weren't said, you've picked an awful moment to do so.' Sandu replied. Unless you're a mindreader. He thought to himself. Are you?
He kept pace with the others. He once more cursed the fact that he did not pack any torches. The cold he could handle, his cloak was warm enough, but he longed more for the comfort of a light source. Preferably as many as possible. With four walls and a roof around them. And a hot cup of tea. Sandu would pay through the nose for a steaming hot cup right about now.
"Does anyone want to have a look?" She raises up the latter from the corpse.
Sandu looked at the corpse. He did not know whether to feel sorry for the old chap or frightened that it could just as easily be him in due time. In the end cold logic won out. 'Does he have any valuables on him?' He asked. He could already feel the eyes of the others focusing on him. 'What?' Sandu shrugged, 'It's not like he has any use for it now.'
"You know stealing personal belongings from the dead has a chance of getting a nasty spirit haunting you," says Dormark over his shoulder as he walks to the body. Leaning back down over he says, "I'm sorry you had to die out here." He closes the corpses eyes if they aren't and attempts to pick up the body cradling it in his arms.
"It sounds like you have it well in hand."Ioben remains on the road watching for danger. He will remain there as long as he can see of hear on of the other party members.
"You know stealing personal belongings from the dead has a chance of getting a nasty spirit haunting you."
"Nonsense," Alder rumbles with a snort. "A soldier takes what he needs from the field. The dead have no more use for their things, better the living make use of what is left behind."
He moves to join Dormark, crouching down next to the body to begin rifling it for useful items.
Investigating the corpse you are able to immediately determine that it has been savaged by one, or more, large creatures.
In terms of useful items, you are able to find a solitary gold piece in the corpses trouser pocket. The gold piece is unlike any you have seen before - on one side it has a strange visage of long haired gentleman, on the other side it depicts a coat of arms (see below). Next to the face you clearly see the word Barovia.
Alder grunts softly, pushing aside torn fabric. He pulls something small from the corpse's pants and sits a moment longer, contemplating the wounds decorating the rotting body before standing.
"Whatever killed this one, it was big. More than one attacker, perhaps. Some wild animal or monster? Also, he had this on him. I have never seen one like it before..."
He holds out the gold coin in one hand towards Dormark, the visage of the long haired man gleaming in the torchlight where it sits, dwarfed, in his wide palm.
Baern is suddenly silent and looks much more nervous now at the discovery of the dead body. He holds the torch as instructed and does whatever Dormark, Alder and the rest instruct.
Oh great, a soldier. Sandu rolled his eyes beneath his hood. He did not have anything against the burly man but soldiers represented authority and Sandu's track record with authority was spotty to say the least. Still, he could appreciate the pragmatic approach Alder showed. He turned his attention to the gold coin.
'Is that the local coin?' Sandu reached for his own coin pouch to pull out a gold coin to compare. His most certainly did not feature the strange crest or the long haired man's profile. 'Barovian gold.' He uttered. 'So would that be the king or something?' Sandu pointed at the man's visage.
'In any case, we might want to keep moving. A dead body is a clear sign that something dangerous stalks these woods and I, for one, wouldn't want to run into it.'
Ioben steps closer to the rest of the group. "Alder, pass me that coin. I have dealt with a bit of gold in my time. Maybe there is something I might recognize about it."
Alder paused, his dark eyes leveling on Ioben. There was a certain resistance to giving up even such a small bit of coin, instinct built from years of having little to none. Finally he flipped the coin to Ioben and moved back to the road.
Cradling the body in his arms Dormark snaps his jaw at the soldier's conduct. For him it was a similar action as someone clucking their tongue in displeasure of something. But for those who look at him it look and sound similar to the opening and the quick closing of a bear trap. While it is true that it could taken many days for something to turn undead, for have it dismissed as an impossibility seemed very foolish especially considering the current circumstances. Dark places and old bloody battlefields had a tendency to birth beings who weren't went to walk among the living.
"I have seen many coins pass around in the Hall, but I don't think I ever seen one like that. We may be very far from where we once were... If you don't mind could you return the gold to the man, one gold will do you little good, but for all we know he may have needed for his passage to the other side," he says talking to Ioben as he walk the body back to the road.
After inspecting the coin closely, Ioben walks over to the body. "I couldn't agree more." Bending down, he slips the coin into the man's pocket, taps the pocket gently and stands up again. "May you find the peace we search for." Turning back to the others he motions back to the road. "We should press on before whatever did this returns."
Valerie, your Divine Sense does not detect any celestials, fiends, or undead within 60ft.
Dormark, the foul scent leads you to a human corpse half-buried in the underbrush about fifteen feet from the road. The young man appears to be a commoner. His muddy clothes are torn and raked with claw marks. Crows have been at the body, which is surrounded by the paw prints. The man has obviously been dead for several days. He holds a crumpled envelope in one hand.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Dormark bends over switching the torch to his shield arm he picks up the letter and begins to read it.
Dormark Calling of Strahd (warforged cleric) 4
The letter is sealed with a letter 'B'. Breaking the seal Dormark reads the letter;
Hail to thee of might and valor,
I, a lowly servant of Barovia, send honor to thee. We plead for thy so desperately needed assistance.
The love of my life, Ireena Kolyana, has been afflicted by an evil so deadly that even the good people of our village cannot protect her. She languishes from her wound, and I would have her saved from this menace. There is much wealth in this community. I offer all that might be had to thee and thy fellows if thou shalt but answer my desperate plea.
Come quickly, for her time is at hand! All that I have shall be thine!
Kolyan Indirovich
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
As the group come to a halt, Ioben turns to face back down the trail from where they have just come, keeping his bow half-raised. Unsure of what they had found, he figured they would share the relevant information when they were done. For now, the eerieness of the environment kept his mind looking outward.
Dormark says a Dwarven curse under his breath bringing the letter with him back to the road. "A dead body lies a few feet from the road, looks like he was attacked by some kind of predator, but whatever did it wasn't after food," he says passing the letter to the paladin. "My guess since the letter was still sealed he was a messenger who was seeking help, but met an unfortunate fate in a land I sure he knew pretty well," he says letting the news sink in to the others. "Well this tells us two things. One, we are on the road to Barovia and two, we need to be prepared and watching, cause we are not alone out here," he says moving his shield unto his back and passing the torch Baern, he begins to walk back towards the body.
Dormark Calling of Strahd (warforged cleric) 4
Valerie takes the letter and read. One thing that catches her attention is the name at the end of the letter. "Kolyan Indirovich..." She mutters the name for a few times then realizes something. She quickly takes out the mysterious note from her backpack and compare them. "Ismark Kolyanovich... Kolyan Indirovich... Why do I feel like these two are related?"
She is not certain that the two name have some relation with each other. It is either she is going crazy or it has some connections. She thinks for a moment then decides to leave it be for now. "Does anyone want to have a look?" She raises up the latter from the corpse.
Sandu turned his head towards Baern, taking care to keep most of his face hidden beneath his hood.
'If you're starting to hear things that weren't said, you've picked an awful moment to do so.' Sandu replied. Unless you're a mindreader. He thought to himself. Are you?
He kept pace with the others. He once more cursed the fact that he did not pack any torches. The cold he could handle, his cloak was warm enough, but he longed more for the comfort of a light source. Preferably as many as possible. With four walls and a roof around them. And a hot cup of tea. Sandu would pay through the nose for a steaming hot cup right about now.
Sandu looked at the corpse. He did not know whether to feel sorry for the old chap or frightened that it could just as easily be him in due time. In the end cold logic won out.
'Does he have any valuables on him?' He asked. He could already feel the eyes of the others focusing on him. 'What?' Sandu shrugged, 'It's not like he has any use for it now.'
William Brackwater: Human Fighter - The Windward Isles
"You know stealing personal belongings from the dead has a chance of getting a nasty spirit haunting you," says Dormark over his shoulder as he walks to the body. Leaning back down over he says, "I'm sorry you had to die out here." He closes the corpses eyes if they aren't and attempts to pick up the body cradling it in his arms.
Dormark Calling of Strahd (warforged cleric) 4
"It sounds like you have it well in hand." Ioben remains on the road watching for danger. He will remain there as long as he can see of hear on of the other party members.
"Nonsense," Alder rumbles with a snort. "A soldier takes what he needs from the field. The dead have no more use for their things, better the living make use of what is left behind."
He moves to join Dormark, crouching down next to the body to begin rifling it for useful items.
Investigstion: 14
Alder's Investigation Check;
Investigating the corpse you are able to immediately determine that it has been savaged by one, or more, large creatures.
In terms of useful items, you are able to find a solitary gold piece in the corpses trouser pocket. The gold piece is unlike any you have seen before - on one side it has a strange visage of long haired gentleman, on the other side it depicts a coat of arms (see below). Next to the face you clearly see the word Barovia.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Alder grunts softly, pushing aside torn fabric. He pulls something small from the corpse's pants and sits a moment longer, contemplating the wounds decorating the rotting body before standing.
"Whatever killed this one, it was big. More than one attacker, perhaps. Some wild animal or monster? Also, he had this on him. I have never seen one like it before..."
He holds out the gold coin in one hand towards Dormark, the visage of the long haired man gleaming in the torchlight where it sits, dwarfed, in his wide palm.
Baern is suddenly silent and looks much more nervous now at the discovery of the dead body. He holds the torch as instructed and does whatever Dormark, Alder and the rest instruct.
Oh great, a soldier. Sandu rolled his eyes beneath his hood. He did not have anything against the burly man but soldiers represented authority and Sandu's track record with authority was spotty to say the least. Still, he could appreciate the pragmatic approach Alder showed. He turned his attention to the gold coin.
'Is that the local coin?' Sandu reached for his own coin pouch to pull out a gold coin to compare. His most certainly did not feature the strange crest or the long haired man's profile. 'Barovian gold.' He uttered. 'So would that be the king or something?' Sandu pointed at the man's visage.
'In any case, we might want to keep moving. A dead body is a clear sign that something dangerous stalks these woods and I, for one, wouldn't want to run into it.'
William Brackwater: Human Fighter - The Windward Isles
Ioben steps closer to the rest of the group. "Alder, pass me that coin. I have dealt with a bit of gold in my time. Maybe there is something I might recognize about it."
Alder paused, his dark eyes leveling on Ioben. There was a certain resistance to giving up even such a small bit of coin, instinct built from years of having little to none. Finally he flipped the coin to Ioben and moved back to the road.
"We should move. It is not safe here."
While the party is searching the corpse, Valerie stands aside and keeps her eyes on the surrounding. "I agree. We shouldn’t stay here long."
Ioben caught the coin from out of the air air and turned it over in his hands. He looked closely to see if there was anything recognizable about it.
Cradling the body in his arms Dormark snaps his jaw at the soldier's conduct. For him it was a similar action as someone clucking their tongue in displeasure of something. But for those who look at him it look and sound similar to the opening and the quick closing of a bear trap. While it is true that it could taken many days for something to turn undead, for have it dismissed as an impossibility seemed very foolish especially considering the current circumstances. Dark places and old bloody battlefields had a tendency to birth beings who weren't went to walk among the living.
"I have seen many coins pass around in the Hall, but I don't think I ever seen one like that. We may be very far from where we once were... If you don't mind could you return the gold to the man, one gold will do you little good, but for all we know he may have needed for his passage to the other side," he says talking to Ioben as he walk the body back to the road.
Dormark Calling of Strahd (warforged cleric) 4
After inspecting the coin closely, Ioben walks over to the body. "I couldn't agree more." Bending down, he slips the coin into the man's pocket, taps the pocket gently and stands up again. "May you find the peace we search for." Turning back to the others he motions back to the road. "We should press on before whatever did this returns."