Fin stares with a mix of fascination and confusion at the flight of avian people. "Well I'll be...you don't see that everyday, huh?"

((No prior background with aaracokra, no))

Fin please roll a history check. Effy you can too if you wish:)

((History: 7))

((oof.....))

Effulgyn History: 9

”I don’t think I’ve seen it ever, Fin.”

Hm...something rings a bell for you Effy but you can't quite figure where from.

You continue to plot on down the road, at a brusque pace--Avra is eager to see her father. A bit trepidatious too,  given how she left. Her anxiety starts to show. Turns out she speaks a lot when she's nervous--telling you all about each farm you pass, or sometimes about different landmarks and what they represent, or how they came to be. Like Old Turtle, a rock that to locals bore some sort of resemblance to a turtle, at least to some locals, but not Avra, who could only see a rock. 

What you think? She asks. 

A rock, Yesrora replies. Domash agrees. 

Avra estimates you are about 30 minutes from her farm when you start seeing someone else's farm coming to you.  A Human man and woman lead a cart laden with what seems to be most of their belongings as three teenaged children shepherd some animals behind. The animals and humans all look free of mold but their faces bear the signs of terror and worry  that you have seen on Avra's face a few times.  

Effulgyn lets Avra take the lead, assuming that she and her neighbors likely know each other. The young halfling’s expression is solemn, out of respect for the likely undesired change of circumstances embodied in the tableaux of these farmers. Former farmers turned refugees, that is, if Effulgyn is putting circumstances together correctly. 

Fin leans over to Avra with a mixture of concern and confusion, "Hey, Avra, who are they? Looks like they've got their whole home packed away for a trip or something, but they don't seem very eager."

I don't recognize them, she says, her brow furrowing. She approaches them on the road.

Hello! Hello! She calls out, arms waving in a friendly way that surprises you a little. In the short time you've known Avra, she hasn't exactly been this type. 

I am Avra, of Dembur Farm. Just that way- she points down the road. You coming from far-from-kindermarsh? 

The humans stop, sadness and fear written all over their faces. 

We got some sort of a situation over near our farm, southway, near the Sallows. This stuff's come out of the forest and is tearing through everything in sight. Lost most of our flock, half of our cattle, all of our crops, the man explains. 

Not sure where we're headed--hoping to find another farm, maybe, to stay with for a bit until The Guard takes care of this, the woman adds. 

By this time the kids have joined them. The man speaks up again.

We passed Dembur Farm, and I'm sorry to say, it looks in a right state. Couldn't find anything on two legs or four that could give us any information but I'll tell you this--your farm is going in the direction ours did. Kord bless our souls!

Kord guide us! the woman and the kids say in unison in response. 

Avra looks alarmed.

Pa not there? Pa, not so big as me, more like you? 

The man turns to reply but his wife interjects, putting her hand on his chest. 

We prolly missed him, dearie, she says kindly. We didn't linger too much, on Kord's green earth we didn't linger with all that evil black about. Where did it come from? From the Sallows, we think. But where from there? 

Some evil, the man nods. Some evil indeed. 

Fin gives a hard nudge to Effulgyn, but keeps his voice low, "First to Avra's farm, and we may find what we need without going further. We need to get what's needed and hurry back as soon as possible. Another week or two and half this town might be dead."

Avra tells them to go to her uncle's farm, explaining in her uneven, broken way that he might not be home but that he had lots of land. She tells them the way and what to look out for. They seem grateful but there is also a sense of sadness--whatever this mold is, it's spreading, and it will only be a matter of time before it reaches his farm, too. They don't say as much, being grateful and polite and all. But it hangs between them as though they did. 

Avra resumes the journey in silence, clearly worried. 

Eventually, you arrive to the border of her farm land. Crops, at first, but eventually the gate appears in the distance--bordered by a makeshift fence of fallen bits of wood, interlaced with vines (not the kinds that try to kill you!) and small trees. 

The rough-wood gate is closed to visitors but not locked; Avra opens it expertly and ushers you all up a long, wide, dirt-paved drive, lined with large clean stones and wildflowers. Meadows spread on either side, animals grazing. They seem a little too many for the space they're in but they seem healthy at least. 

A small house sits back, with a large barn on the left hand side, a bit further back. A large ox cart sits near the barn. A cat appears from behind one of the wheels and scurries over to Avra, mewling and slipping between her ankles. 

Motmot, Avra says softly, bending to inspect the cat's face. Where is Pa? 

Effulgyn, one who knows farms and farming well, looks around him with a mixture of simple pleasure, homesickness, and trepidation. Are there signs of changes in the way the farm is run or other indicators of misfortune due to the encroachment of damaging magical goop?

Fin wanders on the green next to the road, looking across the farm with a clear unease. He carries his shield, rather across his back, and rests the other hand on the handle of his blade. "I truly hope for the best, Avra, but I have a bad feeling about all this."

Effy care to roll an investigation check?

(OOC: Investigation : 8)

Aside from the fact that the animals at pasture on either side of the house seem to be in an enclosure too small for their number, nothing seems amiss. Though it is awfully quiet. 

Avra doesn't unburden Asterix as she normally would but instead leaves her tethered to the cart as she goes to the door of the house. "Bad feeling, yes" she says to you Fin. She opens the door slowly and steps inside.

Do Fin and Effy follow?

Fin lingers a moment, scanning the approach to the farmhouse to see if anything seems amiss from the outside, then follows Avra. He keeps his shield in-hand, and his free hand clasped around the hilt of his sword.

((Let me know if any Perception/Investigation check is needed for the last look over the lawn or coming into the house.))

Avra’s cautious slowness and Fin’s guarded demeanor are enough to put Effulgyn on edge. Eyes wide and circling, the young wizard creeps in immediately behind Fin, peeking around the paladin’s waist as they enter the farmhouse. 

From behind Avra's large form, Effulgyn, you can't see much. But you can sense that something isn't right. Without a perception check, for instance, the room is dark--the curtains have been drawn, no light has been lit. Also, it's quiet, and it smells...stale. 

Fin, you are barely able to take in much more than that but what strikes you as you look around is that it's messy. Not lived-in. Actually messy, as though swept through by a large party of hungry teens and then abandoned. Food in various states of consumption lay on every conceivable surface, plates and pots and kettles all askew over a messy, ashy hearth, ashes tall in the grate. Not at all befitting the tight lipped, hard working, tough as nails Pa Avra so often spoke of. 

Avra opens some dark curtains, letting the last of the evening sun in and you can see that there are blankets and other soft things strewn all over the couches, making it nearly impossible to sit anywhere. A chair at the table has been overturned, there is the crunching of broken glass underfoot. 

"Raiderssss maybe" Yesrora says quietly from the door, having not entered more than a foot. Domash stands behind her, blocking the doorway, a look of confusion and perhaps consternation. 

Effulgyn likewise stops in place. Craning his head around Fin, he places a finger to his lips, shhh, and listens carefully, eyes locked with the paladin’s. Are there any sounds of movement from farther inside, above, or below?

((Perception for moving further into the house? 12))

Fin releases the grip on the hilt of his sword, but instead pulls a javelin from the quiver on his back. No good swinging a blade in a place like this. He uses the metal head to shift and poke things laying about in the house. It seemed this mold they've as of yet hardly seen was incredibly virulent for anything that touched it. The last thing Fin wanted was to offer a hand to a hidden patch of the stuff