Dallid sends Ferelyon out of the wagon to see what is happening, and says to Dadeveth: “I saw things as well. But not all things seem are true. Be cautious of relying on a vision too much. Mine showed me… but I was cutting into myself, I assume for research purposes. Something that is not likely to be of value.”
Cerio snaps upright. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark circles have formed underneath. "But how could we all've had the same dream, then?" he asks Dallid. "I seen it too. Some feller named Rahadin expectin' to collect us. This whole business reeks 'o swamp rot, 'n we already know's these Skurra got magic ways. Just think on that mist that took us to and from Isolde's carnival. I'm with Dadeveth. Just gon' assume we's rats in a trap, 'n plan accordin'." Cerio quickly dons his pack and secures his weapons and armor. He grips his new khopesh in one hand, a plain but sharp shortsword in the other. "Some rascal thinks ta bag ol' Cerio, he got another thing a'comin'."
Ferelyon sculks out of the wagon, you could almost swear he rolled his eyes at Dallid before leaving. Rain is coming down heavily now, pitter-pattering off the wooden roof of the wagon, a cold-blustery wind howls through the open door.
Moments pass, you sit miserably in the back of the wagon, waiting for news. Ferelyon returns then, as he enters you notice that his paw-prints are wet, covered in mud and blood? He stares at Dallid and tilts his head, letting out what might have been a sigh.
"Well, seems like someone is hurt." Dadeveth says, nodding towards the blood. She exits the wagon and follows the others around to wherever the blood is.
Ferelyon leads you all out of the wagon. As you exit the smell of death hits you, it is unmistakable. The wolf pads along the ground in front of you before pausing alongside the wagon, he sits and stares at it for a moment. In the light and rain, you can just make out the word "TRAITOR"scrawled crudely over the beautiful, decorative paintwork. The bloody lettering is starting to wash away, you surmise that whoever wrote this is not long gone.
The wagon sits still on a cobbled road, thick fog surrounds you on all sides, obscuring your vision. You can just about make out woods sitting on either side of the road, casting all sorts of eerie shadows in the failing daylight. The road itself stretches on for as far as you can see before being swallowed up in mist.
Continuing on, Ferelyon guides you to the front of the wagon, the horse that was pulling the wagon must have bolted. You see it then, a body, lying face-up in front of you, the familiar orange cloak now soaked red, his clothing appears tattered and torn. Talon marks and scratches cover Radu's body and his face, it is then that you notice that both of his eyes appear to have been pecked out.
Wanting to baulk and look away from the corpse of the Skurra, you instead notice Ferelyon walk to the corpse and start nuzzling it. Ready to chastise the animal's strange behaviour, you instead spot a strange symbol tattooed in black on the upper-left of Radu's chest ((see spoiler)).
A single phrase is tattooed underneath the symbol, it simply reads, “He is the Ancient. He is the Land”.
ALL - Perception checks please + any other skill checks you feel may be prudent at this time.
”what tha—“. Cerio falls to his knees beside Hermos’s body, trying not to lose his lunch at the gore of Radu's face. He averts his eyes and examines the tattoo.
“I dunno what this means! That phrase, I heared it in m’dream. The ancient, the land. Is this that Strahd feller’s doin’?”
He stands and examines the woods. “We heard birds, ‘n judgin’ by tha state o’ him, a flock of ‘‘em pecked out his eyes. Hell of a way t’go…. Say, wonder what’s meant by traitor. Do ya think Radu broke his promise? In my dream, we was supposed to meet up someone at some gates. Looks like Radu took us somewheres else. AND! Who wrote that message? Ain’t no bird can do that!”
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Dadeveth swallows hard, reading the words tattooed on the man's chest. She trembled slightly as her eyes scanned the area. Gathering her courage, she moved around, checking the land near the wagon for any tracks to indicate which way those who did this had gone. Even if the man's attackers included birds, birds could not write letters in blood. Or at least that is her way of thinking...
((Ashen - I believe you meant Radu. Without wishing to spoil anything (don't think it's really a spoiler), Hermos is undoubtedly the most loyal member of the Carnival to Isolde.
Well I think those are probably some of the lowest Perception rolls I have seen - probably best to wait for Dallid's))
Whether due to the stress of the situation or maybe the fact that the whole place seems otherworldly and alien, you are too distracted to really take in your surroundings.
It is clear to you that the writing was unlikely written by one of the birds. Could there have been men, or other humanoids, as well as the birds? But then how would they have left with such speed?
Unless, your head spins with the possibility of it... Unless whoever wrote the message was able to 'shape' or 'shift' in some way; could this be the work of a feral druid, or perhaps some form of werebeast.
The first thing that both you and Ferelyon notice is a stirring in the woods to the South. Ferelyon's nose picks up, he knows exactly what the creature is, for it is a familiar smell - horse. You see it then, the missing horse has not run that far, you are sure that you should be able to reach it.
You then hear faint voices, off in the distance, where the road leads to the West. Squinting really hard you are sure you can also make out torchlight through the mists.
The final, and most obscure, thing that Dallid notices is a raven flying high overhead. You are sure that the others, even Ferelyon, have missed it. You note that its flight path seems unnatural and it appears to be conducting some form of scouting pattern.
“This place may have drawn interest! There are voices and light coming from the west - people, perhaps- and what appears to be a raven above us, which is MOST interesting! It is engaged in a scouting pattern, which is not normal behavior for such a bird.” He points it out to the others. “Oh, and a horse.” He points to the south.
He draws a longbow from his back and tests pulling it back before asking. “I want that bird, but alive is better if anyone has a better idea than mine?”
If no one speaks up, he’ll shoot the bird and collect the body.
"Please don't shoot the bird." Dadeveth says, as thoughts of birds and shapeshifters race through her mind. She glances in the directions indicated. "A horse?" She asks. "Likely the one that broke free of the wagon here. Do we need, or want, to continue with the wagon? If so we should likely see if we can catch the horse." She shrugs. 'I, for one, have no desire to use the wagon as we move along." She then glances to where voices were heard from. "Shall we go and check out those voices? Likely we are with friends here, not enemies, as only he was our enemy, and enemy of our enemy and all of that..."
Dallid withdraws his bow, shrugging. “I’ll have to come up with a net… and we don’t really need the horse if we have you, I thought.” Dallid points at Dadeveth. “I don’t believe it’s a proven assumption that these are friends on the road, but I will go with you to meet them.”
The voices begin to get louder as they approach your location, you make out what looks to be a trail of torchlight; forget one or two people, this looks more like a rabble or a mob. You cannot quite make out what the voices are saying but they do not seem best pleased. They have not yet seen you.
Trying to put two and two together, Cerio whispers out loud. "Alright, so. Assumin' them dreams's real. Radu was set t' betray us 'n deliver us unt' evil, as they say. But he didn't, which put a burr in th' britches of this Strahd. So Strahd sent someone or somethin' to kill Radu. That might mean these folks's less like t'do us harm." Cerio secures his weapons to his belt and puts a good distance between himself and Radu's body. Don't want an angry mob to get the impression he'd killed the man. He does his best to look desperate and helpless and in need of assistance. "Oh, woe's me!"
GM:
Cerio's Haunted One background feature: Heart of Darkness - Those who look into your eyes can see that you have faced unimaginable horror and that you are no stranger to darkness. Though they might fear you, commoners will extend you every courtesy and do their utmost to help you. Unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them, they will even take up arms to fight alongside you, should you find yourself facing an enemy alone.
"More likely someone killed the driver because he was going to turn us over to this other person." Dadeveth speaks up. Her tail swishes as she glances towards the oncoming voices. "I do not believe we should be here when those arrive." She mentions. "I'd say we move off from the wagon and try to circle around back to the road, continuing in the direction we were headed. Thoughts?"
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Dallid sends Ferelyon out of the wagon to see what is happening, and says to Dadeveth: “I saw things as well. But not all things seem are true. Be cautious of relying on a vision too much. Mine showed me… but I was cutting into myself, I assume for research purposes. Something that is not likely to be of value.”
Paladin - warforged - orange
Cerio snaps upright. His eyes are red-rimmed and dark circles have formed underneath. "But how could we all've had the same dream, then?" he asks Dallid. "I seen it too. Some feller named Rahadin expectin' to collect us. This whole business reeks 'o swamp rot, 'n we already know's these Skurra got magic ways. Just think on that mist that took us to and from Isolde's carnival. I'm with Dadeveth. Just gon' assume we's rats in a trap, 'n plan accordin'." Cerio quickly dons his pack and secures his weapons and armor. He grips his new khopesh in one hand, a plain but sharp shortsword in the other. "Some rascal thinks ta bag ol' Cerio, he got another thing a'comin'."
Ferelyon sculks out of the wagon, you could almost swear he rolled his eyes at Dallid before leaving. Rain is coming down heavily now, pitter-pattering off the wooden roof of the wagon, a cold-blustery wind howls through the open door.
Moments pass, you sit miserably in the back of the wagon, waiting for news. Ferelyon returns then, as he enters you notice that his paw-prints are wet, covered in mud and blood? He stares at Dallid and tilts his head, letting out what might have been a sigh.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
“Uh oh. That’s probably not good. But not necessarily.”
Dallid goes to follow Ferelyon to wherever the blood is.
Paladin - warforged - orange
"Well, seems like someone is hurt." Dadeveth says, nodding towards the blood. She exits the wagon and follows the others around to wherever the blood is.
Cerio groans and leaps out after Dadeveth.
Ferelyon leads you all out of the wagon. As you exit the smell of death hits you, it is unmistakable. The wolf pads along the ground in front of you before pausing alongside the wagon, he sits and stares at it for a moment. In the light and rain, you can just make out the word "TRAITOR" scrawled crudely over the beautiful, decorative paintwork. The bloody lettering is starting to wash away, you surmise that whoever wrote this is not long gone.
The wagon sits still on a cobbled road, thick fog surrounds you on all sides, obscuring your vision. You can just about make out woods sitting on either side of the road, casting all sorts of eerie shadows in the failing daylight. The road itself stretches on for as far as you can see before being swallowed up in mist.
Continuing on, Ferelyon guides you to the front of the wagon, the horse that was pulling the wagon must have bolted. You see it then, a body, lying face-up in front of you, the familiar orange cloak now soaked red, his clothing appears tattered and torn. Talon marks and scratches cover Radu's body and his face, it is then that you notice that both of his eyes appear to have been pecked out.
Wanting to baulk and look away from the corpse of the Skurra, you instead notice Ferelyon walk to the corpse and start nuzzling it. Ready to chastise the animal's strange behaviour, you instead spot a strange symbol tattooed in black on the upper-left of Radu's chest ((see spoiler)).
A single phrase is tattooed underneath the symbol, it simply reads, “He is the Ancient. He is the Land”.
ALL - Perception checks please + any other skill checks you feel may be prudent at this time.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Cerio Perception: 2.
”what tha—“. Cerio falls to his knees beside Hermos’s body, trying not to lose his lunch at the gore of Radu's face. He averts his eyes and examines the tattoo.
“I dunno what this means! That phrase, I heared it in m’dream. The ancient, the land. Is this that Strahd feller’s doin’?”
He stands and examines the woods. “We heard birds, ‘n judgin’ by tha state o’ him, a flock of ‘‘em pecked out his eyes. Hell of a way t’go…. Say, wonder what’s meant by traitor. Do ya think Radu broke his promise? In my dream, we was supposed to meet up someone at some gates. Looks like Radu took us somewheres else. AND! Who wrote that message? Ain’t no bird can do that!”
Dadeveth swallows hard, reading the words tattooed on the man's chest. She trembled slightly as her eyes scanned the area. Gathering her courage, she moved around, checking the land near the wagon for any tracks to indicate which way those who did this had gone. Even if the man's attackers included birds, birds could not write letters in blood. Or at least that is her way of thinking...
Perception: 5
Survival: 24
Dallid perception 23
Ferelyon perception 23 adv if hearing or smell helps 23
Dallid is going to attempt to copy the tattoo in his book
(wtf dice, okay, it’s 23)
Paladin - warforged - orange
((Ashen - I believe you meant Radu. Without wishing to spoil anything (don't think it's really a spoiler), Hermos is undoubtedly the most loyal member of the Carnival to Isolde.
Well I think those are probably some of the lowest Perception rolls I have seen - probably best to wait for Dallid's))
Cerio & Dadeveth's Perception checks:
Whether due to the stress of the situation or maybe the fact that the whole place seems otherworldly and alien, you are too distracted to really take in your surroundings.
Dadeveth's Survival check:
It is clear to you that the writing was unlikely written by one of the birds. Could there have been men, or other humanoids, as well as the birds? But then how would they have left with such speed?
Unless, your head spins with the possibility of it... Unless whoever wrote the message was able to 'shape' or 'shift' in some way; could this be the work of a feral druid, or perhaps some form of werebeast.
((Great roll))
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
(We must’ve been writing at the same time, so I’ll just bump this so you get a notification)
Paladin - warforged - orange
Dallid - You sketch a rough likeness of the symbol into your notebook ((don't really see a need to roll for it)).
Dallid's (& Ferelyon's) Perception check:
The first thing that both you and Ferelyon notice is a stirring in the woods to the South. Ferelyon's nose picks up, he knows exactly what the creature is, for it is a familiar smell - horse. You see it then, the missing horse has not run that far, you are sure that you should be able to reach it.
You then hear faint voices, off in the distance, where the road leads to the West. Squinting really hard you are sure you can also make out torchlight through the mists.
The final, and most obscure, thing that Dallid notices is a raven flying high overhead. You are sure that the others, even Ferelyon, have missed it. You note that its flight path seems unnatural and it appears to be conducting some form of scouting pattern.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Dallid perks up.
“This place may have drawn interest! There are voices and light coming from the west - people, perhaps- and what appears to be a raven above us, which is MOST interesting! It is engaged in a scouting pattern, which is not normal behavior for such a bird.” He points it out to the others. “Oh, and a horse.” He points to the south.
He draws a longbow from his back and tests pulling it back before asking. “I want that bird, but alive is better if anyone has a better idea than mine?”
If no one speaks up, he’ll shoot the bird and collect the body.
Attack: 12 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll.
Paladin - warforged - orange
((Woops, sorry! I got mixed up. I edited my post.))
"Think it was one 'o them that killed Radu?" Cerio asks, without objecting to the killing.
"Please don't shoot the bird." Dadeveth says, as thoughts of birds and shapeshifters race through her mind. She glances in the directions indicated. "A horse?" She asks. "Likely the one that broke free of the wagon here. Do we need, or want, to continue with the wagon? If so we should likely see if we can catch the horse." She shrugs. 'I, for one, have no desire to use the wagon as we move along." She then glances to where voices were heard from. "Shall we go and check out those voices? Likely we are with friends here, not enemies, as only he was our enemy, and enemy of our enemy and all of that..."
Dallid withdraws his bow, shrugging. “I’ll have to come up with a net… and we don’t really need the horse if we have you, I thought.” Dallid points at Dadeveth. “I don’t believe it’s a proven assumption that these are friends on the road, but I will go with you to meet them.”
Paladin - warforged - orange
The voices begin to get louder as they approach your location, you make out what looks to be a trail of torchlight; forget one or two people, this looks more like a rabble or a mob. You cannot quite make out what the voices are saying but they do not seem best pleased. They have not yet seen you.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Trying to put two and two together, Cerio whispers out loud. "Alright, so. Assumin' them dreams's real. Radu was set t' betray us 'n deliver us unt' evil, as they say. But he didn't, which put a burr in th' britches of this Strahd. So Strahd sent someone or somethin' to kill Radu. That might mean these folks's less like t'do us harm." Cerio secures his weapons to his belt and puts a good distance between himself and Radu's body. Don't want an angry mob to get the impression he'd killed the man. He does his best to look desperate and helpless and in need of assistance. "Oh, woe's me!"
GM:
Cerio's Haunted One background feature: Heart of Darkness - Those who look into your eyes can see that you have faced unimaginable horror and that you are no stranger to darkness. Though they might fear you, commoners will extend you every courtesy and do their utmost to help you. Unless you have shown yourself to be a danger to them, they will even take up arms to fight alongside you, should you find yourself facing an enemy alone.
"More likely someone killed the driver because he was going to turn us over to this other person." Dadeveth speaks up. Her tail swishes as she glances towards the oncoming voices. "I do not believe we should be here when those arrive." She mentions. "I'd say we move off from the wagon and try to circle around back to the road, continuing in the direction we were headed. Thoughts?"