"Sure." I say very inquisitive of all the trophies. I walk towards the nearest trophy. Taking a minute to remember any of these beasts.

(OCC: Rolled a Nature check.)

As Xerim never fought that many beasts in his life so far, he does not recognize most of the trophies as they are surely parts of very special creatures. However, he easily identifies the head of a huge wolf that shows his teeth in a fierce grimace, ready to attack at any moment.

As Elmira is looking around for strange things, she finds a ton of them in this room. As she searches for shiny things in the rather dark cabin, her eyes are caught by a glass statuette on one of the shelves that blinkingly reflects the firelight ... or is it? As Elmira places herself between the statuette and the fire, casting her shadow over the object, it continues to blink as if it is reflecting the fire behind her. The statuette does not resemble anything she has ever seen. It just looks like a twisted transparent crystal with a weave of hair-thin golden fibers inside of it. And those fibers seem to glimmer and shine on their own sometimes.

Ashton finally starts to warm up, he says. "I would like ale please."

He starts to walk around the room like everyone else, looking, but not disturbing anything.

History 12

Perception 9

Carina is last in before Xerim, her pale green eyes and dark lips flashing a brief, thankful smile for the... Silver Dragonborn, unless I miss my guess.

She stamps her boots as she had seen Elro do, and makes a beeline to sit next to the fire, remaining bundled in her warm winter clothing for a few minutes before finally beginning to warm up.  Not for the first time she wonders what she is doing here, north of the bloody Flotket Alps!

"Hot spiced wine please, my thanks Elro."  Words I never thought I'd say.  I've always liked my wine un-spiced and cool, but just now it sounds heavenly.

She looks around with curiosity at the various tokens and trophies as she hangs up her clothes.  She also looks for anything else unusual around the room including on the desk without seeming to be obtrusive, but the melting snow from her long hair is dripping water in her eyes and she doesn't see much.

Nature:  11 ((rolled in character sheet, visible in campaign log.))
Perception:  4 ((Nat. 1 + 3, also rolled in character sheet, visible in campaign log.))

At a pause in the conversation, she introduces herself.  "I am Carina.  Pleasure to meet all of you.  I'm glad some of you are locals, for I certainly am not."  She does not say where she is actually from, instead pulling the dull black harmonica hanging from her neck to her lips.

Carina quietly begins playing a strange, soulful melody and chords that her aunt had once heard from an extraplanar traveler.  What in another world in another universe unimaginably far away would be called The Blues.

(@Ashton - Your perception does not give you anything really new. You have a 13 in your history roll ( not a 12 ^^, the -1 is already subtracted). This roll gives you this information:)

Walking and looking around the room, Ashton remembers his first assignment after graduation from the war college. At that time he was given a mission that involved traveling to Eiselcross. At this time he made acquaintance with Urgon and he also stayed in Palebank Village for a bit over a week. He tries to remember, if he has met Elro before, but he is not quite be sure. However he remembers talking to the Glassblades a lot, which are the guards, that protect the townsfolk against monsters who wander too close to the village. Ashton also knows that some civilians are also willing to take up arms in defense of the city if necessary and that one of the Glassblades' quarters and training areas is called the Nowhere's Quarter, since he visited that for training sessions at that time.

(@Carina - Your perception also does not give you any new information. Your Nature 11 gives you this:)

The desk of Elro is tidy and most of the things seem to be hidden in small chests and drawers that are built into the desk, so there is nothing in particular that catches her eye. But looking around the room, in addition to the winter wolf trophy, Carina also identifies two of the other trophies. One of it is part of a giant mammoth skull, having the tusks removed from it and the other is a rather large white hide with claws still attached. This one belongs to a crag-cat, Carina realizes. One of the large feline predators that roam the Flotket Alps during the winter.

---

Meanwhile Elro reappears from the other room with a small cask of ale and places it on the table. He then opens one of the cupboards and places some tankards and plates on the table as well.

"Some spiced wine will be ready soon. I already lit the oven. See yourself to the ale while I quickly fetch the food and then we might talk. I learned a long time ago, that conversations drive a lot better as everyone has something to eat and to drink along with it. Especially since I am hungry myself."

With this he walks into, what must be the kitchen then, again.

I'm looking at the hunting trophies on the wall when Elro reads out the list of drinks. I turn around, look around and take off my hood. "My name is Pandora and I love good wine!" I say with a smile on my lips that never reaches my eyes. "Urgon is an old family friend. I just had to come here when I heard of his death." I slip off my cloak and hang it up. The gentle warmth of the fireplace floods my body and I lift my hands, already numb from the cold.

I hate the cold! Hopefully there will be hot wine soon. 

Ashton strides toward the table. "Erlo is right, I'm sure.  But soft music, warm fire, now good food and ale.  I hope the conversation is stimulating,  or I may be napping soon."  He smiles broadly.  "I would enjoy hearing your stories of my friend."

At the table, I pour the ale in the tankards and offer one to Ashton. I then go the fireplace and stoke the fire to make sure it burns well and the heat is at a constant. 

Elmira joins everyone after she mentally notes to ask the elder about this peculiar item. Mostly, she would like to know what it is, but the conversation has turned to drink. "If you do not mind, elder, I'll have some tea." She joins everyone at the table.

Elro steps out of the kitchen again, with some plates in his hands. He serves you bread, cheese, some carrots and a plate full of roasted chicken with onions. He places all down at the table and fetches some smaller dishes before he walks to the fireplace to prepare a cup of hot herbal tea and then places it before Elmira. He steps back into the kitchen one more time to fetch the spiced wine in a jug, before he pours a cup of wine for Carina, another one for Pandora and one for himself. After all of that he sits down with all of you and takes a sip from his wine. He then nods at the group and says with a calm voice:

"Please help yourselves to some food while I will explain you, why the village is in dire need of your help. Please listen carefully, for the matter is a bit complicated ... or rather: complex."

He pulls his robe over his knees and moves a bit closer to the fire, to stir in it, before he begins.

"Two month ago, Urgon Wenth returned home from an expedition to Eiselcross, after one year. He had been back for only a few days when he came down with a strange affliction, which made him move slowly and caused blue veins to appear all over his body."

Elro stares into the crackling and radiant fire as he recalls the course of events that followed.

"The village's priests of Moradin and Corellon used every spell they could muster to attempt to heal Urgon, but nothing they tried could stop the bizarre malady. Xerim worked at the temple of Moradin at that point and has seen how Urgon battled the affliction for weeks, until his ever-slowing body eventually turned to ice one moring."

He takes another sip of the wine and continues:

"Now all of that is terrible and Urgon did not deserve any of it, but in the end, what else could we do than give him a proper funeral and mourn for him? Until yesterday, the whole village community, including me, believed that Urgon's sad fate has been an isolated incident, most likely caused by something he came into contact with while exploring Eiselcross. But there we were wrong, it seems."

He looks at you more intense now.

"Listen closely, now. Yesterday, I noticed that one of our trappers, Tulgi Lutan, was showing signs of the same illness."

He lays both hands flat on the table and leans forward as he says:

"For all I know, Tulgi Lutan and Urgon Wenth never even knew each other. Let alone that they talked to each other or even sat down at the same table in the tavern. Tulgi is a good and reliable trapper. And as this, she is most of her time busy, checking her traps outside of the village. Urgon was sick for the bigger part of the last 2 months, and never left the temples after he stepped into them. As I could not find any connection, I talked to Tulgi and asked her, if she had any idea about what had made her sick. But she just pushed me away and asked me to let her die in peace!"

He turns back into his seat, taking another sip of the wine.

"I need you to find out what caused Urgon and Tulgis affliction. Because, if there was no connection between Tulgi and Urgon, we might have a spreading disease in Palebank Village by now. I might have over sixty Glassblades at my disposal, but as you may know, they are better known for their combat skills than for their ability to glean the truth in complicated situations. Usually we don't need to solve mysteries up here that go further than a theft or a murder. And as the community stands together, those are never real mysteries at all. Someone always knows something and talks either to me or the Glassblades. So you might understand, why I am most concerned about the fact, that Tulgi does not want to talk to me or the Glassblades about the topic. I need to know what's going on in this village. Each kept secret is a danger to the safety of this place and the people here trust me to keep them safe. With all of that in mind, I think, that your group has a better chance to convince Tulgi to talk than everyone else in this village."

He pauses for a moment and then finally says:

"So? What do you make of it? Will you help me and the village?"

"A mysterious illness," Elmira says after listening to the elder's tale. She spent the time listening to him as she drank her tea. She thought it rude to eat until after he's had a bite of his own. She considers what he said. She may not be very smart, but she could be clever sometimes. "It would honor me to help you, elder. You say Tulgi is a trapper. Perhaps I can see what I can learn from her as a fellow child of the wilderness. We must find out what the cause of this disease is before it spreads to anyone else."

Ashton sets his 'empty' ale mug on the table.  "I will join Elmira to visit Tulgi.  I am not a member of the wilderness, nor am I am member of this community, but I have spent some time with the glassblades, and I may remember meeting her or sharing some trusted friends with her. "Where can we find her now, and how far along is she in this illness?"

Pandora sips her mug of hot wine, careful not to burn her tongue. Her throat tightens at the thought that Urgon, like her sister, has died of an unknown disease. An oppressive feeling overcomes her. She closes her eyes. A small eternity passes until she finally looks to Elmira and Ashton. "How are you going to get Tulgi to talk when she didn't even do it with Elro?" she asks, putting down her wine. 

Quote from Katzenlu >>

 "How are you going to get Tulgi to talk when she didn't even do it with Elro?"

 Ashton replies:  "I am going to do what humans do best, I am going to flirt with her."    He winks very flirtatiously to Pandora.  "She will either tell me what I want to know, or smack me and then Elmira can soothe her and they can despise me together, building a bond and hopefully sharing secrets.  As I told you, what humans do best."

Elro listens to your conversations and as Ashton asks for the location of Tulgi and the duration that she's been sick, he speaks:

"I can not tell you how long she is infected since she would not let me get too close to her. But comparing her sight with my memory, regarding Urgon's progress of the illness, I fear she only has some few weeks left. However, I already ordered one of the Glassblades at the funeral to visit me here later, so he can show you the way to Tulgis home. And I'd recommend to have a look around Urgons home, too. I already placed a guard in front of his cabin and Cabbart, the Glassblade that will be here in a few minutes, can guide you to Urgons home as well."

Carina looks briefly at Ashton over her wine.  Perhaps cleverer than he lets on.

To Elro, she joins the others in saying:  "I'll help.  Was Tulgi Lutan close with anyone else in Palebank or nearby?"

"We can also check Urgon's home for any clues. Might have left something at his home." I suggest as well. 

"I agree with Xerim" says Aston.  Stopping by Urgons on the way would be wise."

Elro grabbed some bread and meat from the table and ate, while you discussed the matter. As Carina askes him about someone close to Tulgi, he shakes his head.

"As far as I know, Tulgi came to Palebank Village alone a few years ago. She asked me for permission to build a cabin in exchange for working as a trapper for the village and I accepted after I saw, that she is really talented with it. However, she never got really close to anyone and lives a rather isolated life here. But that is not unusual. You do not come to Palebank Village for entertainment or to socialize a lot."