Hex gives Sylyra some help looking around, believing the druid to be better at identifying and finding tracks than her.

OOC: Is there anything in particular that Sylyra wants to examine more closely, or just examining the tracks along with Hex's indication?

Yes, tracks. I want to follow the creatures.

Finding a concrete trail among the bevy of clawed footprints proves difficult. It is Hex that finally discovers a directional clue when she discovers cows' hoofprints just outside of the barn accompanied by sets of claws. It appears to her that the cows were led out of the barn and down the Renons' path toward the stair; the very stair and path that the party took to arrive at the Renon's farm.

Hex calls the others over when she finds the tracks and points them out amongst the chaotic mess footprints. "Looks like we finally found some tracks we can follow. They lead towards the stairs we took to get to the farm."

"To the river?" Sylyra says. He gives Hex a quizzical look, then heads toward the stairs.

"Apparently so." Hex shrugs and follows behind Sylyra, pointing out the tracks for him to follow.

"The question for the ages! A cow can go up stairs but can it go down?  Tracks apparently indicate yes, yes they can." Uragum jokes as he strides forward to keep pace with the others.

You depart the barn, returning down the wooded trail to the wide, weathered wooden stairs leading down the steep, 10-foot deep embankment toward the gravel bar where the rented keelboat still rests, with Taroo's small boat tied behind it.

(There aren't anymore tracks to follow? If not then...)

Hex heads down the stairs to the gravel bar and looks around for anymore clues with a sigh. "If they travelled by river, we might have some trouble tracking them down."

Once at the gravel bar, Hex loses sight of any further tracks. She does find, however, as she searches the water's edge, a canteen fashioned from a gourd. It is empty, but the inside possesses a nasty odor.

Hex sniffs the gourd and flinches back at the scent. She brings it back to the group to show them all. "This was all I could find. Any ideas on what it might be?"

OOC: DM, I checked off the second wild shape on Sylyra's character sheet.

Sylyra accepts the gourd and takes a sniff as well to try to identify what's inside.

The druid looks around at the gravel. "I can't become an animal again until I get a little rest." He looks back at the stairs. "There is the other trail." (Ignore all of this if our investigation of the gourd points us in another direction.)

Briny has been even more quiet than usual of late. She busily jotted down a few notes as the others investigated, and finally she speaks up. "It seems we are destined to get wet again one way or another. I'd guess that we should start heading along the river, toward whatever swamp is close by."

Examining the unpleasant smell of the gourd canteen more closely, Sylyra identifies that it might have held some type of poison.

Taroo motions down the second trail when Sylyra mentions it. "That takes you to the Aylin Farm and the Tralio Farm, before it ends back around at the Renons'. I've worked and socialized with those folks; I know them almost as well as the Renons. We can make it there and back before sundown if you'd like to ask them questions or take a look around," he says.

Hex perks up at Taroo's suggestion. "That's a good idea, actually. They might've heard something during the night. I'd definitely prefer it over getting wet following the river." 

If everyone is good with it, Hex would ask Taroo to lead them down the path and to the other farms.

OOC: Assuming everyone is good with it.

Taroo nods, leading you on a wooded hike toward the Aylin Farm. It is a lengthy jaunt, giving Taroo time to fill you in on the family.

"The Aylins are pretty young to have their own farm. They're humans as well, had some family of some sort they inherited it from, and they're pretty new to the area; they moved in only a few months ago. They have me for dinner from time to time. They like to ask questions about the area because they don't really know it well."

They Aylin Farm has an old small farmhouse similar to the Renons', but in poorer condition. "Oh no," Taroo mutters when you arrive; it likewise has been broken into and shows signs of a struggle even from a distance. The decayed wooden barn has also been left wide open, and the field behind it is silent.

Hex lets out a sigh upon seeing the state of the Aylin Farm. "When I had heard about 30 people had gone missing in just 10 days, I was shocked but looking at this now, it makes sense." She searches around the farm, trying to find more tracks the party could follow or any general clues on who the kidnappers are. She focuses mainly on where any animals would've been held, considering the party's success at finding the animal's tracks leading out the barn at the Renon's Farm.

 While Hex looks around the farm, Briny steps just inside the doorframe and starts to carefully investigate inside. She tries to get a feel for the kind of life the young couple might have had as well as trying to determine what might have happened during the struggle.

Inside of the farmhouse, Briny finds it to be in slightly better shape than the Renons'. The signs of struggle are mostly limited to the doors and windows, and once inside of the house, she sees no sign of anyone being dragged away.

The Aylins' field looks to be only partially planted. "The Aylins were late to plant this year," Taroo comments to Hex when she sees this. "Walos was more worried about taking care of Jinns when she got sick earlier in the year. She's better now, but their harvest'll suffer a bit for it."

When Hex reaches the barn, it does not take a significant amount of effort to find the tracks left by an ox being led away down the path to the road and river.