Darastrag nods to N'ruel, then walks over to the edge, nocking an arrow as he goes. With a swift and smooth motion, he draws and releases the arrow. It whistles softly before thudding into the rat's side, just behind the shoulder. The rodent of unusual size shudders and croaks out a bitter death rattle before collapsing atop the goblins on which it was dining moments before. "Circle of life," he grunts to the monk.

Looking into the pit, Aerin tries to identify anything worth recovering from where she stands.  It would be easier if she went into it but with her recent mishaps with falling, she is hesitant to try.  Better perhaps for one of her more physically adept companions try.

Investigation 20

"Speaking of life, my scaled friend, why it is that we have seen no live goblins on our foray? We see their remains, signs of civilization, but none of these mysterious magical beings whose arrangement with locals has so upset them. Before we push on, I would remind us all that our task less to discover lost secrets of this dangerous place and more the recovery of whatever is left of the missing townsmen. This place will not change much should we leave and return better equipped, though I fear for missing hunters as well." 

Tovar takes a step back away from the jammed door, leaving room for his companions to examine the pit. Stroking his bristles in thought, Tovar ponders the architecture of the room and the purposes behind the carefully laid trap. 

"If we nearly fell prey to this simple device, I imagine those hunters would have as well, unless they were escorted around such obstacles. Perhaps we are looking at hostage situation instead of recovery mission."

Tovar's words pause Aerin's consideration of the pit and its contents.  Perhaps she had been hasty in assuming the hunters had perished but then there had been no clear sign of a confrontation, such as bloodstains and tracks.  Nor had they found corpses.

"If they are hostages then our task has become far more difficult.  Negotiations would be in the favor of whoever has kidnapped the hunters and any offensive measure would be... problematic.  We cannot leave them, in any case," Aerin considers and then smiles.  "I will disagree that the history, even secrets, of this place are of less importance.  The attacks, the disappearance of the hunters and even the strange fruit would not have come from nowhere.  It is my hope that better understanding what is going on here will help is address it appropriately.  Of course, I am biased by my interest in such things."

N'ruel walks over to Aerin. "Are you going to take a look?" he asks motioning to the pit. "You seem to have the better eye for such things." He pulls the rope off his shoulders. "We can help you down." He tries to give her a reassuring look. 

Looking back to Tovar, the monk gives the man a nod at a well-made point. 

"I suppose I should go down," Aerin replies to N'ruel.  "I think I'll manage with the rope. Thank you for the help."

Acrobatics 20

Aerin manages to descend without problems and nudges away the rat's corpse to begin a search of the goblin.

Investigation22

- Esvele - 

"Is it just a pit or does it open into a tunnel?" Esvele asks. 

Then turning to the others, "It's not just about the hunters - something has happened to this place... And whatever that is has either decimated or captured whatever goblin community was here. If there were free goblins about, we should have seen a few by now - especially with all this noise we've been making. And the reach of this trouble could go to the village and beyond."

Esvele goes closer to the door to investigate it from a more stable location, saying with a chuckle,  "Someone with keener eyes should be doing this."

The warlock climbs carefully down into the pit, avoids stepping into the growing puddle of blood seeping out of the dead rat, and moves in close to examine the bodies of the goblins. The two skeletons have been picked clean over the years leaving behind only dust and the remains of rotted clothing.

Turning her attention to the corpse Aerin covers her mouth and nose as the foul stench of decay fills her nostrils. Swatting away black bloated flies, having gorged themselves on blood, as they buzz lazily about she examines the dead goblin. It doesn't take one skilled in the healing arts to see what befell this creature, with the broken twisted neck and the caved in skull. From the stench and the presence of thick white maggots crawling over the body it appears that the goblin has only been dead for a few days, a tenday at most. An odd branded scar, in the shape of a lidless eye, rises up from the pale greenish flesh of the goblins forehead. A slight tearing sound emanates up from the pit as Aerin peels the body off of the dirt floor as tacky strands of blood, like cobwebs, stretch out from the underside of the corpse. Underneath the warlock finds a rusty but still sharp scimitar and a bloodstained wooden shield. A belt pouch crafted from animal skin contains a handful of teeth and coins.

Scanning the rest of the pit finds nothing more of interest. There seems to be no other way in or out of the pit other than the trapdoor above.

Esvele climbs up onto the catwalk in front of the wooden door leading into the tower. Peering through the slits in the door thin rays of light from the cleric's shield slide across the walls and strange crumpled heaps lying on the floor in the otherwise shadowy room. As far as Esvele can tell there is no lock on the door.

Passing up what she found to her companions, Aerin then carefully climbs up again.  Nodding in thanks for N'ruel's assistance with the rope, she looks at the catwalk that Esvele has crossed.  Hmm, she should probably check for traps.  It seems rather odd they would leave their front door open after they went to the trouble of setting up the pit trap.  Moving towards the door, she begins to look it over.

[skill]Investigation[skill] 7

Esvele describes what she saw and beckons that Gwaihir get closer. He finds a nearby perch.

As Esvele watches Aerin do her work, she says, "All right, I'm bored - let's have at it."  And pushes the door open.

Aerin examines the door leading into the tower searching for any other traps but does not find any. Before she is able to tell the others that the entrance appears to be safe Esvele barges past throwing caution to the wind and pushes the door wide open.

Soft white light illuminates the room as the cleric steps in with her glowing shield as the stench of death wafts out. The circular area before her is cobbled with cracked granite upon which sprawl the bodies of four goblins, the strange crumpled heaps that Esvele perceived while peering through the door, apparently slain in combat. One corpse stands with its back against the western wall, the spear that killed it still skewering it and holding it upright. Two wooden doors lead from this area deeper into the citadel, while the third door leads back out into the stone courtyard. Looking up, the hollow shell of the tower comprised of loose masonry reaches thirty feet into the air, but the intervening floors and stairs are gone except for a couple of crumbled edges.

 "Goodness, it was a slaughter," Aerin blurts.  "Strange, though, there are weapons, which means it was not those strange stick-like creatures."

A little sickened by the smell and the horror of what happened, Aerin stiffens her spine and checks over the corpses.

Investigation 11

"Darastrag?  Is there anything you can tell about the shape of the wounds that might indicate who killed the goblins?  Or any tracks amongst this butchery?"

Perhaps the others can give them a better idea of what happened.  In the meantime, Aerin drifts towards the nearest wall.  It wasn't something she had done often- it was quite disconcerting, but perhaps...?  Extending a hand, she let herself feel the rough stone of the wall.  It was cold and firm under her fingertips but the mere physical that was not what she focused on.  Deeper, into the nooks and crannies of the ruin, she extended a tendril of power.  Coaxing, tasting, probing and feeling, Aerin let the echoes of the past wash over her.

 Chest heaving, Aerin pulls her hand back, her mind still swimming with what she saw.

N'ruel steps in and immediately pulls up his cowl over his nose and mouth, hoping to stifle the smell of death within the room. He walks over to the upright body pinned to the wall and begins to examine it - leaving the spear in place. 

Quote from TheManyNamed >>

"Darastrag?  Is there anything you can tell about the shape of the wounds that might indicate who killed the goblins?  Or any tracks amongst this butchery?"

The lizardfolk ranger kneels just inside the door, unblinking and still, and lets his tongue flicker in and out several times. Then he steps gingerly around the edges of the room, scanning the floor, especially any pools of blood undisturbed by his companions, for tracks or footprints. Finally, he will kneel beside a couple goblin corpses and look them over, using the tip of his dagger to lift any clothing they might be wearing that covers up wound pictures.

N'Ruel, mouth and nose covered, moves curiously across the room towards the goblin impaled upon a spear. The weapon has a simple wooden handle which has been driven deep into the gut of the unfortunate goblin. The force of the blow lifted the creature off of its feet which hang dead and limp a good foot off of the cold stone floor, dried streaks of blood paint the wall behind it.

Darastrag, using his keen hunters eye, scans the scene of carnage before him as he tip toes, as best as a lizardman can, around the room. Mingled with the obvious goblin footprints are the tracks of a small lizard type creature with three elongated toes ending in sharp claws...kobolds. The corpses have a multitude of wounds, mostly slashes and punctures from bladed weapons, though one poor soul was burnt to a crisp, its black charred skin turns to ash upon the fingertips of those who touch it. After a quick discussion on the state of the corpses the party surmises that the bodies have been dead no longer than two or three days. 

Aerin, as if in a daze or sorts, drifts over to the wall nearest her delicately placing her hand upon the cold stone. Her eyes rolls back into her head revealing only the whites, her mouth hangs slightly agape as her head nods gently from side to side as she enters a dreamlike state...

Spoiler for Aerin:

Aerin wrenches her hand away and her whole body shudders as the images of what she saw clings and sticks to her mind's eye.  What had she seen?  Surely... not that?  Dear gods, so much blood seeping down into the bones of this structure.  The trouble the village had with those twig creatures now seemed so much more likely.  Aerin struggles for a moment, wondering what to tell her companions.  How to distill what she had seen in words?  It was a terrible warning but Aerin had no specifics.  The building had been used by ill in the past.  A cult?  Her mind cringes away from what she saw.

"Not to interrupt but I just used an ability of mine that lets me get an idea of what a historical structure was used for in the past," Aerin begins.  "There was a cult of some kind that lived here.  There is so much corruption and spilled blood in this place.  I felt... something else too.  I-I don't know exactly what or if I was mistaken?"

The last came out as almost hopeful.  Aerin didn't want to think of what she thought it might have been or how it had the same twisted feel of what had whispered in her mind earlier.

After Aerin has given her assessment of the nature of the citadel, a slight chill goes up the spine of N'ruel. He then grasps the shaft of the spear that has attached the goblin to the wall. "A cult to what?" He asks with a grunt as he attempts to remove the weapon. 

Aerin chafes her arms, the cold suspicion weighting her gut leeching what remained of her equilibrium.  What indeed.

"Every warlock's power comes from somewhere.  Mine comes from beyond the Planes; beyond what we understand of space and time.  The cult was involved with something... similar."

Please not identical, please not identical, Aerin's mind chanted.  Flashes of doorways and creeping dread were pushed back into memory.  It couldn't be that bad or everyone would already know it.  Right?

Esvele takes in what was described, and says a quick prayer to her goddess beseeching guidance and protection hoping that the air and wind that is her providence finds its way through the cracks of this Citadel.

Esvele sends Gwaihir around the room and begins examining the other doorways from the area, remarking, "I guess we're in a little deeper than we thought we'd be - I'm with seeing this through. I don't know if we can stem the darkness of this place, but perhaps we can find out more before departing."

At each door she'll approach close, but without touching the doors, and listen for activity on the other side.