Barty's "Princes of the Apocalypse"

Arkun finds a place for meditation, sitting down on the ground opposite of the cage, frequently checking on the status of the prisoner.  He holds his hands on the ground, murmuring under his breath, you can see the tension evaporate from the elf, a calm demeanor comes over his face.  

Atta wanders around for an hour, being utterly restless for a while but eventually finding a spot at the mouth of the cave. Pulling himself inside his shell entirely, having no idea of the need to keep a watch while out on an adventure or dangerous quest. (Shell defense!)

The man puts up only a minor amount of objection as you close him in the cage. With the fire already burning, the defensible clearing proves to be a fine spot to rest, as the humid night gives way to another unseasonably hot and humid morning without interruption.

OOC: The party has gained the benefits of a long rest!

Current Leads:

1. Bandits: Constable Harburk Tuthmarillar had heard rumors of a bandit lair south of town. You investigated and discovered a small crew of bandits who had captured a black bear. Three were slain and one was taken captive. This has not yet been reported to Harburk.
2. Ghost: Pell Mhandyver claims to have spotted a ghost near an old tomb near the hills outside of town. Mangobarl Lorren investigated the area and spotted a goblin.
3. Tricklerock Cave: Albaeri Mellikho pointed you here to rumors of legendary treasure.
   
4. Black Arrow: Endrith Vallivoe overheard someone saying that they saw a skull pinned to a tree with a black arrow, like some kind of dire warning or ill omen.

As much as Rumble wanted to readily agree to Aldric's command for rest, there had been the matter of the dead to tend to before the genasi saw to his own respite. Of course the possibility of the bear or other scavengers seeing to the matter in the night had crossed his mind. But even still, either training or some old habits yet compelled Rumble to set aside at least an hour or so to dig some shallow graves. Any aid from the others would've naturally been welcomed. Yet, as he possessed but one shovel, Rumble hadn't the heart to request his wearier companions to aid in their own way.

When he was finally done, the graves were shallow and set short ways from camp and hardly marked, as was deserving for criminals to his knowledge. Nevertheless, after seeing to their burial, he spent another few minutes praying to Tyr. Not to ask for forgiveness on their behalf, but to give them a chance of redeeming themselves, if any of them should seek it...

While not the most pleasant setting to awaken to the next morning, Rumble grumbled and groaned his way through his usual morning rituals before eventually waking up enough to say, "So, we're headed back to town to drop off chucklehead, yea? Aight, uhm... guess after that, uhh... shoot, uhm... Man, what was the, uhm-..." He snaps his fingers a few times. "Oh! Right, uhh, there was somethin' bout a ghost thing too? And, uh.. some kind of marked tree or somethin'?"

After Arkun has had his rest, he sees Rumble starting to dig and bury the dead bandits.  He stands, brushes himself off, and assists with the task.  He nods in understanding and agreement; it seems right and proper.  

In the morning, Arkun states "Yes, I'd be interested in looking into that.  Sounds strange... worth looking into."

Atta stretches, his tiny bones popping from their internal storage over night. As he awakens, he considers for a moment, to ask the Bandit if he'd heard of his lost herbalist... but then thinks it better for a criminal to not be aware of a dear friend... With that done, him popping a travel ration and chewing as the others stir and speak of next steps. Atta states what he feels should be obvious:

"Well, I should probably interject if only to say that I am unsure if this satisfies out orcish friend. Did he not mention another lead of bandits or was I simply paying too little attention? "

Melek doesn't offer to help bury the bodies... in fact, he probably isn't aware that such an initiative was even commenced. Once satisfied that the area is secured, Melek finds a spot in the cave, makes himself as comfortable as possible, and goes to sleep.

In the morning, he takes pains to brush the dirt and dry leaves off his clothes as much as possible, muttering to himself as he does so about the incivility of sleeping on the ground in a cave like a wild animal.

Responding to Atta, Melek says: If these bandits knew nothing of Rivergard Keep, then it is unlikely to be in this region.

Glancing over at the caged bandit, he adds: Depositing this one in town seems prudent before pursuing other leads to the north. Perhaps some hot breakfast wouldn't go amiss either...

"Mmm~ Breakfast would be nice too~" Rumble admitted while rubbing his belly. "But, uhh, y-yea! I mean, I figured we'd have to go back and get our friend there sorted first of course. But, like, I couldn't remember if -- a-and I'm sorry if I was mistaken sir-..." He said, changing course briefly to look at Aldric with an apologetic look. "But, I couldn't remember if this lead involved finding a marked tree, or if it was a person living out elsewhere. Or, ya know, both!" He finished explaining wearing a sheepish grin. 

Aldric pours water over his head. There is a distinct rasping noise when he rubs one big hand over his stubbly pate and face. After putting his kettle helm back on, the old knight gets to his feet with a groan and a deep sigh.

"I'm hopeful the arrow that was described to me may lead me to the one responsible for the rise in crime in the Valley," he says, glancing around at the others. "However, the sheriff needs my help, and so I'd like to take another day or two to tie up those loose ends first. If you are inclined to help, so be it."

He walks over to the cage. "The first stop needs to be to turn this one in."