Ereworn Under The Shadow

9

Caelan looks back and forth between the companions then nods and heads down the lefthand path which seems to tend north-west.

After almost an hour you come parallel to a low, partially ruined wall that runs along the overgrown but relatively wide pathway that you are following. After a few minutes you find a weed-covered outline where once a gate may have lain and an opening in the wall where it once stood.

You can just make out the ruins of a building at the end of a pathway flanked by withered trees.

(During the discussion about Clotha):

 "I... I think we should use s-some of the treasure we found in Ned's c-cavern to cover Clotha's bride price," Barn mutters, realizing that he does not remember what and how much treasure there was besides the crystal, which should be kept.  "I r-respected these men once, as I respected the Duke.  B-but it seems like the m-more I learn, the less I r-respect them.  Drunk Eldron and h-his handlers.  Gond who s-sold his daughter to him.  Let Gond k-keep the bride price he received.  And let Eldron b-be 'made whole' by our gold.  And if that is not good enough, then we take a stand."

He pauses.  "And Clotha, you can stay with us if y-you like, though I... I d-don't think you'll like it much.  And we might all d-die."

(Back to current):

"W-we've seen huts, but a g-gated manor in the Wood?  Like wh-where a nobleman m-might live?  M-maybe we should ignore it and r-return to town."

Still, the big man dutifully examines the gate and the surrounding ground outside for any evidence of recent activity or passage such as boot prints.

Barn's Survival:  17

Quote from Tybard >>

(During the discussion about Clotha):

 "I... I think we should use s-some of the treasure we found in Ned's c-cavern to cover Clotha's bride price," Barn mutters, realizing that he does not remember what and how much treasure there was besides the crystal, which should be kept.  "I r-respected these men once, as I respected the Duke.  B-but it seems like the m-more I learn, the less I r-respect them.  Drunk Eldron and h-his handlers.  Gond who s-sold his daughter to him.  Let Gond k-keep the bride price he received.  And let Eldron b-be 'made whole' by our gold.  And if that is not good enough, then we take a stand."

He pauses.  "And Clotha, you can stay with us if y-you like, though I... I d-don't think you'll like it much.  And we might all d-die."

(Back to current):

"W-we've seen huts, but a g-gated manor in the Wood?  Like wh-where a nobleman m-might live?  M-maybe we should ignore it and r-return to town."

Still, the big man dutifully examines the gate and the surrounding ground outside for any evidence of recent activity or passage such as boot prints.

Barn's Survival:  17

Barns practiced eye regards the area, no one but wildlife has passed this way for possibly years, as he regards the wall and the scant outline where there was once a gate.....possibly hundreds of years judging by the weathering on the stone and mortar...he does not recognise the style...

Jack thinks, Wow who could imagine a house so big? How much stuff could you possibly have that you have a house so huge?

Did I say that out loud?

Smiling Jack rolls survival 11.  All hail barn and his 17

OOC (couldn't insert in front of smiling)

"This place s-seems really... old.  Like it's been here hundreds of y-years.  No one's h-here, judging b-by the tracks.  It's j-just... abandoned."

Barn looks around uneasily, gripping his halberd.  "Maybe j-just like a c-couple other spots we passed while w-we were chasing after Ned, we leave it alone but r-remember it and come back once w-we've taken Clotha back to t-town and uh... f-figured things out?"

Ardwynn nods at Barn's words.  "At this rate, we should hire a map maker to sketch all this out and mark the interesting spots."

Smiling Jack nods and says" yes a map maker....one with an eraser as these paths probably change."

Ardwynn looks at Smiling Jack with a surprised confusion.  "The paths shift and move?  How is that even possible?"

Barn hunches his shoulders and tries not to think about paths shifting in Gallows Wood, though deep down, he kind of thinks they might.

The big man's stutter is stronger than ever.  "S-so... anyone f-feel like w-we should explore the h-house?  Or k-keep going.  I v-vote keep going for n-now."

If no one wants to explore the seemingly abandoned manor house, Barn (presumably with Caelan) continues leading the way.

Jack follows Barn, last in line. 

"That house is oooold. Probably nothing good to eat in there."

Ardwynn whispers to Clotha, "This place has too many distractions."

The companions move on following the path which begins to tend easterly as they move north, after some time they find themselves in the south-western corner of a familiar clearing.

Without warning the tree trunks are no longer hedging you in and a cool fresh wind chills your faces. Though you can see little, it seems the path has opened out into a familiar large glade.

The small stream meanders down the centre of the glade and the dark mere, about 20 metres across, lies in the middle of it.

The three low mounds can be seen by the mere’s edge.

The mist seems to hang back at the edge of the wood. A path crosses and recrosses the stream running down to the mere. A small coracle is moored to the mere’s banks and a pale hand emerges from the waters surface.

Regarding the edges of the glade you see a path to the north that you originally came from previously, to the south is the path you left by previously.  Their is a path to the east visible that you don't recall exploring and many animal trails in all directions.

Faint figures seem to hang concealed within the mist, for a moment Ardwynn and Smiling Jack see the figure of a bearded man gazing forlornly across the mere before vanishing again.

Barn and Reg see the vague forms of two children staring at them from the edge of the woods but then they are gone....

Smiling Jack, looks to others and  asks, "Did anyone see a bearded man just now?  He appeared then he was gone, but did not appear to be walking, just standing  and staring.  Poof he appeared, which I know is not unheard of in this mist, but the poof disappearing and the legs not moving  is an issue."

Preception 22

Ardwynn nods.  " I saw it...  him... whatever, but I am not certain what I saw for certain.   This place never felt 'right' when we crossed before and it sure does not feel any better now."

Perception Check:  12

"What?  A b-bearded man?  No, but I just s-saw... children?  J-just at the tree-line there looking at us.  Gone n-now."

Barn's knuckles whiten on the haft of his halberd.  "Almost like there are ghosts h-here."

The big man checks the ground for any fresh tracks (other than their own) or other signs of people or animals passing through or approaching the mere.

Survival:  15