The Summit Road Campaign Thread

Taran is able to discern that the fight must have spilled out into the woods, as there are many footprints criss-crossing one another. Judging from the marks, it seems like someone collapsed next to the tree with the large bloodstain before being picked up. Two more bodies were dragged out of the camp, and it looks like they were loaded onto some kind of sled or cart (think wheelbarrow size). All of those footprints appear to be about a week old, preserved by the trees and a fortuitous lack of precipitation or heavy wind. There appears to be a few sets of footprints, all belonging to the same creature, that are fresher, maybe two or three days old, that lead in and out of the camp.

Taran turns back to Mr. Juhaan.

"I-It l-looks like I w-was r-right. Th-the f-fighting spread o-out from the camp and th-three people were l-loaded into a c-cart, a-about a w-week ago." Taran points out the fresher tracks, "Th-ese are fr-from a f-few days a-ago, s-someone c-came back. I-I th-think one of th-the Gu-guides got away."

Druhdaar's voice can be heard calling out from inside the supply tent:

" Somebody smart come here and helps us, please ? "

Everyone can make out the big man's bark. And for a change, he doesn't sound happy.

Juhaan

"Damn it" he curses when he hears Taran's conclusions "You are probably right. We should let the others know and decide our next steps!" he suggests

Taran nods and they begin heading back into camp, just in time to hear Druhdaar yell for "someone smart"

"S-Sounds l-like you sh-should head t-to the t-tent, Mr. J-Juhaan," Taran says pointing to where Druhdaar and Vishal went, "I-I'll g-go see how R-River and C-Caelius are d-doing, and i-if they n-need any help."

Juhaan

"Alright, mister Detective. I'm here to assist you in any way I can. I'll return to the tent as instructed" he says with a bow.
He moves  towards the tents and the shouting
"What's going on here?" he asks Druhdaar "Taran and I found traces of a fight. Three people got loaded into a cart. One of them, I hope the Guides, has got away."

During their travels, the others will likely notice River's new shield. They would see that it is the shield that used to belong to the Medic they killed during their previous mission, but it's been painted over; The base is a black coat of reflective paint and atop it is a portrait of the lower half of a human skull (nose opening and below). There is no top half, but where the eyes would be are two red eyes with deep pupils that seem to follow any who inspect it.

Though they do not speak to one another, River and Caelius both set about searching through what remains of the tents, the Kenku's desire to occupy her mind away from Caelius leading to a fairly thorough search.

(Rolled 19+2 with Advantage in the Discord, so 21 Investigation)

River and Caelius search the tents, which are ripped and spattered with dried blood. Altogether, they find:

• A dagger, which appears to have been thrown into the corner of a tent during the fight
• The ruins of a bedroll
• A book containing meditations and poetry from the Path of Light
• An insignia of the Harmonious Shield that looks like it's been torn from a uniform.
• A small green stone, gently glowing with a pulsing light, that was mostly hidden in a small divot in the earth, partially covered with dirt

River looks at the stone and coos softly (15 Arcana). She seems to be inspecting it, but after a moment of staring blankly at it she drops it into her bag of holding, softly repeating.

"Shiny~ crr Shiny~ crr"

Juhaan

Approaching Druhdaar he notices the paper with the weird words. "What's that?" he asks pointing before taking a closer look.

Investigation check to decipher the paper: 16

Forgot the adv: 23

OOC: As a reminder, only Caelius saw River with the stone

Juhaan:

Juhaan reads the paper out loud for the others to hear. 

OOC: Druhdaar and Vishal may read the spoiler.

Caelius picks up the torn insignia and walks over to River. He opens his book and points,

”Let-‘-s S-How The Other-s The S-T-One.”

River looks saddened. "But... *crr* Shiny~"

Caelius, who’s looking far more relaxed than he has on other missions, now frowns.

”Could Help. You Can K-E-E-P It L-At-E-R. We Might Need It Now.”

She shrinks in on herself, looking at the ground as she nods.

She then turns and returns to the others, specifically finding Vishal.

"*crr* I Found *crr* Shiny."

She takes the shiny green stone out of her bag of holding and shows it to Vishal, though she holds it close to her body and looks defensive.

“Ooohhh.....that’s very pretty River.” Vishal says with a smile as he holds out his hand for her to give him the rock. 

She holds it to her chest.

"No touch crr Only look."