Nadia kept herself quiet while Zack told his story as they dug the grave, a frown crossing her face and staying there even when he was finished. "I... Wow..." was what first had come out of her mouth followed up with a "I'm really sorry you had to go through all that... That's... horrible." Her brows furrowed. "And to go through that alone? You're a really strong person Zack, and I'm not taking about your muscles either." She looks down at the dirt. "I couldn't imagine doing this myself. Actually I was afraid that I.." The ranger trails off before she gets emotional again, the fear of being alone hitting her in the back like a boulder. They could have died back there, then what? What would you do?

She sucks in a breath after ridding herself of those thoughts and continues talking. "Thank you for helping me again... Seriously. I... I really don't know what I'd be doing without you... as cheesy as that sounds." She manages to laugh a little bit. "Your friend was a very brave man, and I'm sure he's watching over you right now, proud of what you've become."

When the fighter had rested Gran into the grave, Nadia looked down at his body, the elf really trying to keep it together until Zack left to break down again. She sobbed silently, muttering prayers and apologies in her native tongue. "Dios, por favor, dale la bienvenida a tus brazos. Era un buen chico que había sido guiado por el camino equivocado. Lo siento mucho. Desearía ser más fuerte. Seguiré luchando por ti."

After a few more minutes of trying to compose herself, Nadia climbed out of the grave and slowly begins to cover up Gran. It was hard, but she managed to do it with little tears streaming down her face. Finally, with the job done, she sets aside the shovel and sees Zack begin carving into a piece of wood. When she realizes what exactly he was doing, her look softens, finding it incredibly sweet of him for doing so. She passed him a gentle smile when he hands her Gran's crossbow, the elf not used to using such a weapon as her long bow was what she was good at, but having a back up never hurt nobody. Though she she turns, she sees Nadaar with the bodies and... that cat! She raises an eyebrow to Zack, then back to the dragonborn as he approaches them. "Are we... making more graves?"

Nadaar narrows his eyes suspiciously at Nadia for a second or two; but ultimately, he shrugs off whatever got picked up in the moment. "Something to that effect. At the very least, I and Wonder here--" He gestures over to empty space. "Will be working on it for some time. You two need not stay any longer than you have already. Even /I/ understand the weight of lingering in such places. Oh. But before I forget. This one here seems to go by 'Rillex'. And these two are his family." Nadaar pulls at his own whiskers in thought. "In fact, judging by the papers and so forth I acquired, they were -- or, so I'm figuring, people of import in town. Though now the family business falls upon their missing progeny yet to be found."

He clicks his tongue, and at this point carefully sets his body down for a moment. "Rillex here has opted to stay with us to search for the missing progeny, at the very least. Or... so I volunteered us to assist, in exchange for his aid... loosely speaking." An awkward, toothy grin lights up his face before he coughs into the back of his fist. "There's still plenty of houses to check, so I will leave that to you two. But, I'll catch up shortly. But here, for you--" Nadia is offered the broken collar. "Your hands are far less clumsy the mines. Think you can fix it while your at it? Ah, and this too. Coin for the road, should I search at least take us in more civilized directions." He offers up the pouch of 32 gold and 17 silver. "If you do manage to find any goblins, keep them alive? It's a longshot at this point. But, it couldn't hurt to ask another about the whereabouts of the villagers."

(will be posting tonight, sorry for delays)

Zack half-grunts in regards to her comments. Managing to maintain a somber composure It's just life. Parts of it suck. Parts of it are beautiful... And there's no point in worrying about things you can't change... Only those you can. But.. it doesn't mean you can't feel bad or even cry sometimes. Its all just a way to deal with it. So I appreciate the compliment cutie... but.. It's not that I'm strong. I'm just ... Not even sure how to describe it. But as you saw.. no matter who you are.. or how strong you appear... everyone has their limit.

His eyes shifted back to the soft mound of dirt, that was almost fully filled and sighed. And I think you could have. You're stronger than you think. And I don't mean your muscles either.... that finally forced out a playful laugh out of him, which seemed to lighten his mood, but he was legitimately complimenting her, even if it seemed like he was picking on her. With a pat on her arm, giving it a light squeeze before pulling his hand away before she felt awkward.

He looks up to the sky as she starts to continue, trying, but failing to pop his neck with some movements to rid it of the stiffness usually associated with sleeping on dirt. Hands firmly planting themselves on his hips. Eyes thoughtful - He was. And I'm sure if he is watching, he appreciates the vote of confidence. But yeah... I couldn't have asked for a better friend.... not many people are willing to do what he did, to save one guy.. even if they are their friend. As Zack began to turn just as the last pile of dirt was packed in, and solidified.

After he had finished with the cross engraving, and seen that she had just finished falling back int osadness and was doing her best to hide it. He'd place his hand on her shoulder one last time, giving it a squeeze  before letting her go. Sorry if I'm being too touchy. But it's hard for me to see someone be sad and just stand by and watch.

Somewhere in that time, Nadaar had managed to make his way back to the group. Zack hadn't caught his sneer as he raises a hand in welcome, giving them both a nod as Nadaar introduces the catlike being. His eyes wander to the space where Nadaar is attempting to introduce someone that doesn't exist.... Causing him to spare a worried glance at Nadia whispering just loud enough Uh... I'm not seeing anything... are you? Does Nadaar have an imaginary friend? Or ... His gaze flowing back to the dragonborn as he says Ah, I see. Wonder. And some important townsfolk. Sorry Riley that we didn't get here sooner. I doubt it woulda made much difference... but... you have my condolences. But glad we have someone with wings to scout around.... or atleast to watch our backs when we're inside somewhere. I suppose I'll just add helping him to our uh.. quota.

Zack listened intently to everything else the man said, nodding here and there, and keeping an eye on Nadia's state.. just in case, and offering a hand if needed in any such cases. Thats true man.. but, I think it's better if we stick together for the rest of this town. After lastnight. I'd like to make sure we're all safe, and keep it that way. Besides, it'll go faster if we all do it. I can handle a few more rounds.. and it'll make up for missing my morning routine... SO we'll help you, and then continue. Or I will. Nadia can rest if she wants... I think.. she's earned it.

Whether Nadia helps or not though, he ultimately refuses to be refused, and insists on helping. And when Nadaar finally gives in, or ddoesn't he starts helping make two more plots, that would be next to each other when one showed up. Continuing to help until the couple were buried before asking.. eventually

So... Same plan? Keep heading the same way? Maybe find our horses on the way as well.. I'd like to not lose them if possible.

"No, no, I'll be okay," Nadia smiles softly over to Zack who mentioned she's earned a rest. "Thank you for worrying about me, but I'll be okay. It'll be quicker if we dug two plots at once anyways." Her eyebrows raise in question when Nadaar hands her the collar, the elf observing it further as the dragonborn explains that he wants her to try and fix it. "Hm... Well, lucky for you I had to sew a lot back in the orphanage. Kids would rip up their clothes left and right, didn't have a lot of money for new clothes and we didn't get a lot of donations, so learning to sew was the better option." She frowns a bit. "Unfortunately, I don't have a sewing kit on me. If you're going to be poking around some more houses though, maybe you'll get lucky enough to find one? Maybe there's a tailor around..."

When she's done waving off Nadaar (if he leaves), she begins digging alongside Zack, trying to keep up with his speed while they dug the graves. Finally, when both of them are done, she wipes the sweat from her brow when Zack proposes the question. She tilts her head a bit, then answers with, "I suppose so? I hope the horses are okay though..." She gazes over to the now free reign horses grazing about. "Though, we could see if any of these horses wanna come with us?"

Nadaar bristles at first in regards to the offer of aid. A dragonborn did not ask or accept aid for a task that they themselves could see through to its conclusion. However, between Zack's insistence and some deep thinking, he relents in heavy exhale through the nose followed by a curt nod. "Very well, very well. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for such a kit going forward. Now, is there at least a third shovel around?" He asked, but would go looking all the same if none isn't immediately visible, leaving the one body he carried behind. Wonder would continue to hold her's aloft in the air, making it appear just floating there in empty space.

Once the deed of burying the bodies has been completed, and Nadaar is in the process of popping his joints, he pauses and quirks a brow ridge at the duo. "Feh! I am not certain whether to consider you two cautious or frail to need a beast of burden to carry you after a little hard work." He chuckles. "I jest! I jest.... heh... At the very least, they will be useful for getting around, and back to the gate in an emergency. So let's see to them. Where was it you last saw them?" He asked, ready to help in searching the immediate area for the horses. Once they have been hopefully rounded up and mounted, it is only then he takes point with Wonder invisibly riding along, if only to lead the way back to the house he checked out. From there, he followed after the others in investigating any others along the main thoroughfare.

You are able to find a 3rd shovel though you have to go to the neighboring graveyard to do so. Regardless between the three of you the deed is done relatively quickly. After the two are buried Rillex sits at the foot of the graves and looks down at the ground for some time. Eventually as you start searching for the horses the Tressym flys back to Nadaar and perches on his shoulder.

There are several horses currently in town most of them are currently grazing in a field behind the ruined stables. Besides the 5 work horses that were originally in the stables there are several riding horses who are now without an owner 

Zack smirked at Nadia's reply Atta girl. And I don't mean that sarcastically. It's good to greive... but it's also good to carry on, despite the pain. Besides.. it's hard not to worry. At this point.. we've all seen several combats and almost died together.... That practically makes us family. Though not in a weird way... he quickly adds, just in case that phrasing..... raising both hands in a 'surrender' pose as he waved them back and forth with an awkward look of 'I should probably have phrased that better.'

He sighs, defeatedly, and hopes he hadn't just ****ed something up that had been brewing in his mind for a while... 

As the group finds the horses had more or less 'gone home' having grabbed his sword before they left the graveyard, and offering words of encouragement to everyone there, including the Tressym... His words just happened to feel more inspiring than they sounded, as he too was quite a bit sad for his own reasons. Though he didn't notice it... Zacks' hand kept going to the handle of his blade idly, touching it for a few moments here and there before letting it go and his hand would fall back to normal. As they approach the horses... 

Though he wants to take one of the riding horses for it's sheer speed.... Zack had already started to grow fond of the one he'd found initially... and so his eyes scanned the area.. looking for the specific markings that one had... hoping it was here.... and if so, approaching it with less cautious and more confidence than he had the first time, but still, with enough respect that the horses wouldn't likely get spooked. As he approached, saying .. Hey there Boy/Girl... It's me... It's Ok.... The bad guys are dead.... and the fire is out.... Tch Tch, come on... 

(OOC - none of the players specified that we took off their saddles and other gear, so would they still be on or was it assumed we 'prepped them' for the night? Also +6 temp HP to everyone, including the cat)

(All horses should still have their saddles and gear on since it wasn't mentioned they were taken off. There should only be 3 horses without riding gear on, two of the work horses and Kellas riding horse, which this would be a good time to mention is not with the other horses and as of yet nowhere to be seen. All other horses should be saddled)

You're able to find the horse you had saddled earlier and, with a little coaxing, get its attention. It wanders over to you slowly but surely until you're able to grab its bridle and have control of the animal.

(Sweet, sexy Temp Hp!)

Nadaar is less picky, and still had half a mind to not even bother with a horse now that he played perch for the Tressym. True to his word however, he makes for one of the work horses. Krul's mount, if he saw it among the bunch, was a tempting option; expecting it to be used to bearing Dragonborn weight. At the very least the black-scaled Dragonborn wasn't quite as bulky as the Red. Tall and lithe for sure, and plenty heavy all the same. Just not as bad.

 "Remember. Let's stick main thoroughfare and search only the buildings along it to the keep for starters. Then, we move on to the keep itself. If all else fails, its at least likely some might have made it there for security. And if not.... Keep an eye out for maps on the local area. Places that, in an emergency, the people are likely to flee to. At worst, they may have gone to the elves of the high forest before settling their previous growing animosity. Though-..." His voice catches, and following a shake of the head, he looks to Zack to take point before following behind on his mount. 

Nadaar, you do see Kruls mount among the lot, it's a riding horse though as you noted it's used to the weight of a dragonborn and you correctly assumed that Kruls weight would have been a bigger burden for this beast. The horse itself seems a bit skittish you, likely due to being used to abuse from its prior owner, but does eventually heed your call none the less.

Once you all are set with your horses you make your way down the path leading through the houses and towards the keep. (Assuming no one wants to do anything else). You see the following in this order.

The first home appears to be a small farm house. There is a small plot of land adjacent to it that appears to grow various foodstuffs. The cottage itself is undamaged and its door hangs open, however in the farm there is a bolder under which you can see a corpse of a human male.

Across the street is another home, a small cottage with a small flower garden and several flower pots around the building. The front of the home was hit by a bolder. There is a body of a male halfling lying just outside the front door, it looks like he took a deadly blow to the head from falling debris. 

Next door to this home is a cottage that appears to have been untouched by the giant attack. The windows are shuttered and the door shut. On the door you see rows upon rows of ornate runes burned into the wood. Nadia, you recognize this house as the one the Goblins were trying to get in while you were resting in the cottage earlier the previous day. You remember it seemed like the doors and shutters were all locked from the inside and the Goblins evidently found no other means of gaining entry.

A little further down the path is another farm house, the field is to the rear of the house and is dotted with several bolders. The cottage itself is undamaged, though the door is opened and a quick look from the outside shows that the inside has been ransacked, likely from the Goblins. 

The final house before the bridge leading to the keep is the house Nadaar has already been in and had been home to the human couple you so recently buried.

(Feel free to further examine any house as you see fit in whatever order)

(ill try to post in the next hour or two)

Zack hears what Nadaar says, and considers things, his fingers wrapping around his chin in consideration. While still heavy from the mornings 'events' he seemed to be trying to let it become background noise.. for now atleast... Well Daggerford isn't far... we were just a few days away from it before. So thats a likely place.. but outside of my deployments.. i don't know every town in the area... and most of my deployments were farther south than that... But yeah, good plan... he says as he pets the horse whom he'd have to name.. at some point... patting the side of it's jaw as he made his way up and back into the saddle. Making sure to settle down softly since the saddle hadn't been removed.

Once mounted, He'd wait for Nadia to do the same.. if she wished.. if not, he'd offer her a hand onto his own unless she or Nadaar brought her to theirs before saying But yeah... lets get this over with... not just for ourselves... bu for anyone else who might be here. Lets just hope we don't run into anymore Zhents. If you guys spot any and i don't seem to be catchign on... spank me or something. Ha.

(either of you can feel free to contradict this.. the one fear i have as a player is that i'm 'taking too much control/choice away from the other players when i set a course of action, I've just been in so many games where no one else takes any action. So It's habit... So I'll post my intents below, but if either of you wish to do anything contradictory to it, or ever feel i'm 'railroading' you in ANY way, don't worry about informing me.)

Zack, atop his horse decides to ignore the first two.... they would likely be much the same as they had been in before... Full of little more than corpses and destruction. And since the fight the night before... they hadn't seen any goblins, nor did they see or hear worgs, or looting. The horses hadn't been killed or stolen... and while he could be wrong.. Zack felt that checking every place was no longer as much a priority.... Though he would approach each one, and shout out a "Hail".. on the off-chance someone was there and alive.. because he wouldn't feel right if he didn't at-least try...

If nothing comes of his calls from the first two places.. the third is the first one that comes to any real attention. It had suffered no damage... and then there were  the runes... Something was unique.. good or bad, about the place.... And he decided to pull up. Hey.. do you guys see this? he says, pointing out all the factors of the house he just 'mentioned.' I think we should take a peek inside... or try to get their attention... if someone is in there. What do you guys think?

Zack, your shouts to the first two houses both go unanswered and you notice no signs of anything moving within the two buildings. 

(Will wait for the others to respond before a proper response. But will just get this on record so to speak. Though as Rai said if anyone wants to do something different let me know and we can easily accommodate)

Nadia takes up Zack's offer of riding with him, saying, "I don't see Kella's horse, but I wanna see if maybe it wandered out farther or something as we search the houses..." Truthfully, deep down, she wanted to claim the horse as her own as another big '**** you' to the now dead Zhent, but it wasn't a top priority to her now anyways. As they looked around the ruins of the town, the elf kept her eyes and ears peels for any movements and anything that would particularly stick out to her, but when they approached the house with the runes, her eyes studied them closely seeing if she could decipher anything about them.

Arcana: 16

You dont notice much movement but as Zack is checking for survivors you do notice Kellas horse wander over to the gate, having been somewhere over by the town windmil. The horse is alone and doesnt seem to make any attempts to wander over to the other horses.

As your attention is drawn to the runes you examine them closely and quickly determine that there is nothing magical about them. They seem to be hand burnt into the wood of the door, but seem to be more like a language rather than magical symbols. If it is part of a language it's not one you are familiar with.

Nadia makes note of the horses location so she could return to it later after they try to get into this unscathed house. Her brows furrow when she notices the runes weren't magical in the slightest, the idea of it being an arcane ward being thrown out the window. "Can either of you read these runes? They're definitely not magical, but I don't know what this language is exactly..."

Nadaar makes a mental note to find some treats for his mount. Maybe even name it, too. It was the least the Dragonborn could do to set its heart at ease. For while he did not care it(her?) more than his companions, now that it bore his noble being, it was only the right thing. "Seeing as Lady Nadia is riding with you, I'll leave the spanking up to her." Following a wink at Nadia, he lets out a bout of hearty laughter as the group rode through the village. Fortunately, it pitters out upon seeing the Halfling corpse. From then on he murmurs reminders of body location, for he fully intended to return to them before day's out; assuming they find no other they might find could tend to them. This aside, there are no complaints out of the dragonborn, or rogue investigations.

Not yet, at least.

"Runes?" Nadaar comments on, then dismounts for a much closer look at them. "Interesting. It has been a number of years since my days of proper learning, so... hard to say. I know it not to be draconic, at the very least. Nor gnomish too. Not enough swirls, assuming they even use Runes to begin with... The fact you do not recognize it immediately eliminates elves, though I trust your language may be less inclined to make use of them... Too far from the sea, so that eliminates a few others..." He trails off from there into idle mutters of different racial names; somes sounding more fantastical than most.

If noone has answer Zack's call or the Dragonborn hasn't figured out at least the race the runes might belong to, he offers a curt, "My apologies!" just before trying to kick in the door. 

(If Nadaar can still make a History check on the runes: 8.)

 Nadaar, you study the runes trying to see if perhaps you've seen the language before. After eliminating several options you eventually narrow it down to one of two possibilities. You recognize the runes as being part of the Infernal script. Since you can't actually read and understand the words in front of you you can only assume that it's either Infernal or possibly Abyssal since they share a Syllabary. 

If the Teifling Zhent was still alive to do so she might have been able to translate though that option is no longer viable. If Zack takes a look at the text it's clear that he too does not know the language and is no help as far as a translation goes. Regardless you've already been able to narrow it down. Either the tongue of devils or demons.

Zack, having already locked his horse in place, though hopefully some grass was nearby.. Just as he was about to get to checking if he knew what they were himself... Nadaar began trying to kick the door in.... Na..Nadaar.. Thats literally the worst way you could possibly go about trying to gain the trust of the people inside... he said, heavily sighing, and actually facepalming... All you're gonna do by doing that, whether you succeed or not is make them think we're here to hurt them, or just flat out make them scared of us.. 

Zack would place his hands in a 'cup' and against a window area and shout, trying to make sure his voice penetrated the walls Hey.... Sorry about my friend there.... We're friendlies.... We came into the town a day ago.. in response to the diplomatic request for you guys and the elves... But we found the place destroyed. There were some Zhents.... But, we took care of them the other night.... We're looking for survivors.... If you're OK and Alive... We'd appreciate it if you'd come out. We understand it's hard to trust right now, with everything that's happened.... SO we'll wait about a minute for you to make a decision... if you even exist.. ha! And then we'll move on. He considered letting them know their ultimate intent was to head to the keep ... but.. after the zhents... maybe that wasn't the best idea.

(Persu: 6)