“Though Oi dinna loike corpse rob’rs, ther’s be bigger thin’s on ur plates.  Iff’n theys leavin’ oos alone, well so bes it.” Tafod says softly.  “Wes bes lookin’ fer the scum what did this,” he waves his hand at the carnage all around them.”

 "Well, I'm not trained in tracking anyone. However, whatever force did this should be big enough for anyone to follow! If only we could get pointed in the right direction...." Pondering, Tanisar determines that perhaps approaching the other group may be profitable to gaining the knowledge which the party seeks. "I'll go ask!" he declares and starts walking toward the other group, his hands open, showing they are empty.

As he gets closer (about 50'), he calls out, "Hello? My friends and I were looking to find a place to settle this evening, when we just came upon this. Did you see what happened or who did this?"

((Here's a d20 in case you need it to go with anything)) 4

Edit: Yikes! I hope you don't need it!

Bram tries to follow casually behind Tanisar, his crossbow still at the ready, should the shadowy figures prove less than amicable.

Tanisar approaches the humanoids. He calls out to them, and they raise their heads to look at him. They have long snouts and large ears. The largest one opens its mouth, revealing sharp fangs, and growls at you. Some of them reach for their weapons, but they keep their distance.

Seeing their warning, Tanisar remains where he is, but continues, "Hey now, I will protect myself, but I don't mean any harm to you. You lot seem to be just trying to get by. You need some food?" Indicating Bram he says, "Bram has some food he'd give you if are wanting to talk? I bet the Iron Circle has hurt you, eh? Did they do this?" he gestures toward the carnage.

The leader of the pack growls again. It takes you a second to realize that she's trying to speak. "We do not need your help. The carcass of this town is ours, and we will rip out your throats if you try to take it from us. If you're looking for the predators that killed this town, they went East. Wars and hunts are of no interest to us, only the carrion that they leave behind. Now go! We do not want you here."

Bram can barely make out what the pack leader is saying, but he looks rapidly back and forth between Tanisar and the creatures, his trigger finger itchy on his bow.  Dar said to trust in this guy's diplomatic skills, though.  Uncomfortably, he resists the urge to growl back at the creatures -- for their disrespect to the ruined remains of what could have been any of their hometowns.  These guys are no better than those scavenging rats, he thinks to himself with a scowl, but he manages somehow to keep his thoughts to himself, and his eye on Tanisar and the creatures.

"Thank you," Tanisar replies simply, then signals Bram to follow him back to the others. "They said the force that attacked this village went east, I presume back to Harken, pulling out as Dar explained. Does anyone know the symbolic nature of the ashen circle? As for those creatures, they could be walking rats, scavenging for their livelihood. I hate to leave them here doing what they're doing, but if the group that destroyed this village has already made it to Harken, how long before they begin their attack on Albridge? Thoughts?"

"Aye, Tanisar bes 'avin' a point," Tafod says in agreement.  "Oi thinks wes be needin' t' bes after these scum, 'ead 'em off if wes can; though th're pro'ly a few 'r more o' 'em judgin' from this wreck."  He shakes his head.  "Wes moight jes 'ave t' mark 'em fer later 'processin', if ye ken."

"I have no idea what any of this means, besides that we'd better move fast, before we find even more villages looking like this," Bram replies.

"We had a pretty rough time in our last battle, and I bet this was caused by a lot more. I guess we should stick to the plan... it hurts to say, but even if more attacks happen soon, delaying the plans doesn't sound like the best in the long term" Quyst says, her voice a bit shaky

"I agree with Quyst," Renewal says. "We are clearly outnumbered by the force that did this, and if an attack on Albridge is imminent, I find it unlikely we'd be able to do much to turn the tide on our own. We need allies, and quickly."

"I think we're all in agreement then? Let's skirt around this place and keep heading for the forest." He makes the suggestion, but doesn't take the lead.

Quyst takes the lead, quietly. She's eager to get out of this place, but she holds for a second after a few steps and looks back, to make sure everyone is coming with her.

The group leaves the burnt village behind, letting the scavengers pick through it. From Marl, you follow the road East a short ways before turning South towards the forest. As you march, the trees loom on the horizon. Within a few hours, you arrive at the edge of the forest. The road continues under the canopy of trees in and gets darker as the leaves block out the sunlight.

After about ten minutes of following the trail through the forest, your march is abruptly interrupted. The road in front of you is completely obliterated by a large crater, 15 feet in diameter and 20 feet deep. Chunks of earth and stone are strewn around the surrounding forest, as though a large explosion happened here. The road continues on the other side of the crater undisturbed.

“Aye, bes a good oidea,” Tafod says.  “Let’s bes off.”

"Whoa," Bram says, eying the crater and then automatically looking up for what might have caused it.  After a moment he realizes that whatever would have made the crater has already, obviously, hit, and turns his attention to something more productive, like looking for the cause of the crater in the center of it, or scanning the horizon for any sort of artillery that could have fired a weapon from a distance to cause such a crater.

Perception: 16

 "Yeah...whoa!" agrees Tanisar. Seeing Bram investigating the crater, the half-elf turns his attention to the surrounding forest, leaving the path about 15 feet on the west side (I think we're traveling south, right?).

Perception 10

Bram examines the crater. It looks like it was caused by something emerging from below the ground, rather than something landing here. There is evidence of a collapsed tunnel at the bottom of the pit.

Tanisar walks around the pit. He doesn’t see anything unusual except the debris thrown from the crater.

"I don't think I want to meet whatever caused this. Let's keep walking? The elves may have some info about it, too". Quyst looks aprehensive.