IC II

[beniliusbob]

Zellar

Zellar assists with the wounded, using her spells if necessary, and says a blessing over Sigmari An's body to lay her to rest.

"Did any of the beastmen survive? If we have no one to question, we shall have to explore this village for clues about Burnnkenkrayn's whereabouts and intentions."

[thirdkingdom]

The Aftermath

Valru's expression is as hard as her skin as she surveys the carnage. "My men fought valiantly," she says, "as did yours, against a mighty foe. We typically burn our dead, in the field or home. As a broken sword is melted down to be reforged, so are we at the end of our days. How do you softskins honor your dead?"

The rest of the day is spent searching the village. An enormous haul is found, consisting of:

*24,000 silver coins
*14,500 gold coins
*4500 platinum coins
*About two dozen assorted gems, ranging in value from 10 to 1,000 gp, and totally 9,560 gold.
*A score of trinkets -- earrings, rings, bracelets -- worth another 7,500 gp.
*4 scrolls
*Two swords, an axe, a crossbow, and a dagger that Zellar and Sumer judge are likely valuable.
*3 potions, unlabeled.

Of most interest, though likely less value, the adventurers find one whole hut filled with foodstuffs, dried goods, and tools that look to be of human origin. It's mostly utilitarian stuff, perhaps worth a few hundred gold, but suggests the orcs have recently raided a human community somewhere nearby.

[The_Wanderer]

Feargus
Staring at the pile of valuables, Feargus rubs his chin. "Our customs vary from group to group. Some bury their dead, some burn them on a pyre. Treating the dead with respect may be the only constant. If you plan to burn your dead here, I think that would be fitting ending for ours as well."

To the rest of the party (and specifically not within earshot of Valru), Feargus says "I do hate to bring up anything so crass as valuables at a time like this but did we discuss with the ironskins a split for destroying this place? Of course with the battle to come with the dragon, there is more to come but I can't help thinking that much of this should belong to our party."

[shaidar]

Newton

Feargus

To the rest of the party (and specifically not within earshot of Valru), Feargus says "I do hate to bring up anything so crass as valuables at a time like this but did we discuss with the ironskins a split for destroying this place? Of course with the battle to come with the dragon, there is more to come but I can't help thinking that much of this should belong to our party."

"I agree that the riches should come our way, less perhaps a portion for the families of the lost. It will cost a fair deal preparing to take out the dragons, and we want something left of the pay we get for that job. It's a shame we have no prisoners to interrogate, perhaps one of those scrolls will contain information on the lair of the dragon. We shouldn't give the orcs to much time to get ahead of us, we need to stop them raising the alarm. I'm also concerned about this human village that must be around here, perhaps we can tyr and find it on the way back from tracking down the orcs"

[The_Wanderer]

Newton

"I'm also concerned about this human village that must be around here, perhaps we can try and find it on the way back from tracking down the orcs"

Feargus
"Good point. That's fairly actionable. Either the ironskins have heard word of local settlements or we do some scouting on horseback."

[thirdkingdom]

Feargus
Staring at the pile of valuables, Feargus rubs his chin. "Our customs vary from group to group. Some bury their dead, some burn them on a pyre. Treating the dead with respect may be the only constant. If you plan to burn your dead here, I think that would be fitting ending for ours as well."

To the rest of the party (and specifically not within earshot of Valru), Feargus says "I do hate to bring up anything so crass as valuables at a time like this but did we discuss with the ironskins a split for destroying this place? Of course with the battle to come with the dragon, there is more to come but I can't help thinking that much of this should belong to our party."

There was no mention of having to share spoils. viewtopic.php?p=460840#p460840

[beniliusbob]

Zellar

Once the dead and wounded have been dealt with, Zellar will assist in examining the scrolls to determine if there are any clues as to the whereabouts of Burnnkenkrayn.

[thirdkingdom]

To remind everyone, Goshawk, Ribar, and Alwen Nar are exploring a barrow. Here's the most relevant post:viewtopic.php?p=491293#p491293

Goshawk, Raiding Tombs

Goshawk leans back and looks up at the carving. When he sees it is some kind of gibberish, he slowly opens the door.

Fifthmonth, Twentyfifthday
Hex 236.131
1.5 turns elapsed

Goshawk opens the eastern door, revealing a small chamber, floor thick with dust. In the center of the chamber is a stone sarcophagus. There appears to be nothing else in the room.

[shaidar]

Newton

When WIlter hears talk to looking at the scrolls he pipes up "Maybe I should check them scrolls over first, make sure they's safe. I got a keen eye and picked up a few things on the streets."

[thirdkingdom]

Zellar

Once the dead and wounded have been dealt with, Zellar will assist in examining the scrolls to determine if there are any clues as to the whereabouts of Burnnkenkrayn.

Fifthmonth, Twentyfifthday
Hex 230.123

The dead mercenaries are arranged on a funeral pyre; it's trivially easy to pull down the huts the orcs were using and use the dry wood to build a massive bonfire. As the sun sets the pyre is put to the torch; flames are soon licking the darkening sky as the dead warriors are sent off to the Dry Lands as befits heroes. Valru sings a song in an ancient language. Like all the songs of her people -- or at least the ones the adventurers have thus heard -- it is discordant and harsh, like metal crashing against metal.

Later, when questioned about a potential human village nearby, she shrugs. "I do not doubt there is one, but do not know where it is. We are beyond the boundaries of my knowledge, here. My guess would be that it lies somewhere along this river, though, as that is where many settlements are to be found."

After the pyre burns down, and a campfire of their own is built, Sumer and Zellar examine the scrolls they have found. Two are spell scrolls, both magical in nature, containing the following:
*The first contains the spells light, magic missile, and web.
*The second contains the spells hallucinatory terrain and wall of stone.

The third scroll appears to be an old treasure map. In Common, an inscription upon it reads "We rode two days east of Maknor, to where a river flowed north. Following the river north we came to the upturned rock we had been told of, and there we buried Prince Damar in the royal crypts we found beneath, along with his scepter of rulership. Thus the remains of the last of the blood of the royal line of Maknor was interred."

The final scroll is a single rolled sheet of parchment, written in a runic script neither can read. The runes are blocky and composed of harsh lines, and hurt the eyes of those reading if they stare too long at the page.

[PresGas]

Sumer - After the Orc battle.

Sumer turns to Zellar "I am not sure any of this will give us the clues we seek to Burnnkenkrayn, however these spell scrolls should be saved and could prove valuable for our personal libraries!. I wonder about this script here though..."

[The_Wanderer]

Goshawk
"Well lookee here. A stone casket." He purposely stands in the door as he looks over the room. "Give me a sec. I want my halberd after all." He jogs back out and grabs his polearm. Returning, he carefully slides it along the floor in front of him hoping any traps will be triggered without incident.

Feargus
Feargus smiles and shakes his head. "More treasure! HAHA! Let's hope one of the leads pans out. Anybody know of Maknor? Regarding the human settlement, I'm not convinced we need to seek it out. Our work is with the Dragon. Of course before we slay him, we have some protective potions to pick up."

[thirdkingdom]

Goshawk
"Well lookee here. A stone casket." He purposely stands in the door as he looks over the room. "Give me a sec. I want my halberd after all." He jogs back out and grabs his polearm. Returning, he carefully slides it along the floor in front of him hoping any traps will be triggered without incident.

No traps are triggered. Either there are none present, or require something heavier than a polearm to activate.

[thirdkingdom]

We're going to do a little bit of a time split here; I'll fast forward the orc raiding party to the next day while the tomb raiders continue to explore.

Fifthmonth, Twentysixthday
Hex 230.123

Night passes without incident, and the adventurers awake in the morning under a sky leaden with clouds. Valru speaks up. "I don't want to tell you folks what to do, but with out numbers depleted the way they are I think we should head back to Draea, fill the Baron in on what happened. Maybe Odos or another priest can decipher this scroll we found." She looks around. "But, you all are the boss, here, so it's up to y'all."

[The_Wanderer]

Goshawk

Goshawk begins tapping the ground with the end of his halberd as he moves slowly ahead, holding his breath. "Come on Ribar, Alwen. Let's take a look at this thing."

He then pulls out an arrow and runs the point along the sealed edge of the sarcophagus.

[The_Wanderer]

Feargus
"...Anybody know of Maknor?"

"Wait...I just remembered that we have a lead on some tomb near Maknor already..."

viewtopic.php?p=486590#p486590

Valru speaks up. "I don't want to tell you folks what to do, but with out numbers depleted the way they are I think we should head back to Draea, fill the Baron in on what happened. Maybe Odos or another priest can decipher this scroll we found." She looks around. "But, you all are the boss, here, so it's up to y'all."

"Aye...makes sense to me. Consolidate again and hope that Goshawk and crew have arrived. They must have arrived by now."

[shaidar]

Ribar heads over to the sarcophagus, but stays about 10' away with his holy symbol ready, keeping guard while the other focus on the stone tomb.


Newton nods "Yes, it does sound familiar. If we don't go after those orcs I'm just worried that they will raise the alarm with the dragon, and we currently haven't found any indication of the dragons location from the loot, so we'll need an orc prisoner to interrogate"

[thirdkingdom]

Goshawk

Goshawk begins tapping the ground with the end of his halberd as he moves slowly ahead, holding his breath. "Come on Ribar, Alwen. Let's take a look at this thing."

He then pulls out an arrow and runs the point along the sealed edge of the sarcophagus.

Round One

Dust and accumulated grime flakes out of the join as he does so, but nothing obvious happens.

[thirdkingdom]

Newton nods "Yes, it does sound familiar. If we don't go after those orcs I'm just worried that they will raise the alarm with the dragon, and we currently haven't found any indication of the dragons location from the loot, so we'll need an orc prisoner to interrogate"

Valru

The ironskin scout purses her lips. "Orcs are creatures of Chaos, and craven, to boot. Without a strong hand guiding their actions they show little initiative, nor loyalty. If I were a betting woman, which I am not, my guess would be that the survivors of this fight have fled in all directions, and rather than face the wrath of an angry dragon will instead melt into the wilderness, hoping to disappear." She pauses. "While clearing out the camp I did espy what looks like a trail leading west, on the other side of the river. Orcs are also not know for the woodcraft, and it is possible they left us a backtrail we can follow."

[shaidar]

Newton

"So, it's not a complete bust in that respect. I guess it does make sense to consolidate back at Draea, we can hardly lug all this treasure around with us"