Revision as of 00:19, 28 February 2016

Participants

• Gideon
• Levin
• Lucas
• Molly
• Rokarion
• Zuri

Date

27/2/479

Log

The story was a familiar one. A caravan on it's way back from the far western reaches of Sweetwater had run afoul of bandits lurking in the swamp looking for easy prey. As luck would have it one of the caravaneers managed to escape in the chaos of the panicked defense and made the days-long trek to Firmament on foot with report of what he had seen.

Unusual was the revelation that came after. The merchant's own son was in the doomed caravan, and the panicked rodent pleaded with the Freeswords to find the caravan and rescue him at any cost. "He's a brave boy. He will have fought them back." He says. It seems the caravan was escorted and armed, and it is likely a conflict took place, but if the caravan has not made it back yet, then it is but a guarantee that things did not go the young gopher's way.

As the Freeswords' ox-drawn wagon rolls up the boardwalk and turns into Salttide to follow the overgrown path which the doomed caravan had taken, the oppressive and thick scents of the deep swamp begin to assault the beings' senses. The ambush place is not too far ahead, and they will arrive there soon.

Aloysius was passing through the Freeswords' inn when he saw this panicked gopher. The young squirrel had nothing to lose and was not busy so he decided to tag along with the gopher.

The youngling decided to sit next to the driver and spent the long journey reading from a book he had with him, nothing else to do. When the wagon finally enters the swamp, the squirrel stands up and takes a deep breath, "So this is the Saltide swamp? Fascinating." the squirrel says in a distinctive trill that any well-travelled being can trace back to the Andrussian territories. "So, do you remember how many bandits attacked you? And is it normal to be ambushed around here? This place does not strike me as well-travelled by caravans."

Molly had only come in for a drink, but stopped to chat with her otter companions before the gopher made his rush into the inn, and she eagerly followed the opportunity. Over the course of their journey, however, she's become less enthusiastic about the adventure - now sitting in the wagon and fiddling with her bonnet, occasionally glancing up to look out. "We're close," she whispers aside to the others in the wagon, following it with a sigh of relief.

Lucas was enjoying himelf a nice glass of watermelon juice and a bowl of seeds when the gopher came in. He was clearly reluctant at first when the gopher made his request, but after a moment's deliberation he joined, desiring to help a man, sympathetic to his lost son. He sat in the back of the wagon, idly checking his weapons as they rolled along. "I hope things don't get too violent this time. Things were absolutely savage the last time I had to deal with bandits."

"Eh, wha?" murmurs the other otter, Levin, as he raises his head up from his knees with a tired grunt. For the last few nights, Levin had been prowling the city's streets on a quest for information - Information on a series of murders which seemed to be far more complicated then they first appear. All he wanted was a quick drink with his friend and new apprentice, Molly, before turning in for the day when the gopher came rushing into the bar. "Oh, yeah, yeah - It'll be fine, don't worry. Bandits scamper off when ever they see freeswords a comin', trust me." he says as he puts on his best grin for Lucas.

Gideon sits quietly in the back of the wagon, his hands resting on his knees and his eyes half closed in the easy doze of an experienced campaigner as the wagon jerks and bounces along. He had been supervising a supply delivery for the Cinderglow estate when the poor gopher had burst in and had offered his services on behalf of the ladies Solacious. He finally stirs as they enter the swamp. He takes a deep breath of the damp, rotting swamp air. "Ah, homey," he says in a deep, smooth voice.

The driver looks to the squirrel sitting next to him. "I was not in the caravan, myself. But the boy that escaped said there were a dozen of them." He shakes his head. "Ambushes are uncommon here, and caravans.. are more so. It's a convenient shortcut when making the trek from Cliffside, but what you gain in days you lose in having to deal with the local wildlife." He shakes his head. "Anything to shave a few precious days off the trek...."

The wagon comes to a stop with a cry from the driver as he spots ahead the ambush site. A few meters ahead from where the wagon stopped is a body, face-down in the dirt, a pair of arrows sticking out of his back. Further on is the caravan, a pair of wagons that were riding single file across the narrow path. The beasts of burden that were pulling the wagons did not fare well. Two are missing, and the other two lay slain on the ground, their bodies mangled. "I think I'll stay here..." calls out the driver on a low voice, looking around nervously. "You do what you need to do."

The soil here is not as unsteady as the rest of the swamp, this being one of the few paths that a caravan could take without getting bogged down. All around can be heard the buzzing sounds of insects and the eerie echoes of distant sounds warped as they travel through the crooked landscape. Odd flickers of light can be seen sometimes, distant and obfuscated by the light fog that permeates the area.

The squirrel nodded his head at the gopher and shrugged, "very well, it appears that we have to search this area." the rodent adds as he takes off his hat and sets it where he was seated. Aloysius then jumps off the wagon and begin walking towards the under brush, "Anyone is familiar with this area then?" he asks before disappearing into the under brush. Out of view, the squirrel lowers himself and begins sneaking around the area looking for evidence of bandits or even if they are still here.

Molly glances back and forth between Lucas and Levin, letting out a quiet whimper at their conversation as she slouches down. She jolts up straight again at the stop of the wagon, craning her neck to get a look outside after she's stood up. "I sure hope you're right, Levin.." she mumbles, tapping the toe of her boot against the floor and stuffing her nice bonnet away into her bag. She climbs out of the wagon after the squirrel, glancing around with a frown. She just steps aside and awaits one of her companions.

"It probably will be," Lucas said to the rabbit, brow raising as the cart slowed to a stop. He sheathed his dagger and pulled out a pistol, drawing himself towards the front of the cart, looking out from behind the curtain between the pair riding in the front. He grimaced and sighed, pulling his head back to walk out of the back of the wagon, patting the others on the shoulder as he passed. "Come on, we got something out there. Be on your guard."

Levin gives a few quick nods of approval before hopping out of the wagon, his landing far from graceful as he stumbles on his landing. "Oph- This ain't a good day for this. I brought enough pistols to make up for that though." The otter gives his weapons a quick check right there and then - he had a pair of daggers strapped to his hips, and another hidden away in his boot, but a far more menacing set of weapons, a trio of loaded pistols, rest against his chest on a leather bandoleer. "Now lil miss, don't you go wandering off on your own - We should work in pairs at the very least, makes it harder for them to pick us off."

Gideon climbs out after the others and paces quietly along. Despite his outlandish mask and the fine cut and make of his clothing, there is something about the elephant that makes the eyes glance off of him. The dark eyes looking out from his bone white mask somehow meld with the dappled light of the sun filtering through the canopy. Not that he is hard to see. He is the elephant in the room, after all. It is just that he seems more a part of the scenery than a person. He walks smoothly and quietly toward the ravaged caravan, eyes flickering to the sides as he goes, even scanning the canopy of the swampy forest. It looks like, even dressed as he is, he is no stranger to shady dealings in the swamps.

As the squirrel being slinks out of the main path he finds his feet sinking slightly onto the soft ground. It seems this path draws a fine line across the boggy area, and just a few meters away from the road pools of stagnant water can be seen shimmering in the dim light that filters through the canopy. Walking in this area takes a bit of effort, and it's not long until Aloysius finds himself having to pull his feet up out of the earthen sludge that the topsoil has become. The ground squelches loudly, but does not seem to attract the attention of anyone... yet.

As the other four beings near the wagon they cross the vicinity of the fallen body. It was clearly a being, a budgerigar, his colourful feathers sticking out from underneath the hat he's wearing.

Nearer to the wagon one of the fallen draft horses is in a similar state. Even without looking close the cause of death is apparent: A thick wood axe has been driven into it's neck, and now lies next to the poor animal.

As the elephant nears the wrecked caravan he spots two more bodies. One was the wagon's driver. He's fallen to his side, lying completely on his bench rather than sitting. His cause of death is not immediately apparent. Another body belongs to a small canine being, lying against a tree just off the road, a trail of footsteps leading back to the trailing wagon.

The squirrel nibbles his lower lip, showing off his cute buckteeth, before sighing, looks like he will have to clean his clothes soon again. The squirrel hopes than none has heard his noisy march, but either way decides to fix this issue by projecting some earth magic to the ground underneath him, making sure that the ground solidifies underneath every step.

Molly struggles with her heavy boots, squishing through the soft swamp dirt as she approaches the caravan after Gideon. "..That ain't right," she comments, looking over the fallen beings beside the wagon and shaking her head. She drags her feet through the mud to approach the small canine beside the road, giving the occasional glance back at the others with her as she does so.

Lucas grits his teeth as they survey the damage, drawing back the hammer on his pistol as he pulls out his sword as well. "This is a fucking masacre," he says darkly, leveling his pistol as he scans for anyone that might be around them. His eyes galnce to Molly. "If you got any weapons I'd get them out. Don't want to be caught with our pants down." He draws himself to the wagon's driver, using a flat edge of his blade to roll over for any discernable markings.

Levin "Yeah, it's pretty bad." Levin grumbles back as he slowly makes his way towards the last unattended body - the budgerigar. He glances over his shoulder, back to his fellow freeswords, as he's just about to make it to the body, the otter letting out a heavy sigh and a curse under his breath as he kneels down next to it. "It looks fresh at a glance." he mumbles as he starts reaching down to the corpse "Shame, I always hate seein' feathered folk like this. A damn shame."

"Is it?" Gideon asks Lucas, reaching into his coat and pulling out a. . . spoon? The elephant shakes his head, setting his huge ears gently flapping. "This is no bandit attack," he says, "Look at this. This is what a townie -thinks- the aftermath of a bandit attack looks like. Bandits worth their salt don't destroy wagons or animals. They are worth more gold than most cargo! And these bodies are posed where they lie. In the road. Where they can be found." He gives the clearing a quick scan. "In fact," he says, noting the wreckage barring the road, and the wagon parked behind them, and the sludgy pits on either side of the trail, "This looks much more like a bandit ambush." The elephant watches the others warily and moves gracefully toward the lead wagon, presenting as little of a target as his tall, thin form can manage.

As the squirrel being takes his next step it comes much more silent, the topsoil seemingly hardening as he steps, and softening again as he walks away. There is a flicker of light from his right, a brief glimpse of green, before it vanishes just as quick.

Silence remains over the area as the group fans out to check the bodies...

The squirrel's ears perk as he notices the green light before he gives the area around him a glance. Not wanting to alert anyone on the other side, Aloysius continues his march, slowly turning to the right as he does so; before long, he is heading directly towards the source of the light. However, the squirrel then quickly turns towards the nearest extra bushy areas, aiming to lose any one who was possibly tailing him.

"Oh, this is just sick.." the rabbit groans, turning her head away from the dog after her examination. "He- he has a bow, do I take it?" she asks. She hesitates briefly before she snatches it up, pulling away as though afraid the corpse may try to take it back from her. The girl hurries to her feet and sloshes her way back to the road to move beside Lucas, looking Gideon over with a troubled gaze before her eyes dart out to peer into the swamp.

Lucas winces as he sees the blood covering the bat being's clothes. He holsters his pistol and sword, pulling out his dagger to cut away the clothes on the being. His fingers prod at the holes, sneering and shaking his head. "This is... disgusting." He looks back to the elephant and shook his head. "Bandit attack or not, Poor fucker had to suffer. There are a ton of stabs here, cuts that... don't know what they were doing. Does't look like they used a proper knife, must have been something from a kitchen, just barely sharp enough to cut." He stepped back, using his knife to cut at the fabric covering the wrecked wagon and tearing it off, drawing it over the deceased bat and stepping back. "So if this isn't a bandit attack... you think the gopher's son was involved? I mean, the driver here looks like he was killed in self defense, someone who didn't know what they were doing."