Revision as of 22:51, 18 September 2015

Participants

• Bazalt
• Cirra
• Fenris
• Kazel
• Reginald
• Rokarion
• Zuri

Date

18/9/478

Log

A salamander being waves lazily at the carriage as it rolls past him. He's leaning back against a tree, taking solace from the sun under it's shade. In his hands are his simple meal for the day, little more than a piece of bread, some foraged berries, and a bottle of rye beer to wash it all down with. In the distance, another salamander can be seen leading a flock of bovine livestock creatures to their pasture. This sight is one that repeats itself as the carriage rolls along, until the village itself comes into view.

The farmland all around gives way to scattered cruck houses, all simple structures of mud, wood and straw topped with thatch roofing. The clear air of the countryside gives way to the scents of a being-inhabited area. The aroma of cooked foods and lit hearthfires snakes in the air alongside other, muckier, less pleasant smells. The carriage rolls past a rather large graveyard on the very edge of the village. As the First Text commands the burial grounds are well-kept in respect of the dead that lie beneath the soil.

Rokarion is seated in the carriage. The plant being decided to come for various reasons, to help the populace, to see this strange beast, as well as to get more accustomed to Sweetwater's countryside. The plant being spent most of the trip drawing sketches of the various vistas, giving his doodles more attention as they get closer to the village which seems to be mostly populated with salamanders, not that odd for small villages. The plant being peers again through the window, looking at the graveyard and then the village itself, looks like they will dismount soon.

Reginald , currently sitting inside the carriage, was busy taking in the passing scenery. The lynx hadn't said much during the journey, but could very rarely be found without an arm placed, with care, around a certain shadow wolf. Despite being well travelled, the feline had yet to pass out this way, and part of him enjoyed the experience of being on the road again.

Fenris sits in the back of the wagon beside a midget, mechanical gladiator. The big tiger looks kitted out for a fight, but is currently happily playing a long, ornately carved flute.

Bazalt Rests his head on teh lynx's Shoulder-STaring out the Window for now-He himself hadnt been out this far and was Quite looking forward to it, oh and you know helping people too!

Kazel has not payed much attention to the scenery. The heavily armored bat has been passing her time with her current book, but has put it aside for now to peer out of the window of the carriage, her fingers strumming on the helmet on her lap.

The mute nurse shark of course didn't say anything during the journey, merely listening and watching. She's in a different mood than normal, more protective than anything. A clever eye probably sees the folder0 of grid-lined parchment in her oilskin coat's pockets, though little protection aside from the creator wetsuit and her jacket. She idly draws different lines as they ride along, trying to see if her random musings approximate spells.

The carriage stops next to a large, very well kept garden. It seems to form the center of the village, and several important-looking stone-and-wood buildings surround it. At the center of the garden lies a small shrine to the Creator Saints, surrounded by wooden benches spread all around it in a semicircle. A blue-spotted salamander being dutifully tends to a rose bush nearby, only briefly stopping her labors to glance at the carriage.

A salamander being wearing a militia outfit stands outside of one of the buildings, which on closer inspection is identified as the Mayor's Office. Immediately attached to this building is a Guardhouse, and next to that is an imposing building with an elaborate, well-maintained sign identifying it as the Trading Post.

A Ringed Salamander emerges from the Mayor's Office in the distance, and makes his way across to the carriage as you begin to disembark. "Ah, finally!" He remarks as he looks over the gathered group. "We've been expecting you for quite a while. You're the Freeswords, yes?" He smiles. "Not many folk arrive here in a fancy carriage like that."

Rokarion closes his book as the carriage comes to a full stop. The plant being exits the wagon, stretching his limbs after the journey before looking at the apparent mayor. "Greetings there sir. I am not a Freesword, but I would be happy to help." the plant being answers in his usual nonchalant tone.

When the lynx sees that the carriage has come to a stop, he gives the wolf a gentle nudge, before rising to disembark. Upon reaching the ground, Reginald takes a moment to look about him, and can't help but let a smile grace his face. What he saw before him was quite a beautiful and cosy village, a sight welcomed, and a sight not as frequented as it should be on Promise. It is then that the feline's attention is brought to the ringed salamander, to which he makes his way, and nods in greeting.

Fenris hops down off the back of the carriage with his golem and gives a lazy salute as he stows his flute and awaits orders.

Bazalt Blinks and follows the Lynx and He blinks again and gasps. "Wow.. a.. a Villaige of.. Zuri's! so.. many!" he says smiling. He moves to Stand beside the Lynx and walks with him "well... Nice place." he says quietly, tail wagging softly in teh dirt behind him.

Kazel gets out of the carriage after putting on her helmet. The bat casts an eye about the village and rolls her shoulders, while she waits for the details to be announced.

Cirra nods a bit as she disembarks, looking around. She slides her chalkboard out, knowing it will be more useful than trying to sign to folks. She looks around, then writes on the board, trying to speak with the salamander who stepped out. /Is there a description of the beast? Someone seen it?/ She keeps her writing neat and short, not having a lot of room.

The ringed salamander once again nods in greeting. He smirks rather than smiles at the jasmine being. "Call yourself what you want, so long as you're here to deal with the whateveritis." He offers Fenris a wonky salute in return, but addresses the group as he speaks. "Name's Zane, town's bailiff. We thought you'd never come. We sent out for help weeks ago after the Royal Rangers gave up. I'm afraid the situation's only grown worse since then." He pauses as Cirra presents the board with the written message. He looks briefly confused, but smiles at her and gestures for the group to follow as he walks away from the carriage and towards the shrine of the Creator Saints.

The short-statured female salamander being currently tending to the gardens offers the group a shy smile before darting off behind a tree. "No one has seen the beast yet, but as ill-luck would have it several new oxen have turned up dead the past few nights, out by the Mudlick farm to the west." He stops and turns, seemingly to address Cirra. "Bless the Creators, no beings were harmed. Most of those that live nearby are holed up in the Inn until this situation is dealt with." The bailiff gestures towards the Inn, and it's at this point that it becomes obvious the arrival of the Freeswords has caused quite the commotion. Several salamanders and one fox peek up from behind their drinks as they laze about near the Inn. Two salamanders trade whispers in the corner. A pair of children giggle as they point at the strangely-garbed beings.

Rokarion nods idly at Zane, "Indeed sir, one always have to identify themselves correctly." he answers back as he follows Zane, eyes glancing around. "Hmmm, so no idea what this beast is then? Well I guess we will have to actually visit the Mudlicks farm and inspect some of the oxen, or have they been buried already?" he asks as he gives the village another peer, the curious plant rubs his chin but decides to keep his unrelated questions until later.

Reginald ponders the problem at hand. It could be any number of creatures that prey on cattle. The lynx just hopes that it isn't one of the more dangerous ones. Turning to Zane, he offers up a question. "You said that the Royal Rangers were here for a while, before they gave up. Do you know what they've already tried, so that we don't pursue any dead ends?"

Bazalt Hums and nods. Looking To Cirra He smiles. "If you wnat to talk in Sign, I'll Happily Translate for you." the Shadow wolf states, adjusing one of his bandoliers slightly. "And.. how are you?" he asks, One ear on the mayor, Eveything else focused on teh mute shark.

Kazel rolls her shoulders. "Whatever it is. We will make sure to dispatch it once we found. I think that will be the hard part, honestly." The bat is frowning, but it is not visible to anyone thanks to her closed ventail.

Cirra frowns a bit, signing to Kazel. <Going to need a bit of help. My ability to communicate with people is going to be compromised unless someone speaks for me.> She nods to Rokarion, also wishing to see the oxen. She blinks at Bazalt. <That would be most appreciated, sir. I wish to see the oxen, as well as any other signs of the creature the locals have established.>

Fenris keeps his ears open and his mouth shut while gis golem chugs gamely along beside him. The tiger is happy to let others lead the way.

The bailiff nods at Reginald. "A-yep, they were here for about a week. Found several dead animals, but couldn't track down the beast that did it. Said it left no tracks they could follow, no trampled grass, nothing. They went all over the countryside, as far north as the creek and as far south as the ol' oak tree on the hill. None of them found a thing." He shakes his head. "Reckon the lot of them thought we were pranking them, one morning they just up and left without a word."

He shakes his head at the jasmine. "Mayor's been tellin' everyone to stay away from where the beast has been. All them dead oxen are still out there, being a nuisance." He turns to Kazel, his smile turning to a grin. "Now that's what I like to hear. You fellas are costing us a pretty crown, even with the Mayor digging into every favour he had to cash in and Lord Elvin sending us aid of his own." He crosses his arms. "I reckon the Mudlick farm is the place to start. Might even be where it's holed up, whatever it is." He sighs. "Well, off ya go then. Do come back when it gets dark. Lilly will be preparing fresh food and beds for ya lot if you have to stay the night." He tailflicks as he regards the group, then turns and leaves back towards the Mayor's Office.

Rokarion nods his head at Zane remembering the promised twenty crowns, "Ah, as for the crowns you do not to count me. Seeing this secretive beast is payment enough." he answers back, "Very well let us go visit the Mud lick farm then."

Reginald mutters quietly. "A creature that leaves no signs of its passing ..." The lynx shakes his head. "... well, so much for an easy contract - that doesn't sound like a harmless beast ..." He seems to pause for a moment, deep in thought, before coming back to reality. Nodding in agreement with Rokarion as to where they should start, the feline does not, however, match the plant being's generosity. Having nothing further to say, he waits to depart, once again wrapping an arm around Bazalt protectively.

Fenris nods an affirmative to the Bailiff and saunters off in the indicated direction, his hands jammed deep in his pockets and a whistled tune on his lips. Pretty carefree for a guy just told to hunt down a vicious predator.

Bazalt Nods to Cirraa and Askes Zane what she Wished. He then Smiles to her and waits for an answer smiling at Reginald. "Yeah,, Keep the coins. YOu need it more-I jsut came to see the place and help." he says nodding again. fighing.. Fun times..

Kazel nods at Rokarion and Bazalt. "I do not need your crowns either." She then turns to the shark being. "Seems someone else fast faster in agreeing than me, Cirra." The bat crosses her arms and stares into the sky for a moment. "Shall we go then?"

Cirra sighs. <Tell them I'm okay without their payment.> She follows the group, at the moment unsure what she can contribute in tracking the beast.

As you travel westwards you see more evidence of the simple life that the countryfolk lead. All of the main attractions in the small village were the few buildings around the shrine garden, and everything else is naught but cruck houses, barns and farmland as far as the eye can see. The beings you meet are helpful enough in directing you to the Mudlick farmstead. Seemingly everyone in the village knows about the arrival of the Freeswords, being that it was the subject of great discussion in the village square for the various weeks prior.

The first sign that something is amiss is a bovine's carcass, clearly visible in the middle of a field adjacent to the road.. It has been left to the open air to rot, perhaps out of fear that the creature may still be lurking nearby. Insects crawl around everywhere, giving the area a grim appearance to match the stench that emanates from the carcass.The abandoned farmstead lies just a short distance down the road, and the longer one looks the more of these dissecated and semi-decomposed carcasses come into view, dotted around the farmhouse and barn that is clearly the Mudlick farm.

Stepping further towards the farm is met with the sickening crunch of bugs being crushed underfoot. More and more creepy-crawlies scurry about, some of them coming dangerously close to latching on to the Freeswords' footwear. Apart from the crawling insects all is eerily quiet...

Rokarion kneels down to inspect one of the few dead bovines before standing up, "Hmmm, rather odd." he says as he continues moving forward, the plant rubs his chin as he thinks, "Hmm, no obvious wounds. Might be some bandits who are terrorizing the farms?" he says idly as he tries to avoid crushing a lot of bugs under his feet.

Reginald , who's paws are exposed to the ground, makes a point of skirting around the creatures on the floor. Despite doing his best to look dignified, his movements could, not doubt, still cause a snigger. The feline takes the opportunity to patrol the nearby area, keeping an eye out for anything of note. Though not expecting to find that which the rangers did not, the lynx would consider it foolish to not at least try. That, and it put a little distance between him and the sickly stench.

Fenris saunters up to the odiferous carcass alongside Rokarion and bends down to take a look. He uses his large spear to poke and prod at the body, trying to get a better sense of what could have killed the animal.

Bazalt Follows REginald. "Gah-Blar, gAh,dmanitnope!" He Mumbles moving away from Squishy bugthings-not that he'd be anyhelp in findout what the thing was.. He was better off looking around.. Seeing what there is. The Wolf just sighs and Follows the lynx, Looking around slowly and carefully.

Kazel ignores the bugs as she inspects the carcass. "Hrm." The bat clicks her tongue. "I expected something more gruesome, honestly."

Cirra pauses, looking over the bodies. She herself has no issues walking among bugs, though most bugs may find her a little dangerous to bite. She bends over, looking for signs of cause of death or what damage was dealt.

A crow caws in the distance as the beings busy themselves investigating the carcasses. Bugs swarm all over, some of them clinging and crawling up their legs. This is discomforting for some, but doubly so for the one that came to this adventure shoeless.

Rokarion stands up after he finishes inspecting the carcass. The plant being's first reaction is to mentally resolve some equations as he leans down again, gloved hand touching the dirt underneath, the spell aiming to cover the plant being completely in a layer of protection, "Hmmm, well this is rather unexpected. The carcass looks like it was killed by krick. You might want to start removing the insects climbing on us." he says in his usual apathetic tone.

Fenris frowns down at the corpse. "Swarm," he agrees with a frown. He straps his spear back in its place on his back and fiddles with the ornate pendant around his throat. He closes his eyes for a second while he adjusts. Then he sets his mind to just a little bit of air magic to discourage the local pests.

Bazalt Glances over to teh others. "what now? What what? Bugs? bad bugs?!" He frowns and looks at them. ".....I cant fight bugs!" he mumbles.

As if summoned by their gristly discovery, the eerie silence is broken by the buzzing of approaching Krick. The highly social insects descend quickly upon the beings in rather organized swarms, and the reason for their sudden appearance becomes apparent as smaller Krick emerge from the brush around them. The beings will be set upon by the swarms within a minute or so given the speed they are moving at, cresting over the hill as they do. The nearer ones are circling ominously. They will only attack together, organized...

Kazel frowns at the new development. "Of course." The bat sighs and fumbles with her soul pendant, switching out the gem, not seeing her standard approach to problems doing much good here.

Cirra nods to the plant Being, taking up a bit of her own earth and resolving a complex equation of her own. She has no chance ot warn her allies, quickly attempting to coat them all in protective, jagged earth. She's much more confident in fighting swarms than other creatures.

The lynx's discomfort at the bugs is apparent, as the feline does his utmost to clear them off him physically. When he notices the approaching swarm, his first instinct is to look for any bodies of water, which he does whilst regrouping with the others, drawing his sword and swiping at some of the larger creatures.

And suddenly the swarm of insects blots out the sun as they descend upon the beings in one fell swoop. An observant being might note there seem to be nine individual swarms, moving together like a flock of birds. Fenris' Divine Math issues forth a gentle, all-around breeze that is strong enough to push away the insects crawling on them and even interferes with the attack patterns of the incoming Krick.

Despite the interferece, four of the swarms push past their peers and begin to swarm around some of the beings. Fenris and Bazalt are almost immediately surrounded by one of the swarms each, the Krick trying to latch onto them and trying to push their blood-sucking proboscis into exposed skin or through soft cloth. Cirra is doubly unlucky, as two of the swarm descend upon her. They swarm atop her, her companions seeing little more than a cloud of bugs where their friend used to be.

Rokarion stands up as he looks at the krick swarm, this is the first time he ever saw them outside the swamp and in this numbers as well! The plant being, protected for now in his layer of stone eyes the swarms still waiting to attack, deciding to damage them while he still has the chance. With that he draws a bunch of geometric symbols in the air, the plant being using his mathemagic to cause a localized explosion in the area of the hovering swarms.

Reginald , doing his best to take stock of the chaos unfolding, makes for Bazalt when he sees he is in trouble. However, against such an enemy, the lynx does not have an ideal weapon, so resorts to swiping at the bugs with his drawn sword, focussing on those that are currently latched upon the wolf, though the feline takes special care to avoid hitting the being.