Blood in Ferelden: Chapter 1

A nearby junior guard member looks astonished, "Of course this doesn't happen every bleedin' night! The captain usually isn't fool enough to go take care of things he'self, right unlike him." He puffs up his chest despite a worried look in his eyes.

Hoping that they've all had time to recover their wind during the peaceful escort, Rothas starts off at a trot for the address that the guard captain Braedon was going to investigate.

Nodding in agreement with Rothas and Lockley, I try not to imagine the worst. "We shall go to them. Perhaps they are merely delayed by the family's preparations to leave their home."

The city is slowly coming to life as you make your way back to Foggett lane to investigate the address the Captain was headed to.

As you turn down Foggett lane you can see somewhat of a commotion, a crowd has gathered around a house, the same house, you soon realize that the Captain said he'd investigate. Ad you get closer the crowd parts somewhat for the heavily armed and blood soaked party that you are,and you can see corpses on the street and the door hanging ajar.

"Braedon? Captain Braedon? Are you in there?" Rothas turns to the others and coughs a little. *I'm more hurt than I thought…* "We may be too late; if there's no one here, we should check at the house on Cooper Lane and find this "Mother Brianna" character…"

There is no response to your hails from inside the house. Greeting you from within is a familiar sight, robed corpses lay strewn about amid evidence of a bloody battle.

Rothas will quickly search the house. Is Captain Braedon among the dead? How about other guardsmen?

(OoC: What sort of a roll would I do to evaluate/investigate the scene to see if there are any clues as to what happened? In this instance, that isn't all that necessary, since have a clear next destination. But in general, what would I roll?)

I think perception(searching) is the most appropriate for this sort of situation. Or cunning to piece together what happened. A roll won't necessary in this case however...
It's fairly clear what has happened in the house, the scene is all too familiar, a door to a bedroom looks as if it had been blasted from its hinges, and the body of a stout commoner lies on the other side, probably one of the residents who stood up to the cultists. In the main room three cultists in familiar robes lie dead, their pockets turned out as if they'd been searched. Heavy boot prints can be seen departing the domicile where they are lost in the commotion outside.
No guardsmen are among the corpses.

Rothas emerges from the house. Braedon isn't here, but it's clear he was. It looks like they were too late, and may have followed the cultists. Let's try Cooper lane." Rothas makes as if to hurry across town, but coughs again. He pauses a moment and puts his hand on Lockley's shoulder to speak an aside.

Lockley looks his friend in the eye, and says, "so no more, good friend, I have a sliver of energy left."

Edit: 3 SP, I'll reduce the cost by 1 MP, and cast another 1MP heal
Edit 2: Stunts on stunts, 5SP. However, can't use the same stunt twice in a round, so nothing to spend them on. 10 healing total.

Rothas grins widely (as only an elf can) as he feels his wounds closing a little further and new energy flowing into him. He gives a little cackle of delight at being able to fight again, and claps Lockley on the shoulder again. Then he sets off for Cooper Lane at a trot.

(Back up to 16 HP! Wahoo!)

Everyone may take a breather as well to heal 6+CON, alternatively the Mages may choose to regain 6+MAGIC MPs as the trips around town have taken a fair amount of time.

Grapthor grumbles as he trudges along, "I wish we could git some breakfast first before all this durn chasin' about town!"

Rothas is about the chide the dwarf for grumbling about food when there's glory to be seized, but as the words are forming in his mouth, he realizes that he's ravenous, too. Rothas will slow to a fast walk, on the lookout for any early-morning street vendor they might pass on the way to Cooper Lane.

(OoC: In slowing down, hopefully that will count as a breather, and will regain 8 more HP)

Lockley's stomach rumbles at the word breakfast, but then lurches with the thought of all the gore dripping from his companions. "I'm not eating until .. well, maybe ever again," he says grimly.

You pass a sausage vendor on his way to the market, he seems suitably horrified at your current state, but is willing to trade a few pennies for a bit of a meal for whoever wants some.

After the brief snack, it's a short walk to Cooper Lane. The building at the end of the street looks like any other. It's made of stone, stands two storeys tall and is backed right up against the wall of the city. There is apparently only one door.

What’s your plan?

Rothas is going to scan the house for tactical options. How much higher is the wall than the roof of the house? Is there an easy way onto the wall from here? Are there alleys or walks around the house which might lead to the side or back? If not, are any buildings adjacent or close enough to climb/jump across, or to at least look in upper windows? Are there windows facing the street on either level? Does it appear that there's anyone looking out of windows at us?

Lockley, never eager to enter an unfriendly door, hangs back, staff at the ready. The armored folk have more experience rushing into tight spaces, so he tries to keep an eye out for the unexpected. He scans the windows, the roof line, and then prepares to react to whatever fresh horrors await them.

"If they brought their captives here, they'll not part with them easily, and there may be many of them. Don't separate from each other too far, my friends."

Jake, after his last mistake, is trying his best to control his temper and actions. I'll hang back for support this time. Being stabbed that many times was less than pleasant.

Rothas continues to look for alternate means of entry. He realizes that a stealthy approach isn't as glorious as direct battle, hand to hand, but there are people to rescue, and saving others is also worthy of praise in itself. They're going in blind, and so he has nothing to work with in terms of bluffing his way in (his mind doesn't work that way, though something may occur to someone else in the party). If there was a way to scale the building or swing across from an adjacent building, he'd suggest that.

If no one suggests anything otherwise, after a few moments' consideration, Rothas will go up and try the door.