Episode 1 Scene 2 : The Next Day

"Uh my head!" he groans.

Quincy, despite his night of drinking, wakes up with his head cleared and ki aligned. However, upon realizing that he does not remember getting to the garrison, Quincy shoots out of bed and frantically searches his bed and surroundings, looking for his spear and notebooks and backpack.

If he does not immediately find his things, he turns to Mukitz reading peacefully, saying louder than he was expecting, "Where is my stuff?"

"Da spear under mattress. Rest in trunk. Nice you up. Hope slept well."

Quincy visibly relaxes and is relieved when he finds his things. "Oh thanks to Torm. And thank you for getting me back here last night, I appreciate it, Mukitz."

He responds to Hath, "Honestly, me neither." he smirks. "But being a monk has its advantages sometimes."

Taking Mukitz's lead, Quincy digs through his backpack and pulls out his notebooks and writing supplies, sits in his bunk, and finally gets around to writing down the things he's been trying hard to remember. A couple of the things are a little foggy due to the drinking last night but he gets it all down as quickly as he can. Though, it probably takes a while.

He grunts his thanks and drinks from the waterskin, before lurching off to the privy.

When he gets back he asks the guard about where they can all go for some breakfast.

Magnus wakes up, head throbbing, Torm grant me strength, not to backslide into my old soldier ways he thinks. He gets up from his bunk "water, where is there some water!" he groans.

Corwyn nods in reponse to the guard and passes Magnus a stoppered waterskin.

After finishing finally writing down everything in his journal, Quincy takes a big sigh of relief. He empties out of his mind everything he was trying to remember and leaves the blank space open for the next round of important notes.

He begins packing his stuff back into his backpack and prepping himself for the day. He thinks about what could possibly be causing the animal losses, broken equipment, and stolen crops they have been assigned to investigate. If it were just stolen crops, then perhaps the population of herbivorous animals has simply increased this season. If it were just missing animals, perhaps it'd be due to a rise in predator population. Broken equipment? That seems like an odd thing for a beast or vermin to do, that would seem more within the realms of sabotage or bandits. But, it'll be nigh impossible to tell until they get there. He finishes his thoughts as he stands up, throws his backpack over his shoulder and brings his spear to his side.

"Wait up Corwyn, I will come with you to the mess hall. My head might be acheless this morning, but I fear my stomach might not fare as well if I don't eat something soon. And I must've finished off my waterskin last night as well." He says as he turns it upside down and not a single drop falls from the overturned opening.

"That might be one reason why you seem relatively unaffected from the Yroc Fire Ale last night," he says, gathering up his equipment and putting his bunk into a semblance of order.

Magnus will follow Almuthu and Mukitz to the black kettle.

Corwyn follows behind.

Quincy follows as well, but asks where he might be able to fill up his waterskin first, and then does so. At the realization that the torches are magical, Quincy remembers the arcane continual flames that lined the halls of his monastery, cast by the clerics of Torm who presided over it.

Mukitz and Almthu walk over towards the big kettle and Mukitz uses a lever to raise the lid and takes a whiff, "Ahh Gorbucks stew, good stuff, bowls 'ere," he walks over to an up turned open barrel and pulls out a bowl, "ladle 'ere." picks a long handled iron ladle resting in a bucket near the kettle, he dips it into the kettle and swirls it and then pours the contents into his bowl and returns to the bucket. "Bread 'ere." He moves of to a box sitting against the wall, lifts the lid and pulls out a hand-sized loaf and then closes the lid. He then waits for the rest of you.

Magnus follows on taking some bread and stew, "Seems quite a hearty meal for a breakfast" he remarks (hoping his stomach will not rebel)

"Days grub, 'morrow sum utter stew." Mukitz says with a shrug.

"Hopefully set us up for the day,"Corwyn says as he helps himself to bread and stew. "We could head south of the village after breakfast."

"Which, south go two ways."

"Ah," responds Corwyn, unaware of this variable. "I can see I've a lot to learn of the locality." Corwyn relates to Hath and Mukitz what Weimin told them after they were sworn in. "So I would guess that we should be doing both, eventually. We could all start off where you recommend and get to the 'other south' after that."

"Me no preference"

Hath sits down with his stew and bread and listens to what Corwyn says. As Corwyn speaks he takes a few copper pieces from his pouch and arranges them on the table, then places his roll of bread deliberately on the table in relation to them.

He points to the bread roll "This is the town." He points to the copper pieces "These are the nearest farms. If ya wanna do what Weiman said we can stop by each as we travel South." He moves is finger from the roll to each piece in turn to illustrate.

"Dun't sound none too difficult, go for a walk, talk to sum farmers. Who knows though, might find somethin' a bit more excitin'.

With that Hath picks up the roll, dips it in the stew and takes a bite out of it.

"Well, it matters not which way we go - South West or South East?"

In between spoonfuls of stew, Quincy says "Weimin highly recommended you as a guide, so I will follow you whichever way you feel is best, Hath."

Corwyn watches as Hath points out the farms on his 'map' of coins. "Sounds good, we can follow your guidance and ask questions at each farm."

Hath indicates to the coins on the "west" side "This 'ere is a forest. Nuthin' worrisome I know of in there, plenny o' folks go huntin' there." Indicating to the South "This forest we don't go in. Druid lives there, they don't like no-one comin' in and disturbin' the creatures there." Indicating to the Eastern side "I think maybe we start 'ere. West forest never gave no-one trouble that I heard of, beyond maybe some o' the more feisty critters in there. Druid don't normally bother no-one that don't bother them. Leaves only East to my way o' thinkin'." Hath looks around the table to see if the others agree.

Corwyn nods in agreement, while eating more bread.

Magnus nods " East it is then Hath, and may Torm guide us and give us strength!"

"And wisdom. East it is and we'll follow your advice Hath as to the best routes."

After his breakfast the fresh air from the walk has cleared Corwyn's head from the night before. Seeing no point in delaying matters he gets straight to the point when the fFolk man asks if there's something he can do for them. "Greetings and well met. We are from the garrison. There are reports of farmers experiencing animal losses along with equipment and crop damage, more so recently than usual. Have you experienced any such thing, or if not do you know anything about such happenings?"

Corwyn responds in Elvish. He looks round to the others. "He has nothing for us. Does anyone want to ask him anything else or shall we move on?"

Quincy studies the man as they talk.

Before arriving at the next farm, Quincy tells the group, "Of course I cannot pretend to know for sure, but I suspect that the fFolk man at the last farm was put-off by the makeup of our group. Although we work for the garrison, he might have had some prejudices. I hate to have to say this, but to avoid the same response at the next farm, perhaps only the three of us should approach at first?" He motions to himself, Corwyn and Magnus.

"Hmm might you be issue? Mukitz be friendly, Boo even more."

"Of course, that is a possibility. But in my experience, most often those who hold prejudices do so towards Uriaks and Yrocs. However, the man was fFolk, so he may have been triggered seeing humans as well. Hopefully, there is no need to, but shall we try a different welcome party this time?"

Mukitz seems to consider Quincy's statement for a while before hesitantly saying, "Okay but not like."

"Me neither, Mukitz, but I want to make sure we are able to help to our fullest ability."

"You could be right, although my speaking Elvish to him didn't seem to improve matters. Maybe I'd have got a better reaction from him if I hadn't been drinking so much last night!" Turning to Hath and Mukitz, he remarks, "Are there any Uriak or Yroc farmers on our route? If so maybe Hath or Mukitz could do the talking with them."

Both Hath and Mukitz are aware that there are some Yroc and Uriak farmers but neither of them know where their farms are located as they have never visited the farms before.

Mukitz gently takes Boo off his shoulder and sets it on Quincy's shoulder, "Boo go, Good counsel"

Quincy smiles as Boo scurries across his shoulders and to the top of his head as they walk towards the farm. He picks Boo up off his head, gives him a little scritch on his belly, and places him back on his shoulder as they approach.

"Good day ma'am. We come from the garrison of Bridgefort, investigating claims of broken equipment and damaged crops. Have you or anyone you know been affected by occurrences such as these recently?"

Quincy takes a deep breath, focusing his mind on the village, his family, and the mission at hand. He closes his fist in front of his face and says "For the village!", then looks back at the man with a smile as his arm glows.

"Thank you for the advice. I'm still full from breakfast." Corwyn calls over Hath and Mukitz.
Then he focuses his mind on the village and their task. Closing his fist in front of his face he says for the first time, "For the village!", looking to see if the sigil glows.

Mukitz seeing what Corwyn was doing says, "No here." he pounds his fist on his chest. "Over heart."

"For the village!" he repeats, this time with his fist over his chest.

Corwyn's hand glows softly blue, "Good." Mukitz gives Corwyn a thumbs up.

Quincy's knowledgeable side considers asking about these so-called "proclivities" that this farmer supposedly has, but he decides against it. He figures they would find out soon enough what he meant, hopefully it wasn't anything too strange.

"We appreciate the offer, sir, we really do. But we have not traveled too far today and our quest is time-sensitive. We thank you for the advice, we will make Bin-ghen our next stop. May you find peace." he says with a slight bow as a goodbye. If no one else asks anything further, Quincy will make his way back to the rest of the group and follow along to Bin-ghen's farm.

Corwyn waves to the farmer and turns to follow Quincy.

"I think that in view of what we've heard, we should go on to Bin-ghen's farm," suggests Corwyn (referring to the 9th). "We can always double back to the other farms if we don't learn anything."

Hath nods his head slowly. "Makes sense, furthest farms are most like ta have seen trouble if any 'ave. Best ta keep movin' though, it'll take a while ta reach 'em."

The group heads on down the rutted trail with the other end of it being their final destination which takes nearly the rest of the day to accomplish. As the sun is dipping low in the sky the group is finally approaching the last farm as they approach a odd looking whitish Dragonborn approaches them. Odd in that he is significantly shorter and smaller than most and its features a bit blunted. He calls out, "Well met, is there something I can do for you?"

Remembering the advice of the last farmer, Corwyn places his fist over his chest and concentrating on their mission says, "For the village!" "Greetings and well met. We are from the garrison. There have been reports of farmers experiencing losses of animals and equipment, as well as damage to crops. We have been told that this is happening more often than usual. Have you experienced anything like this recently, or heard about any such occurrences?"

Bin-ghen responds with a, "For the village." his hand glowing a significantly brighter and bolder blue than that which was mustered by Corwyn. "Well I have experienced the loss of animals but none of that other stuff you mentioned, however I have yet to establish the source as most wolves leave blood behind and these animals have just disappeared without a trace. I also have no skills in tracking or the like so would not know what to look for in that way. So are any of you trackers?" Up close it apparent that Bin-ghen seems to be a mix of dragonborn and some other humanoid.

"I have some experience in tracking. Perhaps if you could show us to where these animals disappeared I might be able to find some signs. What kind of animals went missing and when was this?"

"Well the sheep..." he looks at Corwyn questioningly, "I take it you were not briefed on what we farmers tend to out here I take it." He shakes his head dismissively, "Well, that figures, follow me." He then turns and starts walking towards the east side of the farm house as he talks, "Okay, well most if not all the farmers out here raise a more domesticated version of the sheep that roam this area wildly and besides the sheep we grow various crops based on each farmers preferences as well as what we think will sell the best. Over night I keep my sheep in this large pen." He shows you a large primitively fenced in area with a thatch and waddle lean-to shed at the far east end. "Every other day or so we take them out to roam the nearby hills. My wife and I take turns taking them out for the day, she's out with them right now but should be returning soon. The losses usually occur when they are in the pen but occasionally one or more will disappear while we have them out. So far we have not figured out what is doing it. Now grant you it does not happen every night nor every day just every once in a while but enough to be more than just normal attrition." He leans against one of the fence posts, "So got any ideas?"

Quincy takes mental notes diligently as the man speaks, listening to every word he speaks (updated Players' Notes). When Bin-ghen finishes explaining things, Quincy runs through a mental list once again before saying, "First, I would like to express sympathy for your losses. But something that steals both during the day and at night is certainly strange. But given that it does not leave any blood behind like wolves might, it's possible that the threat could come from the skies. Perhaps giant eagles or giant owls? I am not sure how prevalent those species are around here. Also, it could be caused by something more sophisticated than beasts. Perhaps some kind of bandits or magic users are involved, I cannot say, just speaking aloud."

Bin-ghen shakes his head no, "Nah, we do not have those in this area, the biggest raptors we have are normal sized hawks and falcons. As for whatever it is that prevents dragons from just dropping in to pay us a visit also appears to keep the the larger and higher flying predators at bay. Further if it were a flyer big enough to carry off a full grown sheep it have to be pretty darn big which should make it pretty easy to spot. So that is kind of what makes it the conundrum it is, but your thinking and that is good."

Hath shakes his head "Sounds ta me like someone's rustlin' yer sheep. Just a few at a time to avoid bein' caught. They probably been hittin' different farms at different times ta try an' hide any pattern and are hopin' the farmers put it down ta usual losses. Can't stand folk who steal, if we catch these buggers I'm gonna make it my business ta see they don't steal again." A slight savage glint appears in his eye as he finishes and he grins at Mukitz.

"Well if you can actually do that, then my wife and I will provide what aid we can in that endeavor. The losses are not significant as of yet but if this keeps up they will be. So you have talked to some of the other farmers and they have been experiencing losses as well?"

"So far we've only spoken to two farmers nearer the village and they hadn't had any such losses," replies Corwyn looking around the sheep pen area for any signs. "How long has this been going on?"

"Hard to say, we occasionally lose a sheep or two every now and again and never in the pen without signs of blood so did not really take much notice until it started happening a bit more often than usual so maybe a month ago but could have been longer."

Corwyn sees nothing unusual within the area, but then there are signs that it had rained fairly recently.

"Strange as it seems, I have a spell, which might enable me to learn more information from the sheep. If your wife is returning with the sheep soon, we could wait around, if you don't mind."

"Ah so you can chat with animals, nice I have heard of that spell. That would actually be kind of handy as a farmer. I might have to look into getting that one but sure you are welcome to hang around just pull up a rock and squat." He gestures back in the direction of the small farm house.

"Thank you," Corwyn responds. "Shall we?" he says to the others, beginning to move in the direction of the farm house.

"Indeed we shall. Would you happen to have a place to fill up our waterskins, sir?" Quincy says politely. He will fill his up and sit amongst the rest of the group, writing notes in his notebook and pondering the possible causes of this situation as they wait for the sheep to return. At some point he asks Bin-ghen, "At what hour do you and your wife tend to take your stock out to roam, and at what time do you usually return?"

Bin-ghen shows the group where they can get water he has a couple of large barrels next to the house where he collects filtered rain water and provides a funnel so they can easily use the dipper to fill their waterskins.

To Quincy's question Bin-ghen replies, "Normally leave just after dawn and return about now," he points at couple of people and a herd of sheep cresting a hill, "and apparently with company." As to the time of day it is shortly before dusk.

Corwyn fills his waterskin and stares into the distance at the people approaching with the sheep.

Two figures walking among a flock of sheep approach. One is a female dragonborn with white scales, presumably Bin-ghen's wife. The other is wearing well worn traveler's clothes with a hood pulled up to block the final low-angled rays of the setting sun. From the facial features not hidden by the hood and his stature and movement, he looks a lot like a fFolk. He seems to be playing with the sheep as they approach the farm, laughing as he jogs amongst them. It sort of looks like he's playing tag, pushing one, then running away from it until it catches up to head butt him in the rear at which point he turns and chases it away before shoving another. When he sees the group he stops the game and pulls back his hood for a better look as they approach. Despite a relatively young face, probably equivalent to a human in his late teens or early twenties, his flowing shoulder-length, ash-brown hair is surprisingly streaked with white and grey.

Strange, I thought Irlyzys said she lived only with her husband ... Xanin thinks to himself as he looks questioningly towards the dragonborn. He notices that she looks surprised by the company as well, so Xanin, as her guest, waits for her to take the lead.

Quincy stands up from the stump he was sitting on and smiles as the incomers approach. As they get within earshot, he says proudly "For the village!" bringing his hand before his heart as it glows. He chuckles internally at the feeling, which might never get old.

Quincy figures the female Dragonborn is Bin-ghen's wife, but is slightly curious as to who the second person might be, if for anything else than to write down notes of their appearance and relations in his notebooks.

"Greetings to the both of you. We..." he motions to everyone else in the group "come from the garrison investigating reported losses of livestock. How was the day?"

Irlyzys leads the sheep towards the paddock which Bin-ghen has moved back to in order to open the gate. She responds to Quincy's greeting with the formal, "For the Village," it seemed half-hearted and here Sigil is not all that bright. She then says to Xanin, "This is a form of identification and greeting we use here so you know if you are talking with friend or foe and will be something you will acquire in due time." She then looks back to Quincy, "I vouch for him." She then continues leading the sheep into the paddock where she briefly talks with her husband. "This is Xanin, Xanin this is my husband Bin-ghen." Looking at her husband she says, "I will tell you more later ... or .... perhaps he will," she then begins to make her way to the small farm house.

Bin-ghen nods to his wife's comment "Very good." Then he turns to Xanin, "Well met, I am sure the story can wait. Perhaps you would like to meet some other citizens of Southbridge." He gestures in the direction of Quincy and rest of the group that are gathered out front of the small farm house.

"Nice to meet you Bin-ghen," Xanin says after being introduced to Irlyzys's husband. Turning his attention to the strangers brings suspicious to Xanin's eyes and a tension to his body initially, but hearing they are citizens of Southbridge, he relaxes. A genuine smile brightens his face as he waves to the party, "Good Evening!"

Joining the group, he stands in a comfortable lean with both hands clasped high around a wooden staff that's clearly more than just a piece of wood picked off the forest floor for walking. The expression on his face radiates a youthful innocence and curiosity that's immediately friendly and attractive to most individuals, even magnetizing.

"I go by the name Xanin," he begins nodding to each of the companions and then continues with interest, "What brings you out to these farm lands on this lovely evening?"

As the last golden light falls below the horizon and the cooler shades of dusk begin to dominate, a very perceptive observer might notice a darker, mysterious, strained experience deep in his mist-coloured eyes.

"Good evening, Xanin. I am Corwyn," he replies. Corwyn is a large powerfully built man - 6ft 3" - who for all that is surprisingly light on his feet. "Quincy, Magnus and I are new arrivals to Southbridge, whereas Hath and Mukitz know the locality well and are showing us around," he says gesturing to each. "As Quincy was just saying, we've been taken on by the garrison to investigate reports about livestock and equipment going missing."

"Really! Wow, they usually have more sheep that this," he gestures with a laugh to the large flock that is beginning to meander around the yard. "So some of you are new to Far Reach as well? What brought you here? And what's your plan to discover who or what is responsible for the disappearances?"

Hath has lead his mule over to the water trough for the livestock and tethered it there to have a drink. He then moves towards the barrel and refills his waterskin. "Lived hereabouts for most o' my life. Don't like to think of harm coming to them that lives round here, it's me home and I'm not gonna sit on my arse when there's trouble about."

Hath starts moving towards the sheep and beckons Corwyn. "I think I know what you meant about askin' the sheep earlier. I can help too, it'll take me about 10 minutes though. I'm not great with spells, but I can manage a couple if I take my time."

"I've been learning skills as a ranger up and down the Sword Coast and never been to Far Reach before. This is the first farm we've been to yet where anyone seems to know anything about the 'goings-on' the garrsion is concerned about. We're just at the start of this investigation and hope to be in a position to act when we know more information.""Yes, a ranger spell I picked up - Speak with Animals. It lasts for ten minutes. I'm not expecting much and I have been told the animals can give information about what they can perceive or have perceived within the last day. But it seems worth a try. Would you like to go first or shall I?"

Xanin's eyes open with interest and enthusiasm at the group's plan. "I actually know a similar spell as well. I'm interested to see how others perform it." Searching through the yard, he finds one of the sheep and guides it towards the investigators. "During my walk with them today, I found this one to be particularly friendly. You might have the best luck talking with it."

Quincy fancifully dodges the question of what brought him to Far Reach, but responds "My apologies, I do not believe I introduced myself properly. I am Quincy." He bows in respect. "Pleasure to meet you, Xanin."

Quincy is not a magic practitioner, and so he stands silently as the others discuss spells and who can cast them and how they can cast them, but he mentally takes note of everyone's response and how skilled each person claims to be.

Hath nods and walks over towards the sheep. as he reaches it he picks up a handful of soil from the sheep pen and grass from their pasture. He brings each up to his nose and breathes in deeply, focusing on the scent of the sheep and their surroundings. He takes each handful and rubs them into each other, sprinkling them on the ground as he walks around the sheep. Next he kneels in front of the sheep and looks into its' eyes, he takes a hand and gently places it on the sheep's head, maintaining eye contact and speaking in a low voice a mantra over several times

"Earth beneath us, strong and enduring, heed the call of the beast. Air around us, light and free, heed the call of the beast. Water within us, river to ocean, heed the call of the beast. Fire above us, blazing and bright, heed the call of the beast. Spirits of the wild, hear my call, let my voice be heard..."

He repeats this several times, focusing on the ground, sky, the nearest water sources and living creatures, sun and the surrounding woods by turns as he references each. Slowly the bleating of the sheep begins to make sense to him...

As the bleats and baas begin to make sense to him Hath opens his eyes. He looks to Corwyn and nods to indicate that he is ready and they can begin asking questions. He looks back to the sheep and softly says to it "Greetings four-legs. we are friends. Are things well for you and your flock?

Xanin notices the sheeps apprehension and approaches the massive Uriak. He takes a moment to pet the sheep that he's been playing with all day and then, extending his arm, he grasps Hath by the forearm in welcomed greeting, "We have only just met, but I have a good feeling about you lot."

Before their handshake comes to an end, Xanin winks and whispers, "Maybe this will help the sheep recognize that you are friendly strangers," and then unexpectedly pulls the barbarian into a full embrace ... well actually that's what he intends, but the large bulk of the hulk doesn't budge and instead he pulls himself into the barbarian.

After a moment, he releases the hug with a silly smile and turns back the sheep for another pet.

Hath looks a little surprised as Xanin hugs him, but catches on to what he's doing and goes with it. He turns back to the sheep.

"I talk to all. Two-legs, four-legs, does not matter. We are all part of the great flock. Some two-legs forget this, I remember so I can speak with all."

Hath nods towards the farmer and his wife.

"These two-legs say some have left your flock, did you see where they went? I want to help bring lost ones back. Help protect the flock."

Hath looks to the others and relays what the sheep has told him "I'm not sure how much use they can be. Maybe I'm not askin' the right questions though... If anyone can think of somethin' good ta ask I can see what they say."

"Strange, do you think they mean some are vanishing into thin air?" Xanin ponders to the group.

"Perhaps you could ask if they have seen any other 'leggeds' or 'no-leggeds' recently that were strange, unusual, or they hadn't seen before."

Quincy considers the information relayed to him. It doesn't seem that anyone is directly stealing the sheep then, since the flock have not seen anyone take them, unless they're just very good at being sneaky.

"That is a good question, Xanin. I personally cannot think of anything else to ask the sheep right now, but Sir Bin-ghen, not saying that they are the culprits, but are bandits and thieves a common problem out here near your farm?"

"Not normally as there is no place for them to hold up that I am aware of. Further we have found no evidence to support that anything besides ourselves are taking the sheep but we are currently losing a few sheep every now and again with no evidence as to why they have gone missing or how for that matter. I suppose they could have simply wandered off but that usually does not happen without some external something occurring which we are not aware of either. So a mystery for sure, with no clear evidence or clear method for discovering as again it is not happening every day."

"I see, thank you." he says, but begins thinking that their luck has run dry here at Bin-ghen's.

"Do you have any suggestions where we should look next Bin-ghen?" asks Corwyn, rather thinking that the interrogation of the sheep has gone as far as it is likely to get.

"If I had any solid ideas my wife and I would have acted upon them already but you might check the druid of Southwood as he might have seen something or one of his animals might have but that is a good days walk to the south so you might as well stay here. I would invite you in but our humble abode would not be able to fit you all but your welcome to camp outside the house and we can share some food with you."

"Thank you for your advice and your hospitality," he replies. Turning to the others, "We could try and find this druid tomorrow. He or she would be likely to know something and we might learn more on the way. What do you think?"

"I think that is our best next step, and we can always head backwards and investigate the other farms along the way we came if the druid has not heard anything about this."

"I hope you don't mind if I camp with you for the night," Xanin asks the group as he makes himself useful by building a campfire.

"So you're all members of the local garrison ... why did you all join and is it looking for additional recruits?"

Bin-ghen responds, "Well I imagine they are all wanting to stay in the area for an extended while. As such that would be a requirement, everybody joins and everybody pitches in to help maintain and protect the village."

Xanin nods in understanding to Bin-Ghen's comment and then looks around the darkening countryside while taking a deep breath of the smoke-scented twilight air. As he exhales, his attention settles on his staff for a moment. Its black shaft, which had almost looked metallic before in the daylight, is now beginning to vanish into the rising darkness except for reflections from the campfire on its shiny surface. His eyes, however, contemplate the brighter flickering light reflecting off the small brass orb mounted atop.

"Well, I intend to stay in the area for a while as well and I would like to contribute my part," his voice seems solemn and self-reflective, but then returns to its earlier jovial tone as he looks around at the garrison members with a smile and adds, "so I'd be very interested to join you!"

"Very good - there's strength in numbers and another person to contribute ideas and so on can only be helpful. I'm sure a person with your abilities will be very useful."

The smile on Xanin's face only grows bigger with Corwyn's response. "Fantastic!" He unpacks his bedroll and spreads it onto the grass not too far from the fire and then drops his pack on top of it.

Turning to Bin-ghen, he asks, "Are there any chores around the farm that you need help with before we call it a night? Otherwise, I'm happy to wake up early and help with the morning chores before we head south. It would be great to repay the help, food and drink that you and Irlyzys have given. I'm a skilled carpenter, so if there's anything you need mending, I might be able to help ..."

Xanin trails off for a moment with a sigh as he remembers his predicament, " ... although my tools are back in my cart, which is stuck out there in the wilds. Still, even with some general farming tools I can probably make something functional again. It just won't be as beautiful on the eyes." Xanin laughs at that last bit with a wink.

"I would also be willing to aid Xanin in anything we could help out with around here. Additionally, if I might ask, might you have any maps of the surrounding area? Or rather, any maps?" A cozy night by the fire studying a map sounds like the perfect way to relax after traveling and talking to strangers all day.

Bin-ghen responds, "Uh.. no I am not a cartographer. In fact I think I heard that our resident cartographer has gone missing recently which does not bode well I suppose. But navigating the plateau is pretty easy. The south edge is defined by the cliffs going up and the rest is defined by the cliffs going down. Hard to confuse those and of course the cliffs going down provide a wonderful view of the land down under."

Corwyn thanks Bin-ghen for his hospitality and starts to prepare a suitable place for a camp and campfire. To the others he says, "From what Bin-ghen said it will take most of the day to get to the Southwood."

Hath pats the sheep on the head and says "Thankyou and farewell, we will try and bring your friends back to the flock."

Turning back to the others he says "We should rest here, lots of walking tomorrow if we want to reach Southwood. Hopefully tha' druid is in a good mood, don't think that's likely if'n their animals are goin' missing too though."

Quincy is disappointed at Bin-ghen's response, but understands.

Responding to Corwyn and Hath, "Let's get some good rest then and leave first thing in the morning."

Xanin volunteers to take a watch as well before tucking into his bedroll and drifting off to sleep.

Xanin wakes early and helps Bin-ghen and Irlyzys with a few chores before the hearty breakfast. As they set out from the farm, Xanin wishes the dragonborn pair well and looks forward to the day of travel with his new companions.

At one point during the journey, he finds himself walking next to Quincy and notices the bandages around his arms. "I've never seen anyone wear wraps like that around their arms. Is that a fashion from where you come from?" he inquires with curiosity.

Later Xanin catches up to Corwyn who had been scouting ahead. "You seem a kin of the wilds," Xanin observes looking up at the big man, his smile revealing that he shares an interest in nature. "You mentioned yesterday that you can speak with animals. Do you have a favorite type of wild creature and have you learned anything about the world speaking with their kind?"

Quincy walks with the group quietly, not avoiding conversation, but not initiating any of it. He walks along happily. Whereas some people might suffer from RBF, Quincy's resting face seems peaceful and full of thought. When Xanin approaches,

"What? Oh." he chuckles nervously, like you may have caught him while his mind was drifting. "No, these are not fashion choices, otherwise I'd get nice soft ones with designs of the cartography of distant lands sewn into them. These beat up wraps are just to keep my wrists safe. We did a lot of punching back at the monastery. Sure, my spear is sharp, but when you connect skin to skin, it's like you become one, you can read each other's body flow and sometimes, if you're good enough at it, you can even read your opponent's thoughts and feelings." he says enthusiastically, seemingly one of the few things he gets excited about, as he is otherwise rather monotonously content.

Xanin looks wide-eyed at Quincy's answer. Looking at his own hands as if seeing them for the first time. He says, "You can sense an opponents thoughts like that ... I've never fought using my hands, well at least not seriously ... My hands are well worn from my time in the wilderness and working with carpentry tools, but even with cloth wraps I think they'd be too fragile for serious combat. Is this something you learned from the monastery, or were you selected to join the monastery because of your strong hands and ability to read an opponent?"

"I've only very recently acquired the skill, so have had limited opportunity to learn much from the animal kingdom yet," he says, slightly preoccupied and looking about him. "I learned it from a ranger called Leofric, when working with him on the Sword Coast. His view was that he preferred animals to people, in that by in large you know where you are with animals. They have reasons for what they do, whereas people often over-complicate things. I'm also amazed at animals' skills. They just know how to do things, with instincts, whereas we have to spend ages learning things."

He squints into the distance and turns and looks behind him. "Speaking of instincts, I had a strange feeling while on watch last night. I can't put my finger on it and I saw no evidence for a cause for concern, but sometimes you can just know something's not right. It might be nonsense but sometimes acting on a gut-feeling has served me well in the past."

"Yes, people can be very ... complicated and ... unpredictable sometimes," Xanin agrees with Corwyn as though speaking to personal experience as well.

Responding to Corwyn's revelation of the night before he says, "Really! Interesting and strange ... Perhaps it is related to the missing livestock. I'll try to pay extra attention for any strange signs at night as well now."

Corwyn's story raises Xanin's awareness slightly as he notices himself paying extra attention to the surroundings as the group continues to head south.

Hath nods hearing Corwyn "Always trust yer gut. Instinct will save someone's life more often than not if they can lean ta trust it."

Responding to Xanin, he chuckles, "Well, I can't, but maybe some day. I've still got a lot to learn, my training was cut short somewhat. I lived at the monastery from very early in life, so I was just raised to learn about these things. I don't have too much experience with the rest of the world, so this journey has been... interesting too say the least." Quincy begins worrying that he is revealing too much. He's spent most of his life hiding from threats he's only met face-to-face once, and that one time... well that was a doozy of a night. (Trying my best not to sound like an edgelord lol)

He tries to end the conversation there, by saying to the group "Hold up, I've got to use the woods for a moment." he splits off from the group and heads a few feet into the trees, just enough to give him privacy to... well you know.

~

After listening to the others mention what they felt last night, "Interesting, I did not sense anything out of the ordinary last night, though I may have been a little too wrapped up in my notes." he admits.

Corwyn waits for Quincy to reappear, while continuing to look around at their surroundings and listening.

Corwyn points to the approaching storm cloud approaching from the west. "I think we've got about half an hour before that reaches us." He looks around for anywhere where they can shelter. Looking to Hath and Mukitz he asks, "Do you know any place nearby where we can shelter?" He dons his cloak.

Hath looks up at the oncoming storm clouds "Bugger."

Beginning to scan the surrounding area he says "We should find shelter. Not much chance of a building out here but look for rock outcrops, large fallen trees, anything that can be used as a shelter or windbreak." Looking a little annoyed at himself he adds "Wish I'd thought to bring a good tarp. Be easy enough to rig a shelter if I'd thought to bring one... Anyways get lookin' everyone, we ain't got long and we really don't wanna get soaked if we can 'elp it."

Corwyn begins to look around for shelter.

Xanin had been enjoying the pleasant walk through the countryside learning a bit more about his new companions, but immediately felt the tension in Corwyn and Hath's warnings about the storm. An anxiety gripped his stomach as the towering dark clouds approached. He quickly joined the search for anything that might serve as shelter on the bare rolling hills of mostly rock and grass.

Quincy had enjoyed the covered wagon they had traveled all the way to Far Reach in, as it provided plenty of space free from the worry of the elements to store his notebooks and drawing equipment in. With the threat of a storm brewing, Quincy kicks himself that he hadn't thought to bring anything to protect them. He crouches down and begins rearranging his backpack to ensure that his bedroom, blankets, clothes, heck, even the rations are near the top of the bag, and his notebooks at the very bottom, to hopefully prevent the rain from getting to them.

"Agreed, we ought to find something, and quick hopefully."

Quincy congratulates Xanin on the find, then begins digging through his backpack looking for his lantern. He lights it and begins to cautiously head down into the small cave, keeping a close watch on his surroundings.

"Well spotted," says Corwyn squeezing in.

He looks about with is night vision for hazards.

Corwyn draws the others' attentions to the etchings he has spotted.

After finding the crevasse, Xanin stands to the side to let the light bearer and ranger investigate the darkness before following them inside.

"Interesting," he says after Corwyn points out the etchings. "Any idea what they mean?" he adds more to everyone.

Xanin leans in to take a closer look to see if anything about them seems familiar. The sounds of the storm builds outside and he wonders if the cave will provide enough shelter from the rain that paper and ink won't get wet. Since they'll just be sitting around awhile for the storm to pass, he considers copying the etchings onto a sheet of paper to add to his travel notes later.

Hath looks over the etchings wondering who could have made them. Seeing Xanin rummaging in his pack and pulling out ink and paper he gives his head a little shake,

"Don't use ink, too hard to keep dry. For carvings is best to take rubbing with charcoal."

Squeezed between Corwyn and Hath, Xanin inspects and contemplates the symbols for a while and eventually says, "I don't know what the symbols say, but I recognize their style. I think they might be magical."

Looking towards Hath and Mukitz he asks, "Are these common around here?"

Neither Hath nor Mukitz indicates that it is and Mukitz says, "Boo says there are lots of mysteries about Far Reach that have not been found nor those found fully understood. But Boo says they might be able to read them if you like."

In the cramped space, Xanin strains his neck to look up at the tiny rodent on Mukitz's shoulder, a touch of surprise on his face. Looking back and forward between the furry creature and the etchings, a big intrigued smile brightens Xanin's face. He gestures to the symbols and says, "Be my guest Boo!"

Mukitz jockeys through the group to get closer to the inscriptions as Boo chitters a bit and Mukitz nods saying, "Yes Boo I remember." He then kneels down and touches the flat stone surface, and begins to chant rhythmically. After a few minutes Mukitz says, "Boo says from what is exposed it appears to indicate that a vault lies beyond." He looks back at the others and asks, "Should I try to open it?"

"A magic vault! That sounds intriguing, yes, let's check it out ..."

Xanin flinches at the crash of thunder close by, the rain is really pouring down outside now.

"... But maybe let's wait until the storm passes in case opening the vault ruins our shelter. Also be careful, it could be dangerous."

"No said vault not magic vault, Boo not sure what kind of vault."

"I think you're right, best wait till the storm passes, in case opening the vault ruins our shelter."

Quincy happily watches as Mukitz and Boo chant and read unknown languages, studying their movements and tone of voice. Quincy loves his monastic traditions, but has always wondered what it would be like to cast spells, he thinks he would make a mighty fine wizard, if he had had the brains for it.

"Agreed, I am excited to see what's inside, but let's not put ourselves between a rock and a hard place." he says before realizing how much they are literally between a rock and a hard place at the current moment.

"Well, are you still excited to see what's inside?" Corwyn asks Quincy and looking round to the others. "The storm seems to have passed over now."

Hath steps out of the shelter and stretches his arms out, flexing his hands and working all his joints after being in the cramped space for several hours. He walks over to his mule where she had been hitched during the storm and checks her over along with his equipment as he does his best to dry her off.

"Finally! I hate those bloody storms. If we're gonna open the door we should give Muk' and Boo some room. Don't wanna get in their way.

Xanin follows Hath out of the shelter and says, "Are those storms common here? It was pretty intense. What do you do if you get caught out in one like we almost did?"

Once enough of the others have cleared the small cave, Mukitz goes to work on getting the stone door open. After several minutes the nearly exhausted Yroc hollers out, "Okay is open."

Hath shrugs his shoulders at Xanin's question.

"They're a part of life 'ere. If ya get caught in it ya get cold an' wet. It's only a problem if ya let yerselves get caught out in the middle o' nowhere with no shelter or warmth. Could get sick or freeze in winter."

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Intrigued and curious, Corwyn rushes to Mukitz's side when he hears him say the stone door is open.

Mukitz sits within the small cave area just to the left of the opening which is also the direction that the stone door opened in. When Corwyn comes the Yroc gestures to the opening, "All yours I am just gonna sit here and rest."

Xanin approaches the entrance to the vault curiously, but can't see because of the darkness. "Can any of you see in there? Or should I light my lantern."

Corwyn peers into the gloom.He feels for his trinket from a previous adventure.

Mukitz responds to Xanin's question, "Stairs spiraling down."

What Corwyn can see confirms what Mukitz said. There is a short landing and then stairs spiraling down in a clockwise direction twisting out of sight.

Quincy finishes going through his pack to ensure that everything is in good shape and that his delicates didn't suffer any water damage, he ties up his bag and throws it over his shoulder. He heads back down into the cavern to peer down, but sees nothing but darkness.

He brings his spear into both his hands and looks to Xanin, "I would appreciate a lantern, I cannot see much of anything down there. I can light my own if you would prefer." He then addresses everyone at once, half-smiling with the excitement for exploration, half-shaking with the nervousness of dark and dank underground bunkers, "Ready when you all are."

After re-packing his backpack and ensuring the mule is settled Hath turns back to the cave opening.

"Keep an eye on Cloppy for me if ya don't mind Muk?"

Turning to the rest of the group he looks down the stairs.

"Maybe best if those who can see in the dark go ahead, we don't wanna disturb anythin' we don't 'ave to."

Muk nods to Hath, "It be okay for a bit, yes?"

Hath nods back.

"Yep, I just put her nose bag on so she'll be fine for a while. Jus' make sure she don't pull herself loose or wander off, never happened before but ya never know."

Xanin nods to Quincy and lights his hooded lantern, revealing the stairwell for Quincy and himself, but waits for Hath and Corwyn to take the lead as Hath suggests.

Corwyn moves to the front ready to head down the spiral staricase.

Hath moves up behind Corwyn.

"Everyone ready? Lets go then!"