Chapter 1: A new crew, a new adventure

Marwin is going to buy the materials for Hak's contraption. He'll also buy a whole new base mechanism so that Hak can use the current one. Before he gets started on crafting, he is going to disassemble his homunculus, and then activate his "Enhanced Defense" infusion, putting it on his armor. Then he'll settle into a pattern of spending free time working on the crafting job.

After a day of rest the party gets ready to head back out. As you are preparing one of the guards enters the scout barracks, walks up to the notice board and adds a note to it. Klim wanders over and grunts before reading aloud
The continued delay in securing adequate research materials is no longer acceptable. Scout team 1, lead by Jax and Klim, is ordered to investigate the standing ruins west of the path through the swamp as it has been determined to be the easiest to secure for the research teams. They have 1 tenday to secure access to a standing ruin that can be reached without crossing the river or face penallties. Additional assistance can be provided if additional information indicates the enemy threat exceeds the scout team capabilities.
Scout team 2 will be split with Danoll continuing to lead half while Woosa will lead the other half, both being supplemented with volunteers from the guard. Danoll is to investigate the Oni manor house while Woosa is to continue patrols of the north edge of the swamp to monitor Hobgoblins activity.

Sirocco isn't overly thrill to got into the swamp again. But it is what he signed up for. "Looks like we need to stock up."

Hak flies over to wherever Jax or Klim could be found and stands around conspicuously. He has not yet heard if his assignment to scouting team 1 has been made permanent yet, and is hoping to avoid reassignment to Danoll's group.

Due to his shorter stature, he is missing his Immovable Rod that he left in Marwin's capable hands, but he stands as tall as he can on various rocks, tables, chairs, tree branches and other visible areas around the busy team leaders (consoling himself with thoughts of the quickly deployable Rod Marwin is working on for him), trying to make sure he is not forgotten.

Jax bristles with anger as Klim reads the missive, but manages to calm himself down before he speaks up. Cowardly little shits have the audacity to try and compel us to do the work they’re too incompetent to do. Penalties. When I have the time, I’ll be paying a few people a visit to clarify the food chain of a swamp like this. Jax takes a breath and comes up with a small grin. Regardless, the task itself should be more than doable for us. If you’re all ready, we should move out

After a full day of rest and relaxation, of which you are normally allowed 2 per tenday, you gather all you will need and set out again. Luckily this trip allows you to stay on the "beaten path" and much cleaner and dryer than your last side excursions into the swampy byways. After about half an hour you are able to step off the path and into the rolling low hills covered in grass and trees.

Moving more cautiously you head down a rough trail worn though the knee to hip high grass towards the ruins. There are signs of the large beasts, dinosaurs, native to this region. A few herds, small in number though not size, can be seen grazing to the south. Other are also seen to the north by the riverfront where some fliers can occasionally be seen fishing.

Entering a wooded area you find a vantage point to examine the ruins about 100 yards out. (tableplop area map party is dagger on red round shield, remnant is white square) The standing ruis, or remnant as they are some times called by the researchers, is about the size of the base. A walled enclosure of about 300' square. The walls are 20' high and from your raised vantage point you can see the tops are not meant to be walked but there do appear to be watch posts at the corners and gates.

Jax grunts in surprise and confusion commenting the last couple of times they were here each of the entrances had at least 4 guards, with other patrols circling the area. None are inevidence now.

Though you should be able to see over the walls a distortion covers the remnant, much like a heat wave in the dessert, distorting what you can see and eliminating any details other than the fact there are building inside. You can see 2 gates, each in the middle of it wall, that are about 30' wide and 20' tall. Looking closer the north gate is noticed to be ajar with one of the gates partially opened.

Hak offers to overfly the ruins and see if that distortion is visible all the way around or if it is just affecting our view from here.

*Chiirp* "I wonder what would happen if we ran a herd of dinosaurs into the ruins? *Triiil* "If that would affect the distortion ... thingy... it has to be a spell... doesn't it?" *Chirp*

He looks at Marwin seeking confirmation that someone, or something, is actively preventing our ability to see inside.