[IC/Renewed] The Assaulted Caravan

[Linwelin]

It was about two days before you made it out to the site of the ambush, though the journey had not been a rough one. The turn of events was immediately obvious; arrows riddled the ground, blood and scorch marks spanned the gullies beside the road, as well as the roadway itself. And then there was the wreckage. The coach that had been carrying the merchants' goods was smashed and off to the side of the road. All that remained was the remnants of broken crates, nothing of value left behind. Even the oxen, though assumed to have also been slain due to the pools of blood in front of the coach, were missing. The one thing that wasn't missing were the scorched and mangled bodies from the slaughter. It was neither a pretty sight, nor smell.

Efficient and deadly, that's all you could think while perusing through the area and viewing the carnage. There was not a single body of whatever had attacked, leaving only the remains of their victims to lie burnt and butchered among the wreckage. This only meant that the perpetrators were bound to be somewhere nearby. All that was left was to search. Though the only real options were to venture into the forest on either side on the road. Where exactly, you couldn't say.

One body in particular caught your interest, mostly due to its position at first. From where it had fallen, you could tell it had fought hard to protect the vehicle, but was still overwhelmed. This was one of the few places that strange blood was spilt, but still no sign of the source. It was hard to tell at first, but the figure was not actually that injured. The bloodsplatter along their chainmail, shield and pick was quite deceptive. But what truly brought your attention to them was their looks. Metallic, blue-tinted, silver scales adorned their skin, which you'd almost mistaken for a scale helm from a distance. However, now that you had a better look, there was no mistake to be made. They were draconic, in some form.

And from your examination, another surprise. They were very much alive.

[Katrias Lyseer]

Spoiler

Rolling knowledge on that creature, before I post. Knowledge (arcana), as it's for dragons/magical beasts. To see if recognize it or know what it is, and any info on it.

Rolled 1d20+17 : 2 + 17, total 19

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[Mysticsage]

When the group came upon the grisly sight, however their was a woman already tending the man at the scene searching him for any further injury . Serena's long blue hair was tied back in her usual red hair band. She had somehow gotten there a while before the other group had been there and she as of yet had left little to no sign of her presence. She turned and shared a look of happy surprise at seeing people she recognized as guild members of Galas' nor. She seemed to not have been expecting any company. Serena still did not now many of the guild members she mostly stayed off to her self doing her own business. So seeing here at the sight of a caravan attack would be quite odd indeed when she had not been their to hear the merchants request for help.

"My, this event has caught many people's eye." she said cheerfully enough as she continued to wrap bandages around the man's wound. It seemed as if she had appeared out of the woods as if she was some kind of spirit.

medicine check on the half dragon

heal check

Rolled 1d20+6 : 10 + 6, total 16

Knowledge history on dragons and what he may be

Rolled 1d20+7 : 9 + 7, total 16

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[Katrias Lyseer]

Spoiler

Forgot her flaw roll for the day:

Will save vs DC 20 1d20+5 : 20 + 5, total 25

[close]

[Katrias Lyseer]

"Just the guild's I hope." Katrias responded dryly, pulling on the reins to slow her horse, and likewise the wagon she had used to get there.

"I'm not quite ready to give up the discounts the owner of the caravan promised us."  Her tone of voice remained flat, as if she was simply dictating some written words. But she sighed as she looked over the wreckage. Something flickered in her eyes then, as if remembering some events in the past, but a moment later she took in a deep breath. As she slowly let her breath go, she slid off the wagon, making her way to Serena. She had seen her a couple of times before, though, they never really spoke, did they?

Pfft. There's too many guild members to keep track of anyways.

"So what's wrong with him?" She paused seeing the specific curve of armor that the unconscious creature had. "Or rather it's a her."

[akicheeto]

Ardeth hopped out of the back of Katrias' wagon. The smell was enough to let her know that they were close to their destination but it was even more pungent upon arrival.

She wrinkled her nose as the smell of burning flesh filled her nostrils. She wandered around near where the arrows struck, hoping that maybe the angles would give her a better understanding of the shooters.

Perception 1d20+1 : 7 + 1, total 8

[Mysticsage]

"Nothing more then some superficial scratches, I believe though I cannot be certain of any kind of internal damage" She said helping the dragon sit up further. Turning to her patient she said these are my guildmates we are here to help with this mess. Serena had already introduced herself to her charge before although she left out the fact that the dead brought her here for the moment

So why don't you tell them what you told me about what happened here.

[Katrias Lyseer]

"She's an interesting specimen. She seems to be a half-dragon, or a human with dragons in their lineage, yet... not. There's some lingering magic around her, though if I were to say, more divine than anything arcane."

Spoiler

Religion to see what I know about these divine lingering energies 1d20+11 : 6 + 11, total 17

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[Wolfrin Fenris]

Opening her eyes brought pain in the form of the bright rays from the sun. The light pounded at the insides of her skull. She snapped her eyes shut once more, but quickly began trying again, slowly, fighting the pain. She felt dizzy. She felt like she'd never opened her eyes before.

At last her eyes were open and she began trying to think. She noticed first she was sitting. Then she saw the tree line to her right, bushes, the plethora of flowers and undergrowth. Something about the scenery tugged at her, didn't seem right. As the pounding in her head began to lessen, her eyes now took in the devastation around her.

The coach was on its side to her right, scorch marks marring various spots, the cloth covering where the goods had been was torn and tattered, and it appeared someone had taken the time to hack straight through one of the axles. Her eyes followed a trail of charred ground away from the wagon, noting blood and bile everywhere, even a dismembered arm.  Her head slowly beginning to shake in denial of what she saw, her eyes continued along the trail, finally falling on a broken and mangled corpse, the head nearly severed but for a small bit of ligaments and skin. Her eyes focused on that head, on the face in particular. She knew those features, though now they were frozen in what appeared to be shock and confusion.

Bairn.

She was no stranger to battle. She had lost men before, even friends, but in her shocked and disparate state she wanted nothing more now than to avert her gaze, to ignore the carnage before her. Even now however, some steely part of her character wouldn't let her look away, wouldn't let her flee from the troubles before her. Her nature was one of confrontation. She had never been able to shy away from issues, even those she had no power to change. And while it had caused her undoubted turmoil in her life, now too she could not deny this part of herself. She forced herself to look at Bairn's face until she had sublimated her queasiness and dizziness, her sadness and shock, till only her anger and determination remained.

With her concentration back intact, she finally became aware of others around her. One, a pretty girl with light-blue hair who appeared of an age with herself, knelt beside her to her left; likely the one who woke me up, she reasoned. Another, younger looking than the first, stood near her left foot looking down at her with startling purple eyes, seeming expectant. Another female, slightly older looking with a black ponytail, appeared to be inspecting the ground a short distance away.

Looking back at the two females nearest her, she asked, "What happened?"

[Katrias Lyseer]

"For some reason or another, I was hoping you would be the one answering that." Katrias responded immediately, sarcastic as always. Though to her credit, she did tone down slightly when she realized that this person before them was probably in the battle that had occurred not so long ago. Whatever conflict occurred here, had caused the entire wreckage and carnage before them now. There were corpses around, and if it weren't for Serena's aid, this dragon-like creature too probably wouldn't have been around to tell them anything. Or ask what had happened.

Katrias wasn't new to death, though seeing the individual wake up only to stare hard and long at the corpses around them, reminded her that death too wasn't something to take lightly.

That is, at least until her ever so pessimistic beliefs came rushing in. Everyone dies eventually after-all.

And that was that. As Katrias began examining the creature that had just woken up, her ever so callous self went straight to the point of answering the question directed at them.

"A battle of some sort. A raid. Missing goods. Fighting probably. Lots of death." She paused as she realized her usual speech habits starting to appear again. This person did just witness death. And at least death was something Katrias felt more uneasy about.

"Well, how are you feeling?" Katrias eyes looked away.

She was never really good at the compassion thing.

[akicheeto]

Spoiler

Taking 20 on Perception

[close]

[Wolfrin Fenris]

"For some reason or another, I was hoping you would be the one answering that."
Her eyes locked on the younger female as she began speaking, not missing her tone and certainly not appreciating it.
"A battle of some sort. A raid. Missing goods. Fighting probably. Lots of death."
She stared hard at the young woman, angrily but also slightly in wonderment that the girl could be so callous in the face of such destruction.
"Well, how are you feeling?"
The inanity of the question nearly had her leaping at the girl. How was she feeling? Everyone around her was dead! She'd been hired to protect the caravan and she'd failed. She'd just woken up surrounded by death and destruction. How am I feeling?!

"I'm fine, thank-you-very-much!" She snapped back, biting off each word.
She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and trying to calm herself and remember that these women had helped her.
Regaining something of a milder tone, she continued "I'm sorry. I'm grateful for your help, I'm just....confused." Looking back at the pair near her, she realized they were still waiting for her to explain what happened.

"My name is Kynnstitia Arch-Warden. Kynn, if you please. I was one of the guards hired to protect this caravan." She paused, her gaze sweeping the carnage around them and it helped her focus once more, sublimating her emotions. When she spoke to the women once more, her tone was emotionless and flat.
"I Failed."

The truth of those words seemed to ring in her mind, even as she spoke them, but she dared not dwell on her own shortcomings now.
"I was one of a dozen guards hired by a man named Bran, a merchant of the Winding Road Traders hailing from Taelthan. We were hired as escort, but he was upfront in his belief we would be mostly for show, to scare off goblins and brigands. Despite that for the first fortnight we were vigilant, but as we grew closer to Ternadan we began to relax. The Guild of Galas'nor has a reputation, and we believed no brigands would dare ply their trade so near the city...." she trailed off.

"Hobgoblins!" she spat. "We weren't prepared for such an organized attack, and we didn't have the numbers besides!" She shook her head angrily.
"They laid a neat ambush. I was at the back of the column with another guard." She resisted looking towards the nearly-severed head. "We were spaced out around the wagons in pairs. Their ambush was skilled, for hobgoblins. They hit us from the tree line to our right, arrows and rocks crashing into us before we knew we were under attack. Then came their charge. I called the others, those still standing,  to form a line with me. As we prepared to meet their charge there was a great crash behind us."

"While we were distracted, their leader had sent in bugbear shock troops. They flipped the caravan, and the noise drew our attention just before their charge hit us. Our line broke. Hobgoblins to the front, Bugbears behind..." She sighed. "We didn't stand a chance. I was squared off against two of the bastards when suddenly everything went dark. I suspect one of the Bugbears got behind me." Remembering the moments before she was struck brought a slight throbbing back to her temples. She shook her head as if to shake loose something more.

"That's all I remember." Realizing she still did not know their names or how they found her, she spoke up once more.
"Who are you, if I may ask? Have you sent word to Ternadan? I can't have been out for more than a few hours, we can catch the trail and wait for back up from the city!" She tried to stand, but her head swirled and she became dizzy once more. She plopped back down where she'd been. When her vision steadied once more she looked towards the women and saw them still staring at her.
"Dont just stand there. Will you help me? If you are not warriors, at least may I borrow a horse, that I may travel to Ternadan and retrieve aid?"

[Katrias Lyseer]

"I'm not a 'warrior', I'm a shopkeeper, though I'm greatly invested in recovering those goods the hobgoblins and bugbears had stolen." Katrias did have an agreement with Bran after all. She wasn't just going to give up after finding out it was a few hobgoblins and bugbears. True she was a wizard, called a prodigy by some, and once a long time ago had even ventured with other adventurers. But she said the truth. She was just a shopkeeper after all.

"I only have my own steed. Though Ardeth has her own if she wishes to let you ride it back to the city." Katrias replied simply as she gestured towards the other larger war-bred horse next to her own pulling the wagon.

"So, Kynnstitia." Katrias said, looking into the dragon-like creature's eyes. "Have any ideas why a hoard of hobgoblins and bugbears might attack the caravan?" She asked only for curiosity, and didn't really expect to get any valuable information, but she couldn't help but be curious. An organized group of hobgoblins and bugbears this near such a large trading hub, terrorizing the trade routes was not something that happened all too often after all.

"And Ardeth!" Katrias called. "You've been looking around all this rubble. Found anything that can help?"

[Oath]

Ryine had heard that Katrias had went out on an adventure, shortly after the festivities. The party was full of unfamiliar faces, and he was concerned. Not so much about not knowing the adventurers, but more because he had never seen Katrias fight, and it struck him as odd that she would go on an adventure. He'd heard that she left along with the others quite some time after they had departed for the destination.

He charged to the stables, and rented a horse, asking for the one with the most endurance. He rode it hard, riding through most of the night, and not sleeping any more than was absolutely needed. He hit the crest of a hill, and saw a caravan down below that was reduced to rubble. A few unfamiliar figures were down among the wreckage, and he then saw Katrias. It seemed like the group had been here for a little while, but not terribly long. Leading his horse down the hill, Ryine approached the group.

"What is going on here?" He was direct. "Some people back at the Guild said that you guys could use some more firepower." Ryine then looked to Katrias. "You know, fighting is the one thing I'm great at, you could have asked me to come along for this adventure!" He motioned to his blade and let out a hearty laugh before tying his horse to something suitable nearby.

[Katrias Lyseer]

The young wizard was surprised when Ryine had come galloping in. She didn't expect to see him there, not so soon anyways. She tried to keep her gaze steady, but lately she had started to realize that whenever he was around, she'd lose control on her usual tight unpleasantness and depressed outlook on life. It was replaced with something else, something foreign to the young mage.

"I was going to leave a note." Katrias said, lying through her teeth. When they were first asked, and were given time to prepare, asking Ryine did come to her mind, but she banished the thoughts the moment they had first appeared.

"It's just a mission. Nothing uncommon for us adventuring types, right?" Katrias continued again sarcastically, mirroring the words that Ryine had used not so long ago.