Guilty until proven innocent [IC]

[Smilex]

Rodrik says towards Zain's direction Your parents came from somewhere around here didn't they? ... It would feel right to have Atronia lead a charge to liberate this valley but I think we need an army before we do that.

Justius says
My parents were killed by a mraow wizard. Threw a fireball that engulfed the farm's main house. Two brothers and a little sister, all gone. If there's an army that comes to free this place of the mraow, I want to be on it.

When Lucia asks Coatell to help her with an arrow, Coatell seems shy. Looking at the situation, Maria comes in and starts inspecting the wound. She turns the arrow point out of the wound instead of pulling it away. The back of the arrowhead has spikes to make it more difficult to detach. This hurts quite a bit. Coatell instructs Maria on binding the wound and while it looks like Maria knows what she's doing, she still accepts the instructions.

At this point horns start blowing in the mountains. This time it seems to be nearer than the last time you heard them.

Prudently, the group eventually starts moving eastwards again. The reptilefolk stay to tend their wounded. Caex, being faster than anyone, moves slightly ahead and shows you a path forwards. You continue to work your way forwards in the thick woods. The trees are getting smaller though. The soil is not so deep as you move higher in the valley. The ferns too are less lush. There's more small clearings here and there.

One time that you cross a clearing, you see movement in the mountains on your left and slightly behind. It looks like a column of troops is moving towards the smoke of the pyre you created. They're not moving towards your current position. As you feel satisfied that they're not directly following you, there's an interruption.

A llama, with a rope around it's neck and a leather strap tied around it's midsection runs into the clearing from east-southeast. It's looking tired, agitated but unwounded.

[whiteflash]

"Catch, or follow?"

We got a bird's eye view of the valley recently. Did Chazwick remember seeing anything like a farm nearby that it could have escaped from?

[Smilex]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

It wasn't quite a bird's eye view, more of a view from just above most treetops. But no, you don't remember seeing anything farmlike this far in the east on this side of the river.

[WindStruck]

"Either someone was attempting to capture this llama, or it's been domesticated. I think the latter, seeing how it didn't avoid us. We could have acquired a free pack animal. Or perhaps the owner may be following," Lucia says.

[WindStruck]

"Erm.. anyone good with animals?" Lucia will see if anyone else volunteers, but if not, she'll try to slowly approach it and hold the rope on its neck.

Spoiler: roll

Show

animal handling: (1d20+2)[11]

[Luccan]

Yaj'dak shrugs and goes to help Not really, but I'll try my best he attempts to approach from the other side so the beast doesn't run past them. He leaves his new equipment behind to appear as non-threatening as possible

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Can I use the Help action to provide advantage?

[Smilex]

Lucia grabs the rope on the neck of the panting llama. The llama makes a bleating sound.
Then it tries to smell and poke Lucia with it's head.

Maria starts immediately loading the llama with claypots tied with ropes.

Justius says
Nice forest. Free llamas.

Rodrik asks
What do you think it was fleeing from?

[WindStruck]

"I don't know. Something may have happened to its old owner.." Lucia says. Since it's more or less calmed or restrained for now, she checks the llama for any other clues. Only fair since it was sniffing her.

Investigation: (1d20+5)[14]

"The beast is obviously tired, so I don't think it's a good idea to overload it."

[whiteflash]

"Something or someone might have happened to its owner. Maybe that something or someone is coming this way..."

Chazwick looks around for any nearby hiding place big enough to fit both Lucia and a llama.

[Smilex]

Lucia finds rope burns around the creature's neck. Clearly it's been dragged harder than necessary.
There's dirt and leaves on the llama's fur and an odious aroma.. it needs a bath.
You also find some webstrands around the creature's hindlegs.

EDIT:
Chazwick finds any number of trees and bushes.

[whiteflash]

"Lucia, do you think you could coax it into the bushes? Just in case who or whatever spooked it is coming?"

Chazwick spares a quick glance between the llama's legs, since he feels weird calling the llama "it."

[Slayerofundead]

looking at this llamas condition the owner cant be to friendly
Sir Rikkan looks to see if he can spot anyone or anything else.

[Smilex]

Rikkan finds, with Coatell's help, that the tracks of the llama are relatively easy to follow if you desire to do so. Nobody seems to be chasing. All the sounds you hear are what you'd consider normal forest sounds.

[Ramsus]

Atronia Ambrosia Human Fighter AC: 10 HP: 19/22 PP: 11 PIv: 9 PIs: 11 Conditions: -- "I guess the question is if we want to play bandit and free some llamas from their abusive owners or if we want to just take the one that came to us and be on our way without drawing more attention." Atronia says, intentionally not weighing in with an opinion either way.

[Luccan]

Yaj'dak
Tortle Barbarian
AC: 17 HP: 23/23
PP: 14 PIs: 14
Conditions: -

Yaj'dak picks at the strands of webbing It seems this one came across a big spider. I don't know if it would be the wisest choice to head the way it came He picks up his sack and the maul again, slinging it over his shoulder Not my decision. I've got a good hammer and my shell is sturdy as ever. I go where you command.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Here's about what he looks like, if you're curious

[Slayerofundead]

Sir Rikkan speaks upMy Lady doesn't Pathmaker instruct us to protect the weak?Would not this Llama and any others with such an abusive master be considered weak?

Yaj'dak was it wise for them to free us? If it was for wisdom we would be in chains.

[whiteflash]

Satisfied there's no immediate danger, Chazwick turns his attention to the conversation, the llama... and the spider silk in the knight's hand.
"I don't think the llama's abusive master is the real danger here. And if this little guy had any llama friends, I think his master is the least of their worries right now."

He turns back the way the llama came. "If we were back home, I'd want to at least scout out the area that llama came from. It'd be our responsibility to do something, if it looked like there might be a monster nearby. Here, I'm not so sure."

[Slayerofundead]

WWPD? What would Pathmaker do? My Lord.

[WindStruck]

"I do not think the Pathmaker would care about llamas much. Llamas fall under the purview of the King of Llamas." Lucia says, eying Sir Rikkan. "You have a good heart, but we cannot risk our lives to free what may be imaginary llamas and fight some person that otherwise isn't concerned about us or who may already be dead. It's impossible to say for sure, but I think the owner was attacked by one of those giant spiders."

"Let's not stray from our path and risk being lost. This llama is a gift from the gods, so the best I can say we do is treat it well."

[Smilex]

Rodrik, Justius and Coatell all agree that Lucia's plan is best and that she, as the heir should be followed anyway.
Who knows if the baroness is dead or alive?
Justius says.

So the journey continues towards the reddish column on the northern mountains.
The ground rises to a point that you are surrounded by brushland and random small trees rather than a true forest.

By then the afternoon is progressing fast enough. Hunger drives you to stop for a meal. While you're eating, you are able to appreciate the beautiful view to a small lake in the southeast. A number of streams combine to this lake and there's an island in the middle of it.

It's Zain who first catches sight of Tearhill. As Jaime said, there's a structure halfway between the red column and the 'cursed' lake.

You start towards the fort as you feel urgency to get there before dark. The hill itself is a grasscovered, almost perfectly round hill that rises about 20 meters above it's surroundings. There's an opening in the side of the hill. A corridor goes straight in. The path of the corridor is covered by small round rocks and the walls are also made of stone.

On the hill stands the fortress or at least what's left of it. It must have burned at some point. What remains is a single stone structure that covers maybe 200 square meters. On the structure there has once been a wooden second and possibly a third floor. Around the fort there has once stood a wooden palisade of which small remnants stand here and there. The bottom parts of two other building remain as they were built of stone. The upper parts of these buildings have also burned down.

On the outside of one of the remaining stone building's walls there's a stone firepit. From afar Atronia recognizes that a forge must have once been here.

You see no movement on the hill or near around it. Caex does catch sight of a curious black butterfly with shape on it's wings that looks like a cat's skull.

[whiteflash]

"I don't think Ser Jaime told us the place had been burned. I wonder how that happened? And if it has anything to do with the undead that are supposed to 'live' there?"

Chazwick facepalms. "And whether or not anything worth looting survived it. Damn."

[Slayerofundead]

Sir Rikkan eyes the place. Glancing this way and that.It is to bad we do not have the time or resources to properly prepare ourselves to face the undead

[whiteflash]

"I'd suggest burning the place down on top of them, if we weren't trying to loot it. And if it hadn't already been tried."

[Smilex]

Looking around the area Rikkan finds two other stone corridors at the base of the hill. There's a northern, western and a southern corridor. All of them have boot tracks that are somewhat recent.

Rikkan also finds, in long grass at the base of the hill the corpse of a gnoll. The hyena-man was about six feet tall and seems to have died from a series of a narrow puncture wounds.

[Slayerofundead]

Sir Rikkan bends down to investigate the wounds. Being a Paladin and learning how to heal wounds he has seen all sorts. What do we have here? Perhaps the work of the undead?

[Smilex]

All Rikkan can tell by himself is that the wounds are not made by a manmade weapon.
Atronia, with her medical knowledge would see that most peculiarly there's next to no blood in the wounds.

[whiteflash]

Chazwick takes a look around to make sure whatever did that isn't around.

[Slayerofundead]

Sir Rikkan look's up at Atronia I have never seen wounds like this
They were not made by any blade that I know of. Sir Rikkan takes up the battle axe.
Would anyone be opposed to me keeping this?

[Smilex]

Chazwick rises on to Tearhill itself to examine the burnt fortress' yard.

Chazwick looks for moving things and threats. There seem to be some guinea pigs looking for whatever sustenance they can. The stone building has a single heavy wooden door. No windows. There is a metal latch in the ground immediately next to the building suggesting a cellar of some kind.

There's a small cairn, suitable maybe for a pet or a baby near a corner of the yard.

Disappointingly, Chazwick also notes the absence of an anvil.

Looking down from the hill Chazwick sees no beasts or armies in the immediate vicinity. Much farther and lower in the valley there is another plume of smoke. Even for a wild area with a reputation of having 'gangs' this seems like a lot of burning.

[whiteflash]

Chazwick heads back down to rejoin the party. "I don't see anything moving, apart from some guinea pigs. Unless they're secretly magical monsters powerful enough to kill a gnoll, I don't think they're much threat."

"I also didn't see any sign of an anvil, which is disappointing given why we wanted this place. I did see a cellar door: maybe there's some stuff behind it? Stuff in there could have survived..." He waves at the burned fortress. "Whatever this was."

"Speaking of burning, I saw a new plume of smoke. Even for a place with a gang problem, there's a lot of fire here. Uh..." He turns to Zain. "Did you hear any reports of a civil war in this area before we were kidnapped? Or of the empire trying to take it back, or anything?"