Play@YSDC

According to the old woman cleaning the chapel the priest has already left but Brun gives you directions to the sunken floor hut where Dragan's family lives just a short walk outside the fortified part of the village. The boy Dragan is lying in bed being overseen by the priest who is examining the boy in silence and then leaves quickly after saying a prayer. Dragan looks sickly pale and clammy.

The boy's mother Nadia says Dragan came home shortly before his four-year-old sister Danika and that she was immediately very worried about him, he could not talk and was shivering terribly. She fears he may be suffering from Swamp fever and so put him to bed.

OOC:   Can I have insight or first aid, rolls please.

Insight 50%,[dice]0[/dice]

Gandalf could not identify what was wrong with him, or much of anything else, really.

First Aid,First Aid 40 [dice]0[/dice]

Potions,Potions 36 [dice]1[/dice]

Garpur kneels before the boy to examine him and considers whether there is anything he can do.

Aethelwulf is familiar with battlefield wounds, but illness is simply beyond his knowledge.

OOC,Insight roll (30% skill) about [b]Dragan[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

Valbrand is not familiar with the illness that Dragan is suffering from.

"This is no swamp fever." Garpur says after examining the child. "This boy witnessed something terrible and he cannot get it out of his mind. He will either accept it and live or he will not and die."

"I believe that Dragan not only found the body but saw what happened. Did he say anything at all?" Garpur asks.

"Perhaps the priest's White God will help him," says Aethelwulf. "He is said to be able to heal the sick."

"Perhaps we can go get him then." Gandalf suggested.

Garpur shakes his head. "The priest just left. He can't help this boy. He is in Eir's hands."

Gandalf sighed, "There has to be something we can do to at least ease his suffering."

Upon say this, he started searching around in his bag and took out a bottle of well-brewed ale and placed it beside Dragan. He shrugged, saying, "Not sure if he's well enough to drink, but the alcohol should at least ease his suffering. On the house, no charge."

Valbrand asks, "Does anyone here have a way with words? If we could coax the boy into telling us what he saw we could take that to Lord Brant, and prove that we had nothing to do with what's happened."

“If the lips of a merchant fail to sing words of value, fellow, then I would be one sham of a merchant.” Gandalf chuckled, looking confident.

"I'm not too bad," said Aethelwulf, "but your tongue is more silver than mine. You try first." He usually doesn't speak much, reasoning that it is better to keep quiet and be thought a fool than to open his mouth and remove all doubt. However, when he does speak, he makes his words count.

The boy isn't going to say anything to anyone. The only people present are mum (present by the bed) dad (outside tending land) young girl (sister playing outside) the priest (disappearing down the track)

Garpur addresses the boy's mother. "Did he say anything to you or the priest at all after coming home?" Thinking of another question, he continues, "Or was anyone else with him that could show us where he was before he found the body?"

Gandalf looks at the woman and made a charming smile. "Fair lady, thy eyes doth shine like sunlight reflected off morning dew. Thine knowledge and wisdom shalt flow forth like the river into the ocean. Please, my dear lady, answer our questions and allow us the understanding of the occurring situation."

Fast talk 80%,[dice]0[/dice]

He was out playing his sister Danika, but came back without her I told him off but he is just a boy, you can talk to her if you think it will make a difference? The women calls the little girl and after some persuasion, she starts to talk

Dragga and I saw a body just before sunset on the river bank, I didn't want to go anywhere near it but Dragga wasn't scared and he crept through the reeds then he called me to come but I got scared and runs away. When I gets brave and comes back Dragga is gone and so is body, then I see body floating down the stream and I follow it until it gets to the village, then I come home to tell mummy but its not my fault Dragga is not well.


*Dragga = Dragan

"Do you think you could show us where the body was the first time you saw it?" Garpur asks the girl.

Aethelwulf nods, already thinking along the same lines himself.

The girl and her father take you some distance along the stream which feeds into the moat/ditch which surrounds the village she points to a point and tells you they saw the body "there" pointing at a spot in the bull rushes.

Aethelwulf approaches the indicated point, keeping an eye out for anything unusual, such as tracks.

Valbrand follows Aethelwulf, and uses his spear to knock aside plant life while searching.

Aethelwulf catches a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye.

OOC,Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) where the body was found: [dice]0[/dice]

Searching,Spot Hidden 50 [dice]0[/dice] Track 50 [dice]1[/dice]

As they spread out to search the riverbank, Garpur notices something.

As Garpur and Aethelwulf clear the reeds they both see the same large handprint as though someone steadied themselves as they lowered themselves into the water.

"Look," says Aethelwulf, pointing at the handprint. "Whoever did it must have swum away."

"That's strange. The kids found the body here and Dragan crawled through the reeds to the body while the girl ran away. When she came back, the body was in the water and Dragan was gone." Garpur ponders the situation. "I wonder what happened here to leave Dragan in such a condition."

"Do you think the Lord will let us examine Guyer's body?"

Aethelwulf shrugs. "We can ask," he says.

Returning to the village you meet Ufric the same serious guard who escorted you to the lord yesterday evening when you ask to see the lord to make a request he asks what your request is and then indicates for you to follow him. He then leads you to the Church where he asks the priest about the body. The priest says something in Latin and indicates towards the village cemetery through the open window.

The priest says they buried him at dawn this morning. Says Ufric

"Can he tell us if there was anything unusual about the body? Garpur asks Ufric. "Was he able to tell how Guyer died? Were there any wounds or was it by drowning?"

Garpur is wondering how they will be able to clear themselves of the Lord's suspicions and his concern is writ upon his face.

The priest shrugs then speaks briefly to Ulfric but you get the sense the priest simply went through the motions.

He treated him as a good Christian even though he had no signs of his faith. He prayed for your friend, asked that God forgive his sins and graciously receive him into his kingdom. The priest did not administer the sacrament because your friend was already dead. Then they buried him this morning. But he says he didn't look as though he met a violent end. says Ulfric

"Well, I guess it was drowning that caused his death then if there were no signs of violence. I wonder how he came to be all the way up here when the rest of his men met a violent death much further away."

Garpur looks at the others before he continues. "Why do you think we aren't allowed to leave?"

Insight,Insight 5 [dice]0[/dice]

Garpur shrugs as no one else seems to have anything else to say and turns to leave. "This just has my muscles twitching. We came to meet a trader and find him drowned. Odd but probably just an accident. But the Lord is suspicious and won't let us leave. Something else must be at work here. Garpur ponders as he walks away. "And I don't think it's just the raiders...

Aethelwulf shrugs again. "I don't think we can find out anything else here," he says.

OOC,I'm sorry, I was away in London and hadn't had as much time as I'd thought I would. Insight roll (30% skill) about the priest: [dice]0[/dice]

You return to the inn where Burgholf awaits with a message from Olaf the Golden, he has sent word attesting to your trustworthiness to the lord, but he is not stopping or coming to the village, the river loops around and if you head roughly due East when your business is finished you will come to a series of rapids where he will have to arrange portage, you can catch him up there.

"Thank you," says Aethelwulf. "Once we show this to the lord, perhaps he will allow us to leave and catch up to Olaf."

Valbrand agrees, "We should see the lord as soon as possible. The sooner we get back to the ship the better."

Burgholf promises to send a message to the keep and arrange a meeting.

It is well after dark when there is a disturbance in the Inn. The beautiful Brun wakes you saying Ulfric (the head guard) has asked that you meet him outside the gates.

Brun adds I hear that something has happened to Dragan!

Garpur quickly rises at the commotion. "Dagan? There has been a change?" He hesitates to say what he suspects... that Dagan has died.

Aethelwulf quickly straps on his armor and gathers his things, having a feeling that there may be trouble.

"No" says Brun to your dissapearing backs "I think he has run off"

By the gate, you find a blearily-eyed Ulfric and the gate guard trying to calm down a number of farmers led by a man you recognise as Dragan's father. You are just in time to hear the end of his conversation. "...then I woke up and he was not in the house, the doorway was open and my wife's best butchering knife was gone there is no sign of him around the house, you must call out the guard and search for him before the forest takes him."

Seeing you Ulfric smiles somewhat and turns back to Dragan I cannot turn out the guard for you but I will aid you and I am sure these three men will help in exchange for a good word to the Lord

"I will help," says Aethelwulf, stepping forward.

Garpur leans on his short spear. "I also will go look for the boy. Can one of the guardsman spare me a shield?"

Valbrand nods, "I'll help too."

Ulfric looks somewhat surprised at Garpur's request for a shield. "The boy is lost or has wandered off in a fever we are not facing a Warband unless you know something I don't?"

OOC:   If Gapur wants a shield then Ulfric hands him one leant against the wall by the gate for the gate guard.

Ulfric splits those gathered into small groups, sending some men home to get their dogs ( a breed of mastiff) and then sends them off into the night each with a specific area or landmark to search near. He also sends a man to get Father Gregor this man also heads off into the dark rather than into the town. He sends the three of you back to start searching out from Dragan's home.

"Let us see if we can pick up his trail," says Aethelwulf, looking around for any signs of tracks.

OOC,Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) outside [b]Dragan[/b]'s home: [dice]0[/dice]

Garpur shakes his head but takes the shield. "I don't know that there's any danger outside but it's dark and there have been raiders and other things happening. It's better to be safe."

He makes a semi circle around Dragan's home looking for signs of passage.

Tracking,Track 50 [dice]0[/dice]

Valbrand also looks for signs of tracks or more drag marks, but doesn't find anything.

In the dark you don't find any evidence of tracks however just as you are about to give up you here they baying of hounds as though they have picked up a scent.

Aethelwulf grunts and begins to head towards the noise of the dogs.

Valbrand moves to follow Aethelwulf. As he's leaving he asks Ulfric, "Do you have hunting hounds searching for the boy?"

Garpur follows the others in the direction of the hounds, keeping a wary eye out for any danger.

You travel some distance Ulfric seems to get more and more concerned as you approach your destination guided by the baying of the hounds.

"It plays out like some Saga I think the hounds may be in the old burial place where they buried there dead before we made them good Christians"

As he says this the baying of the hounds turns to a yelp of pain and then silence and Ulfric picks up speed running. towards what looks like a small wooded rise you can see a number of figures standing nervously at a gateway (simply two large upright stones on the pathway) and a couple of people bending over someone who looks as though they are having a fit

Garpur moves closer to see what the others are looking at.

Valbrand hurries behind Ulfric and Garpur. "What's happened? Is it the boy?"

Aethelwulf runs ahead with the others.

As the three of you get closer Ulfric calls out and one of his men jogs over dragging another man with him

We didn't find anything and so we kept working our way around until we reached the cemetery Jan, Brother Kyril and I we go spread out and go in under the trees with Jan's hounds up front . I'm pretty sure I hear the sobs of the boy or a child anyway and then Jan calling and running. I try and follow his torch but it is not easy in the trees. I think I hear two people crashing about through the trees but they are going in opposite directions, one towards the village and one towards the hills. Then the dogs catch a scent and pull me off my feet, I hear the dogs barking and baying, then the dogs screeching and the barking stopped and it takes a braver man than me to stay there alone so I come out

I'm not sure where Brother Kyril or Jan had got to but when I come out the others say Jan is out already that he comes staggering out (he points to the man struggling on the ground) through the gate and collapses he won't speak and he won't move.

Aethelwulf puffs out his chest. "I'm not afraid to go in there," he says. "Who is with me?"

Valbrand steps forward, "I'll go with you, Aethelwulf."

Garpur bangs his spear against his shield. "I am ready."

Two strong men drag the listless father home. It is clear that most of the men are too tired and upset to continue the search and certainly no one is interested in following you into the burial ground. It is dark and gloomy within the trees and it is extremely difficult to see anything even by the guttering torches you each carry. (Spot Hidden and Track rolls please all at half success due to the poor light.)

OOC:   Sorry for my delay in posting guys things are absolutely hectic both at work and at home.

Aethelwulf can barely see his nose in front of his face.

OOC,Spot Hidden roll (25 / 2 = 12.5% base skill) in the graveyard: [dice]0[/dice] Track roll (10 / 2 = 5% base skill) in the graveyard: [dice]1[/dice]

OOC Rolls,Spot Hidden 50 (Half = 25) [dice]0[/dice] Track 50 (Half = 25) [dice]1[/dice]

Garpur looks closely to spot anything unusual in the torchlight. "Hey, I think I see something."

Gapur notices where the stones around one particular grave have been displaced, further investigation reveals fresh blood on some of them. He also notes the grass and foliage around the grave have been trampled and there are several possible tracks around the grave but in the dim light he has no chance of reading them in any meaningful manner. Perhaps in daylight, he could follow the tracks but in the dark, he has no chance.

"This looks like fresh blood. It also looks like there are some tracks but in this light, I can't really tell. Garpur says as he kneels at one of the graves.

"Anybody got a torch?" asks Aethelwulf.

Valbrand holds the torch over blood stained rocks. "I'm not sure how helpful this will be. Perhaps we could come back in the morning. With some of those dogs perhaps."

"Perhaps you're right." Garpur shrugs. "But whatever is happening seems to be happening at night."

Returning in daylight to the cemetery (this time accompanied by Ulfric and a couple of local men) you quickly find the disturbed grave with the bloodied stones there are several tracks through the grass.

OOC:   Normal track rolls please

Track,Track 50 [dice]0[/dice]

In the morning, Garpur looks around the bloody rocks to try to pick up a trail in the light and to determine what happened at the grave.

Aethelwulf isn't any better of a tracker by daylight, but he is relieved that Garpur is much better.

OOC,Track roll (10% base skill) in the graveyard: [dice]0[/dice]

Valbrand realizes he is out of his element, and so follows Garpur's lead.