As the party rode away from the city Malius knew there was a good chance he would never return to it. Paranoia seemed to be a common disease in that town which for Sylvari in general was a very rare trait.

But then the city was out of sight and they were once again on their way. The next day was just as estranging. Hardly any Syls crossed their path, and the ones that they met were in a hurry, looking about skittishly to Malius it seemed the same disease as in the city had found its way here also. Then they finally broke through the trees to find themselves on the rim of a clearing, in its center stood a high, round tower, beautiful white with ivy crawling up its flanks. The grass around the tower was grown in patches that formed intricate patterns. The big double door was closed, and in front of it stood a Sylvari woman in armor on a horse. Yelling loudly she called up to the high windows of the tower:

“Open up, I command you! The Emperor requests your aid! Don’t let a Bladesinger waiting!”

At the word “Bladesinger” Malius groaned quietly to himself and muttered
“Not another one”
To this day ever since Lorili’s death, she another Bladesinger and once love of his life, he had gone out of his way to avoid them. Not out of any hate or anger towards them but of the simple fact that the memories they awoke were painful and long buried.

As Loda once again moved forward, to Malius the dwarf’s actions more like that of a curious halfling, he moved his horse to allow for a better view of the clearing. With all these stories of maddened beasts and their last encounter it was better to be safe.
And it helped him not to think on the women Bladesinger....

Alloryen Kingdom
The Exaulted Tower
2nd day of the 8th month: Temoth Ore
5:09 pm
The bladesinger abruptly snapped her head towards Loda. Her expression portrayed her heated surprise, but she calmed down drastically seeing the nature of the companions. She listened to the words of the Khordish druid and nodded politely to her and Alyssia.

“Thank you, travellers. Apparently the hospitality and valour of the Sylvari has taken too much of a punching lately. I’m glad to find you still carry bright spirits in these dusky woods.”

She looked up to the tower and shouted: “You hear that!? There is still some spirit left in your Kingdom. Now open up!”

Returning to the group, Loda and Alyssia in particular since the rest seemed to hold back, she introduced herself.

“I am Quilanday, from the Order of the Bladesingers. I have been appointed the task of investigating the recent animal attacks. I am sure you’ve heard rumours of this? Apparently they’ve been starting out here in the Alloryen Kingdom, but the plague is steadily spreading across the Empire. I was hoping the sages of this tower could help me find out what the source of this unrest is, but they’re n….”

At that moment a red liquid drop splashed on the bladesinger’s forehead. She looked up, and following her gaze the companions noted one of the high windows, ninety feet from the ground. A sleeved arm was hanging from the white sill, lifeless. From its limp fingers fell another scarlet drop. Then a stream of red liquid started pouring from the window onto the stone walls. Like an inversion of the ivy, it crawled its way down. For a moment, they could perceive a dark form behind the opening of the window. Then it was gone.

---

Londelirinen Kingdom
Elven village
3rd day of the 8th month: Temoth Ore
7:51 pm
Elessar didn’t like the feeling she got in this village. It was quiet, and the Goblin had clearly dropped hints that more of his species were located in this village. As to not arouse the creature, she complied with its invitation. Riding Gharion towards a bigger building that could be a stables, she peered into the inn.

It was poorly lit, but she perceived several Sylvari sitting at tables, though none of them moved. In the few seconds she had, she caught a silhouette of a large goblinoid creature moving around, and a large pot on the fireplace, with two Goblins attending whatever was cooking.

Then she dismounted Gharion and pretended to tie his rein. The knot she made was simple though, and he could break loose without an effort.

The Goblin was still waiting for her, grinning as politely as it could at her. Then suddenly the wall of the stables broke open and a troll came bursting from it. It sprang straight at Elessar, but was yanked back in midair and landed hard on the muddy ground. A big chain was wrapped around its neck, and leather leashes had been bound to its arms to restrain it further. The Goblin at the door squeaked, and yelled out feverishly in common.

“Please, Sylvari, Goroptk doesn’t mean harm. He’s upset that he’s been bound, but that’s for his own good. Just come in to our inn, and we’ll fix you some soup.”

Goroptk the troll got up and tried to get closer to Elessar and Gharion, but he could not reach either of them. His calls were loud enough for anyone to hear, but so far, nobody had come running or even shown a hint at interest in what was happening.

(OOC: I need to know pretty specifically what you intend to do, and what you intend not to do at all.)

Blood, just like so long ago, poured its way from the window sill and down the walls of stone. A sense of sickness washed through the woman as she took in the sight. Alyssia felt that she would never get used to the violence that seemed to be following everywhere she went. Or just perhaps, it was she that followed it.

Swift feet took her to the door of the tower, focusing her intent on the slabs of wood that now stood before her. Her vision intensified on it and she could pick out every grain that composed whatever wood made it up. She was determined to get to those that may now need her help. Magic surged forth from her fingertips, the very are now charged with the electricity that passed through it, the smell of ozone reaching her nose.

(OOC: gonna cast lightning bolt on the door, didn't think magic missile would even come close to bringing it down. If her spell dont work, Alyssia is gonna cry out to those of a more physical stature to try and break it down. i.e. Draven, Thondrek and Geim)

Alloryen Kingdom
The Exaulted Tower
2nd day of the 8th month: Temoth Ore
5:09 pm
Alyssia acted instinctively fast. Concentrating hard on the door she released a bolt of lightning big enough to electrocute any normal man. The door was webbed with light as electricity rushed over it. When the intensity of the flash and the smoke faded, the door remained unharmed.
The bladesinger, still on top of her horse, looked baffled at the sorceress. Apparently she hadn’t expected such raw power from somebody that looked as ragged as Alyssia.

“I don’t think magic will get you inside that tower. It’s a tower constructed with magic for mortar, and carries the most powerful magical researchers of the Sylvari empire. We have to get in a different way.”

Something was very wrong, here at the northern edge of the middle Sylvari kingdom. This village had been overrun by goblins, probably aided by the Troll. Flame Tower needed to be warned, but she also needed intelligence. There was no way of knowing if the Elves she saw in the inn were alive. She had to know that. Thinking fast she turned back to Gharion.

"I will not leave my horses near that Ogre," she says untying the gelding. Comrade had not been tied. She pulls out length of rope about 10 feet long as it to tie Comrade.

She walks back slowly toward the Goblin. "I'll find a better place to tie them." Elessarae even offers a smile to the goblin. "A hot meal will be most welcome."

As she walks she looks to Gharion and pats him and then speaks the words in Elven for the Daze spell. She is hoping that the gobin will think she is just soothing her horse. She goes to the others side of the inn away from the Troll and also partically out of sight of the inn and the building the Goblin had headed for. She walks towards a tree and when she gets there she turns to the Goblin.

"Here, help my with my saddle bags I do not want to leave them unguarded." Nothing like the idea that the bags he was coming to get had valuables in them. Goblins were greedly little bastards.

Her idea is to lure the goblin to where she can get am arm around his neck and hand over his mouth.

When she gets right up the goblin she will release her spell. If it does or does not work she still plans to grab him, cover his mouth and hit the goblin over the head for subdual damage. Then she will tie him and throw him up on Gharion, and get another look through the window to discern if the elves she saw were alive or dead.

Time was of an essence and no matter the condition of the elves she knows her information on the takeover of the village must get to Flame Tower. If it seems she had not been found out she will circle round the barn and set it on fire, using oil and her flint and tinder on some hay or staw that would be stored by the barn. Like most barns it was built of big beams morticed and tendoned. By the time the beam burned holding the chain of the Troll the barn would be a blazing inferno.

She will mount and ride into the forest before cutting back to the road and galloping back to Flame Tower. The goblin could be questioned once they were far enough away from the village, and more so at Flame Tower

As Malius watched Alyssia attempt her spell only to have it fail clear it was to him that a brute force approach was not the way.
His Ferrets summoned and using his Empathy with them he told them to explore the open window for treats and trinkets and to tell him what was there. But they were to tell him also all they saw but to run away at the first sign of danger and return to him.

With their level of training incomplete he hoped his ability, empathy and friendship with them would be enough to let the others and he know what waited for them within.

(OOC: Ok everyone here is my last post until sometime in September after I return from my Vacation in Maryland. I hope my ferrets survive (Hint Hint) and there is nothing inside that tower that you guys can't handle without me the God of Rangers . Have fun and survive)

Thondrek watched as Alyssia's lightning bolt crackled and split the air... but not the door the electrical charge harmlessly dissipating.

Approaching the door he put his ear to it, then knocked upon it with a 'rap rap rap'. Seeing no way obvious way inside -after trying the door and presumably finding it locked- he turned to his companions stroking his beard.

Dang towers locked up tighter than a dwarven vault. Looks like I'll be tryin ta use a little key o' me own. Alyssia, Geim or Loda my kinfolk if'n you've got any magiks ta pave my way less noticeable or better equipped, I'm gonna try and bypass the door and walls around it with a little 'dimension hop.' would do me good not to poof into a room o' trouble starin back at me. I already risk teleportin into something solid as it is. hopefully from the inside I can open the door and let everyone into this merry little forest hideaway."

Thondrek stood next to the wall aside the door. The door was magic resistant and he didn't want to chance being denied entry from trying to pass through the warded door. He awaited Alyssia's or anyone elses magical aid if any were to be offered.

"Stone walls, we practically be cousins. Don't fail me now Tower, I gots yer durned Key right here!" With that he taps himself with dimension hop to try and teleport 6' through the tower's outer wall."

Alloryen Kingdom
The Exaulted Tower
2nd day of the 8th month: Temoth Ore
5:09 pm
Malius sent his two ferrets up the walls to investigate the top window. Using the ivy and rough stone, the animals scurried up quickly.

Thondrek, in the mean time, decided not to wait on two animals if he could go see for himself. Explaining his actions, he asked his magic wielding companions for an extra layer of protection before attempting to enter the tower. Alyssia abided by granting him an impenetrable magical armor, but after casting the spell, she could feel that the benefit of the spell was cancelled by Thondrek’s breastplate.

The Sylvari bladesinger had dismounted her horse in the meantime, and she too approached Thondrek with ready hands. As she weaved a pattern in the air, Thondrek’s outline lost its stark contour, and a blurry haze came over him. His companions had some difficulty to locate his exact position now.

“The best of luck, brave Khord.” Quilanday whispered, but her words seemed more intended towards herself than the Duskblade.

Malius peered up to the high window, and noticed his ferrets had almost reached it now. They were indeed fast climbers.

Thondrek positioned himself in front of the wall, and soothed it with words of bonding. Then he activated his magic and disappeared from sight. An instance later he reappeared, only inches closer to the wall. Something had blocked his passage; a magical protection equal in strength to the one on the door, though different in nature.

Then a loud squeaking sounded from above. Malius’ two ferrets came running down the wall, leaving a trail of dark red paw-prints as they went. Something had upset them greatly. In their panic they toppled over each other and fell the last 7 feet, to land on top of the Khord that stood waiting at the wall. They bounced from his breastplate and fell to the earth, where Malius picked them up.
After calming them down a bit, they told him as much as their animal brains could muster. There was something big and furry in the tower, bipedal according to one ferret, four legged according to the other. Red glowing eyes and red covered floors was all they could tell the Ranger, and the retold their findings to his companions.

“I have to get in there.” The lady Bladesinger stated. “There might be survivors, hiding from that monster. There might be valuable information. I need to find out what’s causing all of this!” Does anybody have any other ideas?”

---

Londelirinen Kingdom
Elven village
3rd day of the 8th month: Temoth Ore
7:51 pm
"Here, help my with my saddle bags I do not want to leave them unguarded."
Elessarae was planning on luring the goblin closer, to lash out at him before he could call for backup. The creature looked over his shoulder for a moment, into the inn. Then he turned and grinned widely.

“Now don’t you worry about your saddle bags. Leave them right there on your horsy, and I’ll guard them. You just go in and… what!”

The bladesinger’s flare spell had hit the goblin right in the face. Before the creature could more, Elessar’s hand was over his foul mouth. Touching the thing was horrific, like placing your hand in a cold plate of porridge, but with a thick, old membrane over it. The creature struggled to get loose. And indeed succeeded to wriggle its way out. It opened its mouth to cry desperately for help, but Elessar had found her belt pouch and hit the goblin on the forehead. A strange look of astonishment crossed the creature’s face and then it fell down face first into the mud.

Elessarae of Megilindar Nost crept up to the inn’s window, and peered inside.
Once, this building had been a fine establishment of Sylvari taste, but it had been utterly transformed into the hell holes that goblinoid usually seemed to prefer. The floor was muddy and covered in filth and litter. Two goblins were fighting over a big bubbling pot on the fire, and another one, bigger, and clad in armor was pacing around the room, yelling in Draconic. Elessar could barely see the common room, but she noticed that the elves that were sitting at the tables, were already decomposing in places. This village hadn’t been Sylvari for quite some time. The amount of noise that came from inside hinted that more goblins were wandering about, and explained why they hadn’t heard the troll breaking free.
Concentrating hard, Elessar could hear what the bigger goblin yelled at the two at the fire.

“Where’s Frustuuk? It’s his duty to care for the tree! He better not be sleeping again. I’ll rip his head from his skull if he forgot my orders.”

“But captain, isn’t his head and his skull the same thing?” Peeped one of the cooks, but after an intense snarl from the captain, it fled away into another room.

At that moment the troll began to howl loudly, and the goblin captain looked out the doorway suspiciously. Slowly he started to pace towards the inn’s entrance.

It took some time and effort, but the Khord managed to break out of his prison. Hopefully, no one heard him. Vidar quickly got to his feet and started looking in every cave on his way. At last, he found where they were keeping his weapons. Unfortunatly, it was guarded by four of the fishmen, those annoying bastards, and Vidar was only armed with a wooden piece from the door he broke down.

The Khord needed to think but he had to do it fast, before more guards got here. Vidar was no genius, and so his first plan was simply to get in there and attack the nearest one with his stick. Of course, since Vidar wasn't feeling all that well after the last fight, and his sole weapon was rotten wood, he thought that perhaps something with a little more deception would work better. But he didn't really like sneaking around (nor was he any good at it) and he wasn't all that smart. Vidar moved into one of the empty caves to hide in and threw his weapon into another cave on the opposite side of the cave where his weapons were. Hopefully the fishmen would all go check it out and give him time to get his weapons back.

Inhabited Cave
South-west Chakran Mtns.
28th day of the 7th month: Pfier
12:45 am
Vidar was stuck. He was facing four fishmen, and he had nothing upon him to fight with. His weapons were only a room away, and that thought blocked all other logic out of the Khord. He needed to get his gear back!

Retreating back into one of the cells, he readied himself for the plan he had come up with. He threw the plank of wood as hard as he could into the cell opposing the one he was hiding in. The board made a hollow wooden sound as it smashed upon the rocks, broke in half and landed on the wet floor in pieces. A commotion had broken loose in the cave where the fishmen were guarding Vidar’s weapons. Seconds later, two of them came skulking into the tunnel, and investigated the sound. They walked past the Khord and went into the other cells. Vidar took his chance and tip toed around the corner and into the cave. The remaining two fishmen didn’t notice him at first, so he sprinted for his weapons. His bootfalls echoed heavily through the cave, and the fishmen’s attention was drawn towards him quickly. They dove for him as he reached for his war axe.

Their bites missed him by inches, and their claws could not penetrate his armor or grab him fast enough. He was upon his axe, and swung it around. It his one of the fishmen hard in the shoulder. Skin split, and a green slime burst from the cut. Vidar could hear the other two fishmen return and had to move quickly. Again he lashed out, at the same fishmen, and hit it in the neck. The creature fell down hard and remained stiff on the ground. Its brother was now upon Vidar with a full attack. It clung to Vidar’s armor and thrust a clawing hand into the Khord’s face. Pain and blood welded up under the piercing nails.
Vidar knocked the creature aside with his axe, but he had been delayed too long. The other two guards were upon him and dug their teeth in his flesh.

The Khord lashed and swung with his axe around in a raging frenzy. One of the fishmen fell down in a shower of green blood and slime. Only one remained, but it appeared tougher than the others. For a minute they were engaged in a heavy battle, dodging and lunging at each other. Vidar hit the creature, but only hindered its movement. Then the beast was upon him and slashed a deep gash into the warrior’s neck. Dizzied, Vidar cut one last time, and hit with a lucky strike. The fishmen gurgled and died, but Vidar was in a bad state himself. He had survived, but was hanging on to his life by a thin thread that could snap any moment.

(OOC: You must be one lucky mofo for surviving this, excuse the language please. The dice really favored you, Skari. But Vidar is bleeding severely and on extremely low HP)

Elessarae races back grabs up the Goblin and with a burst of adrennalin heaves him onto the back of Gharion. She jumps into the saddle and heads the gelding further around to the back of the inn.

"Comrade, stay close," she whispers patting her side. Then she takes the rope and tightly binds the Goblin's hands to his feet all the while legging Gharion to where she wants him to go. She judges her time and once to the back of the stable she pulls out a flask of oil and pours it on some hay stacked in a shed at the back of the barn and a bit on a piece of rag ripped from the Goblin's clothes. Then she stuffed a second rag torn from the goblin's clothes into its mouth and tied it in with another strip.

From her belt pouch she brings out her flint and steel and strikes the flint against the steel and when a spark hits the tinder, she blows on it every so gently at first. Once it is going she lights the rag and when it is blazing she tosses it onto the oil covered hay.

Now for the ride of her life. She turns Gharion into the forest perpendicular to the rode she came in on. She had noticed a stream that cut across the road at an angle coming in from this direction of the forest. She trotted Gharion through the trees.

"Adaron please see that what I do is for your people of the forest." Elessrae first prays to the Patron of the Elves, also known as Kith Jora by humans.

"Heren'salkya (Fortune's Dancer, Shinara in Human) aid me to reach those that can bring retribution to the Goblins who have killed the Elves of this village."

"Meiven Tarai(Rydor, for Humans) aid my fire so retibution will be dealt to the Troll from which it cannot regenerate."

About 50 yards in she hit the stream and headed down it to the road. Once on the rode to legged Gharion into a gallop. Knowing he could not run all the way she used what was left of the daylight to put the most distance between her and the village. When is was too dark to see easily she brought Gharion down to a long fast walk and interspaced it with trotting when they were more in the open. Elessarae also dismounted and jogged along side of the Gharion, and keeping an eye out on the goblin. Every so often she would lift an eyelid to see if he had regained consciousness. When her stomach growls in protest, she takes out a some ration bars, made of roasted grains, nuts dried fruits and honey. She eats one and also gives two each to Gharion and Comrade.

"Adaron, please grant Gharion and Comrade with the endurance of a wolf and the sight of an owl, so that we might return quickly to where help can be requested."

The wooden stick broke as it hit the stone wall where Vidar had thrown it to, but served its purpose as two of the fishmen went out to check for it. Unfortunatly for the Khord, there were two more still guarding the weapons. Vidar took a deep breath and moved to the other cave. When he noticed that the other fishmen didn't notice him he ran to his axe. Of course at that time, the other fishmen noticed him and attacked.

For some unknown reason, the bites of the fishmen missed only by inches, and their claws had no effect. As soon as the Khord had his axe he made his own attacks. Within moments the two were fallen, but not without injuries. The other two guard then came rushing in and dug their teeth into Vidar's flesh. The Khord split one of them in two, but the other seemed a more of a challange. For a moment which seemed longer than most others, they battled. Dodging and lunging, neither seemed to damage the other at all, until the fishman slashed a deep cut into the Khord's neck. Vidar was badly injured and could hardly see a thing. In a dizzied swing at random, Vidar could feel his axe hit something. He heard a gurgling sound and as the creature's body fell, Vidar allowed his own body to do the same.

Lying where he was, the Khord could almost feel his life as it was slipping away. It had been a good battle, but this was not the place where a hero should die. Of course, technically, Vidar was no hero yet. And so, he thought, this was not the time or place for him to die. He had heroism to attend to first. He battled his way to his healing potion and drunk the whole thing. It would not heal him completely but would ward away from death for the time being. He felt a sting in his neck as the wound forced itself together. A similar kind of sting could be felt all over his body as the wounds forced themselves to close.
This was not enough if he was supposed to fight off many more of these creatures. Perhaps he could find some bandages or the like here before he moved out. If not, he would need to hide and rest until he could fight some more. He still needed his shield, but perhaps he could find something that could serve as a substitute.

(OOC: Vidar drinks his Potion of Cure Modorate Wounds and will look in the cave for anything he could use as a shield or to heal himself some more before moving on)

It just hit her, how she had seen magical auras before. If magical aura prevented one from entering this tower, then perhaps she could find a way in that nobody had noticed before and save the companions some trouble. Or if her khord companion did not manage to come through, then maybe her insight would be needed.

With a slight prayer whispered beneath her lips, her sight took on another spectrum of vision.

(OOC: gonna cast detect magic. Gonna smack self in head for not thinking of it earlier.)

Londelirinen Kingdom
Sylvari village
3rd day of the 8th month: Temoth Ore
7:54 pm
Elessar didn’t have a lot of time to act. The goblin captain was coming her way. She looked at the barn where the troll was still howling. She would have loved to set it on fire, but seconds were running, and she had a bigger picture to look at.

Therefore she left the troll to itself, and grabbed the goblin from the mud. As she lifted it, the creature took a deep slobbering breath. It had been lying with its nose covered in wet sand, and had not been able to breathe. She flung the unconscious goblin over Gharion’s back, where she bound him hastily. Then a snarled call came from the doorway of the inn. The goblin captain had spotted the bladesinger, and he was not pleased.

“To arms!!! We’ve been discovered! Sylvari flesh!!”

He drew a wicked looking, curved blade and sprinted at Elessarae. She sprang onto her steed, just in time to avoid a blow. The goblin aimed for a second strike, but suddenly two hooves bludgeoned it aside. Comrade had knocked him into the muddy village square, and bought Elessar enough time to grab hold of the captive goblin and rush Gharion to a run.

Arrows flew from the inn, and one hit Elessar in the shoulder. She grit away the pain, and rode on, out of the range of goblin wrath.

An hour later she found the Flame Keep again, ablaze in the setting sun. (OOC: I don’t know what you want to do with the arrow, so I’ll leave it up to you to write when you take it out.)
Things went quickly at the Keep. Now she had a goblin captive, the mages at Runya Nost were more friendly and eager to help her. They took over the goblin from her, and healed her wound. Another arrow was sticking from Comrade’s hip, and though the young moonhorse hadn’t complained once, it had been bothering him greatly.

An hour went by since she had arrived. Then a young mage came up to her, and informed her that the goblin had cracked. At first, it wouldn’t give away anything, obviously frightened more of something other than the elves. With a little magical persuasion the mages had found out that the goblins were sent from their camp in the Chakran Mountains to poison certain willows. What the poisoning resulted in, the goblin did not know, but it wasn’t a hard question to answer. From the description of the poison, the mages concluded that it caused the distorted animals, and a remedy could be found to heal the trees.

“We need the essence of the Rilma Lotus, an exotic and legendary flower that is said to bloom only when the sun shines at its brightest. It has a healing power that will cleanse the willows from the goblin filth. But we need to locate this flower, and those willows, but we have no idea where to look. We’ve only heard of the Rilma Lotus, and know that it can not be cultivated or tamed, for some reason. Perhaps you could aid us by returning to the village. We believe on of the poisoned willows should be close to it. Return with information as soon as possible.”

---

Alloryen Kingdom
The Exaulted Tower
2nd day of the 8th month: Temoth Ore
5:10 pm
Alyssia had cast her magics on Thondrek. Then Loda took her turn to grant him the power of sticky spider legs. Little hooks and hairs sprung from Thondrek’s hand, not hindering him, but allowing him more grip on the rough stone. After a big sigh, the Khord placed himself against the wall, and started to climb.

In the meantime, Alyssia realized she had not used all of her powers to find a way in. Praying to her goddess, she let go of her normal vision and a curtain of vivid colours fell over the world as she cast her detect magic spell. She looked at her companions. Some items brightened up, and she realized there was a nice amount of magic divided over them.
Then she turned her gaze towards the tower, and had to avert her eyes immediately. The door and walls radiated a magic of Abjuration so strong, it overwhelmed her. She could almost feel the heat of this energy radiating over her body. Looking at this intense power was too much for her to handle, and she had to let go of her spell.

At that point, Thondrek had reached the high window, and he carefully peered over the edge of the window sill. The arm that hung from the window had been severed from a body that lay on the ground under the window. The puddle of blood that had gushed from it was already drying in the warm afternoon. Beyond the arm lay a room that had been the theatre of a dreadful play. The walls were covered in a shower of blood. A big round table that had once born a scale model of the Sylvari empire, had been knocked over. Papers and wood were strewn around the room, soaking up the filth and gore from a certain massacre. In the syrupy layer that clung to the stone floor were large prints that looked like a bear’s. But the pattern was chaotic, like the plan for a wild dance of pandemonium. The body that lay against the window was beheaded, and unrecognizable. But besides this mutilated corpse, there were no other signs of victims to be seen.
(OOC: I would gladly continue right now, but I must give you the opportunity to react to this first, right? And Vesper: check your PMs )

---

Inhabited Cave
South-west Chakran Mtns.
28th day of the 7th month: Pfier
12:47 am
After imbibing the potion, Vidar felt slightly better. His muscles ached, the places on his body where the wounds had been itched and burned. The healing liquid had saved his life and stopped the freely flowing blood, but he was far from healthy. Listening carefully, he waited for the sounds of other fishmen to come. But the caves remained silent, and the Khord relaxed somewhat.

Now he had the chance to take a look around. The cave he was standing in was fairly empty. There was some damp and rotting furniture: a small cabinet, a table with a lantern on it, two beds with filthy straw, and three chairs that looked ready crack down if one sat in them.
With his weapons back in his hands, Vidar dared to search around a bit. Perhaps he would find something interesting or useful.

The beds were the first thing he looked at. In between the straw he found two small pouches. One was filled with silver coins (30 SP in total), the other with old fish heads). The table had a drawer, which held an old parchment with writings of an alphabet Vidar didn’t know. Last was the cabinet. It took some prying to get the doors open, but beyond them lay a small opening that contained a layer of dust, and under that a pouch with 20 GP and 3 gems that Vidar knew to be quite valuable (100 GP each).
The cabinet finally had a small drawer, which also contained a pouch. Apparently, pouches were used to keep the dampness from moulding the items of greater value. This pouch held a leather scroll, the Vidar unrolled carefully. On it, was a drawing that stunned the warrior to his core.

He had seen this drawing before, though it seemed far away: it was the image of a series of weapons: two swords, a dagger, a halberd, a hammer, and an interesting axe. This drawing had been made with ink, and was very detailed. The axe bore the Seleta, a trademark that smiths placed on their creation, that Vidar knew was imprinted on Haircutter, his grandfather’s axe. To his astonishment he recognized the same rune on the other weapons. And now he looked at the other weapons more intensely, he saw the obvious resemblance between all of them.

(OOC: I need to know which way you’re heading next, so let me know )

As Thondrek peered over the window ledge into the tower’s high room the sight before him was enough to almost make even the hardened Khord lose his footing. Thankfully Loda’s enchantment kept him firmly in place. The blood splattered walls were a grim and macabre décor to what Thondrek could tell was once a highly organized chamber of sorts. Stepping into the window sill, his feet sticking to either side of the opening so as not to violate the poor bastard below him any further the bear tracks within the pool of blood struck the duskblade with a feeling of unease. Perhaps the wizard had a pet, or familiar struck by this strange disease, and in it’s rabid form proved too much for the wizard to control?.. Mayhaps some sort of lycanthrope had made it through the protective barrier of the tower and struck the now headless stranger low? Many thoughts passed through Thondrek’s mind as he entered the room, Jumping the short ways to the ceiling, the only thing devoid of blood, and moving across it as he scanned below, trying to keep his invisibility maintained without leaving most noticeable tracks or prints upon the blood covered walls or floor. Keeping his eyes peeled for the signs of the stranger’s head, and anything that moved, Thondrek cast Detect Magic in hopes that it might illuminate any hidden auras within the room as he picked his way across to any exit to the room he hadn’t originally seen upon entering.

(Didn’t see any description of a exit or entrance into this room, so I’m looking for one while searching for anything of note, particularly magical in nature or severed heads.. anything that moves, etc. Is the ceiling flat? or conical? Hope this is enough to work with without being overbearing)