The three of you slowly pick your way through the underbrush and passed the trees to the clearing beyond.

You see Raif crouched down beside the motionless form of Harl. His eyes are wide, as if in shock, staring unseeing into the starlit sky above.

At first glance there doesn't seem to be any sign of a struggle, or what happened to Harl. His longsword and dagger are in their sheaths at his sides, and his armor and clothing appear completley undamaged.

Marga is meandering about, sniffing the ground seemingly in search of a particular scent, but not having much luck thus far.

Raif looks up at the others. "He was surprised. Whatever did this came up from behind, or looked like a friend possibly." Raif carefully closed the man's eyes, as he came over to Marga. "Whoever did this is still out there."

Heironymus moved forward to the where Raif was examining the body.

He wanted to look quickly at things. Were there any wounds? How had he been killed? This assumed he was dead, which seemed likely. Was there any chanced that he was still able to be revived?

Certainly here was one of the colaborators If the girl was gone, this had been her guardian. It seemed he wouldn't be getting what he had expected. Did people never learn that this was how such treasonous acts almost always worked out? Live by the backstab, die by the backstab. Stupid, unfortunate, fool.

"It sure would be nice to be able to talk to this guy. But Harl's being here means the girl came through here."

(Heironymus is specifically looking for evidence of any kind on Harl's body and for a chance to see if he could be healed and revived.)

Raif sees what Heironymous is about to do and stops him, with a hand on his arm and a small shake of his head. "I am sorry my friend. He is beyond this world now. Unless your magics can pull back his spirit as well as mend his body, I would wager you might want to save your strength for other engagements." He pointed out the area. "I came from this direction, and his body was as you see know. Throat slit by a very sharp weapon, and his look told me he was surprised at that time of death. Perhaps someone able to cloak their body with darkness or invisibility? Also, there was no sign of the young girl." He looked about. "Has anyone else seen her?"

(I'm just prodding a bit for discussion regarding yor situation, and what course of action you plan on taking. i can't really update the game until I know what the party has decided to do.)

Looking at the other hired guards here around the body, Raif jerks his head back the way they came. "Finding the girl is important, but so to will be guarding the others in the caravan. I will take his body back to the caravan. I don't think they will want to leave one of their own here. This may have been a distraction."

If no one objects, Raif will bend to lift the man over his shoulders, then with Marga at his side, will walk the body back to the waiting and unprotected caravan...

Heironymus took a look at the dead guards throat and . . . no, not guard. Harl. The man had a name. Heironymus had seen snough death in his life already to bedgin to feel jaded, but he didn't want to reach a point where he would stop noticing when people he knew had died. And he did not want death to become faceless. Death was a tragedy and Harl had lost evrything.

Yet, the others were right about healing anyway, there was no point in trying that at the moment. So what next?

Heironymus, stood up straight and looked cautiously around. "I suspect they have fled. It looks like this was either a kindapping or an escape. Who knows which? Either that or we have left the wagons and the boss unguarded during a true robbery. Either way we should probably head back. Once there we can try to figure out what to do. Be careful, our boss appears to have lost his daughter. And he will probably see it as WE lost her."

As Heironymus started to move back towards the wagons he added, "and I can look at your wounds once we are there as well."

Virif looked at Harl's body. The man looked as though he had been caught off guard when the knife slid through his throat. Judging by that Harl had known the assassin. The question then becomes how Harl knew them. Was it the innocent girl? The mage? Another caravan guard? A different player altogether? So many questions and so few answers.
"He was surprised. Whatever did this came up from behind, or looked like a friend possibly." Raif carefully closed the man's eyes, as he came over to Marga. "Whoever did this is still out there." The guard called Raif said softly tending to the body.

"It sure would be nice to be able to talk to this guy. But Harl's being here means the girl came through here." Heironymus responded moving to do his own inspection.

"Aye." Virif said, "He does look surprised and he was with the girl. By my judgement he meant to hand her over to our assailants and didn't much care for his reward." Looking at the body again Virif grunted "I wouldn't have cared for that reward either." Virif began searching the area for tracks while listening to the rest of the party.

"I am sorry my friend. He is beyond this world now. Unless your magics can pull back his spirit as well as mend his body, I would wager you might want to save your strength for other engagements." Raif pointed out the area. "I came from this direction, and his body was as you see know. Throat slit by a very sharp weapon, and his look told me he was surprised at that time of death. Perhaps someone able to cloak their body with darkness or invisibility? Also, there was no sign of the young girl." He looked about. "Has anyone else seen her?"

"Our foe is an accomplished spellcaster." Virif piped in still checking the ground for signs of passage. "His illusions are quite complex. I certainly couldn't cast illusions like that and I have no way of dispelling them except telling myself there's no place like home. As far as seeing the girl, you were the one in the lead which implies she was taken in another direction from whence we came."

"Finding the girl is important, but so to will be guarding the others in the caravan. I will take his body back to the caravan. I don't think they will want to leave one of their own here. This may have been a distraction." Raif lifted the body and prepared to return to the caravan. He's right this may have been a distraction. The whole set up smells of distraction, but I'm not sure what we're not supposed to be looking at. It all seems to be a bit much for a simple caravan raid. I wonder if our client may know something he's not admitted to.
"I suspect they have fled. It looks like this was either a kindapping or an escape. Who knows which? Either that or we have left the wagons and the boss unguarded during a true robbery. Either way we should probably head back. Once there we can try to figure out what to do. Be careful, our boss appears to have lost his daughter. And he will probably see it as WE lost her." Heironymus began following Raif adding "and I can look at your wounds once we are there as well."

"I agree we should regroup, however I don't think we should abandon the girl. Perhaps when we return we can make preparations to better follow her and bring 'daddy' along." Virif gave up on checking for tracks (unless I found some?) and joined the return party. "Something feels wrong about the entire raid, and I doubt all this was for one insignificant girl."

(Search check for tracks of some kind +4 but it was half hearted so any dm minuses you want.)

As Raif works his way through the brush with the deal guard, he replies back to the others. "Once we bring him back and speak to the father, I agree we need to find her. I am fairly certain he will demand it in fact."

The group returns to the road, finding the caravan wagons in much the same condition as they were when they left. Allyn is on you in an instant.

"Where is my daughter? Did you find her? What happened? Where is she?"

After the barrage of questions he seems to finally notice Raif carrying the dead form of Harl.

"She's not..., no she can't be... she's not... dead... is she?"

Tears begin to well up in his eyes as he asks this final question.

The last wagon is still partially collapsed on its broken wheel, and the other wagons seem untouched, save for a few arrow shafts sprouting out of their sides. Aryn has dragged the bodies of the three dead brigands together on the side of the road while he was awaiting your return. They appear a bit different from what you remember. No longer do they appear as humans. Their elongated ears and almost ageless features share more with an elf than a human, though the dark skin they all share seems a bit unfamiliar...

Back in the Woods.
Kyara limps into the area where others have gathered around the body of the guard Harl. She puts her horn to her lips and sounds a quick double note and the repeats it. Calling
Moondancer bak to her. Bending down she examines the body then the surrounding area for tracks even as she listens to the others comments.
"I may be speaking ill of the dead but I think Harl was as much a part of this attack and abduction of Jocelyn as the dark-skinned elf that hid in a tree in the forest. When Itried to shot him he turned invisible, Certainly he was the source of the illusion spells that had us seeing things."

"Harl was unusually friendly with Jocelyn going out of his way to gain her trust. and I cannot figure out why he led her off from the only real safety of the wagons and her father and all of us into an unknown woods when we were surrounded by bandits, unless he was in on it. His surprise was that that black-skinned elf killed him to prevent us from gaining information. That is why he looks so surprised in death."

Kyara moves about to where the others have not tramped about trying to find tracks. (tell me if I find any signs of tracks leading off from this spot.

Back at the Wagons

"Allyn, I do not believe she is dead, but someone abducted her that much is clear."

(There were tracks leading to that point, near the body tracks have been masked by the body itself and other movement. There is no sign of tracks leaving the area. Oddly, you do notice a single pair of footprints at the base of one of the taller trees.)

Raif notes the symbol on the armor of the attackers, in the event he is ever to see it again. During the attack and the subsequent, as it appears, kidnapping of the daughter, he realizes they are still stuck in the middle of the road. Looking up to the moons, he gauges how much white moonlight they have left before having to camp. He turns back to the group.

"Let us camp here now. We can fix the wagon wheel while we send a force out to find the girl." He pets the slightly wounded dog next to him. "While Marga is a faithful defender of myself, I am still working on teaching how to track on a specific scent." he looks to the others of the group. "If there are some here who are expert trackers, I will travel with you." He looks to the merchant to see what his decision will be..

The only tracks I found were a single set neaar the base of the taller they were not Jocelyn's trees uf he took to the trees your hound may not be able to find the trail. i could try by following signs of passage through the trees. But the wagon must be reapaired and Allyn taken to safety as well."

"Good Cleric, if you can, I need your skills in healing and perhaps something to closee the wound. Some of those aarroes were not illosopns."

Kyara slips off Moondancer's back, supporting herslef by a tight grip on her mane.

A decision looms before Allyn. He is forced to choose between his daughter, and his livelihood.

"I must stay with my wagons." He decides after long minutes of thought and emotion. Tears appear in his eyes, showing the emotional tension behind the now calm facade. "If I lose my goods, then both my daughter and I would be destined for a life of poverty, one I couldn't force her into. I hope you do not think less of me." He bows his head, almost in shame, and walks slowly back to the lead wagon to sit sulking in the drivers bench.

(A detailed search of the brigands yields the following:
1) 18 gold pieces total
2) Each wears well-crafted (but not quite masterwork) leather armor.
3) Each carries a similar quality longsword.
4) The symbol is that of a pyramid with a circle around it.
5) They are dark-skinned elves with eyes of blue, purple and yellow)

(Virif, your search of the area where the body was found yields little except a few small branches that seem freshly broken lying on the ground.)