"Compsognathus? Never heard of one before. Is it a type of bird? No, no, can't be...not with a scent ability. Some sort of land animal? Well, I can summon creatures, but not for any time beyond a few seconds. Maybe this Scarlet would be a good idea, and I'd love to meet her" Leonia states.

Dakash shrugs. "I've never heard of it either, but if it can help track blood trails and..." he paused to sniff the air again, "...whatever fruit or flower or vegetable it is I think I'm smelling here, then it will be a big help."

He gets up from his crouch and looks down at the body, then in the direction of the man's run, from beginning to end. From the starting point, where Maron first seemed to notice he was in danger, the warrior-priest looks to the closest treeline.

"I can't imagine that a swarm of deadly insects had built a nest so close to this field and gone unnoticed until the moment of attack. Could there be a giant variety nearby that agitated them? Or a predator that recently displaced them...or a watchman of nature - druid or the like - that has a proverbial axe to grind against this community?"  He listed off the most obvious things he could think of that might lead to such an event.

"Just give me a few minutes: we never got around to getting a proper telepathic link, so I have to rely on the normal master-familiar empathy... And she might not pay much attention to her mistress while eating Tessa's best sausages." With that, Lia moves a few steps away from the others and closes her eyes.

"Fruit, flower, or vegetable, that's also a spell component that could be responsible for this... hrm?"

Aran rubs his chin as he thinks of the possibilities.

"There was also an alchemical component used. Whether on the body or in the air, I cannot say. The sample has degraded too much." Leonia observes.

Lia comes back to the others after a minute or so: "So... Scarlet is resigned and slightly irritated, which means she's coming. It's going to take her a few minutes. I've been thinking bout what you said and... Yeah, something is not quite right here. Unfortunately, Zhorr and I cannot get involved beyond this. It's... Complicated. We need sombody to track down this swarm and get rid of it, and find out if there was some kind of.., Intelligence... Behind this attack. You would be rewarded for your help, of course."

"Then the first thing we should do is work on something to help against the venom of their stings, should we be attacked during the investigation." He made a point of looking at Leonia while she was still holding her alchemical devices.

Lia looks pensive: "Antitoxin? We have a couple of those... I think... I have to check with Zhorr. Anything else?"

"Vermin repellent, if we can whip one up, I'd think. In case of scavengers nearby, too" Leonia suggests.

Lia nods: "I think we can get a couple of vermin repellents and an antitoxin by tomorrow morning, but probably not today. However, the sooner we can deal with this swarm, the better: until we know it's safe to go outside, everybody should stay indoors, and you can't very well tend to your fields from inside your house."

A chirp announces the arrival of a... Green, scaly, wingless bird? Or something?

"Scarlet! Good to see you girl. Sorry about your lunch, but we have a problem, and I think we need your nose." Lia quickly explains the problem to the... Little dinosaur?

The familiar nods, and examines the body, then chirps something to her mistress.

"Right, so... Something floral, yes. It's a smell that the swarm would be attracted to, but it's hard to tell whether the wasps live among those plants, and so the swarm carries that smell around, or somebody used herbal oils to draw the swarm to this place. Either way, Scarlet can track the smell. I think maybe we can rush the vermin repellent by this afternoon... And we should have an antitoxin or maybe two in the house. But you won't have a lot of sunlight left."
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:02, Thu 26 Jan 2017.

"I can help with that. I'm pretty skilled with alchemy" admits the elf.

"I see then. What should we do in the meantime?"

"It hadn't occurred to me that someone might create the scent that attracted the insects - if that's what happened here. Very ingenious. And rather diabolical, I might add." He observed the small beast that was, apparently, the familiar companion of their employer.

"I suppose that depends on Leonia. If she can help speed the process along then I'm sure waiting until tomorrow won't be a problem, so long as we can inter Maron somewhere to keep this quiet for now. Still, I see no reason why we can't follow Scarlet here and see at least in which direction we will be searching, when we do."

"I'll take care of the body. It won't spoil as long as we can keep it under gentle repose, and I think I can reincarnate it in a few days if his family agreesI will talk to Zhorr and see if we can get you the things you need by this afternoon. Now, if you want to try and follow the swarm, I would advise you to stay together: in my experience, splitting up leads to bad things finding you. "

Turning to Scarlet, Lia continues: "What do you say girl? Wanna help these nice people?"

The little dinosaur shrugs in a way that is surprisingly human-like, and chirps something to her mistress.

"Right. Your call then. Scarlet won't help you fight, but she can help you track down the swarm."

---

Just to be clear: with a cost of 500 sp and a DC of 25, making antitoxin requires slightly less than a week.

To make it in one day, you would need to hit 2500 sp per week, or 50x50, and that actually means 55x55 since you increase difficulty in increments of 10. Zhorr can hit some pretty high notes, when you account for buffs, but even with an assistant he's not going to get a 50 (an assistant is only a +2 under the standard rules), let alone a 55.

Vermin repellent, OTOH, is only 20 sp, so if you can make it at all (i.e., hit its DC exactly) you can make 20 a week, or 4 per day.

So, vermin repellent for everybody is a thing that's going to happen by late afternoon on the same day (8 hours later), antitoxin for everybody is not a thing that's going to happen in any way shape or form.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:40, Fri 27 Jan 2017.

"I say we waste no time. Let's follow up on what we can, while we can."

"So long as Scarlet will help us track down the swarm. Best we know what we face before diving in, right?" Leonia points out.

The big man nods. "I agree. If this was indeed a wild animal issue, either something has laired too near town, or there's an odd new predator in the area that should be dealt with. If it's just a matter of selfish humanity or jealous merchants, we can do ourselves some good with clearing up the matter."

Dakash wasn't a stranger to the wilderness, Leonia knew this. He was no ranger, mind you, but he had a decent grasp of where to go and what to look for when he put his thinking cap on straight.

"Scarlet...you understand us, right?" He looks at the small(ish) beast and unconsciously cocks his head sideways as he'd seen dogs and other pets so often do. Glancing up at the woman who'd summoned it to their aid, he raises an eyebrow, silently redirecting the same question to her.

Lia smiles at Dakash: "Scarlet is smarter than most people, speaks multiple languages when in human form, and will probably want a word with you later." Looking at Leonia she continues: "She's a proper familiar, not an animal companion."

Scarlet chirps something to Lia, who responds in kind, then adds: "She can also read and write. You'll be fine!"

Scarlet nods, and starts smelling around.

OOC: In order to speed up the process, I assume you will follow Scarlet. In case Leonia had doubts about the "in human form" comment: you can cast Alter Self on your familiar. On your animal companion too, but it doesn't grant them a non-animal intelligence score, so it's not quite as useful.

The trail leads away from the fields, but it seems to describe a large circle, and after about an hour of sniffing and walking, you find yourself not that farm from the village.

Scarlet taps her nose and points at a nearby patch of trees. At this point Dakash can clearly smell the same flowers/plant/herbs that were in the field.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:02, Sun 29 Jan 2017.

Leonia says "Thank you Scarlet. Dakash, swarms ignore weapons, but a torch or flaming oil works fine. Given that this swarm is all flyers, I think a lit torch is a good precaution when we face it. Now, the scent came from here. So whoever put the scent on Maron had to collect it here. We need to try to find signs of that collection, and track the collector without obscuring the trail. Let me send my owl in to spot the tracks from above."

"Actually, I'll not risk my familiar. If the swarm is in there...Dakash, I can alter the scents of all of us, negating them. Are you up for going into the trees with me, to see if the swarm is there? There's some risk involved." the elf says as she casts Prestidigitation to negate their scents, Scarlet's as well.

Dakash shrugs and nods, agreeing that the torch idea has as much merit as anything he could have come up with himself. He begins to prepare some loose twigs and fallen leaves for tinder, then holds out his hand for the required torch, and flint.

"When I set out this morning I had no intention of delving into a cavern or fighting a swarm of bees. I am not carrying the required items at this time." He grins sheepishly.

Aran snaps his fingers together, and the tinder gathered by Dakash is instantly set ablaze.

The group enters the patch of trees carefully, noticing that the smell definitely intensifies.

As it turns out, the trees form something of a ring, and there are some flowery bushes in its center. In the middle of the bushes, there is some sort of structure.

---

Please roll perception and knowledge (nature).
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:07, Wed 01 Feb 2017.

09:09, Today: Aran Kalisar rolled 20 using 1d20.  Perception.

Knowledge Nature 12 on d20+9.
Perception 19 on d20+10.