[1.02b] The Swampers of Morast
5:30PM Moonday, 10th of Lamashtan, 4710
Liviana examines the wooden fetishes, quickly realizing that they mark the position of graves from the mounded earth below them. She's not completely sure what tradition the fetishes come from, but her best guess would be that they belong to an obscure branch of Gozreh worship. Either way, they're old: Some of them have almost completely rotten away, putting their origin well before the murders happened.
She notices something else about the graves: They don't all have the mounded earth that suggests a body. Quite the opposite; six of the graves sag into the ground, as if they've been dug up. Judging from the state of the fetish markers, these were some of the most recent graves in the boneyard.
The nest to the northwest is a more recent creation. It's impossible to see inside without climbing up, by Liviana can tell it was made by some sort of large flying creature. Large enough to be dangerous to humans, probably. Coming close to the nest, Liviana notices the distinct smell of rotting flesh: something up there died, and fairly recently.
Meanwhile Harald makes his own discovery: The remains of a camp, hidden in the brush of the south end of the island. Around a small firepit, he discovers an old waterskin (still half-full of wine), a rusted cooking pot, and a small vial still containing a trace of green liquid. Examining the potion, Liviana is able to identify it as an alchemist's extract of darkvision.
A short distance away from the camp, Harald also notices a small fishing coracle hidden in the reeds along the shoreline. Inside the coracle lies a pair of sacks filled with various supplies: An old set of clothes, a thick cloth apron, a rusted lantern, a length of rope, a shovel, and three large knives, all covered in about a year's worth of rust. There is also, shockingly, what looks to be a severed human face. The face has clearly been carefully removed from it's previous owner and preserved somehow, though it's purpose is unclear.
OOC: Dealing with Lazlo, traveling to the island, and conducting your initial search took about an hour. Taking 20 on a thorough search of any one area (such as near the nest, boat, or camp) would take about half an hour for one person. Climbing into the nest requires a DC 15 climb check, but only takes a round or two: It's 20 feet up.