Manaku and Gorn come to the conclusion from the scattering of debris that the villagers were taken along a trail through the forest.

Add to that there's no evidence that any other boats have been here in the time since the village was raided.

Kalandra secures her boat oar to her back and says, "I'l let you know if I find any other clues."

Then she crouches and starts sneaking down the trail.

These people were taken only a day ago.  Follow them if you want to do good.
Dwarghar says. He’s thinking about what he’s lost and decides to follow the trail himself. He goes to the ones at the front to get the direction and start moving.

Returning to the boat, he quickly gathers up his equipment and leads his horse off the boat. "May not be able to ride her through that undergrowth but she may come in handy if necessary." he comments to the rest of the group. Once off the boat he secures on the horse the equipment that he doesn't needs and leads her over towards the trail.

Leohart falls in with the party.

Shaking his head Durek turns around with a grin on his face; "Excellent.  We stay on dry land.  gods be praised." He moves to join the party.

[Thanks to Regdoc for finding a good visual reference!]

https://i.imgur.com/pPVlhH9.jpg?1

[GM]

Once the mounts are off the ship, Pock stares up at the bottle nestled at the tip of the bow.

"So...you're telling me that this entire boat magically fit inside this bottle? Hmmm...can someone give me a boost? I want to try something."

The bard enthusiastically helped the gnome to reach the bottle, having in mind - or hoping he did at any rate - what the little fellow might be UP to... _heh.

Holding his breath in anticipation, Harald watched to see if his suspicion was correct. If so, this would be something marvelously noteworthy to include as he penned the ballad of his journeyings with this odd troupe!

[DM]

The gnome balanced precariously on the bard's shoulders.

"I watched my grandfather make a ship in a bottle once...it was all flattened out and connected by a string...and then he pushed it all in, like this!"

Pock firmly places a stubby digit against the base of the bottle. In complete defiance of the laws of physics, the boat quickly collapses in on itself and crams into the bottle. The gnome stares down at his handiwork.

"Barely any weight change at all. Half a smidge, maybe..."

He corks the bottle securely.

"Have ship, will travel! Put me down gently, please.."

Regdoc and Chomper continued to search for victims while the others prepared to move from the village. They would join the search party of course. The old cleric looked for a shield in the ruins.

"Well done Pock! We can take the ship with us now!"

Regdoc finds the charred remains of a tavern door with the handle still intact along with some iron bands the could function a shield.

Manaku manages to find an arrow lodged into the timber of a ruined shop's doorframe. Far below elven quality. Almost certainly humanoid manufacture.

Chomper presses his nose to the ground, sniffing in long circuits around the village. He picks up the doll in his jaws and trots until he stops and points towards the northern path.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:20, Tue 11 Feb 2020.

"North it is then Chomper, good boy." Brodd walks over and scratches the old cur between the ears.

"Lead the way tracker. We'll follow." Brodd says to no one in particular.

Brodd takes up the reins of the mule in hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:26, Tue 11 Feb 2020.

[if there's any unanswered questions, let me know before I start the next scene]

In reply to DM (msg # 60):

PM

Dwarghar was looking for clues a while back apparently had t found any but he would love make himself a shield as well.

In reply to Dwarghar Stoneblood (msg # 62):

You noticed one thing unusual: In the Inn and all of the domiciles, the kitchen areas weren't trashed, but cleared out. Salt, spices, herbs, utensils, all gone. Not even a pot for a helmet.

Given an hour, a hammer on your person and some scrap you find, you can improvise a shield. There! Fine dwarven craftsmanship! It looks better than the burnt hunk of planks the Traveler is lugging around in any event!
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:56, Wed 12 Feb 2020.

The cleric of He Who Explores Trails Through The Ever-encroaching Woodlands At The Base Of Mountains Guarded By That Which Flies took the doll gingerly from Chomper and scratched the mutt behind one ear. He didn't say much, but there was an understanding. Whatever had happened was what they needed to look into at the moment. Regdoc stuffed the doll into his pack and hefted his make-shift shield, stepping into line with those exploring the path through the woods.

"Such creativity!" Harald remarked as his companions made use of their surroundings to better fortify their own persons.

"The village-with-no-Name... a sad chapter. But lo! we've a trail to follow have we not? Let us mold this history my stalwart companions! To the rescue!"

This was punctuated by an impressive chord strum and lute solo.

With somewhat of an idea on the direction they should travel, Gorn takes the reins of his horse and begins the slow walk, cautiously following the path of least resistance. "Like the old days, huh." as he looks back over his shoulder, a slight nod coming from his horse. With his eyes watching the path closely, every so often he would stop and retrieve something from the ground, study it, then move on.

[Make another Tracking roll in the next scene, Gorn]

As you all gather to continue up the trail you realize Kalandra isn't among you.

[Loading Next scene...]

After a long time of contemplative silence, Einhard speaks,

"Even though my niece may be among the captives, that does not diminish the importance of others.

We must find these miscreants, rescue the captives, and dispense our brand of justice.

Now let us follow the trail before it turns cold..."

OOC right tone ?, will edit for color when I get home edited
This message was last edited by the player at 18:52, Wed 12 Feb 2020.

In reply to Einhard (msg # 68):

[Perfect!]

Creston continues looking for arrows he can add to his supply, and does not immediately notice the others have moved on. He runs to catch up.