Serafina keeps alert, alongside Shadow, as the others secure the wounded man. She stays in the bushes to use them for concealment and moves in spurts between pauses to listen and observe the surrounding area for threats.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:58, Thu 06 May 2021.

While Enigma's bullet smacks off the ground and into the brush, Madoc's catches the fleeing goblin in the back of its head, the small humanoid falling hard to the ground before scrambling frantically to disappear into the trees.

Afternoon turns to dusk by the time the party traverses along the road set between two massive hillsides loaded with pine trees. The crisp autumn air intermingled with the seedy pines, sap, and needles create a refreshing breeze that seems to put a spring in their step. The remaining leg of the journey rolls by without happenstance and finally, the town can be seen in the distance down in the valley situated along a flowing river that cascades into a waterfall further out. Stoney Meadows isn't exactly what you initially thought. Certainly not a city; less than a town; and barely worth the 'village' moniker. Nestled between the rolling pine hills is a handful of houses, a few town buildings, a scattering of farms, and what you must assume is the 'town square'. If there is anything to truly note of the town itself, it would be the sparkling well set in the center of town that looks like it is made of white marble, or maybe quartz. Whichever the case, it is quite a splendid sight and reflects the setting sun's rays in an array of rainbow colors. That and the large wooden palisade wall that surrounds the hamlet itself. It seems as if they take their protection serious out here this far from the beaten path.

A dozen or more paths run out of town and into the western hills, through the towering pines to where a huge apple orchard rests atop the hill. Even from this distance, you can tell the trees are laden with heavy red and green apples just waiting to be boiled, baked, sliced, skinned, bobbed, and what-have-you. A couple of groups of people emerge from one of the paths, each carrying a large bucket of apples, while more people congregate in the town center near a large white building with several chimney stacks.

Norm groans a bit then looks up. "Hey, what ya think yer doing? That was my pig first!" He half-ass swats at Madoc then grabs ahold of the dwarf's ear tugging at it hard before falling back into unconsciousness.

The heavy gates of the town hang open, a friendly invitation to those who care to visit, though a grumpy looking old man, not a day younger than 75 years, sits in a three-legged chair propped up by a log for the fourth. His hat is tipped forward as he lounges lazily, bushy gray eyebrows beneath the ridge peak out like fat caterpillars. Oblivious in his own thoughts or dreams, he doesn't even bother to look up as you arrive at the threshold of the town.

In reply to Tribal GM (msg # 52):

"I'll go talk to that old man.  Maybe he knows the Captain."  Ymir turns and fast walks away from the group towards the gate.

"Excuse me old man, my name is Ymir and these are my travelling friends.  One of your locals named Norm was injured on the road.  He spoke of someone known as the Captain; do you know this person? We need to get Norm some care for his injuries." 

 Enigma props Norm up a little better.  "Be still, Norm.  We're going to take care of that arrow in you.  If you keep moving around, you're only going to make it worse."

Madoc stands the other side of Norm, one arm firmly around the boy's waist as the boy's head lolls about.

"My hopes are high for this famous apple pie!" mutters the Dwarf, his belly rumbling loudly as he looks towards the orchard and the abundance of glistening apples hanging from the trees.

Now that the group are leaving the wilderness and entering the small town, Serafina and Shadow move closer to the others and walk along with them, but she still keeps a watchful eye on their surroundings out of habit.

She brushes her free hand through her long brown hair as she looks about the town. Shadow softly pants and looks about as he walks alongside her.

When Madoc comments about the apple pie, she silently wonders how such a small community could be 'famous' for anything. It seems unlikely that word would travel far for what seems like such a small thing to her Elven way of thinking.

"Hey, who, wha?" The old man tips back in his chair, the three legs becoming unbalanced, and lands with a resounding thud on the ground. "Norm! Ah, ya dumb lad, what ya get herself inta this time?". He stands up as fast as an old man can and hurries over. You can hear almost every creak and snap in his body as he does so. He looks are you all a bit unsure, then seems to lighten up a bit once he thinks things through: "Yeah, well, ya brought'em in I guess. And ya look like good folk. Why, my ol' granpappy had a elf friend like you", he stares at Serafina, "Granted, he wasn't as purrty as you are. An he didn't half a cat with him either. But, he sure did tell us stories." He fixes his chair while muttering something about a missing spindle before he plops back down. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes, me Grandpappy. He was a funny lol feller. Why, did I ever tell ya about his friend? He had an old elfy friend, kinda like herself", he points at Serafina. "Granted, he didn't have a cat. The elf I mean, not my Grandpappy. Well, he didn't have a cat either. Come to think of it, I never had a cat. I hear that them there cats only like elfy folk, like you there," He, once again points at Serafina. "Why, that reminds me. My ol Grandpappy, bless his soul, he had a friend that looked like you. I mean, he wasn't as pretty though. He didn't have a cat either!" He laughs at his own joke (if there was a joke), and looks at you all a bit bleary-eyed. "Ah, well, my apologies, sometimes I get a ramblin' and lose me a train of thinking. Now...where was I. Oh oh, yes, me Grandpappy. You see, he had a friend..." He points at Serafina...

"Lester!! Relax ya old coot, stop botherin' these mighty fine folk who come visitin' our small lil town here." A large obese man strides forward from a group of people, a wide toothy smile on his face. "Now then, muh'names Captain, Captain Morraye. Here here, let me get Norm some help." He takes the lad and hands him off to a young pretty dark-haired girl who leads the lad to a small house off to the side. "That boy, I tell ya, he is gonna get himself damn right killed one o' these days. Dead as a slug in salt I tell ya." He sticks out his ham-sized fist at Ymir, heavily calloused with a multitude of scars running up his arm, as if some great beast had bitten him. "I'm glad ya could make it to the festival! Why, you are just the first of many to arrive. We are expecting folks all evening and night if old man Lester don't go and scare them off!" He lets out a loud laugh and winks at the old man. "I'm just jesterin' with ya Les!" With a soft whisper at Ymir he rolls his eyes "Hell of a watchman, eh?"

In reply to Tribal GM (msg # 57):

I don't think it's Lester that's going to be scaring your guests off.  You seem to have a goblin problem here.  We were attacked by a small group of them.  They were the ones who injured Norm.  There were only four of them but I've never heard of just four being that bold.  They could have a chief and a clan settled into some place nearby.

Ymir turns to Madoc to see if he agrees with his assumptions about goblins.

"Aye!" says Madoc, joining Ymir, "Goblins are cowardly creatures! But these attacked a well-armed party...on a well-trodden road...near a bustling town. I'd be worried about all these visitors ye're expecting."

Serafina raises an eyebrow as they old man speaks. Perhaps there's something in the water. Certainly the Humans they've met here so far seem to be a rather odd bunch. Or perhaps it's a Human thing and she just doesn't understand.

She observes quietly and lets the others do the majority of the speaking. Perhaps they better understand the strange behavior of the people here.

 Enigma, while amused by Lester, takes in what Captain Morraye says and nods with Ymir's account of things.  After Madoc speaks, she says, "As would I."

 Then, she looks to where Norm has been taken.  "I'm something of a healer... if you give me some time with Norm and whoever is looking after him, I can see that he's back on his feet all the sooner.  I'd like to think that my companions can all attest that I'm no stranger to treating injuries."

"That I can!" replies Madoc, nodding, "I should know...she's fixed me up enough times. And she'll even play you a merry tune on her pipes while she keeps an eye on you afterwards!"

"Bah, the girl will do just fine. Why, look there, he is already as good as new!" Looking over at the small house you see the girl and Norm exit the house. She hustles away rather quickly, her hair hiding her frail features, and heads towards what you assume is the town hall or gathering center.

Norm smiles and waves his bandaged hand. "Why look at that, friends. She fixed up my hand in no time. It's like new!" He looks at the bandage then smiles and shrugs. "Well, thank you for helping me get back home here. Sure don't know what I would have done hadn't you come along and found me there and all. Those critters might have had me for lunch." Norm smiles and heads towards the gathering hall as well, his movements a bit stiff, perhaps from having been lugged around by the dwarf.

Captain Morraye claps Ymir on the shoulder. "A problem? With goblins? Bah, yer not afraid of a few of them twits are ya? I thought ya all were adventurers and such and here ya are worried about a couple of gobbos. Well, don't ye worry a bit. If'n they come down fer a visit, ol' Lester here will be sure to giv'em hell. And even if they manage to take him out, well, ya got me. I'll protect ya, don't ye worry. So come'on fellers, the cider be callen and the hogs be squealing." With that the large man turns and heads towards the gathering hall as well.

 Enigma seems fairly relieved when Norm comes out looking a little better than when he came in, but nonetheless gives him a once-over with her eyes to see if he's as good as he and the others say he is.

18:01, Today: Enigma rolled 2 using 1d20 ((2)).

Intelligence, to see if Norm's really all that good.

 In response to the Captain, Enigma says nothing but instead looks at the demi-humans among her, as if to say she defers to their knowledge of goblins to someone who probably just got his job by being related to the right person.  To Ymir, her expression says, "Well, we tried...".

In reply to Enigma (msg # 64):

Ymir nods to Enigma and shrugs.

"Well, let's not waste these free drink passes.  There's nothing like the sound of squealing hogs to work up my thirst for cider."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:32, Sat 22 May 2021.

Madoc frowns at the captain's off-handed manner regarding the goblins and the risk they posed to any visitors travelling to the town. "It's not us we're worried about..." he mutters. Something doesn't seem quite right here...but he shrugs it off at the mention of cider and hogs.

"Maybe there's someone in town with more sense we can talk to," Ymir says to Madoc quietly.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:35, Sat 22 May 2021.

In reply to Ymir Cosmari (msg # 67):

"I won't hold my breath!" replies Madoc, voice low, "Norm...Lester...the Captain...I reckon the cider has addled everyone's brains!"

Those words barely escape Madoc's mouth before the door to an outdoor lavatory is thrown open and a man, perhaps in his mid-years, sprints out, britches around his ankles and screaming like a fiend. He makes it perhaps 10' before he crashes face-first into the ground and lies there motionless. The Captain and the others in the town center all stop and stare in bewilderment, seemingly just as confused as you are. And, for a few moments, it seems as if everything stops, and silence surrounds the town.

The man's body begins to jerk frantically, his legs snapping and joints twisting as his body seems to curl in on itself. His head snaps out in a final scream before he curls into a broken fetal position, his skin turning into an ashen grey and tight across his wasted muscles and bones. He looks more like some sort of mummified blasphemous corpse that had been dragged from a grave. There is not a single strand of hair left on his body, his face is strange, almost monstrous with large opalescent eyes, a small mouth, and a tiny nose. His ears are high back on his skull and slightly pointed.

And with that, the chaos seems to erupt in the square with woman dragging away the children, and several of the larger men, dressed in strange outfits more suited to life at sea, hurry over towards the body. A group of others hang off to the side, watching curiously.

Madoc takes an involuntary step backwards as the man bursts out of the lavatory...then just stands there, mouth agape, as the man jerks about on the ground before them before finally moving his last.

"Don't touch him!" he calls out to his companions in the ensuing pandemonium. "We don't know how that happened to him!"

Wide-eyed, Madoc unslings his shield and pulls out his sword...warily watching the chaos around them and, in particular, the strangely dressed men making for the body.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:59, Sat 22 May 2021.

Ymir grimly nods at Madoc and grips his spear in a readied position pointed toward the corpse. Crouching low, he stalks around the opposite side of the former villager as Madoc, being careful to keep his distance.

"Stay back!" Ymir shouts to the men rushing toward the body.  "Stay back!"

"Enigma, do you recognize this sort of defilement?" Ymir says to the priestess without taking his eyes off of the corpse.  "This seems like something out of my grandmother's folktales and bedtime horror stories." 

18:59, Today: Enigma rolled 11 using 1d20 ((11)).

Intelligence check to identify problem.

Serafina notes Shadow's uneasiness. Animals could sense things beyond what most people could, so it made sense to pay heed and keep alert. She already felt the Human named 'Norm' was anything but and Shadow clearly is weary of the strange boy.

The Elf maiden can't suppress her look of disgust when the strange man bursts out of the outhouse half naked screaming and collapses on the ground. Her expression changes from disgust to alarm then the man transforms into...something else.

She immediately raises her bow towards the transformed person and quickly nocks an arrow while slowly stepping a few feet backwards.

Shadow growls at the Gollum-like man.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:16, Sun 23 May 2021.

"By all that is holy..." Enigma gasps at the man.  She searches for, well, any idea as to what might be afflicting him.

Ymir slowly moves his hand from the shaft of his spear to wipe away a bead of sweat rolling down his face without taking his eyes off of the corpse.