[IC] Prophetiae Adventum: Envoys of the Pantheon

[Crimson Paladin]

Sir Aurelian Asellius

Aurelian rode along a path of the patrol's approximate route, visor raised as to better see his surroundings. He'd hardly be able to keep up with a Pegasus Knight like Kyra, but on the ground he'd be able to see things that she could not, so far up in the air.

It wasn't much of a choice for Aurelian to participate search for the patrol. Paladins were not meant to be idle when there were people in need. Even if this wasn't potentially a ticket to gaining an audience with a very powerful man, there were people that were missing and needed to be rescued or at worst, recovered. Other things like visiting Sol's temple or exploring the city could wait.

Judging from what the guards had been saying, it sounded like Nuniel's Warforged soldiers had the locals pretty scared. He couldn't blame them- even many among Nuniel's forces were unsettled by those mechanical men. From what he had heard, they weren't anywhere close to the intelligence of a human, but were nonetheless obedient, fearless, and tough. They wouldn't lose heart if several soldiers next to them were skewered on a ballista bolt, they wouldn't stop fighting if a limb was hacked off, and would not disobey even the most suicidal or immoral orders.

It would be important to remember, however, that they were weapons, not warriors. If the person wielding them fell, they would not have the creativity and initiative to adapt to the situation as a mortal soldier might.

Aurelian glanced around the area as he rode. He wasn't much of a tracker- he had done some hunting in his previous life, sure, but it wasn't anything like this. However, he was familiar with the military capabilities of Nuniel, and should be able to recognize any telltale signs of a scuffle with his former nation. Even if there were no bodies left behind, the marks from stray magiarm fire or fragments broken off from a Warforged could remain behind as damning evidence of Nuniel's involvement. There was also the possibility, however, that Nuniel had nothing to do with this, it could be a third party taking advantage of the kingdom being occupied by the war. It also was possible that the patrol had simply deserted, having been worn down by the horrors of fighting this war.

The paladin looked up and watched Kyra fly about in the sky. He recognized the pattern- it was a searching pattern used by Nuniel's airships. He had not served on one, but he had seen them make that same pattern in the sky above them. His younger brother- or rather, his vessel's younger brother- was in fact an airship officer, having jumped at an opportunity to be at the forefront of the Empire's new technology. The younger Asellius was probably still up there, serving Nuniel faithfully. Aurelian wondered if it was easier serving in the sky, distanced from the horrors of war on the ground. In correspondences between them exchanged during the war, his brother's only grievances shared was of his uniform not providing adequate warmth against the cold winds, although who knew what was an officer might have been compelled to leave unsaid.

If we meet again, it's likely to be as enemies, he thought, saddened at the prospect of finding himself at odds with someone whom his vessel clearly cherished.

He couldn't allow himself to be distracted, however. He had to keep his eyes open for any sign of the patrol. Additionally, if something made this patrol disappear, it was possible they could still be lurking around.

[TheWendil]

“Hmm?”

The Red Scholar was lost in her own headspace and train of thought, so it was only natural she slightly jumped to the presence of another. Her instincts immediately told her it was just one of the fellow Envoy and the voice coupled with the snuggling confirmed it was Liora. Rean wondered what the sight must have looked like to outsiders and onlookers but she found she didn’t care what they thought. All that mattered was the mission…and whatever sort of fun their group could get into while obtaining that goal.

“Oh, Liora. Sorry, I was just thinking to myself,” she sheepishly explained to the other girl, not completely shrugging away from her arm. “Hopefully I wasn’t mumbling too. Who knows what I was letting slip out, hahaa~” An apple’s crunch filled her ears and the harsher rumble of her stomach made her realize she skipped breakfast. Or lunch? Honestly, Rean wasn’t quite sure what time of day it was anymore. “Well, I must admit, your company was rather impressionable Liora. Have to say, you might be one of my favorites out of our brothers and sisters.”

Rean leaned back, hands outstretched on the fountain’s edge as she sighed. “I was just thinking on how to get into that library. Figured that’d be the best place to look for information and spear our investigation,” she said, pointing towards Coris’ library just in front of them. “Alas, as you can see, the place isn’t kind to strangers like us. Really an annoyance….”

The girl’s stomach rumbled again, leaving Rean to place a gloved hand over her abdomen. “And it seems I’ve failed to feed myself. There I go again, lost in my studies. I don’t really care where you got that apple Liora so long as you have another you might not mind sharing? Also, where is Arthur? I swore he was supposed to help us investigate this city...

---

[FrogRFlowR]

@TheWendil@Rune_Alchemist
Walking through the city one couldn't help but notice how Coris relied on white rocks in their architecture, which was even more prevalent in the district known as the Sun Garden, where most temples and the Library was. It gave the city a large and clean look, with it's people going about in mostly blissful ignorance of just who were walking amongst them and the war going on -but that was nothing new at this point.

It wouldn't be long before Liora found Rean's company. The large Library that was now not too far from them was indeed well guarded. It was surrounded by stone walls atop which were spiked bars. Two guards were at the entrance, bearing the emblem of Goldshore which meant they were the Marshal's direct men. The Library itself was built on about three different floors, had a flat roof but very few windows probably due to the maintenance needs of old scrolls and books inside. From a thief point of view, it could be possible for someone agile enough to find a way above the walls around the library from a neighboring building and what not, but it was impossible to know if there was more guards inside the library or around it. There was also the possibility of maybe talking sense into the guards even though they knew the Library was off limits - maybe charm and charisma would be enough to save the day?

@Guppy Franz
As Arthur made his way on his own, at first, he would find about the same sights as his two sisters Rean and Liora. The city was peaceful, and it's people were happy. This was true even on the docks, were most people were hard workers who were more or less down on their luck.

Arthur then made his way into the temple of the city, also in the Sun Garden district. The temple was massive, with great stairsa leading to the main grounds which were elevated above everything else. The massive roof was held up by white columns surrounding the whole floor and a statue of almost every Gods was within, along with altars to give them gifts, offerings and prayers. Not many souls were inside, but Arthur wasn't alone. Seeing the Gods standing there, even in statue form was...like seeing your parents for the first time after coming back from a long absence. A wave of nostalgia would wash over the Knight even if he could not exactly remember any faces or actual memories.

He said his prayer, and things were silent at first. That was until something came up behind him...a hand reached out and landed on his shoulder as an older man stood there; one of the grounds keeper. "Wish that they could answer us directly, son." the older man said with real concern in his eyes. It was as if he knew the young man carried a heavy destiny with him and felt like he had to approach him. "Stay strong in these hard times. That you notice it or not, the Gods will find a way to show you your way. Keep faith."

It would have been bold to assume a direct answer from the Gods indeed, and yet... as their children, who knew? Maybe answers would come and if it was not now, maybe at a later time. Either way, if Arthur was to eventually make his way out of the Temple it would be easy for him to spot the library from up there and find his two companions. If that was his wishes.

@Psyker Landshark
The day was young and beautiful. Rays of sunlight pearled on the calm waters of the riverbank as the massive Dragonborn made his way upstream, his hard exterior and physique a literal contrast to the surrounding peaceful nature. Since a little while now his way brought up out of the immediate farmlands and he had entered a little wooded area, still following the water. Until now, he had seen nothing but... his luck was about to change.

As he made his way into a small clearing, near the water, he most likely would stop dead in his track as he saw the remainders of what seemed like a hidden camp. He would find a small shelter close to a destroyed fire pit, some supplies scattered around and...a body. One. The body itself was mangled, half eaten, with blood and his innards spilled nearby. One thing was still clear, though; the body's clothing was clearly from Nuniel military.

@Crimson Paladin@Click This
Like Vyandar the pair did not find anything at first, despite being mounted and having a good view from the skies. The farmlands were massive, so it was to be expected. Aurelian would meet peasants on the roads leading through the fields. Maybe he asked them a question or not, but they didn't have much to say. That was until, many hours into their search, they ended up finding a peasant dwelling that seemed empty. It was kind of away form the main roads, spotted by Lutatia at first and pointed to Aurelian.

Upon arrival, the man would find it completely deserted which was abnormal. Normally he would find kids playing or a house wife, at least, taking care of the place. Upon further looking around, chances were he would spot signs of struggle around the house and weird looking tracks leading into the field where the crops seemed damaged like if something large passed through there.

From the airs, Lutatia would see a bit more of what happened. While she couldn't see the signs of struggle or the tracks, she definitely saw a spot further into the fields that seemed like it was destroyed. There was a small area where the crops were all destroyed and the earth had been turned upside down, but that was the limit of what she could see from up there.

[Psyker Landshark]

Vyandar Urthac

Vyandar's focus sharpened as he finally came across something. A small camp in the middle of the forest. A tarp and a stick forming a lean-to, a fire pit, and...ah. A corpse. There was something, at long last. The dragonborn knelt down next to the body and began to inspect it.

For one, it was wearing a Nuniel uniform. That explained some things. Cause of death...well, likely a wild beast, given that the corpse had clear bite marks and was nearly torn in two. Vyandar frowned. Some more investigative work around the campsite might yield one lead or another, but the chance was slight. Of course, as a wielder of divine magics, there was another option...

The cleric reached into his armor and yanked his holy symbol out, holding it over the corpse as he began to channel magic through it.

"In the name of Anhur, let your spirit return to this broken body. Provide answers to my questions, soldier." Vyandar chanted, casting a spell to allow him to temporarily converse with the dead. It wasn't perfect, of course. He had five questions, at most, and the corpse's spirit was under no compulsion to tell him the truth. But it was a more viable option than fruitlessly searching around the camp. As the spell took hold, Vyandar looked the corpse in the eyes before beginning to speak.

"Answer these questions, in order: what killed you? What were you doing this far into Coris's territory? Did you encounter a patrol of Corissian militamen?"

[Rune_Alchemist]

Liora

---

"Hmm, well I don't have another one, but..." Liora would offer the apple she had already bitten to Rean, pressing the fruit to the other girls lips. "I don't mind sharing a bite or two with you." She'd glance over to the library. Her past life as a pirate and noble only gave so much information on those sorts of things. Often, it was brute force she used to really break and enter into places. Finesse wasn't really her forte, after all...and well, she was definitely certain as it stood out in broad daylight there was probably no chance of her getting inside with such a method.

"Library, huh? Can't say they're the most fun of places...except, maybe, when looking for maps or sea charts that might have clues to more hidden places." She'd idly comment, holding a hand to her chin. Heavily defended. She doubted she had enough coin in the world to bribe someone, too. Thus, the only thing left that seemed to make sense in terms of getting at least one of them in.

Was causing a scene.

Or causing a 'scene'.

"Hmm...lets see, alright. The only visible way in seems to only be trying to scale the walls from a nearby building." While she was pretty confident in her physical ability, she wasn't particularly agile. "Let me go distract the guards, hm? You try and sneak in if you want in that badly, yeah?" Standing up from her seat and giving Rean a pat on the head as she'd leave.

What could go wrong? Well, hopefully everything. Where was life without some excitement?

"Heeeey~!" She'd strut up to the guards with a confident demeanor a usual friendly, charming smile plastered on her lips. "Don't suppose you guards have a moment to spare hm?"

[Crimson Paladin]

Sir Aurelian Asellius

Something had definitely happened at this humble farmhouse. The occupants were nowhere in sight, and it looked like there had been a struggle. Most worriesome, however, was the tracks leading to the fields, which were heavily damaged. It didn't look like Nuniel's handiwork- whatever did this was monstrous enough to plow through crops as if they weren't there, yet simple-minded enough to leave the peasant's dwelling unscathed.

There was no sign that the patrol could've been here, but whatever attacked this place could potentially be connected to their disappearance. Even if it wasn't, Aurelian felt a duty to root out and eliminate this threat before it could prey on more innocent peasants. Besides, removing whatever monster was lurking about might curry some favor with the Marshal even if they didn't find any evidence of the patrol.

It appears as though some sort of monstrous creature had attacked this place, and judging from the damage to the crops, it was something big. I don't see any damage to the home, so perhaps there could be a survivor within.

Aurelian cast a spell, conjuring a bright light about 50 feet above him to signal to Kyra that he had found something important and needed her at his location. He wasn't sure if Vyandar would be able to see it, but didn't expect that the dragonborn would be close enough or have a suitable vantage point to notice.

I wonder if he's found anything, he pondered as he watched the radiant sphere reach its full intensity.

After the spell was cast and his beacon of light was in place, the paladin opted to take a closer look around while his companion was descending down to the ground. He dismounted, walked over to the house and knocked on the door.

"Hello? Is anyone in here? I am Sir Aurelian, Paladin of Sol. I chanced upon your dwelling, and if anyone's still here, I'll help you however I can."

If there was no answer, Aurelian would tentatively open the door, but not step through the threshold. Rather, he would peer into the interior, attempting to gauge whether or not anyone was within, dead or alive. With his eyes acclimated to the bright light of the spell that he had cast, however, it might take a few moments for him to see anything within.

@Click This

[TheWendil]

“Eh? No, I will do no such thihnff.”

Rean lightly glared at the other girl but her stomach kept her from denying Liora’s apple. Whether she liked it or not, she needed to eat something. Begrudgingly, and refraining from pointing out the probable germination such an act entailed, she munched on the fruit even as the other girl was lost in her own thoughts. Good, because she didn’t fancy Liora catching her flustered expression or caring for her apple because soon enough Rean devoured the fruit, core and all. It seemed she was hungrier than she thought.

Wiping her lips with her sleeve, she was just about to suggest they go look for Arthur before Liora took it upon herself to act as the “distraction.” It was a plan they hardly agreed to. Rean was left agape, hair slightly frazzled from Liora’s headpats. “Wait, we can’t just…Liora that’s reckless, you fool!” But she was already up and near the guards. Rean cursed, an action that was probably unfavorable with the other gods but more than in-character for her patron.

What, did Liora think she was some sort of thief? Was she even dressed like one? Why couldn’t they have gotten someone more suited for the task to sneak around, like Arthur. She idly felt his presence nearby but not close enough to be of real assistance. Rean sighed and got to moving before the guards realized what they were doing. Scanning around for a higher vantage point, she spotted the closest building to the library. First step was first, just getting onto this building was going to be a hassle. Luckily, she had the merits of a small open window…and magic.

Rean unstrapped the Devulga at her hip, flipping through the pages and muttering some soft but subtle words to the tome. She intended to conjure up crimson winds, just enough to elevate her to the window without causing a panic. It would be just their luck she summoned a crimson tornado instead but she doubted she had the energy for that anyway. Getting to the window was the easy part of course. Next remained scaling the library from this building.

---

[Click This]

Kyra Pfalz-Karstadt,

most definitely not Lutatia Eichenwald von Brudel

---

The last of the tea had run out, and Lutatia had nothing to show for it, but she had been prepared for an extended search. She had packed enough for two full meals for herself, plus a little extra if her companions needed an extra pick-me-up. She had long finished her inflight meal of some toasted sandwiches, and was tucking into some delightful cream-filled biscuits when something on the ground below that she was idly observing caught her eye. Or, rather the lack of something. She popped one last baked treat into her mouth before she nudged Lede to descend to a lower altitude for a closer look.

The anomaly in question was a village, but it seemed quite abandoned, and abandoned recently. There were some easily explainable reasons that could have a village deserted so, but considering the circumstances of the missing patrol and the rumors of meddling by Nuniel, it was a point of interest.

“Ser Aurelian,” she spoke, putting power into a communication spell to the nearby knight. “There’s a village off the spur of the main road to your left. It’s been abandoned, and I think we should check why.”

There was no response from the knight, but she hadn’t expected one, because it was one-way. He didn’t have the knowledge of the spell to reply. Frankly, that was probably going to be an issue going forward. With the party already split up, fast two-way communication could mean life or death. She would have to figure out a way to teach everybody the spell or some close equivalent, somehow.
She continued to provide overwatch as Aurelian headed over, in case something went wrong. If the village had been taken over by troops from Nuniel, for example, then it wouldn’t do if she went down with Aurelian and was ambushed together. From the closer view, though, it was obvious that something sinister had happened here. A field had obviously been torched in the recent past, which didn’t bode well for anything good.

It was only when he casted his signal flare spell did she react, first, with a wince, before finally making a lazy descent onto his position. After all, if there was enemy action here, he’d just alerted everybody else, as well.

Glancing around carefully as she landed, she made her way over to the knight. It was obvious up close that there had been a struggle, and it seemed Aurelian was investigating one of the houses.

“Well, we’ve certainly found something,” she idly commented. “Anything important?”

[FrogRFlowR]

@Psyker Landshark
Upon inspecting the body Vyandar would not only notice that, yes, wild beasts killed the man but also... he was killed in quite the gruesome way. The bite marks were more akin to tearing, and the body was partly dissolved from something acidic - half eaten. Good thing then, indeed, that the Dragonborn knew of clerical magic.

The magic entered the corpse, and slowly the parts of it was were missing started to grow back, so to speak, as a temporary green necromantic mist took the form of the missing limbs and half of it's head. The body's eyes also began glowing and the corpse began groaning as if it was in great pain.
"Aggh...Out of nowhere...six legs...giant...bugs..." was it's first answer.
"...Secret...mission...observe..." was the second one.
"Avoided...patrol...hided...here...to lay...low..." was the third question, the last one asked by Vyandar.

If he was attentive, the Cleric would also notice the body of the man had an insignia on his uniform - a staples of Nuniel's new reformed military. It could give more information if brought to someone who knew more of Nuniel from the inside... For now, two questions remained if Vyandar so wished it.

@Rune_Alchemist@TheWendil
The diversion worked. At least, as far as Liora intended. The guards were indeed perplexed and surprised to be approached this openly by a seemingly young girl. They looked at each others, but did not move from their post. Still, their eyes were fixed on Liora. "Well...what do you want, girl." said one guard while the second quickly added "You cannot access the library without the necessary letter of recommendation from the Marshal." The second one seemed a lot more strict than the first, who seemed like he would be more suited to Liora's charm than his older, stuck up companion. Behind the guards, Liora could see Rean doing her things.

As for Rean, her little plan worked. The Temple district was it's fair share of people walking about but Rean found herself in a small alleyway between the building and the Library's outer wall, hidden just enough to be out of immediate eye sight. Liora was doing her part, for now, and the guards eyes were on her. The girl's magic worked and soon, Rean was up to the window. From there, she could probably go into the building, which looked liked a storage one, and see if something led to the roof or she could try and jump across, over the outer wall and land in the library's ground, inside the wall. From there, she would need to sneak in. Of course, she could also attempt another magic trick to scale the Library from here. From her vantage point, the Library's roof was a good 15 to 20 feet up. Going to the Storage building's roof would probably shorten this by half, easily.

@Crimson Paladin@Click This
Aurelian would find that, upon knocking at the door, it slowly creeker and began swinging open. The house was a simple enough abode; one floor, a fire in the center and beds on the side. From the look of things, this house belonged to a family of three. At first sight, there was no one. Aurelian then asked if anyone was in there, and still no answers.

It was about that time when Lutatia descended from the skies and approached the knight, still outside the door frame. It was then and only then that Aurelian would spot it; a small head peering at them from inside the house, hidden behind one of the flipped table. Whoever it was noticed it was seen, and ducked back behind the table before slowly stepping out, careful at first but when it saw two knights, it ran at them.

It was in fact a child, no more than 10 years of age. A young half-elf girl, by the looks of it.
"Please! Help! Mommy and Daddy... Find them...Please!" It seemed they had recognized Lutatia's clothing as Corissian. Or the Pegasus was what made the Girl trust them, as no one from Nuniel had those. Either way, it was apparent from her actions that she trusted the two strangers. The girl quickly approached them, on the verge of tears, barely able to speak.

[Click This]

Kyra Pfalz-Karstadt,

most definitely not Lutatia Eichenwald von Brudel

---

The knight was already entering the house when Lutatia was asking her question. As she hadn’t spotted an obvious threat from above, and Aurelian had not indicated anything other than that the hamlet was not occupied, she dismounted to get a better look. With years of partnership with her Pegasus, she could trust her to not wander off and get into trouble without needing to tie up her mount.

She noticed the movement only a moment after Aurelian, and she immediately tensed, resting her hand on the hilt of her sword as the shape suddenly ran out towards them.

It was a villager, a child.

Lutatia let the tension flow out of her as she relaxed, though a worried feeling remained as she removed her hand from her sword. “It’s alright now, we’re here.” Her face softening, she affected a reassuring smile as she knelt down to console the girl and give her a pat on the head. “What’s your name? I’m Kyra, and this is Aurelian. We’re here on behalf of Marshal Dunham to see what’s going on,” she explained. It seemed the half-elf girl had been reassured by either her Corissian clothing or Lede, but either way, letting her know that they were officially from Coris would go a long way to reassuring the girl.

“We’ll do our best to help you find your mommy and daddy, but we’ll need to ask some questions to help us find them,” she nodded, speaking carefully as she fumbled through one of the pouches on her belt before finding what she was looking for. It was a good thing that she had brought those cream biscuits. She offered the little girl some of the sweets before she continued. “Do you know why the village is deserted, or where they or the other villagers went? If you’re not sure, just a direction would be helpful.”

She shared a glance with Aurelian. Either way, this was quickly growing far more worrisome than a simple missing patrol. Between the burning fields, and empty village, she had a bad feeling about what they might find beyond the threshold of the village. Whatever it was, she dearly hoped this young girl wasn’t already an orphan.

[Guppy Franz]

Arthur Lupin

---

Silence. Nothing but silence answered his prayers as he knelt before his Goddess. It was nothing new, any prayers he's whispered on his journey as always gone unanswered, but he had hoped that she would make an exception just this one time in this holy place. As disappointment filled his hazy mind Arthur felt a hand rest on his shoulder and flinched in surprise as he was pulled from his thoughts. Looking up to see an old groundskeeper looking down at him with a concerned expression. A heavy frown came to Arthur's face from the man's words, letting them sink in as he slowly rose to his feet. A small sigh escaped him as he gave a slight nod, forcing a strained smile as he met the groundskeeper's eyes. "I will sir, thank you for your kind words," he thanked him before giving one last glance up to his Goddesses statue. His gaze hardened as the strange feeling in his chest stirred again. Shaking off the odd feeling and looking back to the groundskeeper, Arthur gave his farewells and made his way out of the temple grounds, the weight on his shoulders heavier than ever. Well, at least he tried.

Not wanting to get too far behind in his investigation he cleared his head of any doubts and debated where his next destination should be. Soon he sensed two of his fellow Envoys nearby and looked towards the city's library. Two heads were better than one so adding a third head should make things easier, right? Wasting no time, he made his way to the library and would soon spot Liora speaking with two guards outside the library. He couldn't pick up the conversation, but he did catch a glimpse of Rean casting some type of spell that helped her rise from the ground to an open window in a building across from the library. It didn't take long for Arthur to piece things together and sighed, scratching his head as he started to think of what to do next. Glancing at Liora and the guards he figured he'd leave the talking bit of the plan to her, plus he didn't want to take the chance of making the soldiers suspicious of a new face joining the conversation. Looking back to Rean as she managed to make it up to the window and back to the walls surrounding the library he decided it was time to give his limbs a bit of a workout.

Making sure to stay out of sight of the guards Arthur made his way to the alleyway between the library and the building Rean was in. He gave her a quick wave from below as he crept up to the side of the building and held up a finger to signal her to give him a second. Sizing up the wall of the building in front of him he rolled his shoulders, clenched and unclenched his fingers, and took a deep breath before running up to the wall and leaping up to begin scaling up towards her. Finding a path up the wall was easy work for Arthur, his time training his agility and nimbleness paying off as he made his way up to the window. "Greetings," he whispered with a slight smile to Rean, hanging from the wall next to the window. "Apologies for being late, but I'll try to find a way across from above. Maybe scope the place out to make sure it's clear," he said in a hushed tone before continuing his climb, doing his best to make as little noise as possible from his assent.

[Crimson Paladin]

Sir Aurelian Asellius

The door opened by itself. As soon as the paladin's eyes adjusted, he took a good look at what was inside. It appeared to be empty at first glance, and aside from some flipped furniture, nothing looked too out of place.

Just as Kyra arrived, Aurelian spotted something moving in the house. Upon a closer glance, it was a half-elf child, clearly frightened. After a few moments of hesitation, she ran towards the two knights and begged for them to find her parents.

Poor thing, who knows what horror she might've been through.

On one hand, it should be a relief that someone had survived this. On the other hand, it was heartbreaking to see a small child crying for her parents. He couldn't be sure if they'd be able to bring them back alive, not until they knew what happened or what they were dealing with. He greatly hoped, however, that they'd be able to save the mother and father. After all the children in Coris that became fatherless due to his participation in the war, he wanted to do some good for the people of this country for once by preventing similar tragedies.

There was more to this, though. The disappearances of the girl's parents, and the lack of physical evidence as to what happened, wasn't too dissimilar to the patrol's disappearance. It was quite possible that the same culprit was behind both disappearances, meaning that if they found the girl's parents, they'd also find the lost patrol. If they were lucky, this child would have some information on what did this and what it did with its victims. In truth, though it didn't matter to much whether or not the disappearances were connected, because Aurelian wasn't going to let this child's plight go unresolved.

"Forgive me for asking this, but what exactly happened here? Did you see what caused this, and if you did, what did it look like?" he asked after Kyra had given her questions, kneeling down and removing his helmet as to appear more welcoming. "Please, I know it's painful, but whatever you can tell us could go a long way towards helping to find your parents."

[Psyker Landshark]

Vyandar Urthac

Unexpected. The Nuniel soldier's spirit had been far more helpful than anticipated. Vyandar had half been expecting it to spit at him and refuse to answer. Though his lack of any insignia related to Coris or Latis likely helped. He released the spirit from having to answer two more questions, dispelling his Speak With Dead spell as he began to think to himself.

This was obviously some sort of spy or scout unit, but it was the first part of his questioning that had Vyandar intrigued. Six-legged giant bugs? Were those native to Coris, or was something else going on here? The dragonborn knelt down as he considered this, ripping the insignia off the dead man's body and tucking it into a belt pouch. If nothing else, Aurelian might have some knowledge of this, being the only obvious man of Nuniel in their party.

Vyandar stood back up, holy symbol still in hand as he started to channel another divine spell. He cast a Sending spell, directed at Kyra. Twenty-five words sent instantaneously to her mind, with her being able to answer in kind.

Encountered a Nuniel scout camp. Corpses. They were killed by six-legged giant insects, apparently. Regroup on you or return to Coris?

[Rune_Alchemist]

Liora

---

"Oh, no worries. I'd rather be out here with you strapping gentlemen anyways." Liora responded with a smile as she'd move up close to the two seemingly forgetting what 'personal space' meant. How to approach this? Ignorant tourist? Lady looking for some company? It seemed like only one of the two would be easily distracted and she wasn't particularly wanting to put effort into this.

"Ahem, but let me start with Introductions. Orial." She'd offer the two of them a flirty smile and a wink, making careful note of seeing if Rean was making good progress without being too terribly obvious about it. "I'm just a humble traveler looking for information and maybe a bit of a good time. Does this library have Sea or Star charts? Of a more historical recording, that is. Something not as up to date." An innocent question, didn't matter if they answered or not as long as she kept their attention on her for now.

[TheWendil]

So far so good. Rean successfully made her way up the building with only the library’s roof left as an obstacle. Their goal was so much so in their grasp and she glanced downwards to make sure Liora was still keeping the guards away. She was delighted to find the other girl wasn’t all talk in her abilities; or rather, she supposed she was all talk when she was trying to distract in flirtation. Rean settled, pondering her next move, only to blink in surprise at a familiar face.

“Arthur!?” A few questions circled her head to where the other Envoy could have been but she decided the immediate situation was more important. Realizing the boy was much nimbler and adept in scaling walls than she was, an idea formed in Rean’s head. “Wait, Arthur, why don’t you just drop down into the library for me? Look for anything that might give us a clue about Sol if you can. I can help distractions from here.” Indeed she had a good vantage point from where she was now, able to roughly see the interior of the library from here.

She began conjuring another spell from her tome, the same crimson winds forming under Arthur. “This will make you lighter so use it well. Remember, when you get to the other side, try and find anything about Sol. Make haste! I don’t know how long Liora can keep up her act.” Though it seemed the other girl was working well on her own. Such was the folly of humans.

---

[FrogRFlowR]

@Crimson Paladin@Click This@Psyker Landshark
The little girl threw a few glances at Aurelian but seemed a bit more intimidated by him, which might be expected of a little girl seeing a veteran man in full armor. The house was spotless, so it seemed that whatever happened had happened outside. When the girl spoke up, it seemed to confirm this; "The others...they went to work along with Ma and Pa..." she said, pointing through the window at a location near the field on the other side of the house. "I don't know..." she then added to Aurelian's question about where they went. "I heard people scream...I don't know what happened..." Saying this seemed to have brought everything left in the girl, and she shut down, crying once more.

That being said, it would not be hard to figure out what happened for both of them if they went over to the location the girl pointed. The grass was completely turned over here as if a fight had happened. There was blood on the ground, but at the same time it also looked like something melted part of the grass and into the ground. There was track in the ground and they were not humans. This was further backed by the crops being destroyed and moved in a way that demonstrated something large moved through the field and, more than likely, brought the bodies of the peasants with them. Everything pointed to some sort of wildlife of monster having done this, and it was now up to them if they wanted to follow that trail or bring that information back as is.

As for Vyandar, the corpse fell back to the ground, spent, as the Priest released his magic, never to be raised again. The message he sent Kyra and Aurelian would probably allow them to connect the dots and realize that whatever happened to the scout was the same creature, or type of, that also attacked the village and may be behind the villagers disappearances lately. This was the informations the authorities were after. If Vyander indeed decided to regroup, with the two of them it would take him a few hours to reach the small villages his companions were at but it was do-able before nightfall.

@TheWendil@Guppy Franz@Rune_Alchemist
One of the guards certainly kept his attention on her but the second one didn't seem too interested. That being said, he was pretty exasperated with his colleague's behaviour and kind of looked the other way. The one guard Liora leaned against was none the wiser. "Well...We didn't really go in there but it's entirely possible. The Marshall loves his old books, eh. Where you coming from, lady? You don't seem like you're from around here. D'you...need someone to show you around maybe?" Clearly emboldened by his "success" the guard made advances, absolutely oblivious he was in the palm of Liora's hand right now - and even more so oblivious to the two companions goinf up the neighbouring building.

Rean plan would work, and it would allow Arthur to easily make his way on the other side of the wall and sneak into the library. If he followed his plan and looked for a way up top Arthur, now lighter, could jump to through the Library window and land on the second floor once inside. He would then immediately notice the size of the library - and the silence. Apart from the sounds now faintly coming from the window there was only one other sound in the building; someone moving around. He could hear the Librarian moving about down on the first floor. It was an old lady, and Arthur was probably nimble enough to sneak about. From here on out, it would be a matter of time to walk around, evade the Librarian and find a number of books or scrolls on Sol and general history portraying to Sol and his cult.

While Arthur was doing that, however, outside things suddenly became a bit more complicated for Liora and now Rean. Three other men soon showed up; to more of the Marshal bannermen and a well dressed man.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing, you idiot?!" said one of the two newly arrived guard. The second one just kind of positioned himself behind Liora and those two didn't seem too interested in her good looks. "You're supposed to be watching the gates, not the harlots walking around! - and you, girl, piss off." he said to Liora, his eyes lingering on her but for a second it seemed before looking away.

"Now unlock the gates and let us in, this man was authorized to go inside."

[Psyker Landshark]

Vyandar Urthac

What an unproductive day this had been thus far. The only way Vyandar had managed to honor Anhur by evening was when he had taken several minutes to deliver last rights to the corpses of the Nuniel scout camp. They had died in battle, and thus warranted honors for that reason. Aside from that, though, the day up to dusk had been nothing but tedious searching and travel. How disappointing.

Kyra had informed Vyandar that both she and Aurelian would be staying put in some run-down village until he caught up. It took a few hours of trudging, but the cleric eventually made it to the location he'd been given. His fellow Envoys came into view, and Vyandar picked up his pace until he stood before them, examining the two.

"Any further developments?" He grunted before looking down at the young human girl that seemed to be accompanying them. "And you've picked up a stray, it seems. A survivor? Good on you, girl."

[Crimson Paladin]

Sir Aurelian Asellius

"Nothing has happened since you contacted us," Aurelian replied to Vyandar. "Judging from what the girl said, and what you found, I think we'll be lucky if we find enough to positively identify our missing scouts," he whispered, not wanting the girl to hear his grim assessment. Of course, giving half-elven, she probably overheard it all the same.

Aurelian was greatly relieved when the Dragonborn finally arrived. The revelation that the attackers were giant insects, and the evidence of blood and aftermath of acid in the field dimmed the chances of finding the girl's parents or the scouts alive. Depending on how ravenous these insects were, they might not even find enough to bury. On one hand, it meant that they could afford to wait to assemble to proceed onward, but it also cast a shadow over the paladin's mood, that it was likely too late to save anyone.

The wait gave him time to anticipate his opponents. There wasn't enough time to prepare spells, but fortunately most of his spells were still ready for use. For an hour he had picked up an ant off the ground and examined it, speculating that their foe would be somewhat similar. They'd probably be armed with massive mandibles and powerful acid, and protected by a hard exoskeleton, yet at the same time be unintelligent and driven by the simplest and basest of instincts. According to Vyandar's sending, there were at least several of them.

From the Dragonborn's information on the dead Nuniel soldiers, Aurelian was able to explain to his companions that the insignia on their uniforms marked them as being apart of part of the Nuniel Army's Forward Scouts and Reconnaissance unit. If they were snooping around in Coris, it was possible, the paladin surmised that Nuniel may be planning an offensive. At the same time, however, the insects' slaughter of the camp may have slowed down his former country's plans- a silver lining in this otherwise tragic sequence of events.

As the emissary of Sol prepared to set out to find and slay these creatures, he couldn't help but think of the half-elf girl. Once this was over, assuming that her parents had already been eaten, they should find the girl a new home. Perhaps she had family, or perhaps there might be a local farmer that knew her and was willing to take care of her. Whoever it was, it would need to be someone who wouldn't malign the girl for her mixed ancestry. He hoped that the people of Coris were more accepting of half-elves than those of Nuniel.

@Psyker Landshark@Click This

[Click This]

Kyra Pfalz-Karstadt,

most definitely not Lutatia Eichenwald von Brudel

---

Lutatia gave the girl a soothing expression, both to take her attention off of Aurelian, and to distract her from the obviously terrible business that had befallen this village and its inhabitants. Schooling her face from frowning, she nodded at the meagre information she offered, glancing in the direction of the field the half-elf child had pointed towards. She shared a glance with Aurelian before she knelt back down as the child burst back into tears, doing her level best to calm and soothe the girl with reassuring words and further offerings of biscuits and sweets.

Nonetheless, when she received Vyandar’s message, she had to step away to communicate with him.

Acknowledged. Discovered empty village, found one child. Investigating with Aurelian, regroup on us.

By the time Vyandar had made it to them, it was a few hours later. Lutatia had returned to the girl’s house to give her shelter, and looking about her house, decided to make a meal for her in the meantime with the young child’s help to take her mind off more morbid matters. In the meantime, Aurelian had gone off to inspect the field, and when he came back, what he found was not very encouraging when it came to the survival of the girl’s parents or any of the villagers, if whatever these insect monsters were had really destroyed both a patrol and enemy action.

She met Vyandar as he arrived, keeping away from earshot of the child under their temporary charge. “Nothing significant. We have an easily tracked trail for these beasts. With the three of us, we can probably scout further, but not with a child in tow. We can either return to the city as-is and report our findings, or I can fly the girl back to safety and return so we can continue uninterrupted,” she replied, offering the two options that came to her. Personally, she leaned towards the latter, although she was unsure where to bring the girl to. She could probably hand her off to the city guards, and they’d take care of her well enough, but her parents were dead, then she would be sent to an orphanage. Not terrible, but not the best of fates, either. Alternately, she could bring her to her house and leave her to the care of her host’s servants, who she was sure would provide a gentler hand in all scenarios…

Well, she’d think more on that later.