A Little Bit of Deductifyin'

Grolm 7, 578
 
The town was so calm, I wanted to check for a pulse.
 
Heading into the General Store, we met the mayor who also worked at the General Store. A human named Jaeke Blaze. Talkative and friendly. Which helped. Feathers and I headed in and struck up a conversation with the man while I purchased some jerky and two loaves of bread.
 
Jaeke filled the basket while we talked. Feathers started off gentle, but really if you don't get answers until you ask questions. So, I just rolled out our problem from the small mesa we found all the way to the angry cow walking on two legs brandishing a halberd. That got his attention. Jaeke said he had hoped that the Bicchieri Caravan would have found someplace safe to sit out the storm. But since they might have had trouble, Jaeke did offer to ask around. He suggested we head out to meet the mail coach and see if they saw anything on their route down.
 
The problem I saw was that the mail coach would be coming in from the north. We came in from the west then up to the town from the south. That struck me as odd. The other thing that I noticed was that the man looked almost frightened to ask around about the Bicchieri Caravan among the locals.
 
I stored that away for later. It felt important.
 
Meanwhile, Feathers got down to her own questions. Like the smithy. Most towns have them, where was the one for Purgatory Gulch? Apparently away from town, south over the hills. Jaeke said it was the smell, and I couldn't blame him there as they carried a powerful smell, yet it's far enough off that you couldn't see the smoke from the forge from town? That's a good stretch out. Which makes me wonder if the blacksmith is more for these local ranchers and farmers than the town? That would explain a few things.
 
And then Jaeke mentioned a squabble between the local ranchers and farmers. Farmers fencing off the land and needing water which puts them at odds with the ranchers. That was an old story I'd heard before. Hopefully, it hasn't come to bloodshed yet. Sometimes it does. Taking to that blacksmith might be interesting.
 
In any case, farms were to the south and east. If there is some sort of dust-up with the ranchers, that means the ranches are in the same direction, or real close to by. It'd be nice to know the water routes through the area. We know there's a nyad nearby and a lake.
 
The nyad. The lake. Water rights between farmers and ranchers. Now that - that was interesting.
 
How, or if, the Bicchieri Caravan is connected to the local fight I don't see yet. However, if the farmers and ranchers are fighting over water rights, she might be the third side in this fight. Her opinion would be the least biased of all three. Being the local nyad, she might have noticed a little about the caravan also. They might have stopped for water.
 
That was when I realized I had been lost in my own thoughts for a bit. I caught back up with everything in the General Store. I paid Jaeke his 14 copper for the jerky and loaves then followed Feathers out of the store.
 
I shared my thoughts with Feathers and that while I suspected that while she and I could be fine talking to a nyad, two others of our group would be better: Miro and Jessie. Nyads are water spirits. Jessie, being a druid, probably even can speak to her in her native tongue. Miro, being a stormborn, might get her attention in a positive way. Also, with her being to the north, that was the same direction we were pointed to meet up with the mail coach.
 
Jessie was still in town. It made sense to wait for him before tracking down the others. We didn't have long to wait. He appeared and had the local cleric, Padre Cirano, in tow.
 
The two of them had plans to set out south and southeast to look for signs the direction the caravan took after it left town. I explained my own deduction. So after a quick decision, we decided to gather the others and head south southeast to look for signs of the caravan. Then meet the mail coach at noon. After that? Talk to the nyad later that evening. It was a plan at least.
 
We head down to the livery to get some horses for the rest of us. Feathers can fly. Turns out he's got sedlae, which doesn't like me at all. No surprise. A lot of riding animals aren't fond of my scent. But I wound up with an older horse, half-blind but more docile. She didn't mind so she and I came to an agreement. After that, we headed off in the direction out of town, somewhat the same direction as Lee Chung. Locating his tracks and Chef's aren't a problem. I also found Miro's tracks heading south. Good to remember. We set out to find Lee Chung, then swing south for Miro.
 
After catching up with Lee Chung, we rode out to Tarntaise Farm. We were met at the front by a couple of the farmhands. The others got some Rutabaga Beer Cheese Soup, I stuck with the beer. Best to keep to what you know sometimes. I followed the beer wth a chaser of bunny jerky. While we ate, we talked a bit with the farmhands and explained we were looking into the missing Bicchieri Caravan. We didn't learn a lot about the caravan, that didn't stir any memories for the Tarntaise family, but Jackson mentioned a cemetery nearby that didn't used to be there with some sort of spirit haunting the place. He didn't seem to think it was interested in anything peaceful.
 
The spirit was first seen after the rains stopped along with the 'haphazard burials'. That's trouble if I ever heard it. But its also a sign we might be on the right track. Probably a bad track, but I'm not one to judge.
 
After a long talk, we head toward town until Jessie's dire bee showed back up .. along with Spiro. The little worm slaps into my chest wanting a treat. I give him jerky and Rowtag to keep the peace. Spiro then leads us back toward Miro off to the West. We catch up with Miro a little over a half-hour later.
 
Turns out Miro had come across a half-dead man who goes by 'Ranger'. The man has some odd brand on his cheek like a triangle. He was in bad shape and mentioned an anvil being stolen along with the blacksmith. Something bad about that but this Ranger didn't explain, just said it was complicated.
 
Starting out for the town to take Ranger someplace to rest, Miro showed us part of a map he was making. Along the way, Ranger explains that mark is likely the brand for Whippetal Ranch ... and branding hasn't been done for some time in the area. Save for tattoos which are done by a 'Miss Melinda'. Just the mention of her name set the Padre off. He's not fond of her. All he says is that she 'generates trouble'.
 
By the time we got back to Purgatory Gulch, it was noon. The heat was making the air start to shimmer. We kept the horses with us and took Ranger to the local church to Rhea the Lightbringer, Jasper Chapel. Once the padre treated Ranger and put a salve on the brand, we were ready to head out for this mysterious cemetery ... at least to make it there during the daylight hours.
 
On the way, Miro checked over some fire poker Ranger had with him. It was enchanted. Given all else about this town, this wasn't the strangest thing I'd seen all day. Maybe all week. Turns out the thing is proof against fire and has some clean enchantment to it. Handy. Something clerical but no one has an idea. Hopefully, what we don't know won't set us on fire.
 
This lead to explaining to the Padre about our dust-up with the "hell bovine" with the halberd. The Padre hadn't heard about this. I shouldn't have been surprised given Jaeke claimed Ranger's stories of "hell bovines" was a tall tale, but I was.
 
On the way, we talked over the situation. Jessie brought up a good point that the "hell bovine" might be the result of a curse on the ranchers that might have gotten out of control. That made a lot of sense, especially if this fuss between the ranchers and the farmers has turned into a range war.
 
Feathers took off to take a look around from above. Mostly cause she didn't want to go with us to the cemetery. I made light of it, but I can't blame her. No one sane really wants to go to a cemetery, especially one that shows up on its own with its own bodies.
 
The 'cemetery' is a scar on the land. Literal if nothing else. Grass, everything looks dead. A cactus on the edge looks half rotten. Jessie cast a few spells to listen to nature. I just studied the land. No matter how I looked at it, I came back to the same conclusion. Something demonic 'ate' the area. Sucked the life out of it. Only dryads - lady treants - have such a complete touch over nature. I don't like the idea of a dryad corrupted like that. Makes my head hurt.
 
We circled around to get closer to the center, at least as far as the horses would go. Leaving them tied up, we headed in on foot. In the middle was a cemetery, complete with some shallow graves and busted up caravan sections. Ika's Blessed Bandages ... that's not a good sign. I already feel for the kid back in Aquitaine.
 
There are markers, but not traditional ones. Rib bones with a bit of fabric on it, a neck kerchief hanging off a cactus quill, a willow branch bent over the grave all are what was used. Jessie went to check the one with the willow branch, I look for any signs of undead. This seemed the right place for it. It also means at least one survivor from the original caravan otherwise there wouldn't be anyone buried.
 
In checking over the graves, Miro tells us that a stormborn died here. A master stormborn who crafted a storm, but he was murdered he made the storm. Then his storm was 'bottled'. So, we've a wizard involved in this. It could be a necromancer. Though I just know that there's a demonic creature involved also. Maybe an ally? Wizards compel all sorts of things to work for them against their will. I know this all too damn well.
 
While we searched, Jessie mentioned someone used earth magic and shaped the ground to form the graves. Druid? Stoneshaper wizard? Not my area of expertise. I keep a closer eye out. This doesn't sit right. That was when I noticed tracks of small animals. Or what was left of them. Mice, snakes, and all the little critters here were raised a day or so after all this took place. To make this odder, the willow branch used as a grave marker had been alive when it was put in place as a grave marker. A killer wouldn't have marked the graves. So where'd the survivor go?
 
I tried looking for tracks but wound up seeing an elven woman with no shadow. A ghost. Well, this day just gets better by the moment.
 
She started talking, but we couldn't speak her language. Fortunately, Lee Chung showed up from the lessons he had left for some time ago. He could speak Falain and struck up a conversation with her. The elven woman has three conditions. First, she tells us we need to save Agaslaus' soul from the storm while pointing at the thing Miro has been waving around. The rope necklace. So Agaslaus was the stormborn and got trapped in a storm in a container. Second, she says she can't return to the mountain to be at rest. The pieces Jessie has have to go back to the mountain so she can rest. Then she pats me on the cheek and tells us we have to stop them from breaking the land up and 'playing around'.
 
I agree to take the elven ghost's remains - her amulet - home after all this. Take her back to the mountains of Samakar. It's part of what a Falcon's ranger does. Falconers help those that are lost find their way, and this elven lady needs help finding her way home to her final rest.
 
We head out around the scar to meet the mail coach and see what they know. I half-listen to the conversations keeping my own council about what happened. Lee Chung and Padre talked about the nyad at the pond, ways to greet the nyad, and so on. I pull out the amulet and check it for a scent to see who left it as a marker.
 
The elven woman had been in combat for days. Casting spells, fighting. There's a scent of goblin on the chain and amulet she spent a lot of time with. That goblin had the same scent of a storm that Miro does. The scent of her death ... she died where we found her grave. There is the smell of brimstone ... necromancy. Something tried to raise the elven woman after she died but failed to pull it off. Then over everything, there is the smell of a cypress tree in a swamp had brushed the whole thing.
 
And then I smell rosemary and garlic from the north ... damn.
 
Miro - who had run off again - found a farm that had been abandoned off to the west. I have a bad need to check to the north. But. The others make a point that the farm should be checked for the owners to see if they're all right.
 
When we get there, the farm looks abandoned. Old horse and donkeys left out in the pasture, rabbits gone, and the chickens haven't been cared for. Jessie and Miro see after the chickens. Padre and Lee Chung head into the house. I look for tracks outside the house.
 
I found what I was looking for.
 
There were four separate groups of tracks. This matched up to that four people lived there. Those tracks headed north, northwest. I had the suspicion that was the four members of the farm being carted off.
 
After that, I then headed out to the pasture to talk with the donkeys. They told me that a couple of days after the storm, hellbovines attacked the farm then headed off to the place that smells of cinnamon and ragweed. Not long after that, the celery came to live and attacked the farm. After that came an attack from cabbage. I apologize and explain their people were taken. To thank them, I offer to clean out their stall and get them fresh water. Especially since the horse is elderly and being cared for by the donkeys.
 
I met with the others outside the farmhouse and let them know. They had surprises of their own. Especially Sephia. She spotted smoke from the direction of the mail coach. Like being attacked. We quickly got to work, cleaning up the barn and stalls for the donkeys and their horse. In no time flat, we were ready to head for the mail coach.
 
Sephia flies off to get us a good look. Before she comes back, we hear four long notes played. She tells us a stampede is literally chasing down the stage. The others follow the Padre, racing off to cut off the stagecoach. I headed after them but ... the horse I'm on is a grand old lady, and running her? That's cruel. I wouldn't do that. I get her to trot her best. She deserves good care even if we're riding into an ugly problem.
 
The stage was being driven by what may have been Falconers. A passenger was firing a spell at the cattle to keep them at bay. Then, after one gets hit with a spell from the Padre, the cow raises up and grabs a halberd it had slung on its underside. We lay into the herd with spells, slings, and arrows but didn't buy the coach much as a second batch of the cows come running out a side trail and nearly knock the coach over!
 
Using my rope, I lasso the lead cow, then leap on its back. Slapping its hindquarters with the loose end of the rope, I try and turn the steer away from the coach and back down the trail toward the other stampede. Jessie launches a flaming sphere spell behind me. Between me managing to turn one stampede into the other, spells and slings, we take out the herd.
 
The stage races onto town. Exhausted, I catch up to the others and head back to town.
 
I can't wait to have a close personal meeting with a drink and a bath.