Verget the 16th.
Our heroes decide to make preparations before heading out to retrieve Oatmeal and then head to their next Gravers' Guild expedition at Skachalo. They first head over to speak with Major Winch about the missing Crethrien and her possible connection to the Thorns of Arjun, they also pass on a tip about the Thorns' possible contact at Hobfast. After this, they head to Tevan the Worm to get their weapons imbued with the striking runes, and the stables to get the wagon they procured from the Crossbow Bros. after their failed assassination. The stablemaster is only too happy to rid himself of that, sells the PCs some horses and sends them on their merry way.
The PCs roll into Halehusk in the evening and speak to a lazy private outside the guard tower, then speak direction to Captain Caiman, warning the lizardman of the rumored activities of the Thorns which might have passed through the village en route to Toul Tabor. They hear some rumors about recent murders and such, but head over to stay at the Lone Wheel Inn. They speak with the barkeep and meet a gnome who has had some trouble on the road and wishes seek travel to Skachalo, the PCs agree but only if they can bring him along to Livenoak in the meantime. As they are taking their meal, Gary notices a strange exotic cat roaming about the bar freely.
Verget the 17th.
As the PCs are settling in on the second floor of the Inn, there is a scratching at the shutters, and they realize it's the same strange cat (a caracal), trying to get their attention. They decide to follow it when it leaves, Gary also transforming into the same breed of cat, which freaks out the original. It leads them into the Blind Vixen, where they speak to the jungle elf proprietor Ofra, to whom the caracal is an animal companion. She is concerned about the bodies that were discovered at the stables in recent weeks, and asks if the PCs will investigate since the Eidolorn Guard seem to have given up on it. She believes the corpses are still kept in the basement to the Hale Tower.
The PCs debate just asking Captain Caiman once more, or taking the law into their own hands, and they decide somewhere in the middle, sending in Gary in an insect wildshape to stake out the corpses while the others watch, and then plan to confront the Guard if they intervene. Gary heads into the bulkhead to the disconnected Hale Tower cellar, and finds two bodies stuffed into a barrel...they appear to have been drained of almost all their fluids, and when he flattens out the bodies on the floor of the cellar, he notes that they have puncture marks upon them...
PCs: Finian Redfoot, Gary Greasewax, Indrid Hosspotch
NPCs
Artur Runibald (human male): Despite his obvious age, well over 70, this portly human dyes his shoulder-length hair and well-trimmed goatee to appear as if he were much younger, but can’t hide the cracks on his face and the lilt in his step. He wears fine boots with steel heels and carries about a switch with a brass pommel.
Crussock (human male): The portly barkeep at the Lone Wheel House is a broad-shouldered man just under six feet tall, with thick, tattooed arms that he displays under a cream-colored shirt and leather jerkin. His jaw is flat with a fairly severe underbite, and his thick sideburns are long enough to hang to the sides of his chin. Despite that, his hair is thinning into mere patches on the top of his skull, and he ties the rest into a knot in the back. A corkscrew and paring knife are tucked into his leather belt along with a number of pouches.
Gubbily Sturrow (gnome male): This three foot tall gnome is towered over by nearly everyone he meets. His thick spectacles accent his kind, blue-gray eyes, and his forehead is heavily sunburned to the point its peeling beneath his fluffy white hairline. He wears a thick coat and vest that are heavily weighed down by all manner of small tools and measures, and extended from his belt is a retractable spring-arm, firmly clutching a steaming cup of tea. He clutches a folio of loose, messy papers beneath one arm, and an unusual walking stick in the other.
