(Orchard Operation) Soot Blackened Fruit

[Seraphina]

Sera continues to pause, looking at the building.

Something wasn’t…right. But what was it? Then again, this whole place is not right. Maybe she's being too paranoid. So she looks, studying how things are. How they’ve…paused.

Carefully, she will walk closer. But doesn’t want to go in. At least, not yet.

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-23 10:20:31	Seraphina rolls 5 to Intelligence+Occult (10 Again)	6, 8, 2, 9, 9	3 successes

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-23 10:21:19	Seraphina rolls 4 to Tread Carefully(Dex+Ath) (10 Again)	5, 6, 10, 1, 9	2 successes

Hedgespun jacket(+1 INT, +1 DEF), Hedgespun Necklace(+1 singing), dagger, 2 bottles of water, bag of trail mix, gauze and tape, costume jewelry for trading(one necklace, one pin) sun catcher for trading, gardening gloves, notebook with pencil


Health 7
WP 3

[Rhodes]

Rhodes looked around the entry to the barn. "Hmmm," he mused quietly. It was still a time for stealth. He looked around, trying to work out what had happened, stepping carefully through the wreckage.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-23 16:29:45	Rhodes rolls 4 to Dex3 + Athletics 1 (10 Again)	9, 7, 2, 4	1 success

As King of Autumn, hoipefully he would spot somethings others might miss.

5 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-23 16:30:15	Rhodes rolls 8 to Int 3 + Occ 4 +1 (Autumn) (10 Again)	2, 1, 4, 10, 10, 9, 5, 4, 10, 1, 8	5 successes

[Gerrit]

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-24 13:26:04	Gerrit rolls 4 to walk without tripping (Dex 2 + Athl 2) (10 Again)	2, 1, 4, 9	1 success

Following the others' lead, Gerrit carefully traversed the debris to get a closer look. He had nowhere near enough experience with magic or Faerie's tricks to begin speculation what made the barn still stand against all logic. What he did have was years of experience working in and with ruins like this. Even in the Hedge, there could be a logic to this, a raptured cause to the outstanding effect.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-25 18:46:59	Gerrit rolls 5 to assess the surroundings (Int 3 + Invest 2) (10 Again)	5, 6, 7, 5, 2	failure

But he got nothing. There were faces in the sooth, grimaces whispering conflicting and confusing solutions to the problem. Smoke had grown ever more willing to share its knowledge ever since Gerrit helped kill Ram's Fetch, took that axe and-

"Find anything?" The Ogre's voice was barely a hoarse whisper, but he needed to anchor himself back in the here and now, get some reassurance from the people he's been traveling with ever so silently for a while now.

Equipment: Backpack - First aid Kit, Rope, a separate bag, a bottle of water, a notebook and a pen, Tags for Rhodes' Contract.






Shadowpatch (+3 to Stealth)

[Saber Sloth]

Everyone's light on their feet, avoiding the falling debris and tricky tripping spots. Going forward, the Lost take the time to inspect their surroundings. They enter the barn and directly in front of them are mangled metal cages. Mounds of Ash inside. To their left there are surprisingly intact walls, with a busted open door hanging off the hinges. Above them, a nearly sootless loft, railing firm and unchipped, on the wall beyond, there is one unopened door. There is a ladder on the far right, waiting to be used.

Colonel Worm looking closer, knows that the mounds of ash, have scraps of fabric, and very distinct, very recognizable, cracked and charred bones.

Gerrit looks, and he knows destruction by fire. But this is...different. Strange. The patterned don't match anything he knows.

Seraphina looks around, knowing this is a Hollow, and that there is someone who's keeping the Orchard, or maybe just the Barn from collapsing completely.

Rhodes had hear of this phenomenon before, but he had never actually witnessed it himself. A frozen moment of the Hollow's destruction. Sacrificing the greater part of the Hollow, to ensure the survival of some other part. He knows that what was saved should be pristine, while what was sacrificed should show some damage, but this level of damage leaves the Dread Lord to believe that what was saved was the originating site of the damage. Assuming the level of destruction they've witnessed, what was saved was the Door Room, where Circe had thrown that lit stick of dynamite, and they had closed the motel Door on. After, of course, seeing to Iron Meg's death - which. Thinking about it, might have also contributed to how wide spread the burned-blackness had spread. Killing one of the pillars holding up the Hollow, while simultaneously causing the most damage to the Hollow as they could....yes. That makes sense, Iron Meg's death, the dynamite, the barn that should have stone undamaged due to it's connection to the Door Room, another sacrifice all to save the Door Room...but with Iron Meg dead, who would have had the power to save the Door Room.....had the wicked Queen Anne been at the Orchard when they chose to attack.....?

[Colonel Worm]

Worm stops at the cages to inspect their contents. His usual grin is no where to be seen. Instead, his mouth is set in a firm line.

"We've got remains," he announces softly. "Ash and bone. But they're human..." Or something near enough. No mistaking it. He examines the bones closely, looking for anything that might jump out to him, given his limited medical knowledge.

Intell + Med, 1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-28 08:09:32	Colonel Worm rolls 4 to Intell + Medicine (10 Again)	8, 5, 1, 2	1 success

Once his inspection is complete, Worm peers around. Spots the door, the loft and the ladder.

"We going through?" a nod to the door, "or up?" a nod to the ladder. Putting the question of their next move to the group at large.

Equipment:
Khukri knives (+ sheaths) x 2 2L*
Brass Knuckles x2 1B (in pants pockets)
Kevlar Vest (thin)
Reinforced Clothing (Motorcycle jacket)
Advanced First Aid Kit
Water bottle (in first aid kit exterior pocket)
Bag of Beef jerky
Tree tags
Cigarettes + Lighter

[Seraphina]

She wasn’t sure what to make of the barn.

Part of her thought it was a trap, the other part not so sure.

But why was someone keeping it intact? To what end? What did they get from keeping it up?

Eyes snap over to Worm, human remains?! Whatever had happened had killed who or whatever had been in here.

“Well, someone is keeping the barn from collapsing. But I’m not sure why.” Looking to where Worm nodded to.

“If that door is the same one from the hotel, that’s where it should lead. So I would wager up.” She offers with a shrug. “But honestly? I have no clue, this is bizarre.”

Hedgespun jacket(+1 INT, +1 DEF), Hedgespun Necklace(+1 singing), dagger, 2 bottles of water, bag of trail mix, gauze and tape, costume jewelry for trading(one necklace, one pin) sun catcher for trading, gardening gloves, notebook with pencil


Health 7
WP 3

[Rhodes]

"Hmmm. That... is something else." The Dread Lord looks up and around at the walls. "I've heard of this... When a Hollow is threatened with destruction, the Owners can... sacrifice a greater part of it to preserve a smaller amount. I've... never seen it before." He walks one way, then the other, looking at the scorching. "If... if you lok at the explosion, the shape of the blast, it was centered here, but radiates out all around this arc but not there. We had just killed Meg as well. If she was a contributor to the Hollow, which is... probable, and then Circe did this straight after, then one of the other members that held the Hollow gave up a lot of it to save themselves from the blast. And with Meg dead, then it would deteriorate far faster than expected." He looked up to the others. "Whoever that was. Some other trusted pillar. I suppose... it could have been Ann herself? But I have no proof beyond that."

Also the idea that she had been only yards away.... It was galling, but all so impressive.

"I suspect there was a gap between this door and the motel door. A tiny corridor, that was protected." He shrugged. "It's... strange really. If she had been there...." Rhoes trails off.

He turns, looking back out to the woods.

"We should make sure there really is nothing left."

[Ram]

Ram at one point looks down at his watch and realizes how long they've been in the Hedge. At least according to his watch. Granted this was the Hedge, and time ran funny here. Honestly he was suprised his watch was working at all. If it was accurate though...

"Hey, sorry. I think I need to get to the mortal world. I might be missed by my wife if I don't." And that could spell trouble for the whole Freehold if suspicions started to rise in his household.

He unshouldered his back pack and handed off his extra food and water, before giving an nod to show he had confidence in them. Then he vanished back into the Thorns to make his way back before it was discovered he wasn't getting the bed rest he 'needed'.

Ram exits the scene

Good luck everyone.

[Gerrit]

Human remains? So whatever had happened here had casualties. And those haven't been frozen in time somehow. And before they could really discuss on where to go Rhodes provided them with some much needed information. Still whispering he adressed the Dread Lord. "So Ann used some kind of Contract to protect something more important?" He wasn't sure he was getting this correctly, but either way Rhodes seemed to be against both the door and the ladder.

"Not that I'm saying that we should split up now, but what are you saying Rhodes? That we comb through the burned down orchard?" That.. didn't feel right. There could be a clue in here, a warning of what happened.. or a trap. One that they maybe could defuse before going further. "I.. sorry, but I think we should keep on looking here. Carefully." Maybe splitting up was the ticket here? Between the Colonel and him they seemed to be stealthy enough and the happily married monarch-couple could use their occult knowledge to search the area. He was about to open his mouth and suggest just that, but decided against it. How much knowledge did the Ogre and the Goblin share between them? What if they split up and missed something, or worse: misinterpreted something important?

Then Tobias butted in.. to announce that he had to leave to attend to his own marital bliss. Part of Gerrit wanted to stop him from venturing back alone, but another part, the petty part, wanted the Render to take his chances. He just nodded back at the Summer with a neutral, a stone-cold face.

Equipment: Backpack - First aid Kit, Rope, a separate bag, a bottle of water, a notebook and a pen, Tags for Rhodes' Contract.






Shadowpatch (+3 to Stealth)

[Saber Sloth]

Colonel Worm takes a closer look at the blackened bones, the black colour now, more from the ash and soot then from the actual bones themselves. They're an amalgam of dark grey/light grey/white, and while they're recognizably human, they're cracked, warped. Twisted from fire and pressure.

The fire here burned long and hot, and those inside the cages had nowhere else to go, and nothing to do but burn.

Please tell me if you wanna check out the side door or head up the ladder and if you wanna split up!