[center][img]https://db4sgowjqfwig.cloudfront.net/campaigns/33680/banners/298837/carrioncrown_title.jpg?1398104802[/img][/center] [hr][color silver][center] ℜ𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔯𝔬 | 13𝔱𝔥 𝔬𝔣 ℜ𝔬𝔳𝔞, 4711 | 2000 [/center][/color][hr] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/340584823154278401/377111825910857738/Character.png[/img][/center] The others would not miss her for long, nor would they really notice considering Tomomi herself wasn't going back to the estate to tell them where she was going. Making sure her weapons were still there and securely attached, she started on the hike towards the swamp. [hider Mechanics] Tomomi rolled a [b]9[/b] for Survival check. [/hider] The swamp was three to four miles to the south, typically only a hour's walk if one could find the few footpaths that led towards the area. Unfortunately for Tomomi, she'd been following a deer trail for the last hour or so; despite stepping in a few mud pits she hadn't noticed (the dried mud nearly up to her knee on the left leg) and walking through more spiderwebs than she could count. At least the fallen trees and the rocky bluffs were no issue for her; her wings safely carrying her over those obstacles. Eventually, she had managed to enter a marshy clearing - a little deeper into the swamp than she probably would have liked to have been, but she had technically reached her destination. Beyond the sixty feet or so that her natural vision allowed her to see in the dark, everything else was shrouded in only the faintest of moonlight. A few clouds passed overhead, further reducing the ambient light to near-darkness before they passed. Despite being night, the swamps were alive with noise; the clamorous sound of hundreds of insects all chirping at once, now that the cool night dew had brought them from their hiding spots. Looking around at what she could see, her feet left her ground as she concentrated on flying, her small wings fluttering unconsciously under the trappings of her clothes. Straining her eyes to catch anything out of the ordinary, she started floating about the place. [hider Mechanics] Tomomi rolled a [b]12[/b] for Perception check. [/hider] On a normal day, the swamp wasn't very lively or interesting - the occasional spot of quicksand being too high a cost for even the most curious of people. During the night, it was both not lively, and also dark, making spotting much of *anything* a difficult trial. From her airborne vantage point, there didn't seem to be very much to find down below. The only thing that stood out were the fireflies that danced across the clearing - every so often one would zip across the field at an alarming pace. They seemed...too fast almost, and there didn't seem to be any pattern. Frowning, she flew down onto the clearing, walking towards the group of fireflies, one hand resting nonchalantly on her weapon. In front of Tomomi, there was a small cluster of fireflies that had seemed to stop, floating and dancing around curiously. It was odd - they didn't seem to flash like normal fireflies did. Rather, they seemed to be a constant glow that just danced around. In fact, there didn't even appear to be an insect in the center. Moreso, the actual size of the orbs seemed to differ, a realization that was easier to distinguish now that she was closer. [hider Mechanics] Tomomi rolled a [color red][b]3[/b][/color] on a Will Saving Throw. [/hider] For a moment, she was struck by an irrational horror, almost making a decision to just zip out of there asap. But instead, she shook her head, clearing out the fear before going in for a closer look. It looked... well, it looked like nothing she had ever seen before, but she had a slight idea of what it [i]could[/i] be. It might be some sort of yuurei or just the souls of the dead, but she was neither an omyouji or a priestess, so she would have to find someone who can talk to the dead in this place. Scratching her head, she looked around for anything else that seemed off. Besides the orbs, the swamp was pretty much as one would expect a swamp to be. Across the clearing, a stirge, full of blood from the evening's hunt, was on its way back to its nest. Nearby, a small tuft of grass parted to reveal a spider the size of a small dog: A giant crab spider, which Tomomi recognized as native to the area. Scratching her head, Tomomi decided there wasn't anything else she could do in this area, and started the long hike back home. The hike back wasn't too difficult; the Samurai actually managing to find one of the small footpaths back to Ravengro. With no threats of quicksand, mud pits, or the trail winding off into an unwanted direction, Tomomi would be back in town before midnight. [hr][color silver][center] ℜ𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔯𝔬 | 14𝔱𝔥 𝔬𝔣 ℜ𝔬𝔳𝔞, 4711 | 0000 [/center][/color][hr] [center][img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/340584823154278401/377114143343378442/Character.png[/img][/center] After his talk with Iris, Ganth had decided to look around the nearby swamp, where the perpetrator could have gathered the Stirges. He headed out just a bit after midnight, fully armed and prepared for whatever dared step in his path. [hider Mechanics] Ganth rolled a [b]24[/b] for Survival check. [/hider] Unlike Tomomi, Ganth had no difficulty locating one of the footpaths that directed him towards the marshes. In fact, the Inquisitor could likely spot her footprints as he followed the same path that she had taken back into town. As with his colleague before him, Ganth made the trip fairly quickly, only requiring about an hour's worth of hiking before making it to his destination. Without the benefit that her wings gave to hear, any other path would have been difficult. However, he soon found himself staring at the same area she had been observing: The swamps were alive with the sounds of insects gathered by the festering waters, while the moonlight above only faintly illuminated the area. There were no fireflies that sparkled in the darkness for Ganth, though there were shadows that flitted across the sky, likely stirges on a midnight prowl. [hider Mechanics] Ganth rolled a [color green][b]30[/b][/color] for Perception check. Ganth rolled a [b]14[/b] for Knowledge (Religion) check. [/hider] There was certainly a presence here, but almost like an after-image, or a memory. It was definitely the same presence that Ganth had felt back at the tavern, and it had a heavy influence over this area, but Ganth could instinctively discern just from the lingering effects that this was not where it was strongest. It didn't [i]originate[/i] here, it had just [i]been[/i] here at one point. [i]What[/i] the 'entity' actually was, however, was a question that Ganth found himself unable to pin down exactly. His Inquisitor blood tingled, the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight. It was, without a doubt, unnatural; he could determine that much. Puzzled by the emerging facts, Ganth decided to head further into the swamp, hoping to find something to piece all the scattered fragments of clues together. [hider Mechanics] Ganth rolled a [b]15[/b] for Knowledge (Nature) check. [/hider] It was odd; even as Ganth explored deeper into the swamp, a few questions arose. The first and foremost being: 'Why stirges?' Sure, maybe insects were easier to control with magic, but there were so many better insects in these swamps to use. Even the large arachnids he saw scurry through the underbrush were better targets: the poison from a giant crab spider could sap a man's strength in under a minute, leaving him completely helpless. Sure, the stirges could drain someone of blood, but that really wasn't a viable option unless the target was restrained in some way. And for that matter, why attack a fully populated building at all? There had to be enough lone targets after dark. There was something special about both the [i]scene[/i] and the [i]stirges[/i], Ganth knew it. Still, there was not much to be found here in the swamp. Nothing felt out of the ordinary, and as it was bleeding into the early hour of the morning, Ganth decided to leave. He had what he came for.