The Weasel's Trail (16+) Gameplay room.

[BulletSponge95]

The old man smirks, relaxing his pose just a bit, "Oh, I see. You kids're searching for the cache, aren't you?"

[Skautch]

Ulver hesitates for a moment, then sighs. "...Yes, we are. Look, I don't know whether you're supposed to play a part in our little scavenger hunt here, but I'll ask you to either help us or please stand aside so we can do what we came here to do and then leave."

[BulletSponge95]

The old man smirks a bit wider, a quiet, old man laugh. "Look, kid, I'm afraid the cache is gone. I used to be a cache hunter, meself. I followed all the little hints, put them all together, made a map, even. I sold everything in the cache and used the money to live comfortably until I could hunt down the next one. The only thing I've got left from it is this sword, here."

[Skautch]

Thiidda is getting somewhat curious of the events inside the house, and decides to sneak up against the house and listen.
(Sneak check, 2nubwaoa1-20+16. Perception check, 1-20+18)

Ulver takes a hard look at this man, not entirely sure how trustworthy he may be.
(Perception check, 1-20+17. Sense Motive check, 1-20+15)1-20·1-20·1-20·1-20

[BulletSponge95]

Ulver doesn't sense any bullshit.

The old man is dressed in an old, dingy set of leather armor. His eyes are scanning Ulver up and down, and the greatsword he's resting his hand on is thinner than most, and bears the Weasel's crest in the center of the blade near the hilt. Around his neck is a curious, glowing blue stone, almost shaped like a sterotypical bone, but not quite. Inside the house is little more than (right to left) His bed, a cupboard with a small countertop, his stove, and a simple wooden chair.

[Skautch]

Ulver sighs. "So this is a dead end, then..." He is somewhat curious about the necklace though, and points to it. "What is this?"

[BulletSponge95]

The old man pulls his necklace off, holding it in front of himself,

"This... is a 'soul anchor'. It is said every soul anchor in existence, along with the instructions to create them, were stolen by my thousand times great grandfather, Robyrn, the Weasel, and hidden in his caches. I happened to find it in my travels, either plundered by thieves and sold on the market, or the recipe has been rediscovered. They grant a sort of, um, 'limited invulnerability'. If ever you are slain in battle, the gem will break and your body will rapidly regenerate to peak health. Your soul will be thrust back into it, and you'll be suspended in an aetherial state for a few moments, and once you become solid again, you may resume the combat you were so fiercely engaged in."

He continues, pulling out a small piece of linen cloth with scribblings on it. "I want you to take this anchor and these scrawlings and seek out the cache I've been trying to locate for most of my life. I put together the clues as best as I could, but I've grown too old to go out seeking caches. All I REALLY know is that it's somewhere below Riverlong(The area you're in). I don't dare go out and look, for fear that the skeletons might finally have me dead." He hands the folded cloth and anchor to Ulver.

[zucabr]

Harrima's eyes light up when she sees the soul anchor.
/Amirrah, you hear that?/
/Yeah, try to get that necklace. I don't plan on running off just yet, since we haven't yet found true immortality, but it's still best for everyone if we have that necklace. I'll back you up with a guidance spell if needed./
"Hey Ulver," she takes special consideration to not call him 'boss', "perhaps I should hold on to those, or at least the gem, for safekeeping until we can study them further. I am, after all, the most qualified of our party to guard them, being the most warrior-like."
(Diplomacy check with Amirrah's Guidance cast through Share Spells, sOJPu_yj1-20 +1)
(Stealth check so that the others don't notice Amirrah's casting, 1-20 +9)1-20·1-20

[Skautch]

Ulver catches onto Amirrah's cast, and for a moment he distrusts the judgement of both her and Harrima. Nonetheless, her words do hold some truth. "...Alright, I'll trust you with the anchor, for now." He hands her the soul anchor after a mild hesitation. "...But I would strongly prefer to be keeping this--" He holds up the cloth covered in scrawlings. "--because I am the fastest and least likely to be cut, and I am also the most experienced in following clues, puzzles, and maps to treasure, with years of pirating experience behind me. Fair enough?" He takes a moment to study Harrima's body language for her true intentions as she thinks on that.
(Diplomacy, 1Jarbwe81-20+12. Sense Motive, 1-20+15)1-20·1-20

[BulletSponge95]

The old man points his finger out into the wilderness where Amirrah's trying to hide. "Sneaky. I like that." He smiles and remembers his young adulthood, he then grips the hilt of sword a little tighter. "Reminds me of the good old days...But how many of you are out here?"

[Skautch]

Ulver hesitates for a moment, then says a bit loudly, "Amirrah, Thiidda, you can come out. This man is friendly enough."

Thiidda sighs and leaves her hiding place to stand behind Ulver's leg. "...There's just the four of us."

[zucabr]

Harrima agrees to let Ulver keep the cloth. It wasn't her priority, and she has the soul anchor. Ulver notices that as the Anchor enters her hand, Harrima glances toward Amirrah for just a second, letting him know that this item is intended for her.
Amirrah emerges from the bushes, bow still at the ready but pointed toward the ground. She considers for a moment casting detect magic, to have absolute certainty, but this would require letting go of her bow, which she decides is a much better option if any threat is present.

[Skautch]

From behind Ulver, Thiidda decides to cast a Detect Magic spell, mostly out of a defensive instinct.

[BulletSponge95]

Thiida would sense a moderately strong magical enchantment in the old man's sword, and a stronger one coming from the anchor.

The old man tenses up and starts gazing into the foliage at the edge of the small clearing around his hut. "No, this isn't good. There are too many of you. They'll smell you.."

A deep roar can be heard coming from the forest far in the distance behind the party.

[Skautch]

Ulver reacts quickly-- "What?!" --drawing his sword in less than a second and turning toward the sound.
(Perception check, YKmaKazG1-20+17)

Thiidda draws her crossbow and backs inside of the house beside the old man. "...What exactly will smell us?"
(Perception check, 1-20+18. Knowledge Nature check, 1-20+7)1-20·1-20·1-20