The Large Stone Man

JP with Redsword, Zeeke, Winteroak and Cindy

It was early the next morning after breakfast when the exploration of the ruins got started.

While likely there were many items buried, there was the possibility of things that had remained on the surface.

The first part of the fort was where Islana had been tasked. She was carefully checking out any possible, hazardous damage, and anything that she could see with her eyes that might need more investigation.

Wim tagged along with Islana with a shovel in his hand. Much of his instructions was not to destroy things and to make himself helpful.

He could do that.

He looked at what Islana was interested in and tried to understand what she was thinking was important.

With day break you see the immense area around where you camped which you assume was once the fort's courtyard. Here and there that you look you see signs that people have come to lair or camp in this ruins before. In the north corner of the abandoned courtyard. You see a set of crumbling steps that lead to the first floor. On the south facing wall, a huge broken down, reclining statue makes up the base for a broken spire that must have extended far into the air, buried beneath layers of silt.

Wolf looks around the area he started to look over the reclining statue that makes up the base for a broken spire that must have extended far into the air. Wolf starts to brush off parts of the statue. EWolf hoped to maybe get a face or a person passably a god of the people that once lived here.

Wolf looked at the others, "We need to start a geophysical survey that can give us information about broad areas without needing to rely on very large horizontal excavation blocks, saving time and preserving as much as possible. Our goal for these surveys is to learn more about the layout of the area and to identify possible structures for targeted excavation," said Wolf brushing off some silt with a brush Wolf pulls from a bag.

Islana blinked at Boyce's words, the young woman was far from stupid but this boiled down to her being, not traditionally educated , with no experience in this, and Boyce being extremely educated, with a great deal of experience. The huntress glanced at Wim and wondered what of that he had understood.

Piecing the words together. Islana had no idea what geophysical meant but survey. Surveying - While Islana knew the word, what was it in this context ?

Finally, the young woman just asked, "So, what exactly do you want each of us to do?"

Wolf looked at the other two as he started to work. looking into their eyes Wolf realized he might have used words they were not familiar with. "Sorry about talking and using terms you might not know," Wolf said. Moving along cleaning the statue. Wolf looked at the others, "What I meant earlier is Surveying. I have a lot of excitement with this expedition." explained Wolf.

Wolf thought as the two looked at him. Wolf pulled out a roll of twine with small knots in it spaced equally. "Wim, can you measure the statue's head and body and full length. Islana here is a small broom, sweep what you can away carefully. If you would start at the top there," he pointed, "and work your way back."

Islana smiled as Boyce expressed his excitement. She liked seeing him that way, it added another level to the man. The young woman didn't say anything though just waited on Boyce to let them know what jobs they would be tasked to do.

That question was soon answered. Islana nodded, took the small broom and went to the area on the top, Boyce had pointed, she knelt down and began carefully sweeping.

You spend the next few hours digging for whatever Boyce tells you to look out for. The statue of the reclining man is many times larger than you. It seems to have been carved from rock. It is older than most walls of the fort so it was likely here before Maru was built.

The mixture of styles and building materials speaks to a rich and varied history of Fang and its people.

You pause for lunch having cleared areas around the base of the statue and broken spire. You don't find much of interest but it's an exciting opportunity for some of you to do a simple task and allow your mind to clear itself.

As you sit around drinking some water, some hard cheese and dried meat you hear a faint sound.

At first you cannot identify what it it. But soon it becomes clear it is someone crying.