Book it off down the road looking for signs of destruction. Slap anyone who attacks with the flat of my sword
ahah. bad news, my friend. you turn to flee, but this proves your downfall. You stumble over another spiderdog, who was behind you for some reason, and the pack is on you. You swing your sword, but your arm gets wrapped up by several legs and a mouth full of sharp teeth. you drop the sword. "Got us a bandit over here! the boys've got him pinned!"
I land at a couple of the start and end points of destruction, looking for a pattern of what triggers it starting or stopping. I also will gauge the distance between start/end and end/start points, seeing if its simply a timed event. I then follow the trail of the machine that did not hit the village. Im trying to learn our quarry's behavior pattern, and will follow the trail of the one my teammates probably arent trailing, in case their trail deadends somehow. I feel no need to visit the machinist's shop yet, though I intend to go there soon, especially if I don't think I can safely disable the thing alone. I do also want to note if the thing seems to chase prey, or if it only harms what gets in its way. A general idea of what it can kill or destroy and any telltale marks revealing attack types like claws or scorches is important too. I also want to gauge how big it is based on how deep the footprints it leaves are and how far apart. I should also be able to tell how many feet it has and if it has anything like a tail that drags along the ground. also see if the feet are clawed based on prints.
Let's see. there is no noticeable pattern, in terms of length between start and stop points of the destruction. The thing just seems to start breaking stuff every now and then.
The trail you follow, the one that branches, is actually clearer than the other, and more consistent. this thing leaves two long, continuous gouges in the ground, like something big dragged a sled on runners through the area. the damage this one does seems concentrated on the area immediately surrounding itself, and consists of burned vegetation, and hacked stuff, as well as stuff that looks simply trodden upon. There is no notable animal death or damage in this line. The thing is large though - ten feet high, six or more wide. It looks to be meandering, but its trail goes in the general direction of the logging camp that was mentioned as a possible sighting. You are reasonably certain that you could find this thing with ease, just by following the trail from the air.
Note that the destruction patterns are clearly distinct between the two trails, and the one that headed toward and through the village appears smaller, more chaotic, and overall less destructive.
((I'm sorry the thing has sucked. I hope it ends up being a positive thing for you though.))
"Dar'yajira has found twolegs. Eye. It knows appearance of Baron, yes? This one does not."
Take to the trees, and get close enough to see the twolegs. Look out for notable ones. Is the Baron obvious, or obviously not a part of this group?
You get close enough. There is a wide clearing next to a stream. a couple of bright pavilions are set up, and several shaded chairs. It's hard to say for sure which of the sapients is the baron - they all wear finery and talk all posh. There is one sapient that is certain not to be, besides a couple of quiet servants n the background. there is a tall creature - seven foot or more- that looks something like a narrow flower vase, complete with bouquet at the top. Some of the bouquet bits move about, as oif eyes on stalks or the like, and very thin limbs occasionally separate from the body part to manipulate or gesture. that's certainly not the baron. the woman with fangs is probably not the baron, either. Yo uget it narowed down to [probably] one of three male humans that all seem to have that air of command, or entitlement, or something.
"KIDS?
...OH. I SEE."
Terrances raises a handful of its tentacles into the air, slowly backing away from the goblins it had been conversing with (and, ideally, the hostile villagers).
"I BELIEVE THERE HAS BEEN A MISUNDERSTANDING. WE HAVE BEEN ORDERED BY OUR EMPLOYER TO ASSIST YOU. YOUR SPAWNLINGS ARE PERFECTLY SAFE; I WAS MERELY PROBING THEM FOR RELEVANT INFORMATION. PERHAPS WE COULD DISCUSS THIS MATTER? PEACEFULLY?"
"We don't need no help from the likes of you! What kind of help? Boys, run home now. NOW!" Well, the potential angry mob is sending some conflicting messages here, but no one is stabbing you, so that must be good.
"Yeah mates, peacefully. We are here to help ya. I was merely warning them about dangerous constructs that have been sighted. We are here to help ya and all. We are official representatives of the legion and are here to serve, protect and kick robotical ass... uhhm to keep ya safe of course.
I also back up with my hands in the air like Terrance and try to reassure them.
"Constructs? What do you know about them? You're a little late, aren't ya?! Fat lot of good your warning is now!"
well, I mean, it could be worse, right?
Noir would Squirm.... looking around for anything intresting.
(2) nope. Nothing. Leaves, sticks, squirrels, more leaves. nothing.