It is too late to move on, so the night passes quietly.
That morning, Vhiski packs his camp and prepares to head back to Sandpoint. Two of his men dig a shallow grave and the remains of the guard are placed in it, quickly but with reverence. Sandru says some words, calling on Desna to watch over Vasily's soul. He then asks Alwyn to add to the service.
After, he asks the adventurers as to their plans.
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Last night...
Illes snorts when Vethran suggests that the way they dealt with the Hellknights would result in a less serious pursuit. "We humiliated them in public. His armiger isn't going to walk straight for a week after the trip I sent him on. If that wasn't enough, I have an idea that anything less than full compliance cranks their fervor up all the way. I don't know about you, but I'm done with Magnimar. The remoteness of our fort is going to be our best chance of losing their interest. On the other hand it means they know right where to find us if they bother to do the legwork. We'll see."
Later around the fire...
"Sorry to say we didn't manage to sell off a damn thing in the end. Pathfinders sent over this pockmarked witch as an appraiser for the spear. She figured we didn't know any better so she tried to rip us off and was too proud to walk it back when we called her out. Things generally went to s&+~ before we had a chance to make any other serious contacts. Maybe we can find a buyer in Kaer Maga or further on."
"So Cam... Among friends here- do you want to tell me what it takes to give the Hellknights such a hard-on for you that they are ready to drag in anyone who knows you for questioning? I mean- I'm thinking it over and I'm kinda scratching my head. We killed a damned Justice of their high court and they barely batted an eye, but you... Well apparently you are a special case apparently."
"They told us you had murdered someone," adds Elisile.
"Meh. He could have killed Aroden himself, and I still wouldn't turn him over to a Hellknight." Alwyn spits into the fire. "If any of them come this way, I'll put them in irons and sell them to Ulfen slavers. That'll teach them to mess around in the Northern lands."
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Camlo begins to speak, short quick sentences, and a drink between each, as he lets go some of his closest secrets.
"Oh, ah, murdered would be going a bit far. That would, well, that sort of implies that I meant to kill him before I got there. I, I think my statue has somewhat to do with it. Hell Knights don't like snips, about as much as Chelaxian's I think.
[/b]I was younger then. I grew up in Magnimar, I've spent most of my life there to be honest. As much as you deride it, it will be my only home, and now I cannot go back.[/b]
I grew up, hearing tales of the oppression of my people. All I saw was my whole family with always a belly full of food, and some nice new clothes each year. They worked as cleaners, and labourers, true, no merchants, or artisans or men of worth but we were never poor. Truly, I was bored.
I fell in with some of the gangs, and taking the old stories to heart, felt I had something to prove. I became good at stealing, and sneaking. But eventually, I annoyed the wrong boss and fled.
I knew that Cheliax was not, well, the best idea, so I headed to Korvosa instead. I didn't even make it in the gates. The Chelaxian Hell Knights manning the walls took one look at me, and decided they should have my clothes to sell, my cart, and everything in it. Old habbits die hard, and I had a knife in my hand before they could see. While one lifted me, I had that knife in a gap in his armour, and he was falling to the ground. I managed to outrun the others, somehow. Losing myself in the crowd. ut I've been followed by The Order of the Nail ever since.
I don't know if he was an important man, I couldn't tell from his armour. Or maybe it was the indignity of dying to a slip. I don't know.
I'm sorry I put you in trouble. I really didn't think they would be there, or that they would attack you like that.
Vethran nods along to Camlo's story.
"Well, we Varisians have no particular love for the Hellknights either. My primary concern is that, while our getaway was indeed effective, I believe it may have exhibited enough of our magical prowess to indicate that we are.... something of a significant threat to them. On our way out of Sandpoint, I picked up a scroll for Elisile to begin copying that will make us aware of any scrying attempts directed at us. I suspect the Hellknights probably have wizards of their own to call on, and as such we can never be certain that we are beyond their ability to reach. But, if it's a fight they want, we can certainly give them one. I suspect that Hellknight commander is looking for vengeance on the elf and the two 'gypsies' that made monkeys out of him and his two toadies," the mage smirks.
Elisile thinks. She doesn’t know too much of the specifics of Hellknight orders or how they operate, but she can connect the dots.
“If Camlo killed one of their own – however justified his actions might have been – it explains why the Hellknights are so intent on catching him. One thing that may prove beneficial to us is that this will be personal for them – they may choose not to involve the local governments or law enforcement, choosing to deal with this one their own. Of course, this may not be entirely the case - we have seen that the Hellknights operate openly and with the authority of the government in Magnimar, and from what Camlo says they enjoy similar privilege in Korvosa. Given that those two cities, as I understand, control most of southern Varisia, we will have difficulty avoiding them in these lands, particularly if they do choose to appraise local authorities of their hunt. This includes in places like Sandpoint and probably even Fort Rannik.”
She looks thoughtful again. “I shall scribe the spell of non-detection as soon as possible, but it may prove less than entirely useful should we show ourselves in cities, towns or villages. The Hellknights will consider that we will travel to or pass through Sandpoint, and it will not take them long to reach the town from Magnimar.
“We have two other concerns apart from Hellknights. One is this dragon. It may seek revenge for its defeat, either on us personally or on Sandpoint if it recognised the origin of the caravan. My preference would be to make a pre-emptive strike against it if possible.
“The second issue is the polearm. As Illes said, we have so far been unable to sell it, at least for its true worth. It is currently at Sandpoint, and the Hellknights may discover it there. I agree with Illes that Kaer Maga may be a good second option for trying to sell it, but we need to re-secure the weapon first and then get there.”
"Returning to Sandpoint to reacquire the weapon will not be difficult. Given a chance to rest, I can easily teleport back there to retrieve the item and then return to our present location in the morning. Unless we think that leaving it hidden there is the best course of action? I can, of course, return at any time to retrieve it so long as we don't stray too far from Sandpoint."
"As for the dragon," the mage scowls, "I agree that it should be dealt with as soon as possible, before it gets an opportunity to mend its wounds. If dragon slaying is to be on the agenda, I will prepare myself tomorrow morning accordingly."
"Veth- you know that Hellknight in charge back there was barely above his foot soldiers in rank right? If he had been a commander that might have gone wrong fast."
He listens to Elisile's appraisal then curious asks, "How were you planning on tracking a dragon? I'm not too keen on leaving it at liberty to attack Sandpoint. Everyone there has been more than decent and I don't like the idea of leaving something like this on their doorstep. But seeing the bloody mess it left Hudak you will have to excuse me if I say this requires a little more planning than charging in and smashing it."
"This all sounds good to me. Just point me at them. Nualia's Tongue will do the rest."
"I'm up for a dragon hunt. Killing goblins will be an added bonus."
“It is a pity that everyone was so quick to kill those goblins,” Elisile answers Illes. “They may have provided useful information on the dragon’s lair. As it is, your friend the caravan master seemed to recognise the tribe.” . “Someone may know where their lair is, and they may lead us to the dragon. I agree that simply charging in against it is not smart, but Vethran’s spells were able to hurt it, and had I more time to prepare I may have been able to as well. Alwyn was able to wound it quite badly. Alwyn, does your deity provide you spells that will protect yourself and Hudak from acid, so that you can get close enough to hit the beast?”
"Returning to Sandpoint to reacquire the weapon will not be difficult. Given a chance to rest, I can easily teleport back there to retrieve the item and then return to our present location in the morning. Unless we think that leaving it hidden there is the best course of action? I can, of course, return at any time to retrieve it so long as we don't stray too far from Sandpoint."
"I am not certain whether we should leave it or not. It is too cumbersome to carry about easily, but my concern is that when the Hellknights reach Sandpoint - as they almost certainly will in their search for us - they will find your home and the weapon hidden whithin."
"Let's head back to Sandpoint for sure; maybe we can get some leads on where this dragon is holed up."
The caravan is ready to leave. Vhiski holds a brief conference with the adventurers.
"The Nose-Slitters are the local clan around here. Their caves are on the coast, near the Coven - that's the three sea-stacks on the end of Vinard Head. Their not nromally aggressive like this - they normally survive by grabbing seabirds off the cliffs, and don't raid much. I guess the dragon's got then riled up.
"So are you coming back with us? The council will want to talk to you about this, no one likes a dragon in the vicinity. Still, if you want to find the Nose-Slitters first, they're probably about three or four miles in that direction - through the woods to the head."
"Sounds good to me. Does anyone else want to go and slit some more noses?"
"Yeah. Real bad."
3 outta 5 aint bad.
The route indicated by Vhiski leads through woods towards the coast. The trees are not especially high, but high enough to prevent sight for any distance. Although clad in fresh green spring leaves, they are low thorny shrubs rather than soaring monarchs of the forest, with close-set twisting branches, bent over by oceanic gales, each one huddling close to its neighbour to create dense, almost impenetrable brush. Narrow animal trails seem to provide the only ways through, scrambling precipitously over mossy boulders and gnarled exposed roots and beneath low grabbing tree limbs, with hardly enough headroom for a halfling, let alone one of the taller folk. Unseen birds twitter in the shadows. It is prime goblin territory.
"Damn goblins, lairing out here." Alwyn wipes away a rivulet of sweat and untangles a shoulder plate from a stubborn vine. "I'll have to kill a few of 'em for this inconvenience."
Elisile (who has cast mage armour on herself) leads the way, attempting to find the best path through the tangled woods, while keeping eyes and ears open for any sign of goblins or other threats.
Hudak starts a crawling too.
Oh and......before we get into a pitched battle,.....I'm on 46 of 95 h.p. if somebody could give me some of that healing junk.
Cool. I bet he did.
Elisile is able to make the journey progress reasonably easily, though it is still slow and strenuous. She can also see the tracks of numerous goblins travelling the paths.
Camlo wanders though, wondering why the others have such trouble.
Camlo, Alwyn and Elisile all spot the pit filled with sharpened stakes in the path. They are able to avoid it with relative ease.
"Watch out," murmurs Elisile to those following. "There is a pit filled with sharpened stakes in the path."
perception
"You better show me...."
Vethran remains at the back of the group, muttering to himself about the unpleasantness of heavily wooded areas and how, if the others would let him, he would render the entire forest to ashes.
With the first booby-trap trap detected, the adventurers move with caution. Shadows pool in the woods, thorns scatch at exposed skin and skeins of ivy do their best to trip the unwary.
Camlo will search forward of the main group a bit.