DM Carbide's Kingmaker IC
Game Master John Woodford

Adam nods. "It seems a suitable enough plan. I'd like to see if there's a way we can travel back that will expand our exploration."

"I agree with Adam. No sense in not doing a little more exploration on the way back."

"Works for me. East then out of the forest, then north back to Oleg's?"

"Sounds good to me.

I don't have access to the hex mapping program I'm using while I'm at work, so bear with me. If you look at the MAP, the forest hex with nothing marked in it is where Perlivash and Tyg live. The Temple of the Elk is in the hex SSW of there. I haven't marked it, but if you go south from where P&T live instead of SSW, the next hex is where the Thorn River bandit camp was. That is, it's SSE of the Temple of the Elk. Given all that, where do you want to go next?

Adam recommends going NW through the empty space, then East through the forest where Perlivash and Tyg live, and then NE through the empty space. (although it seems like we already explored that space)

Yes, I think that's where you fought the shambling mound.

Okay, so just to clarify. Row 4-Cell C is where the Temple of the Elk is. 4-D is where the Bandit Camp was. 3-C is where the shambling mound is?

The shambling mound was in 2-D, and P&T live in 3-D. You haven't been to 3-C yet.

When I update the map, I'll try to label the axes.

Updated map is HERE.

Thanks for the map update!

Question: Where were the mite lair and kobold caverns?

So is the plan to head straight back to Oleg's? If so, we could go east to the bandit camp (hex D4) and then head NE on the trails that lead to Oleg's. Although, I wouldn't mind exploring one more hex (the one to the NW as Adam suggested - hex C3) and then heading NE back to Oleg's.

Alternatively, we could head east past the bandit camp and explore hexes E4 and F3 as we head back to Oleg's.

The mite lair is at 5-F, and the kobold caverns are in 6-G. Remember, BTW, that north is not towards the top of the map.

Ah! Good point!

So from the Temple of the Elk, we could head NORTH to explore hex C3 and then head EAST to Oleg's; forego exploration and just head EAST to Oleg's; or travel SOUTHEAST past the bandit camp and then explore hexes E4 and F3 before heading NORTH to Oleg's.

I like the idea of North, best. Im willing to do whatever the group wants though.

My vote is SE past the bandit camp and then exploring the two hexes before getting to Oleg's.

I like Bea's plan the best. Was going to suggest it too.

I vote for exploring hexes E4 and F3 on our way back to Oleg's as well.

Sounds like a plan.

You set out the next morning. Even though you've been through the area of the bandit camp several times, you spend most of the day making sure you didn't miss anything. As you make your way southeast, following a trail you hadn't previously taken, Bea almost rides into a thin line across the path before her keen-eyed halfling passenger spots it. As soon as Havrin gets a good look at it (and after he's kicked himself mentally for missing it; in hindsight the thing stands out like a sore thumb) he sees where the line ties onto a log trap.

"Aha! You see that, Bea? And here I thought I was being mainly useless."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Bea peers down at the line. "Havrin, what do you make of it? Trap?"

Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

Jacyn looks about as the group comes to a stop, looking for anyone or anything that might be watching or following them.

"Good eyes, Adam," Havrin compliments the halfling bard as he slides down from his horse. The stoic ranger crouches to examine the trip wire.

"Havrin, what do you make of it? Trap?"

"Definitely a trap, Bea," Havrin responds as he follows the wire to the hidden log trap. "As near as I can tell it's been here for about a week. I'm pretty sure it was made by humans."

DM Carbide, it's been longer than a week since we defeated Kressle and her gang, hasn't it?

A week ago, you were just wrapping up the first exploration trip.

Jacyn, there's no sign of any watchers that you can discern.

"This was definitely placed here after we defeated Kressle and her gang," Havrin adds. "I suspect that word of Kressle's defeat and what we're doing here has reached her masters, and that this trap was placed here for us..."

"Lovely. We should all try to be a bit more careful then. Havrin, do you think you can disarm this thing?"

Given the nature of the trap and its setting, Havrin can disarm it using his Survival skill. It takes a few minutes, but at the end he has it rendered harmless. (Nothing attacks while he's working.)

"Thanks Havrin...and Adam, for spotting it. If what you say is true, we definitely have to keep our guard up."

"Hmmm, we're making some rather nasty enemies. He'll have to be dealt with sooner or later."

"I don't suppose whoever set this left any tracks? No, too much to hope for after a week," Simn said, asking and answering his own question.

Amazingly, Havrin finds a few bootprints around the trap, and shod hoofprints nearby. The trail, such as it is, seems to follow the trail you're on, but is soon lost in the welter of other creature tracks that have come and gone since the trap was set.

"Let's move on. Keep your eyes open though."

The night passes uneventfully, and the next day you continue into the plains. Again, you passed through here on the way to the mite lair, so it'll only take a day or so to finish exploring it. You have a brief encounter with a sort of wolf that none of you recognize, but it runs off after taking a nip at one of the horses.

Adam will probably try to talk to the wolf and ask it not to attack them.

Diplomacy
1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

This one doesn't talk, Adam. It's striped, which is why you weren't sure about its species.

Adam grins at the others when they point out it doesn't talk. "You never know, though, do ya?"

With the exception of the striped wolf, nothing else disturbs you during your explorations. Because of the lack of cover, the party can spread out over a wide area without losing track of each other; Havrin has taken a longer lead on point, and Katya is off to one side checking out some plants that looked like they might be useful ones (they weren't; it was the more common false anhalon). Jacyn is keeping an eye on Havrin and Katya, since they're farthest away from the main body and Bea and Jacyn are riding by the base of a rocky crag that provides potential cover for an attacker. It is at this point that Adam, Bea, and Simn all spot an overgrown fissure in the rock at the crag's base. It's about 5' wide; what do you do?

Bea puts up her hand to signal Jacyn to stop, then slips down from her horse. In a low voice, she says, "Wait here - I'll check it out." Cautiously, she approaches the fissure to investigate.

1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9 - perception

Bea, parting the low brush around the fissure you see that it's fairly deep; at least, you can't see the bottom. There's no particular smell to it other than dirt, and you hear nothing notable either.

"What have you found, Bea?" Adam looks down from her horse.

"Looks like we found a cave - Simn, can you cast some light down here? It's pretty dark."

Jacyn gives the gnome a hand down before dismounting himself. Stretching his hands overhead, he lets out a ywan and says, "I was beginning to get saddlesore anyway. Hopefully this will prove interesting, the past couple days have been fairly dull."

Katya sighs softly as she bends back up from looking at the false Anhalon plants. Stretching and raising her arms over her head, she looks towards the forest and stares at the dark canopy of the trees for a time. "You have secrets... I know you do, there's a reason no one has ever claimed the Stolen Lands. I just hope discovering your secrets doesn't get me killed."

Moving back to her horse, Katya mounts up and heads back to the group at a slow pace.

"Certainly," Simn said, casting a light spell and shining the resulting bright glow into the fissure.

By the gnome's light, you can see that the fissure is roughly thirty feet deep, and it appears to open up between twenty and twenty-five feet down (i.e., there's an open space at the bottom).

"Shall I drop in and see what's down there?" Adam asks, casually.

Jacyn moves over to join the group looking into the hole, responding to Adam, "Do you want me to get the rope?"

"Hmmm, yes, I think you'd better. I can control falls a ways down, but even that drop might be dangerous."

Adam climbs down from the horse and peers down into the fissure.

Jacyn retrieves the rope, handing Adam enough slack to secure himself, and wrapping the other end firmly around Smoke's saddlehorn, "Just to be safe.", he explains.