Talene Minly |
We can check for other trails with our new member in tow. So houses now. continue the circling for extra marsh entrances afterwards.
Agreed though I thought we were picking up our new ally in Sandpoint not the nearby farms :-)
DM Púca |
The party takes the most recent path through the fields that they have come across. The path is a pleasant walk after the marsh. The ground is dry, and oat and bean fields lie on either side.
Soon you pass through a copse of hazelnut trees. The sun shines through them, dappling the ground with a mixture of light and shade. The path is wider here, and it's obvious that wagons have been brought repeatedly to this place for gathering the nuts.
Beyond the trees a small group of buildings come into view across a couple more fields. The largest of the buildings is a barn with a small attached corral. The house is nearby, and smaller than one might expect. A granary and a couple of smaller sheds complete the set. Past the cluster of buildings and across other fields, the massive trees of the Whisperwood are just within your range of sight.
When you are closer you can see an older, bearded man and a teenager working on a couple of barrels in front of the house. When they notice you they stand, each collecting a pitchfork as they walk out to meet you. The man whistles loudly, and a minute later you see a woman, armed and in armor, come around from the other side of the house.
When you are closer yet, the two relax, resting the pitchforks on the ground and leaning against them. The woman joins them and you see she wears badging that indicates she a member of Sandpoint's watch. The older man calls out
"Hail travelers, what is it we kin do for ye?"
Mari Valeri |
Mari seems as chipper as she always is, though when she notices another member of the Town Watch, she sits up straighter on Flax; Patting his side, she slides off the white wolf, who obediently sits at attention as the halfling walks over to the three, giving a curt salute. "Sorry, sir. Mari Valeri, of the Sandpoint Guard. Me and my friends were out here investigating rumours about the goblins making trouble on the trails; we went into the marsh a bit ago to try and find sommin on them, but the most we could find is old Walthus, who got attacked by some sort of creature that took his form."
She relaxes a bit, shaking her head. "We came out of the Marsh after running out of ideas on how to find the gobbers and hope maybe someone here could help us out."
She gives another salute to Daufni then. "And what're you doing out here, Daufni? The Watch send you out here?"
Yuki Kaijitsu |
With Mari relaxed, and seemingly at ease, or knowing the woman, Yuki stands back and lets her do the talking, sheepishly looking at the bearded man and boy with their pitchforks.
Aye, the unarmed young girl going to investigate rumors about goblins making trouble...they'll think I'm just tagging along to brag about my adventure...why...why do I care? *sigh*
Daufni Ingesdottir |
Daufni had just finished cleaning up in the barn when she heard the whistle. The other guardsmen had left for Sandpoint a little over an hour ago, leaving the newbie to clean up the mess they made last night. Must be some initiation ritual, or something. After grabbing her sword, she went around the house to see what the commotion was about.
As she rounds the house, she sees the 4 people approaching. She immediately recognizes the white wolf and his rider and waves. She listens as Mari makes her introduction. "Hey, Mari," she says in reply. "Nah. We were on our way back from a prisoner transfer to Magnimar. The others went on to town, but I stayed behind to clean up." Looking up at the group behind Mari, "I knew the boss, er Sheriff, was thinkin' about findin' some adventurous types to deal with the gobbos. I thought about doin' it myself, but I like thinkin' I'm not stupid." She looks at the others, "doin' it by myself, I mean."
Inari Kage |
"Smarter than us, at any rate. Unless you want to join us. Then we can all be stupid together." the lithe looking fellow with the wry grin said while giving the tall redhead an appreciative look.
Mari Valeri |
"Well, you found us then! Thing is, right now we're at a bit of a sticky problem; we know the Licktoads are somewhere in the marsh, but the bloody place is mostly unmapped and there's things that take peoples' faces and reports of giant monsters and all sorts of s**&e; we're all a bit leery of going in without any sort of proper-like preparation, you know?"
She pauses for a bit and glances to the others. "Ah, right, I gotta introduce you to the others. Everyone, this is Daufni, she's part of the watch too. She's probably the second-best shot I've seen. Well... third-best, at least. With a bow." She adds hastily at the last part. "Anyway, Daufni, this is Yuki; you probably know her sister Ameiko, you know, from the Rusty Dragon? Inari here also worked there, I think. And that's Talene, from the Temple. Anyway, that's where we are now; trying to figure out where to go from here. You're welcome to join us! We could use an extra hand, I think."
Yuki Kaijitsu |
When she is introduced, Yuki bows deeply, in the tradition of her Ancestors:"Pleased to make your aquaintance, Daufni!"
Oh, Yuki had seen the young woman...with Koya, if she remembered rightly...but even though Sandpoint was not a huge town, it was too large for someone to know everybody else, personally.
"Another Guardswoman with us would definitely make us feel more at ease. Having Mari and Flax is good, and Talene represents support from the Six...but us two, a good-for-nothing day labourer and a waitress...", Yuki smiles, "-an unlikely troupe, but we DID already save someone's life!"
Daufni Ingesdottir |
Daufni listens to everyone's introductions and comments before replying."Well, I'm finished here. And I'm not due back for a few hours." She looks behind her and points with her thumb. "Let me get my gear and we'll see about those gobbos."
As she readies her pack and slings it over her shoulder she asks "who's life did you save, anyway?"
Yuki Kaijitsu |
Yuki smiles proudly:"Walthus, the Halflling who lives in the Marsh. Has snakes, delivered some medicine stuff to Hanna, I'm sure you heared of him."
Taking a moment to collect her memories, she continues:"A face-thief-shaping-thingie was trying to take over his identity, so...well, let me start from the beginning: A few days ago...", Yuki happily recounts their story so far while Daufni packs up and the group is walking, focusing especially on how they heroically saved Walthus. Oh, and you can know everything that happened since we left, too ;) - if we wanted any supplies, I suppose the others handled that or Daufni already had it.
Talene Minly |
Talene smiles at Daufni, "The Blessings of Desna upon you".
DM Púca |
With some time left in the day, the group, now including Daufni, drops off their non-essential gear at the farmhouse and return to the edge of the marsh to look for trails.
You cross the Lost Coast Road and walk overland along the top of the bluff above the marsh. Over the next hour and half or so you find two trails.
The first is about 1/2 an hour farther along. It is a small, faint trail on a steep part of the slope. It is obvious that a certain amount of mild climbing would be needed to descend it. Daufni can estimate it hasn't seen any travel aside from small animals in at least a couple of weeks, and the trail looks like it has never seen frequent traffic.
You come upon the second trail as the light is beginning to wane. This trail is more obvious, and investigation of the trailhead shows it zig-zags down the slope much like the others you have used. It is also in the process of disappearing. Plant growth is beginning to reclaim it, and Daufni estimates it has not been used in at least several months.
I'm assuming Daufni is taking 20 on Survival to check the locations thoroughly.
You turn back toward the farm with the light failing, and reach it well after dark. A rather late dinner is waiting for you. The farmer, Ozmud Groudt and his farmhand, the teenaged Rafe have prepared a serviceable meal of bean and barley stew and pickled vegetables.
When the workload requires it, Ozmud, a lifelong bachelor, hires on on or two of the sons of other farmers in the area for a while. Currently Rafe is filling the role. The straw-haired young man has little to say during dinner, but Ozmud talks for some time about the area and in answer to your questions. In the end though, you learn little you didn't know before you left Sandpoint.
Ozmud has never known the Brinestump goblins to bother anyone. Neither he nor his neighbors worry about them. The Whisperwood is far more threatening to them with its bugbears and bandits. He hasn't seen or otherwise noticed anything unusual lately. In fact, he only heard of the goblins' recent attacks on travelers yesterday from Daufni and her companions. They are the only visitors to have come by in almost a month.
Ozmud isn't very familiar with the marsh. He doesn't fish there. His farm is so close to the Sodden River it doesn't seem worth the extra walking to him. He can tell you something about the two trails though. The first is simply the other, never used end of the Old Fish Trail. It used to make a loop through the eastern part of the marsh.
The other, more distant trail is reputed to lead to Old Megus' house. Nobody ever travels that one.
After dinner Ozmud begs forgiveness for the small size of his house. Being a bachelor, there is only his own room, and a small extra space where Rafe sleeps. The barn is large and well constructed though. It will keep you warm and there is plenty of fresh hay for bedding.
The next morning, after a quick breakfast of bread and some cheese you are once again on your way back to the marsh. Ozmud is happy enough to give you some rope, and he also has a small fishing net he's happy enough to let you have. It seems having members of the town watch frequent the area is worth more than the silver or two the stuff would be worth.
Inari Kage |
Inari winced a little at Yuki's description of the creature they'd fought in Malthus' shack.
The next morning he was up early, bright eyed and bushy tailed, as the saying goes. He cleaned his hands and face in a horse trough, ran his hands though his unruly hair and slung his pack over his shoulder ready to go within ten minutes of waking.
Talene Minly |
"Well, yesterday's approach was not successful, perhaps we should set snares today along a point farther down the road to see what, if anything we catch?
I have the feeling that visiting Old Megus would not go over well from what we have heard about that character".
Yuki Kaijitsu |
Yuki has a harder time getting up. Having adjusted somewhat to her schedule in the Dragon, she's used to staying up late, well into the night, then sleeping in.
She tries hard not to let it show, though, and cheerfully thanks Ozmud and Rafe for their hospitality.
On the road, she remembers what they learnt: "Well, Walthus told us that the Old Fish Trail is not used because of the Goblins...but he didn't tell us that it had two entrances into the Marsh. I think we should try our luck with the other end of the trail, today. If we are serious about mapping the swamp, we may also need to visit Old Megus's private trail...we could possibly fetch some fresh Bread, some Cheese and maybe some Wine from Ozmud or others in the vicinity. Bringing gifts may get her to forgive us for treespassing in her territory."
@Daufni: Little, except that she's not fond of Visitors...basically this
Mari Valeri |
Mira's up early and in her underarmor; after doing a bit of a warmup in the morning before breakfast, she joins the others, and thanks Ozmud and Rafe profusely - especially for letting a wolf near the barn. Even tame, Flax has a tendency of making farmers nervous, being clearly a wolf. She takes point again once they start moving on the road.
"I don't wanna piss off a witch either, so I like Yuki's idea. I'll pitch in if we need to buy some. I mean... aside from that, we don't really have much of a choice, do we? It's either old Megus, or the other side of that trail Walthus talked about. To choose between witches and goblins, goblins are, at least, a danger me and Flax can deal with." She bends over and pets Flax on the side, and he lets out a soft bark in cheerful response. "I mean... if the old fish trail doesn't work out, we could go up Old Megus' trail. If we really have to."
Inari Kage |
"Snares are a good idea. I bet we could get some sturdy traps in town. I remember seeing some. I think they're pretty cheap."
I am a huge fan of Bear Traps. They're cheap and super effective at first level.
DM Púca |
Since we have Daufni in the game now as a new player, and because a fair amount of time has passed since the beginning, I'm going to mention a couple of things about the original context of your journey to Brinestump Marsh that may have grown fuzzy with time.
A bounty is posted for goblin ears because the Sandpoint watch doesn't have the resources to devote to the goblin problem. The hope is freelancers will take care of things. While scouting is fine and all, and can help with the mapping side gig, Hemlock and company are interested in ears more than information.
A group of three fortune seekers led by a warrior named Micawber Lewsome left Sandpoint to collect on the bounty ahead of you. They had not been heard from again in town by the time you left.
Talene Minly |
"After our lack of success yesterday we maybe should set our traps on the Old Fish Trail".
Daufni Ingesdottir |
Daufni listens to the planning and finally speaks up. "Why set traps at all? The mayor and sheriff want the Licktoads gone. Trappin' one or two goblins a day is not a very efficient use of our time. They breed faster than that." She looks around at the group. "We should go in, find 'em, and kick 'em out of the marsh."
"As for Old Megus..." she continues. "If Walthus was attacked in his own home, maybe someone should check up on her. It's not like we're pesterin' her, or anything."
Yuki Kaijitsu |
Yuki sighs.
Just what we needed, a guard with a death wish...
"We don't want to trap a goblin or two for the bounty. We want to capture one so we can learn more about their village and their explosives. If someone is supplying them, or their numbers swelled greatly, just storming in will be suicidal. If it was THAT easy, you guards would long have taken care of them-", adding a moment later:"Regarding Old Megus, I'm inclined to agree, but...YOU explain to the sociopathic old hermit-witch that we're actually not pestering her. I'd rather pay come silver for a wheel of cheese and increase my chances of not being turned into a frog. Or whatever she does." Hopefully not eating people. Getting eaten would be an awful death.
Yuki Kaijitsu |
The new entrance, yes. The other one seems unused by both humans and goblins, considering we were alone there for several hours.
@Dafni: I do like that you're pushing for action. I am just afraid Level 1 is a bit too swingy to risk a frontal assault on a whole tribe of Gobbos - but can't exactly say so IC :)
DM Púca |
1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
1d100 ⇒ 68
This entrance entrance to the Old Fish Trail is on a far steeper incline than the other, and at times members of the party find themselves having to carefully lower themselves down while gripping nearby plants or stones. Everyone makes it to the bottom without any great difficulty however.
At the bottom it is only a few yards before you come upon a bridge over a fork of the Sodden River. After crossing the bridge the trail continues onward into the same swampy, brush filled woodland as you have found on the other trails.
How far would you like to go?
DM Púca |
As you proceed down the trail after crossing the bridge, Daufni looks carefully about the trail for signs of use. As she moves farther along she notices an occasional small humanoid footprint, certainly goblin. The prints are not fresh however, being poorly defined due to rain, and overlaid with newer tracks from deer and various small mammals.
She estimates the trail has seen no goblin traffic in a few days.
Talene Minly |
"When was the last Goblin raid on a caravan? I am starting to wonder if the assailants were Goblins, or someone or something posing as Goblins... We have seen so little evidence of their presence on all trails we have taken that, well, I'm just thinking out loud here folks. Thoughts?"
Yuki Kaijitsu |
"Aye, I'm with Talene, there. Supposedly the Goblins attacked caravans outside the Marsh. We only found 4 reasonable passageways down into or up from the Marsh. And the 2 closest to their village are devoid of any Goblins...Without scouts, how would they even know when and where to strike? Something is definitely off, here. Someone directing them, or shifting the blame to them seems quite possible...", Yuki responds to Talene's thoughts.
She was quite content to let Daufni do the tracking - it was a different approach to it than Mari's Flax had, but in these wetlands, it may be the one working more reliably.
"Maybe we SHOULD risk going closer, scout out the village from a good distance, see if there's anyone other than Goblins staying, or visiting, for that matter."
DM Púca |
1d20 - 1 ⇒ (14) - 1 = 13
1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
1d20 - 1 ⇒ (12) - 1 = 11
1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17
1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
The group carefully continues down the path. After about 100 yards, it becomes evident to you that the path sees a bit more use here than in the parts you have previously traveled. It is less overgrown with vegetation. Daufney also notices more goblin tracks, which are also not exactly new, but more recent.
Another 50 yards or so and you come to a T in the trail, with the path continuing to the left and right. Here it is obvious to Daufney there are very recent goblin tracks, although again not brand new. The great majority of them run along the left and right branches of the trail, with fewer of them on the branch you've arrived by.
Talene notices a slight smell in the air. She is pretty sure it is smoke. Flax seems to smell it also since he is actively sniffing. He seems to track the smell as coming from the left as he is looking in that direction.
Mari Valeri |
"What's wrong, Flax?" Mari asks, noticing the wolf's sniffing; she leans in and watches him, his snout pointing to the left in the T. She leans back up and waves to the others. "Smells like Flax found something over on that side. He doesn't look like he's anxious about it, so it might not be anything dangerous, but if we're gonna be picking a direction, left might be good." She thinks for a moment, before deciding that it was better to be safe than sorry, and takes her lucerne out, strapping her buckler down tight and getting ready for a fight.
Yuki Kaijitsu |
"Aye, lead the way!", Yuki nods to Mari, falling in behind the Guardswoman as they make their way towards whereever the left path leads.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12 Watching surroundings actively to see if we are watched or followed.
DM Púca |
You all follow Flax's nose to the left. After about another 50 yards the trail begins to slowly curve to the left. By this time any of you can notice a slight smell of smoke.
When the trail straightens out you see why. A little ways farther down you see the trail leads to a walled settlement. It sits on a slight hill with a crudely built wooden palisade all the way around it, except for a gap in the wall where a large pond intrudes inside the line of the wall.
The front gates have been smashed off their hinges and lie in a shambles on the ground. There is a coil of black smoke rising up from within the walls.
Yuki Kaijitsu |
"Hu, if we're lucky, they managed to blow themselves up with their explosives...", Yuki attempts to interpret the coil of smoke. This seemed dangerous...but then, she absolutely needed answers. Her curiosity would not let her back away from these walls, before learning more about what happened here.
Talene Minly |
Tal nods in agreement with Yuki. She heads forward with the group but in the back as neither combat nor stealth are her strongest assets.
DM Púca |
As you move forward it's obvious the trail here has seen lots of goblin traffic, although none of the tracks are brand new. Any vegetation that could be used as cover has been cleared to a distance of about 25' around the outside of the wooden palisade. Presumably this is so the watch towers, and you can see at least two, would be useful for seeing approaching enemies before they were right upon the walls.
The palisade itself is about 10' high.
You stop at the tree line so you don't reveal yourselves.
Daufney sees no suggestion of movement in the village. The wide gap in the wall to accommodate the large pond makes it easy to see a good portion of the village's interior. You also hear no sounds. Your viewing angle does not allow you to see the source of the smoke, but it is a narrow band curling up into the sky. That, and the fact you see no structures which show any signs of fire or blast damage suggests the source of he smoke is confined to small area.
I'll get the village map up as soon as I get a chance, hopefully later today.
Talene Minly |
Talene stares at the structure for some time to ascertain whether there is indeed any sentry who may reveal their presence upon approach to it.
She whispers, "Who among us is the most stealthy? Perhaps you can sneak up and get a better view than is afforded to us from here?"
Yuki Kaijitsu |
Yuki presses closely against one of the trees.
She stares at the goblin village, wordlessly, ignoring Talene's question.
Yuki is scared. Too scared to go ahead...and definitely too scared to go alone. She can be sneaky, but does not speak up out of fear.
That said, she arrived shortly after the Sandpoint events of Rise of the Runelords. Generally speaking, she did learn about the Goblin Raid. More specifically, while she was spared the details by her sister, she did learn what happened at the Glassworks. In gory details, from others. If Talene beats the spoiler: She is probably aware of this. For the others, it's simply OOC context.
Daufni Ingesdottir |
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
Daufni whispers "I don't see anythin' movin' inside. I'll sneak around and see if I can get a better look"
She moves a little bit away from the group and attempts to stealthily move towards the shattered gate. She also looks for evidence of what shattered them.
Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11If I need Tracking instead, +1.
DM Púca |
Daufni moves out closer to the village to get a closer look. From what she can tell, neither guard tower seems to be occupied. As she comes around to look more directly at the gates, she sees that the fallen pieces lie to the outside of the palisade, suggesting they were smashed open from the inside. Their construction is shoddy, so it would not have taken a massive effort to force them.
She can also see the source of the smoke. It seems to be coming from the ground in the courtyard just a small distance inside from the gate. No flames are visible so probably a hole or pit.
How close to the gate do you want to venture Daufni? The map for the village is now up.