Carthas nods. ”Indeed. You should be safe here, at least for now. Otho, Kat, If we’re Going to backscout the trail, why don’t both of you go? Better to not have someone wander on their own.”
Carthas invites the man to have a seat, thinking on his story.
Otho rubs his eyes as the group talks to the new comer. At the mention of his name, his ears perk up and Otho tries to look like he was paying attention the whole time. "Umm... Sure. Ya, I could do that." Otho looks over at Kat, hoping that she will accompany him.
It sure is dark out there. I don't want to wander too far alone.
Katyeva nods. "Should probably see how much of a trail our new guest has left."
She smiles at Otho, sensing his discomfort. "Don't worry: you know that saying 'The night is dark and full of terrors' - it's true. And I'm one of them."
It may be just a trick of the light but her eyes flare briefly, feral, before returning to her usual self.
Hesitantly, Otho nods to Katyeva and fakes a smile. "I just hope we don't run into any other terrors" Otho says as he dons his armor.
With Kat by his side, he slinks off in the direction the man came from, looking and listening for signs of trouble.
The man shudders. "Thank you, but I doubt that very much, miss. I'm not like to forget the things I've seen." He moves to sit by the fire. "My name is Edran. I was a trader out of Tamran. I don't know about other survivors. There were people running and... oh, gods. I saw this bugbear." He reaches up and gestures to his face. "Scars all over. He tore somebody apart with his bare hands."
---
Back-scouting the trail, Katyeva and Otho find no evidence that the man was followed, but he has left a easily identified trail. Some work will need to be done to cover the path he made to the refugee's camp.
"It must have been quite traumatic, I'm sure. Several of us were at the Taproot that night, as well. If you hadn't snuck out the back, I'm sure that we could have gotten you out safely with us. Always best to stay in a group when these things happen. Had you been in Phaendar long?"
Carthas will attempt to coax more out of the man.
"It looks like no one followed him." Otho says to Kat. "We better get back to the camp though before the others start to worry."
Otho loos around in the cold night air. This is going to take some getting used to.
On the way back to the camp, Otho does his best to cover the tracks.
Katyeva wisely leaves the covering-up to Otho, who seems to have a knack for it.
Katyeva and Otho return to camp without incident.
Edran shakes his head, sitting down. "I hadn't, no. I actually wasn't even supposed to be in Phaendar. Just making my rounds and passing through the area. I heard about the festival and thought it might be fun. Some luck, huh?"
Carthas chuckles. "Some luck, indeed. How did you manage to get across the river? There was a guard on the bridge when we got there, and we blew it up after we crossed it."
Edran shrugs. "There wasn't a guard when I got there. I must have crossed before you."
Having had time to think on his way back to camp, Otho leans over to Katyeva as they stand on the outside of the circle listening to the man tell his tale.
Olaf listens to the man's story and tries to decide if he believed him. He decided he didn't know, or really care.
Seeing their scouts head off and already armored, Olaf settles in for a shift on watch.
Katyeva smirks at Otho. "That's my secret: I'm always suspicious. Keeps me alive."
She goes over the man's story again in her mind, looking for any discrepancies.
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Having no idea what to make of Edran, Rickus goes to sleep, hoping the new member of their community will be able to do the same.
Due to their unexpected visitor the night before, Rickus wakes up a bit groggy, but goes through his normal rituals in the morning anyway. Hopefully I can find at least as much game today as I did yesterday...and hopefully nothing more dangerous than what we've found so far. I'd like to turn my attention to scouting, but until I know this group is self sustainable, I need to keep finding food. I'd start a garden, but I doubt we will be around long enough to see it bear fruit.
Once Carthas sees Edran to a place to sleep, he himself returns to bed as well.
The next day, with enough shelter having been built for everyone, he will work with Rickus and others to forage for food in order to make sure the camp is sustainable so he and others can turn to scouting the nearby area.
Having nothing to do at the camp, the next morning Olaf grabs up his most favorite throwing axe and goes looking for some food, or animals to kill.
Bickering softly with his head ghosts on his way out of camp.
Hearing that Katyeva is also untrusting of the new man, Otho thinks about the events that night as he tries to go back to sleep.
At least Olaf is taking first watch. If the newcomer tries anything funny, he will be sorry.
Otho slowly fades off to sleep, hoping that there will be no more action that night.
.
.
.
The next morning, Otho rises sore and tired. The lack of sleep obviously didn't help him get a good night's rest.
"It seems that you all have the food under control. I am going to try to scout out the area. I'll be back before nightfall with what I find."
Otho stumbles across a farm a couple miles northwest of camp. All that remains of the abandoned stead is a tumbledown chimney and an overgrown stand of apple trees.
Cautiously, Otho approaches the building to see if anything useful remains. Otho spends a few minutes searching around the chimney and where he thinks the house may have stood, but comes up empty handed.
Not finding anything useful, and noticing that the sun is about to set, Otho decides it is best if he hurries back to camp before it gets too dark.
Otho's search around the chimney turns up fruit other than apples. A loose stone at the base holds the remains of a settler's wealth. Three cloth sacks, bulging with coin, sit next to an array of excellent quality throwing weapons and a large citrine gem.
When Otho gets back to the camp, he drops the bag of coins loudly in the clearing near the fire.
"Well, I don't know what use all of this will be, but I did manage to find a few weapons at an old abandoned farm not far from here. I also didn't see any sign of the hobgoblins near here." Otho sits down on a log near the fire. "How did the rest of your fare?"
"We managed to gather some more provisions - although unless we find a way to become self-sustaining, I don't think we'll be able to take tomorrow off from it. Did you notice any other threats?"
"No, nothing. Though, it does seem strange to me to find so much of value in an old, broken down house."
Otho looks over at the pile of stuff that he found. I wonder if I just stole someone's life savings. A bit of guilt begins to bubble within Otho. Well, if I ever figure out who it belongs to, I will return it, but until then, it is of better use with us than it is back at those ruins.
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"Perhaps we should consider moving our camp to the farm? Or at least we should prepare it as a second camp in case we either need to move everyone quickly, or if our scouts need somewhere to flee to if they think they are being followed. Having multiple positions to fall to seems advantageous, especially if it has intact structures we can start from. I doubt the hobgoblins have detailed maps of the forest. I know I never had access to any."
"There isn't much left standing as far as buildings are concerned. Mostly just a chimney that has fallen over. It still might be a good idea though."
"I'd rather we stay here, or find a good, defensible cave system if needed. It will make a good fall back point, but with no permanent structures, we'll still have to make do. I don't suppose you saw any signs of crops or food growing there? We might be able to harvest something if there is."
"I say we go clear the cannibals from those caves and hole up in there." Olaf grumbles, before shaking his flail suggestively, "I haven't killed anything in ages and Ingrid is bored."
Those monsters will just eat you oaf... do you want to finish your journey in this realm as troglodyte excrement? Will you ghosts be stuck in the pile instead of in my head? Because I can think of worse fates if it rids my skull of You! ... ... I hope not ... ha!
"There were some apple trees. I didn't think of harvesting any for some reason. Nothing that would support all of us for long term though." Otho turns to Olaf. "The caves are a long ways away. It would take us a long time to get there. I don't know that we have the resources to get there."
Provision Points = 6+5+1 = 12
New Animals = 6
"Well, the weapons will be useful. Tomorrow, you and I should take some of the other refugees to the farm and harvest the apple trees - no sense leaving the food to go to waste when we need it. Once that's done, we may be able to focus on securing our immediate surroundings."
"As for the caves, my warrior friend, we will get there - but it is important we not get caught off-guard from behind while we are doing so."
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Rickus looks over the stored supplies, trying to estimate how much is there. He comments to mostly to Jet, trying to make sure the other commoners aren't there to overhear. "Looks like just over a day's worth by my count. The stock is getting lower with each passing day. Yesterday was a good hunting and gathering day, and we almost met our needs, but even with that we had to dip into the stores. They did a good job finding animals, likely more than we can keep in the long run. I suggest we slaughter half of them today to add to the food stores. Together with what comes in from hunting, the fresh meat should be good for morale."
Rickus looks at the lean to camp. I'm not sure how long we can hold out with no supply lines. Within the army, holding lines was the key to victory. I never had to deal with hunting and gathering to sustain everyone. Hunting was a show of skill...almost a game. Not a matter of life and death with so many lives on the line. Erastil, I need your help more than ever to help keep these people alive. All your teachings make so much more sense here in the forest than up on a wall or in safety behind the wall. These people will need your blessings and your guidance to survive here.
With his silent prayer complete, Rickus gathers his bow and arrows and heads out for another day of hunting.
Growling at his boredom and incessant yapping of the voices in his head, Olaf exclaims.
"Little man! I will go pick apples with you. You may need someone tall and I am bored. Hopefully we can find some hobgoblins to smash along the way!
Otho smiles at Olaf. "I would be glad to have you with me. Though, I must admit, I don't share your excitement for a fight."
Olaf gives the halfling a wide grin, "Do not worry little man, I am excited enough for both of us!"
"Then let us go to the farm to pick some apples."
The abandoned orchard and farm is virtually unchanged from when Otho found it a day ago. A copse of unruly apple trees stands apart from a partially collapsed chimney.
The tang of fallen, rotting apples wafts from near the trees.