"We should be safe here for now. Seems there were three humanoids that were here... but that was a few days ago. The numbers add up to the 1st team. We can follow after we heal up." Wraith finally said after staring at the ground for a few minutes.
"If i had a properly trained mount I woulda slain that beast with one hand!" Eddric pauses, "Ya no chance in hell we could of have taken him." The knight then pauses and looks around, "Wheres my horse?"
"Audrey, would you mind sharing your horse? I seem to have misplaced mine." Eddric flashes a quick smile, "either way we should continue."
Thaegrin's laughter fades quickly, and he eyes the half-elf coolly. "Honestly, halfbreed, do you expect one as educated as myself to stoop to the deeds of a charitable clergy? I have better ways to spend my time."
His glance darts over to Muta.
"Not to discredit your dedication, surely." His lips form a smugly patronizing smile.
"Who said anything about charity, Elf? I'll give you a shiny gold piece for your efforts." Half dismounting, half falling from his saddle Facion grunts as his feet impact the ground.
Audrey was not looking at the knight as he spoke and therefore does not know he is talking to her.
"I'm unsure if "Chuckles" can help with your healing as he is a wizard, and you'll have to be nice to Audrey it seems if you want her help. Good luck breaking through that first impression you gave her. Give me that gold piece though, and I'll see if I can change her mind." Wraith grinned wryly as he slid off his horse and waved to Audrey to get her attention. He pulled out an arrow and knelt down and wrote on the ground. Can you read this? What's the best way to communicate with you?
"Deaf would be the key feature I may have forgotten!" The knight walks over and gently put his hand on her leg. "Hun would you mind sharing your mount with a semi-attractive man?" He then gives his best smile and partially winks one eyebrow, "I seem to be missing my horse when I was running like a little girl."
"Oh he can do it alright, damn pointy-ear just likes to see me bleed. I'll keep my coin, thanks." He casts a half-glare at the aloof Elf. "That is if Ser Great Wizard isn't interested in taking this lowly peasants grubby custom." Anga sketches out a mocking half-bow, wincing as he stands up.
Thaegrin pointedly ignores the rest of the tom-foolery spilling out of the half elf's mouth. Briefly observing the interaction between Muta and the other two, he quietly loses interest and retrieves his spellbook, and reads idly. The trouble is, he wrote his spellbook. After a few minutes, boredom returns.
"Boys, let me know when you are done playing grab-ass and charades with the only female in miles. I'd wager she won't heal you until you are in dire need. Now, shall we set up camp, return to Oleg's, or keep searching the area?"
"These tracks will likely vanish soon. We should follow them in hopes of finding the 1st team before we lose our only lead. The number of tracks match up with the number of members the team had." Wraith said without looking up from his writing with Audrey.
"Deaf would be the key feature I may have forgotten!" The knight walks over and gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Hun would you mind sharing your mount with a semi-attractive man?" He then gives his best smile and partially winks one eyebrow, "I seem to be missing my horse when I was running like a little girl."
Audrey snorts as Wraith starts to write in the dirt. She mouths Blah, blah, blah, indicating that one can simply speak to her and she reads lips.
When Eddric touches her leg, Audrey jumps back a step and her hand charges with a dark, crackling energy.
Her eyes challenge, Touch me again...
"Alright, alright.... so that's a no on the sharing of the mount then?" Eddric chuckles. "We finally got some good tracks, It would be in good nature to follow them! We ride and walk till night then we camp, with never-sleep as a perfect sentry."
"Hahahaha! So much for charm eh good knight?" Angas face splits into a mirthful grin as he strides up. Somewhat less gracefully in light of the large hole in his back. "Looks like you'll be walking for a spell. The Lady worked hard to keep her current mount in hand, and she's not wont to part with it casually it would seem." The thief turns his mischivous grin on the shadow woman. "And you! I could have sworn by seven different gods that I heard you speak during the fight! No?" He throws his hands up in the air in mock resignation. "Ah well, it must have simply been my inate longing to hear your voice cry out in the heat of action." He laughs again, only cringing slightly from the pain and turns to face the group as a whole. "In any case, I agree. We should continue to follow the tracks Master Devil has found. Though fair warning, I'm in no shape to fight. If we meet any resistance, I'm running." Again the grin, "Well, limping as fast as I can in any case." He heads back to his mount and reloads his crossbow, checks saddle straps, and generally makes ready to go.
"It's decided, then. Lead the way, archer. The next troll we find, let us not waste time provoking it."
Useless as a tracker, Thaegrin decides to keep a sharp eye out for trolls and other dangers of the forest.
Mounting up, Wraith leads the way, stopping to check the ground every so often, noticing food steps, broken twigs, anything that would mark a trail.
Anga dismounts from his horse, the wounds on his back still prevalent, but mostly scabbed over. "Well if someone would get me a quick heal then maybe I'd feel a bit more confident about sneaking up on ahead and seeing what were dealing with before we lose control of our steeds and nearly get ourselves eaten." He examine the terrain around them (). "After all, sneaking is my forté."
"Many people... That's not good. 1st team only had a few members. What do you guys want to do?" Wraith mused.
Audrey slaps a piece of paper in Anga's palm
You owe me. I'm saving your life.
At Wraith's comment, she simply shrugs.
"The more information we have, the better, especially if these are the bandits we are looking for. But, given our recent performance, I suggest we wait for them to come to us, at the trading post. It is a better defensible location, albeit a poor one, than a fight in the open against greater numbers. Anga may have the right notion."
He points a condescending finger at the half elf. "Reconnaissance only. No killing."
"Go swiftly Anga. The stars are veiled. Something stirs in the East. A sleepless malice. Be careful." Wraith murmurs.
"Reconnaissance is an excellent idea, but I would fear if they are mounted we must keep in mind running at least for me is not an option. My armor alone weighs enough to drown me, my chances of hiding or running from them is slim to not an option." Eddric Sits uneasy on a downed tree, scratching his face. I havn't shaved in a few days. He thoughts betrayed him. He tried staying on focus but he felt overgrown with hair. "Anyone got a small blade, I might need to get this face back to its pristine nature." He spent the next few seconds in mental agony trying to claw his hair off his face, with repetitive mild scratching.
The Half-Elf smiles at Audrey, "Feel free to collect any time." Grinning at the others he turns to show off his newly healed back, the scars still fresh but otherwise completely restored. "Well I'm good to go, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a little look-see." He begins to tighten his belts and straps, making sure that nothing jangles or is loose. "Do try and be quiet while I'm gone," Facion casts a dubious glance at the knight in his bulky suit. "If you can." Loosening his rapier in it's scabbard he starts towards the sounds. Moving low and smooth, he takes pains to avoid the earthworks and sentry posts.
Wraith draws an arrow and buries it next to Eddric's hand on the downed tree. "Shave with that; it has a keener edge then most blades."
"Thanks,"he looked at it for a second and thought,"Begger's can be choosers". Eddric then blindly shaves his face. With the canteen's water to sooth the arrows lust for blood, he finishes. "And that should cover it for now, you know just encase the situation gets sticky."
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You stalk past trees, through brush, and over logs. After what seems like a painfully long time, you come upon a good-sized clearing.
Here 6 men, three women, and 1 large, scar-covered Hobgoblin sit in a base camp of sorts. Most are distracted with what tasks - cooking, tanning hides, sharpening blades, counting coppers - to notice your approach.
You start to flatten out for a good observation session when a mimicked bird call escapes a human throat from a tree across the clearing. The Hobgoblin, who had been tending a massive sword looks over the camp fire and locks eyes with you.
"'S alright Liam. I see 'im."
The Hobgoblin raised his voice to speak to you.
A cruel, challenging smile curls out of his lips.
The whole camp is staring in your direction now. Most have found your form and those that haven't are being shown by the rest. Arrows train on your location; how will you ever escape?
The Hobgoblin rises, he carries many weapons.
You hear the sounds of the camp, unchanged from when you first arrived.
You hear the camp go quiet about 5 minutes after Anga sneaks off. Then, a single voice shouts into the night. Alas, you cannot make out its words.
You hear the Hobgoblin's words.
Looking back towards the hobgoblin Anga continues. "Or is it the kind of wealth that let's you retire, sleep late, and live like a Duke? 'Cause honestly? I'm more of a mind for the latter personally." He grins at them from his position at the edge of the camp. "As for your question, I unfortunately have never been to Brevoy. So I can't speak to one way or the other. Nah, me and my crew have just been casing a joint out here for a job we're thinking about pulling down. Place called Olegs? The gray eyes watch their faces closely to notice any spark of recognition.
"But I'll let the boys know about your offer. Could be there's more money in working for this, Deer Lord? You said? Than there is running alone. He grins and curtsies at the lot of them, before turning and beginning to make his way towards his fellows, though taking an increasingly convoluted and roundabout path to discourage being followed.
"Welcome back Anga, what do you have to report?"
"Okay, so here's the deal. Six men, three women, and a massive hobgoblin all of 'em armed, and the hob doubly so. Plus at least one sentry that I didn't get a look at. So at the least we're talking about eleven fighters what know how to use their weapons. We can say they're definitely the ones giving Oleg problems, they all but admitted it. And they're looking to hit Oleg again. I don't like the odds of facing them in the open, hell I don't like the odds of facing them at all. But there, that's what we're up against it would seem." Having said his piece Anga finds a rock to sit on and think.
Wraith hears the sounds from the camp, but no voices until Anga comes back to the group.
Hearing Anga's words, Wraith thinks back to what his orders were and about what information he heard about the 1st team. Who was on the first team... What were their names and race....? Knowledge A hobgoblin... wasn't one of the members of the first team a hobgoblin?
A puzzled look on his face, Wraith turned to Anga. "Did the hobgoblin say anything to you? Did he know why you were here in these lands? Tell me every word he said."
"Unless this area has an abundance of hobgoblins, that could be the one of the first group Svetlana spoke of. You did not see an orc, or tiefling? Interesting. If all agree on not fighting them in the open, perhaps it is time to retire to the trading post, to discuss strategy."
"I think a well placed strike right now might be best. We move against them and give them an option to join us. A promise of life and wealth can sway most bandits. Hiding behind walls shows that they control us, that we fear the forest of which they prowl." He pauses grabbing his sword and abruptly standing. Eddric peels his glove from his hand, shaking it and then remounting it. "Negotiations are a fickle beast."
Thaegrin scowls at the knight. "Have you not heard the saying, sir: 'There are old knights, and there are bold knights, but there are not old bold knights.' No. We have little to bargain, and more to lose. Given how you allowed your last 'fickle beast' run its merry way, I say we wait, until a better strategy becomes apparent."
"You can all do what you want, but I'm not fighting them in the open." He leans back and crosses his arms behind his head. "Too many for a comfortable honest fight." He smiles from under his hood. "And I don't even like honest fights in the best of times."
"I would say I now have a firm respect for trolls. I will not force you into a fight,that much is understood." He knew these weren't trained soldiers, and more then that he wasn't their leader. He could push them but they weren't his command, and ultimately without violence they could just ignore him. He was flustered, but he had to move on. The knight finally sat down again on the stump, waiting and watching.