Tex shuts his eyes and takes a couple of deep breaths. "Well, that wasn't a good time," he says, straining to smile but staying put on the ground. "Everybody else alright?"
Tired and exhausted after the battle, patches of blood covering his stomach area as well new holes on his clothes, Eberac gets up slowly and is more grumpy than ever.
Looking around and trying to see what has happened here before their arrival and just to see, if he might have missed something
"The critter ran off this way. Now I wonder where the little fella got off to. You two get off yer bums. We need to follow 'im" The gnome standing near the ambush site looks quite odd with blood clearly soaking through his shirt where he was shot just a few moments ago. "He's got the goods on the where-to's of those that got bushwacked here."
In the aftermath of the battle, Eberac comes down from his battle-rage and begins to look around, glancing about for any clues to what happened here. Wallaby Jack searches around as well, although his near-death experience distracts him from some of the more hidden elements.
Inspecting the horses, it's easy to guess where they came from. The saddles are each marked with a distinctive symbol, which you recognize from the job posting and the letter Anders held: the Rockseeker clan logo. Given that and the apparent time the carcasses have sat here, it's obvious that Gundren and his security chief were ambushed on this road.
Eberac then moves to inspect the area where the last goblin fled, and he picks out several markings that indicate this point has been used as an ambush spot for some time. Behind some scrub he finds a hidden path. There are lots of goblin tracks, indicating that maybe a dozen or more have moved here and back in the past couple days. There are also tracks showing that two larger humanoids were dragged away up this hidden trail: one looks to be a human, but the other is shorter and heavier, likely a dwarf.
It seems that the party's boss and his security man have been taken by the goblins, but the exact of why or how aren't obvious yet. For now two of the group are down from the fight, but will the others wait here for them to wake, or push on to Phandalin?
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Jack relents on his push to follow the goblin. He walks back to the three others and crouches down picking at the dirt a bit. "Welp mates, we've already had a rough one. Why don't we sit for a tick and take us a break. Won't do us any good going on Walkabout with the condition you're both in."
"Heh, never thought I'd see the day I get laid low by some punks like that." Says Tex, before coughing and staring up at the sky. "Reckon you're right. Gimme a mo'."
Jack rummages through the bodies of the dead goblins looking for clues and anything useful.
The goblin bodies don't have much of anything on them, just their shoddy weapons and a few scraps of rotten meat and hide. All told the group can gather four bows, five knives, and a hatchet, along with some forty arrows altogether--none of which is in good repair or likely to be sold for a good price.
Aren will moan and finally come to. "Did anyone see who was driving that wagon?"
"Welcome back. Now that the two of you are back to being at least slightly awake, what's the plan?"
"What happened while I was unconscious?"
"I think the last of that "wagon" got away while we was out," says Tex. "Sorry 'bout slowin' ya down Jack. Y'all reckon we should go after 'im or just press on to Phandalin?"
"I definitely think we should go after them, especially if they took hostages."
"I'm wondering if it don't get worse than just hostages. These horses might belong to our employer. The letter said he and his man had set out ahead of us. Won't do us much good to get to Phandalin if we leave em in the outback." Jack says while fishing out the letter they were all given by Anders.
"You be dropping like a sack of gold to the feet of a cheap woman... a bad luck maybbe but who I be to know abbout that" Eberac mentions as he cleans his axe on the corpses of the goblins
"I be reckoning that if those be our employees... then maybbe we wont be under work for a loong time if we dont be moving soon. It been a some time already since those goblins attacked these people as I can see"
It seems the party's agreed that rescuing the goblins' prisoners is in order, but their desires may be getting ahead of their capabilities a bit, as several members are heavily injured. It seems a short rest to lick their wounds will be needed before they head off up the trail.
"Well, damn," says Tex, pressing a handkerchief into one of his arrow wounds and whistling through his teeth. "If I'd realized that I mightn't have asked. Gimme a moment to patch m'self up and we'll head after 'em."
After resting for a while, Aren will stand and stretch his legs and say "So, are we ready to head out?"
"Can't say we'll be able to find the little critter but I think its best we try. I am ready to go."
Jack is up and ready to go. He tells the others of his plan to disguise himself to look like a goblin next time goblins are close.
Grunting as Eberac got up and brandished his Greataxe, he assumed position in the front of the party "Be it as it may, I guess it be better for all of us, if me be going first. Been living out of land for a long time and most likely more experienced of us on these kind of tracks" shrugging his shoulders as Eberac spoke the words and looked at others
"Reckon that makes us all ready then," says Tex, standing up and dusting himself off. He winces a little, the wounds still fresh, but after a second the pain seems to settle. He gestures for Eberrac to take point. "Lead the way, old timer."
The group lays low for a little while to rest up, patch their wounds, and ready themselves for the path ahead. Once they're ready, the party starts up the goblins' trail, hoping to find whatever lies at the end.
About ten minutes up the trail, Eberac's keen eyes serve the party well as he leads the way: he spots a snare on the path, and points it out so the party can avoid it. The snare sets them on edge, though, and the group begins keeping an eye out for future trouble on the path.
Unfortunately, although Eberac keeps an eye out, he does stumble upon the next trap on the trail. About half an hour after the snare, he steps forward and feels the "ground" collapse beneath him, and he drops down to slam into the dirt and stones of the pit. The good news is, the pit is roughly dug and not too steep on the edges, and the dwarf is able to climb back out (or be pulled out if the fall knocks him out).
Moving at their moderate pace, it takes the party about two hours to reach the end of the trail, which climbs up through some foothills and winds through rock canyons and scrub desert. Toward the end of the trail, it links up with a small stream, which picks up size as the party moves on. At the finish, the stream extends into the opening of a cave in the side of a hillock outcropping. Dense briar thickets, some of the thickest vegetation around, is grown around the entrance, screening much of the surrounding rock wall from view. A narrow dirt path, more trodden into the sparse grass than intentionally created, is on the other side of the stream, and leads into the cave mouth alongside the water.
At the moment, all is quiet as the party reaches a spot about fifty feet from the opening, where they pause behind some stray boulders for cover.
Jack makes some strange gestures and mutters a short incantation. As he finishes, he seems transform from a gnome to a goblin. Wearing blue hankercheif around his waist.
Looking at his group and thinking what to say, Eberac has a surprised look for a moment as he witness the gnome changing his race.
Eyeing a bit suspiciously at the goblin now and raising his axe to poke to his direction "What be this... sorcery me be seeing? I dunno what that should be. You are actually goblin or what?" examining the goblin now and trying to understand the situation.
Speaking in hushed tone and looking at others to get some kind of confirmation
"Yeah I'd reckon that's a spell of some sort," says Tex quietly, hitching up his belt before drawing his sidearm and keeping it pointed at the dirt. "Y'all gonna let us in on the plan, Jack?"
"Yeah, no worries mate. I just covered myself in magics. You can know it's me by this here blue hanky around my waist. "
"As to the plan, I'm was planning on goin in a little ahead. Actin as a bit of a scout. Les you guys got a better idea. "
"Works for me. I dunno 'bout the rest of y'all, but I can't do anything half as fancy as all that," says Tex, checking his cylinder and giving it a quiet spin. "You go on ahead and take point. You want us to wait here or move up nice and close like?"
"I'm just a gunslinger."
"Beat be staying within ear shot. In case I run into problems. " That said, Jack turns and heads cautiously into the entrance.
"Well, you heard the man," says Tex, skirting around the edges of the rocks and moving up to the closest cover he can find outside the cave entrance. His gun he keeps drawn and ready.
As most of the posse settles in to keep watch and start shooting if trouble starts, Jack disguises himself as a goblin and starts forward. He makes it near the entrance of the cave when a shout of surprise comes from behind the briar thicket. A couple moments later, a pair of goblins come out of an opening in the growth--one that's impossible to see until you get close to the cave entrance--and approach the apparent new arrival. One of them starts speaking in their curious, squealish language.
Jack is startled by the hidden goblins but stands his ground.
The goblins look at one another for a long moment, scratching their heads and ears. Finally, one turns back to goblin Jack and shrugs.
The other goblin smacks the first in the head. "What you goin' tellin' 'im all that for? Blimey, you tryin' to stir a tosser 'ere?"
The goblins take on a bit of a smug look at Jack's first comment, and the more talkative one nods.
The other goblin scowls. "If he'll have ya. Where'd you say you was from again? An' where's your tribe at now?"
After quite a bit of talking Jack seems be trying to lure the two guards back away from the cave entrance.
As Jack steps back and gestures for the goblins to follow, they hesitate for a moment, then nod and start after him.
And so the goblins come swaggering over to where the party lurks off the path...
Watching the 3 goblins come down the path, Aren takes aim at one of the two that are not Wallaby Jack and pulls the trigger on his gun, which fires noiselessly, and Aren quietyl says "Bang."