Dorick offers a simple reply:
"I am glad to be of service to the expedition."
He will escort the thieves out beyond the camp's boundaries.
To them, he simply says:
"Depart."
Fendir steps back from the three on the ground and says "you heard the man. Get." and then snarls to emphasize his point.
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Soraya is a little disappointed at the Viscount's decision, but she understands. She hands the fellow she helped a piece of dried meat and pats his shoulder. "Good luck out there," she says. "And please be careful." She hopes the fellow and his friends will be okay.
Valentina just snorts and turns her back on the congregation.
Kalig nods at the Viscount's decision in thanks, but says nothing more. Seeing the others escort the men away, she returns to trying to teach her donkey to heel.
Lena accepted the Viscount's decision, but she wondered why they could not have been given a bag of food to stop from starving. They were not common criminals; simply hungry people attempting to make it off the land. "I wish you luck," she quietly said to them as Dorick escorted them away.
She then turned her attention back to helping set up camp for the night.
The vagabonds remain quiet as they are escorted away. Dorick watches them retreat into the benighted distance, back towards the mountains to the west.
Lena's help proves invaluable in establishing the caravan's camp.
She shows the settlers how to quickly erect their tents, and to do so in the lee of the wagons to shield them from the night wind. She also highlights a peaceful bend in the nearby river, where the water is naturally filtered, to refill skins and canteens.
.....
Through the night, the watch shifts encounter no other disturbances, and in due time, the first glow of dawn peaks above the eastern horizon.
A few people grumble about their first night spent without a real bed, but morale remains high as camp is struck and the draft animals are hitched back to the wagons.
During the next day, Dorick moves around the camp, making enquiries so as to work out any teething problems that are emerging. Whom is having more difficulty adapting to the road and suchlike.
Kalig again awakens before dawn, to prepare her spells and look for berries upon which to cast her spell (if no one needed the ones she created the day before, she passes them around randomly before they rot, so they don't go to waste).
If she finds any, she creates goodberries.
If the berries are edible (without having the spell cast upon them first), then beyond the magic berries she enspells, she collects in her bucket a reasonable surplus (i.e., she doesn't take every one, so that others may, sentient and wildlife alike, also have berries to find). She contributes these to the morning's breakfast, commenting lightly on how easy it is to find food in this area.
If the berries are not edible prior to the spellcasting obviously she just takes the ones she can enspell.
She also observes the clouds and the feel for the air, wondering if their luck with good weather will hold out.
The first is a young man in a craftsman's simple clothes whose hair, an unnaturally bright orange, stands up in spiky clumps. In addition to grumbling about a soreness in his back from sleeping on a bedroll, he also spits out a bite of hard tack and tosses the biscuit to the ground, evidently having expected something softer and sweeter.
The second man wears rich trappings, coloring him as a former noble. He slides on a thick falconing glove, coaxing a tame but unhooded bird to hop down from a standing perch on his wagon. As he goes, he complains to his father or much older brother, but he speaks more of his distaste for the departure itself rather than the conditions on the trail.
...
Kalig finds some berry bushes growing by the riverside. Although the purple berries are made edible through Kalig's magic, on their own they would likely spark severe cases of dysentery.
However, not only does she find that the bushes' roots would be safe and nutritious, but she also finds edible legumes growing just below the bushes, where the ground slopes away to the river's bank.
As she collects the roots and legumes, Kalig notes that the air remains dry and the eastern sky, from which the wind blows, is bright and clear. She judges that this stretch of the Whistling Plains is somewhat arid and does not see tremendous amounts of rainfall.
Dorick approaches the young craftsman, and speaks politely, but firmly:
"Are the rations not to your taste that you would waste them? They are the standard for a long journey such as this. Any better will come from hard work and good fortune."
********************************************************************
Later, Dorick approaches the young man and his older relative.
He asks in that polite but firm tone he used earlier. The noble may recognise his Taldan court accent, he may not.
"What did you find amiss about our departure, young lord? We are well-provisioned, and left on good terms with our temporary hosts."
Kalig returns with her 7 magic berries, and a bucket of roots and legumes, leaving enough of both behind that the plants can continue to propagate.
"Good find," she says. "A dry area, but a lot grows by the river."
She donates them to whatever breakfast preparations are commencing.
Mia quietly casts goodberry, and before the captured men are escorted away, hands one to each of them. Sliding the rest into a small pocket save two which she and Teriel eat. She remains quiet, as the matter seemed settled, they would not be allowed to join.
---------------------------
Mia spends the morning scouring the local area to find any herbs and other natural materials to create her thick, pasty concoctions without using her stored materiels. Of which she drinks two immediately.
She sits quietly in contemplation, hoping the men form yesterday are ok, and hoping that they won't try to attack anyone else because of being left there to survive how they could. While she gets the weather for the next few days from the very natural ley-lines themselves as the natural magic of her concoctions helps her attune to them.
As they prepare to leave, she would go around and ask as many people she could if they were doing ok.
She eventually goe sup to Kalig. Are..Are you sure that we should h-have left that group to survive by themselves? I... I'm not sure...
As the caravan makes camp, Fendir brings his tribe together and they begin setting up a camp outside of the circle of wagons. If asked, Fendir will simply say "Most people feel more comfortable with my people at arms length."
His tribe will augment the patrols around the caravan, however, as well as patrolling their own camp.
Up well before dawn, the Hobgoblins break down their camp with practiced efficiency and are eating breakfast by sun-up, which consists of sliced meat and cheese between pieces of thick, dark bread, along with mugs of a honey-smelling drink.
After eating, each member of the tribe inspects another member, including their pack, and makes sure nothing is out of place or will cause injury. There is some joking in their native language, while Fendir approaches the Viscount.
"All of my tribe are prepared to continue the trek. How long of a trip do you think it will be, and do you think we should start augmenting our rations with foraging and hunting?"
She eventually goe sup to Kalig. Are..Are you sure that we should h-have left that group to survive by themselves? I... I'm not sure...
Kalig raises an eyebrow at Mia. "I can understand why humans who have themselves never wanted for much would be fooled by those men, but I am surprised another druid or seasoned traveler would be. There is nothing in their actions that suggests to me they were innocent men in need. And the land itself appears willing to provide, if with a little labor. They were thieves, hunters only of gullible people. I can only hope they will not decide they have reason to bring more thieves to prey upon us later, better prepared."
She fixes Mia a straightforward look and, if Mia lets her, claps her hand on the young woman's shoulder. "I have agreed to join this caravan, and part of that was agreeing that it was to be my duty to feed and protect each and every living creature in it--me, you, Teriel, Lena, Dorick, Francoix, Valentina and Mabel, Fendir and his people, Aristide, Ulfgar, and all the other folk here and their mules, horses, goats, and sheep. I will do this to my utmost ability. If that means not protecting or feeding someone else, because it protects and feeds you, I will do it, without regret or second-guessing. The others can disagree with me philosophically all they like, but I will still protect them, because that is my job, and everything I do here is for that reason."
She pauses, noticing a ragged edge of one of the pack animals' saddles, and casts mending upon it.
"Now, if you wished Aristide made a different decision, you'll have to make your case to him, not me."
Kalig sniffs the air. "Now, what are those poultices you were cooking up?"
Mia looks to the ground. W-Well, I-I mean, desperation can make people consider a lot of actions. I was just wondering if that was true, and um, maybe if they were welcomed here they um would change? And, if it is as you say, they would not be left behind to harm other travelers. Though you are probably right. I-I'm not used talking with people. M-Much less reading their, um, their thoughts. She doesn't look up until the mention of her poultices.
Oh! these are just a little something I learned to do, I can use the natural materials in the world to draw out the magic that runs through its veins. My, um, potions, or whatever you want to call them can be made to replicate natural magic. I mean, it takes a little of my own magic to make the connections, but after that, nature's inherit magic takes over. She rummages around in her pack and grabs the first thick paste like poultice she sees.
See, this one uh.. ah! It magically enhances any piece of wood you coat with it , to make it hard as still. If, only for a short time.
Ah!, here, take one. I've already started storing too many anyway at the moment. Mia hands you a phial of viscous liquid. Here, this will heal your wounds, should you ever get hurt... Uh! N-Not that I would want T-that!
Soraya's owl usually wakes her up briefly before dawn. After a few playful nips, they spend time communing to make sure she has her complement of spells for the day. She hasn't lived much of her life in the wild, but she's competent at identifying plants and shrubs and grabs a handful of useful herbs or berries that she finds along the way. Never know when someone might need it.
"Sorry, sir. It's just not what I'm used to," he stammers before composing and introducing himself. "My name's Connetlie. I'm a tanner."
.....
The falconer wordlessly shrugs you off and departs with his bird.
The older man, though, politely approaches you and introduces himself as Fergus d’Beranza.
”My apologies for my son’s impudence,” the older man says. ”Even though it happened well before he was even born, Melgus blames his grandfather for fleeing Galt to save our family from the Revolution. Likewise, he’s yet to forgive me for keeping our family in Gralton rather than trying to reclaim our ‘ancestral home’, as he calls it. Although he remains bitter, I’ve hoped that settling a new home all our own will ease him.”
.....
After drinking the potions, you hear the familiar “voices” of the natural world around you.
The wind speaks in fearful whispers, describing a tornado that will soon form beyond the horizon and, in a few day’s time, roil along near the river’s course. However, you are not sure whether the caravan will be in the tornado’s path.
The rustling grasses speak of a path the caravan can safely take as a detour that will steer it clearly away from the tornado’s path, but it will add at least a couple days to the journey.
.....
”Our journey should last about 20 days,” Aristide tells Fendir and anyone nearby. "Well, down to 19 days now.
"I would encourage hunting and foraging, both to supplement our provisions and to begin familiarizing ourselves with the plants and animals native to our new home. I imagine that the wagons will roll along at a slow but steady enough pace that hunting parties could range afield and easily find their way back by nightfall.”
As the whispers finally answer her, Mia's eyes widen, and she quickly cuts their conversation short. Excuse me Kalig, I need to speak to sir Aristide before we head out today. she then hurriedly finds Aristide. At which point, she steadies herself, takes a deep breath and moves close to him to whisper.
She points out on her map her predictions, based off her magic and own intuition where she feels the tornado might go, and what she believes the best route to avoid it would be.
Dorick's attitude softens a little.
"Well, Connetlie, we should only be on the road for a few weeks. And if all goes well, we can supplement our rations with fresh meat and vegetables from the land. And once the new settlement is established, you can focus on practicing your craft. So not so long hopefully!"
***************************
Dorick offers his hand.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Fergus. I am Sir Dorick Granstead of Taldor, though I find that first names alone suffice in this expedition. The anarchy in Galt is difficult to believe for those who have not seen it with their own eyes. I myself was only in the country briefly before joining this expedition. Hopefully your son will find a place in the new settlement. What is his name? I may have cause with speak with him again on this matter."
"Very well, I shall send my best hunter with the hunting party."
Fendir then shouts something in Gnoll, and one of the young women in his tribe runs up to the front where Fendir and the Viscount are talking.
"This is Axxa, assign her to the hunting party and she will do all she can to help."
With that, Fendir leaves Axxa walking next to the Viscount, clearly waiting for orders.
"I will have Harcourb begin directing the caravan more northward, according to your directions. An extra day or two won't threaten our provisions terribly, but all the same, it's good that we've begun discussing sending out hunting parties."
Given some time to consider the matter - the wind, humidity, and other factors - you conclude that the caravan's present heading would indeed put it into the tornado's path. Thankfully, with some preliminary surveying of the terrain, you are certain that you can guide the caravan to safety with a minimum of delay.
...
After conferring with Mia, Aristide turns back to Fendir, Axxa, and the other would-be hunters.
"We know that bison roam these plains in great numbers. Perhaps you can pick up the trail of a small herd. Don't stray too far or endanger yourselves, though."
"My thanks, Fergus. I hope your son can find a place, perhaps with some help. A good day to you.
On mention of hunting, Dorick walks up.
"I have been on hunts before, for sport and for gathering rations. I am not adept at spotting or tracking game, but I am skilled at riding it down and slaying it. I would assist."
Mia looks to the ground. W-Well, I-I mean, desperation can make people consider a lot of actions. I was just wondering if that was true, and um, maybe if they were welcomed here they um would change? And, if it is as you say, they would not be left behind to harm other travelers. Though you are probably right. I-I'm not used talking with people. M-Much less reading their, um, their thoughts.
Damn this girl is naive. Poor thing, how has she survived?
"Our job is protecting the caravan," Kalig repeats firmly, "NOT being concerned with the potential redemption of those who would take food from children's mouths."
She doesn't look up until the mention of her poultices. (snip)
Ah!, here, take one. I've already started storing too many anyway at the moment. Mia hands you a phial of viscous liquid. Here, this will heal your wounds, should you ever get hurt... Uh! N-Not that I would want T-that!
She is a little surprised to be offered a gift so freely. "Uh, thank you. I'll put this with my healing kit, for emergencies. I'm afraid I don't know how to do such a thing--this will be quite helpful. If there's things you need to make these, let me know if you want company in finding them."
As the whispers finally answer her, Mia's eyes widen, and she quickly cuts their conversation short. Excuse me Kalig, I need to speak to sir Aristide before we head out today.
Kalig raises her brows. "Sure. Something wrong?" She shrugs as the girl excuses herself, and returns to her own duties.
After conferring with Mia, Aristide turns back to Fendir, Axxa, and the other would-be hunters.
"We know that bison roam these plains in great numbers. Perhaps you can pick up the trail of a small herd. Don't stray too far or endanger yourselves, though.
At word of hunting, Kalig steps forward. "I can certainly help find the trail if you want."
As the caravan packs up and gets ready to go, Valentina is awake as well, trying her best to manage the disparate groups and make sure that there is peace between everyone while they are on the road. If she has time, she tells stories to children, or does her (likely inexperienced) best to help adults with their tasks to lighten their loads. Mabel she trusts to lead their pack mule alone while the group travels, but she still comes back every hour or so just to check on her.
However, similar to rules from the Ironfang Invasion AP, when certain milestones are reached, we may dole out promotions that can be used to raise or retrain NPC levels. In the future, through feats such as Leadership, Dynasty Founder, and Recruits, NPCs can be adopted as Followers who will be privy to advancement according to those rules.
GM Cyrioul, please let me know your input on this, too, since such systems are your forte.
Once camp is struck, the caravan begins moving again. However, the lead wagons begin straying from the river, taking the caravan's course more northerly.
Some of the settlers murmur about the change in heading, but there is no overt signs of worry.
...
Around midday, Dorick and the other vanguards spot an old, ruined tower off to the right, closer to the river.
Kalig sizes up the tower, curious. Does she recognize the architecture from her travels or speaking to storytellers?
Dorick will also ponder the aged structure.
Soraya turns to her owl. "Lucius, can you take a quick turn around the tower. See if it looks occupied." She pets the owl on the head and gives his a nudge to set him on his way. "And don't get too close!" she hollers after him.
Lucius knows not to get too close to unknown structures. Far too many humanoid creatures delight in shooting winged animals from the sky. Staying out of bow-range, he flies up to have a look.
As the caravan comes to a halt, Fendir walks among his tribe, making sure they drink water and checking their condition.
Valentina waits to see whether Soraya's owl sees anything before she makes any complete judgments, but she definitely doesn't think that such a thing should be investigated one way or the other.
Kalig and Dorrick reason that this squat, stone tower is the remnant of an outpost from the dwarven kingdom that once ruled the Fog Peaks behind you. You had suspected as much before, but Stoneriver is probably one of the few surviving holds that did not succumb to the orcs, frost giants, and white dragons that now dominate the mountains.
"An outpost of the Dwarven kingdom that once ruled the Fog Peaks. There could be anything in there. Dwarven treasures, monsters, bandits. I think it would behove us to investigate at least, to ascertain that there is no lurking threat to the expedition or resources that we could use."
"I don't know if a full investigation is in order, but you make a good point about making sure we're not leaving something nasty at our backs. Giants, orcs, dragons all might have visited this place one time or another. Maybe we should at least scout the exterior to see if anything's gone in and out recently. That is if the owl finds nothing."
Seraphina walks along, looking at all the scenery that lies before her. She makes notes of the wildlife she sees to later draw.
That bird is pretty, I hope Bailey doesn’t see it
She holds her kitten as she walks to ensure she doesn’t run off.
She is only half paying attention, when she hears the word dragon from one of the strong and burly warriors protecting her of this journey.
Dra..gon?!, she starts to look around in a mix of panic and curiosity, as dragons were only something she’s heard about in stories and tales.
Did you say dra..gon?!
She holds Bailey closer to her chest, and the cat lets out meowing in protest.
Soraya's face goes blank for a moment as she concentrates on her link with her owl. Thank you dear. Please return.
She turns to the others. "It's occupied. It looks like it might be a small farmstead. Pigs. Tended by a half-orc perhaps? Not sure if there are others inside or otherwise out of sight."
Kalig turns to Seraphina. "White dragons tend to live in these sort of mountains. Probably part of why the dwarves abandoned their settlements out here. The tower is probably too small for one to live in. Please don't crush your kitten."
She nods at Soraya. "Well, if they're farmers hopefully they're safe."
"Maybe we should go and say hi?" volunteers Valentina. "Maybe they can trade food for money or spells or something."
"A farm would be a good opportunity to acquire supplies. I agree that we should approach with a mind to trade."
Kalig nods at Valentina and Dorick. "A couple goats for a couple pigs," Kalig suggests non-adventurously. "Pigs are easy to raise, good sources of meat--a good thing to have in a fledgling settlement. And goats live well in these regions and could give them milk."
"If they're half-orcs they may be unwanted offspring from the orc tribes the bandits mentioned. They may not trust humans alone, but I could accompany whomever is doing negotiations, and translate if needed."
The stone tower is squat but sturdy, standing about 30 feet high and sitting wider at the base than the top.
A weather-beaten sheet of canvas hangs upon the southern face of the tower, bearing an emblem of a broad, open palm rendered in umber-shaded paints.
The pig pen's fence is built atop the crumbled foundation of an outbuilding that once adjoined the tower, and as you draw closer, you can see the imprints of other accompanying walls and buildings left upon the tall grass.
The shepherd looks up and notices the approaching visitors, and he loudly yowls a warning towards the tower as he runs inside.
Dorick has Caragus moving forward at a slow clop to keep pace with those on foot. His lance and bardiche are not pointed up, but they are visible.
"Kalig, what does the shepherd say?"
She points at the painted brown hand. "Orcs. But not a tribe I recognize." She sees the pigherd look up in alarm.
"He's warning that someone's approaching."
Kalig calls out in the orc tongue.
Oh no... what's going on? Mia moves up to the front, after telling Teriel to stay with the wagon, her shield resting under her cloak.
Sir Dorick, whats going on?
Valentina goes along with the others, pulling on her lamellar cuirass and strapping on her rapier before they take off. While she doesn't know Orc, she calls out nonetheless. "We're not here to fight!" she shouts. "If you're not interested in trading, we'll just leave!"
He frowned watching the small group head torwards the ruins. He was inclined to follow along if only for curiousities sake. When he saw the orc scramble away crying out, he moved closer. He wasnt exactly sure what he would do if some huge swath of orcs appeared, but he certainly didnt want them anywhere near the caravan and his wife. He kept his hand on his crossbow just in case... though he didnt brandish it outright. No need to spook anyone either.
Soraya holds up her arm to allow her owl to land. He hops up on her shoulder and she tosses him a little bit of shredded meat. She doesn't pull out any weapons, but does prepare herself in case any magic should be needed.
Dorick turns to Mia and replies, aiming to calm her fears.
"We believe there are orc farmers within those ruins and we are going to try and trade with them peacefully."
She noted the shepherd and his heard his hollering, but she could not understand what he was saying. When Kalig translated the words, she slowed her horse down and waited to hear more from Kalig. Lena kept her eyes open for any sign of trouble. She was glad she had donned her fine hide shirt before they started riding.
She heard Dorick mention trading peacefully with the Orc farmers, so Lena did not want to draw weapon just yet.