Kressle:
"A fair point, and personally I would prefer something either lighter or stronger.
but if I don't make the effort to at least aquire a veneer of politeness, master Ambrosi will have my hide."
"Your official title as will be noted in the records will stand as Marshal-Captain Kressle, but as how your recruits address you will be up to your own liking."
"Once enough able recruits have been selected, you will be presented with a badge of office, and something more useful, I am thinking a matching set of master crafted hand axes and a composite longbow made to your requirements might be suitable, unless you have something better in mind?"
"I should also point out that I offer you this job for three reasons.
One is that I believe you are capable of it, two is because I believe you will feel better with something substantial to do, and three, because I believe you have earned it."
Rojeune:
The Green Man chuckles a little at the gentle admonishment.
"Well, this IS new territory for me in a way...
I am big, strong and have an animal magnetism, that has made me fairly popular with ladies in the villages that I passed through in the past, but it also created a barrier.
A lot of women saw me mostly as a conquest, a big dangerous man they temporarily tamed.
I've never had a meaningful relationship with a woman in the past, so I am a little at a loss here.
At the same time, you are right, better to stay true to what and who I am."
Standing up and walking over to stand behind Rojeune, The Green Man gently places a hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you for accepting the invitation, I promise you that you won't see a trembling boy again during the dinner."
Dolgrym isn't terrible interested in the machinations of the behind the scenes meetings. He'll happily spent his time drinking, hanging with the other dwarves, and reading his spellbook.
The Green Man turns to one of the servants.
"Right, I want someone to saddle the horses and pack supplies for...say 10 days, we can resupply at Oleg's.
I also want someone to show the good master to a guest-room for now, we can cover the rest at breakfast."
Turning back to the others, The Green Man smiles a bit.
"I suggest we take the rest of the day to relax and sow up any lose ends for now, we may not be back for some time."
Recruits arrive as you gather gear onto your mounts. Both Jhod and Kesten are there to see you off.
Jhod to all... "I'd like to accompany you, but I have commitments here... and faith you'll accomplish whatever the situation needs."
Kesten to Furiel... "I hope to have the recruits at least in a state where we can determine their worthiness by the time you return, General. Basic combat... strength, coordination, and discipline training over the next two weeks."
Brarim and four other Broadhammer dwarves come up beside you on a wagon. A keg of ale is riding shotgun.
"Share the road for a bit? We're off to see what work this bridge'll be needin."
Sonechka glances at Green, the corner of her lips quirking in amusement. "I never say no to sharing the road with someone carrying their own keg."
"Well, all necessary instructions have already been issued, but let's just do one quick over-run before we leave, just to be sure."
"The Broadhammers will look over the bridge and asses the damage, and then return to Stagfall and oversee the next round of constructions."
"Kesten will continue to oversee the troops, and pick sixteen men to send to Oleg, four of whom will return with Budgie And Arlis."
"We will look into the disappearance of Jhods colleague, and then check in on Oleg, before scouting the possible location of Sal'dor, or the man CLAIMING to be Sal'dor."
Kesten seems distracted - he glances over each time someone passes toward the castle (likely to enlist).... "Sorry, my Lord, Arliss had already been recruited by Ser Ambrosi for his team of woodsman. I'll have soldiers on the road tomorrow morning. I had them run through the recruit training exercises yesterday to assist setting standards... and I thought not a bad thing for those transferring to Oleg's to use themselves."
"Huh, very well. We hardly need four men to escort just Budgie, so that means fourteen men going out, and two returning with him.
Either way, I do not think I am inviting disaster if I say that I feel things are beginning to take shape nicely for us."
The Broadhammers chat about architecture, and importance of having awe-inspiring structures. "If it suits the surroundings... if the view is asking for more'n just practicality... I may push for an impressive landmark bridge."
You split off from Brarim's group late morning, and veer north. The morning and evening's travel goes without incident. The sun should be setting by the time you come to where the Thorn River flows from the Narlmarches.
"Ah, it is good to be outside with no set destination in mind.
This land still holds many wonders for us to discover.
And we DO need to finalize our map, for ourselves now."
You enter the woods - the southeastern portion of the hex - a couple hours before sunset, and do what exploration you can finish before dark. The elevation is lower here than the surrounding areas, and still muddy from the recent rains. The trees are thick and wild - you see no paths, few animal trails. Other than the occasional bird, the woods are quiet.
Know. Nature
Perception
As the group starts to explore, Dolgrym uses a charge from his wand of Wage Armor.
After nearly two hours of exploration - as the sun is setting, you come across deep prints in a muddy gulley. Large prints. Trolls.
There are also hoof prints.
The animal prints are porcine, but seem too large to be a boar.
"By the gods, I think that print is from the biggest boar I've ever heard tell of. It's going to be a whopper. We will eat for a week if we slay the brute!"
"Oleg told us there is a wild boar out here that hunts people instead of the other way around. I think there even was some kind of reward on his tusks."
Furiel casts mage armor.
Sonechka frowns. "Those prints are too large to be a boar." She nods in the direction of the troll tracks they had found. "Perhaps some sort of troll-bred beast."
"Hmmm, Trolls and the grand-daddy of all boars?
If it is big enough to feed us, it might be big enough to feed the trolls, unless it belongs to the trolls like lady Alkaeva suggests."
"I wonder if we are capable of brining down three trolls? This close to Stagfall they could present a problem if not dealt with."
Sonechka grimaces. "Fire is not my element, I'm afraid. I have a few items that may be of use, though."
"Tuskgutter would be a great trophy for the incoming Festival. Concearning the Trolls, Furiel is our pyromaniac, If we can hold them in place I guess he can finish the job."
"Hmmm, seems we have reason to at least investigate further.
We can hold off on deciding until we have a little more information.
Fortunately, we are in no rush as of the moment, so let's take it nice and easy."
Morning comes without incident. A flock of tiny brown birds fill a couple of the trees near your camp. Noisy things... likely eating well with all the gnats and non-biting mosquito-like bugs hanging about.
Looking at what was accomplished last evening, and what's left to explore today.. you'll need about eight hours to finish this hex.
"Well, this has been a boring day so far. Nothing interesting at all," Dolgrym mutters glumly.
"Cheer up master Sharpaxe, because this morning, we are going hunting after all."
Sonechka rolls her eyes. "I do not mind a little boredom, in truth. Though I do prefer to sleep in my own bed in between bouts of lolling about, doing nothing." She whispers to Glaza and the bird flies up into the air to get a sense of the morning.
"I hope someone else paid attention during lady Ta' tracking lessons. Because if you are waiting for me we could as well as take some random direction."
"Well, no hunter am I, but I shall do my best."
Knowledge Nature
The tracks lead through muddy terrain for quite some time. The ground steams in the few spots where the sunlight is able to penetrate the canopy above. The high branches of the trees all around you have grown invading neighboring trees' space - searching for the sun.
After forty-five minutes of tracking, the woods thin, and you appear to be done with the mud for now at least. There appears to be a thicket not far ahead... if the tracks continue the same direction, you'll keep south of it.
The "thicket" ahead appears to be a neglected coppicing field. Trees trimmed to high stumps Wikipedia link if unfamiliar
"Aha, look here, gang. The boar has marked his trail with his tusks. Getting his scent out and about and letting everyone know this is his territory. These trees are also made like this for a purpose...at least they were, as it seems this ones been ignored for a few years."
Aid another Perception
Sonechka strokes the glossy black feathers of her pet bird as the two of them whisper back and forth. She finally nods and releases Glaza back into the air and turns back to the others. "There is smoke a little over a mile away, to the north of our current heading. Perhaps a cabin? We may want to investigate, if there are permanent residents of this area."
With Dolgrym's aid, Green finds his way through the areas where the tracks are faint. You pass the "thicket", and see what Dolgrym was referring to.... It is a patch of four foot high stumps with skinny branches - just a few stunted leafing and flowering bits.
The tracks turn northward - wrapping around western edge of the acre of stunted trees.
Glaza circles back seconds later after having spotted several human-sized or smaller humanoids 200 feet north.. hiding about thirty feet into the thicket.
"Well, remember those complaints about a boring day? I have a feeling it won't be boring much longer."
"So, do we try to talk to them, do we circle around and avoid them, or do we ambush the ambushers?"
"I always feel we are entering a conversation with an advantage once we have smashed our potential enemies to the ground." Sonechka takes a little morsel out of her pouch and feeds it to Glaza as a reward for spotting the ambush, an amused smile on her face. "We can show them the error of their ways by turning the ambush on our attackers and then ask why they are waylaying travelers in the first place."
The Green Man smiles grimly at Sonechka's suggestion, he then looks over the others to see if there are any other suggestions.
"Don't look at me, I don't speak troll."
For once Norton is content without diplomacy.
"Let's get them. If they are ambushing us, they aren't ready to negotiate just yet. As Sonechka suggested, they might be more willing to talk after we thin the herd."
The dwarf casts Mage Armor, Shield, and Bull's Strength on himself. Once the group decides on a battle plan, he casts Haste on everyone.
"Right, so, how do we best turn the ambush on it's head and give them a good spanking?
I would rather not walk into a rain of arrows.
At the same time, not all of us are overly stealthy."