"Alright. Let me make some purchases of my own. Just got to write a list." As Telmarni replies to Carinna, as she writes down a list of items. When she is done, she will go over to the traveling merchant Tamric and/or Oleg to buy those items. "Excuse me, I hope you have these as well. I would like to purchase these items." She will hand the list over to the merchant to see about buying those items for the next expedition.
Valeska looks around. "Yes, get them. I'll do what I can with herbs and potions, but having antitoxins and the like at hand help as well."
She saddles up her horse as Tzerny watches the path ahead from the gate.
"Everyone ready? Let's go!"
As the morning wears on you finish your transactions and pack your new goods.
Tamric stops by as you're preparing to leave -- since he has several pack animals, it takes him longer to get on the road -- and says, "Since you have some requests and you're good for business, I'm going to make a quick trip along the road here and then double back through with any news or interesting developments. That way if something comes up I'll be back soon enough to have more supplies for you. I should be back in a week. Good luck, adventurers. The Stolen Lands have claimed quite a few lives, but I hope that those days are finally coming to an end." He shakes hands with anyone who's willing and sets about tightening the straps and buckles of his pack animals, while his dogs lie under one of the tables, watching.
Oleg and Svetlana wave as you leave the enclosure. You all notice that Oleg has been more on edge recently, while Svetlana does his best to calm him. You suspect that it's because Oleg isn't terribly comfortable with this many people around; he moved to the hinterlands to get away from crowds and civilization. Now, civilization may well land on his doorstep.
As you're leaving, Kesten and his guardsmen are at one of the palisade corners, looking over the ballistae and trying to decide whether to repair it or tear it down.
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The spring day is bright and cheerful. Rain hasn't set in today, though you spot a few dark clouds scuttling across the skies to the southwest, over the forest.
Your first stop is a quick trip to catch up on Vance. He has remained true to his word, and the ex-bandits are now ensconced in a temporary camp not too far from Oleg's. (In fact, from Oleg's you can see the smoke from their campfire, though it's several miles distant.) Larik looks visibly relieved to see you.
Vance chews idly on a piece of anise and says, "We can stay here for a little while, but it ain't ideal. You gonna bring us back to the outpost or what? If we're gonna stay out here for a bit we could use some supplies. I can get by huntin' and I can show these folks how to live off the land, but that's a rough life an' if anyone has any accidents, like trippin' over a log or breakin' an ankle in a gopher hole, we'll be in a bad way right quick. Basically you gotta decide whether we're gonna rough it out here a bit longer or if we're gonna go back to the trading post an' try to work out some arrangement." He spits the anise branch out and adds, "We got a little time, but if we dally 'til winter, things'll get bad. If we don't have somethin' arranged by then, best you let these folks wander off to Mivon or Pitax or somewheres that they can at least live under a roof. The kids're all right, they could learn to survive out here, but not everyone wants to."
Cassandra stands far clear of the pack animals and dogs, hovering near the entrance. Some long buried part of her wished she could get closer, to pet them, hold them, train them. But her heritage forbid it. The only animals that ever got close to her were the wolves back home. She sighed as the others mounted up while she stayed on foot yet again. Good thing Laric was a cobbler. She'd need new boots soon.
"It's a little crowded right now at Oleg's. Best give him some time," Cassandra replies to Vance's concerns. "I noticed the Thorn River seemed to flow north east from your...previous camp." She still wasn't too comfortable bringing up how they all met. "I thought we could head south east from here and try to find it again. Set up a new camp there. Everyone this far south should know how to get along in the wild. The few days it takes us to find it will hopefully be enough for Oleg. We can cycle some people out ever few days. And leave a horse for emergencies."
With the quick ride to the campsite over with, Telmarni follows Cassandra when she talks with Vance. Hearing that Vance said they could use some supplies, Telmarni looks back at her horse. She turns to Cassandra. "That sounds like a good idea Cassandra.... Oh!" She flexes her wings slightly as she turns to Vance. "Ah, um. I didn't mean to startle you if I did, but do you know if anyone has skills as a healer? We did just recently purchase a healer's kit, and it might be of use for everyone til we part ways again."
Valeska looks around. "You know... you're right, this is no place to stay long term. And yes, Oleg's got extra soldiers and it wouldn't be fair to you to be left with them. Not yet, anyway."
She looks down at her pack and kick a bit of soil at her feet. "I could use someone who could help carry my things. The cauldron's heavy. Does someone want a job as my porter?"
"Aight," Vance says, "I'll have everyone round up their bedrolls and get ready to move out." He scratches his scruffy face idly and goes to give the news to Cobb and Sareah, who seem to be busy picking thorns out of Cobb's trousers. "Kid had a run-in with a wild blackberry bush while we were foraging. I think he lost," Vance says over his shoulder. The old woodsman talks to the two youngsters, who seem to pep up and get excited. He then heads over to Hatch, who is concentrating very hard on something in his hands. Hatch nods, says something back, and goes back to whatever is holding his interest.
Vance ambles away from the encampment, following a track in the grass that goes into the woods -- probably off to find Larik, who isn't in the camp when you arrive.
A few minutes later Vance comes back to you and says, "Well, I got some good news an' bad. Good news is, folks are happy t' join up and move wit' ya. The kids don't like eating grubs and roots too much an' are lookin' forward to reg'lar meals again. The bad news is, Larik wen' off to forage about half an hour before you showed up, an' it looks like he's scarpered. Figure he decided it was only a matter of time 'til you changed yer minds. 'e's got a temper that he can't rein in, gonna cause 'im trouble. Guess it already did." Vance kicks an empty bedroll and says, "'es gonna regret leaving this behind when the rain comes in. Tracks headed southwest, into th' woods. I reckon he won't last more'n two, three days on his own."
"Oh dear. That is not good." She looks around, wondering what is to the southwest. "Um, I hope that... Tuskwater isn't that way." She turns to Carinna and Cassandra with a concerned face. She whispers to them, trying to keep the kids calm. "Cari, Cassandra. We should probably track him down before he gets too far away. I have a bad feeling about this, and I would rather be proven wrong."
Cassandra looks in the direction Vance indicated, towards the forest she entered a few days ago. She remembered finding kobold tracks. Nasty little creatures most of the time but cowardly too. If a lone human stumbled upon a group of them though... Larik seemed smarter than to wander off with, probably two, very good trackers close by. And all he would have is some food, a bow and a dagger. That's all they left them out here, and unless you knew how to use them, all of it would be useless. If he wanted to leave that was fine. But this was a terrible place and time. "If you fly a little ways in that direction I bet you could find him. Couldn't have gotten far," she says. "If he's making a run for it I'd let him go. Nothing was making him stay. But if he goes back to anymore banditry, no third chances."
"Maybe more t'his story that ye don't know," adds Vance with a bit of a philosophical turn. "Out'n these parts, the only way y'know a man -- or a woman, I s'pose -- is by his actions. What he tells ya, what he says was his life afore, 'taint no way to know for certain. Mayhaps he had demons in his past that he's afeared of."
Tzerny turns to Vance. "There are other ways. She's just not ready for them yet."
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"I agree with Cassandra, Tel... he run away so it would be better to let him go... if he runs into a monster or a group of kobolds, it is none of our business."
She sighed. Carinna really though that Larik wound stay with them... he was not the first one that lied to them and would definitely not be the last.
"And if he goes back to banditry, he will for sure not be given a third chance."
Carinna agreed with Vance's philosophy. "You are absolutely right, Vance... the problem is when you need to make choices completely based on what people say, without having time to see his actions."
Cassandra waves at Korinne to get her attention, then discreetly makes a gesture involving her outstretched index finger going into a hole made by her other hand. She repeats back and forth a few times until Korinne gets it.
Cassandra finds it hard to hold in the laughter. Korinne had set her up and so of course she had to take a shot. "Yes. Depending on how good it is it can be much louder." Too easy.
Vance gives a throaty chuckle and says, "Well, I sure weren't gettin' up to nothin' o' the sort wit' Larik. Right, then, we ready to go?"
And so the exploration begins...
Your first day is spent exploring the area near Oleg's. As you'd expect, given its proximity to the main road, there are no real signs of danger; no monsters, no strange or hazardous terrain. To the southwest there are a few bits of rocky terrain but it's mostly old stones standing in fields or very gentle hillsides.
The next day you head in a west-south-west direction (to the hex down and left), and start exploring the woods there. The woods are, as Vance said, creepy and quiet, and give the impression of being haunted. Even during the day, the trees block part of the sunlight with their canopy, leaving only small streamers of light to dapple down below. There are no roads and much of your progress involves riding short distances, then searching for a direction to head, making a notation on your map and continuing. It takes a full two days to get a good handle on this area of the woods.
As you are reaching the southern edge of this part of the forest, you spot a sunny clearing in the afternoon. A small portion of the forest is without trees, instead covered by small plants with broad, bushy leaves. Sleeping in the midst of the clearing is a small band of kobolds -- five of them. Two of them are even snoring comically. For the moment, you have the element of surprise.
Valeska lets those more used to fighting take the lead, but she stands ready with spell and hex.
With Cassandra and Carinna deciding not to give chase, Telmarni calms down. She nods in agreement and prepares to head out with everyone.
Noticing what everyone sees, Telmarni is curious by such... Open and rather comical snoring creatures. She looks around quickly, since having such relaxed creatures mean there may be something looking out for them, or they are just foolish. Telmarni is beginning to think of the latter.
She nods in acknowledgement to Korinna when she asked if they knew how to speak Draconic. "Yes, I know how to speak it. Though we should be careful. They might be calm since we might be near their warren." Telmarni tilts her head. "But who knows. I have a feeling I will be the one going first, with you following after. But anyway, it is probably a good idea to dismount before talking with them."
Telmarni will then take a deep breath and then tries to quietly dismount her horse, Zepher to not wake the Kobolds.
Without much warning, she slips after dismounting and lands on her rear and tries to stifle a yelp of surprise.
Kobolds. Cassandra had never seen them so out in the open and vulnerable before. Then again, her only real experience with them was the oddly colored ones at home. And they had nothing good to say about their brethren. Cunning yet cowardly and very good with traps. Was this a trap? "If they try something I'll be ready." She then moves away from the group stealthily, looking for signs of a trap.
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Carinna also dismounts and draws her sword, just in case. She looks at her companions and whispers.
"So, are we looking of a diplomatic approach? If so, I think it would be better if we manage to find the entrance of their cave before waking them, so if the negotiations fail we do not allow them to run in and set the alarm..."
Carinna looks around without moving, trying to locate the entrance of the cave.
As the group approachs as stealthily as possible (which isn't that great), one of the kobolds rolls on its side, clutching a distended stomach. It lets out a loud belch, then groans piteously. It's all you can do to keep yourself from laughing.
There's no sign of any traps, nor of a cave -- this is simply a rough clearing in the forest, covered in patches of broad-leafed plants. You do note that the kobolds have a pair of baskets between them, made of crudely-woven wood and lined with badly-tanned hide. The baskets are filled with the leafy plants, which seem to have roots attached; they may be some kind of root vegetable or tuber. The kobolds have obviously stuffed themselves on these plants.
If you deal with or drive off the small scalies, you might be able to follow their tracks back to their point of origin, of course.
Farming? It was the first word Cassandra thought when she noticed the baskets and radishes. Were they farming? There seem to be no traps. No cave. She was very confused. But confusion turned to concern. They were incredibly open and vulnerable out here. If a pack of wolves or more bandits came along, they wouldn't stand a chance. Cassandra heads back to here companions. "No cave or traps. I think they're just farming. Maybe they aren't as bad as I heard. I'm up for diplomacy. There aren't that many if things turn bad. Who can speak the language though?"
The field doesn't look cultivated -- it looks like a wild patch of radishes; the kobolds simply happen to be gathering them.
Telmarni stands from her slight trip up when she dismounted. "I can speak their language. And about the patch, I think it is a wild one... Wait, are these the radishes that Svetlana asked for?" She walks quietly to the edge of the field and tries to pick one of them.
Valeska nods. "Mhm. I want to make sure we can plant some, start a garden with them. I should be able to get them to glow, under the right conditions."
Telmarni plucks one of the radishes from the ground, she dusts it off of the dirt that still clings to it and turns to Valeska. "Catch." She tosses it underhand to try to have it land softly in her lap. "Korinna, shall we... Erm. Shall I guard you while you greet them? I don't think they may like either of us, but you seem nice with your words."
Telmarni keeps pace with Korinne and stands beside her as she begins her contact with her. When she speaks in Draconic, Telmarni notices what she said and nods in agreement.
The small scaly critters rush to stand up as the party makes its presence known. One of them rolls to its side, tries to stand up, and winds up vomiting profusely. Another staggers to its feet and fumbles about for a small leather thong, which you realize must be a small sling, but it is interrupted by sudden stomach cramping. Even from here you can hear the curious sound of gurgling stomach distress. The kobold with the sling opens its maw to reply, and says, "BRAAAAAAAAP!"
It takes a moment for you to realize that this is not an attempt at making a tiny dragon-like roar, but rather an enormous belch.
The kobold licks its lips and then continues, saying,
"*snerk*" Cassandra is overcome with an uncontrollable bout of snickering, watching the kobolds try and pull themselves together. The withheld laughter cannot be contained after the enormous belch though. "Hahaha. Oh my gods. They're adorable. Hahaha."
Telmarni watches in amazement at the antics of these Kobolds as they realize they have company. She almost begins to laugh at them when one of then belch loudly, but she is able to contain herself.
Sighing, Telmarni begins to speak with them in their language.
Telmarni looks back towards Cassandra and shrugs, knowing full well what is causing the laughter. She turns back to the Kobolds and tries to speak calmly with them.
"Uhhhh..." one of the kobolds starts.
"Yes," says one of the other kobolds, and it elbows the first.
"Yes," the first one says quickly. Then it looks like it suddenly understands, and says "YES!" much more firmly. "Yes. This is our radish patch! You go away. Big folk talk about 'our farm' and 'our land' and 'our gold' and 'our cow'. This 'our radish patch'! You leave it alone!"
The two kobolds speaking do their best to puff up and look fearsome. Then the second one burps again.