It is currently 8pm. If you leave now and go straight through the forest to the "Tooth of Stone" you will make it there around midnight. Sunrise is 7am.
After stopping at the wagon for potions, rations, and other supplies, you head back to the jail. Dara is there watching the orc, who is still chained, and leads you through the jail to the back exit. Jorlitharr leads the dogmole into the jail; it's a tight squeeze but he gets through. (At this time of night, not many people are out to see this bizarre activity.)
Dara gestures to the shut door. "This door leads under the wall and out to the east. I will hold down the city while you are gone. I heard from Smithens, who was taking inventory of which families have come here from the farms, while you were away gathering supplies. He says there is only one family left in the west, and we have arranged for an armed escort party to bring them to the walled city in the morning. You do not need to worry about them. I am also sending two ambassadors to Haven's Cross at first light for trading for food and supplies."
She shakes your hands. "Thank you for helping this city. Please come back and report to me when you've done your job. Any means necessary. We need this area safe." She slowly unchains the orc's wrists and unlocks the back exit door.
You walk through the iron door and up a flight of stone stairs into the crisp night air. It is about 8:00pm. The dogmole snorts in the open air, little puffs rising from his snout.
Spot them.
Don't get spotted.
Find, follow tracks
Ranger class features
Favored enemy: Humanoids. Advantage to track and on knowledge checks, +2 dmg with weapons
Natural Explorer:
• Ignore difficult terrain
• advantage on initiative rolls
• on my first turn of combat, gain advantage on attack rolls vs. foes who have yet to act
While traveling for an hour or more in wilderness, you gain the following benefits:
• Difficult terrain doesn’t slow your group’s travel.
• Your group can’t become lost except by magical means.
• Even when you are engaged in another activity while traveling (such as foraging, navigating, or tracking), you remain alert to danger.
• If you are traveling alone, you can move stealthily at a normal pace.
• When you forage, you find twice as much food as you normally would.
• While tracking other creatures, you also learn their exact number, their sizes, and how long ago they passed through the area.
When is seems like the group is trying to be stealthy, Jorlitharr will hang back a bit with the dogmole (and probably Thravum) as to not ruin their stealthiness. He holds three gently buzzing stones in his hand and begins to dismount the dogmole looking around carefully.
Every 20 paces or so he'll draw a familiar symbol in the dirt while closing his eyes.
Rukkh scouts ahead of the party along the edge of the wall and towards the forest. He is quick and quiet. In the grassy area to the east and north of the wall, he spots orc and dire wolf tracks leading both away and towards the pine forest. They converge on the edge of the forest to a well-worn path.
He also spots fresh prints from a dire wolf leading into the forest to the east, so fresh they could have just happened, but they are lost into the trees and untrackable in the underbrush.
Rukkh does not sense any other humanoid presence in the area besides that of the party.
Jorlitharr pauses to draw his symbol in the dirt at the edge of the forest.
As you get closer to the pine forest, Grushnak motions towards the break in the trees. "Orcs travel this way through the trees, let's go let's go!"
Of course, Grushnak. We will arrive shortly. Let's take it slowly, though. We don't want them to mistake us for enemies.
Oleksandr looks to Rukhh and Jorlithar and whispers,
"Any sign of orcs? Should we proceed?"
Rukkh shares what he found with the other characters.
"Lead on, Grushnak."
As you continue along the path Rukkh continues to observe the signs of travelling orc feet, still a couple days old. He does not sense any orcs or humanoids in the proximity as the party moves northward along the path.
Suddenly Grushnak motions a halt and grunts. You've been walking for several hours now. Up ahead you can see the mountainside gleaming in the moonlight through the break in the pine trees.
Grushnak says in a low growl, "Guards watch the mountainside by the path. Grushnak the smart will scout ahead and see if they is his tribe or Northerners with wolfies. We need to be sneaky!"
His intentions to be sneaky are thwarted as he stumbles forward into the open air and into a large pile of fallen branches. They crack and rustle, and he curses loudly.
Two orcs emerge out of the darkness ahead of you. They have drawn bows with noticeably black arrows. They approach Grushnak and recognize him. The three orcs gab in orcish quickly, Grushnak gesturing to your party. You don't see any wolfs next to the orcs.
Olias whispers to Jorlitharr, "So much for sneaking." He makes sure his voice is even quieter, so no one but Jorlitharr can hear him. "This is the tribe that killed that one orc we found in the pit. Look at their arrows. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage."
Olias listens as closely as he can to the orcs, hoping to understand what they are saying about the party:
"Steady friends. Draw no weapon. Cast no spell"
Oleksandr looks to Rukhh and Jorlithar and whispers,
"Any sign of orcs? Should we proceed?"
(from before we arrived at the orcs)
"I don't sense any orcs, though my vision doesn't extend very far. I did see the wolf we found from earlier. I think it's following us. Probably hoping for more food. It doesn't seem aggressive. Things could get interesting."
(after we arrive at the orcs)
Jorlitharr will attempt to scrape his Stone Secret rune into the dirt with a toe while the orcs are distracted in an attempt to see if we're alone in a 30ft radius from him. i.e. if there are other orcs or just these two. If the orcs seem to notice or act aggressively because I'm moving I'll stop immediately and put my hands up.
Oleksandr will wait to see how this plays out, standing still and alert in front of Jorlitharr trying to obstruct the orc's view of him.
Thravum is uncharcteristically still and quiet. Tense. At any sign of aggression or betrayal he will be advancing with malice.
If the situation is escalating to potential violence (and only if) Jorlitharr will speak calmly.
"Surely you do not wish to anger The Great Powerful Ulfe. If you don't bring us to him and fight with each other he will be very angry. He has told you to work together."
Persuasion
If that's ineffective, Jorlitharr will magically shove dirt between the two groups harmlessly but in an attempt to add a visual aid but not in a way that would be interpreted as an attack.
The stance of the orcs as they “chat” is relaxed. The two guards relax their tight bowstrings and lower them. The guard on the right is keenly looking at each of you as Grushnak talks. The guard on the left barely pays any attention to you.
Grushnak: Grushnak the smart is bringing hrushka to the Great Ulfe.
Orc Guard 1: Grushnak… the smart?! Har har. Never!
Orc Guard 2: Orcs thought you dead by humans. Glad to see you here Grushnak. Why do all these hrushka need to see the Great Ulfe? Hrushka many numbers and that beast is large.
Grushnak: Grushnak the smart can lead them down the dwarf hallway instead of orc tunnel.
Orc Guard 1: The smart, har har har.
Orc Guard 2: The Great Ulfe is in his chambers. Don't want to let all of these hrushka into the mountain, take only the dwarves for the Great Ulfe. He will be pleased.
Grushnak: Guard is right.
He turns to the group to announce this.
As Grushnak turns to the groups, Jorlitharr calls out to them. The guards look at him, and seem to listen to his words. They have an impact. The guard on the right grunts, "Work together. Yes. You work together too. All may pass."
The guards motion to let everyone pass.
"Watch out for Northerners. We kills them before they kills us," calls the first guard. The second guard slaps him on the shoulder. "Keep yer mouth shut, Bruzznik!"
Before you is a tall, jagged tooth of stone rising out of the mountainside. On your right to east is a protuberance of rock with a small opening with slow, spiraling smoke. Off past that, about thirty feet to the east, is a lake.
"Grushnak will open the dwarven gates. Follow closely."
Your party approaches the dwarven gates. They are ten feet tall and ten feet broad, with thickly carved twists of chains and square designs across the doors. They are not completely shut; Grushnak is able to get his hands in the crack by the right door and starts to pull, grunting. "Too heavy for just Grushnak."
Suddenly in the distance behind you hear a short howl and a growl coming from the area where the guards are standing. With his keen perception, Jorlitharr also hears a twang of an arrow leaving a bow. If you turn to look, you see a dire wolf with a ragged rope around its neck jumping on one of the guards about thirty feet away. You see a black arrow sticking out of the side of the wolf's leg.
Grushnak leaves the door and rushes back to the fray, pulling the wolf off of the guard and clawing it viciously.
The wolf bites at Grushnak's face and takes out a chunk.
If it is still alive on his turn, Rukkh snarls a brief incantation (Hunter's Mark) and fires an arrow at the wolf. Rukkh hits AC 24 for 18 dmg.
"No Ruhhk!"
Thravum is standing with his hand on his spear. His eyes frantically dart back and forth between the orcs, the wolf, and Rukkh.
"Elf! Mage! Who do I kill?" (in dwarven)
On his turn Jorlitharr will scrape the bottom of his right palm against his upturned left palm shouting "aw-THAK!"
A 5 foot pile of lose stones and gravel will pile up in between the Ruhhk and the wolf.
Jorlitharr will then call out "NO! The great Ulfe demanded no fighting between the tribes. You killed this wolf's master, a northerner! Stop now or face punishment for ignoring the orders of Ulfe!"
Olias apparently processes what is happening very slowly.
Grushnak hears the fray, and turns to run into it.
Recap: You are all standing before the dwarven doors. Grushnak is attempting to pry them open from a small crack. With his keen perception, Jorlitharr also hears a twang of an arrow leaving a bow from where the guards are standing by the edge of the trees. A moment later you all hear a short howl and a growl. If you turn to look, you see a dire wolf with a ragged rope around its neck jumping on one of the guards about thirty feet away. You see a black arrow sticking out of the side of the wolf's leg.
Oleksandr points his staff at the two orcs and shouts "сплячка"
The two orc guards suddenly start moving in slow motion and sink to the ground. They are both fast asleep. The wolf is momentarily surprised and cocks its head.
Grushnak hears the fray, and turns to run into it.
[dice=Initiative]1d20+2
Grushnak hears the fray, and turns to run into it.
[dice=Initiative]1d20+2
We rewound time, to start everyone's initiative BEFORE Grushnak runs to the wolf and gets attacked. Reading the Facebook thread might help clear this up. The wolf was attacking the guard orc when you shotc.
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Jorlitharr will slowly approach the wolf with his hands open and fingers pointed downwards.
He speaks in a calm, gentle and reassuring voice"Everything is alright Seymour. I want to help your leg. It hurts huh? You didn't do anything wrong big guy. They attacked you. You did a good job."
He'll slowly reach under his robes and take out a piece of dried jerky and hold it out for Seymour.
He stands between Grusnak and the Wolf.
And if I can:
The wolf watches Jorlitharr approach and backs up a little. It pants and whines but does not back away, its eyes fixed on the extended piece of meat. As the jerky is extended towards his muzzle, the wolf sniffs it and chomps. He accidentally nips Jorlitharr's hand.
The wolf stays and chews. It is standing on three legs; the back right leg is lifted gingerly and two arrows stick out of it. Blood dribbles. The wolf does not look like it is going to immediately pass out or die.
Grushnak sees the two orc guards sink to the ground. "Bruzznik, Orkak, what has the wizard done to Grushnak's friends?!" He continues to run over to them, stumbling over the loose rocks on the mountainside. He doesn't get very far. He grasps at his green lizard armor, feeling for a weapon and feeling none. "Bad wolfie, will hurt friends!"
Thravum readies an action to leap in and stab Grushnak if he attacks Olek or Jorlitharr, or if anyone else attacks Grushnak. Still tense, he's struggling to understand everyone's intentions.
Olias also tries to calm the wolf down.
Grushnak, this is indeed an unfortunate accident. Clearly, your two tribes are very tense. The wolf is calming down and your friends are safe. Let's see if we can have a peaceful resolution. Remember, Ulfe wants to work together."
The wolf is still chewing the jerky and seems calm enough.
Grushnak, as is close to Olias, heard his words and pauses.
Olias slowly approaches the wolf. "Hey, boy. It's okay. You feeling all right?" He approaches more slowly and puts his hand out in a non-threatening gesture of good will (you know, that thing you do to dogs to let them sniff your hand).
Jorlitharr will remove weapons from the orcs, toss them on the ground and bury them under rubble with magical assitance. He'll also cover the orcs legs.
"Please help me keep him calm Olias, I'm worried he's poisoned."[/i]
He'll pour the wolf some beer inside a cooking pot in the hopes of acting as an analgesic. Jorlitharr will then examine the wounds up close as he fills a second clean pot with water and dips a clean bandage inside. If the wolf is allowing me to touch the arrows, try to remove them. If he won't allow me, I'll try and assess if he's been poisoned.
Poison Assessment Passive Heal: 15
Arrow Removal
"I think he likes music." Olias plays his lute softly.
The wolf is still standing on three legs and whining. As Olias comes up with his hand outstretched, the wolf sniffs it carefully. When the lute music starts, the wolf lets out an audible sigh and starts to slowly lower itself to the ground. He lays with the arrows sticking up into the air and licks the area around them. He splutters a bit, as if something tasted bitter to him on his tongue.
He does not move as Jorlitharr approaches. The music seems to have completely lulled him. He will lift his head and look when Jorlitharr touches the arrows but he allows it.
He'll pour the wolf some beer inside a cooking pot in the hopes of acting as an analgesic. Jorlitharr will then examine the wounds up close as he fills a second clean pot with water and dips a clean bandage inside. If the wolf is allowing me to touch the arrows, try to remove them. If he won't allow me, I'll try and assess if he's been poisoned.
Poison Assessment Passive Heal: 15
The black arrow seems to have a wide-barbed arrowhead. Jorlitharr see a black tarry substance around the head and mixed in the blood. Based on his examinations, he believes he can remove the arrow without causing more damage to the wolf's leg.
The wolf closes its eyes and sighs weakly. Blood is still oozing from his wounds and the pool of dark liquid around his wounded leg is growing bigger as you look at it.
After about 45 more seconds, the orc guards start to stir. Grushnak will stumble over to them and check to see if they are harmed. He will keep eyeing the wolf and watching it, but he does not approach it.
Jorlitharr will grip the black arrow firmly as close to the wolf's fur as possible. He'll gently push the arrow through to the other side of his leg, angling it gently away from any bones or arteries. As he does so he'll look the wolf in the eye and say
"Shhhh, it's alright. Shhhh. Almost over, then you'll feel much better."
He'll turn to his companions. "He's going to be fine. He just needs lots of rest."
He'll give the wolf a short break and remove the second arrow.
Afterwards he'll grab the rest of the dead rodents Ruhhk caught from the day before from the Dogmole's saddle bags and place them next to him. Then he'll begin wrapping Seymour's leg. The shining white of the sterile bandages look strange in his dirty hands.
The wolf licks Jorlitharr's dirty hands as he bandages the leg.
Then the wolf looks at Olias as he plays and starts howling gently. But this is not a sad howl. It's almost like he's singing along.
"This wolf looks like he's in rough shape. Well, I can try this..." Olias taps his bracelet and casts:
"This wolf looks like he's in rough shape. Well, I can try this..." Olias taps his bracelet and casts:
[dice=Cure Wounds] d8+4
The wolf licks Olias' hand, closes its eyes contentedly, and rests while it can.