We're hoping not, but it never hurts to be prepared! Just bring along a few cannon and catapults and we should be fine!" Watching the mans eyes widen at her suggestion, she quickly adds, "Or you can just bring any note books and equipment and you can let these warrior types handle any ruffians and thugs that my be trying to get the stone before us."
Gilbert gathers what he has at the inn and pays for his meal.
"Well, I'll see if the stable's still open. You can meet me there on the way out of town - it's at the eastern end down the main road here."
Old Walt looks at Rizzo and Berion.
"For the King, eh? Well, I know the crown's credit is good. I'll show ye the way. I can start off at once, but we ain't gonna reach it tonight. Are all of you ready to camp out in the hills?"
"I think most of us need to buy some trail rations but beyond that we should be ready to go."
The team gathers at the edge of town. Gilbert has rented a very tame-looking mount, and Walt has an older-looking, but solid horse for himself.
The team rides out into the darkening night. Within an hour, the land begins to rise and fall. The road narrows to a single width. The ride continues on uneventfully. After three more hours, Walt suddenly signals the group to stop. He rides back and speaks softly.
"We're going to leave the road here. We'll need to move more slowly and pick our way carefully through these hills. I suggest that we get off the road a way, then camp for the night. It is getting quite late now. We'll need to keep a sharp eye. Bandit gangs are known to rove this countryside, despite the crown's efforts to contain them. Just follow me, and we should be fine."
He leads you down a valley between two low-slung hills. The trip might have been quite scenic, if it hadn't been so dark. Another hour passes. Then he leads you up a low rise and finds a place with a wide, flat area.
"This looks like a good place to camp. Let's set up. No fires tonight, so we don't draw unnecessary attention. I'm going to suggest that whoever is on guard should be obviously and heavily armed, even if you aren't used to weapons. The bandits here aren't bravos. They generally only attack when they have surprise on their side. A few coin isn't worth a sword in the gut. Too many men die from lucky blows. I'll take the first watch if one of you will stand with me."
Tess plays with one of her arrows. "I'll stay up with you. Always get a bit sick riding horses, it'll take me a while to get to sleep anyways. Honestly I might be of better use hiding somewhere with an arrow knocked. I don't look particularly threatening. I'll trust your judgement though."
Rizzo volunteers. "Have Tessara wake me up when it's my time and I'll stand watch with you, Berion."
"I'll uh take tha last watch, wake me up when ya need me."
Tomm will say groggily. Tomm will leave his axe within reach, and after removing his armor he'll flop down on his bedroll, asleep almost as soon as his head hits his pack which is doubling as his pillow. His dogs will curl up on top of him, tired after a long exciting day.
Walt and Tess take the first watch and their shift ends without trouble. Berion takes over followed by Rizzo, and neither of them sees anything either. Soon after Tomm comes on duty, dogs at his side, he spots a shape sheltered in a clump of vegetation in the distance. It looks like it could be a cloaked person, but the shape seems a bit off somehow. Tomm keeps his eyes on it, but eventually it disappears from his sight. There are no other disturbances that evening.
After a quick meal, Walt leads the team north and east, over hills and through narrow valleys. The whole time you can see a large, but indistinct, cloud of dust in the air in that direction. The group approaches the very edge of the mountains. Close to noon the group spots a large wood in the distance, not as large as the Grunwald, but still pretty sizable. Within two hours you reach the treeline.
Walt urges you on. Only about half a mile into the forest, you see a wide swatch of destruction. Felled trees, broken limbs, churned earth and rocks, and other signs of damage make a path more than double the width of caelin's cart. There, at the end of this path, you see a large boulder of a strange color. The star stone!
The star stone!
Tess motions for the others to approach the stone, then she takes out her bow and begins scouting the perimeter of the area.
Tomm gets his dogs snuffling around to see if anyone has been through this area yet.
+2=20
Rizzo lets the trackers look around first but eventually his curiosity gets the better of him and he walks up to the stone. He puts his hand a few inches away from the starstone and tries to tell if its hot or not.
EDIT: Sorry, I just needed time to put this post together!
Tomm and his dogs sniff around, and he finds tracks. As a skilled huntsman, he can tell the tracks were made by a barefoot humanoid weighing around 170 lbs. Probably within the last 24 hours.
Tomm scans the treeline.
He hears a branch snap farther back in the woods and his eyes dart towards the source of the sound.
He focuses on the source of the sound. In the distance he spots a cloaked figure. At this distance he can't make out its features, but it looks similar to the figure he saw last night. It holds perfectly still, clearly hoping Tomm will overlook it.
Rizzo strides forward and puts his hand on the boulder-sized stone. It feels slightly warm, as though it had been hot but was cooling over time.
As for Berion, he sees that the scarred swath cleared by the stone runs roughly east to west. The stone fell from the west, so this way is clear, but to the north, south, and east, the trees are quite close. The forest is not especially dense here, and the group can see about 50-100' into the trees pretty clearly. The figure Tomm spotted was trying to hide in some undergrowth about 40' into the treeline.
Rizzo runs his hands along the boulder, trying to get a feel for its weight. "It seems to have cooled down, but its still warm. It must have been fiery hot when it hit. Come on up, Gilbert and tell us what you think."
Seraphyna was surprisingly quiet as the group sets out on their mission and camps out over night. She is pleasantly surprised that she isn't volunteered for any evening watch, and spends the night daintily snoring and clutching a pillow like a teddybear.
When they find the space rock, she takes a few eager steps forward, wanting to ogle the thing as quickly as possible, but reins herself in to allow the specialist to have viewing priority. "I should stay on the ground so I can get to anyone in trouble. Tess, wouldn't you be the best in the tree?"
Tomm will quietly gather everyone together around the star and speak in hushed tones.
"There is definitely someone out there, maybe more. Probably tha same person I saw the night before, maybe someone who followed us from town but I doubt it. I'll wait till Gilbert is done lookin' at tha stone, but we might already have competition."
Gil walks over to the rock and takes a close look at it. He takes a small hammer and chisel from his pouch and chips away at a certain dull metallic spot on the rock. The chisel fails to do anything. Then he takes out a different chisel. This one is the same dull grey as the metal spot on the boulder. Now he takes away a small piece. He carries it with a pair of forceps back to the cart. Once there, he takes some gear from his pack. After several minutes he has a pair of scales set up. After another few moments of checking and cross-checking he nods to himself.
"No doubt about it folks, it's adamantine. My steel chisel wouldn't even scratch it. Fortunately we have one made of the same stuff. And it compares to every other sample we've uncovered. But until we can take apart this rock, here's no way of saying for sure how much there is. Do any of you have skill with a pickaxe?"
The talk of taking a watch is basically white noise to Caelin, although if any suggest it to him he will (rather patiently) explain (in rather excruciating detail) the limitations of being a magic user and the toll it takes on the mind and the rest required to maintain mental stamina and... yeah, pretty much everyone who makes that mistake has likely tuned out before Caelin realises nobody's listening.
Luckily, the night is calm, and not too long into the next day they discover their target. Caelin's eyes widen in surprise as he gauges up the precious gift from the gods; it was not every day one got to see such a sight! With the others organising more practical concerns (someone watching? Caelin idly wonders why a single person would be at all concerning) he takes the opportunity to join Gilbert in examining the stone up close.
"Not sure what I can tell you, but oh, I'd love to learn," Caelin says to the other man with a smile. "Is it common for them to still be warm, even after this long?" He watches Gilbert going about his task with rapt curiosity.
"As far as mining goes, I'm not an expert," he adds, "but I may have some tools that might come in handy."
"Well Caelin, I've only encountered two rocks from the sky before. Neither were anything near this big, and both had no star metal in them. They burn liek fire when they fall, that's why they seem to glow. It's like if you touch a stone in a fireplace or fire ring after the flames have been doused. Only these get much hotter, so the heat lingers for quite some time."
While this is going on, Tomm shares his news. He keeps an eye on the figure he can see, and sends his dogs sniffing around. The others try to watch too. However, the entire group is surprised when a figure leaps on top on the boulder!
They see a short, gray-skinned humanoid creature with beady little eyes wearing a rough-spun brown cloak. It is carrying a bow in its hand and has a sword at its waist. Teh creature speaks:
"My name is Krath! I claim this sky stone in the name of the Tok-ban tribe!"
With that, the figure Tomm was watching moves closer as well as a third creature on the south side of the clearing. All three look similar, carrying the same sort of weapons and wearing studded leather armor. They move with the grace of trained warriors.
Rizzo is taken aback by the sudden appearance of Krath and his friends. He replies. "My name is Rizzo de Canal and I claim this ground and all it touches in the name of The King." His hand goes to his sword but he doesn't draw it. "The prowess of the Tok-ban is known far and wide, Krath. But this stone belongs to us."
Despite his obvious enthusiasm, Caelin's lack of practical experience shows plain of day.
However, there isn't much time to linger on his failures - soon enough, a strange being appears spouting apparent nonsense. Caelin arches an eyebrow and puts his hand on his hip, feeling for his spell component pouch if things should come to blows.
Having no knowledge of the surrounding lands Tomm will look blankly at this unusual creature for a moment, but then shout out,
"Yer too late feller! Rizzo's right, we've claimed this rock fer the country o' Berhold an her King! Don't you an yer boys get any funny ideas or you'll have a whole mess of trouble! Just back on up slowly..."
Despite his diplomatic words, Tomm will take a firm grip on his axe while his dogs approach slowly, both growling softly.
Rizzo sees that these are hobgoblins. Fierce warriors and quite intelligent. They are known to be both tough and cruel. Hobgoblins rarely bother large human settlements in Bernhold, mostly keeping to their homes in the mountains. The Tok-ban have made the occasional raid around here, and would thus be known locally.
Krath speaks again:
"Fool humans!" then, noticing Berion, Tessara, and Sera. "Filth! Vile elves! Know now that your destruction is at hand! Fobban, take news of our find to the tribe. We'll deal with these pests."
The hobgoblin and his ally to the south draw their bows! The hob to the north takes of running into the trees.
Round 1:
Seraphyna <<
Caelin <<
Berion <<
Tomm <<
hobgoblins
Rizzo
Tessara
At Krath's words, Rizzo winces at the certain knowledge he is about to get shot. "Take out Fobban first!" he yells to his allies. "Don't let them get away."
"I'm not sure that's a wise plan," Caelin says cheerfully to Krath, taking a few slow steps towards the fleeing hobgoblin. "Svanan!" With a flick of his hand and a choice, arcane word, a small droplet of filthy water flies across the clearing and splatters on the ground beneath the hob to the north, forming an immediate mud slick beneath its boots.
Tomm will grimace as the creature resolves to fight his friends. He'll reel back towards the two archers, knowing that in his armor he would never run down a fleeing target in the woods.
Tomm will turn do his dogs, and with his dark eyes blazing he'll crow out,
"Alright boy, let's get ta work!"
Tomm will use his tactician ability as a standard action, giving Finn the Precise Strike feat for 3 rounds. As a move action Tomm will move up to the side of one of the archers and menace him with his axe.
Finn will dash up with Tomm to flank the Hobgoblin, then when it's distracted by Tomm he'll dash in to take a chunk out of it's ankles.
Quinn will stay where she is and bark menacingly as she isn't an animal companion yet.
As the rush of combat ensues, Seraphyna pulls out her crossbow, tapping it against her leg to remove some flowers she had threaded into some of the mechanisms before loading a broad headed quarrel.
Sera grabs her crossbow and loads it.
Caelin then casts his spell under the fleeing hobgoblin.
The creature falls flat on its face!
Berion stikes at the fallen foe.
Tomm moves in front of the other aracher, and Finn chews a big chuck out of him!
The warrior flanked by Tom and Quinn drops his bow, draws his sword, and swings at Tomm.
The creature lands a powerful, shearing cut that causes Tomm to collapse from pain and blood loss.
The archer on the rock laughs wickedly and shoots at Rizzo.
The arrow catches Rizzo's arm, opening up a bad wound.
Round 1:
Seraphyna
Caelin
Berion (attack coming)
Tomm (knocked out, bleeding)
Fobban (prone, Berion to attack)
unnamed warrior (10 damage)
Krath (uninjured)
Rizzo (4 damage) <<
Tessara <<
Tess tries to remain as quiet as possible, hoping to keep her presence a secret as she returns fire on the enemy archer.
Rizzo grimaces in pain from the arrow and considers trying to leap up onto the rock, but catches sight of Tomm going down. "Tomm!" he yells as he charges with all his might at the hobgoblin, hoping to push him back from his fallen comrade.
Finn will move to flank with Rizzo as he's been tought and will try to bring down this warrior.
Sera lets out a yelp when she sees the fountain of blood from Tomm's wound. Loosing her crossbow at a wounded foe, she clambers over near the fallen man, hoping to avoid melee with the fearsome for.
With Berion dealing with the fallen hobgoblin, Caelin turns his attention to the archer on the rock. "Uvelucal!" he intones, flicking another small droplet of water the way of Krath. Except it's not water this time, but rather clear-coloured acid that sizzles the flesh.
"I think I need more than one droplet," he mutters to himself. "Did I not enunciate the lucal suffix properly...?"
Tessara's arrow hits Krath solidly, leaving a deep wound.
Rizzo moves in and distracts the unknown warrior. Finn bites him and Sera's bolt finishes the job as he slumps to the ground!
The hobbo Fobban covers in fear under the threat of Berion standing over him. His racial enmity with elves seems to be more fear than hatred.
Caelin's ball of acid lands on Krath's hand, and leaves a small burn.
Krath leaps down from the rock and makes to raise his bow. Instead, he turns and runs into the forest!
Tess scowls, taking after Krath into the forest.
Rizzo curses under his breath and dashes after the fleeing hobgoblin. He calls out to Krath. "To flee is the King's Justice is to acknowledge its authority over you. I thought better of the Tok-ban. I thought they were a tribe of fierce warriors. Instead they are revealed to be cowards."
Tomm gives a supportive twitch towards the chase team.
With an enraged scowl, Krath turns back. He drops his bow and draws his sword, swinging for Tessara!
He hurries his blow, and it whistles by Tess' ear.
Meanwhile Fobban throws down his weapons and offer to surrender.
With the threat to Tomm having moved away, Sera rushes to his side, her hands glowing with a soothing light. Come back Tomm, they say it's not your time yet. They also say you should have bobbed instead of weaving...
Tess scowls, stepping back and firing her bow at point blank range.
Tomm will come to gasping and coughing.
"Gah! Wha...What? Oh hells, me side hurts! Bless ye Sera, I dunno how ye did it but I'm not dead!"
He'll happily hug Sera until he realizes the danger his friends are still in. He'll give Finn the Down order and call him over while he stands shakily to his feet and picks up his axe.
"Good boy Finn!"
Seraphyna turns a variety of shades of red as Tomm crushes her with his excited hug. Air! she gasps just before the woodsman lets her go.
Rizzo darts in behind Krath and swings at his legs with his longsword.
"Oh, this is so silly," Caelin mutters to himself with a shake of his head. "Uvelucol!" he declares once more, but the small orb of acid that appears in his hand immediately dissipates into the air. "Oh, drat. Lucal, not lucol."
He nods to Tomm with a bemused smile, "Good morning sire! Good to see you're not going to push up the pansies around here."
Tess and Rizzo try to strike the hobgoblin but can't score hits. Caelin's spell fizzles.
Tomm excitedly comes to, exuberant at still being alive!
Krath's anger drives him on, heedless of the fact that he's outnumbered. He swings for Tess again!
His sword scrapes Tess' armor, but can't cut through!