”Nobody accidentally mixes together sap, dirt, and rotted meat and smears it on the lip of one water skin, let alone two,” Falcon says to Claustipher.
"I wonder how somebody wouldn't notice, drinking from that?" Ian shrugs. "So, can we follow any tracks or something? All the way back to the culprit?"
:: Rova 26 - Early Afternoon - Camp ::
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Talking with Themselves - Daniil and Elyas
Daniil and Elyas manage to get out of ear shot for their whispered conversation fairly easily as everyone is focused on either tending the ill or getting back to their tasks at hand.
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Talking with Jet - Ian, Claustipher, Falcon, Olivia
Seeing that more questions need to be answered, but wanting to let the sick rest, Jet leads Ian, Claustipher, Falcon and Olivia a few dozen feet away.
Addressing Ian's question Jet says, "Celeste and Avaliene are in my foraging group. The others in the group are Senna, Tam Barten, Kips Fellowmire, Micah, Soria Turancross, Drulis Wintrish, Braedon Pravost, and Ionela Pavlenco. Why, what are you thinking Ian?"
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Scouting - Alezandu and Solace
Assuming Solace is willing to come with him and provide healing, Alezandu begins hustling towards the Phaendar Bridge.
Solace and Alezandu head towards the Phaendar Bridge.
[b]"Good point! We best be careful," Daniel agrees with Elyas.
[u] Talking with Jet - Ian, Claustipher, Falcon, Olivia [/u]
Claustipher genstures for Ngithembekile to move with them, really liking having the elemental around him.
:: Rova 26 - Late Afternoon - Scouting - Alezandu and Solace::
The decision made, Alezandu and Solace hustle off towards the Phaendar Bridge. At first the pair stays to the road, trying to make speed and having to reason to think any one would be moving along it. After about an hour Solace and Alezandu move into trees while on their final approach to Phaendar to remain undetected.
As they move through the trees, they come across a dry creek bed. Its a creek only in name really as it flows with only about six inches of water right after the snow melts and is dry the rest of the year. As they approach it they see a body face down in creek bed.
Going over to the body and rolling it over, you recognize the person as Gilidia Dranovich, a part time local who hunts and traps in the area. A brief examination of her body shows that there are numerous wounds on her, none of which would have been fatal on their own. The number and placement of the cuts makes you feel as though they were done purposefully to prolong Gilidia's suffering and give her a slow death.
Beside her, you find her pack. A quick examination of it shows that it contains a bear trap, a climbers kit, 4 days worth of rations, two water skins and a small bale of animal skins. For all its contents the pack only seems to weight about five pounds.
Moving on, another fifteen to twenty minutes later, the two get to the edge of the Chernasardo forest over looking Phaendar. Where the bridge once stood there are a two posts in the ground on each side of the river, each about six feet tall. From them ropes are strung, with some fancy knotting being done to create a large thick rope to walk along with two others at about waist height to hold onto.
On the far side of the river you can see Phaendar. The black stone obelisk still stands in the center of town, and around the perimeter you can see the remaining townsfolk, now slaves, digging a trench about twenty feet from the edge of town.
Phaendar is otherwise crawling with hobgoblins. There are dozens training, taking care of gear, some even nap against the walls of the houses.
One other thing that stands out is the banners. About a dozen of them stand around the perimeter of the town, on posts large enough for them to show over the tops of the houses. They portray a dagger on a diagonal with the hilt in the top right corner and the tip in the bottom left. There are three small stars cut into the tree in a column above the tip of the dagger, and a single large star below the daggers hilt.
”What we’re thinking, is that the newcomer Edran has been acting very suspiciously, always asking questions about the rangers and if we know of any Nirmathi troops in the area, other tactical things. He’s also one of two people in charge of the water, and something has just been off about him from the moment he arrived. But we have no proof of anything.”
:: Rova 26 - Late Afternoon - Scouting - Alezandu and Solace ::
Clenching his teeth in anger at the sight of Gilidia's tortured body, Alezandu stoops to examine her wounds. He does his best to determine what kind of weapon inflicted her injuries.
He rises and relays his findings to Solace, then says, "Much as I'd like to give her a proper burial, it's imperative that we keep moving."
Noticing the bag, Alezandu examines its contents and notes its curious property. He puts 20 of his arrows in to see if its weight increases at all. Whatever the result, he informs Solace, "Her bag is evidently magical. It would allow me to carry a lot of equipment without compromising my mobility, so I think I should carry it."
Alezandu is breathing heavily with exertion by the time he and Solace reach the forest's edge, but he shakes himself into alert readiness as soon Phaendar comes into view. Crouching in the undergrowth, he tries to carefully appraise the situation in spite of the mix of fear, longing and anger the sight of his former home inspires.
Solace nods in agreement when Alezandu suggests they take the bag with them.
Later on, looking out at Phaendar, Solace takes note of all the different banners and the hobgoblins treating the town like it was their own. "At least they haven't executed all the townsfolk, though I wonder what the purpose of that trench is..."
Solace will look around carefully for any sign of guards watching the bridge. "What do you think our odds are of being able to cut some ropes? Preferably not all the way through, just enough to break once the hobgoblins start to cross it."
:: Rova 26 - Late Afternoon - Scouting - Alezandu and Solace ::
As Solace and Alezandu begin discussing if they could sabotage the bridge, the hear the sound of a group people walking a few hundred feet to their left, along the trail to Gristledown.
Moving a bit to remain hidden, the two watch as a group of about ten stumble into view. Four of the hobgoblins are relatively unharmed, but two are being dragged on travois and four are using either crutches or have limbs in slings.
Once the town sees them, two hobgoblins quickly cross the bridge and run over to them. The two groups talk for a moment, then one of the hobgoblins runs back into Phaendar as the injured group approaches the bridge. About five minutes later a group of four heavily armored hobgoblins, four archers and six regulars hobgoblins cross the bridge. Two of them cross with baskets attached to their back that they open when they reach the far side to reveal a hobbe hound.
Taking a moment to get organized, the group of fresh hobgoblins sets out down the road to Gristledown.
It would seem Gristledown is putting up a fight.
Solace speaks quietly to Alezandu. "Perhaps we should hustle back to the camp and see if we can get any support for Gristledown. Perhaps we can help them hold off the hobgoblins."
Alezandu nods wearily. ”Yeah, we shouldn’t linger longer than necessary,” he says with a sigh, then wrenches his gaze away from Phaendar and begins to march back up the road.
"No, we must go and help out where stand a chance. Perhaps if we help other settlements stay free we could band together and form a force strong enough to drive those creatures from out lands..."
Alezandu turns back and looks at Solace quizzically. ”What do you mean? I agree that’s a good long-term goal, but for the moment we need to get back to the camp and organize a force to help defend Gristletown. Are you suggesting we go there directly?”
"Not directly. Hoping to gather some of the others from our camp."
Alezandu rolls his eyes slightly. "Well, let's get going then." He resumes hustling back to the camp.
:: Rova 26 - Near Nightfall - Camp ::
Just as night falls, two groups of people enter camp. The first is Kalleb Bellarue, who had gone to scout up river. The second is Solace and Alezandu.
With the arrival of both groups a quick impromtu meeting is held with the council.
Kalleb speaks first, "I managed to get quite far upriver, and Ian was right, there is in fact a hermit living in the bend in the river. I didn't approach her but I did see her. She seems to have a good stockpile of resources and visiting her could prove useful. Other than that, there aren't really any good spots to make a permanent camp but there were no real dangers to note."
The council seems to want to continue with the move as planned, but wants to avoid the hermit, not knowing what she may be capable of.
When talk dies down again, Kining speaks up after hearing about Alezandu and Solace's scouting. "Well, I guess the only thing to figure out now is if you eight are going to travel through the night to save Gristledown or show up tomorrow to clean up the bodies."
Solace offers her opinion of when to head out.....
"I would like to vote that we leave at first light. We know that there will be hobgoblins heading in that direction and we do not want to blindly wander into them. Plus, the defenders of Gristledown may not be able to see well in the dark and may mistake us for the enemy and fire upon us before we can introduce ourselves."
"I would like to leave as soon as possible. Or at least get a head start before resting."
”A small group moving quickly might be able to annoy the hobgoblins and buy the people there more time until all of us could get there.”
"If we want to get there in enough time to stop the hobs' attack we're going to need serious healing to be in fighting shape when we arrive. I'm willing to head for Gristledown now if thats the majority opinion, but if that's our plan we need to bring along as many magical items and additional troops as possible. And I do think it would be better just to wait for morning. I would really hate to see the hobs take another town, but if we're going to survive this we need to pick our battles."
"The idea of stumbeling around the forest at night is not appealing, better to be prepared I would think. Still I can see why it may be the groups wish. As far as the hermit woman goes, she may be worth talking to. Those who shun society often have reason but also learn to be cunning and resourceful."
We will not b much good to Gristetown if we show up exhausted and unable to mount a serious offensive! If it is like Phaendar there may be survivors to be rescued even if we aren't in time to stop the hobgoblin attacks.
I can offer what little healing I know, but I will not be able to relieve our fatigue when we arrive. My vote is to leave at first light.
:: Rova 26 - Near Nightfall - Camp ::
After a brief conversation the group decides to stay the night and leave in the morning. When the decision is made Aubrin speaks up, "We will have food and water for two days prepared for you. It should be enough if you don't linger anywhere for too long."
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:: Rova 27 - Early Morning - Camp ::
The group gets up and prepares to leave. As before, Aubrin and Edran bring your food and water over to help you prepare. While getting ready, Alezandu takes some time to determine what the weather will be like and figures that while today will be an okay day, Rova 28 will probably have poor weather with the start of an autumn rain.
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:: Rova 27 - Mid-day - Hiking to Gristledown ::
A bit after noon, the group hears an odd yip, almost like a dog bark, from behind them. A few of you put your heads together thinking you've heard it before but you can't quite place it. After a few hundred more feet a few of you realize at the same time that it sounded like one of the hounds the heavily armored hobgoblins seem to have with them.
If Edran is bringing the food and water, they’ll inspect it all very carefully, though out if his sight.
:: Rova 27 - Morning - Hiking ::
As he walks, Alezandu remembers the odd bag he still carries. He drops back to walk next to Claustipher, then tells him, ”While Solace and I were scouting, we found a rather peculiar bag. Despite containing numerous Rowell heavy items, it seems to only a few pounds. I’m assuming it’s magical, so might you be able to identify it?” He holds out the bag.
:: Mid-day ::
Alezandu stops in his tracks when he realizes what the sound was. He draws his bow, nocks an arrow, whispers to the others to be quiet, and listening intently. If he hears another bark, he tries to gauge how far away its source is.
Daniil takes his customary place in the rear, watching their back trail and Edran, as they march toward Gristledown.
Elyas wakes early, spending longer than usual asking for blessing from Iomedae before gathering up with the rest of the party.
As Edran hands out the food and water, Elyas thanks him warmly, but as they leave he inspects the water skins, looking for any signs of tampering. Then, just to be safe he casts 'purify food and drink' on each container during the morning march.
When they hear the goblin dog barking, Elyas will form up with the others, keeping towards the middle of the group, watching for oncoming hobgoblins.
Grumbling a little about his knees, back, ankles and hip Claustipher prepares his spells for the day and gets ready to move out with the others.
On the move
When he recognizes the yip Claustipher frowns.
"My friends, in my preparations today I thought we may be able to learn something if I can charm one of the hobgoblins. It is a long shot but I have two tries at it. Maybe don't start firing arrows until I can give it a try if it is a small patrol."
On the Trail
Falcon prepares his sansetsukon as soon as the others identify the yipping sound. He nods at Claustipher’s request and moves to protect the old wizard from a charge.
"I hope this works, we could really use more information right now.". Olivia also steps next to Claustipher.
Claustipher keeps his eyes focused on the direction the noise came from.
Wary of the sound, Solace has her bow in hand and scans the forest around them in case they are about to be ambushed.
:: Rova 27 - Mid-day - Hiking to Gristledown ::
Thinking there's at least a few hundred feet until the hobgoblins appear, most of the group melts into the underbrush, ready to spring and ambush. Claustipher positions himself so he can cast down the trail but so that he will hopefully be a bit hidden.
After a few minutes, you can all hear the wuffing sound of a large dog breathing. A few seconds after that a hobbe hound comes into view, with a leash extending from its collar to its handler. The hobgoblin and hound seem to be alone.
Obviously not expecting much, the hobgoblin walks in range of Claustipher's spell.
Casting the spell made Claustipher's position apparent and the hobgoblin pulls up shorts and calls out in rough common, "What are you in the forest here for, friend?"
Alezandu freezes and waits for Claustipher to speak, his bow ready but not pointed directly at the hobgoblin.
"Ahh my old friend. It is good to see you.. good indeed. My companions, I am not sure if you have met them or not, were out exploring the forest and, well, we got turned around. You know me, always trying to teach people. We were looking for unusual fauna you see."
He pauses to whipe his brow and smiles.
"Your a good chap but what are you doing out here along. Never good to travel alone in my experience. Anything we can help you with?"
Daniil anxiously watches the exchange from the concealment of the brush.
Falcon also stays hidden, ready to charge in if things go sideways.
Solace hangs back a bit and won't directly aim her bow at the fellow that Claustipher is talking to, but remains alert for any enemies to come at them from the underbrush.
Claustipher sighs.
"We have known each other so I can be honest. Part of the reason I am out here is to make sure all the patrols are doing what they should be doing. It's hard to get old I am forgetting the names of who sent me out with the others.... what would it have bene again? Well they figured some humans out here would be a good test."
"I knew you would do well and will make sure it is known. Now, as far as you know, how many others are out here patrolling? Need to gauge how long we will be waiting for the next to test."
"Clearly you know your orders if you find something, part of my test is making sure you do so.. if you had found someone less friendly out here what are you to do?"
:: Rova 27 - Mid-day - Hiking to Gristledown ::
The hobgoblin looks a bit concerned, "Unfortunately, the only thing you can help me with is to return to Phaendar, though I do not want to turn you in."
Hearing that Claustipher is here to inspect the patrols, the hobgoblin cheers up a bit. "I am Arokanir, and do not feel bad for forgetting my name. As for how many others are out here, I am alone on patrol this far in the forest, using speed over numbers. Scarvinious leads a band against Gristledown, though I do not know how well that is going. I am glad you are on our side, for what that that bug bear does to his foes when defeated makes even the hardest of us want to vomit."
Taking a moment to remember his exact orders, Arokanir continues, "If I found anyone else out here I was to report their location back to Phaendar. A few others have been sent out with orders to sow fear amongst any bands of refugees that have gathered and collect their heads for a bounty if they get the chance. Its easier to capture our foes when they are tired, worn down and on the run. No point in expending our men they say."
"If you haven't any other questions, I am would return back to where my trail intersected yours and continue my sweep out to the river." Arokanir finishes.
"Oh that is a good idea, you should get back. Don't tell the others I am out here doing inspections of course. I know they are your compatriots but my job will be ruined if word if it is going around. Silence is a must. Honestly if I did not know you I would have let you take me in to protect my mission."
He smiles.
"I will see you back with the others in a few days. I don't think I will be in real danger as I know how well disciplined we all are."
He will stand and wait for Arokanir to head back the way they came.
Elyas has some trouble keeping from laughing as he watches the wizard work.
I dind't think that would work! amazing!
Solace just keeps looking around, confused by the lack of attack from enemy forces.
Daniel watches and waits as he listens to the hobgoblins words.
:: Rova 27 - Mid-day - Hiking to Gristledown ::
Arokanir will wave good bye and turn around heading back down the trail he followed you up.