Arrius stands in silent pensiveness for a bit, then says, "You know, maybe we can solve both problems at once. After all, we're about to do dangerous work, and these guys are allegedly mercenaries, right? Maybe we can get some use out of them. How many are there?"
"We can try..." Nariella says, seeming appreciative that Arrius wants to help, but not too hopeful. "However, I'm not sure that they will be willing to accept honest work. These types are likely to rob us...or at least try to...for even admitting we have money on us..."
"I have a plan for that, actually," Arrius says. "We let our friend here hold onto most of our money for the time being. Then, we offer the rest as an initial payment to the mercenaries, and offer them a cut of the pay we expect to receive once we find Dungren. With no additional money on our persons, there's nothing to rob from us, and they'll want to help us in order to get the most possible gold."
Peren listen to Arrius lay out his plan, but shakes his head at its completion.
"I do not believe these thugs would be willing to work for honest gains. As well...would you trust a paid thug to watch your back? No, we will come back one we have found Gundren and then deal with these parasites."
Arrius thinks a moment after Peren finishes speaking, then says, "You could be right, but..."
He trails off, then turns to the innkeeper. "Will you be alright for a day or two? Would it help if we left some money with you to placate the thugs for the time being?"
Peren moves to the bar and places 10gp on the scarred surface.
"I hope that this is sufficient to pay for food and lodging for me and my mount."
He winks at Arrius as he hands over the money.
Arrius smiles. "Same here," he says, dropping ten gold coins onto the counter. "Oh, wait, I don't have a mount; that saves me a gold piece, right?" Arrius says, taking one coin back and leaving nine on the counter.
Nariella contemplates adding more money to the pile, but decides against it. The mercenaries just wanted him to have more than silver. He should have more than enough if they come again...in fact giving him too much could cause the mercenaries to expect more from him in the future. If we aren't able to deal with them, we could end up doing more harm than good...
She gives Arrius and Peren a nod of respect and hands the innkeeper five silver pieces for the room, "This is all I can pay at the moment...but when more debt come due, I will be ready to pay what is owed..." She gives the man a wink, hoping he understands her implication.
Toblen takes the coins, sweeping them into the small box Nariella saw him open earlier. At her little outburst about murder, he shushes them. "Listen, there might be some outside. The like going around town and then hitting up the Sleeping Giant nearby." He hands each one of you a key, his wife shaking her head.
She taps her foot. "Listen, we can handle our own affairs, ain't that right Toblen?" Jumping slightly, he turns with a large appeasing smile to his wife. "Of... Of course dear."
As Peren and Arrius drop the gold on the counter, though, his eyes go large. "Indeed we can..." He looks around, making sure no one but his wife and the party saw it. Scopping 3 coins into the box, he then hands the remainder to his wife. "Hide these in the back room."
Her own eyes large, she scurries to the back as Toblen turns to you all. "That's right generous of you. Tymora smile and bless you. And when you all wake up, I'll make sure there is some food for you. Won't be much, but I'll manage a decent meal for you all."
As Nariella places her coins down, he silently takes them. "I'll keep you in mind when that happens. Shouldn't be more than a few days away I suspect. Now then, for you all..." He straightens up and smiles. "You all rest up. I'll take care of any horses and if any of you need a wash, I'll have the wife bring a basin and soap up to the rooms. And... thank you again..." And with that, he steps out after grabbing a dandy brush and an apple.
With the rising of the sun and the odd crowing of roosters in the distance, you all wake up and head into the main room of the Stonehill inn. A small table has been set up and an old platter with a large loaf of bread, a wheel of goat cheese and a small bowl of picked berries is found. Toblen is sitting there, nibbling on one of the berries chatting with a tiefling who has a bow on his back.
"Ah, you all are awake! Please, come over. This is Kymar." The tiefling turns, nodding at you all before he speaks up.
"Linene at the Coster told me someone was asking for me about the goblin that got caught in my trap a bit ago. I assume it was one of you lot, am I right?"
Arrius looks around quizzically at his coworkers. "Who was asking about... what...?"
"Correct. The goblin was raving about a goblin king. Did anything he say describe their numbers or location?"
Nariella gives Arrius a shrug as she helps herself some of the cheese and bread. However, she seems to be listening to the conversation with interest.
Kymar shakes his head. "Not so much on numbers, but the little thing was ranting about their 'chief' named Klarg. Said they would come up and smash skulls. Didn't know what to do with the thing, really, so I let it hang in the trap for a while and when I finally decided to cut the line and drag it back to town to let the townmaster figure out what to do with it, it broke the rope and dashed off into the woods."
Toblen snorts at the comment about the townmaster. The hunter stands up and frowns. "These raids on the trail and now the Redbrands coming in, stirring people up, ruffling feathers... Still haven't figured where Thel's family ran off to, but I hope it wasn't back up the trail. Saw a busted up wagon on the side of the road last night as I was heading in."
Arrius listens carefully, then asks, "Redbrands? Are those the so-called 'mercenary' thugs that have been shaking people down lately? Oh, and that wagon you saw might be our employer's; Gundren Rockseeker. Anyway, do you know what direction we should head in to find the goblins?"
"Gundren Rockseeker? Is he related to Nundro and Tharden? Good men, the lot of them." He strokes his chin for a moment before nodding. "Well, the goblin I caught was right around where that wagon was. When he dashed off, I believe it was almost due north from there. Unless he was just scrambling to dash off, I'd check that-a-ways."
Sighing now, he looks over at Toblen and nods. "And yes, those 'mercenaries' are the very same. I was in the Sleeping Giant the other day and you should have seen how they treated the place! Poor Grista is still picking up broken stool bits!"
Arrius grinds his jaw a bit, then murmurs, "Let's take care of Gundren as soon as possible..."
"It seems this town is in need of assistance this is not the first I have heard of these Redbrands. First though we must find Gundren".
"Indeed, first we find Gundren. He is still our employer, and a good friend. We will deal with these Redbrands, have no fear, but Gundren comes first", Peren says as he calmly walks down the stairs from his room.
"Right. We shouldn't delay. Is everyone ready to head out?" Nariella asks, as she finishes her breakfast.
Toblen stands up and smiles. "I'll keep your rooms for tonight. And please be careful."
Kymar nods and starts for the door. "Goblins might be small, but they are craftier than a witch. Be careful and if you make it back, tell me about it." With that, he opens the door, flooding the room with the early morning light.
With the early morning light shining down, you all make your way back up to the Triboar Trail.
The trip is surprisingly peaceful, and as you approach the broken wagon that belongs to your friend and employer, the odd squirrel and bird dash off. Besides some obvious signs of animal life poking through it, it appears to be in much the same condition you had left it.
Survival
After about 10 minutes of poking around, Arrius, Torbin and Nariella spot a small trail heading deep into the woods. Peren had spent the time assisting, just not quite in the same area.
The trail appears to spread out until it's about 10 feet across just about 100 feet into the woods, wide enough for a good number of goblins to travel up and down quickly and hidden enough not to be seen from the main trail.
As the party advances onward, the trail changes from clear to difficult and back again a number of times. However, after approximately 2 hours, the tree begin to thin slightly and a small amount of smoke can be seen rising above the treeline ahead. Off in the distance, some noises can be heard, though what it is is still to hard to discern.
The sounds appear to be coming from the same direction as the small trail of smoke.
"This may call for a gentle step To investigate and report back. Not a gift I received from Lord Tyr to my sorrow".
"Yes, this seems like a time for scouting ahead. Nariella, you're probably the best at that. I'm alright at it myself; would you like backup, or do you want to go solo?"
Nariella shrugs and remarks, "It's up to you. You certainly weren't a liability last time." Contemplating possible contingencies for a moment, she adds, "Just a heads up, though. If get noticed I am probably going to just run back this way. If you come, I suggest you do the same. If we are lucky, only a few will follow and we can pick them off as a group."
Nariella moves carefully towards the smoke, trying to stay behind the trees.
Arrius decides to accompany Nariella in scouting ahead.
Sneaking ahead, Nariella and Arrius find a small clearing before what appears to be a cave entrance. Before the cave's mouth are 4 goblins around a cooking fire, overcooking some small animal. They appear unaware of either's approach, arguing instead over the little bits of meat before them. One goes so far as to even shove another down in a small stream that emanates from the cave, drawing some laughs from the other two goblins.
Basically, the goblins are only a move action away from Nariella and Arrius, Those two are a full round away from Torbin and Peren.
Nariella signals back to Torbin and Peren, holding up four fingers and then pointing into the cave. Waiting for further indication from her companions, she holds her rapier at the ready and attempts to stay hidden from the goblins.