As Celyne, Fronar, Luna, Bella, and Felton make their way into the courtyard, Oleg walks around lighting a few torches placed in sconces around the courtyard.
"We'll leave the gate open for a bit longer but we probably should keep a watch out just in case. Not knowing that you had already found all the horses they probably are stretching out the day and the search as long as they can, offers Oleg.
Walking outside to check on the others, Svetlana looks at the sweaty and dirty Bella and Felton, "Perhaps you two would like a bath before dinner? There is a wooden tub on each of the floors of the guesthouse. I'll bring pots of water over that you can warm to your liking in the fireplace of each floor." The young woman then heads back into main house to gather the pots and draw some water for them.
"We'll have to figure out something for the additional horses," says Oleg with a studied frown on his face. "With the cow in one stall and the gnome's mule in the other that only leaves us with two empty stalls. The pack horses are in those right now so we have no room for these five. Should we run a line outside that they can be tethered to for the night?" Oleg looks to any of the others for suggestions.
"My apologies Oleg, I don't think I understand. If we tether them, will they be outside our protection from wolves and the like?"
"Also thank you Svetlana, I'll help you with the water in just a moment!"
Bella smiles
Seems our work is paying off
"We could tether them here, inside the walls, but it will make quite the mess to clean up in the morning," responds Oleg. "Most wolves and the like steer clear of the walls of the fort so if we keep them close they will probably be ok but it would also make sense for us to keep a watch over them."
"We shouldn't have to do it very long. The one's you all don't want I can arrange to sell."
"I'm open to any other ideas. I'd rather not spend the first hour of my day tomorrow cleaning up horse****
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Seeing the Worg make its dreadful attack on Zokon, one which Numalar would not himself have survived, Numalar grits his teeth.
"And now, Mister Worg, you will learn the price of attacking men and women. Qa' quv!"
He makes a gesture and expels a roaring gout of flame from his mouth in a 15' cone, which passes between Zokon and Valeska.
Numalar looks pale and sickly after having exhaled flame, and coughs several times. He bends over, catching his breath. He looks up at the others, and grins.
"Anyone know how to skin a worg?" He chuckles for a moment. Then a more serious look comes over his face. "No, I forget myself. This was a thinking being. I would be sickened if someone took trophies from a human or a gnome; that would be little different than taking this creature's skin."
Numalar looks over with concern at Zokon. "Friend Zokon, can you walk?"
"I can walk, I'll be in pain for few days without assistance. But I am still able friend Numalar.. hmm. Yes skinning it wouldn't quite seem right."
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"I can walk, I'll be in pain for few days without assistance. But I am still able friend Numalar.. hmm. Yes skinning it wouldn't quite seem right."
"Should we do something with the corpse? I know it's more than this creature would have done for us... Perhaps we can gather some dropwood from this copse of trees and build a pyre. What do you think?"
Numalar looks around nervously... the sun will be going down soon and the light is fading. "Whatever we do though, we should do it soon. We need to head back to Oleg's without any sidetracking. In our wounded condition it is unlikely we could handle another attack like that."
"Leave it as is, nature will take care of the remains."
(off in the distance)
"Honk!"
With the immediate threat dispatched, perhaps we should check for whatever this thing called a home, nest or lair.
Numalar explains to Valeska that worgs typically hunt in packs and that it is rare to find them alone. This one was probably a scout for the pack which means there could be others nearby. They also tend to serve as mounts for goblins when it suits their purposes. Either way, searching for a home, nest, or lair for the creature that probably isn't even anywhere near where they are could lead to the death of them all.
After Bella and Felton have both had time to bathe and clean themselves up and just as Svetlana is ready to serve the evening meal, Fronar looks across the plain to the southwest and with the aid of the full moon rising catches sight of the three late companions coming to the fort.
At the lookout's urging, Oleg rushes over to unbar and open the gate. A few minutes later the wounded and weary companions walk into the fort. It is clear that Zokon is walking with a heavy limp and his left breeches leg is covered in blood from the thigh down. The man appears to be sweating profusely despite the chill in the air although he complains of being cold.
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As the group progresses back to the fort, Zokon looks to Numalar to be in a bad way. Though Gertrude complains about the weight, by the time the companions get to the fort Numalar is walking and has allowed Zokon to ride Gertrude.
When within shouting distance of the gate Numalar makes a gesture, and a burst of light appears 25 feet up in the air above him.
He calls out:
"Ho, the gate! It is Numalar, with Valeska and Zokon! Zokon is sore wounded! Open the gate!"
As the group enters the fort, Numalar helps Zokon off of Gertrude. "Is Celyne or Bella around? Zokon here needs the attention of a healer. So do I, I suppose, though I judge Zokon needs it more seriously. We ran afoul of a Worg out there; nasty creature. Well, it could have been worse; at least it wasn't a Slime-Hound." Numalar looks at Zokon worriedly.
After Zokon is in the care of others, and seems out of danger Numalar makes another gesture, and the travel stains and blood stains disappear from his clothes and person. His clothes remain somewhat ragged where the worg bit him.
"Lady Svetlana, perhaps you have a needle and thread I can borrow?"
As soon as she hears the news, Bella rushes out to meet the wounded.
"Everyone get inside! Svetlana let's put Zokon somewhere comfortable. Could you also grab a few bandages and the like please. Celyne would you care assisting me?"
After several minutes, Bella says "Hmm, well the bite looks bad, but the fever is probably a normal cold. That or he might have anxiety from the fight earlier."
Everyone helps to move Zokon to his bed on the first floor of the guesthouse. Svetlana comes in shortly after he is lying down with some rolled up cloth that can serve as bandages.
Zokon let's out a scream of pain as Bella examines the wound. Blood spurts from a few of the bite marks as her hands poke around on them.
Zokon weakly tries to get up several times.. "Out of my way, this is just a scratch"
Celyne touches zokon, healing him despite his protestations of being fine... but she only does so after cleaning his wound thoroughly.
Zokon feeling his senses clear of the fever fugue comes around.
"Thankyou, that was more of a close thing than i'd like, i'll have to take better care of myself if I get injured again"
We found dragon tracks... and bumped into a flee-bitten mutt, is what happened.
Worg.
She lets that sink in. He had a taste for gnome and we decided that wouldn't do. It spoke... like in the wive's tales.
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Numalar, unable to contribute to Zokon's medical aid, now sits on his bunk, trying to mend his torn clothing with a needle and thread borrowed from Svetlana. He looks up as they begin discussing their foe.
"Indeed. What Valeska says is true. It was a large wolf-like creature, but it could speak. It was clearly intelligent. After we defeated it, we left the scene quickly; Worgs often travel in packs. We will need to be careful; with Zokon and I bleeding we will have no doubt left a trail that others could follow by scent. We should certainly tether the horses inside the compound; there may be Worgs slinking around outside tonight. But I do not believe they can climb the walls."
Numalar looks back down at his sewing. The rents in his clothing are closed but clearly he is no seamstress.
"I suppose there are plenty of creatures like this out there. The horses had scattered but it may have been foolish to split up going after them. The Worg was particularly dangerous because it was able to ambush us. Had we seen it a long way off it would likely have been less of a threat as we have bows."
Numalar smiles at the others, and wanders over to Zokon and gives him a friendly pat on the shoulder. "But enough with the grim faces! We may have been attacked but we lived to tell the tale, and on the morrow all will be right again. This expedition is meant to be an adventure!"
Numalar pulls a jug of ale from his belongings. "Bring out your cups! A toast to a day survived and another victory under our belts. That is enough to count ourselves blessed in this hard land!" Numalar pours ale for whoever draws forth a cup and will join him in the toast.
After drinking the toast, Numalar looks over to Celyne. "Erm... if Zokon is out of danger, and you have some healing energy left, I could use a bit of attention."
Bella will certainly join in Numi's toast.
"Wolves that speak? That's incredible, Numalar. I thought such things were only tales for children. Never wander into the forest, we were told in the church."
As things settle down, Bella will look around to evaluate everyone's health. Who's still injured?
"Well i'm bushed, even after Celynes excellent healing my body is teeling me to stop, so I shall, I can take a later watch, I just need a bit of sleep now"
Zokon nibbles on a few rations has a bit of water to drink and then drags himself to the his bed and is out very quickly
Leaving Zokon to get some much needed rest, the others head back to the main hall where Svetlana has another tasty meal prepared. Venison stew with vegetables and potatoes provides another hearty offering for the group. Once again the ale and wine is brought out and toasts are made to celebrate the victory that day.
"You probably saved yourself some time by finding those horses," begins Oleg a few minutes into the meal, "but I imagine there will be others coming to to find out why they didn't return. Wouldn't you say so, Felton?"
Forcing down a bite of bread, Jon Felton nods his agreement. "I would think so. I wasn't in their camp but a few days but from what I understand Happs and the leader, Kressle, were very close. She'll be interested in knowing what happened to her love, if anything. I couldn't say for sure what she would do, I'm sorry. She could send a couple of men north again to look for them or she could rouse the whole camp. I just don't know." Felton returns to his meal after offering what knowledge he could.
"Either way, they'll be back," picks up Oleg. Turning to take in the assembled group he asks, "So what are you thoughts on what we need to do next?"
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"We had an advantage with the bandits facing them here. We had the advantage of surprise and caught them in close quarters. If we seek them out it is unlikely we will have that same advantage again."
"Perhaps for the next little while we should stay close to the fort here. We could do a bit of exploring in the area, but stay on the plains nearby and return here at night. If we face them here again it is unlikely we can ambush them again the way we did but we will still have the advantage of the walls. Taking them in their lair means that they would have the advantage."
"Maybe we can seek out this Bokken, who lives nearby. If he makes potions perhaps he can brew us up something that will give us more advantages for when we face those men."
"Bokken is a harmless old hermit, but he is just that, an old hermit," offers Oleg.
"He's more apt to ask you for something than he is to be willing to make something for you. It all depends on where his mind is at the time, what he has on hand, and what he'd like to brew up. He's also usually pretty wary of strangers also."
Oleg drinks from his mug of ale and sits back to look the group over, "I'm not tryin' to discourage you from visiting the old hermit, just want you to go in with eyes wide open as they say."
"Well I have no problem visiting this Bokken if the rest of you are interested." says Bella as she tucks into the meal. "I just want to make sure we're back in time just in case the bandits show up."
As she speaks, Bella's eyes open up
"Oh! Maybe we could do something to repair those siege weapons of your's Oleg. That will help protect this place."
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"Once again, fine meal Svetlana. You are an artist in the kitchen!" Turning to the rest of the party, "Perhaps tomorrow, we might take a ride out to explore the areas around the fort." Taking a swallow of stew Fronar addresses Oleg, "Are there any landmarks or areas of note in the nearby surrounding areas?"
Valeska seems in good spirits. They should be here tomorrow, I'm guessing. We should keep the new animals inside familiarize ourselves with the approaches.
Perhaps set up a camouflaged platform perch for a lookout with cover. We should rest or bodies and minds, finishing what we started.
"I like the idea of exploring a little bit around Oleg's while we wait for the bandits to decide their expedition force isn't coming back and they launch a second group. We don't have to go TOO far."
"I'm beginning to see Valeska's point of view. We should make sure we are ready for the bandit attack which may or may not arrive tomorrow whether sun or moon. It is probably best that we wait to explore at a later time. I do want to see the other places, but I think it is fair to say that the bandits are our first priority. We should defend here, at least for tomorrow. The last thing we want to happen is to be away during an attack."
Bella waits for a moment, thinking over what she has said.
"It's possible we could do a small scouting operation, to find out if the enemy is even coming. However we can't afford to be caught in the open."
"I think we should attack them and attempt suprise rather than allowing them to take the offence to us"
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"Friends, we have been told that the Swordlords have sent soldiers to garrison this place, and we are expecting them to arrive tomorrow. Perhaps we should wait to see if they arrive. If they do then we know that this outpost will not go undefended if we patrol the area. If they do not arrive then we should make other plans."
"And Lady Svetlana, a fine dinner as always. I nearly ended up as someone's lunch today; it makes one appreciate sitting down to dinner!"
Numalar smiles warmly at Svetlana, and then turns to the group.
Numalar once again has brought his jug of dwarven whiskey to the table, and pours for anyone who asks. "Here's to our hosts! he lifts up his mug in a toast. "It took bravery to set up an outpost here on the edge of the wild, and hard work to make this place habitable! My hat is off to you, sir and lady."
Numalar knocks back the whisky and supresses a shudder as it goes down harshly. He turns back to Oleg.
"Master Oleg, have you had the chance to look over the goods we took from the bandits? As I mentioned before we left to look for the horses, I don't think there is any need for you to pay us in coin; we would be happy to take payment in trade or credit. Perhaps we could open some sort of an 'account' with you? And while we are on the subject, perhaps after dinner we might have a look at what wares you have in stock?"
Svetlana smiles and momentarily blushes at the thanks for Numalar. "You are most welcome and thank you for your kind words," she says as she begins to clear the table.
Oleg nods to Numalar as he addresses him. "As we've said, you are welcome to stay here and enjoy my wife's delicious cooking without compensation. You are also welcome to look at any of the goods that I currently have on stock and we will work out some arrangement. Whether it be credit or trade in what you find while exploring. I will buy anything that I feel I can turn around and sell at 60% of its normal value. I have to be able to turn around and sell it for some profit after all."
With the planning that is going on, Felton turns to speak to Valeska.
"Lady Valeska, I believe you all have more and less time than you think."
Seeing the confused but interested look on the face of his subject, he continues, "You have more time than you think before the others may leave their camp. It takes a day and a half of travel from their camp to here, assuming you aren't in too much of a hurry. We were supposed to be here this morning, take time to load everything up and then head back toward the Narlmarch Wood where we would hopefully be at the edge of it before evening. We would camp there and then spend the next day moving south through the wood toward their camp."
"Kressle won't even be expecting the others to arrive back at their camp until tomorrow afternoon or evening. She will give them some time in case they were late before she gets worries. She's crazy, but I can't imagine she would want to leave the camp and move through the woods at night so they wouldn't send anyone until morning of the next day. Again, another day and a half of travel before they would reach Oleg's. Again, assuming they aren't in too much of a hurry and even then it doesn't cut down too much time from that."
"So, you have another day before they even become aware of the group missing and then another day before they could even make it here."
Felton pauses and takes another drink of his ale, hoping that his words are helpful. He then adds, "As to making a stand here... well, I'm sure you don't need me to warn you against the dangers of that. Kressle is crazy she would readily set it on fire and joyfully watch everyone burn to death if she believes you had anything to do with Happs' death."
"If that's the case, perhaps exploring is not such a bad idea. Sorry, I'm changing my mind by the minute here. I'm just getting too worked up about the bandit threat."
"We should probably keep the horses inside because of the worgs that Numalar encountered. I'm fine with looking after them during that time. We could keep a few for ourselves, and sell the remainder to Oleg. Also, it may not be a bad idea to look into the presence of these worgs, and if there is a dangerous pack nearby."
"Fortunately, the guards are supposed to arrive tomorrow, which frees us up tremendously."
Thank you, Jon. Please, Valeska will do... I've no title, neither by birth nor earned. It did have a nice ring to it, I'll admit.
In light of those logistics... I am not against some local exploration.
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"It seems to me that those of us without horses should probably keep one, even me. A horse can move faster than a person on foot, and I travel even slower than that, thanks to my short legs. Gertrude will do for now but she is not as fast as a horse."
"On the other hand, a horse is an obligation; there are no doubt many predators out there that might not be interested in us but would consider a horse a tasty dinner, and there are also no doubt many that would steal such a beast from us if they could. If that presents a problem for us, we could see if Master Oleg will take the horses off our hands, and we could travel by foot. This will take us longer, but protects us from this potential loss."
"Master Oleg, we have seen that you are skilled in carpentry but do you know anything about saddles? The ones we recovered are too large for me to use. I do have the one with which I ride Gertrude; do you think it could be adjusted to fit one of the horses? If not, and we are keeping the horses, I shall have to have a new one. The next time you are in Restov, perhaps you can inquire after one for me. There aren't many gnomes in Restov but there is a halfling quarter. No doubt the halflings have figured out that problem."
"In fact, while you are there you might inquire after Caraduck Thorpe, the halfling chandler that outfitted me for this expedition. He and I are friends; if you mention my name no doubt he will treat you favorably. Though he is a sharp bargainer to be sure. He will certainly also have a supply of Wandermeal; laying in a good supply of it would be useful as it makes for excellent trail rations. Though we cannot live on that alone."
"Let me show you something else." Numalar pulls out a pouch of saltpeter. "I use this saltpeter to augment my fiery breath. If you would keep a supply on hand I would be grateful. I also will occasionally need more bolts for my crossbow; I prefer ones with cold iron heads."
"For now perhaps I should look at what provisions you have in stock."
"Horses will allow us to get away from alot of potential problems as well as progress faster"
"Yes Oleg what provisions do you have and please make plans to acquire some more that we can purchase please"
Oleg shakes his head as Numalar asks about saddles. "I'm afraid modifying a saddle for you is beyond my abilities." The proprietor stands and exits the dining room to walk across the hallway to his office. With parchment and a quill and ink in hand he returns to his seat where he begins making notes. He writes out the items that Numalar requests, nodding his head at the mention of each.
"It may take some time on the saltpeter. That isn't an item that most merchants keep on hand in Restov. I will seek out this Caraduck Thorpe for the wandermeal." With all of the items cataloged, Oleg sets the parchment aside and caps the bottle of ink. "It may be several days before I can make my way to Restov, however. We will need to fix the wagon first and I definitely won't be leaving here until I feel comfortable that Svetlana will be safe from the bandits."