D'ogryn looks on at Naia and see her rage.
Just kidding around Naia....No offense intended.
As Soros talks...
Me...I am just a cook...That is what I can do and that is where my skills fall into.
Seeing the blank look on his face, he continues in hopes that the mage will understand.
I know things. I hear things. I know people. I know where to be and where not to be.
He lets a little smile creep onto his face.
You know, I am that book that you judge by the cover. Probably should avoid assuming things by appearances alone...it can be a very unhealthy habit. There is even more to the group that is assembled right here.
He looks at the rest of the group and continues to respond to the mages first comment.
A wizard you say...that explains a lot.
D'ogryn total ignores that metaphor comment as if it does not matter. He looks back at the eyes of the mage in a bored manner almost yawning.
Addressing the group as a whole.
The Goblins are the current threat that is true and it is obvious to everyone that the house is not going anywhere. We know that there is a trail that we can track them by and that they have archers. They carry sneezeweed charms and exotic plants that are not from this area. Anything else? Zove how long before Okware will lose the trail? Naia signed up for this and has selected some help that have agreed to aid her. I am on board as well. Rabalar...Edan..what say you. Would you be interested in joining for some time at least? I think the council has agreed on some type of payment...
[dice=Survival]1d20+8
Zove scans the skies for telling formations, becoming hyper-aware of the moisture on her face and its interplay with the winds...she could guess how this storm would play out...
"Hunting goblins to protect people is my job. This time as a caravan guard is supposed to be educational. Doesn't mean I can ignore work that falls into my lap." He looks to Zove. "I hope you're right. We could use that kind of break. No real rain and this sort of light mist will actually hold the tracks longer than no moisture would, even if it does tend to wash away the scent. Ehlonna must want this hunt to go well."
Edit:
"If one of you will carry my pack, I'll scout ahead some. It slows me down too much for me to hide properly as I travel."
The Party
You are on a dirt/cobblestone road that has seen the effect of a hard winter. It has ruts and potholes in it filled with dirty water. The smell of wet horse dung in spots helps to remind you that a wet road is not a pleasant smelling road. Patches of new spring grass shoot through in spots, mostly in the middle and on the edges. In spots where water has collected in pools on the north side of the road small streams make their way through the cobblestones to the south side of the road running their collective way into the seaside woods called the Penrost Woods.
Rabalar can tell that the tracks if any are actually there and haven't been muddied up or completely ruined by the town guard should be in good condition. AS he looks at both sidess of the road and the layout of the grounds. He suspects the trail will head into the woods on the seacliff side. With the rocky outcroppings and thick woods it would be easy to get lost in there for a small party of goblins. These damn things are going to be held up in there like ticks and if....Zove...is right they have some skill in woodcraft.
He nods his head in appreciation as Zove responds to his question. He agrees with Rabalar wanting to scout ahead.
He keeps a calm manner about him and his voice is neutral in tone.
Very well then let us waste no more time. Zove would you, Okware back up Rabalar as he takes point? Naia, Soros and then Edan will come next and I will take rearguard. Any objections to those plans?
Before anyone can speak. He speaks to the group as a whole but looks to Rabalar and Zove.
Anyone have knowledge about Goblins that they can pass along to the rest of us. Weaknesses strengths, habits, do they like to sleep during the day or night...that sort of thing.
When Rabalar asks about his pack.
I can take it but if we get into trouble I will drop it right away.
Skittering along just to the side of the road, Rabalar moves along watching for signs of the wagon attack, or anything else unexpected. When he sees the riders he stops before moving back towards the group.
"A group on horseback about half a mile ahead, on the land side of the road. I saw five horses. Not really sure about the size or type of the riders." He looks to each in the group. "You asked what any of us might know about goblins? They are sneaky, ruthless, and prefer traps and ambushes over stand-up fights. They love terrain like the rocky forest on the seaward side of the road because it creates advantage for them against bigger creatures like us. Between that and the fact they are more likely to eat horses than ride them, I'm expecting the riders not to be goblins. I would still think the cat will be better not seen by them, whoever they are."
Naia listens attentively.
"And us besides - if they have not seen us yet. Let us find out who they are without them locating us. I agree they are not the goblins we search for."
D'ogryn listens to Rabalar and Naia.
Good to know that information about Goblins and I agree we should move off and hide from these people. Slavers have been know to travel these roads.
Party
As Rabalar alerts, the party to the watchers and the party makes its way east along the road each of them take quick looks at the watchers on horseback. As they close to about third of a mile away the horsemen turn their horses away from the road and disappear from sight as they make their way down the backside of the hill and apparently ride off north or north east...it is hard to tell as they fall behind the wooded hill.
"Well, I wonder if they saw us or not, and, more to the point, I wonder where they were headed, and where they are headed now. Curious."
Staring long and hard at the distant riders.
Did anyone else see that? All riders appear to be human or of mix blood human...but they seem to have trouble with the horses. As if they never rode before or the horses are not theirs and or the animals are fighting agaisnt the action.
The Party
Thirty minutes go by since the riders left and all had been quiet. As Rabalar begins to round the turn north and back south with the slight S curve in the road he can see the overturned wagon and the contents spread out in a chaotic pattern around the wagon. Rabalar notices the point of ambush was well thought out. The S curve isolated the wagon from view on both the east and west sides of the road. The wood on the south side also tightened to the road and a large copse of pines on the north side is about thirty yards or so from the road.
Rabalar’s first thought at seeing it; The farmer and his son were lucky to escape this alive.
Either unskilled riders or unfamiliar mounts, possibly both.
As Rabalar scouts ahead, Soros poses a quiet query to the rest of the party. "Do we know if the farmer's horses were recovered? If not, perhaps they are the riders' mounts."
Naia waits until the scouts are done thoroughly inspecting the area, then she will head into the scene and absent minded lay pick up a discarded item or three and place them on the wagon.
"What a mess!" she sighs and stands pensive, unsure what else to do.
Hmm. Not really my wheelhouse. She looks around, seeing if she can tell anything at all out of the ordinary.
"Really good ambush point. This was well thought out. Goblins could have laid this out, but unless they have a history of hitting wagons right here, they would normally take several attacks to find a spot this perfect. Do they have a history of hitting vehicles here?" He scans the perimeter of the "crash", looking for evidence of the raider's approach/departure.
Naia shake her head.
"We don't have a lot of trouble with goblins do we Zove, D'og?"
I have not heard anything in the past but then again I have not been here long. So my knowledge on Saltmarsh and goblin relationships is limited
"I recall warnings about goblins from my youth; as for more recent activity..." Soros looks pensive as he thinks on the matter.
With a simple answer, D'Ogryn responds to Zove
I do not speak for everyone but I tend to lean towards there are no such thing as coincidence.
Looking over the debris.
He looks towards the area that the goblins may have gone.
Are we ready to move forward after these creatures?
"Well, I wonder if they saw us or not, and, more to the point, I wonder where they were headed, and where they are headed now. Curious."
"I recall warnings about goblins from my youth; as for more recent activity..." Soros looks pensive as he thinks on the matter.
[dice=Knowledge (local) / Keoland]1d20 + 7
"The Dreadwood is home to the Forest Bugbears, close goblinoid relatives perhaps...eradicating them would be next to impossible, I think, without substantial damage to the forest itself. Still evidence pointed to these particular ones coming from beyond the Dreadwood...we may face some new threat, or perhaps they were driven here by an even greater force." she pauses, her suspicion of the caravan boiling up again "Hmm, where was that caravan hailing from again? Could it be simple coincidence that two foreign parties arrive at the same time?"
"Really good ambush point. This was well thought out. Goblins could have laid this out, but unless they have a history of hitting wagons right here, they would normally take several attacks to find a spot this perfect. Do they have a history of hitting vehicles here?" He scans the perimeter of the "crash", looking for evidence of the raider's approach/departure.
[dice=Survival(for Tracking)]1d20+5
Rabalar and Zove reach the overturned wagons. Rabalar begins his search of the area. Zove sees Okware come inward to the wagon and begins to quickly sniff the area and turns to face south and skirts to the edge of the tree line, stops, turns back towards Zove, sniffs the ground. He then paces up and down the tree line and stops at several points looking back into the treeline and back towards Zove. He doesn't appear to be tense.
Rabalar notices burn marks on the wagon in several places like a torch hit it. There are also scorch marks on the ground and several spots where something was burned up. Several crates have been cracked open as if something got to the chickens or fowls inside and took them out. Several arrows are stuck in the wagon as well. Rabalar can see from examining the wagon that the first strike was from the north. The horses turned away to the south as the driver reacted. Then suddenly the wagon tried to take a sharp turn back west but overturned. The passenger was thrown ten feet into some bushes while the driver more than likely jumped as the wagon overturned; his footprints clearly show he landed on his feet and then turned to the bushes where the other one landed on his back or side. At that point it gets hazy but there was plenty of tracks all around the area, all goblin, as if they focused on the wagon and the horses. The wooden bar appears to have shattered as the wagon flipped and the four horses took off to the east. From the looks of it, no horses were harmed as they broke loose of the ambush almost immediately. The two farmers appear to have managed to hide in the bushes and then fled back toward Saltmarsh has the goblins focused on the wagon. The rain and the fact the wagon was soaked stopped it from catching fire.
Zove notices several arrows are sneezeweed laced and alerts Rabalar. From the looks of the arrows they came from the trees on both sides so that the goblins would have the advantage of height.
From what Rabalar and Zove can tell the band numbered between eight to fourteen but it is hard tell due to the mud and scattered trails.
With a simple answer, D'Ogryn responds to Zove
I do not speak for everyone but I tend to lean towards there are no such thing as coincidence.Looking over the debris.
[dice=perception]1d20+5He looks towards the area that the goblins may have gone.
Are we ready to move forward after these creatures?
D'ogryn realizes quickly as Rabalar and Zove inspect the area that these are not skills he has and can't even figure out what direction they came from. In less than ten minutes the two seem to figure out not only what happened but who did it and the number of these little scoundrels that did it. He does see Okware roaming the edge of the southern woods. There doesn't seem to be anything of value left around the wagon. At one time there appeared to be eighteen to twenty crates for chickens along with what looked like homemade brooms, brushes, and combs that were handmade. None of it is usable at this point. You notice the scorch marks all around the wagon and on the wagon but it appears nothing caught. There were a few items that caught and burned to ash that came off the wagon.
The wizard stands back from the wagon wreck until Rabalar and Zove have completed their inspection, then moves in to study the various burn patterns with a critical eye. Marks made by common fire, or arcane flames?
The wizard stands back from the wagon wreck until Rabalar and Zove have completed their inspection, then moves in to study the various burn patterns with a critical eye. Marks made by common fire, or arcane flames?
[dice=Spellcraft / Determine if burns are result of a spell or magical effect]1d20 + 7
Soros studies the burn marks and the pile of ash and items that caught fire. As he studies the area he notices the remains of burned out stubs of homemade torches. Maybe three to four of them and in addition to this you can see that several of the arrows were also on fire in flight when they hit the ground and the wagon.
Okware The black cat turns to Zove makes a low growl, makes a circle, and then turns back to the woods and lays down in a readied prone position with his ears back as if ready to pounce.
Torches and arrows, it seems. Promisingly crude.
"I see no evidence of magic," he announces to the party. He gestures towards Zove. "If there's nothing else to be learned here, let's investigate to the south."
"Yes, let us continue our search. For the goblins." Naia drops a piece of broken cage and wipes her hands off on her breeches.
"A dozen. I do not care for those odds, no matter how small they be." Naia shivers.
It only takes one harpoon to drag a whale in...
""This ambush was expertly done. I see no signs of anything other than goblins having been involved, which is troublesome. A group this well organized and disciplined poses a serious threat." He points to the cat. "Okware leaves no doubt which way they went, and it is towards the terrain they should favor." He turns to the locals. "Do any of you know enough of the terrain for us to go around and come back towards that area from another side? I can estimate it, but nothing beats knowing the land."
D'ogryn looks over at Zove and Naia...
You two are the locals...
Party
Rabalar and Zove move towards Okware who turns to Zove purs softly as they approach and then rubs his nose to the ground and looks into the forest.
Rabalar sees that there are several footpaths into the woods on either side of Okware. They are well hidden and the use of the low brush and ferns helps to disguise them from a glancing inspection. Zove sees that pines, birch and scrub oaks fill this forest along with ferns, forest grass, and various saplings ringed around rocks jutting from the ground. The ground is uneven and the forest is not dense but thick enough to slow travel. The ground is covered in pine needles, composted leaves, twigs, and dead branches. Each step brings a crunch on the soft ground beneath it. As the rest of the party approaches Edan can see that Rabalar is tense as is the grip on his bow. There is a look of a predator ready to take his position on a hunt much like the large hunting cat next to him. Edan knew that Rabalar had a certain disposition to disliking goblins. He was unsure of the reason but he could see the desire to hunt in Rabalar's eyes.
The sounds of songbirds and wood sparrows, as well as blue jays, fill the forest with sounds of nature communicating back and forth throughout the wood. Occasionally they see a squirrel or a rabbit move away from the edge of the woods and onto the many small game paths.
The calm before the storm...
Naia shakes her head to Rabalar's question.
"Not me. I'm...out of my depth here..." Naia smiles at her own joke.
Zove
Zove doesn't see any sign of traps. There are no branches out of place or any locations on the ground that seem disturbed or discolored. From what she can tell the two trails from the edge seem to bleed together near a small rise about sixty or seventy feet into the woods.
The Party
Rabalar, Zove and Okware enter the woods as the remainder of the party fans out in a line looking inward into the forest. It is only three to four hours at most past noonday and the light breeze and cool moist air can still be felt on the adventurer's bare skin. As the cool air hits the excitement of stepping off into the woods and the unknown can be felt for each of the new adventurers on their first official expedition.
Rabalar moves quietly inward staying a few feet of to the east of the nearby trail going up the rise. Zove stays in the middle of the two trails and moves in concert and about ten feet behind Rabalar while Okware on Zove's command moves off to the west side of the far trail and stays just ahead of Rabalar. The slow, methodical movement of the three makes D'orgryan, Soros, Naia, and Edan uncomfortable knowing if there is an ambush or a trap they could easily be cut off from their three companions now nearly thirty to forty feet away.
As Okware starts to sniff the trail and the area around it his head pops up as if alerted by some unseen movement. In that instant Rabalar and Zove tense with their heads moving from left to right looking for an ambush or trap that never comes. Instead, a rabbit that was hiding in the brush just a few feet in front of the suspicious cat a scared rabbit shoots off down the animal trail. Okware quickly stiffens to give chase and Zove quickly heels the hunting cat. Rabalar still seems to be scanning the forest knowing that there is a very good chance they are being watched.
D'ogryn sees the activity at the forest's edge and almost as quickly drops into a more natural defensive stance and then says a few quick curse words under his breath from the initial shock. Soros tenses for those first few moments and then relaxes sees Rabalar and goes back to quickly inspecting the forest around their three companions. Naia and Edan act in concert as the three in front of them quickly respond to the rabbit looking back over their shoulders and to their flanks. Naia with her large harpoon and Edan with his short sword.
As they all realize after a few moments it was false alarm they begin to relax. The three make it up the rise and Rabalar scans the forest as it drops out gradually to the south into a small valley with fingers and hollows weaving out in many directions. Rock outcroppings can be seen and Rabalar and Zove quickly realize this is a maze of woods, rocks, tall forest grass and ferns mixed with broken ground that could easily conceal an army of goblins. A few minutes later the remaining members of the party make their way up the trails and to the rise and stand by the party.
Rabalar guesses they are about five miles east of the town maybe a smidge more.
"As I feared. Their perfect terrain, and we're coming in the front door. Be very cautious. They already have been."
Assuming the group chooses to keep moving in from this direction, the olf will attempt to minimize his signature . . ..
Naia stares hungrily at the receding rabbit. Then looks at her harpoon. She smiles wistfully, shrugs her shoulders and creeps after Zove and Rabalar. Fairly noisily.
[+2 Dex, -2 chainmail, -1 buckler]
Soros hangs back thirty feet, content to let their scouts perform their duties without his interference. Even so, he crouches down and attempts to carefully place his footfalls so as not to be too much of a giveaway from a distance. If we are attacked, I should be able to move up to maintain optimal distance to both halves of the party...