Picking up the sleeping child, you make your way back the way you came, lest you encounter any other surprises left behind down previously unexplored passages. Realizing that it would be difficult, indeed dangerous, to try and climb back up the crevice with the helpless child in hand, you are forced to take the elevator the kobolds had rigged up in the old well shaft.
Taking turns riding upward, lest the contraption buckle beneath too much weight, you return to the upper level of the monastery cellar. Edgrin and the other children are there waiting for you.
"Hollin!" Kimi exclaims as she and her other friends crowd around to check on the boy. Looks of worry cross their faces, but these subside as they see that he is merely unconscious and not dead.
The five children - Kimi Eavewalker, Jurin Kreed, Mikra Jabbs, Savram Vade, and Hollin Hebbradan - despite this long night's misadventure are all safe thanks to you.
Edgrin wipes a thick swath of dirt and sweat from his forehead with the tattered sleeve of his doublet, and a look of relief washes across the halfling adventurer's face. Much like Dugan's battle frenzy, Edgrin's determined confidence had reached its limits, but the sight of the rescued children allows him to breathe easier.
"You folks really did it," he sighs heavily. "You've done the work of real heroes."
He looks around the well room, and a bitter look of pained dismay crosses his face briefly, as though stung by a bee.
"I'm supposing that Tyran didn't make it?" he says with resignation, eyes cast upon the floor. "He...at least he did not die in vain. The children are safe. He would be grateful that you finished what we started."
"It's the best we could do, I'm sorry for your loss. We'll need to bring the children back home to Falcons Hollow but... would you take them the last of the way and explain what happened?"
"We would have saved him also if we could have. May his soul find peace."
Inconnu's request surprises Edgrin.
"Well, sure, I could escort them," the halfling says, "But aren't you coming? You're the heroes who've carried the day. You deserve the accolades surely waiting for you in town."
Kimi steps forward, defiantly, and seconds Edgrin's concern.
"Yeah, you're heroes! You saved these sorry sots. The town has to forgive you for..."
The headstrong girl cuts herself off, casting a suddenly self-conscious glance over her shoulder at Jurin.
The way he looks at the party, especially Ulark, bespeaks his knowledge of what you have done in town. At the same time, you have saved his life from a very awful fate. He is very unsure of how to feel about his rescuers, torn between his competing gratefulness and grief.
Inconnu sighs "Sometimes when you do the right thing not everyone sees it that way. Not straight away. Our presence in town would be complicated. Knowing you all safely back there will be enough."
He put's his hand on Kimi's shoulder "They'll understand in time, but we wont be back there for a little while at least. Give some time for tempers to cool."
Ulark looked away, filled with conflicting emotions. On one hand he knew that in his heart he had done what was right. On the other, his actions meant that his friends now had to flee their homes. The world was proving to be a complicated place. He was glad that Inconnu was here, as he did not know If he had it in him to explain his actions at the moment.
'Rescuing these kids should go a long way towards winning over the townsfolk. Maybe see how things swing for a day or two before poking our heads out?'
Dugan turns to Kimi. 'We got real lucky down here, but we're not out of trouble yet. Still gotta make it back to the town and survive that. You did good down here, but you're going to have to keep doing good.'
"Forgiveness has to be given by each individual whom negatively effected directly and indirectly, it is not something that is automatically given if one does a good deed.
And some sins can't be so easily forgiven."
Micheo does recall who Jurin's father is - was.
"There must be justice. And sometimes that can be a hard thing."
"We have other deeds that must be done before we should return regardless of how people feel about us. Falcon's Hollow has suffered enough."
The party's words have the combined effect of convincing Edgrin, allaying Kimi - and seemingly appeasing Jurin. The grieving young boy at least offers no complaints, remaining silent as the group climbs out from the cellar and emerges from the ruined monastery.
You find no backstabbing wolves waiting for you on the surface, both to your surprise and relief. However, you do discover a few fresh kobold bodies - suggesting that Graypelt and his pack already unleashed their ambush upon a few hapless members of the fleeing tribe, thus sating their hunger for revenge upon them.
The sky has grown a dark blue as night slowly wanes into approaching dawn. Although they accept that you cannot follow them back to town, Edgrin and the children ask that you at least escort them out of the forest. In particular, Edgrin asks that you wait until the river crossing, where the Darkmoon River meets the River Foam, to part ways.
"We can manage that much."
”Agreed. It would be remiss of us to not see this through to the best of our abilities.”
"We'll get you close enough don't worry."
"It would be best for the children..."
The march out of the forest wears heavily upon everyone. As the last adrenaline of battle fades from your veins, the ache in your limbs, the soreness in your feet, and the weight of your eyelids all make themselves known. Hollin and Jurin remain quiet, but Savram and Mikra complain politely about their exhaustion.
"Quit your bellyaching," Kimi chastises them, although even the tough girl seems to be slowing in her movements. However, she clearly does not want to show weakness in front of her friends, and especially her mentor, Dugan.
You pause a few times for everyone to catch your breath and rest your feet. Even Edgrin shares the children's level of exhaustion. This slows your progress, and the sky has filled with morning's light by the time you emerge from the forest and hear the river's call ahead.
"Saranrae be praised. It is a beautiful sunrise."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Inconnu will take turns giving some of the children piggy back rides for periods if they want.
Mikra especially jumps upon Inconnu's offer of a piggyback ride, almost literally jumping upon the bard. With cajoling from Kimi, though, he offers Savram and Hollin their turns. Jurin and Kimi, meanwhile, stay on their own feet.
You reach the familiar crossing where the water of the Darkmoon flows into the Foam. It is here that you also feel the familiar weight of exhaustion halting your steps. Edgrin and the children have enough stamina to at least carry them to the farmsteads north of town before they can go no farther.
"I won't force you to return to town with us. In fact, I doubt that I could," Edgrin says with a moon-faced smile, wiping the sweat from his brow. "But I won't lie. I intend to tell every Valer who'll listen who it was that really saved these children. Once I get a new lute, I'll be singing it, too. For now, though, I bid thee well."
Each child offers a goodbye in their own way. Savram nods quietly, in contrast to Mikra's almost babbling, good-natured thanks. Jurin keeps his eyes turned away and tends to Hollin, who repeats "I'm okay" like a mantra. Finally, while Kimi refuses to apologize to Dugan for not staying behind, she hopes she otherwise made her mentor proud.
The halfling escorts the children south across the river, leaving the party at the water-side crossroads.
Before Kimi is able to cross, Dugan draws her into a deep hug. 'I'm only harsh because I care. You watch after the rest of them, you're the only one I trust.' The dwarf swallows the tears as the girl and her companions cross the river.
"Well, what now?' He says, trying to reassert his gruff demeanor.
"To the crossing, as we discussed."
"We travel for a time at least... honestly if the Sheriff makes a concentrated effort with how tired we are he'll catch us but hopefully he's not going to try too hard today at least. Even then lets give him an excuse and get further away from town, as close as we can to the crossing before we have to rest."
”An execellent plan.” Ulark muttered. His own exhaustion adding to his guilt over how his actions had put his friends through all of this.
Sending Edgrin and the children ahead has the twofold benefit of giving you a short time to rest before pressing on while also ensuring that their safe return will create a considerable distraction for the sheriff and other locals.
Nevertheless, fatigue sets in as you push yourselves further, inching south along the riverside towards the ferry dock in town. Still, it will require caution and cunning to reach the ferry and cross the river without attracting unwanted attention.
”I will sneak past. And it’s best that I do so alone. I’m the one that they are mainly after. I’ll keep my cloak up and will sneak aboard the ferry when none are watching. If I am caught, then I will answer for my crimes. The rest of you can more easily blend in with the locals without me there. How does that sound?”
'I'd rather not have you in alone, in case those wooden-headed loggers get a hold of you before the sheriff does. I don't have a better suggestion, though.'
"Wait I think I remember a short cut..."
"A shortcut seems wise."
Inconnu recalls that it is possible to traverse the river's edge within the town's limits by moving beneath the docks and piers. This hidden path is popular with smugglers, Redrock guilders...and local youths hoping to find some privacy. It is cramped, dirty, and will require some crawling, but it is a good way to remain out of sight.
However, the bard also remembers a possible ford upriver from town.
Located near the Opal farmstead is a point known as the Goblin's Teeth. A number of large stones sit along the river's bottom, usually only exposed when the river runs low during droughts. Old stories claim they were hurled by hired giants during the Goblinblood Wars, but there is no proof to this claim. These stones cause trouble when loggers attempt to float felled trees downriver because, depending on the river's height, they can cause logjams.
This potential crossing is much closer and will remove the need to return to town, but stepping atop these barely submerged boulders could be treacherous.
'I don't really fancy another tricky crossing of the river. I nearly drowned last time' Dugan grumbles.
"Its the best I can think of bar the ferry I'll admit."
"I also do not relish a swim."
"Run the chance of Redrock guild members, or chance some swimming?
I'll take the chance on a swim."
It is a slow, tiring march back to the palisade hemming in Falcon's Hollow. You step down to the river's edge and proceed along the muddy banks. The sound of the sawmill is almost deafening, and the growl of the waterwheel and saws covers even the clank of Micheo's armor.
The going is dirty, wet, and slow, but you are able to cross town and reach the ferry dock without attracting any attention.
A small bit of fortune smiles upon you, as the ferry has just arrived at this side of the river. Unfortunately, this is because it has just carried a small merchant caravan into town. Ulark, Joanne, and Inconnu recognize the woman supervising as the wagons disembark from the flat wooden ferry. Ayda Vorshin runs weekly caravans from Olfden to Falcon's Hollow, bringing better quality goods for the High Market.
"Ayda will not have been in town for a week, she'd not know yet about anything that has transpired I wager. It might be wise for us to see if she might have some information about the road ahead of us on the other side."
"That makes sense. Let us speak with her."
Vorshin is so focused on berating her animal drivers that she does not initially notice you emerge from the riverside, beneath the docks and piers. It is only when you are quite close that she turns to face you. She eyes Dugan and Micheo with brief curiosity, but the sight of Inconnu, Ulark, and Joanne elicits a snorting sigh from her.
"What business do you bring me?" the half-orc woman asks, almost like a challenge. Her eyes dart around warily before she leans in and speaks in a more hushed tone, "Did you hope that if you pooled enough money something might 'fall' off one of my carts?"
Micheo stays quiet, being new to town.
Dugan looks over the carts briefly. 'It all looks pretty secure to me.'
Ulark walked forward and took out the adamantine hammer.
”We came to you for three things. To offload this. To get a ride out of here without anyone knowing. And for you to not ask questions about the first two. Can you manage that?”
”Take a look at this hammer. Dwarven craftsmanship, you won’t find anything like it. It’s ancient, from before their fall from power, and yet perfectly preserved all these years later. Made out of pure adamantine. This hammer alone is worth more than all of the lumber in Falcon’s Hollow. And it is *much* easier to move quietly, don’t you agree? It’s well worth over three thousand gold. But, as we are in something of a hurry...all we ask for is that old traveling cloak of yours*, the bracers I could never afford which change clothes*, and to get us across the river. You get the hammer, you get the profit, and nobody ever knows of the fortune you just made, or that we were ever here. What do you say?”
Micheo speaks up briefly.
"The hammer is as he say, as is where it came from.", he says with absolute certainty in a quiet voice.
Ayda eyes both the hammer and Ulark with arched eyebrows, her interest clearly snared. During the rare festivals held in Falcon's Hollow, such as when Quinn's Carnival rolls into town, the mercenary-turned-caravaneer relishes competing against Ulark in tests of strength.
"If I knew there were items like this left in those old dwarf ruins, maybe I wouldn't have settled down with the caravan," she muses with interest before shaking her head and dismissing the idea. "Nah. It's much easier and safer bleeding coins out of these Valers. Well, I'm more than willing to trade my old cloak for that fine hammer, as for the bracers...eh, let that slip rant and rave about how I'm dressed. If Salk's gonna turn me away because I'm not up to her standards, let her explain to Kreed why my caravan got turned away at the gate."
Ayda unclasps her cloak then removes the stained leather bracers from her arms, handing them over to Ulark and quickly seizing the adamantine hammer. She hefts the weapon and tests its balance, thoroughly impressed by the quality.
"As for passage, ol' Frick here knows that when I say so, he's to carry someone across - no charge, no questions," she says with a predatory smile aimed at the gray-bearded ferryman.
She finishes rolling the last of her carts off the ferry, her new prized weapon in hand, before leaving you to cross safely to the southern side of the River Foam.
Ulark thew the cloak on and pulled the hood over his head. He clasped on the bracers, and his clothes shimmered and shifted. Rather than appearing as his usual self, a woodcutter of Falcon’s Hollow, he was now dressed in functional traveler’s garb.
”Alright then. That’s one problem taken care of. Let’s get moving.”
"Well she's not going to admit she bought a hammer from a group of 'outlaws' like us. Let's travel a short while more when we get to the other side before finding a plot to set up camp... I'm exhausted at this point, it's been a long day."
Plopping down on the ferry, as Frick and his sons pole and rope the way across the river's lazy current, is a welcome respite, albeit all too brief. Despite the sun climbing ever higher in the sky above, you each feel on the verge of slumber.
You are soon on the far side of the River Foam, the northernmost verge of the Darkmoon Plain. Old, weathered stone markers signal the start of the road that winds south towards Olfden and Adamas - although you hardly feel up to beginning the trek just yet.
With Falcon's Hollow still within sight across the river, you feel some measure of comfort setting up camp - far more than in the heart of the Darkmoon Wood. Nevertheless, the tales of lycanthropes and wicked druids spread by loggers and Consortium foremen creep to mind despite yourselves.
"Lets at least be out of sight and eat something... we-" Inconnu yawns "We should set up watch if anyone could keep their eyes open for a while. I'm not so confident."