"Aye, fresher is certainly better"
The party continues to follow the slightly fresher tracks.
Grenwold nods and leads everyone on the fresher tracks, as they had asked.
Not a minute after resuming their hike, Grenwold spots the corpse of a horse at the bottom of the ridge, some of its legs and hooves sticking out from under a pile of branches.
Could be a bloody faerie - though the flighty little things don't usually walk, so I suppose it's probably not that. This time, at least...
"It's not like it's going anywhere," the hermit crossly observes from the ridge line. "Unlike whoever we're trying to catch."
Grenwold notices the same.
"No, but a short detour wouldn't take too long. If a horse slipped, someone could be hurt nearby." He looks like he might want to help, but will defer to the others.
Dommer doesn't notice the same of his colleagues. Yet, the Dwarf approaches with a stern look.
This could very well be a trap too. Grenwold, however, may have a point - the short detour shouldn't take us too long, and if there's someone hurt, we should go help... Carefully and expecting an ambush.
He briefly pauses.
Decide fast if you're coming with me to check. - he concludes, crossing his arms and waiting.
Grenwold smiles slightly at Dommer's taking charge, "um, well, if we check carefully, we can avoid a trap this time..." He looks around furtively, whispering "I can sneak forward as I search; maybe avoid giving us away."
Vale nods at Dommer's offer and begins to head down the ridge with the dwarf and the gnome.
The older trail leads directly to the covered horse. Inspecting the area, Vale finds no traps but makes a stunning discovery after lifting a few branches off the equine corpse, finding not a dead horse but a recently deceased centaur. The corpse appears approximately one week old; signs of small scavengers can already be seen. An empty backpack can be seen, discarded a few feet away, along with a few other pieces of garbage and scraps of torn paper.
Luke follows others.
"We should follow the first trail we were on to its end. . . though we will have to find these centaurs' camp at some point as well, it seems that something is killing them- possibly the same hobgoblins we are fighting."
Dommer inspects the scene, keeping his bow at hands. Not only he inspects the body, but also he makes sure to collect the paper and review the backpack and garbage.
I wonder if his people would recognize these things as being his. Maybe we could try to form some dialog with them. I'd love to bury him, but we're truly pressed on time. Let's maybe cover the body with some bushes and, like you said... Get back on the road. - says the Dwarf.
"I agree with Dommer and Arthur. It would be good to make more friends - the centaur are enigmatic, but as I recall, largely noble folk. But let's get back to the trail as soon as we can." He joins Dommer and looking for a bush to cover the creature, and will whisper a short prayer to Shelyn, wiping a tear away, as they depart.
"Perhaps when we find the centaur's later carry it to them so they can bury him themselves to their own customs."
Herman stands at the top of the ridge with his arms crossed and his foot tapping impatiently. "You do realize that whoever we're following killed the hobgoblin, right?" he asks the others as they return, speaking slowly as if to give them time to think. "And now there's a dead centaur. It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots - they killed the centaur, then killed the hobgoblin. We're lucky they haven't decided we're worth killing yet." From the tone of his voice, it seems probable he found a lemon or something equally sour to eat during his wait.
Collecting the paper, Dommer realizes this is a letter someone tore out.
The party manages to put all the paper pieces back together and they can all momentarily read a letter that's been torn out...
Grenwold squints at the hastily assembled note, ”odd - maybe the centaur was an enemy, after all. And the children of stone are the troglodytes we fought? If this is an enemy- who killed him? The same person that killed the hobgoblin!?” He frowns and looks confused, sighing. ”I’ve seen enough if we want to return to the high ridge.” When everyone’s ready, he marches Ringo back up to their earlier path.
The heroes resume their hike following the trail meandering along the top of the ridge, which climbs steadily throughout the rest of the day. Well before the sun dips over the horizon, the forest threatens to fall in utter darkness due to the presence of large cedars almost everywhere, coupled with heavy undergrowth and bushes of every species you've ever seen. The heroes think they may have approximately 20 minutes of dim light left to setup camp. Arthur, Grenwold and Ringo are parched for the lack of water on this first hard day of tracking (unless someone has shared with you three; water is nowhere in sight here on top of this ridge). You are all hungry beyond the ability to ignore your growling stomachs.
Dommer: durable arrow (80); Other Gear +1 hornbow, orc (+2 Str), artisan's tools, masterwork, arrows (100), longbow, cloak of resistance +1, ring of protection +1, belt pouch, blanket[APG], masterwork backpack[APG], soap, spider's silk rope (50 ft.)[APG], trail rations (5), waterskin, 1 sp
Arthur: arrows (10), +1 hide (darkleaf cloth) armor (+4 AC, 0 armor check, +6 Max Dex), daggers (3), +1 halberd, halberd, longbow, +1 spiked heavy darkwood shield (+2 AC, 0 armor check, piercing damage)
Spring Loaded Wrist Sheathe Loaded- left dueling dagger, right machete; left boot- dagger; back- spear, light steel quickdraw shield, Antitoxin
Shaman Vale: headband of inspired wisdom +2; chainmail; muleback cords; bolts, crossbow (10); waterskin, filled; morningstar, cold iron; dagger; Crossbow, Light ; Backpack, Carrier [ Bedroll; Mess Kit; Sack; Soap; Chunk of Meat (x6); Rations, Trail (x4); ]; Sack [ Grappling Hook, Common; Rope (50 ft.); ]; Spell Component Pouch ; Waist Pouch [ Flint and Steel; Candle; String (50 ft.); Twine (50 ft.); Chalk; ]; Bandolier ; Wrist Sheath, Spring Loaded [ Wand of Cure Light Wounds; ] 0th - detect magic , know direction (DC ) , light , stabilize (DC 15)
Grenwold: +1 agile breastplate[APG], +1 darkwood heavy wooden shield, mwk cold iron glaive, mwk longsword, mwk silver warhammer, paueliel composite longbow (+1 Str), traveler's any-tool[UE], area map[UE], average lock, bandolier[UE], bear trap[APG], bear trap[APG], canteen[UE], climber's kit, crowbar, holy symbol, cold iron, ink, inkpen, iron spike[APG] (4), mapmaker's kit[APG], masterwork backpack[APG], mwk manacles, parchment (10), piton (5), poncho[UE], saddlebags, signal whistle, silk rope (100 ft.), smoked goggles[APG], spell component pouch, waterproof bag[UE], waterproof hooded lantern[UE], wrist sheath, spring loaded, wrist sheath, spring loaded, 344 gp, 7 sp, 4 cp; . . 0 (at will)—detect magic, grasp, guidance, light, mending, stabilize
Ringo: mwk studded leather, military saddle, training harness[ARG], tusk blades
Herman: headband of intellect +2, cloak of resistance +1; haramaki, hanbo, dagger, sling, sling with 10 bullets, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, candles (10), chalk (10), a flint and steel, ink, inkpen, iron pot, mess kit, soap, spell component pouch, torches (10), trail rations (5 days), waterskin, 972 gp; - 0 (at will) detect magic, ghost sound (DC 14), light, prestidigitation
Luke: acid, alchemist's fire; Scale Mail; +1 adamatine greatsword, shortbow with 20 arrows, backpack, bedroll, crowbar, grappling hook,
hemp rope (50 ft.), tankard, torch (3), trail rations (2), waterskin, Ioun Torch, wand of cure light wounds (48), belt of mighty constitution +2
Grenwold begins to set up his own camp, and will offer to put bear traps at obvious approach points, before gathing a bit of firewood and making a fire for everyone. He exclaims, "Whew, well... I didn't think we would be gone this long - if anyone has any food - I'd appreciate it - I don't eat much. I'm going to see if Ringo can eat any of the grass around here."
As the others hunt and forage for food, the woodcutter will assemble a small camp for them and, if time allows, help with the food part. He will offer to take the darkest parts of the night (middle shift) as his eyes are simply more trained for it, and he doesn't have spells to recover to need continuous sleeping.
The group set to work at various tasks, with Dommer chopping wood and gathering branches for a group shelter while Grenwold leaves with Ringo to seek foraging grounds for his noble beast.
After approximately two hours of performing camp preparation duties, Dommer, Herman and Shaman Vale begin to notice some humanoid shapes in the woods up north (yellow area on the map), watching them. Herman is pretty sure he can see the glint of a nocked arrow on one of the hidden figures. It's hard to count them as they sit still... might be two or three or more...
Trees The most important terrain element in a forest is the trees, obviously. A creature standing in the same square as a tree gains partial cover, which grants a +2 bonus to Armor Class and a +1 bonus on Reflex saves. The presence of a tree doesn’t otherwise affect a creature’s fighting space, because it’s assumed that the creature is using the tree to its advantage when it can. The trunk of a typical tree has AC 4, hardness 5, and 150 hp. A DC 15 Climb check is sufficient to climb a tree. Medium and dense forests have massive trees as well. These trees take up an entire square and provide cover to anyone behind them. They have AC 3, hardness 5, and 600 hp. Like their smaller counterparts, it takes a DC 15 Climb check to climb them.
Undergrowth Vines, roots, and short bushes cover much of the ground in a forest. A space covered with light undergrowth costs 2 squares of movement to move into, and provides concealment. Undergrowth increases the DC of Acrobatics and Stealth checks by 2 because the leaves and branches get in the way. Heavy undergrowth costs 4 squares of movement to move into and provides concealment with a 30% miss chance (instead of the usual 20%). It increases the DC of Acrobatics checks by 5. Heavy undergrowth is easy to hide in, granting a +5 circumstance bonus on Stealth checks. Running and charging are impossible. Squares with undergrowth are often clustered together. Undergrowth and trees aren’t mutually exclusive; it’s common for a 5-foot square to have both a tree and undergrowth.
Forest Canopy It’s common for elves and other forest dwellers to live on raised platforms far above the surface floor. These wooden platforms often have rope bridges between them. To get to the treehouses, characters ascend the trees’ branches (Climb DC 15), use rope ladders (Climb DC 0), or take pulley elevators (which can be made to rise a number of feet equal to a Strength check, made each round as a full-round action). Creatures on platforms or branches in a forest canopy are considered to have cover when fighting creatures on the ground, and in medium or dense forests they have concealment as well.
Other Forest Terrain Elements Fallen logs generally stand about 3 feet high and provide cover just as low walls do. They cost 5 feet of movement to cross. Forest streams average 5 to 10 feet wide and no more than 5 feet deep. Pathways wind through most forests, allowing normal movement and providing neither cover nor concealment. These paths are less common in dense forests, but even unexplored forests have occasional game trails.
Dommer pulls the bow out and cords an arrow, immediately looking for a place to jump behind for cover.
Who is there? Show yourself! - he asks, but doesn't take any other aggressive actions.
The archers retreat into the woods, aware that they've been spotted. A voice coming from deeper into the woods replies, "Nevermind who we are. What are YOU doing in these woods, intruders? We don't play games, so I wouldn't bother speak again unless it's the truth."
Luke stands up and prepare himself to pull out his sword.
”Whatever you do, don’t go charging straight at them and fall down another pit,” Herman snorts. ”If they wanted to ambush us, they wouldn’t have shown themselves unless they wanted to lure you into a trap. Again.” He calls out to the hidden archers, ”So you’re either terrible at hiding, which seems unlikely given that you’re still alive out here, or you wanted to be seen. To what end? You can’t talk to dead people, so that’s probably it.” He spits before concluding, ”So stop playing games and show yourselves.”
"State your business! Last chance!" the voice replies stubbornly!
Sure thing. - says Dommer, in an even more stubborn and defiant tone - We survived the Ironfang and are now hunting hobgoblins. You can probably imagine we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business, we in the killin' bastards business. And lad, business is a-boomin'!
Several men and one women begin to emerge from the trees and bushes. All wear a similar attire and a few of them, including their leader, wear holy symbols. The leader has a smile on his face, looking in Dommer's direction and walking slowly towards him. The leader is obviously human and has pulled down his hood to reveal that. Other men following him are starting to do the same, but some remain behind, scanning the forest around us and behind them, standing on guard.
The man approaches within 30 feet of Vale and Dommer, but the others stay behind. "Well met Vale. Where do you folks hail from? I see you are all making camp here. Your dwarf friend here says you're hunting hobgoblins? what news do you have on that? I am Malachite, and I lead these scouts here. We report to the Chernasardo Rangers."
The man watches your collective reactions carefully as he says that, his eyes shifting to each of you, one by one...
Hearing the name of the famed Rangers, Arthur approaches where the others are speaking, "Hail! I am called Arthur Alaval, of the Nirmathi Irregulars." Arthur searched the faces of the men for any signs of someone he might recognize, knowing in his heart it was futile for chance to bring his brother to him so easily.