The following morning, after the other two groups have left, Jamandi meets with you at her warehouse. She hands Pyros a leather sheaf.
"Inside are documents authorizing you to act as an envoy for me. I would like to resolve the situation with the centaur tribes peacefully if possible. The main tribe of concern, and the largest byfar, is the Nomen tribe."
She surveys the group.
"There is a smal settlement, really just an outpost that local farmers and others use to coordib=nate trade, called Varnhold. Travel there and you will meet a man named Silas Varn, yes the post is named for him, and he will help direct you further. I have sent some supplies ahead and they shoudl be there when you arrive. For now, take what you need from here. Good luck and good fortune."
she pauses,
"Any questions?"
Daxiana feels MUCH more comfortable with a bow on her back, and is all smiles as the adventure is about to begin, "You mentioned horses being provided?" She wants to make sure "Would speed our journey. Also, more for the group than you per se, but do any of us speak Sylvan or whatever it is Centaurs prefer?"
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Daxiana feels MUCH more comfortable with a bow on her back, and is all smiles as the adventure is about to begin, "You mentioned horses being provided?" She wants to make sure "Would speed our journey. Also, more for the group than you per se, but do any of us speak Sylvan or whatever it is Centaurs prefer?"
Ikit listens carefully before glancing past Jamandi into the warehouse then back to her
"Ikit not have horse, no no. Ikit has Snowball, she good girl, so Ikit stay with Snowball. What may we get from warehouse, yes yes. Travel far, need loads of thing things, yes yes"
"Likewise, I'll need a horse too. I'm trusting that these aren't likely to toss me off?"
"Anyone else have any other questions for the Lady?" Daxiana asks the others as she goes over the horses with an expert eye. None of these appear to be war horses, but most are light riding horses of decent and even good quality. She is, after all, a ranger. She touches one Brown and White mare, "This one appears to be of Lastwall Jasper stock, strong at water faring when they need to be said to be. And this one..." She pats a stallion of very pale gray with a single white stripe on the muzzle, that appears slim "This one has a bit of Taldor Jennet in him, if so, he's a chance to be a smart fella. Now this one is, She pats a plain brown one with kind eyes, "Is a gelding, gentle as a lamb but will get folks there. Mix of breeds there too."
"As for my questions," She says as she goes through other riding options, "I would also ask if anyone knows what set the Centaurs off? Or is that something for Silas to fill us in on if anyone can?"
Pyros accepts the sheaf of letters gracefully and stows them carefully. "You have my word, Lady Jamandi, that we will resolve the situation as best we can, hopefully peacefully. We should probably be off quickly, before the Dragonscale Throne or other malefactors get wind of this any more than they already have."
"No more questions from me. I'm willing to do whatever needs to be done in order to fix this centaur problem."
"As for my questions," She says as she goes through other riding options, "I would also ask if anyone knows what set the Centaurs off? Or is that something for Silas to fill us in on if anyone can?"
"No, we have no idea. I doubt Silas knows either as he sends us regular reports. That is the main reason for your expedition, to find the cause."
"Centaur?!" Elaina squeaks, cheeks turning red. "I wanna see centaur! Centaur happen to trust me on account of my innate respect for the natural world." She declares boldly. She's never met a centaur, but the math adds up. Truly this venture is blessed if the first thing they need to do is deal with centaur. She chooses an old grey mare that she dubs 'Sato', and she names the mules Clarence and Blaudon.
"No more questions, no no, go to place to talk to Taur-beasts, yes yes he confirms from his side
"Well, good to know, Newberry." The ranger chuckles at the cleric a touch Got to admire her confidence. then she nods to the Lady "Ikit isn't the only one raring to go it seems. Unless someone else speaks up soon, sounds like we're out of questions for now, Lady. Thank you for your hospitality and this chance. It sounds fun."
She takes the gray stallion with white stripe and socks. She's delighted to learn his name is Storm. "We're gonna get along fine, Storm."
" Likewise. Ready to go when you all are."
Raok looks around the warehouse and especially the horses.. his eyes bug out at the thought of riding something that big.
"Is there a pony? I'm not sure I will ride one of these large horses well" if there is no pony he will try to mount a horse, jumping up onto it's back
"No no more questions"
"They've got at least two ponies, probably in case we had halflings and gnomes," She says to Roak, and Gaxi "After all, they had more than one of those at the gather." the ponies vary a bit. One is a butterscotch hue with a glorious amount of fringe about the hooves, another is a solid black one with a redish blaze on the muzzle, and the last is a potbellied brown one who looks like it would wince at the word 'gallop' but has an otherwise easy going nature.
"If anyone wants tips on how to ride, let me know. I'm not as good as Meredith but I've been doing it for years."
Gaxi stares at the horses and ponies with hesitation.
“Uh, Gaxi never ridden beast. Not sure beast want around Gaxi.”
"Well, don't use fire while ON one, that might spook it," She admits "but I'm sure it will be fine with a bit of work."
"Snowball not spook, no no. Snowball knows to not run, but Ikit not want her hurt. No no. She kind good girl, yes yes" he nods to the rest
Raok takes the leads of the two ponies and walks towards Gaxi with them.
"Gaxi I think the black pony with the red blaze colour on it's muzzle is yours, I will try to ride the butterscotch coloured one"
Raok holds the reins of the black pony out to Gaxi.
When Gaxi takes the reins Raok tries to mount up properly like he watched the others do.
"Thankyou Daxiana, I think that instruction you are offering may be needed sooner than you may think."
"When we leave, Ikit will go get Snowball. Yes yes. Guards no like snowball in horse beast pen. So Ikit leave her safe, yes yes." as he watches the rest get their own riding beasts
"You're welcome, Roak!" Daxiana says happy to help.
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Raok takes the leads of the two ponies and walks towards Gaxi with them."Gaxi I think the black pony with the red blaze colour on it's muzzle is yours, I will try to ride the butterscotch coloured one"
Raok holds the reins of the black pony out to Gaxi.
Gaxi hesitantly goes to the pony, hoping for the best.
…Somehow, in a way even the gods couldn’t explain, the kobold managed to make a friend out of the pony.
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Raok takes the leads of the two ponies and walks towards Gaxi with them."Gaxi I think the black pony with the red blaze colour on it's muzzle is yours, I will try to ride the butterscotch coloured one"
Raok holds the reins of the black pony out to Gaxi.
Gaxi hesitantly goes to the pony, hoping for the best.
[dice=Untrained Handle Animal]1d20 + 3
…Somehow, in a way even the gods couldn’t explain, the kobold managed to make a friend out of the pony.
Cassia claims a horse of her own and just focuses on copying the others instead of trying anything fancy. Sure, they're riding animals and probably obedient, but it doesn't change the fact that she's never ridden one of these before.
"I'll think up a name for you later. Won't come up with a good one if I'm rushed."
Raok takes the leads of the two ponies and walks towards Gaxi with them."Gaxi I think the black pony with the red blaze colour on it's muzzle is yours, I will try to ride the butterscotch coloured one"
Raok holds the reins of the black pony out to Gaxi.
Gaxi hesitantly goes to the pony, hoping for the best.
[dice=Untrained Handle Animal]1d20 + 3
…Somehow, in a way even the gods couldn’t explain, the kobold managed to make a friend out of the pony.
"THERE You go" Daxiana says with pride in her kobold ally.
Gaxi gets onto the saddle of the pony, grinning ear to ear-or, flashing his teeth since he can't really physically smile.
"Gaxi needs name for pony. What is black stone that burns with fire called?"
"Coal," She says "Ember might also work depending."
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Your group departs immediately after outfitting is done. You travel West along the trade road that runs along Brevoy's Southern border. You see indicators of recent travel with many horses, probably the two groups that departed before you, Harter and Tratuccio. At Nivakta's Crossing you turn South along another trade road. You continue this way until late afternoon when you make camp. Immediately to the West are the beginnings of the mountain range that seperates the Stolen Lands from the Dunsward, which strecthes East from you.
The night passes uneventfully and you continue your journey South. After a few hours you come to a gruesome scene. Several wagons lie broken and burnt and bodies are scattered everywhere, many impaled by broken spears.
During the travel, Daxiana helps teach riding to those who might need examples. She can be chatty at times , but knows not to distract the new riders too much from their focus.
The next day, when they come across the scene of broken wagons, and the bodies... she dismounts long enough to look about, and at the tracks.
(+1 more for tracks)
"Blast me, I can't piece anything but the obvious. Anyone else want to give it a try?"
add 1 if tracks
Cassia does her best to follow along as Daxiana gives horse-riding lessons,feeling more confident once she's been given an example.
On the next day, Cassia dismounts her horse and squats low to the ground, searching for any tracks or traces of who or what did this.
Raok happily follows Daxianas notes on riding
When they arrive at the scene, he recoils a little in disgust but he dismounts and then sets about also trying to find tracks or an indication of who did this.
"Clan battle, this clan lost. It how it works. Wonder why clans fight sometimes. Other times it's obvious. Clan wants other clans territory or resources. So we fight. Then this, Ikit no clue why. No no." he shakes his head at the scene
"I suspect that a different...clan wanted whatever these poor folks had." Pyros says, while surveying the wreckage. Then he moves closer, to see if there is any indication of who these people were, or if anything useful can be salvaged from the wreckage. He keeps a hand on his sword hilt, just in case.
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Raok tells the others what he feels happens and tells the others what he saw that helped him draw that conclusion "
There were at least ten centaurs here. You can tell at least two were killed, but the centaurs took their dead with them. They also took about 4-5 horses from this group. This happened about 6 hours ago.
"Centaurs, bloody hell I missed that it wasn't horses. Roak, good job!"
"What does a centaur need with a horse, much less a dead one? They've got their own method of getting around, do they feel a connection to them?"
”I’m….not sure I want to know.” says Pyros, after a moment pondering the question.
“Gaxi don’t even know what centaur is,” Gaxi squeaked, his eyes looking a little cross, “But you all say there’s lots of centaur? More centaur, more chances to burn.”
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Maeric keeps his distance from the wreckage at first, scanning the edges of the road and the treeline more out of habit than insight. After a moment, he steps closer, crouching beside one of the broken wagons but not touching anything.
“Can’t make much of it,” he admits, his voice low and rough beneath the mask. “Too much torn up to read.”
He glances toward Raok and Daxiana, giving a small nod as they speak.
“If you say Centaurs, I’ll take your word for it.”
At Cassia’s question, he tilts his head slightly, considering before speaking again.
“Could be food… or tribute, maybe. Hard to tell. Either way, they left their mark.”
He rises, scanning the road ahead with a hand resting lightly on one blade.
“I’ll keep an eye out. If they’re close, best we see them before they see us.”
"Why work self when can make beast work. Taur beasts most likely just need horse beasts to work, like man beast do. Yes yes. But we know taur beasts not like man beasts, so take and go. Leave man beasts. What Ikit can gather from explanation" he ponders out loud after listening to everyone's discoveries