The constable also rises to leave.
"If you wish to take a ship, the Feathermoth is in port and is on loan to the town from Lord Valdemar. Though the sailors on her won't care to be a part of your assault."
"Good luck to you all."
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"The Nettlewood begins about four miles along the Lost Coast Road, so getting there wouldn't take too long. Bit over an hour on foot. Then you'd have to find your way through the Nettlewood itself. That's not as far, but will likely take longer." "Going in by sea is possible, though you would need to scale a cliff to get onto Thisltletop. The sea cliffs there are about eighty feet high. There are a few beaches here and there at the foot of the cliffs, though none that I know of on the actual island. The estuary of the Thistle River is also nearby."
"Before you write this off as a suicide mission, you should consider that if Thistletop has sent twenty warriors to the Mosswood, then Thistletop won't be as well defended as it usually would be. If there was ever a chance to do this, it is now. It still won't be a pinic, but we will never have a better chance." "Also, the various leaders of the town will be able to help out in the form of material supplies and such. Tools that might be useful. I have some men canvassing a few places now to see what they can gather. If there is any gear from the town armory that you wish to use, I'll make that happpen."
"I know we've talked about the regions goblins, but you deserve a bit of a refresher." "Shalelu determined that members of all five local goblin tribes were part of the last attack, in various numbers. What has saved us in the past is that the tribes don't usually work together, and they often see each other as bigger enemies than us." The Constable spreads a map out on one of the tables. "The Mosswood tribe is by far the biggest tribe in the area, and they have the largest territory. They are in the Mosswood, here. The wood extends further east. Despite being a big tribe, the Mosswoods usually are preoccupied with family feuding within their own ranks, and when they're not they are fighting with other tribes. A hundred goblins is probably the bulk of the tribe." "The Thistletops control the Nettlewood, here. The Nettlewood hugs the coast and is smaller than the Mosswood, but it is known for thorny briars that make it hard to move through if you don't know the way. Even Shalelu has never penetrated that far in there." "The Thistletops also have a well-fortified lair. It's a rocky islet just off the coast, connected by a rope bridge. Called Thistletop, of course. Thanks to that, the Thistletops have a defensive advantage and the Mosswoods have never been able to push them around." Constable Hemlock looks around the map. "The Licktoad tribe is here, in the Brinestump Marsh. They're very good swimmers, and like the Thistletops they are hard to get at." "Shank's Wood here is home to a smaller tribe called the Seven Tooth goblins. They sneak along the coast and forage through the junk we throw down over the cliff into the dump. They are better equipped than the other tribes because of that, though that doesn't say much. They were likely the ones that used the tunnel from the beach to under the glassworks." "Finally, the Birdcrunchers live in caves along the western edge of the Devil's Platter, over here. They aren't usually that much of a problem because they are aware of how close they are to us and they usually avoid getting us angry."
"Good news, yes. Wonderful news, no. Not hardly," says Constable Hemlock with a frown. He shakes his head. "Magnimar sent us twenty men. Twenty! All the begging and pleading and that was all I could get out of them. It more than doubles the official size of the guard, but if the goblins come in force it won't be nearly enough."
Flo seeks out Constable Hemlock and then Shalelu. "Constable, may Densa bless your travels and your mission. ..." "Thank you, sister. Normally I would think it's the Mayor's job to go off like this, but if she leaves now Lord Scarnetti might appoint himself the Earl of Sandpoint while she's gone." "Sergeant Bartle will start organizing the search. I know you folks were watching the walls at night, so I'll have him call upon you at, say, sundown?" "If the goblins turn up while I'm gone, try to hold them until I get back." He winks, and makes to leave.
"We were on a reduced roster for the Swallowtail Festival. Many of the guard have families and wished to attend the festival themselves. We still had enough men on the walls for normal purposes."
"I don't care how I get them, but I do need more men. We took losses in the attack and I barely have enough guardsmen to do a regular rotation." "Call up the militia, hire new guards, or call for reinforcements from Magnimar. I don't care which but we must do something."
"Mister Goodbarrel is likely right. My gut says this attack is a feint." "If it was a lead up to a bigger attack, the raid only puts us on our guard. They must have some other purpose."
Constable Hemlock glares at Cade as he goes off on his monologue. "Easy..."
"The goblins hate us. This may have been inevitable. It's the only way they have a chance to get rid of us."
Constable Hemlock has Ameiko's maids rouse those characters that are still sleeping. "Good Morning. I trust you are all well." "I just came to remind you about the meeting of the town council being held today. It should start at 10 AM, which is in about an hour. The Lord-Mayor is looking forward to meeting you." He nods, and gives you a look that indicates that you had better be there. "I'll see you at the meeting."
The group makes its way to the guardhouse. They are met there by Constable Hemlock. "I figured you would be coming. We still have the two goblins down in the cells. They haven't been very co-operative. A lot of screaming about how hungry they are and cursing and swearing generally." "I don't know what help they will be. Really I don't need information on the last raid so much as the next one. And even if I got them to talk I don't see how they would have any information there that would help." "You're welcome to question them if you want. Goblins don't really have any rights here so you can do what you want, but I would prefer you didn't kill them. Not that I don't want them dead; just if they are put to death it should be an official act, and done properly. And obviously you can't release them either."
"A goblin raid that caught you by surprise, right in the middle of town, and the folk here still won't go for a militia? Color me unimpressed. Still, I could use the coin, and night watch sounds easier than hunting goblins out in the wilds. Sure, I'm in." "Kargas is right, If this town doesn't want to go through another one of those attacks, they need to learn to defend themselves. I will also take a night shift, but you need to start looking at long term plan." "You don't need to convince me! I have been saying the same thing for a long time." "The town has a militia. But actually calling it up creates all kinds of headaches. Are they volunteers, or will they be paid? And if so, how much and by whom? There's a ridiculous amount of wrangling, and unless an army is sitting outside the gates getting them to form up is like pulling teeth. There needs to be a more formal system so that they can be levied right away when needed." "For those of you who are offering your services, you have my thanks. Please report to the garrison at the center of town when you get the chance. There is 'official' equipment you can draw on if you like, though it would need to be returned when your shift ends. It seems like you are pretty well armed already though." He gets up and gets ready to leave. "And once again you have my thanks for yesterday. Unless there are any questions, I need to get going."
A dark-skinned man in a guardsman uniform stands as the heroes enter. "Good morning," he says stiffly. "I... I meant to come see you last night. I apologize. There was a great deal going on yesterday, and I was tied up well into the night." "I wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday. It says a lot to me that you didn't panic and did what had to be done. You could have run like most ordinary folks and nobody would have blamed you." He indicates one of the larger tables and invites those of you who are there to sit. "As you might imagine, the situation is not good. I lost a number of good men yesterday and I have only twelve real guardsmen left. I want to call up the militia but there's always an uproar when I suggest it." "So for starters, if any of you want jobs as members of the guard, I'd love to have you. I'm willing to pay double the normal rate. In particular, I would pay a premium for anyone who wants the night watch and can see in the dark." He gives Kargas a knowing look.
"I'm also supposed to tell you that a meeting of the Sandpoint council is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. Really, there's no reason they couldn't have it today, but the council members seem to want time to 'prepare.' It's a pain in the... regardless, you are invited to attend. The mayor herself asked me to invite you." |