Meeting
Rostar Another Caravan
As it nears sunset, you reach the southward flowing river, no doubt the Goblintide, just as it is being forded by a small caravan heading west. It consists of two covered wagons with double drivers and six armed riders. Four extra horses are tied to the wagons.
One of the forward riders shouts out, "Well met! Rostar's Trade from Nesmé, at your service. You'd be best to camp here tonight, with us. The Riders of Nesmé are out tonight, burning back the trolls, but there are a lot of reports of sizeable goblin movements in these parts. Strength in numbers is the best thing. There's plenty of firewood and trollwood here, and the Sky Ponies (OOC: A barbarian tribe) have moved into the area east of Nesmé. They at least shouldn't be bothering us tonight!
The man gestures around at what looks like an area regularly used as a camp site. A stand of conifers, only a few hundred yards away shows several stumps from previous felling, and a large pile of fire wood can be seen close by.
"There's also plenty of firewood here, and a reserve of trollbrands left by the Riders for travellers. Then you can ford the Goblintide tomorrow, and you'll make to Nesmé by evening, with a bit of luck. You should be able to avoid trolls tomorrow. They stay mostly inside the moor by day and only tend to get active at night."
The man smiles and holds out his own hand in greeting. "My name is Rostar Dvall by the way." He is a middle aged man, with callused hands and a weather worn face.
<Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> Serena returns Rostar Dvall's hearty greeting with an icy glare.
She
> says nothing, but sweeps her eyes suspiciously over the armed
> outriders and wagons of this "caravan." She rides out
around the
> group, looking at them from all angles, then gallops over to
the
> little campsite near the grove. There, she rides around and among
> the trees, looking for any hidden enemies in the brush.
OOC: Actually, the camp site is in between the road and the river, right on the corner where the two rivers meet. The nearby copse of wood is simply a place where firewood can be gained from. There are some brush cover near the copse, and also a little along the very bank of the river itself, but none around the camp site itself.
Rostar seems not to notice Serena's icy glare, but as she rides out around his caravan, he tries to follow her passage, a slight frown on his face. As Lucretia steps forward however, he finally drags his attention to the party still in front of him.
A few of his men however do look up at Serena suspiciously as she rides closer to them.
<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> "Well met Rostar...I am Lucretia of
> Neverwinter, <he will clasp his hand as is the custom>
son to Winston a
> Caravan Master and these are my companions." "We travel
to Nesme and would
> be very glad to share a fire with friends." "The road
that lays before you
> was a bit ruff...so bear with me and my companions as we have
been on edge
> for the past few days." "Once the fires are going and
the food cooked we
> may sit and talk of them for a spell."
Rostar's handshake is firm and dry. "Well met Lucretia," he replies. "I look forward to news of the road ahead."
<Milo aka Steve wrote>:
> "Well met Rostar! I am Milo Daviston of Neverwinter, and
these are my
> friends. Please forgive our behaviour. It has been a long day
in particular
> today, and a rough journey in general. The last group we met
turned out not
> to be so friendly, even though they behaved so at first..."
Rostar smiles warmly. "Well met Milo" he replies, leaning forward on his horse to shake his hand also. "It is a pleasure to see a Painbearer of the Crying God among us" he says, obviously spotting Milo's holy symbol as they shook. He glances over his shoulder and gestures toward a woman watching them from near one of their wagons. "Renda over there is a Dawn Priestess of the Morninglord." he comments (OOC: the nick-name for Lathander - one of Ilmater's allied gods)
<Milo aka Steve continued>:
> "I think a night of safe rest would do us all well!"
>
> Milo's mind moves quickly, trying for some polite conversation...
>
> "Rostar's Trade, hmmmm? Named for you I suppose?"
Rostar laughs, a rich warm laugh which makes his eyes twinkle. "Aye that would be me!" he smiles. "My brother Zarek and I run a sheep farm near Nesme. Once a year we make this journey to sell our wool. Finest wool in the north you know!"
<Balnor aka Mike B wrote>:
> Balnor rides forward and shakes Rostar's hand. "Its nice
to meet
> someone who doesnt attack us first thing! It's a great idea for
us to
> share a campsite."
Rostar turns to greet Balnor, still smiling. "Well met!" he says shaking his hand, his eyes taking in the blood stained clothing of Balnor and some of the other Unknowns. "I can see you seem to have had your fair share of conflict!" he comments. "Hopefully tonight will be a peaceful evening for you" he adds, before looking up to nod a general greeting to all the others of the Unknowns.
His smiles fades a moment as he glances out across the Surbrin at the Evermoors. "I'll be glad to have you camp with us," he says more seriously, "but be best if you start setting up as soon as you can. That fog will roll in over us in the next half hour or so, and it's good to have everything in place before the fog gets too thick."
Rostar points at a thick cloud of fog moving northward across the moor.
"Once that gets here, you'll only be able to see for about 50 yards or so, at the most. It moves out from the moor almost every night, without exception."
<Balnor aka Mike B continued>:
> He pulls his horse next to Cleo's "Shall we dismount?"
> He asks her as he steps down from his horse and helps
> Cleo from her horse. "Lets begin getting ready for the
> night."
Rostar's men already have moved the two wagons into defensive positions facing to the north and east, where there is no water. It looks like they have left a space for the Unknown's wagon to help fill a gap as well. Some of the men are heading over towards the trees to fetch more firewood and trollbrands, Serena is already there looking through the brush there, paranoid about ambush.
Serena is mounted on her horse still, over at the small copse of trees a couple of hundred yards away. A group of men from the caravan are heading in that direction to fetch some firewood from the wood piles under the trees. She is prowling around, looking in the undergrowth and behind the wood piles.
The rest of the party have just finished greeting Rostar Dvall, and are starting to dismount.
Serena also dismounts, bending down behind one of the wood piles for a moment, before yelling and waving for the others to come on over. From her face it seems important. The men who had been closest to her break into a run, and as they reach the wood pile, one of them turns. "There are some bodies here," he shouts. "It looks like the Griffons or the Sky Ponies got 'em!" Rostar breaks into a run to head over there.
OOC: Even if everyone doesn't run over, those who do witness the following:
Four bodies lie on the ground, one of them a woman. All four died of sword and spear wounds. Their clothing has been partly torn open, apparently to make sure all items were found that the dead were carrying. Serena and the men are examining the scene, and as the others arrive, one of the men turns the woman's body over. Underneath the body is a blood and mud stained book, a little damp around the edges. One of the men referred to as Keitl by the others, gestures to be given the book.
He examines it, flipping open the front cover, tracing some mystic marks inside. He looks up. "It's a spellbook, the last thing the barbarians want. The runes inside says it belongs to Nelissa of Daggerford, no doubt the lady there."
Rostar looks at the scene and says, "Those weren't Sky Ponies or Griffons. They bury the dead after an honour fight. Those were Black Ravens. They leave the bodies for the carrion birds. This is bad. Nesmé doesn't know that the Ravens are back in this area.
You folks could be a big help if you'd get word of this to Lady Tessarin in Nesmé tomorrow. She needs to pull back the Riders from the moors and concentrate on defending the city. It's unlikely they'll ever work together, but the city could have a hard time holding out against all three tribes in a concentrated attack.
"Maybe Kralgar has hired the Ravens and the Sky Ponies to fight with him. He has it in his head that he's going to make Nesmé into Faerûn's first Uthgardt city. If he gets the Ravens and the Sky Ponies to ride with him, he might succeed." (OOC: Kralgar is the known leader of the Griffons barbarian tribe.)
Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> Serena breaks in. "That group of Black Ravens
> we fought off was in no shape for another raid
> any time soon. But I do wonder if they might
> have struck here first. Ceely -- can you make
> any sense of the hoofprints around here? Can
> you tell in which direction the attackers might
> have ridden away?"
OOC: On the assumption that Ceely DOES do a bit of tracking... Ceely determines that riders and people on foot came into the trees, but cannot detect which way that they left - The whole area around the camp is too muddled with other tracks, and the road doesn't show any tracks at all.
<Merrell aka Mike D wrote>:
> "You seem to be regarded as an authority on such
> things as spellbooks. A mage, I presume?" Merrell
> will chit-chat with the man for a short bit, picking
> up whatever info he might, before directing his
> questions towards the matter foremost on his mind.
> "I was wondering what you were planning on doing
> with our joint find? This seems to be a dangerous
> land these days, and any knowledge of the arts can
> hardly be wasted."
Keitl nods at Merrell's words as they start to return together towards the camp. Rostar's fighters (OOC: with possible help from some members of the party I guess!) start to bury the 4 corpses. "Yes, I study the arts" he says, tweaking his small goatee beard with one hand. He looks down at the grubby spellbook in his hand. "I know not who Nelissa was, but from the evidence," he holds up the spellbook, "not one who cared to enchant her spellbook in anyway to protect it." He looks up again at Merrell. I suggest we settle ourselves into camp, then have a browse and see if there is anything interesting we can learn from it."
***
While Rostar's fighters begin burying the four corpses, you return with Rostar to the centre of the camp.
The camp preparations are made, Herod positions the party's wagon, Serena and Ceely water the horses, then string them out, a large camp fire is lit, and Rostar's prediction does come true. Within less than an hour, your camp site lies deep in thick, pea soup fog. Visibility is restricted to about 40 feet or so, and the campfire burns a bit lower then usual. But Renda, the priestess of Lathander, is a great camp cook, and the fresh venison brought in barrels from Nesmé along with cooked potatoes and a camp vegetable stew taste better tonight than many a superlative inn's meals have, when one is used to dining in the city. Even the beer - Nesmé Trollbrau from a barrel - is a treat, although Rostar limits servings to a quart/liter per man, to make sure the watch stays alert through the night.
Around the camp fire, more formal introductions are made, and Rostar's Trade turns out to be made up of the following people:
Rostar Dvall, the human male leader, who wears ring mail and carries a longbow
and a longsword.
Zarek Dvall, his brother, who wears leather, and carries a longbow
and a shortsword.
Thulli, a short wiry man who wears leather, and carries a short sword
and several daggers.
Renda, the comely human priestess to Lathander, who wears leather,
and is armed with a mace.
Kielt, the human wizard, who wears a long many pocketed cloak over
his normal travelling clothes. He appears not to have any weapons.
Ganda, a male half elf, who wears leather and carries a longsword
and a longbow slung over his shoulder.
Radatt, a swarthy looking man, who wears studded leather and carries
a longsword with shield.
Merd, a well built bald man, also wearing studded leather, with longsword
and longbow.
Yandar, a mid sized man with shoulder length hair, who wears leather,
and carries a longsword and a longbow.
Jenkins, a bearded man with wide shoulders, who wears ring mail and carries
a long wood cutters axe on his shoulder.
The companionship of Rostar and his men is enjoyable. He tells the party that the Surbrin will bend somewhat south of the road shortly after the ford, so the smell of the moor won't be so bad anymore until you reach Nesmé, which is across the river on the edge of the moor.
"That smell," says Rostar, "that sweet decayed smell, is the smell of troll." he comments.
Whilst waiting for the food to cook, Keitl and Merrell sit down together with the late Nelissa's spellbook. Yvandel and Blondung gather near as well, hoping to share some of it's secrets. The spellbook has the following spells in it.
1st
Armour (Conjuration, , , )
Detect Undead (Divination, Necromancy, , )
Fist of Stone (Alteration, , , )
Friends (Enchantment, Charm, , )
Magic Missile (Evocation, , , )
Personal Magnetism (Alteration, , , )
Spider Climb (Alteration, , , )
Taunt (Enchantment, , , )
2nd
Darkness, 15' Radius (Alteration, , , )
Forget (Enchantment, Charm, , )
Irritation (Alteration, , , )
Protection From Cantrips (Abjuration, , , )
Qulmby's Enchanting Gourmet (Conjuration, Summoning, , )
Strength (Alteration, , , )
3rd
Gust of Wind (Alteration, , , )
Melf's Minute Meteors (Evocation, Alteration, , )
Water Breathing (Alteration, , , )
Keitl hums as he looks through, noting several spells which he himself does not have. "Well I know what I will be doing on my watch!" he jokes.
Blondung also shows interest in borrowing the book on his own watch.
OOC: Merrell, Yvandel - please let me know which spells you would be interested in copying yourself... Since there are several people on each watch, I am sure there will be no problem in taking the time to copy the spells.
During discussion over the meal, it is suggested that there be 4 watches, and that one nonhuman and one mage and one priest be present during each watch.
The following rota is suggested. (OOC: See below for who everyone is)
Name
===============
(NPC) Kielt (mage)
(NPC) Radatt
(NPC) Merd
(PC) Cleo
(PC) Balnor
(PC) Larz (dwarven priest)
(NPC) Rostar
(NPC) Zarek
(NPC) Yandar
(PC) Merrell (half elf mage)
(PC) Herod (priest)
(NPC) Ganda (half-elf)
(NPC) Renda (priestess)
(PC) Yvandel (mage)
(PC) Lucretia
(PC) Serena
(NPC) Thulli
(NPC) Jenkins
(PC) Milo (priest)
(PC) Ceely (half elf)
(PC) Blondung (mage)
OOC: Unless anyone has any major issues with this rota, then I will consider this to be it. It is assumed that there will be enough time in the morning for the necessary prayers & studying to occur as camp is being struck...
Feeb maintains a very low presence, in fact, so low that when Yvandel pops his head in to check on him and sneak him some food, he can't find him. Yvandel leaves the food in the wagon, and returns to the camp fire, slightly puzzled.
<Lucretia aka Joe wrote>:
> <Comely and a good cook!...While she is preparing the meal
and Luc is
> cleaning his gear and sharpening his blades and spear, he will
Luc will make
> small talk with the priestess...So were you born in Nesmee, Do
you have
> family there, if not where is she from, what drew her to the
service of the
> Morning lord? Do you have a man, if not does service to Lathander
prevent
> relationships. Luc will fill in like questions asked to him as
well...and
> basically flirt with the priestess as much as possible....he
will go as far
> as helping to clean up the pots if the conversation continues...also
seems
> we will be on watch together (what luck...Thanks Tymora...and
Serena will be
> there too double the luck <I think> ;) so we can continue
the conversation
> then and perhaps afterward....>
<Lucretia not really shocked at Renda's reaction stands and stretches while he looks at Rostar looking at him.> "Women" <He states, as if that explains it all....he then proceeds to the stream to wash out his bowl and takes a moment to look at his reflection...must be that new pimple cropping up on his face...damm thing looks like a third eye, no wonder she wasn't interested.
> Completing her tasks, Serena stalks over to Lucretia. "Can trolls
> swim?" she demands. "I figure they can. So, you had
better set out
> all those fire-bombs where they will be handy tonight."
Before Lucretia has a chance to answer, Renda - who is busying herself with the setting up of a large cookpot - looks up and answers instead.
"It's important here to have fire" she says, "But not a lot can swim the Surbrin, and what most people don't lknow is that another way to definitely kill a troll is to drown it!" She looks at the water, shivering. "The trolls aren't well adapted to swimming and they tend to sink, so not many of them attempt it!"
Rostar approaches as she speaks. "Talking of the trolls, I don't know if you've heard it too, but something's driving trolls out of the moor, giants, I've heard said. In any case, they seem to get desperate to flee these days. There are some narrows in the river to the east of here, and lately we've heard a few tales of trolls actually uprooting trees on the moor and setting them across the narrows, to try to cross the water. Things like that used to be unheard of!"
He glances at the firebrands and wood piled close to the fire. "It's unlikely, but it is possible that some trolls might cross east of here and then come our way instead of to the north. In that case, they could ford over The Goblintide to us... but it is unlikely. However, we need to have fire ready at all times, just in case we're attacked."
> Serena takes some cloth from the wagon and makes 6 fresh fire-arrows,
> wrapping and tying the cloth around the arrow shafts and soaking
the
> textiles in oil. She sticks the arrows into the ground near the
spot
> where she will bed down.
OOC: Noted. Good thinking.
> She also gathers a supply of "troll-brands" from the woodpile
and
> places them near the camp fire. She watches the members of
> the "caravan" to learn if there is any special technique
they are
> using with these.
>
> (OOC: I assume these brands are laid partly into the fire, so
they
> can be quickly grabbed and used to fend off trolls?)
OOC: The trollbrands/firebrands are basically just torches - i.e. a stick with tightly bound oil soaked cloth around one end. They are however longer than one would normally make for a torch, at about 4-5 foot long. They would be laid close by, but obviously not actually in the fire.
Lucretia aka Joe wrote>:
> <Either during their watch or before>
OOC: BEFORE
> "Hey, Yvandel...could you explain these things to
> me?" <Luc pulls out the robe with all the
> pockets, and opens one of the pockets.>
> "These items...or junk and what have you,
> what are they used for?" "I've been looking
> at the various things and haven't found much
> value in any of it."
>
> <OOC: Hate to ask but I would really like to
> know what is in each pocket...Lucretia is
> looking for other ways to make money, since
> he has damm near made up his mind to quit
> swashbuckling after the incident with the dragon...>
After going through all of the pockets, the following items are removed:
2 pure white pearls sewn into the lining of her cloak
3 short pieces of straw
A bit of dark manky looking fur
A capsule with a few slugs in it
A capsule with several live spiders in it. (small ones)
A couple of dried cloves of garlic
A crystal Prism
A few oak leaves
A handful of dried peas.
A multicoloured ribbon with a small silver bell at the end
A pair of bronze concentric circles
A pair of small magnetised iron bards, attached to 2 small canine
statuettes, one ivory and one ebony.
A paper envelope, sealed with wax - containing a crushed blue stone.
A paper envelope, sealed with wax - containing several (about 10)
flakes of ash
A paper envelope, sealed with wax - containing several (about 3) pinches
of a grey dusty powder (that smells strongly of formaldehyde)
A paper envelope, sealed with wax - containing several (about 4) pinches
of a glittery powder.
A paper envelope, sealed with wax - containing several (about 7) pinches
of a grey/black metallic powder.
A paper envelope, sealed with wax - containing several (about 3) pinches
of a silvery metallic powder.
A paper envelope, sealed with wax - containing several (about 4) pinches
of what looks like powdered bone/hoof.
A piece of coal
A piece of leathery skin
A piece of withered dried flesh
A pot of "salve"
A shard of bone
A small hollow bone, carved into a whistle
A small vial of liquid that looks like blood, but seems to keep changing
colour and volume
A tallow candle, bits of it have been pinched off.
A tinderbox
A very small drum
Bit of Phosphorus
Bitumen
One small clear gem
Saltpeter
Several pieces of bone
Sulphur
As for what spells these components might be used for...well, Blondung recognises some of the components necessary to generate the flaming sphere spell, and that to generate a fog spell. He guesses that there would be some other fire based spells from some of the other components, and also that their might be some necromantic style spells - from some of the more gross spell components.
The camp settles down - after Lucretia has fiddled with spell components etc - and a small game of dice goes on between Lucretia, Balnor, Ganda and Zarek. A few coppers pass hands, but neither Ganda nor Zarek show much enthusiasm for taking higher bets. At the end of about an hour, everyone is roughly level with where they were at the start, and Ganda and Zarek break off to sleep.
During the first watch, Kielt sits close to the fire, beavering away with the newly acquired Spellbook. Finally, he finishes, and joins with the others in looking out rather than looking in. Larz, his dwarven eyes most accustomed to the darkness, sits on the party's wagon in the shadows, watching out in the darkness. Radatt, Cleo, Balnor and Merd similarly sit quietly in the damp foggy darkness, watching and listening for anything beyond the noise of the water in the river and the crackle of the fire.
The watch passes slowly, till the fog is lit up somewhat by the smaller moon Celene, which is nearly full. The larger moon, Luna. is only a thin crescent and on the wane, so visibility is not greatly increased.
The watch changes, and Merrell and Herod join Rostar, his brother Zarek and Yandar on watch. Kielt hands Nelissa's spellbook to Merrell, who settles down next to the fire to study it and copy some of the spells. Rostar grumbles a little bit, wondering why he suggested having a non-human on each watch if they were going to waste their night sight on books, but he also waves Merrell back to his book, when Merrell looks up.
Later, the watch changes again, and Merrell hands the book over to Yvandel, whilst Lucretia, Serena, Ganda and Renda find places to watch the darkness from. Yvandel has just finished copying the last spell he wanted over from the book, when Ganda suddenly yells from near the river.
Ganda, who had been closest to the ford over the Goblintide runs closer to the fire, yelling the alarm and trying to rouse people.
"AWAKE! AWAKE! GOBLINS!"
<Lucretia aka Joe wrote>:
> "Ha!...Run you flea ridden bastards run!" <Lucretia
> sheaths his bastard sword and then slaps Rostar on the
> back...and shoots Serena a smile.> "Good fight friend
> Rostar...seems you are a very stout caravan guard and
> a fine swordsman." "I miss judged you and your band
> when we first met...I am proud to have had the honor
> to fought beside you."
Rostar smiles a tight smile at Lucretia. "I'm just glad to have you with us - if that band had attacked us before you all joined our camp, I'm not sure we would be still alive now!"
<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> <Lucretia will find his magical short sword and sheath
> it as well. "I have a small cut." <he calls to the
> priestess...>
Lucretia and Rostar head over towards Renda next to the fire, now blazing high with fresh wood. Renda is very efficient, and with help from Herod and Milo, quickly start the process of getting everyone's wound's cleaned and bandaged.
<Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> "Hold there!" calls Serena. "Let us keep these
> unconscious and sleeping ones for a bit. I have
> some questions for them. When I am finished, you
> may dispose of them as you wish. For now, help me
> bind them." Using some of her rope (and whatever
> rope she can find elsewhere), Serena ties the
> prisoners roughly but securely.
Jenkins frowns, and hesitates for a moment, before finishing throwing the goblin he was holding into the River Surbrin, where it sinks for a moment, then comes up spluttering a few moments later. He watches it for a moment as it is swept away on the current, choking and gasping and doing a good impression of nearly drowning.
Thulli, watches Serena for a moment as she bends over, tying one of the goblins. After a few moments of appreciating the view, he steps forward to help her. "So what can these things tell you - assuming you can find any of them who speak something we can understand".
<Serena aka Archon continued>:
> Turning to the puppeteer, she says, "Yvandel, go
> find our translator. Yes, I mean Feeb!"
Thulli stops tying the unconscious hobgoblin in front of him. "Translator?" he asks. "Feeb? He looks around the dark foggy campsite. "Who the hell is Feeb?"
<Yvandel aka Sebastian wrote>:
> Still, Yvandel just didn't want to believe Feeb was
> capable of such treachery. He walked to the outer
> edges of the camp, making sure not to venture beyond
> the relative safety of it, trying to catch a glimpse
> of movement.
The dark open area beyond the edges of the camp is empty of movement bar where the horses are tethered, still twitchy with the fresh smell of blood in the air. Beyond the horses is foggy blackness.
<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> "Feeb!" Yvandel decided to just give it a try and call
> out to the little creature a few times. "FEEB!"
OOC: No sign of Feeb - although Lucretia thinks that all goblin look alike to him - he believes he would recognise the half-starved frame of Feeb.
Rostar looks up at the yell from where he is being bandaged by Milo. "Feeb?" he asks curiously. "Who or what is Feeb?" Several other members of Rostar's Trade also look at Serena and Yvandel questioningly.
<Yvandel aka Sebastian wrote>:
> "Feeb is someone that assisted us a few days back.
> I'm not sure if we told you yet, but we were being
> pursued by a dark necromancer.
Rostar's head (and many others) jerks up at the mention of the word "necromancer". "Who the hell are you people?!" he blurts.
<Yvandel aka Sebastian continued>:
> Feeb warned us of his presence and may have very
> well prevented a surprise attack. Feeb left us
> before we really got to know him, but since he's
> been living on his own in this region for a long
> time, he might be able to tell us more about these
> goblins."
Rostar frowns at Yvandel's words. "So this Feeb is some kind of hermit who lives in the wilderness, and just happens to speak goblin?" The trader shakes his head and glances away.
Thulli cocks his head on one side as he looks at Yvandel, his hands deftly tying up the last of the unconscious goblins. "So where is this Feeb now? And why didn't he show his face earlier?"
"Good question!" snarls Serena. Calling to Yvandel, she says, "Why don't you look for your friend Feeb in and under the wagon?" She draws her longsword and adds, "Or shall I poke around amongst the cargo myself?"
Jenkins turns back from the river and walks back to the sleeping goblins. He shakes his head as he sees Serena tying them. "Well, you can't need all of them," he says, grabbing another by the heel and dragging it towards the river. On route, it wakes, and starts to yell and struggle, but the woodsman is too strong for it, and a few moments later there is another big splash.
<Lucretia aka Joe continued>:
> he will then take to checking the bodies for any loot,
> or anything else of interest, before assisting in tossing
> them into the river as well....Lucretia, will check for
> quality weapons as well as coin.>
Sporting a fresh bandage, and feeling marginally better, Lucretia heads away from Renda and starts to examine the dead goblins. It quickly becomes apparent that what goblins value is vastly different from what humans value, and the bodies hold little of value. Their weapons are all of crude manufacture, and their armour patchy and homemade at best.
A couple of Rostar's trade start to drag the dead bodies towards the river. "Don't go swiming in the Surbrin if you can help it" warns Merd to Lucretia, as they hurl one of the dead bodies into the water. "There's fish in there that'll take care of these in no time - and sometimes they have a go at live people too - if you're unlucky" he adds.
<Lucretia aka Joe wrote>:
> <Lucretia, visibly winches> "To be eaten by fish...
'tis
> a fate I would wish on no one." <Luc comments to Merd.>
> "Tis a good thing we happened on each other at this
> intersection...Tymora's luck shines on us all." <He will
> help toss the goblin bodies into the river...hoping to
> catch sight of the Goblin know as Feeb
Merd nods in agreement. "I hate goblins." he comments, throwing another goblin corpse into the river.
<Balnor aka Mike wrote>:
> Winded from the fight Balnor cleans and puts away
> his rapier and dagger. "Well, im not sure i will get
> any more sleep tonight." he says to Cleo. He begins
> searching the entire battle area for any daggers. Any
> he finds that arent other party members he will keep.
Balnor finds his own daggers and returns one to Blondung and one to Thulli. Any other thrown daggers are lost.
<Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> Serena finishes binding the remaining goblin prisoners
> and rises to her feet with a cross look. With hands on
> hips, she stands between the woodsman and the prisoners.
> "You are quite mistaken -- I DO need all of them. The
> more prisoners, the more information -- get it? Don't
> be so eager. As I said, you can have them when I've finished."
"Eager? Do I look eager?" retorts Jenkins. "All I want to do is clear this mess up and try to catch a few more hours of sleep before dawn!" Jenkins kicks one of the freshly bound goblins awake. "What sense you're going to get out of these creatures I don't know!" he comments. "But, you want to interview them, you get rid of them!" So saying, he stumps away to the far side of the fire, and lies down, his axe close by his side.
OOC: Serena has 6 bound prisoners, 2 of which have woken up, 4 of which are still unconscious.
Serena grabs one of the conscious prisoners and separates it from the others, dragging it by the scruff of the neck around to the other side of the fire. She drops the goblin roughly to the ground, puts one foot on its chest, and places the tip of her blade at its throat.
<Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> She will begin asking it a series of questions:
The goblin squeals as it is dragged apart from the others and only stops as Serena places her boot on it's chest and the tip of her sword at it's throat. The others watch on.
> "What is your name?"
The goblin's eyes bulge wide with fear, and it tries to speak but fails. After
a moment, gets it's words out. "Dank!" it squeaks. "Dank Dank
Dank!"
> "What is your tribe?"
The goblin frowns in concentration, trying to translate the name. "Pig
Killers?" it says hesitantly.
> "Who is your chief?"
"Chef?" it says? A confused look on it's face.
> "Are you hungry?"
It shakes it's head.
> "Who made those rafts?"
"Pig Killers!" it says (almost proudly).
> "How did your tribe know that we were camped here?"
"Smell fire"
> "Who sent you here?"
Again it looks confused. "Nobody!"
> "Are you thirsty?"
It shakes it's head confused by the rapid fire of questions.
> "Who is your master?"
It hesitates, then says "Toppum is Halk"
> "What color is the dragon?"
The goblin simply stares at Serena open mouthed. "Drag..." it gapes.
> "When did you leave your camp?"
"1 day ago"
> "Have you seen any trolls around here?"
It shakes it's head.
> "Why did your tribe attack us?"
"You on our land!"
> "What were your orders?"
"Attack"
> "Where is your camp?"
It rolls it's eyes towards the north.
> "Who is your leader?"
"Halk"
The other goblins, most of them having now come around now, watch Serena and the goblin Dank as she interrogates it.
<Serena aka Archon wrote>:
> Serena leans in close, glaring intently at the prisoner.
> "Dank, you answered well. You Pig Killers are good
> fighters. You like to fight Kralgar's horsemen? Griffons?
> Sky Ponies?"
Dank looks fearfully, unsure of how he should answer.
<Serena aka Archon continued>:
> "Now, you go. Tell Toppum Halk this: Lady Tessarim
> -- in Nesme -- wants Pig Killers to fight Kralgar.
> Understand?"
The goblin Dank frowns as it tries to grasp what Serena is telling it. Finally it dawns on it that it sounds like it is going to be freed. It starts nodding it's head vigorously. "ItellHalk!" it squeaks.
<Serena aka Archon continued>:
> "She will give Halk gold. Then she will leave Pig Killers
> alone on their land. Get it?"
>
> "Tell Halk to come to Nesme. With a big white flag.
> Halk and Lady Tessarim will talk. Make friends with
> Pig Killers. Fight Kralgar together."
Dank looks very worried and unsure again. "Nesme?" it asks hesitantly. "LadieTessrum?" As Serena pauses, it nods it's head again firmly and tries it's best to put on a confident face.
> "Dank, you tell this to Halk. Now go!"
Understanding this much, it nods again. "ItellHalk. HegoNesmewithwhiteflagandLadieTessrumgivegoldifPigKillersfightGriffonsorSkyPonies!"
> With her sword, Serena cuts the ropes binding the
> goblin's feet. She helps the creature to its feet,
> holding firmly onto its arms, which are bound by the
> wrists behind its back. She calls out to the company.
> "Let no one harm this goblin! I am setting it free.
> With a message for its leader."
The onlookers to the scene react in different ways. Several shake their heads, as if negotiating with goblins is madness, others nod in appreciation of Serena's wisdom.
> Serena walks the creature to the north edge of the
> camp, beyond the wagons. There, she cuts the bindings
> on its wrists. Releasing it, she urges, "Go, Dank!
> Take my words to Halk."
The goblin Dank needs no further urging, and runs off into the darkness to the north without looking back.
As Serena returns to the firelight Rostar looks at her. "Worth a try I suppose!" he smiles.
"Pah!" exclaims Jenkins, not so impressed with Serena's interrogation. "So what you gonna do with the rest?" The captured goblins all swivel their eyes to look at Jenkins as he speaks, then back to Serena, not understanding the conversation, but knowing that their fate rests on it's conclusion.
"Set 'em free. Wherever you like . . ." Serena answers, glancing toward the roiling waters of the River Raurin.
<Lucretia aka Joe wrote>:
> <Lucretia will take his short sword out and poke the
> thing.> "So, seems like you got a few choices friend...
> you can go for a swim <Lucretia points to the water
> with is sword.>, you could die right where you sit,
> <he brings the blade to the things neck> or you can
> become my pet...so which will it be?...remember
> now if you become my pet you've got to taste like
> chicken, you do taste like chicken don't you?"
The goblin squeaks and quivers. "Swim!" it gulps.
Jenkins nods to Thulli, and starts to drag a couple of goblins towards the river - still bound. As they reach the river bank, they cut the rope binding the goblins and chuck them into the dark swirling waters.
As all the remaining goblins - dead and prisoners alike - are similarly disposed of, the camp slowly comes back to order. Several people bed back down and try to get back to sleep, several others remain on watch for any possible second attack, but all remains quiet.
Too soon, the light of dawn appears in the eastern sky, and the weary party soon awake and start to make their preparations for the day...
The camp is subdued as everyone rises to prepare for the day. The fog has finally gone, and the wind is blowing gently to the south, a great relief from the sickly sweet decaying smell coming from the troll-moors. Rostar's Trade slowly pack their belongings together, some of them limping here and there from minor injuries not yet healed.
Rostar approaches as the preparations near their end.
"Good luck on your journey on to Nesme" he says. "The riders of Nesme patrol the road from this point on, so with any luck, you should be OK." He grimaces as he glances to the west. "Shame this part of the road isn't patrolled by the Harpells eh?!"
OOC: Despite the talk and searches for Feeb in the night, there is no sign of the goblin runt.
The two groups make their preparations for the day and say their good-byes. The Unknowns prepare their wagon for fording the Goblintide as Rostar's Trade starts it's journey westwards.