Evy exchanges a glance with Val. Apples again. She nods gratefully and lowers her eyes. “Thank you, sir. I wish I could make your loss lessen, but only time and memory can do that. I would have liked her, I think.”

Then she stands again. “We should go, we have already taken too much time sniffing after this thing’s spoor.”

"Indeed." Val says, hoping the single word serves as an agreement to Evy's sentiments expressed to the old man as well as a response to her last statement.

Swift allows you to leave wordlessly. You exit the farm and continue on your way, following the old gentleman's directions. The sun continues to descend, dropping below the peaks of the surrounding mountains. It gets dark here early because of the protective ridge. You still have a few hours before bedtime. You walk a ways along the edge of the orchard and then cut into the trees where Swift indicated. The mountains are directly above you now, and it doesn't take much time before you are standing outside of a good sized cave mouth.

Evy glances at Val. "We shouldn't go in now, right? We should wait until morning? Scout it out? Get some rest?" She smiles a little devilishly. Evy is dangerous when she's bored.

"I wonder if the old man would have agreed to shelter us for the evening had that thought crept up in our minds back then." Val laments.

"It is been a while since we last camped outside like this, just the two cousins, that is. If we were to go to bed early and take turns, I reckon we'd be both well rested after some 12 hours. This way one of us would always be on watch."

Evy pouts, but only a little. “You’re only fun when you’re angry, Val,” she accuses, but it has no bite. She turns to help her cousin find a place to set a small camp, within sight of the cave mouth, but not too close. As they set about the chores to set up, she keeps an eye on the cave, relying as usual on her dagger to warn her (and Val) of danger.

OK, yes, with a 12-hour "rest cycle", two players can successfully rest with both being awake for only two hours of their eight hours of rest. Something else to consider is Evy's dagger. It will wake you both up if danger presents itself. What do you want to do? It is a little early for bed, which means 12 hours would take you to early morning.

OOC: It sounds like we could risk letting the dagger take a couple of watches as to reduce the total rest time to something more manageable. How do you feel about an 8-hour rest that includes 4 hours of unsupervised dagger watch?

Evy has learned to rely on the dagger, for better or worse. Entering in the wee hours of the morning, when it is still a little dark, might catch some mobsters still groggy or asleep, so she’ll argue for eight hours.

OOC: Eight hours it is then.

For his watch, Val will find a spot that is hidden by some bushes and keep one of his weapons close at hand. If he feels anything is amiss, he'll open his magical sensors to help him spot any danger.

-> Perception check: 5

-> Magic Awareness:

Here’s a Perception roll for Evy for her watch. She’ll take the first watch, right at dusk, then rely on her dagger (and Val) the rest of the night.

Perception: 16

So, let's say it's six o'clock. Evy's taking from six to eight. Which two-hour window are you taking, Val?

OOC: I'd say 10 to 12, though I am not sure concluding the long rest at 2 in the morning is that beneficial. Would we go cave delving so early?

Yeah, let’s say we eat dinner and play cards from six to eight, then sleep/watch, pushing everything back two hours. No fire. 

OOC: Sounds good.

10-4

During your card game, you begin to hear noises in the night that sound a little more interesting than the normal night noises that you've been hearing over dinner and since. Evy, your dagger begins to tingle in your mind, and Val feels it too. The fire you used for dinner is a little low, but not close to dying by any means. Thankfully, your tiefling eyes can still see well between the trees in the dark orchard. Eight medium-sized creatures are moving toward you slowly as if trying to move stealthily. The closest are about 50 feet away.

Evy keeps her voice light, flipping a card randomly, but goes on in infernal, “I count eight, right? Time to try out my new toy,” she taps her wand. “Shall we start on the left and work our way through them?”

"A chance to test my new blade." He looks at Evy with a smile on his lips and confirms her plan:' "To the left, yes. Let us move away from the fire while we can. No need to give them an advantage in case they need light to see in the dark."

Val unsheathes Winter's Dark Bite.

If we are allowed an action at this point, Val will cast Armor of Agathys. If not, he'll wait.

“No matter,” she says, and as he draws his weapon she snuffs out the small campfire and moves to put Val between her and the enemy.

Initiative started. Who goes first (players=1, foes=2): 2

As soon as Evy and Val begin moving, they hear (though they can't really make out) a short series of quiet hisses. Four of the creatures run forward while four move forward, but not as quickly. As the four quickly approach Val and Evy, the cousins see reptilian humanoids with lizard-like heads a little shorter than Evy. Three of them have frills on their foreheads that continue down the backs of their heads. All of them have beady black eyes, long claws, and fangs that stand out against their partially opened mouths. Worst of all is the stench that precedes them. The tieflings feel they are ready for the attack, but the smell is quite surprising!

Players' turn. Four are surrounding Val. Four are still 20 feet away. How close are you to Val, Evy? Would one or two be in melee with you as well? Any creature other than one of these creatures that starts its turn within 5 feet of it must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start of the creature’s next turn. On a successful saving throw, the creature is immune to the stench for 1 hour.