With everything done here that can possibly be done, and the forest cleared of imminent threats, the group watch the survivors begin to make camp within the entrance of the cave, Shionne is seen briefly before she finds herself a nearby tree and steps into it to rest, and the group make their way.
Following the base of the mountain the group make steady progress through the forest, Vin, Neferox and Elthana naturally begin scouting ahead, but never too far from Sam, flanked by Òrga and Molly, Muir who has Snabb following him, and Gewyn. Bypassing the blighted area, the group press on, för hours, nothing but forest, thick and uneven ground makes the trek a monotonous slog, the less dexterous if the group begin to get aches in their necks from spending time looking at their feet to make sure they don't fall.
The group begin to see smoke billowing from the town ahead just above the tree tops, the copper smell of blood wafts thick through the air and as dusk settles in and the light fades over head. The forward scouting group spot two large brown bears making their way along the mountain base in the opposite direction, unknowingly straight toward the main body of the party, sniffing the air and grunting to eachother as the go.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As they get closer and Elthana notices the smell and the light fading, she scouts the two large bears heading towards the others. She looks at Vin, sees that he notices them as well, "We need to warn the others!"
She runs back towards the party as quietly as possible. And as soon as she is within 30' of the party, she casts minor illusion and creates the sound of Dire Wolves emanating near the party to try and scare the bears away.
Vin and Elthana watch at the bears stop in their tracks, they look to eachother and share a few grunts before roaring out toward the sounds of dire wolves and oddly a lion. They then turn, changing the course of their journey away from hokum and begin moving south, as they do Elthana and Vin spot several deep and long cuts in both of the bears sides, still freshly bleeding as they begin hobbling away.
Once they are all together, Elthana says "Sorry I didn't get a warning in to you guys, but I wanted to scare them away and avoid a fight. Didn't think fighting the local animals was something that was necessary. Did you guys see the gashes on their sides though? I wonder what kind of creature would have done that.."
Muir follows and converses calmly with the bears, managing not to draw their ire in their frightened and wounded state, he manages to heal one of them before they depart.
Following the base of the mountain out eastwards the party finally reach the treeline that surrounds Hokum. Or the treeline that used to surround Hokum perhaps, as around 100ft of trees have been cut down along the line of where Hokum meets the forest, a strip of land now bare and open that stretches as far as the eye can currently see southwards and forms an alley where there was once thick forest to hide in, now only stumps remain.
The actual township of Hokum is large, not as big and grand as Marblestead, but a lot bigger than Trundlesten. The once modest homes and buildings now lie partially destroyed, the cut down trees having been used to bar off certain streets and alleyways as makeshift walls, turning the entire town into a maze. There is one solitary light in the town, right in the center a bonfire burns, pouring a sickly black cloud of smoke up into the equally inky black sky. The smell of old blood mixes with the smoke and stings the nostrils, it is stronger here.
As the group watches for a moment before acting, they see some movement, too far out at the moment to make out, but movement nonetheless, like watching an anthill, the more the group stares at this destroyed town the more movement they see, small stubby bodies patrol everywhere just under the darkness, over the tools of buildings and flickering between buildings.
As Vin warns Elthana of the bears Nef smelled the young man just followed along with her plan. Neither he nor Nef wanted to encounter them so avoiding the fight seemed the best outcome. Once away from them Vin mentions to Elthana that Nef smelled fey on them faintly. As the pair get closer to them they notice they have cuts on them like they have been in combat. Neferox doesn't seem interested in them except as maybe a meal but she doesn't break the stealth the trio has.
Reporting to Muir they found out that the bears were running not hunting. Neferox seems to mention something to Elthana. Vin sighs and reports "Nef thinks you made the right call." Nef rolls their eyes but nods. Vin smiles and gives her a scratch behind the ears. As the group makes their way forward the sense of something wrong seems to creep into the boy's mind. They look back to see Nef there giving them support. They seem to relax after a bit then continues on. They eventually reach the treeline. A line that probably shouldn't of been there to begin with. They are unknown folks hiding in the shadows at this time but the town of Hokum seems to be quite devastated from their vantage point. Trees have been cut outwards for a good distance to prevent any kind of sneak attack. They barricaded and hampered the entire town to a point it's more like a maze of walls then a town. Vin watches as he sees the many patrols and knowns they are heavily outnumbered. The hundreds of redcaps mentioned before now before their eyes.
The town looks more like a barricade of fallen trees and broken buildings then a town now. Like its all acting as a barrier to something beyond it. Nef seems to think the same as she looks out into the dark with her eyes well adjusted to such things. She seems intent of seeing what's out there. Vin meanwhile says "That's a lot. Nef and I think they are protecting something. There's supposed to be a cave entrance around here with the floaty fruits and we want to get information about what's here right? Should we check around for a nearby cave entrance to get around? It looks like they have this avenue really well protected. I'm betting they guarding the portal because they don't seem to care about the town and I can't think of what else they may be guarding. Nef doesn't like the idea of a frontal assault either. I can become invisible to scout closer in this darkness if we need." Nef seems to whip their head back to look at Vin clearly not approving this plan. Vin adds to them, "I don't know if anyone else can." Vin looks to those gathered. The boy is perhaps the only one that can get closer without being seen by the multiple patrols.
Muir looks around at the devastation and feels a heaviness in his heart. He is sure he would have noticed this days ago when he arrived in the town. Tree after tree felled by the evils that lurk in town. What have they done to the forest? Some of these trees are older than him and his companions and probably Gore never to see the sun again. He gathers his composure and looks around staying hidden with the others. He lifts his trunk in the air and sniffs around a bit trying to discern where the smell of death permeates least from. (14 Perc roll)
"It seems to me they are building a fortress or home of sorts. The bear seemed to describe the redcaps being what attacked them back in the woods. Little creatures with pointy sticks that smell of blood....If you would like me to, I can change into a small animal and scurry about the place looking around. It is what I did the first time I was here."
Elthana looks down to Neferox in confusion as the dog seems to be talking to her. As Vin translates, she smiles at the boy and nods. She continues with the group towards the edge of the treeline.
Looking around, it just feels wrong. She looks to Muir, knowing that this affects him more than the others. "I'm not sure about entering through a cave, I'm worried we might get lost in it. And our goal is to rid the town of these so called redcaps, correct? Looking South, there appears to be more entrances that might not be as heavily guarded. Vin, did you want to join me to look a bit closer? We could sneak along the edge and see what else we can see. Also, I can make it so we are all more stealthy when we move into the town (Pass without a trace), will just require a bit of my ki (2 points)."
She looks to Muir, "If that is something you want to do, I won't stop you."
Gewyn shakes his head sadly as he looks out over the wreckage of a town. "Do you think they have any idea? The you think the redcaps have any clue how much work goes into bringing together a city even of that size. Even if we are successful here, there is so much that has been undone. It will be years before the people of Hokum have recovered their infrastructure, and even longer for their economy. But then I suppose that is part of our purpose. To be a beacon of hope and courage for the people. I think our task force was put together not just to make things better, but to reassure the people that things can get better."
He puts his hands on his hips and looks off to the horizon. "Going in blind would be risky, but so too would reckless scouting be. If any of you are to go investigate, I suggest caution and teamwork. You should stay relatively close to one another. I am far better at being heard than being silent, so I can hang back. If there is any trouble, I may be able to create a diversion and draw attention my way so you have a chance to escape. Though, I'd feel more at ease if I had Sam with me."
"We should have asked more questions," Sam says as he eyes the little ants crawling about the maze of the city. "Of Shionne and the Thicket about the Red Caps. They said they usually act alone but we should have asked more about their skills and prowess. Their capabilities..."
"You want to turn invisible and explore?" Sam says, eyeing Vin. "How good of hearing do these things have? Do they hunt by scent? We have no idea..."
"Explore as a small animal?" the Half Orc says to Muir. "What do these creatures eat? Seems bear aren't too big for them, are small critters too small for them to bother?"
Sam sighs and shakes his head. "Don't get me wrong, they are good ideas and we're going to have to try something... I just feel like we're going in blind here. I do not think they are guarding the portal though, Vin. Thicket says the portal is in the cave system. I do not see how doing this to a city helps protect anything in the caves. If anything it is likely to send survivors to the caves. Like we already have... But that bonfire in the center of town? I'd lay money that is what they are guarding. Maybe not the fire itself but that area. What for does one make a maze if not to delay and trap and ambush people trying to make it through to the center? No, I do not think they have a portal... But that smell of blood and soot on the air from the fire? Perhaps they are up to some dark magics there."
"Muir, when will we know about the druid cavalry? This looks like a daunting task for a band of champions to take on, even if we are such... Back up would be handy. I'd like to go back and tell Thicket about what these creatures did to the trees but I fear Thicket only cares for his own trees. I don't think the plight of this forest would anger him to action as he was more than willing to destroy our trees for a few scant walking ones of his own..." The sound of Sam's voice is thick with frustration and annoyance. He's not a big fan of the outdoors necessarily but such wanton destruction still stabs at his guts.
"I suppose I won't argue against scouting closer to see what can be seen... But I think it would be foolish and suicide to actually enter the city until we are all together and have some semblance of a plan."
When Vin is asked if he wants to take a closer look by Elthana the young man nods and says "I do. There is too much we don't know and getting close will be a good thing to peer between some of the buildings as well as maybe hear things going on inside." Vin was curious what they would spot. He knows there is too many to fight without some kind of attack that could hit many of the redcaps all at the same time but this information will be vital for the counter attack. The more they get the better and less lives lost. Neferox couldn't care less about the body count and only has worry for Vin. She growls at Elthana for trying to encourage the boy. Vin looks back at her saying "I want to." which causes the black hound to stop growling but continues to glare daggers at Elthana. Vin fills her in "She's not happy you're... encouraging me."
As Sam voices the dangers Neferox looks to then and gives a quiet woof of agreement and looks to Sam as the voice of reason. Once again the dog seems to be on the same level as them. Vin adds, "Nef agrees with you Sam. We are not going to be reckless you two. We just want to get closer to get as much information as possible. Not running any sneak attacks or thinking we can get to the heart of the town, right Elthana?" Neferox seems satisfied at least partially but she gets up close to Elthana and tries to seem intimidating... which isn't that hard for a massive black hound with red eyes. It doesn't take a genius to know she's warning her. Vin being the only one to understand them most of the time translates "Umm... roughly, don't come back alone." Vin was definitely downplaying what was actually said but the glare from the hound leaves no doubt what would happen if Elthana comes back without Vin. Vin gives a worried smile but pats Nef to ease her fear.
Vin seems to say something to her and she just turns her face away from the stealthy woman and goes to stand next to Sam. Apparently giving consent to scout as Vin says "Thank you Nef. Don't worry I'll be okay. We both will... or maybe all of us?" Vin looks to Muir unsure if they are going with the shapechanging plan to join them in their stealthy mission. Lastly Vin addresses Gewyn and tells them "Won't be just you and Sam, Nef is staying too. She can't turn invisible like me and tends to stick out in the open. I don't think the redcaps are interested in the town at all. It's important to the survivors though... for me, I just want to help the soulless, get some intel for the arriving support coming so they can be better prepared, and maybe weaken them a bit before then. Pretty sure we can't take on all of them, weren't we told there was hundreds? There is also that giant we heard about but haven't seen yet. We can make things way better for when others arrive." Nef woofs again and Vin says "Nef says if the giant is the leader we might be able to disperse the redcaps by taking it out. So, I guess we will try to spot that thing too while scouting."
A rare genuine smile plays on Elthana's lips as Vin tells her that Nef is unhappy that she is encouraging him. "You're kidding right? I figured your dog would be mad at me if I didn't include you. Think I was shutting you out or something. I swear I'll never win with her. But I'm glad you're coming with me, you're very good at this." She then turns to Neferox, "Don't worry, I'll bring him back. And in one piece." she chuckles to herself at this a bit, figuring the dog wouldn't like that last bit.
"Alright, lets head South a bit, and stick to the treeline. That way you can stay invisible, and it is easier for me to hide. Maybe we'll be able to spot the giant, that'd be something. We'll see what recon we can gather and come back to report." And with that, Elthana nods to Vin and starts moving silently South.
Before Elthana and Vin leaves Muir pipes up "Sam is right....They are protecting something in the center. The smell is hot blood. They are keeping the blood hot with all of the downed trees.....I will come with you. I can change into a chipmunk or squirrel and climb amongst what trees are left and rooftops" And with that Muir change his shape to a chipmunk figuring the smaller the better
As the party spilts up, it doesn't take long for Vin, Elthana and Muir to completely vanish into the night, leaving Sam, Molly, Órga, Gewyn, Neferox and Muir's horse snabb, standing at the edge of the newly cut back treeline, watching waiting...
It takes a while but stealthing through the felled alley proves simple enough, as the scout group move southward along the outward edge of the town, it reveals more ruin, more devastation and a few more barricades made up of the felled trees, but most importantly it reveals a few more openings, unlit passages between buildings, and streets left open that flicker with momentary movement every so often.
(Scouting group make investigation checks, everyone else perception please)
The scouting team moves south. It takes a while to reach the southern most point of the town, and as they go they check over the barricades, and see that they are tight and will be difficult to scale for some of the group. However there seems to be two points of easier ingress besides the two roads up by where Sam and Gewyn wait.
The first is a small gap, an alleyway that seems to have been missed or may be being used by the redcaps themselves to get in and out, tiny footprints tell the scouting group that this may be the case but it seems to not be in frequent use. It is also difficult to see in through the ruined houses clustered around this entrance, but it is the closest means to the central fire.
The second, at the very bottom of the town, is a large circular building, in a state of destruction the same as the rest of the visible town this building appears to be a fighting ring or debate house, the center of which is open and allows for easier visibility for suprise attack but similarly easier to be spotted entering in. Muir recognises this building as one he passed on the way in, and one he was nearly chased back to on his abrupt exit from the town a few days ago. The scout group hear the sounds of movement coming from a guard tower to the east of them, but cannot see anything right now through the blanket of darkness.
With their eyes more adjusted to the night and the chance to sit and observe, Sam, Gewyn and company begin to make out a steady stream of these small creatures going back and forth up to the mountain, it only happens a few times and the group cannot make out what these creatures are doing, but it becomes obvious to them that the pathway at the very north of the town heading to the mountain pass is being heavily observed. They also make out from their vantage that the center of the town, illuminated by the fire, is crawling with these red caps, too many to count as they all appear to be moving around too much to get a good grasp on their number.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As Nef waits behind and begins pacing back and forth in nervousness they seem unable to focus for worry over Vin. They eye the goat every now and again but don't attack it. Nef looks towards the town a few times in curiosity but mostly seem to look in the direction of where Vin went. Those nearby would probably realize that until now they have never seen Nef just waiting without Vin. The hound definitely doesn't like it.
Vin meanwhile enjoys the concealment of shadows and darkness. Completely vanishes from sight which is probably problematic for Elthana to keep track of him. They manage to stay as a group scouting the area a bit down southward but taking their time to do so. Noticing that there is movement up in the mountains above and that there is things being brought up there Vin thinks on where that entrance to the floaty fruit might be. Does that line up with where the kids described its location? Whatever the case, Vin wanted a closer look. he wasn't planning to go into the city itself but he did want to get up to the entrances and use his stealth. If they seem to notice him he will make sure he can just run away and have an escape to his back at the very least.
From the southern most entrance after Vin and Elthana have scoped out as much as they can from outside Vin whispers to Elthana "I'm not going to enter but I'm going to get a look at the inside from the entrances. To see what is immediately inside. I'm invisible so I should be safe and will make sure I have an escape behind me, I should be fine especially with your magic helping me further. I'll be right back and we will repeat for each entrance till we get back to the others." With that Vin goes to the first southern entrance being as stealthy as they can and taking their time to get up to the entrance and ideally be able to peer around the corners of it depending how well they can time their stealth between the patrols.
Stealth Check, Invisible plus Pass without a Trace: 29
Muir squeaks to Vin and Elthana before scurrying off onto the rooftops of the buildings. He's small enough to garner no attention from any of the Redcaps and blends in with the roofs of the buildings. He watches for a few moments hearing the Redcaps argue about the blood taking in all the conversations in Sylvan. After a few moments he learns a great deal and decides he needs to scurry back and tell the rest of the group......He returns to Sam and Gewyn as a chipmunk, sits on a log and stares up at them still in chipmunk form waiting for the others to return.
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With everything done here that can possibly be done, and the forest cleared of imminent threats, the group watch the survivors begin to make camp within the entrance of the cave, Shionne is seen briefly before she finds herself a nearby tree and steps into it to rest, and the group make their way.
Following the base of the mountain the group make steady progress through the forest, Vin, Neferox and Elthana naturally begin scouting ahead, but never too far from Sam, flanked by Òrga and Molly, Muir who has Snabb following him, and Gewyn. Bypassing the blighted area, the group press on, för hours, nothing but forest, thick and uneven ground makes the trek a monotonous slog, the less dexterous if the group begin to get aches in their necks from spending time looking at their feet to make sure they don't fall.
The group begin to see smoke billowing from the town ahead just above the tree tops, the copper smell of blood wafts thick through the air and as dusk settles in and the light fades over head. The forward scouting group spot two large brown bears making their way along the mountain base in the opposite direction, unknowingly straight toward the main body of the party, sniffing the air and grunting to eachother as the go.
As they get closer and Elthana notices the smell and the light fading, she scouts the two large bears heading towards the others. She looks at Vin, sees that he notices them as well, "We need to warn the others!"
She runs back towards the party as quietly as possible. And as soon as she is within 30' of the party, she casts minor illusion and creates the sound of Dire Wolves emanating near the party to try and scare the bears away.
Stealth 29
((Once Sam and Molly and Órga hear the "dire wolves" the lion will respond with a challenging roar...))
Vin and Elthana watch at the bears stop in their tracks, they look to eachother and share a few grunts before roaring out toward the sounds of dire wolves and oddly a lion. They then turn, changing the course of their journey away from hokum and begin moving south, as they do Elthana and Vin spot several deep and long cuts in both of the bears sides, still freshly bleeding as they begin hobbling away.
Muir watches the interactions and speaks “These bear are running. They are not hunting.”
Once they are all together, Elthana says "Sorry I didn't get a warning in to you guys, but I wanted to scare them away and avoid a fight. Didn't think fighting the local animals was something that was necessary. Did you guys see the gashes on their sides though? I wonder what kind of creature would have done that.."
Muir snaps to after watching the bear run away realizing Elthana was not around to hear “Those bear were running. They were not hunting.”
Muir follows and converses calmly with the bears, managing not to draw their ire in their frightened and wounded state, he manages to heal one of them before they depart.
Following the base of the mountain out eastwards the party finally reach the treeline that surrounds Hokum. Or the treeline that used to surround Hokum perhaps, as around 100ft of trees have been cut down along the line of where Hokum meets the forest, a strip of land now bare and open that stretches as far as the eye can currently see southwards and forms an alley where there was once thick forest to hide in, now only stumps remain.
The actual township of Hokum is large, not as big and grand as Marblestead, but a lot bigger than Trundlesten. The once modest homes and buildings now lie partially destroyed, the cut down trees having been used to bar off certain streets and alleyways as makeshift walls, turning the entire town into a maze. There is one solitary light in the town, right in the center a bonfire burns, pouring a sickly black cloud of smoke up into the equally inky black sky. The smell of old blood mixes with the smoke and stings the nostrils, it is stronger here.
As the group watches for a moment before acting, they see some movement, too far out at the moment to make out, but movement nonetheless, like watching an anthill, the more the group stares at this destroyed town the more movement they see, small stubby bodies patrol everywhere just under the darkness, over the tools of buildings and flickering between buildings.
As Vin warns Elthana of the bears Nef smelled the young man just followed along with her plan. Neither he nor Nef wanted to encounter them so avoiding the fight seemed the best outcome. Once away from them Vin mentions to Elthana that Nef smelled fey on them faintly. As the pair get closer to them they notice they have cuts on them like they have been in combat. Neferox doesn't seem interested in them except as maybe a meal but she doesn't break the stealth the trio has.
Reporting to Muir they found out that the bears were running not hunting. Neferox seems to mention something to Elthana. Vin sighs and reports "Nef thinks you made the right call." Nef rolls their eyes but nods. Vin smiles and gives her a scratch behind the ears. As the group makes their way forward the sense of something wrong seems to creep into the boy's mind. They look back to see Nef there giving them support. They seem to relax after a bit then continues on. They eventually reach the treeline. A line that probably shouldn't of been there to begin with. They are unknown folks hiding in the shadows at this time but the town of Hokum seems to be quite devastated from their vantage point. Trees have been cut outwards for a good distance to prevent any kind of sneak attack. They barricaded and hampered the entire town to a point it's more like a maze of walls then a town. Vin watches as he sees the many patrols and knowns they are heavily outnumbered. The hundreds of redcaps mentioned before now before their eyes.
The town looks more like a barricade of fallen trees and broken buildings then a town now. Like its all acting as a barrier to something beyond it. Nef seems to think the same as she looks out into the dark with her eyes well adjusted to such things. She seems intent of seeing what's out there. Vin meanwhile says "That's a lot. Nef and I think they are protecting something. There's supposed to be a cave entrance around here with the floaty fruits and we want to get information about what's here right? Should we check around for a nearby cave entrance to get around? It looks like they have this avenue really well protected. I'm betting they guarding the portal because they don't seem to care about the town and I can't think of what else they may be guarding. Nef doesn't like the idea of a frontal assault either. I can become invisible to scout closer in this darkness if we need." Nef seems to whip their head back to look at Vin clearly not approving this plan. Vin adds to them, "I don't know if anyone else can." Vin looks to those gathered. The boy is perhaps the only one that can get closer without being seen by the multiple patrols.
Muir looks around at the devastation and feels a heaviness in his heart. He is sure he would have noticed this days ago when he arrived in the town. Tree after tree felled by the evils that lurk in town. What have they done to the forest? Some of these trees are older than him and his companions and probably Gore never to see the sun again. He gathers his composure and looks around staying hidden with the others. He lifts his trunk in the air and sniffs around a bit trying to discern where the smell of death permeates least from. (14 Perc roll)
"It seems to me they are building a fortress or home of sorts. The bear seemed to describe the redcaps being what attacked them back in the woods. Little creatures with pointy sticks that smell of blood....If you would like me to, I can change into a small animal and scurry about the place looking around. It is what I did the first time I was here."
Elthana looks down to Neferox in confusion as the dog seems to be talking to her. As Vin translates, she smiles at the boy and nods. She continues with the group towards the edge of the treeline.
Looking around, it just feels wrong. She looks to Muir, knowing that this affects him more than the others. "I'm not sure about entering through a cave, I'm worried we might get lost in it. And our goal is to rid the town of these so called redcaps, correct? Looking South, there appears to be more entrances that might not be as heavily guarded. Vin, did you want to join me to look a bit closer? We could sneak along the edge and see what else we can see. Also, I can make it so we are all more stealthy when we move into the town (Pass without a trace), will just require a bit of my ki (2 points)."
She looks to Muir, "If that is something you want to do, I won't stop you."
Gewyn shakes his head sadly as he looks out over the wreckage of a town. "Do you think they have any idea? The you think the redcaps have any clue how much work goes into bringing together a city even of that size. Even if we are successful here, there is so much that has been undone. It will be years before the people of Hokum have recovered their infrastructure, and even longer for their economy. But then I suppose that is part of our purpose. To be a beacon of hope and courage for the people. I think our task force was put together not just to make things better, but to reassure the people that things can get better."
He puts his hands on his hips and looks off to the horizon. "Going in blind would be risky, but so too would reckless scouting be. If any of you are to go investigate, I suggest caution and teamwork. You should stay relatively close to one another. I am far better at being heard than being silent, so I can hang back. If there is any trouble, I may be able to create a diversion and draw attention my way so you have a chance to escape. Though, I'd feel more at ease if I had Sam with me."
"We should have asked more questions," Sam says as he eyes the little ants crawling about the maze of the city. "Of Shionne and the Thicket about the Red Caps. They said they usually act alone but we should have asked more about their skills and prowess. Their capabilities..."
"You want to turn invisible and explore?" Sam says, eyeing Vin. "How good of hearing do these things have? Do they hunt by scent? We have no idea..."
"Explore as a small animal?" the Half Orc says to Muir. "What do these creatures eat? Seems bear aren't too big for them, are small critters too small for them to bother?"
Sam sighs and shakes his head. "Don't get me wrong, they are good ideas and we're going to have to try something... I just feel like we're going in blind here. I do not think they are guarding the portal though, Vin. Thicket says the portal is in the cave system. I do not see how doing this to a city helps protect anything in the caves. If anything it is likely to send survivors to the caves. Like we already have... But that bonfire in the center of town? I'd lay money that is what they are guarding. Maybe not the fire itself but that area. What for does one make a maze if not to delay and trap and ambush people trying to make it through to the center? No, I do not think they have a portal... But that smell of blood and soot on the air from the fire? Perhaps they are up to some dark magics there."
"Muir, when will we know about the druid cavalry? This looks like a daunting task for a band of champions to take on, even if we are such... Back up would be handy. I'd like to go back and tell Thicket about what these creatures did to the trees but I fear Thicket only cares for his own trees. I don't think the plight of this forest would anger him to action as he was more than willing to destroy our trees for a few scant walking ones of his own..." The sound of Sam's voice is thick with frustration and annoyance. He's not a big fan of the outdoors necessarily but such wanton destruction still stabs at his guts.
"I suppose I won't argue against scouting closer to see what can be seen... But I think it would be foolish and suicide to actually enter the city until we are all together and have some semblance of a plan."
When Vin is asked if he wants to take a closer look by Elthana the young man nods and says "I do. There is too much we don't know and getting close will be a good thing to peer between some of the buildings as well as maybe hear things going on inside." Vin was curious what they would spot. He knows there is too many to fight without some kind of attack that could hit many of the redcaps all at the same time but this information will be vital for the counter attack. The more they get the better and less lives lost. Neferox couldn't care less about the body count and only has worry for Vin. She growls at Elthana for trying to encourage the boy. Vin looks back at her saying "I want to." which causes the black hound to stop growling but continues to glare daggers at Elthana. Vin fills her in "She's not happy you're... encouraging me."
As Sam voices the dangers Neferox looks to then and gives a quiet woof of agreement and looks to Sam as the voice of reason. Once again the dog seems to be on the same level as them. Vin adds, "Nef agrees with you Sam. We are not going to be reckless you two. We just want to get closer to get as much information as possible. Not running any sneak attacks or thinking we can get to the heart of the town, right Elthana?" Neferox seems satisfied at least partially but she gets up close to Elthana and tries to seem intimidating... which isn't that hard for a massive black hound with red eyes. It doesn't take a genius to know she's warning her. Vin being the only one to understand them most of the time translates "Umm... roughly, don't come back alone." Vin was definitely downplaying what was actually said but the glare from the hound leaves no doubt what would happen if Elthana comes back without Vin. Vin gives a worried smile but pats Nef to ease her fear.
Vin seems to say something to her and she just turns her face away from the stealthy woman and goes to stand next to Sam. Apparently giving consent to scout as Vin says "Thank you Nef. Don't worry I'll be okay. We both will... or maybe all of us?" Vin looks to Muir unsure if they are going with the shapechanging plan to join them in their stealthy mission. Lastly Vin addresses Gewyn and tells them "Won't be just you and Sam, Nef is staying too. She can't turn invisible like me and tends to stick out in the open. I don't think the redcaps are interested in the town at all. It's important to the survivors though... for me, I just want to help the soulless, get some intel for the arriving support coming so they can be better prepared, and maybe weaken them a bit before then. Pretty sure we can't take on all of them, weren't we told there was hundreds? There is also that giant we heard about but haven't seen yet. We can make things way better for when others arrive." Nef woofs again and Vin says "Nef says if the giant is the leader we might be able to disperse the redcaps by taking it out. So, I guess we will try to spot that thing too while scouting."
A rare genuine smile plays on Elthana's lips as Vin tells her that Nef is unhappy that she is encouraging him. "You're kidding right? I figured your dog would be mad at me if I didn't include you. Think I was shutting you out or something. I swear I'll never win with her. But I'm glad you're coming with me, you're very good at this." She then turns to Neferox, "Don't worry, I'll bring him back. And in one piece." she chuckles to herself at this a bit, figuring the dog wouldn't like that last bit.
"Alright, lets head South a bit, and stick to the treeline. That way you can stay invisible, and it is easier for me to hide. Maybe we'll be able to spot the giant, that'd be something. We'll see what recon we can gather and come back to report." And with that, Elthana nods to Vin and starts moving silently South.
Before Elthana and Vin leaves Muir pipes up "Sam is right....They are protecting something in the center. The smell is hot blood. They are keeping the blood hot with all of the downed trees.....I will come with you. I can change into a chipmunk or squirrel and climb amongst what trees are left and rooftops" And with that Muir change his shape to a chipmunk figuring the smaller the better
As the party spilts up, it doesn't take long for Vin, Elthana and Muir to completely vanish into the night, leaving Sam, Molly, Órga, Gewyn, Neferox and Muir's horse snabb, standing at the edge of the newly cut back treeline, watching waiting...
It takes a while but stealthing through the felled alley proves simple enough, as the scout group move southward along the outward edge of the town, it reveals more ruin, more devastation and a few more barricades made up of the felled trees, but most importantly it reveals a few more openings, unlit passages between buildings, and streets left open that flicker with momentary movement every so often.
(Scouting group make investigation checks, everyone else perception please)
The scouting team moves south. It takes a while to reach the southern most point of the town, and as they go they check over the barricades, and see that they are tight and will be difficult to scale for some of the group. However there seems to be two points of easier ingress besides the two roads up by where Sam and Gewyn wait.
The first is a small gap, an alleyway that seems to have been missed or may be being used by the redcaps themselves to get in and out, tiny footprints tell the scouting group that this may be the case but it seems to not be in frequent use. It is also difficult to see in through the ruined houses clustered around this entrance, but it is the closest means to the central fire.
The second, at the very bottom of the town, is a large circular building, in a state of destruction the same as the rest of the visible town this building appears to be a fighting ring or debate house, the center of which is open and allows for easier visibility for suprise attack but similarly easier to be spotted entering in. Muir recognises this building as one he passed on the way in, and one he was nearly chased back to on his abrupt exit from the town a few days ago. The scout group hear the sounds of movement coming from a guard tower to the east of them, but cannot see anything right now through the blanket of darkness.
With their eyes more adjusted to the night and the chance to sit and observe, Sam, Gewyn and company begin to make out a steady stream of these small creatures going back and forth up to the mountain, it only happens a few times and the group cannot make out what these creatures are doing, but it becomes obvious to them that the pathway at the very north of the town heading to the mountain pass is being heavily observed. They also make out from their vantage that the center of the town, illuminated by the fire, is crawling with these red caps, too many to count as they all appear to be moving around too much to get a good grasp on their number.
As Nef waits behind and begins pacing back and forth in nervousness they seem unable to focus for worry over Vin. They eye the goat every now and again but don't attack it. Nef looks towards the town a few times in curiosity but mostly seem to look in the direction of where Vin went. Those nearby would probably realize that until now they have never seen Nef just waiting without Vin. The hound definitely doesn't like it.
Vin meanwhile enjoys the concealment of shadows and darkness. Completely vanishes from sight which is probably problematic for Elthana to keep track of him. They manage to stay as a group scouting the area a bit down southward but taking their time to do so. Noticing that there is movement up in the mountains above and that there is things being brought up there Vin thinks on where that entrance to the floaty fruit might be. Does that line up with where the kids described its location? Whatever the case, Vin wanted a closer look. he wasn't planning to go into the city itself but he did want to get up to the entrances and use his stealth. If they seem to notice him he will make sure he can just run away and have an escape to his back at the very least.
From the southern most entrance after Vin and Elthana have scoped out as much as they can from outside Vin whispers to Elthana "I'm not going to enter but I'm going to get a look at the inside from the entrances. To see what is immediately inside. I'm invisible so I should be safe and will make sure I have an escape behind me, I should be fine especially with your magic helping me further. I'll be right back and we will repeat for each entrance till we get back to the others." With that Vin goes to the first southern entrance being as stealthy as they can and taking their time to get up to the entrance and ideally be able to peer around the corners of it depending how well they can time their stealth between the patrols.
Stealth Check, Invisible plus Pass without a Trace: 29
Muir squeaks to Vin and Elthana before scurrying off onto the rooftops of the buildings. He's small enough to garner no attention from any of the Redcaps and blends in with the roofs of the buildings. He watches for a few moments hearing the Redcaps argue about the blood taking in all the conversations in Sylvan. After a few moments he learns a great deal and decides he needs to scurry back and tell the rest of the group......He returns to Sam and Gewyn as a chipmunk, sits on a log and stares up at them still in chipmunk form waiting for the others to return.