Nodrus takes a brief look around to his left and right, before proceeding forwards following 'Rat', assuming the rest of the group would follow suit also.

"He's got a way with words, that one."

Dril follows suit, finishing the muffin he had stashed from breakfast.

The landscape north of Solacus is rugged and beautiful. Rolling hills and rocky outcroppings dot the sparsely wooded fields. The road you travel starts off as a wide dirt path, but quickly devolves into a narrow lane of short foliage  between the taller grass and scrub. Rat maintains a fast pace, always glancing to the sides, keeping a watchful eye for danger. The first few hours are pretty uneventful, your journey progressing in peace.

As everyone is heading out of the northern gates of Solacus, Bram lags behind.

If anyone looks back, they would see Bram turn and talk to someone out of view behind the city wall. Bram turns and points to the group walking north, saying something you cant hear from this distance. As Bram is doing this, a wood elf cautiously comes around the corner to look at everyone. He turns and nods to Bram before disappearing behind the wall again.

Bram then catches up with everyone,

"I let Frank know we are heading out and he knows what the rest of you look like now. He is going to find Franz and follow us north."

Bram continues along with the group as they journey north, enjoying the fresh air and beautiful countryside. He seams completely unconcerned with whether or not his companions are catching up or not.

Nean eyes up Bram, giving him a rather sceptical look, but decides not to comment the scenery.  While pacing through the countryside, Nean while try and get more information out of their guide. "So, Rat. How exactly do you know about that mineshaft? And what dangers will we be facing there?"

“Uhm, well like I said I’m a good runner. And also good at hiding. I kinda just make a living off that. Kind of a... freelance scout. Gita hired me to do recon on the shaft and so, well yeah that’s how I know. There’s definitely kobolds there. I didn’t scout... inside the mines but uh, I’m sure theres traps. Kobolds like making traps. Beyond that I’m not sure. Maybe some beasts the kobolds avoid. Or.... well maybe traps left by the dragon. From what I’ve heard, he hasn’t returned in some time. Hopefully you all can get in and out quickly, and it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Bram listens to the exchange between Nean and Rat,

"Sounds like fun. Narrowly avoiding traps always spices up a good heroic story."

Turning to Rat, Bram adds,

"Hey, thanks for helping us out Rat. I know you owe Gita and everything, but I appreciate the help."

Bram gives Rat a warm smile.

Bram takes out his Flute and begins to play a happy tune to pass the time.

"How much further do we have to go Rat? Once we're there will you wait for us to come out or are you heading back alone?"

The generally outgoing Ospos has gone quite silent after leaving the city.  He constantly looks around, body language fluctuating between wonder and worry.  When Bram begins to play on his flute, Ospos absentmindedly beats along with his drum.

Those near enough to hear his muttering, could hear him saying, "It's so weird not having people everywhere..."

Ospos puffed up his chest and gave it a good thump as he replied, "Finding traps can't be that hard.  If you tell me what a trap looks like, I'll keep an eye out for them."

Bram: Rat returns the smile. "Ah, don't worry about it. Really, it's uh, it's a straightforward journey, but it does get a little trickier as you approach the mountains. I'm pretty familiar with the terrain so," he shrugs "Might as well help."

Clermar: "Uhm.... I'd say about uh, three days. I'll stay in the area until you come out. I'll eep an eye out for any, uhm.. danger"

Ospos: "Well, uhm.... I mean there's lots of different kinds of traps. Kobolds excel at building all sorts of... contraptions. Just look for anything out of place."

Bram responds to Liafial's question,

"Oh Frank can disarm traps, and open locks, all that devilishly sneaky stuff. I do think it would be a good idea though, if we all keep an eye out for traps and the like. Its not a great idea to rely on one person to notice every hidden or out of place oddity."

Bram comments to Ospos before going back to playing his Flute,

"It's great to get to play along side fellow musician. Most of the time I only get to do solo performances."

"Oh I've known Frank for maybe 3 years now. Franz is a newer acquaintance, he joined our group not long before Thallan died, so maybe a little over a year."

Bram looks back behind the group checking to see if he can see Frank or Franz,

"Hmmm, you want me to go get Frank? I'm sure he cant be far behind us."

Bram suddenly turns and sprints off back the way everyone has come,

"BE RIGHT BACK!"

Bram quickly disappears from view behind a rise and the tall grass. About 3 minutes later, the wood elf from the city gates, comes into view.

As he comes closer, he begins to slow down and keep his distance from everyone. You can see that he is wearing almost identical cloths to those Bram was wearing. A few straps and patches appear a little different, criss-crossing in different ways then Bram's cloths did.

"Hi, my name is Frank. Bram said you wanted to ask me about my capabilities? Well...ah....I've been doing the, traps and locks, work for various jobs over the last 5 or so years. I haven't had any complaints, well, at least nothing related to the results of my work."

As Frank is talking, he eyes everyone one up and down. After checking everyone out, he appears to relax a little, and approach closer to the group. While he is now travelling with the group, he is still maintaining his personal space from everyone.

"So, an old abandoned mine a? We will have to keep our eyes out for the tunnels, unless they are dwarven made, there is a good chance they could collapse."

Looking around at everyone, Frank asks,

"Any idea what other threats we may face in the mine? Goblins or the like? Bram didn't give a very detailed run down on what he knows."

 Edit: Ops, not a forest, tall grass and rolling hills, will edit.

Frank: Rat's eyebrows shoot up, as a finger raises in the direction that he'd just seen Bram go. "I- uh- b-but... w-where's Bram? You're... his friend? Where the **** did you come from?" he asks incredulously.

(Frank, give me a deception check, everyone else roll insight, also @Brian_Avery, it's more like grassy plains dotted with patches of tall grass/scrub/thickets and some wooded areas)

Insight for Rat: 14

"Oh Franz wanted to talk to Bram about something. I don't know what, maybe something wizardy, or maybe he wanted to complain about how unfair it is that he isn't being waited on hand and foot. They should be fine, they seem to have a sixth sense, always manage to find me, no matter how hard a try to hide."

Frank looks out over the rolling grass lands,

"Nice part of Uvalli this. Close enough to Solacus to be mostly free of bandits, but far enough to still look natural and untouched, peaceful."

 Deception roll: 12

(Note: Frank, Bram and Franz believe they are individual people, they don't know they are one person. These are also established identities, persona that Void worked up over the years, before the accident put him in this state. So i don't know if that should give any advantage or the like, but just thought I'd put that out there.)

Quote from Paradox42 >>

(Note: Frank, Bram and Franz believe they are individual people, they don't know they are one person. These are also established identities, persona that Void worked up over the years, before the accident put him in this state. So i don't know if that should give any advantage or the like, but just thought I'd put that out there.)

(Right, but even though none of the personalities, or Void, are aware of it, Void is subconsciously lying. I'd say any advantage he'd have because of his extreme method acting practice would be negated by the fact that it's still one person portraying three different people, who are all supposedly more or less in the same place at the same time. There are unavoidable clues that could give it away)

"The more the merrier! You get your advance from Gita? What did you spend it on? I bought this!" Dril exclaims to Frank as he waves a small vial of black liquid excitedly.

"3 Days!? That's a lotta Gnome steps"

"Oh, me, Bram and Franz, split the one share in jobs we do together. We, ah, have had some trouble with others claiming we don't all always pull our weight. So we talked and agreed we would just take one share for all three of us. Most people seem happy with that."

Frank has a an expression of doubt as he adds,

"Bram used the money to reacquire my 'lost' trade tools. He says he lost them, but I think he may have been gambling again, and used them as collateral. Anyway, all good now, I should be able to take care of any traps or locks that get in our way."

Frank introduces himself to Dril,

"Hi, as I said, I'm Frank, what can I call you?"

(Good call DM. They may believe they are individuals, but all the clues they rationalize away, are still very evident to everyone else)

"One share for three? I won't complain about a buncha free of hands. I'm Clermar." The half-elf absent-mindedly goes to shake Frank's hand, not really registering that Bram disappeared. "Never been this far outside the city, it smells better than I'd guessed. Always hear stories 'bout beasts killin' folks out here though, so stay alert."

Frank nods to Clermar, but stays out of range and avoids touching,

"Nice to meet you Clermar. It's true, you cant be to careful. You never know what might be waiting to run a blade across your neck."

A look of anxiety comes back over Frank and he starts to look about for anything that might be out to hurt him.