The tracks slowly become less scattered over the course of the day, suggesting the minor bands of orcs have started to regroup toward the main Longhunt force. Another quiet night passes, and Thane and Fargim once again lead the way, following orc and worg tracks.

Thane finally engages in some conversation, speaking with Volthero. "You follow orders well. Smart, and decisive. I forget sometimes that hobgoblins aren't brainless dolts like their goblin kin. You must forgive me for that...I've spent my entire life fighting orcs."

Jarl is much more talkative, staying close to Diana through much of the journey. "I'm sure you hear this all the time, but your music is wonderful. My Lucia was a beautiful singer. You remind me of her, the way you play. Except she's not as good with a blade. That was impressive, that trick with the Reavers. They looked real. Like, real real. Could you teach me how to do that?"

"It is very forgivable Thane. We train from birth to join the ranks of our clan and with that we are not as easy to come by as our smaller cousins. You tend to find small numbers of them about however, if you found a small number of hobgoblins you would have found the scouting party for the legion.

As a lone hobgoblin I cannot display the structure of our training nor the coordination drilled into us since we can walk.

You fight with great skill Thane but it would require a coordinated unit to defeat a Legion. These Reavers are not too far off, they are a tremendous asset to this mission. I look forward to our battles knowing we have a solid wall to smash our enemies against."

Fargim spoke about himself the previous day of travel. After a good long sleep he got the sudden idea of asking about other people as well. So he spends the next day talking to Elrik, asking about his experiences in the world, his background, etc. It's really hard for him not to talk about himself though, so at some points when there's some relatable experience, he's going to launch into a story about his own history.

Elrik figures it's best to keep things brief with the stone giant. "Eight months ago, Fargim, I was an apprentice mason who was ready to take up the life of a cleric. Wretched orcs shattered that, however. A raid on my village left my brother dead, my parents missing, and my rather simple view of the world in tatters. I abandoned the idea of serving a deity, and I took up this axe from an orc I slew.  After wandering and searching the nearby foothills for many weeks, and after finding no trace of my parents, I took the job of helping Arugg with his herd. And, ironically, I am once again searching for orcs..."

Diana was in a good mood, the battle and the chase are doing things really exciting for her. Spending so many years in the college seemed like a huge suffering right now.

As Jarl started to talk about Lucia, which Diana really didn't care off, Lucia may be dead long ago, this green beasts seemed exceptionally violent. Why would they spare this weakling?

Diana keeps thoughts to herself, but she smiled at Jarl and answered:

- "Yeah, back in the days I was best in music class".

She performed another great song for Jarl pleasure.

- "As for this illusions, you can't learn this art easily, some bards have the innate power to weave into arcane power that shapes our world."

- "You have this powers or you spending years like Wizards to learn them. It's totally possible but at a cost of one's sanity."

DM Screen:

Jarl smiles at the music, but seems disappointed at the response to learning magic. "I'm not the best fighter, I guess I was hoping to learn some magic someday. I'm nowhere near smart enough to be a wizard though. I hope to have a seat on the Council someday though."

Thane takes particular interest in Elrik through the rest of the day's travels, sharing stories of his orc hunting over the last thirteen years. Where Roccar and his Reavers protect barbarian homesteads throughout the area, Thane and other rangers focus on scouting and picking off orc sentries and raiding parties to keep any significant forces from organizing. The Longhunt orcs have long been a problem, however, and while their brutality over the last couple of days is no surprise to him, their apparent size is.

The sun is setting when Fargim and Thane notice, while looking for a site to camp, around a dozen small humanoid creatures in the distance.

"Friends or foes, Thane?" asks Elrik after being alerted of the creatures' presence. The dwarf instinctively places a hand on one of his throwing axes.

Hox goes down on all fours, prepared to run or charge. "Clan? Green ones?" He asks as he sees Elrik place a hand upon his small axe. He shifts his bow to his shoulder, readying it for combat.

"Unknown," Thane responds to Elrik. As you get closer you can see the small creatures are kobolds, and they don't seem particularly interested in getting into a fight. When they notice the riders approaching, they move off of the trail as if to let you pass, bringing their hands to their weapons, but don't draw them.

Hox moves back and tries to hide behind Volthero, trying to hide himself. 

20 for stealth

Hox looks to Farqim and waves to him, "Hide too, kobolds know not of giant children. If see you, they think gnome. Kobolds no like gnomes."

Fargim finds a close outcropping of rocks and makes himself hard to see. Stealth check: 9

"Think they might know of the Longhunts' whereabouts?" Elrik asks of no one in particular. He then adds, "I doubt this small band of kobolds would risk an attack on all of us, but I don't like the idea of setting up camp anywhere nearby."

Diana just rides along.

Cautiously riding forward, the kobolds stay to the side of the trail and simply watch you approach. One speaks up in broken common as you close in. "We see your small one move behind rocks! He try to do stupid and we fight you. But you lucky, we not travel to fight, we travel to find ruby. Have you seen big red ruby?"

Diana whispers to Jarl:

- "Maybe we tell them that orcs got all the rubies in the world?"

- "One hundred kobolds can be really useful as meat shield"

The words big red ruby have a strange effect on Elrik. To be a dwarf is to have an almost avaricious love of gemstones, and Elrik is no exception. Elrik decides to offer the kobold a response. "A prized ruby in these parts, you say? Are you sure about that?"

"One hundred kobolds against the sixty worg riders we fought. If only we had some way to test this thought," Jarl chuckles.

The kobolds have not let their guards down, but respond to Elrik's question. "Yes, tribe have ruby totem, but ruby go missing. If you have not seen, then you pass by and we pass by."

Hox taps on Volthero, whispering to him, "No lie, if kobolds know you lie, they go after us next. And too many, whole clan fight us. No chance."

Fargim, thinking he's well hidden, casts Disguise Self and makes himself a close copy of Hox. Then he comes and joins the party but keeps silent.

The kobold that has been doing the majority of speaking remarks on the newest entry to the group. "I sorry, I thought you maybe had sneak gnome with you, not kobold doing business." Addressing Fargim-Hox, it speaks in a strange language, though Diana and Hox happen to understand.

For Diana and Hox:

The kobold nods its head, and all the kobolds allow you to continue on your way. "Are we done here?" Thane asks, "I would like to get some distance from the trail before we camp."