Old Poe wheezes something incoherent to Aradurk, and almost immediately falls back to the ground, barely able to stand on his own feet. 

There is a shout from the road. Further down the path, you see the glittering of the sun reflecting off of multiple suits of splint mail. A dozen human warriors follow behind the large man who shouted.

"Poe! Gods, Poe, what happened to you?" He shouts.

The sound of steel rings through the air as the warriors draw swords in near unison, each holding a longsword and a shortsword defensively.

The leader of the company stares you down. "Explain yourselves before my Reavers run you through. What happened to this man?" 

"Let me guess, Roccar's Reavers or something is your group."

Meepo returns his bedroll to a furled state as he prepares himself to camp to another spot. He continues doing so while explaining their circumstances at the company leader.

"You shouldn't have left a senile old man alone by himself you know. Few days ago, we saw him wandering the trail of Rauvincross riding on a sickly horse.

Tried talking sense to him that we're not his friends that he's looking for and he immediately bolted out of our reach.

Days passed and we saw him here few hours ago in that state with a group from the Longhunt tribe saying he's a shaman and debating whether it's a good thing to kill him.

Our group tried saving the old man even though Meepo thinks its a bad idea to fight with the odds against us, probably four to one. Meepo can't really remember since we're fighting a lot of them. You can see their corpses over yonder."

Meepo points to the carcasses on the ground near them as he lifts his backpack from the ground.

"We barely managed to get him out safely by convincing a couple of hobgoblins escape during the encounter and most of my comrades are in a dire state after the battle. We're currently planning to rest and heal the wounds we took."

I walk Old Poe over to their midst.

"The Longhunt orcs that did this have been indeed dispatched with prejudice. I am Aradurk, formerly of the Confederation Army. Where is your healer's tent so I may take Poe to be treated?"

"I...yes, that is correct, I am Roccar," the man says. He shakes off his reaction to the eloquent kobold quickly, and his Reavers visibly relax, sheathing their weapons. A number of them rush over to retrieve him from Aradurk, putting his arms and legs around their shoulders to carry him.

"Despite his appearance, Poe is far from senile. He has been trading establishing trade with the orcs. He is--was, our inside man, and was trying to find the goblin that has been trading them magical weapons. It seems somehow they figured him out.

The Longhunt orcs are migrating North. It is my duty to find out why. We are camped not far from here. Thank you for rescuing this man. We can take him there to recover while we await our scouting party's return."

"Far from senile? If you say so." Travus wearily stands up. "Those orcs had some hobgoblins with them, a bunch of sharpshooters those kind are, they're the ones who got me these wounds. If you have any healing potions or other medicine you can part with, I'd appreciate to have a little bit."

Bartram Shadecrest
Lvl 3 | Human | Rogue/Inquisitive 

"I think Old Poe may have been has good has he used to be." Producing the crude figurine, he shows it to them. "He threw this at us as if it would attack us. You may need to be weary of any information he may have given you and treat it as unreliable."  

"Leader can I have a word with you?"

Meepo drags Aradurk on his pants as that's the only thing he could reach, away from Roccar before whispering his warnings.

"Glendale said we have to be careful not to blow our cover that we have orders from Sundabar, you know, about politcal matters concerning with the Dark Arrows Empire."

“My little friend. I appreciate your concern. I have spoken nothing of our orders nor do I intend to. My concern is in this order:

1. Keeping you and the rest of the team safe.

2. Completing our mission within specified parameters.

3. Ensuing that good people I meet do not meet bad ends.

I think this these Reavers may be of use to us. Keep your eyes and ears open and we may complete our mission.”

"We have no potions to offer you, but you are welcome to return to our camp with us to recover," Roccar responds to Travus.

Despite Poe's grim situation, Roccar laughs heartily when Bartram displays the figurine, and you hear a wheeze from Poe that may be a chuckle as well. "Trust me, if you think Poe is senile, it's because he wants you to," Roccar says.

"If the camp isn't too far, I'll gladly join you to recuperate." Travus turns back to the rest of the party. "Should we all travel there? Or do we camp out here tonight? I can return after I am healed."

"Hnnngghhh....Meepo doesn't like the idea of going inside another camp without a quick way out but it is dangerous to be alone in the wilderness with someone injured...."

Meepo paces frantically in the same spot as he comes to a grueling choice.

"Fine, Meepo will join you too Travus but let's bring along Karst too. He also needs someone to tend his wounds."

"Sounds good to me" the paladin slurs, still trying to deal with the horrific axe wounds he received at the orcs hands. He gathers himself visibly and looks ready enough to struggle on.

The Reavers are well fortified a short distance away. Some sparring sessions between two Reavers when you arrive display an impressive prowess. Wielding a longsword in one hand and a shortsword in the next, the sound of steel ringing through the air accompanies the swordplay that has to have taken a lifetime to achieve.

Old Poe is taken to a tent to recover, and each of you are offered bedding for the night as well. While in his company, Roccar explains more about his company.

"It is rare for us to journey so far away from the Uthgardt tribes. We are a defensive unit that protects the homesteads closest to the orc tribes to the South. We had to split our forces however, when the Longhunt tribe put a homestead to the torch and captured two young women. We have followed them this far. We travel with an accomplished ranger and the remaining guards of the Andarson homestead. When they arrive here we will continue to give chase to the orcs."

While you recover, he also approaches you with an offer.

"The situation has become more complex than I would like. As I mentioned before, these orcs are being supplied with weapons that are magically crafted beyond an orc's ability. Old Poe was tracking the smuggler, a goblin, but lost his trail. Maybe he grew too bold in his search, but you saw the result...

Since Poe is out of commission, I need to to send word of the Longhunt migration to Luruar. However, I can't afford to lose any of my Reavers with conflict coming," Roccar explains. He hands a parchment with a seal to Aradurk.

"You have proven yourselves in my eyes. Can I count on you to bring this parchment and an explanation to Sundabar?"

OOC: Characters have received the benefits of a long rest. In addition, each character receives 1000 XP for rescuing Old Poe.

"Please allow me to confer with my fellow travelers as I do not walk alone. If you could afford to help resupply our dwindling provisions, I am sure it would be well received."

I look toward each of our team to determine if this initiative has everyone's support. 

"Are we all on board?"

"Away from those menacing orcs? Oh yeEeEes please!"

Meepo stands with excitement as he do a little celebratory dance. He then pauses and looks at the rest before stopping and return standing.

"Ehem. Pardon Meepo for his bizarre behavior. Let's forget about that and continue, shall we?"

The kobold then asks Roccar for more details about the task at hand.

"I agree with the idea, it makes sense and we have been away for a good while, there may be more information in Sundabar too by now." Karst offers to the group. 

I deposit the parchment into my pack and turn back to Roccar.

"It would seem there is no voice of dissent. Good. What message are we to deliver to Sundabar?"

"Bring this to Ser Mary Glendale and Rown, Warblade and Watchblade of Sundabar. Tell them what you have seen here. This letter details the path of the orc migration. I can offer you rations for the trip, but not much in terms of equipment," Roccar answers.

Bartram Shadecrest
Lvl 3 | Human | Rogue/Inquisitive 

"Thanks for the rations, I was ran out recently." Bartram will stock up for the return trip and possibly take a little extra just in case.

"Thanks Roccar, more rations is always appreciated in a long travel. Just a heads up, Rauvincross is abandoned when we went through there."

Meepo places them inside his backpack. He then makes a heartfelt speech to the land.

"Nether Mountains, though we've only seen you for a few days, I won't miss the the dangerous tribes that lives around here nor the funky river that runs through your town."

He then looks at his companions as he wags his tail with excitement and a mischievous smile hanging on his face.

"Last one to Sundabar is a rotten egg!"

The kobold immediately dashes with the wind on his back, away from the place that brought him a near death experience.