Sword Coast Rambling

Serak: Nervously handing Agatha the comb, Serak says, "Thank you, my dear. That is all that we needed to know."

He moves to the door and bows as though to leave, remarking, "You know, Agatha... all this dry thicket makes this place quite flammable and dangerous. I imagine a fire in here would engulf the whole place in seconds, making it difficult even for an incorporeal creature like yourself to escape. You should really be more careful. Now, I believe we've one last gift left to give you..."

Knowing one thing about banshees - you really don't want to hear them scream - Serak waves his hand and shouts "Sular du alanast!" 

Cast: Silence Target: Agatha

Opening her ghostly mouth to reply, Agatha is suddenly silenced. Her twisted face contorts in anger at the bards devious attack. Her shining white form suddenly dissipates as quickly as she appeared. 

Alone once more, the party cautiously surveys the room, half expecting Agatha to reappear. The cold air warms slightly as the sounds of the forest and the gentle patter of rain drops return to fill the hut. 

"Well at least we got the answer for the Sister." Beetle says.

OOC: For story reasons or DM reasons did you just not want us to kill her? lol Otherwise, Serak would have kept Silence up as a safe zone and chased her.

Edit: The reason I ask is - she was 100% dead dude. lol She goes outside, the sun makes her powerless. Inside, she is Silenced and we burn down her shelter from the sun. Unless banshees have changed in 5e? Have not read any monster manual stuff on purpose. lol 

OOC: Theres a couple of reasons in play. Firstly, in the module for whatever reason DMs are told that Agatha just doesn't hang around if the PCs are aggressive or rude towards her. She doesn't have time for insolence. On top of that, there's a small chance she could reappear later on and for a level 3 party she runs the risk of a TPK if it comes to blows.

Theres nothing in the MM about sunlight, but regardless I would say that the rain from the day and the cover of the forest would largely negate that? Not that I doubt the parties abilities but she would have put up a decent fight here. Challenge rating of 4 with resistance to piercing or bludgeoning as well as a lot more. Would have been interesting to run. Alot of other DMs have had the same complaints over Agatha, but sadly she lives.... or not lives to fight another day.

Edit: Actually, for reference, her wail is the only attack that is powerless in sunlight according to the MM. Her other attacks would have been just fine by the looks of it. Although smart pre-emptive move lol. 

Ok, guess we hit the road again....Beetle tries to determine if there is any chance of the rain letting up...

Nature: 18

94

Casting his eyes to the sky, Beetle tries to catch sight of the cloud above the trees. To the east the clouds appear to turn a lighter shade of grey and are approaching fast. At the very least the rain will ease soon.

"Looks like the rain will let up soon, so we can move on and be a bit drier..." Beetle tells the group.

OOC: Any plans for your next destination?

I think we are trying to find the orcs unless there was something else on the way towards them.

OOC: You have no idea how robbed I feel. Damn modules! There has never been a more perfect banshee trap in the history of d&d... sigh. lol

Serak: In an almost disappointed voice, Serak says, "I guess our work here is done. Let us find these Orcs and complete any other errands we may have been given when I wasn't paying attention."

After passing Conyberry and retaking the main road, Serak scouts 30ft ahead for Orcs.

Perception: 25

Stealth: 18

OOC: Same marching order and watch duties? Beetle is going to be exhausted! 

OOC: why? if he takes 1st watch then rests the rest of the time...

OOC: I guess we each take turns on watch? Usual formation should be good, right? Minus Serak scouting. Just assume he reports anything unusual he discovers to the party. 

OCC:  Do we have any idea where the Orcs might be?  I'm thinking a squirrel or a wolf scouting might attract less notice, but that only give me an hour to scout.

OOC: I don't think we have an exact location for the orcs just a general area and I think it is a fairly large area

OCC: Ah, well, worth a shot.

15,6

Leaving the forest behind, the party trudge onwards through the mud. This time on the hunt for orcs. With rain pelting against them, they make their way through Conyberry once more. When night finally falls upon them and the rain has eased, the group find themselves camping in a small wooded clearing on the roadside. 

While Beetle and Zyltris begin gathering firewood, Brots and Syna resume their duties of collecting what supplies they can find. Scouting the area, Serak finds a wooden cart sits stuck in the mud and abandoned, about 50 feet to the north. The owners appear to be long gone, having taken the most valuable cargo with them. However, a few sacks of salted meats and fresh vegetables remain in tact. Checking around carefully, the bard spots a trail of long clawed footprints in the wet mud, heading south east from here and upwards into the hillside. In the mountains before him, the towering rock pile of Wyvern Tor is visible about 20 miles in the distance. 

OOC:  No joy with any of these rolls so far! There's 40XP to be given to each of you for handling Agatha and getting the answers that Sister Garaele needed as well.

Perception: 16

Stealth:2

As Syna approaches the cart, he too notices the footprints. 

Serak/Syna Investigation: 17

The pair analyse the footprints left in the wet mud. Between them they deduce that while these footprints are from the same day, they are not particularly fresh. However, they are unmistakably the footprints of a band of orcs.