After easily avoiding the snare trap, you are a bit more cautious as you move ahead, with Cahoots the owl familiar looking for traps along the path ahead of you and Raldean looking for the escaped goblin's tracks. Raldean continues to see evidence of multiple goblins moving along this trail - but he and Tarin also see the occasional spots of fresh blood, indicating they are still on the right track.
After another 10 minutes or so, Cahoots indicates that there is something wrong with the path ahead. When you investigate it, you discover a camouflaged pit trap that you can easily go around.
(OOC: Based on Raldean's original post, that's about 20 minutes down the trail. Do you go back, or press onwards? If you press on, how long do you go? Until you find something (time & distance unlimited), or until you reach a certain time or distance limit?)
The cart team:
All is quiet as you wait. (OOC: Are you taking any other actions while you wait? Can someone give me an Animal Handling check to keep the oxen calm?
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Bankur nods at Penumbra "I agree friend Penumbra, goblins with a headstart into a forest that don't want to be found, won't be found". With a cough and slight groan, Bankur pulls himself to his feet to survey the surroundings. "If friends Tarin and Raldean don't come back soon we will have to go after them."
Noticing that the wounded oxen is growing more agitated, Bankur climbs down from the wagon and walks over to it. With a calming tone he slowly reaches out to the animal to touch it's nose and whispers softly to it. "Be calm, Ilmater will ease your suffering soon as he does for all beings".
The ox is obviously in pain, but Bankur's calming touch keeps it from getting out of control. (OOC: It's been about 20 minutes since the Ranger and Wizard took off along the trail...forgot to put that in the last post. =)
Tarin hisses a warning to Raldaen before they hurtle headlong into a pit, the pint-sized gnome reaching only as high as his waist. "Careful! Another contrivance of these horrid creatures."
"We've traveled some way so far and I'm not keen to leave our companions too much longer. But based on the fresh blood you've pointed out, shall we keep going a little while?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Penumbra sits nearby the trail head keeping an eye open for anything that may come that way. As she sits concealed by some shrubbery near the roadside she inspects the dice she found on the goblin. "Hmm... Gambling goblins? Or perhaps these were looted off some other traveler." She examines them closely to see if anything other than the skull carvings stands out to her.
Perception: 7
She contemplates the skull carving, trying to remember if she has ever heard of a game using dice like these before.
History check: 16
As she thinks she shakes the dice in her palm and gives them a roll on the dirt in front of her. (OOC: she will not roll them if she perceives or remembers anything that might suggest they are magical in anyway.)
"Good eyes, he'd have made a fine hand in the nest. Arrr, onward. No harm fer Bankur and Salty to recover a bit an we can cover ground faster on the way back. I will press on, until we get to such a point that we can report back something useful, or fall upon our quarry. Mi ol' cap'n used to say, us folks in the nest only need be heard when there were somat to be heard. As yet, this trail ain't got me wantin to shout the cap'n yet."
He then takes stock of his companions and their relative condition. "Everyone alright?" A look of concern crosses his face as he looks about.
After the battle, Rand looks himself over, to ensure that he is truly unharmed. He doesn't want his new companions to know how inexperienced he is and that this was, in fact, his first kill. He collects himself enough to respond to Tarin's question. "I'm fine. This is all goblin blood." Rand wipes his sword off on the fallen goblin and returns to the cart to retrieve his bow.
When Tarin and Raldaen run off into the brush, Rand is tempted to run with them, but decides that he might need to stay and protect the cart. "I wonder if those two will come running back with a horde of goblins on their heels? We might need to be ready. Do you think we should try to move the horses enough to get the wagon through if we have need? Or perhaps turn the wagon to prepare a hasty escape? Or maybe even both?"
Raldean refuses to turn back and so you continue to follow the goblins' trail to the northwest for about another hour. You eventually come across a large cave in a hillside, five miles from the scene of the ambush. A shallow stream flows out of the cave mouth, which is screened by dense briar thickets. A narrow dry path leads into the cave on the right-hand side of the stream.
Cart sitters:
(Congratulations - you may complete a short rest and any actions associated with resting!)It's been over an hour, and the human and gnome still haven't returned. Rand inspects the road and the horses, and deduces that you could drive the cart around the corpses. You also have found a convenient place off to the side of the path where you can pull the cart and oxen and be out of the road but still see it.
Penumbra:
The dice are definitely of higher craftsmanship than one would expect to find on a goblin. Made of actual knucklebones, the pips and skull are dark imprints on the off-white dice. You didn't detect any arcane auras (your Arcana and History mods are the same, so I used your roll) so you pass the time rolling the pair on the ground. Soon they feel almost natural in your hand. You find that if you concentrate really hard, you can control one of them to roll whatever number you want. (One of the dice is a charlatan's die! But...please roll 2d6... =D)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As they approach the mouth of the cave, Tarin scrunches up his face. "Ugh! I should have known these horrid creatures would take refuge in a place like this." Casting a glance up at Raldaen, he adds, "I think we'd better send for our friends back at the cart. Who knows what kind of trouble lurks inside?"
"And if those are Gundren and Sildar's horses back there, then they may be inside too. We'll need reinforcements, aye?"
Tarin considers whether he knows about what kinds of creatures goblins might consort with (OOC: {History: 10}) and what sorts of threats might lurk inside. "Shall I send Cahoots back to guide them here, and we'll watch for any passersby from the bushes in the meantime?"
You also have found a convenient place off to the side of the path where you can pull the cart and oxen and be out of the road but still see it.
"Well, it looks like we could get the cart through here after all, but wait... Check this out of the way place out. Let's get the cart out of the road, but ready to roll out quick." If no one objects, Rand will work with Oxen to get them and the cart in the clearing off the road.
Raldaen see's the cave entrance and silently wishes that he was back on his ship... He hadn't planned on a simple bit o guard duty taking him all over the Sword Coast, just south towards the Gate, towards another vessel of freedom. Quickly ending his daydreaming, he snaps his focus back on the cave, and is confident in the goblin tracks and trail marks that have led them here.
"Arrr, that be as likely a hole for a goblin to hide in as any. What I know o' goblins... ((OoC - Raldaen divulges his goblin lore History: 14) "
"We ain't had time to check hosses an chase the gob. Hopefully the others have done that much whilst we been trapsin' through these trees! Reinforcements be like that fresh sea breeze about now... Can yer Cahoot be tellin em all this then, or should we leave him the watch and we be headin back t' find what they learnt from ambush?"
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
After calming the ox, Bankur returns to the cart and finds an empty spot. Sitting down he removes a few items from his pack and arranges them on the cart in front of him, then slowly and carefully removes his leather armor. Using a salve from a stoppered bottle and a clean rag he begins cleaning the wound around the arrow still embedded in his chest. Then, while uttering a prayer under his breath Bankur takes a grip on the arrow and pulls it free. His face pales even more as the arrow slides free with an audible "pop" and he collapses back onto the cart in a heap.
"Ouch"
"Yes friends Rand and Joe, I agree we should move the cart. I shall take the opportunity of this quiet time to rest though. Come wake me should my services be needed".
(OOC: I'm going to take advantage of the Short Rest and recover some HP. The way I read it is I get a roll equivalent to my hit die plus my con modifier. Let me know if I've got that wrong))
"We ain't had time to check hosses an chase the gob. Hopefully the others have done that much whilst we been trapsin' through these trees! Reinforcements be like that fresh sea breeze about now... Can yer Cahoot be tellin em all this then, or should we leave him the watch and we be headin back t' find what they learnt from ambush?"
Tarin chuckles. "No, I'm afraid not. Cahoots is a wonderful friend and a delightful research assistant, but he can't talk in the conventional sense of the word." Cahoots emits a soft but stern hoot that sounds like a gentle remonstration. "Yes, yes, don't be pedantic. You know what I meant."
"However, we can certainly tell them!" Tarin pulls out his notebook and carefully tears out a small, thin piece of paper and begins to write in his meticulous, flowing script: "Goblins holed up in cave one hour down the trail. Snare and pit trap along the way. Cahoots will accompany you. Come join us, keep cart hidden. Will wait until nightfall before we assume the worst and head back the way we came. — T"
"How's that?" He shows it to Raldaen. If there are no objections, he rolls it up and ties it to the owl's leg, before exchanging a glance and an affectionate pat. "Give them this message and get the others here safely. Fly well, my friend."(OOC: Cahoots flies at full speed back to the party, 120 feet per round.)
Raldaen reads Tarin's elegant penmanship, wondering how someone spared the time to refine a normal scribble into such a thing, before giving it back to Tarin with a nod of assent and watching him attach it to Cahoots.
"Best set ourselves ways off the trail. If'n more of their crew are still to come in, or our fleeing friend convinces them to come lookin fer us, then best we not be in plain view." Raldaen will lead the pair a few metres deep along the treeline. He is looking for a suitable point where they are concealed, able to see the cave and trail, and he he has a clear shot at both should he need it. Unlimbering his crossbow and readying his boltcase, he adds "Take a wee rest little man, I can stand the watch and shout yer should we have trouble!"
Raldaen settles himself in, crossbow loaded and laid beside him. He spend some time listening to the sounds of the forest, understanding the rhythm of the forest... He remebers the sound of the sea, the way the wind shifts and carries telltale signs to his senses and he tries to find that here in these unfamiliar surrounds.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Tarin whispers, "I'm feeling fit as a fiddle and don't need any rest for the moment, but will be happy to accompany you. Let us ask the friends of the forest what they know of this place."
He chirps into the trees, a striking imitation of birdsong. "Are goblins inside or near this place, and where?"(OOC: Tarin uses his Speak with Small Beasts feature: "You can communicate simple ideas with Small or smaller beasts.")
Tarin watches and waits with Raldaen under the trees keeping his spells ready and his eyes peeled. (OOC: Perception: 14; Stealth: 14. Tarin readies a Minor Illusion as a distraction if any hostile goblins on patrol discover the hiding spot.)
(OOC: In the interest of time and to move the story along, I'm going to use some DM magic to warp the space-time continuum and skip through the 30-45 minute long flight of Cahoots and your hour and a half trek to meet up with Raldean and Tarin. Unless anyone has a strenuous objection?)
With the cart safely tucked away in the tree line and the oxen tied with a lead line and left to graze, the party heads off with Cahoots the owl to find Raldean and Tarin. Following the goblin trail is easy, and about ten minutes down the trail you see where someone sprung a snare. After another ten minutes, the owl does a fine job of warning you of the pit trap mentioned in the note. An hour later (you've gone about five miles), as you approach the edge of the woods, Cahoots steers you to the edge of the path, where the entire party is reunited (and it feels so good...)
To the north you see a large cave in a hillside. A shallow stream flows out of the cave mouth, which is screened by dense briar thickets. A narrow dry path leads into the cave on the right-hand side of the stream. Raldean and Tarin think there may be someone - or something - in the thicket by the cave mouth to the east of the stream.
(OOC: Please see the map and put your character portrait where you want it in a marching order.)
(OOC: Done! Tarin crawls prone if he thinks there's creatures nearby in the thicket to avoid any more goblin arrows; he's not keen about getting hit again.)
Raldean & Tarin:
After easily avoiding the snare trap, you are a bit more cautious as you move ahead, with Cahoots the owl familiar looking for traps along the path ahead of you and Raldean looking for the escaped goblin's tracks. Raldean continues to see evidence of multiple goblins moving along this trail - but he and Tarin also see the occasional spots of fresh blood, indicating they are still on the right track.
After another 10 minutes or so, Cahoots indicates that there is something wrong with the path ahead. When you investigate it, you discover a camouflaged pit trap that you can easily go around.
(OOC: Based on Raldean's original post, that's about 20 minutes down the trail. Do you go back, or press onwards? If you press on, how long do you go? Until you find something (time & distance unlimited), or until you reach a certain time or distance limit?)
The cart team:
All is quiet as you wait. (OOC: Are you taking any other actions while you wait? Can someone give me an Animal Handling check to keep the oxen calm?
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Bankur nods at Penumbra "I agree friend Penumbra, goblins with a headstart into a forest that don't want to be found, won't be found". With a cough and slight groan, Bankur pulls himself to his feet to survey the surroundings. "If friends Tarin and Raldean don't come back soon we will have to go after them."
Noticing that the wounded oxen is growing more agitated, Bankur climbs down from the wagon and walks over to it. With a calming tone he slowly reaches out to the animal to touch it's nose and whispers softly to it. "Be calm, Ilmater will ease your suffering soon as he does for all beings".
Animal Handling 19
The ox is obviously in pain, but Bankur's calming touch keeps it from getting out of control. (OOC: It's been about 20 minutes since the Ranger and Wizard took off along the trail...forgot to put that in the last post. =)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
Tarin hisses a warning to Raldaen before they hurtle headlong into a pit, the pint-sized gnome reaching only as high as his waist. "Careful! Another contrivance of these horrid creatures."
"We've traveled some way so far and I'm not keen to leave our companions too much longer. But based on the fresh blood you've pointed out, shall we keep going a little while?"
Penumbra sits nearby the trail head keeping an eye open for anything that may come that way. As she sits concealed by some shrubbery near the roadside she inspects the dice she found on the goblin. "Hmm... Gambling goblins? Or perhaps these were looted off some other traveler." She examines them closely to see if anything other than the skull carvings stands out to her.
Perception: 7
She contemplates the skull carving, trying to remember if she has ever heard of a game using dice like these before.
History check: 16
As she thinks she shakes the dice in her palm and gives them a roll on the dirt in front of her. (OOC: she will not roll them if she perceives or remembers anything that might suggest they are magical in anyway.)
"Good eyes, he'd have made a fine hand in the nest. Arrr, onward. No harm fer Bankur and Salty to recover a bit an we can cover ground faster on the way back. I will press on, until we get to such a point that we can report back something useful, or fall upon our quarry. Mi ol' cap'n used to say, us folks in the nest only need be heard when there were somat to be heard. As yet, this trail ain't got me wantin to shout the cap'n yet.
"Bring out your inner chatacter class...
After the battle, Rand looks himself over, to ensure that he is truly unharmed. He doesn't want his new companions to know how inexperienced he is and that this was, in fact, his first kill. He collects himself enough to respond to Tarin's question. "I'm fine. This is all goblin blood." Rand wipes his sword off on the fallen goblin and returns to the cart to retrieve his bow.
When Tarin and Raldaen run off into the brush, Rand is tempted to run with them, but decides that he might need to stay and protect the cart. "I wonder if those two will come running back with a horde of goblins on their heels? We might need to be ready. Do you think we should try to move the horses enough to get the wagon through if we have need? Or perhaps turn the wagon to prepare a hasty escape? Or maybe even both?"
Rhanloi's Romp: Party Loot, Guild Vault, Adventure Notes
Dynamic Duo:
Raldean refuses to turn back and so you continue to follow the goblins' trail to the northwest for about another hour. You eventually come across a large cave in a hillside, five miles from the scene of the ambush. A shallow stream flows out of the cave mouth, which is screened by dense briar thickets. A narrow dry path leads into the cave on the right-hand side of the stream.
Cart sitters:
(Congratulations - you may complete a short rest and any actions associated with resting!) It's been over an hour, and the human and gnome still haven't returned. Rand inspects the road and the horses, and deduces that you could drive the cart around the corpses. You also have found a convenient place off to the side of the path where you can pull the cart and oxen and be out of the road but still see it.
Penumbra:
The dice are definitely of higher craftsmanship than one would expect to find on a goblin. Made of actual knucklebones, the pips and skull are dark imprints on the off-white dice. You didn't detect any arcane auras (your Arcana and History mods are the same, so I used your roll) so you pass the time rolling the pair on the ground. Soon they feel almost natural in your hand. You find that if you concentrate really hard, you can control one of them to roll whatever number you want. (One of the dice is a charlatan's die! But...please roll 2d6... =D)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
8
"I say we move the cart past the dead oxen and be ready to run."
I got alot a doods
As they approach the mouth of the cave, Tarin scrunches up his face. "Ugh! I should have known these horrid creatures would take refuge in a place like this." Casting a glance up at Raldaen, he adds, "I think we'd better send for our friends back at the cart. Who knows what kind of trouble lurks inside?"
"And if those are Gundren and Sildar's horses back there, then they may be inside too. We'll need reinforcements, aye?"
Tarin considers whether he knows about what kinds of creatures goblins might consort with (OOC: {History: 10}) and what sorts of threats might lurk inside. "Shall I send Cahoots back to guide them here, and we'll watch for any passersby from the bushes in the meantime?"
"Well, it looks like we could get the cart through here after all, but wait... Check this out of the way place out. Let's get the cart out of the road, but ready to roll out quick." If no one objects, Rand will work with Oxen to get them and the cart in the clearing off the road.
Rhanloi's Romp: Party Loot, Guild Vault, Adventure Notes
Raldaen see's the cave entrance and silently wishes that he was back on his ship... He hadn't planned on a simple bit o guard duty taking him all over the Sword Coast, just south towards the Gate, towards another vessel of freedom. Quickly ending his daydreaming, he snaps his focus back on the cave, and is confident in the goblin tracks and trail marks that have led them here.
"Arrr, that be as likely a hole for a goblin to hide in as any. What I know o' goblins... ((OoC - Raldaen divulges his goblin lore History: 14) "
"We ain't had time to check hosses an chase the gob. Hopefully the others have done that much whilst we been trapsin' through these trees! Reinforcements be like that fresh sea breeze about now... Can yer Cahoot be tellin em all this then, or should we leave him the watch and we be headin back t' find what they learnt from ambush?"
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
After calming the ox, Bankur returns to the cart and finds an empty spot. Sitting down he removes a few items from his pack and arranges them on the cart in front of him, then slowly and carefully removes his leather armor. Using a salve from a stoppered bottle and a clean rag he begins cleaning the wound around the arrow still embedded in his chest. Then, while uttering a prayer under his breath Bankur takes a grip on the arrow and pulls it free. His face pales even more as the arrow slides free with an audible "pop" and he collapses back onto the cart in a heap.
"Ouch"
"Yes friends Rand and Joe, I agree we should move the cart. I shall take the opportunity of this quiet time to rest though. Come wake me should my services be needed".
(OOC: I'm going to take advantage of the Short Rest and recover some HP. The way I read it is I get a roll equivalent to my hit die plus my con modifier. Let me know if I've got that wrong))
12
Tarin chuckles. "No, I'm afraid not. Cahoots is a wonderful friend and a delightful research assistant, but he can't talk in the conventional sense of the word." Cahoots emits a soft but stern hoot that sounds like a gentle remonstration. "Yes, yes, don't be pedantic. You know what I meant."
"However, we can certainly tell them!" Tarin pulls out his notebook and carefully tears out a small, thin piece of paper and begins to write in his meticulous, flowing script: "Goblins holed up in cave one hour down the trail. Snare and pit trap along the way. Cahoots will accompany you. Come join us, keep cart hidden. Will wait until nightfall before we assume the worst and head back the way we came. — T"
"How's that?" He shows it to Raldaen. If there are no objections, he rolls it up and ties it to the owl's leg, before exchanging a glance and an affectionate pat. "Give them this message and get the others here safely. Fly well, my friend." (OOC: Cahoots flies at full speed back to the party, 120 feet per round.)
Raldaen reads Tarin's elegant penmanship, wondering how someone spared the time to refine a normal scribble into such a thing, before giving it back to Tarin with a nod of assent and watching him attach it to Cahoots.
"Best set ourselves ways off the trail. If'n more of their crew are still to come in, or our fleeing friend convinces them to come lookin fer us, then best we not be in plain view." Raldaen will lead the pair a few metres deep along the treeline. He is looking for a suitable point where they are concealed, able to see the cave and trail, and he he has a clear shot at both should he need it. Unlimbering his crossbow and readying his boltcase, he adds "Take a wee rest little man, I can stand the watch and shout yer should we have trouble!"
Raldaen settles himself in, crossbow loaded and laid beside him. He spend some time listening to the sounds of the forest, understanding the rhythm of the forest... He remebers the sound of the sea, the way the wind shifts and carries telltale signs to his senses and he tries to find that here in these unfamiliar surrounds.
Perception: 22
Stealth: 13
Bring out your inner chatacter class...
Tarin whispers, "I'm feeling fit as a fiddle and don't need any rest for the moment, but will be happy to accompany you. Let us ask the friends of the forest what they know of this place."
He chirps into the trees, a striking imitation of birdsong. "Are goblins inside or near this place, and where?" (OOC: Tarin uses his Speak with Small Beasts feature: "You can communicate simple ideas with Small or smaller beasts.")
Tarin watches and waits with Raldaen under the trees keeping his spells ready and his eyes peeled. (OOC: Perception: 14; Stealth: 14. Tarin readies a Minor Illusion as a distraction if any hostile goblins on patrol discover the hiding spot.)
(OOC: In the interest of time and to move the story along, I'm going to use some DM magic to warp the space-time continuum and skip through the 30-45 minute long flight of Cahoots and your hour and a half trek to meet up with Raldean and Tarin. Unless anyone has a strenuous objection?)
With the cart safely tucked away in the tree line and the oxen tied with a lead line and left to graze, the party heads off with Cahoots the owl to find Raldean and Tarin. Following the goblin trail is easy, and about ten minutes down the trail you see where someone sprung a snare. After another ten minutes, the owl does a fine job of warning you of the pit trap mentioned in the note. An hour later (you've gone about five miles), as you approach the edge of the woods, Cahoots steers you to the edge of the path, where the entire party is reunited (and it feels so good...)
To the north you see a large cave in a hillside. A shallow stream flows out of the cave mouth, which is screened by dense briar thickets. A narrow dry path leads into the cave on the right-hand side of the stream. Raldean and Tarin think there may be someone - or something - in the thicket by the cave mouth to the east of the stream.
(OOC: Please see the map and put your character portrait where you want it in a marching order.)
Love God. Love Others. Any Questions?
(OOC: Done! Tarin crawls prone if he thinks there's creatures nearby in the thicket to avoid any more goblin arrows; he's not keen about getting hit again.)
Salty Joe creates a bush with Minor Illusion and hides in it.
I got alot a doods