<Sound of clock ticking> followed by <sound of meat sizzling>

"Squelch is right, we don't have much time before Sildar is barbecued. The goblin said he didn't know whether he'd even be still alive now. Time is of the essence. I can track the goblins pretty well, why not let me scout ahead a little and see what I can see. If I find a stronghold of 20 goblins, that's one thing. But if they're running patrols and we can pick them off in smaller groups, we might stand a chance of saving Sildar."

 Brandor grumbles something under his breath and pulls the rest of the arrow free. He pulls some cloth from his bag and reluctantly pours a little alcohol on the wound. With a certain level of efficiency he wraps the wound and starts to roll his shoulder as if working out a kink. "Fine, but I'm going to take a short rest to work this arm out while you go looking for trouble." 

The dwarf starts pacing around doing some sort of light stretching routine.

Hit die: 5

Callie nods and says, "I've got a good pair of eyes and a light step, I'll go with Grum. Who is coming with us and who is watching the cart?"

<Squelch> casts guidance on Callie, Grum, and himself. <Callie's Voice> "I've got a good pair of eyes and a light step."  He moves to go with them, then hesitates. <Young man's voice with lisp> "This is recon only, ya hear? If yer feelin' froggy, you better not leap"

Stealth: 14 plus 2 from guidance.

Perception: 8

(OOC: About to go to bed so posting in advance to save holding things up.)

When the group have decided who's going with Grum and how far to go before returning (happy to go with what the group decides), he'll track the goblins and head quietly into the trees with Callie and any others.

Relevant rolls:

Survival: 13;  Stealth: 8;  Perception: 15 

...Adding 4 to that stealth due to guidance. 

Calyvorra smiles at <Squelch> and follows after Grum, keeping her eyes open for any sign of goblins, wolves, or other troublesome things that might stop their little expedition.

Stealth: 22

Perception: 26

Survival: 8

Guidance (add to survival): 3

Bartholomew: "I'll be staying back to look after the cart, as I don't have the lightest of steps and am feeling a bit peaky after that goblin shot that arrow at me." (He will take a short rest).

Hit dice: 8

You all push forward, Grum and Callie at the front following the trail that the goblins had left behind. Your oxen looked startled earlier but you guide them a bit into the trees to the side out of range of the dead horses, and they stand there obediently. From the previous Animal Handling check Grum would know they would not run away unless threatened.

(If anyone else wants to take a short rest or do anything while Brandor takes one let me know. Also can I please get the marching order for the group going up? So far it's Grum then Callie at the front)

(Bartholemew Squelch cast cure wounds on you earlier so you don't need to spend hit dice, but you can still wait behind/take a short rest if you want)

<Squelch> stalks about 10 ft. (or 10 m) behind Grum and Callie.

Alright so Grum, Callie and Squelch push forwards into the woods and follow along the trail. You travel for about 10 or so minutes before Callie spots a snare trap, but no hideout (You can try to disarm it or simply walk around it). With a 25 perception, Callie you would also be able to see really far into the distance, and yet you see no sort of hideout. It seems that the 'eating cave' is actually much further away than what the goblin stated, but you're definitely on the right path as you are still tracking the small humanoid tracks. You follow the tracks with your eyes and look once more into the distance, and you know that they will most likely continue for more than 10 or more minutes before you can see anything new.

"The others are going to be a little while longer resting and recovering. I say we push on a little further."

(Why don't we go as far as an hour if it takes that long to find anything? If we get an hour in and the tracks continue, we go back to get the others? Does an hour sound OK?) 

(OOC: half-hour in, half-hour back gives time for short rest)

(OK, let's do that. We'll push on for another 20 mins or so, then if we don't find anything we'll return for the others.) 

(I'll still stay behind as I am not that stealthy and will probably be more of a hindrance than a help.)

So another 10 minutes down the trail, Grum and Callie spot another trap-- a small pit that the goblins have camouflaged. This can easily be walked around and the footsteps are easy enough to pick up again. Still nothing else of interest is seen. Another 5 minutes down the trail, you come across a large cave in a hillside, maybe five miles away 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.

Assuming the tracks lead into the cave, Grum says, "This looks like it. I suggest we head back for the others and bring them back to investigate further as a large group." 

"Agreed, we have what we came for." Callie takes one final careful look at the cave and its surroundings, searching for any signs of goblins or wolves that she can. If she finds nothing worth noting, she nods to Grum and <Squelch> and follows them back the way they came.

A ways away from the cave, she quietly says, "Those briars in the cave mouth are going to be troublesome. Even if the goblins haven't laid any traps in the thicket, I have a feeling that they can squeeze between those thorns a lot easier than any of us can."