With your errands done and Kess having changed into her new dress, you waste no more time making your way over to Yartar’s west gate. It is still late morning, and not quite noon yet when you pass through and head out once more on The Evermoor Way.
You spend the next hour or so walking past the softly rolling fields on the outskirts of town, which are now becoming a familiar sight. You see farmers and their children tending to their crops, and occasionally offer friendly waves at you when you pass. The younger ones are doing much less tending and more playing, but that seems perfectly normal and innocent on a warm summer day like this.
As the sun climbs higher into the sky, the temperature rises with it, and by the early afternoon hours, you’re already sweating beneath your layers of clothing, armor and equipment. As the land along The Way turns to open, tall grasslands, you pass the spot where you were ambushed by the gnolls less than 24 hours earlier...
Do we see any signs of anything weird near the road, with the weather being clearer?
”It was odd no one we talked to seemed concerned about these gnolls. Should we go look at the site where they attacked us from, to see if they dropped anything or if there’s anything odd to learn? If not I guess we head on to the dryad.”
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Just keep a sharp eye out ta see if they've come back for seconds,"Chrys agrees. "An' let's remember to deal with these bastards on the way back in. The last thing I want ta do is seek 'em out when we still got nasty business to deal with," she says, referring to getting rid of the last mask piece.
Chrys shades her eyes and tries to stay alert, watching for any danger waiting in ambush for the Pals.
16
(That was perception, if that mattered at all with that roll, haha)
The bright sunshine and clear blue sky makes for a very stark contrast to the ominous booming thunderstorm and dark clouds that befell you during yesterday afternoon’s aambush by the gnolls.
From your vantage point on the road, you don’t see anything out of the ordinary, nor do you spot any gnolls or any other creatures, other than birds, small mammals, and the occasional elk or deer. Seeing them out in the grasslands with their large antlers makes you remember your first night spent camping in this area, when the two bull elk surprised you in the middle of the night during Krackle’s watch.
Continuing on, you walk for a few more hours and come to the spot where you had encountered the stirges and found that poor fellow who lay dead in the grass. This is the area where you had camped last time, but since you got an earlier start today, there is still enough light to travel a few more miles before sunset.
Yes, but the directions said to go through Melton to Calling Horns, then turn south on the trail towards the High Forest. You could turn south now, but then you’d have to navigate through the forest, most of it not in trail. Your call.
You continue to walk under the cloudless sky through the late afternoon hours, and as the sun drops towards the horizon, signaling the end of the day, you look begin looking for a place to camp.
The options are good, and all it takes is to simply walk off the dirt track a couple hundred feet and stamp down a patch of grass big enough for your two new tents. Once those are set up, you prepare your evening meal and eat under the fading blue of dusk, while watching the fireflies that blink all around and listen to the nonstop chatter of crickets in the grass. Occasionally, you hear the yipping of coyotes off in the distance.
The nighttime air has cooled off only slightly, but it’s still thick with humidity, and although you’re clothes are soaked with sweat, at least they’re not soaked from rain.
Lumen goes through his usual campsite routine, and helps with the cookfire, casting prestidigitation to make the stew taste impeccable.
"I wonder if, when we get to Melton, we could find Harriet and get her to Calling Horns. Only a little way on from there to Everlund and then Silverymoon, where she's headed. Or maybe she's taken a liking to Melton! They could use some of her energy there."
As he thinks about this, he plays some peaceful campfire tunes to keep the mood bright.
"Krackle, I'm very glad you're back with us. It felt like we spent months fighting off the thrall of that mask."
(Ready to move along to Melton and Calling Horns and more adventure!)
Chrys keeps watch as usual. When they pass the place where the unknown adventurer fell, she does stop to say a quiet prayer to his grave. "Must be lonely, havin' no one who knows ta miss ya when yer gone,"she says contemplatively. It's not as if the life of an adventurer will offer her much better, she knows, should misfortune befall the small party. Still, it's a bit strange to think that she might fall one day, much like the man here did, without anyone to inform her family back at Twilight Tor.
"Well... it's the life I chose,"she says after a minute, clambering back up to her feet and continuing the journey onwards. "An' I got no regrets 'bout that."
(Chrys is ready to move on to the next town, and will keep watch as necessary when necessary)
After enjoying Lumen’s wonderful tasting stew, you crawl into your tents. (I’m assuming Vesper and Kess in one, and Chrys, Lumen and Krackle sharing the other tent, with alternating watches... or whatever you decide if anyone prefers sleeping under the stars.)
The night passes without incident, and another blue sky morning arrives with the rising of the sun over the eastern plains. After a quick breakfast, you pack up, walk back through the tall grass and continue your journey along The Way.
After a couple hours you pass the area where you were ambushed by the goblins, but you keep moving, and during the early afternoon, you arrive in front of the wooden gate of Melton.
"Back again," Chrys says, looking up at the wooden gates. Raising her voice, she waves. "Gareth! Ya there, friend? It's us, the Pie Pals, passin' through! Can ya let us in?"
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So, shopping done. Is there anything else you need to do in town, or are you guys ready to head off into the wilds again?
Krackle is ready to go!
Vesper's good to go.
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
Kess finds somewhere to briefly get changed into her new traveller's clothers, but is ready to rock!
Lumen is still good to go!
Let‘s go, says Chrys!
With your errands done and Kess having changed into her new dress, you waste no more time making your way over to Yartar’s west gate. It is still late morning, and not quite noon yet when you pass through and head out once more on The Evermoor Way.
You spend the next hour or so walking past the softly rolling fields on the outskirts of town, which are now becoming a familiar sight. You see farmers and their children tending to their crops, and occasionally offer friendly waves at you when you pass. The younger ones are doing much less tending and more playing, but that seems perfectly normal and innocent on a warm summer day like this.
As the sun climbs higher into the sky, the temperature rises with it, and by the early afternoon hours, you’re already sweating beneath your layers of clothing, armor and equipment. As the land along The Way turns to open, tall grasslands, you pass the spot where you were ambushed by the gnolls less than 24 hours earlier...
Do we see any signs of anything weird near the road, with the weather being clearer?
”It was odd no one we talked to seemed concerned about these gnolls. Should we go look at the site where they attacked us from, to see if they dropped anything or if there’s anything odd to learn? If not I guess we head on to the dryad.”
"I'd just go on. We'll be the busiest adventurers in the world if we launch an investigation every time we get attacked on the road."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
"Just keep a sharp eye out ta see if they've come back for seconds," Chrys agrees. "An' let's remember to deal with these bastards on the way back in. The last thing I want ta do is seek 'em out when we still got nasty business to deal with," she says, referring to getting rid of the last mask piece.
Chrys shades her eyes and tries to stay alert, watching for any danger waiting in ambush for the Pals.
16
(That was perception, if that mattered at all with that roll, haha)
The bright sunshine and clear blue sky makes for a very stark contrast to the ominous booming thunderstorm and dark clouds that befell you during yesterday afternoon’s aambush by the gnolls.
From your vantage point on the road, you don’t see anything out of the ordinary, nor do you spot any gnolls or any other creatures, other than birds, small mammals, and the occasional elk or deer. Seeing them out in the grasslands with their large antlers makes you remember your first night spent camping in this area, when the two bull elk surprised you in the middle of the night during Krackle’s watch.
Continuing on, you walk for a few more hours and come to the spot where you had encountered the stirges and found that poor fellow who lay dead in the grass. This is the area where you had camped last time, but since you got an earlier start today, there is still enough light to travel a few more miles before sunset.
(We’re headed south right? To the dryad?)
Yes, but the directions said to go through Melton to Calling Horns, then turn south on the trail towards the High Forest. You could turn south now, but then you’d have to navigate through the forest, most of it not in trail. Your call.
Ah, got it. Need to look at a map! Lumen's fine to stay on the road and keep going...
You continue to walk under the cloudless sky through the late afternoon hours, and as the sun drops towards the horizon, signaling the end of the day, you look begin looking for a place to camp.
The options are good, and all it takes is to simply walk off the dirt track a couple hundred feet and stamp down a patch of grass big enough for your two new tents. Once those are set up, you prepare your evening meal and eat under the fading blue of dusk, while watching the fireflies that blink all around and listen to the nonstop chatter of crickets in the grass. Occasionally, you hear the yipping of coyotes off in the distance.
The nighttime air has cooled off only slightly, but it’s still thick with humidity, and although you’re clothes are soaked with sweat, at least they’re not soaked from rain.
Lumen goes through his usual campsite routine, and helps with the cookfire, casting prestidigitation to make the stew taste impeccable.
"I wonder if, when we get to Melton, we could find Harriet and get her to Calling Horns. Only a little way on from there to Everlund and then Silverymoon, where she's headed. Or maybe she's taken a liking to Melton! They could use some of her energy there."
As he thinks about this, he plays some peaceful campfire tunes to keep the mood bright.
"Krackle, I'm very glad you're back with us. It felt like we spent months fighting off the thrall of that mask."
(Ready to move along to Melton and Calling Horns and more adventure!)
Chrys keeps watch as usual. When they pass the place where the unknown adventurer fell, she does stop to say a quiet prayer to his grave. "Must be lonely, havin' no one who knows ta miss ya when yer gone," she says contemplatively. It's not as if the life of an adventurer will offer her much better, she knows, should misfortune befall the small party. Still, it's a bit strange to think that she might fall one day, much like the man here did, without anyone to inform her family back at Twilight Tor.
"Well... it's the life I chose," she says after a minute, clambering back up to her feet and continuing the journey onwards. "An' I got no regrets 'bout that."
(Chrys is ready to move on to the next town, and will keep watch as necessary when necessary)
Vesper is ready to get to the next town.
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
After enjoying Lumen’s wonderful tasting stew, you crawl into your tents. (I’m assuming Vesper and Kess in one, and Chrys, Lumen and Krackle sharing the other tent, with alternating watches... or whatever you decide if anyone prefers sleeping under the stars.)
The night passes without incident, and another blue sky morning arrives with the rising of the sun over the eastern plains. After a quick breakfast, you pack up, walk back through the tall grass and continue your journey along The Way.
After a couple hours you pass the area where you were ambushed by the goblins, but you keep moving, and during the early afternoon, you arrive in front of the wooden gate of Melton.
"Back again," Chrys says, looking up at the wooden gates. Raising her voice, she waves. "Gareth! Ya there, friend? It's us, the Pie Pals, passin' through! Can ya let us in?"