"I don't think so." Lia responds in elvish. "We did that at a manse, not a hill."

Rhok also commits the directions to memory, then adds in Elvish "Wonder if they might be referring to that place we found with the Ogres?"

Quote from DragonDenn >>

Lia commits the description of how to get to this place in her memory. She then glances to Falcon. "Is this circle of thunder place far enough removed you would be ok with the Orcs going there?"

Falcon asks the orcs more details about the location of this Circle of Thunder. "That way" the orc leader replies pointing north "cross the river and walk one day, then half day." With that information the retired hunter replies "far enough, I agree if you never cross the river to this side again." The orc looks at your group "we never come back, you are too strong."

Hearing the route description, you notice that this is deeper into the forest than you have ever travelled.

"Sounds good enough to me" Lothlién says. "What are our plans now? I sure need some rest to attend to my wounds"

"I'm out of spells, and could use some time to heal up" Rhok replies "Falcon, what help do you need in rebuilding? Once the grounds are shored up we can let Phandalin know of your situation if you'd like"

"Very well." She eyes the orc leader. "Make sure you stay on the far side of the river or else we will have to come and deal with you."

"A rest would definitely be good." Lia says, looking at the complex. "Likely would be safe enough in the main house, doesn't seem much damage done to that..." She would not be talking about a rest in front of the orcs though, as it would be bad to show weakness before them. I am guessing this part of the conversation actually happens once the orcs leave.

A splash from a water filled bucket brings the agreesive orc back to consciousness. He is still angry, but noticing the ropes binding his hands doesn't try to attack. The leader thanks you for your mercy and promisses never to cross the river to this side again.

Orcs out of hearing range, Falcon replies "fixing the palisade is the most urgent issue, but I doubt any animal is going to wonder nearby after all that noise. You can rest here if you want, there should be plenty of food in here. I doubt the orcs had time to deplete my storage."

He invites you to go inside and brings out a small barrel of mead, along with a cured ham. "The pantry was intact" he proclaims with a smile. After eating some he starts to think about rebuilding "if you go back to Phandalin, please let Corvin know that it's safe to come back and tell Harbin to post a notice offering work here. There is plenty to rebuild and lumberwork is tiresome."

Before going to sleep, Falcon disappears for a few minutes and comes back with an ornate pair of boots in his hands. "These ones have served me well while hunting, animals never hear you approach. Please take them as a token of my gratitude." Should any of you spend an hour to identify them, you would know that these are a pair of Boots of Elvenkind.

Xarroth slapping his lips together after a large gulp of mead, his nose twitches as he eyes the tankard once more.

He takes a close inspection of the boots, and then gestures to the rest, "Better for you Elvish speaking folk, I say." He flashes his sharp teeth before settling down after a small prayer to Bahamut in thanks for looking over them during the intense battle.

"I believe thsee will be more seful in Rhok's feet" Lothlién says. He eats more than he should but doesn't take long to sleep.

OOC: I'm assuming this is a long rest, right?

You sleep in Falcon's house. There is still food left for breakfast when you wake up. After a quick bite, Falcon goes out to assess the damage in detail "and a group of nobles from Waterdeep just confirmed that they will be coming in a couple weeks" he mutters "I'll have to convince them that sleeping in tents makes the experience more memorable."

OOC: yes, you get a well deserved long rest.

"Back to Phandalin then?" Lia asks the next morning as they stand in the remains of Falcon's courtyard. Hearing Falcon's comment about the nobles she gives him a smile. "Glad it is you not me trying to convince nobles of that."

"Only sounds wise." Xarroth says after a might yawn with a flash of flames. "The roads will be kind to us, I hope." 

The dragonborn slightly sneers at Falcon's predicament, "I think something rough would toughen their hides. Alas..." He goes back to slowly stretching nearby finishing off with finger and hand stretches, sparks flying as he wiggles his fingers. 

Lothlién is the last one to wake up, but he eats and gets ready qucikly. "To Phandalin!" he agrees with Lia.

"Maybe you can convince them that thuis is a 'legitimate hunter experience', something that seems to work with certain nobles that like to pretend they're not rich for A FEW days...." he says to Falcon, kind of as a tip, but jokingly. "Anyways, good luck with that. And thank you a lot for the hospitality - even afterthe attack you've been a great host"

 As you prepare to leave, Falcon writes a quick note directed to townmaster Harbin and asks you to deliver it. It's not sealed and you can read that he wrote about the attack, including a good word about how you helped him, and ends with a notice for the job board saying that he offers 15 silver pieces per day, plus food and room, for anyone willing to work at his lodge for at least 2 weeks.

OOC: unless someone wants to add something, you are ready to start the two day trek towards Phandalin.

"We'll deliver your message." Lia assures Falcon. She then leads the way out of the place and towards Phandalin.

"Thank you again for your hospitality, and yes, absolutely tell the experience is playing the party of hearty adventurers and also the boots." Rhok says, then turns to the group "You sure about the boots? They look nice and could be helpful for you"

Falcon wishes you a safe trip as you leave "you will always have a place to eat and rest here, and I would love to see you again once rebuilding is complete."

The trip starts out quietly, birds sing in the forest and you see no signs of orcs or troublesome beasts nearby. Rhok leads the trip through the forest, expertly guiding the group towards Phandalin. Stopping only for a quick bite around midday, you are still deep in the forest when night comes.

You set up a camp and take turns keeping watch. Lia's goes over uneventufully, she lets Sabastian go hunting and goes to see Rhok up before his turn, unable to sleep for some reason. The ranger takes over watch duty, unable to cast an uneasy feeling from him. Walking a bit from the camp, he comes to a small clearing and looks up. A full moon is rising above the tree line. Rhok sees the moon and gets transfixed in place. He drops the crossbow in his hand and starts to change, letting out a gutural scream.

Back at the camp, Sabastian flies back and flutters into Lia's face, waking her up. She notices that Rhok is nowhere to be seen.

Lia quickly rouses the rest of the group. "Rock is missing." She explains and glances to Sabastian. "Can you show us where he went?" She asks her familiar.

While travelling, Lothlién reiterates that Rhok should keep the boots. "You're often scouting ahead of us, these should keep you a bit on the safer side of the task". 

When Lia alarms the group, he gets up quickly. He tries to look for footprint or any other clue about who/what might have taken Rhok

Investigation / Nature: 20
(if perception would be the right roll, just take 1 out of my bonus)

Sabastian leads Lia, Lothlién and Xarroth towards the clearing. The owl flies in and swoops down, next to one of Rhok's hand crossbows. Lothlién sees a few broken twigs in the ground, but it's hard to tell what broke them. The forest is eerily quiet. You can only hear the rustling of leaves.

OOC: you will need a group Survival (Wisdom) check to keep tracking and optionally a Stealth (Dexterity) check if you don't want to be spotted.