The Wildemount Irregulars (2020)

Perception 5  

d20 rolls: 8  12  

d12 in case: 6  

A pleasant day on the road; the horses behave well in their new task, and because you have them, the travel speed of the caravan has not been reduced.

At night, Balassar is presented with a very good pencil drawing of himself by the halfling artist who has signed the picture, though the signature is unreadable.  Thank you, she says awkwardly.  It was... really fun to draw you. 

The picture makes Balassar look really quite handsome and heroic, and it's possible it might be worth something one day.

Night passes peacefully, and you wake having completed a long rest.

Next day's travel.  Next person to read this, please give me a Perception check, two d20 rolls and, if you roll 18 or higher, a d12.

Looks like it's me again :D 

Perception 13 

d20 rolls: 3 20 

d12 roll in case: 3 

The day's travel sees a change; after midday, what has been for some time a rather faint trail suddenly meets a more well-trod road running north and west.  It's not an ancient path, not by any means, but it's clearly been much used in recent years.  Captain Fray informs you that this is the road from Bladegarden in the north to Talonstadt, home of the refugee dragonborn, to the south.

Sunset approaches and the caravan sets up camp.  During your preparations, you see a group of four travellers, all human, headed down south along the road.  Captain Fray calls out to greet them and ask them their business.  One comes over to speak to her, and introduces himself as Cran Filson, a labourer from Bladegarden headed to Trostenwald to visit family.  After some more discussion, they join your camp to spend the night, seated closer to the drivers than to your party.

Give me a watch order and a Perception check each.

Silent takes his customary first watch. 

Perception 18 

Alton will take up the second watch.

Perception: 25

Silent, you take your watch; you do notice that the visitors don't seem entirely to trust your group, and they are maintaining their own watch from their little camp, albeit near to yours.  Silent, one of them briefly makes eye contact with you accidentally and immediately looks away.

Alton, you take over second watch.  Shortly after doing so, the visitors also make a change.  The night is almost eerily silent and as one of them hands over to the other, you overhear snatches of conversation carried no doubt much farther than the speaker imagined:

...risky to try with Crownsguard.  Have to wait...

...already following, with our descriptions.  Maybe even...

...know what to do if they ask...

...an eye on the halfling....

They finish their muttered conversation, and the next person takes their watch, avoiding your gaze but keeping a watchful eye on the rest of the camp.

Once it is Balassar's watch, Alton will wake him up and quietly tell him, "Keep an eye on our new guests. I have a feeling that they might not be what they seem." When Alton heads to bed he will curl himself up around his bag, a little more than usual; a habit he's kind of formed from when he had his things stolen.

I need a perception check from Balassar for third watch.

Balassar nods and grunts.  Perception:  23

Balassar continues to watch the surroundings as well as the visitors during his shift.  The one on guard seems rather agitated, and unable to stop repeatedly glancing over to look at the dragonborn.  However, nothing happens during the night, and you all wake in the morning having completed a long rest.

As your caravan is packing up, the visitors also get ready and move to leave sooner than you, barely after sunrise.  Thank you kindly for the company, and safe travels to you all, one of them says as the group heads down the road.

(Unless there's something you want to do before they go?)

Otherwise, first one to read this, give me a Perception check for the day's travel, two d20 rolls for encounters, and if either of those is 18 or higher, give me a d12.

Silent hasn't seen anything to make him suspicious of the visitors so he'll wish them well on the road. 

Perception 21 

d20 rolls: 19 13 

d12: 4 

During the day, you spy a cloud of dust on the road ahead, moving towards you.  There are four people on horseback, and as they get closer you can see they are human or elves, wearing the uniforms of Crownsguard.  As they come up to you, they halt and their leader goes to speak with Captain Fray.  You are able to overhear their conversation; it seems that several bandits have escaped jail from a small town south of Bladegarden, having murdered their jailer, and are fleeing south along the road.  Fray describes the men who shared your camp the previous night, and the riders head on their way.

The day's journey comes to a close, and you make camp once again.  Silent, in the night you hear in your mind aggressive squawking and screeching, as something without language appears to be venting anger, or possibly hunger, into your mind.

Next day's journey begins.  First  one to read this, give me a Perception check for the day's travel, two d20 rolls for encounters, and if either of those is 18 or higher, give me a d12.

As they continue on the road, Alton tells the story of their fight with the gnolls to pass some time.

Perception travel check: 13 
d20 encounter rolls: 5, 9 
If over 18: 6 

Alton, the drivers are always up for a good story, and though the details of fighting pass them by, they enjoy the noise and excitement of the storytelling.  Give me a Performance check.

Now on a main(ish) road, you pass by more travellers during the day.  There's another guard patrol, this one seemingly just a routine check on the countryside.  There are a few traders headed towards Talonstadt, and of course there are still occasional villages that you pass through with folk who come out for a brief chat.  You notice that Captain Fray almost always chats with folk as you pass, though she keeps the caravan moving - she's definitely a walk-and-talker.

The day ends as you camp under the moonlight, and the night passes peacefully.

On this next day, I'm going to need a Perception check from everyone please.  No need for any d20 rolls...

Perception 13 

Perception: 20

Rolling Perception for Balassar:  11

1 12

The caravan trundles along the dirt - and occasionally paved - road, headed northwards.  The sun rises and starts to fall, as the afternoon begins to turn into evening.  The countryside around is grasslands, though the ground here is uneven and there are hills rising to the east, and beyond them the Ashkeeper Peaks are visible, though shrouded in clouds.  Beyond that, Xhorhas, more familiar to some of you than to others, lies in your thoughts.

The road has been winding more in the last few hours, as small ridges and rocky outcrops make it difficult to see.  The Crownsguard become more watchful, and Captain Fray asks your team to ride out front, keeping an eye for danger and possible signs of bandits or enemy soldiers.  The rest of the caravan follows about thirty feet behind you.

The road takes a sharp turn to the east to avoid a ridge with a clump of trees; you see it bend to the north a little way further along.  The wind picks up, rustling the trees, and then dies away.  And then the trees rustle again, and Silent and Alton, you get the definite sense that someone... or something.... is hiding up there.

Silent holds up a hand to signal the caravan and Crownsguard to stop moving forward, and he whispers to Alton, You hear that? Think we're walkin' into an ambush.