"Do not give up hope, Yevele.  We are heading to look for the raiders' base today.  There we may find signs of your master and what happened to him."  A thought then strikes Thia.  "Do any of you know how to track?  Perhaps this man," she says nodding to the newcomer, "can show us where the fight occurred and we can see if we can pick up any signs?  I'm afraid I was always more interested in the library than the wilds, so I have no skills in this area."

Rogram watches in both fear and longing as Yevele reacts to the news of her lost master. What if it is his father next? He must be found ... and fast! At the suggestion that the group make a detour, the half-dwarf has to fight the urge to yell "No!", but he is able to keep his tongue. He simply shakes his head when Thia looks at him after asking if anyone has a tracking skill. He looks around, silently praying to both Azuth and Moradin that no one else thinks this is a good idea.

"You know of him?" the man asks bewildered as Yevele reacts to the news.

"Nesim Waladra," the man introduces himself when Thia names him generically. He shakes his head at her suggestion of investigating the fight scene.

"That did us no good, and the area has unfortunately been well-trodden since the fight. The thing is, Leosin has been investigating these raiders for months. I fear that he might have tried to infiltrate their group when they retreated, or worse, was captured and carried away as a prisoner. He and those raiders are intertwined. I feel that if you find them, you will find him. No one understands these bandits better than he does, and his knowledge will be invaluable against them. All I ask is that when you find their camp, please look for any sign that Leosin is there. One of my brothers has already departed for Berdusk to bring back help, but it will be many days before help arrives. Anything you can do before then would be a godsend," he says.

"Well, it seems to me," says Thia preparing another bite on her apple, "that there is no time like the present.  I suggest we pack up our equipment and head out whilst the trail is fresh.  I'm ready to go and find out who these raiders really are, and if they have some of our friends and loved-ones held as prisoners.  Shall we?"  With that, she takes a final bite out of her apple and flings the core out the window.  She moves to the corner and picks up her pack, which now has a new crossbow strapped to it, and stands ready.

Thrax bows his head with respect as Yevele reacts to the news of her old friend. He remains silent as he absorbs the take from the injured monk. After he finishes speaking, Thrax will approach him and offer to heal his leg with his divine magic. 

He is then stirred by the rousing words of Thia and lets out a proud roar as she rallies them to action. 

Quote from BartyMcDougal >>

"You know of him?" the man asks bewildered as Yevele reacts to the news.

 

  "He saved my life when I was beset by bullies. He often visited the monastery where I was raised. Leosin and my master, Lao Te, were, er, are old friends. I was coming here to help him in the problems he had found. But, if you think he was a prisoner, then we need to move on. We can't leave him in the hands of these monsters." Yevele says as she looks to the other members of her group.

Following Thia's speech and Thrax's roar, Yevele raises the choker up and says "I will find Leosin and personally give this back to him. We will not fail!"

Smoke nods at Yevele's words It seems Leosin and Rograms family could be on the same path as the raiders. Learning more about the raiders might help us find all of them faster.

Let us not waste time then. Smoke then starts to walk about 30ft then stops to look if the others are following and if hes going in the right direction.

Nesim folds his hands over one another and bows to Yevele. "I have met Lao Te. I understand now your fortitude, having trained with such a great man," he says.

He politely declines any healing from Thrax, saying, "My wounds were tended yesterday by the medics at the keep. I think my leg needs only some time. I am not as hardy as you folk."

OOC: Let's establish a marching order for travel that we can use going forward. Who would like to take the front rank (leading/tracking), back rank (providing a rearguard/keeping watch), and middle rank (any other light travel activity like mapping, foraging, or assisting with tracking)?

OOC: Thrax is pretty tank-y and has a high survival skill (all that time in the swamps), he could lead the party in tracking the raiders. He looks the part should they need to engage with the raiders and speak to them, but he’s not very skilled at deception/persuasion. 

ooc: Smoke will not want to be the first but can be in front after Thrax or somewhere in the middle. Hes fine with being the scout if there is a specific reason but with normal marching he will prefer a bit safer spot. Since Thrax needs help with words Smoke is happy to do that but since there are more bards im fine with someone else doing that from time to time. 

Rogram is fine bringing up the rear.

Yevele can serve as a scout. She is stealthy and has a decent armor class, plus the ability to break away from an opponent without giving them the opportunity to attack her. But, she is worse than Thrax as deception and persuasion. If the party doesn't want her to scout ahead, she can walk in front with Thrax.

Thia is a sage and a book worm. She’d be happiest in the middle.  She’s pretty decent at talking but it’s not her preference. 

OOC: That makes the marching order:

Front - Thrax, Smoke, Yevele
Middle - Thia
Back - Rogram

We'll use this order for travel going forward. Feel free to let me know at any point if you wish to change your rank. Since Thia is in the middle she can also specify a travel activity.

The raiders' path is easy to follow across the rolling grassland of the Greenfields. A wide swath of grass is trampled down, even a full day after the army's departure. After tracking the trail to the southeast, it turns south for almost twelve miles, leading to a more rugged region where steep-sided, rocky plateaus replace the gently rolling hills. The land between the plateaus is largely flat, broken only by outcroppings and wandering streams in steep-sided gullies. The plateaus jut fifty to one hundred feet above their surroundings and look difficult to climb except where rock falls and subsidence have created natural ramps. The crumbling sides of the plateaus are dotted with caves and tumbled boulder fields.

The weather is quite pleasant, with a light breeze cooling an otherwise humid day. As afternoon transitions to evening, Thrax and Yevele spot the first noteworthy sign: A line of smoke rising over the plateau in the distance.

(ooc: im fine with Yevele being the scout, Smoke would only be on special mission so we can say Yevele is the main scout and in case it needs two Smoke will tag along.)

After a few minutes of walking Smoke will try to break the silence. You know, we are lucky these tracks are so easy to follow. A long time ago in the high forest a small city was formed by the Cult of Karsus. He turns his head to see if others are listening.

A local residant of the woods, a druid, did not approve of their stay as they made sacrifices out of the animals of the woods and cut down many trees to create their city. Smoke shakes his head You should not mess with druids. 

After a while the druid stole an artifact of Karsus and was quickly being hunted by the cult. Right on the druids tracks they were when they ran into a clearing that had been used by deer and was full of tracks! His eyes widen as he says this. 

You can imagine their surprise and shock to try and find the druids footprints in the mids of that. He points to the ground at one of the raiders footprints and bends down a bit following it around a bit pretending to go in circles and losing it in all the other tracks raising his shoulders and arms to shrug at the end.

But the cult had large hunting dogs with teeth the size of... he tries to form a size with his hands but is unsure.. wel large teeth. It was difficult for the dogs to find the druids tracks with all the smells lingering. After a while they finally perked up to a scent and they were off again ! They did not leash the dogs so the hunters had to run after them at this point. Smoke moves his arms quickly as if running. 

Nearing darkness they found a cave. The cultmembers looked at eachother with evil smirks and were quick to run in. Smoke chuckles It turns out the cave belonged to a large owlbear haha. They barely made it out alive. It turns out the druid had been leaving owlbear jerky pieces for the dogs to track. The cultmembers had to return home in failure.

A year later the artifact was found within the city! After discovery an internal conflict broke out as some believed the artifact was recovered in that hunt. Others say it was an act of Karsus himself to sow dissension. Eventually after years of division the city itself fell apart. Smokes voice is calm as he says And the woods reclaimed the city. 

Smoke smiles as he was able to remember this tale. Hoping it will keep the minds of the group entertained and distracted. Even if its just for a little while. 

During the first part of the journey, Yevele's thoughts were mostly on the whereabouts of Laote, hoping that the monk is still alive and she can find him.

When Yevele notices the smoke in the distance, she will point it out to her companions and suggest that her and Smoke climb up the plateau and check out the smoke to see if it is the army they are seeking. She will look for an easy way up the side of the plateau, hoping that a ramp may be present on the side that they are approaching from.

For about the first hour, while he's pretty sure there's not any danger of them being followed yet, Rogram attempts to get used to wearing a shield while thrusting and parrying. He finds it very difficult at first, and only slightly easier by the end of the hour. Never having used a shield before, his center of gravity is completely different, and his footwork suffers. He sighs as he puts the shield and his blade away, hoping to find more time soon to practice when he isn't trying to walk at the same time.

His mind now free to wander, worry consumes him. How is his father, uncle and aunt? Will they find them unharmed? Will they discover their corpses along the way? It isn't until Smoke tells his tale that Rogram can find a short reprieve from his torment. As the tabaxi weaves his tale, the half-elf once again is consumed by the storyteller's words. He can imagine the scenes and even laughs at the revelation of the owlbear. However, as their journey continues, the party's reality overtakes him, and Rogram worries once again.

When the smoke is pointed out to him, Rogram looks to see if it is a single line or several, which may distinguish between a single fire or an army of fires.

Thrax proceeds quickly and keeps a keen eye out for any sign of danger as they follow the trail left by the hoard that attacked Greenest. His mind races as he considers what they will do once they actually find this army. So much destruction spreading across the Green Fields, he worries that there is little they can do to stop their foes. His mind replays the short encounter with the half dragon and he wonders how many more fighters of that caliber fight for the hoarde.

Smoke’s story provides a pleasant distraction, and he does his best to help instruct Rogram in his use of the shield as Yevele goes to investigate the camp fire in the distance.

Thia strolls along in the middle of the group.  Half watching the Greenfields pass by, half-listening to Smoke's entertaining tale of druids and cultists.  About mid-morning she pulls an apple from her newly-stocked pouch and shines it on her trouser leg.  Munching on it contemplatively she considers what she recalls about Talis and her involvement with some sort of draconic cult.  There wasn't much to go on but surely this had to be the same cult.  Unfortunately, it appeared to be considerably larger than Thia had assumed, and her worries for Talis' safety were greatly increased.

Stopping with the others when the smoke is spotted, Thia prepares to sit and wait to see what the scouts report.  She takes that time to check over her new crossbow and make sure she recalls how to fire it.  She also checks her spell component pouch, pulling out pinches of sand, soot and salt and letting them sprinkle back into the pouch.  She also pulls out a tiny feather and a stick of makeup.  Happy that all is as it should be, she looks up to see how the scouts are getting on.

The line of smoke is still quite a distance ahead, and there are plenty of places along the way where the plateau can be climbed fairly easily. It also appears to be a smoke from a single fire - this is definitely not the smoke of an entire army's camp.