"I'm all for getting back to Phandalin as soon as possible. But what about our goblin friends?"

"It'll be a late one to get back to Phandalin if we do head back. We could just rest here, freshen up. I think it's easily enough to defend if we do stay and that way we're travelling through the forest back to town during the daylight hours," Rinn says as he checks his short bow and arrows now that the fight is done. He counts up his arrows, making sure how many he'd collected as many as he could find with his previous search of the caves.

Robwin thinks, when TT mentions the goblins. He addresses the friendly goblins, asking, “Hey, when we get back to town, what do you guys and girls want to do? Do you want to set up a camp a little way outside of town?”.

Then when Rinn mentions holding out here, and travelling in daylight, Robwin says, “Hmm.. maybe you’re right... Okay, well, if we’re staying here, I can set alarms at the main entrance, and at the entrances to whatever cavern we bed down in”.

Assuming we do that, Robwin starts to get about setting alarms, casting his alarm spell as a ritual.

Liking at TT and Robwin, Glufs says, "We walk with you. Is town good?"  

She throws her hands up in exasperation and says loudly in goblin, "Gaatbort! Are we safer with this band in their town than on our own next to their town? How do you figure that out in the common tounge?! And you don't even know have of what Farx", she kicks the tied goblin next to her, " has said! "

"Tell them we will stay with them! Or whatever they want to keep us. I want them at the castle. We might be in more trouble though!"

Gaatbort jumps when Glufs starts ranting as if called to attention in a drill line.

He looks around after she's finished and clears his throat. 

"Um, first. We want to stay with you."

"Second, is it safer to stand at your side in town or camp near town?"

"Um, third? There is more trouble at the castle? I don’t know that yet?"

"Um, I can keep the wolf?"

About this time, Gralk turns back into herself and wanders in.

Blaire laughs at Gaatbort before saying, "Sorry, sorry, the wolves are ours for the hunt. You'll be able to ride whenever you want. Work out with Glufs whatever is going on then we’ll bath the wolves. I'm going to f@#$% move the dead."

And that's what Blaire does. She moves the bodies to the "Eating Cave" stripping and tossing them on the fire in that cave. The "Eating Cave" is smoky. It has a natural twenty foot high ceiling and a handful of natural vents that eventually clear the caverns. 

Eli pulls his helmet off watches as Blaire heaves up the bugbear and leaves the southern cave to take on her self imposed duty. He just shakes his head.

(( There is light from the central fire pit in the southern cave where you are all gathered. ))

The story of the Wave Echo Cave has Wolfsong thinking as he aids in the moving of the crates then the bodies. 

"I feel having the goblins with us in town will cause less problems in the long run then having them camp outside of town and scaring travels." Wolfsong comments once all the crates and bodies have been moved. "I also think it best we camp here tonight, and leave for town first thing in the morning. We can then go the town's master to introduce him to the our goblin friends so that if they cause trouble we can be informed."

Wolfsong then turns to Sildar, " You said there is a forge in the Wave Echo Cave that can be used to craft magical weapons, could it be used to craft something to aid us in hunting a dragon?" 

Robwin helps as best he can with the crates and bodies. And nods along in agreement with Wolfsong’s reasoning and decisions. “I agree, having the goblins with us in town under our watch and protection should be fine. Yes, let’s head off in the morning”.

He sets a silent alarm at the main entrance and noisy ones at both entrances to the southeastern cavern that they will be sleeping in. He sets them all to disregard any movements from the whole party and any of the goblins.

He also tries to clean up the worst of the blood and mess using prestidigitation.

With his alarms set, he will settle down to trance for a bit, but before he does, he re-summons Lia the owl to help keep watch.

Lia the owl’s perception check (advantage): 22 

In the evening with light cast on her Warhammer, Blaire and the goblins bathe the wolves and themselves. 

Afterward, in the quiet of the southern cave, while Gaatbort and Blaire are focusing on the wolves, Glufs and Gralk focus on equipment and supplies. During this evening downtime the goblins speak among themselves. 

In goblin:

Gralk: "Why are you angry?"

Glufs: "There may be a lot of trouble. Farx says King Grol is responsible for the attack on these pale skins. Says he sold the clans to someone called Black Spider."

Gralk: "That cannot be true. We spoke with King Grol. He called the cheifs of all the lashers of all the clans. He swore Stonehill clan, Backwood clan. He bound us with seed. It can't be true."

Glufs: "Maybe. Farx said Klarg and Yeemik started hunting pale skins first then the orders came for these two. The tall one here and a rock dweller he says was sent to the castle."

Gralk shaking her head and very upset, "No, he swore with seed."

Glufs: "I know this. I escorted you with our cheifs. Or did you forget! Farx says Grol already killed the clan leaders. That only small lashers like Klarg were left. That he swore himself Cragmaw chief first."

Glufs: "Rinn, Elf, says maybe the Black Spider bought off the messenger and our King doesn't know."

Gaatbort: "How do we keep this band safe? If Grol killed the cheifs, all the clans will suffer. If he sold the clans to another, he isn't a lasher, a boss and not a king."

Gaatbort: "I speak common better than either of you. I don't know how to put all this in those words." 

Glufs: "You think I don't know this?! We have a good band. We lost three, gained six. We have Cragmaw cavern. You and puffer have wolf pack. The big wolf who took the twins is stronger than a wild orc. The one our size is smarter than any of us. The bird and the owl friend could teach us much. The Rinn, Elf, can kill anything with an arrow."

Gralk slightly laughing, "Rinn is Elf. Robwin with owl is Elf. He might be good teacher. TT is the one who stands as we do. Blaire, that one, doesn't care what we are if we're useful. Wolfsong, the big one, seems the same. Ikki, the tall bird, so pretty, is scary and Eli, the helmet. He's dangerous. I think Wolfsong might kill us or eat us. Helmet will just hurt us." She's very sober in tone at the end.

Gaatbort: "We will keep trying to help the band. We will need to help. If the King is strong, we will find Black Spider and destroy it together. If the king is bad, we will destroy King and Black Spider."

Gaatbort: "Why did you become a sheep."

Gralk: "It was the weave, not me!"

As Robwin is settling into his trance, he hears the goblins speak. He brings himself back to full consciousness, stays still, and listens in for a while.

He reminds himself to relay the gist of what was said to the rest of the party, when they’re all back on the road together, in the morning.

He’s starting to really like these goblins...

((OOC: @DM great RP by the way! nice!))

In response to Wolfsong's question, Sildar says, "I  imagine so, but I am neither a smithy nor a mage. We'll know better speaking to Iarno Albrek or the Rockseeker brothers."

The horses are clean, fed and stalled in the briar thickets goblin hideout. The wagon is set, packed and secured near the trail. Blaire, the goblins and the wolves are cleaned. Blaire even opened a sealed jar of argan oil which she used to treat and bind her hair and set the goblins' hair and wolves' fur a bit. 

The four took care to bathe and bandage their captive, much to Farx's mix of displeasure and confusion. 

Gaatbort, Glufs and Gralk routinely inquired through the evening if anything needed cleaned or prepared and for the party. For anyone who abliged, their inquiry, had their gear and armor properly cleaned and prepared. Eli shooed them away brusquely gaining a significant glare from Blaire. 

Eli did participate in full, preparing the wagon, the cave for camping and listening to all that was said, but he offered very little which was quite odd. He did clean himself a bit and was very quiet and brooding the rest of the evening. 

Sildar was fitted out with working trousers over his breeches, a miner's jacket over his undershirt, a belt and sheath for the shortsword. 

The dead cremated in  pyre in the "Burning Cave" formerly the "Eating Cave"

(( Was there any other discussion or activity before the start of the next day? ))

After placing his alarms, clearing up a little, and setting Lia as lookout, Robwin is ready to trance...

(( OOC: I hope everyone is doing well. It's a holiday season, winter and for many a big dig to find solid ground. If you're focused on family zooms or outdoors excursions, I salute you. We ask for a post once in 48 hours.  I understand it may sometimes feel urgent because of the place in the story, but there is no inherent rush unless you are available. I am glad we are generating that type of excitement from time to time with each other in this cooperative story. ))

(( OOC: Ikki's creator, @DirtyDogP, had to bow out. We've modified the character so it can be reassigned and I am speaking with an individual about picking them up. ))

(( Back to a region of the Forgotten Realms called the Sword Coast. A ragtag band of would be adventurers, healers, hunters, and heroes, have happened upon the misbegotten and recently resurrected town of Phandalin.

You have separately and together, protected a Midwife, Herbalist from a manticore and a dragon, freed a Gnomish community from a prowling mimic and restored their mentally ill king to a stable and manageable state while preventing another deranged and dangerous citizen of the community from being further damage to himself or others without killing them, succsessfully completed a few unexpectedly dangerous supply deliveries putting you in very good standing with the local Miner's Exchange and Barthen’s Provisions, rescued a would be rancher and his ranch from an invasion of northern mountain Daraktan/Orc, and most recently saved a retired Waterdeep griffon cavalry member from the Cragmaw clan, a band of goblinkin who made the fatal mistake of choosing highway banditry as their most profitable route. 

Now, on the morning of 6 ,Kythorn 1492 DR in the twilight that proceeds dawn, you are waking, packing up what little you didn't already prepare. You have agreed to escort Sildar Hallwinter and a wagon of supplies, seemingly belongings the Lionshield Coster company, collect on various promissory notes and rest up. 

It seems another quest has emerged, a castle end a king either in league with or subverted by "the Black Spider".  Currently a mystery, this Black Spider is blamed for the abduction of Sildar and his missing dwarven companion. ))

(( What do you wish to do? ))