"Let's hope we can find the words to convince them."
You talk for a while, about orcs, Falcon, and gnomes. You turn in early, the better to leave early in the morning.
You wake up with the sun nearing the tree line. The morning is quiet as you stretch and get out of bed. You glance outside the door and see two small bag outside, and one even smaller one. Bringing them in, you find each pile has 5 days worth of rations. There are 15 bolts for you and 15 arrows for Ruby.
You spend some time repacking your packs, shifting the weight around. The smallest bag holds food enough for the morning's meal and a small bottle of the wine from last night.
As you walk toward the gate, you see Falcon leaning against it. He nods and stands up as you approach.
"Early risers as well, I see. Good to see. You'd be surprised how few are. I wish you well on your journey. And do feel free to come back if you wish. I'm sure the orcs will still be here."
He shakes each of your hands as you walk thru the gate. As you look back, you see he's climbed to the walk at the top and is watching. He raises his hand as the gate slowly closes. "I'll keep watch for as long as I can. Fare well."
The way out of the forest take much less time than the way in. You keep an eye out for the creatures Falcon spoke of but see nothing.
The journey takes a little over two days. It is uneventful, to the point where you wonder if you should be concerned with how uneventful it is. You find the river in the morning and follow it. It is near midday when you see the canyon.
You follow a stream uphill to the base of the mountain, where waterfall erosion has carved out a natural concavity. The roaring waterfall creates a cloud of mist as it plunges into a shallow pool of water, within which rise two small islands covered with two-foot-tall red, green, and purple mushrooms. Several cave openings overlook the pool from rocky ledges twenty to thirty feet above. The mountain blocks any sunlight from reaching this place.
The air grows chilly from the falls and the shadows of the canyon walls.
You walk along the riverbank, looking at the entrances high above. You're trying to see which looks like the front door when you think you see something on the larger of the two islands. You stop and look again but with the swirling mist of the falls you are not sure.
"Did you see that or was it just me?" Ruby puts an arrow loose in her long bow. "They said they were friendly gnomes, right?"
You see the form move, appearing to bend down, stand, go a few steps to the side, then bend again. You're not sure if your words were heard over the waterfall.
"Do we go closer?" Ruby moves to the water's edge, arrow still loose in her hand.
As she turns to look at you, the figure moves again. And it appears to be coming toward you.
Ruby's head whips back, her bow coming up just a little.
The mist swirls up, blocking your view. When it clears, you see a gnome standing there. A small basket dangles from one hand, with green and red blobs inside. You can only gather it's the mushrooms that are on the island.
The gnome looks from you to Ruby and back again. "Not time. You're not supposed to be here yet. Not time."
The two of you turn to look at each other again, when after a minute you see the gnome in a rowboat coming from the far side of the island. As it approaches, you can see now that the gnome is male. His beard is little more than scruff. You gather he's of a rather young age. His basket is not in the boat.
He rows to within a few feet of you and looks from one to the other of you. "Phandalin. Not time for trade. You're early. Go back." He makes a wave back downriver and starts to spin the boat back around. "Kings are busy. Won't see us, so won't see you." He shrugs. "Busy protecting. Have to save, he says. Maybe when it's right time be okay."
Ruby watches the gnome row back to the island, head tilted to the side. "Yeah. Didn't understand any of that. You?"
She follows after you, putting her bow away. She looks up again at the canyon walls, counting the openings. "Any of them looking good to you? Or do we just random it?"
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"Let's hope we can find the words to convince them."
You talk for a while, about orcs, Falcon, and gnomes. You turn in early, the better to leave early in the morning.
You wake up with the sun nearing the tree line. The morning is quiet as you stretch and get out of bed. You glance outside the door and see two small bag outside, and one even smaller one. Bringing them in, you find each pile has 5 days worth of rations. There are 15 bolts for you and 15 arrows for Ruby.
You spend some time repacking your packs, shifting the weight around. The smallest bag holds food enough for the morning's meal and a small bottle of the wine from last night.
As you walk toward the gate, you see Falcon leaning against it. He nods and stands up as you approach.
"Early risers as well, I see. Good to see. You'd be surprised how few are. I wish you well on your journey. And do feel free to come back if you wish. I'm sure the orcs will still be here."
He shakes each of your hands as you walk thru the gate. As you look back, you see he's climbed to the walk at the top and is watching. He raises his hand as the gate slowly closes. "I'll keep watch for as long as I can. Fare well."
The way out of the forest take much less time than the way in. You keep an eye out for the creatures Falcon spoke of but see nothing.
The journey takes a little over two days. It is uneventful, to the point where you wonder if you should be concerned with how uneventful it is. You find the river in the morning and follow it. It is near midday when you see the canyon.
You follow a stream uphill to the base of the mountain, where waterfall erosion has carved out a natural concavity. The roaring waterfall creates a cloud of mist as it plunges into a shallow pool of water, within which rise two small islands covered with two-foot-tall red, green, and purple mushrooms. Several cave openings overlook the pool from rocky ledges twenty to thirty feet above. The mountain blocks any sunlight from reaching this place.
I fallow the river towards them
The air grows chilly from the falls and the shadows of the canyon walls.
You walk along the riverbank, looking at the entrances high above. You're trying to see which looks like the front door when you think you see something on the larger of the two islands. You stop and look again but with the swirling mist of the falls you are not sure.
"Did you see that or was it just me?" Ruby puts an arrow loose in her long bow. "They said they were friendly gnomes, right?"
I put my hands up "we come in peace"
You see the form move, appearing to bend down, stand, go a few steps to the side, then bend again. You're not sure if your words were heard over the waterfall.
"Do we go closer?" Ruby moves to the water's edge, arrow still loose in her hand.
As she turns to look at you, the figure moves again. And it appears to be coming toward you.
Ruby's head whips back, her bow coming up just a little.
The mist swirls up, blocking your view. When it clears, you see a gnome standing there. A small basket dangles from one hand, with green and red blobs inside. You can only gather it's the mushrooms that are on the island.
The gnome looks from you to Ruby and back again. "Not time. You're not supposed to be here yet. Not time."
"um okay? what do you mean?"
A head tilt, then a shake. The figure disappears.
The two of you turn to look at each other again, when after a minute you see the gnome in a rowboat coming from the far side of the island. As it approaches, you can see now that the gnome is male. His beard is little more than scruff. You gather he's of a rather young age. His basket is not in the boat.
He rows to within a few feet of you and looks from one to the other of you. "Phandalin. Not time for trade. You're early. Go back." He makes a wave back downriver and starts to spin the boat back around. "Kings are busy. Won't see us, so won't see you." He shrugs. "Busy protecting. Have to save, he says. Maybe when it's right time be okay."
I continue walking.
Ruby watches the gnome row back to the island, head tilted to the side. "Yeah. Didn't understand any of that. You?"
She follows after you, putting her bow away. She looks up again at the canyon walls, counting the openings. "Any of them looking good to you? Or do we just random it?"