The road that leads to Lapo runs south from the Bridged City, curving out from the Kelder Mountains to wind through scattered towns and farms far from civilized lands. The journey is nearly 100 miles and requires several days of travel. 

How would you like to travel to Lapo?  

The green dot is Chandler’s Folly, the red dot is Lapo.  There is a river and a road that goes from The Bridged City to Chandler's Folly. (It goes by Durgan's Rest on the way)  From Chandler's Folly to Lapo is just a trail.

Well, that didn't go quite as smoothly as Vor had hoped, he wasn't supposed to be seen sneaking around the second story of that merchants house.  Sigh, Lady Luck can be soooo cruel sometimes.  Now Vor has to become as scarce coins on a tree.  Leaving Chandler's Folly wasn't a really tough choice, after all there is a dearth of night life and the wenches are tougher than most brawlers.  After slipping around the merchant's henchmen, who were stationed on the road north to Bridged City, Vor headed west.  Although the trail did not hold much promise for what was at its end, what was the name of that place, Lapo? it did promise something better that cudgels and iron blades wielded by bruisers to stupid to be more than merchant muscle.

Assuming the 4 of us returning members are together, discussing this, Krusk says, “The road is about 100 miles long. Taking the main road would likely be the fastest route, however going off road might help us avoid some dangers. We probably want to take the trail from Chandler’s Folly to Lapo. However, the is the option to skip the trail to possible take a more direct route. This may lead, however, to some dangerous situations. I believe that we should go on the main road to Chandler’s Folly and then take the trail. What do you guys think?” (For those who are just joining us, Krusk is a half Orc who doesn’t talk a lot and keeps to himself. This length of sentence is the longest anyone here has heard him speak in Common)

OOC: I am assuming Newa needs to meet the returning party so...

Newa  is just outside the town kind of to the side of the trail, she tends to stick to tree lines when possible always watching her surroundings for anything unusual or strange to investigate.  Presently she is examining a tree trunk that seems was used by something large, most likely a bear she decides from the claw marking running up and down the trunk.  She begins to look for tracks and survey the area to try and keep it safe for non-combatant travelers moving to and from the town.  Of course if something else interesting or another adventure pops up (like a traveling party that would accept another member) she is always willing to go a different path and see where it takes her.

Chikra has the Hidden Entrances background feature -- are there any tunnel byways through the mountains that she might know about, which would shave some time off the journey, or provide a safer route?

"Traveling by the main road seems good to me." Lia confirms.  She pulls her heavy cloak tighter as she considers the cold trip ahead of them.  "Should we see if we can get a coach or something as we did for the trip here?"

“That seems like a smart decision, Lia. That will allow us to travel faster to Lapo, I would think. We may have to ditch it at Chandler’s Folly, but we can work around that.” Krusk tells her.

OOC: How long does it take for us to get to Chandler’s Folly by coach?

"I was just thinking that hiring a coach might be our best bet, Lia," Hallanann replies. 

(ooc: Hallanann is a half-elf sorcerer. He is pretty introverted, and so he keeps to himself, but not in an unfriendly way. He's not a pacifist, but if a peaceful solution to a problem presents itself, he'll likely at least try it, first.)

As he travels towards Lapo, Vor will keep a sharp eye out for even the suggestion of danger.  He will try to remain unnoticed unless he chooses to be - situational awareness; see and be unseen; hear but be unheard; pass without trace.

OCC - What is the weather?  What condition is the path in?  Waggon tracks?  Footprints?  Spoor of any kind?

Vor heads off down the trail from Chandler's Folly to Lapo.  Not many people go to Lapo, or come from it to Chandler's Folly, but what does seem to be known is that it can be an inhospitable place, especially at night without shelter.  There have been sightings of large animals, and some that leave for Lapo, never return.  The path turns sharply west, and the landscape becomes increasingly wild and uneven, with pine woods becoming more and more dominant and the signs of settlement almost entirely absent. Soon the road all but disappears, with little more than a worn footpath to mark the way.  There are no human tracks or markings of wagon wheels on the trail, but there is plenty of evidence of large animals.  Vor hears something moving in the bushes ahead, and to his right.

From The Bridged City to Chandler;s Folly is 80 miles, and would cost 2 GP and 4 SP each, and will take two days.  Chikra knows of a tunnel that runs part of the way from Chandler's Folly toward Lapo.  There are bats, but it avoids the large and dangerous animals that are in the forest.

While arranging for a coach, Krusk, Chikra, Lia, and Hallanann notice Newa. 

The weather is cool and clear.  It will probably drop below freezing soon after the sun sets.  There is a large amount of moisture in the air which will probably leave the morning covered with and icy sheen. 

Chikra explains to the others about the tunnel -- "It may be a bit cramped for some of you bigger folk, but it's a safer path, though it won't take us the whole way."

Newa, finished with her investigation of the tree trunk over hears these people looking to hire a coach and travel walks over...."Good day my friends.....if your looking to go south I would like to travel with you if you don't mind.  I have finished my business here and was just getting ready to head out myself." Newa pauses a moment... "I prefer traveling with company if you good people don't mind.  I am pretty handy with a bow and can scout and such for you if you need."  She realizes she is talking way too much and shuts up, stands there and awaits an answer.

A half-Orc come up to you. He’s wearing chain mail and has a pike on his back. He says to Newa, “Hey Newa. You can come with us. It would be great to have you with us. One of our friends had to leave us, and it’s great that you could fill in the gap. We’re traveling to Lapo. Our friend Chikra was just telling us about a tunnel that can take us from Chandler’s Folly to Lapo. You want to join us?” Realizing he never introduced himself, he says, “Sorry for not introducing my self. My name is Krusk.”

Hallanann reaches a hand out to Newa and says, "Welcome, Newa. My name is Hallanann." Then to the whole group, he adds, "Now, how does everyone feel about trying Chikra's tunnel? To me, it sounds like the safest route, not to mention less expensive than the coach."

Vor fades into the foliage to the left of the trail.  Keeping a wary eye towards the area the sound came from, he’ll look for a tall tree he could clamber up should the need arise.

OCC Stealth roll shortly, can’t see how to get the die roller to work on my iPhone.

What sort of sound was it?  A ‘small’ sound, like the whisper of brushed leaves?  A ‘large’ sound, such as might be made treading on sticks fallen from the trees?  

"The tunnel seems prudent."  Lia agrees with a sigh.  She is a beautiful half-elf female, with long pure-white hair.  Her clothes are up-scale from normal common fair, consisting of a fur-lined cloak, thick woolen tunic, thick woolen skirt, and fur-lined boots.  She does not seem very happy about the idea of trudging through a probably dirty tunnel.

"It'll be alright, Lia. We can prestidigitate the dirt away," Hallanann says with a chuckle.

"Thanks for having me, happy to help anyway I can, and yes tunnel does seem to be safer way I have seen quite a bit of unusual animal activity lately so somethings been stirring them up more than usual."  Newa says as she joins the party.

“The tunnel sounds fine. It’ll get us to Lapo faster,” Krusk mentions, “since we’ll avoid troubles on the trail”.