Ch.2 Goblins, why did it have to be Goblins?

Together with Audette, you collect the requisite supplies for the journey - about a weeks rations, some caving supplies (rope, spikes, hammers and torches) - and then head out of Merivale. The sun is high in the sky, and while the air is relatively warm, there is a cool breeze coming down from the mountains that carries with it the hint of rain. Within an hour or so, you've passed the last of the outlying farms, and the gently rolling and grassy hillsides stretch into the distance to where your eyes can just make out the eaves of the Elderwild. The gentle buzzing of insects and the chirruping of various birds are the only sounds you hear beside the breeze and your own footsteps. At the moment, all seems idyllically peaceful.


GM note: The journey will take you three days, counting today, so you will camp three times before you reach your final destination. While Audette knows the way, she is not a skilled hunter or outdoorsperson, so one of the party members (ideally the one with the highest Naturecraft) should make a skill check to see how smoothly the day's journey went. Once you make camp, you should designate someone to take the nightwatch. It should be a different person each night so as not to accumulate fatigue. Whoever takes the nightwatch should make an Insight roll.

Whoever is providing guidance for the first day's trek, please make a Naturecraft roll!

Thorne leads the way, leaving today's nightwatch for someone else.

The journey to the eaves of the Elderwild goes largely without incident. The tranquility of the rolling grasslands and the unimpeded vistas give you a sense of safety that you know is misplaced, but is still difficult not to be lulled into. The sun begins to wane as the towering canopy of the Elderwild approaches and you all know from experience that it would be better to make camp on this side of the wood, even if your position is somewhat exposed. The nearby river offers fresh water and the possibility of a fish dinner, and the ford that you will need to cross tomorrow creates a natural chokepoint for anything coming from the Elderwild.

You make camp, restock your water supplies, and settle down for dinner and then a well-deserved rest.

Who will take tonights nightwatch?

Thorne continues to guide the group through the Elderwild the following day.

Vilde feels stronger after a night of rest and good food and offers to take watch that evening.

It is only at the camp and only after Naut spent an hour of martial art rehearsal when Naut introduces himself and explain
My Name is Nuat. And that is the only name I have got. I have walked alone for many seasons, following no banner, pledging no crown. My order taught that stillness reveals purpose — and in stillness, I saw you. I saw your deeds.
I seek no glory, no money, not even a recognition. I only ask you to let me walk by your side and assist in battle.

Before going sleep he repeats slowly and quietly as if praying: I listen where others shout. I see where others rush. I stand when others falter.

On your first full day in the Elderwild, Audette leads the group along the remnants of the trail until around midday, when you reach a clearing. You take a moment for lunch, the scan the perimeter looking for the other side of the trail. You find a few likely candidates, but none seem any better defined than the others, all having been largely overtaken by the aggressive forest. Ultimately, Thorne makes the call, deciding on the one that most directly continues the path of travel you were previously on.

The going is a little slower than before, but by mid afternoon the woods part, and the path leads down into an elongated depression which, at the far end, opens onto a creek. The sky is still a dull overcast, and the clouds hang close overhead. When you step out of the shelter of the trees, you can feel a cool breeze coming down off the mountains to the north. The buzzing of insects and small animal sounds that were your constant companions in the wood are somewhat muffled in the whooshing of the wind. The temperature isn't that cold, but the breeze and the dampness make it feel much more so than it actually is.

You descend down the path into the depression, which lies about twelve to fifteen feet below the forest level. There are some small trees sprouting up in a few spots near the walls and a scattering of humps of brush (mostly tall grass and reeds) along the floor of the bowl. The skeletons of a few taller trees, limbless, but festooned in flowering vines, stand almost like lampposts leading to where it opens onto the creek at the far side.

When you reach the bottom, your feet squelch in the marshy soil. Now that you're in the small ravine, shielded slightly from the wind, you do notice a slight 'marshy' smell, but its mixed with the pleasant aroma of the pink and magenta blossoms of the climbing vines. Thorne surmises that this area probably floods during the time of snowmelt in spring, but the waters have receded now and the distant creek doesn't seem to be in danger of overflowing at the moment.

How do you proceed?

Caldra looks around the area before turning to Audette Where are those mines located and are there any vantage points in this area we can go to for a better view of the surroundings? If the goblins are in this area in numbers and going out to gather magical supplies they must be traveling trails. If we can find the trails they will lead us to the heart of the problem

Checking the sun, Audette answer's, "We're going in the right direction, roughly north-northeast. Once we get to the foothills I'll be able to get a better sense of how far east or west of us they lie. As to a place to get a better lay o' the land...," her face clouds over as she scans her memory for anything that might be helpful. "Maybe climb a really tall tree? I don't know. its pretty much a slow rise from here to the foothills, and even from the trees, the fog would make it hard to see far."

Thorne looks around and tries to find a tall tree, something unusual or a place to get a better lay of the land.

If Thorne believe it doesn't seem to be in danger of overflowing at the moment, then Nuat trusts him. Nuat also trust Audette to say we are going into the right direction. He don't see a reason to worry, but volunteer climbing a tree just to calm down anxious party members. If no objection on his climbing skills.

Thorne gladly accept Nuat's help

Thorne finds a tall and sturdy tree nearby and shimmies up the trunk, then uses the limbs to climb as high as he can go. The oppressive cloud cover makes long distance visibility spotty, but after several minutes of observing, the overcast lifts just enough for him to see the distant foothillis in the north, confirming that you're going in roughly the right direction. Closer, he can see the lip of the bluff overlooking the creek on both sides of the depression, and the sea of trees which continue seeming unabated to your destination.

"What can you make out up there!" Vilde shouts up to Thorne, before her eyes go wide and she quickly covers her mouth. eek, the goblins may hear us

Embarrassed, "Sorry."

Caldra glances around not liking it. We should leave this place quickly. We should consider this area to be hostile territory and in this low depression we have reduces visibility.

Caldra does not feel at home in the woodlands but the area feels off to here and she wishes they had just gone around it.

Thorne shares what he saw with the party and urges them to continue traveling

Happy to get going