2. Phandalin

"I think we should stay put and light a fire, at least until Redhawk comes back. If he doesn't after a 1 our 2 hours, we should probably go look for him. What do you think?" finally says Igrem after a few seconds of hesitation. He is obviously still not sure of the proper line of action.

"Glad to be of service," Boggart says, beaming. He turns to include Igrem in the circle of conversation. "Redhawk is a canny hunter. I have faith that he'll return to us if we wait, but I'm not opposed to following after him, if needs be. Find anything in their pockets?" He points towards the dead hobgoblins.

The fallen hobgoblins had a few items...

Their leather armor is worn but well-maintained, and each bears a serviceable shortbow with a mostly full quiver, along with a shortsword of decent make. One of them also carried a whetstone darkened smooth from long use, tucked carefully into a belt pouch alongside several strips of dried meat wrapped in cloth.

Taken together, the weapons and armor could fetch around 16 gold pieces if sold in town.

Alex sighs. "I think you're right, Igrem, if Redhawk isn't back in an hour or two, we go after him. Boggart, would you be able to track where he went?" Alex stretches out a bit to catch whatever rest he could [Catch Breath: Expending 2d6].

"Redhawk is more the tracking type, but I've got my wits about me," Boggart says. He takes a seat by the fire and catches his breath, indulging in a couple of berries he found close to camp. "Friend Igrem, do you need a touch of mending?" He asks, wiggling softly glowing fingers.

Igrem raises an eyebrow at Boggart. "I won't say no. Even though not severely, these fiends did hit me during the fight. And I'm not sure I can find rest again in this place!"

Boggart gives Igrem a look over. "Alright, this will get you right as rain." Healing energies flow through his hands into Igrem.

You decide to wait a bit, as Redhawk will probably be back. Before long, not even an hour fully passes, you hear movement approaching through the trees. Deliberate.

A moment later, Redhawk emerges from the darkness and steps back into camp.

He appears unharmed, though clearly tired from the pursuit. Slung over his shoulder are a few recovered weapons—a couple of shortswords and an extra shortbow, likely gathered from the battlefield or abandoned during the hobgoblins’ retreat.

Igrem, Boggart’s healing magic flows into you, easing the lingering pain and stiffness left by the fight.But the exhaustion remains.

You realize now just how drained you are.

You took first watch earlier in the night and never truly got the chance to rest afterward. The hobgoblin attack shattered any hope of sleep, and the adrenaline of battle carried you farther than your body comfortably wanted to go.

Now that things have finally quieted down, fatigue crashes down hard.

Your eyes feel heavy beneath the hood. Your thoughts are slower than usual. Even keeping focus on the conversation around the campfire takes conscious effort.

Red hawk emerges from the woods with some of the hobs gear. As he takes a seat at the fire and calms down a bit he realizes he took some damage. "I caught the hobs and took care of them and didn't really realize until now I took more damage then I thought. I hid the bodies and grabbed some of their gear and found some coins." He lays the gear on the ground. "I am going to keep a short sword for my use. I also found a pretty clear trail they seems to use quite often if want to go investigate later. It should be easy to find."

The rest of the night passes without further incident.

A pale gray light slowly spreads across the open land north of the Triboar Trail, pushing back the darkness in soft waves. Morning mist clings low over the grassy plains, shimmering faintly with dew, while the lightly forested patches around your camp cast long shadows in the rising sun. Birds begin calling from scattered branches overhead, and the cool air carries the fresh scent of earth and wild grass.

Alex glances at Redhawk and his victory trophies. "My Lady of the Glittering Dice has clearly looked on you with favor, woodsman. You dared boldly and were rewarded! But now, sit for a few minutes and catch your breath. We should take advantage of the daylight and retrieve the coaster’s goods whilst we can." Turning to the exhausted mage, Alex continued "Perhaps you should ride on the wagon until we reach the cave, Igrem. You look like Mystra herself wrung you out to dry."

"You are probably right, Alex. This forest has a bad influence on me. The sooner we are out of here the better." says Igrem, answering to his long time friend. He does congratulate Redhawk for his catch, though.

If ever the party wants to take a couple hours before leaving, he will take advantage of the extra downtime to rest a little.

Redhawk will look at the others"Maybe we should wait a bit and take our time with some breakfast and cleaning our gear and weapons."