[D&D 3.5, E6] The Colony at Gaunche [IC]

[senrath]

Thurstan

"Thank you." Thurstan said, before turning and heading out of the room. There wasn't anything else here that required his attention.

Spoiler

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(2d8)[8] for healing

[HempRope]

Ranier

Ranier is clearly surprised at how quickly Velas'quez dispenses healing. Clearly it pays to be working directly under the commander than through any mercenary agency.

"Thank you," he says immediately.

"Thank you," he repeats as the vested man finishes. "I don't think there's anything else..."

He turns to look at the rest of the group.

[esorscher]

The rest of the night goes peacefully, and at dawn you awake to the sound of Cruces's voice outside your tents. "Sergeant? I'm here with those supplies."

He's holding a small wooden crate under one arm. You can see rations, as well as a few bottles of different colored liquids. He hands Ranier a map as well. "The location for the rendezvous is marked on that map. It just outside the fort, far enough to be out of sight. It's about a two day journey to the goblin village, two days back--we should have the journal translated by then."

After everyone is ready, you make for the rendezvous point. The caravan is not as large as you may have expected--the two mules seem hardly worth protecting. There are two traders with them, one an older man, with a full, gray beard, the other maybe ten years his junior, his beard brown. The one with the gray beard speaks first: "You must be the escorts Velas'qez sent. You don't look the usual military sort. Have you seen much action?" He steps forward as if to appraise you, looking you over with a careful eye and a slight sneer as if studying your worth.

The younger man touches the older on the shoulder. "Come, now, Onate." he turns to you, "We're grateful for your help. The last two times we've tried to make this trip, we've had to turn over our trade goods to the orcs just to make do. My name is Rodrigo. We should get going as soon as possible; you can tell me about yourselves on the way. We've got two days of travel, plenty of dead air to fill with chatter. But keep an eye out for orcs, else the air might become a little too dead, if you catch my meaning."

[Marching order, spot and listen checks, and RP ]

Supplies

Spoiler

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2 potions of CMW (you can drink half for 1d8 HP)
2 Alchemist's Fire
2 Acid
24 trail bars

[Darwin]

Steelheart

Steelheart eyes what he presumed would be a wagon train of notable size.

With a low voice he adresses the party "I do not understand why the commander went as far as to send all of us on this escort. I am in no right to question his authority or command but according to my judgment no more than one or two soldiers should be needed to guard this caravan."

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Marching order: to come
Healing: (1d8+3)[7]
Spot: (1d20-2)[11]
Listen: (1d20-2)[8]

[senrath]

Thurstan

Thurstan simply shrugged, and moved to take up position at the back of the caravan.

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Marching order, Thurstan is in back.
(1d20-5)[1] Spot
(1d20-5)[11] Listen

[esorscher]

"The first time we asked for a guard, he did. Regular troops aren't very well trained, they aren't well-suited for dealing with those magical brutes the orcs got.

"I wonder why they send those beasts after us. This whole load of fishhooks is probably worth about 100 gold, maybe. But the return trip!," Rodrigo says to the man of metal. "The goblins love these things... spend most of their time fishing, when their not skimming for salt. That's what we come back with--three wagons full of salt. You know what we can get for that in Iberia? A lot more than 100 gold, I tell you."

The older man gives his enthusiastic counterpart a look that says: Why are you telling them all this?. Rodrigo shuts up after that.

[HempRope]

Ranier

"Sergeant Ranier Vaspez," Ranier says, offering his hand to both men. "You should be pretty safe with us."

"The size of a guard depends more on who's attacking a caravan than the caravan itself," he says to Steelheart.

Though guarding salt and fishhooks isn't quite what I expected to be doing.

"Do the orcs want the hooks or the salt?" he asks the traders.

As he considers what position to take up, he runs into a dilemma: with Tuskhunter gone, there was no one to scout ahead and no one with much of a chance at spotting an ambush -- not that the man did such a good job last time.

"Orgnal, how are your eyes and ears?"

Spoiler

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If Orgnal says good, he and Ranier will take front, with Thurstan and Steelheart in back; if unremarkable, Ranier will ask Thurstan to take the front with him. Objections/debate welcome.
Spot - (1d20+1)[12] Listen - (1d20+1)[19]
Sen, how does Thurstan manage -5 to those?

[HempRope]

Alright, in the name of efficiency I just checked his character sheet.

Ranier

"Alright, well Thurstan, why don't you take point with me, and Steelheart and Orgnal, watch the back. Unless someone has a better idea?"

The Sergeant seems legitimately open to alternatives.

[Lyndworm]

Orgnal

"That seems fine to me, Sergeant. Is this caravan a purely commercial endeavor?" Orgnal seems unimpressed with their task.

Spoiler

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Healing:
(2d8)[1][4](5)

Listen:
(1d20)[9](9)

Spot:
(1d20)[12](12)

[esorscher]

"Well, commerce is the beginnings of intercultural communication. As mercenary as it may seem, if this colony wasn't profitable it wouldn't last. And all the good work they're doing, bringing people to the light of Pelor, wouldn't be done. Just think about how many souls might die unsaved if you weren't protecting this caravan."

Rodrigo speaks without feeling while he says this. There is a pause as the party walks. He breaks the silence with an upbeat realization: "You know, most of the goblins in the village we're going to have never seen more metal than is in a sword. You're likely to cause a sensation there."

This realization is followed by a more somber one--or perhaps, the lack thereof: "How'd you four get here, anyway?" Rodrigo asks. The trip ahead is plenty long for you to explain to him, a fact of which all of you are keenly aware.

[Lyndworm]

Orgnal

The goblin does his best not to roll his eyes at the Pelor comment. His attempt is less than successful. At the man's question he says "I walked. How did you get here, soldier?"

[Darwin]

Steelheart

Steelheart takes Orgnal's remark in regard. Then, with the confusion easily read in his eyes he asks: "I was under the impression that we arrived by boat Orgnal, am I mistaken?"

He turns to Rodrigo and explains with slight hesitation "I was released from my captivity under a mountain by the Iberians no more than a year ago. They requested my presence here at this island which I found no complications with. We landed, as I recall it, he takes an insecure look at Orgnal, by boat few days ago."

[HempRope]

Ranier

Ranier chuckles a bit at Steelheart's confusion, but leaves him to sort it out with his traveling companions.

"You know," he remarks to the group at large, his voice tinged with surprise, "I've been here for a year now and maybe talked with half a dozen of our Goblin allies... and I've never been to one of their villages.

"...I'm sort of excited to see what it's like."

[Lyndworm]

Orgnal

"The streets are paved in gold and roofs are made of treacle. Every time it rains, we have to rebuild, but you wouldn't believe how much food gets caught in the candy sludge."

[senrath]

Thurstan

"Y'know, I know you're joking, but that would be interesting to see. Much more interesting than the reality, I'd expect." Thurstan said as he took his position at the front of the caravan. He wasn't much looking forwards to the trip, and he wasn't entirely sure how he'd gotten caught up with the military.

[esorscher]

Rodrigo laughs at Orgnal's description. "Hah, maybe we're you're from. My experience is the goblin's don't build, much. You'll see when we get there."

You spend the rest of the day in conversation, ever wary that danger lurks just out of sight. The road--if it could be called that, it is little more than a dirt trail--follows the course of a river. Rodrigo shares with you little bits of information about the village, but wants to keep it a surprise. "I want to see the look on your faces," he explains. "Wouldn't want to bias you or anything."

The river winds its way toward the mountains, and you follow it. For the most part, the scenery is constant. Trees break up a landscape of grasses, as you near the mountain the once flat terrain gives way to rolling hills, which slows you down some. Rodrigo is not worried. By dusk, you reach the base of the mountain.

"We can make camp here," Rodrigo says, "By the river or in the woods." He leaves the decision up to your, deferring to your combat experience over his. "It's another five or six hours to the goblin village, if you'd rather be traveling up the mountain in the dead of night." He doesn't look too enthused about the idea.

[HempRope]

Ranier

"No, we'll camp," Ranier says. "Don't worry.

"I'd say by the river, better to be in the open than surrounded by terrain we can't see through... unless I'm missing something?"

[Lyndworm]

Orgnal

"That seems wise enough. I must admit to being a little weary about another ambush, though." The little goblin's mouth twists as if he'd tasted something sour. "If we can do without a fire, we should. I don't want to draw any more attention than I have to."

[Darwin]

Steelheart

"I believe the river is our best option. I can stand guard all through the night, I do not require any kind of rest that takes away my attention, and I can see as well as any orc in the dark. I suggest the three of you take shifts. Two can sleep while the third keeps me company."

Steelheart pauses for a moment, then continues; "Will we require any specific skills in the day that that is to come? I believe I will be able to reshape my powers to better suit our needs".

[Lyndworm]

Orgnal

As the metal man speaks, Orgnal nods slowly. "That sounds fine; it seems to be a good idea. I can reshape my portfolio as well, though my range is rather limited."

[HempRope]

Ranier

A sleepless companion! Excellent! Makes up for some of the mental faculties he lacks.

"Agreed all around," Ranier says, before turning to the traders. "The river, then. And I should have asked earlier... when you're attacked, where and when does it usually happen?"

[esorscher]

"It's usually at night," Rodrigo said. "Probably should have mentioned that earlier. It doesn't matter where we camp, they can always find us. As for skills--if our mules, dumb as they are, can make it up the mountain, you should be fine, too."

[Lyndworm]

Orgnal

"Thank you for this information, Rodrigo. We must remember to... interview one of the marauders." Orgnal seems downright chipper at the thought.

[HempRope]

Ranier

Ranier is genuinely bewildered by Stelheart and Thurstan's offers of 'reshaping' their skills.

"Um... I think just do what's best with regard to your skills," he says to them. "If there's anything that lets you take out enemies without killing them that might be good..."

Spoiler

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I forgot to distribute the supplies we were given. Ranier and Orgnal will each take a CMW potion; we'll each take one of the other things (Acid/Alchemist's Fire), neither Ranier or I cares what he has, so say what your character wants.

[HempRope]

Right, forgot about coordinating watches.

Ranier

"Fantastic, Steelheart. I agree it would be good to post two of us. I'll take last watch with you, I like to be up for the dawn anyway.

"Lead us to the river, Rodrigo."

[esorscher]

Although the wide river bank is barren and unvarying to your eye, Rodrigo seems to know which spot is best to camp. After you've made camp, Steelheart and Orgnal take the first watch.

[Spot and Listen checks]

EDIT: Oh yeah:

[Lyndworm]

Orgnal

The little goblin does his best to remain alert, obviously weary from the last few days' excitement.

Spoiler

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Listen:
(1d20)[20](20)

Spot:
(1d20)[8](8)

[Darwin]

As the last remaining light fades Steelheart's otherwise firm posture seems to fall, something seemingly bothering him.

"Humans tell me they envy me little one. They envy my skin for not drawing blood when cut by a knife. They envy me for my breath that never runs out... Truth to be told, I envy you as much as any man envies me. When nightfall brings darkness to the world you shut your eyes and dwell in the realm of dreams until the sun comes. For many centuries I have lived in the dark, buried under a mountain. I can't dream sleep, and I can't dream myself away, and even though I am not caught under a mountain anymore, I am still afraid of the darkness at night. I envy you as much as any man envies me."

[Maeglin_Dubh]

About 60 feet downwind, Tuskhunter darted out of the forest, cradling his atlatl. He hissed in a mock whisper at the two standing watch.
"Wake the Impiyur! This one has seen things. He always sees things. Yrch, this time."

[Lyndworm]

Orgnal

Surprised at the metal giant's honesty, and depth, it takes Orgnal a moment to respond. "...I suppose that's only logical, really. Everyone wants that which they cannot have, and the bigger the differences are the more we want them. That being said, you're not missing as much as you'd think, Steelheart. Being what I am, eternal vigilance would be worth almost anything... Though I see where it might get a tad boring after a while." Orgnal seems to be trying to connect with the warforged in earnest, but it's hard to tell his sincerity.

Spotting the new arrival, Orgnal shouts almost immediately "Tuskhunter! Where have you been?" As soon as the words leave his mouth, Orgnal runs off to wake the others as if he forgot he's even asked.