Adventurers' Guild Team Adder IC

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Klesha
"I take it we're trying to find the missing inhabitants of the town here. Surely we can do something better than just keep walking in the direction we're facing. Matthew, could your familiar give us any more information? Or maybe instead of trying to find the trail, we can guess at the destination."

The adventurers are facing roughly south. There is a thicket of trees (like the many they passed through to get here) about two miles away in the one o'clock direction. The mountains to their left are distant, but at the ten o'clock position there is a projecting ridge of foothills that looks to be about six miles away.

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If you want to try to get Fi to do something a little complicated, roll an Intelligence check for her.

[DavidByron]

Well let's try heading towards the hills over there.

I guess in the stories people "run for the hills" if there's danger. Does that make any sense? I suppose they don't want to be found... Fiona's probably the best chance we have of finding them.

Fi, there should be a whole lot of people somewhere around here and I want you to continue to look for them. We're looking too but it will be easier for you to see their tracks from the air. Wherever they cross soft ground they'll leave a lot of tracks and the ground will be all churned up.

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Intelligence check for Fi - (1d20-2)[8]

Seeing Fi seems a bit confused Matthew adds,

Well just keep a look out for them and try looking in that stand of trees over there.

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I assume coming back is easy because of the empathic connection once she is within a mile...

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Fi takes off again, her big raven wings a little less graceful than a small bird's initially, but quickly the adventurers grow envious of how easily she flies the distance to the copse of trees. A few moments later she comes back into view, this time traveling more slowly, her wings beating heavily. As she returns to Matthew, she drops an iron horseshoe on the ground. There is no rust on the shoe, in fact it looks as if it was barely used and has not been exposed to the elements for long.

Fi (panting)
"No people there. But at least I found something shiny! Can we keep it?"

[DavidByron]

You carried it all the way here from those trees!?!?
Wow.

Score one for a raven's pack-rat mentality. I hope I don't end up carrying a sack full of rubbish for Fi.... but that was an amazing amount of work so I can't say "no".

To Fi:
Sure we can keep it until you find something even prettier. You look tired. I think you better rest on my shoulder... uh... OK or my head.... uh.... actually--- maybe not the head. Can you rest on my shoulder there instead?

Matthew examines the horseshoe.

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It's a clue!!
search to examine - (1d20+6)[18]
Don't expect further info but you never know.

Let's try moving to the trees instead.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The horseshoe appears to have been worn briefly before coming loose from the foot of a donkey, mule, pony, or foal of a larger equine. There is nothing else unusual about it, other than it being fairly new and lying out in the woods away from town.

The adventurers proceed to said woods, about two acres in size. Fi shoes them where she found the horseshoe on the opposite side of the thicket, and the adventurers find footprints and hoofprints there. Nearby Klesha finds another trail in the grass that leads in the direction of the hills, though none of the adventurers can tell if it is a game trail or made by the passage of people.

The sun is fast approaching the western horizon. It will be dark in an hour or two, and the hills look to be about 5 miles away.

[DavidByron]

Hm. Might have been better off heading along the Harvest and picking up a scout after all. One last shot before nightfall.

At least we didn't get lost on the way.

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We suck!
I thought I packed some Survival but then the rain must have soaked my backsack and ruined it

Back towards the hills then. Let's pick up the pace since we'll be breaking for the night there whether we find the villagers or not.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The team walks quickly, single-file on the trail, with Vlax in the lead. The thick grass comes almost to his shoulders, straw-colored close to the ground and light green at the top. As the trail turns a corner, Vlax suddenly stops and raises his hand. The others come close to look over him.

In the trail ahead of them is a wild boar, covered in coarse, grayish-black fur dappled with the straw color of the grass. Three feet tall at the shoulder, it is no small animal - it must weigh more than Durx. It raises its head - facing the adventurers - showing its sharp tusks. It grunts and makes a short feint at charging Vlax, then grunts again as it slaps the ground with one of its front hooves, only twenty feet down the trail from them.

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No need to roll for initiative. PC's turn.

[DavidByron]

If I was by myself I'd just ready a Color Spray and slowly back away from the animal. Pretty sure they're vegetarians, though aggressive. But Vlax has been looking forward to killing something all day..... and we could do with some better rations too.

Matthew moves up to just behind Vlax and casts Enlarge Person on him (assuming he reacts first).

Watch out, it looks like it's going to try and knock you down.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The enlarged Vlax raises his arms, making himself seem as large as possible, and roars threateningly at the boar. The boar takes a step back, but then holds its ground again.

This gives the sisters an idea. Klesha casts Silent Image, and the image of a mighty full-grown male lion appears next to Vlax. Verona casts Ghost Sound, and the lion snarls at the boar.

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Hmm... do you believe in the lion, Mr. Boar? WillVsImage - (1d20+2)[15] ; WillVsSound - (1d20+2)[8]

The boar hesitates, sniffing the air, but when Vlax roars again simultaneous with the sound of a snarling lion, the boar turns tail and runs to the west.

Vlax
"Hmph. That probably wasn't necessary. We could have handled it. But I guess it is getting dark and we have to move on."

Vlax crashes through the brush for another 30 seconds until shrinking back to his usual size, then the party proceeds more quietly. There are a few forks in the trail, but they always take the larger trails and the ones oriented in the direction of the hills.

Finally, as the last colors of the sunset fade, the adventurers reach the slopes of the first hills, which are from 20 to 50 feet tall. There are still no trees, but rather the same grass as on the plain, which grows not quite as tall on the high parts of the eastern slopes of the hills where it is buffeted by the wind. In some places, the smoothness of the hills is interrupted by an outcropping of shale. The chirp of insects is the only sound besides the wind.

Klesha
"So what do we do now? It's too dark to see any tracks, and do we even really know what and who we're looking for?"

[DavidByron]

We're here trying to figure out the relationship between the "power" and this invading army of goblins. The best place to find answers I think will be with the survivors of Fishleap... if there are any. If there are none we'll have to ask the goblins directly. Fi said there was a group of only two dozen across the river so we could probably take them out and then question them. But let's try the less dangerous approach first.

Besides.... an old seer back in Bridgeport seemed to predict the burning of the town and she also predicted that we'd find some survivors.... though that hope seems to be fading.

If we don't find any survivors tomorrow we'll have to re-think. We can't do anything more tonight.

Well perhaps one thing... we could build the fire tonight so it's visible in the direction of the hills and see if they can find us.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The party builds a campfire just behind one of the hills, so as not to be visible from Fishleap. They eat the last of their rations, agreeing that they will have to devote some time to hunting or foraging tomorrow. Vlax volunteers to take the first watch.

Not long after the others have laid down on their bedrolls, a male voice cries out from the darkness.

Unknown (in Common)
"Ho! Master Dwarf, lay down your weapons!"

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Listen - (1d20+2)[8] ; Spot - (1d20+2)[5]

Even with his darkvision, Vlax cannot locate the one who hails them, and the voice echoes off the many outcroppings of shale in the hills.

Vlax
"Everyone... wake up!"

Unknown
"Lay your weapons down, all of you, and there will be no fighting!"

[DavidByron]

I think he means your axe Vlax.

Shouting out to the voice (if it seems shouting is needed):
We're sent from Midford, looking for survivors. A guardsman called Evan sent us. We have a token of the city guard.

Matthew holds up the badge they were given though in the dark it could be hard to see.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Vlax reluctantly places his axe on the ground. A group of a dozen men make their way out of the darkness, armed with cudgels, staves, long knives, and farming implements. One man is armed with a longbow, and he keeps the arrow nocked, though the bowstring is relaxed. He wears a handaxe on his hip. Some of the other men cast glances in his direction once they come close to the adventurers.

"Let me see," says the man, and he walks past Vlax to inspect the badge Matthew holds. "Hmph. I'm Aethelred, sheriff of Fishleap Shallows. Who are you and how did you get past the goblin army?"

[DavidByron]

We're from Bridgeport originally. From the new adventurers' guild there. We got a tip about some goblins approaching Fishleap Shallows and were going to investigate. As we came North we met four Midford guardsmen at Khorinis. They were heading South to mobilise the Southern city states. They reported that Midford was already under siege (a rather organised sounding one) and we should warn any refugees not to head West but rather South.

As for how we avoided the goblin army I don't know. I expected we'd have to fight off two or three goblin patrols but we saw none except there's a squad of two dozen across the river opposite the town.

How many of the townsfolk are out here with you and how did you manage to get them out in time?

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Aethelred
"There's no-one else with you? You're sure you weren't followed?"

When the adventurers reply no, there's no-one else, and that they had no reason to think they were being followed, the sheriff beckons for them to come along.

Aethelred
"Get your gear, move quickly."

The three humans, one dwarf and one raven fall into a line behind Aethelred, who sends two of his men ahead, keeps two behind to sanitize the campsite, and has the rest come along with them silently, with no torch or any other light. They walk for a couple miles, then come to a brook that runs right up against a cliff of shale, jutting out at parallel angles. A owl's hoot echoes in the darkness and Fi perks up, swiveling her head around. The sheriff cups his hands and hoots in reply, then all of them cross the brook and pass between two protruding sections of the cliff - and through a hole about as wide as an oxcart, into the hill.

Inside the hill is a large cavern, crowded with men, women, children, and animals, most of them sleeping, a few lanterns burning.

Aethelred
"This is everyone from Fishleap Shallows. We knew we were no match for the goblin army, so when we discovered they were approaching, our elders told us about this secret place and we moved here as fast as we could. Problem is, we're almost out of supplies. We were preparing to send a scouting party to the town tomorrow to see if it's safe to return, but according to you, the goblins are still watching the town, and the goblin army is only as far away as Midford. I don't know what we'll do now."

[DavidByron]

I'm not sure what it's best for us to do either. We came out here to investigate but it seems we're too late. The goblins have already struck. We could try to find out more -- actually we hoped you might know more about what stirred them up -- or we could try and capture some goblins and interrogate them. How easy is it to cross the river here by the way?

We might just have to head back to Bridgeport.

You seem to be handling things very well so far looking after the townsfolk. I'd only say head South not West. We cut across from Khorinis and we saw no goblins and not even sign of their passing.

If you want to retake your town by killing that squad we'll help out. We could take them in an ambush I would think... although we're light on fighters, we're heavy on sorcerers. The main issue would be stoping a straggler run away. If they are spying on the town we can lure them in and then I have some spells very well suited to interrogation... if only... do you have anyone who can speak goblin?

Or if you want to make your way South we can come with you as extra protection.

I'd like to ask one of your elders about this attack. Maybe they could give us a clue. At least they could give me a sense of whether there's anything odd about the way this goblin army has handled itself.

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How wide is the river? I assume there's a ford of sorts here. Thinking of getting a single archer to shoot across the river and "punk" the goblins until they are forced to cross the river to settle with the lone pesky archer who shoots at them each morning. The normal maximum range with a heavy crossbow is 1100 feet but normally you can never hit anything because of the -20 penalty at super long range. Matthew can offset that with +20 to hit from True Shot. So Matthew might be a real PITA to the goblins if the river is not too wide. I wouldn't expect to kill any of them but close enough to it to make them unable to ignore him. That's assuming they wouldn't bother to chase one human across the river normally. Perhaps they would. But that would be the plan. Goad them into crossing the river.

Since we've just leveled it might be worth stalling a few days here to do some leveling up style training especially learning goblin. I haven't updated my sheet yet.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Aethelred
You can ford the river here at the Shallows, but I don't see much point to fighting the goblins left behind - they must have some way to signal the main army, and our town is burned and indefensible. We'd best head South for Harveston, or Southwest to Khorinis, which is bigger and likely more able to support this number of refugees. Of course that will be up to the elders, who I'll take you to now."
(Aethelred leads the group through the cave)
"We don't have anyone who speaks the goblin tongue, but I'm sure there are plenty of goblins who speak Common if you can get one to be your interpreter, ha!"
(The party is met by a group of two old men and an old woman wearing peasant farmer clothing. Aethelred introduces them as the elders, Brockhurst, Finsdale, and Pertwee, respectively. Finsdale wears the holy symbol of Ehlonna.)
Aethelred
"These four are from Bridgeport, say they're here to help us on behalf of Evan of the Midford Guard. They say the goblins have Midford under siege and that they left a guard at the Shallows."

Brockhurst
"I'm afraid you're a bit late to give us much help then."
Pertwee
"And we'll not have you trying to profit by our poor folk!"
Finsdale
"Peace, everyone. At least they have done our scouting for us. Why did the four of you come when you heard the Shallows was in danger?"

Vlax shrugs and looks to Matthew. Vlax hasn't really been himself since we walked away from that fight at Fishleap, thinks Matthew. The sisters are as quiet as they always are in public. Fi scrambles from Matthews left shoulder to his right, flapping her wings and grabbing hold of his shirt with her beak in the process.

[DavidByron]

I was hoping Vlax could take it out on that boar the other night but I guess he has standards when it come to bloodlust. I wonder how many weeks he can go before he starts picking fights with his team mates.....

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I was already a bit concerned about just that thing!

Finsdale: Peace, everyone. At least they have done our scouting for us. Why did the four of you come when you heard the Shallows was in danger?

Well we were originally investigating an interesting arcane phenomena. There was a portal that briefly opened up in Bridgeport that allowed instant transportation to ... we believe, somewhere near here. I wasn't there at the time but a group went through the portal, looked around a bit and met and killed a group of goblins. Were there just six Vlax?

Vlax:
Six, but one of them ran off.

Matthew continues:
Unfortunately none of the goblins survived for interrogation. Vlax gets quite enthusiastic about his goblin killing. But the goblins had a map with them... this map.

Matthew hands over the goblin map with a theatrical flourish.

So we headed out for Fishleap. Of course we suspected something was going on, but we didn't know about the goblin army until we met the guards from Midford. Their assessment was that you'd probably already been overrun by then. Seeing that we were not put off by the prospect of facing goblin patrols -- in fact we were sort of looking forward to it -- Evan asked us to look out for refugees and direct them away from danger.

There is probably some connection between the portal from Bridgeport and the goblins but obviously the goblins themselves would be incapable of anything so sophisticated and they didn't appear to be aware of the portal or on their guard. We therefore deduce that a third party of great arcane power was responsible. Is this "power" allied to the goblins? We don't know.

Matthew tells them exactly how many days it was when the portal opened up.

Had you already been attacked by then?

Looking for the portal exit point now would be like finding a needle in a haystack. All we'd have to go by is an old campfire and possibly five dead goblin bodies. Have any of you become aware of anything .... odd .... happening out here recently? Other than the goblin army I mean.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The elders look over the map, but quickly see that there is nothing of interest except for the approximate locations of towns, and hand it back to Matthew.

Brockhurst
"I don't know anything about arcane powers or a portal, but it was only a day after you said your group encountered it that we first got notice of the goblins approaching. It took two days to get confirmed reports of an army headed for our town, and we've been hiding in this cursed cave ever since!"

Pertwee
"Interesting that you should say you're from Bridgeport. Before we had to flee our town, we were receiving regular shipments of bales of textiles from Bridgeport, which this foreign trader - Davison, I believe his name was - would pick up and transport northeast out of town by mule, into the woods and towards the Broken Mountain. He said he was trading with the orcs up there. Well, we eventually got suspicious what the orcs would want with all this fabric, so we cut upen one of the bales and it was full of weapons. We never did confront Davison though, because that was the last shipment that came before the goblins came - from the direction of Broken Mountain."

Finsdale
"Yes, and the weapons weren't for orcs either - they were too small. Very strange. We haven't heard from nor seen orcs in years, and nobody recalls seeing goblins in these parts, yet somehow an army of them materializes and burns Fishleap Shallows."

Aethelred
"Gentlemen, I must beg your leave now, but may I presume that from the results of the scouting, we shall leave these hills come dawn?"

Brockhurst
"Yes, that was the plan when we were about to send out our own scouting party. I believe these people can be trusted." (He ***** an eyebrow at the adventurers. Fi squawks at him.) "Since Midford is under siege, we'll be headed for Khorinis. Let the people sleep for now; it won't take long for them to pack up in the morning."

Aethelred nods his head to the elders and to the adventurers, and departs.

As Finsdale and Pertwee nod in agreement, Brockhurst, who seems to be the spokesman of the elders, turns back to the adventurers.
Brockhurst
"If you could do us one service, it may help immeasurably. Could you go ahead of us to Khorinis and warn them to prepare for our arrival? We will certainly be traveling more slowly than you, and I would like to keep all of my men with fighting and woodscraft experience for the security of our caravan."

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Hmm, looks like the filter put in asterisks for me. What I meant to say was Brockhurst raises an eyebrow at the adventurers! Rhymes with rocks. Oh well, small price to pay for a good clean forum.

[DavidByron]

So the weapons that the Badgers found were being exported not imported. That always seemed more likely to me -- after all Bridgeport is well able to make its own weapons locally, why make them elsewhere and import them? So they were for our Goblins not for Halflings or Gnomes .... and that means the Weavers guild and most likely the Church of Garl ... that portside congregation at least ... is involved with a plot to attack Midford by arming Goblin tribes based out at this Broken Mountain. The Weaver guildmaster, most likely the new Doge, is implicated.

Which is bad news for those four guards from Midford, but I did warn them.

So it's war between the South and the North again.

Matthew:
Yes, you're right; we have to get back to Bridgeport with this news and we'll pass through Khorinis. There's no time to wait. Sorry Vlax.

The old Doge's death looks more suspicious then. I wonder if the discovery of the weapons cache was tied back to the Adventurers' guild. Let's hope those guards seek out Bruce and that he puts two and two together. It's probably not a good time to be an Adventurer in Bridgeport. Fortunately most of them are already gone.

Davison. They would need someone reliable at this end. Maybe they wouldn't bother with a false name so far from home....

Matthew:
I assume this "Davison" is not with you now. Can you give me a description of him? Had he ever been up this way before, and how long was he smuggling these weapons?

And if the old Doge was indeed assassinated it was a real trick because the Raise Dead failed. Who has the power to kill someone so thoroughly that the clerics of Pelor can't bring them back? Unless the Pelor church is in on this too and they never really tried.... but I think Lucas favoured the old Doge. Maybe this Midford assassins guild would know how to kill someone so they couldn't be raised. Some sort of Necromantic spell... the forbidden lore.

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Outside of Necromancy, which Matthew knows nothing about really, does he know of anything that would prevent a Raise Dead spell. I think I'll probably be asking an NPC this if I get a chance.
Spellcraft - (1d20+7)[9]

At any rate more evidence that our "power" was/is not aligned with the goblins / Weavers. Why bother to smuggle weapons in bales of cotton when you could just open a portal to 'Broken Mountain' and throw them through?

Matthew:
"Broken Mountain", that's the mountain to the North East of here, across the river - the one with the oddly shaped summit, like a piece was broken off? We used it as a guide to get here since Fishleap is directly between the mountain and Khorinis.

But none of this explains why our "power" was sending us into the heart of a war zone.....

Matthew:
Besides Davison were there any other strangers asking around before the goblins appeared?

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Brockhurst
"Hm. Davison, tall lean fellow with a black beard, human, maybe in his 30s. Showed up, oh close to a year ago I should think, only saw him in town just before a boat would arrive with those bales of cloth, about once a month. Don't recall any other strangers. Yes, Broken Mountain, that's the one. Anything we can get you before you leave for Khorinis?"

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
Not unless you have a spare short sword or rapier. We could do with some rations too but you're also in need on that score.

Recalling Pertwee's comment about profiting from them he adds,

We can pay.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Brockhurst (smiles a little)
"We can spare a little food, since we've decided to leave this cave now."

He motions for a boy standing near by, tells him to get some food for the adventurers, and the boy runs off and returns with jerky and hardtack for the adventurers.

"Now, if you want a weapon, you will have to buy or trade. I recommend talking to the gentleman coming up behind you right now. We call him 'The Rat.' He's a little eccentric, but harmless. Just keep your wits about you when you deal with him."

The other elders smile, and they all take their leave as the adventurers whirl about to see who they are talking about.

'The Rat' is a scrawny, unshaven, dirty human man with long hair, wearing rodent furs and cheap jewelry. He is straining to pull a small cart piled high with weapons and tools and other equipment of an amazing variety, many of them odd and exotic looking. Some look to be of good quality, but the majority look like junk. He pads up to the adventurers and stops, crouching possessively in front of his cart.

The Rat
"Anything you want to buy, sell, trade? Wow, nice bird."

He takes a shuffling step towards the group. Verona takes a step back with a look of revulsion on her face. The Rat grins, showing a paucity of teeth, and beckons for the adventurers to look over his cart. Matthew doesn't see any rapiers. There are a couple of short swords, but they are rusty and don't look very sharp. There are many small-sized javelins and morningstars that look to be of average quality, but new. When Vlax's eye lingers on them, The Rat comments:
"The elders found those inside some guy's shipment of cloth. Imagine that. I got 'em cheap, nobody else really wanted 'em."
There is a set of bolas and various whips, a spear with feathers tied behind the spearhead, three throwing axes, a sling with a set of 9 bullets, a spiked gauntlet, one dart, and a falchion with the tip broken off.
There are a multitude of lamps, torches, lanterns, and candles; a few pots, a set of broken manacles, and a crowbar.

The Rat holds out a dirty, long-fingered hand with a caltrop on it.
"You might want some of these if you want to escape with your lives."

[DavidByron]

Matthew looks over the short swords but doesn't see anything worth buying or even anything he could repair magically. He examines the small sized weapons for a clue as to who made them such as a smith's mark, but doesn't expect to find anything.

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I assume.
appraise - (1d20+5)[22]
search - (1d20+8)[26]

Rat: You might want some of these if you want to escape with your lives.

We were not planning on having to run away from cavalry.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Vlax selects the nicest of the three throwing axes and two backpacks for the girls, whose shoulders are rubbed raw by their poorly secured grain sacks. He explains to The Rat that he has only six gold to offer, and The Rat reluctantly agrees to the sale after Vlax reminds The Rat that he'll have to pull that cart all the way to Khorinis. The party then finds a spot to lay down and sleeps gratefully until dawn. As the people of Fishleap gather their belonging and begin to organize themselves into a caravan, the four adventurers quickly get directions from Aethelred and set out ahead toward Khorinis, with Fi scouting ahead and circling back to Matthew periodically.

They travel hard during the day and sleep with a watch at night, eating their rations without building any fires. They encounter no goblins or other enemies, though Fi says she thinks there is smoke coming from the direction of Midford. Fi also tells them the caravan of refugees is on its way but moving slowly.

Finally the weary adventurers arrive at the ferry that crosses the Harvest River into Khorinis. There is a troop of twenty armed horsemen in Khorinian livery there, and upon seeing the adventurers approach, two of them trot up to meet them.

Horseman
"Ho there! State your business in Khorinis!"

[DavidByron]

I didn't expect trouble for Khorinis this soon. Perhaps they are just being careful.

Matthew:
We've just come from the North river and are headed home to Bridgeport. We got cut off by the goblins and had to hike across country to get here. The interior is clear -- we didn't meet anyone except for some refugees headed this way.

Is Khorinis at war?

And if so, on which side......

We just want to get home.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Horseman
"You're lucky you made it, with Midford and Harveston under siege. No war in Khorinis yet, but we're being careful. You said you saw some refugees - where? They didn't escape from Midford, did they? How many?"

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FYI population of Fishleap Shallows is about 500.

[DavidByron]

Matthew:
There is an organised group of about five hundred, and they have their own food and animals with them too. They are coming from Fishleap Shallows itself and are led by their sheriff. Should be here any day now. I hope they make it if the goblins are down the Harvest too.

We avoided Midford but there was smoke coming from that direction.

Oh. There was one other thing. The refugees from Fishleap Shallows said that they discovered a smuggler selling weapons to the goblins. Turns out this guy had been hiding weapons in bales of textiles and operating for about a year doing this. Let's see... his name was... "Davison".

Does that mean anything to you? Perhaps I should tell someone at the docks about this?

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The two horsemen look at each other, then turn back to the adventurers.

Horseman
"We'll tell the Reeve about the refugees. Can't help you with the smuggling; we've got bigger problems. Go ahead and get on the ferry."

[DavidByron]

After they get across the river the group will buy a little food. At the docks Vlax and Matthew will ask about "Davison" and see if there are any cheap seats on rafts or "vessels" heading down river to Bridgeport. They only have enough for 2 gold per person but I expect down river travel is cheaper and although it's Matthew's short sword / rapier money they are spending, with every hour counting, they will try to find something.

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Matthew and Vlax are equally not great at the talky stuff:
Matthew gather information - (1d20+0)[15]
Vlax gather information - (1d20+0)[1]

If there's no cheap passage by river they will go on foot but will be "force marching" (ie walking more than eight hours a day).