Later on Svetlana pulls you aside. "I have it on good authority that the woods near here has a nice large patch of moonradishes, if you could bring back a couple of bushels, they are Olegs favorite."
Sheoll nods to party.
"Well, It's settled then. We'll explore about and hope we find some clues to the Kobold's whereabouts. Rowena, your tracking skills will come in especially handy. I expect kobolds make a discernible footprint."
Again he looks to the group.
"What direction shall we start in then?"
Alex listens to Oleg before interjecting. Do you think we can do as Oleg and Svetlana requested and run a recon around the fort first and see about picking up those radishes. It should give us a chance to work out any bugs in our mapping process and maybe give time for our requested purchases to arrive. We can leave our people at the fort while we do the recon to help Kesten get things up to snuff here in the mean time.
Turning to Rowena. Until you receive your new longbow why don't you use mine. I can use one of the shortbows we discovered for now. It will let me fire from horse back any way. So I can provide cover fire if we need to make a retreat. stopping for a moment Alexander points in the general direction of the prisoners. Thinking of helping Keston with the fort. Are you prepared to put the men we captured to the oath Ro? We should take care of that before we head out. by the way I wrote up a rough draft of the service agreement for everyone to look over before we decide.
She smiled warmly at Sheoll's recognition of her tracking skill.
At Alexander's offer of his longbow, she inclined her head in gratitude and responded eagerly, "I would be honoured to use your longbow, Alexander, Thank you, and, I have no issue with collecting some moon radishes for Svetlana."
When Alexander enquired after the bandit prisoners and her Truthtelling spell, she replied collectedly, "I have not prepared the spell this day, Alex. My dawn prayers have been carried out. And regarding the spell, it would deplete my magic decidedly if I was to undertake such oath-taking and I would rather not venture out the same day with my magic so spent."
The young priestess would do all she could for her companions and she did not want to disappoint. But such oaths drained her magic and that was the truth of it. It would leave her and the party with no higher divine magic.
"So, now that we've all sorted out what we're going to do next, I suggest we start exploring the lands around the trading post. Clear them out and see if we can find those radishes that way." Tassira turns and starts heading towards the exit from the trading post.
And maybe the two of you would stop flirting and start getting some work done.
Tassira does her best to keep her jealousy from showing on her face...
Rowena heard Tassira's words and watched as the noble sorceress began making her way to the gates. She called out to the young woman, "A moment Tassira so we may gather our gear and equipment before heading out."
------------------------------------------------------------------
Once they were outside the gates of the trading post, Rowena set to scanning her eyes to note anything of worth and looked to the ground to see if there were tracks to follow on the way to scout the perimeter and locate the radishes.
Tassira pauses and waits for the others to get ready.
------------------------
Despite knowing she won't be as good a tracker as Rowena, she does her best to assist her.
Alexander hands off his bow to Rowena chooses one of the short bows from confiscated ones and makes arrangements with Oleg to purchase the other group supplies and secure the items not yet decided on before talking with Keston about turning over the 2 prisoners Ulric and Jon to help the projects he is working on as well as the companies men Gernon and Hans stressing that Ulric and Jon haven't given an oath to serve yet and that this is all only temporary. Alexander also hands over the document he wrote up for service to Gernon and Hans for them to review before following after the rest of the group unsure why Tassira had a sudden need to rush off.
Alexander attempts to keep a good map of the area as they travel and checks with those more skilled in land navigation to determine orientation and accuracy of distance before transferring the images from chalk to ink.
Rowena scanned her eyes over the area to determine if there was a suitable area to set up camp.
Watching Alex finish the last of his sketches and mapping this day, she rolled up her sleeves and began to set up camp, leaving the two warriors to ensure the perimeter was secured/safe.
"Tassira, would you help me, please?"
Tassira has been quiet ever since the party rode out from Oleg's, offering help in mapping out the area when asked but otherwise remaining distant. When Rowena asks her for help in setting up camp she blinks and briefly shakes her head, as if she's being abruptly jolted from a daydream.
"Oh? Er--certainly, Ro." She says, moving to assist her with making camp.
Unfortunately, it's becoming quite clear that whatever's been distracting her while the party has been scouting is still bothering her--it's interfering with her ability to help Rowena with the camp.
Alexander dismounts and calls out to the house. Hello, we are explorers from Restov charged by the ruler of Brevoy to map the area do you have a moment to talk.
Sheoll dismounts his horse, warily approaching the hut. There seemed to be all manner of mysteries in this land. Things he had not considered. It occured to him there must be something special about this place. Had it been exploited by the bandits as well? And if not, surely it must be protected somehow...
The warrior stepped up to stand by Alex's side.
"Be on the ready, I have an odd feeling about this."
He looked back to the two woman, reaching back for his sword, but not pulling it. He hoped they would understand the signal to be ready.
Tassira nods and gets off her horse.
"Is anyone there?" She calls out to the house as well, walking next to Alex. "We mean you no harm--we simply wish to speak with you."
"We're explorers from Oleg's trading post. I'm Tassira, and this is Alex, Sheoll, and Rowena." Tassira points to each party member in turn. "May I ask who you are, sir?"
"It is good of you to invite us in, Master Bokken. I am Priestess Rowena." Rowena moved inside the hut.
Tassira moves to take a seat at Bokken's table. "May I ask what's of interest around here, Bokken?"
Sheoll entered the hut with the others but preferred to stand, looking at the place, examining it for signs of attack.
His brow furrowed slightly. He could not hear the voice a the moment, but there was a nagging pain behind his eye, as if someone had grabbed it and was holding it firmly.
"As Tassira and Rowena have said, we've just come from Oleg's, and are exploring the area. You wouldn't have had any trouble with bandits or...kobolds, would you?"
He wondered if their fortune could have pointed the to a wise man, someone who could truly assist them. He trusted Rowena's insight, as well as her connection to the divine, but he felt as if they were directionless even though the had the beginnings of a plan.
Thank you Bokken Alexander try's to put aside the wild appearance of the man and politely takes the offered seat.
Sheoll hovered about the table, pacing back and forth in the space of the same few steps.
"No trouble, eh? Odd." the old man was either lying or was more than just a maker of poulices.
attempting to make small-talk;
"Your brother seems a cruel one to beat your mother and disfigure you. It's likely he'll face some kind of justice. Especially if he's holed up somewhere in these lands. We're...a new kind of law in this place. Or at least we intend to bring some order to these wilds.
We will keep an eye out but if I recall my studies on the natural world those berries are notoriously hard to cultivate outside of the areas where they naturally spring up and are home to dangerous pests like chew spiders not to mention the plants own passive defenses of growing in layers of thick thorny vines. It may be easier said then done. Do you know an area where we might find them?
Rowena did not realise that chew spiders plagued fangberries, although she was aware of their thick vines and sharp thorns. She was glad for Alex's knowledge and caution on the matter. "Thank you for the warning regarding the chew spiders. We will need to conceive a way to extract the berries without injury." She grew thoughtful.
The young priestess had hearkened Alex's question and waited for Bokken's answer. She recollected they had to collect moonradishes for Svetlana from the woods near the trading post at some point, too.
Tassira nods. "Chew spiders love their fangberries--that's kinda why they're called 'chew spiders', eh?"
Sheoll looked around at the party. It was good that they had found someone who could make potions. That would come in very handy in the days to come.
To the group:
"It would be practical to purchase potions of healing, all we can afford. Rowena is a thoughtful and diligent healer, but we could always use the extra help."He shot the priestess a knowing smile.
"As for where to go next? If the woods are not too far from, maybe we should use that as a kind of focus point. We could check the area from here to the woods, and then head back a bit further south. How does that sound?" He said, folding his arms.
"Definitely." Tassira nods in agreement. "Healing potions would serve us very well. As to where we should go after we leave, I've no objection to the route you propose, Sheoll."
Following the conversation Alexander interjects. Picking up a healing potion for emergencies sounds fine I am uncertain we have the coin or trade goods to purchase much more right now. I would like it if each of us carried one. Maybe after we find Bokken's berries.
That is most generous of you Bokken. I don't see how we could refuse such an offer. I promise we will return with the berries as soon as we can.
Bokken's senility meant they would receive no further word on the exact location of the fangberries, for the man could not even remember his own brother's name, gods' bless him.
"We will do our best to locate the berries and return the required bushels to you, Master Bokken. Thank you." She repeated the promise for she wondered if Bokken would even remember Alex'a words of moments before.
Turning to her companions, Rowena added, "Perhaps the three of you should carry a potion each. I can heal myself if something were to happen. As Sheoll has said, it is better to have such provision."
She bid Bokken farewell and with her group set out again.
When they came across the bones and skeletal remains of various creatures and animals, Rowena stopped and cautiously examined them and the area further.
Alexander scans the area with all the skeletal remains but nothing springs to mind to explain the deaths. Can you read any tracks to make sense of this Ro?
Tassira keeps her crossbow readied, uncomfortable with the eerie silence and the countless animal skeletons littering the area. She scans the surroundings...
Alexander scans the area with all the skeletal remains but nothing springs to mind to explain the deaths. Can you read any tracks to make sense of this Ro?
"Unfortunately I cannot make any such tracks, out, Alex. And the remains do not help me as some are old and some are rather recent", was the young priestess' soft reply, as she attempted some semblance of discretion lest they were being watched or overheard.
Rowena cast her eyes about their surrounds for any creature close by or anything untoward.
"Well, there's a boot in the middle of the circle..." Tassira quietly offers, feeling quite useless.
With Ro's mention of recent victims Alexander draws his weapon feeling it prudent to be prepared for an attack. what ever it is it certainly seems dangerous if the number of bodies is any indication.
With the mutual determination that the creature they faced was some form of ambushing bug Alexander decided to put forth the beginnings of a general plan of action. Well if the creature is using some kind of blind to attack from we should be on guard for an ambush while we travel through the territory it has staked out for itself. Since most of you are still becoming accustomed to riding I would suggest walking the horses to give us a better chance to spot it and keep anyone from taking a nasty tumble.