On The Hunt

May 21, 2020

The group has spent a bit of coin over the winter but also found things to keep them occupied during the winter.  While colder than normal, it wasn't as much snow, still several feet over the months, but manageable.  It's still early in Altariak when Lady Sara asks if they would join her.  The group dresses well for a respected merchant and then goes to see Lady Sara.  

Gerald, the footman, opens the door and greets the group.  He shows them the cloak room and where they can refresh themselves.  It's still a bit early in the year to need it quite yet.  Lady Sara's decorations remind the person more of a dwarvish attitude than human, especially one from Silverymoon, or if rumors prove true, Waterdeep.  The spartan decorations show some wealth while not being ostentatious.  Gerald shows them to the sitting room and offers them refreshments, getting them what they need.  The group doesn't have to wait long before Lady Sara arrives.  

Lady Sara's tawny skin contrasts the blue cotton dress she is wearing.  Her long auburn hair drapes her face and her simple leather shoes make little noise on the rugs.  She wears no rings and only a silver clasp at her neck.  When she speaks, her waterdhavian accent has touches of Silverymoon in it.  "I'm so delighted you could join me this evening.  I hope all of you have been doing well?"  

The group answers with a chorus of yeses to her question.  

"Well, I shan't keep you in suspense.  I asked you hear because I have heard rumors of Viktor and thought you might be interested."  

At this, all of them are quite interested, especially Dio.  

"As you know, Roldan works for me as a driver.  In the winter time, when travel is possible to the smaller communities around Sundabar, he finds out what it is they need for the coming spring.  I want to be ready with caravans for local villages as well.  He was at a small town called Ashriver, a town noted for it's clay tiles and other clay products.  Ashriver creates a lot of decorative but also practical clay items.  I think they also have some mining that comes through.  In any event," she says, realizing the group isn't as interested in that.  "Roldan was there speaking to Anzela, the proprietress of the Sleeping Giant, and found out that a man matching Viktor's description had been there."  

A flurry of questions comes from the group to her and she answers as best she can.  

"I do apologize, as this information is several tenday old already.  Roldan had other stops to go to before returning to Sundabar.  As I remember it, a lot of groups of four to six men, no women, went through Ashriver about a tenday before Roldan arrived.  They paid for their rooms, stayed a day, perhaps two, and then left.  Viktor's height and build mark him unusual for an Illuskan, even in a town of them!  Anzela noticed and remembered him.  As for where they were going, they headed east, toward Turnstone pass.

"Now, I do admit to have other reasons for telling you this.  I am quite the collector of old things.  Why, if you are interested, I can show my collection of clay pots and urns from the Fallen Kingdom period.  I have a few tools from the late Delzoun period as well.  While at Ashriver, Roldan heard that the goblins might be at some ruins that were somehow uncovered?  That alone might be an interesting mystery to solve.    If nothing else, and to help you pay for such a trip, I would be interested in anything you could bring back from there."  

The group thanks her for that offer and says they will give her first chance at any such artifacts they find.  While excited about the news of Viktor, the more the group discusses the news, the more they know it's only a start.  They can't get there for several more days, if the weather holds, and a several tenday lead puts them potentially far away.  It's a start.  They ask Lady Sara if she has a caravan going that way but she says it won't be for several tendays, in the early parts of Ches.  Even then, she says, it will make stops at a lot of the little villages, to offer repair services or other items that they might need.  Were they to go via the caravan, it would be a tenday to get there.  The group discusses many options, including wanting some magic and Lady Sara does have some runes she is willing to sell to them, which the group buys.  

In the end, the group decides to wait until Ches to leave but not with the caravan.  "I do offer one word of caution.  Anzela is a wonderful host but is talkative with anyone.  Maybe Viktor knew this, maybe not, but she is quite the gossip.  So if you are too obvious, word will also get around about your own inquiries.  Again, Anzela is not malicious, merely chatty in a convivial way."  They thank her for the information, and a fine meal of soup, choice cuts of meat and bread, and a bread pudding for dessert.  

They spend the next few tenday getting ready to leave.  That includes transferring over the magic to their weapons.  They manage to find work to allow them to get riding ponies.  Trained well enough that they won't startle at the sounds of a fight but not able to ride them into a fight, either.  The group is fine, not preferring mounted combat.  

Early Ches still sees cold weather, although warm days have seen most of the snow gone.  They leave at the same time as the caravan, and enjoy it's company for a bit of the journey, but when the caravan turns south to go to some villages, they continue on to Ashriver.  It takes several days to get there and while they hear wolves, Dio perks up at the sound of a baying wolf, they don't encounter any.  They find themselves arriving in Ashriver a few days after that.  

Ashriver has a cluster of buildings in the center, mostly tenement buildings, and the mayor's house.  The Sleeping Giant stands above most, including with its red tiles for the roof.  A lot of work is still done near the clay quarries, so workers head out to them during the day.  

As told, Anzela is quite chatty and pleasant enough.  She's dark haired and dusky skinned in a pleasant way.  Inquiries into Viktor give the same information they already had.  It doesn't help it's been over a month since Viktor and his men came through.  The group doesn't think they can avoid being remembered, as Anzela asks if they are hear to help with the goblin problem.  They perk up at that question.  "Ah, I thought you were hear 'cause maybe Kristoff finally did something about it."  

"Who is Kristoff," Dio asks.  

"Our mayor.  I hear from others that goblins are close and one night he said he would do something about it.  Figured you were it."  

"Where can we find him?" 

"Oh, at his residence."  She offers directions.  

The group talks about it and goes to speak to Kristoff.  Kristoff is a burly dark haired man, with an intelligent gleam in his eye.  While showing evidence he worked physical jobs, he now easily sits at a desk, covered in papers and having ink stains on his hands.  When they ask about goblins, he asks if they are answering his call for some adventurers to help?  When they say no, he says that it's no matter and if they are interested, they are hired.  It turns out the goblins have been seen in some ruins only a few hours to the south of the town.  Close enough that if they are still there come spring, Kristoff knows they will raid the town's orchards or food stores.  Kristoff would rather head that off now than later.  Kristoff says he has hired no others and if they are interested, he will hire them.  They will get some provisions while working on the problem plus ten gold as a reward, with two gold up front.  The group accepts the offer and decides to head out the next morning, having arrived late in the afternoon.  

The next morning, a crisp chill in the air, the group talks about their horses but decides to leave them stabled.  Anzela has many levels of comforts available, having stables, baths, suites, and more.  They group heads out looking for goblins.

And do they find them!  

Not two hours south of the town, they run into a hunting party of goblins, standing over their kill, and decide to take them out.  Gorstag doesn't prefer the long range but does use his heavy crossbow until he can use his glaive.  Rolen is quite happy plunking the goblins with arrows from a distance.  While the first group goes down with only a few cuts and scraps inflicted from them onto the group, another group of goblins has come from further south and also attacks from range.  The goblins mostly harass the group with arrows but Gorstag and Dio get into their preferred melee range and soon these goblins are dispatched as well.  

The goblins belong to the Burning Crow tribe, having mutilated one of their ears.  The Burning Crow tribe of goblins defies definition.  Unlike the Dagger Raiders, who have an area and mostly stick to it, the Burning Crow can be found anywhere.  Indeed, it was the Burning Crow that they found to be helping the orcs back in early winter.  That reminds them they never did hear if the dwarves had moved against the valley of goblins or not.  That is for another day, though, as they find some gear that Kristoff might like for his own guards and set them aside for them to pick up on their way back to Ashriver.

200 xp 

GM Notes

• I do want to describe more differences between humans in the area, as well as elves and dwarves.  No racial group is monolithic in its looks and I want to convey that.
• Tried to make or find some pictures of how I picture Lady Sara but nothing great yet. 
• OMG, so horrible at accents that night.  Awfully horrible.  Anzela ended up being from all over the map with every other word she said!  I could not settle on her accent. 
• I knew what I wanted to do for it but couldn't get there at all.  Really annoyed me.   
• d20Pro really changes the feel of combat combat for me, compared to being at the table. 
• I can make bigger maps and have ranged combat a lot before they close to melee.  It's more realistic but since it's not how previous campaigns went, it's taking some adjusting on both sides to figure it out.  
• I am happy with how the session went overall for the rest of it.   
• I did like how we had downtime with winter and I think it made sense.   
• I feel like I'm glossing over too much of the fight with the goblins.  I am trying to work more details into the session and role playing, although I expanded on a lot here, and I think I should do that for the fights.  I haven't found a good way to do that without it coming off as too mechanical, which is why I try and highlight what I remember from the fights, big hits or misses, and the general tone or feeling of them.   

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