In the city of Neverwinter, a dwarf named Gundren
Rockseeker asked you to bring a wagon load of provisions to
the rough-and-tumble settlement of Phandalin, a couple of
days' travel southeast of the city. Gundren was clearly excited
and more than a little secretive about his reasons for the trip,
saying only that he and his brothers had found "something
big," and that he'd pay you ten gold pieces each for escorting
his supplies safely to Barthen's Provisions, a trading post in
Phandalin. He then set out ahead of you on horse, along with
a warrior escort named Sildar Haliwinter, claiming he needed
to arrive early to "take care of business."
You've spent the last few days following the High Road
south from Neverwinter, and you've just recently veered east
along the Triboar Trail. You've encountered no trouble so far,
but this territory can be dangerous. Bandits and outlaws have
been known to lurk along the trail.

Please introduce you character.  How much you have told the others about your character is up to you, but having given a name is required.  Describe where your character is in the marching order.  Are you in front?  Bringing up the rear?  Riding on the wagon with the provisions?  In the front seat?

Optional: Narrate or say how your character came to know Gundren Rockseeker.

Any character can drive a wagon, and no particular skill is
necessary. Two oxen pull the wagon. If no one is holding
the reins, the oxen stop where they are.
The wagon is packed full of an assortment of mining
supplies and food. This includes a dozen sacks of flour,
several casks of salted pork, two kegs of strong ale,
shovels, picks, and crowbars (about a dozen each), and
five lanterns with a small barrel of oil (about fiftyflasks in
volume). The total value of the cargo is 100 gp.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:43, Thu 16 Nov 2017.

Map of the area:
http://i.imgur.com/iKmxpsJ.jpg

Mittens is riding in front.  By now the group is very familiar with how excitable this light-hearted catfolk teen is.  https://timothius.deviantart.c...ars-framed-659857665

She's armored in chain with a fancy cape and tabbard that would look appropriate for a prince:  http://www.costume-shop.com/im...oducts/mc-ic1061.jpg  Besides the crossbow she's got ready for ambushes, Mits carries a hammer and longsword that would look appropriate for a dwarven paladin:  https://img0.etsystatic.com/18....1231130170_ayvz.jpg

Right now she's passing the time whistling one of her favorite tunes:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok61-Zhc3Jo

As for how Mits knows Gundren?  He's a friend of her uncle's.  The crazy uncle that helped her get started adventuring.  Was kindofa no-brainer to help out Gundren.

Darcy got in touch with Gundren Rockseeker when she met him in the Moonstone Mask, her favorite hangout spot in Neverwinter.  While Gundren didn't have many details about what his little adventure was all about beyond the initial wagon-load escort, Darcy was very eager to dive into her first adventure, knowing that somewhere there should be places to explore, treasure to acquire, magical relics that nobody is apparently needing at the time, and the requisite need for a healer.  Of course, she'll come with.

She stocked up at the earliest the next day getting the necessities, arrows for the bow, the finer of rations, a couple crumblecakes from Red Larch, and of course a bottle of elven wine and joined the wagon in question with Mittens sitting in the front.  "I take it you're along with us, aren't'cha Kiddo?"
This message was last updated by the player at 06:14, Fri 17 Nov 2017.

The rabbit teen was currently dozing on the floor in the back. He had kept watch last night. he was now catching up on some sleep with his magic rifle still strapped to his back currently in its unpowered state.

He was armored in scale mail with a fancy red jacket that covered most of it. He carried his prototype magishot gun made by some crazy mages back in waterdeep and they had hired him to test it out and if it was a success he would keep it.

As for how he joined the group he had been exploring neverwinter when raichel had spotted him browsing the market and told him all about the job her and mittens were doing for their uncle's friend. He wasn't even given a chance to say no as she dragged him along.

Raichel is sitting in the back with Meiou like a bird matter-of-factly standing over its recently looted prize. She had heard about Meiou being a local hero of sorts and was anxious to meet him, which is honestly why she was so aggressive about recruiting him. But what hero is going to say "no" to a young girl that seems to look up to heroes and is about to go on a potentially dangerous journey?

The girl was keeping a sharp eye out for danger, but since Mittens started whistling, Rai figured this would be as good a time as any to get in some flute practice. So she pulls out her flute and plays backup to what Mitts is whistling.

This young girl, having just turned 15 a few weeks ago, is currently wearing blue clothing with white trim (sometimes, Raichel wears straight-up white clothing). She carries a staff with her most times (obviously not while two-handing a flute). https://timothius.deviantart.c...aichel-huh-613124605

Raichel hears "kiddo" and assumes Darcy meant her. "Wherever my sister goes, I go."

  Ben may have little trouble providing for himself in his travels, but you can't catch cakes and wines such as Darcy's narration provides example off.  Even if he has heard rumors of giant walking waffles in distant Savannahs.

  So gaining handful of gold rather than paying it for a shorter trip to Phandalin?  Well, he would have had to fight any roadside bandits anyways.  Now he has more people to hide behind in such an event.

  Ben's own time worn staff and traveler's robes give the obvious impression of the young man's leanings.  Though making no effort to hide the fact he has a shield upon his back and scale under his robes also give the impression his lunch money is at least slightly harder steal than most who prefer their staffs hurt people from a safe distance.

  He does wish he had saved up for a breastplate times like this however, bringing up the rear. Even half-plate would be slightly lighter.  "Is your sister normally this easy to follow, Raichel?  Or do we have the wagon to thank for that?" Ben feels Mittens is the sort of girl who would see one of those meandering trail family circus comics, and consider it a challenge.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:45, Fri 17 Nov 2017.

"That I am!"

Mits gets a proud smile from Raichel's comment. "Or is it you're along with me?  Dun dun duuun!"

She choose not to answer Ben since the question was directed at Rai.

You've been on the Triboar Trail for about half a day. As you come around a bend, you spot two dead horses sprawled about fifty feet ahead of you, blocking the path. Each has several black-feathered arrows sticking out of it. The woods press close to the trail here, with a steep embankment and dense thickets on either side.

Mittens hops off the wagon.

"Dead horses.  Murdered, if the arrows are any indication.  Going to take a closer look."

(Everyone please add your characters' token to the roll20 map and add their initiative.  Please see the note in houserules about stealth for determining whether you notice the hidden goblins.)

(Rolls 17 for Initiative.  Prepares to cast Bless once she gets the chance."

"Be careful, Mittens," Darcy says.  "This could be an ambush."

Despite being asleep his ears twitch after the cart came to a stop
and further at the conversation between Darcy and Mittens.
He yawned waking up having been used to the bouncing of the cart.
"Are we there yet?" asked the rabbit wondering why they
had stopped.

  Alas, Ben's passive perception is 12.  So he still only has obvious assumptions to go on, rather than direct sightings.

  "Arrow riddled dead horses Meiou, and likely bandits." It would take the rabbit about five seconds to see for himself, but no reason to ignore the question either.   Ben wants the bunny with a gun pointing it in the correct direction sooner rather than later.

  His own practice shooting things in the face all day is in that awkward area of 'Not as good as a longbow' all Warlocks must stumble through before coming out the other side to 'way cooler than a longbow'.  Which would take longer than usual for himself, given the intentions of NERD MAGIC rather than dumping every single invocation into Eldritch Blast.

OOC: Rolled a 3, good thing we have that rule-*rolls a 2* welp! At least there is ONE goblin slower than I am.

Raichel hops out of the wagon and walks towards the horses, but keeps close to any nearby tree in case she needs to duck for cover. Sure enough, she spots a goblin (Passive perception 15).

Raichel points in the direction of the goblin and then returns to the group. She says quietly, "I saw a goblin hiding about 50 feet that way, give or take."

The goblin makes no sounds to indicate it noticed being seen.

The rabbit hearing that and figuring possible ambush
opened a pouch on his left side and took out a glowing crystal
while swinging the gun that was on his back around to his front.
He opened the chamber and put the crystal inside carefully.
He closed the lid and twisted it as he hopped out of the wagon
sneaking off below a nearby tree as his weapon powered on.
He carefully looked around as he noticed nothing popped out.
"Well that's a good sign.I hope anyway" he whispered to himself.

Mittens steps forward, making herself an obvious target for any ambush.  Though she's ready to move out of the way should things get dangerous.  She's got her hands raised, though with one she's still holding her crossbow just in case.

"Hello, noble goblins!  My name is Mittens!  As you can see, I mean you no harm.  May I ask, do you know what happened here?"

(Persuasion 15)

The goblin Raichel spotted earlier answers, "We ordered to get stuff for boss.  You have stuff!  Give it to us, you not get hurt!"

"Well that's very straightforward," Mits mutters.

  Ben grasps his shield and steps mostly, but not all the way, around the horses.  Look they are more sturdy cover than a bush, alright?

  "Wouldn't it be easier if you made us deliver the wagon to your boss for you?" Blake isn't really expecting that to work, but it might get the goblins arguing for an extra five minutes, or something.

OOC: Persuasion 16, that's much better than a 4! Readied action for dinky little lv 1 E blast if the goblins attack.

"..."

The goblins are silent for a moment.  Then start giggling among themselves.

"Yes!  You do that!"

"Stupid people."

"You give us your weapons first!"

(( Darc's turn. ))

Darcy hops off the wagon so that she can get within range, and casts Bless:

Mittens, Meiou, and Raichel each can add 1d4 on every attack roll or saving throw during the following Minute, as long as Darcy keeps concentration.

She then uses the rest of her movement to hunker down.

Turn Over

Data: 1 1^st Level Spell Slot Left
This message was last edited by the player at 09:29, Sat 18 Nov 2017.

The goblins see the blonde human saying her prayers and giggle some more.

"You pile weapons next to dead horses.  Then you go back to wagon and wait."

(( Rai's turn.  At this point the goblins have let their guard down and are no longer hidden.  Though they do have 1/2 cover, AKA +2 to AC.  The first person to attack will have advantage. ))
This message was last edited by the player at 17:43, Sat 18 Nov 2017.

Raichel zips off, making no sound, graceful like the kitty she is! Seemingly effortlessly, Raichel makes her way almost completely up to the goblin she spotted earlier, but uses the tree she is next to as cover in order to remain hidden before the reverse-ambush is sprung. Or until Raichel gets impatient and attacks.

(Stealth roll: 24 total. Double-move.)

Meiou carefully and silent moves from under one tree to another
keeping sight of the goblins. Still not being noticed he took his
rifle up and took careful aim at the goblin Raichel had gotten near.
After lining up the shot he fired as soon the goblin had a nice hole
going clean through his head that still sizzled. That was one down
and the more were surely to follow soon enough.

Meiou's rifle makes a glorious laser sound!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUr8LptSU70

The goblins shriek in shock and anger at the sudden but inevitable betrayal!  Two advance and shoot at Mittens, but she dodges both their attacks!

Mits rushes forward, slicing and hammering the nearest goblin, almost but not quite killing it!

"Stupid goblins!  Not giving anyone my weapons!  You better drop yours if you want to survive!"

(( OOC: Whiff, whiff.  Grr!  So I spent an inspiration to make it hit.  IDK if you're supposed to get one starting out, but even if not I'd grant one to Mits for approaching the goblins out in the open.  Also, Meiou earns one for drawing 1st blood.  Nice shot!  Expect to earn an inspiration every time you make the DM smile.  ;-)

Ben's turn. ))
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:04, Sun 19 Nov 2017.

  Ben feels this is probably for the best, the goblins may not have been stupid enough to consider handing over his spare club 'giving up his weapons'.

  Now, the closest goblin is nearly dead.  Ben would need to have some spectacularly terrible luck for his cantrip to fail to finish it off…  Right, Hex insurance it is!

  Thanks to the wonders of burning your singular spell slot (It's short rest, you big baby) on buff spells, Ben fires the most awkward and wiggly Eldritch blast anyone has probably ever seen as it sputters and then drops out of the air to land on the goblin's foot.

  Which makes it all the more surprising when the goblin drops dead.

OOC: Mostly dead Goblin now 100% dead. Under the hood was-
A: barely roll enough to hit.  B: Roll literally 1 damage against a 2 HP target. C: GM graciously offer incidental damage.  D: Rolled a 19 on the Die for "Persuasion, that was enough to kill you. Honest."  E: Screw it, was Cast.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:03, Sun 19 Nov 2017.

"N..never!" the nervous goblins shriek!

Two of them rush Mittens!  She blocks one of them, but the other gashes her arm deep with his scimitar!  Mits yelps in pain!

(( Ben earns an inspiration for that post!  LOL!  XD ))

Darcy moved up as much as she can, knocks an arrow, and lets fly.  Unfortunately, the arrow goes over everyone's heads.  Swallowing a cross word, she uses the rest of her magical energy to send healing energy over to Mittens.

Fires an Arrow (19 in quiver remaining). Misses with a 10. Casts Healing Word to Mittens and heals her for 10 HP.  Out of Spell Slots.

Another goblin steps forward and takes a shot at Mittens!  At least we think so.  It flies past her and sticks into a tree.

"Blipvert!" the goblin curses.

Raichel decides not to blow Meiou's cover and holds compliments for her team for after the fight. But she does come out of hiding herself. She rushes out, grabs the goblin by the face, slams the goblin's head into the ground knocking him unconscious, and then using that same hand planted on the goblin's face to do a handstand forward-flip, lands next to the one goblin nobody is adjacent to. She says in a stern tone, "Never is a very long time. You might want to reconsider your words."

Meiou took aim one more time concentrating on the goblin near
Mittens wanting to help her out if he could. He fired but the recoil
jostled him abit more than usual and caused the aim to go off some
just barely managing to hit the goblin he was shooting at. He sighs
in relief watching it hit the ground dead. He really needed
to pay attention to the recoil next time as he let the weapon charge for
the next attack.

Mittens breaths a sigh of relief.

"Whew!  Thanks a million, Darc!"

She swings at the last goblin next to her and gashes it across the chest, nearly killing it!

"Ack!" it shrieks.

  Ben steps out into the open (you were good cover, horsey) for a better firing angle.  The caster shuffles the lingering Hex from his last target over to the Goblin beside Raichel, points his staff, and fires.

  It's another wobbly wonder puttering across the battlefield.

  "Hah! Stupid wizard can't cast-" The bolt zips forward into the goblins mouth, then tears it's head free from it's body, which is now only able to do the 'point' part of 'point and laugh' before falling over.

  "I am clearly out of practice, but shooting bandits is kind of an ingrained life skill by now."

OOC: E blast+Hex, things go much better this time around.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:55, Sun 19 Nov 2017.

The last remaining goblin takes one last spiteful jab at Mittens, stabbing her right in the gut!  The chain armor stops the blade, but that's going to leave quite the bruise.

"Diediedie!" it screams!

It then turns to flee to the north...
This message was last edited by the player at 07:57, Sun 19 Nov 2017.

Darcy sees that she can finish the goblin, she lets another arrow fly.  This time it connects with the Goblin's head, sending it flying away from Mittens.  "Whoops!" she says.

Fires another Arrow, 18 Arrows remaining, 1 recoverable.  Hits with a 21 delivering 7 points of damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:58, Sun 19 Nov 2017.

Congratulations!  The team is now 60/300 of the way to level 2!

Raichel watches another goblin die before she can even throw a punch at it. She looks around and sees all but the goblin she took out is dead. Raichel heads over to the one she took out and begins tying it up. "Good job, everyone. Honestly, this is my first time seeing a full team in action. Until now, Ben, Mitts and I have been handling much simpler things... it was scary to see you get that hurt, Mittens, but... clerics really are everything people say they are. Aside from the tear in your clothing, nobody would know you had been gashed. Thanks, Darcy."

Raichel looks towards Meiou. "Glad I dragged you along to test out that amazing weapon of yours on some evil bandits?"

The rabbit didn't look like he was listening as he
fiddled with his weapon as it seemed to loose its glow.
His ears on the other hand looked as if they heard every
word despite he himself not looking it. " A little. Though
I need more data before really calling this a success."

  Somewhere, a mercenary is pleased at Meiou's obsessive post combat shootey implement examination.

  "If that counts for whoops Darcy, are you using a shortbow to give yourself a challenge?" No Ben, it's because Life clerics don't have Longbow proficiency, duh.

"Well," Darcy said, "I might not be perfect with the Shortbow, but since I eschewed an attack cantrip, I found that I practiced with this baby a lot."  She turned to Rai and said, "You're welcome, but it appears that this combat has spent all of my spell energy.  It's something I feared would happen when I start off."

"Woohoo!" Mittens cheers, jumping into the air and pumping her fist!

"High fives, everyone!"

She runs by everyone with an offered high-five.  (Lowered to be within easy reach for Meiou.)

"Thanks so much for the heal, Darc!  And Meiou you were awesome with your sniping!  Ben that kersplosion made me so jealous for magic!  And awesome butt-kicking as ever, Rai!  Kya!"

Mits tries to mime Rai's moves, punching at the air then doing a cartwheel.  "Baddies said their 'boss' sent them, so we should interrogate for location of their base, right?  Though I'll bet 'to the North' is kindofa given since that's the way the last one tried to flee."

She loots the goblins and finds that they had some stuff.

(But it's too late in the night right now to mess with a loot table, so I'll do loot another time.  Feel free to continue RP without specifics on loot.)

The goblins have enough pocket change to amount to each player getting 15 silver!  They were also carrying a single healing potion which Mits pockets.

Raichel says, "Well... I managed to knock one out in the short time you all decimated the rest."

No really. The player went through the posts... 3 fatal head wounds, 1 barely hit but fatal anyway fatality, 1 fatal foot injury, and 1 knockout... namely the one Raichel took out.

Raichel watches Mittens' "copying" her moves and blushes. She is partly embarrassed, but mostly flattered because she knows what Mittens means by it. Raichel giggles a little.

Raichel walks back to the one she slammed and gets to tying his unconscious self up. Then offers to Darcy, "You know your medicine, right? Think you can wake him up for interrogation?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:55, Mon 20 Nov 2017.

Hey he didn't want it to accidentally discharge and hurt
some innocent. He wasn't one of those lady's in the shady
parts of town that took pleasure in hurting others. He
still found that weird despite the people wanting it.
Humans were strange creatures sometimes.
Was merely looking out for you two. I didn't want you to get overwhelmed suddenly.

For the sake of the scene, I'm going to retcon Darcy gaining a Healer's Kit, for times like this.  (I knew I should've gotten one before we begin.

Darcy goes over, grabs her Healer's Kit, and sees if she can get this goblin at least off his back.  "Be sure to tie him up first, just in case."

With a Healer's Kit, Darcy can spend one of its 10 uses to Stabilize anyone without the need for a Medicine (WIS) Check.  She uses one use of the kit on the Goblin.  9 Uses Remaining.

  "It will be a while yet before I'm worth any jealousy, Mittens.  It is simply difficult for me to follow Darcy's example and hold a shield at the same time.  Though I appreciate the sentiment."  He may be comfortable enough with his practical cowardice in hiding behind short rabbits, women, and horses.  But Ben would have no problems with the implied calling dibs of healing potions even if he had not known the excitable kitty cat already.

OOC: Yeah, I always grab a Healer's kit because not needing to make a check to stabilize dying people is REALLY convenient (and surprisingly low cost), especially at low levels.
  That said, you get to keep it as just flavor text without burning a charge.  As you only need the charges to deal with the whole dying thing.  Putting a price tag on simply waking up somebody knocked out would be a dick move.

In reply to Ben (msg # 46):

Understood.  I'll keep it at 10/10 charged.

Agreed!  Also, for the record, Mits used her fighter feature to self-heal and is now back to full HP.  Thank you for that reminder as well, Ben.

Mits grins and gives the victory sign.  "V for victory!  And bunny ears.  Because bunny means victory!"

The last gobbie is tied up and awakened.  "Whaddyawant!  Lemmego!  Grr!"

Violent rage quickly gives way to cowering and groveling when any amount of intimidation is applied.  He spills his guts even if only two give him a disapproving glare.  ( Rolled a 16 will save, but with anyone pitching in to impose disadvantage it becomes a 7.  And don't worry about your character ever being forced to give up important info because of dice rolls.  You RP your character the way you choose.  It would be up to you to interpret dice roll outcomes in such a situation.  Not that I expect them to ever be captured and interrogated. )



Also, Cragmaw Cave is about five miles northwest.  (Using bold and italics to differentiate between level-appropriate Cragmaw Cave and Certain Death Cragmaw Castle because of how easy they are to confuse with one another.)

Not once does Mittens threaten bodily harm during the interrogation.  Her threats involve non-violent things like public humiliation with a dunce cap.

In reply to Mittens (msg # 49):



Darcy would've added, "And maybe I'll get the tar and feathers and make sure that you're properly stuck on a rail as we parade you around Neverwinter.  And every time we cross the bridges we dunk you in the river a couple dozen times."

Her usual method of intimidation involves taking one of her arrows and pressing it up against her victim's kneecaps.  That would scare any adventure.

"Cragmaw Cave is not too far from here, but I suggest that we cap for the night.  I could see it's getting dark and I need to recover my spell energies."

Raichel looks at Meiou. "Hmm? Well thanks. I'm just amazed at how fast you all took out the goblins." Raichel wasn't judging anyone for killing murderous goblins, if that's what Meiou thought.

She looks at Ben. "....seriously, Ben? There are thousands out there who would kill to be able to cast magic at all and you are saying there is NOTHING to be jealous of?"

Raichel looks at the goblin. "Thanks for the information. Due to your cooperation, you get to live. But you are still a prisoner and will remain alive as long as you are our prisoner. Know this: if you escape, we will hunt you down until we find you, however long it takes. And then you will die. So I strongly advise you don't try escape." She doesn't feel like asking if they intend to eat the other guy in the Eating Cave.

It wasnt anything of the sort he just didnt want her to get hurt if possible.
The rabbit stretched out flicking his ears getting abit embarrassed
at bunny ears standing for victory.

  Ben did specify nothing to be jealous about yet.  But then he remembers he already knows Prestidigitation, which puts him among some of the most powerful people in the entire plane, obviously.

  "Of the two rescue missions, it appears the cave is the one we shall live long enough to say we do not get paid enough for this.  Follow up question, do they call themselves 'Black Spider' because they think it sounds scary, or for appropriately thematic reasons?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:55, Tue 21 Nov 2017.

The goblin answers Rai.  "Nono!  No try escape!  Me no stupid!  If me escape, nature kill me before you or Klarg kill me."

He's quite intimidated by Darcy's threats and avoids eye contact.  To Ben's question, he mouths the words, "appropriate thematic," trying to remember their meaning, then figures it out.

"No one know what Black Spider is.  Giant talking spider maybe?  Only get note signed with spider symbol.  Never see.  But me think they have fingers.  How write note without fingers?  Others say dip sharp leg in ink.  But what everyone know is Black Spider is big boss scary.  So big boss scary he hire King Grol!"

Mits is proud of herself for having made Meiou blush.

"Thanks for defending my statement, sis.  But I'll admit that maybe I shoulda used better wording...  Which I can't think of right now!"

She ponders the words of the goblin's answer to Ben.  "That this 'Black Spider' knew so much about Rockseeker is what's got me worried.  But yeah, sounds sensible to me to camp here then go for the rescue tomorrow morning.

"Goblin prisoner.  Is your tribe mostly awake at night or at day?"

"Night.  But we sure to have some awake all hours.  Nature kill you in your sleep if you not have tribe mate watch your back."

Or adventurers.  But he's not going to say that out loud.

"Sounds like morning is our best bet, then!"

(( Cue intro of new guy!  Welcome to the fun, Bri'kus! ))

The sounds of a small person's groans can be heard.  When the area is searched, a bound and beaten kobold is discovered!  Nearby is a sack with gear that looks like it probably belonged to the kobold before the goblins took it from him.

"Oh my," Darcy says as she heads over to the kobold to tend to his wounds.  "<Are you all right,>" she says in Draconic.

Raichel nods. "Good thoughts. Then we'll spend the night here. I'll be sleeping early to wake early, so I can take second or third watch."

Raichel not only overhears the groaning, but understands draconic. She heads over to see what the ruckus is and sees the beaten kobold. She figures Darcy will take care of the healing.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the goblins must have beaten him up and tied him up. But why was he nowhere near other kobolds? Why a lone prisoner? Raichel squats down near the kobolds and says in draconic, "Don't worry. We're heroes. We rescue people in need, help the helpless and punish criminals."

  Ben nods to Mittens, "While anyone being kidnapped is usually a cause for concern, the effort put into this means there is likely further-" he sighs.  "Adventure." He's sure Mittens will be thrilled.

  His player is still flipping a coin on Abyssal for thematic reasons A, or Dwarven for thematic reasons B.  Which means no Draconic either way for him.

  Though knowing Raichel, and acquainted with Darcy. He gets the feeling they are not demanding the kobold hand over his wallet.

he notices the kobold and shakes his head and then
hearing ben he looks to the warlock "Yeah tell me about it.Fun times are abound right?" he said with abit of sarcasm on the end.

(Don't know how to do the colored text, but here I go! ^^)

*The small Kobold looks up with a hint of concern on his face at the party around him*

Bri'kus thanks you for your help. Do not understand how goblins ambushed so well...

*He pauses and rubs his sore head that was damaged by the goblin waylay, but Darcy's aid left him feeling much better*

Thank you for healing Bri'kus. Bri'kus will stand by your side for helping!

*He perks up after this and quickly begins to look for his supplies*
This message was last edited by the player at 00:28, Thu 23 Nov 2017.

"<We'll appreciate your help, Bri'kus>" Darcy said as she helps the kolbold search for his effects.  "I'll take the first watch," she says when she hears about the watch order.

When she and the kolbold returns to the camp, Darcy had a bunch of supplies that Bri'kus salvaged from the attack he had.

Mits smiles and poses proudly from Raichel's hero speech, then has all the more reason to smile when Ben mentions Adventure!

"Mittens welcomes Bri'kus!  Sing favorite dragonkin song!"

♫♪"Dovahkiin, dovahkiin
naal ok zin los vahriin
wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!" ♫♪

( https://youtu.be/5xHRQL5R4Do?t=34s )

Mittens speaks fluent Draconic and sings it fairly well.  Won't be winning any music awards any time soon, though.  She translates for anyone who does not speak it.  Bri'kus' stuff is recovered!  The night passes uneventfully.  The following day is partly cloudy.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:03, Fri 24 Nov 2017.

Raichel bobs her head to Mittens' singing.



To this day, Raichel thinks it is one of the coolest things that she knows how to speak draconic (In other editions, when she only has common plus one language to pick, she chooses draconic. True story).

Since Raichel is the last watch, this means she wakes before everyone else and so, she gets breakfast ready. She is bad at cooking, but once again, older sis to the rescue. Mittens made sure Raichel would at LEAST know how to cook up rations. It is easy to do and honestly hard to mess up. So while the breakfast everyone has is yummy enough, it isn't anything to write home about. Raichel says in common, "Bri'kus. Now that we all have had some decent rest, tell us your story?"

Raichel feeds the gobby prisoner.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:15, Sat 25 Nov 2017.

  Off panel ambushes are usually the most successful ones, so it's little wonder Bri'kus got their kobold ass handed to him... Well okay, that and being a lone adventurer makes getting outnumbered suck more than being an outnumbered group of adventurers.

  "I am also curious what you are doing out here all by yourself." Ben is expecting either 'my entire pack was eaten by drakebears', or the opposite extreme simple boredom.

It was somewhere in between, according to Darcy, "<We're on the way to Phandalin escorting a package for a couple people who got kidnapped by goblins, probably from the same group that attacked you.  One of them is in the nearby cave,>" she points toward the cave in question, "<so that's where we're headed in the morning.>" She sighs. "<If only I had more energies for my spells.>"

Since the Second and Third watch was spoken for, she decided to take the first watch, and sleep the rest of the night to recharge her spells.  When she turned in and saw Bri curled up near her bedroom, she thought it was the cutest thing ever.

She woke up and helped with breakfast before breaking down the camp to head to that cave.

Long Rest Gained, Spell Points and HP at full.
Edited to show Darcy's response to Bri (Below) so I won't disrupt the current scene.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:44, Sat 25 Nov 2017.

Bri'kus nodded at Darcy's explanation and agreed to aid them since they freed and healed him. He sang along to the Draconic song with his own little Kobold yips and yaps added in.

When night came and the party rested, they awoke to Bri'kus sleeping a short ways off from them, but close to Darcy's bedroll. He was curled up around his pack and sleeping restlessly, twitching a bit as he slept.

When he awoke at the smell of breakfast, and joined the party, he seemed to be a bit comfortable around them since he has a safe night's sleep.

Bri'kus was coming back from delivering a message. Bri'kus fast and can deliver message fast. Things were going well until Goblin attack...
He glared at the Goblin prisoner and gave him an unhappy yip.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:50, Sat 25 Nov 2017.

As they talked to Bri'kus and helped him out the rabbit had set about setting up the camp for everyone. He took second watch and then in the morning while eating made note to teach rai to look for simple herbs that could help flavor rations to tasting abit better.

( DM forgot to mention the following while we were looting goblins... )

After the characters defeat the goblins, any inspection of the
area reveals that the creatures have been using this place
to stage ambushes for some time. A trail hidden behind
thickets on the north side of the road leads northwest. A
character who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check
spends more than 6 seconds searching the area
 recognizes that about a dozen goblins have come and
gone along the trail, as well as signs of two human-sized
bodies being hauled away from the ambush site.
The party can easily steer the wagon away from the road
and tie off the oxen while the group pursues the goblins.
The trail leads five miles northwest and ends at the
Cragmaw hideout (see that section). Ask the players to
determine the party's marching order as the characters
move down the trail. The order is important, because...

The captured goblin is shocked at being treated so well and wolfs down the offered food.

"You good people.  Gobbie tell you secret.  Hidden snare trap up trail.  Then pit trap.  Gobbie show you, you untie gobbie?"

The goblin shrugs at Bri'kus' unhappy yip as if to say, "Nothing personal.  Just business."

"Gobbie forced to attack.  Or Klarg bonk bonk on the head."

Bri'kus singing along made Mits beam with joy!

Young Mits didn't have any ulterior motives for learning Draconic outside adorable bonding with her baby sis.  Oh no.  Working so hard to learn a language because she heard that most magic books are written in Draconic had nothing to do with it.  *halo*

Mits slept much like a cat would.  The occasional ear-twitch, but otherwise just flopped any which way.  When awake, one quick stretch was all it took to be back up to full speed.

"Good to know.  I guess there's no harm in untying if nobody in the group has a problem with it."

Mits' jealousy of Darcy's awesome magic doesn't get in the way of her saying something encouraging.  "I'm sure it won't take more than just a few bonk-bonked Klargs for you to become more powerful!"

Mention of Klarg getting bonk-bonked makes the goblin grin.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:45, Sat 25 Nov 2017.

  Ben would sympathize with Darcy over spell shortages (pacing is still a concern for Pure Warlocks) if he could understand what she was saying.  Don't worry Ben, in a few more levels you might afford to splurge on unlocking every language mundane or secret in -wait, that's just for the written ones.

  Alas even if he shares the talent for guaranteed party wide sustenance and fantasy GPS, Ben does not share the literal cooking proficiency of other characters.  Prestidigitation certainly makes clean up faster, however.

  Marching order is Ben not caring so long as he's not up front or at the rear.  "He can't outrun half the group so provided there really is such a trap, Gobbie can go untied."

OOC: Mittens may or may not be temporarily banned from cantrip based flavoring effects after the cotton candy steak fiasco, which may or may not have happened.

  Basis being "If Mittens comes up with something funnier"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:07, Sat 25 Nov 2017.

"What if we untie you part way, keeping one as a leash," Darcy said to the Goblin.  "Once we get past the traps, we let you go.  Oh, and who is this Klarg?"

Rai was sure to thank Meiou when her shift came up and Meiou was prepping for bed.

Raichel seems uncomfortable when the goblin calls the team good people. "Thanks. That's good of you to offer." The source of her discomfort becomes clear when she glances at the goblin remains.

Raichel says, "Yeah. Untying him so he can help us avoid traps sounds good. But the leash isn't a bad idea." then looks at the goblin. "Were any of these guys your friends?" she motions at the dead gobbies.

Bri'kus, understanding of the goblin's position under his boss, is still a bit untrustworthy of his willingness to help.

Bri'kus can aid in disarming traps. Good at making and taking them apart!

He sided wholeheartedly with Darcy on keeping the goblin close at hand with a leash.

Would prefer to take up next to last to have someone to watch his back in case of an attack while hes trying to attack something.

Well even if he were to escape he wouldnt be out of my sights.

The goblin grinned when Mits agreed to untying him, but frowned when the idea of a leash was brought up.

"Leash?!  No untie, then!  Rope around wrists better than rope around neck!"

Sulking, he answers Rai, "Gobbie no have friend."

"Suit yourself," Mits says to the gobbie, "You stay on the cart, then."

The gobbie does as told.  Mits finds something sturdy to tie his wrists to.

She smiles and gives Bri'kus a thumbs-up.  "Thanks for pitching in, Bri'kus!"

Mits takes the lead.  She'll be able to spot the snare trap when the group gets that far.  (( the character in the lead spots the trap automatically if his or her passive Wisdom (Perception) score is 12 or higher. ))

  No friends and not into leashes, leaving this goblin with something in common with a large percentage of the world.  He tries repeating Darcy's question without such distracting topics "Perhaps you shall live long enough to improve your standing in life, but that would go much better if you told us more about Klarg."

"Well then," Darcy says as she lets the others deal with the Goblin, "We'll just let you deal with all the traps, okay.  You can be our designated trap disarmer.  We could use one."

With a 13 Passive Perception, Darcy had no problem finding said trap along with everyone else, even as she did pet the Kobold's head along the way.

Bri'kus felt a tinge of guilt for the sad goblin, understanding how hard it was to get along with the humanoid races, but also still held a grudge for being waylaid by him or his friends.

As the party walked along, he kept an ever vigilant eye out for traps.
He didn't quite know how to take the occasional petting from Darcy, but it felt nice to be accepted so quickly by a non-Kobold creature. He began to feel like, in such a short time, that he was part of the pack.

Raichel is relieved to hear the other goblins were NOT this guy's friends.

Raichel says, "Waitwait! What's wrong with just having a rope around Gobbie's waste? Nothing says the leash has to be on the neck. Kobolds may be known for their prowess with traps, but that doesn't mean they never fall into traps. I don't want Bri'kus to get hurt when we could avoid that since Gobbie actually knows where the traps are!"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:10, Fri 01 Dec 2017.

Neither were really that great of ideas he thought but
he supposed the waist would make the goblin feel less
like a prisoner. He rubbed his neck and closed his eyes for
a moment trying to not think about the before everyone
considered him a hero.

"No leash!  Gobbie not pet!

"Tell more about Klarg?  What to tell?  Klarg bugbear.  Klarg mean and strong and keeps all the good stuff.  Has  wolf pet named Ripper.  Ripper bit off Jabber's finger and Klarg laugh.  Jabber got sick and died.  Gobbie didn't get any of his stuff.  Klarg take it all."

The second trap is harder to spot, but with multiple eyes watching for it, the group finds and disarms it well before it is a danger.

Eventually, the group arrives at the goblin lair.

1. CAVE MOUTH  (( http://octobergeek.com/wp-cont...6/11/CragmawCave.jpg ))

Following the goblins' trail, you come across a large cave in
a hillside five miles from the scene of the ambush. A shallow
stream flows out of the cave mouth, which is screened by
dense briar thickets. A narrow dry path leads into the cave on
the right-hand side of the stream.
The thicket in area 2 is impenetrable from the west side
of the stream.


CRAGMAW HIDEOUT
The Cragmaw tribe of goblins has established a hideout
from which it can easily harass and plunder traffic moving
along the Triboar Trail or the path to Phandalin. The
Cragrnaw tribe is so named because each member of the
tribe sharpens its teeth so they appear fierce and jagged.
The leader of the Cragmaw bandits lairing here is a
bugbear named Klarg, who has orders from the chief of
the Cragmaws to plunder any poorly defended caravans or
travelers that come this way. A few days ago, a messenger
from Cragmaw Castle brought new instructions: Waylay the
dwarf Gundren Rockseeker and anyone traveling with him.

GENERAL FEATURES
---------------------------
The Cragmaw cave slopes steeply upward. The entrance is
at the foot of a good-sized hill, and the caves and passages
are inside the hill itself.

Ceilings. Most of the caves and passages have steeply
sloping ceilings that create stalactite-covered vaults rising
20 to 30 feet above the floor.

Light. Areas 1 and 2 are outside. The rest of the complex
is dark unless stated otherwise. The boxed text for those
locations assumes that the characters have darkvision or a
light source.

Rubble. Areas of crumbling rock and gravel are difficult
terrain (see "Difficult Terrain" in the rulebook).
Sound. The sound of water in the cave muffles noises to
any creatures that aren't listening carefully. Creatures can
make a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to attempt to
hear activity in nearby chambers.

Stalagmites. These upthrust spires of rock can provide
cover (see "Cover" in the rulebook).

Stream. The stream that flows through the complex is
only 2 feet deep, cold, and slow moving, allowing creatures
to easily wade through it.

Defeating the goblin ambushers and finding the Cragrnaw
hideout completes a story milestone. When the party
arrives at the hideout, award each character 75 XP.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:37, Fri 01 Dec 2017.

Mittens whispers, "I'll take the lead.  Stay close, and try to be quiet."

(( Initiatives, please.  There are two goblins hiding nearby, but they're such poor guards that they don't hear you unless you make a lot of noise.  No stealth rolls necessary yet. ))

  Oh Meiou, being called a Hero is good for business!  It's way harder to make an honest living while calling yourself a Mercenary as a magical shootmans.  But May isn't in this thread to ask for confirmation on that one.

  Ben nods to Mittens, and hopes outnumbering the enemy for once instead of the other way around does not lead to disappointed expectations.

OOC: 21 total Initiative.  Ben has a 15 DEX for tiebreaker logic compared to the 14 DEX Goblin that also rolled a 21.

Darcy hops down from the wagon and gets ready.

She rolled a 9 on the Initiative Track.

Raichel finds it odd the front entrance of the cave doesn't appear to have guards.

(Rai init: 26)

Meiou hopped down and powered on the magic core of his
gun getting things ready for any potential combat.

( init 21 but dex 17 :p)

Q: Who notices who and when?

A: Stealth vs. Perception sure are confusing the way the module and 5e rules are set up.  So for the sake of this scene, I'm going to try and simplify things.  I have marked on the map 4 squares in red.  So long as you do not walk in those 4 squares, and you're not especially noisy, you do not need to roll stealth to evade notice.  The downside is that it is impossible to notice the 2 goblin guards unless you step into one of those 4 red squares.  If you do step into any of those 4 squares, and you will automatically notice the goblins.  (Their stealth would be 16 if they were trying, but these lazy guards aren't even trying).  In order to avoid being noticed by the goblins once you are in one of the red squares, you must succeed a DC 9 stealth roll.  (Apparently, no take-10 allowed on stealth).  Going anywhere beyond the red squares and you will be automatically noticed by the goblin guards.

After scouting ahead a few yards, Mittens returns to the group.

"There's two nose-picking goblin guards just behind that thicket.  I think we can take them by surprise.  I'll show you how close you can get before they might see you."

(( OOC: Mits succeeded the stealth check.  She'll outline where the red squares are on the map.  Everyone gets a surprise turn.  Turn order doesn't matter for surprise round.  You have advantage on attacks during the surprise round *if* you succeed the stealth check. ))
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:16, Sat 02 Dec 2017.

Raichel nods to her sis, hops over the stream gracefully and hurries in to the gobbie guards, knocking one out instantly while hitting the other hard enough to NEARLY knock him out. She hopes her allies will descend on this poor guy quick enough for him to not make a sound!

Making note of Rai's actions he looks down the sights of his
rifle at the remaining gobby and fires not wanting to take
the risk it might raise alarm or attack Rai.
The shot met its mark and left a nice burn mark on the gobby's
back as he slumped over to the ground.

With the last of the outside guards soundly defeated, the scene goes silent.

(( Sticking with initiative order for the duration of this dungeon crawl.  So Ben's next, followed by Mittens then Bri'kus then Darcy. ))

  With the guards swiftly dealt with, Ben steps somewhat closer to the cave, though hardly close enough for something to suddenly stab him from the entrance (or so the working theory goes).  "Is this the part where we stop to question the guards about the obvious, or the part where I will need this slight head start on Mittens to keep up with her?"

Mits peeks into the cave...

KENNEL

Just inside the cave mouth, a few uneven stone steps lead
up to a small, dank chamber on the east side of the passage.
The cave narrows to a steep fissure at the far end, and is filled
with the stench of animals. Savage snarls and the sounds of
rattling chains greet your ears where two wolves are chained
up just inside the opening. Each wolf's chain leads to an iron
rod driven into the base of a stalagmite

She returns and reports.  "Well the wolves musta heard me.  But I didn't hear any other alarm.  So maybe we tie up badguys and wait outside for a few minutes to see if the goblins check on their wolves."

Bri'kus felt really confused at everything that just happened so quickly, but shrugged it off, assuming the party had been working together for a while and could deftly deal with combat situations on the fly.

He took Mittens suggestion of tying the Goblins up to heart and snuck his way up to the KO'd duo to search them and bind them.

It was Darcy's turn to make a low whistle as she moves up toward the cavern, then waits for the others to catch up.

"Nice shot, Meiou..." Raichel commends.

Raichel helps Bri'kus with tying the goblins up and gives him a smile as she does. Then says, "I agree, Mitts." and beckons Darcy over. "Wakey wakey on the gobbies?"

Once the goblins wake, Raichel says, "No loud sounds, or else. Now... tell us what we can expect inside the cave."

He shrugs and just provides the rope for tying them up.
He wasn't really used to be praised for anything.
This whole adventuring thing was new to him and not something
he had really signed up for so much as had been drafted into.

  "Hmm, I wonder if they are firmly secured. Or they have some way to quickly release the wolves to chase intruders.  It's amazing how often people with horrible workmanship standards are suddenly competent when it comes to things such as that."  Even hut dwelling savages who have no idea what a warforged is will turn out to know how to build hang gliders and siege equipment.

Once Darcy wakes the surviving goblin, and Raichel intimidates him, he spills the beans.

"You want Klarg stuff?  You find Klarg and stuff in Klarg room.  Turn right after bridge.  Then up steps across from pool.  Or climb garbage chute behind wolves."

The goblin chuckles darkly to himself when he suggests that second idea.

"Wolves fed.  They no try break free.  Hmm...  You make them grondo mad, they break free.  Eat your face.  Happen before.  Teasy get new name.  No Face!"

He cackles with malevolent glee.

Mittens shakes her head and clicks her tongue disapprovingly.  "Wow talk about poor working conditions.  I should report these guys to the Better Bandit Bureau.  'Missing fingers, eaten faces, and unfair pay.  Zero stars.'"

By now it is apparent no one is coming to calm the wolves.

"So which way should we go?  Past the wolves and up a garbage chute?  Or 'round the bend?  My vote is for the long way around.  Climbing a garbage chute doesn't sound like a smart invasion plan in this case."

Bri'kus thanked Meiou, but he used his own rope to bind them.

He thought about the options for a moment and realized,

Bri'kus thinks both ways are most likely traps!

"You might be right," Darcy said as he patted Bri on the head, "But I have a hunch that we have to try both.  We have an obligation to take out this Klarg, and we have two missing people to deal with."

She then looked back at the party and smiled.  "At least we have the needed skills, if you ask me."

Raichel says, "I vote we avoid the garbage chute. Those wolves bark so much, that if they stop barking, the enemy will think something is up. So we save the wolves for after we have gotten to Klarg."

He looks over at ben "yknow you sound like this half orc guy i read about once. Really into work place safety. Came up with this helmet to protect your head on the job."

after that reminiscence he looked back at mitts " I'm good either way though i feel like if we did take the chute only a couple of us might fit if its small. "

he put his rope away and fiddled with his weapon to have the magic core
recharge for more shots.

  "I can't decide if that is the sort of boring I would enjoy, or hate, Meiou.  These places can be as hazardous as they want, so long as it hurts the inhabitants more than visitors."

  He nods to Raichel, "While a good possibility for a few sneaking around, it does not sound quite so practical for a whole group of people to awkwardly shove themselves through in a row."

"Mittens thinks Bri'kus is right!  Both are likely traps.  So let's stay close and move slow.  More eyes means more chance of finding trouble before it finds us.

"Good thinking, Rai!  Let's make that Plan A, then.

"And yes!  I agree that we've got what it takes, Darcy!  Especially when we're taking out goblins so fast I don't even get a swing in..."

Mittens does not confirm nor deny any knowledge of a certain half-orc safety enthusiast.  She draws her weapons and starts entering the cave cautiously.

"Anyone got a torch or something?  My hands are full."

Bri'kus is glad that the party choose the slightly more stealthy approach and nodded along with the decision to avoid the chute altogether.

As the party proceeded and he followed close beside Darcy, he stopped for a brief moment to rummage though his pack and produce a flint, steel, and torch for Mittens to aid the quest. He lit the torch and handed it to Mittens.

Here you go. Bri'kus help!
This message was last edited by the player at 09:07, Sun 03 Dec 2017.

Darcy smiled at the Kolbold when he did that.  Then looked as far as she could into the cave.

"Two questions then.  One: what to do with the wolves?  Two: once we get to the fork, do we go right or left?"

Raichel smiles at Bri'kus.

Raichel's expression changes back to serious as she answers Darcy, "Whatever direction gets us to Klarg faster. He's their boss, so if we take him out, the others are more likely to surrender rather than fight. As for the wolves... I'm sorry to say, but they are too dangerous to allow them to live. When we are done with Klarg and his band of evil, we kill the wolves. If we set them free, they will injure or kill innocent travelers in the future."

A rickety bridge spans the passage ahead, connecting two tunnels that are 20 feet above the stream.

With the weak light of the torch, Darcy barely spots a bored-looking goblin lookout on the bridge.  He's flat on his back and playing with a stone, tossing it into the air and catching it.  If the torch is brought any closer, he'll likely notice the increase in light, but he seems otherwise oblivious.

( Confirmed by player:  Darcy lets the group know what she saw. )
This message was last edited by the player at 03:39, Wed 06 Dec 2017.

He grumbled quietly to himself. Yes lets leave the goblins who even without a bug bear boss around will likely continue to hurt people alive but kill the wolves who can possibly be tamed to not hurt unless told to. He didnt understand this logic but
as he was always told in some of the worst ways it was none of his dang business.
If this was what being a hero was like he wasn't sure he liked it.

  "The general idea of leaving the wolves until later is that wolves barking is less attention getting than wolves suddenly being silent, even without the obvious howls of pain before such."

  Given roaming packs of Elk will accost travelers for no reason, wolves already known for eating faces and fingers for laughs rate much higher to Ben than goblin bandits on the fantasy threat level.  It's all sympathy and putting them on shirts, until you are violently reminded bandits will never compare to deliberately homicidal wildlife.

  "I'll leave it to the rest of you to decide if we opt to fill this guard so full of holes he has no idea what happened, or try to take him alive as well."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:12, Wed 06 Dec 2017.

Mits smiles to Bri'kus' help.  "Thanks!"

She tries to hide cringing at the idea of killing the wolves and offers, "I'd like to try and tame them.  But we can fuss over what to do with the wolves after we've rescued the prisoner."

To Ben Mits answers, "Me and Rai can try and sneak up on him to knock him out.  If he resists arrest, feel free to go with the Swiss Cheese plan."

(( Mittens' 15 stealth result is enough to evade the notice of the goblin guard because she leaves the torch behind.  Her move speed is enough to get her to the bottom of the bridge.  Anyone entering the cave must make a DC 9 stealth check.  Anyone entering the cave with a light source automatically fails.  At this point, anyone with ranged attack options can ready a ranged attack against the goblin guard.  Ranged attacks against the prone goblin have disadvantage. ))

(Raichel makes the DC 9 exactly. XD)

Bri'kus nodded at the thanks for the torch.

Thinking about the whole situation, he shook his head slowly. Bri'kus isn't a fan of killing things. Only kill things for food if Bri'kus get hungry.

As the girls stealth down to the guard, Bri'kus blends his lithe frame into the shadows, fully enjoying his favorite part of being a Rogue.
(24 in a Stealth check)
This message was last edited by the player at 10:46, Wed 06 Dec 2017.

  Despite the seemingly easy setup, Ben is not feeling particularly confident in his ability to be maximum sneak right now.  So opts to delay until the violence is already under way, and such concerns will be a moot point for him.

the rabbit kept back. Best not to push his luck on trying to stealth.
He tried to clear his head and focus on the task at hand as he just waits to
see if he would be needed.

"In a perfect world, we wouldn't have to kill so much, Bri," Darcy says as she takes her place in the back of the marching order, as Clerics usually do. "Unfortunately, even if we don't want to kill them, They want to kill us."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:40, Thu 07 Dec 2017.

Mits manages to scale the slippery slope leading up to the bridge without falling!  She then readies her hammer.

Looking as terrifying as she possibly can, Mittens puts her finger on the unsuspecting goboin's lips and says, "Shhh."

The goblin surrenders!  Mits then gets to tying him up and gagging him, explaining softly, "We're friends of the two people you kidnapped.  We're here to rescue him.  Do not resist or you will die."

Raichel can barely believe her eyes. Her staff was just an inch from the goblin when he surrendered. So she simply helps tie him up and carry him out. Once out of the cave, she says in a quiet tone, "That is one surrendered goblin. Let's hope the others go as smoothly. Good job, sis."

Bri'kus slowly progressed forward into the cave, taking time to scout ahead of the party while they took the goblin prisoner.
He was also sure to keep an eye open for any interesting items that may be laying around.

  Ben finds 'did not have to fight in the first place' a much more desirable repeat outcome than the sort he was afraid of.

  Now, spending all fight either being outside of range or missing Javelin throws?  Such a waste of time is why he sought out arts where you have built in longbow functionality with your bare hands, at minimum.

  "We are already well past expectations on survivors, let us hope those we are searching for are also more alive than I expect them to be."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:02, Thu 07 Dec 2017.

"True Enough," Darcy adds, "and maybe we'll find our two missing patrons as well."

The rabbit still wasn't sure about this whole adventuring
thing. The cats seemed well versed in this and the younger had
dragged him into this. This whole thing was nothing like he had
planned to do after being given the gun. Wasn't much he could do
now as Rai seemed to think this was perfect for him.

Mits grins proudly when commended.  Once the prisoner is secured with the others, she snatches up the torch to take the lead again.

"Stay close, please.  No telling what's ahead.  So look and listen carefully."

Everyone who enters the cave can hear the roar of a small waterfall ahead, the obvious source of the stream.  The noise of the water is enough to drown out the footsteps of the adventurers as they slowly advance.  But just before Mittens gives away the sneaky approach by turning the corner ahead with torch in hand, Raichel hears something other than waterfall.  A voice maybe?...

Ben on the other hand must have echolocation.  He is able to make out three goblins playing cards and their exact location- just around the corner!

(( To move things along I took the liberty of placing your token where I figured they'd end up assuming they chose to come with the group.  If my placing is wrong, feel free to be anywhere behind Mits.  There was disadvantage on hearing goblins deliberately being quiet even with a waterfall nearby.  They've been hollered at by Klarg for stuff like that, so they don't want to get caught.  But because Ben double-critted on the perception check to hear, the whole group will have a surprise round. ))
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:46, Mon 11 Dec 2017.

Raichel puts a hand on Mittens' shoulder and holds up a finger. "I heard someone..." she near-whispers. "Don't forget the light could give us away."

  "Three of them, it seems.  So they may have an actual chance and inclination to fight back this time."

Darcy keeps to her position in the marching order but stays to the walls, a bit wary of what would be ahead.  Might be a waterfall, might be something else.

Meiou had been lost in thought till the party stopped and
whispering began. He didn't move ahead but stayed back looking behind them
as to make sure nothing was coming given he had read a few
times about situations where things crept up behind adventurers when
they werent paying attention.

( XD well there goes my nat 20 for awhile )

Bri'kus manages to stumble back with his party as they approached the area he was waiting. He remained close to them since he was having difficulty seeing anything around him. As Raichel and Ben mention enemies ahead, Bri'kus draws his Rapier and prepares to attempt engagement in the dark passage of the cave.
(6 in Perception)

Bri'kus wondered if stumbling blindly into a cave was such a good idea... At least he could hide good.

Mits looks at the torch, looks at her two weapons, shrugs, sticks the non-burning end of the torch in her mouth, and charges around the corner!

"Ffwnnr!"

The goblin she swings her sword at shrieks and dodges the attack.  But then she follows up with a hammer swing uppercut that sends him soaring into the ceiling!  The goblin gets wedged between two stalactites and doesn't come back down.  Mits then drops the torch from her mouth onto the floor.

"Surrender!"

<goblin>"Intruder!"</goblin> the two remaining goblins scream in their native language.  They begin to draw their weapons.

(( I guess I wasn't clear.  Had meant for you all to get a surprise round last round and held off on Mits acting first so you all could get your licks in.  So uh...  Do a surprise round.  1 goblin down already.  Only 2 left.  Ordinarily the initiative would determine who goes when at a table top game, but since the monsters don't get to react this round, post in any order you like.  I'm thinking of taking further liberties with initiative to keep things moving in future combats, but we'll see how things go... ))
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:49, Thu 14 Dec 2017.

Raichel rushes in after her sister and tries to be "gentle" about hitting the goblin she encounters, but he takes the hit and is still standing. She she back-swings her staff and knocks the goblin against the wall, knocking him unconscious. He'll probably have headaches for weeks.

 Ben follows the pathway and ends up taking a shot around Raichel, which unfortunately only grazes the remaining goblin.

  Only the catgirls saw the terrible shot, so who knows how that's going to pan out in the 'don't mention it' or well meaning 'very loudly sympathize with how horrible a shot you are, Ben'.

OOC:  E blast, just hits.  *Rolls a 1 DMG*, well at least it's not a miss?

Pros about 5th ed over 3rd/Pathfnider.  Less annoying rules for Vs AC Ranged attacks. You can't shoot an ally in the back of the head with them on accident unless the GM handwaves it so.
Cons 5th ed still brought back.  Allies count as cover for enemies for VS Ac Ranged. Hence the shuffling back and forth (Not that this translates over well to a digital map).
This message was last edited by the player at 06:13, Thu 14 Dec 2017.

"Who dares invade Klarg's domain?!" a growling voice bellows from the next chamber!

When Darcy heard that her party is going non-fatal, she was grateful for the forethought of taking 5 of her arrows and removing the sharp arrowheads for situations such as this.

Unfortunately, it doesn't matter when she whiffs with her attack with an Attack Roll of 9.

When she heard the voice, she assumed it was of Klarg.  "Looks like we're in the right direction.  Still want to keep the gloves on?"

Bri'kus moves forward to attack the remaining goblin in the room with his rapier. He takes a deft swing and misses poorly.

Bri'kus delivers a mild expletive in Draconic

(8 on attack roll)

The rabbit moves in front of Ben and flops onto the ground
carefully lining his shot while the gobby is distracted with
everyone else he fires and manages to wound him fairly well.
Well least he hit him pretty well.

(rolled 13 to hit and 4 damage)

"N-no kill goblin!" the last goblin pleads, readying his weapon to parry the next attack, <goblin>"Klaaarg!  Heeeelp!"</goblin>

(( And thus, actual initiative began!  The following players can take a turn in any order:  Raichel, Meiou, and Ben.  After which two enemies will appear from the next room and attack.  Or, the evening of the 18th.  Whichever comes first.  If you miss your chance to take your turn before the 18th, your character will have simply delayed, and you can take your turn when you return from RL.  Trying this out to ensure that this combat doesn't last until 2018 due to one player being unable to post. ))
This message was last edited by the player at 05:43, Sat 16 Dec 2017.

Raichel says, "I won't kill you." BAMPF! The goblin spins several times before falling and crumpling in a heap. Raichel then heads over for cover behind the nearby stalagmite.

  Ben trudges through the shallow waters behind one of the rocks, preparing to shoot at Klarg if he does more than just yell.

OOC: So yeah, pre-roll on the readied action was a 10. welp.  Can readjust for same results but different spot of the unlabeled sections of map are actually deep water or some other problem.

Meiou steels himself as he moves ahead towards where the voice
had come from. He looks towards the stoney steps and calls out
You can either surrender now or I will show you just what we can do. I really reccomend the former option to be honest. he readies his shot
a look of unwavering fury towards the bugbear showing on his
face. He was beginning to sympathize with the goblins. He was sure
to the bugbear they were just there to do what he didn't want to do.
This reminded Meiou too much of his own past. he was shaking abit
with said fury. This being the first time the party had seen
the normally timidish rabbit be so fierce.

(intimidation roll of 6. damn i was hoping to at least spook the bugger :p other than that action is held till he attacks )

Klarg roars in rage and releases his wolf!  "Double cut for the first kill!"

The two goblins with him cheer.  "Woohoo!" "That loot is mine!"

They rush down the stairs firing at Mieu as they go, but their shots glance off his scale mail!  They grumble in frustration.  Then Klarg comes leaping toward Mieu and swings with his morningstar!  But this attack also glances off the armor with a resounding smash!
This message was last edited by the player at 06:45, Mon 18 Dec 2017.

Mittens charges in and bonks one of the goblins!  "Hey idiots!  Wanna guess how we got this far without so much as a scratch?!  Your guards were no match!"

She jams her sword into Klarg's back, but his thick armor soaks the attack!

(( Bri'kus and Darcy can take their turns.  Then the wolf will attack.  Or late Tuesday night.  Whichever comes first.  Again, if a player gets skipped, they can re-enter the initiative when they return from RL. ))
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:44, Mon 18 Dec 2017.

Bri'kus moves next to Mittens and with a deft hand and keen eye, finds a weak spot in Klarg's armor. He takes the opportunity to shank the creature with a quick and powerful jab, causing the Goblin boss to shout in surprise and pain.
Bri'kus quickly realizes that this is the last turn he will probably be conscious.

(Crit on Attack for 17 Damage)
This message was last edited by the player at 21:27, Mon 18 Dec 2017.

"Oh, this is just great," Darcy says as her arrow wizzes past. (Attack Roll of 10)

Can't ready a Minor Action Spell once that she attacked, but...

She then slips the bow over her shoulder and prepares to begin healing once her turn comes up again.

Ripper enters the room with a wild bark then lives up to his name.  Leaping up, he takes hold of Mittens' neck with his jaw and savages it!  Miraculously, she's still standing.

(( Oh no!  Mittens at 2 HP!  Raichel, Meiou, and Ben are up!  Again, I'll wait 48hrs before moving on to the next set of monsters.  So happy to see this combat moving along at a decent pace for a forum game! ))

"MITTENS!" Raichel's adrenaline is pumping. She wants so desperately to be at her sister's side, but knows to leave room for the cleric to do her thing.

She heads over to Klarg and bops him decent. Not as severe as the damage done by Bri'kus. And sadly, Klarg is still standing.

Raichel gives Klarg a glare. The kind that communicates she isn't afraid, but rather that she is angry beyond any fear. She will not back down. With a growl in her voice, but a surprisingly calm tone, Raichel says, "Back off her or I will make sure you live to regret it for a very long time."

https://s15.postimg.org/tax0sd...-17-15h06m47s221.jpg

Hit, Miss, 6 damage.
Intimidation roll 17

  It's another near fizzle of an Eldrtich blast, though fortunately one of the goblins was already rather roughed up as it was.  So the bolt of force awkwardly lands on their foot and blows off their favorite toe.

  "AAAAIGH! That was my favorite toe!" see? They are so broken up about it (and the bleeding) they crumple into a ball and start crying.

  OOC: a sad 13 hit roll is still not as sad as having a 12 AC.  Good job not killing them totally on purpose, Ben.  You now it's legit because the GM okayed their dismay.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:41, Tue 19 Dec 2017.

Meiou noticing Klargs intent to go after Mitts now uses the chance
to disengage from melee range and jumps back onto a rock in the water behind
them prepping his rifle for a shot.

This message was deleted by the player at 19:55, Thu 21 Dec 2017.

Let's see.  Target the scary catgirl who punched you?  Or the quiet little kobold who shish kabob'd you?  Priorities!  With an angry snarl, Klarg smashes poor Bri'kus and the kobold collapses in a heap!

"Klarg will savor your roasted flesh over the campfire!"

(( Bri'kus was dropped to 0 HP exactly.  But assuming Darcy chooses to heal him instead of Mittens, he'll be fine and won't have to roll death save throws. ))

What Mittens imagined would happen is cracking Klarg's skull with her hammer while stabbing the wolf with her sword.  What actually happens is her hammer bouncing off Klarg's armor harmlessly.  At least she breaks free from the wolf's jaws.

"I'm fine.  Just a scratch.  Help Bri'kus first, please."

(( Mittens regains 8 HP using her second wind fighter class feature.  She now has 10 total.))

Moving the post to here and changing the target!

"I got it!" Darcy said as she flinged out a ball of healing magic across the air, when it connected with Bri'kus, the wounds on him knitted back together.

Darcy casts Healing Word on Bri'kus and Heals for 7 HP.  Bri'kus should be at 7 HP now.

She then decided to send another arrow toward Klarg.  Attacks with an 18 for 3 Piercing Damage

Bri'kus cried out as Klarg sent him crumpling to the ground, but he had already expected that coming.

After Darcy heals him up, Bri'kus jumps to his feet and takes that moment to put his rapier squarely into Klarg's gut with as much ferocity as the tiny lizard can muster to finish him off.

Bri'kus no like bullies! Bri'kus no like being knocked out by Goblins!

(22 to hit, 7 damage)
This message was last edited by the player at 22:23, Thu 21 Dec 2017.

Klarg staggers back and collapses into the water.  Meanwhile, the wolf leaps up again to grab hold of Mittens' throat again, but this time she's ready and dodges the attack!

(( Rai, Ben, and Meiou's turns. ))

Meiou lowers his rifle and calls out to the wolf near mitts attempting to calm it
so as to not have to hurt it.
Easy fella. We don't want to hurt you. Were gonna help you get out here. We just wanted to stop Klarg from stealing and hurting people. "

(animal handling roll of 22 )

Ripper takes notice of Meiou's coaxing.  He shifts his weight from his front paws to his back paws, ducks his tail, ears, and head.

From this:  https://i1.wp.com/yourdogsfrie...jpg?resize=400%2C230

To this: http://chilledoutdogs.org/wp-c...-dogs-aggression.jpg

(( Ripper is now essentially a non-combatant.  Should he be attacked, he'll defend himself, but he will not attack anyone not actively trying to harm him. ))

  "I much prefer not having to deal with violent animals in the first place, so thank you Meiou." Ben proceeds to accomplish nothing but lightly singeing an ear of the remaining goblin standing.

OOC: Welp, 10 misses.

Raichel can barely believe her eyes. First, Mittens shrugs off near-dying. Then, Darcy causes the humble Bri'kus rise up like a phoenix and kill the boss. Then Meiou up and gets the seemingly un-tameable dog to back down. She doesn't let it stop her from charging the remaining goblin. He ducks her first swing, only for her to suddenly slam the staff downward on him, knocking the goblin out. "Amazing work, everyone! And you didn't tell me you had magic, Meiou! Whatever magic you're working to make abused animals no longer attack us, keep it up!"

Mittens faces Ripper, ready to fight back should the wolf attack. But Ripper shuffles backwards, returning to the room he came from.

Mits relaxes her guard and exhales. "Whew! Nice!"

She begins to bandage her own wound, doing a sloppy job of it.  "Well if there's any good loot to be had, Klarg's room would be where to look. So... Think you can put Ripper on a leash, Meiou?"

Darcy breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Bri get back up to pull Victory out of apparent Death, followed by the taming of the would-be-killer's could-ve-been pet.  "Is that everyone?" she says.  "That encounter was a bit hairy."  She then looked around to remind herself who she's with.  "No Offense."

He nodded and took out some rope from his pack before going off to find
ripper. He would carefully approach him and fashion a lead with the rope
and attach it to the wolf while trying to pet him and reassure him all
was ok.

  In hindsight, Ben feels it would be overly nitpicky even for him to point out to Brikus that it was a Bugbear that knocked him out, not a goblin.

  "I really hope the wolf has more common sense than those who own it.  It behaved itself this far, but I'm understandably nervous with Meiou getting closer to sharp teeth rather than farther."

Raichel watches Meiou with a blank expression. Her brows furrow a little*, but she quickly turns her attention back to the others.

* https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/ma...1c0c1b898211b4de3f-c

To Darcy: Raichel says, "Pff... I know the expression. No offense taken any more than you would over the expression bald-faced lie."

To Ben: Raichel says, "I wish I could say that watching everyone who was mean to you and who you were powerless against get utterly crushed by the ones who show you compassion would constitute some level of non-aggressive self-preservation, but fear and anger can bring out the insanity in anyone."

Raichel then heads over to Mittens to check on her neck. "Seriously, Mittens... how..?"

"What? I used to handle animals all the time before I became a hero.. Its not that hard. Besides all he needs is a little bit of love" he said petting ripper gently and lovingly. *

* assuming i passed the making a leash for him :p

(Apologies. Thought he was a big goblin boss)

Bri'kus rubs his head where Klarg busted him and good one and sits down on a nearby rock to get back to bearings after that fight. He was far more used to filching baubles than getting into altercations.

He looks up at the scattered party and begins assessing the situation
Is everybody okay? No one hurting bad?

Ripper is unsurprisingly nonstop growling.  But so long as Meiou doesn't poke him in the face no fingers will be bitten off.  In fact, Ripper is perfectly fine with having a leash put on by the first person to ever show him any gentleness.  If anything, the bunny sniper would probably be able to get away with toying with the angry wolf if he wanted to.  (( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQDXjf_LAm0 ))

Mits grins impishly and puts a goblin's belt around her neck.  "Mittens has a very tough neck!"

Flex!  Snap!  (( https://i.giphy.com/UC7FnO8fP1eLu.gif ))

"Seems a more reasonable explanation than, 'I'm part weretiger,' or 'I have a philosopher's stone buried in my chest,' or 'No big deal, all fighters in this world can do that.'"

She gets to looting!

The captured stores are bulky, and the characters will
need a wagon to transport them. If they return the
supplies to the Lionshield Coster in Phandalin (see part
2, "Phandalin''), they earn a reward of 50 gp and the
friendship of Linene and her company.

In addition to the stolen provisions, Klarg has a treasure
chest that contains 600 cp, 110 sp, two potions of healing,
and a jade statuette of a frog with tiny golden orbs for
eyes (worth 40 gp). The frog statuette is small enough to fit in a
pocket or pouch.  Also, there's a small suit of +1 studded
leather armor.

A perfect fit for our resident Klarg slayer!  :)

Darcy made sure that Mitten's bandages were more proper than her own initial effort and then looks over the loot.  "Looks like these goblins have been busy.  We definitely need to bring the wagon to bring all these back to town.  After we clear the rest of this cave, mind you.  I doubt we got to all of these goblins."  She handed one Potion of Healing to Mittens, the other to Bri'kus while patting his head.  "Are you all right, dearie?  That bad bugbear clocked you good."

Raichel mews in surprise at Mittens' demonstration. "Glad you're OK." she looks at Darcy. "Thanks for trusting my sis, despite how much danger she appeared to be in..."

Raichel looks down at Bri'kus and answers him. "I'm OK. Mittens seems fine... what about you, though?" and goes to squat in front of Bri'kus to examine where Klarg had hit him. The wound isn't there anymore thanks to Darcy's magic.

Raichel looks over towards Meiou. "It's not that hard for you, anyway. You're clearly one of those people who is super skilled and takes it so for granted that you assume anyone can do what you do. Well lemme tell you... most can't. It is good to have you on the team, Meiou."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:27, Thu 28 Dec 2017.

despite the growling Meiou pet ripper as he spoke "Sometimes you just gotta tell them they are a good boy. Isn't that right?" he said to ripper as he took some jerky from one of his rations and set it down in front of ripper to eat if he so wanted.

  "Mittens, I know you are a tough kitty but please save the demonstrations for later."  at least the goblins had cheap belts.

  He turns to Bri'kus "That said, it is true we should be asking after your well being more than the other way around.  You still had a painful close call."

OOC: And then the party argued over who gets the magic item-Nah it's totally for Bri'kus.  I have no idea where we're going magic item wise long term, but "Bri'kus needs better armor ASAP" was a given

Bri'kus still smart quite a bit from the blow to be sure, but everyone was in high spirits, so he decided to tough it out.

Bri'kus doing well. Sore, but well!
He gave Darcy a look of admiration at the gift of the potion
Bri'kus thank you for potion!

He sat down with the armor as the party searched through the loot and tested it. Adjusting the straps and belts to his size. He was glad to have something a bit sturdier than his old armor he scraped up for.

(Bri'kus - Slayer of Klarg! ^^ Thank you so much for the armor! <3)

"You're quite welcome, sweetie," Darcy said as she patted Bri'kus on his head.  For some reason, when she did, he didn't feel just as sore as he was the second before.  Maybe it was because of her healing power, but was it something else?

Mechanics:  There was no spell cast here, just Darcy's feelings toward the kobold.

She then stood up.  "Procuring the loot and all might be important, but we still have half a dungeon to explore, and I've got a hunch that there's more where this came from."

Now Meiou has Ripper literally eating out of the palm of his hand.  ( http://blog.contagiouscompanie...09/feedingwolves.jpg )

Mits smiles and nods to Rai, Ben, and Darcy.

"Thanks for the bandage fix, Darcy!  I'll need a while to recoup completely, so please be patient."

One short rest later, she takes the lead again.

"Stealth mode.  Watch your step on the bridge.  Is wet, and there's no guard rails."

When she gets to the end of the bridge she sets the torch down so she can continue on as stealthily as she can.  She finds that around the bend there's some campfire light from beyond the tunnel...

GOBLIN DEN
The Cragmaw raiders stationed in the hideout use this
area as a common room and barracks.
This large cave is divided in half by a ten-foot-high
escarpment. A steep natural staircase leads from the lower
portion to the upper ledge. The air is hazy with the smoke of
a cooking fire, and pungent from the smell of poorly cured
hides and unwashed goblins.

(( DC 9 stealth check to get a surprise round.  This time a light source doesn't automatically give you away because the goblins have a campfire going. ))
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:27, Tue 02 Jan 2018.

Raichel doesn't feel she needs to warn Meiou of the danger of an angry dog. On the contrary, she is sure she could learn a thing or two from Meiou concerning angry dogs. To Meiou's comment about telling someone they are a good boy, Raichel thinks back to all the times her parents called her a good girl and says, "You are right, Meiou."

She then looks at Bri'kus. "That was courageous what you did, Bri'kus. We are all better for having you with us. Thank you." Most people who have near-death experiences turn tail and flee from the cause of their near-death. Raichel sees heroic attributes in Bri'kus.

During the short rest, Raichel looks specifically for something on Klarg that is very clearly his. Like a badge of office, tooth necklace... anything that seems like it would be unmistakable as something that was looted off of Klarg. "I wanna show the goblins it is in their best interest to surrender."

If Klarg had the annoying habbit of not keeping something that makes him "special", then Raichel will go to the effort of dragging the guy to the next area.

(Stealth 15. Success. Minus whatever penalty if dragging Klarg is neccessary)

Klarg's morningstar does not look like the kind an adventurer would have brought to the cave and would possibly be recognizable to the goblins.  ( http://vignette1.wikia.nocooki...st?cb=20141109231300 )  The jade frog is also something uncommon among adventurers. ( https://a.1stdibscdn.com/archi...481010/7466503_z.jpg )

Darcy picked up the frog figurine. "Oh, that's just too cute," she said as she held it before her twinkling eyes.  "This would sell for some good coin."

  The clinky clank of Ben's scale armor is barely muffled by his robes.  They just don't make it like they used to, but that doesn't stop shopkeepers from advertising it like they used to.

  He is only slightly disappointed that Raichel did not resort to making 'loot the enemy' more literal than usual.

  OOC: Stealth 10, after disadvantage.

He pet Ripper some more as he ate "Stay here for abit boy. I'll be back in abit for ya." he gives the wolf a couple more pieces of jerky knowing the wolf had water nearby if needed. He would bring the wolf with but wanted to let him be abit more first before him joining the party. The rabbit hopped up and followed after his friends super quietly.

(ooc: rolled a 20. not a nat 20)

The young Kobold now began to enjoy the pets a bit more. They were still odd to him, seeing as most other adventures would rather engage in an altercation with him over showing kindness.
He nodded at Raichel's compliment and gave a few happy yips before following the party stealthily up into the next passage. His tail wiggled happily as he readied to fight more goblins. He was anxious to knock some more out.

(Stealth Roll: 18)

Raichel's tail is swaying slowly and occasionally pauses. The girl is alert and cautious. She has Klarg's Morningstar resting on her shoulder, ready to show as a souvenir of the victory against Klarg.

Raichel sneaks up to the goblins and uses her surprise action to toss the Morningstar into their view and say, "Klarg is dead. Surrender and live."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:32, Thu 04 Jan 2018.

Mits didn't let Rai get far ahead without keeping up.  When Rai makes her demand, all but one of the goblins cower!

"Yiee!  We surrender!  We surrender!" a goblin from atop the upper level screams.

Seeing his boss and all the others surrender, the one brave goblin in the room drops his weapon!

(( Rai had advantage due to surprise.  Rolled for courage on each individual gobbie.  All but one failed the save.  Then checked to see if the one who made the save was stupid enough to be openly hostile anyway.  ))

Mits enters, sheathes her weapons, and begins tying up goblins.

"Just a precaution.  Wouldn't want you go spook and get yourselves killed needlessly."

The goblins still seem in shock, staring at the Klarg's morningstar.  "H... How many of you are there?  Just you two took out Klarg?"

Darcy called out from behind Mittens.  "Nope. Those two had help!"  She walked into view.  "We found this cave because there's been a sign of an ambush caused by goblinfolk.  Any of you know of that?"

  "I didn't even need to cast any notable spells, they curb stomped everything before I got the chance."  He nods to Darcy,  "Surprisingly, we came here out of concern for others rather than personal gain." Less surprising in that it tied to their paying job, but hey it still counts.

Bri'kus sheaths his rapier and grumbles about not getting to knock out some goblins, but he is happy the party managed to get them to stand down nonetheless.
As the goblins are being tied up, he takes the time to search around the room for anything interesting.

Raichel is pleasantly surprised and even gets a dumbfounded look upon the surrender actually turning into tied-up gobbies. So she goes to search the room as well.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:55, Mon 08 Jan 2018.

The goblins take subservient poses, hoping to placate the invaders through self-humiliation.

A human sounding voice calls from a dark corner of the chamber above, "Whomever you are, please rescue me!  They took me prisoner!  I can offer you 50 gold!"

The boss goblin at the upper level looks annoyed, but he keeps his hands where they can be seen and doesn't budge.

"We know.  Klarg forced us.  Because King Grol said so."

Mittens bounds up the natural stairs to investigate the source of the voice.  She then calls down to Darcy, "This guy looks near dead.  You got any heals left?"

(( TREASURE
Yeemik carries a pouch containing three gold teeth (1 gp each) and 15 sp. ))
This message was last edited by the player at 00:39, Tue 09 Jan 2018.

"I've got plenty," Darcy said as she kneels down to the human casts Cure Wounds, only to... "Hey, aren't you the one who..."

I'll let the DM decide how much Darcy heels for.

Sildar Hallwinter regains 7HP, nearly back to full health!  (8/10)  He looks about 50 years old.

"Thank you.  The one who what?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:13, Tue 09 Jan 2018.

Darcy snaps her fingers.  "You're Sildar, the one we met back in Neverwinter, right?  How'd you get in there, and where's your dwarf friend?"

Forgot to mention that Meiou asked to be skipped this round.  Meaning Ben, Bri'kus, and Raichel are up.

Since Darcy has the questioning of Sildar handled, Raichel goes to talk to the gobby boss. "He forced you? So what you're saying is, if allowed to live, you are willing to work peacefully in a town run by non-goblins?"

  Ben is having trouble remembering if this is a 'townsfolk stone the goblins to death on sight' setting, or 'reformed goblins are now hired to defend villages with siege weapons' setting.

  "That would probably work out, depending on the location at least.  Farming to repay your debt to society beats mining for cheap, at least."

Not knowing the man, Bri'kus doesn't take much time in acknowledging him once it's established that he will be okay.
Bri'kus ponders on how well the Goblins can integrate into society as he searches the room. It's entirely possible for them to seeing Orks and Kobolds have managed to over the years.

If Goblin show change, they may be accepted. No more ambush though! Bri'kus not happy about blow to head still!

"We were ambushed," Sildar answers Darcy his eyes showing that now he recognizes her, "They must have brought the whole tribe.  There was about ten of 'em.  Klarg and his wolves, too.  We knew there was no sense putting up a fight, so we took the 'surrender and live' offer.  Little did I know that Rockseeker was specifically targeted.  Only reason I'm still alive is because they thought I knew the location to some treasure and they were trying to beat the location out of me.  No chance the'll get along in civilized society."

Yeemik shakes his head and grovels.  "Alive he is!  Beat us if you must, but let us live too!  Black Spider's idea to attack people.  I say it stupid.  Tempting death by adventurer!"

Mits shrugs.  "Eye for eye.  Beating for beating.  Seems fair to me."

"Beat him after he tells me who's this Black Spider person," Darcy said, then returned to Sildar.  "Can you stand?  We can get you back to Phandelver."

As she helps Sildar up, she asks, "Do you know where they took Rockseeker?"

Raichel says, "We'll save any punishments for after their trial back in Phandelver. I'll vouch for their surrender and thus, their claim to life. If beatings are part of their sentence, I'll make sure Bri'kus and Sildar are allowed to get their hits in. But I intend to treat my prisoners with restraint. And if you need a practical reason, if we waste energy beating up helpless, tied-up prisoners, we will be that much less able to fight when we are inevitably ambushed."

Raichel knows ALL about punching and beating up... and how much energy it takes.

Raichel does, however, offer to help Darcy with helping Sildar up, if it looks like he is unstable.

Meiou had just returned from fetching ripper who was still on the leash.
"So whats going on? What did I miss?" he asked as he checked to make sure all was clear.

  "Yes, only blast the ones trying to escape. It saves a lot of time."

  Ben comments to Meiou's return with the Dog left behind for the expected, but thankfully absent fight "You missed surprisingly little, Meiou... At least, I assume so."

  Did Meiou quietly ditch us in favor of the dog you had just left behind?   Boy, that would have been awkward had there been a fight rather than swift surrender.

  "Though a bigger question is the competence of this Black Spider.  If they needed Rockseeker, there may still be plenty of time before he has 'outlived his uefulness'"  He turns to Sildar and adds "If you want to encourage us to rush after them rather than stop off at Phandelin, it will mean it's your fault if this gang of kidnappers decides to act up once we're near a SECOND gang kidnappers."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:16, Wed 17 Jan 2018.

Bri'kus looked up from poking at a blanket
We could always ask Goblins how dangerous Black Spider is. If too bad, we may have to find way to cage prisoners.

Bri'kus then moved on with his search, hoping to find something shiny or of potential use

Mits gives Rai a thumbs-up.  She's nowhere near the stickler for law-and-order, but it makes for a great fall-back for deferring the responsibility of righting wrongs such as ambushing and beating people "because Spider/Klarg/The Devil made me do it, honest!"

"All we know is that Black Spider is seriously scary if Klarg was doing his bidding," Yeemik says, looking more worried about being taken to Phandelver than being beaten.  (DC whatever you feel like insight.)

Sildar looks at Ben with a combination of confusion and disgust, (see above insight DC) "You take me for a fool?  Or do you have so little respect for the common sense of your allies that you'd expect them to do something so reckless on my say-so?  Of course going to Phandelin first is the obvious next step.  Isn't that what I just offered gold for?  Who would be so foolish as to rush into unknown danger with prisoners on hand?"

Mittens would have a prestidigitated halo over her head right now, but she'll have to wait for level 2  OOPS!  Forgot we get level 2!

Mits has a halo over her head!  "Not me!  Nuh uh!  No way.  Mittens is the antithesis of foolish."

Outside the loot already divvied out, Bri'kus finds various knick-knacks of minimal value.  A primitive fire starter kit with flint, steel, and tinder, a couple of used shirt buttons, a bent spoon, etc.  Clearly, these rank-and-file goblins weren't allowed to keep the valuable stuff.

Ripper is perpetually sniffing in the direction of Meiou's rations, salivating quite a bit.

Which reminds Mits, "Hey Meiou!  Think you can work your magic on the other wolves?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:24, Thu 18 Jan 2018.

"Business before pleasure, people," Darcy said, agreeing with Sildar.  "Getting over to Phandalin is our priority.  We also need to bring the Lionshield Coster goods to their proper destination.  Once we deal with that, then we'll talk about this Black Spider person."

As she passes by Ripper, she tears off a piece of jerky from her rations and holds it up to the wolf.  "Here you go."

Raichel answers Meiou's question with, "Check it out; we found Sildar."

Raichel eyes Yeemik to what he said about Black Spider with a nod. Then looks at Sildar. "You'd be surprised, I guess. I'd be willing to do something so reckless if your say-so included things like Black Spider kidnapped people and is about to sacrifice them on an alter to gain otherworldly god-like powers if we don't get there right away and stop him. But if that were the case, I'd still probably task you with transporting prisoners to Phandalin for us. Thankfully, though, you haven't said anything like that and we can all stick together and do things properly and without rushing."

She looks at the others. "So we're all agreed: Next we go to Phandalin, drop off prisoners and goods, rest up, and see what information we can learn about Black Spider and stuff, yes?"

Well it was more like he saw the gobbys surrender and wandered off while you guys
had everything handled. he had just gotten back and stretched listening to everyone
and blinking at Darcy. "I'm sorry but uhm whats pleasure?" sure it was a stupid question but having been a slave before becoming an adventurer he wasn't exactly familiar with such things. He did look abit embarrased to be asking said question.

  Ben says "You have no idea how happy your little tantrum made me, Sildar.  I am far more used to the sort of person who would complain for not rushing forth even if we were all half dead and with no way to heal our wounds left."

  Then Meiou asks his question that would never happen if dictionaries were not so overpriced in a fantasy setting.  "Enjoying yourself, Meiou.  Though the phrase in question implies enjoying yourself on your own time, compared to dealing with work first.  Like most old sayings, it falls apart if you take it seriously."

  Business before pleasure? But business is ADVENTURE!- Mittens, probably.

Darcy just stood there when Meiou asked her that.  She blinked, her mind struggled to understand just what she heard.  "That....is a good question, actually...." was all Darcy would say.

Bri'kus grumbled to himself quietly while searching through the goblin's apparent junk as the party spoke among themselves.
He had delivered the message he needed to the day before, so he was willing to go with the party wherever they needed.
He took post beside Darcy after readying his gear and looked up to her to see what she had planned on doing next.

Sildar stares in slack-jawed shock at what he's hearing.  The only sane one among them is the kobold! he's thinking.  Maybe.  Probably crazy too if he's hanging out with this bunch.  One considers running off half-cocked into peril "pleasure."  Two of them are willing to do so if told an outrageous story.  One claims that that people expecting their rescuers to go get themselves killed is commonplace.  And one doesn't even know the meaning of the word "pleasure."

"Glad we're in agreement, then.  Let's go."

Mits answers Meiou, "It's like that feeling when you line up the perfect shot and hit dead-on."

Fast forwarding!  On the way, Mits questions Sildar about what he knows of the ADVENTURE!  (Adventure is fun, yes.  Business is stuff like making good on your promise to deliver goods you were hired to protect.)

Sildar Hallwinter is a kindhearted human male of nearly
fifty years who holds a place of honor in the famous
griffon cavalry of the great city of Water deep. He is an
agent of the Lords' Alliance, a group of allied political
powers concerned with mutual security and prosperity.
Members of the order ensure the safety of cities and other
settlements by proactively eliminating threats by any
means, while bringing honor and glory to their leaders
and homelamds.

Sildar provides the characters with four pieces of useful
information:

1. The three Rockseeker brothers (Gundren, Tharden, andNundro) recently located an entrance to the long-lost Wave Echo Cave, site of the mines of the Phandelver's Pact. (More than five hundred years ago, clans of dwarves and gnomes made an agreement known as the Phandelver's Pact, by which they would share a rich mine in a wondrous cavern known as Wave Echo Cave. In addition to its mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power. Human spellcasters allied themselves with the dwarves and gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a great forge (called the Forge of Spells), where magic items could be crafted. Times were good, and the nearby human town of Phandalin (pronounced fan-duh-lin) prospered as well. But then disaster struck when ores swept through the North and laid waste to all in their path.
   
   A powerful force of orcs reinforced by evil mercenary wizards attacked Wave Echo Cave to seize its riches and magic treasures. Human wizards fought alongside their dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and the ensuing spell battle destroyed much of the cavern. Few survived the cave-ins and tremors, and the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost.)
   
   
2. Klarg, the bugbear who leads this goblin band, had orders to waylay Gundren. Sildar heard from the goblins that the Black Spider sent word that the dwarf was to be brought to him. Sildar doesn't know who or what the Black Spider is.
   
   
3. Gundren had a map showing the secret location of Wave Echo Cave, but the goblins took it when they captured him. Sildar believes that Klarg sent the map and the dwarf to the chief of the Cragmaws at a place called Cragmaw Castle. Sildar doesn't know where that might be, but he suggests someone in Phandalin might know. (It doesn't occur to Sildar immediately, but a captured goblin might also be persuaded to divulge the castle's location.
   
   
4. Sildar's contact in Phandalin is a human wizard named Iarno Albrek. The wizard traveled to the town two months ago to establish order there. After the Lords' Alliance received no word from Iarno, Sildar decided to investigate.

Sildar hopes to learn what happened to Iarno, assist Gundren in reopening the old mine, and help restore Phandalin to a civilized center of wealth and prosperity.  But NOT by telling a silly story about people being sacrificed to evil gods.  (OOC: Little does he know, that's the plot for the very first entry-level 4e module.)

Meanwhile, Mittens is spamming cantrips for fun, now that all her reading has finally paid off.  Handing out zero-calorie conjured candy apples, for example.  ( "Here, have this nice, tasty apple."  "For me?  How sweet of you!"  "Oh it's nothing.  When I get good at magic I'll be able to make real apples... this big!"  https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lCa...itch_magic_apple.jpg )

And providing travel music with images of kicking martial artists.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qsWFFuYZYI

( If Meiou decided to tame the rest of the wolves with food, they gladly follow him around, worshiping the ground he walks on. )
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:58, Mon 22 Jan 2018.

Meiou's question caught Rai off guard as well and she says, "What Ben said. Like when you smile. Or have a yummy meal."

She does make it a point to ask Bri'kus what he was grumbling about, though.

Raichel seems in a good mood on the way to Phandalin. She claps for Mittens' cantrip antics and bobs her head to the music. While enjoying one of the candied apples, she counts on her fingers as she lists off how well that went. "So let's see; We got a new friend in Bri'kus. We got to Sildar in time to rescue him. We managed to take some prisoners. Meiou tamed the wolves so they will live too. And to top it off, Mittens performing all kinds of entertainment on the way to Phandalin via magic she has been studying? I'm unsure how this day could get much better."

...being in a good mood makes Rai wanna punch at the air. But she'll save that till the group is safely in town.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:21, Mon 29 Jan 2018.

He just nodded quietly as he tended to his new friends the wolves as they traveled.
Not that he really understood anyones analogy for his question but it didn't stop
him from thinking on it.

As if to illustrate Raichel's comments, Darcy managed to reach behind Rai's ear and started to scritch.

"Cragmaw Castle and the Rockseekers can be taken care of in good time," Darcy said.  "Our more pressing issue would be this Black Spider--mainly because he would know where Klarg took Gundren...and me without a speak with dead on hand...and finding out what happened with Iarno.  And since Iarno's supposed to be in town, I'd suggest asking about him first."

Bri'kus let Raichel know that he was sad that he was unable to find any useful items for the party in the last part of the cave. He was wanting to find something as a gift for Darcy for being so kind to him.

Most not kind to Bri'kus. Most ignore. You all show kindness and Bri'kus want to thank you.

He spent the trip enjoying the high spirits of the party and slightly excited to see what the rest of the adventure held for them.

  "Even if Irano is not currently here, Sildar should be able to get access to whatever research the wizard has dug up by now." Well, provided they even started to do their job.

  OOC: Sorry for the wait for such a small post, it's been an off kilter week.

Mits laces her fingers behind her head and explains, "Not that I plan to drag my feet on the matter or anything, but I'm expecting that Gundren's already dead.  The badguys already have his map, so there's little reason to keep him alive."

She turns a glance to the prisoners, but they don't offer any insights into Gundren's survival chances.  Sildar's stony expression gives away he'd already come to the same conclusion, but he too does not comment.

Meanwhile, the wolves are demonstrating what years of malnutrition and abuse can do for one's endurance.  Instead of running circles around the group like you'd expect from four-legged friends, they're struggling just to keep up with a walking pace after so many miles.  Even with Mits' trying to help by sharing morsels from her rations and magically cooling them off from time to time, by the time the group is at town they're looking too sorry to be very threatening and even the villagers look like they'd sooner take pity than be angry about a pack of wolves being taken into town.  Nevertheless, a couple of town guard are fetched.

"Going to have to ask that you keep your uh... pets... in a pen.  What's with the  goblins?"

They also turn nervous glances at the kobold and the two catfolk girls. They look like adventurers, but then so do bandits of such savage races.  The rabbit guy...  Never seen or heard of his like before.  They may be wolves, but whatever he did to them is inhumane.  They treat him like he's their god...  ( DC 5 insight to figure out what they're thinking. )  But judging from the humble posture of these guards, they're more scared than assertive.  ( DC 0 insight. )

(( I'm a tad 2 busy to dig up a map of town RN.  Plan to do so later this evening. ))
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:46, Sun 04 Feb 2018.

When Darcy scritches Raichel's ear, the catgirl's eyelids get slightly heavy alongside an involuntary smile, tilt of the head and slight shoulder shrug. "Probably right, sis..."

During the trip, Raichel would have asked Meiou to show her how she can show kindness to the now more pitiful than antagonistic wolves.

When in town, Raichel curiously looks at the guards. She offers them a polite bow, but keeps that indisputable confidence she always exudes. "Hello. I'm Raichel. This is my sister Mittens, and my friends Ben, Darcy, Meiou and Bri'kus. We just got here after defeating a den of goblins and rescuing Sildar and these wolves from their captivity. I assure you, we are heroes. We are only antagonistic to bullies and law-breakers."

Raichel pulls out her City Watch badge to prove she is officially and official.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:05, Fri 23 Feb 2018.

While Darcy is scritching Raichel's ear, she does the same to Mittens, if she's willing.  If so, Darcy just smiles motherly over the two purring catgirls.  "Oh, my little babies," she coos over them.

When the group enters the town and Raichel does her introduction, Darcy chuckles over her forwardness and then adds.  "We might also need a place to keep a couple wolves safe.  They're a part of our group as well."

Bri'kus nods at the guards, but doesn't say anything. He waits for their reply as they take in the odd scene before him and he quickly realizes that being among such a strange group is why he feels comfortable in the first place. Most of the party are humanoids that the human population aren't used to seeing in "civilised" society.
He looks over at Darcy scritching her friend and sister's ears and chuckles.

  Ben can think of several reasons why Gundran would be kept alive, but they would sound crazy to mister 'hasn't seen people complain about getting rescued from being eaten by a Behir'.

  Sorry wolves, Ben won't be able to Cast tenser's floating disk for you to ride on (after a 10 minute wait) until he can scrounge up the appropriate scroll to copy.

  "The Goblins were more inclined to come quietly because the chances of a hard labor sentence still sounded better than the 'work in this cave or die' circumstances we found them in."

  OOC: DnD.  Where the tome nerd warlocks have backgrounds in wilderness survival, and the elemental Monks have official government paperwork.

The rabbit looked at the guards and the wolves then chuckled at Rai showing off that badge to the guard. This cat girl was a strange but fun one if not enthusiastic about her work.

"Why dont you all go ahead and i'll stay back here with my new friends and talk with the guard about finding them a place they can stay while were away or something."

Map:  https://i.pinimg.com/736x/37/1...47017d42b423ef9c.jpg

The group is arriving from the top of the map where it says, "To Triboar Trail."



Mittens is one to have a very big personal bubble for a number of reasons.  But a nice healer she trusts gets to take certain liberties that others do not.  Entering said bubble at all, for example.  But actual physical contact is not one.  Mittens' ear is suddenly sleeved in ear armor.  ( http://www.brookstone.com/dis/...8p.jpg?sw=500%20500w )

"Psst, hey listen ear," Mittens' sock puppet whispers to the armored ear, "Darcy's just being friendly."

The ear armor wiggles around a little as if the ear underneath is shaking it's head.

"I guess lefty is too shy," the sock puppet explains to Darcy.

To Meiou she whistles the tune to "Never Split The Party."

The guards look surprised by Raichel flashing a badge, briefly embarrassed, then try to cover up the embarrassment.

"Well!  Welcome to Phandalin, officer Raichel.  Dunno what to tell you about the wolves.  We don't have any kennels.  Maybe one of the farmers would be willing to rent some barn space?  Might even do so for free if you sell them on the idea of your wolves helping them with their varmints."

Sildar seems much more at ease.

"My friends," he says, "let us secure lodgings as well.  I'm told the local inn is very quaint."

The guards give each other grim glances.  One steps closer to Raichel and leans over to whisper to her.  Should she let him relay his message, this is what he says:

( DC 12 perc to listen in on the whisper. )

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
"Unfortunately, more than a few bandits and brigands have
settled here, taking advantage of the fact that the
area has no local lord or authority to chase them off. A
gang known as the Redbrands has controlled Phandalin
for the past two months, extorting and bullying everyone
in town. Including the inn. Chances are you'll run afoul
of them if you're not discreet. The
gang is led by a mysterious figure known to
the townsfolk as Glasstaff."

---

Then to the group, he adds, "We can take the goblins to the Townmaster's Hall for you if you like."
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:25, Sun 04 Mar 2018.

Raichel giggles from Mittens' ear "shaking its head". She is slightly confused by Darcy calling her and Mittens her "little babies", but figures Darcy is just letting her estrogen go on overdrive. She doesn't object, though.

She glances at Mittens again. "It's OK, Mitts... we're in town now."

She then smiles at the response she gets from the guards. Until they whisper in her ear. Her smile twists into anger.

Raichel looks down at Meiou. Then squats down to be level with him and beckons him to her so she can whisper in his ear.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
"...Meiou, watch yourself. There are bandits in town, bullying people. If you see anyone suspicious looking ready to approach you, sneak away and hide."

---

She stands back up. "Meet us at the inn, Meiou. See you there."

Raichel looks back at the guards. "Yes, please. I'll take you up on the offer to take the goblins there and remember, as my friend here mentioned, they surrendered. We promised them fair treatment."

Then looks at Sildar. "Lodgings sounds great. Meiou will meet us there later anyway, so let's make sure we take care of everything ahead of him."

Darcy blinks as the ear armor pops up over Mitten’s ears.  She never had a cat get defensive like that before.  Usually, they just come over and nuzzle against her, especially the four-footed variety.  In time, she just sighs and settles for having Rachel be available.

With a Passive Perception of 13, Darcy heard both the Guard and what Rachel said to Meiou.  Her eyebrow furrows a bit.  “Banditry at town,” she muses out loud.  “Looks like things got a bit more complicated then we expected.  I get the feeling that the Redbrands are a priority, but that’s just me.”

  "Convincing wolves protect sheep sounds about right for recent themes."  He is currently oblivious to the whisper whispers contents, if aware at least it is going on due to how obvious people are being about it-Oh never mind, Darcy relayed the exposition.

  "I suppose one way to gauge their priority is waiting to see how desperate they are to attract our ire, instead of ignoring us."  But clearly a group of bandits will be smart enough to not bother the obvious adventures who came into town with a pack of wolves and goblins in tow...

  Ben feels another bit of optimism shriveling away and dying.

OOC: Good news about the weather: Mostly sunny past few weeks!
Bad news about the weather: 24 hour blizzards those times it wasn't sunny.  But at least our longest power outage was about an hour, rather than how the rest of the state has been dealing with it.

I love living on a street corner 99% of the year though. And the plows have not destroyed our stop sign in years!
This message was last edited by the player at 20:51, Thu 15 Mar 2018.

Bri'kus doesn't know much about the handling of wolves, so he figures Meiou handling that will probably be for the best after they have been with him so long.
His ears(?) do perk up however upon hearing the whispers from the guards. (Passive Perception) He looks up at Darcy and whispers. Bri'kus good at sneak. Can snatch bad guy weapons while sleeping. Make it hard for them to fight back when pack advance.
His tail wags a bit, excited at the prospect of sneaking though bandits loot.

The rabbit just smiled though was slightly confused by one sister saying one thing and the other saying the complete opposite. He pondered if this was normal for siblings or just them. He jus shrugged and nodded to them as he went about trying to find a good place for his new friends.

Mits reacts by underlining the word, "Never" in the phrase "Never split the party" that is now floating in front of her.



Sildar seems much less at ease.  "Might be best to not stay in town, then."

The guards are stunned and impressed with the courage of the heroes, but also look exasperated that their attempts at discretion were dashed.  "That is your decision to make.  Unfortunately, we cannot handle the bandit problem.  There's only four of us to cover day and night watch.  And even if we had an army, innocent people could get hurt.  They've threatened the defenseless families of those that defy them.  Nothing serious has come of it yet, but I do not doubt that they would follow through with the threats if anyone attacked one of their members."

Explaining that they meant vegetable farms to Ben, not sheep farms, is apparently low priority.



Mittens erases her magical phrase.  "On second thought...  Anybody here really good at acting like a scoundrel?  Maybe we can go right to the bandit headquarters with our pack of wolves and pretend to offer to join them!  We probably look for the world like bandits ourselves!  While they're thusly distracted, Bri'kus can be secretly disarming them!

"Either way, I think we should stick together at least until we have a strategy decided on.  I would not want one of us to run into trouble without the aid of a healer nearby."

To Meiou's left is a barn.  Up ahead to the right of the road is a farm house.  Beyond that is the town proper, only a few minutes walk.  Up to him what approach he wants to take.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:36, Tue 20 Mar 2018.

Raichel slightly scrunches her face at Darcy blurting out the thing about bandits. "Darcy, I appreciate forwardness, but they were whispering for a reason. I may not know what the reason is but I'm sure it was for good reason, so please try to be more discrete when officials are trying to be quiet? It could mean the difference between an innocent person living or dying some day."

Rai looks at Ben and shrugs. "We'll see... I just hope for the outcome that has the least amount of innocents harmed."

She looks at Mittens. "Fine. Then we all go with Meiou to find a home for the wolves." with that, Raichel motions for the group to follow Meiou.

Raichel ear-flicks at what Bri'kus says and grins. "Sounds wonderful. Mind if I help too?"

Darcy just goes "Doh!" as she follows the others.

  Look, Ben never explicitly mentioned Bandits even when considering the topic.  Sometimes his Charisma stat is actually worth more than shooting magic at people.

  "Sadly, lying with a straight face is not one of my stronger points.  Outside of deadpan delivery.  Even if it were deemed safe enough to try, I would suggest holding off on looting until AFTER we are certain of their reaction to our presence.  While I know better, Darcy is the only one who gives the impression of being more than 'just another pack of mercenary adventurers'."

  Wait for it...  "You'll be able to steal WAY more stuff if they think we are too jaded to care about bandits in town.  Which Meiou's altruistic desire to find shelter for wolves of all things, probably reinforces to an outsider." There we go.

OOC: I literally face desked when Tim reminded me I was up for this thread.  Given how paranoid I usually am about if I was up to post or not.

Speaking of absences.  I'll be unavailable(?) (I'm cave man territory when it comes to phones and such) From Thursday April 26th until late late April 30th.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:31, Fri 20 Apr 2018.

(Why is this still named Opening Scene?)

*After listening to everyone speak their mind about the situation, Bri'kus makes a proposal*

If pack find out where bandits live, they can hide outside of home and Bri'kus can sneak in at night. Once weapons are taken, pack can ambush hideout and take them unaware without harm.

*he nods, hoping his plan will help them capture the bandit nuisance swiftly*
This message was last edited by the player at 07:46, Sat 28 Apr 2018.

( The DM is told that Meiou's player has a severe case of writer's block for this round, so things will be moved along narratively. )

A farmer couple approaches the group from the barn.  ( https://www.videogamesartwork....y_adam_adamowicz.jpg )

"We couldn't help but overhear.  Since you're planning on ridding us of those bandits, we'd be honored to look after your pets while you stay in town."

The guards look a little surprised and quite a bit relieved.

"The reason we were trying to be discreet is because many people in town are so afraid of the bandits that they will actively resist anyone who so much as suggests sending for help.  They fear that should the bandits find out, matters will get far worse.  Fortunately the only ones who overheard you aren't in that camp.  Even so, please be understanding should you encounter someone who is.  They don't like the bandits.  They're just scared."
This message was last updated by the player at 18:31, Sat 28 Apr 2018.

Mits grins and thumbs-ups.  "Great!  Glad that's been cleared up.  Also, you're welcome.  Unless these bandits are way stronger than a cave full of goblins, they don't stand much of a chance against us.  For the record, though, anyone who actively helps the bandits forfeit any claim they might have to any stolen goods we find at the bandit hideout."

The guards shrug.  "Sounds reasonable enough."

Mits addresses Bri'kus, "Thanks for the offer, my friend!  Once we know more about these bandits and their hideout, we'll see if that's the best plan.  Sounds like bluffing won't work, so who knows."

The guards nod.  "We can tell you where they've been staying, at least."

They point at a hill to the east, topped by a ruined mansion.  "Tresendar Manor.  Don't think they'd dare enter a goblin infested cave, but depending on numbers... hard to say who'd win."
This message was last updated by the GM at 18:31, Sat 28 Apr 2018.

To Bri'kus, Raichel nods. "Smart. We'll do just that, Bri'kus. Just keep in mind to try to take as many alive as possible. I'm worried that the bandits in town are not all there is. And if they are providing for someone higher on the food chain than them, it would be bad to find out the hard way..."

Raichel looks surprised at the approach of the two farmers. "Thanks!" and smiles at them, then turns that same smile to Meiou. She figures Meiou will take care of things like assuring the wolves that this couple can be trusted or whatever.

Raichel points her ears at Ben, listening. She gives him a helpless smile. "Heh... I am horrible at lying too. Best option for us non-liers, Ben, is to not speak when the bandits talk to us. But yeah... thanks to these two offering to take the wolves, we can hang about and make like we're just passing through."

To the mention of opposition from the victims Raichel looks like she was getting increasingly angry. "Helping bullies because you're scared of them only encourages them to take further advantage of you and those you care about. It may keep you from getting beat up or killed, but when you find out your loved ones don't have any respect for you or worse, have learned the best course of action is to let evil flourish and walk all over them, was it worth it?"

But Mittens giving that ultimatum and the guard agreeing seems to calm Raichel some. She takes a breath, gives a small smile and says to the guards, "You guys have been super helpful. Thank you. We'll make good use of your help and make sure the bandits are dealt with."

Raichel glances at Mittens. "...and thank you, sis. Your offer of consequences is kinda perfect." After all, people just love their possessions.

Meiou agree's to let the wolves go reassuring them with some care that he would be
back for them soon. He listened to the party and looks to mittens "Maybe we should Bri'kus infiltrate the bandits. If anything knowing how some groups work having someone like him would make them more threatening. Then when their asleep he can rob them and we can capture them."
The rabbit said as he continued to reassure Ripper and give him some extra affection.

"Sounds like a plan," Darcy said as she joined in the proverbial huddle.  "However, we might need a plan B in case that goes awry.  Any suggestions?"

*Bri'kus likes the idea of convincing the bandits to let him join, it would be an easy way to get inside that way*

If Bri'kus fail at task, perhaps the Goblins will help pack attack the manor?

*He glances into the cart and nods at the captured Goblins*

Be like, community service.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:31, Tue 01 May 2018.

  "As tempting as it is, we did disarm all of them first.  As well as the fact throwing them into a fight probably goes against the whole 'we promise to take you alive' thing.  Now, if any of them want to come alone to punch bandits in the balls? That is another matter entirely."

  Wishing for world peace would be so boring, compared to wishing people would turn their violent urges to practical ends.  See also, Mittens intending to turn greed to practical ends.

The guards give nods to Raichel.  "You're welcome, officer.  Count on us to secure the town while you and your team handle the bandit base.  Even if they're no match for you it's practically guaranteed that one of them will slip away to do some harm to the town out of spite.  There's only two of us, but that should be enough to make sure that doesn't happen."

The farmers feed the wolves some jerky and become instant friends with the pack.  They seem very skilled with handling animals and find them a nice place to recover in the barn.

"Uh uh!" one of the goblins exclaims emphatically, "No fight bandits!"

"This a trick?" another asks.

"Safest no have weapons," a third concludes, "People kill goblins that have weapons."

None of the goblins show any interest in risking their necks for community service.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:21, Thu 03 May 2018.

Mits reaches to arm-around and shoulder-grind her lil sis with a proud grin.  "Well said!  You sound just like a storybook hero!  So proud!  I'll be sure to add that to my 'Awesome Lines I've Heard in my Adventures' checklist!"



Early levels, not that many check-marks yet.

Mits rubs her chin.  "If Bri'kus' plan fails, the bandits will kill him.  Plan B is Darcy uses her super-amazing healing power to bring him back like last time.  But let's go into town and gather more intel before we make up our minds on the best approach."

She leads the way into town.  Should the group follow along, the guards herd the goblins into town with them.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:02, Thu 03 May 2018.

Raichel blushes from the complements of her sister. "I didn't think it was quite list-worthy... thanks." Face it, Raichel, you will probably fulfill a dozen or so classic hero lines without even thinking about it.

Raichel then nods with a smile to the guards on her way into town, following Mittens. "As Ben mentioned, Darcy is our best foot forward. Between being human and a cleric, most decent folk will respect her. But I can't promise to hold myself back if the bandits try to hurt a citizen too much... I know! I may not be good at lying, but it is the truth that I'm always looking for someone willing to fight me. So if I see bandits taking things too far, I'll challenge 'em to a fight for no other reason than to fight."

Either way, she follows Mitts wherever the pigtailed wonder leads.

"Ok so Plan A send in the rogue to join the bandits. Plan b if he gets into trouble we cause trouble to grab their attention onto us. Plan C we just bust in and beat them to a bloody pulp. Check." the rabbit said still trying to push letting Bri'kus do what hes good at.

"Sounds like a plan," Darcy says.  "And in the meantime, I'll touch base with City Hall, and Iarno to boot, to try to get them on board.  Don't want to be fighting them while we're fighting the Redbrands, would we?"

EDIT:  Thanks for the correction, Mittens.  That's where Darcy'll want to meet.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:53, Tue 22 May 2018.

Bri'kus agreed to gathering intel. One of his biggest concerns was finding out what kind of armaments the bandits are wielding when he finds his way inside.He quickly had a thought though as the party headed into town.

Oh! Does anyone have cloak for Bri'kus? No want to be seen by bandits if pack ask questions around town.

Sildar nods to Darcy upon her mentioning his friend.


"You'_rrre welcome!  ^Onwaaard!"

As Mits travels, her mage hand roots through her backpack to retrieve her rain poncho.  It then offers the poncho to Bri'kus.  On Mits, it would reach down to just below her waist.  On Bri'kus, it'll probably completely cover him to his toes.

The first notable building in town is a two-story shop with a red roof and wrap-around porch.  A prominent sign out front reads, "Barthen's Provisions."

Mits slows her gait to turn and face the group.  "Hey!  This is where we're supposed to drop off the provisions we were hired to deliver!  Shall we aside here first to get paid?"

She hardly waits for an answer before she's running for the front door of the shop.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:35, Tue 22 May 2018.

  Oh look, the Goblins don't want to be used as combat fodder. What a surprise.  Maybe if they had catapults to offer them they would have been more receptive.

  Ben is more surprised that Mittens has a poncho of a subtle color, than Mittens giving it away to the Kobold.

  "Be sure not to give your intentions away too much Darcy, in case we're dealing with standard issue corrupt mayors."  Though maybe it will at worst, be greedy but not technically working with bandits.

  That said, he follows after Mittens in her sudden swerve back to professional responsibility.

With a protective tone to her voice, Raichel says, "I don't want Bri'kus to be all alone... I'll sneak in as his backup in case he needs a quick escape."

She doesn't stop Mittens from going into the Provisions shop. "Just remember, Mittens, you're going to have to let Darcy take the lead when it's time to interact with the mayor and stuff. Unless he's an unreasonable jerk to Darcy. Then any of us can step in."

In reply to Raichel (msg # 250):

"Very well, Sildar," Darcy said as she walks up to the Village Office.  "Shall we?"

Meiou rubbed the back of his head as Rai seemed to go off with the kobold.
"I should probably go with mittens. If they see me judging by how easily you recognized me i'd just cause problems."

Barthen's is the biggest trading post in Phandalin. Its
shelves stock most ordinary goods and supplies, including
backpacks, bedrolls, rope, and rations. The place is open
from sunup to sundown. Barthen's does not stock weapons
or armor, but characters can purchase other adventuring
gear here, with the exception of items that cost more
than 25 gp.

The proprietor is Elmar Barthen, a lean and balding
human male shopkeeper of fifty years with a kindly
manner. He employs a couple young clerks (Ander and
Thistle) who help load and unload wagons, and who wait
on customers when Barthen isn't around.

At first Elmar looks none to happy to have an armed and armored savage barge in, but upon closer inspection he greets the eager looking kitty upon her entering, and the rest of the group as they catch up.

"Welcome to Barthen's, your one stop shop for everyday needs.  Um...?"

Mits takes a heroic pose, fists on her hips, and cheerfully announces, "Salutations, Mr. Barthen!  I am Mittens, one of the adventurers hired to ensure the safe transport of Gundren Rockseeker's supplies to your shop!  The rest will be along presently."

Barthen blinks in some surprise.  "Really.  Gundren never ceases to amaze.  Any other Dwarf would have nothing to do with...  um...  non-Dwarf guards."

Mits shrugs.  "The results will speak for themselves and justify Gundren's trust in us.  And without the added cost of Dwarven Guard Union fees, I might add."

Delivering the Supplies. If the characters began play
with the "Meet Me in Phandalin" adventure hook, their
orders are to deliver the wagon of supplies to Barthen's.
Barthen pays the agreed amount (10 gp to each character)
and asks his helpers to unload the wagon and its supplies.

Sildar asks after Iarno Albrek.  Barthen answers, "The wizard?  He disappeared while exploring the area around Tresendar Manor about two months ago, shortly after arriving in Phandalin.  Um... Rumor has it bandits killed him."

Sildar frowns, but looks unsurprised by the news.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:49, Thu 24 May 2018.

Bri'kus thanks Mittens for the poncho and quickly puts it on, doing his best to cover himself up fully and hide his stubby tail inside of it. He was happy to be obscured while travelling into the town.

Bri'kus looked up at Raichel, a bit confused to how she could be his backpack

As the party entered the shop and Mittens made her announcement to the shopkeeper, he made it a point to try to slip into obscurity as best as he could while the others conversed with the shopkeeper. His small frame sneaking behind a shelf along with Mittens holding the keeps attention allowed him to slip into hiding with relative ease.

(Total 8
Nat 1 on Stealth Check... https://youtu.be/_asNhzXq72w
But I have Lucky!
Nat 20!!! <3 <3 https://youtu.be/BLT2erau3zo)
This message was last edited by the player at 06:56, Sat 26 May 2018.

  Hmm, Iarno must not have been a very good wizard then if he couldn't derail the campaign with a 1st level spell.  "I don't suppose Iarno managed to make any friends in his short time here?"

  Ben finds that coat rack to look amazingly not like Bri'kus at all.

Silly Ben. Only PC's derail campaigns, not NPC's.

To the comment about non-dwarves, Raichel has her arms folded and gives Barthen that expression that says she knows what he was *going* to say. But she doesn't comment.

But then the news about the possibly dead wizard. "We'll see."

Raichel is growing impatient about wanting to piledrive or elbow drop these bandits, then kick them while they are down. But she keeps from saying as much, wanting to keep her team safe from bandits until the team gets a drop on *them*.

After Darcy scritches Raichel behind the ears with a soft "In due time," she approaches Elmar.  "Now that we've been made aware of the Redbrands, tell me, what do you know about them?  And do you know of others who might know more?"

She also keeps a Moleskine-style notebook handy for notes.  Already she had a couple items in a chart.  The most recent page has a circle with "Inaro" on it, she drew a line to another circle with "Redbands," there's plenty of room for other connections.

"And before you ask, I tend to keep notes on how things relate to each other. It's a big help dealing with problems like this."

OOC:  If you need to know what she's doing, she's maintaining a Mind Map.

He just stays near the back of the group quiet. he was relatively sure the best people to ask about the bandits was probably their victims but this whole being out in the world was still new to him so he wasn't sure if that made since to anyone else. he wondered what everyone back home was doing right about now.

The shopkeeper gets a slightly flushed face and amused smile when Ben asks his question, averting his eyes from Raichel.  "Well, um...  You could say he was one of my best customers.  The Lord's Alliance is famous for establishing law and order, and um...  Lord Albrek was very generous to me and anyone else in town who supported his little crusade to establish a constabulary here.  Brave man.  Had he been successful, I daresay the Redbrands would be rotting in jail by now."

Sildar has a look of bittersweet pride in this glowing praise of his fellow member of the Lord's Alliance.  "Then I should do no less.  Friends: I will pay 200 gold for the elimination of the Redbrands.  A sum I can have the local banker withdraw from my account by the time the deed is done."

Barthen gives a low whistle when he hears the sum.  In reply to Darcy he rubs his chin.  "Um, I daresay there isn't more to know than what I or anyone else in town does.  They're bandits.  All you have to do to invite a beating is look them in the eye.  Some of them human, some bugbears.  They tend to be organized into squads with a leader of each, so it goes without saying that the big boss stays at their hideout.  They extort and steal and anyone who's slow to pay up will find a ransom note for their kidnapped child.  Or their barn gets burned down.  So far, only one man had the gall to pick a fight with them, and they beat him to death in the street.  Guy usually had more sense, but he'd been drinking too much since his woman dumped him.

"Oh!  Um...  That was at the Sleeping Giant down at the end of Main Street.  It's practically their home away from home.  They've got a squad there getting drunk more often than not.  Grista apparently doesn't mind accepting the coin they took from the honest folk of town.

"And don't mention anything about your plans to the Townmaster.  Harbin Wester- the fat, pompous old fool.  Last time someone tried to organize a possee with him, they got a visit from a Redbrand squad not long after.  Coincidence?  I think not!  You can probably trust the town watch, though.  They keep a close eye out and warn folks when it's not safe for the women to be about."

Sildar frowns and furrows his brow.  "Thank you for that vital information."

Mittens lights up when she sees Darcy's nifty note-taking technique.  "Awesome!  I'll have to give that a try!"

She does just that.  She sketches a frowny fat stick figure handing a note to a shaggy stick figure with sharp teeth.  Two prone stick figures with X's for eyes - one with a broken heart over his head.  And several lines connecting them all to a stick figure with pigtails.

To Sildar she grins and says, "Especially noble considering you knew we were going after the Redbrands even without your reward offer."
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:17, Thu 21 June 2018.

Bri'kus listened intently to the conversation, taking note that the Sleeping Giant and potentially the home of Mr. Wester were now fair game for him to explore. Confiscation of materials used to support a brutal gang was a must in his mind. He hoped the opportunity would arrive sooner rather than later.
He watched the clerk moving about as the party spoke, but didn't pay him much mind until he pocketed the candies. Not feeling like the shopkeep was hiding anything or antagonizing the party, he didn't approve of the theft against an honest man. Carefully, Bri'kus pulled a ball bearing from his bag and deftly shot it right under the foot of the clerk to teach him a lesson.

  While dying certainly remained mark against their career, it did at least count for something that Iarno had actually taken their job seriously.

  "You get more repeat problem solving when you pay though, Mittens.  Think about how much harder it would be for you to quickly find incidental adventure without those job boards, for example."

  Ben didn't know Mage hand or Mending, so lacked a quick means to either prevent the inevitable or repair the slapstick damages after the fact if Bri'kus's overkill succeeded.  So the least he could do was give the clerk a sporting chance by rendering the ball bearing a bright eye searing pink...

  Hmm, actually WARNING them would probably have been a better idea.  But that means getting involved rather than appearing to have no part of these shenanigans. He had more pressing concerns like wondering where that coat rack had gone.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:55, Fri 22 June 2018.

Raichel looks down and says in a sad tone, "...I would have liked to meet Iarno." and gives a soft "rai" and ear-flick to Darcy's ear-scritch.

Raichel lost track of where Bri'kus disappeared to, but she trusts him not to cause problems. His track record shows loyalty AND competence. That said, she is completely unaware of the shenanigans about to ensue.

Raichel brushes her tail against Mittens' for subconscious comfort and to help calm herself for the rage welling up inside her against these bandits.

Raichel looks at Ben in reply to what he said, "Doesn't stop the fact Sildar is the one paying out of his own pocket when it should be the responsibility of the town mayor or such to pay people for rescuing the town."

Raichel looks over at Sildar. "We should look into these serious claims about Harbin Wester too. If it is true he is working *with* the redbrands, then he could just as easily send word to other bandits we may not know about when he finds out we got rid of the ones here. So when we've rooted out the bandits, I say we don't tell Harbin a thing about it, then make like we're making a posse while we have someone spy on him. Catch him red-handed."

Raichel looks at Barthen the shopkeeper, "Thank you very much for your information. That was a lot of help and what you told us is likely enough to help us end these bandits without finding ourselves in a death trap."

"It's known as a Mind Map." Darcy tells mittens as she gives Raichel another scritch.  "I use them to connect the dots." She then turns to Sildar.  "You just sweetened the deal there, sweetie."

She then gathers the others into a huddle.  "We have two leads then: The idiot Harbin and the Sleeping Giant.  Keeping an eye on them without getting into trouble is going to be tricky."

The rabbit shook his head at all this. First bri had vanished, now Darcy was back to playing with the cat sisters. He really didn't understand what was going on there. He was still kind of embarrassed that Rai had just grabbed him off the street and pulled him along on this adventure.

Mits grins and thumbs-ups at mention of incidental adventure!

"A mind map.  Awesome!  Mittens was not aware of her sister's chronic ear itch and thinks maybe the healer should..."

Mits is interrupted by a slip and crash sound effect as the dishonest clerk comically trips over the ball bearing and lands on his tush!  ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RWS4G20xwA )

Only his pride bruised, the clerk quickly recollects himself, but a few bits of tell-tale stolen candies spill from his pocket in his haste to stand back up.

Barthen facepalms.  "Um..."

Sildar deadpans.  "Shall we leave this to the shop keep and move on to discussing how we wish to proceed?  As I am, I won't be much help in a fight.  If it helps, though, we can leave the investigation of the mayor to the constabulary once proper law enforcement is installed.  As it stands, we don't have enough evidence to warrant any legal action against him"

Eminently amused by the silly slapstick exposing the candy crook, Mittens tosses a coin at Barthen, collects the spilled candy with magic, and finger-wags at the clerk with a smirk and a wink.  ( https://media.giphy.com/media/WVUWw9ItZS048/giphy.gif )

"As my grandpa likes to say, 'Be good! ...Or don't get caught.'"

She hip-bumps Raichel to try and lighten her mood then smiles to the team and suggests, "So shall we go capture whatever brigands we find at The Sleeping Giant and question them for details about the others?"

*Bri'kus grins to himself and quietly says a thanks to Gaknulak that his trap also revealed the crime of the thief as well*

Once the party heads out of the shop, Bri'kus slips back in among them casually. He hoped his diminutive stature would keep him hid as they travelled down the street

He yips softly in Draconic a bit, shaking his head

Bri'kus thinks engaging the enemy before hitting their home may be bad idea. It could make bandit hideout hostile.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:08, Sun 01 July 2018.

Meiou scratched his head at the antics. He wasnt sure why he was chuckling or what it was.
He just shook his head and after followed his party outside. "Getting gung ho again Mits? We should let Bri'kus go ahead and try to get in with them while we go on to get lodging and rest.

  Well, Ben tried. Not very hard though. Not very sorry, candy thief "It makes sense when you consider part of the job's implications Raichel." After all, Sildar is paying them to thwart the mayor's (townmaster, whatever) alleged cooperation with criminals. Not exactly the sort of job they would be rushing to pay them for.

  "People won't pay as much attention to a sudden bar brawl as they would barging into an official's office, so I guess there is that."

Raichel squirms a little at Mittens mentioning Rai having a chronic ear itch. "That's not why I enjoy it..." she mutters, looking upset.

Raichel folds her arms. "I still don't like the idea of any of us going in alone. But none of our plans have been fully agreed on yet."

She looks at Bri'kus and answers in draconic, "You're right: Until we know who is in league with the brigands, we can't know who to watch for going to the bandit hideout."

Raichel switches back to speaking common, "But I do agree with Meiou about finding some lodging so we can nap and be awake for a night-time job. However, nothing says we have to capture any bandits to get information.... but I really wanna. I've still got some energy to burn and some anger to vent on these jerks."

Raichel's hands become fists as Ben mentions a bar brawl. Then she opens her hands. Then closes them into fists again. Like she is thinking about how great it would be to get a bar brawl started.

She looks at Darcy and Ben. "You two are still the best bet on gathering information without getting in trouble. Unless either or both of you are as easily provoked as me."

In reply to Raichel (msg # 272):

"Yes, finding a place to say would be a priority," Darcy said.  "The Stonehill Inn would be the best place to go, for now.  If we find ourselves being here long term, finding a house would be a good idea.  There's also a good chance of us getting more of the local gossip there."

Sildar follows along.  "I will need to talk with the mayor eventually.  I understand he is also the town's banker, and thus my only means of accessing my funds."

"Mittens never had intentions of staying in one place long enough to justify the purchase of a house.  When Adventure calls, Mittens will not be too tied down by responsibilities to answer!  Onward to the inn!"

She gives a cheerful wave to the blacksmith as the group passes.  He pauses from his work to stare at the motley crew, shakes his head, and resumes his work.

Soon the group arrives at the inn. (Finally uploaded a game map.)

STONEHILL INN
In the center of town stands a large, newly built roadhouse
of fieldstone and rough-hewn timbers. The common room
is filled with locals nursing mugs of ale or cider, all of them
eyeing you with curiosity.

This modest inn has six rooms for rent.
The proprietor is a short, friendly young human male
named Toblen Stonehill.

Mits proudly announces the group.  "Greetings, people of Phandalin!  I am Mittens, and these are my companions - The Heroes of the Triboar Trail - who vanquished the Cragmaw bandits!  Hooray!"

With her magic, she makes a neon "Applause" sign appear above her head.  ( https://i1.wp.com/gifrific.com...=659%2C394&ssl=1 )

The people clap softly, looking more taken aback than impressed.

Bri'kus isn't overly thrilled at the prospect of a fight, but at the same time, he wouldn't mind showing any bandit a thing or two about the consequences of being violent to an undeserving town...

To Raichel regarding going in alone: If pack remain close, Bri'kus cry for help will bring ambush just as fast as call of success. Spoken like a true Kobold.

He continued to try to remain obscured by his travelling companions as they walked through town and greeted the blacksmith.

As the party entered the inn and Mittens began to make another show potentially bringing attention to him once again, the Kobold wondered if she was a blessing or a curse towards his desire to remain shrouded and quickly tried to duck behind anything nearby to not be spotted by patrons.(23 to Hide)

  "I do not think it will be how easily provoked Darcy and I would be that is the problem Raichel.  Either way, we just met Brikus. I would prefer not sending him off all by himself in case he gets hurt."  Then SCENE TRANSITION.

  Ben didn't use prestidigitation to make Mittens's clothes flutter in a dramatic breeze, it's purely a coincidence that happened-Where the hell did Brikus go?  Right, that's it.  Whenever they get the chance Ben is summoning something with blindsight as a familiar.

  "So. Rooms first, food we didn't have to cook ourselves second? That generally goes better than starting with business."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:23, Wed 25 July 2018.

Meiou just backed up away from mittens at this dramatic display.NOPE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PERSON! He was thinking the kobold had the right idea to disapear. Thinking of that maybe he could find one of the mages that gave him his gun to get one of those cloaks of invisibility he had heard about for situations like this. hearing Ben he snapped out it "Yes , Yes that sounds like a good idea. Maybe some kind of sleep magic on mits if they get this excited again?" he says and whispers the latter half to ben
This message was last edited by the player at 09:37, Fri 27 July 2018.

Raichel would fall over if this were an anime. "Psst, Mitts... I thought we were supposed to not draw attention just yet?"

She heads over to Toblen Stonehill. "Hi there. Got a room or two that could accommodate six people? The fewer rooms, the better; we'd like to stick together."

Raichel keeps her senses sharp, listening for anyone getting up out of a seat or walking anywhere. She doesn't want the bandits to either get the drop on the team, OR to report about the team's existence. If the bandits happen to be at the inn at the moment.

Darcy follows Raichel with a welcoming smile and a silent gait, as she looks around trying to pick up any stray clues in the lobby.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/527906387548415245/

Toblen looks the group over then back at Raichel.

"Ahem.  Welcome.  I'm Toblen, and this is my inn.  I have six rooms available right now, each with a one-person bed.  But I assure you, these rooms are quite comfortable and close to one another.

Sildar nods, "If you don't demand payment up front, I'll take one of those six.  I was robbed by the Cragmaw Bandits, so I'll have to visit a banker first before I have any money."

Toblen nods, "No reason I can see not to give you the benefit of the doubt, sir.  I heard one of your companions mention food?  If you'd like to sit together, we can connect some tables for you.  Elsa?  Please see that our guests are made comfortable."

The barmaid approaches the group with a smile.  "Right this way."

https://nerdnight.files.wordpr....jpg?w=139&h=261

Toblen turns to a nearby boy. ( http://paizo.com/image/content...es/PZO8500-Orlin.jpg )  "Go get Mom, Pip."

The boy takes off running out the back.  "Heroes!  Oh boy!"

Seated at one of the small tables is an old man, ( https://i.pinimg.com/originals...10c777c30148d87a.jpg ) a gray-haired dwarf, ( http://forum.reapermini.com/up...41000-1350871543.jpg ) and a middle-aged woman, ( https://i.pinimg.com/736x/06/b...pg-character-art.jpg )  They mutter amongst themselves, apparently feeling safe to make eye contact with the newcomers.  (( DC 5 to overhear the conversation.  Dwarf: "That's quite the claim she made."  Old man: "Why are the others looking flustered by it?"  Woman: "My guess is that the loud one is embarrassing them with her exaggeration." ))
This message was last edited by the player at 01:21, Sat 28 July 2018.

Mits is grateful for the timely and dramatic breeze!  Her ear wiggles when whispered into, and she responds to Rai with an impish smile and wink to tell her sis that there's a sly reason for the grandstanding.

"Dibs on sharing a room with Rai!"

But her claim gets shot down by the revelation that the rooms only house one each.  Oh well.  Six?  What about Bri'kus?  Oh right.  Rai probably deliberately excluded him from the number to not let slip that there's another member of the group.

"Noms would be good, yes."

She hand-waves to pull a chair out for herself with magic then takes a seat.  "So what sorts of things are going on around here that could sate my appetite for adventure?"

More hand-waves and more chairs pull themselves out for the others.

The rabbit stretched out and took a seat at a table following mittens. well at
least this part was somewhat normal to the rabbit. sitting at a table and someone putting food in front of you. He however speculated it would taste better than he was used to before getting dragged out to adventure by Rai.

  "Sorry Meiou, even if I had Sleep magic it targets the most sleepy option. Which is not going to be Mittens under most circumstances... I mean, it would be wrong" Hitpoints. Also a measure of how awake you are, apparently... Though he might be able inflicting nap time for exactly one combat round depending on save throws.

  Command! A wildly arbitrary spell with some very specific stipulations.

  He takes a seat, and wonders how long it will take for the excitable boy to be disappointed.

At first, Darcie thought he could get a room and let the taxabi with her, but she figured that Mittens would probably want to keep Raichel with her.  She was about to sigh, but ended up chuckling at the two boys being excited.

She then wondered what's going on with the local shrine.  Being a Cleric, it's only natural that she sees if she can be of any help.  But first, of course, securing a room and getting some grub.

*Bri'kus slipped as close as he could to the party and kept a low profile. He didn't quite know what to say or indicate to the group, but he figured it may be best to continue laying low like this in the borrowed cloak*
*sneaking about he tried to listen in on any other whispers about or to spy any food left laying around unattended. He felt a slight rumble in his belly at the thought of a nice juicy turkey leg or fried lizard. A hot bowl of his mother's bone marrow soup would be nice on an evening such as this. He could almost taste the fatty lumps as he licked his lips thinking about it*
*Unfortunately, it seemed his cover under the tables kept him from seeing or hearing much in the large room*
(Per. Hear. 8, Per. Sight 4)

Raichel sits next to Mittens and motions to Meiou to sit next to her before she leans over to whisper in his ear. "Make sure Bri'kus makes it to your room."

She looks over to Mittens. "I didn't realize how hungry I was until just now."

Raichel's ears wiggle and she looks in the direction of the conversing folks. She wants to comment, but decides it is probably best to just take the back seat since Mittens has a plan Raichel doesn't know about.

She looks back at Toblen. "Thanks for the accommodations. Please just.. bring us your special, whatever it is. I'm hungry."

Toblen looks apologetic when Raichel asks for the special.  "Ahem.  We have a serious bandit problem in town, and due to their bullying the farmers, there simply is no lamb left for us to make the special with.  But the Misses' veggie stew is highly recommended too."

At the mention of the bandits, the others fall silent and wear grim faces.  The dwarf decides to speak up, "You'd do well to steer clear of these bandits.  They're ruthless and are holding the entire town hostage.  Outside an army strolling into town, there's little chance an innocent won't get hurt if they're provoked."

Toblen blushes and gives that apologetic look again.  "Maybe you could tell us more about the bandits you did handle?  How tough were they?  Did they hold any hostages?"

(( *Reads the wording of Command.*  "You might issue a command other than ones described here. If you do so, the GM determines how the target behaves."  I never was fond of "GM has to figure out a fair way for this to work on the fly" stuff.  >.>  All of the examples given include a "Lose your turn" effect, so this GM will likely interpret any command word, such as "squawk," as the target wasting their turn on some buffoonery.  But I'm pretty sure saying something like "Betray" was never intended to work as a way to get a boss to smush his ally as a 1st level cleric spell effect.  There's a separate higher level spell specifically for that, right?  And if there were a command word that powerful, why use any other?  At most, "Betray" would likely have them bull-rush their minion while insulting him.  I'm hoping this won't ever come up, but if a player reeeally wants me to hash out on-the-fly spell effects, we can discuss it in PMs. ))

Mittens gives a low whistle to try and sound impressed.  "Sounds serious.  These were goblin bandits led by a bugbear named Klarg.  They had a hostage, but my sis managed to negotiate for his safe release.  But an entire town of hostages?  Sounds like we'll be taking your advise, friend.  Last thing we want is to put any of you good people in danger.  All we need is for nobody to report to the bandits about any newcomers in town, and there needn't be any dangerous confrontations.

"Anything meaty would be great.  Baked chicken, for example."

Her speech seems to be putting the patrons at ease, but Toblen is looking disappointed.

A basket of rolls is placed by the waitress on the table for the group.  "Daran Edermath, the orchard keeper, is a former adventurer.  If anyone would know about how to sate your appetite it would be him."

Mits takes a bite out of a roll, then plays around with it using magic before making it "vanish" in a puff of smoke.  In reality she's doing her best to sneak it to somewhere Bri'kus can retrieve it without being seen.  About then the boy returns to help set the tables while his mom gets to work in the kitchen.

"One order of baked chicken, hon," Toblen calls to her.

"How'd you beat the bandits?" the boy asks eagerly.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:54, Tue 07 Aug 2018.

Meiou was never one to much enjoy the taste of meat,sure
he could eat it but it never sat well with him. Now Veggies or fruits on
the other hand he enjoyed. "Veggie stew sounds lovely actually. A big bowl if possible please."

Meiou attempted to pass a roll under the table ( sleight of hand 4)
but unfortunately these must of been fresh rolls it burned his palm
slightly and he ended up playing hot potato until he lost it onto the floor
next to the table. Well the important thing was he tried right?

  If a certain Thri-kreen ever met Bri'kus, they would probably discuss the merits of Double Ribs with the kobold. Why waste all that space in giant ribs, when you can put smaller ribs INSIDE them!

  "It's sad how many forget that a 'protection racket' works best if you live up to your end of it.  Not desirable either way, but stupidity makes a bad situation worse as usual." You know, like taxes not causing 15 robin hood clones unless you're doing a poor job of it.

  Bri'kus is probably more than okay with the three second rule, but a prestidigitation silently cast underneath the table ensures the bread roll is perfectly clean.  Ben's keeping his own roll to himself though.

  "Anything better than campfire food is a welcome change of pace, really."

OOC: Well for my particular example, I was thinking of how surprisingly useless "Falls asleep for six seconds then wake up" is compared to a proper sleep spell.  But you also know my history in being shut down from attempting bog standard stuff by unashamed min/maxers (who will often turn around and suggest I break the rules over my knee in a way that fits their world view).
This message was last edited by the player at 04:05, Mon 13 Aug 2018.

Bri'kus seemed quite surprised at the roll appearing under the table and equally surprised at the other falling onto the floor in front of him and then suddenly shedding all dirt from it.

Quietly - Huh.

He happily nommed the rolls down, paying no heed to their warmth
This message was lightly edited by the player at 06:39, Wed 15 Aug 2018.

If Darcy managed to get her own room and got some dinner, she'd like to head over to the Shrine of Luck, at the very least, to tell anyone there that there is a cleric willing to help them for a while, however, she gets the inkling that she's better off sticking with the team.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:54, Mon 27 Aug 2018.

Raichel looks to the dwarf. "Those cowards... hiding behind the defenseless." she has one of those terrifyingly furious expressions, her pupils narrowed to slits. She looks away. "...what my sister said. We won't endanger the innocent. But if someone snitches to the bandits, know that we will tear those bandits apart, we will leave them alive, and then we will interrogate them one by one to find out who the snitch is. And we will feed the snitch to the mercy of this town, knowing that snitch put everyone's lives in danger." she half-growls that last part.

Raichel takes a deep breath and gives Toblen an apologetic look. "I didn't mean to make you feel in a bind... I'll have an order of veggie soup like Meiou is, and I'll have an order of baked chicken like my sister. Thanks."

Raichel is a very active, athletic girl. And teenage to boot. So her appetite is larger than normal.

The girl looks back to the dwarf. "Thanks for the warning. We are taking your words and this situation very seriously." She wants so badly to assure the dwarf that she won't let the week pass before the bandits rue the day they took this town. But she doesn't want anyone thinking the group intends to cause unnecessary hostility.

The staff politely ignore the vanishing rolls, calling no attention to them.  Besides, there's the important topic of how to best handle the bandits to discuss.  Room keys are distributed to each of the heroes by Toblen; all except for the kobold no NPC has any idea is there.

The waitress takes notice that the holy woman among the heroes hasn't even ordered yet and asides to her, "Sister Garaele takes care of the Shrine of Tymora across the street.  If you like, we can have Pip go fetch her for you so you'd both have someone who shares the others' interests to talk to over dinner."

Toblen looks to be trying to hide his approval of Elsa's suggestion to Darcy but does not comment.

Pip is extremely encouraged by Raichel's anger and cheers.  "Yeah yea!  And then you can chop them up and feed them to the pigs!"

His comment earns him a stern look from his father who tells him to go help his mom in the kitchen.  Toblen clears his throat and apologizes to the heroes.

"Thank you for taking Lanar's warning seriously.  You needn't worry about anyone hearing about you arriving from present company.  But gossip is bound to spread, and sooner or later they'll overhear it.  So do please be careful."

"You're welcome," Lanar answers Raichel turning an annoyed look at Pip.

"Right?!" Mits agrees with Ben.

She tightens her lips during Raichel's angry outburst then reaches out to pull her sis in for an arm-around squeeze - one that's trying to communicate, "Hush up!" in as lovingly firm way an older sib's arm-around squeeze can.

"Bandits bad.  Yes.  We will be on guard and will run for our lives if need be, but will not do anything to provoke them to be tempted to do anything to bystanders.  My eager sis is just talking about the future, after the part where we leave town and use our connections to go get an army so no innocents need be harmed when the bandits are overwhelmed.  This will only work if nobody tells them about us.  Very important.

"Now that that's settled, may I request that young Pip be informed of just how important it is that he not talk with his friends about what punishments the heroes are going to do to bandits or snitches?  The intention was to give the impression that we weren't going to get involved at all and then secretly go get help, but the cat's out of the bag there.  And thank you for assuring us that we needn't worry about snitches here.  And about gossip.  But I expect the adults here to know already what will happen if they tell their friends about our plan.  So thank you for not gossiping."

Mittens is bluffing.  (Rolled a 15 bluff).  In truth, she doesn't expect any army to come to the aid of this town, she's just making up this fake "plan" to convince the frightened villagers that the heroes really are the best hope they have of being rid of the bandits without any risk to the townsfolk.  She's expecting them to panic and squeal to the bandits if they think that the heroes intend to face the entire bandit outfit with just the six of them.  (Including Sildar and not Bri'kus in that six.)

The rabbit was just in ahh at how the sisters were acting. if he didn't know them
personally he would think this was some comedy act he had read about. noticing the waitresses looks to Darcy he spoke up "Miss Darcy. What would you like to eat?"

Darcy looked over at whatever menus they have, and eventually, she replied:  "I'd just want a sandwich of whatever you have available, with a side salad and a tankard of a local brew, thanks." She gave the waiter a smile.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:46, Tue 18 Sept 2018.

Bri'kus places 3 gold on the table as Darcy orders (17 Slight of Hand) and tugs lightly at her robe,

Quietly -Bri'kus would like ale and meat, please.

He shifted a little, trying to keep hidden from the server as the party ordered.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:12, Fri 14 Sept 2018.

  Ben is worried about the immediate future of the child.  Their name is pip, what kind of parent names their child so without hoping they get kidnapped or eaten by wolves?-wait a minute. "Meiou, keep Pip away from your new pets."

  DOL DORN IS PLEASED WITH BRI'KUS'S RESPECT FOR THE BAR TAB... Yes we know it's the wrong pantheon, but tired in jokes know no such bounds.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:36, Sat 15 Sept 2018.

Raichel didn't look like she was kidding or part of a comedy skit until Mittens did the arm-around thing. So Raichel now has a blushing angry jigglypuff expression.

https://media.giphy.com/media/PuUujolKlIdXi/giphy.gif

She just goes quiet for the moment, grabs one of the rolls and stuffs it in her mouth. Once her order arrives, she begins scarfing it down.

Toblen and the patrons get "ooooh" looks on their faces when Mittens explains the plan.  He clears his throat and answers, "You're welcome.  And thank you for taking that upon yourselves."

The dwarf then warns, "Watch out if you take the Triboar Trail.  Orc raiders have been seen on the east end.  The town master has been looking for someone to run them off, but I haven't heard that anyone's succeeded."

Food is served and it is the expected level of home-cooked quality that comes from inns such as this.  The waitress looks visibly flustered that her suggestion was completely ignored.

"Well should you decide to see Sister Garaele, she may not be up for company anyways.  When she recently left town for a few days, she returned wounded and exhausted."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:12, Mon 01 Oct 2018.

Sildar has been keeping quiet for the most part but chimes in just to say, "Thank you for the tips.  We will make haste with all due caution."

He's deliberately trying to imply that the group will be going that way so that if word gets out, bandit manpower will be wasted in setting an ambush in dangerous Orc territory.

Mittens leans over to whisper in Raichel's ear to compliment just how adorable she is, then explains the truth of her earlier "plan."

She then releases Rai with a wink in order to begin scarfing down dinner.  After a gulp of her drink she licks her lips and smiles exclaiming, "My compliments to the chef!  Much as I'd love to look into these great adventure hooks you guys have been dropping, as my friend says we'll be giving top priority to the safe and swift resolution of the bandit problem."

(( OOC: Sorry 'bout the delay.  So much RL! ))
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:11, Mon 01 Oct 2018.

Meiou has no idea whats going on between the sisters and isn't sure he's curious enough to ask.
luckily food arrived before his curiosity got the better of him as instead of scarfing it down like mitts he takes his time savoring the stew. he blushed abit he'd never had anything quite like this before. he was more used to stale bread ,cheese ,or veggies and sometimes if he was lucky jerky or left over scraps of meat noone wanted. he idly wondered as he ate if there was someway to take more of this hot stew with them for later.

Darcy looked down at the kobold and smiled at him.  Knowing that he'd prefer to hide from the others, she just ordered what Bri wanted and claimed that it's 'for a friend.'

Darcy sat back with her dinner while listening to what she heard, keeping one hand free to scribble notes on her little notebook.  Orcs in Tribor, this child with an unfortunate name, the missing Dwarves, the Bandits, a touch of incompetence in the village leadership, or something worse...

When Darcy heard about what happened to Sister Garaele she grew concerned.  "Does she need some assistance?  I'm always good in the healing arts."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:29, Wed 10 Oct 2018.

  "Orc raiders you say? Seems the Red Cloaks are also too lazy to defend their turf from other bandits." But of course, the sudden increase in the odds of fighting werewolf nuns is probably of greater concern.

  "You should be able to offer aid to the local clergy without worrying half the town, Darcy."  Garaele must be the kind of cleric stuck with bandages rather than a healing touch... Or maybe they had simply been so wounded that they ran out of spell slots.  Probably the second one.

Raichel says, "I doubt it's laziness so much as cowardice. Orcs bite back and everyone knows it. If townsfolk bit back as hard as orcs, there wouldn't be a bandit problem to begin with." with some obvious sarcasm, she adds, "Alas, townsfolk aren't bloodthirsty beasts like orcs."

Raichel then looks at the others. "It would be nice if we could frame the bandits and get the orcs to attack them. But all that would do is have the town overrun with orcs and the bandits would flee while everyone else dies. These situations are always stacked against the innocent."

She manages to keep from saying "but that's why we're here" since the group doesn't want the town to think she and her group are going to do anything about it.

Toblen gives a nod to Mittens.  "Ahem.  I'll let my wife know you liked the meal."

He glances at Ben and tightens his lips, deciding not to correct the man about the name of the gang.

Elsa takes those plates the group is done with and answers Darcy, "I'm sure she would love a visit, then."

The villagers seem to agree with Raichel's guess that involving the Orcs would be a bad idea, but they don't comment out loud.

"Well let's get rested up so we'll be fresh for the morning's journey, then," Mits says with a satisfied smile on her face, patting her belly.

"We can let the army figure out how best to rescue the town once we've informed them."

To Darcy she smiles and says, "We're so lucky to have you with us to fix up our booboos.  Speaking of, I'd like for you to take a look at something for me once we've settled in, if you don't mind.  Let's all go get comfortable, shall we?"

The twinkle in her eye and wag in her tail gives away she has no intention of going to sleep any time soon.  Mits wants to discuss options with her friends privately.  Option 1: Take out the bandits tonight.  Option 2: See option 1.  She takes up her backpack and heads upstairs, beckoning for the others to join her.

Meiou just continued too eat deciding to voice his opinions on things later when they were in private. He wondered if he could ask them for the recipe to this stew it was so delicious to him.

*Bri'kus listened to the party's discussion as he ate his dinner. The few ales in him left him feeling satiated, but aware enough to know that the main thing that needed to be dealt with in the town before anything else was stopping the bandit occupation dead in it's tracks. He would have to wait to voice that opinion once somewhere more private though.*

*Happy to be full after an eventful day, Bri'kus quietly slipped his plate and empty mugs onto the table top (Sleight of Hand 21), along with any leftover coin for a tip, and ghosts up the stairs (Stealth 20) to meet up with his pack*

*He pulls the coat up and whispers to Darcy* Bri'kus think we either need to deal with bandits soon as possible, or spy on mayor to see if he involved.

  Look, getting the Redbrand's name right wouldn't play into the whole 'Oh, we don't care about the bandits. Honest' act.  It has nothing to do with his player's primary memory of them being 'I looted a nice cloak', that would be crazy.

  He follows along with the party to the next scene transition, and quietly comments to Bri'kus "I expect they are simply too cowardly to deal with them, and nothing more.  It could certainly help to confirm this, but if you get caught he may warn the bandits."  Though the Kobold does seem very good at making Ben wonder where the hell they went.

OOC: Note to self. Remember my find familiar ritual once we have a full on scene transition.