[OOC that's the Director playing Larson to keep things moving on]
Larson hits the Goblin then and binds his hands behind his back.
"What did you say, dirty creature?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:40, Tue 19 Dec 2017.

The Goblin's voice goes to a higher pitch, almost as if on the verge of crying: "I said you caught me only because you cheated with magic... without it we'd have the upper hand... as usual..."

Sir Roland holds on to the struggling creature, maintaining a painful vice-like grip on it, allowing Larson to rough up the wretch alittle before the tough Northman expertly trusses it up, almost like a pig to the slaughter. With a vicious kick, the knight knocks the goblin on its back into the muddy ground. He picks up his sword and with sudden speed reverses it and drives it with great force into the ground right between its legs, narrowly missing skewering the creature. Looking intently into its feral eyes, the knight repeats his questions again, in the same calm wintry voice. It is clear this is the last chance the goblin is going to get...

OOC - Heh...edited the potentially offending bits off the post. :D
This message was last edited by the player at 05:23, Tue 19 Dec 2017.

"I told you, I am the master of my tribe... what's left of it... horrible magic drove us away from our ancestral lands in the north... always horrible, cowardly magic... it's not your iron that scares me..." he sighs.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:07, Tue 19 Dec 2017.

There is a moment of silence as the knight considers the goblin's reply. When he next speaks, his tone is slightly less aggressive, but just as cold and deadly serious. "How many of you are left now? Where are you holed up? Do you know the Tower of Hellswinter? Do you go near it?"

Garl casts the Honesty cantrip on the goblin.

"Only the four of us out of many survived foul magic in the far north, and we recenty decided to settle in this southern forest, hoping we won't find more foul magic here... unsuccessfully... we don't go near the Tower... it was too south... and we hate it..." he spits at you again.

Lowering his eyes to the ground, Sir Roland considers the goblin's reply for a moment. He looks up again, his eyes meeting the creature's and holding its gaze for several seconds. Standing back up, drawing himself to his full height, he pulls his gleaming sword free of the ground, then sheaths it in its scabbard. He addresses the goblin sternly, in a voice grave and severe, ringing with authority.

"Hear me oh Halduuk Putaiyal*. My name is Sir Roland Halfstaff."

"These lands are now under my protection. From this moment forth, they are out of bounds to you and your friends. You are to leave here immediately, and go east across the mountain range. Find you there whatever home you are able to make for yourselves, and do not come back again."

"Know this Halduuk Putaiyal*. The next time we meet, I shall end your miserable lives, cut off your ears, and hang them on a tree as a warning to all others who think they can hide in these forests preying on innocent villagers and travelers."

The knight bends down and unties the creature. Dragging it to its feet, he gives it a hard shove, pointing east in the direction of Duke Mornay's lands.

"Go! And do not let me see you or your friends again!"

The goblin staggers to its feet and with a final malevolent glare, takes off into the forest. As the sound of its flapping feet fade away, Sir Roland glances at Garl with an approving nod. "You are full of surprises Master Elf."

"Let's go." Adjusting his pack, he continues on the muddy path deeper into the forest.

*Halduuk Putaiyal - Spawn of Darkness (in the Goblin tongue)

Apologies for god-moding the goblin. :|
This message was last edited by the player at 00:49, Wed 20 Dec 2017.

Garl follows along,  and even though his joints still ache from the cold, he is no longer weary.  He has renewed confidence in his companions and in his own abilities.  There really is more to life than hunching over wizened tomes in search of abstract truths!

The rest of the day passes without surprises, however there are still more trees and more rain... and mud.
It is getting dark again.

It has been yet another cold wet and exhausting day. Things got slightly interesting with the encounter of the goblins, but...it is time to bed down for the night once more. Sir Roland looks for a suitable campsite - somewhere relatively dry and cozy, under a big tree or beside a big rock outcropping - where he makes a fire, and sits down to rest. He shares his food again with his companions.

The same arrangement again - each man takes his turn at the watch, 2 hours each. Sir Roland, Larson, Garl. Assuming his companions are happy with the arrangement...

OOC - 3 meals deducted

[OOC does it mean that you had a meal in the morning and one in the evening?
Will you all three sleep or will you guard in turn?
Just remember that eating and sleeping good help recovering (or not loosing) STAMINA ]

You feel nervous during the watches in the night, as you expect the Goblins to try sneaking and cutting your throats, but everything passes nicely.
Garl wakes up at down very stiff, as he isn't used to doing watches, but he is surprised when he realizes that after all he recovered his MAGIC POINTS lost casting spells the day before and he feels good about it. Maybe adventuring life is still something for him, after all.
This morning there is no pouring rain, but an unpleasant wind that carries stingy but sparse drops of rain. It seems to blow constantly against the direction of your progress, but this may be just your impression.

Sir Roland gets up and stretches, having slept like an old campaigner. He squats down to stoke the fire back into a blaze, feeding it dry twigs and branches. He glances at Larson and nods. "Some of your drink would be most welcome this morning..."

Breaking out the iron rations from his pack, the knight and his companions have a quick morning meal around the fire. Finishing up quickly, the knight kicks snow and mud over the fire, then gathers up his possessions and begins the day's journey along the muddy path.

"Our rations are running low. Today, let's keep an eye out for rabbit, maybe deer..."

OOC - 3 more meals deducted
This message was last edited by the player at 04:53, Wed 20 Dec 2017.

You hit the road again and around midday your straight path, leading north-east is joint by another path coming approximately from south.

[OOC is somebody is looking for track or game (or mushrooms and roots, or whatever else), please let me know if you are stopping and going into the forest or just doing it as you march... and roll 2d6 ]

"Garl perhaps you might see if you can gather some edible roots, plants and fruits. I will look out for game..." The knight keeps his eyes wide open as he walks at a comfortable pace.

OOC - Sir Roland is looking out for tracks and other presences. At same time, he is looking out for game. The pace is a comfortable lope, neither rushed nor dawdling.

13:08, Today: Sir Roland Halfstaff rolled 6 using 2d6.  Looking for tracks.
13:08, Today: Sir Roland Halfstaff rolled 6 using 2d6.  Looking for game.


Sir Roland slows to a stop as the party approaches the fork. He examines the new southbound path for other tracks and presences.

OOC - 13:14, Today: Sir Roland Halfstaff rolled 7 using 2d6.  Examine southbound path and nearby.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:14, Wed 20 Dec 2017.

Garl is beginning to wonder what roast goblin would taste like.  He hopes it never comes to that.

02:39, Today: Garl Ligoosh rolled 6 using 2d6.  Mushrooms and roots.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:43, Wed 20 Dec 2017.

Sir Roland spots wolf track and a few squirrel tracks. Bad luck with deers or boars.
The frozen ground is almost everywhere too hard for Garl to dig and the few times that he managed to find a sunny spot that was a bit softer, he was unlucky.

A whole swath of forest and no sign of deer or boar?! Sir Roland wrinkles his face in disgust. The winter landscape is indeed a cruel unforgiving barren wasteland in terms of sustenance...for men. Pushing onwards with his eyes on the ground and the surroundings, he addresses his companions. "There is no reason for us to expect supplies at the Tower. We will restock our rations and water on our way instead."

He gives a wry smile to the Elf. "Keep looking Garl. Fruits or edible plants would be good too. Everything is edible with a pinch of salt and cooked over fire." He turns to Larson. "Winter hunting should be right up your alley Larson. Between us mayhap we might land some good game meat. Smoked and salted, enough to bring us to the Tower and then some..."

Along the way, the companions watch as Sir Roland uses an ingenious method to obtain drinkable water - he collects pieces of clean ice, wraps them in a clean piece of cloth and pounds them to bits, then collects the filtered water. And whenever they stop to rest, he starts a fire and boils the water in his steel helm. When asked about where he learned to do it this way, the knight mutters something about the castle apothecary being a good man but often also a pain in the ass.

OOC - Sir Roland does not stop for wolves or squirrels but pushes on, still keeping his eyes out for signs of deer, boar or other mid-sized to large game. Larson may be afk for now, but Director could you also roll for him? Both Roland and Larson will keep on looking for bigger game.
22:52, Today: Sir Roland Halfstaff rolled 7 using 2d6.  Looking for bigger game.

And yeah one more thing. Rations now limited to 1 meal per day. Hunger assuaged with water. Is that alright Garl, Larson?

BTW Director, is there any indication where the party has reached? How far is the Tower estimated to be from here? How many more days of travel?
This message was last edited by the player at 14:56, Wed 20 Dec 2017.

In late afternoon, you reach the north-western edge of the Forest of Bron. In front of you there is a barren mountain track and you can see, high up Hellwinter Peak, clearly dominating the whole landscape. Winds are howling in that direction.

[OOC 19:18, Today: The Director, on behalf of Larson fossas, rolled 7 using 2d6.  hunting.]

Sir Roland during the day managed to find only squirrel tracks, but Larson, being a decent hunter, despite not going far from the path, spotted a deer track just before reaching the edge of the forest. He also believes he spot a bear track.

Sir Roland's face splits into a grin as he claps the Northman on his broad shoulders. "Hunting time!" Quickly, the knight finds a suitable campsite nearby in the forest where he divests himself of his pack, and the noisiest and bulkiest portions of his chainmail armor. Now lightly armored, with just his sword, bow and arrows, he turns to Garl with a nod. "Would you gather firewood and have a fire started? Larson and me, we should be back within the hour."

Unslinging his bow from his shoulder, he beams at Larson. "Lead on my good man! We are going to eat well today!"

OOC - Ok Garl and Larson, I thought we should take the short detour needed to hunt down this deer. The bear we should avoid unless the deer tracks somehow turns out dud. Sir Roland defers to Larson as the expert hunter here, listening to his instructions and following his lead.

@Director: do I need to make more rolls for the hunt?

Garl would you follow along? Safety in numbers and all that, but you gotta keep back to avoid potentially spoiling the hunt. The alternative is that you find a suitable campsite within the forest and begin gathering wood for the cooking and smoking fire we will soon need.

Garl will remain behind to gather firewood, tend the campsite and relax with his thoughts.

[OOS 21:35, Today: The Director, on behalf of Larson fossas, rolled 12 using 2d6.  hunting.]

The hunt takes Larson and Roland very far and eventually it is night and they are lost, not having the sun anymore as a guidance and being the night very cloudy. They also left food and blankets at the campsite.

At the same time, back at the campsite, Garl's relax is broken by a growl. Quite close.

"Stop!" Sir Roland calls out, wiping the sweat from his brow. He looks at Larson, disappointment written all over his tired face. "We should get back now." He turns and begins trying to follow the duo's tracks back to Garl and the campsite.

OOC - 12:38, Today: Sir Roland Halfstaff rolled 8 using 2d6.  Follow tracks back to campsite.

I think that's a success but barely. Director should I roll for Larson too?

:( I should have specified clearly that Sir Roland will NOT allow the hunt to get too far away, nor too late in the day. Certainly not until night falls, since they brought no lights or means to start a fire with them. But he will cut losses and get back beyond a certain time and distance away.

[OOC 23:02, Today: The Director, on behalf of Larson fossas, rolled 8 using 2d6.  follow tracks back to campsite.]
You are both penalized by the darkness and can't backtrack before dawn.

[OOC: Larson rolled a critical failure on his hunting roll... this is the least that could happen ;) ]