Jorr says goblin warbands have been ranging up and down the Dawn Way for a couple of weeks, with the frequency increasing the past several days. The Witch Trail continues west, past Jorr's cabin and links up with the Dawn Way about two miles to the west. Here, the footpath emerges onto the Dawn Way about two miles south of Swift Creek at the Blackwater Causeway.

The Blackwater Causeway being a large expanse of low-lying flooded forest. Vraath Keep lies a couple miles north of the causeway, tucked into the woods east of the Dawn Way.

"You're like as not to find goblins camped along either side of the causeway," he suggests.

"Perfect," Valthur groans. "A flooded causeway. Well what are we waiting for?"

Jorr twists the corners of his pruned mouth in concentration and comments, "Well, if you're dead set on doing this, might as well introduce you to another of the same mindset. Came along last night..."

The weather-beaten man motions toward a nearby cypress. There, a diminutive halfling in chain mail stands between its twisted roots, his sling at the ready and entirely unseen by even the sharpest of eyes until now.

"Come out Taerix. Looks like we found you some friends..."

OOC: Enter the halfling...
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:51, Tue 08 Aug 2017.

The halfling speaks in a clear, high tenor voice, with just a bit of the Halflish accent that will never go away.

"Kane Taerix is m'name... call me Taerix, woncha!" Taerix tucks his sling back into his belt and walks over to Jorr, thanking him for his hospitality, before turning to face the group of adventurers.

"I'm agile, and I c'n fight. Jus' let m'know where y'need me."

Eoni wanted to ask if the halfling's mother knew he was out looking for trouble but reminded herself that his stature did not denote his age.  Thinking of young ones, she glanced around for Sarah and wondered where she'd disappeared to.

"You're welcome to join us, Kane," Eoni greeted, turning her attention back to the halfling.  "I'd expect you'll want to stay well back and use that sling of yours when we find these raiders."

She turned back to Jorr and asked, "If you could guide us close to the causeway without running afoul of anything, we can set out."

"Welcome to the group,Master Kane."

Valthur eyes the Halfling skeptically. While not particularly fear-inspiring, the dwarf admits to himself that any help is welcome. Plus the dwarf won't be the shortest member of the group anymore.

"Taerix, eh? Well met. You sure you're ready to tangle with this growing scourge of hobgoblins?"

Jorr gathers a few things from within his cabins, tells his three hounds to remain behind, and sets out to lead the adventurers to the Blackwater Causeway. It actually takes a few stern admonishments to convince his dogs to stay, but eventually they slink away under the shade of the deck and watch the party depart.

Following a footpath that weaves in and out of a heavily wooded stretch of forest just south of a flooded woodland, the party works up a feverish sweat as the sun marches ever higher. Continuing along this trail for an hour or so, the party eventually spots the Dawn Way ahead, running north and south through the Witchwood.

A wide expanse of dark water has flooded the woodland in this low valley. Trees still protrude from the calm, dark waters here and there, but many large reaches seem to be little more than open pools of algae-choked water. The trill of frogs and the whine of insects fills the air. The forest road leads right down to the edge of the flooded section, up to a rickety-looking causeway made of thick planks of wood lashed together with mossy rope. The wooden causeway runs for several hundred feet through the boggy patch, only a foot or so above the water.

Jorr points away to the south along the Dawn Way and says, "Some goblins passed through that way just yesterday..."

Turning his attention back toward the north, across the causeway spanning the flooded valley, he says, "Oh...that's new..."

Up ahead to the north, the party can make out the wreckage of a goblin war wagon, lying on its side and half-sunk in the flooded forest, about thirty feet from the causeway.

Shortly after the party set out, Sarah was observed to have rejoined them.

____________________________

Upon seeing the flooded valley and hearing Jorr's comment, Sarah says softly: "Wonder if the giants are helpin' the 'obgoblins."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:04, Tue 08 Aug 2017.

As they journey toward the causeway, Valthur repeatedly wipes the sweat from his face with a grumble. "Blasted heat. The insects are so bad here I'd almost rather be in that cursed tree trunk." He draws his crossbow and examines the water around the sunken wagon, looking for anything suspicious stirring.


"Giants? Did I miss something?"

 Marklin walked along with the others, swatting bugs with each step. He watched each side of the causeway, half expecting a Hob gob behind every bush and tree.

Sarah doesn't respond.

Valthur grumbles, grits his teeth. and wipes the sweat from his face, all the while keeping his eyes on the submerged wagon.

“ Hob Gobs and Goblins nay be enough, now it be Giants. What next, a bloody Dragon?” Said as Marklin swatted another bug that bit him.

Taerix looks around the forest, knowing that an obvious focal point like the war wagon might distract him from an ambush from another direction. His eyes sweep from the wagon to the forest and back.

"A dragon, huh? I bet I could hide from a dragon..."

Valthur rolls his eyes and groans. "We're not really looking for hiders. More looking for bravery and that sort of thing." He returns his attention to the wagon.

Aldara's greeting to Kane was a very warm one, and done in the language of the Halflings.

Like the others, she found her own way to deal with the pests and perspiration, tying her bandana in such a way that it would hopefully soak up as much sweat as possible.

"I bet I could hide from a dragon and a giant.  Let's hope to the gods that we don't have to face either of those." She draws two knives - one for throwing, and another one also for throwing - and also looks for any strange stirrings in the water.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:30, Tue 08 Aug 2017.

Jorr grumbles and twists his weatherbeaten face into a tight knot before responding, "Must'a not heard me flappin' my gums over the buzz of them skeeters and chiggers..."

"Twistusks...ornery forest giants. Vraath Keep...ah, the hell with it," he says while turning his attention back to the partially submerged goblin warwagon"

"It's not their strong suit," Eoni apologized to their guide.  "They're easily distracted."

The Sister of Avandra eyed the wagon speculatively.  "I wonder what happened to it?"

She waited a moment for them to be ambushed and then decided she'd like to look at the wagon.

"Find somewhere to cover us with your bows," Eoni said to Gaston and his fellows while she shrugged out of her pack and hung it on a tree.  "I'd like to get a look at that wagon.  Jorr, you can hang back as well and keep a look out.

"We don't all need to look at the wagon," she said to the others.  "Maybe position yourselves if any come from either direction.  I think they've abandoned the wagon.  I want to know what happened."

 “Well Captain Eoni, let's wade out there and inspect this here wagon, " With that being said, Marklin used the end of his spear to test how deep the water was.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:17, Tue 08 Aug 2017.

Marklin and Eoni walk along the causeway to get as close to the war-wagon as possible without entering the bog while the rest of the party waits with missile weapons at the ready. The pair are able to draw within about 30 feet of the wagon but the final distance to close the gap consists of weed-choked water. Marklin prods the water with his spear a few times and judges the shallow bog to be about two feet deep.

Turning his gaze to the surrounding area, Marklin sees a deep draw cutting across the marsh. Here, the water moves a bit more swiftly from west to east, suggesting a deeper current. But the wagon is lodged about 5 feet in front of the draw, so it should be possible to wade through the muck and mire without entering the channel.

 With a " No guts, no treasure." being said, Marklin attempted to make his way to the wagon without taking a  bog bath.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:38, Tue 08 Aug 2017.

Eoni hesitated on the causeway.  Not for fear of something loathsome in the water, but in regards to her dress getting ruined.  She'd just had it washed and her boots polished!

She looked for some reason the wagon may have become lodged where it rested while wrapping her cloak up around her neck to keep it from getting wet.  She could at least save one article of clothing from this ignominious muck.

Taking a deep breath, she waited until Marklin had waded some ten feet successfully before sliding into the fetid waters herself.  She used her staff to steady herself as she went.  It would be unlucky if the raiders came upon them while they were thus exposed, but unluckier still to trip and find herself headfirst into the mire.

Sarah looks about for a place to run and hide, just in case such information might come in handy.

Marklin wades out into the water ahead of Eoni while the rest of the party hangs back on either the shore or along the causeway. Marklin makes slow but steady progress through the muck, his advance hindered by the uneven, boggy surface and widespread vegetation. Eoni finds the going equally tough and her dress is definitely soiled in the process. Some stains are just too tough to remove!

Marklin draws to within 10 feet of the partially submerged wagon when the fighter, and the rest of the party for that matter, notices a single reptilian head rise above a mossy section of turf near one of the wagon's wheels. The reptilian head sways this way and that on its long, sinuous neck which disappears beneath the water.

A fan of verdant scales runs the length of the creature's neck, but more impressive are its blazing amber eyes which bore through Marklin's soul. And that terrible uneven row of serrated razor-sharp teeth, each the size of a long sword!

The creature takes in Marklin, a shadow falling over the warrior as the reptilian head rises higher and belts out a high-pitched shriek that splits the air.

Then, as if in response...five more similarly horrific reptilian heads emerge from the swamp, each shrieking and raging!!!


OOC: Marklin is about 10 feet distant from the Hydra, with the wagon between he and it. Eoni is 20 feet distant. The rest of the party is anywhere from 30 to 60 feet distant.

Six-Headed Hydra
AC: 5
HP: 38/48 (1 head defeated)


PC         AC   HP    9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0 -1 -2 -3
Aldara     8    9/9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Eoni       8  16/16  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Marklin    5  14/14   9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20
Sarah      4  12/12   9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20
Taerix     1  15/15   9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20
Valthur    5  18/18   9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20

NPCs
Gaston     5  16/16   9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20
Lenny      5   9/9   10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Anders     7   9/9   10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20
Jorr       8  10/10  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 20

[Private to GM:

  HD       9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1   0   -1  -2  -3
Up to 1    10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20  20
1+ to 2    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20
2+ to 3    8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20
3+ to 4    7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19
4+ to 5    6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18
5+ to 6    5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17
6+ to 7    4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16
7+ to 9    3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15
9+ to 11   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14

]

OOC: PCs are UP!!!

This message was last edited by the GM at 07:45, Thu 10 Aug 2017.