The sun is just setting behind the trees. No one says anything, but there is a slight tension of making it to the road and finding where Cobb and the wagon rested for the night. As the darkness creeps in, you all see a light coming from a tower not too far in the distance. This is the lighthouse that Cobb spoke of.

You make your way towards the light, eventually making it to the road. About 20 minutes later, you are greeted by Tarrin (OOC: The Duke’s nephew, so you don’t have to look it up).

“Thank the gods!” he cries out, “We weren’t sure you had made it. Welcome! Aeril is scouting the area to the east, so Cobb sent me walking up and down the road to find you, if you came this way. Boring work, but it certainly looks like I cannot complain, compared to the bruises and wounds you all have suffered through.”

He then notices the two new halflings, “Greetings friends. My name is Tarrin, second nephew of Duke Jomed of Carrowsport. Let’s get you all to the campsite, where you can rest and have a hot meal.”

After his greeting, he whispers to each of you, “Keep your wits about, we’re not alone at camp.”

He says no more before whistling a merry tune and leading you all to the camp. A large area has been mapped out underneath the lighthouse, obviously a common place for travellers to rest on the road. There are three camps tonight, but it is obvious that there is cleared space for at least three times that number.

The other two camps are merchant camps, two or three caravans with 10-20 merchants and muscle all settling down for food and rest. You quickly find Cobb’s area. Warm greetings are given as the party is back together.

“Luckily we had a smooth journey all day,” says Cobb, “I think Stagrock intimidated a few who had an idea or two about a quick payoff. Aeril should be back soon, so please sit down. Rest your bones. Sister Villa can tend to some of your wounds. First, let me introduce Tobar and Aishe.”

You see a human man, long braided black hair, five earrings in his right ear, wearing vagabond like clothes. He speaks in a unique version of common dialect, grinning from ear to ear, revealing one missing and one cracked tooth, “I am Tobar Gaff, of the Kaladashi. This is my young charge Aishe.”

Aishe is a small part-elvish girl, with long brown hair with two braids. She is taller than the halflings, but not by much. She has piercing blue eyes when she looks at you, but is it always accompanied by a smile.

You are familiar with the Kaladashi. A tribe of wandering rovers, always rumored (or scapegoated, depending on your view) to be a pack of thieves. The rumors are similar to other boogeymen, they will steal your children, curse your livestock, and cause blight to the land they sleep on.

Cobb continues, “We met Tobar on the road, and as we were the only travellers headed towards Styrebridge, he asked if he could tag along until we get to the city. With luck, we should get there tomorrow. But come, tell me about your tale. Then, we can figure out what to do with our halfling friends here.”

All of you clearly notice that Cobb and Stagrock are geared down, so he obviously does not think of Tobar as a physical threat, regardless of Tarrin's warning. You all let down your gear. Stagrock helps you put the cloth and the extra spoils in the caravan. There is a warm stew by the fire, and logs makeshift as chairs, stools and benches around the fire area.

OOC: Mostly just a rest post. Feel free to do basic actions, talk to the guest, ask for help from Sister Villa, who will have some cure spells available, if required. She will mostly be helping the halflings with poltices and other herbs. We will have one more 'decent sized' post before everyone can get their sleep, level up, learn spells, etc.

After the others reach Cobb, Clare simply stands in place and not really interested in recalling the events that unfolded, also she eyes up the various merchants camping near them and tries her best not to be noticed by them. She then turns back to the newcomers,"Greetings Tobar and Aishe, I hope the Daylord gives you a sunny day." she says, then she spots a familiar hooded cloak weaving pass the merchant crowd,"Ah, Clare, you got blood all over you." her priestess, Flore exclaims as she runs toward her knight and checks her injury,"Hey, Flore, don't worry about me. I've already fix myself back up, these guys over here could use an examination." she says as she scratched her neck as the Priestess frantically search her for any sort of open wounds,"Phew, looks like you managed to stave off from anything serious." she says, then gives her a boop on the head,"Don't scare me like that, you almost gave me a heart attack. Anyways, if any of you guys are injured, I'll heal you to the best I can, any serious wounds and I'll grab Sister Villa. She's quite a nice lady and so experienced in her field, she'll fix you right up." she says, having been hanging around the sister to learn how to properly be a cleric.

"Hmm, I see you're hard at work. Well then, guess you deserve this, think of it as an award." Clare says as she tosses Flore a pink gem,"Wow, this is beautiful, thanks Clare. You can certainly be nice sometimes."
"Thanks.... Wait, what do you mean by that?" she says, pondering what she meant but won't pursue it any further cause she doesn't feel like it.

Elïné was uninjured, and glad the hobgoblins hadn't hit her. She was no sturdy armor and a tough physique. One hit, or possibly two, could have brought her down. If there was a single reason to pursue the art of shadow, mere survival was it. It could give her the power to live through this ordeal.

She sat with the others and enjoyed the meal, but still wondered if they resented her after what she had shown. Elïné glanced at the half elven girl, perhaps trying to see if she could see part of her own clan in her, or if there was a different strain of elvish blood.

Elïné was happy to tell her side of the story about what had happened. Although she was no entertainer, she had a love for exciting tales. She omitted any mention of shadow magic and did not speak of treasure.

Caelia was unusually terse on their way back to the caravan, still wary and on the look-out for any other dangers. Upon their return, her customary smile was pasted across her face and her emerald eyes sparkled at the prospect of meeting new people. She and Wind rode ahead of Tarrin after his quiet warning to go and ogle at the other caravans, waving cheerily at any that looked her way, before meeting the others back at the camp. At the sight of and introduction to Tobar and Aishe, she almost squealed and her eyes went wide. She vaulted from her saddle and rushed to greet them.

"Well met Tobar of the Kaladashi. A pleasant evening to you, Aishe." She bowed to them both in messenger fashion . "A fortuitous meeting on the road is always welcome" She gushed her, clearly excited and then asked of Tobar directly "I'd be happy to hear your story later, if you're willing to tell it?" Barely waiting for a response to the formalities, she turned to Aishe with child-like abandon; incongruous in the face of her battle-stained gear and hastily bandaged injuries. "Do you want to meet my dog?! Her name's Wind and I have to take care of her for the night, you can come and help if you'd like! She's really friendly, I promise!" The grin on her face was open and inviting.

Whether Aishe came with her or not, Caelia lovingly attended to Wind, removing the saddle and brushing out the knots in her coat and massaging the battle fatigue from her closest friends' muscles, chattering away in idle conversation, one-sided though it may have been. Once Wind was settled with water to drink and a bone to chew, Caelia turned her attention to the locked strongbox they'd found on the road. She looked it over carefully before plonking herself down in front of it and producing some fine probes and tools. Tongue sticking out of her mouth, she set about unravelling the puzzle, curious as to what secrets were concealed within.

OOC:
Caelia will take her time opening the lockbox and checking it for traps.

---

Spoiler for DMG pg.237 "Multiple Ability Checks: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Sometimes a character fails an ability check and wants to try again. In some cases, a character is free to do so; the only real cost is the time it takes. With enough attempts and enough time, a character should eventually succeed at the task. To speed things up, assume that a character spending ten times the normal amount of time needed to complete a task automatically succeeds at that task. However, no amount of repeating the check allows a character to turn an impossible task into a successful one.”

---

Failing that, I'll happily roll or take a Passive crack at it: Thieves Tools +5, Passive: 15 (or 20 with an assist from a friend...)

Caelia will also try to get as much of a "read" on Tobar and Aishe as she can over the course of the evening. Passive Insight: 16

Tobar bows to each member of the party as they sit down and compose themselves. Aishe looks up at Tobar when Caelia’s offer is suggested, she looks up and him and he nods in a kind way.

“Hold one moment, young messenger,” says Cobb, “I would like to hear a bit more from our halfling guests about what happened. Ensuring that nothing was really missed when our friend, Silvo, told us the tale before. Also, we need to figure out what to do next.”

The halflings tell their tale. The only real additions you learn is that the Mayor of Styrebridge is Mayor Eltin Tackwiddle, and that he was very uninterested in the plight of the halflings. Other ministers of his were constantly reminding him of additional obligations. The only other thing that Marigold and Oren say of note is they remember hearing the words “Bertans” repeated by the hobgoblins. It stood out because it was in common.

“Well then,” says Cobb, “I’m worried that we are in a pickle. I don’t want to send the three of you back on the road alone. For one thing, I don’t know if there is more than one slaver team after you, and secondly, I want to make sure that you get to see Duke Jomed quickly. Before you arrived, I talked with one of the merchant caravans, and you are welcome to accompany them. But, getting in to see the Duke, could take you additional days, even with my recommendation.”

Cobb turns to Tarrin, but before he can say anything, Fartho speaks up, “I can go with them,”

The whole party looks at Fartho, “Um, I can go with them back to Carrowsport. The Duke needs to know about halflings being enslaved. And even if I get resistance, enough nobles know me that I can get word to the right people.”

Cobb strokes his chin thoughtfully, “Actually that will work. I will give you instructions on how to reach Cedik, the castellain who you all met at the Inn. We will each depart at daybreak following breakfast. We’ll give all of you (meaning the halflings) clothes and supplies for the journey. Now, let me go have a talk with the merchant caravan.”

The halflings are relieved, and again give multiple thanks and praises to everyone in the party. Silvo is especially grateful.

Shortly after everyone eats, Aeril comes back to the camp gives a quick greeting to everyone. She and Stagrock will join other bodyguards from the other camps in the organized watch. If anyone of your party protests, Cobb raises his hand and says, “Rest up. You all had a long day. And when we get north of Styrebridge, we won’t see a nice camping spot like this.”

All of you start to rest for the night, noticing that Caelia is working on opening the strongbox with some tools.

OOC: With the healing from Sister Villa, Flore, and the rest you are about to get, all HP is fully restored for everyone.

I will give a small side-post about Aishe and Caelia later, just because too much text in this post. It is mostly for Caelia, but since it is close enough to camp, you are all passively aware of what takes place.

Clare stared as Fartho heads off with the other halflings,"... Hmm, sucks that Fartho's not coming along, but it is his choice, nothing to change about that." she says, then heads off to grab a warm meal.

When they're fellow comrades volunteered to take the rest of the patrol, Clare was about to join along but was stopped by Cobb,"Hmm, well as much as I want to take you off with that offer, fraid I have to decline the rest bit. I'm gonna start training to improve myself, get stronger or passed out from exhaustion."
"What! Weren't just moments ago completely work out during our travels" Flore says, somewhat worried for her friend health,"Yep, I sure did, and I even had to jog through the battlefield... I really regret selling our horse now, but despite that, I feel a calling to improve. Especially now that we're one man down, so it's better if I stop slacking and get stronger." she says, to which Flore gives out a sigh,"Don't worry about her everyone, I'll make sure she won't go too far on training." she says to the others as the young priestess continued eating her meal with her stubborn knight.

Gelric nodded his approval of the plan, dangerous though it may be for a small group, "Good man, Fartho. I will pray for Bleredd to watch over you and keep you safe in your journey."

He smiled at Clare's desire to go off and work out. He was the same back before he had enlisted. Being worked that hard, for that many hours, every single day either got you out of that habit, or seared it directly into your soul. For Gelric, it had been a twist on the latter. He still had similar impulses, but now it was work in the forge that he sought to pour all of his extra effort into, and it was the result of the work that built him up, not his work itself.

With Caelia at work on the lock, Clare going to burn off her excess energy, and Fartho preparing to make an unexpected return trip, Gelric went to go share a quiet word with Cobb before he would settle in for the night; hopefully near the light of an open flame.

"Huh. That wasn't so hard now was it?" Caelia said with a satisfied look on her face as she put away her tools discretely and lifted the lid of the strongbox. "Hey everyone, looks like we have someones money and, uh, some other coins? If I had to guess, I'd say they'll pay for things less ummm...salubrious. Or maybe they're just a guild pay-scrip? There's a  monogrammed ring here too. Come take a look." She brought the box over somewhere more communal to show the contents. Inside was a small fortune by common standards, as well as some coin-like steel disks and a copper ring with the letters "BBB" engraved on it. "Do you think we should find the owner and return it?" she mused.

OOC: Are the steel "coins" engraved or do they have any other markings?

Elïné gave a nod. "I would be reluctant to keep coin from people in need. If their source is abundant, however, we could put the valuables to good use by donation or finding good causes ourselves along our way."

She sat in the camp and prepared herself for her own rest. There was no need for sleep, but meditation and trance would be necessary to clear her mind. She watched her own shadow dance in the flicker from the campfire. For a moment it raised its hands towards the sky while Elïné herself sat perfectly still.

The shadow was gaining power.

The steel disks are simply stamped with the BBB etched on the face, seemingly from a machine. The disks are not uniform like coins: Some are chipped, others misshapen, some very shiney, others dull, but all have the BBB etching.

No one seems to know anything else about them.

Cobb gets up to put some things away, and you all notice that Gelric rises to help him.

Not much happens in the rest of the night, and you all head off to your resting spots to heal, meditate, and reflect on what happened that day.

OOC: Please ensure that all of your character sheets are updated with leveling information, updated spells, and the like. Private me if you have any leveling questions.

The morning comes. The halflings gather their things and are ready to depart on their way. Stagrock is cooking some quick grains on the fire, additionally there is some meat and cheese for the day.

Cobb calls out to the group, “Let’s get packed up and ready to go. I’d like to be in Styrebridge before nightfall.”

Tobar and Aishe are already awake and packed up, eating some grainy bars that look like bark. They greet the party with a smile.

After rising early and taking Wind out for a brief morning stroll, Caelia returned to camp hungry for more than just oatmeal and salted meat and seemed as eager as Cobb to hit the road. She waved at Aishe in a friendly manner and nodded politely to Tobar before hurriedly updating her journal over breakfast, careful not to let anyone read over her shoulder. Once she was done, she clapped the book shut and put away her writing things before looking up at Clare. "Next time we stop, I'd like to train with you, if that's alright? If we're going to get into as many scrapes as we did yesterday, I'd like to brush off the cobwebs of city-living; feels like I'm getting soft and Wind isn't much of a sparring partner, are you girl?" she quipped, that last aimed at her erstwhile canine companion.

Gelric was early to rise, saying prayers with the morning light as he packed his things and readied himself for the day to come. He heard Caelia asking to train, and absently nodded his approval, "We have seen plenty of fighting on this trip already, in so short a time. I have asked for other blessings today, in preparation for more. My utility outside of combat will be reduced to my personal skillset, and the cantrips I use for my work."

When Cobb called them to action, Gelric reacted immediately. Following orders still came easy, even if he was no longer enlisted.

The elf had been out of her trance for a while when the others stirred. When she stood, Elïné glanced at her shadow to make sure it behaved. Fortunately, it seemed normal at this time.

She freshened up a stone's throw away from the camp, but soon returned to eat a little with the others; enjoying a piece of her own preserved elven bread. It was a taste of home.

"I'm ready."

After morning came, Clare groggily woke up. Last night's training session was the most intense one she's ever done. It was a good thing Flore was there to help her out, while at least dragging her back to their tent in exhaustion. Though after she blacked out, something extraordinary happened. Though she snapped out from her thoughts when she heard a voice. She looked down to meet their messenger girl,".... Yeah, I gotta agree what you did yesterday wasn't very impressive." she says to the gnome her opinion on her skills,"But sure, I'll teach you a thing or two in how to properly fight. Gotta warn you though, just because my upbringing was more comfortable than yours, doesn't mean I was trained in refined and delicate bladework. My kind of technique is brutal, a hit hard kind of training, I won't hold back. That's for certain." she says to Caelia but then was interrupted by the sound of an exasperated Flore.

"PRAISE THE DAYLORD! MAY HIS DAY ALWAYS SHINE UPON US ALL!"

".... Don't mind my priestess, she just recently received a divine gift, and so have I. So Flore says." she says as the red headed girl raises her hands up toward the sky, appreciating what a good day it is.

Caelia was visibly crestfallen at Clares assessment of her combat prowess, clearly down-heartened by the criticism. "Didn't think I was that bad." she murmured to herself. She brightened up at the prospect of training with the taller and stronger knight though, and shrugged off the warning "Thanks! I'm used to going up against folk bigger and stronger than little ol' me, so don't let up on my account; I'll keep pace well enough. Might even teach you a trick or two!" she winked cheekily.

At Flore's ebullient morning greeting of the day, Caelia couldn't help but smile. "Glorious day indeed. Let's hit the road, aye?" So saying, she gathered up the last of her things and leapt into the saddle, ready to go.

After eating, everyone says their goodbyes. Cobb gives Fartho detailed instructions on how to get the halflings to the right people at the Duke’s court, just in case something goes wrong. Goodbyes are exchanged, and the party gets on their way to Styrebridge with Peck flying overhead leading the way.

The day goes by as before. Flore riding up front in the carriage with Cobb. Gelric and Clare in the back of the carriage, keeping an eye on the sides of the road. Tarrin has now taken the reigns of the second wagon. Stagrock and Eline in the back of the second wagon, keeping an eye on the rear.

Caelia is riding Wind out in front of the wagons keeping an eye on stuff ahead of you. Aeril makes her way on foot, off the road into the woods and scrub around the road, and every so often you will see her near the road, making quick hand signals to Cobb, who just nods with a calm face, indicating that everything is normal.
Riding a small mule alongside the party is Tobar and his young ward Aishe. It is a pleasant morning, a good day to get some miles behind you, and things are going at a brisk pace.

At midmorning, some of you notice a flash of sunlight coming from the eastern side of the road. Cobb looks up and says to Flore, “It’s Aeril. Something is up. She’s heading back to us.” This gets shouted down to the rest of the party slowly.

About a minute after this flash occurs, Caelia sees smoke in the distance. It appears to be on the road or close to it. Unsure of what it is, she rides a little on ahead, and sees that it appears to be several small carts on fire, and about 5-6 people standing close to them, trying to put out the fire. At this distance, there does not seem to be conflict between the people.

Aeril, comes back to the road, and shakes her head, she has seen nothing wrong other than the people and the wildlife reacting to the fire and smoke.

OOC: The wagon will be aproaching the encounter on the next turn. There is no indication that you need to be combat ready, so you can either just rp, make suggestions, or prep for the unknown. 

Caelia needed nothing more than the sight of flames to take action. That folk appeared to be in plight only hastened her as she wheeled about into earshot of the rest of the caravan. "Quick! Bring buckets, blankets, shovels. Fire fire!" The threat of fire in the city had called in the Messengers Guild more than once, both to bring aid and tackle the flames, so Caelia was no stranger to reacting swiftly to such things. Having called for the others, she spurred Wind back toward the burning carts intending to lend whatever assistance she could. "Hi! Hi! Help is coming!" she shouted, announcing her presence to the strangers ahead of her.

None of Elïné's magic were based around ice or water. She could only provide conventional means of putting out a fire. Bringing her blanket and her waterskin out of her sack, she was ready to do what she could to help.

At the same, she kept her eye open for dangers. Had some enemy set these wagons afire?

If it were possible to kick oneself, or receive a slap a solid slap upside the back of your head at will, Gelric would be doing so at that very moment. He knew his pack contained nothing useful for so large a fire, so he left it with a wagon. He turned quickly to Cobb, "Be wary of an ambush." Not that Cobb needed to be told what to do in that situation.

Gleric rushed off toward the flames to provide what aid he could, saying a prayer of self-rebuke as he went, as he had prayed almost daily for the ability to create water out of nothing, in the event that thirst or fire posed a serious threat, but on this day he had assumed all threats would come at the points of swords and the like, and asked only for combat magics. An armor master should know better than to leave a weakness in the defenses he built, and today Gelric had done just that.

Every ten paces or so, Gelric cast a glance back toward his own wagon, just to be sure. Random fires happened, but they weren't terribly common in a moving wagon. Maybe knowing what they were getting themselves into had him more on edge and more suspicious than he should be, but being safe was normally something he was good at. There might be nothing he could do about the fire, but he could at least make sure everyone there was safe.

Flore was just having a lovely day after her moments of exuberance. But then she snapped back to reality as the gnome shouted about a fire,"Huh, fire? Oh by the Days, that wagons on fire! Oh, uh, I need shovels. Where's the shovels? Why do we need shovels? Gah, I can't find it." the cleric says in a panic, but then she felt a palm on her shoulder,"Ease up will you Flore, just check around to see if there's anyone injured, leave the whole fire fighting work to me." Clare says to her friend, which does not help alleviate her panic but at least she knows what to do.

Clare, who was just having a lovely time at the back for the wagon this time, begrudgingly stepped out and headed straight to the fire,"Swear to whatever God I serve and oathbound me, if this is an ambush, I'm gonna serve them a dish of uttar pain for the inconvenience." she says as she pulls out her waterskin and hopes that this will help,"If anyone is in need of heavy lifting work, let me get a shot at it. I'm pretty strong."

You all quickly come upon the scene, a wagon is on fire as is some of the cargo behind the wagon, with several fire arrows burning. Three people, two men and one woman are trying to put out the fire, but they are on the east side of the wagon, ducking down.

As they see Caelia and the rest of the party approaching. One yells out, “Bandits!” and points to the woods area to the west. You all notice three mounted bandits on horseback about  50-70 yards from the wagons. Additionally, several arrows land in the ground near the wagon, which appear to be coming from a few archers behind the trees about 100-125 yards or so from the party.

Cobb pulls the wagon to a halt, and prepares to get out of the wagon to help, Flore is currently in the wagon with him. Tarrin is pulling the carriage up to where Cobb is located, Sister Villa, and Stagrock are in the carriage. Aeril is in the treeline east of the road, and is heading towards the wagon and carriage. Tobar and Aishe are still on their mount, keeping pace with Tarrin’s carriage.

Caelia, Gelric, and Clare are heading towards the wagon on fire. Eline is in the back of the carriage.


OOC:

Summary of the situation:

The wagon is on fire but it is not raging, black smoke covers the region around it. The same can be said of the cargo behind the wagon. The three people are safe from the bandit attack, but are trying to put out the fire as best they can.


Links to map of the encounter:

Overview of the situation: https://drive.google.com/file/...rIf/view?usp=sharing

Overview of the situation with callouts, in case you need it:
https://drive.google.com/file/...qEd/view?usp=sharing

Caelia's head snapped westward at the warning and she sized up the situation. Wheeling Wind about once more, she rode back behind their own caravan train, laying out the best battle plan she could think of in the heat of the moment. As she passed by each of her companions she came across, she spoke fast but kept her voice low so as not to warn the bandits of what she had in mind.

"Clare, Gelric; see if you can't distract those horsemen."

"Tobar; with me. Flank those archers or we'll have our own fires to deal with.

"Everyone else; protect the wagons!"

It wasn't much of a plan and she had a niggling doubt over giving out orders, much less expecting anyone to follow them, but it was all she could think of and it seemed the best way. With no time for doubts, she readied her bow from its saddle holster and prepared to do battle.

OOC:
15:40, Today: Caelia Windthorne rolled 20 using 1d20+3. Initiative.

Wind: Dash, moving as far toward the back of the caravan as possible on its Eastern side, roughly South-West.
Caelia: Talk and ready bow

Gelric was already moving when he heard Caelia bark out the orders.

Initiative: 8

Current intention is to Move & Dash, 30 ft north then 30 ft northwest. If the bandits are closer by the time it's his turn, the action will change to an attack or cantrip.

11:12, Today: Gelric Crofe rolled 8 using 1d20+2.  Initiative. – 8

Clare stares at the horses next to her, but a glare from Cobb says that's ill advised. So she opts to do the routine,"Urgh, why does the universe insist that I ran. Always for every battle." she says and begrudgingly runs across the battlefield. Once she reached her limit of running capacity, Clare pulls out her greatsword this time,"... Alright *huff* you sons of.... *puff* bastards.... Come and get me. I'll paint the ground with your guts." she says, exhausted from the running she had to do, but she's also extremely mad and wants to take it out on these raiders.

14:36, Today: Clare Ospin rolled 4 using 1d20+2.  Initiative

Clare is gonna run 60 feet straight to Northwest, heading toward the horsemen's

Elïné prepared herself for battle with the bandits, casting a spell to protect herself against attacks. She then jumped out of the wagon and moved a little further north.

Action: Mage Armor
What is the map scale? You mentioned the archers were 120 yards away.

All of you get ready for battle. After Caelia moves into position. The archers launch fire arrows, one lands quite close to the wagon currently on fire, one lands about 15 feet away from the caravan where Cobb and Flore are seated, and the third wildly flies overhead. All arrows landing on the dirt and grass but there is no dry grass or kindling to worry about.

The horsemen cry out in an unknown language to all of you, the one in the lead position pointing with a stick in front of him. The horsemen keep their horses running at a full gallop and move towards crossing the road in front of the wagon on fire about a good 60-80 yards in front of you, seeming as if they are going to continue their arching/circular path. Screaming and yelling all the while.

Caelia gathers near the back of the caravan. Tobar’s horse seems to panic, and he settles him down before jumping off, crouching near her.

Gelric and Clare move towards the wagon in distress, rushing forward preparing for an attack.

Eline jumps out of the wagon, casing some sort of spell that engulfs her for a minute. Stagrock comes near her, bending down, crouching below the wagon. Cobb readies his bow, stopping the first wagon. Aeril moves towards Gelric and Clare. Tarrin stops the second wagon, and Sister Villa can be heard praying for assistance

OOC: Each hex is around 5 yards.

Link: https://drive.google.com/file/...HCr/view?usp=sharing

Gelric continued to push further through the smoke. The sound of thumping horse hooves told him that the bandits were circling, so he kept low as he moved so as to see through the smoke as best he could, watching for the hooves to see where his target might path and hoping to intercept.

Move: 30 feet to the northeast
Bonus: none
Action: Ready Action - cast Sacred Flame on a bandit when it comes within 60 feet, Dex DC 13 vs 4 Radiant damage

11:08, Today: Gelric Crofe rolled 4 using 1d8.  Sacred Flame, Dex 13 negates. – 4

Clare groans seeing as she has a long way to go,"Damn archer.... Flore was right, I should have taken archery class." she says and starts running toward the horsemen.

Still gonna continue my course, 60 feet toward the horsemen

Elïné was too far from the bandits to reach anyone with her spells. Even her bow would have difficulties hitting anything at this distance. Instead, she advanced on the archers, using the roadside stones as cover after her first sprint.

Action: Dash 70 feet, which should take her just about to that row of stones.

Her short riders bow was well out of range compared to the longbows of the bandits, so Caelia spurred Wind into a sprint and kept a wary eye on any incoming fire, ready to duck out of the way.

OOC:
Caelia: Dodge
Wind: Dash - West around the wagon and toward the treeline

All of you move into your positions, heading towards the bandits. Gelric, readying his spell, Clare preparing to take down any horsemen that comes near, Caelia riding Wind towards the threat, and Eline covering behind the stones.

Stagrock comes around the west side of the carriage, great axe in hand. Cobb has gotten off of the wagon and is making his way towards the wagon on fire. Tobar seems to have joined him, and with his head low is making his way towards the wagon. Terrin has his sword drawn, protecting Sister Villa.

The riders get disrupted from your movement. The first rider arcs his horse back around heading into the trees, the second and third rider also turn decidedly away from the party and the wagon on fire. The archers also seem to fire more wildly at the wagons, landing harmlessly in the grass.


OOC: Forgot the link to the map:
https://drive.google.com/file/...hZK/view?usp=sharing
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:13, Tue 20 Sept 2022.

With the riders reacting to their movement, Gelric reflexively cursed. He wasn't in a great position to catch mounted bandits in an open roadside field. He was going to have to change tactics.

Move: 30 feet west, stowing my weapon as a free action
Action: stow my shield
Bonus: none

This message was last edited by the player at 17:32, Thu 22 Sept 2022.

Caelia frowned at the actions of their attackers "Wait! Something isn't right here. Watch your backs!" she shouted to her companions. Unable to put her finger on exactly what it was she felt uncomfortable about, she nevertheless continued her advance, knocking an arrow to shoot at the nearest archer, hoping to provoke a more telling response. Her heart beat fast in her chest as she lengthened the gap between herself and the relative safety of her friends' presence and kept a close eye on the enemy, ready to flee should the horsemen turn on her. She braced in the saddle to loose her arrow, knowing it was a long shot for her little bow. She tried to recall the pinpoint accuracy of the Lady Eline that first day as they left the city and tried to emulate her form, even as she felt the smooth roll of Winds speedy gait beneath her. As she loosed, she realised it was a bad time to try something new and had no expectation of the missile connecting as it flew awry. She prepared to wheel Wind away from danger, but hesitated to peer closer at their foe, trying to gauge what it was she instinctively knew was wrong about this whole situation.

OOC:
Wind
Dash - Toward the treeline (staying a healthy distance from the horsemen!)
Caelia
Action : Attack, Shortbow
16:00, Today: Caelia Windthorne rolled 8 using 2d20+5, dropping the highest dice only ((11,3)). Attack, Shortbow (Disadvantage for Range)
Free: 16:09, Today: Caelia Windthorne rolled 9 using 1d20+6.  Perception (a closer look)

(Urgh. The dice roller hates me today!)

Clare swears again as those riders just keep on running away, she was about to give chase once more but stops when she heard their messenger's words."... Watch our backs, eh! Sounds like sound advice, and I think I have a grasp of what's going on." she says to herself and runs back toward the burning wagon,"I have a feeling you guys might be attacked, prepare yourselves." she warns the merchant's as she spills her waterskin's contents on the burning wagon.

Move: I have enough movement to head to the wagon
Action: She tries to get rid of the fire

With the warning received, Gelric turned to watch for another attack. Whether another group of riders was coming up from behind, or the supposed merchants were in league with the bandits, Gelric made himself ready for what was to come. "The wagons are lost, we're saving lives now."

With that information, cancel the previous action choices.

If I need to use Active Perception (passive is 12) -
Action A: Perception 18
Move A: if I see no enemies, move 15 feet south east and stop

If I see enemies within 35-90 feet -
Move B: 30 feet closer to an enemy
Action B: cast Sacred Flame for Dex 13 vs 5 Radiant damage

If I see enemies within 35 feet -
Move C: 30 feet closer to an enemy
Action: Mace attack hits AC 11 for 9 Bludgeoning damage

If I see enemies that direction, but out of the above ranges -
Move D: up to 30 feet
Action: Dodge

12:28, Today: Gelric Crofe rolled 11,9 using d20+6,d6+4.  Mace attack. – 11,9
12:23, Today: Gelric Crofe rolled 5 using 1d8.  Sacred Flame, Dex 13 negates. – 5
12:21, Today: Gelric Crofe rolled 18 using 1d20+2.  Perception. – 18

Elïné was still a long way from the bandits, but thought she might attempt an arrow at this distance. She angled her bow towards the sky and watched the arrow fly into the air, then dip down towards one of the archers.

She agreed that something wasn't right, and stayed where she was. She turned her head and looked in every direction.

Attack: Hits AC 14 (at disadvantage) for 6 damage.

The attack has turned into chaos. The bandits make a lot of noise, but any signs of further attack or any coordinated efforts has completely broken down. A few more haphazard arrows fly from the archers to no avail, as both the horsemen and the archers retreat into the treeline, increasingly hidden from view.

Gelric notices no further attacks coming from any direction, and moves to protect the others so they can help put out the flames.

Eline fires an arrow into the treeline, hitting the archer closest to her position who is retreating.

Caelia moves towards the treeline. The archers are retreating into woods and scrub brush, and the horsemen are riding fast away from you.

Clare rushes over and starts to use her waterskin to put out the fire. Cobb has grabbed a blanket to help smother the fire, and Flore goes with him, keeping low, making their way to the flames. Terrin seemingly is protecting Sister Villa as they head in that direction. Tobar is also timidly creeping his way to the wagon on fire.

Caelia's furrowed brow deepened. "What?" she murmured to herself, confused by the apparent dissarray of the bandits. Their small caravan showing up surely wouldn't be enough to deter bandits successful or professional enough to have even a single horse, let alone three. Not without a significant show of force, at least. Perhaps they just prefer stacked odds, she wondered to herself.

Strange though it seemed, she wasn't about to go haring off in lone pursuit. She wheeled Wind around to the north, toward the burning wagon, standing vigil with her bow against the bandits returning, while the others tended fo the flames.

OOC:

Ready Action: Shoot a bandit if they return into range?

Elïné walked up to the others. "Something's wrong." she said. She looked around again to make sure. "The girl with Elvish blood, Aishe. She is gone."

She turned to Tobar, who didn't seem to care. "Where is she? What's going on?"

"What's going on is that their's trickery at at here." Clare responds to Eline's question,"This is only a guess but this seems stage. No one was even hit by an arrow except the bandits, they kept hitting the wagon which was unnecessary, unless their was cargo they didn't want anyone to find. Yet, your missing partner is suspicious Tobar, mind telling us what she's doing. Or is this apart of your plan?" she says her theories to the group, then has her blade pointing to Tobar.

Gelric shared his thoughts with Clare since she was nearby, "This is all staged. The 'merchants' are in on it too. Cobb, I think we should fall back to the wagon."

Move: 30 feet back toward Cobb

My action will depend on what happens in response to things being said, and movement might change too if they start attacking us.

The horsemen and the archers continue to retreat. The merchants lying on the ground are taking no actions, despite the words.

Eline’s words are ignored by Tobar, keeping his head down. He then hears Clare’s accusation as she heads towards him with her sword drawn.

“Aishe? I told her to jump off the horse as we approached the fire. I’m sure she’s somewhere safe, hiding to avoid getting hit by the arrows.”

“She was,” came a voice from behind the last caravan. Aeril walks around holding Aishe by her collar, as she flails and tries to hit the ranger.

Aeril walks towards Cobb finally dropping the girl as she kicks ineffectively at Aeril’s leather armor, “She was in the caravan, holding this,” as she hands lockpicking tools to Cobb.

Tobar look of defensiveness turns to a look of sterness as he exclaims, “Aishe! I am very disappointed in you! Who gave you those tools! There will be severe Kaladashi punishment for you and everyone involved with this!”

Tobar is holding no weapons and is making no movements indicating that he is about to begin anything. Aishe seems like she is ready to run, her eyes darting around, but never straying from Tobar’s face for too long.

"...." Clare looked in, now had a look of confusion. She looked to Tobar, her hand tightening on the handle of her blade. But then looked toward the elf girl, her eyes see someone guilty, but her mind is telling her of something suspicious,".... Aeril, I'd like to get something straight. Where were you during the fight? Do you have a reason. Also, did you say that this wagon was being attacked by bandits when you reported us about this fire?" she say this in order to figure out if what she remembers was right.

"We've been played." Elïné said, shaking her head. "Or at least someone tried to play us."

She stepped closer. "And I think Tobar isn't as disappointed as he clams. They're clearly in cahoots. With that said, I do not represent the law in this land in any capacity. I cannot pass judgement on anyone. Still, we should make sure they do not steal from anyone else."

Stagrock, Sister Villa, and Tarrin make their way over to the caravan to help put out the flames, as Cobb and the party move more towards Aeril who is bringing Aishe to the group. She drops the girl in front of the group now confonting Tobar. She glares at the paladin for the accusation and sheathes her weapon.

Aishe is spluttering for something to say, but her eyes betray her as she keeps looking over at Tobar for a way out.

Cobb looks at Eline, “We have more authority here than you think, Lady Eline. These still are still part of Duke Jomed’s lands. I am sure that the authorities in Styrebridge would have something to say about all of this.”

Tobar chuckles for a moment, despite himself, causing Cobb to respond, “Something funny, Tobar?”

“Yes there is. It’s funny that you think that the authorities in Styrebridge care about anything other than lining their own pockets. It’s also funny that you think Duke Jomed has any real power out here, especially as you claimed that your caravan was not sent by the Duke, despite his cousin tagging along for a trip to the north.”

Tobar sighs, “But truth be told, the Kaladashi name has recently been rather unfairly sullied in the streets of Styrebridge… and for the sake of friendship, let’s avoid any sort of talk of frontier justice, hm…. So, in the interest of good faith and to keep things less complicated, I will, as they say, ‘come clean.’

“Let’s start at the beginning, not that it was that long ago. Despite your best efforts, your caravans did catch a bit of attention as you left Carrowsport. Several ‘organizations’ became rather curious as to what the Duke was up to. Those curiosities turned into whispers, which happened to reach my ear, despite not being in the city. When I learned of this, I was able to meet up with your caravan on the road and devise this ‘performance’ to try to find out what you were carrying and where you were going.

Tobar holds out his hands in defensiveness, “I will not claim that the reputation of the Kaladashi as thieves is somewhat earned, but I am not a thief. Well, to be fair, maybe it’s better to say I am no longer a thief. I am the leader of a clan of Kaladashi, thievery no longer interests me. However, information does. Information is a valuable commodity that I have been able to trade at a high value. Sometimes I know of a buyer for the information, other times I hold onto information for bargaining or emergencies.

“All I have been able to gather is that from Styrebridge you are heading to another destination, and that your supplies are intended for that destination. Your supplies are more guarded than most traders on these roads, so they must have considerable, but not extravagant value. Finally, you have a group of city guards traveling with adventurers, mercenaries, and diplomats, a rather curious collection.


“To be honest with you, it’s a little disappointing. Not too much worth selling. I was hoping for something jucier. Now, I have been caught, due to a rather lackluster effort on my men’s part, and I have no specific buyer for the little information I have gathered. So, I am perfectly willing to come to an arrangement that may suit everyone.”

He stands there looking at the group gauging your reaction.

Clare sheepishly scratch her neck as the ranger glared at her,"Hey, don't look at me like that, you can't really blame a girl who has no skills in investigation work." she says, then looks toward Tobar as he finally comes clean,"... So it seems we have a leader of a clan of thieves who chooses not to steal. Care to explain this arrangement your proposing? Though I doubt we'd find it useful." she says, she was unsure what to make of Tobar, if that was his name but she knew that it was generally better to let the more intellectual of the group battle out his wits.