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