The next morning after your morning routines and breakfast you head towards the inner gatehouse to speak to Higveg.  The inner gates are small fort like structure along the inner wall.  This separates the common area of the castle from the inner keep and courtyard.  Given the relative peace the heavy double gates are open.  There are five guards in the gateway and at least two on the battlements above the gate.
Within the small group of guards is Sergeant Gaulmod, he appears to be give the morning orders to the other guards in the gateway.

As he spots you getting closer he stops talking to his men and approaches the group.  "New travels quickly in here, I've heard that you lot have been busy.  Got in and more importantly out of the caves again.  Well done!  What brings you all up here?"  He asks the group.

"Good morning, Sergeant Gaulmod.

We're here to speak to Hinveg, we're thinking to look into the matter of Black Torgal, the bandit."

Gaulmod chuckles at Zenphar request.  "A little to early in the morning for that book worm, but don't worry he just deals with signing of contracts and castle payments.  I can give you some information about this bastard.  The bounty on his head is 300 golden lions.  Problem we have is we can't find him.  He and his group attack from the south but we can't find any hint of camp this side of the river, nor can see any boats.  The river is bloody wide and deep, don't reckon they are swimming but they must be on the other side of the river because scouts keep seeing camp fires up in the mountains."

Nthanda steps into the shadow of the gatehouse before pushing back her hood to speak.  "Have any of the scouts crossed through the fens?  I expect it to be nasty, but the water shallower at least," she asks, not really relishing the thought of going through a muddy, marshy area.

The blank look on Ukhtusk’s face on the walk to the gatehouse would not have been mistaken for ‘philosophical’, but he animated at the prospect of worthy slaying. “What is Torgal? Is man? Is greenblood? Is scalykin?”

"Our scouts have been chased out the marches by lizard folk.  It is possible that bandits cross through the marhes, I guess.  I still reckon that they cross the river somewhere.  Scouts have followed tracks to the river bank that just disappear."  Gaulmod says to Nthanda.  He then turns to Uktusk and continues.  "As for Black Torgal, we think he is human possibly a half elf.  Most of the bandits are humans, but there are some other races in the mix."

"So the tracks lead to the river and there are camp fires in the hills of the Ravenwood...sounds like you have located them, Sergeant!

How they cross the river, might be a mystery, but it's possible that they have well-hidden boats...or perhaps some sort of magic?

Could you show us where the tracks disappeared? That would be a good spot to start our hunt."

Gaulmod rummaged around in a large pouch on his belt pulling out a map and points a place near the river.  "This is about where the scout said the trail went dead."


Each hex is about 100 yards.  The red cross is where he pointed.  The red dot was a mistake, there is nothing there.

Thromm had drunk until he passed out the night before. He'd awoken, late, under a table. A short breakfast and some of the hair of the dog and he was right as rain. Still, he was late to the party and trudged up sourly as the others were speaking to the gate captain. He watched and listened quietly to catch up on things. However, the river was sounding rather nice. His mood wasn't the only sour thing about him that morning.

After he was caught up on things, he raised an eyebrow, "Mayhap it is the dwarf in me, but has anyone checked for a tunnel? Going under a river ain't easy, but it can be done. A dwarf outta know."

Gaulmod suggests that is a path worth pursuing and wishes you good luck on your hunt.  He goes back to giving orders to his men.

Do you leave the keep or do you want to do something before you leave.

"I suggest we investigate the river bank, then," Nthanda says hitching up her backpack and readying to go.  "Tunnel, boats, magic flight, whatever it is we'll know better from there."  She will then put up her hood and proceed out the gate towards the river when everyone was ready.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:56, Tue 05 Oct 2021.

Ukhtusk nodded at Nthanda’s suggestion, returned to the inn to secure his traveling gear, and returned to the gate to leave with the rest.

As a veteran itinerant, Thromm's gear was already with him, so he busied himself drinking some water while waiting for the others and saying a few morning prayers.

"Good idea," Tegan replied to Nthanda's suggestion about examining the riverbank near the area where the bandits' trail led.

He suspected that boats were the most likely means of crossing the river. In his experience, most bands of cut-throats were not especially strong in the ways of magicks, and were too disorganized and lazy to put in the work required to build a tunnel under the river. He supposed that it was possible that Black Torgil had discovered an old abandoned tunnel, however. Time would tell.

"I am ready to begin our hunt," he said, flashing  a smile to his companions.

Zenphar nods in agreement with Nthanda.

"Thanks, Sergeant!" he calls out.

He joins the group as they head down to the river.

The walk this morning feels very pleasant compared to the gloom of the forests and caves you dealt with yesterday.  The country side south of the main road is made up of low hills covered in lush green grass.  In the distance you can see the peaks of a mountain reaching up into the clouds.

Zenphar walks with the group moves toward the river, spinning an arrow in his hand. His focus moves between the hills on the other side of the river and the ground in front of him.

As they get closer to the river, he looks for tracks or other signs that are out of place. Perhaps sign of a boat being pulled onto the shore, or even a hidden tunnel!

Suddenly, the elf pulls up short. "Do you see that?" he points to the east.

"White rabbits, with a horn like a unicorn, and they are appearing and disappearing! Those must be the blink bunnies that were mentioned on the Notice Board!"

Zenphar watches for a few moments, as he has never seen anything like these creatures before. "If I see Elaria, I'm sure she would want to study them!"

Eventually, the ranger returns his focus to the river and the hills beyond.

---

Zenphar rolled 6,24,14 for Nature, Perception, Survival - if needed.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:55, Fri 15 July 2022.