Leaving Blackspell

[granger44]

It appears so. Look at the bright side, m'lady...you might be able to get some furs straight from the source.

[drpete]

This was, indeed, what he had seen. He recognizes the roof he saw, though it turns out it was more of a large shelter than a full blown castle.

A man in leather with a big bushy beard is looking at you across the wide river while the others gather up bows and spears, ready to defend their home. It's clear that unless there are defenses you cannot see that these people would not put up much resistance to you, but the boats they have, a few canoes and a flatboat, are all on the other side of the river.

[Rodriguez]

Indeed... lets hope their furs are in a better condition. Now we only need to make sure that this shaggy goat over there gets us over the river.


says Damiane, mustering the bearded guy.

[Todd Spengo]

Zaid dismounts. "We'd best reassure them that our motivations are peaceful else I doubt they will willingly aid us to cross the water."

[granger44]

Lucius nods, slings his bow, and dismounts.

[Rodriguez]

Allright, fine... says Damiane and dismounts. Ludwig gives a sign and the guard including himself get off the horses as well.

[drpete]

The men line up along the river, watching you, now. Seeing you making a show of being peaceful, the bearded man gets into a canoe, and paddles across the water. He stops about 30 feet off and calls "Ho there! You looking looking to trade?"

[PyroArrow]

Erico Caravellino {Human Thief Lvl: 6 HP: 15/15 AC 8}:

To the Man in the Boat:
"Sure, plus a ride across the river would be nice."

[Lamech]

We have salt! But a river crossing would be very, very useful.

[drpete]

The bearded man looks you over, thinking about it. After a moment, he notices the Amazons. "We're on good terms with the women of Ninti. We don't want any trouble. We'll fetch you across." He waves to the men across the way, and though several of them keep their bows at the ready, a few others go down to the boats, and bring them across. Between the riverboat and a few canoes, they bring you across the river relatively quickly.

You see that the camp consists of about a dozen small shelters, a mix of tents and lean tos. There is a large central firepit, and the camp is ringed with 4 smaller firepits. You see a pen with a few mules in it, and there are a few work areas for tanning hides or skinning animals. There are about a dozen men here, that you can see.

What would you like to do in the camp, or are you eager to press on? It is still early in the day.

[Rodriguez]

Damiane demands to see the furs if they have any.

[granger44]

Lucius will pick an outgoing sort and start up a conversation. He's interested in:

• How their fur trade has been
• What sort of dangerous animals and beasts might be around
• Do they have to deal with the hobgoblins that live in these parts?
• What the terrain to the west is like.

Lucius isn't afraid to spread a few gold around so they can drink heartily next time they go to slake their thirst.

[drpete]

The bearded man, who seems to be the leader of this little group is called Kharlin Maar. He shows you around the camp, including the furs and hides they've collected, which seem to consist of wolf pelts, some badger, and a handful of deer. They're tanning some of it into leather, as well.

He tells you that the hobgoblins usually don't come this far west, but if they come down the river, they tend to run... Heir numbers are not all that great, and the camp is not actually that far from their home. They live in a village about 8 miles west of here, called Icewell Keep. The Keep is on the edge of the Irminsul forest, and though it has good defenses against attack, the land is perpetually frozen, so they need to range out for food and supplies. The foreat, he says, is inhabited by many tribes of humanoid, and their real humanoid problem is not the hobgoblins to the east, but orcs to the west.

Though they are relatively close to Ninti, they don't trade much with the man-hating Amazons, but mostly go north, to Kalastar for supplies, or off to Blackspell, both of which are accessible by boat. As for the hunting, they have no major complaints, though sometimes bigger things come out of the forest, like dragons, and make life even more difficult.

[granger44]

I'll put a dozen gold into Kharlin's hand, thank him for his information, and ask he and his fellows to drink to our health and good fortune when they next hoist a flagon.

[PyroArrow]

Erico Caravellino {Human Thief Lvl: 6 HP: 15/15 AC 8}:

"Let's go have a look at the old bridge statues on this side of the river now."

"Looks, like we have seen all there is to see here so let's press on after looking at the bridge statues."

"i don't care if we go to Ninti, or Kalastar or head into the forest."

[Lamech]

Do we want to see in anyone wants to buy the salt here?

[drpete]

Kharlin appreciates the gold, and lets you know he'd be happy to help in any way he can.

You guys know that though the salt can be useful, it's not super valuable... the hobgoblin "threw in" some salt as part of the deal.

[PyroArrow]

Erico Caravellino {Human Thief Lvl: 6 HP: 15/15 AC 8}:

Erico goes over to the bridge statue to have a look!

[drpete]

So, is Erico going back downriver by himself? He could likely make it there and back to the camp by nightfall, but it's several miles from this camp and will eat up much of the day.

[Rodriguez]

Damiane Xiphilinos is not too pleased with the meager selection and general lack of exotic furs. She would prefer it if the group meets ved on quickly, agreeimg with Erico that its a good idea to explore the other side of the bridge.