[Completed] - Quirin/Exploration - 3 March, 1 VC

[Keehnelf]

March 6, 1 VC - 7:40

After dousing their fire and clearing camp in case of the need to run once exploration has begun, the group makes its quiet and careful way down the run to the wolf den.

When they arrive, they discover that, while deep, the den is still little more than a hollow under the cliff face shadowed by a long shelf of overhanging rock that a small human could probably even sleep on. Peering under the shelf, the party sees a jumble of things near the back of the hollow, accompanied by the faintly sweet-rancid smell Varas had noticed the night before, but no sign of wolves. Whatever was there must have slipped away under the cover of darkness.

[AleBelly]

"Let's be quick" urges Varas. "Whatever slipped away may have gone to get friends. Does anyone have a pole to prod the stuff in the back of this den?"

If not, he will carefully search the back of the den, short sword in one hand.

[Keehnelf]

No one does, so I'll move forward.

March 6, 1 VC - 7:50am

Varas climbs into the den, sword in hand, to examine the contents. Within, he finds a good amount of dried blood and bits of gore, along with two half-eaten goblin corpses. They were armored, but that is now torn and useless, but Varas after a quick rifling of their possessions and the pile of goods, uncovers:

One dwarven-make short sword like the ones found before.
Seventeen gold pieces in assorted coins.
One more of the heavy silvery dwarf-coins.
A small onyx probably worth approximately 25gp.

[sulldawga]

Let me take a quick look in there before we light the torches.

Quirin will nock an arrow and slowly, quietly, creep into the entrance of the cave. He'll go in just far enough to get his infravision working and see what he can see (and hear).

[Keehnelf]

See above: Quirin can squeeze in there too.

[sulldawga]

See above: Quirin can squeeze in there too.

Cross-posted so ignore my last post.

Quirin looks around, takes a deep breath, instantly regrets it and chokes a bit, then puts his arrow back in his quiver.

Well, boys, I think we did alright on this one, especially considering the size of those wolves. Let's head back to town, sell some skins and some dwarf swords, and divvy up the loot! First ale is on me!

Quirin will make an attempt to recover his arrow from last night's battle before they head out.

[Keehnelf]

The arrow is lying at the bottom of the run and easily recovered.

I assume the party is making straight back for Vaul? Quirin estimates that they could do a long march to town and arrive about three hours after nightfall, or stop and camp about three quarters of the way there with time to set up a proper camp before the light fails. What's the preference?

[Keehnelf]

March 6, 1 VC - 8:00am

A light rain begins to fall over the moor, softening the ground somewhat and reducing visibility to about 1/2 mile.

[sulldawga]

Quirin will suggest that they hike it all the way back to town today, even if it means finishing the walk in darkness.

I'd just as soon not give any wolves the chance to avenge their fallen mates, if they try to track us down tonight.

[AleBelly]

Varas pinches his nose shut with one hand, gripping and jostling the short sword with the other. He tries to determine if this blade is of a higher quality than the one he possesses. After collecting the loot, Varas steps back out into the fresh air.

Well, boys, I think we did alright on this one, especially considering the size of those wolves. Let's head back to town, sell some skins and some dwarf swords, and divvy up the loot! First ale is on me!

"Indeed, my friend. This sounds like a good plan to me."

He looks at the wolf pelts. "Let's pack these away out of sight. They may raise the ire of the owner of those giant wolf prints we saw at the tower. I hope we don't regret killing them. They seem to make quick work of goblins, which makes them friends in my book."

Finally, Varas turns his gaze to Wendall, staring. "I may have underestimated you, boy. Your magic saved us at least some pain and injury, and perhaps you were right about the wolves. If your frail frame can handle drink, join us for an ale in Vaul!"

Varas is in favor of making a push to town, traveling through the dark if need be.

[Keehnelf]

6 March, 1 VC - 10:20pm

Random Wilderness Encounter [1d6] = 5
Random Wilderness Encounter [1d6] = 5

The party marches all through the day and into the night with nothing unusual taking place, apart from a dense fog rising up out of the mossy ground in response to the rain as it continues on over the course of the afternoon. The rain doesn't fall any harder, but it suffuses the air and makes it heavy and causes sounds to become leaden and dimmed (+5% chance to move silently, -1 to hear noise rolls in this kind of environment).

Location Discovery (entry) [1d6] = 1, Location Clues (entry) [1d6] = 4

In the middle of the afternoon, the party sees a structure off toward the west largely obscured by the fog. They decide to take a few minutes to investigate, and find the abandoned signal tower just as they had left it the day before, then continue on their way.

After dark, the faint few lights of Vaul come into view and after a few minutes of haggling the gate guards are forced to recognize that the party are not goblins and let them in.

Let's assume that folks ate a bit of wolf meat in the morning and will have lodging tonight, so no need to remove rations, but folks will need to pay for a night's lodging and be moved forward to March 7. I will post a summary with rewards in just a few minutes as I work through it.

[Keehnelf]

Expedition Summary:

Below is the loot brought back, its raw gp value and who has it to the best of my knowledge. If there's no name attached, it generally seems to be party property and it's unclear who might have grabbed it but it was clear from context that it was grabbed. The party can have discussions during the night of March 6 (or later) in the Tavern thread about who gets what and what is just being converted into coin and so forth.

Two intact wolf pelts (3gp value each, Varas has these).
One damaged wolf pelt (5sp value, Varas has this).
One elaborately-crafted dwaf-make dagger (100gp value)
12 silver pieces (Wendall has these).
Four dwarven-make short swords (14gp value each, Quirin has one).
Seventeen gold pieces in assorted coins.
Seven heavy silvery dwarf-coins (50gp value each, Varas has at least six).
A small onyx probably worth approximately 25gp.

Total loot value xp: 556

Plus:
100xp for locating the abandoned signal tower.
50xp for dealing with Grakkar and gaining information.
105 for killing three wolves

Total party xp: 811, divided four ways for all members surviving means 203p apiece before xp bonus for high prime requisites.

This thread will now be closed! Congratulations to all!