(003) Heading for Goblintown

[Eris]

The next morning breaks cloudy with a chill in the air. It looks like there might be rain, or even snow higher up in the mountain range the caravan will be moving up into today.

The drivers are already working with the horses to get them hitched to the wagons. You notice a pair of new wagons are joining the caravan filled with lumber. The settlers are breaking their camp and getting organized over on the open area inside the village's palisade of logs. You can smell food, smells like bacon, eggs, fried bread, coming from the tavern/inn you visited last night. The caravan's cook doesn't appear to have cooked any food. They must expect you to grab your breakfast inside the tavern this morning.

You don't know a lot about your route, but you do know you have to pass through a narrow stretch of high hills...or low mountains, depending upon your definition called The Blackteeth. On the other side of the range you'll be outside the area Hurst patrols and into the territory controlled by the Goblins of Goblintown. It should take a day of travel to get over the ridge through the pass ahead, then another two days of travel to get to the town of the Goblins.

After Goblintown is another 3 days of travel before you leave their territory and enter the coastal hills that front the Elsmere Lake. The Port of Elsburg controls the coastal hills and the land around that part of the lake.

[bruce.desertrat]

Valerin wakes early, dresses, packs his gear and heads to the inn for some breakfast, which he'll take with the others if they're there...

[joertexas]

Valerin wakes early, dresses, packs his gear and heads to the inn for some breakfast, which he'll take with the others if they're there...

Eodrien also packs her gear and goes for breakfast.

[ateno]

Darian feed Kazan and they both bath in the river before himself getting food in the tavern.

Gives a sealed copy of the notes from the interrogation to the town elder

"Give this to the officer of the horses, thank you."

He gather his things and makes his seat on the top of one of the wagons.

Darrian

[terrymixon]

Valerin wakes early, dresses, packs his gear and heads to the inn for some breakfast, which he'll take with the others if they're there...

Eodrien also packs her gear and goes for breakfast.

Des joins them.

[joertexas]

Des joins them.

"Are you ready for another day of hack and slash?" Eodrien grins. "Or, we can stand back and let the mage put them all to sleep again."

[bobk2323]

Des joins them.

Callista does too, waking up early as she normally does.

--
Bob K.

[bobk2323]

"Are you ready for another day of hack and slash?" Eodrien grins. "Or, we can stand back and let the mage put them all to sleep again."

"I'm ready for breakfast. (pause) It smells yummy."

It's a bit hard to tell with Callista sometimes, but she just might be smiling a little.

--
Bob K.

[Eris]

The caravan is soon on the road! The road passes through a forest and winds between hills as it slowly rises toward a dark ridge of jagged mountains before them. The ridge looks like the sharp teeth of some monster, but it has a noticeable gap between two of the "teeth" and that is where the road passes over.

There are two more wagons with the group, each filled with lumber and bound for Goblintown. The drivers are from the village and will stay with the caravan all the way to Elsburg on the Lake Els. You learn that Goblintown is always looking to buy wood for building and sells woolen products from herds of sheep and a cottage weaving industry.

The morning passes as the road winds up onto the high ridge separating the two river valleys. You make it to a broad flat area in a saddle between ridges in the later afternoon and stop. The peak of the ridge is only a mile further up, but there is no suitable camping area on the other side of the ridge for several miles. You will camp here then travel over the peak and down the other side to near the bottom of the ridge tomorrow.

It is quite chilly up here and the wind is whipping along. It is going to fall well below freezing tonight, and if the clouds are any indication there is going to be snow before morning.

The settlers circle their wagons and hobble their horses and cattle inside, while the caravan's wagons form their own circle beside the settler's. Both start a campfire in the center of their circles and begin to make preparations of the night. Sleeping tonight will be rough, on the ground and hopefully near a blazing camp fire.

[joertexas]

The settlers circle their wagons and hobble their horses and cattle inside, while the caravan's wagons form their own circle beside the settler's. Both start a campfire in the center of their circles and begin to make preparations of the night. Sleeping tonight will be rough, on the ground and hopefully near a blazing camp fire.

Eodrien looks around the campsite for a good place to set their bedrolls. "I don't think we should be inside the laager," she tells Des. "It makes it hard for us to move and to work together."

[terrymixon]

The caravan is soon on the road! The road passes through a forest and winds between hills as it slowly rises toward a dark ridge of jagged mountains before them. The ridge looks like the sharp teeth of some monster, but it has a noticeable gap between two of the "teeth" and that is where the road passes over.

There are two more wagons with the group, each filled with lumber and bound for Goblintown. The drivers are from the village and will stay with the caravan all the way to Elsburg on the Lake Els. You learn that Goblintown is always looking to buy wood for building and sells woolen products from herds of sheep and a cottage weaving industry.

The morning passes as the road winds up onto the high ridge separating the two river valleys. You make it to a broad flat area in a saddle between ridges in the later afternoon and stop. The peak of the ridge is only a mile further up, but there is no suitable camping area on the other side of the ridge for several miles. You will camp here then travel over the peak and down the other side to near the bottom of the ridge tomorrow.

It is quite chilly up here and the wind is whipping along. It is going to fall well below freezing tonight, and if the clouds are any indication there is going to be snow before morning.

The settlers circle their wagons and hobble their horses and cattle inside, while the caravan's wagons form their own circle beside the settler's. Both start a campfire in the center of their circles and begin to make preparations of the night. Sleeping tonight will be rough, on the ground and hopefully near a blazing camp fire.

Des will be looking for a windbreak.

[ateno]

Darrian and Kazan will camp under a wagon with the blanket around them.

I'll be under the second wood wagon, wake us if you need to."

Darrian

[bruce.desertrat]

The settlers circle their wagons and hobble their horses and cattle inside, while the caravan's wagons form their own circle beside the settler's. Both start a campfire in the center of their circles and begin to make preparations of the night. Sleeping tonight will be rough, on the ground and hopefully near a blazing camp fire.

Eodrien looks around the campsite for a good place to set their bedrolls. "I don't think we should be inside the laager," she tells Des. "It makes it hard for us to move and to work together."

Valerin says, "We should mount a watch, but I for one want to sleep closer to a fire...I'm better suited for heat than cold" the dark-skinned desert elf wraps himself tighter in his robes...

[bruce.desertrat]

The settlers circle their wagons and hobble their horses and cattle inside, while the caravan's wagons form their own circle beside the settler's. Both start a campfire in the center of their circles and begin to make preparations of the night. Sleeping tonight will be rough, on the ground and hopefully near a blazing camp fire.

Eodrien looks around the campsite for a good place to set their bedrolls. "I don't think we should be inside the laager," she tells Des. "It makes it hard for us to move and to work together."

Valerin says, "We should mount a watch, but I for one want to sleep closer to a fire...I'm better suited for heat than cold" the dark-skinned desert elf wraps himself tighter in his robes...

What is the moon (s??) stuff like here? Valerin will volunteer for the darkest of the night watch, given his eyesight advantage.

[Eris]

Eodrien looks around the campsite for a good place to set their bedrolls. "I don't think we should be inside the laager," she tells Des. "It makes it hard for us to move and to work together."

Valerin says, "We should mount a watch, but I for one want to sleep closer to a fire...I'm better suited for heat than cold" the dark-skinned desert elf wraps himself tighter in his robes...

What is the moon (s??) stuff like here? Valerin will volunteer for the darkest of the night watch, given his eyesight advantage.

One moon, not as large as Earth's but closer, so just about as bright. Tonight is cloudy, though, and it's starting to snow, so it is going to be very, very dark! The caravan's drivers share in the rota standing watch, so no one has more than 3 hours on duty.

Almost strangely, the night passes without interruption and you wake to a cold, crisp, morning with a very weak sun trying to penetrate thin high clouds. The ground is covered with about 4 inches of snow, pure white and glistening. There are a few animal tracks in the snow cover, but none came close to the laager giving it a wide berth.

It will be a difficult couple of hours pulling through the snow, then you'll be over the top of the Broken Tooth Ridge and heading down toward Goblintown.

[bruce.desertrat]

Valerin says, "We should mount a watch, but I for one want to sleep closer to a fire...I'm better suited for heat than cold" the dark-skinned desert elf wraps himself tighter in his robes...

What is the moon (s??) stuff like here? Valerin will volunteer for the darkest of the night watch, given his eyesight advantage.

One moon, not as large as Earth's but closer, so just about as bright. Tonight is cloudy, though, and it's starting to snow, so it is going to be very, very dark! The caravan's drivers share in the rota standing watch, so no one has more than 3 hours on duty.

Almost strangely, the night passes without interruption and you wake to a cold, crisp, morning with a very weak sun trying to penetrate thin high clouds. The ground is covered with about 4 inches of snow, pure white and glistening. There are a few animal tracks in the snow cover, but none came close to the laager giving it a wide berth.

It will be a difficult couple of hours pulling through the snow, then you'll be over the top of the Broken Tooth Ridge and heading down toward Goblintown.

Valerin wraps his blanket around hinm a little tighter as they ride, wondering why he ever left the desert...then decides "being alive" is a good enough reason...

[bobk2323]

Almost strangely, the night passes without interruption and you wake to a cold, crisp, morning with a very weak sun trying to penetrate thin high clouds. The ground is covered with about 4 inches of snow, pure white and glistening. There are a few animal tracks in the snow cover, but none came close to the laager giving it a wide berth.

It will be a difficult couple of hours pulling through the snow, then you'll be over the top of the Broken Tooth Ridge and heading down toward Goblintown.

Callista quietly trundles along with the rest, looking as neutral and unaffected as usual, but inwardly hating the feeling of being so cold and uncomfortable. Without any audible comment, the odd young woman just pulls her warm cloak more closely around herself and endures things as best she can.

--
Bob K.

[ateno]

Darrian wraps himself in the blanket atop the wagon, swaying in the road variances. He stands up and stretches and sits down

*"If I was walking I would stay warmer, but the cold is not so bad with the other variables to cause cold decline (hypothermia)."*

Darrian looks all the way around, spotting Kazan but on the lookout for bowmen in the forest.

Darrian

[Eris]

The caravan trudges up the winding path to the top of the ridge. It pauses there for a few minutes while the drivers check the wagons and the harnesses on the horses before moving on.

You take the moment to look ahead at the land spreading out below you. The ridge is still mostly dark with the sun behind you, but the lowlands ahead are bathed in sunlight. The land appears to almost be an endless sea of grasses stretching far to the east. You can just see another rise of land far, far away at the limit of your vision.

The grasslands are mostly flat with only a few low rolling hills here and there. Herds of animals dot the grass below looking like...dots, from the top of the ridge where you are standing. To the north the land appears to become more dry and is much more brown than the brown-green to the east and the mostly green to the south. Looking south, you can see a line of blue close to the horizon glinting in the morning sun...Els Meer perhaps. Els Meer is the shallow lake at the mouth of the Els river and your destination, Elsburg is on the Els Meer coast.

Nearer, and to your south east is a blot of black and brown with tendrils of smoke rising from it. This must be Goblintown. It is so far away you can pick out no features, just a brown and black blot straddling the brown line which is the road you are following.

It should be downhill almost all the way from here. However, as the road probably winds back and forth down the ridge and you can see it continues to wind along the grasslands below you can see that it is going to take a couple of days travel to make it to Goblintown and probably another 3 or 4 after than to make it across the grasslands to the coast of Els Meer.

[Darithe]

Magdal remains mostly silent during the night and the morning after, contenting herself with reading and warming by the fire. She is glad to have her heavy cloak to help her keep warm. Once they break camp and set out, she rides slightly ahead of the group, scouting for any potential dangers.