The group had redoubled their efforts at the massing goblins but now that their 4 to 1 numerical superiority was no longer in play, their chanting did not have the same effect and their blows were less sure, less accurate. We still found ourselves fighting for our lives but as the numbers whittled down, we were able to better draw the battle lines as we wanted.
And then the goblins called a retreat, with the final 20 or less vacating the area and running back into the woods. We policed the bodies, gathered up a few hundred silver and a number of packs filled with a variety of items, some of them magical! We set up watch and rested again. Finally in the morning we spent some time skinning the weasels, getting 1 good skin and a mess of the last 2. It was 10:30 on Plantmonth the 24th when we left Hillscar and headed south, southeast toward the Randari Traderoad and the border of Canaslan.
It took a few hours to plod our way out of the dense forest, and then a few more to make the road itself. From there we headed off to the barrier with the Sovereign Land and passed through. As before, the environs of Canaslan were a bit warmer than outside the border, the smell of grains and the faint aroma of body odor hung in the air. We stayed on the road passing a few farmsteads along the way until we came to a burned out field on the south side.
Darius and Rhygar had been gathering up wood along the way and once we figured a good enough place, the two of them worked on a drying rack for the furs. Charcoal was placed underneath, smoking slightly and heating the air, speeding up the process. We were setting up a camp area for us to stay in when a 3 count of guys and their cart crept closer to say hello, wondering what we were doing here. However we scared them off and they raced back to the road, broke some spokes on the cart, abandoned it and took their horse and bags with them, heading east.
A bit longer on some local constabulary showed up and we managed to stave them off, letting them know about the “three strange guys with bags hoofing it east – they might have been smuggling stuff.” The guards thanked us, wheeled their horses about and went back to the road.
We set up a rotation of the watch and Shimlagesh took first. It was some time after most of his watch passed that he heard a voice call from the field to the south asking to share the fire. The gnome invited the speaker closer and they thanked him and stepped up. The figure was just a bit under 6 foot in height, clad in traveling clothes that had been so bleached and worn they turned grey. Sporting a week’s worth of stubble and cloak and boots worn and dusty, introduced himself as Barri. And he pointed to his three legged cat, adding, “And this is Tabs. Thanks so much for the fire. Night is cold and dark and any friendliness on the road is appreciated.”
He offered a swallow of his alcohol and was interested in light chit chat. Eventually he removed his shoes, stretched by the fire, promised to be no bother, and Barri fell asleep. Eventually Shim awoke Connal and told him about the traveler, and so on and so forth. Everyone had some time to watch the stranger rest. Eventually Barri awoke and gave some thanks, saying that he had some miles still to go. He did give a cryptic bit of advice – the solutions to the problems being faced today can be found in the past. And then he was gone, heading north to the road and then onward.
Darius and Shim thought it might have been an avatar of the gods who came and visited them but they couldn’t pinpoint which it might have been. We continued to dry the skin and by 3, we were done for the day. Rolling them up we kicked dirt on the embers and knocked the rack down. We went back to the road and went east, and then north down the Byway and eventually Paxian.
There were some new guard types and reminders of behavior at the front but we entered without issue. Once relieving ourselves at the square, we followed the Northeast Road through town till we eventually arrived at the Canaslan Trading Warehouse. We sold off the fur and scraps at a tidy profit and then had some conversation with Telian Darkbeard and eventually the blackmarket’s mage, Ruciles. We identified some of the items we got off the goblins (they didn’t even realize they had anything magical on them) and then talked about what our next step was. We were going to rest here tonight and then head off to Wendover – the town (here in Canaslan) that had brewed the philters that started this entire mess and see if the Master Apothecie Stavraphore could answer anything for them.
We went to a very nice hotel in Whiteshadow, but on learning that the cost to stay was 3 gold. Per person, we dragged Eoghan and Grendel out of there and went 1 block off the main strip to a different hotel with a much cheaper rate. We ate, watched some musicians and skalds entertain the masses, and then went off to sleep – knowing that in the morning we’d be heading off to Wendover.
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