Episode Nineteen - write up

Episode XVI – The aftermath of the skirmish and what happened next

Dramatis Personae
Telec - Kalamarian Human Priest of the Wanderer
Aeltred - Half Elf Ranger
Lalia - Halfling Thief
Thans – Dwarf Fighter thief
Heradin- Dwarf Fighter mage
Dvorn the Axe- “Fhokki” Human Fighter
Sondan – Brandobian, Human Fighter
Fawlit – Half Ork Fighter

Nyassor- Elven, Fighter from Elsewhere

Americ – Human Cleric form Elsewhere

Myrinaris – Human from Elsewhere

Liamar – Kalamarian Human Cleric of the free from the Hidden Dell

Nyasse - Kalamarian Human girl from the Hidden Dell
Bill – Heradin’s pack pony and pet

Benjamina- the companies pack pony

Shadow – Nyasse’s horse

Nesbit – Halfling Wizard form Elsewhere currently resident in Aeltred’s mind some how

Melinaris map

Location
The Holdfast and the Hidden Dell, the woods to the north of it and westwards to the tinny holding of Little Thorpe and to the goblin held lands east of the M’Alvern stream

Events

(These continue exactly from the end of Episode Thirteen / Session XV of the main tale above, it is late at night or early in the morning its hard to tell here deep in the woods above the Hidden Dell but around the Company stands in the midst of the fake camp surrounded by the bodies of slain goblins and goblin dogs the last of which has just breathed its last after a frenzied fight)

Nesbit blinked and looked around as his head cleared, he was not where he expected to be, or for that matter when, and whilst he seemed to know all the people here present he could identify none of them apart from the Elf lord Nyassor who was returning from the edge of the woods which surrounded them methodically winding the heavy elf bow he favoured, his head hurt and a man in far too much mail was fussing over him and chuntering on in a weird language, a priest so where was Americ then. The others seem to know their trades, even if they where strangely ill equipped he had not seen this much leather and padded amour since the village musters of long ago. Nesbit’s gaze was drawn to the one Halfling in the group who was kneeling over a fallen fighter. She was very cute he thought to himself as she seemed to be signalling for him to come over.  He turned to look for Americ who had obviously gone into the woods to get his crossbow and was coming up from behind him, wondering as he did so what he was standing on and why he seemed to be wearing boots as his awareness faded again and he reentered the dream in which he had been for quite some time now.

Telec healed Aeltred’s head with effusive apologies releasing his lesser healing as the wound closed and the half elf Aeltred who had seemed absent snapped out of whatever it was that had been distracting him with a shudder. Ahead Thans was looking over the fallen goblins and finishing any who where still alive, whilst the big elf Nyassor and Fawlit where standing guard, the former calmly winding his crossbow and the latter holding no doubt unconsciously a heroic pose over the goblin he had all but cut in half seconds earlier. Sondan reappeared from the woods his newly acquired cross bow tucked under his arm as he applied the goats foot leaver one handed. He had already stowed his sword and shield ever the soldier and was scanning the edges of the clearing as he drew the cross bow, so familiar was he with his task.  

Aeltred was alarmed to put it mildly he had been belted round the back of the head so his head rang like a bell, probably by Telec judging by his apologies and unasked for healing magic and then for several seconds it had been as if he was a passenger in his own head and not at all in control. What the dwarf wizard had said needed dealing with and soon else it would drive him insane, if he thought grimly it had not already done so. He became aware that Lalia was kneeling beside Dvorn who appeared to be out cold.

Lalia had noticed that Dvorn had not got up after the great Half Ork had sent the goblin dog that had taken him down flying into on of the fake tents whilst she had been going through the dead goblins possessions, it’s a rotten job but se could not let Thans do all the work, and besides little tasted better than a goblin bought meal an half pint of small ale.  Lalia had some knowledge of assisting the wounded but Dvorn was beyond her he was alive and did not seem to be bleeding but he defiantly was not conscious or rousable. He had one wound in his shoulder but that didn’t seem bad enough to justify his being apparently out cold.  

When Aeltred finally noticed her signalling and came over with Telec they had the chance to have a better look, gently rolling the man over and getting him out of his armour. There was a lot more blood on his tunic underneath, even so she could not see quite what ailed him so and Telec kept mumbling on about healing him saying he still had healing magic to use. Aeltred took charge and continued the examination whilst Lalia decided it was best if she helped with the watch as there where likely more goblins in the woods and they had deliberately let one escape so he could be heading back with his mates to start round two. Aeltred was concerned and spent a lot of time examining Dvorn before it occurred to him what was up. It was the floppy arm that gave it away in the end; it would seem that the dog’s teeth had torn the tendons in Dvorn’s shoulder very badly despite his armour and that he had passed out in shock, this was a career ending injury for a warrior unless treated with specialist magic and even worse for an arrogant so and so like Dvorn whose whole life was built around him being a two handed axe wielder. Aeltred told Telec that his healing would in this case only make things worse so Telec used it to finish off repairing the hurt done to Aeltred by a careless swipe of groin seeker.

Thans having finished making sure of the last of the goblins turned his superior Dwarven night sight to scanning the woods beyond the circle of fire light and when Lalia joined the watch he asked her to come with him and they both scouted the woods beyond the small clearing and the bright circle of fire light form the huge fire they had build in the middle of the false camp. He would have preferred to have had a Dwarf cover his back but as Heradin seemed to have disappeared Lalia who could scout as well as could be expected of a non dwarf would have to do as the companies only other scout was the company’s healer and even Thans noticed that Dvorn was still down.  Shortly the pair came across Heradin who was rubbing his eyes and shaking his head to clear the sleep out of them it would seem that the stupid wizard had dozed off and gone and missed every thing, just goes to show that whilst Dwarves are better at magic than every one else it’s a peculiar occupation for a Dwarf. Heradin said nothing beyond a mumbled apology in dwarvish and Thans saw no need to upbraid him before non Dwarves.  The three of them finished the circuit of the clearing and there seemed to be no more goblins about well not immediate area anyway.

By the time every one arrived back at the false camp Aeltred and Telic had largely decided what to do. The subsequent discussion was therefore quite brief and every one ended up agreeing with them for once.  It was decided to build a travois for Dvorn and when that was done they would take him on it back to the holdfast from whence they would set out probably for the great hospital at Vayham to the west after they had got some rest. The travois was quickly built out of branches and some of the canvases which they had used as fake tents and the as Sondan was a fairly proficient carpenter and he an Lalia had worked together before building the dread table fort. Mean while the rest of the company kept close watch for more Goblins but none came. With the built the still unconscious Dvorn was transferred on to it and made comfortable and secure and the always helpful Fawlit had volunteered to be the main dragger of it.  The company therefore set out through the woods with their injured passenger keeping a weary eye out for more goblins as they did so.

The company dragged the travois bearing the still unconscious Dvorn back the long way round into the Dell, as it was the easiest route to drag the travois which was too unwieldy to take down the cliff path near the Holdfast. As they did all where aware all of the time that there might be more goblins in the wood and that they could very well be the ones being ambushed this time. It was tiring and slow work, so no one was surprised that it was well past dawn when they stopped for a breather amidst the ruins of the village, before turning west towards the Holdfast arriving there in the mid morning.


The company where seen approaching the Holdfast by the watch and the alarm was raised by the Villagers early and by the time the company reached the gates they had mustered a reception party and some hot food. There was some alarm at the travois and many openly wondered if the nights work had gone well, but where reassured when they saw no one else hurt amongst the company and heard the tale of a successful ambush. Having eaten the company for the large part headed off to bed as they had been up since before this time yesterday and where honestly shattered and half drunk form fatigue at least. Heradin however having shamingly managed a significant nap whilst waiting for the goblins to arrive and be ambushed and being possessed of well the constitution of a Dwarf went off to see to the ponies Bill and Benjamina first and honestly every one else was too tired to notice he was actually up to something more. Whilst he did indeed go and check up on the ponies he also expected that Nyasse would be with her horse shadow and being proved right proceeded after admiring the fine animal that the horse was, fell to continuing to talk to Nyasse about magic, a conversation which he had began the day before whilst the rest of the company where trying to talk the stranger priest Americ into adopting the faith of the FREE.

The conversation and the budding friendship between the dwarf and the odd girl began to blossom and both where prepared to share some mutual confidences. Heradin spoke if the ruins under rosebush hill in the Halfling lands in the south which he and Lalia had explored and Nyasse showed Heradin her sword. Which he found a fine blade, the finest he had ever seen indeed almost magical in its utter perfection though as far as he could tell not even slightly enchanted even the strange runes on the blade which he translated with magic read, “Sworn Brothers Gift” possibly a name but an odd one.  Nyasse also showed him the place she had found the other side of the illusionary wall, the old champion’s quarters and they talked long amongst the possessions of the dead mage and made plans.

During the day Liamar made sure to tend to the wounded Dvorn, hoping that Aeltred’s diagnosis of the deeply torn muscle in Dvorn’s shoulder which would need magic to heal properly was wrong however after detailed examination he was forced reluctantly to agree with the antisocial half elf who almost seemed to take a perverse pleasure in the misfortune. It struck him that there was neither malice nor evil in the man even so as he seemed to delight equally in his own misfortunes and perhaps to court them. He was what his old master might call a cup half empty man. So Liamar sedated the injured man as he was still seemingly in crippling agony when not unconscious and generally ensured he was as comfortable as he may be given the unfortunate circumstances.

The rest of the company slept the day away and even come supper that evening when they awoke where still tired enough that they did not take their attempts to convert Americ any further and any way Americ was not present a the meal having retired once more to his chapel to pray to his unresponsive goddess. They did however manage, after Aeltred’s diagnosis was confirmed by Liamar, to start planning, if vaguely, to take the severely wounded and sedated Dvorn to the Great Hospital in Vayham which Thans had seen last year and Telec with his cult’s magpie custom of collecting of traveller’s tales had heard of. It was said that the Priests of the Caregiver would work true miracles of healing there.

Heradin was not party to these discussions and spent the meal and much of the evening even after the rest of the company had retired to bed discussing magic and other esoteric subjects with Nyasse. Indeed if any one had been paying attention they would have noticed that the pair disappeared for a considerable portion of the night and only snatched a few hours sleep in the early hours of the morning.

However the come the morning there was a minor problem with the plan as Heradin, decided that he wanted to stay at the Holdfast and wouldn’t say why not even to his fellow Dwarf Thans, who dismissed it as more blasted wizard nonsense in his head, however the honour of Dwarf kind caused him not to pass that opinion on. Aeltred tried to persuade him to come but Heradin was not seeing reason and very much stuck his heels in and wouldn’t budge, not that Aeltred is that well known for his persuasive skills so exasperated and annoyed a quite common condition with Aeltred passed the task to Telec who being more skilled in this aspect managed it by playing the pony card and suggesting that if Heradin did not come then there would be no one to properly look after the companies pack pony Benjamina. The dwarf however went off to organize some unspecified things before they set off and turned up with a fully packed Bill, his own pack pony some what latter.

About an hour after the company had set off just as they where turning south from the ruined village Nyasse rode up on shadow and dismounted to exchange conversation about rather esoteric and magical things with Heradin who was content to lead the two pack ponies at the back of the company for all the world as if it was a pleasant stroll in the country. When it became apparent that Nyasse appeared to intent on accompanying the company it was decided to use Shadow who she was not currently riding to draw the travois rather than Benjamina who was also laden with company gear. They therefore stopped a while to allow reorganization to occur.  

Having left the Dell by the south entrance they turned west and as it was reckoned that Vayham was a little north of the Dell made there way a little north before turning west in earnest. They travelled west peacefully with neither Aeltred who was making a point of scouting ahead and looking for them, nor any one else seeing hide nor hair of either goblins or their dogs, Sondan commented that it seemed quite unusually quiet especially given the closeness of the goblin camp. The upgraded travois was drawn easily by Benjamina and Dvorn who was being kept sedated as Liamar suggested seemed to suffer no further hurt form travelling. Drawing the travois did however make it quite difficult to take the most direct route west as it was necessary to work round obstacles which they would no foot even with pack animals passed through with ease so going was slow if uneventful, late in the afternoon however this all changed as whilst scouting ahead Aeltred spotted smoke slightly to the north. He called Lalia forward to confirm he had seen what he though he had and she quickly spotted what looked like smoke form hearth fires in some isolated village, and rather fancied spending the night in a soft bed in a half empty inn, however as was becoming a matter of tradition Aeltred did not see them as any thing quite so benign after all there must be a reason the goblins seemed to be avoiding the area.

There was something of a discussion when the two returned to the rest of the company but in the end curiosity mostly Telec’s won out and the company turned north. Aeltred however stuck to his guns convinced that they should be pressing on west, after all there where several hours more daylight judging by the sun and would all be murdered in their sleep if they investigated the source of the smoke regardless of appearances to the contrary. So he made a bivouac in a suitable tree so he could comfortably spend the night and still be round in the morning to confirm that his prediction of the future would come true.

After heading north for a relatively short time every one else came into sight of a tiny village little more than a cluster of wood and wattle hovels surrounded by as scatter of some what ill kempt farm lands as they approached this they where spotted by the locals.  The locals all looked Brandobian and indeed greeted the Company in that tongue though there accent was rather thick, Lalia in particular could not help but be reminded of the Gaffers and Gammers back home by the way these people spoke.  It was also quickly apparent that the demographics of the population where rather odd most seemed to be children, well under the age of six or seven, but none where quite babes in arms or the distinctly elderly all save for about five young and youngish men who lurked in the background and sported wicked hunting knives and bows and looked wary all of these looked like hunters. There where no adult women of child bearing age and apart form the hunters no men who where of an age to be the fathers of these children rather than their grandfathers. It was also apparent though less blatantly so that there where not enough people even for this modest size of settlement. Even so the people where welcoming and invited the Company to share their evening meal in the small hall around which the village was built. Both Lalia and Telec thought this looked like one of the community meeting hall temples of the cult of life’s fire but there where no sign of any holly icons or other iconography on show.

Over the meal the Villagers recounted their tale of woe, starting as old people will with a little history. Apparently Little Thorpe has lived in happy isolation since it was settled by Brandobians fleeing the initial Kalamarian invasion, it had missed the whole Brandobian war with the Elves and the break up of the kingdom of Brandobia which followed it and so isolated was Little Thorpe from the rest of the world that generations have passed without a stranger coming across the place and apart form becoming more than a little inbred, though the worst of that has largely passed now. The place has been a rural idle even a pastoral Halfling would envy, until late last year when a company of men rode out of the east. which was unusual in itself  as most of the few who have come to Little Thorpe over the centuries have been on foot and often lost or fleeing something in the wider world and almost always in ones or twos. 

The mounted company where none the less greeted as one might guests according to ancient Brandobian custom still practiced here. However strangers did not react as guests at all drawing weapons and surrounding the villagers who had come out to see the strangers, out of curiosity.  They then sorted the villagers into two groups adults of both sexes and children and the elders the former they striped of there belt knives and roped together by the neck and the latter they corralled with weapon points. Then both groups where made to watch as they flogged old Mindori the village priest to death for worshipping a false god, he was as one might expect a priest of life's fire as had his father before him. Then the strangers they dragged his brother, Brensen, the only other man in the village who could read, out and made him stab the corpse with his knife before the leader a fellow called Dvorn, the villagers where too terrified to recall if he gave surname but he was a Brandobian they believe, publicly initiated Brensen as a priest of the Lord of Shackles, saying he was the true gods slave and would teach them the true religion and that they where all slaves. The strangers defiled the village chapel and stayed to reconsecrate it to The Lord of Shackles, before riding off with practically the whole able bodied adult population of the village roped together as a chorfe of slaves. Those who remained where left stunned at the savagery of the sudden and unexpected turn of events.

The next day Brensen who had been left with a copy of the Lord of Shackles prayer book was found hanged by the scourge the strangers had given him as his symbol of office, he had written something on the prayer books frontice page but no one in the village could read it.  The villagers even point to the beam he used and say that Lalia is sitting on the chair that he stood on a high chair built for a child, and incidentally confirming that this was the community hall of a temple of life’s fire.  Over the next few days the half dozen or so adults who had been out hunting at the time of the visit drifted back to their horrified and traumatized kinsfolk. They took charge and buried Mindori and Brensen and the remaining villagers attempted to shape a life out of the ruins of the old.

It however was not over for about a month ago in early spring a strange woman who spoke an unknown language but who did not seem to be Kalamarian or have any thing to do with the terrible Lord of Shackles or its murderous followers arrived and with time and by dumb show she told the still traumatised villagers that a demon had taken up residence to the north. A couple of the hunters went out to look and the one who returned told the tale of terrible monsters seen distantly in some ancient very over grown ruins, the one who did not was every one supposed taken by these reported monsters. It was apparent that she sought aid in clearing the evil form these ruins, ruins that here to fore even the village hunters had been unaware of those few who had seen them in the distance having taken them as a natural crag rather than a construction. The Villages introduce the woman to the company and it is quickly discovered that she does not speak any of the many human tongues which the company knows collectively. Nyassor does however identify her garb as being that of tribe of wanderers from his own world even if she speaks none of the human languages of elsewhere that he knows. Eventually in some exasperation he exclaims something in his native Elvish and the woman, Myrinaris switches to that tongue though it is not until latter that her full story comes out as the rest of the company’s grasp of low Elven is rather limited as is hers for that matter and Nyassor has not yet mastered any of the tongues of Telene. However it wound seem that her tale runs something like this she was in the city of the crusade against the Blight Scar as Nyassor and his companions where when the demon attack occurred and fell into the void when the great square collapsed. Surviving the fall she scavenged amongst those who had not and eventually spotted Nyassor and his companions but whilst attempting to make contact with them and to join them she was captured. Her captor brought her with them when the magic of the circle on which Nyassor’s company was making its stand was activated and brought them to the ancient dwarf hold. She is not sure how but Myrinaris knows her captor to be a Sorcerer of some power so presumes that magic was involved, from thence she was taken to a cellar when her captor became alarmed at the way the dwarf, Zildor, slew four shadow demons with a single word of power and thence also by magic to the black crag after her captor has summoned her demonic master in the cellar. Imprisoned by her captor at the Crag she was so poorly guarded, by conjured demons that she was not only able to escape but to  recover some of the equipment which she had scavenged in the cavern under the city but which had been taken form her when she was captured. This includes a very fine short sword which she makes a point of showing off to all of the company marked with what Nyassor identifies as the holy icon of the PALADIN the principle god of the city and sponsor of the war against the Demons of the Blight Scar. However she makes it clear that all of the rest of the loot she had taken from the great cavern and the best part of it was still in the possession of her captor. Given the fineness of the short sword considered to be of little account it is generally agreed by those present that the other stuff must be good indeed.

The company stayed up late into the night listening to the villagers of little Thorpe imploring them to help as if it was unlikely that the captive villagers could be rescued given how long it had been they where afraid of the reported demon infestation at the black crag and feared that even more woe might fall on them because of it. Much of the subsequent discussion was conducted in low Elvish as it was the nearest thing there was to a conman language amongst the company but even so it was slow going and there was much misunderstanding. It did become apparent that Nyassor was a crusader against the Blight Scar a huge area of Demon infestation where he originated and that Myanaris and a companion a Half Elf Priest of the JUDGE had come north intending to join that army. Indeed they would have on the day the demon attack occurred had it not. The company however resolved to sleep on the matter as they where in all honour torn between their duty to a wounded comrade and their wanting to help people who where in rather bad trouble. As well as in Lalia’s and Telec’s cases a terrible curiosity to investigate the nature of these demons, the former because of the encounter under Rose Bush Hill and the latter out of a desperate curiosity. It is also likely Heradin would have shown more interest but he was lost in trying to teach Nyasse dwarvish as the translation spell has its limits and his grasp, of any other language was not really up to the task of discussing such esoteric things.

In the end and after breakfast the company reluctantly announced to their hosts that they where going to have to deal with Dvorn’s problem first though they did so with a heavy heart and with promises to return this way when they where done and deal with the problem of the Black Craig. There hosts where rather fatalistic in the manner that peasant farmers well used to hardship often are.

The following morning after spending a rather comfortable and very safe night in his tree and breakfasting on foraged early fruits, Aeltred was not that put out by seeing every one still seemed to be alive and whole, when you prepare for the worst then any thing better is after all a pleasant surprise. His friendly greeting of “so you didn’t all have your throats cut then” was delivered with a cheery smile when he saw the rest of the company hove into view.

The company continued as best they could due west thought the underbrush if not the actual trees was becoming thicker and making finding a good path for the travois even harder than before. Still there where enough in the company with a good sense of direction that they managed to keep heading west as much as possible and they did not become confounded by the diversions necessary in finding a route for the travois. Shortly after they departed it became apparent that Myrinaris had joined the company when she was spotted openly chatting away to Nyassor in low Elvish, her arrival surprised no one though it did alarm Aeltred some what enough that he stopped by to listen in to it, it being in a language he spoke very well between forays scouting ahead and found it to be quite innocuous mostly Myrinaris telling Nyassor of her adventures on the way north in elsewhere.  As before Aeltred scouted ahead mostly with Lalia as both had sharp eyes and could move almost unseen through the woodlands. Around mid day however what had as quiet a day’s travel as the day before had became a touch more fraught as Aeltred spotted the first scattered goblin tracks. They where granted few in number and there where no dog tracks but it was enough to put him and then when he reported back every one else in the company on alert. As the afternoon progressed what had been scattered tracks of individual or small groups of goblins at worst became those of larger more regimented groups though with the goblins liking for the hours of darkness none where seen just their tracks and spoor. It was not easy at first to guess the principal direction of the movement of the goblins as there was quite a lot of it in all directions but in the end Aeltred became convinced that the large bodies at least where going from north to south and back again. The ones going north from the south seemed to be the more heavily laden and form the majority of the more recent tracks. However all of the tracks he found seemed to be relatively fresh, a couple of days old at the most and not much blurred by the passage of animals over them or by the regular afternoon and early morning showers common in this region.

There after the company moved forwards with more caution, and Aeltred scouted ahead more often but less far incase he ran into goblins and with Lalia as a second set of eyes since both where all but invisible in the woods and dense underbrush through which their route west now lay, the Goblin tracks became more frequent and whilst scouting Aeltred came across a rough sort of road cut thought the brush with lots of goblin tracks as well as those of two very heavily laden wagons. Wagons which apparently had no horses pulling them just a small horde of goblins, as the way seemed to lead north east Lalia and Aeltred followed it for about half a mile until they saw the goblins manhandling the wagons and ahead clearing the brush with axes and stolen hedge laying bills .

The company withdrew and after a brief discussion made a quick plan. Aeltred would lead Telec, Lalia, Nyassor, Sondan and Fawlit round ahead of the goblins from where they would launch an ambush   whilst Heradin, Nyasse, Thans and the new comer Myrinaris would remain behind to guard the travois and the wounded Dvorn. The plan worked well and even the notably unstealthy elf  got into position without alerting the advancing goblins though the racket that they where making hacking a road through the scrub and hauling the two heavily laden wagons no doubt helped considerably, every one took up a comfortable ambush spot and waited for the goblins road to reach within an easy shots range. This was becoming rather an old game and one that they where well practiced at.    

When in due course the goblins came into range the company as one unleashed its first volley of  bolts arrows and stones, most stuck home and the goblins struck by Nyassor’s bolt in particular staggered back a good six feet before it even realised it was dead.

the skirmishes in the woods and at the ford

Taken quite by surprise the goblins leading the wagons where quickly cut down by a volley of missiles and then by the hand weapons of the company as they charged in after, those who could just ran with the large number of slaves who where doing all the hauling breaking as the charging members of the company broke cover after the missile volley abandoning the wagons as they scattered pell mell in all directions shrieking in alarm as they did. The few goblins who survived the missile volley and the following charge stood and fought, mostly because the company was on them before they had the chance to turn and flee but they soon fell and the guards further back decided to take advantage of the few seconds this resistance had bought them and turn tail and follow the already fleeing slaves. Leaving the company in possession of two over laden looted farm wagons.

Just as the last of the goblin warriors broke and scattered hither and yon a lone bowman spotted the company and loosed one arrow before fleeing themselves it was a wild shot not well aimed indeed it missed the mark it was half aimed at, Nyassor and struck the man beside him Sondan missing his now lowered shield and tearing into his side. It was fortunate in missing the tall elf as it proved to be carrying one of the Ancient Dwarfish small broad heads rather then the more usual crude iron point favoured by goblins. Sondan doubled up from the pain for a second and by the time he looked up eyes clouded by tears of pain his assailant was gone. Sondan cursed, and the company halted whilst Aeltred dealt with the wound which was quite a bad one. Mean while Telec who had been passed the arrow the moment Aeltred had felt heat coming off the head when he had grasped the rough shaft to drawn it idly inspected the arrow which was beautiful work and as sharp and deadly as when it had been forged for that long ago war and wondered if the dwarf mail he wore would have slowed it much more than Sondan’s leather. Then Aeltred broke his reverie by summoning over and he remembered he still had a healing spell this day. 

Those of the company present took a quick look at the two wagons noticing one was full of farm goods and furniture an the other with looted weapons and armour, some of which Sondan was disconcerted to see bore the livery of his old company he had not realised that old Crindar had come south especially since he had been threatening to do so since before Sondan had joined him as a recruit, according to the old timers and had remained in the north, until after Sondan had waxed sick of it and left to come south on his own even so. It was always going to be our last season in the northlands, Sondan remembered except it never was. It was even more disconcerting that the wily old man had come off sufficiently worse from an encounter with goblins that he had left his dead behind, he would have never done that in the old days in the north. Before deciding to leave them for now continue back along the road the goblins had cut.

Following the goblins crude road back the company came upon a shallow ford guarded by a handful of goblins who where as surprised as their fellows leading the wagons. However the fight went on longer here and the final goblin was not cut down until it had made it half way across the relatively deep ford in what had to be if Aeltred’s guess was right the M’Alvern stream as they had more or less being moving west along the line of the M’Alvern ridge since they left the Holdfast two days ago now, it seemed much longer. The company looted the fallen goblins at the ford and found them laden with stolen trade coins but whilst they all had bows they had empty quivers and not more than four arrows between them all. More grimly the company found cast aside the bodies of two men both robbed naked and cast aside into the bushes seemingly the former guards of the ford slain a day or so before by the goblins if the condition of the bodies was a guide. The company returned to the wagons and as they where undisturbed it was decided to regroup before investigation what they carried in any detail so every one trooped back into the woods to bring in the party guarding Dvorn after which they all went through the trove of good in each wagon before reloading them and harnessing Bill and Benjamina to one and shadow to the other despite the dismay of their owners in the case of Shadow and Bill the travois was placed on the furniture wagon and enough space was made to allow the wounded Dvorn to be laid down on the other one.

The company then crossed the ford with Aeltred and Lalia scouting ahead and soon spotting what looked like a goblin camp by a crude fence or stockade wall along a slight ridge to the south. The goblins appeared to be asleep so the company moved back north up a hill and took cover on the edge of an area of managed woodlands to plan what to do next.

Beyond the sleeping goblins and their improvised wall by a mile may be a mile an a half  to the south west was the walls of the Town of Vayham over which there was rather more smoke to be seen than might normally be expected this late on a spring day and the air was full of the smell of burning, though much of that seemed to originate from a burnt out farmstead to the left of the goblins camp.  

The next challenge for the Company

Here again the focus of our tale moves else where for a while though it will be returning here but there is far more a foot in the region than that which just the one tale can encompass though the threads of these tales are interlinked and may well cross merge and divide again as the story unfolds further.