Age of Giants- Live or Die Trying

[Triskavanski]

Paronomasia AC: 18 | HP: 16 | Current: 16 Fortitude: +2 | Reflex: +6| Will: +3 | Perception: +4 Active Effects: None. Conditions: None.

The Kobold hums and sleeps through the night after his shift was over, and continues the next day. He'll need to keep checking to keep making sure they are not near any of the giant's territories as they adventure along. But, that was information he didn't need to say to the others. If they began to believe there wasn't any nearby they might get... sloppy. Best to keep them on edge.

[Athaleon]

Urist had taken the middle watch with his fellow Dwarf, though he'd spent more time looking up at the stars than looking out for enemies.

"You know, I've seen the sky more in the past few weeks than I had for many years, previous. But I know we'll be back underground, sooner or later, so we might as well behold what our ancestors quested for, eh?"

Urist had said little since, whether on his watch or in the morning.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Brankahm nods as he looks up at the stars briefly too. He points out a couple of constellations in a quiet rumble, perhaps a bit shy around the other dwarf as he demonstrates his knowledge and familiarity with the open night sky. "I don't like being pushed back below the surface, but the giants...just too much..."

[Farmerbink]

With full waterskins, and eager steps, the party sets off, trudging westward as tall grass slowly gives way to the rocky foothills of the crags. The travel is steady, but not fast. Short legs and uneven terrain would make for uncomfortable travel in the best of circumstances. Still, spirits are fairly high, as you've managed so far without making use of any of your dried rations. Though none of you would look forward to it, there's a certain relief in knowing you won't need to find food for a few days, yet.

Approaching midmorning, Franklin leans down to all fours, peering curiously at the ground. "Perriket, Urist, would you two come look at this?" he calls, beckoning the Whiskerfolk from wherever he's been keeping pace nearby. Rising, he peers into the distance, north and south (roughly perpendicular to your direction of travel). "We're not... entirely alone, I think."

Spoiler: survival DC 19

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Something, a moderately small party of somethings recently moved through this area.

Spoiler: DC22

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They appear to have reptilian feet

Spoiler: DC25

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The tracks are only several hours old. Some were bipeds, others walked on all 4s (most likely a few Troglodytes and a lizard or two). Moving from south to north (towards a rocky outcropping perhaps a mile away)

[Athaleon]

"Hm. Reptillian-looking. Recent," Urist rumbled. "Four, five individuals, maybe. Can't properly say much more than that. Urist glanced at his companions to see if the tracks may have belonged to Kobolds.

[tonberryking]

Bushi is not in the best of moods for much of the second day trek. Partly, it was because she was surprised by the relative indifference the revelation of her claws had earned. Any of the other (few) goblins or (many) goblin-ettes under the beast totem's protection wouldn't have batted an eye, to be sure, but outside of that group, most goblins including Big Job always gave her a leery berth if they knew she was never without a weapon. The kind of 'respect' you'd give someone who just carries a knife in their hands all the time as if the concept of a sheath was completely foreign to them.

Another reason was she only partly realized that she was feeling antsy from actually being part of a group for more than a few hours, her solitary instincts chafing.

"Is something following us, or just nearby?" she asks, not making much of the terrain in front of her, "Either way, point me in their direction. I can slink off and get you an idea of where they are and what they're doing."

Spoiler: OOC/rolls

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(1d20+18)[28] Stealth in case she's allowed to do what she's offering.

[Palanan]

Tense and silent, Perriket will look at what Franklin is indicating:

Spoiler

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Survival
(1d20+7)[13]

And he will press low into the grass, slinking as invisibly as he can:

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Stealth
(1d20+17)[27]

With a cautious glance at Franklin, he moves a short ways in the direction the tracks seem to be leading, eyes and nose on exquisite alert:

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Perception
(1d20+9)[16]

[Farmerbink]

Franklin and Heldrun quickly gather as well, murmuring quietly as the reeds sway.

"Did you see this over here, Urist?" Finally, the Dwarf gets a few good footprints despite the thick grass, and draws some probable conclusions:

"There's Trogldytes afoot. With at least a few of the quadruped lizards, as well."

After a few more moments of inspection, you determine with fair certainty that there's at least one Troglodyte raiding party about, though they passed through this area a few-to-several hours ago, headed northwards (roughly perpendicular to your E->W direction of travel). Glancing to the north, you spy a prominent rocky outcropping perhaps half a mile distant.

"Almost a guarantee they went back below surface before sunrise..." Franklin murmurs, frowning. "As if the giants weren't enough, we've never had anything like this."

[Palanan]

Perriket listens with a numb chill, the fine hairs rising on the upper curve of his snout. While Franklin confers with the dwarves, Perriket is searching his memory for anything the dwarf-thegns of Deephall may have said about encountering troglodytes.

Spoiler

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Knowledge (arcana)
(1d20+7)[14]

Knowledge (local)
(1d20+3)[8]

Knowledge (nature)
(1d20+7)[22]

[Athaleon]

"I wonder what they've been up to on the surface. But if we have to hide underground, we'll have to be ready for Troglodytes as well. Could be lots of them, in those rocks." Urist frowned as he pondered.

[DarkOne-Rob]

Brankahm takes a sip from his water skin as he looks at the ground, helping the others to spot tracks and details. Once they mention troglodytes he nods thoughtfully, his craggy face hard to read as he silently thinks. "Could be bad - if they're hunting we may have to fight them. Could be loud, though they'd want it quiet too. Course, they have those rocks to hide and we don't," he says as he thinks aloud. "Probably best to get out of their territory before they catch us, but be ready to kill fast and then get running if we're seen.

Shall we go?" he finishes, securing his gear - all except for a coupe of weapons in reach - as if to suggest that they might want to move faster. It's only then that he realizes several of the party are sneaking off, in the direction of the rocks. "Oh, well that's not what I'd suggest, but you all are very sneaky..." The dwarf shrugs and then settles down to wait until the scouts return.

[Farmerbink]

Spoiler: On Troglodytes

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Legend has there maybe the oldest species of sentient beings. As the other races evolved and developed, many were taken and kept as slaves beneath the surface. For better or worse, the Troglodytes failed utterly to adapt to ground-level life, and the younger races escaped their depraved clutches in the freedom of sunlight.

Spoiler: Local or history DC 15

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Troglodytes have never been seen on the surface in greater numbers than small raiding parties. Very rarely, they have been known to attack small settlements or traveling caravans, rarely leaving any survivors (never on purpose). Even so, they nearly always return to at least a small subterranean lair before sunrise.

Spoiler: DC 20

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Troglodytes don't actually have any difficulty navigating in the sunlight, they just know that their keen capacity for dark vision fails to confer any benefits in such an engagement. If pushed to desperation, a tribe of Troglodytes could easily survive on the surface (apart from the threat of Giant incursion).

Historically, the many diverse tribes of Troglodytes have kept each other "in check," being fully content to wage brutal civil wars, cannibalistic raids, and feuds dating back to literal antiquity. It would be a potentially disastrous development for many tribes to band together as one for any significant purpose or length of time.

Spoiler: Setting

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These are the mountains in the distance. The outcropping is much closer to you (and the route you're on), but this is the best visual I could find in ~20 minutes

This prominent jut of rock is about 10-15 minutes walk to the north, or roughly 1/3 mile

"Could be lots of them, in those rocks." Urist frowned as he pondered.

"More underneath 'em, but yeah," Franklin comments, sharing his companion's expression. He turns his attention to Bankahm, listening closely. "Honestly, I'm more concerned about what their presence could mean for the messengers we've sent. Been almost six weeks since the last group before us. They're a married couple, made the trip dozens of times." His frown deepens as he peers intently at the rocks emblazoned by the morning sun. "I sure hope not, but Trogs on the route could be all the explanation we need..."

[DarkOne-Rob]

"In antiquity they took slaves - not for a long time, though. We might find their remains, if they haven't been eaten. Our best choice is to either avoid them entirely or kill them all. I vote we move on for now and perhaps investigate more on the way back..." suggests Brankahm grimly.

[Palanan]

Perriket returns from his brief reconnoiter in time to hear Brankahm’s last comments.

“Avoid them, indeed,” he murmurs quietly, “—now and on the way back. We should give them a whaayd bearth, as the hoo-mahns used to say.”

To Franklin, he asks, “Can we avoid the rocks where they’re hiding? Go around by a mile or two? And are there any oils from roots or leaves that they find unpleasant, that we can use to mask our trail?”

[Triskavanski]

Paronomasia AC: 18 | HP: 16 | Current: 16 Fortitude: +2 | Reflex: +6| Will: +3 | Perception: +4 Active Effects: None. Conditions: None.

"Trogs?! Those stinky geckos, they're going around lurking around in the shadows.. Fools! They should be removed from existence, especially if they seek to stop our glorious focus on destroying the giants and taking over the world..." The kobold looks around grumping as he focuses on trying to see if there are eyes underneath a rock staring at them.

[Farmerbink]

Franklin frowns. "We can easily avert our course. Without knowing how far they range, it's hard to be sure how wide we would have to go to avoid them entirely. Could be simple. Could be a bunch of extra effort for no gain at all." He gazes around the plains as best his short stature will allow briefly before shrugging. "It's wide open out here. Easy to avoid a specific spot. I don't know anything about things they like or don't, though. Like I said, we never had to deal with Trogs in these parts before...."

Spoiler: OOC

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My perception is that's two votes in favor of leave them alone, and one vote in favor of kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out? Without a consensus from the other two, I'm content to have you moving away. If Urist and Bushi both want the violent approach, there's room to reconsider.

He begins leading away, following roughly the tracks the Troglodytes made- though in the opposite direction. "They'll be able to smell us tonight," he comments. "So there's no point in trying to hide too hard unless we want to go all the way back across the stream to mask our travel. Still, we can figure out more about their range if we follow their route. The next group can avoid whatever we tell them they need to."

[Palanan]

As they retrace their course, Perriket examines the troglodyte tracks as he’s able, doing his best to work out how many individuals there are, what sort of formation they’re moving in, and how heavy and encumbered they may be.

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Survival
(1d20+7)[12]

He also keeps a close watch on the grasses, herbs and other growths they pass, looking for anything he might use to anoint his fur to mask his own scent—and anything else that might cover the hefty odors of sun-warmed dwarf.

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Knowledge (nature)
(1d20+7)[15]

—And a sudden thought flicks his whiskers: “There should be other streams, shouldn’t there?” he asks Franklin quietly. “Not large, not like the one with the water-lizards last night, but little ribbon-streams flowing through low points in the open grassy areas. Even something only as wide as a dwarf-shield would do—all we’d need to do is shimmy along it for a crossbow-shot or two, and that should throw them off entirely.”

[DarkOne-Rob]

Looking satisfied that the party is moving away from the threat - at least for now, as well as they can tell - Brankahm hums tunelessly to himself, the low rumble barely audible over the slight breeze blowing across the fields. He doesn't look happy at the idea of wading through a stream, but doesn't argue or complain either as he tries to use his relative-height advantage to look for a small streamlet to use as described.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Perception is at +8. He'd take 10 essentially for an 18.

[Athaleon]

"I don't fancy a fight without knowing how many there are. If we have to backtrack to the stream, so be it, but hopefully we find another one close enough."

Spoiler

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Perception: (1d20+9)[16] to look for a likely place for another stream.

[tonberryking]

Bushi speaks up again.

"Let me scout ahead. If they just come out to hunt or scavenge, then it stands to reason they won't have many or any patrols or... sentinels waiting for people like us to wander by. A lookout for giants, maybe, but not heavily armed soldiers. But if they have the run of this area and do patrols, it would imply that they don't regularly deal with giants and we'll be forewarned of their locations.

[Triskavanski]

Paronomasia AC: 18 | HP: 16 | Current: 16 Fortitude: +2 | Reflex: +6| Will: +3 | Perception: +4 Active Effects: None. Conditions: None.

Finally the kobold chimes in. "Well there doesn't seem to be much of a giant territory around here. Course nevermind that one could just be wandering around. But at our last camp I did a little divination.. But the use of it.. is questionable at best. Take that of what you will. Personally I like the scouts idea.. but for the rest of us sitting around rotating wouldn't be too much good."

[Farmerbink]

Spoiler: Climate

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We hadn't talked about it much yet, but the setting is fairly temperate grasslands/forests, and the timeline has you at mid-to-late summer right now. I didn't go into great detail with the previous river, but I know I mentioned the much wider riverbanks (that aren't full) from the wet season. I hate to shoot down generally good ideas, but my timeline has most of those creek beds long dried since the spring thaws. A good summer squall could fill them, but I didn't have one in mind.

As you trek further from the rocks, the thick web of tall grass thoroughly stymies Perriket's attempts to discern more about the Troglodyte raiding party. In fact, he's forced to admit that there may have been a good bit of luck involved that had you cross their path were it was as visible as it was. It's increasingly difficult to be sure you're even following their steps on the open plains.

"Doubtful we'll find that right now," Franklin murmurs, glancing again at the clear, sunny skies. "Most of those rivulets are narrow even in the spring thaws. This late in the summer, they're nothing more than dusty depressions with a little less densely-clustered grass."

Despite the relative unease, you don't encounter any unfriendly reptiles (or indeed anything living other than yourselves and flora). About an hour later, you've lost the trail (it's colder now than it was, and harder to track), and amended your course for something more tangential to the now distant rocks. Franklin pointed out one of the minor tributaries of the river (now a significant distance to your east)- or rather, what he's fairly sure is one. For about 30 feet both directions, you track a shallow depression, only 8 inches or so at its deepest, with enough grass growing that you might have crossed it on accident were you not searching for something of the sort. "They're all gonna be like this now. The springs that primarily feed River Dennith (now and henceforth named) are several days journey to the north, on both east and west of the valley mouth."

The rest of the day passes uneventfully. By evening, you've just reached the thinning of grass that denotes the beginning of foothills, and the once remote spine of the crags now looms heavily overhead. "I had hoped to get some distance up the hills today, but that diversion cost us a lot of time," Franklin murmurs, glaring back in the direction of the outcropping- only barely visible near the horizon. "Peace, friend," Heldrun rumbles. "We have already learned much. Gods willing, the rest of the journey is as uneventful as this afternoon, and we will have our answer." With what appears genuine optimism, the cleric looks around the immediate surroundings. "Find us a good hollow for another warm fire, and I'll raise our spirits with a few songs of the Old Gods."

Regional map

[DarkOne-Rob]

"We're nearly there, and safely too," says Brankahm by way of encouragement to Franklin. "Hard to know what we will find, but we've made it this far, so let's keep our hopes up. Heldrun has the right of it, at least with his cheer. I'm not so sure about the fire or songs, but maybe soon."

With a sigh Brankahm adjusts his heavy pack and looks around at the others. "We're an odd company, at least by pre-giant standards, but I think we're working together well. Somewhere between paranoia and being too loud is the sweet spot, and I think we've mostly found it. That said, we should be careful tonight - the trogs like the dark, can see as well as a dwarf at least. If they know this area they might try something if they find our tracks. We should go until it's too dark to keep going quietly and wherever we camp needs to be defensible. Is there somewhere close, or do we just need to keep looking?" he asks Franklin seriously.

[tonberryking]

"I don't want to push this idea very far but... There any chance we could just talk our way out of a fight with these creatures? We have nothing they'd want unless they try to eat us, and I can't say if we're worth the trouble for them to try."

Bushi, who has mostly just gone to the surface under the cover of stealth and guile, innocently suggests the pacifist route of plans. She hasn't ever met anything up on the surface that wasn't either a dumb animal or something that definitely wanted to kill and eat her (or both,) but neither, apparently, has she ever had to deal with a trog.

[Palanan]

Perriket gives the claw-goblin the briefest glance, and puts an urgent question to Franklin:

“Can we press on? Get as far up the hills as possible? The dwarves and I can see in the night, and likely—” another glance to the goblin-creature— “can as well. If we keep going into the hills after sundown, and don’t let up until midnight, then we’d be well ahead of these trog-things, and we’d have the high ground for a better defensive position.”

[Farmerbink]

Franklin nods happily at Brankahm's comments, before taking on a less-happy expression as talk begins of pressing on. "I'm afraid I won't be an awful lot more use tonight," he murmurs. "It would be madness to light a torch as we begin climbing the foothills, and without one, I'm quickly going to struggle to see. But if you all can take point... and maybe help me over any hidden obstacles, we can cover more ground before we have to stop."

Spoiler: OOC, some details

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In the dark, Franklin will be unable to move more than half speed, without illumination. In addition, you've just really reached the foothills that will involve unsteady grades, sporadic rocky footing, and a generally upward slope. Most of you would be reduced to half speed anyway, so given Franklin's visibility concerns, it will be slow going.

But, You're certainly free to keep going, knowing the limitations. More distance will certainly make it less likely that the Trogs track you down overnight, and if you want to make the effort to pick a defensible location, I'm content providing what amounts to significant circumstantial bonuses on the "random" encounter roll- in whatever way makes the most sense. You can look for a secluded hollow and do without a campfire, and I'll just decrease the odds that anything finds you. You can look for an easily defensible position, and I'll adjust the results based on the intelligence and desperation of a potential threat, or you can just travel through the night and I'll have your roll for fatigue to start the next day, probably without any encounters (from behind).

Give me your preference (perhaps adjusted by percentage? [ie: I prefer a secluded hollow 60% and a defensible position 40%]) and I'll adjudicate as reasonably as I know how.

Some good questions, frankly. I'm really excited about the thought going into it and where we can go from here.

[Triskavanski]

Paronomasia AC: 18 | HP: 16 | Current: 16 Fortitude: +2 | Reflex: +6| Will: +3 | Perception: +4 Active Effects: None. Conditions: None.

The Kobold stops, making a face as his scrunches his nose in confusion, staring at franklin. Then looks to the others, then back to franklin. "What are you?" the kobold asks, now unsure if franklin was really a gnome the entire time or not. While Stepdownsy Forynth might have had a lot of torches, the kobold had just figured it was so they could see colors, something that often missing from constant underground living.

[Palanan]

“That would be best,” Perriket nods firmly in answer to Franklin’s half-hearted suggestion. “I’ll take the spear’s-tip, the others can be right beside you. If we can keep going until midnight, just as far as we can up into the hills, then hopefully we can leave these trog-things well behind us, down and away in the grass.”

But seeing that Franklin remains hesitant, Perriket takes a different tone:

“Dinna fash, lad,” Perriket says in his best mock-dwarven accent. “I ken yuir nought but a wee lad, but these lairds—” he nods to Brankahm and Heldrun— “are braw an’ sturdy folk, and surely ’tis nae bother for them to hoist ye for a time when the brae goes skaggan beneath ye.”

[DarkOne-Rob]

Brankahm chuckles at the rough imitation of stereotypical dwarven speech, especially given that to him all of them speaking in Dwarven sounds off. He doesn't make light of it, though, and just nods. "Yes, I'll help you out, friend. Won't do to have our day-guide hurt," he says encouragingly. He let's Heldrun choose, but makes a point to have the two dwarves to front and back of the gnome to help him out.

[Palanan]

Perriket nods briefly to Brankham, turns to Heldrun. “What do you say? Press on for a few more hours?”