D&D 5E [IC] Egon's Lost Mine of Phandelver

[hafrogman]

Keira finishes re-securing the gear and steps back silently surveying the group as they prepare to head out, placing them each in her mind.

The wood elf looks practically ready to flee the city. She will want to be up front.
The beast man trusts in his size and strength. He will want to be in position to face any challenge head-on.
The gnome looks to be another warrior, but his legs have tied him to the wagon.
The other woman ... should remain in the middle where she cannot get in the way.

She slips into position at the rear of the caravan where she can keep one eye out for anyone following them out of town, and another eye on this motley crew. She checks her blades in their sheathes, checking each is secure, but ready to draw should they be needed.

"Let's move."

 

[Egon]

Having figured out who was doing what, and making a cursory check of the wagon, you headed out from Neverwinter, traveling south/southeast along the High Road. The horse may not have looked the best upon first glance, but the beast has been keeping a better pace than the rest of you, and it seems that every time you decide to stop and eat or rest that the horse wishes to keep going. Looks, apparently, aren't everything.

The journey thus far has been easy, with nothing more than a mosquito or two to bother you the whole of the way. It was only earlier this morning that you broke camp where the High Road meets the Triboar Trail and started moving most easterly along the Trail. You've now been on the road for 2 and a half days, with the half of this day traveling having been on the Triboar. The trail is much different from the High Road, with some spots being merely ruts in the ground that carts and wagons can try to follow. Your footing isn't the greatest, with rocks and roots sticking up everywhere; if your footing is bad, imagine how the horse must feel.

It is nearing noon, which means it is almost time to stop for a spot of lunch, when you round a bend in the trail to a scene that is as gruesome as it is unexpected. 2 horses lie in the middle of the trail, black-feathered arrows sticking out from multiple places in their carcasses, the ground around them stained crimson and black. One of the horses you can see is missing one of its hooves, bits of broken bone sticking out from under blood-stained hair around where the ankle should be. The saddles and riding gear have been sprawled out along the trail, lying there as if tossed from high above without a care in the world, and the entire scene looks as though a tornado has run through, kicking up every bit of dirt and stone that could be found and dropping it unceremoniously where it pleased.

The trees from the wood on either side of the trail seem to press in closer here, and the light from the noon sun barely filters through from the sky to the ground. There is a foul stench in the air, and the hairs on the back of your neck seem to stand of their own accord.

 

[Forged Fury]

Anastriana held up her hand, indicating the cart should stop. Moving back to the ground, she reported in a low voice, "Looks like a bit of violence on the trail ahead... two dead horses, arrows sticking out of them, and no sign of their riders. The woods grow close to the trail here, it seems like a good place for an ambush. Even if whatever it was that carried out the attack is gone, we'll need to clear the trail. Otherwise, I doubt Buttercup will agree to walk through it." The elf patted the muzzle of the horse as she said that, seeking to calm it's desire to move forward.

 

[hafrogman]

Keira slows to a halt with the rest of the caravan. She listens to Anastriana's description, springing up on the back of the wagon for a moment to catch a view for herself. Dropping back down to the dirt, she scans the woodline for a moment, scowling. She strides forward to the head of the wagon.

Tapping Endurance on the shoulder (or at least as high on his back as she can reach), she points to the horses.

"Give me a hand here. The rest of you keep watch, and be ready to get this thing moving again."

 

[Forged Fury]

"A word of caution... one of the horses had a hoof ripped off. It could have been the work of some beast or a strange trophy, but it could be a trap. Beware of foot traps along the path, particularly where you see hoofprints. I'll scout the woods and try to cover you from there." Anastriana said to Endurance and Keira. Without another word, the elf ranger slipped into the forest to the south.

OOC: Based on the map, the Triboar trail runs roughly east-west. Ana will take the south side of the trail and start snooping. Stealth = [roll0] Perception = [roll1]

 

[Skarsgard]

Rebecca moves to the front of their wagon, her eyes mist over at the sight of the felled horses.

"Why would someone do that to the poor creatures?" she whispers. The scout seemed to have things in hand ducking about in the shrubbery and she drew a measure of comfort from the stalwart individuals around her. It was truly no different from being on a hunt back home on her families land.

Not sure what else she could do, she absently pats Buttercup, the creature was stoic and had surprised them on the journey so far. She hoped that the villians who had comitted this crime would be brought to swift justice.

 

[Schmoe]

Gnash stands up in the wagon, his eyes scanning the trees and his ears straining to hear any sounds in the surrounding woods. He then jumps nimbly down from the seat and readies his shield, wary of danger. He looks around for any small woodland creatures that might have witnessed the attack. As he does so, he says to Endurance, "I'll need to go see what happened to those poor animals, and maybe clear the path. Will you join me? It will take more than myself to move the horses from the trail."

OOC: Perception = 1d20+1 [roll]1d20+1[/roll]

 

[Schmoe]

OOC: Ok, apparently I messed up the dice roll, and the dice roller doesn't work on edits. So here is Gnash's Perception roll: [roll0]

 

[Egon]

The area is a mess, that's for sure; you don't need to scan it to know that. Strangely enough, however, is that there is almost nothing besides leaves and stones and dirt littering the place. There are the 2 dead horses, but apart from that, all that is here are 2 empty saddlebags and and empty leather scroll case. Surely there should be more here, right?

Anastrianna follows her instincts and moves into the wood to the south, all but slipping out of complete memory as she just about becomes one with the trees. And as she does this, several arrows fly from both the north and south, all landing and sticking into the ground just short of the wagon. And they all have the same black-feathered fletching that the arrows in the horses have. And as they all stick in the ground, 4 Goblins emerge from the trees, snarls on their faces and bloodlust in their eyes.

[sblock=Combat!]
I'm still getting used to the tags on the site, so please forgive me for putting this in a spoiler tag. I've seen the OOC tags, but I don't know the syntax of using them here.

Either way, we are now in combat. Your first post should be a full combat post, to include initiative, movement, and action(s). I know initiative hasn't been determined yet, but I'm pretty confident that anything you guys declare at this point won't be wholly altered by not winning initiative. And speaking of that, I have to roll myself for the Goblins.

[roll0]

A map is included here to show where everyone is. When moving, please indicate which square you are moving TO, not FROM. Squares are ordered from A1 in the upper left corner to P20 in the lower right corner. The Goblins are all indicated by a number; please make sure to state which Goblin you are in fact attacking.

[/sblock]

 

[hafrogman]

Keira scowls at the new arrivals, mad at herself that she didn't spot them sooner. She reaches for her blades, sliding them out with a quiet hiss, and then darts toward the nearest goblin, pivoting as she moves, lashing out with a blade, followed closely behind by a spinning kick.

OOC: [roll0] Interaction: draw blades (both because of feat). AC goes to 16. Move: G8 (Carrying on to G9 should I kill Goblin 1) Action: Attack Goblin 1 Bonus Action: Unarmed attack (martial arts) [roll1] [roll2] [roll3] [roll4] OOC is used just like spoiler {ooc}{/ooc}