Storms of Change IC Part 4

"Yeah," Lucan said. "I say go for the open areas, where we can spot those orcs - or whatever they are - before they spot us. I can work with that."
 

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"It appears I am to be the deciding vote," Goven says. "Though I would prefer to stay in the open to keep from being surprised, I will defer to Manzanita and Dunathar, who have been this way before on the same mission. And who may have more knowledge of the situation than us," he adds with a sidelong glance at the pair.

To Manzanita: "Who is this Zanock? Is he someone we should be worried about?"
 

OOC: I don't think you ever said which way the tracks were headed?

And am I allowed to know where we are on the map? I saved a copy of it.
 

Manzanita

"Seeing the orcs before they see us would not necessarily be much of an advantage. I would advocate restraint, as they may not be immediately hostile."

"Zanock was a mighty orc warrior who traveled with us in caravan to Carodan. He killed many of our opponents with his awesome strength. But the orcs tried repeatedly to recruit him, and he did not rebuff them. Other things he said made me suspicious of his true allegiance. I suspect we will meet him again, though which side he will be on I do not know."

"Thank you for leading Goven. I will trust you to pick the best path."
 

OOC: Goven believes the tracks to be of two humanoids following the group. They came from the same direction you did. They appear to have stopped some distance away from your campsite, where Goven thinks the humanoids stopped for a while. Then they appear to have gone back the way they came. If you wish to follow the tracks further than a hundred yards out, that is an option. You've already travelled half a day from your campsite though. The party is east of the mountains ringing the Prin River valley.
 

Goven has no desire to backtrack at this point. Should they encounter these two again, he will probably try to investigate if it doesn't deviate from the mission too much, but for now he believes it best to wait and see whether they turn up again.

He leads the party through the forest toward the Prin river.
 

*Threetongues puts on a curious helmet, rather looking like it has a pair of big bat ears on the sides. Settling it over his head, the sounds of the forest become slightly clearer, and the gnome gives a smile. Clucking to his pony Goldhoof, he sets off after the others, his crossbow cocked and ready on his thigh, his mace in its loop.*

[OOC - Putting on thieving helmet, adds +1 to Listen checks, for a total of +4]
 

Goven leads the party through the forest, detecting no signs of the orcs. In the late morning Goven encounters the tracks of a large party of humanoids, about 10 creatures travelling on foot, heading off to your right, to the northeast. The tracks look to be a couple days old.

The night passes uneventfully.

About noon on the third day, you emerge from the trees and see in the distance the forest on the map marked with an 'X'. The forest is about 5 miles to the north of you, and looks to be about 6-8 miles across. There is a line of large hills to your right which continues north into the forest. There are also many smaller hills which dot the terrain.

You also see a small river, not shown on the map, that flows out of the forest, curving westward along the forest edge, and then continuing southwest, where it undoubtedly joins the Prin River. Where the river leaves the forest looks marshy for a square mile or two. The area to the east of the river allows direct access to the forest.

Approaching, you see the forest is dark and ancient. It is filled with large broad-leafed trees, many with trunks over 5 feet in diameter. In the wide spaces under the huge canopy are scatterings of smaller pines and undergrowth. Visibility varies, averaging about 50 feet. Scouting around, Goven finds a set of humanoid tracks heading west along the forest's edge.
 

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