The Coast Way

Dieter examines the patches to see if they’ve been carefully cut out or ripped off.

"If a legion is operating in the area that can be very bad news, do these look like deserters or scouts?"

Imoen shakes her head in awe as Aiwe hoists Sheemish up. "Wow! Carrying another ally around! You know, you're pretty beefy for a lady!"

The girl skips past Dieter. "I know a good way to tell! Just check and see if they have anything that might be stolen. If they're deserters, they'd probably take a few things on the way out." She absently fingers a pocket inside her coat, where likely rests that one wand she stole from Candlekeep.

It doesn't seem as though the hobgoblins have stolen anything, if they are indeed deserters. But it's very unlikely that these soldiers were part of an army. If there were an army of hobgoblins anywhere nearby, it would be the talk of the century.

"Uh..." Stella flips to the end of her tome where she has but two loose sheets of paper left.

"Oh! Thank you..." she thanks Aiwë for the coin. She magically copies the symbol onto the page with a temporary prestidigitation and begins tracing it with actual writing.
"A legion seems unlikely..." Stella remarks, "But with how things have been going, I'm willing to believe anything is possible if it's terrible enough...but where would they even be located? She lets the question hang.

After they start moving again, Stella walks aside Imoen. "Um...I just wanted to say, I'm glad you're here. You're pretty good with that bow," she smiles. Certainly better than me... "How'd you learn?"