Story - Part 1 - The way to Icespire peak

Vienne lets out a little cheer and clap when the boars leave. How wonderful of it to be solved only at the expense of some rations! She gives Josiah a bright smile as they join the others. "I have to say that went far better than expected. Maybe this adventuring thing is easier than I thought!"

She wasn't an unhelpful person, but knew that she wasn't able to contribute to the righting of the carriage in any significant way and thus stays out of the way of the others. She cheers them on as she answers the Salimar. "Nice to meet you Frazzt, I'm Vienne." She turns to her friends. "Awesome you guys! And Foldrat, where have you been hiding all that strength?!"

Vienne admits Josiah has an excellent point. The horses could be long gone by now. "Well...if you saw the way they went and we could find their tracks, maybe Akhi could follow them? Or, if the aren't too far, perhaps Garic and I could lure them back with the smell of their favorite food!" Despite talking to the group at large, she looks to Josiah to make sure he knows that she thinks his question is a good one. She has always found that a bit of acknowledgement goes a long way.

Akhi did a mental equivalent of a shrug to her, indicating he would try. The two were never quite sure what would work with their small magic until they tried.

Josiah flushes a little when Vienne smiles at him, and from where he’s kneeling, looking for tracks, he realizes he hasn’t introduced himself to the Salimar traveler. "Josiah Smelter," he says curtly.

After the boars had left Gale sigh of relief. Despite being a hunter, he never liked to kill animals without necessity.
At the mention of horses on the loose he silently proceeds to examine the ground looking for hooves traces and broken branches that he could follow.

Frazzt excitedly claps his hands as Foldrat manages to flip the carriage, seemingly with hardly any effort.
Ohhh! You are really strong. Unfortunately the wheel is broken and... he begins to say but then Garic mends the wheel with his magic.
Oh you surely are a wonderful bunch! Nice to meet you even if the circumstances are a bit... chaotic.
As for where the horses went... I think they went into the woods that way because the boars came from the other side.
Frazzt points at a bunch of trampled plants at the side of the road.

After/while fixing the carriage Garic offers to stay and keep Frazzt company if the others go searching for the horses.

He will ask Frazzt about the lands beyond, where he traveled, stories and legends he had heard, where he had been, where he is going, what're he does, where he lives... He even pauses to hear most of an answer before asking the next question.
(Yes Garic was/is one of those kids and hasn't quite grown up yet)

"You go find the horses, I will sit for a minute to regain some strength"

Foldrat stuffs his pipe and sits next to Garic while he's asking all his questions. Noticing his pipe-weed pouch is almost empty he asks "Hey, mister Frazzt, I don't suppose you have some pipe-weed in that carriage of yours? You see, I always like to carry a large quantity of the best kind from my own garden, but this time I could not take much with all that adventuring gear we've got with us... Speaking of which, this whole adventuring thing makes me quite hungry..."

Foldrat looks into his backpack, only to realise that he has given all his food to the boars. "My dear Garic, do you think you could spare a piece of cured meat to feed a poor hungry Dwarf?"

No one told you to give all your food to the boar. Perhaps our host can help you restock.? and he glances meaningfuly at Frazzt.
Not waiting for a responce Garic digs into his pack and pulls a bit of rations for Foldrat and starts to hands it over.
Then with a slightly malicious grin You know, adventureing might be good for all of us. I understand it is quite rough and can have many hardships. Probably builds character. Maybe you have th right of it. We should get used to hardship. Great idea Foldrat! and he moves to put the food back in his pack . . . grining mischeviously and glancing meaningfuly at the dwarfs "stout" toso.

She looks to where Frazzt was pointing and, now that she sees the crushed plants, the direction seems obvious. "All right! I'll give it a try." She pats Akhi on his head lightly and heads over.

"Are we going to track down these horses then?" Josiah asks his fellows plainly, examining the ground and the flattened plants. When it seems Vienne has the trail, the broad-shouldered man is ready to accompany and protect her and any others who come along.

Tossing the food to Foldrat with a smile then gathering up his pack, Garic says Since we are here and can help we should. Foldrat can keep Frazzt safe till we get back.
Joining the others he continues Just tell me what to look for, I'm no tracker though. And he waits to follow thiose who are

Foldrat catches the food and gives a 'thank you' nod to Garic but with a slight grin on his face. He then mumbles to himself "Silly goblin, I'll have to teach him good manners..."

"I'll stay here with our new friend as you go find the horses."He shouts.

He then starts munching on the food and turns to Frazzt "So... What about this pipe-weed?"

"I'll help gather the horses. Perhaps I'll be of some assistance within the woods." Sprout begins to tread towards the direction of the horses' escape, following after the others.

Frazzt goes up to the pile of goods that fell from the carriage and rummages through it. He disappears nearly completely in it and you hear the clanking of metal, wood and potentially glass until he successfully emerges from the pile with a small bag in his hand.
Ah yes! I'm glad the boars didn't eat it. Here's your pipeweed, freshly packaged by the boar tribe in the north. Kind of ironic if I think about it...
Frazzt hands Foldrat the small leather bag. The pipeweed in there has a slightly earthen smell which means that it was given time to refine before packaging it.
I'm also getting a bunch of rations from the carriage Frazzt says and hops onto the carriage

Vienne meanwhile investigates the trampled down bushes at the side. She takes a few steps into the forest and looks out for any signs of the horses. At first her eyes have problems adjusting to the dim light beneath the forest canopy but after a few moments she is able to see the marks of hooves in the soft forest ground and she should be able to follow them without problems.

Garic will create a small cloud of floating stars that shed light as needed and directed by the trackers.

As she finds the trail she points it out to the others. "I'm not a tracker either, so it is probably safe to assume this trail is fairly prominent. But that's good for us! Let's find these horses." Happily, and with a little bounce to her step, Vienne leads the way along the trail and feels almost like a real adventurer.

Josiah nods at Sprout, happy to have the treefolk's help, just as he's happy to let them take the lead on tracking if they want. He does quicken his step to try and keep pace with Vienne. He wants to tell her to slow down and be more careful, but the words die on his tongue and he just tries to keep close enough to protect her in case something happens.

Vienne follows the track along with her friends. As you go deeper into the woods Garic's magical lights prove to be invaluable
After a while you hear neighing nearby. You follow the sound and find the horses, standing in a clearing. A creature looking like a mix between a ladybug and a human and about half as tall as a human is dancing around the horses, occasionally feeding them berries and talking to them
...Aaaand another berry for you Mr. Horse. Shame that you two don't want to play... Only ever want to eat berries. Is this what becomes out of animals that live with humans for too long?
The creature doesn't notice you

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Frazzt jumps down from the carriage again with a bunch of rations packets in his hands. There you go. Feast on it he says while handing them out.
Oh a little bit of help would be greatly appreciated. he reacts to Jahamu's offer.
You begin to load the goods back onto the carriage. Each time Frazzt grabs an item he tells a little story that sounds like a sales pitch. Either he wants to sell them to you or he is just so used to do this that he doesn't notice it.
Ah yes a fine work of art by the forest feys. Really fits well over a fireplace. Oh and this knife here is splendidly suited for carving wood. And this puppet here is said to fend of ghosts. The tribespeople near Icespire Peak gave it to me. They said that ghosts have started to appear at the mountain. Ohhhh and this set of cutlery was finely crafted by the dwarves of the silver mountains. It will last for generations. A set like this has been in our family for five generations....

Sprout steps out into the clearing away from the others, drawing attention to himself only. "Hello there." He waves a hand. "Thank you for catching those horses, they're invaluable to their owner."

Seeing no danger Garric steps out to great the lady. Hello there. I am Garic. What is your name?