Ch. 1 - The Keep on the Borderlands

Ezra chuckles and joggs towards the group and takes a place somewhere in the middle of the column, while rubbing his head feeling a slight bit of shame coming over him for having overslept.
sorry 'bout that, I'll be on time next time he states with a grin

Kraagor takes his place, impatiently, in the front of the party. His armor is on, and it is clear that it is clean but not clean. His warpick rests in his hands at the ready.

Darlene settles her bow in her hands and makes sure that her sword is secure at her belt. She takes her place in the line-up.

Robin ensures that all of her needed accoutrements were with her. She tried not to carry much when she could. Everything is tightened down so as to not get in the way should it come to any rough stuff.
She takes her place among the two-fold line and grins a bit.
This oughta be some fun!, she thought.

The party forms up outside the gates of the Keep, ready for anything. The sun is just peeking above the horizon, bathing the front of the keep in golden light as the drawbridge slams shut behind the adventurers. As the party picks its way down the Keep's hill, the air grows cool and fresh. At the base of the hill is a fork where the trail to the Keep reaches the king's road. The party can see that the road stretches ever onward before bending around the hills.

As the party goes east, the land slopes up into forested hills on their left. On their right, the rushing Black River bends closer and further from the road. For the next few hours the party walks, vigilant for danger, but the day is bright and cheerful. Birdsong and the scent of lavender drift from the oaks to its left, especially once the forest comes only a bowshot from the road.

It is here beside the river where the party stops to think. The sun is a bit higher in the sky now, but it will be some hours before noon.

"Looking at the map, it seems we could get closer to the clearing if we continue on the road for a while, but the slope there will be much steeper than it is here..."

Father Petronius continued to examine the map.

"There seem to be a hill not too far from here. Do you suppose that if we climb it, we could get a good vantage point of the clearing?"

Farem agrees to climb the hill to have a better point of view.

"Getting under the hill will tell us more. Stone doesn't lie," nonsenses Kraagor. But he agrees that getting on top will help the toplanders, despite knowing deep down that it will help him as well.

Ezra agrees with the others to reach the top of the hill and tries not to chuckle at Kraagor's musings about stone.

"Lead on!" Delfarious barks imperiously. "To the hilltop, and a commanding view of this land!"

Grumbling (and generally smelling), Kraagor marches forward. You'd hardly think he was on his way to adventure!

"Do keep up your spirits dear Kraagor." Father Petronius said as he tried to cheer up the dwarf. "Perhaps this hill will also have a cave we can explore."

The party spends the next few hours marching down the road, the sun gleaming as it rises higher in the east. Most of that time is spent climbing the mountain, which is a sharp 50 foot slope of crags and bluffs.

Once the party picks its way up to the peak, it finds a plain wide enough to accommodate your camp several times over. From a general inspection, the place is clean-swept and bare save for clumps of shrubs and boulders at the edges.

From its vantage on the hill, the party can see much of the eastern half of the clearing. All is quiet down there, save for shadowy figures like ants that crawl about by the tree line. At first there looks to be just a few, then more emerge until a dozen or more are milling about around the eastern edge of the clearing. How many truly are and what they're doing could be anyone's guess.

Father Petronius peered in the distance, attempting in vain to make out what the silhouettes where and what they were up to...

"Well, at least now we know there is a welcoming committee... Anyone is able to tell what they are at this distance?"

Ezra moves to the edge to stand next to Father Petronius and peers down the hill.
Argh, no I'm sorry. Maybe they just want show us the right way? He says in jest.

"Has anyone a spyglass?!" Delfarious asks vociferously once they have mounted the crown of the high ground.

Peering, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand, he tries to count the tiny figures, to get some sense of how many their are...

"Let me check!" says Farem, eager to prove hismself useful. He approaches the figures cautiously, trying to identify what they are and what they are up to. He won't approach too much, staying at a reasonable distance to be able to evade should they try to engage him

Morgan peers down at the figures and scowls. "Damn, I'd thought we would have more time before word of the treasure spread. Hopefully that's not our competition."

As the party looks closer, it sees the figures advance out of the woods into the clearing, some stumbling like drunks or lepers, some retreating back under the trees. Delfarious is shocked to count up to thirty individuals!

"If they truly are out competitors, they've indulged too much in Dionysus' blessing..." Chuckled Father Petronius.

"That will just make it easier to stake our claim," snarls the dwarf. His grip tightens, and he fidgets impatiently.