Chapter 1, Day 2: Into the Witchwood

The wizard shakes his head, part in anger and part in frustration as the bolt goes careening off course. "Blast it all!"

Jorr fires his own arrow at the retreating worg, but the creature must to be cloaked in good fortune as that too slams into a tree to the left of it - missing it by a wide margin.

The creature vanishes into the woods, and in the thickness of night pursuing it would be foolish.

Combat is over. I know Xara and Corban could have run after it, but you'd all definitively won at this point so why not let the poor worg get away ; ) Kaiakas is now dressed.

With swords sheathed and crossbow in hand, I run out the door to join my comrades. Seeing no one ready for battle, I look around, confused. "What happened?"

"ahh, there you are sleepy head! Don't worry, you look fabulous in that armour." Corban grins at Kaiakas I'm the flow of his magical light while looking for somewhere to wipe the blood off his sword. "Don't worry, Xara scared off the big one, isn't that right Xara?"
Feeling the chill on his exposed legs, Corban starts back toward the tower to collect the rest of his gear.

I squint at Corban. "If I'm going into battle, then I want to make sure I'm prepared." After a deep sigh, I confine, "Well now that we're all awake, what now?"

Pawetha spends some time recovering what arrows she can. She also inspects the bodies of the hobgoblins, looking for any confirming signs that they were with the Red Hand, as well as any intelligence these scouts might have recovered.

Peering into the dark, the wizard strains his elven eyes to the maximum of their ability. He calls down to his friends from the tower, "It would appear the worg has run off quite some distance now." He peers a bit longer before shrugging ever so slightly and descending the stairs to join the others.

"Are you alright Corban?" he asks his friend.

Pawetha returns to the courtyard and joins those standing above the second hobgoblin. She kneels and digs her hands inside the armor, feeling around with a mildly inquisitive expression. Not finding what she was hoping for, Pawetha stands and flicks her bloodied hands of gore, not very mindful of whoever is in close proximity.

The ranger absently wipes her face and nose with her bare arm, which does little more than rearrange the dirt and sweat on her small features. "Since we're up, I want breakfast," she says. Almost instinctively, she glances down at the headless body.

"Your're welcome to some of my rations," Zaris says to Pawetha, frowning at the headless corpse on the ground.

"I'm good Zaris! A little confused though. See that light over there?" Corban indicates the floating orb of light over the gate. "That was me! I think I might actually be starting to figure this magic stuff out." Corban scratches his chin thoughtfully, then continues, "must have been when the Manticore knocked me out, must have rattled some of your lost lessons into place."

"Yes yes, they ran as quickly as they could out of here. Not that surprising, but thank you for noticing! Er- Paws, are you looking for something?" I peer at the dead body as if by just looking at it I can help her find it, even though I don't know what 'it' is.

"Just checking if they have anything to report," answers Pawetha. "These were scouts returning from patrol. I hoped they would have written something down to indicate where they've wandered or what they've seen, but I guess that was wishful thinking. They probably make verbal reports to the hobbo in the robes taking a dirt nap over there."

The ranger busies herself with stoking the fire to boil water. Tea sounds really good for these kinds of mornings.

"Ah well," she says. "At least we won't have to worry about their mounts. Those worgs will roam wild for a bit, maybe form an independent pack of their own." Pawetha pauses, then looks at Jorr. "Sorry about that. Another bit of trouble for your woods."

"Welp, either way I'm well rested. Should we keep moving on then? Maybe we'll find a couple more tonight that we can catch by surprise?"

Jorr nods, "We may need our own light, the dawn way is mostly free of growth and so we should be able to keep it to a minimum, maybe shield it. One advantage of nightfall, is that if there is activity at the bridge, we'll see the glow of their fires and lights well before they see us." He unstrings his bow and prepares his pack, "We can go as soon as you are all ready. It's probably best to store anything you don't need in the vault here, to keep your packs light and your feet lighter."

"That rock I found upstairs will save us a torch in that regard," says Pawetha, indicating the Continual Flame. She boils some water, then adds a few herbs and tea leaves. As the hot liquid steeps, Pawetha begins to pack her bedroll and secure her meager belongings.

"I prefer traveling in the dark for the element of surprise, but suit yourself." I shrug. At Jorr's mention of storing our belongings, I hold onto my pack just a liiiiittle tighter.

"Oh right, I suppose now's as good a time as any. Here's some shinies I found." I reluctantly dole out 450 gold to each party member, other than Paws. "Paws, you short on coin?"

Pawetha shrugs. "I'm fine for now. When we get to town, I'll need to restock some of my arrows," she says, glancing into her quiver. "Besides, this is reconnaissance. I want to travel light and quiet. I'm sure we'll return here on our way back to Drellin's Ferry."

"Thanks Xara, but Pawetha is right, I'll leave the jingles in the vault for the moment. Let's move out, the sooner we see what's up at the bridge, the sooner we can get back to our loot then civilization.