Chapter 1, Day 2: Into the Witchwood

Warklegnaw relaxes a bit, "Then what're ye' doin' in the woods?"

Pawetha pauses in her feeding. "Hobgoblins and bugbears," she mutters, mouth full. "They've been massing into a big army, probably gonna head through here. We aim to find out how many and how soon." She points north with a handful of dripping meat. "There's a bridge there that we think they're gonna cross. We're headed there to see what we can see."

She then takes a swig from her waterskin.

I say, between mouthfuls, "We're gonna kill 'em all. Hey, this meat is fantastic! Where did you learn to cook like this?"

Warklegnaw shrugs, "Chief's gotta' know how ta' keep the clan happy. Good food, makes happy clan." He stretches out his arms and tests his grip on his club, then says, "Hobgoblins an' bugbears? Yer' convincin' me then. I'll come smash em' with ya'."

Pawetha pauses, and steals a glance at Xara and the others. While she respects the presence of this giant as an ally, he seems a bit old and fragile, especially with the patches of red along his skin indicating some kind of illness.

"It'll be good to have you along for our journey. However, hopefully we won't see too much action on this trip it is primarily a scouting venture. I can't imagine situations where having a giant's strength will help us to take down that bridge though, that would be ideal."

"You're sure you're up for the task? I know you're not too fond of those guys, but you've got a cozy home here. We wouldn't want to disrupt your comfortable life any more than we already have!" Xara, Savior of the bugbear and goblin scourge. Friend of Giants. Oh yes, the tales they'll sing about me will be remembered for decades to come.

Warklegnaw stretches a bit as he stands up after finishing his meal, "It's decided. I'll be along. Lead the way 'ittle 'uns"

A phrase comes to mind at that declaration. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I smile and stand, mirroring our new friend's stretch, and look to Jorr. "Please, lead on."

Jorr stands, shoulders his bow and takes one last bite of the hunk of boar he was eating, "Alright then. Did we still want to scout ahead? It may be difficult to skulk up with our new friend. Might be best to get near to the gorge, then send a couple quiet scouts in advance to gather information and report back." He takes a flask of oil out of his pack, "We could make sure the scouts have oil doused arrows to send up a signal if things go belly up."

"Excellent news! Glad to have you on board, Warklegnaw!" I give him a pat on his elbow. "I'd gladly scout ahead. Paws, you with me?"

Pawetha nods with her mouth full, wiping her oily hands clean. She shoulders her bow and her pack, then looks up at Warklegnaw. She masticates the boar for a bit as she thinks, then swallows. "What'd ya got, anyway?" she asks, looking at the red blotches.

The giant touches one of the sore spots on his shoulder, "Dunno', been gettin' worse as its gotten colder though." Pawetha hasn't seen this particular condition before, but her familiarity with life in the wilds and the kinds of ailments that plague creatures when they age suggests to her that ol' Warklegnaw is unlikely to survive the coming winter. Especially if it's a hard one.

Source: "Passive" Nature/Medicine (I like the idea of 'passive' checks, so I implement them all the time with skills other than Perception and Insight. Sometimes, there are things your character simple knows)