Chapter 6

During breakfast, the companions are able to get a closer look at Skeller. He’s tall, at around 6’1”, and dressed simply in comfortable traveling clothes. During the discussion, they learn that he’s been traveling westward, from Mirganor in the East, and hasn’t encountered anything odd. At least any more odd than he usually does. The townsfolk of Wayside, especially an elf named Cindel, were eager to tell him the tale of the Chimera.

Skeller paused for a moment and sat thoughtfully, then said “I did buy some lovely flowers from an amiable woman namded Prema. While I was in the Buzzin Bee, the townsfolk described the horrible circumstances of her husband and daughter being lost in the woods. Yet, when I spoke with her, there seemed to be more to her tale than the folk realized…or maybe let on. I got the impression they were a bit embarrassed for not being able to do more to help poor Prema.”

“According to Prema, her husband was the most loyal, dedicated husband and father she knew of in their small village. She knew he wouldn’t abandon her or put their daughter in danger without something serious having happened. He might not have been the best farmer, bless his heart, but he was a good hunter and knew how to traverse the wilds. He never would have gotten lost, especially in these lands that he knew so well. She’s of the mind that they ventured across the river and the goblins got ‘em. She hopes that they’re still alive, cuz those pesky goblins are liars and thieves, but they’re usually not murderers.”

The companions looked at each other in turn, realizing that they might not be quite ready to leave the Wayside area.

Then Dolor turned the subject to another area of interest, especially to Gven. “Skeller, have you any news of Elsemar? We’re headed that way, looking for a friend of ours.” He then looks over to Gven, prompting her to share as much information as she’s ready. She goes on to describe how her brother, Torp, left for his Coming Out eight years ago and hasn’t been heard from since, which is extremely unusual. They ran into a rider from the Pride and Comfort in Wayside, who happened to see a half-orc that looked eerily similar to Gven in Elsemar.

After describing the building that the Pride and Comfort rider told her about, Skeller paused and rubbed his chin in that way they’d quickly come to see him display when he’s contemplating his next words carefully.

“I know of that building. They don’t really care for my type, or many other types that’re different from themselves, if you know what I’m meanin. It’s a law firm run by a muckety-muck who goes by the name of Davinor. He does a lot of work on the, how should I put it, seedier side of the law. If your brother was in there and givin off the unhappy vibe that P&C rider told ya, then my guess is that he weren’t there for any reason to his own benefit.”

The adventurers express their gratitude to Skeller, especially Gven, and decide to move on quickly towards Elsemar. The city is still 5-6 long days of walking away. But they all need breakfast and Xantic is excitedly cooking up his special “garbage omelet.” It actually tastes quite good, although no one asks about the specific ingredients.

Skeller tells them that he’ll remain in that spot for a bit of time. That’s the way of their people, the tinkerers. There’s always a reason to stop and, eventually, a reason to get going again. He’ll stay here for a bit longer to see who else might need his wares or services. Word travels quickly when a tinkerer is around and he trusts it to guide him, as do all tinkerers. Setting up camp around his wagon, he establishes a perimiter of warning sticks with tiny bells on them, all attached by string. Dolor elicits a smile in fond memory of doing this while traveling with his own family when he was younger.

The adventurers say their farewells to Skeller and head eastward, towards Elsemar and whatever situation they might find Gven’s brother inhabiting. As they walk, Grindlefoot and Gven ask Dolor about the ‘big city’ of Elsemar. They’ve both only experienced small villages, farming communities, and tribes roving across the grasslands.

As Dolor describes Elsemar to the group, he tells them about his past. His parents are tinkerers of great renown for their jewelry and watchmaking, often fulfilling customized orders for wealthy people in Elsemar, some of whom have more money than sense. As pacifists, like most tinkerers, his parents would sometimes find themselves the victims of theft. Not in the normal sense of being robbed at sword-point, rather customers refusing to make payment for the very services they had requested.

While his parents were of the mind to let bygones be bygones and move on with life, Dolor had different ideas. He would usually find stealthy ways into their homes to take the requisite payment in whatever way was the most accessible. Of course, he never took more than they were owed, hence his services weren’t considered illegal, at least by him. Besides, these sorts of customers were hesitant to report anything to the authorities, as they usually had other, bigger concerns if the authorities were involved. Fortunately, Dolor excelled at this and none of the customers were able to track his actions back to his parents. Justice wears many faces.

As they’re walking eastward along the Ha-derech, Dolor notices an object in the middle of the road up ahead, about 50-60 feet from them and just before a small bridge over a creek. Xantic immediately suggests that they play it safe and blow it up with his brand new eldritch cannon. The rest of the adventurers look in amazement at the cannon and then quickly say “no, no, no, let’s investigate first!”

Xantic runs up to the small object to get a closer look while the rest of the group walks a little more slowly, leaving Xantic twenty feet in front of them. As soon as he gets within touching distance of it, Xantic recognizes it as a child’s dolly that is fairly worn and was probably quite loved by its young owner. When he goes to pick it up, the doll moves across the ground and Xantic jumps back in surprise, points his eldritch cannon at it, and instinctively fires. The poor toy didn’t have a chance and is eviscerated, body parts and clothing flying in every direction. Just then, six goblins, one of them noticeably larger than the others, run out from underneath the bridge and attack the companions.

Fight choreography

• Grindlefoot turns invisible and moves to flank the goblins.
• Dolor attacks with his rapier, causing 3 damage.
• One of the smaller goblins attacks Dolor with a rusty sword, causing 6 damage.
• Dolor quickly reacts with Hellish Rebuke, causing 6 in fire damage to the goblin.
• A goblin attacks Dolor with a long knife, causing 8 damage.
• A goblin attacks Xantic and misses.
• A goblin attacks Xantic with a short sword, causing 8 damage.
• A goblin attacks Gven and misses.
• The larger goblin attacks Gven with a sword, causing 6 damage.
• Xantic fires the eldritch cannon at the furthest goblin and misses.
• Xantic casts Frostbite at a goblin, causing 6 damage and freezing it from its next action.
• Gven enters into her barbarian rage and cleaves a goblin in half with her longsword, killing it instantly.

• Grindlefoot becomes visible and casts Thunderwave at two goblins standing away from the group, to avoid impacting his companions. One goblin takes 4 damage and the other is killed instantly. After casting, Grindlefoot moves backward, giving himself room to attack remotely.
• Dolor moves backwards thirty feet, swigs a healing potion, and misses a goblin with his shortbow.
• A goblin attacks Gven with its long knife and misses twice. Gven says “boo!” and it jumps out of her reach.
• A goblin attacks Grindlefoot with its sword, causing 6 damage.
• The goblin Xantic froze, recovers their ability to move and attacks Xantic with their long knife, missing widely.
• A goblin attacks Gven and misses.
• Xantic, inspired by Gven’s prowess and attitude in combat, swings his short sword across the neck of a goblin, killing it instantly, but not quite decapitating it. Xantic takes a few more halfhearted swings at the goblin’s stringy neck and then shrugs his shoulders, but with a big smile on his face.
• Xantic fires the eldritch cannon at another goblin and misses.
• Gven misses a goblin, swinging her sword wildly, and Xantic gives her a supportive “you can do it” look.

• Grindlefoot, now inspired by Xantic’s almost-but-not-quite-beheading, swings his staff at a goblin, killing it.
• Dolor takes a shot at the large goblin with his shortbow and misses.
• The big goblin attacks Gven with its sword, causing 7 damage (only takes half while raging).
• A goblin attacks Gven with its long knife, causing 8 damage (only takes half while raging).
• Xantic misses a goblin with his eldritch cannon and casts Cure Wounds on Gven, restoring 6 health.
• Gven has lost her groove and misses a goblin with her longsword.

• Grindlefoot casts Healing Word on Gven, restoring 4 health, and then swings his staff at a goblin, missing them entirely.
• Dolor fires an arrow at the large goblin, barely missing.
• The big goblin attacks Gven with its sword again, missing on both attempts.
• A goblin attacks Gven, missing widely.
• Xantic attacks a goblin with his staff, connecting for 4 damage, and then fires the eldritch cannon at another goblin, causing 9 damage. Both slowly fall to the ground, dead, and Xantic looks slightly confused before a big grin grows on his face.
• Gven attacks the big goblin, missing once again and letting lose a string of expletives that make Grindlefoot blush.

• Grindlefoot, not letting his embarrassment at Gven’s words hold him back, hits the big goblin with his staff, causing 8 damage.
• Dolor sets an arrow in his shortbow, takes a deep breath, and aims at the large goblin’s bulbous head. The arrow strikes the monster right between the slightly crooked eyes and the lifeless body slowly crumples to the dirt road. Still holding his pose after releasing the deadly arrow, Dolor quietly says “huzzah!” The adventurers all smile and relax themselves, taking in the carnage around them.

After taking care of the pesky goblins, the group investigates the area and tries to determine what they can. Dolor searches the goblin bodies, finding nothing of value or interest, then discovers a wooden box underneath the bridge. Opening the box, they find 10 gold pieces, 20 silver pieces, a spyglass, a gold ring, and a feathery hat. Grindlefoot excitedly says “my quest is complete!” and puts the hat on his head. Xantic turns to look and adds “that hat is so much you!”

Continuing his investigation, Dolor inspects the remains of the child’s doll and recognizes the pattern of the dress fabric—it’s the same as Prema’s dress. Turning his gaze to the wooded area alongside the road, he notices a path, almost a trail, heading off into the woods. Grindlefoot changes into a wolf and tracks the doll’s scent to the trailhead. The group agrees that the coincidence is too much to ignore and decides to follow the path, hoping to find Prema’s husband and daughter alive.

Short rest….