Smoldering Wizard's Old-School Gaming Forums

You walk along the Cormandy Road for several hours. The terrain is mostly flat and the road at least level though overgrown as you move out of forested areas. The road shows no sign of use in a long, long time. As you take a short break to get some water, you spy the charred ruins of a farmhouse in the overgrowth. The dwelling is no more. Only the weathered timbers sit like sentinels in the quiet of the morning.

You figure that you have another 8 miles or so to get to Ulfstead. The day continues to be fine weather and a little warmer than usual. When the sun goes down however, shelter and a small fire will be necessary.

"We haven't reach Ulfstead yet," Tamerlane says with a sigh, his legs tired from walking all day. "So it looks we'll have to break for camp. If there is no objection, I'll take the morning watch. I've always been an early riser." He sits down on a felled log and retrieves his long stemmed pipe, filling the bowl with the earthy, fragrant weed the gnomes are known for growing, savoring the moment before lying down and pulling a blanket over him. And like that, Tamerlane is fast asleep.

Fredrick sits down cross legged I will take first watch if no one else wants it.
he sets down his polearm in front of him and stares off into the distance.

Milton says, I can take second watch.

The wizard slumbers peaceful after a few puffs on his pipe. Frederick sits stoically on a tree stump while the others rest for a bit. An hour passes and the realization that Ulfstead is still many miles ahead. Fearing that Aldarren will beat you all to Ulfstead, you decide to hit the trail once more. As peaceful as the grove of woods seems in the daylight, nightfall may change your mood being in these woods.

The rest of the day, your company marches along through a mix of wooded areas and open land. No sign of any humans are evident but for the overgrown path that once was Cormandy Road.

It is midafternoon by the time your company reaches Ulfstead. Your heart sinks at the site...





Before you lie the remains of Ulfstead. The ruins of about 15 dwellings circle a weed choked path. Not a single dwelling is intact.

In the dirt near one of the burned huts, you see a set of footprints. Barefoot, and at least three times the length of your own foot.

What do you do now?

Milton examines the footprints. Hobbits! I'd bet my beard on it!

Cedric - Cleric

Cedrick starts to protest at Milton's declaration, "Hobbits? Beard? ...", before grinning and continuing, "I'm sometimes slow on the uptake."
Looking around, he says, "I don't think any of us was hoping to find Ulfstead in this shape. Shall we do some cautions exploration to see what we may learn here?"

Tamerlane gives Milton a quiet look before kneeling down at the tracks, lightly tapping his staff with nervous fingers. "Not hobbits, I'm afraid. I wish it were that. An ogre, perhaps a hill giant. Alderran could tell us for sure." The mage stands and looks around, sadness etching his eyes. "Perhaps we should pair off and have a look. We can rally back here if need be."

The party splits up and does a little scouting. More burned out huts. Milton spies the blackened stub of a crossbow bolt lodged in a blackened timber. Cedric sees a stout sapling that was snapped off recently and a few more large footprints. Fredrick uncovers a family of skunks in one of the burned ruins...luckily he saw them first!

You see no other signs of recent human or any other activity.

The sun will be down in about three or four hours. The next town to the southeast, Harkbone, is at least 12 miles according to the map down the Cormandy Road.

Cedric - Cleric

"What shall we do, friends? I'd rather not linger here too long, but maybe we should. Or perhaps we should press on, leaving some sign for Aldarren that we've been here."