Expedition - Fingers: The Kobold Tower - 05 June 2021

[Marullus]

Fingers: The Kobold Tower - 05 June 2021
"Continue northnorthwest, past the ghoul lair (now 'Beith's Watch'), to the tower full of kobolds."
- Fingers McGraw
- Silent
- Rhybek Baerdrum
- Neegan Battleworx
- Ablesforth - Cleric of Eruanna
- Idriss

Mounts:
- Craige the Mule (owned by Rhybek)

[Marullus]

Beth's watch trip [1d4] = 4

06 June 2021

The group rises early and sets out on the 5th, finding easy travel along the widening pathway to Beith's Watch with the work crews. Camping near the old mill they see a half-dozen dwarves busy renovating the place.

Rising the next morning, they must plan for the Kobold tower. If Clay was accurate, it should lie about nine miles straight north (as Maurice the owl flies).

[Alethan]

Rhybek Baerdrum
06 June 2021

Rhybek tries to pass the time by finding out what anyone else knows about the tower.

"So... what can anyone tell us about this tower? You! You don't say much. Have you been to the tower before?" He looks at Silent.

[Zhym]

Fingers shrugs. "Dunno. Clay wanted to go there. Guess he doesn't now. But there must be something worth looking at if he wanted to go, right?"

Restocking:

6 trail rations: 3.6 gp
2 flasks oil: 0.24 gp
2 arrows: 0.6 gp

Total: 4g, 4s, 4c

Fingers also changes 101 gp to 10 pp before leaving town.

[Spearmint]

Idriss Wayfarer

"There is another building just over there, I think the cleric you came here before with scouted the land with that farmer chap. Let us go across and if he is in we can ask him about his experience there. For a fee he might be willing to lead us straight to it?"

Idriss suggests we go to the Gus's Farm building.

[Marullus]

Currently a barren site with millennia-old stone foundations for eight longhouses surrounding a stone well, this site is registered on the public map in Gaul as the building site for Gus, formerly of Farrow's Farm, to establish his own lands.

Gus has the deed but construction is not yet begun. So, he's not there yet. (He's still a farmhand at Farrow farm until the harvest.) Sorry for the confusion - I updated the post to make it clearer that he's not present until after construction.

If you want to pursue this, I'll allow a redirection to Farrow Farm first to meet with him. You can all speak with him if you think it will be helpful. No one in this expedition currently has Friendly relations with Gus or the Farrows, though, so you can't recruit him to accompany you (which is a retainer check).

[Alethan]

Rhybek Baerdrum
06 June 2021

"Well..." Rhybek begins, "If none of us has been there before, then maybe best we try and get what help we can. Let's stop by that farm and visit with this man Gus and see what he has to say. At the very least, maybe we can ensure we don't get lost if he can provide us with some clear directions on getting there and what we might expect upon arrival."

OOC: Honestly, I don't even have any idea where it was first mentioned that there was a kobold tower to investigate.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Clay mentioned seeing a tower fill of dog headed goblins to finger prior to heading out on the last expedition. That was where they were headed when they ran into the ghouls. The trip ended early because we had enough treasure to return home with.

Gus isn't at they motte yet. But he has a deed so I don't think we can go exploring there legally.(there was a well we could go into...) We could seek info from the dwarves or guards but they won't know much. Except about Kumsar...

Clay also told the last group about a huge of killer bees on the way, but only spent and fingers would know that as this point.

I'm on my phone so OOC is easiest. Able is more prone to heading to the kobold than an already explored ruin.

[Marullus]

Neegan Battleworx also joined this group as they headed out of town.

Final call is up to Fingers on if you go find Gus or just head straight to the Tower. If finding Gus, it costs one day and I'll give an opportunity to speak with him at Farrow Farm before you end up back here. If heading out, you can declare your intentions and I'll move you forward from here directly.

[Zhym]

Fingers

"If you think it's worth talking to Gus, sure, we can detour. Can he give us directions to the kobold tower?"

[Alethan]

Rhybek Baerdrum

Rhybek shrugs, "Dunno. But better to go someplace we can find than wander about looking for someplace we can't, my pappy always said."

OOC: I believe Gus and Clay would both know where to go. I'd rather spend a day going to see Gus and have a better chance of finding the place (and avoiding stationary creatures along the way) than possibly waste days wandering around if we get lost or can't find it.

[Zhym]

"Okay," says Fingers.

[Marullus]

The group decides to divert towards the Farrow Farm and see if they can talk to Gus on their way to Beith's watch. They arrive and find Gus in the barn tending to the livestock. He's cheerful, a broad-shouldered man with a wide grin.

"What do I remember? Well, gosh..." he ponders. "Happy to have found the farmland - not having to pull stones to prepare fields is more a blessing than I could hope! But I'm guessing that's not why you're asking."

He begins drawing in the dirt floor with a stick, showing the route from Farrow Farm to Beith's Watch, then drawing radials out from there. "He hoot-toot-hooted with his owl for a while, Clay did, getting bearings from where my farmstead 'll be, there by Beith's Watch. Bird had checked out things right well, since we found our way to the Kobold tower easily enough. Clay said the owl told him (if you're believing owls, of course) that there was the tower straight north, and another the same distance northwest. Forest's edge curves around close near both towers. Straight west he spied a whole ruined city. Some other farmstead foundations somewhere -- owl is too preoccupied with shrews, frankly -- but that's what Clay said the bird said. Since we found the tower with the kobolds in it, I guess it was true enough."

"Oh," he continues, pointing halfway along his line from Beith's Watch to the Tower, "Nasty giant bees around here. I figured Clay'd try to talk to them, too, but even he had the sense to stay away from them. Those things are nasty, hate 'em on the farm. Anyway, about eight miles from Beith's watch to the tower. From about halfway you can see it on the horizon, so isn't hard to find."

The group sets out from Farrow farm towards Beith's Watch. They quickly realize that Gus drew the line from Farrow's Farm to Beith's Watch fully northwest, though, and the public map in town showed it should be straight north. An important discrepancy which calls much of his information into question.

Leaving Farrow Farm to reach Beith's Watch - Do you follow Gus's directions Northwest? Do you try to blind-reckon northward? Do you return to town and take the worker's trail to ensure you find it but with a longer trip?

[Alethan]

Rhybek Baerdrum

"I say we follow this guy's directions. Likely he knows where his farm is, and maps is only as accurate as the map maker. Two towers? Maybe we have options to consider with that if the kobold tower is too difficult to get into. Or if we miss the kobold tower, then maybe we'll hit the other one."

Rhybek votes to head northwest following Gus's directions.

[Zhym]

"Yeah, let's follow Gus's directions," says Fingers. "Except let's stay the heck away from the bees. I don't wanna fight anything that moves faster than I can shoot."

[Rusty Tincanne]

Seems to me, offers Able, the town, this farm and that meeting house are like a knee brace, but we don't know where to put the tenons, if you will. If we follow the brace without knowing where the mortise will be, it won't work. That's what we'd do following that farmer's directions. If we head due north though, we'll either find Beith's Watch or the trail that leads there. He also offers he has never shied away from a ramble, so he's happy to go either way. It don't make a whit of difference to me, truly speaking.

As an aside, I am finished with Able's equipment. He brings with him:
12 old chisels (acting like spikes)
3 large sacks
50' of silk rope
10 days worth of food
lantern and 6 pints of oil

He is carrying 59 lbs, so he's moving at 90' currently. He wold toss 19 lbs (food, lantern and oil) onto a pack animal if folks want to move faster, but I think 90' might be the fastest animals move, so that might be a moot point.

[Zhym]

"Knee brace? Tenons?" echos Fingers. "I don't follow you."

[Rusty Tincanne]

Able picks up a stick and draws a 45-45-90 triangle in the dirt. Here's us at the bottom-most corner. If we follow this long line, well we could end up anywhere if our goal ain't on it. But if we go due north, we're going to hit the trail at least. That's all. Depends on how important the Meeting House is to you.

Zhym ninja'd my edit, so I'll repost it:

As an aside, I am finished with Able's equipment. He brings with him:
12 old chisels (acting like spikes)
3 large sacks
50' of silk rope
10 days worth of food
lantern and 6 pints of oil

He is carrying 59 lbs, so he's moving at 90' currently. He wold toss 19 lbs (food, lantern and oil) onto a pack animal if folks want to move faster, but I think 90' might be the fastest animals move, so that might be a moot point.

[Marullus]

Fingers decides that Gus's directions northwest seem the most likely route. The group sets out from Farrow Farm shortly after lunch. He's more certain of this as he and Silent both recognize the direction and terrain from their last departure from Farrow farm. They are definitely going the way they went last time when they arrived at the ghoul-filled windmill.

It is mid-afternoon when they pass out of the "known" areas beyond Farrow Farm and into the tractless plains stretching interminably west and north. They expect to come upon the Stone Run by evening, but find no sign of it. Dusk arrives and night will not be far behind and there is nothing on the horizon. No trail has yet been encountered. The ground does have some of the "once been plowed" feel to it rather than natural plains, as Gus described.

Date: 9:00pm, 05 June 2021
Light: Sunset
Distance travelled: 13.5 miles since Farrow Farm
Injuries: None

[Alethan]

Rhybek Braeburn
9:00pm, 05 June 2021

"Damned people don't know they own farm land," Rhybek says with a grumble.

"Should probably camp tonight. We can start fresh in the morning."

Rhybek offers to take any watch nobody else wants. He's fine with second or third watch.