Immersive Ink

The Herald will confer with his friends, out of earshot of the captive.

We should bind Thick-Neck's hands, tie a noose loosely around his neck, and march him back to camp. If he makes a noise, tug hard on the noose. He can carry my pack while I bear Alfwin's body.

I am ready to head back to camp, see if we can ransom Thick-Neck, and perhaps acquire some new companions.

"Though I don't recommend it, if anyone wants to stay here and monitor the fortress while we are gone, I will show you the hidden staircase. We can leave you the food we found on Thickneck's men. Should be enough there for a few days, depending on how many stay."

Leudigar shows the location of the hidden staircase to anyone who wants to know. He also searches the area immediately inside the staircase for any hidden caches of weapons or supplies. Once Thickneck is properly bound with rope (and gagged, if necessary), and the treasure has been divided evenly among the remaining members of the party, he indicates his readiness to return to Manfred's Camp for resupply and to maybe pick up some new party members.

Easiest thing to do with the coin is divide it now.

Treasure Division: 7 PCs, 1 NPC
Treasure: 30gp, 72sp

Divide everything into 15 shares, with PCs receiving two shares and NPCs receiving one.

PC (7): 4gp, 10sp (Leudigar only receives 8sp)
NPC (1): 2gp, 4sp

Leudigar will take one of the suits of mail from one of the two humans, as well as the hunting horn and the piton from Thickneck and Alfwin's steel mirror.
The Red Baron indicated that Dopey would take the torches, helm, and Gunter's plate mail. I think the food should probably be divided up evenly (or at least one day to six of the PCs) or left for anyone who wants to stay and watch from the hidden stairs.
Anyone else want anything? Carry weapons or armour back to sell?

The XP would be divided similarly. 1550 divided into 15 shares is 103 (with 5 remaining).
PC (7): 206xp
NPC (1): 103xp

We should load up Thick-Neck with as much food as he can carry. At the very least, it'll slow him down if he tries to make a run for it. And let's make sure we take Gerthrude's 80 sp, if only to make sure we can pay someone to take care of her cats at the camp.

sully wrote:We should load up Thick-Neck with as much food as he can carry. At the very least, it'll slow him down if he tries to make a run for it. And let's make sure we take Gerthrude's 80 sp, if only to make sure we can pay someone to take care of her cats at the camp.

Not just food; any armour we want to take back and sell, as well. Maybe not the weapons, though.

Didn't know she had 80sp! Surely we could find something suitable for 20sp, then use the other 60sp to buy 4 days of trail rations for the 7 PCs? She seemed a kind soul and I'm sure that's what she would have wanted...

Boggs will accompany Leudigar to the hidden staircase. He will use his 10' pole to tap the walls, floor, and ceiling, listening for hollow sounds indicating a secret cache.

"Mrowwwwwrrr" says Elke, rubbing her furred chin against the Heralds leg as though she has found a new friend. Meanwhile Stephan has nibbled a good chunk off his former masters toe before her body is unceremoniously dumped (and what a waste of a meal!) off the cliff.

ehiker133 wrote:Didn't know she had 80sp! Surely we could find something suitable for 20sp, then use the other 60sp to buy 4 days of trail rations for the 7 PCs? She seemed a kind soul and I'm sure that's what she would have wanted...

Nah, Gertrude would have spent it all on piss if she had the chance

It is late afternoon as Leudigar the Tracker leads Boggs the Dwarf Mouser along the ridge top of the crater rim, back toward the Black Gate, while the remainder of the company contemplate the prospect of hiking back toward Manfred's camp.

It is a hundred yards or so to the place where Leudigar spots the broad, split stone close to the precipice. behind it he shows Boggs the hidden cupola--a secret watch room large enough for perhaps four Men. Once again, a quick inspection reveals that it appears not long disused and, mercifully, is built over an ancient stone stair so narrow and perilously steep that it is almost wholly hidden from view in a crevice that runs halfway down the escarpment before reaching an equally perilous goat track that hardly marks the rock face. Farther below their position Leudigar and Boggs can peer over the cliff-edge from the open face of the cupola to spy a portion of ancient, crenelated wall--a battlement facing into the valley...

Meanwhile, the remainder of the company divide the haul and the load, as well as bind and gag Thick-Neck in a most uncomfortable manner, then make ready to set off.

End of Wilderness Exploration Turn/Day 4

Technically, the remainder of the turn is spent recovering after combat ends. In the context of a day long wilderness exploration turn there is a bit more flexibility. However, dusk is only a hour--or two at most--away in any event, so your most apparent options appear to be:

1. Locate a camp site for the night,
2. Begin a forced-march back to camp immediately.
3. Something inventive?

What to do?

Here's what I see we need to do:

* Locate a camp

* set a strong watch rotation (both for goblins and over Thick-Neck)

* Make ready to leave in the morning

Wetzel helps himself to 3 of the torches (leaving, it seems, 3 in the pile), 3 days worth of food, and a wine skin. He also takes Menno's dagger as extra weaponry.

If possible he tags along with Leudigar and Boggs to check out the guard post to get a sense of the place. Speaking out of ear-shot of Thick-Neck, he says:

"Perhaps this watch station would be a defensible hiding spot for the evening?"

Then he walks over to Thick-Neck and squats down next to him, not looking at the warrior but off into the middle distance.

"Where does the watch-stair lead, fellow? And how often is it used?"

Out of earshot of Thick-Neck, The Herald says, We should find a camp that's out of view but gives us eyes on the path here. That way, if a rescue party comes to get Thick-Neck back, we can wait until they walk by and fall on their unprotected rear. There is no point in going farther; the light will not last much longer. And we won't all fit in the watch room.