I. a. The Chase Is On

General Summary

Thessday, 5803 Suncrest 25

As Tort is describing the fire required to make the smoke he saw, his over-excitement with the fire took hold and he self-combust, leaving his fellow party members at a loss - for they didn't know him well at all.

Quickly deciding there was nothing they could have done, the party moves forward with Tort's last words in their mind - a fire, maybe a campfire, not too far, not too close. Try as they might to make themselves inconspicuous on their path, it is hard to hide a Minotaur. And thus, it as Max who took the first shots from a scout that discovered them along their path. Finding her a tough opponent, the group eventually dispatched the scout, finding nothing more than a few coin and a sigil ring upon their finger.

The party returned to their original path, hoping to pick up anything the scout may have left behind. Although nothing was found, Vaelin, using his adept tracking skills, noted that the scout had run them in a different direction then they had come from. And so, the party followed the scout's footprints back to a campsite - one the party surmised had been used by the caravan and had likely been the source of the fire the departed Tort had spotted.

With the late hour of the day and the convience of the site, the party decided to settle down for an evening's rest, ready to take the early morning hours to catch up to what they hoped would be their still resting query. And yet - their slumber was not so peaceful as they'd planned when it was disrupted by Vaelin noticing voices nearby, but accidentally stepping on Ash's tail. Though the rest of the party quickly stirred, so did the scout and the reinforcement they brought with them.

Through a deal of effort, the party put down their attackers - once more finding little more than weapons, robes, and a silver sigil ring upon each of the bodies.

In the twilight hours of the day, the party ponders their options on how to move forward.