<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/6Uzxfey.png)</div><br/>"No, we're not intruding on any burial grounds, and it would be unfair to say they're just 'mean'. The dwarves went to war with my people nearly a century ago. Escaping our retaliation is what lead them to inhabit Mt. Gellabore in the first place. It is regrettable, though understandable, that they have held a grudge against my kind ever since. If they were to discover I was a sect 'infiltrating' their mountain they would likely have me executed, if not worse" Cinnabar explained to the confused tiefling, "As far as being goblins with beards or not, I cannot say, I have given a wide berth to any dwarves I have passed on my travels, so I have not had any close interactions with them" they answered, with a tinge of mirth in their voice acknowledging the silliness of the question.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><br/><br/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;">Day 1: Leaving Wyrmfell</span><br/>(https://i.imgur.com/p661ejT.jpg)</div><br/>Once everyone had gotten organized and assigned roles for the coming stretch of their journey, the gang was ready to set out. The first leg of their trip did...not go quite as well as they expected. First and foremost was Juro's direction of the group. They had, with good reason admittedly, assumed the druid would be a good choice to act as trailblazer and guide them. Not only that, but they were following along the river's path and were still traversing paved roads. One would be forgiven in thinking that this route would be absolutely fool proof with those three factors combined, but they didn't account for one thing: Juro's aversion to civilization.<br/><br/>As strange as it may seem, the paved roads, sign posts, and rest stops actually threw the druid off more than they helped, made it harder for him to keep track of his own natural landmarks. As a result they ended up turning down the wrong road more than once, made only worse whenever a road made them temporarily part from the riverside. All that along with a poor estimation of how the inns and towns were spaced out meant they not only lost time on their journey, they would not be able to make it to a secure place to sleep by the end of the night, and would be stuck camping out.<br/><br/>Katra faired little better in her task as quartermaster, though it may not have entirely been their fault. About three hours into their trek Katra would check over their rations and realize they hadn't actually packed as many rations as they thought. Either someone had ripped them off, or they had bought the wrong sized ration packs. Unfortunately the highly trafficked roads meant there wasn't a lot of huntable game around to supplement their rations, or perhaps Katra simply didn't have the keen eye needed to spot them out.<br/><br/>However, even with those blunders, one would argue that the most important job on the trail was scouting ahead for potential threats. Fortunately Xanavel proved more than capable of that. With the boon of her patron, The Thief, the warlock would benefit from silent footsteps and darker shade to hide within, thoroughly masking her movements so she would spot any potential dangers before they spotted her.<br/><br/>Said danger came in quite the strange shape. Tucked safely within a bush, Xanavel would spot two groups crossing paths farther down the road. One appeared to be a caravan of about 4 merchants and a pair of guards, while the other was some kind of troupe of musicians, 9 strong. They chatted for a bit, before the bards all took out their instruments and set up to start playing. Xanavel could hear the song (https://youtu.be/qFNOx2PczMo) from her vantage point, though it was obviously much quieter from this far away. She could see the merchants and guards were clearly enjoying the show, their distant figures clapping and dancing along to the music. However after about 30 seconds the listeners started to sway and stagger, as if they were getting drunk, or perhaps sleepy. Xanavel herself would even feel a sudden wave of tiredness wash over her as she listened, though from this far away it wasn't overly strong, and she was able to keep her senses. Seconds later Xanavel would witness them all slump over and drop to the ground, even their pack animals, and several of the musicians would abruptly cease their playing to start digging through their packs and purses,<strong><em>"Brilliant...combining mine and The Fool's fortes into a truly immaculate scheme...you could learn a thing or two from them..."</em></strong>an impish voice whispered in Xanavel's mind. Only once they were satisfied with their robbery did they stop playing, loading their ill-gotten gains onto their wagon and driving off, heading down the road in the party's direction.<br/><br/><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/UMJkDhK.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/LEKagIZ.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/D3yP3yn.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/7oSm2nX.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/fu2TiVd.png)<br/>(https://i.imgur.com/iOtPPNd.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/0zQCXti.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/kQLBjB4.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/ORUp57j.png)(https://i.imgur.com/ZG1uh1x.jpg)</div><br/><hr/><span class="bbc_u">Undertake a Perilous Journey</span><br/><strong>Juro</strong>fails his trailblazer roll, costing the group extra time and forcing them to camp on the road/wilderness for the night (+1 day to journey length)<br/><br/><strong>Katra</strong>fails her quartermaster roll, discovering a shortage in their ration supply (everyone but Juro -2 rations)<br/><br/><strong>Xanavel</strong>gets a perfect success on her scouting roll, spotting a troupe of thieving bards well before they cross paths.<br/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_u">Journey Length Remaining</span></strong>: 4 days<br/><br/>Xanavel, you have spotted a group of musical thieves, you have ample time to return to the party and warn them of what's coming, and from there plan on how you will deal with them. Whether you try to steer clear of them or confront them directly is up to all of you. So everyone, what do you do?