The elf waved as her first apprentice of the day arrived, the movement making her unbelievably-sized udders jiggle back and forth. "Indeed, I'm Shalelu! My pleasure to meet you, Ryujin. Or would Ryujin-san be more appropriate?"<br/><br/>She put on a mock stern teacher expression when her other pupil arrived. Arms akimbo and leaning forward slightly, the renowned ranger lectured her charge. "Ahem, young lady. My eyes are up here! And no more excuses: as my old<em>sensei</em>used to say, either you're on time, or you're not. Geez, what do they teach kids these days..." She shook her head with a sigh.<br/><br/>"Anyways! Today we're heading out to a lovely little place by the sea called Brinestump Marsh. It's a few hours away, so I hope you're wearing your walking boots. We'll be needing these too." She brought out three packages to add to their packs, one for each of them, each filled with jugs of oil and fire-starting tools.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>The rising sun brought with it clear skies, and beneath its gaze the long walk on the dusty road turned warm. Lightly dressed, Shalelu had no problems with the heat and set a rapid pace. As they walked she talked about the intricacies of goblin-hunting. "Back in the old days before you were born, you would need a whole hunting party to flush out and put down enough goblins to matter. Nowadays though its much more efficient. Teach a man to kill a goblin, and he's safe for a day. Teach him to burn down a goblin village, and his own village is safe for a year. So that's what we'll be doing: tracking them down to their hideout and making burnt offerings out of it. That'll keep them busy rebuilding and not ruining farms or ambushing travelers on the road. Oh, and remember to take the ears of any goblins you put down, the bounty on them's ten gold a pair."<br/><br/>Finally they reached Brinestump Marsh, a maze of muddy bogs and snaking waterways, fantastically overgrown with vegetation. The wetland was a tangle of nettles, reeds, and other swamp plants, supplanted by trees of cypress, eucalyptus, oak, and willow that grew thickly wherever a dry patch was to be found. Not a single goblin was in sight, and to the untrained eye there was no sign that any goblins ever inhabited the swamp, either. Fortunately, Shalelu was present to teach them how to track goblins...<br/><br/><hr/><br/><em>Time to track goblins! A total of 5 successful skill checks between the two of you are required to successfully pinpoint the location of the goblin village. You can attempt as many different skill checks as you like, but each skill can only be attempted once per character. Two characters can attempt the same skill, repeat successes do count. Each check is DC 15 and some of them have consequences for failure, so choose wisely! The possible choices are:<br/><br/><strong>Climb:</strong> The trees offer an unparalleled view of the swamp, if you can reach the top. If you fail, you take a fall for 1d6 damage.<br/><br/><strong>Diplomacy (or Intimidate): </strong> Walthus the halfling hermit and self-avowed snake wrangler lives in a hut at the edge of Brinestump Marsh. Perhaps he knows something about the goblins' recent comings and goings? If you fail, something might happen.<br/><br/><strong>Knowledge (geography or local or nature):</strong> Perhaps you know something about possible goblin lairs? (You can get up to two successes for different knowledge skills.)<br/><br/><strong>Perception:</strong> There must be evidence of goblins somewhere. Shalelu can teach you what to look for.<br/><br/><strong>Survival:</strong> The goblins must have left behind some tracks to follow. Shalelu can teach you what to look for.</em>