Three Adventurers, Weary and Battle-Worn

You hear them before you see them. Faint mutterings at first, but their words become clearer as you approach. You stoop behind and below the underbrush as you draw closer. They’ve come to a stop in a clearing. Like Holly said, there are three of them. Each of them is visibly worn-down; their clothes and hair are unkempt, and each of them is covered in little cuts and tears. They’re kneeling behind a fallen tree, looking towards the direction of the goblin village.

They are as Holly described. One has a staff, but she isn’t wearing robes. Instead, she’s wearing a tunic, with short sleeves. It hangs loosely on her, and is belted at her waist. She’s also wearing long… socks? Stockings? It hard to tell which at this distance, but either way they come up to just above her knees. Certainly not a cleric’s attire—some other manner of spellcaster, then. She’s blonde, and her hair falls down to the small of her back. Her skin is pale, for as much as you can see it from this angle.

Ladrieth Amastacia, Level 3 Sorcerer

Hero, High Elf, Active, Explicit

Well, that took long enough to resolve. A Sorcerer, then. Hrm.

Fire. It’s always fire.

More importantly, she’s level three. Since Holly said they’d all been second level before, Ladrieth will have received her Claimant Crystal. She also won’t have had the chance to go back into town, and given their current situation she’s unlikely to have used it already.

Target acquired.

To Ladrieth’s right is the one with a sword. And she is indeed wearing armor—a gambeson, like yours, but clearly newer. It had been white, but it had also been stained with streaks of red, and splotches of green. Blood and grass, most likely. Her hair is black, falls just past her shoulders, and is tied back. She isn’t quite so pale as Ladrieth.

Wylahael Manblood, Level 2 Paladin

Hero, Half Elf, Active, Explicit

A Paladin? They normally have shields. Maybe she lost it in the fight with Brogung? Regardless, Wylahael will have some manner of magic. Not much, given her level, and probably only healing, but still worth bearing in mind. And a name like Manblood…

The furthest right was the man with a bow, who was shorter than either of his companions, and who has a slender build. He’s wearing basic clothes, a shirt and pants, but his body is adorned with leather. Boiled plates, probably. From the flashes you can see of it, his skin is a darker shade than the others, more tan—not by all that much, but it was noticeable. His hair is brown, and doesn’t pass his shoulders.

Ievos Mottegren, Level 2 Ranger

Hero, Wood Elf, Active, Explicit

That tracks; wood elves do tend to be a bit darker than high elves. Wood Elves could also be easy to lose track of in the forest, and with a ranger that could be particularly dangerous.

Also, from your position behind them, you have a nice view of their behinds. Ladrieth’s is the most appealing, being large and barely hidden hinder the draping cloth of her tunic. Wylahael doesn’t seem to be a slouch either, but the thick fabric of her gambeson doesn’t conform to her curves particularly well. Ievos is surprisingly round—Holly did say he didn’t have a manly physique.

Ladrieth looks over to the others. “Think we lost them?”

“Not lost,” says Ievos, “but maybe far enough away. They’re leaderless now, at least for a while. That probably means they won’t be able to organize very well for a search that isn’t close-by to their camp.”

Not a bad analysis, to your mind. The phrasing betrays a lack of total confidence, though. And if the tribe is leaderless, that means Brogung's dead.

Wylahael chooses that moment to interject. “The quest-giver mentioned how stupid goblins are.”

There is also that. Goblins are, with few exceptions, dumber than rocks. And Brogung's tribe is nowhere near an exception.

All this means they probably won’t be sitting still for very much longer. And given the rough shape they’re in, they’re probably bound for the safety of Thaeldir’s Crossing. You need to act now.