Quote from: Exploderwizard;577185OK no worries, so the noises were heard coming from the general direction of the caves area.

There could be some terratorial tribal conflict going on that we could use to our advantage.

Does anyone in our party speak a language other than common? If so what are they?

Medwen speaks Goblin and Kobold, but he's also wearing too much armour to really move quietly, and wouldn't be keen on the idea of taking it off to sneak close enough to eavesdrop.

Finding somewhere secluded to set an ambush for a foraging party sounds good, though - he could intimidate one if we caught them. But we might have left it too late in the day for that.

We could try going into the woods and looking for goblin trails - me and Tetnuca would certainly have some experience at such things.

Ok lets start by looking for the most heavily traveled trails. Then we can choose a suitable ambush point.

There is a faint trail leading from the road where you're at, and heading west into the valley.  It is a mixture of human sized booted feet, and clawed child sized feet.  But the tracks are not fresh, and the trail is not well used.  Only close inspection reveals the signs noted above.

After several minutes, the sounds have died out altogether.

Quote from: Ladybird;576952Hmm; I'd move Alat to the 4th rank, and Fyodor and Gorin up to the 3.5th; my intention wasn't to leave Zephiros with an empty flank, but to better cover one flank. Does that work, or is it too impractical a plan? We are in relatively open space here; in tunnels, I'd think otherwise.

At the front, I'm totally fine with Medwen being a mobile siege shield.

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Quote from: jedimastert;576957Thank you all for the concern. But I think our order is ok. If you all get overwhelmed by goblins I will have an opportunity to use of my shiny new dagger.

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Quote from: jedimastert;576957

And I may even have an arcane trick up my sleeve.

(I meant to respond earlier, sorry.

Ladybird:  Shoot me a diagram via PM or something, I want to see what you are looking at.

Jedimastert:  One of the primary rules in B/X is:  Protect the Magic User!  A spell could be just the thing to get us out of a bind at some point, plus we need those huge brains of yours to figure things out.    )

Quote from: Sacrosanct;577235There is a faint trail leading from the road where you're at, and heading west into the valley.  It is a mixture of human sized booted feet, and clawed child sized feet.  But the tracks are not fresh, and the trail is not well used.  Only close inspection reveals the signs noted above.

After several minutes, the sounds have died out altogether.

"I am not sure if that is a good sign or a bad one.  Medwen, were you able to discern anything they were saying?"

Medwen (nor anyone else that I could tell) did not understand the particular dialect that was being spoken.

Quote from: StormBringer;577310

Jedimastert:  One of the primary rules in B/X is:  Protect the Magic User!  A spell could be just the thing to get us out of a bind at some point, plus we need those huge brains of yours to figure things out.    )

Thanks, we don't want poor Zephiros to get enfiladed.  

Zeph's brains are just about the only thing he has going for him.

Are we advancing towards the slopes with the caves?

Quote from: Exploderwizard;577185Does anyone in our party speak a language other than common? If so what are they?

I am fluent in the universal language of ultra-violence! :cool:


Ok seriously Common is all I have.

Oh did I hear any of the distant guttural voices say "Bree Yark"?

"I would have to guess there were some underlings that didn't do their job well enough for the over-boss.  Which suggests there are more than just goblins in there.  I think we should proceed with additional caution, and have Fyodor and Gorin spread out about two paces to better protect the flanks, as Medwen has suggested to me.

If we can manage a bit of scouting, perhaps getting an overview of the caves from the top of the slopes would be in order."

(Can anyone get to the top reasonably stealthily and safely?)

Sir Ector appears to consider the stealthy route for a moment, then turns to his companions.

"How about we just walk over and ask them what their trouble is?  If they are hostiles, we've located them and all that's left to do is destroy them.  

If there's trouble, we should make as much noise as possible at the front of the caves.  When the inhabitants come out to investigate, they'll be all lined up nice and neat for the slaughter.

No one here is a creeper, and anyone who could would be in grave danger if discovered.  I believe the front door is the best way to handle this."

Tetnuca will ride forward slowly and quietly as possible, about half the distance towards where the sounds came from, pausing several times to just listen, and eyeing the trees, looking for any creatures or something out of place.

After the noises have died down, Tetnuca moves as stealthy as he can forward through the thick underbrush and trees.  A couple hundred yards or so you can make out a clearing in the valley ahead.  You begin to hear the noises again, mostly yipping, but it's much quieter than before.

As you peek through the brush, you find a bit of an unusual scene before you.  In the center-northern part of the valley floor, there is a large tree a few dozen feed in front of a cave entrance.  Several leaves have already fallen, allowing you to see what you think are four or five dog-like humanoids, about child sized, up in the tree.  Two of them seem to be stuggling with a deer haunch.  They are yipping back and forth in agitation, and the source of that agitation is clear.  On the ground below them is a huge creature, standing roughly 9 feet tall.  Thick hides cover his warty and filthy skin.  A look of stupidity and anger are set in his face, and he is shaking a fist at the other creatures just out of reach.  You estimate this is the source of the commotion, and thank the gods that they are intent on each other and haven't discovered you.

After a few more minutes, the brute finally gives up and trudges to a cave entrance to the south on the valley floor that his hidden under a large tree (not shown on the map below, but is next to the visible cave closest to you)  Cackling in glee, the humanoids begin to argue amongst themselves and fight over the haunch.

You are able to map the general cave locations as thus

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CWRd0UkYBHI/UDEJavEaduI/AAAAAAAAA5w/GW5ZIVl-Bco/s1600/Caves-of-Chaos-player-map-1024x706.jpg

(not embedding because it's too big).

The closest cave to the south is about 100 feet away.  The cave the brute went into is about 100 feet west of that.  The tree that the dog-like creatures are in are about 200 or so feet away.

We should prepare an ambush for that large nasty looking creature and lure it out.

I don't want something like that arriving behind us while trying to explore another cave.

Quote from: Sacrosanct;578034After the noises have died down, Tetnuca moves as stealthy as he can forward through the thick underbrush and trees.  A couple hundred yards or so you can make out a clearing in the valley ahead.  You begin to hear the noises again, mostly yipping, but it's much quieter than before.

As you peek through the brush, you find a bit of an unusual scene before you.  In the center-northern part of the valley floor, there is a large tree a few dozen feed in front of a cave entrance.  Several leaves have already fallen, allowing you to see what you think are four or five dog-like humanoids, about child sized, up in the tree.  Two of them seem to be stuggling with a deer haunch.  They are yipping back and forth in agitation, and the source of that agitation is clear.  On the ground below them is a huge creature, standing roughly 9 feet tall.  Thick hides cover his warty and filthy skin.  A look of stupidity and anger are set in his face, and he is shaking a fist at the other creatures just out of reach.  You estimate this is the source of the commotion, and thank the gods that they are intent on each other and haven't discovered you.

After a few more minutes, the brute finally gives up and trudges to a cave entrance to the south on the valley floor that his hidden under a large tree (not shown on the map below, but is next to the visible cave closest to you)  Cackling in glee, the humanoids begin to argue amongst themselves and fight over the haunch.

You are able to map the general cave locations as thus

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CWRd0UkYBHI/UDEJavEaduI/AAAAAAAAA5w/GW5ZIVl-Bco/s1600/Caves-of-Chaos-player-map-1024x706.jpg

(not embedding because it's too big).

The closest cave to the south is about 100 feet away.  The cave the brute went into is about 100 feet west of that.  The tree that the dog-like creatures are in are about 200 or so feet away.

Do I recognize the dog-like creatures?

Quote from: Ladybird;578091Do I recognize the dog-like creatures?

I'm assuming you are moving up as well?

If so, yes you do.  And now you are close enough to make out the speech.  These diminutive, yet foul beasts are kobolds.  From what you can make out, they are celebrating their thievery of a deer haunch from the "big dumb brute" in the other cave.