The Quest of the Missing Quill

[HorizonsDream]

Jasmine spends her time helping out when needed, doing her share of the watch, poking fun at Gaheris and Hihim, and then sleeping.

When she wakes, which she is one of the last, she stretches, and eats her share of breakfast.

[Haahque]

With the proper morning preparations, the group heads off into the forest with a nice and early start on the day. Zurgo, as he knows a little about the territory, is elected as the guide to get the party to the orc village, while Ishan sets about scouting ahead where Zurgo intends to go, something which he seems quite proficient at.

At one point there are distant sounds of what is obviously a large body of humanoids traveling through the forest, something which Ishan identifies as goblins, well over forty of them possibly with an ogre or two in toe, so he advises a path such that the goblins never even know that you were there. Something which works stunningly well.

At least for this first leg of the journey, all seems to be going well as Zurgo quickly gets you back on course and it’s still morning when you come in sight of a wooden palisade, about six feet tall and long enough in each direction to encase a large fort or a small town.
Circling the wall for a few minutes yields results in that you find a gate, it is guarded by two burly looking orcs (but what orc isn’t burly looking?) and peeking inside reveals that this is indeed a town.

The entire group eats 1 days’ worth of rations (each).
The party heads into the woods with Zurgo navigating (find the orc town) and Ishan scouting (avoid encounters on the way).
Zurgo makes a survival check with a knowledge(local) bonus since he’s in orc territory: 17, he finds an orc town in 3 hours.
Ishan scouts (Survival + Perception): 27, gains a 6 bonus on the random encounter roll to avoid random encounters.
Random encounter roll: 6, no unavoidable random encounters along the way.

[Chris1234]

"So this is where we want, right?" asks Hihim. Do we knock on the door?"

[JadedDM]

"Zurgo, can you get us inside...preferably without starting a war?" Gaheris asks the half-orc, knowing he can speak the language.

(OOC: Would Gaheris know if goblins and ogres are considered allies or enemies of the orcs?)

[Just_Ice]

"I hate to be the constant source of Drow solutions," Benji offers, feeling a little better after breakfast, "But I'd be doing disservice were I not to suggest distracting the guards and then slipping in. 'Tis easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission when dealing with any but my own kind, I find."

[HorizonsDream]

"I don't think we are going to get forgiveness from any hostile race," Jasmine says. "A distraction could work, but not all of us are great at sneaking around and keeping quiet."

[JadedDM]

"I'm not sure sneaking in would work well," Gaheris says. "I mean, it's an orc village, right? Everyone here is an orc? We're humans, a dwarf, a half-orc and a drow. We're going to stand out. It's going to be hard to wander around, asking questions and searching for this war orc without drawing attention. They'll find and catch us within a minute. I think it's better to get permission through proper channels...assuming they don't hate Zurgo so much here that they refuse, anyway."

[Vrindlevine]

"I happen to have a knowledge of the orcish tounge as well and perhaps Zurgo has done enough damage for one day but i'll defer to your judgement boss." Ishan looks at Gaheris but... Perhaps Benji does have a point in times like these a complex plan could be useful and these orcs have no way of knowing which of us is truly allied with each other I hate to suggest it but splitting up could give us greater options.

[Chris1234]

"I can speak oricish too," adds Hihim, looking at Gaheris & hoping for approval.

[JadedDM]

"That's great, kid, but I'm assuming here that these orcs hate dwarves more than they hate Zurgo," Gaheris points out. "Your two races have...a history, if I'm not mistaken."

[Chris1234]

"Yes, you're right. That's what the books in out library said, anyone. Although one of them disputed it and said that it was propaganda," replied Hihim thoughtfully. "Ok, so what should we do?"

[Vrindlevine]

Your right that orcs and dwarves don't get along most of the time but I doubt these ones will attack you just for that reason even with tensions as they are.

I suggest we send Himhim, Gaheris and Jasmine in to talk, I trust Gaheris to do the right thing and handle any issues and Himhim is a good speaker you just need a little more confidence that's why we'll send Jasmine also she can stab anyone if things go south.

Meanwhile me Benji and Zurgo will wait outside and plan an "alternate" solution just in case negotiations aren't concluded successfully. If a dwarf would be disliked a Drow and a half-breed (no offense Zurgo) will probably cause them to break out in hives.

As usual I dislike splitting the group up but its not like we'll be miles away from each other.

[Chris1234]

Hihim smiles at Ishan in gratitude and then looked to Gaheris for confirmation. Unfortunately his eyes lock onto Jasmine and he goes scarlet all the way down to his
boots.

[JadedDM]

Gaheris thinks things over. "Well, what do you think, Zurgo? Does Ishan have the right of it? These are your people, so I assume you'd know which plan would be better in this situation."

After listening to everyone, he decides to go along with Ishan's plan. "Alright. Jasmine, Hihim and I will go. Hopefully they don't hate dwarves too much, especially since he'll have to be our interpreter. Let's all keep our weapons sheathed for now, so to not appear threatening."

Assuming no argument, he'll lead the two toward the village's gate and have Hihim request permission to enter.

[Chris1234]

Hihim follows dutifully afterwards, not quite sure what to expect, but eager for whatever experience.
After a dozen paces his thoughts catch up with his mouth and he says, "If they ask, I'll tell them I'm your translator."