Protecting Caravans, Securing Trade Routes, and Encounters with Old Frenemies --

Having returned to Malo, Barton found another girl -- which isn't so much news except that this one offered a job to the party. (Like, an employment-type job (not the other type of job (which may also be the case? (in which case, maybe yes to that as well? (but maybe Barton has some proprietary feelings in this regard? (in which case, I guess no?)))))) Anyway, turns out her dad had a caravan that needed protection, and the local leadership agreed to pay us to help clear the route. The recent issues on the route may or may not have connections to the broader efforts at disrupting trade. But it gets us paid, and is going to get us to Rennes, where we may find more clues, and potentially more work. And maybe, if we're lucky, we'll find another letter with a Rose signet among the lot.
 
It is a long haul to Rennes -- about 14 hours -- and we decided to press it in one day to avoid the inherent danger of overnight rests.We met resistance about half way to Rennes, at a river crossing with a washed-out bridge not too far away from a little village called Pleugueneuc. A Goblin on the other side warned us that we had entered into the realm of the God King Goblins! And that their mighty lord would let us return from whence we came with our lives intact in return for all of our goods! And that they only spoke in Exclamatory Sentences because their God King loved Exclamation Points!!! We politely declined the offer and a strange battle ensued.
 
First, for all the bluster, (!!!) there appeared to be very few goblins ready to attack. But of note, the attacks that did happen, happened from the air in the form of two manticores, ridden by a goblin each. I can personally attest to the efficacy of that strategy and without the healing aid of the party, I, Oisín the Pincushion, would surely have fell. But through the healing touch of Verxititus, and a handful of Goodberries, I was able to remain standing. I was able to cast my moonbeam spell to good effect, simply moving it around and following the target. It wiped out the goblins pretty quickly, but it took longer to bring down a manticore. Dagos was the other major damage dealer, with better-than-expected results from a shortbow shot pretty much straight up in the air. I did lose concentration once after taking damage and had to cast moonbeam a second time, but despite the challenges of a ranged battle wherein we most certainly did not hold the higher ground, we managed to knock off two goblins, scare away a third, kill a manticore, and send the second flying off as well. (It is worth noting that the sound goblins make when they hit the ground from 100+ feet high sounds a little like what you might think an exclamation point would sound like if it made a sound, so hopefully that was a pleasing sound to their God King.)
 
I gathered what manticore spikes I could (including those sticking out of parts of my body), skinned the wings for potential leatherworking projects, and we pushed on to get to Rennes before dark without further incident. We arrived just before sundown, and in the waning light of day, Dagos and I spotted a Hobgoblin on a hill some 300 yards off, looking into the town. While the temptation was strong to run after the shiny object, we stayed mission-focused and finished our job of delivering the caravan, had a chat with the local leader-type, and had a pretty damn good meal at the 13 Coins Inn, featuring Manticore Steak that Dagos had butchered earlier in the day. I got the usual "what the fuck kind of creature is THAT" looks from the locals, but I hardly notice it now. If they want to know the answer, I'm happy to educate them, one way or the other. But mostly I get a surprised look and a wide berth and that's frankly to my liking anyway.
 
Next day, we set off to scout the area in which we spied the Hobgoblin, and Dagos set to tracking the group -- at which he again proved expert. After a couple of hours of tracking, we found them about the exact same time as they found us: We got a not-entierly-unfriendly wave from the leader, who, as it turns out, was Dorokor, with whom we recently struck a Faustian agreement in the caverns on our Princess Rescue mission. With her were five impressive looking military units. They clearly had no fear of us (or showed none) and we clearly had no fear of them (or showed none). It was an awkward standoff again, although for different reasons than last time. There was an offer for a clean 1v1 battle, though I trusted little that it would remain clean or that the bargain would be kept -- or that we would win. I later learned that Griswold apparently would have been up for the battle and I feel badly to have missed the show, though again it was definitely full of potential negatives and very few possible positive outcomes. Including the potential "oops, my fireball singed your troops" aspect that would most certainly have sent us into battle.
 
That said, I do actually rather like -- or at least respect -- Dorokor, and if events were *wildly* different, I would like to know her better. Personally, I think I would enjoy sitting down over a drink and swapping tales, and perhaps exchange information and determine if there was a way in which we could strike a longer-term agreement, even if it was a simple non-aggression pact. I would also be most interested in her knowledge regarding the rising numbers of the undead, which might prove valuable for my quest, and may also provide a space where we can work together (or at least not at cross-purposes) to equal benefit.
 
As things stand, however, scouting with military troops cannot be interpreted as anything but a hostile gesture, and with our current relationship to the local lordship, our role was clear to shoo her off the property and alert the security teams in the town. She agreed to back off, and the units fell back in a very organized tactical withdrawal. Not to put too fine a point on it, but by comparison, we just sort of randomly ambled back away from the almost-battle scene. And, in the end, we got what our best possible outcome would have been had we engaged in the 1v1 battle, which was an agreement for them to back off.
 
The farmers and I reported back to Rennes, whose troops are now on high alert, and I will be most curious to see what might transpire next. In the meantime, we decided that we wanted to continue our mission of clearing the road of brigands and to re-secure the trade route between Malo and Rennes, and leaned yet again on the tracking skills of our Ranger to bring us back to the source of the GodKing goblin tribe. We may be in for a surprise, but then again, I think if we approach cautiously and use the element of surprise (including especially my ability to cast thorns unwitnessed) I feel we have a strong chance to succeed. That said, the party has evolved enough to know when running away is the right move, and if our assessment shows we are over our heads, I like to think we'd have the wisdom to run away.
 
(Also of note: The King is dead. Long live the King. I suspect, however, that there will be repercussions to this news that will shake the foundation of whatever status quo currently exists.)