Headed to Axeholm Fortress

After being warned by Adabra to not travel at night, we decide to stay in town and head out in the morning.
 
The party gathers downstairs at the Inn and has breakfast. Alleraia has to wake Pip up. Adelaide would like us to regale the tavern with stories about our Axeholm adventure when we return. There is some patron at the Inn having a sneezing fit. We have Caldae pull out the map and decide on which route to take to Axeholm. We will take the old Miner's Trail. Harbin advised us to make sure to stay on the trail as it is very dangerous. Pip didn't know about our adventure killing the Manticore, so we tell him all about it. Apparently we are all feeling very musical today, after doing bad Fleetwood Mac covers and singing Yellow Submarine, we head south to get on the Miners Trail.
 
While walking the trail we discover that PIP is a fake name! Now we all want to know what his real name! Osha is adamant that she will ask him every night until she figures it out! Caldae and Alleraia keep an eye out for Creamsop Mushrooms. Caldae decideds to throw a potato at Osha who ducks, then it goes toward Siegrane who also ducks narrowly missing the potato, but Osha casts a spell to make the ground shake distracting everyone and poor Pip takes a potato to the face! He then panics because of the ground trembling and everyone laughs at him. Droop is delighted by the chaos.
 
Alleraia, during her Mushroom watch, see along the side of a narrow path a very old gnarled tree. At the base of the tree, she finds a half buried cart among the roots. The metal axle still visible, the wood very rotted. Alleraia and Siegrane investigate the wreckage, and find some intersting flowers in the area. They are some kind of mountain flowers, but not anything useful. Caldae picks some flowers. Pip is triggered from the last time Caldae made him wear flowers on his head. The sun is high in the sky and looks to be just past midday.
 
The path has narrowed and isn't much of a path anymore. We follow the crest of the foothills. Osha would like to keep an eye out for firewood as we walk. Unfortunately, Osha doesn't have much experience gathering wood. Caldae suddenly hears an odd sound that sounds like angry chicken noises. The noise gets louder, and Caldae suggest we hide. Everyone looks for somewhere to hide. Howdore and droop duck behind a giant boulder. Some hide behind trees. Osha casts a spell that throws her voice behind us yelling out, 'Come and get us chickens!" A flock of "dragon chickens" comes barreling down the path towards us. However, they pass right by us as if they are on a mission. In the distance we here a scary noise. Alleraia casts Pass Without a Trace to veil us from whatever is coming.
 
We continue to hear a roaring creature in the distance. Then eventually it fades away. We resume marching with Caldae in front. We start entering the mountain area. Caldae sees some odd trees that are missing parts and doesn't seem to bode well, as if some creature had rubbed against it and rubbed off the bark. It was likely a very large creature. Pip sees a flat ridge that would make a good overlook and a good place to camp, so the group heads up there. We gather kindling and start a campfire. Osha and Pip take the first watch, and Osha is determined to guess Pip's real name. Trogdor? Wtf? Nope. Pip asks Osha what her favorite aliases are and she says "Trinity" from the Matrix, if he's ever read that book. Dolly Parton ... Pip is uncomfortable. Osha takes out her coin and begins flipping it. Osha and Pip swap stories of their upbringings. Osha grew up without a father, Pip without a mother. Osha is outraged that Siegrane has not shared his ale with us. She asks Pip if they should try to sneak into the Dwarfs stash. Osha keeps watch, while Pip is going to try and swipe some ale. He quickly realizes it is in Howdore's back and not in Siegranes pack, and they decide to scrap the idea. First watch goes off without a hitch.
 
Osha wakes Alleraia up for 2nd watch. Pip asks if Alleraia would like some company on 2nd watch. Alleraia casts her Pass Without a Trace spell, and then she and Pip have some nice conversation. He and his friends used to basically be Robin Hoods and hide their loot in the caverns. Then Glasstaff showed up and commandeered that gang with Bugbears. Pip said Glasstaff controlled them by threats. The last straw was when he kidnapped Eliza. Alleraia asks why they kidnapped people and killed Fel the Woodcutter. A few "unsavory" characters got brought in and hang out at the SLEEPING BOAR and with the miners. Pip talks about maybe wanting to be a protector of the town in the future. Alleraia asks if he's tired, and encourages him to go to sleep. About another hour goes by and Alleraia hears some noises down the ridge. It is some sort of grunting sound, with heavy footsteps rustling around in the grass. Alleraia looks to see a bear like creature with an owl like face. It looks sick and angry. It passes by without incident but Alleraia wakes Caldae up to help Siegrane in case it comes back.
 
Third watch goes by without incident. Morning comes and everyone gets a long rest. We discuss the owlbear siting and have breakfast before setting off on the road again. We reach Axholm Fortress around 11am. The fortress has an eerie feeling to it. Siegrane tries to sense an evil , but nothing registers near the entrance. Approaching the entrance Caldae sees an iron portculess that is heavily rusted and closed. Along the tops of the walls, around 10 feet up, there are arrow slits in the bulwark, and a few chimney tops. Siegrane recognizes that the architecture is an older style, but he can't identify what clan it may have belonged to. Since the front entrance is blocked, we decide to look for an alternate entrance.