Of Running Away and Running Errands: Chapter Five in the only True and Accurate History of the Band of Adventurers.

Today, I didn't kill anything. Which seems to be an exception these days, which makes me sound a bit of a sociopath. But I'm killing for the greater good, so it's OK, right? So it goes.
 
We pick up our story after a short rest following an epic battle with the orcs in the Evil Dwarven temple. We looted the bodies, which is foul work with any creature, but especially foul with the stench of Orc blood in one's nostrils. Largely, they held little of value save the cruel greataxes they carried and the pointy sticks they threw at us.
 
After securing the party, and securing the loot, we made plans to beat a retreat back to town, with Norbus and Tweedledum eagerly asking for safe passage with us. While the cleric set about throwing rocks at the dead orcs, enlisting the help of the rest of the party, I did some quick scouting back up the trail our new dwarfy friend arrived upon to get a sense of where the orcs came from, whether they were a scouting party, or a small group that simply broke off a larger horde.
 
The path was easy to follow; heavy bootprints and a clumsy disregard for stealth marked the way. The orcs also left an easy trail. I was able to follow the track up-mountain, where I spotted several outpost orcs as well as several dozen orcs beyond them, gathered in what I was assuming was a camp. While tempted to either stealth past the guards to get a better sense of the group, or to shoot an outpost and hide, I felt the greater responsibility was to the party; I knew enough to bring back word of caution and haste, for I fear that this group would overwhelm our party, and fear as well that they are planning a raid that could unwittingly sweep us into its path. Also, at some point, I imagine they will be sending scouts out to look for the missing party members and I'd rather we weren't here when they found them.
 
I returned with the news as Baric and Norbin were finishing their rituals, and the party gathered up to run away. With me as the scout and Blithe taking the rear to both watch for enemies and do her best to cover the infernal stomping tracks of the dwarves, we beat a careful retreat and avoided danger on our way back to town. We crossed Umbrage Hill as evening was rising on the second day, and stopped in to check on Attabrah Quinn. She was doing famously well, and it was a pleasure to be in her company. We did some small chores around the place such as we could in return for news, good cheer, and great food.
 
We shared what we learned regarding the looming danger to the north, and my heart was heavy to leave her company was we headed into town the following day. We conducted our business, including meeting up with Harbin The Seldom Seen to get paid for our last job, and to check out the job board for other adventures that might be both interesting and of service to the town.
 
Two jobs were posted -- the first would take us back north to Gnomenguard, wherein there is rumored to be a magical artifact that Harbin believes might be of use in fighting the dragon, and for which he was willing to exchange 50 gp. The second was delivering milk and eggs to his half-brother for 100gp. We chose the latter; we're not a proud group.
 
Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Harbin appears to be deathly afraid of a white dragon that nobody has seen, but appeared casually disinterested in the rising horde of orcs just two days north of town. Apparently, the town has been regularly ransacked by the orcs before, and they just keep rebuilding it.
 
"Everyone said I was daft to build a town so close to the orcs, but I built in all the same, just to show them. It got ransacked. So I built it again. And that one got ransacked. So I built a third. That burned down, fell over, and then got ransacked. But *this* town will stay up!"
 
The locals seem to understand that Harbin has his oddities, but they seem to follow him just the same. And clearly, there is a connection between Harbin and the local bank. I suspect that when the town gets sacked, Harbin won't be around, and neither will all the gold. I need to dig deeper into the obvious corruption here, but I will need to be careful about it. Clearly, there's some graft, which is to be expected of nobles and human rulers. But the question of why he wouldn't be afraid of the orc horde is a damn mystery. I must find out if he or his family were town leaders when the town was last ransacked.
 
When it comes down to it, who in the party could I trust to share my suspicions? The dwarves? Not until I know them way better. The cleric? Perhaps I could appeal to his sense of fairness, but he's a noble as well and he knows who butters his bread and who slaves to make the butter. At the moment, the only person I would trust would be Attabrah Quinn. I am anxious to stop back and check on her regardless after this delivery job.
 
But I digress. We are currently en route to meet some ne'er do well in a logging camp in Winterwood. Tybor, I think his name was. Something about this job seems smarmy, but I can't put my finger on it. I know what was written on the manifest, but I wonder if there isn't something more we are transporting. Or perhaps there is a danger that we are as yet unawares. Or maybe both.
 
My mind was troubled over all this but at the end of the day, I had a moment of joy as we came across a most remarkable boar. I was prepared to shoot it for dinner, but as I drew back my arrow, I noticed what I can only call a queer look in its eyes. A look of purpose, maybe, or understanding, or wisdom, or maybe even intelligence. It took off, and I instinctively went into hunter mode and gave chase -- not for the kill but for the curiosity of the beast. It eventually stopped near a thicket and turned to face me long enough to drop a quick Hunter's Mark on it to make it easier to track; something I should automatically have done right away.
 
I tried soothing speech and tossed it the nearest food I had in my pouch to try and calm it, but it turned into the thicket and found some heavy underbrush to conceal itself. At this point, I just played the patience game. I was keen to give chase again, and in any other circumstances I would have eagerly given chase again. But the needs of the party weighed on me and after it was clear the beast was not coming back, or at least not soon, I returned to the group.
 
I was chastised for my irresponsible behavior and recognize that running off without a lot of warning is not ideal party behavior and I was genuinely sorry about that. Noting that if that boar shows up again, I really, really want to figure out what's it's story is. I will, at the very least, do my best to mark this spot on the map and return to see if I can track it again. I must take a moment to see if I can find any unique characteristics about it's track that would allow me to identify it again.