I don't mind sitting one out.  Maybe I can do some recon on the compund.  Or just wait.  But Mathis would not want it to seem like he was ditching on the team.

He'd go as long as he can actually do something useful.  A firefight just isn't where he is useful.

So Fixer, who I think I might just start referring to as Mathis since that is his actual name and there are a bunch of fixers around, has a bit of a quandry about the whole C-metal for money gig.  

1.  The pay is for kills, right?  Fixer just isn't a gunman.  He has a gun.  He can shoot.  He has put one bullet in a dudes leg so far.  But that isn't what he does.  He is a techie.  So getting kills just isn't in his skill zone.  

2.  Getting kills for cash really isn't in his zone either.  He'd do it - morals change a bit once you realize the life path you have ended up on.  But he is much more comfortable saving run aways and seaking revenge on a torturous compound.  

Anyway, point 1 is really the big one.  Does it make sense for him to go along on this run?  He would.  This is his team, so he would volunteer.  He would.  He knows what gives him his best chance of survival and success - and it is the team.  But he also is aware that bringing him into a fight could be as much a liability as an advantage to those who really know what they are doing.  

So do you want the techie on this run?  

I don't normally offer advice for players, but in this case Soledad would know all about her own cantrip.  Prestidigitation is a cantrip.  Cantrips are not very powerful - it can crete a wide variety of very minor effects.  The wind effect reads as follows:

• You create an Instantaneous, harmless sensory Effect, such as a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint musical notes, or an odd odor.

A "puff of wind" is not much.  The only reason it worked to blow smoke into the cave is that she cast it over and over and over for more than 15 minutes.  Essentially by now she has cast more than 150 puffs of air.  Doing the spell in the opposite direction would eventually clear the air, but it would take another 15 minutes or so.  By that time you would be unconscious from smoke inhilation.  Likewise pushing it ahead of you won't clear it the air.  It MIGHT help enough to give a bonus on saving throws after a couple of turns.  

Visibility at the moment is 10-20' without an outside source of light.  With the dancing lights you can see a bit better than that.  Presumaby the goblins see a bit less.  And things in the area of the lights will be somewhat lit up for those looking at them, but they will be looking through smoke towards the lights.  Clearly you had a little warning from the goblins in this case, but not a massive advantage.  

               The group watched as their careful plan went up in smoke.  At least one let out a quiet curse, while doubtless others thought similar things.  The goblins appeared to have retreated into the cave and not run out into their trap.  Now the door into the cave loomed before them filled with smoke and haze.  And, presumably, goblins.  Goblins that now knew that they were there.  But at least one less goblin then there had been previously. 

               The various archers all put away their bows as one and seemed to decide that the best plan was now to invade the cave.  Sure, the goblins knew you were there, but they didn’t know you were coming in and they wouldn’t be able to see.  At least that was what the plan said.  And a dancing lights spell could keep 4 torches dancing ahead of the party hopefully illuminating any goblins before they got to the group.  Perhaps the group could function in darkness while the enemy fought blind.  It was a plan anyway, and plans always worked, right?

               The group moved forward and prepared to enter the cave.  The tunnel in was about 10’ wide, so Hornet and Thaoran, blades drawn, entered first.  They were followed by an equally prepared Silver. Next came Soledad, maintaining the dancing lights about 20’ or so in front of the two leading elves.  Last came the dwarf, the rear guard and designated skeptic. 

               As soon as the group entered the cave the first flaw in the plan became apparent.  The smoke was fairly thick and breathing was difficult.  It wouldn’t be long before the group started to cough and have trouble breathing.  But they moved forward, unsure how far the smoke would last.  About 20’ feet into the tunnel things started to widen out.  Just as the group noticed that they saw motion in the smoke ahead.  A group of goblins came scampering out of the darkness towards you, running low on all fours, apparently attempting to stay below the smoke.  (Staying below the smoke was impossible as the whole tunnel was filled, but it was noticeably thinner down low.)  They stumbled a little when they found themselves suddenly outline by the light of the dancing lights, but it was hard to see much beyond simple shapes and motion in the smoke.  Their motion kept the leaders charging right up to the leading elves.

               Thaoran and Hornet acted as one and each of them managed to put their blade into the lead goblin, one from the left and one from the right.  The creature had no chance and with a smoky cough it slid off of their blades to the ground. But there were others behind it in full charge.

Overview:  You are about 20’ down the tunnel -you think in a larger room but it is impossible to be sure.  One goblin is dead on the floor in front of you.  At least 4 or 5 more are in charging at you through the smoke – they had been running forward and apparently did not expect ot see you.  The number is a guess.  You can’t see far. 

*Smoke is a problem.  It is hard to breath.  You will need to make con saves (I’ll roll) – after the second failed con save you will suffer from the “poisoned” condition.  (Disadvantage on attack and ability checks)  Two more failed con saves and you lose consciousness. 

The first kill happened as a result of a surprise round because your plan essentially worked.  But now it is a more regular round.   

Tann - are we getting a post?

Boris . . . is in the neighborhood. 

There is a bit of stuff to do with the Vargolg that has nothing to do with Boris beyond his helping you find the place.  After that?  Well, it depends on how things go.  You have a way to contact him, so, perhaps.  

New post coming soon whether everyone posts or not.  I don't like leaving some people standing around slackjawed while action happens.  

That's two posts!

Anyone else?

Ok guys.

One week.  Lets get some posting.

I am 95% sure I am right on this - I'll check and let you know if I'm wrong.  But the basic answer is that no, you can't do both at once.  Sort of.  

The basic problem is that you can't CAST two spells one one turn becuase to cast a spell, cantrip or otherwise, is an action.  Some spells only take a bonus action, but it would say that specifically if it were the case.  Each character gets one action per round.  So you can only cast one per round.  

Prestidigitation is an oddly complex spell for a cantrip - some of its effects are instantaneous and others are lasting.  If it were a lasting effect (for an hour) such as a tiny illusion or a mark it would simply sit there for an hour and you wouldn't even need to concentrate on it.  It just is until you dispell it or an hour passes.  But instantaneous effects happen and then are over.  That is what the puff of air is.  It isn't big or strong - it is just a little puff of air.  Just once and then done.  That is why when I did the write up I had Soledad casting the spell over and over and over.  She has to do so in order to keep a steady stream of puffs going. Luckily it is a cantrip so spell slots don't matter.  But in this case the issue is that she is CASTING the cantrip over and over.  She is using her action to cast the spell.  Thus she could not on the same turn cast both prestidigitation and dancing lights.  

So to cast dancing lights she must take a round off from creating a puff of air.  However, it probably isn't a big deal.  A round is 10 seconds.  In that time you wouldn't lose much smoke if you went right back to it after casting dancing lights.  A bigger issue will be the need to add more damp fuel to the fire.  

FYI - it isn't a factor here, but if you are maitaining a spell with concentration (invisibility, mage armor, whatever) you can also cast another spell as your action for a turn.

               After Hornet returned from his explorations by the door the group formed a plan.  It was time for some barbeque.  Or at least it was time to do a little smoking.  The group didn’t know what was in the cave so they decided to bring them out to them.  The one concern was that they didn’t really know how deep the caves were.  Would smoke force those inside to come out, or just force them further into the caverns?  They couldn’t be sure, but there was only one way to find out.

               (There are some assumptions on my part below, but I went with the most likely scenario.  Be precise in your postings or you leave things up to me.)

Hornet seemed to be the designated sneaker, so he again moved quietly up to the door.  Luckily, no guard seemed to be posted.  He built up a little pile of wood before the door, just as he had been taught in elf-scouts.  He made sure to add a bunch of green leaves around it as well – and had a pile of more leaves nearby ready to put on once the fire had gotten going.   Pausing a moment to listen (Nothing) he prepared to light the fire.  Once it was lit and burning, he piled on the fresh leaves, hoping it wouldn’t smother the fire.  Then, standing off to one side of the door, he reached out and pushed the door open.  It opened with an ominous and loud “creeeek!”  Hornet’s stealthy heart almost skipped a beat at the noise but looking at the fire burning in front of the door he realized that it was probably a bit late for stealth anyway.

As Hornet sprinted the 20+ feet back to the tree line the smoke from the fire rose up the gully with only a little trickling into the cave.  It was now Soledad’s time to act and before hornet had taken a couple of steps a large and sticky web hung over the opening.  That was quickly followed by prestidigitation – nothing like a little puff of air to blow the air into the cave.  The puff of air pushed the smoke up against the web – but the web itself blocked much of the opening and the puff of air was only a puff.  Still some smoke seemed to be going through and into the cave.  Luckily that particular spell was only a cantrip and so she simply kept puffing away.  It was a simple little spell, and the act quickly grew repetitive.  More of the smoke was going up the gully then down the cave mouth, but some was going in and the group could see the smoke piling up on the other side of the web and slowly working its way down the cave. 

It was obvious from the start that this method would be slow and so everyone, tense with anticipation, hunkered down to wait while the witch kept puffing away.  At about the 10-minute mark there were discussions of what to do – nothing was happening.  Hornet was about to move forward and add more leaves to the fire and fan the smoke down the cave with his cloak when he thought he heard a noise from inside.  He quickly stepped back into the brush just as a goblin could be seen running forward out of the cave.  It was scrambling forward – running but hunched over.  The smoke was at the top of the cave and as the tunnel was about 10’ tall, the short goblin could generally run under the smoke.  There was smoke in the lower half of the cave, but it wasn’t as thick as it was near the ceiling. 

As expected the goblin ran smack into the web and stuck there.  Another goblin also seemed to have been stuck – the entrance being wide enough for two of them to move forward together.   The first one didn’t last long in the web as both Thaoran and Hornet immediately hit it with shafts.  With two wounds too its chest it sagged in the web and appeared to be dead.  The other took an arrow from silver, but it was still moving.  Before another shot could be fired it seemed to have freed itself from the web – whether on its own or by being pulled free from behind it was hard to tell.  It disappeared back into the smoke. 

The group reloaded and prepared for the next shot as the lone dead goblin hung in the web.  The group waited a minute, and nothing happened.  Then two torches suddenly flew out of the smoke and struck the web.  The web quickly blackened, curled and burned – crisping the dead goblin as it hung.  In moments the dead creature fell to the ground, landing in the entrance to the cave.  With the witch still puffing away and no web to impede the smokes progress smoke began to curl more thickly into the cave entrance. 

In the first few seconds after the web burned nothing happened.  The fire didn’t have much damp fuel left and the smoke was likely to thin out soon.  The entrance to the Vargolg lay open and smokey before you.

Don't worry about making new arrows.  If it reaches a level of crazy that I want to make a deal out of it I'll let you know.  But generally speaking it isn't worth keeping track of.  You have arrows.

And I'll post this afternoon based on Dragon-Soul's responses.  I think the only thing not mentioned was how you were generating smoke.

I sat down to write the next post and realized that there was one question I needed answered (about the door) before posting.  So I thought I would make sure of the whole plan.

The basic question is - the door is only open a crack right now.  It opens IN.  Are you opening the door and then casting web over the opening?  I'm assuming so since a web OVER the door would hold it closed.   Opening it all the way?

Who is going up to open the door and set the fire? 

What are you doing to make it smokey?   It seems like you want a lot of smoke.

How far back are the rest of you going to stay once the smoke starts going in?

Are you shooting as soon as someone gets stuck in the web?  (Assuming something does, of course)

How long do you intend to wait just letting smoke go in?  Would you sneak up to replenish the fire?

Right now the plan I understand is:

-Sneak up and get a fire set.

-Open the door

-Web spell over opening

-Start the fire

-Spell to push the smoke into the tunnel

-wait for the ambush

Silver, Hornet and Thaoran are waiting to shoot arrows.

Dok is rear guard

Soledad is casting some spells, but has no plan posted for once things start, if they do.

To clarify what you are seeing:  (I might try and get an image up, but the last time I tried it failed, so who knows.)

The last 20 feet of the gulley leading up to the door are clear of any cover.  This last 20' is about 15' wide.  Further back then that there is some brush and cover.  There is a winding path about 8' wide roughly down the middle of the gulley - it winds a little bit but the gulley isn't wide enough for much.  You could probably be as much as 40' away from the door and have partial cover from the bushes and still be able to shoot those arrows.  One person could be as much as 50' or so back if they wanted to stand in the middle of the path.  Past the last 20' the gulley widens (as it goes riverward) about 5' for every 20' of distance.

How far back are you?  The three shooters I would assume want some coverage but are staying where they can shoot.  Barring further direction I'd put Soledad and Dok right behind them, but you should tell me.  

In a normal game I would make you tell me that you were fetching them.  But in this game it isn't a big deal unless it gets rediculous.  But it wouldn't be a bad idea to say you are going to fetch your fired missiles.

Post coming on sunday, so make sure all actions are in.

Fixer listened to Vegas prove why he had the name he did.  The performance was impressive and he applauded with the rest.  He had every intention of enjoying the little down time that they would have.  Why not?  His meal wasn't worthy of a vacation, but it did fill his belly, which was also worthy of applause at times.  Finished, he just sat back and listened to the others.   There was a lot of discussion with Patriot about media deals and information.  He listened.  This wasn't his bit but it certainly would impact him.

Just be sure to give clear directions when you are ready to do whatever - including what everyone is doing as you go in or as you stay out.

One post so far since you got to the door.

After several hours of walking and conversing the group eventually arrived at the location where Boris indicated the Vargolg lay.  It was at a spot where the river grew quite wide and shallow - perhaps not more than a foot in depth.  Silver thought there were boulders and such just upstream of the location that widened the flow - perhaps placed on purpose but it would be hard to know without getting wet.  But intentional or not, it was a location where the river could easily be forded.  And clearly, it had been forded at this site.  Although some small attempt had been made to wipe away the footprints on this side of the river, it was obvious when examined closely that there were prints.  The exact nature of the prints was more difficult to tell, but it was possible that they were goblin.  

     Looking inland from the river the gully indicated by the otter would have been very hard to see if you had not know that it was there.  The gulleys mouth was choked with brush, but when examined closely there was a path through - and it could even be widened out a bit if needed by careful removal of some of the dead branches.  There was a path, but somebody didn't want it to be found.  The gulley itself headed towards and up the ridge.  It was fairly full of vegetation and Hornet and Silver had no trouble finding hiding spots as they moved up the path.  The gulley got more and more narrow as the group advanced.  Past the first 20' or so the path in became more obvious - nobody was bothering to hide it anymore.  Several times Hornet and Silver spotted footbprints (goblin sized, but also a few that were bigger).  In one location where the path was more sand than rock they even thought they saw wheel marks.  

     About 20' from the end the gulley narrowed to only about 15' or so across and abruptly ended in a stone wall - the ridge.  The last stretch was completely free of cover and not wide enough to allow for the plan to come at it from each side.  It would have to be a straight-forward movement that was exposed.  Hornet, designated scout of the party, looked out of the last of the bushes at the door Boris had told them that they would find.  There is a large stone portal - meaning that the framing for the door was stone and worked into the ridge line.  The door itslef appeared to be tight fitting and solid wood.  It was shut.  To the right of the door lay pile of rubble - at best guess it was all stone when viewed from 20+ feet away.

     Unhappy about the lack of cover, but according to the plan, Hornet moved carefully and quietly forward.  The first thing he noticed as he moved forward was that there was writing on the lintel above the door - very old glyphs of some sort.  Getting closer Hornet was sure they were from some very ancient language.  He couldn't be sure without taking a closer look, but the pile of rubble next to the door did look like stone - with just a bit of metal mixed in.  It gave the impression that it might be the remains of a door of stone.  Perhaps the current door of wood was not the original?  Approaching the door itself, Hornet was surprised to find that it was not shut as it had appeared from a distance, it was actually open - just a crack.  It wasn't wide open, but rather it appeared that whoever had last entered hadn't bothered to pull it tight.  The door opened inward.  Given that it was already open - there were no locks.  And as far as the elf could see, there were no traps.  He put his ear to the opening to see if he could hear anything on the far side.  His eyes opened a bit in surprise when he realized that he could.  From inside he could faintly hear laughter and yelling.  The noise was faint.  He doubted that it came from directly on the other side of the door.  Almost certainly the noise came from a chamber further in - perhaps several chanbers further in.  At this point it was barely loud enough to hear, which made it impossible to make out words or even identify the language.  It was just noise. 

     Armed with this new information, the scout returned to the rest of the group.

(OOC:  The writing is in some ancient language so only someone conversant in ancient languages will have any shot at understanding it.)   

Looking for a post for those approaching the door.

Boris got chatty in response to the questions.  But I still need to get a post about approaching the door.

 "Boris, I was wondering; are there others like you around here?  By that I mean either talking otters or other versions of whatever kind of being you are.  Please don't take that as an insult; I am just not sure exactly what you are.  How old are you?  How did you come to be in this section of the river?  Is there a way we could find you again if we wanted to visit you?" 

    Hornet sought to converse with the otter on one of the occaisons when the creature moved along the shore with them.  That wasn't typical - he spent most of his time in the river, usually disappearing from view upahead.  But there were a few times when he was available and Hornet found an opportunity to ask his questions.  

     Boris the Otter laughed at the string of questions.  "A curious one you are!  Your kind are usually more likely to ponder a mystery more than blurt out questions.  But sometimes, even for an elf, a direct question is the best option, yes?"  He seemed to make a noise somewhere between a chuckle and a giggle, it was a bit hard to tell as Hornet was not fluent in otter noises.  "Yes, curiosity and the elf.  But no insults intended and no insults taken young hero.  A question is just a question and I am perfectly capable of ignoring the rude ones.  Not that any of these were, no, these were reasonable questions for a curious youngster."  

     At this point the otter zipped into the water and then popped out again.  He seemed to enjoy spinning in circles in mid conversation.  "Others like me?  That depends on what the young hero means.  As I have said before, I am Fey.  And Fey are Fey and Fey there are.  Fey are almost everywhere and this is part of everywhere.  A fey everywhere.  Yes, fey there, although none like Boris.  No, Boris is Boris and none other is like Boris.  Just Boris."  Again he did his zip into the river and suddenly popped back out again and onto the log he had been using as a perch.  "Yes, young hero, you can find fey in these woods and along this ridge.  Mostly they are the little ones, small and curious.  But other, more ancient, more . . . fey . . . bengs exist as well.  They are.  They will be.  But you mean otters like your Boris?  No, there is none but Boris."

    "And you ask about the age of Boris?  Well, that could be an impertinant question in some rivers young hero!  But Boris is not worried about such things.  He has earned many a grey hair yet none does he have!  For a gray otter is not what Boris wishes to be!  But long has he roamed this river, his home.  It is my river.  It has been for many cycles of the oyster, young hero.  But perhaps you do not measure your days by the oyster?"  At that he again spun and disappeared into the water appearing again in a moment in a spout of water to land on the log, this time holding up a mollusk he had presumably claimed from the river bed.  He wacked it on a large rock next to his log and pulled out the flesh from inside, downing it one grinning gulp.  He held up the shell.  "See!  At the bottom of the river are little timepieces to  be . . . "  You could almost see the big otter deflate slightly.  "No, you don't want a lesson in mollusk time keeping, do you?  But a wise young one learns where he can.  But then, perhaps that is the reason for your questions.  Ah. the years, as elves and dwarves and others devise them.  Long, have I roamed my river and long has it flowed by my home.  Yes, young elf, in the time of your grandfather's, grandfather, at least, I came to the banks of my home.  It has been long."

   Here he tossed away the shell he had cracked open and answered the elf's last question.  "And yet, for all that time, a few creatures had captured a foolish otter and you decided to aid me.  Yes, you can find me again.  It isn't hard if one wants, and I wish it as well, of course.  Simply put your message in my river.  I will get it.  The river flows by my home and the message will reach me.  Such things do."  And with that he again disappeared into the river and didn't reappear right away, apparently signaling that the march was to continue.  

It was much longer before the group reached the gulley they sought.

Fixer worked on his project an kept his head down, listening to the conversations around him as he worked.  He liked this group.  And they seemed to be the best chance he had at doing well.  And the suit of armor . . . well, that was an opportunity for everyone of major proportions. 

He didn't really like the Cee-Metal job.  It was basically an assassination.  Probably not that easy, but from the sound of it, it was a "go in and whack them" sort of a deal.  He really, really wasn't into that sort of thing.  But he did owe this team some loyalty.  Owe it?  Maybe.  Then again, he'd earned his spot in it and they owed him as much as he owed them.   But it was a good team and he wanted to stick with it.  So he'd stick with it.  He'd just have to hope that if things went down as expected that they deserved it.

He also wondered a bit about the necessity of it.  If this suit was worth what they thought it might be worth, then who needed a side gig?  Aside from Ghalan, for whom it wasn't just a side gig, of course.  But the money would be good in the short run - and supporting the group was the key.  He didn't say anything, but he looked up and nodded to the others to indicate his assent.  He was in.  He just wsn't sure he like it.  But in was in.  And he was now in. 

Not long after that the group moved out to their meeting with the Patriot.  He couln't help wonder what they guy was patriotic towards.  Some country or nation no longer made sense.  Perhaps his loyalty was towards a group like Fixer's was now.  Fixer didn't trust unknown loyalties.  And he sure as hell didn't trust the idea of patriotism.  It smelled of . . . either blind self-righteousness or blind loyalty.  Neither of those was good.  Or something to trust. But this was Charlie's gig.  if he could trust Ghalan about one need, he could trust Charlie on another.  

He listened to the guy go on about the good enchiladas.  He liked enchiladas, but wasn't overly hungry.  He ordered food but kept it light.  (About 15 total between food and beverage.)  It was time to stop pondering the philosophical elements of the plan and start figuring out what the hell was really going on.

He didn't say much at the meal - he'd never been the mouth of the group.  Instead he sat back, ate and listened.  It was an underutilized ability by many.  

The group watched as Boris the otter slipped buck into the Hreusen River and immediately disappeared.  The otter was off looking for its inner, but supposedly would return to guide them towards the Vargolg.  That thought made most of the group pause as none of them had ever heard of the Vargolg, but they all were aware that the ridgeline was riddled with caves and the ruins of various forts and hideouts.  Apparently the Vargolg was one of these.  It would be no real surprise if goblins had holed up in such a ruin.  IF the Redcaps really were a thing, and IF they really had taken the twins, and IF the twins were really still alive, and IF the Vargolg was real, and IF the Vargolg was the lair of the Redcaps, then perhaps it was where they wanted to go.  That was a lot of Ifs, but it was more to go on then they had a couple of hours ago. 

               With the otter off in the river the group set about making camp.  They all wanted a long rest – the battle with the bugbears had drained their supply of spells and it was nearing dawn – they had had only one short rest since the previous morning before their night had been interrupted by the goblins on the road up the pass from the bridge.  Guards were set and Soledad set an alarm spell.  As dawn approached the group settled down for the day.  Pleasantly, the rain clouds seemed to break shortly after dawn.  It wouldn’t’ be a clear day, but it didn’t appear that more rain was in the offing.  Still, conditions remained damp and muddy. 

               As the group rested Soledad’s alarm never went off.  The woods were quiet and damp throughout the day.  After about 8 hours or so, true to his word, Boris the otter popped up out of the river.   The group jumped and the witch’s alarm suddenly went “ping!”  But the fey creature just stood there with a smile and a large fish hanging from its mouth.  It resumed its perch on the same fallen log it had used the night before and made quick work of its dinner.  When finished he looked up at the group.  “Are the heroes of the hour all rested?  While you slept and studied under the leaves Boris has been down the river looking for food and searching for signs of the stinky goblins and their ilk.  I went down stream quickly and the place seems to remain where it was.  As I got there a lone goblin, looking filthy and hurried, but then they always look that way, the filthy things, scurried out of the bushes and up the gulley toward where the door would be.  Boris doesn’t approach the entrances to such places – there is no good reason to do so.  And while I know the door is there, it can not be seen from the river.”

               Here the big creature shrugged.  “Thus, I did not see it go in the door, but it certainly seemed headed that way.  It would be a hard climb out of that gulley if one didn’t go into the door – and nothing came back down the gulley for a good thirty minutes or so.  I waited a bit and then returned hither.  So take that for what you will – at least one goblin still seems to be in residence in the old barracks.”  At this point the creature sat up on is perch and looked at all of you.  “So, are you still wanting old Boris to repay your rescue by leading you to the door?”

               As the decision had been made the night before there was no need for further discussion.  The group gave a quick assent and set about breaking camp.  Boris indicated that you would be heading South – downstream along the river.  There would likely to be places where the path would be difficult and you would even have to wade into the river a bit to get around blockages of various sorts.  But it should be doable.  His estimate was for about 6 hours on the journey.   As it was now midafternoon (2ish?) after a long night and then a long rest, that would put you arriving at your target around 8 in the evening if everything went according to plan.

               When the group set off down stream they found that the otter’s description of things was quite accurate – the terrain was rough and there was nothing resembling a road.  Occasionally you did encounter what might have been a path through the undergrowth, but it was not consistent or easy.  Three times Hornet and Thaoran spotted what they believed was the track of a goblin going the same direction you were headed.  The ground was wet and muddy and easily retained tracks.  Boris did not travel with you through the woods but instead moved along side through the river.  Periodically he would pop up and give you a warning about what to expect next.

               Not long after sundown you rounded a small bend in the river to find the big otter sitting on a large stone jutting out into the water.  Not surprisingly he was snacking on a fish.  As you approached, he spoke.  “You are almost there, heroes.  It is naught but half a mile further to the gulley of the Vargolg.  It is just a gulley like any other.  Steep sided and retreating up the ridge as the water has created it.  But at its back end you will find a door.  It is there that Boris believes that you will find these red-capped goblins you desire.  From here on, I shall stay in the water.  But when you reach the appropriate spot, I shall signal you and you can go from there.”

(OOC:  I am stopping here so that you can make any plans you want for approaching the door.  Boris doesn’t know much about it except that at the end of the gulley there is a single heavy door.  He believes the Redcaps have been using it as a base and this morning he saw the goblin go up the gulley.  When you reach it you will find that the gulley is steep sided – you could climb out of it and up onto the ridge, but would likely need to make some climbing checks.  The base of the gully is more or les flat and slopes upwards.   It is around 20’ wide at the base and narrows as it goes.  There are bushes, trees and boulders scattered throughout.  Once you are about 10’ or so up the gulley the path will be fairly obvious and easy to follow.  There is a clear path.  But it is also obvious that someone has made the path less obvious near the river.  You might easily have passed this gulley and not known that it was any different from the hundreds of others you have already passed by.  Discuss your plan.  Is there anything you want to do before you approach the door?  How do you wish to approach it?)

Discussion is good - someone want to post the actual plan?