4 July 1280, Midday (Discussing Dirtbag's Fate)

"Miss Elsie has confirmed my suspicion," says Gaven. "I say we have Dirtbag send off the dogs and then I will carry out his execution. We must get back to Fairbrook as soon as possible to return Miss Elsie and to warn the town. Delay in this deciding the fate of a lowly being of chaos wastes time we do not have."

Varros replies: "I suppose I must agree with Gaven upon hearing the girl's information. However, I am still not totally convinced that execution is the best course. It seems as if the town could be in peril. If they are not equipped to deal with a large number of goblins and hobgoblins they could be at great risk. Perhaps, as was suggested earlier, we could feed him misinformation about the town's defenses, suggesting that there are many skilled militia and adventurers. This might be enough to convince the horde that greener pastures might be found elsewhere. Especially if the tidings come from a lone survivor." Varros looks to Gaven, "I understand your vows friend, however, is the life of one servant of Chaos worth the wrath that his death and that of his ilk might bring upon Fairbrook?"

"I would see dirtbag killed if left up to me however I see the merits of Varros' plan. Either way we need to leave quickly in order to warn the town," says Duran.

You quickly consider your options including what you've seen, and heard said, of Fairbrook's defenses. You realize that that a force of 50 or even 100 goblins could never harm the town by direct assault. The palisade, the guard towers and patrolling archers along the walls would cut down any raiding force that size before they could even attempt a breach.

You realize also, however, that there are numerous tiny hamlets and farms outside the walls who would be vulnerable, as well as merchant caravans ripe for plunder on the roads, agents of the king and the church who could be kidnapped on the highways for ransom. Plus, there may be other ways to raid Fairbrook proper other than by a suicidal, direct frontal assault.

After this rapid assessment of the situation, Oloc suggests taking Dirtbag to the town to turn him in to the authorities along with the information you have about the threatened raid.

Suddenly, the dogs at Dirbag's feet prick up their ears, and jump up, hackles raised, snarling in the direction of the north side of the farmhouse, about eighty feet away from where you stand. As you look in that direction, you're horrified to see several long, furry, grotesquely jointed legs crawl around the corner, supporting a bloated body – about five to six feet long – and a head with eight menacing eyes and dripping fangs.

Blue circle = party location (including Elsie, Stan and Ollie); black "X" = pile of goblin bodies, yellow circle = Dirtbag; brown circle = dogs

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OOC: Actions?

(Also, this was simply a random wandering monster check – I'm not trying to send any "message" or cut the conversation short or anything like that. I've been doing periodic checks all along, and this is simply the first one that came up "positive").