Editing Meamnar:Runaways (section)

===The Caravan===

The caravan was a small one, traveling from [[Meamnar:Dunkirk|Dunkirk]] to [[Meamnar:Threshold|Threshold]].  It consisted of only two wagons, each with a driver (Com1), and four guards (War1).  The party will discover the caravan about 15 miles from Threshold, in the heart of the Hylarean forest.  How they arrive on the scene is up to the DM.  Note that it is another 9 miles to Dunkirk from the site of the battle.  The entire journey generally takes 3 days by wagon.

Read or paraphrase the following when the characters reach the caravan.

'''''Rounding a bend in the forest, you come upon a grisly scene.  Two wagons are parked in the middle of the trail, their dead horses still harnessed to them.  The driver of the lead wain is slumped over in his seat, the back of his shirt soaked in blood.  Several other bodies, of both men and horses, are strewn throughout the clearing.'''''

The carts were hauling grain and salted pork from the fields surrounding Dunkirk.  Some of the crates carrying the grain have been pulled from the carts and smashed open, while most of the barrels containing the pork have received such treatment.  A few of the barrels are missing, though this is not readily apparent.

The party should be able to determine that two of the guards died from multiple wounds from bludgeoning weapons, one of the drivers died from a spear wound, and the other three have scorch marks on their bodies.  A Spellcraft check (DC 10) will yield that the scorch marks are from Magic Missile spells.  A Search (DC 10) of the area surrounding the site will turn up the body of a goblin with three arrows protruding from it.  The Search check may also reveal (DC 15) that the body was dragged to its current location, presumably in order to hide it.

Tracking the goblins is fairly easy (DC 10).  Since the party may be obligated to continue on to Dunkirk, they may still pick up a slightly colder trail (DC 15) on their immediate return.  Any other delay in searching for the goblins should result in more difficult tracking.  The trail will wander fairly northward through the forest for about 2 miles.