12 Thaumont 1000AC - To the Castle

The group gathers outside Janacek's Inn at the first grey dawning, stamping to keep warm in the chill morning mist. The three new recruits are all waiting and ready. Judging by the straw in his hair Bogdan stayed in the stables last night to make sure that he would not miss the departure. After the usual fussing and fettling all is ready and the journey begins with a quick trip to the town hall to collect weapons.

It is fourteen miles to Antilles Castle, which means that it will be late evening by the time the group arrives there.

As the morning progresses the sun comes up and burns off the mist. The day looks set to be fair and the journey passes comparatively quickly along the road with a pause for lunch, at which point Breccia reveals that he only has a couple of dead rats left to eat. It looks like he will be scrounging food from the others tomorrow.

Shortly before turning off the road into the mountains, a large merchant caravan passes by heading for Threshold and possibly points north. The guards on it are well-armed and plentiful and there are easily a dozen or more wagons loaded with goods. The group leaves the road and heads into the mountains, following the ancient and unused trail that was once a major road leading to Antilles Castle. They arrive near the castle shortly before dusk and set up camp. There is still enough light to scout the castle. A quick check reveals two entrances: the main double doors and a smaller door that is hidden in the shrubbery at the opposite end of the castle.

The group watches the castle until night falls and then sets up watches for the night. The guards not only keep look-out for the camp but also watch the castle for activity. It is not long into the night, on Breccia's watch, that four Goblins are seen entering the main doors of the castle. Later in the night Shalander sees three small dog-like humanoids about 3' tall entering the castle, again by the front door. No other activity is spotted.

The following morning a great fog has rolled in and everyone is hard-pressed to see more than twenty feet in front of them.