Episode One

Before heading too far into town, Gwen finds a good bush to stash all of her unnecessary equipment.
Then she sees the cultists (Investigation 11 = r6 + 5). She also manages to grasp why Torfinn is leading them away from the road (Insight 7 = r8 - 1).

Gwen moves through the brush with relative ease, remaining undetected (Stealth 19 = r13 / r9 + 6).

Gwen attempts to see what is going on in the town as best she can, peering through the brush. (Investigation 24 = r19 + 5 OR Perception 2 = r3 - 1)

[Investigation: r8+3=11]
Do they only use the moon light for Illumination? I assume we are only using the moon so not to give ourselves away.

Alibastar creeps low to the ground, following Gwen, trying to find some cover for himself (Stealth-11+3=14). He peaks out from his cover and attempts to make out any distinguishing marks from the robes or the rest of the group (Investigation-15+4=19).

[OOC Post]

More of a clarification post than an actual post here. I think I probably could've been more thorough in my last post. This forum game thing is still a learning process for me. Anywho, there are a lot of checks and rolls going around so I wanted to resolve some of those, as well as clarify what the suggested skill checks I mentioned were actually for, and also give you a better idea of your current surroundings.

When you were headed into town, you did see raiders, however they were still far off in the distance. As you got closer, you saw the occasional band of them and that's when you noticed that they were a mix of hooded guys, kobolds, and grizzled fighter type guys. The Insight roll I suggested was to give you an idea of the organizational structure of the raiders. I'm not sure if this was the Insight check Gwen made or if she was trying to do something else (feel free to correct me), but I will give it to you anyways since it was only a DC 5 and it doesn't make that great of an impact. The success on the check tells you that the kobolds are most likely servants of the dragon who is flying over the keep (which brings up another detail which I will get to), and that the armored men are probably your garden variety mercenaries. The robed people are very clearly the organizers of the raid.

The dragon is attacking the keep, but only in fits. It is mostly flying in circles around the keep and swooping low on occasion almost as though it is taunting those inside. You have not seen it use its breath weapon.

You've also been asking about markings or identifiers on the robed people, and again I probably should've been more detailed in my description: You have not come clearly within view of them yet, but what you have been able to make out is that they are mostly humans, both male and female, and the robes they wear are a charcoal grey color with little-to-nothing in the way of ornamentation or markings. They are very plain, possibly suggesting that the ones you've seen so far are low-ranking members or initiates. It would make sense that the higher-ranked members would be further in the city giving orders, possibly trying to sack the keep. This leads me to the Investigation roll I suggested...

The Investigation roll was related to the burning buildings and was there to give you more clues as to what the raiders are up to. Both Nocturne and Gwen had success at this check. With your successes you realize that they are for the most part giving houses a pass, though they are trying to set them on fire as they go. Thatch roofing, however, is not as flammable as it looks, so most have not caught. The majority of the fires come from inside buildings such as farms and shops.

After observing this, you headed toward the stream south of town as suggested by Torfinn. Raiding parties are fewer are further between here, allowing you the chance to gain ground without running the risk of becoming surrounded/overwhelmed. When you reached the stream, there was no one about, giving you time to get into cover. It is darker out here; the burning buildings are further in town and so you only have the moonlight. These factors combined with the dense brush give you the advantage on your stealth checks.

There was a second Investigation roll made by Gwen (result of 24) but I'm not quite sure what kind of information she was gathering with that one. I'll look over it again and get at you on Messenger.

I hope this clarifies a little bit. Sorry I wasn't quite as on point as I should've been. Any more questions, just let me know. I'll start on the next segment tonight when I get home from work.

Torfinn moves into the bushes to join the party (stealth: roll 14+ 2= 16

The keen peering eyes of Gwen watch the raiders as your group moves south toward the stream. Something strikes her as odd: The raiders don't enter houses, they just try frivolously the light the roofs on fire as they pass them. They seem only interested in shops, farms, and public buildings. She watches as a hooded man and two kobolds exit a shop, each carrying a large cloth sack across their back; they scurry away as the shop's interior catches fire. She thinks back to this morning at Journey's End how Barliman and his staff were unharmed, the raiders were only interested in getting the key to his vault and taking the contents. Gwen comes to the conclusion that they must be interested mostly in looting. The fires are a new addition, but Barliman did mention that he knew many of the people that robbed him, so perhaps they felt a certain amount of pity for him. Perhaps also the larger group as a whole shows less restraint, after all, the smaller band at the inn attempted to kill Grant before their leader stepped in. While looting may be the objective, worry enters Gwen's mind that this group will likely not hesitate to kill anyone that gets in the way or could harm them. Her focus returns to the task at hand as she and her companions reach the stream.

[Sam's Stealth: 17 = 17r + 0]

Before you head out on your way, Sam lets out a whimper and frantically shakes his head back and forth. He points at himself and then at the ground, indicating that he chooses to stay put and hide. Sam hastily stashes the cart in between two large bushes after everyone grabs their necessities, and he finds a spot on the stream bank to sit and keep out of sight.

Working your way through the brush is slow going. You manage to stay quiet, and the low illumination and dense foliage keep you well hidden. You pass a large, stout building on your right (North) placed in the midst of an open field, the whole property is surrounded by a fence. It is difficult to determine what kind of building it is as the front is facing the opposite direction, but you do catch glimpses of stained glass windows from the sides you can see. No one is outside in the yard, and if there is anyone inside, they're quiet and aren't using any light. As you round the other side of the property, you see three hooded figures, facing north, about 25 feet north of you. They are chatting amongst themselves in a low murmur and have not made any indication that they have heard your approach.

I'll press up against the window to see if any one is inside. I'll attempt it steathly. Stealth r5 and r17 + 1 = 18. Perception r8 + 4 = 12.

Are there any animals near by? A bird perhaps?

Peeking through the window would require you to go over the fence surrounding the building, or make a hole in it.

There aren't any nearby birds, they've probably been frightened by the dragon. You have stumbled across a few rodents on your trek through the bushes and could probably find one with a successful Nature check.

Oops, I miss visualized the location. How tall is the fence? Do I see an animal?

The fence is a standard wood picket fence, about 5ft tall. I edited the previous post to include animals.

Nature roll 3+r10=13 looking for a weasel or badger, but anything will do.

You find a black squirrel. [Nat20 would've gotten you a honey badger]

So animal friendship is different than I thought.
I cast animal friendship on the squirrel. Then using handle animal ask the squirrel to try to distract the thugs. 4+r19 = 23

What do you ask the squirrel to do?

(OOC: make it go up his trousers!)

Drop some nuts on them or run in front of them about a yard or two and wait.

The squirrel peers knowingly into Nocturne's eyes as if he understood every bit of trouble the druid had ever seen. He gives a slight nod and let's out a series of unintelligible chatterings. In the space of a breath, 5 more squirrels appear from the bushes and charge into the night toward the two figures, acorns filling their comically expanded cheeks. They leap mightily at the figures and proceed to crawl all over them, dropping acorns down their clothing, biting, and scratching. The hooded men let out low grunts in surprise and begin to spin in circles, swatting at the brigade of rodents assaulting them.

They are fully distracted.

"I will be too much of a burden to get over the fence, but one of you can use this distraction to get into the church and secure some of the citizens."

As quickly as and quietly as she can, Gwen dashes over to the fence (if needed: Stealth 8 = r2 + 6). Then she climbs through it, contorting just a little to get the thickest parts of her tiny body through the fence (Acrobatics 24 = r18 + 6).

Gwen easily manages to slip through the fence, as if the posts decided to make room for her. The hooded figures are still heavily embattled with the band of maverick squirrels and are now rolling around on the ground batting and them and trying to crush them. [Rules for Prone apply.]

Gwen studies the church as she approaches it, looking for a back door or a window that is close to the ground, which she might check.

There is a rear door as well as two windows, one on either side of the door. The windows are black. As Gwen reaches the door, you all hear activity just northwest of the chapel.

Without warning, five humans dash out from between two houses neighboring the chapel on the west side. A limping man and three young children race into the shadows of the next house over. A woman carrying a round shield and a broken spear turns and faces back in the direction from which they came. Eight kobolds stream out of the gap on the family's heels and fan out around the woman, who looks determined to delay the creatures as long as possible.

[See the map I will be sending you on Messenger.]

Gwen peers into the windows (if she can reach), to see anything inside. If she can't she'll go over to the corner of the church and peek around to try and see what is going on. (You know, on the other side of the fence that is taller than she is.)

[@ Gwen]

The rear windows of the chapel are normal windows (not stained glass). They are covered by drawn curtains, and no light peeks out from behind them. Pressing your ear to the glass, you do not hear the sounds of people. Either the chapel has been evacuated, or the people inside are trying to remain hidden and doing a very good job at it.
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Turn order for this encounter is as follows:

1. Mysterious Human Woman
2. Nocturne
3. Robed Men [Prone, Distracted]
4. Gwen
5. Torfinn
6. Alibastar
7. Kobolds
8. Squirrels (if given command, otherwise they continue scratching and biting)
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The pursued woman's spear has a broken tip, but is left with multiple jagged points which appear to still be quite deadly as she lunges forward with it, sticking it clear through the center-right kobold's stomach and removing it quickly. The creature lets out a sickening, gurgling yelp and drops to the ground, blood quickly soaking the grass around it. She stands her ground as she shouts the word "go"; her family disappears behind the nearest house. She appears ready to sacrifice herself to give her family the chance to escape.

[The woman has no idea any of you are there, but she did make note of the rodent attack as she was leading the kobolds away from her family.]

I cast entangle to enstare as many kobolds as possible. If I have to entangle the woman now, and set her free later so I can occupy more kobolds I'll do that.

20ft square is difficult terrain. Kobolds and perhaps lady make Strength Saves (keep in mind penalty for small sizes) DC 14.