Of Horses and Rats

Sasha
The dozen recruits from Magnimar effectively doubles Sandpoint's standing guard to 24, plus the 60 or so part time militia. After spending the afternoon working with them, Sasha realizes that they are not poorly trained, just untested. The new arrivals also have a typical big city attitude at being stationed out here, and Sasha overhears more than a few mutterings about backwater country rubes that can't look after themselves, and why are we taking drill instruction from a mop headed tomboy who can't even wield a proper broad sword anyway? The latter Sasha silences after sending a few of them tumbling into the dust. But it gets her thinking, that she really doesn't know the first thing about soldiering. She could handle herself in a fight and could find a dozen ways to take down her opponents fast and dirty, but this whole lining up and fighting in formation and taking orders was new to her. She continued her braggadocio for the green leafs, but also started to keep a closer ear on the lessons Sheriff Hemlock was teaching them as well.

Gerund
Shayliss takes the paladin's hand with a smile and hurriedly leads them through the streets. Soon they are at the store and Shayliss enters with Gerund in tow, leading him to the basement stairs. Shayliss grips the Gerund's arm as she peers down the stairs nervously from behind him.

Well, that’s the basement. I dropped my lantern down there when I saw the last giant rat. Come, I’ll open the door for you.”

“Wait here,” Gerund says, pushing Shayliss behind him as he draws his sword and cautiously descends the stairs. As he enters, he sees a soft glow coming from around a corner in the basement storeroom, giving off enough light to make his way around the room. The room itself is quite large, with many stacks of goods, from foodstuffs, to farm equipment, to general hardware goods stacked neatly on shelves and in barrels or pallets. The room is obviously used regularly as it is clean from any dust or cobwebs. In fact the room is altogether too clean for a storeroom that has been taken over by giant rats, of which there is no sign. As Gerund moves further into the room, he finds the lantern that Shayliss left behind. Instead of finding a carelessly discarded lantern, the paladin finds it is carefully arranged on a small table that is beside a small cot, that has been readied with linens.

When Gerund hears a sound from behind him, he turns to find Shayliss has entered the room behind him and has closed the door, locking it as she does so. Her innocent and nervous look has been replaced with one of mischief and seduction. Before Gerund can say anything, Shayliss deftly slips out of her bodice, and slides her arms around him, trying to guide him towards the cot. She murmurs to him, her voice almost a purr, “Oh, you are so brave to come to my aid. Why don't you let me show you how grateful I can be..."


Poot and Yola
The merchant's said they were ambushed several hours farther east of the Thistle river crossing on the Lost Coast road. The crossing is about a two hour walk from Sandpoint, so you figure that's as good place to start your search. When you arrive at the river, you take some time to rest and look for clues. Poot dangles his feet in the cool river, then scrambles back in surprise as a goblin corpse bobs by, an arrow protruding from its back. Moments later you hear a squeal and the crashing of brush. About sixty yards up river several goblins, usually very stealthy little gaffers break from the under brush like maddened game fowl and run straight along the bank towards Yola and Poot. Poot grabs for his bow and puts arrow to string as Yola unslings her exotic new blade from her back, but all three goblins fall in rapid succession, stuck through with arrows fired from the trees.

The two adventurers stand their ground, confused and on guard for another moment until a familiar female voice yells out from the trees, "Hail friends of Sandpoint!" The tall silhouette of Shalelu Andosana steps forth from the brush, curved longbow still in hand.

The human, the halfling and the elf make an impromptu camp and sit down to share their stories. After Poot has filled the ranger in on how he single-handedly ( "ow! no need hit a bloke in the back of the head like that Yola!") defeated the villain Tsuto and uncovered his alliance with the goblins, she tells her story:

"I started by scouting out the caves of the Birdcruncher goblins since they were mostly the ones who attacked the town at the festival, but their lairs were almost completely deserted. So I though I'd track down Bruthazmus, a vile bugbear that stalks this region that I have crossed blades with before. Bruthazmus' regular haunts were also deserted. I started asking around the farmers and woodsmen in the area, and it turns out that he hooked up with several other humanoids and moved into Thistletop a couple of weeks ago. It sounds to me like we have an alliance of some sort between the Thistletop goblins and this crew that Tsuto and Bruthazmus have fallen in with. So what say you? Shall we gather your comrades and see what's afoot in the goblin's lair, or would you rather keep chasing after a lost horse?"