The Thought That Counts

## Synopsis

In Season 2, Chapter 29: The Thought That Counts, we had a difficult time prying ourselves out of bed after a comfortable night's sleep in Kukati Cove – but with people to meet and oaths to fulfill, we knew we couldn't afford to linger.

Our first stops were to the residences of Ms. Spooner and Mr. Cheeks, who were both holding items that we wanted for our trip east – though we hit a snag at the smithy when Cody rebuked us for our treatment of a fellow citizen the day prior. Phaedra wasn't holding any grudges, but if we wanted to get our hands on Safira's newly enhanced longbow, we'd have to pony up an additional 200 gold instead of providing the peridot as collateral.

It cost us the ability to purchase a couple extra potions, but the issue was eventually sorted out – and after exhausting our resources in the Rapra Mountains it felt good to have full backpacks once more.

Before heading over to the hitching posts, we were also approached by a man named Emmitt Nesbit who had a collection of contracts that he called his "worth-it shit list".  There wasn't any direct payment for completing these tasks, but each one promised various rewards that were there for the taking if we were up to the challenge – potentially a worthwhile sidetrack if we found ourselves passing by these landmarks on our way through the peninsula.

Loaded up on supplies and objectives, we tacked our horses and gave one last look back at the bay before riding out – and thus began the last leg of travel before crossing the isthmus and digging into the mysteries of Finlock Forest.

As soon as we'd left civilization behind, Graven felt the familiar warmth of radiant light – manifesting in both visions and verbalizations.  He saw his half-orc counterpart branding a slain enemy with Q'usñi's symbol – and though he couldn't discern the exact location of the other cleric, Graven learned that such displays of fealty were available to him as well if he desired blessings to aid his journey.

After that, there was a prolonged period of peaceful progress through the woods that mirrored the coastline.  For the most part, the limitations of the terrain chose our path for us – and after moving up onto a walkway that crossed over several small lakes, we saw our first (unwelcome) signs of intelligence life since leaving Kukati.

We'd soon come to learn that our castaway from Hylata Harbor had been captured again shortly after his release, prompting some bandits to set up an ambush along the road. Their leader clearly had some proficiency in magic, but there was no chance we were going to give up our belongings that easily – so despite our disadvantaged position, we chose to go on the offensive.

The slightest hint of aggression on our part was answered swiftly by a powerful lightning bolt that not only knocked Orba out – it instantly killed three of our horses and created a pile-up on the bridge.  While Safira and Erland kept the mage's attention, Graven brought Orba to her feet and defended against the additional reinforcements.

Not simply a pack of common cutpurses, these foes were well-armored and their archers had the high ground – forcing us to use spells like Mirror Image and Hold Person to swing the battle in our favor.  After downing the leader and tossing a foot soldier into the lake below, the bandits began to cut their losses and flee – but the burns on our skin and the horses on the ground were a stark reminder that this expedition was not likely to be a forgiving one.

There was, however, a bit of good news to go with our otherwise pyrrhic victory; the mage had in his possession a letter that alluded to a secret cache – and we followed the clues to a cave with an unusual added layer of security.

A puzzle requiring us to place tiles in a specific order without speaking would have been easier with some kind of thought-detection magic, but instead we were forced to do it the old-fashioned way – which had a rocky start but ultimately resulted in an impressive, if surprising, success.

Apparently we weren't the first targets for this particular gang, because behind the sealed door was a sizable trove of valuables and equipment – and feeling no remorse for taking that which had already been stolen, we filled our pockets.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: two natural ones were rolled in this Chapter. 1 each by Jordan and Riley.