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"Let's get going. We shouldn't waste time unless you're just dying to meet these beasties kin-folk." Auric chided them. "We ought to head for the lumber camps. Get ourselves a place to bed down for the night and claim the bounty."

Auric was by now suiting actions to words and getting on his backpack. He tied a troll head to one of the dangling strings and waited for everyone else to get moving.

Arkady got on the move as well, following Auric while directing Sycorax to scout out the path ahead.

"And this time, keep those sharp eyes of yours wide open!" he warned the raven.

The bird gulped the last of the troll's eyes and took off, complaining about not having the time to take a nap.

Konrad fell in at the rear of the group, making sure no one could sneak up on them.
I hope this lumber camp isn't far.

Finally moving again, Soloman tried to whistle jauntily, but his lungs hurt far too much for that.

The battered adventurers pushed ahead for the rest of the day and did not encounter anything else of note before night fell.

Arkady, contemplating the nascent night for a brief moment, sent out a call for Sycorax to return. He would like to hear if the raven could tell them how far the next lumber camp was.

In the meantime he asked his companions: "I don't know if it is wise to continue even if the next camp is near, but sleeping in this forest doesn't appeal to me either. A fire in the night could attract a lot of things - including more trolls. But freezing to death is not an option."

He turned to Konrad: "You're a spy, do you know how to light a fire that cannot be seen from a distance?"

"Skulking around in the woods isn't my speciality, but making a fire that is hard to see isn't difficult. It is mainly about keeping it fairly small and using only dry wood to keep the smoke down. You also want to camp at a place where people can't see the flames from far away."
I'm surprised he doesn't know this stuff already. Must not have much experience campaigning.
"Down by that fallen tree wouldn't be a bad place to camp,"
Said Konrad, pointing at the tree in question about 40 feet from the trail.
"We even got water nearby, as we passed a stream just a little ways back if we want to stop here. And I'd apreciate it if you wouldn't refer to me as a spy. It can make people nervous."

"Oh well, I guess all of us know that you are an intelligence specialist," Arkady replied, "and I've enough wits to avoid mentionning it in front of strangers."

He turned to the spot Konrad had indicated.

"I was thinking about something I had heard from my..." he stopped abruptly, then: "Some kind of makeshift hearth with stones and woodbranches that conceals the light and smoke of the fire, but helps radiating the heat. I can't recall the details, though."

"Your discretion is apreciated Arkady. I'm not really familiar with this special fire you are talking about though. Perhaps a normal arrangement would suit us?"
Hell, I was only in the scouts for a litttle bit, and that was almost 20 years ago. Some of those guys might know more about that kind of thing, but I don't.

The adventurers bedded down for the night, but the fear of possible troll attacks prevented them from getting a lot of sleep. They arose early the next day and slogged ahead. Several times in the next day they encountered troll sign, but they had no direct contact with trolls.

As the day wore on towards dusk, they heard noises ahead of them.

"Arkady, can you get your bird to scout ahead and see what those noise are?" Auric asked. "I'd rather not get suprised by some beasty."

Auric kept his fingers crossed that it was loggers. They should be able to get back to civilization quick and the troll heads should fetch a decent price.

"I'll go take a look as well. I'll move up past those bush's on the left, and be back in a jiffy,"
Whispered Konrad. He then silently slipped away towards the left and aprouched whatever was making the noise from the side. The undergrowth provided plenty of concealment, and Konrad was quite skiled at staying hidden. Once he had gotten a little closer, he went from a crouching to a crawling position and crept forward to see what was causing the rukus
This crawling is almost fucking unbearable. God damn ribs. God damn trolls. Let's see what this is.

Guren rolled his shoulders and put his hand on the butt of his magelock and cocked his head, trying to pick out the sounds of 'civillisation'.

Preparing himself to incant a magical shield in case things got ugly, Arkady sent Sycorax to scout out ahead of them. He tightened his grip on his Staff while opening his mind to the raven's feelings.

The raven returned after a few minutes. "Logging camp boss. Lots of guys with guns and a few big fires. And a 'jack."

"What a relief - no more trolls!" Arkady sighed. "We all need some serious rest. I just hope they don't get too irrationally distrustful of a handful of ragtag mercenaries."

Because I sure would be, he added mentally.

Konrad lay in the Bush's looking down at the lumber camp, at least that is what he assumed it was.
That's a lot of firepower for a lumber camp. They even got a warjack. Then again, there are Trolls everywhere. I'll just stay a little longer.
Konrad counted the number of men, noted how they were armed, their state of readyness, if they had anyone on watch, and he was especially on the lookout for anyone that looked like a warcaster.
Probably got one around for that 'jack.
He also carefully looked at the warjack, to see if it was tricked out for logging, or for war. After making his observations, Konrad slipped back out to report what he had found to his comrades.

As Konrad and the raven returned Auric asked, "So have we found good news or bad news? Because I'm tired of waiting out here in the cold."

The steamjack was clearly a heavy labour model, although its sheer size and the axe in its hand made it quite a capable combatant in the hands of a skilled director. Undoubtedly it was quite useful in the event of a troll attack. The loggers were mostly armed with axes, although there were several men armed with rifles on watch.

Arkady coughed, and told his companions : "I'd say this look like a typical loggers camp. I mean, it matches what the farmer told us about this region. We should all agree on what we want to appear like. I'd say we drop the cover story. It's of little use either way, and since we are closer to civilization we may be asked questions we have no good answer to."

"I agree, keep it short but honest. Lying would serve little point, and no doubt these men are used to sell-swords. I doubt those guards are doing it from the goodness of their hearts."

Auric suited actions to words. With a quick of his weapons, he started towards the lumbermen's camp. As he approached he yelled to them, not wishing to startle them.

"HELLO! My comrades and I seem to have stumbled across your camp. We've been out in the woods a while now and are seeking shelter. May we come in?"

A bearded man chuckled and waved several other men to relax.. "Da! If you're bandits, you're the most tired looking cut throats I have seen."

"This would be the reason for our current state,"
Said Konrad as he lifted the Troll head he had attached to his pack.
"I'll tell you I'd consider turning to banditry to get a good drink, I've been in the woods so long. My name is Konrad."
He then moved forward to shake hands with the loggers.

Arkady waved his hands at the loggers and guards.

"If you have a warm safe place for us to rest, I'd be forever grateful." He pointed at the troll heads on his friends' backpacks: "Oh and you have three less adult trolls to worry about, plus a handful of midget ones, but those were so badly damaged that we left them back there; too tired to carry them anyway."

He tried to look cheerful. "The name's Arkady. Pleased to meet you."

"I am Alexander Rostov, leader of a few of these ruffians. The skinflints running this operation will insist on separating you from some coin for your supper, but you are welcome to join us."