After the hobgoblin vessel was taken, it took us an hour or so to move the goods between the ships. The Rhenee smuggler captain sailed off as quickly as possible. I believe he was displeased over losing crew members in our assault. We made some hasty repairs to the ship and attempted to sail it back to port to the best of our ability.
Not knowing the waters, we apparently sailed through an area that is avoided by most captains. We were assaulted by some type of Sea Troll and a large serpent. Apparently, they were there to extort us but we had no time for the distraction and were able to fight them off after nearly losing Benson and Tenere. This is when we found out that the greater healing potion I’d been carrying around for weeks was in fact poison, which caused Benson a few gray hairs I believe.
Just like clockwork, we were met at the docks by the Iuz troops and they conveniently found the smuggled items on the ship. Unfortunately, there were no survivors for them to question, heh heh.
We did receive a well-deserved rest before heading off as caravan guards to Hallorn. Some of the content in the caravan (the content we were guarding/transporting) was contraband for General Hok. We mostly moved at night to avoid patrols but still offered papers when approached. During our rest on one of the days, we spotted a colossal Roc which was circling and sure to attack. We had to give up a horse and head out losing a wagon along the way.
Fleeing the area we came across a Hobgoblin patrol with some Jolrase bandits (mercenaries) attached. Our normal smooth talking and papers did not get us out of this one and they discovered one of the wagons full of smuggled goods. I was able to bargain with the mercenaries to stay out of it and we made quick work of the Hobgoblins. Afterward, the merc leader insisted on his payment of 1 copper and left. Knowing we would not go back for our wagon we warned them of the Roc and let them know of the wagon’s location.