The burning of the goblins bodies takes until the wee hours of the morning. Jason and Dennis make a sled to drag the last goblin on it back to the stronghold. It takes them a little over a hour to get the poles they need and to get all tied into place. The stench of the burning bodies is strong in your noses as you head back towards the stronghold as Rachel and ghost watch the bodies of the goblins burn.
Once you get to the stronghold and show Douglas the body he will confirm that yes that is a goblin. They are able to tell you that the cooked body appears to be that of a Halfling, not a child.
The next morning a little after first sun rise you will see Rachel and Ghost heading out of the woods towards the Stronghold.
Images of Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin race through my head. "Sir Douglas, are there any Halfling villages nearby? I don't remember seeing any on on the maps I studied. Otherwise, wouldn't it be strange to just have one Halfling wandering around to get caught by Goblins? If there is, I'd like to go there and see if anyone is missing and if there is let them know what may have happened."
In the morning we meet Rachel. I'm pretty somber, "It wasn't a child, it was a Hobbit… er, Halfling."
I breathe in the clean air as I walk. It is so crisp and pure. I truly feel like a new person here. I smile as I approach the others. The smile fades rapidly as I hear what Den has to say.
" A halfling? Hmm. It's horrible but that is at least better than being a child. Are there halflings around here? "
Edited: Kyrroeth on 9th May, 2017 - 5:49pm
Douglas does not know of any settlements in the area. When he brought the strong hold here it was in a area that had no close neighbors and just wandering bands of peoples. There could be a nomad tribe of halflings, Orcs, goblins, just like the elves you met yesterday. So who knows exactly what you will run into out there.
I scratch my beard a bit, "Well, if we are sticking with Middle earth characters, I suppose that might make me Celebrimbor the smith. Just, ah, remind me not to trust any silver tongued Maiar asking for rings of power. Let us go and find that trail."
"I'm afraid you have a very young Aragorn here with you" I say, coming out of my dour mood. "I have a lot to work on regarding my tracking abilities. I was only fair at it while in the Army and I don't seem to have improved much of late. Hopefully this will change as I use my skills. I wouldn't be against tracking them, but that would take us west rather than north, and our host quite explicitly asked us to head north. Perhaps we should talk to our host."