Yay, map!

"Thank you! I'm gonna do my best!"

When he and Twilly are on their way:

"So… what is the Black Dragon Box? Does it do something? Does it have a black dragon inside it? Is it taken from a black dragon? My friends fought a black dragon last year. It didn't have any boxes but I think things are different here. It did have a really big hoard…"

Twilly giggles. "It's not a black dragon's box, silly! It's—" He claps his paws over his mouth, looking dismayed. "Oops! Lady Celestia says you're not supposed to know yet!" 

"Oh, okay!"

Elan's a little disappointed, but he can… probably wait.

"When do I get to know? Is it like a surprise party?"

"When you open it, I think! But we gots to find it first!" 

"Oh boy! I wonder if I should open it as soon as I find it, or wait until I'm in a safe place, or wait until I'm in danger… there are so many possibilities!"

"Hmmmmmmmm...Twillies thinks as soon as you find it!" 

As Elan and Twilly get close to the first sneevil hideout on Sir Valance's map, they begin to see increasing numbers of boxes, crates, and barrels stacked beside the path. Many of them are broken, rotting, or otherwise look like they might be unsuitable for use. 

"Oh, cool, I think we're getting close!"

Elan does quick checks for whether there's stuff inside like Sir Valance asked for, though he's got a suspicion that this is more of a dumping ground for boxes that don't work anymore and there won't be anything until they get closer to the fort.

Most of them are, indeed, empty. There are one or two crates full of...some kind of fruit, probably? But it's so brown and rotten that it's difficult to say what kind it used to be.

Oooh, this barrel has mushrooms growing inside it!

"Oooh, mushrooms!"

"I dunno what kind they are, though. And I think that you're supposed to treat any mushroom that you don't know for sure what it is like it's poison."

"Oh, can I see? I might know what kind they are!" 

Twilly comes over to look and...discovers that he's not tall enough to see into the barrel. Maybe if he stands riiiiight on his tippy-toes...yeah, still nope. 

"Need a lift?"

Twilly's ears droop. "Yes please." 

Lift! It's a shame that Elan doesn't have a Ring of Jumping like Belkar's.

(Twilly is warm and fuzzy and very very soft.)

He peers over the rim of the barrel.

"Those look like tog's nose mushrooms! They're no good to eat, they taste icky and give you a tummyache. But they're not the dangerous kind of mushroom, so we're okay!"

"Cool!"

He sets Twilly back down.

"Okay, it looks like that's all the interesting stuff here. What's the difference between a dangerous mushroom and one that makes you sick if you eat it?"

"The dangerous kinds try to eat you back! Usually not till they're bigger than those ones in there, though. I saw one once that was as tall as Captain Rolith!" 

"That does sound pretty dangerous! How strong are they?"

Twilly shrugs. "It depends!" 

It's around this point that Elan might (if he passes the Spot check) notice a small green creature watching them from behind a tree. 

The creature has childlike proportions, big pointy ears, a sharp-featured little face, and beady eyes, and generally meets the description of a goblin apart from very obviously not being a goblin of the kind Elan is familiar with. 

It takes a minute, but soon enough the feeling of Being Watched catches up to him and gives him enough of a bonus that he successfully Spots the creature. It looks… well, yeah, it looks like how he thought goblins looked before he actually saw one.

Time to pretend he didn't notice a thing!

"Don't look now, but there's a green guy watching us."

Twilly sneaks a glimpse, not very sneakily. 

"Oh noes! I mean, oh noes! A sneevil!" 

The sneevil runs off. 

(Elan does not judge Twilly for alerting the sneevil to their location. Sometimes things like this just happen!)

"Well, now that that guy knows we're here, we should probably follow him."