Against the Cult: The Next Day (1.2)

On the way to Hochoch in the dark

Klak, Thacogygax, Sara, and Morgran continue to pull the cart west down the road towards Hochoch, leaving the bear behind.

A little later, Sara notices that the bear is ambling along behind the party at a distance.

At the Jarl farm in the dark
Xana is doing her best to talk with the chicken, which Quest and Durren can see clearly with their darkvision. The chicken responds: "Man went in. Came out, got Thing With Round Feet and Ox. Went in. Brought out Big Person that Feeds, put her in Thing with Round Feet. Went in. Brought out Small Person that Feeds Sometimes, put her in Thing with Round Feet. Went in. Brought out Smaller Person that Feeds Sometimes, put her in Thing with Round Feet. Went in. Brought out Small Terror that Chases, put it in Thing with Round Feet. All left. That way." The chicken flutters off of Xana's arm, south, toward the path back to Cecily's Road.

Catching up to the Wagon
After hurrying down the road for several minutes, likely going two or three times as fast as the wagon, Ogbar is the first to notice the light in the darkness ahead, but Aanbo sees it only a moment later. It silhouettes a shape in the road. It takes a moment, but they are able to make out the silhouette as that of the wagon they'd originally got in Hochoch, creeping slowly toward Orlane. Puffing and panting from the pace, Abel hasn't noticed the wagon yet, but he will any moment now...

Xana runs inside the stone farmhouse. The fireplace has burned down to coals, whose red glow sheds enough light for the gnome to see clearly. There is no sign of violence; the family appears to have left in the middle of a meal: the stew in the pot has left a savory aroma. There are several bowls of stew on the table, that have cooled, as well as several cups of ale. The food hardly seems to have been touched. Goat, she thinks, and grabs one of the bowls to feed to the chicken.

Back outside, the chicken is ecstatic and begins pecking at the meat immediately. In between gobbling bits of goat, the chicken responds. "No one else!" (peck, peck) "Just the man!"

Quest and Durren have watched all of this mutely. But when Xana calls out in comprehensible language: "To the road! Hopefully they haven't got too far ahead!", the human nods and starts off across the farm at a run.

Confronting Jonbon

Aanbo and Ogbar alarm Abel, they melt so effortlessly and silently into the darkness. Leaving the blundering farmer behind wondering what is happening, the two make their way forward to the slowly creaking wagon. Soon they can hear Jonbon as he sings softly to himself.

"...She is cold
As cold as metal
She holds me tight
She holds me everywhere
Feel the power
She caresses my neck..."

Jonbon is sitting on the buckboard of the wagon, strumming on a stringed instrument softly by the light of a lantern mounted on a rod from the left front corner of the wagon's bed. The two have approached to within 15' of the wagon, fanned out to either side. They each see Jonbon in silhouette by the light of the swinging lantern.

At the wagon, Ogbar and Aanbo have moved into position. Jonbon is only able to sing "Now she touches my--erk!" as Ogbar leaps up and grabs the man, knocking the instrument aside and clamping his hand over the minstrel's mouth. Aanbo puts a steadying hand on the ox's flank and the animal is calmed so that, when the reins are pulled tight in the struggle, the ox doesn't pull the wagon off of the road. Instead, Aanbo yanks the reins away from Jonbon and the ox comes to a halt. Ogbar and Jonbon are wrestling, and all that's visible in the wagon are shapes covered by an oiled tarp of the sort merchants use to keep the moisture out.