Against the Cult: Entering Orlane (1.7)

Chase and Joseph, watching intently outside while Reptile and Myrtha continue their preparations, see the doors of the Slumbering Serpent Inn open and a middle-aged human woman emerges and begins sweeping the porch with a branch of broom, whistling to herself. When the porch is cleaned to her satisfaction, she begins to tend to vibrant flower beds that have been set in planter boxes at the edges of the porch. A couple of burly men appear from behind the Inn lugging large burlap sacks. Recalling Theran's account of the events in the other Inn, the two lookouts watch closely, but the sacks do not appear to obviously contain bodies, though they are clearly heavy. The woman opens the front door for the men, smiling and saying something that neither Chase nor Joseph can hear from this distance, and the men squeeze with their sacks into the Inn of the Slumbering Serpent. The woman returns to her flowers, and the two men do not reappear.

Eventually the woman returns inside. A while later, a man of imposing bearing appears, walking up from the direction of the bridge. Like all the people they've seen today, he is unarmed, but a second, grizzled older man following half a step behind him is wearing armor and bearing a large sword at his hip. The two of them walk up to the Inn and the imposing man hesitates for a moment, then knocks. A few moments pass, and then the middle-aged human woman opens the door, all smiles. The imposing man bows and the two of them confer for a few minutes. Chase notices that the imposing man glances over his shoulder several times during the conversation, gesturing...possibly in the direction of the abandoned farm where the party is hiding. But Joseph is convinced that he's actually looking further, toward Ramne's grove. During the whole conversation, the armed man - both the ranger and the rogue are convinced he's a veteran soldier acting as a guard - continually scans up and down the path, monitoring for threats. If he notices the party's preparations, he doesn't show it. At the end of the conversation, the woman shakes her head, the imposing man inclines his head in the barest of bows, and the imposing man and his armed-and-armored companion return back the way they came.

It is only a little while after that when Theran and Aanbo return with their shamrocks and mistletoe.

Joseph is ready on the roof of the farmhouse with his bow, ready to provide a surprise (hopefully) attack from the side.The other five have set up in the abandoned barn. Here is a picture so you can better visualize the layout (and fine tune where you want to be). The barn doors (ground and loft) are to the right/east. Four 10'-square animal stalls line the north and south walls, each of them open (they are 10' tall, too). The party has set up a line of barrels as a barricade inside the entrance to the barn (past the snare that Theran set). Myrtha and Reptile stand shoulder-to-shoulder just inside the row of barrels. Behind them, Aanbo and Theran stand ready to assist. Against the west wall is the ladder that leads 15' up to the hayloft. The hayloft runs the length of the building (from the hayloft door in the east wall to the hatch leading down to the ladder at the west wall). The loft has a low railing along the north and south edges, overlooking the animal stalls so that grooms or handlers can fork fresh hay over the rail and directly down to the animals. Up in this loft, Chase has set up a lookout behind some hay bales so that he can snipe antagonists through the loft door as they approach the barn's ground-floor doors. He has also made various spy holes in the east and west walls of the loft so he can pace around and scan in different directions.Feel free to make adjustments to your positioning if you like, and describe whether each door (ground and loft) is open or closed.

Sunset comes, and the evening birds begin their songs.
Twilight descends, and fireflies rise up like a great glowing net.
Bats chuck and chirp, flying in the encroaching darkness eating various bugs.
The temperature falls rapidly, dew condensing on the stalks of the weeds in the overgrown farm yard as fires are kindled in the various occupied buildings within sight (the neighboring farmhouse and the Inn of the Slumbering Serpent); their windows glow with the light of fires, lanterns, and/or candles.
The stars slowly emerge as the twilight darkens into night.

All is still.

The characters without darkvision strain their eyes to see in the pale starlight (no mechanical difficulty - it's light enough to see, but everything is grey and washed out in the dim light).



Everyone, roll Perception checks, please.