Against the Cult: Getting Away with It (1.8a)

Carrying the mangled body of the torture victim between them, Myrtha and Reptile loped to the west in the starlight. Lit lanterns bobbed toward the barn to the north and south, but their progress was swift and no one saw or heard them. Their goal was the trees at the edge of the finger of the Dim Forest that extended down toward Ramne's grove. Theran followed a moment later, passing them quickly as he was moving without such an awkward load. The druid reached the treeline and scouted ahead in the undergrowth. He would have to help them navigate, he realized, as they would be nearly blind in the darkness. He looked back; they were almost to the trees, and no one was looking their way. So far, so good.

Theran got turned around under the trees and couldn't find a path. But then there was a rustling in the undergrowth and the druid tensed in anticipation of an attack...but instead of a monster, it was Whiskers who scurried out from the bushes. The weasel sat up, chittered softly at the three characters, and then scampered a few feet. It stopped, looked back expectantly, and then jerked its head. It was clear that it wanted to be followed.

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Myrtha (12/12)
Reptile (7/15)
Theran (13/13)

Whiskers scampers forward, and leads the group onto a small game trail. It wends its way through the woods. As the group continues with the mutilated body, they can faintly hear a raised voice in the distance; someone is speaking loudly back in the direction of the abandoned farm. Most of it is inaudible, but they hear bits and pieces: "...evidence...obvious...blame...strangers...murdered...secret..." It's clear that, whatever is happening back there, the mob is making enough noise that no one is hearing the clanking of gear of these three Dungeon Busters sneaking through the woods. The voice dies down, and they can hear nothing more.

They continue for a few minutes through the woods, Theran following the weasel and whispering directions to his two human companions as they stumble through the darkness. Then the path opens out into a wider open area without trees so that the canopy is not blocking the starlight. Myrtha and Reptile breathe sighs of relief and shift their grips on their load; carrying a dead body while stumbling around completely blind was not an experience they care to repeat. After a moment, Myrtha realizes they're at the grove where she first met the hermit Ramne; there's no sign of the man now. The faint silver light reveals a clearing containing a ramshackle structure made of salvaged and found materials: broken barrels, fallen branches, bits of canvas tarpaulin, etc. Arranged neatly around it are several tidy garden patches. Neither Theran nor Reptile have been here before now. Whiskers stops and looks expectantly at the group; Theran has the distinct impression that the beast wants some food. But then Whiskers starts as if something prodded her, and the weasel slinks into undulating motion again, leading across the glade to the entrance of a south-eastern path. She stops and looks back at the group, waiting to see whether they will follow.

Satisfied that the others are still following her, Whiskers scampers down the path, winding through the trees. After a couple more minutes, the path opens into a more-familiar sight: Orlane's north-south road, pale in the starlight. Looking left, the Dungeon Busters can see the light of the Inn of the Slumbering Serpent shining through a few trees on the other side of the road, and the road continues north, ultimately leading to the abandoned farm where Aanbo and Chase are facing the concerned gang. You can see faint pinpricks of light in the distance, flickering through the bushes and trees: probably the lanterns of the crowd.

To the right, you can see the rise of the stone bridge to the south of you and hear the burbling of the Realstream River as it flows around the pilings. That way leads back to the Golden Grain Inn and Cecily's Road.

As soon as Myrtha and Reptile start heading south, Whiskers scampers along with them, and is the first one across the stone bridge. In the distance, a dog barks. Up ahead on the left is the barn and, beyond that, the longer shape of the Golden Grain Inn. Reptile can feel his heart beat faster, remembering the gang of customers that attacked him inside the common room. While none of you have been in the barn, Chase did tell you about how it was unoccupied, and Theran knows that the rear door of the Inn - which the group can see ahead of them - leads into the room where Bertram was recuperating. To the right is the farm that the party passed when they first entered Orlane yesterday evening.
The starlight is dim, but bright enough to see the buildings and the street in the night. There is no sign of anyone on the street.

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Myrtha (12/12)
Reptile (7/15)
Theran (13/13)

Still carrying the body, the three Dungeon Busters approach the rear of the Golden Grain Inn, and the closed door on the left side of the rear wall of the building. Theran notices that there is still smoke coming from one of the chimneys, on the west side of the building: it probably corresponds to the hearth in the common room. That could mean that there are still people in the Inn, or it could mean that they didn't extinguish the fire before they left.