Chapter 2.1a: Golden Grain Inn (Orlane at night)

Chase roved ahead, blazing the trail, and circling back occasionally to make sure that the rest of the group was not getting lost or bogged down. Myrtha dragged the travois with their dead friend, Reptile, and Aanbo and Theran engaged Bradley in further conversation as they went.
"Tym lives in town, but he has a number of huts that he uses when he's out timbering. I was getting low on barrel planks so I went out to find him, see if I could pay in advance for some of his stock before he brought it to market." Bradley explains about his process, demonstrating a regrettable tendency to talk in great, enthusiastic detail about the minutiae of a cooper's work. But Aanbo interrupts him before he can start in on the relative virtues of different kinds of wood for different liquids, by asking whether Bradley was alone when he went to find Tym. "Oh, yes, I was by myself. I went to the first shack, and he wasn't there. Tym moves from hut to hut, depending on which types of tree he's looking to harvest or plant. I went to check another one, and that's when the monsters jumped me."

As they talk, the party is making good time, following the path that Chase has blazed through the heart of the Dim Forest.

"No, and no," Bradley replied to Aanbo's questions. "He builds a hut for him to use in a part of the forest where he knows he is going to be harvesting trees; he doesn't have need for more than one hut in a given region; I know a few of them - the ones that I know are hours apart from each other. He watches the trees closely and judges when they're ready to cut." The cooper sighs. "I really don't even know which trees he'd be harvesting now. I was really just hoping to do a shortcut by catching him in the Dim rather than waiting for him at his woodyard in town. He wasn't there when I left, but he might be there now. The Dim is a big forest."

After a few hours' hike through the thick woods, everyone is hot and tired. They stop for midday to rest and recover a bit before moving on.

As they are stopped to rest, Aanbo uses his healer's kit to refresh himself.
Aanbo spends one application of his healer's kit and two hit dice to regain 8 HP.

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Aanbo (17/27)
Chase (14/14)
Myrtha (15/18)
Theran (4/13)

After the party rests, they heft their packs again and move onwards with Chase leading the way, and the others trading off dragging Reptile's dead body on the travois. The ranger leads them south by southwest, and toward mid-afternoon this route brings him back to Cecily's Road. Though using the road will get them back to Hochoch even faster than going overland through the Dim Forest, Chase has learned to be cautious. He watches the roadway for a while, waiting for the others to catch up. As they approach, he signals to them to approach softly and quietly.

Note: the two groups are about to meet at last! I will be starting a new thread today.