Chapter 2.1b: Search Party (Hochoch)

The trio of Manthis, Rosemary, and Arya continue down Cecily's Road for hours. It is cool and quiet in the Dim, and it is a little weird to see such a large path slowly getting reclaimed by the forest for lack of traffic. In relief that their ordeal was over, the Jarls had told the heroes in great detail about Devek's misadventure at the ancient temple (though to be honest, they know next to nothing about what happened after he fell asleep) and the rest of the family's experience of being tricked and abducted by Jonbon the bard. They talked with glowing admiration about the fellow Dungeon Busters, and it is interesting to hear how others view the people that the trio had met in the past couple of days (though they still haven't met Joseph, Aanbo, Reptile, Theran, Ogbar, Chase, Quest, or Myrtha). One of the Dungeon Busters, Sara, had talked with great animation about the savage owlbear roaming the Dim, too. But the three newer Dungeon Busters do not encounter any lurking kidnappers, ferocious beasts, or ancient Pae worshippers trapped in an eternal curse. The Forest seems quite pleasant, so far.

But it is a long hike with few distractions and not a great amount of variety. As evening approaches, the party begins to discuss how soon they should look for a place to make camp. Do they look now, using the last hours of daylight to set up a comfortable camp, or push on for a couple of hours and get that much further before stopping? Or, if you're feeling in a hurry, you could continue into the night...

Cecily's Road follows a gentle incline, sometimes going up a bit, sometimes down, but overall the party has been gradually climbing in elevation all day. The three heroes agree to look for a place to camp while there is still dim daylight illuminating the forest floor. They split up, looking in different directions, but staying within easy earshot of one another. At this point, the Realstream has meandered away from the relatively straight road, and so there is plenty of terrain to cover without even getting close enough to hear the river.

Arya finds a rocky promontory: an ancient upthrust of granite that eroded more slowly than the surrounding terrain. The result is a hill of mossy stone, 10 or 12 paces higher than the land around it. Cracks have formed at points in the rock, and those have filled with leaves and bracken, forming soil in which ferns have sprouted. A scraggly oak tree has managed to root itself at the top, leaning over the edge. Other trees and shrubs grow out on either side, forming a protective ring about a clearing at the base of the hill. It's ideal, and the party finds that others have used this place as a camp site in the past: a ring of stones shows where fires have been kindled in the past. The thick layer of leaves makes for a soft place to spread out bedrolls, and it's dry and sheltered from wind in the lee of the rock.

While the others set up and gather firewood, Rosemary ranges a bit further to forage for edible plants and fungi. She's collected a healthy amount of miner's lettuce along with some berries by the time the sun is setting...when she comes across the body of a dead mule.

OOC:
How far is the mule corpse from the camp?

As Arya finishes her prayers, Manthis finishes lighting the fire. As the party settles down for the night, Rosemary offers pastries, berries, and miner's lettuce to augment their meals. Smoke from the fire drifts up to the sky as the first stars are appearing in the sky. Some bats emerge from crevices in the rock and begin swooping and wheeling in the deepening twilight overhead. A fox shrieks in the distance. Moths flutter at the edge of the firelight.

The cheery light of the campfire flickers on the faces of the adventuring trio and up the surface of the rock face behind them. It's a good thing; Jonel would not have found them without the light. An evening breeze blows through the forest, soughing through the trees. Embers fly up from the fire, glowing briefly and then cooling into darkness, and the smoke twists into momentary vortices. But as the breeze dies down, the rustling noise of the foliage around the camp continues.