Chapter 2.2: First Encounters in the Dim

The party heads out west On Cecily's Road, Manthis pulling one travois and Myrtha pulling the other. Fleet in his natural element, Chase roves ahead and finds a fine place for camping, a little bit to the south of the Road (the campsite with all the dead bodies and undead gear would still be three hours' further hike west). Heading back east, he meets the rest of the group on the Road and gives directions on how to spot the blazes he's left for them to follow to get to the campsite. Then, bidding them good fortune, he leaves the group and continues east until he finds their most recent battlefield. From there, he backtracks, easily finding the path they took through the Forest by the drag track of Reptile's travois. It's easy for him to see that the bandits just followed their obvious track. But periodically he stops and examines the area in greater detail, confirming that it's the same number of followers rather than a larger group where some people had split off to create trouble for them later. He does not find trace of that, but as the sun is setting, he discovers the point where the bandits joined their trail.
At around the same time, the rest of the Dungeon Busters arrive at the campsite with Theran (who is best able to identify the blazes that Chase has made) leading the way and Aanbo bringing up the rear, ready to help anyone who might stumble in the growing darkness. Chase had already arranged a circle of stones to make a fire ring with a pile of tinder and kindling in the center.

Chase follows the tracks for some time; on first glance, it seems that they were just wandering through the Dim Forest when they happened upon the Dungeon Busters' trail. But Chase is experienced enough to recognize that the wandering was spread out enough that it seems that they were systematically searching the forest. Unfortunately, soon after this it grows too dark for the ranger to detect the tracks anymore. He's faced with a decision: does he ignite a light source, or does he continue in the darkness?

Chase is confident that he can find his way back to the Road even in the deep nighttime darkness of these woods, but if he wanted to continue tracking, he'd need light.

Feeling a bit more comfortable with one another after their hours of hiking and sharing stories together, the two groups of adventurers settle down around the campfire, cooking boar meat and sharing more anecdotes. They begin to feel a bit more like a single team. With the story of the undead that attacked Jonel and then Arya, Manthis, and Rosemary, they are particularly careful to post a guard rotation, with careful instructions on how Chase will identify himself when he returns.

With the torch lit, Chase is able to continue tracking the bandits' path back through the forest. It does meander, going back and forth, but it is pretty clear that they were making their way west, searching for something. This, coupled with the presence of the spiral pendants/brand, strongly suggest that they are affiliated with the group in Orlane.

Chase stops suddenly, his hackles rising, the sense of being observed is very strong. Casting his eyes slowly about within the small sphere of torchlight, he faintly sees a humanoid figure standing motionless just outside the light. He waits for a long moment, but the figure does not move or react in any way, neither to greet or to challenge.

Meanwhile, further east in the Dim Forest...

Chase calls out to the motionless figure, and it turns toward him, moving slowly forward. As it moves closer, the flickering torchlight reveals the features of a slack-jawed woman dressed in leather armor caked with mud. She holds her arms limply at her sides as she stumbles forward, the only noise the crunching of bracken under her feet.