Chapter 3.1: The Second Expedition

"I am alright my friend. It looks worse than it is."

Theran will cast Cure Wounds on himself, and offer to heal anyone else who wishes it.

The night before, Aanbo meditated on the pain from his wound and concentrated on its conflict with the rest of his body. He gathered his focus and pressed his index finger at certain areas of his body, blocking the negative energy and redirecting the positive flow. Of course, he could only do so much, and Aanbo dug into his medical supplies to stave off the remaining pain.

As the sun rose with the group, Aanbo sat before Ember. "So, we didn't get a chance to talk," he says, legs crossed and arms resting on his knees. His fingers idly pick up the soil next to his bare feet. "In fact, I don't even remember introducing myself. I am Aanbo. And we..." He gestures to everyone else in the party. "... are Dungeon Busters."

The monk continues, "If that name is unfamiliar to you, that's fine; not so important as what is to happen next, at least. If you haven't already figured it out, we're on our way to Orlane to put a stop to whatever's going on there. It will be dangerous work, but you have faced your fair share of danger, haven't you? Despite your obvious skill in defending yourself, we can't force you to join us as we head back into the very town that threatened you."

Aanbo points west. "Hochoch is a safe place, but at least another day's journey through the Dim Forest if you were to leave now. If you wish to go there, I can provide you with some food and advise you stick to the road and travel quickly, but unfortunately we cannot accompany you as we're headed in the other direction."

He grabs a fistful of soil and sprinkles it upon his shoulders. It seems to be a habitual gesture, but by the look of his stained clothing it's something he's been doing for years on a daily basis. "So, my question to you is, which way will you go? Will you journey to Hochoch?"

Chase calls to Theran"Could we milk some venom out of this spider to maybe spike the Golden Grain Inns ale? Make the slow and sick?"

"Perhaps, but I would advise against it," Theran replies. "We have no control over who consumes the ale. It could be one of these spiral-wearing malcontents... or it could end up being an innocent. Or even a child who steals a drink from a parent's mug."

Jonel wraps as much loot as he can in one of the dead goblins clothing and stashes it near a tree close by.

If Ember is offered a share (she does not request it), she takes her share and places it in her purse, nodding her thanks. Even though they had fought together, she seems distant somehow, as though she is still a stranger and knows it.

"Our target is the Golden Grain Inn," says Aanbo, mostly as a reminder given last night's harrowing encounter with spider-riding goblins. "I'd like to sneak in at night, unseen from the townsfolk, especially since half of us are known to them."

He looks at Arya, Jonel, and Morton. "However, you three are strangers. You could walk into town without too much issue." Musing a thought, Aanbo asks, "What do you all think? They enter the Golden Grain as travelers looking for a meal, while the rest of us attempt to open the way into the tunnels? We could try to meet up before we delve below, somehow."

After another thought, the monk adds, "Then again, I don't know what convenient excuse they could use to suddenly join us in the cellar, not without a battle."

Ember shudders at the thought of returning to the Golden Grain, but she does not voice her feelings. She looks at Aanbo and answers his unspoken question. "With your permission, I would remain with your group. There is something evil afoot, and I recognize the value of safety in numbers. And from what I have been able to discern, some of you have had run-ins with these folk as well, and that makes me both wary and curious."

"I'm up with whatever is put together."

Aanbo smiles at Ember's response. "You don't need my permission," he says. "Besides, you've proven resourceful and capable."

"We could enter through the cellar door, at night with more ease…" the warrior-woman said. "we managed to enter undetected through that entrance. It would give us access to the warrens below without, at least I hope, without warning the weird fanatics…", she continued, with evident distaste for these people.

Aanbo asks Myrtha, "Should Mother Arkon, Jonel, and Morton come with us? I sorta feel like despite them being unknown to Orlane, we should stick together."

Looking to Aanbo.
"You seem to have a plan in mind. Splitting the party against unknown odds seems risky. I will support you all to the best of my abilities."

"More of an idea, really," admits Aanbo. "We know that the trouble stems from worshippers of Her, whoever she is. We know that there are tunnels under the Golden Grain Inn. We're guessing that the tunnels will lead to wherever those worshippers or cultists do their business."

He looks to the sky to gauge how much daylight is left. "That's why I considered getting into those tunnels and going where they go. I don't know what to expect, nor what to look for; I just know that somewhere in Orlane is the source of all its troubles."

Aanbo sighs. "We already tried to be like spies and pretend we're travelers, hoping that we could find someone to talk to and get them to reveal what we needed to know, or hoping we could find clues to identifying the true nature of the problem. That didn't work out too well as the cultists took their own initiative and tried to take us down, just like they tried with Ember.

"We can't go in accusing everyone of being a cultist. There are still innocent people who are trying to get by, and they know something is wrong, but they don't know what it is. What's even more difficult is that some of their neighbors have been turned, but those neighbors haven't yet done anything that indicates they're evil. And if how we left Orlane last time was any indication, just mentioning cultists to innocent people puts a target on their back.

"Given all that, I can only think of trying to sneak in without anybody seeing us. Find a way into the cellar, enter the tunnels, and push forward until we can't no more. What do the rest of you think? Can we sneak into town under cover of darkness and get underground without anybody noticing?"