Chapter 3.2 - Return to the Golden Grain Inn

As the party catches sight of the spear-toting patrol ahead, they scramble to get to safety. Unfortunately, they have different ideas about safety, as they dash in different directions. Aanbo turns to whisper directions, but some of the party have already let go of the rope and disappeared into hiding. Following Aanbo's whispered suggestion, the others run down the street. After a beat, Aanbo, Theran, and Morton look at each other, realizing at the same instant that the people who are running toward the Inn (and the patrol!) can't see well in the dark. They sprint after them. While they catch up quickly, Arya's long lithe legs nearly outdistance the others, and Aanbo has to lunge to grab her and turn her onto the north street. Unfortunately, the big group is not quite fast enough, and the Orlane patrol detects some sound or motion down the road: a glint of metal, a scuff of a boot, or something similar. "Hey! There's someone over there!" one of them shouts, and they break into a run toward the party, shadows dancing crazily as the lanterns swing to and fro. "You won't get away, murderer!"

Chase lurks in a shadow and averts his eyes from the light as the patrol runs past his hiding place...and keeps running. "Over here!" There is much commotion as the members of the patrol call to one another. "I think I saw something!"

Arriving in the sheltered space between the barn and the Golden Grain Inn, Aanbo and Theran leave the others with Morton. Morton can keep a watch over them with his darkvision, but they alone know the layout of the village and are able to see their way without producing more light. "Me, too!" comes the distant shout of a patrolman. Trusting that the others are waiting for their help, the monk and the druid begin hunting for the scattered Dungeon Busters in the darkness, hoping to find the remaining dark-blind ones and lead them to their meeting place.

"No, this way!" comes the faint shout of another patrolman. Soon afterward, the other heroes arrive silently: the druid leading the rogue, the monk leading the ranger along the wall from the other direction. The voices of the patrol are moving further away still.
"Hey, help me here!"
"You're imagining it!"

Looking at the back door of the Inn, the heroes with darkvision see that the opening has been hastily boarded up. The nails could probably be pried out pretty easily, but the sound might carry a long way in the dark. "I got him! I got him!" Still, the Orlane patrol group seems to be making a lot of noise on its own, and probably wouldn't hear.
"That's ME, idiot!"
"We'd better report in..."

The party waits for a while longer and the sound of the Orlane patrol fades as it moves even further away. Quickly checking the cellar door, the darkvision-equipped PCs realize that it, too, has been boarded up.

It is then that the party realizes that Jonel is not with them.

They do a quick review: everyone split up when they saw the patrol; Morton helped Myrtha, Aanbo guided Arya. Morton stayed with the humans while Theran went back and found Ember, and Aanbo brought Chase.

The three who can see - Theran, Morton, Aanbo - take turns searching for the next few minutes, but they cannot find the sorcerer. Chase thinks that he'd be able to track Jonel down, except that it's too dark for him to see. It's a frustrating, frightening few minutes for Arya, Chase, Ember, and Myrtha, standing around in the thick darkness while their friends keep moving around, talking about their companion who has vanished. "What could have happened to him?"
"He could've been caught by the patrol."
They take some comfort in the fact that they did not find Jonel's body in their search. "So he wasn't killed."
"That probably means he was taken away," one of them suggests.
"This is just like Joseph all over again!"
One of them thoughtfully observes: "You know, when we first met him, he'd managed to get away from those undead and survived the whole night and the following day in the forest on his own. He could have just run off again and is laying low until he can see enough to find his way."
"He knows where we were going, so he should be coming here once he can see when the moon rises."

Aanbo finds that the front door of the Golden Grain Inn is not boarded up, as it was still intact when the party left. It does appear to be locked, however.

Ember feels her way to the door, finds the keyhole, and very quickly is able to trip the tumblers and open the latch. There is no bar on the door: a hopeful sign that no one is waiting on the inside.

With the help of the demihumans, everyone has soon slipped into the common room of the Golden Grain Inn. It is very dark, and quiet.