Auriel nods. "Sounds good. Lead the way, dearest Rathene," he says with a smirk and a wink. Then he turns back to find Hildigrim focused on the dragonchess board. "Hildigrim? Have you spotted something? Shall we go ahead?"

Hex chuckles and nods before heading to where the woman went. She pauses to wait for Auriel and Hildigrim and takes the moment to speak to Carl. "Hey, I noticed that woman had a horn on her belt. Probably uses it as a signal or warning for something. You think Squirt might be able to snatch it off her without anyone noticing?"

Carl nods, smiling.  “Perhaps, if she were distracted.  She’d probably notice if she was just standing still or walking, but if someone started to talk to her, distract her… I could have him give it a try.  Should we keep following her?”  Carl looks to faux-Rathene, considering.  “I can also turn invisible, if we find something else that needs to be lifted.  Let’s keep an eye out.  Seems like Hildigrim was close to figurin something out with that chessboard..”

"We could try to distract her when we run into her, but my guess is she’s not the only one patrolling," Auriel says. "That means we’d need to grab more than one horn to stop them from sounding an alarm."

His gaze remains fixed on Hildigrim, wondering if he’s figured something out. In any case, once they start moving, Auriel trails behind the group.

Hildigrim doesn't detect any obvious pattern on the dragonchess board that would indicate a coded system past what the woman has already indicated by moving a piece.

A circle of tents is pitched near the cliff edge, partially hidden behind rocks and scrub brush. Half a dozen gray-cloaked outlaws mill around the camp, sharpening swords, checking supplies, or practicing archery on straw targets. To the northeast, a lone tent can be glimpsed through the fog.

A muscled Talashan woman paces restlessly through the camp, her eyes locked on the statue to the west. As she walks, she angrily swishes an axe back and forth.

Hildigrim shakes his head, adjusting his glasses with a quick push up the bridge of his nose. "If I could watch more guards move pieces, I might be able to discern a pattern, but I don’t have enough information yet." He quickens his pace to catch up with the others, his tone measured. "At least we’ve successfully infiltrated the camp. I agree — we should take a look around, see if anything else stands out before heading to the other camp." He tugs at the neck of his cloak, still aware of his damp clothes. "But we should move quickly."

As they walk, his mind turns over the next problem: how to reach the other camp without drawing unwanted attention.

Quote from BartyMcDougal >>

"The gang has fourteen - Two lieutenants, a Talashan berserker called Ruse and a giant Calishite called Little Erik. Let's see...Ruse is blind in her left eye, and Erik thinks he's cursed because some hag once told him that the hoot of a screech owl would foreshadow his death. Then there's also Kai Tyran Uviel, a moon elf archer with a magic bow. Everyone wears gray hooded cloaks, because...well, Gray Patriots."

With the two guards on the sailboat out of the picture, twelve remained. The Talashan berserk was right there, along with six others. That meant the remaining five were likely with Krulek in the negotiation. Considering this, Auriel scanned the camp, trying to determine whether Little Erik and Kai Tyran Uviel were among those present or with the other five.

Leaning closer to Hex, he murmured, "Should we present our respects to the big woman over there?" Then, glancing at Carl, he added, "I don't know if you want to use your invisibility right now, but it may come in handy if these people break our deception. Or to inspect that tent there— it is probably Krulek's."

(Thank you, Fair, for quoting that here so I didn't have to go find it myself haha)

Hex nods at Auriel. "I assume that's Ruse then. Rathene said there were two Lieutenants so Krulek probably took the other with him."

When everyone's ready, Hex heads towards the talashan woman, trying to approach from her left and confirm whether or not she's actually blind in her left eye. "So. What's got you so worked up?"

Ruse flinches at Hex's words, and her axe is immediately at the ready before her head even swivels over to see her disguise. She grimaces and lowers the axe. "Odd way to thank us for rescuing your ass, Rathene," she says. She spits on the ground and stamps it with her foot, glaring in the direction of the large cliffside statue. "Same thing that's got us all worked up. Sahnd's gonna kiss too much dragonborn ass or get his own ass stabbed," she says. "Don't get too comfortable. If we see the signal, we're going to war against those freaks."

Hex raises a brow and turns to look towards the cliffside statue. "What's the signal?"

She waits for Ruse to answer, not wanting to sudddenly bombard her with questions, before turning back around and to address her again. "Heard they'd been meeting for hours now, taking a couple break in between. Any news on how the talks are going or when the next break is?"

Hildigrim raises his eyebrows appreciatively. Perhaps they wouldn’t need to force the two groups into conflict after all — or at least, it might not be as difficult as he’d anticipated.

His gaze flicks to Hex, and a small smile tugs at the corner of his lips. She had taken his coaching to heart; her diction was nearly flawless.

Remembering himself, he shifts his attention to Ruse. "Are they all dragonborn?"

Auriel stays silent as half-orc Hex and Hildigrim lead the conversation. He doesn’t feel comfortable among these people and fears his demeanor might give something away, jeopardizing the ruse.

Instead, the paladin focuses on observing—though not too intently, lest he draw Ruse’s attention—how the Gray Patriots behave, whether any of them move toward the other camp and how do they do so. He also surveys their surroundings, searching for the best way to reach the other side.

"What's the signal?"

"Kai'll shoot a flaming arrow if there's a double cross. We see it, we charge, got it?" the woman grunts.

"Heard they'd been meeting for hours now, taking a couple break in between. Any news on how the talks are going or when the next break is?"

"I don't know, fifteen minutes? Sahnd will tell you what you need to know, when you need to know," she says.

"Are they all dragonborn?"

"Who even are you?" she asks, whirling on Hildigrim, and then extending her arms as she looks to Hex. "You want to tell me why you're bringing strangers into camp and why they care so much about Jeralla's freaks?"

For Auriel:

Hildigrim steps forward, his lips stretching into a wide grin. With a practiced flourish, he bows deeply toward Ruse, slipping into his most polished demeanor.

"Fortegren, malady," he declares smoothly, grasping at the first name that comes to mind — then silently cursing himself for not having a better alias prepared. Still, he presses on without hesitation. "We’re the ones who broke Rathene out after your dwarf failed. We’re here for our reward."

Carl pipes up, “Yeah, thas right.  Chap you picked wasn’t skilled.  We had to step in and handle it, worked out a deal with ole Rathene.  So that reward should be comin to us.”  Carl crosses his arms and does his best tough guy look, giving backup to Hildigrim.  

Hex simply shrugs when Hildigrim and Carl answer Ruse first. "Yeah, what they said. I'll talk to Sahnd about it when he's on his next break then. I'm guessing Erik's with him?"

Auriel still doesn't participate in the conversation, simply giving Ruse a short nod when Hildigrim and Carl explain that they were the ones to free Rathene and are here to collect their reward.

The eladrin is pleased to see that the rest of the bandits seem too preoccupied with their own activities to pay much attention to what’s happening around the camp, and there’s a viable path through the thickets to reach the other side of the cliff. Catching Hex’s gaze, he arches his brows slightly—a subtle signal that he’s spotted something worth noting. With that, he waits until they move a little farther from Ruse to share it. 

Meanwhile, he tries to stay as inconspicuous as possible, hoping the berserker ends up focusing elsewhere and gives the group space to act.

The berserker woman stares hard at Hildigrim, then Carlthuzad, saying nothing after an uncomfortable length of time. "Don't think for a second that we owe you, or that you're part of us. When Sahnd is done with the negotiations, you can take it up with him. Right now, you're just annoying me," she says.

She nods her head back toward the lone tent standing behind the main camp. "Erik's guarding Sahnd's tent," she answers Hex.

Hex takes note of Auriel's signal and nods at Ruse. "Alright then, I'll get these guys outta your hair before you start swinging. Thanks for the recap." She turns to leave and pulls the party out of sight from Ruse and anyone else so that they can talk in peace.

Once they're in a safe place, Hex tilts her head at the paladin in curiosity. "So what was that signal about, Auriel?"

"Nice job deflecting Ruse's questions there," Auriel says to the group. Then, when Hex asks, he adds, "See those thickets there?" The paladin gestures with a slight tilt of his head rather than pointing with his hand. "I'm confident they'll provide a viable path to reach the other side of the cliff. These people seem too preoccupied minding their own business, and the fog will help us too. I think we could take a look at the other side instead of waiting for Krulek's sign. What do you all think?"

The paladin then remembers something else. "There's still the matter of Krulek's tent. Should we check it out? Perhaps if someone imitates the sound of an owl, it'll scare Erik away."