Alara, Kaelen, Essie, and anyone else who wishes to join, leave the inn to set up the pyre. They gather wood from the damaged inn itself, as well as the cottage on the southwest side of the village square. They set up the bonfire not far from the hole where the Nightstone used to stand. They gather the bodies of the three Zhents, three goblins from the square, and the one who had been found dead in the inn. (I had forgotten about that one.) Once they are all on the pyre, more wood is added. Perhaps a spellcaster offers to start the fire with a Fire Bolt. Otherwise, Alara pours some oil from a lantern over the wood and uses a tinderbox. The light wind quickly whips up the flames. Perhaps someone offers some words to mark the occasion, despite the bodies belonging to your foes.

By the time this unpleasant task is done, it is midafternoon. There are at least four or five hours of light before sunset.

(What would you like to do?)

Sphyboe has decided to help the party to handle the corpses and set them on the pyre. When the bonfire starts to burn engulfing the firewoods, she stands near the pyre feeling the warmth of fire on her skin, the light illuminating her face under the dim daylight of the afternoon with little balls of fire being reflected from her black orbs.

What happened to the Nightstone that had been found stolen? Could the party replace the stone with the gems collected as a treasure? She will dismiss the idea of deceiving the villagers by a novice trick, there's a possibility that none of them will ever make it to the village if they're already deceased.

The party member has delegated the responsibility of sharing the treasure on her, indirectly but that still counts as a responsibility. What surprises her most is their dedication for the greater good, the flashbacks of Bramble writhing in pain or Essie trying to save the members remind her of successful teamwork, Ryndar and Helena have played their parts in the battle. What about Daerthe?

Bramble tried to remain inside during the pyre construction. He has no desire to handle dead things, nor does he have special words for ushering spirits to the afterlife. He made his way outside late once he saw nearly everyone was involved, but he only half-heartedly assisted. He does not remain to watch the fire and will return to the inn for further rest (unless the inn is downwind, in which case he will seek out a grassy patch upwind and out of sight of the pyre to quietly meditate and clear his head).

Daerthe will stash her things away once more, staying inside the inn as they set the pyre. The sun was bad enough so she simply takes this time to relax, waiting to see if staying with the group was going to remain beneficial to her. She makes sure to keep her weapons close incase the zhents get any ideas of coming back.

Helena would aid in the burning of the dead, casting a fire spell to set it ablaze once it was finished.

After the fire was going, she would move away, having no wish to watch the bodies burn.

She would settle down with her spellbook once the work was done, likely in a room inside the inn. Her owl would have been sent back out to watch the road that leads to Nightstone, just in case those bandits returned.

Essie helps build up the pyre, move the bodies, and sends up a little prayer for all the dead. A good amount of physical work helps her get her head back on straight, and she's oddly feeling more herself after burning the bodies. Standing back from the fire, she tips her head back and closes her eyes. Just enjoying the sunlight as her mind wanders. Okay. Town's been secured. Next step. Townspeople? Towns this size have got to have quite a few people living in them, right? Surely they've gone somewhere.

After a few moments, Essie steps over to Sphyboe, her hands folded behind her back. "Someone mentioned the caves outside the town. The villagers might be there?" She hums and looks toward the gates. "Are we going to go check on them? See if they're there?"

Sphyboe pushes aside the thought of tossing out the treasures so that these gems find a final destination to roost at the bottom of the moat water. Then speaks up to respond to the question that has partially taken her by surprise:

"That seems like a good idea! I fear that some of my crimi...er...local contacts might be in trouble. And it's difficult to accomplish official tasks without their assistance." 

Once the pyre burns down thoroughly, Alara turns to Essie and Sphyboe. “We would be even more in your debt if your group could check the caves to see if our people are there. Again, it’s only a ten minute walk north. Torem, Kaelen, and I can keep watch on the village.”

Kaelen adds, “You’ll find the main opening easily enough. It’s a large entrance on the hillside. Hopefully the villagers are just having a picnic there, waiting for news that the village is safe. But if there is some kind of trouble, you may want to look for one of the smaller side entrances. I haven’t been there in years, but my friends and I used to explore the caves when we were young.”

Sphyboe glances at Alara with a blank expression, the grim expression goes through metamorphosis to be replaced by a tight smile that fails to reach her eyes. My group? That's comparatively considered a word which is unfamiliar among the branch of spies who are accustomed to lurking around in solitude rather than pairing up with colleagues. Not to mention the colleagues who have the tendency to hide a secret.

"Our friend D seems uncomfortable in broad daylight, you see? Her skills might be of great significance to the party, not that I'm completely aware of it. But still...."- she continues to speak with the guard emphasizing on her reluctance to set out immediately, "Let's wait for the sundown, then we'll start the investigation."

(Daerthe has not actually given her full name. She simply called them to call her D. She is paranoid and does not want to give away a lot about herself at the moment.)

"If nothing attacks then such a small amount of time will be to difficult. Once we are inside the cave I should be able to make do easily enough. Those of you that need light would be better off to keep it subdued." Daerthe says as she gives a blank look towards all of them, seeming as if she was expecting hostility at any moment.

A slow blink of her white eyes before Essie tips her head in a nod. "Ten minutes is not a long journey at all. And I can help keep you out of the sun, if you would like," she offers to Daerthe.

"But, ah," Here she pauses for a moment, her head tilting to the side as if she's hearing something. Then she gives a little shake of her head and bounces back with an almost chagrined smile. "I'm afraid I'm a little low on magic at the moment. I have a few little things I can do, but other than that, I'm restricted to this if we should come to another fight." And she taps the end of her staff strapped across her back.

"I fear that you're mistaken, the person who is being referred to does not 'need' sunlight, it's her preferred portion of the day"- the half-elf mutters the word 'need' with extravagant emphasis, then proceeds to declare to the party, "I agree with Essie, we're not going to function as much effectively as before. Are you certain about the fact that the cave is safe for exploration?" Sphyboe has posed the final question for Alara, honestly she's been deciding on the matter of influencing the other members of 'Hunters'  Bane' or 'Hawks' Bane' into joining her to the 'quick' visit to the unnamed cave.

(I assume we all got a short rest, so Helena would use her short rest to get back a spell slot.)

"My own magic is depleted, with little I can add to aid if we face anything more than a few goblins." Helena put in. She pushed her mousy brown hair behind her ear as she looked to the group. "We likely should check this out before too long, but is going today more important than going when we are at full strength?" She glances to the guards. "How long have the villagers been gone now? Is another night going to make any difference, especially as you said the caves are fairly safe?"

Ryndar returns to the group after Torem begins to feel a bit stronger and able to carry on with the guard duties solo. Overhearing a portion of the conversation, he pipes in, "Unless we think there is a particular urgent need to find the villagers, I  believe it would be best to carry out this expedition at full strength."

Alara watches the conversation and then says, “I do not know whether the caves are safe or not. They always had been in the past. There was nothing in them but a colony of bats. I’m sure that is why the villagers and other guards would go there. They wouldn’t expect there to be any danger. But we also weren’t expecting to be attacked by cloud giants or looted by errant goblins.” She kicks a stone in frustration.

Kaelen adds, “The villagers should have returned by now. It has been three days since the attack. Even if there is no danger in the caves, and they are staying out of fear, what are they eating? They couldn't have had time to pack much. Three days is a long time to live in a cave with few resources. I understand that you all have expended much energy to this point in defending Nightstone. I understand that you want to be at full strength to face any new threats. I just...the more time that passes, the greater my fear grows.”

(And yes, you all have had a short rest.)

Helena lets out a sigh. "Very well, I guess we go now." She looks to the others. "Are we ready to head out?"

Bramble returns to the group in time to hear the decision to move on. During his meditations he also re-organized his pack and consumed one of his remaining good berries for sustenance (and topping off his own hp).

”I’m ready when you all are ready.”

Daerthe nods as she readies her weapons, making sure to keep her bow at the ready. It seems after her encounter with the vine like monster before she has no intention of getting close to an enemy for the time being...

Sphyboe has decided to hand over the gems to the party, she couldn't be entrusted with the responsibility of storing these precious stones. Besides, these stones are heavy.

She will pick up the Red Garnet and Pale Green Tourmaline and pass both of the stones to the valiant fighter and wizard respectively. The lustrous Pearl is delivered to the Druid, when the Golden Amber can be found inside the palm of the Cleric. Finally she will move towards the Drow Rogue and hand over the Purple Amethyst.

"Alara, these Platinum pieces might be expended for the reconstruction of the Nightstone"- she has put the 4 pieces inside the pouch and offered the pouch to the guard, "When the Nandar representatives reach the village, please tell them about my generous wish. They can contribute to the trivial amount if they are interested, I'll recollect the fund and oversee the project. But for now, let's get out of here and head for the cave."

Essie blinks a few times as the piece of gemstone is place in her hand. "Oh. Thank you?" she asks, her head tilting to the side even as her nose wrinkles up in confusion. Regardless, she slips the piece of amber into one of the pouches lining her waist. Then she straightens out her armor, slides her staff into her hand, and nods. "Let's search out these missing townspeople, then."