Aurelius - The dragon continues its search.  Fortunately, he continues to call out as he looks for you. "I really can't see you with all this foliage! You're going to have to call out if you want me to help you!" Soon, he is well past your position and does not seem to have seen you. And shortly after you spot a Giant Owl, trying to keep under cover of the forest as it gets closer to your position. 

The rest of the group continues moving, trying to get to wherever Aurelius might be.  You can all hear the dragon, and thus can avoid stumbling into him.  For the moment, you are unsure where Aurelius might have gotten to. 

(OOC Is Aurelius aware that the party changed from Eagles to Owls?)

(Aurelius would not have seen them change, and had not really noticed them following as the dragon had not noticed either. So would not know the others are Owls.) 

(Well.... I suppose he would wait until he could no longer hear the dragon nearby, and maybe a few minutes more, then start to emerge from hiding)

The rest of the group continues to look about for Aurelius, making sure to avoid the dragon. Once he can no longer hear the dragon, Aurelius moves out of hiding and a short time later the group is able to spot the Giant Eagle that is Aurelius.  (He again catches sight of the Giant Owls, not knowing who they are.)  

Giant Owl Rahkeshi quickly lands. Making sure nobody is in the air, she turns everyone into a Giant Spider, hoping Aurelius might realize who they are. 

Elyria the Giant Owl, hopping around on the ground to get Aurelius' attention, suddenly turns into a Giant Spider, the many faceted eyes going wide in surprise, turning to the Giant Spider Rahkeshi and tilting her spider head pleadingly.

(I might not have been clear. Once Giant Eagle Aurelius is spotted, Rahkeshi changes herself, Elyria, Flynt, and Aurelius into Giant Spiders.  So at that point there are no Giant Owls or Giant Eagles.)  

(No, so sorry, misread, will edit post above.)

Aurelius blinks several eyes.  Unexpected, he thinks.  Wonder what the plan is?

Rahkeshi finally gives up concentration on the spell, causing the party to all revert to their usual forms.  The half-orc glares at Aurelius, shaking her head.  She stays quiet a moment, listening for the dragon. Hearing nothing,  she lets out a sigh.  "Brilliant," she says derisively, though also quietly, "Now what?"

"We go back to Yoë's hideout, right?" Elyria says, looking around at Aurelius, Flynt and Rahkeshi, seeming a bit relieved to not be a spider anymore. "I can hide us with my magic again, but I think most of us are in a dire need of a rest before taking on any more challenges."

Meanwhile Aelric scouts for the dragon, reporting to Elyria what he sees.
Aelric perception: 16

"Yea, might as well rest. Fancy boy's detour has brought us probably an extra day's journey back there," Rahkeshi says, still shaking her head, though trying to keep her voice down.  "Where did you think you were going? Maybe a tea party with the dragon?"

"Well, he had fairy wings..." mumbles Aurelius defensively, "... I thought maybe he was a nice dragon.  At any rate, he was coming right for us, and if I hadn't distracted him, we might have had to battle him in our weakened condition.  But, 'might have' and 'what if' are unworthy excuses, so I accept the blame.  To make it up to you, I will compose a ballad of 14 verses entitled 'Elyria and the Half-Orc: Beauty and the Beast' and sing it all to you as we travel."

Elyria rolls her eyes at the banter starting again. "Alright you two, I know I'm a beast but can we please just head back to Yoë's hideout now, it can't be that far can it?" The blonde elven maiden says, looking at Rahkeshi.

Survival to determine direction and distance to hideout: 22 + Guidance: 1
Elyria also has the Wanderer feature.

Rahkeshi rolls her eyes at Aurelius' comment. "It had fairy wings? Oh yes, that explains everything!" The half-orc starts to look about to get an idea of where they are at, and perhaps where the dragon is at.  At Aurelius' 'Beast' comment, Rahkeshi turns towards him, looking indignant.  Elyria's quick quip seems to manage to keep her from escalating things, though she can't help but to glare at him for a few moments. 

A short time later, both she and Elyria catch sight of the dragon in the sky, flying away towards the mountain surrounded by storm clouds.  (Once pointed out, everyone can see this.) 

You are probably several miles away from Leilatha's fortress, as a bird might fly.  However, with the rugged terrain, no clear roads, steep canyons, and not flying, you will have to cover a bit more ground.  You would all guess that at a normal pace it will probably be 4-5 hours to get back just to the fortress.  All in all, it might be pushing it to get back in a day's time. (i.e. just a bit more than 8 hours) 

"Do we rest now then? I suppose this forest makes a decent place to sleep and be out of sight," the half-orc comments. 

Once she realizes how far they have to go to reach Yoë's hideout, Elyria nods in agreement with Rahkeshi. "Yes, we might as well." She says softly, her green eyes searching around for a good spot to set up camp for the team.

Survival: 13

Meanwhile Aelric takes up position in a nearby tree, watching for approaching threats.

Perception: 22

Aurelius assents to setting up camp, whistling as he unpacks gear and bedding.  "Now what rhymes with 'orc'?" he mutters to himself, "Pork? Dork? ...Salad fork?"

Flynt shakes off the confusion that accompanied the shape change. Once his head was a bit clearer he was able to consider Rahkeshis proposal more thoroughly. "I agree we should rest but I don't think right here is the best idea. Let's at least travel a couple hours towards the hideout before we stop. Would hate for that dragon to decide the best place to start looking is the last place he saw Aurelious and find us here and no owl.' he looks to Elyria to make the call.

(Sorry for the slow posts been dealing with a wicked little kidney stone that wouldn't let me focus. I'd get about half way done with something and just couldn't focus enough to pull it together. But I'm feeling better and ready to go.)

Rahkeshi nods at Flynt's suggestion. "Yes, if that dragon, or anyone, comes looking, this is where they'd start their search."

She then glances at Aurelius. "Fork. You can include the part where the annoying paladin is stuck through the eye with a fork! It will be your glorious highlight."

Heeding Flynt's advice, if there are no objections, she is ready to head off to get a bit of distance from this place.

A smile tugs at the lips of the blonde elven maiden over the exchange between her teammember while she starts searching for a suitable spot to rest some distance away from their present location, Aelric scouting ahead of the team.

(Rolls as per above)