Leelan:

After helping the others with taking care of what they found and the corpses of the Screaming Banshees Aubrey finds Dawntreader as he finishes with his gruesome interrogation.
"I suppose you do what has to be done." He says, looking at the Ancient Elf. "So, what will you do now Dawntreader? Are you going back to Bardstown to confront this Randall Foote?"
Persuasion if needed: 22

Rohuzar is listening in on the conversation but takes the bark from Grugga. 

“Hello? Speak.” 

Either before or after dealing with the bark-man, Grugga suddenly remembers that there was a second "minor" artifact that Esteban had them keep an eye out for. A knife of some sort. Grugga does a once over of the place looking for a knife, though he wonders if that's what the hulking human ended up finding in the Midway Inn. He also wonders if the rangers had any secret cubbyholes in their hideout. They found the main cache of supplies, but the carcerimon seemed like a well prepared and secretive lot. Maybe they had some loose floorboards, wall panels, or stones.
Investigation: 13
I think I'll use inspiration if this roll is under 16. I have a good feeling about this place.
Edit: inspiration reroll 11

Rohuzar:

 Aubrey, the ancient elf looks up at your question.  "No.  I avoid the major cities when I can.  And there's no point in confronting Foote.  Auriel on the other hand... I need to find out if I can use this," he gestures toward the phylactery in his pack, "to locate her.  Find somewhere safe to stash it or maybe get one of my allies to hang on to it for me.  I have some leverage on Auriel now.  I might take the opportunity to look her up, see what she is up to and find out what is going on between her and Foote.  And if necessary, destroy her."

"Your friend wants to spare the owl-man.  I don't really care... I just don't want him sneaking away to warn Auriel or bring down another hunting party of necromancers on me before I can get this item to safety.  I'd be fine leaving him in your custody if you promise to keep him contained for at least a few days.  After that it won't matter.  Otherwise, I'll just kill it and be done with it."

Grugga, you manage to locate a few knives on the premises.  None of them look particularly impressive or remarkable. (Regarding hidden caches, I rolled investigation for both the guys upstairs and Leelan downstairs when figuring out how much stuff they found.  Both rolls were better than yours, I'm afraid so you don't find anything they didn't.)

Rohuzar holds the bark at arm’s length a bit disgusted. 

“I did not. He was killed by necromancers. I am not sure enough of what you are to feel confident that taking you anywhere is a safe prospect. Perhaps a bit of dia-log?” In his head, Rohuzar has no accent and is really pretty funny with that log joke.

Rohuzar:

Rohuzar harrumphs. “You are right, that does sound wrong. Had you done him a wrong, I might e understood. But to simply stand your ground and declare your sovereignty in your own home? The dwarf must have been cruel indeed. I don’t suppose you have a map to find your way home…?” 

Grugga half smiles watching his leader harumphing and then silently making facial expressions at a piece of bark held at arm's length. He turns to Leelan, "These Screaming Banshees had some sort of pet ferret," he points to the drawings of the creature in the open journal. "I remember seeing it in Bardstown. Do you think it made it out alright? I didn't see its body in the aftermath."

Sensing that the bark isn't going to be a trinket to be returned in memory of "Dorfman," Grugga checks his corpse again for something to bring back to Bardstown to remember him by.

He also silently tries to get Rohuzar's attention, and asks him discreetly to tell the group who he's talking to . "Foote?" he mouths.

Rohuzar:

 Grugga, most of the other items on the dwarf are ruined from days exposure to the mud, rain and putrefaction of his zombie body.  He does have a red and white handkerchief with a dwarven coat of arms in one of his pockets.  It is quite gross now but it might fit the bill for what you’re looking for.

Rohuzar shakes his head. “No. Just unlucky spirit. I vill deal vith dat later. I believe it is time for us to set camp. Ve must hurry on our vay early in morning.” 

"So, can you tell us anything more about this Randall Foote? Is he a threat to Bardstown would you say? I fear we might have reason to confront him ourselevs one day." Aubrey goes on with Dawntreader.

As he is finished talking to Dawntreader he will inform the others of what he said about the Owlman.

"He was a pawn of the Black Hand conspiracy years ago.  They planned to eliminate him once he had played his part, but Zegengeze found him instead and recruited him into his society of necromancers.  He is one of the few who completed the transformation and survived to the present day."

"Foote's a potential threat anywhere.  But he usually keeps a low profile.  Our issue with him is personal," he says, without elaborating.  "I would avoid conflict with him if you know what's good for you.  He likes to play games with his enemies but don't misunderstand... he is immensely powerful and completely heartless.  And unless his phylactery is discovered, there is no way to truly defeat him.  Even if you managed to destroy him... he'll just be back later to pursue you... or your heirs."

"Yes, thank you for sharing this information Dawntreader. Anything else we should know about this Randall Foote in order to avoid to unintentionally confront him? What are his interests in Bardstown for instance as far as you know?" Aubrey asks politely.

Grugga looks at the bark skeptically, "What kind of 'spirit,' boss?" He looks like a thought might be percolating in his head, putting two and two together.

He begins helping to set up camp, pitching one of the two two-person tents they found in the rangers' hideout.

Leelan, having rejoined the party now, responds to Grugga:

"Regretably, I cannot say if this small beast is still alive of dead. I can only hope that its animal instincts have allowed to get away in time. Besides, it’s probably for the best, it can now live free in the wilderness."

He will then begin discussing the details of the interrogation of the owl-man. He explains that, as Dawntreader believed, the ‘Mother' is probably this avian-enthusiast lich, Auriel. She created these bird-people through some sort of magic. They seem very loyal to her, for the most part. Some seem to rebel against her and end up imprisoned in a dungeon in the nest. Said "nest" seems to be in the mountains near a lake. The necromancers and it were chosen to retrieve something that was stolen from their Mother (the phylactery).

During the conversation on Foote, he seems very intrigued by these creatures called ‘liches’. He makes a mental note to add a section about it in his book, based on the information Dawntreader shared about them.

Quote from Rockchewer >>

Grugga looks at the bark skeptically, "What kind of 'spirit,' boss?" He looks like a thought might be percolating in his head, putting two and two together.

He begins helping to set up camp, pitching one of the two two-person tents they found in the rangers' hideout.

 Rohuzar shrugs. “A spirit. It’s bark, I assume it vas a tree. Nature spirit of some sort.” 

 "So what did this spirit somehow find itself trapped or something or is it just telling a convincing story?" Guilim asks as he makes his way towards the others.

Aubrey, Dawntreader shares some of what he knows about the lich Randall Foote.  

• He was an illusionist before he threw in with the necromancers, and thus is skilled with manipulating both the look of the environment and his own appearance.
• He has several personas he likes to employ.  One is a wealthy man, sometimes called R. A. Oldman, always dressed in dark formal wear with a top hat and cane.  Another is a shady underworld boss called Aref.
• He has investments throughout Fidelis and the Northern Trade Federation.  Most seem to be completely legitimate businesses - wineries, lumber mills, shops and taverns.
• He seldom travels openly and has a network of teleportation circles that allows to travel among his holdings.

Quote from Bartjeebus >>

 

Anyone, History DC 16

His mention of the Titan of Tinerbivios rings a bell.  Last fall the farming community of Tinerbivios, west of the Breitvasser valley, had come under assault from all manner of woodland beasts and even plantlife.  Mastermind of this had been an awakened tree which came to earn the moniker of the Titan.  Several contracts had been posted and you recall that a crew of mercs out of Bardstown had slain the plant-creature, putting a stop to the attacks.

 

 Grugga recalls that the kid in Midway who was part of the Screaming Banshees mentioned that they had hunted the "Titan of Tinerbivios" and he shares everything he remember hearing about that (the spoiler).

"I'd not be even a little surprised if that bark is a trophy from that kill, and I don't know what it's saying but I wouldn't trust it." He pauses for a moment, in thought. "Actually that presents an interesting moral quandary. Do we have more of a right to live than the trees? One finally fights back and... Hmmm." He completely trails off in thought for a while.

"Maybe you should talk to it, Leelan. A talking tree. Who knows what it's seen or how it thinks."

Grugga finishes pitching the tents out front of the cabin. Just far enough away not to smell the corpse pile. They only fit 4 people total, so Grugga offers to take first watch with Zip. Anyone who wants to use Zip for their watch can, but Grugga reminds them that they need to 'attune' to Zip before they can control it (requires a drop of blood). Only Aubrey and Rohuzar have attuned to Zip so far. Before people go to sleep, Grugga offers to identify anything they found that might be magical. It takes 10 minutes per thing.

Perception rolls for when needed (not trying to rush to bedtime)
Zip's watch perception: 11
Grugga's watch perception: 13
Both have 60 ft darkvision

Grugga has no strong opinion on the owlman. He would rather not kill him, but he's not sure that they can guarantee that they can manage him for a few days.