"Where to indeed," Gorm says with a yawn and a stretch.  "We seem to have learned a lot, I suppose, but what good has any of it done us?  There is a roaming star we cannot stop, a flight of dragons that we can't stop, a tiara that if we did find could what?  Stop one dragon from joining the flight?  And what good would that do us?  I mean perhaps I dozed off a minute and missed something important but...  Did we learn anything helpful?  It seems we only learned things that maybe give us a larger view but we can never much influence the view much, can we?"

     "Perhaps we should look to take a more personal look into things?  If there's not much we can do about dragons then perhaps the cultists?" Gorm suggests.  "Seems we need to learn more about them.  Who they are, what they want.  How they think they can do it.  Seems if we could find a few of them and capture them then perhaps we could make them talk?"

"We've learnt a great deal of things. Just acknowledging the existence of this pattern on the Dragon Flights and the ability to predict them is important enough just to justify  the search... " says Chiara " But you are right. We still lack of knowledge, specially refering to this Dragon Cult and their motivations. Do you think that a simple cultist would know what we need to know? Perhaps we do need to search for a... I do not know... high ranking officer or something?. Also, note that in the tale of the dragon, her lover and the artifact, they talk about a Flight of Dragons and Neverwinter... but it never says that the city was attacked... neither are records of an attack in those dates. Could the artifact has something to do? " she looks to you "Sorry, it seems that I am only bringing more questions to the table instead of helping..."  

Logan:

"I still think we should check in on Thandril next, but going to Neverwinter afterwards could be helpful if we have some contacts there who might know more about the cult or this artifact," suggests Logan.

     "The lowliest of cultists is surely not much help in answering the ultimate of questions, but surely they could at least point us to the next level up... And so on and so on, no?" Gorm suggests.  "It would be dangerous and ugly but it's at least a course of action we could follow until a better one develops?  So Thandril, then Neverwinter and if we see more signs of the cult and can capture one or two of them for information..."

“Ahbut you raise a good point my young friend” Dr A says to Gorm “ and to identify a potential target in the cultist hierarchy we may need to send somebody undercover. I’m not sure we have the skills or aptitude amongst our current group but I happen to know a gentleman - well that’s using the term extremely loosely - who might for the right persuasion be prepared to undertake the task for us. He goes by the name of Maxwell Smart and last I heard he was actually in Neverwinter! Now that might be a coincidence or it could be that a higher power is looking after us?”

(OOC - apologies DM for the creative licence. If it doesn’t work for you ignore this post!)

"I should go back to Suzail and try to warn the authorities" says Chiara "Neverwinter is far from here... how do you intend to go there? Perhaps Thandril would know where to acquire some horses? "

Logan:

"An excellent idea," says Logan, "Shall we leave once we have rested?  I am a bit concerned about Thandril traveling alone--maybe we can catch up to him."

"Sounds like a plan" conccurs Chiara with Logan's suggestion. 

The next morning, and after saying their goodbyes to the gnome sage and his animals and unseen servants, Talgred is not used to be served and he kept thanking them, they abandoned the hidden tower and make haste to find their elven friend. 

( You going to were he went, some elven ruins, or to your meeting point? And roll me a d20 please )   

Logan:

(Thinking we should go to whichever is closer and then backtrack to the other place if we don’t find him)

Mysterious Roll:  18

(works for me)

The party decides to go the more closer elven ruins and backtrack the way their friend should follow towards their meeting point, hoping to find him earlier. 

Haerun is there to say their goodbyes and provide them with a map with the elven ruins marked as a farewell gift, along with a small book with all their discoveries, tied by a small cord.   

They travel fast during the day, under a cloudy sky but iwth no rain. The night is unveetful and, thanks to their new map, they manage to make it to the ruins by midday. Dr A. notes to the others than the map moves with them and letters appear in the spots that they find interesting asss landmarks to mark their way. Moreover, the map has three ways of showing them their  way. One that has a small scale, of about 500 feet around them, another one that covers 10 miles around them, and another one that seems to show the whole continent of Faêrun.

They start to find sings of the old elven presence in the area before reaching the ruins proper. The trees are wider and older, and the woods slighty change. They seem quieter, despite birds and critters still give live to them, it is more like a feeling. Like the trees and biirds and animals miss someone or something.
The ruins themselves are spread among  the woods and they notice them when they are almost in the middle of the ancient elven city. The old stone buildings are not only covered by foilage and moss, but also are so masterful embebed into the nature around them that it is easy to miss them. But the more they look around the more used to recognize the signs of their existance they are.  
Despite the time passed, Gorm is still able to recognize the path that the main street followed crossing the city. It's more like a path marked by the light that crosses the high branches of the trees than an actual street. Dr A. notes that the buildings are mostly intact and few structures had succumb to the pass of time. 

Logan recalls that Thandril said that he expected that the forge would be at one tower near the south end of the city. According to their map they have entered by the east.

 (To search the tower I would need rolls either of Survival or Investigation ) 

Logan:

Though he is not particularly skilled in such things, Logan looks for elven tracks in the southern portion of the ruins--or maybe the telltale sounds of an active forge.

Survival:  17

Perception to hear the forge if it applies:   9

Dr A investigation = 20

Dr A survival = 

 15

     "You have to respect how they seemingly lived as one with nature.  They built permanent structures, yes, but they did so in such a way as they become one with the trees and elements of the area," Gorm says with appreciation.  "They did not carve homes out of nature, but with nature..."

Investigation: 8

No sound of anyone working the forge can be heard. Gorm is distracted by the beauty of the city to really pay attention to her surroindings.

Dr. A, however is able to locate the remains of a wooden wheel, something that seems off in the scenery. Pointing it to Logan, he is able now to notice some wheel tracks, if ever so faint, as if they were made a week ago instead just a couple of them. Not too far, hidden below one entrance, they find the cart that Thandril was using to carry the ore. It has been destroyed, reconstructing it would be a challenge for the most sesoned puzzle solved.

Logan stop the others, and carefully and patiently examines the soft tracks around it, he could swear that the very grass seems to move to cover any track, even theirs almost dissapear after a few seconds, as Dr. A. comments, so it is hard for the warrior to acertain how much time has passed but what he is able to learn is that the cart were attacked by some sort of canine creature, maybe wolves, at least six of them, and that there was a fight. He percives a slight charred line in one of the walls of the building in wich the cart owner looked for refuger, almost covered by moss, but it is clear that the elf was here and attacked and he tried to use the building as a bottleneck to increase his chances against the number of enemies.But something big surprised him from above, deducting from the sudden appearance of a pair of tracks of great size, they looked almost as wolf tracks, but the toes were too spread apart and there were only two... Logan didn't recognize them, but what he can say is that the elf seemed to have been taken prisioner, the ore has been taken and the cart, obviously, has been destroyed. 

The tracks of the wolves headed south-east, crossing the ruins. Logan thinks that he can try and follow the tracks, if enough daylight is provided.     

Logan:

"Come, let us follow quickly before the tracks fade!" says Logan urgently, now feeling horrible that they let Thandril come here alone.  He follows the tracks as quickly as he is able, mystified by the quick resorption of them into the natural flora.

Dr A examines the tracks. Does it look like the creatures are bipedal or quadrupedal. survival roll =24

(The forum does not want to cooperate with Dr. A. rolls, but we can take the previous 20 on investigation roll as  good for this question )

All of the tracks seem to be quadrupedal, except the ones that suddenly appeared behind those of the fighting elf. Those seems to be bipedal, and seems to lead the rest when they leave. 

Logan notes that most of the tracks leaving the ruins are a little bit more deep, therefore a little bit easy for him to spot them, but when they start to enter the thicker bush and shrubs on the outside of the ruins he may find more hard to follow them.

(Please Logan, give me another survival check, with advantage for I guess the others help  )

Logan:

”I’ll do my best,” says Logan, trying to follow the tracks.

Survival:  18

     "Could be the elves had nature itself colluding with them to hide tracks and trails as a way to keep their location secret," Gorm idly suggests.  The truth of the matter is hardly relevant right now, attempting to rescue their friend is the issue...