Lam does his best to sneak over to where Saoirse, Tesfaye and Hemlock are. He looks like he wants to say something but, being not the best at whispering, decides against it. He instead just nods, then remains still and hidden as possible, and tries to listen to the group as they pass by.

"Pacifying the river spirit hasn't gotten us anywhere. Tomorrow we go with plan B: bridgebuilding." There is pleasant conversation between the oncoming group, most of it still so distant to make out. However, there is one voice, booming and deep, that you can hear well enough to parse a few sentences and phrases. "Still, good work all!" This sounds like a very big man, and one still blissfully unaware of the scene he is returning to. "Oh, I am looking forward to some stew."

The group continues to come nearer, and you can just barely see them through the trees, still about 100 yards away.

Tesfaye eats two more goodberries very gratefully, and seems to perk up a little more. Still, they're not about to run any marathons. Muro was clean-shaven last you looked, right? He looks like he forgot to shave for the last few days, gray stubble on his cheeks and his chin.

Saffi gets an "uh-oh" expression on her face as she hears the man talking about stew (assuming she hears this man). As the group comes closer, she'll follow the rest of the group's lead and stick close to Saoirse, Hemlock, Lam, and Sha. The changeling glances around.

 If she notices that Muro is transforming, she'll attempt to approach him stealthily and quietly suggest they move to a location where he can be restrained. She'll also look for a means of getting the attention of the others, to make them aware of his impending change. 

Sha-gravis believing this may well be Captain Jonas is silently waiting for the HMC unit to continue past.  The landscape and scenery are beyond beautiful.  Worried about Muro’s change of appearance Sha silently prays to the goddesses of the moon and night that their influence not be fully realized in the blood of Muro at this most inauspicious moment.

Its good to feel the cool of twilight, the strength of his warhammer ‘Alptraum’ and the reassurance of his chain & shield.

Hemlock's keen senses pick out the words being said, and as the talk to turns to food, he becomes certain that these folk are heading to the prison. With the time of day and the relaxed way they are talking, it would make no sense for them to turn and head west down the road to Village Tree now.

He looks to the others and points west, noticing Saffi trying to get their attention towards Muro. It was happening!

He starts to very slowly back away from the road looping South, motioning for Muro to come close.

"It is time, yes?", he whispers once Muro is by his side, taking the end of the rope coiled underneath his backpack to demonstrate his meaning. "How long do we have?".

He also turns around so he is no longer backing away. He is pretty confident the boisterous talk of the folk returning alongside the creak of their wagons is enough to cover any sounds they might make, and the further they get away from the road the more tree cover there will be, so the faster they should be able to move.

If anyone does make any noises that are quite loud, he will try and cover it with sounds of birds flapping and cawing in the branches, as far away from them as he can.

Saffi and Hemlock come close to Muro and express their concerns, though he largely brushes them off. "Oh this? I'm only just starting to fur out. We've still got a good 30 minutes or so before I lose control. Although, maybe these SELF-IMPORTANT LYCANPHOBES need to be taught a lesson." Saoirse knows that strong emotions, especially fear or anger, can speed lycan transformations and make it harder to mantain control of the beast form, and has reason to doubt his assertion.

As Muro raises his voice, Hemlock mutters for a moment, and there is a flutter of wings and a calling of birds from about 30 feet away. Hopefully loud enough to cover for his outburst.

Muro assumes that it was his raised voice that startled the birds, and slaps a hand over his mouth. His nails look like he's forgotten to cut them for weeks, sticking out over his fingertips and even narrowing almost to points. "Sorry." He mutters through his fingers.

The approaching group gets close enough to see. A man who looks in most ways like a dwarf - wide facial features, long braided beard and hair, stocky body shape - is leading a pony and the whole party. Then you see a human standing beside him, and realize that the first man must be over 7' tall. He has pale skin, and some dark lines on his face that may be tattoos. The 'pony' is probably the largest draft horse any of you have seen - no lesser creature could be ridden by this man. A greatsword hangs from his hip, and a huge shield can just be seen hanging on his back. He is also carrying a long basket with axes, picks, and other workman's tools - enough that he must be carrying them for his whole group.

The group is almost as diverse as the ones you had met inside of the prison - two humans and three dwarves, but the other 6 people are a random assortment of surface races. Most, but not all, of them have a weapon at their belt, and they look tired from a hard day's work. Many of them also look drenched and wet. They are talking about dinner, and about the work they have done this day, and about the friendships and relationships with other people back at the keep. A few phrases come up enough that you can pick them out of the conversation.  "Damned impassable bridge." They are complaining about a river guardian which "just won't see reason." Ideas are floated like "have we tried having Aerar just fly over?" The human walking next to the... giant dwarf... at the lead is asking about his "trust ranking," and seems eager to have his weapons returned to him now that he's proven himself. You can hear from his address that this huge man must be Captain Jonah. When Muro has his outburst and a sound erupts from the treetops, a few members of the party look up at what seems to have been the origin of the sounds, but they quickly return to their conversations - they have become used to living in a forest filled with life.

 As they round the corner, and take a few steps beyond the part of the road you just crossed, Jonah suddenly comes to a stop, and when he lifts a hand, the group immediately stops behind him and comes to attention. He looks into the open field beside the keeps entrance, and he releases the leather loop that holds his greatsword in its scabbard. "There has been a skirmish here, in front of our very walls! I can see the withered vines of one of the savages' entangling spells, and smell the blood. Follow me closely, and keep your eyes out on all sides. Let us hope that our friends have held them off. Oh, that elf will answer for this!" The group all adjust their stances - those without weapons move to the center, and those with them are ready to draw them forth. They move together towards the entrance to the keep - thankfully further away from you all again. Tesfaye is holding their breath, and looking at the assemblage in fear. Muro's eyes show fear and fury almost equally though, and he seems to be struggling between the desire to fight, the desire to flee, and the knowledge that he must be silent. His mouth and nose are beginning to elongate - making room for the vicious incisors that will soon grow in.

Saoirse looks wide-eyed at the giant who looks to be Captain Jonah. She tries not to display it, but that man has scared the hell out of her. They need to go away without waiting any second, because that group is going to raise hell once they learned what's happened. They have escaped. They have murdered some of their companions. She doesn't expect that Captain Johan or his men will show any kind of compassion or even think for a second about how they were all trying to protect themselves. Also when hearing "that elf will answer for this!"  she realizes that they need to warn Cylence and the people at Village Tree as soon as possible!

The fire genasi presses her lips and she turns to the party:

- We have to leave. We have to warn Cylence! There's no stopping now, guys.

Having said this, Saoirse gives Tesfaye the goodberry Hemlock gave her, so they can recover a little more. Then she turns back to Muro and puts a hand on his shoulder:

-  Muro, strong emotions are known to speed lycan transformations. We cannot count on that half an hour. We need to you stay as calm as possible, and... I think it is best if we restrain you now and keep walking. We should also cover your mouth. Hemlock's sounds help a lot, but it is best if we avoid screams in the first place. Lam, could you perhaps carry Muro while he's restrained? 

As Hemlock turns away, he catches a brief glance of the mountain that must be Captain Jonah.

"Risastór blóðugur!", he whispers in the language of giants.

 Listening to Saoirse's wisdom regarding the changes Muro is undergoing, he takes his rope, waits for Muro to ascent to being tied and then does so.

"This needs to be done well, could someone help?", he whispers. "Someone who can see better than I will need to lead us as the light fails"

Saoirse doesn't understand Hemlock's first sentence, but nods to what he says afterwards. She'll help however she can leading the way, counting with the druid's knowledge of the forest and with the rest of the party members who can also see in the dark.

Lam’s eyes go wide at the giant man who appears to be Captain Jonah. He is not used to anyone being as tall as him, and he has no desire to make conversation with Captain Jonah after what has happened today. When the word savages is used, Lam’s breath catches in his throat and he has to take a few deep silent breaths to avoid his facial expression matching Muro’s. The transformation that appears to be speeding up in front of them also scares Lam.

When Saoirse suggests that Lam carry Muro once he is restrained, he glances at Hemlock for the tiniest instant with a silent question in his eyes- can you do it instead? But then immediately afterwards, Lam nods and readies himself to pick up Muro as soon as he is restrained and start walking west. With his darkvision, he is prepared to help Saoirse lead the way to get out of here.

“Du bist ebenso mutig wie stark mein Freund. Es ist keine Kleinigkeit, ein wildes Tier voller Wut zu tragen. Ich hoffe wir sehen uns morgen.”Sha speaks to Lam in goblin.  Sha reaches out to Hemlock with guidance 

Hemlock notices Lam's look and he smiles apologetically, his hand going to his shoulder briefly indicating the wound which is still bleeding, having given away all his goodberries.

Feeling Sha's touch, he turns to the tabaxi feeling a little less weary for the moment.

If Hemlock’s shoulder wound appears to be hindering his binding up Muro, Sha will cast guidance on whomever steps up to bind our wererat companion.

 Sha-gravis blesses Lam with vigilante blessing, just in case.

Muro holds his hands out to be tied together, wrists pressed together. His fingernails are solidifying into sharp claws before your eyes. He is ready and willing to be restrained. As Lam steps close to him though, he flinches away and looks up at the bugbear with an animalistic fear. He is still standing and willing, but is visibly fighting his instincts. Tying his hands and legs will be a sleight of hand (intelligence) test, with advantage as you are all trying to help do it right.

Captain Jonah leads the group up the stairs and into the keep, leaving two members of his group to stand guard outside the entrance. You can hear him shout "What has happened here?!"

Hemlock places a large hand on Muro's shoulder, trying to comfort him but feeling a little awkward doing so.

Hearing Captain Jonah shout, he turns to the others and whispers, "We need to do this now, and get moving, before they start looking for us".

He is starting to get rather nervous, not wanting to be dragged back to the prison, or worse. He pushes the rope at Saffi, maybe you should do it.

When Saffi grabs Hemlock's rope, Saoirse intervenes:

- Let me help. Let's combine my darkvision with your skilled hands, yes? 

After they tie Muro up, the fire genasi and the changeling share a look, both trying not to look worried. But deep inside, they know they would have done a much better work under less stressful circumstances. They sigh at the same time, knowing that they can only hope for luck to be on their side from this point on.

The landslide voice of Captain Jonah carries through the hallowed wooden halls of the forest.  Sha-gravis shudders at the thought of fighting such a mountain of a man, a veritable giant.  With all haste and a bit of nervous energy, Sha helps break a path.  If the darkness is a hinderance to any of us, “Rather then light a torch or use a spell, should you need help to see, for an hour I can give you eyes of night sight.  Up to 3 can benefit let me know.”

As soon as Muro is restrained, Lam does his best to gently pick the were-rat up and begin walking west, trusting his friends to follow. He does his best to keep silent and calm as he walks, hoping to keep Muro calm as possible. A little tension creeps into his muscles as the gravity of the situation hangs over his head and he feels, much like Muro, not far from letting his emotions get the better of him.

Lam knows that Muro is still scared of him, and that his full rat form might be less willing to go in his arms. The other thing tensing Lam up as he walks is the expectation for Muro to break free and cause a racket at any moment. He's ready to tighten his hold in that case, but.... he is not sure what to do after that. He really hopes that doesn't happen. Noticing how fast his breaths have gotten after this train of thought, he works once again on consciously taking slow, deep breaths as he walks.

"It would certainly help me move faster, were I able to see better in the failing light", Hemlock whispers to Sha-gravis.

He follows after Lam, keeping as close an eye on Muro as possible. Still wary of any noise, he remains ready to use his Druidcraft to cover any slips. 

With everything settled up as best as they, Saoirse begins to walk towards Village Tree leading the way along with Sha, and right before Lam. Though she's mostly focused on the way before her, she will try to be aware in case Lam needs any help controlling Muro.