Garrick thinks for a moment, then nods. "Might have some old bottles you can use in the tavern." He checks the sun's position before looking back to you. "Flasks or bottles, mounts, and you're squared away with Terryn...Is there anything else you need of me? I'm due for a check of the wall soon."

Glyptemis

Glyp hands the rapier back to Ilya while scratching his head "Well, I'm not quite sure what this metal is, but I can at least say it's not magical... sorry, I got a bit carried away"

Ilya flashes a smile, shaking her head. "No don't be sorry, that was good thinking." Before Garrick leaves, she catches his attention one last time. "We're going to be here for the rest of the day since Terryn needs time to for the armor adjustments...Is there anything we could help with before we go tomorrow?"

"Margo was going to take a scouting party out to Ladrastir to see if anything got looked over the first time around. They didn't get much in the way of sleep last night though, think you could go in their place?" Garrick asks.

Lyra is on the verge of responding to Garrick, but turns to notice LT's somber mood.  She plays a quiet but clear chord on her dark harmonica.

"Sorrow and death wait for all of us in the end, yet we need not give sadness a lasting domain in our minds and hearts.  Let us live for the living."

She looks from the old soldier (LT) to the commander of the village and back.  "I will gladly go.  Do we know all we need to know of Ladrastir?"

(Clearly, if LT says he knows of the town and how to get there, that is enough for Lyra.  She trusts the scout implicitly despite knowing him less than a day).

Lost in his own melancholy for the moment, Leftenant takes a moment to come back to the topics at hand. Lyra’s harmonic chord drowns out the one playing in the veteran soldiers head and helps to bring him round. 
“Ladrastir? About 5 miles to the west I figure. Couldn’t be that bad of a journey, hour and a half there. Maybe quicker if we rush back. They, I mean, you haven’t heard anything…any reports from them, Garrick?”

Leftenant was glad his instinct to come to Vinande appeared to be the best choice, but it was tempered with the prospect that everywhere else might be destroyed. 
“I am sure I could take any there and back, sir. Let your people rest, we had ours. We will aim to be back just after nightfall. Just let us know the password to get back in.”

"It's the largest settlement in the area." Garrick begins, answering Lyra's question. "We had some people from there make it here, but most...." The veteran soldier grimaces, shaking his head. "During the daylight, we've done what we could to lay those poor people to rest."

"It's a large town, and there's probably some things we'd find useful still there. Food supplies, tools, metal, medicinal herbs...If you see something and you have to stop and think about whether or not it would be useful, safe to just grab it. We've gotten through the eastern part of town mostly, so I'd move into the center or western portions."

"Tell the stablemaster what you'll be doing and he'll set you up. Some of you will have to double up on riding horses, and he'll send you with two draft horses and a cart to haul things back."

He chuckles, "No password to get back in, our enemies don't seem to speak a word. We'll know it's you."

"Got it. We'll get it done." Kalamin says. "Point us in the direction of the stables?" Once he knows where he's going (and if the others are ready), he sets off to find this stablemaster. "It's daylight and we'll be towing a cart...So it seems like we'll just be taking the roads." He thinks aloud as they're walking. "But I don't think we've seen the last of those elves or that other group. Best to go at a regular pace and keep our eyes open eh?" 

Once they get to the stables, he relays the request they received from Garrick to the stablemaster.

Quote from BlameItOnWinter >>

He chuckles, "No password to get back in, our enemies don't seem to speak a word. We'll know it's you."

"Bet you none of them are much good with a harmonica either."  Lyra plays a short riff.  "You'll know it's us unless we've become intelligent undead."

She's a city girl, accustomed to getting around on her feet.  Ridden a horse before but not exactly looking forward to it... bringing up the rear on the way to the stables.  Thinking about what Kalamin predicts with the elves and other cloaked assailants.

"Funny you say that Kal.  I was thinking just the opposite.  I bet we do not see them for a while.  The elves and their strange red-eyed leader could have stayed and fought, yet they never even really attacked us.  The others who did attack us, the leader they summoned to slay us has perished.  Ended by Amah's chosen from his own glaive.  I do not think they will be quick to return either.  Yet I cannot guess the connection to these undead."

"Northwest part of the village, along the wall. Can't miss it." Garrick answers. "You have my thanks for taking on this task, Margo will be grateful for the reprieve. Good luck." The village leader bow his head before walking off, leaving you to your task.

It's a short walk to the stables - when you arrive you find them attended by a young man, who could barely be called an adult himself. "Ho there, I'm Aldrick." He introduces himself as you approach, nodding along as you tell him of your request. "Got it, I already had those horses and cart geared up for Margo's group, 'bout the same size as yours too so it works out." The cart was sitting out front, tethered to two rust red draft horses. It has seating for two up front. He then leads out two riding horses, one a chestnut color and the other a dappled gray. "They won't give you any trouble, good horses these. Best of luck out there!"

And with everything you need to accomplish this mission for Vinande, you make your way towards the southern gate with Leftenant as your guide.

OoC: Let me know if you're riding a horse or driving/passenger in the cart. And anything else you're doing on the way!

Glyp thinks about the prospect of riding a horse, and says "I'd be happy to ride in the cart! I don't think horses like my shell very much.. Plus that way I can keep an eye on things from Pando's point of view" He strokes Pando's head, who squawks with pleasure.

Leftenant breaks away from the group as they walk with Garrick, headed towards the stables. He dashes into the headquarter’s tavern to his room to secure his things. He wasn’t quite ready for an immediate departure, but everything is at-the-ready. A slight wonderment passes from over him as he stuffs the strange elven chain shirt into his back, “Is this made of that same strange metal that Ilya’s rapier is?” He shakes his head, “A question needing an answer late.”

As the Soldier rejoins the group at the stables, he looks over the horses for a quick assessment but with the nights weariness, he barely recognized them as riding horses (Animal Handling: 7). “In the service of the Empire, I rode quite often.” He tells the group and Aldrick. Perhaps the Dappled Grey startles a bit at the newcomer. “Though it makes little difference to me if we have to share a mount, I would prefer to be in control of it.”

With that, the Ranger is prepared for the supply run to commence, but apprehensive that they will complete it before nightfall. 

"I'm not so sure...It seems like they went through some trouble to gather and keep us. I think their retreat was simply to lick their wounds, and they've already shown they can travel quickly..." Kalamin says, referring to the way the group of elves had vanished into thin air. "I worry that they'll be on our heels again soon enough."

He listens respectfully as the stablemaster explains and shows them what they'll be working with. "Thank you Aldrick, we'll be sure to return them unharmed."

"I can take the other horse then, unless we end up lacking a driver for the cart."

Ilya raises an eyebrow, glancing at the other woman in the group. "Do you prefer the smooth-driving cart or hanging on for dear life on horseback? I've traveled a lot, ridden on a lot of horses...Still have no talent for it." She says, shrugging. Whichever choice Lyra takes, she's content enough to take the opposite without complaint. If she isn't busy driving the cart, she keeps her eyes on any treelines they travel near. 

"

Lyra winks at Ilya.  "You take the horse, my lady angel.  If you grow weary of it, you can always fly.  Driving the cart suits me perfectly well."

Nevertheless, Lyra is not above using Prestidigitation to clean any dust or grime the cart before she takes a seat.

With a few quick tufts of magic, Lyra is able to make the seat of the cart clean like freshly planked wood. And now settled into your roles, the party sets out through the southern gate. You take a path that splits westward, which has been cut through a wooded area. Trees surround you either side, but again you notice an eerie quiet - nature devoid of the sound of nature. It seems that even during the day, the land's creatures are either gone or in hiding.

Nothing disturbs you on the way. No shadowy ghosts, no catlike void beasts. No pale elves. After about an hour and forty minutes of travel the treeline on either side of the road breaks, turning into farmland to sustain the town of Ladrastir. The fields are empty of workers however, and whatever crops they might have tended have since wilted. It isn't much further before the farms give way to cleared land, occupied by a few sparse homesteads. Soon after the town itself comes into sight, a clustering of wood and brick buildings. The north side of the town sits on the bank of a decently sized lake, on which a number of piers have been built. Although much larger than Vinande, it lacks anything in the way of defenses. No walls. No fortifications. No guard towers.

As you enter the eastern part of town, you notice many homes have white chalk circles marked near the doors - likely a way for Garrick's scouting parties to mark where they've been. As you make your way towards the town's center, you notice less of these markings until eventually the last of them is behind you.

OoC: How would you like to proceed from here?

“Anyone have any chalk?” Leftenant asks as they pass through the houses on the outskirts of Ladrastir. 
“We could push further in and work our way back…but I think it best to simply continue sweeping in the same direction. Maybe work in two sets on opposite sides of the street. If something goes sideways…” there’s a small pause, “we shouldn’t be too far away from each other, but we would cover more ground this way.”

Lyra has no chalk, but offers to use Prestidigitation to mark doors that have been explored, soiling and smudging them with a specific pattern of grime.

"This is as eerie as I suppose we all should have expected.  A ghost town, literally.  I lean towards staying together, but bow to the group's decision."

She stands and turns in a slow circle from the cart, both gazing and listening for both lurking threats and hiding survivors.

Lyra's Perception:  24

"I think that'll work Lyra, I was going to use a dagger on the doors...But a spell seems like less work."

On the subject on how they should go about this, Kalamin finds himself leaning towards Leftenant's suggestion, though understanding of Lyra's concern. "I think we'll be fine so long as we don't stray too far. Never be further than the next house or building over."

He glances at the undisturbed building nearest to him and shrugs, approaching it. "Better get started."

"Oh, and I know we're here to look for supplies...But maybe keep an eye out for diaries, journals, or letters? Maybe somebody wrote about what was happening, might have noted some detail that would help us figure this out."

When beginning their search, Ilya reaches out to tap the paladin on the shoulder, intoning the words for Guidance. "A little good luck to assist." She says if he turns around to question her. "I'll help you look around. Anything useful for Vinande, and some personal writings right?"