Farra casts one last glance into the darkness and the trees before turning towards Hadrian's voice, calling out: "Got it!" She hurries over, taking the young boy from his hands so he can grab the other unconscious caravan traveler. As they carry the two back towards the others, she glances over her shoulder. "We're not just going to leave them right?"

Relieved to find the boy, Andy, injured but alive, and to hand him off to Hadrian, Xari furrows his brow in thought as he broods over the corpses.

"I - I don't understand... these sick bastards are all bundled up in furs, dressed for the c-cold like they're north of Neverwinter, not s-so far south like we are... and this... the eight-pointed starburst carved on their... their tongues!  Have any of you ever seen anything like this before?"

Xari looks at the others, and then at Rox too, peering at the unusually-dressed goblin to discern whether the little humanoid's face betrays any recognition.

"Wait, didn't we figure out the little guy had an amulet of the Arcane Brotherhood on him?  From Luskan, way up north of Neverwinter?"

The big man certainly doesn't look like he wishes to go blundering out in the darkness any more tonight, torch or no, though he will do it if the others do.

Kellan adjusts his grip on the girl in his arms, his expression grim but resolute. “Once we get them stabilized and settled, we can try going after the rest right away,” he says, his voice low. “I...don’t have the energy for any more healing or strong spells though, and their tracks will still be there in the morning.” His gaze flicks toward the tree line, frustration simmering beneath his exhaustion. He wants to chase them now, to run them down before they can disappear for good, but he knows better than to push forward recklessly. As they move toward the caravan, he glances at the others, his tone quieter but no less determined. “What do you want to do?”

"R-right." The girl says quietly, curling up into the paladin's arms as he carries her back to safety. Her parents are found further down the caravan, injured but alive.

The other unconscious traveler you saved was a young woman -- you hadn't seen her with anyone in the caravan, so perhaps traveling alone? Mary is on the verge of tears as you return Andy to her, whisking her son away to treat his wound.

Many in the caravan are injured -- others are even less fortunate. You find Pim among the slain, a horrific gash running from shoulder to hip. The other caravan guards have spread out in a line up and down the caravan, as the other wagonmasters meet near the front of the caravan.

For the 8-pointed starburst symbol, anyone with a Religion proficiency is free to make a check.

Xarian: Insight on Rox.

Kellan religion: nat 20 + 4= 24

Xarian's Insight on Rox:  9, re-rolled with daily Heroic Inspiration from being a human for a 22

Despite his drooping eyelids, the big man forces himself awake and looks sharply at Rox's expression as he shows everyone the cultist and his tongue.

Kellan: The symbol isn't immediately recognizable to you. For certain, you know it doesn't belong to any of typical pantheon worshiped in the Sword Coast, even among the evil gods. But there are other evils in the world that misguided mortals will turn to for power...And the starlike symbol reminds you of something you heard once at the monastery: a tale of how some of the stars in the night sky had been infected by unfathomable evils from another realm. There were plenty of twisted minds in Faerun that would seek their power.

Xarian: The little goblin doesn't seem to have any particular sort of reaction to the cultists bodies, or the symbol, instead plopping down onto the ground, leaning back on his hands as he tries to catch his breath.

Kellan stares at the strange symbol for a long moment, unease settling in his chest like a weight. The lines are jagged and alien—nothing like the holy symbols he studied in the monastery.

“This isn’t from any god I know of,” he says finally, his voice low. He hesitates, fingers tightening slightly around the edge of his shield. “But…at the monastery, I remember hearing a tale. About stars—how some were said to have been…corrupted. Infected by something not of this world. Something wrong.”

His eyes flick to the symbol again, the unease deepening. “It sounds like a nightmare, but at the same time...there are always people desperate or mad enough to seek power regardless of the source." A faint shiver runs through him as he contemplates what horror must be in store for the abductees they didn't manage to save.

"No, we won't leave them." Hadrian says to Farra. He doesn't just want to leave the young woman they rescued unattended, and so he continues to carry her with him. He hears what the paladin says of the strange symbol found on the cultists, but isn't sure what to do with the information. They could have been cultists of the Fluffy Pink Unicorn of Love for all he cared, it didn't change what he wanted to do to them. "I don't think we should give them much time to regroup. If there's a chance we can follow their tracks in this damned fog, I think we should take it."

"But first, I need to find...Someone." He says to others before wandering off to look for someone who could treat the young woman's wound, or at least look after her until she wakes. If there's no general area where the wounded have gathered, he goes to the front of the caravan where wagonmasters have gathered.

Hadrian: Near the front of the caravan you do find something of the sort -- a few crates have been unloaded and various medical supplies spread over them (bandages, salves, sutures, splints, etc...). Two halflings are hard at work dealing with the injured, prioritizing the most life threatening injuries first. They direct you to a bedroll where you can leave the unconscious woman for now.

Xari tries to make heads or tails of Kellan's thoughts on the star symbol on the cultists' tongues.

The big man shakes his head in befuddlement.  "Corrupted stars?  I have to admit, those are two words I never thought would go together.  Looking at our speedy goblin friend, I don't think he knows anything about it either, judging by his reaction.  And we can't ask Pim, because..."

Feeling morose about the death of the wagonmaster and the others slain or captured, the Xari hangs his head as he belatedly dons his scale mail that he had gone to sleep without.  Last time I make that mistake.  But anyway, what even is this?  None of this makes any sense!

When Hadrian returns, he asks his companions, "So are we chasing them in the dark or at dawn?"  Xari clearly prefers the latter, but will follow regardless.

"Thank you," Hadrian says to the two halflings, gently putting the woman down on the bedroll as instructed. Before returning to his companions however, he waltzes on over to the gathered wagonmasters. "Pim is dead." 

"And this group was trying to take some our people with them. Do you have a headcount on any missing?"

Hadrian: As you approach, you hear the wagonmasters arguing in hushed tones. They glance over at you as you walk over announcing Pim's death. "We're very aware." Says a tall bald man with a bandage hastily wrapped around a wound on his forehead, Devrim you think his name was. Your question makes him scowl. "We know of five so far." One of the others pipe up now: "which is why we need to leave now. Before they come back and kill or kidnap more of us!" The bald man shoots him a glare to silence him, then looks back to you. "I have two of my own guards out in the woods now trying to pick up a trail." He glances back to the rest of the wagonmasters, "we are not leaving our people behind in the middle of the night." This comment sparks an uproar among the others, who don't seem to share his sentiment. As you turn to walk away, the group falls into arguing with each other once more.

"So," the big man sits back on is haunches from where he has been inspecting the bodies of their slain enemies.

"Are we chasing these cultists into the night, breaking camp now, or sleeping and chasing in the morning?"

Xari looks open to all possibilities, though the latter one is clearly his favorite.

Kellan exhales, glancing toward the tree line where the fog still clings to the shadows, then back to the wounded and weary travelers settling down behind them. “Much as I hate it,” he says, his voice low, “I think it's best to wait until morning.”

 His gaze flicks toward the symbol again, jaw tightening. “They’ll leave tracks. And if they’re working for something…unnatural, we’ll need all our strength to face it.”

"You don't have to tell me twice.  Same watch schedule?"

Xarian bobs his head in Kellan's direction and begins to prepare to bed down again, looking around for Farra and Hadrian to see whether they are also inclined to call it a night and resume the chase tomorrow.  Assuming so, the big man makes a point of sleeping in his armor this time.

Hadrian lets out a long sigh as makes it back to the others, "suffice to say, the leadership around here is not handling this well." He mutters.

"There were at least five others that were taken. Couple of other guards out there looking for tracks...But other than that, the wagonmasters can't decide if they want to leave tonight, go after the missing, or just stay here for the night."

The young nobleman bites his lower lip, looking to the east again, as if staring long enough might help his vision pierce the darkness and fog. "I don't like the idea of waiting, but we might not have a choice if the darkness and fog make it impossible to pick up their trail." 

"Would you mind indulging me in an attempt to figure out where they went tonight?" He asks, knowing others had already voiced opinions in favor of waiting for the light of the sun to aid them.

Trudging back out into the dark underbelly of the forest looks like the last thing Xarian wishes to do.  Nevertheless, the big man stands up.

"Without your idea, grabbing the torch Hadrian, at least one more of those kids might still be out there with those robed bastards," he sighs ruefully.

"I'm in for whatever you've got planned."  From her perch on the corner of a wagon, Ash the owl glances over at the big man as if he's lost his mind.

"Thank you," Hadrian says with a slight bow of his head. He quickly goes into his pack, lighting a fresh torch to help the search. The first thing he does is go looking for the two guards Devrim had mentioned to see if they've had any luck so far.

If not, he starts his own search fresh somewhere else, near where they had chased the cultists.

Lighting his own torch this time, the big man lumbers along near Hadrian, whichever path he chooses, gazing at his surroundings with both the investigative gaze of a guardsman and, somewhat surprisingly, the furtive glances of a street urchin who uses his senses to survive.

Xarian is proficient at Perception and would certainly attempt to help Hadrian's efforts in searching the night for clues,  He would try to help at Survival too, though the big man is not proficient at that skill.

On his own, he attempts to deduce where the seemingly haphazard flight of the cultists might have been heading, given that a normal person can only carry a living body so far through the dense forest in darkness, so the destination or rendezvous point would in theory not be too far away.  The big man also checks in unobtrusively with the understandably panicked caravan civilians to investigate whether anyone saw anything useful.

Xarian's Investigation:  13