I would say we tie up the animals to the fence right where the trial comes up along the fence line.  From there we'd move forward a bit, stopping a bit before the turn to the left towards the pond.

"I feel like drawing them out might awaken those that are sleeping," Meria says. "Zephyros, was there any sign of orcs in the basement? Perhaps there's a way to sneak in that way to surprise them?"  She then looks over at Lyra. "Maybe making the ground tremble would get those on the lower floor out without awakening any above?"  She considers a moment, "That's probably our best bet." 

Zephyros helps tie up the cow near the main road before moving to the northern edge of the eastern cornfield where he can see the farmhouse. 

"My hawk made no mention of a basement. Only the entrance to a cellar on the back side of the building. If what Lyra says is accurate, the orcs may be moving to the cellar soon to kill someone or to remove someone already dead. I'm ready to move. Let's move into the cellar and ambush whatever orcs come in. They won't be expecting a fight there. Gareth and Eldrin can wait out here and ambush them from behind when they flee or when reinforcements arrive."

Ironheart then moves with purpose around the house without further discussion to enact his plan. He doesn't look back to see if Lyra and Meira are following, but he hopes they will.  Moving to the far side of the house, the armored warrior opens the cellar door and enters with trident at the ready. 

Stealth Nat 1+2=3 =(

Meira does follow Zephyros, hoping to enact his plan and ambush orcs coming to the cellar.  (Stealth: 19; Note - I think Lyra can give us Advantage on the roll, so that will help! I will wait though to re-roll until we confirm.) 

(Sorry for being MIA. This week was incredibly busy at work.)

Gareth nods in agreement with Zephyros' plan. He positions himself within good range of the entrance to the cellar but off to the side a bit so that any fleeing orcs would not immediately see him. He unslings his bow and prepares to fire at any orc that comes running out (Readied Action).

(Longbow 12 to hit, 9 piercing damage)

Right before Zephyros moves into the cellar, Lyra extends a hand toward his arm.

"Wait. Let us help you move more quietly before entering the farmhouse?" she says, referring to herself and her goddess.

If the warrior allows, Lyra channels Tymora’s Blessing of the Trickster into him. (ooc: Zephyros can roll Stealth with advantage.)

Then the cleric asks her goddess for further assistance, and as she finishes muttering the incantation, a veil of shadows and silence begins to radiate from her. Since they are still outside the farmhouse, the whole party can feel its effect. But as Zephyros and Meira enter the building, Lyra follows them, and the spell's effect moves with her—leaving Gareth and Eldrin outside of it for now.

(Stealth: 18+10 = 28)

Gareth and Eldrin,

You flank around to the north of the farmstead, using the hilly terrain to your advantage, and find a ridge roughly 200 feet away from the entrance to the cellar where you wait to ambush. 

Gareth,

 Zephyros, Meira, and Lyra,

You work together to enter the cellar stealthily. Lyra's blessing seems precisely what the group needed to pass undetected by the celebratory raucous coming from inside the home. 

The cellar doors are wooden and have no lock. The doors swing open easily, and you descend on squeaky wooden steps to a dirt floor, mortared stone walls, and an eight-foot plank ceiling braced by wooden pillars. Tied to a chair is a large figure with a blood-soaked burlap sack pulled over his head. A puddle of blood coagulates in the dirt below the figure, being fed by a slow dripping. Shelves along the walls are lined with skulls made of butter and protected by a thin coating of wax.

Lyra,

For a while as they descend into the cellar, all Lyra can see are Zephyros' and Meira's backs. But as the room comes into view, the figure tied to the chair makes the halfling freeze in place. It was one thing to know the orcs had been having their twisted fun with someone here, but another thing entirely to witness it. She hardly registers the shelves lined with butter-skulls, all her attention locked onto the bloodied figure.

Even with her spell still cloaking them from the noise above, the cleric's first instinct is to choke back a gasp. The second is to move towards the figure. Dead, by the look of it—and by what she'd heard the orcs say—but what if… what if there's still a chance? She reaches out, ready to call on her healing magic, but then pauses. She turns to silently meet her companion's eyes, awaiting their approval. Should they heal the man right there? What if he starts screaming? But… on the other hand, what if he's hanging on by a thread?

"We need to heal him, quickly! But let's untie him first," Lyra whispers, "Better that he wakes up able to see—and to breathe!"

With that, if neither Zephyros nor Meira objects, she begins carefully untying the sack. Then she will lay a touch of Tymora's healing upon him, whispering, "... come on… come on… hang in there!"

(ooc: Used a level 1 Cure Wounds, healing 13 HPs)

Meira can't help but comment on the skulls. "Well, that is certainly an interesting way to decorate your butter. Macabre, but interesting." She has a joking tone to her voice. As Lyra heads for the beaten bloody body she follows. "Yea, I can untie him," she says as she kneels down to start undoing the knots. "And we should remove the sack, just to make sure who it is," she adds.