Caelius frowns and nods before turning to the tree where Taran's voice came from and signs largely:

Taran tries to stir himself as Bhuji heads over to Caelius. This is important, the exact sort of thing he had been trying to find out. He couldn't fail even more than he had.

Perception to listen in 19

Edit: Then seeing Mr. Caeluis' signs, Taran remembers his promise to the strange magic wielder and slithers down the tree.

When he emerges from the cover, everyone would see the tremor in his limbs and the tracks of unnoticed tears down his face. 

He heads over. "Mr. Caelius, would you pref-prefer me to translate or-or talk to her." He would stutter quietly, making sure to face Caelius the entire time, though he won't look the older man in the eyes.

Caelius signs quickly and contained, 

Taran nods though he keeps his gaze focused on his teammate's hands, and begins translating Mr. Caelius' signs. Speaking quietly to hopefully not draw the attention of the former soldier.

"He says we understand your situation. We are here for you and Mr. Dulamul. Mr. Dulamul is as afraid as you are. He shouldn't cause any problems. Anything you want to- oh, that last part was for me. Sorry. Um, well, like Mr. Caelius said we came to escort Mr. Dulamul as part of this group." Taran fidgets in place, speaking to the foreign woman, "And, um, well, I-I know it may seem strange that Mr. Dulamul didn't remove his mark, but that might be safer, for him I mean. It is- well, isn't it kind of like a badge? If he had been walking around without it might have drawn attention. So, he might have decided to wear it, at least until we get to Adar. Just in case?"

Taran draws in on himself, crossing his arms and seeming to shrink in place. "Also, I- I feel like-No, I should definitely- but you see I didn't- I thought... I'm sorry." He final finishes, his voice nearly inaudible. "I'm sorry for m-m-messing up, and scaring you. I-I didn't mean for... " He trails off into silence.

Bhuji's eyes are wide. "But it..." She takes a deep breath. "But...he and the rest of his kind are trained to be completely loyal, why...why would he have left? What if he leads his lord to us? The...the Sheltering Hearth sometimes works with the Thousand Eyes." She shivers at the mention of the Thousand Eyes. "Shouldn't you at least ask? He...he would probably have trouble coming up with a lie."

Caelius smiles at Taran as he speaks. He turns his attention to Bhuji, listening and nodding. He then signs,

 Caelius looks to Taran,

Taran nods reflexively to Bhuji. Then sees Caelius' sign.

"Of-of course I-we can ask. But, ma'am, umm... Wouldn't it be kind of, well... rude?" Taran fidgets as he works through it, "aft-after all, we didn't ask you why you and your husband left, and we might not ask the others why they left. It'd be unfair, wouldn't it, if we just asked Mr. Dulamul? I mean, I did want to talk to him about things, but I don't want to single him out, since that would be unfair. I-I know things are... umm... different... in Riedra, I mean, but we don't really separate people like that and he's prob-probably  had to d-d-deal with being an outsider his whole life. I don't want him to think that it will be the same when he gets to Adar, that people will separate him like that." 

Taran jerks his head back down, realizing he'd been meandering and ignoring Mr. Caelius' input. "But-of course-one of us will try and talk to him before we set out, if that will make you more comfortable. And we'll definitely ask if he thinks he was followed or if his Lord would try and track him down. This-this will be hard enough, we don't want tension in the group or fear to add to the mix."

"We will share why we left if you want us to, in order to keep from singling anyone out," Bhuji says quietly. "I'm...I'm just afraid of...of what would happen if they caught us." She shivers, then stares at the ground. "Thank you for...listening to me and giving weight to my worries."

Taran nods, "I-I would like to know. If... if you wouldn't mind telling m-me. M-My Father ran, years ago, but he-he didn't... he didn't talk much about it. I've... I've wondered sometimes..."

He pauses, trying to inject... something into his voice, something to reassure her. "I... Don't worry. About getting caught, I mean. I'm-I'm not much, I know that. But, everyone else is really strong. They've all got magic, and we- all of us, we're going to make sure all of the refugees get to Adar. We've got a lot of plans. Y-y-y-you'll be...safe."

Bhuji blinks. "We...Aleel and I...had a child. A son. He couldn't be moved to a different village for nearly a year, because he wouldn't sleep." She bites her lip. "We...got unhealthily attached. When they took him..." She shakes her head. "We couldn't stay there anymore. Not after what happened." She looks at Taran. "Your father got away? And made it to the border?" There's a little hope in her voice. "It's really possible?"

Taran nods, "Y-yeah, people get out all the time. And, we'll make sure you all make it too."

Hesitantly, Taran reaches out and puts a hand on her shoulder, "I-I'm sorry... ab-about..." he awkwardly pats her shoulder, then turns and slinks away.

"I should... there's... a lot..." he calls back to her as he retreats.

Taran, quickly and quietly, briefs Vishal on Bhuji's concerns. Nodding his head in understanding he gives Taran his best reassuring smile and says, "I'll handle this. You did well." Before he lets the young archer go back into the trees or whatever he was doing as he turns towards the shifter. Vishal gives him a soft smile, attempting to show the shifter that he is safe and that we're not going to harm him "Dulamul. We're here to help at a great risk to ourselves. So we must ask you, and you can feel free to just tell me if that'll make you feel more comfortable. Why are you escaping, and...are you really leaving and not leading a lord or something to us since you still have...well." Vishal than indicates to the collar. 

Dulamul hunches even lower and mumbles something Vishal (and Juhaan next to him) can barely hear.

Vishal and Juhaan:

Vishal nods his head in understanding and continuing to speak softly and kindly at the shifter he says, "We understand. And once we're safe we can figure out how to exactly get that off for you. Why don't you come and hide with the others. And I'm going to use just a bit of magic to make sure everything is alright." 

Leading Dulamul towards the others he makes sure all three of them close by as he then takes out his small drum that he carries with him everywhere. Letting the others know what he is doing before he starts Vishal quietly tapping out just the most basic of rhythm. Focusing on the drum and the rhythm for a solid ten minutes before he opens his eyes, the blue glowing in them as he can see magic and he focuses on the refugees in order to detect any magic on them. 

The collar seems very faintly magical. Other than that, Vishal does not currently sense any magical objects or active spells in the area.

You all get Bhuji re-hidden and hide Dulamul, who refuses to look up from the ground, before you return to your spots in the trees.

Just as you finish climbing into your spots, you hear the telltale rustling of someone approaching camp. The man who strides in is very different from the three refugees whom you have met so far. He wears the orange and yellow clothes of the elite soldiers of the Harmonious Shield under chainmail. A longsword is sheathed at his left side, and a crossbow and quiver of bolts hangs from his left hip. A shield is mounted on his back. He has dark skin and short black hair, with a fresh scar running from the bottom of his left ear along his jaw. The man's dark brown eyes scan the clearing briefly, and he frowns at the seemingly empty spot, his hand drifting to the hilt of his sword as he says cautiously, "Reztai?"

"Avai *coo* Ya makin' me nervous, lad."

River's taloned hand grasps her shortsword and holds it, the pommel glowing softly in preparation to cast a spell.

 Curled in his makeshift hidey-hole, surrounded as he was by roots, branches and the rich, familiar scent of freshly dug earth, Druhdaar was starting to feel restless: the small space made his hiding position more and more uncomfortable and he refrained an urge to burst out and stretch his legs just as yet another of the refugees came into view, his word of safe passage soon answered by River's cooing and a chillingly accurate impersonation of his own, gruff voice.

Though the man was obviously a member of the local military, the big druid remembered just in time that Ishhareth had mentioned a stone soldier turned defector, a man called Lanan. Druhdaar recalled the description given by their trailblazer and the man seemed to fit it perfectly. 

He decided the time wasn't right to reveal himself yet, and tried to divert his awareness of the growing stiffness in his knees by focussing on his surroundings. Suddenly, he noticed the small sparrow they had caught then released earlier, poking about the ground a few feet away from his spot. Concentrating on the bird, Druhdaar cooed to it with a few soft, musical tweeting sounds. 

**OOC: still trying not to reveal his position (Stealth 12), Druhdaar casts Speak with Animals again as a Ritual, trying to get the small creature to do another reconnoitering flight around their clearing. (NOTE: the sparrow should still also be under the effect of Animal Friendship which Druhd cast on it after Taran caught it).**

The man relaxes slightly as the counterword comes from the trees, moving his hand away from his sword, although he remains alert, eyes scanning the trees. "Okay...I'm Lanan. Any of you going to show yourselves?"

Druhdaar starts casting his spell, which will take ten minutes as he's using the ritual form.

River nimbly hops down from her hiding spot and crouches at a bit of distance from the man, her sword still in her hand.

"Nice to met you *coo* Free now *coo*"

Lanan blinks as River drops from the trees, his hand twitching slightly towards his sword. However, he keeps his hands by his sides, away from his weapons. "Uh, nice to meet you as well." He glances at the trees, clearly still not quite at ease. "...How many of you are there?"

Anyone who wants to make an Insight and beats 15:

 Vishal: