Zashier actually looks taken aback by the end, and would look back to the others. Yet just as he opened his mouth as if to ask something, he clamps back down and simply shook his head as he turned look back at the sword. "No point either way leaving this down here. Could even be more forgotten treasures yet remain, which, uh, probably be best coming back soon if at all possible. Make sure they don't fall into the wrong hands, as it were. Though those spooks up top aughta keep most at bay, or so I imagine." Having said all that, Zashier straps the new sword to his side as best as he could on the way to the stairs.

"Let's get going then, everyone. There's little time to waste, 'n all that. For as they say, Pelors light, though always present even in the darkest hour, waits for... actually, come to think of it. If his light is present always, I suppose it technically can neither wait or proceed ahead of someone. A real mess of saying when you stop and think about it." He said as carried on leading the proverbial charge back for town, and by extension, wherever he expects Bireal to be. Though long before they reach town, he would ask Daktani, "You know, Thistle back there mentioned a cloak before. But, do you expect any other misguided ones would recognize you, or suspect much of our interacting with you, maybe?"

Thistle shakes her head, frustrated. "If Skreed sees him, or anybody else in their circle, he might as well be dead. Can you trust me on this one, Zashier? We need a witness."

"Why were you digging down here?" Yokini asks offhandedly as the group ascends.

Quote from Mingofaust >>

Thistle shakes her head, frustrated. "If Skreed sees him, or anybody else in their circle, he might as well be dead. Can you trust me on this one, Zashier? We need a witness."

 Zashier lofts a brow back at Thistle, and then looks up to the heavens. "I don't recall voicing anything against a hood and what have you. I was just curious if this fine gentlemen here would have reason to worry about particulars sighting him. Which after some thought, which, uh, geeze, I suppose I should've considered sooner, come to think of it, we are recent heroes of the town and all that. My apologies, Miss Thistle. Still getting used to the whole idea of, uhm, notah-riety 'n all, being what I appear to be." 

“Just call me Thistle, Miss Thistle is what we called our nanny when... um.” She looks slightly panicked, then starts bustling about purposefully.

”Are you bringing the sword or not? Yashiera, can we use your cloak? Don’t go that way, the hall is trapped. Let’s go,” she motions the half orc towards the stairs and hurries away as fast as she can.

Daktani looks at Zashier as the party moves forward, saying that he will indeed be recognized by any of Skreed's followers. At Thistle's suggestion, Yashiera takes off her cloak, and drapes it over the half orc, doing her best to make sure his features are hidden. He is a little bigger than she is, so the cloak doesnt reach all the way to the ground and in fact looks a bit like a big guy in an obviously ill-fitting cloak, but it is enough to mask his facial features.

With Thistle's guidance, you avoid the traps she found earlier, and the haunts you discovered in the room upstairs. As you exit the stairs, moving through the larger open room to exit the house, you see once again the paint on the wall, which spells out the words Skreed, which makes far more sense to you know that you know who Skreed is than it did before as Thistle and Yashiera moved through this room.

Yokini, you ask about what they were digging for, but Daktani says he was never told what they were digging for. Most of them were digging, but only Skreed knew all the details. Skreed said it was better that they didnt know too much in the long run, but he would let the others know when they found what they were looking for.

You exit the burned out wreckage of the old church, and make your way back to town.

Its early afternoon. What is going on in each of your heads as you travel? Is there any discussion? You have discovered who killed Romero, you have a witness who had some insider information, you have more knowledge of the coming intruders. War seems like its on the horizon, which a few of you have already been through. 

What are your characters thinking and feeling as you make your way back to town?

Yokini is looking for her rope! Occasionally, she utters a word of frustration as thoughts of all the chemicals and time she wasted on blood analysis pass through her mind.

Thistle is a little anxious to get back to town. Normally, she'd be pretty cool and collected about this, she's been around the block (though she is pretty young, still), but now she has something, or someone, to worry about in Fallcrest, someone this whole affair might affect. In addition, the War has always been a pretty academic affair for her, so the thought that it might start again, maybe worse than before, is not nothing. She was all set to visit Fallcrest, maybe find some work, then maybe move on, but these people she's met are starting to stick to her. Of course, this is exactly what Thistle is like, even if she doesn't think so. She'll accept it, eventually.

As much as Zashier has learned, and even despite helping someone return to the path of glory, an anxiousness inevitably began dogging his steps. He had already come to terms to some extent with the inevitability of another war; and to his shame, relished the eventuality n some small part deep within as opportunity to make up for past failings. But now things were even much more complicated, what with an old ghost having turned up, and perhaps in some indirect way having something to do with a brother's death.

Then, against all odds, so too bloomed an old hope long thought buried beneath years of acceptance and pain. Without conscious thought, he kept a hand close to the battleaxe said to have been made by a Sun Elf, and friend of ancestor of the Zoltamanes. The same axe he last saw his father wielded before his disappearance, and somehow returned by his sister during the years of his own recovery. If by some miracle he catches his sister looking to him as he looked to the axe, Zashier looked ot her for a long moment, before quietly focusing again on the path ahead.

'One thing at a time, Zashier, you old idjit. One thing at a time. First Skreed, and then.... One thing at a time' He thought

Lem shows the image again to everyone before they leave the house, including Moon. Keeping an eye out for the half-orc in either form, he thinks a bit to himself about a coming war. He hasn't allowed himself to think about it until now, and his hands start to tremble. He also realizes that he is still badly hurt. His eyes move to the sword he identified for Zashier. "Give me that sword. If you aren't going to heal me, I will." He grabs at the hilt and draws it, trying to tap himself on his own shoulders. When he realizes that it's not working, he grumbles to himself and reluctantly hands it back to the paladin. He's beginning to wonder about the people he's working with.

Later on in the journey back to town, he wonders aloud, "do we need to tell someone in authority first? Seems Lord Markelhay would want to know about all of this." I assume that's our first destination? Lem will also be looking for the white graffiti, where it is, what it says, anything notable.

Distracted if not by other thoughts, then at least staring at the axe, Zashier is rather slow to respond to Lem's "request", and only after the fact really registers there had been one. That, and the sword was no longer where it should've been. Confusion soon gives way to a conflicting mix of disapproval and regret. But, he ultimately accepted the sword without a fuss. However, just as the blade is about to be sheathed, a thought occurs to Zashier, prompting him to mirror the same motions as Lem.

When nothing happens even more questions float up in mind, only to be quickly dismissed in a shrug and the blade being finally put away. "Uh, so.. here you go Lem. Not sure what's up with the sword right now, but this aughta numb some the pain. And, uh, Zoltamane honor that as soon as we get to some place safer, or so I hope, we can take a nice sit down and properly treat those wounds, eh?" He says, offering a normal healing potion to the dwarf.

Later on, Zashier scratches his head with his trunk at the question. "Eh... well.... hm... uh... I mean, it would be a good opportunity to see if we could check on Winty too, I suppose. See that their treating her egg all right. Could even be she's hatched already, and could use some company." He admits. "Though... mmmn.... Even if our friend here didn't do much more than rough us up a bit, as he seems a bit more a middle man in all that, Lord Markelhay might have to take a more heavy hand on things 'fore our friend here really has a chance to make up for the past... Bireal is... Bireal... and I'd hate to wake up Salazar or Ideal... especially Ideal." He shuddered, remembering the last time he'd over step the sanctity of dream time. "Ah geeze, I guess we kind of have to, don't we? Though -- THOUGH... if we see Bireal along the way, I do hope we can talk to some advice, as she's a bit more connected then I am."

Lem squints up at Zashier, and then looks to the rest of the group. “Murders, very important. Invasions, more important. Right?”

"Not saying that isn't. Just with all this subterfuge goin' on, and no offense to the Lord, but getting the advice of someone I know along the way would be nice is all. Could do the old walk and talk, as it were on the way to the Lord's house, is all am saying." Zashier explains. "Plus, considering she was at the gate last, giving her a head's up in advance aughta speed finding that Skreed fella up a bit. And by extension, coming one step closer faster to dealing with the invasion." He adds, glancing back every now and then, but otherwise stay focused on the path ahead.

Thistle nods, “If we see Bireal on the way, we should tell her what’s going on. She’ll be able to pull some more protection for us as we move through the city. But we should get him to the Lord as quickly as we can.”

Lem nods at Zashier. "Seems reasonable to me--" and then when Thistle speaks, he clams up, listens, looks at her, and follows her words with, "...what she said."

He spends the rest of the walk back half in and half out of Moon's eyes, keeping a lookout for anything weird.

Thinking about which direction the tunnel was being dug, can Yokini theorize where it might have been headed? Landmarks? Buildings? Anything?

The party moves back towards town, thoughts of war and alchemical paint bouncing around in their minds. Daktani stays pretty quiet, contemplative, during the walk back to town. Yashiera is also quiet, in her own way. You dont know, but she is still thinking about the beast underground that just kept coming. It lost an arm, a leg, its head. She has fought before, but nothing like that, nothing that just kept coming. If thats what the war brings with it, she thinks, it will be a truly terrible fight.

Yokini, based on where the tunnels were being dug under the old church, you arent sure what they were looking for or where they were headed. It was not headed towards any special landmark or building, so likely not a tunnel under the city to sneak into the walls. Its annoying, sticking in the back of your mind, as you cant figure out what they are looking for.

The walk back to town is uneventful, but as you get closer to the walls, you hear the galloping hoofbeats of a horse coming in fast behind you. As you turn around to see who is coming, you all recognize (from your time in Fallcrest) Jagrin Grath, Romero's father. Despite your efforts to hail him, or get him to stop, he merely nods acknowledgement in your direction, but continues riding back to town.

As you round the bend, you see the walls and the Northern gate up ahead of you, and Jagrin is there at the gate. He has dismounted, and is conversing with Bireal at the gate.

As you approach the gate, the archers atop the wall greet you, but keep their crossbows trained on Daktani - since you left a party of 5 and came back a party of 6, they are a bit on edge. Perhaps its because their commander (Jagrin, a noted racist towards orcs and half orcs) has rubbed off on them during his time as leader. Or perhaps they are just always suspicious. Who knows.

No matter, you continue your trek, and approach the gate.

Based on some of the thoughts and conversation, the party seems to want to go a few different directions. What do you do? Do you stop at the gate and chat? Do you move on towards the lord's Keep, looking for Lord Markelhay? Or perhaps something else entirely?....

Could Lem send Moon to land on a parapet near Jagrin and Bireal and listen in to their conversation?

Yokini is hesitant to put the half-orc in danger. True, he was helping hurt people, and Romero was killed, but he seems to be an OK guy, as far as she's seen. Skreed seems to be the real problem, and Daktani might be helpful if he's still with them and not in some prison or dead from execution. She will try to talk the group out of turning him in, but if they're all set against her, she won't fight them.

Thistle slows her walk, wanting to talk to the others before getting within earshot of the gates.