10 PM: The bodies were placed in shallow graves after all available assets were taken. Aramil attested that the groups' strength now lay with secrecy and stealth...not muscle.
The dark-haired woodsman looked about the tangled forest with sharp eyes " I shall take a lead of 50 paces to scout the safety of our return path. You all must reduce your communication to gestures where possible. As I've used before, the starling's trill will warn you of danger. The meadowlark's...safety. With caution, we shall be clear of these woods shortly."
Teflar gathered his gear and moved smoothly into the darkness, just another melding forest shadow.

MIDNIGHT: The severed party left the scorn of death behind them as they followed Teflar back through the plowed path. Many companions tripped over brambles and rocks as toes found unwavering obstacles impeding them.
A thunderstorm, Leah gently forecast hours earlier, came ripping through the skies in flashes of electricity and rolling thunder. Rain smashed the trees overhead with a tropical torrent common for this time of the season. The torch Gailwind carried flickered wildly in the drafts of humid air that wafted through the branches. For two hours, no signs of any creatures stirred save for the owl that hooted behind them a few times in a ghostly reminder of the sadness they harbored.

The team exited the trees at last and were in engulfed in a steady rain that drenched every fiber of fabric they wore. Teflar decided to press them on into the farmlands of Airrdale, for that township was now a safehouse for their current troubles.

MYCRAN 7 ~ 3 AM: The seven traveled south in the driving rain. Flashes of lightning guided their way until they came upon the boulevard they desperately sought. The pavement provided relief from the mud that caked boots and ankles. The mad wind seemed to choke their breath as they nosed forward in wavering steps. Soon the road bent around rolling, elevated plateaus of cultivated farmlands. The ranger led them off the avenue pressing eastward through cabbage patches and manicured wheat fields.

5 AM: The hills leveled a few miles from the thoroughfare and gave the companions a clear run at the village. Gailwind sniffled a bit; a cold seemed to claim him. The rains died into trickles while the team moved on past rows of unripe strawberries. Teflar appeared nervous as he slowed his vibrant pacing to examine the soft, fertile grounds.
" Something worries me about this area. It's as if..."
Then they saw it. Mounting smoke from atop a hillcrest a few miles off; an orange light beneath it. A belltower was heard in the distance banging a wild peal.
" ...we aren't the first visitors this night."