![[SL-85-1.png]] Nothing else happened for the rest of the day until [[Emma]] stopped by again later in the evening. For the first time in a very long time she decided to knock on the door instead of just appearing nearby us. Upon opening the door it was immediately clear that she was distressed, a panicked look on her face while constantly fidgeting. With a bit of prying it came out that [[Owllen]] usually sends a message every night with one of his owls, and today the message did not arrive. While this could have just been an accident or he could have been temporarily caught up, I also had a bad feeling about this. Thankfully [[Emma]] was willing to give more information about [[Owllen]]'s trip. In past letters he had told her that everyone was staying inside and it was too quiet. He had been unable to find [[Escray Anselme|Escray]] as well, which is also concerning. After some guided breathing to bring down the panic we all decided to wait until tomorrow morning. If we do not get word by then it is off to the capital. --- ## Neth 28th, 1124 AR Morning came and no letter had arrived so it was time to get a move on. Despite it being not the greatest idea both [[Kiara Ironfang|Kiara]] and [[Xander Ironfang|I]] snuck into town while in fox form to inform [[Parting Leaves]] that we were leaving for the capital. First we went to the [[Nine Lives Tavern|tavern]], only to find the door locked and the lights off. Going a couple doors down to his and [[Tym Tailor|Tym]]'s house we also found it empty. Sneaking through the window we went to see if there were signs of a struggle. There were none, however there was a single note on the table addressed "To whom it may concern". Given that it probably concerned us I opened it to find a note written in Ysoki. A quick spell later and I was able to read it. > [!Letter from Someone] > Apologies for leaving quickly. We had to get on the road. We will be back but need to make arrangements on the other end. The writing was not [[Parting Leaves]]', and I was fairly sure that he did not know Ysoki. The logical conclusion is that this was [[Tym Tailor|Tym]]'s writing, but I do not have any writing from him to cross reference it with. Unable to write a response in Ysoki myself I instead wrote in a moderately complex cypher, "Off to capital, good luck.". Then I took the envelope the original letter was in, placed my message inside, and put the envelope back where it was. --- Don't forget to mention that you were almost caught while leaving town. --- Yes, I was concerned that the morning guards would be more active than the dawn ones, so I opted to return while under the effects of the Invisibility spell and teleport [[Kiara Ironfang|Kiara]] back to me. It worked, but even while invisible I almost bumped into a guard that caught me off-guard. With that our business in town was handled and it was time to go. Our plan is to head west by road on foot until we get to Pitecy. There we can purchase a wagon and travel that way until we reach the capital city of [[Botiercelles]]. By our estimates this will take a few weeks at least, so hopefully they are mostly uneventful. I doubt they will be. --- ## Neth 29th, 1124 AR Two nights ago, our first night on the road, [[Gobby]] noticed a fluffy Rhinoceros mulling around outside of our Cozy Cabin. We did not think much of it at the time, however this evening just before setting up for camp [[Eos]] noticed a full herd of Rhinoceroses off fairly far in the distance. On a rock nearby them there was a blue candle, some meat, and a sawblade, only visible to [[Eos]] due to one of his tattoos. This was concerning enough to [[Eos]] that he wanted to go inspect, [[Thatch]] deciding to follow. It took them a while to move over carefully, not wanting to disturb the Rhinoceroses and be attacked. As the sun set it became difficult for [[Thatch]] to see, causing them and [[Eos]] to occasionally bicker about them casting the Light spell. Eventually they got up next to the rock where it was discovered that the piece of meat was actually the heart of a humanoid. The Rhinoceroses had not paid them mind up to that point, but finally sick of the darkness [[Thatch]] cast light on themselves. Immediately the Rhinoceroses turned their attention to them and slowly geared up to attack. The rest of us ran over, making it just in time as the fight broke out. It was immediately clear that the Rhinoceroses did not like the lights, focusing their attention on [[Skelly the Skeleton|Skelly]] and [[Thatch]], both of whom were lit with the Light spell. Just as I reached the edge of the herd a voice rang out in all of our heads in Chtonian, the language of demons, "KILL THEM ALL.". Instantly the Rhinoceroses became invigorated, a fight breaking out whether we wanted it to or not. The start of the combat went fairly well for us, [[Aian Nuh Monahbi|Aian]], [[Eos]], and [[Skelly the Skeleton|Skelly]] taking some hard hits but not falling unconscious. While [[Skelly the Skeleton|Skelly]] managed to heal himself, the other two looked like they would need attention quickly. In the same time [[Aian Nuh Monahbi|Aian]] and [[Crescent]] had managed to kill one of the 7 Rhinoceroses, with two others being heavily injured by [[Thatch]] and [[Eos]]. While I opened up with a large Ice Storm to keep the Rhinoceroses slowed down, I spent most of my time trying to work out where the demon was. Quickly I noticed that one of the Rhinoceroses closer to [[Kiara Ironfang|Kiara]], [[Gobby]], and [[Xander Ironfang|I]] was not behaving like the others, so I cast Grasp of the Deep to keep it in place. It was now just a matter of keeping it there and making sure everyone stayed conscious while we beat down the rest. >[!Recap Note] >It was time to be put on the railroad, it is important at this point with how long some things have taken.