In Order to Proceed

## Synopsis

In Season 2, Chapter 32: In Order to Proceed, a quiet morning on the hillside devolved into a riotous affair as we took the first steps toward infiltrating the bandit outpost in the lanes.  With our cover blown, shouts of alarm rang out from every dilapidated dwelling in the camp – and several barking worgs hurried out to greet us on the bridge while their masters rushed to don their armor.

An arched entryway acted as a kind of choke point, though the advantages it provided cut both ways.  Such a narrow passage kept us from getting overwhelmed by superior numbers but it also impeded our forward progress – and the pseudo-canines gnashing their teeth did just enough to delay us before we could get the drop on any half-dressed reinforcements.

We quickly realized these bandits weren't short on capable fighters – some with swords, some with magic – and that breaching the exterior walls would require a tremendously risky plunge into the waters of uncertainty.  Before it came to that, however, the leader of the camp emerged from her quarters and called a ceasefire, which we tentatively upheld with the intention to reengage if she aroused our suspicion in any way.

Pointing out the difficulty of a direct assault, the leader proposed that we simply walk away to prevent what would likely be catastrophic losses on both sides – an offer that we ultimately took her up on knowing that whatever valuables they might have stashed away weren't worth getting killed over.

Backtracking through the lanes, we intended to reconnect with Barbara and apologize for our empty-handedness – but no such show of contrition was required because her traveling partner's petrification had worn off in the night.  Through a note we learned that they planned to resume their journey to the ruined Temple of Heptactor – and with little desire to pass through bandit territory again, we changed our course to follow in their footsteps.

Fresh tracks took us past the fork in the road and down closer to the northern cliffs – a couple of uneventful hours where we had little to do but wonder whether Barbara and Dane had any chance at all of surviving long enough to reach the inside of the temple, where they hoped to enshrine their book of prayer.

Our worries were compounded by Safira spotting bloody partial handprints on the occasional tree or rock, though a potential explanation for these came moments later when a swarm of stirges came surging through the woods.  Quick instincts to hide kept us mostly safe from the creatures' attention, but their presence implied we might also be in the vicinity of the "sagging caverns" – where Emmitt Nesbitt's last contract told of additional dangers.

The temple, however, was still our primary concern – and we soon found ourselves looking up at the long-forgotten structure, questioning if our quarry had found a concealed entrance to circumvent the handful of elementals and constructs dutifully guarding the exterior.

Tracks in the mud told a different tale: one where it seemed they might have simply walked through the front door – and this gave us the idea to offer a prayer to Heptactor in the hopes that the sentries would note our piety and let us through. Making an orderly procession across a thin bridge, we presented ourselves and spoke the holy words – but even from a distance Graven could detect the emptiness of the gesture and it seemed our deception wouldn't hold up to scrutiny.

During a tense impasse, we recalled reading of a way to cut off the constructs from their source of power.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: six natural ones were rolled in this Chapter. 1 by Riley, 2 by John, and 3 by Matt.