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-----Sol frowns in annoyance, "Look, I'm not doing any of this for fun. Thalog, you may be right about all you have said, but what if we can't afford to wait? Now that we know about them, they could just set up shop elsewhere. If you lot feel you need more time to prepare..." his voice lowers, "...Then maybe Raven and I should stay behind, watch them for the night. See if anyone leaves."
-----Thalog puts his hand on his chin and rolls his eyes, "I think it unwise to put any of us at risk. By Ora, we are divided enough." Looking at Sol, the mage says, "True, they could leave and waiting may be foolish, even dangerous. However, instead of rushing in, is there a way to draw them out?" Thalog looks at Raven to see how he answers.
-----He then turns to Sarah and asks her, "Just curious, what spells do you have left?"
-----Raven puts his back to the door and sighs. Raven stands there for a moment while he rubs the back of his neck. Raven then says, "Could we smoke them out? They must have a stable or something we could set fire to." Raven yells up to the towers, "Cowards! Come face us like men. How little faith you have in your god!" Raven smirks, "Maybe that will get 'em going..."
-----Raven starts moving away from the door, "Maybe we should continue our planning out of plain sight of the tower. Okay?"
-----Sol chuckles lightly, "Yeah, why not? Though we've been here long enough for them to have reacted. Who knows? Maybe they're all cowering under their furnishings."
-----Raven leads the others over toward the trees where he has hidden his horse.
-----"I was wondering if it was possible to get at least some of us inside, willingly on their part, and surprise them," Thalog begins when they are away out of earshot of the tower. He looks at Sarah, "Your friend there," he says, pointing to her charmed man, "may be one of theirs. If we have someone else to go with him." The mage then looks skyward into the falling rain contemplating, "If we had someone here like Andra who was one of the worshippers."
-----"If we're going to use the extra time now, one of us may as well haul Zentil's backside back here. I should probably return the horse I took as well, and find my own horse. At least my old horse was fit." Sol smiles and waits for any objections before collecting the horse and riding back to Tru in search of the vagrant elf.
-----Raven says, "Sounds good, Sol. Please ask Zentil if he would do us the honor of joining us. If it’s not too much trouble of course." Raven with bow in hand heads toward the tower, "I'm going to scout around. I'll stay out of sight. Be back in an hour or so."
-----As he's going to his horse, Sol says, "Oh...Thalog, I don't think we can use Sarah's...'friend'. Heiros would know he came with us."
-----"Hmm," the mage mutters as he gives the others his cold expressionless glare. "You could be right, although he was concentrating more on Rand." Thalog lowers his head as Sol rides off.
-----Raven makes his way through the small cluster of trees heading away to the east from the tower. As he comes to the edge of the trees, he peers out at the tower scanning its length searching for any kind of movement. The tower stands dark, still, and silent. Nothing seems to be moving within.
-----Standing there in the cool rain, a welcome sensation comes over Raven. The scent of the rain on the grass, the trees and the leaves seems to surround him. For a moment, Raven is lost in a sense of euphoria. It’s as if he can feel an awakening occur around him as the rain welcomes nature back into spring.
-----To the east and south of the tower, a good-sized marsh covers the land. Keeping low, Raven makes for the gnarled trees and high grasses there. After a few minutes he finds a clear spot where the ground under his feet is not so mushy to check his bearings. Beside him stands a large fallen tree, its tall body long split from the rotting trunk left in the soil.
-----Looking up at the tower, he sees no sign that anything has taken note of him. As he looks to his left to see where his next position should be, something on the ground catches his eye. There, down by the splintered trunk, lying on the growing moss is a small black stone with a glassy look to it.
-----As the young ranger moves closer to look, he also happens to notice that the inside of the trunk has been rotted out. A dark, empty space leads below the ground.
-----Raven puts away his bow and draws his shortsword. Raven stops in front of the trunk and sniffs the air to see if this is a lair of an animal. Raven then slowly enters the trunk and ventures down.
-----The only scent Raven detects as he lowers himself through the trunk is the smell of rotting wood. The rain dropping in makes some of the soil around the roots slick, but Raven manages to keep himself from sliding. He eases himself down a short incline of packed dirt perhaps reinforced with stones beneath it. At the bottom, he is able to stand up fully in the darkness. Lighting a torch, Raven sees a rough-hewn tunnel leading off in the direction he determines the tower is in.
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