As the Seabird swung into the familiar harbour of Neverwinter, Ramas noticed a small contingent of City Guard standing on the jetty. After Killiwake moored the vessel, the lead guardsman approached the ship and waved over at the group, "Ahoy there milords. The Duke 'as requested your presence in the Keep"
The guards led the party into the Throne Room, where Gabriel wass deep in conversation with members of the farmer's guild. He made his excuses, seeming relieved for the excuse to escape, and ushered the party into a conference room. The party gave him an update on their mission. He seemed disappointed that Halia escaped again, but he seemed devastated that the refugees were all dead. He asked the party to keep this outcome quiet until he could figure out how to break it to their families. The party then decided to return to Thundertree, so Gabriel offered to provide them horses.
The party returned to Thundertree. They met up with Letho and Arina, who had secured lodging in the newly finished second storey of the Stormy Gnome. They had a few drinks, and recounted their story, then headed to bed. The next morning, they had breakfast and made plans. Ryoko was eager to explore the Druid Network, and Arina offered to accompany her; Clootie, Ramas and Letho decided to have a chat to people in town.
Before she left, Clootie had an awkward conversation with Toblen Stonehill (the innkeeper) - who thanked her for saving his life in Phandalin.
Outside the party came across Quelline Alderleaf, who was looking for Kal. Ryoko and Arina headed out of town to head towards the druid stone Ryoko had noticed on the way in. Clootie, Ramas and Letho headed to the general store to speak to the Kenku. They found them squawking away in the office in the back of the General Store. Apparently Snakey hadn't shown up for work today, and they were frustrated and run off their feet. Starting to see a pattern, the group went over to Daran's house to check on Elsa. They discovered she was missing as well, as were her armour and weapons. It seemed obvious that the youngsters had gone off to the Lost Mine to prove themselves. Clootie headed over to the Druid Stone to inform Ryoko and Arina; while Ramas and Letho started to track the youngsters.
Meanwhile, Ryoko and Arina started to explore the Druid Network. Ryoko travelled through the stone outside Thundertree and found herself at a standing stone circle in a forest, the same one she'd travelled to with Morlyn. She flew up above the treeline and looked for landmarks. She recognised the Onorin Hills in the middle of Neverwinter forest, and deduced she was in the eastern edge of the forest, near the Triboar Trail. She returned to the circle and returned to collect Arina, to confirm she could travel with another person. When they reappeared in the Neverwinter Forest circle, Arina promptly threw up on her shoes. Ryoko left her to recover while she decided to test out another stone.
This one brought her to another small forest clearing, in the eaves of a spruce forest near a caravan trail. Again she flew up to take a broader look, seeing the Sundered Sea up ahead, and a settlement just to the south. She guessed this was most likely Pernor. She returned to the circle and tried another stone.
This one brought her out on a beautiful white sand beach, on an island near the Sea of Glass. Most likely Occatil. After this Ryoko decided to return Arina and herself back to Thundertree. This time, Arina didn't vomit, and only needed a moment for the vertigo to pass. Ryoko was surprised to see Clootie waiting on them. She explained that the youngsters had headed to Wave Echo Cave. Ryoko realised that they could get a head start by using the stones to travel to the Neverwinter circle, nearer to the Lost Mine. Ryoko decided to take her companions one at a time. Clootie took to the transit surprisingly well, but on arrival, Ryoko felt herself physically drained by the effort of transporting another person. But she couldn't leave Arina, so she returned and collected the dwarf. This time, when she appeared at the Neverwinter circle, the cumulative effort left her exhausted. But they didn't have time to rest, they needed to press on to catch up with the youngsters.
Both parties - Ryoko's group and Letho's group - arrived at the cave at around the same time. Once there, they noticed a dead owl bear outside the cave entrance, it's body riddled with the black fletched bolts from Serax's crossbow.
