The scouts are the first to leave.  It takes time for a large force to form up and organize- they, being a smaller force, get moving first.  They will have several hours on the main force, which can translate to them being ahead by 5-10 miles.

Zernit the Wererat has joined them.  In her Human form she is a petite but tough looking Human, with an appearance that suggests she’s no stranger to harsh conditions.

“So we’re going up into Elf country,” she says.  “That’s always been tricky.  They’ve never been too friendly.”

Erulian, one of the two Elf scouts, takes offense.  “What do you mean by that?”  he asks.

“No ‘Welcome’ signs,” Zernit says.  “And sometimes, strange creatures in the forest.  Though.. to be honest, sometimes the strange creatures is us.  There have been accidents.”

“What do you mean by accidents?”  Erulian asks.

“The border isn’t clearly marked.  One shouldn’t go into a forest the Were-folk use for hunting.  Accidents.”

They take a forest trail heading east.

Zernit tells them a little of what happened last year.

“The Huns invaded, and they got through the forest very quickly, bypassing the Elven defenses.  The Elves were caught by surprise, and before they knew what was happening, Beda was surrounded.  Two thousand Elves, almost none escaped.  The Hun attack was defeated, but the damage done was terrible.  And the Elves haven’t rebuilt Beda.

“No, they wouldn’t,” Erulian says.  “It must weigh too heavily on them.  My people, the Savoy Elves, would be much the same.  To be there in a place of such sadness, for those who  lost loved ones and friends, is unbearable pain.  They would stay clear of it.”

We should hurry to get to the Huns. I have a plan for our attack on them. Can anybody else cast spells, because I need somebody skilled in ventriloquism to get a scare into them Demus says a serious tone can be heard in his voice as he walks. We should avoid Beda.

”We’re not supposed to be attacking them,” Zernit Whiskersniff says.  She’s been walking point, and stopping every few moments to test the air with her long nose.

”Yes we are,” Erulian, the Savoy Elf scout, corrects.  “We are being sent ahead to scout out the route, but also, to prevent the Huns from locating our main force.  If we run across Hun scouts, we must destroy them.”

”Well, I’m more of a scout than a destroyer,” Zernit says.  “You’ll have to do that part.”.

Erulian turns to Demus, who is the local here and probably knows what he’s doing.  ”What is your plan, Demus?” he asks.

In reply to Ben (msg # 3):

Well this plan mainly pinnacles around them being slightly superstitious, but I have a backup if they aren't. then Demus begins to explain the plan I was hoping one of you would be able to throw your voice onto their ship to try and convince them to turn them back by acting the role of a long dead spirit of immense power, but if that didn't work I would go in there using my spells to turn me into a mist and burn down as many boats as I could. If any of you have  spells that would help with the burning or would be able to keep me in this form and grant flight I would greatly appreciate it if you could cast them on me when I go to attack them, or burn the ships down. We would also want to take down the front line of boats and work our way back to maximize damage by slowing down their forward pursuit with their own ships. Making a smashing gesture with his fist as he finishes.

"I doubt that a little ventriloquism will fool the huns. They aren't superstitious or afraid, and if there are indeed demons onboard the ships they will certainly realize the deception, being creatures of deception and chaos themselves. Their games involve tricking and murdering each other in the most deceptive ways possible. They won't be swayed of awed by anything short of a display of raw power." Callidus says, following closely behind their wererat companion. He was sure that she was aware of his nature, and could let a bit more of his beastial self out, taking a part-transformed half-animal state.