Leaving the Hommlet trail the party headed due north into the thickets of the forest.  Ronalt the ranger in the lead and Yesil the barbarian plains woman bringing up the rear.

It was late in the day which being overcast made the lighting poor.  In earlier days they would have found the prospects daunting and every shadow a potential threat. Now?  There was little danger that such a large experienced party would be ambushed.  A large well knit party would be even more of a challenge but their differences now made party cohesion a thing of the past, or at least, not of the present.

After two hours Ronalt called a halt. "We should be close to the cave." He said quietly.  "Perhaps Yesil and myself will scout ahead while the rest remain here?  Stay alert, the 'good' folks of Nulb may be on the hunt."
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:59, Thu 23 July 2009.

Iviana shakes her head bemusedly.  "I don't think I could find the path back; I'll be very impressed if anyone has been able to follow us," she says, more in praise of Ronalt and Yesil's efforts than arguing against the plan.  "But there are plenty of reasons to keep alert in an unknown forest."

She chooses a direction to keep her eyes on, and leans back against a tree.

Gwythe follows Ronalt quietly as they follow the trail and then turn off into the woods, ignoring the others and keeping his thoughts to himself.

As they stop he waits a few minutes after the scouts leave, and then steps away from the group and into the undergrowth, hacking his way through a plant that is across his path.

[Private to GM: Injecting a bit of realism: Gwythe is going to the toilet.]

Ronalt notes a few on the key features which he leaves his companions before starting the search through the nearby forest for signs of the druid and his cave.
Ronalt keeps a watch for trail sign which might give him a better understanding of the local wildlife as they move.