The new day dawns unseasonably warm, and the wet ground around the halfling camp dries quickly. The halflings busy themselves with various errands and tasks, giving the small area the feel of a miniature bustling town.

---

Once ready I can post a setup for your return to the nearby Sacred Stone monastery, assuming that's still the next stop.

A bear returns to the halfling camp in the morning, still brown, and large like the last one, but this bear looks a bit bigger or perhaps just a bit healthier.  It is entirely possible that the whole difference is a trick of the light seeing the bear in natural daylight for the first time but in any case the mannerisms and expressions the bear uses when looking around the camp and nodding gently in recognition of familiar travelers clearly indicates it is the same bear.

Morg nods at Gorm, "To the monastery instead?"

Makari greeted and thanked their hosts. He smiled at Gorm when they re-entered the area as well, giving a small wave. He looked at Morg and then slowly nodded. "I believe that is the next destination."

He cast a spell upon himself. A vague shimmering effect washed over him and then dissipated.

Ehrendil woke feeling as if this was his first rest in weeks. He walks to the river's edge, doffs his armour and clothing and jumps in! A quick bath and some swimming, and soon he joins his companions around the campfire, feeling invigorated.

"Good morning to you all. I hope you all feel as rested as I do."


"If the guards were not lying then that is where we will find the missing delegation. So to the monastery."

Either in direct response to Morg or as a more general confirmation the bear that is obviously still Gorm nods her slightly different head in exactly the same way as before.

One of the halflings busying themselves over a pot of stew directs several of the children to bring a hearty breakfast to the camping newcomers.

---

Anyone who is below the average hp for their class can partake of the stew and permanently raise their max hp to the average (plus Con bonuses). I.e.,

Morg would go from 46 --> 52
Makari 46 --> 51
Ehrendil 51 --> 52
Gorm 34 --> 39
Zenna TBD pending hp roll for level 6
Zeb is already above hp average for rogues

"Am I crazy?" Zeb whispered to Ehrendil when he was confident they would not be overheard. "Or is that a different bear than was with us yesterday?"

"She's not an ordinary bear," Morg says while eating the stew, "Ask her something."

He then thanks the halflings, and tells them he'll welcome them, along with all good folk, in the dwarven stronghold of Tyar-Besil once it's been taken back from the elemental cultists.

Ehrendil studies the bear more closely. "I think it is still Grom. But I think she has chosen a different form of bear than yesterday."

He adds with a chuckle, "If it's not Gorm then we must be blessed to have two bears in two days join our group and not attack us!"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:22, Sun 08 Jan 2023.

Makari blinked at the 'new' bear entering. He walked around the bear and then smiled, stopping in front of them. "You look AMAZING, Gorm! And you're bigger too! I bet stronger as well." He shook his head, still smiling. "I almost wish I could do things like you." He stopped and then sobered a little. "I don't know if it's been said, but thank you for traveling with us and lending us your strength of body and will. I appreciate you."

This was all said seriously and as to an equal - possibly someone seeing Gorm as more than an equal.

He stepped back then, not wanting to impose on Gorm too much.

"Thank you all," Zeb added, approaching as he heard it confirmed this new bear was still Gorm. "Judging by what we have seen thus far, these cults are a greater threat than we three could handle on our own." He offered a thin smile to Ehrendil and Zenna, apologizing for including them in his self-effacement.

As the group packs up to leave, the halflings busy themselves picking up their homestead. In a remarkably short period of time, they have transformed the surroundings into what looks like a nondescript flat space in the hills. Despite knowing that the little people's dwellings lie there behind a curve in the rock, and over there on the opposite side of the hill, the homestead is remarkably well hidden to the visitor's eyes.

The group hikes out into the nearby hills, through a stretch of particularly steep country. After not more than a mile's distance overland, the air turns sharply colder. A chill wind blows in from the north and swirls through the sparse brush. After a few more minutes time and perhaps another mile's distance, the air is decided cold, and the travelers' breath becomes visible as the walk.

Suddenly a snow squall appears on the horizon, travelling quickly in the path of the group, dumping large snowflakes on the ground. Within minutes visibility drops to only a few feet, with the snow blinding even those in the group with keen eyesight.

Just as suddenly as the snow arrived it dissipates, the localized storm continuing its way southward.

After barely another mile of travel, the group reaches a trail leading through a narrow defile of rock, with steep cliffs bordering the path. The clearance between the cliff walls narrows gradually until the passage is only wide enough for a single person to make their way through. But then the bluffs recede, and the narrow space opens into a hidden canyon in the heart of the hills.

A sprawling monastery with dark, narrow windows and red tile rooftops stands in the middle of this natural amphitheater, ringed by sandstone cliffs all around. A weathered flight of steps leads up to the closed monastery doors.

---

Morg can explain, on or off camera, the layout of the monastery as far as his previous experience went.

This map shows the areas that would be known to Morg from the previous visit. Slide 2 is zoomed out to show the entire 1st floor with doors to unexplored areas numbered.

Morg explains what he remembers about the monastery, asks Gorm what she thinks about the snow squall, and asks the party about flying-scouts possibly checking out the passage and area around the monastery generally.

Gorm travels quietly at the back end of the group, occasionally slipping off into the trees to do whatever bears do in a forest when nobody is watching, but never for long.  When they get to the narrow passageway she gets stuck for a few moments as it tightens around her new bulkier form. It doesn't take long for her to figure out that she can just as easily climb higher in the cravase and navigate it carefully from above without getting stuck.  When Morg asks her a direct question she focuses on him for several seconds then starts sniffing around the steps and area near the entrance.

Morg quietly relays some of what Gorm tells him to the party: that passing through the snow squall may have alerted the monks to their presence.

Makari let out an involuntary gasp as the quick and brief snow storm hit them. It was like being back home for a minute. Though usually he was inside during those. He smiled until ti passed them by, the smile slowly fading as the storm got further away.

He paused and frowned at Morg. "Oh. In the squall?" He looked down and then shook his head slowly. "Very strange, if true." He then gave a small shrug. "That is disadvantageous for us, obviously, but it changes little, yes?"

"If Gorm is right, we have lost the element of surprise, if we ever had it. Still I wonder if it would be better to try entering from the stairs Morg said are to the left, instead of using the front door?"

---

I'm looking at the second slide and there are stairs in the northwest corner.

Zeb was disturbed by the squall for reasons having little to do with the element of surprise. "This storm is unnatural, yes?" He posed the question aloud, but with an eye turned toward Ehrendil, as he was wont to do in moments of confusion or precarity. "It seems the elements are not merely out of balance but turned actively against us. No wonder a small delegation of dwarves could go missing in the midst of such villainy. Somewhere behind this there is greed."