OOC II
There's always a balance of allowing players time to post and keeping the game rolling when someone's indisposed with real life.
Then there's the issue as the days tick by as to whether they've decided not to return and we just stare at the door waiting for them to come home. They said they wouldn't be long, but that was almost a week ago. How long does it take to pop out for a gallon of milk?
Anyway... If I were holding up the game, I'm sure I wouldn't mind if the DM NPC'd me for a bit to keep things moving forward. I'm only one person and I wouldn't want to penalize the other players for my unexpected absence.
I say we eat the bird. Send them a message.