What about the poor guy we recruited to try to pose as one of them?

He stays with you while his "kin" flee.  Fortunately there are no friendly fire issues.

“Well, that was easier than I thought. No reason to get cocky though.”

"Easy for you, maybe," Larsen says.  "You were nice and secure there in the trees, I was out here with them.  And they saw through my disguise right from the start!"

“I apologize, Larsen.  That plan was ill-conceived in the extreme.  Now, does anyone have any ideas about what to try next?”
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 01:44, Thu 11 Apr.

"Sorry Larsen. When we get back to town, drinks are on me."

"So when are we getting back to town then?"

“I suppose we should head back now, then try to think of a better plan.  What do you say, Rosie?”

“Town sounds darn good to me. Let’s make like a tree & leave.”

The trip back to town is fairly quiet, and the sun is setting by the time you return.  Do you report to the captain right away, or do you intend to stop somewhere else first?

“Should we stop off for a drink of something or other before we report back to the Captain?”

“No, let’s meet with him right away.  He should hear the bad news ASAP.”

You report to Captain Scotus and tell him what happened in the woods.  He is clearly irritated, and he takes a slow breath before responding.  "So we have a better idea of where they are based now, and they know that we know.  Which means they'll probably accelerate their plans to deny us the chance for our own counter-assault.  I'll need to send a message to Lady Meridian to request reinforcements.  And what will the two of you be doing?"

I shrug my shoulders and cast a sideways glance at Geezer with a raised eyebrow, wishing we were both psychic.
“Repairing and healing so we will be ready to fight sir!”

I let out a sigh.  "We're open to suggestions.  Obviously, our last idea didn't work out at all.  We should have done a better job thinking it through."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:51, Thu 25 Apr.

Agreed.
"What can we do to help?"

After asking the question, I stare at my boots.  They're muddy, just like my soul.  Oh Lord yeah.

"Pinning down their exact location would probably be the most helpful thing.  You've given us a rough idea, but more precise is better.  And with just the two of you it should be easier to go unseen than with a whole detachment."

Geezer snaps out of the void of self-doubt he had fallen into.  "A scouting mission?  We can do that.  Maybe we'll even succeed this time.  Oh Rosie... oh girl?" This is his way of asking her what she thinks.

‘I’m game. Let’s go!’

Okay, so what's your plan?  So far you know a couple different directions from which you can approach, and you have at least some knowledge about the risks involved, so...?

I guess we're just going in scouting.  Can you suggest some choices of where to start searching (or directions to take)?

Maybe in order to reduce our chances of being captured, we should dress up like the guys from Cinderella.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:08, Yesterday.

You had the idea earlier of following that stream, and that's still probably the most direct option.  Guard patrols are an issue of course, but with just the two of you, you might be able to evade them.

That would only work if we were looking for a gypsy road.

Following the stream - carefully - seems to be the smart plan I think.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:19, Today.

Works for me.  We’ll follow the stream, but not too close, trying to use trees for cover.  And we’ll try to crouch down most of the time.