(Narrator puts on T-shirt that reads: "I'm with Alya")
[hr]
As Chartose moved-on, still heavy-hearted at abandoning a party-member (even an oafish one), his spirits returned when they came to a cave, offering shelter from the wind and the promise of someplace warmer than the outdoors for Tricia to rest in. Alas, the cave was so much colder that he quickly realized this was no ordinary cave; a point further reinforced by the reaction by the many roots whenever a curious knight would wave their torch at the woody protrusions. The tangled roots had become such a nuisance that Chartose had to dismount, leaving nearly all the coverings on the scream-raptor.

Then a sudden gust of wind, lights went out. A momentary panic as Chartose calmly lit a candle and placed it in his lantern, which should prevent the lights going-out a second time; although the light from the small lantern was quite dim, it provided a warmer and more comforting glow than the blue sword the wereperson used.

It was then that he saw a large mass of the leadership had disappeared, and tried to rally those who remained as they tried to find the rest of the group. Backtracking yielded a literal dead-end, it was growing still colder for Tricia, and he could see their resident mute had started to wander-off just as he was sure he saw the faint blue of Svarak's sword. Quickly, he hurried-up to her, but quickly found himself calmer as he approached despite being absolutely sure they were now going the wrong way. By this time the Charr mercenary reasoned that the mute was quite handy with that flute, able to keep up with the improvised flourishes of the strange melody coming from somewhere in the distance ahead.