[GM Post]

Regardless how many what ifs, no one suggested a better plan. The last bout of scrying before the partings revealed several things, in both villages. Neither seemed to have any activity going on at the dead of the night. On Pesti side, the prince was scried to be inside the barn of a farmstead in the outskirt of the village. Several completely out of place tents were erected around it, where armed men in non-uniform equipment were standing guard outside while a larger number sleep in the tent. About ten awake including the sentries, and roughly twenty more in place. Meanwhile, on Fanghorn the lord's fort looked almost completely deserted save for several sentries nodding off on the top of the battlement. The inner side, however, was a mystery - wards were built into the stone, a standard construction from a harsher times to protect fortifications from magical attacks.

[b][color=00a651]"Veronica, Chounan, Yvonne, with me. Double time. The rest of you, follow the elf."[/color][/b]

The wagon was parked as discreetly as possible on the roadside. Then, finally, the group separated.

*****

At the outskirt of Pesti, the wide farmstead came into view in the form of various torches kept lit by the armed defenders. There's fence surrounding the entire place, but it's more to keep animals in or out than to deter people seeking entry. However, spread evenly in the darkness were sentries keeping watchful eyes outward. They didn't seems to be doing that good of a job, constantly nodding off under Veronica's darksight, but there's no way they'll miss a direct approach.

In the distance, the lord's squat little fort loomed on the top of a natural hill.

*****

Nearing Fanghorn, the party slowed down as they beheld the village. Not far off from the riverside was an artificially elevated mound where a stone keep was raised. A ring of stone wall surrounded it near the top, a northern gate giving fast access toward the bridge if necessary while the southern gate opened directly to the village. The inner village was attached directly to the southern side of the fort, where the more important buildings were kept. Surrounding it was palisade walls, a section looked to be recently rebuilt while the rest seemed like it's been neglected for decades. The outer village was largely residential, with farmsteads jutting out with little thought or planning like some particularly blocky half-halo.