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"Thank you both." Brax leans up and gives Gunter a little kiss on the cheek, before blowing one towards Searos, "We will be rewarded regardless, but if you could see that the chest is recovered, I would appreciate it."

"Coren, Vee? Do you have a view?" She asks.

At the shore, the group is greeted by an anxious Henry. "Did everything work out OK?" he asks. The tide is coming in strong now, and it would be wise for the group to walk up to their camp since night will be falling in a short while.

Shearsea is all exited about being on land. She giggles as her webbed feet get caught in plants and stir up pebbles that clatter down the cliff. Once the path becomes steeper and narrower, she becomes frightened and clings to the next person's arm. "Is it always so difficult to walk on land?" she asks. "How do I get back to the sea?"

"Come with us to our camp, I will carry you." Brax suggests, offering her arms to the frightened Triton. "Once we rest i will carry you back to the sea." she looks to Gunter to lead them.

"Our camp isn't too far away...just up this path."

Gunter regards Henry with a slight grimace, "It didn't go as well as planned, but we all made it back in one piece."

At Gunter's remark, Henry says consolingly: "At least we are able to bring proof of the fate of the missing people to Dunreese. You will be rewarded for that by the council, just like the two mages who were with you at first were. And we can bring back some tokens to the bereaved families."

"You will carry me?" Shearsea asks Brax incredulously. "Ah no, I like to feel the gound with my feet. Just give me your arm and walk slowly, please." After a moment, in a pause to catch her breath and rest her aching feet, she asks; "Why is your skin so much darker and your hair so much lighter than your companions'? Are you from a different people?"

They arrive at the top of the cliff and find the camp undisturbed. But the mules are missing.

At the sight of the missing mules, Gunter rubs his temples and growls in frustration.

"Gods be damned!!!"

(I know the sun is setting but can I see any tracks or anything in the dirt to see where the donkeys have gone or who/what took them?)

Knowing that mules left alone all day are probably, hungry, thirsty and bored, Gunter is able to make out nibbled greenery near the path leading to the creek they took their water from. And indeed, there they are, near the creek, grazing peacefully. One even hennies as he approaches. As he leads them back, however, he notices that one of them limps slightly.

As Searos first meets up with Henry he rolls his eyes at the stupid question and ignores the kid mumbling something about "pointless hangers-on" and "good for the salt mines."

As they climb the mountain he brings up the rear, partly for lacivious reasons and also so nobody can see how downcast he is about having walked away from cave with NO treasure and NO pelts. As Henry talks about being rewarded he perks up a bit but the mention of the mages leads to more muttering, again about salt mines but also about "fair weather friends."

At the missing mules he just throws up his hands in frustration and follows after Gunther to find them. "Damned clod brained beasts can't ever do anything like they are supposed to can they? Oh, and the mules are gone. Maybe we should find them."

"I will help, of course." Brax offers her hand to the Trition, aiding her to walk, "My Parentage is somewhat different that the others, my mother was...." She pauses, unsure how to say it, "Are there 'Evil' Humanoids beneath the sea?" She asks, "My Mother was a Drow, a race hated above the surface.. I am somewhat diffferent."

When they arrive at the camp she shakes her head softly, "Gunter.." She starts to suggest, he had gone before she could say anything else. "Come, take a rest." Brax offers the entrance to a tent. "Does my parentage worry you?" She asks honestly.

"You mean there are people who do evil things ALL THE TIME?" Shearsea asks Brax, wide-eyed. Then she remembers something. "So your mother's people were something like the sea hag?" she shudders. "But you are nice" she confirms with a smile.

"Yes there are many creatures that do." She replies, "My Mothers people are female led, harbingers of evil, I was driven out, and devoted my life to the cause of good. And thank you."

"Are you looking forward to getting back to your people?"

"Oh yes!" Shearsea exclaims, clapping her hands. "But first I want to spend a night on land, like you do. I want to learn how the surface dwellers live."

"Then that is something we can do." Brax comments with a smile, "Excuse me while I loose this armor, and change slightly." Returning a short while later she strokes back her hair, dressed a long white silk dress which clings to her semi wet form.

"We should eat, and rest, some of us are somewhat injured." Opening her bedroll on the ground she pats it gently, helping Shearsea sit.

After returning the mules to the camp, Gunter stays relatively quiet and goes about building a gire before changing out of his armor and hanging his clothes out to dry.

Searos plops down with his back to something if possible and pulls out a dagger cleaning out from underneath his nails waiting for Gunter to finish building the fire.

"So, since I forgot about the kidnapped townsfolk, where do we go from here on that one? Are we just going to say the cat-fish and the whatever it was ate them? Cause I'm fine with that. We should get rewarded either way, right?"