March 19th is again partly cloudy and cold...but this is to your benefit...for during the night the ground has frozen solid and so is better able to bear your weight and that of the wagon. You make slightly better time, and by midmorning you have reached a stream. At this point the fields are to the north of you...and across the stream are more woods. The rangers return and tell you that by crossing the stream and then heading northwest, you will strike the road into Inner Sanctum, some miles west of that town.
You ford the stream and head northwest.
By midafternoom you have passed through another six miles of forest, crossed a second, larger, stream, and are standing at the side of the deserted road that you originally travelled down several days ago. To the east is Inner Sanctum, some 8 miles distant. To the west, some 40 miles away, you estimate, is the site where the orcs ambushed you, and your ultimate goal.
"Where do you want to set up a base camp?" asks Valdar. "I should think that we should set it up fairly close to where we were ambushed...at least until we learn more about the lay of the land and the state of the enemy."
Stiff will look around the areas they are travelling to determine what spells he might be able to use to obscure the encampment when it is finally set up.
The area that you are in is temperate...heavily forested with a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees. The terrain where you are right now is flat to gently rolling...but to the southwest of you are the Mountains of Lia...and to the west is the large hill within which is the dragon lair. The road you are on winds through a valley separating the northernmost of the mountains and this hill.
Stiff asks of the party in general, "Are we to set up in the forest, beside the forest or in a grassy area. I would think that if we could find an abandoned building or hiding of some sort that would be easier than using spells to modify the area."
"Agreed," says Valdar, "But we have seen precious few abandoned buildings in this area."
"We are a substantial group and it will always be difficult to hide all our doings. We will need to put up protection magics if possible and post guards. I suppose we should be prepared for any attacks by the Dragons. Wow, I'm getting paranoid about this. By the way, was there any information on the kinds of Dragons floating around? I don't recall getting any information on the matter".
Valdar says, "Perhaps we should move closer to the ambush site, anyway...we are still at least a day away from it. We do not want to set up a base to far removed."
You head west.
Now that you are back on the road you make far better time...and by nightfall are well away from Inner Sanctum.