You are on your way again soon after daybreak, with the pathfinder leading. Almost as soon as you leave the burnt out area, you find a set of tracks...which is soon joined by another...and another...
After about an hour you come to a good sized clearing where a meeting obviously took place. Going by the number of tracks, you estimate that perhaps a hundred hobgoblins and an uncertain number of larger creatures - ogres, most likely - gathered here before continuing on west out of the valley. The pathfinder thinks that the tracks are perhaps a day and a half old.
After much back and forth discussion between the two parties via both Jerrold and Zanax, you decide to regroup.
What with the time it takes to communicate and the time it takes Kadlian's group to catch up with Sian's, it is noontime before you are altogether again in the clearing. Kadlian immediately notices all of the tracks on the ground that Sian spotted earlier. They head off into into the woods to the west, where the land continues to rise.
Within a few minutes of you all arriving, it begins to rain.
Kadlian grimaces at the rain. "It is going to be harder to track them, but not too hard. I still worry about the ambushes or traps. Sian and I will lead. Zanax, bring up the rear. Kailar, Jerry, if you want to scout ahead, please do. It is going to take longer than today to catch up with them, though."
Zanax nods and turns invisible, trailing several feet behind the party.
You set off into the woods. The rain rapidly becomes a torrential downpour driven by a rising wind. You are all quickly soaked through to the skin. Flying is impossible under these conditions, and visibility closes down to 120 yards or so. Still, the rangers have no trouble following the tracks of the hobgoblins, for the monsters were more concerned with speed rather than concealment. All the same, your pace is slow.
The afternoon passes and twilight comes early. The rain continues to pour out of the sky unabated. Still, the rangers have no trouble with their tracking; in fact, they suspect that you are gaining ground on them.
Zanax looks up at the receding light "Well, even though I can't see, I don't mind travelling at night, as long as someone can guide us. But then again, I can travel several days straight without stopping."
"Sian and I can try to find shelter in this, but I cannot promise anything. While continuing is an option, I do not believe it is wise. We might run into the back end of the them without even realizing it."
"Hlarn, Kailar, were you able to locate either of my swords?"
"I've seen them in the crystal ball. That's about it."
"Kad if you want I can probably move quicker by myself if you want me to try and get ahead. Zanax can contact me. And if the weather gets better than you can send the flyers out to catch up," says Sian.
Hlarn casts control weather to calm things down and get rid of the rain.
After about ten minutes the rain tapers off and the wind drops to a light breeze. Overhead, the stars come out as the clouds break up.
Seeing this, Kailar takes off on his broom.
With better conditions, you light some lights and continue on your way. Things are still wet and muddy, though. Kailar returns after about an hour and 15 minutes, to tell you that the area of effect of Hlarn's spell ends in about another mile, and that conditions are just as bad as ever after that.
You continue on your way, and soon thereafter come into a clearing where it is obvious that a camp was made. You see some bones, a dead hobgoblin, garbage and junk. The rangers estimate that the camp is about a day old. You are slowly closing the gap on them...
You hurry after them. The trail is becoming increasingly difficult to follow, because of the rains that were pounding it for most of the day. Finally, you approach what appears to be a wall of driven water: the outer boundary of Hlarn's spell. Stepping through and back into the weather, you are immediately soaked again.
Also, the trail has been obliterated.
"We camp for the rest of the evening and get an early start as soon as Hlarn can ready another weather spell or the weather dies down on its own."
"Hlarn, we are going to have to rely on your locate spells and Kailar and Jerry's scouting to find them."
Hlarn shakes his head. "My location spells are very limited in range... more for finding objects close by than off a distance. As for scouting, we know where they are heading. Let's follow the instructions given us to their home and make post haste toward it as fast as possible. Once the weather clears someone can fly forward, Rage can scry the location based on that, and teleport us there."
Kadlian nods. "Good enough. Rage, do you need to teleport back to the main camp to relearn your spells again?"
Zanax looks around at who's present, at which point he asks "Ummm...what happenned to Furgh? I'm not sure what's more uncomfortable, him being with us or him wandering around those dungeons alone."
Zanax tries to reach Furgh telepathically.
Just to be on the safe side, Rage teleports back to camp.
The rest of you make camp in Hlarn's controlled area.