In which our friends and the Hand expedition both take their leave of Oberholzbek.
Tuesday, September 4th
The expedition is back!
Emmelinde reappeared and warned Kethe that the expedition was on its way back from the mine. She in turn quickly warned Marike and Courage, and they hid in a shady depression next to the road out, waiting for the coast to clear. By this time it was getting dark and easy to hide.
Soon the expedition indeed returned, but one of the henchmen was missing and everyone, except the page, was bloodstained and apparently more or less injured. Gustav Klöcker and the remaining henchman each carried a small but heavy chest.
They were greeted by the mine-owner Johann Mulderbreck. Father Skarabus, bleeding slightly from a scratch across his temple but otherwise apparently unharmed, explained that they had removed the “evil thing” that had drawn the haunt to the mine, but the “demon” lured there was too powerful for them to subdue at first try, so it was still in the mine. They had wounded in need of help.
Mulderbreck began telling them about the approaching beastmen, but the adventurers didn’t stay to hear the rest of the conversation – as soon as the expedition was out of sight, they hurried back to the cave.
Reunion and war council
The party gathered in the cave, where Wernhart had been tending Zima and Dmitri – they were able to walk and ride horses if needed, but were in no condition to fight – and held a quick war council.
Looks like the Hand expedition got what they came for – probably wyrdstone. So what were they going to do now? Seek shelter from the Circle and the beastmen with the villagers, or bail out already? If the expedition were going to bring their cart and field laboratory back they would have to travel by the road west, at least for a few miles, and risk colliding with the beastmen coming from the northwest.
After some arguing the adventurers decided they didn’t want to be caught in the cave if the beastmen should discover it. Instead they agreed to set off to the west and, given the opportunity, ambush the Hand expedition if they followed some path.
The night before Wednesday, September 5th
The retreat
Said and done; they packed up quickly and set off along the road to the west. Wernhart (who was still suffering from his injuries from the laboratory), Dmitri and Zima were riding while the others walked leading the horses. The night was dark – new moon and often cloudy – but they didn’t light any lanterns or torches; thanks to the fairly open landscape, they could still see reasonably well.
After an hour and a half or so through hilly country, they arrived at the fallen tree that they passed on the way east. No one had moved it, and they decided to hide on the hills on either side of the road to rest for a while and, if the Hand expedition were to come along, ambush them.
Somewhere to the east, a piercing horn sounded, and a couple of others responded further away. Was this the beastmen signaling, or others? In the darkness and broken landscape, it was impossible to see where the sounds came from.
Fiery bushes
Shortly after, hoofbeats were heard along the road – the expedition was coming! A twig was broken, however, and they realized people were hidden on the hills.
Etelka Herzen stepped forward, throwing a bottle of alchemical fire up onto one of the hills: a bush was lit on fire, quickly igniting and lighting the whole scene up like a giant torch. Marike replied in kind, setting fire to the expedition’s cart. Kethe shot Klöcker with her pistol; he managed to stay on his feet but stumbled backward, bleeding from his stomach. Emmelinde and Leutnant Schwerter shot at each other but both missed; Schwerter instead drew her greatsword and started climbing the slope. The remaining henchman started climbing as well, but Klaus shot him down with an arrow.
Skarabus, who had been chanting quietly ever since they were discovered, cut his arm and dripped some blood on the ground as Etelka threw alchemical fire onto the other side as well, setting fire to more bushes and forcing a slightly singed Marike to retreat.
Horns from the woods
The adventurers seemed to be gaining the upper hand, but suddenly new horns sounded from the woods just north of the road. Something was moving in the forest. Over an open crest some way to the north, several of the horned figures appeared, advancing towards the road. And there seemed to be more on the way.
The already-tired adventurers quickly decided not to stick around, but instead retreat west with their horses and hope that the beastmen, apparently allies of the Hand’s enemy, the Seeing Circle, would finish off what was left of the Hand’s expedition.
They could soon hear the sounds of battle behind them, but they didn’t stop all night, going as fast as their wounded could manage.
* * *
As the sun began to rise, just before six in the morning, they finally dared stop. By now, they had reached the crossroads where the smaller eastern road joined the main road, and the village of Kleeblatt lying next to the crossroads. Exhausted, they collapsed in an open roadside chapel outside the village.
The Enemy Within: Remixed 
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