Swamped

"I asked the hunter if they'd run into trouble with the Church of Reth before, since that seemed to be such a concern," Rider continues. "They tried to pass it off as a mere issue of clashing religions, but in one of their anecdotes, they mentioned being present at a ceremony that isn't open to the public."

"Maybe they got the name wrong," you say.

"They never gave me the name, but the details they did give me point to it. It's an annual celebration for a bountiful harvest in a year that was expected to be thin. There are local versions of it in almost every grebling colony, but only the one at the temple rings a harvest bell. Which they specifically mentioned."

"So what you're saying is..."

"I suspect our hunter has a contact at the Temple of Reth. Likely a high-placed one."

"So they'd escape," you say. "Yeah, that's a risk. So what should we do instead?"

"I've been thinking about that, and I've concluded it's best to save it for after our little trip. The only problem is, I'm not sure if Ember and the Protectors will be enough to dissuade them from trying something."

"So what are you going to..."

Before you can finish, Rider steps away and makes some bird noises that make you feel embarrassed about your recent attempts at them. The large bird comes ambling over soon after.

Rider simply points to the hunter, and the bird sits down on them.

"Ouch! The hells is this?" they cry.

"Another guard. We'll try not to leave you with him for too long," Rider says. He turns to you. "We should leave soon. Are there any preparations we should make first?"