The priest spent the morning at some meeting his father had arranged for him with a woman, about which he seemed very indignant both before and afterward. After that, at around noon, we finally left, having given the cultists a two-day head start. We crossed planes and a river, and killed some wolf-like creatures on someone's farm, who were attacking a few sheep. Then the others delayed still further, joking about eating the sheep, and then carrying the dead animals to the farmer, and offering condolences. I must remain calm, as our master taught us, but it is difficult among these endless, trivial delays. We can not allow the Enemy to be notified of our presence.
In the evening, we arrived at a small town, where we learned that the cultists had left two days before, on horseback. Rather than pursue them into the night, we rested, yet again.
We spend the day riding north, during which we encountered a large number of patrols and caravans. In the evening, we crossed a river and entered a trading town. Dragons seemed a popular symbol, but, although it disturbed me at first, I soon realized there was nothing to be concerned about. We entered one shop which specialized in dragon-related products, including dragon hide armor and dragon eggs, which I assumed to be sterile. So again, we wasted time that could have been spent chasing down the cultists. At night, as if we were here solely for entertainment, the priest slept in an inn that cost him three pounds of gold, enough to buy a loaf of bread every day for twenty years. I can not fault him, however, as this journey has far less significance to him than to me. The others stayed at a less luxurious inn. At some point during the evening, the winged woman vanished. The priest and the Infiltrator were upset, and scolded her the next day.
We entered a small mountain range at noon, which was guarded by a fortress and a large number of this kingdom's soldiers. The rest of the day was spent in the mountain pass, and we slept in the woods. Late at night, a few bears attacked our camp, and we killed most of them. The winged woman was distraught at the loss of life, but what are a few bears? I ended the foolish discussion short, and we all went back to sleep.
Another few uneventful days spent traveling. We slept in various towns, where we continued to find ourselves two days behind the cultists. That was not surprising, given our meandering pursuit. Why do the others seem unconcerned?
We came upon an abbey of elves, who welcomed us. They were apparently well known for their specialization in ranged attacks, both mundane and magical. There, we delayed yet again, practicing for some hours with them.
We crossed a ford, and finally arrived at the town. According to the priest, this town was well known for the goodness of its people, but we were wary nonetheless. There was no sign of a tower. The woman went into town and learned of some ruins outside of town, which used to be a tower. The story went that an old mage had crafted a blade for a few adventurers to fight a dragon. The dragon had killed the adventurers and the mage, and destroyed the tower. Now, though I fear we may be too late, we go to scout out the tower.
We remained two days behind the cultists throughout the journey, which means they made no effort to hurry. Had we traveled two or three more hours each day, and slept under the stars instead of wasting time in towns, we could have caught them before they could inform the Enemy of our presence. And there was another way as well. It only occurred to me today that I could have used the wizard's scroll, and teleported myself, the Infiltrator and the Empty Hand ahead to lay an ambush. The foolishness of our delays can only be matched by my own stupidity.