The centaur trudged through the undergrowth, cutting a path through the dense foliage with his saber. Ahead of him walked Krazas the dragonborn, and following behind was a group of Eskiholti sailors led by an old gnome carrying a rifle quite a bit taller than herself. They walked in silence, only sometimes interrupted by muted conversations between the gnome and her crew.

However, this serene state of affairs was quickly interrupted as Cas appeared, zipping through the air towards them at breakneck speed. "Nijem!" she hollered obnoxiously, coming to an ungraceful landing on his shoulder and practically yelling into his ear. "Nijem! Come on! I have something to show you!"

Nijem flinched at the sudden noise but didn't react further, as this was quite a common occurrence. "I'm quite busy, Cas," he said, scooping her into his hand and away from his ear. "Can it wait?"

"Wait?" The fairy crossed her arms and pouted as if the very idea of exercising patience was offensive to her. "Of course it can't wait. What are you even doing that could possibly be more important?"

Nijem sighed. "Captain Pétursson's prisoners seem to have flown the cage," he explained after pausing for a second to help Krazas hack his way through a particularly stubborn thicket. "I'm lending him my services in tracking them down—I figure it's the least I can do for him, considering he saved both our ship and our skins."

Cas lit up with excitement, leaping into the air once more. "Why didn't you say that earlier?" she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "That's what I was doing! And unlike you lot, I know where they are—I tracked them right to their little hideout!"

"You?" the dragonborn interrupted, an incredulous look on his face. "How did you manage that?"

The fairy's eyes flashed with malice, but it quickly faded to be replaced by an expression of unabashed smugness. "I saw the backstabbing assassin and his sorry squad of misfits sneaking off into the forest, so I followed them." She paused, cackling to herself. "You'd think if they were smart enough to escape the ship, they'd figure out someone was following them—but I guess they were too busy looking behind them to think to look up!"

"If you saw them escape, why in the world didn't you think to tell anyone?" Krazas fumed. "We could have been there much sooner!"

Cas rolled her eyes. "You were all busy talking to the town magistrate, or whatever. I wasn't gonna let them get away while I wasted time finding someone who would listen. And if you want them to get away, feel free to keep wasting time questioning me."

"Where are they, Cas?" Nijem interrupted, cutting off any further objections from the dragonborn.

"I thought you'd never ask," the fairy responded gleefully, immediately taking off into the forest.