2 Play out the return

Frame the action with the PCs arriving back at the village, or at least on their last leg of travel. Say what time it is, what direction they're approaching from, what's obvious as they draw near.

Ask questions! What are they each thinking about or worrying about or looking forward to? Do they intend to keep any secrets about what happened on the expedition, or spin things in any way? Are they just trudging home, or putting on a bit of a show, or what?

Maybe have them meet an NPC before reaching the village proper. Such an encounter can help ease you all back into homefront play, and foreshadow the village's reaction to the PCs' return.

"It's early evening, four days after you left. The sun's low, casting long shadows through the Wood. You're almost home. So, what's on your minds? What are you all thinking about?" Everyone's answers are a bit somber, what with Garet's death and all.

Next, I frame a scene near the Stream, with a patrol trying to "ambush" the PCs. Rhianna spots them, calls them out into the open, and assigns one of them to go fetch Cerys.

Cerys arrives and we have an emotional scene where they tell her what happened. She breaks down crying, but eventually pulls herself together. There's some talk about funerals and wakes, and they decide to head up the switchback path to Stonetop, carrying Garet's shrouded form, singing a hero's funeral song as they go.

When the PCs get back to town, use the impressions of Stonetop to set the scene. Think offscreen, too. Include details that point to what's happened while the PCs were away.

If the PCs are Returning Triumphant (page 339), then launch into what that looks like. Describe the news spreading, a

crowd gathering, toasts, celebration! But also: say who hangs back, glaring, grumbling, still unhappy or just left out.

If the PCs' return would cause panic or reveal a calamity (for example, if they took the village's horses and lost them), then the village Meets with Disaster (page 532). Describe folks gathering to hear the bad news, their fearful eyes, the worried mumbles or the wails of grief. But also: say who steps up, who supports the PCs, who tries to talk sense.

If the PCs return could be triumphant, or could cause panic, but it's not a given either way, then set it up as scene. Frame the action, portray your NPCs, and make a GM move. Maybe tell them the requirements ("You're all gonna need to keep your stories straight to make this Return Triumphant") or put them in a spot ("Folks are grumbling, on the verge of panic"). Ask, "What do you do?" and see if the PCs can pull it off.

Otherwise, just describe their return home and how folks react, however it makes sense to do so. Ask questions as needed and build on the answers.

From there, ask, "What do you do?" Play out the situation until all the PCs have gone their separate ways.

What with Garet's death and the party singing a funeral hymn, there's no way this counts as Returning Triumphant. But at the same time, Garet's death isn't going to cause panic to spread—he was a hunter who was killed by drakes in the Great Wood, a sad but normal death. So, I just set the scene and describe how folks react.

"You reach the top of the switchback as the sun is just about to set. You can see a few haystacks silhouetted out on the Old Wall, and folks trudging back into town. But a small crowd has already gathered near the top of the path. Seren the Eldest is there, leading folks in the mourning hymn. Sawyl and Morwenna are here, clearly relieved

to see Caradoc among the living. Rhianna, you spot others: Pryder and Rheinal, solemn and singing, Glenys holding Wynfor's hand, glaring at you. As you all make your way into town, towards the pavilion, other folks join you, taking up the hymn as they do."

I ask more questions about funeral rites. Blodwen says that they'd take the body to the pavilion of the gods, and someone would sit vigil with it all night, before a proper funeral pyre the next morning. Rhianna insists on keeping the vigil, so that Cerys can see to her kids. Vahid offers up a beautiful Lygosi song for the dead before heading home. The other PCs disperse as well.