It is not really detailed enough for that. Beyond 'eventually you hit the highlands', where everything turns rocky.

"As you say. Squad, fan out and find us the trail, see what we can learn."

"Do tell me if I'm being an idiot, mind. You're the scouts."

"They both seemed like reasonable courses of action to me, Fatebinder. And I think you've worked more with the Earthshakers than we have directly; the psychological prediction part of tracking is improved by your input."

It doesn't take long for them to get results.

"The answer was 'both'," Aethra comments when they're gathered around the path.

Antenor squints at her, then nods in comprehension, "Ah, yes. Oathbreaker and Chorus, one after the other. The Chorus party was smaller and making some attempt to hide their passage, following the others. That was not long ago - probably yesterday morning. The Vendrien Guard tracks are several days old as the captive remembered hearing."

"...What concerns me is that our catch-and-release said that their gang hadn't followed this one - but we can't do anything meaningful about that.

"...If the Earthshakers are still alive, they'll have definitely holed up somewhere rocky; the set of places that satisfy 'rocky' and 'having a spring or river' are few, though, and they'll likely have needed one by now.  Let's go find them."

Whether they follow the path, or the road uphill, it's easy to follow, so they talk while they travel.

"It was supposed to be a large group - Commander Radix and as many as he could bring. But that's been bothering me," says Colus, "That many couldn't hide, or be hidden. It would be a full phalanx if not two or three; even with most in robes rather than armor, that's visible travel."

"You think he interpreted 'as many as he could bring' creatively?", asks Phorbas.

"It's seeming more likely every time I think about it."

"It would not surprise me if that was so; he did not strike me as someone who cooperated without - incentives.

"Getting his command to do anything about Cairn's leavings took...some effort."

"He hasn't left the Stone Sea since the Second Conquest of Vendrien's Well started, if I remember right," says Antenor.

"Guess he's been fixing it up like you ordered, Fatebinder?", replies Phorbas.

"I can only hope - but I'm not sure I believe."

A while after that conversation, the old tracks make camp. Then both sets change direction to head northeast. Not far to the rocky part, either.

"They noticed something. Unless it was a message by bird, probably something close. Antenor, take the lead; no one start a fight except on- without an order. But be ready for one."

...She'll move a bit closer to the front of the march, and prepare to spread buffs.

Antenor is very sneaky, and can maintain very sneaky for what ends up being a full half-hour before he finds the first body.

It's Vendrien Guard, killed with a serrated blade and stripped of his boots and some of his armor. Killed recently. Looking out carefully, he sees at least two more, and no sentries visible from here. There is a low ridge of rock probably a hundred meters onward

The scouts pull back for a quiet conference.

"Looks like the Oathbreakers were staying in place, and Chorus ambushed them. Vendrien Guard prisoners possible. Earthshakers... likely. Holed up behind that ridge, probably. The last one was a counter-ambush and forced our hands, but we have a choice here. Fatebinder, do we start with a volley from ambush and iron drawn, or sacrifice the stealth for a chance of negotiation?"

"...Give me just a little bit of time, and we can test the waters without risking our persons.  Overmuch."

And she will settle herself, and conduct a ritual that is substantially built upon the Mirror Image spell, that projects an illusory double of herself much farther than the spell normally travels - walking it out of a different copse of trees than their own hiding spot.

(The doppelganger is deployed bearing a blue flag; she has one in her pack to reference.)

"Fuck, someone's here!"

"Ugh, that's the Fatebinder. Blue flag, get the boss."

They're now moving closer and some of them are visible through the trees. Most have weapons near to hand.

A large man with more armor than most of his gang eventually strides out. "The fuck you want, traitor?"

"To establish that I believe that the only true traitor to Kyros' Empire is Nerat, since I'm talking to people who should justly want to head for the hills before his blood-for-blood's-sake policies demand yours.

"I'm sure you've been told Graven Ashe attacked Nerat under a blue flag.  I believe that that was duly provoked; Nerat was, by holding captive and torturing members of the Disfavored within himself - as was revealed to all present at that meeting - inherently violating the promise of truce by attending it, not to mention the numerous ways in which Nerat's so-called laws overstep even Archon's Privilege and justify his outlawry.

"And, well, I told him to shit or get off the pot about obeying Kyros' Law, and he promptly shat himself.  ...Metaphorically speaking.  I'm not sure how he even eats."

"You'd probably have some argument of how it wasn't actually you at fault if you stabbed Kyros in the back in the middle of his court. They attacked us in broad daylight under blue flag. That makes them the outlaws no matter how fine you want to try and slice it to make you look good."

"Which 'they' and which 'us'?  I have no animosity towards the Chorus.  I believe that even Graven Ashe's grudge is mostly towards Nerat; he certainly didn't object to my offer of a general amnesty, or even reforming the Chorus under another banner.  And no less than Tunon himself has confirmed, in a letter that arrived the day of the parley, that Nerat, if proven to have done what we are now certain he did do - by the Voices' own admittance - has committed an Archon's crime and should suffer an Archon's sentence.

"It was only Nerat's slipping control of his maelstrom that kept him from attacking me prior to everything going to shit, to the best of my knowledge.  Not that I expect you'll believe my saying so, but I would swear it before Kyros, and have attested it to Tunon, under much the same penalty should I have lied."

He looks performatively bored. "And your point?"

"I'd rather not have to kill you."

"Are you going to make me?  Because you should know, the last few gangs who tried aren't around to regret it."

"Right, like I believe that. You, Verse, and the bag of scraps? She'd be the only one left after the first ambush."

"Do I look stupid enough to take a clanker along when I'll vastly benefit from stealth?  Not to mention that better assassins than you have tried; one of Cairn's handpicked hunters tried to off me and they failed because I saw them coming in my sleep.  The Ash Breeze gang, deployed about a day's walk thataways, was the first group with someone who survived picking a fight with me."

When she mentions the gang by name, his expression turns more serious.

"Let's say I believe you're less useless than you act. Then what? We pretend we never saw you? Like that would fly."

"Oh, I'm sure I could think of some ways.  But no.  All I ask is that you be appropriately willing to testify that this was more than you wanted to face."

She murmurs "This may be loud" to her crew, and then --

Lightning strikes, with a forceful kra-kra-kra-krakrakrakaTHOOOM, lancing out through the forest's trees like the sigil itself writ large.

Ophelia herself looks a bit strained, clearly pushing the limits of her ability to focus - but her image does not falter.  Nor, for that matter, does the projection of herself, as it throws a dramatic hand to indicate the strike zone.

(She may have asked Lantry to make sure it wouldn't.)

As the thunder stops, Aethra closes her eyes, then hisses. "I think a boulder's moving, sirs."

The gang boss is startled, but doesn't look afraid - admittedly, hiding fear is probably one of his core job skills.

"Still not as intimidating as the big boss," he says raising his voice, "And my gang shouldn't forget it." He turns around to stare them down, then stops abruptly, staring behind him.

"Actually, fuck that, we're out," he says, already walking quickly off to the east, "Good talk, may whatever find you soon."