The entrance to the trail is in the deep woods, but listening carefully, they can hear some activity not so far away - the sounds of voices, lumbering carts, and the occasional whinnying of a horse. Judging by how far they went in the tunnel, they guess that they are hearing the Carnath Roadhouse, not so far away. They decide that rather than going back through the tunnel, which would end them up in someplace they weren't supposed to be, they would just go back to the roadhouse overland, and probably nobody would even know they found the tunnel.

They would like to be able to find their way back here, so Barry tries dragging a stick through the mushy earth to make a subtle trail. Examining the results, they find the trail rather hard to follow, so they each take a stick and do the same thing, walking single-file. It makes a fairly good mark, and they're fairly sure they would be able to follow it back if they needed to.

Meanwhile back in the roadhouse, Elfo, Elbolin, Nars, and Gourbain are just lurking around, watching whatever happens. By the late afternoon, two carts arrive, and they undergo the same process they'd seen before: after checking in with Bog Luck outside, the horses are detached and the carts dragged by hand into the roadhouse, where they are unloaded under careful supervision, and some of their contents redirected into the storage room.

Bilbo, Barry, Leosin and Hooflepoof make their way back to the roadhouse, finding themselves in a clearing outside the east wall. There is only one window visible from here, high and to the left, and they can't see anything through it. They hang back in the bushes, assessing the situation, and before they can decide what to do, a man comes around the corner leading a horse. Neither the man nor the horse are familiar, and the horse wears a yoke of a type that might be used to pull a cart.

Barry approaches the man, blocking his path. "Why are you leading that horse? Are you selling something?"

Judging by his expression, the man did not expect to be approached out of nowhere by a Tabaxi, but he is not flustered. "No, I'm not selling anything. I'm not riding because the horse has already had a hard day."

"I see," says Barry. "Why has the horse had a hard day?"

"He was pulling a heavy cart all day."

"What was in the cart?"

"I don't know."

"How do you not know?" Barry interrogates.

"Not my business. I'm just hired to guard the cart," the man answers.

"Where are you taking the horse? Are you stealing it?"

"Heck no. I might look dumb, but I'm not so stupid that I'd steal from the High Road Charter Company. I'm just taking the horse around to the stable."

Barry walks away without saying anything else, but keeps an eye on the man as he continues to lead the horse, disappearing around the corner of the roadhouse. Barry follows, peeking around the same corner. All he sees is the butt of the horse, sticking halfway out of a door somewhere along the wall.