As the PCs progress toward the sound, the local cacti grow more and more intense, until the hunters find themselves at the edge of a dense thicket of the prickly plants. The sound of the bleating goat is now obvious to everyone—and it seems to be coming from somewhere deep within the cacti. Khair still senses no evil, no undead, but the tension is higher still.

The cactus forest, though very wide, is not so terribly deep. Only 25 feet separate the PCs from the trapped goat, but the thickness of the growth would require 3 rounds of careful maneuvering before a PC could make it to the other side. (You have not made this travel yet.)

With the light sources the party carries, their vision can in dim light spot Rombard the goat, tethered to a scrub bush by a hairy, knotted length of rope. As soon as the farther reaches of the light sources fall on Rombard, the goat’s tiny bleats erupt into full-fledged brays of fear as it tugs in vain at the rope around its neck.

What do you do?