You encounter a mercenary troupe

You and Nell do your best to rush back into town. You try to hide your exposed breasts with your arms but it is still painfully obvious that your dress is torn. You can make it halfway to town without even seeing anyone, but eventually Nell notices several men heading your way.

Nell pulls you aside and tries to hide the two of you as best as he can in the underbrush beside the road. "Keep down," he instructs before snapping a low branch off a nearby tree and dropping it in front of you. "Stay here, he cautions as he steps back out to meet the men.

"Hey there," you hear Nell call out, probably in response to the strangers' greeting. From there you can't easily hear what they are talking about, only being able to pick out individual words or phrases. At one point you hear the men ask Nell where he is coming from, and later you hear them inquire if he was traveling with anyone.

One of the men loudly calls Nell a liar when he mentions he was traveling alone, yelling out, "Where is she!?"

You cower in the brush as you hear the sound of the men trampsing around the side of the road, very obviously looking for you.