----co-post with [@Shadowefil]----
Jatan's arms ached. Then they burned. He felt the stab of a splinter making its way steadily into his left index finger. Come on, come on, just...a bit...farther...there! A sigh of relief escaped his lips. At last, the skiff was safely laid to rest near the spot the youth had selected for their makeshift campsite. But, as the weight of the skiff dropped from his hands, a new, deeper weight replaced it. Like a falling oak, the heaviness of the day's events toppled down upon Jatan, crushing the breath out of him once more. What kind of coward flees from a brother in need? What kind of coward flees the only family he's ever had, the only father he has ever known? Edgar, Kevar, even the hell that was Loudwater...Torm has taken everything from me, he thought, sinking to his knees, his hands raking through the dirt. I have nothing left...not one thing left to hold on to...not one thing left to love...nothing left…"Nothing left," he whispered.

Meanwhile, Brisa set to making a fire as soon as her feet touched dry land. It was habit, routine. All the days with Argurios she had come to know this was the first step. He would take care of a few other things, her job was to gather a bit of brush and sticks and start a small fire, the kind one could huddle close to without getting too hot. Even in the rain they had had fire, for her spell, minor though it was, would light even the wettest branches. It had been up to Argurios to jury-rig a shelter to keep it dry, but Brisa could always get it started. So that's precisely what she did. The spot they stopped was nice enough, better than some of the places she had camped recently, worse than others. But there was a nice clearing for building a fire, and not a cloud in the sky so no need to shelter it. 

She set to the habitual movements without even really thinking about Aiden or Jatan. It wasn't until she had the clearing for the fire made that it dawned on her.  She stopped what she was doing and abruptly blinked in the falling evening light. Argurios was wounded, badly, she could tell by the way he moved though she couldn't tell how he was injured. Just that something was very off. The other two she wasn't even sure about. At least knew Aiden even though they hadn't been friends everyone knew everyone where she came from."I'm going to get a fire going" she muttered softly a bit less confident now that the danger was passed and they were once again on the road. She had relied on Argurios to tell her what to do and she had done it, they had managed well enough together. Now she was off kilter. She looked at Jatan and smiled tentatively…"Could you, do you, have anything to help my friend?" she asked softly. 

She had guessed the potion he had used before was used up, but maybe he had another, or something. She didn't even think to consider he might be struggling with the death of the monks who had clearly given themselves up to save the kids. She was just too impulsive that way, and to unskilled in social behavior."Nothing left, nothing left, nothing left." Jatan's murmuring halted. The sound of Brisa's voice drew his gaze upward, and his voice trembled. Unblinking, he met her gaze, the wail finally ripping forth from his soul, "I have NOTHING LEFT!"

Brisa eyed him, not unkindly for a few seconds. She knew in her gut he wasn't talking about not having a way to help Arugurios. It was more than that. Finally she spoke."Neither do I" said Brisa her simple voice full of both hurt and resolve. She wanted to touch the quivering elf boy but this time controlled her impulsive side. "At least I didn't. Three priests came and took away everything I knew; simply made them vanish and killed my teacher. I'm guessing something similar but different happened in your home. Now I have Argurios; I'd never really met him until after all this. But he's saved my life more times than I car to count; a friend where I had none before. And I have a goal; a mission to find those priests. So that's two things. And if I don't give up...well who knows." She paused for a moment to nurse the vain hope that if she found the priests she could somehow, someway, right everything. Then she continued, her voice even softer than before. "Sorry. About everything. I'm sure its our fault you had to leave your home. If I can help you somehow I will."

Jatan was still reeling as she spoke. Brisa's words swam around his head like fish, wriggling and slipping out of his grasp whenever he tried to hold them down. The few words he heard lay caught before him, and he wove them into his question, "Made them vanish? What do you mean?"

Brisa shrugged and looked around her eyes flicking to her companions. "Don't know" was her honest answer. "Town is empty, all the people gone....”  She trailed off as she blocked certain dark thoughts from her mind.  She kept telling herself they were on a rescue mission, despite the fact that in the cool dark recesses of her logical self she knew that there was no hope of rescuing the people of Twiddledale.  She was not prepared to admit she was on a mission of vengeance.  She quickly squelched any unpleasant thoughts and set to tell Jatan the story of their adventures, some of them anyway, in hopes to learn from him what happened in his own hometown.  She knew they had to be connected, and every piece of the puzzle put them one step closer.  

*******************



[img]http://i.imgur.com/qJW9Y3c.jpg[/img]

 

***Group A***

The cool of the evening was a blessed relief to the small group.  The humidity still filled the air, but in the the coolness it didn’t seem so bad.  Brisa's fire was small but comfortable, providing more than just warmth and keeping the wilderness creatures at bay, the presence of the fire lifted the mood of the children around it.  There was something comforting in it.  They had survived, they had a fire, they had food, and they had plenty of fresh water.  Sometimes the simple things were the most important. Mysteries could be solved on the morrow, worries would come back, but for this moment a chance to rest in relative comfort was to be treasured.   

The drizzle started with several hours yet till dawn.  In the darkest part of the night the clouds had rolled in, blocking the moon, and bringing with them moisture. The misting rain was light, but enough to worry Brisa who well remembered the discomfort of walking days in the rain. In the darkness she could not see the masses of clouds that had moved in, could not see the vastness of the weather pattern.  But she worried that there were more seemingly endless days in the rain ahead of them.  She was not wrong.    

***Group B***

For the two girls from Secomber the night began like the two before.  They were not used to traveling, or being alone at night on the road, but for now the nights had been easy on them.  The weather was mild and the road level and clear.  It was more like a field trip.  Well except for the endless walking through the muggy heat of the day.  And the sore legs and backs.  And the hard ground.  And the rationed food.  But the nights...the nights were nice.  Even the sounds of the night, the river, the wind, the animals, were easy to get used to and sleep seemed almost safer here somehow.  At home, in the city, one always had to sleep with one eye open so to speak.  Life for the denizens of the criminal layers of the city was not always simple or easy.  It seemed that life on the road was.  

It wasn't until well past midnight, dawn was still several hours away as well,  that the rain started.  And easy misting rain that managed to get everything a little bit damp.  For now it left the leaves and the grass sparkling in the moonlight, but given time even the mist would soak everything they owned leaving them wet and uncomfortable.  It would soak all the wood to leave making a fire near impossible.  It would coat the ground making it just slippery enough that one had to pay attention as they walked.