It was strange to walk through a landscape that was so empty. Corra had always been surrounded by people, by noise, by the life that coursed through the city’s veins. Out here however, there was little to nothing. The farms and villages she could see appeared to be completely abandoned and utterly dead. The surroundings were making Corra feel uneasy, and she said as much when she asked the would-be knight if he had heard anything. She was still trying to calm her nerves, move the conversation along, when she picked up on the commotion. 

It seemed she saw the source of it all only a moment after Emil had. The smile slowly fell from her face as she took in the scene, cheerful mask dripping away as her eyes narrowed at the burning wagon. Any city kid such as herself would be good at spotting bad news when it came about, and this seemed like trouble to Corra. 

Emil was right when he said that the fire looked young, the old wooden shell of the wagon would burn quickly, and would have been no more than a pile of charred wood and ash if whatever had happened happened a while ago. And something had clearly happened, she thought to herself. There didn’t seem to be anyone around the burning wagon, alive or dead. It wasn’t as if a caravan simply appeared out of thin air and caught on fire. [i]Perhaps the corpses are still inside the wagon[/i], she mused. [i]And perhaps this is an ambush waiting to happen[/i]. 

It wouldn’t be the first time Corra experienced something of that nature. There was occasionally bad blood between the gangs of street rats that had roamed the city’s streets. It wasn’t unheard of for some of the more intelligent or more malicious groups to plan traps for their enemies. Corra’s own gang had been lured into a house with guards already waiting for them once or twice, thanks to tips others had left. While Corra had made it out of these instances unscathed, they had certainly left her wary of setups that almost obviously looked like traps. She doubted there was a great chance of being put in irons by guards out in the middle of nowhere. That had to mean however, if this whole burning caravan was a trap, there was almost definitely something worse waiting for them.

[color=lightblue]"I... I think I'm going to go check it out."[/color]

When the boy beside her announced his intentions to go closer to the mess, Corra glanced at him incredulously. [color=8882be]“What? Why?”[/color] she asked, her expression clearly indicating that she thought the idea to be stupid if not slightly crazy.

[color=8882be]“There are guards around, let them go look. This is the kinda thing they’re here for, isn’t it? Besides, this whole setup smells foul. Tell me you don’t see something wrong with this picture.”[/color]

Despite her words, she couldn’t help but take a step or two forward as she said them, trying to get a better look. Corra had often struggled with her own curious nature in the past. She knew better than to get involved with things like this, things that spelled trouble for her. She had learned to avoid needless messes, and had often learned the hard way, yet…

She saw a few of the other kids from their little caravan move forward to inspect the wagon, including the boy beside her. With a slightly exasperated sigh, she followed just a bit behind them, flitting about nervously like a small bird. If this were the city, she would have found some dark alcove to fit into and watch the scene unfold from the safety of the shadows. But here, there was nowhere to hide. She felt exposed, and it was a feeling she did not particularly like. 

A girl in front of her appeared to be eagerly rifling through the scattered belongings. Corra snorted lightly. She may have been the thief, but she knew when to keep her paws to herself.

Another boy in front of her, wearing some sort of armor and holding a small shield, remarked to Corra’s previous companion about the lack of corpses. [color=C7AA7D]"Don't see any bodies. Dunno if that makes me feel any better."[/color]  

Corra frowned from her position behind them. [color=8882be]“It shouldn’t,”[/color] she muttered, not sure if he’d be able to hear her or not. Corra’s own hand started towards her dagger, though she was able to refrain from drawing the blade for the moment.