It did not take long to free the cart. With the cutting of some vines and a good push, the woman was on her way again, waving the warrior off, her child joining her. Mergoux lifted a hand to acknowledge their farewell, then hefted her pack and was on her way again. On she trudged for a ways, ever on the outside of the pack, watchful of the woodland, wary of the forest and all hiding within. 

The deeper they went into the woods, the less she liked them. As the forest grew denser still around them, she only felt her hackles rise further and further. Her ears were pricked, her muscles tense, waiting for the inevitable ambush, the attack that her mind told her had to come in a place like this. There was a presence here, and passing peacefully was not likely in a place such as this. 

"Go have a look around," she said softly. There was a sound of acknowledgement, and she felt the cool tingle down her spine, her leg and out the bottom of her trousers. What shadow she had under the already thick foresttop grew darker for a moment, then back to normal with a soft [i]woosh[/i] that even she could barely hear. 

It was a few minutes later she heard the noise once more, and felt the creeping coolness of their return. "Tell me," she said, not breaking her stride, even as her hand reached for her weapon. 

[color=003471]"I'm not sure."[/color] they said [color=003471]"There was a man, yet he was not a man, but something else."[/color]

"Dangerous?"

[color=003471]"He had only the tools of a scribe, paper and ink and quills for writing. No weapons I felt."[/color]

Mergoux stepped to the side and stared out into the woods, her lips pursed. A scribe they said, perhaps a traveler lost then. Wandered from the road for whatever reason, and now unable to find their way back. "How far?"

[color=003471]"Southeast, not yet a mile."[/color]

"Alright. Good work."

They gave a happy trill as she set off into the woods, pushing her way past the thick brush and venturing off into the forest, guided by the voice inside her helmet. 

___________

She was not sure what she was looking at. She'd certainly never seen anything like it before, but then this caravan was full of bizarre creatures from lands unknown, this could just as easily be one of them. It was a short thing, barely above a Dwarf in height, and with a massive eye in places of a face. It wore clothes of a sort, though they were little more than canvas draped over the thing's body. It had an otherwise human frame, but with dark blue skin, almost grey she thought. As they had said, the creature, whatever it was, held no weapons, but that did not mean it was not dangerous. Still, perhaps it was a traveler lost as she'd suspected. Best not to frighten then. 

"You lost?" She asked, stepping out from behind a tree. She kept her weapons sheathed, but her fingers drifted close to the hilts, ready should the worst occur. 



[@twannyman]