“We fled as soon as word spread ‘bout the army.” The peasant began as he settled down next to his wife. She flashed him a smile that was not quite full of teeth as she handed him a bowl of soup. The peasant happily took the bowl and an offered spoon, letting out a contented groan as he shoveled a spoonful of the soup into his mouth. “Bes’ meat we’ve had ‘n days.”

“Only meat we’ve had ‘n days.” His wife corrected.

“Are you quite sure this army belongs to the Salishid?” Arlana asked as peasants had another spoonful of soup. She was beginning to regret going through the effort of catching a coyote in order to essentially bribe the pair into speaking to her. It would’ve been easier to simply threaten to have Carr eat them.

“Nope.” The peasant answered, an amused smile spread across his face. Arlana wasn’t quite sure what amused him so much. Was it her accent or mannerisms? “Bu’ they come from the Rainlands. Who else could they be?”

“You believe they are headed for Zar Vorgal?” Arlana pulled a map out of her bag. “Couldn’t they be headed to Zar Endal instead?”

“Mayhaps.” The peasant answered before bringing his bowl of soup up to his lips and tipping it back to drink.

“The guardsmen seemed certain they were headed our way.” His wife answered.

Arlana let out a soft sigh as she pondered the situation. If her understanding of the situation was correct, even if the tribe traveled with all due haste it would arrive at Zar Vorgal well after the battle had ended. Of course she wasn’t sure that fighting the Salishid at this point would be in her tribe’s best interests, so perhaps that was for the best. It did offer an interesting opportunity however. If they arrived shortly after the battle perhaps they could scrounge up some tools or weapons from the battlefield. How many more kukris or falcatas could they make with the metal left after a battle?

“Anything else we can do fer you miss?” The peasant asked as he rose to his feet, having finished his meal.

Arlana shook her head. “Thank you.” After a moment she added “You can have the pelt.”

“Fer real?” The peasant’s eyes light up. Arlana had barely nodded in confirmation before he had snatched up the pelt. He would need whatever goods he could scrounge up in order to start a new life with his wife. Wherever they decided to try and settle down.

Arlana watched as the peasant couple left, heading West. Once they were a good distance away she wrote a quick note and gave it to Gwri. “Take this to the chief.”

Gwri gave one happy bark before bounding off towards the West as well, although his destination took him on a more Southern route than the peasant couple. Arlana wouldn’t lead her tribe straight to Zar Vorgal. That would be too risky given how little she know. Zar Endal, however, could prove to be a good place to gather some more information.