They were all accomplices now, willing or not. Leaving the snare trap behind, Muu, Matteo, and Ash strode off, following the latter's suggestion to find a stream. It made sense, after all. None of them had waterskins, and two hours of traipsing through the woods had left them dehydrated as well as hungry. And even if they weren't able to make a fire by the end of this, cool water could at least wash off the excess of blood that would come from gutting the rabbit. It was, all in all, a clean course of action, even if none of them had found any monsters to actually slay yet. Rugome Fort and the goblin scouts they could hunt down was far from their mind as Ash lead them through the forest once more.

Being able to locate water sources within a forest was one of the first skills that Ash learned during her training as a Ranger. Part instinct, part knowledge, part luck, it took all five senses and no small amount of concentration before the dull-eyed youth eventually brought her friends to a trickling stream. Hardly more than a handspan in width, the water looked rather murky as it chuckled over a muddy riverbed. On the far side of the stream, the forest continued off pointlessly in a collection of deadfall and thin, coniferous trees, while on their own side, berryless bushes sprouted randomly amidst the red-brown dirt.

It was now three hours into their journey, and though Ash and Muu were still breathing fine, Matteo's own breath had become ragged. He really could use the break, and his stomach was acting up too now, the scrawnier youth having become even scrawnier during his time in the caverns of the Thieves' Guild.
[@Burger][@Skyswimsky][@Buzzkill]