Ed kept a steady pace in following Asteria through the grasslands but soon raised an eyebrow when his sharpened sense of smell picked up the bitter scent of something burning. Cautioning a glance behind him he saw a black column of smoke rising from some point in the field. His face contorted into a grimace. He already knew that the goblins were responsible for this turn of events. Who else but the goblins? They were the only ones he knew were capable of harnessing fire this effectively, assuming that Crispy wasn't killed outright in the duel he witnessed a few hours earlier. As well as a lack of foresight, or to be more accurate, a dangerous impulsiveness that puts aside any consequence for the sake of satisfying said impulse. Truly, the remnants of Rattleskull's tribe was a consistent thorn in his side no matter the day. Ed quickened his pace through the tall grass to catch up with Asteria. He was no professional camper, far from it, but at the very least he knew that a wildfire was about to be born and all it needed was a strong gust of wind. And if the grasslands would catch fire, it could cause a chain of events that would likely consume the woodlands surrounding it. [color=chocolate]"Stupid goddamn goblins!"[/color] he muttered angrily to himself before speaking to Asteria as he briskly walked past her. [color=chocolate]"Not trying to cause a panic or anything but, if we don't start picking up the pace, I'm pretty sure a wildfire is gonna break out and burn everything to cinders as soon as a strong wind comes."[/color] They were a good distance away now when an unknown shadow was cast upon the trio. Mother rat just squeaked and dove into the grass to hide from something. Looking up, Ed saw the underside of a massive pure white bird. Ed was frozen in awe for a brief moment before he realized that it might have seen them and decided that they would make a fine meal. Falling prone on to the grass his heart hammered against his rib cage as he awaited any sign or evidence of the great white bird approaching. Primarily using [b][Beast Sense II][/b] to enhance his hearing so that he could pick up the slightest difference in the surrounding sounds. And that he did. Ed could hear the wing beats of the bird moving further and further away from them. Glancing upwards one last time, he let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the great bird moving further and further away from them and approaching the growing pillar of black smoke. [color=chocolate]"That...was quite scary. But at least it wasn't looking for a meal."[/color] Standing back up and readjusting the ant's weight on his shoulders before restarting his quick walking pace. Further and further away they moved from the fire in the grassy fields. Far enough to the point that at least Ed could no longer smell the bitter smell of the fire. [color=chocolate]"I think we're far enough from the fire to not worry about it...well for a while at least."[/color] Ed set down the ant and gave his sore back a stretch. Crouching for prolonged periods of time was not very comfortable to say the least. Though as a third of his body popped out of the tall grass as he let out a content breath of relief. Something in the distance caught his eye though. Upon realizing what it was, his eyes widened with surprise. Crouching back down and hiding himself from any outside observers, he spoke to Asteria. [color=chocolate]"Asteria I saw a village further south. It's a few miles away at least, but I'm sure they are bound to take notice of the pillar of smoke in the grasslands. It's very likely that they would do something to counteract the fire..."[/color] Ed paused and thought about what would happen if the villagers saw them and frowned as the most plausible result of that encounter would be that they would be attacked on sight. [color=chocolate]"s-sorry I spaced out for a bit. Nonetheless I think we are a good distance away from town and we ought to keep it that way. Our next problem is finding a place we can set up camp where we won't attract attention from anyone, or anything for that matter."[/color] Ed sharpened his senses yet again, though this time his sight was drastically improved, in search of a place that fit the description of a hidden and inconspicuous place. Though considering that they were on a wide flat land, that would be a rather difficult task. [hider=Stats] LVL: 5 HP: [color=yellow]Injured[/color] SP: [color=yellow]Winded[/color] MP: [color=yellowgreen]Almost Full[/color] Effect/s: [b]SKILLS:[/b] Unspent Skill Points: [color=red]12[/color] Current Skills: Beast Sense II (2.4) [color=green](PASSIVE)[/color] Rabid Fit I (1.2) Stronger I (1.05) [color=green](PASSIVE)[/color] Muffle II (2.0) [color=green](PASSIVE)[/color] Use Light Equipment (--) __________________________________ SKILL PROGRESS: Material Analysis (0.2) Magic Analysis (0.6) Monster Analysis (0.6) Faster (0.4) Warcry (0.1) Alert (0.3) Dexterous (0.8) Tremor Sense (0.025) Mental Resistance (0.9) Telepathy (0.075) Mana Shape (0.6) Focus (0.6) Shield (0.5) Mana Shell (0.3) [b]Inventory:[/b] - Vine Belt (Shoddy Quality) - Healing Herbs x 4 - Bundle of Sticks - Flame touched crystals x 2 - Tainted Crystal x 1 - Gnarled Stick (Unknown Quality) - Giant Ant (Dead) [/hider] [hider=Action Summary] -Ed noticed the fire and rationalized that the goblins are to blame. -Increases walking pace and encourages Asteria and Mama Rat to do the same. -Notices Mama Rat acting weird and saw the great white sky bird. -Falls prone and uses [b][Beast Sense II][/b] to enhance hearing to detect the bird's proximity. -Kept waking at a brisk pace until he could no longer smell the strong smell of burning grass. -Relaxes and stretches his body for a bit and notices the village in the distance. -Tells Asteria what he saw and suggests that they keep themselves hidden and away from the village for now. -Looking for a place to set up camp, using [b][Beast Sense II][/b] to heighten his sight. [/hider]