And so it was that the four survivors of the Imperial Ruins became five. While two of them were suspicious of the new man, the other two seemed to hold more favorable attitudes. The walk toward the river's edge was long, but thankfully uneventful... at least until they approached the next town. Cilia's sharp eyes spotted the smoke first, and the others were quickly alerted. Before they rushed headlong into danger, Sasuke and Snow' combat experience allowed them both to spot the telltale signs of troop movement: evenly-spaced bootprints, mostly in line with each other. Not only was it a sign of disciplined warriors, but ones trying to hide their true numbers. If not for the training and experience of the two combat veterans, the group's trip may have been cut VERY short.

There was a brief squabble about what to do next, before Axely pointed out that they were on the eastern side of the town and the bootprints were heading east as well. The group had narrowly avoided whatever unit had razed the small town. Fergus then suggested they stick to the plan and move upriver. They still had enough food for a day or two, and the enemy seemed to be heading down the banks, not up them. It seemed counterproductive if they wanted to press inland, but he wasn't going to question their good fortune yet again.

So the group decided to avoid the razed town in case any enemies were left behind to deal with stragglers or take stock of the spoils of war. Further upriver they went. A steady pace saw good progress toward the next town, but they were forced to stop and make camp overnight once more. While fetching firewood, Axely and Cilia found a good patch of mushrooms for everyone to eat. Snow had made a pair snare traps as they walked, and used it to catch a rabbit and a squirrel. The squirrel wasn't really worth the small amount of meat on it and was released. The rabbit was field dressed and cooked by the morning fire, ensuring everyone had a tasty breakfast. Fergus was not used to "roughing it" and complained a bit about his feet hurting, but was silenced when EVERYONE on the group reminded him of what they had just survived and how he was lucky to be alive, let alone walking to what they hoped would be safety.

[CENTER]============================================[/CENTER]

Cackling Harlot HATED ships. They reminded her of all the ships she saw in the distance while strapped to the altars of the Yozi-worshippers before her Exaltation. Despite that, there was no other way to cross the mouth of the Imperial River quickly while also leading several Fangs worth of elite soldiers. She grumbled under her breath while the helmsman bellowed orders to his men. Her orders were clear, and she would not disappoint her master. Even if it left a trail of hundreds of thousands of corpses in her wake, she would see this campaign through to the end. She HAD to. If not...

[CENTER]============================================[/CENTER]

The group arrived at a quiet fishing village in the late afternoon. The sign on the trail leading to the center of town identified it as the village of Dragon's Gate. A bold name for such a small town, but Fergus didn't care. There were no enemy soldiers here, the buildings were not on fire, and there seemed to be TWO different inns! Each was across the town square from the other. To the north, near the docks: The Squeaky Wheel. Beloved by locals for the cook's tendency to deep-fry things in greasy Yeddim fat. The sign on the door read [B]"At The Squeaky Wheel, YOU get the grease!"[/B] To the south, near the farrier and stables: The Broken Bench, named for a trio of husky carpenters that sat down for a break after building it... who broke the bench on which they sat. It's sign read [B]"Portions so big, you'll feel like you might break a bench too"[/B].

Fergus thought the signs were absurd, but comical. His vote was on the Squeaky Wheel. [COLOR=FF8C00][B]"I haven't had genuine fried food for some time. I know it's not healthy, but what we need now is comfort food. If you guys want the other place, I'm fine with that. But I think some fatty and delicious junk food would lift our spirits a lot right now. Either way, I can foot the bill. What do all you say?"[/B][/COLOR] It wasn't the BEST reasoning, but it wasn't BAD reasoning. Really, Fergus just wanted to eat something bad for him and was willing to pay.