[hr][right][i][color=lightgray]Eliza, Ori, and Kayliss find themselves in:[/color][/i]
[sub][h2][i]Midland Pass[/i][/h2][/sub][/right][hr][color=lightgray]It was just long enough to ensure that their paladin was asleep when the final person in their little wagon made herself known. With Kayliss now out of the crate, the inside of the wagon was all the smaller. The canvas stretching overhead kept the sun from beating down on the passengers, but in these close quarters it would soon get sweltering either way. 

Donna and her daughter moved aside to make room for Kayliss. Jessie looked excited to have yet another person to talk to, while her mother seemed more surprised than anything. Perhaps she thought that their secret stowaway would hide out in that cramped little box the whole trip, which certainly would have been miserable. Still, Donna smiled at Kayliss even if her face had grown a bit pale.[/color]

"Ah, good morning Miss. We're just passing through into the Scrublands now."  

[color=lightgray]True to her word, the wagon trail began to open up wider and straight ahead was Kayliss' last major checkpoint before she was free of the Midlands. Midland Pass was frequented by many people coming and going from the region, but now especially the town was filled with hopeful merchants and tourists looking to celebrate in the capital. There were a couple of guards posted on the town's perimeter, but they hardly paid any attention to one plain little carriage coming in when a wave of more colorful ones passed in the opposite direction.[/color]

"Missus Kayliss, this is Mr. Ori!" [color=lightgray]Jessie piped up, taking it on herself to introduce them to each other much like she'd introduced her family earlier. Then, she cupped a hand to her mouth and whispered to the runaway woman,[/color] [i]"Momma said to be nice, he's blind."[/i]

[color=lightgray]The girl sat back and beamed at all of the cart's occupants. Proudly she lifted up her bandaged leg.[/color] "He helped me when I hurt my leg! Also, that's Ms. Paladin Eliza!" 

[color=lightgray]She moved to point at the sleeping knight, but Donna caught her daughter's hand and pulled the girl closer to her.[/color] "Jessie, please. We don't want to wake her up."

"Yes Momma..."

[color=lightgray]Donna cleared her throat.[/color] "We're going to take these two west with us, Kayliss. They're headed to the Highlands - "

"Looking for treasure!" [color=lightgray]Jessie squeaked.[/color]

" - so we'll make a little detour. Er, you never told us where you were headed, but I hope that's no trouble."

[color=lightgray]Ahead, their cart's already slow pace slowed even more. There were men wrangling the swell of incoming people into a more manageable mob, but until then it made leaving town feel like wading through molasses. Far to the south, there was a similar congested scene.[/color][right][sub][@stone][@Aviaire][@Psyker Landshark][/sub][/right][hr][right][i][color=lightgray]Cassius, Nea, Jason, and Tala find themselves in:[/color][/i]
[sub][h2][i]Cropland Pass[/i][/h2][/sub][/right][hr][color=lightgray]Among the din and bustle of the crowd, not many even noticed two men approach the teenage girl. Those that did quickly turned their eyes away, minding their own business. Only two bystanders stepped up to get involved in the suspicious looking scene, cutting quite the heroic figures.[/color]

[i]"Untoward?"[/i]

[color=lightgray]Of course, not everyone appreciated the intervention. It was tough to say if even the girl appreciated it, as stunned and red faced as she was.

The man holding her puffed out his chest, trying to measure up to Cassius' height as he looked both the mercenary and the farmer beside him in the eye.[/color] [i]"Untoward...!?[/i] I dunno what that means but if you're accusing us of something you best walk away quick like. It a crime to ask a girl where she's going?!" [color=lightgray]The man quickly got defensive, scratching at his patchy salt-and-pepper beard with his free hand while the other still rest on Nea's shoulder.[/color] "I'm just asking where she's going!"

[color=lightgray]The man's tanned skin was beginning to match Nea's red as he sputtered, but his partner walked up and patted his back. Smoothly the second man moved around, putting himself between Jason and Cassius, and Nea and the first man. This man, shorter with paler skin, smiled happily at the do-gooders. When he did, they could see one of his teeth was missing, and some were replaced with cheap crystal implants. It was around this time that Nea's voice was finally heard, and it spurred the crystal toothed man into speaking.[/color]

"Folks, you might have got the wrong idea. We're just looking for someone, okay? If you don't get a move on you're gonna lose your spot in line, huh?" [color=lightgray]He gestured back to the mass of people looking to get in through the gate, assuming both men were on their way into the Croplands.[/color] "We ain't hurting anyone! Right sweetie?" 

[color=lightgray]He turned his gaze on Nea. He appeared to be making quite the effort to come off as non-threatening.[/color] "We're all friends here, huh?"

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[color=lightgray]In town, people continued to file around Tala, giving her space as best they could while still trying to get to their own destinations as quickly as possible. The horrible off key cacophony was still playing somewhere close by, and once or twice bold street hawkers approached to peddle their product directly to the woman.

At one point a group of people passed with their heads turned to look back to the city gate, whispering about some commotion outside.[/color]

"Some guy yelling about crimes, didn't hear him very well. Think it's bounty hunters?"

"Probably. All kinds of riff raff come down this way, let's just stay out of it..."

[color=lightgray]One of their group strayed a little close to Talanashta, and the bird on her shoulder squawked at the poor woman loudly. She yelped in surprise and hurried on.[/color][right][sub][@PrankFox][@Anza][@ERode][@Crimson Flame][/sub][/right][hr][right][i][color=lightgray]Kendra and Derrick find themselves in:[/color][/i]
[sub][h2][i][color=lightgray]The heart of [/color]the Scrublands[/i][/h2][/sub][/right][hr][color=lightgray]With the touch of an expert, the axe head flew up and dragged the handle behind it. It spiraled neatly and cut through the heavy air until it landed with a [i]thunk[/i], it's blade sinking into the packed earth and it's handle and knob pointed directly west. It seemed like his hero's magic was pointing Derrick further down the road. In that direction, the West, beyond the Scrublands, lay the Tidelands and the very tip of the Scorchlands. Both options on his quest. Of course, Derrick was after monstriest monster. Between both leads, that could only be one.

On the way out of the region, most people didn't recognize at all "The Scourge of the Great Swamp." After all, having traveled the length of the Lowlands, he was far from Indiga. And though there were people who would be eager to meet and aid the local legend in town, Derrick instead went around any settlements he came across, including Lowland Pass. 

All in all it was a very uneventful trek. In the Scrublands, most people worried more about men than monsters. Slayers of all kinds drove the largest beasts away from the area a long time ago. Not to mention it was much harder to avoid populated trails in the Scrublands, when humans touting the spread of civilization endeavored to make the whole region one big giant road. Still, the longer Derrick traveled, the less people were around, until eventually it appeared that he was the only human among the landscape that stretched out so far in each direction....

...until the sound of a horse approached from behind, and astride it was a woman with two swords strapped to her person.

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[/color]
[color=lightgray]With some new provisions and the same determination, mount and rider rode over the dusty trails heading north. Today it felt nearly as hot in the Scrublands as it did in the Scorchlands yesterday, though Kendra was well used to heat. Others she passed were no so much, and they wore themselves out trying to rush ahead to find shade, and ended up parked on the side of the rode sitting in the shadow of their own steeds.

Closer to the borders of the region, the roads were friendly and it never took long to pass a stranger. Some that were traveling the same direction as Kendra stopped to chat with her, although when the topic of the Ivorydawn Company came up they shook their heads in ignorance. Eventually the land grew to look lonely, with other shrubs for company. Trails spread out and snaked in many different directions, and the wide expanse featured no other travelers besides Kendra. Rarely a sunbathing lizard would scurry away from the steady beat of her horse's hooves, but otherwise the Scrublands grew quiet once the woman reached further towards the center. It was a strange contrast to the bustle of the border towns that lined the region's edges. 

The Midlands were a little ways off, and Kendra could reach them by the end of the day on horseback. Midland Pass was further still, but being the central area of Sedaia, there were other towns that were proud to serve as passages into the region. Towns that posted knights with keen eyes at their gates. Small streams of smoke off in the distance implied that one such settlement was within reach.

Continuing down the current path, there was finally another human to be seen. They traveled on foot, headed in the same direction as Kendra for now. Swaddled in tough fabrics and carrying weapons and equipment of all kinds, the man certainly seemed well prepared if not well traveled.[/color][right][sub][@Cu Chulainn][@SilverPaw][/sub][/right]