[center][h2]Steven Yu[/h2][h3]??? — Dirt Road[/h3][/center]
With one hand resting upon the hilt of the blade at his side, Steven nodded in agreement with Duncan's assessment of the situation. The logic he presented made enough sense to heed regardless, and it wasn't like he hadn't already planned to follow the road one way or another in the worst-case scenario [i]anyways[/i].

Hopefully, though, that bit about 'defending themselves' wouldn't have to come to pass. Though he bore what was unmistakably a katana at his side, there was no guarantee he could [i]use[/i] it. There was a bit of a foggy memory poking at the back of his mind about the skill he had seen on his status screen, though, but no matter how hard he tried to recall what had occurred it simply seemed out of reach for the moment.

Damn.

"Well, if we want to find something while it's still light out, we'd better get moving," Steven remarked, choosing to give up on that train of thought for the moment and shrugging his shoulders as he looked up and down the road. Unfortunately, being on a fairly flat plain as things were, "downhill" wasn't much a certainty as it was a hunch.

"Uh... Well, I'm pretty sure you can't tell elevation apart when everything level, so I guess we'll go... That way?" the kitsune half-suggested, half-declared before beginning to walk down the dirt road.

Traveling on a dirt path in his new body—and new clothes besides—was undoubtedly a novel experience in it's own right. It was one thing to be walking around a city in modern clothing, but another to do so in garb that wouldn't have been out of place in Edo-era Japan. Sure, he felt cool in the moment doing so, but after a while some part of him [i]really[/i] started to miss having sneakers instead of the waraji he wore now.

Though he chose not to gripe about his perceived loss of privilege, the mild irritation the young man felt was matched just as well by the thrill of adventure that awaited him. Here he was in another world, with little else to his name but the clothes on his back and the sword at his side. It would have been difficult for any young man with a bit of fire in his heart to not feel at least a [i]little[/i] excited about it all.

After who-knew-how long had passed on the trail, though, the sounds of nature began to die down. Instead, in the distance were faint but audible sounds of steel meeting steel. At that, Steven could not help but grip at the hilt and scabbard of his blade by instinct.

"...There's fighting further down the road," he said, a tinge of worry in his voice as he took a deep breath and glanced at the others. "Be careful."

Of course, that last bit had been directed at himself just as much as it was towards the other two with him. If there was a fight, that had to mean there were people there...

Which meant that every second counted if he wanted to see what was going on for himself. If things like bandit raids or monster attacks were commonplace, then it could well be well within his ability to do something to help those being attacked.

The scene of the battle itself would come into view sooner than the clashing of metal and grunts of exertion would for Duncan, though the opposite would be true for the two kitsune traveling with him. A carriage—and a somewhat ornate one at that—stood unmoving in the middle of the dirt road. Around it, however, was a rather bloody scene. Bodies—some armored in steel—lay strewn along the path, and the smell of blood grew all the more powerful as they approached. Surrounding the carriage were figures cloaked in green—one much the same shade as the grass that blanketed the region the entire time they had been walking—striking out at both men clad in steel and women who wore what could only have been described as maid outfits with steel armaments built into it. The latter group—in other words, those with their backs to the carriage—were clearly worn out, and as the group grew nearer their injuries would be made all the more apparent.

[@Raineh Daze][@Sir Lurksalot]