Geckle was small and quick enough to duck through the traffic along the wide roads that led to the gate, carrying his book in a bag along with his other equipment, excluding the spear on his shoulder, of course. The bustle of the city was not what he wanted to be travelling through, however, especially with the lack of shade as the sun grew higher and his increasing self-consciousness of his weapon. [i]Would it waste time to find another route? ...Well, there are goblins on the move. But I don't like this, not now.[/i] The halfling shook his head slightly and wondered. [i]The markets are covered, but they're an even busier detour. Between the houses it is, then.[/i] He side-stepped a heavy cart blocking his way and hurried into another street, always taking the emptiest route that was on his way.

Pleased with his progress, the druid slowed down in a lonely space behind two rows of older, taller buildings. Moss grew between the bricks, and the back doors all seemed to be locked and ignored. It was calming. Geckle relaxed into an easy walk until a sudden, harsh noise scratched at his skull, and he turned with a yelp. [i]What's this close?[/i] A thin, but large dog with no collar barked desparately behind him, scrabbling on the cobbles. Its voice was hungry enough to try and take a bite from a stranger. Running was the first instinct, thinking the second, and the idea of standing his ground with a weapon did not occur to Geckle. [i]My Tongue won't get any respect here, not from him... Agh![/i] Before he could return to the safety of the road, [url=http://orokos.com/roll/161746]an unfortunately loose stone[/url] tripped his run, and he made a short crash into a wall with his left shoulder. [i]No, no, not yet, there's still time to run, I can just...[/i] He still had enough distance to stay away, and safely, if startled, he made it back to the sunlit main road- Within sight of the gate, no less. The desperate dog followed briefly, but the noise and multitude of people made it scurry back into its place.

[i]Cowardly thing... Like me.[/i] Geckle examined his shoulder, seeing the spear, admitting to himself with some shame that the stray would have been a pushover if he'd thought to act aggressively. [i]...Goblins next, or whatever we find on the path. This is a problem, Geckle. Just learn your lesson and use the thing![/i] Promising himself to show some guts ([i]Ugh, vile expression[/i]) next time, the halfling made it out of the gate and leaned on the wall, trying to see if he'd dropped anything, perhaps, or taken any noticable hurt, waiting for the rest of the group. [i]A bruise on my wrong arm, I think... I can still move. I'm ready.[/i] Ready he waited for a while before he began the walk with his companions.