"Right here," he said, patting the inner pocket of his coat. "We probably won't be able to find or afford all of it, but I marked the most important stuff so we know what to prioritize, at least."
"Good idea," Mike said, returning with some stuffed bread wrapped in a clean cloth. "You know you only need like ten things to survive on the road, right?"
"The finer things make a wanderer's life a little brighter," Bernon said with dignity. "Not to mention easier and more comfortable. You'll thanks me later when we're able to have more meals than just boiled rabbit. Or when we don't need to make our own needle and thread to mend stuff with."
"Okay, okay," Mike relented, heading for the door. "Have it your way. Just don't complain when you get bad knees from the extra load."
Tanrial chuckled, "I'm sure he'll be fine Mike," She grabbed her own bag that was lying at her feet, "And I can carry some stuff if you need me too. I'm just getting things for potions and it's not a lot so I have loads of room."
"Thank-you, Tanrial," Bernon replied, stepping out the door and onto the dock. "Ooh, yeah looks like we could have some rain today. Luckily, rain gear is on my shopping list, so as long as it doesn't shower before we get there, we'll be set."
"Sounds good," Tanrial followed out the door, putting her hand out to test for any stray water droplets, "Hey, upside is if it does rain you can make cool things outta it, Bernon."
"Hey you're right! Maybe I could even deflect the drops so they never even touch us!" Bernon grinned excitedly and glanced up at the clouds as if he now hoped for bad weather.
Mike led them across the beach to the woods. "We'll be under the trees either way, so I wouldn't waste your energy on something like that, Bern. Besides, none of us can afford to be distracted on this hike. We can almost guarantee there's bandits out there, and if they catch us off guard, we'll have a lot more to worry about than getting a little wet."
Bernon sighed. "You're probably right. I would like to experiment at least a little with my powers, though, if it does rain. And maybe I could use the water as a weapon if we get attacked."
(wheezes I forgot what it was like waking up at 7am)
"Just make sure you don't slip and fall if you try," Tanrial warned, "If it rains the ground will be slippery and you could easily loose your balance trying to make on too much water at once. I've seen it happen before, kinda funny in all honesty."
(oof girl T.T Sorry I'm late, my cousins were visiting)
"Heh, thanks for the warning. I'll try not to get too carried away."
Mike found a worn path through the woods and started down it, keeping an eye on their surroundings just in case. "By the way, assuming we get back here early enough, I was thinking it might be a good idea to visit Snatch and her mom one last time. I doubt she'd appreciate it if we left without saying goodbye."
(All good. School was hectic and notebook messed up for a while)
Tanrial chuckled, pushing away some tree branches to get through easily, "I think Snatch would hunt us down and make us say goodbye before saying hello again."
Bernon laughed. "That she would. I'd really like to see how she's doing–good idea, Mike. And Fear too, of course."
"Yeah." Mike frowned at a weird noise in the distance, then decided it was a bird and moved on. "But that's only if we get back early, so let's not drag our feet."
"We were just being optimistic Mike," Tanrial held her hands up in defense, "We know we might not get to but we're hoping."
Mike shrugged. "I know, I'm just reminding us."
Bernon kicked a stone ahead of him down the path as he walked. "So, do we want to visit the map-maker first when we get there, or the market?"
“Well… depends. The map maker might be expensive so do we want to spend more on the map or the supplies?” She shrugged.
"Hmm," Bernon said. "The way I see it, if we have a really good map, we can find other towns to buy supplies in on the way, or find good places to forage for our own stuff. And like Mike said, not all the stuff on our list is essential, but a map's really worth splurging on. Does that sound logical?"
“Yeah, sounds logical to me. And I’m sure Polla might be able to spare us a few things before we leave.”
"Hopefully. Oh, that reminds me. Have either of you seen or heard from Ryker's kids since the meeting? I know they're around, but I was wondering if they'd decided where they were going yet."
“No I haven’t. Did you see them the other day, Mike? They haven’t been into the tavern since the meeting so…”
Mike shook his head. "I saw them last night when I came back, all talking by one of the campfires on the shore. But they must have still been asleep when we headed out this morning. I hope they've come to a decision….how long to you think Thranion and James will wait around for them?"
Tanrial shrugged, "James will wait around for a while, maybe him and a couple others while the rest of them go back. Thranion… well, he'll wait for one more day or so before leaving, I'm sure James will contact him about the situation at some point."
"Sounds good. I'd guess the kids will decide before much longer, if they haven't already." Mike slowed down a little as the path started to descend sharply into the valley. His voice was slightly quieter when he spoke again, but stayed casual. "And just so both of you know, I see a trap at the bottom of the hill. I'm gonna hop the path here in a minute and go around, so follow my lead and act natural, but keep an eye out in case there's someone watching us."
"I have no doubt that whoever or whatever laid the trap is waiting around to see it's prey ensnared, but got it boss." Tanrial smiled like normal, though it was slightly strained this time.
"You're right," Mike muttered. "But if they laid a trap instead of an ambush, that probably means their alone or too weak to take us down themselves."
The trap was hard to spot from the path, but from the side it became quite clear: A large tree, loose at the roots, was leaning against a stake attached to a tripwire stretched across the path. If triggered, the tree would have definitely crushed at least one of them if not more. Bernon gave their surroundings a nervous glance. "Maaaaybe we should talk about that once we're well out of range, hey?"
"Probably a good idea," Tanrial eyed the trap for a moment, frowning, "Come on, let's hope whoever laid the trap doesn't suddenly jump out or something."
(growls weakly Guess who got sick AGAIN)
They made it past the trap without incident, although they did hear someone or something hastily retreating through the undergrowth as they returned to the path. Mike looked up sharply and reached for his knife, but the sound faded and nothing tried to stop them.
(Aww, poor baby, hands over blankets, tea, ice cream and medicine)
It was silent for a while, and there were no other mysterious sounds that could indicate something readying an attack. There were no other traps that could be seen from where they were which was lucky. Tanrial released a breath.
(thanks uwu)
They walked in silence for a while. It was still overcast and quite dark under the trees, and after a while there came the distant yet ominous sound of thunder. Bernon glanced at the patches of white sky visible between the branches and adjusted his backpack slightly. "I hope this isn't gonna be one of those huge storms I've heard about that plague this region in the summer. We may have to turn back or find shelter if it starts to really get bad."
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