The Ghost from the dust

Ardin nodded an agreement "Aye, I just stumbled upon it, thought I was going to die again in the desert, was happy to take a drink of water" he takes a few more bites of the food "I will mark this place on my map so we can find it again"

She nodded, taking a bit of the food, enjoying the extra taste the onions and tubers had given the meat. "When do you think we should leave?" she asked, taking a sip of water from her waterskin.

He shrugged and looked around "When ever you want... not like there is anything to pack up yet," he smiled and took out his map, there wasnt much on it, and the cities were hand drawn on, as he was makeing the map himself. he took some dirt and smudged it onto a spot "that should be where we are"

She laughed lightly, agreeing with that. "Yeah, just the stuff we came in with," she agreed, setting aside her empty plate to look at the map. "If we set any easy pace, I think I can manage to leave tomorrow." she informed him. "I should be back up to my full strength in a few days."

Ardin nodded and ate the last of his meal "And if your not I'll carry you" he grined and set his plate down "Sure we can leave tomorrow"

She laughed lightly and smiled. "I'll make sure you don't have to carry me," she assured him. "If we don't find a town or village within a week or so, we should just come back here. Because either way, we are going to have a lot of work to do to prepare this place for any kind of long term living."

Ardin nods and makes himself a pillow. "Ya we will need all the time we can get" he lays down, rubbing his face and closes his eyes, with the heat of the fire in the room he soon fell asleep.

She nodded, picking up their dirty dishes and washing them quickly before slipping into her bedroll, and soon was sleeping. The next morning she rose with the sun, simply grabbing some of the fruit for her breakfast. She packed quietly, so as not to awaken Ardin.

Ardin woke soon after getting up with a groan, taking his shirt off his scared body, and tied his sleves on then placed the shirt back on, and puting his stuff in his bag and slinging it over his shoulder resting on his side, then wrapping his cloal around him, looking like his mysterious seld again. and strapping his swords on. "Alright I guess Im ready to get going"

Svenia smiled, clasping her white cloak around her shoulders, raising the hood to shade her eyes from the bright sunlight, and made sure her pack was secure. "As am I." She made sure they had everything they would need before walking out of the building. "Which way do you think we should head?" she asked.

He stepped out of the hut and looked around We should head that way "He points left of the sun "There may be a small town in that direction... but that's just a guess"

She shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "One way is as good as another. With the will of the Goddess, we will find a village or town within a few days travel." she commented as she started to walk in the direction he had pointed out. "At least we know that the way we came from is out of the question. The last town I'd passed in that direction would be over two weeks travel."

Ardin followed behind her "If we find a village perhaps I could find a new horse" he smiled and huffed a bit at her mention of a goddess "I am sure that there is one that way, it would be close to water and the sun rises there, which means good area for crops"

She nodded thoughtfully. "Hopefully they have extra cops to share. The season has been somewhat dry this year." she pointed out. "But not as bad as some years past." She looked to him and smiled. "Do you have enough currency to purchase a horse?" she asked. "I have enough to cover the food, though I can exchange some small healings for some of it."

Ardin looked at her in her eyes, but didn't answer her question he was used to surviving, and never planned on making a purchase. "Lets go" he cut through the forest as they made their way out of the valley

She sighed, noticing that he hadn't answered the question, and shook her head. She followed him through the forest, walking several paces behind him. She just hoped that he wouldn't do anything needless. She set herself a slow but steady pace, stopping occasionally to rest and to take a sip of water. The poison was fully gone from her system, but it had left her weaker than before.

Ardin would stop when she did, letting her rest, there was no rush for him, he kept his focus on the enviroment, incase they would have any unsuspected visitors, and keeping look out for that creature that hunted them.

They had walked for the better part of the day before Svenia grew too tired to go much further. "Lets find a good spot for a camp," she commented wearily. "The sun will be setting in a few hours."

Ardin stopped and looked at her "You sure, this isn''t the best area to be stopping there's no cover" he looked around the barren area "Well there isn't any sign of anyone, so it should be fine" he took his cloak off and dropped his bag. "But we leave early tomorrow morning"

She nodded, moving around the area and finding enough fuel for a fire. "Thank you," she said, gratefully sitting down and dropping her pack to the ground, next to her new bow and quarterstaff. "Do not worry, I will be ready to go as soon as the sun rises," she promised.

Ardin, sat down, and started the fire, glancing around the area. once it was lit he layed down with his bag as a pillow and his cloak for a blanket. "right at sun rise, I want to be up and ready before any scavengers find us"

She nodded, laying out her bedroll. "What kind of scavengers?" she asked, looking around the barren area nervously. She saw nothing out of place, and nothing moving but the wind. "Do, do you think that creature that attacked us will track us down?"

he laid there staring at the stars. and nodded "Thats his purpose, he is a hunter, its all he does is hunt the strongest fighters" the assassin looks at her "And guess who just proved himself"

She shivered, pulling the blanket further up to her chin, staring at the fire, hoping it would offer them some measure of protection. "I hope it doesn't follow us." she whispered, remembering how helpless she had been before it.

Ardin closed his eyes and turned away from the fire "Do not worry, you would be able to smell him before you hear him, and he wont be back for a while" Ardin soon fell asleep