She looked up at the sky at the question regarding the frequency of the present deplorable weather conditions. "In this time of year? Every couple of weeks."

To Raven she gave a slight bow. "There have been a number of travelers along this road, and having heard some of their stories I can't be surprised one bit at your suspicion. If what I hear is correct, the South is no place to make a life in." She looked at Baldur and gave him an odd look. "Those in the forest know their limits, and I doubt they have any desire to test them with me... today at least."

She addressed her next statement to the group. "I would imagine none of you want to stay in this weather longer than necessary. My home isn't much, but it will keep everyone dry, at least until the storm passes and once the path isn't mud."

She moved to the edge of the path, coming out of the mud and revealing brown-caked yet bare feet. "I'd suggest staying to the edges. When we get to the grass there shouldn't be as much of a mess. Feel free to come along if you like." She stood for a few moments.

The caravan master, scowling in the background, gave a slight nod at her last statement, giving the horse a long look before collecting a few spilled coins, his remaining funds. Sighing, he stated to the group, "There's been a home o' two on the path, I don' recall hers exactly, but I don' doubt its existance either." With that, he trudged over to the side of the path to join her.

"If she's got food, I'm sold." Raven said with a slight chuckle. He trudged along behind her and the Caravanian. His arms swung side to side and he took a look back to see who else was following. He was in-between the grandpa and the kid when it came to trusting this woman.

Baldur was still skeptical but his fire wasn't working out to well and he knew that he couldn't stay here all night and even though he still didn't trust the woman, he didn't want to be out in the woods by himself. He started walking after Raven as he followed the woman further down the road.

The knight walked around to the back of the caravan to retrieve his shield and hammer. The woman seemed trustworthy enough, but he didn't plan on using them. His weapons had stuck by him through everything, and he certainly wouldn't leave them in a wagon in the middle of nowhere. Hitching his shield, (Which he had been very careful to scratch the heraldry off of, but not careful enough to make it less than obvious that the original painting was scratched off and repainted with white laminate) to some belt under his cape, he leaned the hammer unagressively on his shoulder and followed the woman.

Somehow, despite not eating for the last day or so as food ran short, Ivan wasn't terribly interested in the prospect of food. Mostly he just wanted to get out of the rain, for the sake of his asthma and maintaining what little respect and dignity he had. He was still slumped against the caravan, his bad leg limply kicked up against the wall and his good leg supporting him. He had dropped his bow and quiver to his side, as though they were too heavy for him to carry any longer. He had intended to follow the others, but somehow he felt the need to regain a bit of energy before he started to walk again. He convinced himself he'd catch up.

Jameson is on Baldur's side for this one, he has lived off the land long enough to know that random strangers don't walk up to one another unless they want something, and for one that seems much well to do than the gang? It roused his suspicions even more. Nevertheless, Jameson lowered his gun out of courtesy for this stranger and followed the group, but not ready to holster it just yet, fiddling with it as he spoke. "I'm all for being friendly with strangers, but may I know what such a finely dressed lass is doing walking out in this horrible rain, inviting a couple of strange men to her house?" said Jameson as he examined the lady. She seemed like just any ordinary lady, too ordinary for these parts, and all is never what it seems in this world.

Skylar clicked his tongue is disapproval at the boy but didn't push. He'd just have to keep an eye on him. He felt a surge of guilt swell up as he thought about his younger brother but quickly pushed that away. This had nothing to do with it.

He glanced around and noticed the woman- Regina is what she said?- leading a few of the group out into the rain. He shrugged, the promise of shelter and a little warmth dispelling his immediate concerns. He hung back, waiting for the boy to follow the others. Plus it gave him time to settle a few spells in his head just in case.

Ivan took a shallow and shaky breath, pushing himself away from the side of the caravan and picking up his bow and quiver, limping back towards the others. His limp seemed to have gotten a bit worse, his right leg dragging behind him as he walked in an unsteady pace. The mud was up above his knees at certain points on the path, making it even harder to walk properly. Thankfully the others hadn't gotten too far, but he still lagged behind them a good deal.

Raven continued to walk through the mud. He'd never been this far from home before, and he enjoyed it quite a bit. Despite the fact that it was raining and cold and he was following some random stranger. Still, nobody said traveling was easy and Raven enjoyed the challenge. Taking a look back, he noticed that Ivan was having some serious difficulties walking. It reminded him of when sometimes a kid would get hurt in his school of martial arts. The teachers weren't abusive, but when you get a bunch of warrior kids in a room with training equipment and blunt weapons, sometimes things would go a little too rough. And somebody would have to tend to the kid and help them until they were healed. Naturally he didn't want to go up to Ivan and ask if he needed help as Raven didn't want to seem like a concerned mother. But he slowed his pace a bit to where he was almost back to where Ivan was, just in case the kid needed someone to take some of the weight off his leg.

Ivan looked up at Raven as the man slowed his pace to match the boy's. Ivan covered his mouth with his rain-soaked hand to let out a few more coughs, using his other hand to push a lock of his drenched hiar out of his eye. He continued to laboriously schlep his way through the mud, his bad leg dragging on the ground as if it had no bones in it at all.

Raven awkwardly held out his hand for Ivan to take and use for support if he so wished, taking off the gauntlet first. "Kid I really don't think you should be walking by yourself, just saying. If you like I can help hold you up."

Ivan looked away sharply, with an insulted grimace. "I am alright." He said curtly, though he winced with every step and looked as though he were having trouble just staying balanced, let alone moving forward. His breath was shallow and wheezy, and one of his hands was wrapped around his chest at all times. Though he was obviously not having an easy time of it, he kept heading forward, a determined glare in his dark brown eyes.

"Kid's got some guts. Nice. Next time mind your own business dumbass." Raven thought to himself before scurrying back up to the woman ahead. He gave Jameson's weapons a funny look. "How do those things fire metal projectiles so fast?" He wondered. Raven knew what guns did, but since they were never found back where he lived, he was uncertain on how one worked. They didn't seem to require magic as far as he could tell, nor did they run off the force called electricity he had once heard about. It was very curious.

Skylar kept glancing at Ivan as they trudged forward, racking his brain for a spell to help the kid. Healing magic wasn't anything near his strong point and Ivan probably won't appreciate anything else he had on hand. He slowed to match pace with Ivan.

Skylar wasn't exactly settled around this woman. Her statement about the forest creatures not wishing to test their limits made him nervous. Moving to the back gave him time to watch and think.

Ivan seemed to be fading more and more as he limped after the group. He was going as fast as he could make himself go, his face contorted in pain. He lagged further and further behind the group, until they could barely hear his weak coughs and gasps of pain. About a minute later, he caught his heel on a branch under the mud and collapsed face-first into the muddy road. It was a few seconds before he pulled himself up, spitting out two mouthfuls of the vile tasting earth and coughing harshly, propping himself up on his good knee. He was a soaked, filthy mess by this point, a small trickle of red running from his mouth which he quickly wiped away. He realized his ankle was caught fast under the root. There was little chance he'd be able to pry himself free on his own, but he refused to call for help, trying in vain to break the root with one of his arrows as he coughed up a bitter combination of mud, phlegm, blood and saliva. In no way was this a good start to the day.

He heard the heavy thud and splat as Ivan hit the groind. Skylar whirled around and groaned before quickly reaching the kneeling boy. Skylar sighed. "Listen kid, there's no point in being stubborn if it's going to get you killed." He muttered a quick incantation before tapping the root, watching as it followed his fingers just enough to loosen then yanked out the boys ankle.

"You can't walk like this Ivan. Remember, survival is the goal and stubbornness isn't going to get you there." Skylar turned to the group. "Oye, anyone strong enough to carry the boy for a bit?"

Ivan cried out in pain as Skylar yanked on his bad leg, freeing his ankle from the root. He knew it had to be done, but it still hurt like hell. His face was flushed red and his brown eyes carried a glassy glint which he hid by keeping his head down. Everything he did to try and keep going seemed to get him in a worse and worse situation. Ivan was definitely not looking forward to being carried like an infant,to say the least. He slid the arrow he was trying to free himself with back in his quiver, slumping forward slightly as he took in short, ragged breaths.

"Ivan, look, we're probably almost there. I know you don't want assistance, but keeping this up might just make you collapse in the mud. Which would suck because then we'd all have to wait for you to rest up and get back on your feet again. Skylar, I am fully capable of carrying this lad." Raven spoke to Ivan and Skylar.

As he said this, Raven thought to himself: "This whole situation is getting ridiculous."

Ivan sighed, gritting his teeth and swallowing his pride. "Fine then. You can carry me." He said reluctantly. "I just vant to do vhat's best."

Do tell me if an image broke, doing a slight round of testing with this...

Day 3, Morning - All Characters

As the group moved into the clearing, it was apparent that it was a larger clearing than most. It was also apparent that Regina's home wasn't a tiny cabin.

The ground around her home was more stable than the surrounding area, even the path in front of it. As she stepped up the planks of her small porch, the mud fell from her clothes, with no sign remaining that she had walked in the mud at all. As she opened opened the door and entered, leaving it for others to follow, the caravan master's grimy clothes were similarly refreshed, the mud flowing down the steps and vanishing into the surrounding grass. The clearing had superior visibility as well, though seeing outside of the clearing was another matter entirely.




Those to enter would find the place comfortable-seeming, clean, yet rather messy in its own way. The walls were stuffed, bookshelves, paintings, innocently hanging items ranging from onions to kitchen utensils, tables with a variety of items, including loose coins and open books, and to the right a ladder going upwards and tucked in the corner a trapdoor presumably leading downwards. The back door, for whatever reason, was open. An open, solitary cloak-hook was positioned by the doorway.

Regina walked in to take a seat at the chair in front of the central table, awaiting the entry of other group members, as the caravan master stood just outside the door.