Thinking hard for a few moments, Janno turned back towards Dalia and Timmius. "Dalia, if we made some space on one of the horses, do you think you could handle riding it until we get a safe distance from this goblin path?"
Dalia nodded. "Oh, certainly. I don't wish to put everyone else in danger on my account... especially at the hands of those creatures." Her expression darkened as she finished, before she averted her eyes to the ground.
Janno mentally took note of this, turning to help Kassi redistribute the loads on the horses to make room for Dalia. "Alright, Kassi, think you can get us a safe distance from this trail before nightfall?"
"Count on it." Kassi smiled again, before turning to take the point position once more. Timmius stood up from Dalia's side, and took the reins of his horse as Janno crouched down next to the druid. "Alright, I'll help you onto the horse. Are you ready?" Dalia nodded, looping an arm over Janno's shoulders as the burly fighter lifted her off the ground. He tried not to pay attention to how light and soft her lean body was, with her long, healthy legs and curves that pressed against his body for a moment as he helped her onto the horse. He decided that he was rather lucky his tunic covered his growing erection. "How's that?"
"Oh, thank you. I see I judged you right, Janno, you are a decent man." said Dalia, slipping onto the horse as Janno took the lead and started to follow Timmius. "Though I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed in myself. Not even a day has past on this adventure and I'm injured."
Janno shrugged as he walked next to the horse, leading it onwards. "It was an accident. Could have happened to any of us. Anyways, without your knowledge, this group wouldn't even have had somewhere to begin."
"Well, I certainly hope that I can continue to be of service to you." answered Dalia, smiling softly. Janno briefly considered all the venues of "service" that he would like from Dalia, before just nodding in response. He had to keep this on a professional footing, after all. At least for a while.
It was about an hour before sundown when they came across a decently spacious clearing, surrounded by a stand of trees in which to set up camp. Timmius and Janno secured the reins of the horses to some stout low-hanging branches, before Janno helped Dalia down off of her horse, setting her against a tree while he and Timmius erected the tents, and Kassi scoured the perimeter to make sure the site was safe. After she was satisfied, she helped Janno light the fire, which they eventually worked into a decent blaze. They relaxed, sitting on the ground next to it. Dalia had lain down in a tent to rest for a spell, while Timmius was picking around the edge of the campground for interesting plant life.
"It wasn't too bad of a start today," Janno mused, munching on some rations they had brought for the trip. "How far do you think we got?"
Kassi paused from her own meal to consider the question. "A little past twenty miles, perhaps. We should make good time while the forest remains pretty thin. I heard it thickens up between here and Sangasio, though, so it will probably slow us down. I'll have to talk to Dalia in the morning about it."
"If all goes well." said Janno, finishing his meal and taking a drink from his canteen. "I don't relish running into any goblins while there's still only the four of us."
"As long as we're in this woods, we should be fine." Kassi replied, "I was raised in terrain like this, and Dalia's powers are at its strongest here. If we run into any trouble, this would be the best place for it."
"Damn," Janno grinned, putting his canteen away. "It looks like I'll be the weak link in the party for this leg of the journey, then."
Kassi smiled and laughed. "I wouldn't worry about it. If you handled that ogre gang, I'm sure you could acquit yourself well in a battle anywhere." She then turned to regard Timmius, who was walking towards them, a small sprig of leaf in one of his hands. "What did you find?"
"Something quite exciting, actually," Timmius replied, holding up the sprig, "this is springroot. If properly prepared, it can help stop the bleeding of a wound and speed the healing of it. Unfortunately, it looks like most of it is a ways away from the camp..."
Janno nodded. "Sounds like a useful thing to have around. Well, it's still fairly light out... Kassi, could you go with him for safety? I'll hold down camp here."
"Alright. We should be back at around nightfall." Kassi stood up, and checked her bow and short sword before heading off into the trees with Timmius. Janno prodded and turned the fire, going over the details of the trek in his mind. So was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he failed to notice Dalia until she seated herself next to him. "Oh! It's you... your ankle feeling better?"
Dalia smiled, raising her robe slightly to show her bandaged ankle, and some of her toned calf. "Much better, thank you. Timmius seems to know his business very well."
"That's good. I was hoping to make as much progress as we can while the terrain is still in our favor. Do know where the forests start to thicken around here?" Janno said, looking over the ankle and drifting his eyes over her legs, admiring their outline briefly through the thin robe before going back to prodding the fire to keep his mind clear.
"Oh, yes. The forests starts to get denser around sixty miles to the north, where the hill start. If we keep a good pace we can be to the edge of it in two days' time." Dalia responded, shifting a bit closer to the fire. "You must be exhausted after that long trek. Why don't you remove your armor and relax?"
'Good idea.' Janno thought, as he started to undo the straps holding his armor in place. One by one, he stripped the pieces off his body and dropped them in a small pile behind him, before stretching out his arms. His muscles felt stiff from the long journey, especially under all that heavy armor.
"You look... uncomfortable," Dalia noticed, leaning over towards Janno. "Is there any way I could help... relieve the tension?" The light of the fire helped betray the slight blush on her face. Her suggestion apparently wasn't entirely innocent... |