Given the occupation of Quinn and his party, Rohl was rather surprised to have been the first to awaken, then again, it was unlikely any of the others had dreams as unpleasant as his.

Please, Lord Morpheus, not again.

After taking a second to wipe away the sleep from his eyes and stretch out his aching muscles, Rohl finally sat up in his makeshift bed and set himself to the task of dismantling their camp.

Given his desire to reach Elmon, Rohl was keen to avoid wasting too much time waiting for the others to awaken, yet his own manners prevented him from shaking them awake either.

And so, with that small dilemma, Rohl set about making sure every other task was done, in a sprinkle of movements, Rohl stamped out the last embers of the fire, returned his wolf pelt to Thaddeus's large pile of belongings and finally scavenged any sections of the rabbit that could still be eaten.

After finishing up that task and making sure his own belongings were packed and ready, Rohl could do little more than wait and wrestle with the idea of awakening the others.

Ukatar, knife, money, clothes. I really need to get changed.

Whilst Rohl did technically have one spare set of clothes from the panacea, he also had at least another day of travelling before he reached his destination. With that in mind, there was little point in changing quite yet, it was best he arrived at Elmon's temples and guilds as fresh as possible.

But before Rohl could once again lose himself in his plans for the future, a yawn cut his thoughts short. Quinn had awoken.

Despite his rather groggy slow state, the ranger wasted no time in packing away his own belongings before stopping to throw a handful of small rocks at his still-sleeping companions. Only once he was sure they too were awake did he continue with his own morning duties.

Between the five of them, it wasn't long before they were ready to leave. Rohl's eagerness to disembark must have been obvious if the increased pace and almost dead silence was anything to go by.

The gentle smile Mimi gave Rohl as she helped pretty much confirmed Rohl's belief that they were rushing their morning for him. After a grateful smile from Rohl in return and the sight of Quinn almost pushing the others back onto the road, the group was finally ready to depart.

Similarly, to the night before, the small group seemed to naturally form a protective huddle around Rohl as they walked. Quinn and Terrance had taken their spots just a step ahead of the group with both Mimi and Thaddeus taking position on either side of him.

They must really have been unimpressed by my fight with the wolf.

Despite the huddle essentially implying how weak they thought he was, Rohl didn't complain, if anything he was grateful for the added protection. Besides his own politeness prevented him from so much as muttering a complaint about the tight formation around him.

Even with the protective formation, the group did still seem to make good progress as they walked along the trodden path towards Elmon. At best guess, Rohl believed they were approaching the halfway mark towards the city but then again, he had no way to verify that himself.

The views of rolling hills, bellowing plains and deep green forest whilst pretty did not offer any solid landmarks for Rohl to judge his location.

I could ask but I'd rather not seem completely incompetent. Besides, I need to start doing something's for myself, they're already escorting me there, and I don't want to badger them. Besides, I'll need to get used to being by myself once, if I join the guild and prepare to kill that dammed beast.

Fortunately for Rohl, he wasn't the only one who seemed to get too caught up in the views or their own thoughts to devote any effort in to starting a discussion. All five members of the group seemed content to walk towards Elmon in silence and whilst Rohl had no new thoughts to stretch out his future plans, he did have plenty for his current walking situation.

Bloody leg, I know I rushed the whole rest, healing and easing process but still, this hurts way too much.

Despite his body holding up to his trails well so far, it seemed his previous injuries had finally caught up to him. His calves ached with every step, and seeming at random intervals would send jolts of pain throughout his body, enough to make him limp slightly.

There was no way the other group members hadn't noticed the sudden turn, yet they didn't comment on it, they likely knew what Rohl would say to any suggestions of rest.

I really should have seen if the Panacea had any potions spare. I doubt it though. I'll just have to find a way to distract myself.

As much as Rohl wasn't keen on engaging anyone in conversation, it did seem like the best way to keep his attention off the pain.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

But unfortunately for Rohl, the only sound he could at first manage came out as a mix of strained breathing and an incoherent assortment of mumbled words.

Ah, well, I'm just not going to explain that.

"So, do you come here often?" Rohl finally asked with only a small sigh of regret following his words.

"This is the ninth, maybe tenth time we've patrolled this road. Usually, we patrol the more populated western routes," Mimi answered as Rohl couldn't help but think on her last few words. The road so far had been surprisingly empty although it was more than possible, they had missed any merchants or adventurers whilst they had been camping.

"We like to spice it up once in a while, change routes or duties, real thrilling stuff," Quinn added with a rather obvious sarcastic twist.

"You are the one who agreed to this position," came Thaddeus' response, one that Quinn soon mimicked.

"The duties of a ranger whilst important are not always the most thrilling. Still, it is an honourable duty to patrol the nation's roads and keep its cities safe," Terrance interceded as his words seemingly put an end to whatever mockery Quinn was about to add next.

I doubt anyone would argue with that. Everyone knows the rules: stick to the roads, stay out of the woods, do not wander. Whilst the forests need to be kept back and the patrols do that, I still think I'd prefer the freedom of adventuring, I'll need that if I'm to hunt that beast.

"Is this route easier?" Rohl asked as he desperately attempted to prevent the conversation from drifting off into an awkward nothingness.

"In a way, it is less populated which tends to reduce the chances of any attacks or breaches, how-"

"It's bloody boring, its sooo long, you loop to the east of Bureihal forest, round Sinsbury, past Fillham, though Furbrough and finally down this stretch back to Elmon, never mind all the off-roads, offshoots and scattered villages along the way." Quin's annoyed voice summarised pretty much what Rohl expected of the route although given what he had been through, he couldn't help the twinge of annoyance that shot through him.

"That seems a lot for just one group."

"It is, even for a group as good and masterful as us. There should be another seven or so rangers taking this route, if Gavin wasn't so gods dam old and slow, we'd have probably already passed his group coming from Elmon.

"Oh, who's Gavin?"

"A retired soldier turned ranger, someone due more respect than Quinn likes to give," Thaddeus answered.

"He'll have my respect when he coughs up the money he owes, you don't just join in for rounds then run off when it's your turn to buy."

Before any of the group could add to Quinn's comment, a sudden raise of the hand from Terrance put an end to the conversation. The wizards' eyes were fixed on the shadowed treeline just ahead, not that Rohl had any idea of what the wizard had seen.

Before the stare-off could continue, the pang of a bow cut through the sudden silence. Quinn had gotten off a shot before Rohl could even begin to react, the ranger could clearly shoot at an impressive speed. To further the show of skill, the arrow flew with impressive accuracy, its tip cleaved through the thick patch of leaves and thudded into the trunk of a tree just in the vicinity of where Terrance was studying.

Rohl couldn't make out whatever animal bolted from the spot but given its size, it was definitely not another rabbit.

"What do we do?

"Bend over and let it... no we keep going of course, it would take super long to circle back and besides we are the most amazing awe-inspiring rangers you'll ever meet; we'd be pretty shit at our jobs if we couldn't face one threat." With one last gesturing pose at the spot where the disturbance had been, Quinn finished his mocking speech "See even if has scattered at the mere sight of us."

These are the only ones I've met so I suppose he's not wrong.

With Quinn's decision hanging in the air, the small group soon reformed their makeshift positions and continued on their journey, even if there was a certain tension hanging in the air as they walked.

The group may have not directly unsheathed their weapons but even Rohl could notice how their hands hovered close to their hilts and their eyes constantly flickered to the growing forest at their sides.

"We should report it to Gavin once he passes, best he be aware of any possible dangers." Terrence's statement did little to ease any of the tension and definitely did nothing to help resuscitate the conversation that had once taken hold, and with that Rohl was resolved to spend the rest of his journey in silence.

Remember the plan, temple, prayer, rites, guild, somewhere to work and rest, adventuring, strength, revenge.

With nothing to do but walk and occasionally glance at the shadowed undergrowth to his sides, Rohl once again found himself with a lot of time and little to do. He had already devoted as much thought as he could to his future plans and that left this mind vulnerable to thoughts of the past. Something Rohl was keen to avoid at all pasts. It would only bring more tears to his eyes and pain to his heart.

I can hold it until I reach the Thanatos temple.

As keen as Rohl was to avoid such thoughts, the only other options to keep his mind occupied weren't that appealing either, he didn't have the will to practice his ukatar, nor did he feel like relighting any conversation. This left only one real option, watching the crevasse of trees that had sprung up on either side of him.

Despite the forest being well maintained and its borders patrolled, that clearly had done little to stem its growth. Thick trees, dense plant life and overgrown bushes made seeing past the first handful of trees almost impossible. Anything could be staring back at him and Rohl would have no idea.

Thank the gods for rangers.

Having to walk the entire journey through the forest was a fate Rohl was extraordinarily glad to have avoided, any area outside of a human settlement was likely riddled with danger and here was no different.

Unless it was heavily maintained, pruned and guarded as Shiresbridge forest had been, then anyone not just Rohl would have known to be on guard around the trees.

Offa is too large and forested to maintain it all and woodcutters are few and far between.

It was one of the most dangerous and well-paid jobs in the entire kingdom, the possibility of whatever tree you cut into being containing some kind of tree spirit was enough to keep most people away from the job, Rohl included.

Fuck that, I have no idea how the Ristons ever found the courage to tame Shiresbridge forest.

With such thoughts rattling away within his head, the task of finding entertainment while he walked became a lot easier, being lost within a myriad of your own thoughts and ideas did tend to do that. But not even Rohl's wandering mind could ignore the sudden halt of his companions and the tense air that surrounded them.