After some time had passed, she woke up refreshed and ready to travel again. She climbed down the tree and gathered up her stuff. It was nearing evening and as it was a pleasant temperature still, she was content to wander the forest paths.
As night fell, she found herself at the mountain ranges that separated her kingdom from that of the dwarves. She paused to have a bird send a message to her parents where she was and that she was well. After that, she started up the mountain path.
She had only been traveling a while, when an axe nearly got lodged in herself. But quick reflexes barely got her out of the way. A gruff voice told her she best be explaining herself. She could tell the owner of the voice was trying to appear tough. She guessed this person was a literal child, or someone desperate to appear larger or older than they really were. She decided to see which one it was by calling out that she was just traveling over the mountains to the next town. A person of shorter stature, and fiery red hair stepped out from behind a tree. With her hair still up, she resembled a boy, so she was not surprised that the other one was suspicious.
With slow movements and a calm voice, she let down her hair and introduced herself as the princess of the fairy kingdom. Upon seeing that the person apologized and attempted an awkward curtsey. Endermon said there was no need to stand on ceremony, as she was trying to find a name for herself outside of her parents expectations.
Endermon complimented her on her armor and this made Rutus look almost shy as she said she had made it herself. Endermon was impressed that someone other than a blacksmith was able to make a set of armor out of whatever Rutus could find.
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Rutus beamed, thrilled that someone recognized her latent skills. She still had reservations about how she felt about other types of beings, but she thought Endermon was pretty cool. Especially after she gave her something to condition the leather with.
Rutus apologized for throwing her axe again and they talked about parents and jobs and whatever came to mind. Rutus said if she was going to be in the mountains awhile, she was going to need thicker clothes and Endermon asked for good places to get said things. Rutus mentioned a few places and in return Endermon told her of a few tricks she could use to make travel easier.
Talk turned to weapons and their various uses. Endermon said she could use almost any weapon but preferred not to, whereas Rutus would rather use a weapon than not. There was shouting coming from further up the mountain, and Rutus's face paled considerably. Unexplicably, she gathered her stuff and nearly ran down the trail Endermon had just come up on. She looked both ways with a shrug and having no answers from either direction, put her pack back on and continued down the mountain.
She wondered what spooked Rutus so much that she felt she had to run away. Not getting any answers from the mountain, not only where she was meant to go, but also what the point of these brief encounters with the random people she had met so far on her journey. She hoped she would get some clarity later on. But for now she was content to let nature guide her where she needed to go. Needing a place to stay and figuring camping in the mountains was a bad idea, she found her way to an inn where she paid for a night in a small room. The fact that it was just a bed with a lamp did not matter to her, she just needed a place to recharge after her latest meeting.