Lasutro sprung out of their bed roll, stumbling forward into the last embers of their campfire,knocking some of the hot coals out of the pit into the surrounding shrubbery. Their heart beat wildly as she struggled to recover some semblance of composure. The cold night air was a surprising comfort in the minutes that followed; their panic subsiding with the slow realization that it was some sort of nightmare despite how real it felt. With their heart and breathing transitioning to a less frantic rhythm, Lasutro went about the shrubbery kicking dirt of the few hot coals she saw, in addition to their surroundings in an effort to avoid a wildfire while she slept: if she managed to get back to sleep.
After spending a little bit of time reviving the fire, Lasutro sat down in their bedroll, their memory of the nightmare moving just out of reach, there but faded from the front of their mind. Although the content of the nightmare left them its horror, the terror it emparted remained. Lasutro stared into the fire trying to distract their mind from their hyperactive senses and the fading rush that rose in them earlier when she woke from their nightmare. The boost of energy faded, the crackling flames lingering in the air, gradually driving Lasutro into an almost meditative state. Left in a trance like state their thoughts began to dissolve into oblivion and without them she slipped back into sleep.
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A few hours after dawn, Lasutro roused from their second rest of the night, still somewhat exhausted from their recent nightmare. With the orange and red streaks of the sun illuminating their simple camp, Lasutro began preparing themselves for the last trek of their journey to Kadmique. She ensured the cooling embers of their fire was snuffed out, kicking dirt over it before grabbing their pack and heading back out to the road, nibbling on some of their dried meat as she did so.
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By the time the sun had reached its apex, Lasutro was well on their way,having reached the Briglaem river, a detour from the main road but not an uncommon travel path. The trek followed the river north to the mountain it reportedly originated from, additionally, despite its size the trail had a few signs including one that was marked as Kadmique. Though she wasn’t using the signs to find their way they did provide some reassurance as she continued onward.
The fact that Lasutro’s travel had become more simple than it was previously, in the sense it required less effort at least mentally then before if even by a minuscule amount;she felt rather relaxed with the sounds of the river calming them. That is until the voices in their head began to speak louder than before, their thoughts on their situation and where it left them. She pushed the thoughts away pulling out more of their jerky, finishing it with a drink from their water skin. For a while she managed to keep the thoughts at bay before they returned again, yearning for a family that had ceased to be. Similar notations continued worming into their mind as she walked. The ideas attempted to occupy as much space as they could of Lasutro’s head, until she decided to take a short break, using the time to take some deep breaths and some water from their waterskin.
When Lasutro continued their trek once more she tried to keep their focus off those thoughts that previously made them feel as if their life was without purpose, and that they were simply the background stroke of painting with a licked finish. For the first few minutes of travel,she managed to keep their mind clear with some additional snacking, and humming a tune she recalled a bard playing in the Impaled Lupine.That tune helped keep them distracted for a moment but unintentionally fueled the thoughts she was trying to avoid. Trying to shake the thoughts from their mind once more, Lasutro found themselves fiddling with their silver bracelet again to distract from the emotions and thoughts that pervading their mind.
Lasutro rubbed their fingers against the cool metal feeling for the engraved symbols but found none. The band had returned to its smooth features, as if the object was messing with them, the oddity of feeling the symbols the day before and none now creating a strange impulse to feel it in its entirety every few minutes. This impulse brought with it a relief from the thoughts she was trying to avoid but instead it supplemented the negative reaction to those thoughts with feelings of frustration. As the sun lowered in the sky Lasutro’s interactions with the bracelet decreased as she felt an increasing urge to speed up their pace.
Opting for jogging over running, Lasutro kept their mind on their footing as she covered more and more ground. The choice helped reduce the faint worry she had that she might not make it to Kadmique by dusk as she had been hoping to not sleep by the river, a room to themselves and good warm food sounding especially good to them. She continued on, following the rough path as best she could. As the sun moved ever closer to its place in the western part of the sky gradually revealing the starry night, Lasutro took a short break from jogging, their stamina not sustaining them nearly as well as she hoped it would. Between some heaving breaths Lasutro drank from their waterskin, making a mental note to work on their stamina. Even with the slower pace, Lasutro felt themselves rushing. By the time she had gotten their breathing somewhat steady she was back to jogging again. It wasn’t long after she resumed jogging when she spotted the rough features of the bridge she was looking for. After about half an hour she arrived at the Briglaem bridge.
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The Briglaem bridge’s construction began near the end of the river bank. The first meter or so of the path to the bridge, the beginnings of a cobblestone road before transitioning to a simple dirt road. Lasutro took a moment to take in the mossy stones of the path ahead of them before she made their way over. The sight of the road on the other side of the river provided Lasutro with a sense of solace, the idea of not having to worry about setting up camp and the other actions associated with that. Lasutro felt as if in response to their recent tragedy the winds of fate had decided to provide them some brief resprit, even if the things she felt lucky had turned out alright so far, she still had to deal with the anxiety they caused. When she arrived on the other side of the river, she could just barely make out the cluster of buildings that was Kamique, the torch light drawing their sight.
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By the time Lasutro arrived at the rough gates of the growing town the sun had creeped behind the southern ends of the Vorzint Mountain range, the colors of dusk fading into the night sky. As she moved to enter the first of their planned destinations, thoughts of freshly cooked meats and if she was lucky, bread, filling their mind,a voice called out to them.
“Halt!” Lasutro turned to face the sound, finding an older human man dressed in the spirit of a guard uniform, only missing the expected armor, and seemingly already bored with their interaction despite its briefness.
“Yes?” Lasutro asked, a bit taken aback by the languid nature of the man. The guard jogged up half heartedly before resuming their duty.
“Name and reason for entry?” he asked, making no effort to mask their impatience. It was clear to Lasutro it was just a formality for travelers who arrived in the town by night. Despite that, the previously quiet paranoia of their mind screamed at them to not give them their real name before the calmer part of them made a compromise, middle name, not wrong but not exactly what they were seeking.
“Izora, I’m just passing through as I head east. I was hoping for a nice meal and a bed for the night.” The guard nodded, taking a few notes in a small ledger of sorts before looking back at Lasutro.
“Alright Izora, that’ll be all. Go on, enjoy your stay.” The man said, pointing lazily into town, their sarcasm dripping off their last words, before he wandered back to their place by the wall. With that Lasutro followed their half hearted direction and began their search for a tavern.
Under the darkening night sky, Lasutro wandered the streets passing by signs like Throven’s meats & hides, Waelim’s discount concoctions and Daevim & sons Caravan Repair. The streets were wide and the alley tight, all lending to the feeling that Kadmique was a town built to be traveled through, a stopping point in a longer journey, nearly every store she passed had a second floor appeared to be the living quarters of the owners. Though the low light wasn’t a huge obstacle for Lasutro she couldn’t seem to spot a tavern, that's when she caught on to the faint smell of roasting meats. She followed the scent to a building with a sign depicting a cute rat holding a bucket to a leaking roof.
The inside was quaint, a few groups of people chatting amongst each other, a few lone figures eating quietly or sipping on their tankard. The bar was small, one of the seats occupied by a halfling with a small harp by their side,sipping on their tankard making small talk with the older human barmaid. Lasutro walked over, placing themselves as far as they reasonably could from the halfling before signaling for the barmaid.
“Hello! Welcome to the Leaky Roof, I’m Dortha, were you looking to stay the night or...?” The woman trailed off and waited for Lasutro’s response.
“Um, yes, and I was hoping to have something to eat as well if you don’t mind.”
“Of course! Of course, we still have some roasted boar and rooms available. If that's all five silver, three large copper should cover it. ”
Lasutro reached into a small coin purse she had prepared just before she arrived in town and removed, as fast as she could, six silver pieces. As she handed them over asked, “Can I get my food just in my room if it isn’t too much trouble?”
“Sure, sure not a problem, let me just fetch you the key.” Dortha replied, before moving back in the direction of the halfling fellow and bending down then returning with a simple key in hand. Dortha came out from behind the bar gesturing at Lasutro to follow, leading them up a set of stairs into a long hallway before stopping at a door marked with the number seven and passing the key over.
Dortha spoke again “I’ll be back in a little while with your food, feel free to tell me if you need anything else.” before scurrying back to the main floor. Leaving Lasutro alone once more. The room interior was sparsely decorated, most of the space taken by the bed and its frame. To the far side of the bed a candelabra sat on a small bedside table and not far from the end of the bed a small circular table coupled with a pair of simple wooden chairs. Closing the door behind them, Lasutro set down their pack before sitting down on the edge of the bed and waiting for Dortha’s return, their stomach aching for food.
When the expected knock came to their door five minutes later, Lasutro made haste to the door, revealing Dortha holding a wooden plate of irregularly shaped slices of meat over some roasted vegetables topped with a bun and set of utensils. Lasutro took the plate and set it down on the table before thanking Dortha with another silver coin before shutting the door once more. After devouring the meal, Lasutro prepared themselves for sleep, kicking off their boots and some of their travel wear, but keeping their small dagger by their side as she laid down. With the fear of the previous night’s nightmare fading by the minute she slowly drifted to sleep.