What Lia wanted most was a relaxing hot bath to wash away the dirt and sweat that clung to her body - and perhaps a tall glass of mead to wash away her sorrow. Her journey has been nothing short of miserable; nonstop terrible weather plagued her. Storms that torrented on and off, mudding up the roads and drenching her clothes. The air was an unusual heavy and humid, but since it was the rainy spring season, there wasn't a god she could curse at. WIth her shoddy, beatdown equipment and meager supplies, the journey was nothing short of miserable.

  But she didn't complain because it wasn't all bad; spread out through the great wilderness were towns and villages acting like an oasis. What little cash and items she had could be traded for the more pertinent items like food. Lia was fine with playing along with Hector's request - for now. The two monsters planted in her shadow haven't made any move, but she could feel them watching her. Disobediance could come at a steep cost afterall. Even if the boy meant well and had no malicious intentions, Lia was a cynic; she couldn't help but distrust others.

  A day into her trip she came across her first town (it was more of a village like her own, small and quiet) and had a conversation with a friendly old trader which dispelled some of that distrust. While organizing his wares he told Lia, "Be careful travelling my little elf friend. the roads might be dangerous." She asked why is that and he replied, "The man-at-arms around here have been very active - and aggressive. Supposedly a bunch of their men and some adventurers went missing in the woods. They have been badgering everyone trying to punish the responsible party."

  His account corroborated what Hector had said: one of the reasons the knights came for her village was for the missing men. The merchant didn't know much else on the matter. It didn't seem word got out of what happened. There was also the note of the land being wanted by someone, another reason Hector mentioned she barely recalled. Information on that would be helpful, it would be one step closer in deciding if Hector was lying about anything, but she couldn't think of an appropriate question to ask for it. Lia thanked the man and went on her way.

  She was sad to leave the village. It reminded her of home, but there were more important things for her to do than to lollygag around. The issue of what to do with the boy still wasn't resolved. She would carry out his errand, but then what? Lia was grateful for the boy saving her life, but everything gets complicated when considering that Hector might have been the cause of it all in the first place. Not to mention he claimed to have fused with a dungeon core, a notoriously dangerous object. Even his supposed goals seemed untrustworthy, naive and wistful. Lia didn't believe it - people aren't some wholesome, good-doing creatures.

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  It was first major town she came across that validated her cynicism. The town was quiet and dead, an unsual sight compared to the small villages which were teeming with life. Naturally, she asked the scarce few people she came across and learned why.

  "There was a riot," a young man detailed the event, "A lot of people have been moving into town and there isn't enough of anything for everyone: food, shelter, jobs. People got frustrated and protested to the city council and things turned out poorly, I guess."

  A second person gave a different insight, "It was because of those blasted elves and their friends. They are the top dogs around here, those merchants hog everything and give jobs only to their friends." The crabby old man gave Lia a vulgar look so she cut the conversation with him short.

  There was an elf she came across. With bags under his arms and bags under his eyes, the man looked very stressed. He was kind enough to stop and answer Lia on the matter, "The town management has failed the people. Education has been terrible so no one is skilled for the tasks we need. The few good blacksmiths are only the dwarves who have been here forever. Arithmetic and management skills need for merchant work can only be afforded by the already established. We have tried to improve the quality of the city, but we can't do it alone." A nice man though but looking glum. 

  So the town was on edge. Random stores and homes were broken into and looted. Some people were mugged and attacked. For the rioters it didn't seem to matter who or what was the target as long as they saw it with envy. Lia got a few looks. Maybe because she was an elf. Maybe because she was a girl. Maybe because there was no one else out in the streets so anyone walking on them was strange. The entire town was on edge. You could cut through the tension with a butter knife. It wasn't a pleasant place. She passed through as fast as she could.

  There were bright spots in her travel, but she would still call the journey miserable. Jourd was close now and she made all haste to it. The sooner she could send out those letters and meet this 'Gil Fins" the quicker she would get tne answers she wanted and free herself from doing the boy Hector's work.