Just like the previous trip, the trees all around us rose up on either side as the previously rolling terrain surged up into serious mountains in the distance. And I will do just that, Rieka.” I gave her a smile that got a bright one in return before we focused back on the road. Something that is strange to you might just be normal to us and we can easily explain.” Rieka reminded me, drawing my attention away from the smirking dwarf lamia and to the stunning wolf-kin on my other side. Don’t be afraid to point things out and ask us about them. Except for the whole ‘magic thing’.” I said, making finger quotes where appropriate, a gesture that got a confused look from both girls. Then again, the fact that I crossed over to another world via a magical ritual only to find that the native species in power was so similar to my own…should have been some clue that most things would be fairly normal. The dappled sunlight coming through the trees twinkled off her silver-rimmed spectacles. “Well, that would depend on what qualifies as a ‘strange creature’ to you, wouldn’t it Liam?” Kassandra peered up at me with a mischievous smile. I’ve met plenty of different intelligent folks but only a handful of ‘monsters’ or strange creatures in the times I’ve been here.” I shifted the strap on my backpack to adjust the weight, as it had been causing one of the metallic plates in my armor to dig into my shoulder. I’d occasionally move to the outside of the group if I saw something I was suspicious of as well, but nothing jumped out at us. After the encounter with the kobold ambush previously, we were all careful to keep close watch on our surroundings while we talked quietly though. Kassandra and Rieka had taken to bracketing me again, though they would swap sides every so often as things distracted them. Never hurts to know if there is trouble waiting.” Kassandra added from her spot on the other side of me. We should have asked them about anyone or anything harassing people on the road. It’s one of the better spots along the coast road after all.

The glaring sun overhead had started to get a bit oppressive with the weight of the pack I was carrying and I was thankful for a bit of shade. “I wonder if they camped at the ruins we cleared the other day.” Rieka muttered as we continued into the tree line once they’d passed. Given that we saw them coming a fair way off because of the trail of dust that the wagons raised, our group made way for them and stepped off the road. The whole group moved with purpose as they rattled down the road. The wagon drivers were a pair of cat kin in plain but serviceable outfits while their escort was a half dozen men and women in sturdy armor. I nodded in greeting to the group as they passed us by, getting a response from the drivers but not the guards. We passed a pair of wagons and their guards on horseback just as we reached the treeline.

Feather and wedge amazon