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The roads are generally in a state of disrepair, but they are generally serviceable. Most are made of dirt or are cobbled. Robbers are a risk and so is being attacked by either side.

Roleplay!

Elisabeth readjusted the bag on her shoulders. "Any idea where we're headed?" She asked, turning to her husband, Deese.

Deese, holding the hand of their young son Hadrian, turned to his wife. "No, not really. We're need to get to one of the places to stay. A rest stop, the Backend Tavern, or the Oasis?" he suggested. The safer the place was, the happier he would be. He was not keen on risking his beloved son or wife because they could not find shelter. Robbers were all too common in these parts now.

Elisabeth nodded. "Any one of those places sounds wonderful. Whatever's closest would probably be best."

Deese nodded. "That would be the wisest." He sighed and reached out to hold her hand with his free one and smiled fondly at her. "The Oasis it is then. But where should we go next?" He traced a pattern on her hand absently. "Visit the Tribe of Pride again? The Tribe of Courage? Tribe of Intelligence? Go somewhere new?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Elisabeth said. ((Should Hadrian be an "official" character?))

((If you'd like))

"We'll have to turn back or head east though," Deese said as he observed the horizon. They were soon going to near the Tribe of Faith's territory if they kept going. After the last time they had gone there, he wanted to avoid the place at all costs.

((Do you want me to make him? ))

"Let's do it," Elisabeth said, turning back around.

((Sure!))

Deese nodded and followed suit. "So I suppose we should try to get to a tavern by nightfall." He squinted up at the sky. "That give us about four and a half hours." He started to walk a little bit faster but not so quickly so that their son could not keep up.

Elisabeth increased her speed to match that of Deese's and Hadrian's. "Let's hope we make it, then," she said, glancing warily around her.
Hadrian tightened his grip on his father's hand. He looked up at Deese nervously. "Dad...are we gonna be okay?"

He looked down at his son, whose hair he gently ruffled. He knelt down. "We will be, don't worry." Deese turned to Elizabeth and nodded. "We will if we limit our stops along the way." He smiled wryly and looked over at his wife with his eyes twinkling. "You know, Liz, usually you're the one trying to get me to go faster. Everything okay?"

"I'm fine, it's just...I haven't been feeling quite myself lately." She glanced at Hadrian, then added, "Can we maybe discuss this later?" Hadrian looked up at his mother with concern, but decided she would probably have said something if it really were that important.

Devon noticed the glance Liz had sent in Hadrian's direction and frowned with concern. He did not, however, make a further comment on the topic besides a quick nod of the head. When silence overtook them for a few minutes, he said, "Ought we meet with some of the others if we return to the kingdom, do you think?"

Liz was grateful that Deese had decided to drop the topic. Though she wasn't positive of what was happening, she had a fairly good idea, and it wasn't something she was ready to share around her 5 year old son. "Maybe. It's been quite some time."
Hadrian looked back up at his mother, but stayed quiet. He contented himself by imagining what it was going to be like when they got to the tavern and finally stopped walking.

"So it has been," Deese agreed as he carefully watched Liz. He could see the relief on her face, and that only increased his worry. He decided to still respect her wished and not press the matter even though he was incredibly curious. He idly pondered the prospect of using divination to view the conversation they would have at the tavern and decided that it was a bad idea and that Liz probably would not appreciate it. He sighed and smiled fondly down at his young son.

It became quiet for a while. All that could be heard was the soft thud of shoes on the simple dirt road. Hadrian usually enjoyed a bit of quiet, but not like this. Not with his parents awkwardly skirting around a subject they were probably waiting for him to be absent to discuss. Hadrian then did the only thing a child could do in situations like this. He asked a question which has been instilling fear in the hearts of parents for millennium. "Are we there yet?"

((XD))

"No, we're an hour off at this pace without stopping," Deese replied offhandedly. He sighed heavily. He was very worried that his young son would not be able to manage it. He looked at Liz. "Do you think you'd be able to carry Hadrian? I want to have my hands free so I can ward off any attackers." It was sunset, and night was the most dangerous time to be on the roads in these parts He grimaced. His own feet were aching, and he was sure his wife's and son's would likely be a whole lot worse. He surveyed the area.

((I've been pondering having Hadrian ask this question for the longest time, and I needed it to be super climactic))


Liz was already quite tired herself, but she knew her son was probably much more so. She had Hadrian sling his hands around her neck, and she lifted him up, piggyback style. "That better, Hadrian?" Hadrian grinned hugely. "Yes!" he cheered, elated at not having to walk.

((lol))

"Thanks," Deese said. Behind them, he could hear the fast clop of a galloping horse. "Right on cue," he grumbled. He held out his hands and mentally prepared himself to use his magical talents and his talents with a sword to defend himself, his wife, and his son.

Liz stood behind Deese so she could keep Hadrian out of harm's way. Hadrian's eyes widened momentarily, and he wondered what exactly those hoofbeats would entail.

Deese waited for the opponent to reveal him(her?)self before attacking. If the person meant no harm, he did not wish to cause any himself. The person leaped down from the horse and drew no weapons while walking. From a pocket, the person extracted a letter. "Devon Cem and Elizabeth Ferm Volcain, yes?"

Deese nodded warily. "Yes, why? What news do you have?" His voice was a bit more barbed with defense than it ever was when he spoke to the Ten or his family. His voice then was kinder. But now, his voice said he would do anything if this person meant them any harm.

Liz tightened her grip on Hadrian, wary of the newcomer. Hadrian buried his head in his mother's hair. Though he wasn't entirely certain it would do any good, he didn't like watching his father speak with such an edge to his tone.

"Me, nothing," the messenger said with a smirk, "but I do bring tidings from one Lady Bellatrix." He handed the letter to Deese, who quickly checked that it was genuine. When he confirmed it was, he waved the messenger off.

He turned to Hadrian and Liz. "We should keep on moving. We'll look at it when we arrived." He smiled at the pair and motioned for them to keep on moving. If they didn't, the next one could be a real bandit.

Hadrian lifted his head out of Liz's hair now that Deese seemed a bit less tense. "Who's the paper from?" Hadrian inquired, not recalling a "Lady Bellatrix".
"Lady Asha Bellatrix. She's the lady-in-waiting for Princess Moira, and she helps mommy and daddy with their work."
"Oh," Hadrian said simply, still not entirely certain who was being discussed, but having enough information to be satisfied.

Deese smiled down at his son. One day, the boy would have to be educated in politics and know more ranks and names than he did people, but for now, he wanted his boy just to be a child. Not entirely sure why but suspecting it had to do something with Liz's handling of the question, he leaned over to her and gave her a kiss even though Hadrian was on her back. "Thank you," he whispered to her.

Hadrian wrinkled his nose a bit in distaste, not yet having reached the age where he found even the smallest public display of affection at all "endearing".
Liz smiled at Deese's gesture. "Shall we get moving?"

Deese held in a laugh at his young son's expression. Still, they needed to keep moving so he released his wife so that they could keep walking. "We shall." He smiled wanly; it would be nice time to have time to just be happy and worry-free. Not too many steps later, he squinted into the distance and was able to see the shape of the tavern.

"I see it!" Liz said excitedly, finally having spotted the contour of the tavern. Hadrian narrowed his eyes, but his young eyes couldn't spot anything. "See what? Where?" he asked, confused.

"The tavern," Deese said, taking a short second to pat his son of the back and ruffle his hair. He took his wife by the hand. "Here, do you want me to take Hadrian?" he asked. He was nearly jogging now, and partially dragging his wife along behind himself.

"No. I've got him," Liz said, allowing Deese to drag her. Her feet ached and she really was ready to sit down. Hadrian squinted into the distance, finally catching a glimpse of the tavern Deese and Liz had been so excited about. "Oh! Ther it is," he said. "I could just walk," Hadrian offered. "I'm not tired anymore."

"Okay," Deese agreed, slowing just enough to scoop up his son and set him on the ground. He patted Hadrian's shoulder gently and then continued walking. He was holding both Hadrian's and Liz's hand by the time they arrived at the tavern. He decided to bang the door with his shoulder as he was loath to let go of his either family member.

((Should we move on to the tavern thread?))

((I think so, yeah))

((I posteded.))

((I see. I've replied but not posted the response))

Each carrying one child, Vare and Mena left the Citadel. It was night, so if they stood out more, it would be that much more dangerous. Fortunately, their kids seemed to understand (miraculously) and not cry. Still, it was a relief when they had egressed from the Citadel. Vare sighed. "Oh, thank heavens." A half-smile traversed his lips. Then it vanished. He could hear a patrol of guards somewhere behind them. "We're not quite out of the woods yet, I'm afraid, luv."

Mena readjusted the child she was carrying on her hip, careful not to disturb em. "Already?" Mena said, also having picked up on the incoming footsteps. "How far back do you think they are? And do you think they're meant for you? It hasn't been that long..."

Vare shook his head. "Not that far back, but the patrols don't typically come this far. I doubt they'll notice I'm gone for a while yet." Had he had more time to prepare, he would have been able to maximize that time, but even so, it would still be a while. "Nevertheless, let's try to hurry."

Mena sped up a bit, lengthening her stride. "So...where do you think we should go? If we're planning on joining any of the tribes, we'll have to figure that out before we go too far in any one direction."

"Tribe of Pride perhaps," he suggested. "It's the closest, so we would not have to carry the twins quite as far, but perhaps we should go to one of the further ones, like the Tribe of Intelligence?" He shrugged and readjusted his grip on Alastor, the heavier of the two twins.

((Are we still leaning towards the Tribe of Pride because of the amount of people?))

((Whichever you'd like. It works for me though))

((Okay. I'll reply later.))

((Kay))

Mena attempted to move her hair out of the way of Aislinn's hold, not wanting her child to choke. "I'm not sure we could make it too far out (view spoiler)[
Hippie culture, I'm sorry (hide spoiler)] without incident," she reasoned. "I think the Tribe of Pride is as good a choice as any," she answered.

"Then Tribe of Pride it is then," he decided. He never would tell her, but he was worried that someone there would recognize him from battle. He had, after all, fought the Tribe of Pride on his father's account more than once. He hoisted his son up again because he had slid down on him slightly.

Mena kissed Vare on the cheek, tilting her head up slightly to compensate for the 2 inches between their heights. "Let's get to it," she said, smiling reassuringly. Mena definitely was nervous about being caught with how close they'd still be to the kingdom, but she'd just be happy to settle down. Aislinn stirred slightly at Mena's movement, but stayed quiet.

Vare chuckled. He could feel Alastor beginning to squirm. Had the child been awake this entire time? He hoped that going to a tribe was the right choice and not a huge mistake. He didn't want to be caught and hanged, not when all he wanted was to be able to be with and care for his beloved family. He continued along the road, and his strides were a wee bit longer than they had been before.

{Here is the last one! Found it! Victory!}