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Description
The trio spent a few more days at the trading post while Grumpy recovered. Thorne and Princess made use of the time to get to know eachother better, but Grumpy kept more to himself. He did spend some time with the traders, although that was mostly to replenish his supplies. Eventually, he got well enough to continue, or perhaps just too restless to stay in such cramped quarters, and they resumed their journey. Thorne had agreed to accompany them at Princess' request, and Grumpy wasn't bothered enough about it to start an argument. After all, they had worked successfully together before, which was more than he could say for most his acquaintances.

The weather had gotten even harsher during their brief stay, and they could seldom see more than a couple of meters ahead. With both Grumpy and Thorne familiar with the area, however, navigation proved less of a problem than it might have been. There were a few detours of course, but one of them usually realized they were off course before too much time was wasted.

With them being three now, Princess had convinced the other two to increase the security by taking turns on guard duty, even though it would mean that they needed more hours to get enough sleep. Grumpy never commented on it, but he suspected his remark about the Sons of Auren had triggered something in her. She was still her cheerful self, and chattered annoyingly much (although thankfully, Thorne seemed to be the target of her attention at the moment), but he had noticed her casting worried glances around when she thought noone was looking.

It had taken them four days to reach the high point of the pass from the trading post, and Grumpy was doing guard duty while the other two slept. He had grown increasingly paranoid with each passing day, knowing full well that the Sons wouldn't just give up after one attempt. But at least, knowing what they were up against let him set more specific wards, which would give them some nasty surprises. He was in the middle of feeling particularly satisfied with his own cunning when he was interrupted by a howl of pain from the outside. He cursed silently, well aware of the necessity of this happening while he was gloating to himself.

He crept over to the sleeping forms, and woke them up quietly. "Ferals and possibly other things outside. Hide while I investigate" he whispered to them, and Thorne nodded. While Grumpy started sneaking outwards, he heard Thorne mumbling in that strange tongue he used to contact the spirits. He glanced back briefly to see what his companion was up to, just in time to see the two others slide into the stone wall of the cavern. Feeling safe from prying eyes, Grumpy withdrew a small potion from his belt, and drank it before muttering a spell that would shield him from the ferals' lifesight.

As he sneaked out of the cave, he found a small warband searching the area outside. He counted at least ten ferals and three robed men, priests of Auren. They were checking out the various caves in the area, and had not reached the right one yet. In the middle of the road, he could see the slump form of one feral. His ward wasn't strong enough to kill it, but he reckoned that one of the clerics would have silenced it quite effectively. The ferals were definitely a problem, but the priests would be the real threat. He would have to lure them off long enough for the traces of Thornes spirit-favour to fade. And as always, he thought to himself, what better way to get attention than to kill someone.

Description
The trio spent a few more days at the trading post while Grumpy recovered. Thorne and Princess made use of the time to get to know eachother better, but Grumpy kept more to himself. He did spend some time with the traders, although that was mostly to replenish his supplies. Eventually, he got well enough to continue, or perhaps just too restless to stay in such cramped quarters, and they resumed their journey. Thorne had agreed to accompany them at Princess' request, and Grumpy wasn't bothered enough about it to start an argument. After all, they had worked successfully together before, which was more than he could say for most his acquaintances.

The weather had gotten even harsher during their brief stay, and they could seldom see more than a couple of meters ahead. With both Grumpy and Thorne familiar with the area, however, navigation proved less of a problem than it might have been. There were a few detours of course, but one of them usually realized they were off course before too much time was wasted.

With them being three now, Princess had convinced the other two to increase the security by taking turns on guard duty, even though it would mean that they needed more hours to get enough sleep. Grumpy never commented on it, but he suspected his remark about the Sons of Auren had triggered something in her. She was still her cheerful self, and chattered annoyingly much (although thankfully, Thorne seemed to be the target of her attention at the moment), but he had noticed her casting worried glances around when she thought noone was looking.

It had taken them four days to reach the high point of the pass from the trading post, and Grumpy was doing guard duty while the other two slept. He had grown increasingly paranoid with each passing day, knowing full well that the Sons wouldn't just give up after one attempt. But at least, knowing what they were up against let him set more specific wards, which would give them some nasty surprises. He was in the middle of feeling particularly satisfied with his own cunning when he was interrupted by a howl of pain from the outside. He cursed silently, well aware of the necessity of this happening while he was gloating to himself.

He crept over to the sleeping forms, and woke them up quietly. "Ferals and possibly other things outside. Hide while I investigate" he whispered to them, and Thorne nodded. While Grumpy started sneaking outwards, he heard Thorne mumbling in that strange tongue he used to contact the spirits. He glanced back briefly to see what his companion was up to, just in time to see the two others slide into the stone wall of the cavern. Feeling safe from prying eyes, Grumpy withdrew a small potion from his belt, and drank it before muttering a spell that would shield him from the ferals' lifesight.

As he sneaked out of the cave, he found a small warband searching the area outside. He counted at least ten ferals and three robed men, priests of Auren. They were checking out the various caves in the area, and had not reached the right one yet. In the middle of the road, he could see the slump form of one feral. His ward wasn't strong enough to kill it, but he reckoned that one of the clerics would have silenced it quite effectively. The ferals were definitely a problem, but the priests would be the real threat. He would have to lure them off long enough for the traces of Thornes spirit-favour to fade. And as always, he thought to himself, what better way to get attention than to kill someone.