That night the three made camp in the ruins of the tower. Janrielle preapred dinner while Ruth kept watch from above and Eliese searched the monestary grounds for any signs of what may have befell the place. As night settled over the land Ruth stared out the small window, her eyes focused on the small clearing, yet seeing a land many leagues to the north. Never had she been so far from home, never had she felt so alone. Thoughts turned toward her parents, her mother in particular. She had been an adventurer in her youth, travelling to Verrok and the wilds of Gorgothe in her wandering days. Those days had left thier marks, with the small scars lining her hands, arms and legs. Her hands, scarred from her days of wielding a blade, so soft when wiping the forehead of a child. She remembered the soft voice, raised in anger only twice that she could remember, and the smile the day her daughter had received her first clan-marking. Ruth wondered now if she would ever see that smile again. ~~~~~ "I found these buried in the rubble." Eliese held up two small objects, huge in the halfling's hands, so that Janrielle could inspect them. Arrowheads, wicked barbs curving back and away from the tip. "They're orc, from the Bleeding Jaw tribe, if I made the sigel right." her eyes were better than Janriells, for she could barely make out the scratches on the side of the arrowheads her friend was talking about. "Bleeding Jaw? I thought thier territory was the Dawnsbreak Mountain region?" "It is." Eliese replied, a frown marring the halfling scouts features. "It doesn't make sense that they would be here, over a hundred leagues from thier marked territory." "Indeed." Janrielle agreed, glancing up at the stars twinkling in the sky above. "Tomorrow, we head back to Cisroe. Maybe we can find some answers there." Took long enough to get this one done. I think my muse went on vacation! My thanks to my friends in my gaming group and in the drawing commmunity for kick-starting it again! Thanks for looking! Drawing Credits: Ruth for V3 by Valentin (freebie texture) Armor: Fantasy top and bottom by Maveris (RDNA) DMSF103 & 104 by Digital Meanderings (RDNA) Tower Remains by stonemason (Daz)