Aedre had been following the group since their journey had breached Korcari and Chasind borders. She had come across their trail with little to no effort on her part. While she did not doubt that some in their group were trained to walk lightly and cover their tracks, they seemed in a hurry. Indeed some of the trail was hard to come by and decipher, but there were footsteps that sucked deep into the wet ground of the Wilds, footsteps of those who had not been taught to walk outside of roads and buildings. They were not careful, and they were easily followed.
Once she had caught up with the group, the young Chasind had kept enough of a distance to avoid detection. She was nowhere near perfect in her attempts, however, finding that she had to quickly hide whenever heads turned to find whatever had made the noise. She kept up with little trouble, however, as she always traveled light and was used to the Wilds.
When the group had stopped for camp, Aedre had considered approaching them. But she did not know their intentions, and was not comfortable approaching such a large group. Though she had magic at her disposal, she was nowhere near ready to take on so many. If they had a mind to assault the Chasind while they were weak, she could not help her people by being naive and, quite frankly, stupid. She quickly decided to stand back and watch for a time, at least until she had heard or seen enough to approach. She set up camp far enough from theirs to be sure that, unless they set out to the deeps of the forest, a foolish idea on their own and in the darkness, they would not come across her. That was not, however, how things were working out it seemed.
Aedre, while she set up her bedroll and lay to sleep, thought back to what had happened that day. She had been far enough away that she had been unable to recognize faces, but their conversation had met her ears. They looked well armed and prepared for battle. These people were not typical travellers, it was obvious in more ways than one, and they were walking into dangerous lands. They must have some amount of skill, or else why were they there? She reflected on them while she stared up at the stars, and felt herself drifting out of consciousness.
It was a moment after her eyes closed – at least it felt like a moment – when Bethen had started to approach Aedre’s small camp. She was used to the sounds of the Wilds, but was trained well enough to hear the break in that noise. When Bethen’s feet crunched against the ground, Aedre’s eyes shot open. Heart racing, she quickly removed herself from her bedroll. She searched for whatever had disturbed her sleep, spotting Bethen’s shadow outlined against the fog. The girl was close, and for that Aedre cursed herself for not being more careful. This could indeed turn into a messy affair.
As she stepped back to gather her things, the young woman grimaced as she stumbled in the mud. She landed on a knee and the soggy ground seemed to relish in absorbing it. It was a spot which she had deliberately tried to avoid while picking a home for a night, but had apparently forgotten about since lying down. She cursed quietly as she once again tried to gather herself, reaching for her staff. She groped until she felt the hard wood, and as she did she raised her arm and herself with its aid.
And then Aedre hadn’t a clue what to do. She had no plan for this particular event, and was unaccustomed to dealing with strangers and outsiders. She came across far more animals than humans, especially those who were not residents of the Wilds. Would she respond with a threat, or with an offer of hospitality? All that was going through her head was panic. She couldn’t think straight. Her eyes were wide and she tried to summon some courage while the other mage continued to approach.