Imenry was accustomed to traveling. She'd done it for the last few years, and before that she'd lived the kind of life that most in her party would have considered difficult. So this journey was not much of a trial for her. The company of some of the others not-withstanding, it was almost a welcome change from being at the Keep.
The further they got from civilization, the more at-home she felt. The wild spaces where you had to track and hunt and trap... these were the places that she'd grown up in. And it was colder in these parts than it had been in Amaranthine when they'd set off. The journey by boat had been smooth enough, calmer on the waters of the river than it was to travel by ocean. But she was still glad to be on solid land again.
The roads here were not as well maintained as in other areas, and the rain from the night before had left them muddy and harder to travel on. She knew it was particularly hard on Signy, being that she was so short to begin with, and favored dresses most usually. But many of the others were unaccustomed to this type of travel, and some of them made it known along the way. Not that she really faulted anyone for complaining. It wasn't really a way of life for everyone.
They'd gone quite a ways before she heard movement in the brush around them. And Imenry picked up her pace to move ahead of the rest of the group, head tilted to the side to try and pick up more. She'd seen that some of the others had noticed as well, from the looks exchanged amongst the party and the way Shartan's ears had perked up.
They weren't alone. And whoever was hiding in the woods around them... well it was doubtful they were friendly. Her hand went to her claymore.
Just before she heard someone yelling, cursing in an unfamiliar tongue and one man came flying out of the trees to land on the road before them. She blinked in confusion, staring at him a moment until she realized others had followed. And they had their weapons drawn. Moving in she swung her sword towards the first attacker, the heavy blade making a sound as it cut through the air.