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The next morning dawned grey and cloudy. Jason had kicked out of his sleeping bag at some point and he noted the temperature
had dropped to maybe the low sixties. A breeze could be felt through the bug netting and it made the shade under the tent
seem much colder then it was. Jason hoped it did not get too much colder as he had neglected to bring a jacket and did not
think Jenna had anything warmer then t-shirts herself. He glanced over to check his stuff, but it appeared the dragon had
not molested anything while he slept. In fact as soon as Jenna started to stir, Fireon came and flopped down right next to
his legs. "Suck up." Jason said softly and got a faint snort in reply.
Of course as soon as Jenna fully opened her eyes she said, "Oh how sweet. My two guys are finally getting along."
The two in question shared an eye rolling gaze before Jason got up and went to check on his clothes. They were still there
and almost completely dry, two big pluses in his book. He returned to the tent to find Fireon now lying diagonally across
his sleeping bag apparently asleep. He started trying to pull the sleeping bag out from under the lizard, when Jenna commented,
"Oh leave it for now. He's trying to sleep and he looks so cute."
"He's just doing it to irritate me you know? I leave for two minutes and he takes my place? Kind of symbolic don't
you think?" Jason shot back abandoning the tug-of-war for now.
"Oh don't be silly. No one could ever take your place Jason. After all it's your quest, I'm just the adorable,
witty, talented, and knowledgeable sidekick."
Jason stuck his tongue out at her and started packing his clothes back into his bag and pulling out a couple packages
of freeze dried pork. "I hope we find some sort of civilization soon, we don't have all that much left in the way of
food." He paused then smirked. "Of course I have heard some forms of lizard are quite tasty." Jenna mock
growled and tossed a shoe which bounced off his back. "I'm just saying is all..."
Jason checked the staff and it moved very quickly this time like a bloodhound closing in on its prey. Hoping that this
meant an end to the quest or at the very least a rest and some answers, they forwent a fire and had a quick breakfast of dried
meat and crackers. The camp break-down went very quickly. Even Fireon pitched in some, helping to pull up tent pegs and
bury over the fire pit. They were in high spirits despite the overcast day when they set out. It was only a couple of hours
past dawn and they hoped to be at their destination by nightfall.
The game trail had ended at the clearing so they decided to follow the stream for the morning at least. It would not
take them quite where they were headed, but the walking would be easier and they could always cut across the forest later
if they ended up heading in completely the wrong direction. The walk was nicer then any day they had experienced up to this
point. The bank was clear and mostly flat and even the bugs seemed to be in hiding today.
After a quick mid-day snack, Jason checked the staff and they discovered they were wandering too far off course.
There was no trail to follow, so the trio was forced to pick their way around trees and roots with Jason periodically
checking their direction. Even with Fireon flying ahead to scout, they got turned around several times and once had to back
track around a very nasty patch of brambles. By the time evening was approaching the nice stroll had turned into an exercise
in frustration. They knew they were close to their destination but they just could not figure out how to get there.
Tempers were short as they set up camp, and got worse when the clouds finally decided to let loose with some rain. The
small group sat under the tent damp and miserable while outside it rained as if it would never stop. It was a heavy steady
rain that penetrated the trees and poured down on them from above. Sleep was difficult to get that night, the rain and the
wind blew, the temperature dropped and the tent could not keep the mud out completely. Jason lay curled up in his sleeping
bag listening to the rain drip and trying to doze as much as he could.
By the time dawn arrived it was still raining with no signs of slacking. By silent, mutual agreement Jason and Jenna
broke out their ponchos and broke camp just as soon as it was light enough to see the ground in front of their feet. While
walking in the rain did not make them feel any less miserable, it was at least productive. Yet their progress slowed to a
crawl as the rain soaked packs dragged them down with every step. Water blew in their faces and made visibility severely
limited. The ground beneath their feet had turned into mud that sucked at their shoes and more than once managed to trip
them up.
The dragon could not fly and spent the day huddled under his wings on Jenna's shoulder which only served to slow her down
more. Direction was impossible to determine, especially with Fireon grounded, and more then once they checked to staff to
discover they had gotten completely turned around. They took few breaks, as sitting down in the mud was not appealing. When
the little light there was began to fail, they pitched the tent in the driest spot they could find and shared a can of peaches
and some soggy raisins.
Despite the rigors of the day, sleep was hard to come by. Everything was wet, the tent, the sleeping bags, even the clothes
they were wearing. The rain slackened at some point during the night but they awoke to an unpleasant hazy mist. Jason had
developed blisters from his wet shoes and Jenna had a nasty sounding dry cough. Already as wet as they could be, there was
little to do but pack up and soldier on. Neither of the humans had much of an appetite, and Fireon refused the little bit
of dried meat they still had. The mist continued all morning, preventing them from drying at all and their paced slowed even
more. Jason was having a hard time forcing his battered feet to continue on, and Jenna frequently had to stop to get due
to an intense coughing fit. Fireon had abandoned his perch after losing his grip during a particularly bad cough and now
trudged along through the mud. Thankfully by mid-day the mist had mostly stopped, and their pace improved slightly.
After the noon rest break, Jenna had taken the lead and Jason was trailing behind concentrating on putting one foot in
front of the other and biting his lip against the pain in his feet. So when Jenna suddenly dropped from sight several feet
in front of him, he did not notice it immediately. Not until he heard Jenna yelling his name, did he glance around and realize
she had vanished. He ran forward as best as he could through the mud and he nearly fell into the same hole as she had. She
was her up to her arm pits in mud and thrashing around without apparent direction.
"Jenna stop moving, you will only sink faster. I'm here, I'll get you out." Jenna was carrying the tent this
time, so he did not have any handy rope in his pack. So he shucked his pack and moved as close to the edge as possible He
laid down on his belly and held out his staff towards Jenna. She clutched onto the end and he started to drag her out. It
was difficult, the girl, the pack, and the mud probably weighed twice as much as Jenna did normally. But he was not about
to let his friend die. Slowly he towed her to the side and managed to pull her free. She was covered in mud head to toe
and scared out of her wits, but she was alive.
The first thing she said was, "I think it's your turn to lead now."
Using a couple of water bottles, they cleaned Jenna's face and hair as best as they could. Jason did take the lead, using
his staff as a walking stick to probe the ground in from of his feet in case there were any more nasty surprises. They happened
across another stream a few hours later and refilled their water supply. Jenna dunked herself clothes and all to scrub off
the caked on mud and Jason took the time to take his shoes off and rest his feet. They did not stay long, both feeling a
sense of urgency they could not explain. Jason did not need to check the staff now. He could feel the direction they were
heading. By the time it was getting close to dark, the staff was practically pulling Jason along behind it.
They pressed on even once the light started to fail, not wanting to spend another night wet and miserable in the woods.
It got darker and darker. Just when Jason was afraid they would have to choice but to camp or risk getting brained on a tree
branch, he caught a faint scent of wood smoke. Peering in that direction he saw a distant glow through the trees. Forgetting
about caution, he hurried forward hoping that this was the end of the road. His staff gave a sharp pull and sent him sprawling
over a tree root. Getting up, he found himself in a nice sized clearing complete with a small cottage. It was maybe two
rooms made of barely treated wood with a straw thatched roof. He could see a small building behind it and a nicely tended
garden. The glow was coming from the window nearest to him and there seemed to be smoke wafting from a brick chimney. The
staff was tugging him directly toward the cottage. Whatever they were here for, apparently this was the destination.
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