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Adranel was steadily becoming more tired and cold as she trudged along. The settlement she had seen earlier was now off to her left; she was giving it a fairly wide berth. She was paying very little attention to her surroundings, and looking ahead she was somewhat surprised to see three men directly in her line of march. For a moment she considered avoiding them like she had the town, but she quickly decided that she did not care to go even more out of her way just to avoid three men. It was not that she was afraid or shy - far from it, in fact. She would just rather not have contact with any people right now.
Through sheer willpower Adranel drew herself up to her full height and walked with her head up, trying to appear ready to face the world. She would not be seen as a needy woman to these men. She could take care of herself and did not want their pity or anything else they might try to offer her if she appeared incompetent. Perhaps it would not be very convincing; anyone else who was travelling in this weather would have a cloak and very likely some kind of pack. Adranel had neither.
As she drew closer Adranel saw that the men seemed to be getting ready to move on. That made sense, as it was only a short time after dawn and about the time when most people would be waking. She was nearly upon them when one of the men addressed her.
“Good day to you, Miss...?” he said, indirectly inquiring what her name was. Good? Would someone care to explain that to me? mused Adranel sarcastically.
“Adranel,” she replied coolly. She eyed him and his companions over. He was the easily the youngest of the three, though still older than herself by a few years. “And you are?” Adranel wasn’t sure why she was asking his name. She needed to be moving on, not chatting with a complete stranger that she hadn’t even wanted to meet in the first place.
“Beluf,” he answered with a friendly smile. He seemed to have missed her less-than-warm undertones. He continued, “You are travelling then? Are you from this town?” He gestured vaguely towards the village. The other two men still had not acknowledged her presence, and that was fine with her.
“Yes, to Dale,” said Adranel curtly. “But not from here. I come from further west.” She honestly didn’t know why she was giving out so much information. She was trying to figure out how to rid herself of this man and his idle conversation so that she continue on her way when he spoke up again.
“We too are heading for Dale,” Beluf stated. “Why don’t you come with us? You look like you could use some company.” Adranel frowned briefly. Why would he invite her to travel with them? She certainly had given him no encouragement. He seemed genuinely friendly, but still she wondered whether he might see her in need of protection.
“Well, all right,” she found herself saying, and immediately wished she could snatch the words back. It was too late, though, and it seemed that she was stuck travelling with these men, at least for the mean time.
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