"At least until Xania and I are in a better condition for traveling"

"As for staying another night, as much as I would like to. I think that we had better chance it. We could make a litter for Xania to use. And when we make camp tonight someone could cast their healing magics on those that need it most. Also.. . " Rhune stops for a moment and looks around at the group. then she gets up and goes over to where she saw the jar of money. Taking it down she comes over and places it on the floor in front of her, "I found this when I looked around yesterday. Since Misha is dead... . " she lets the sentence drop as she looks at the others. She begins counting out the money.

"Good idea," agrees Marika, (intentionally?) misunderstanding Rhune's point. "We should bring the money to Stephan...the books, too, and anything else that looks like it might have meaning to him. Otherwise I'm sure the place will be looted before he returns here."

Looking around at the books, "I know that you would like to do that, Marika, but we have to carry Xania and help Ullar we may not be able to take the books with us. We could, however, wrap them in something and maybe bury them someplace. We could then tell Kalanos where they are and he can come for them." Rhune says to the young woman.

Urak looks uneasily around the dead woman's house. Shamans were well known for keeping wards and enchantments at the ready, and he had no wish to unknowingly trigger anything. Still, his curiousity was aroused, and he can not help but study the surroundings for any similarities to Speaker's tent.

The cabin seems very plain and utilitarian, really. It has no resemblance to Speaker's tent that Urak sees. It seems more the home of some poor woodsman than anything else.

Jaocobus looks around; "If everyone is well enough to travel we should move on, whoever came and killed Misha, obviously knew we were on our way. It would be folly to stay." Jacobus looks over at Xania, "Rhune's right we should make some kind of litter and get away from here." He begins to look through the cottage for anything useful and anything that will give them clues to where to go to next.

Jacobus scratches his head; "Where are we going to go now?" Not waiting for an answer he sits down; "Why do I get the feeling that your..our enemies are always two steps ahead of us ?"

Ullar shrugs. "Well.. If you all want to go, let's go. But where? Stephan told about a road on the other side of the river which would lead us to our destiny. Or am I mistaken here?"

"Yes there is a trail on the other side of the river and down that way is another pathway that leads to Suskiykan. If we stay close to it we should be alright." Rhune replies to Ullar's question.

Looking up at Jacobus, "There is only one place we can go and that is Susiykan. We made a deal with Stephanos and I intend on keeping it. I do wish that I knew if we were leading our enemies to them or if they are, as you say, two steps ahead of us. So far that we know they must not know about the object that we have. As none have tried to take from us. At least I am hoping that don't know about it." Rhune smiles ruefully as she returns to counting the money.

She is for leaving the cabin now and using healing later that night if possible at a camp. Cabin may be better defensible but it is also a death trap. Give her the woods anyday. She looks around, without luck, for some honey or berries in the cabin and take them with her. If they come across the bear she plans to offer them to him.

"I'm not crazy about the idea of trying to carry Xenia," says Marika doubtfully. "Gods only know what the terrain will be like... I'd rather spend the day here, and leave before dawn tomorrow. That way we shouldn't have to spend a night on the trail."

She pauses, chewing her lip, then shrugs. "I can see both sides, though," she says. "Any progress we make today might mean the difference between warning Stephan and arriving too late. I'll go along with either course."

"Okay then. We should stay another day. And if she doesn't regain consciousness tomorrow then I say we leave first light. Kalanos will tell those at Sukisykan what had happened and that we were delayed. We should be able to make it in one day acorrding to him." Rhune prepares to settle in for another day unless she and Marika are overridded by the men. in which case she will go with party majority.

Walking among the injured, Urak takes a close look at the party's wounds. He both studies the injuries themselves, and other, seemingly unrelated things, such as hair, scent and posture. Finally, he brings out his bag, and begins treating the wounded. His remedies seem crude to thos used to the fine arts of the better Italian physicians, but the young apprentice seems to have great confidence in his selection of herbs, unguents and poultices, many of which are quite pungent. For each, he utters a brief prayer, and firmly administers his chosen remedy, detering only in the face of strong opposition.

While Marika works with her own healing tools, carefully immobilizing and bandaging injured limbs, she watches Urak's methods with open curiosity. From time to time she questions him about the preparation and use of a certain herb. She is certain that she could learn a great deal about the healing arts from the young shaman, if there were only time to study with him in peace.

Hearing the others consider the choices ahead of them, Urak turns back to the others, and offers his opinion. "I do not think we dare stay here." "These four walls, while comforting, do not offer us any more protection than they offered Misha. We are obvious here, easy prey for any pursuer or predator that awaits us. Our best defense lies in our mobility. However, I do not believe that we should head directly for our destination either. The road ahead of us is sure to be watched, and we are in no condition to weather an ambush."

"What I suggest is that we leave here immediately, and strike a course that carries us in an arc towards our destination, avoiding the straight path. This will hopefully allow us to avoid ambush, and will give us greater cover than any trail will offer. Even if we cannot get far, at least the countyside will do a better job of hiding us from prying eyes than this hut. If we wait here, we had best be ready to fight."

"I wouldn't object to finding a hidden spot to camp in the woods," Marika says. "It might be safer than either this place or the trail, until we're all able to walk."

She cocks her head suddenly, as the significance of Urak's words strike her for the first time. "Urak, you really think you could navigate us overland to Sukiskayn?" she asks. "The directions Kalanos gave us were simple enough, if we stick to the trail...but without a map, I wouldn't dare try to invent an alternate route."

When Rhune is finished counting, she reports the amount to the group. "We need to bury Misha. I can help in either digging or finding someway to cover her body." she says looking at Marika and Matteo.

Marika nods sadly. "I wish the bear could be here when we bury her. But I doubt it's coming back."

Her brow furrows as she tries to decide what sort of ceremony the woodswoman would have preferred. "Urak, Misha's spiritual practices seem to have been closer to your own than to mine or Matteo's. What are the funeral customs of your people?"

Urak sighs as he considers the Misha's death and the wounds on the big bear. When spirit-bond's were cruelly broken, it was quite possible that the surviving member would go mad. Offering a brief prayer to Yeilis-za-ne for the bear's safety, he can only wonder what will happen to the poor creature. "The People are very practical in regards to death," he says quietly, "Once the spirit has departed the body, what remains behind is only an empty shell. We usually either burn the body or leave it be, though sometimes a simple burial will be performed. The important thing to the Urk, is that the spirit is remembered in song and kept close to the descendants. We do not attach any importance to the physical remains, for to do so lessens the importance of the spirit, which lives on long after."

"I do not know what Misha would have wanted. I do not think we can risk a fire, and to leave her in such a state.... It seems wrong. I would suggest a simple burial."

"Sounds good," agrees Marika. "Simple dignity seems like Misha's style, from what little we know of her."

She climbs to her feet and tests her leg. It still hurts, but not as much as last night, and it can support her weight now. Limping only slightly, she circles to the back of the cabin to join Matteo in preparing Misha's resting place.

When the idea of burying Misha is brought up, Matteo wordlessly stands up and heads outside. Silently cursing himself for not having thought of what must be done to put Misha's spirit to rest, Matteo searches for something to dig with and walks around to the back of the cabin. There he begins digging, using whatever he can find, or his bare hands if needed. Tears of frustration glide, silently, down his face as he continues to dig, heedless of the rest of the world. Matteo will not stop until the grave is dug.

Rhune will come out to join him, "Matteo. I am sorry if I upset you. I just thought of it that is all." she says quietly as she hands him another on the daggers to use and uses a different for herself. Unless she finds something else to dig with.

The group spend the morning digging a grave for Misha and the priests say a few simple words. When the ceremony is concluded, the group decides that waiting at the cabin is not a good idea, but travelling with Xania and several of the group still injured is not a great option either, so Urak's option of beginning the travel and camping in the woods seems the compromise.

Marika gathers up the books, leaving behind some of the spare clothing she purchased in town or carried with her, but finds herself still carrying too heavy a load. She realizes that if speed of foot is necessary, she will not be able to take all the books. Therefore, she takes the two that she deems the most worthwhile, leaving the others. She also distributes one week of her rations out to the group, most of whom carry no food, to lighten her load even more. While she is still somewhat weighted down, she can now move about and even run if necessary, though she will have to shed much more equipment if she wants to move along with the speedier and stronger members of the group when they are at a rapid pace. Else one of the burlier fellows will have to carry a bit of her load for her.

As noone has a good answer to Marika's question about how to get to your destination without taking the trail, it is decided that you all will travel off the path, but keep it within sight at all times. However, it is slow going, and you manage only about five miles before it starts to get dark. You travel on, trying to get as far as you can, and manage to make another few miles before it gets dark enough that you decide to take a rest. Ullar and Urak are carrying Xania without too much trouble on a crude stretcher made of Marika's blanket and some branches from the tree that Rhune was knocked out of. All in all, though you are making pitiful time, you feel reasonably safe from whoever is after you. Until....