Why do we fall? to get back up.

[Anonymous]

"How would I know directions towards human places?" Carrot shook his head and glared yet there was a thought full musing in the glare. "I guess it's a fair trade, I shall aid in finding the path you seek and accompany you." Ser Stevens was not a happy man. He would have preferred the blind route rather than a travelling lizard for companion. The very thought of having that beast behind him all the way was already upsetting his liver.

His clothes where already soaking wet from the rain, now that his body had been given time to cool the chill was beginning to settle. "First a shelter to outlast this rain." He sniffed, drops falling down from his hair and face.

"Yes shelter will do your feeble mortals good I guess. Come, I know of a place."

Carrot stomped off into the woods slowly, a pace easy to follow and he made sure they where close occasionally glancing backwards.

[Anonymous]

Hachen followed carrot and shrugged as he past Stevens, a little signal to tell him, I have no clue where we are going, what is going on, or if following the large lizard was a good idea, but he was following anyway.  The pig snorted instead of shrugging but the feeling seemed strangely the same.

Hachen walked a little fast to catch up to Carrot's head and asked, "So how does one such as you learn to speak common?  Not to be rude but I doubt I'd be in a formal learning environment." The way he asked made it seem like he was used to having conversations as strange as this.

[Anonymous]

Stevens had more than enough on his mind, the beast had just tried to eat them both and if it wanted them dead it would make them dead. He could still sense that intense killing instinct; it was most likely an after image. He had been on the battlefield many a time but never stood face to face with certain death. It had always been a way out or at least a slim chance of escape. Just recently they had been at this dragon's mercy and now they where following it for shelter of all things.

Carrot held a reasonable pace, he was mindful of the two legged humans that he had met, loosing them in the forest was not on his list of priorities as for the curious child, why not indulge him in the ways of a dragon. Many would come far and wide just to see one, so influencing a young mortal mind might have its benefits. His mind quickly churned out the necessary trivia to formulate an appropriate response.

"What an excellent question to pass the time with, Indeed it must be a mystery to many as to how we dragons learn to speak such a mundane and simple language. Could it be that it was our ancestors who taught humans to communicate in the first place? I do not know for sure but it is very easy to pick up for my kind. It is almost as if the language itself was intended for the purpose of speaking with those born into less fortunate origins."  

"It usually boils down to the sheer fact that Dragon kind has a lot of spare time and we seek to fill this time. Considering that human settlements are all over the place, I foolishly thought that learning to speak with your kind would be worth investing some of this time into. Feel free to prove me right."

The area around them was moist and misty, and a road made out of fallen trees greeted them, and just slightly ahead of them, windows filled with light. A small wooden house almost hidden, it was not far off the road either.

[Anonymous]

"Well I suppose it was good you learned common, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to communicate as we do now.  I suppose I too have a lot of free time, however most of my time is spent wandering around lost in the woods rather than learning other languages."  Hachen laughed a bit at his own joke before he saw the cabin.  "Ahh, so is this your abode?"

[Anonymous]

"No, this is not my home." Carrot shook off most of the rain, his body trembling as green light began shrinking the great beast blinding Stevens as he eyed the transformation with curiosity.

Scales became simple clothes, a green wool tunic, linen pants, boots and gloves made out of drake skin. He appeared at first as some kind of superhuman growing more and more in tune with reality as time passed. Dark long hair surrounding Carrots body with slender human traits groaning at the diminished size and power as this body was not much of a fighter.

He eyed Hatchen with a smile before taking some shaky steps forward. "Well lets not stand in the rain." Opening up the door as if he owned the place, not even bothering to knock as they intruded upon an atmosphere that was less than inviting however the air hinted at warm soup.

It was dark, only the dining room was lit but it was warm so he could breathe relieved.

[Anonymous]

Hachen watched interestedly as Carrot changed into a humanoid form.  When Carrot walked through the door he asked, "This isn't you house then why are you going in, I hardly think its okay to intrude on someone's home."  He said all this while fiddling with his wand, he could have sworn he had an umbrella somewhere in there.

[Anonymous]

"Because I am acquainted with the owner and she has a habit of predicting on the spot when I visit, making my favourite soup and conveniently living out here in the middle of no mans land."
Carrot said while pulling off his boots and laid down the gloves in the entryway, already annoyed that he was using this human form but considering he had almost murdered these men, talk about blunder and now he was stuck with answering questions from a snot nosed brat and his pig while having a older more convenient spectator following him for awhile.

It was a rather depressing train of thoughts going trough his head as he sat down on a chair.

Ser Stevens already clinching his sword hand, it was not as bad as he had believed, the dragon obviously bothered by Hatchen not treating it like a god was his guess but that might be over thinking it. Who really knows what a dragon thinks right?

The door then opened and a woman entered, hooded to protect her from the rain, and using a big bone as more of a walking stick. "Well now, I expected the lot of you sooner but I guess now is just as good." She was pretty, with orange hair obviously from Serendipity or at least a fae lineage, cheerfully removing her cloak moving towards the kitchen so she could provide her guests with warm soup.

[Anonymous]

Hachen was a bit surprised by the woman expecting them, but anyone could just say that they were expecting someone, he would need a real act of forsight for him to believe.  He nodded and said, "Thank you for letting get out of the rain.  Seems I can't find the umbrella in this thing."  He laughed a bit as he showed his wand to the woman, "I am Hachen, may I know your name?"  Pig simply sat next to Hachen observing the house.

[Anonymous]

"The name is Adrianna." She uttered while removing the rain coated cloak, bringing it inside with her and hanging it at a rack near the fireplace as a flicker of her hand made it burn even more intensely. Her boots quickly followed in the same path, already it seemed that sprites from the fireplace danced in the near vicinity of her stuff, pulling out the water and warming them.

"Can we make use of your fireplace to warm our clothing?" Ser Stevens asked, pensive yet polite. "Oh sure." Was her response as the woman vanished into a side room that looked like a kitchen? The quick look Stevens got was that of a boiling cauldron and the scent of her soup from his standpoint made him salivate so all was good as he put his coat and boots near the stove.

"The spirits told me that you where chased here by wraiths and dark magic as for your companions they chose their own paths." She casually conversed with herself, probably intended for him to listen in on but he was already getting drowsy just from the warmth of the stove, the scent of the soup and well after seating himself down next to Carrot sleep was high on his list of priorities.

His mind slipped for a moment there, head dipping as eyes closed and then sudden warmth as if he had stuck his head in the stove. He woke fast and flinched back as far as he could, looking stunned as he saw the woman flickering a ball of flame where his face had previously been.

"There will be time for sleep later, pay our hospitality in details about what you where running from before it shows up on my doorstep."

Fine, anger was going to fuel his speak now that she had made him the fool he was. Gods forbid he let his guard down with the scent of soup and this inviting warmth but he stayed his insults, frowned while smacking his lips and swallowed his pride.

Thinking back. "I was transporting my lord's son in a carriage an honour guard of 6 men lead and trained by myself. I had hoped for a safe journey, we took our precautions with a forward scout. "

We encountered an ice dragon from the north, she was insistent on meeting the butler attending to my lords son, apparently she had information for him I did not listen much into it before this thick green mist bellowed from the threes and surrounded us. The carriage had been magically enchanted and so we watched it from the roof."

He stuttered but kept his mind fresh and open, "The fog played music, a loud and screeching violin and I was told to ride on ahead to find help, I got out of the fog leaving my lord behind but was ambushed by a basilisk. I failed to kill it cleanly and was trapped underneath the beast until Hatchen here got me back on my feet."

He nodded towards the kid and his pig still frowning. He had failed his lord, his wife was probably worried sick. Worst chase scenario was death either for loosing his lordships son or by what had summoned that mist in the first place. "If you can find out what happened to them by talking to these spirits of yours, I would appreciate that and hopefully not bother you much more."

[Anonymous]

Hachen took off his coat and boots and say when she had allowed them to do so.  He listened to Stevens story and many different beings popped into his mind about what could have caused that fog but too many to narrow it down.  If it was a lord, and like she said was wraiths, then its quite possible they are still alive.  If it hasn't been too long they could still be alive and they would definitely be alive if someone was controlling the wraiths.  He turned to the woman for some sort of silent confirmation.

[Anonymous]

"Whatever it is it has parts of the forest riled up, started as the full moon vanished and the werewolf packs retreated. Parts of the forest do not feel safe, prey are migrating from their usual paths and drawing predators closer to the road making them not so great to traverse for travellers." Carrot shot in their direction rather casually, he really didn't want to remind them of the recent episode this soon as Adrianna without a word dismissed them both, heading back into the kitchen. Maybe she was just upset? Alas the woes of mankind he knew not.

"For now you should all eat and try to relax, I have no answers yet." She mumbled, bringing with her a small pot of steaming stew along with handcrafted wooden bowls and spoons, laying it on the table in front of them.

The house suddenly groaned under the weight of something mighty yet invisible, She could feel the presence of something wicked echoing itself across the rooms, the rain seemed to increase in strength and thunder rumbled across the skies. "Get as much rest as you can, this night is going to get rough."

[Anonymous]

Hachen thanked her for the food and as she did pig sniffed the air to smell the soup.  He snorted and Hachen began to eat, although the timing was seamless so it didn't seem like pig was smelling for poison or toxins.  "This is delicious, may I ask what this is?"  Hachen asked after the first spoonful.  He was aware of the mood and the gravity of the current predicament but he didn't want that to keep from having a good time while they could have one.