The next morning came slow and Faye found herself waking early and impatiently waiting for the sun to rise. She didn't want to start traversing before the light was spreading out around her; it would be too dangerous. Finally, Faye made her way out of the safety of her tree.
As she came to stand on the ground once again, Faye began busying herself with gathering supplies.
She realized the night before that if she was on the opposite side of the forest from the city, then she would need to travel quite a distance. Traversing through the forest wasn't ideal, not while she was alone and without equipment. It was best to walk along the road.
Walking along the road wasn't entirely possible due to her clothing situation, however. So, she decided to make a few quick options for clothing before heading out.
It took quite some time, as she was completely without tools, but finally Faye was able to fashion a skirt and some foliage to cover her breasts. She was never one to become bashful before, and being nude didn't honestly bother her. If anything she felt her situation was inconvenient at most.
Slowly, Faye made her way along the road.
She still attempted to stay alert and had resigned herself to hiding if a cart or travelers were spotted until she could assess their threat level.
Although she hadn't noticed it yet, Faye's brush with death seemed to have caused her previously cautious nature to grow to an almost paranoid level.
Even so, she found herself not needing to hide as the road seemed traveled even less than she'd imagined. She spent the entire morning walking.
She hadn't expected to find herself in this situation after being brought back. She wondered when she would be able to get back to the city.
Finally, as she was beginning to wonder if she should stop for a break, she saw movement from down the road.
Hurriedly, she ducked into the tree line, watching and waiting.
From her position, she watched as a cart slowly made its way towards her. It was a large cart, being pulled by three large beasts that she didn't recognize. They were similar to oxen, but their heads were almost completely encased in bone and they were a fair bit larger than any oxen she'd encountered. They each had large tusks poking out from the bottom of their mouth. The beasts moved forward quickly, though they didn't seem to be in any sort of rush.
Being pulled behind them was a large iron looking cage. It appeared to house a number of entities, though they were crammed together in an uncomfortable manner.
What shocked Faye, however, wasn't the cart or the beast of burden, it was the drivers sitting atop the perch. One was a familiar form to Faye. She'd seen a few corpses being brought in after an adventuring party eradicated a small clan of them nearby the city.
It was a goblin.
The small statured goblin held the reigns and lazily kept the oxen on course.
Beside that goblin, however, was something unfamiliar to Faye. It appeared to have a human like build, but it was covered in reddish brown fur. It's eyes were easy to spot as they shone out in a yellow hue. There was a strange similarity between the larger entity and the goblin sitting next to it, though the two were certainly not the same species. Faye crouched further into the forest, watching as the cart passed her by. As it reached her position, she was able to glean a better look at the contents of the cart. It seemed to be filled with various humanoids. Most seemed human or at least half human. They were various sizes and shapes, as if they were of varying ages. The smallest that Faye could make out seemed to only be a few years of age.
Faye clenched her fist, but dared not do anything more. She was not in the position to play hero.
Slowly, the cart disappeared from view.
As it did, Faye stepped out of her hiding place and stared after the cart, uncertain.
Goblins were not common around the city. Most clans that came close were eradicated early on and those that existed nearby either left after the city was founded or remained, but kept hidden.
It was very unusual to see a goblin out in broad daylight. The only way that could happen is if something drastic happened to the city while Faye was gone.
That was unlikely.
It may not have been the biggest city, but Jolis wasn't small by any means. It was certainly able to deal with a few goblins from a goblin clan or two. It had its own armed forces to protect itself. There were also the many adventurers that called the place home. Not to mention the nobility and their personal guards. It was very unlikely the city could have been wiped out within a short period of time.
Thinking to here, Faye grew more anxious.
Truth be told, she wasn't sure how long it'd been since she'd died.
For all she knew, years could have passed.
Faye took a deep breath as she surveyed her surroundings. The air and weather was almost exactly the same as when she had died. Due to there not being any change, Faye had assumed not much time has passed since she'd originally died.
She now needed to consider if more time had passed.
Or, worse than that, if she'd been revived somewhere else...
Faye shook her head to clear those thoughts from her mind. She didn't know the answers to these questions, but she decided she needed to continue being cautious from here out. Faye considered continuing along the road but instead decided against it.
She didn't know how long it would take to reach civilization. She didn't know what she would find there once she did. It'd be best if she were able to protect herself before ending up in another bad situation.
Faye steeled herself to begin crafting a few spears.
She was familiar with a number of weapons. She'd actually been trained when she was younger by and ex guardsman.
He'd visited the orphanage Faye had stayed at for a while and taught her different techniques with different weapons. He'd even said she was well suited as a martial fighter.
That was actually why Faye wanted to become an adventurer originally.
She was good at fighting, so why not make money with her skills?
Faye began fashioning herself some spears. She could make a shitty bow and some arrows if she wanted to spend time on it, but she wanted to finish with her camp prep before night fall.
The weapons weren't great, they'd probably break pretty easily, but they were better than nothing. At least with these she could defend herself if something attacked.