<span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(241, 241, 212)"> F1F1D4 <br/>
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Holger headed inside the 'HQ' as it was called, glad to get out of both the sun and the wind. The Sea of Grass still did not sit easy with him. Not only the...well, he didn't know what to call her other than 'Witch...but not only the mysterious apparation of the witch, but also the death of the Soldier. He had reported it to the Commander of the Outpost, of course, and described as best he could the state of the corpse (what remained of it). He wasn't sure if the two events were related, or how the Soldier had traveled so far in the darkness on foot. It had taken them nearly half the day on horseback to reach his body. But no one in his direct command had died yet. He supposed that was a good thing.<br/>
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He talked at length with the Commander, who showed him a rudimentary map of the surrounding area - notably points of interest in the areas that had already been explored and where the easier routes lay. In general, the land surrounding them was quite rugged and windswept. It was quite rocky and uneven, with craigs and ravines, areas where the ground seemed to be sundered. Barely a tree to be found within a day or twos march, other than very hardy and rugged shrubs that clung to the cracks and fissures in the rocks where the wind did not reach. A pretty bleak landscape and one that did not hold promise.</span><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#f1f1d4">However, on the clearest of days, when the wind wasn't strong, one could see mountains on the far horizon, snow capped but with what looked like forests on their base and hills before them. It was hard to see and in the year of the Outposts existence, such days were rare. There were fresh supplies - mostly dried food and hard tack for them to bring along with them, along with some rope and other equipment that might be necessary. Of course, they would have to carry everything themselves and were expected to live off the land at some point. Holger wasn't very worried about that - he could handle that life and live it no problem, but half his party seemed rather inexperienced and new to the Wilds and he wasn't sure they'd be able to handle it.<br/>
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Holger, in the end, decided he would need to sleep on it. He spent a good amount of time up on the parapets of the wall, looking both East and North and even South, but never back West or the way they had come. His eyes squinted at the horizon and his footfalls kept a steady beat as he paced back and forth. It was unclear if he joined the others as he did not join them in the barn nor was he there when the light of the new day dawned.<br/>
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</span><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(176, 101, 0)"> b06500 <br/>
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Red the Friendly Giant peered down at the strange woman as she talked gibberish to him. He didn't feel any tingling when she spoke, so surely she wasn't cursing him - or at least not to any of the Gods he believed in. But she was offering him more food, which he wouldn't turn down. Perhaps, he thought, she thought that he was a God? The food offerings, the murmurings in a foreign language.<br/>
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He blinked down at her and took the offered food, before turning his back to her as he ate. What a strange creature, these people were. Especially that girl. Red avoided the stables where they were stationed - he didn't trust himself not to eat one during the night. As the others settled in for the night, Red made his way out of the gate, no Soldier brave enough to try and stop him.</span><br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:rgb(64, 224, 208)"> 40E0D0 <br/>
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The smell of meat cooking wafted into the barn to stimulate their senses. A hearty meal of oats and sugar, greasy bacon, and scrambled eggs waited for them as they got up. A good send off meal for the party that would soon be leaving. The Soldiers on duty had changed and the sun was soon beating down over the walls and warming the stables, even if there was one less horse there than had been during the night.<br/>
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Red stood by the Gate, peering Eastwards. Holger was fumbling around with his own pack, checking its contents. On a blanket nearby, communal supplies were laid out along with the packs for each person. They would all carry an equal share of dried goods and water, along with their own equipment and bedrolls.</span>