Tristan raised her fingers to her mouth and gave a loud whistle, and their yak came trotting up to the side. With that, she turned Agate to the road and they set off at a leisurely place.<br/><br/>Rita's words wormed through Tristan's head. Monsters. She told herself inwardly what she'd nervously asked her friend. It was all metaphorical. You never got straight answers with fortunes, right? It probably meant a greedy rich man or something... and it might not even have anything to do with their current path.<br/><br/>But deep down, she knew it wasn't going to be so convenient, and she knew that sooner or later, she'd have to confront some real danger either way.<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>The road, which already was barely a trail of packed dirt, disappeared entirely not too far into the hilly wilderlands. Tristan halted atop a particular high hill and squinted into the distance, trying to find some kind of landmark they could aim for, but all she could make out were waves of grass tumultuously dancing in the wind. She supposed it was better than being deep in a forest though... forests made her uneasy.<br/><br/>The sky was even darker now, with just a few mottled patches of brightness, and she feared that with how strong the winds were, they might be in for some more frightful weather than just a spot of rain. She could already smell it coming.<br/><br/>"Wait... I think I see smoke coming from over that hill," she said. "I think... maybe there's another settlement over that way.  Think we should check it out?"