<div class="floatright">(http://41.media.tumblr.com/a2f9ee9f69862b4347b81042d23f8c7c/tumblr_nmi4a72NCd1qgd7rdo1_1280.png)</div>"Five of you?" Lucas Reinert. Ran Fletcher, old Moran's girl. Miranda, Caro, Rinarya. Her eyes followed each name to the face it belonged to. "Melford," she corrected mildly. "Millford is a river crossing. The town where we'll be going is Melford, a forest trade town." One strong man beside Brannock she counted, and the rest seemed to be ladies with a more feminine quality than normally roughed it in these woods. By far one was more skittish than the rest. Dza's armor chimed as she knelt down to the halfling's level to ascertain whether her stuttering and averted gaze were only frayed nerves or something else. "Here's a mnemonic I find helpful.<em>Mill</em>ford has a mill, while M<em>elf</em>ord is in the woods with the elves." Her most reassuring smile for Caro, loaded with the message<em>if you don't feel safe, you can come to me. </em>Now it was decided: she was definitely going to escort this unusual group.<br/><br/>Dza was the kind of woman who'd stripped down to her linens and helped scrub the tattered old paint off the General Store one weekend. Before the spring saplings could become an eyesore for old Maenae's shrine, she'd gone out to cull them. It was too much to ask these ladies to carry their own tents and supplies. Dza accepted the first burden given her to carry, and the second equally without complaint. She would have taken a third, if they'd let her. "I'd like you to stick close to Brannock and me. If you feel afraid or fall behind, call out my name,<em>Dza </em>as in<em>adze. </em>I'll come and get you."<br/><br/>Her torch raised ready to light the rear. She did her best to remain unaware of the curves passing by her. They were certainly not typical of Melford.