On the road again

By now, the trio have gotten used to the walking and their pace is brisk, legs eating up the distance between the village and the Capital.

"We're making good time." Brandon remarks. "Say, I know of a nearby pond that us hunters will use to swim and bathe when we hunt in these parts of the wood. What say you guys we go and check it out?"

"My dad said no detours though..." Eris hesitates.

"Yeah we should be heading straight for the Capital." Marcus agrees with her, trying to win some brownie points.

"Aww come on, don't be such party poopers. Look, it's such a sunny day today. And don't you guys want to take a bath and wash up?"

"I don't know..." Eris is really tempted, given how used she is to showering every day. The grime covering her body makes her feel so icky.

Marcus continues to disagree with Brandon, at the point of almost disagreeing just for the sake of disagreement. "Eris' dad clearly stated that we should not make any detours. Besides, didn't he also say there are goblins in these woods?"

"Nahhh, I've been in these parts countless of times. I've never seen a goblin once. My senior says they only lurk in the Deepwoods. And I know exactly where the pool is. It's barely ten minutes from here. No way we get lost." Brandon argues back.

Looks like Eris has to make a choice again.