15. An abandoned camp

Carefully, Malene picks her way through the woods. Darting from tree to tree, she sees a clearing up ahead and smells smoke. She stealths closer, trying to determine if the residents are friend or foe.

As she gets to the edge of the clearing, she sees that there are no residents of the camp at all. The campfire is still smoking, so they aren’t long gone, and the tents remain staked, so they’ll probably come back. But in the meantime they are nowhere to be seen and Malene is glad of that.

She darts back into the treeline, aware now that there are people in the area to worry about but still committed to her path.