This story is based in the world of Fate. ^^ Just setting up characters a little here.
The sun was just peeking over the horizon when Monica reluctantly opened her eyes to greet the day. She sloughed off the cloak she had been using as a blanket that night. Taking a moment to get her head back from dreamland, she took in her surroundings.
At first she was a little disoriented, realizing she was most defiantly not at home in bed, but surrounded by massive trees. Slowly it came back to her though. She had been running from bandits. The one's who set her town ablaze in the night. The roar of the hungry flames still burned in her ears and she had to shake the memory from her head. It wasn't going to help her situation any to linger on those thoughts now and a subtle pang in her stomach helped to emphasize that.
Monica gathered her sole belongings: a cloak that was once a soft blue now blotchy with mud as well as grass stains and an ordinary Rod with a crowned top that served as her casting staff.
She noted that judging by the size of the trees she must have fled deep into the woods the night before. This posed a problem because she could end up wandering about in the forest for weeks before finding a way out. Not that she had anywhere to go, but she didn't exactly have a survivalist's guide with her and the only hunting she had ever had to do was for quality fabric in the town marketplace.
Again her mind was drawn to home, but not the fiery blaze that she had left it. It had been such a peaceful happy little town with surrounded by meadows and a stream that wound around the east side. She could remember the sound of the water running over the pebbles that traced its path.
In fact her memory was a little louder than expected. Monica snapped back to reality. She could hear rushing water. Following the sound it took her a few minutes to reach the bank of a river that cut its way through the woodland. She dropped her staff and cloak on the roots of one of the trees and carefully approached the stony bank.
The water was cool and relatively clear. She scooped the water up in her hands and drank fervently. She hadn't realized just how thirsty she was and now sated the world was looking ever so slightly brighter. Now that she had this river, she could easily follow it out of the forest and hopefully find some civilization out there.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Thief! Someone stop him!" A portly butcher man stumbled out the door of his shop waving his fist in the air. Several people passing by moved out of the way for the angry man but none paid him mind. That is except for the Reinard sisters who made their way towards the plaza with a fresh line of gossip.
"That was the Fenson's boy wasn't it?"
"What a shame, no?"
"To think they used to be such a reputable family."
"I heard that after Mrs. Fenson ran off Mr. Fenson drank away the family's fortune."
"Oh, had you heard, just a few days ago the drunken fool was found dead near Gallcan's Creek."
"You mean to say he drowned there?"
"It can be assumed so, not that anyone cared more than to plant him the dirt and be on their way. No funeral was held."
"Who found him all the way out there?"
"Mr. Gannund ta be sure. See I'd heard about it when his son came to the shop yesterday."
"A real shame it is…"
"Have you talked with Cass lately?"