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The answer Rypa gave made him chuckle a bit. " I see..." He said slowly sitting up.

Watching the wound heal was incredible. Such an ability made him smile. " It is my fault because I did not stay where I was needed. I could have taken the wound instead" He said looking at the scar.

Kara's giggle touched his regret, easing the weight just a bit. " Now that he is healed....yes, that was Hell you saw. The giant hound you saw was Cerberus, my friend and ally" He shifted his head to watch Rypa look over the goblins. If she didn't trust him now would this earn a dagger in his side? " I seek to become a gate guardian myself so Cerberus sent me out to protect this realm. They prey I hunt are those that need to be dragged back into hell. When my powers grow and I have Proven my worth, then I too shall become a Cerberus"

Kara wasn’t quite sure how to respond to the wolf’s answer. While she had asked if it was hell... she also hadn’t been prepared for the answer to be yes. For some reason she was incredibly sad over the whole thing. Getsurei seemed to be so self depreciating and she wished she could make him smile.

She decided to address the guilt first. Not really thinking about it she got up and went to the wolf. She rested her hand on his head and said “It’s not your responsibility to take every wound. Tonaf is ok. Rypa is ok. I’m ok. You helped fight the goblins. You did exactly what you needed to do.”

Rypa joined her companions.
"You can't take responsibility for the actions of others." Said Rypa Sternly. "Our wounds came from the blades of the goblins. They chose to attack so they alone hold responsibility. "
She took a deep breath and looked around.
"We need to move are you ready to go?"

Exhilarated by his restored strength, Tonaf cracked his side with a satisfying crunch.
"I'm ready to go, but something tells me that won't be the last lot of them little buggers. " Ton lamented. "Not if magics and stuff have anything to do with it."

He looked back and forth between two as he pondered over what they said. With a sigh he stood back up. " Well....everyone is alive.."
He dropped his head by Kara. " I'm ready to go. You can ride on my back again if you wish"

Kara climbed back up on the wolf and settled herself. "I agree, we should get moving. We've lingered here long enough." She looked around again to make sure she didn't hear any of the goblins coming back for round two.

As they continued to move through the forest, Krise decided to continue the conversation they had been having earlier. She turned to Rypa, "You said you were raised around here? That's how you know of the runestones then. Do you know why they were originally put there? I've read that some were raised to protect areas and others were used for magical purposes."

Rypa took a deep breath to recover from her exertions.
"The past is past... The circle was built in a time before the living memory even of the elves." Said the elf. "All I know is that I've never seen any being of ill intent approach it."
She headed in the opposite direction to where the goblins had fled.

Tonaf creaked his neck in the direction of the conversation as everyone meandered through the bark and vines laced within the forest. A premonition within his stomach caused him to clench rather tight at the wooden handle of axe -- he struggled to think why, let alone put the thought into a sentence. 'Nothing of ill intent...' He brooded upon that phrase. With the Goblins they had just faced, Ton felt that there was going to be something much worse before they finally reached this glowing runes...

...Or perhaps he'd simply become heavily superstitious with the forest after being ambushed by a bunch of tribal natterers. Regardless, Tonaf did not voice his concern; he just kept up with the group.

With little else to do besides keeping pace with Rypa, Geysurei started counting his steps. His paw snagged a vine only once but he kept going.

Comfort filled his soul with the simple words 'ill intent'. Perhaps he could approach these runes after all? His gait relaxed finally allowing him to find better footing faster.
Was it wise to relax? He was watching the dwarf from the corner of his view. Perhaps his tension was just. His nose dropped to the ground now.

Kara was happy to be heading away from the goblins. She thought over Rypa's words but didn't have any other questions. She instead found herself lost in thought. The forest around her brought up memories of her home and childhood. These trees were not the same, but they were similar enough. It had been a long time since Kara had seen her home and she missed it dearly. She shook her head and pulled herself out of her thoughts. Dwelling on the past was not going to get her anywhere. She needed to focus on the future and that future was the runestones. Once she made her name she could go home again.

"So Getsurei you obviously are traveling with a goal in mind. What about you two," she asked turning towards the others, "What are your goals? What brings you to travel?"

Rypa was concerned goblins were not with out wisdom and this was far from their usual hunting grounds. The thought of hunting made her stomach growl.
"There is an hunter's cabin up ahead we can go there to rest and eat." Said the elf. "I don't travel I wander; I patrol."

Tonaf breathed a sigh of relief at the notion of shelter, letting his axe arm relax a slight bit. At least within the safety of a cabin, they'd have a wall between them and the next host of Goblins that decided to harass the group.

"How far off do you think this cabin is?" Wondered the Dwarf, his heavy footfalls digging into the soil like spades for limbs. "I hope our little friends from earlier hadn't raided the place before setting onto us." He gulped.

It would not be an overly far hike. As the party drew closer to the location of the cabin they would at first smell the smoke. As they came close they would begin to smell the aroma of cooking meat mixed a scent of various spices that could easily be described as overpowering, particularly for any with sensitive noses.

Once the cabin was in view, the group would be greeted by the sight of the cabin itself with a large fire pit several yards in front of it, a long log laid lengthwise to the fire along with a long object shrouded in a decorated cloth. Stretched across the fire pit were a series of spits with various cuts of meat on them, a female figure in grey robes carefully tending to them with a dedicated hand and an visible anticipation to her movements. Alternating between sitting on the log and standing to tend the meat the woman kept her back turned towards the forest, appearing more concerned about cooking than any possible threat.

After dragging her to the gates of hell, the least he could do was share why he was so far from home. " I am on a journey to strengthen my powers. Once I am strong enough I can become a gate guardian myself. This is also-"

He raised his head once the scent of meat reached his nose. Such a heavenly and savory scent that he could have fallen into a trance. " That must be coming from the cabin." He raised his tail as he started to follow the scent, licking his lips to prevent himself from drooling. He didn't care how far away he was getting from the others right now.

The only thing that stopped him was how powerful the scent got. It was like a punch to his sinuses and brain. His nose wrinkled and his teeth showed just before he sneezed.

It took Kara a couple of seconds longer than the wolf to smell the cooking meat, as her nose wasn't as sensitive as his. So she was confused when he suddenly took off. Before she could voice a question, she smelled the meat. It smelled absolutely delicious. Considering that she had nothing but bread and dried meat with her, the thought of fresh meat was tantalizing.

As they approached the firepit, Kara saw the figure tending over the spits. Given their interaction with the goblins earlier, she pulled slightly on the wolf's fur hoping he would slow his approach. They needed to decide if the figure was a threat, but they also did not want to threaten her. They were not here to harm her, just hoping to share in the delicious meal she was preparing.

Rypa started to salavae as the smell came to her. As much as she want to run ahead she forced herself to keep pace with the Dwarf.
"I've not seen goblins this far into the woods before. Hopefully they have not found this place.." Said the Elf. "Your first fight?"

A reddish shade flushed over Tonaf's faced like a ripe tomato in response to Rypa's question. "First? W-well-" He stuttered, subconsciously gripping at the newly knitted scar he'd earned moments ago. "I-I mean, I've had rogues and other funny looking tallfolk come a bit too close to my home stump, but noffin' to dig a grave over." Ton explained, a rueful twitch of his lip masked by the curls under his beard.

"I just like t' be left alone." The Wood Dwarf continued. "There's nothing enchanting 'bout me, Dwarf or not."

His nostrils soon caught the aroma of sizzling, spitting meat as soon as his stunted vision caught sight of the cabin's roof exposed beside the canopy of the forest. He'd half believed himself to be dreaming; that he was actually back home in Dukewood with a freshly cooked steak welcoming him to his dinner table. But as the rising smoke from the fire pit and the figure that tended to it would insinuate, the overpowering smell was real. Now, if only he could taste what fine meal perpetuated it.