The covered branch leaves the firs and enters a stony upland valley. Far ahead, smoke rises in two thin columns, while the eastern mountains gather beneath a clearing sky.
Petar
Those fires are too regular for charcoal burners. A hamlet, perhaps, or shepherds. We should pass below them and keep to the ravine.
Julia’s steps falter on the stones. Sofia catches her elbow before she falls, and the group pauses beside a wind-bent pine. The jug feels lighter than it should.
Sofia
She can continue, but only slowly. If we reach water before night, her ankle may hold through another day.
Daria
Then we descend along the ravine. No road, no fire, and no asking strangers until we know what country lies ahead.
Beyond the pine, the ravine narrows between gray cliffs. A faint bell sounds from the valley floor, followed by distant voices carried upward on the wind.
Angela
If those are villagers, they may know the road to Kartli. If they are soldiers, we have nowhere to run with Julia limping.
“"They may not even be Turks. I'll have a look."”
SUCCESS (Legendary Perception, rolled -1)
Makeda
They may not even be Turks. I’ll have a look.
Makeda climbs the ravine’s stony shoulder, shielding her bandaged palm beneath her cloak. From behind the wind-bent pine, she studies the fires and listens without exposing herself.
The nearer smoke rises from a cluster of low stone huts. Figures carry water jars, and a small bronze bell hangs beside a rough wooden cross. No uniforms, horses, or weapons appear.
The distant voices are women and children speaking Greek, with an older man calling them indoors before dusk. The hamlet is Orthodox, poor, and watchful, but not a patrol.
Daria
Then we approach openly, but from below. No sudden movements, and no one mentions the road until we know who listens.
Julia
A Christian hamlet is enough for tonight. Tomorrow, we can ask for the safest road toward Kartli.
Makeda leads them down the ravine. The villagers admit them beneath the chapel bell, give Julia a place to rest, and point east toward trusted mountain paths. At last, the fugitives possess shelter, water, and a peaceful road onward.
By dusk, Julia rested beneath a rough roof, her ankle bound and a cup of clean water warming her hands. Beyond the hamlet, the mountain paths turned east.
Julia
I thought I would hold you back forever. Instead, you carried me to safety.
Sofia
You walked when walking was all courage. Rest now.
Angela
Tomorrow, Kartli. Tonight, bread, water, and sleep.
Makeda
The ravine had closed behind us. For the first time, the road ahead felt like a road, not a trap.
The hamlet gave them no riches, only shelter, water, and the knowledge of trusted paths toward Kartli. It was enough. With Julia safe for the night and the others gathered close, Makeda let the long fear loosen its grip, while the mountains kept watch over their eastward passage.