:Not important. Force users can't usually teleport.: She's a little smug about it.

:Right. Thank you: That's a relief, overall, and also opens some more questions about how she can teleport, but he decides to leave the matter alone for now. 

The group departs. It's very easy going; while the area is dense forest, a wide strip of it has been flattened, as though a house-sized sledgehammer recently passed through. 

Very convenient. She doesn't seem to be able to run and mindspeak at the same time, though, or at least isn't trying to.

Then Vanyel will let her focus on running. He kind of appreciates the break; his head still hurts a bit from straining his Gift with the nonlethal attack, he hadn't wanted to complain earlier. The headache is feeling better by the time they reach the staging ground; the mage-barrier he put up at the time to offer protection to the un-Gifted soldiers is still there, shimmering translucent, with a couple of rather confused-looking horses grazing inside. 

They don't exactly need it anymore. He takes it down. :Deskyl, you can take one if you want, they're extras: The party pauses, stretching getting out waterskins; Vanyel offers Deskyl his again. 

She drinks. She considers the horses, and her chances of riding one any substantial distance without panicking the poor creature and having to deal with the results of that, and doesn't approach them. Instead she checks in with DZ; she seems satisfied with whatever their conversation is about.

Vanyel doesn't make any comment about her choice to keep running. The party continues on, the spare horses tethered behind a couple of the guards; it doesn't seem like any of the rescued children know how to ride on their own. 

They reach the town about a half-hour later. It's small and shabby and looks very low-tech, dirt road and wooden buildings with thatch roofs; only one building, maybe the town hall, is made of stone. 

A woman in green robes comes out to look at the children. :She's the Healer: Vanyel explains, :Healers wear that shade of green here in Valdemar. We can go on to the inn, Jores is going to explain: He starts moving without bothering to dismount. 

They don't make it far, though – a woman whose plump face bears a noticeable resemblance to the young girl who tried to guard the other children runs up to them, and drops to her knees at their feet. "Thank you, Herald – and you, milady – thank you thank you, for saving my baby..."

Vanyel gets a stiff, pained look. :Oh gods this is awkward: It's not clear whether or not he meant to send that in Mindspeech. 

Deskyl goes stiff when it becomes clear that the woman is approaching them, hand on her 'saber hilt. She relaxes when she drops to her knees, though she does shoot Van a skeptical look.

"It's, um, you're welcome, it's nothing..." Vanyel eventually manages to point her at Herald Jores and then break past in the direction of the inn. 

And Deskyl follows. She seems to be starting to truly run out of energy; it's subtle, but she keeps catching herself listing to one side or the other when she walks; after another minute DZ taps Van's shoulder and attempts to ask in gesture to be let off the horse.

Vanyel hops down and helps the droid dismount. :I'll run in and get us both rooms: he offers, and darts ahead into the building, which is also made of wood but has two storeys and a slate roof. 

A minute or so later he pops his head back out. :Come on in?:

DZ is now very subtly steadying and guiding Deskyl; they go in.

Vanyel hands Deskyl a heavy, old-fashioned looking key. :Over this way: He starts walking, then mounting a narrow, steep staircase. :Er, taproom is back down that way, if you're hungry, but...personally I'm going to hide in my room for a while first. You can call to have food brought up instead–: except that she doesn't speak the language, which presents some difficulties, :um, or I could call for both of us, if you'd like, they gave me adjacent rooms: 

They reach a landing and a row of doors. :Yours is this one: Vanyel heads one door further down and goes to unlock it with his own key. 

DZ takes the key, when it's offered; Deskyl doesn't object to her doing it. They follow him to the rooms and go into theirs without Deskyl saying anything further.

Vanyel locks his door behind him and flops down on the narrow lumpy bed and closes his eyes. 

Deskyl and DZ will find themselves in a room identical to Vanyel's. It's small and boxy. Contents: narrow bed, one, against the wall. Washstand with basin and towel hanging on a hook, one. Jug of water next to it, no sign of running water. Tiny table with chair. Narrow wardrobe. Window. The room does not have its own fireplace but there's a sort of vent with warm air from below wafting out. 

There's a bed; that's all Deskyl notices or cares about. It is perhaps a minor miracle that she makes it to it; she's asleep immediately.

Vanyel, somewhat to his own surprise since it's not like he did much actual fighting, also falls asleep and naps until midway through the afternoon. 

He wakes up, lies in the uncomfortable bed for a while and stares and the ceiling, and then sighs and gets up and splashes water on his face, and forges out to get something to eat. 

He stops in front of the other door, and hesitates for a long time, torn between whether knocking to ask if they want food too (does the droid eat? how does that even work?) is polite, or incredibly rude. 

Eventually he compromises, and does knock, but with approximately the force of a baby kitten batting its paw. 

DZ answers. Deskyl is visible behind her in the bed; he doesn't seem to have woken her.

Oh dear, language barrier. :Food?: Vanyel tries, sort of sticking the Mindspeech at the alien-unreadable mind in front of him. For good measure, he mimes holding a plate and a spoon and bringing invisible food to his mouth, then makes a questioning face. 

DZ says something polite but incomprehensible and repeats his mime, then nods.

Probably a yes?

Vanyel nods and smiles and then backs again, and heads downstairs to the taproom. He doesn’t stay to eat down there, just exchanges some more of the Heraldic tokens for bowls of stew and hunks of bread and cups of cider (he...guesses for now that DZ doesn’t eat, so gets two bowls and cups but extra bread in case), and then balances all of it on a tray and hauls it back upstairs. Quiet knock.

She answers promptly.

Food?