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"Hold." Jerrard raises his hand, "We are going in the woods, that is for certain, we need mounts, food, I need to find a Mage." He looks directly at the Woodsman, "No offense, but how do we know we can trust you?" He places a hand on Malkia's leg if she lets him.

"You must understand, I have been fooled before." He gives the man an appraising glance, he didnt look dangerous.

"We need to do some shopping, I want some of the lovely clothes the Elves wear, and so does Babuskha." Locky beams, totally ignoring Jerrards comment about trusting the man, it never occurred to her they couldnt.

"And yes, we need something to ride, some food, so do you Ulster, Thurskar." She looks at Jeremy, "Do you know anywhere? And what about her? I think she wants help." She asks, looking over to Aleaha.

Jeremy looks at Jerrard "You have a very valid point. Unless you have magical resources, the only way to know if you can trust some one is through experience. I could tell you I am trustworthy, but I could be lying. So, you tell me, how can you be sure you can trust me?"

"Well said, I have given others a chance, ones who once proved themselves unworthy." He gives Malika's leg a squeeze, "What do you know of this place? What food would be suitable, and what do you know of horses?" He asks, "Help us and we will consider trusting you." Offering the man his other hand he waits for a reaction.

"Of horses, I know only as much as any other average person. Of the area, The curse seem to be contained in the center, if we stay near the fringe we should be fine. It may take a while to get through, but one or two weeks food and water should be fine. I can supplement the food reserves as we go, but not totally supply every one. The woods are still dangerous, so make sure weapons and armor are up to snuff, we could conceivably run into trouble. Pack animals would be helpful, I have a mule of my own and may be able to assist some, but you may want to invest in your own."

"Ulster or Thuskar," Imani says. "Part of the reward for killing that dragon was some magical armor. One is too small for humans, but the other isn't. Would either one of you wish to have it?" she asks.

"Magic armor? Magic dragon's armor? Oh, Abyss, yeah!" Ulster blurts out.

"What kind of armor?" asks Thuskar, considerably more calm. "And what kind of magic is in it?"

"We don't know what kind of magic is in it," Imani admits. "But it is plate mail."

"I'll take it!" Ulster volunteers.

"It might be cursed," Thuskar points out.

"Oh, uh...let me think about it then," Ulster reconsiders.

"Okay, well, would one of you be willing to at least carry it for the time being?" she asked. "It's kind of heavy, and it is weighing me down."

"So Jerrard really should go looking for a mage. He could do his own business there and also have the armor appraised" Babushka says. "I would go looking for mounts and pack animals with Jeremy, if that's OK with you. Locky, I think you should go look for your clothes with Imani and Mailka. I don't think I need much, I'll have a look at my things first. Maybe your elven acquaintance can show you the right places to shop for clothes and food?"

Locky pouts, giving the man a look, "I guess.." she moves closer to Imani, her face low. "Is that ok?"

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Jerrard gives a nod, a little smirk on his face, the idea of Imani keeping an eye on both Malika and Locky filling him with a mixture of amusement and dread.

"I think perhaps someone should go with you ladies to keep an eye out, who knows who is out there." he looks surprised when Jeremy does not react about the dragon.

"That is fine," Imani says to Locky.

"All right, the next question is who already has mounts or pack animals, and what kind, so we know what we need to look for." Jeremy replies.

"Yippie!" Locky beams nearly hugging her, "I should ride with someone big, could I ride with you?"

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"Imani has her horse, and Babuskha has her noble steed." Jerrard explains, "we need four or five good sturdy horses. The smaller folk like locky should double up with someone."

"Locky, perhaps you can talk to your new friend, she might be able to help." He adds