Iris will eat her bread and porridge before imitating the menfolk and washing her face and hand in the water barrel.
Still tired she will ask Jocelin "how many days do you think it will take us at this pace to get to the Mercer house?"
Her demeanor will clearly indicate she is not particularly comfortable, but she will not complain and will begin fastening up her veil and making ready to go as Jocelin answers her
"I'd say about six days, if the weather holds clear," says the redcap cheerfully. "There's usually not too much rain this time of year, so the roads are usually easier to travel. The only thing that might cause us trouble are brigands, but with three of us there is less chance of us being bothered, particularly since two of us are visibly armed. The bigger threat to us would be from a raiding party of Scots. But with the roads firming up, they are unlikely to attack so close to Newcastle, since the knights stationed there would be able to quickly ride them down."
"For now, after we pass Newcastle we are headed to Leeds, about two days from here. That will make it easier for us to cross the Aire river on our way south. There's a market there, so we'll be able to resupply ourselves with fresh food."
"Brigands, Raiding Scots? I didn't know England was such a Dangerous place!"
It is becoming obvious to Iris that her knowledge of the outside world is severely lacking - the covenant, it would appear, is quite atypical of England from what Jocelin is saying.
"If we do meet people like that what should we do? Should... Should I be ready to defend us too? Wouldn't that be breaking the code?"
Iris is clearly uncomfortable at the idea of using magic to hurt people
Jocelin looks at her in surprise, "Don't tell me that you've been apprenticed at a covenant that sits right at the border of Scotland and you've never heard of raiding parties? Or of King William of Scotland's desire to reclaim Northumbria?" The redcap shakes his head in dismay, "This is what the world is outside of your towers hidden in the woods, maga. You may like to think that you live apart from it, but us normal folk can't afford to think like that."
"If we cross path with brigands, let me talk to them first. I may be able to dissuade them from any foolishness that end in blood being spilled. But if I draw my sword, then feel free to kill any of them any way you can. We can sort out the details of the Code later. A charge of interference with mundanes is better than lying dead in a ditch."
"I..."
Underneath her veil Iris is beginning to redden after Jocelyn's chastisement. After a moment she looks downwards and mumbles
"... Never mind. I will do as you say. We should probably get moving again"
(OOC: Oops, sorry for the delay. Just clean forgot to move this story forward! You could have poked me when you saw nothing happening after a couple of days.)
Much to Iris' relief, nothing untoward happens as the small group make its way south. The next few days see them sleeping in serveal other barns and one inn. Iris concludes that the barns, despite being dirtier, are actually more comfortable than the inn. The place was noisy and not much cleaner. Its only redeeming quality was that she'd been able to bathe in warm water.
As it is, now they were approaching the large town of Leeds, sitting close to a fairly wide river and surrounded by field of wheat.
"Tonight," says Jocelin, "we should be able to rent a better room and clean up some. Tomorrow we can resupply, then leave in the afternoon."
"An inn?" asks Brynn, grinning. "That should allow me to earn a few coppers and refresh my throat. Ale sounds quite good after those days on the road. Don't you think, mistress?"
Iris will be looking forward to getting into town - a place she thinks will be closer to the organized 'civilisation' of the covenant (undoubtedly she will be disappointed).
She is also feeling buoyed by Brynn's reactions to the news, and looking forward to a comfortable bed for the night
"I look forward to it Master Jocelin, and yes Brynn, it will no doubt give you the opportunity to practice your craft to a new audience and to then entertain them after consuming half your body weight in ale." A smile corsses her face as she recalls something " Remember when you first came to the covenant and got so drunk you made a pass at that visiting Maga - how long were you stuck on the roof till one of them took pity on you and brought you back down?"