Birdsong brought the half-halfling out of dreams, realization that she had fallen asleep woke her with a vengeance.
The tree she had settled under for the night was hollow around the roots, offering some semblance of shelter from weather. But, with all the predators that roamed the forests and roads, human, animal, and non-human, she was still surprised that she wasn't somewhere else--
That line of thought was forcibly cut and she simply accepted the fact that what could have happened, didn't. Sorri peered out from behind the tree roots at the road, checking both ways before leaving the tree and finding a safer location. Morning was her quiet time. Before the boredom of walking and thoughts from the night before could intrude, and in following the example set by her parents, the half-breed halfling dug a worn, leather-bound book from her backpack and undid the strings holding closed the square of cloth that it was wrapped in. There was also another book, this one with notes covering the pages and most of those pages still blank, but she left this one in the bag for now.
An hour later she re-wrapped the book in its cloth and returned it to the bag, then put away the remains of what constituted breakfast for her. Then she checked her clothes...they were slightly smelly by now, four days running and only washed once in the last two, but still in reasonable condition. A linen shirt with a boy's leather jerkin over it covered everything from her hips to her collarbone; the shirt went to her wrists while the jerkin stopped with cap sleeves at her shoulders. Her pants were leather too; Mother had given up trying to keep Sorri in cloth pants, much less skirts. Oh, the young girl would wear skirts, but the pants were much more durable and moved easier than a leather skirt would, even a loose one. Standing up, Sorri put a brown, thick, wool cloak -- hooded and lined with softer wool in the hood -- on her back. It had kept her warm at night so far. But her sandals were starting to grow thin at the soles. She frowned when she noticed, then sighed. No helping it now...Once everything that was out was repacked and in its proper place, Sorri set out back to the road to travel alongside it.
The road in these parts cut through a ravine. Perhaps a stream had flowed through the hill before, and when it dried up the road was set through the crevice? Whatever the case, she walked up the hill and ventured near the crest of it to see if she could look further up and down the road. Looking up the road she noticed a trio of people...all of them taller than her, so they were likely humans, or at least not dwarves, gnomes, or other halflings. They were listening to a wagon driver who seemed to be giving them instructions or a warning--
Starting to walk down the hill toward the road while watching the people further up was much trickier than simply walking. Sorri lost her footing and ungraciously tumbled down the side of the hill and onto the road with a stifled cry of alarm, her staff and bag clattering as they hit the hard dirt.