Jerukh nods slowly as he weighs Iona's words and advice, then when she rises to leave he offers gratitude for their conversation:
"Děkuji... Thank you Lady Iona. Your advice and time given are appreciated... I know the others are better company..."
The tall alchemist makes himself as comfortable as he can, his brow furrowed in thought or worry as he slips into a slumber.
As the caravan breaks camp and moves off, Jerukh takes to sitting close to his mother, but mindful to avoid her stare or questions.
The healer is his customary quiet self, keeping a close counsel as he wiles the time checking then re-checking vials, tinctures, herbs and components upon his person.
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While the caravan is packing up and getting ready to move, Vigny searches out Jerukh. She finds him loading supplies into the wagon he occupies.
Vigny leans back against the caravan opposite his, and hooks her thumbs into her belt.
"You know Jerukh, it's become hard not to notice you have some kind of problem with me. I figure it's best to nip things in the bud, not let them fester. So, if you have something to say to me, here I am."
As the caravan moves on the next day, Reiko spends the time resting in the saddle of Kaze-no-kattā, who moves at a hip-swaying, leisurely pace. When rain or sun threatens, she shields herself with a waxed gold-colored parasol. She seems mostly in her own thoughts but smiles and shares words with anyone approaching her.
"Jerukh, you've no need to thank me, but I am glad I was able to help, if even a little. And don't sell yourself short," she says, gently punching you in the arm, "social skills are like anything else. To get better you just need to practice. I'll let you get some sleep now, though. Pleasant dreams."
Jerukh eyes Vigny as she approaches, his brow furrow only deepening.
Ai Mamă... This I do not need...
When the warpriest addresses him most directly, the healer shoots her a quick glance but continues his work.
"Some wounds you leave to heal naturally, over time Vigny... Best left alone..."
He stops and leans against his own wagon with a grimace.
Vigny doesn't know what Jerukh means for sure, but his reply seems like a tacit affirmative admission followed by a refusal to discuss it.
"What does that mean? Are you saying I've wronged you in some way? But you're not going to tell me?"
Vigny's voice shows confusion, and a certain amount of annoyance that wasn't there before.
The healer sighs at her persistence;
"You have not wronged me. Your people did. Your place..."
He grimaces once again;
"I see them in you. I know they are not you, but I see them none-the-less. It opens wounds I cannot heal, cannot fix."
WOUNDS LEAVE SCARS. SCARS SHOW POWER OVER DEATH. FEH! LET THE SHE-WOLF HOWL AT YOU...
As he speaks the half-orcs grip to the wagon frame tightens...
"I have told enough. Please..."
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Vigny gapes at Jerukh for a moment. The conversation had suddenly gone in a direction she hadn't at all expected. It's also one she really doesn't like.
"Oh, so it has nothing to do with me. I just get to catch all the crap. Nice."
Her face flushes and her voice rises a little.
"I haven't lived in Southmoor since I was nine, I can barely remember how to speak the language. My people? We're both from Riddleport. But fine, you have something you need to dump on me? Let's do it up. You wanna take a shot at me, get something out of your system? I'll find a bare spot and scratch us out a circle. We can have a go around, no weapons, no magic."
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THE SHE-WOLF CHALLENGES YOU! ACCEPT AND BREAK HER! SHOW HER THE ORC'S FURY!
Jerukh squints, and growls a pained response to words spoken and not;
"No!"
Then looks toward Vigny, not with angry, but with eyes tinged with fear and apprehension;
"Please Vigny do not do this..."
"Please Vigny do not do this? Seriously? Nuh-uh, you're not putting this on me. I'm not here to be a proxy for your baggage."
Vigny's thumbs hadn't remained tucked into her belt for long into the conversation at all, but now a pointy finger comes up and she jabs it toward Jerukh.
"My offer's on the table and it stays there. Anytime. If you want to take it, then take it. If you don't then don't. But get over yourself and take some f!&@ing responsibility."
Vigny's voice has been rising and it's getting pretty loud by now.
"Either take the offer or deal with your issues, I don't care which. But until you figure your shit out I'm steering clear of you. And you sure as hell better steer clear of me."
Vigny turns and stomps off fuming, only looking back once to toss a rude gesture Jerukh's way.
Jerukh does not meet her eye, instead gripping the frame of the wagon ever tighter.
ACCEPT. DRINK. BECOME. DESTROY.
His hand wavers to his belt...
THE SHE-WOLF SPITS AND HOWLS AND YET YOU DO NOTHING!? COWARD!
Then lets it drop with a frown, as he lets Vigny's tirade wash past him in a torrent of angry words.
Jerukh remains standing - breathing slow and deep, eyes closed in thought.
Vigny goes directly back to her wagon. Inside she takes out the cloth she has been stitching on for the length of the caravan's travels so far. It's finished, but she hadn't found time to put it up yet.
She spreads it out completely, large enough to fully cover the ceiling. Taking some nails, she begins tacking it up around the edges of the ceiling. The cloth covers it wholly, like a canopy but stretched tight and even.
Vigny lights a couple of candles, then closes up the doors and windows to keep out any extra light. The cloth sparkles in places all across its expanse. Each bit of sparkle is a place where Vigny sewed on a fragment of the crystal from the cave in the marsh. The total effect is similar to looking at the stars under a night sky.
Vigny lays back on her bed and watches the crystals shine for a while. It's calming, and puts her in a better frame of mind before she dozes off.
During the long afternoon, whispers about Reiko's fight circulate through the caravan. A few people even ask her about it obliquely, hoping to coax the story from the typically quiet Tien woman. After the third or fourth unsubtle question, Reiko sighs and makes noncommittal noises about possibly sharing the story 'later'. As night falls, Reiko joins the band of people by the communal fire. After a number of telling looks in her direction, the ronin decides 'later' has to become now or she'd never hear the end of it. She sits placidly by the fire, her hands resting in her lap, and her legs curled beneath her. Her voice begins quietly, almost introspective.
"We were following these strange tracks and Jerukh had sensed we were being stalked. We decided to catch the spy. I jogged some distance ahead then doubled-back and hid in a tree. After some time, my companions passed beneath my hide. I waited for the stalker." She sweeps some dust from her robe adding sheepishly, "I waited too long. That was my first mistake. So I climbed down from the tree and followed the tracks. I thought I must have missed the creature in the dark. I hoped I might be able to catch it from behind. That was my second mistake. I wasn't stalking it; it was stalking me." She shakes her head at her own stupidity.
She becomes more animated, warming to the story. "The storm lashed the forest and the night was dark. I never saw the creature coming until its foul breath was on my neck. It threw me into the mud and landed on top of me, pinning my arms with one great clawed hand. I was like a rabbit trying to escape a cougar. I tried to fight but it was futile. He quickly had me tied, hand and foot. When he rolled me over, I finally saw him." Reiko puts her arms behind her back, as if tied, and uncurls her legs. She looks up as if eyeing a tall monster. "He was a huge bugbear, perhaps 7' tall, and several hundreds of pounds of muscle. Around his neck was a necklace of his victim's ears... All that was frightening but the intelligence and malice in him was worse. He sneered and said something like 'Any last words before I gag ya?'" I knew I had failed my allies and - as his prisoner - I would be used against them. It gave me hope that Shalelu also lived but it angered me as well so I said, 'Before this night ends, I'll take your head as a trophy.' I didn't think I could escape but as he crouched to gag me, I tried one more time."
She starts wringing her trapped arms, twisting them, and grimacing. "I twisted hard in the ropes, even as they cut into my arms. Perhaps the hemp was worn or other prisoners had struggled as I had... in any event, the ropes snapped! The Whispering Shrike was out in a moment and the ropes binding my legs were severed. I was free, and armed - but still laying in the mud. The bugbear had the advantage. He yanked his axe free, warning me, 'Shoulda stayed put girly.' I was lost if I couldn't get to my feet." Turning words into actions, Reiko suddenly rolls to her feet and pulls the sheathed sword from her robe, jabbing it at an invisible opponent, "I leaped to my feet and stabbed at the bugbear's eyes, hoping to distract it." She smiles ruefully, "But the beast was no novice. Before I was fully on my feet, he batted my katana aside and his axe cut deep into my shoulder." She drops her damaged shoulder, "Then he brought the axe around into my ribs from the other side." The ronin staggers in the opposite direction, as a result of another imaginary blow. "'Surrender an' I'll go easy on ya.' he said." Reiko stands hunched over, sword arm hanging almost slack, the other arm tucked in, protectively cradling her ribs.
The ronin begins to limp in a small circle, facing the ghost of her opponent. "We circled each other slowly. I pressed on my ribs, using the pain to stay awake. I tried to distract him by asking if Shalelu still lived and for his name. As he answered, I struck as fast and hard as I could." She pantomimes a lightning quick set of three blows from different directions. "He sidestepped one blow, but the other two struck home. I prayed he would fall." Reiko steps back as if assessing her foe. "He teetered but didn't die... then he smiled at me with a mouthful of bloody teeth and smashed me with his ham-sized fist." She stumbles sideways. "Consciousness fled from me and the katana started to slip from my fingers. Triumphant, he told me his name was Fadzmuthus. He said Shalelu was alive. He said... unkind things about her which I won't repeat. Then he gloated that they wanted 'her to see all o' you dead 'fore we take her ears.'"
Reiko stops her stumble, "Anger and Shizuru's blessings on foolish samurai came upon me - my will rallied even as I fell. Thinking me beaten, Fadzmuthus dropped his guard, leaving me a thin hope. I knew I had only one blow left in me before darkness won and my failure was complete. I caught my katana and swept the blade above my head." Reiko holds the sheathed blade in a double-handed reverse grip. the point aimed forward. Her body arched backwards like a bow - a coiled spring. Using her entire body as a lever, she drives the blade into the imaginary bugbear's chest with a rage-fueled primal scream that startles the birds in the woods to silence. "AAAAIIIAAAAAAHHHHHH."
Face reddening at the spectacle she had made of herself, she quickly lowers the blade, subconsciously flicking imaginary blood from the weapon. She smooths the front of her robe and quickly seats herself, finishing her story in a more neutral tone, "My blade stopped when the tsuba struck his sternum, his heart was pierced. His body dropped and dragged me into the mud once more. After a time, the rain revived me. I got to my feet and kept my promise. I struck his head from his shoulders. Then I stumbled through the woods until my friends found and healed me."
The story complete, Reiko lapses into silence, watching the fire.
By the end of the confrontation, most of the caravan's members had stopped what they were doing to watch. As Vigny storms off they return to their tasks. Not long afterwards, the caravan continues its journey. There is little talk and tension hangs in the air.
You're awakened from your dozing slumber by a sharp rap on the wood of the wagon and a deep, guttural voice.
"Vigny, ken ve talk," Gkirkhan asks.
As Reiko tells her tale, Shalelu looks at the young swordswoman nearly awestruck. Many of the others listened closely, enraptured in the telling, and when it was over, there was silence. Nearly a double hand of heartbeats pass before a cheer runs through the caravan and several are congratulating Reiko on her victory and a well told story.
Ameiko approaches Reiko with a grin on her face before draping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.
"Too bad we ain't back at the Dragon," she laughs, "That tale was worth at least a few free drinks!"
In the crowd somewhere, Koya calls out to Sandru.
"That one's going to be a tough one to follow. Why not tell us about the time you ran across that little dragon," she asks to a chorus of chuckles and laughter.
"Mama, you know I'm not drunk enough to tell that one," Sandru quips to more laughter.
Vigny sits up and shakes off her drowsiness. "Sure Gkirkhan, come on in."
She opens up the windows and puts out the candles.
++++++++++
Vigny finds a place to sit on the opposite side of the fire from Jerukh. When Reiko tells her story, Vigny finds it utterly compelling. It's not because of the story's particular details, she already knows most all of them. The fascinating thing for her is the style of the telling.
There is an elegance to the performance very unlike anything she's seen before. Reiko is spare in the words she uses. Her pantomime is equally simple but precise. But everything the story needs is there perfectly. It is a performance, not just a story told.
Vigny thinks it is very much what it must be like to go to a theater.
At the campfire Jerukh keeps a quiet council, only occasionally looking up when his name is mentioned in a tale recounted.
If anything the healer seems more distant to the group and his companions than ever before, and makes it clear he is in no mood for conversation or company beyond the dutiful presence fulfilled.
The tall, muscular half-orc clambers into the wagon that had stopped for a midday break. His hair is pulled back in a simple ponytail with a leather cord. In one of his hands, he holds a bottle of some wine that you don't recognize.
"Hy tink Hy should repay hyu for de drink in Brinestump," he says as he pulls the cork and holds it out to you. The smell is divine, or as close as you've ever smelled.
Once both of you have a couple of sips, which proves that the wine is as good as, if not better than, it smells, Gkirkhan's expression grows more serious.
"Hy saw vot happened vhen hyu talked to Jerukh," Gkirkhan tells you. "Vot iz goink on between hyu two? Lubber's spat?"
"I've gotten the feeling that Jerukh doesn't think much of me practically since we met. No big thing, I don't have to be his buddy. Lately things have gotten more pointed on his end though. So I went to ask him what it was about. Turns out he just hates anything to do with the Linnorm Kingdoms, me included but nothing personal you see."
Vigny takes another sip and sighs. "So I offered to punch it out with him. Work it out of our systems. He's not interested. I'm just supposed to suck it up until maybe he feels better about whatever some day. I don't give a good damn what he thinks. But it's showing up in hows he acts toward me, and I'm going to stand for it. So, it's best we have nothing to do with each other."
When Soli seconds the idea of Sandru telling the dragon story Vigny makes eye contact with her, practically shooting daggers.
She shakes her head slightly at the paladin so as not to be noticed by anyone else, indicating 'NO'.
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"Hyu know, my modder never told me vot she put in et. She calls it Fairie Wine. As far as Hy know, she iz de only vun dot makes et," Gkirkhan answers when asked about the wine.
When he hears the reasons for the confrontation and what had happened, he just shakes his head.
Dem, dot iz messed op. If Hy dought like dot, den Hy vould hate eferybody," Gkirkhan mutters as he pulls out a flask of something that smells like particularly strong rotgut. He downs a swallow before offering the flask to Vigny.
"Iona told me he had sum problems, bot nothing like dis. He keeps dis op den vun day he iz just gonna snap und kill sumbody."
Encouragement and an offer from Gkirkhan and Iona for a drinking contest to get Sandru drunk enough come from all around the camp until the caravan master gives up and finishes off his drink.
"Well, since you're all so keen on hearing this one, the first one to laugh buys a round at the next town," he announces to everyone paying attention. Once everyone had agreed, He launched into his tale.
"I was travelling through the Sanos Forest once when I happened upon a strange sight, goblins having tea," he begins, "goblins normally stay away from those woods, and for good reason. The fey don't take kindly to the little runts, but then again, who does?"
"Hear! Hear!" Shalelu's voice rings out. She grins at Sandru before taking a sip of her drink.
"Well, as you can imagine, things that can mess with their poor little minds spook them, so instead of infesting wherever most people wouldn't dare go after them, they just steer clear of the Sanos Forest altogether, so two of them braving those woods is a rare sight, and let me tell you, I've yet to meet a goblin before or since that enjoyed a Taldane-style cream and tea. Yet there they were chatting on in stuffy Taldane accents, about the only thing that I've run across that improves from a goblin's touch."
Sandru pauses as the chuckles die down, smiling to everyone around as they enjoy the joke.
"Well, I, being the curious fool that I am," to which Koya pipes up with a "Too true!" and a few respond with snickers, "decide to take a closer look and, I swear to you, I saw a bunch of sprites and a tiny white dragon with butterfly wings in all of Shelyn's colors. It looks to me and says, 'Please, won't you join our guests? The tea is delicious and the cream is fresh!' I being me, of course, would rather be with the smaller sprites than the goblins, so I answer, 'Only if I can join with the fey and not the goblins.' The dragon smiles and says, 'of course!' before blowing a cloud of colorful vapors into my face. I felt strange I coughed and close my eyes. When I opened them, I had found that I was all of a foot tall and none of my clothes had shrunk to fit me. The sprites were kind enough to lend me some clothes and the tea was enjoyable, but when Ameiko and my brother come looking for me, all of the fey and the tiny dragon vanish. the goblins ran off once they snapped out of whatever spell had them. Then, I grew from only a foot back to my full height, but again, my clothes didn't follow suit."
Sandru is grinning from ear to ear as he fights to control the laughter shaking his body. Ameiko is in tears as she hangs off of Shalelu's shoulder for support and the elf is having trouble keeping them both upright as a fit of girlish giggles takes her.
"So there I am, naked as the day I was born in front of my brother and one of the prettiest girls I'd ever met and they ask me... They ask me what happened, and I told 'em... I told 'em a Fey-style tea with goblins."
"But... but the funniest part is," Ameiko struggles to get out, "was that he didn't know he'd been branded by Calistrian priestess on the rump. when we asked him... when we asked him when he converted, he said he hadn't and then when we pointed it out, he starts chasing his butt like a dog after his tail! It was hilarious!"
The rest of the caravan erupts into a roar of laughter that continues on for several minutes.
Reiko chuckles at the story, glad that someone else had a tale to tell. It was uncomfortable being the center of the caravan's collective attention. Having heard the other rumor swirling around the camp - Jerukh's clash with Vigny - she attempts to covertly watch the warpriest and withdrawn alchemist... puzzling over what might be the matter.
Vigny takes a couple of nips off Gkirkhan's flask, but she's not really one for harsh liquors.
"Well, it's not something I can talk to him about. He's made that clear." Vigny shrugs. "The caravan isn't big, but if he can live with the situation I can too."
+++++++++++++
Although Sandru's story is a good one, Vigny doesn't enjoy it as much as she might have under different circumstances.
First, she had hoped it wouldn't be told at this time. It would have been an excellent opportunity for her to approach Sandru. She could have asked him one-on-one later to tell her, giving them some time together which wasn't devoted to caravan functions. The guy is always so busy.
Second, Jerukh's appearance in the story sours it for her some. Obviously he and Sandru had spent more time together, and were closer than she had assumed.
Not a bad evening for Vigny, but it could have been better. While she clearly is aware of Jerukh's presence because she scrupulously never comes within a dozen feet of his location, she otherwise shows no sign that she is aware he exists.
"Hy vill tell her," he says after a moment, returning to more pleasant conversation. "Bot if Hy em honest, she does not need de vine to do dot. She iz a very beautiful voman," he tells you a wistful smile on his face. "She vas de vun dot taught me how to deal vit beink vot Hy em. Dere are times Hy miss her, bot Hy know she'd vant me to see the world und write my own tales."
With that, the half-orc clambers out of the wagon and leaves the bottle of Fairy Wine with you.
"A gift, for vun ov de prettiest priestesses Hy haff met."
The tales go long into the night with many of the people in the Caravan getting into the act. Even little Talia tells a story about the time she found a caterpillar and helped it grow into a big butterfly. As the night goes on and both Gkirkhan and Iona get tipsier, they join in the act telling several tales about the adventuring group they were with before. Mueller, as it turned out, was quite the prankster and more than one tale ended with one or both of the other two members of their party with egg on their face, sometimes literally.
Needless to say, the caravan is slow to get started the next morning, not that anyone particularly minded.
The morning after your confrontation with Vigny, you find Yulian approaching you.
"Mornin' Jerukh! Hope your night wasn't too cold after that lover's spat you had yesterday," he say chipperly. The words were said in jest, without the intent to inflame that some might have put into it.
Before Soli really has a chance to hunt down Vigny or Jerukh, Tatiana comes jogging up and tugs on her sleeve.
"Ms. Koya told me to get you and Ms. Reiko. She said she needed your help," the little girl tells her quickly. A few minutes later, both the paladin and the swordswoman are in the caravan that currently has Emiliana in it.
As you enter the wagon, you see that Koya is already inside with a tub of hot water, a change of clothes, and fresh bedding.
"Ah there you are! I'm grateful you both came. Emi here has caught a bad case of the Green Salsa Fever and will be out of it for a while. She's through the worst of it, thankfully, but well," Koya grimaces and that is when you notice the smell of stale sweat.
"Poor Emi needs a bath but Tatiana and I aren't strong enough to hold her up to get her bathed and changed. That's where the two of you come in, so close the door and let's get started," she says.
Reiko eyes the steaming bath with just a bit of envy... before Koya's request filters through. "Of course." She places her katana in an out-of-the-way corner then strips off her outer robe and puts it aside as well. Down to her thin inner robe, she looks over the sick woman, the tub, and the crowded space... trying to work out the logistics of the task. "How should we proceed? Should I just hold her up for undressing and then we can move her to the tub once she's nude?" She chuckles, "Perhaps we should invite Iona to help. She gets very flustered by naked women."
Jerukh looks up from his preparation at Yulian's salutation, nodding a greeting before mulling the meaning;
"Morn... What? Vigny!? She is not my girlfriend. Far from it..."
The tall alchemist almost returned to his tasks, before pausing with a furrowed brow;
"Why would you say this to me? Did it come from those idiots Bevelek and Vankor Dalmuvian?"
His tone, unlike Julian's, is not jovial merely curious and blunt...
"Now, now," Koya says at Reiko's comment, "no need to constantly tease the poor girl." Turning to Soli she adds, "and this isn't the first I've done this. Just do as I say and we'll get her cleaned up in no time."
It takes some work in the cramped confines of the caravan, and a limp unconscious Emi weighs more than one would think, but the two of you do manage to get her into the tub and keep her head above water.
"Normally, I'd talk to my patient but seeing as poor Emiliana is out of it, that seems like it'd get rather dull. Tatiana, though, has some questions for you," Koya says as she begins scrubbing Emi down with some pleasantly scented soap and a cloth.
Suddenly in the spotlight, Tatiana pales and looks off to one side.
"Um, well. I... I wanted to know how you got so brave and strong," she blurts out in a rush that almost jumbles to words beyond recognition.
"Breath, Tatiana. Don't rush your words so much when speaking," Koya tells her as she continues to work.
"It was a joke, but never mind that. Where do you get off calling Sandru's right and left hands jackasses," Yulian says, his tone quickly getting heated as he turns to squarely face you. He scowls to match yours and his eyes are narrow in growing anger.
As the tension rises, people from over the camp grow quiet and watch the growing confrontation with unease.
Reiko glances up from her task, "A good question... and a curiosity I share. You have steel in your soul, Soli. From where does this bravery come?" Any martial student knew how strength was built, so the question was superfluous. But the source of Soli's unwavering spirit was of interest to the ronin as their martial paths were clearly very different.
As Yulian's tone turns sour, Jerukh steps backward but maintains his own frown;
"I do. I am kin to Sandru... I know them, and know their prattle... Jokes are only funny if everyone laughs. I am not laughing at your words Yulian."
As the normally jovial guard squares off up to him, the healer holds his hands up;
"Leave me alone. I care not for your jokes nor threats."
"You wanted to fight monsters and scary stuff? I couldn't be that brave ever," Tatiana says. Her eyes are bright as looks at Soli with awe. Koya gives a chuckle and moves on to scrubbing Emi's back.
"What about you, Reiko? What made you take up the sword," Koya asks, keen eyes looking at the younger woman as if they could see her very soul.
"What threat have I offered you? What have I done to make you so pissed at me? I hardly even know you, so how come you are so quick to judge me and the others," Yulian asks, his voice sharp, but other than to stand and face you squarely, he's done nothing even vaguely threatening.
You can see most of the caravan's member are now watching you, and whispers can be heard flowing under the tension.
The healer frowns at the growing amount of attention the men are receiving and moves to carry on with his tasks as he grumbles a response;
"I heal when called upon. Do you need aid? No. Then leave me alone until you do."
Jerukh then sighs and rubs his temple.
"You are right. You don't know me. I don't know you. Let's keep it that way..."
Yulian just shakes his head and walks on to whatever had delayed him.
In the crowd, you can see Gkirkhan looking at you, anger and pity in his eyes.
Jerukh watches the guard leave with a scowl, then as he meets the furtive gazes he spots Gkirkhan.
The healer locks eyes with his fellow half orc, then breaks away from the warrior's look, keen not to tempt the providence that Iona touched upon...
Instead he busies himself with checking and rechecking of his equipment and supplies.
Reiko considers the vast differences between her story and Soli's. "What made me take up the sword?" She repeats slowly, musing on the most concise answer, "Mud, snakes, a bit of luck, and the generosity of two good men." Knowing that answer wouldn't suffice with the older woman, she expounds. "I was born in servitude. Most of my life was spent thigh high in mud, sowing and reaping rice... and avoiding poisonous snakes. Year after year - rice and snakes. Spend a day wading in the Brinestump and you will know why this is a bad life."
"Then luck came upon me and presented an opportunity - to get out the fields for a few months each year, to learn to read, to study so many things. I grabbed it." She pauses briefly, thinking about those golden days of study before the blood that would follow, "I learned and saw many new things that a laborer with her eyes stuck on a rice paddy never would. There were elegant ladies and noble men - scholars, lords, and warriors... One of the warriors, a samurai, was kind enough to train me in the ways of the sword and take me from the rice fields forever."
"You wanted to fight monsters and scary stuff? I couldn't be that brave ever,"
She eyes the girl levelly. "You have already been that brave. When we were gathering herbs, the Forlarren threatened us. Some said we should leave. You chose to stay and collect the herbs for Koya. That is bravery. Bravery does not exist without fear."
Reiko cocks her head curiously at Soli's response. She wasn't sure what to make of it, except that the freeborn woman had little idea how back-breaking a life of forced labor was. "I don't think I said I lacked courage."
"I don't think that's what she meant," Koya says quickly to defuse any potential hostilities. "I imagine that coming over the Crown of the World and seeing our way of life for the first time was quite the shock. I haven't traveled much beyond the Lost Coast, but I love hearing about other places, Would you mind telling us about where you're from Reiko? I never got the chance to know Roroku and Lonjiku and Ameiko were born here. I suspect that Ameiko is more Varisian than Tian in outlook and temperament. Would you agree?"
Tatiana has to remember to mind what she's doing as she helps, lest her fascination with the two of you cause her to make a mistake or not pay enough attention.
Vigny is up early the next morning, as is usual for her. She finishes her own stuff quickly, then goes to help Sandru and the others get the caravan ready to be underway. This is also becoming the usual for her.
With a little practice and experience she's now getting good at handling the draft animals. It seems she has a bit of a knack for it in fact.
Later on, in the afternoon, she jumps down from her own wagon and runs ahead to catch Sandru's. The wagons are still moving, but it doesn't take much of a sprint to overtake their speed. When she reaches the caravan master's wagon she jumps up and grabs ahold of the driver's seat, pulling the rest of herself up after.
She flops down beside Sandru with a "Hi!" and watches the road ahead for a few minutes before asking "How does our progress look today?"
A little while later she tells him "That was a good story you told last night. I'm bored, tell me another please."
"I'm bored"
Sandru sighs and softly chuckles as you clamber into the driver's seat and ask for another story.
"Why do I feel like you're still nine and not twice that age," he laughs, "Alright, so you want to hear another one of me embarrassing myself in front of Ameiko and my little brother or would you rather hear about all of the magnificent deals that I managed to get the last time I was in Magnimar?"
"Ah, well then, why not tell me a story? I'd love to hear about what you got up to in Sandpoint before I returned," he says.
Reiko frowns at Koya's obvious change of subject, but she politely answers the older woman's questions. "I have spent little time with Ameiko, so I cannot say. From what I have observed, she seems more Varisian than Tian... but I am no expert on the culture of the Tian-Min of Minkai. It is possible their ways are more similar to Varisians than the ways of my people, the Tian-Dan."
"I am from Xa Hoi, one of twenty or so, uh, nations in the Dragon Empire. Xa Hoi is in the southern central part of the Empire. It is humid and tropical. We are just above the Valashmai Jungle - a lawless and trackless jungle filled with monsters. And our neighbor to the west is Nagajor. It is also untamed and mostly populated with the Nagaji... a people that are half-human and half-snake. They are no more evil than most people, but they are unusual."
"But my people believe we have the blood of dragons in our veins... so we should not judge. In fact, the Dragon-Kings have ruled Xa Hoi for three thousand years - from the first Dragon-King Pham Toan Rong to our current lord Pham Duc Quan."
"I think I'd like to see the kingdom you hail from. It sounds like an interesting place, though I suppose any place you've never visited can be interesting," Koya says as she finishes scrubbing Emi down and moves on to washing her long hair.
"Dragon's are kings where you're from," Tatiana asks, awestruck and wide-eyed.
