"What? Horses are great Tai, I love horses. Always wanted one, but hard to justify keeping a horse on a student's grant. Isn't that right Glitterhoof?"
She feeds the horse another biscuit and strokes its face
"Horses can be much like dogs. Treat them well and they can be righteous beasts who will not let you down even when you are down in the dumps. Not like cats who are vicious conniving creatures only out for their own hedonistic pleasure. Let's mount up and be away. Daylight is burning." Cyrus remarks as he saddles up.
"Ok, I'll name you.. Glitterhoof."
The horse enjoys Shea's attempts to please him, but isn't particularly impressed.
"Not like cats who are vicious conniving creatures only out for their own hedonistic pleasure. (...)"
- - -
"Don't be afraid of them, lad... Riding is easy." says the care-taker. "Just feed them well and treat them nicely... And They will take you the edge of the world and back again without complaint."
How creative... Well... At least it'll never forget where it came from.
The care-taker helps you saddle your animals of choice and writes down your names on a small brown notebook he pulled from his pocket.
"Have good ride, folk." he says. Shortly before you leave, he runs after you and adds: "Oh! I almost forgot! The message from Lord Krieger mentioned that you should head to the North Gate!"
After saying those words, he says farewell again and leaves, running back to to the stables.
Tai uneasily hops onto his good steed Jinguan's back and just as uneasily rides toward the north gate.
"The sooner we leave, the sooner we arrive, as they say."
"I should hope so! Otherwise something has gone horribly wrong!" Cyrus chuckles as he kind of just throws himself onto the side of the horse and crawls to an upright position upon it.
Shea gets a saddle put on her horse and jumps on too.
"Hiya! Lets go glitterhoof!"
You trot your way to the North Gate... Waiting by its side is Alvarez, who waves at you once he notices your approach.
"Ah, good morning, my friends!" he greets you. "As expected, you decided to take Lady Reyes' offer. Admirable... So it's a good thing I have something that might help you in your travels!"
He throws a heavy sack at Brother Cyrus hands. Examining its interior, the Paladin finds it contains a large number of gems and gold coins.
"It's the monetary part of your payment." Alvarez adds. "I'll still testimony in your favor, should you indeed go to trial. Good luck, and safe journey!"
"Our thanks, Mr.Alvarez. I wish you and your enterprises the best. Perhaps we'll speak again soon."
Shea finishes counting her share and scoops it into her bag of holding.
"Happy to be a help, and if you need to help of a powerful master of magecraft again, I'm one sending away!"
she said, snapping her finger and causing a puff of glitter.
Tai inclines his head and gladly accepts his share of the gold.
"A pleasure working with you Mr. Alvarez. Though I think you mean you'll 'testify in our favor' or perhaps 'provide testimony'."
The closest marked location on the map is the one subtitled "Queen Bel-Ha". Assuming the map is correctly scaled, it should be around 150 miles from Blue Shell. The map shows a crude road going up to about half that distance. Along the way there are two small villages, unnamed in the map.
Since you're travelling light, it should take 3 or 4 days to get there without pushing yourselves or the animals.
Cyrus' inherent niceness rubs off on all his interactions and is pretty good with animals by nature.
Tai sways and bobs on his steed, Jinguan, and tried (and fails) to avoid looking uncomfortable.
Shea isn't much of a rider, but she's good with animals. She spends most of the ride braiding Glitterhoof's mane and rambling to her companions.
You ride for about 8 hours... The horses are slightly faster than normal horses, and remain relatively fresh. You figure they could go for at least another 4 hours, although that would leave less time for rest and making camp. If you push them, it wouldn't be pleasant for the animals, but it'd be possible to reach the first village in the road before the end of the day.
"We should find a place to stop and set up camp, let's find like a river or pond so Glitterhoof and the others can get a drink. We should not overwork the horses, I'll make us some tea."
"4 days there, 4 days back, gives us two days to find the priest, Plenty of time! No need to work the horses too hard, We might need to make a quick getaway!"
Tai disagrees.
"We need to hedge our bets against not finding him at our current destination. There's at least one other location to check out after this, which is in the other direction."
"It may be best to push on a bit further today so we can travel at a slower pace the next few days if there are any unexpected delays."
"I'm not confident in my riding but Tai Leng is right. Perhaps we can lessen the burden on the animals by walking aside them some of the time as well. Although, Miss Reyes neglected to mention why she needed him back within 10 days. If fate is against us, I am more concerned about making sure Ritto is safe."
"Fair enough, Tea will have to wait then. Off to save Ritto!"
You pass a few travelers going the opposite way. Most of them traders or farmers. A few even offer you a short greeting and tip their hats, some compliment your horses, but the majority of them pretty much ignores you.
4 hours later, the horses finally start showing fatigue... It's still possible to push them further, although that would enter "Forced March" territory.
The map indicates a small village ahead. Pushing the animals could get you there before the end of the day... Makes for a more comfortable night of sleep, but requires a difficult ride for both you and the horses.
Night has fallen. Sounds of crickets and owls permeate the air. The stars are clearly visible and the full moon shines pale. Whatever you decide, you'll have to commit to your decision. This being late Autumn, night is likely to be rather cold, but not unberably so.
You can see the stars far ahead are somewhat blurred, indicating clouds gathering. It's possible you'll face rain on the upcoming days.
"Let's stop for the night. I've heard it's pretty easy for a horse to break a leg when riding at night." And with that, Cyrus looks for a reasonably clear spot next to the road and flicks a small bead onto the ground that sprouts into a smokeless campfire. He ties the horses down with some rope and pitons before doing some stretches to shake off the stiffness of horseback riding.
Afterwards, Cyrus rolls out his sleeping bag and sets to heating up his travel rations a bit before digging in.
I already miss the Mad Shark. The paladin thinks to himself as he glances up at the night sky above.
Then again, getting out from the city has it's own appeal as well.
"Tomorrow, we'll be able to push the horses further. I'll beseech Desna to speed our way."
Tai doesn't bother to eat anything when there's no delicious meal waiting for him, and decides to just meditate most of the night.
Shea pulls forth from her Bag of holding, A pot and Both a chair and a small end table she "borrowed" from the academy. Using water from her skin to heat up a pot of tea Offering it to anyone who wanted some, before retiring to her chair for the evening.
"I don't often rough it like this, I'm like a wild person."
She said sipping from her Teacup.
"So are we doing Watches? I got some magic that can help."
"I require very little sleep, so as long as someone covers the first couple of hours I can keep watch the rest of the night."
"That's relieving. Then I'll keep watch right now while you two get some rest and Tai can cover for us the rest of the night. Thanks again." Cyrus finishes off the rest of his rations before clapping his hands together to get the crumbs of a biscuit off.
During his watch, Cyrus reads from his holy book in between short bouts of circling around the campsite.
Shea only needs two hours of sleep thanks to her ring, so she just stays up with Cyrus, Sipping tea and reading by magical light.
"So, Who is it you worship?"
She probably knows who he worships by his Idols and holy symbol, but She's trying to make small talk, She does not know a lot about her companions afterall.
"I am not beholden to any god in particular. All the gods have their place in this great balancing act that is creation. Even some of the less than...Good ones. It is better to pay respect to each of their spheres of influence lest you anger one." Cyrus holds his holy symbol, a small decorative chalice with a snake entwined around it. It is not unlike a simple charm on a silver necklace worn around his neck.
After some chit-chat, you have a quick meal, then go to bed after your respective watch shifts.
The night is chilly, as late Autumn is expected to be, but not unbearably so. The sleeping bags keep you warm enough and a full stomach makes it easier to fall asleep.
You take first watch and looks after your sleeping companions for a few hours, after which Tai Leng takes your place.
You dream of easier times, before being forcefully tied and thrown into that boat to Blue Shell... Now you have to deal with otyughs, well spirits, mechanical men, giant bonfires in the horizon, spiteful noble families... Such a mess!
- - -
The night is dark and chilly, but quiet. So quiet, in fact, that you can't help but feel a bit suspicious about it, but doesn't let your imagination mislead you. After an hour or so, you hear a sound... But it comes from inside your camp! You turn around as fast as you can... But there's no intruder.
Shea is awake. Sitting in her sleeping bag.
- - -
You stare at the bonfire. The flames dance orange, then red... blue... and finally, violet. Suddenly, they explode and expand, enveloping all that you can see. You remain calm, almost oblivious to the phenomenon.
The flames start flickering more and more slowly, as if time itself had slow down... At some point, without you realizing, the flames became mist.
The world around you a deep, deep forest... So thick with trees and high grass you can barely see the lilac-colored stars forming unknown constellations in the night sky.
You suddenly turn to you right, as if startled by something, but still feel calm. Nothing unusual. A few feet to your right, a pair of tall translucent creatures vaguely humanoid-shaped creatures stare at the dark forest surrounding you.
One of them turns to you, slowly. It "speaks" to you. No sound is produced, but you still hear the words in your mind.
"Sonnor... Hash gni nem tut orbus!"
At the same time, it points at the where the creatures were looking. Your gaze follows the direction, and somehow, you see through the trees and grass and rocks. They are no more of a barrier to your sight than fogged glass. In the distance, you see fire. A lot of it. Towering over the trees, enveloping a number of shadowy objects. At its very center, something roars.
The translucent creature calls you attention.
"Iar!" it shouts in your mind. Then hesitates for a moment, before shouting again, even louder: "Go!"
With that, the world around you disappears in a whirlwind of mist, flames and lilac-colored stars.
You open your eyes startled, still in your sleeping bag. The night is still dark. A couple yards to your right, Brother Cyrus sleeps on his own "bed". Without thinking, you hastily sit up.
About 20 ft from you, Tai Leng calmly patrols the edge of your camp, then quickly turns to look at you when he hears you moving.
The wind whistles as Brother Cyrus sleeps and Tai Leng and Shea momentarily stare at each other's face.
Horses snore... In the distance, an orange light glows from behind the tree line.
Shea wakes up from her chair, shaking away that wierd dream, It was a dream right.
She first tries to assess herself, She learned that sometimes the magically inclined prophetic dreams, She's never had one before though, How exciting. She tries to recall what she knows about Prophecy and the like.
She then decides to scan for magical aura's just in case, perhaps something was casting a spell on her. Perhaps the dream was literal, She looks at the distance for signs of fire.
"Hey Tai, I'm going to go check something out."
Shea starts casting a spell, Her body shrinking into the form of an Owl. She flies into the sky to look around for fires or shadowy people, or anything else suspicious. Flying straight up and then strafing above the camp in an widening circle for the full 9 minuet duration before landing back in camp.
Flying around 300 ft above your camp, Shea can see in the distance a small village, perfectly fine and quiet. Further down the road, there's a large building that looks like a relatively small stone-walled fort... Further away in the distance, pillars of flame rise above the trees, painting the horizon with a bright orange hue.
Tai opens one eye as Shea announces she's leaving, then closes it again and shrugs.
The crazy one is doing something strange again. I wonder what she gets out of it?
Cyrus rolls over. Lightly snoring as he finds cool night air very good for his sleep.
Dream!Cyrus clinks cups with a few of his fellow dockworkers as they relax with a game of cards atop one of the dockside warehouses. He stares out across the horizon at the strange burning fires in the distance.
Well that's odd.
Shea swoops down to the camp and poofs back into a person.
"Somthing is going on, there is like huge flaming pillars in the distance, like the wratch of gods. We should get moving."
She points the direction the flames Are.
Tai opens one eye again and frowns.
"Flaming pillars, are you sure? Not a forest fire or something?"
"Big spears of fire that reached up higher than the trees, Yes!"
Shea dramatically waves her arms around.
A few more hours go by, and the sun rises on the horizon. Far, far away in the distance, you can barely see a smoke trail rising in the sky.
The horses whinny and softly, but repeatedly stomp the ground, demanding food.
Brother Cyrus yawns awake and stretches his arms. He shifts slowly into a kneeling position of prayer and gives thanks to the new morning.
"I thank thee Desna, Shepard of Trails, for seeing us through under thy stars. I plea of thine generosity to lengthen our step and grant succor when our feet fall heavy. I give thanks to the friends you have brought me to and of the friends I have yet to meet." Cyrus murmurs quietly to himself. He stands slowly and finishes his prayer.
"Under thine gazes, I stand knowing no fear for thine wills shalt be done and my path 'tis clear. Praise the Divines."
Finally taking stock of the situation, Cyrus glances at the smoke in the distance.
"Huh...I wonder what that smoke is coming from." He straps his armor on and breaks his fast quickly.
"Let's get moving again. We should be able to go much further today."