Baknarla nods and looks about at the dense forest of pine trees. She had no desire to enter this weird structure and seems somewhat relieved that Corrleon has chosen to stay behind with her.
<This is a good place.> she says. <Lots of trees for shelter and fire. Lots of food to hunt if we need it. We will not be cold nor hungry but I hope they do not stay long, my people suffer by the day.>
She falls into step beside the Triaxian, her paws moving easily through the packed snow.
<You have found yourself in strange and prodigious company. Even with the loss of two of their number they forge on. Brave. Brave and foretold.>
"Brave, yes, but burdened as well. They are bound to the path they walk and they cannot turn away from it, no matter the losses they suffer. It is both admirable and tragic."
As the pair make their way into the wood, Corrleon displays no small amount of savvy as they forage for food and materials and a shelter, the Triaxian showing that his years beyond Spurhorn's walls were not spent in lazy comfort.
"Tell me of your people, Baknarla. Yrax has taken the land from your people, this I know, but how else do they suffer? If there is anything more I can do for them apart from this assault upon the warlord, I would like to."
Greyston shrugs off his satchel and thick furs and begins to step forward slowly. All the fight has left him, even something so out of place that would have scared him before is nothing to a man who just doesn't care anymore. "Another enemy, another friend of Baba Yaga. How can you tell the difference. I don't care if it kills me or saves me."
"Ah, Taldan. Excuse me. I have been trapped in this room ...I don't know how long. I ..." she looks at her withered hands. "I have been cursed to follow or find the Baba Yaga, but after I entered the hut I found myself in a room with no exits."
Elleross listens carefully weighing this strange old woman’s words, how long had she been stuck here? If indeed she has been trapped.
My name is Elleross, you say you are cursed to find Baba Yaga, that is something we have in common.
You say you don’t know how long you have been here? How old were you when you first became trapped? he asks still wary of her
"Twenty-two. I ...do not believe I have been here long enough for ...this ...." she indicates her aged skin. "The curse ...you say you have it, too? I was with a group ...a samurai, a ninja, and a powerful sorcerer. We found a portal ...we met an envoy ...but ...I lost them ...lost them all ...stuck in this room ..."
Elleross can’t quite believe what he is hearing , was it possible Baba Yagas riders had sent more than one group to find their mistress? He supposed it made sense
time like many things inside this hut is not always a constant, I suggest you start at the beginning and tell us your tale and then we will tell you ours . I suspect we may have more in common than the curse. he says and as he looks at the frail aged human he wonders if this is what the curse does to you, should you stop or stray from the search.
The woman sighs. ”Very well. There were five of us, pulled from across the nations of Tian Xia. From Minkai there was the samurai Kazuo Koike, an executioner-turned-assassin of great strength and greater valor. Ichi No Zoro-me was a silent master of ninjitsu whose face was never seen and voice was never heard. From Po Li came Lian Nishang, the White-Haired Witch Bride, a powerful but unpredictable arcane force. Fang Kang hailed from Quain, and though he had only one arm, his mastery of martial arts and chi was unparalleled. And of course, there was me, Nishimura Shurakasai. I am a priestess of Yabu, a volcano god often seen as evil, but who saved my small island from the brutal patriarchy by burning all the evil men to death.
“We were called together by the Jade Regent because of unseasonable weather in Minkai near his capital. Where it should have been summer heat, the bitter cold of winter plagued the land. We had been brought together before when problems arose no single one of us could handle. Though this winter was mysterious, we were not prepared for how serious things got. We defeated a few winter monsters and encountered a herald of this Baba Yaga, who had gone missing. We entered the hut and were transported ...to a place I cannot explain. We were beset upon by a coven of winter witches, who corrupted Lian Nishang, bringing out her most destructive and monstrous side. She paralyzed Fang Kang, and, unable to access his chi, he was killed by a spear of ice. Kazuo sacrificed himself and stayed behind to hold them off. Ichi No Zoro-me and I made a mad dash for the hut, hoping to pick Kazuo and perhaps even Lian up, but we were separated in the horrible weather. When I entered the hut, I found myself in this room ...but without doors or windows. And here I have been, using my magics to keep me fed and watered. I do not know how long it was ...I fear I was approaching madness. Now, here we are.
“I have told my tale as best as I can. Who are you, now?”
Corum follows the others into the hut and suppressed a shudder as he contemplates the strange corridor. He makes the sign of the protective horn over his heart, draws his sword and walks forward with the group.
When Greyston opens the door to reveal a wizened figure he immediately thinks Witch and crouches ready to pounce.
Elleross listens to the clerics all too familiar tale, it is almost the same as their own. The only difference was that they had not lost everything, not yet anyway.
As she speaks part of his mind is elsewhere, researching everything he knows about her homeland, her deity and her jade regent.
a tragic tale and unfortunately one all too familiar to ourselves. We are also from a land blighted by winter and we too have curses and set upon the same path , to find Baba Yaga. he says and he begins to tell her their own tragic tale of loss and struggle.
As the tale is told Corum relaxes. There is no obvious threat so he sheath his blade. " like us then. Bound to the witch's curse. Sounds like you had it bad. Losing your friends."
His eyes mist over then as he holds back his own sorrow. "We lost people too. Made in, Sapphire and Lucrezzia. But we fight on. We have no other choice."
"Brave, yes, but burdened as well. They are bound to the path they walk and they cannot turn away from it, no matter the losses they suffer. It is both admirable and tragic."
As the pair make their way into the wood, Corrleon displays no small amount of savvy as they forage for food and materials and a shelter, the Triaxian showing that his years beyond Spurhorn's walls were not spent in lazy comfort.
"Tell me of your people, Baknarla. Yrax has taken the land from your people, this I know, but how else do they suffer? If there is anything more I can do for them apart from this assault upon the warlord, I would like to."
That is kind of you, but it seems like you are already doing enough. Baknarla says with a smile, her slips curling back and showing a row of sharp, yellow teeth. My people are greatly tied to the land here, these are ancient, ancestral places.
We are finding that are old and young are becoming sick. she shrugs. Many of the Shaman believe it is just because we are struggling in the wilds now in unfamiliar ice fields - but I believe it is because our spirits are disconnected from those of our ancestors.
We need to go home. she adds sadly.
"Perhaps now that I am freed, we can join our hunts together. I hope that will do something about this ...condition I find myself in."
Greyston looks on at the almost mummified woman before him the curse enacting its punishment. "That is a sad tale, Nishimura Shurakasai." Throwing out his normal etiquette he just walks closer to her, studying her. " My name's Greyston Fenris. How do you feel? The curse has ravished you but doesn't seem to kill you. Any idea how long you have been like this?"
"I would assume if you were able to continue the curse you would regain your former strength as you said." He pushes forward with his observation as he has to try and forget, he wants to busy himself.
"It is good to meet you, Fenris-san. I feel ...weakened. I had no way to keep track of time while I was trapped. It has been weeks at least. Do any of you need healing? I've not been able to remove my curse but I still get powers from Lord Yabu."
Corrleon nods, the ridges along his ears falling flat, giving the gesture gravity and weight. "Well then, perhaps with Yrax's fall we can give your people the edge they need to reclaim your home." His tone is solemn and he lets the words hang as he prods the heart of their small campfire with a long stick.
What about you? Will you go home after you have helped the ones who were foretold? Baknarla asks
Corrleon inhales stiffly at the question, exhaling slowly as he considers it. "I do not yet know. The path they walk is a bitter one and my heart breaks for the burdens they bare. I have been praying since the day after our paths first crossed for guidance and direction from Apsu, but-" he lets the sentence fall to silence with a shake of his head and a shrug. "Finding the path he wishes you to walk is not like opening a book and turning to some random page, nor like looking up and seeing it written in the clouds across the sky. Similarly, he rarely speaks through prophetic dreams or visions. It is-" he hesitates, looking for proper words, "it is more like following the needle of a compass. The nearer you are to the destination, the stronger the needle's pull toward it." He nods, satisfied with the analogy, "I will continue to at least walk beside these travelers, and when Yrax is broken and toppled, perhaps the needle will pull more strongly toward one way than another. Until then, I will help whom I may."
you are fortunate to be alive Nishimura, trapped here without any provisions, it seems Yabu has not forsaken you. Your divine link to your deity has kept you alive long enough for us to to find you.
or for the hut to deliver you to us, it is more than coincidence that we lose our friends and likely would not succeed on our own and now we find her
Elleross wonders at the powers at work here and he hates the witches all the more.
The curse has advanced rapidly within you, I do not think it would have taken much longer for it to consume you utterly. Hopefully you are correct, if you come with us...rejoin the quest for Baba Yaga , you may well be restored he says as he motions for her to follow them
we are all hurting, but that can wait, let us get you out of this damned place. he says as he turns to lead them out
Corum idly wipes some blood away from his eyes and casually says "Nice as it is to make new friends, unless any of you have some potions or spells to stop me bleeding..." He leaves the hint hang in the air.
"The heat of Yabu's Rage can heal much more if you need it. Someone mentioned an object central to this quest...?"
The big warrior feels antingling warmth as the newcomer calls on her strange god for the power to heal. Several wounds close up, the flesh itching as it fuses together but he still bears many deep cuts.
He nods in respect and smiles warmly. "If you can do that again you and I are going to be firm friends. I took a few lumps from those wyrm out there."
He pauses then laughs "Gave them a few too though!"
Greyaton hangs on for dear life as the dragon sets off. Spotting the hut he lets out a slight sigh of relief, thankful it's still there and maybe feeling slightly at home.
Jumping off the dragon he wipes himself down. "Thank you for the lift." He shakes uncontrollably for a second as cold hits him. "We should get in, Corrleon should be ok to join us in the main room correct?" He says half remembering what the hut does to those, not in Baba Yagas employment.
"We might be able to help you Nishimura, but not here." He takes a look around the room again, he had wanted none of this he had wanted just a moment a single moment to mourn his dead friends.
"Let's just leave and try and find the central room, that might help maybe any movement in this quest will bring you back." While he just needed some time alone he was still interested in how the curse worked, he stares at the woman as she moves about in his old age.
He turns and opens the door they came in.
More healing magic washes over him and Corum smiles broadly. He claps the newcomer on the back and says "Thank you. Greyston is right. If We can help you we will.though I understand nothing of this bloody witch magic."
Greyston opens the door and finds it leads directly outside. He is hit in the face by a blast of frigid air as he looks out across the tundra.
Greyston is hit with a sinking feeling. "It leads outside there is no way to get to the central room." He curses to himself, but seeing how the curse works has shaken him even more.
"Nishimura, if you wish to be restored you'll have to come with us out there." He points out to the cold wastes. "We're still moving forward, the never-ending pull keeps us moving it seems to be the only way for us now."
once we are outside we can try to re enter the hut Elleross says as they make their way back to the entrance
with any luck when we re open the door the hut will have re configured itself and the cauldron room will re appear
As the group leaves, Nishimura's eyes and mouth go wide at their surroundings. "This much winter ...where are we? When are we?!"
As Elleros suspected, the door opens and instead of the dark, featureless corridor, Elleros is greeted by the warmth of the perpetual fire burning merrily in the hearth of the sitting room.
The Cauldron sits at the centre, bubbling away.
thank the gods for small mercies he mutters as he sees the hut has reverted back
Turning to the frail priestess he motions for her to re enter the hut
I am afraid we are a long long way from your homeland Nishimura, please come back inside and we will explain everything . Hopefully once you are restored he says as he leads them back inside the hut.
He can see the strange two headed eagle is still where they left it and he lifts it off the side table and returns to Nishimura
here is the latest piece of Baba Yagas puzzle, I am hoping it may help to reverse the curse . Take it he says as he offers her the eagle
Elleros finds that the two-headed eagle has transformed into a small porcelain statuette. Unmistakably the same in shape, size and form
Placing the two-headed eagle statuette in Nishimura's hand, she feels a sudden swell of warmth running along her arm and enveloping her body. At the same time, the compulsion to find Baba Yaga - so recently like a storm in her mind - begins to recede to that of merely a swell.
She finds her back straightening and her knees becoming unbowed and as the others look on the face of a decrepit old woman is replaced by that of one generations younger.
"Mother's Magma! I'm back!"
Greyston moves to the side of the room. It was nice to just be somewhere more friendly, but he doubted it would last long.
"Well... That sorts that." He looks on as the woman is transformed before him, taking out his notebook and making a few quick scratches at the paper. "This curse... It's interesting." He says sounding interested, passionate about something it had been so long he looked like a new man. "How long did you say you were in that room Nishimura?"
"I'm afraid I don't know. I soon lost all bearing as to time or day, Fenris-san."