"Amazing." Leon says with a grin, only wasting a moment on being impressed before his adaptive pragmatism took in the new situation.
Giving a few quick directions to the newly healed group, he pointed out where they had gear and supplies staged to leave.
Somberly he looked to Endrian and Ithriel. "I suppose all that's left to do before we leave is hold funeral services."
"I have already given the fallen my peoples blessing." Turns to Endrian, "Is there any ceremony that you wish to perform my young friend?"
Leylyn starts to play a requiem for the dead on her flute.
Baster intones a somber humming chant to the dead, martial in tone, following the rythm of Leylyn's dirge.
In this song echo the shouts of the men and women warring in countless battles across the centuries, swords clanging against shields, arrows whistling paeans of death, horses screaming, like a hoary tapestry of sound woven from the final cries of woe and relief of the warriors, when at last they let go and departed the living shores and their sufferings for soothing realms of oblivion beyond the mortal ken.
In this song echoes the lamentation of the living, of the parents, friends and lovers who surrendered their beloved to earth's cold embrace.
It is a sad song. It is an enduring song. It is the hushed but persistent murmur of life giving its due - nothing more and nothing less - to Death.
Endrian walks among the graves, reciting the funeral rites he knows so well "Eveldine grant unto our fallen brethren eternal rest. May they find themselves in your embrace. Welcome them into life eternal with peace and forgiveness, knowing that they lived their lives to honor you."
He then turns back to the group, "We may leave now."
Leon walked at the head of the column letting those more suited handle the scouting. He was quiet and tried to keep his eyes scanning the horizon, but he was feeling introspective.
If anyone had told me a year ago what my life would be today, I'd have laughed in their face. Hope gone. The farm gone. Traveling with elves and dwarves. Befriending bug-eyed madmenn who command things out of nightmares. Facing dragons. Falling out of the sky. This is madness. What am I doing here?
Blinking, he glanced back at Ithriel. How in the world did he figure out where we needed to go to get on track again? He's mostly blind. How'd he even figure out which way north was? I guess that's no more amazing than knitting flesh with a touch. I don't think I'll ever get used to this.
Sighing he laughed to himself. Just my luck I finally buy the horse of my dreams and then I'm separated from him the next day. And then I have to walk through the middle of nowhere with a hundred pounds on my back.
"Well this is turning out to be an interesting trip, wouldn't you say Leon?" Endrian says to Leon, as if trying to lighten the mood from the previous night and mornings happenings.
"That's an understated way of putting it." Leon says with a half-amused nod.
"Adventures seem a lot more exciting when you read them in books. From the inside they're basically just miserable."
"Yeah, can't remember the last time my arse was this sweaty. Who knew that fancy armor was so uncomfortable?" Jevon says pulling at his leather breeches trying to create some breathing room.
"Why do think I wear these?" Tim calls from somewhere up ahead.
"You know, it's something that I think I've just gotten used to..."
"welp, that's what I'm here for. Morale support! Not sure if it is a good idea to so anything too noisy right now, but I can play some music, sing some songs, tell some jokes, or other things. And don't worry about the adventuring stuff. Once this is all done, I'll weave out all the boring real adventure stuff and replace it with the cool adventuring stuff. Although I might keep the part about Jevon's sweaty arse, you know, for comedy's sake!" Leylyn says, as happy and chipper as ever, despite all that has happened.
The route out of the valley is long. The rains gone, replaced by dazzling sunlight.
Jevon attempts to blaze a trail, but after a few moments finds that his heart's just not in it. He wanders listlessly next to Leon. I wish Koldie was here.... He looks a bit glum compared to normal.
Jevon attempts to blaze a trail, but after a few moments finds that his heart's just not in it. He wanders listlessly next to Leon. I wish Koldie was here.... He looks a bit glum compared to normal.
Ithriel carries what he can and stays close to Leon and the rest. After Leylyn's comment, he chimes in, "I look forward to hearing it when this is all over. By Eveldine's grace, I pray we are close enough to the caravan that it doesn't take too long."
Endrian begins looking at the sky,watching the movement of the sun and marking the route they are taking by scratching trees with an arrow tip, realising he may not be the best at following a trail but making sure he is doing his bit to help out.
Baster has chosen to be at the trail of the column for this journey.
Trusting those ahead to find their way through the wild landscape, he busies himself by looking regularly at the rear and to the left and right of the column, intent on spotting any potential enemies before they close on the Seekers.
He endures the heat of his scale mail armor baking under the sun's rays without complaining, although he has put his visored helmet away, tying him onto his sword belt, where it clangs lightly following the steady rythm of the walk.
Ithriel gets a sudden urge about which is the proper direction they should be going, and informs Leon.
Leon nods and changes course, not even bothering to ask the blind elf how he knew what direction anything was in, let alone the right one.
Thanks to both Tim and Ithriel, the groups makes fair pace through the forest, yet the end is still far.
Not long after informing Leon his intuit directions, Ithriel has another vision.
"Leon, I believe we proceed in a west-north-west direction."
Leon does not ask. He simply smiles and adjusts the heading of the column.
"So, Ithriel, how do you know where to go?" Leylyn asks curiously.
"He follows the sound of my footsteps!" Tim jokes from up ahead, speaking a bit louder to be heard.
"He doesn't know ! He just makes it up as we go !" Baster shouts from the rear of the column with pretend sarcasm.
The Elf turns to Leylyn and replies, "Elven intuition and the grace of Eveldine, my child. I was raised in a forest you know. If there is one thing most Elves know, it's how to survive in the wilderness for periods of time."
"He follows the sound of my footsteps!" Tim jokes from up ahead, speaking a bit louder to be heard.
"Really?"
"He doesn't know ! He just makes it up as we go !" Baster shouts from the rear of the column with pretend sarcasm.
"Really, really?"
The Elf turns to Leylyn and replies, "Elven intuition and the grace of Eveldine, my child. I was raised in a forest you know. If there is one thing most Elves know, it's how to survive in the wilderness for periods of time."
"...Thats cool and all, But I think I'm going to pretend it is a mix of what Tim and Baster said. It's funnier that way!: ;P Leylyn teases Ithriel.
"I can't decide if those two have uncanny hearing or if her voice just doesn't care much about little things like distance..." Leon says quietly to Ithriel.
The Elf smiles slightly. "I tend to believe the latter."
"Aww, Leo~ Ithy~ I think that is the most diplomatic way anyone has every used to call me loud!" Leylyn laughs.
Leon can't help but laugh.
With Ithriel's survival tips, you manage to make it out of the valley, leaving mysterious dead bear carcasses behind.
Before you lie two choices.
Either you take the longer but safer road and join up on the route your other Seekers would take or you can try and take a shortcut through a few valleys to reach the final destination first.
As the group stops walking, Baster trots along and up the length of the column, until he joins Leon, Ithriel and the others at the head of the procession.
He gazes at the landscape stretching before him and his companions.
"There" he says, pointing to a direction "is the route to join the other Seekers and the caravan. Am I right, Ithriel ?"
"And there" he points in another direction without waiting for an answer from the Elf "is the route to our final destination."
The Peacock knight begins walking on the path to the final destination.
"It looks like we will be the first ones to reach the site for the search of the Grail."
As he walks, he adjusts his sword at his belt, so that it doesn't entangle itself in his scorpion whip's coils.
"Most fitting" he simply says.
Ithriel looks at Baster and says, "While it may be true we would be the first ones there, I recommend we head back to the caravan." Sweeping his arm towards the group behind them, he continues, "The only supplies we have, are the ones we salvaged from the wreck. And, more importantly, given the array of enemies we have fought in the past days, it would be prudent to have a larger force backing us, in case there are anymore..... big surprises." The Elf's mind flashed back to his vision of the dragon. Turning to the rest of the group, he asks, "What say the rest of you?"
"Meh." is all Jevon manages. He paces listlessly while the others deliberate, kicking at clods of dirt and grass.
"Going back to the caravan makes the most sense, especially with all of the other soldiers here with us. Buuuuuut, getting to the final destination before the others would be totally bad ass and totally in our style. Choices, choices..."
"I thought you were a daring girl, Leylin ! Does the thought of stretching your legs... you know, for a few miles... frighten you that much ?" Baster taunts the bard from ahead on the road, without turning to see if the other Seekers follow him.
"Puh!" Leylyn scoffs at Baster, pretending to do her nails rather than look at him. "Please. daring is my middle name. Leylyn Daring Rhydoc." Leylyn says following Baster's lead. "...And nothing frightens me, Sir Baster, least of all stretching my legs!"
"We should head for our destination first so we can scout it out maybe even ambush our enemies, or even set up fortifications for when the rest of the seekers arrive."
Tim jogs up past Baster and again becomes point.
As Baster, Leylyn, and Tim go beyond the edge of Ithriel's sight, he turns to Leon and asks, "They're heading towards our destination aren't they?" The Elf sighs and shakes his head. As he turns to follow, he sees Endrian. A grim expression crosses his face briefly, then he continues on down the road.
As Leylyn follows his lead, Baster can't help but grin - unobtrusively.
"Looks that way." Leon said with a shrug. "I guess it makes a certain amount of sense. We don't know exactly where the rest of the force is, but we do know where they are headed. Taking the other route might put us behind them if they've made good time. Not real reason not to take the route straight to where we were headed in the first place. It's not like this way is any more or less dangerous than that way, right?"
"Sounds good to me. Lets go get revenge on whoever's been messin' with us." Jevon says, moving to follow Baster.
"That's the spirit! Lets show the bad guys whose boss!"
"We must make haste to the Grail!" Endrian declares.
"For surely Eveldine has guided our course thus far. We must be bold friends, let us go to our destination!"
Endrian follows Baster, striding with rediscovered purpose.