"What does it sound like?" Kasha asks, looking up at Lia as she stands, seeing the twisting, scintillating aurora reaching down for her, the shamaness rises to stand beside her, taking her hand.
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"It sounds like..." Lia starts before she reaches out a hand. The aurora touches her fingers and begins to entwine with them. A breeze flows between the two of you, rustling through the trees like an exhaled breath.
"...yes. Yes, I hear you." She whispers as the aurora caresses her. It doesn't sound like she's talking to you.
Another gust of wind swirls around the two of you, kicking up some loose snow. This time you think you can make out a couple of words. "...healed... ...pain..."
The twirling colour slides around Lia's hand. She doesn't say anything, but she turns to you with wide eyes filled with wonder and more than a bit of fear.
Her eyes are starting to twinkle--not with unshed tears, but with stars.
It was a beauiful sight above, not anyone was really around, for once Kavell acted like a besot young man and not a proper paragon of virtue.
"well i think we can at least match them in that love."
He whispered in her ear with a grin as his hands moved in some very ungentlemanly places. In the morning he would see if he could speak with her parents on other things. In the morning of course. He intended to spend the night not worried about anything but the gorgeous woman in his arms.
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The sheer beauty of seeing Lia communing with the spirits of the stars, fills Kasha with awe, and joy watching the light of wonder in her eyes. "Don't be afraid, embrace it....I'll be right here with you."
Kelda growls and starts to get into it, but stops after a bit.
"Right here?" Her eyes are darting nervously about. "You're not serious, are you?"
-------------------
Lia blinks and swallows before turning back to the lights caressing her.
Another breeze flows between the two of you like a sigh, bringing with it a few words you can overhear. "...a pact..."
"...between us?" Lia asks. "Well..."
A tear runs down her cheek. "...what do you need me to do?"
The aurora stretches out to encompass her other hand. The colours shift from a brilliant red to a soothing blue, bleeding into green. "Learn." The wind--or perhaps the light--whispers. "Live. Care."
A strand of green light touches your hand. "Teach." The light whispers in your ear. "Guide. Care."
The half-elf looks out across the cityscape, pondering for a moment. "...I don't want to hurt anymore. And I don't want to keep wandering through life without purpose. I want to be more than who I am now... a better person."
She looks up into the sky, her resolve set. "I beseech you, give me purpose."
In response, the aurora's colours brighten and pale until they are all a luminous white, tethering itself to the apprentice shaman's hands and suffusing her entire body with its wondrous glow. For a moment, the entirety of Lia's body is bled of all colour and her eyes fill with a black, yawning void.
The moment passes swiftly, her colours and eyes flowing back into her as the aurora begins to recede. Lia blinks her eyes several times and looks down at her hands.
Cradled in her arms is... a bunny. A bunny with plush white fur and dark spots and stripes reminiscent of the stars and ribbons of colour overhead. The bunny sniffs Lia several times before making a few contented *honks*.
Your apprentice turns to you, her eyes wide and now twinkling with countless stars. "...is this... am I...?"
Kelda growls and starts to get into it, but stops after a bit.
"Right here?" Her eyes are darting nervously about. "You're not serious, are you?"
-------------------
He took a deep breath and merely held the barbarian woman close to his body gazing up at the sky. A lot of their previous trysts she had seemed the sort to well be provocative. This was slightly different of course.
"I dont know, maybe. I do know that I love you so completely that sometimes my mind, my thougts get a little blurred. A gorgeous night, A gorgeous sky, a gorgeous lady..."
He winked at her and grew silent just soaking in the moment.
Kelda looks up at the sky, then at the empty docks around you.
Then she grins and drags you to the ground...
Kasha witnesses Lia's first real contact with the spirits in rapt awe, honored to be a part of the joy and wonder she was experiencing. As the Spirit of the Heavens reaches out her, asking her to guide Lia on the shaman's path, she wholeheartedly assents.
The light recedes to show Lia, spirit animal cradles in her arms as she looks up with a skyful of stars twinkling in her beautiful eyes. "Yes you are! I told you you had it in you, and the Heavens agree." Kasha says putting her arms around Lia and her new companion.
Sly skitters out of the satchel beside them, deftly climbing up Lia, and another shoulder to look down at the bunny, making a friendly low trilling sound.
Lia looks down at her new friend with a mix of awe and uncertainty. "I..."
"...I guess I've gotta come up with a name for you, huh?" She smiles and gently rocks the bunny in her arms.
She leans into you, her breathing starting to quicken.
------------------
Zaiobe glances up at you with a coquettish look in her eye. <Do you want to...?>
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Kasha feels her own pulse quicken as Lia leans into her, a tiny shiver passing through her that had nothing to do with the cold. "You aren't alone, you don't ever have to be alone again." she whispers, leaning in to gently kiss her soft lips.
Standing in the moment, the crisp night air around them, the only sound, that of their quiet breathing, and their shamanistic companions, Kasha revels in the placid beauty of them taking in the aurora. After a while, she speaks up, barely above a whisper. "Do you want to stay out here for a while longer or head back in and warm up?"
If you don’t mind the cold, Friday tells Zaiobe with a smile.
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Lia kisses you back gently, her lips trembling like mad.
"...we should head back." She replies, letting her new bunny friend hop out of her arms and into the snow.
------------------
Zaiobe turns and hugs you with her arms and wings. You feel a bit warmer than before.
<...please don't joke about that.>
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Taking Lia's hand in her own and kissing it, she leads them back, Sly scampering through the snow, alongside Lia's new companion, his changed winter coat of snowy white, and black tipped tail, matching the bunny's coloring.
"I wasn't?" Friday responds as he enjoys the Harpy's embrace.
Eventually, the aurora passes and gives way to the dawn...
----------------------
Wealday, 7th of Sarenith, 4715 AR
The morning is very foggy.
The sounds of footsteps can be heard throughout the Hunting Serpent Inn's corridors. "Rise and shine, folks! Today's the day we're setting out!" Sandru's voice calls into each of the party's rooms.
When the party assembles in front of the Hunting Serpent Inn, Sandru and the rest of the caravan are waiting for them.
Uksahkka steps forward. "Right! Glad you're all here--we've got a few things to go over."
She points to the north of Kalsgard. "The mountains we're going to cross are in that direction. We're going to be crossing them during a season when most caravans would rather not--the morozko storms are known for either getting people lost or buried in an avalanche."
"And that's before accounting for whatever monsters are lurking up there." The Varki tracker claps her gloved hands. "Of course, that's why we've got Ulf."
The haggard guide steps forward and clears his throat. "We've gotten ourselves a new wagon and enough snow-chains to keep them all from getting stuck in the snow. We've got enough feed and supplies for a full trip..."
"...assuming, of course, that nothing goes wrong." Shalelu speaks up in a tone that practically screams 'something is bound to go wrong'.
Ulf tentatively nods. "Right. So, be on the lookout for trolls or yetis or anything else lurking in those mountains."
"Any questions?"
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Valeria clamped down on the urge to ask about their supplies of coffee. During her shopping trip the previous day she'd managed to find Sandru and make sure there was enough and had even seen the supply list that confirmed it. She blamed the urge on the fact she was still waking up.
Xel, however, had no reservations about speaking from his perch on Valeria's shoulder. "And what am I supposed to do for survival on this trip? Spend the whole time hunkered up in spare blankets with a hot rock and be bored stiff for weeks on end?"
"Ignore him," Val said, "I'll find him something to do."
"And what, praytell, would that be? Need I remind you that most of the... literature you brought with you is not exactly gripping to avian imaginations."
Having spent the earliest part of the morning curled up with Lia under the blankets, gods alone knew when they'd all see beds again, Kasha chuckles at the banter between Valeria and Xel. It was amusing to see how different the wizard/familiar bond was from the one shamen shared with their spirit animals. The thought widens her smile, as she looks at Lia standing beside her, a bunny in her arms nibbling on a leaf of lettuce.
"are there likely to be any trading posts or villages along the way, or all wilderness for a while? she asks.
"There'll be a few villages of Erutaki along the route. We should be able to resupply when we reach them. If that falls through, there should be enough big game in the region for us to hunt that we won't go hungry." Ulf replies.
He moved about the caravan in the moment a light smile on his face and hummming. He had a good feeling about this trip, regardless of the possible dangers of the terrain. He would not grow complacent, but it seemed they had a good team to lead them through. He looked forward to finding Friday and leaning how to paint the night sky along the way.
"You could travel with me some Xel, I have days and days worth of religious scripture to tell you about."
He said with a smile.
Valeria tried and failed to not grin at the sensation of repulsion coming through the empathic link. Xel may not have had a recognisable facial expression but he didn't bother to hide his opinion.
"Well, thank you for the offer, but frankly I'd rather nail my tail feathers to a rampaging bull that had been set on fire while having to deal with a tax collector."
"Well at least you have options." Kasha says with a smirk.
"What are these 'Yeti"?" Friday asks Ulf.
"What, you've never heard of 'abominable snowmen'?" Ulf replies. "They're essentially giant bear-ape-men who can rip a man to pieces in a few moments."
"That being said, they're reclusive sorts. So long as we don't bother them, they won't bother us."
Good to know." Kasha mutters, filing away the unsettling information.
Friday nods. "I come from Ustalav. There's monsters there. There's monsters everywhere. But I do no assume they are all the same."
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"Right!" Ameiko claps her hands together. "Let's get this show on the road!"
-----------------------
The caravan makes slow progress as it departs the city of Kalsgard, passing through the deep forests and gently rolling tundras of the Thanelands of the Linnorm Kings. Snow-covered hills gradually turn steeper and steeper, with gales of blowing snow filling the days with more and more hardship.
When the caravan finally reaches the Rimethirst Mountains, it takes the better part of a month to navigate them. The temperature drops precipitously, to the point where even Valeria's natural resistance to the cold is not enough to keep her warm.
Ulf and Uksahkka take the lead, guiding the caravan onwards and through many hazards--through snowdrifts piled as high as a man's head and dodging precarious rockfalls. Shalelu and Haru split their duties between providing scouting and delving into the surrounding wilds to hunt for sustenance. Koya and Spivey remain in Koya's wagon, communing with holy Desna and reading portents on what the coming months may hold...
Sandru and Ameiko do their part to keep the party in good spirits, with Ameiko's music and cooking doing much to chase away the chill. Ishgha and Zaiobe remain vigilant, with the hobgoblin taking his duties as a caravan guard excessively seriously and the harpy never flying far from Friday's side.
Maxim's training doesn't relent underneath the ever-present eye of his uncle--if anything, it gets even more strenuous, bordering on outright cruelty. Snowdrifts are incorporated with increasing regularity in his regimen.
Lia takes to Kasha's lessons on being a shaman with great interest, coming to bond with her new spirit animal in the process.
-----------------------
Sunday, 7th of Arodus, 4715 AR
At last, the caravan reaches the other side of the Rimethirst Mountains.
"Congratulations, ladies and gentlemen." Ulf grins. "You've taken your first steps on the Path of Aganhei."
Stretching before the caravan as they descend down the northern flanks of the mountains is rolling hill country, with blustery, wind-carved badlands and folded hills stretching to the horizon.
"This here's the Giant-Downs of Urjuk--the last remains of an old giant kingdom." Uksahkka says as she takes the lead again. "The route through here should take us about a week, but we could perhaps cut that time in half..."
"That sounds like a....but it could be dangerous." Kasha says to the skilled guide. Over the past month, she'd balanced her time between spending time with Lia, time with her mother, teaching Lia the path of shamanism, and bonding with tribal spirits in particular, which granted her the ability to best look over the caravan, aiding them in working together when needed or doing things like alleviating fatigue with a mere touch.
"When isn't it dangerous?" Ulf replies. "We're crossing the Arctic Circle here--we're in territory that only the hardiest and most daring can settle, let alone travel through."
"Yeah, the problem with going off the beaten path is that there's a greater risk of us running into one of the locals." Uksahkka adds.
"So, should we stick to the road or try for the shortcut?"
"Are there any friendly locals?" Friday asks, wearing just a bit heavier clothing than he wore in the south.
"If we get lucky, we might find a few Erutaki hunters to barter with." Ulf looks to the horizon. "Otherwise, we might run into a frost giant. Tread carefully."
Friday nods. "Understood."
"So, what's the decision?" Ameiko turns to the group. "Stick to the road or see if we can find a shortcut?"
"The main road would be safer in obvious ways, but not so much if we still have assassins pursuing us." Friday thinks aloud.
"I think all the assassins's b-behind us were t-taken care of," Valeria said from somewhere deep within the heavy coat she'd bought back in Kalsgard, "unless-s they g-got a message off, we m-might be f-fine on the main road."
Whatever nonchalance Valeria had had about the cold due to her natural resistance had evaporated about a week into the real cold. She wasn't used to feeling this cold for more than a day or two at a time in the dead of Varisia's winter so, in a sense, was experiencing her first actual cold weather.
"Friday's right, it's safe to assume that they know we survive their last attack, and they know where we're headed. It's very likely it would set something up along the main road waiting for an opportunity to get us. A shortcut gives us a better chance of avoiding that." Kasha reasons.
"I g-guess I have the fire spells to deal with frost giants. Or anything else crazy enough to live in this cold!"
Ameiko nods and turns to Uksahkka and Ulf. "Shortcut it is, then! Let's go!"
---------------------
The caravan's trek through the Giant-Downs goes smoothly for the first couple of days, with the encroaching cold winds blowing behind them to speed them on their way. The rolling hills and barren tundra before them gradually begin to even out and become earthier than before, with large stone plinths emerging from the dirt at the base of the hills. There are times when the wind dies down into silence, with only the creaking of the caravan's wheels and the snuffing of its oxen.
Until the third day...
---------------------
Wealday, 10th of Arodus, 4715 AR
As the caravan breaks camp to continue onwards, a low, mournful howl of a wolf echoes across the hills. Sandru winces. "Okay, that's..."
Ulf's eyes harden. "Winter wolf. Where there's one, there's bound to be more. Everyone, stay on your guard."
By midday, as the caravan rounds a towering stone plinth, a booming, raspy voice echoes across the badlands...
The voice bellows.
He sighed and slightly smiled. He knew that spell.
"The bellowing voice used a spell called ventriloquism to throw its voice, its near."
He began calmly looking around.
"we are traders heading across the spine of the world to the other side, we mean you know harm, Show yourself perhaps we can do business."
He proffered out, though his grip on his glaive tightened ever so slightly.
The voice scoffs.
Shalelu, Ishgha and Ulf start to ready their weapons.
"Does this look like a caravan of looters? That is in poor taste, I am a paladin of Shelyn friend. Truly Spirits perhaps might not have a use for physical goods, but we have other things to offer as well, art, stories, and scripture. We intend to travel to the lands across the spine, our guide said this was a short cut."
He added appearing not worried in the least.
"Should I start getting protective spells out?" Valeria whispered to Kavell. He didn't look worried but Valeria wasn't sure if getting defensive spells up first would be best or whether she should be ready to cut loose with the fire if they were facing frost giants or the like.
The voice pauses.
There's another pause. The wind picks up to fill the silence.
Kasha frowns, listening to the excha ge with a hint of suspicion. Clearly from the use of the ventriloquism spell, whoever they were dealing with was not above trickery.
"I can paint," Friday simply offers.
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The voice pauses again.
<Leave it to us to find an art aficionado in the Arctic...>
"I've several carvings in wood that i've done with supplies to create much more when the goddess grants me her favor. He is a very skilled painter as well."
He paused and looked back to make sure his friends and allies were prepared.
"Tell me spirit, what sort of art do you prefer?
Friday nods. "Hopefully my style will be one that they like."
"What would you like me to paint?" he says to the air.