Hana nods in understanding as the Desnan explains his plight. "I understand, Father. These scrolls can't possibly come cheap after all." Looking through her own coin purse Hana started to wonder whether they real required another healing scroll. Thinking back on their last adventure, and the bout of terror she experienced while fighting the ratling, she reconsidered a asked the cleric for something else.
Hana chuckles lightly as Teruko mentions her hefty travel luggage. "Very true Teruko but I think the bathtub might be at bit much, no," she says before half-seriously adding, "Though if you let me use it I'll help you and Yuto shove it onto the caravan."
Yuto laughs relieved to hear the bathtube is for the caravan "Haha, I was imagining myself climbing up old crumbling stairs with the bathtube at my back" he makes a vow then "A high class lady shall take care of her appeal and overall smell, certainly"
"I will help Hana bring it up into the wagon"
Ameiko grins at her sister's luggage. "We'll see what we can do, Teru. I don't think that much will be a problem. Just don't go dragging a bed along, and I think we'll be fine."
"Hm, do you think he'll be helpful, Torra? This might be more dangerous than Brinestump." Shalelu asks her protege. "He may be in more danger than he can handle."
At this point, Sandru, Koya, and a broad-shouldered man wearing the hides and tattoos of the Shoanti arrive in the Dragon. The Shoanti looks much as one would expect of his people, but for the fact that his skin is green, and he has a pair of small tusks protruding from the corners of his mouth.
"Everyone, this is Lone-Pillar. He'll be in charge of security for our caravan." Sandru introduces the half-orc as he shakes some of the water off of his clothing. "Is everyone prepared? The caravan's mostly prepared, we just need your luggage..." He trails off, eyeing Teruko's small hoard of items with a slightly bemused expression. Rubbing water from his beard, he shakes his head. "Well, it's good we've got plenty of hands."
Teruko's shoulders relax a little, although her expression remains defensive. "The bathtub is for everyone to use, of course. Unless someone prefers bathing in random rivers." At least she hopes that's what people were planning on doing, rather than not bathing at all. "It'll also come in handy when washing clothing, dishes...anything really."
Given the length of the trip she'd thought she was being relatively restrained with her luggage. It seems she'd been wrong.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Lone-Pillar." She nods politely towards the half-orc, eager to change the subject. "Have you been working for Sandru long?"
Yuto is happy to place things on the wagons.
The young man vows to Lone-Pillar "Nice to meet you" he bits his tongue as if he restrains to pose some question, then offers "Is there any particular way we can help you with the security of the caravan?"
Yuto shows his shield and katana "We have been proven by the goblins and skeletons of the march already"
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The Father nods and goes to fetch the scroll in question, before returning. "Fortunately, we have one in stock. Otherwise, I'd have to make one myself and, well..." He waves his hand mildly. "In any case, Desna go with you on your journey, dear child."
Koya chuckles. "He's just teasing you, Teruko. Don't worry about your luggage. If nothing else, I have spare room."
"A few months. He did me a favor once." Lone-Pillar grunts his answer to Teruko, before looking at Yuto. "Fight if there's danger. Maybe take a few watches." He rubs his left shoulder, where there's a tattoo of a sun whose rays extend down the arm into a stylized fire pattern, before combining into a rune. The sun itself has been slashed through with an old scar.
On his right arm, there's a tattoo of another Shoanti rune, this one sharper and writ in dark ink. His craggy brow and bald pate are covered in a mixture of tattoos and scars, and dark eyes tinted with red peer out from beneath them.
Sandru's eyebrows arch in mild surprise. "Normally he's not this chatty. You must like them, Lone-Pillar."
The half-orc shrugs, the slight frown curling his lips remaining steady.
"Anyways, is everyone ready?" Shalelu cuts in, rising from her seat.
"Does everyone want to leave while it's still raining?" Amaya points out bluntly. "I don't care, but..."
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Seishin coughs. "Well, it's not like the rain could make it... any..."
"...aaa-aaaCHOO!" The samsaran buries his arm in his elbow just as he sneezes.
"...ugh..." He grumbles and says a small prayer to Tsukiyo to clean his armour off.
"I'm ready." Teruko hefts her umbrella. "If Shalelu's right about it pouring all day, there's no point in waiting."
"Hm, do you think he'll be helpful, Torra? This might be more dangerous than Brinestump." Shalelu asks her protege. "He may be in more danger than he can handle."
"Of course he'll be helpful, he can fight!" responds Torra. "And he'll be with us, I'll make sure nothing happens to him."
As Sandru arrives, the dwarf hurries to speak with him. "Sandru, I don't know if he already talked to you, but Cyrus is coming as well. I figured we could use more guards, and he has experience." Belatedly, it occurs to her that Sandru might disagree with her initiative. "Is... is that alright?"
And where was Cyrus? Everyone was here, ready to go. She cranes her neck to peer through one of the windows, hoping to see the lone remnant of the Battered Shields arrive.
"I'm ready!" Hana declares enthusiastically before remembering what she owned a still ill-looking Seishin. "Hey Seishin! I wanted to give you something before set out. Here." She carefully hand the scroll to the samsaran mildly fearfully that she accidentally torn while cramping into her nearly full to bursting backpack.
"Father Zanthus said it can remove terror from the souls of mortals. Seems pretty useful in case we run into more skeletons or rat swarms, eh?"
Seishin takes the offered scroll. "My thanks, Hana."
"Cyrus? The survivor from the Marsh? No, he hasn't said anything to me..." Sandru frowns a little at Torra, before shaking his head and grinning. "I suppose it's a little late to say no, isn't it? Sure. Just be sure that he can handle himself."
The caravan master looks at Lone-Pillar. The Shoanti shrugs. "He's either lucky, tough, or skilled."
"There you have it!" He says, grinning. "Where did you tell him you'd meet him, Torra?"
Yuto nods to Lone-Pillar while observing his tattoos "How do you earned them?"
The young man extends the hand and feels the rain sliding through. He raises his stare to the sky, letting the water wash him slowly "A washing after a hard week on the marsh. I am not going to complain about the exchange of Sun for rain"
"I hope this is a good omen and the Moon surveils for us behind the clouds" Yuto stares to Seishin, then starts walking behind Shandu and Lone-Pillar.
"Ready"
Torra looks a little crestfallen at Sandru's last question. She may, in fact, have forgotten to tell Cyrus where the caravan was assembling. He's probably waiting at the Cathedral right now, standing in the rain and wondering where everyone is...
"I'll be right back!" she shouts over her shoulder as she darts out of the Rusty Dragon and northwards again towards the Cathedral. It feels like she has done this trip a thousand times in the last couple of days.
"In fire and strife." Lone-Pillar replies bluntly. "I am of the Sklar-Quah, and I have ridden through fire."
It takes Torra a few long, wet minutes, but she finds Cyrus at the Cathedral, waiting just inside. He is wearing his armor (which looks like it's been somewhat hastily repaired), and bears his buckler and falcata on his hips. After a few greetings, she brings him back to the Rusty Dragon.
"Alright. Sandru, is everyone else ready?" Ameiko asks, taking charge of the situation.
"They should be waiting just across the bridge." He replies. "Everyone should say their goodbyes, and let's get moving."
Ameiko nods, walking over to Bethana, whom she hugs. "Thank you so much for your help, Bethana."
Yuto assents, intrigued by the shoanti response, but he really has not the knowledge to trigger more on him "The... the... Sklar-Quah, that is one of the Storval Plateau tribes, isn't it? I... I am happy you are with us Lone-Pillar, we can ma-maybe learn a bit more about the shoanti"
Feeling the man is not willing to have a lengthy talk for now he just shows his katana "Ma-maybe share something about different fighting styles"
Looking around, and with Koya leaving with him, Yuto does not have anyone else he really would suffer to say goodbye. Instead he has a look at the cathedral, the theater and the overall atmosphere of the streets "You see me grow. I need to say you goodbye now to keep growing"
As the group starts to march to the bridge, Yuto looks back for a second "Goodbye Sandpoint... I... I will never forget where I come from"
"...and so the road leads ever onward." Seishin sniffs.
"May the Prince of the Moon look kindly upon our journey, and may the Full Moon light our way." He prays before moving next to Shalelu.
Teruko glances over at Lone-Pillar as he speaks, eyes narrowing just a little as she tries to place where she's heard of the Sklar-Quah. Interesting. Very interesting.
She doesn't say anything, instead focusing on shoving her gear wherever Sandru indicates it should go. Growing up isolated and with no real friends in town, all of her goodbyes have already been said.
Torra had said her goodbyes to her parents this morning, and to Sabyl yesterday. She is mostly eager to get going, and does not linger to look around at the town like Yuto does. After five decades of life here, she knows the place backwards and forwards; what she wants to see is new sights, not the worn and familiar views of Sandpoint.
She falls into step next to Cyrus, true to her promise of taking care of him, and feeling responsible for the warrior, even though he was a grown man and she was barely out of her teenage years. As she walks, she trains an ear on Yuto's one-sided conversation with the Shoanti; she is curious about the half-orc guard, but his appearance is too intimidating for her to directly approach him.
Instead, she mentally runs through her packing list again, hoping she hadn't forgotten anything.
Lone-Pillar glances at Yuto, his frown deepening. Sandru lays a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Ah, we'll have plenty of time to talk later. Everyone ready? Let's go." With that, he hastens the group out of the Rusty Dragon and down the muddy Sandpoint roads. Crossing the bridge, they arrive at the caravan.
"Alright, everyone grab a seat or a horse, if you have one. We're gonna get going!" Sandru shouts over the wind and rain. "We're heading north along the Lost Coast Road for a couple days!"
With that, the caravan begins the journey north.
Even as Hana was enjoying the pleasant rush of warm that was gracing her face as the caravan speed ahead, she couldn't help but think of the mysterious Shoanti that Sandru had found to join their journey.
The kunoichi knew only a little about the Shoanti quahs of the Cinderlands, most of it coming from gossip she picked up from travelers and adventurers who frequented the Rusty Dragon. She imagined most of what she overheard was third-hand hearsay and baseless rumor, but what she heard about the Sklar-Quah seemed pretty consistent if not particularly detailed.
Which was why she was so curious how a member of that notoriously xenophobic clan would end up in Sandpoint of all places. Seeing that Yuto wasn't making much progress on that front, Hana put a smile and tried to see if she could make the half-orc open a little. "Hi there! Lone-Pillar, is it? Name's Hana Tenko. Nice to meet you," she greets kindly, even giving out her hand for the Shoanti to take. "I've heard your people are called the Sun Clan. Mind if I ask why?"
Yuto reels a bit and is almost at the point of leaving Lone-Pillar to his doings when Hana arrives. The young man is happy to walk along his friend and listens attentively to her conversation.
When the group reaches the bridge, Yuto observes the caravan impressed with the lead of his adoptive brother "Wow, that is a good pack you have gathered Shandru"
At his first attempt, Yuto almost falls from the horse, but with great resolve he shows up dexterity enough to hold himself to the large animal "Easy!" he palms softly the animal trying to relax him and offers her a couple acorns for eating.
Torra sticks to Cyrus like a bur, alternating between long stretches of awkward silence and bursts of talkativeness in which she asks the fighter a million questions, or talks about anything that catches her curiosity in the moment - the curious shape of a tree puts her in mind of a certain character in a novel she's read, so she has to explain the plot in great detail, or she gives an impromptu lecture about the various types of mushrooms and the fascinating minutiae of how they reproduce.
When Cyrus grows tired of her company she seeks out Shalelu, walking quietly alongside the ranger, her ears attentive in case her mentor decides to impart some new bit of wilderness wisdom.
Lone-Pillar looks down at Hana from his position on his mare, his frown (now obviously his default expression) deepening slightly. "Mm." He looks over at Sandru, before leaning down and shaking her hand. "Our past is our own, tshamek. You know not the ties that bind us to this land."
Sandru, meanwhile, nods at Yuto's words. "Well, I've done my best." He grins humbly, before wiping the rain from his face.
Torra finds that Cyrus is still a little reticent, though he does reveal that he's from Taldor itself ("A disgustingly stuffy place."), and that he's been wandering Avistan for over three years.
The journey drags on, even as Shalelu takes Torra further afield, scouting ahead of the caravan from time to time. The Lost Coast Road is peaceful, even as they leave the Sandpoint Hinterlands, passing by the Thistlewood.
After hours of pouring rain and miserable wind, an Ulfen woman - introduced to the heroes as Ragnhildr Deeproar - calls out to Sandru. "We're not gonna make it much farther today, boss! It's getting too dark."
"Alright! Set up camp, everyone. We're gonna have to stick around for the night." Sandru calls.
Shalelu raises her voice as she begins helping to unpack the tents and wagons with an easy expertise. "By tomorrow, the rain will have stopped."
Being constantly surrounded by so many strangers and near-strangers is hard on Teruko's nerves. At least in the marsh they'd had a clear goal and hadn't planned to be there for more than a few days. She'll be traveling with these people for months.
She spends the day riding on a wagon as close to Ameiko as she can get. If anyone, (including Ameiko), says anything to her she responds politely then lapses right back into silence. It's noisy. It's bumpy. It's wet.
I changed my mind. Can I go home now?
The one good thing about the call to stop for the night is at least she can stretch her legs. Who knew just sitting could be so painful? Once she's managed to work out the worst of the kinks she tracks down a spot in one of the wagons that's dry enough for her to pull out her journal without ruining it. The rhythmic brush strokes of calligraphy are familiar. Soothing. If she can lose herself in that, she can almost forget just how unfamiliar everything else is.
Yuto moves clumsily around the settling caravan, slowly discovering how this process works. The young man offers himself to unload tents and tools, even as the rain pours over him. Sometimes Shandru or Lorsk will make him move things up as he does not really know where to leave them.
But eventually, the caravan is set up, and he is happy to have a tent over his head. He looks at Ragnhildr Deeproar while heating his hands on the cooking fire "Is all the way north like this?"
At Lone-Pillar's rebuff Hana gives Sandru a knowing look and shrugs her shoulders. She was fairly sure that tshamek wasn't exactly a friendly term in Shoanti but she let that go. As curious as she was about the Shaonti and his ways she perhaps out of anyone could hardly hold it against him if he wanted to keep that part of himself secret.
When the caravan finally stops for the night after a suffering a miserable downpour of rain, Hana decides to liven things up a bit with by singing a few Varisian travelling songs. Finding a comfortable enough spot near the central campfire of their encampment, she plays Desna's Wonderful Flight, the Chelaxian's Wife, the Drunken Goblin, and a couple more of her favorites before eventually turning to her crush and cheerfully asking, "Ames! Care you give all these fine people a tune of your own?"
Seishin sits down next to Shalelu and groans as his aching joints scream at him relentlessly.
He watches Hana's performance with an appreciative eye, but... something about it seems very familiar to him. He nods his head in time to the ninja's tunes.
The journey in the wet weather and the additional walking back and forth as she scouts with Shalelu eventually wear Torra out, and at the end of the day she is more than happy to curl up by the fire and listen to Hana singing - and not talk to anyone if she can help it.
Ragnhildr laughs at Yuto's question. "Oh, gods no. It's quite warm right now, and it doesn't always rain or snow up in my homeland."
The rest of the evening passes by without note, though rains do not let up even slightly until the middle of the night.
Oathday, the 24th of Arodus 4711
Overnight, the samurai and the priest both dream intensely, fiery shadows and winged strands of darkness. When they awaken in the morning to the smell of Losk's cooking and the sight of the bright, cloudless sky, Seishin feels a little bit better, while Yuto's muscles are slightly tighter than they were the day before, and he feels... fragile.
"Breakfast's almost ready! Wake 'n' eat, folks!" The dwarf cook's voice booms out over the camp.
Some of the stiffness has abated in Seishin's limbs, but his legs still make a mighty protest when he rises in the morning.
"Uh... does anyone have a brew or something to help me with my fever?"
Yuto wakes up late "I feel very crappy. This weather is not good for me certainly"
The man eats the breakfast without much desire "So... sorry Losk. I usually have a very good appetite"
For the rest of the day Yuto follows directions on what can he do to help the caravan as much as his current state allows him "Ju-just tell me what can I do to help Shandru, this is my first time in a caravan and it results I really have no idea about it"
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The good weather raises Teruko's spirits somewhat. The ride is still bumpy, there are still far too many strangers for her liking, but at least she's no longer wet.
Her mood is dampened (ha) when both Seishin and Yuto seem to be ill now. "Probably still Filth Fever." Her look towards Yuto is sympathetic. "Sometimes it takes a few days to incubate. I was doing some reading, and I think cold cloths applied to the back of the neck might help reduce the fever..."
She's still far from trained in traditional medicine, but her reading seems to have helped her understand this disease at least.
Koya looks ready to get help for Seishin and Yuto, but instead watches as Teruko deals with them. "Well said, child." She says approvingly. "I couldn't have offered more effective advice myself."
Ameiko approaches the group, looking a tad troubled. "It's pretty chilly this morning. I didn't think about how cold it might be up that far north. Brinewall's almost in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings..."
"Oh, Teruko Sama, you do not need to bother by..." the young man is well comforted by the clothes "Th-thanks... I think it really helps"
Making an effort despite the disease, Yuto patrols for a couple of hours around, helping Lone-Pilar to secure the caravan. Then comes back to the wagons to see if he can help Losk with the food.
Seishin winces as Teruko tends to his illness, but nods his appreciation all the same.
"...how's Shalelu doing?" He asks as he gets to his feet.
Hana looked on sympathetically as now Seishin and Yuto contracted the fever. "Don't worry guys. The fever's a pain but it will probably run its course in day or two." Of course, she figured that the lack of cold-wear probably wasn't helping their situation. Hana had already packed some winter clothes for their journey north, but even with it she could still feel the chilly weather nip at her slightly, which only made her own lingering symptoms worse.
Looking towards Sandru and she asks,"Maybe she should drop by a town along the way to buy some winter gear? I've never been this far north before but there has to be a place where you get some."
Torra sleeps until later and is only woken by the clamour of Losk making breakfast. She emerges from the wagon feeling a little stiff from yesterday's travel, so she spends some time going through mobility exercises and practicing stances.
As she joins the others at the fire, she hears the talk of fever. "Are people sick? I have a healing kit with me, if needed." She turns to Hana. "Winter gear? It's not that cold. We're barely a day north of Sandpoint... oh." It then occurs to her that it may well get colder the farther they travel north. "Yes, good idea, I didn't pack anything for the cold." She rubs the back of her neck in embarrassment.
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One of the guards, a Varisian woman named Monia, answers Seishin's question. "Miss Shalelu is out scouting ahead. She should be back in a few minutes - said she thought she heard something on the wind." Her shrug says 'elves, am I right?'
Meanwhile, Sandru looks up from his bowl of oatmeal at Hana's words. "Well, we'll be passing through Roderic's Cove before we even get as far north as Riddleport. I'm sure we can pick up some warmer clothes then - at the moment, it's just a bit of a concern. A little premature, Ameiko." His lips quirk in a brief smile.
Hana can't help but roll her eyes at Sandru. The man was always self-assured but being back on the road made him even more abundantly so. Regardless, she briefly looks to Ameiko and shrugs slightly, hoping that Sandru's answer puts her at ease.
With Torra though she gives the dwarf a look that's both parts sympathetic and amused. "Don't feel too bad, Torra. Chances are I forgot to pack something vital myself. Give it a few days I'll probably be pulling my hair out about something."
With that said, Hana finishes her morning tea and gets to working. Unless someone asks for her help, Hana spends her time getting ready for the caravan's next big move and helping other people do so as well.
Ameiko smiles a little at Sandru. "You're right." Her frown disappears, replaced with a relaxed smile. "At least the skies are clear." She inhales deeply. "I always love the smell of the earth after a good rainstorm."
In the meantime, Shalelu returns from her scouting. "There's a group of pilgrims returning from Windsong up ahead, but they seem friendly. If we leave within an hour, we'll probably meet them in another half an hour's journey." She reports to the group.
Sandru nods. "Well, it's good to see friendly faces on the roads."
Teruko can't help but smirk as Ameiko discusses cold weather gear. "Even if we weren't going north, it'll be Lamashan or maybe even Neth before we get back to Sandpoint. Winter clothes will definitely be necessary." Personally she's enjoying the chill in the air almost as much as the opportunity to lightly tease her sister. So with her best innocent look, she adds, "If you're cold now Ameiko, you could always borrow my coat. I made sure to bring it."
Ameiko chuckles at her sister's words. "Hey, I've been further north than you ever have, Teru. I know how cold it'll get. I even packed my own coat, for that matter." Her expression goes distant for a moment. "I guess it depends on how long it takes for us to investigate Brinewall."
After another half-an-hour, the caravan begins to move out again. Ameiko sings and plays the shamisen for a time, while Ragnhildr entertains those who are closest to her with tall-tales from her homeland in Icemark.
Shalelu takes Torra ahead a few times, and the meeting with the pilgrims goes well - though they do warn the caravaners that there's a group of Sczarni scamming and robbing somewhere near the Lost Coast Road.
Torra ranges out with Shalelu, and when she's not doing that she's hovering around Cyrus, either in awkward conversation or in awkward silences.
She is starting to miss the routine of her practice at the House of Blue Stones, so at every stop she erects her earth and stone barriers and challenges her companions or the caravan guards to take them down. So far, they are still flimsy and they crumble at the first serious blow, but Torra is determined to improve on that.
Yuto listens with interest Shalelu's reports on pilgrims ahead. The young man listens quietly their report about Sczarni "Per-perhaps we should be careful while we are in the Lost Coast Road, redouble the watch at night"
For the rest of the day he walks close to Ragnhildr listening her homeland tales "Tho-those monsters you describe are really fantastic Ragnhildr San. I-I wonder if we would manage to survive an attack from one of those huge monsters" when he has the chance he exchanges a word with Hana "She seems a strong warrior, very different to the eastern ones, isn't it?"
At nights, Yuto helps Losk to prepare the food for so many people. He is quite but obedient and hard worker, smiling at the tales of the cooker.
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When Shalelu and Torra come back to camp with news of Sczarni, Hana's face takes on a serious mien. Her family had worked with the Sczarni before and she just ruthlessly the thugs could be. "Yuto has the right of it. The Sczarni are a dangerous lot of bandits and con artists. Fortunately, their also cowards. Even if they find us they'll probably stay clear if they see we're well guarded."
To that end, Hana moves to the front of the caravan with her masterwork wakizashi, intentionally making sure its shining steel flashes in the distance. After an hour or two of that, she allows another guard to take her position as returns to the others in the caravan.
The kunoichi listens to Ragnhildr's tales of the north and swaps a few words with Yuto before finally joining in when Ameiko starts to sing and play her shamisen. Their little jam session quickly turns into a duet that leaves Hana smiling ear to ear once its all over. "Feels its been forever since we've last played together, Ames. I gotta say, its good to hear you again."
Seishin waits until Shalelu returns from scouting before approaching her.
"I realize I never properly thanked you for rescuing me from those goblins before. Without your assistance, this life of mine would have been cut short. Thank you for ensuring otherwise." He says, bowing to her.