At the caravan, Shalelu twitches an ear. "Unsurprising, really. Wolves aren't uncommon in this area, and the Churlwood's home to a whole lot of criminals."
Lone-Pillar snorts darkly. "Typical tshamek. These 'barbarians' are the Shriikirri-Quah. They consider this land, especially the eastern parts of the woods, sacred. You will not find a more skillful animal trainer than one from the Shriikirri-Quah, and they often speak to the tshamek, more than others." With that unusually loquacious statement done, he lapses back into a dark frown.
"Nice to meet you Arend." She pauses, wondering how best to phrase her question without seeming too nosy. "You mentioned ill-feelings towards outsiders 'as of late.' Did something happen?"
Yuto gets alerted by the 'as of late' words and turns towards Arend, then relaxes as he notices Teruko picks up the wording and nods supporting her question "We... we are just traveling north. Did anything happen with outsiders recently?"
An idea hits his mind "We crossed paths with a group of Varisians and Sczarni that were coming from this area and traveling south... there were some ninja among them..."
"An' some of the young'uns are busying themselves with all manner of the usual nonsense. Clashin' with parents an' grandparents, feudin' with one another... the usual, don'cha think?" They shrug, helplessly, before their face darkens at the mention of the Szcarni. "Aye? Well, best not to mention them here, lad. Don' want folks thinkin' that you like them, y'see." After a moment, their expression clouds with confusion. "An' what in the Abyss is a ninja?"
"You... you know... these people that move in the shadows a-and poison unaware ones... oh well, it is good you do not know about them. After our crossing with the Szcarni I cannot say I like them at all" Yuto looks around scared by Arend's words "I-it sounds just as the usual lack of confidence in the others present in most small places..."
And turning to Teruko, he adds "I-it seems nothing out of the usual. We pr-probably should come back to the caravan and leave at the moment the rain ceases. We-we are losing our time he-here"
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She nods in Yuto's general direction. "Yuto's correct; we'll likely leave as soon as the rain passes. Thanks for talking to us; I was starting to worry I smelled bad or something!" She winks, making it clear she's joking. "Let's go see what kind of progress Sandru has made."
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With seemingly nothing of note going on in town, beyond some depressingly provincial attitudes on outsiders, Hana readily joins Yuto and Teruko in returning to the caravan. Right before she leaves though the kunoichi does give Arend some words of advice. "Be wary of those ninja, ya here. They're a sneaky bunch. Never know when you might one run into one."
The shaggy-haired elder smiles at Hana. "Aye, I'll keep my nose peeled an' eyes open."
While there's obviously a lot they aren't saying, their concern for the safety of the group is genuine. Something else is off, though - as though they think it might be safer for them to leave than to stay.
Teruko pauses on the way out, giving Arend one last glance and smile. "We'll be careful. Thanks again for the conversation, it was lovely talking to you." With that she leaves the inn behind and heads back towards the caravan.
Teruko walks up to the caravan with a slight frown on her face. "Seems like they just really dislike outsiders. We were encouraged to leave as soon as the rain passes" She shrugs. "I personally have no objections. It doesn't seem like we'd be able to get a good night's sleep here anyway; might as well move on and save time. Unless you all found out something?"
Yuto nods reinforcing Hana's warning, then leaves the inn with the two girls.
"I am more calm now. Th-thanks for proposing the questioning" Yuto shyly lowers his head "It seems I let my fears took me here. Let's just wait for the rain and then leave"
For the rest of the time, Yuto will sharpen the edge of his weapons, then help a bit Lorsk to prepare the food for the evening.
Once the trio returns to the group, Amaya answers Teruko's question, her expression slightly darker than usual. "I saw a symbol carved on one of the doorways." She says quietly. "But perhaps it was simple youthful vandalism. I think it best we continue our journey, as well."
Ameiko looks somewhat concerned, but nods. "If they don't want us here, they don't want us here."
"Ravenmoor will prove more welcoming, I'm sure." Koya says. "I was just there a few years back, helping them return to Desna."
Sandru looks at the group. "I suppose it's settled then."
The rain continues for a few hours before trickling to a halt, and the caravan moves out once more. Lone-Pillar scouts ahead, while Romia takes on the position of chief guard for the duration of his scouting efforts. Meanwhile, Ameiko is wandering the caravan, obviously pleased to be out and about once more. Losk seems mostly focused on drawing up formulae, though he does occasionally stop his cart to collect herbs and other odd materials - much to the exasperation of his fellow drivers, save Aspexia. The scarred is keeping to herself again, clearly mostly focused on her duties than on anything external to them.
For her part, Shalelu is keeping careful watch whilst with the caravan, focusing mostly on the Churlwood to the west of the road, and Koya competes in a storytelling contest with Ragnhildr and Haungalon, with frequent bursts of laughter erupting from their part of the caravan.
Finally, Cyrus is carefully standing on one of the carts, performing what looks like a slow dance despite the unsteady surface. Its driver, Varrick, seems more amused than alarmed by this.
"Ravenmoor" Yuto looks back at Koya "Tell me that story again Koya, I am sure my friends do not know about it"
Yuto is happy to be on the move once more, but anyway, he cannot avoid a strange feeling and looking back as he rides forward with the group. He shakes his head "We will cross a lot of places in our trip, we cannot fix everything on the go"
The young man spends some time looking at Cyrus dance. He looks at Varrick and tells the driver with a smile "It seems Taldan nobles know a thing or two about dancing over carts, tables and other unstable places. I guess if that is part of the high-class society parties back at their castles. Have you ever been in Taldor?"
Without having to worry about the ninja or whatever may have been going on at Wolf's Ear, Teruko has time to think on other mysteries. Namely, whatever had happened to the Visage, and how Aspexia was connected to her.
Making her way over to that particular wagon, she smiles at Aspexia. "Hello. We haven't really had a chance to get to know each other yet, so I thought I'd come over here and chat for a while. If that's okay with you?"
Teruko sits down on the seat next to the driver. "You and Lone-Pillar seem to get along quite well; he's very protective of you. How long have you known each other?"
Ever dutiful, Torra joins Lone-Pillar in the scouting, keeping an eye out for animals acting strangely as well as any humanoid presence. As they scout, she tries to engage the taciturn Shoanti in conversation about the area they're passing through, and any interesting plants they might come across.
Koya nods at Yuto. "Ah, well, that's not quite as cheerful a tale as the ones we've been telling, but I can share what I know of it." She looks off into the distance. "A long time ago, the village of Ravenmoor was a devout Desnan settlement. Then, at some point, they struck a terrible bargain with the Gossamer King, her most loathed enemy... although the common folk weren't aware that their priests' goddess had been usurped.
"A few years ago, someone went missing in Ravenmoor, and a group of adventurers went to investigate. They uncovered the cultists of Ghlaunder, and slew them. I heard about it on my journeys at the time, and went to help restore the people to their faith in Desna." She smiles a little. "It'll be lovely to see how they've been growing since then."
Ragnhildr looks solemn, while Haungalon grins. "Well, at least it all ended well enough."
Cyrus looks at Yuto, tilting his head. "Er, if you mean me, I'm from Taldor."
Varrick shakes his head. "Not I, young sir. Never been that far south."
On Aspexia's cart, the scarred Korvosan looks at Teruko, sighing. "Well, you aren't going to leave, so you might as well stay." She rolls her head on her neck with a quiet crack. "I've only been with the caravan a few months. I'm not that familiar with Lone-Pillar, though. I don't know much about... unassimilated Shoanti, so maybe it's just his sense of duty or something."
Torra's attempts to get Lone-Pillar to speak with her aren't exactly fruitful, but she does get the sense that he's enjoying her company - at least inasmuch as he enjoys others' company at all. As they scout ahead, Torra notices a strange footprint in the mud beside the road. Too large to be human, it is also wholly barefoot.
The half-orc Shoanti frowns down at it. "Strange. I don't recognize this... too small to be a giant, too big to be human, and barefoot in this weather..." After a moment, his dark red eyes widen. "Paakis-si. We have been blessed, Torra Voliokerdam."
Back on the move with the caravan, Hana takes some time to chat with a few of its members she hadn't already had a chance to speak at any real length yet. Seeing the small gathering of storytellers that Koya had mentioned to bring about, she opts to spin a few yarns herself, doing so through her music. "Ever heard of the Romance of the Sun and Moon?" she asks, already playing a few notes on her shamisen.
"It's kind of a tragic tale too. About two godly lovers from the east who are torn apart by the envious and the cruel. It begins with the senseless death of the Moon but ends with their love reaffirmed everlasting even if it is changed forever." Without further preamble Hana plays the ballad to its entirety. It's not her finest performance, her shamisen still not quite properly tuned, but its stronger and more confident that her last one
"They must have been very scared at Ravenmoor, I wonder who were those brave heroes that faced the cult and saved the town" Yuto smiles and looks up daydreaming for a while.
The young man listens delighted to Hana's notes, even if they are not her best "That was a compelling story Hana San. It is inspiring that some people got so moved by love"
Later while with the drivers, he lowers his head when Cyrus speaks "Oh, so-sorry, I did not mind... I did not know you were hearing, so-sorry Sir. Why did you leave Taldor?" he also gets interested on Varrick's story "So... you came from north then?"
Torra perks up as Lone-Pillar speaks, excited that she might get to learn some secret Shoanti knowledge. "Pakisee? What's that?"
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Koya and Haungalon both listen intently to Hana's ballad, though Ragnhildr seems somewhat distracted, looking around bemusedly.
When Hana has finished, the elderly priestess rubs her chin. "Well, I've not heard it sung before, but I think I once met fellow Desnan who mentioned something like that. They'd been sailing in the Shackles, I think. Odd place to pick up that sort of knowledge, but you never know what you might learn, where."
With Yuto, Cyrus settles down from his dance, though he remains standing as he turns to look at the samurai. "I'm... how do I put it... I suppose I'm the black sheep of the family. Never much liked all the cutthroat business practices my family engages in, nor the aristocratic presumption of the other noble families of Taldor. So I picked up some training - not enough, it seems - and went on my merry way towards Andor."
Varrick smiles faintly. "North? No, not really. My family made the rounds through Ustalav when I was young, but we packed up and moved through Lastwall and Nirmathas, then into the old "homeland," so to speak. Never got as far south as Taldor, though. Why do you ask?"
Yuto smiles back to Cyrus "And you proved loyal and good to us in the goblin's town. If not for you I think we would be all dead, so, if only for that, that training was totally worth it Sir"
"Oh, Lastwall and Nirmathas... I heard there are eternal wars that plague those countries. I am sure you saw a lot of great warriors during your trip" Yuto keeps talking with the two until it is time for the caravan to stop, but he just chit chats unless there is a grand reveal "For no reason really, I-I just like to know the people I travel with"
Cyrus chuckles darkly. "Maybe. Wasn't good enough to save anyone else, though." With that, the Taldan man goes back to his slow, deliberate dance.
Varrick shakes his head, lowering his voice as he leans in close to Yuto. "He's got horrible guilt about surviving when his friends didn't. They came here together, to Varisia, you know."
He straightens. "Yes, indeed. Lastwall and its Belkzen orcs, and Nirmithas and its Molthuni aggressors. Terrible, indeed. We were lucky not to meet anything more menacing than the odd beast."
She doesn't ask any of those questions because Aspexia is clearly uncomfortable. Pressing her further could cause her to shut down entirely.
"Well, if she does show up again, she's welcome to stay as long as she likes." Teruko offers a shrug of her own. "That was something we all agreed upon, even before we were certain she was telling the truth about trying to protect you. She did help us after all."
Teruko looks straight ahead, deliberately not looking at Aspexia in the hopes of making things more comfortable for the other woman. "Is there anything you'd like to know about me? Or our trip? I'm not sure how much Sandru told you."
The scarred woman scratches the back of her head, pulling some of her dark hair to cover an ear. "I don't much care where we're going, but why are you going there?" She asks, finally. "You look like you'd rather be hiding away at home." There's no malice in her words, just plain curiosity.
"Yup" Yuto assents to Varrick and looking Cyrus understanding. He also feels his part of guiltiness, but he is happy Cyrus managed to get out alive at the least "Those wars are terrible. We were very lucky the Heroes of Sandpoint avoided the war with the Storval giants"
That night, Yuto writes in his journal about their short stay in Wolf's Ear, about Varrick's trip through the war lands of Lastwall and Nirmathas, and Cyru's feelings of guilt along with his own musings on the topic.
"This is my first time leaving Sandpoint, other than a few business trips to Magnimar. You're not wrong that I would have preferred to stay home." Teruko takes no offense from the observation; it is true after all. "We, Ameiko and I, recently found a letter written by my grandfather that was never delivered. In it he spoke of a family heirloom in Brinewall's vaults. Ameiko wants to look for it, and I didn't want her to go alone. Not when we don't know what might have moved in after Brinewall was abandoned."
She rubs the back of her neck, a little embarrassed. "Of course I'm curious too, but that's the main reason I came along instead of letting Ameiko do all the exploring. She can be...impulsive, and I don't want her to get hurt."
With her ballad finished, Hana readily accepts Yuto compliments with an thankful smile despite her own mild doubts about her performance. She quickly turns her attention to Koya though when the old Desnan mentions something interesting.
"The Shackles, eh? Wish I could have meet this person. Sea shanties and the like are kind of a blind spot for me and learning a few would be nice if they knew, though hopefully drinking copious amounts of rum wouldn't have been an learning requirement," she says breaking into a cheeky grin.
The musician is on the verge of asking Koya a few more questions on her well-travelled friend when she finally notices a distracted looking Ragnhildr. "Got something on your mind, Ragnhildr? Hope my song didn't put you out of sorts."
She tries to keep the conversation going as they continue their scouting and return to the caravan.
"Hnn. Indeed. Wars waged between us smaller folk are horrible enough. I can't even think what sorts of devastation an army of giants could wreak upon Varisia." Varrick replies to Yuto, scratching his greying beard.
[spoile=Torra]"No. There aren't any woods in the Cinderlands." Lone-Pillar says bluntly. "Too many emberstorms." He turns his horse back towards the caravan. "It doesn't look like there are any threats. We should return."[/spoiler]
"Is that so? Well, if we ever meet her, I'll point her out to you and we can swap songs." Koya smiles at Hana, before turning her attention to Ragnhildr, expression concerned.
"Hm? No, I just got distracted. Sorry, Hana, your song's just not exactly the sort of thing to my taste, and my attention, eh, wandered a bit." She grins at the ninja. "No offense intended. Pretty enough, but not exactly rousing."
The next three days pass swiftly, though the 4th of Rova is increasingly chilly, to the point where it is quite clear that the caravan has left the summer's warmth behind on the coast. On the 5th, however, things are warmer once more, and in the early afternoon, the group pulls into Ravenmoor, where Koya takes the lead as a Varisian woman in her middle years and two children approach.
"Oriana, is that you?" Koya asks, a wide smile on her face.
The younger woman's lips break into a corresponding grin. "Koya Mvashti! It's been a few years, hasn't it? Good to see you again!"
The two begin chatting with one another as more people emerge from their homes and come to greet the caravan.
Yuto appreciates the warmth as the days past for him doing watch and meeting even more with the people in the caravan who are becoming his small family already.
When the group reaches Ravenmoor, the young man advances himself guarding Koya. He smiles when she finds her old friend "H-hi Oriana, mother has told me how welcoming you were for her, th-thanks"
Yuto looks around at the different villages to see if they have been recovered and if there is any building of note. He greets the villagers as they come "H-hi all. How are things going for Ravenmoor?"
The next day, when the caravan reaches Ravenmoor, Hana is quick to give Koya's friend a hearty "Hello there!" right as the two women start chatting. As they do, the kitsune wonders if the other woman is the Desnan Koya spoke of last night, knowing it would be quite a coincidence if she were.
The woman chuckles. "I'll hold you to that, Hana. Not today, but... I'd love to hear them soon."
Oriana waves for one of the children. "Go get the little mother, will you?" The young boy rolls his eyes, but dashes off.
"It's always a pleasure to meet friends of Koya's." She adds, looking at Yuto and Hana in turn.
One of the other citizens of Ravenmoor, a young man with prematurely gray hair, answers Yuto. "You're the first news we've had in months. I think Mother Mia will probably arrange for a celebration of your visit - expect a lot of questions." He scratches the back of his head. "It's amazing, really, how much difference a few years can make."
A few moments later, a halfling woman emerges from what is likely her home. She is dressed in more traditional Varisian clothing than most of the other Varisians present - including Koya and Sandru. She smiles broadly. "Ah, Koya. It's good to see you again! Joined up with another caravan, I see?" She waves to each of the heroes who have joined Koya in her greetings. "Hello there! I'm Mia, and I'm the local priestess, for now - until someone better suited comes to take my place." There's a chorus of groans and good natured muttering from the gathered crowd, and she shoots them a mock-dirty look. "Welcome to Ravenmoor. What brings you all here today?"
She deliberately doesn't mention the desperate fight against Tsutamu and his men. He deserved to be remembered for the way he'd fulfilled his duty in life, rather than what he had become after his death.
Teruko stretches sore muscles as she gets off the wagon. She's become more accustomed to travel, but it's still far too bumpy for her taste. "Hello Mia, I'm Teruko." She offers the other woman a friendly smile. "We're heading north in search of adventure." Coming from someone like Teruko, it probably sounds like she's joking.
"I'm happy to share what news I can, although Sandru probably knows more. He's the experienced one around here."
Torra looks around with interest - although Ravenmoor was certainly smaller than Sandpoint, it was still a new place. The others seemed to have the greetings and introductions well in hand, so the dwarf turns her attention to the village itself and the people watching.
"What a convoluted mess." Aspexia says, rolling her eyes. "Well. I suppose if your sister wants to go..." She casts a glance at Teruko. "Sounds like you wouldn't be here, 'cept your sister wanted to go."
Teruko feels a familiar pressure in her temples. Even without Ameiko's safety as a motivation, Teruko gets the sense that Lonjiku would not have let her rest unless she went with the caravan.
Mia stares at Teruko with a piercing grey gaze. It's clear that she doesn't believe a word of it, but she shrugs. "Well, I'm glad you visited us on your way north, then." She grins. "Just be careful, I hear they have linnorms over there."
Koya chuckles. "Not quite that far north. Though close. Maybe I'll make a journey into those lands once we're done..." She scratches the back of her head, eyes brightening at the idea.
"We'll see about that, Koya." Sandru says, exasperated. "At least, I can't promise my caravan will be the one taking you any farther north."x
Though she doesn't notice anything immediately out of the ordinary, Torra does notice that there's a graveyard in the distance which seems to have a sort of construction in it - a statue, she realizes. Something commemorating the lives lost in Ravenmoor? The idea seems a little excessive for a village this size.
Hana was content to examine the small town they'd found themselves in, trying her best to recall if she ever heard about the place when that train of thought is broken when she hears Koya and Sandru speak of the fabled homeland of the Ulfen up north.
"I always wanted to see the Lands of Linnorm Kings," she says half-seriously, making sure to give Sandru a playful look. "What's not to like? Strange dragons, hunky shieldmaidens, great ale. Could do without that much cold and snow but I suppose no place is prefect."
Teruko gives her best innocent smile back towards Mia. She's still feeling paranoid about the enemies mentioned in the letter, not to mention the ninja clan that may or may not be following them. If anyone (Ameiko) wants to go into more detail they can, but she'd prefer not to tell the whole town exactly where they're going and why.
As they start chatting about the Lands of the Linnorm Kings she shivers at the very thought. Dragons and freezing cold temperatures? Why anyone would want to live up there is beyond her.
Sandru chuckles at Hana. "Well, I can't promise you'd encounter any of those, but there's always the risks, yes." He winks. "I don't know about you, but battling a linnorm would make for an exciting tale. Of course, it'd probably end up more along the lines of 'running away from a linnorm,' but..."
The caravan breaks and prepares for the stopover in Ravenmoor. The people here are friendly and welcoming - clearly having arrived with Koya has helped the caravan's reception enormously. Mia hosts a small banquet for them, and the heroes go to sleep with full bellies and relatively warm beds.
The next morning is bitterly cold, with a wind that rips the heat from the bones of the caravaners. Many of the group bundles as much clothing on as they can, while those lacking such clothing are forced to make do with what blankets and clothing they can purchase from the locals.
As usual, Sandru sends out various members of the caravan on various tasks, buying food, materials, firewood, and the like.
Teruko stays inside while the others buy supplies. Irrationally she wants to blame the talk about the Land of the Linnorm Kings for the cold weather. It's not likely to get any warmer as they continue north though, so she clutches her jacket closer around her and resigns herself to the inevitable.
As the weather turns, Torra makes the unfortunate discovery that the cold weather clothing she had purchased cause her stocky figure to become positively rotund. The dwarf leaves the thick clothing in the bottom of her backpack, choosing to endure the cutting cold instead as she hurries onto Sandru's errands. Her frustration, together with the unsettled dreams from last night, work to make her quite irritable.
Hana wakes up from her dreams feeling more tense than she's been for a while. Not wanting to think about it, or really let alone know about it quite yet, she quickly occupies her mind with work.
More or unless content with the gear she's already brought way back in Sandpoint, Hana mostly contents herself by assisting the various laborers and wrights in the caravan. Throughout the day she thinks about employing her shinobi skills scout ahead of the caravan for a bit only but something at the back of her mind stops that train of thought every time.
Instead, when she finally finishes helping where she can, she decides to cheer up a noticeably irritated looking Torra. "Hey, Torra!" She says cheerfully. "Has it going? You feeling alright?"
Amaya approaches Teruko as she huddles up close to the fire. "You should talk with Ameiko." Her younger half-sister says. "She feels bad about not telling you earlier, but... she felt obligated."
Common sense reasserts itself before she can say anything regrettable. "Thanks. I'll talk to her." That's about as polite as she can force herself to be, so she marches off in search of Ameiko.
(Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows she should talk to Amaya as well. She'd told Seishin she wanted to tell everyone about Lonjiku's presence before Brinewall, and Amaya deserves a warning first. But not now. Not while she's hurt, and embarrassed, and flustered from the realization that's she's here because of Ameiko, but Lonjiku's here for completely different reasons, and she can't always quite tell who is in charge...)
She goes looking for Ameiko, concealing all her emotions beneath a mask of neutrality. Overpowering all the inner turmoil is a single thought.
Please don't let me hurt her again.
"Teru..." Ameiko says in Minkaian. "I wanted to apologize to you. I know you felt... betrayed by the fact that I didn't say anything about Tiruvinn, but I didn't want to tell anyone. Amaya noticed something about him and he decided to share his identity with her, but..." She lets out a slow sigh, looking a little weary. "It's a secret I've been keeping for years. That's not an excuse, just a reason."
Torra pulls her tunic tighter against herself, rubbing her upper arms. "Why is it so cold? Is it going to get even colder? I don't like this."
Ragnhildr hears Torra's complaint and arches a brow. "This isn't cold. Certainly not compared to how cold it'll get later in the year up north."
"You called it a family secret. I don't think of Amaya as family. I'm trying, I am, but...there's also a part of me that doesn't like her being here." She gives Ameiko a meaningful look, hoping to convey that by 'a part of me' she means Lonjiku. They're speaking Minkaian, but there are enough people in the caravan who also speak that language for her to still be cautious. "It's not that I have anything against her, it's just...she shows up out of nowhere, and you immediately start treating her like a sister, which I know she is but I can't really see her that way yet, and then you talk with her about 'family secrets' before you talk about them with me, and..." Teruko blinks and is startled to feel a tear running down her cheek. She hastily brushes it away.
"It's not about Tiruvinn." Her voice is very quiet now. "It's that I've always known you deserve a better sister than me. Now it seems you have one. I know it's stupid and irrational and selfish, but...I'm jealous of her. Of the fact that you can just be sisters without..." She doesn't want to look at Ameiko right now, so she gestures vaguely towards her own head in lieu of a meaningful look. "...interference."
Hana couldn't help but playfully roll her eyes at Ragnhildr's comment. "Not all of us are used to bone-chilling cold, Ragnhildr. Probably will take us a far bit of time before we. Until then mayhaps you have come tips for us warmth-spoiled laymen?"
"Wear heavier clothes." Ragnhildr says dryly, nodding at Torra. "You'll get frostbite in that, when it starts getting really cold. Other than that, when you're not inside, you should eat cold foods - not warm ones. Your body gets confused if you eat warm things - thinks that its warm out, and you need to cool off. Cold foods and liquids tell your body it's cold out, and helps make it warmer. Eat plenty - your body needs the energy."
"I... I know. I think he told her that I'd found out about him myself, and she came to talk to me. But I should have included you - I'm sorry. It's just... yeah, there's no excuse." Ameiko's expression is pained. "And you can beat that part of you, Teru. You're better than the worst parts of both of us, and I know you can win. It's my fault, too, for not helping you back in Sandpoint - together, we can do so much more than we can alone."
Ameiko moves towards Teruko, hugging her. "Teru, you're my baby sister. It's not about 'deserving' or 'wanting.' You are my sister, and you always will be. No matter what, she's a newcomer, and I'm still trying to get to know her. We've known each other all your life, and I just want to make her feel a little welcome."
The Kaijitsu heiress pauses, her eyes wet. "But I suppose since I left after mother's death... I've not been a very good sister to you, either."
The next few weeks seem to go by in a blur, with daily rituals and travel becoming the norm rather than the exception. Passing through Roderic's Cove is briefly interesting, but the long coast along which they travel is quite beautiful. There are a few oddities along the way, including a group of people salvaging a ship - "Wreckers. Don't bother them, and move on quickly." Sandru says of them.
Rather than going to Riddleport, Sandru guides the caravan around a less noteworthy route that circles the city and leads up the river that flows through it. Things seem to be going fine - if increasingly cold as they travel northwards.
The caravan trundles slowly forwards towards the Steam River - the northernmost river in Varisia. About three hundred feet from a rickety old bridge that crosses the river, an ancient sign points westwards down an overgrown trail that swiftly falls into the undergrowth.
"There's no way that the caravan's going to make it through that sort of tangled mess." Sandru grunts.
"Then we'll have to progress on foot." Ameiko says.
Shalelu flicks an ear. "The caravan should stop here. Teruko, Ameiko, Amaya, Yuto, Torra, Hana and I can go onwards." She turns to look at the heroes. "Assuming no one objects or no one else wants to go."
"I'm a tad old to be gallivanting into potentially dangerous ruins... but if you need some healing whenever you come out, I'll be here to give it to you." Koya adds dryly.