Day One Hundred Twenty Eight:
She’d come to understand her new companion was in fact a he and his name was Einar. They had managed to exchange some introductions while they sat in the cave, waiting for her wound to heal. Her name, Heleen, he luckily didn’t have too much difficulty pronouncing. However, she was struggling to pronounce his species’ name; at first she thought “jailer” was his occupation, but that clearly wasn’t the case, since he would shake his head and attempt to correct her when she tried to say it. She came to the conclusion that she was unable to replicate whatever guttural draconic sound was required to say it properly and eventually gave up. At least for now.
Einar proved a restless creature, and the moment she was well enough to limp around the cave with decent speed and dexterity, he insisted they move on. Where, she wasn’t quite sure, but she had little choice but to follow. Being in the condition she was in, she would need his protection. He seemed to feel the same way since he hadn’t simply left her behind, a behavior which was still perplexing her greatly.
They didn’t speak much as they travelled, though to be fair, the language barrier between them made it difficult to converse. It also appeared to her that he seemed to be following some trail that lead further into what the dragons referred to as Light territory. Often he would put his nose to the ground to pick up whatever scents he was detecting, though it never seemed to make him very happy. Sometimes he would even snort and growl, which would make her draw her bow in anticipation. She tried asking a couple times what it was that was upsetting him so much, but he would only answer, “The Shadow walked here.” It still didn’t click until he changed to the Centaurian word to say, “The Evil was here.” It made her shudder, but she wasn’t terribly surprised; they had passed by several old ruins which were often notorious for being tainted, though thankfully the dragon had been giving them a wide birth. Occasionally he would stop to carve some sort of marker on a stone nearby, the same one with only minor differences. She got the impression they weren’t necessarily for his benefit. A frostbite hummingbird had come by once – way too far north from where they lived – and he had actually taken the time to dictate something to it before it buzzed off again. Clearly, it had been a messenger, which would mean that there were others of his kind following behind him. This told her that he was a scout of some kind, but to what purpose, she was still struggling to understand.
In an odd way, though, she trusted him. After all, he had saved her, healed her, and was continuing to protect her. He also clearly despised the Evil in the same way she and many of the Allied tribes did. Some of them believe that the dragons planted the Evil in the world to incite chaos, or were born from it, but this situation completely shattered that idea.
She ground her teeth against the pain that shot up her spine and she stopped, leaning heavily against a nearby tree to remove the weight from her leg. Einar stopped ahead of her, turning back to rejoin her.
“Check?” he asked, motioning to the bandages. She nodded and let him unwrap them, seeing the spots of red as he pulled them away. She had been healing well over the past few days, but even with their frequent breaks, the travel was rough on the broken tissue. He applied some herbs and had it rewrapped within moments, but she motioned to him before he could continue.
“Stop for small time?” she asked. Unlike before when he would simply agree by laying down, he wavered, glancing on ahead.
“Not for long,” he answered, sitting stiffly and continued to look on through the trees. Her brows furrowed in confusion.
“What’s the hurry?” she asked. It took a moment for her to get it through to him in Draconic.
“We must go on,” he insisted again. She made a motion with her hands that asked why and he shifted. Finally, he answered, “They are close.”
“You’ve come,” she said simply in greeting, then motioned to the kettle cooling on the nearby counter. “Tea?”
“That would be lovely,” Tülay replied. At a gesture, she sat as her host poured her a cup and delivered it to her before resuming her own seat. Tülay barely managed to take a couple sips before Nesrin spoke again.
“As much as I would like to exchange pleasantries, I called you here for a reason,” she said. It would sound like typical youthful impatience, but Tülay understood where she was coming from.
“And I came this far north because of the urgency of your situation,” the older harpy remarked, taking one more sip before she set down her tea. More seriously, she asked, “When did the attack occur?”
“A little over a week ago,” Nesrin answered. She pushed a scroll toward her across the table. “This is the report my captains gave me.”
Tülay picked up the scroll and opened it. Her anger intensified as she read its contents and once she’d finished, she threw it back down to the table, staring down at the floor until she could regain control over her emotions. “What was the final count?”
“Four killed on sight, two here from fatal wounds. Three still lay wounded in the healer’s hut; Eser may never fly again, her wings were burned too badly,” Nesrin replied bitterly. “The fire burned for two days and the smoke carried over the village here on the cliffs to linger another day more. And this was one dragon. I knew they carried destructive power, but I never imagined-“
“You mustn’t blame yourself,” Tülay said soothingly. “This is the dragon’s doing, not yours.”
Nesrin took a calming breath and a sip of her own tea. “… We haven’t had any attacks from dragons for many, many seasons. Bilge, may her spirit soar in the heavens, had even made peace with them in the past, if the stories are true. Perhaps that has made us… complacent. If they were to attack again, we couldn’t possibly defeat them.” Here she looked up at Tülay, a glint in her eye. “But you could. When I first heard that Talona’s Vengeance had been remade, I hardly believed it. I’m glad I thought to find you; we need your help.”
Tülay reached out to put a talon on her wrist. “And we will,” she murmured. “What would you like me to do?”
“They must pay for the lives they’ve stolen,” Nesrin answered, her voice hardened in barely suppressed rage. “For my sisters they took from me.”
Tülay nodded with solemn determination and said, “Mark my words; it will be done.”
More Einar and the now named Centaur, Heleen! Because I like these two and I think their friendship is a fun one to write about.
Also... guess who's back.
Inventory: Scatter Scroll x1, Breed Change x1, Apparel Pull x2
@Weredogalism @Riff @Skulljester @AstralDragons @Petall @MisterMylez @BarbaraFett @PinkyDaPinkSlime @loser @OneRingOfPower @MagmaticMachine @Rosesinger @Eversnow @chewynoodles @FallenEclipse @Dachshund59
She’d come to understand her new companion was in fact a he and his name was Einar. They had managed to exchange some introductions while they sat in the cave, waiting for her wound to heal. Her name, Heleen, he luckily didn’t have too much difficulty pronouncing. However, she was struggling to pronounce his species’ name; at first she thought “jailer” was his occupation, but that clearly wasn’t the case, since he would shake his head and attempt to correct her when she tried to say it. She came to the conclusion that she was unable to replicate whatever guttural draconic sound was required to say it properly and eventually gave up. At least for now.
Einar proved a restless creature, and the moment she was well enough to limp around the cave with decent speed and dexterity, he insisted they move on. Where, she wasn’t quite sure, but she had little choice but to follow. Being in the condition she was in, she would need his protection. He seemed to feel the same way since he hadn’t simply left her behind, a behavior which was still perplexing her greatly.
They didn’t speak much as they travelled, though to be fair, the language barrier between them made it difficult to converse. It also appeared to her that he seemed to be following some trail that lead further into what the dragons referred to as Light territory. Often he would put his nose to the ground to pick up whatever scents he was detecting, though it never seemed to make him very happy. Sometimes he would even snort and growl, which would make her draw her bow in anticipation. She tried asking a couple times what it was that was upsetting him so much, but he would only answer, “The Shadow walked here.” It still didn’t click until he changed to the Centaurian word to say, “The Evil was here.” It made her shudder, but she wasn’t terribly surprised; they had passed by several old ruins which were often notorious for being tainted, though thankfully the dragon had been giving them a wide birth. Occasionally he would stop to carve some sort of marker on a stone nearby, the same one with only minor differences. She got the impression they weren’t necessarily for his benefit. A frostbite hummingbird had come by once – way too far north from where they lived – and he had actually taken the time to dictate something to it before it buzzed off again. Clearly, it had been a messenger, which would mean that there were others of his kind following behind him. This told her that he was a scout of some kind, but to what purpose, she was still struggling to understand.
In an odd way, though, she trusted him. After all, he had saved her, healed her, and was continuing to protect her. He also clearly despised the Evil in the same way she and many of the Allied tribes did. Some of them believe that the dragons planted the Evil in the world to incite chaos, or were born from it, but this situation completely shattered that idea.
She ground her teeth against the pain that shot up her spine and she stopped, leaning heavily against a nearby tree to remove the weight from her leg. Einar stopped ahead of her, turning back to rejoin her.
“Check?” he asked, motioning to the bandages. She nodded and let him unwrap them, seeing the spots of red as he pulled them away. She had been healing well over the past few days, but even with their frequent breaks, the travel was rough on the broken tissue. He applied some herbs and had it rewrapped within moments, but she motioned to him before he could continue.
“Stop for small time?” she asked. Unlike before when he would simply agree by laying down, he wavered, glancing on ahead.
“Not for long,” he answered, sitting stiffly and continued to look on through the trees. Her brows furrowed in confusion.
“What’s the hurry?” she asked. It took a moment for her to get it through to him in Draconic.
“We must go on,” he insisted again. She made a motion with her hands that asked why and he shifted. Finally, he answered, “They are close.”
***
Tülay pushed her way through the beaded strands that hung in the open door of the hut. Nesrin, the leader of this flock, was waiting for her inside and looked up from her table at the sound of the rustling beads. Nesrin was particularly young for a matriarch, but the death of her elderly predecessor had forced her into the position ahead of her season. Nevertheless, she had a commanding presence that Tülay could respect, and she carried herself with the regality of her station when she stood.“You’ve come,” she said simply in greeting, then motioned to the kettle cooling on the nearby counter. “Tea?”
“That would be lovely,” Tülay replied. At a gesture, she sat as her host poured her a cup and delivered it to her before resuming her own seat. Tülay barely managed to take a couple sips before Nesrin spoke again.
“As much as I would like to exchange pleasantries, I called you here for a reason,” she said. It would sound like typical youthful impatience, but Tülay understood where she was coming from.
“And I came this far north because of the urgency of your situation,” the older harpy remarked, taking one more sip before she set down her tea. More seriously, she asked, “When did the attack occur?”
“A little over a week ago,” Nesrin answered. She pushed a scroll toward her across the table. “This is the report my captains gave me.”
Tülay picked up the scroll and opened it. Her anger intensified as she read its contents and once she’d finished, she threw it back down to the table, staring down at the floor until she could regain control over her emotions. “What was the final count?”
“Four killed on sight, two here from fatal wounds. Three still lay wounded in the healer’s hut; Eser may never fly again, her wings were burned too badly,” Nesrin replied bitterly. “The fire burned for two days and the smoke carried over the village here on the cliffs to linger another day more. And this was one dragon. I knew they carried destructive power, but I never imagined-“
“You mustn’t blame yourself,” Tülay said soothingly. “This is the dragon’s doing, not yours.”
Nesrin took a calming breath and a sip of her own tea. “… We haven’t had any attacks from dragons for many, many seasons. Bilge, may her spirit soar in the heavens, had even made peace with them in the past, if the stories are true. Perhaps that has made us… complacent. If they were to attack again, we couldn’t possibly defeat them.” Here she looked up at Tülay, a glint in her eye. “But you could. When I first heard that Talona’s Vengeance had been remade, I hardly believed it. I’m glad I thought to find you; we need your help.”
Tülay reached out to put a talon on her wrist. “And we will,” she murmured. “What would you like me to do?”
“They must pay for the lives they’ve stolen,” Nesrin answered, her voice hardened in barely suppressed rage. “For my sisters they took from me.”
Tülay nodded with solemn determination and said, “Mark my words; it will be done.”
More Einar and the now named Centaur, Heleen! Because I like these two and I think their friendship is a fun one to write about.
Also... guess who's back.
Inventory: Scatter Scroll x1, Breed Change x1, Apparel Pull x2
@Weredogalism @Riff @Skulljester @AstralDragons @Petall @MisterMylez @BarbaraFett @PinkyDaPinkSlime @loser @OneRingOfPower @MagmaticMachine @Rosesinger @Eversnow @chewynoodles @FallenEclipse @Dachshund59
