Tír na Tearmann
???, 333
Fate
It's 273.59 klicks north-northeast, Frankie reports in his dry, deep, sonorous voice. As the crow flies.
Aaren
Aaren takes a deep breath, trying to remember how to calm down without calm songs. She's got hands all over her wrists, and she's not sure which hand belongs to who, and her pupils are still dilated way out of proportion to the light levels.
"Yeah." She agrees with Kelly. "Yeah." The words just stumble out.
Slavina
Slavina holds Aaren and rocks her back and forth in a calming way and rubbing a hand on her shoulder. She holds off on humming a soothing song though, seeing as how songs are rather the source of the distress.
Then she hears Frankie's directions. She doesn't stop holding Aaren, but she does turn her head to look at him, confused. Then it makes sense. "We are not crows. Is it possible for humans to reach it?"
Daina
Daina smiles a little worriedly and looks to Kelly. Her brow furrowed as she questions Aaren."would it help to .. dull your hearing like stuffing some cotton in your ears so you focus more on the senses that are still behaving themselves?" spit balling the idea as she releases her hold on Aaren's hand. "Better yet how many days travel is it, and are there dangers along the way... and is it in the direction we need to go.. do we know which way to go?" she looks to the others. "We made it to this world but .. do we know where in it we need ta be?"
Aaren
Aaren takes another deepth breath, then sits up streight. She squeezes Kelly's hand. "No, it's okay." She says, in a wavering voice, "You're right Daina, I'll just learn the new songs."
Daina
Daina smiles to that and pipes up "yeah you will!" trying to be encouraging and supportive and stuff.
Fate
Kelly's eyes are wide, darting around, almost thousand-yard starelike. Occasionally he'll snap a look to something, or twitch as if reacting to something. But there's no sense of fear or alarm about him.
Unfazed at all the conversations happening around him, Frankie responds methodically.
It is possible.
It depends on your pace.
There are always dangers along the way.
Which direction do you need to go?
"Frankie, how far's the nearest bit of ocean?" Esta calls from her position on the ground across the clearing.
It is 51.5 klicks southwest by west.
"How long a journey is it at our normal walking pace?"
27.5 hours.
She falls silent after that, but otherwise doesn't move.
Aaren
"We need to go to Nora of Bogach Uafásach." Aaren says, voice still shaking, her hands still tight on Kelly's. "Does anyone know where that is?"
Slavina
Slavina releases Aaren. "Frankie, may I have my clothes back now?" She rises (well... stumbles) to her feet and brushes the worst of the riverbank muck off. "Not yet. I'll need time to look into it."
Daina
Daina looks to Esta.. "do you want us to get you home before we continue our journey. You didn't ask to be part of this, so I don't want you to feel you've got to stay with us throughout.. maybe you can tell Frankie what you know of the direction we need to go in?" Her brow furrowed a bit.
Fate
I know where she is, Frankie says, in response to Aaren.
"Mind getting everyone else's clothes out while you're at it?" calls Esta.
Then he slides near Slavina, over grass and rock. Part of Frankie seems to swell like the rolling of a wave, and then Slavina's clothing emerges from Frankie's mouth, whole, dry, and still folded. That done, he slides over to Daina to repeat the process. And so on.
"No." Esta sits up slowly and plants her palms to wait for Frankie. "Actually, I was gonna see you on your way before I headed off. Seeing as how the tables are all turned now, yeah?"
Aaren
"Thank you so much." Aaren sings it to her gratitude song, stumbling halfway when the song doesn't feel right, but manages to finish the sentence anyway. She turns her head toward the blur she thinks is Esta gives her a smile.
To Frankie, she says, "Where is she, and how do we get there?" And she says, "Thank you." And starts to fumble on her clothes. Her green and white hair is still dripping wet, and it hangs in heavy clumps down her back.
Slavina
Slavina takes a moment to re-organize her clothing pile and starts getting dressed. It's a bit of a process, given how many layers she generally wears.
Daina
Daina waits for answers and sort of just amps up her personal heat so she can help the others get dry as well. Hands out and running over Aaren's hair like a ... blow dryer without the blow part?
Aaren
Aaren nods her thanks to Daina and squeezes out the bits that her sister isn't currently drying. She makes an 'eww' face. Wet hair is one of the problems she's gotten used to ignoring.
Fate
Frankie is by Esta when he responds, North by east, 204.39 klicks. You may walk.
"At our normal rate it'll take... ?" Esta prompts.
127.25 hours.
"Can you lead the way like you did when we were looking for Kelly and the other fellow in that one town?"
Yes.
Kelly picks up his trousers. For a moment he stares at them, rubbing the cloth between his fingers. Then he attempts to pull them on. He fumbles at first, then overbalances entirely, collapsing onto the ground.
Esta, who's by far having an easier time of it, calls to him as she hikes up her skirt over the lower part of her blouse, "Aw, you need some help there, love?" (She's clearly teasing.)
"Nope, just warming up!" he calls back, his tone light. Then he proceeds where he is on the ground, with a lot of exaggerated wriggling.
Daina
Daina snirks softly at the exchange and holds out her hands with a questioning expression. "Anyone else need drying help" she makes woosh sounds and moves her hands around in a graceful swaying sort of way. "so useful" She pauses "Oh Frankie can the cart come out around here.. will this world like... eat it or damage it?" she doubts it "or would it damage this world?" also doubted but she's trying to be responsible!
Fate
I do not know what you mean by 'damage'. Or 'this world'.
Aaren
Aaren can't really see the details of what's going on, but she gets the gist and snorts a laugh.
Then she puts her clothes on.
Then she stands up. "So. Which way is North?" She asks.
Fate
The currently flat shadow that is Frankie elongates and tapers until it looks as if it is pointing somewhere.
Slavina
Slavina, having finished donning all her undergarments, pauses to assist Aaren. Particularly with getting the clothes on right way round and doing up her belt. She also wipes a little mud off Aaren's face and adjusts her noises so they're firmly back in her hair.
"It's the direction you're facing, I think?" She guesses, based on the prevailing winds and the cloud structure. Then glances at Frankie's shadow. Well. She wasn't too far off.
Daina
Daina huffs softly "like... if we put plants in a place where they weren't supposed to grow it would screw up the system of nature there.. or .. like.." her brow furrows some and she clears her throat. "Like when I touched the seed in between it had massive effects elsewhere. I want to make sure that doesn't happen again.." She pauses and takes a breath to continue on " as to 'this world' I mean.. where we are.. it's different to me than where we were before the river."
Aaren
"Thank you so much for checking, Daina," Aaren sings, to a tune from one of Aya's operas, the tune of the clever hero. She is being completely sincere.
Fate
That is possible, Frankie responds, not changing his shape.
Aaren
"Slavina, Esta," Aaren asks, since they seem the two most likely to have a vauge idea, "Do you think its okay to bring the cart out?"
She gives Slavina a hug in thanks for the momming.
Daina
Daina hums and considers "how about if Frankie and I are both swans.. we could take two riders each and halve our travel time.. maybe?" she suggests to the group at large, the last question a bit more to Frankie who knows his travel time and all.
Fate
I cannot take riders.
Esta shrugs. Then, after a lag in which she realizes that Aaren's still having trouble seeing, she says, "Feck if I know."
Daina
Daina hums faintly and considers how fast she could make a simple cart. GM? like a box on wheels with a harness situation?
Slavina
Slavina thinks about the question. She puts on her jewelry while she ponders. Finally she lifts one shoulder and says, "I think it's fine."
Daina
Daina shrugs as well and looks to the others "are we ready to get to walking then?"
Aaren
Aaren looks around. A helpless expression camps on her face. "I think so? Did we want to pull the cart out and have seedless pull it?"
Slavina
Slavina swallows, looks at Aaren, and gives it a second before she says "Yes please. I would prefer not to walk right now."
Daina
Daina hmms softly. "Not sure how the cart and our new circumstances will get along..."
Slavina
"As you wish, Daina." Slavina hooks an arm around Aaren to guide her and stands at the ready, facing the horizon in frankie's direction with a mirror-smooth face.
Aaren
Aaren infinetly prefers Daina being cautious to Daina being reckless, so she smiles, nods, and steps out in the correct direction. "Is there a road?" She asks. She gratefully takes Slavina's guidance.
Slavina
Slavina steps in sync with Aaren as she looks to her left to make sure Esta's taking care of guiding Kelly. "No, Renina. But the ground is very mild for now."
Aaren
"Please lead the way to Nora, Frankie!" Aaren sings, to the tune of an upbeat traveling song.
Fate
Soon realizing that his playful incompetence is getting in the way of genuine competence, Kelly rises once more to standing and finishes putting on his clothes (in somewhat of a disarray). Esta soon makes her way over to him to help him straight out. Well, not before instructing him to turn his shirt around, conveniently failing to inform him that it's the wrong way. (He catches on, though, and instead turns it right-side-around and inside-out, making a wonderfully deadpan show of absolutely knowing, 100%, that he got it right this time.)
It's thus that they set off, on the start of their 127.25-hour long journey.
Fate
With Frankie leading them onward into a forest, the first day and night pass.
Palm-sized swallow-looking birds and wren-looking birds and other songbirds flit about between trees. Once, something resembling a crow hops by them a bit, eyeing them, not even coming up to anyone's knee. There are hares here, too, which can fit into two cupped hands, and lizards the length of a hand from palm to middle finger. Every last one of them looks strange, too, with rather fine feathers or fur or scales, unbroken by bone spurs and plating.
They're not the only ones, either. The stars look different, form different shapes. There is a moon, at least, and a sun (though it's hard to tell at first, hidden as it is by cloudy gray skies).
After this time it's easier for Aaren and Kelly to get about, and for everyone to move at least mostly functionally if not entirely in command of one's self. It's sore going the next day, however, and the pace slows to a plod.
The night is restless. New sounds and new smells gently eddy their way into dreams, dragging wakefulness along in their wakes. It doesn't help that it's foggy, muffling and carrying the sounds in turn.
(Kelly and Esta in particular don't bother terribly much with sleep that night.)
Just shy of midway through the next morning of travel, the forest begins to grow sparser, opening up steadily over time. In a few hours it opens up further, revealing green, hilly meadows.
At the crest of the next rise the world stretches before them. Below and to the east is what appears to be a collection of houses and farms and other such buildings, strangely shaped and with sloped turf roofs. Below, closer, is a group of several dozen people, half on one side, half on the other, facing each other and simply standing still. Each of them carries something, though it's hard to make out what at this distance.
Between them are two others—one on the back of a light-colored horse, the other on foot, wearing something that manages to catch the meager light and turn it a glorious copper. It's hard to say what they're doing, aside perhaps talking to each other.
Frankie continues leading them onward, straight towards this group.
Slavina
As soon as they stopped to rest on the first day of travel, Slavina sent Frankie back with a message for Janin - simple, verbal confirmation that they arrived intact. Other than that she's been remarkably quiet (in no small part because of her tongue), responding when spoken to but rarely offering opinions or comments unprompted.
When she spies the congregation below, she slows to a halt. "May we stop?" She asks. "I want to make sure we're not interrupting something sensitive."
Aaren
When Aaren's pupils finally shrink enough that she can see (at night, really. Although most of her spare brain is going towards learning the song of her eyes again so she can fix them) she notices the animals.
She immidently starts feeding them, because she thinks they are the cutest thing ever. Every hour or so she'll go, "But look at it! It's like a little baby fox! It is so cute! We have to find a wolf for Auntie Harley!"
She stops when Slavina does (still on her arm) and listens, hard.
Slavina
Important question Megan: is the horse white? Or just pale?
Fate
Pale. Kinda white but not really? It's hard to tell at this distance.
Daina
Daina snorts softly and gestures to herself. "What I'm not wolf enough, aren't I cute?" she protests playfully.
She pauses and takes a knee, trying to sense warmth from the beings in front of them and compare it to what she knows.
Aaren
"Well, Auntie Harley can't tame you and keep you to wrestle, now can she?"
Caaaan I roll Singing and singing at -6 to try and figure out something about these people?
Fate
Yes. That's -6 successes.
Aaren
Okay.
Slavina
May I roll insight/search to figure out if what they're doing is private, interruptable, etc? And maybe the general tenor of the group?
Aaren
2 success from Aaren's Perception Singing roll!
Daina
Daina hums softly and nods as she waits. "If it helps they've got.. somewhat normal warmth.. the people are peopleish the horse is horse-ish." Smiles a little as she offers that small insight.
"Frankie.. do you know if you're going to scare those folks?"
Fate
Yes you may, Loral.
Aaren
Aaren sings an attempt at her new amusement song, quietly, in response to Daina's news. It doesn't quite work. "Well good." She sings.
Slavina
6
Aaren
Aaren smiles a moment later. "I think you're right, by the way! They sound very people like!" She is pleased with herself, shoulders lifting, smile growing, eyelids squeezing together.
Daina
Daina smiles a bit and gives Aaren's shoulder a little squeeze of encouragement at her progress. "so are we voting safe to approach?" Lifting her head she sniffs the air for anything... funky weird like.
Slavina
Slavina watches them for a few minutes, shading her eyes with one hand. She leans on Aaren a little now that they've stopped walking. Slavina clears her throat. "We can go down and watch, but I think we shouldn't try and talk to them until they've finished what they're doing. It looks important."
Fate
No, I do not know, Frankie responds to Daina's initial question.
Slavina
She turns to Esta with a questioning expression, wordlessly asking for a second opinion.
Daina
Daina hums softly and ponders "for now can you be ... um.. " taps her chin "Oh Oh can you be a horse?"
Fate
Esta narrows her eyes as if to get a better look. "I think they're..." The word she uses is familiar to her tongue, but this is one she hasn't taught anyone. She thinks a moment, then says, "If that's the case... then yes, that's right. It's a... kind of territory dispute. What they're doing."
I can, Frankie responds.
Esta gives Daina a dubious look. "Eh... I think a horse would—" As her eyes flick to Aaren, she cuts herself off, then tosses her hands apart. "Nevermind."
"He can also hide in any of our shadows," Kelly suggests. "Or in any shadow, I think."
Aaren
"How about we go around?" Aaren sings, to roughly the tune of 'dubious'. "We wouldn't want to get in their way."
Daina
Daina tsks "that's much less fun Kelly" she shrugs "no need to worry if we're going to go 'round." prepared to do that if it's the groups consensus.
Slavina
Slavina looks at Aaren, then looks at a bird. "White horses were favored by the Tsarbog..." She says quietly.
Aaren
Aaren blinks. "I assume that's relevent. Is the horse white, Slavina?"
"I can't hear colors right now."
Slavina
Slavina squeezes Aaren's hand for 'yes.'
Fate
A great roar from multiple throats comes up, carrying across the field. The other side of the gathering responds with one of their own, which sounds like a chant. Nobody has changed positions yet, though.
Aaren
Aaren hesistates. "Can you do a divination to tell if its actually a sign? They sound pretty busy."
Fate
"I can scout," Kelly says, quiet but sure.
Daina
Daina pauses "maybe better to have Frankie scout?" she suggests "I wonder.. Frankie can you send us the sounds you get through another shadow... covertly though?"
Slavina
"I'll try." Slavina squeezes Aaren's hand again, then lets go. She steps away a few paces and crouches to the ground, making marks and tossing little rocks to see how they fall.
Mystery+search to identify omens?
Fate
Sure, at -2 successes.
Slavina
2
She comes back. "I have no idea. Sorry."
Aaren
"Okay." Aaren nods. "Let's go around. Kelly, if you wanna scout it out while we do so, more info sounds great. Esta, how much space is this game-thing going to take up?"
She sings game thing, because it does look a bit (from here) like some of the big ball and feild games the kids play during Spring Festival.
Daina
Daina pauses a second "Um.. hey Frankie, are any of those people or horses the person we're looking for?" because just checking.
Fate
Esta gives Aaren an odd look. But then she makes a thoughtful noise in her throat. "Not much more than they're taking up now, I imagine. If they have bows and arrows, though, we'll want to give 'em a wide berth."
"Bows and arrows?" Kelly asks, furrowing his brow a little.
Esta hums him an affirmative song. (Apparently the singing language is contagious.)
No, Frankie states to Daina.
Slavina
Slavina grabs Aaren's arm again. Definitely to help her around, definitely not because Esta's statement worried her. "How far does an arrow fly here?" She asks, cool as day-old bathwater.
Fate
Esta is initially taken aback by this question, but quickly accepts it and shrugs. "Never seen one fired."
Daina
Daina grins a little "Just checking, the world is weird after all"
Daina stretches a little and strokes her chin as she ponders.
Aaren
"Wait." Aaren sings, using the old confused song. "I thought this was a contest? Are the arrows blunted?"
She's walking though, guiding the party to skirt the events without moving so far away they'll lose sight of them or too much time.
Slavina
"A territory dispute." Slavina says, throat dry. "Neighborhood associations do that sometimes. It's rarely healthy for the parties involved."
Aaren
"Oh, a gang fight?" Aaren sings, the 'oh duh' song. "Well let's just move right along then, shall we?"
Daina
Daina hums softly "we're just thinking worst case scenario they have projectile weapons and giving a wider berth than we might have."
Aaren
Aaren picks up her step and widens the distance their path will give the fueding gangs.
Daina
Daina does the same and continues onwards. Looking to the group to make sure there are no stragglers and lending a shoulder if there are.
Fate
After a bit, Kelly splits from the group. He's... mostly quiet. Quiet enough, anyway. One hopes. And he blends into the landscape well enough. The grass is high, at least, which helps.
As the group crosses the field, more roaring from either side goes up. Then the two important people quit the middle and return to their groups. Soon enough, the two sides of people come together to make a small ring. Three figures from each side step out, and with a rhythmic pounding of... something against something else (it's not quite drumlike, but it's effectively percussive), they circle around each other, rush to meet, then part. Then they circle again, rush, part... and begin the cycle anew.
Meanwhile, the two important folks just... seem to quit the field entirely. Their pace is leisurely, and they're each attended by several folks. The fellow with the sunlit garb makes his way over to the watchers. The fellow atop the horse ranges over the field.
It's not long before he spots the group of people moving around the battle. He kicks at his horse and heads towards them at a friendly-looking canter.
Slavina
Slavina tightens her grip on Aaren's arm. "One of the bosses is coming towards us." She murmurs. "He doesn't seem agressive." Then she straightens to her most glowing posture, puts on her best face, and makes brief, non-threatening eye contact with the oncoming figure.
Do I need to roll for Slavina to be incredibly charming and friendly-looking on sight? Like, she wants him to be totally up for helping us if possible.
Fate
You may!
Daina
Daina meanwhile smiles brightly and greets the horse in a friendly fashion.
Slavina
Okay, that's presence+performance I think, with her liudzi knack?
Fate
Yes!
Slavina
11
Aaren
Aaren sighs, but streightens her shoulders. For a moment, she sings the 'in-charge' Vir song, but of course it doesn't feel right, so she settles (uncomfortably) for silence and a smile.
Right now, she's six four. Her skin is blue and grey, highlighting silver in the sun like a fishes scales. And her hair, trailing now in a massive braid-of-braids down her back, is still green and white, and strung with noises, bones, bells, and flowers. Her iris are amber, visible now against the disdented darkness of her still-too-large pupil.
Fate
Mel, it's -2 successes to your Purview rolls, by the by
And please stand by. It's gonna take longer than a momentary meeting to equal one roll.
Daina
okie
Fate
The fellow pulls his horse up short with a noise and calms it with a couple clicks.
The horse is a beautiful dappled gray, well-brushed, with well-trimmed and -oiled hooves.
The fellow is bedecked in finery... well, what the backwoods might consider finery, anyway... with a rich brown cape draped over one shoulder, and a fine boiled leather cuirass, along with beaten bronze bracers, decorated with intricate filigree. A sword hangs scabbarded at his hip. He looks still quite young.
He stares a moment, at Slavina. At a clear loss. But then he clears his throat and tosses his cape back, dramatically, revealing his admittedly athletically muscled arm.
Then he speaks. His speech drifts at the edge of understanding, with words that sound familiar, that are the right shape, but aren't quite there. There's something about his inflections, maybe, or his drawl, or the slow cadence with which he speaks, or... something else.
But then he clicks again, a different click, and kicks again, a different kick, and the horse kneels one foreleg down and straightens the other, mimicking a bow.
A few seconds later, understanding crawls in.
"Welcome, travelers, to my lands!" he'd said. Alongside some other, things which may have been intended to be flowery. "I am Bronn son of Cathoair." More flowery things, which may have been him explaining how awesome he is... ?
Daina
Daina gives a little happy squee at the horse bow, it's freaking adorable. She lets Slavina handle the guy and asks the horse politely if she may pet his or her muzzle.
Fate
Mel, mind rolling to understand the horse?
Different world, different animal body languages. I wanna see how Daina adapts.
Daina
okie
animal and?
Fate
Notice.
Slavina
Slavina glances him over, taking her time to drink in his appearance and words. She twitches her shawl a bit higher on her arm, catching sunlight on the velvet and making bells tinkle and amber beads glow. She inclines her head in a show of respect.
"Bronn son of Cathoair," she says in (deliberately) accented tones. "It is our honor to have met you. I am Zdeslava daughter of Bozihosta. Forgive me, but I don't speak your language very well... this land is yours?"
Fate
That's 3 successes, Mel?
Daina
yesm
Fate
Okay!
Fate
The horse straightens and tosses his head. You may not! This evokes a soothing shush and stroke from Bronn.
As she speaks, his eyes go a little wide. He speaks again, slower and more clearly enunciated. It only takes a couple of seconds of lagtime to translate. "Well met, daughter of Bozihosta, and complement. To speak true, it is not my land, but only time separates it from me." He sweeps his hand over to where the crowd of people are standing. "My heroes are stouter and truer. It would take ten normal men to take one of mine down. I invite you to come see for yourself. My accommodations are not far."
As if on cue, a roar goes up, much less structured this time. The ring collapses. Metal scrapes against metal, and agonized and enraged cries fill the air. He turns an ear towards the battle, briefly, but dismounts with a casual, smooth motion. "It will be my honor to guide you there and offer the hospitality of my house."
Aaren
Aaren begins to sing, quietly but with insistance. Struggling to find the injury in the songs of the men who have been fighting. Her face has paled, and her mouth has gone dry.
First just one voice, but then all of them, searching frantically. "Oh Angel's mercy , it's totally a gang fight and I don't even have the ER." Her words are tight across the hurried, stumbling songs.
Slavina
Is Aaren speaking english, or Tearmann?
Aaren
English.
Daina
Daina startles and blows a huff of air out of her nose. She's distracted though by Aaren and moves back to the group and offers her hand in comfort and support. "Aaren it's a battle and it's not.. we can't .. I'm sure they have healers. It's ok" she attempts to soothe.
Aaren
probably which ever sort we've been teaching Esta, since that's what she'd be used to talking to the group in.
Fate
Esta, more than happy to not be even close to the center of attention, remains completely silent, cycling between watching the ladies, watching Bronn, and watching for Kelly.
Slavina
"A generous offer." Slavina "While I would say 'yes' a thousand times in a single breath, I must ask my mistresses before I may say anything." She gives him an embellished Liudzi-style curtsey and turns to Aaren and Daina.
"Do you want to take his invitation?" She asks the group as a whole, in English. "It would be nice to get some rest and maybe allow you a chance to do first aid, but I don't know what the risk of retaliation is."
Aaren
Aaren takes a deep breath, and transitions her songs to her best approximation of her new calm song. It works, a little, and with smoother words she sings, "No. If I'm doing first aid, we'll have to set up a neutral spot. If this is a gang war we need to not be associated with either side."
Daina
Daina looks to the sir and gives a polite smile but then to Slavina replies "We really do need to complete our mission don't we.. and it's not... a .. I don't find it to be sport as he seems to it's basically like hey let's watch people get hurt for fun... " She keeps her hand in Aaren's and gives a soft squeeze. "Please let him down easy and tell him we'd love to but we really are in a hurry, and you know whatever fancy stuff to make it go over well."
Aaren
"We'll pull the cart out when we get out of sight." Aaren sings, because she knows Slavina needs to rest.
Slavina
Slavina glances at Esta for a cultural-compatability check before giving the gang-boss their final word.
Fate
Since it's clear she's being consulted and prompted to speak, Esta grows much more alert. "He's a..." After some searching she uses that word that she used before, intermingled with her English. "Hospitality is very important to his sort. You could do a grave insult if you let him down him the wrong way. But in his care, he's well within his rights to get what he wants from us. Well, so long as he's 'seemly' about it." She pauses and looks around. "Where's Kelly? Having him here might help our chances."
Aaren
Can Aaren tell where Kelly is?
Fate
At a -6 successes penalty, she's got an average roll of 0. So no. But you can roll if you want.
Slavina
"What's necessary for it not to be the wrong way?" She asks. "Daina, could you ask Frankie to fetch Kelly?"
Aaren
III'llll jus ttake the 0
Daina
Daina asks Frankie to quietly and carefully request Kelly's return as soon as safely possible.
Fate
XD
"I dunno," Esta says. "I don't deal with ríthe if I can help it." The word is distinguishable, now that it's been used a few times. "Which I've been able to... up until this point."
The horse flicks its ears. You are strange for a horse.
Slavina
While she keeps an ear on Esta's reply, Slavina returns her attention to the boss-man. "My mistress's brother is roaming, and will return to us shortly." She gives him another curtsey. "If your kind offer remains by the time he returns, we will have an answer for you then."
Daina
Daina looks to the horse and tilts her head side to side while replying (in horse) yes I am strange I agree, but I'm very sweet she does whatever a horse equivalent of a grin is.
Meg just a check for sure, do I know what that word is? Rithe?
Fate
Roll Wits + Knowledge: Backstory. Difficulty 7.
Daina
got a three I sure don't! XD
Fate
Off in the distance, the various cries grow more numerous. But the groups are beginning to ebb from each other, leaving some fallen forms behind.
The horse flicks his tail. Apples are sweet. Are you an apple? Then, after a moment, he whickers. It sounds laugh-like.
Bronn himself offers a bow in concession to Slavina.
Soon enough Kelly returns, wading through the grass. His skin is ashen, his expression blank. He offers the horse and rider little mind save a completely neutral look-over. Bronn, on the other hand, examines him, clearly sizing him up from foot to head. He repeats his flowery greeting to Kelly. For a long, taut moment, Kelly is silent, still blank.
Daina
Do you see many talking apples?
Slavina
Slavina translates to hometownish as closely as she can.
Aaren
Aaren sings, finally pushed over the edge by the waiting, with so much tension and agony right over there. Her voices rise and swell in the Dirdge of Bozhena. The song from the Tsarbog's Rock Opera where 'Zoric' looks around at the remains of her first battle field and sees her dead comrades, lost on the edges of a conflict too large for comprehension.
Fate
At this, Bronn glances at Aaren, shocked at first, but schools his expression to polite neutrality, simply waiting as this striking servant translates to her masters.
Kelly remains blank throughout the translation. Esta glances to him worriedly, then steps in, hooking her arm in his and says to Bronn, in Tearmish, "Please forgive his quietness, exalted lord. He's a great warrior with a powerful geas." Quickly, she adds, "Um, but know that he's honored to have been greeted by one such as you."
Bronn tilts his head in acknowledgement, an air of uneasiness about him. "Well." He clears his throat. "Please know that my offer remains, and furthermore is extended to this silent warrior."
Daina
Daina flashes a grin to Esta with her really good pick up there, a sense of 'well done' given to her before she extends her hand to Aaren and tries to provide some sort of distraction. "So the horse thinks I'm an apple" she chimes cheerily, hey it had amused her!
Slavina
"Thank you again for your offer of hospitality." Slavina begins, with another curtsey—in which she remains while delivering the rest of her speech. "Unfortunately, we will have to decline. My companions and I are bound in service to a god, and they have determined that to accept your offer would have us stray too far from the path we follow."
Aaren
Aaren knows that Daina is trying to help. It's that knowledge that restrains her surging anger from turning on her little sister. She squeezes Daina's hand, but she can't manage any reassuring words.
Daina
Daina sighs faintly and looks down at the goings on. She'd -like- to stay and help and prevent further violence, but they just don't have time. So they have to ... push on and keep moving and not ... linger emotionally.
Fate
Once more Bronn's composure breaks in favor of surprise. But he schools it again. "Well, given that, I would be remiss if I didn't offer you whatever was in my power to aid you." He considers a moment, then says, "I have ranged these lands from horizon to horizon on hoof and on foot. Perhaps I can offer you assistance in getting where you're going." He leaves his statement slightly open for them, his gaze sliding over each of them.
"Rí Bronn!" calls someone off in the distance—a figure, drawing closer on foot, along with a handful of people. Bronn glances over his shoulder, but then re-trains his attention on the group at hand.
Aaren
Aaren doesn't stop singing, following the path of the song through confusion and rage and into swelling grief. She sings, in English,"Say we can't ask for help. Getting help will involve us."
Slavina
Slavina rises from her curtsey, slow and even. She meets his eye again with a small smile. "Ever generous, but alas—Assisting us would yoke you to our fate, and it is not a fate I would burden you with. Instead, son of Cathoair, I ask you for a kiss and a blessing."
Fate
He straightens and puffs up ever so slightly. "It would be my honor, though my blessing be but a drop in the ocean of the glory this company sows with its passing." He briefly turns to his horse, murmurs something, and then drops the reins and pats its neck companionably. The horse doesn't move. Then he draws closer to Slavina and grants her request.
He pulls out all the stops for his flowery blessing, half of it difficult to translate and the other half taking too long to translate and unpack before the next lines offer yet more. In this time, Bronn's retinue catches up, but he stops them with a hand motion and they stand and wait alongside the horse, catching their breaths and eyeing the strange crew before them.
Once it's done, Bronn steps away and makes a sharp, emphatic gesture which looks to be some kind of salute. At this, his retinue startledly takes his cue and each drop to a knee and bow their heads.
It seems okay to leave now...
Slavina
As soon as it's 'seemly' (to borrow Esta's phrase), Slavina takes her place back at Aaren's elbow and the whole team makes tracks the way Frankie was pointing earlier. They don't even have to re-check the heading since apparently cardinal directions here are frozen in place.
Daina
Daina smiles and does horse things to say farewell to the steed. "Stay safe strong friend" Going along with the others after that and letting Slavina tend to Aaren.
Fate
The horse tosses his head proudly to Daina.
Daina
Daina laughs aloud at the horses response and grins. "man horses" said mostly to herself.
Fate
And so the group continues onward.
At some length away the conversation begins anew, just audible to sensitive ears.
"What are druids doing here?" asks a new voice, low.
"They are doing the work of the gods," says Bronn.
There's a stunned silence.
"They asked for my blessing," he continues. "I think this is a good omen for my reign, don't you?"
The conversation continues along this vein until after they're out of earshot.
Aaren
After a significant amount of time, Aaren (to the slow working out of the song of her eyes) asks, "What is a druid?"
Slavina
As soon as they're out of sight, Slavina..... sort of... melts. She keeps walking, but she's not so much guiding Aaren now as she is draped over her.
Daina
Daina looks around them and strains her ears for anyone following them or nearby. "Wondering if we should get the cart out..."
Aaren
"Yes please." Aaren sings, and she manages a smile for Daina. "Also, I think it is cute that the horse thought you were an apple."
Daina
Daina smiles "same, it was a nice little talk even if he wouldn't allow me to pet him" she looks to Frankie "Hey there buddy, can ya give us the cart?" she questions with a friendly tone.
Fate
Meanwhile Esta stays attached to Kelly, who remains largely unresponsive. At Aaren's question, Esta cringes an eye and huffs out a breath. "I'm not sure what, exactly. I think no one does, save the druids themselves. But one thing they are is... very powerful. Even ríthe and bards and lawyers bend to them." She glances over her shoulder. Behind them Bronn and company have dispersed—and beyond that the groups of people are still within eyeshot, separated once more less organized. She looks back to everyone. "Maybe the best disguise for you lot, all in all, but take care with it in case you come across a real druid. I'm not sure how they'd feel about impersonators."
Daina
Daina posits "if we don't make the claim ourselves then... " she smiles "no harm done by us eh?"
Fate
Without skipping a beat, Frankie swells and grows to the size of the cart. Then the cart slides from the shadow, steadily, until it's fully out. Then Frankie continues onward.
Throughout this, Esta shrugs a shoulder in response to Daina. "It served us well this time. But words don't have to be spoken to have power."
Slavina
Slavina oozes her way into the cart.
Aaren
Aaren stops walking to get Seedless hooked up to the cart, then gets Slavina and herself up on the seat before they start moving again.
She aslo hums an invitation (still off-tune, but the thought is there) to Kelly and pats the seat next to her.
Daina
Diana perks up "hey Frankie is that a new trick? you didn't have to yack it up!"
Slavina
As Daina's attention drifts away from Esta, Slavina quietly asks, "Can you tell us more about the ríthe?"
Fate
No, says Frankie.
At the invitation, Kelly hesitates, then half-glances towards Esta, not quite making it to full eye contact. She lets him go, and he moves to the cart to the spot Aaren indicated.
With one final, lingering look of concern, Esta finally turns her attention to Slavina, soon clambering her way over to her own spot. "Sure. I've only met one other than that Bronn fellow, though. And I'd only trust him as far as I could throw him fluthered. Assuming he wouldn't have me killed for making him lose face. Other than that, I've got stories."
Daina
Daina listens to the conversation and nods to the point about words not needing to be spoken, her tone is of 'that's true'. A brief pause as she hmms softly and questions "What's fluthered?"
Aaren
Aaren sings to her brother, asking if he wants a hug.
Slavina
"Don't throw ríthe." Slavina repeats, deadpan. "Got it."
Fate
"Blind drunk," says Esta to Daina.
As if a barrier had been crumbled, Kelly sags and covers his face, his shoulders shaking with quiet sobs.
At Slavina's statement, Esta barks a laugh. "Don't open your legs to 'em if you can help it, either."
Aaren
Aaren hugs her brother close, singing a mournful, wordless dirdge.
Daina
Daina hums a bit softly and then grimaces softly at the "if you can help it bit".
She glances to her brother and sister and is then silent in respect of their grief. She'd purposefully not looked at the carnage and distracted herself. She couldn't help those fighting or their aftermath and so she needed to stay strong to keep moving on things that she can help. She clambers up to sit on top of the cart, facing forward to where they're going.
Slavina
Slavina glances at Kelly, but doesn't move towards him—anything she could do right now would only interfere with aaren-hugs. "Why is that?" She asks Esta. "They don't have spines down there or something, do they?"
Fate
Esta lets out another laugh. "No. But they think their seed is something special." Her gaze slides off to the side. "My friend Brita got her son taken from her 'cause she'd taken a fancy to a rí and he gotten a notion the boy was his. Then the boy was sent off without her being asked or even told where. The sick of it is she ended up having a daughter by him, and he commissioned a bard on the sly to shame her out of town so his wife wouldn't catch wind of it." Esta shakes her head.
Daina
Daina listens to this, her face turning a little more sour with each bit of the story.
Slavina
Slavina goes a bit pale and blinks, shocked. "What claim does he have to the fruit of her womb?" She doesn't raise her voice, but the disgust and horror rises to the surface like oil on water.
Daina
Daina just..... points to Slavina in a 'yeah what she said' way.
Aaren
Aaren continues to hug her brother and sing.
Fate
Esta shrugs. "Same claim a farmer has to crops, right? After all, a womb lays fallow until seed is planted there." She spits. "So the lawyers say."
Daina
"A seed planted in poor soil will not sprout... and the earth protects and nurtures the seed... it's... it takes two" she mumbles softly.
Slavina
"I see." She responds to Esta, voice dull, hollow. "I suppose I will never understand, not being a farmer. It's different for Liudzi."