Campaign Log: Confessions of a Forked Tongue

[coronatiger]

None of the spirits appeared to be hostile, though, so I declared my intention to go over to the tree stump and knock on the door. Everyone followed. Up close, I could see that the door had once been covered with red and green paint, but time had worn it down.

I knocked, and a heartbeat later, the door opened. The tree stump was hollowed out into one big room. In the center stood a table with simple stools tucked in under it. The walls were covered top to bottom with a collection of plants, except where a tapestry hung. In front of the tapestry stood a wooden statue depicting a lush, middle-aged woman in lifelike detail. “Be greeted,” I said to the statue. It responded by opening its eyes. One of the myriad spirits in the room pulled out a stool from the table, and I sat down. “Be greeted, you talk to Samora,” the statue said.

I explained that we came seeking healing for our dwarven friend and that we brought a gift if Samora could find a way to restore him. I spoke Arani, of course, but when Wolfram opened his mouth, Samora revealed that she could speak Common, and we continued so everyone could understand.

Samora was surprised that we had come all the way from Arland in our search, but she recovered quickly. She instructed me to take certain plants from the walls and place them on Groman’s throat and wrists. When I had done so, she began to whisper in a strange language, and the spirits in the room began to move. Some drifted up to the ceiling, while others entered the plants on Groman. I thought Samora’s whisper had some kind of rhythm to it; was she quoting a poem?

Suddenly, Samora gasped and fell silent, and the spirits fled from Groman. I knelt by his side and touched his forehead. Groman was cold sweating. I told my friends it appeared Samora couldn’t cure Groman. Then I began to pray.

Vaguely, I heard the growl of an animal in the distance. Xipil detected that it was actually a person signaling. I ignored it all and focused on my prayer; I was struggling to establish a connection. I did not ignore when the door was ripped open.

A dark-skinned warrior studied us. “Or var,” he said in a deep voice. I had no idea what that meant. The warrior stomped the butt of his spear against the floor. Wolfram asked if he spoke Common, but the warrior turned and walked away, leaving the door open. While I didn’t speak the man’s tongue, I could read his body language, and it was obvious he wanted us to follow. Wolfram peeked outside and closed the door. Xipil protested that we were meant to go after, but Wolfram distracted him by asking if he thought they were shapeshifters; there were quite a few of them around the clearing.

I returned to my prayer. The men outside began to beat drums and sing, and Xipil went to watch. Grogg and Hylda started a counter-song inside, and Grogg beat the rhythm with his maul on the floor. I allowed myself a moment of distraction. Grogg’s voice was deep and steady, but Hylda’s was shrill and discordant. Why had I ever thought she could sing? It had to be because of Grogg’s insistence. I sighed and tried my best to shut out the sounds.

I thought I wouldn’t get a response from You. Was the clearing with its circle of bauta stones magically blocking my attempt at reaching out? Samora’s magic might be strong, but You are stronger. “She comes!” Your voice in my head was ecstasy, and I was loath to sever the connection, but I found myself standing up and opening my eyes. Yana wore a slight frown. “Why so determined?” she signed. “Our host is here,” I signed back. Yana’s eyes widened with fear, so I added. “Ashtar did not instruct me to kill her.”

The door opened. A gorgeous woman, almost as beautiful as Yana, stood outside. She was clad in a dress woven of green and purple leaves. This could be none other than Samora herself; her regal air was one that expected obedience, but she smiled pleasantly at us all. Wolfram stepped aside so she could enter.

I crossed my arms over my chest and bowed politely. Samora acknowledged the gesture with another smile, but she said nothing and went to examine Groman. She did much like I would have done, feeling his forehead for a fever and his wrists to measure his heart rate. Xipil entered the room, looking quite timid. Had he gone up against Samora outside and gotten a lesson?

Samora asked where we had found Groman, but I thought it more useful to explain where he’d gotten his “condition.” I told Samora about the King’s Crypt, and she asked the location of the spirit cloud that had been released from there. To the best of our knowledge, the desert people had taken it to the north-west.

Samora checked Groman’s vitals again, obviously concerned. She was far from certain that she could heal him, and if she could, it would take months. Wolfram explained that we needed Groman’s expertise to counteract the coming cataclysm, but he surprised me by asking for permission before he revealed more. I said it was fine. Wolfram said we needed Groman to translate ancient languages in the ruined city where we meant to find and aid Queen Makeda. We didn’t have months for Groman to recover.

Xipil was perhaps the one who had spent the most time in Pak and Groman’s company, and he had a solution. Pak was almost as skilled as Groman, and we should be able to convince him to stand in, now that we could leave Groman’s recovery in the most capable hands.

I said I wanted to hear Your opinion before I committed us to anything. Samora said my faith had to be strong indeed if You could give me answers in this place. I didn’t bother with a reply. I just sank to my knees and fished Hope out of her pouch again. I wasn’t certain Samora was entirely comfortable. She said she would go outside and let us talk, but Wolfram and Xipil kept her busy with questions while I reached out to You.

With my palms against the floor, I remained still, but I could feel Hope slithering about. Something about this place confused her. I noticed it before, but I didn’t think much of it at the time. It was like Hope hunted for the best spot to hear You, but she had trouble finding it. When she stopped for a moment, she quickly decided to move on. Suddenly, I felt her perking up, and then Your voice blessed my inner ear. “On the path that lies ahead, only your eyes can see!”

My eyes blinked open. I scooped up Hope and stood. “We will do fine without Groman,” I said, “but since we’re going back to Anabel anyway, we might as well gather up Pak and Keri and take them with us.” I expected them to be there by now, hopefully safely ensconced in the Nightflower.

Samora said we had to leave the stump for a while. She instructed us to find a place to stay in the jungle, and to return after full dark. We could leave Groman where he was. I suggested we looked for a place where we might set up our tents, and the others agreed. There was some consternation that the path we had followed earlier was now gone, but we didn’t have to go very far before we found a decent campsite. We had to set up the large tent over and around some bushes, but the smaller fit snugly between two trees.

[coronatiger]

9th of Mitra’s First Month, year 413 (continued)

“I’m going to pray,” I told Yana. “Will you let me know when the others are ready to return to Samora?” Yana smiled and showed me the signs meaning “yes” and “love.” I flashed “love” back at her, then entered our little tent to get a modicum of privacy.

After a while, drums and song started to drift over from the not-too-distant clearing where Samora and her warriors stayed. Yana came inside the tent, worried. She said this was the same kind of music as we’d heard at Miramara’s place. Xipil, Grogg, Hylda and Wolfram had once used this music to contact Miramara, after we left for Anabel, and I expected Samora was up to the same, although I wouldn’t put it past her to try to entrance us with the music, the way Miramara had. I made a circling motion with my left index finger, pointing towards my face. Yana gave me a grim smile in response. That single sign conveyed much: We had to watch our friends and make sure they didn’t do anything stupid or rash.

Outside, it took me a moment to realize it was getting darker. The sun was setting, but I had no direct line of sight in the dense jungle. Grogg, Hylda and Wolfram were talking. I couldn’t see Xipil, but Yana informed me he was resting up in one of the nearby trees. I nodded. It was good to get confirmation, but I had already smelled on our big friends that they didn’t worry. I scanned for Xipil, but it took me a while to locate him. He was much higher up than I had thought he would climb. I could never be comfortable sleeping on a tree branch; it must be a lizard man thing.

When the scent of Grogg’s emotions abruptly changed, my eyes snapped towards him. He began to hum. “Hey, Grogg, I have a question for you,” I said, drawing his attention away from the distant music. “Can you tell me much about troll culture? You know, like traditional songs and stories and such. I wondered because you’ve always referred to Lunari as your elf daddy, so I wasn’t sure if you grew up among trolls or elves.”

Grogg explained that he was quite young when he left the troll community, but he recalled a few things, among them a song about elf meat and dwarf blood. I asked if there was a verse about eating humans too. He claimed there was, but he couldn’t remember how it went, unlike the verse about elf meat. I kept Grogg talking. He hadn’t known personally any trolls that ate elves, dwarves or humans, but he’d heard stories about it.

When it was full dark and time to go, I called for Xipil to come down. He didn’t appear to hear me, so I asked Grogg to shake the tree. Grogg gave the tree a solid kick, startling Xipil awake. Yana and Hylda asked if we wanted them to remain in the camp, but Wolfram said they might as well come along. We didn’t expect danger.

Wolfram lit a lantern. Xipil’s daylight stone shone too bright for comfort, he claimed. Some of Samora’s men had gone to sleep, and it certainly would have woken them as we passed. Xipil went to examine the first we found, but I sensed they were just sleeping. Those still awake seemed to patrol around the clearing. We made no move to conceal our presence, and they ignored us after a quick glance.

Inside the giant tree stump, someone had moved Groman to the side. I guess he had been a little in the way where we had put him. Samora sat on a small bench, sliding her eyes lazily over us as we entered. I could tell she was trying to get a read on us and put on my most neutral face. Wolfram reeked of attraction, and he wasn’t even trying to conceal it, so Samora gave him an extra smile.

“She just woke,” Yana signed discreetly. I agreed. Standing up, Samora did her best to conceal it, but she couldn’t hide from us that she was straightening her hair and dress. Xipil might have caught on as well. He said he had a most exciting dream just now, prompting Samora to admit that she also dreamed most interestingly, that we had met people in our dreams before. Wolfram confirmed that we had met Miramara.

The way the others behaved, it quickly became clear that Miramara was present in a form that was invisible to Yana and me, but the others could obviously perceive her. “If you sleep, you will see,” a voice whispered. Fat chance of that happening, I thought. If there is one thing I will not risk, it is my immortal soul. I smiled in Miramara’s direction, though, or at least in the direction where I thought her phantom was.

We sat down around the table. Samora assumed we had a lot of questions, but first, she wanted us to confirm that we really meant to go to the ruined city, which she called Uli Alava. I said yes, and she asked what we hoped to find there. “Queen Makeda,” I said. I saw no reason to divulge the nature of my holy quest to these sorceresses, friendly though they might appear. Samora and Miramara believed we would find more than we were looking for. They truly hoped the queen would return.

Xipil explained that we intended to travel “through the stars” to get to the ruined city. Samora and Miramara understood what he meant. Samora said that it was a difficult path to take, one that one should be trained to walk from childhood. She genuinely appeared to worry about our safety, and she said they could help our souls through the ordeal unharmed, either by fastening them to something, or by having us sleep through the journey. Samora knew we possessed an object suitable for this purpose, and Wolfram believed she was talking about Grogg’s needle despite us never taking it out since we got here.

I read on Samora that she had no idea what Wolfram was talking about despite her pretending the opposite. When asked, Grogg showed it to her. Samora was allowed to touch it for a moment, but she said she would need more time to study it if she were to decide whether it could be used during our teleportation.

Samora asked where we came by it. Grogg told her he found it in the Brown Forest, that dangerous region beyond the Prince’s Cities. I didn’t know much about the place, and I hadn’t yet met Grogg, Xipil and Lunari when they went there. The little I’d heard from Lunari were boasts and exaggerations. I didn’t like they way Samora was prying into our business, so I cut short her line of questioning. Miramara must have said something, for Xipil blurted out that if one pricked someone with the needle, they fell asleep. Samora suddenly looked around, then handed the needle back to Grogg.

Returning to more relevant matters, Samora had to give some rather heavy-handed hints before my brilliant companions realized the object she had alluded to earlier was the staff Arafos gave us. It had been meant as a gift for Samora for healing Groman, but if she wanted to use it to help us get to the ruined city, I was all for it, as long as she and Miramara refrained from tampering with my soul. Xipil said I had the staff, but I had left it in my tent; I thought it was safe enough there.

Samora told us we could pick anyone we wanted from her domain or Miramara’s and take them with us on our quest. All they asked in return was the first picks from whatever we discovered at Uli Alava. “Slave trading?” I queried, raising an eyebrow. “Call it what you will,” said Samora. She confessed that after learning that something had gone wrong in the underworld, she was reluctant to let go of any of the spirits she kept here.

I pulled a long knife from its sheath and began to trim my nails. Samora was coming dangerously close to being shipped off to a personal encounter with You, where she could hear Your opinion on the matter. The widening of her eyes let me know Samora took the hint to guard her words. Yana’s scent turned to wariness, but everyone else was glaringly oblivious.

Samora understood that Wolfram wasn’t keen on her spirit arrangement either, but he hadn’t threatened her, so she addressed him. She said her proposed deal with us would let us do anything to the spirits we picked. We could send them on if we decided that was “right.”

[coronatiger]

From there, the discussion turned to theology, the Realm of Death and how one shouldn’t worship anyone who dwelled deeper than Ashtar. I paid close attention to what Wolfram and Samora said, but there was no more blasphemy, so I was content to stay silent and just listen. Some of those we called grey men had settled in a land to the west, and Samora said the people there weren’t particularly wise, for they did worship the deep ones. And by the way, someone from there were headed for Uli Alava.

Samora knew surprisingly much about the story of Xipil’s people. There lay the explanation of his connection to the stars. It supposedly had to do with some distant ancestor of his having been thrown up into the night sky. Samora believed Xipil had offended Tiri or Tityra, or he wouldn’t have lost touch with the stars the way he had. She thought he’d regain the connection if we completed the holy quest Tiri had given Wolfram.

Samora asked when we intended to go north. “In a couple of weeks,” I said, but Wolfram expounded. He revealed that we have some tasks that we need to handle first. Xipil chimed in that we meant to leave from the palace in Anabel.

I was beginning to suspect that Samora knew exactly what we would find in the ruined city, and that she greatly desired some specific item from there. She brought up her suggested agreement again and offered to sweeten the deal by helping us with Arlo. She could reach out to him and put in a good word for us, so we could get to the fallen star being with as little hassle as possible. From what I knew about Arlo, he wasn’t exactly a people person, so this was tempting.

Resisting the urge to agree, I told Samora that I saw no reason to enter a vague agreement now. If we found something that Samora or Miramara wanted, they could then offer to buy it from us. Similarly, if we decided we needed to claim some of their subjects, we could make a deal then.

“Xipil, a word outside?” I asked. When we were alone outside, with no spirits close enough to overhear, I asked him to remind me why we needed to go to Arlo and defeat the star being. Xipil said the fallen star creature contained much energy, and he meant to use that energy to fuel the teleportation. “Right!” I nodded, and we went back inside.

“I have a proposal for a deal,” I told the room. “It’s merely a suggestion, and I need my companions’ agreements if we are to strike a bargain.” The proposal was that after each of us had made a pick from the loot, Samora and Miramara could pick one of the remaining items, if they successfully convinced Arlo not to get in our way. Samora understood that we would want to discuss it amongst ourselves, but she had to confer with Miramara again, who clearly weren’t present anymore. Xipil suggested we took the discussion in our camp, so I told Samora we could tell her what we concluded tomorrow.

Wolfram didn’t want to leave yet; he had started an interesting discussion with Samora about shapeshifters, and in particular the bandits who held us for ransom until we agreed to trounce the Moon Shadows for them.

Eventually, it was Samora who grew tired of our company. We agreed to come back the same time tomorrow, but Xipil had a few more questions. First, he wondered why it felt something was tugging on him when he passed the barrier at the underground lake. Samora offered to look more closely at Xipil’s soul when we met next. Xipil didn’t take the hint and continued. Could Samora explain why the presence of spirits affected him so badly? She said she would have to think about it, but something strange happens to lizard people who stays away from their own kind.

Lastly, Xipil asked if it was all right if he performed a magic ritual in Samora’s stone circle. He wanted to trace Pak and Keri, he said. Samora said he was welcome to, but it was clear to me she didn’t understand why. I could only suspect the giant bauta stones would somehow tamper with Xipil’s magic.

Xipil wanted the rest of us to join his spell casting. It should only take a minute or two, he explained. It was a dance ritual, so Grogg could join in as he had done before. I told Xipil I wouldn’t participate, but I wouldn’t get in the way either. Xipil said I might as well go back to camp.

Yana came with me, of course. We had no trouble finding the tents in the dense jungle, and we went inside ours. It wouldn’t be long before the others followed, but I decided I had time to give Yana a good, long kiss. It felt like forever since we’d been intimate.

Based on Samora’s reaction to Xipil’s request, I should have figured the spell casting would take longer than Xipil thought. Since nobody seemed about to make an appearance, Yana and I agreed that one kiss wasn’t enough, and one thing turned to another. It was half an hour later that we noticed voices and lantern light approaching. “Um, do you guys want to discuss the agreement now?” I asked, and I couldn’t mask how out of breath I was. Xipil said we had plenty of time to talk tomorrow.

O Ashtar! We surrender our lives to Your coils. Take us while we sleep, or grant us another day in Your service, as You will.

[coronatiger]

10th of Mitra’s First Month, year 413

O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession!

We had a late start today, but there was nothing important we had to do today beyond a little discussion about my proposed agreement with Samora. Nestling under the blankets with Yana felt like a well-deserved luxury, but eventually, hunger announced itself and it was time to get up.

At breakfast, I studied the other fighters. Xipil’s injury was obvious to anyone with eyes, and while Grogg and Wolfram looked fit to fight again, I knew them well enough to discern that they too could benefit from my medical ministrations. I suggested Yana and Hylda cleared up after the meal and that the others lay down so I could treat their wounds properly.

Grogg ignored my instructions, but that was hardly surprising. His wounds were superficial and would heal on their own in a couple of days. I dug up some dirt for Wolfram and Xipil’s treatments. The jungle soil gave me a strange but good feeling. Xipil was curious whose saliva I would mix with the dirt, and I explained: I could have asked Yana or Hylda, but since I was uninjured myself, it was easier to just use my own. The point was to apply spit-soaked dirt around the wounds so the “injuredness” would be drawn out to the healthy saliva.

It would do my patients good to remain still a while, so the medicine would have time to work, so I proposed an experiment that required Xipil’s attendance. Wolfram was curious enough to remain and watch. The experiment was to see how Xipil’s sensitivity to spirits was triggered by Arafos’s staff. I would have him lie on the ground, eyes closed, doing some mental task that could easily be monitored. Then I would prod him with various objects, Arafos’s staff among them, and see how its touch affected him. I asked Xipil to start counting backwards from one thousand, in steps of seven.

Xipil was smart enough that the staff’s touch didn’t make him miscount, but I noticed him concentrating harder. He explained afterwards that he had to concentrate to remember to keep counting. The top of the staff, a large black pearl wrapped in decorated metal bands, seemed to affect him the most. I wasn’t able to touch Xipil with the pearl itself because of the bands, but when Xipil prodded it with his finger afterwards, his whole hand became numb. I had only detected mental effects, so this surprised me. Xipil asked what I felt if I touched the pearl, so I tried. I merely got a vague sensation that there was something not quite … normal … about it, nothing near what he experienced.

I asked Grogg to sit down so we could discuss the agreement I proposed last night. I explained why I had suggested that we all got to pick before Samora. If we found something at Uli Alava that You – or Tiri, I said, glancing at Wolfram – instructed us to take, we couldn’t be bound by an agreement that potentially gave up those items. Not that I’d ever honor an agreement that went against Your wishes, but if we planned ahead, we could keep everybody happy.

Wolfram said he saw no reason to claim anything on Tiri’s behalf, which would have made my jaw drop if not for my training. He said it would suffice to have a clause in the agreement that allowed him personally to come and inspect that the items in question weren’t being misused. I painted a picture where Samora received an item that could be used to torment spirits, used it recklessly, and when Wolfram was spotted approaching, put it away and sprinkled dust on it so it would look unused.

Wolfram was confident he could spot if Samora tried to lie to him. That statement overcame even my extensive training, and I couldn’t conceal a little smile. In one way, Wolfram seems to have a similar arrangement with Tiri as I have with You. He is free to operate as he sees fit, within certain boundaries imposed by his goddess, but I thought the whole point of his order was to prevent misuse of magic. Sometimes it seems like he ignores his goddess’s wishes for no reason at all.

I laid out an amended agreement. If You tell us how to deal with an object we find, that object cannot be picked by the southern sorceresses unless Your instruction was to offer the object to them. Any other object can be picked as long as Wolfram is granted permission to inspect that the object is not being misused, at any time he chooses. I looked at Wolfram. “Should we generalize that to include anyone from your order?” Wolfram didn’t answer. “Are you dreaming about Samora’s purple eyes?” I asked him. I hadn’t expected him to reply in the affirmative, but he did. After I had repeated my original question, Wolfram said he would like to be able to appoint an heir to the inspection rights, but his order wouldn’t care about things so far away from home.

Xipil would have spoken up if he had anything to say about the agreement, but I thought Grogg might need prompting, so I asked what he thought. Grogg said if we found anything that belonged to Ogra, he wanted to take it. I promised to add that when I presented the agreement to Samora.

[coronatiger]

Xipil invited Grogg to a crows’ toes bender. Disgusted, I asked Wolfram if he wanted to throw some knives with me. We had a short contest – which I won, if not by much – and then Xipil came and took the fun out of it. He looked decidedly uncomfortable, almost as if he were in pain, and he said we shouldn’t throw knives at the trees here. The spirits could feel it. I had seen with my own eyes that we struck no spirits, and even if we had, our knives should go right through them. At first, I thought the crows’ toes hallucination was making Xipil imagine things, but I quickly realized that the drug wouldn’t have had time to take effect yet. Besides, he hadn’t imbibed any of the tea he had just begun to prepare.

Wolfram and I agreed that taking drugs was a bad idea, even though crows’ toes might have a beneficial side effect. Grogg and Xipil claims the drug hardens their mental defenses, sometimes for days after the hallucination wears off, but the effect is so minor, I don’t think it justifies submitting themselves to several hours of uncontrollable behavior.

Wolfram wanted to go exploring the mesa. I told him I needed to pray, so I couldn’t go with him. Yana thought it was an interesting proposal, so she went with him instead. I retrieved Hope from her nest and knelt down inside my tent. While it was easier to establish a connection with You in our camp than it had been inside the stone circle, I sensed that You were far beneath the mesa top.

I prayed on the agreement I was going to present to Samora, and I felt like I received Your silent approval. The only thing You said was a repetition that on the path I’m taking, my eyes are the only ones that can see. While I was praying, a sensation grew within me that Samora might not be trustworthy, but that she wasn’t necessarily trying to deceive us, at least not intentionally.

The drugs got Grogg to begin chanting for Ogra. I managed to ignore it for a while, but then Hylda joined in, and Grogg screamed louder and louder, and he began to bash his maul on the ground. I could have gone away, but I didn’t want to give Grogg the satisfaction, so I bit my teeth together and prayed on.

The cacophony could be heard from far off, and Grogg and Hylda gained a small audience of five intrigued warriors. Blessedly, Grogg decided now was a good time to recite the story about when he became the Bane of Gromgar, lowering his voice to a slightly less painful volume. I decided it was time to eat soon, so I began preparing a meal. Yana and Wolfram returned as Grogg’s story wound to its conclusion, and Xipil came out from wherever he had hidden.

Yana and Wolfram told us what they had discovered. They had found several tiny villages of tree huts. They saw no women, only men, and a child who might be either sex, but they did hear what sounded like a babe crying. There had to be women around, but they were kept away from public sight. Yana estimated that there were hundreds of people living around here.

After the meal, Wolfram wanted to speak to me alone, so we went aside for some privacy near where we had thrown knives. Yana seemed eager for me to have this conversation, so I was very curious what he would say.

Wolfram explained that he and Yana had talked about many different things while they were out walking, and one of them was Yana’s sensitivity to illusions. He thought it might be a good idea to ask Samora’s opinion about it. Wolfram said Yana seemed to believe that it was You who inflicted this upon her, but he was convinced a demon was behind it. He was afraid it might grow worse at the ruined city, Uli Alava, where we might encounter many things. Wolfram thought that Yana was susceptible to demonic influence, and that she would be a liability for us. He suggested we left her behind when we teleported away from Anabel. I told him I would discuss it with Yana.

Yana looked at me expectantly when we returned. “We need to talk,” I signed, and we went off into the woods. I sat down and had Yana lie down with her head in my lap, hoping to get her as comfortable as possible before what might be a difficult talk.

I told Yana what Wolfram had said, but assured her this was not my opinion. In my eyes, Yana had grown strong enough to conquer the fear that struck her when she saw an illusion. She had turned her fear into an advantage. Her ability to detect illusions could be the deciding factor when we ventured into the unknown.

Yana confessed that she worried about another thing too. If she saw anyone being violent, she would freeze up. She wasn’t as afraid for herself as she was of messing things up for the group. She said, “I suspect you guys are part of something huge, something important, and I would be devastated if I caused you to fail.” Yana wanted to discuss this with the whole group, and she wanted me to take the lead during the conversation.

Yana desperately wanted my encouragement, so I sat there and stroked her hair. I assured her I had every confidence in her and that it would be to our detriment if she chose to remain behind. If she needed a reminder of her own importance, she should remind herself what Kamir Hassar was so afraid of.

[coronatiger]

10th of Mitra’s First Month, year 413 (continued)

“I didn’t think you believed in Kamir’s prophecy,” Yana accused, looking up into my eyes. “Well, you aren’t entirely incorrect,” I confessed. “The prophecy didn’t come from Ashtar, so it might not be true, but there are other gods out there, and they aren’t always wrong. In fact, when Kamir revealed the prophecy, I felt his words resonating within me, like it made sense it should be so. I made light of it at the time so as not to frighten Kamir further, but wherever the prophecy originated, I don’t think Ashtar disagrees. At worst, She doesn’t care enough to tell me to disregard it.”

Yana took my hand and interlaced her fingers with mine. I caressed her cheek with the other hand. I could tell Yana wanted me to fondle her breast, but there were too many spirits about. “Prophecy or no, I still need you at Uli Alava,” I continued after a minute of silence. “Ashtar has said that on the path that lies ahead, only my eyes can see, but I believe She wasn’t speaking literally. She may have meant that we venture into a realm beyond Her sight, or that I alone in our company can discern the right way to proceed. My eyes may be blessed, but there are only two of them. Your eyes can pierce disguises and detect deceit when mine are distracted. We might have to fight at Uli Alava, but there will be talk too, and I don’t trust any of our friends to support me then. They mean well, but they are prone to put their feet in their mouths.”

Yana demonstrated her skill at social interactions, at customizing a message for its recipient. Lying perfectly still, only her thumb moved, gently stroking the back of my hand. Her eyes were locked with mine, but she seemed completely at ease, with just the hint of a smile hiding at the corners of her green-gold jewels. All her body language said was that she loved me, but Yana knew I could sense her emotions, and I could tell she put every effort into magnifying them without giving away anything to the unseen observers hovering about the trees.

To me, and to me alone, Yana’s emotions spoke. The quivering quality I had sensed since she came back from her walk with Wolfram was Yana’s fear that she would screw things up for me. It was still there, but diminished by my words of comfort and encouragement. Briefly, contentment dominated Yana’s scent, as if to thank me for putting her mind at ease. Then a raging wildfire flared up, so hot my cheeks blushed. Her desire couldn’t be any more obvious even had she spoken out loud. “Later,” I squeaked. “When the spirits can’t see us.”

Even Yana, skillful as she was, had to take a moment to calm the wildfire. “Let’s go talk to the others,” she said, standing up. “If you can convince them not to object, I’m coming with you to Uli Alava.”

Our friends hadn’t moved since we left. Wolfram looked at us expectantly when we came out from the trees. “There has been some concern that Yana might be a weakness, a liability, when we travel to Uli Alava,” I said, catching everyone’s attention. I reminded them of Kamir’s prophecy, and said that I considered “The Seven” to be myself, Yana, Xipil, Wolfram, Grogg, Hylda and Kraa. I dared anyone to explain why Yana should be left off the list and replaced with Hope. “What about Groman?” Hylda asked, but I told her he was staying here; he was in no condition to fulfill any prophecies.

Nobody spoke up against Yana, but Hylda said she meant to come, that was, unless Grogg refused her, and she and Yana could look out for each other. Grogg said that of course Hylda should come with us. As silence lingered, Yana’s determination grew. “You should speak now, if you have anything against me coming,” she said.

Again, nobody protested, but Xipil said, “You need to prepare yourself to sleep, or to have your soul bound when we journey through the stars.” Teleportation was dangerous, by all accounts, and not to be undertaken by the unskilled, but Samora and Miramara had offered two methods of protection. Xipil asked me which alternative I would choose. “Neither,” I replied. “I’m not letting those witches tamper with my soul.” I had to remind everyone that I didn’t believe that they intended to harm us, but that didn’t mean I was going to let them put my immortal soul in jeopardy with their sorcery.

As we were talking, it grew darker. I stood up to salute the dying day despite not being able to see the sunset from our camp in the dense jungle. When it was full dark, I suggested we made our way back to the giant tree stump to meet Samora.

I knocked on the door and it glided open. Being the first to enter, I was the only one to see Samora waking up from her meditation. She was quick to put a smile on her face, and I suddenly sensed discomfort rolling off Wolfram in waves. I turned to Yana, fingers flashing, “Is he uncomfortable because he’s in love?” “Probably,” Yana replied. “Was I ever so …” I began to sign, then thought the better of it and turned back to our host.

I laid out the agreement according to my friends’ wishes. Samora considered out proposal wisely crafted, but she had talked to Miramara and she had an alternative agreement. She suggested that we could take whatever we could carry from Uli Alava, and what we left behind, she and Miramara might help themselves to. I told her I couldn’t accept her proposal. What if You told me to secure something that was too large or cumbersome to take away on our first visit?

Samora turned her back to us. Was she thinking, or was she communicating with Miramara? After half a minute, she turned back around and asked us to excuse her for a while. I asked if she wanted us to leave, but she said it wasn’t necessary; I understood she was going somewhere. As an afterthought, on her way out, Samora said it might be best if we remained inside the circle.

I kept one eye on the door and the other on the ever-present spirits, pretending to chatter with Yana. It didn’t feel like we were being betrayed, but it wouldn’t hurt to stay watchful. After a minute or two, Xipil suddenly perked up. He had felt something change, he said to Wolfram. It was clear he was talking about magic, and he cast a spell to try to figure out what was happening. Wolfram transformed to the spiked bear, his form most sensitive to magic.

[coronatiger]

I brought Hylda into the chattering and moved us a little to the side, closer to the wall. Hylda’s fashion sense was better than mine, but I would put my money on Yana any day. I asked Hylda if she thought she’d look good in pigtails. She said it would be impractical if she had to fight, for they provided easy handholds for an opponent.

Xipil left after taking a look around the room, and he said something had changed about the bauta stones circling the clearing. Some of them had changed color in his magical vision. Wolfram changed back to his human shape. He said it was feeling as if we were trapped here while things went off the rail outside, and he didn’t want a repeat of what happened the last time. I wondered why he stayed inside if he felt like that, and he said he had to transform back before going out. Didn’t he want Samora to see his bear forms? He joined Xipil outside and they vanished from view.

Yana noticed my wariness. She didn’t let on to Grogg and Hylda, but I smelled her anxiety rising. I asked what kind of hair style Yana and Hylda thought would suit Grogg if we got him a wig, but my fingers told Yana not to worry, at least not yet. Grogg glared at me, so he couldn’t have been completely absorbed in his own thoughts, but Hylda laughed and told him she would find something he would like, if he decided he wanted to sport a wig.

After ten or fifteen minutes, Samora came back inside, trailed by Wolfram and Xipil. She looked drained, as if she had spent a little too much magical energy on whatever she had done outside. She said we could speak freely now, but warned us that our concealment would be obvious to an observer. I reckoned she had put up a magical barrier against eavesdropping. Wolfram asked who she suspected of trying to spy on us, but she wouldn’t say, other than that it might be someone we wanted to work with later.

Samora divulged what she feared we might find in Uli Alava. Something was built there, a key, she called it, that enabled passage through the barriers that keep the sky realm and the underworld separate from the world of the living. According to legend, an ancient king from a land far to the south had conquered all that he could and decided to turn his attention towards the divine realms. He commissioned the key to be created. Samora believed that Queen Makeda knew and that this was the reason for her sudden departure.

My blood boiled, and I let my anger show on my face. It seemed to me that the purpose of this key was to bypass Your station at Death’s Door. If the key really existed, it had to be destroyed. Samora didn’t know what form the key had. It might be a physical construction, possibly as large as a building, or it might have the form of knowledge, written down in ancient texts. Queen Makeda might know more.

I noted Samora’s wording of her and Miramara’s intentions. She said they meant to follow us to Uli Alava to make sure the key couldn’t be used. It sounded to me like they meant to “protect” the key and keep it for themselves. She even told us that destroying it might not be possible without lengthy studies. I told her not to underestimate our capabilities; we had a troll with a giant maul.

I told Samora I saw no reason we had to make an agreement for dividing the spoils from Uli Alava. It was clear, I said, that we shared a goal so important everything else was for naught. We should ally to reach that goal. As allies, we should all do our best to help each other. As mentioned, we would appreciate help dealing with Arlo and with our teleportation. Samora and Miramara could surely have use of whatever we might learn on our expedition to the ruined city when it came to dealing with the key.

Samora said she could provide protection for two teleportation trips for us. That would allow us to return with our information. She could even provide energy for the trip, if we brought the mobile teleportation circle here. Then we wouldn’t have to deal with Arlo or the star being. We had to return to Anabel anyway to pick up Pak and Keri, so fetching the teleportation circle wouldn’t be a detour at all.

I proposed to leave Arafos’s staff with Samora. It had been meant as a gift to her anyway, and it was she who suggested to use it to protect us for the teleportation. I thought she might need to study it.

During our conversation, Samora had repeated several times that she hoped Queen Makeda would return soon, and now she elaborated. She and Miramara didn’t feel that they could leave before the queen returned, for a war was brewing between Mogs, a war that threatened devastation. Samora revealed that Miramara was loath to step in for her sister, so she hoped we could expedite the queen’s return.

Xipil asked if Samora knew why he was so affected by the presence of spirits. Samora repeated from our earlier talk that lizard people tended to grow funny in the head if they stayed too long away from their kin, but she promised to investigate while we were away. Samora thought there might be a lizard man spirit somewhere in her domain that she could interrogate, and I reminded everyone that Xipil claimed to have heard them at the spirit tree on the ledge.

Xipil asked Wolfram to pray for him so he could have his powers back. Apparently, Xipil had offended the gods of the night sky and could no longer sense the stars. Wolfram asked what Xipil had done for Tiri lately, and told him to pray himself. Xipil thought Wolfram had a higher likelihood of success, which was probably true. Wolfram told him that to become more aligned with Tiri, Xipil shouldn’t be so reckless with his use of magic. I thought that sounded like a suitable atonement. It would so go against Xipil’s nature that he really would have to apply himself to succeed.

Feeling that we had said what needed to be said about more serious topics, and sensing that Wolfram might want some alone-time with his crush, I told the room I was going to bed if nobody needed me for anything more. Heads were shaken, so I departed.

Yana hurried after me. “For a minute, I thought you were going to flex your fangs back there,” she said once we had passed the sentries at the edge of the clearing. “I needed to display my anger,” I explained, “but I couldn’t afford to frighten Samora.” I took Yana’s hand and apologized that I wasn’t feeling romantic tonight. I needed to pray.

O Ashtar! We surrender our lives to Your coils. Take us while we sleep, or grant us another day in Your service, as You will.

[coronatiger]

11th of Mitra’s First Month, year 413

O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession!

When Yana and I emerged from our tent, it was clear our friends hadn’t slept much last night. In the case of Grogg and Hylda, perhaps not at all. Xipil wasn’t anywhere in sight, and Wolfram couldn’t say where he had gone off to, so I asked Yana to start breakfast while Wolfram and I went to search.

Xipil had found a little clearing and was sitting with his eyes closed basking in the sun. “Hello, Xipil,” I said, loud enough that Wolfram would hear that I had found the lizard man. Xipil nodded to acknowledge that he heard me, but it didn’t look like he wanted to move.

Wolfram asked if I had a pick-me-up among my medicines. I didn’t think I had, but I went to look, just in case. I hadn’t opened the medicine roll in a few days. “I have one thing,” I told Wolfram. “It’s the antidote to the Moon Shadow nerve toxin. It should wake up anyone who takes it, but since nobody’s poisoned, I’m hesitant to use it. There could be side effects. Other than that, I only have drugs to make people drowsy or dead.”

Yana got Hylda to help with the cooking, and Wolfram and I enlisted Grogg’s aid in taking down the tents and packing up. Xipil wandered into camp holding a handful of succulent leaves. He said he was going to make a tea with them. I studied the leaves. I didn’t recognize them, so I said I thought they were safe enough. I had a feeling that I would have known, had the leaves been poisonous. Still, I said no thank you to a cup of tea, and Yana mimicked my response. Everyone else had a cup with their breakfast.

We finished packing and returned to the tree stump house in Samora’s magic circle. I knocked and entered, but there was nobody there. You blessed me with an idea, so I walked over to the wooden statue and regarded it closely. I caught the barest movement of an eye lid, so I gently touched the statue’s shoulder, as if to wake a sleeping person. I heard a yawn, and Samora and I wished each other a good morning.

Samora said she had arranged an easier descent for us than through the caves. Someone must have asked for that after Yana and I left last night. I reminded Samora that we had come to deliver Arafos’s staff, and she gave us a direction to walk; someone would meet us.

Xipil kept us on a straight path despite the dense jungle, and after ten minutes, I spotted three of Samora’s warriors carrying a gigantic basket, a little off to the side. I called out and waved, and they approached us. Xipil asked if I could see spirits in the basket, but I shook my head. The warriors carried the basket on the side with the opening towards us. There was nothing in it at all.

Using hand gestures, for they apparently spoke neither Common nor Arani, I tried to convey the question of whether they had come to meet us. I don’t think they understood. They clearly wanted Wolfram to sit in the basket, and he complied. This was obviously a test for later; were they going to lower us off the side of the mesa? The warriors needed Grogg and Hylda to help lifting the basket with Wolfram in it. Wolfram thought the basket was a bit wobbly, and he insisted we tested it with Grogg in it. The basket groaned under Grogg’s weight, but it held.

Someone hollered at the warriors, and one of them replied in kind. Another group of warriors came out of the trees, and these men were armed. Two in particular looked especially on guard, perhaps because they flanked a woman, the first we had seen other than Samora.

I crossed my arms over my chest and bowed, giving the common Arani greeting, but the woman spoke Common, if not very well. She apologized that Samora wasn’t coming to meet us herself, but she would take us to her. Following the woman and her escort, we passed a tiny village of tree huts as described by Yana and Wolfram, and then we came to one larger.

Samora and the whole village were waiting for us, which made me fear for Wolfram’s sanity but Samora must have learned about Wolfram’s fear of crowds, for as we approached, everyone but the sorceress herself pulled back to give us privacy to talk to their leader.

When I presented the long, thin sack that contained Arafos’s staff, Samora peeked eagerly inside. She looked forward to studying the staff. There was some preparation that needed to be done before it could be used for our purpose, Samora said, referring to the removal of the spirits currently bound to the staff.

I sensed awkwardness from Wolfram as we parted ways with Samora. Three warriors showed us where to go. It wasn’t far. Just a couple of minutes out of the village, we suddenly emerged from the trees and found ourselves at the southern edge of the mesa.

A pair of contraptions that reminded me of cranes used for loading ships reached out over the precipice. As we had suspected, we were going to be lowered to the ground in large baskets. Their walls were high, so there would be no danger of falling out of them.

The woman from before waited with a group of warriors, ready to lower us. Wolfram said he hoped we could be lifted back up the same way when we returned. It would certainly be faster than climbing through the labyrinthine caves, but Wolfram also worried about what we might encounter in the dark passages. I just shook my head. Wolfram had never struck me as a coward before.

If any of the atamakeses had made it out of Samora’s caves, it would be best if I was the first to descend. When I said I wanted to go first because there might be hostiles below, the woman was shocked. So I wouldn’t offend the local customs, I agreed to let her send a group of warriors first. It was clear that their way was to protect and revere the women. The banter between the locals sounded light-hearted, but I could tell the woman was in charge, should she choose to cut through with an order. Wolfram offered to help with the work, but he wasn’t allowed.

The operation of lowering the baskets would take some time, and it would have to be repeated several times, so I hinted to Grogg and Hylda that they might want to try to get some sleep while they could. They just stared blankly at me, so I had to give Hylda a direct order to lie down and close her eyes, and to instruct Grogg to do the same. I volunteered Yana for a lullaby to rock them to sleep, but while they followed my instructions to lie down and rest, the lingering effects of the crow’s toes stopped them from falling asleep.

When the baskets came back up, I climbed into one and told Wolfram, Xipil and Yana to pass me luggage to fill it up. Wolfram and Xipil wanted to send someone big along in the other basket, as if I couldn’t defend myself. They poked Grogg and told him to get in. When they tried to put Grogg’s packs into his basket, I stopped them. The way the test lifting had gone, I didn’t want to add any more than necessary to the already enormous weight. I allowed Grogg to bring his maul, but nothing more.

We put Grogg’s packs into my basket instead. When that was done, Yana leaped inside with her own pack. “I’m coming too!” she said, catching her balance. I had already signaled to the locals that they should begin lowering the baskets, and I was so surprised, we were already on the way down when I opened my mouth to protest. I shut my mouth again. If Yana wanted to display her bravery, I didn’t mind her company. Not at all!

The baskets were so densely woven that it was impossible to peek out through the tiny gaps. That didn’t stop Yana from trying. As for me, I tried to make myself as comfortable as possible among all the luggage. Yana eventually plopped down on my lap and began to kiss me.

The four warriors that waited below looked relaxed, but I smelled their alertness. There were no spirits around, but the view was almost as good as from the mesa top, with a steep slope down to the jungle. We unloaded the luggage from the baskets and sat down to wait.

Wolfram and Hylda shrieked a sea shanty on their descent, and when Xipil too emerged from Hylda’s basket, everyone was down. I expected the warriors to get in so they could be hoisted up to the mesa again, but evidently, their orders was to scout ahead of us as we departed.

I got Xipil to point which direction we were going, and three of the warriors loped down the slope. Our party followed considerably slower, and the warriors vanished into the jungle long before we reached the trees.

A bird of prey circled over the scouts, alerting us to their location. When we caught up to where they waited, that bird had settled on a branch above them alongside another. I recognized the shapeshifter that had tried to warn us against entering the Elephant Grotto, so I thanked Samora’s warriors for the help and sent them back to the mesa. Xipil waved at the birds, and they took flight, clearly not eager to reveal their nature to the warriors.

[coronatiger]

11th of Mitra’s First Month, year 413 (continued)

Wolfram decided to transform immediately. Once we had loaded him up with luggage, Yana and I climbed up on his back and Xipil began to lead the way through the jungle. The shapeshifter followed in bird form at a distance.

Mere vegetation wasn’t going to slow Wolfram down, and he crashed through even the densest thickets. Yana and I had to climb off several times if we didn’t want to be swept off by grasping vines and branches. It was a miracle we didn’t lose any luggage.

After a few hours, the jungle grew thinner, and then it didn’t take long before we reached the border between the jungle and the plains. I proposed we started looking for a good camp site, and once Xipil located a source of fresh water, we stopped for the day.

Since everyone else was behind on their sleep, I decided that Yana and I would take care of the night watches. I asked Yana if she preferred first or second watch. Yana said she would like the first, since it was brightest then; the sun hadn’t even begun to set. I wondered at Yana’s reason, for she could see as well in the dark as me, but then I realized that it was while it was dark that an attacker was most likely to strike. Yana asked if I had any instructions for her watch, so I reminded her that she should feel free to wake me if there was anything she was uncertain about. Wolfram offered to share the watch, but I told him to sleep if he could. Yana and I could sleep on his back tomorrow.

I gave Yana a hug and withdrew to our tent. I spent some time in prayer before going to sleep. I heard Yana trying to convince Grogg to get some rest. Unsuccessful, she enlisted Wolfram’s aid, but I don’t think it helped.

O Ashtar! We surrender our lives to Your coils. Take us while we sleep, or grant us another day in Your service, as You will.

[coronatiger]

12th of Mitra’s First Month, year 413

O Ashtar, Mother of Snakes, Keeper of Death’s Door, hear my confession!

Your gifts alerted me when someone entered the tent. I lay still, eyes closed so as not to tip off the intruder while I took in their scent and read their intentions. The intruder knelt beside me and leaned in, and I lunged. A spike of fear shot through the invader’s emotions as I grappled them to the ground, but it dissipated quickly. My naked flesh was hardly terror-inducing, and as I was leaning over to pin their arms above their head, I was literally dangling my breasts in their face. If arousal hadn’t already been thick in the air, it certainly was now. I watched with amusement as my captive squirmed to break free. “Will you kiss me, already?” Yana whispered impatiently. I was more than happy to oblige her.

As much as I wanted to have fun times with Yana, I couldn’t afford to leave the camp unguarded. Before her questing hand reached its destination and swept away my willpower, I broke off the delightful kiss and sought refuge in dressing. Yana sighed and reported that Grogg still hadn’t fallen asleep, but everyone else had, and the night was quiet. I gave her a last peck on the cheek and darted outside.

Grogg was staring up at the canopy above. “Seventy-three, seventy-four, sixty-nine, seventy …” I could just barely hear him muttering to himself as I passed on my way to patrol the camp’s perimeter. Was Grogg trying to count something? Sheep perhaps? Maybe Wolfram had told him to do that. Counting sheep is a known remedy for humans who can’t sleep, but I wasn’t hopeful it would work for a troll. As a race, they struggle to make sense of numbers, so what Wolfram might deem a simple, boring task, clearly demanded more brainpower from Grogg than he possessed to keep the numbers straight.

Wolfram woke at the crack of dawn, and he seemed well rested, so I must have misjudged how much sleep he needed. He asked how the watch had gone. I told him nothing had happened, but there was a large bird perched on a branch over there that I suspected was the shapeshifter. I hadn’t wanted to leave the camp to check, and the bird was just a little too far away for me to recognize positively. Wolfram thought we should wake the others and get going. “I’ll wake Yana,” I said. “Can you wake the others?”

When Yana and I emerged from our tent, Wolfram pointed out that two men stood a ways into the jungle, apparently talking to each other. He suggested Xipil went to spy on them, but Xipil didn’t want to, so Wolfram said he would go instead. I had little faith in Wolfram’s ability to sneak up on anyone, but I said that whoever went should be able to understand Arani. It was hardly likely that the men were speaking Common.

While we debated, Kanku came strolling from the direction of the two men. Wolfram waved at him with a friendly smile, and the large lizard man waved back. When he reached us, Kanku regarded each of us in turn. He thought we were going to accomplish something, he said, but Wolfram waved it off with a comment that we were adventurers; of course we’d accomplish something!

Kanku was very curious about what happened at Samora’s place, and he seemed willing to buy that information from us with information of his own. I was proud of my friends for stonewalling him through all his attempts at fishing. Kanku wanted us to stay away from all Mogs and anything that reeked of politics, and I told him that was no problem. I said our plan was to meet up with some friends in Anabel, and then we would leave for home.

Xipil invited Kanku to share our breakfast but watched with horror as Kanku partook in the meat. Realizing he couldn’t get anything out of us, Kanku transformed into a big cat and loped off. Xipil called after him in the lizard tongue, making him stop and turn for a moment, but then Kanku and his escort vanished into the jungle.

Wolfram said he felt bad about me killing the old, sick man in the plague demon’s temple, because it was Kanku who had sent him there. That made no sense to me. Kanku’s scheme to keep the demon contained by offering human sacrifices was a bad one. If he couldn’t kill the demon himself, Kanku shouldn’t begrudge us for doing it. It almost felt like Kanku was in league with the plague demon, or at least meant to use it to further his own agenda.

We finished breakfast, packed up and left. I sat behind Yana on Wolfram’s back, holding her steady so she could sleep. A bird followed far behind; on the open plains, it didn’t have to stay close to watch where we went. Xipil said it was another bird than the shapeshifter we met before we entered Samora’s caves. The way it persisted in following, it was obvious it too was a shapeshifter.

Yana developed a twinge in her back and was unable to sleep. I decided I wasn’t going to try sleeping while we traveled despite having slept fairly well on Wolfram’s back before, but at the time I had been wrapped up in ropes to hold me in place.

Grogg began to slow down around midday, and we stopped to discuss what to do about it. Wolfram thought he should be able to carry Grogg too. I was skeptical, but Wolfram was right.

We stopped to make camp early in the evening. Hylda did what she could to get Grogg to relax and hopefully sleep, beginning with a massage. Wolfram sat down to preen his beard. He always took good care of his weapons and armor, but he hadn’t seemed to bother with his own appearance. We’d be back at Samora’s place in a week or two, and I thought he would need the time, at least if he meant to figure things out on his own. Yana and I agreed that Wolfram could do with a shave and a haircut and some new clothes.

I decided Wolfram and Xipil were alert enough to join in the watch, so I proposed we divided the night into four, with Xipil taking the first watch, Yana the second, I the third and Wolfram the fourth. The others agreed.

Yana and I said good night when Xipil and Wolfram began to discuss Tiri. Inspired by Hylda, I asked if Yana would like a backrub. “That would be lovely,” she said, giving me a peck on the cheek before stripping out of her clothes.

After the backrub, Yana asked most seductively if there was anything she could do for me, but I was sensible and said it was time to sleep. “If I can hold you in my embrace while we doze off, I will be satisfied.” I almost blushed. Yana surely heard the lie, and she let her hands roam freely while I brushed my teeth, but she supported my expressed desire and let me wrap myself around her as we lay down.

I was surprised to find myself alone under the blankets when I woke up, and more surprised when I realized it was Yana coming to wake me for my turn at the watch. I spoke a short prayer of thanks before following Yana outside. Since it was Your gift that otherwise would have woken me when Xipil came to fetch Yana, it was clearly Your blessing that allowed me to sleep when I needed it.

Yana told me Xipil had tried to point out a bird to her, but she hadn’t seen it. It had remained on its perch during Xipil’s watch, but for all Yana knew, it could be long gone. Still, she pointed where Xipil had indicated, and I caught sight of the presumed shapeshifter. I nodded and told Yana I’d keep an eye on it.

More interestingly, however, was the little sister nesting under one of the nearby trees. Not much larger than Hope, she sat easily in my palm while we talked. I thought she was a relative of the northern stiletto snake, with the same pattern of brown and green, but without the tell-tale red crosses that I knew from back home. I wasn’t expecting to gain much information from my new-found sister, but I felt bolstered and blessed for having met her. Hope joined us for a short prayer, and the two of them coiled up around my neck as I continued my patrol.

When the watch change approached, I returned both snakes to their nests, and I warned my new sister that not all of my traveling companions were our siblings, but I would not want any accidents. The stiletto snake was already wary of the large creatures that had settled down in her territory, but she promised not to instigate anything, as long as she was left alone.

I warned Wolfram to stay clear of the snake nest. There was no reason to conceal how happy I was to meet a new sister, and I smelled that Wolfram picked up on it, even in the pre-dawn gloom. Maybe it was the tone of my voice that let on? “Oh, and by the way, the shapeshifter bird is watching,” I added, pointing. Wolfram squinted into the night, clearly unable to see anything, but he nodded. “Good night!” I trilled, heading for my tent.

I didn’t mean to wake Yana, but the vague blur of her dream scent turned to sharp alertness while I undressed. I slithered in under the blanket and snaked my arms around her. “I met a new sister tonight,” I hissed excitedly, then proceeded to tell Yana all about it.

O Ashtar! We surrender our lives to Your coils. Take us while we sleep, or grant us another day in Your service, as You will.