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Old 08-20-2022, 12:31 PM   #161
Stomoxys
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Default Day 219 since leaving The Homeland

Hylda and Yana were about to return to the campfire when Hylda mentioned that they had heard horses on the road. I went to investigate and saw a rider dressed in dark on a dark horse standing on the edge of the fog. I carefully crept closer and spotted two more riders further into the fog. The horses were standing unnaturally still and they all looked in the direction of the camp.

Suddenly, one of the horses whinnied and I froze behind a bush. The rider looked around and the two others moved up next to them. They looked at each other and it almost looked like they talked, but I heard nothing. After a few seconds, they nodded as if in agreement and began walking north along the road. I did not see them give any signals to the horses. After about 150 meters, the riders stopped and one jumped off their horse. It looked like they were searching the road for tracks, but after a minute, they got back on their horse and they all continued north at a walk.

When they were gone in the fog, I sneaked over the road to were they had stood and looked for tracks. There were less tracks than I would have expected from such large horses. Judging from the few I found, the horses must have stood almost perfectly still. I do not think I have seen any horses that disciplined before.

I sneaked back to the camp and told the others what I had seen. Yana gasped when I said I suspected they were night riders or Shadows of Amna, and I felt a wave of dread coming from them. The others did not care much and we continued processing the tokens.

After Wolfram performed their ritual, they placed a token on the stone and smashed it with their flail. I was sitting a bit back with the Kabal staff, but the token broke normally and there were no spirits. After a few minutes waiting, Wolfram smashed another token and the same thing happened again. The second to last token was much more exciting though. It exploded and we heard a scream of pain from an old apeoid.

The spirit of the old apeoid from the garden suddenly stood were the token had been and held their shoulder where their corpse had a deep wound. They were not wearing the same clothes though. They quickly gathered themselves and I was ready to run away if they lunged for their staff. Grogg struck out with a branch from the campfire, but it passed right through the spirit.

When the spirit saw my staff, it screamed that it was their staff and lunged towards me. However, before they had taken two steps, they hit an invisible wall and were knocked back. They looked confused for a moment and began complaining that we had taken their horse. Wolfram said that their ritual would last an hour and should keep the spirit from attempting any spells. However, if we were to send them down to the underworld, they Wolfram would have to get to their totem inside the circle.

We decided that they should attempt it with Nuur-Karif ready to start stabbing if something went wrong. Wolfram entered the circle and it looked like the spirit tried to stop them, but were unable to do anything. Realizing that they were powerless, the spirit tried to tempt Wolfram instead. If Wolfram let them go, they would give them an eternal, perfect body. Wolfram ignored them and began chanting on a new ritual.

When Wolfram finished, we all waited in silence, but nothing happened. Wolfram tried again, but again nothing happened. The spirit lost interest and tried to tempt Nuur-Karif and Grogg instead with improved bodies. Nuur-Karif did not answer while Grogg was annoyed and responded by swinging their branch again. They did not try to tempt me. They must have realized that they had nothing to offer me or that bribery would be useless. Interestingly, they rambled on about how they could have traveled to mountain tops with Grogg to collect clay.

Wolfram had been chanting the whole time and finally it seemed like it had an effect. The spirit looked shocked for a moment before turning angrily to Wolfram and said they thought Azura had been banished from Arland. Apparently they thought Wolfram was an Azura worshiper. Wolfram ignored them and kept chanting. Finally the spirit began to fade away, despite intense protests. Wolfram was so exhausted that they had to lay down. I had prepared a star bolt and asked Wolfram if it would have been safe to send it into the ring. They thought so as long as I did not hit the pole, but they did not think it would affect a spirit.

I asked if we could bury the corpse, but Nuur-Karif thought it was best to wait until 24 hours had passed. That meant a few more hours, so Grogg and I prepared a grave, which is the normal way for apeoids to dispose of their dead. When we were done, I gathered up the shattered clay pieces and buried them separately. We did not need to advertise what had happened here to everyone passing by.

There was not much to do while Wolfram rested, so I decided to go and see if the riders had returned. While I passed by the camp, I saw a shadow under a tree about 30 meters away on the other side. It moved unnaturally, so I pretended like I had not seen anything and circled back to Nuur-Karif. We woke Wolfram and told them to guard the corpse and then circled the camp on separate sides.

The plan was to cut off any retreat for the observer and attack them from behind. However, when we reached the spot, there was nothing there, not even tracks. I climbed the tree, but did not find any signs that anyone had been there either. I was certain that I had seen something though, so I fetched the staff in case it had been some kind of spirit. Indeed, with the staff, I could see faint traces that something had come from the direction of the road and stood under the tree.

If the riders were Shadows of Amna, they might be able to do something like this. I asked Nuur-Karif, but they did not know. Wolfram knew a spirit tracing ritual, so we returned to them and explained the situation. They agreed to try and we moved the totem over to the tree. Their ritual should have shown the traces of spirits as shimmering bands, stronger than the staff, but there was nothing to see when they finished.

I wondered what kind of being could have left a trace visible with the staff, but not Wolfram's ritual and followed the traces back to the road. There the density of spirit traces were much higher and I could no longer follow the tracks. On my way back, I noticed that they followed the terrain and tried to stay hidden. An invisible spirit would have no need of that.

While Wolfram prepared their totem for the the last token, I tried looking for more tracks. I did find scattered traces of spirits, but it was not possible to tell if they were from shadows or just wandering spirits.

When Wolfram was done, I sat down a few meters away behind them and Nuur-Karif. They smashed the last token and a swarm of small bird spirits spilled out in all directions. A few of them managed to escape, but most were contained by Wolfram's prison. They banished the bird spirits and then lured some of those that had escaped back to the totem. Kra was affected by Wolfram's ritual and made their displeasure known.

Wolfram had exhausted themselves again and returned to the camp to sleep. Nuur-karif also needed to rest, so I was left dragging the carcass into the grave and disposed of the remains of the last totem. I had cut out the top layer of grass in a few large slabs and returned them on top of the grave, so I was able to hide most of our traces. I did not think it would stand up to scrutiny if the Shadows of Amna came snooping though.

The others had gone to sleep when I returned to the camp, so by default, I stood watch after fetching the spirit ring from Wolfram. The night was very quiet, so I took the opportunity to study my own aura. Almost as expected, it had changed quit a bit. Following its strange twists and curls, my suspicions were confirmed. it seems like spending too much time with the apeoids have attuned me to their strange minds and giving me similar abilities as the followers of Tzacol. The implications are very unpleasant, but it is too late to return home now.

After four hours, I woke the others so we could start traveling before Ajaw rose over the horizon.
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Old 08-24-2022, 08:39 AM   #162
Stomoxys
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Default Day 220 since leaving The Homeland

Nuur-Karif had given me their bottle of spirit poison and it gave me an idea. If the poison came from the Ashtar priest in Guling, it might be possible to use it to track them in the sky if they were still alive. Last time we saw them, they had the crown of Gritt and I did not think that they could withstand the demon for very long. Judging from what we had been told about the demons, Gritt would not give up the crown, so I wondered what would happen if the priest died.

I asked Nuur-Karif if they knew if the venom came from the priestess or someone else. They did not know, but I thought it would be worth a try. If nothing else, we might learn more about where it came from.

We walked a bit away from the camp and I began dancing with the stars. Suddenly, I was running through slum like alley in an apeoid city and felt a deep confusion and despair. The next moment, I was back in the orchard and held by Nuur-Karif. I was vaguely aware that some time had passed and heard myself hissing "Death to Sam".

Nuur-Karif has a strange attachment to their home city, even though it is a stinking slum. I felt fear and worry from them when they heard the words and they asked me what I had seen. In the vision, I was certain that I was in some kind of slum, but I was not certain I would be able to recognize it, or if what I had seen was an actual place. Considering that I had threatened Sam and the state of the city, it could very well have been in Sam though.

Nuur-Karif sat down to pray and I joined them in meditation. When they opened their eyes, they said that what I had seen was not related to what we were looking for. I suppose whatever I had seen was not related to Ashtar's sibling, but I could tell Nuur-Karif was still worried and I could not help but let it affect me. Sam was full of apeoids and a demonic attack would lead to untold suffering. Since we were on our way to Sam, I suspected we were going to be affected, whether we wanted to or not.

Seven of The Nine were visible in the sky and I sat down to meditate on them. I vaguely noticed Nuur-Karif and Yana walking off to the place I burrowed the kabalist, presumably to perform a ritual to ensure their passage to Ashtar. The Nine were dancing and watching them was calming, but I noticed that there was something clouding my view near the horizon in the east. Palongi's clouds had had a similar effect, but this was much weaker and further away. I was not even sure it was a real effect or just the approaching rise of Ajaw, so I did not mention it but kept an eye on the horizon.

We set off in the direction of Sam, but after an hour I was certain something was wrong. Ajaw was supposed to rise in about an hour and the stars in the east were fading, but the sky was as dark as midnight. I notified the others and we took a small break on a small hillock rising above the fog. Before looking at the sky, I asked if we should send a message with Kra to Pakk and Groman. The others agreed and I wrote a letter saying we would be in Sam on day 222 and could meet at The Lazy Dog inn. Lunari and Grogg had stayed there and it was as good as any in Sam. Giving away our time and position could be dangerous, but Kra has proved to be relatively secure so far. After Wolfram apologized for their rituals the night before, Kra took off and flew south west.

With Kra away, I sat down to see what was happening in the east. Just as I reached out, Ajaw broke through whatever had kept them back and I saw a stunning dawn over the mountains. Whatever it had been, it was at least temporarily broken, but I would have to investigate when the stars returned.
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Old 08-24-2022, 08:59 AM   #163
Stomoxys
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Default Day 220 since leaving The Homeland

Nuur-Karif had barely slept, so they tried to sleep on the cart. I felt sleep deprived myself, but it was not yet critical. As we walked, I kept an eye on Yana. As far as I could tell, their eyesight was fine, but I noticed a constant worry coming from them and they kept looking back as if they thought we were being followed. The feelings were similar to what they had felt when I mentioned the Shadows of Amna and I thought this was what they were worried about. Their fear affected me as well and I caught myself looking over my shoulder.

While the others seemed unconcerned, someone had taken enough of an interest in us to send a shadow to spy on us. I tied the threads to gather the light to improve my vision, but suddenly, everything turned dark. Luckily, I was close to the cart and managed to grab hold of it to steady myself long enough to figure out what had happened. My sights was not gone, but I saw everything through the fabric of my hood. I was seeing from the back of my head, as if my eyes were in my neck.

The fabric was not very thick, so I could see a little, but If I was going to keep walking, I would have to walk backwards. Instead I jumped up on the cart and tried to end the spell, but found that one of the knots were wrong and impossible to unravel. Eventually, it would dissipate but in the meantime, I would be almost blind or have to show myself to any apeoid passing by. I decided to keep the hood on and wait it out.

Suddenly, Yana ran up to Grogg to point out a dwarf that was coming towards us. From within my hood, I failed to realize that it was Keri until they had almost reached us. They were happy to see us and had come to take us to Pakk and Gromann. However, they were in no hurry to meet see them again and I felt fear from them. When asked directly, they refused to say anything and told us we would find out when we saw Pakk and Gromann.

Apparently, our messages had reached someone, or Mir had sent Keri. Possibly some combination. I wondered what had happened to Pakk and Gromann, but if they had been in a place of death, it would be surprising if they were not affected. I asked were Pakk and Gromann was, and Keri said they were somewhere in the desert. They should be easy to find though. However, we should go to Sam first and get provisions.

Keri hinted that they wanted to delay their return as much as possible, but I told them we should hurry. Reluctantly they agreed, but before we could get get going, they produced a casket from their saddle bag and gave it to Grogg. They claimed it was strong liquor made by dwarves and I believed them. Keri was even more intoxicated than normal for an apeoid. To prove my point, they fetched a water skin filled with more liquor and took a big swig before passing it to Grogg.

After Keri set their horse in front of the cart, we finally began moving again. Wolfram wanted to know more about what had happened to Pakk and Gromann, but Keri refused to divulge anything useful. I pointed out that they had been in a place of death. This led to a discussion between Grogg and Wolfram on the nature of the underworld which devolved into Grogg insulting Ashtar. Nuur-Karif kept unusually quiet, and I mostly sensed tiredness mixed with resignation from them.

Nuur-Karif tried to sleep on the cart, while Grogg and Keri were drinking heavily. After about half an hour, I blinked and suddenly my sight were back to normal. It took a few seconds for me to realize what had happened, but being able to see normally again felt great.

By then, both Keri and Grogg were quite intoxicated. To get away from the stench of the liquor and their dizziness, I jumped off the cart and fell a bit behind. Keri was busy telling the others about the flesh soup in an upcoming village, so I would not miss out on anything. Instead, I tested out improving my vision again and this time it worked as expected.

After another half an hour where Grogg and Keri got progressively louder, we reached another village with an inn. Keri loudly proclaimed that this was the flesh soup inn and directed Yana to lead the horse and cart to the back. An apeoid came out and talked with Nuur-Karif and Wolfram. Apparently, Keri had not paid last time they were there, but Wolfram promised that we would pay.

More importantly, the apeoid mentioned that if the three apeoids upstairs were staring, we should pretend to not see them. Yana stood by the stables and discreetly waved to Nuur-Karif. Nuur-Karif and I walked over to them and our suspicions were confirmed by three dark horses standing unnaturally still. They looked like the ones I had seen in the night.

Wolfram was oblivious and had walked in together with Hylda while Keri and Grogg were stumbling around behind the inn. In their intoxicated state, I did not know how Grogg and Keri would react if I told them what was going on, but whatever their reaction, it would almost certainly be loud enough for the whole village to hear. Instead, I said that the inn smelled of horse and hoped Grogg's disgust would dissuade them from entering. It worked after I suggested that Nuur-Karif could go into the stench and fetch the flesh soup.

Nuur-Karif went in to fetch Wolfram and Hylda while Yana came over. They followed up on my story on the stench and exaggerated so much that anyone but Grogg and Keri would have seen through the ruse, but at least it kept them occupied. Yana's enthusiasm for the story came mostly from fear, so I walked over to the corner were I could see the entrance. After a few minutes Nuur-Karif, Wolfram, and Hylda came out and joined the rest of us.

Nuur-Karif claimed that they had seen a night rider put poison in the flesh soup and said we had to leave. It sounded a bit farfetched, but Nuur-Karif managed to sound convincing and their story had the desired effect. Grogg cursed The Night Riders and even Keri agreed that we had to leave. However, they were so loud that the Shadows of Amna and any other villager within a hundred meters must have heard what they said.

Yana almost ran to fetch the horse with the cart and was very relieved when we left. On our way out of the village, I spotted movement behind the shutters of a window on the second floor. Someone or something was standing behind it and, judging from their stillness, were observing us. Nuur-Karif was next to me and I told them we were being watched. There was nothing we could do about it then and there, so we kept walking.

We continued for half an hour until the village were no longer visible and stopped on a sward next to the road. Nuur-Karif said that The Night Riders were working for The Shadows of Amna that wanted to kill Yana, Nuur-Karif and anyone they associated with. They seemed convinced that the riders were Night Riders, but I pointed out that no Night Riders we had dealt with so far had been able to send their shadows to spy for them. Yana agreed that it was probably Shadows of Amna and Nuur-Karif agreed once they had thought it through.

Keri complained that Nuur-Karif had not said anything before and that one should stay far away from Shadows of Amna. Nuur-Karif just pointed out that Keri was unpredictable in their state. Nuur-Karif said they wanted to murder the Shadows of Amna and the others responded with various degrees of enthusiasm. I pointed out that murder was guaranteed to get attention of Amrosh, but Nuur-Karif did not care and wanted to go back to the inn as soon as they were done praying. I suggested that it would be better to do it away from the village with fewer witnesses and a lower chance of collateral damage, but Nuur-Karif would have none of it. I suppose they wanted to make up for having endangered Yana and overcompensated.

Nuur-Karif sat down to pray and I and Yana joined them in meditation. In the meantime Grogg began telling Hylda and Keri about their fight with the dragons outside Ur. I focused on ignoring them, but noticed that they sounded unusually eloquent. Nuur-Karif finished praying just in time for us to see Grogg finish their tale by throwing their maul into the bushes. Hylda and Grogg were left staring with their mouths open. Grogg must have used the energies of The Slurping Toad again.

Ashtar had given Nuur-Karif permission to go ahead, so they wanted to leave immediately and Grogg were thrilled at the chance of killing horses. Suddenly, Hylda and Keri were released from their paralysis and began applauding.

The Shadows of Amna would almost certainly see our approach and Yana thought it would be futile to try to surprise them. With Grogg and Wolfram coming along, they were probably right. Keri were told to guard the luggage and grudgingly complied.
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Old 08-24-2022, 09:14 AM   #164
Stomoxys
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Default Day 220 since leaving The Homeland

When we approached the village, the shutters of the window were still open. My sight was still enhanced so I could tell someone were hiding behind it when we got nearer. I informed the others, but we kept walking as normal. The rest of the village looked the same as when we left, and the only difference at the inn was that the doors to the stables were shut.

Nuur-Karif walked right in followed by the rest of us. The apeoid Wolfram had talked to earlier jumped up from a table and started apologizing. The table had been meant for us, but they thought we had left and had set down with two other apeoids working at the inn. Nuur-Karif calmed them down and tried to get them to tell us which room the Shadows of Amna were staying in. They were reluctant to divulge the information and Nuur-Karif had to lure it out of them. While Nuur-Karif talked, I got a strange feeling from one of the other apeoids and noticed they were looking at me. They had probably just noticed my face under the hood, but it was unpleasant and I would have preferred if nobody could tie me directly to what we were about to do.

The stench of the flesh soup and the staring apeoid made the room very unpleasant, but Nuur-Karif finally managed find out were the Shadows of Amna were staying. However, Grogg insisted on drinking more beer before we could go upstairs, until Wolfram suggested that they were afraid to go upstairs. This finally convinced them to leave. Not that they needed more alcohol, they were already quite intoxicated.

At the top of the stairs, we took to the right and walked to the end of the hallway to a closed door. Without even checking if it was locked, Nuur-Karif signaled for Grogg to kick it in and the troll complied. The door collapsed and Nuur-Karif drew their knives and rushed into the corridor beyond. It was clear that Nuur-Karif intended to rush into whatever trap the Shadows of Amna had prepared, so I conjured up an image of Nuur-Karif and instructed it to follow the original. Hopefully it could take some of the blows.

The inn was shaped like a rectangle with an inner courtyard and the room we were heading for was in the corner at the end of the corridor we had just entered. This was the same room were I had seen someone in the window.

Nuur-Karif reached the door to the room and signaled for Wolfram to break down the door. They ran into it and nearly broke through. The image I had created ran after Nuur-Karif who signaled for Grogg to help with the door. They lurched forward and nearly ran over Nuur-Karif, who had to jump out of the way.

Grogg continued on straight through the door and was swallowed by the darkness beyond. However, I heard the sounds of a crossbow firing and a bolt hitting something. The darkness was obviously unnatural and even Wolfram was reluctant to run in headfirst. I found the shining pebble and lifted it high. While the hallway was illuminated by the blazing light, the darkness in the room resisted and I could barely see Grogg waving their maul wildly around. From the sounds, they only hit furniture.

Nuur-Karif timed their advance with Grogg's swings and ran into the room. In the far corner, I could see something move. Wolfram decided to rush in too and I heard more crossbows and the sounds of fighting. The image followed, but was too late to be of any use.

Only Nuur-Karif would be able to see anything in the room beyond the light from the doorway, so I tossed the pebble into the center. Inside the darkness, it was barely stronger than a candle, but it was enough to see a bolt hit Grogg in the neck were one of its companions were already stuck. Grogg were not deterred though, but continued their wild assault while Wolfram fought something in the corner.

Despite the pebble, Grogg and Wolfram would struggle to see anything, so I tried to bring more light into the room. I rapidly weaved a net of threads that covered the entire ceiling and let it release the energy it contained. This should have been enough to bathe the entire room in intense starlight. However, the darkness absorbed most of it. It was sufficient for me to see the whole room though, including the corners were the combatants were lurking.

Despite looking right at the Shadows of Amna, it was difficult to focus, so they must have used more rituals than just the darkness. It was not enough, though, and my companions crushed and hacked them to pieces. It was a grotesque display and I had to look away when Nuur-Karif skewered one of the them in the eye. Oddly enough, I did not sense much pain or fear.

Just as Grogg crushed their opponent with a swing of their maul, I heard the wild shriek of a horse from the stables. When the other two Shadows of Amna followed, more shrieks were heard from the stable.

I was exhausted but hobbled over to the window to see what was going on. Opening the window did little to the darkness, but I heard banging from the stables and concluded the horses were trying to kick themselves out. It seemed the Shadows of Amna were connected to their horses and we could not let them escape. I told the others, but Wolfram had gotten a nasty cut to the chest and needed to stop the bleeding. Grogg had no qualms though. Despite three bolts sticking out of their neck, they jumped out through the window and I barely got out of the way. Luckily, they landed on their feet.

Grogg set off towards the stables but I climbed up on the roof were I would have a better view. Nuur-Karif and Wolfram followed Grogg, but landed considerably more gracefully. The troll made it over to the stables just in time to swing their maul at the first horse that came rushing out of the stable. I winced as both the front legs of the creature broke and it collapsed in a screaming, kicking heap.

The second horse managed to escape, but Nuur-Karif managed to get in the way of the last horse before it made it through the door. I resolutely looked away from the carnage below and readied my bow. The escaping horse was accelerating and it was difficult to focus with the screams from below, so my first two shots missed. However, my third arrow hit and after the second, the horse slowed down. I noticed that one of Nuur-Karif's throwing knives were sticking out of its flank, which probably had something to do with it. After the third arrow hit it, the horse nearly stopped and the fourth left it easy prey for Nuur-Karif. They had run after it and quickly put an end to the poor creature. When I looked down again, Grogg had finally put the collapsed horse out of its misery.

I climbed back into the room while Nuur-Karif saw to the wounds of Grogg and Wolfram. Both the darkness and my light had dissipated, but my pebble were still shining and I put it back in my purse. The corpses of the Shadows of Amna were no longer difficult to look at, but their blood confirmed what I had previously felt. No fear or pain, just the thrill of battle.

The villagers had run away to hide, so the village was eerily quiet. Rummaging through the Shadows' luggage, I found a round stone as large as both my fists that shone with a white light and three horse statuettes in clay. They stone was obviously full of energy and the statuettes looked like the work of Kabal. Under the bed, I found a medicine kit similar to Nuur-Karif's and, like Nuur-Karif's, it contained more poisons than medical equipment.

I also found six small one handed crossbows as well as three curved swords and three large knives. The crossbows could be handy and Wolfram thought the weapons could be traded for gold, so I lowered them down before climbing down myself. Wolfram and Grogg had stopped bleeding, so we hobbled out of the village.

While most of the villagers had run away to hide, I spotted several apeoids watching from behind their shutters. There would be no shortage of witnesses and I hoped the Shadows of Amna were more gentle than Tivito in their interrogations.
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Old 09-05-2022, 11:59 AM   #165
Stomoxys
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Default Day 220 since leaving The Homeland

After a long walk, we finally saw the cart and Hylda and Yana came running towards us. Keri wondered what had happened and was impressed when we said we had defeated the Shadows of Amna. They hoped that it would take a long time before the organization realized what had happened. They repeated that the agents should be operating independently, so it might take a while, but they would find out sooner or later.

Wolfram thought it was strange that the Shadows of Amna had been ready for us. Nuur-Karif and I pointed out that they had seen us leave and come back and we had not exactly been discreet when we arrived the first time. They still thought it was odd that they had been ready to fight. We had made a lot of noise breaking down the doors to get in, but they probably would not have time to prepare on so short notice. However, they had seen us the night before, they knew Nuur-Karif was a murderer, and probably knew about the rest of us. Wolfram conceded that we had a point, but wondered what their agenda was. None of us knew, not even Yana who would know the most about Amrosh. Wolfram noted that they swords had special grooves to apply poison to.

Wolfram and Grogg were pretty badly hurt and Nuur-Karif suggested using the healing salve on them. We were right by the road though, so it was not a good location for sleeping with the needle. Keri said there was a village ten minutes away, but going to another village so close to the scene of the crime was probably a bad idea. Wolfram said they were mostly fine and Grogg had their needle. I suggested that Nuur-Karif could use their dirt approach. This got Wolfram's attention and they wondered if one could take any dirt and smear it in the wounds. Yana described it as a lot like surgery. If someone who did not know what they were doing attempted it, they were likely to do more harm than good.

Nuur-Karif had noticed that I was tired and suggested that I should rest. They were also tired, but it was mostly due to lack of sleep, so they would need a full nights rest.

Grogg and Wolfram were still covered in their own and their victims blood. Keri said they could fetch water if it was necessary, but in the end they decided to go down to the river. It would be freezing cold, so only Grogg, Hylda, Wolfram, and Keri went.

I lay down to rest by the cart. Keri's horse was nearby, but I noticed that it was unusually calm. Usually, horses are skittish and unpredictable, but this one was just standing there munching grass. In fact, I felt more calm just watching it. I wondered what Keri had done to it.

After a while, Keri came running up from the river dressed in one of the sailor's outfits. I felt a shiver just looking at them and they told anyone who would listen that the water was really cold. After a while, Grogg and Wolfram came up followed by Hylda and had managed to clean off most of the blood.

Keri commented that they had fog like that were they came from, but immediately clamped up. They did not wish that anyone knew where they came from. It has been said that the Aldera family collected nobles from other parts of the country. Perhaps Keri was one.

It was decided that Grogg would be treated with salve while Wolfram would sleep with the needle. I had no wish to be near anyone being treated by the salve again, so I retreated into a nearby orchard and found a tree. The land got drier as we went further south, so both the orchards and fields were less dense here. This was the resting season, but I could still see a few farmers tending their fields.

After an hour, the worst of the salve should be over and I returned to the cart. Keri was standing guard and wondered what we were planning. They said they could find a farm nearby and scare the peasants into looking away and let us use their barn. Wolfram would need more time to rest and a barn sounded better than a ditch, so I told them to see what they could do.

They left and were gone for nearly an hour. When they returned, they said they had found what they were looking for. I woke the others and we set off in the direction we had come from. However, we turned east along a dirt path after a few minutes and after some walking arrived at a small hamlet. A young apeoid was filling a bucket of water, but set off on a run when they saw us approaching. Nothing else moved and all the windows were shuttered tight. Keri said they had promised we would be gone before Ajaw rose and the peasants would not dare to move outside before. That we were moving around outside at night would scare the peasants even more.

Inside the barn, someone had prepared a bucket of reasonably clean water. A part of the barn had been used to house horses, but the animals were gone now. The rest settled down to rest in the hay, but I climbed up to rest on one of the beams. It was not as comfortable as a tree, but the smell of mammals were less intense near the ceiling. We decided to keep a watch and Yana and Hylda said they could keep watch until nightfall and then we would take an hour each. I would take the third to last, followed by Nuur-Karif and finally Keri.
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Old 09-05-2022, 12:10 PM   #166
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Join Date: Jun 2020
Default Day 221 since leaving The Homeland

I was woken about three hours before Ajaw should rise and my watch was very quiet. After an hour, I woke Nuur-Karif and climbed up on the roof. To the north, the wandering stars were continuing their journey to their respective sign. I was more interested in what was going on in the east though. From my position, I should have been able to see all of The Nine. However, one of them was missing. I wondered if this was related to the strange clouds we had seen at dawn and began dancing.

The threads led me to the east as I looked for answers. However, the dark clouds became denser the further I went. While my dance dispersed them, they soon came back even denser than before and I realized that it was not clouds, but smoke enveloping me. In the end, I could only see smoke and began to worry that I would not find my way back. However, by following the threads I had woven, I found my way back on the roof.

I was not sure if what I had seen was a vision, or if the smoke had blocked my sight. Was it possible that the smoke had enveloped one of The Nine so they could not find their way back. The apeoids had previously locked them in a blasphemous prison in the crater, so I had no doubt they would try if they could.

The horizon in the east should have begun to brighten, but it was still completely dark. Some stars were still visible in the sky, so I decided to meditate a bit. I focused primarily on the eastern horizon and the remaining eight danced continuously. At times, one of them faded a bit as if they were about to disappear too. The same star was alway missing though. Just before Ajaw should have breached the horizon, I got a hint of Kama and Taxini. It was gone before I could locate the source though.

Keri was holding the last watch and signaled that we should leave. I climbed down and gathered my things. When leaving the barn, I left a gold coin. It should bribe the peasants into believing we believed in Mitra and hopefully reduce their willingness to talk. The salve had healed Grogg's wounds, while a night with the needle had fixed Wolfram's.

It was dark when we walked, so I gave myself night vision, but it was not really necessary. After 15 minutes, we passed the village Keri had talked about. Right after we passed it, Ajaw broke through the smoke in the east.

We were delayed by almost a day due to to the affair with The Shadows of Amna and Keri wondered if we should try to catch up with our schedule. I wanted to find Pakk and Gromann as soon as possible and said we should continue. This would involve walking into the night, but nobody complained. We would need supplies for the expedition into the desert. Keri said they could get it in Sam, but it might be cheaper to buy in the villages on the road, so Nuur-Karif went into the next village to see what they could obtain.

The rest of us waited outside on a knoll with a view to the east. I asked Grogg if they could smell any smoke and they inhaled deeply, but said they did not smell anything. Looking to the east, it was just possible to see a dark band far away. I used the threads to focus the light to see far and could clearly see the mountains that separated Arland and The Cities of the Prince. I could also see the dark clouds forming the band on the horizon. It was much further east, possibly as far as The Brown Forest. I told Wolfram that there might be dark smoke over The Cities of the Prince, but they merely shrugged and said there was nothing we could do about it.

Nuur-Karif and Yana returned loaded with various provisions and we set off. When we passed villages throughout the day, they would go in and buy more. In this way, we got enough food to last the party maybe ten days by the time we called it a day and found an inn. Grogg, Hylda, Wolfram, and Keri wanted to sit up and drink, but the rest of us went to our rooms early.

I had a room to myself, so I sat down to study the shining stone I had found the day before. It had a type of energy, but I was not able to identify any specific patterns in it. Something about it reminded me of Amna. This was confirmed when I held it in the window and let the light of Amna shine on it. The light appeared to shine brighter, but I was still not able to see what it was for. I wondered if it could be a kind of energy reserve, so I placed it on a desk next to the window where the light of Amna could reach it. I also looked at it through the spirit ring, but I could not see any differences. However, one of the horse statuettes shimmered and it had to contain a spirit.

Before going to bed, I climbed up on the roof to contemplate the stars. Two of The Nine were gone, and one of them was the same as the night before. I tried to look for the traces of the missing star, and found something. It was not very specific, but I thought they were in the vicinity of the others. It was the star that was usually the furthest east that was missing. I wondered if the smoke had anything to do with the fallen beak creatures or perhaps it was the work of Albor.
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Old 09-05-2022, 12:22 PM   #167
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Join Date: Jun 2020
Default Day 222 since leaving The Homeland

Keri knocked on my door in the morning and proclaimed that it was time for breakfast. I quickly packed up my things and noted that the stone appeared unchanged. It did not seem to have gathered any more energy, so it was probably not for power storage. Wolfram would probably be excited to learn that it was related to Amna though.

Before heading down, I knocked on Nuur-Karif's door asked them to come and look at the medicine kit I had found. I felt oddly satisfied looking at Yana, as if I had completed some important task. It would probably be revealed in due time.

One of the bottles in the medicine kit was almost empty and Nuur-Karif said it was the same neurotoxin they had found in Grogg and Wolfram's wounds. From their description, it sounded like nasty stuff and only a combination of size and luck had kept Grogg and Wolfram standing. Two of the other flasks contained the same poison and there were three empty and clean flasks. The last two were full and contained different liquids. We could not immediately identify them, but Nuur-Karif thought they would have an intoxicating effect. They asked if they could take hand of the poisons and I agreed. I have started to find the idea of using the neurotoxins repulsive.

Downstairs, we ate a quick breakfast and set out. Keri and the others had been up drinking for a long time and Keri felt less anxious than before. There were less fog than previously and we could see some distance out on the river. However, there were still ice flakes floating downstream here and there. Keri commented again that the weather was strange, but warned us we would have to prepare for cold on the travel. While the desert was hot during the day, it could get very cold at night. Yana volunteered for helping with making winter clothes and Grogg reluctantly agreed. They wanted to make my outfit themselves, however. Yana had previously declined to help with sewing because they had some other project. Perhaps they had finished it and that was why they were satisfied.

I told Wolfram about the Amna stone and the horse statuettes. As expected, they were excited about the stone, but proclaimed we had to deal with the statuettes, at least the one with the spirit. I wondered if the Shadows of Amna had had their spirits transferred into the horses somehow using the statuettes. Wolfram thought it might be possible, but thought it was more likely to be a bond similar to that between Grogg and Kra.

Yana got upset when I mentioned the statuettes and especially when I asked them directly. They and Nuur-Karif withdrew and discussed quietly among themselves. When they returned, Yana said they had had a statuette like that. However, it had been destroyed when we attacked the Kabal temple at The Evening Fortress along with all the other Kabal artifacts. They had gotten their statuette from their mother and also remembered seeing one at a kin's place. They did not know what the statuettes were for but the shape reminded them of when Amna turns ninety degrees. The Amrosh has the ridiculous notion that this is related to horses. While I do not think they lied, this statuettes were very emotional for them and they were withholding some personal information.

I asked Keri where we were supposed to meet Pakk and Gromann. They said we were supposed to travel south from Sam along the edge of the wetlands until we reached the Desert Lake. This lake is separated from the sea by the wetlands and used to be directly connected, if the apeoid's legends are to be believed. The lake was bordered by steep cliffs, making it difficult to reach the water itself, but there were canyons leading down here and there so it would be possible to get water. Pakk and Gromann would wait for us at the point were the distance from the lake to the ruined city was the shortest.

Wolfram wondered why we could not meet them in Sam, but Keri said that they could no longer stay close to others because they were followed by death. It was unclear what they meant, but I think they had discussed it while drinking. After they emerged from the swamp, they had met Isa in a small village and been instructed to stay away from Guling. Instead, they had traveled through the wetlands to the rendezvous point.

Keri had not been told of the ruined city and when we pointed it out on the map, they got very concerned. The journey from the lake to the city could take three weeks. They wondered if any of us had any experience with camels. The deranged creature Wolfram turned into at Darwan's crypt was a camel and I would prefer to never have to deal with any of those again. The creatures are said to be able to go for long periods without water and were resistant to heat. Yana was the only one with any experience, but they had only seen them at a distance.

The trade caravans to Anabel take the same route as we were planning along the edge of the cliffs and it would be possible to get food and water as long as we stayed near the lake. However, when we left the lake, we would have to bring everything, including water. There were no roads either and easy to get lost, but I assured Keri that as long as the stars were visibly, I would be able to tell the way.

Keri admitted they had not really made any plans beyond finding and were thankful for that. They thought that a ruined city up in the mountains would have to be dwarf city. When they grew up, they had heard a myth about a ruined dwarf city somewhere up in the mountains. It had been built to be unassailable and the dwarves had dug and found enormous amounts of gold. In the end, they had dug so much gold that the city had given way and collapsed into The Underworld.

Wolfram wondered if this myth should be interpreted literally and The Underworld was a place it was possible to collapse into, but Keri explained it was probably an allegory. If the dwarves built their city in the middle of the desert, they would have no way to produce food. If there was unrest in the rest of Arland and the supply caravans stopped, the city would starve.

Short sighted greed is the hallmark of apeoids, so if they could, they would probably fill their city with gold until it collapsed. I did not think the fall of the city was as prosaic as Keri thought though. If the demons were created there, the rituals must have had terrible consequences for the city. I was reminded of the devils that the dwarves, and Kabal it seemed, believed lurked deep underground.
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Old 09-25-2022, 02:34 AM   #168
Stomoxys
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Default Day 222 since leaving The Homeland

The rest of the day went by with little traffic on the road and no checkpoints. The most notable incident was a band of dwarf mercenaries passing by on the road. They were very displeased about something, possibly lack of payment. Keri hid their face by pulling up hood and placing their horse, Nuur-Karif, and Yana between themselves and the dwarves. Afterwards, they were relieved and said their concern had been unnecessary, so these dwarves were apparently not from Keri's homeland.

In the evening we discussed whether we should push on towards Sam or rest. We had to deal with the horse statuettes, so we walked off the road and found a small meadow. As we got further south, the wheat fields had been gradually replaced by fruit trees and vineyards, so the meadow was well sheltered from spying eyes. According to Keri the apeoids got less afraid of the dark the further south one went, but they also knew better than to meddle in things that were none of their business.

The dirt was dry and Wolfram could scratch their symbols directly in the dirt. I fetched the Kabal staff and studied the statuettes. With the staff, I could see traces of spirits on all three statuettes, though it was very faint on one of them. When I touched the most intense, it looked like the shimmering stained my fingers. Wolfram thought that this was a sign that whatever was in there was leaking out.

I helped Wolfram complete their circle. It was about 70 cm in radius. Wolfram fetched three flat stones and placed them around the circle and then performed their ritual of hiding on the totem. I planned on using a staff to see any spirits, so I handed the ring to Wolfram. They began their ritual of imprisonment, but appeared to struggle. It took longer than any time before and Wolfram got increasingly frustrated. However, they succeeded in the end. They looked tired though.

I picked up the staff while Wolfram drew a circle in the ground and said it was the border of the prison. Looking around, I could see traces of spirits here and there, but no more than the baseline background noise.

Nuur-Karif took up position behind Wolfram when Wolfram raised their flail. They crushed the nearest statuette, one of the two without strong traces, and it shattered. It appeared to be a very normal shattering and I could not see anything out of the ordinary.

Wolfram moved on to the statuette with the most traces and crushed it. The moment the statuette shattered, the inside of the circle turned completely dark. Nuur-Karif walked into the darkness while I fetched the shining stone and held it up. Like in the room of The Shadows of Amna, the darkness resisted, but I could see a bit into the circle. There were no traces of any of the statuettes, but the stones where they had stood were covered in a fine dust.

Nuur-Karif was bending down to something that shimmered like a spirit on the ground and I heard them whisper in the snake language. I dropped the staff and prepared to illuminate the circle, but Wolfram told me to wait. They thought the light could disturb the spirits and endanger Nuur-Karif. I argued that if something went wrong, we would not be able to help Nuur-Karif. Nuur-Karif said the light would be fine and shouted for Yana to get their poison bottles.

I started to dance and tying the threads to bathe the circle in starlight. However, I noticed that the darkness were held together with a different kind of threads that looked very flimsy and about to unravel on their own. Instead of lighting up the area, I used my threads to attach to the tangle and pull at the right ends. With a flash of light, the darkness imploded and Amna and the stars could shine down on the circle.

Nuur-Karif was standing in the circle and looked like they were holding something. When the darkness disappeared, they suddenly became very stressed and shouted for me to stop. The darkness was gone and I could not bring it back, so I picked up the staff again. Nuur-Karif was holding the spirit of a snake in their hands. I would have expected them to be furious at the thought of someone killing snakes and capturing their spirits, but they were merely annoyed. There were also a few other spirits in the circle that looked like bats and birds. All the spirits were rapidly disintegrating.

Yana came running and Nuur-Karif told them to get their snake milking tools. They worked rapidly and managed to milk all the snake. When they were done, they had a bottle with something in it that was definitely magical. I had observed the spirits while Nuur-Karif worked and it appeared to be the light of Amna that made them evaporate. If so, removing the darkness was what freed them, but the darkness and the spirits would eventually have dissipated anyway. I wondered what would have happened if Wolfram's prison had not been in place.

Wolfram wanted to rest after their rituals, but I intercepted them and asked them if they wanted to see the Amna stone. They agreed that it was connected to Amna, but were barely standing upright and insisted they had to rest. They brought the stone with them into the tent though. From their tent, they shouted that they would need rest and would like to start late the next day.

Nuur-Karif said they could take the first watch and the others went to bed. I sat down by the campfire to observe the skies. Only seven of The Nine were visible, but while I watched, one of them appeared. The easternmost was still nowhere to be seen. It did not seem like the stars were affected by the smoke though. Instead, it looked like the smoke was forming a layer blocking my view of them.

The smoke was far to the east, further than The Brown Forest, so I wondered if it could originate from the crater. I began to dance to see if the stars could shed light on the matter. This time it felt similar to the time I climbed the threads with Wolfram and I could look down on the ground infinitely far below, like the stars would. The crater was clearly visible and the stars were very much aware of it. It was a place were celestial entities could fall to the ground. However, I could not see any signs of the smoke. It clearly was not originating from the crater.

Perhaps the smoke was just an illusion or some other demonic trick. Darwan's illusions were broken by starlight and if the other demon's powers were equally easy to break, it could explain why the stars were not even aware of its presence.

I told Nuur-Karif what I had seen, but as usual they were uninterested in anything that required them to raise their view from the ground. I asked them what had happened with the spirits in the statuettes. They said it had only been parts of spirits, like remains left behind when they passed, but now the remains had also passed on. I took the next watch and Nuur-Karif went to bed.

My watch was uneventful and I woke Grogg when it was over. They asked me if I could try to find Vanjan. Vanjan was a name Grogg had heard from the dragon spawn we fought. We decided that it was probably Volkir. Darwan claimed to be Volkir's brother and were unfamiliar with name Volkir. I could try, but I did not know how it would work with demons.

I began searching for threads that could lead me to Volkir. Scanning through the sky, I thought I saw a thread whose twists reminded me of the tainted energies surrounding the banner. I reached for it and my vision began to blur and dance. Looking around, I spotted a shadow that whispered that it could be mine and theirs if I brought it. All illusions could be their and all illusions could be mine if I brought them. Behind the offers, I sensed a feeling of desperation, but also a belief that they could become very powerful.

This sounded like the usual apeoid hunger, so I ignored it and instead tried to determine its source. My vision was swimming and directions seemed to mix together, but I sensed a stronger pull towards east.

The swimming stopped as soon as I let go and I took a few moments to gather myself. I tried to explain to Grogg what I had seen, but I could not really say more than that I thought Volkir was to the east. The whispers had seemed to come a bit from all directions, so it was hard to tell. Could a demonic presence be spread over the land? I was not even sure if it was Volkir for that matter. The offers of power reminded me of the last time, but the talk of illusions and shadows sounded more like Darwan. Then again, if Volkir did not have any powers of illusion, they would covet it.
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Old 09-25-2022, 02:35 AM   #169
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Join Date: Jun 2020
Default Day 222 since leaving The Homeland

After resting a bit by the fire, I decided to study the threads again. Since we were going to have a late start, I would have time to rest. Reading the threads would be a lot harder in Sam. Grogg sat down to sow while I started dancing. Krull had asked if the animals in The Brown Forest were dancing and I wanted to find out.

As I danced and followed the thread east, I felt something or someone come to meet me. Whatever it was, it danced with me and intensified the dance. I was vaguely aware that my companions were waking up and mumbling among themselves. Wolfram asked Grogg who was supposed to be dancing and I and the entity answered together "all the animals". Wolfram asked if I meant supernatural animals and I repeated that it was all the animals, and the remains of the apeoids in them as well. Wolfram asked if they were dancing with the sisters and we responded that they danced together. After a moment's silence, I added "Do not let them use us to capture them again. We are already trapped, we do not deserve this."

The message had been delivered and the entities left me. I stumbled a bit before I found my balance and looked around. The camp looked like it had been hit by strong winds, something the others confirmed. I had been surrounded by a whirlwind, that had been unable to affect me. When I came to, the wind had whipped out in all directions and Wolfram had heard a new voice whisper "Do not let the shadow master take the forest, it is ours."

Looking up at the sky again, I saw that all the nine were present and their dance looked more intense than before. It looked as if the smoke had withdrawn, though it was still lurking in the east. Whatever had happened, it appeared to have pushed the smoke away. I shuddered when thinking about the apeoids trying to imprison the stars again, but it would not be beyond the power crazed demons to attempt something like that again. If I communicated with the animals, I wonder who whispered to Wolfram. Could it be Albor?

Nuur-Karif and Grogg went back to bed, but Wolfram wanted to do their ritual to see if there had been any spirits here. After refreshing their circle a bit, they performed the ritual and traces began to shimmer in the moonlight all over the campsite. Wolfram then performed their energy tracing ritual and the whole campsite lit up.

There were tracks of both spirits and energies in all directions, with the majority heading east. One set of tracks went almost straight up and and shimmered like dust caught in a beam of light. Upon closer inspection, the tracks seemed to head straight for Amna. Very few traces led west and I did not notice them at first. It looked like whatever had left them had tried to hide their tracks, taking a meandering path to confuse the direction. Wolfram thought it might be Darwan. While that might be possible, I thought it could be almost anything. None of the tracks were on the ground, but appeared to hover above it.

While we talked, I noticed that flashes of pink and green ran over my skin. It was not as bright as when I danced, but it definitely did not blend in with the background. I also realized that the area was full of energies. They felt exciting, but also a bit nervous and it was not just star energy, but several types. Perhaps the flashes were just my skin reacting to the energies in the area. There was not much to do about it, but I would have to pay close attention.

Wolfram fetched the Amna stone to study it and it flashed strongly when they brought it into Amna's light. The light was strong enough to illuminate the entire camp and it seemed to emanate from both the stone and Wolfram. They went over to their totem and performed a small ritual to illuminate their totem. It was much stronger than anticipated and a beam of light reached down from Amna to light up the camp. Similar beams could be seen reaching across the sky.

Wolfram transformed into the star bear. After getting a grunt of aproval, I ran into their tent to fetch the spirit ring. When I returned, Wolfram had transformed back into a human. There were no spirits to see in the ring, however, when I used the threads to see energies, the camp lit up even more intensely in several colours. It was dominated by the white blue star light, but there were also greens and pinks.

Wolfram fetched the map and tried to determine were the other beams from Amna went. One was a bit to the west, three were to the east and there were one to the north and south each. Wolfram claimed they could determine more precisely where the beams were shining and drew it on the map. Their deductions seemed reasonable, but I would not have been able to tell that precisely myself. It must have been their connection with Amna that made it possible.

The closest was the beam to the west, which seemed to point somewhere in the area around Ur. Two of the eastern beams were somewhere out in the desert in the lands of the Amrosh, while the last went beyond the mountains to somewhere in western parts of The Cities of the Prince. The one to the south seemed to point to the edge of the Desert Lake, close to where we were supposed to meet Pakk and Groman. The last was far to the north, at the northern borders of Arland.

We theorized that the beams might point at other stones. If so, they could indicate the presence of Shadows of Amna. There was enough energy in the area that I thought I could consult the threads if the theory was correct. I began to dance while Wolfram sat down to fondle the stone.

While I danced, Wolfram studied the beams and said that some of them flickered in and out of existence. At some point, Yana screamed from their tent. It was followed by quiet murmurs, so I assumed it was just a bad dream and maintained the dance. Wolfram packed the stone away soon after and the light began to fade.

When I was done, I did not get any visions, but simply a clear yes and no. The beams were shining at stones, but not only stones. I was reminded of the light that had shone on Wolfram's totem. Perhaps anyone who used sufficient amount of energy would light up and be visible with the stone. I wondered what the temple of Amna would look like.

The camp was now dark except for the campfires and occasional flashes on my skin. Instead of the normal tiredness I felt after dancing, I felt rejuvenated. I was still getting sleepy though, so I curled up near the campfire. Wolfram woke Keri to take the watch and went to sleep in their tent.

I was just about to doze off when I noticed Keri standing over me. They pointed out that my skin was flashing and said they thought they had seen double. The double part was interesting, so I decided to test what would happen if I left the high energy area. I instructed Keri to stay at the far end of the camp while I gradually walked off in the other direction. My skin kept flashing, even when I walked out of the area, but they did not see any double again. Leaving the energetic area was not very noticeable, but when I returned, it was obvious. I returned to my sheets next to the fire.
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Old 09-25-2022, 02:42 AM   #170
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Join Date: Jun 2020
Default Day 223 since leaving The Homeland

I woke up when Ajaw reached the horizon at the expected time and there were almost no signs of the smoke. The camp was still silent, with Nuur-Karif keeping watch again, so I merely turned over to bask in Ajaw's rays.

A few hours later, I woke from the smell of Hylda preparing breakfast. I could still sense the energies saturating the campsite, but it felt more subdued in the light of day. Twisting the threads so I could see the energies confirmed my impression. The energies were still there, but more demure. There were no signs of them weakening though. If the energies were dissipating, it would take several days. My skin was also still flashing in strange colours.

Keri offered us tea, but specified that it was root tea. They considered the real tea to be inappropriate and claimed it was brought by the Klakla. They harboured some animosity towards the sea apeoids. The root tea tasted good though.

While we drank the tea, I told the others what Wolfram and I had discovered during the night. Nuur-Karif ignored everything else and fixated on the Amna stone. They thought that it might be possible for The Shadows of Amna to track us with it and wanted to bury it. We explained that it would have to be exposed to Amna's light for this to happen and it was not possible to determine who was using the stone. Furthermore, using the stone would reveal anyone using a similar stone nearby and Wolfram's totem might be equally visible. None of this penetrated and I sensed a deep worry and fear in them. I suspect they were motivated by hysterical fear for Yana instead of any rational concerns. Wolfram refused to get rid of the stone and I supported them. Grogg also agreed with Wolfram, so Nuur-Karif stalked off to pray.

While Nuur-Karif prayed, we packed up the camp and finally got on our way around lunch time. The further south we went, the less oppressive the fog became. Still, we could only occasionally see the far side of the Ar. The road was still mostly free of traffic, but at some point a large wagon passed us by. I noticed that one of the crates had an Aldera sign.

When Ajaw reached the horizon, the density of villages started to increase and we saw more and more workshops and stables. We were nearing the town on the left banks of The Ar across from Sam. According to Nuur-Karif, the inhabitants of Sam did not have a name for the town, but just called it the far side or the caravan stop. Some referred to it as East Sam though.

It was getting darker, and we could occasionally spot the lights of Sam on the other side. Keri wondered if we wanted to find a place to sleep, but Nuur-Karif wanted to cross the river to Sam immediately. Keri said there was an inn called The Last Stop at the south east outskirts of East Sam. This was were the caravans from Anabel arrived and Keri had an arrangement with the innkeeper. All we needed to do was ask for someone called Munir.

Wolfram initially wanted to camp outside, away from other apeoids, but Keri assured them they could have a room for themselves. This sounded better than a crowded city, so they wanted to go with Keri and Grogg was happy to be away from Nuur-Karif. I wanted to learn more about my death to Sam vision, so I went with Nuur-Karif. As usual, Yana went with Nuur-Karif while Hylda went with Grogg. Keri wanted Nuur-Karif to promise to be back the next day, but they merely said they would try to be back. We were going to be away for a while it seemed.
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