Campaign Log: Confessions of a Forked Tongue

[coronatiger]

I was concerned for Yana and Hylda. They knew we didn’t have supplies for more than a day or two, and might do something rash if we didn’t return. Also, there was the Night Riders that needed to be dealt with. I had asked Yana to stall them, but she couldn’t keep them away indefinitely. Odon had a solution to my conundrum, when he suggested that Grogg and Wolfram helped with the digging. Big fellows like them should speed up the excavation process. They agreed almost immediately. Xipil and I wouldn’t be much help, so we decided to return to Yana and Hylda and bring them into Odon’s camp.

Xipil had a bottle that he had found on their earlier expedition, when he and Grogg first encountered Odon. He asked Odon about it, and Odon took it away from him, stating that this was bad luck bottled up. I didn’t follow the explanation completely, but the bottle had something to do with the saplurp, which had been left outside the fog to prevent it from becoming demonic. Somehow, saplurps are able to soak up magical mishaps.

Odon opened the whirlwind for Xipil and me. Xipil offered to carry my backpack when I refused to leave it behind. It held my medicine kit and other vital equipment, like food, water and extra clothes. I guess my purple evening gown wasn’t exactly vital, but I hadn’t had the heart to leave it on the cart. Yana had made it for me. It was irrational to be so mushy and sentimental about it, but there I was. Unable to part with it, as if it somehow carried Yana’s essence.

It was shocking how filthy the fog was outside the whirlwind, now that we had gotten used to the fresh, clean air inside. Xipil followed our tracks back towards Yana and Hylda. The trip back seemed to go much faster than when we went the other way. Maybe it was the anticipation of seeing Yana again that gave me wings, or perhaps it was the topic of our discussion as we walked.

Xipil asked, “What do you think he meant by Vaxo being closer than Ashtar? Are there more snake gods, each with their own gate to guard?” Odon had said something to that effect, but I had zoned out from the discussion when Xipil began dropping names from his earlier faith. “I don’t think so,” I replied. “You shouldn’t read too much into that, for I have a rather limited knowledge of gods other than Ashtar. I don’t know anything about Vaxo except for what you’ve told me.” Xipil wondered if he always had possessed aspects of the underworld, or if that changed when he accepted You into his heart. He told me he had asked in the temple at the Evening Fort about what would happen when he died. He hadn’t received a clear response to his prayer; he only got a feeling that he didn’t belong in the underworld where normal people go. I told him he must have misunderstood. Everyone and everything that are alive will go to You when their time comes. “No. The message was unambiguous. Lizards don’t belong there. I suppose beings of the stars don’t belong there, like creatures of the earth can’t reach the sky. We will have to meditate on it when we reach a chapel.”

My eyes narrowed involuntarily when I scrutinized Xipil. His blasphemous statement made my fingers tingle, so I put my hand under my cloak to see what happened when I fondled the hilts of the knives resting on my back. The familiar touch relaxed me, and I felt no urge to strike. That was good. I was fond of Xipil, so I would be sad if he had to die. Not that I’d hesitate for a second if You gave the order. “Hm… I do hope we find a chapel soon. I miss my brothers and sisters.”

Xipil fell silent for a while, so I began talking about You. Musing out loud was more like it. Xipil interrupted after a while to ask about the connection between our world, the underworld and the realm of death. There wasn’t much I could say that he didn’t already know. He continued, “They must have used a lot of energy to be able to bind an aspect of Ssuxxakan, and it seems like the popular way of gathering lots of energy is to collect it from the stars. The priests in the Homeland should have noticed, as should Azura. Maybe they can tell us where it happened?” I asked if Xipil thought we could convince Wolfram to come with us to Azura when the alternative was to attack Tivito. Xipil wasn’t sure. Maybe if we reminded him that the Company and the Family work with Tivito and Larma. Xipil was worried what Azura would say about the broken star box, although he felt they had themselves to blame, sending star boxes with an agent for the Family and with Lunari, who apparently had tried to sell their first star box to them.

Xipil followed the cart tracks to a small shack. Hylda was looking out the single window, but didn’t notice us when we sneaked closer. It was getting dark outside, but that wasn’t the only reason why we moved up to the shack undetected. Unlike Grogg and Wolfram, Xipil and I actually know how to move quietly. There were two horses outside the shack, next to our ox cart.

I opened the door. Yana sat on the floor, eating and talking congenially to a man and a woman. None of them spotted me as I slipped inside. I studied the strangers. They were most certainly Night Riders, and the woman looked familiar. Ah, yes! It was the one from the river boat, who had been in the company of the Moon Shadow who wanted to arrest me. What was her name? Hadi?

[coronatiger]

8th of Ratanu, year 412 (continued)

I removed the magic ring I had affixed in front of my eye and put it in my pouch, noticing that Xipil hadn’t followed me inside. Feeling mischievous, I deepened my voice and intoned, “What the blaze are you strangers doing in my shack?!” Hadi jumped into the lap of her companion, who looked at me anxiously. Hylda whirled around, fists at the ready, but she relaxed when she saw my face. Yana was startled, too, but didn’t show it beyond a widening of the eyes, which turned into a slight smile, undetectable if you didn’t know what to look for. “I can explain,” she told me, standing up. Her gestures towards the others told them to remain calm while she placated the owner of the shack.

Yana and I went outside. As soon as the door was closed, we hugged. We hadn’t been apart for more than half a day, but it felt like weeks, with everything that had happened in the fog. We walked away from the shack so we wouldn’t be overheard, and I gave Yana a short recap of my adventures. She was suspicious at my declaration that we’d discovered allies at the crypt. I would have been, too. I had thought we would find enemies there, so it was a pleasant surprise to realize that our goals were aligned with Odon’s.

I asked Yana to tell me about the Night Riders. It had soon become clear that Hadi was looking for someone or something, and Yana had used that to bond with her; she was also out here waiting for friends, and they could wait together. Yana had reasoned out that Hadi had brought something to give to whoever she was looking for. It was almost as if she had a calling. Yana was hesitant to compare Hadi’s single-mindedness to the way I behave when You have given me a command, but it was the best comparison she could give. I told her I didn’t have a monopoly on acting with conviction.

“Did the Night Riders tell you anything about themselves?” I asked, and Yana revealed what she had learned. Hadi had dragged her companion along to this place, against his better judgment. Orron was Hadi’s boyfriend, Yana thought, but their relationship seemed complicated. Yana speculated that they were supposed to be engaged, but that something had gotten in the way.

I was curious about Hadi’s quest. I wasn’t sure I could get her to open up more than she already had to Yana, but I wanted to give it a try. I warned Yana that Hadi and I had met before, and that she might believe that I was a wanted murderer. I still wanted to speak with her and overruled Yana’s protests. Back on the river boat, I had felt a connection to Hadi, deeper than the shared fate of being lone women among men. I wasn’t sure what remained of that bond – I hadn’t thought about Hadi in a long time – but I was certain these were the riders that the Ashtarites in that village west of here had warned us to save from the fog. I would do my best to convince Hadi and Orron that they must go no further. If they insisted, I would send them to You. Their souls would be safe in Your embrace.

Xipil had been sitting on a small rock a few meters away, listening to our conversation. Perhaps he was overconfident in the darkness, or perhaps he didn’t care that I noticed him. Due to his camouflage, it had taken me a few minutes to realize he was there. I had told Yana that he came with me back here while Grogg and Wolfram assisted Odon with the excavation of the crypt, but she still startled a little when I addressed him now, asking if he was coming inside with us. Xipil said he didn’t want to reveal himself, so I proposed he listened at the window. Nobody would see him unless he poked his head inside, and perhaps not even then.

Hadi frowned at me for a second when Yana and I went back inside, as if my face tickled her memory. My blond, curly hair and simple grey dress made for an efficient disguise, thanks to Yana. Adding Lunari’s accent emphasized the image of a foreigner. I pretended to interpret Hadi’s frown as a question, and told her everything was fine.

“Hala, is this who you were waiting for?” Hadi asked, and I realized I was holding Yana’s hand. Had Yana taken my hand, or had I taken hers? It didn’t matter; I hadn’t intended to keep it secret that we knew each other. “Yes, this is one of them: Godana, the one I most desired to see again,” Yana replied. “I understand that you too are here to meet someone,” I said. Hadi glared annoyedly at Yana, but I ignored it. “Who are you looking for?” I asked. “Why should I tell you about my calling if you won’t tell me about yours?” Hadi countered, so I sat down and began telling them about You. My stories enthralled Hadi completely, but Orron grew worried.

I spoke for half an hour before Hadi whispered something to Orron. “Are you sure?” he asked her. Hadi nodded, and he left the building. Hadi asked if we could pray. I read in her eyes that she wanted me to lead everyone in prayer, so I rose and walked over to the window. “We’re going to pray now. You should sit down and touch the ground,” I said as if to Hylda, but my words were meant for Xipil. Hadi made room for a fourth person between me and her in the circle on the floor, but Hylda said she was on watch duty and excused herself. She followed Orron out the door and Xipil climbed in the window. I gave him one hand and Yana the other and began to pray. I closed my eyes, but opened them again when I felt a disturbance.

Opposite me in the circle, Hadi was spasming. No, she was trying to move like a snake; I felt Your presence in her moves. Everything was fine, so I continued my prayer. Suddenly, Hadi began retching, and spewed up a snake. Yana flinched when it brushed against her knee. The snake was about half a meter long, slimy and so dark red it was practically black. Its small eyes were unaccustomed to the surface, but it raised its head towards me and hissed. “Greetings, sibling,” I hissed back in Shamara, the language of snakes. “Let me give you what you failed to bring from the deep,” it replied, referring to my last metamorphosis. I held out my hand, and it slithered up my arm and prodded at my lips. I gaped and let the snake dive down my throat. Once the gag reflex subsided, I felt complete and well rested. Xipil watched with interest. Yana was shocked, but I still held her hand, and it steadied her. Hadi was gasping for air. I waited for her to calm down, before thanking her. “What you have given me is more precious than any earthly gift. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!” “So, I was successful?” she asked timidly, and I smiled. “Yes, you were.” “Thank You, Ashtar,” Hadi exclaimed.

I asked Hadi if she wanted to get her friend now. She said that they might stay outside for a while, and I warned her about the fog. If it grew thicker or darker, and looked as if it came nearer, they had to hurry inside. Hadi left, and Hylda came back inside, settling back down at her post at the window.

Xipil studied me closely, felt my forehead and put his ear against my chest. It wasn’t difficult to understand he was giving me a medical examination. Yana looked worried, but I let him satisfy his curiosity. Xipil didn’t find anything wrong with me, of course, but then he asked if he could see my aura. I pretended to consider it for a moment, while pushing Yana gently away. She was understandably wary of magic, so I didn’t want her to be caught up in the spell.

After Xipil had cast his spell, I asked if he could see anything. He couldn’t, and thought that was strange. Earlier, You had blessed me with an aura of death, and I suggested to Xipil that perhaps that had been camouflaged now that I was whole again. However, Xipil thought that the spell might have failed, and he wanted to try again later. I told him I wasn’t opposed to the idea, but warned him that he’d be wise to ask permission first. He clarified that he only wanted a few minutes of rest before trying again, and I told him that was fine. Yana occupied herself with tidying up.

When Xipil tried again, he still didn’t detect anything in my aura, nothing that made me stand out from the average human. “So, you’re saying I look as innocent as a farm girl?” I asked him. Xipil didn’t reply.

I caught Yana’s eye and we sat down in the corner to talk privately. I felt like a small girl, whispering in Yana’s ear and giggling to her replies. I’ve seen girls behave this way with their friends, usually younger girls, but some also near my own age. If Yana felt a little old to be giggling with me, she made no complaint. She may be twenty-five, but age is no barrier to friendship. I had no friend like her growing up, no reason to laugh, really, so I felt I was making up for lost time now that I had found her.

Yana perked up when I mentioned the little, red dress. She often teased me about it, saying she’d like to see me in it again. I’d respond that it was too indecent, and then she’d say that I could wear it in private, just for her, where it wouldn’t matter if I popped out of the bodice or if the hemline climbed up my hips. It wasn’t as if there was anything to reveal that she hadn’t seen before. I’m not shy, but thinking about the red dress made me squirm for some reason, and Yana loved it. Had she been a man, I’d say she was flirting, but as she wasn’t, this was just a bit of harmless fun. And since we were so good friends, I didn’t mind that she made fun of me in private. Not much anyway.

[coronatiger]

Today, however, I didn’t allow Yana to begin the exchange that would inevitably end with me having red cheeks. I told her I had a task for her. When we gained access to the right fabrics, I would like her to make me another dress, something classy but alluring, a dress I could wear when I needed to seduce someone without appearing vulgar or blatant about it. “Oh, Sweetie, you don’t need my dresses to be seductive,” Yana flattered and took in my figure, as if to make a point. Her pupils dilated while she looked at me, and I could tell she was thinking of men again. I didn’t bother making the accusation; she’d only deny it. She agreed to make the dress, though.

Yana often started thinking of men when she looked at me. Could it be that she used my body as a proxy for her own when she daydreamed? I couldn’t ask her about it. Not here. Even though we were whispering, Xipil could overhear; he wasn’t that far away, and he has really sharp senses. Yana often told me I was prettier than her, so it was a reasonable assumption. Most men seemed to agree with her opinion, gravitating towards me rather than her when we were together, but they were all wrong. If I couldn’t believe my own eyes, what could I believe? Yana was the epitome of beauty.

Turning serious, I asked Yana if she and Hylda had made plans for the night’s watch. She informed me that Hylda had been on guard all day, and that she had planned to take over now that it was dark outside. Yana hadn’t had the opportunity to get any sleep during the day, not with guests to keep preoccupied so they didn’t go into the fog, but she hadn’t done anything strenuous either. I suggested we split the night in three, and that Yana took the first watch, I the second and Xipil the third. Yana yawned, and I felt that she was trying to manipulate me, so I flipped the guard order. Xipil would watch first, so Yana and I could lie down together and get some rest. That would be nice.

We told Xipil what we had decided. He agreed to the guard rotation, but was concerned that Hadi might tell Orron about him. He worried that word might reach the Moon Shadows. The two Night Riders were still outside somewhere. I offered that if Xipil were to remain hidden during the night, I could talk to Hadi when she came back, and convince her not to say more to Orron than she already had. Yana, having overheard Hadi and Orron speak earlier, thought they were discussing eloping from Arland. If they decided to leave, they wouldn’t want to talk to anyone affiliated with Amrosh. Yana thought we might be able to manipulate them to reach that conclusion.

“Is there somewhere we might offer as an advantageous destination?” Yana asked. Xipil proposed Anabel, far to the south, but Yana knew that Amrosh traded there. The Prince’s Cities would be better. Amrosh didn’t often send people that way. I suggested Blekborg, where I had first met Xipil, Lunari and Grogg. I knew a certain soup kitchen proprietress there, Sissi, who might help them. I told Xipil to relieve Hylda, and to wake Yana and me when Hadi and Orron came back. Yana and I brushed our teeth, then knelt in the corner, speaking our evening prayer in unison.

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.

I couldn’t sleep. The feeling that everything was well was so overpowering. I was out of the fog and back with Yana again. I held my arms around her, and out of sight, under the blanket, my fingers played with one of her nipples through the fabric of her dress. She purred with contentment; she loved it when I did that, even though it distracted her from sleep. I believed she was imagining a strappingly handsome man holding her, but I didn’t mind much. I’d do anything to keep her happy.

I also felt an itch in my fangs, as if the venom in my glands was growing stale and needed to be replaced. I had never felt like this before, so I reluctantly let go of Yana’s breast and placed my palm against the ground to pray. I received no reply, which made me think that I was right in my assumption that I had to replenish my venom supply. I should probably clean off my knives, too. I believe You would have bestowed me with a sense of urgency if making new venom was time sensitive. Switching out every drop I had produced, from my blades, my vial and my glands, would take several hours. I didn’t have that now, but I should get some time in Odon’s camp, waiting for Grogg and Wolfram to finish digging.

I had just dozed off when Hadi and Orron returned. I heard the door open, and was wide awake again. I shook Yana gently, and we sat up to talk. I told the Night Riders about Sissi’s soup kitchen in Blekborg and made Your sign. “Sissi is one of …” I began, but Hadi interrupted. “She must be one of those who can help people disappear!” she exclaimed excitedly. Orron was clearly not one of Yours. I felt sorry for Hadi that she had to keep secrets from her companion, but I could only support her. “Do you remember the name I used on the boat?” I asked, for since the ritual with the snake, I knew she remembered meeting me before. Hadi nodded. “Tell Sissi I sent you. She’ll help. And here are some funds for the road.” I opened my pouch and counted out ten gold pieces. I had no idea what the fabrics that Yana needed would cost, and I might not be able to afford it anymore, but helping a fellow believer was infinitely more important than a dress. Hadi and Orron agreed to go to Blekborg. They hadn’t originally thought that a city seemed attractive, but they understood that with Sissi’s help, they’d be able to disappear in the masses.

Hadi asked if I wanted help with the night watches, but I said we had it covered. Orron didn’t see Xipil and began to protest that everyone was either already asleep or going to bed, but Hadi calmed him. “If Godana says it’s covered, then it’s covered.” After the snake, Hadi had oozed of reverence for me. I would have settled for her accepting that I outranked her in the faith, but rank wasn’t everything, and Hadi knew I was close to You. I pulled the blanket over me and Yana again and repeated the evening prayer in my head, before falling asleep.

I woke some time later of a crashing sound and sat up abruptly. The sudden movement woke Yana too, but Hadi had reacted like me, instantly awake and alert. I realized the sound had come from far away, so I just lay back down, but then Xipil entered, just as Hadi asked me what the sound had been. Sitting back up, I asked Xipil if he had seen anything.

Xipil thought something was going on at the crypt. Hadi startled and looked around when he spoke, for she hadn’t seen him enter in the darkness. Xipil said he had seen a flash of light and then heard the crash. I opened my mouth to say it was only lightning and thunder, far away, but a loud noise, like a thousand trumpets, interrupted. Xipil ran outside and I walked over to the window. The noise stopped before I got there.

I looked out the window towards the east. There was a thick, black fog there. Xipil couldn’t see it, as it was still far off, so he asked what I saw. I told him about the fog. He shouldn’t worry about it. If it behaved like it had last night, it wouldn’t reach us here. I explained that the fog didn’t look any more ominous than it had yesterday.

I agreed with Xipil that something probably was going on at the crypt, but it was so far away, it would take us hours to reach it. If Grogg and Wolfram had gotten themselves in trouble, we wouldn’t be able to help them. Whatever we could do for them in the aftermath, we could do just as well tomorrow. And with knowledge of the seemingly sentient ash clouds moving around in the fog, I didn’t want to bring Yana or Hylda into it. Xipil and I were observant enough that we could avoid the clouds, but I didn’t want to risk Yana coming into contact with one. I gave Xipil the spirit-seeing ring and returned to bed.

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]

9th of Ratanu, year 412

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

Xipil woke me with a gentle hand on my shoulder. I turned my head and whispered, “I’m awake.” Xipil put his mouth near my ear and said that we had to leave. Immediately. I asked why. Xipil had a feeling that something was happening at the crypt and that we had to go there. I thought he was just curious and told him it was out of the question. We wouldn’t get there in time to influence the outcome of whatever was occurring – if anything was happening there at all. We’d be wise to remain here until morning, when sunlight came and the dark fog broke apart.

Failing to come up with an argument that would convince me, Xipil declared that he’d go alone. I realized that there wasn’t anything I could do to change his mind either, and simply promised to bring Yana and Hylda in the morning. Xipil left and I got up to take over the watch.

I kept my eye on Xipil through the window. After a minute of jogging, he stopped to cast a spell. He lit up while he danced, with a cold, blue-white light, the only reason I could see what he was doing. I could see as well at night as during the day, but Xipil’s camouflage made him fade into the background. His spell created another light source, which he put away before hurrying on.

A few minutes later, a bright light flickered rapidly on and off for ten seconds, far to the east, possibly at the crypt. Afterwards, it felt empty and quiet, even though I knew it had been just as quiet during the flickering. I kept watch for three or four hours before waking Yana and asking her to take over. She pecked my cheek before I crept under the blanket.

Yana spoke my name, which had me suddenly alert. I glanced about. It was the grey before dawn, but we were alone in the shack. I wondered for a split-second where Hadi, Orron and Hylda were, but Yana spoke again. “We’re alone at last. I’ve longed for this moment,” she told me, and began to move in my direction. It seemed like she would never reach me, for she danced from side to side, swaying sensuously like a flame and heating up my face.

Yana was wearing my little, red dress and she played with it. One shoulder strap fell off, then the other, and the dress settled around her waist, revealing her glorious globes. She continued her dance until the dress fell all the way to the floor. Then she stood over me and reached for the blanket. “I want you,” she declared huskily, her eyes blazing jewels of gold and green. She ripped away the blanket, revealing my own nudity. Yana threw herself down on top of me and seized my head between her hands before finding my lips with hers. I wrapped my arms and legs around her, but she was a snake, slithering slowly out of my grip. She busied herself for a while with my breasts before moving on down.

“Godana!” Yana reached up and grabbed my shoulder. How she could speak with her tongue preoccupied was a mystery. That she used my assumed name instead of my real one didn’t even cross my mind until later. I could only scream “YES!”

“Godana,” Yana said again, shaking my shoulder. I blinked and looked at her. She was kneeling beside me, once again wearing her own dress. “Did you dream? You were quite restless there for a while, and moaning, so I suspected you were having a nightmare. But now I see that you perhaps had another kind of dream…” She glanced towards my crotch and I tore my hand away from there as if it had been burned.

Hadi and Orron were preparing to leave and Hylda was making breakfast. They were all pointedly not looking in my direction. While I’d pulled up my dress in my sleep, the blanket still covered me, so it might be conceivable that they hadn’t seen anything embarrassing. To preserve my sanity, I tried to convince myself of that. It was bad enough that Yana knew.

Yana leaned back and pulled her knees up in front of her, resting on one arm behind her. She regarded me over her knees and with her free hand slid her dress up so she could scratch her leg just below her right knee. “So, did you dream of anyone I know?” she asked coyly under her breath. Her movement, the leg scratching, was a pretense to fool the others if they were watching. She knew my eyes could penetrate the shadow under her skirt, and she moved her left leg slightly to the side to give me a direct line of sight. Oh, Ashtar! Not only did she know what I had been dreaming about, but she also knew that she had been there, in my dream. She knew! Holy Mother, take me now!

I scrambled to my feet and tore my eyes out of Yana’s skirt. “Hylda,” I croaked, “is breakfast ready soon?” Hylda waved us over. I glanced out the door, at Hadi and Orron preparing their horses. “They ate already,” Hylda explained. I ate as fast as I could, while keeping an eye on the Night Riders. I didn’t want them to leave before I could say goodbye.

Hadi came inside when they were ready to go. “The sun is rising soon, and the fog doesn’t look very threatening,” she said, “but is there anything we need to know before we leave?” “Let’s go outside,” I replied. I shot a look at Hylda to indicate to Hadi that I wanted to talk about You, but really, I was more eager to get away from Yana. While we had been eating, she had crammed as many food-related innuendos as she could in my ears, and she was incredibly inventive. My ears were on fire. “Good bye, girls,” Hadi said to Yana and Hylda with a wave of her hand, and got well-wishes in return.

Hadi and I walked a short distance from the shack. I looked at the fog in the east. It did indeed appear to be less threatening now that the sun was about to rise. “You’re going north, right?” I asked Hadi. “It’s safest not to enter the fog. I don’t know what other advice I can give; you seem capable enough to find your way to Blekborg safely. Remember to find Sissi and give her my name if displaying Ashtar’s sign isn’t enough to convince her to give aid. If she asks about me, tell her I’m on a holy quest and that I’d be happy to drop in if I’m in the neighborhood. I don’t know yet where my quest will take me, but if I’m going east, Blekborg does lie on the main route, so I’ll likely pass through.”

Hadi stared at the fog, thinking. “I will take your advice, Nuur-Karif. If you say the fog is dangerous, then we won’t cut through it as we otherwise would. We’ll keep a safe distance from it, going north before we turn east. If … if you don’t mind, I may have some advice for you, too.” I nodded for her to go on. “For all your prowess as an Ashtarite, perhaps because of it, you seem remarkably inexperienced in matters of the heart. Admittedly, I’m not all that experienced myself.” Hadi hesitated for a while before continuing. “Let me give you some sisterly advice, from the older sister to the younger, and you can ask our Mother for confirmation. It’s all right to have the kind of dream you just had. Everyone has them, so you shouldn’t be ashamed. If you’re worried, Orron didn’t see anything he shouldn’t. It looks to me, though, that Hala knows exactly what was going on in your head and under your blanket. She might tease you about it in private, but she seems like a good person and I can’t envision her making a public scene. I can tell you both care deeply for each other. Don’t lose that.”

I didn’t know what to say to all that, so I just gave Hadi a good, long hug in thanks. A horse snorted and stomped on the ground, half-way back towards the shack. Orron held the reins of both horses, and while he was staring blankly at the fog, I could tell he was impatient to get going. He had likely made the horse stomp on purpose.

I drew Your sign on Hadi’s forehead. “May you find welcome in the nest of snakes. May you find safety in the Mother’s coils. May the blessings of the Forked Tongue be upon you.” I switched to Shamara and hissed a repetition of the benediction. Hadi fell to her knees and looked at me with devotion glowing in her eyes, but I pulled her back up and sent her on her way before she blasphemed. “Go in peace, Daughter of Ashtar!”

[coronatiger]

Yana and Hylda had finished eating when I got back and were packing up. I retrieved my belt of knives from my backpack and put it on, drawing each knife and biting it as one should. I put on my cloak and helped load the cart. I knelt for a quick prayer and then we were off, too. Yana asked me if I could watch the sides while we walked. “Sure,” I said, uncertain where she was going with this. “And Hylda, if you could walk a few meters behind us and watch the rear, then we’ll be protected from all directions; I’ll watch the front and keep us on track towards Grogg and the others.” Ah. She wanted privacy so she could keep tormenting me. I hadn’t received Your advice on the situation, but Hadi’s words had bolstered me, so I decided to let Yana have her fun.

Actually, Yana didn’t tease me. She just walked beside me in silence. After a while, she took my hand. She was still not speaking, so I broke the awkward silence. “Look, Yana. Obviously, you know what I was dreaming about, and it’s clear that you’re offended. Why else would you torture me like you did? I can’t control what’s going on in my dreams, but I apologize nonetheless.” Yana gaped at me. “Why would I be offended? The dream is only attesting that you find me attractive. I’ve known that for a while now, and I am flattered.”

“But you’re a woman!” I blurted out. “I’m not supposed to feel physical attraction towards you! It’s not natural!” Yana’s eyes narrowed and she spoke forcefully, but without raising her voice. “It’s astonishing how cloistered your life has been. It not being natural is just a huge pile of horse droppings. Open your eyes! If you but look, there’s evidence everywhere: Some men prefer men and some women prefer women.” Her voice softened. “You know, I’ve been dreaming about you, too…”

I stumbled and hit the ground, face first. Yana gave me a hand up and helped me brush off the ashes. She was particularly thorough around my bosom, which made me turn red. She didn’t have to rub it in. She took my hand and we began walking again. “Have you figured out my riddle yet, Nuur-Karif?” I shook my head. “Here’s a clue, then: Imagine the same situation, except I’m a man. Does that tell you anything?” I pondered deeply. Why were my emotions such a jumble when I was around Yana? I studied her, trying to impose an image of masculinity on her figure. “I need to pray,” I declared, and fell to my knees. “We’re coming up on the fog,” Yana said to Hylda, as if she couldn’t see that for herself, “so we’re taking a short break.”

I stood up again and pulled Yana to the side. “I have the answer to your riddle. Ashtar confirmed it. I think I’m in love with you,” I confessed, “but I’m not sure how comfortable I am with it.” Yana threw her arms around me and squeezed. “I’m in love with you, too,” she whispered. My knees gave way and I would have fallen if Yana hadn’t held me so tightly.

I walked on in a daze, but Yana steadied me and led the way, so happy she was skipping along. My thoughts were spinning. How could I fulfill my obligations to You when all I could think about was Yana? Why did You ever condone this? It had to be another test of my faith. I was glad that Yana knew of my commitment to You. Being a fellow believer, she would understand that I had to put my faith first. She was second in my heart and time would show if there was room there for her. I hoped it was. I felt so blessed that she was in my life.

“Nuur-Karif! Wake up!” My hands were on my knife hilts in an instant, and I looked around, ready to draw the second I spotted the threat. “What did you see?” I asked Yana. I couldn’t see anything but fog. It seemed less oppressive than before, but that could be an illusion. “No-nothing! It’s just that we’ve been walking through the fog for quite a while and I noticed you weren’t paying attention. From your description, I think we may be approaching the crypt, but it’s hard to say; I don’t know how quickly you walked before.” I looked around again. “I’m sorry, Yana, I have no idea where we are. Let’s continue a little further. Perhaps I can recognize some landmark. If not, we may have to turn back.”

We continued walking. “I’m sorry for teasing you this morning, Nuur-Karif. It was just so tempting, and it was taking forever for you to recognize your feelings. I was getting so impatient, I felt I had to make it glaringly obvious what was going on in that pretty head of yours.” I squeezed Yana’s hand gently. “It’s all right. Although I don’t see why you’d want to taunt a venomous, fanatical death cultist half-serpent with a sea of blood on her hands. Weren’t you afraid that you’d get bitten?” “Why would you hurt me? You’re MY murderous maniac!” I flinched at the description, but Yana plowed on. “You love me! You wouldn’t harm one hair on my head, no matter what I did,” she stated confidently. “You’re mostly right,” I told her somberly. “I do love you and I would never hurt you. Nothing you do can make me turn on you. But be warned! If you betray Ashtar and She orders me to send you to Her, I will comply, I must comply, even though it will break my heart. This I swear to you, though: You will feel no pain.”

Yana shivered, but didn’t let go of my hand, which I took as a good sign. “Holy Mother, Nuur-Karif!” she swore. “I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting myself involved in when I started to have feelings for you, but this transcends everything I imagined!” “It’s only fair that I’m up front with you,” I told her. “Nobody can ever be dearer to me than Ashtar. I found salvation in her, and purpose. No matter how much I love you, She must come first. If you think that’s unfair, unreasonable and unacceptable, I understand. I’ll walk you to the edge of the fog if you so desire, and I’ll give you all my gold and wish you a happy life. Just say the word, and it will be done.”

We walked on in silence. Yana was deep in thought. “What can I do to make you stay?” I asked when the silence became too heavy to bear. “Is there anything I can say or do?” “I’m thinking about it. It’s just so hard to come up with a comprehensive list. For example, violence makes me sick. If I could, I’d make you put away your knives and we could settle down somewhere in peace.” “You know that isn’t the life I’m destined for, but what if I promise to heed your feelings? I’ll follow every command you give, as long as they don’t interfere with my duty to Ashtar. You worship Her, too, so I know your intentions are good.”

Yana considered this briefly. “I don’t think we’d have a healthy relationship if I made all the decisions. We should discuss things sincerely and maturely, with open minds as equal partners who want the best for each other. I’ll defer to you in matters of faith, of course. In return … I know what I want, and I’m pretty sure I know what you need, so I would have you defer to me in matters of the bedroom.”

Now it was my time to swear. “Holy Mother!” I could tell Yana was serious. Equal partners was a generous offer, considering that we both knew I was likely to rip some poor soul’s throat out right in front of her, if not today, then perhaps tomorrow or next month. That would traumatize her, so I hoped that day was far in the future. It was only natural that I should take the lead in religious matters. But her last condition was scary. I felt like I did outside the oasis illusion. Venturing inside the illusion took away all my powers, my very identity. If I made this promise, crawling inside our tent or entering our room at an inn would feel just as terrifying. I prided myself on my fearlessness, but the very idea of being intimate with Yana struck me with fear. I had dreaded it all day, ever since I knew I wanted to be intimate with her. Hm… Perhaps it wouldn’t be such a bad idea if I let her take charge. I realized it wouldn’t make it worse, and hopefully, it would even be better. Actually, now that I was considering it, I felt better about it. The dread didn’t lessen, but anticipation began to mingle with it.

I had to swallow a couple of times before I could speak. “I accept your conditions and promise to heed them.” The seconds before Yana replied were unbearable. A mischievous smile flickered on her face. “Oh, were you waiting for me to say something?” I glared at her while her smile grew. Finally, she opened her mouth. “Are we there, yet?”

[coronatiger]

9th of Ratanu, year 412 (continued)

It didn’t take many more minutes before the whirlwind came into view. The fog had thinned since I was here last, so we could see the tower of air from a farther distance. I squeezed Yana’s hand and smiled. She returned the gesture, but her smile slipped when we got closer. There was blood on the ground, and the ashen ground was torn. Someone had fought here. I noticed where Wolfram’s totem pole had stood, as there were still symbols drawn in the ashes.

We approached the whirlwind. I waved my arms and shouted. The swooshing of the whirlwind drowned my voice, but Hylda bellowed for Grogg, and she has powerful lungs. Grogg soon called back, and then the tunnel through the barrier opened. On the other side stood Grogg with Xipil on his shoulder. The lizard man jumped down when Hylda threw herself at Grogg. I could tell Grogg was wounded, but he seemed well enough, and carried Hylda away to get a massage.

Some of Odon’s followers were standing around the campsite, looking as apathetic as usual. Wolfram lay sleeping on the ground in bear shape, covered in soot. Yana pinched my arm and pointed at him. A small cloud of ashes puffed out of his nose whenever he exhaled. That didn’t bode well. I had to examine him, but Xipil put a hand on my arm. Wolfram had tried to swat him last night, and Xipil suspected him of being possessed. It certainly looked likely. I still had to check him for wounds, though. Xipil asked me to help with the cart, first, so Yana and I helped him pull the cart through the tunnel.

Wolfram was heavily wounded, but someone had already given first aid, so there wasn’t anything I could do for him at the moment. Well, there was one thing. He was lying on his back and his katar lay on his stomach, held in place with a giant paw. I gently removed the weapon and placed it on the ground where he’d see it when he woke. It wouldn’t do for him to injure himself in his sleep.

I asked Xipil if he accomplished much by coming here before us. It seemed not, for he only said that he had seen Paulon examining a magical ballista in the crypt.

The underlings staring blankly at us made Yana uncomfortable, but I patted her hand and told her they posed no danger. Then I turned back to Xipil and asked if Odon and Nyra were up yet. We should probably talk to Odon before we left. Xipil hadn’t seen Odon today, and explained that Nyra had been injured in the fighting last night. She was getting blood transfusions from the underlings. Xipil explained the process like it was new to him. Or perhaps he thought it was new to me.

“Is there anywhere in camp one can be private?” I asked Xipil. We had been assigned one of the five large tents, but Grogg and Hylda were there, and Grogg was getting more than a massage, so I didn’t want to intrude. I also didn’t want any spectators to what I was about to do. Xipil couldn’t think of anywhere, but I did have my own tent, so Yana and I erected that.

While we were working, Xipil asked if Yana thought it would rain soon. Next month, usually the coldest one of the year, should see intermittent rain. Xipil said he didn’t want to slog through wet ashes, as that would be bad for his scales and our skin. I didn’t think the rain would be a problem; I couldn’t see us remaining here that long.

I excused myself to Xipil, saying I was going to meditate. Yana was welcome to join me. Xipil held me back and said that he still thought there was demonic energy down in the crypt, even after Odon had trapped Yori. I thought the contamination would fade in time. Xipil indicated the sleeping pits that Odon’s followers used and asked if I thought those made it easier to connect to the ground. I looked at the pits and saw that they looked cleaner than the rest of the place, so I nodded yes.

Yana followed me inside the tent and we knelt down, facing each other, close enough that our knees touched. Yana looked at me with anticipation, so I commenced the ritual. I retrieved my vial of venom, the one that Yana had borrowed, and emptied it. Yana grimaced when I placed the vial against my lips. The venom tasted stale, and not as acrid as I was used to. I swallowed and began cleaning the vial.

Yana winced again when I flexed my fangs and extracted the venom from my glands. That tasted stale, too, so I swallowed quickly. I drew each of my knives and licked the venom off them before replacing them in their sheaths. Yana excused herself and left before I finished. She seemed disappointed. I brushed my teeth and then set about recreating my venom.

After an hour or so, Yana came back in. She peeked cautiously inside the tent and saw me meditating peacefully, fangs retracted and knives sheathed. I gave her a glance and she said Wolfram was waving his weapons around. I sensed no urgency in her voice, only discomfort, so I assumed he was simply practicing. I just nodded and returned to my meditation. Yana knelt opposite me and closed her eyes.

A while later, Yana declared that it was time for lunch, and I joined her and the others to partake in the meal. I asked Wolfram if anything interesting happened during the night. He moved like he had taken a blow to the groin. Wolfram explained that he and Grogg had fought each other to distract the demon while Odon performed his magic to bind the demon. When they had fought for a minute or two, creatures of ash coalesced from the fog and attacked. Wolfram had passed out from exhaustion after a protracted battle and told me to ask Grogg for an account of what happened after.

Grogg claimed there were horses in the fog and that he chased them. Nyra had apparently joined the fight, wielding only a dagger, and she almost died, so Odon had started to cry. When Wolfram collapsed, Grogg had pulled him and Nyra through the whirlwind. Grogg spoke at length of how Nyra had undergone surgery, without really saying much. It was evident that he had no idea what they had done to her. The way he jumped back and forth in the story was confusing, but I got the gist of it: The demon was bound and nobody had died.

[coronatiger]

I asked the others if we needed to do anything before leaving this place. Xipil said he wanted to speak to Odon, and both Grogg and Wolfram would benefit from some rest. “But where do we go?” Xipil asked. “Azura,” I responded, but Wolfram wanted to get rid of Tivito. He was particularly eager to kill them all and raze their houses. He suggested that we asked Lord Mir for aid. “Why all this killing?” I asked, causing everyone to stare at me in disbelief. I had received no orders from You to pass on any Tivito members, and while I would love to enlighten the unbelievers, You have ordered me to be companionable, and a religious debate would likely get heated.

Yana offered that it might be possible to capture some of them, and hand them over to Lord Mir. We reminded her that he already had a couple of prisoners, but he might have ransomed them back by now. Wolfram went into detail of how he would kill every Tivito member in Byblos, causing Yana to get up and declare that she wanted to stretch her legs. I rose to join her. She said she only wanted to go for a short walk and clear her thoughts, but I told her I wasn’t very keen on listening to Wolfram either. I’d rather go for a walk with her, however short.

Xipil asked me for my thoughts on the ruined city and tried to entice me by claiming that Groman said there were snakes there. He’s so distractible! Wolfram pointed out that we wouldn’t have anything to contribute to an expedition there, even though there might be useful information to be found. Yana and I left, walking hand in hand along the wind wall.

When we got back, Xipil asked what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to seek out Azura’s priestesses, as they might have a clue concerning the whereabouts of Your sibling. Xipil replied that the ruined city wouldn’t be very much of a detour, if we were going to their headquarters in Mistvan, almost as far to the south-east as one could go inside the Prince’s Cities. Yana said she believed that Azura had a presence here in Arland, too, somewhere between Talan and Furkan. I had heard about that before, but the temple there wasn’t very large, just a few priestesses, and more a statement – a middle finger, if You pardon the earthly expression – from Furkan to the Mitra-worshipping Vasulla than a real temple. We could take a river boat from Byblos to Talan, but as Xipil reminded us, Furkan is currently allied with Larma, so since the likelihood of finding valuable information there is quite low, it would be better to go to Mistvan.

Wolfram thought getting information out of Azura would be a headache; they are gatherers of knowledge, not distributors. His order has good relations with Azura, so maybe they could intercede and talk to the Azura priestesses in our stead. Xipil opposed this, as he wanted to get the information as directly from the source as possible. Grogg thought it couldn’t harm to talk to both Tiri and Azura. According to Wolfram, Tiri has a presence in most of the Prince’s Cities, and we should be able to find some of his brethren in Fort Holte already, practically on the border.

No matter what we decided, some of us needed rest before traveling, and we still hadn’t been able to talk to Odon. I asked if it was all right with the others if I withdrew for a while. They nodded, so I took Yana’s hand and headed for our tent. Xipil followed. He asked what my goal was, even though he should know that already. I answered patiently that it was to find Your sibling and return Him to the realm of Death, where He belongs.

Yana and I knelt down inside our tent again, and I held her hands while I was meditating. She stroked the backs of my hands with her thumbs, and while it was exhilarating, it nearly cost me my concentration, so after retrieving my vial of venom and spitting another dose into it, I didn’t retake her hands. Yana watched me patiently for another three hours before declaring that she was going to prepare dinner. “Is it all right if I finish meditating? It’ll take another couple of hours,” I asked, feeling awfully rude. Yana patted my knee and said it was fine.

Yana whispered and filled me in on the conversation when I finally joined the others. “We’ve been discussing going to the stone circle north of here to wait for Pak and Groman, after sending Kraa with a letter. I told them that you and I should be the ones to go back to civilization when it was time to get more provisions.” I nodded in thanks. Yana raised her voice and asked why we didn’t use the regular post instead of Kraa? If we decided to move from where the return letter would arrive, we could just leave word where to forward it. Xipil proposed that we could do both.

Just then, Nyra came inside the tent we’d been assigned. She carried a plate of fruit that she gave to Grogg and thanked him for saving her life. She looked really unsteady on her feet, so I invited her to join us at the table. I asked her where Odon was. Nyra was still a little too preoccupied with thanking Grogg in a respectful manner to answer coherently, but I reasoned out that Odon was nearby, and tired.

Wolfram asked Nyra if she still used the needle, but Nyra looked questioningly at me. She didn’t understand what he was talking about. Grogg said, a little angrily, that if Odon was trying to keep the needle, we were taking him with us when we left.

Nyra paled and was on the verge of passing out. Wolfram told her to lie down, but Nyra mumbled that she had to get back to Odon. Wolfram tried lifting her, but his injuries made him too weak, so Grogg had to take over. He carried her out, and Xipil followed. While Wolfram watched them leave, I shot a questioning glance at Yana. Ever since I sat down at the table, she had tried to slip a foot up my skirt, but it was difficult since we were sitting next to each other. It felt nice to have her stroke my legs that way, but I wasn’t sure what she was trying to achieve.

[coronatiger]

9th of Ratanu, year 412 (continued)

Grogg and Xipil returned after a while, and Xipil informed us that Odon had removed Nyra’s heart and sealed it off with the needle, but was now going to put it back inside her chest. Wolfram muttered that grey men were strange. My first thought was that Odon knew far more advanced medicine than me, if he could perform such surgeries.

Xipil expressed distrust about Odon’s purported capture of the demon Yori. He had felt nothing from the prison just now, and was sure he should have sensed the demon’s presence there. His words worried Yana, who became afraid that the demon was still at large. I told her calmly that this was something we needed to ask Odon about, but he seemed too busy at the moment. Sometimes I think Yana has a tendency towards the hysterics, but other times I think she exaggerates to compensate for my stoicism.

Xipil wasn’t very worried either, and took a book outside the tent and began to read aloud in Arani. Was he reading for Odon’s underlings? If I knew them right, they were staring at him apathetically. Maybe that disconcerted him and prompted him to read out loud? That hardly mattered, so I turned my attention to Yana.

Time flew by while we chatted about clothes and makeup. Xipil came back inside after an hour and passed the needle on to Grogg, who began to put it away. Kraa began making a ruckus, and Grogg told it, “That’s a good idea,” pricked himself in the neck, and promptly fell asleep. Hylda caught his collapsing form as best she could and straightened him on the ground.

Wolfram asked Xipil for pen and paper, for we had letters to write. Xipil replied that he had already started writing a coded letter to Pak and Groman about going to the ruined city and meeting them at the stone circle. We would have plenty of time to kill before our friends from the Evening Fort arrived, and Wolfram suggested going to Byblos to “oppose” Tivito. They discussed how to communicate in a way that made Pak and Groman understand the message, while preventing outsiders from discovering our plans, if the letters fell into the wrong hands. I told them to back up. “Did we decide to go to the ruined city when I wasn’t paying attention? Why would we go there? None of us have the skills to extract information.” Xipil responded that Pak and Groman didn’t dare go alone, and that we should escort them. Xipil also thought that Odon had said we could find information about Your sibling there, but I believed he had misinterpreted Odon’s meaning.

The sun set, and Yana, Xipil and I saluted the dying day. I asked Wolfram if he wanted me to look over his injuries before we all went to bed, but he said no, probably because he didn’t want me near his groin.

Odon arrived at the tent opening and invited us to join him for a talk in one of the other tents. I asked Hylda if she thought that Grogg would want to come, but she said he had to answer himself. I thought Hylda had thawed up a bit, at least towards Yana and me. She often pretends not to hear when Wolfram or Xipil speaks. Wolfram removed the needle from Grogg’s neck, waking him. I asked if he wanted to come with us to talk to Odon. He said yes, so we all got up and headed out, even Yana and Hylda.

Odon was alone and deep in contemplation when we arrived. When everyone had taken their seats, he welcomed us. “It’s not a normal thing for me to do, but I thought I might have something to learn by listening to you mortals’ thoughts. It isn’t straightforward now,” he said hesitantly. Xipil asked what his trouble was. “You know… She could die,” Odon replied. Xipil told him that death comes to us all, and I nodded agreement.

I felt that Yori was a more pressing issue than Nyra at the moment; we needed to ascertain if Odon’s ritual to bind the demon had worked. I asked Odon right out. He claimed he was successful, and I couldn’t see any signs of deception. I didn’t have any means of confirming that Yori was in fact bound to the new prison, but You have blessed me with the gift of spotting liars, so I was satisfied. I squeezed Yana’s hand and gave her a slight nod. That should soothe her worries.

Odon said it was good to see Wolfram back on his feet. By maintaining Yori’s prison, Odon should keep Wolfram’s “condition” stable. I assumed he was talking about the sooty bear syndrome. Odon stated the obvious and told Wolfram that death would end the condition. Wolfram pointed out that only one of his alternate forms was affected by Yori.

Xipil asked about the magical ballista in the crypt. Odon answered that Paulon was working on it, and that they’d likely take it with them when they left. Odon asked if others were interested in this place and Wolfram mentioned Tivito and Kabal. That made Odon sure he had to take the artifact away. Odon warned us that a shadow of Yori would remain here, but as long as he sustained the prison, the shadow wouldn’t grow strong.

One of Odon’s underlings came for him, communicating only with glances. They left the tent. Grogg said something to Hylda and pointed at Wolfram. She walked over to him and tried to prick him with the needle, but Wolfram seized her hand. Hylda looked with confusion from Grogg to Wolfram and back. Wolfram told her we were still in a meeting, and he couldn’t sleep yet.

Odon returned, and Wolfram told Hylda to go sit down. She ignored him for a brief moment, and then Grogg summoned her to his lap. Odon asked if we were ready to talk about Nyra. Wolfram warned him not to immortalize her like he suspected he had done to his other followers. Bereaving them of their minds and souls was an abomination according to Wolfram, and I felt uncomfortable around them myself, at least from a theological standpoint.

Odon said that he and I were in the same boat, and he wanted my view on what to do. I assumed he was referring to us both being in love, and was completely and uncharacteristically tongue-tied. I could only answer “Um…” and was writhing in my chair. Yana trying to hide her mirth was not helping!

When Odon asked if he should interfere in Nyra’s dying, I fell back on Your teachings and began to lecture. “If now is her time and you care about her, you must let her go.” I explained that death is the natural end of life, and that it’s blasphemy to interfere when You have called someone to You.

When I had gone on for some time, Yana indicated with a discreet gesture that it was time to wrap up the sermon. Odon nodded and said that I had convinced him. Nyra would want to remain herself, and what the two of them shared wouldn’t be the same if she was anything else.

Grogg pondered if Odon was capable of doing the same thing to trolls and lizards, and the discussion shifted to defining and comparing different types of undead. Odon informed us he could reverse the process on his underlings and give them back their memories and personality. I thought that soothed Wolfram. He asked how they could draw nutrition from the ground. Were they even human? Odon said they were what they always had been, humans and a few half-elves. He had gathered them from various places. I figured the process of enslaving them also gave them the magical ability not to need normal food and drink anymore. Odon and Paulon looked more like pure-blood elves, so Xipil asked Odon if he was one. Odon replied that he wasn’t star folk.

Odon also wanted to discuss gods. They were more lasting beings than himself, he said. He also thought that the return of the dragons was a sign that his brothers were succeeding with their fiendish plans, which involved Your sibling. Grogg interjected that Ogra fought the dragons. “Do you mean that the giants still live?” Odon asked. Grogg didn’t understand why he asked. Ogra was a god and a hero, as well as a giant. How could he die? Of course, he was still alive. Grogg told how he and Ogra battled the dragon of lightning not that long ago. Odon thought that if Grogg could fight “those who devour gods”, he had to have giant blood in his veins.

Xipil asked Odon right out what he knew about Your sibling. Odon’s brothers hadn’t captured the god in his entirety, but only an aspect of him. Odon speculated that his brothers had a plan to begin a new, distorted religion to Your sibling, but that they were unable to worship gods themselves, and would need to gather adherents to their false faith. Xipil asked if we could find out more about this at the ruined city. Odon said that we could find information about the demons there, but not necessarily something relevant for my quest. Odon was planning to go there himself, as we knew, after he had been to the Kings’ Crypt in the swamp. He thought his brothers were going to the ancient burial site, too, but that he was ahead of them. Their ultimate plan seemed to Odon to be to become more than they were.

[coronatiger]

I asked, to nobody in particular, where we should go next. I had lost my conviction that Azura’s priestesses would know anything about an ongoing affair; their knowledge pertained to things of the past, even though it might not be as outdated as the knowledge we might find in the ruined city. Since I wasn’t drawn towards Azura anymore, I might as well go where the others wanted. You bestowed me with a feeling that I needed to keep my eyes open in places where You don’t have a strong presence. Both the ruined city and Azura’s temple suited that requirement in my mind. Nobody answered my question, though.

Odon said he was leaving to hold Nyra’s hand, and I told him I’d pray for her. Odon had resigned himself to letting her die, but I told him he could and should give her the best medical treatment possible. If she lived, that was a blessing, and if she died and went to You, well, that was a blessing, too.

Xipil stopped Odon before he left the tent, and said he felt well rested after lying in the pits, and asked Odon to explain. Odon told him anyone who were attuned to magic could find sustenance there. My earlier assumption was wrong, then.

I proposed that we sent Kraa west to summon Pak and Groman, and hung out in Byblos until it was time to meet them at the stone circle. Xipil asked if there were temples in Byblos. He shouldn’t discuss Your temples in public, so my fangs tingled and I replied spitefully that there were many temples in Byblos. Since I had been there before, I described the layout of the capital to the foreigners.

Wolfram asked Grogg for the needle, so he could use it tonight, but Grogg wanted it himself. That way, he could pull the cart with Wolfram on it tomorrow. I let them argue, and instead asked Yana if we should go to bed. She nodded and said she would like to talk about something lighter than what we had been discussing all night. We wished the others good night.

When we reached our tent, I brought up topic of the dress that Yana had promised to make. Did she want to take measurements for it now? She did, but warned me that she wanted to take new and more accurate measurements later, when we weren’t in this cramped tent where I couldn’t stand upright. Our tent was only meant for one person, but Yana and I were small enough to fit in there at the same time, as long as we didn’t mind the intimacy, and could leave our backpacks outside.

Yana thought we should do our ablutions before she took my measurements. When we had brushed our teeth and taken care of other business, Yana asked me to undress. Then she explored my body with her hands, in far more detail than I thought necessary for the measurements, but it was so titillating I couldn’t speak. I could only gasp when her hands approached my sensitive areas. Consequently, talk of the dress faded to silence. Yana pulled off her own dress and allowed me to caress her for a minute before suddenly declaring that it was time to go to sleep. “Just hold me,” she said. I wrapped my arms around her and we spoke our evening prayer. “We should sleep. Just hold me,” Yana repeated and held my hands still when they began to quest. Why? What was wrong?

I couldn’t sleep while my blood was boiling. So, I prayed. “O Ashtar, Keeper of Death’s Door! I beseech You on behalf of Nyra of Amaya. While she isn’t of the Faith, she is a good person whose aim isn’t contrary to Your desire. If she has lived out her allotted days, take her into Your coils and welcome her to the eternal rest. If You decree that she still has time here among the living, give her strength to overcome her injuries, that she may live out her days in health and happiness. I also pray for Yana, with whom I’m in love! She needs Your strength, too. She isn’t cut out for a life of violence as I am. Give her the support she requires to remain by my side through everything the world throws at us. And I pray for Hylda, Grogg, Wolfram and Xipil, our companions. They all have their flaws, but they mean well, and I implore You not to let their bumbling jeopardize my quest to do Your bidding. I am far from perfect myself, but I know that You will guide me along the right path and mold me into what You want me to be.” The prayer relaxed me, and I felt I could sleep soon. I repeated the evening prayer; that should do 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.


10th of Ratanu, year 412

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

Wolfram looked like he had won the argument and used the healing needle during the night, but he still walked gingerly, and wouldn’t mind using it more. Grogg looked better with a good night’s sleep. Although sleeping wasn’t all he had done. Hylda was quite vocal and had woken me several times. I counted myself blessed I had my own tent.

While we had breakfast, we discussed where to send Kraa, as we didn’t know if Pak and Groman had returned to the Evening Fort yet. We also considered to whom we should instruct them to reply. That turned to a brainstorming session to come up with new aliases. “Godana” had become a known name in our trail, and the others’ cover names had also been associated with events from which we’d rather distance ourselves. Wolfram didn’t want to go through the hassle of getting acquainted with a new name for himself, but Xipil reminded him that everyone at the inn where the star box had exploded knew about “Little Bear”.

Since we were going into Byblos, where Larma had much influence, I thought I should pose as a Loyalist, and asked the others for suitably elvish-sounding names, finally landing on Biskutella. Yana chose Lind for her new alias. Grogg became Knarr and Hylda Knurr. Wolfram took the nickname Black. Xipil asked if we knew how non-royal cat people were named. Unfortunately, we only knew the naming convention of the princes. Xipil settled on Visku in the end.

Xipil asked for a backstory for Biskutella; how did she come to Arland? I told him Biskutella was a Loyalist. Wolfram pointed out that Larma suppresses their women, and I agreed to pose as a man when we got to Byblos. I turned to Yana and said we had shopping to do. She didn’t mind that at all. She did also look forward to applying makeup to make me look more like an elf. Male elves often wore their hair long, so I didn’t have to cut my hair, even though we should probably refresh the dye, and we could drape my hair so it covered my non-elvish ears. Biskutella became Biskutello.

We decided to write in the letter to Pak and Groman that they could reply to Biskutello at a certain temple in Byblos. It wasn’t Your temple, so I didn’t pay attention to which of the temples Xipil named. We also wrote that we expected Pak and Groman at the stone circle on the third of Tityra’s month, three weeks from now.

While I counted the days from this month to the next, something that had been nagging me popped into my head. “Yana, why did you say that it was going to rain next month? Your reason was that it was the coldest of the year, and I didn’t consider the possibility that you were misspeaking at the time, but Tityra’s month isn’t the coldest one. Azura’s month is.” Yana turned as bright red as her brown complexion would allow, so I pulled her to the side and asked what was wrong. A simple mistake shouldn’t cause this reaction. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I … was thinking of something else at the time.” “What?” I asked. Yana looked down. It took me a few seconds to realize that she wasn’t staring at the ground in shame. She was looking a further up to indicate that her mind had been between my legs. “Oh…” I blushed too, but had my back towards everyone else, fortunately.

After Xipil had finished the letter, formulating it appropriately cryptic, he handed it to Grogg, who gave it to Kraa. “Find Isa!” he told the spirit raven. Kraa took off. Xipil also wrote a letter to send with Odon, in case Pak and Groman were still at the Kings’ Crypt when he got there.

[coronatiger]

10th of Ratanu, year 412 (continued)

Since the letter we wanted Odon to deliver for us – if he happened upon Pak and Groman in the swamp – was ready, I suggested that Xipil went to give it to him, so we could get going. I got Yana to help me dismantle our tent and ready our packs. The others used longer getting ready, as Xipil and Wolfram began a debate about star signs and their influence on different races. Or something like that; I didn’t pay much attention.

Xipil tried talking to one of the zombies to have the letter delivered to Odon with a message, but that was a useless waste of energy. He had to go into Odon’s and Nyra’s tent himself. Odon was meditating, so Xipil left the letter with a note about what to do with it.

Wolfram had begun writing a letter himself, a report to someone in his order, and he asked questions from time to time in order to refresh his memory. Mostly, he bothered only Xipil with this. When it was time to go, Wolfram lay down on the cart and poked himself to sleep with the needle.

Our progress was slower now that Wolfram was added to the load instead of helping the rest of us with it. I noticed that the terrain was still ash-covered, but it seemed less oppressive, and it was clear that Yori’s influence was strongly diminished. We decided not to go near the cannibal village, and headed more to the north, planning to travel west to Byblos on the main road once we found it.

When we neared a farm, Xipil noticed someone watching us from hiding. He asked if he should go check it out. I told him someone who could talk to the locals should come with him, but he promised to come back and report after a brief scouting.

He returned quickly. At the farm, there was a dog tied to a wooden pole and a very nervous person watching cautiously from a window. Xipil also told us he had heard a tormented cry from one of the buildings. I decided I wanted to go and speak with the farmers, and asked Yana to join me. Xipil asked if we should wake up Wolfram. I agreed. The people might be hostile, although I was quite confident that I could defuse most situations that might arise here. We filled him in hurriedly while Yana and I put our backpacks on the cart. Wolfram loaded his crossbow.

Yana and I walked towards the farm, and the others followed, more slowly. Hylda asked Grogg loudly enough to be heard even at the farm, if we were going to stop for everything we discovered by the roadside. Grogg called after Yana that she had to make sure I didn’t kill anyone. I didn’t bother to reply, but Yana turned and sent a rude gesture his way. Grogg wasn’t familiar enough with human culture to recognize it, but Hylda was, and she gave the same gesture back to us. Grogg copied her, smiling and apparently thinking that the gesture meant they were in agreement. The dog heard the loud voices and began to bark.

I knocked on the door, but got no reply. It wasn’t locked, but someone had made an impromptu barricade behind it, so it only moved a few centimeters when I tried to open it. I didn’t want to cause any damage, so I didn’t try to force the door. Instead, I opened the hatch at one of the windows and peeked inside. There was nobody in the single room inside, but I suspected there was a cellar. I climbed in the window and pulled aside the barricade to make it easy for Yana to enter.

When we were both inside, I heard the same noise Xipil had heard, someone in pain, or perhaps rage. Yana perceived something else, and I did too when she alerted me to it. Someone was praying. That boosted my hopes considerably. It was too much to wish for fellow Ashtarites to be here, but devout people are generally easy to befriend, in my opinion.

I opened the cellar trapdoor. The room under the floor was tiny, and one of the two occupants reached for me, wild-eyed. I took a step back and dodged when the man rose up. Behind him was a frightened-looking woman who tried to grab him, but she failed. I took another step backwards and tried to calm the strangers. The man came all the way up from the cellar and the woman tried again to hold him back, but she banged her head against the edge of the hole in the floor.

I couldn’t retreat further without exposing Yana to the rabid man, so I punched him in the stomach as hard as I could. That took the air out of him, and he fell to the floor, giving me time to warn him not to try anything. I didn’t want to hurt him, I said, but if he didn’t relent, I’d hit him again. The woman began to shriek.

I was about to withdraw towards the door with Yana, but she was completely frozen. I flinched as if she had struck me. By hitting the man, I had triggered Yana’s phobia against violence. The man was getting up, so I tried to grapple him, but I couldn’t get hold of him. My customary style of fighting is absolutely lethal, and I wasn’t trained to subdue. The man, still on his knees, seized me with both hands. Behind him, the woman slammed shut the trapdoor.

Praying silently for permission to kill, I struggled to break free. The man was far bigger and stronger than me, so I had a hard time with it. It wasn’t until he changed his grip slightly to attempt a bite, that I got loose. I told Yana to go outside, fearing I needed to punch him again. She had snapped out of her catatonia and wasn’t hard to ask.

The man took a swing at me. I ducked under the blow and planted my fist in his stomach. He fell to the floor, unconscious. Xipil appeared in the doorway and tied up the man, asking what had happened. I told him I was about to find out, and opened the trapdoor to the cellar. The woman was trying to claw her way through the stone walls, bloodying her hands. I said over my shoulder that the people here were mad. The woman screamed that I mustn’t kill her. I told her calmly that she should come up, and I would bandage her hands. Xipil signaled that he was leaving so he wouldn’t be seen.

I repeated to the woman that she should come up, to tell me her story, but while she finally emerged from the cellar, she said that if she told me what she had done, I would kill her. Since I hadn’t received any instructions in that regard, I told her it was highly unlikely anything she said might get me to take her life. I raised my voice, asking “Lind” to get my pack with the bandages.

The woman swore by Mitra that she didn’t mean to do anything wrong, but she knew the penalty and knew I had to kill her if I learned of her deeds. I told her there were far more important things in this world than secular laws. She tried to say that Mitra’s laws trumped all, but I said that not even Mitra, the all-mighty sun god, could command me to punish her. The woman stared at me. Who was I to speak this way of her god? I told her my identity wasn’t important.

I teased the story out of her. It was incoherent, but I think I got the gist of it. She and her husband had been victims of the famine, and someone offered food, so they went to this village, where people were out after dark and did other heinous deeds. There was blood and violence and killing. I believed she was talking about the village we had dubbed the cannibal village.

Yana arrived with my backpack and I began to bandage the frantic woman’s hands. She went on and on about how she had sinned against Mitra. I told her there was a better god, but she wouldn’t listen. Now that I had gotten her to open up, she detailed what her husband had done, and I was glad Yana had left again, for this wouldn’t be pleasant for her to hear. The woman hadn’t taken part in the violence, except for self-defense as far as I could tell, but she felt really guilty. I told her we should pray. A sun-worshipper, the woman wanted to go outside. I said we should go into the cellar instead and tried to explain about You, but just then, Yana reappeared and whispered in my ear that Xipil suspected that someone powerful was actively sacrificing people to Yori. How he reached that conclusion was beyond me. His imagination can run wild sometimes.

While I was distracted, the woman went outside to pray to Mitra. I took Yana down to the cellar to pray to You. You said that these people would come to You soon, and I didn’t have to help them along. Mighty Ashtar, You are eternal, thus time doesn’t mean the same to You in Your infinite wisdom as it does to us mortals. I judged the couple to be in their early twenties; they could die of old age, and You might still consider that “soon”.