Eckhart and Kino walked through a willow forest in Fallial, taking in the sights. It had been three days since they fled Darken Vei, and the two travelers had kept a low profile since then. As Eckhart walked he realized that despite having traveled together for a few days, he barely knew Kino. She was an odd person, never saying more than he had to unless it was to make a sarcastic joke. She certainly never revealed anything about herself, although to be fair, neither had Eckhart. He supposed he had been waiting for her to start. She had also put the plague doctor gear back on, and seemed to have some kind of attachment to the mask in particular. She never took it off, even when she ate or slept. Eckhart briefly wondered if she took it off when she bathed, and then got red in the face and stopped thinking about it. Deciding he'd had enough of the mystery, he mustered up the courage to ask Kino directly.
"Um, uh, Kino?"
"That was a great start Eckhart" he thought. "Get it together man."
"Kino, why do you wear that mask? You seem really attached to it"."
"Hmph. You were bound to ask eventually," sighed Kino. "Everybody does. Here goes."
"Alchemy isn't something that a dumb kid should dabble in, y'see. Learned that the hard way. Cost me my lungs, and damn near my life. The stuff I keep burning in here..." she said, thrice tapping the hooked metal beak, "lets me breathe normally."
The woman's grating rasp echoed through the grilles in her metal veneer. Eckhart had had trouble picking out the emotions embedded in that metallic and inhuman voice, and sometimes wondered if she even felt them at all. But now her words were unmistakably laced with bitterness and sorrow. Kino continued on.
"Priests couldn't fix it. And before you say it, no, neither could healing magics. But I don't give up easy. The reagents are real expensive. And rare. And I need a lot of 'em. But I'm pretty sure I have the formula down. That's why I travel."
An awkward silence descended.
"Don't suppose you've got any gallstones from a chimera in your bag?"
The tension lightened and they both began to laugh.
"Well, that's my story. What's yours?"
Eckhart couldn't help but feel sorry for Kino. It was one thing to be injured beyond recovery as a child, but for it to be the fault of her own youthful foolishness must have really done a number on Kino's self-esteem. Upon hearing Kino's request for his story, Eckhart thought back to when he first discovered his magic abilities.
"I was twelve. My older sister had been injured when an icicle fell off our roof and embedded itself in her arm. I was so scared, she was losing so much blood and we thought we'd lose her. I panicked, and I then I grabbed her arm and healed her without realizing it. That was when I found out I had magic. The look she gave me, the knowledge that without me she'd have... died."
Eckhart paused here, and seemed to space out for a second. Abruptly, he continued.
"That really resonated with me. I began practicing with paper cuts, moved on to knife injuries, and now I can fix just about anything as long as it's just a flesh wound. When I found out that I couldn't fix broken bones and internal injuries, I decided to travel. Maybe somebody out here can teach me. And then we blew up a town, and now we're here."
More confidently, he turned to look at Kino. "You don't need to worry about your injuries. Someday I'll be able to heal every ailment, and then you'll be my first patient." With an almost hungry expression in his eyes, he went on. "I'll be the most powerful healer in the world. People will travel for miles for me to heal them."
Eckhart couldn't see Kino's expression, but he imagined it was one of encouragement.
A 'Hunter' by the name of Egon Grimme was currently walking through the woods with a deer over his shoulder. He was moving rather slowly and moving through some denser brush. The deer had lead him on a chase through the forest after had hit it with his long bow. He had tried taking it down way too close and messed up his shot. Up ahead he noticed a clearing in the form of a trail of sorts.
With a breath he stumbled through the brush in front of Eckhart and Kino a couple yards ahead. Regaining his footin he came to a stop glancing around."Looks familiar..." he said to himself trying to figure out exactly where his camp was. However his thoughts were interupted when at a glance he noticed two people to his side. Blinking he looked over and then turned fully before dropping the deer. His cloak down he looked at them with his one good eye."Oh hey..." he said looking them over to see if they had anything worth stealing.
Eckhart was about to ask Kino if she had any dried fish left, when a man carrying a a deer over his shoulder popped out of the bushes.
"Oh hi" the man said.
Doing a double take, Eckhart instinctively moved behind Kino. Remembering that that wasn't very chivalrous, he moved in front of her and drew his hammer.
"Uh, who are you?"
"Yeah, that sounded really threatening, Eckhart. Really manly."
Knowing that her ragged, metallic voice did little to diffuse tense situations and sudden confrontations, Kino let her companion take the initiative. As Eckhart stepped forward and drew his weapon, Kino took advantage of the way the mask prevented the stranger from seeing her eyes. She stared at him unabashedly, studying every detail.
"Muddy, worn-in boots. Hasn't shaved properly for a while. He navigated this uneven terrain with ease. He's carrying that heavy carcass like a pro. A huntsman, no question. Wait. That bow's way too big for local game. That mother looks like it could send an arrow through platemail. The leather grip on his sword's been well used, too. And that sound... the jingling of coins somewhere beneath his cloak. More coins than any honest hunter would have. No question. This guy's prey doesn't always walk on four legs."
Hidden behind her erstwhile traveling partner's back, Kino's hand slowly drifted towards an everglassknife hidden in her robe.
"Just in case..."
Egon blinked as Eckhart shuffled around at first moving behind Kino and then in front of them. This was sort of amusing up until they drew their hammer. Having looked them both over he determined that they didn't have anything he wanted. So, instead of escalating the situation he thought it best to deescalate it."Hey now, no need for such big hammers." he said looking to them with a smirk now."I don't mean you any harm, though if you insist..." he said trailing off he said parting his cloak a little better revealing his arsenal. A hip quiver full of broad head arrows and a short sword."I am sure we can be friends however, I got meself a camp not to far from here. How about it? You look like you could use some fresh meat." he said with a chuckle.
Eckhart slowly lowered his weapon. His initial reaction had been one of fear, but now he began to think that this guy may be harmless. Looking at Kino for approval but only finding an expressionless mask, Eckhart accepted the offer.
"Which way to your camp?"
"Freedom!"
Althris jumped through the portal, and came out in a clearing surrounded by trees. The elation from her successful escape wore off quickly as she looked around her.
Oh. Where the heck is this?
A small tent was set up nearby, with a small circle of rocks encasing the embers of a former fire, not more than a few hours old. She couldn't see anyone around, so, thanking them in her mind, she borrowed the tent for the first proper sleep she had gotten for the past month.
Kino had her reservations about following a potential bandit at first, but this Egon fellow turned out to be quite alright. After carefully noting that the only footprints into and out of the well-used camp belonged to him, Kino discarded the possibility of an ambush and insisted on paying the man for his meat and grog.
Two hours later, skewered strips of venison hissed and bubbled as the campfire slowly cooked them into a crispy golden-brown. The aroma of cooked meat and sound of laughter filled the twilight air as the three of them shared tales and anecdotes and bawdy jokes.
Kino swallowed a mouthful of succulent venison and downed it with a swig of mead before passing the wineskin flask to Eckhart and slipping her mask back into place. Her dark robes lay next to her pack, leaving her clad in blouse, breeches and bandolier upon bandolier of everglass knives. Feeling a glowing warmth in her stomach from the heady honey-ale, Kino had allowed herself to loosen the reins on her inhibitions and kick back. It had been a long while since she had just felt like "one of the guys." It was a nice sensation. Sighing contentedly, she continued from where she left off:
"So the senior bard is just sitting there, all dumbfounded-like. Finally he goes, "that's one hell of an act. What do you call it?" And the father grins this big-arsed grin and says... "The Aristocrats!""
Met by raucous laughter, Kino stood up and made a mock bow. Feeling nature's call, she excused herself and began to make her way away from the campfire, subtly swaying from side to side as she went. Suddenly, her ankle was caught by a tree root that was almost definitely not there the last time she looked. Mask-first, she tumbled straight into the side of Egon's tent.
As Kino's beaked mask stabbed into her chest, a spark of Divine energy flared within Althris. In an instant, the clearing was filled with strong winds, pushing away from her. They only lasted a second, but easily blew down most of the trees on the outskirts.
Wincing as she blinked awake, Althris looked around the the wind torn clearing, and the three people there. Mumbling the words in a still half-asleep state, she asked;
"What was that for?"
Egon laughed greatly at Kino's joke before biting into some cooked venison as he sat on a log. It had been awhile since he was last in good company. As she excused themselves he would begin some chit chat with Eckhart. However, he was greatly interupted when Kino fell over onto his tent. he was about to tell them to be careful when all the sudden strong powerful winds blew him back as well as the trees sending him a couple of yards back and putting out the flames. Tumbling and rolling unexpectedly he was stopped upon hitting a now downed tree."Gah! What the!?" he shouted as he would slowely prop himself up. Looking around he saw Althris from his tent, squinting his eyes Egon grabbed his bow and a broad head arrow."Alright who are you and why are you in my tent!?" he asked approaching eyes fixed on Althris."You some kinda thief?" he asked.
Eckhart looked at the flask Kino had given him. "I'm a bit too young for this stuff" he reminded himself. As he set the flask down, the wind picked up massively and Eckhart was sent flying backwards. Landing about fifty meters from where he was sitting, he got up groggily to see a girl in Egon's tent. Eckhart went into panic mode. "Shit shit shit shit! What do I do! Who is that?"
Rushing back to the campsite, he picked up his hammer and took a defensive stance. "Alright, um, tell me who you are and why you're here!"
Finally...
The thought floated through Rei's mind as he waited inside a bush. He had been tracking this particular pack of deer for a few days, learning their habit before drafted out possible locations they might be resting. And even so, it took him over a day sitting rigidly in this cold weather before a mark came near him.
Steady... steady...
Aimed his arrow at the mark, Rei calculated how the beast will move. Even with all the talisman he had, a chase between him and the dying beast was not something he in the mood for.
Now! *crash*
Crash? Just as he turned to the source of the shockwave, the mark had already run away from sight before he could even turn his head back.
Let out a sigh, Rei stretched himself and thought about the disturbance. In this kind of forest, a tree fell down due to old age was just a normal occasion, bad luck for him but still normal. However, as far as his eyes can see, no tree was high enough nor big enough for that kind of tremor. The only explanation he could give was that multiple tree had fallen as once but not even a bear can do that.
"Should I check out the site?" Curiosity got the best of him, as Rei headed toward the source, thinking that he could at least run or hide if push come to shove.
"Huh?"
Althris was still groggy from the abrupt awakening, and whatever was said just flew over her. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she looked over the cloaked man pointing an arrow at her.
"Whaizzit?"
Her inebriated jubilation swept away with the blast, Kino's mind was already clear and focused by the time she landed on all fours. A flask of concentrated teargas was already in her hand by the time she was standing. Ready to hurl it at the ground and run, she cautiously called out.
"Is everybody okay?!"
Seeing the slightly disheveled Althris at the epicenter of the blast, Kino ventured,
"Including... you?"
Egon sighed looking at the intruder lowering their bow slightly. Though when Kino had asked if everyone was alright he gave a quick nod."Well I'm fine, but Eckhart flew pretty far back." he commented before looking back to Althris as he cautiously approached."Now, I ask again.' he said with pause."Why are you in my tent?" he asked."Are you with them?" he asked gesturing to Kino and then Eckhart who had been knocked away.
"With who?
Althris was no longer half-asleep, but still wasn't completely awake either. She took notice of the others in the clearing, but still couldn't comprehend why they were there. The small of cooked meat wafted over from the fire, and she wandered over, "borrowing" some of the venison.
Eckhart watched in stunned disbelief as the small girl walked over to what was once a fire pit, and started eating their food. "Who does she think she is?" he thought. This was getting to be absurd. Eckhart's initial panic had been replaced with cautious anger, he did not like having the camp ruined by somebody who seemed like she couldn't care less. He tightened his grip on his hammer, and took a step forwards.
Aware that this girl must be incredibly powerful for her to be able to knock over multiple trees at a moments notice, and trying his best not to sound too angry so as not to start a fight he'd likely lose, Eckhart repeated himself. "Tell me who you are and why you're here. I don't want trouble, but if you refuse to answer us we'll be forced to assume you're up to no good."
Finishing her venison, Althris looked over at the others there.Only now did she notice the weird figure a distance away, almost fading into the darkened wood with their grey robe and odd mask. Now that she thought of it, the tent probably belonged to one of these people, and she had just destroyed it. She froze up at this realization, and at the secondary one, that she was stealing what was likely this group's meal.
"I'M SORRY!"
She prostrate herself in front of the most authoritative looking person there, the man in the grey cloak, and began apologizing profusely.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Egon blinked before sighing, lowering his bow all the way. Putting the arrow away he would wear the bow now. He would approach closer stepping over the log he had been blown off of."Stop it! Stop saying sorry!" he said getting annoyed."Just tell us who you are." he said looking at her as he looked down at her. Breathing out he rubbed the back of his neck tired."Also, you owe me coin for what you just ate." he added on.
Eckhart looked at the sniveling mess laying in front of Egon. "Wow" he thought. "This is really pathetic. Even I'm not this bad." For the first time in a while, Eckhart felt good about himself. Walking up to Kino, he tugged on her sleeve to get her attention. "Hey, let's just leave her here. She's not our problem."
"I'm sorry... Eh? Oh yeah!"
Standing up, Althris puffed out her chest and proclaimed in a voice that seemed to hold excessive enthusiasm.
"I am Althris! Scholar of Mythologies and of the Divines whose stories are told within them!"
Though she was saying it with a completely serious expression on her face, her demeanor and atmosphere made her feel like a child that wanted to be praised.
"Hmm," thought Kino, assessing the situation. "Not so sure I like the way Egon's berating the mysterious woman who just blew away half the campsite. Making her angry would be bad. Yeah. 'An I dunno anything about "Divines" held in musty 'ol fairy tales, but it couldn't hurt to learn. Definitely best to settle the situation first, maybe hear her out."
Kino whispered back to the youth tugging at her sleeve. "We smooth things over first, Ecks. Then we make that call."
Securing the flask of tear gas back onto one of her many belts, the alchemist crossed over to the strange scholar and extended a hand.
"Well met, Althris. Kino Vanden - apothecary, alchemist and drifter extraordinaire. This is Eckhart," she said, nodding her beaked mask in one direction, "and that's Egon," nodding her head in another.
"So, what brings you to this neck of the woo-" Kino's greeting was abruptly cut of by the howls of what sounded like several angry Owlbears.
Kino's attempt at conversation with the girl didn't get very far before things went south again, and seven owlbears soon rushed into the campsite. They appeared to have been spooked by their forest being torn apart the wind Althris had created. "Welp, this doesn't look like a fight I can win" he thought glumly. "What I wouldn't give for Hildagarde's abilities right about now."
"No" he chided himself. "That power can only be used to take lives. I have the better abilties." Eckhart wasn't sure he could convince himself of that though. Not when everybody else had told him the opposite his entire life.
Shaking himself and giving Althris a dirty look, he took a swing at one of the smaller owlbears with his hammer only to be knocked over by a swipe of the beast's claws. He managed to get in a glancing blow at the owlbear's shoulder, which gave him enough time to get back on his feet. He had a nasty gash where it had hit him, and he needed this fight to end soon or he would bleed out before he could take the 10 minutes it'd likely require to heal this injury. "Bleed out..." Suddenly, an idea came to him. Using his magic, he tried to stop the flow of blood from his wound without healing the flesh itself. Be it through desperation or sheer dumb luck, it worked- Eckhart's blood began to clot, which slowed the bleeding to a crawl. Stunned at his sudden progress, Eckhart began to laugh, and didn't see the owlbear take another swing at him...
At least I wasn't wrong...
A bear couldn't make that kind of tremor. However, added a pack of angry Owlbears that looked like someone just destroyed their house? Well, that change the equation just a little bit.
Anyhow, arrived just in time to see several Owlbears making their way to the campfire. Dived inside a bush, Rei reviewed the situation. Overall, it could be rather dangerous, the bow user and the mage could pick those monsters off one by one, but that meant the young man, the masked person will need to stall for time.
Rei laid down a "Quills"(Porcupine) talisman to the ground, got ready in case they noticed him. Just as he looked up, the young man in the group received a counter attack by an Owlbear. Although not enough to take him out immediately, it distracted him long enough for the bear to recover from the pain and get ready to strike him again.
Cursed, Rei knocked an arrow and took a quick shot at the Owlbear, hoping he could at least distract or annoy the bear enough so that it forgot about the man.
Egon was about to say more when he heard the howl of the owl bears."Oh what now?" he asked glancing in the direction he heard it. That is when several owl bears barreled into their camp."It just doesn't end does it?" he said as he raised his long bow and strung an arrow. Backing up he took aim at the farthest owlbear. Letting the arrow fly it struck the owlbear in the chest but kept comming. The broadhead arrow would be troublesome for the owlbear however. Quickly he knocked another arrow and let it fly once more before he began to back up.
Separated from Althris by the charge of a particularly large owlbear, Kino tried to make the best of things by positioning herself between Egon and two of the encroaching beasts. Flashbangs, gasbombs and the like would more likely hurt her comrades than her foes. She doubted that any of her hollow, toxin-filled knives could pierce their thick hides in order to deliver the deadly payloads into the owlbears' bloodstreams. And so, amidst the chaos, Kino had jacked up herself with a phial of Adrenalite and grabbed her sturdy oak walking stick, taking a stance to guard Egon while his arrows rang true.
She thumped the heavy quarterstaff against the ground to gain the attention of the two owlbears circling Egon, then deftly brought it crashing into the skull of the larger of the pair. The stave was solid and heavy, and Kino's strength was jacked to near-inhuman levels by the Adrenalite. It impacted with a satisfyingly loud thud. The ursine beast didn't even blink, merely knocking it away with a backhanded swipe. Unfazed, Kino used the staff's momentum to bring it crashing into other owlbear's neck. The beast grunted in pain; Kino grinned jubilantly beneath her mask.
"Eat it, bastard!"
Her small victory was abruptly ended as she noticed the first owlbear charging at her on all fours, its wickedly curved beak snapping wildly. Kino struck the second owlbear in the neck again to keep it from charging as well, then pivoted her torso to avoid the first owlbear's flesh-rending maw. The ursine mammoth turned its failed lunge into a sideways headbutt, swinging its massive cranium around into Kino's ribcage. The drug-fuelled alchemist heard several of her ribs crack, but felt no pain even as the impact sent her tumbling across the ground.
Kino curled up her body to turn her haphazard tumbling into a controlled roll. Then, quickly extending her arms, she turned the roll into a handspring and landed on her feet. She regained her footing and looked up to see both of her wild-eyed opponents bearing down on her. Aiming for the eyes, a flick of her wrist sent a tox-filled everglass dagger towards her foes. Another dagger flew from her hand as she feinted a dodge to the left. A third dagger sailed outwards as she juked to the right, avoiding the oncoming charge. Not waiting to see if any of her projectiles connected, Kino sprinted towards the downed tree trunk her quarterstaff had landed against. She moved as a blur, chem-enhanced leg muscles pounding furiously as they carried her towards her weapon. Kino Vanden was damn fast. The owlbears were faster.
Kino realized that if she tried to take the time to pick up her weapon and bring it to bear, she would be disemboweled before she could swing it. She also realized that it was resting against the downed stump at a roughly 45 degree angle. Kino didn't break stride as she leaped towards the staff and planted her foot on it. The supple wood bent then whipped back, trampolining her backwards in a graceful arc over the incoming predators. Kino twisted and contorted mid-air, snagging the larger owlbear by the neck with her legs. It roared and bucked. Dangling upside down, Kino squeezed her legs together. The owlbear bucked harder as it began to choke. Its partner reared up on its hind legs and advanced towards her. Kino realized that the Adrenalite was wearing off.
Suddenly feeling very tired, very scared and very much in pain, the Wandering Apothecary nevertheless mustered every last ounce of energy in her body and clenched her thighs together. Kino violently jerked the owlbear's head to the left, then to the right. Kino felt the snap of vertebrae. The primal creature gasped, spasmed and fell beneath her. The alchemist was still straddling the dead creature's neck as the last vestiges of strength drained out of her. Staring up at the starry sky, Kino sighed as she heard the surviving owlbear's footsteps reverberate closer and closer. She couldn't even move her head to see her killer approaching. The stars were oh-so beautiful.
"Guess this is it, then."
She gently closed her eyes. She was ready.
The deathblow never came. Her killer startled, staggered, then stopped. The neurotoxins from the knife in its eye had finally overcome its robust constitution. The second owlbear silently crashed down into the grassy loam.
Bleeding heavily, Kino blacked out.
Eckhart looked up to see the owlbear making another swipe at him, but before it could land a blow some arrows flew out of the bushes, distracting it. As the owlbear ran towards the source of the arrows, Eckhart saw Kino lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Her legs were wrapped around an owlbear's neck, having apparently strangled it to death. Rushing to where she was, he quickly assessed her injuries. "Three broken ribs, a fractured elbow, multiple bruises and abrasions, likely some internal bleeding. One of her cracked ribs is deathly close to piercing her lungs."
"Kino you fucking idiot, you're going to get yourself killed." he muttered under his breath.
Dragging Kino behind a felled tree and hoping the owlbears wouldn't disturb them, Eckhart got to work. After struggling a bit trying to take off Kino's cloak without exacerbating her injuries, he decided that he didn't have time to waste and ended up cutting it off with his scalpel. Eckhart hoped she didn't mind too much. The rest of her attire being easier to remove, Eckhart began to use his newfound blood clotting powers to slow her internal bleeding. "Alright, onto the hard part." Taking his scalpel, he began to cut an opening into her chest where her most damaged rib was. Again using his powers to stem the bleeding, he found the rib in question. Hoping Kino stayed unconscious and didn't wake up to Eckhart's hand inside her chest, he slowly adjusted her broken rib back in place, away from her lungs. Eckhart still couldn't figure out how to mend bones, and he wasn't about to try now when him screwing it up could mean making her injuries worse. Closing the opening he had created in her chest with his cell regeneration powers, Eckhart began cutting Kino's cloak into strips and tying them tightly around her chest. She'd need medicine to stop the worst of the pain, but it was the best he could do on such short notice. "She'd better appreciate this" Eckhart thought grumpily. Even with Eckhart's talents this injury would likely take weeks to fully heal.
As Althris watched, the three who had just introduced themselves fought against the group of owlbears that just attacked. It wasn't that she was a pacifist, she knew a little about fighting, but didn't have any weapons with her and was forced to take the role of a spectator. Her constant surveillance of the field did make her the first to notice a man in the forest, assisting them with the occasional arrow. His and Egon's arrows were injuring a great deal of the owlbears, and a few had fled the clearing, arrows prickling from their fur.
The 2 arrows scored a hit on the Owlbear's side and managed to redirect its attention from the young man. Sadly, its new target was now Rei. Making a perfect 90 degrees turn, the owlbear made a beeline straight at him.
Took 3 more arrows from his quiver, he knocked them one by one and shot at the owlbear. First one hit its left shoulder but didn't managed to slow him down. Second one managed to hit the nose, made the owlbear let out a howl, shaking its head violently before chasing maddeningly at him.
Guess I can't save it...
Resigned, Rei turned back and ran from the outskirt, knocked his last arrow. As the owlbear dash through the bush, Rei triggered the talisman he left behind. The earth shocked up and spike pieced into the owlbear's sole, broken due to the owlbear's speed then being slammed even more inside when the owlbear laid down his foots.
The sudden pain made the bear stopped, raised its body to figure out what had happened. Received an opening from his enemy, Rei let go of his arrow and it flew straight for the owlbear's throat. Stumbled a little bit, opened his mouth but only managed to let out a few noises, the owlbear took a few steps before fell down.
After sending another 2 arrows at the owlbear's head, Rei started to make his way back to the campsite, hoping that they managed to hold against the other 6...
The alpha male howled in pain from the broadhead arrow stuck in its chest. It readied itself to charge the man-thing who had planted it there, only to see three of its packmates barrelling past it in retreat. Two more lay motionless on the ground, and the alpha had heard the gurgling death cries of the comrade who had charged into the bushes after the second man-thing who threw sharp sticks. The hulking pack-leader glared at the tiny figures with impotent rage, then stole off after its fellow survivors.
-----
Kino slowly swam back into reality.
"Huh? OuchOuchOuchOwOwOwOwOwSHIT!"
Fighting through the searing pain and Adrenalite withdrawal, she willed herself to sit up.
"Wuzza... Wuz goin' on?"
Quickly piecing her memories of the incident back together, she noticed Eckhart standing nearby. She stared down at the makeshift bandages wrapped around her pale, bloodsoaked skin. His doing? Behind her mask, Kino's cheeks briefly flushed at the thought of being found so vulnerable. Her stoic professionalism quickly overcoming her modesty, though, she simply folded her arms over her chest and called out.
"Ecks, hand me my robes and help me up, would you?"
"OuchOuchOuchOuchOwOwOwOwOw..."
Eckhart looked at Kino coldly. "That's it? Really? Not even a thank you? I'll just leave if you can't appreciate me." is what he wanted to say. Instead, Eckhart said "You really shouldn't try to get up by yourself. You'll exacerbate those injuries. What were you thinking back there anyway? If I wasn't here you'd have died."
Eckhart started to rummage through his bag to find some painkillers, only to find that the arnica flowers he picked the other day had completely dried up. "Fuck." Turning back to Kino, he was forced to give her the bad news. "I'm all out of arnica. Unless you have any painkillers, your going to be in a lot of pain until I can find some."
"OuchOuchOuchOuchOwDamnOwOwOwShitOw!" is what she wanted to say. Instead, Kino said "Don't worry about me. Pain is something I can handle." She paused. "What happened? How bad was I?"
"Bad enough that I had to cut you open and physically move your broken ribs so they wouldn't impale your lungs" Eckhart said bluntly. "Oh, that reminds me."
Eckhart went over to the tent that Althris had been in and cut out a few strips of fabric. Calling out to Egon that he would reimburse him for the tent, he then returned to where Kino was sitting and took out a needle and some thread from his bag and began to stich the fabric together. "I picked up sewing in case I ever had to preform an operation on a mordecai, but it comes in handy for other things too," he told Kino absentmindedly. "My sister used to make fun of me for this, but I actually really enjoy sewing, it's a relaxing hobby. Here, put this on."
Eckhart handed Kino the rudimentary sling he had made and helped her to put it on her broken arm. "Try not to use that arm for a few days. Remember to take it off when you sleep, I'll help you put it back on in the morning if you have trouble."
Despite the Owlbears having seemingly departed Egon didn't relax just yet, they could come back while thye were not expecting it. With broad head arrow drawn end strung he glanced around looking for signs.'Is that it?' he pondered quietly to himself his one good eye straining as he looked for anything odd. Seems that together they had managed to force the owl bears into retreat.
Hearing Eckhart Egon would step back a little before looking around the campsite."Looks like thye got ya good eh Kino?" he asked as he would lower his bow slightly. Thats when he noticed Rei entering the campsite."Looks like this is a popular part of the woods around here." Egon said looking at Rei."You injured?" he asked.
"They sure did, Egon. But I think I got 'em back - *Cough* - got them back better."
Eckhart returned with a small sheet of fabric and was... sewing? Propping herself up with her one good arm, Kino willed herself through the pain and the drug withdrawal pangs. It was like treading water with iron weights shackled to her arms and legs. "Broken ribs... sewing... mordecai... sister..." Eckhart was talking as though from the far end of a very long and very foggy tunnel.
When he extended his arm, it took her a moment to focus and another moment to realize what he was holding. Though she knew damn well what a sling was and how to use one, his words were earnest and innocent. Compelled to respond in kind, Kino took a deep breath and raised her mask. Strands of lank hair clung to her sweat-caked forehead and the circles under her eyes were deep and dark. Her smile, though, was sincere. Violet eyes twinkling, she slid the mask back down and allowed herself to black out for what she hoped would be a very, very long time.
As Eckhart saw Kino's grateful expression, he felt a surge of adrenaline rush through him. "It's because of me that you're still here" he thought to himself. "My powers did this. Just me, nobody else." A goofy grin began to show on his face, which was offset by the hungry gleam in his eyes. "If they could see me now, they would-" Eckhart's confidence abruptly plummeted as he recalled what his sister had last said to him before she left.
"Eckhart, you've spent your entire life in my shadow. It's like you're some little parasite trying to leech off my success. You will never have what I had with mom and dad. You're too weak to make it happen by yourself. Stop following me, I never want to see your sniveling face again."
"It's not enough" Eckhart said quietly. "I need more."
Now feeling dejected, Eckhart saw yet another stranger enter the campsite. Groaning under his breath, Eckhart called out to the man. "What brings you to our busy corner of the woods?"
As he reached the outskirt again, the fight seemed to be over already. The archer was checking the surroundings with his eyes, the 2 young members seem to be bickering about something while tending for each other and the mage was just... stood there? Only 2 bodies near the campfire so probably the other Owlbears had ran off.
"What brings you to our busy corner of the woods?". The question snapped Rei back from his thought.
"Honestly, just curiosity. I was hunting near by and just want to take a look at what happened here that can make all those noises and tremors." Scratching his head, Rei said while unknocked his arrow. "Anyway, since it's almost dark. Mind if I use this campfire with your group? I have been sitting out in the cold for way too long lately."
Eckhart sighed. "At least this man seems friendly" he thought. "I don't see why not. If something else ends up attacking us then we'll need the help, we're, uh, down a woman." Eckhart looked at Kino fondly. "Get some sleep Kino, you've earned it."
Walikng up to the man, Eckhart outstretched his hand. "I'm Eckhart Von Musel. The unconscious one is Kino Vanden, and the one with the bow is Egon. The mage's name is, um, Arthritis, I think." Eckhart hadn't actually forgotten Althris name, but he was a bit miffed that she hadn't done anything to help with the owlbears. "You attracted them here with your magical wind stuff, why didn't you do anything?" To say Eckhart was suspicious of the girl was a severe understatement, and he half expected her to attack him for getting her name wrong. "Let's see what you do now Althris."
"Althris."
She heard Eckhart's mispronunciation of her name, but didn't really care. She was back at the fire, finishing off the venison. Even though she had eaten, she still felt like she was starving, the side effect of the months she had spent trapped Qerneth's domain.
Once the meat was gone, she turned towards Egon.
"I forgot to ask earlier, but where is this?"
"It's good knowing you, Mr.Eckhart. My name is Rei."
Made a light bow at Eckhart's direction, Rei then turned toward the mage, Althris. He had thought they were a team but it seem like they weren't.
"And for your question, Miss Althris. We are at Fallial, near Willow Wood to be exact." said Rei as he started walking back to the forest "Anyway, I need process and strip the materials from the owlbear that I killed. If anything happen, just shout and I will run back."
"Willow Wood..."
The name was unfamiliar to her, but that was to be expected. Since she arrived at the tower as a child, all she had been doing was studying in the library. And that was mostly stories of Gods and legends of other powerful beings, with little note on geography.
"How far is that from Connlaoth?"
"Far. It's on the other side of the mountain range. The northern one, not this one." Rei yelled back before the wood covered him.
Egon had at the point started putting wood in the fire pit once more. The fire having gone out during the massive commotion."I wouldn't go near Connlaoth if I where you." he said as he began rubbing two sticks together."They don't tend to take too kindly to people with abilities like yours." Egon said as he concentrated on the fire."Plenty of other places to visit in this world." Egon added as he got a fire started before standing up.
Egon then looked to Althris."So, where did you come from?" he asked before looking over to a dead owl bear. That thing was going to require some work, owl bears were big after all he thought.
"Well..."
She had to think about it for a while. She could easily go back to the Tower now that she was back on the proper plane of reality, but as Egon had said, there were plenty of other interesting places she could visit.
"Yeah, I'll do that then. Do you all mind if I travel with you for a while?"
She asked as she looked around the devastated woods.
Eckhart took a while to process that last question. "Well... I..."
"Come on man, just tell her no. You're not obligated to be nice to her."
"...I..."
"Don't do this now Eckhart, just say no. It's just one word."
"...Uhhhhhhh..."
"You'd better not screw this up, you'll have to learn how to turn people down eventually."
"I-I'll ask Kino when she wakes up!"
"..."
"This is going to be really long journey, isn't it?"
Kino's consciousness slowly rose through the slushy miasma that lies somewhere between "awake" and "she's frickin' dead, dude." As she floated upwards towards awareness, she heard bits and snippets of the conversation. Finally, she surfaced into that comfy realm where one finds most of their cognitive faculties working but has yet to remember that they ought to be in a tremendous amount of pain.
"The more the merrier," echoed the words from the prone apothecary's mask.
"Wait, did I just choke a 10-foot owlbear with my legs? I'm a goddamned badass."
Kino's consciousness surfaced completely.
"OwOwOwOwOuchOuchOwOwOwOuchDamnOwOw..."
"Um, any of you guys have Arnica petals on you?"
Collected his arrows from the monster's body, Rei then let out a dejected thinking about the next part. Took out his knife, he thought about what part he could take with him and what need to be buried. For starter, the fang, claws and eyes were collected and put inside his pouch while the palms were hanged by his belt. The skin was not perfect due to his removal skill and the arrow mark, but it should still sell for a bit. Rei then lamented for lack of stream running nearby as he cut off blocks and pieces of meat from the owlbear's body.
"It will be sticky and stink tomorrow" Muttered Rei as he continued with his work.
As he reached the monster rib cage, Rei took a quick peek around to make sure no one is near before he took out the heart, willed it to fluid and flew inside a new glass bottle.
"Should be enough for 21 words, not too shabby". Hung the bottle inside one in his cloak's inner pockets, Rei then finished off the remain works, buried the intestines. Finally, he headed back to where everyone were, collected branches and some beefsteak leaves on the way for their dinner.
Upon hearing Kino's request, Eckhart began rummaging through Kino's things. He felt like a creep for doing so, but it was necessary if Kino wanted to feel anything but pain for the time being. "Shit, looks like she doesn't have any painkillers either" he thought. Eckhart realized he would have to scavenge for herbs if he wanted to alleviate Kino's pain. Grumbling under his breath, he set off into the wind-torn forest.
Egon blinked looking at Althris then looked to Kina and Eckhart."Oh, we are traveling together then?" he asked with a pause."Eh, I don't see any issue with that." he said looking to Althris."Not sure how long I will tag along." he said before giving a stretch and a yawn. He would then look over to Kino feeling a bit bad for em, he didn't have any pain killers on him only stuff to stop bleeding.
"Egon, would you mind keeping an eye on Eckhart?" Kino croaked. "And remind him to look for Wood Sorrel along with the Arnica. I'll be fine until yo- ergh - until you two get back."
Sitting up enough to see who else was hanging around the now trampled campsite, she said, "It was... Althris, right? You did something with divine myths?" She then looked over to Rei. "And I don't believe we've met. It's a - *cough* - a pleasure. Kino Vanden. Sorry if I can't shake your hand." She waggled her sling in a comically theatrical manner.
"Pleasure to meet you all. I already introduced myself, but yeah, it's Althris. Minor goddess of something and Apprentice Scholar of the 13th Tower, specialty of Myths."
Glancing over at the fire, her stomach rumbled, and she looked back at them.
"Is there any more food?"
Eckhart picked through the remains of the forest looking for something, anything, that could be used as a painkiller. While doing so, he mused over what was wrong with Althris. "It's like she uprooted every tree withing two miles" he said to himself. "Why? Because Kino fell on her? Why is everybody being nice to her?" His grumbling was interrupted by a welcome sight. "Elderberries! Awwwwww yeah, now we're cooking." Eckhart meant this literally, he would have to stew these if he wanted to remove the toxicity from the berries to make them into medicine for Kino. Excited to get started, he hurried back to the campsite.
"Oh, you are awaken now." Saw both Althris and Kino sitting at the bonfire, Rei stepped closer and drop down his loots. "Don't worry, I mean you no harm. My name is Rei, Mr.Eckhart and I introduced to each other earlier but you were unconscious during that."
Took a sit next to Althris, Rei handed her a branch and took one for himself. "Anyway, can you help me with this, Miss Althris? Just remove the bark and then burn the sap of that branch, then cover the meat with these beefsteak leaves and stick them through it. Finally, just stab them next to the fire and we have some roasted meat ready soon enough."
Moved onto the next branch, Rei turned his head to Kino.
"And you don't need to do anything Miss Kino. Your concussion might come back if you moved around too much, I will have some foods ready for you soon."
"Good t'meet you both" said Kino, an invisible smile forming behind her mask.
"What brings the two of you to this fine area of the woods?"
Arriving back at the campsite, Eckhart placed the berries in his mortar and began to crush them into a fine pulp. After about five minutes, he bunched the berries in his hands and squeezed out the remaining liquid. Tossing the elderberry juice left his mortar into the forest, he began to rummage through his bag for the small pot he carried with him. After filling it with water from his flask, he put the crushed elderberries inside and covered the pot with it's lid. Walking over to the fire, he sat down and held the pot over the fire.
Eckhart loved to cook. It was one of the only things he was confident in his ability to do well, and seeing people enjoying the food he made was one of the only things guaranteed to boost Eckhart's fragile self-esteem. Unfortunately, Eckhart knew from experience that the medicine he was making tasted awful, so Kino's first impression of his cooking would likely be tainted. "No worries" Eckhart thought with a small smile, "I'll just have make shepherds pie after this, people fucking love my shepherds pie."
"Give me about an hour Kino, this needs to stew before it can be ingested." Smiling at her, he said "Wouldn't it suck if I accidentally killed you with the medicine I made?"
Gave a nod to acknowledge Eckhart's return. Rei then went back to tend the fire.
"Well, I'm here just to gather some money for my trip. The bartender at Willow Wood
did say that this place has quite a bit of wild life around."
"Yeah, it would suck, Ecks" Kino gave a weak cough before continuing. "Accidentally killing one of your patients might even disqualify you from World's Greatest Healer status," she teased. Almost as an afterthought she added "And I'd be dead, too. Dunno if I'm quite ready for that just yet."
Letting Eckhart busy himself with his elderberries, she turned towards Rei. "I'm no tracker, but I've seen a fair few deer prints around these parts myself. Game around here ought to be plentiful." She paused. "What kinda trip you got planned, friend?"
"Since Serendipity is my father's home country, I just want to take a look around I guess." Scratching his head, Rei continue on. "After that, I'm planning to go to Ketra in Adela since I'm always getting some interesting thing like rare weapon, Grimoire, potions or herb due to all the trading happened there back when I was a child."
Engrossed in staring at the food cooking over the fire, Althris had completely forgotten about everyone else until Rei sat next to her. Seeing as the food wasn't done, she took the moment to turn out all her robes pockets and ended up finding a small book filled with copies of many of the different land's Mythologies. Tuning everyone out again, she sat by the fire to read.
The berries were about halfway done, and needed to be stirred.. When Eckhart reached for his spoon, he noticed Althris had her face pressed into a book. Eckhart found this rather curious, and asked her "What are you reading?"
"Huh?"
Looking up, Althris stared at Eckhart.
"This? It's a book?"
The way she said it made it seem like she was stating the most obvious thing in the world.
"I..."
Eckhart was totally taken aback by this. "I-I can see that." Trying his hardest to not look confused, he continued. "What is the book about?"
"Myths."
She flipped the book around and showed him.
"This one was really interesting. It's about a trickter god, and the role he played in the founding of a kingdom that died out thousands of years ago."
"Myths, huh?" Eckhart had to admit, it was never a topic he had enjoyed. Quite the opposite actually, it had always made him feel alone. Eckhart stared into the fire blankly before continuing.
"I grew up hearing stories of Ansgar. From what my grandparents told me I guess he's the only god who really matters in the end. Thing is, me and my family aren't likely to be in his favor. The Von Musels got run out off Connloath because we broke the anti-magic laws for some really stupid reasons. When I discovered my powers and began using to save people, I had to resign myself to the fact that I'll probably be going to hell when I die. That really scares me, but what am I supposed to do? Just not use what I've been given?"
Suddenly getting flustered, Eckhart gave Althris a nervous, almost frightened looking smile. "I'm really sorry about telling you that, I'm sure you don't care. I forget my place sometimes." Eckhart quickly returned to stirring the elderberries. "Idiot" he thought angrily to himself. "Nobody cares how you feel. You should know that".
"Chin up, Ecks" mumbled Kino from where she lay. "Your place is wherever you have the resolve to make it be. And at the rate you're going, that place definitely won't be Hell." She let out an ugly cough.
"But please no more existential angst. I'm in enough pain already, kiddo." Kino laughed feebly at her own joke.
Shifting her tone and craning her head towards Althris, she remarked "Could use a bit of a campfire story, though. If you don't mind, would you tell us more about the trickster god?"
"Sure."
Flipping back to tale in question, Althris cleared her throat and began the recitation.
"Long ago, there lived a boy cursed with misfortune. But not his own, for only those around him would be struck by it. A horse would lose a shoe, a smith's forge would leak, a knight's blade would break. Those of his home shunned him, and he was forced to leave, to seek his path in the great world beyond.
As he walked away from the village, a voice spoke to him from the sky, asking why it was that he felt such weakness. To it he replied, that only when standing beside others did he feel at ease. To this, the voice made a sugestion, that he was not accepted in this land, he simply needed to make a place where he would be.
The boy found this idea acceptable, and set off to do just such a thing. He fought great beasts, challenged the most skilled of swordsmen, spoke with the wisest of sages, and eventually, stood upon the cornerstone of his own grand castle. As he sat upon his throne, the voice spoke to him once again, congratulating him on his accomplishment, and bidding him farewell.
All the while laughing, and collecting his bets up on his seat in the heavens."
She closed the book, and looked around to see if any of them had been listening.
"It's interesting right? Apparently it's about an old god named Qerneth, Divine of Trickery and Mischief."
"Huh"
Eckhart had never heard that story before. "It must be really old" he thought. "I wonder where she learned it. Is there a school that teaches ancient mythology? It seems so... niche." Suddenly, Eckhart remembered a legend he had learned in Hyoite when he was a kid. Smiling, Eckhart looked around the campfire. "Alright, it's my turn to tell a story."
"Alright, so, once upon a time there was this costal city up north named Atalantia. There were a ton of mages and wizards up there, because their talents were needed to keep the city safe from the treacherous environment. Icy hurricanes, stuff like that. So anyway there was this young wizard named Natel who hated his job. Nothing ever seemed to go his way, and the other wizards all mocked him for it.
Natel began to crave power. He figured that since his life sucked so much, he was entitled to a better position at the very least. After years of grumbling about it, a young woman named Arya appeared at his front door. She said to him "I can give you what you want. If you obay me, you will stand above all of Atalantia." Desperate for a change, Natel agreed to this proposition."
Eckhart paused dramatically before continuing. "Natel never seemed to notice the storms were growing worse every year. He failed to notice that Arya never looked any older than when he had first met her. In his thirst for power, he had never even asked what the backbreaking tasks and strange rituals Arya had him doing were meant to accomplish. Finally, after fifty years and fifty days of toiling, Arya had him leave the city limits. He escaped just in time to witness the largest storm he had ever seen hit the city at full blast. He finally realized what Arya was making him do- those rituals had sapped the energy of the other wizards so they could not protect the city any longer. Natel watched in horror as, with a deafening crack, Atalantia broke off the mainland and fell into the sea. Crying tears of rage, he found Arya at the edge of the newly formed seaside cliff and demanded answers. She looked different now, where there were once feet was now cloven hooves, and two large horns were growing out of her head. Natel realized now that she was not human at all, but a demon. Arya looked at him, smiled sweetly, and fulfilled her end of the bargain. Natel turned to stone, and to this very day he stands above the city of Atalantia."
Eckhart looked around the campfire happily. "Like it? The moral of the story is 'Don't trust demons, they'll just to screw you six ways from Sunday."
Beneath her mask, Kino blushed as she recalled her own experiences with daemonfolk. She wanted to lecture Eckhart on how his folktale was really more about hubris and the dangers of ambition unchecked by wisdom. Not wanting to embarrass her traveling companion in front of the group, however, she let the matter slide for now.
Instead, she propped her back against a fallen tree and spoke out. "Those are both pretty good tales. Can't say I've heard the one about Qerneth before, Althris. And that's a real... interesting, take on the Atlantia myth, Ecks."
Kino then turned her beaked mask towards where Egon and Rei sat. "Since we're sharing, either of you two got a tale to spin for us?"
"Me? Well, I don't know much about myth and folklore but I do remember a city on a small island my mother accidentally discovered when she first left her home. She said it's a city that worship a water goddess in the middle of the Tour Ocean.
Most of the houses there are made of stone and in the middle of it is the water god temple. From the temple, streams of water flows into small canals and people use that water to live. Since the city is not covered by walls, you can see the mountain on one side and endless horizon on the other when you step outside the range. All and all, my mother said it's a nice place to live in.
But the most memorable event in that place is when night comes and when the dawn arrive. According to my mother, when the moon starts to rise, the island will sink down so almost a quarter of the island is under the water. However, when moonlight shines on the temple, gentle waves of blue aurora will then be emitted from the temple and within a transparent dome the water won't be able to approach. She said that view the blurred image of the moon through that small layer of water while the torch's light dance in her eyes is unforgettable.
When the morning comes, the island starts to rise again. The bluish atmosphere then receives its first light from the sun, make you feel like you are just a small bird, just break out of its eggshell and step into a whole new world. She also mentioned that it's rather funny peeking over a wall of water that's as tall as you are."
Recalled the story about his mother adventure, Rei then felt a little bit lost and grief. "Sadly, she wasn't able to find that island again after she left. I want to go there at least once in this lifetime of mine."
Waved his hand, Rei then changed the subject: "Eckhard... Can I call you without formalities?" Without waiting for an answer, Rei then continued.
"Anyway, Eckhard and Althris's stories are interesting as well.
Although for Althris's story, I wonder what happened after he found his empire? Will his curse affect it just like what happened to the village or did he found a way to control it?
As for Eckhard's story, I guess it's one of the reasons why the people in Serendipity look down upon Demonic power."
Egon had left for a little while to gather fire wood at this point. He would return with arms full of sticks of various sizes. Coming up to the camp fire he would sit down setting the wood next to him. Getting out a waterskin he would proceed to drink some water. Simply he would sit there and quietly listen.
"Well, I don't know what happened after."
Althris sighed as she finished copying the stories into her book.
"He got a little annoyed after he finished telling it to me, and threw me into a subspace of his realm. I finally broke out a little while ago, and ran into you guys."
She glanced over at the campfire, and shut her book.
"Do you think the food's done?"
"Don't worry Rei, you can just call me-" Eckhart began to say, but stopped when Althris spoke. "Wait, she has direct contact with the gods? What the hell is going on?" Eckhart dropped the pot of berries into the fire out of shock. Struggling to take it out, he began cursing cursing under his breath. Finally he got it out, nearly burning his left hand off in the process. Wincing, Eckhart looked at the berries and let out a sigh of relief when he saw they weren't ruined. Pouring them into a bowl, he handed them to Kino along with a spoon. "Normally I'd put sugar in this, but I'm afraid I didn't bring any with me. It won't taste amazing, but it will help with the pain."
With his sense of accomplishment lessened by his newfound feelings of unease, Eckhart sat down next to Althris. Arms crossed, he studied her with a worried look on his face. "So, uh... Yeah. Tell us more about your life before you, um..." Eckhart struggled to find the words. "...before you got... before you wound up here."
"And the meat should be ready too." Picked up a stick, Rei blew at it before taking a bite "The burned herbs make it taste better, some salt would be preferred, though."
"Great!"
Grabbing her own skewer, Althris quickly devoured it, and had grabbed a second before noticing Eckhart's query.
"Before this? As in, directly before this, or before directly before this, of before before directly before this?
And he's right."
She pointed at Rei.
"It needs more salt."
Behind her mask, Kino cocked an eyebrow at Althris's declaration. The wondering apothecary had witnessed the unbelievable on more than one occasion, but had also come into contact with her fair share of lunatics on her travels. A statement like that definitely put Althris squarely into the "loony until proven sane" category.
Suddenly, a bowl of pungent broth was thrust before her.
"Ah, thanks, Ecks."
Taking the bowl of slushy berries, she raised her beaked mask and ladled some of the sour liquid into her mouth. Swallowing it quickly, she intoned:
"Directly directly before you came to this campsite. Just one "before". Then perhaps you could work your way back from there?"
"OK, directly before this..."
Althris seemed lost in thought for a moment before starting.
"That was, Qerneth's domain? Yeah, that was it. I was waiting for him to let me out, but since he didn't seem like he would be doing that anytime soon, I decided to leave on my own."
She finshed off her second skewer, and began a third.
"Before that, I was reading in the Tower. I still don't really know how I ended up in domain in the first place."
Eckhart was really confused now, and it was beginning to show on his face. "Wait, why were you talking to an ancient deity in the first place? What tower?" Eckhart instinctively began to raise his hand to his mouth, but stopped himself before he could start biting his nails. "Come on man, don't embarrass yourself in front of Kino." Collecting himself, he asked one more question. "What is it that your doing with your life? Like, do you have a job or something?"
"Didn't I say it before?"
Althris stared at him, confused.
"I'm an Apprentice Scholar at the 13th Tower, specialization of Mythologies."
"So your Tower deals with gods? Are there any other gods in that Tower of your?" Finished of his stick and threw it into a fire, Rei thought about it for a few seconds before added another question. "Are you a god yourself since you managed to escape his's realm?"
Eckhart leaned back a bit and grimaced. "Hold your temper Eckhart, you can do this." Letting out a sigh, Eckhart tried again. "...Alright. I'm from Hyoite, we don't get a lot of news up there" he lied. "Messengers die on their way up there all the time. This tower, I've never heard of it. Is it... new?"
"No, Esderand said the Tower was thousands of years old. And apparently the only people who knew about it are the Scholars and whoever stumbles across it."
After finishing her second skewer, she looked over, but there were none left.
"And I don't really know about any gods at the Tower. Mirian said a few have visited from time to time, but generally don't stay long."
"Alright, now we're getting somewhere." Eckhart thought. "She's part of some secret society of librarians."
"Ok, thank you for clarifying" he said. "But you still haven't told us why you were pestering an old god."
"I wasn't. I was reading some old stories in the Tower's Library when a giant glowing hand grabbed me and dragged me over to him."
"And why would the hand do that?" Kino asked earnestly. Sane or not, this Althris was turning out to be quite the interesting character.
"I dunno, it just grabbed me and I ended up in front of Qerneth. A lot seemed to be happening around then, and that's probably the reason no one noticed me missing."
Althris stared into the fire, lost in thought. Now that she thought of it, an large amount of arcane energy seemed to surge when she finished the passage. It seemed possible that may have been the cause.
Althris seemed to have stopped her story there. Years of living with his older sister had taught Eckhart what a lie sounded like, and this wasn't one. He was made a bit uncomfortable by this fact, so he tried to change the subject.
Looking to Kino, he asked "How's that medicine treating you? Is it working?"
"Anyhow, what about you guys, Kino, Eckhart and Egon? What brought you to this woods?"
"The remedy's helping," replied Kino. "Still ain't perfect, but I've been in worse shape. Thanks again, Ecks."
She turned towards Rei. "Eckhart and I met a few days ago. There was a... mutual misunderstanding with the local constabulary, and it became apparent that a very impromptu camping trip was in order. We were just setting out towards Connlaoth when we ran into Egon."
The alchemist paused. "Whereabouts were you headed to?"