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Post by Diocles on Jan 7, 2021 0:29:35 GMT
"Well, until then, how about I show you on the map where Ironeye fell?" Aberana unrolls a map on the table of the common room and points to the exact place where his caravan encountered the ice wurm. "See where the coast suddenly turns north out of the desert? That's the end of the Zenji crown's dominion, and that's about where the wurm attacked us. It's about a three-days' ride if you have a horse. Our caravan did it in a week."
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 7, 2021 0:43:20 GMT
"I do have a horse," I say meditatively. He did not see Mikkel die. I remember the Sentinel well. He might very well be dead, but he deserves better than to have his body lost beneath the ice. And if he has somehow survived, beneath the ice and injured, he deserves to be rescued.
"I think I would like to go," I say. "Today."
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Post by Diocles on Jan 7, 2021 0:44:51 GMT
Aberana stares at you in wonder. "Are you sure? It's a dangerous venture!" He doesn't say it, but you read it in his eyes: you are but a little girl.
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 7, 2021 0:49:46 GMT
"Mikkel Ironeye was my friend," I say. "I do not have many. And if I am to be Sentinel for your caravan, I will need to prove myself in some way, surely? For I do not have the Sentinel certification from the Academy."
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Post by Diocles on Jan 7, 2021 0:52:21 GMT
"Well, if you're going, I'm going with you. Not having you go out and risk yourself for a caravan you've not even a part of yet!" He slaps his scimitar.
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 7, 2021 0:59:21 GMT
How kind everyone is! I think. Aloud, I say, "Captain, you are good to me. I thank you, and will add your name to my next sacrifice to Galadrin."
For I am sacrificing to Galadrin daily. Whether it be some of my blood, some of my day's food portion, or the salt water of my tears, I offer something to Galadrin daily, before the statuette of him I received from the good King Shak-amen.
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Post by Diocles on Jan 7, 2021 1:17:15 GMT
"Is there anything you need me to provide for you from my caravan stores before we set out?"
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 7, 2021 1:22:40 GMT
I think for a moment. I have Bindi already, as well as food for the journey. Or have I run out of the King's victuals already?
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Post by Diocles on Jan 7, 2021 4:29:37 GMT
You have rich victuals still, but perhaps the captain, since he is a world traveler, has gear more suitable for snow and ice?
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 7, 2021 4:34:07 GMT
I say, "Captain, I have been traveling through cold areas recently, but though I have a bearskin cloak, I do not really have any other gear. If you had anything suitable for icy travel, I would appreciate it."
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Post by Diocles on Jan 7, 2021 4:38:53 GMT
The captain nods and goes rummaging, and soon both your horses are laden with spikes, ropes, hooks, and all manner of gear necessary for moving about on icy inclines. "After all, I assume you're not just going to look down into the wurm hole?"
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 7, 2021 4:51:42 GMT
I chuckle. "You seem to know me rather well already, Captain. No, I had not intended just to look."
He is a very kind man, and I am appreciative of his care of me, even if it is intended to benefit his clan in the end. After all, should not a Captain look after his clan first?
"Three days' ride?" I ask, as I clamber onto Bindi. What does his horse look like? Is it going to be able to keep up with Bindi?
(I don't have animal handling or anything, but I do have riding, land.)
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Post by Diocles on Jan 7, 2021 5:08:38 GMT
His horse is also a riding horse, and it's magnificent white and brown. You cannot tell anything in particular, but this horse is a bred stallion. He prances about proudly.
"Yes, three nights as it is now, barring any problems," Aberana says.
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Post by Storyteller on Jan 7, 2021 5:10:26 GMT
"I will leave a message with Mariner Petemet," I say, "to give to my cousin. I doubt Cousin Aethyl would be willing to let us go without him, and ... he did not know Mikkel, so..."
I also know that this journey will be extremely dangerous, and I do not want to risk Cousin Aethyl dying at the same time as I do. They will need someone to help them get into Ravenwood if I fall, and neither of the others could.
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Post by Diocles on Jan 7, 2021 5:17:43 GMT
You and Captain Aberana set out when the moon sets, when the land is shrouded in its deepest night, when the stars burn coldly above, giving almost no light to the surface of Kailos, a surface swept by freezing winds. Bindi and Empire--Aberana's stallion--snort in anticipation of the journey, and their breath rises in frozen clouds. Your heart races, for you've never done anything this intrepid before--running off by yourself!
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