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A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
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<blockquote data-quote="Ilex" data-source="post: 5160964" data-attributes="member: 82687"><p><strong>11x05</strong></p><p></p><p>The next day, Savina awoke hopeful. She was sixteen, and it was a new day. She touched her short hair, and remembered its solemn symbolism, but still, she felt more optimistic than she had in weeks. Sure enough, not long after they set out walking, they saw the river, a shifting gleam near the horizon across the plains. Along its banks, still lost to sight, was the main road from Lord's Edge to Cauldron. Another day of walking would bring them there. </p><p></p><p>Kormick stomped along and muttered that certain death unquestionably lay hidden like a thief in the grass between them and the road. Arden kept glancing edgily back toward the area of the distant rockslide, and Mena stalked forward with her hand never leaving her sword hilt… but Savina felt herself relaxing. The river in the distance gave her hope. So did Nyoko's exciting descriptions of Cauldron, with its exotic markets and steaming baths. The party had decided to travel with Nyoko as far as her home city, where she'd promised them the hospitality of her order while they decided upon their next move. </p><p></p><p>But Savina didn't only feel hopeful because she could glimpse safety – and creature comforts – in her future. She felt hopeful because of the <em>past</em>, too. The last time she had seen the river, she had been a girl in silk slippers. Since then, she had learned how to forage and hunt in wild lands, how to sleep through normal woodland night noises and start awake at dangerous ones. She had learned how to stand up to a Justicar. She had learned that sometimes, defending life required taking life, and she had learned that such facts could be accepted, though never comfortably. She had also opened her eyes to new aspects of her goddess – not just the friendly Alirria of the Temple's beautiful gardens, but the untamed Alirria of trees so tall they blocked the sun, of an endless thundering waterfall out of a mountain lake, of thorny vines and electrical deer, of an angel rising out of a sacred spring to speak prophecy in the midst of battle. Savina's girlish silk slippers were long gone. Now, she was a woman in worn boots.</p><p></p><p><em>Surely</em>, she thought, in defiance of Kormick, Arden, and Mena's pessimism, <em>we've proven we can handle the worst that can happen. The rats, the orbs, the apes… the tree … the tunnels, the derro, the undead priestesses … the battle of the spring … Tavi ….</em> </p><p></p><p>Tavi had rejected her. She'd taken hours to gather her courage to ask him directly if he liked her. She had dared to think they were far enough from home – from family obligations and diplomatic demands – to think, just a little, of pleasing themselves. Tavi had simply shaken his head and said that he couldn't risk compromising his duty to Rose with other distractions. </p><p></p><p>"Well," Savina had answered, fighting for words through an internal storm of sadness, embarrassment, hurt, anger – <em>I'm a "distraction"? – does that mean he doesn't like me at all…? If I were prettier, would he…? If I were more like <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/story-hour/251423-rose-wind-saga-halmae-updated-april-15-2010-a-3.html#post4764566" target="_blank">Dianora</a>…?</em> Her cheeks burning and her heart hammering in her ears, she had pulled herself together as best she could and made herself meet Tavi's eyes. "If you ever change your mind," she'd said, "you know where to find me."</p><p></p><p>Yes, they'd proven they could handle the worst the Ketkath could throw at them.</p><p></p><p>And, as it turned out, she was right. It took them two days to get there, because they paused once more to hunt for food, but on the first day of May, their bedraggled party scrambled triumphantly down the embankment onto the hard-packed road. They were greeted by suspicious looks from a trio of traders who spurred their horses faster and were soon lost to sight around a bend. A little farther away, travelers on a barge working its way down the river stared as well. Savina waved. They didn't wave back.</p><p></p><p>"Let me check once more to be sure," said Kormick. "Are we confident no one's dead? No one's missing a limb? Ensorcelled? Suffering from rat bites? Oak madness? Gout? No? We are truly all standing here in decent health?"</p><p></p><p>Even Rose smiled. They'd made it. </p><p></p><p>Sertani, the dwarven matriarch, spoke up. "I believe that this is where we part ways."</p><p></p><p>"Where will you go?" asked Savina. </p><p></p><p>"My family and I will travel from here to Lord's Edge along the road."</p><p></p><p>"Do you have sufficient funds?" asked Mena.</p><p></p><p>"Our family name will probably allow us to claim some credit," Sertani answered, failing to disguise a little uncertainty in her voice. </p><p></p><p>Savina was quite sure she knew how to solve that particular problem, and she was also quite sure that she wasn't going to let Kormick stop her. "You should have some of the derro's gold," she declared. "It's yours as much as ours." </p><p></p><p>She glanced defiantly at the Justicar, but Kormick, for once, was <em>not</em> rolling his eyes at her. <em>He really <strong>does</strong> understand justice, deep down</em>, Savina thought. She gave Sertani gold and gems worth two hundred gold pieces.</p><p></p><p>Corani stepped forward with uncharacteristic humility. “Thank you for stopping when you saw the smoke from my fire. We could not save my husband, but saving Zirkai and myself . . .” she patted her belly, so swollen that it seemed she would give birth at any moment. “This will be the second to last of his children.”</p><p></p><p>Savina put a comforting hand on Corani’s shoulder. “May the Goddess bless you and bring health to the entire Rockminder clan.” Corani smiled. </p><p></p><p>Kormick stepped forward to face Thurran. The little boy drew himself up straight and tall and grinned proudly at the Justicar. </p><p></p><p>"It's been an honor to serve with you," Kormick told him, as Savina translated. "I look forward to visiting you Rockminders in twenty or thirty years to see what you've made of yourselves."</p><p></p><p>Thurran attempted to answer with due solemnity. "I look forward to your visit," he said. "But you could come – sooner – if you want." </p><p></p><p>Kormick grinned. "I'll do my best," he said, and clapped Thurran on the shoulder.</p><p></p><p>Finally, as the dwarves shouldered their packs, Arden walked up to the four ex-slaves. With Mena as her translator, she said, "May you fare very well. Thank you for – thank you for showing me honor. Thank you for <em>everything</em>."</p><p></p><p>"We would follow you, you know," answered Vorret.</p><p></p><p>"And I thank you for that, too. But I would have you go home to your own people."</p><p></p><p>"You may contact us through the Rockminders."</p><p></p><p>Arden smiled at them, a sincere, friendly smile without irony or subservience. "I'll never forget you," she said. </p><p></p><p>The dwarves bowed. Arden nodded her head in response, turned, and walked away. With a shuffling of packs and a few last calls of farewell, the dwarves began their march back to Lord's Edge. Savina and the others stood and watched them for a long moment. </p><p></p><p>"My best guess is that we are near the midpoint between way stations," said Nyoko softly, in deference to the solemn mood. "We can reach the next by nightfall."</p><p></p><p>Quietly, they turned their backs to the dwarves and set off. The hard, even surface of the road felt both alien and familiar under Savina's feet – like a memory from her childhood – as they walked west into the sunlight, toward The City in the Cauldron of the Lord’s Sleeping Fury.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ilex, post: 5160964, member: 82687"] [b]11x05[/b] The next day, Savina awoke hopeful. She was sixteen, and it was a new day. She touched her short hair, and remembered its solemn symbolism, but still, she felt more optimistic than she had in weeks. Sure enough, not long after they set out walking, they saw the river, a shifting gleam near the horizon across the plains. Along its banks, still lost to sight, was the main road from Lord's Edge to Cauldron. Another day of walking would bring them there. Kormick stomped along and muttered that certain death unquestionably lay hidden like a thief in the grass between them and the road. Arden kept glancing edgily back toward the area of the distant rockslide, and Mena stalked forward with her hand never leaving her sword hilt… but Savina felt herself relaxing. The river in the distance gave her hope. So did Nyoko's exciting descriptions of Cauldron, with its exotic markets and steaming baths. The party had decided to travel with Nyoko as far as her home city, where she'd promised them the hospitality of her order while they decided upon their next move. But Savina didn't only feel hopeful because she could glimpse safety – and creature comforts – in her future. She felt hopeful because of the [i]past[/i], too. The last time she had seen the river, she had been a girl in silk slippers. Since then, she had learned how to forage and hunt in wild lands, how to sleep through normal woodland night noises and start awake at dangerous ones. She had learned how to stand up to a Justicar. She had learned that sometimes, defending life required taking life, and she had learned that such facts could be accepted, though never comfortably. She had also opened her eyes to new aspects of her goddess – not just the friendly Alirria of the Temple's beautiful gardens, but the untamed Alirria of trees so tall they blocked the sun, of an endless thundering waterfall out of a mountain lake, of thorny vines and electrical deer, of an angel rising out of a sacred spring to speak prophecy in the midst of battle. Savina's girlish silk slippers were long gone. Now, she was a woman in worn boots. [i]Surely[/i], she thought, in defiance of Kormick, Arden, and Mena's pessimism, [i]we've proven we can handle the worst that can happen. The rats, the orbs, the apes… the tree … the tunnels, the derro, the undead priestesses … the battle of the spring … Tavi ….[/i] Tavi had rejected her. She'd taken hours to gather her courage to ask him directly if he liked her. She had dared to think they were far enough from home – from family obligations and diplomatic demands – to think, just a little, of pleasing themselves. Tavi had simply shaken his head and said that he couldn't risk compromising his duty to Rose with other distractions. "Well," Savina had answered, fighting for words through an internal storm of sadness, embarrassment, hurt, anger – [i]I'm a "distraction"? – does that mean he doesn't like me at all…? If I were prettier, would he…? If I were more like [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/story-hour/251423-rose-wind-saga-halmae-updated-april-15-2010-a-3.html#post4764566"]Dianora[/URL]…?[/i] Her cheeks burning and her heart hammering in her ears, she had pulled herself together as best she could and made herself meet Tavi's eyes. "If you ever change your mind," she'd said, "you know where to find me." Yes, they'd proven they could handle the worst the Ketkath could throw at them. And, as it turned out, she was right. It took them two days to get there, because they paused once more to hunt for food, but on the first day of May, their bedraggled party scrambled triumphantly down the embankment onto the hard-packed road. They were greeted by suspicious looks from a trio of traders who spurred their horses faster and were soon lost to sight around a bend. A little farther away, travelers on a barge working its way down the river stared as well. Savina waved. They didn't wave back. "Let me check once more to be sure," said Kormick. "Are we confident no one's dead? No one's missing a limb? Ensorcelled? Suffering from rat bites? Oak madness? Gout? No? We are truly all standing here in decent health?" Even Rose smiled. They'd made it. Sertani, the dwarven matriarch, spoke up. "I believe that this is where we part ways." "Where will you go?" asked Savina. "My family and I will travel from here to Lord's Edge along the road." "Do you have sufficient funds?" asked Mena. "Our family name will probably allow us to claim some credit," Sertani answered, failing to disguise a little uncertainty in her voice. Savina was quite sure she knew how to solve that particular problem, and she was also quite sure that she wasn't going to let Kormick stop her. "You should have some of the derro's gold," she declared. "It's yours as much as ours." She glanced defiantly at the Justicar, but Kormick, for once, was [i]not[/i] rolling his eyes at her. [i]He really [b]does[/b] understand justice, deep down[/i], Savina thought. She gave Sertani gold and gems worth two hundred gold pieces. Corani stepped forward with uncharacteristic humility. “Thank you for stopping when you saw the smoke from my fire. We could not save my husband, but saving Zirkai and myself . . .” she patted her belly, so swollen that it seemed she would give birth at any moment. “This will be the second to last of his children.” Savina put a comforting hand on Corani’s shoulder. “May the Goddess bless you and bring health to the entire Rockminder clan.” Corani smiled. Kormick stepped forward to face Thurran. The little boy drew himself up straight and tall and grinned proudly at the Justicar. "It's been an honor to serve with you," Kormick told him, as Savina translated. "I look forward to visiting you Rockminders in twenty or thirty years to see what you've made of yourselves." Thurran attempted to answer with due solemnity. "I look forward to your visit," he said. "But you could come – sooner – if you want." Kormick grinned. "I'll do my best," he said, and clapped Thurran on the shoulder. Finally, as the dwarves shouldered their packs, Arden walked up to the four ex-slaves. With Mena as her translator, she said, "May you fare very well. Thank you for – thank you for showing me honor. Thank you for [i]everything[/i]." "We would follow you, you know," answered Vorret. "And I thank you for that, too. But I would have you go home to your own people." "You may contact us through the Rockminders." Arden smiled at them, a sincere, friendly smile without irony or subservience. "I'll never forget you," she said. The dwarves bowed. Arden nodded her head in response, turned, and walked away. With a shuffling of packs and a few last calls of farewell, the dwarves began their march back to Lord's Edge. Savina and the others stood and watched them for a long moment. "My best guess is that we are near the midpoint between way stations," said Nyoko softly, in deference to the solemn mood. "We can reach the next by nightfall." Quietly, they turned their backs to the dwarves and set off. The hard, even surface of the road felt both alien and familiar under Savina's feet – like a memory from her childhood – as they walked west into the sunlight, toward The City in the Cauldron of the Lord’s Sleeping Fury. [/QUOTE]
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A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
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