Into the New World, Chapter 1: Amongst the Verdant Towers

[Zurai]

"Do you think the spirits were trying to warn me?"

Pantheras looks troubled, but only says, "The spirits move in mysterious ways. Perhaps it was a warning that this blade will be needed; perhaps it was a warning that this blade will bring doom. Perhaps it was even nothing more than the wind down your back. I cannot tell you."

""Uh, Artimisia. I think we should speak to Pantheras about what we discussed yesterday. Is... that alright with you?"

[sblock=Enko OOC]I'll give you a break and say Pantheras didn't overhear your question or her response, being too busy talking about the steel sword [/sblock]

Artemisia's eyes flash with anger as she glares at Enko. "What I confided to you and specifically said I did not want to talk to Pantheras about?" she hisses. "No, I don't really think that is alright."

She turns away from Enko, her shoulders stiff, and addresses Ryon and Thane. "I agree that going straight through the forest would probably be wisest. Not because we know what's there already - no one's been that deep in the forest - but because it's the quickest route. All of the routes will take us through untold miles of uncharted territory, each with its own danger. The less time we spend in unknown lands, the safer we'll be."

""The river may be safer, but it is unknown to us..."
"The less time we spend in unknown lands..."

Sotera responds in a teasing voice, "Who says the river is unknown? I can provide a map of its entire course and the lands it moves through. I can't help with what lies beyond the river's banks, though."

She closes her eyes and begins to chant softly. "Sslish verash quoirashs veliashs, yss juroshk, yss deliash..." As she chants the words to her spell, she takes a small waterskin from her belt and spills the water onto the council table. As her cadence picks up, the water seperates out into dozens of individual droplets and each begins to jump around as if it were a drop of grease on a griddle. When she reaches the crescendo of the spell, a look of sheer joy on her face, the droplets twist and expand, and the table is covered with hundreds of tiny, animated waves, similar to the ones that escorted her into the council building earlier.

The spell completed, she removes a long, narrow leather strip and a vial of black dye from a pouch at her side. She stretches the leather out onto the table, then pours the dye out next to it. Immediately, the wavelets converge on the inky mess, soaking up all the dye. She lowers her head and quietly asks a question to the wavelets, and they begin to dance and cavort across the leather strip. In a matter of seconds, the dye has been spread out in thin trails and curls that clearly show the Spiritwash River's path north from Cuirlen, as well as a limited amount of detail of the river's shore. At the far north end of the river, it opens out into a wide basin, which the wavelets seem disinclined to map out fully.

Once they fulfill Sotera's request, the wavelets surge towards her, and she laughs and stretches her hand out. They climb up her arm and over and across her body, quickly drenching her. She smiles at the group, obviously not the slightest bit concerned either with being wet or being a playground for such odd creatures, and pushes the leather strip closer so that it may be examined in detail. Of note is the fact that there are no mountains indicated anywhere along the river.

 

[Shayuri]

Alistia turns to Erin and says quietly, "Seems like the river would be the safest to me, if we have charms to help us, rather than the forest."

Erin watches and listens to everyone, then shrugs.

"I think it's a wash, really. River has clean water and lots of food. Forest has easy shelter. If I had to pick, I'd say we go through the forest, but stay near the river. That way if one starts getting bad for some reason, we just switch to the other."

She pauses, then adds, "Sotera, what -are- those things?"

Quoth the Raven flaps to the table and eyes where the dancing water had just vacated, clearly hoping to nab one. He ruffles his feathers disappointedly when he sees they're gone.

 

[Zurai]

Erin pauses, then adds, "Sotera, what -are- those things?"

Sotera smiles serenely as the things in question play with her hair, making it stream out around her as if she were underwater. "They are the River's children and my companions. Some day, long in the future, each will be a river or stream somewhere in the land; for now, Old Man River sends them to me so that we each may learn from the other."

Quoth the Raven flaps to the table and eyes where the dancing water had just vacated, clearly hoping to nab one.

Sotera giggles and extends a finger towards the raven. One of the river's children darts down her arm and splashes onto the raven's beak, making Quoth squawk in surprise and beat his wings. It makes a quick exploration of the bird, despite its host's raucous protests, then drops back to the table, nimbly dodging Quoth's retaliatory pecks.

 

[Shayuri]

"Awwwrgh!" Quoth caws. "Do not want!"

He flaps to Erin's shoulder and frantically preens himself while Erin glares.

"That wasn't..." she pauses, then amends, "...was only mildly funny."

 

[WarShrike]

Alistia turns to Erin and says quietly, "Seems like the river would be the safest to me, if we have charms to help us, rather than the forest."

"I think it's a wash, really. River has clean water and lots of food. Forest has easy shelter. If I had to pick, I'd say we go through the forest, but stay near the river. That way if one starts getting bad for some reason, we just switch to the other."

Looking at each of the women in turn, Ryon says: "I see wisdom in both suggestions, although, to be honest, i do not like the idea of this 'great expanse of water' that we would have to cross. Also, the river provides us with no cover from unfriendly eyes, and the dark spirits of the forest must also go to the river to drink." That said, Ryon flashes them a smile. "However, your opinions matter as much as anyone elses, perhaps more even, considering that if we follow, or remain near, the river, we also have a map to guide us." Ryon looks at each member of the expidition in turn, and says: "Let us each then say what is in our hearts and hold nothing back. For whatever course we choose to follow in the end, we will be committed to it, for better or worse."

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

"If I had more to say," remarks Thane simply, "I would have said it before."

 

[Lorthanoth]

"The forest scares me." says Alistia defiantely. "There you go, I said it. We have a map of the river and we should at least follow it's course. I don't care how many of you claim to know the forest and all its ways; w're going where none of you, none of us have gone. The river has given us this, and I think we should use some sense."

She looks at each one in turn, trying to sway them to argument through sheer force of personality.

"We'd be foolish to spurn a map, in favour of something that will be completely unknown to us. The river is on our 'side', you might say, it's done something to help. I'm not sure the forest is with us, and I don't want to find out what might happen if it isn't."

 

[Dire Lemming]

Enko recoils from Artimisia's sudden harsh tone, and is so bothered by it that he ends up missing most of the other's conversations. He finally speaks again with a hesitant start. "I- think that- that if there is anything else that anyone can think of to add, that might have anything to do with this, it would help with our decision." He glances quickly at Artimisia, meeting her eyes for just a moment before looking away again. "Even if you... may not think that other's would consider it important... I think that we must be able to put our trust in one another if we are going to survive."

 

[Lorthanoth]

Alisitia sigh, "Enko, I was just saying what I thought we should do; weren't you listening?"

 

[Dire Lemming]

"I- yes, but..." Enko again glances at Artimisia. "I'm... saying that we should all be certain we have shared everything we can think of that might possibly be important."