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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerulean_Wings" data-source="post: 4047650" data-attributes="member: 55060">Third update in a row! Come on, CW, you can do this! Nothing much to say. Here you go, read away <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Chapter 25Spiritual guidanceThe night sky shone beautifully, illuminating the town and its inhabitants from above with the assistance of the moon. Five people, each mounted on a lizard, were making the final preparations to depart. The discovery of members of that shadowy group had lead to a deeper investigation, and the Mountaineer’s didn’t need any help with the matter; not that Gilliam would’ve permitted anyone from the group to intervene, as they were still wary of staying in one place for too long. After gathering the necessary provisions for the next trek of the journey, the quintet got together by the town’s eastern exit.Not long ago Gilliam had taken Gon to the side in order to have a stern talk with him. The firm scolding took five minutes, in which the mercenary explained in no uncertain terms how he despised subterfuge, robbery and deceit, even if it all was for the sake of the group.Darius’ wounds were taken care of with the help of Kahleen and Hantel; their combined healing powers erasing all traces of the injuries save for grayish scars that would remain in his body as proof of his hardships. Gon was hurt as well, if only slightly, but the he had refused any treatment offered by either priest or shaman for reasons that were his own. “That’s all of us” Gilliam concluded after performing a quick head count. The mercenary was slightly nervous at the idea of riding a lizard, instead of a typical horse, but the Mountaineers had reassured him time and time again that the reptiles were perfectly tame and they would actually respond better in tense moments than a horse. “How do you make these things move?” he wondered out loud, glancing at the lizard’s head from the saddle, as if expecting it to reply. The mounts had been granted to them as a gesture of appreciation from Mountaineer Graybeard, partly for the help with finding the rogue group in town, and partly for the gravity of the group’s mission.“Hold, estimated travelers” came a familiar voice from behind. It was Hantel, walking swiftly towards the group. He wasn’t wearing his priestly garments; instead, the old man carried an old suit of chain mail, which didn’t look like he had used in ages, on top of normal clothes. To permit his increased walking speed, Hantel used a long wooden staff as a support with his left hand.While Gon looked away, Kahleen glanced at the priest quizzically. “What brings you to us before our departure, Seer Raft?” she inquired. The priest stopped near the five and craned his neck to better face the shaman. “Why, to pass the blessings and wisdom of the Pure One onto you, brave folks” he replied in an equally serene tone.“A blessing for our journey?” Vincent asked, sounding slightly suspicious. Hantel nodded. “Indeed. I believe you will need all the help you can muster for your task”.“You’re coming with us, aren’t you?” Gilliam said with a knowing half-smile on his face. Hantel’s eyes glinted with what could’ve been mischief, and the old human nodded slowly.“No objections, I hope”.Gilliam looked at the others, only if to measure their reactions. The only one clearly not looking very enthused with the priest’s offer was Gon, obviously, but Gilliam didn’t pay any heed to that, as he understood the nature of the soldier’s discontent.“You may join us, Seer Raft. Your divine magic is more than welcome in this group” the mercenary informed him.“Please, call me Hantel, or Han” the priest replied graciously. He looked at the five, clearly expecting something, and it was Kahleen who extended her hand from her saddle to help Hantel climb up on her mount. If the lizard found the added weight an annoyance, it didn’t show it.“You’re pretty well equipped for a follower of Berethor, whom I understood to be a peaceful deity” Vincent remarked. Hantel shrugged helplessly. “I’m afraid that conflicts aren’t always possible to avoid, squire Vincent, and thus I must protect myself in case it comes to blows”. The squire seemed satisfied and nodded in understanding. This left the matter of actually getting their exotic mounts to move. Five pair of eyes were focused on the one woman in the group, hoping she would provide a magic word to control the lizards.Instead of doing just that, Kahleen gave a slight tug of the reins and her mount commenced to move forward. Gilliam, Darius and Vincent stared blankly as the worldly wisdom of the shaman hadn’t been imparted on them.Gon imitated Kahleen, and his mount followed his command as well. After a few seconds the trance broke, and the other three did as well, not wanting to remain behind. “That’s it?” Gilliam mouthed in disbelief. Vincent shook his head, no less surprised, while Darius remained rather somber. After the battle in the guild house, the soldier had remained quieter than he usually was. No one had inquired as to why that was; it was Gilliam who had hinted that he knew why this was happening.“Hantel Raft” Vincent said to Gilliam in a low tone as they guided their mounts to where the others were heading, “I believe he’s here to do more than to grant us his assistance”. Gilliam looked at him, impressed, and nodded for him to go on.“He’s here for Gon, too” the squire said. “He wishes to set him back in the path he abandoned”.“So do I”.There was a moment of silence as Vincent considered the unexpected answer from his bodyguard. “You want to change Gon as well?” he inquired, sounding surprised.But Gilliam shook his head in denial. “No, not Gon” he corrected. The mercenary tilted his head towards Darius. “Him. I wish to set him in the path that I had abandoned”.“A knight’s path” Vincent stated rather than asked. This made Gilliam’s eyebrow rise. “You know then that I wasn’t really part of the Battle Forged?” the mercenary asked.“I realized it on my own, with all the inspiring things you’ve been saying since I’ve met you. Especially what you said to him, back in the cave” Vincent responded in an even voice that didn’t sound accusing. This seemed to relieve Gilliam a little bit. “What knightly order were you part of, Gil?” Vincent asked suddenly. Gilliam turned his head to face the valley ahead of them once more. “We should better hurry and get ahead of the rest, Vince; it’d be foolish to allow the less protected members of the group to remain unprotected at the front” he replied in a business-like tone right before instructing his mount to speed up.Vincent followed suit, and didn’t say another word on the matter. Some things took time, he figured. The thought was rather refreshing. Ahead, the valley extended for what seemed like an eternity of barren rock. At the end was the next step of the journey towards the Frostfell Mountains, the Spirit Wood. And the only one with possible insight of that place was Kahleen.</blockquote>

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