Onward to Glory
With the addition of Roderick and Dalla, and counting Batos, who has acquitted himself well thus far, the party now numbers a dozen. It is more difficult to move quietly, and to be unnoticed, with this greater number, but on the other hand there is strength to be found in increased numbers. The group sets out toward the Drimmen-Delve, abandoning to road for now and cutting a path around the taint and toward Ballara.
The addition of Dalla to the group seems, at first, to hearten Burnbright, as if having another young woman along, and a northerner at that, will lead to an inevitable friendship. Burnbright watches Dalla's sessins with Ankar, which Dalla takes seriously though she is lacking in skill, both with blade and bow. Burnbright's attempts to strike up a conversation with Dalla are fruitless, however. The younger girl tries a number of subjects, often speaking uninterrupted for minutes at a time about her woad paint (which she wears at any opportunity), the prior battles seen by the group, or what may lay ahead. She tries, too, to engage Dalla about what it means to be a shield maiden, and whether either of them will ever equal Veborg's exploits of old. It is no use, however, as Dalla's answers are short and do not invite further conversation.
Burnbright gives up after a couple of days of journeying and goes back to talking to familiar members of the group. She seems ot have developed a closer tie with Branwen, since their time in the cave, and Branwen even tries to say Burnbright's name (though Burnbright must have taken pity on the harpy at one point and told the child her real name, since Branwen refers to Burnbright as Catty). Branwen takes a shot at other party member's names as well, though with varying degrees of success.
For Dalla's part, she remains taciturn. Most of her waking time is spent near Ankari, falling in silently behind him as the group walks. She is civil if any ask her questions, though perhaps more cold to Baldhart than others. At night, it may be that there is the sound of ragged breathing and sniffling coming from her direction. Though she occasionally casts a less that pleasant look toward Baldhart, she makes no attempt to engage the larger woman, wheher in combat or conversation. Dalla does speak up when a choice or issue of debate confronts the party, invariably siding with Ankari and making statements to back up his suggestions. On the whole, she seems to alternate between being rather dour, or looking like a frightened girl. It is clear she is making an effort to be strong, however, and though her lessons with Ankari proceed slowly, she does not give up.
The party moves north through land dotted with patches of snow or ice, though the weather itself stays mild, as least for the initial portion of the journey. The wind is cold and biting, but generally carries the pleasant scent of pine and sometimes even of the distant ocean. When the direction reverses and the wind blowns down from the Taint, the tang of corruption comes with it.
Masama continues his training of Burnbright in unarmed combat, and even though it is clear Burnbright prefers working with weapons, she seems to take to the training. There is never any evidence that Masama grows angry or impatient, but he is nevertheless a rigorous master, and he does not baby her. A couple of times during their sessions, he lands a particularly good blow and sends Burnbright sprawling onto the hard ground, at which time he waits patiently for her to rise again. By the third day of the trip Burnbright is nursing a bloody nose and cursing Masama's speed, saying a guy that big shouldn't be so fast. Masama does, however, appear to have a healthy respect for Burnbright's kicks, which she aims for his private area when she grows frustrated with their training.
In speaking with Mauve about his abilities, Masama says: "If an object has great power, I may be able to sense it. As I said, my skill is limited, and some items hide their own power, or else it is wrought in some way alien to me. I know not which, only that there have been some objects that I was told were powerful, yet I could sense little or nothing from them. More often, I will sense them, but I cannot discern their purpose. Delving into those mysteries is simply beyond my ability in some cases."
Apart from training, playing with Branwen, and talking warrior-woman talk with Baldhart, Burnbright pesters Mauve for the slippers at least once a day, wanting to go dashing up the side of trees or scrambling up a rock face in them.
Branwen is silent for the most part. She eats a lot for her size, but she has at least learned not to soil her tunic, now moving off discreetly to relieve herself as she has seen others do. Occasionally, she will sing some small animal out of a thicket, and when she does those within earshot hear the very gentle pull of her song (Dalla looks alarmed by this the first time it happens, but seems to take it more or less in stride when no one else looks concerned).
Keitsumah experiments with casting her healing spell into a necklace, but the efforts prove fruitless, as the necklace simply doesn't want to hold the magical energy, which dissipates shortly after casting if not directed to heal some person or animal. Surely there is some secret to it, since there are items imbued with magic, but Keitsumah does not know those secrets.
The trip is largely uneventful for a number of days, with the party taking watches, scouting ahead, and generally making as much progress as can be expected over wild ground. That changes on the fifth day when Cadell, who happens to be scouting just a bit head of the group that day, spots smoke on the horizon. Ballara is not yet close enough to be the source. The ground the party is on drops away ahead, and the Taint rests almost like a living thing far over the right shoulders of the group members as they walk. In the area that drops down, ahead, a sparsely-treed hill rises, the hill spattered with patches of white snow and ice, and the smoke is coming from the other side of that hill. Beyond the smoke, the land rises again into the Taint, though the party's path will take them around the hill and on to Ballara without entering the tainted area.
With the addition of Roderick and Dalla, and counting Batos, who has acquitted himself well thus far, the party now numbers a dozen. It is more difficult to move quietly, and to be unnoticed, with this greater number, but on the other hand there is strength to be found in increased numbers. The group sets out toward the Drimmen-Delve, abandoning to road for now and cutting a path around the taint and toward Ballara.
The addition of Dalla to the group seems, at first, to hearten Burnbright, as if having another young woman along, and a northerner at that, will lead to an inevitable friendship. Burnbright watches Dalla's sessins with Ankar, which Dalla takes seriously though she is lacking in skill, both with blade and bow. Burnbright's attempts to strike up a conversation with Dalla are fruitless, however. The younger girl tries a number of subjects, often speaking uninterrupted for minutes at a time about her woad paint (which she wears at any opportunity), the prior battles seen by the group, or what may lay ahead. She tries, too, to engage Dalla about what it means to be a shield maiden, and whether either of them will ever equal Veborg's exploits of old. It is no use, however, as Dalla's answers are short and do not invite further conversation.
Burnbright gives up after a couple of days of journeying and goes back to talking to familiar members of the group. She seems ot have developed a closer tie with Branwen, since their time in the cave, and Branwen even tries to say Burnbright's name (though Burnbright must have taken pity on the harpy at one point and told the child her real name, since Branwen refers to Burnbright as Catty). Branwen takes a shot at other party member's names as well, though with varying degrees of success.
For Dalla's part, she remains taciturn. Most of her waking time is spent near Ankari, falling in silently behind him as the group walks. She is civil if any ask her questions, though perhaps more cold to Baldhart than others. At night, it may be that there is the sound of ragged breathing and sniffling coming from her direction. Though she occasionally casts a less that pleasant look toward Baldhart, she makes no attempt to engage the larger woman, wheher in combat or conversation. Dalla does speak up when a choice or issue of debate confronts the party, invariably siding with Ankari and making statements to back up his suggestions. On the whole, she seems to alternate between being rather dour, or looking like a frightened girl. It is clear she is making an effort to be strong, however, and though her lessons with Ankari proceed slowly, she does not give up.
The party moves north through land dotted with patches of snow or ice, though the weather itself stays mild, as least for the initial portion of the journey. The wind is cold and biting, but generally carries the pleasant scent of pine and sometimes even of the distant ocean. When the direction reverses and the wind blowns down from the Taint, the tang of corruption comes with it.
Masama continues his training of Burnbright in unarmed combat, and even though it is clear Burnbright prefers working with weapons, she seems to take to the training. There is never any evidence that Masama grows angry or impatient, but he is nevertheless a rigorous master, and he does not baby her. A couple of times during their sessions, he lands a particularly good blow and sends Burnbright sprawling onto the hard ground, at which time he waits patiently for her to rise again. By the third day of the trip Burnbright is nursing a bloody nose and cursing Masama's speed, saying a guy that big shouldn't be so fast. Masama does, however, appear to have a healthy respect for Burnbright's kicks, which she aims for his private area when she grows frustrated with their training.
In speaking with Mauve about his abilities, Masama says: "If an object has great power, I may be able to sense it. As I said, my skill is limited, and some items hide their own power, or else it is wrought in some way alien to me. I know not which, only that there have been some objects that I was told were powerful, yet I could sense little or nothing from them. More often, I will sense them, but I cannot discern their purpose. Delving into those mysteries is simply beyond my ability in some cases."
Apart from training, playing with Branwen, and talking warrior-woman talk with Baldhart, Burnbright pesters Mauve for the slippers at least once a day, wanting to go dashing up the side of trees or scrambling up a rock face in them.
Branwen is silent for the most part. She eats a lot for her size, but she has at least learned not to soil her tunic, now moving off discreetly to relieve herself as she has seen others do. Occasionally, she will sing some small animal out of a thicket, and when she does those within earshot hear the very gentle pull of her song (Dalla looks alarmed by this the first time it happens, but seems to take it more or less in stride when no one else looks concerned).
Keitsumah experiments with casting her healing spell into a necklace, but the efforts prove fruitless, as the necklace simply doesn't want to hold the magical energy, which dissipates shortly after casting if not directed to heal some person or animal. Surely there is some secret to it, since there are items imbued with magic, but Keitsumah does not know those secrets.
The trip is largely uneventful for a number of days, with the party taking watches, scouting ahead, and generally making as much progress as can be expected over wild ground. That changes on the fifth day when Cadell, who happens to be scouting just a bit head of the group that day, spots smoke on the horizon. Ballara is not yet close enough to be the source. The ground the party is on drops away ahead, and the Taint rests almost like a living thing far over the right shoulders of the group members as they walk. In the area that drops down, ahead, a sparsely-treed hill rises, the hill spattered with patches of white snow and ice, and the smoke is coming from the other side of that hill. Beyond the smoke, the land rises again into the Taint, though the party's path will take them around the hill and on to Ballara without entering the tainted area.
Valar Lord
Grandmaster
