>>6034565>best of luck thanks anon. turns out motorcycle crashes are not that fun to be in.
>>6034418You give both options a bit of thought. You could approach from the south — if it is a bit easier to access. But that would only make sense if Soralisa was still with you.
Rubida is quite athletic, even if she might prove a problem in her full armour.
Also, Her sun rises in the east.
“We should take the eastern road,” you say at last. “Salicera should walk ten steps ahead of us, while we should stay within arm’s length. My range has increased a little bit, and you should make use of your knives effectively.”
“Good thinking, Candente,” the martial chaplain muses. “Perhaps your meeting with the Blessed Blind has truly cleared your head.”
“It has always been quite clear, Sir.”
“It seems we will have more than one chance to find out,” Rubida scoffs. “Salicera, make way please?”
The martial chaplain watches the three of you leave for the topmost part of the hill, slowly turning towards the carriage when you disappear inside the cover of trees. After your encounter with the Malostromo, you doubt you are ever going to feel safe again in a forest — yet the branches and trunks stand still and silent.
There’s just a far-off sound, like flutes. Strange. Maybe it’s the wind sifting inside some hollow trunk.
And yet — nothing shifts, nothing lunges. Just a soft creaking of wood under the caress of the night wind. Blades of silver light peek through the foliage and the air smells like dew and soft earth. The Malostromo’s influence is truly gone, it seems.
Ahead of you, Salicera keeps turning her head left and right, her eyes peering into the night. She seems to always know where to look and he movements are always graceful, stepping over the roots and the stones. Not for the first time, you envy her night sight.
“What should we expect?” You murmur to Rubida who gives you an uncertain look. “I meant— given your past experiences.”
“I would not know. It seems to be different each time. The Seven Sisters are capricious and—”
Salicera has stopped. You slowly raise your weapon as you tap on Rubida’s shoulder. Her hand runs to her throwing knife. But Salicera is looking down, a concerned look on her face. She moves something with her boot and—
“You should see this,” she calls you two.
[cont.]
