A Snow Covered Tapestry

[Kyo]

((Closed))


She was surprised. Despite the fact that many had told her otherwise, Salvar was appearing to be much more fertile than she was led to believe. It was not as warm as Corone, but it was comfortable. There was a chill in the air that never seemed to leave though, even as the sun shined high above in a clear sky. Even though this was the end of autumn here, there was barely any snow on the ground and in fact, the area was filled with farmland surrounding the large city, all of which was slowly being harvested by those that worked the fields. Still, she was wearing more than she usually would, layering her clothing to keep warm.

Her regular Hakama pants ere replaced with a pair of lined and insulted black cotton pants that were thicker than she was used to, but much warmer. She was also wearing three different layers of tops. A rather thin undergarment, a sweater and a fur lined tight fitting black jacket that ended snugly over her hips. She also had a black scarf tucked away in her travelling rucksack and another jacket that the merchant warned she would need when she mentioned travelling up north. She was just surprised the city was not covered in a foot of pure, white snow. Perhaps even a bit disappointed. Maybe the southern parts of Salvar did not get heavy snow until winter actually set in.

Moving through the busy streets of Knife’s Edge, the ninja looked around for a local stable. She would need directions to get to Salvar’s northern mountain range and she would need a horse for the journey. The cobbled and worn stones that lined the streets were busy but not filled with people. She was not in the general shopping district, though close by. Most of the people in Salvar she noticed were rather pale skinned, perhaps because their summers were short and winters long. The clothing they wore gave her away as a traveller, not only in looks but also in terms of warmth. They wore less, being much more used to the cold than she was. She was sure they had a hard time handling hot summers though, the kinds of which Akashima had often enough. The language she did not understand, but thankfully she had learned that some people did speak and understand Common fluently. Plus, Kyo had a small understanding of Tradespeak, which she was sure would come in handy in situations like this.

After wandering around for a few more minutes she found herself at the edge of the shopping district. There was an armourer and what looked like a tavern not far down the road, but her eyes were drawn to the much larger and longer building between the two. Though she couldn’t read the word painted upon the sign, the animal that didn’t really look like a horse hinted that she was at some kind of stable. Heading towards the building, she pushed the door open immediately feeling the warm surround her entire body and chase away that slight chill gnawing at her.

It was definitely a stable, she could hear and smell the animals as they moved around inside of their individual pens. The tall wooden doors kept her from hearing or seeing them and though the place seemed rather clean there were still straw and hay all over the ground. Upon her entrance, a small bell at the top of the door rang alerting anyone to her presence. A few second later she heard a door open and close and a rather handsome looking young man appeared halfway down the hall, heading in her direction.

Smiling, she turned to greet him with an outstretched hand. “Hi, I was looking to rent a horse for about a week to journey north.”

He took her hand and smiled back, his accent a bit intriguing to her. “Well, we have a few horses, but if you’re travelling north that’s definitely not the animal I would recommend. The weather gets rather harsh up there and horses just can’t handle it. What you want is a wolf.”

“A wolf?” She released his hand as she looked up at him puzzled.

“Yep, they’re your main transportation here in Salvar and their thick coats can withstand some of the harshest winters. Not to mention they’ll smell any monsters long before they get close to you. Come on, I’ll show you.”

She followed him down the row of pens. Through the light under the wooden doors she could see movement from inside each of them, though she couldn’t really tell what it was and if it was indeed a wolf. When he stopped, she nearly bumped into him her eyes were so glued to her surroundings. Motioning towards a small stepping stool, Kyosku hoped up and looked over the edge of the door and down into the pen. Sure enough on a straw strewn ground lay a large wolf with thick fur the colour of a stormy sky. Despite being rather vicious creatures in Akashima, it appeared rather docile while it slept and she assumed they must train them well to use for transportation.

“He’s beautiful…”

“And he can cut through the snow better than any horse.” The man seemed rather pleased with this fact, as if he had trained the wolf himself. Perhaps he had.

Jumping down from her vantage point, she smiled at him. “Well, I guess I’ll take a wolf then and some directions if you have them.” She winked and watched as he blushed slightly, which only made her chuckle.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Urngh Orthex was a huge brute of a Salvarn. He worked the stables regularly and took care of return clients. Sometimes, he even allowed individuals with money to actually purchase one of the noble steeds of riding wolves. One such wolf was reserved for a man named Lorenor V'halkulus who was developing great influence with the Cathedral of St. Denebrial. Working as an Agent, Lorenor often traveled to Knife's Edge on important errands of the Cathedral.

Urngh learned never to ask his favored clients important questions. He sent a new recruit to deal with a traveler from the South that just came into Knife's Edge moons earlier. Without the moon to guide them, it was difficult to tell time anymore but they followed the stars and the positions of constellations nonetheless. So far, the weather patterns of Althanas remained intact as the Secoond Age of Darkness came to pass. There were rumors from Raiaera that N'Jal, the fallen Thayne had returned. Urngh didn't listen to such blasphemous nonsense, all though, the moon was missing from the night sky. This lead many to believe that a disaster had occurred in Raiaera. Reports about Xem'Zund's forces marching on Raiaera were running rampant and there were even rumors that Valinatal was no more. Talk was, that the end of the world was approaching and folks were scared to walk outside of their personal safety zones. With the civil war going on in Salvar and in Corone, the crown fought against the cathedral. There were those who took sides, but for businesses like the wolf-stables, it was simply business as usual.

Slurge's stable was always prepared just in case Lorenor showed up on another errand. He'd recently taken Slurge out on a mission for the Cathedral to deliver some sort of secret parcel. Urngh saw the parcel, wrapped in its bundle just once. He knew not to question matters of the Cathedral.

Urngh heard Slurge's approach from at least a few yards away. This brought a smile to the bearded man's face. He wore all white like most Salvarns often did. Finishing up with another client, Urngh went over towards the individual taking care of Kyo. He saw that his apprentice was doing well for himself and decided to let Jacob handle his own affairs. Urngh grabbed his hide coat and placed it upon his person, bulging muscles hid underneath his attire. He walked over towards Lorenor's position as the familiar short warrior approached.

Urngh wore a plain expression, keeping an emotionless face as Slurge finally made his approach. He could see Lorenor wearing thick hides to adjust himself to the cold. Once the man road his wolf right up to Urngh, the old Salvarn grinned and slapped Lorenor on the back, hard in a friendly sort of fashion. "Old friend. Glad to see you've returned." Lorenor rubbed his shoulder where he'd been struck and grinned. Sliding off his large gray wolf, the ghoul took the reigns and lead Slurge back into the stables. On the way in with Urngh, he saw a pretty girl that seemed to be from Akashima. He hardly ever saw any Akashimans up in Salvar. His glowing purple eyes narrowed a little bit as he thought about seeing an Akashiman this far up North. A rare event indeed. Urngh and Lorenor discussed business transactions and gold was exchanged. Lorenor already had the next Cathedral mission ready to go. He was quite busy these days...he eyed Kyo from time to time. The Akashiman girl was a rather attractive specimen.

[Kyo]

“Where are you looking to go?”

His face was still a little red and she kept catching his eyes wandering a little, but the ninja didn’t mind very much. He wasn’t bad looking and a little flirting never hurt anyone, not that it would go beyond that. She had a mission to complete here and though she was being rather laid back about the whole thing, she wanted to get back to Corone quickly. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Salvar or it’s inhabitants, she hadn’t been here long enough to form an opinion of them, she just didn’t want to spend too much time far from Akashima. On a journey of discovery or not, she wanted to be close to her homeland should the Kunketsu clan need her for any kind of mission.

“Well, I need to head towards the mountains.”

The young man looked quite surprised. “That’s going to take you through dangerous parts of Salvar filled with tribal warriors and monsters, not to mention the weather is going to be getting steadily worse since winter is setting in soon. Don’t let the mild temperatures here fool you, it’s snow covered and harsh up north.”

She nodded her head, “I understand and I knew that going into this. But that still doesn’t change my mission. I need to make it to the mountains as quickly as possible and back.”

He seemed a little hesitant, but with or without his help she was doing this. All for a plant and a poison. It seemed a little silly now that she was here to come all this way just for a few plants, but she wanted that poison. Most in her clan had their own poison’s coating specific parts of their favourite weapons and Kyo was no different. She wanted the deadly liquid embedded within the metal of her shuriken. She’d also need an antidote for it though. Accidents happened and though she may be an assassin, needless killing was not something she took pleasure in. If something like that incident with Jared were to happen again, only with a poison on her blade and not a hallucinogenic, Kyo would need something to offset the affects.

“Are you okay?”

“Hmm? Oh…sorry.” Kyo smiled up at the man as she cleared her mind. She’d been lost in her memories for a brief time and had forgotten where she was.

From the corner of her eye, Kyosku took notice of the two men in the stables. The one was quite short and rather odd looking. But she didn’t pay him much attention. Though her guard was something she never lowered, the ninja doubted she had anything to worry about from him.

“Well, I can give you directions to the mountains, but I suggest you get yourself some kind of guide.”

“A guide?” She puzzled over it for a few moments. The ninja was naturally a loner, though she didn’t really mind company from time to time. Still, a guide could speed up the process, but then again she was going hunting for a deadly and poisonous flower. Would someone paid to lead her really care about that though? “I’m not so sure…”

“You don’t have to make your mind up now, but I really do recommend it. Anyway, it should take about six days of travel to get to the mountains and get back. Three days each way and that’s extra time in case you hit bad weather. Five days if you’re lucky, seven if you’re not.”

She nodded her head as he spoke, her eyes wandering back to the other two for a moment. “All right.”

“The wolf will cost you 75 gold for a week rental.”

“That’s not a problem.”

She fished around inside her jacket and produced a leather pouch, which she quickly grabbed the desired amount of money from. Handing it over to the young man, the ninja watched as he quickly counted it and placed the money within a pocket. The jingle of coins could be heard every time he moved. Placing the pouch back within a pocket in her jacket, she waited as he moved away to procure the necessary equipment for the beast. Riding a wolf was definitely going to be an interesting experience, Kyo only hoped she could control the beast. She only had experience with horses after all and it was minimal at best. Ninja’s got around by their own means and tried not to rely on something that could die so easily.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

The stables turned out to be quite a busy organization. Several clients were speaking to the merchants working at the stables who also offered services as guides. Having a long history in Knife's Edge, the stables served as a primary transportation point from one fiefdom of Salvar to another. Lorenor could feel the cool wind blowing within the stable even from inside the large structure. He counted roughly one hundred stalls, each containing one of the riding beasts of burden. Wolves were different from horses and required specialty knowledge to train properly.

Having already obtained some experience (http://althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=6504) with the wolves, Lorenor was comfortable around the docile predators. Indeed, he'd developed a sort of beast's rapport with the wolves having grown quite accustomed to commanding Slurge. His gray wolf was an admirable purchase, and one that helped the conflicted Salvar economy.

With a two foot sensory array, Lorenor had an accute vision of the world around. Everything was seen and felt with sublime detail. Hearing many conversations all at once, the ghoul showed incredible self control of his senses, opting to ignore many of the conversations taking place within the stables. Several customers were seeing members of the stable's work force as they prepared themselves for journeys further North, South, East, or West.

Guiding Slurge over to his particular stall, the ghoul allowed Urngh to take the job over. Urngh grabbed the reigns from the small warrior, and lead the wolf back into his stall. The gray wolf looked at Lorenor for a long moment and then whined a bit as he was eager to be back on the tundra with the ghoul and having an adventure. Lorenor paid Urngh some gold. The ghoul owned his wolf by now, but he decided it was proper protocol to pay for certain services with tips and other favors.

A particular conversation caught his eyes. It was that Akashiman girl that kept drawing his interest. Lorenor overheard the Ninja discussing a certain matter of heading up North, towards Berevar. Wisely, the man she spoke to insisted that the Ninja girl needed a guide. Adjusting himself quickly, Lorenor prepared for a confrontation with the girl before him. His sharp sense of sound caught the words exchanged between client and merchant. Walking silently over to the Ninja girl, Lorenor narrowed his eyes at the prospect of a business dealing.

"I know the regions up North fairly well Meks." Came the raspy voice of the ghoul. Lorenor remembered Meks from previously dealings in the stables with Urngh. Urngh introduced Lorenor to the rest of the employees of the stable approximately a few months prior. Meks was one of the newer fellows working the stable. He shook Meks' hand in greeting. He could see the glowing crimson blushing on the lad's face as he stared at the pretty Akashiman girl. She was, indeed, a sight to behold. "You hear that my lady? Our friend, Lorenor, can guide you up North. He's obtained Maps and Charts of the Northlands and knows the region well." Lorenor nodded to Meks' kind words. "I just came from a job at one of the Northern fiefdoms. I certainly don't mind heading back up there. The white outs can be pretty rough but these wolves are great mounts." Lorenor said calmly. "I can be your guide. I'll even do it for free as a favor to the stables. Where exactly are you headed?"

Standing at a height of about five feet in all, the ghoul wasn't the most intimidating looking warrior on the planet. However, he had an air of death about himself and a smell to boot. The warrior wore a Vlince cloak with a hood that was emblazoned with the symbols of an organization known as the Red Hand. The cloak was black colored. He wore thick hides beneath his cloak. The ghoul was well dressed. He wore a leather trench coat, a matching pair of leather black pants, and a black shirt. His right arm was replaced with a metal strange metal bracer that was of masterwork quality and made of steel. Glowing purple eyes shown brightly from the darkness that covered his face. His hood was up, and only the glow of his eyes was visible along with a well formed, broad chin. A scar was visible in the center of his chin that seemed to descend to his neck and ascend across his face. Lorenor was missing a nose, his eyeballs, his ears, and his tongue. His hair was tied into an intricate pattern of dreadlocks that ended at the small of his back, the hair was dirty for the ghoul didn't bathe very oft. With his hands clenched tightly, Lorenor extended his left hand for her to shake. It was a warm, friendly gesture.

[Kyo]

Every hair on her body stood on end when he spoke to both her and the young man that she had been dealing with. Every nerve came to life and thrummed just underneath her skin, as if ready for her to do something, anything and begging for the release of it. Even her muscles beckoned that same call. There was something about him that sent her on edge, something that wasn’t quite tangible. He hid his face from her, shrouding it in cloth and shadows. The only thing that was visible to her eyes was the glow from his eyes, a purple colour of all things. Though Kyo herself had odd eye colour amongst her clan, purple was something new, something different. And glowing eyes at that, it was practically unheard of. She could tell that his skin was quite an unnatural colour though and lying on his chin was a scar, one that reached beyond her vision in both directions.

For a few seconds she did not answer him, instead she continued to stand there and appraise him. After a few seconds she realized what that familiar smell was that seemed to permeate from his actual person, death. Having delivered it quite a few times in her life she knew the smell, though it took her a few moments to recognize it. But why was it coming from him? He was upright and speaking, he was not a corpse, rotting in the gutter.

“You offer your services to me for free? Quite interesting…” The ninja folded her arms under her chest, pushing that certain asset of her body into greater prominence as she thought about it.

The young stable hand, Meks as he was apparently called, recommended that she take a guide and the words from his own mouth had done nothing but praise the man. Still, he made her feel slightly uncomfortable. Was he a fellow assassin? Is that why he smells of death so? She could not be sure, he certainly did not look like an assassin but then neither did she while she was walking around the streets of a city. Not to mention people barely looked like much of anything in the clothes they had to bundle themselves in while traversing the lands of Salvar.

“I suppose it’s an opportunity too good to pass up.” Though she felt uneasy around him, her gut gave her no indications of warning and the people within this establishment clearly trusted him. Not only that, but the ninja was fairly certain she could handle her own if the man… or creature decided to do anything. She really wasn’t quite sure what he was. “I need to get to the mountains…”

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Mounting back on Slurge was an easy process that the ghoul was already getting used to. He allowed his hand to touch the side of the stable as he prepared himself to head up North, towards Berevar. The ice fields in those areas were extremely dangerous. Taking a few days, the trip would be filled with many threats as vile predators lurked on the tundra.

Lorenor's thick hides were wrapped firmly about the small ghoul. He looked over to Kyo for a moment as she prepared herself for the journey. He guided his wolf towards the area outside of the stable. Cold air awaited his person as he moved outside, eager to get on his way. This mission, despite the fact that he was doing it for free, warranted a different sort of benefit. He wanted to see the North lands and the frontier parts of Berevar for himself.

Slurge pawed at the cold ground for a moment as if testing it. The ghoul placed his hand atop the wolf's head rubbing it for a moment. Showing its satisfaction, the wolf turned towards Lorenor and licked his hand. Nodding towards his old friend, Lorenor longed to see the frontier.

He knew it would be dreadfully cold out there and he could be putting Slurge in danger as well. The wolf was a predatory organism similar to the ghoul. He knew that the proud animal could defend himself well. Lorenor held onto the reigns carefully showing Slurge who was in command of the situation they both faced. Urngh walked over to Lorenor with a solemn expression on his face.

"You sure you can handle going up North towards Berevar? That girl seems a little daft."

"Don't worry about it. I've been eager to see Berevar for a long time for myself. Going to the mountains will be an interesting experience. Maybe I'll get a chance to pass through the mines."

"Just be careful out there with Slurge. I would hate it if the two of you fell victim to them monsters out there."

"We'll be careful my old friend." With that, Lorenor shook Urngh's hand and prepared himself for the journey at hand. All that was left was waiting for Kyo. Come to think of it...he didn't even know her name. Not that it really mattered much. He doubted he'd ever see the Akishiman warrioress again after this mission was over.

[Kyo]

As Lorenor mounted his beast once more, Kyo waited for Meks to get her the proper equipment and prepare her own wolf. It was a strange concept in her mind to ride a wolf across the tundra, but she supposed every region was different and if a horse couldn’t take the cold, then they would have to find another animal strong enough to bare it. When the young stable hand finally returned to her, he was leading the reigns of a large wolf that was contently trailing behind him. Instead of handing the creature off to Kyo right there, he motioned for her to join him outside, which she gladly did. Her new guide was already patiently waiting for her there, talking to another one of the men that worked here. He really must know just about everyone in the establishment.

“This is Feure, she will take good care of you in your travels as long as you take care of her.” The young man smiled at her.

“Thank you…” Kyo said back as her eyes trailed along the magnificent creature.

Like the one she had seen in the pen, she was amazingly large for a wolf. Her fur was thick and long and as the ninja carefully reached out, she buried her fingers into the strands. It was a mixed colouring of both grey and black and the creature’s eyes were similar in that one was brown and the other blue.

“Oh, and I prepared this for you too.” He handed her a large leather pouch that had some weight to it. “It’s food for the wolf, mostly a dried meat and oat mix. That will last you about a week depending on how hard to ride Feure. Just make sure to feed her a bit in the morning and a bit at night after the riding is done. If worse comes to worse, she’ll last for up to four days without eating and then she’ll probably hunt for something on her own.”

The ninja nodded her head. She hadn’t thought of needing to feed the creature, but then again it was like her, it needed to eat too. She couldn’t very well starve the thing that would be quite cruel. Tying the leather pouch to the saddle along with her rucksack, Kyosku placed one of her feet into the stirrup and then pulled herself up and over. With the hard leather lined in a few layers of blankets it wasn’t very uncomfortable, though she bet after a day of hard riding her legs were going to be rather sore.

With the reigns in her hands, the ninja once again nodded her thanks to Meks and then stirred the creature forward. The sensation of it’s movement was different from a horse, much more fluid and a little less jarring on her limbs she found, but something she would take some time to get used to. Once she came flush with Lorenor, she pulled back and came to a stop.

“At your leisure then.” She said to him.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

A trip to the North lands was a chance to explore the areas closer to Berevar and see a brand new place. That very thought excited the would-be explorer of new lands. As if to answer the adventure about to start, a small snow drift started to fall upon the land of Salvar. Flakes of crystalized snow danced in the wind as they traveled down towards their final destination. Each flake, a unique world all its own. A microcosm within the macrocosm. Lorenor reached out and allowed a single flake to land upon the palm of his hand. He studied its intricate, natural pattern for a brief moment before tossing the fragile creation aside, to the whims of fate.

Staring at Kyo for a moment, the ghoul nodded towards her. It is time.

He thought to himself. Taking up the reigns in his hand, he nodded to Urngh after a brief moment's passage. Urngh nodded back towards the ghoul. "Be careful out there Lorenor. Bring them back alive." Urngh said casually referring to the wolves. The ghoul understood the trainer's attachment towards his extended family. Similar to humans in most respects, the wolves were extremely sociable creatures. Lorenor gently rubbed the back of Slurge's head. The wolf sniffed at Feure casually. Apparently, the two knew one another well.

Lorenor kept his eyes locked upon Kyo for a moment longer, and then prepared himself for the long road ahead. The particular path Lorenor was thinking of taking would lead them past the Ashtolov lake, through the Grat Bridge, and finally to Ahyark Mountains. Assuming, that's where Kyo wanted to go.

"There are several paths we can take to the mountains. The biggest mountain range I've heard of in Salvar is the Ahyark Mountains. There's also the Dwarven Territories. I doubt you want to go there though. If you are heading towards Ahyark we can take the route past Ashtolov lake, or go around the mouintain passing through Hogolov and Aihnrekvolok. Either path has its dangers, so I'll leave the choice up to you. We can set out immediately on our journey once we've picked out our journey."

[Kyo]

Kyo wasn’t entirely sure which path they should head out on, if both had their dangers but she didn’t know anything about the dangers on either, it seemed like it didn’t matter what she picked. Still, going around the mountain was pointless to her and the Dwarven Territories were definitely a place she’d rather not go. No, she just needed to get to the base of the mountain and there she’d be able to find the plant for the poison she wanted.

“The path past Ashtolov Lake sounds fine.” Despite the fact that she knew nothing of Salvar’s layout, her words were confident and self-assured, as if she really knew what she was doing.

The man nodded his head and spurred his beast onwards, the ninja quickly doing the same. Digging the heels of her boots into the side of the creature, she felt it move forward, the flow of it’s body much smoother and easier than the bounce that she found horses sometimes possessed, jostling their riders. Using the reigns, she guided her wolf Feure up next to the wolf of Lorenor so that they were riding side-by-side. There was still something about the man that intrigued and both repulsed her on a basic level. As upfront a person as she could be, she wasn’t about to open her mouth and question him about it though. That was how she lost a helping hand.

Though the streets of Knife’s Edge had small crowds of people moving about their daily business, most of them moved out of her and Lorenor’s way without pause or hesitation and it didn’t take the two of them long to leave the limits of the city. Outside, the snow was beginning to collect on the ground, covering the dead and dying plants in a layer of white that she always found so beautiful. Winter was one of her favourite seasons in the mountains of Akashima. Though she didn’t have a love of the cold, there was just something so beautiful and majestic about gently falling snow that covered up the death that winter brought in a pure way.

It was only after they’d made it a small distance into the relatively flat land outside of the city that Kyo realized she had yet to give Lorenor her name. Though they would probably never see each other again after this little adventure, it was still quite rude of her.

“I just realized…you don’t know my name.” Her cheeks flushed with a bit of embarrassment. “Tetsoma Kyosku, but most people just call me Kyo, and thank you for helping me. If there’s a way I can repay you for this, let me know.”

She highly doubted the man would have need of someone with her skills, not that he even knew she was an assassin, but it would be rude of her not to offer something in return for this. After all, the man was risking his life to help her as these Northern Lands were apparently rather inhospitable and filled with all sorts of creatures.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Like the snowflakes that fell from the sky and touched the earth beneath them, Lorenor heard words coming from her well formed lips. He learned a name, and also learned of an intent. The promise of reward made his heart nearly skip a beat as they began their journey. The ghoul listened to everything she said casually. I will be holding you to that. I am sure I can think of something. He thought and looked casually at her handsome bosom from beneath his hood and out the corner of his eyes. Memorizing her appearance to the point where he could sculpt her from wood, the ghoul kept a soft grin on his face.

"Lorenor V'halkulus is what they call me. Some people call me Lorey for short. Is it true what they say about Akashima? The culture is as isolated as Fallien? I would love to go visit your homeland someday. And insofar as payment goes, I'm sure I can think of something."

Lorenor chuckled in a friendly sort of fashion. He closed his eyes, the mysterious purple glow within his sockets vanishing for a moment. A shroud of darkness seemed to touch the ghoul. His hands were rested casually on the back of Slurge's neck as he visualized the maps in his possession. Pity they weren't heading further North. He studied the path they were going to undertake as they traveled past the city limits of Knife's Edge. They passed a security check point area and headed out into the fields of Knife's Edge.

Outside of the considerably warmer city, the temperature dropped noticeably and the ghoul was thankful for his thick hides. He wrapped them more firmly about his person so that he could draw from their warmth. His clothing he wore was considerably warm as well. Eventually, he would have to enchant his cloak to increase the temperature or decrease them at will. Lorenor allowed Slurge to guide him for a moment as they crossed the fields of Knife's Edge which lurked for several miles in every direction just outside of the city.

Lorenor looked up and saw that the clouds were starting to get thicker above them. Knife's Edge was barely visible now. Lorenor turned back on his saddle to see the city growing smaller as they traveled. Once they were in a path that was adjacent to the Ashtolov Lake, Lorenor took a sharp turn to NorthEast. There, they would continue to head in that direction until they came across the lake. By now, the lake should be frozen this time of the year...

And the ghoul looked forward to seeing it.

[Kyo]

Kyo couldn’t help but feel a deep shiver run through the entire body as the temperature dropped. It was strange that within the city it seemed so much warmer, but out here in the open it was bitter and the slightest breeze tried to cut through her as if she were a rag doll. She was not used to this weather and got the distinct feeling that this journey was going to be much harder on her than her travelling companion. He appeared not to even notice the sudden drop in temperature and he probably didn’t with the amount of furs he was wearing on his person. And though her jacket was lined, it wasn’t perfect. She could still feel the wind snake it’s way underneath around her neck and slither down her back.

As Lorenor twisted in his seat to glance behind him, Kyo couldn’t help but do the same. The grand city they had left was nothing but a small spec on the horizon. There were no details she could make out and as their beasts continued to pull them forward, that spot upon the horizon grew further and further away until it vanished from her eyes. All around her was the wilderness of Salvar was starting to set in, fields of grass and small bushes were slowly being covered up in a light snow. There were the occasional twisted and thin tree cropping up and providing something different to glance at too. The snow wasn’t very think outside the city, in fact for a small ways there hadn’t been any snow at all, though the ninja knew it would only get worse the more they travelled up north, especially considering it was already beginning to snow on them now.

Remembering that her companion had asked her a question and she had yet to answer it, Kyo stopped looking at the scenery and focused on him instead. She still got a strange feeling from him, one she wasn’t sure if she’d want to explore or not.

“The area I grew up in was very remote and isolated compared to even the rest of the Akashiman nation.” She wasn’t entirely sure how much she could tell him without actually telling him she grew up in a hidden ninja village. There was no point in lying, as long as he just assumed she’d lived in a small town basically in the middle of nowhere, it was fine with her.

Gently reaching down, Kyo ran her gloved fingers through the thick fur of Feure’s neck, scratching the beast lightly. She was awarded with a light grunt that made her stop and pull back slightly, not entirely sure if what she had been doing was good or bad. She didn’t exactly know anything about riding wolves and what they did or didn’t like. As she began to straighten herself out, she noticed something rather small and quite fluffy just a few feet ahead of her side of their path. It basically looked like a large ball of grey, white and black fur, with little legs peeking out from underneath it, but she couldn’t see its head. Maybe it was hidden in all that fur. It was quite cute looking though.

Curious, the ninja couldn’t help but reach down as they passed by.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

About two hours after their departure from Knife's Edge; Lorenor noticed the landscape becoming more rugged. Trees started to become more frequent as the wilderness expanded. Pine trees of various species provided the otherwise bland landscape with decor. Lorenor noticed the subtle changes in the elevation of the ground as they traveled across areas that were much more hilly than others. The elevations increased gradually and decreased gradually. Snow was falling constantly seemingly without end, getting worse the further North East that they went.

Snow drifted along a surprisingly gentle breeze that came from the west. The ghoul was having a hard time seeing even with his accurate vision. Visibility was terrible and gradually getting worse. Creatures stirred all around Lorenor, and from every direction. The wild lands were teaming with life. Lorenor knew this to be the case. And then, suddenly, at the apex of the second hour out they came across a mysterious group of furry organisms. The furred creatures were resting along the side of the road and appeared incredibly large to Lorenor's eyes. He narrowed his gaze. A feeling of great discomfort flowing in his gut.

Looking at Kyo, he noticed that her wolf was stationed much more closely to the side of the large road that they currently traveled upon. He noticed her attention on the strange furry beasts. When she reached out for one of them, as if to examine it with an inquisitive touch. "Miss Kyo, don't touch those things! You don't know what they are. Do not disturb the wilderness." But to provide an extra sense of importance to his point, Lorenor kicked the flank of his riding beast to speed up ahead of his partner and quickly went to her side. The movement was swift and with a burst of velocity. Slurge barked towards his companion female riding beast as if issuing a warning of imminent danger. Lorenor pulled out his sword and quickly reached out towards her hand with the flat side of his blade in an attempt to quickly smack her hand. "Do not disturb the wild." He quickly said again in a further attempt to prevent her from touching the beasts that rested...

But it was already too late. They were stirring.

[Kyo]

Her hand wasn’t far from the furry little creature when she heard Lorenor’s words. Raising a brow, she turned her head just in time to see him kick his wolf closer to her and unsheathe his blade, smacking the flat side against her hand and away from the creatures. Narrowing her eyes on the man, she was just about to say something rather caustic about his actions when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes.

Turning her head back towards the furry little balls, she noticed several of them beginning to shiver as if they were just waking up from a long sleep. Sitting up straight in her saddle, she tilted her head to the side and watched as their tiny little legs stretched themselves out. Her wolf seemed to react negatively to their actions, grunting and growling and seemingly growing agitated. Lorenor’s beast was doing the same thing and without warning, Feure suddenly reared and lurched forward. The motion was quick and unexpected, leaving Kyo grasping at reigns her hands just missed. Not used to riding beasts, she found herself thrown off and with a thud landed roughly against the hard, snow covered ground. Her back and head smashed into the substance, which looked much softer than it really was. The impact forced the air from her lungs and a slightly dazed feeling to overcome her mind.

For a moment or two she laid there, unsure of what exactly just happened. Then the grunts and growls of the two wolves started to break through her light haze. Slowly bringing herself to her feet, Kyo shook her head and found herself staring towards four of the little fluff balls, their black and white bodies quickly making their way towards her and she doubted they wanted to cuddle.

Next time I see something cute and fluffy, I’m going to remind myself of this very moment.

From the corner of her eye she could see the two wolves attacking the bigger mass of them, their teeth and claws rending a bloody path through the creatures. The pristine white snow was quickly becoming stained in blood and littered with fur and flesh as the smaller creatures stood little to no chance against the quick and powerful jaws of the wolves.

Bringing herself into a crouch, Kyosku watched as the little fur balls came closer to her. Her hand reached around behind her and wrapped around the handle of one of her ninja-to just in case. When one of them lunged towards her, she tensed and in a quick clean motion brought the blade out in a wide arch. The sharpened and black tinted metal easily cut right through the creature’s body and created a splash of blood upon the ground as the two halves fell. The other three creatures barely seemed to notice the fall of one of their own.

Freeing her other ninja-to with her left hand, Kyo quickly reached out and sliced through the thick fur of two of the other creatures. Her eyes lost track of the third though, which latched itself onto her leg and easily pierced through the thick layers of her clothing, cutting the flesh below. Grimacing, the ninja thrust the point of her sword through the body of the creature and then ripped it off her leg, tossing it away from her.

Coming fully to her feet, Kyo looked down at the wound on her leg. She could see a steady stream of blood soaking into her pants but the wound didn’t seem very serious, so it would probably stop in a moment or two. Still she had a medical pack in her bag if she needed it. Cleaning her blades off in the snow, she sheathed them and turned her attention back towards Lorenor and the wolves, wondering how they were fairing.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Loosing sight of the girl was a serious problem. Blood coated the layers of thick, tightly packed snow adding a crimson hue to the harsh endless white. He was already familiar with the temper of the riding beasts and thusly reacted smoothly with the wolf's movements. Lorenor had Senchen's damascus longsword drawn out. The shining metal of the masterwork weapon reflected the light above them brilliantly. Moving with his riding beast; Lorenor saw the two wolves coordinating their attacks against the smaller beasts.

The sound of meat being crushed filled the ghoul's sensory grid. Seeing the beasts battle raised up his own wanton need for violence. He sent the blade in a swift movement against several of the smaller creatures and a moment later; his weapon connected. There were strange yelps as the tiny creatures of sentient fur were mowed down one by one. There was a large group of the beasts gathered; more were descending upon them from them from the wilderness. At least twenty of the fur balls gathered.

Lorenor could see the creatures for what they were; fiendish predators. In a way; the beasts reminded Lorenor of the endless. They were vicious, agile little buggers that used crude and natural melee weapons to destroy opponents with grace and speed. Slurge reared back on his haunches causing the ghoul to hang on tightly to his reigns. The large beast sent its powerful claws against the smaller creatures beneath him and struck out with lethal intent. Several more of the beasts were taken down in this fashion and Slurge settled his movement down.

Lorenor shifted his body weight in his saddle; adjusting himself against the weight of conflict. He stabbed at several more of the creatures; instantly cutting them down. Waiting for Kyo to return he started seeing that more and more of the creatures were emerging from the wilderness. Lorenor and his wolves kept cutting them down; but more were arriving. Soon; their numbers multiplied from a mere twenty of them to hundreds. Lorenor cursed his luck preparing himself for the serious battle at hand. The plasma discharge gun was ready for use. He felt the wand-like weapon charging its energies and signal that it was at his command. Lorenor activated the device even as he swung his sword to take out three more of the little things. A glow from the tip of the device signaled its activation; and Lorenor released a powerful blast of kinetic energy. With the strength of a steel sword; the kinetic blast sent a wave of at least ten of the creatures flying into the distance, dead. It would be a few moments before Lorenor could use his side arm again; so the ghoul had to prepare a few more tricks.

[Kyo]

The ninja’s eyes widened as she perceived the massive amount of the furry creatures that had descended upon Lorenor and the two wolves. There were far more than either of them could ever hope to overcome, no matter what weapons they may pull out to assist them. Even if those weapons shot out blasts of energy the likes of which she had never seen. Where had so many of them come from in such a short amount of time? There had been only a few, maybe a little over the dozen when they had first started awakening, but now their numbers were beyond what she could quickly count with her eyes.

She contemplated merely yelling for Lorenor to get out of there and then quickly retreating from this situation, but as she watched a group of the little fur balls had snuck around to the back of Lorenor’s wolf. Wrapping her hands around the hilts of her two ninja-to, she pulled them once more from their sheathes and hurried across the ground. Her steps were slowed somewhat by the snow, but she still crossed the small distance with just enough time to cut one of them right in half as it tried to leap upon the wolf’s flank. Her attack merely directed their attention away from Lorenor and towards her though and soon Kyo found herself standing before a dozen of the creatures, which were quickly getting closer and closer to her.

Why can’t cute, fluffy things ever just be cute and fluffy!

Backing up a few steps, the ninja flipped her swords around in her hands so the blade pointed down towards her elbow, then she quickly switched her stance to offensive. Before they could even begin attacking her, she lashed out at them. Their low position on the ground made it slightly awkward for her, but she wasn’t about to let that stop her. She cut low, the sharpened edge of her blade easily slicing through the fur and getting to the sensitive skin that lay below it. Within less than a minute the ground was splattered with their blood and fur once more, the snow turning a deep red colour.

Glancing towards the wolves, Kyo could see hers tearing through the creatures easily enough without her on its back to hinder its progress. The only problem was she was a sitting duck out here on the ground and Feure was right in the thick of it, but Lorenor and his beast were merely a few feet from her.

She made way over to him, cutting through any of the small creatures that tried to get in her way. Grabbing onto the side of the wolf’s saddle, the ninja hefted herself up behind Lorenor.

“I think it’s time we get out of here.”

[Mutant_Lorenor]

With his sword skillfully moving from side to side; Lorenor let out a blast from his enchanted ring. A large group of the creatures rose into the air as the darkness was called to the ghoul's command. Feeling her so close to his person made the ghoul feel a certain pleasure in his vessel. Her scent was almost completely consuming and felt like lilacs against his sensory sphere. The ghoul saw the large number of the furry creatures fly into the air; dead. His ring pulsed with elemental energies as he felt his gun ready for another blast. He would have to clear a path for himself and her wolf. Urngh would never let him hear the end of it if Lorenor returned with just one wolf.

The ghoul put his fingers quickly to his lips from his free hand. His sword still worked the monsters that were closing it. A loud; sharp whistle signaled it was time to go to her wolf. The other wolf perked her ears up. She killed several of the creatures and started to make her way towards their position. Lorenor would not leave a companion behind. His free hand went towards the girl's leg unconsciously and attempted to brush against it. Lorenor was moving his hand towards the loose reigns.

Dispatching several more of the creatures in one fell swoop; the ghoul prepared himself for a hasty retreat. With his knowledge of the Salvarn wilderness now; he remembered that there was some sort of settlement nearby to their location. Snowflakes falling upon the creatures made them react in an unusual way. It seemed that they multiplied quickly with water which explained their numbers so suddenly. Feeling the other wolf move closer within his sensory array; the ghoul prepared a second blast of his plasma discharge gun.

He let the kinetic energy fly out of the weapon. Another large group of the creatures fell and he had a clear path to escape. Whistling once more; the ghoul gave a lofty hi-yah! and was off. The other wolf took several swipes of the creatures and prepared her journey to escape as well. With a well satisfied stomach; the two wolves were prepared for the long journey into the Northlands. Taking off at full speeds ahead; the two wolves managed to take their position side by side and leave the snarling, hissing creatures behind. They weren't fast enough to keep up with the two wolves at best speed. Lorenor reached back and attempted to hold Kyo close to his person. His weapon was sheathed. He relaxed his control of the power at his command. The settlement was only a few miles ahead. The ghoul didn't have to look back in order to know that the creatures were not giving chase. "We made it. Are you well Kyo?" He asked of her.

[Kyo]

Kyo wrapped one of her arms around the waist of Lorenor as he spurred his wolf on, the sudden jolt would have been enough to throw her off otherwise. And she’d already experienced that once from her own wolf, she was not about to let it happen a second time. The crazy little balls of fur were quickly falling behind the two of them, unable to keep up with the speed that the two wolves possessed. Lorenor had shown considerable skill in dealing with the creatures, while she had not been able to do much more than swing her blades at them. There were just far too many for her to handle and even with his strange energy weapons and attacks, they were more than her guide could handle as well.

Once the creatures were behind them, Lorenor slowed the two wolves down and Kyosku released her hold on his waist, but he kept his hand against her leg and held her close to him, as if still worried that she may fall off the back of the saddle.

“I’m fine.” She said to him.

It wasn’t entirely a lie, one of the creatures had bitten into her leg, but it was such a small nuisance that she didn’t even feel the need to worry about it now. She only even felt it when she shifted her leg anyway and the muscle pulled along the tear. Her interesting experience with Jared had taught her that sometimes her pride could overrule her wellbeing, but she didn’t see the need to tell him about it. This was not the same kind of wound, she hadn’t been stabbed in the side this time, she’d merely been bitten.

He brought his wolf to a stop and Kyo dismounted and approached her own beast, quickly pulling herself up into the saddle and settling herself once again on the back of Feure. They rode in silence for some time together, with Lorenor leading the way. After no more than an hour though, Kyo started feeling sick. She felt hot inside the confines of her clothes, but she knew it would be foolhardy to remove anything in the cold of Salvar. Perspiration was growing across her forehead and she could feel it down her back as well, uncomfortably soaking into her clothes. Then her head started feeling extremely light and she had a hard time focusing with her eyes. The world around her would blur into some kind of white, fluffy mess that would only clear itself when she shook her head and blinked a few times.

“I... I think something’s wrong...”

[Mutant_Lorenor]

((Bunnies approved by Kyo))

Hearing those words sent her companion to an instant halting of travel. He turned his attention to the girl; staring at her with a genuine look of concern for his companion. After all; this was a contracted job and the ghoul expected to be well rewarded at some point during this trip. Whether she realized it or not; Lorenor was planning on at least having a good time with her. And there were oh so many pleasures that the ghoul could partake of when it came to the girl afore him. He studied her for a moment; his advanced senses taking into effect and showing him the whole picture with crystal clarity.

Snow drifted everywhere attempting to drown out his senses; but the ghoul could focus within his sensory grid. Much like a bat; the ghoul used a form of echolocation to perceive the world around him. Looking at the general direction of the girl Lorenor concentrated. He was focusing on the girl. Concentrating on her; memorizing every curve and every well formed line. Her clothing accentuated every bit of sexuality. The ghoul found himself enticed by such a lovely specimen. Akashiman women were a rare treat and a bit on the exotic side. The ghoul fancied himself a taste of her flesh especially during a moment of such weakness.

He could just reach out and take what he wanted...it would be so easy. He quickly dismissed such tempting thoughts of predatory domination and favored more subtle tactics to gain her trust. The ghoul observed and figured out what was wrong. Using his infra-red vision; the girl became a tree of blood. Lines of the sanguine substance flared off into the air around her providing the organic heat that the girl depended on to live. Lorenor studied this heat and saw right to the source of the problem. In her infra-red form; the girl had a strangely colored substance invading her vessel through her bloodstream. The ghoul frowned visibly at this.

Seeing the source of the wound; Lorenor found a strange bite mark upon the girl's leg. Shaking his head; the ghoul understood just what was going on with his partner. "Shit! You're poisoned; we better get to town right away." He commanded his riding wolf so that the two wolves were moving exactly side by side. Lorenor reached over and grabbed the girl's reigns seeing that she was on the verge of passing out. This put him in a position to effectively command both of the wolves at one time. He looked at the girl for a moment and pondered taking her back into his custody. He saw that her condition was worsening...

"I don't feel so good. That little bastard bit me...*" Lorenor heard her utter and turned immediately towards her person. She was slouching severely on her mounted seat and looked like she might fall off at any moment. Finally, after a few moments, she looked like she was going to slide off the wolf's back entirely! Lorenor intervened quickly, since she was his current contract.

He moved his wolf so that he was riding alongside her own. Wrapping his arms swiftly about her person, she fell into his embrace. The ghoul lifted her up and off her wolf and placed her person upon his own riding wolf. He petted her wolf for a moment rubbing the flank gently. Touching her skin, she was running a bad fever and her skin was hot to the touch. Lorenor frowned at this and saw that she was in deep trouble. He looked towards her wolf. "We ride hard!" And the quartet made their way to the settlement.

[Kyo]

She kept slipping. There were times when she could feel the cold seeping through her clothes and soothing her hot skin. She wanted so badly to just rip her clothes off, they were too hot, they made her too hot but every time she tried to move it felt like her limbs were pushing against fast moving water. No matter how much she wanted to move them she just didn’t seem capable of doing it. When she could see anything besides darkness it looked weird. The snow seemed kind of fluffy and comfortable and beckoned for her to just crawl up to it and lay down. The beast beneath her moved too quickly though and jarred her every chance it could, making her feel like she was traveling upon the bumpiest road in all of Althanas. But then there was no road and they were just sailing through nothing with these strange glowing lights. It was really pretty.

Eventually, she couldn’t fight it anymore and Kyo slipped into a deep and hardly restful sleep. Her mind was filled with feverish dreams that threw her back into Radasanth where Jared and she were fighting for their lives. Only instead of killing Roland, he turned into some kind of monster and she stood there, frozen in place while he ripped apart Jared. Then things latched onto her arms and legs, she didn’t know what they were because suddenly everything was dark and she couldn’t see anything but Roland and Jared and she was helpless to do anything to help. She couldn’t even scream, because when she opened her mouth to yell and distract Roland away from the thief, snakes came out. Poisonous, coiling snakes that tried to wrap themselves around her and suffocate her.

Then slowly it all stopped. She couldn’t remember when or how or even what happened at the end of the dream, she just remembered it eventually fading away sometimes after she’d been covered in snakes. Shifting slightly, Kyosku quickly realized she was lying down. Her eyes shot open and her entire body tensed as she forced herself into a sitting position. Immediately her hands went behind her, searching for the hilt of her ninja-to only they weren’t there. That’s when she started to take in her surroundings.

It appeared she was within the safe confines of a small tent made of various kinds of animal hide. The ground beneath her was piled in them to create some kind of comfortable sleeping arrangements and there had even been one covering her to keep the last of the chill out. It had pooled around her hips when she’d pushed herself up into a sitting position.

Before she could comprehend anything else, her head exploded in an intense pain and dizziness that made her entire body feel as if it were on its side and the room was spinning. She didn’t even argue it when she fell back against her makeshift bed, in fact she appreciated the way the room slowly started to stop spinning and the little men with hammers stopped slamming against her brain. After a few minutes it stopped and the ninja pulled herself up slower this time. Reaching down to her leg, she pulled up the thick, black material to reveal the white bandage covering her calf. Had Lorenor done that? Speaking of Lorenor, just where had her guide gone off to?

Slowly, Kyo pulled herself to her feet. She noticed her equipment off in the corner and she quickly secured her dual blades around the small of her back and then slipped into her armguards. Out of habit she checked the hidden pockets on the underside, feeling the shuriken hidden within each one. Then she put the belt around her waist with her other various small and compact weapons. Then she turned and moved towards the flaps of her tent, the slight part in them allowing the bright light outside to bleed through and bask everything in a manageable light.

Pushing the flap back, Kyo shielded her eyes as they were subjected to the bright sun, reflecting off the white of the snow and making her eyes sting and water. As her eyes gradually grew accustomed to it, Kyo stepped outside of the tent and found herself in a small encampment of some kind. They all looked like ordinary people who were going about their daily duties in a temporary home that they probably moved weekly if not daily. They must have been refugees of some kind, escaping the civil war that was raging throughout the region. There were even small children playing in the snow under their layers of warm clothing and the watchful eyes of their mothers, talking to one another and possibly catching up on the latest gossip. They all seemed rather happy considering the fact that they’d probably abandoned their villages and their homes for safer areas deep in the wilds of Salvar.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Earlier--

A hard ride lead Lorenor to the encampment. He'd remembered the small village from a previous trip into the wild during his stay here in Salvar. He'd wanted to make it a point to explore all of the various outlying towns and settlements he could find in the region. After all, Lorenor was now a recently created Lord of Salvar backed by the ownership of his own fiefdom to boot. It was a reward for a recent venture that took place in the Northland.

Feeling the wind blasting across his person, he saw that Kyo was muttering things in her sleep. Her body had become intensely hot to the touch and the ghoul was sincerely worried about the girl. After sometime of feeling the wolves' paws pounding the snow covered earth beneath them, the ghoul felt time passing. He knew that it was only a matter of moments before they made it to the camp that was near that position, or so he hoped. The men of Salvar living out in the wilderness tended to be nomadic folk. They followed the caribou and other herding beasts of the Salvarn wilderness that men feasted upon. Salvarn men were a hard folk, but they were also a lot that was quick to understand loyalty and trust.

Lorenor had proven his worth to Salvar. Coming upon the familiar encampment, it was exactly where he'd seen it last time. It seemed that the nomadic people had finally found a particular place that they liked and were intent on staying. It rested somewhere on the boarder between Salvar and Berevar. As a village, it consisted of several small, but sturdy tents made of extremely thick beast furs. The furs were from beasts that were native to Salvar.

Lorenor had yet to encounter these beasts in his travel though the natives oft spoke of them with great reverence. Lorenor rode into the camp. Immediately, several gathered adults of the encampment and the current acting leader, recognized the ghoul from his previous trips in Salvar's colder regions. This was a final destination point between the deeper wild of Berevar and Salvar proper. Further up north waited the cold arctic regions of Berevar. A perpetual no man's land of unexplored wilderness. But they were heading to a mountain located in a different direction. Pity. Lorenor wanted to see Berevar whilst he stayed in Salvar. He longed to explore the unexplored country.

Entering the camp caused an immediate commotion. Lorenor held a sick girl poisoned by one of the native beasts. She was slipping further into dementia with each passing moment. Immediately spotting the familiar form of the ghoul, the small warrior moved his position towards the leader of the encampment. The acting chieftain. The man nodded towards Lorenor and several individuals immediately took the girl from atop Lorenor's wolf.

The two wolves moved into the camp in unison. They never left each other's side. Knowing that Kyo needed immediate medical attention, he turned towards one of the men. "The girl needs medical attention!" He called out to the man.

*****************

His thick hides warded off the cold effectively. A myriad pattern of snowflakes swirled around him as he took a deep inhale from a lit pipe. He was smoking, the warm substance kept him hot. Carbon dioxide flowed upward into the air from the pipe as he held it in his hand. Drums were beating in the encampment as they called upon their old gods. It was a spiritual sermon by the priests of the village. Kyo was bitten by a Krolack beast and the poison was treatable, but serious. Lorenor had probably saved her life.

It was the reason that he sat outside of her tent, refusing to leave her side. With his sensory array, he watched and observed the doctors enter and leaving the tent periodically with various supplies. They treated the girl without question simply wanting to help out where they could. Lorenor could appreciate the valor in that. The glowing energy flowed out of his eye sockets in a strangely darker tone.

The ghoul was deeply concerned for the safety of his companion. His eyes were devoid of eyeballs but the wrinkles of his face suggested a sort of deep concentration. He was listening, and at the same time, with his lack of ears, he was listening in a supernatural sort of way. His senses were extended to their fullest capacity and he could feel the various conversations taking place all around him. People that walked towards the ghoul greeted him casually. The Chieftain walked over towards the ghoul, a man of average Salvarn physical stature. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were a kind of honey color, amber mixed with brown. His face was grim, but there was a kindness in there too.

"She will make it. You brought her to us in time. I'm glad to see that you have returned to us Lorenor."

"It's good to be back here. This place always held a fond spot in my heart, not like the back stabbing policies of Knife's Edge."

"How is your fiefdom?"

"It is doing well. I took care of all my chores before I left on this little trip with the girl. Though the girl happened to be an added bonus."

"I am glad business is well. She ought to be recovering sometime soon."

"I think that she is moving about already. I sense her."

"You still have to teach me how you do that Lorenor. I haven't been able to figure out that mystery yet."

"Everyone has their secrets. You should know better than to ask a member of the Church about secrets." With that, the ghoul smiled and chuckled heartedly. He considered the Chieftain an old friend. He turned towards the entrance of the tent and waited for Kyo to emerge. She finally did so. "Welcome back." Lorenor said and stood up. "You had us all worried."

[Kyo]

Kyo smiled as she saw the familiar presence of Lorenor outside of her tent. He must have been waiting out there the entire time while she was recovering from the poison. She didn’t remember them coming upon this village, but that didn’t surprise her. Kyo was well versed in the effects of poisons and knew that though the effects varied she had most likely been in a very serious situation. Possibly even close to death. Considering she had been unconscious for the majority of it she couldn’t be certain.

“Lorenor...”

She walked towards him, extending her hand out to him. “I want to thank you for what you have done. I’m rather certain you just saved my life.”

She grasped him by the hand in a friendly, but firm handshake, then bowed her head deeply to him. He deserved the respect considering what he had done to help her. Not only had he agreed to be her guide without asking for any kind of payment, but now he had saved her life. Without him around, she may have ended up in the same situation, only there wouldn’t have been anyone around to pull her ass from the fire.

Releasing her hold on his hand, she turned to the other man standing beside him. He was obviously a member of the tribe or clan that lived here and therefore she owed him and his people very much for what they had done to help her. Strangers were not always so willing to help others, her clan was definitely not so willing to help strangers. It was too big of a risk for them.

“I owe you and whoever healed me my gratitude as well.” Once again, Kyo straightened herself and then bowed respectfully to someone not of her own people. It was rare, mainly because they did not understand what it truly meant and she usually just received strange looks for doing it.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

A Salvarn lord, and a learned individual, Lorenor smiled with gratitude when she shook his hand. He held her hand tightly in return and enjoyed the close physical contact. He knew a little about Akashimans from his many travels across Corone and Salvar. Though Akashima was interesting to him, he'd never found the time to actually venture across to that land. After his meeting with Kyo though, he decided that it was worth a trip to visiting her homeland one of these moons. Lorenor looked up and saw the eternal layer of gray clouds that hung overhead. Snow drifted silently from the pregnant clouds.

An intensely cold wind constantly flowed across the land, adding a feeling of bitter cold to the moment. Lorenor moved his thick hides closer about his person and tried to stifle a shiver, but couldn't. The herb he was smoking, helped keep him that much warmer. Inside the comfortable hides, Lorenor had a thick layer of warmth touching his skin. He enjoyed its caressing familiarity. He took a deep pull of the smoke, feeling the almost organic substance flow like tendrils down his throat. He liked the new habit, and would probably partake in it more often. He knew that his friend Wizo smoked often.

He didn't have any particular views on the habit, he just enjoyed doing it. The herb calmed him down and provided with him a sense of pleasure that normally would only be obtained through the physical contact of another. He looked at Kyo and kept quiet for a moment while he smoked. He listened to her verses. They put a rare smile to his distorted lips.

The scar on his face made him look the hideous beast, but the ghoul didn't really care much. He kept his entire head hidden beneath the comfort of a hood almost at all times. Only opting to reveal his face when the moment was opportune. Only a few had seen his face anyway. Lorenor oft times considered picking up a mask for himself. He observed the girl for a moment longer. He noticed that the chieftain started to talk to the girl.

"Your friend here has been amongst our people before. He knows and respects our ways. He is a follower of St. Denebriel. It is a blessing that you've acquired such good companionship. The help we've given you, we extend to all. It doesn't matter where they come from, or their walks of life. 'Tis simply a desire to help others." The chieftain said. "Your friend was very worried about your physical well being. He stood by your side the entire time. You've been in between worlds for a week now."

[Kyo]

She balked, feeling her icy blue eyes grow wide with the revelation. A week? She had been unconscious and lying vulnerable in some tent, in a land she didn’t know, surrounded by people she’d never met before, for an entire week? Despite the fact that they had helped her and she had nothing to fear of them, she couldn’t help the uncomfortable feeling that washed through her. It was just part of her nature. Kyo was trained to always been aware of her surroundings and her body. To know what was wrong and what she could do to fix it. She hated relying on others for such things and hated it when she was vulnerable and unable to defend herself. Sometimes it was to a point of stupidity, for it had nearly killed her once. She was also a light sleeper because of this need she felt to always be on guard, something that Jared had found out the hard way when the idiot thief had shook her awake one morning.

“Ah...well, thank you...” She said quietly to him, trying to mask her sudden unease.

In the back of her mind she couldn’t help but feel surprised over the fact that Lorenor had stayed with her for the entire time. He was only a mere guide and he wasn’t even being paid for this trip. No, he had willingly come along simply for the reasons of exploring the region she wished to travel to. To find such a loyal person within the peoples of Althanas was rare and she was lucky that she had come across the man in the stables else the outcome of this excursion may have been entirely different. It may have been the end of her in fact.

Hugging her jacket closer to her body, the ninja glanced to the sky. The heavy clouds above allowed a constant but gentle fall of snow. The kind that danced through the winds and tickled whatever skin it could find as it melted upon the warm surface.

“I suppose then...we should continue on our way.”

The words came awkwardly out at best. She just didn’t know what to say in such a situation, especially since she wanted to get moving again. A week was a long time, not only had she expected to be back or nearly returned to Knife’s Edge by now, but she bet the stable was beginning to question their return.

Shifting the straps of her rucksack more out of the need to do something with her hands than actually needing to move it, the ninja once again inclined her head to the native before her. Then she turned to Lorenor expectantly. He after all knew where their wolves were.


((You can take the two of them out of the settlement and lead them back towards their destination again.))

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Snow drifted downward in a constant dance of wind and crystal liquid. Snowflakes passed across his face as he looked upon them, trying to study them as they passed microseconds at a time. The ghoul finished smoking the contents of his pipe by taking one last pull of the herb to calm himself down and prepare for the journey ahead. Emptying the ashes of the contents into a small pouch, Lorenor then tossed the pouch out into a garbage container. He looked at the chieftain after staring at Kyo for a long time, she was quite attractive.

Once the formalities were taken care of, he saw that Kyo was in great shape for the last leg of their trip. Standing up, or more one would say, rising up from his position, Lorenor bowed back in return to his newly found friend. At a later point he might ask her to join the struggling forces of the Gol'bron so that she might participate in the group's religious activities. Lorenor thought it might be a good idea.

Standing up now, the ghoul stretched his legs for a brief moment. He'd been sitting upon the ground for a long time now and his legs felt somewhat tired as the blood rushed across the long extremities. He felt life returning to his limbs. Concentrating on the matters at hand, Lorenor turned towards the chieftain for a long moment who nodded back. "Your wolves are in our stables. We saw it necessary to provide such services for travelers like yourselves heading out into the wild. We're just trying to do our part." The gruff chieftain said, his eyes locked upon Lorenor's person. "Well whatever the reason, I thank you sincerely for all your help. I hope that the payment I made to your stable was satisfactory?"

"It was. But the rate is the same for everyone. It wasn't necessary to provide the hefty tip that you gave us."

"Its my way of giving my thanks to you guys for helping us out. Especially my friend Kyo who was very sick."

Lorenor bowed politely, always one to mind his manners. That old monk training never left one's system. Moving towards the stables, Lorenor thanked the chieftain one last time and then proceeded to head out to their destination. Preparing the wolves was a matter that took approximately an hour, and soon they were on their way to the mountains with their supplies completely replenished. Lorenor said nothing as he traveled alongside his newly acquired friend. Well at least, he hoped, that she saw him as a friend!

With their end goal coming closer every passing moment, the ghoul thought back to the fight. His weapons were replenished and he was ready for any encounters they might have out in the wilderness. She was clearly looking for something, otherwise, she wouldn't have needed an escort. Lorenor kept his wolf going at a basic trot, letting him pace himself alongside his companion wolf however he wanted to. The ghoul had great respect for the riding beasts. His face was locked on the road ahead, though his senses acutely observed Kyo for any sort of residual damage that might take place as a result of the severe poison.

Funny. A ninja got poisoned by animals. Lorenor had a small smile on the side of his lips as he concentrated on riding.

[Kyo]

The day passed quickly into night. The transition was nearly flawless and the deep, grey clouds that covered the sky allowed for much more illumination than the ninja was accustomed to in the hours of the night. The reflecting light of the snow helped and because of this they travelled for a few extra hours that they could have used to rest themselves and their beasts. But they had a lot of time for make up for and if it were up to Kyo she would have travelled all throughout the entire night but her body was still rather tired from the ordeal it had just been through. Riding atop the beast for the countless hours she already had was enough to throw her into exhaustion and wish for nothing more than sleep, even though she had already slept for nearly a week.

A week...

She couldn’t believe that a week had passed so easily while she merely slept it away. Of course, she hadn’t merely slept through it, she had been fighting off the effects of a very deadly poison that some fluffy little ball of fur had administers into her system. Poisoned. How comical that a ninja should find herself poisoned on the road of travel. It was usually the other way around, with her administering the poison to those she needed to remove. She could only find a small amount of humour in the whole exchange though. Nearly losing her life was not something she merely batted her lashes on, no she thought, analyzed and looked at the situation so she knew how she could prevent such a thing from happening again. She was a ninja, death was inevitable, but she didn’t plan on throwing her life away.

So, a few hours after the sky had merely turned a darker shade of grey, Kyo eased the wolves off the trail that Lorenor had been taking them off. She did it because she saw a small outcropping in the most barren wastelands where they could rest and hide from the harsh wind that were lashing across the lands and through her own clothing. She was not used to this weather and as such she could feel the draining effects of it on her already weakened body.

“Lorenor, I think I found us a good place to rest for the night.”

Kyo was already leading her wolf through the drifting waves of snow towards the small rocky outcropping. It wasn’t as small as she first perceived either, much of it blending in with the surrounding snow as it battered against what parts of the grey stone stuck out. It was in fact big enough to shelter both Lorenor, her and the wolves safely from the winds, sadly not from the cold though. This was one of the rare moments where Kyo wished she had those interesting magic powers and could provide some kind of warmth for both her and her travelling companion.

Guiding her wolf behind the large rocks and immediately feeling the relief as the wind touched her no more, Kyo dismounted. She quickly began taking the equipment off the back of the beast so that it could sleep without the restraints bothering it. The best way to sleep would probably be curled up against the beast; after all it would be much warmer than any blanket she current possessed. Rummaging around in her pack, she pulled out some dried meat and fruit from her homeland and a skin of water. Spreading out a thick blanket on the ground, she sat upon it and leaned against the cool rock, taking a long pull of the ice cold water from within. Setting it aside, she released a pleasurable sigh and then relaxed against the rock, even as she felt the cold from it seep into her back.

“So how long have you been in Salvar, Lorenor?” Small talk was not exactly her forte, but she could give it a try if only to make this entire trip seem far less tiresome.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Moving alongside Kyo the ghoul took the role of a follower. The nights in Salvar were cold, bitter, and dangerous. Especially this close to the unknown mountainous regions that they were going to explore. Lorenor stared off in the direction of the mountains that was their target. Nodding to her for a moment, the ghoul kept a close watch of the impromptu road. There was no clear road that they were on, but Lorenor knew many paths intertwining in and out of the back countries of this region. It wasn't the first time that the ghoul had to make a trip out into the wilderness. He suspected it wouldn't be the last.

Dismounting from his ride, he allowed Slurge to do as he wished for the time being. Lorenor moved to his packs and removed the contents that he needed to for the long night ahead. Placing the tent in their midst, the ghoul erected it after a few moments of planning. It was a sturdy shelter made out of thick hides and would serve its purpose to keep them warm. The ghoul also had sleeping bags in his possession, and tossed them inside the tent for himself and Kyo. She was cold. Lorenor went through the motions of basic survival skills in Salvar. One needed a fire.

Digging in the snow, the ghoul let the girl's question linger in the air between them for a moment. There was much work to do before the sun went down.

He dug a considerable few inches into the snow packed floor before searching for some nearby stones for his next project. Finding them close by the encampment, and with the two wolves protecting them, the small warrior focused on the task at hand. Lorenor sought out several well sized stones and systematically placed them in the pit he'd dug for them. He'd taken out flint wood from his packs as well as lighting flint for the job. A resupply mission in Knife's Edge had prepared the ghoul for such a long trip into the wilderness of Salvar. It was necessary survival training for trips potentially going into Berevar where there was no sun.

Sparking a flame was a simple matter of rubbing the a few flints together.

Small bursts of fire spread onto the flint wood. He breathed life into the flame and watched it grow into a well sized fire to keep them both warm. He had an oil lantern with him, and took some of the fire on a stick to light the lantern with so they'd have more light. He placed the lantern on a nearby rock, acting in a rather meticulous, learned fashion. Once he was done with the chores at hand, the fire pit secreted smoke that traveled upward. The ghoul lit up his smoking pipe again. He handed an extra one to Kyo. "The smoke keeps you warm." Lorenor explained. "It also keeps you alert, its a special herb from around these parts." The ghoul said explaining the nature of the substances in the pipe.

"I've been in Salvar for a few years now. I used to reside in Corone, but things are bad there now." Lorenor shook his head. "Bastard Empire marked us because we're followers of the Thaynehood. The Inquisition has already declared war on my Goddess from long ago, so that's nothing new." Lorenor paused for a moment taking a deep pull of the warming substance. Closing his glowing purple eyes, the energy vanished for a time casting an eerie shadow upon his face. Once the glow returned a moment later, Lorenor continued. "I guess I'm a resident of Salvar for now. I've even acquired a fiefdom thanks to some recent adventures." Lorenor said proudly. "With the fiefdom came lorsdhip. Imagine that. Me. A nobleman." Lorenor laughed at that in a friendly sort of way.

He'd come a long ways from his simple roots as a peasant boy in Concordia Forest.

[Kyo]

Kyosku smiled pleasantly at his words. He was apparently a follower of some kind of religion. Interesting, but not overtly so. Kyo had never been the kind of woman to put her faith in beings of higher power. She preferred the power within her own body and the strength of the sword in her hand. It was a certainty in a world filled with uncertainty. She’d always felt comfortable as a ninja, crawling through the dark as a predator, a murderer in some people’s minds, occasionally in her own. It didn’t bother her perhaps the way it should, but killing was second nature to her. Were she offered another kind of job, a more peaceful and perhaps even safer occupation she’d probably turn the person down. She always imagined that she’d never retire from what she did, never teach the younger generation the skills and abilities she had learned. No, Kyo assumed she would die on one of her missions. It was one of those near certainties to one of her kind. Most never saw past thirty and she was twenty-four. The thought had never disturbed her and wasn’t starting to now.

She looked down at the pipe in her fingers, hardly one to smoke foreign substances. She preferred her body’s natural immunities rather than filling it with things that potentially had serious side effects. Still he seemed to be using it well enough. Twirling the pipe around as if it were a knife, the ninja reached out and grabbed a small burning stick from the fire.

----------------------------

The weather had been on their side. The winds could be harsh at times, but the snow at its hardest could barely obscure her vision. Not to mention Feure had cut through the snow drifts even at the deepest with relative ease. The young man Meks had certainly not been stretching the imagination by any standards. Truly these wolves were made for the harsh weather of Salvar. For the next day and a half they travelled to the mountains until they were towering monstrosities of grey and white right before them. Magnificent and breathtaking. There were perhaps words to describe the beauty of the scene against the grey, sunlit clouds, but she couldn’t find them. All she could do was crane her neck and look up as they sliced into the sky. From here their sides and contours almost looked gentle, but she knew beneath the facade sharp and dangerous rock lay.

Glancing at the blazing spot of orange just visible behind the thick clouds, Kyosku realized they still had a few hours before twilight even began to descend over the land.

“We’ll make camp here for the night.” Even as she said the words, she could feel Lorenor watching her, knowing that there were still hours of good travel time left in the day. “What I need should be near to here, but can only be gathered at night.” Which was probably why the flower was called the Midnight of Walgur.

With the mountains ahead of them, the weather was not so harsh. It appeared they blocked the majority of the wind, creating a cool shelter for the two travellers. Moving in close to an outcropping of rocks for added protection, Kyosku jumped down from her beast with a sigh of relief. She stretched sore muscles in her legs, her back and her shoulders. Keeping herself upright for hours at a time knotted her shoulders and lower back into something uncomfortable. She knew she would not be sleeping very well tonight, her body tired after three days of riding. At least she no longer felt the weakening side effects of the poison.

Used to the routine by now, the ninja began the task of digging them out a fire pit while she knew Lorenor would begin to set up the tent. She’d use the last legs of the sun to rest and relax. Once Lorenor was peacefully at rest she planned on gathering her plants and had no idea how long it would take. Then they could leave in the morning.

[Mutant_Lorenor]

They were at the base of the mountain with its rich prizes of ore veins and other treasures. Lorenor knew that Dwarves lived around these parts. From his knowledge of the territory, the ghoul understood that they were deep within the mountain range and posed little threat to the travelers. With his knowledge of the territories around them, it was ironic that this was the first time that Lorenor was actually this far into the wilderness of Salvar with a companion like Kyo.

He'd traveled, for sure, but never this far. This was the first time he'd seen the mountains up close and personal like. He was impressed at the sheer magnitude of the obstructions and hoped to one day scale through its massive heights, or perhaps, venture into the ore rich depths of the cavernous reaches beneath the earth. A spelunking trip would be required for another day.

Thinking about what riches he could find from the mining expeditions he was planning for the future, Lorenor put the shelter up. Kyo worked on her own nearby to the mutant's person. With the two of them setting up camp, the process was much easier. He lit the blaze that would set up the campfire and gave the miniature inferno life. It hissed as it absorbed oxygen rapidly from the blistering wind and grew to a considerable size. The blaze created a soft glow in the camp adding its warmth to the air.

Lorenor was grateful that he'd resupplied at Knife's Edge before the long trip into the wild. His supplies would last through the entire trip back and forth to and from the mountain range.

They'd been lucky so far. The only encounter with any monsters had been the fur balls that they faced earlier. Those creatures proved to be a pain in the rear, a real thorn in the side, but Lorenor's craftiness saved the day. He sat down on a log nearby to the shelter and looked at Kyo with a serious expression on his face. A gut feeling, was it the endless talking to him? It burned through his stomach and filled him with a dread. She means to leave now. On her own, knowing what's out there. The thought made the ghoul's heart sink to his feet. He looked at the brave ninja girl and kept his eyes locked upon his person.

"If you must go alone, take one of these with you. Just give it back when you're done."

It's not that Lorenor doubted the girl's prowess, it's that he preferred she were better equipped. Her silly ninjato wasn't that powerful a weapon and he wanted her to borrow one of his sword. He removed the damascus masterwork long sword from his back, and handed the weapon to her. He was handing her the sword handle first. Snow drifted steadily to the ground as he made this motion, a soft smile was on his face. "Just return back in one piece okay?"

[Kyo]

Kyosku glanced towards the man with a look of slight shock lighting her glacial eyes. Her gaze travelled from his face and the glowing orbs that consisted of his eyes and towards the proffered sword. Reaching out, she wrapped her fingers around the cold hilt and carefully took the sword from his grasp. Pulling the blade a few inches from the sheath, she inspected the strength of the metal and the sharpness of the blade before quickly sheathing it once more.

“Merushi.” She said with a soft smile as she deeply bowed to the man.

--------------------------

The moon lit the sky like a white peddle, casting shades of blue across the winterscape before her. Here, where the harsh winds that had plagued them for most of their journey barely seemed to touch her, she could appreciate the night more. The silence that reigned in the area was both a blessing and a curse. This far north civilization was but a dream in the mind of the wanderer who trespassed on dangerous lands barely explored by even the Salvarian natives.

She’d thought it would have been darker than this. But with the clouds having dispersed and broken across the sky, the moon was left to dance within a thousand stars. And as she glanced upon it, she occasionally saw the twinkle of a rainbow covering the sky, almost like a pathway into the heavens that only the most learned of men knew about. It was mysteriously beautiful and made the ninja long to stay within the land longer, if only to explore more of its wildernesses. Yet her current mission still lay incomplete and she would not leave this place until she got what she came for.

The snow fell deep here making it hard to walk. Kyo had left her beast behind to trust instead in the feet that she possessed. She didn’t regret it, though she had not expected the snow to be so high upon her calves. It forced her to push through the substance harder and exert herself more. Sweating was dangerous in an environment like this, so she’d left a bit of jacket undone to allow the temperatures to cool her slightly. It just barely did the job.

Reaching the base of the mountain, Kyo readjusted the weight of the sword Lorenor had given her and then began climbing up. The flower should be a rather short climb up the side of the mountain. Or so the shop keeper had told her. Since she hadn’t seen it on the way to the mountain she could only hazard a guess that it would be upon the rocky slopes themselves.

Twice she slipped on her way up, once slamming her shoulder into the rocky surface hard enough to leave a constant ache whenever she moved it wrong. Ice hid just below the light covering of snow on the rocks and made it quite treacherous. Still she managed to haul herself up to a small plateau that was roughly thirty feet off the ground. It was not particularly large, but as her gaze swept across the flat of the snow, something caught her eyes. Moving towards it, she found herself staring down upon a grouping of roughly thirty of more flowers that were struggling through the snow. Their petals glowed softly from the light of the moon, making them seem ethereal in a way. Beautiful. The problem being, the Midnight of Walgur flower looked nearly identical to a weed. She had to make sure she picked the right one.

Moving through the snow, Kyosku knelt down near the grouping of flowers. Reaching out, she brushed her gloved fingers along the flowers which seemed so delicate yet had to be rather hardy plants to survive such a place. As she watched them, she slowly began to see the difference between the plant she wanted and the weed the shop owner had warned her about. Midnight of Walgur had a soft pinkish colour in the centre of it, while the weed was pure white.

Reaching behind her, Kyo removed her pack from her shoulders and dug within for a large piece of leather cloth. Pulling four of the plants from the snow, she placed them within the cloth and then packed it with snow to keep them cool and fresh. Wrapping it, she placed it within her pack and then stood. Turning to the leave, the ninja paused as a clump of snow slumped down from above and landed a few feet from her. Drawing her brows down in confusion, she turned and looked up...

[Mutant_Lorenor]

Meanwhile-

It was rather lonely in the wilderness without good companionship. The mutant found himself missing Kyosku something fierce. She was a good traveling partner and possessed a smart head on her shoulders. He was glad to have found the mercenary ninja and had a chance to help her out.

Despite his longing for the girl, Feure and Slurge made good company in their own right. The male wolf howled at the moon for a long moment stirring up the predatory feelings within the mutant. I know how you feel. The howl was a melancholy sound that filled the air for several miles all around. Feure rested nearby to the small warrior's position and Lorenor reacted by placing a hand to the domesticated wolf's flank. Feeling pleasure from the ghoul's gentle touch, the wolf looked up with a pleased expression on her face. Slurge, his riding wolf stood at a guarding position at the front of the camp prepared to face any of the dangers that the Salvarn Lord might face in the long, lonely night.

Smoking to keep himself warm, Lorenor pulled the hot air into his lungs. He drew the warmth from his companion wolves, and the simple fire that he'd created to help fight against the bitter cold Salvarn nights. In the day, it was cold. At night, the temperatures dropped even more. Lorenor looked up at the night sky and picked out a few constellations that he was familiar with, the ones he understood from his travels in Salvar. He picked out the hunter, the huntress, and a few other common star figures. Lorenor traced them with his fingertips using the North Star as a guide. He felt tiny compared to the vastness of space and found himself wondering what other mysteries were out there. It was moments like these when the ghoul allowed himself to become philosophical.

"Mind if I join you?"

Came the voice. Lorenor immediately grabbed one of his swords, went into fighting position and turned towards the presence. Somehow, the owner of the voice was able to completely bypass the ghoul's sensory array. Struggling to gather about a scent of the owner, the mutant was unable and after a few moments, gave up. Looking at the girl before him, Lorenor allowed himself to relax his guard a bit. The wolves snarled for a moment but soon relaxed their guard as well at the handsome woman. She wore ragged robes that covered her body to a fair degree. At her bosom there was revealed cleavage that promised a well formed breast cup. Lorenor looked at the girl for a long time. She gave off a mysterious presence that seemed somehow familiar to the mutant and felt his loins stirring with the confines of his pants, he felt a longing to the girl.

Placing his sword back in its sheathe, the ghoul realized she wasn't going to attack. She would have done so already. She had flowing long hair that was white as snow and flowed in the breeze around them. Flecks of various colors touched the visible skin that Lorenor could see. She wore a soft, teasing smile on her face filled with promise. "I don't mind the company, please sit." The girl nodded politely and walked over to a rock that was close by to the ghouls' person. "Would you like something to drink, or perhaps a bite to eat?" Lorenor asked. The girl laughed in a pleasant sort of way, keeping her eyes locked on the ghoul. "I heard about you Lord Lorenor. Words of your deeds has reached my ears."

"Do I know you?"

Lorenor handed her a water skin filled with fresh drinking water. The girl took the object into her hand and unscrewed it gently, her movements were lithe and controlled. The mutant had admiration for her.

"You should. For stories of my legends travel far and wide." She paused taking the water skin to her full lips and pulling some water into her system. It occurred to Lorenor to give her some food as well. So he handed her some beef jerky and a bit of fruit as well, that's all he had left on his person to offer up to the stranger. He'd given much of his supplies to Kyo. The ghoul only carried such provisions for other people, not himself. Lorenor fed from the fallen corpses of monsters, and sometimes, people. "Forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Jomil. The Huntress."

And Lorenor was stunned. He immediately realized who and what he was staring at and fell to his knees. "Forgive me, I had no idea of who you were!" Despite his personal feelings towards the Thaynehood and the All-Thayne, Lorenor knew when to show proper respect. This entity could destroy him at will. "There is no need for any of that. You are amongst an equal."

"Mi'lady? Me an equal to you? I don't understand."

"I am here to tell you something very important and to ask a favor of you."

Lorenor refused to rise to face her at equal eye level unless told to do so. Those eyes were piercing and the mutant felt as though she were staring right to his very soul. Reading him.

"You may rise my dear child. There is no need for any of that like I said."

She laughed again her gentle laugh and all though he was uncomfortable in doing so, he rose to sit beside her once again. He kept his eyes locked upon her own. "What would the lady ask of me?" Lorenor wondered. "It's two things really. The first is a simple request. I need you to take this package from me to the High Priest in the Temple of Knife's Edge. He will know you are coming. I can guarantee that." She bit through some of the meats that Lorenor had given her. The dried beef was a rather solid ration and tasted very good. It was rather spicy though and she took another sip of the water. "It's a humble thing to ask. I will of course do it." She nodded calmly. "I am grateful for you. This is an important favor to me." Lorenor listened as she spoke. "Lorenor do you know what you are?"

"I know I have the markings of a Spider Magi." He said and frowned a bit thinking about that. "[b]Which makes me a direct servant to N'Jal." She nodded. "You are a pure born Spider Magi. Only circumstances dictated your current situation. You are really something greater than a Spider Magi. Do you know what that is?"

He shook his head in the negative.

"Lorenor. You are one of us." It took a moment for the ghoul to process what she was saying and shock settled into his system. "What do you mean?" She paused and let it all sink in. "You are a Demi-Thayne, like the heroes of old." Lorenor moved to say something but she put his hands to his lips. "Please let me speak. You are the son of N'Jal. And as such you belong in the Thaynehood. But unlike N'Jal, you have the choice to pick what side you want to be. You can choose to do great things Lorenor. We believe in you. I believe in you. I hope that you will cease your pointless war against us and join with us." Lorenor thought about what she was saying. "What will I get for joining you?" She laughed again. "You are very wise for asking such a thing." Taking a bite of the fruit, she smiled as juices flowed down her chin invitingly. "We can offer the power of the Thaynehood for you. You will be granted fame, glory, and riches beyond your wildest dreams." Lorenor's interest was piqued. "And you will be granted one other thing by me personally."

"What would that be?" His greed was already playing tricks on his mind. Standing up, she walked gracefully over towards Lorenor and placed the apple to his lips. Lorenor moved backwards for a brief moment but then conceded to what she was offering. He took a bite of the apple, touched by a Thayne, a core Thayne at that. She put the apple down upon his supplies and there was a small exchange of energy that took place. The apple, Lorenor had only now noticed it, had acquired a purple color to it. Then, she did something quite unexpected.

She kissed him! Wrapping his arms firmly about her person, the woman kissed him deeply. "You hunger for that Akashiman girl. I want you to hunger for me instead. You may, indulge yourself."

And Lorenor took Jomil the Huntress into his tent and made love to her. Filling her with his seed. When Lorenor awoke from his ordeal, he realized he was alone. His awakening would time exactly with Kyo's return. Looking at his empty bed, he saw the same purple apple. Only this time, it had grown back the portions that were eating. It seemed like it was an ever lasting apple of legend. The ghoul grinned still feeling strange from the entire experience. His bed covers were stained from the sex. Lorenor touched his lips for a moment and went back to sleep. He had no choice but to wait for Kyo to return.

Lorenor hadn't noticed it, but by his side sat the package from Jomil that he was ordered to deliver to the High Priest.

He wanted his sword back.

[Kyo]

Kyo hit the ground hard. The air within her lungs left suddenly and intensely, leaving her winded and stunned. The snow that had seemed so soft before now pressed against her body from below as something else restricted her from above. Shoving itself against her chest and making it difficult for her to catch the air that had been forced from her. For a long moment, she couldn’t see anything, could only feel it and the hot breath that fanned against her face in broken intervals. Then she realized she’d closed her eyes. The moment her body slammed into the ground, her eyes had reflexively shut and never opened. Gritting her teeth and fighting against the urge to keep them that way, the ninja opened them.

Her stomach dropped. Above her, pinning her down was what looked like a giant snow cat. Its fur was as white as the snow around her and spotted with marks of black. A paw that easily encompassed a quarter of her torso was pressed down upon her ribcage, restricting it and sharp teeth were just inches away from her face.

Instinctively, Kyo jammed her one forearms under the beasts jaw and pressed against its throat, straining to keep it from biting her face off. Her other arm reared back and slammed her fist into the side of the creature’s head. Her small hand impacted upon hard bone and had she felt something break, she knew it would have been her and not it. The giant snow cat barely flinched. Instead, it opened its large maw and growled deep within its throat, releasing dank smelling breath. Knowing she was as good as dead beneath it, Kyo reached behind her for her ninjato. At the angle she was pinned upon, she could only reach one of them. She lashed out with the small blade. The sharpened edge dug into the side of the cats face and went no further. The thick fur protected it from her smaller weapons, preventing them from penetrating the skin.

Shifting the blade around, she reared back her arm and shoved it into the creature’s paw. She felt the tip of the blade sink into the flesh of the cat. Bright red blood welled and began to stain the fur. Before Kyo could pull the blade out, the cat screamed out an ear piercing sound and shoved its paw away from her.

She rolled away from the cat. Reaching behind her, the ninja wrapped her fingers around the sword Lorenor had lent her. Just as the sword came around in front of her, Kyo was forced to dive off to the side. The snow cat pounced at her, attempting to pin her down once more.

Coming to her feet quickly, Kyosku rushed the large animal. With the blade off to the side of her body, she slashed at its open side. Once again the thick fur helped slow the blade down, but this time it bit skin. The cat cried out, the sound echoing throughout the mountain. Then reared back its leg and slammed a paw towards her. She tried to move out of the way, but the deep snow made her sluggish. The large paw slammed into her arm and shoulder. Sharp claws ripped right through her clothes and dug into her flesh, staining the snow with her own blood.

Holding back the cry deep in her throat, the ninja stumbled and fell to one knee. Knowing she couldn’t stay there unless she wanted she die, she quickly pulled herself up. As the next swipe came in at her, she jumped and dove under it, rolling through the snow as best she could. She came out less than a foot away from it. Its large face snarling, sharp white teeth at her. Snapping its jaw, Kyo rolled again, ignoring the burning sensation running across her arm and hampering her movements even farther. The moment she came back to her feet she was knocked off as another paw slammed into her back. Taking the movement into another roll, Kyo came to a stop in a crouching position.

Digging her feet into the snow, Kyosku dove towards the cat, just making it underneath the large animal. Spinning the sword around in her hands, she jammed it up into the cat’s stomach, once, twice, three times, listening to it scream and cry out in pain. With the adrenaline pumping through her blood and the ache of her muscles forgotten, the ninja continued to dig the blade in over and over again until finally the creature moved to collapse and she had to roll over or be crushed beneath it.

Taking a moment to calm herself and the rapid beats of her heart, Kyo pulled her ninjato from the creatures paw, cleaned it and sheathed it. She did the same for the long sword that Lorenor had given her and then applying pressure to the three slashes in her arm and shoulder as best she could, she began to trek back to camp.

The camp wasn’t far, but by the time Kyo got back she was shaking from excursion. Blood had soaked into her jacket and dripped down from her fingers into the snow. She was leaving a clear trail back to their camp, but couldn’t seem to care at the moment.

“Lorenor?” Her voice sounded too soft even to her.

Slipping her pack off, she ripped her jacket from her body, no longer caring about the cold. Falling to her knees, she quickly rummaged for her medical pack. She needed to get her wounds cleaned and bandaged.