Lady of the Lake

[Claire]

Cold. Cold! Gods be damned it was too cold in this damn country. Follow the mountains the guide had said. They will take you to Nova. Well, they had taken her to cold! Cold and misery. Civilization was close apparently, if the increase of wanderers like herself were anything to go by. She crossed her arm tightly and let out a frustrated huff, the air pluming in front of her face. Just a little while more of marching and she would be in some form of civilization.

She marched across the snow, through the gaps in the trees, keeping her gaze forward. It was hard to keep the trail straight in this unfamiliar weather, but she thought she was on it right. The trees were parting around her, taller than what she was familiar with and thick. Normally it would have been too dark to see, but the moonlight was giving enough to guide her path through the trees. Then she saw it.

The steam.

Claire’s rucksack nearly fell from her shoulder. Steam. Steam meant heat. Hot something. Hot anything in this frozen wasteland. She ran forward, her thick leather boots crunching against the snow as the trees parted in front of her. She skidded to a stop as her feet gave way to smooth black stones and she dropped her sack, looking over at the expanse of smooth, steaming water.

An altogether giddy grin grew over her face as she bit into her thick glove and tore it off her hand, taking a few steps forward and pushing her fingertips into the steaming water. Hot. Perfect.

She pulled her makeshift leather doublet forward- a gift from one of the people she had stayed with in a desperate gambit to make her look more presentable, and sniffed her skin. Well, she wasn’t exactly pleasant smelling. She couldn’t remember the last time she actually had a hot bath. Claire undid the thick doublet quickly and her shirt soon followed, followed by her trousers and underclothes before she took a step forward into the water. She let out a pleased sigh at the sensation at heat, pulling her hair free of the cap that contained it. She threw it back with her clothes and supplies, pulling her thick dark hair over her shoulder. As she moved forward into the water and sank into it, the thought that maybe this country wasn’t so bad came to mind. She sighed, dunking her hair in the hot water. Hopefully this was the capitol that was so close- the gods wouldn't object to some indulgences every once in a while.

[Deleted]

”EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!”

There was a high pitched squeal was coming, and it was coming closer and closer.

”CANNON BALLLLLLL!!!”

A curvaceous red head came flying out of the woods, clad in nothing but what she was brought into the world with. There was a large splash as the flying projectile of a girl hit the water and went under. A few moments later the girl floated up on her back, spitting out water like a makeshift water fountain. She was a small woman, petite but curvy. She had long wavy red hair which floated around her, pale ivory skin; marred only by a nasty scar that blazed up the right side of her face. A black tattoo of a dagger was visible on her arm, and if she turned over an even larger tattoo of a sword with a snake like blade. The girl wiggled her toes happily and sighed in contentment.

Aria had slid out of the temple of the moon and headed directly to the forest. She needed to get her baring’s straight after being teleported from her world. Plus if she was going to be of any use she needed to figure out how to access the flow of magic in this world….and figure out what she could still do. What better way than to head to the springs for a bath! So there she went, she had stripped off her clothes; and almost every jewel besides for her pendant and placed it in a hiding spot in arms reach of the springs. Along with her dress, armlets, and cape….which really weren’t all that warm here. She would do well to find some normal clothes before going to the castle. But naked as a jaybird she only had one plan. To take a running star and dive bombing the spring.

[Claire]

Claire jolted suddenly when she heard the cry from the woods, coming closer. She stood in the shallow edge of the pool as the young woman leapt into the pool, screeching a word she was entirely unfamiliar with. She stared at the young woman as she bobbed in the water, clearly perplexed. Well. Maybe they were public?

Claire sunk back into the water, muttering something under her breath. Strange girl. Well, she had stripped and leapt into the water with similar enthusiasm when she was a girl, so maybe this was similar here. Maybe these Northerners disliked the cold as much as she did. And were perhaps not as frigid as she had been lead to believe.

The hot water was working miracles against her frustrations and she sighed again, dunking under the water to wet her hair once more. She turned her back to the girl to give her the privacy, the long marks of her scars from blades stretching across her back as she bent forward to wash her face.

[Deleted]

The mountains. Heaven’s Pass was the same as back home, and Ilta was just looking for something of familiar. Apparently, she was on the Northern side of the mountain. Same side as Setanul. Maybe if she headed far enough North, she would find herself back at home. That was foolish thinking though, which got here in the first place. Besides, parts of this world was wrong. The Moon Temple was in the North and not the South. There was no Rose Guards as far as she knew and no Dusk either, which was a decent improvement. She could travel without the fear of becoming an abomination who devoured the living.

Her long hair’s been tossed by the wind and covers a good portion of her face. As a result, she looks like a hairy abomination with horns. After a good while of fighting the force of the wind, she just stopped trying to brush her hair aside. When she arrives to the spring, she sees two people. For once, Ilta feels strange still being clothed, wearing a brown tunic, black pants, brown boots, and brown wool travelling cloak. On her side, there is a longsword, and on her back, there is all her current worldly possessions which totaled to nothing of great value. It takes a beat, but Ilta realizes she knows one of those faces. Ilta laughs loudly Maybe she went insane. Maybe she was dreaming. Maybe she did get eaten by Dusk in the desert long ago. Or maybe… her luck was actually turning around. She could get the rest of her payment, and maybe get herself on her feet. “You,” she says pointing to Aria, “You owe me 10 silver. You’re lucky I didn’t sell the damn things yet… and that they survived travel to a completely different world.”

[Rivers]

Rivers had left the Moon temple and takes a deep breath of the air. Yeah, this is home. He thinks to himself as he steps out into the chill air and begins to spin. Soon the wind beneath his feat begins to gather and he steps into the sky. His gates were back and even if he could no longer hear the wind is still came when he called. Rivers shivers slightly from the cold and takes his gloves out of his pocket, how long had it been since he had to wear these? He wondered to himself as he stands on air and looks down at the world.

The gates within him seem to weave and spin and in an instant he dropped the next moment he was on the ground looking at a large tree. Then he was on the tree. He smiles wanly, he still hadn't lost his touch...or so he thought at he slipped on the snow branch and only barely managed to open a gate to shift his motion horizontally before smacking into the ground.

"That would have been bad." he says to himself and then fishes the egg out of his pocket. "I wonder what's inside this thing...it probably does not like the cold." He looks around and consults his sense of direction for a moment. I should be near the Crystal Springs he remembers and then focuses drawing all of his tunnels back into himself.

"Visualize." He says holding out a hand and creating an invisible tunnel to the springs. "And step through."

As the brown jacketed mage steps through he finds himself standing before several lovely ladies. To them he would have seemed to have appeared out of thin air. "Well I did not expect this." He admits as he fishes the large egg out of his coat and holds it over the steam from the spring, he did not want to cook the thing after all. "So...nice whether we're having huh?"

[Deleted]

Aria popped up at the sound of splashing, she blinked for a couple of seconds before her face split into a grin. She didn’t realize she had just splashed another bather. She noted the woman’s back had odd scars, but didn’t they all?


”Hello”

Aria chirped a friendly greeting; getting to know people would be on the top of her list. Strange time…weird history….and all that…best be getting ties now. However her plan to make new friends didn’t last long when a familiar face came stumbling into the springs. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise when she suddenly went on about silver. She stood up in the bath her hair clinging to her wet skin. A frown instantly crossing her face; she eccentric but she wasn’t senile. What did this girl think she was, demanding silver that she had already gotten.


”You got your silver the day I commissioned those! NORE did I get them on time. I was supposed to get them before hallows eve….Winter Harvest came and I hadn’t had the gift I commissioned and paid good coin for. ”


Yet another familiar face showed up in the midst of her lecture. Causing Aria to pause and let out a squeal of glee tackling the man that just popped out of thin air.

”RIVERS!”


She could almost cry for joy, she wasn’t alone here!...Ilta didn’t count…she was close enough to dragon fodder to mean much.


”Whats with the egg”

[Deleted]

Steam.

At first, he took it for his own hot breath.

Pause.

His toes curled around the branch beneath him. 

Steam was a brilliant thing to see at this time of year, and usually meant a warm and clean respite for those who wandered- like him. He pushed forward into the glowing moisture, jumping from branch to branch in a fearless, but clearly risky manner. He enjoyed the movement. He darted efficiently through the branches of closely-knit trees, and spent most of his time dodging. His olive skin and dark composure fit naturally within the quick-moving greens and blacks of the forest. As he got closer, his heart began to beat. Artemis was used to listening to the Omen of the forest, but this message came through to him much more clearly than the others. 

Be quiet. Listen. 

And upon arriving to four or five individuals mucking about in a hot spring, that's just what he did. 

They were all very strange looking to him. The forest was all one- living and dying together - but these outsiders seemed beyond the sense of nature. He gripped the branch, concerned that others were attracted to the steam. Water was never his favorite element.

Relax. Do as you were asked. 

And so he Listened. 

[Claire]

“Hello.”



Claire lifted her head from the water and turned to look back at Aria. Was she speaking to her? That was a form of greeting in this land, yes. She nodded curtly to the girl before looking up, noticing another presence here. She frowned when company joined them, shaking her hands free of water droplets. That woman and that man… it seemed odd that this place would be so popular so late at night.

The girl and that man were friends at least, perhaps. Lovers, even? She could pick out and understand a few words from what the three of them spoke, but remained silent. She turned her back to the group, letting them work out their familiar affairs. She moved into the slightly more shallow water, the water reaching to her waist.

Claire closed her eyes and breathed in the steam, letting it clear her mind. She had a mission in this capitol, someone to find. The person with the tattoo of a sword. Even for the gods, that mission was vague. But she would do as she was asked.

Claire opened her eyes and looked up to the treeline, spying the slight movement in the trees. She locked eyes with the young man perched there and her frown deepened. Young men in trees, late night parties in the baths, this city was very strange.

[Deleted]

Spotted. 

Awkward. Her eyes were piercing, but not in a brutal way. Not like the foxes and wolves he was used to staring at. 

He wasn't really expecting this. And while the omen told him to wait and watch, his body shivered. 

"How am I to obey Omen while shivering to death?"  He wondered.

"The gods are Cruel. " He finally muttered. 

Without another thought, he let himself down from the tree and scampered over to the edge of the spring- literally as far away from the others as possible. He opened his leather knapsack and began to fill one of three empty canteens. Hot water tasted strange, but was less likely to make him sick. In the wild, a day or two of sickness could end your life. It was as if the mountains themselves could sniff out his weakness and would send the hungry for him.

No one seemed to notice him yet, except for the girl who had locked eyes with him momentarily. 

"I'll be on my way soon..." He thought.  "Just fill up the canteens and move on."

[Deleted]

Ilta raises an eyebrow as Aria attempts to cheat her from her work. Naturally, she should of expected someone who seemed willing to put down that much money wasn’t actually going to follow through. “One, you paid a third of the agreed upon price, and I am asking for the other two thirds. Two, it was months before their due date last I remember. However, if you don’t intend to pay me, I can probably get more for them at the merchant’s district.”

Ilta jumps to the side as a man suddenly appears at the spring. Her hand goes to her sword as an instant reaction and her flesh begins to harden, preparing for a fight. However, seeing he is unarmed and holds nothing but an egg, she relaxes as her skin returns to normal. She crosses her arms and turns her attention back to Aria, who seems to know this individual. Breaking up the reunion between the two, she asks, “Do you want them or not? If you’re not buying them, then I can feel alright about selling them to someone else.” At the moment, she seems unaware of the man in trees and unconcerned with the other woman in the springs.

[Rivers]

Ahhh~ warm...though the cold is really nostalgic. Rivers thinks to himself as he watches the egg warm up, and then is swiftly tackled. "Oh, hello Boss, how's it goin?" He asks her with a neutral expression. This whole situation did not seem to bother him at all though he does take note of each person at the spring.

As Aria sat on him Rivers and her disappeared and reappeared on a nearby rock where Rivers pried himself free. "I am pretty sure it's a dragon egg Aria, I got it from a different world." he explains with a surprisingly serious tone. "By the way, have you seen Muse? I have been looking everywhere for her." He asks the fiery redhead as he finally takes stock of his surroundings.

It appeared that there was one craftswoman or merchant, one warrior and a man he did not recognize. "So what did the Boss steal anyways?" he asks curiously then looks around again.

[Deleted]

Aria frowned deepened as Ilta accused her of stealing…while she wasn’t above it she wouldn’t steal something that was meant to be a gift. Her usual warm stare turned icey; her lips curling up in an animalistic snarl.

”I will love to point out when I made that order the summer had just loosened its hold on the land, if you look at your surroundings winter know holds it in its well-maintained grip. Or are you dragon kin so thicked skin you cannot notice the seasons changing. If I also may take a crack at the fact that you also helped yourself to a certain dragon on top of the falls not long after. A dragon ride fetches a pretty price my dear…they don’t usually permit people on their backs.”

Aria ran a hand through her hair; her attention turning back to Rivers. She blinked when she was suddenly on the other side of the spring, and yet another had joined them. She stared at the new comer for a bit before turning her attention back to Rivers for a second.

”I want to see that egg in a second”

She turned back to the girl cooling her temper off a bit.

”You and I do not have money in this world; we are fated and without coin. However I believe I can reach an arrangement since I did already put a down payment on the gifts meant for a friend. You do not speak Novianian nore do you know the city, I speak novianian fluently along with knowing the ins and outs of the city. I request these services for all except two of the daggers…..the others are mine. Two you may keep to do what you will.”

Aria met her with a stare that dared her to turn her down. She would trade knowledge for what was rightfully hers…. Aria turned back to Rivers frowning that Muse hadn’t come with him.

”I haven’t seen muse since I last saw you at the Mary, I will send out scouts for her though….but it may be a while. My eyes and ears have not spread yet…But I will try to find her if I can. I know how much she means to you”

She gave him an apologetic look, for now she could do little more than try. Aria turned back to the other one who joined them by the spring. Her eyes going over him carefully…He looked wild; something that she liked. The Deyu was the closest thing to this that she encountered. It was nice to see others…. But this little spring was certainly proving to be a gathering point…ironically….

”….This is turning out to be quite the party….all we need is uncle to show up”

Aria clapped her hands together looking at her two closer companions.

”We are being rude to the others”

Aria turned back to the women whom they first interrupted.

” I ezigolopa rof eht snoitpuretni: ew evah dedavni rouy htab. Wolla em ot ecudortni flesym, m’I Aria Wurud.”

[Claire]

Claire broke her gaze from the young man as he dropped to collect the water. She lifted her arm to give her armpit a discerning sniff before nodding. She smelled a little less rancid now. At least she wasn’t dirty anymore. She moved to get out of the pool, reaching down to the stones to pick up her underclothes when the girl addressed her.

Claire turned her head sharply to look at Aria, staring at her. Okay, she didn’t understand any of that, but the girl was talking right at her.

“...I do not understand.” Claire replied, her voice deep and heavily accented from a region the group would not recognize. Her common was very clear on that phrase, however- it was obvious she had spoken it a lot. She was about to turn away, but then she saw it.

Claire’s eyes widened and she dropped the cloth in her hand, walking boldly over to Aria and gripping her arm firmly. Her grip was hard, strong, and not easily broken as she lifted Aria’s arm to inspect the dagger tattoo. She then turned her to see the tattoo of the sword creeping down her skin. She looked down at Aria, her eyes suddenly wide in excitement. Could it have been that easy? Was it that easy? She hadn’t even made it to the city yet, but was this the person the gods had sent her to find?

“I-” Claire tried to start, gesturing out by her throat with her free hand. She tried to think of the words. “-you. Girl. Fated? Are you Fated?” she asked, an excited smile breaking out on her face.

[Deleted]

Ilta looks momentarily to Rivers to answer his question, “Nothing yet, but I suppose I should be on guard about possibility of her attempting to rob me instead of just trying to cheat me.” She turns back to Aria, unfazed by her snarling. Instead, she gives her a tired look. “And I think I have paid that price in losing my family forever, yes? I’ve lost more than time, which I can remember decently well without you reminding me, and I’m not about to make my own life harder for your benefit.”

Ilta stares back at the red-haired woman. Part of her wanted to decline just because the girl seemed full enough of herself. “One, I have no assurance you will not make yourself scarce as soon as you can. Two, contrary to your current beliefs about me, I am somewhat capable of looking after myself, and there would need to be a decent amount of value to whatever information you hold for this to be worthwhile, which I have no way of ascertaining besides your word for it. Three, which is probably the most important, none of this solves the lack of money, shelter, and quite soon food problems that I am currently experiencing. So right now, you are asking me to trust you when I have no reason to, particularly after you led me to a ravine where I got teleported here. And while this is apparently an everyday circumstance for him,” she says gesturing Rivers, “it is not for me.”

She shakes her head as Aria mentions being rude to the others. “I’m not going to act like this is a pleasant get together.”

[Rivers]

As Aria explodes at the dragonkin Rivers looks the pair over, trying to figure out what happened. He thinks about it a bit, this was probably caused by getting teleported here or something. Though he did not much relish the direction this conversation seemed to be heading in. So he decided to move to stop it. But first

He closes his hand on the egg and it seems to vanish as if it was never there. Sorry little guy, it's a shame to miss the show, but you aren't ready for this kind of thing yet.

Then the spoony bard walks over to the arguing pair and says to the dragonkin in a language she'd probably recognize. "I think we should all calm down for a moment and have this discussion in an inn or something, not out in the middle of the freezing cold next to a hot spring while one of the parties is naked. Though I suppose if you wanted to join her I could probably make some coin inviting travelers from the road to see the show." He jokes and then looks around a bit. Rivers did not have much money on him, a little though it would only be worth it's raw materials since it was not the proper coinage, but a bard and a thief could always find a way to get by.

Though Rivers notices that the woman who had been there originally had suddenly grabbed Aria. He listened for the words...'Fated' that was probably what all three of them were, World Walkers were often pulled in under strange circumstances. As he walks over towards Aria and the woman he looks back at the Dragon Kin and says "You're right, I am pretty used to this at this point, you are free to stick with me if you want, or you can do your own thing."

Then he examines the two naked women grappling "...you know Boss while I appreciate this show, I really do think you two should either submerge yourselves again, or put some cloths on...or am I supposed to start selling tickets?"