Tsaimath
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Chapter 405
🕑 Added 2021-03-19 17:00:05 +0000 UTC“That Neamov you mentioned. Where exactly is it?” I asked Olivia once we were done with eating. My group was, at this point, a little lost. Originally, we had been travelling on the ancient road, steadily going west, neither because of open air nor for sun in wintertime, but because that was where we hoped to find a way to travel towards Aletoma or Arbotoma as North and South-America were respectively called. It was a little ludicrous and part of me wondered if continuing with the plan I had set was an example of sheer, single-minded stubbornness on my part, a refusal to accept that it was an idiotic idea, born out of a failure to understand the scale but at the same time, I wasn’t quite ready to give up. I had that Soul Prison in my bag, stashed there for almost a year, and a divine-difficulty Quest to go with it, if I wanted to leave my mark in the beta and hopefully get some sort of way to reunite with Sigmir after the beta ended, I needed to leave a mark. Or something.
Maybe freeing Prometheus or slaying the eagle tormenting him would work as well, especially if I managed to use the eagle’s blood to empower Lenore.
“Are you mad?” Lenore interrupted my musing with a tone I could only describe as scared, even if I could feel her desire, the greedy wish to swallow and devour the power of the eagle, to become something more. Alas, as much as I would love to accomplish feats that could only be described as legendary, I was no Heracles and certainly no demi-god, making success questionable, if not outright impossible. Thinking back, to the feelings of fear and helplessness, outright impossible felt about right.
“A bit north of here, a couple of days travel, depending on the speed you are moving at, how adventurous you are and so on. The town itself was carved into the mountains by the dwarves, a trade and merchant-city, taking advantage of the two ancient roads that cross nearby.” Olivia explained and I noticed Adra nodding along.
“I’ve heard of the town, but I’ve never been there.” she added, before continuing, “Most people who travel east and want to cross the Turian Mountains pass through there, at least that was what I’ve been told.”
“It is as your friend says. If you want to head to eastern Aretia, you either pass through Neamov or through Roclaw, even further north.” At that point, she paused for a second, her forehead creased into a frown. “Well, unless you want to go the long way around, travelling through the Northern Forests of Nidvanscia. You look like you would fit there.” Olivia remarked, her eyes measuring me.
“Interesting, I wouldn’t know about that. As I mentioned, I am a Traveller, without connections to this world, other than those I forged myself.” I admitted, realising after a moment that the Firnelves might live in that northern forest, elves and forests had always been a classic fantasy trope. However, that didn’t mean I had any idea about it, given that I had eschewed a civilised starting-location, along with any social benefits.
“Most curious. I talked with a few Travellers, further to the west, but they never mentioned anything like that. They seemed to have integrated quite well into their communities and the people around them seemed happy to have them. Skilled, hard-working yet seriously lacking in survival instinct, but if you are immortal, I guess that is less of a problem.” Olivia mused, a soft smile on her face again.
“Would you tell me why you lack those connections? And why you are travelling with this most interesting and diverse group?” she asked, still looking at me, with a gaze that made me a little uneasy. A cawing noise stopped me, before I could answer, as pure amusement flooded over my connection with Lenore, who barely managed to stay on my shoulder, given that she was laughing so hard.
“She looks like you do, when you see something magical that you don’t understand.” Lenore explained and along her words, an explanation for her amusement was transmitted. Apparently, she thought it hilarious that the one normally inquisitive person was now the subject of investigation and disturbed by a look normally worn by myself.
My response was the equivalent to mentally sticking my tongue out, only to be forced into a quick catch, as that was enough to make Lenore lose her footing, from laughing too hard.
“We can talk about that.” I allowed, a chuckle in my voice, while holding Lenore who was still shaking with amusement.
“But not now, we are losing daylight. If you want, you can travel with us as that Neamov-town sounds like as good a destination as any. If nothing else, we have to get back to the ancient road, to continue our journey.” I continued, cutting off the question Olivia had just opened her mouth to ask. She stopped herself and looked at me for a moment, before nodding.
“I suppose joining you could be a good idea, at least if we can come to a bit of an agreement.” she paused again, studying me, before she continued “Would you offer a promise that you do not intend to harm me or attempt to force me into actions against my faith?”
Somehow, the fact that she didn’t agree at once made me a little more confident. If she had, I would have wondered whether she had the confidence to take us all on, if we were to turn on her. But if she required a promise, likely backed up by some sort of Oath or pledge involving her deity, the question of confidence changed and turned into a question regarding the effect of such an oath and possibly the power of her deity.
“That depends on the tenets of your faith. I have to apologize, I do not know what the tenets of Eleutheria entail.” I admitted, after a moment to consider my words.
“Freedom.” she simply answered, a grin on her face, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. Or maybe calling it faith or religious fervour would be more fitting.
“My Lady takes care of those who roam, the travellers and vagabonds, unbound and free. I will not be party to banditery or attempts to rob others of their freedom. As such, if you are trying to act in such a way while we are travelling together, I will leave and would ask that you don’t try to stop me. If your actions are too egregious, I might even turn against you.” she explained, the last sentence spoken with a wry tone, somehow unbefitting her warning words. Yet, the frank nature helped me to relax, knowing what would cause strife in the party would allow me to anticipate and avoid it.
“That sounds manageable. I would ask you for the same promise, that you will not act in a way harmful to any of us, which includes keeping secrets you might learn, like the details of our abilities.” I suggested, realising that such a promise might benefit us a lot more than her, given what she had already seen. If she promised, especially while invoking the name of her Goddess, I doubted she would break her word. If we managed to get the Oath worded in such a way that it would remain in place even after we parted company, my Avatar-Ability would remain secret.
Olivia nodded and stood up, causing me to raise an eyebrow as she walked over to her bedroll, picking up the staff that was lying next to it. It was rather simple, about as long as she was tall and with a simple metal cap at one end, a bit of carving on the other. The carving resembled a sunburst, causing me to frown a little.
“In the name of sacred Eleutheria, I promise not to harm the Traveller Morgana and her travelling companions.” Olivia intoned, the stump of her left arm touching her chest, near the collar-bone, the right arm holding the staff that was suddenly glowing with golden light, a strange flame burning at its tip.
Without meaning to, my tongue flicked out, tasting the air and the power radiating from Olivia and her light-show, curious how it would taste. What I tasted surprised me, I had anticipated a sharp taste, similar to the magic I had felt around Dura Firebringer and Elder Brightsun but it was vastly different, difficult to describe and pin down. Airy, not in the same way as wind-magic but more akin to the mouth-feeling of cotton-candy, just not as obnoxiously sweet. It wasn’t unpleasant, especially compared to what I had expected and I could feel the power in her words. Unless I was missing something, not impossible by any stretch of imagination, she was serious and her words were binding.
“I’m afraid I can’t offer the same light-show, but here I go.” I grinned, before standing and raising my head, to look her into the eyes as I intoned, “I, Morgana the Traveller, Student of the Grandmother of Neyto, promise that I will not actively harm Olivia, Cleric of Eleutheria, while we are travelling together.”
Maybe I was laying it on a little thick but it felt right. In addition, I wanted to learn more about divine magic, something I had previously been unable to and a carrot by the name of Olivia was now dangling in front of me, someone who might share some knowledge on the subject while we were travelling. I would certainly ask about it.
