The torchlight grows brighter, and the soft noise of metal heels scraping against the glass and stone surface of the cave floor.
Sonata waits for her turn to climb, saying, “Do you hear that?”
The water okotan smiles, “Don’t know. Give them… a few hours at least, perhaps a day at most. Why are you in a hurry?”
Erebos trudges through the snow, in the far distance in front of him was the ridgeline of a mountain chain. The snow made travelling slower than what he wanted and it left tracks when there was no storm. When he had the chance he would use his abilities to teleport when he was in shadows. It sped him up a little, but finding a good enough shadow was rare.
Tathel nods, throwing the bucket to the other end of the boat and digging through the bag. Various stuff falls into the waterlogged boat before he pulls a green bottle. He fumbles with the lid, finally snapping it open and spilling its contents over the gash.
Ekimu rouses himself from thought. “Come now, we can think as we travel. We should catch up to the others.” He pulls himself up the embankment, offering a hand for Vinum to follow.
Risa glances back at him. “You good there?” she whispers.
Lync does her best to stay quiet, on the balls of her feet and ready to pounce.
Morrus took several seconds to inhale and released the air in a tiny sigh, the green slowly returning to his leaves. “I hope we find our target before you find yours.” He groaned, looking towards them. Was it just them, or had he gotten smaller…?
“So.” He rubbed his hands together and poorly attempted a mood change. “Where should we head off to? The icy ranges of the north, or the… Dirt place?” What adjective describes a bunch of Okotans who defined their entire civilization by its lack of plantlife? Moronic, maybe?
The Lord of the Undying Storm stood with an angry grunt in Blaze’s direction. The rest of the party would have to pull themselves up, it seemed.
“Your hot-head apprentice is going to wind up dead in a ravine before long.” He grumbled down at the mask maker who had appeared next to him. “I waited a solid five minutes for him to take my hand and get up here, and he just stands there.”
“Hmm… we’re tracking the Lord of the Storm, right? He sounds like he’d like some ice, let’s see if he’s up north.” And for your sake, maybe Erebos isn’t.
“My name? Uh…” Unsure, he scratches his head. “I think it was… T- Tay? Ta? No, that’s not it. T- Ti- Ti… something?”
He pulls himself out of the ground, uncovering the rest of him. At first glance, he seemed like an okotan on a bad day, his armor worn out with roots dangling from chunks of dirt all over him. Upon further inspection, something was… off. The exposed parts of his body were shriveled up and discolored. His chest was missing a patch of flesh, though his armor did a good job of covering a majority of the anomaly.
The content seemed to sink to the bottom and stick to the boat and itself, acting as a sort of temporary semi-sealant, slowing the inwards flow of the water significantly. The longer it sat, the harder it became, until it started to become like crystals.
Vra’axinni started to climb into the boat, and started using the bucket to throw water out of it.
Vinum looks up and nods. “Right, we’ll think of something, but this quest should probably be first priority, huh?”
Keya gave him an odd look. Something about him didn’t sit right with her, and she wasn’t sure if it was the strange proportions or the not remembering his own name. Maybe both.
Tathel watches the concoction do its work with shock, then relief. He sits upright, resting his mask in his hands. “Th-thank you, Vra’axinni. That almost got a lot worse.”
“Indeed.” Ekimu pauses, grunting with effort as he pulls Vinum up. “One must always consider the future, but never neglect the present to do so. It is a hard lesson to learn.”
“It will only last for a short amount of time, considering, so you two get rowing, I will man the bucket.” He says, scooping the water out as he does so.
Vinum tries to get up as much as he could without Ekimu’s help, to make it easier on the aging man. “I can imagine. But, only one way to learn it, right?”
Tathel nods, motioning to take one of the oars from Bramble.
“Indeed. And if there is one benefit to such an unorthodox start to your apprenticeship, it is that you shall have plenty of practice.” The Mask Maker turns, following the Lord of the Storm off through the snow.
“Yeah, he’s a pretty easy card to read.” Morrus attempted a chuckle. “Where are you two-”
…And they’re heading north too. Fate, if you exist, I’m going to kick you where it hurts.
“Uh, alright then.” He shook off the dried fruit on his arm and rebuilt his wings and form to be more suited for ascent. “I would say see you there, but I don’t think I’m going to outpace you.”
Bramble practically tosses the oar to him, sliding over and putting his back into rowing as much as he could. His shoulders were on fire, but not being eaten by sharks and torn into tiny bits by their stomach teeth was his primary concern.
Oh and now I’m being ignored by HIM too.
He trudged grumpily for almost a minute before stopping and straightening suddenly. He said apprenticeship… Oh, Okoto NO.
“I don’t want to be a bother.” He began as Ekimu caught up to him, then hitting himself on the forehead with a groan. “Start over. I have an oath not to be a nuisance unjustified or something along those lines. Remind me later how you worded it.”
“Maybe I’m just too evil or whatever to understand this, but is there a reason you need so many apprentices pacing around behind you? You didn’t really punish the red one for whatever he did.” A moment passed by. “Unless you’ve taken up belting people in the head as a hobby.”
Risa hops onto his back, grabbing a hold of a vine and balancing there. “Maybe we won’t try and kill each other this time. Or maybe we will. Who knows!” She flashes a wide grin.
Tathel fumbles to catch the oar, getting into position and rowing as hard as he can.
Ekimu glances at him. “Do you think these skills appear fully-ripened on the vine, ready to pluck, Storm?”
Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to have this person on his back, especially while she was wielding bladed instruments. “A unique sentiment.” His eyes stole to Tarkur to see if maybe he would choose the healthier option of going far away and never coming back. @Tarkur
The Lord of the Undying Storm could feel tension building. Maybe it was just in him.
“You mean their skills of whatever it is you’re trying to teach them or your swing accuracy? Because your swing is perfect.”
Vohman stares at him for a moment. “…right. How long were you underground, buddy?”
Ekimu laughs. “You are too kind. I mean the skills of a Mask Maker. They do not appear overnight; they must be honed by years at the forge. As of now, I am the only master at my craft, and my age is starting to catch up to me. I must pass on what I know, if the tradition is to remain alive.”