An Unlikely Meeting

[Maeko]

Day 52, Season of Summer, 510 AV

Green, green, and more green. Maeko had never seen so much foliage in her life. She was beginning to feel claustrophobic in this place. Immense trees towered over her creating a kind of roof over her head and bird calls could be heard for miles around. Plants grew everywhere on the ground, occasionally making it hard for Maeko to travel through the forest.

After escaping the noble who enslaved her, he sent a bounty hunter to get her back. She was surprised at how far he was willing to go to capture her. She had been running from him ever since, however she lost him when she entered to forest. Now the problem was, in the process of losing the him she had gotten herself lost. She couldn't get a good view of sky at night and when she did she couldn't recognize the stars. So she did the only thing she could do and kept moving forward, using the time to appreciate the new world she found herself in. She had heard travelers in Eyktol speak of places like this, but words could not do this place justice. It was amazing... or at least that was what she thought a week ago.

Now all she wanted was to go back to her desert. She had been chased, attacked, and bitten by a number of strange creatures that seemed to come from stories she heard as a child. By far the worst was the insects. She had been bitten so many times she couldn't tell you where one itch ended and the next began. The summer heat was different from the dry, arid climate of the desert. Instead the air was filled with moisture that made Maeko feel like she couldn't breath. It was so moist it was made her dizzy...

Was it really the humidity that made her so dizzy? Maeko stumbled, since when had that root been there? She stopped and leaned against a tree, suddenly exhausted. It was so hard to breath, she felt like she was breathing through a sock. It didn't make sense, why was she feeling this way? Then it dawned on her... the berries. She had tried to hunt, but her lack of knowledge of the area proved to be her downfall. She had settled for eating a red berry that she thought looked edible. Now she knew that was a grave mistake. She sat down at the base of the tree, leaning her head against her bark. She placed her hands on the forest floor, palms up so she would feel any movements around her. She said a silent prayer to Eywaat to keep her safe and give her the strength to ride out the poison and waited.

[Karth]

Karth The sun was streaming through the deep green of the canopy. He could see slim streams of light bathing the ground in light. Karth noted how the light only made the shadow darker. As he walked through the peaceful undergrowth of the forest his mind wandered from tree to tree, from the sky to the shrubs, and from the shadow to the light. Suddenly a dragonfly drifted across his view. Stopping to watch it he marveled at it's dexterity, it's grace of movement. Then as quickly as it had come it vanished into the greenery. Going back to his walk Karth thought about his past, and his present life. He called to mind the days of his youth, and the man who had sparked his current interests. He was deep in thought when he stumbled across a form lying in the dirt. Stopping quite suddenly karth was quite shocked at what he saw. There was a young girl laying on the ground, and she looked ill. Leaning down he said in his deep, warm voice "What is the matter little one?" "Why do you lay in this manner?"

[Maeko]

Maeko only got worse with every passing moment. Maeko had began to shiver and was now sure she had a fever. She tried to breath only when she needed too, and her vision began fading in and out. She did not hear the birds in the trees anymore, and barely felt the ground beneath her feet. She did feel a gentle breeze across her fingertips but was too much in a daze to recognize it for what it was. She heard a low voice that seemed to reverberate through her entire body, but did not recognize it as speech. She opened her eyes that she hadn't realized she closed. What she saw brought her out of her daze and replaced it with fear.

In front of her was a human like creature that stood at least 7 feet tall. Brown hair covered it's entire body. It had a thick neck and large nostrils with a large mouth. It's eyes were average and seemed strange in a way Maeko couldn't put her finger on. She had never seen a more stranger creature in her life. She would have screamed, but that would take air that Maeko didn't have, instead she started gasping. She took out the knife she kept at her side and held it between her and the creature. She put her other hand against the tree she had been lying against and began to pull herself up, despite her condition. "Go away... Get out of... here" She said in between gasps.

[Karth]

Karth Karth watched in a halfway point between amusement, and concern as this little woman drew back against the tree. When she drew out her knife he couldn't help softly chuckling as he thought to himself "Well this ones quite the feisty creature." He reached forward almost lazily, and relieved her of her blade. He then scooped her up in his arms, and proceeded to walk towards his home in the city. Completely ignoring her weak attempts to free herself, he went back into his meditations. About an hour later he strode through the gates, and into the outer city. He continued on until he reached the inner city. He deposited the girl with a skilled medicinal practitioner, with instructions to alert him when she awakened. Then he entered the heart of the city and finished his meditations in the temple of Eyris.

[Maeko]

Before Maeko knew what happened she was disarmed and suddenly in the creature's arms. Maeko struggled against his grip but quickly realized she didn't have the strength to go against him and rested. She wondered why it hadn't already killed her. She tried her best to stay alert, but she lost grip on her awareness, the only thing she could feel was the constant rhythm of his steps through the forest.

She gradually came to in a strange room. She opened her eyes to find she was in a small wooden room furnished simply with a small stand, a chest, a desk, and the bed she was lying on. It felt strange lying on an upraised surface. The strangest feature of the room was a tree branch coming up from the corner of the room to the ceiling. How did she get there? What had happened? She was lost... then sick... then... Maeko sat up, a damp towel fell from her forehead. But that creature, it didn't make sense. She picked up the damp towel, someone had been to her bed recently. That meant they would probably be back. She didn't want to wait for that to happen.

She swung her legs over the bed and attempted to stand up, however as soon as she got to her feet and felt dizzy. She supposed she was not entirely better yet. Still she put one hand on the wall and went to the door only to find it locked. It looked like she was going to have to wait for something to happen. She turned slowly and went back to the bed, she sat with her back leaning against the wall and waited to find out who would come through the door.

[Karth]

Karth 54th of Summer 510AV Karth was disturbed from his meditations, when the healer he had put in charge of Maeko came to him in the temple. The healer told him that the girl would soon awaken, but that he had locked her in the house. Karth thanked the healer, and then asked him what day it was. He was surprised to find that two days had past in his meditations. He thanked the healer once again, and then set off towards the house in which Maeko was stationed. As he was walking his thoughts started to drift off. He thought off the goddess he had spent two days worshiping, he thought of the beauty of the surrounding trees, and he thought of the girl he had taken into the city. So deep was he in thought that he was barely able to locate the house, and when he did Karth was lucky to not run into the house. He had almost done this when he looked up to find himself inches from the doorway. Halting suddenly to avoid hitting said door, he gathered his thoughts, and entered the room. He saw the girl braced against the wall, and staring at him.... "Hello little one" Karth said quietly.

[Maeko]

About an hour later someone Maeko heard the door mechanism turn. Now it was time to figure out what was going on. It seemed she had escaped one captor only to be caught by another. She glanced around her and saw nothing to defend herself with and since there was only one door escape was not an option. In what seemed like the longest few seconds of her life, she waited to see who came in the door.

Her heart raced as she saw the same creature from before. He looked just as big and intimidating as she remembered. Maeko was confused. What was something like that doing in a place like this? Sentient eyes stared back at her and it spoke in a deep low voice "Hello little one."

It spoke. Maeko's eyes grew even wider and she sat in stunned silence. This was not like the guardian spirits of her people, this was different. This was real, alive. She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. There was only one thing to do.

"Ah... Hello. Um, wha... I mean who are you? Where am I?" She asked still blatantly staring at the creature in front of her.

[Karth]

Karth Karth watched in sympathy as he saw the girl reel in fright as she saw him. He himself had rarely felt fear... there had been no cause for it. But he came in quietly, and spoke softly to dampen the blow to the already frightened girls spirit. When he had greeted her, she seemed to become even more frightened. Her eyes got very wide, and she drew further against the wall. She just sat as if in shock for several seconds, while Karth watched in silence not wanting to disturb her further. She finally let out a sharp breath, and started speaking in a rush. One question rolling into another. "Patience child, answers will come in time. First you must eat. I will satisfy your curiosity while you satisfy you own hunger.". "Here I have brought some fruits for you" he rummaged in a bag he had placed in the corner upon entrance. Then held out a juicy looking fruit to the girl. As she had begun eating, he sat on the floor. Then he continued speaking. "As for who I am, that would take a good deal of telling. But as to what is my name, the answer is much shorter. I am Karth." he waited for an answer, and then continued... "As to where you are, the answer once again is complicated, but as to where your body currently rests... You are in the Spires." he waited a few seconds waiting for a reaction, and then picked up his speech. "Finally I will pose a question. What pray tell are you doing in the Spires?"

[Maeko]

Oh I guess I am hungry... Maeko thought to herself. She hesitated for a second, but then took the fruit. Maeko had rarely had fruit. It spoiled too quickly in the desert. She examined the fruit before eating, looking at the color and smelling the fruit. She also felt around the fruit with her fingertips, seeing with them just as much as with her eyes. Finally she took a bite, forgetting her fear in the wonderful taste of the fruit.

She listened to his words closely, his voice was so deep that she had to concentrate to understand everything. She swallowed a bite of fruit and said "I am Maeko" and returned to eating when he began speaking. At the mention of The Spires she stopped and looked up at him. "The Spires?!" How long had it been since she was captured? How many miles had she traveled? She knew The Spires from maps she had seen. That was way up north.

She was broken from her thoughts at the sound of his voice. She looked away from him, feeling lost and terribly homesick. "That too would take a good deal of telling. However the short version is that I was captured in my homeland, the deserts of Eyktol, by slavers and traveled for months. Then I was sold to a very high paying noble." She shivered at the memory "As soon as I found an opening I escaped and fled here... Would you happen to have some water?" She asked, not only did she want to change the subject, she was feeling the deep thirst that meant that the water she had stored in her body was gone. It made her wonder how long she had been sleeping.