[Riverfall Location] Takula Outpost

[Charon]

Takula Outpost Located just beyond the horizon and kept out of sight from the outskirts of Riverfall with help from the tall grass leading east toward the heart of the Cyphrus wild territories, a structure built from stone hauled from the face of the three thousand foot cliff that Riverfall was constructed into exists out of the minds of most Akalak and other inhabitants of the city. The stones were driven deep into the soil to create a solid foundation as more of these rocks were piled to create solid and sturdy walls. Great care was taken in the construction of this large structure that would have dwarfed many buildings within Riverfall but the same care was apparently not taken in the aesthetics. Though the stone may not present a pleasant picture to the casual eye, it did provide a crucial headquarters for activities that even some Akalak did not fully comprehend… or chose not to. It was within these crude walls that the Cerulean cult centered their activities. Many live here, but those who completely understood the function of the Takula Outpost realized that this is where plans, strategies, training, and transactions took place regarding the outcast class of Akalak. There is also a shrine for Wysar and an area dedicated to His worship. In current times, no race is completely safe and for one group to assume they are would be a foolish mistake. In Riverfall, the Council of Elders are all too aware of the plight the Akalak face and understand that they cannot simply disband members of their race due to personality challenges. Thus, the Akalak that must be separated from the main society are ordered to reside in an outpost and continue to train and protect the city from a safe distance. Not all Cerulean are barred from Riverfall, however. Many still reside within the city and interact within the community on a regular basis. There is a small number of Cerulean that serve the Council of Elders in the capacity of a liaison or runner to convey important messages to the Takula Outpost. These exchanges are kept discreet for many reasons—chief among them being security. Only a select few people know that the Council of Elders have ordered the Cerulean to carry out some dark orders for Riverfall and the Akalak race. These runners take various routes out of the city, confusing those who may be paying too close attention, before eventually ending up at the outpost and maintain the safekeeping of these communications. These missions will occasionally include kidnapping and interrogating, stealing and retrieval, and even assassination and murder. Like being used as a scouting and security force for the city, these are ideal deeds for the Cerulean to avoid other Akalak from dirtying their hands. Most Cerulean enjoy their work. Their time through the day is often spent training in unarmed combat and honing their weapon techniques. They share a rough bond within the Takula Outpost where the faint of heart are wisely advised to stay clear of. Given their nature, brutal fights will break out and are frequently not broken up until both the victor and the unfortunate have learned a lesson. The Akalak, Cerulean or not, know too well that their race is too few to waste lives in meaningless combat. Many do not understand the hierarchy and chain of command within the stone walls of the Takula Outpost. The Council of Elders do not even have a very accurate grasp on how the Cerulean leadership operates, but most important is that the mission is accomplished regardless of the orders given. Those unfortunate visitors to the Takula Outpost are convincingly taught to never speak of the specific layout or activities they witnessed within the confines of the outpost before being released to journey back to the city. If there is one thing the Cerulean do not tolerate it would be a betrayal of what is best for the Akalak race and they will go through endless measures to ensure the upkeep of those rules.

[Kavala]

Timestamp: 25th of Spring, 511 AV
Reason: Hiring a Cerulean
Status: Closed

The Konti approached with caution, tethered her stallion to the outpost hitching rail, and waited at the gates to be noticed. If and when someone did, she'd quietly express her need. "Greetings. My name is Kavala Denusk and I would like to contract a Cerulean or a small group of them for an escort duty two ways - one to Avanthal with a large sum of coin and back with human cargo - to pay off a widow's debt and to escort her and any children she may have back to Riverfall. Is that possible to do so and is there someone here who can handle this?" Kavala asked softly, intently. "The woman is in danger if this does not occur and her life will be needlessly in danger if her debts aren't paid off." Kavala explained, and then waited for the response. No one might want to do the duty, but perhaps someone would. It was a long shot, but it really bested the idea of just outright writing to Avanthal and her officials. After all the Cerulean would see her coin there safely and back, so long as their duty didn't cost more than she could afford.

[Azurk]

Season of Spring, Day 25, 511 AV Kalik came purposefully toward the Outpost gates. His Lakan was at his side, in the sheath on his breeches. It was mostly concealed by his rugged, brown cloak, which draped over his shoulders and ran down his back and sides and front. He had his plain white shirt on beneath the cloak, covering some of the minor knocks he had received during a scuffle the night before. Today, he would find a spot not far off from the Outpost to exercise Lakan wielding. There was not much to do in his days but train for combat, and Kalik did not want to do much else. For all his darkness and menace, Kalik believed heroism was the key to his future. It was a belief that Azurk once held. The "good" soul had largely abandoned his former aspirations as Kalik demonstrated his power and conquered the mind of the Akalak. Although his days had certainly brightened in this Spring, Azurk did not feel the call of success or the spur of motivation. Kalik was still the soul with command. It was strange, though, for now Azurk approached the entrance, and he slowed down as he did, and he had the curious notion that someone was on the other side. Kalik shared in the consciousness, but he was calm and quiet, allowing Azurk to take them out. And out they came, and Azurk saw the fair Konti that was waiting at the doorstep of the Outpost. Kalik urged him to stop, and Azurk agreed, for he was also intrigued by the woman. He nodded at her. She responded with a proposition. The soul brothers listened, and for this brief time they did not argue or wrestle. They did not interact, either, aside from acknowledging that each of them had some desire to accept the Konti's offer. Of course, Avanthal was a long way off, neither of them had ever travelled anywhere even remotely as far away as the northern city, and this Konti was a complete stranger. But Azurk knew that without proper income, he could use the paid expenses and whatever coin he could scrounge from the mission, and Kalik knew that he wanted the chance to brave wilds and tackle the monsters that plagued them. Azurk nodded again. The woman had a very soothing aura about her. "I am Azurk," he said, "and I can go. But the way to Avanthal I do not know."

[Kavala]

The Cerulean were to be approached cautiously and respectfully, but they did not scare Kavala. When one had a history of being brutalized in all ways possible, very little invoked fear when one had been training for season after seasons to not be afraid. In fact, there was a reassurance about the man's strength and control as he stood before her. Kavala knew she was talking to the darker side and in many ways in her own life, that was the side of the Akalak she truly did relate too.

She had come to learn that the 'good' and 'bad' souls within the Akalak weren't truthfully so. Radris, Hatot's dark twin, was every bit his equal and they shared a partnership within the Akalak's soul. This man before her though had rejected the partnership and the soul she was speaking to had wrestled control from his lighter half - probably thinking it weak or inferior - and now dominated the body putting the Akalak out of balance enormously. They had a huge capacity for violence, were short tempered, and generally were all around dangerous to be in the vicinity of. Kavala wasn't worried however. She knew how to behave and not garner the man's wrath.

The Konti stood respectfully before him. She was dressed in a long black sleeveless tunic that was belted at her hips. Silver pants sheathed her legs and short functional kidskin boots covered her feet. There was a lakan tucked into the waistband of her tunic in the small of her back and over her shoulder was a sling that held a small blue infant with a shock of white hair. The infant slept peacefully or at least was very quiet for he didn't seem inclined to disturb his mother. It was easy to tell he was newly birthed and an Akontak rather than an Akalak. A silver bracelet wrapped around Kavala's wrist, indicating her status of Nakivak which was just a fancy term for Akalak broodmare. The Nakivak either volunteered for their duty in exchange for property income and a place in Riverfall or they were forced into it.

Kavala's skin was etched in tiny scars, like someone had tried to re-pattern her skin in the way of their own making. And there were other scars, scars that indicated this woman very well was most likely the second kind of Nakivak, the kind rescued from slavers and placed into the status to buy back their freedom. The silver color of her bracelet indicated she was available for use. The infant in her arms told him this was a relatively new status due to the birth of her previous 'patrons' child and most likely she was being given a season long break between contracts to recover from the event before another similar one was forced upon her where she had no right tell the first Akalak 'no' who showed an interest in taking her to bed and getting her with his child. It was all politely done in Akalak culture. But everyone knew, including the Cerulean standing before Kavala, that she was only a slave.

The status of being a Nakivak also explained why she couldn't leave Riverfall. If she ran the Cerulean or someone like him would be turned out to hunt her. There was no escaping a Cerulean in full hunt so her chances of actually successfully fleeing were slim to none.

So Kavala studied this Cerulean boldly, but with a calmness that belied the worry she felt for planning this trip. She would treat the man as she would any other, but with full knowledge that he was more powerful and in less control than most men. When she answered him, her words were simple.

"Not knowing the way will not be a challenge for a Cerulean. There are traders about that can tell you and an extensive library with pathways marked and an outpost full of men I know have been further than they advertise roaming this world. What I need to know is how I can trust you with a large sum of Mizas and with the precious cargo you will be returning with - a woman and her three young children." Kavala said. "The sum is 1,000 gold to pay her debt. I was warned that we might be charged as much as 1.500 for the debt and interest. I will give you that total sum and you may keep as profit what you can negotiate the person owed the debt out of. Upon your return I will pay you another 400 gold. That would be a hundred gold for each person brought safely to Riverfall and delivered to Sanctuary. I would hope you would sign a contract to this end so that if you are not successful, one of your brothers would instead honor it. If you are successful, I can see this being very lucrative for you between what I will pay upon their return and the potential of what you might keep out of the excess five hundred mizas." Kavala said softly, stroking her son's pale hair.

With that she waited, to see how he would take the news and what he would agree or reject in terms of her proposition.

[Azurk]

The soul brothers remained calm, defying their normally tumultuous dynamic of partnership. The Konti had a curiously tranquil presence. Her features were mostly soft, though it was clear from her scars that she had sailed rougher seas than one might expect. Azurk was touched by her beauty and Kalik hungered for it. The Akalak was in limbo, with both his light and dark heart present. Still, Azurk's reserved nature gave the dark Kalik the power to dominate the body whenever he so wished--for now, Kalik permitted Azurk to have a stake in consciousness. They both reveled at the woman's gentle, white hair. Her black tunic contrasted well against it. Her attire was very practical, but it complimented her nonetheless. The most striking aspect about her may have been the baby she carried. Its skin was that of an Akalak, but the hair was Konti. The child was a rare mix: Akontak, a breed famously keen in the djeds. Kalik began to take total command and Azurk retreated. The Akalak dropped his gaze and noted the silver band on the woman's arm. She was Nakivak, a servicer indentured to the will of the Akalak as a form of grave payment. Kalik deduced, then, that the child was hers, and he judged by her scars that her debt was owed to Riverfall because she had been freed from slavery. Surely, then, she had gratitude for his race. Kalik wondered if he could use her to sire a child for the sake of his own reputation, but decided against it for the time, because she was offering him a chance to demonstrate his prowess as a fighter. He could forge himself a name across the lands of Mizahar. He saw himself returning wealthy by the plunders many lands and glorious by the bite of his skill. And once more Kalik was delusional, enamoured by thoughts of power and success, seeing himself revered among his kin when in fact the mark of the Cerulean was a mark for life. Still, opportunity was sufficient for Kalik to want to try his hand at this task. Perhaps he would find a woman more worthy of being the mother of his son than a Nakivak, and if he did not, then he wagered this one would be willing out of thanks to be his means of siring an heir. Azurk was disgusted by Kalik's train of thought. The Akalak were desperate for offspring, but not at the cost of chivalrous principles. Kalik did not understand honor. He only saw his goals. But Kalik was in control, and Kalik called himself Azurk, so the true Azurk could do little. They did not completely comprehend the finest details of her explanation, for they were not yet fluent in Common, but the concepts of worthwhile payment and the basic job description translated clearly. Kalik nodded. "You know well of the Cerulean? Then you are taking chance. But you can know also that I accept duty and I do not fail. Harm my name is a thing I will not do by failure. You can trust that. Give to me this contract, and I will earn this payment." He glanced at the Lakan by her side and wondered who it really belonged to. This woman was certainly interesting. "I have said I am Azurk," Kalik lied. "What do they call you?"

[Kavala]

Kavala slowly began to raise her head, meeting his gaze boldly since he did not show any outward signs of being threatening. Her eyes traced the tattooed lines of his face, uneasy as she should be, but trusting the Cerulean nevertheless. He was a big man, solid, and moved with the grace of a predator. Normally the Akalak did not make her uneasy, but when they moved that carefully and spoke that quietly, there was something deceptive about that - as if it made him all the more dangerous.

Her eyes caught his studying her bracelet and then roaming to Tasi's form tucked quietly against her. She knew what he was thinking, or at least she guessed. A proven breeder, one who reproduced nicely and didn't have any issues. Was he thinking of requesting her services? Kavala froze quietly. Someone would, certainly, sometime again soon. She was on her season of rest though, and safe for the time being because of the newly born infant in his sling. "My son was born on the twentieth. I am now on my season of rest. My availability won't be until Midsummer or Fall, depending on the Oathmaster's say." She said that quietly, as if she were used to saying it. Just then, the infant awoke, made a few unusual noises and she reached into the sling to sooth him. Azurk could then see the shock of white hair against deep ebony blue skin. The boy was an Akontak, not an Akalak. They were rare among the Akalak and honored as such.

An outsider might have been shocked by Kavala so willingly revealing her status, but it was the Akalak way and proper. As a Nakivak, Kavala belonged to the city and not to herself. That meant she was just as much Azurk's property as anyone elses. Their debt was often heavy and they knew that wearing silver meant that any Akalak that showed an interest in them and was willing to speak briefly with the Oathmaster would have to be accommodated, regardless of whether his face bore tattoos or not. Kavala could not have told Azurk 'no' if it had been summer and past the anniversary of her child's birth therein. Nakivak were not prostitutes, however, but rather broodmares and were treated well for it. Had it been the proper time and he in the mind to sire children, she would have no choice but to allow him to use her body thusly whether she wanted it or not. Sure, some Akalak paid more dearly to have their Nakivak available for their pleasure in situations that went above and beyond the need to reproduce. But those were quieter arrangements, and by far kept behind closed doors.

Most Akalak's these days used Kelvics that would bond to them and be absolutely loyal to reproduce with. A kelvic was a pet, and had no status in Riverfall. They had no standard of treatment and required no oversight by an Oathmaster. An Akalak could have multiple kelvics and use them all as he saw fit. The kelvic trade was thriving in Riverfall as the city took most of Ravok's unwanted overproduced drop-out pit fighters. Anything that wasn't a big predator in Ravok was undesirably so places like The Rattling Chains imported them by the dozens and dispersed them throughout the city, Kelvics were well suited to the Akalaks anyhow, as most of them were feral and a tad on the violent side. Kavala was a healer of kelvics and animals, so it was a situation she was well aware of.

Within the sling the Konti made a few adjustments and the child settled with minimal fuss. She smiled down at him then looked up and included Azurk in her gaze. "Azurk. And your light brother?" She asked softly. "I am Kavala, I run The Sanctuary on the outskirts of town - an animal and kelvic healing center and horse boarding/training facility. And this young one is Tasival. I have yet to meet his second soul." The Konti said softly.

With that she retreated to her saddle and returned with a rolled document. It was a contract outlining the terms she had specified. "If you will sign this, then we will definitely be in business. The first 1500 gold is in the saddlebags and you can take them off my horse when you ink the line for your names. Both of you." She said firmly, wanting the contract binding to both of Azurk's souls.

She handed him the document and took out a small ink bottle and pen from her beltpouch. She'd leave it up to him to read the contract and then sign it. Once signed, she'd hand him over the gold without worry. "I trust you to take care of the details and all the rest of it involved. I know, despite all the rest of your challenges, the Cerulean are highly trained and highly competent which makes you well suited for this task." Kavala said, smiling slightly.

[Azurk]

The gust of a rolling wind interjected as the rather tense meeting between the strangers played on. Kalik was abnormally conscious of his behavior, for he was very sure now that he desired the money and success of this mission. It did sound rather delicate in regards to the goods and people being transported, and Kalik (as well as Azurk) had virtually no experience guarding anything. Kavala was right to judge the Cerulean as a competent warrior, for there was little more in his life than fighting, but his tactics were currently limited to confront and eliminate--gratuitous violence powered by adrenaline and a love of battle. Azurk had the more intelligent approach of the two, willing to avoid a skirmish if it would ease the acquisition of goals. His mildly more calculated temperament came at the cost of vigilance. Azurk understood that Kalik stood a better chance in physical combat, if only for his aggression. It was that fact that had developed a soul-switching trigger in the Akalak: when Azurk was hit or hurt, Kalik tended to rise to control. Kalik did not trust Azurk's competence and he did not intend to give his light brother room to dictate the course of this particular task. Kalik wished to be the hero of Kavala's demands, and he wanted Azurk to have no true part in it. Perhaps on his return, Kalik would have convincing grounds to make the Nakivak sire his child. Kavala was apparently cautious in her dealing with the Cerulean herself. One would expect as much, if only due to the sheer variance in size. But there was certainly more to Kavala's careful manner than a mere recognition of superficial characteristics such as size. She talked and demonstrated her knowledge of the plight of the Akalak and the insecurity of the Cerulean. She saw their brutal nature and acted accordingly. Wary of Kavala's words and Kalik's plans, Azurk suspected that embarking on this trip had the potential to cause much friction between himself and his brother. Azurk had spent more time than usual in control of his body this Spring, and he was growing fond of the status. Should his principles require it, Azurk had already decided that he would not allow Kalik to harm Kavala, her folk, or her terms. The sound of this contract made it seem as though lives were at risk, and even if he did not care so much for his reputation, Azurk worried that he would not have the heart to live with innocent deaths at his hands or at his inability. Kalik was disoriented by Kavala's asking for the name of his light brother. He stuttered for a moment, wondering if he should concede his dishonesty and give his actual name or if he should attribute the name "Kalik" to the light brother. Somehow, the invasive Konti had known that he was the dark soul. Kalik had never encountered such perceptiveness, and he realized that this woman was very familiar with Akalak society. She even demanded a pair of signatures on the contract. "Kalik," he finally said. "That--that is the name of my brother. We will sign." Kalik was dismayed. Kavala clearly had a means of identifying the souls from her experiences. He suspected that he would have no choice but to allow Azurk to step into control and sign the document (Kalik had planned on doing both signatures himself). Kalik took the contract, watching Kavala closely as the parchment traded hands. He was delaying as best he could the shift of power to Azurk, and he was none too pleased that the Konti could read him better than most foreigners he dealt with. Kalik had a friend in deception, and he did not appreciate obstacles to his lies. Still, he reluctantly set the thought aside, for he saw the benfit in this deal. Briefly, Kalik's gaze fell to the writing on the paper. He knelt down, inked the pen, nodded, and flicked a signature that read Azurk on the line. He looked up at Kavala, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. Azurk came forth. He opened his eyes and gazed up into Kavala's, which were a wonderful blue. His fingers gyrated softly on the pen in his grasp. He did not sign yet, though he could feel Kalik pestering him to hurry on. Instead, Azurk took his time, looking at the Akontak, Tasival, by his own desire. The child was elegant in his eyes: the fairness of Konti hair stark against the color of the Akalak. In time the child would have a second soul, and the dark and light within would mirror the contrast on the outside. Azurk looked down at the contract on his knee. Kalik had signed Azurk. He wished to make no fuss of it, so he only shook his head, and then signed Kalik next to it. He would ensure that Kavala was happy with the results. He did not know her but he needed something to commit to, and this contract would suffice. Kalik sought to regain control, but Azurk stood up and blocked him out. He gave the signed document to Kavala, and his lips seemed only to twitch but he smiled. For a moment he could see a wealth of colors in her glossy eyes, and he surmised that flash of pigments was the reflection of his tattooed face. He sighed. "Your gold and your people will be safe. By my word." He glanced at the Akontak child and then shifted his gaze off to the horizon. There was preparation to be done but he was most hurt by the sight of his markings. He despised them. He thought of his removal from his father and his path to manhood. He wondered if Kavala also felt the singe of isolation. She was Nakivak, after all. Perhaps she was happy to be. He would not know. But maybe being singled out in appearance bothered her as well.

[Kavala]

The Konti watched him with calm quiet eyes, her gaze roaming over his face not really seeing the etchings there but instead watching his expressions and the deep thoughtful way he seemed to weigh his decisions. Tasi fussed in his sling and she dropped a hand to sooth him whispering a soft word before bringing her eyes back to Azurk's face. Then she shifted, moving her weight onto the balls of her feet as she moved back a step. Her movement wasn't because she was frightened of him, though the caution never quite left her being a new mother and having something unpredictable facing herself and her child. She stepped back, instead, to look at all of him at once. He was simply too big to take in all at once as close as they were standing. It should have made her nervous, but instead his bulk and the dark tint of his skin was comforting. Human males still bothered her, but the Akalak's as a whole were nothing like the smaller people they only fringely resembled. He was strong and his body well corded with muscle. He carried himself like a battled hardened Akalak as well, which reassured her. Kavala had come to somewhat depend on the Akalak in her mind. If one was around, she was at ease with the world.

There was something in his eyes though when he looked at her. The Konti caught him looking at her bracelet - the sign of her ownership and servitude - more than once. To the Oathmaster, an Akalak was an Akalak, regardless of the tattoos on his face. Each Nakivak went through training, and during that period she was told about the Cerulean and the fact that one day someone would take her contract and use her. That person could be a Cerulean, and when that was the case, depending on the individual, certain precautions were taken. They were darkly dangerous and prone to violence, which sometimes merited supervised sessions. Kavala could think of nothing more embarrassing than having a stranger oversee something so personal and private between two people. She hoped he wasn't thinking about asking for her contract. Kavala was tired and worn in her heart, because for her intimacy equaled feelings and she wasn't sure the Akalak were capable of investing in women, especially a Nakivak who had no choice and had to breed for them.

The Konti had lost her heart to her first contract and had given him her love. A cheva mark had been the result. It was a mark she was doomed to loose the very next time someone took up her contract and used her body as their own because it would be breaking her vows to him. There was even more pain involved there and it was clear the reason Nakivak weren't allowed to marry. Kavala was the type that once she gave her love, she'd be a fierce friend and partner regardless of how frail she appeared.

Once pregnant she hadn't seen much of her son's father at all. After Tasi had been born, there hadn't been a single visit. He'd signed the rights to his son or daughter over to her, which had been a sign of trust, but had still felt all the more like a rejection. When they'd put her back into silver rather than freed her from her Nakivak obligation, she had realized that Riverfall would never let her go until age or medical condition dictated it was time. That meant being at the whim of strangers, some of who looked at her like she was a piece of meat. Even the Cerulean could use her, whom she'd been told tend to take savage joy with Nakivaks, often leaving them worse for wear in the process of doing their duty. And even then, the choice was not hers. If he signed a paper, she belonged to him until her body quickened, having to meet him and be at the whims of his beck and call perhaps for years.

Kavala started to curl her lip in anger and lift her head from his body once more, trying to stamp out any image that might come to it of what she might be required to do for him someday and met his eyes.

Her heart stopped beating for a moment and her breath ceased flowing in and out of her body. A connection was made between the two of them through their gazes locking, and Kavala knew - just knew - that there was more to him than the reputation granted. She wasn't staring into the eyes of a savage beast wearing a man's guise. Instead, there was warmth, intelligence, and curiosity there. Speculation filled his gaze too, and though she had no empathy or konti gifts that ran towards people, the woman just knew he was different.

Kavala took a step forward then, uninvited, and lifted her hand. Scales flashed in the sunlight, emphasizing clearly that she was not of his kind. Webbing extended between her digits even as she stretched out her fingers. She touched the inking on his skin, traced it, and tilted her head curiously. Her last contract had been with a man on the cusp of becoming a Cerulean. Her presence in his life had balanced him out and taught him that both of his sides had a place and both were valid, and working together they were entirely and epically stronger than they were working against each other. As her fingers traced the contour of his face, her eyes grew pale shifting from azure blue to an odd almost pale color that made her look completely blind. She wasn't, though if something had walked within her field of vision there and then, she'd not have seen it.

Them. She was focused on them. Her lips parted, breath returned, and she spoke softly. "The ink does a poor job of hiding your strengths, Azurk and Kalik. It only outlines your weakness, and that is not working together. You are someone very worthy of getting to know." She wished suddenly that she would have met them before the ink. Perhaps she could have helped. "Your race and mine, we were meant to intermingle and support each other. Together we make each other stronger in ways I am only starting to discover." Her hand roamed his face, curiously looking at him with her touch. "Konti can sometimes help with the balance. If you ever want help, come to me." She said softly and pulled her hand back. She brushed her thumb along the pads of her fingers, a curiously surprised look on her face. "Even if its just for a contract to turn my silver to gold." She said, referring of course to a Nakivak 'open to a contract' wearing a silver bracelet and serving no one verses one wearing gold who was 'under contract' and currently serving an Akalak. There, it was out there. She'd be willing now, even if moments before the idea turned her stomach. And strangely, she didn't feel like even more of a slave for saying it. But she did realize one more thing about herself. She'd finally accepted her fate. Did that mean she was broken finally? Was standing with this Cerulean a turning point in her own life? No one should ever accept slavery, and yet she just had.

Kavala blinked, surprised herself.

Staring into his eyes she had no fear of touching him. There were stories of course, all Nakivak knew them, of what these inked men were capable of and what could be provoked out of them. "By helping me, yet again I owe something to your kind. Your people gave me my life back, a home, and even though they use me like they use all women, I keep owing them. Though coin has changed hands, there is still a debt of gratitude. I have to serve in the way I am required by your people. It was a choice that was not given to me outright. But if you ever require my services, I will provide them willingly and without complaint. I would rather the purpose and servitude be specific and for people I owe than impersonal and with an unknown. And I am stronger than I look, so I can survive your darkness and violence better than perhaps another." He hadn't brought it up, hadn't even mentioned it, but she put it out there anyhow. Kavala had no shame left, and she believed in open dialog. Someone would come next for her. Then, she was resigned, there'd be someone after the next and most likely after that one. She was an indentured whore, for all that they called it nice things and branded it with honor.

She watched him sign, satisfied, and took the contract. The Konti left him her gold and her trust. It was a strange exchange, one she hadn't expected. There gaze met one more time and she accepted his word as law. They would be safe. She expected to see the Akalak again. And when she did, Ragnor's family would be safe. The Konti offered him a smile, one of her rare smiles that held her heart in her eyes and radiated joy and gave him a glimpse of who she really was. "Thank you. I can ask for nothing more. You honor me." And with that, she took her leave if he'd let her though she'd stand to hear anything else he wanted to say.

[Azurk]

The persistent winds of the grasslands seemed to recede and Kavala bestowed words of kindness to Azurk. As if it were a relaxing salve, her speech soothed the pulse of blood in his veins and hushed even the subconscious call to war that Kalik so fervently pressed even while Azurk was in control. And with the muse of the Konti, Azurk could not help but feel a flicker of infatuation with her soft voice--a voice that gently rallied his resolve against the disarray between himself and Kalik. Her eyes were an unhindered spectacle, shining and shifting with the contortions of her soul. Her skin shimmered, twinkling as sunlight stroked her feint scales. The Konti bore the marks of a troubled past, yet through those manifestations Azurk could still detect the fabled purity of the White Isle. Kavala would surely be forever imbued with the heart of her homeland, and that gift transferred a silent peace to Azurk's perceptions. For this much, he appreciated her as a new acquaintance. What Azurk failed to expect perhaps most of all was her apparent acknowledgement of Kalik's desire to take advantage of her obligations to the Akalak. Indeed, her preemptive agreement to submit herself to Kalik upon a successful return was most surprising. In almost any other circumstance, such a promise would spur Kalik back into dominance, but the Cerulean was in a state of sufficient calm to prevent any sudden shift of power. Azurk had no intention of utilizing her offered service. Perhaps the degradation of his status in Riverfall had numbed his drive to reproduce. She received the contract back from him, and he could tell her gratitude, but he understood that upon her departure he may not see her again for a very long while. This truth discouraged him, for very suddenly he realized that the tentative journey across the unfamiliar lands linking Cyphrus to the north would likely be a lonely one. He near shivered as the disheartening remembrance of his lonesome Trial that saw the coming of Kalik. Azurk had killed on hunts before, but the blood of the slain Zith had stained his memory vividly. Even after arriving at Avanthal, should he get so far, the return would be made with strangers, and he could not imagine they would harbor trust for a vicious Akalak such as he. In their company he would still be by himself. Kavala was ready to leave. He had the opportunity to delay her. "What are they called?" He spoke after she had turned away. "The ones I will move. What are they called?"