[Quest] The Savage Garden

[Raiha]

A key to the chavi...? Chavi reminded her of Mura, but what purpose it held here, or the context, she didn’t know. She was on guard, though. The human who asked for it seemed to know what they were talking about, and as such, likely had a very good advantage in this place if they -were- knowledgeable. The manipulator in the midst? Maybe. Raiha fiddled with one end of the rope as she continued westward. She was open to suggestions about where to go, but she very definitely wanted to go west. Selva had said that they were in this direction. “Nice to meet you, Rorugir, Serrif.” The others seemed less than inclined to introduce themselves, and Raiha didn’t worry about it. Human one, human two... that would work for her. As she walked, she kept an eye out, studying the landscape. Her attention snapped upwards to the hungry sparrowhawk, and she smiled up at it. It was good to see that some things never changed. At least she wasn’t seeing moths chasing sparrowhawks...

Then that really would have been more of a cause for concern.

She listened to their suggestions as they walked, fingers working on the end of the rope, ready to pull it off and knot it if she needed it. You know, Raiha told her twin, there’s got to be a common connection. You’re always telling me to think things through, even though you seem to get through it faster than I do... There’s got to be a reason why us, doesn’t there? If he wants to ask what our purpose is here, then a logical question that works -with- that is why us?

And if we were all randomly picked? Kanikra pointed out dryly. Then that’s a waste of a question.

So is everyone else’s if the answer was just ‘on a whim’, or ‘for shyke and giggles’. Raiha mused. The humans seem to know each other - they were relatively familiar. How, I don’t know, but they are, and one of them knows about Chavi. Everything has to happen for a reason.

True enough. I suppose it might lend to reason to iron out questions beforehand, Kanikra was agreeable enough. Let’s see what they’ve come up with. Eliminate anything we already know instead of using up a question.

“Do either of you know anyone else here? It that ties in to what I’d ask. Logically, there has to be some reason why we’ve been gathered here. Why us, of all people? What’s the common factor?” She let them think about it. It did tie in with Serrif’s suggestion. What was their purpose here? Why them? Why now? Who’s dream was this? “Because I’m quite certain that I don’t know any of you; that I’ve never seen or met any of you in my life. The other questions I would ask might have been amongst the lines of where are we, and why now.” She glanced back before looking up at the trees.

[Caelum]

"Seodai and I know each other," Caelum spoke abruptly. For too long he had been mulling the words of Salva over in his mind, considering the very real danger he had placed himself in with his request. Worth was an unassailable truth, for the key to the Chavi of Nysel's own champion could hold within it all the answers he had spent his years on Mizahar starving after. He himself could not make use of it, but he knew of at least one person and their location who could. Nikali would first have to relieve him of his binding to the end of the world. Automatic motions had left him following the others, falling in at the back stretching shadows after proferring a farewell salute to Salva, one well burdened with gratitude. The nail clipping was tucked safely away and when the blue woman -- Raiha, he recalled -- spoke again he eased forward to take a peek at the map unfolded in the Isur's hands. "I'm Caelum," he offered belatedly, accent too heavy for the rest of him and dragging at the edges of his words. He tried on a smile, but it was a rare thing, lit by rusty foxfire in the queer twilight state of this place. "Seodai and I are both in Denval, in the north of Kalea. Beyond the Chavena?" And that was a question, a dash at the end indicating that he was not entirely certain. "I don't know where we are. Or why." Then it would be altogether too far from the first time a god had summoned him to Their door.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

”I am sure I have never met any of you before either.” He stated almost as if to add on to Raiha’s statement.

This was all quite odd to him. It felt like a dream. Acted like a dream and yet at the same time unlike many other dreams it seemed to have a driven purpose to it. Something concrete they were all supposed to be driven to achieve; be it together or apart. His mind still hadn’t cleared up the reason for them being here, but he knew that soon…maybe it would be revealed to them. All he knew of this dreaming kind of thing came from another dream, a vivid one much like this one.

Dreamwalking, chavi it seemed odd that that dream and this one could be interlinked together in any way. No, this wasn’t possible. He looked between those that had gathered. Was there really a reason they were all here. The snail woman said they hadn’t had guests in some time. So they were treading on ground that hadn’t broken under feet in a very long time. Something…something seemed astray here. But he shook his head and just shrugged it off. Indicating he was indeed ready to just move onward. He wasn’t one to openly speculate.

“There has to be a reason.” He spoke silently to himself as he shook his head some walking down the path beside Raiha. But for now it was likely good that they kept moving westward. Indeed Selva had indicated that direction, even if she hadn’t meant to.

His head spun as he continued to try and grasp for anything that he could use as a reason for them all being here. But in his life experiences one thing was indeed certain to him. Sometimes the powers at play had reasons for doing things that weren’t completely clear or even explainable to many. He still didn’t know how he had ended up in Mura by accident, and he had come to reason that it wasn’t an accident at all. Someone’s hand was in this for sure even if it was a dream. They needed to keep their minds about them.

He was at a disadvantage here, he knew little of this place and what he did know he couldn’t be sure on. He figured it would be a good idea to stay near Raiha. She seemed to have her head on straight in these circumstances. He did come back to those memories in that dream. The Cytali…could that have something to do with this? Tizack, Crescent and the Ruv’na? He couldn’t be sure; but those ideas were definitely turning over in his head again and again as he walked down this path with the others. He was guarded just like everyone else, but at the same time he didn’t know how much good it would do him if they did encounter any real trouble. Mostly because the only thing remotely close to a weapon they had was the rope Raiha carried with her.

[Rorugir]

"Trust me, I've never met any of you before. I think I would have remembered such an occasion." Rorugir said, not somewhat sardonically. His dark eyes remained fixed on the map even as spoke, soaking in every detail. "Nor do I now where we are." A blackened finger traced the inscribed paths and drawings, riding down the stream and flitting across the trees. It quickly noted the glowing lights and attributed one to the sparrowhawk, while it paid more attention to the red Xs across the map. Rorugir chanced a glance backwards at Selva's retreating form when he realized the connection between the moving marker and the snail woman, and then looked back. "These markings are important..." he muttered in realization. He pointed them out to Caelum, who was looking over his shoulder (though irritation did flash by as he ascertained the aforementioned fact). "These red Xs, see? One is Selva...and so far, she's been the only help we've gotten so far. I bet these two" -the very same finger circled the one in the structure before traveling over to the one waiting by the stream- "are important as well. They might very well be Question and Answer." The isur glanced up, bit down on his lip. "But if that is the case..." he said slowly, "We'll have to split up. One group to ask Question the...well, question, and the other to receive Answer's answer." "We should probably find out what these red markers are first, though. I say we head towards the one by the stream, it seems closer. The stream is east of us." Rorugir gestured to the right, which was theoretically east. "Then we can double back and travel to the other one, which is in the opposite direction. Do you agree?" A pause in his hurried stride indicated he was waiting a moment for their answers, though he kept examining the map as he did so. At long last, Rorugir finally looked up. "There is still the question of what we should ask, of course. Anyone else care to contribute?"