And So, They Found Something.

[Auric]

89th of Fall, 513

"Wha'dya fink we seen, eh? We 'av ta tell summon 'bout dis --"

"We ain't gotta do shyke, Millie. We clean, an' dat's all, got it? Ain't nobody wanna hear nothin' from two stupid Dek. Don' wanna anyone thinkin' we ain't of sound mind, right, Millie?"

The chilled autumn winds of Thunder Bay bit at the women's backs, their unfortunately thin cloaks doing little against the coming winter's breath. Their collective breath stained the very air as they exchanged whispers and hushed threats, determinedly huddling together as they walked in an effort to create some kind of warmth between their starved bodies.

"Laur, we's gotta do sumthin'. I don' feel no better 'bout dis nonsense either, but I fink we's gotta do sumthin'. I swears it to whatever gods be listen, Laur, what happened wasn' natural. No, ma'm. Not natural at all." The smaller of the two shook her head violently, her mop of red hair falling uglily over her face.

"Millie, you always was dis stupid, or was I too stupid too notice your stupid? Petching mongrels, you fink someone's gunna believe a couple of Dek an' a silly ghost story? Yer more crazy den ol' Georgie cleanin' the nesties," Laur laughed crudely, hacking up the last of an autumn flu.

"Don't matter if'n dey believe us or not, Laur. Someone's gotta do somethin' -- it ain't right, it ain't natural, it ain't --,"

"Wha'dya mean, it ain't natural?" Laur asked coldly, "You wouldn' know nothin' about natural even if it --," She paused, turning around at the sound of shoes slurping around on wet sand, "Shuddup, Millie. Do you dare say anythin' -- we's got company."

x

[Turrin]

It been five days since the storm that nearly crippled Wind Reach, and Turrin was patrolling along the shoreline near Thunder Bay. Water Reach was making preparations to close up for the cold seasons, and most of the residents had made their way back up to the city of Wind Reach. In honesty, Turrin had been getting a unsettling feeling about spending the winter season in beloved city because of all the recent earthquakes, eruptions, and bad weather plaguing the city as of late. On the other hand, Turrin was a Endal, so he needed to set a example for the lower castes to follow. Watching the northern ocean, he could see no signs of bad weather, so he turned his attention to the coast line. Suddenly, he heard of voice in his head say, “Is something troubling you, Turrin?” Turrin pressed his lips together and contacted him, “Just a little melancholy about the Fall, Aponivi. I hope winter will be much better season for the Inarta.” Aponivi was silent for a moment, “Turrin the Inarta will always endure. It is your peoples gift and curse to survive whatever the gods throw at them. You just need to be vigilant and stand ready to defend your people at their worst.” Turrin pondered his wind eagle's words for a moment, and he was about to comment, but the Endal's golden eyes saw a pair of female Dek near the water. The Myrian contacted Aponivi, “Why aren't those Deks on a wagon back to the city? Do they want to be left behind? Lets circle them to see what they are up too.” Aponivi didn't answer, but the wind eagle was slightly annoyed at the lack of judgment by the Deks. Banking right towards the coast, Turrin leaned into the turn as they started to descend towards the ground. The Myrian could tell his speed has increase, so he told Aponivi to level out when they were a couple hundred feet from the surface. It didn't take long to pass the two female Dek that seemed content to staying where they were. Leaning left, Turrin had Aponivi bank left back towards the bay. As he passed over them, he looked down, but he couldn't see what they up too. Turrin contacted Aponivi, “My friend I want you land near them that should get their attention...” Flying in a circle, Aponivi and Turrin land about thirty yards from the Dek. Grabbing his talon sword scabbard, Turrin jumped off the wind eagle and stalked towards the to women. Since he had nobody to distract himself from the every day life of being a Endal, Turrin had wrapped himself in his duty of protecting the mountain city. He knew the Dek weren't a threat to the city, but enough though the upper castes like it or not, they were citizens of Wind Reach, so his code of honor made it his responsibility to make sure they get to city safely, but the wagons were coming less frequent as winter approached and the Dek needed to get on one, or be stuck in Water Reach till Spring comes. This of course would be there deaths that nobody in the city will miss. Walking up to the two ladies, Turrin ran a large hand through his hair and said simply, “What are you two Deks still doing in Thunder Bay? Morwen will be in Wind Reach soon, and the both of you need to get to the city before the pass becomes closed for the winter.” Crossing his arms, the large man just stared at them till they gave him a answer. If he had too, he would fly them back to the city, but he would only do it as a last resort.

[Kovac]

Kovac had wandered back towards Water Reach. He had gone far enough out to scare up a few hare, bringing back a brace of the fattened creatures to the settlement. Again, he had been assigned for a few days to Thunder Bay, as the facility was being closed down for the Winter. The last of the meat being processed was sent directly to Wind Reach, not a scrap spared out of concern for the winter food supply, and a couple hunters, like Kovac, had been tasked with providing food for the residents as they worked to batten down Water Reach.

He missed Lavira, and hated to leave her after the trauma of the big storm and the collapse in the Aeries days earlier. But they all had duties, and even as more effort was spent repairing damage from the latest storm, Wind Reach still had to be prepared for the harsh season to come. So Vira and Mohya dropped him off at Thunder Bay, and they each saw to their work.

Kovac saw the two Dek, huddled together and shambling along. The looked suspicious, he thought, as if talking in a hushed tone, though they were quite alone. Kovac's path would eventually intersect theirs and he would hurry the scroungy women along.

Then the Avora saw Aponivi's broad wingspan overhead, watching the eagle begin to descend. As he crested a small rise, the dek women just below him, Kovac saw Turrin stalking towards the Drudges. His pace was hurried, the large half-Myrian intent on addressing the small Inartan women. Kovac approached as the Endal chastised the Dek in their threadbare cloaks. He did not intercede, Turrin may have sounded gruff, but he could have ignored the two altogether. The Avora stood back a bit, scratching his chin and giving the rider a nod and small smile in greeting. Turrin was there, at the party and during the rescue of their friends. Kovac learned to respect the fellow half-breed. He would see how the Dek answered the Endal.

x

[Azira]

   

It wasn't long after her little accident but Azira was still desperate to help. It had pushed her to volunteer to go to Water Reach, hoping that the hunting would be better down there and that she would actually be of some use. It hadn't been too bad as she'd come back to the settlement with a raccoon and a rabbit but it wasn't fantastic. They'd need as much food as possible before the winter set in and it looked as if it was going to be a harsh one. The girl would have stayed out hunting longer but there'd been little sign of game and she was only likely to attract predators wandering around with carcasses.

Walking back along the shore, she discovered a little gathering by the waterside. She could make out a Wind Eagle and a few people but she couldn't make out who they were. Picking up her pace, the huntress came close enough to recognise Turrin and Kovac but she didn't know the two women were. It probably had nothing to do with her but she moved over to the group out of curiosity. Appearing behind Kovac she prodded him in the back.

"Surprise! I thought I'd sneak up on you for a change," she whispered and then wondered why she was being so quiet. There was just something about their gathering that made her feel like she was intruding and so the Avora didn't want to draw that much attention to herself. 

"What's going on, Kovac?" the teen questioned the hunter, eyeing the two women suspiciously. There was something about them that made them look as if they wanted to get away from here though she couldn't imagine what.

ST NoteEdited to remove inconsistencies

x

[Memento]

"We were just finishin' up the preparations to close Water Reach." Laur sent a warning glance in the direction of her companion before putting her hands on her waist, although she didn't raise her head to look at the Endal that were questioning them. She was a Dek, and she knew her place. Millie looked at Turrin, Kovac and Azira, before turning back to Laur. The Dek was clearly nervous.

"We gotta tell'em, Laur! It ain't right, leavin' that wanderin' around!" Millie shrieked, receiving an annoyed glance from her friend. She didn't seem to notice, because she kept talking. "We were cleanin', and we heard a rumor, about a ghost! We went to investigate, but the ghost was angry, very angry! She's walkin' around, sayin' things..."

"Millie!" it was Laur's turn to shriek, and she shoved her friend away, trying to make her stop talking.

"But it's true! We saw her in the Haven! We did! And she's angry! What if she does sumthing? Hurt someone?" Laur didn't seem to have an answer for that, and Millie turned to the other three, her face pale and clearly distraughted. "Ya gotta do sumthing!" she insisted. "There's an angry ghost in the Indelible Haven! We cannot leave her alone. It ain't natural."

"Shadup, Millie." Laur finally snapped, grabbing the other woman by her arm and dragging her away from the group as fast as she could. "We'll be goin' back."

The confusing babbling of the women made it difficult for anyone to understand exactly what was going on. What was apparent, though, was that there was a ghost somewhere in the Indelible Haven, and that whatever had happened had left the Dek scared.

[Turrin]

Turrin noticed Kovac appeared behind him. The other half-breed must of saw Aponivi circling around the Deks and went to investigate. The Endal gave him a nod and waved him to the group. Kovac might have a checkered past with the Endal caste, but he found his carefree attitude refreshing. Also, he was good with people, so the Avora's insight into the situation could come in handy. Suddenly, he noticed Avora Azira appear behind Kovac. They seemed friendly to each other. Turrin knew that he wouldn't get the same friendly reaction from the fiery woman. The incident in the Kitchen was a stain on their relationship, so he just gave the young teenager a nod. He figured the woman would join the ground with her friend Kovac. Turning his attention back the Dek, Turrin crossed his arms and waited for them to explain their suspicious activities. Turrin strained to understand the Dek's babbling. The two women seemed scared of something, but the Endal wasn't quite sure what they were afraid of. One of them mentioned a angry spirit in a place called Haven. The Myrian shifted uncomfortably at the mention of spirits, but he had no way of dealing with Dira's children. Turrin remembered Myrian spiritualist often dealt with them with their bizarre magic, but he had no knowledge of magic. The Endal wondered if he should eventually learn the arcane knowledge to deal with the dead in the future , but he needed to stay focus on the task at hand. Turrin could tell that they were clearly distraught at what they saw in “Haven”. The Endal started to look over at them to see if the ghost harmed them in anyway. He was curious because he needed to know if the spirit was hostile. The Dek named Millie seemed eager and willing to give the Endal information on what she saw in Haven, but Laur did her best to keep her mouth shut about the whole incident. Turrin thought to himself, “What are they hiding? If they were just scared, they wouldn't hold back any information that could solve the problem.” When Laur started to drag Millie away, Turrin frowned as they suddenly started to walked and said sharply, “You both stay right here! I not done questioning you. When I am done, you can leave.” The Endal stuck up a hand and said gently to Millie, “I know are scared, but I need to know where to find this spirit. You mentioned a place called Haven. Where is it? Also did the spirit harm you in anyway?” Turrin paused and looked at Laur and said firmly, “You are asking suspicious, Laur. What are you trying to hide? Did the spirit threaten you, or did she tell you valuable information that you want to keep to yourself?” Turrin knew the lower castes didn't understand that the War Hawk flight was protectors of Wind Reach. They dealt with the situations that the other Endal flights would rather ignore or stay away from, so dealing with spirits fell into the War Hawk jurisdiction. The Endal wasn't going to hurt them, but he needed them to be honest with him, so he gave them a emotionless look and waited patiently for them to answer.

[Kovac]

Kovac jumped when Azira poked him, startling him more than he wished to admit. The two of them had had a tumultuous friendship, especially after the ice storm earlier in the season. But the hunter and huntress remained amiable, usually, and Kovac wondered if the bickering they often fell into was just a way they showed that they liked each other. Probably not.

When Azira asked what was going on, he shrugged and waved at the Dek women as they rambled on about seeing a ghost. That was unsettling enough. Kovac had in fact seen the ghost of his mother in Wind Reach, an experience brought on when the crater leaked toxic gasses. The thought of the dead and spirits did not sit well with the down-to-earth man.

The Dek made to leave, but Turrin stopped them. He exercised his authority with firmness, but quickly softened his approach. The Endal had always seemed to be good at diplomacy. When he asked the Dek what Haven was, Kovac stepped forward to answer for them.

"Haven is a series of coves on the shore of Thunder Bay facing Thunder Island." He answered. Kovac agreed with Turrin's impression, that the women were hiding something. The half-Vantha turned towards the Dek women. "Look, we are here to help, we aren't going to let anything happen to you, but we need you to answer his questions, so we can do something about it."

What that something was, Kovac had not the slightest idea.

[Azira]

The huntress was pleased to see Kovac start but she refrained from teasing him about it as she took in the scene before her. Turrin, who she wasn't particularly happy to see, was talking to a pair of Dek, questioning them about something that he seemed interested to find out about. She didn't understand what all the fuss was about but as she listened to the pair of Dek babble on and argue with each other, she was able to glean some information from their confusing conversation. There was a ghost.

The mention of a spirit had Azira's full attention in an instant. She'd only heard stories and found small passages in books and scrolls about the beings and as a result they fascinated her. The girl couldn't resist a chance of learning about something that she hadn't had access to before. She wanted to know if the stories she had heard about them held any truth in them so the idea that there was one somewhere close by made her eager to see it. There seemed to be something off about the whole situation however, the two women too scared and anxious to have told them everything. They seemed properly spooked and surely if they'd only seen a ghost they wouldn't be behaving like this.

The Endal was quick to stop the women when they tried to make a run for it, their eagerness to get away reinforcing the Avora's opinion that they had been badly frightened. Turrin was trying to be kind to them, using gentle but firm questioning to try to get to the bottom of it all. Kovac put forward the information he knew about where the spirit was located and the teen wondered just how well he knew the area around Water Reach. Seemingly very well. The huntress felt a bit useless. Turrin was the Endal and so by default in charge of any investigation into this and Kovac knew where this ghost was so there was a reason for him to accompany the half-Myrian. Azira couldn't provide anything of use to the pair, only wanting to go to sate her curiosity and she couldn't see herself being allowed to do that. The youth decided to attempt to get some information out of the women herself, thinking that her companions might bring her along if she proved useful.

"Endal Turrin will have to go and look into this, you know. If the ghost is dangerous and you don't tell him then he might get hurt because he wouldn't know what to expect. Is there something you might be able to tell him? Something that might be useful?"

x

[Memento]

Laur frowned in obvious distaste, but did as she was told, turning to look at the Endal and the two Avora. She didn't want to ignore an order from superior castes, but she also didn't want to speak. Her friend decided for her, however, because Millie turned around quickly, nodding in agreement with Kovac's answer before speaking.

"Laur was possessed."

"Shadup! I was not!" Laur snarled back, before crossing her arms. "I told ya already! It wasn't me! I didn't push ya!" after that final outburst, Laur calmed down enough, although she still seemed ready to escape at the first chance she got.

"Thats why I said it ain't natural!" Millie was now nodding to herself. "I felt sumething pushing me into the water, and Laur says she didn't do it. Then it was the ghost, but ghosts cannot touch!" she turned to Azira. "I dunno, miss. I know nothin' about ghosts. Only that they can be dangerous. That's why ya have to do sumthing." she pointed at the Endal, before Laur slapped her hand down.

"We know nothin'." Laur agreed with her friend, before sending a glance behind her, as if asking for permission to go. "Only that there's a ghost, and that ghost tried to hurt Millie. She was mumbling about some child, and got angry when Millie said there was no child there."

[Turrin]

Stilling looking at the two Dek females, Turrin heard Kovac mention that Haven was a series of coves around Thunder Bay. The Endal spent most of his time in the Unforgiving, so he sort of neglected Wind Reach's port town. The Endal would have to thank him after his interrogation, so he let the smooth talking Avora calm the minds of Dek women. Turrin smiled to himself with he heard Kovac mention we when he told them about solving their ghost problem. The Endal had no experience handling spirits, so it will be nice to have someone else there to deal with the situation. Suddenly, he heard Azira reenforce that it was in their best interest to tell him everything that he needed to know. The fiery Avora knew that they could suffer severe consequences if Turrin got hurt or killed because they left out details that could have kept him alive. The Endal waited in silence for the Dek's responses. Turrin's golden eyes watched Laur because she seemed displeased that she needed to tell her story to the upper castes. He knew if he was any other Endal. She would suffer for her silence since she wasn't cooperating with him, but Millie decided to step forward and tell him the reason for Laur's silence. Turrin's face softened when he realized Laur was trying to hold on to what little dignity before the possession. It must have been embarrassing for her being manipulated by a supernatural force. Turrin could tell the discussion of Laur being possessed was still up for debate, but the Endal wondered if Millie could be right since Laur was doing her best to deny everything. Eventually, the two woman finally agreed that the ghost tried to hurt Millie either by possession or other means. Turrin started to rub the stubble on his chin when Laur mentioned that the ghost was looking for a child. Was the child her own child? It could be the reason why the ghost attacked them because it couldn't accept her child was missing. Turrin remembered his own mother fiercely defending him from danger and from other people in Taloba, so he wasn't surprised if a mother would turn violent if she was desperate enough. When Laur and Millie were finished telling him everything that he needed to know. Turrin looked at Azira and Kovac behind him and said with a nod, “I will be investigating the spirit in the cove. You both are welcomed join my investigation. However, I can't promise your safety if the spirit turns violent.” Looking over at the two Dek, Turrin ran a hand through his burgundy hair and said with a sigh, “If the Avora don't have anymore questions, both of you can leave, but I must remind you time isn't your friend this late into the season, so you need to make haste to Thunder Bay before the final caravans leave.” Turrin looked over at the large white head wind eagle who decided to soak in the warmth of the sun on the beach. He chuckled to himself at the wind eagle disinterest in the situation with the Dek. Turrin knew the bird of prey had no interest in spirits, but Aponivi lifted his head and mentally contacted Turrin, “Turrin... I don't think it is wise to interact with the spirit world. You have no defenses against Dira's children.” Turrin shook his head, stared at the large golden eyes at the wind eagle, and said mentally, “I gave them a promise Aponivi...besides, I am curious about the spirit world...” The Endal knew his curiosity stemmed from his guilt about not being there for his family when they died in the Djed Storm. A part of him wondered if he could communicate with this spirit maybe he could communicate with his sister, mother, and father. Knowing his rider's desires, Aponivi shook his head and said gently, “You are treading in a world few understand, Myrian...Just be careful. I don't want to have to find another rider.” Turrin knew it was the wind eagles way of telling Turrin that he cared for his safety and said out loud in common, “I will my friend...” Suddenly, Aponivi mentally contacted Azira and said with a hint of curiosity, “Even if you care little for my rider, Turrin told me you have potential. He admires your spirit since you remind him of many Myrian women that he grew up with. If you decide to go, keep your emotions in check. It might keep you and my idiot rider alive.” The wind eagle cared little about the another Avora, Kovac, but Aponivi was curious about the hot headed Azira. Setting his head back on the sand, the wind eagle watched the waves crash against the sandy shore.