Escaping Daka Island proved to be more of a challenge than the duo really anticipated. Everything seemed to be against them, including the weather as it seemed to start snowing on them the instant they left the city. Truly, though, this was a blessing and a curse. While it made travel rough and they had to be extra careful due to the freezing cold, it also helped to cover their tracks. Amisra knew there was a fishing village a day's walk from the capital and she directed them that way. Thankfully growing up in this cold, harsh climate meant they were better off than most, but between their injuries and the decrease of adrenaline, it made things difficult.

There came a point several hours into the journey that Amisra found herself having to pause. She was shivering severely and her eye was aching bad, the crusted blood now feeling frozen to her face. Her eye was swollen shut at this point and she still wasn’t sure if she had actual vision in it still. Everything in her body was screaming to give up, to give in and let the cold take her. ”T-Tanithil, h-hold on f-for a moment. I n-need a b-break.” She said between chattering teeth as she leaned up against a tree, her arms wrapped around herself as she tried to warm herself.

Tanithil was no stranger to the cold, but he despised it nonetheless. He preferred the warm fires of his home, but that was a comfort he had chosen to leave behind. He looked over to his friend and noticed that she was shivering just as badly as he was. His arms draped across his body in a desperate attempt to shield himself. “I-i-if only I c-c-c-could use my m-m-magic….could m-m-make a stupid t-t-t-thermal shield…” He stuttered out as he heard his friend’s plea for a break. He weighed his options before them. A small shield to protect them from the cold might be a good idea, but he could only do it for a short burst every so often. Nothing concrete, but he wagered he could shield them each for 10 minutes maximum, and he wouldn’t be able to recreate such a reprieve for another 1 hour at least. It would undoubtedly alert any of the search dogs or drakes if they were within a reasonable distance, but Tanithil also wagered they stood no chance against the cold and would risk it.
“A-amisra…let’s find a t-t-tree. I’ll m-m-m-make a slight b-b-barrier. It w-w-won’t w-w-warm us up, but it’ll s-s-stop us from g-g-getting c-c-colder.” He despised this stuttering speech of his, and would walk to the nearest tree he could find and would wave his hands over the both of them, a slight shroud of shadow both hiding their physical presence and stopping anymore of the frigid winds or snow from battering against their skins. He shivered and found himself rather close to her, finally seeing the frozen scar across her face. “Amisra..y-your eye…” He took his hand and slowly brushed the crust away, ignoring any yelps of pain or protest from her. He removed a small amount of gauze from their supplies and wrapped it around her head a few times, making sure to tuck the end piece into the wraps to secure it. “There. Y-you shouldn’t g-get much more snow on that. W-we can’t risk an infection t-this far from home. Let’s warm up some and continue in a little bit.”

She wanted to tell him no, to not use his magic because it was too much of a risk, but the words refused to make it past her lips. She could barely unclench her jaw at this point and she just wanted some relief from the wind even if it was for only a minute. So Amisra didn’t protest as Tanithil shielded them with his magic. Even though the temperature wasn’t any warmer, just the relief from the wind began helping tremendously. She finally had the strength to start rummaging around in her pack, beginning to pull something out right as Tanithil began tending to her eye. ”I-it’s f-fine Tanithil…really, you d-” She sucked in a sharp breath as she winced, but she also didn’t pull away. She knew even if she protested he wouldn’t stop and before long he’d bandaged her up. She looked up at him with her one good eye, smiling softly. ”T-thank you…Now, l-let’s try to w-warm up some.” She moved in close to him, actually leaning into him some, before throwing a large blanket she’d packed around the two of them. She hugged the blanket close, the relief from it almost magical. ”W-we can use each o-other’s body heat to w-warm up some and t-the b-blanket will help keep the w-warmth in.” She said as she pressed her body in even closer to him.

He felt his body already soothed against the bitter weather around them, the blanket and natural warmth from his friend only added to it. The only thing he could feel at this point was the sharp frosty touch of the snow beneath his shoes and the slight rush of warmth to his face as he realized just how closely huddled they were. He exhaled large and slow breaths, warming up his one good hand and rubbing it onto his own arm, and then very carefully along his wrist where the cut was still fresh. He sharply inhaled as the pain from the cut returned with the flow of warmth throughout his body. “Owowowowowowowowoowwwwwwwww!” He whined out as a single tear came across his cheek. He quickly wiped it up and wrapped some fresh gauze around his already heavily bandaged nub. “Th-there’s a fishing village nearby right? Were y-you thinking of jumping aboard there? See where we l-land?” He wagered it had already been about five or six minutes, and knew there wasn’t much time left. He wanted more than anything to just sit and feel even slightly comfortable but knew time was of the essence. He continued rubbing his hand along his and even her body as he exhaled warmly against his palm and allowed the friction between his hand and their bodies to help provide a little heat in this enclosed bubble.

His cry of pain had caused Amisra to jump in alarm as she looked at him, desperately trying to figure out what was wrong. It only took her a minute to realize it was his injury and the sight of the tear had her heart aching. ”We’re going to have to really attend to that o-once we get somewhere s-safe.” She said as she helped him rebandage his injury, feeling a little better now that she was warmed some. ”The fishing v-village should o-only be about an h-hour out now. I think it would be w-wise to hop a b-boat and head towards the m-main land. I’d rather take my c-chances there than stay here.” She said, shivering less now as he worked at warming her and himself. She did her best to do the same for him while keeping hold of the blanket.

She would reluctantly remove the blanket from them, fold it up, and stuff it back in the pack in order to keep it dry just before they decided to head out again. She took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly before looking up at Tanithil. ”We should get moving again. Thank you for the break.” She said, managing not to stutter this time and braced herself for that cold wind once more.

The next hour went about just as well as the previous ones did with trudging through the snow. Thankfully, though, they made it to the village before becoming completely chilled to the bone again. Amisra stopped them just outside of the village, keeping as hidden as possible as she turned to her friend once more. ”Think you’ll be okay to use your magic once more? We need to make it to the docks, identify a ship that will be headed towards Aldrakh or something, and sneak aboard it. From there it’s going to be a fun game of ‘can we stay hidden the entire trip.’ Who knows what they’ll do if they discover us.” She explained to him so that they could be on the same page.

The immediate biting chill hit his skin as they journeyed the village. Each minute he counted as if to literally hold her to the one hour time limit. He knew full well it wouldn’t be exactly 60 minutes but anything to distract him was good enough. As they approached the village he scanned their surroundings to see if General Zarra had sent someone ahead of her to cut them off, which to their luck she hadn’t. ”Think you’ll be okay to use your magic once more? We need to make it to the docks, identify a ship that will be headed towards Aldrakh or something…” He heard her begin the explanation of the plan and looked around, spotting a ship with several large crates with slightly rough transcriptions on it. From a distance he couldn’t make out the words but he noticed the heavy weight of the boxes as the shipwrights struggled to bring them aboard. He pointed to the nearby ship and nodded. “My magic is running low with how much I’ve been spewing but I’ve got enough juice for one stealth trip and one final ‘oh shit’ moment. Those f-fellas are having a hard time lifting those. I imagine ‘cus they’re chock-f-full of weapons or supplies. M-my bet’s on that one.” Amisra glanced at the vessel he was talking about, taking a moment before realizing what it was. It was risky because the boat was one transporting supplies for the coming war which meant those on the boat would likely be very loyal. They likely wouldn’t look kindly upon two traitors.

He took his fingers, a small black spark emitting between them as a light snap sounded out, quickly eaten by the howl of the winds. A shroud of purple and black mist surrounded them for a moment before causing their forms to bend and warp like shadows to conceal themselves in plain view. ”Tread lightly, and h-head for the b-boat. The l-lower deck might be a g-good spot to s-start.” He took her hand with his and began to guide her. He watched the floor as he took light steps and avoided any obvious cracks or loose objects. He snuck them both between two sailors as they huffed two large containers on the ship's upper deck. Their attention was so absorbed in not dropping the ‘precious cargo’ that the duo slipped right in undetected and made their way below deck. Tanithil felt his magic beginning to fade as he breathed slightly heavier from the strain. He quickly pulled her into the far corner towards the bow of the ship and practically fell with her down onto the hard wooden floor, still keeping quiet as he let the shroud finally drop. ”Okay….at least it’ll be w-warm for a little while. Keep watch while I….rest….hah…” The color in his face was paler than normal despite his gray complexion. He took the blanket from their bag and silently folded it onto itself to lay his head down, his good hand patting her shoulder as he smiled. ”I think we’re o-okay for now.”

A small gasp escaped Amisra as they fell into the dark corner. She wasn’t expecting him to pull her down in such a way. She did her best not to make too much noise as she slowly moved to settle into their new hiding spot. Thankfully it seemed this section of the ship had already been packed up. She took a moment to glance in the crates, making sure they weren’t near the food as that would only increase the opportunity of them being caught. She would have to discover where that food was, eventually, though in order to steal some to feed themselves. Thankfully it seemed this section was weapons and so the chances of someone exploring this section was low. It was him patting her shoulder that caught her attention and she looked down at him. His use of the blanket as a pillow caused her to laugh a little bit and shake her head. ”By all means, rest up and I’ll keep watch, however…” She settled herself down, leaning against a crate, before grabbing at his blanket pillow. ”This will be far more useful being used as intended. You can rest your head on my lap, which will help keep me warm, then wrap yourself in the blanket to keep you warm.” She said as she patted her lap before spreading the blanket over him.

He furrowed his brow and let out a slight sigh in protest as he lifted his head up to allow her to hold the blanket. ”Well if you insist. I won’t complain about laying on such a soft lap.” He let his face sport a cheeky grin as he laid on her legs that she laid for him, the blanket now draped along his body. He could feel that warmth trickle in through his body, which came with its own set of positives and negatives. While it finally provided him comfort, the pain of losing his hand began to throw itself in waves over him, making his sleep restless. He would groan and toss every few moments, his hand clutching the blanket every few moments. He awoke after what felt like a long drawn out few hours of shallow sleep. He looked up at Amisra as she undoubtedly refused to move while he was laying there and let loose a slight sigh followed by a wince of pain. ”Gods above…who would’ve thought that getting your hand cut would suck this much…haha…ah!” He slowly sat up, some color remaining on his face as he looked at her and motioned to his own lap. ”’Kay. Your turn now. This is going to be a long week of being on our toes.”

She’d kept alert as he slept, glancing down at him on occasion as he would groan and move. She wished she had a way to take away his pain, to allow him to sleep better. A few times she found herself stroking his hair, trying to provide some comfort and calm him. She was also left with her own thoughts and quite dark thoughts they were. She found a few tears slipping down her face a few times and would quickly wipe them away before they could drip and hit Tanithil. She was in the midst of doing exactly that when he finally woke up, ready to take over. She let out a small laugh at his words, trying to distract from the tears. ”I can only imagine it not being a fun experience.” She said as she moved to adjust herself, quite ready for some sleep. There hadn’t been a soul come down while he slept, but she had felt them leave the docks and were headed out into the open ocean. She lay herself down on his lap, now covering herself in the blanket and letting out a yawn. ”It’s going to be quite the interesting week, that’s for sure. We’ll have to find some food eventually. For now, though, rest is more important.” She said before she slowly drifted off.

Her dreams were filled with visions of her family, her mother’s smiling face slowly morphing into one of pain, her sister’s joyful eyes losing their light. She would let out whimpers in her sleep, not getting much restful sleep either as she seemed to be plagued by nightmares. Last she knew her father was still alive, he was to watch his whole family die before they gave him the relief of death. She wondered if they would keep him alive until they caught her or if they would finish the job before then. Could she still save her father? If only she could have saved her sister. She woke with a gasp as her mind started to play out the scene of her family dying and she shot up off of Tanithil’s lap. She looked around wildly before her eyes fell on her friend. ”Fuck…sorry, seems sleep isn’t much in the cards for either of us.” She said with a sigh as she rubbed at her face.

He was already rather down enough as is, and seeing his dear friend tossing and turning in her sleep weighed heavily on his heart. He held her cheek in his hand and frowned for the first time in what felt like an eternity. He wanted to keep at least a neutral expression on at all times but, in times like these, he felt he earned the right to show a little sadness. His wrist, while still burning at the ends, felt somewhat dulled as he was distracted by the duties of his watch. He kept his ears on end, listening for every little visit to the lower decks he could hear. A few trips down to the corner opposite of them made him believe that to be an area of vital importance. He felt a grumble in his stomach at the thought of potential food, but a sudden jerking from his friend below him snapped him back to reality. ”I guess so. But hey, some sleep is better than permanent sleep.” He let loose a weak chuckle at his attempt to lighten the mood. ”This is going to be a long trip…” He trailed off his words as he brushed his hand over her cheek once more.

The next few days proved to be rather long and arduous for the duo. After some initial scouting, Tanithil confirmed his suspicions that there were indeed rations being stored below. He took great care to memorize when folks would come down for meals and tried to sneak between trips with his padded shoes to make less noise. He brought back meager portions of hardtack and small berry-infused tarts to fill their bellies. Enough to stave off hunger, but not too much as to cause suspicion above deck. They both took turns sleeping, feeling drowsy and fatigued from the half-baked attempts at sleeping they both did. Tanithil took the time to adjust to his lack of a right hand, and even felt himself showing signs of a ‘phantom limb’ tricking his senses from time to time. He ignored it and put on a poker face for his friend, not wanting to add to her troubles. He was thankful to be near her, but felt a deep sense of sorrow for her loss. He took every peaceful moment they had to comfort her and would often let her sleep an extra hour during his watch, against her protests. After what he counted to be around 8 days, they finally made it on shore, the boat lurching forward and coming to a stop for the first time in so very long. He prodded Amisra and nodded. ”Time to make our escape to the surface. Stretch your limbs and let’s find an opening before they start unloading boxes.” He readied his fingers as if to prepare his ‘snap’ from last week, ready to cloak them at her signal.

Amisra blinked, having dozed off again at some point and glanced at Tanithil as she registered his words. She stretched a little, waking herself up the best she could and readied herself for their escape. If she had to guess, it would be these crates they’d want to unload first as they were the weapons. With that in mind, they would have to be quick. ”It may be best to move closer to the doorway, keep to the shadows, and once they come down to get some crates we slip up to the deck and off. Sound like a plan?” She asked, but could already hear them heading down below deck and she beckoned her friend to follow her.

Following her lead, they made their way to the rations crate and waited for the trio of sailors to make their way below deck and head towards crates of varying sizes. To their luck they did indeed start towards the back as Amisra said, and with a silent snap of his fingers a hazy mist formed for but a few moments before concealing their presence to the world. ”Five minutes…” Tanithil whispered, barely letting his words escape his lips as he ushered her above deck. On the docks, he noticed a conversation between a tall green-skinned figure and the dark-elf with a dark blue coat who he could only assume was the captain of the ship. He had no time to eavesdrop as they made their way off the ship with little resistance and began to jog towards the shoreline, taking care not to make too much noise on the creaking wood while they slipped past the several figures who were working or preparing themselves for what Tanithil assumed to be proper combat.

As their feet hit the more solid ground, Tanithil had them break into a near-sprint to create as much distance between them and any prying eyes as he could. The threat of being discovered waned with each footstep they made, and he took great care to not knock into anyone passing by within the village’s walls. After a few minutes he could feel the spell's magic waning, so he opted to duck into an alley between two stone buildings and let the magic fade. ”Let’s just be as nonchalant as possible and march out of here. There’s only orcs and some dark elves. I doubt they’ve had the time or chance to inform the less populated places like this. At least I hope.” Tanithil took her hand once more and began to walk briskly with her at his side, making sure to use his cloak to hide his obviously deformed nub welting on the end of his arm. Aside from some odd glances, no one decided to approach the pair as they made it outside the city limits. From the pack on her back, Tanithil fished out a map he had decided to stash there. Albeit outdated by a few decades, the major settlements would still be the same. He took a moment to survey the land and then look at the map. ”Based on what I see around us and how this map is, I think we landed somewhere around Aldrakh. If that’s the case then lucky us, we just need to head West and we’ll see Ironhold.”

He wasn’t wrong, their best play was to act as if they belonged there. The likelihood of any of them actually recognizing them was quite slim. So she walked with her head held high and each look they got she returned in kind, her now healing scar only adding to her intimidation factor. She felt as if she could breathe easier once they were out of the city limits and she took in her surroundings as Tahithil found his map. She listened to him speak and began nodding, actually quite aware of where they were at. As a spy and assassin, she’d actually made several trips to the mainland here and Aldrakh was a common place for her to end up. ”Yes, that was Aldrakh we were just in. There’s a path we can follow that will lead us to Ironhold, though I fear we may run into more people on that path. It’ll be harder, but we should travel a lesser known route or at least stay off the main path.” She suggested as she pointed in the direction they needed to go.

Tanithil nodded in agreement. ”Yeah, let’s stick to the edge of the mountains and just follow them until we hit the city gates.” He folded the map and began to walk with her by his side as they traversed the open plains like biome.There was very little to impede their journey along the mountainside. They would take notice of stray caravans and patrols moving along the roads on the horizon, but were far enough that nothing seemed to notice them or care enough to investigate their presence. Minutes stretched into hours, which stretched into days. Long nights were had of them watching their backs, taking turns similar to what they had done on the boat. There were new dangers, sure, but the risk of being caught somehow was lower overall. After another few grueling days, with nothing much to their meals other than packed snacks and small game they found in the wild, Tanithil could feel his general fatigue growing. He noticed his stomach slightly caved in from the lack of proper nutrition for upwards of 2 weeks now.

In the middle of the day they found themselves looking upwards at the stone gates and archways leading into the city proper. There was a fair amount of traffic along the main road as they approached, filled with both carriages, carts, and mobs of folks traveling into and out of the city for all manners of personal and professional business. The pair of dark elves found little issue in being able to slip between mobs of folks traveling in town, making sure to wear their hoods over their obvious facial features. Tanithil himself tucked his wounded arm inside his cloak sleeve, a slight numbing pulsing pain still rounding throughout his limb. The road into the dwarven stronghold proved to be long and well-trodden, with a brisk air hitting their bodies as they made their way underground. The roof expanded ever higher as this city built into the mountain began to give way to an expansive network of buildings and streets. The crowd dispersed into streams of people, and not wanting to get lost, the pair snuck away towards the more shadow-clung areas of alleyways. Their journey to Ironhold had finally ended, but their path to redemption had just begun.

Will update once discussed with Tanithil

Will update once discussed with Amisra

A D&D miniature, Traveller clothes, Disguise ring, Adamanine Long Sword, Adamanine Scale Mail, Standard Backpack, 4 Large Red Potions, 4 Large Blue Potions, Timeteller, Wayfinder, Flask, Darksight Goggles, Travel Shelter, Portable Bed, Cooking Pot, Hair Cleanser, Teeth Cleanser, Body Cleanser, and a Hair brush.