Carantathraiel

Wanderers

Ruli frowned at her remarks; the nickname, the cheer, focusing instead on her description for her desired appearance. "It may be a challenge to make you less drab, yes, but I'll do my best." He retorted coldly. "I need the supplies first. Some items were brought yesterday, but I'll need to travel to find more. I had to have a conversation with the bloody Princess to try to figure out where to go." And he looked just thrilled about how that conversation had gone.

Inhaling, he sighed heavily. "Once I have what I need, you can watch, I don't care. Boring stuff, but." He shrugged. "Assuming you don't want the enchantment etched onto your skin, I'll find something for you to wear. A ring, probably, as you seem happy to wear those. Or earrings. Your choice." He added, noting the small holes in her ears that indicated the lobes were pierced. Necklaces were too loose, and he couldn't imagine any other jewelry that would be comfortable to wear while in a full suit of armour.
Absent mindedly, his eyes roamed her body. Not in an intentionally creepy way, but someone analyzing options. He frowned, thinking, realizing he'd been staring at her chest. He quickly looked away, shaking the thought process away. No, anything more would catch or chafe. Ears or hands. Something small and unobtrusive.

"Envy is probably in his room. Not many places for him to go around here. Not while the sun is up. I was about to walk to the tent city. Bit crowded here." He said, casually glancing behind him as if worried someone were going to chase him down and punch him again. "Enjoy your hunting. If anyone asks, you don't know where I went." Ruli insisted before brushing past her and through to the exit tunnel.

Wanderers

Relief washed over the elf's face as she readily agreed, looking like a weight was pulled off his shoulders. Someone who could travel in daylight, move distances on her own, and carry more than meager amounts. It didn't matter to him what she brought, it would help. "I'll talk to the others. See if they know where to locate what we need. Ysaryn's people should have the majority of it, but there are items Ruli may need to hunt for for his enchantments. Give me an hour to speak to them, and I'll give you a better estimate."

He went after Ysaryn first. She wasn't hard to find, with her and Bolym arguing about her impending trip with a sour-faced man with long black hair. Bolym insisted on following the two, and the man refused, insisting that he didn't trust the bastard not to cut his throat. Ysaryn, loudly promising she'd cut his throat first, at the very least demanded her body guard remain. She snarled at Envy when he interrupted, for which the man snapped at her, and the fight went on in circles.

He circled around until Aeron brought him Ruli, freshly bathed and looking quiet tired. Envy relayed Kire's desires for a new face, and the blond fell into silent thought for a moment before he found a quill and paper and jotted down what he would need from the pink-haired elf, then made a second for himself, staring at it in wonder about where he would get anything. He only knew Ziad. And everything in Ziad was buried in the cisterns.
"Risa is here." Envy informed him gently.
"Bullshit." Ruli responded, looking up. Envy frowned in response. "I bet she is an absolute joy to have out here. She the only one?" A nod from the Kartaian. Ruli grunted. "Well. Maybe I can tolerate a conversation with her to see if she has ideas."
"A 'conversation'?" Envy asked.
"Yes." Ruli said shortly, shoving the list in Envy's hand. "That's all."

Envy gave the list from Ruli to Ysaryn, and she left with her party of two, leaving a foul-mouthed Bolym to stalk outside to hunt in the hopes of deflating his ire.

Not long after he was taken to 'Little Ziad', which was nothing more than a hodge-podge of tents, blankets, and pathetic hunts of branches some ten minute walk from the cave, Ruli fell asleep, dozing for the majority of the afternoon and well into the night. Months of sleeping through the day would be a difficult schedule to break. He woke in the dead of night, his insect bites itching less. He went back to the stream and washed his clothes and skin again, then went hunting again. Returning to the kitchen revealed several hanging fowl, types he couldn't identify. They were defeathered, rubbed in a few herbs he knew, and hanging over the hearth to slowly cook, their grease making the chamber smell good enough to send a sharp pain through his stomach. He'd never eaten. It'd been nearly two days.
Taking a small portion of the cured venison, he continued on.

He found Kire on accident the following afternoon, in the kitchen muttering to herself like the mad-woman he was sure she was. He grunted at her. "So you're the one who's been doing all this." He commented tiredly. The bruise on his throat was fading, his voice much recovered. He'd traded up, apparently, as he now sported a vicious bruise to his left cheek and eye. Not too recent, as the small gash that accompanied it had clotted and scabbed. Struggling to stay awake, he'd decided to go back to the tent-village to see what he could do, deciding very much that he wanted to avoid the caves, and the person who had punched him.

His eyes were red as he looked her over. "What sort of face do you want?" He asked bluntly, far too drained for small talk.

Wanderers

He gave her a grim smile. "No, nothing is ever exact. Nor is anything ever simple in our sort of lives." Envy sighed. "If his magic, just filtered through this woman, was as powerful as I felt, then I find I do not pity you." He admitted with a shake of his head.
"If you're offering to help, I naturally can't turn it down. We're in need. We have recuperating injured, children, and citizens who have never hunted before. I can se─ erm, I understand someone went hunting already, but if you're willing and able, we'll need food. Herbs. Meat. I'll have someone show you the 'Little Ziad', as they call it, and you can assess for yourself what would be needed. I have others who go into a different city to get their hands on supplies, but its never enough. I don't have many who can travel so far."

Wanderers

Envy frowned in thought, his clouded eyes staring ahead. "Using one gem to track another is possible, yes. Especially if each one is encased in his particular strain of magic. It won't be easy, but it can be done. And if it works, it won't be exact, but will give you enough of a location to get closer. I assume you can sense traces of his magic by other means, otherwise you wouldn't have wound up in Ziad."

Why Ziad, though? Envy wondered. "I only ever sensed one magical source in Ziad that didn't belong to my family. ─This─ family, I mean. Not my blood relatives. So I wonder why it wound up being your double that you followed and not the mastermind behind her. She has his power?" He stared ahead, thinking, curious.

"As to your face, yes, that can also be done. Ruli is actually quiet adept in enchantments. Its the category of magic he took to most when I was teaching him. But the unfortunate fact is that we have no supplies here. Not for tracking or enchanting. Everything was lost with Ziad." He admitted, tilting his head, so his whole ear was pointed more toward her. "I can add it to the list of things for pick up, but it may be a while before we have everything. Days, maybe."

Wanderers

His face shifted toward her voice, and he grinned as she apologized. "Not the most rude I've had. But I appreciate the apology."
He was clothed in plain fabric, he was so large, though, clothing was clearly hard to find, considering it looked like someone had made the articles out of blankets, patched with scraps of mismatch fabrics.

"Ysaryn," Envy said to the elf. "If you wouldn't mind, I'm sending you for more supplies today once you're both ready."
Ysaryn's face fell, her eyes going dark. Immediately, she rambled off in her language, arguing and complaining, to which Envy just nodded.
"I know. I know. Just ... please."
She snarled at him, then dropped the knife she was using on the venison and stalked out angrily.

Envy pressed his lips thin, then turned toward Kire again. "Are you ready to discuss your ... I'm not sure what to call it. Predicament. Quest?" He hummed. "Unless you're still eating. I won't rush."

Wanderers

Broken. Ysaryn tilted her head at that word, thinking it over and trying to hold it up in front of her impression of Rulitus. She didn't know him at all, save from what she sensed, but it did fit him. There was a look in his eyes that was a different sort of nothing. Empty.
She muttered something in her native tongue.

The question of the wards made the elf grin again. "It is not explained to us. After Ziad, is kept secret, the how. But its like a spider web. From within, anyone can feel if magic comes inside. Scratches the neck." She pointed to her nape. "Tells us someone has approached. We can investigate. Only if you have magic in your blood. So, me or Envy. Maybe you, and Rulitus now."

Setting down her cup, she went to work on the parts of the venison that was cooked, pulling of neat strips to cure and store. She'd only pulled off three strips when she turned her head toward the path to the rest of the chamber, straightening as Envy arrived.
He inhaled, but unable to identify Kire's scent yet, he asked "Is Kire in here?"

Wanderers

Ysaryn shrugged, moving around to eye the damage on the meat. Sid was not a cook, but often tried, and the results weren't always good. As Kire admitted she was also a chieftan, the elf nodded. "If I kept at home, it would always mean nothing. Out here, maybe I can find a place where it would mean something. Away from the men." Her eyes went to Kire. "Maybe you are here so it will mean something again?" She guessed. "Also, being here is better than sitting in nothing."

She raised a finger and prodded part of the venison, testing how cooked it was before licking her finger. Kire's question about Rulitus didn't get an answer at first. Ysaryn considered it, stepping away to circle her hearth again as she drank her tea, her long braid swaying behind her.
"I tolerate because Envy says hes good. Like you." Ysaryn said after a time. "His magic ... it is different than yours. And Envy." She frowned at the meat, trying to find the words to explain. "Envy is hard. But ... good. Helpful. And you. Hard, but helpful. Good. He smells ... like nothing. Beneath the stink. I mean. Neutral. Can be good or bad. I don't like that. If he becomes good, then," She shrugged once more.
"People like him, I find in my life, can smile and be helpful, while still being bad. Can drop the good for blood." Her face wrenched up as she made a sour expression. "Does that make sense?"

Wanderers

Ysaryn nodded. "My father is chieftan. But it means little. We own no land. Hold no power. We cower away from the men of the city, who steal us and force us into slavery. It is why I stay, yes. I like the freedom. The air. It is nice not to fear being captured." She raised her cup again and took another sip. "Bolym thinks I am turning my back on my family. We do not see eye to eye. He does not like the role I play here. He thinks it is no better tha─"

She paused as Kire's stomach growled loudly, and her smile vanished instantly. Not out of annoyance, but pity. Like she knew too well what an empty and crying stomach felt like and she hated to hear it in others. "Come." Ysaryn unfolded herself and rose to her feet, taking her cup along with her as she walked into the cavern.

In answer to her two part question, she led Kire into the room used as a kitchen, where Rulitus and the young woman with sandy blonde hair were arguing over a bit of venison cooking on the spit. They both turned when the two women entered, going quiet. The woman's face was distressed, and she turned away sharply, wiping her eyes.
"You're alive." Ruli said bluntly.
"And you still stink." Ysaryn pointed out. "Who let you cook?"
"I did. I'm sorry." The woman whined, wiping her cheeks and turning around. "I just, I haven't slept, I'm ... I burnt the─"
"Sid," Ruli said gently, his arms limp at his sides. He made no move to reach out, unsure if she'd allow it. "You're doing fine."

She inhaled, glaring at him, her eyes such a deep shade of brown they were almost black. Against the rest of her fair coloring, it was almost unnerving. "You lie. But thank you. Can you─"
"Yes, I'll keep cooking." Ruli agreed.
"No." Ysaryn interjected. "You'll go wash. Or we'll eat meat that smells like you."
Ruli turned his head to leer at her, and she raised her chin and bent an eyebrow. Her expression inviting an argument. Which he was far too tired for. He sighed. "Fine. Someone show me where to wash. Sid?"
She nodded, and the two left, Ruli casting a glance at Kire before he followed the woman out.

Ysaryn grinned at Kire. "Now, all the food you want." She grinned.

Wanderers

Ysaryn purposefully didn't shift to give Kire room to sit. Any sort of movement would instantly be interpreted as a retreat, and Ysaryn didn't want to give the wrong impression. Envy didn't fear Kire, or he wouldn't have allowed her to stay. Ysaryn didn't fear her, either, and decided no one else should.
Her fuschia eyes watched Kire from over her cup as she spoke. After a lengthy, but slow sip, she lowered it and cradled it on her thighs. Without the cloak to hide her, her figure was notably curved, her hourglass shape punctuated by her position. Her full thighs were wrapped in tight breeches of dark brown, her torso in soft leather. Her hair was still in its braid, the cord falling long enough to tickle the mat beneath her.

"Envy calls us Shadow Elf. Where I live, we are 'Savage Elf', but they never meet Kartaian." Ysaryn grinned wickedly, though it was brief. "We are bastards. Weak blooded children of the Kartaian. Diluted. Mixed. Other names. Grey-skin. Sevens. I do not think we have a proper name, though. Envy said we descend from a long dead race. Like Kartaian, but gentler." Her eyes roamed Kire's face. "Where I live, no one likes us." She gestured to her ears, meaning elves in general. "Here, it is different because of Envy." She shrugged indifferently. "Your face is like my skin. A reminder of something evil. But a second glance, and they will see differnt. Just like Envy. Just like you see Envy, yes? You understand?"

She grinned again. "No. Bolym is from home. My Guardian. He does not wish to remain. A lot smells about him, too."

Wanderers

Having slept all day, Ruli was too awake to sleep. Add the mountain of information he'd listened in on from Kire, and the anxiety of being here, around Envy and the others, he couldn't stay inside the mountain. He had energy to burn, information to categorize. Plus, with the exception of the sparse visits here to make sure it was still vacant and the wards were still strong, he'd never spent time out of the desert. Under the cover of darkness, he roamed in small half circles around the cave entrance, exploring.

By the time he grew tired enough to get some rest, there was only an hour or two max before the sun would rise. Still unwilling to rest near the others, he went back to Ziad, gathering his pack and his sad little blanket before he went back to the mountains. He sprawled out on a decently smooth boulder and slept under the stars.
A mistake, absolutely, as he was woken just after dawn covered in insect bites.

Grouchy, he wandered inside the cave, scratch and grumbling, and explored inside. In Ziad, Envy had made a whole kingdom underground. A full kitchen, boys and girls bedrooms, a bathing chamber, sparring circle, armory, an infirmary, and so many more rooms. This place ... it was bare bones. He peeked his head into the sleeping quarters, where people slept on piles of hay, leaves, or scraps of clothing covered in mostly whole blankets.
He spotted Kire's form sprawled on one, the woman in such a deep sleep he almost envied her for a moment. There were dozens of people. A few he recognized. The elf that had wandered around outside with Envy lay tucked in a corner, but her pink-hued eyes were open and watching him. So were the dark eyes of the male elf that sat with his back pressed to the wall. Neither trusted him. He was okay with that.

The kitchen, when he found it, was nothing more than a little chamber that opened up to the mountain from above, letting the smoke ventilate outward from the hearth they'd made in the middle. Two fires burned constantly, and beyond was a path that Ruli knew to lead outside, where people could gather wood and kindling for the constant hungry mouths.

And nothing else. Not within the caves that he'd found. No apothecary. No armory. No infirmary. There were countless faces he both hoped and feared to locate. His brother, for one. And Aeron. Alais, Sid, the list went one. But aside from Envy, he hadn't met anyone.

So he put himself to work. He walked back out of the caves and began to gather wood. Children, injured, and refugees from the city. He wasn't sure many of them were in shape enough to carry armfuls of supplies. So he went back and forth, bringing in load after load and, when there was a pile of wood waist high stacked against the cavern wall, he went out to hunt.

---

By the time Kire had woken and strolled through the cavern to peer outside, the majority of the refugees were awake. They weren't jovial, or talkative. They were still mourning, shocked, some still recuperating. A few glanced at her warily as she walked by, some out of instinct at this new face, armed and healthy by comparison. Others, who had seen Akuma's face, paled, inching away before disappearing.
Ysaryn, who was sitting on a small reed mat in the main chamber, grinned. She held in her hands a small porcelain mug that steamed and smelled quite terrible. She watched Kire with interest, her legs folded beneath her. "Sleeping beauty wakes." She greeted as Kire spotted her.