Authors Note:

Sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter up, new job, really odd hours (airport ground personnell) and coming home exhausted has kind of limited the time I have for writing. However I do want to try and complete the entire thing before NX2 comes out. So bear with me. :) Hope you all enjoy this segment.

Steven.

Mixed Signals

Silvarian stood before the great tree of Immil Vale. In his hand, the sacred anointment that was made from the materials the spirits of the elder witches have instructed him to gather. Dousing himself with the liquid, he closed his eyes and concentrated his thoughts. The presence within him writhe and for just a flicker of a moment, the half elf's features clouded. Nevertheless, he quickly brought the malignant thing under control seemingly with almost barely any effort now. The anger and fear he felt emanating from the hunger drowned out by sheer force of will.

The ranger focused his thoughts, forming mental images of the blight effecting Ashenwood and the plight of Gnarlthorn. "Mielikki, hear me. The land is in need of you."

Silence. Silvarian breathed hard and tried again. Focusing his thoughts, he projected the image in his mind towards the tree. Then inspiration struck him. This time, he concentrated on the presence within him too, drawing on it and its power. For it seemed that the hunger was more than just pure emptiness that all had thought it to be. The ranger found out some time ago, that the hunger also acted as a conduit of sorts. Energies that it stole or ate flowed both ways. Though the ranger had his suspicions of the origins of both the hunger and its power, there is still much that is unknown about it for him to come to a conclusion as to what it really is.

Drawing on the power of the hunger, the ranger again tried and mouthed silently, his prayer to Mielikki. This time however he felt a difference. The tree acted as a conduit, its roots ran deep into the land and the land itself reverberated with energies perhaps left from a time when the gods walked the land. He felt his mental call for help rang out, like a ring in a pond, a wave flowing out and into the world.

What happened immediately was something that he could not have prepared for. One moment he was aware of himself standing by a tree with his hands on its ancient trunk, the next, he felt his consciousness leaving and blacking out, as in falling into nothingness. His consciousness returned and he found himself kneeling on a forested floor. A lady in green with a unicorn beside her, stood before him.

Mielikki.

Why have you called me?

"The land suffers my lady. Gnarlthorn spoke of another before me, whom carries this thing that I am now afflicted with, had injured the forest spirit and now because of it, somehow have caused the spirit to bring blight and corruption to the forest." Silvarian paused.

"Gnarlthorn mentioned that this affliction is of divine origin and only a god can undo that which is done by another."

Mielikki remained silent for a moment.

I cannot help you. For its undoing is beyond my power.

Silvarian's heart fell.

Mielikki continued.

I do however know of one who can.

Silvarian felt the world and his consciousness shift and again was aware that he was being moved from one plane to another. This time he found himself standing on a grassy plain. He sensed Mielikki was still with him and turned, standing next to Mielikki stood another Goddess clothed in simple white. Something passed between the goddesses and the one in white turned to face the ranger. She smiled and reached out with a perfectly formed arm and with almost great care gently caressed the ranger's face.

You have suffered much and while it is not deserved you must bear this burden you carry a little longer. Do you know who I am?

Silvarian shivered at her touch. In that brief instant he felt all the hurt, all the pain and even the presence within melt away and the glow of life flow into him. The face he saw was familiar as he recently saw her image or rather, a poor representation of her image in the form of a statue in Mulsanthir.

"Chauntea?" whispered the half elf.

The goddess smiled.

Yes. I am known as such, as well as many other names depending on time and place.

A flicker of concern played on her face.

Know that your affliction is not what it seems. That while there are many gods who might oppose its effect and true purpose, none will move to stop it or remove it. For they see in it, as a mean for their own benefit and not the harm that it does.

Silvarian felt himself scowl. How could the gods just let this go on? Even the gods whom would be considered as good and just would allow this to continue felt wrong. Selfish.

Chauntea's eyes softened. Reading his mind she responded.

Yes, the gods are selfish. Power and self preservation, she stressed on the word preservation, can make even the best of gods seem evil.

"Why are you helping me then?" Silvarian asked, thinking of what Chauntea said, " And what do you mean its true purpose?"

Chauntea's eyes grew sad then hardened.

Because what you bear is against all that I stand for and should have never been allowed. It has caused damage to the land and to life, things of my domain. And while few have the power to undo this, I am one of them. And because I too, am selfish. She said with a sad note. In helping you, I preserve my own domain. Also, it effects me little if this construct is removed. I have no need of its intent nor its fuel to continue my power and keep my domain.

Reaching out, Chauntea again touched the ranger, filling him with warmth and life.She smiled.

I can tell you this. You are the first amongst the bearers of this construct whom have somehow had the will to control and not fall prey to its emptiness. I cannot tell you what it truly is or what to do but you must find and understand its true purpose. More importantly you must become its master. For only the true master of the construct can undo or remake its purpose. Stay on the path that you are now on. Unless you are an equal, I am not allowed to tell you more.

She looked past and through the ranger, seeing something beyond.

Your companions past and present will be a great source of strength. How you harness that strength and how you use it remains to be seen. She smiled, I will leave you with a token, to heal the land. Remember what you can, and act. Now go.

"He is back with us." Gann said. Oddly enough, a strange tone of reverence in his voice.

Neeshka was surprised that his usual sullen tone and sarcasm was absent and raised an eyebrow. Wordlessly, she looked up at Kaelyn and the cleric caught her eye. Returning a smile, the cleric moved in to see if she can lend aid, her wings spread like a mother hen.

"Is he all right?" Sayifa asked, concern clearly etched on her face, betraying her feelings for the man.

Kaelyn knelt by the ranger and touched his forehead. Her eyes widened and she almost reluctantly withdrew her hand. "He has been in contact with the gods! He will be fine, just give him a little room."

Kaelyn's fingers unconsciously stroking his face.

Safiya frowned. "The gods? Nothing good has ever come from them, how can he be fine? If anything, the gods would have caused more harm and ..." Noticing Kaelyn's hands, "Will you stop pawing him?"

Kaelyn blushed and snatched her hand away but still remained close drawing her wings around the ranger. She glanced at Neeshka who just smiled then winked. Kaelyn blushed even more.

The exchange wasn't lost to both Gann and Safiya who both wore sullen looks.

Safiya was about to say something when a groan issued from the ranger. They all moved back, allowing him to sit himself up.

"How long was I out?" Silvarian asked.

Gann replied. "Not long, just half a day. Is what our dear dove said is true? That you spoke to your gods?"

"Just two. Mielikki and Chauntea. It seems this thing inside me is more than what it seems and I have to got to figure out what it is. And no, they didn't tell me what it is, Chauntea said something about not allowed to say more..."

Kaelyn interjected, "What do you mean? She was not allowed?"

Safiya jumped in, her voice growing louder as she expressed her irritation, "Does any of that matter? How are we supposed to find that out if we don't even know where to start?"

Silvarian reached out and touched her hand, whether intentional or not, the effect was immediate, Safiya calmed and stayed silent. Silvarian continued, "The good news is that we are on the right track." Opening one of his hand, there on his palm is Chauntea's gift. "We have this." It'll heal Gnarlthorn I think and bring an end to the blight." Looking at the sky, "It is too late now to head back, so we'll spend the night here and in the morning head back to Ashenwood."

"Okies! You heard our leader!" Neeshka sounding like a school mistress, perhaps echoing the monks that brought her up, "Tents don't put themselves up and we all want some privacy, yes?" She grinned. Safiya, pots and dinner detail, Gann and our leader...tents! I trust you know where to put our tent right?" Looking directly at the ranger without a hint of decorum. "Dove, come with me, we are on hunting detail and we need to talk about what you do with your hands..." Kaelyn blushed, eyes wide. Silvarian raised an eyebrow but choose to remain silent. "Okku! Perimeter detail!"

"Who does she think..." Started Safiya, but again, the ranger touched her and it broke her line of thought, calming her down.

"Lets just set up camp okies, I'll help you with the cooking later." smiled the ranger.

"Okies." Safiya sighed and reluctantly turned towards the packs to retrieve the cooking utensils.

Looking up, the ranger saw Gann who watched it all. "Coming Gann?"

"Yes master." Replied the hagspawn. "Anything you say master."

Silvarian frowned.

Gann raised his hands with an expression that meant "I'm just kidding!" His eyes though betrayed his thoughts.

Working together, and away from the others now, Silvarian prodded the hagspawn. "Out with it. What's eating you?"

Gann hammered the line spike into the ground then replied "Are you always this good at manipulating people? Even I can't help but follow your lead at times against my better judgment."

"Do you know how difficult it is herding cats for a bath?" ask the ranger.

"No. I never had pets nor want any. And that is not what I asked." Gann started.

"Yes it is." The ranger stood up and looked into the hagspwan's eyes. "I just find what motivates people and help them help me achieve my goals. I don't force my will on anyone. As with cats, you'd get badly scratched and its impossible to enforce your will on more than one at a time and even then, it'll come back and bite you when you aren't looking."

"And what about me? What do you think motivates me?" Challenged the hagspawn.

The ranger smiled a mirthless smile. Gann thought it predatory.

"You want to be accepted for what you are, nothing more, nothing less. You want a place you can call home and most of all, you want people who will treat you without prejudice, fear or intent. All you want is honesty."

Gann stood silent.

"You are welcome." Grinned the ranger, "Now, tighten that guy rope or the tent will fall over."

"Kaelyn! You can't just go around fondling people you know." Neeshka said

"Why not? You do it with Silva all the time. I don't understand." Kaelyn started to say

"Well Silva and I are attached. So its all right for me to touch him all over..." Neeshka caught Kaelyn's glance towards the lower portion of her body, "and no, not there! At least not in public or when people could see..." Neeshka paused thinking carefully what she should say but couldn't think of anything,

"But I thought you said that you two aren't married." Kaelyn said.

"We aren't. Why bring that up?" Asked Neeshka.

"Well you said you two are attached, isn't that the same as being married?"

"Not exactly. It just mean that we are together." Neeshka tried to explain.

Kaelyn then brightened, "So if he isn't married to you, that means he's able to sleep with anyone else right?"

Neeshka should have seen this coming, "Ohhhhhhh noooooo you don't! He's not sleeping with you!"

"Why not? He could teach me things." the half celestial said with a pout.

"I am sure he could." Muttered the tiefling. "Look, when someone's attached to another person they don't go around sleeping with others." Kaelyn looked a little confused, Neeshka tried thinking of an example that she would understand, "It is like saying you serve Ilmatar but really doing Talona's work."

"Oh." Kaelyn sounded disappointed. "So sleeping with another if you are attached is a betrayal?"

"Yes! Dove, lets just go look for something to bring back for dinner okies? I'll talk to you about this later maybe tonight." Neeshka said hurriedly, trying to take the cleric's mind off the subject.

Kaelyn nodded. "Promise?"

"Yeah, sure. Promise." Answered Neeshka. Then muttering to herself, "Gods I have created a monster."

Dinner finished without further incident and the camp settled into a somewhat odd if not quiet mood. Silvarian kept his promise and help Safiya with her chores while the rest cleaned up and disposed of the left over food and bones. Neeshka frowned, watching Safiya rubbing shoulders with Silva and kept in close physical proximity while cleaning up. Though she caught his eye and understood his intent, she still didn't like the fact he has to resort to such tactics to keep the peace. In part she knew she was at fault for causing tension and putting him in this position, but she still didn't have to like it. Neeshka did not like to share.

Night fell and everyone retired to their tents, all except for Okku who preferred sleeping near the camp fire. Finally together in their tent, Neeshka snuggled up with Silvarian and wondered if she should take the initiative and start stripping him bare.

"What was that about Kaelyn's hands and her blushing when you mentioned it?" Silvarian suddenly asked.

"Umm, well, you know, Kaelyn isn't exactly very knowledgeable when it comes to men you know..." Neeshka started saying.

Silva's raised eyebrow wordlessly asked her to elaborate.

"Well, she's still a virgin, and we kinda gave her a shock that other night. She's never seen anything remotely resembling sex. Which is why I had us buy tents...more privacy and all that...and ...

"Go on..." the ranger prodded.

Neeshka grimaced and made a face, " I kinda showed her how pleasant sex can be..."

"You did what?!"

Neeshka hurried on, "Oh I didn't do anything with her. She's a half Celestial, I mean, if Casavir's aura made me itch, I am sure not going to touch her anywhere...sensitive...don't know what kind of response I'd get..."

"Neeshka..." Silvarian sounded like a tired parent

"I just showed her what to do...and kinda coached her a little...well okies... a lot! She was really clueless...and she kept asking "am I doing it right..." Neeshka imitating Kaelyn's husky voice, "Oooohhhh, am I supposed to feel like this..." "Oooooooooo ooaahhhhhh" "You'd think the girl would stop after 30 minutes...you know..." Neeshka faltered. "I am not helping myself here am I?"

"At least now I understand why she's all touchy feely lately. Neesh, you gotta think things through a litt..."

"Neeshka, Silvarian, can I come in?" Kaelyn's voice came from outside the tent.

"Come in Dove." The ranger invited.

The flap opened and Kaelyn entered. Both Neeshka and Silvarian could not help but stare. Kaelyn was wearing the thinest and probably the shortest night clothes. Even in the dim light of the tents glow orbs they could see her body nicely outlined showing off her curves.

"I am sorry, but I overheard, I do not mean to be a burden to you..." Kaelyn sounded truly sad and embarrassed, "Its just all this is new and frightening to me." She looked at Neeshka her eyes almost tearing, "I..."

Neeshka got up and hugged her. "No Dove, its my fault too, but why are you out dressed like that..."

"Well, you promised me you'll teach me more and I thought I'll watch the both of you..."

Silvarian started to make gaging noises, Neeshka wasn't sure if he was laughing or choking.

"Uhhh, I don't think that is such a good idea." Neeshka made a face, thinking quickly, she hurriedly went on, "You remembered that talk I had with you about Gann and his flirting with you?"

"Yes, but why are we speaking of Gann now?" asked the cleric.

Neeshka grinned, "You know how much he likes surprises. Go sneak into his tent then into his bed roll and you know...touch him?"

"You mean flirt with him?" asked Dove.

Kaelyn looked confused for a while then saw Neeshka looking down towards her crotch. "Ohhh!" She brightened and left the tent.

"Neesh!" Silva started to say...

"Sheeeshhh! Wait for it..." Neeshka placed her fingers on his lips.

Moments passed, and for a long while everything was peaceful and quiet. Then Gann's blood curdling scream pierced the night. Neeshka laughed and then pulled Silvarian down into the bed roll.

"Things will sort themselves out. Now you and me have some work to do so that we'll be able to answer questions in the morning."

"Like herding cats to a bath." Muttered the ranger.

"What was that?" Neeshka asked.

"Nothing." Grinned the ranger.