A/N:Thanks again for the reviews guys, I'm glad you like it so far! :D Enjoy the new chapter!
Faolain could only see her lover's terrified expression as Caithe turned around, saw her crying out her name, but could not hear her. The roaring of the Norn and the creaking of the ice and the deafening drum of her own frightened heartbeat were all she could hear. Then the ice shattered and Faolain fell, saw the inky black substance closing in on her, in a flashing moment that seemed to last for an eternity, in which she felt nothing but fear and regrets.
She felt the pain of crashing into the water before she felt the cold, the air harshly knocked out of her. Then it merged into the pain of aching muscles, suddenly stiffened and rapidly losing their ability to move. She felt the weight of the Norn cling to her, pull her down. The weight of the water pressed on her lungs.
She opened her eyes. Everything around her was black. She would have moved her arms had she not been paralyzed by the cold. Only above her, the shattered fragments of the ice let through some light. She was sinking rapidly, sorely missing her breath by now.
Darkness surrounded her body and began clouding in her mind. The Norn sank faster than she did, and held her with cramped fists, as much paralyzed by the cold as she was. Faolain looked up again, towards the cracked ice.
She was not afraid, she realized. Her heartbeat had slowed down, to the point if she wondered if it was even beating at all. She thought of Caithe. Images flew by before her eyes. Caithe's warm smile, or Caithe crying, Caithe fighting for what was important to her. And then she realized.
Not like this.
Not without her.
.
Caithe cried out and ran towards the platform's edge, jumping over the smaller ones and falling to her knees at the huge hole in the ice. She peered into the dark water, crying Faolain's name, desperately trying to see her. She had vanished in a matter of seconds. Behind her she heard the heavy footsteps of Knut approaching. He called out to her, throwing off his heavy armour.
'Do you see her?' He threw off his shin armours as well.
'No!' Caithe cried to him, her whole body shaking, 'I don't see anything!'
'I'll go in,' Knut decided resolutely, struggling with the last of his armour. Ron appeared behind him, pulling him back by his arm.
'Are you mad? You'll surface as likely as she will. She's gone, Knut!' Caithe let out a tormented cry.
'That cannot be true! I'll go in!' She looked at the water again, so dark, so deep. She hesitated for just a moment, before Ron also pulled her back.
'What good will your death do her, Caithe?' He roared, his eyes narrower than Caithe or Knut had ever seen them. He towered over them, holding them both.
A sudden shockwave threw back the platform of ice, shaking the three, only Ron managed to stay on his feet. Caithe's eyes widened as a blast of purple light illuminated the lake to the bottom for a second. Fish of various terrifying sizes were blinded and spurted away, when the darkness returned the whole lake seemed to be mewling and moving.
'Faolain!' Caithe called out, leaning over the edge of the platform, bravely facing the water now. She pushed her head under the surface, spreading out her arms, her eyes wide open, looking for another sign of the other Sylvari. The lake trembled. Caithe cried Faolain's name again, for pure frustration, for fear, the sound getting lost in the cold water. Then she felt a hand grab hers, and saw blazing eyes looking into her own.
Caithe jerked back and pulled up, helped by Knut who had held her legs. After her, Faolain surfaced, gasping for air, and struggling to get up on the platform.
'What?' Ron was taken aback, but immediately helped pull the Sylvari up on the platform. Caithe sat on her knees, pulling Faolain in her embrace, sobbing into her shoulder. Her lover was ice cold, trembling all over. Faolain clutched Caithe weakly, her breathing laboured, and she stared into the distance over Caithe's shoulder. It seemed to take a few seconds before she realized what had happened and she pulled Caithe closer, whining softly. Caithe held her, whispering the same words to her over and over.
'It's all right, it's all right..'
Knut quickly discussed with Ron as he threw his discarded armour on the cart.
'We need to bring them to Hoelbrak quickly. And warn the travellers not to cross the lake for a while. The ice will be thin for at least a week. ' Ron nodded, and took off his mantle. He wrapped it around the Sylvari and picked them up. Caithe was very uncomfortable, with Faolain pressed against her in the arms of this large man, but she was thankful for the warmth it provided.
Suddenly, through the shivering and the slowly receding fear, she smiled, and stroked Faolain's cheek.
'Look at you. You look like a drowned cat.' She couldn't hold back a grin, and she saw Faolain smile weakly as well.
'At least my hair doesn't look like an old wet mop,' she replied, and they both broke into a chuckle. Faolain's shaking hands found Caithe's and she held them, just looking into her eyes. Then her smile faded and shifted into a serious expression, her eyes fixating on Caithe's.
'I would never leave you like this,' Faolain promised her, her voice soft, but sincere. 'I will never leave you alone, Caithe.' Caithe felt Faolain's hand on her cheek. 'You are everything to me.'
Caithe smiled, tears shimmering in the corners of her eyes. She pressed her forehead against Faolain's, cherishing the simple touch.
'I don't want to lose you,' she whispered back.
Suddenly the wheels of the cart creaked, and Knut's boots made a different sound on the snow. They looked up to see a giant bridge leading into a big, wooden city, waving cloth spun over wide boulevards, the city reaching up into the mountains on both sides.
Knut laughed a relieved laugh.
'My ladies, welcome to Hoelbrak!'
.
A few hours later the group had settled into a large inn, built out of aromatic wood and with a -for Sylvari standards- amazingly high ceiling. In the middle a large oven was built, in which a fire blazed, as tall as a small Norn. Around it meat was roasted and cut, filling the inn with smoke and the smells of delicious food.
Caithe and Faolain sat in large chairs against the wall, wrapped in thick wolf hides. The innkeeper was a large Norn woman with brown hair, which she wore in a large braid on her back. She had found it a personal affront to see her guests so cold and unfed, and had scolded Knut and Ron extensively, reminding them what true hospitality was. Caithe slightly pitied them as they stood there, their hands on their backs and scraping their feet, heads humbly bowed. They suddenly looked exactly like little boys being scolded by their mother.
The innkeeper then returned her attention to the Sylvari, and brought them steaming meat from the roast, which they happily dug into. Then she catered to the two Norn, apparently already having forgiven them, and took a seat.
She ran her eyes over the battered group. Faolain and Caithe were still shivering, and both Ron and Knut were battleworn. Knut even had a deep gash over his cheek.
'That must have been quite a trip,' she concluded. 'Let me bring you some ale and then I want to hear the whole story.' Faolain's head snapped up. 'Ale?' Caithe burst out in snickers.
'Do you also have something less.. hallucinative?' She asked the innkeeper. The woman laughed. 'Lightweights, eh? I bet Knut taught you how it's done already. Don't worry girl, I'll get you two some Dolyak milk.'
Caithe nor Faolain had ever heard of a Dolyak, let alone seen one, but they were too tired and cozy to care about it right now. 'Thank you, madam,' Faolain smiled.
It was getting late, and more Norn were coming into the inn. Once they recognized Knut and Ron, they came over, bashing their shoulders as a friendly greeting, hovering over them and pulling up chairs as they laughed and talked in low, loud voices. Caithe studied their behaviour, it was so vastly different from the stiff mannerisms at Divinity's Reach. Here, there were no titles or madams or misters, here people called their friends by their name, or surname in some cases, or nicknames like Slayer, or in one case, even Ravager.
And then Knut told of his travels. Watching a Norn tell a tale was truly a sight to behold. Large ale mug in one hand, gesturing with both hands, telling it excitedly, with a loud voice. Ron would join in with details and side remarks, which made the audience roar with laughter, smashing their mugs together ever so often, cheering to one of the events.
Caithe sat with her hand wrapped around her steaming mug of Dolyak milk, sipping it slowly, cozily nestled in her warm wolf hide. Her body had warmed up considerably, and she was smiling and grinning with the audience, just not quite as loudly. She looked at Faolain at her side, who had regained her pleased expression, looking as if she had the world at her feet again. She smiled at Caithe.
They sat there while night fell, enjoying themselves with their coarse, but friendly company. The Norn seemed more interested in whether they would hold out in Hoelbrak, than where they were from. Admittedly it was nice not to have to explain where the Grove was for a change. Norn took their guests as they came, apparently.
Time flew and ale flowed, and by the time Caithe had told of the devourer and the elementals and the Svanir, the Norn had dubbed them little heroes already. There was laughter and a warm fire, and when the stars stood high in the sky, the Norn started making music, celebrating life, the ale and the hunt. Caithe felt a soft hand on her shoulder. Faolain grabbed her wrist, pulling her up.
'Come on. We'll show them some Sylvari culture, too,' she smiled. Caithe grinned and got up with her. The music played and they danced, the Norn clapping and shouting enthusiastically. They swirled and waved a pattern around each other, provoking, seducing. It was a great night.
Far too soon, the sun started rising, and the Norn retreated to their homes. They said goodbye to Knut and Ron, thanking them for all their care, and promising to meet again. Ron went to sell the prizes of his hunt, and Knut retreated to the Great Lodge, picking up his ministerial duties again. Finally, exhausted, they collapsed on the large double bed in a room in the inn, which Knut had rented for them. It was made to accommodate two Norn, and could therefore easily have fit four to five Sylvari. They rolled over it playfully, bouncing in the soft sheets. They could rest. And so they did, fingers entwined, never more connected than right now.
.
A young asura assistant hung up her coat in a corner of her room. It was small, at the top of one of the Rata Sum pyramids. All Inquest assistants had rooms there, to study and sleep. The rest of the day they'd work, so they did not need much space. There were two beds, one for her, and one for her roommate. There were two small desks as well. One was neat and organized, the other was scattered with different papers. She sighed. She knew she needed to keep master Kudu's project a secret. Yet with all the pressure on her, she barely had time to sleep, let alone clean up.
The notes and observations of the strange creature in the laboratory down below filled up her small desk. She grabbed a clipboard and added the new ones, stacking all the papers. It was something, at least.
Idly, she went through them. Master Kudu insisted on doing biological research on the creature, yet he had not wanted to dissect him, for fear that he would die. With Gixx on his tail, that could have bad consequences. They already covered up their research as much as they could, she ended up patching the thing up after every session. Not without reason, she'd heard Gixx had already arrived at the Durmand Priory's base in Shiverpeaks, so once he was finished there, he would return to Rata Sum.
They would lose their subject. She wasn't sure if she was pained by this or not. The plant-man intrigued her immensely, yet, on the other hand, she could not stand hearing him scream. He sometimes muttered things that interested her more than what made his legs move or what pumped his blood. She suspected there to be so much more. Kudu didn't see that.
If she would lose him, he would not be in pain any more. But she would also never know. Sighing, she glanced at the clock. It was almost midnight. In six hours, she'd have to be up and working again.
She could not stand not knowing, either. She picked up her coat and went downstairs, leaving all her notes behind. This would be her own research.
.
The labs were cold, and quiet at this hour. She grabbed the keys she needed to keep for Kudu, they weren't hers, obviously, he would never give her something so valuable, and she opened the double-locked door quietly. She locked it behind her, putting the keys in the cabinet. The Sylvari was still chained on the table, the mask over his face. She stood, watching, for a moment, doubting whether she was going to regret this. Then she shook her head and stepped forward. She had already started, she would not leave her business unfinished. Asura rarely do.
Carefully, she took the mask off the man's face. He groaned softly.
'Are you awake?' She asked him. He raised his eyebrows slightly.
'Unfortunately, yes.' He slowly opened his eyes, registering that the female asura was alone this time. He had never seen her alone before, it was always either the male, or the male and the female. Usually the latter.
'So you understand me?' She asked again. She seemed weary. The man nodded.
'It's more difficult when you two drug me. But now, I understand you. Perfectly clear.' The asura came closer now, her eyes with wonder.
'Who taught you to speak?' The man raised his eyebrows at this.
'My mother, of course.' The asura nodded, her eyes still wide.
'Who is your mother?'
'The mother tree, the Pale Tree in the Grove.'
'A tree. Right.' It was silent for a moment . The man smiled.
'Then who taught you to speak? And who gave you your name? I hope it's not that man who is always so unnecessarily unkind to you. '
The asura shook her head violently. 'N-no! He's not a relative of mine.' Then she suddenly realized something.
'Wait, name- you have a name?' She squeaked. The man sighed.
'Yes. My name is Malomedies.'
'Malomedies.' She repeated it slowly. He smiled at her.
'Pleasure to meet you.' It was a little ironic, but he seemed to try to be sincere.
The asura stood stunned, her heart beating loudly in her chest. It was not just an intelligent creature, it was at least as intelligent as a human, probably more intelligent than a Norn, even. She looked around, dazed for a moment by the discovery.
'Do you wish me to untie you?' She offered. Malomedies looked up gratefully.
'Does that mean I can leave? There's someone waiting for me at home.' She shook her head slowly.
'No, you cannot leave. But it may make your stay more comfortable.'
Malomedies' smile fell from his face. The asura apologized softly.
'I thought-' He started, as she did at the same time. 'He can't-' They both fell silent, then Malomedies sighed.
'Ladies first.'
'Kudu can't find out about this. He can't know I was here.'
'Then I won't tell him.'
'Promise you won't leave when I untie you?'
'I cannot promise you that.' Malomedies sighed. 'You lot are not exactly hospitable.'
'I just want you to be more comfortable so I can talk to you more.'
'Fine.' He agreed, in the end. She walked around the table and untied his hands first, by slipping a small silver key into the lock and opening it. Then she walked to the other side and untied his feet. Slowly, groaning and muttering under his breath, Malomedies sat up, rubbing his painful wrists, and stretching his back. The asura had pulled up a chair, her hands resting in her lap.
'So.' Malomedies concluded, lightly massaging his painful legs, and then carefully moving them to hang over the edge of the table. His vision blurred in and out of focus, he had not been sitting up for so long.
'Tell me something,' the asura said, friendly yet demanding.
'What would you like to know?' He retorted. Malomedies was so very tired, even more so because the spark of hope he'd had for just a moment, had been taken away from him so cruelly.
'Tell me about..' the asura thought for a moment. Then she remembered the one word the man had muttered every time before pain overtook him. 'Tell me about Kahedins.'
Malomedies eyes widened as he realized what she had said, and sighed again, rubbing his temples. His heart ached with the mentioning of the name. He looked up slowly, reading her face. She seemed sincerely interested, her head resting on her hands, her gaze open, earnest.
'Fine,' he said, his voice soft. 'Let me tell you about Kahedins.'
.
The Pale Tree heard footsteps coming up. She looked up to see the first of her Firstborn, coming into the Omphalos Chamber. She sat down on her knees, elegantly, and patted the spot before her, beckoning her son to sit with her. He did as was asked of him.
'Mother,' Trahearne said, 'I must go. My dream has showed me where I should go. I will leave for Orr.'
The Pale tree caressed his cheek. 'Will you leave tonight?'
'Yes, mother.' Trahearne nodded, and the Pale Tree gave him a sad smile.
'Kahedins will be sad to see you go,' she said. Trahearne swallowed audibly. He did not speak.
'Very well then, my child,' the Pale Tree spoke. 'Then go. And be safe.' Trahearne stood up and walked towards the bridge that led down into the Grove.
'Thank you, Mother. Until we meet again.'