Ophilia sighs a little, preparing for bed. The day had certainly proven more eventful than usual, to say the least. Mattias was in town… and they had surprising visitors in town. Not just the stranger huntress and the large cat… but also those people, the Ciarans. She'd heard some more gossip just after washing up after dinner. Sister Maria spoke to the local woodsman and those men were staying in the town inn. The blizzard outside meant no travelers would be coming in or out of Flamesgrace for a while.
She bids goodnight to the guards from the knights Ardante and makes her way back to the room she shares with Anna. Then a small twinge of emotion, or instinct maybe, told her to go check on the stranger before she went to sleep. So, she made her way to the sick ward to make sure she was comfortable.
Candle in hand, she steps through the threshold and walks past the other beds. Peering a little behind the drapes dividing the cots, she sees the woman there, still sleeping it seems. But upon closer inspection in candlelight, it seems better color has returned to her face.
Ophilia looks across from her bed to Linde, who seems to be contentedly curled up atop the sheets. She smiles softly and is about to leave before she hears a soft gasp.
"M… Mas… ter…"
The stranger's face seems slightly contorted in anguish, with her teeth lightly clenched and her brow furrowed a little. Her hand twitches, almost in like a grasping motion.
"…!"
Ophilia suppresses a squeak rising in her throat and goes to grasp her hand gently. She says a small prayer. Then, without thinking, she slipped once more into the stranger's unconsciousness.
The huntress is standing in a dark space in the dream. She wears her bare clothing, missing her fur coat. There are stray leaves and twigs in her hair, and she seems to be desperately looking for someone, or on the lookout for something.
"Linde… Hägen…?"
She runs deeper in someplace. Ophilia follows and feels the brush of leaves against her ankle and hears the sound of leaves rustling. Such a vivid dream…
There is a sudden roar ahead. The cleric comes to a small clearing where the huntress stands before a pair of large glowing red eyes. There is a shape in the dark before her, crouched and dangerously growling. Ophilia could make out a long tail, claws, a mouth full of drool and fangs, and large pointed ears. It is bent grotesquely like a squatting frog. Under its claws is something wet… And there is a limb sticking out… holding a bow…
"Master… MASTER!"
The cry was shrill and jarring. Because it was no longer just a dream. Ophilia is forcefully thrown back into reality. Before her, the huntress' eyes are wide open with shock and fear. Her hand is still in Ophilia's, gripped tightly. Strands of her hair are plastered to her face from the sweat. Her breath comes out in rasps as she looks around frantically.
"…What…"
"Y-you're safe here…" Ophilia manages through her paralyzed state. The dive's abrupt end had taken her unawares. Natalie warned that it could be a disorienting effect when done incorrectly. She stills her shaky grip on the stranger's hand.
"… Wh…" The stranger winces and squeezes the cleric's hand, "Ugh…"
"You're hurt still! Your wound…" Ophilia says in a hushed voice, "I'll get sister Natalie…"
"W-wait…" The huntress looks to her with pain in her grey-green eyes, "Wh… Where be'en Linde…"
"Linde's asleep… You need rest also…" Ophilia says softly. Linde was still sleeping, but its ears twitched slightly.
"Ah… Hägen… whatten about Hägen…?!"
"Uhm… I-I don't know who that is…"
"Ngh…" The stranger strains to try and sit before flopping back down, panting heavily. The bandages on her wound redden slightly.
"…! Please, be still!" Ophilia says with worry, "Your wound might reopen…"
"Where… aren I…" The huntress says through clenched teeth. Her hand was pulling to go and grab at her wound, but Ophilia is holding her back. Sweat beads down her brow as she fought the pain.
"Flamesgrace, in the cathedral. I found you collapsed under a dead frost bear in the wilds, just before a blizzard came…"
"I … see… What be thine… name, fair maiden…" She seems to calm down as the pain passes.
"M-my name is Ophilia. What is yours?"
"…H'aanit…"
"Ah, lady H'aanit," Ophilia nods, "You should rest for now… If there is any ally left back in the wilds, I did not see them… and there is a blizzard right now so it would not be safe to venture out…"
H'aanit seems less than pleased with the news. But she doesn't make any more sudden movements.
"… I thinke sleep wille comen slowe to me tonight…"
"Ah… Uhm… Where did you travel from, H'aanit?" Ophilia tries to make for conversation. The shock from the dream had luckily kept her from being drowsy. The name also sounded so nice on her tongue, though she probably wasn't pronouncing it right. It was unlike any she had heard of.
"The Woodlands in the West. We hadden comen on a hunt…"
"You've come a long way… So, you are a hunter. And Linde is your…"
"Aye… Linde is mine partner… Tis tradition in the Darkwood…"
"Darkwood?" It was an unfamiliar name to the cleric.
"Didst thou see perchance… a dire wolf…" H'aanit looks to Ophilia with half-pleading, half-weary eyes.
"N-no, I'm afraid not…" Ophilia shakes her head. She wasn't exactly sure what a dire wolf looked like. In the Frostlands, snow wolves were more common a sight.
H'aanit seems frustrated and bites her lip a little, "I see…"
"Was that your quarry, perhaps?"
"Nay… That weren Hägen…" H'aanit sighs, "He be'en my master's partner…"
"Ah, so your master is still out in the blizzard…"
"… No, I thinken not… But Hägen is…" The huntress sighs, draping her other arm over her face, "I musten find him…"
"You will. But for now, you must rest…" Ophilia pats H'aanit's hand gently, "I'm sure Hägen has good instincts as a wolf… he will pass the blizzard."
"…Thine words relieven me, Ophilia…" H'aanit sighs briefly and seems to allow herself to ease back onto the bed and pillows, "Thanken'ye…"
"Would you like some water? Are you comfortable?"
"…Water woulden be fine…"
Ophilia puts down her candle and lets go of H'aanit's hand to fetch the pitcher on the nearby stand. She fills a tin cup with water and carefully holds the rim to the huntress' lips. She is careful to tilt it just enough, so the water reaches its desired destination, but doesn't go spilling over. H'aanit drinks thirstily until it's all gone.
"… I muste finden him in the morrow then…" The huntress' eyelids seem heavy and she merely lies back.
Ophilia nods. She smiles slightly as H'aanit's eyes close and her breath slows and lowers in volume as she goes to sleep. Then some uncertainty wiped the smile away. The cleric carefully lays the huntress' hand down and sighs quietly to herself before picking back up her candle. Casting one final glance about the sick ward, the cleric goes to return to her room now, her figure a shadow in the flickering candlelight as she went through the halls.
"Fili!" Lianna starts a bit when Ophilia comes back to their room, "Where were you? I was thinking you somehow got lost in the cathedral halls!"
"Ah, sorry, Anna," Ophilia sighs, "I went to go see the stranger… She's awake now."
"What? So soon? Merciful gods…" Lianna puts down her hairbrush and goes to get into bed, "Do Nat and the others know?"
"Oh… Uhm, no…" Ophilia puts down the candle on her bed's nightstand and gets into her own bed opposite Lianna's.
"What?!" Lianna looks to Ophilia with exasperation, "Fiiliii…!"
"I'll tell her tomorrow…! I didn't want to disturb anyone any further…" Ophilia says sheepishly as she pulls on her covers and blows out the light, "She's sound asleep anyway, the visitor. Poor thing is so tired…"
"Well, it can't feel very good being mauled by a frost bear…" Lianna sighs and crawls under her own covers, "Which is why Nat ought to know as the resident healer!"
"Yes yes… tomorrow…" Ophilia yawns a bit and turns over on her pillow, murmuring, "Good night, Anna…"
…
"Mother… Father…?"
The little girl opened her eyes weakly. Her father's head was pressed against her chest loosely. When she shifted to get out from under him, he collapsed on the floor with a soft thud. Staining the front of her dress was crimson. She looked to her hands and was horrified to see they had that same vibrant hue.
"Aaah!"
She shook his shoulder, crying for her father to return. He was nonrespondent and too heavy for her to move. Then she cried for her mother to help. To her horror, she saw her mother's body on the floor not too far away, impaled with arrows. Through the broken window, she saw the fire raging outside, amid cries of horrific crime.
"MOTHER! FATHER!"
What was a child to do? It was hot, as flames threatened to burn everything to cinders. The fire was spreading, and the chaos outside was deafening. The smoke stung her lungs. But she still made every effort to rouse her parents. She ran in between them, shaking them with her meager strength.
"Ma… mama…!" She bawls.
"Li…a …" Her mother's voice rasped, "R… un…"
"Mama! Maa…" She could only incoherently blubber. Why was this happening? What was a child supposed to do?!
"Run… live…"
And then she was silent. The child could only cry at their side. For where could she go? Where was a scared, orphaned child to run? Even if you told such a child to leave, more likely they would cling stubbornly... because they don't know what to do.
With a creak, the timbers above give away to the flames and come crashing down. The noise, the fire, the screams were suddenly no more. There was pain, but she could not tell if it was from her sorrow or the impact. Then, there was nothing more.
All she remembered was that intense bright light.
She was light, unburdened. It didn't hurt to breathe. There was no more pain.
Ophilia's eyes open with a start. She feels the sweat plastering her hair on her. Slowly, she looks around the darkened room, slowing her breath. She was still in her room. Lianna is still across from her. It is still dark. She calms down.
That was 15 years ago… that she lost her home and family. She was so young then… but she still had the nightmares. They say it was a miracle she lived. A large splinter of the timber had pierced her chest, and she was assumed to be dead when they found her. But to their shock, she still breathed. For the next month, it was a wonder she clung on in a comatose state. When she awoke, she no longer had anything. And that was when Josef took her into the church.
Out of habit, her hand slips between the open button collar of her nightgown to feel the scar on her chest. It resembles a star almost, or a burst of lightning due to being paler than the surrounding skin. Then she looks to her hands. The tips, where the cuticles are, have small white veins peeping out, spreading like roots towards the rest of her hands. She sighs. Natalie had examined her. The marks did not register as wounds or anything. It didn't matter since she wore gloves all the time anyway.
For a bit, she was unable to fall back to sleep. Her mind drifted a bit. Inevitably, her parents and their horrible death flashes in her thoughts. Their faces, moments before death… and then there was no warning whatsoever… She stubbornly turns on her side to try and sleep, shutting out the imagery.
That was all in the past! She had a new family now… the Church of the Flame, with Father Josef and Lianna… and everyone else…
But… Lianna is leaving. Father Josef… he is ill. Once the two of them were gone, what is she to do? She was seemingly stuck, unable to advance. A smaller sigh escapes her lips. What a sheltered child she remains.
…
When morning came, there was, as expected, a small ruckus over H'aanit's awakening. The huntress seemed to have regained some color, but she was still pale. Natalie eventually said she needed rest, and drove out any curious onlookers, save Ophilia. H'aanit seemed almost relieved.
"Sorry if that was a bit of a rude awakening…" Ophilia chuckles, "I guess there's a lot of curiosity about you maybe. And word got out about how you supposedly killed a frost bear…"
"Ah, be'en that so…" H'aanit sighs, "Twas in the moment, that kill…"
"Oh… I see. Well, uhm, do you mind if I change your wrappings?" The cleric eyes the slightly dried seepage on the gauze.
H'aanit just nods in assent. Opposite Ophilia's side of the bed is where Linde is gently nuzzling the huntress' hand. She smiles softly and scratches between her companion's ears. The big cat purrs in contentment.
"Linde was very worried about you…" Ophilia smiles a little at the scene as she sets fresh gauze to soak and begins unraveling the old wrappings.
"Ah, aye… Forgiven me for having worriede thee so…" H'aanit chuckles slightly, "… She hath spokethen well of thee, Ophilia."
"Eh… Eh?" Ophilia blinks, "I-I wouldn't know… I am glad though, I suppose…"
"Weren it not for thee and thine kindness… frozen in the snows I woulden be right now."
Ophilia takes the compliment silently as she peels away the final layer of old wrappings, revealing the wound. It is still rather bloody, but the flow has largely been staunched. Looking at it still made her wince a bit out of empathy.
"It must have been a hard battle…" She lightly applies her healing magic onto the wet cloth as she dabs to clean the wound.
The huntress hardly grunts at the pain, if any.
"Twas a strong beast… It hath fought well and valiantly," She said it with a tone that surprised the cleric. It was not one of resentment despite having possibly nearly died at the hands of the beast.
"You speak of it rather… like a rival almost rather than a beast…"
"Hm? What doest thou mean?" H'aanit raises an eyebrow, "Can a beast not be'en a rival or friend?"
"Eh… No, sorry…" Ophilia daintily now pads the wound, "I don't know…"
"I see…" H'aanit says pensively, smiling a little at Linde enjoying her attention, "We hunters of Darkwood haven little distinction betwixt man and beast… they liven with us, eaten with us… for we aren all part of nature after all."
Ophilia silently mulls over her words as she now bandages the wound back up. It was all rather interesting. She had never heard of such ideas or people who held them. Generally, it was accepted that man was the one chosen by the gods to bear the image and powers of the gods. Animals were secondary, though they still warranted some protections. Unfortunately, this was not always the case…
"It is a rather … interesting way to think," The cleric finally says after she knots the wrap, "Alright, that should be good… but you must still be mindful not to move so much, ok? I know you must be eager, but your wounds may still bleed…"
"A small jog oughte to be'en fine," The huntress shifts to sit up almost immediately, "I muste finden Hägen… The storm wille haven weathered him and I worryen so…"
"W-wait…!" Ophilia flails a bit seeing her so reckless and headstrong, "I don't think that's such a good idea!"
"Thou canst accompanien me," H'aanit says matter-of-factly, "If thou worrien so."
"I... I suppose..." Ophilia allows herself to be coaxed into the offer. This huntress was her charge after all. She bought her here, "But you must understand that we turn back if the sign of any danger arises!"
"Worryen thyself not, fair Ophilia," H'aanit chuckles lightly. Her laughter surprised Ophilia every time she heard it. It was something very free and unrestrained, with a light stride... The cleric could listen to her laugh forever.
"You were nearly dead when we found you!" Ophilia says with slight exasperation, "Have you no fear in your body?"
"Fear is what we learne from, but we musn't let it clouden our judgment and action," H'aanit says resolutely, "There aren things one must do, and let naught standen in their way."
Ophilia blows a strand of hair from her face with an upward huff, "Well... I suppose we can leave right now while it is light."
"Ah, excellent. I needen mine bow and arrows... and where be mine furs?"
"I'll go see with Nat... and I'll tell her we're going for a walk. You stay here, ok?"
Ophilia sighs a little as she exits the ward to go find the head healer. The huntress was a different sort she was not accustomed to. Her mind was unfettered by the discipline typical through the church. Ophilia had to admit, she wanted to ask H'aanit more about where she came from. Imagine it, living side by side, man and beast! It felt so very free … and wild. There was apprehension and fear in the thought, but also some excitement. She had no idea she wanted this sort of adrenaline before.
"Outside already?" Natalie smiles knowingly, "Such a wild spirit hm? Twould be a shame to keep her locked up and languishing!"
"B-but Sister, surely..." Ophilia weakly protests. She had hoped Natalie would deny her requests, in truth.
"You worry for her health yes? Then this is good that you will accompany her, young cleric," Natalie says with a twinkle in her eye, "Her clothes and weapon are in the broom closet beside the ward. I had them washed and dried. And don't forget your staff… Do take care, Ophilia!"
Ophilia tries not to drag her feet as she returns H'aanit's things. It hadn't dawned on her until that moment that they had not picked up any weapons when they found H'aanit. The huntress now absolutely had to go outside.
"Mine arrows… and my quiver and axes and daggers…!" H'aanit speaks with slight urgency as she moves to dress, "Tools of such are a hunter's pride. The village hath taughten me how to maken them…"
"Ah, I-I'm sure we'll be able to find them if we look back at where we found you…" Ophilia says as an attempt to reassure the huntress. She had heard of people who were attached to weapons. Usually, it was due to their expensive nature. With H'aanit, it didn't seem to be the case of money really.
The huntress' furs had been cleaned of blood, and they felt very soft. Ophilia helps her dress slowly, so as not to aggravate the wrappings. She was surprised how heavy the huntress actually dressed. While her grey animal skin top was rather thin, it had the weight of leather. Her leather gauntlets were padded, and so were her pants. And her boots were leather under grey fur warmers.
The cleric espies a necklace that dangles a little as the huntress affixes her fur shawl with long scarf tails across her shoulders. Two rings…
"They weren my parents," H'aanit says, catching the cleric's gaze, "I never hath knowen them. They perishedth amid the Great Pestilence."
"Ah- ah, I'm sorry for… staring…" Ophilia says, averting her eyes hastily, "And… I'm sorry to hear that."
"Tis no harm. I sawen a bit of curiosity in thine eyes," The huntress stands, with Linde at her side, bow in hand, "Shall we goen now?"
…
The area around Flamesgrace is almost always a white sheet, a blank canvas. People from other regions of Orsterra come here and remark on how pristine it looks, with the sun's refraction on the glaciated crystals and all. Locals sometimes find the unchanging white a bit boring. H'aanit says nothing as they walk out of the cathedral. She seems slightly tense as they pass the cobbler who sets his stand up daily by the bridge over the frozen lake from the square. It is yet to be lunchtime so there are not too many people in the heart of town at the moment.
"So first I suppose we could go back to the body of the ice bear… and then we can look for the dire wolf!" Ophilia quips hopefully. Then she looks to the uneasy huntress, "Is something the matter?"
H'aanit sighs, "Still unaccustomed I am… to larger towns as such."
"Ahh, I see… Flamesgrace isn't even that big really, compared to cities like Saintsbridge…!" Ophilia chuckles, "Speaking of which… What is it like where you're from, H'aanit?"
"We camen from S'warkii, in the Woodlands. Me, Linde, Hägen, and-"
Her voice trails a bit as they approach the town square and her eyes widen slightly ahead. Linde suddenly arches and a low growl rises in the leopard's throat. Ophilia glances at her companion, then follows her gaze.
Ahead, at the square, is a small spectacle. There are people standing around what looks like a large mound of white fur towed in from outside. Spikes of ice poke out from the fur, and Ophilia knew instantly what it was. A frost bear. Before the carcass, a familiar arrogant voice is shouting something. Ophilia recognizes that to be the voice of one of the rude drunks who left the tavern yesterday.
"Oh, them again?" The cleric puffs a cheek indignantly, "And with such g-"
H'aanit walks briskly forth before Ophilia has finished talking. Ophilia follows.
"Erm… H-H'aanit?"
They reach the periphery of the small crowd gathered to gawk at the spectacle. The three outsiders stand before the trussed bear carcass.
"… heard right! Yeah, we Ciaran felled this!" The boisterous, short one puffs out his chest, "A coupla beasts don't stand in the way of the family business!"
"Mummy, look, they killed a bear?"
"Hmm… I guess they aren't just drunkards in town…"
"Yeah right, they're clearly tooting their horn!" Ophilia hears the pub owner Orr speak up, "We saw 'em last night pissin' by me pub walls! None of 'em were out fightin' during the blizzard!"
"You want a taste of this, old man?!" The second Ciaran speaks up, a lankier young man with medium long hair, "Erik'll knock ye off yer bum! Show'em, Erik!"
Their third member, the stout and silent one, moves forward and some of the townspeople shrink back. But H'aanit stands there in his way suddenly, having pushed to the forefront of the crowd. Ophilia pales. H'aanit was rather tall, but the man, despite his stout stature, still had a few inches over her. Yet, the huntress was not afraid at all. The cleric felt the instinct to jump in and pull her away. But something about the calmness in the huntress' demeanor made her think twice.
The Ciarans, though, seemed to suddenly flinch at her arrival. Their bluster was replaced with fluster.
"Eeh- y-you?!"
"Thou weren holed up here after having leaveth the fight so soon eh?" H'aanit says in a controlled tone, "And now thou claimest trophies that thou hath earneth not."
"W-Why you!"
"Erik! Shut this bitch up!"
The big man draws back his large, gloved fist, and moves to slug at H'aanit. But before Ophilia can cry for peace, there is a blur by the man's legs and his balance topples. Linde had barreled straight into him to knock him off-kilter. His strike misses by a wide margin and leaves an even bigger opening. H'aanit deftly slams into his chest with her elbow, knocking him further back.
"Uwo-!"
Linde snarls and hooks her tail on his leg. With a yank, she pulls his feet out from under him. When he lands heavily on his back, H'aanit lands a hard hit on his solar plexus with her foot. The man gasps with a high-pitched wheeze and curls up reflexively, clutching his chest. He turns on his side, struggling to breath. The other two men now seem ready to piss themselves as H'aanit sets her sights on them next.
"Eeeh!"
Linde growls at them, which sends them running back for the inn. Erik picks himself up lamely and hurries after them, tripping and stumbling along the way. Some people in the crowd clap as the huntress drove those men away. Despite the attention, she merely sighs indifferently. Ophilia runs up to her as the crowd begins to disperse.
"W-what was that about?"
"…" H'aanit merely looks to the dead beast, "…What will be done with it…"
"Eh? Well…" Ophilia looks to the bear corpse, "I suppose it can be used for meat. Bear is not particularly popular… and frost bear meat is not entirely edible since parts of it are too tough. The fur will be used for sure by the local furrier… I'm unsure about the rest of the beast…"
"…The bones cannen be used to maken weapons…" H'aanit sighs a little, "Tis best to usen all of the animal… so the beasts hath not died in vayne."
"Ah… Well, I'm not sure about that…" Ophilia tucks a stray hair behind her ear thoughtfully, "Erm, the Knights Ardante commission weapons usually made of metal from the blacksmith… I do not know if they use animal products…"
"… Tis unfortunate," H'aanit says briefly. She kneels a little by the bear on one knee. Linde comes up next to her, purring in a low tone.
She's paying her respects? Ophilia stands by awkwardly, observing a little. After a few moments, H'aanit stands back up.
"Forgiven me for the detour. Shall we go then?"
"Oh, yes!" Ophilia snaps back to focus, "If this is the same bear where I found you, then we should be able to follow the sled's trail through the snows…!"
"Goode. Then let us be off."
They briskly walk out of Flamesgrace by the west gate. H'aanit was certainly fast, and Ophilia was having slight trouble keeping up, particularly where the snow outside the town was not shoveled. The huntress slows down for her companion as they follow the drag marks.
"T-thank you…" Ophilia sighs with a puff of mist, "You're not cold at all, H'aanit?"
"Nay. Mine furs aren plenty warm," She draws the pelt tighter around her shoulders, "But what of thee, Ophilia."
"Oh, I'll be fine!" She was happy she grabbed her heavier cape, "So! Tell me… What was that nasty business with those men?"
"… We hath comen to the Frostlands together. The short one is nephew to Lord Ciaran, a common patron of S'warkii's hunters…"
"The Ciaran family, right?"
H'aanit nods, "The nephew hath wanted to hunten something callede the Ghisarma to impressen his uncle. So, Lord Ciaran hath sought that I accompanyen him."
"The hunt led you here?" Ophilia wondered what in the world a Ghisarma could be.
"Aye. First the beast hath murdered in the Woodlands. We hath pursueden it here… but alas, we ran afoul of the beasts of the snows and weren taken unawares. He and his retainers hath fled as the tide turnen against us… I fellede the beast, but not easily…" The huntress lightly clutches her wound.
"Oh… Is it hurting?"
"Nay… I am fine."
"I must say… those men are a nasty piece of work!" Ophilia lightly puffs her cheeks in frustration and pouts, "They just left you to fend for yourself! The nerve!"
She looks to the huntress, "But what shall you tell his uncle then? He seems to have a lot of influence… And you just sort of threatened his nephew…"
"… That is… not much ofen my concern at the moment…"
Ophilia blinks at the vague response. There was a hidden intention, but she was not confident enough to ask about it.
They eventually come to the area where the bears body was taken, leaving a huge imprint in the snow with a trail dragged through the snow. The nearby lizard corpses are barely visible under the heavy drifts now. H'aanit begins digging around for her weapons, even salvaging arrows from the corpses. Ophilia sees that many of the tools seemed to be made of animal bone.
"Ah, good… mine axe… oh, another… and … aha…"
She picks up a belt quiver and shakes it free of snow. Taking out an arrow, she notches it on her bow and gives it a few good stretches, testing the tautness. The bow stops creaking after a few tries, and she seems satisfied.
"…Goode…" She sighs with relief.
"Is everything alright, H'aanit?"
"Aye… Tis goode fortune not much was ruinede by the temperature and moisture…" The huntress straps back on her axes to her belt. Her daggers slide into hidden sheaths in her boots. She slings on her half-filled quiver, now fully geared. Ophilia hadn't seen any warrior of this sort before. She seemed so… graceful and different than the Knights Ardante with their tunics and armor.
"Now, I muste finden Hägen…"
…
They had barely searched the area for another hour or so before a rush of snow came down. Any previous tracks seemed to have been filled. The sudden snowstorm caught the search party by surprise. Ophilia's teeth chattered as she drew about her hood. The blinding whiteness almost blotted out the huntress before her.
"H-H'aanit! We… we need to go back…!"
"…" The huntress trudged onward. It wasn't clear she knew where she was going either. Linde even seemed to be rather apprehensive.
"Raorr…" The leopard gives a low, disheartened growl.
"H'aanit!" Ophilia cries out louder.
"I cannot losen Hägen!" H'aanit suddenly shouts.
Her shout made Ophilia flinch slightly. A spear sails suddenly through the air and narrowly misses H'aanit, landing in the snow next to her. Linde growls, now hostile, and takes a predatorial stance, facing something moving in the snows. Ophilia squints and sees forms about the size of people prowl about with tails…
"L-lizardmen!" The cleric runs to the huntress and tries to pull her arm, "H'aanit, we need to go!"
"But-"
"You won't find anything if you die, you know?!"
Ophilia's sudden shout seems to strike H'aanit. At the cleric's next tug, the huntress now follows. Linde follows close behind. There is some hissing they could hear over the swirling storm, and some blurry forms can be glimpsed to their sides.
Ophilia can't afford to let herself slow down. Her lungs were stinging from the cold air as she pants. But they had to keep moving. The lizards were likely going to flank them. Even the reptiles here, with their special snow shield eyelids, would not land every spear through the storm's buffer. However, with their pact tactics, it would be deadly to face them. Outrunning them in the snow was also a bleak chance, as the lizards have clawed feet like snowshoes. Hiding would be best, the drifts here are all too low...
Linde gives a sudden growl and sprints on a slight tangent from their path.
"Linde?"
"Followen her!" Now it's the huntress' turn to pull the cleric.
As they followed the leopard, something brilliant suddenly became visible. A flame. In the distance, it glimmers through the storm.
"T-there!"
The women follow the leopard toward the flame, past a slight thicket of evergreens, which camouflages the entrances of a cave with its snow-covered leafage. The flame strangely grows smaller as they approach, and they hear the lizards follow, but none come close. Soon, the storm drowns it all out, and they knew the lizards had not given chase. The flame had not given them away.
Panting heavily, Ophilia abruptly sits down by the cave entrance on a rock. The flame has faded, whatever it was, leaving them in very dim lighting.
"T-thank the Flame..." She coughs slightly. With her staff, she channels some magic to summon forth a small light from the end with the symbol of the Flame.
"… It seemeth they willen not pursuen us here…" The huntress sighs a little and looks around.
The cave seems to be sheltered from the snow and wind well. The stone floor here is actually visible. From the opening, a vestigial archway seems to act as a threshold as the entryway narrows in. There is an odd feeling of the cold driven away here, with warmth. The cleric glances around as well and espies what might be the remnants of a statue alongside the cavern entrance.
"A… hidden cave?"
"Grrawr…" Linde gives a low grunt and a sudden snarl. But it did not sound so hostile.
"Uh…?" Ophilia looks to H'aanit.
"…? Tis not a foe…" H'aanit keeps a hand on her weapons, nonetheless.
From the dark interior of the cave, there is a low growl and a golden eye peers out from the darkness. The form of a large wolf with a dark grey coat emerges into the light of Ophilia's staff. One of its eyes is half-closed, showing a scar.
"Hägen!"
Ophilia couldn't tell if Linde or H'aanit was happier to see the dire wolf. She could see now what made a dire wolf. It was bigger than the usual snow wolves here, and the pelt would not blend with the snow. The huntress threw her arms around the wolf's neck, and the leopard exchanges nuzzles with it.
"Forgiven me, Hägen…" H'aanit mumbled into the wolf's fur, "But it doth gladden me… that thou art not harmed…"
"Grroowr…"
Ophilia can't help but smile a little at the reunion. Then she saw the back of the cave sport a small glow. It was like the flame which had led them here; a soft, whitish blue flicker. Then she suddenly was struck with the realization.
"There is the Cave of Origin in Flamesgrace, where Aelfric was believed to have originally bequeathed his lanthorn to humans. But there were once many shrines. There are lost temples all over Orsterra now… People have forgotten of the gods…"
"This is … I believe it is… a temple of Aelfric."
"…The lightbearer?" H'aanit takes her face out of the wolf fur and looks up again, "This place… Ah, that flame we hath sawen then…"
"Yes… Thank the Flame indeed…" Ophilia sighs, "Did Hägen come here for shelter? And then we were led here…"
"Aye, likely so. I hath wanted him to geteth away amid the fray… He hath his way here founden, likely… perhaps by that Flame as well, hm?" The huntress ruffles the wolf's fur behind the ears, and it licks her face, eliciting a chuckle, "Or wassen it pure luck?"
"Well, with the storm outside, I don't know how long we may have to await its passing… but we would be in danger trying to traverse it as it is…" Ophilia stands and moves towards the back of the cave, "So we will have to wait here for a little…"
H'aanit nods, "Art thou going somewhere, Ophilia?"
"W-well, if this is the temple of Aelfric, the monsters can't approach… according to what I've heard… And… I can't explain it, but it feels very… safe here," Ophilia shrugs, "This is also a lost location so… u-unless you want to wait in place."
"Nay, I shalle accompany thee," H'aanit stands.
There is suddenly a loud growl that reverberates through the cave. Ophilia ends up blushing slightly when she realizes it's H'aanit's stomach. The huntress herself seems a bit indifferent.
"Ah."
"I bought some food… It's not much but, we may be able to leave soon…" The cleric hoped so.
Ophilia takes out a small handkerchief from within the folds of her cloak. She unwraps it to reveal a semi-spongey piece of cheese and three crusty slices of bread. She thanks the gods in her mind that she had still some jerky from the pantry yesterday.
"Here…" She takes a slice of bread and offers the rest to H'aanit, "And there's some jerky for Linde and Hägen… He must have been starving here…!"
"Thanke ye, Ophilia…" H'aanit sighs as she takes the food, "I… muste apologizen for howen I acteth… I weren too brash and now we aren stranded…"
"Now, now…" Ophilia chuckles as she nibbles on the stale starch, "You said it yourself, there are some things you simply must do, even when you are afraid… But you also need caution in proceeding."
The two beasts appreciatively chomp down on the jerky H'aanit splits for them. Linde prods her half-eaten piece over to Hägen.
"… Thou spaketh with wisdom, Ophilia… Aren thou sure thou wanteth not more?" The huntress offers Ophilia back some cheese.
"No, thank you… I at least had dinner last night," Ophilia says with a small smile, "You haven't eaten for… more than a day, no?"
"… Thou art too kind," H'aanit sighs and wolfs down the food.
Ophilia keeps an eye out towards the back of the cave the whole time they eat, quietly bantering now and then.
"So, will you continue to pursue the Ghisarma?"
"Nay… I knowen not anymore if we maye do so, after Ciaran's nephew has likely soured of me."
"That's ridiculous! You didn't do anything wrong!" Ophilia says indignantly.
"Lord Ciaran maye see'n it otherwise…" H'aanit sighs, "I willen fighteth for the hunt, for I never lose a quarry… But I knoweth not, howe they may receiveth it after I hath his retainer throwen afoot."
Ophilia giggles a bit at the thought of that image again, "Well… What about after the hunt? Will you return to the Woodlands?"
"Likely so…" The huntress says, but her expression reads still pensive. There was something else she wasn't saying.
"You… had that similar face earlier, H'aanit… Is something bothering you?" Ophilia tilts her head slightly.
"… To returneth to S'warkii bearing brunt of blame from Ciaran… doen not bodeth well for the hunters. We aren of small numbers as it is… with mine master gone for many moons…"
"A-ah… Yes, I suppose angering a patron of your hunting would be…" Ophilia falters a little, "How infuriating though! It wasn't your fault after all!"
H'aanit gives the pouty cleric a small smile and stands, having finished the ad hoc meal. She pulls some snow from the nearby rocks and sucks on it a little after checking for impurities. The animals also lap a bit at the snow. Ophilia stares for a second before eating some snow to moisten her throat after that stale bread. She then stands as well.
"Well! Shall we go further then?" The cleric glances at the storm outside, "We have a bit of time after all…"
H'aanit nods and looks to the dire wolf and snow leopard, "Watchen thee the entrance?"
The large cat gives a small growl of affirmation. Hägen lays down and snorts, eyes fixed at the cave opening.
"Letten us go then, Ophilia."
…
Deeper in the cave, it remained strangely dry. Usually there would be ice or something which forms icicles around. There is none of that. The light of Ophilia's staff shows vestigial ruins along the cave walls, showing where columns and walls were once carved. Now it has largely become abandoned. There is not a lot of notable pictures or etchings, but the cave does go in rather deep before stopping at a large wall. A dead end.
"Hm… Not much I suppose…"
"Hadden thee something thou willst to find?"
"No, not really…" Ophilia holds her staff higher up to the wall, "Oh… This is… some sort of map…"
She wipes away at some of the frosty dust accumulated on the wall. As she does so, fine lines begin to show their form across the wall. Little by little, the coastlines and shores begin to take shape. H'aanit helps wipe down the image a little. Within a few minutes, they have revealed a good portion of the dead end.
"It's Orsterra…!" Ophilia examines the find with interest, "Wow, it must have been made by the ancients…"
"Thine ancestors?"
"Erm, well, I'm not originally from the Frostlands actually…" Ophilia's eye lands on a particular symbol etched on a location further north from Flamesgrace, "Huh? This is the symbol of the Flame…"
"Hmm…" H'aanit stares and points at another point on the map, "Tis here. The sign of the Bow."
Ophilia glances where her finger lay. It was somewhere in the Woodlands.
"Draefendi, right?"
"Aye. I believen tis be north of S'warkii. But what doth it mean?"
"Hmm…" Ophilia looks over the rest of the map, "I think all of the gods' sigils are present on this map… Perhaps it marks where their old shrines are…?"
"Shrines? We haven one in the village."
"Yes, but there used to be old towns… and more shrines. As people moved away, they left a lot of them abandoned. Or, at least, that's what I hear…" Ophilia scratches her head a bit as she goes on, "Indeed… I see not only the marks of Aelfric and Draefendi, but also Bifelgan, Aeber…"
"Hmm… I knowe not of these others much."
"Eh? Nothing outside Draefendi?" Ophilia looks to the huntress, "Sure you know the Twelve!"
"Of the Twelve I knowest, aye. But matters of others haven rarely surfacedeth where I liven."
"Oh, I see…" Ophilia gazes a bit longer at the map, "I … grew up in the Flatlands… but that town is long gone now… Outside Flamesgrace… I barely know anything of it, save what others tell me."
"…Doest thou wisheth to see these other places?" H'aanit's eyes follow the cleric carefully.
"Well, I will get my chance. Lianna will be on her Kindling… And sooner or later, I can't just stay back. I want to maybe go on a mission like Natalie did, haha…"
"… Thou doubteth," H'aanit raises an eyebrow, "It be'en not a firm conviction foren thee?"
"I suppose I am very worried… about what lies outside. But when the time comes… I will be ready," Ophilia smiles to the huntress, "I can't be afraid forever."
"Hm," H'aanit closes her eyes with a slight smile dancing on her lips, "In the Darkwood, we aren tutored at a young age in skills. These skills we aren meanteth to taken with us all around, wherever the hunt shalle taken us."
"The Darkwood is a rather ominous name," Ophilia giggles a little.
"Tis the olde name of the forest, when the trees be'en so thicke light could not pierceth… but hath since been passedth downe to us."
"Ah, so your name would be… H'aanit Darkwood?"
"Aye, but tis not a very normal address."
"Well, ok," Ophilia sighs a bit, "Father Joseph went on his Kindling 20 years ago… He would tell me and Anna stories all about it… The bridges of the Riverlands, the beaches of the Coastlands…"
"This be'en the ritual thoughout Orsterra, yes?" H'aanit glances back at the map briefly, "To keep the ancient evils sealed?"
"Yes. Every 20 years a member of the church is chosen to go and perform this task… Lianna is my sister… She was chosen. Her journey will begin in a few days…"
"Doth thou hath worry for her?"
"Of course! I mean, even just here we're already surrounded by beasts…" Ophilia curls a dislodged lock of hair behind her ear, "But I am happy for her as well… And I mean, I can't deny I am curious about places that don't snow at all… It has been a while…"
She catches herself and quickly adds, "Oh, but this is her Kindling! And she's all the more resolute about it… far more than I could ever be!"
"Thou needen more credit to thyself given, Ophilia," H'aanit says a bit flatly, "Thou hath caution and leadership shown out there in the snows… Linde hath told me how thou conqueredeth fear and braved the storm to saven me."
"Well, that was…" Ophilia blushes a little, "A-anyone would have…"
The huntress shakes her head and gives a soft smile to the cleric, "Thanken ye."
"Uhm… I-it's nothing really! I'm sure you would have done the same…" Ophilia lightly averts her gaze, "Let's see if the storm has died down!"
H'aanit did not understand why the cleric was so flustered as they returned to the cave opening.
…
"Again with you Ophilia!"
Sister Patricia's nostrils absolutely were flaring as she castigated the meek cleric before her. It was nearing dark when they finally were able to trudge back to the cathedral after a fresh layer of snow was deposited by the storm. Obviously, people had been worried, seeing as Ophilia did not attend to her usual chores. Outside the antechamber where Ophilia was getting an earful, H'aanit is sitting with Hägen and Linde in the cathedral's main hall. Natalie hands her some towels for the beasts and herself after having given one to Ophilia.
"Honestly, you could have frozen to death! And then what? What of Josef and Lianna?!"
"S-Sorry, sister Patricia..." Ophilia hangs her head a bit, "No one knew there'd be a storm..."
"But the stranger was injured, and you still were willing to go and face monsters with her? Gods, child, I wonder how much sense the divine did not bless you with sometimes..." The old woman rubs her forehead a little with a clear sigh of exasperation, "Thank the Flame this hadn't ended horribly!"
"Ehe..." Ophilia lightly manages a nervous smile as she wipes down her hair, "We were guided by the Flame to what we sought, actually. I think the freak storm was a work of fate."
"Hmf! That doesn't excuse the grief you put us through! Co-"
"Fili!" Lianna comes running from the hall and goes to hug Ophilia, "By the Flame, where were you?!"
"Uh, just on a walk... I'm fine, really."
"Gods! I had to serve the lunch service all by myself!" Lianna pulls away from the hug, hands still on Ophilia's shoulders, "Don't you dare run out on me again!"
"Yes, ok, ok..." Ophilia just wanted to get away from everyone yelling at her at this point.
"Now, now..." Natalie walks over with a soft smile, "If we're done harrowing over the poor girl, perhaps she can go take a bath before the water grows cold, hm?"
The cleric and huntress are shown to the communal baths. The water in the stone basin still had some steam.
"Uhm..." Ophilia pauses just outside of the baths and glances back, past H'aanit, at the two beasts following, "Will they be alright coming with us?"
"Linde doth not liken the water. Hägen I can cleaneth later with her. They comen to keep watch, is all," H'annit chuckles slightly, "Thou needen not worry."
"Oh, I suppose that's alright then..."
The two enter the bath house. The stone thermae is in the center of the room, with a small wooden enclosure for those meeker to change. Ophilia goes over there and proceeds to take off her garments. H'aanit simply takes off her clothes by the wall near the bath.
When Ophilia emerges naked, H'aanit sees the curious markings on her hands and fingernails. They appeared like white scars from her fingertips zigging and zagging to her palms. Catching her gaze, the cleric hastily hides them behind her back and slips into the bath water. Perplexed, H'aanit follows suit. The bathwater stings initially, then soothes her barely closed wounds. For a few moments, it is silence in the baths. The huntress breaks it first.
"I haven troubled thee much today, Ophilia."
"Ah well, it's not like Patricia doesn't yell at me every other day, haha..."
"I wisheth to repay thine kindness in some way..."
"No, no, you're a guest...! And you have your own trouble with your employer's nephew..."
"I wille dealen with him," H'aanit grunts slightly as she gingerly washes her wounded area, "Lord Ciaran ist more reasonable than his nephew."
"So, you will be setting off soon then."
"... I supposeth so."
"Then it's probably better you focus on your end of things then..."
The silence resumes a little. Ophilia had not meant to sound dismissive. It wasn't so much that she was sore about the excursion's trouble. She found it cruel.
Like a little bird you picked up... You can take care of it... and ultimately it will steal your heart. But then, it can't stay long, and you have to let it go. But... when you do...
She had grown a little fond of the strange huntress, like a window into another world far from hers. Only a glimpse she had taken, and it was to close so soon.
"Aren thine hands alright?" The huntress speaks again, "They seemeth with scars."
"Quite. I've… had those for a long time."
"Doen they pain thee?"
"… Sometimes."
They sit in this awkward bath a bit, quietly lathering the water on themselves. H'aanit undoes her braid and her light brown hair spreads out behind her. She slowly begins washing it. Ophilia observes her cleaning her hair, with some rudimentary gestures like wringing it.
"Uhm… would you like some help with that…" The cleric pipes up.
"Ah, I woulde liken that very much."
Ophilia makes her way over to the huntress and begins running her fingers through the other's hair. The texture surprised her, as it was a mix of coarse and surprising softness. As she had done for many a time with Lianna, she gently cleans the huntress' hair.
"Your, um, hair is very nice, H'aanit…"
"… Thanken ye…"
"I can wash your wounds a little as well... moving as we did today must have aggravated them so..."
"Ah... I woulde liken that..."
…
When morning came, Ophilia awoke alone in her room. It was not odd. Lianna had the earlier duties today. The cleric swings her legs over the side of the bed and yawns, rubbing her eyes a little. She was still rather exhausted from yesterday's adventure. But, duty calls.
She stretches and starts to begin her routine, dragging her feet a bit. As she is getting dressed, there is a sudden knock at the door. Answering it, she is greeted by Mattias.
"Mattias!" She smiles, "Good morning! This is a surprise…!"
It took her a moment to see his somber expression. Her smile vanishes.
"Eh… what's wrong…"
The man replies with a heavy tone.
"Archbishop Josef collapsed just this morning."
Happy new year