Chapter Two: In An Elven Way

Watching Sigurd trace his blood on the sword (blood runes! That makes sense!), Lopiena bursts out laughing at his comment about Zane being too young to understand. Young...perhaps, inexperienced most definitely! Clearing her throat and trying to stay serious, she nods at Ashwyn's words. "Full moon in three days...I should be able to be ready by then. I'll need to gather more herbs...and maybe write out some of the incantations for everyone. This is going to be very interesting." Still trying not to laugh in Zane's face, Lo turns to her pile of cleaned clothes and starts getting changed...forgetting entirely that perhaps now is not the best time to be changing in front of everyone. "Well it seems we're about ready to get going, though I'd like to take a moment to thank our benefactors. Did we ever actually decide on what we need to purchase from the shops before we actually leave?"

Sigurd paused and took mental stock of what they would probably need. "Dried fruits and meats, waterskins large enough to hold enough water to ration for at least three days at a time. We'll have to buy tents for us to sleep in and protect us from the elements." thought carefully "If even that's enough... we don't know what kind of resources there are in the wasteland... and I'd gather not much."

Looking up from changing...sure is nice to be back in simple breeches after all that time in dresses, and the fine mending makes it feel like great finery...Lo considers. "Large containers for water makes sense, though I'd hesitate to get something that big. Water is heavy, and the more you carry the more restricted your movement...well maybe that's just me, you're much stronger." She grins at Sigurd and indicates the pile of scrolls. "There are some resources for food and water mentioned in the scrolls, but you're right...better to be over prepared than under." Finally dressed, she crosses back over to the map. "We'll definitely need strong footwear...lots of rocks, spikes, and thorns out there...to say nothing of the hot ground...but if we're planning to travel at night, my main concern is staying cool and protected during the day. Tents are great, but I don't know any ice spells to cool us off."

Sigurd smirked "keep in mind young one, we seemed to have stumbled upon a bag of holding in that dungeon, if you've forgotten. There are quite a lot of provisions we can store in such a wondrous item." Keeping his mind focused on the building link between his greatsword and himself Sigurd flicked a few more grapes into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. There must be something to do with the soil where things are grown as they didn't taste like the grapes from home but alas, he was a fighter. Not a farmer.

Zane, finally shaking off his embarrassment, leaned forward at the discussion of supplies. "It's more than just keeping cool. The desert can reach freezing temperatures at night. We'll need warm blankets so we don't freeze over night. Especially since traveling during the day will be very difficult. It'll be much easier if we rest during the day and travel at night."

Ashwyn settled Pip down into her pillow as he yawned and began to nap. "Layers will be best. Heavy cloaks and loose clothing. Best to keep skin covered to avoid burns and insects alike. The loose clothing can also help keep us cool by fanning our own sweat against our skin. From what I understand the desert will be far dryer than anything we're used to, so what little sweat we can produce will likly not last long."

When Sigurd mentioned the bag of holding, Ashwyn nodded. "Which will come in very very handy. We shouldn't have a problem keeping items we need. The most important thing will be to not forget anything." She sat near the scrolls and looked over the map. "I don't know what kind of tents we'll be able to find, but if they're anything like the ones I've dealt with they won't be large. Of course if we're traveling at night then we won't have to worry about needing body heat."

Eyes widening at the mention of the bag of holding, Lo turns to Zane. "Oh yeah ! I completely forgot! Zane, would you be willing to see what's in there? Or is everything what we already put in and it was empty when we found it? Plus...we should probably pool our resources. All this stuff sounds expensive."

Nodding at Ashwyn's words about tents, Lo somehow manages to keep a straight face with the body heat comment. "We should probably look for two-person tents, then. Smaller, easier to carry...not that it matters with the bag of holding, but smaller tents would also be easier to hide. We're going to be very cautious while resting during the day."

Zane pulled out the bag of holding. "Hmm, let's see..." He looked down inside. "Well, it seems we still have the cheese we found before...quite a bit of it. Quite a bit of gold too. Oh!" He reached in and pulled out Lo's money back that the little girl had stolen from her. "I believe this is yours." He handed it to the young druid.

"Seems like there's still lots of room. And a few casks of ale still as well."

Ashwyn leaned forward. "The two man tents would be fine. And Lo has a point that they'll be easier to hide." She looked at the map a little closer. "It looks like this area might be fairly mountianous in some areas. Hopefully that means that we'll be able to find decent places to make camp that won't be completely exposed. Either way we should make sure to travel as far as we can each night so we don't get stuck in the middle of no where."

Blushing slightly...she'd hoped that a few details of their misadventure would be forgotten or overlooked...Lo thanks Zane for her small money bag and tucks it under her clothing. At least it's no longer exposed like it was in the dress.

Looking at the map again, she nods. "Staying close to hilly regions would harder to travel, but even so it's definitely better to camp behind something rather than be completely exposed. Where is the trail the Archdruid was talking about? I assume we'll want to stick to that for easier travel, but established routes are also targets for whatever is out there."

Sigurd's plan was a straight shot across the wasteland. Apparently the others had other ideas, that's fine the rocky terrain may be easier to traverse than sand. The depth could vary with sand but rock is rock.

"Trails are dangerous... It's best to stay off the beaten path for the most part... If we're traveling by night Lopiena doesn't have eyes for the dark... " He sighed "we may not have the luxury of moving at night unless we have moonlight to back us."

"Light shouldn't be a problem for me anymore," Lopiena grins and taps on the leather bound book on the table.  "Found this in the bottom of my bag...and don't I wish I'd found it earlier, like yesterday...but there are lots of neat spells that might come in handy."  Still grinning, Lo reaches into the air as if plucking a flower and murmers softly in Druidic. "Fire."  Opening her hand, a small flame rests on her palm, apparently without burning her.  Rolling the flame around on her hand, she idly plays with the flickering light.  "It's so strange...it's a completely new spell, but it's so similar to the one I already know it feels like I've known it my entire life.  I think the only reason I wasn't allowed to learn it before is because it can be a weapon when thrown."  Taking her other hand, she seems to be able to manipulate the shape of the flame, making it smaller or larger...at its largest, it casts bright light ten feet in all directions and forms a formidable looking fireball.  "Anyway, light shouldn't be a problem anymore.  So...whichever way you want to go is fine with me." Smiling, Lo shrinks the fireball back down and closes her fingers to dismiss it.

(Druidic cantrip Produce Flame)

Suddenly uncertain of herself again, she glances at Sigurd and Ashwyn. "There's another spell in here that makes a weapon out of fire. The description makes it sound like something similar to a sword, of similar size to your falcata, Ashwyn...but I think I need to learn how to actually use that kind of weapon before trying something that fancy.  Would...you be willing to teach me?"

Ashwyn nodded to Sigurd's words. "I agree. Trails are best avoided. It'll make the going a little tougher but less likely to draw attention."

She watched Lo demonstrate her new spell and she smirked. "While I appreciate your new skills, Lo, I don't think it's a good idea to use them. Not when we're in the middle of no where just for light. A walking flame will stand out like a sore thumb in the wasteland. I understand the disadvantage you're under with your limited night vision, but it's too risky to have a bright light near us." She glanced at Sigurd before turning back to Lo.

"If it gets too dark for you, I'm sure Sigurd could carry you. That way we stay hidden and don't have to slow our progress." She smiled.

Blinking at Ashwyn, Lo nods slowly. "You're right, I hadn't thought of that. Hmm..." Turning back to the book, she starts flipping through some pages. "I think there's something else that I can do, though...no offense, but I'd rather not be carried if I can avoid it...ahh, here! Really, no incantation or anything? Well here goes..." Holding her staff and kneeling down, she focuses inward, thinking small. At first nothing happens, and she scowls. Closing her eyes, she thinks back to all the times she played in the forest at night. There was a small furred creature that always fascinated her; nearly impossible to see at night, she'd been lucky enough to stumble across one during the day to know what it looks like. Focusing on that form, she imagines what it would feel like to be that creature...as she concentrates, her shape seems to shimmer and she starts growing smaller. Suddenly noticing her clothing getting loose, she almost stops...but this is still an experiment, so she continues. Her face becomes pointed and almost fox-like with white eye rings and huge ears; her eyes darken into liquid black pools. As she continues to shrink, pale greyish tan fur and a remarkably long tail with black rings at regular intervals emerges. At last completely transformed, her body is barely a foot long with a remarkable tail extending another foot of length. Looking around the suddenly bright room, she climbs out of her clothing and leaps from the floor to the wall in two quick bounds. Using tiny indentations in the wood that were previously undetectable, she climbs along the wall to the rocky alcove where the hot springs emerge. Scaling the rocks easily and quickly, she leaps back over towards the group and lands on the table near Pip.

Ashwyn watched as Lo's transformation to animal happened. She raised a brow, impressed at the little druid's new skill.

When she landed near Pip, the little fox jumped in shock and ran to Ashwyn's lap. He curled himself there and, once he felt safe, he turned and began growling at the figure.

Ashwyn wrapped her arms around him and smirked. "Well, you've impressed Pip with that little parlor trick." She winked playfully. "But the question is... can you see like that creature sees?"

Ashwyn held her hand out, palm facing up. A soft wind swirled in her hand for a moment before rushing around the room and extinguishing every light in the room. Sigurd, Ashwyn, Pip and Zane would still be able to see perfectly fine and it wasn't pitch black since some sunlight still filtered through the leaves around the rooftop. But it would be dim, which for a human would make things difficult to see. She wondered if Lo could still see in this lighting.

Still in animal form, Lo looks around at the gust of wind, impressed with Ashwyn's spells casting. Grabbing a piece of dried meat in her mouth, she scampers off the table and over to Ashwyn. Dropping the piece of meat close to her feet but not going near Pip...she hadn't meant to scare the poor pup...she runs backward away from the growling fox. Sitting back, she looks around the room with sparkling eyes. She can actually see better now; the full light from earlier actually hurt her now sensitive eyes. But how to prove that she can see? Hmm...running over to the pile of scrolls, she picks the one that describes the Tentacula. Rolling it up with dexterous paws and wrapping a piece of string around it to keep it from unrolling, she bites down on the string and carries the scroll over to Zane. Not quite done showing off, she then climbs back onto the table and grabs one of the bunches of grapes Sigurd has been munching on. Stripping several grapes off the stem, she arranges them pyramid style on a plate then jumps back off the table and looks at Ashwyn.

Sigurd stood and watched the display, Ashwyn had a point and he smiled as she snuffed out the light of the room, his eyes adjusted quickly as he watched the room dip into shades of grey. Seeing Lopiena move unhindered confirmed his suspicions "cute." He said unimpressed. "You can turn into an animal. That solves the being able to see in the dark part. But." It was still a parlor trick. Sigurd walked over to his hand axes and flipped one in his hand before throwing it at her "How are you supposed to fight!"

Making a startled sound like a mix between a bark and a cough, Lo leaps out of the way of the flying axe and jumps up onto a wall, panting. Not sure what to do...he's right, she can't fight in this form, not beyond biting and scratching anyway...she considers. Well...this creature does have sharp little teeth, better than some herbivorous rodent at any rate...but she'd have to be right on top of whatever is attacking. Which means speed is her greatest strength. Diving off the wall, she leaps from the floor to Sigurd, up his leg and onto his shoulder. Not pausing a moment, she tugs on one of his braids and leaps from his shoulder back to the floor, turning as soon as she hits the ground to a completely different angle and hides behind a chair.

Ash nodded as Lo showed off her new eyesight. Well, at least she could see. At Sigurd's response, Ashwyn couldn't help but grin. He had a point. If she couldn't fight then it didn't really help them much. She she managed to crawl up his arm and tug his hair she chuckled.

"So you can evade. That's good." She finally stood, setting Pip down on the chair where he suddenly wasn't as brave and hid behind a pillow. She approached Sigurd and the place Lo had hidden herself.

"But you still can't fight. Evading is good if you're trying to avoid detection. But if we need to fight then we need to fight." She placed a hand on Sigurd's chest as she leaned against him. "Just let Sig carry you if it becomes necessary. It's only if the moon isn't out. With the moon out you should be able to see well enough to at least keep from tripping."

Zane nodded. "I have to agree with Ashwyn. You're spell can come in real handy, but only if it's needed."

Looking glum...if a ringtail can look glum...Lo slinks out from behind the chair and over to her pile of clothes. Shimmering slightly as she changes back into human form, she starts dressing before Zane can make any comments. "You're right, there’s not much purpose unless we need to see what's on the other side of a wall or cliff without being detected. And my clothes were supposed to transform with me...guess I need to practice more." Clothed again, she sits on the floor and puts her head in her hands. "Not today, though. That felt really weird...I don't think I can do that very often, or very long. But...if it's so dark that I can't see, then I can't fight either. So what's the point?"

Sigurd gave Ashwyn a gentle nudge and walked past Lopiena, patting her on the head "for this reason we're going to travel by day. Not ideal but I'm sure there are terrors in the night we can hide from, and creatures we'll be able to see during the day. We'll find a way to deal with the heat." He walked to his hand axe and pried it from the wood "at night people with eyes for the dark will keep watch, and fight should the need arise. that being the case, Lopiena you are to change and run until the fighting ceases or you can shed light on the conflict to help." Sigurd realized he should bond to his axe as well, it would be handy to be able to call it back to him after he throws it...

"Your skills will come in handy Lo, don't get so down. You're still young and have much to learn."

Ashwyn nodded to Sigurd's words. She wasn't looking forward to traveling during the day but it was a decent middle ground.

"If it gets too hot we'll just pause at mid-day. We can still get decent travel time in by traveling in the early morning or late afternoon. We'll make it work. Besides, the only night that will get really difficult will be the new moon, but ideally we won't be out till then." She shrugged.

Zane stretched his hands over his head. "Well, I think I'm going to stroll back to the market. I'll pick up the things we need. So we agreed on two two-man tents, portable food stuffs, lots of water and....is that it? Anything else I should look for?"

Young...much to learn...just run from the fight...all phases Lopiena has been told her entire life. Cheerful mood gone, she slowly stands, trying to get her head back to task. The transformation took quite a lot out of her, but much more is the depressing realization that most of what she's capable of doing is just backup. Oh well, live with it, move on, no use worrying about what can't be changed...also phrases Lo is all too familiar with, but now at least there's a chance to learn something new and maybe even start a new life. Gathering scrolls and putting them in some semblance of order, she glances at Zane and his shopping list.

"Clothes. We'll need light colored clothing to keep cool, and layers to keep warm at night. Shoes to protect feet from thorns and hot sand. Head covering, preferably also light colored and also can wrap around our faces to keep out blowing sand. I think we should all go, just to try stuff on and make sure it fits and will suit our needs." Looking around at the table, she starts stuffing dried meat into the bag of holding.

Sigurd noticed instantly the switch in Lopiena's mood and sighed. Walking over to her he pulled her into a big bear, well wolf hug and smiled "Humans are so fragile!" he left it open to interpretation as to whether he was talking about mind or body.

"Tell you what, if we get time on this journey maybe I'll teach you some fighting techniques. ya?" he offered as he put her back down. "Ashwyn, could you please put the lights back on" he said with a smile.

Nodding to Lopiena, Sigurd took a seat back on his bed "That makes sense... I wont be wearing shoes however, they're just not comfortable"

Ashwyn couldn't help it. She laughed out loud when Sigurd picked up Lopiena. He really was a big teddy bear... Well...wolf bear? Either way...

At his request she smirked and stood up. While the winds obeyed her, fire.... Not so much. She used the flint in her bag to light one of the lanters then used it to light the others around the room. "I suppose we may as well. If the market is as crazy aa you guys made it sound, it's probably better to divide and concur anyway. Lo and I can find easily portable foods. Zane, you can look for the tents. And Sig can find water. Once we have all that we'll meet up at the taylors to get fitted for clothing. Sound good?"

Zane shrugged. "Sounds okay to me."

Caught somewhere between a scowl and a glare at the 'fragile human' comment, Lopiena can't help but smile when Sigurd pulls her into a hug. It's just so...different from anything she'd experienced before, and she's never quite sure what to do or think even though he'd hugged her several times now in multiple forms. Hugging him back, Lo calms down and genuinely smiles at him when he offers to teach her something.  "Thank you, Sigurd.  I would like that...very much."  

Thinking about how strange...nice, but strange...it is to experience comfort in such a physical way, Lo realizes that pretty much every time someone intentionally hugged her was when she was being an emotional basketcase. Which has been happening far too often as of late.  Mentally chiding herself for putting her teammates through all the drama, she forcibly shoves her emotions back to the dark recesses of her mind where they belong. Years of training do not simply vanish overnight! As Ashwyn starts relighting the lamps, Lo goes to the other side of the room to relight lamps there. As she lights each one, she mentally burns away the anger, frustration, and fear that has been bubbling to the surface all day.  She can't afford any weaknesses, not here and not now...

Quietly rejoining the discussion, Lopiena looks at Sigurd with concern when he mentions that he won't wear shoes. She'd rather expected that reaction, but... "Sigurd...your feet may be callused, but desert plants do not play nice, and the hot sand would...well never mind, it's your choice. Just...be aware."  

Rather surprised that Ashwyn chose to go with her rather than Sigurd, she nods at the idea of splitting up to accomplish their tasks faster.  Reaching into the bag of holding for the coin they'd collected from their adventures last night, she starts dividing the coin evenly between the three groups...then changes her mind and pulls the silver from Sigurd's pile and lumps it in with the pile of coin for dry goods and provisions.  Most foodstuffs will require small coin, but a lot of it; tents will be the most expensive, so Zane should keep a fairly large portion of gold and silver; and water bags could go either way, so Sigurd should keep a decent amount of gold and most of the copper.  Besides, he can't take the silver anyway. The pile of coins that remain are far larger than her little coin purse can handle, though...turning from the table, she goes over to her bags of herbs, selects one and carefully removes the dried herbs within to make room for the coins.

Looking at the others, she indicates the rest of the bags. "If you need something to carry coins, I have a few extras. Otherwise, I'm ready to go whenever you are."