Visitors[cont.]

[Dreadicon]

Fin smiled at his words. "Thankyou sir, i would be most grateful if you would allow me to do this. I have worked towards this goal for years."

[Treijim]

"Good. Now, since it is dangerous to travel the woods at night, would you stay in one of the other houses until morning? That will give me enough time to find my most suitable guide for you."

He looked toward Amarion, who nodded in response, and then back to Fin, to see what he had to say again.

[Dreadicon]

"Thankyou, sir. I hope this won't inconvenience anyone too much...." he said. Even if it was his dream to do this, Fin felt bad about causing the Sirins trouble, and felt that surely a humans presence would be upsetting to some of the villagers.

[Treijim]

Amarion bowed again and took Fin outside. Another guard led them to the front of someone's home, and without saying anything, he walked away into the darkness. Amarion went to knock on the door, assuming this was the place they would be staying, when he heard a whisper. He looked to Fin, but it was not him. Beside the next house, a small figure was crouching.

"Psst. Over here," it whispered. Amarion went to it to find it was Nari. "You want to go into the woods, right? I can take you there right now and I know about things in there nobody else knows about." His blue eyes were like crystals in moonlight as he stared up at them.

Amarion turned to Fin, "I trust this boy. Honestly, the sooner we get there, the better, right? We ate just before we arrived so I am feeling fit to do some walking. What do you think, Fin?"

[Dreadicon]

Fin was surprised by this turn of events, and at first unsure, but at Amarion's approval, he had no reason to doubt him. "Sure! It does make sense, but you won't get in trouble for this, will you Nari?"

[Treijim]

"I don't care," Nari said with a grin. "Come on, let's go!"

He led them between the houses and behind some more houses, avoiding the lamps that lit the streets and the lights carried by the guards. They went down a gentle slope, hid behind some rocks by the road, and then ran across it. From there they ran across an open forest for a few minutes -- Amarion keeping up surprisingly well -- and then the forest grew thicker. Sometimes they were climbing uphill and sometimes it was level ground.

Then Nari slowed down to a walk to let the other two catch their breath. He seemed perfectly fine, himself.

"Why are we slowing down?" Amarion asked.

"Oh, the guards don't patrol out this far," Nari said confidently.

"I see." Amarion sounded doubtful, but then he reassured himself that Nari knew what he was doing. He had no reason to believe otherwise.

[Dreadicon]

Fin was a bit winded, but had no intention of stopping for too long. "You sure can run. The village was bigger than I thought, too." He looked back for a moment and finished catching his breath.

[Treijim]

"Of course I can," Nari said. He looked at them both over his shoulder, smiling confidentally. "It's a fair walk from here," he said, and it was.

They walked for a couple of hours, heading ever westward. The ground began to slope down through the thick woods and they began to open up again. Over some hills of snow they came to a clearing where the trees reached over in a circle. In the middle was an old fallen tree, not just a log. Nari stood on the edge of the clearing and Amarion walked into the middle.

"What is this place?" Amarion asked.

"Just wait," Nari said. "They'll realise in a second." He looked at Fin from the corner of his eye and crossed his arms.

[Dreadicon]

It was bitter cold out, but Fin had expected as much. His robes were doing their job to a good enough extent. "Who? The Truebloods?" He asked. Fin was again having doubts about taking Nari as their guide, but he supposed no harm would come to them so long as Amarion had trusted the boy.

[Treijim]

Nari did not respond and Amarion was now gazing up at the night sky. There was no wind, and the air was neither warm nor cold. It was as though all of the light of the moon had dimmed like something huge and fast passed over the sky, and then there was a dark figure standing in the clearing. His fur was thick and his hair was like a great mane. A long and bushy tail flicked behind him and in his hand was a spear with an elaborate head. He turned and looked at Nari.

"You there! Sirin boy!" he said with a growl. "Why would you lead humans to us, and how did you know about this place?"

He walked to Nari and held out his spear quite threateningly. Nari froze and stuttered something in audible.

"It's not his fault," Amarion said, holding up his hands as a sign of peace. "He was only our guide, and Rece himself permitted us to come here. He saw we meant no harm, as I know you can see."

The beast man turned and pointed his spear at Amarion. The tension in the air was thick.

[Dreadicon]

Fin regretted not asking Amarion or Nari about the Trueblood customs, but he would just have to use what he did know. This was surely a Trueblood, both from his stature and obvious command of magic.

Fin dropped to one knee. "Mighty Trueblood, my companion and I have come seeking she whom only your people truly know; the Greatmother Leuvana. We would never mean harm to your great race; I seek only to learn more of the Greatmother and aid her in some way such that I am able." he said. "If you raise your spear to one of us here, let it be me. This Sirin was just a guide and has put himself at risk to bring us here at mine and my companion's request."

[Treijim]

The Trueblood was frowning at Fin sideways, his spear still pointed at Amarion.

"Brave words," he muttered, and then he turned back to Nari. "Hkamdahch habah sorehbhan!" he roared, baring his teeth.

The petrified Nari didn't seem to understand what was said to him. With teeth still showing, he looked at Fin again but did not point his spear at anyone.

"Certainly, you come here with high hopes and noble intent, for your losses have driven you to do desperate things. However, we have a problem. I can take you to our palace, though it has not been done. But I must blind you on our way there and back, and once you arrive back here, you will need to find your way back to Hluff. You are deep in wilderness. The problem is that this Sirin boy is not allowed in our temple, and I wouldn't want to leave him here."

Suddenly, the shadows shifted again and another Trueblood stood by the first, taller, and with more robes. They said things to one another in their language and glanced at Nari. Then, the first one nodded.

"Never mind that," he said. "The boy can come. Are you ready, mortals?"

[Dreadicon]

Fin stood, and nodded. "Yes, noble Trueblood. I thank you for heading our request. I know the atrocities humans have committed in the past, and understand the need for precautions." Fin said, he was doing his absolute best to remain formal while knowing that soon he would be in the Palace of the Truebloods.

[Treijim]

Both Truebloods closed their eyes and the world went blacker than black. All sound was reduced to a distant ringing and there was a wind that had no temperature blowing in their faces. After what would have felt like a few minutes of this, the three of them and the first Trueblood were standing in a hall thick with violet haze. Intricate columns stretched ever-upward towards a ceiling that was out of sight. The hall stretched very far both forwards and backwards, and it seemed void of life. He began to lead them down the hall and their footsteps were soft thuds, as sound was absorbed by the tasteless fog. For a few more minutes they walked, and then they came to a tall arched door braced with an unknown metal. It opened for them and they all entered a far smaller room with a single ray of light coming from an again unfathomably high ceiling. The Trueblood turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"A prison?" Amarion suggested, and then he glanced at Nari. "Are you all right?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah. It's just cold in here. It's weird because I normally don't feel the cold."

Amarion looked at Fin. "Perhaps this is a prayer chamber... What do you think?"

[Dreadicon]

"So this is a Temple, I've never seen anything so massive." Fin said to himself. He walked foreward to the wall opposite the door, and put his hand on it. "I'm not sure, I thought the Truebloods would want to test us, or inform us of courtesy before their Greatmother." He looked about, then moved to the center of the room, looking into the ray of light that originated from some distant point in space. "Leuvana...."