Eight Intertwined

67 - Stonegard

H'aanit didn't know what she expected from Stonegard. 

H'aanit had heard grand tales throughout her youth of Z'aanta's past adventures across the continent as a hunter for hire. Countless people had come to know his name because of his raw skill when it came to a bow and arrow, and that meant that there were whispers of his actions across every corner of Orsterra. He had become a bit more stationary when he first took in H'aanit what felt like a lifetime ago, but she had still been raised in his words of whimsy regarding the rest of the world. She had never been given the chance or the reason to leave S'warkii, but the tales Z'aanta wove made her feel as if she was being transported across the universe whenever he spoke. 

Reality was far from matching the brave tales Z'aanta told her though, and as H'aanit examined Stonegard silently, she couldn't help wondering how he would have romanticized a place like this. Z'aanta had told her about Stonegard before, yes, but times had chanced since he last told her what the region was like. The Stonegard H'aanit saw before her was nothing like what Z'aanta had once told her it would be like. 

As soon as the group settled down at the inn, H'aanit set out for her search of the town. She moved first to the entrance of Stonegard, Linde and Hägen both hot on her heels. She could feel Hägen's anxiety, and she was practically waiting for the wolf to start whimpering and leaning against her out of concern. It wasn't as if she could blame him; he missed Z'aanta more than anyone else, and now that they were finally close enough to embrace the truth, it was only natural that he grew on edge. 

H'aanit unfurled the letter that she had received from Z'aanta so long ago, and she read the familiar words to herself. She had looked over the page what felt like a thousand times by this point, but she still found herself wondering if perhaps some new truth would make itself apparent to her if she watched the paper in just the right way. As was to be expected, nothing changed, and H'aanit was left to conduct her search for answers the old fashioned way. 

"Stonegard. This is where Master said he would sojourn," H'aanit murmured to herself, trying to ignore the way that her chest seemed to flutter and rattle with excitement and anxiety. At long last, it felt like answers were in her reach. Something had gone wrong, but she was still hoping that perhaps she would find Z'aanta under unassuming circumstances that proved all of her fears to be misplaced. If that was the case, Z'aanta would no doubt receive an earful as soon as H'aanit silently expressed just how relieved she was to see him again. Still, there was no way of saying for sure yet, and so, H'aanit's heart continued to whisper of fears she prayed were baseless.

H'aanit turned towards Hägen once again, a frown on her face. "Well, Hägen? Dost thou perceiven his scent?" she questioned of him carefully, knowing that Hägen understood the words even with the communication barrier brought on by being of different species. The wolf paused for a moment before letting out a small growl, though it sounded more confused and lost than anything else. In other words, there was something wrong here that upset Hägen more than H'aanit could have ever expected. Something about Stonegard was confusing Hägen, almost as if he felt more lost than ever before when they were close as could be to finding the truth about what had happened to Z'aanta. 

If Hägen wasn't going to be able to figure out the truth though, then that left the job to H'aanit, not that this at all surprised her. She folded the letter and tucked it away as she spoke. "Thou hast done well to bringen us here. Now it is my turn to leaden the hunt," she murmured. She glanced up at the streets of Stonegard before her and resisted the urge to wince. H'aanit didn't know what she had been anticipating to find when they arrived here, but she certainly hadn't thought Stonegard would be this... Large. Z'aanta had never described it as being this massive when he told stories of his exploits, and H'aanit could only imagine that the city had seen significant expansion in the aftermath of Hornburg's fall. After all, there were many Highlands citizens left displaced by the coup, and it was only natural that they would go to the nearest settlement with a definite promise of safety.