Twin Spear; Twin Sword

XVII

The wagon that pulled Duna and the young horse keeper to Barovia was a rickety one, holding on with all it had left in it. He'd rigged two horses ahead of them, pulling at a fairly quick pace. The man himself had been silent most of the ride, both filled with questions, and afraid to know the answers.

"You're getting paler by the second." Duna said to him, tilting her head. Seated next to him at the front of the cart, she'd been more interested in the wilderness around the trail than the actual driver himself. Neverwinter and its surrounding landscape was much more diverse than Chult; it featured plains, snow-capped mountains, and forests of different tree majorities all within the same view from a tall enough tower. Back home, all Chult offered was jungle, beach, and sea.

"Just.. heard a lot about this place. That's all." He muttered.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Not particularly." he said flatly, seeming to avoid her questions at all costs. Duna grit her teeth, pushing away her urge to knock his head in, and leveled her tone.

"Would you kindly?" Duna asked more firmly. Her sideways glare unsettled the man, and with her weapons and stature, he wasn't keen on resisting too hard.

"Look, Miss, common folks in the Enclave only hear so much. Lord Neverember keeps a tight hold on things. But the less we know, the more we speculate."

"Mhmm.. and..?"

"And all I can say for sure is that no one knows anyone who's ever come back. Whatever they go in there looking for must find them first."

"So I've been told." she replied calmly. "I'll be sure to be careful."

"Weren't they all.." he muttered doubtfully.

"I'm looking for a person, actually. Not here to collect on some glory for killing a vampire lord. I plan to find her and get her back to safety, see if she knows anything that could help us free this place. I've come to terms that it's reckless to try and kill a vampire prince alone- but that doesn't mean I can't help in other ways."

"As long as you know that Neverember won't help if you wind up trapped. And whoever you're looking for is probably dead by now." he told her.

"Charming." Duna said flatly. "But as far as I was told, she was the last one in, and an expert in this sort of task. It's a good bet she's still alive- and as for Neverember, well, he's the one that gave me that information in the first place. If she's here, I'll find her."

"You sure sound confident."

"Whining only gets you so far." she said with a sideways glance. He let the comment hang, not bothering to entertain it even if it had felt personal.

Pointing ahead, into the horizon, he stood on the moving cart. "There!"

Duna followed his eyes out to the wall of trees ahead, racing off in either direction as far as her vision could go. Nestled in the forest, further away, were a range of mountains, their valley straight ahead.

"Barovia is settled inside that valley, a bit deeper in the woods."

"How close can you get?"

He squinted far ahead. "I'll take you until it starts getting.. weird, then I'll drop you."

"Very specific." she sighed at him, shaking her head.

The young man swallowed, flicking the reins on the horses and taking a breath. He licked his lips nervously and attempted to begin again.

"I wish I could describe it to you better- really I do- but it's not quite something you can say." he managed, relaxing as Duna passively waved him off. She had accepted that there was only so much information she could gather before she headed in.