The Awakening of the Ancients

II. Crow Outpost

I didn't sleep that night. I had my stuff packed before the giants woke up.

I couldn't stay much longer. The time felt right. Hexe totems were sprouting up more frequently. The spirit was getting antsy. Then the giants showed up. All these forces were conspiring together, signaling me to move on. I had enough sense to know that when the universe told me something, I couldn't ignore it. The giants seemed as good a ride out of here as anything else that might mysteriously happen by.

The giants seemed surprised but delighted that I would join them on the rest of their trip. They quickly reassured me that they would be returning to Telthaion the moment we left the cave. And so we did, heading north along the path I had first spotted them on.

I turned my head every which way as we walked, scouting for totems or their owners. I did see a few, too far from the road to destroy without taking the giants on a bit of an unnecessary hike. I didn't want to leave the totems intact, but getting in range to break them meant losing time moving north and slowing the party down. I tried to reassure myself, thinking that the time I might have spent breaking each one would instead be put toward moving out of their effective range anyway. The result was the same: we wouldn't get pelted by Hexe bolts.

We had set off during sunrise, but the sun was well along its downward descent by the time we found a small camp of wooden timbers and rickety guard posts sitting on top of a short mound. Seeing the sun nearing the mountain peaks, and knowing it unlikely we would find a better place to rest before nightfall, we followed the barely visible side path up to the gate.

A guard stopped us as we approached. "State your business."

The lead giant answered. "A meal and a place to sleep."

"Will you submit to an inspection?"

The Giants paused. "Inspection of what?"

"Weapons. Other harmful substances. Standard fare."

The Giants must have felt this was acceptable, because they handed over their rifles, raised their arms when instructed, and allowed the guards to pat them down. They reached me last. I put out my arms and narrowed my eyes when a hand went to my breast.

"Was it necessary to check there?" I asked flatly, watching the hands move lower.

"You'd be surprised how much is stuffed in----Ouch!"

He'd lifted the hem of my vest to check my knee pockets and pulled out my forgotten pine needles.

"Does that count as a harmful substance?" I quipped.

The spirit and I laughed together.

The guard gave me a dirty look, but his retort was cut off.

A woman had appeared at the gate. She had blond hair cut into a bob and dyed bright blue at the tips. She wore a long vest, a long sleeved shirt, leggings, and boots that reached to mid-calf. Like mine, it was all black, but unlike mine, it was appropriate for winter. Pale hands rested on hips that held a belt lined with potion vials. A large silver alchemy pendant dangled over her stomach, shaped like a circle with little arcs curving outward from its circumference.

I did my best to hide behind the giants' massive frames. Her hawkish eyes scanned the giants, then narrowed, peeking through a gap in their ranks. Surprise flitted across her features before she stilled them.

The woman was another Sorceress----a Crow----but I said nothing in recognition. Every Sorceress was taught to never be the first to greet another in the field. We never knew what names they had assumed at a post. I waited for her to introduce herself.