The last morning at the camp, before anything comes down. Alexis has his notebook open on one knee and waits until the four of them are close enough that he doesn’t have to raise his voice.
“I’ve made a list. Two halves. The first half is things I need from you.”
He turns the notebook around long enough for them to see there’s a full page of it, then turns it back.
“The three of you. I’ve watched Rask these last weeks and I know what I’m getting. Gus, Carm, Red, I want the same from each of you before we walk. What advancements in your specialties?”
“The shield. We start at the knight’s cairn. Rask’s old shield is the other way to solve this, although it went with the horses, which is its own problem and further down the page.”
“Red’s armor. Rebuilt, replace, or we just move on with a more free-moving Red?.” Alexis moves on, but with a clear expectation that Ethelred will let him know.
“Food. Gus. Going north. How many days around for us to get from here to a place where we can easily get more food? How long do you need to get us the food we need?”
“The nature of Frostpass is an unknown in this when. I’ll put the ring to it after this to assess this.”
Alexis turns the page over.
“That’s what I need. The rest is what I want to know, and it’s in the order we’ll walk past it.”
“The tree that put me to sleep. I want to know if it’s still there, and whether it still has the same nature it had in our other time.”
“The undead knight and his horse. This relates to Red’s need for a shield, but I’m also curious to know the reality of this knight in our new when.”
“The Monastery site. An hour on the ‘old’ site. Notes, not digging.”
“When we are. The garden is less than a day past it, and further from Frostpass. We can look at Red’s bomba tree and see how tall it’s got. Carm, if a prayer gets us the same answer faster, I’m open to that.”
“The horses. Everything we didn’t carry in was on them, and we left them in the ‘old’ place. Rask’s shield. The glaive. So: are they here at all? If they are, then the road we took to Nodden-Torr got walked in this world too, and most of what happened to us happened. If there were never any horses, we’re standing somewhere I understand a lot less than I thought this morning.”
“Felsby. We’ve never been, but there’s a lot there.” He counts it off on his fingers. “Ingvar founded it. Bandesingh raided the town to end Torr’s line, because the sword had been Torr’s grandfather’s. Torr-van mended Dauntless there after the place had already fallen. There were gnolls under it digging for that sword, and when Bandesingh learned it was out of his reach he spent them on his working.” Alexis gives a shrug and a nod off to the side. “That’s a great deal of Bandesingh in one town.”
Alexis closes the notebook on his finger and looks between them.
“Anything to add?”
“It’s true this is not the same world we started, and I too, want to know more about this world. The Monastery does not exist, but more frightening, there wasn’t so much as a pile of rubble where it had been. Where it had been when we last passed by, which was not long ago. Was the monastery never built? Has it yet to be built? I think we will continue to gather more information and our theories will become more informed.
I have a number of new spells at my disposal, that will be helpful. I have expanded my ability to connect with Raiden, probably as a result of my constant search to understand this world, through my communion with him. I have grown wiser from.. wiser, yes. Also I make incense now, as a spell focus. Mushrooms make really good incense did you know?”
Alexis has a wry smile.
“You and Red have something in common. And now Gus will have to do double duty.” Alexis chuckles slightly.
“More wisdom?” Alexis is clearly interested to know more.
Red’s ears perk up when he hear thew word ‘mushroom’.
“Making something to keep both Gustav and I warm is a must. Armor seems like the best as it would help with both.
If we work together I guess making two sets of armor could be done in a week. IT is a lot of work. There are many skill and energy that could aid the creation. I have a few ideas.
My mind has been blocked from making progress learning anything new. I have some strong notions, but have yet to commit anything to the book. Might be the cold. Might be distracted by where.. when.. where we are. I will press on and let you know when I have something.
We entered the caves to gain power to take on Bandy. We should press on with that focus.
The shield can be found as we move on. I can either look each day, or work on the making the finding bowl locate one.
The only actions I seem worth it are magic insights, or direct action that gain us information to what has changed or how we move forward to defeat Bandy.”
Rask smiles, slightly amused at Alexis and pleased with himself when Alexis says he has what he needs from Rask, and pays attention to the conversation.
Rask nods in agreement when Alexis and Ca’armine talk about learning more about how the world has changed.
He arches an eye, but nods in agreement when Ethelred affirms the focus on Bandesingh, even though Rask is now unsure what that goal means now.
When the others are done talking, Rask speak:
“I had not considered the possibility that our horses may still be alive. If they are, and it is easy, I would like to find them. But it seems unlikely to me. If they live, I hope they are somewhere safe with lots of food for them, not trapped in the dungeons of Nodden-Torr. May Raiden watch over them and protect them, wherever ever they may be.”
Rask pauses for a moment in silence, honoring the fierce horses and their battle against demons and giants in the fog.
“I think I can help make leather armor, it looks like we have enough skin from the hides of the rabbits and deer, Red has been cleaning them very well, and Gus says he knows how to turn a raw hide into leather. Having some armor is… prudent. Even for archers and mages.”
“Being able to use the items of power we have is useful. If Ca’armine can cleanse the crystal ball and make it usable, it will be a powerful tool. We have a few other items we are unsure of, right?”
Rask looks at Ethelred and then Alexis, before turning to Gustav:
“Gus, if you’ll have me, I am happy to help you hunt.”
Rask looks at the rest of the group, ready for whatever comes.