Nothing she said is a secret. You're not below their notice anymore, and anyone who knows you knows who you know. None of that was hidden, and it doesn't mean anything that she knows it.
The smoke from the pipe was somehow both bitter and sweet; Coarse swirling that threatened to choke but wasn't entirely unpleasant. At least the woman had stopped talking. It gave Warren a chance to think things through.
A lot of posturing. That's all. Playing her medicine-woman game for the rest of the Vipers. She's not even from around here, I wouldn't be surprised if Lt'helo left a string of snake oil behind her. She's heard the same rumors I've heard and that doesn't mean anything either. She's playing me for a fool.
He passed the pipe back towards her, keeping his face stern even as he shared her offering. The woman looked almost haggard; Her hair was clumped into what looked like braids if you only glanced, but in reality were unclean strands of hair stuck together. She held a serene smile as she looked into the fire.
Sitting here isn't going to teach me anything. She should have known leaving the mountains to come this way wouldn't have earned her anything. The stars don't always tell the truth, even if you can read them. Might as well see what else is in here. She probably won't mind.
Warren took one more puff on the pipe before getting to his feet and walking off into the depths of the cave. It was getting late, anyway, and he had to get back in time. He hadn't promised yet that he would be home yet but he might as well make good on it. He wouldn't be proven a liar later on even if he hadn't given his word just yet. The stream emptied out into the tiny inlets that fed the Wash, but why was the Wash dry?
Corpses littered the dust, rules broken repeatedly. Charred patches mottled the ground and a phantom with a sword the size of a man menaced from the top of a rock. The helmet turned in the direction of the cave and a voice boomed.
THEN WHY DID YOU LEAVE
Before Warren could answer, obsidian wings blanketed the sky. The presence was overwhelming, the embodiment of decision and declaration. The sentence was evidently death, failure to walk the higher grounds that were paved by only faith and never anything but. Fire enveloped him and the smoke of his burning flesh filled his lungs.
It was like being rekindled. she told him. Duskbreak stood, peace contained inside of it. One blue and one green eye smiled down at him, a cooling touch a balm to his burns. It'll be hard, but I can manage it. Her voice was a kindness and she turned back to her work, marking off names on a list. She engraved the name into steel and her smile didn't seem so kind.
"The funeral was so sad, wasn't it?" Warren couldn't help but agree; the woman had her whole life ahead of her and left behind an unclaimed legacy as an authority on aether and philosophy. They hadn't recovered the body, but it was a sure kill from that height. Countless others had done it beforehand. She hadn't, yet; The funeral was sad but it didn't happen yet, but it could. It would. Wait. What?
Warren exhaled and shook his head. Something wasn't adding up. Lt'helo only smiled at the fire. Above them, the embedded gems of the cavern seemed to wink. Large and small, all colors. There was a feel here. A weight. It didn't work if there were so many around when you died, that made sense. Warren nodded to himself in agreement with... himself? The thought continued. Too many anchors. Like trying to catch a flow of water in a dozen tiny containers at once instead of one large bucket. It would work, sort of, maybe, but it wouldn't contain a soul worth using. One vessel, not a dozen, certainly not a hundred.
The thought made a lot of sense. He breathed deeply of the smoke.
The smoke from the pipe was somehow both bitter and sweet; Coarse swirling that threatened to choke but wasn't entirely unpleasant. At least the woman had stopped talking. It gave Warren a chance to think things through.
A lot of posturing. That's all. Playing her medicine-woman game for the rest of the Vipers. She's not even from around here, I wouldn't be surprised if Lt'helo left a string of snake oil behind her. She's heard the same rumors I've heard and that doesn't mean anything either. She's playing me for a fool.
He passed the pipe back towards her, keeping his face stern even as he shared her offering. The woman looked almost haggard; Her hair was clumped into what looked like braids if you only glanced, but in reality were unclean strands of hair stuck together. She held a serene smile as she looked into the fire.
Sitting here isn't going to teach me anything. She should have known leaving the mountains to come this way wouldn't have earned her anything. The stars don't always tell the truth, even if you can read them. Might as well see what else is in here. She probably won't mind.
Warren took one more puff on the pipe before getting to his feet and walking off into the depths of the cave. It was getting late, anyway, and he had to get back in time. He hadn't promised yet that he would be home yet but he might as well make good on it. He wouldn't be proven a liar later on even if he hadn't given his word just yet. The stream emptied out into the tiny inlets that fed the Wash, but why was the Wash dry?
Corpses littered the dust, rules broken repeatedly. Charred patches mottled the ground and a phantom with a sword the size of a man menaced from the top of a rock. The helmet turned in the direction of the cave and a voice boomed.
THEN WHY DID YOU LEAVE
Before Warren could answer, obsidian wings blanketed the sky. The presence was overwhelming, the embodiment of decision and declaration. The sentence was evidently death, failure to walk the higher grounds that were paved by only faith and never anything but. Fire enveloped him and the smoke of his burning flesh filled his lungs.
It was like being rekindled. she told him. Duskbreak stood, peace contained inside of it. One blue and one green eye smiled down at him, a cooling touch a balm to his burns. It'll be hard, but I can manage it. Her voice was a kindness and she turned back to her work, marking off names on a list. She engraved the name into steel and her smile didn't seem so kind.
"The funeral was so sad, wasn't it?" Warren couldn't help but agree; the woman had her whole life ahead of her and left behind an unclaimed legacy as an authority on aether and philosophy. They hadn't recovered the body, but it was a sure kill from that height. Countless others had done it beforehand. She hadn't, yet; The funeral was sad but it didn't happen yet, but it could. It would. Wait. What?
Warren exhaled and shook his head. Something wasn't adding up. Lt'helo only smiled at the fire. Above them, the embedded gems of the cavern seemed to wink. Large and small, all colors. There was a feel here. A weight. It didn't work if there were so many around when you died, that made sense. Warren nodded to himself in agreement with... himself? The thought continued. Too many anchors. Like trying to catch a flow of water in a dozen tiny containers at once instead of one large bucket. It would work, sort of, maybe, but it wouldn't contain a soul worth using. One vessel, not a dozen, certainly not a hundred.
The thought made a lot of sense. He breathed deeply of the smoke.
![[Image: yEROfKO.png]](http://i.imgur.com/yEROfKO.png)
