"I've also got a couple of things I need to do while I'm in Pavis," He glances round the group, "don't worry I won't involve any of you," he coughs, "well, not at the start, I may need help by the time I've finished." He smiles sweetly at Amara.

"So, Henal, should I work this charm or what? Your find, your call..."

Temush's charm comes up blank.

Smiling the priestess replies "Don't you want time to see the sights.....But seriously. I have business there...old friends too see, messages to be given...Help to be sought...Intrigue and to be honest? I miss sleeping in a real bed."

Her laugh is loud,  startling the many cats sat about the fire.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:22, Fri 11 Nov 2016.

Voras simply replies "We'll see" but there was no conviction in his voice. Touching a new tattoo on the back of his hand, that of a flame he mutters a charm to keep the fire fed.

As he does so he mutters to the flames words of encouragement against the Darkness.

He then turns to look over at Henal pot and casts a further charm to detect traps.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:52, Fri 11 Nov 2016.

The night passes, with Henal's jar proving to be trap and ghost free and the contents still to be revealed. The morning is pitch black with a wind that bites and howls like a crazed demon.

Henal opens the jar and sniffs at the dark fluid inside. "Smells like strong kumiss or some other liquor."

Ohanzee looks over "Well just remember what happened the last time you drank an unknown liquid. Up top above the harpy nest wasn't it, I had to use the last of my healing herbs on you to sort that one out!"

Looking incredibly rested, fresh and with a light spell cast on her spear the Vingan priestess and Queen of the Skywatchers orders her guard to get started...

By the sounds of it the warriors ahead have already broken camp obviously aiming to reach the Giant Finger Holes by midday.

"Perhaps you'll share some of that with us all Henal? A fiery draft is just what we all need on a day such as this. Some of you scout ahead and to the sides. We do not want to be ambushed, for who knows who is out and about..."

"I'll join the pack and scout out with them, there's not much that can get past so many eyes, ears and noses all alert, day or night."

Melock laughs, "You're a fine one to talk, look what happened to both of us when we drank an unknown liquid."



"I'll scout ahead. Though it's probably best I'm not left alone." He looks round at the others with a cheeky grin, "Who wants to keep an eye on me?"

"You'll be grand on your own." Amara said "It's only if Ohanzee went in front that we'd need to pay attention....although granted he would always find danger in front of us. Normally by having a limb lopped off." Amara bowed to her adoptive mother and queen "If you don't want me to stay with you, I can ride to the side for a time."

"Ride with Ohanzee and make sure he keeps out of trouble."

Ohanzee gives Amara a wicked grin "By my count you're a hand ahead of me in the lost limb tally, but you can always call in on your friend if it happens again."

He laughs and there is perhaps a hint of a hoop to the sound, but perhaps just the beginning of the cough that follows.

"I only lost one arm, no need to feel so blue." Amara rolled her eyes at Angelika as if to say 'Do I really have to?' before nudging her zebra to move out. "Just keep your hyena friends away from me."

Temush consults with his owl familiar and she flies up above normal bow shot to keep a general eye on the Rangers' surroundings

Ohanzee grins in response "Blue and proud of if, but I don't remember you being quite so proud of your tint of red?"

He too nudges his beast on though not in the same hurry that Amara is, he is content to follow along a little way behind calling out to her as they ride "Stick with me Red, we'll soon have you wearing the skins of many beasts and laughing..."

He trails off at the last word considering then urges the zebra on to ride alongside her "You don't laugh much. In fact I can't remember the last time I heard you propperly laugh out loud at something."

"You should loosen up a bit. Life's hard and there's always something to worry about, even when you fix something then another trouble will be along to replace it, so you can't wait till everything is fine cos you'll never get a chance for fun if you follow that path."

The two Raven scouts under the watchful eye of Amara, whom being a Thunderbird would have a hard time seeing through any shenanigans, head out with the main party following.

Temush's owl familiar takes off into the biting wind, gets to flap his wing thrice and is then blow backwards into the darkness. He's soon recovered and the poor creature refuses to leave the confines of the Sun Hawk brave's furs.

The place of Kobal's wife's death is passed and the Rangers see that a party of Bison riders are searching the area having been told of what occurred there. Angelika refuses to allow any Rangers to join them, instead pressing on towards the ever nearing oasis.

Soon evidence of the Giant Finger Hole's magic is evident in the now dying grasses and sleeping shrubs and it's only an hour before the oasis is sighted itself.

Between the travellers and their destination mills a rearguard of some ten mixed clan Bison riders, It looks as if the main war party has entered the oasis. It's eerily quiet with even the wind having died down for the moment enabling Peevt to take off and reconnoitre...

Amara sat on her zebra pretty much ignoring Ohanzee. If it weren't for his unending commentary as they rode she'd have been at peace "And what precisely is there for me to be happy about? The fact that inevitably, within a week, let's say, I'm feeling charitable, I'll be having to risk life and limb in pulling you out of another situation of your own devising? The fact that inevitably, whatever plans we have to make the Green bigger, that you ravens will destroy it. That everything we do shall be meaningless? What opportunity do I have for fun?" her gaze turned to one of warning "My days of dancing are over."

She pointed to the horizon with her spear "No harpies....I thought they'd come out to meet us...or at least be visible in the sky." she felt a little thrill in her heart at the thought of meeting the harpy queen again and to some extent Delenda, though she rarely had time for anyone not pledged to Babeester Gor.

"Hey, um, Peevt says that the bulk of the Red Thorns seem to have left the Holes, our Khans are in talks with some big shots in the midst of the Earth place" Temush says "hope that helps".

Melock ears prick up and he can't help but smile when he hears Amara moaning at Ohanzee, but when she includes him by mentioning Raven, he gets a bit annoyed and frowns, "We haven't destroyed all our plans to make the Green bigger. We've done a lot of good as well." Need to remind her what good we've done. "Stopping a group of blood crazed Babeester Gor's hunting us down and killing us is the main one that comes to mind. Also if it wasn't for Raven's tricks then we wouldn't have been able to free Emesh-Ga." He turns his head suddenly like he's seen something out of the corner of his eye, but there's nothing to see. He shakes his head and rubs his eyes. "You'll be dancing soon enough, when you're initiated to the secrets of Vinga, and you won't have to worry about us messing it up because we'll be in Pavis," his voice drops to a mutter, "probably being nail to a lump of wood without you to save us."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:57, Sun 13 Nov 2016.

Amara looked at Melock. Not glaring or expressing disapproval but studiously neutral. "If I'm initiated." she said plainly. She thought it was more likely than not she'd be initiated, but the Gods always might say no...or not at this time and that worry had been eating away at her since long before this trip.

"I think the Babesster Gor thing was you bringing the consequences of your own actions down on top of yourselves. So...even giving you Emesh Ga...which is debatable. What have I done to try to make this place green again? Perhaps you should ask yourself that question every time, before you get all caught up in yourselves and the mischief you can make."

His eyes widen in shock, "The Babeester Gor thing? It wasn't just Hoskar they would have been after, Delenda told me she held all of us responsible. Why is the fact that I was the one who persuaded Gadesha to talk to us instead of killing us, thus letting us join forces with Emesh-Ga, debatable? I know you've done just as much to bring the Green back, no one is denying that." He takes a breath to calm himself. "Looking back, I agree that there may have been times, not many, when I should have thought things through first, but that's not me, I try to fight it and sometime I lose."

Temush guides Stomp closer to Angelika's path, "What is this ruse where your scouts chat back and forth so much? We did not have this trick in my tribe. Are they the lure for a trap of some kind?"

Noticing Melock's glance Ohanzee looks the same way and then, already jumpy "What's that?!" and he's off kicking his zebra on.