Heimurn Chronicles (No, SV, you're a young valkyrie in the middle of a bizarre and dangerous journey)

The more rational side of you demanded to turn around and return to the laboratory where Rosaline was probably analyzing her findings regarding your nature. She sheltered you and, perhaps, that was one of two reasons you should've tried to get in terms with her. The other one was the fact that you began to feel like a bit awkward about your current situation - you felt like being treated as an odd pet. As rational as it was to head back and show Rosaline that you are a person capable of judgment, awareness, and sociality, the other side of you - the sentimental one - demanded to go and see Ulren. After a short struggle, the sentimental mindset snatched the victory, and you scanned the surroundings for Ulren's spark. Oddly enough, you sensed his distanced presence only after getting to the very end of the third floor's corridor. It appeared that your friend was in the outbuilding behind the glasshouse. You also sensed that he wasn't alone in that compact hut with the trail of smoke lifting from its chimney. You peeked through the window, mentally sketching the route to the mentioned outhouse, and, after a few minutes, snuck out into the inner yard, hoping to obtain some of the familiar company you grew to enjoy and still clutching to the remaining sweet cake.

The night was rather charming - clear sky with both moons shining with cold light and countless stars accompanying them, comforting sounds of the distanced city ambiance, the sight of the lit-up clocktower at the horizon, gentle cold with no wind at all. This night felt cozy like a scene from a fairy tale. Speaking of, you thought that it might be a good idea to ask Ulren to read for you again if he doesn't mind. A bit hesitant to open the door and demand attention with your presence, you carefully opened the door and looked through the crack inside: Ulren was inside, standing with his back exposed to you and fiddling with something at the heavy workstation. He was speaking in a language that was totally unfamiliar to you to another person that was sitting on a barrel nearby, sipping from a huge glass cup with metal holder. You quickly recognized Claudius - the cheery sub-giant that worked wonders on your wound. He noticed you as well and told you to come in. Ulren also turned his head and waved to hop inside after seeing you, just as you did.

Inside this small hut, there were work benches, anvils, racks with instruments, and the living forge around which Ulren was exercising his crafty manipulations with a small hammer and forceps. Claudius was sitting nearby, heavy legs stretched, occasionally looking and nodding his head at the tool-looking objects Ulren was showing him after conducting a series of strikes or sharpening motions. You felt a little bit awkward clinging in like that into others conversation, but neither of the bulky men didn't seem to mind. Even more so, Claudius began to employ that sunny grin of his. Odd, but just like Amalia, he seemed to be good-willing toward you without any previous interaction. Well... not while you were awake, that is. Anyhow, with a bit awkward smile directed toward Claudius, you approached Ulren and tugged at his shirt.

"Ul-ren? Can you read... uh... again?" you spoke out the question trying your best to be as literate as possible, which instantly caused a reaction from both men.

"Sorry, Lucy, I'm a little busy right now, so another time, eh?" he answered while half-turning to you and exposing his front clad in a thick, heavy apron (dichotomously opposite in cleanliness, mass, and sizes to the ones worn by the maids), "must finish the [unfamiliar] while the [unfamiliar] is hot"

"You read... later? Do you?" was your half-disappointed and half-hopeful ripost, at which the burly man smirked, grunted, and answered: "Yep. Did I ever trick you?"

Well, he never fooled you, so your suspicion was groundless. "But, if you want some company, why not hang around with us? We got some [unfamiliar] if you want" he suggested.

The thing Ren was probably referring seemed to be whatever herbal-smelling liquid Claudius was drinking, and, judging by the heater lamp and a tripod on one of the tables, they brewed this thing in here.

"Uh... good!" you replied and sat against these two on a vacant chair. Claudius immediately proceeded to heat up another portion of the brew, reaching to the stash with ingredients hidden underneath one of the drawers. While waiting, you combed the surrounding, particularly focusing on your friend heating, hammering, cutting, sharpening and bending metal heads for what seemed to be a set of tools. "You fix tools?" you asked and instantly got his affirmative "Yep". Then, you trained your gaze at Claudius and inquired the similar question: "And you... fix people?", at which he confirmed with "Aye". Your mind quickly made the math part, making you vocalize the realization of "Ul-ren fix tools and break people, and you fix people and break tools?". This innocent attempt of rationalizing why do they seemed to be on very friendly terms made one of the men to snicker uncomfortably while another released a short nervous giggle. It seemed like your a bit rough observation-based assessment was true to some extent.

"Claudius is a long-time healer of Dalgaard house. He and his assistant patched you up earlier, remember?" Ren summarized, pushing the conversation away from your awkwardly precise revelations, at which you dubbed his "Yep" and grinned.

The thought that it might be the right time to thank these people for both leading you to safety despite all odds and for providing you with the much-needed medication popped up in your mind, forcing you to stretch the cake you were clutching and accompany it with a lousy but sincere "Thank you".

The healer's smile even wider, figuratively radiating more warmth into the hut than the living smithy at which Ulren was working. He took your 'present' showed it to Ren, who rejectingly shook his head before returning to his labor, and ripped the sweet in two, giving you back the half of it.

"You're a quite tough young lady, you know that?" he said, "Would never guess by the looks, but you endured that trauma pretty gracefully compared to what I have seen during my [unfamiliar]"

Not knowing how to express your question correctly, you squeezed a shaky and rough inquiry: "You give health... from inside?"

"That is one way to say it" he answered after a momentary digestion of your question, "In the place where I come from, people awakened to read and manipulate the lines of the body are called being weavers, and I happen to be one of them".

"You heal many people before?" you asked while trying to digest what he said before.

"I... suppose? Been doing it for..." he paused to calculate his experience in his mind, "about seventy cycles, in which I haven't had many [unfamiliar] of your [unfamiliar] - shapely build, with [unfamiliar] about them, but without [unfamiliar] that most often accompanies it. You were surely [unfamiliar] by nature, so, take care of yourself, aye?"

Because of the lacking dictionary, you failed to understand what exactly he said about you except the fact that it had a flattering context. Anyhow, the word 'cycles' confused you a bit as Rosaline taught you about the different time units names. "Cy-cles?" you asked and took a cup with a brew Claudius made for you.

"Cycles is how we call lander's years. Perhaps Rosie taught you of those already" Ulren answered while curving a searing piece of metal.

Seventy years... Goodness! Your oldest memory is like three weeks from the past! Claudius must be very, very old. Is this somehow connected to who he is?

Following this line of investigation, you threw yet another question at the mender: "You are bhi-roth... like Ul-ren?"

"Nah" Claudius replied before consuming his half of the cake in a single bite. "Claudius is a gvuroth and I'm a bhiroth; we're from the same [unfamiliar] called "Roth", but from the different kins" was Ulren's elaboration shorty followed by an explanation, "Think of the kin as of those raven siblings that hail from the single nest but flew to and settled in different parts of the world, hence becoming different over time"

You thought you grasped the idea. Kind of.

"His homeland is far to the South - the hills of the Ebongale [unfamiliar]. It features warm climate, rich soil, and great [unfamiliar] cities by the sea. The place I came from spans to the North-West from the Lyf [unfamiliar] - the place we are now. My homeland is a vast region called Eldheitaed mountains, which borders the White Sea to the North, the great Blugd-Tur plain to the South, and the Ars Ocean to the West. It is a very [unfamiliar] land that has anything from seashore hamlets by the coasts to mighty city-fortresses in the mountains and valleys, from the snow-covered peaks to the fiery [unfamiliar]"

Mountains, plains, seas, oceans, and valleys - so many places you have never seen. Lost in thoughts about how diverse this realm and its inhabitants are, it slipped your mind that there was some odd vibe about Ren's voice when he described his homeland. Also, this turn of conversation reminded you of the old question that you never had an opportunity to ask.

"What my kin... is? And where?" you inquired, sipping the strong but yet sweet-ish herbal brew that instantaneously unblocked your nostril with the smell alone, and chomping your piece of cake.

Alas, both men find no clear answer to that, with Ulren scratching his nape with the hand holding a relatively tiny hammer, and Claudius just shrugging with his hefty shoulders. "You see, Sunny, neither of us knows or met anyone who knows. Rosaline is trying to find out more about you, your kin, and your origin, so be nice to her, aye?" the latter said, granting you with a nickname before you thought of a one for him. You just nodded, slightly disappointed by the lack of the answers. However, even if they do not know much about your kind, they may know something about Dusky's. With that in your mind, you finished your trophy dessert and asked yet another question about the person you began to miss: "Where... Se-pho-rah is?"

Claudius failed to understand the question but Ulren slowly turned around, put the box filled with oddly-shaped instruments near the former, and provided his answer: "She comes from the distant land of Eucad. It is even further to the East than Ebongale, and I never been there. However, some folks say that it is a land of sultry days and cool nights, the place where rains are less common and the night sky is most beautiful" he shrugged slightly, "maybe you'll have to see it or other lands with your own eyes someday. But as for her in [unfamiliar], I have no idea where she is".

"Who is Sephorah?" Claudius clanged in, making Ren switch back to the unfamiliar, heavily-spackled with S', R's, T's, and K's roughish-sounding language you overheard when glimpsed inside this hut. Whatever they were discussing regarding Dusky, Ulren did not want you to hear it, and he clearly was not happy or enthusiastic judging by the look on his face. Regardless of how inspiring description of her homeland was, the answer concerning her current situation did not cheer you a tiny bit, and all you can do was to wrap your hands around yourself in disappointment.

However, the evening was saved when both men quit their "Roth" talk (as you assumed), and returned their attention to you. There was a little discussion about the gourmet masterpieces the local cook is capable of making, your cheery (if hardly-expressed) array of impressions from living in the mansion, the mentioning of a few stories and legends the men knew and were willing to share should you behave, and your tiny attempt at gossiping bantering about Amalia and Rosaline. This night, you again felt welcomed and appreciated - probably the sweetest feeling which you grew to love.

The next day started with an odd, vivid dream, in which you were walking the glassy and ice-cold path through the darkness towards a towering clock face glowing with warm moon-ish light. You fell from this dream when the clock arrows stopped, and everything around you sunk into a scorching cold. Despite the strange and unpleasant dream, you woke up invigorated, and the scene of a strong snowfall outside only contributed to your odd high-spirited mood.

The breakfast was as timely and delicious as always, featuring a hearty bowl of rich soup and a set of savory-sweet breadsticks (as you were told shortly after, the molten substance that gave them such taste was something they call "cheese"). Even Rosaline went easy on you today and was stuffing you with new knowledge somewhat sparingly. Happily learning new adjectives (a lot of adjectives) and nouns (mostly concerning people and their relationships to each other), your mind began to grow cloudy little by little. Not because you were tired, but for the opposite reason - you were growing uncommonly overexcited. As you attempted to concentrate and to understand what was happening, your mind dug into the traumatic memory you tried to forget and your gaze slipped outside the tall windows, verifying your worst suspicion - the uncanny storm was coming from the East again.

You remember that you screamed and convoluted. The overwhelming feeling as if the entire universe breathed at you, blowing you out of your mind and stunning you like a fish that was struck against the ice has recurred. You remember that the ensued scene of you reacting to the event scared the usually stoic Rosaline and absolutely terrified lady Holt. You don't know how much seconds or minutes passed but by the time your sense of audition abandoned you, Claudius and Ulren were there as well. Someone of them held you tight while the other one put up to your nose a bottle with something stinking hard enough to overpower even the immense shock you were experiencing. You recall that soon after that, the feeling of the whole world crashing down on you began to withdraw. Unlike the previous time, the sensation was weaker due to one reason or another, and you even managed to remain conscious. Shocked but conscious.

It was no surprise that your classes for today were cut short and you spent half of the day lying in your bed, with Rosaline, Ulren, Claudius and his apprentice periodically checking up on you. Again, your sense of aspects was numbed by the cataclysm. Again, your sense of soul sparks was giving you a strange and possibly shattered picture of the increased number of spirits around. This time, however, you began to sense some odd traces emanating from the various objects in the manor. It felt like, shaken be the outside storm, they were emanating the residue of some kind. It was either the change in your perception or the change in the manor, but reagardless of that, everything felt a bit different.

As you slowly recovered from the shock to the level when you could walk, think, and talk, the fear faded down, giving place to curiosity. What was that? Why do you react as you do? What are these changes in your perception? Why no one except you seemed to be affected by the cataclysm? As these questions lingered in your mind, you stood up to decide how to spend the rest of the day.



[] Hide in your room until the end of the day!
Nope. Na-ah. Nein. Nyet! You've got enough for today.

[] Do something at the facility (specify the action in the vote)
-[] Bathroom
-[] Kitchen
-[] Salon
-[] Library
-[] Gymnasium
-[] Laboratory
-[] Lecture hall
-[] Greenery
-[] Smithy
-[] Your room
Your current state is hardly compatible with activities that require concentration but at least you can try something.

[] Inspect (read: sneak) the place. (Easy (17) sneaking skill check no harsh repercussions if failed, easy perception check (17) for extra findings, even more findings with the higher tier rolls)
-[] The third floor
-[] The second floor
-[] The first floor
The surroundings changed. You need to know more.

[] Socialize with (mention the general attitude, the topics of interest or/and special actions like attempts to study a soul spark in the vote)
-[] Rosaline
-[] Ulren
-[] Amalia
-[] Claudius
-[] The kitchen personnel
Suddenly, you feel like spending the rest of the day with someone would be the most reassuring.

[] Write-in
Hells bells! What's going on?! Well, you might have an original idea what to do in the situation like this.