Falkreath: The Stone Orc Settlement

"I take it that you are finished with your business?" his voice suddenly piped up although the lip movement was mostly hidden beneath his mask. With the cracking of bones and a small groan Gash brought himself down from his trance in order to properly speak with the other shaman, his duties to the living outweighed his obligations to the dead.

"So then, are you ready to begin the Guidance ritual? Or is there something else on your mind? Come clean now young one, I may be old but I'm not blind yet."

Gash took measure of Kold and after a short internal debate came to the conclusion that any conflicts that arose from the ritual would have to be dealt with by the younger shaman anyway so there was no point in holding off.

"I warn you now Kold'Ron, if you're not at peace when this begins the trials will be hard, dangerously so. It takes a calmness of mind and a certain strength of spirit to get through this without harm, do you believe yourself ready? If so then you will leave our village and procure the offerings that will be used at the start of the ritual. You will need to acquire an example of each natural element and bring it back here, and do it quick. The results are most potent when the moon reaches its apex!"

The old shaman didn't indulge Kold with any further details, snapping his mouth shut and plopping back down on the ground in wait. He spoke not of what specifically could qualify as a component for the ritual, merely telling him to 'follow your instincts.'

Gash listened to Kold'Ron's footsteps as the orc sprinted off out of the village. The actual choice of what Kold brought back with him was irrelevant, he could bring back a pebble, a spark, a droplet and a bottled fart for all the difference it made. What was truly important was the thought put into each decision. Kold'Ron was to do this alone for a very good reason, so that there would be no outside interference when he made his choices as to what he would return with and everything he did came from his own preferences and soul.

Gash thought back to when he went through the ritual himself as a much younger orc, how hard he scoured the mountain sides for the perfect rock and tracked down a dragon just to catch its fire! He was a fanatic even back then! And when he learned that none of it mattered he remembered the way that he and his own mentor laughed. What a fool he was!

The elderly shaman sighed and hoped that Kold'Ron would put just as much effort into his own search as he did his, for if he simply went about things in a lazy manner the spirits would not look kindly upon him.

As Ymir would've begun to leave, heavy footsteps were heard behind her. Eventually, touching Theev'Nok's shoulder and connecting foreheads was a giant troll, with a goofy, friendly, kind smile upon it. Falling down to its arms to now emit an ape walk, he slowly marched forward to Ymir, eyes gentle on her as it kept a bright, calm, welcoming smile, wishing to connect heads with Ymir now, lowering his head as it huffed out of its nostrils gently, a low, grumbling pur in the back of its throat.

At first, boiling rage as his wife laid upon his lap, holding the strange, pink stone Thorok kept with him, singing softly. This wife was not his War Wife, one of his other two. He stood mightily, the orc-wife already prepared for stabilizing herself as Thorok looked to the woman, chest raised, that is, until she spoke.

The women seemed to shuffle a black, glistening cloth under herself as she was sitting there, the Chieftan marching forward with already a Writ in his hand. "So you wish, by yourself, to venture out, to hunt this... thing, down." He spat towards the fire, looking back to her as he lifted her chin with a might that lifted her up to her feet. He stared with eyes of war, and fear, into her own. His eyes seemed to hold already authority over every inch of the plains that surrounded them, the wife's heart skipping a beat as he spoke again.

"I know of this calamity, it cannot be stopped."

He lowered her, soon looking to the fire. The Writ in his hand was not like before, no. It was his own, as he slid it into the side-pouch he was carrying with him. "Take Theev'Nok with you, Rev'Nahn, if you wish. Either of them or both, it matters not." He turned back to face her. "You truly wish to speak to The Mountain which the earth casts judgment with?" He questioned, huffing as his dreadlocks bounced a bit. Lifting up the blessing stone, he stared at the fire through it, speaking once more as he looked in between his fingers towards the fire.

"We've raised you from a child, found you worthy of your life. And you risk it for this?" He turned back to Zar'Dura, a face of impression now. "You have my blessing. Take upon you what you must, and who you must, and leave with haste, for who knows when this dragon shall travel once more." He gave off what it was, already knowing of it. "I do warn you, child. I've seen the pillars of our community fall to this beast, and in legends it has done much, much more. Shall you return, you will be praised. If not.." He stopped himself there, turning back to the fire as he waved his hand to dismiss her.

Theev'Nok, realizing the troll had stolen his spotlight, tried shoving it playfully, but even he failed to so much as move the troll an inch, bouncing off of him as he walked away. Soon, however, his eyebrows would raise as he looked to Zar'Dura, a sudden attention brought to him. "And what is it you wished to speak about, Zar'Dura?" He questioned, a bit hesitant on what she'd bring up.

Theev'Nok's eyes were focused, as his eyebrows raised even higher now. "Well then, Zar'Dura, Wolf-Cub." He slammed his fist to his chest, his hammers now dancing around him, levitating in a clockwise circle. "Honor bound I am to aid you in your calling. Through mountain's weight and ocean's depth we shall travel to end this calamity!" He praised aloud, grasping ahold of his hammers' handles as he stated one final statement. "When you are ready, we run as wind."

<Enter from Old Road>

Jun arrived with her motley entourage of Doobie du Shoobie, Ying-Na of the Acacia, Vaelar Black, and Blackbean.

For the most part Jun's attention had been split between making obnoxious and cute meaningless conversation with Vaelar and recounting all her adventures to her mom.

Blackbean had taken a liking to sitting on Doobie's head.

"So then she made me do this stupid rock exercise which made me almost go crazy, but I didn't go crazy, well not permanently, ok maybe a little bit. I did get into an argument with myself over my own attractiveness. Vaelar, did I tell you that story?"

Before long they had arrived at the settlement.

Jun has been riding in Vaelar's lap for the entirety of the journey. Currently, Vaelar rests his chin comfortably upon Jun's head. At her question, however, he shifts a bit to be able to speak comfortably.
"No, I don't believe you have, my dear," responds Vaelar, grinning. She had certainly had quite the interesting life. Even a prolific sellsword like himself can't hope to compare. She grows more admirable with every story. Trained by dragons, dark mage turned holy mage...it is like straight out of a fairy tale, and Jun is the protagonist.

Of course, Vaelar's life might be considered far...darker, more realistic-sounding. Yet, still, Jun's accounts are absolutely amazing to Vaelar, and he listens with eager ears to all of it. Once he's done speaking, he nuzzles back into her hair, a nauseatingly cute gesture, especially as he places a soft kiss directly upon her crown.