It had been nearly a decade since Kahina had last seen the open plains of the Savannah, having been assigned solely to work the docks and attend to Abdalah's estate. While there was a sense of nostalgia, many of her once beloved memories had been worn away over time as the fleeting moments of village life had become fuzzy with distance. Now she found herself sitting at the front of a merchant's wagon between two muscled foreigner's from far off lands, translating stories told by Amne on the cart ahead of them. Victoria had purchased two carts, along with the required horses, from the markets which they rode towards the deep gold mines to the south. Both carts contained a variety of trading supplies, as well as various containers of perishable goods and salt, but split the occupancy between the party along cultural lines.

Most of the time the more nocturnal members of the party remained under cloth-covered areas of the wagons, trying to sleep during the hottest parts of the day. Jaali had two additional members of their security team who were not present during their initial meeting, the twin brothers: Biton and Naeem. Each slept with weapons in hand, faces covered by a protective mask fashioned by their mother and blessed by their village patriarch. The pair were their night time guard, keeping attentive watch for the various night-time threats and maintaining various defences constructed at dusk.

Instead of sleeping under a rug or other similar cuts of protective cloth, her mistress chose to sleep with-in a sturdy wicker basket lined with soft woven fabric. Even the lid of the container had a thick curtain to allow her to peak out from her lodgings and not be affected by the harsh sun-rays. This feature was mainly used by her familiars who acted as excited children when looking at the large animals they passed on their journey. Julianna often forgot her form, recoiling in pain after extending her arm to point at elephants or giraffes, much to the amusement of Marka.

The dynamics between the four clerics had become somewhat fractured since the incident with the Kishi. Both Crispin and Peregine had realised how poorly they had conducted themselves during their first attempt at enquiry, producing only lack-luster results with their particular line of questioning. Each now saw their short comings, or at least realised that their flawed cross-examining techniques, and began to clumsily improve themselves. The pair went to far as to meekly approach their apparent nemesis, as to borrow her translator and acquire something to offer Jaali's men to more adequately prepare for their next attempt. Victoria seemed to see the investment as worth while as she provided some higher quality rations, either out of a gesture of good will or to foster latent talents.

In contrast to the introspective resolve of Crispin and Peregine, their comrades had only become more deluded in their fanaticism. Often the two would be seen feeding into each other's speculations in silent whispers, under the guise of prayer. Whether due to arrogance or stupidity, Randi and Benedict both saw no fault with their conduct during the interview. As neither were responsible for recording the supernatural to their superiors, the quality of the results did not matter to them. Their 'divinely inspired' ego could not accept any criticism about their behaviour, dismissing it outright as heretical beliefs. Victoria had already spoken to Arthur about their actions and was assured that he would get them under control.

Leo and Arthur seemed to naturally accept the role of social bridge between the two parties, as Victoria's motives and actions were constantly scrutinised by both sides. While both could trust her to support them and offer assistance, they would constantly belittle the adze with-in their respective circles. As such her human proxies had to coordinate the efforts to relatively high success, with Arthur corralling the clerics and Leo managing the delegated tasks with Jaali's team. Arthur's almost suicidal desire to challenge the large native predators inflated his reputation among the mercenaries, although the rough translation of his assigned moniker “Naked Honey Badger” was not communicated. Conversely Leo spent many of the long nights conversing with her fellow countrymen, sharing exaggerated war stories from their respective pasts. Julianna would often listen in, enthralled by a world she had been only recently been discovering.

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This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

It was now two days since the small caravan had departed from the port city, they had made exceptional progress considering the inexperienced members of the group. Finding a partially covered area, the Jaali made the decision to settle down for the night, coordinating the construction temporary tents and setting various traps on the perimeter. The party centred themselves around the exhausted steads, being that they were their most valuable asset, as getting stranded out in the wilds would be far more dangerous than missing one of their own. There were scatterings of villages across the plains, but none in the immediate area that could provide assistance or transport.

Food was quickly prepared and distributed under the peaceful twilight sky, with only Victoria not getting a share. Julianna and Rose did have the option to taste the meal to satisfy any curiosity they held, but did not usually they did not impose beyond the initial taste. Rose mostly inquisitive in anything sweet, but was disinterested in most of the meals unless they included local fruits and certain root vegetables. Julianna on the other hand was eager to try anything, as her prior diet was particularly bland with the exception of a dish known as alms*, that were donated by her homeland's nobility. Her enthusiasm was occasionally exploited by Marka and Naeem who offered foods not-commonly eaten due to their particularly strong tastes. When Kahina had asked about their pranks, the adze only asked the mercenaries to confirm that: it was consumed by the populace and generally safe to eat. If her familiar wished to experience bitter or spicy meals, it was up to her to manage her tolerance.

At some point in the evening, the adze had produced a rather unique blade from her bags, placing it boiling water for reasons particular to her own practices. “What is that knife for?” Kahina asked, receiving questioning looks from Jaali's party. “I was about to source my own meal from Leo, unless you wish to volunteer. There is little reason as to ask the others, only Leo from our circle will offer his up willingly and I did not hire the mercenaries as a food source.” The tension remained as the answer was translated to the assembled rangers, with the accompaniment of a somewhat muted religious prayer being offered in the background.

Wanting to repay her saviour, Kahina cautiously volunteered her blood once the process had been explained. She had been given three options as to where the incision was to be made, either: her chest, arms or legs. Given her mostly social tasks the translator chose to have the incision made into her thigh, as it would be mostly unseen by onlookers. After being given consent, Victoria then carefully cleaned her dark legs and providing a piece of wood to bite into if she desired. As the knife cleanly cut into her flesh, flashbacks of emotionally-fuelled violence entered her mind. The calming words of her mistress soothed her as blood trickled down the blade's grove as it pooled into an awaiting cup.

Content with her meagre takings over several breaths, soft bandages were soon applied to the surgical wound only moments after the bleeding started. The small volume of liquid was quickly drank while Julianna offered a considerably larger amount of sweet liquor for her compliance. Only Marka and Jaali made any attempt to check up on the wound, confirming the seemingly benign laceration was indeed mostly harmless. Marka also insisted on examining the carefully crafted blade, only to return it soon after finding no traces of magic. Her supernatural sight seemed to extend past living creatures, as the twin's masks seemed to hold blessings of spirits which would watch over them in return for regular offerings**.

From the fragments of conversation she had heard before they left her ear shot, there was some discussion about the adze's meals. Jaali and Amne both were curious as to the foreigner's alcohol, the translator's description of the sweet drink had piqued their interest. The common palm wine was an enjoyable pass time when they could afford to do so, even so the liquor made from fruits of distant lands was ever tempting. Marka eventually was over-ruled once the younger brother, Naeem, was tempted by their shared pass time. Jaali's orders allowed the exchange, provided that it was consensual from both parties. Leo was quickly called over to discuss the matter, roping Kahina in on long discussion on the types of “English” alcohol.

Later as Kahina fell asleep on one of the carts, sharing the wagon space with Marka, she lay awake looking at the vast open skyline. She had expected side-effects from the ordeal, outside of the rare flash of pain if she moved her leg in a particular direction. The anticipated emotions or draining effects never manifested, only the lingering visage of the Kishi's animalistic head resembled any perceived supernatural reaction to the blade. Such experiences would occasionally wake her in the dead of night, only to be reassured by Julianna's gentle hand that guided her gently back to sleep.