The Celestial Forge
By: Schin Ka'Tharos
CHAPTER 14
(Part 2)
I caught a slight, almost imperceptible pause in her motions as she placed the cube inside a pocket somewhere amidst her robes.
“My family name? Why do you ask?” she said casually and brought her eyes up to meet mine.
I gave no response other than a slight reassuring smile and I let my question hang in the silence between us.
After a moment she seemed to come to some conclusion and let out a long breath before speaking. She relaxed as she spoke but her eyes remained intent on me.
“It’s probably not a name you know. It's an old clan but never extremely prominent. Now we are almost nothing.” She sighed again.``I am Ciara’Indar Solarin of House Solarin. My brother is Adeon’Indar Solarin of House Solarin.”
The name didn't ring a bell which was good as it wasn't one of the few I was looking out for.
“House Solarin? Of where?” I asked.
“Currently in Stone Crown City,” she said. “But, it’s complicated-”
“It really, really is complicated boyo.” Adeon jumped to the ground from a nearby tree and gave me a formal bow. “Adeon’Indar Solarin at your service. Now, we can discuss our family and the Seekers Guild once we are, in fact, safe from the Seekers Guild. I hear you have a solution for our predicament?”
“He can tell us once we get the Skiff.” Ciara said and started walking, forcing Adeon and I with no choice but to follow her.
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We were high up on the slope of a sparsely wooded ravine. Massive gray stones covered the steep terrain and slowed our descent as we bouldered down. The cave we left was indeed the location I had crashed into after being launched skyward from my collision with the jackal.
Before we started heading down the sharp face of the ravine Ciara took out a few small strips of cloth wrapped within a large leaf. They had a pungent medicinal aroma and clearly had been soaked in some type of ointment or salve.
"Schin wrap your hand with one of these while I take care of Adeon. Then I'll help wrap your shoulder and back and replace the old ones before we head down. "
In the chaos of the evening's events I hadn't allowed myself to appreciate the new sweeping burns and cuts covering Adeons arms, torso and neck. There was an especially nasty wound on his right arm which was now exposed due to any clothing covering his arm being burnt off. While he had given no indication of injury or pain prior he made a big fuss as Ciara applied the treatment, complaining and cursing profusely.
After I was rebandaged Ciara pulled out a small jar and downed its contents before leading the way down the ravine.
During our descent I quietly wondered to myself how a Skiff would benefit us at all. As previously mentioned, the Seekers Guild is extremely protective of their secret techniques. One of these techniques is famously their monopoly on the propulsion ability for any Skiff or Skycraft. Only specifically trained Forgers, called Navigators, and high ranking Guild members both with heavy oaths to the Guild are allowed to learn the propulsion technique. Everything I had gathered from our short acquaintance led me to believe the two should in no way be able to use a Skiff.
Our pace was slow due to my feeble body and it took a few hours to make our way down to the base of the ravine. Night completely overtook us less than a third of the way into our descent and we were only able to continue navigating due to Ciara manifesting an orb of Flame in front of the group. This display of control of her Flame surprised me but I said nothing at the time.
At the base of the ravine the trees and various flora grew thick and the sound of rushing water entered the audio landscape. Eventually we reached an open embankment where the pair had left a Skiff tucked away among a boulder grouping not far from the narrow river.
I had seen similar Skiffs before on my journey to Jaspen but they were all either much smaller, designed for only a few passengers or much bigger, designed for mass transportation. This one looked to be about 25 to 30ft feet long and extremely sleek, like a skyboat made from an arrowhead of marbled bright red stone and mercury silver metal. It looked out of place among the earthy tones of the waste.
The Seekers Guild insignia was carved into the hull with another smaller emblem painted on either side. The two smaller emblems had a single falling star with wings on either side encircled by a twisting pattern. I was unfamiliar with this second insignia but knew it would be the specific division of the Seekers Guild that they were a part of. With this new information I updated my working theory that I was piecing together regarding Ciara and Adeon.
I collapsed next to the vehicle. Our trip down the ravine served as a reminder of my awful state. The short descent had forced me to realize that I was not merely still injured. I was still deteriorating. I required healing and more essence urgently.
Despite their hospitality and kindness I was still wary of Ciara and Adeon. A few factors had caused me to take pause, not the least of which was the fact that they seemed to be mortal enemies with one of the three Supreme Guilds. However, risk is unavoidable, it just needs to be properly indexed.
I would need to take a gamble on my new companions and I would need to be as clever as still water.
Next Chapter...
Chapter 15