Tsuta was mesmerized by a hummingbird flitting among the blossoms of a large trumpet vine growing below the overlook when Usha burst around the corner, out of breath.
“Raven! What are you doing here? What’s the matter?”
Raven was the nickname Tsuta had given Usha due to her black glossy hair – unusual for a dwarf.
“Abbey attacked...fire…many dead” she managed to spit out between deep gulps of air, her hands braced against her knees as she doubled over from exertion. In only her fourth week, Usha and the rest of the initiates hadn’t yet completed the rigorous physical training that was a cornerstone of Sifu’s curriculum.
Tsuta handed her his waterskin and she drank greedily while catching him up between gulps on the attack, the situation at the abbey, and her instructions to retrieve those on watch at the beacons.
She was panicked. Not surprising as it was likely the first time she had witnessed the violent death of those close to her, particularly at the scale she just described.
He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
“It’s okay. Breathe. We’ll be all right. Sounds like the immediate danger has passed. You have to keep your wits about you in these situations if you’re going to master your Ki. Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.”
His calm tone and reminder of their core teaching helped Usha regain some of her composure as she drew in a deep breath, her cheeks ballooning in long audible exhale. Tsuta slung his pack over his shoulder and grabbed his staff but stopped short just before they turned the corner to descend the outpost stairs.
Realizing he had stopped, Usha turned to see him drop his things and move across the yard area to the beacon itself. Reaching down, he picked up two logs and a blue sphere and tossed them into the fire. Holding her gaze he said:
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“We can’t forget our duty to those who rely on us for early warning. Dangerous creatures have breached the pass, and they need to know”
Her eyes followed as he raised his gaze above the beacon. Almost immediately a thick ribbon of blue smoke began to push its way skyward from the chimney. Though Usha knew how the beacons operated; this was the first time she had seen one of the flares in action. The column of dark blue rose rapidly, and straight as an arrow, somehow unaffected by the wind. It also seemed to light up the sky around it, giving off more luminescence than she expected in the late afternoon cloud cover. They watched in silence for a few seconds before Tsuta’s voice brought her back to the moment.
“I always wondered how the flares could be seen at night. There is obviously a light spell included in the incantation – see how the smoke glows?” He retrieved his pack and staff. “Let’s go get the others”.
After following the stairs down, around the outcropping the beacon had been built upon, the elf and dwarf skirted the foothills of the Glimmerstone mountains for close to three miles as they made their way southeast towards the central outpost. Constantly visible in the distance on their left, the stone structure of the Luminarium still gave off a thin trail of black smoke. Tsuta probed the initiate for more information as they walked.
“Tell me about the creatures that attacked us. How many? Did anyone recognize what they were?”
“No one could name them.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, her eyes fixed on the path in front of them. “There were two, and they must have been close to seven feet tall or more, slim build, almost like they were starving - skin stretched over bone, it didn’t look natural… and they had a big hook sticking out of the tops of their heads.” Her voice broke “With wicked looking claws on their hands and feet, and a long tail that ended in a sharp spike.”
“You’re doing great” Tsuta reassured her “I know it isn’t easy to think back on something so horrible. Did they use weapons or magic?”
“I didn’t see any weapons, so I guess magic since they also set the whole abbey on fire”
Tsuta nodded almost imperceptibly in agreement before adding:
“There must have been more than two if no one was left alive to tell us about it, which means there are others still out there somewhere. So, the question is – what were they after and where did they go?”