Mum and Dad,

Is this what it was like for you? Being part of a team, learning to build off each other is strange. Caleb and Cassie run around with papers everywhere, and Cassie usually ends up covered in ink everytime she tries to draw her maps. Wallace showed me how to find notable ingredients he prefers. Mostly the kind of trees that provided good building and crafting material. Each of us bring something to the team, but I only ever thought that was regarding our different proficiencies. Proclus is smart, and a good leader, but he’s quick to rely on others, especially Hota or Wallace for advice. Cassie and Caleb are good friends, especially when you let them ramble on about their respective studies. Wallace is quick to help you find a tool to make your work easier.

Hota is… distant. He’s proven himself incredibly reliable, but tends to avoid talking. He tends to teach me in his own ways though, walking over to point out a mistake I might have made. This one time during a hike, he stopped to point out safer areas, and pointed out if we were being watched by an animal.

Lyra

Riding through a forest in a wagon was bumpier than Lyra had imagined. She wasn’t sure what she had imagined exactly, but it never occurred to her how uneven unpaved roads were, especially in the wilds. The wagon was relatively smooth over the cobblestone roads, but here there were only natural paths set in between the trees, carved out by whatever strange animals lived nearby. The morning fog chilled them, but it lay at a thin enough layer to not obscure their vision as they rode through. Lyra had decided to catch up on her reading of the Corps’ bestiary, leaning her upper half out of the front of the wagon with Proclus and Cassie, absentmindedly kicking her legs up and down. Caleb was cleaning some brushes and Wallace was tinkering in the bag, mumbling about the bumpy road.

“So wait, wulves are how big?” Lyra was looking at a drawing of a shaggy haired four legged creature.

“They come up to our horse’s bellies. Last one I saw was about four feet. They like to hunt in groups so we should watch for those. The wagons and horses make it easier to fend them off if they get too brave.”

“And what about the Ursa?” Lyra had flipped the page, landing on a creature with thick and stocky hind legs and long forearms. Its face was drawn in a way that Lyra found cute, except for the long claws

“Too big, too fast. Best to avoid their territories.’ Hota called out from the back. Lyra turned to see him eyeing her from the corner of his eye.

“Really? They can’t be that dangerous, they look so cute here.”

“Well they’re as deadly as they are cute, especially when there are cubs around.”

“So these things hunt people?”

“Rare. Attacks are more often a result of defending their territory or young.” Hota spoke up again.

“Don’t mean we should walk up to one regardless.” Wallace added. Lyra kept flipping through pages as they gave her basic information. The Felinus, large yet sleek creatures that, according to Hota, were so stealthy that one wouldn’t notice it until its jaws were sinking into one’s throat. The Mustell, various rodent-like animals that displayed more aggression than their bigger counterparts. Lyra moved on to the text on Herbalism, scanning through the various plants and herbs, trying to connect what was drawn or described with what was around her. She began to notice a change in the trees, from oaks and various other similar trees to massive trees with brownish red wood. They were taller than Lyra could possibly understand, and so thick that the natural path carved by the forest’s ancient wandering beasts curved around them.

"All these creatures are incredible." Lyra said as she looked through page after page of illustrations and details of creatures. As a scout Lyra was able to study these creatures, but only behavior wise, as well as studying the natural weapons they possessed. Scouts served as fledgling Rangers in the corps, as they were simply designed to gather information and materials if need be. It was in trips such as this where one would typically be paired with a Ranger, in a simpler form of apprenticeship. However, Lyra's situation had been a unique one, as due to her excellent performance in her academics in this field, she had been given express permission to skip ahead to the apprenticeships. Lyra had made the correct assumption Hota was a substitute for the team's Ranger, but only after she had inquired of the team's previous one.

"Took a bad fall, hurt her leg. She's keeping charge of the bird cage with Tybris while she recovers." Wallace had said.

Now she wasn't sure what she should do. Hota didn't seem inclined to teach her, and Lyra wondered if he had been informed of this role, or if it was even his role to begin with. But as she flipped through page after page Hota would pipe up with information, explaining to her in a few short words how to avoid them, and what aggressive or passive signs to look for.

“Remember Lyra, we are here to learn and observe, granted permission by those who already live here. These animals, we do our best to avoid them and their territories.”

“You are here to learn, not take.” Hota confirmed.

“I understand. Will we be meeting with them on this trip?”

Before Proclus could respond, Hota turned to face them. “We have arrived.”

“We’ll deal with this later.” Proclus said to Lyra as he turned and pulled on the reins, stopping the horses.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

Before them sat an open area, in the middle a tarp held up by wooden poles. Around the tent were various people attending to tasks and stands that formed a semicircle. From piling animal hides atop a bundle to tending to a few dogs wearing harnesses. Others were setting various crafts on tables and blankets, from tools and baskets to clothing. An older man was overlooking the various stands, and while he wore no shirt, an intricately designed armband. He faced away from the wagon, but turned when the creaking wheels stopped a few feet from the circle.

Proclus dropped from the wagon, holding a hand out in greeting. The old man as well as a younger man and woman walked to greet the group. Hota stepped next to Proclus, and spoke in a tongue Lyra could not recognize.

“This is the chieftain of the Itzo tribe, it was Hota and his children that we first made contact with.” Proclus whispered to Lyra.

“How did that go about?”

“Well, they met with Commander Dao and Director Gehrlan, and no one was capable of communicating with the other. They presented us with a few members, like Tybris and Hota, who spent time with us, learned our language while some corps members did the same with the tribe.”

“Must have been some first conversation.”

“That’s the funny part,” Proclus smiled at her, “It started with trade. We showed them some tools, they showed us theirs. It’s how we approach diplomacy now. They need something, they give something to us of equal value, and vice versa.”

“So what did we give to them?”

“You rode in it.”

Lyra watched as Hota handed them some scrolls and they walked over to the wagon, looking in particular to the wheels. Lyra noted that some boats were around the clearing, tied like sleds.

“You’re trading them schematics and the wagon?”

“We are. Get your equipment ready, we’re leaving the wagon here.” Cassie, Caleb, Wallace and Lyra all turned to grab their packs. When they came back, Hota had turned to all of them.

“Chieftain Atohi welcomes us and our trade. He says we can eat with the tribe here before we depart. I informed him that a translator will arrive soon to help with deciphering the papers.”

“Understood, what can we do to help set things up?” Hota walked the group to the center of the clearing and began guiding them. Lyra was tasked with helping Wallace guide the tribe’s boats into a rough circle, keeping them upside down to sit on. Cassie and Caleb helped two young individuals with striking similarity carry food as Proclus and Hota dug a fire pit. Chief Atohi placed charcoal inside, setting it ablaze. The food composed of foraged nuts, roots, and a recent hunt.

The meat appeared to be some sort of rabbit, and Hota set to skinning and cleaning it as the two younger tribe members set to grinding the foraged nuts and mixing them into a large bowl.

They waited for the charcoal to sufficiently warm, and then Hota lay the meat over the charcoal.

"We value cooking food well, so we all work to make it so." Hota said to Lyra. "Make yourself useful."

Proclus arranged them to lay one of their blankets on the ground, mixing in with the others. Cassie and Caleb helped the two tribe members, who Lyra assumed were siblings. Wallace and Proclus removed their own food from the wagon, heating up the porridge over the fire and sharing bread. Lyra made herself useful to Hota by helping him with cleaning the meat. The food was made ready by noon.

Lyra watched as they cut and split the food between a total of fourteen people. Hota's people used bowls carved from wood. The bowls themselves were carved smooth and light, and Lyra couldn't help but run her hands over them. They passed around waterskins as they ate the meat and nuts. It was a light meal but Lyra was satisfied with it. Proclus and the Chief spoke to each other through Hota's translation. They discussed their style of cooking, the Chief taking note of their recipe for bread and Proclus asking on where to find their foraged foods.

Lyra felt a hand on her shoulder, a woman who pointed to Lyra's book. Lyra opened it and handed it over, watching as she flipped through the pages. Lyra then noted her weapon tied to her side, a handle of wood with a triangular stone set at one end. It was an ax, small and lighter than Lyra had ever seen. Lyra pointed to it, and the woman smiled and untied it from her own bad. They sat and observed each others' tools, Lyra running a hand over the stone blade. It was crafted finely, and she confirmed that it felt lighter than she thought an ax should be. The woman held the book to her, open to a page of an illustration Lyra had made of a dog she had played with up in her Isle. It was much thinner than the dogs here, with much less fur and a longer snout. The woman said something to Hota.

“She is asking if your dogs are normally this thin, or if it is starved.”

“No, they are this thin. We train them to catch small things, and race each other.” After Hota translated, the woman nodded in understanding.

“We use ours to protect us and help us track.” Hota explained before the Chief spoke to him again. “Chieftain Atohi says we are free to explore the structures, so long as you respect our territory.”

Proclus turned to the chief, nodding. The chief in turn held out a hand, palm forward and spoke something. Hota informed the team that it was something akin to a blessing. Proclus ordered them to reorganize as the woman handed Lyra back her book, and she the woman’s small ax. As they did, members of the tribe handed them bundles of animal furs and smoked meats.

As they set off, the members of the tribe stayed behind. Hota explained that other tribe members would meet here to trade and stay together as they migrated back towards the sea. Lyra asked him about the sea, having only read about it. He described it briefly, an expanse of water, high waves, and fish the size of boats. The forest came alive with birdsong as they walked further in, crunching over fallen dried leaves and soft dirt, kicking up dust as they walked. Hota made sure to guide us away from clawed trees and foul smelling areas. The further the group walked into the forest the bigger the trees became, the reddish brown behemoths taller than Lyra could see and wider than two wagons put one in front of the other. The trees grew closer and closer together , until they had to walk single file. Hota pointed out a herd of massive creatures grazing between the trees, with massive hand shaped antlers atop their heads. Lyra recognized them as described by Caleb before their trip.

The terrain had mostly been uphill, until they reached the edge of the hill and the structure came into view.

It was massive, oval like an egg. Lyra had thought the trees were the tallest things she had ever seen, and the ruins rose twice as high. The gray stone was a stark contrast to the reddish brown and green, save for the flakes of moss that grew on its side.

“Mighty impressive.” Wallace muttered, taking out a spy glass to peer through it at the structure.

Proclus set his bag down, turning to them. “Let’s rest for now, we got a lot of work to do.”