“Hey, help me up,” Chess held her uninjured hand out for Ashley to help her sit up, careful not to bump her broken arm, so she could take a good look around.
"Oh! Wow," she breathed as she took in the immediate scene.
They'd set her down near a small outlet stream from a larger body of water. The sound she'd taken for distant thunder turned out to be an immense waterfall behind her and to the right.
"Is that the same waterfall as before?" she wondered, studying the huge curtain of falling water. She followed it up to its source: another larger boulder of granite that hung in the sky. Though this black and red lined rock only looked to be 30 or 40 yards up. Its entire underside was all smooth curves; likely from erosion from the falling water. This frankly huge rock was fed from an even bigger one that disappeared into a perpetual cloud that hugged much of its bulk. Chess caught the odd sight of the huge snow-capped top that towered into even more clouds. That is a floating mountain she decided. The sight made her giddy with awe. It's so damn awesome here.
Unfortunately, this sight was in another area of the sky from the exit rock. It all floated over the tunnels they’d recently left. Though she doubted it would be easier to fight all that falling water to get on top of them.
"I believe so," Lynn said from behind her. "It's beautiful here," she added in a breathless voice.
Nodding at the Skunk-kin, Chess thought that just might be the understatement of the century.
At the base of the falls, a large cobalt-blue lake continuously rippled from the immense flow of water. The same lake the others had just swum partly across until they reached this small outlet stream.
Huge trees hugged most of the shore. Some dozen were of a size to the Ironwoods outside the rift but different, with broader leaves and a reddish colored bark, but most of the trees looked to be the size and types of more normal trees back on earth, a mix of evergreens and hardwoods with even a few that looked a lot like weeping willows.
Less than a mile away in a small clearing on the far side of the lake from where they now rested, Chess could make out brightly colored circular mounds with faint wisps of white smoke trailing into the darkening sky. Most of the apparent structures were half-submerged into the water’s edge with a few larger ones further back on the dry land.
Mikel came up beside them and muttered something in his language along with some gestures toward the village. Ashley translated.
"They call it Lakehome, I think," she explained smiling at her new friend and nodding.
"Original," Chess smirked then tried to stand. It wasn't the greatest idea, as she thoughtlessly put weight on her broken arm eliciting a spike of pain that promptly put her back on her butt.
"Damn," she swore breathlessly through the pain.
She tried again, and when she finally made it onto shaking legs, vertigo assailed her and she swayed a bit before sitting back down with an abrupt thump. And another breath-stealing bout of pain.
“Yup, not a good idea,” Chess muttered, deciding to stay put for now and absorb her surroundings.
Then the pit in her stomach made itself loudly known, and she smiled sheepishly. "I need to eat something," she observed.
"More than you know," Lynn encouraged. "You need to stuff yourself so Ashley can heal you before we meet his full tribe. We can't look weak for our first impressions."
"They already carried me this far," Chess pointed out.
"A quick recovery can have a similar effect. Especially after the fight we had," Lynn countered. The kin woman dug into one of the small pouches she now wore and handed Chess a handful of her sour berries.
"Thanks," Chess mumbled around a mouthful.
"Start with these then see if you can't summon your vault. That's another thing we need to discuss. You storing all of our food was very shortsighted on my part. Ashley has been living on these berries and a couple of fish Mikel caught for the last two days," Lynn said.
Chess just nodded.
After eating most of Lynn's pouch of berries and earning herself a different type of bellyache, Chess tentatively summoned her vault and removed some of the prepared fish, and munched on it as the others around her got to work, leaving a pair of sentries. With a few of their minders heading in the direction of the village. They dove into the water and took off and a decent clip. Far faster than Chess thought she could maintain running.
It took her that long to notice the large nets of spiders some of the Muskrats had been dragging with them.
"Uh?" Chess wondered.
"Part of the payment for their help so far," Lynn explained. "Don't worry we harvested the pyth first. Much of it is hidden in the brambles and guarded by Dent’s bulk. Some of the better ones we hid under his armor. The spiders seem to ignore the skeletons," Lynn explained. "We didn't have a reliable way to move the powder through the water. We did keep the cores on us of course. Since they don't dissolve in water."
"He's still together? I wondered where he was," Chess said. "Wait, cores? As in plural?"
"Yep!" Ashley added cheerfully. "We got Decomposition and Waterweaver spinneret cores."
"Huh, are they good?"
"They're cores," Lynn snorted.
"I mean, which one do you want and what do they do?" Chess asked, remembering the deal for the amulet.
"To be honest I'm not sure if I want either. Neither really fits my current arrangement and the Waterweaver will be dependent on this rift to rank up. And that’s not to mention it being a textile production core. It might be best to sell it with the information on this rift to the delvers association. It would be excellent for a dedicated craftsman to have access to waterproof silk production. We could even work on a deal for cloth if we can make the deal with a producer. If we don't put it up for auction or make it part of the Delver’s deal as I said. Sholer would know who best to sell it to either way," Lynn said softly. "They may have something better to offer me in exchange or at auction. I'm leaning toward taking it for that. The decomposition would be great for Ashley since she already has Rot. It would subsume it and possibly strengthen bone, if it is the proper variant, and let her keep a free slot. Not to mention being a huge upgrade," Lynn reasoned.
"I don't know, I can think of a few ways being able to make spiderwebs and lines could be used in combat." Chess imagined a familiar character swinging from rooftops.
"It would be a waste." Lynn shook her head in disagreement. "Unless you take it, and I take the decomposition. You're already well into crafting," Lynn suggested.
"No, I think I may be stuck with what I have for now, given the abilities I have on offer,” Chess trailed off into thought. This place has been kinda shit for me in every possible way, including loot... everything is tailored to Ashley. Which I have to admit is reassuring in its own way. Don’t be an idiot. It's fine. You’ll still make plenty of coin out of this, she told herself ruefully.
She looked at Lynn then at Ashley. Maybe not ‘all bad’ at all.
“You leveled up?” Ashley asked, perking up at the subject change.
“Yup all the way to six,” Chess confirmed smiling at her daughter.
“So, an active and a passive?” Ashley confirmed.
Chess nodded and winked. “Yup.”
“What are your choices?” Ashley asked.
Chess shunted the window over to her daughter.
“I hate not knowing what most of these abilities actually do,” Chess griped as she stared at her choices herself.
“Care to fill me in?” Lynn asked.
Chess nodded and gave the kin woman the run down before dismissing her window to watch the waterfall in the near distance. The light of the sinking sun was dappling the surface of the lake and casting a rainbow of colors through the falling water. It was peaceful aside from the distant roar of the falls. Which served to drown the sounds of the world.
“I'll just give you a rundown on what I think they are, based on others I've seen. The first five passives you mentioned sound pretty straightforward. They all likely do what they suggest,” Lynn said, drawing her attention away from the sight after a few minutes of thoughtful silence.
“Now, Elegy is a consecration ability I’ve read of before. Probably a result of all the undead we fought. It’s one of a half-dozen such skills that are used to destroy or prevent the raising of the undead. You know Charismatic. Spread the Magic likely spreads abilities to others. How many synergies does it have?” Lynn asked.
“Six.”
Lynn cringed but then looked thoughtful. "It would be hard to level but with six is likely one of the higher percentage and range versions of that line of buffing magic. If it's based on target status, the military would salivate over you. Well, more than normal.”
“Target status?” Chess prompted. The skill was one of two she was seriously considering from her offered Actives. The other was Summon-Spirit-Animal.
“Yeah, some are based on your stats and others are based on the stats of the people benefiting from your skill. The problem with the first is the extensive training required to not only make sure all your stats are positive but to get them as high as possible to increase the power of the provided ability. With the latter, the onus is on others. I suspect Totem-Pole is similar but rooted in the totem itself and may be faith restricted.”
“Oh, okay," Chess said. Though according to you I'm above average in everything already. "What magic is spread if you had to guess?"
“Generally any passives that you choose or receive from your pyths. Usually the number active is dependent on the ability in some way.”
What did I have for passives? Chess thought, bringing up her sheet. Blood loss, sustenance, environment from snow, sonic resistance, faith resistance, and musical notation? Uh is it worth it?
Status
Name: Chess Stewart
Age: 18
Race: Half Wood-Elf/Half-Human
Sex: Female
Level: 6
Exp: 201,835/210,000
Class: Minstrel
Subclass: N/A
Unspent Stats points: 2
Unspent Skill points: 25
Profession 1 Carpenter: Low Journeyman
Profession 2 Bard: Low Journeyman
Pyth and Gems: 4/4 Free slots filled. 3/4 Heritage slots filled.
Freya’s Blessing. +4 Char, +2 Agi, +2 Dex. Increased Fertility and +3 Animal handling: Cats
Perks:
Bronze Hands: Increases the temperature required to burn your hands by 900% +1 Constitution.
Stats
Strength
14 (2)
Dexterity
18 (4)
Agility
17 (3)
Constitution
14 (2)
Willpower
14 (2)
Mind
15 (2)
Charisma
22 (6)
Perception
14 (2)
Faith
14 (2)
Luck
13(1)
Skills
Framing Const.
30
Singing
32
Woodworking
27
Instrument: Piano
28
Instrument: Guitar
26
Aqueduct Const.
16
Knitting/Weaving
23
Sculpting
13
First-aid
15
Perform
21
Language: English
31
Language: Brastian
24
Metallurgy
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
10
Swimming
16
Instrument: Bass
10
Dance
11
Archery
13
Writing: English
18
Hunting/Gathering
14
Survival
14
Steam Forging
10
Ride: Horses
4
Animal handling: Cats
6
Running
8
Whistling
7
Instrument: Harmonica
3
Climbing
3
Spears
1
Shields
5
Healing
3
Language: Wood Elf
8
Drafting
12
Tinkering
15
Chemistry
3
Mana vision
5
Massage
10
Instrument: Percussion
8
Skinning
6
Daggers
2
Math
24
Foundation Const.
24
Plastering
16
Herbology
12
Lumberjack
14
Dodge
8
Stealth
1
Spy
1
Medium Armor
3
Maces and clubs
10
War-Hammers
12
Delvers sign
4
Identify traps
2
Polearms
2
Writing: Brastian 14
Pyth, Cores, and Gems
Thump Pyth: Common: Rank 1
Active: Amplify (multiply) any percussive sound by Rank x dexterity(mod), [Current 4 times], the caster creates, for 10 x Rank x Dexterity(mod) minutes, [Current 40 minutes]. It can be used 5 x Rank x dexterity(mod) times a day, [Current 20 times].
Passive: Increased sonic tolerance by Rank x Will (mod) %, [Current 2%]
Inventory Pyth: Uncommon: Rank 4
Allows access to storage of (Rank x Mind(mod) feet) cubed [Current: 8ft high by,8ft wide, by 8ft deep space]. Takes 1 minute-Mind to retrieve one item or container, and 1 minute-Mind seconds to store one item or container. [Current 45 seconds]
Summon Musical Instrument Pyth: Uncommon: Rank 2
Allows the summoning of a magical replica of a musical instrument the user is intimately familiar with. Rank x Charisma (Mod)/Day [Current 12] , lasts (Rank + Char(mod))*10 minutes, [Current 120 minutes]
Amber Core: Rare: Rank 1
Active: Apply Rank x Will(mod) square inches, [Current 2sq inches] of sap per second to an injured organism to help promote healing and prevent infection. The healing rate of wounds increased by 5(Rank x Will(mod)) percent/day, [Current 10%] that it remains applied. Created sap loses efficacy after Rank x Will(mod) minutes, [Current 2 minutes] if not applied to a wound.
Passive: Slows the blood loss from your wounds by 2.5(Rank x Will(mod)) percent/second. [Current 5%]. And increases the resilience of the heart muscle by an equal percentage.
Wooden Gem: Rare: Rank 4
Allows free manipulation and adjustment of deadwood at a rate of Rank x Char(mod) cubic feet a Minute, [Current 24 cubic feet]. For 2 x Rank x Charisma(mod) minutes every 4hrs. [Current 48 minutes].
Passive 1: receive Rank x Charisma (mod) percent of daily required sustenance from the sun. Max 50% [Current 24%]
Passive 2: allows a detailed perception of the interior properties of the wood that you are working on with the Gem's magic. Including flaws, density, structure, and moisture content. Accuracy improves with rank.
Snow-Flurry Pyth: Uncommon: Rank 1
Create a localized snow flurry. The maximum area affected = Will (mod) x Rank x 10 yards. [Current 20 yards]. Flurry area can be condensed by Will x Rank x 5 percent, increasing the volume of snow by an equal percentage. [Current 10%] Lasts 5 x Rank x Will (Mod) minutes. [Current 10 minutes]. Can be used Rank x Will (mod) times per day. [Current 2 times].
Passive: Increases cold tolerance by Rank x will (mod)%. [Current 2%]
Infuse Minor Totem Pyth: Uncommon: Rank 1
Active: Infuse and combine your magic and magical ingredients into small detailed charms that can boost your God or Goddess’ natural or animal aspects. The only restriction is your imagination and available materials. Requires materials in line with the desired effect. More potent imagery and materials will generally create stronger effects. Expect to fail.
You can produce Musical charms without the following restrictions or faith requirements.
Freya’s available aspects: death, love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and magic.
Freya’s Animals: Cats, Boars, and Falcons.
Restriction 1: All Charms are restricted to use by worshipers of Freya or Divine interpretations of her associated Animals.
Restriction 2: All Charms require consistent exposure to worshipers of Freya or Divine interpretations of her associated Animals or will lose power over Rank x Faith(mod) days. Items in stasis are unaffected until removed.
Passive 1: Increases resistance to Faith-based attacks and unwanted Faith-based effects by Rank X Faith (mod) when wearing a charm you create, [Current 2%]
Passive 2: Increases the efficacy of charms for the creator’s own use by Rank x Faith (mod)% [Current 2%]
Active Abilities
Fascinate/Charm: Rank 2: As you play soothing melodies, you can keep one person per rank + Char(mod) [8] people and/or creatures enraptured if they fail a will check against the caster. The weak of will may even fight for you.
Shaped Growth: Rank 2: Play and sing with intent and the world will bloom about you. Plants in a radius of (Char(mod)*Rank meters [Current 12 meters] about you will grow to your intent, as you play music or sing. Growth speed is up to Rank*Char(mod) inches a second. [Current 12 inches] Growth will die if the soil isn’t sufficient to support it.
Passive Abilities
Musical Memory: Rank 1:
Rank 1: Grants perfect recall (lyrics and musical notation) for any song you’ve heard performed in a similar arrangement more than 10 times or have played more than 5 times in a similar arrangement.
“That puts my passive choices into a new light, huh?” Chess thought out loud.
“Yeah, if you go that route,” Lynn agreed, turning with Chess who looked back at what the muskrat-kin were doing. They’d laid out and emptied all the nets and had begun sorting all the various parts into neat piles.
“Carrying on, it might be advisable to travel with a party that has more than one musician if you want a spiritual instrument. Which, if it's like the bard's spirit lyre, will summon an instrument you can play songs on that can be played back later. I suspect your version is the same but with a choice or a different instrument. Singing Charms is likely very close to Spiritual Instrument, but instead, lets you make charms that sing. That or it's another charm ability, and the one you have is more than powerful enough for now,” Lynn said.
“Faithful is the faith version of Charismatic, both of which you can imagine mixed with Spread.
“But my choice would be Amplify if you go with Spread the Magic. Since I imagine it's closest to your class synergies. That and likely cheaper to rank up. How many pyth?” Lynn asked.
“Two on amplify,'' Chess said.
“Perfect. Thump and your instrument pyth?” Lynn clarified.
Chess nodded.
“Like I thought, both relatively cheap pyths. That might be the best ability you're offered right now. Especially if it’s more than a sound Amplification,” Lynn said.
“Not sure if I want it right now though,” Chess tempered.
“Improved-charms is likely just what it signifies. Improved Totem charms. Or an improvement of your charm ability.” Lynn shrugged with this explanation.
“What about Set the Stage?” Chess asked.
Lynn shrugged. "That one could be anything but I would take it literally. It likely produces a stage for you to perform on. Or lets you adjust the environment in some way to improve your performance with a minor domain. Your class is Minstrel after all.”
“Summon spirit animal?” Chess asked.
“Either an incorporeal animal that boosts you passively or summons that actual animal as a semi-intelligent companion. It's a common choice for many classes. Frankly, I'm surprised you're offered it. It’s more a druid or beast-tamer ability,” Lynn explained.
“That leaves Singing Effigy, Inspire Heroics, and Thunder-snow,” Chess ticked them off on her fingers.
“All of which likely do as they sound,” Lynn said smiling. “All that said, you could wait until we get back to the heel and do some research,” Lynn suggested. “Or at least experiment with Totem charms to see if it's really for you before you trap yourself with it."
“I think you just made the decision seem more difficult,” Chess admitted. “You’re right, I should try my hand at charms first.”
“I think you should take Spirit-Instrument and Spread the magic,” Ashley said. “Or! Spirit animal then we could have a pet.”
“You have Dent,” Chess pointed out with a grin.
“Undead don’t count,” Ashley said with a scowl.
“Oh? Why not?” Chess raised an eyebrow in her direction.
“Too stupid, and they can’t play. Besides they don’t have fur.” Ashley gave a short nod as though that was all the explanation needed on the subject.
“I’m sure you could manage a tea party,” Chess teased then chuckled.
Ashley rolled her expressive eyes at Chess and turned away with a harumph.
Chess laughed louder then winced into silence when it shot pain up her arm. She returned to eating her fish and berries for a few minutes before asking Ashley to finally relieve her of the pain if possible.
Her daughter complied and the gentle light of her spell was quickly followed by a flowing wave of relief spreading through her arm, then her bruised side, before easing the aches of her various other cuts and abrasions.
The arm still ached a little after the healing but Chess chalked it up to needing even more time, or another healing, to fully heal. At least it seemed functional now when she switched to eating with it.
Her once again protesting belly encouraged her to eat more fish and she watched the sun kiss the horizon over the lake for a long time, munching, her companions in a similar contemplative mood beside her. Freya, but I'm tired. How am I so tired still? she wondered.
Ashley got up and joined Mikel in sorting through spider bits. She's come a long way from fearing spiders less than a week ago, Chess noted. Killing and gutting so many has inured her to them.
She brought up her status again to go over it in detail, to keep her mind from sleep while the others worked as they waited for the muskrat swimmers to return. Huh, I've got two free stat points for some reason. She searched through her old notifications until she found both. One for reaching level five, another for getting four of four free Pyth slots filled for the first time.
She considered where to spend them and maybe some of the skill points but decided to leave them for now. Lynn had driven it home on multiple occasions the benefit of leveling things naturally where possible, and it didn't seem to have a time limit in which they needed to be spent.
The perk she thought was good but by no means overwhelming. Though she had to admit, she didn't exactly have a huge basis for comparison.
She turned to Lynn, breaking the silence, to ask, "I'm not sure if I've asked this before but what's the difference between a class skill and not?"
Lynn leaned back to study Chess before explaining. "Mostly it's the ease with which you can improve in that skill. Which is a matter of large debate among academics. It comes down to whether you're offered a class or subclass because you're already gifted in the requisite skills or whether the world grants competence after the choice. Personally, I think it's a little of both. It's hard to test because there aren't many if any, people willing to choose classes outside their best skill sets then put the time into non-class skills."
"What came first, the chicken or the egg?" Chess smiled ruefully.
"Exactly, that's a very good analogy for it," Lynn agreed. "Mind if I use it?"
"Knock yourself out," Chess said, and Lynn frowned at her.
"You have many strange turns of phrase, you know that?" Lynn asked, her gaze momentarily more intent.
"I blame my upbringing," Chess's smile widened.
"I guess that's true for us all," Lynn agreed.
"The other benefit is it's cheaper to level the skills with your free points by one whole category. For example, it costs two points to increase any apprentice-level skill. If it's a class skill it would just cost one." Lynn shrugged.
"Thanks," Chess said and laid back to stare at the floating island that was their way out. In other words, it's a massive boost to steam-forging leveling potential. I wonder what I could make to get similar boosts to other skills. Or if the perks would even be similar?
Ashley returned from helping the others sort spiders and plopped down beside her before cuddling into Chess’s side. Her daughter's warmth was a welcome comfort drawing her closer to sleep.
"So what's the plan? If you say 'really tall ladder' I'm gonna smash you with my hammer," Chess asked Lynn, gesturing at the floating exit island.
“Really tall ladder?” Lynn said sheepishly. “More of a scaffold actually,” she corrected. "There are plenty of trees here. With your wood skill..."
“Wood can only take so much weight before it starts to fracture,” Chess shook her head, dismissing the idea.
“But you can increase its density. You’ve told me as much.”
“I don’t think it will be near enough. That is a long way up,” Chess answered levely. I don't think I can beanstalk this one.
"Well, that complicates things," Lynn said softly.
"What holds up the island? What makes it float?" Chess asked
"Skystone, of course," Lynn explained.
"Skystone. You've mentioned that before," Chess mused, trying to remember when.
"Yeah, the bad air you called helium? The one that affects your voice?" Lynn prompted.
"Yeah?"
"It's a byproduct of Skystone," Lynn explained.
"Right, I remember now. Wait. You're saying there is Skystone in the tunnels below?"
"More than that. I suspect this is a floating island just like those ones." Lynn pointed at the three islands that were dumping water into the nearby lake then to the exit one. "One that has been mined extensively. It would further explain why, other than the obvious deaths below, this rift has been forgotten. Like many other such incidents, it's likely the muskrats are the descendants of those who were trapped here by the island losing buoyancy for some reason. That or someone messed with the exit portal…" her voice trailed off with the thought.
"Oh, wow, that's amazing," Chess said, falling silent as well when the thought that they might be truly stuck hit her. The world under her suddenly felt a lot more tenuous, and a momentary bout of vertigo hit before she shook it off by studying the trees swaying in a gentle breeze. They seemed so sturdy and grounded. How isn’t the wind blowing them around at different speeds? Different surface areas and masses should make it impossible for them to remain in a tight formation like they are. I’ll blame magic until I can find another reason I guess.
Strangely, she found herself feeling more exposed now that they were out of the tunnels and knew that the ground below was floating on air.
Taking a few deep breaths Chess thought about their options and only came up with one that seemed viable. She dismissed any kind of structure immediately. It would take years or decades to complete if there was even enough wood around. It would have to be around the same height as the Eiffel Tower. Built by three people and a small tribe of muskrats. Doesn't sound likely in a reasonable amount of time. Maybe a ballista of some sort? No, the crossbow is one thing but I'm pretty sure I'd need spring steel to fire something that far straight up.
The huge trees were about a third of the height required to reach the island. But were useless as any sort of stepping stone due to the small island floating over a part of the large lake.
No, the only real option she could think of was to somehow get and experiment with Skystone.
When she brought this up to Lynn she expressed hesitance due to the extreme danger involved in its mining.
"There is a reason condemned criminals and cheap slaves are used to mine the stuff," Lynn explained. "Most of the miners die from releases of gas pockets." Lynn snapped her fingers. "And you're gone. There's no reliable way to protect yourself from it,” Lynn finished.
Chess made herself ignore the casual reference to slavery and focused on the problem. What could I make for a breathing apparatus or as a way of preventing dangerous buildups of helium?
"Many of the skeletons below were from dwarven miners with enchanted gear. They must've had a way to do it safely," Chess argued to expand on her thoughts.
"Dwarves are known for keeping their clan secrets close. They wouldn't share anything with dad, and he was a half-blood," Ashley explained, turning Chess's attention to the sleepy girl. "None of the mining trinkets we’ve found have anything to do with protection from this 'helium' or anything else like it. They all give boosts to mining skill, mining luck, or hitting the stone true," Ashley added.
“That’s assuming they were even mining for Skystone. It is dangerous to mine one of these islands for obvious reasons not the least of which are you have to remove an amount of mass equal to the lift provided by the Skystone you take or you could threaten to sink or raise the island too much. It’s much safer to mine from grounded islands,” Lynn explained.
"Right, okay,” Chess said with a sigh. “The few picks we found had similar enchantments. So, we start from scratch," Chess grumbled.
“Taking a little wouldn’t change much right?” Chess asked.
“For an island this size it would take a few of your inventory spaces full to make any real difference,” Lynn confirmed begrudgingly after taking another 360 look around. “If it comes down to it we can throw stones over the side or cut a tree or two near the edge. Why do you have an idea?”
“Good, and yes. The beginnings of one at least,” Chess nodded, falling into thought about how to attack the problem exactly. Her wood skills left a wide array of possibilities. Better not tell them I’ve never done anything like this. The first real question is: can dense wood trap helium? It’s all academic until I find some of the stone.
Her musings were interrupted by the return of the swimmers and other responsibilities. They'd brought a large contingent of friends with them. Chess and the others felt obliged to stand and greet them using Ashley and Mikel's hodgepodge understanding of the respective languages to interpret.
Chess was bemused to learn through lots of chattering, rough translations, and an expansive game of charades that the tribe would be more than willing to welcome them to stay with the tribe and to house them until they found their way out in exchange for, of all things, catchpoles and a fair share of the work. Aside from the spiders they’d already been gifted and for saving Mikel from the ghoul.
“They don’t think we’ll be able to leave,” Lynn said in a stage whisper. “I don’t think we’re the first to show up, even in recent history. That or they have a decent verbal tradition.”
“The more I think about it, getting out will be pretty straightforward. It’s just going to take time. With enough time I think it’s possible without my magic,” Chess observed, studying the village across the way in the quickly fading light.
“Maybe they can’t see it the same way you do or there is no desire to leave. I mean look at this place. It’s beautiful, there is obviously enough for their tribe to eat and thrive; they're happy enough. Why would they leave if it's all they've ever known?” Lynn reasoned.
“Why indeed, aside from losing people to the spiders.” Chess matched her, once again taking a look at their surroundings in the fading light. She could see the appeal.
“People die, no matter where they live,” Lynn shrugged.
"Now what?" Chess asked Ashley who was still deep in the attempt at conversation. She'd even returned to her summoned item word association game. This time with the whole group.
"They have an empty home. From, well..." She gestured at the heads still attached to Mikel's belt. "I think they want us to hurry so we make it back before full dark." She highlighted this by pointing out where the muskrats had finished their preparations and were setting off with bundles of spider parts tied to their backs around the perimeter of the lake.
The trio of tired girls followed, their eyes soaking up the sights, as the sun made its final descent over the lake to their right.