14

Trouble in the Skies

Gray clouds clung to the sky, blocking out most of the mid-day sun. A cold breeze blew, bringing the promise of rain. Aviana shivered and pulled her cloak in tighter. One and a half moons had passed since the departure from Lakecross. After the incident with the bandits, the ride north had gone much smoother.

The wagons split when they came close to the mountains. Some merchants planned to stop in Nardrul, while the rest would go through the Karidar pass for Kirdarim. Yaz’gash chose to follow the Nardrul intended wagons and then head back to the clan from there. This disappointed Temperance when she found out that meant she couldn’t spend time with Techul anymore. She tried to rationalize why he didn’t have to leave to Aviana, and why it’d be a great idea for him to just become her partner. It all amused Aviana and Yaz’gash too. Ultimately she didn’t get her way.

Their only obstacle now, was the weather. The further north they went, the more Aviana realized she hadn’t prepared enough. She’d never left the Karma Wilds during winter. The wagon driver sold them some heavier cloaks, but they only helped so much. Aviana’s clothes were becoming a hinderance to staying warm.

Aviana focused on her light conversation with Orsik to keep her mind off things Temperance painted away, humming a small tune. Aviana taught her how to create temporary frames and lace her parchment to it, allowing her to paint on the go.

Orsik looked over a detailed painting of his face. He wouldn’t stop admiring it since Temperance painted it the other day—not that Aviana blamed him. It had to be one of her sister’s best pieces yet. And she knew the gesture touched the dwarven man.

Aviana had learned quite a bit about him, beside him being overly nice. She swore there was no negative bone in his body. At first, it was off-putting, and made her skeptical. But she’d come to realize, he was just that way, and it made sense why Ildri chose him.

According to a tale Orsik had shared, he came from a small town in the north. It’d been destroyed many years ago, Orsik the only one to have survived. He didn’t know why, but he did know it was due to Ildri’s grace and protection. Since then, he’d dedicated his life to the goddess. Orsik traveled anywhere she told him, and hoped one day to find his way to other continents is Aecis.

The talk of travel had engaged Temperance for a time. She jabbered on and on about the places she wanted to see, including specific places on the other continents.

“Temperance, can we know what you’re painting now?” Aviana asked. Her sister insisted on keeping this one a secret.

Temperance pursed her lips and dragged her paintbrush across the parchment surface. “In a second. I gotta get this detail right.”

Aviana waited several moments before Temperance smiled wide and flipped her canvas around. “Tah-dah! It’s you and Xalanath.”

A knot formed in her stomach. The painting wasn’t as detailed as the one Temperance had done of Orsik, but it showed her and Xalanath leaning against each other as they sat on the sands of a beach, holding hands.

“Temperance,” she hissed. “Why would you paint that?”

Her younger sister blinked, confused. “Why don’t you like it? I thought it was really cute.”

Orsik leaned over to take a look. “Who that be, lass? Yer lover?”

“Yes!”

“No!” Aviana eyes narrowed. “We are not lovers. Temperance just has a delusion we are.”

Temperance’s shoulders sagged and she pouted. “Why are you so mean, Avi? It’s not a delusion. You two are adorable together. You don’t need to be so embarrassed.”

Aviana let out a tight sigh. What could she do to get her sister to understand the error of her ways? Not much, unfortunately. Her sister had a high stubborn streak.

The wagon slowed to a stop, drawing all their attention. Aviana stood up and spoke with their wagon driver, concerned about the open location they chose to stop at.

“I’m not sure,” the driver said, peering around the wagon in front of her. “I can’t see too far ahead.”

The driver hopped out of her seat. “I’ll be right back.”

The woman ran to the front of the line, returning several moments later. “The bridge is out.”

Temperance looked to Aviana. “Avi, didn’t you tell me there was a single bridge on this road that made it possible for people to cross on this side of the Karidar Pass?”

Aviana nodded, her expression grim. “Yes. If this is the same one, we may be in some trouble. Let’s go take a look and see.”

She hopped out, Temperance excitedly following for the new excursion. Orsik jumped out as well, though not so gracefully. He managed to not fall on his face this time. Aviana pitied the man and his ungracefulness.

They strolled past the other wagons and joined the lead wagon driver and a few guards and merchants. They stood at a ledge with two wooden posts. As they drew closer, Aviana could see the other side, where part of a wooden bridge still stood out across the deep ravine below. The river dividing the two sides wasn’t too wide, a few hundred feet or so, but—glancing around at the steep terrain—there was no way to get across without that bridge.

“Do we know what caused it?” Aviana asked.

A halfling merchant threw her thumb at one of the guards. “He thinks someone sabotaged it.”

Aviana gazed at the short woman. “And you?”

“I think its age.” She grunted and threw her hands at one of the posts. “I mean, look at that thing. I doubt anyone worked on it since it was built!”

Aviana nodded and pushed closer, taking a good look at each post. They were indeed weathered with age. But there was something else about this that nagged at the back of Aviana’s mind.

Her fingers slid over a deep gouge on the other side of the post she inspected. She peered around it to find deep claw marks marring the surface. A frown formed on her lips and she gazed up at the dark sky, eyes darting around.

There weren’t many creatures that lived in these mountains. Gryphons were said to roost farther west on the mountain range, but this couldn’t be the work of such creatures. They’d have no reason to.

“What is it, Avi?” Temperance asked.

“I think this they’re both right.” She looked to her audience. “I want everyone on alert just in case. We don’t need any surprises.”

A guard rushed to relay the message to rest of the hired help. Meanwhile the lead driver crossed his arms. “Now what do we do? It’d be difficult for us to turn around in this space, and going around on the west side would add at least another month to our trip, if not more. We’d have to also resupply in Nardrul if that’s the case, otherwise we won’t have enough provisions to last us.”

“There’s also the factor of the Burned Lands,” a merchant said. “We choose this path to avoid the desert and surrounding savannahs.”

Aviana looked over the bridge again and gauged the gap. “I might be able to fix it.”

The lead driver’s brow spiked. “Really now? And how do you plan to do that?”

Aviana closed her eyes and inhaled deep, feeling all aspects of nature around her. The wind ruffled her hair, whispering in a language only the trained could understand. She dug her toes into the packed dirt and stone, feeling nature’s pull deep within. This area may be barren on the surface, but deep within, life grew. And it heeded her call.

Aviana nodded. “It’ll take some time, several hours at least, but I can grow a new bridge.”

The man’s eyes widened. “That’s possible?”

Temperance placed her hands on her hips. “You doubt my sister after everything she’s done?”

The young woman’s exasperation amused the merchants and bodyguards.

The lead driver took a breath. “Alright, I’ll let you give it a try. If there’s no progress in two hours, I’ll start working on a plan to turn us around.”

“Deal.” She couldn’t deny that was a good compromise. It wouldn’t even take two hours if nature decided not to give her this needed power that was most certainly above her abilities. If she did manage this, it’d exhaust her for a few days at least. A risk I’m willing to take.

Aviana sat down in front of the broken bridge and pulled herself into a meditative state, breathing deep and emptying her mind. She needed to be sure her body could become a proper vessel before she asked for nature’s blessing.

♦ ♦ ♦

Temperance stroked the horse’s speckled muzzle. The beast stood there, patient and gentle. The horse next to him nudged her arm, looking for attention as well. She giggled and pet him too.

They didn’t have horses in Starglade. Alpacas were their beasts of burden because the mountains surrounding the lake town. Owlcats also helped carry or pull heavy loads, but only if they wanted to. They had a type of intelligence that both impressed Temperance and surprised her.

Her gaze fell on her sister, who still sat by the bridge. Even from this distance, she could see the furrowed concentration on Aviana’s brow and the sweat dripping down her neck even in this colder air. Orsik sat beside her, using healing on her without speaking, so as not to break her concentration, but to also attempt to help her in some way.

An hour had gone by and so far, nature cooperated with her sister. The barren road had turned into a carpet of grass with flowers and the thick healthy vines grew from the ground, wrapping around the aged posts. There hadn’t been a lot of progress in the way of making a bridge, but Temperance knew that required some time.

The sound of splitting wood echoed through the gorge, catching everyone attention. The two bridge posts split and crack, new life pulsing from within. Then, before everyone’s eyes, progress began. The wood grew and twisted. It branched out across the gorge, intertwining with itself in many places and creating beautiful shapes and designs. Vines crawled and flowers bloomed all along the newly wooded areas. She did it! Her sister had actually done it.

Something in the distanced caught Temperance’s eye, but when she looked in that direction, she found nothing. The young woman shrugged it off and went back to focusing on her sister. The bridge now branched off the cliff face by five feet. Temperance estimated the gorge to be at about eight hundred feet across, give or take. Aviana would be building this bridge for a while at this rate, but the result would be nice and sturdy.

The sound of someone singing filtered through Temperance’s ears. She found the voice quite lovely and she was tempted to search for the singer, but shook herself of the thought. This bridge making was far more interesting.

Orsik abandoned his post and gazed around. Temperance didn’t understand why. He was missing something super amazing right in front of him!

“Uh, lasses,” Orsik said.

Temperance hushed him. “Orsik, we gotta be quiet. Avi needs to concentrate.”

“But we be havin’ an issue.”

Temperance looked at him to find him pointing skyward. She followed his gesture to find six human sized flying creatures heading straight for them. Temperance squinted to try to get a better looked and what she recognized had her taking a few steps back. Torso and head of a human woman, and feet, legs and wings for arm of an eagle, Temperance knew these creatures from her books.

“Harpies!” Orsik shouted in warning. He turned and ran for the caravan. The guards, already on alert due to Aviana’s concerns earlier, reacted to the warning. Everyone else took cover.

Temperance drew her daggers. Once angelic beings wishing to only help mortals where they could, a terrible curse befell them, and now they only sought to prey upon the weak and unsuspecting, torturing their victims before consuming them. Temperance could see the sharp talons these monstrosities carried as their arsenal, and while she found them terrifying, she knew it was their songs that were more dangerous. A harpy’s song could send even the most battle experienced warrior into a hypnotized state.

Temperance looked to her sister who remained in her meditative trance. Based on her posture, she could tell Aviana was aware of the looming danger, but if she stopped speaking with nature, and halted the bridge’s construction, there was a great chance her sister wouldn’t be allowed to call upon the power again. Temperance steeled herself. She needed to protect her sister at all costs. Aviana would do the same for me!

The harpies swooped in, three branching off for the caravan, while the other three targeting Aviana and Temperance. Not liking the odds, Temperance thought of some spells Aviana taught her that would make it easy to fight these creatures. Oh, that’ll work! She muttered an incantation and the blades of her daggers ignited in flame.

The lead harpy swooped in with talons outstretched, aiming for Temperance. The avian creature moved quicker than she had expected and latched onto her. Temperance cringed, the soft nature of her starcloth unable to soften the blow, even if it protected her from the sharpness of the talons. But she wouldn’t allow that to stop her. Temperance sunk a flaming blade into the leg of the harpy.

The creature screamed in agony, letting her go. This allowed Temperance to follow up with her second blade, and slice into the corrupted creature’s torso. It hissed at her and came in for another attack, but she was ready this time and rolled out of the way, following up with a counter attack right into the creature’s back. Feather’s ignited and the harpy fell to the ground, screaming in pain. It flopped around, it’s spine clearly too damaged for it to get back up, and then, it’s struggling ceased, the last bit of breath leaving the burning body.

Temperance stared at the lifeless creature, eyes wide. I did it… She was still getting used to this killing thing. But each time she did it, it became a bit easier. She thought about it less as her hand was forced. And right now, surviving and protecting Aviana was the only thing going through her mind. Oh no, Avi!

She’d been so preoccupied with the one harpy, she’d forgotten about the others.

Temperance whirled around to find the other two harpies attempting to attack her sister, but they couldn’t grab a hold of her. Temperance watched at Aviana’s form warped every time the talons should have landed a hit on the druid. Her connection with nature is keeping her safe! But Temperance knew that wouldn’t last long. Her concentration would break and then these harpies would be in a heap of trouble. You didn’t want to make Aviana angry. Temperance swore her sister’s furry turned her into a demon… or a grumpy dragon. She hadn’t decided yet.

Temperance thought of a way to help her sister, without potentially causing her more issues. She grinned wickedly when a spell came to mind, but then frowned when she realized she didn’t have the proper item to help her with it. Some spells only required an incantation, while others needed special hand and arm movements, materials, or even a mix of the three.

Sometimes these requirements could be replaced with a special kind of focus, but Aviana and Temperance hadn’t gotten to making one for her yet. Aviana thought she still needed more experience before she relied on such an item.

Maybe I can ask nature, like Avi does. Aviana had told her, if she was missing a material, she could ask nature to provide her with the spell anyways. Sometimes it’d heed the request, and others it would ignore. It was a lot like the situation Aviana was in now with the bridge. There was no true spell to make the bridge. But with the right request, nature could provide.

Temperance closed her eyes and felt out nature’s presence, thinking of the incantation needed for the spell. At first, she felt nothing, but, after a few moments, a sensation rose up from the ground into her body. It worked! The young druid’s eyes snapped open and she uttered the incantation aloud.

A thorny plant grew up from the ground until it reached Temperance's height. It then curled into itself until it had made several loops. Temperance grasped the thorny plant by a section that hadn’t produced any painful spines, and pulled on it. The plant broke clean off, leaving her with a whip-like weapon.

Focusing on the closest monstrosity, Temperance swung the long whip at the creature and made contact. She hadn’t been able to get the whip to wrap around the throat, but she did manage the wing.

The creature struggled to stay in the air and Temperance use the situation to yank on her whip. The harpy, unable to fight back, plummeted to the ground, farther from Aviana. It struggled as the thorny plant tangled with its feathers and it screeched in pain and frustration. The other harpy continued to attack Aviana until it finally made contact, knocking Aviana over. Her older sister’s eyes snapped open and Temperance saw the malice in her sister’s eyes. Yep, it’s dead.

Aviana rolled away from the cursed beast and drew both her scimitars, pulling her body into her readied battle stance. The harpy screech and Aviana responded with an onslaught of furry, her movement fluid and arching like a dance, a common style for the warriors in the clan. Within seconds the harpy lay in a bloody heap, sanguine fluid dripping from Aviana’s weapons. The druid’s wrath snapped onto the harpy Temperance held captive.

The harpy glowered at the two of them and then began singing. Her voice enveloped the two. Aviana shook her head and ignored the song, but Temperance struggled. The song sounded so lovely. Her grip on the whip loosened.

“Temperance!” Aviana shouted. “Don’t lose focus!”

She struggled to heed her sister’s call and before she knew it, the harpy broke free of the thorn whip, sending pieces flying. Dragon dung! A sensation of uselessness fell over her. If only she’d been able to resist the song. Then she wouldn’t be in this state.

Aviana focused on the monstrosity slammed her scimitar into its torso, piercing through her. Ouch! Scimitars were meant for slicing, not piercing, so for her sister to stick that into the creature, that was both impressive and painful to watch.

The harpy screeched in pain and lashed out at Aviana. Her sister reeled back, dodging the attack, but lost grip on the weapon in the process. The avian creature took to the skies, the weapon still lodged in body, but Aviana wasn’t about to let it get away. She held up her hands and muttered under her breath. A pale green gas spread from her hand and surrounded the flying creature. Temperance, even in her state, knew that spell. Poison. A dangerous substance if inhaled.

The monstrosity coughed and sputtered and attempted to fight the cloud but ultimately failed. Its wings locked up and the harpy plummeted into the ravine. The being hit a few rocks on the way down before… silence. Temperance found herself able to move on her own accord again.

Aviana glanced over the ledge and frowned. “There goes my weapon. I didn’t really think that part through…”

“No time for that, Avi!” Temperance shouted. “There were three other ones!”

They whirled around when the sound of a woman screaming caught their ears. They took in the scene before them. One dead harpy on the ground, with another locked in combat with two guards, and the last, trying to fly off with a female halfling merchant.

“Tempy, you remember that ice spell I taught you?” Aviana asked. Temperance nodded. “We’re going to use it together. Aim it at that harpy’s wings. We can’t let it take that woman away.”

“But I left my waterskin in the wagon,” she said.

“You don’t need it. The water is in the air. Watch me.”

Temperance nodded again and watched her sister. Aviana uttered the incantation as she held a hand up and the air around her grew colder until a shard of ice formed, hovering above her hand. Temperance found this amazing. She always needed water on her to do this spell, but if Aviana could perform it by using the water in the air, she had to try as well.

She concentrated, feeling out the moisture in the air. When the sensation hit her hand, she spoke the incantation and watched as the water converged around her hand and froze. Her body also felt a tad weaker in a non-physical way, but she knew it had to do with the energy she expended to conjure the spell. I did it!

Temperance looked to her sister who nodded in approval and the two brought their attention back on the harpy. Careful with their aim, they sent the shards of ice flying at the monstrosity. Temperance cheered in triumph when the ice hit the wings of the harpy, and froze up the appendages. The harpy let go of the innocent woman who hit the ground with a thud and the harpy spun out of control until it collided with the ground. Orsik rushed over to the merchant woman and went about tending to her, while one of the free guards took advantage of the situation and charged at the cursed being. He slashed into her soft flesh until she ceased to move.

Just as he finished off the creature, the other two guards took out their opponent. The air grew quiet, only the wind making a sound. The merchants and wagon drivers peered out of their hiding spots in time to watched the corpses of the harpies turn to ash and blow away in the wind.

“Is that normal, Avi?” Temperance asked.

Aviana nodded and motioned for her sister to follow her as she headed over to Orsik and the gathering guards. “Due to their corruption, their bodies can’t exist if their life force has left them. They turn to ash, symbolizing the fire that once was a magnificence to life, now long dead.”

Temperance frowned. “That’s sad. I wish they hadn’t been cursed.”

“Many of us do, little lady,” one of the guards said as they approached.

Temperance crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks. There they went, calling her little again. Aviana chuckled and ruffled her hair before addressing the men in front of her. “Is everyone alright?”

The man nodded. “This poor woman was the only one to fall victim to their attack. Though Cleric Orsik appears to be helping her out after that fall.”

Aviana frowned. “Yes, that probably wasn’t the best choice for us to make.”

Orsik looked at her. “Aye, lass, maybe nae, but ye saved tha lass’ life, sae dinnae get down on yerself.”

Aviana nodded, taking in his praise, and then went about looking over the guards for wounds. One had a nasty gouge in his shoulder while the others had simple bruises and scrapes so she tended to the worse off man.

A green-blue light cast out of her hand and enveloped the man’s wound, healing it up quick, and leaving no mark behind. Temperance looked down at Orsik to see him healing the halfling woman, and she noticed his healing spell came off as a white-blue instead. That must be the visible difference from nature magic and divine magic.

Temperance decided to give it a shot too. Aviana had taught her some healing, but she wasn’t nearly as good. Scrapes and bruises shouldn’t be too hard though! She held her hand up. Warmth fell over her hand and then, over the scraps of the guard she had chosen. The man smiled his thanks to her when she was done, and she went to the next man.

Once everyone was healed, Aviana checked on the caravan residents before going back to her bridge making. The guards kept an extra keen eye out for more attacks while Orsik and the caravan leader bought the merchant woman into one of the wagons to rest.

Three hours passed before Aviana had finished her bridge, nature understanding her reason to temporarily halt her request from it, and what a masterpiece it was. So much excitement overcame Temperance, that she ran out onto the bridge and jumped around like a cat on catnip. This had been the most amazing bridge she’d ever laid eyes on. It was also sturdy. No amount of jumping had this bridge budging in the least. Inadvertently, Temperance’s excitement eased the wagon driver’s worries about the safety of the structure.

Aviana called her back to the wagon and she reluctantly listened. The two climbed into the wagon, and the moment Aviana sat down she slumped over in exhaustion.

Temperance understood the toll that took on her sister. Spells were rough on the body and mind. It’s why, not matter your spellcasting path, you had to practice.

Temperance wrapped her sister’s cloak around her tight and also pulled out a blanket for an extra measure. Aviana smiled her thanks. Once you depleted your energy store, then you needed to rest to get it back. And this type of call to nature, only made that harder for even someone like Aviana. She could be out of commission for a few days if the request drained her that much.

Avi, you’re more amazing than you give yourself credit for. She caught her sister being hard on herself all the time. She didn’t know why her sister did it, but she wished she’d stop. She could do so many amazing things. Maybe this adventure would help her too. Maybe you’ll be able to smile again like you used to.

Over the past few years Aviana smiled less and less, like an invisible heavy burden took its toll on her. Temperance wanted nothing more than for her sister to be happy.

Temperance yawned and lay down with her sister to rest as well. She was convinced this adventure would help her sister. She didn’t know how, but they’d both be different people by the end; for the better of course.