The Misadventures of Lessah and Ravenh, Part 15
Meeting of the Minds
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While unconscious, Lessah felt as though she were having an out-of-body experience. In her dream-like state, she felt as though she were watching herself and Ravenh from above. She watched Ravenh kiss her and tell her he loved her. Eventually, she regained strength and consciousness, and her perspective changed back to normal. She finally opened her eyes to see Ravenh leaning over her with a concerned look. The fresh air of the forest was on her face and she felt strong enough to kneel. Lessah shook her head a bit, trying to snap out of the fog. It was then that she felt a mektoub's trunk swoop over her hair and face.
Ravenh was finally able to smile, seeing Lessah open her eyes, “She’s ok, Moose”, he exhales a sigh of relief, “You’re going to be ok, Lessah.” Ravenh gently wipes the mektoub’s trunk away, “I think we will be safe here. We should just rest for a while.” He continuously scanned the area, looking for any sign of danger, while returning his attention back to Lessah, wanting to make sure she was truly going to be fine.
Lessah looked over at Ravenh and smiled back. “Thanks for getting us out of there, Ravenh…you saved us” she said while she glanced at Moose to see that he was fine. “I think I’ll be ready to go again in a few moments” she said while she reached for Ravenh’s arm, seemingly ready to rise to her feet.
Ravenh took her cue and helped her to her feet, “Let’s go see if that Karavan representative, that we passed going inside, has any water we could have.” He picked up their belongings and repacked Moose’s satchels. Ravenh grabbed the reins and reached for Lessah’s hand, “I think he’s right up…..” at that moment Ravenh paused as he looked to where he thought they would be going and tilted his head, “Ummm, Lessah? I don’t think this is where we went inside.” The environment did look like a forest, but definitely not the same forest.
Lessah looked up the path and squinted. “Huh? It looks the same to me… did we not come out the way we went in?” she asked. Lessah took Ravenh’s hand and the three made their way up to the path, but at the top, there was no Karavan Representative. Lessah looked around at the forest and noted that something was a bit different about it. She then spotted a group of Homins gathered in a circle, not far from where they were. She pointed at them, “look, maybe we can ask those Homins over there where we are. Maybe they have an extra map” she said as the Moose groaned a bit “…and some hay” she added.
After everything they had just been through, Ravenh sure hoped these Homins were peaceful. He squeezed her hand and smiled at her and nodded, “Sounds like our only plan.” It’s difficult for Ravenh to not sound negative about things, especially asking for directions. They approached the group and he raised his hand in greeting, “Hello there. We are lost, can you help us?” He tried to seem friendly and not a threat, knowing though, his hand raised was only inches away from his sword on his back if he needed it.
As they approached the group, Lessah saw Homins from every nation present. They were all seemingly busy, obviously engaged in something important. One Matis male looked up at Ravenh and smiled while the rest continued to discuss something. “Greetings, fellow Matis. You have made it to the Nexus Minor, a rather isolated part of the forest.” Lessah furrowed her brow, not recognizing the name and glanced over at Ravenh who was on guard, busy scanning the situation. Heh, such a warrior. Lessah looked back at the Homin, “I see…well, what are you doing out here?” she asked while standing on her toes, trying to peak over the crowd gathered around a tree stump.
Ravenh let out a loud sigh, “Nexus what?” He throws his hands up in his usual fashion when frustrated and points at the stump, “They are probably lost too, Lessah. They are even arguing over that map, trying to figure it out.” It almost seemed like he growled a little as he started to stomp around, throwing a tantrum of sorts, mumbling choice words under his breath about being lost and never getting home and other typical Ravenh negativities.
The Matis man gestured for Lessah to come to the stump as he shook his head at Ravenh’s behavior. Lessah smirked at Ravenh who apparently needed to blow off some steam before she excitedly made her way over to the stump. On the stump were three scrolls, which appeared to be aged and badly damaged. “These are the last of several scrolls that we have discovered. We have been working tirelessly to uncover their meaning. Although we’ve had some success decoding the others, these three have proven to be the biggest challenge” the Matis man explained. Lessah nodded in response, “but how are these different from the other scrolls you have decoded?” she asked before looking up to spot Ravenh. “Ravenh! You have to come see this!” she sung out.
Ravenh stopped his tantrum when he heard Lessah call out for him, “WHAT?!?” His voice obviously angry. He caught himself and let out a sigh, calming his voice down, “Is it a map? Do we know how to get out of here?” He approached the stump and looked over Lessah’s shoulder to see the three pieces of paper with incoherent scribblings on them. His anger came back, “What is that?” pointing at the papers, “That’s not going to get us home. It’s just a bunch of nonsense.” He stormed off again, stomping about, kicking a random empty basket and proceeding with his mumbling again.
Lessah flinched at Ravenh’s yelling and yet found a smile creeping across her lips. She liked his angry temper. Lessah watched a Matis approach Ravenh so she refocused her attention to the scrolls. The group had presented the rest of the scrolls in their possession, and a quick estimate told Lessah that they had well over fifty. “ After a year, we have been able to decode fragments from all of the scrolls except those last three…but we also do not know what order the fragments go in. They were in much better condition, you see” the Matis man explained. Lessah nodded, now seeing the scrolls they had decoded next to the three they could not decode. Lessah got close to the three on the stump to examine them. This group had been working for a year to decode them, and she didn’t expect to decode them herself now. She backed up, glancing at the decoded ones and looking at the three on the stump. There was some subtle, aesthetic differences between the scrolls, but she assumed they were insignificant.
A Matis male approached Ravenh, holding a bale of hay for their Mektoub. He sat it in front of Moose and just smiled at Ravenh while picking up the basket Ravenh had kicked and setting it back where it belonged, “Could I get you anything sir?” The man was very polite and it caused Ravenh to finally realize he was acting like a child. He let out yet another sigh and just shook his head, “No….thank you.” He watched Moose consume the hay in one motion. He didn’t even think he chewed it. The man smiled and nodded again and turned to walk back to the group. Ravenh was very frustrated with their situation, but noticed how interested Lessah seemed in the scrolls, and considering how dire of a situation they were in earlier and how he almost lost her, he thought maybe this once he could grow up a little and give her some time. He took this opportunity to scan the campsite a bit more thoroughly. It was not a permanent site, but very well constructed and appeared as if these people had been here a while. Ravenh turned and stopped in his tracks. His eyes locked onto something he did not want to see. Before him, waving in the breeze was a Marauders’s banner.
The Matis man watched Lessah as she studied the appearance of the scrolls. “Do you see something? A pattern? Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can spot an obvious clue…” the man said. Lessah smiled and blushed a bit, “well, it’s silly really, it's superficial. It’s probably nothing,” Lessah said with a shrug. A few members of the group looked up at Lessah, now also curious of what it is she saw. Great Lessah, now you have to tell all these wise scholars, your ‘genius’ observation. “…It just seems to me that the three scrolls on the stump look different from the others. They are smaller, much more aged. The inks even look different…Perhaps they aren’t to be decoded in the same way” Lessah stated with a shrug, feeling stupid.
Ravenh was concerned they had stumbled into a Marauders camp and Lessah was now over there helping them figure out their next war strategy. He turned to go get her when he noticed two more banners, “What the…..?” Karavan, Kami AND Marauders all in the same camp. Ravenh approached Lessah and tugged on her shoulder, “Can I speak with you a moment?” He was trying to not alert the others that he was suspicious of their activities. He leaned in and whispered, “I don’t think we should be here.”
Members of the group stared at Lessah. “Maybe the three scrolls are there to help you understand the order of the others” she added, mostly to fill the silence that followed her last statement. Was she just digging a bigger hole? Proving that she had no idea what the scrolls meant? It was then that she felt a tug on her shoulder and leaned in to hear Ravenh’s whisper. Ravenh’s face was serious and Lessah knew he had discovered something. As she backed away from the group, the scholars returned their attention to the scrolls on the stump. It was as if she had said something that inspired them. Having moved some distance, Lessah turns to Ravenh and asks “what’s wrong?”
Ravenh subtly motions to the three banners, “These aren’t just Karavan scholars here.” His eyebrows raised, “Don’t you think it odd they are conspiring together?” He grabs his backpack and slings it on his arm, “I think it’s time to leave.” At that moment, the same Matis male from earlier approached. Ravenh noticed the necklace around his neck, identifying him as a follower of Jenna. The man handed Ravenh a map of Nexus Minor and pointed at the bottom of the map to another portal, “Try there.” he instructed. Ravenh snatched the map from the man’s hands with force, “How could you?” The man had no idea what Ravenh was talking about. Ravenh points towards the others, “How can you sleep at night knowing you’re helping them?” He finished grabbing their belongings and pulled Moose to his feet, “You disgust me.” He reached for Lessah’s hand, “Come on, Lessah, we’re leaving.”
Lessah’s eyes widened as Ravenh snatched the map from the Matis man. The man just waved his hand dismissively at Ravenh, who to him, had anger management issues. As the man returned to the group, Lessah followed Ravenh quietly, feeling as though he may have overreacted, just a tad. “Maybe it’s a good thing that the factions are coming together…maybe it’s a sign that peace is possible” she said softly. In response, Ravenh just huffed and kept marching onward to the portal.
(OOC: To follow the story regarding the ancient scroll, please check out "Fragments of the lost scrolls, pt1 of The Upper Branches" by Talkirc)
Meeting of the Minds
***************************************************************** *******************************
While unconscious, Lessah felt as though she were having an out-of-body experience. In her dream-like state, she felt as though she were watching herself and Ravenh from above. She watched Ravenh kiss her and tell her he loved her. Eventually, she regained strength and consciousness, and her perspective changed back to normal. She finally opened her eyes to see Ravenh leaning over her with a concerned look. The fresh air of the forest was on her face and she felt strong enough to kneel. Lessah shook her head a bit, trying to snap out of the fog. It was then that she felt a mektoub's trunk swoop over her hair and face.
Ravenh was finally able to smile, seeing Lessah open her eyes, “She’s ok, Moose”, he exhales a sigh of relief, “You’re going to be ok, Lessah.” Ravenh gently wipes the mektoub’s trunk away, “I think we will be safe here. We should just rest for a while.” He continuously scanned the area, looking for any sign of danger, while returning his attention back to Lessah, wanting to make sure she was truly going to be fine.
Lessah looked over at Ravenh and smiled back. “Thanks for getting us out of there, Ravenh…you saved us” she said while she glanced at Moose to see that he was fine. “I think I’ll be ready to go again in a few moments” she said while she reached for Ravenh’s arm, seemingly ready to rise to her feet.
Ravenh took her cue and helped her to her feet, “Let’s go see if that Karavan representative, that we passed going inside, has any water we could have.” He picked up their belongings and repacked Moose’s satchels. Ravenh grabbed the reins and reached for Lessah’s hand, “I think he’s right up…..” at that moment Ravenh paused as he looked to where he thought they would be going and tilted his head, “Ummm, Lessah? I don’t think this is where we went inside.” The environment did look like a forest, but definitely not the same forest.
Lessah looked up the path and squinted. “Huh? It looks the same to me… did we not come out the way we went in?” she asked. Lessah took Ravenh’s hand and the three made their way up to the path, but at the top, there was no Karavan Representative. Lessah looked around at the forest and noted that something was a bit different about it. She then spotted a group of Homins gathered in a circle, not far from where they were. She pointed at them, “look, maybe we can ask those Homins over there where we are. Maybe they have an extra map” she said as the Moose groaned a bit “…and some hay” she added.
After everything they had just been through, Ravenh sure hoped these Homins were peaceful. He squeezed her hand and smiled at her and nodded, “Sounds like our only plan.” It’s difficult for Ravenh to not sound negative about things, especially asking for directions. They approached the group and he raised his hand in greeting, “Hello there. We are lost, can you help us?” He tried to seem friendly and not a threat, knowing though, his hand raised was only inches away from his sword on his back if he needed it.
As they approached the group, Lessah saw Homins from every nation present. They were all seemingly busy, obviously engaged in something important. One Matis male looked up at Ravenh and smiled while the rest continued to discuss something. “Greetings, fellow Matis. You have made it to the Nexus Minor, a rather isolated part of the forest.” Lessah furrowed her brow, not recognizing the name and glanced over at Ravenh who was on guard, busy scanning the situation. Heh, such a warrior. Lessah looked back at the Homin, “I see…well, what are you doing out here?” she asked while standing on her toes, trying to peak over the crowd gathered around a tree stump.
Ravenh let out a loud sigh, “Nexus what?” He throws his hands up in his usual fashion when frustrated and points at the stump, “They are probably lost too, Lessah. They are even arguing over that map, trying to figure it out.” It almost seemed like he growled a little as he started to stomp around, throwing a tantrum of sorts, mumbling choice words under his breath about being lost and never getting home and other typical Ravenh negativities.
The Matis man gestured for Lessah to come to the stump as he shook his head at Ravenh’s behavior. Lessah smirked at Ravenh who apparently needed to blow off some steam before she excitedly made her way over to the stump. On the stump were three scrolls, which appeared to be aged and badly damaged. “These are the last of several scrolls that we have discovered. We have been working tirelessly to uncover their meaning. Although we’ve had some success decoding the others, these three have proven to be the biggest challenge” the Matis man explained. Lessah nodded in response, “but how are these different from the other scrolls you have decoded?” she asked before looking up to spot Ravenh. “Ravenh! You have to come see this!” she sung out.
Ravenh stopped his tantrum when he heard Lessah call out for him, “WHAT?!?” His voice obviously angry. He caught himself and let out a sigh, calming his voice down, “Is it a map? Do we know how to get out of here?” He approached the stump and looked over Lessah’s shoulder to see the three pieces of paper with incoherent scribblings on them. His anger came back, “What is that?” pointing at the papers, “That’s not going to get us home. It’s just a bunch of nonsense.” He stormed off again, stomping about, kicking a random empty basket and proceeding with his mumbling again.
Lessah flinched at Ravenh’s yelling and yet found a smile creeping across her lips. She liked his angry temper. Lessah watched a Matis approach Ravenh so she refocused her attention to the scrolls. The group had presented the rest of the scrolls in their possession, and a quick estimate told Lessah that they had well over fifty. “ After a year, we have been able to decode fragments from all of the scrolls except those last three…but we also do not know what order the fragments go in. They were in much better condition, you see” the Matis man explained. Lessah nodded, now seeing the scrolls they had decoded next to the three they could not decode. Lessah got close to the three on the stump to examine them. This group had been working for a year to decode them, and she didn’t expect to decode them herself now. She backed up, glancing at the decoded ones and looking at the three on the stump. There was some subtle, aesthetic differences between the scrolls, but she assumed they were insignificant.
A Matis male approached Ravenh, holding a bale of hay for their Mektoub. He sat it in front of Moose and just smiled at Ravenh while picking up the basket Ravenh had kicked and setting it back where it belonged, “Could I get you anything sir?” The man was very polite and it caused Ravenh to finally realize he was acting like a child. He let out yet another sigh and just shook his head, “No….thank you.” He watched Moose consume the hay in one motion. He didn’t even think he chewed it. The man smiled and nodded again and turned to walk back to the group. Ravenh was very frustrated with their situation, but noticed how interested Lessah seemed in the scrolls, and considering how dire of a situation they were in earlier and how he almost lost her, he thought maybe this once he could grow up a little and give her some time. He took this opportunity to scan the campsite a bit more thoroughly. It was not a permanent site, but very well constructed and appeared as if these people had been here a while. Ravenh turned and stopped in his tracks. His eyes locked onto something he did not want to see. Before him, waving in the breeze was a Marauders’s banner.
The Matis man watched Lessah as she studied the appearance of the scrolls. “Do you see something? A pattern? Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can spot an obvious clue…” the man said. Lessah smiled and blushed a bit, “well, it’s silly really, it's superficial. It’s probably nothing,” Lessah said with a shrug. A few members of the group looked up at Lessah, now also curious of what it is she saw. Great Lessah, now you have to tell all these wise scholars, your ‘genius’ observation. “…It just seems to me that the three scrolls on the stump look different from the others. They are smaller, much more aged. The inks even look different…Perhaps they aren’t to be decoded in the same way” Lessah stated with a shrug, feeling stupid.
Ravenh was concerned they had stumbled into a Marauders camp and Lessah was now over there helping them figure out their next war strategy. He turned to go get her when he noticed two more banners, “What the…..?” Karavan, Kami AND Marauders all in the same camp. Ravenh approached Lessah and tugged on her shoulder, “Can I speak with you a moment?” He was trying to not alert the others that he was suspicious of their activities. He leaned in and whispered, “I don’t think we should be here.”
Members of the group stared at Lessah. “Maybe the three scrolls are there to help you understand the order of the others” she added, mostly to fill the silence that followed her last statement. Was she just digging a bigger hole? Proving that she had no idea what the scrolls meant? It was then that she felt a tug on her shoulder and leaned in to hear Ravenh’s whisper. Ravenh’s face was serious and Lessah knew he had discovered something. As she backed away from the group, the scholars returned their attention to the scrolls on the stump. It was as if she had said something that inspired them. Having moved some distance, Lessah turns to Ravenh and asks “what’s wrong?”
Ravenh subtly motions to the three banners, “These aren’t just Karavan scholars here.” His eyebrows raised, “Don’t you think it odd they are conspiring together?” He grabs his backpack and slings it on his arm, “I think it’s time to leave.” At that moment, the same Matis male from earlier approached. Ravenh noticed the necklace around his neck, identifying him as a follower of Jenna. The man handed Ravenh a map of Nexus Minor and pointed at the bottom of the map to another portal, “Try there.” he instructed. Ravenh snatched the map from the man’s hands with force, “How could you?” The man had no idea what Ravenh was talking about. Ravenh points towards the others, “How can you sleep at night knowing you’re helping them?” He finished grabbing their belongings and pulled Moose to his feet, “You disgust me.” He reached for Lessah’s hand, “Come on, Lessah, we’re leaving.”
Lessah’s eyes widened as Ravenh snatched the map from the Matis man. The man just waved his hand dismissively at Ravenh, who to him, had anger management issues. As the man returned to the group, Lessah followed Ravenh quietly, feeling as though he may have overreacted, just a tad. “Maybe it’s a good thing that the factions are coming together…maybe it’s a sign that peace is possible” she said softly. In response, Ravenh just huffed and kept marching onward to the portal.
(OOC: To follow the story regarding the ancient scroll, please check out "Fragments of the lost scrolls, pt1 of The Upper Branches" by Talkirc)