Going on excursion ((open))

[Banduk]

The elfess unerringly goes to the children bed and takes the little boy out. She places him in her baby sling while talking any senseless and squeezed him reassuringly.
The baby looks up and opens his mouth to cry due to this disorder but as he see the well known face he grabs for her medium long dark hair, draw it and laugh with his bell like voice.
The elfess moves her hair out of the distance of the boy’s arms and smiles. She knows that there is nothing what could save her hair the next few hours to be the most favor toy of the baby.
Finally she takes her bag, additionally filled with some milk bottles and a blanket and left the room.
“We’ll do a a picnic outside of the walls looking for rabbits and will be back before sunset.” she tells the nurse.
Bright sunshine greets the couple as both left the house. A few white clouds enhanced the blue sky. Birds scurry around. A smell of hay lies in the air. It’s summer even in magic academy.
We don’t know if it’s the bright light, the smell or the unusual sound of the birds, the baby boy squinch up his face an starts crying. The voice of the little man becomes louder and louder with each step away from the nursery.
Reaching the rabbit place in front of the gate of the academy she lays the crying bunch on the blanket. Her hope that a rabbit will calm down the baby shattered since the rabbits are scared by the crying baby and hobble away. She runs after some but since she looks back to the crying boy before every step she goes, the rabbits use the chance to escape.
So she sits cradling the boy on her knees and sings an elvish children song. However the boy becomes crying louder only.
The elfess becomes more and more helpless since not even a bottle milk seems be able to calm down the squaller.
At the end she grabs out of her bag something like a joke of a wand and creates a portal.
With the words “Let’s have a look for the dears and sheep in Vanima, my little crying sunshine.” she steps into the portal holding the baby save in her arms.

[Kyre]

With Will searching another part of the island, she assumed.. Kyre searched also for what seemed like hours before finally and gratefully taking Corvus from the care of Oxi and Ryun. Whispering to Ryun..

You did well, thank you.

Kyre sends a raven hoping Will receives and won't worry...

All is well.

Purposefully being very vague.

Temporarily leaving Corvus with the elves at Tol Vanima so Oxi could accompany her to Varshikar, she had little hope her hand could be saved. Athian had already told her to let it rot...after taking her to the Monastery when he had hurt her badly then immediately proceeded to heal her. Something about that man she thought was very sad.. and frightening also, all at the same time. Around him she felt she didn't understand anything anymore, that she had just come from that dead cave so many years ago. Therefore, without Oxi's help Kyre knew she wouldn't have her hand now, Athian would have never finished the ceremony and only agreed after overhearing her tell Oxi she wanted to hold her son with two hands. Athian was admittedly very angry particularly at William but also at her yet she never could understand the totality of it all though realized Athian like Oxi, didn't believe Will.

Taking their son back to the Academy Kyre first gave Nanny the sad news.
I am sorry, but we have to let you go.. you did a wonderful job but we have been told to move from here.

Handing her double the coin for wages, Kyre pauses unbidden suddenly distracted at her near perfect yet pale hand still with doubts at the wonder of her now having two, before firmly bringing her thoughts from their reverie with a swift shake of her head.

Would you watch Corvus one last time while I go pack?

Kyre begins to pack their belongings haphazardly while gazing longingly back to their room, then opening the door to the middle room... what would have been Corvus' when he grew older brought the unwanted and too frequent lately dampness to her eyes as she mutters...

They are just rooms, that's all.

The parchment to Will was left on the desk.

Will,
Athian has told us to leave..I have packed most of our things, and the Nanny has been dismissed. I plan to go to Tol Vanima in the mean time. Send me a raven when you return.. oh and leave the key with the librarian I guess.

Kyre

Making a few portals back and forth to Tol, Kyre, weary and desolate returns and when unable to see the Nanny... searches around the Academy grounds. Frantic hours later, Kyre finally leaves a scribbled parchment with the librarian before widening her efforts to other towns.

Will,
Corvus is gone!

[Banduk]

Running after a sheep seems the right medicine against a weeping boy. Within the blink of an eye the cry turns into a laugh. Saved by the arms of his godmother the little man rides a sheep. His little hands are hides within the dense summer wool. The animal doesn’t feel pressed by the lightweight of the baby and goes on feeding down the herbs. Sometimes it steps forward on demand, but that might be more due to some delicious herbs some steps away then due to the wish of the boy. The elfess smiles luckily.

Later she sits on the blanket, the boy on her knee and read a little book, made from cloth. Easy identifiable animals are embroidered with clear colors.
She teaches him the elvish names and both try to make the animals voices like “Meeh, oink, wau wau” and laugh a lot. But in one case a malicious smile light up here eyes additionally. “See Corvus, that’s dad” and points to the picture unambiguous showing a pig.

Later after a whole bottle of milk the baby falls asleep in the arms of the women and even she can not hold her eyes open. So both take a nap in the shadow of the long branches of an old cherry tree. Her arms are safely wrapped around the boy.
Maybe it is the refreshing wind what wakes up the elfess, maybe the far away rumbling of a thunderstorm. The white clouds mount up to large dark monsters meanwhile. Just a few leaks for sunshine rest. The wind blows dry grass over the meadow.
Without any hurry the elfess collect her belongings including a new little toy branch of the baby.
The thunderstorm is far away so she can change the diaper, feed the baby another time and let him ride a last time on a sheep. Before she steps into the return portal, she places him in her baby sling.

[Adronfront]

It took several days until William opened his eyes again. He was sitting somewhere in complete darkness and the first thing he noticed was the intensive smell of blood all around him. As he tried to lift his right arm to feel around a stinging pain ran through his whole body. With several deep breathes he calmed the emerging panic and tried to remember what might have brought him into this situation.
He has had a bad fight with Kyre but somehow they had maken it up. Then they had gone into town meeting Oxiana and Athian. At this point his memory started to blur. It must have been Athian that attacked both of them and it was something about the Temple. But did Kyre escape as he did?

At least this time it wasn't me that expected something else from the man...

William mumbles to himself with a faint smirk before he slowly raises. The right arm hanging down useless on his side, he staggers the dark corridor along using his left hand for orientation until he finally hears the water of a river and stands in the dim light coming from two cave entrys and some mushrooms. Slowly he takes off his cloths trying not to move the hurting arm too much. Then he walks into the cold water and cleans himself. After that he sits down near the river and completly exhasted falls asleep.

Not being in the condition to walk the long way to the academy or even open a portal he will not find the notes left by Kyre...

[Oxi]

Oxi lets out a pained sigh, closing his eyes to her words.

"Corvus is gone!"

Crumpling the parchment, he rises from his chair and ventures through the town. Unwilling to leave Bane he calls over a few of his favourites. Their grubby hands outstretched for the silvers he offers, he sends a gaggle of unkempt waifs to settlements across the isle. Many a time has an inconspicuous urchin seen or heard more, with luck one would return with news in time.

[Kyre]

Out of ideas where to look and wondering whether Will or Oxi had any luck, Kyre made a last portal to the Academy for more mana having drank all in her bag in the frantic effort to hunt for her babe. Stopping at the librarian's she frowns at his shake of the head while he holds up his hand to show her the unread parchment.

Where was Will?

Looking down at her good hand with the engagement diamond ring on it while her new pale hand gently turns the stone back and forth, Kyre's worry not only for Corvus but their family grows...was Oxi right after all, was her love not returned? Why did he leave and not protect her when Athian was hurting her..... why did he hurt her earlier and take Corvus? The feeling of emptiness when her babe was pulled from her arms by Will when they argued.. and again now with Corvus missing was devastating! If she can ever find him ...they were going back to the elves at Tol and she would use the nanny there even though Will wouldn't be pleased. The echo of Oxi's words still reverberate in her mind unable to get them to go away despite everything that has happened.

Does he love you more then his god Kyre?


Leaving more parchments at the Academy letting them know of her resignation while mumbling to herself.

Mages..Oxi may have the right advise, stay away from them all. Witches are better.

Kyre grabs more mana from her depot preparing for another long search.

[Banduk]

She blinks as she recognizes that her portal did not lead back to the academy. Before she even can start a new spell an angry cry slices the air.
“The Witch!” This cry like a thunder she hadn’t expected.

She landed at a place where she’s well known but not well liked. Quite often she’s been over here to take some of the potions with her. But the human outlaws are not willing to share with anybody so the discrepancies ended bloody often.
It takes some minutes for both sides to awake from surprise. Two bandits run after her and one fire ball after the other left her fingers while moving back. All her mind she concentrates to protect herself and the baby. The little boy feels the danger and fearfully he clings to the cloth of the women with all the power of his little hands. Silent cries shadowing the screaming bursting fireballs.
The residuals of two attackers lay carbonized in the grass. Since her mana went off but another bandit has recognized her and runs up the hill she reached for her mana potion in the bag. The bag is usually empty but now filled with a huge amount of baby items. Therefore it takes much too much time until she holds the bottle with the life saving blue contents in her hand finally.
In the moment, her hand came out of the bag with the bottle the attacker is a few steps away only and a last fireball rolls out of her fingers but nearly died before burst into the man. The elfess panicked hit the bandits face with the bottle, the valuable blue fluid blinds the crying man for a minute, sufficient for her to turn and run. One arm she wraps around the baby on her breast. The other throws the broken bottleneck away and fingers for her dagger. Her breathes runs heavily and the meadows left behind under her feet step by step until the cries on her back died.
Not even now she stops, but after some more minutes of running she must stop.
While stroking the head of the baby and whispering some words she turns back in fear to see if any of the attackers followed her. Her hand stops in the middle of a move as she faced a threat larger then even a god could be.

[Banduk]

The elfess looks back into the direction of the bandit camp but out of that that direction the end of the world seems coming. A black wall of clouds and rain rolls over the hills. Lightning flickers in the dark. The running blood in her ear covered all noises but the damped rumble of the thunderstorm gets through more and more.
There is one positive aspect of the apocalypse, the elfess thinks with a frozen smile. The human bandits need to hide themselves. Then she wraps her coat around the baby, turns and hurry up in a direction, usually she would not have select. But now there is an urgent need for any shelter.
The wind becomes a storm, the trees in the forest on her left moves heavily. High waves from the ocean on her right breaking with steady thunder on the shore. Leaves and grass is blown by the storm across the narrow stripe of open land and blow the elfess forward. The light whine of the baby is lost in the cacophony of the thunderstorm coming closer and closer.
Next to a nearly rotted part of a fence a warning plate swings on a last connection in the storm. The elfess has no eye for the warning what tells “Elves and Mages out of bounds!”. She sees the little area behind the fence where the storm rages with less power.
She cowers in the relative safety and looks for the baby. “You are safe my dear. Celegail will never ever let anybody hurt you!” she whispers to the boy. Then she searches her wand in her bag. This becomes a problem with one hand so she holds the bag head first and grabs the searched item.
A little bit concentration, a carefully drawn circle in the wind and a blue light flows out of the wand to create another portal.
Before she finished her work a flash burst into a nearby tree. A smaller extension hit the portal and blows it away. The little wand burst by the mana backstroke. The elfess releases the destroyed wand and sits paralyzed until a second flash hits nearby. She presses the baby to her breast, grabs the last filled bottle milk and runs away.
There are empty milk bottles, diaper, some food, a small potion, a blanket and a burst wand left behind her.

[Banduk]

Meanwhile the elfess can’t see her hand before her eyes. Rain comes down as if the gods emptying hundreds of buckets. There is no dry piece of cloth left.
“Nargun, please give me anything to shelter by chance” while stepping through the wet meadow.
A large lightning presents a few meters on her left the silhouette of a roof. The view is so poor; she’d passed by without the flashlights help.
“Thank you Nargun!” she heartfelt cries and runs the last steps to the entrance.
The building has seen better times. The door opening shows a black hole, half of a window shutter swings in the wind and hit the house with a dumped sound, the garden has seen the last care years ago.
Once entering she must recognize that half of the roof has been collapsed but next to her left at the oven there seems to be a dry place filled with residuals from the collapsed part of the building, sheltered by a leaky roof.
The elfess slowly sits down her back to a mighty fallen balk, places the last bottle of milk carefully on the cooker and starts to peel the whining baby boy out of his save location in her baby sling.
It takes her at least three children songs while stroking the head of the sniffing baby until he calms down, put his thumb in mouth and falls asleep.
Out of the driest clothes she prepares a little bed and places the baby therein.
Then she explores the location in a diameter of less the a few steps around the provisional bed collects smaller pieces of wood as well. Since there is nothing to see she sent a wordless prayer to the sky before a very little fireball out of her hand light the prepared campfire.

But the thunderstorm hasn’t stopped outside.

[Banduk]

Standing next to the flickering fire the elfess feels the upcoming heat of the glow, listening to the rain dropping from the collapsed roof and look out into the dark ruin, flash lighted from time to time by a lightning. An approach of safety and security creeps slowly in her mind.
She wraps her arms around herself and feels her wet clothes more and more. Soon she begins to shiver and shakes like a leave within short time after. She feels cold and the stress that makes her operating over the last hours runs out. Now she realizes the danger, she and her loved baby boy has been exposed. At the same time can even see his mother, who should be panicked due to fear right now. The reality hits her mind like a club. Some minutes she stands like stoned once she really recognizes what happened.

It’s not possible estimating the time since she’d left the peaceful meadow in Tol Vanima. The sun went down during her escape and the thunderstorm. The nightfall, her totally extinguished mana and the broken wand would require staying here until dawn.
Just to engage herself she collects more wood so the fire becomes larger and fills the half open room with friendly heat.

She fixes the nerving shutter, saves the last bottle of milk, chases a meddlesome rat, undress all her clothes and drapes it around the fire to dry. Whatever she does, one eye she holds on the sleeping boy always. As he flutters she takes him out of the provisional bed and cradles him a time, singing some calming songs.

Finally the naked elfess wearing a belt with two daggers only is sitting on the ground next to the blazing fire. Caring she looks to the sleeping baby, her back leans against a mighty balk. Clothes and a light armor are scattered all around. The thunderstorm moved away and the first stars can see on the sky.

[Kyre]

With a raging storm throughout much of Gobaith, Kyre didn't dispel any rain with a breeze wanting to save the mana for her search yet finally it was gone including her spare bottles. Standing on a relatively dry rocky crevasse with overhang in the middle of more mountain, unable to go anywhere else and unable to see past her newly formed pale hand after the last of the candles flickered then died, Kyre realized her stamina was at an end and could only hope Will or Oxi had found Corvus and he was safe.

Kyre tucks her knees close when she finally sits managing to avoid the major downpour as dark eyes slowly close while she grips both hands tight keeping her body's tendency to shiver at bay. Suddenly reaching in her almost empty bag with stomach rumbling in protest of the last apple eaten hours ago...Kyre pulls out one of Corvus' baby blankets. Not near enough to cover her completely, even that little warmth would help. Again closing her eyes, sleep overwhelms her completely with strange dreams of Gobaith...nightmares she hadn't had in a long time.

Jarl Vigalf of Nordmark had wanted the ring sitting on the witches long red nailed finger..the ring that would turn his part elven hexed children back to fully human. Kyre had arrived at the request of Joxia and other templars in the barbarian settlement for a final meeting and disclosure of conditions that the ring would be returned. Yet that discussion had turned into a raging fight and with a swosh of the long sword her hand with the ring was gone...the only thing that saved her head was Joxia and the bond Kyre had, in an impulsive feeling of distrust, placed on Joxia's unborn child. The Jarl, with a last swift kick to her ribs walked away at Joxia's bequest to join his once again human children. Someone tied a bandage around her bleeding wrist and took the witch away from that town leaving her to the solace of the forests of Tol where she stayed for many years.

[Oxi]

No word of either the child or Kyre returned to Oxi from the settlements, not even a sighting of William. Why did she send no raven, no instruction, nothing? Fear that he had reached them first troubled him, but then also there was the nagging ache of her reaction as Athian's harsh words had surely struck home.

Reluctantly he beckons a couple of the stronger lads to follow him. Sitting them down to a hearty meal he murmurs his directions. Moments later he watches as they pass through the gates, laden with a generous parcel of provisions for their troubles. As the boys strike out along the better known routes across the island he can only hope of them finding something.

[Banduk]

Once the elfess felt save and wear some dried clothes she started to consider where she could bee stranded. It wasn’t difficult to count one to one. And the little dragon head at one end of a peace of wood, she used for her camp fire on the residuals of the cooker gave her certainty.
Without any doubt, she is deep in the Nordmark. Deep enough to found a house of the men which could nobody believe to call her a friend. Much too much stories has been sang at the fires about the horrific dragon clan.
Surly the clan left the settlement years ago but in the last few days some Noroday warriors sighted in Trolls Bane.

Her first idea has been to draw immediately a portal. But after the lightning destroys her wand, she can’t be sure wherever it will lead to. She could risk it if she had been alone. But caring her beloved baby boy must be her first priority.
Sneaking away would be an option, but the moonless night and the baby in his sling would require a lamp. In that case she could draw a target circle on her dress too.
So her only real option has been hiding in that ruin of a house.

The first thing she did has been to move the fire into a hidden place and reduce its size to the minimum she could expect of the sleeping baby. The former chimney has been cleared fast. And there has been no shortage in construction material to create a parchment and a little bed next to the fire. Even the collapsed roof delivered some straw to make it smooth.
So her last continuous worry was the baby. She must not allow him crying.
She sit next to the baby bed and listen into the dark. Luckily she couldn’t recognize any sign of live. The settlement seems wasted except her little shelter.

[Banduk]

The night has been very long for the elfess.
She never allows herself to close an eye. At each noise she perks up her ears alerted.
It is now around midnight, the fire burned down, just a bunch of glow lights up the room around the bed of the baby behind the parchment. The baby turns from time to time.
Each cry of a night bird, each rustle of a mouse alerts her.
Slowly a bad smell reaches her nose. With the first recognition her hands moves to the daggers on her side. As a little cry came out of the dark she’s ready to jump.

As a “umpf umpf” came from her back she turns, slightly relax her ready to fight position. Out of the dark the beloved face of the baby boy looks to her with a snout ready to cry. Nearly everything she tried to forget but that face, she even remembers from her own child. With incredible presence of mind she sheathes her daggers and takes the baby out of his provisional bed. As closer he comes to her face as more she can be sure where the smell comes from.
After cleaning the little backside her shirt becomes closer. No more diaper left in her bag. Later it takes all of the residual milk to calm him down.

Long before sunrise silhouettes of the surrounding becomes visible in the dawn. Once she could clearly divide a tree from a man within a distance of a stones throw the elfess departs. Behind her she left an empty bottle, a dirty diaper as well as some parts of her tattered shirt.

With a maximum of alertness she sneaks from shadow to shadow through the twilight southwards.

[Kyre]

Waking up after a few short hours of restless sleep, the rain still falling down but more a drizzle then a downpour, with mana restored Kyre sends a raven to Will and one to Oxi.

I dreamed Corvus was up north, I am going there.

Kyre

Having yet to move the remainder of her things from the depot at the Academy and not wanting to chance running into Athian, Kyre forgoes getting extra mana bottles in favor of gathering plenty of apples for food before she continues.

[Banduk]

The elfess does not select the easy way. Always she stays close to any bush or tree. Her move looks more like a random jumping around then anyone, who know where to go to. If anybody had recognized her, he’d see her often disappear in the shadows. It takes a long time, while nothing can see in the darkness until suddenly something large hush away.

Since the morning light push the darkness away more and more the elfess is glad to reach the edge of the forest on her left. She disappears into the dark, deep enough not to see form outside and close enough to the open land to benefit from the light.
Sitting on a fallen tree she allows her to relax the first time that morning.
The baby boy in the sling before her breast did dot agree. The hide and seek game, what yet has been running as he wake up has been much more funny. Before he starts to cry out his protest loud he gets the full attention of his godmother. Cradling, riding on her neck, touching everything and dragging her ears, hair and nose, whatever has not been allowed usually. He is sure there must be a special funny day today. The elfess let him do everything. Her most worry is that he may cry. She has no feed for her beloved left as well as there is no chance to prepare anything now.
Last but not least she has to rip her pants to get a new diaper. The old wet one made from a part of her shirt she left behind her.

A few minutes later she gets stoned. One arm wraps around the baby, a finger before her mouth tells him to stay silent. Everything in her behavior tells the baby boy that the game is over. He closes his mouth by one of his thumbs as the most comfortable action.
Shouting people alerts the elfess. Like a shadow she scurries behind a tree and cowers. Even if it is clear now, there is nothing to see. The voices of the people were southwards and come closer. Hastily she looks around and sees a reasonable bush deeper in the forest. Like a snake she disappeared in the dense green.

A long time she waits and listens to the moving voices. Much too far away to see anybody or understand any word she follows the way of the people by ears. Luckily the baby got tired from the games and falls asleep meanwhile.
Once the voices die in the north she set of for the lighthouse. As she left the bush she wraps her arms around the sleeping baby and collects some scratches. She not even takes care, that drops of blood stains her light armor.

[Banduk]

In the moment the sun is seen over the trees of the forest the elfess passes a row of boundary signs. Her walk becomes light. Soon the top of the lighthouse can see at the horizon.
The baby in his comfortable seat feels the freedom and starts moving. With all his power he grabs and draws her dirty medium long dark hair and laugh.
As Celegail steps up the stairs in the lighthouse the baby boy remember his wet diaper and the fact that his last feed has bee much too long ago. He starts crying.

Finally Celegail reaches the academy island as she left, a crying Corvus in her arms. But everybody who looks in the totally tired face of the elfess who looks like a beggar in tattered dirty clothes see nothing then relief.