Battle Cry [Molly]-Melian-

[Mali]

Okena thought about what Baldur said. It made sense in a way. She had put her trust in him to tell her the truth, but maybe Baldur was still wary about her trust. Maybe Baldur thought that she didn’t trust him enough and that was why he had asked. Her reaction to finding out about Nemesis Morona had been cause enough for him to worry that she wouldn’t trust him should he tell her. She almost felt like apologising for asking why he hadn’t told her. It was his right not to tell her.

“I understand Baldur, it makes sense. I mean, look at how I reacted,” she couldn’t help but giggle in response. It had been a reasonable reaction for anyone from Empire Nirvana, but she should have known better since Baldur had educated her on the true history of Nemesis Morona’s predicament. And yet she had still reacted the way a typical Nirvanian would have. Did this make her pathetic to have reacted the predictable way instead of the proper way since being told the truth?

“Curious, guess we’ll never know,” She smiled to Baldur before looking over at the dead bodies and the unconscious man she had knocked out. What was Baldur going to do with them? Even if he took the unconscious one back to Nemesis Morona’s camp, what good would it do?

“The one man, he said you knew why they were after you, do you know?” she was curious about it. If he knew why they were after him, he should have told her that there were people after him. But then again, she assumed he didn’t trust her yet, or else he would have told her about Nemesis Morona sooner. Even if he had been worried about her not trusting him, surely it had been obvious that she did in fact trust him when she showed up for her first history lesson.

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[Amur]

“Indeed, I had expected a typical Nirvanian reaction to the new that Morona is here in the very least... I am actually quite encouraged that your reaction was more controlled than that.”
He stated flatly, and that was true. Had her reaction been that of a typical Nirvanian, all of her trust for him would have likely vanished in a heartbeat regardless of how much she had trusted him beforehand. A reaction very typical of the ignorant, as it was also exactly the same reaction that many had when they discovered that someone they knew was acquainted with a Hunter. Perhaps that was one flaw that every Nirvanian had in common with one another; that they all had trouble simply letting go.

The fact that Okena even managed to laugh at herself for her initial reaction actually shocked Baldur –not that he allowed that to show- since it indicated growth beyond cultural circumstance... He had to wonder how Okena and her father had managed to find this land themselves; perhaps they had simply stumbled across it as well.

He made it a point to ask later.

He simply shook his head as Okena asked him if he did actually know why those people had been after him as his final kill had so openly accused. But, despite thinking on the subject matter, absolutely nothing came to mind. As he had already established and confirmed beyond any doubt to himself, the borders of Empire Nirvana were closed off, and The Empire itself had no contact with foreign lands.

And, as far as he was aware, he had kept all of his more morally ambiguous actions during his time here quiet enough to avoid any kind of negative attention... But, there had to be some kind of reason for these attacks, didn’t there?

“Unfortunately, I do not. We stumbled upon this land, quite by accident. And I very much assume the same could be said for yourself and your father. So, I doubt there are any other Nirvanians that aren’t in this land right now that are aware of its existence. Which rules off this being an attack from anyone back home. While, any actions that may be of a more morally ambiguous nature while I have been residing in this land I have kept very quiet. So, I can’t think of any reason why anyone in this land may want me dead. It is interesting; perhaps this is simply the result of someone trying to find a way to pass the time, or perhaps someone simply derives an odd kind of twisted entertainment from having people blindly rush into life-or-death situations. It’s hard to say.”
He concluded calmly, however, now that simply created a new form of concern for Baldur, what if there were more of these people lurking about and they tried to attack while Baldur and Okena slept? The fact that he had allowed these people to sneak up on him was already a reprehensible lapse on his part, and he wasn’t about to let it happen again.

“However, due to the unknown nature of this situation, when either of us do decide to call it a night, I will take the first watch.”

[Mali]

Okena couldn’t help but beam at Baldur’s slight compliment. He didn’t give compliments like one might give candy, they were few and rare. So for him to compliment her made her feel better. This just meant that she had taken what she’d been learning from him and put it to heart. She had paid attention and even though she had reacted badly at first, this just meant that she hadn’t changed completely. It was then that she realised that she would change as a person the more she learned from Baldur. If her father could come back and see her now, would he even know who she was?

Okena often wondered how they had come here to Alagaesia. Baldur came here somehow; she wanted to ask how but thought that it might be rude. It would be a sudden question, one that Baldur might question the reasoning to. All she knew was that they—her father and herself—had found Alagaesia based on a teaching of God Baal. It stated in the scripture of another land with different creatures and views that were considered their ‘old religion’. The scripture even showed a map with relative directions to the land that supposedly didn’t exist anymore. She remembered when they were about to leave Empire Nirvana, how she asked her father where they were going and he said that they were going to God Baal’s homeland, to embrace the old religion. She had no idea what he meant at the time, since it didn’t ‘exist’ anymore, but she followed her father and trusted in him.

She was surprised that Baldur answered her question without her having to ask it. Well, he answered half her question, how they had found Alagaesia. It didn’t answer how they had gotten here though. Nodding her head, she wondered why people would be after Baldur. As he had stated, anything that would have become a red flag, he had kept minimal. He hadn’t purposely gone out of his way causing trouble and creating a name for himself. So why were there people after him? As he said that he would take the first watch for the night, she nodded her head again.

“Actually, we knew where we were headed before we left Empire Nirvana. But maybe someone followed you based on something you did in Empire Nirvana. You did say that the people with Nemesis Morona were exiled and stuff like that, so I’m assuming something happened to you and your brother to force you here,” she paused briefly to look at him. She didn’t expect him to tell her what had happened to lead him here.

“So maybe someone followed you and is doing this because of what you did or what happened to you in Empire Nirvana. The better question would be, who do you know that would follow you here based on what happened there?” She felt like a detective now. She had made a very good conclusion as to why there would be people following him. Okena smiled to him as she waited for the possible answer about his thoughts on her conclusion.

Since she had mentioned how she got here, she might as well tell him about it. He may ask about it after she’d mentioned it, but she would beat him to it.

“Yea, so you know how my dad was a follower of the false gods, well there’s this one teaching from God Baal, that mentions a foreign land vastly different from Empire Nirvana referred to as the ‘old religion’. The teaching has a map with relative distance from Empire Nirvana and everything. Anyways, when father said we had to leave, he said we’d be coming here, to embrace the ‘old religion’.” She picked the meat off her stick and placed it in her mouth, chewing it before drawing circles and squiggles in the dirt around the fire. She looked up at Baldur, trying to gauge his reaction.

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[Amur]

Okena’s reply to Baldur’s inquiry on how she and her father had managed to arrive on this land actually shocked him... They had known? He was about to ask her how that had been possible when she pre-empted his question and told him out-right. The False Gods –or at least False God Baal- had, had a map leading here from Empire Nirvana? A strong desire to have this map welled up within Baldur, but, he held his tongue. For the time being, he would keep his peace on it, there were more important things for him to be concerned about.

But, he would have time to ask her about it at a later date.

“I see... That is interesting.”
He replied calmly, then casting his mind back to what Okena had said he fell deep into thought. Usually, he would have agreed that such an event was likely, however. On this occasion the likelihood of anyone being able to hide themselves among Morona’s people was nil, they would have known if anyone had tried hiding within the crowd that had followed them here... There was always a slight chance that they came here independently of Morona and their people, but, once again, it was highly unlikely.

“What you suggested, however, is unlikely. If someone had managed to hide themselves among Morona’s people, then Morona would have known about it immediately. The chances of anyone managing to follow us here are slim as well, since we travelled on the back of Ascalon’s shell. And he was significantly faster than any seafaring vessel that anyone could have taken... Besides, we all kept ourselves off of the map before and during our departure, very few people knew where we were at any given time.”
Baldur explained.

“And, any pursuers we may have had after us were quickly shaken when we joined Morona’s group. So, I can’t possibly see any reasonable conclusion coming from all this speculation. Until I manage to get an answer from one of these people that makes sense, I have no idea what to make of this random attack.”
He concluded... He paused, not seeing much need to further explain why these attacks were unlikely to be a result of anything that had happened to him back in Empire Nirvana. He shook his head gently; his desire to learn more of this map that Okena had mentioned earlier slowly consuming more of his thoughts.

“That map you mentioned earlier... Do you still have it?”

[Mali]

She nodded her head as he agreed that it was interesting. She didn’t really find it very interesting; it was a simple story of how she had gotten here. But then again, he wasn’t a follower of the false gods so he would find the map and the story behind how she got here to be interesting.

Now Baldur had answered her question of how he got here completely. She didn’t know much about Ascalon, she didn’t even think she knew what it was, but she knew that it had a shell. Therefore, it was some kind of creature. But the size of this creature must be massive for so many people to have been able to travel from Empire Nirvana to Alagaesia on its back.

Okena had felt pretty good about her conclusion to his problem. However, as he stated that it was nearly impossible for such a thing to happen, she didn’t feel like a detective anymore. Her hypothesis had been incorrect. But what else could it be then?

“Maybe it’s because of your brother? Even though you’ve kept everything low key, could he have done anything to provoke someone?” Okena wanted to figure out why this was happening to Baldur. She had made a very good conclusion the first time and it had been shot down. Now she felt a need to figure this out. She wanted to be the smart one to figure out the solution to this complicated issue.

She wondered why Baldur would ask about the map. He had found the story interesting, but of what use would the map be to him? He couldn’t go back to Empire Nirvana because of what happened there. So why would he want a map that tells how to get back there?

“I don’t have the physical teaching with me, my father had made a copy though and I know what it looked like, I was the map reader while we traveled.” She pulled her pack beside her before digging through it. Pulling out a piece of parchment, she reached over and dipped her fingers into the stream before changing the water to ink. She began to draw with deft hands. She was as accurate as the map had been when she had it in her hands. She finished the map and blew on the ink to help it dry faster before handing it over to Baldur.

“The scale might not be right, but that’s what the map looked like, exactly,” She sat up a bit before crossing her legs. “But I don’t know of what use the map would be... You can’t just go back willy-nilly, can you?” She had a point, she knew it. Even though he had the map now, it wouldn’t do anything for him.

“I can tell you about the teaching too, if you’d like. About the ‘old religion’ and its meaning to the followers of the false gods...” that was assuming he wanted to know. She hoped he would. She wasn’t tired yet and would rather be talking than sitting in awkwardness.

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[Amur]

“Unlikely, Ace and I travelled off the map while we were still within Empire Nirvana. And here, Ace is generally equally well hidden; it is unlikely that he’s had enough contact with anyone to provoke such a reaction.”
He replied to Okena’s first question, the only person that Ace was likely angering to any kind of level was Josk, especially when he and Varden were together. The stupidity that those two were capable of when they were within close proximity to each other was truly astounding, then again, Baldur was partially to blame for that... But, Josk never needed to be aware of that.

As Okena began rummaging through her pack Baldur initially remained silent, simply nodding to her as she spoke. Of course, a replica of any kind would make for a fine piece of insight into some of the more unknown aspects of the lives of those still following The False Gods. This was the kind of information he had originally arranged to meet with Okena again for. To be able to obtain such information so early just meant that Baldur had done an exceptionally good job in earning Okena’s trust.

Okena handed him a map she had created by using her Hydromancy to alter the properties of plain water to that of ink.

(He had to admit to himself, that he was impressed with her skill.)

He looked down at the replicated map that she had handed him, it was as to-scale as she could manage, and he could easily recognise the borders of both Empire Nirvana and Alagaesia. It was also quite detailed, almost as if the original artist had known the route like the back of their hand –so to speak- Baldur remained silent for a long while, simply looking at the map... There was something about this that didn’t sit well with him.

He looked back at Okena as she asked why he held interest in the map. Baldur simply arched an eyebrow as he considered his answer.

“Because, it’s interesting, Okena; as you so rightly pointed out, I cannot return to Empire Nirvana on a whim. However, the fact that there was such a detailed map of the route to this land in existence before anyone well-known enough found their way here raises some very prominent questions about The False Gods.”
He stated simply, had he succeeded his father, Baldur knew without a doubt that many of the questions he was now asking himself would have been answered in some way; since he would have had unlimited access to the family vaults and treasuries. All of which contained a wealth of untold knowledge throughout the ages.

He was torn from his thoughts as Okena said that she could tell him of the teaching that she and her father had followed here. Baldur involuntarily held his breath for the briefest of moments; she would willingly part with such knowledge without asking for payment? He found himself unable to decide whether or not she thought that highly of him, or if the knowledge being offered to him was just so well known among followers of The False Gods that it meant nothing to her... He blinked as he made his decision, he didn’t care for the reasoning.

“If... You are alright to part with such knowledge; then I shall listen to what you have to tell me.”
He said calmly.

[Mali]

Okena agreed with Baldur. It would raise questions about the False Gods that regular people wouldn’t know the answers to. However, if he knew the teaching surrounding the map, then it wouldn’t create so many questions. It did seem odd that the teaching would refer to another land that wasn’t Empire Nirvana, but the gods couldn’t help where they came from.

“Thing is, the map doesn’t show a route from Empire Nirvana to Alagaesia, it shows the opposite. When we followed the map, we had to do things backwards. I don’t remember the specific route we took, but the map is the exact same. It was odd, trying to figure out what the map said, travel south for such and such distance. But my father figured that it was backwards.” That was a good piece of information to give Baldur. It would raise more questions from him and that meant that he would talk more, right?

Nodding her head, she had to decide where to begin.

“Well, the old religion was created by God Baal. He came from the old religion, which is how my father figured out the map route was backwards. If he came from the old religion, then the route dictated led to Empire Nirvana, not Alagaesia.” she paused, thinking about it again. Her father had been very smart for a follower. Others had called it blasphemy to even think about going to the old religion, and that he was a quack to think about such things, but it had gotten them out of Empire Nirvana and to a new land.

“The old religion is not just a place, but a different way of life. The teaching goes on to state what God Baal experienced when he came to Empire Nirvana, the difference in culture and life style from the old religion. God Baal states that the old religion is the homeland for the Gods. That by coming here, he underwent a change and became a God, as did any other beings that came from the old religion.

But the old religion was just a myth to the followers. We believe that the Gods come from this mysterious land, but none would ever venture to try to find it. As the teaching goes on, it states that the old religion was destroyed and caused God Baal to flee his homeland and come here. The temple where this teaching was first spoken of, has the original map on the wall, burned into the stone by God Baal himself, to tell the followers of the history of the Gods.” she paused again after her long piece of information. That was all that there was to the teaching but Baldur might have questions, so she paused and waited to see if he voiced any.

“However, even though the other followers believed the old religion to be only a myth, since it was destroyed, my father believed that we would reach enlightenment should we find it. Even though he was worried that the old religion may really be gone as the teaching states, we headed out in search of it anyways. And that’s how we ended up here...” That was the long version of the story. Baldur wanted to know how they had found Alagaesia and she had given it to him. She didn’t believe in many of the Empire’s views on personal history and such forth. She’d been living in Alagaesia for so long that those beliefs didn’t work for her. So she had given Baldur a piece of personal history for free... hopefully he would understand why.

“There are other small details about the teaching, but they aren’t as significant as what I told you... they just speak more about what God Baal experienced when he came here.” Hopefully he wouldn’t want to hear about the other details, she didn’t remember all of them.

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[Amur]

Baldur listened to what Okena was telling him intently. In fact, the first thing she told him was enough to raise further questions, the fact that the map didn’t show a route from Empire Nirvana to Alagaesia, but, in fact showed the reverse instantly had Baldur questioning the more exact origins of False God Baal.

Baldur did notice some small inconsistencies surrounding everything else that Okena told him, as it had been widely known that False God Baal had not been native to the land now known as Empire Nirvana, however, the rest of The False Gods had originated from that land... Something didn’t add up, history told how the first two beings to claim Godhood had been Baal and Lautrec, others had followed soon after.

Baldur narrowed his eyes slightly as he continued examining the map he held in his hand, almost as if, that simply by staring at it, it would somehow reveal new information to him that Okena and her father may have missed...

However, all this new information was presently taking priority over his other thought processes. So, even a task as simple as trying to read the map became difficult as Baldur rapidly became distracted by his own thoughts. The most prominent one being, that, judging by the way Okena was describing it, an entire religion had become destroyed at an incredibly rapid rate which had caused Baal to flee. Baldur already knew, from the limited sources he had, had at his disposal at the time, that the destruction of any kind of faith took time, it didn’t simply happen over-night. The same had been true of the pure-breeds before leaving The Isle of Origin; it had taken them almost two years to believe that their Gods had abandoned them.

So, how was it possible for an entire religion to vanish so quickly? And what was more, why was there seemingly no record of this religion in the first place? Surely, there would have been some mention of it somewhere, but, Baldur had yet to find any, and he had been thoroughly educating himself on this land and its history ever since Ace had started his tutelage with Josk.

There were simply so many possible answers that Baldur was beginning to have difficulty concentrating on any one thing in particular. Drawing in a deep breath Baldur slowed himself down, he wouldn’t be able to ask any of the smaller questions that Okena may or may not know the answer to if he got too lost to his own thoughts.

“Very informative.” He stated flatly. “I just have one question, if you are able to answer it. Is there any mention of how quickly this ‘old religion’ was destroyed? Judging by what you were saying, it seemed to happen so rapidly that the only choice for False God Baal was to flee for some reason... I can’t quite wrap my mind around that one.”

[Mali]

Okena had thought that Baldur would have more questions than what he did. She was a little surprised that that was his only question for her. Maybe the information wasn’t as question stimulating as she had thought it would be.

“The old religion isn’t just a religion though. It was a way of life as well as a physical place. God Baal told us it was called the old religion. However, he never told us how rapidly or slowly the old religion was destroyed. But since Alagaesia is still here, I’m assuming that the old religion wasn’t referring to just this land. Maybe it was talking about a species, whatever species God Baal was, or maybe it was referring to a religion or city, I’m not sure.” It was a lengthy answer, but one she needed to explain. She even added her own thoughts into the answer. Maybe they would help Baldur figure out what the old religion was.

“But this was over eight hundred and seventy years ago, that’s when the war started. But the gods were around much earlier before the war started, so unless you could find a place with their history adequately recorded that far back, there’s no way we’d ever find out who God Baal really was. And you’d need to know what year God Baal left to get an exact answer,” Okena hadn’t thought about it too much before. She knew that Ilirea had a good record of the history here, but did it go back that far, and was that information open to someone like her? Or even Baldur for that matter?

“I forgot, the route isn’t marked on the map, but along the sides, in what I assume was the ancient language, which, God Baal spoke to his followers in, was the directions he took to get to Empire Nirvana. My father knew how to speak the ancient language, thanks to speaking with God Baal and was able to make out the directions on the map. That’s why there’s no route marked and I couldn’t write what I can’t read. So I’m sorry that I couldn’t write the directions for you either...” She wished that she could have written the words out for Baldur, but she didn’t speak the ancient language. She could say simple things in the ancient language, but she wasn’t fluent. If she were, she would have been able to give Baldur the directions that God Baal had taken.

“Any other questions?” She smiled to Baldur. She would happily answer any questions he had, she wasn’t even close to being tired yet and if they weren’t talking, then they were sitting in awkward silence. And that was just awkward.

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[Amur]

There had been more to the explanation than Baldur had originally expected, he already had a lot to think over and Okena’s latest explanations only added to that. It seemed that this “Old Religion” was perhaps something more than simply a religion, as Okena had said, it could have been linked to a specific species, town or city. The possibilities and implications were enormous; the task of learning the truth seemed almost daunting, which only made Baldur want it more; if he could just find one mention of such a way of life then it would give him a better idea of where he should be looking and what he should be looking for.

“Hmm, would you mind if I kept this? I may need it later as a reference.”
He asked calmly, falling silent for a brief moment. Everything that Okena had said so far made at least some sense. Prior to the arrival of The False Gods, Baldur’s father had told him that no-one native to the land that had become Empire Nirvana spoke The Forgotten Language –or, as the natives called it here, “The Ancient Language”- The Warlords had learned that very language from the humans that had once populated The Isle of Origin. Where The Non-Humans on the neighbouring land had originally used a completely different form of magic, it had only been after the arrival of False God Baal that they had picked up the language.

“It does say that, regardless of what one is to think of him, that False God Baal was definitely intelligent.”
Baldur mused out loud. Indeed, undoubtedly the creature must have been intelligent if he was able to teach an entirely different language to a multitude of sentient species that had previously never heard of it. As for his power, well, the fact that he had been able to claim Godhood and rule the land alongside False God Lautrec, and later other False Gods said enough by itself.

“As for other questions, I’ve got plenty, but none I think you would be able to answer.”
Baldur said –almost jokingly- in response. His attention, once more returned to the map. In order to begin piecing anything together he would undoubtedly need to see the original map, but, did Okena even have a former residence she had lived with her father in? Would the map still be there even if she had? He shook his head gently, even if the answer to those questions was in the affirmative Baldur wasn’t just about to invite himself into Okena’s home, he had been raised better than that.

But, how would he ask about the original?

“Actually, I do have some questions. Do you know if your father kept the original map, and if so where he would have kept it? I think that before I’m able to start piecing any of this together I’ll need to see the original map. If I am able to read the route that False God Baal took to our homeland then I’ll have a better idea of what I should be looking for.”
He stated, remembering that Okena had said that she didn’t have the original documents with her. That meant that there was always a chance they still existed elsewhere, didn’t it?

[Mali]

Okena looked down to the map and nodded her head. “Yea, go ahead,” She didn’t see why she would need it back. She had the map memorized since she came here. It was one of those things—though odd—that people remember from their childhoods. She didn’t know why she could recall the map perfectly, maybe it was a memory that really affected her, but she just did.

“I guess so, I never met God Baal, but my father spoke of him often. It was usually with praise though,” She had been born long after God Baal’s death so she had never gotten to meet God Baal in person. But her father always told her stories about the false Gods. She liked the stories he used to tell her. They were always the best thing—aside from teaching her — that, he would talk about.

“Oh... sorry,” Okena felt slightly put down as Baldur said that he had questions though she wouldn’t be able to answer them. She wanted to continue talking with Baldur. She wanted to help him and discuss the ideas that were floating around in her head. She knew that there was something fishy about the ancient language and God Baal, how the map gave directions from Alagaesia to Empire Nirvana. But if Baldur didn’t want to discuss this with her, there was nothing she could do about it. She would just have to keep her ideas and thoughts to herself.

Looking at Baldur, she had to think hard about whether or not her father kept the original map. She did still own the house where she grew up, she just didn’t know if the original map would be there. “I’m not sure, I can look for it though, make a trip back to my house and search for it. Another thing is that most people couldn’t read the ancient language, they could speak it but many were illiterate. But my father was so devoted that he took the time to learn to read it. But anyways, I’ll look for it and if I find it, I’ll definitely bring it with me the next time we meet.” she smiled to Baldur. The original was quite large and she hoped that she would be able to find it. It would suck to search for it and come up empty handed. If it would help Baldur in solving this mystery, then she wanted to be as helpful as possible. She also wanted to know the truth about God Baal.

It was then that Okena yawned. Immediately covering her mouth, she set her stick on the ground and stretched her arms. “I guess this means I’m tired. You said you’d take the first watch, so wake me when it’s my turn,” she smiled sleepily over to Baldur before pulling her bag over and settling it against the log before curling up and using the bag as a pillow.

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[Amur]

Baldur carefully and neatly folded the map Okena had made and placed it within one of the pockets on the inside of his robe. For the time being he wouldn’t be able to glean any more substantial knowledge from it, so there was little need to further analyse it. He waved a dismissive hand as Okena apologised to him and then shook his head gently, she had no reason to apologise, it was hardly her fault that she wouldn’t be able to answer some of the questions that he now had concerning False God Baal.

“Don’t feel too bad if you’re unable to find anything, Okena. I realise that I’m asking a lot, but, there is something about this that just doesn’t sit well with me. I feel there’s knowledge in there somewhere that holds a lot of meaning to Nirvanian history.”
He replied calmly to Okena as she assured him that she would try to find the original map for him. Of course, he didn’t hold much hope. He didn’t doubt that Okena would try; she had given him no reason to doubt her so far, he just knew from experience that certain pieces of knowledge had a way of getting lost, especially when they had been left unattended for any considerable length of time. It was just the way such things were.

Baldur nodded gently as Okena spoke. He remained standing as she lied down, his hands both resting on the pommel of Findinokhind while the tip of the sheathed blade touched the floor. He stood in silence, his eyes not lingering in any one place for too long as he briefly scanned the area for signs of another attack... However, his thoughts were not on the task at hand, they were constantly going back to the map that Okena had made and then going further back to what she had told him of the teachings False God Baal had taught his followers.

Some of the words she had used still perplexed him, however, he had no way of confirming what she had said unless he found a means of returning to The Hallowed Capital and tracing down some of the remnants of the followers of The False Gods from there.

And Baldur was already aware that was not going to be possible. Nevertheless, he continued running through everything he had found out from Okena, and from the map she had made. Perhaps, there was just a small detail he had missed that would answer at least some of his questions.
---

Baldur shook his head gently and cast his gaze skyward, the sun was well into the phase of rising and the night had passed uneventfully. Baldur had remained awake throughout simply running through his questions and thoughts, and, had not come to any concrete conclusions. Well, other than the conclusion that he most definitely needed more reference material and knowledge on everything he had already learned from Okena.

Rolling his shoulders and head gently Baldur began to work off the feeling of stiffness brought on from standing still for so long. Okena was still sleeping, and Baldur saw no reason to wake her just yet. Adjusting his stance slightly he returned to simply standing still and gazing off into the distance, despite the fact that there had been no sign of further attackers he would not leave Okena until she woke up, he was not one to leave people that trusted him in a defenceless position.

[Mali]

Okena nodded her head as he told her not to feel too bad if she didn’t find anything. They had brought few things with them when they came here, but that map was important to her father. He treasured the thing. So chances were, it was still in their small cottage back home. But there was no reason for her to share that information with Baldur. It would only serve to get his hopes up. If she didn’t find the treasured map, then it would suck for Baldur. She didn’t want to raise him up for nothing.

---

Okena had slept rather peacefully throughout the night. She was slowly starting to stir as something warm and bright hit rose up to her eyes. Swatting at the light that was shining on her, she covered her eyes with her hand. What was Baldur doing? It must be her turn to take watch. But where would he get such a bright light? Shrugging gently, she rolled over and continued to sleep, her back facing the sun until it dawned on her.

Sitting upright, she wiped the sleep from her eyes before realising that it was already daylight. She glanced around the area and found Baldur standing. She was about to open her mouth to ask him why he hadn’t woken her but stopped short. Had there been more attackers during the night? If that were the case, maybe Baldur felt obligated to continue his watch throughout the night. Seeing as he was more capable of dealing with more attackers than she was, it only made sense.

However, there was no sign of any more attackers during the night. Even their hostage was still unconscious from the night before. Okena didn’t think she had hit him that hard for him to still be unconscious...

“Good morning Baldur,” She left it at that as her arms came up behind her head and she stretched. She wanted to ask him why he didn’t wake her, but didn’t. He probably had a good reason as to why he didn’t want to wake her, there was no point asking something like that. Maybe he didn’t trust her enough yet to let her guard his life... Oh well.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Amur]

Baldur half turned to face Okena as she wished him “good morning”, he gave a small nod. At least she was being polite, he supposed.

“Good morning, Okena. I trust you slept well.”
He said flatly, picking Findinokhind up so that he was able to hold it more comfortably. His intention was to leave fairly soon, especially now, since Okena was awake. He wouldn’t feel as though he was leaving her unable to defend herself should another attack happen once he felt. Of course, he didn’t expect it to happen, since the previous attackers had been after him, but, one could never be too certain, not with the unclear motivations the previous lot had, had.

“I intend to leave for the village soon; will you be alright by yourself from here?”
He asked calmly, knowing from experience that sometimes it could take one several hours to fully shake-off the grogginess brought about by sleep. He had not only experienced that in his younger days, but, had also seen Ace suffer from dulled reflexes and general grogginess for up to two hours after waking from sleep... He could never be sure with different people, for all he knew Okena could have been fine immediately upon waking. So, in his mind’s eye it was always best to confirm the state of the person in question, just to be sure.