Completed When Guiding Fools, Part 2

[Juniper Frost]

: : : 25th Day of Spring, 514 AV : : :

Continued from When Guiding Fools, Part 1
. . . : : : . . .

Far away, the sun's warmth dissipated in the overcast sky and lit the world below in a dull grey light. The winds were back from their distant journeys, howling through the mountain's valleys and screaming across the peaks, and with them were brought the cold snow and storms. Spring fought bravely against Winter, buffeting the deathly grasp of ice and snow with a strong hammering of warmth and new life. In the valleys, at least. Higher up in the mountains Winter reigned supreme, eternal.

Juniper had shared a morning meal with the caravan, said goodbye to Salam Sae Silth and began the journey home.

-- -- --

Halfway back up the mountain, Juniper paused to look back at where the caravan had been and where she suspected it to be now. She found herself honestly wishing Salam a safer journey, though she couldn't truly fathom why at the moment. Perhaps it was in favour of the knowledge he undoubtedly possessed as a learned Autava of Lhavit, and the shameful waste it would be if it died with him. Her face shivered lightly against a renewed winter wind and she squinted her eyes. Tightening her coat and cloak, Juniper continued on into the upper mountains and the game trail that would lead her back to Lhavit's warmth. It was a temporary warmth however.

The safety and company was wonderful in Lhavit, yet Juniper found that a wanderlust was in her blood. No, not a wanderlust, more of a deep seeded desire to search and explore for... something.

Sighing, Juniper picked her footing as best she could as she stepped lightly across the packed snow. She often found her thoughts raced back to Tristan when she considered her searching nature. She found it foolish to think that Tristan was alive still, as he was no longer a part of this world, yet some part of her kept going back to him. If not him, then the idea that he represented. Sharp cawing brought Juniper's attention from her thoughts and footing to a small plateau ahead. Juniper sucked in a breath through her teeth and her eyes widened in horror. instead of rerouting her path as she had intended, she had wandered back to the small clearing of rocks where... where the brigands lay, cold and dead.

Perhaps two dozen ravens hopped, cawed, and flapped about the area. Their sleek black coats of feathers sharply contrasting the snow yet complimenting the rock. They scattered as Juniper stopped in her tracks at a large mouth of the clearing. Swallowing down a mouthful of spit, Juniper pulled out her rapier and slowly moved in. There was no point in fleeing, the scattering ravens made sure of that. Crouching low, Juniper made sure to keep her profile low and use the white of her cloak and coat and the pale white of her skin and hair to blend into the environment. Rounding a large boulder, Juniper nearly lost her morning meal.

Blood and gore coated the clearing.

Chills ran across Juniper's skin despite her layers of clothing. Her teeth locked together, Juniper's hand gripped her rapier's hilt tightly. Her eyes darted about, reluctantly searching for any sign of cause. Stepping further into the clearing, Juniper's grey-white boots began to stain in the red snow, but she didn't care.

Two bodies, or what was left of them, lay in the centre. They were hardly recognizable as once being men, with their chests broken and their innards splayed about. Neither had legs or arms, just vast amounts of blood stained snow where they once were. One's face was frozen in a death cry, misery and suffering plainly written on his features. The other had no face, just a pulped mess where something had gnawed at with large teeth. A gloved hand sat nearby gripping a knife that still shined dully, unused. Blood was everywhere, frozen on rock and staining snow. The snows themselves spoke of a great struggle between the two men and something Juniper could not identify. Whatever it was, it was huge. Massive. Tracks of two enormous feet showed Juniper that whatever it was must have towered at least 10 feet and weighed close to a ton. She had heard stories of some white-haired man-beast that trekked the remote mountains, but these were stories told to children so they would not venture off into the wilderness. These were stories, not a ton of truth that could rend a man limb from limb.

After checking over her shoulder in a panic for the fifth time, Juniper left at a hustle for the trail.

.

[Juniper Frost]

: : : Juniper Frost : : :

25th - 26th Day of Spring, 514 AV

Fear followed Juniper from the grisly clearing, raking at her senses with its invisible claws and striking terror into her heart. Darkness fell swiftly across the mountains, with small shadows of stone stretching into grasping talons of approaching night. Howls carried on the already howling wind, and half formed shaped lurched around every rocky outcropping. Juniper's pale eyes searched frantically for safety as the deep dark of night fell. The fear drove her on, exhausted, until she collapsed in a heap from a misstep. Panic spread through her like cold fire and she screamed inaudibly, the terror trapped in her dry throat. She sucked in a breath and slowly let it out before taking in another. Slowly standing, Juniper continued to tread across the snowy mountains in the gloomy twilight.

Later, having found a suitable copse of evergreens, Juniper began to make camp but stopped short. Fire would attract predators... or worse, yet she would likely freeze without the fire's heat. There were no nearby caves she knew of, so the trees would have to do to stave off the freezing wind.
She leaned into the needled bushiness of an old spruce for comfort and warmth, but mostly to feel hidden as she pondered her options. Night crashed upon her while she scoured her thoughts, and the cold high winds buffeted the trees into harsh motions. Shivering, Juniper landed on her course of action. With as much speed as her cold limbs could muster, Juniper dropper her travelsack and began to strip off her clothing. They would be of more burden than help, anyhow.

Freezing wind bit into her naked flesh, and her silvery hair waved about her face as she removed the comb that held it in place. Setting the comb with her belongings, she quickly wrapped them in a blanket and buried the lot under snow and pine needles.

Glancing up at the myriad stars that blanketed the heavens, Juniper mused over her frail and mortal form briefly before admitting that she would not be able to stave off a deep cold from reaching her core. Without wasting another moment, Juniper Frost was no longer the slender wisp of a woman she had once been; Juniper Frost was now the white coated winter fox, the other aspect of her self as a Kelvic.

Bristling the fur around her neck and shoulders, Juniper shook vigorously and felt the cold shake out of her with the satisfying motion. After stretching her forelimbs and letting a yawn escape her mouth, she sniffed at the air. A thousand scents carried on the winds in a chaotic mess, but nothing spoke of immediate threat or danger. Juniper closed her still blue eyes against the wind, and in relief that she was relatively safe.

However, fear had other plans. Cold panic dug in her chest and she felt an intense urge to flee the mountains entirely and make for the safety of the lower foothills. Almost following through, Juniper instead bounded under the low branches of the spruce and buried herself into the snow and dead needles. Her white fur blended into the shades of snow in night, and Juniper disappeared from sight as she lay motionless.

Exhaustion soon left her feeling slack and weary. Juniper slowly curled herself into a ball, wrapping her bushy tail about herself for warmth as she drifted into a deep sleep.

-- -- --

Warmth caressed her snout and lit the back of her eyes behind her lids with an orange-red fire. Pattering sounds of dripping water danced in her pointed ears, and she could smell the heat of the sun's rays melting the snows.
Opening her eyes lazily, Juniper looked out from under the low branches of the spruce and into the copse. The winds were still blowing, but instead of piercingly cold they were now pleasantly warm and alive. Juniper rolled her shoulders and stretched out before standing on all fours. Sniffing absently at the air, she wandered out from under the tree and toward the other end of the copse to clear her bladder.

The sun was already more than a hand span above the morning horizon, which meant she had slept through the early hours and closer to midday. Juniper barked a high pitch yell, the closest she could approximate to laughter as a fox. The cold fear of the previous night was nowhere to be found under the warmth of the bright sun, and Juniper was glad for it. Her instincts told her that she was safe, and Juniper was glad for it. She was still two days of travel from Lhavit, and Juniper found that she was glad for it; she felt a need to use this time to quell the ever present nagging desire to search.

-- -- --

Scavenging was much easier than hunting, especially when the hunting was done by a mountain lion earlier in the day and the prey was caribou. Most of the stag was gone but Juniper found herself digging her fangs into the leftover carcass, ripping away chunks and staining her white maw with the caribou's cold blood. She ate heartily and only had to scamper away a handful of times while sharing the meal with other scavengers. She didn't mind the crows or ravens, it was the vultures who snapped at her direction and were quite snarky and greedy. Pondering attacking one for food for later as she tore at the caribou's hind leg, Juniper was caught off guard. Two foxes had approached, one grey and black and the other pure white. Juniper didn't bother them as they joined the feast.

In time she found her belly full and her hunger sated, so she pulled off a large piece of the caribou's rib for later. She was pulled up short, however, when she found that the grey and black fox had also chosen this rib for food. Their eyes locked, and their fanged maws snarled suddenly in unison. They each tore at the rib, neither wanting to relinquish the meaty bone. Back and forth they struggled for an advantage over the other, both dancing in circles for better footing. The black and grey fox was male, however, and had a bit more muscle in his legs and shoulders and neck, and his pulling began to wear on Juniper's smaller frame. Realizing she would lose in time, she relaxed and let the rib bone fall. The grey male seemed momentarily stunned, but quickly regained himself and carried the meaty rib off toward the other fox.

Juniper huffed out a cloud of warm breath and turned to head back to the copse and her buried belongings.

[Juniper Frost]

: : : Juniper Frost : : :

26th & 27th Day of Spring, 514 AV

Quiet sunshine warmed her fur as Juniper stepped across the snows towards the copse of trees with a full belly. Her thoughts, already slightly slow from a full belly, were focused on the trip ahead. So it came as quite the surprise when the two foxes caught up to her, and began a gentle game of biting and jumping. Juniper's bright blue eyes flashed with amusement as she joined in the play, bouncing about and chasing the mountain foxes, her journey forgotten.

The grey male led the play, often chasing both Juniper and the other white coated female up and down the mountain slopes. Barks and yelps filled the air as they pounced and pawed at each other, their bloodstained coats started to wash clean as they rolled about in the wet spring melt.

White Coat nipped at Juniper's neck while Juniper wrestled with Greymane. Juniper retaliated by releasing Greymane and returning a playful bite on White Coat. Greymane seized the opportunity to extract himself from under Juniper and bound off further up into the mountains. White Coat and Juniper rolled about for a few heartbeats before noticing the missing Greymane, at which point they both stopped their play to chase after him.

Greymane rushed ahead, but Juniper and White Coat were catching up. Suddenly Greymane leapt to one side before bounding off in the other direction, scampering into a deep and narrow ravine. Like two white arrows, Juniper and White Coat shot after him barking and yipping.

The ravine was long and winding, with some parts that looked like entrances to deeper caves, but Juniper noticed that there was no snows here. The air was tangibly warmer than above, and any snow that might have made it down would have melted. Greymane reached an apparent dead end, prompting Juniper and White Coat to slow in their chase, yet he did not slow at all. In stead Greymane leapt across a series of rocks in the ravine's face that acted as steps, allowing the grey coated fox an escape route. White Coat bounded after him, scrabbling up the cliff in hot pursuit of play while Juniper faltered at the end of the ravine.

Something seemed off to her. Something about this place nagged at the back of her mind as she watched White Coat and Greymane disappear over the upper lip. The air here smelled familiar, yet different. Following her nose, Juniper scaled the cliffs of the narrow ravine using the same jutting stone steps. After reaching the lip, Juniper realized what was off: this part of the mountain range was one that she knew she wouldn't reach until the next day. The ravine was virtually hidden into the folds of the mountain's rock, so it was little wonder why she had not spotted it before. Excited at the find, Juniper realized this ravine was a new shortcut that would shave off at least a day's worth of hard travel on the rocky trails that meandered the upper cliffs. Her icy blue eyes melted into a pleasant slice of sky blue as she turned back, returning to the copse of evergreens and her buried belongings.

-- -- --

Sharp evergreen needles stabbed and scraped across her naked flesh as Juniper pushed into the copse. She brushed off the annoyance, and picked a few needles caught fast in her tangled hair. Uncaring of the cool wind on her bare skin and colder snows underfoot, Juniper moved through the copse to the buried bundle of gear and loot. She uncovered it quickly, and nibbled on a semi frozen piece of smoked meat while her clothing hung in the sunlight to warm.

Shame of nudity was not something Juniper oft understood. The humans and other races that she had encountered all seemed to share a common disdain of nudity outside of certain settings. They were ashamed of their bodies, as far as Juniper could figure, as sought to not only hide themselves but put pressure on others to hide themselves as well. Juniper understood the practicality of clothing, as the naked flesh of humans was poor defence against the frigid and freezing mountain weather; it was the use of clothing as a sort of shield or veil to hide and protect the wearer from the sight of others that confused Juniper. Clothing hid the body beneath, hid the skin from the sun and the air. Gently caressing her own nakedness, Juniper pondered while she ate the meat.

With her clothing sufficiently warmed, she dressed herself quickly as midday had long passed and the air was cooling considerably more. Strapping on her backpack and sword, Juniper made for the shortcut ravine, confident that she would reach the other end by nightfall and have decent a shelter to sleep away the night.

-- -- --

Thick underbrush and melting snows impeded her every step, weighing her down with cold wetness. The brush clung to her pants and cloak, tugging her about as Juniper fought to push through. Gritting her teeth, Juniper mustered up the foulest curse she had ever heard and shouted it so profanely that the bush must have been offended, for Juniper broke through and stumbled about clumsily before regaining her balance. She huffed loudly, her sudden breath clouded out into the still cool air. This gave Juniper momentary pause. She always enjoyed seeing her own breath cloud out before her on cool days. Dropping the heavy bag on her back, Juniper breathed deeply again and watched her warm breath billow out like so many clouds. A smile graced her face, but it didn't last as her eyes settled on the underbrush.

The shortcut she had found through the ravine was serendipity, but also proved to be a nuisance as well as a blessing; the ravine led Juniper further down the mountain and into the dense growth further below. This course may have struck a day from her journey, but the climb back up the mountain would be difficult, especially with the loot in her bag. Not to mention the trouble of traversing the dense forest she had found herself in. Juniper cursed aloud once more, not so profanely lest the underbrush take offence once more and this time strike out. She recognized the area at the exit of the ravine, but forgot about the landslide that had decimated the old trail that snaked about the mountains there. Having exited the ravine and hiked up the mountain trail, Juniper faced the ruined mountainside and was forced to take an alternate route, one that led her through this forest.

Sniffing at the air, Juniper raised one of her pale hands and wiped at her brow. She had broken a light sweat pushing through the undergrowth, which surprised her somewhat. Sweat and cold weather were not a good combination. Seeing only one option available until she could find shelter for the night, Juniper hefted her loot laden backpack and strapped it to her back once more before trekking off deeper into the forest.

Tall needle bearing evergreens mixed with the skeletal limbs of winter-dead leaf bearing trees. Juniper spotted fir, pine, spruce, and yew, all showing signs of sprouting little nibs of new growth on their needled limbs. Among the skeletons of the leafy trees there was maple, birch, oak, elm, and the ever present nuisance that was alder. Juniper was not much for strong emotions, but she hated alder bush trees. These trees were not so bad on more level ground, but when growing on mountainsides alder sprouted horizontally. This made any kind of travel through them dangerous, as one misstep could send a mountaineer plummeting down to no good end. Juniper hated alder not because it was a nuisance plant, but because it posed a danger to her journey.

Juniper avoided the alder, shooting pure hatred from her eyes as she passed it by, and pressed on through the less thick foliage.

-- -- --

Fear chased Juniper out of the woods hours later. The sounds of something large, heavy, and hungry crashed through the woods some distance away and Juniper knew better than to stick around as its convenient meal. She burst through the treeline and ran in the open land until her legs no longer ached but simply burned sullenly. Several minutes of heavy breathing and Juniper was glad to see that nothing had apparently followed her. Unstrapping and setting down her heavy pack, Juniper sat beside it on the grassy hill and stared out at the landscape.

She was much further down the mountain than she had hoped to be. The mountains to her left were at least an hour away, thankfully clear of anything as dense as the forest behind her. They loomed above Juniper, imposing and massive, as if they were remnants of an age of colossal giants or their dead and dried bodies. A wistful smile played across her face as she openly gaped and admired their settled beauty, infinite and unmoving. Immortal.

Sucking in a lungful of air through her nose, Juniper realized the air down here was much, much more dense that as it was in the upper mountains or her home in Lhavit. The air was thick, heavy with the smells of a faster approaching spring in the lowlands. At this thought, Juniper looked about the lowland area she sat upon.

Grassy knolls and rocky hills washed about the land like frozen waves of earth and greenery. They crashed upon the shores of the mountains and, instead of washing back upon themselves, mounded further upon themselves until they seemed to join with the mountain itself. That, or the mountains were heaving themselves up from under world and the hills were the waves that surged out from them.

The hillocks and mounds were practically barren, save for a few scraggly bushes and the small grasses that grew around and on the rocky hills. Barren save for a distant tree on a distant hill that struck up from the mound as if it were a skeletal hand grasping for the infinite sky. Standing, Juniper shouldered her bag and wandered toward the tree. She had hours to go until mid-day, having slept the previous night in the sheltering ravine, and Juniper was enjoying the heady feeling she had while breathing the heavy air.

The tree was much father than she had figured, and was far larger than she had supposed. As Juniper scaled the hill's top, she saw that the tree was old. Not just old, but as ancient as the olden gods of her forebears. This relic of a bygone age towered far above her, a testament to a world she had never known and to the life of a once proud and noble tree. The blackened wood was solid as the stones beneath it, and thrummed like cold metal under Juniper's touch. no leaves sprouted from its branches, nor surrounded its base as would the leaves of Autumn trees. No grass or weed or tree grew beneath it, nor on the entirety of the hill's top. Juniper marvelled at the uncanny mystery of this tree, and wondered why she had never come across or heard of it before. Surely a landmark such as this would be spoken of, or at least be in some record in Lhavit. Juniper's eyes spanned the tree, from the rooted base to the gnarled branches twice as thick as her own body. She soon realized how this once living tree had perished.

From its uppermost branches to its midpoint the tree was split in half, sundered by a bolt of lightning so intense that it frightened Juniper to consider it. Mimicking the murderer, thunderbolts of burned wood blacker than the wood itself snaked down the tree's trunk in a weaving and intricate pattern. Juniper traced her fingers along these lines as she walked around the lonely tree. The wind slowly died down to a gentle breeze, but Juniper didn't notice. The clouds overhead dissipated until there was only the bright blue of morning, but Juniper didn't notice. A voice inside her urged her to grab her things and leave quickly, but Juniper didn't notice.

The wood thrummed under her hand. The wood held her in place. The wood breathed through her.

Juniper sucked in a sudden breath as the entire length of the tree began to glow a colourless aura. She stood with her hand against the tree, staring in fascination and fear as the thrumming wood vibrated a harmony with the colourless aura. The ground beneath her feet began to rumble and provide the deepest earthen bass, tuning itself with the thrumming tree, until a part of the hill near the tree's roots collapsed in on itself and revealed a large pit. Juniper removed her hand and skipped several steps back, and the harmonious thrumming stopped almost immediately.

The wood was motionless. The earth no longer heaved. The wind returned.

Tentative and wary, Juniper moved toward the pit in the roots. It was black as the blackest night and Juniper could only guess how far down it went. The air grew cold, colder than the wind or weather of spring. She felt herself drawn to the hole. No, to the entrance, for surely this was no simple pit but a gateway to somewhere beyond. Juniper took another step. Noise unlike anything she had ever heard drained from the entrance in a slowly building wave. The noise flooded her ears and bogged down her senses. It patterned, yet was without form. The noise flooded the air like broken echoes of lightning and thunder.

Cold sweat matted Juniper's clothes to her body, and she took another step closer to the portal. She felt fear unlike anything she had ever known, fear with no kin, fear with no equal. Juniper took another step, her insides screaming in mixed ecstasy and terror. Formless, the void poured out from the tree's roots and reached for her, enveloped her. Desperation and an infinite futility filled her entire being.

She heard the words filter through the noise.

"Djas... djas... djas..."

Juniper felt like she could crawl out of her skin as the noise intensified upon itself. Within and alongside the voice came a roar, twice as loud as the noise but using the noise to make itself heard. Thrum, thrum, thrum. Deafening roar.

Thrum thrum thrum, thrum thrum.

Thrum thrum thrum, thrum thrum.

Thrum thrum thrum, thrum thrum.

Juniper screamed. She screamed in terror, in fear, in horror. The voice rang like a bell.

"Djas..."

Thrum thrum thrum, thrum thrum.

Juniper screamed so loudly that it was hardly a scream and more of a primal reaction, and the noise ended abruptly.

Juniper stared at the dim hole in the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. There was no void, there was no noise. There was only a hole that lead under the roots of an ancient tree older than the gods and... a door.

Her skin relaxed and her hair settled somewhat, and without intending to Juniper vomited.

Recovering herself as best as she could, Juniper wiped her mouth and drank from her waterskin until she could no longer taste bile. She wiped her mouth again and felt relief flood through her and dance across her skin with the cool spring wind. Somehow, Juniper knew it was over. Somehow, Juniper knew that the tree was alive. Somehow, Juniper knew that something else lived beneath the tree, behind the door and further below. Something even older than the ancient tree.

Juniper swallowed down more water. She couldn't bring herself to leave, regardless of the lingering fear. She had been terrified beyond comprehension before, but now found that she felt safe. The contradiction sent her mind reeling, and Juniper sat down. Whatever it was had gone, retreated when confronted with her primal reaction. Whatever it was had tested her in some way, and now that it had ended Juniper felt safe and almost blissfully comfortable. Save for the lingering fear that slowly melted at the back of her neck. Juniper slowly stood and moved for her backpack. She rummaged around inside and withdrew one of the daggers she had lifted from the brigands. She stood once more and moved toward the tree. Raising the dagger, Juniper sliced off a lock of her own hair and placed the dagger back in its sheath. She moved closer to the now benign tree and tied the strands of her own hair to a splintered piece of its bark.

"Djas," spoke Juniper, rolling the word about in her mouth like a stone.

"Djas," spoke Juniper, as she walked away from the tree with her pack and loot heading for the distant mountains.

-- -- --

Mid-day rolled by lazily as Juniper climbed the foothills and legs of the mountains, hiking a slow climb to the rougher terrain of the mountains. Snows covered much more of the mountains than the hills below, and Juniper found that she was paying much more attention to her footing now that her backpack was laden with a heavier load. One misplaced step and Juniper would tumble down the mountain and dash her body upon the rocks. Instead of terrifying her, the risk of imminent death fortified her resolve to reach the upper peaks, to succeed the summit.

Hiking mountains as told in tales is often filled with risk and brave men who confront the dangers presented in the rugged land. These brave men don't hike the mountain, or climb it, they scale it with intense fervour and dominate it in the end. These stories always made Juniper laugh lightly, for they were riddled with half truths and mock bravado. Juniper knew that these were only stories, and needed the dramatic element, but Juniper also knew of the truth. Conquering a cairn or ranges of rugged mountains was extremely dangerous if one went about it full of bravado and self assured ignorance. It was these stories that Juniper kept in mind as she approached the area of mountains she referred to as The Falls.

The Falls was a series of mountains that stretched for leagues across Kalea, yet were unlike any of the other mountains. The Falls were daggers thrust up through the rolling tumble of rough rock, vertical bluffs that cut into the heavens. The Falls were so named by Juniper because at the summit of many of the peaks were pools of the clearest freshwater that fed rivers and streams, all of which tumbled down the rock face and fed further rivers in the lowlands. Also because she thought it would be quite the journey if anyone had the misfortune to fall while climbing those cliffs. The waterfalls and wet stone was an invitation for disaster, but Juniper knew its secrets and where to safely climb. Standing on a nearby peak of a lesser mountain, Juniper plotted her course up the side of a strip of dry rock face. Within minutes, she was scaling the sheer cliff.

Her heart pounded silently, too afraid to pound loudly lest it send Juniper off balance, as Juniper reached higher up still and grasped a handhold of rock. She was nearing the summit, in between two massive roaring waterfalls, and was half aware of her gratitude to the stones for not giving under her weight. Painfully aware of the extra weight on her back, Juniper had tightened the straps on her bag after further securing the insides so it would not wobble about and send her off balance and ultimately to an untimely demise. She groaned loudly, pulling herself further up the cliff and securing her feet on a small ledge large enough for a mouse to scrabble across. Her breath poured out in a controlled burst as she hugged the rock face; even her breathing had to be perfect. The angle of the cliff was not entirely vertical, so she was able to climb it without the need for climbing equipment, but it no less difficult. She turned her head to the side and looked upward, ensuring she would not tilt backward as she surveyed the cliffs for handholds and the route she had planned out. She hefted her left arm up and snagged another grip to lift herself up with. The constant mountain wind picked up and sent Juniper's bound hair into a light fray, momentarily panicking her. She felt the wind tug at her backpack and Juniper prayed desperately to the wind to relent, to the stone to stay firm, to her grip to stay strong. She was stuck, one hand reaching out and her feet tentative on a ledge barely fit for her toes, while the wind raged about and tugged at her clothing and hair and bag. The longswords strapped to her back caught in the wind and threatened to take both the bag and her off with the wind. Juniper shut her eyes and held on, cursing her greed, until the wind slowly dissipated to a breeze once more. Swallowing a lump in her throat, Juniper opened her eyes and pressed on.

Nearing the summit Juniper faced potential disaster a second time when her cloak untied about her body and caught in the wind, choking and blinding her as it tore with the wind like a loose sail. So it was with great effort and much cries of distress that Juniper heaved herself atop The Falls' summit and lay panting for many heartbeats. She would have stayed as such for longer. but summit winds are just as strong as cliff winds, and they caught at her still loose cloak and backpack. She pulled her cloak from her neck and stuffed it under her body as she extracted her bag from her back and lay it beside her. Breathing heavily, Juniper gave herself a few minutes to rest and recuperate before sitting up and securing her bag and cloak on her body once more.

Sitting on the summit, Juniper scanned the surrounding mountains. She soaked in the horizons, the roaring wind and waterfalls, the smells of fresh mountain air mixed with the purest mountain mist floating around The Falls. Juniper breathed it all in, filling herself with its essence, its life. She soaked it in, bathed in it, and felt herself surrender to the ecstasy of accomplishment. Only three times had Juniper scaled The Falls, and the first two times had proven to be games of chance. Exhilarated, Juniper stood upright and moved to the edge of The Falls, to the edge of oblivion, and cried out to the world in defiance.

-- -- --

Finding herself coated in sweat from the added exertion of hauling a doubly heavy bag up a sheer cliff, Juniper moved to one of the freshwater lakes on the summit and nestled into tumble of boulders that walled off the winds. Dropping her bag and unbuckling her cloak, she stripped and stuffed her clothing into a nook between two boulders before moving closer to the pool. She needed to wash off the sweat and anxiety before she continued on. Juniper dove into the small lake of the coldest and clearest water, and felt herself being cleansed immediately. The cold did not sap into her warmth, but rather mixed with it, complimented her heat and wiped away her surface. She swam inside the lake, holding in a lungful of air, eyes closed, and felt the tension in her body diffuse into the purity of the water. Juniper felt herself relax as she waded through the depths of the water. Bringing herself to a floating bob in the small lake, her long hair spreading about her head like a silver-white halo, Juniper slowly rose toward the surface. Breaking the pool's surface, Juniper opened her crystal blue eyes and looked about the summit. A ghost of a smile hinted at her lips, and Juniper swam to the edge.

As she reached the shallows, Juniper became the fox. Her darkening spring coat was again the purest white of drifting snow, and she shook out the water in her coat before moving to a flattened area of rock with direct sunlight. Lazing down upon the stone, Juniper further dried herself in the warming sun.

-- -- --

Juniper awoke to a cooler air and her muzzle nestled into her tail. No more than three hours had passed, by her account of the sun's position, and she still had plenty of distance to cover. As Juniper uncoiled and stood, she became the woman once more. Dressing herself and hefting her bag, Juniper turned for Lhavit feeling rejuvenated.

[Juniper Frost]

: : : Juniper Frost : : :

27th Day of Spring, 514 AV

Gold would be a dull colour with which to compare to the glowing sunlight that bathed the mountain peaks, and illuminated the architectural and artistic talent of the Amaranthine Gate that already shone so beautifully by itself. Two sentinel Shinya stood at their posts, resolute and imposing yet welcoming and fair as they hailed the approach of travellers. The myriad scents of yonder Lhavit carried on the still-warm evening breeze, and was a tantalizing and teasing promise of one of the beautiful treasures that waited beyond the gates and guards. Softer candle and torch light began to grow stronger as the day's light sank beyond the mountainous horizons, creating a spectacular blooming light which back-lit the Amaranthine Gate. The gentle sounds of daily life coming to evening rest also carried on the currents, regaling those at the gates of the excitement to be found in conversation with the Autava of Lhavit; of the promise of good company and warm friendship.

Juniper stood on the long bridge leading to the Amaranthine Gate of Lhavit, musing to herself as she leaned against the railing and soaked it all in. Every last bit of it. She loved Lhavit, and she loved her life here. It was not a perfect city, as with any city Lhavit had problems, but it was perfect to Juniper. Nestled high up in the mountains, Lhavit was a wonderful for people like herself. Her love of exploration and daring to risk her own safety to scale and traverse the dangerous mountains paid double with her work as a Wilderness Guide, leading travellers and explorers through the treacherous terrain with as much safety as she could offer. Yet no matter what lay beyond in the wilds, Juniper always found a profound comfort and solace upon arriving at the gates of Lhavit and soaking in the city and the vast landscape that was its yard. For as far as she could see, mountains ranged and rivers coursed. Forests and dells and plateaus, lakes and ponds and deep wells, the tallest peaks which cut into the heavens and the smooth rolling hills below, these and more filled Juniper with a deeper appreciation for her innate kind of wanderlust. Kalea was a ruggedly beautiful land that stretched forever, and Lhavit was the shining jewel upon its foremost peaks. Lhavit was home.

Juniper smiled, and felt an intense warmth fill her chest. Lhavit was home.

-- -- --

Passing through the gates and into Lhavit, Juniper had only taken a few strides before a large booming voice called out to her. She turned and recognized the speaker as a fellow guide and traveller of Kalea, Garguuth Blackfang. He was fully two heads taller than she stood. With massive trunk legs and arms of corded steel, Garguuth was an imposing and intimidating figure, especially because of his large black beard and the two rows of tempered black-steel fangs he sported as teeth. Scars covered most of his skin, and one eye was grey with near blindness. Everyone moved out of his way, regardless of their station or social status or self confidence. Smiling enthusiastically, Juniper skipped over to the large man.

After their formalities of greetings, Garguuth led Juniper through the streets toward her home. They chatted amiably about many things, from the latest news in Lhavit to the conditions of the landscape and roads; from clouds to suitable places for shelter and new ideas on how to build camps in unforgiving areas. Juniper held onto his massive arm easily with both hands, the perfect contrasting picture of a tiny woman with a massive man.

Garguuth Blackfang was at once both a wilderness guide and a hardened sellsword, but when faced with Juniper's smile he melted like wax and talked openly of their shared trade and work. Juniper, in turn, hinted at the possibility of having found a new path that could save plenty of time while traversing a part of the mountains. Garguuth smiled knowingly, and offered to take her up on the unspoken offer at some other time before he bid her farewell as they approached the Juniper Cottage, her home. They hugged as friends, and Juniper invited Garguuth to return for tea before the large man made his departure.

Juniper stayed at her cottage long enough to slough off her backpack and gear before wandering in search of Regor.

-- -- --

Invigorating scents of orange and lemon wafted from the cups of tea before Juniper and Regor. At Regor's beckoning, Juniper wasted little time in disclosing the events of her journey with Salam Sae Silth. By the end of her tale she was exhausted, physically from the long journey and emotionally from reliving the experience of killing the brigands. By the end of her tale, Juniper had finished her tea and Regor was nodding appreciatively. A silence filled the airy apartment as Regor sipped at his tea.

"Go and rest, Juniper. You have been through much," Regor finally spoke after several moments. Juniper opened her eyes and looked at Regor's sympathetic face. She sighed and stood to leave.

"I was not sure how much longer I could stay awake," Juniper said with a light laugh, "thank you Regor."

"No, thank you Juniper... thank you."

-- -- --

Blood unseen stained her pale white hands. Blood that Juniper felt she would never be able to wash off. Blood of life, blood of death.

Juniper sat on her little bed in her little home and wept.

[Brandon Blackwing]

Juniper Frost

XP Award:

• Observation +3
• Tracking +1
• Wilderness Survival +2
• Mountaineering +2
• Climbing +1
• Swimming +1

Lore:

• Tracks of a monster!
• Wilderness Survival : Fur wards of cold
• Sunlight dissipates fear
• Wilderness Survival: scavenging
• Foxes make excellent playmates
• Clothing: Protection against both the elements and stares
• Discovery: Shortcut ravine
• The different trees in the Kalean mountains
• Landmark For Mountaineering: Mysterious Tree
• Hole Near The Tree Inflicts Fear
• Everything Is Harder With A Backpack Full Of Loot
• Ah, Lhavit! Good old homey Lhavit!
• Garguuth Blackfang: Initmidating Wilderness Guide
• The Consequences Of Killing
  

Notes:
As to be expected from you, you did once again a marvelous job Jun! Well written as per usual, I was impressed time and time again. Especially with the foxes, I loved that part! I could see it in my mind as if I was there, it was great.

However, there are a few minor things I’d like to point out… Firstly, while I did gave you xp for it, Juniper didn’t have any Swimming xp and that means –or so I guess- that she can’t swim. Or maybe that she can't swim very well. So it was a bit unlikely that she would choose to bathe in a deep pond, but then again, foxes should be able to swim I think, so meh. Forget I said anything.
Secondly, the third post was –for me- a bit too long. I’d advice to split posts of that length in smaller ones, since it was a bit of a drag to read for one or other reason. I think just due to the sheer vastness of it.
And lastly, hours, minutes and seconds are bells, chimes and ticks respectively in Mizahar. I thought I’d mention that.

Otherwise you did fantastic once again, keep this up! I would be surprised if you wouldn’t win the featured thread award someday.

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