To say that she can’t really explain how she ended up in this situation is an understatement to say the least. Her caravan left behind amongst the glittering lamps of Eclipse City, Leni-Aura, after much delay and consideration… decided to follow a whim of her own. It’s all a whirlwind of events that have long since blurred together between the travel, the bickering, and the babysitting of new and old companies alike.

It’d been nearly months since she had originally ventured into the Ash Lands with Beist, stumbling upon a clue to the Sol Stone which brought her here, to this place… eventually. Illiterate as she was, it was a struggle to figure out exactly what the runes on the sacrificial dagger she’d picked up from the Ashlands actually meant.

She even forgot about it more than once— succumbing to the idea that Avasha had sent her on a goose chase— and how did she expect her to figure this out, anyways? But as it were, the runes were pictographs— and something in one of Orym’s many flamboyant stories and myths of far gone places had jogged that memory.

After meeting up again with Astrid and her… friend. By coincidence. She’s even more convinced of the location being somewhere here… surely. Where the giants once stepped.

Leni-Aura narrows her eyes against the wind; the sand is hot underpaw in the late afternoon, as she treks up yet another one of the Arid Mesa’s generous sand dunes and well-hidden precipices, using her spear as a makeshift walking stick to test the stability of the rocks before them.

Sand kicks from beneath her paws as she hops up the last stretch of shifting earth, and…

The wind is warm as it gusts across her face; her gaze drifts across… more red sand dunes, more silt, and more hot winds gusting fine grains across the mesa. Good. Great. Emptiness for miles as far as she can see, but another dune stretches out before them, and over the crest of that…?

Perhaps more emptiness.

“Ugh.” Leni-Aura’s shoulders slump a bit, a sigh escaping her lips as she looks to Nimbus, coiled around her shoulders. The drake’s body curls against her neck, body draping around her shoulders in a way that’s drowsy and lax. She breathes through her nose, reaching up to stroke Nimbus’ cheek while he naps.

He simply chitters softly in response from somewhere deep in his throat, tucking himself closer to her over the disturbance. She turns just enough to look over her shoulder at her two temporary companions— one of whom she has worked with prior with some trouble, but success— and one whom she has not... worked with ever. May not again.

“Not here— perhaps over the next, or the next after. No telling. We may prepare to make camp for the night if we continue to find nothing like this.”

Calling Tsarra a friend would be much too kind. Astrid moreover tolerates the triton who somehow managed to follow along with her weeks after their initial break in at the Villa of Lost Souls. She suspects Zarius pointed Tsarra in Astrid's direction and gave her some reason to follow along. If his idea is to keep the half-dwarf out of trouble, Tsarra will surely do the exact opposite. Luckily, grandpa Bellighul forgave Astrid for the chaos that befell the mansion, though not without some chores to make up for it. For all the damage, it was nothing more than a slap on the wrist, and it was mostly because he couldn't even recall what it was they ended up stealing. 

Plus Astrid pinned most of it on Tsarra and Hyl and the cultists. 

This wasn't necessarily incorrect, but she herself was definitely responsible for a significant amount of door damage. Bellighul doesn't need to know that. 

Running into Leni has been a highlight of the trip so far, as grueling as the trip has been. The tiny warrior has come a long way since their first job together in the Lightning Fields, and she's excited to show the rabbitaur all that she's learned when they inevitably run into more problems. Apparently, Leni and Some Guy had been at the Black Harvest Ball, and she didn't even notice! There were a lot of other things going on that day, though. 

Cresting another hill and seeing another expanse of wasteland threatens to dishearten Astrid. It's been a long journey. Maybe it is best to make camp for the night. Even Charles' footfalls have slowed down, though that might be because dirt and sand have gotten into the crevices of his joints. 

"Aye, it could be over the next one," she says with a huff. "I could send along Miss Melodia ta go check it out fer us. Scout ahead, so ta speak." In their long journey, Astrid has called on the ghost woman Melodia a few times. Once the caretaker of an orphanage, Melodia has a way with children and their behavior. She's been a big help in keeping Astrid from making any rash decisions out of annoyance, particularly in regard to Tsarra. It brings Melodia joy and a sense of purpose to help keep the small mercenary out of too much danger, so scouting ahead is well within her wheelhouse. 

By the Gods this SUCKED. Who thought it was a good idea to go to a freaking desert of all places! Past Tsarra did apparently. Past Tsarra is an idiot. Current Tsarra does not like past Tsarra very much as she slogs up the sand dune at the back of the group.

Typically, triton and dry heat did not get along particularly well. She should have known this would be a bad time given the region is called the 'Arid' Mesa. Arid, as in dry, as in not wet.

Blegh. 

She huffs and rests her hands on her knees as they take a look across the near endless desolate land. Astrid she knew from their adventure in infiltrating that cultist castle on the coast of Zeinav, another dry desert! She should have learned her lesson the first time. Luckily the castle had been on the coast, so the ocean was just a stone's throw away. Here you could throw a rock and only hit more rock. 

The fuzzy lady was new, but Astrid seemed to know her so she must be a half-decent person maybe. Not that it really mattered to the triton. She worked with plenty of jerks. Like that stuck up tiefling. He had the audacity to kick her off the job that he put her on with Astrid in the first place! Something about a 'severe lack of discretion' and 'collateral damage'. Fuck him. She wasn't going to hand over whatever they found anyway. It had always been her intention to sell it off to the highest bidder. 

That's why she followed after Astrid, pretending like she was still on the job. Didn't seem like the kid knew any different which worked perfectly for the triton's genius plan to get to the Sol Stone first. The fuzzy lady might be a problem though. If the sand and the sun and the wind and the everything else didn't stop her first, the fuzzy lady might get in the way. 

Tsarra did consider some sort of sneaky sabotage. Maybe sneak something into the fuzzy lady's meal to make her sick. Course, the triton wasn't one to plan ahead, so anything requiring that amount of preparation was far beyond her. At least this time she had a weapon and not only a pouch full of past-their-prime fish. 

"Camp would be good! My feet are killin' me."

“It could...” she agrees with a sigh— although she doesn’t sound necessarily convinced just yet. Her eyes follow Astrid as she travels up the dune after her. “Would be helpful, if Miss Melodia could go through a few dunes ahead…” Leni-Aura turns her body to look back out across the red sands.

Then, she looks to the two companions she’s chosen to travel with. Well, the one companion she’s chosen to travel with, and the fish… who’s looking a little cooked after their long days of travel into the mesa. “We are all tired; the land here is much like Zeinav, but… the sands are finer. Wind is heavier.” she breathes a sigh, looking back out over the dunes. “Makes for a rough travel; wagons could not ride out here easily.”

How long have they traveled this same landscape, anyways?

Slipping on the fine grains of the Arid Mesa, and baking under the heat?

Even her eyes are tired of only seeing this; after a moment of consideration, she turns back to the other two. “Astrid,” she adds. She turns back to the dunes; Leni-Aura narrows her eyes, reaching out with her arms to gesture to the general vicinity with the point of her spear. “Could you ask Miss Melodia to check… a few paces beyond there? If she finds nothing, then… we will start to set up camp for the night. Ye? Okay?”

She looks back at the two for confirmation.

They’ll need to find a source for fire to stave off cold desert nights; dry brush, ideally— which the mesa thankfully is quite good for, given it never rains in the first place… although, she could try to force it if absolutely necessary for their survival.

... at this rate, it might be just exclusively for the fish, honestly.

Astrid claps her hands together in some effort to wake them all up and keep their spirits high. She says in her signature chipper voice, "Well, good thing we don't got a wagon with us, yeah? Nothin' too heavy ta tug along, at least." Besides the fish's dead weight. She doesn't say that, but she shamelessly thinks it. 

With Leni's further confirmation, Astrid calls for her guardian ghost, Melodia. The translucent woman appears beside her. "Hello Astrid, dear. What can I help you with today?" She looks around. "Oh, my, it seems you've all made quite a lot of progress on your journey..."

"Aye," Astrid agrees, trying to keep the tiredness from squeaking through her voice. "It's been a long day. We were wonderin' if ya could help us out and look ahead. If we're pretty far from the temple place we're lookin' fer, we'll set up camp and call it a day."

"Of course, dear," Melodia says, making to pat her head but not making a full connection. "I'll go as far as the magic allows and report back if I find anything. I'll keep an eye out for a place with more cover for you all to camp as well, does that sound good?" Astrid nods in response, and Melodia inclines her head to the others. Just before she makes to leave, she pauses and looks back to the half-dwarf. "Oh, and Cantio sends his love." Then she floats across the landscape and disappears into the shadows of the dunes. 

Hearing Cantio's thinking about her reinvigorates Astrid, and she claps her hands together again. "Alright! I'll look fer some firewood or tender or whatever! Won't have no issues sparkin' a flame with Spicy here." She pats the hellhound's side, and the canine lets out a somewhat grumbly boof. He's tired too. In fact, most of the journey, the hellhound has had hungry eyes for the two animalistic members of the group, but he's a good boy who won't make moves without his master's command. For now. He is hungry.

Tsarra looks at the fuzzy woman. She had four feet, would that mean her feet were four times as sour? No wait, that wasn't how math worked...right?

Bah.

Anyway, the fuzzy woman seemed to be holding up better than the triton, and Astrid was an endless well of energy. While Tsarra wasn't self conscious enough to worry about being a hinderance, she was pretty motivated to give this her best effort. They were a troupe of independent strong women who didn't need no dumb tiefling man telling them what to do. 

Damn.

She really wanted to wave the Sol Stone in his smug face. Maybe he'd cry. That'd be fun. 

Snapping back to reality, she watches as Astrid calls upon Melodia.

Ah. Ghost mom. Perfectly normal. 

The phantom was actually a great help and her feet wouldn't get tired like theirs since she just floated everywhere. Must be nice being a floaty ghost. She probably doesn't get hot or dried out either with no skin.

Wait.

If she had no skin then...wouldn't she be a skeleton instead of a ghost? Or a ghost skeleton? A skeletost? A ghoton?

Aaaaaaah. 

The exhaustion was making her think more than she liked. She shakes her head and focuses on making camp.

"I can fill up everyone's canteens." She offers.

There wasn't a lot she could do in this situation. She didn't know how to set up a tent that wasn't a tarp suspended by ropes between trees, she didn't know how to hunt on land, and she wasn't very good at starting fires. She was an expert at putting them out though.

Leni-Aura’s ears perk with the sound of Astrid’s enthusiastic clap, but she does not share the same type of optimism. “Indeed,” she agrees. She feels the shuffling of Nimbus on her shoulders, awoken by Astrid’s clap; he yawns, jaws stretching wide to show rows of sharp, ivory teeth.

“Miss Melodia,” Leni greets the ghost woman as Astrid calls her forth; it is not the most enthusiastic of greetings, given how far they have walked… but then again, not much the rabbitaur does could ever really be considered enthusiastic. While Astrid speaks with her, she takes a look around: a flat space to dig a campfire and set up a temporary shelter for the lot of them is what she’d preferably like to find.

After a quick glance around, her eyes lie on Melodia again. She takes a step back as the ghost moves to pass, and dips her head in return. She rises up as Melodia leaves, a spark of surprise traveling up her spine like a lightning bolt when she hears a second clap. She throws Astrid a glance, breathing a hesitant sigh as her eyes fall upon the hellhound.

She hasn’t liked the way it looks at her since she met it; she quickly looks away from it and clears her throat. She’s not afraid of it, she just doesn’t want to stab Astrid’s hellhound if it goes wild. “...Right.” she agrees, not wanting to meet the creature’s hungry eyes; she turns away, looking to Tsarra with a nod.

She has learned the fish isn’t really that great at much else in the few days they’d traveled together.

“That would be good. Astrid, before you go, leave Tsarra your canteen?” she suggests, unclipping her own from around her waist, and tossing it to Tsarra. She waits to see if the fish even manages to catch it, before she turns away. “I will work on a place to set up the campsite in the meantime. Join me if you want, fish.”

With that, Leni-Aura bounds forwards; her body shifts slightly against fine grains of sand as she surfs down the dune, onto the flatter expanse of the base between the two dunes to begin digging out a hole for the campfire, and set up for the night before the chill of the evening begins to set in.

Without much warning, Astrid tosses her canteen to Tsarra then looks at her hound. "Come on, Spicy! Let's find some stuff fer burnin'!" With that, she tromps off across the sands in search of brush. There's a more craggy area not too terribly far away, and she figures where the dirt is harder, there might be plants of some sort. At least, there might be dead plants of some sort. So she strolls in that direction, energy renewed, and confidence in her stride. Even if they don't find something much worth burning, there might be a good place to camp out.

It takes a while for Astrid and Spicy Pawsage to make it to the area with Charles stumbling behind them both, barely keeping up with his feet slipping in the sand. She walks around the rockier, more solid area, glad that her feet find easy purchase here. She almost missed the sound of her boots clomping against the ground. There are a few twigs, a couple of tumbleweeds and petrified wood that she collects. Spicy Pawsage trots around with his nose to the ground sniffing something out. Suddenly, the hound pauses and looks intently ahead, tension taking up his whole body like a spring ready to release. 

Charles notices this first and speaks up. "Mistress Astrid, report: It appears Spicy Pawsage has caught a scent." 

"Hm? What's wrong, Spicy?" she asks, looking over at the hellhound then following his eye. There are grooves from wagon wheels over here. Interesting. Stuffing the potential kindling into Charles' metal backpack, she goes over and starts looking them over. Curiosity gets the better of her, so she follows the trail down until eventually, she spots the smoke from a fire. Then tents and various supply crates come into view. And then she sees what looks like two very hulking, red creatures adorned with imposing horns. They stand taller than a few regular-sized humanoids in hoods, and they seem to be guarding something... Oh! 

Astrid immediately calls Melodia back. The ghost manifests before her, startled and pulled away from her other task. "Astrid?? What's-" Before she speaks more, Astrid puts a finger to her lips and points. Glancing over, Melodia sees what she sees. "Oh. Oh, dear. That seems like exactly what we're searching for. How about I go check this out and you go back to the others?"

"Aye," Astrid quietly agrees. "Sounds good. Careful!" Melodia nods and goes invisible and goes to investigate the building while Astrid quickly returns to Leni and Tsarra. "Oi, oi!" she calls once they're in sight. Stumbling down the sand dune, she reaches camp easily enough, but Charles does not have such an easy time. He trips and tumbles down the dune instead, and Spicy Pawsage barks at him, either playfully or out of annoyance - it's hard to tell. Panting, Astrid continues. "I-I found a place. There's some big red devil-lookin' guys and some hooded guys! I think that's what we're lookin' fer! Miss Melodia is checkin' the place out!" 

---

Call Ghost - recast [post 1/3]

Tsarra catches Leni's canteen but then fumbles Astrid's and it clatters onto the ground. She gives Astrid a stink face then picks it up and fills it with water...and maybe some dirt for flavor.^[1] Little wilder spice never killed anyone. Anyone she knew at least.

She works with Leni to set up the camp. She wasn't even sure if Leni remembered her name from when she introduced herself. She had expected at least a little recognition. She was a pirate after all! People should know her name, right? So what if she hadn't really done anything yet, surely some people knew, right?

Tsarra, Astrid, and Leni hadn't talked a whole lot but it was pretty clear that both the rabbit and the brat weren't really out to make friends with her.  In fact, the kid seemed to be really snarky and holding some sort of grudge. 

Fine by her. She didn't need to be friends with anyone.

She was fine on her own.

Everything was fine.

Just fine. 

The dust stung her eyes and she rubs them. Ugh, everything was so gritty out here it was unbearable. Hopefully they could get this job done sooner rather than later. The dry air and blowing sand was irritating.

She looks up from what she's working on as Astrid tromps up in a rush with the construct and flaming doggo hot on her heels. At least the fish was better on land than the tin can. 

"Really? That's great! Wait, devils? Like tieflings or like real ones?" She asks.

It didn't really matter, they could take them. Probably. Maybe. 

---

[1] Create Water

Leni-Aura shakes some of the sand from her paws as she finishes digging a hole deep enough to layer rocks and whatever Astrid brings back to help thicken the fire pit. She breathes a sigh, looking up to Tsarra with tired eyes as the fish bumbles around her chosen spot to make camp— she’s doing her best to help… she thinks.

It’s hard to tell. She seems a little here and there so far; but she appreciates the persistence even if Astrid has been at her throat for most of the journey. She is not entirely sure why; but it’s not her business, really.

Never one to be a chatterbox, she works fairly quietly to arrange things— marking where the tents will go around the fire, and where she plans to stack up whatever Astrid brings back from the brittle, arid mesa beyond their quaint little dune.

Leni-Aura is lying in the sand on her belly while she arranges some nearby sandstone into a circle for a make-shift fire pit when she hears Astrid returning. The rabbitaur’s ears perk, and she lifts her head as Astrid stumbles down the sand dune towards them. “What? You did not find anything?” Leni-Aura frowns, standing up to her paws and moving towards Astrid as the child frantically relays her findings.

Leni-Aura looks behind Astrid, to where Charles has plummeted into the sand, and Spicy Pawsage is yapping at him— but Astrid’s report does bring about interest. Quite the contrary to ‘not finding anything’. “Huh?” For a moment, Leni-Aura is stunned; after finding nothing for so long, the idea of finding something is almost foreign— much too good to be true— and of course it is, because it’s seemingly guarded by devils and cultists.

“Really?” Leni-Aura considers, offering Tsarra a passing glance, before looking back to Astrid. “That is good news…” she trails off, considering their options: Melodia is already checking out the place according to Astrid— which means they could investigate as soon as possible… or they could wait until morning. After a long day’s worth of travel, the latter is appealing— and if they’re that close, then the possibility the devils might stumble onto them is quite possible.

“We should go take a look.” she decides, blinking as she looks between Astrid and Tsarra; she settles on Astrid at last, nodding approvingly. “Can you take us to check it out, Astrid?”

After she pulls Charles up, Astrid nods. "Aye, I'll take ya there! Miss Melodia might be done checkin' the place out fer us soon." She looks at the camp that's started being set up. "If they're keepin' guard over the temple, they might not come investigatin' outside of it too far. If yer all too tired ta get inta a fight, we could wait an' ambush 'em in the mornin'."

Deciding that Charles is probably better suited not following along in this moment, Astrid casts a bit of magic that twists reality around Charles and sucks him into another pocket of reality. Then she dusts her hands off and looks at the others. At about this time, Melodia makes a reappearance. 

"Hello, everyone," she says looking about as out of breath as a ghost can. "The location is a temple with two devilish entities outside with three hooded figures. Inside, there's a larger devilish figure and another hooded man guarding a stone door. I saw some levers inside the entry of the temple, and there's a broken wall on the north side that you could potentially..." Melodia pauses, observing the mostly armored group. "...sneak over to. Some kind of magical barrier prevented me from investigating deeper into the temple. Overall, you have three devils and four humanoids to deal with. Given their robes and the devils, I would take a guess that they're cultists of some description. Some had bits of armor and others had magic casting implements. Be careful, all of you."

Astrid looks over at the adults. "Well, that bein' said, d'ya wanna sleep on it or catch 'em off guard in the mornin'?"

---

Pet Pocket
Call Ghost [2/3]

Tsarra puts her hands on her hips as Astrid and Melodia relay what they have found. The ghost was super useful for scouting. Maybe she should get herself a ghost. How does one even do that? Did Astrid murder the lady? She bets Astrid murdered the lady. The kid didn't look like a cold-hearted killer, but that's probably just what she wanted people to believe. All of the people associated with that slippery tiefling were sketchy like that. It made perfect sense. 

"Ye know, we gotta sayin' out on the open sea. Best ta catch 'em crabs when the tide is low, don't wait else the waves swallow ye whole."

The triton woman nod sagely as if she had just delivered some profound wisdom unto her two traveling companions. Really, it was just a line she picked up from salty sea dog who probably was not using the same situational context at all. Still, it rhymed, ish, so it had to be true, right?

"I say we jump the landlubbers before they can jump us. Will be hard to sleep knowing enemies are just over the dune anyway."

Now the triton woman may have a point there. Wasn't any point in resting if they would be paranoid about being found out by a bunch of creepy cultists and devils who would feed on their fear and despair. That's how devils worked after all. At least that's what she has chosen to believe based on...well, no experience, research, or common sense. 

"All who agree, say aye!"

She raises her hand high in the air. 

Leni-Aura looks behind her towards the camp they’ve already begun to set up, and considers it: on one hand, they’ve had a long journey here… and a bit of rest would do them good, especially if they’re to trudge foolishly into realms unknown. On the other hand, the desert gets cold at night… and a fire would be sure to alert them, regardless of how far they are from it.

Leni-Aura purses her lips, ears tilting back until Melodia makes her reappearance; her knuckles tighten around her spear, brows furrowing slightly as she describes the temple that she had found. It sounds… crowded; cultists guarding the temple, however, is promising— and very much what they could be looking for… she takes a breath, raising one hand to cradle her chin, when Tsarra suddenly pipes in.

Leni-Aura looks to the triton, one brow raised because she has never heard this metaphor in her life, but Tsarra nods like she has dropped a golden nugget of wisdom upon them. The rabbitaur continues to stare, brows furrowing, as Tsarra raises her hand high in the air.

“I will not say aye, but the fish has a point.” she bemoans; Leni-Aura places her hands on her hips, feeling Nimbus’ tail brush against her forearms. “We would need fire tonight, and they will see the smoke; it will not be much of an ambush if they know we are here… there is no guarantee they will not try to finish us once they see the smoke, either… and I would rather jump, than be jumped.”

She purses her lips, still in thought; it’s easy to say, but the truth is that a night’s sleep would do them all good, too… but she’s not sure she wants to risk sleeping fireless in the desert, nor so close to a cult… “What do you think, Astrid? Are you tired, or do you think you can manage a fight?”

On one hand, Astrid kind of gets what Tsarra is saying, but on the other hand, upon further thought, she didn't really say anything, did she? The girl's head tilts as she comes to that realization, and her brow furrows with confusion for the full moment she just stares at the fish woman. 

Leni's question draws her out of it, and Astrid looks at her. "Aye, I'm always rarin' ta go fer a fight!" She lifts her two hammers to the sky. "If we catch 'em off guard, we could do some real damage ta them!"

Melodia looks between the three of them, contemplating a course of action. "I could lead you to the side entrance of the temple," she suggests. "If you entered there, you might be able to avoid dealing with the cultists and devils outside and only need to fight the larger devil and the cultist inside. There are... two levers inside, however. I'm sure one opens the door to the outside and the other opens the door to the inner chamber. If you stopped them from using those levers, you could have only two enemies to deal with before investigating the interior chamber."

"Oh, I like that!" Astrid says cheerfully. While she likes the uneven odds of fighting everyone, it would be safer and easier to tackle only two enemies. 

"It is a tighter space, so it might be more challenging from a movement perspective, but I think if you play your cards right and cut those two off, you could put yourselves at an advantage. I didn't see a way to open the door into the temple from the outside."

"Just keep 'em from movin' the levers and we're in good shape! Got it! C'mon!" Astrid says, trudging up the dune and following Melodia to the temple where the cultists are hiding out. 

They see the red glow of the campfires and hear quiet conversations long before they see the actual camp. Astrid pauses and looks at the other two, pulling out a dark purple potion and motioning to it with a whisper. "Do either of ya have a way ta be quiet?" she asks. "I can probably fly over ta the other side of the temple with me wings, and Leni can walk on air. Are ya capable of sneakin' around the back, Tsarra?"

---

Call Ghost - [post 1/3, recast]
Potion of shadows (not used yet)

Tsarra listens to the ghost, the rabbit, and the literal child talk. She nods as Leni agrees with her, seemed like the fuzzy woman was easier to get along with than the brat. Even Astrid agrees and that makes her feel a bit better. It was nice to have people agree on a plan.

She frowns when the ghost changes the plan though and the kid is quick to agree. She wants to object but then Astrid and Leni are already headed up the dune. Audibly huffing, she trudges after them.

When they get to the top, suddenly the plans seems to change all over again. Now they're suddenly talking about not getting into a fight? What the hell? She had to say something. 

"NOW ye want ta be sneaky and quiet? No walkin' right up ta the door and giving it a big knock this time? Where was Sneakstrid when we were on an island full of cultists?" Tsarra throws her hands up. Astrid's attitude towards her during this journey might just be getting to her just a bit. "Ye know what, ye both can go jumpin' across the clouds or whatever. I'll find my own way in."

With that, the triton woman storms off in a huff across the sand dune to circle around the cultist camp. She mutters to herself in a tongue neither of her traveling companions could understand but judging by the tone it probably was not any praise for them. 

She didn't need them. She could sneak in herself. Or she could take on the whole lot of cultists single handedly! She was stronger now! They wouldn't stand a chance. She'd show the fuzzy lady and the ghost and the mini bucket baby.