The Ice Cream Odyssey 2: Featuring Harpies (Priv) [Renown]
Jan 26, 2023 19:23:02 GMT -5
Post by Askr Mimameith on Jan 26, 2023 19:23:02 GMT -5
It is much less frigid here than it was in the Ice Fields.
Such an observation is an extraordinarily obvious one; they have left the whirling heart of the Frost Gale, left the bitter wind and biting kiss of snow behind in the frozen north, trading the perpetual bone-deep cold for the ordinary winter chill. It lingers a little differently in the air of the Crescent Coast, the tinge of sea salt in the atmosphere gently amplifying the wintry sting, but it is not unbearable. It is a bit colder than it might be in the heart of the Moonglade, but it hardly compares to the coldness of the north.
Askr has never ventured down this way before; his visits to the Moonglade have been sparse and seldom of his own volition, only dragged out this way whenever Captain Bleier had one of her bounties she simply could not miss out in Eclipse City and its perimeters. Those alone were troublesome and took days; a journey to the Crescent Isles would be twice as much of a hassle for the Ring of Cinders, would stir up a chorus of complaining that Oleeae likely could not silence, no matter how well she commands her authority. So this land with its pale beaches and wine-dark sea and strange, perpetually flowering trees in its city walls, little puffs of snow-brushed pink, is entirely a mystery to him.
He hopes he isn't annoying Mister Caedes-- which is the true name of the man beside him, as he has learned-- with the little curiosities he has not been able to contain, with the way he stops here and there to stare a moment too long at seashells swept up on the glistening sand, the way he stares even longer at the shadows of unfamiliar plantlife on the horizon. He is trying his best to move swiftly, as he should, and do what he must, but he cannot help the little, fragile spark of intrigue that sparks from within.
This is only meant to be a brief stop before they turn back. As far as he can tell, Mister Caedes had primarily not wished to walk back through the Frost Gale again-- in the wake of escorting the caravan they'd encountered to the Pale City, they'd stayed a day before boarding a ship all the way down to the Crescent Isles. Mister Caedes had his own interests to pursue while they were here, and it was not Askr's business to know what they were-- it was merely his job to follow along.
Once those interests were seen through, then they would take the long walk back to the Ash Lands, through the Marsh Flats, through the King's Valley, up through Zeinav, and all the way home. It would be arduous, but it would doubtlessly be an improvement over the biting cold of the northern mountains, over the storms of the Dragon's Cradle.
"...Mister Caedes," Askr says after another long stretch of silence, gold eyes blank as ever as he looks up at the man he walks beside. His tone is as flat as ever, but the way his words lift could almost be considered hopeful, a quiet prayer to be of use imbued into each syllable. "...is there anything I can do to help you with the business you came here for? If not, that is fine. I do not wish to be useless."