34 Ymiden 720 | Azrael Blackfire | Myrkvior Forest
"Like I said, you're missing out on part of the experience." Tollak said with a shrug as he strapped his saddle onto his horse as well. It would be a long journey but they had packed the things they would need to set up a tent and enough food to eat. Tollak floated the idea of hunting for food as an option and Azrael considered it but wanted to be sure they had food should their marksmanship fail them. Tollak mounted his horse with a little more ease than Azrael. Neither were expert riders but at least Tollak knew how to keep his animal in control a little bit better than Azrael who just sort of... well he fell the first time. His leg didn't get over the horse and he had to reset himself but the second time he made it atop the saddle.
"I'll experience it when it doesn't feel like Faldrun's balls outside." Azrael countered as he adjusted his grip on the reigns. Tollak gave a deep bellied laugh and began riding into the Myrkvior.
"It's not that hot." Tollak countered like a parent telling their child to get over it.
"But it is humid." Azrael grumbled as they road on. The conversation after was rather dry, in Azrael's opinion, but Tollak seemed to enjoy- even revel in the opportunity to share his knowledge with someone he thought deserved it. They spoke about the easiest paths through the forest and the one they'd be taking. They spoke about the wildlife and Azrael listened passively while working to keep atop his horse. Wildlife was wildlife and the only creature Tollak implied Azrael really needed to worry about was the Grendel. Having killed two already, Azrael understood why Tollak Ra was warning him about them. He hoped never to see one again. Tollak said he only know of one Charmegn, making it unlikely Azrael would ever have to encounter it.
The conversation took an interesting turn when Azrael and Tollak stopped to set up their tents about a thirty bit walk from a small pond that Tollak told Azrael not to drink out of. While Azrael drove the spikes into the ground to secure the tent in place, Tollak made an offhand comment about how he didn't need to worry about the Children of the Dusk as long as he was respectful to that which lived inside it.
"Children of the Dusk?" Azrael asked, the name striking him as familiar. Perhaps Tali had said something about them, perhaps they were in the theme of something else he'd looked into, but the name stood out to him. "What are they?"
Tollak gave Azrael a quick glance before going back to setting up his own tent. "It is not known for certain. I've never actually seen one but I've heard reports. They look like children with antlers. Many, including myself, believe they are servants of the Myrkvior Induk- sent to deal with the Dark Mother's enemies as they arise in her domain." At the mention of the 'Dark Mother,' Azrael's eyes widened slightly. Tollak didn't see it while he was working on his own tent but he'd surprised Azrael.
"What do you know about the Dark Mother?" Azrael asked, feigning innocent curiosity as he had with all other questions. Tollak seemed to sense something and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What do you know about the Dark Mother?" Tollak asked the mortalborn.
"Less than you it seems, I didn't know she had antlered children running around." Azrael dodged the question with a little humor. He wasn't sure where the three sisters he knew fit in, but something about their 'Dark Lady' and the 'Children of the Myrkvior' made Azrael think they were connected. Unfortunately, Azrael was no detective, he was just doing what he felt he wanted to do- as he always had. Tollak seemed to ease up slightly and he'd finished setting up his tent about the same time as Azrael so he began setting traps around the camp while Azrael began gathering his weapons for the hunt.
Tollak answered as he set the traps, "In Fensalir it is wildly believed that the Induk of the Myrkvior forest is a kind, protecting spirit who only enacts violence on those who violate the land. Many believe she is protector but there was those in Raelia who think otherwise. They cast the Dark Mother as a spirit of vengeful wrath. A destroyer of anyone who hopes to enter her domain in search of riches." Azrael felt a little nervous for a moment. He was a treasure hunter after all so he had to hope the first depiction was more accurate and that the three sisters weren't leading him to his doom.
"Which is true?" Azrael asked.
"I think, as with most things, the truth is somewhere in the middle. I've heard reports of her children's victims but none were wholly good people." Tollak said with a small shrug. "It is not our place to judge the will of the spirits. They were here before us and will be here after us. The Dark Mother preserves the forest and that is a goal I can support."