North Shroud
Midafternoon
Now
The caravan was progressing quietly through the Shroud, the empty carriage rattling faintly. The driver and the porter were gossiping amongst themselves, and the thaumaturge was somehow able to read her book as she bounced along in the back. Mikalaos brought up the rear, letting her chocobo Liam follow in the wake of the wheeled contraption.
The delivery had been of machined parts to Gridania to the carpenters’ guild, and Mika hadn’t much paid attention to the purpose of the parts. The guildleader and porter had spoken in droning tones about the lathes and asps, and if she was being honest with herself, Mika tuned it out. Her woodworking skill was mediocre at best, and the intricate detailing necessary for things beyond planks was beyond her. She had been passing fair enough to be allowed to work on the Victory, but that wasn’t furniture work or bowyer trade.
Sun filtered through the canopy, dotting the (very) green underbrush with splashes of gold and yellow. It never ceased to amaze her how verdant the Shroud was; her formative years were in Coerthas, and the past several she’d spent in the seascape of Limsa Lominsa. It was a pleasant change, the sun not so biting, the music of the forest playing around her. Birds swept overhead, and marmots scampered along digging for worms.
The cobbles underfoot were well-worn and smooth, patches of grass shooting up between rocks here and there. Their pace was leisurely, as they had been ahead of schedule and were not needed back in Ul’dah any time soon. From what she overheard, the porter and the driver had been quite happy with the outcome of the trip.
“What’s that?†the porter piped up, holding onto the side of the carriage as he stood up and pointed. The carriage came to a halt, and Mika trotted Liam along the side to get a better view. She rose up in her stirrups and scanned the treeline for whatever it was that the porter saw.
“That splash of white, yes?†The thaumaturge remarked, leaning over the side. “Right beside that big oak tree.â€
The porter nodded. “Aye that. What is it?â€
Mika dismounted from Liam and drew her axe from its strap at her back. Careful steps taken, she approached the mystery, taking a moment here and there to look through the trunks and grasses. When she got close enough to see what it was, she stopped dead in her tracks.
“What is it?†The driver called, as the porter and thaumaturge disembarked from the carriage to follow after Mika. When she was close enough, the mage gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.
“’Tis a unicorn,†the porter said in an awed voice. He raised his voice and repeated his comment, turning back to the driver with a dismayed expression. The driver hopped down and jogged over to the small group.
They stood around the poor beast in various states of confusion. It was immediately obvious that the trio of arrows in its side were the cause of death, and the sawed-off end of its horn identified it as what it was. The mane and tail were missing, and the red blood looked obscene staining the pristine hide of the unicorn. Frowning, Mika approached the body.
“Who would do such a thing?!†The driver exploded, clearly agitated.
The elezen delicately removed an arrow from the beast’s flesh, checking over the fletching and the arrowhead. She scowled mightily and looked back to the others.
“Imperial arrow,†she said simply.
The driver swore; the porter and the mage made similar reactions, then went silent.
“We can’t leave her like this,†the mage whispered after several moments, wringing her hands together.
“She’s a creature of the Shroud, we should return her to it.†The porter intoned. Everyone nodded, and Mika got to her feet to look over the ground. She pointed to a shallow patch of grass and thudded her axe into the loam. The driver and the porter returned to the carriage to get tools, and the three of them began digging a grave. While they worked, the mage removed the other arrows from the unicorn and sang to her quietly.
The sun was sinking when they finished the grave, and Mika passed her weapon to the driver as she collected the unicorn’s body. She hopped down into the little pit and laid the body down gently. The mage passed over a wreath of flowers she had woven together, and Mika laid it atop the unicorn’s chest. She climbed out of the grave and the small group circled it and stood in silence for a protracted moment.
“Monsters,†the mage hissed, eyes swimming in tears.
Mika accepted her axe back and wiped the dirt from it, as the porter and the driver began shoveling dirt into the grave. A little spot of white caught her eye, and she stepped around everyone to approach it.
The warrior paused and knelt down, eyes wide. Hiding behind some shrubs was a little colt, its eyes sad and ears flat. It had a smear of blood on its muzzle, and was trembling badly.
“What’d you find, Mikalaos?†The mage called out.
“Hello little guy,†Mika said in a low, soothing tone. She reached into her pouch and removed one of the krakka roots she carried for Liam, extending it out to the animal. It paced back and forth for a moment, snuffing, but slowly approached the vegetable. It stopped to sniff at it, took a step back, then closed in on it to take a bite.
Mika blinked several times to clear the moisture from her eyes, but stayed still as the colt munched on the krakka root. When it was down to the nub of an end, the baby unicorn fixed its eyes on Mika and stared. It then nuzzled her outstretched hand and whickered sadly.
Carefully, Mika curled an arm around the colt and rose to her feet. It seemed content enough in her grasp, head turning to and fro to look around from its new higher perspective. She returned to the party just as the porter and driver were leveling the last few ponzes of dirt out.
“Oh, a baby!†The mage said in surprise.
“We can’t leave it here,†Mika commented. The others nodded and murmured their agreement, and once the grave was settled, they returned to the carriage and the chocobos.
Mika set the colt in the carriage and turned to mount up on Liam, but the little animal whickered and made as if it was going to follow her. She paused, then picked the colt up and brought it around for Liam to sniff at.
The chocobo cooed and touched noses with the unicorn, then looked back to Mika. She sighed and smiled, then resumed mounting up, the colt positioned over her lap in the saddle. The colt looked up at her with liquid, adoring eyes, ear flicking back and forth.
“All set back here,†she called out. The driver chirruped to his chocobos and got the carriage started, and the caravan resumed its course along the road.
Midafternoon
Now
The caravan was progressing quietly through the Shroud, the empty carriage rattling faintly. The driver and the porter were gossiping amongst themselves, and the thaumaturge was somehow able to read her book as she bounced along in the back. Mikalaos brought up the rear, letting her chocobo Liam follow in the wake of the wheeled contraption.
The delivery had been of machined parts to Gridania to the carpenters’ guild, and Mika hadn’t much paid attention to the purpose of the parts. The guildleader and porter had spoken in droning tones about the lathes and asps, and if she was being honest with herself, Mika tuned it out. Her woodworking skill was mediocre at best, and the intricate detailing necessary for things beyond planks was beyond her. She had been passing fair enough to be allowed to work on the Victory, but that wasn’t furniture work or bowyer trade.
Sun filtered through the canopy, dotting the (very) green underbrush with splashes of gold and yellow. It never ceased to amaze her how verdant the Shroud was; her formative years were in Coerthas, and the past several she’d spent in the seascape of Limsa Lominsa. It was a pleasant change, the sun not so biting, the music of the forest playing around her. Birds swept overhead, and marmots scampered along digging for worms.
The cobbles underfoot were well-worn and smooth, patches of grass shooting up between rocks here and there. Their pace was leisurely, as they had been ahead of schedule and were not needed back in Ul’dah any time soon. From what she overheard, the porter and the driver had been quite happy with the outcome of the trip.
“What’s that?†the porter piped up, holding onto the side of the carriage as he stood up and pointed. The carriage came to a halt, and Mika trotted Liam along the side to get a better view. She rose up in her stirrups and scanned the treeline for whatever it was that the porter saw.
“That splash of white, yes?†The thaumaturge remarked, leaning over the side. “Right beside that big oak tree.â€
The porter nodded. “Aye that. What is it?â€
Mika dismounted from Liam and drew her axe from its strap at her back. Careful steps taken, she approached the mystery, taking a moment here and there to look through the trunks and grasses. When she got close enough to see what it was, she stopped dead in her tracks.
“What is it?†The driver called, as the porter and thaumaturge disembarked from the carriage to follow after Mika. When she was close enough, the mage gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth.
“’Tis a unicorn,†the porter said in an awed voice. He raised his voice and repeated his comment, turning back to the driver with a dismayed expression. The driver hopped down and jogged over to the small group.
They stood around the poor beast in various states of confusion. It was immediately obvious that the trio of arrows in its side were the cause of death, and the sawed-off end of its horn identified it as what it was. The mane and tail were missing, and the red blood looked obscene staining the pristine hide of the unicorn. Frowning, Mika approached the body.
“Who would do such a thing?!†The driver exploded, clearly agitated.
The elezen delicately removed an arrow from the beast’s flesh, checking over the fletching and the arrowhead. She scowled mightily and looked back to the others.
“Imperial arrow,†she said simply.
The driver swore; the porter and the mage made similar reactions, then went silent.
“We can’t leave her like this,†the mage whispered after several moments, wringing her hands together.
“She’s a creature of the Shroud, we should return her to it.†The porter intoned. Everyone nodded, and Mika got to her feet to look over the ground. She pointed to a shallow patch of grass and thudded her axe into the loam. The driver and the porter returned to the carriage to get tools, and the three of them began digging a grave. While they worked, the mage removed the other arrows from the unicorn and sang to her quietly.
The sun was sinking when they finished the grave, and Mika passed her weapon to the driver as she collected the unicorn’s body. She hopped down into the little pit and laid the body down gently. The mage passed over a wreath of flowers she had woven together, and Mika laid it atop the unicorn’s chest. She climbed out of the grave and the small group circled it and stood in silence for a protracted moment.
“Monsters,†the mage hissed, eyes swimming in tears.
Mika accepted her axe back and wiped the dirt from it, as the porter and the driver began shoveling dirt into the grave. A little spot of white caught her eye, and she stepped around everyone to approach it.
The warrior paused and knelt down, eyes wide. Hiding behind some shrubs was a little colt, its eyes sad and ears flat. It had a smear of blood on its muzzle, and was trembling badly.
“What’d you find, Mikalaos?†The mage called out.
“Hello little guy,†Mika said in a low, soothing tone. She reached into her pouch and removed one of the krakka roots she carried for Liam, extending it out to the animal. It paced back and forth for a moment, snuffing, but slowly approached the vegetable. It stopped to sniff at it, took a step back, then closed in on it to take a bite.
Mika blinked several times to clear the moisture from her eyes, but stayed still as the colt munched on the krakka root. When it was down to the nub of an end, the baby unicorn fixed its eyes on Mika and stared. It then nuzzled her outstretched hand and whickered sadly.
Carefully, Mika curled an arm around the colt and rose to her feet. It seemed content enough in her grasp, head turning to and fro to look around from its new higher perspective. She returned to the party just as the porter and driver were leveling the last few ponzes of dirt out.
“Oh, a baby!†The mage said in surprise.
“We can’t leave it here,†Mika commented. The others nodded and murmured their agreement, and once the grave was settled, they returned to the carriage and the chocobos.
Mika set the colt in the carriage and turned to mount up on Liam, but the little animal whickered and made as if it was going to follow her. She paused, then picked the colt up and brought it around for Liam to sniff at.
The chocobo cooed and touched noses with the unicorn, then looked back to Mika. She sighed and smiled, then resumed mounting up, the colt positioned over her lap in the saddle. The colt looked up at her with liquid, adoring eyes, ear flicking back and forth.
“All set back here,†she called out. The driver chirruped to his chocobos and got the carriage started, and the caravan resumed its course along the road.
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