The Frozen Land

The next day started slowly. Most of the taurens didn't wake up before the sun was high above the horizon, but the taurens fixing the airship had been up all night. Around noon Teo and the rest of the group found themselves walking through a forest path, led by Betsy, Alak and Esaias. Only this morning had Iisai been able to really question Betsy about Alak and all that stuff going on with them. He was happy for his friend of course, tho he had been totally unaware of this male tauren's excitence in her life. He sort of wished he could have stayed longer with her, but he was also glad to get away. Besides, they were severly left behind in their schedule and needed to get going by any means necessary. Ouragan had bid them farewell, seemingly as glad as they were of their leaving. Taurens didn't like outsiders too much. She had wished them best of luck on their journey and granted some supplies such as food and water. All of the party members also had new outfits, in tauren fashion. It was rather welcome, taking to count how ragged they had been after the crash. Finally the airship came in sight, almost as good as new. Angie, Akva and Amarel went ahead inside with Drake to check that everything was as it was supposed to be. Kathy stretched slowly and then turned on her heels as well, wawing wordless good by to the taurens and the islands. Betsy knelt to hug Iisai.

"Take care of yourself, redhead. You better not get yourself in trouble!"
He smiled to her wearily and pat his friend's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I believe I'm in good hands..."
Then Betsy turned to Teo with a nod and touched her shoulder. Somehow she looked too fragile to be hugged by her.
"I know you'll get into fights but try not to strain your arm too much too soon. It should be healed, but you never know. Your injury was nearly lethal." Then she bend down and whispered to her ear. "Don't let anything bad happen to Iisai. He's still such a kid..."
Teo nodded to her as Betsy straightened her back and stepped away. "Have a safe journey. We'll be going now."
She went to Alak who was standing under the trees, he hadn't said anything since he didn't speak the standard language. Esaias stepped forth to Iisai. The silence was awkward, as the two of those didn't quite know what to do or say. Finally, Esaias broke it.
"Well then... Iisai... "
Iisai looked up to him and nodded.
"Maybe we can talk more once this all is done... I live in Sairin, as you probably know..."
"Ah... Yes... I will look for you... I promise."
Stiffly and shortly, he hugged Iisai, aware that the boy probably didn't want to be hugged. Then he turned to Teo, giving her one more glace from head to toe.
"I must ask you a favour..." He stepped closer and took her hand. "Please... Tell me where is your dear mother's grave. I wish to go see her..."
Teo concidered this for a short while, looking at his eyes. Her conclusion was that it would have been cruel to deny him this knowledge when her mother had meant so much to him.
Meant exactly what tho..? She wondered as she opened her mouth to reply.
"In Forte, by a small village called Shuugan. Few miles from the south gates into the forest you will find a cottage. And behind that cottage you will find her grave..." She drew a deep breath and tried to smile. "If you go there, bring her my... regards as well... I doubt I can go visit any time soon."
"Oh thank you! You don't know how scared I was that you would not tell me."
He grabbed her to a hug and let go immediatelly as he remember how strongly Iisai might disagree. The last thing he wanted to do was upset him any more, but Iisai had started walking towards the ship, not showing any sight of caring.

Once the ship had took off, Teo turned to Kathy. "We need some strong winds! Needless to say, we are days behind our schedual." Aikatherinee yawned and shook her hand a little. "I'm on it."
With that she disappeared to the deck, while others remained around the emergency table. Teo felt herself just a little helpless. But just a little. She was now on charge with Baron gone and was expected to keep this group together and well until he'd join them again in Malbo.
That's where you are, aren't you? Cause if you aren't and I'm wrong I'll KILL you... To leave me alone in charge with THESE people... You know full well I can't protect them all anymore if something happens!
She gritted her teeth until she realised the others were still looking at her, especially Amarel and Angie. Aqva was steering of course. She made a frustrated gesture with her hand.
"We stick to the first plan. Our number one goal is now to get to Malbo as soon as ever possible. Keep the ship going, you know, we've done this great many times before..."
Angie smiled to her as she got up. "Don't worry, we know what to do. You concentrate on your duty."
She winked at her and Teo could have kissed her on her cheek right there for those words.

After two days, the airship finally landed in Malbo, in Straves to be exact. A cold chill hit everyone to the bone, especially Drake and Iisai, who were accustomed to the burning climate of the desert. Teo adviced them both to put a lot of extra clothing on, Drake obeying willingly. But for Iisai it took a while of standing on the deck to see the sense in Teo's words. Angie and her brothers decided to stay on the ship as they were unneeded on the field. Just about everything was grey. The sky, the buildings, the people. And as far as the eye could see, there was snow. White, sparkling snow. Iisai could nothing but stare in awe at the white plains. The party didn't have to walk too long, when the first snow ball hit Teo on the back.
"Ok, who the hell?" she yelled and turned on her heels. She saw Iisai and Drake laughing their heads off, Iisai knelt down, gathering more snow in his hands.
"Iisai, please, behave! We don't have any time to lose. Baron is waiting for us!"
The guys tried to put on a serious face.
"Baron is really here?" Drake asked, turning at Teo. She didn't answer, just kept walking, listening carefully if Iisai was following. Judging by the again rising laughter, both guys were right behind her. They wandered among pale, fur-cloaked people, none of which was smiling or nodding politely. They simply seemed disturbed by the noise caused by these newcommers.
"Teo, hey, what's with these people?" Iisai asked over Teo's shoulder.
"That's what cold and darkness can do" She said, avoiding to look back. "It's like this all the time, I'm afraid."
All the buildings were almost low enough to be seen over, even lower than in Sairin. In Iisai's opinion they were too low for people to live in, and after a long while of pondering, he decided the main part of these buildings must have been underground.

"Uhh.. Might you explain where we are going?" Drake finally asked when he was getting enough of the chilly air.
"To the embassy of Atracs." Teo replied without further explanation.
"Embassy of Atracs?" Iisai glanced at her curiously. "I didn't know Atracs were that organized and widely spread..."
"Sure they are. Especially here in Malbo everyone knows about Atracs, unlike in Stafford or Ganthara. 70% of our clients live in Malbo."
She exclaimed and took a swift turn to an alleyway. She seemed familiar with this city and got around rather painlessly. Finally they reached a building that had a sign on it's door with 'Embassy of Atracs' written on it. It was the only thing that gave the house away, it looked just like any other of the grey buildings.
"Okay. Here we are. Please behave yourselves." Teo rubbed her templates with her fingers before she pulled the door open and shoved them in. Inside the house was only a desk and a pair of stars leading underground. Behind the desk was sitting a very bored looking Velocy who immediatelly bounced up when they came in. His smile was nervous but yet warm as he greeted them.
"Welcome! I'm Surge, how may I help you, lady Atrac and co.?"
"Name's Myooji." Teo spoke as she walked to him. "I'm here for a person." Her fingers were ice cold, she didn't realize just how nervous she was. What could she possibly do if he wasn't here?
"...Yes. Myooji. There is someone waiting for you. Go to the second base level, they should be there." Surge said while flicking through papers on his desk. "The stores and supply sections are in the first B.level as you probably know already. Second is office sections and third serves as an inn."
"I know. Thanks. " She felt immense relief pass her as she continued to the stairs. Iisai and Drake followed right after, having choked down their questions so far.
"Teo, why are these houses built underground?" Iisai asked looking around and almost tripped in the stairs. She grabbed his shirt from his neck and held him on his place till he could get his balance back. Having to patch a broken neck wasn't first in her list of interests today.
"Cause it's warmer like that. At nights it can finely go below -40 degrees, it's not easy to keep these houses warm. Speaking of which we need to buy some fur jackets, god knows how long we're going to have to stay here."
They arrived in the first base floor, where were small room sections, a shop in each of them. All kinds of goods and equipment was laid down for show, but there were almost no people aside from the merchants themselves. Iisai could catch a glimpse of weapons shop and tailor, with clothes alike to the ones Teo had first worn when she had appeared to the Tinkers Union almost 30 days ago. Then they already continued to down the next pair of stairs and he started to feel slightly claustrophibic here under ground. The second floor was a little bit more busier with few people going around, organizing papers and delivering messages or speaking to their earrings. The first thing Teo saw however was Baron standing by the end of the stairs. He looked up to them and greeted with a faint wave of arm.
"Lady Myooji." He smiled. "Mr. Thales and Lizmaer. I'm glad to see you are still alive."

Teo drew a shaky breath.
"You sleazy-!" But then she bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood. "You're unbelieveable! How could you do that to me!?"
Baron took her by her shoulder and pulled closer. He said something soothing in Forte, trying to have her calm down. It didn't work quite well but Teo used all her mental strenght to stay professional and not chop him up right there.
"Fine, fine!" She switched language. "Did you at least find out anything!?"
He nodded to her, gesturing them to sit down.
"I've got a track. The atracs around here know that he took a ship to Zgarela, Malbo's capital city. My informants confirm he checked in there, so that is our next destination. We are leaving immediatelly once we've got you some appropriate clothing from upstairs."
"Hold on!" Iisai interrupted as he realized he wasn't going to explain them anything. "Where did you vanish!? How come you were here before us?"
"I will explain that to you one day, but all you need to know now is that if I could have I would have stayed with you. Right now that is least of your worries as we are united again." He was leading them to the stairs while talking and soon they were looking at the wide range of products.
"Is the airship alright?" He asked Teo as he grabbed a few jackets and gave them a critical eye.
"...Yes... The same taurens who shot us down also got it fixed after their former leader's head was cut off and a crazy party was held. You missed out alot." Her tone was slightly sarcastic, but didn't sound too angry anymore.
"I see." He smiled as he handed them the jackets and payed the merchant. "I expect a detailed report by dinner, lady Myooji."
Teo sighed. A report from a period she had spent halfway unconscious. Great. After a moment of hesitation, she walked up to the merchant selling uniforms.
"Commander... Do you think I should get a new uniform as I'm not wearing one at the moment?" She looked over her shoulder at Baron, unsure of herself. Of course while on duty, the uniform was to be worn by a code, if only possible.
"Absolutely, lady Myooji. In fact I meant to discuss that with you. Good you reminded." He walked up to her and pushed her to a further shelf than where she was, looking at the uniforms of her rank. "Congratulations, lady Myooji. You have been promoted!"
For a time as long as half a minute, Teo stared at Baron's awkward grin until he snapped his fingers in front of her face and she was forced to return to the moment.

Teo couldn't stop Iisai from running around in the snow like a ten-year-old. Drake tried to help her keep an eye on him, which proved to be quite a challenge once every while. But when they finally arrived to the air ship haven, their ship was full of serious looking people. At that instance, Iisai behaved himself, staying behind Teo's back.
"Don't worry" Teo tried to calm Iisai. "They're just inspectors, to make sure we are not carrying anything out of ordinary."
"Nontheless, they don't seem very friendly" Iisai answered with a low voice. They made their way to the deck, where they were greeted by a man more serious than others.
"My greetings. Everything is in order, nothing unusual found. You are free to move on."
"Thank you, sir" Drake grinned before either Baron or Teo opened their mouthes. They all took their places, readying themselves for take off. In no time they were on their way to the skies, Baron handing out orders to everyone.
"It's not such a long flight to Zgarela" he declaired. "I believe everything will remain problem free. You all know your duties, so off you go." He sent everyone off with a single wave of hand. Aikatherinee moved to the deck to play with the winds, which she had developed a taste for, Iisai watching her from a safe distance. He payed close attention to everything Kathy did. Kathy was well aware of this, but didn't let it bother her. She knew Iisai didn't yet accept her without hesitation, but at the same time was sure time would take care of it. And if it didn't, Kathy would just have to do something to aid it a little. Iisai's curious gaze bore into her neck, giving her sudden chills and making her turn around to hiss at the boy who silently slipped to the other side of the trap door.

After her report Teo sat on Baron's hammock looking at him. Her face was serious, and on her lips lingered anxious questions she had been dying to represent since his unfortunate news of her promotion. "I've answered your questions like a good little captain... Now tell me what the hell is going on!" For once, it seemed he wasn't going to avoid her questions but answer straight.
"Temujin 5 has left us. Therefore you naturally herit his place so far being the 6th. There will not be a circle of tests and whole roll of re-ranks due to the unusual situation lingering in Forte, which will no doubt cause protests among the lower ranks but it is unavoidable."
"But... You know i never outmatched Phoex... I'm not strong enough to step to the boots of T5, especially not now! Isn't there a possibility to for someone else to take it instead?" Even while asking, she already knew the answer. If there was someone else, Baron wouldn't have pushed it on her. For a while they sat there quiet, looking at each other until Teo cast down her eyes and only saw the deep dark blue-black silk of her new uniform. She clenched her fists and mumbled something incoherent.
"What was that?" Baron asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"..You can't use Chants anymore... That's why you had to swap here in order to survive the fall, am I not right... That's why you didn't use the same chant than I did but were forced to leave us behind..." Only a few times in her life she had felt worry for her commander, and this was one such a moment.
"...You are right, lady Myooji... But you know me, I'm more of a swordsman anyways." He tried to wink at her but she ignored it.
"How bad is it?"
"That's not-"
"How bad is it!?" She stood up and looked down at him, face twisted by anger that was risen by the memory of countless of times trying to warn her commander about over-using chants.
"Around one to two mid-class chants is my limit I'm afraid. Now, if you'd excuse me I'd like to be alone till dinner. I have things to plan and no doubt our client is craving for your attention." He half walked, half pushed her to the door. But before he shoved her out of the cabin, he placed a small container on her hand.
"I don't like resorting to this, but I believe you need these."
She looked at it and felt suddenly as cold as she would have felt outside with no clothes at all. She knew full well what was in it, but had no choise but to accept this fact. He was right, she did need them wheter it killed her or not. When she had made sure she was alone in the hallway, she opened the container and shook one yellow pill on her palm. After a moment of staring at in disgust she swallowed it and slipped back to her own cabin.

Teo had very little time to sit and relax until she heard, or more like sensed, Iisai slipping through the door.
"I heard about your promotion. Congratulations." Pride and smile rippled in Iisai's words. "You must be so exicted."
"No, I am not." Teo turned to face Iisai. "I had enough problems as it was..."
Iisai's smile melted away. "I'm sure something good came along with it. I mean, if not, who'd want to be promoted."
"Some people simply enjoy power."
"You don't?"
"I don't."
An awkward silence enveloped them, making the air heavy. Iisai licked his lips and looked away. "I'm still being proud of you, anyway. I mean... Baron wouldn't give you such honor if he didn't think you're worthy and all, you know. And I hope things will sort out, so you can enjoy-"
"What part of my words do you not understand?!" Teo hissed. "If things were even close of being solved, this promotion has only knotted everything up ever worse! This trip is on a highway to hell and there is nothing I can do about it!"
Iisai's eyes were wide in fear in the face of Teo's wrath. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to.. I didn't know.. I just.. You know.."
"You don't get it, do you? Get out of my face, whelp!"
Iisai opened his mouth to protest, but a single hateful glance from Teo's direction was enough to turn on his heels and rush out of the cabin and close the door tight behind him. Inside, Teo took a deep, calming sigh and shook her head. I can't understand, why did I come here in the first place?

Iisai ran through the small hallway and up the stairs to the deck. Panting, he stopped by the rail and closed his eyes against the wind.
"Why... I don't understand..."
He sat down, back against the rail. Drake sat next to him, appearing from thin air which caused Iisai to jump slightly. He didn't say anything, but waited patiently until Iisai started talking. Finally, he did.
"Sometimes I can't help but to think it was wrong of me to ask her to come along... I mean... She didn't want to, she came cause I asked her... She was hurt, and now she was put to a position she hates... It has done no good for her at all..."
Drake thought of the words for a while, quiet. Then he sighed and leaned back.
"I can't tell you otherwise. I'd love to, but there is nothing I could say to counter your statement... But bear in mind, she still came of her own free will, and any action she has performed has been following of that."
Iisai found no comfort in that, and looked away.
"Still, I care for her... I wish I could comfort her, but it seems impossible to get closer to her... I don't know what to do."
Drake's eyes were concerned as he took a closer looked at his friend.
"Iisai, mate, I hope you're not-" But he was interrupted, as Kathy stepped to them and told them that the dinner was ready, once again. They all gathered around the table, except for Teo who did not show her face. Yet, Iisai did not dare to go get her, as she had been informed but chose not to come. Baron announced that they would be in Zgarela come sunrise, which of course meant increase in security and carefulness. After the dinner, Iisai gathered his courage and went back to their cabin. It was dark in there, but one candle lit the space just enough to see by. Teo was sitting on her hammock, almost in same position than where he had left her. She looked at him, and for a small, frozen moment as their gazes met Iisai was sure she'd throw something at him. But then the moment was gone and she pressed her head against her chest. Iisai could swear her eyes were red from crying, and hesitantly walked up to her. She said something, but he was forced to ask 'what?' as he couldn't make out her words.
"I'm sorry." She repeated, on a more coherent, yet silent voice.

That night, Iisai didn't sleep at all. He kept rolling over on his hammock, trying to ease the strange, knotted feeling in his guts. Every once in a while he would peek at the atrac sleeping quietly below him, only to sank deeper into self loathing. He couldn't believe he had caused so much pain and grief, completely unintentionally. All Iisai really wanted was to soothe Teo, hold her and tell her everything would be alright. Or better yet, send her home to rest in a blink of an eye.
The hours went by, but there was no rest for the boy. In the early hours of the morning he had had enough of his misery, leaped quietly down from his hammock and made his way to the quiet hallway. Everyone seemed to be asleep, and Iisai felt safe enough to climb onto the deck. The trap door gave out a horrible creack, but no one seemed bothered by the noise, and so Iisai slipped into the cool air.
The sun was slowly climbing up from the horizon and before Iisai's weary eyes spread a city, basking in the early sun's rays. Iisai walked to the railing and took a better look.
So.. this is Zgarela.. One more step closer to the ultimate-
"Mister Thales shouldn't be wandering around in such light garment." Thought rippling with smile, the voice made Iisai lose his balance. Aqva leaned against the steering wheel and gave Iisai a qurious look. "You should get some sleep before we land."
"I know.." Iisai murmured. "I just couldn't sleep."
"Ah well, don't let it get you down. Is there something in particular that's keeping you up?"
After a moments hesitation, Iisai walked up to Aqva and sat down heavily, his back against the wheel. "Have you ever had the feeling that you have something really important to say, but you can't spit it out?"
Aqva nodded silently, and slowly continued. "You shouldn't worry about it too much, though. Time will often sort these things out. Try to have faith in it, and you will feel a whole lot better."
Iisai rose his gaze to the man, but Aqva's attention was fully on the city ahead.
"I suppose you're right.. I'll cross my fingers and hope for the best" Iisai sighed and got on his feet. "I just.. go back and try to sleep. Do you manage with the landing on your own?"
Iisai's question was answered by a gaze full of self confident and experience, and Iisai returned below the deck.

Chapter 12 - Chapter 14