To Toutouye’s credit, he was at least willing to keep talking when Jinyel declared, We need to detour from the river to speak with some bears.
Toutouye spent several moments examining Jinyel’s hands. It took several moments of pondering for him to respond: I think you said that wrong.
I didn’t.
I think you meant you need to detour from the river to speak with some bears.
Which was a good point, honestly, and Jinyel wouldn’t argue it. He’d spoken his intentions without truly thinking how it would come off, because he personally had seen a bear enter a formal championship before. But now that his cousin was looking at him as if he’d grown two heads, he understood how it might sound like complete madness.
You’re right, he amended. I’m going east to look for bears. You are welcome to accompany me if you wish.
Toutouye’s baffled expression didn’t lessen. I, um, would rather do something else.
Understood. Jinyel nodded to the churning water of Old Tuck’s Run, and the animals tethered beside it. You may take the horses if you wish, and I will meet you again at the endwaters.
All the horses? Toutouye tilted his head. You don’t need even one? Bears are fast.
So is Ailuhn, and Monya. I will be alright, cousin. I will return to you once my questions are answered.
Toutouye clearly wasn’t convinced, but neither did he want to argue about it. The horses were laden with skins, weapons, supplies ― the closest thing to ‘luxury’ that either Jinyel or Toutouye could enjoy in the wild woods of Sweetwine. Toutouye was uneasy here, Jinyel knew it. The warmth, the synchronicity, the eternal sense of being watched, it was at once delightfully lush and terribly eerie. It was either the sort of thing someone could tolerate, or something they couldn’t.
Toutouye forged north. Ailuhn was Jinyel’s only mount for this task, with Monya and Littlespark as his only companions. The light company didn’t stress him overmuch. The longer the rebirth cycle stretched, the less material possessions he needed. Even in poor weather, open ground was more than enough to yield a good night’s sleep, and that wild places were eager to show him their fruits.
Everything more than a knife and bow were just material comforts.
Bow. Arrows. Axe and rope. The heaviest cargo on Ailuhn’s saddle was the pot and pan, or perhaps the meat bundled inside them: oh deer backstrap and bones, succulent from an entire cycle of aging. A net for fishing, and a fine, well-oiled mandolin wrapped on top. Jinyel didn’t know if Sweetwine was especially fond of music, but it never hurt to keep an eye out. The last thing Jinyel wanted was to lose such a precious instrument. As for the rest, Jinyel had brought along various oils and spices from his uncle’s kitchen, as well as a generous box of salt.
All the flavors one could possibly combine with sweet fish.
It was mid-morning when Jinyel spotted the Golden Cliffs in the distance. In such a warm season, the rocks below the entrance were slicked with honey, and Jinyel couldn’t help but shudder at the sight of it. So much honey. Smeared over so many rocks. And so very, very… sticky. The thought of it made him want to wash his hair.
Why treasure hunters would ever want to put their entire selves inside a beehive, Jinyel had no idea.
His uncle’s intelligence network monitored treasure hunters as well as they monitored everything else, and so Jinyel knew a handful of facts: the bees defended this place fiercely. Anyone who took honey would trigger an alert from the entire forest. There were gemstones inside those hives, apparently, which some hunters were willing to fight the entire forest to reach.
It all seemed like a great deal of trouble for a rather small reward. That was why the bears interested Jinyel much more than the honey, although the rumor of sweet fish in the lake was a close second.
Adult bumble bears were difficult to track, considering their ability to levitate. Cubs were easier, but the last thing Jinyel wanted to do was approach a mother bear with cubs. The bears were protective of their territory, he knew, and densely populous around the lake and cliffs.
Jinyel didn’t sneak. He didn’t disguise himself or the animals at his side, nor the fact he was facing the lake. He rode Ailuhn at a slow stroll, and barely needed the reins to guide her. The sarkin had also spotted the lake, and was clearly eager to swim in it.
At such a slow pace, with such warmth and life around him, meditation was an easy state to sink into. He measured his breath, placed all his thoughts and emotions at the back of his mind so he could perceive the world with unclouded senses. Breathe. See. Listen.
After he perceived the world, he perceived what was Beneath it.Loshova ability: Peer Through The Pool.
The spirits below matched the world above ― spirits of wind through spirits of leaves, all synchronized parts of an enormous whole. As they became clear to Jinyel, so too did he become clear in return.
I am here to make a dinner party, he said to any who asked his purpose. I am here to find last cycle’s champion.
Monya sensed the first bear. Ailuhn stopped when the wolf stopped. Jinyel kept them still, with his palms open to show that he meant no harm.
Only once he had a bear’s attention did Jinyel sign: Formal greeting. I seek Boo the tournament champion, because I wish to share a meal. Do you know how I might accomplish this? I shall invite you to share a meal, too, if you help me.