Kali
Kali could feel round young eyes upon her.
She twisted her slim neck just enough to peer between the trees at Eudora’s girls plodding through the undergrowth gingerly. They rode a mere metre apart from Matilde’s in a single-file line. The excitable one (Kali had lost her name among so many new faces) was watching her, doing a terrible job of pretending she wasn’t. There was not a chance that the girl was out of her teen years, the mace strapped to her side could easily be older than she.
“Is there something you would like to ask me, child?” Kali called through the soggy, low-hanging branches.
The girl started, jumping a little in her saddle and earning a huff from her horse. She looked away, then back to Kali with a sheepish expression that regressed the age upon her dark skin even further.
“Y-you’re from the South, aren’t you?”
“That’s not a question.” Kali replied with a half-grin.
At least she knew now what to expect next, many were curious of the south, it is not a region that travellers tend to choose for a wander. Not that the south isn’t hospitable but with their positioning on a jagged stretch of land that was oft nicknamed ‘Elatior’s Dagger’, it doesn’t have many entrances for foreigners to approach from. The North, East and West all have long borders pressed against each other, the southern region of Elatior has Tilli fields, acres upon acres of crops and flowers creating the colourful quillion of Elatior’s dagger.
She had no doubt this young maid was moments from asking her one of the three core questions she was inevitably bombarded with every time she found herself in the company of a northerner who had never left their minute village, ‘Do all southerners worship the star gods?’, ‘Do all southerners swing-ride?’ , or ‘Is it true that southerners eat nothing but fish for every meal?’. She prepared her answers for all three in her head just in case.
“Do all southerners…” The girl began nervously, “do they have eyes like yours?”
“Lowri!” The curvy one, Blaire, gasped with utter horror. Kali was not ashamed to admit, at least within her own head, that she had only remembered her name because of her thick thighs and bouncing breasts.
Not that that’s what she should have been thinking about at that moment, having been utterly flummoxed by Lowri’s question. The kid had actually managed to catch Kali off guard, for the first time in her adult life she struggled for words.
“I-I’m sorry!” Lowri cried, Blaire’s reaction having apparently put the fear of the gods into her, “I didn’t mean to offend!”
“I.. well…” Kali laughed at her own stammering awkwardly, “I suppose the short answer is no.”
“I really am so sorry, I’ve never met anyone from the south…” The girl rambled, her eyes darting from Kali’s to Blaire’s, “I mean, I’ve seen them but never… I’ve never had the chance to ask anything or learn from… I…”
Kali took Lowri’s babbling as a welcome few seconds to compose herself before cutting her off, “It’s fine, child, truly. You surprised me is all.” she assured her. After a moment’s pause she realised she still hadn’t truly answered the question, “The south does hold a large community of my people but monolids are not a requirement to live in the dagger of Elatior.” she added with a small smile.
It would be a lie to state that the question had not left her feeling awkward but she would not let the child know, it was not her fault she was uneducated and Kali believed she was genuinely curious. The round-eyed girl did not look capable of spite.
And yet she managed to find another question, “Do they have people like me there?” she asked quietly.
Blaire was staring at her with an incredulous expression, as mothers do to their children when they can’t quite believe how foolishly they are behaving. It would have been amusing if Kali didn’t feel so awkward, an emotion she was not familiar with whatsoever.
Kali considered her answer, something she was not known to do before opening her mouth, “There are people of every race there, only in far smaller proportions to the rest of the kingdom.”she said.
In truth, there are incredibly few people of naturally dark skin like Lowri and Eudora in the south, they don’t seek out the sunny coasts like the pale people do. The dagger is the perfect place to gain colour, scorching sun combined with blustering breezes allowing for hours of sunbathing on the sandy coastline without discomfort. And there is nothing that the citizens of Elatior prize higher than dark skin.
“I truly hope I haven’t offended you.” The girl said sincerely.
“You haven’t.”
“I think your eyes are beautiful.”
Kali snorted before responding, “Thank you, so do I.” with complete sincerity. After all, she considered her eyes to be one of her best features, especially when decorated with kohl and her prized golden paint, only traders in the south carried it among their wares making her tiny tin pot rather rare out in the northern regions.
Northerners do not decorate their faces aside from occasional pink or red lip paint which they could double as a weak blush powder, Kali often wondered if it was due to the inclement weather, after all, it could become rather costly to apply a full face of powders and creams only for the rain and cold to smudge and crack your delicately crafted art. In Mesial she had seen a few familiar faces sporting bright colours and intricate designs but they were all originally of the south, their northern peers had their noses trapped in their books so deeply they simply couldn’t find the time to pretty themselves.
She could feel Blaire’s eyes upon her now, light green with long lashes, the woman was flushed and giving her a painfully apologetic look. Kali raised her hand with a smile in an attempt to put her at ease but the woman simply dipped her head.
As if this trek was not to be long and arduous enough.
The rain was hammering at the thick canopy of branches above now, picking up force as they rode until it finally began to break through in bursts of random spray, occasionally catching the rump of a horse or the crown of a woman’s head.
Upon catching sight of the open world on the other side of the last ring of trees they bunched together as close as their steeds and the wild woodland would allow to survey the onslaught of water pounding the ground ahead of them. The noise alone drowned out the sounds that had accompanied them for the majority of their journey: birds hooting and tweeting, rustling leaves, splintering twigs and the varied grunts and growls of small furry creatures roaming amongst the writhing roots.
“We’ll need to-” Eudora paused with a disgruntled expression as she realised her voice was being overpowered by the rain. She made a second attempt, far louder this time, “We will need to leave our horses in the forest, there is no shelter sturdy enough out there.” her voice was straining as she pushed it louder and louder with each word.
“Agreed!” Matilde yelled.
They tethered their horses with as much rope as they had available, they couldn’t say for certainty how long they would be gone and if they didn’t return they needed to know their steeds could get food and water until they were discovered by whichever travellers visited Celandine next. Kali snuck a small carrot into her mare’s mouth and gave her cream mane an affectionate ruffle, she is a damn fine horse and Kali doubted any northerner would appreciate just how incredible she is if she were to die in that mouldy mine.
“I’ll be back, Merry.” She whispered. Merry gave her ear a forceful lick and nuzzled her neck.
They left their horses behind and crossed the boundary line out into the beating rain. If Kali didn’t have her core strength built on years of swing-riding she may have stumbled under the sheer weight of the water falling upon them in unrelenting sheets. Magali’s cloak-covered head was knocked forward a few inches at the first impact but she recovered quickly, pulling herself up straight with a grimace. The clamour of the rain covered Kali’s snorting laughter but Matilde still gave her a look of warning. Could she not tell that Kali had been clawing back her natural personality for a day and a night? She was doing her utmost best to behave herself. Gods forbid she would embarrass Matilde in front of her past lover. Eudora was nothing less than perfection in Matilde’s eyes, Kali didn’t need to hear her say it, she could see it in her face clear as a southern morning sky.
She flicked that cloud of noxious thought from her mind, clearing her head with a deep breath, and followed the pack towards the mountain range that towered ahead.
Silver Night Mine was far less grand than Kali had assumed from it’s name. It appeared to be no more than a battered wooden door wedged into the front of a rather stunted mountain, the smallest of the range they had marched to. Outside lay an assortment of carts and rubble and a sign warning away the nosey and the foolish, not that it could be easily read what with the waterfall coating every item without shelter in a constant splattering.
“Is this it?” She asked of Blaire, who had fallen back in pace to stride beside her. Finding herself almost shouting into the woman’s ear.
“It may not look so impressive from the outside but Silver Night Mine is a beast in and of itself.” Blaire yelled back, “Long tunnels, winding paths and endless darkness.”
“Delightful!” Kali cried.
Through the pelting rain she almost thought she spied an amused smirk on Blaire’s sun-kissed face.
“Let’s get inside, I’d rather face trolls than any more rain.” Matilde announced, leading them through the soggy old door.
Even through the rain Kali could tell that Eudora and Blaire were most unimpressed with Matilde attempting (and for now succeeding) to take charge of their mismatched group. They shared sour expressions and followed Matilde into the dark mine. Magali tailed them closely, her pretty plum-coloured cloak hanging heavy on her shoulders with all the water it had soaked up - that was the problem with those fancy materials, the ones that cost more gold than a good sword, they weren’t very practical.
The young one hesitated at the entrance, stepping back to allow Kali to enter ahead of her, perhaps as a sign of respect but Kali didn’t care to ask, she grabbed the kid by the scruff of her neck and shoved her inside the cramped tunnel. For a young woman who did not have the gift of height, the kid was bulky and Kali was surprised at the strength required to manhandle her.
She pulled the door shut behind them with a squelching sound and a small wave of sloppy mud rode in with the force but she dodged it just in time to save her leather boots. The percussion of the rain wasn’t greatly dimmed by the closed door but she would rather hear it than feel it any more.
Only Kali and Matilde were forced to curve their backs slightly due to the low ceiling; Magali, Blaire and Eudora had only to avoid bumps and dips of rock from above; Dani and the kid were without worry aside from their hair, Dani lowered her topknot, tying it at the back of her neck, and the young’un made an attempt to flatten her budding frohawk with damp hands. The sharp tip of Selenia strapped to Kali’s back caught the rocky ceiling with a quiet but toe-curling screech that had her dropping a further few inches and sliding her prized spear from its holster, letting it hang low in an easy and experienced grip.
They crept forward together, gaining their bearings, allowing their eyes to adjust to the din and feeling the moisture drip from their armour. When Eudora paused and raised her hand for them to follow suit the magic wielder’s hands began to emanate a dull light from beneath her milk-white skin that had Matilde peering at her suspiciously.
“Magali specialises in protection magic.” Blaire whispered in explanation.
“You’re each getting a physical shield.” The mage mumbled, concentrating on her illuminated hands, cupping and bouncing them, moulding an invisible clay. “And dry clothes.”
Kali felt her shield skim over her skin like bubbles along a stream at the seat of a waterfall. It wasn’t unpleasant but it was also not what she remembered her sister’s magic feeling like when it touched her, Veda’s magic was warm, sometimes uncomfortably so.
“As we agreed in the forest, Dani and I will each take a side at the opening into the main chamber and take the first shots,” Eudora reminded them in her incredibly soft voice, “once the trolls start charging Matilde will lead Kali and Lowri to confront them head-on. Magali will continue to cast spells of protection.”
The group nodded their understanding and observed Magali’s crafting as only non-magic-wielders do: in awe and confusion.
“You got any healing magic?” Matilde asked quietly.
Magali released another shield and Kali noticed Dani shiver just a little before the mage answered, “One very basic spell but it can’t help with anything more severe than a grazed elbow.”
“I don’t intend to injure myself beyond a grazed elbow, anyway!” Kali muttered as cheerfully as she could.
“I specialise in three divisions, I won’t apologise for not being proficient in a fourth.” Magali huffed, finishing up her last shield with a flick of her fingers.
Kali’s sister specialised in three divisions as well, an impressive feat accomplished by so few magic wielders. Kali did not stroke Magali’s ego though, she got the impression this pale lady was more than aware of her own intelligence.
Now all coated in a thin magical barrier, they followed the dark tunnel to the main chamber where grunts and growls echoed off the damp walls. The odour of wet fur and stale blood was irritating both Kali’s nose and her stomach.
Once the tusked creatures were within their sight they simultaneously crouched lower, shuffling to the edge of the tunnel with extreme caution. Dani squatted behind a slick boulder, lining up her crossbow and Eudora knelt with her knee against a jut in the wall to steady herself and readied her bow which was almost too large for the cramped passage.
It was only the first cavern and yet a full pack of matured trolls roamed the dark and dirty room, snuffling and grunting to each other. Whether it was nerves or excitement bubbling in Kali’s stomach she didn’t care, she was ready either way to take tusks as trophies.
She brought Selenia to her waist and adjusted her grip, rubbing her thumb into one of the many grooves that lined the spear’s shaft in the shapes of stars in a variety of sizes and styles. She may not keep all of the old traditions of the star gods but she had promised her mother when she left the dagger that she would keep their presence close.
An arrow and a steel-tipped bolt launched in perfect unison and Kali gave her hips a smooth swing from left to right, an unnecessary warm-up before the hairy brutes charged.
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