The snow that had been a light dusting during the fight was quickly turning into a flurry outside. The Inku would need to finish their takeover of the camp before they could start resting in the cabins and taking turns guarding their hard-fought victory.

Rorin entered into the home, set bread on the table, and poured two cups of melted snow. While waiting for the guest she decided to take a look around the house she'd chosen for her stay. Quite lavish for a cabin in a small village - it had the cooking and eating area in a little space and then a separate little sleeping area with a large cot and a little makeshift table that hardly stood waist high. Little pieces of who lived here were scattered about, a bone needle on top of a mending project on a stool by the kitchen fireplace, a chest with clothes on it, shoes by the bed. Little signs that daily life was expected to stay unchanged for the inhabitants.

A knock on the door preceded Sablryn with the man Rorin had asked for. Rorin moved to stand behind the chair facing the door and gestured at the chairs around the table, "Sit." They would have to converse in Mountain to get anywhere, the humans were used to trading with dwarves and so learned their language. No human had bothered or had yet been given the opportunity to learn Inku. The man stepped forward and took a seat without gratitude or complaint.

Rorin studied the man before starting their conversation, "Have bread, I have questions. I am looking for a human named Yaegor." A flash of surprise, but no response. "You know the name, yes?"

"No."

"I think you do. Where is he staying now?"

"I don't know that man."

"You know this is a man. Will you be able to withstand all temptation to tell me what you know?" The man looked to be holding his breath with how red his face was becoming. As if with one wrong move he might spill all his words. Rorin wished he would. It would be so easy for him to tell her where the trader was staying. Then, she could leave this place.

Still the man had not said anything, "Sablryn, the man has nothing to say. We have better use for his mouth in the stables. Feel free to take him there now."

As Sablryn steps forward to take hold of curly-haired man, he braces himself to resist, "Wait, I do have questions."

Rorin stopped Sablryn with her hand and waited to hear the question.

"What do you intend for us?"

"We will use these months to take your tetch and eat food with you all, then leave."

"What is tetch?"

"Answer me first. This town did not exist two winters ago, why is it here?"

The man made a face that said he did not want to answer any questions at all and he wasn't keen to start now. The two stared until the man gave in, "This will be a new outpost for the town, Bellringer. We came here as its first occupants to try and clear some land to make room."

"But why here?"

"That's two questions."

"I don't think you're in any position to barter. Why did they send you here?"

The man stiffened, "I'm a good shot, they believed I would be able to teach the others and defend against any attack." Rorin recalled the fight and he was the only archer to get a shot into one of her women. If all of the archers had been at his level, then the inku would have taken far more casualties.

"Why is the village here on the borders of the mountain?"

"I don't know. We didn't choose the destination. They said here, so we came here." The man was getting visibly frustrated.

"Your answers only bring me more questions, who sent you and again, where is Yaegor?" The man said no more and turned his head away from Rorin.

"You've done well in answering these questions, but I need more information. You answered my questions and I'll answer yours. Sablryn, take him to the stables and tell whoever is inside to show him what tetch is." A small smirk flitted over Sablryn's face before her professional I-hear-nothing-all-I-do-is-guard face took control and she stepped forward to grab the man and take him out the door. Before they left Rorin called out, "Human man, what is your name?" She could barely hear against the snowy wind him whisper to himself, "I'm Nathan."

Rorin sat back in the chair slowly munching on the bread left on the table. They must find Yaegor before the food runs out and the return journey to the summer lands must be made.

A knock at the door interrupts Rorin's pondering, "Co-". The visitor bursts in before Rorin can finish inviting them in. There's only one rude person who would barge in here uninvited, "Inga, aren't you supposed to be grunting against some dick right now?"

"I understand that it has been a while Shenta, but getting tetch doesn't take that long."

"I didn't realize that the young weren't interested in rest either, I'll be sure to keep that in mind next time I need something."

Point for Rorin. "I'm here on business now, so there's no need for a new assignment."

"Ah good, I was worried you came in here for something other than business."

The two faced eachother, Inga's face looking significantly more annoyed than Rorin's, though neither looked amused.

"What is this business?"

"There is a human woman who is speaking Mountain trying to get more supplies for the human families."

"And you need my approval for the supplies because?"

"They have enough to live Shenta, they don't need any more."

"And you decided to insert yourself? Gat's team is in charge of the women."

Inga either ignored the accusation or didn't realize what it was as she pushed on, "Shenta, if we give them more supplies there will barely be enough for ourselves."

"Let me test my understanding. You took your tetch reward for following your commands well during the battle and instead of protecting it inside yourself, you went walking about. You overheard a human who either was speaking or should have been speaking Mountain with Gat's team and you decided to reject the request on Gat's account, and then Gat sent you here because you refused to let it go. Is that right?"

Inga scrunched her face together - Rorin was basically clairvoyent. If only. Inga was simply easy to read. With Inga's feelings towards humans and her all-consuming desire to fight whether with words, with fists, with her entire being - it was easy to see. If she were surrounded with nothing except snow, she would build a snow wolf just to pick a fight with it.

"Inga, what do you want?"

Inga approached the table Rorin was sitting at and slammed her hand down, "They should all be dead right now, Shenta. We are keeping those useless fleshbags alive and for what reason? To just eat and shit. You don't share with us what we're looking for or why we're looking for it. We should be killing all these humans on our borders instead of feeding them. The strong survive, Rorin, and we are the strongest."

"I see. Does that mean you're satisfied only killing?"

"I'm left in the dark with no moon, and you want me to trust you. I am the best warrior in the whole army and yet you treat me like a child."

"Noted Inga. Send me the woman who was speaking Mountain and tell your team to get as much tetch in the next week as they can. After that, they won't have another chance."

"Yes Shenta."

"Inga, our community relies on offspring during these winters in order to survive, yet your team consistently remains barren. It is as important and serious as killing our enemies if not more so."

Inga didn't respond before turning and exiting the door. Rorin wondered if she chose the right cabin, with the door practically staying open with visitors the fire is barely keeping the home warm. While she waited for the female human to arrive, Rorin took a look around the house. She picks up the embroidery project that was resting on the stool and begins to inspect it. It's a piece of cloth from a larger item that had recently been repurposed as a handkerchief. The person had begun to sew delicate flowers at the corner, Rorin even recognized a few of them. They were all common to meadows in the summertime. She put the handiwork down to investigate the kitchen area. She had come in here before for a quick look around to find the bread, but without the business of searching for something specific, the smaller details shone. There were little cups of dried spices organized along the counter. Very fancy for a collection of huts days away from a major human town. There was blood salt, horseroot, and yarrow. A knock at the door and Rorin brushed some sweat from her brow before inviting the person in.

The door flew open with a gust of snow and pulled a human woman into the room. She turned around to shut the door, but it was quite heavy. Rorin took the few steps to her quickly despite the torrent of wind and helped close the door.

The human let out a sigh as if they had just felled a mighty foe, and maybe to her they had. The human looked up to Rorin and her face that seemed exhausted at first, though pleased at fighting the door suddenly turned into fear. Rorin released the door and her position by the human. It only made sense the human would be terrified of her. The Inku were a few inches taller than the average human and their skin as white as the moon and eyes as red as winter berries. Rorin brushed more sweat off of her forehead as she moved towards the table and took a seat.

"I hear there were some issues." Rorin began in Mountain, "Can you tell me what had happened? Please sit."

The human woman came forward and took a seat opposite Rorin and eyed the cups of water and half eaten bread that say between them, "Yes," her voice was quivering, "we need more. We will die if we aren't given more."

Rorin took a look at the human's face. She seemed to be fighting off fear while addressing the shenta. She had a young woman's face, probably had a couple young adult children by now. There were wrinkles starting to develop around her eyes and mouth. Her eyes were puffy as if she was crying before entering. Her hair was brown and fluffy in a simple braid and her outfit was thinner than expected given the weather. In fact, Rorin just noticed that the woman might not be shaking out of fear, but from severe cold.

"Is this what you normally wear outside?"

"No. The attack was at night, so most of us are in sleepwear. But the supplies are more important,  please give more."

Rorin hadn't considered that they would still be in what they wore to bed. Honest, this was her first time considering what humans did after the Inku raided a willage. She would need to let Gat know to send a delegate in the homes to get warmer clothes for the women. "Blankets and clothes, is that all?"

"Many things!"

Rorin must have looked shocked at the human's yell because the woman immediately apologized, "Sorry, no one wants to be here. Please understand." Rorin did understand, it was more cruel to keep a wounded animal alive than to kill it, but she couldn't risk killing them until she got the information she needed. She must find Yaegor. A chill suddenly burst across Rorin's skin from head to toe and the sweat that had made a dewy appearance earlier started beading and threatening to fall down her face and back. Rorin was running out of time.

"I will be sure to get those supplies you requested. Also, you're now the speaker for the women's needs, so when they need something be sure to come to me or Gat."

"Is that the one that I spoke to earlier? She had a black chin."

"That woman is Inga, don't talk to her and avoid her as best you can." Rorin stifled a cough into her hand. "If that is all you need for now then I have things I need to do."

Rorin stood up carefully and believably pretend she wasn't using the table as a crutch. She followed the woman to the door, trying not to sway into her. The door blew open and Rorin spoke to the guard outside in Inku, "Sablrynn, be sure to tell Gat to search the homes for more blankets for the human women. Also, to take this human into houses to obtain warmer garments for them. Check anything brought out for weapons." With the cabin door shut, Rorin stumbled to the table and sank into a chair. Her vision was already starting to get fuzzy, so she lay her head on the table and started to sink into the water of her mind.

Rorin did not know how much time passed when she heard the door open and someone approach. Her eyes and body were too heavy to respond, but she felt cool hands brush hair off her forehead and cold lips press against her skin. That's all she remembered before passing out completely.

Rorin looked around, her eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness. A dark forest, she must have fallen unconscious. She is walking and walking. This must be the dream. This is the cost of the magic they wield, though the magic provides safety and strength for their people, it takes a toll on its user. The magic gives much, but it also takes. If Rorin had not trained on how to navigate the dream before using the dracailich the first time, then she would have been stuck in nightmares until her body let her die.

This is the dream, she must reach the end. Trees arch overhead and though there is a light glow to the night, she cannot see the moon through the leaves. The goddess can never be seen in the dream, it is not a sacred place where she can bless others. The walking continues for what seems like hours. And though time passes, dawn refuses to arrive and the moon refuses to be seen. When will her journey end and how large is this forest? A ringing fills Rorin's ears and gets louder and louder until she starts screaming just to hear something different. Everything goes quiet. So quiet that maybe she had lost her hearing due to the loud ringing. But looking around, Rorin noticed that not just the sound had stopped. The forest had seemed calm before the ringing, but that wasn't true - the breeze had moved the shadows and the shadows mad sounds in the grass. But this was true silence with even the shadows staying still. The world seemed to be holding its breath.

A whisper that held the voice of the inku's strongest warrior shouted, "Behind you!" Rorin turned and in the darkness, maybe a field's distance away was a flood of dracailich pouring through the trees towards her gleaming in its prismatic glory somehow finding the moonlight Rorin herself couldn't find. She ran. Trees crashed behind her as she jumped over fallen trees and drug her arms  through the thorns as she pushed through brambles. She ran even though she could breath, even though it felt like the wind and ground were against her. She didn't know if she could outrun the dracailich, but she surged forth anyway. She didn't dare turn to look and see how close it was now, not when it took every ounce of focus to not trip over the forest's obstacles. In fact, she didn't need to look. After running for this long and her lungs filling with fire, she could feel the icey cold of the dracailich at her back. But ahead was a hill and at the peak of that hill it seemed that the treeline broke and the forest would come to an end. Yes, this hill was familiar! Rorin breached the top of the hill and as she leapt out, she felt the cold touch of dracailich against her back foot. From here she could see the houses that made home. And though she saw her goal, she didn't dare stop running until she reached her own door. She had made it home. To the winter pastures in the warm valley, her Griahn-cala. The smells of cotton-flower and fresh bread beckoned her inside and Rorin entered to see the most beautiful woman in the world. "Durfur, what have you been up to here?"

"Ah!" the woman looks up from her work, hair frizzy and out of place. A single braid of hair thrown over a shoulder, an apron that had less flour on it than her face, her feet bare, and a huge smile on her face. "I was so worried. I thought for certain I wouldn't get to sleep. I was thinking about all that could go wrong, but each morning I wake up. I was wondering when the snow would bless you, and now we can expect some flurries later." She looked to Rorin with sparkling eyes, "Tell me everything."