First Days In Aquilo

As her Incus, Hunter helped the Arbiter acquire materials around Aquilo. The improvised shrine was erected inside of a tent by the end of their first day. It was large enough for Voah to stand comfortably and sit 2 or 3 guests on the prayer side inside the entrance.

The shrine was very provisional. Its construction was composed of wooden supports and a patchwork of furs or hides. In lieu of any sort of effigy, they arranged a row of five cairns, similar in height and size, stacked from vestigial stone of mountain and mine.

The offering altar was also made of a thick flagstone with small copper plates for candles and a small bowl for offerings. When she was present, Voah would detach her steel censer from its chain and set it up for incense burning.

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She had a strange dream that first night, where she was still a little girl dancing through the woods. She sat up against an old oak and looked around for her parents. They were gone. She looked at herself. Now a grown woman. When she turned back to the tree she saw a sort of lump embedded in the trunk and she curiously reached out for it. She was surprised when it split open like gnarled eyelids revealing an emerald eye. Suddenly her legs were being tangled in creeping vines. Watching the vines weave around her, she saw herself change into something new. It was terrifying. She didn't want to change. Her first instinct was to fight but somehow the eye and vines seemed to breathe, it was calming and gentle.

Looking at her arms, she suddenly realized her skin was covered in short fur like the lanugo of a new born babe. It was soft as rabbit's fur or the down of a chick. She radiated with divine light like a forest glen in spring. Branches of leaf and flower grew from her arms and it felt invigorating. There were studs of glinting gems where freckles used to be.

The hair that fell past her shoulders was dark and rich as the night and adorning her torso was a beautiful fabric that resembled something foreign that she had seen before but never worn.

She looked back at the tree. If a tree had one eye and could wink, that's what Voah would have seen. The tender entanglements gingerly turned her around and pointed her into a direction of the woods where she could see the silhouette of a man walking. And although the man seemed like he was lost or looking for something, she knew that he had something to teach her. As she stepped down from the grasping tendrils, the tree gave her a gentle push in the man's direction. Flowers, mushrooms, moss, and root grew wherever her feet touched the ground. Voah found her self thanking the tree and as she approached the man, she faded into blinding light and awoke to the sun breaking through the flaps of her tent.

-----

Over the first two days, she hadn't performed many personal blessings, because some preferred to pray alone rather than while she was present. The few men who did show up were exhausted from hard labor and didn't have any information about the cult.

When she wasn't training Hunter, she asked him to train her. They went hunting on two occasions, bringing in some nice variety. She still wasn't great with the bow but she was at least showing improvement. And she was quiet enough to keep up and not scare off the quarry.

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It was dangerous being the only woman in town. Voah felt the constant eyes of men on her, mostly from the natives, but also some from Ostiarium. It didn't take much to know exactly what was on their mind. They saw women as something beneath them in more ways than one.

In Helias and Ostiarium, this was less of a problem. It was even part of her duty to attract attention. But out on the frontier, there was no law, no protection for a lone woman in a sea of young, bored and lustful men. No protection beyond her own abilities, which was not something every woman had. Even with Hunter, they were outnumbered. These men could get away with murder.

She made sure to set up the camp near Wim's wagon and stuck close to the men she trusted when she needed to do anything in private, like bathing, which consisted of a bucket in the open air. Thankfully, she had made the conscious decision before leaving the city to bring certain paraphernalia and toiletries that she might need on a journey that had no definite ending. Aquilo was sorely lacking of any homely amenities. Food was basic. No seasoning. Ale was near undrinkable. And soap was a luxury here in Aquilo. Zin's Garden, it was a luxury in Ostiarium, but one that she could afford, living among the rectory and the keep. She wondered if Wim would be interested in the business of soaps and perfumes, perhaps opening a bathhouse like the one the soldiers used at The Keep.

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On one occasion, Voah was just going alone to get water from the well and she heard laughing from a group of young clansmen chatting along a row of tents. When she passed them, the group had pushed one of their men toward her and he must have been half drunk because he stumbled a little, kicking up gravel and dust in his wake. She kept her senses open, but looked forward, anticipating exactly what was coming next.

The man reached for her behind and grabbed a handful. She let it happen, but before the man could get away, she spun in a fluid motion, grabbed his wrist with one hand, pulling him close to her in a tight embrace and with the other, she pulled out sword, pointing the tip near his groin. She put her face close to his and said with a vicious smile, "That one was free, the next one will cost you."

She could both see and feel that he was stronger than her, but she had to pretend that didn't worry her. The man seemed a little embarrassed and his friends laughed at him, but the jeers dwindled when she gave a glance of warning at them. One of the men couldn't even hold her gaze. After that incident, the men had backed off a little. There was still little she could do if she was suddenly overwhelmed by a group of them. She worried less about the city men, but these clansmen didn't understand her position.

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It wasn't more than a couple days when a group showed up on horses and a wagon. She had been out with Hunter, foraging for some wild berries and was unaware of the arrival until after they had already set up camp. Much to her relief it was a whole gang of friendly faces.