Nimue's smile turns grim. "Of course. This should go well."

Quote from Birel_13 >>

Nimue's smile turns grim. "Of course. This should go well."

Alaris leans across the saddle and lays a gloved hand on Nimue's strong, slender arm.

"He is more than you have seen so far. You'll see."

Nimue grimaces, the memory of Nikolai's uncontrolled rage still lurking near the forefront of her mind. Her expression neutralizes, and she nods to Alaris, following them over to the rest of the group, her eyes flicking from each face as they draw near.

    Astrid, who had been engaging in some idle chit-chat with the occupants of the wagon, notices the gathering up ahead. "C'mon, Bluebell," she urges the large, hairy boar forward to join the others. 

     "Don't worry about him any," she offers Nimue as she comes along side. "I managed to say the wrong thing too when I first met Nikolai."

"I'm not worried. Just curious as to what his response will be. I'm surely not everyone's favorite person at the moment." Despite the fact that I did nothing wrong. She smiles serenely at Astrid. "I appreciate the concern nonetheless."

Once everyone has gathered, Nikolai will look about to ensure none of the pilgrims are listening too intently as he keeps his voice to a minimum. "First thing we need to discuss affects those of us who have been hearing voices. There is something or someone that is following each of us. Some sort of astral projection that is attached to me, Caio, Alaris, and Shiva. They don't look exactly like us, but maybe if we knew what these other things looked like or at least claimed to look like I could have a better idea, but..." he shrugs. "I do not yet know enough about this phenomena to explain further as I just discovered this while speaking with Jonathan before we left Piotgrad. I plan to study it more as he journey, but perhaps I could suggest you all reach out to whatever these are. The more we know the better prepared we are. That said, moving into the next issue... Jonathan..." He proceeds to explain all the details that Jonathan relayed to him.

"You can thank your Elven friend for Ling's 'fate'," Jonathan notes, nodding towards Nimue. "Ling walked into Haus Sternental of her own free will. Without the Undómiel girl, she would never have known where to go... but that is what it is. Know that, if you carry out this task, I will uphold my end of the bargain struck with Ling - one thousand mark for each of you."

"I believe that Ling is considered a guest... for now," Jonathan explains cautiously. "As long as she remains that way, her life is not in acute danger. My father lives by his own set of rules. As things are, he will not harm her without what he considers 'due cause'. Our cousin, on the other hand, has drawn his attention..."

Jonathan pauses, glancing across the square towards Nimue before continuing.

"Carry out your mission to Paragon. Invest yourselves in whatever you may encounter along the way and think not of me or my family. We will speak again when your task there is complete. Perhaps by then his attention will have wandered."

The half-elf turns back to Nikolai's shimmering invisible form, golden eyes meeting white.

"Know this; the key to Ling's safe return lies in Five Towers. Until then, any other endeavour is foolish to suicidal. Good luck, Nikolai."

He glances over at Nimue to see what her reaction would be as he speaks Jonathan's words about attracting Valentine's attention and her blunder in revealing herself to him so blatantly. "There we have it. It would seem we have two jobs at the moment. Keep Elodia safe and investigate whatever we find in Littlewood. This does not mean we should allow ourselves to become sidetracked from our primary goal of escorting these people. At least, that seems to be what Jonathan thinks. I am unsure as to whether I believe him or not, but we have nothing else to go on. What are your thoughts?"

Nimue merely raises an eye at Nikolai. He could continue to blame her all he wanted. It wouldn't change how she felt.

"It was only a matter of time before I found him." She keeps her eyes on Nikolai. "I started this search nearly 50 years ago. I'm sorry that it happened after we met, but I don't regret it. And neither, I think, does Ling." She pauses for a moment, gauging his expression. "Valentine won't do anything without just cause. And I think he's more interested in me at the moment. I may not have known him long, but I know my family." She stares intently at the Tiefling.

Nikolai holds Nimue's gaze. "Do not misplace my repeating of Jonathan's words are further blame being laid upon you, Nimue. I have voiced my concerns about your actions and the consequences that resulted. We have more concerning issues at hand than to continue a ridiculous tirade amongst one another. Division is something we cannot afford out here in the wilds with so many lives being placed in our care. There are other dangers out here than your cousin. I am more concerned about speaking of our plans and the upcoming weeks than rehashing this again. I am also more concerned about these strange entities shadowing me and my companions. So, about those concerns... what are your thoughts?" His gaze leaves Nimue's and drifts among all the collected party.

"Neither am I," she responds quietly. "I'm glad we have an understanding." Her hands tighten around the reins, and she removes her gaze from Nikolai.

Looking from Nimue to Nikolai, Shiva speaks a little more loudly than usual, wishing to diffuse the tension. "Well! I'll be keeping Elodia safe throughout our journey, so anything that comes within five yards of her will be cordially escorted to the afterlife. As for our shadows, I've been in contact with mine. She speaks to me in moments of great stress, sometimes even responding to my calls. It's blurry, though. Never longer than a minute or so. I suppose I could try to strengthen that..."

Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath. "Hello?" After a few seconds, the voice responds. 

"Hello. You've heard about Ling, and I applaud your strength in the face of it. You could've easily lost yourself to the anger and pain." "Um...thanks? Look, you've seen my life, and I've come to ask you to connect me to yours. Nik thinks that developing whatever this is will help him understand it." There is silence for a time, then the voice finally speaks. "I don't quite understand my existence, lying somewhere between your life and mine. More and more, I find myself thinking your thoughts, speaking your words. Perhaps sharing myself with you will correct this, bringing us closer to sharing one soul. But ready yourself, I don't think this will be easy." "...alright, hit me."

The others around Shiva notice her breathing become shallow as she begins to sway atop her horse, her heart beating arrhythmically in her chest. In a fraction of a second, she is shown another version of her life in an alien world. She is born different from others; a...warlock. But she still looks like herself, if not a little scrawny. Her family protects her until she is able to make her own way. They're loving and compassionate, and her Other never has to endure their loss. Her Other is talented and intelligent, making a name for herself. She had just found Ling, Nik, Caio, and Alaris before she was shunted out of her reality. She got so far, all on her own. She demonstrates abilities that she doesn't quite understand, and she researches in her spare time, trying to find something linked to the Ki-Tanra's. Ki-Tanra. That's her Other's family name.

Shiva falls from her horse, unconscious before she hits the ground. Her heart fights to find rhythm with something beyond it.

Nikolai watches as Shiva sways atop her horse and suddenly falls heard to the ground. He immediately reins back his own horse and leaps from the saddle. "Shiva!" He rushes over to his fallen friend and cradles her head, checking her for injuries or any signs of what may have just occurred to her. "What has happened?" He gently shakes her in an attempt to rouse her.

Nimue is not far behind Nikolai, but she stays near her horse as she dismounts, closing her eyes. She touches the ground with a gentle finger, and a small shockwave emits from her, her glowing amulet pulsing before dimming once more. Nothing unusual. Thank Aralath. She stands back up, keeping a blank expression on her face.

     "My biggest concern has to do with getting through the Gap of Hirn, and with what I overhe-..." Astrid is cut short by the thud of Shiva falling from her horse. She rushes to the tiefling's side and immediately begins to check for something that may be afflicting Shiva. 

     "What happened?! I can't find anything wrong her!" The cleric looks to the others with concern. "Did her shadow take her?!"

"There aren't any abnormal infernal presences. I checked." She shifts her gaze over Nikolai and Shiva, before resting on Astrid. 

Shiva groans as she lays in the dirt, her body coming to adjust itself to this new normal.

Within the storm of her mind, Shiva is now able to clearly see her Other. A human face, a disguise. And beneath that, one that she knew all too well. "We're closer now. I can feel the heat of your vigor, the depth of your tenderness towards those you care for. You're so much more than violence, honey. We may have had different starts to our lives, but we're more alike than you may think. And I can feel myself distinctly from you now, my thoughts are once again my own. I will walk with you, providing aid when I can."  "You're so strong, you overcame so much, all on your own. Without the family that I've come to know."  "Yes, and so did you. I saw those years before you met Nikolai. It makes me so happy to know that he has the capacity to become what he is to you and Ling."  "Yes. And your name, Ki-Tanra. Is that my name too?"  "I don't know. But we'll find out. Together."

Shiva's eyes flutter open to see the others looking down at her with concern. With a grunt, she sits up. "I'm getting really sick of passing out like this." Her heart beat resumes its steady pace, the rhythm slow and powerful. "Our shadows, they're us. Us from another place, another time. My Other had just met you all when she was forced out of her world and into me."

Several of the pilgrims look on in fear as the enormous blue tiefling topples from her horse. Whispers fly amongst their number.

Caio leaps down as Shiva falls and inspects her along with the others. His own senses, trained to sniff out arcana influences, find nothing out of the ordinary but thankfully she wakes before they can truly start to worry. “Hmm. My Shadow is far less gregarious. I believe that I’ve shared his dreams before, I suppose it tracks with what you describe: versions of us from another realm. My concern is how these others became attached to us.” He looks up as his ears catch the fearful whispers, and his dark scowl meets their prying eyes. “Let the pilgrims fret and flee. The less of them that follow the better.”

Zadkiel whickers and hurries her pace a bit as Shiva's startled mount begins to bolt. The Celestial steed moves ahead of the fearful horse and appraises it with a steady gaze. In a moment, the paladin's big horse has calmed the other and Zadkiel comes closer and they rub necks.

Alaris murmurs back to Caio, "Agreed. I think most of the rest will turn back as dark approaches. Shiva, are you ready to ride again?" The aasimar pulls a sugar cube from their pocket and feeds it to Shiva's horse as it nuzzles Zadkiel.

Standing, Shiva dusts herself off and shoots a cold look to the pilgrims eyeing her with distrust. "Yeah, let's go. Thanks for grabbing my horse, Ari."

 Nikolai sighs in relief as Shiva's eyes open and he grabs her in a fierce hug. "Shiva, I am sorry! I never thought they could do this-" he starts, but stops as she begins to explain everything. "It is exactly as I was thinking. Let us speak more of this as we move. Did they speak to you? This other you? What did they say? Where are they from? How did this happen??" The implications and opportunities here were staggering. Shiva had known Nikolai long enough to know that his hungry curiosity was piqued and there would be no distracting him from this line of questioning. He would need to slack his thirst for knowledge before he would be able to focus on much else.