Tiding 16: A Fistful of Feathers

## Content Warnings

*"In those moments after waking, it must have been apparent to Vilte that her attempt to stop Corpus from coming into existence had failed. It must have taken all of her will to set herself and her parish to a new purpose: to find a way to stop the feigned Remnant. That new purpose led them to Cenja, to a town called Eulogy. It was a land touched by gloom, where secrets were buried under sheets of ivy. They sought to find Serrata Paige, one of those who had birthed the Not-Remnant. But meanwhile, Corpus did not lie idle. It had begun to proliferate outwards from Carn Veskl; folded the power claimed from Slumber and Strael into its whole. By spore and ice wind and tunnel, it spread."*

 *Show more/less*

*In the Sharrow it found easy pickings: the land was defenceless after its remnant’s murder.
 Now in control of Strael’s frozen wake, Corpus stretched itself easily across the territory. Then, it turned East. Began to track those who had eluded it in the caves, the ones that had turned its powers against it. It put its newfound strength to the test against Cenja. And, while its Remnant Duier did its best to hold back Corpus’ fury, its victory seemed an inevitability.*"

―The Counterfeit God, by Avyn Fiir Vorunt

## Summary

Ahead of the caravan, the camping trip starts proper. Venz and Challa attempt to get answers from Strael; first though they’ll have to avoid Belka and Bris’ suspicions, as well as the attention of dangerous strangers.
Venz finds time for his hobbies, Belka cooks potatoes, Challa rides a moth and Bris goes chasing waterfalls.

## Synopsis

Challa and Korrin try to slip away from Bris on the pretext of undertaking some camp chore, hoping Venz will meet with them. They gather by a brook, with the moon through the trees, but someone else is watching them. Challa is waiting nervously for Strael to appear, gripping Korrin's hand hard, hoping it won't turn up (as she's not carried out its request). Venz is impatiently waiting for Strael to appear. Strael understands that Challa has refuted its request but does accept that she does want to help it, showing itself as the area getting cold, ice crackling out, and the ice weasel runs out from Challa's trousers. Strael also communicates that it's looking for something that will make it whole again and has been travelling through Ryne for a long time. Strael is worried that they will never find what they are looking for. Strael had seen Savel and Venren as something akin to envoys or servants, and had been hoping that they would go out into the world and carry out that work alongside it.

Challa tells Venz some of this (Strael needs help and Challa wants to oblige), but keeps a lot back. They return to camp separately to avoid suspicion.

The next day, Bris wakes up first and patrols the perimeter. She's not talked to Venz since their discussion about Korrin, and she's even kept slightly apart from Korrin, not knowing how to handle her feelings about his 'potential'. The group all gradually wake, and Challa cooks breakfast with Belka. Belka has put potatoes in the ashes and embers to cook, and produces a box of salt. Challa decides she wants eggs with the potatoes (after leafing through her cookbook for inspiration).

The group explore further into Cenja (although Bris has thoroughly scouted the area), and Bris points out various outdoor knowledge and skills to the children. She points out the short, spindly Bisher tree with its trailing leaves and edible fruit; the Shukka, a long-tongued beaked rodent that feeds on bone marrow; and a type of fly that drinks silvery spirit from its hosts with its flat-plated proboscis. Bris notices that these flies seem to be congregating around the trees that Korrin had pointed out as whispering earlier, and trails off.

She decides to take the group to a waterfall where the spray shone with a rainbow pattern when she had scouted it out, thinking the children (and probably Belka) would enjoy it. When they arrive, the ground is covered in bright moss, and gathered around the edge of the plunge pool, grazing on the moss, are domesticated pony-sized ground-dwelling moths whose wings have evolved into powerful limbs. Their broad-framed owner, Tiller Bract, gives them a hard, wary stare. Their amber skin is tanned from a life outdoors, and leaves grow from the top of their head, apparently reacting to their mood.

Bris greets them, saying they're headed to Eulogy. Tiller says their house isn't far from the city, and asks who they are. Challa immediately introduces herself, and asks excitedly about the Occant moths. Belka carries Challa's parka, cookbook and weasel, as well as Fenrir (on their horns) as they wade across the pool. Belk gets a strong sense of two distinct fears from Challa's parka: the fear of a scared child, but also the cavernous, unknowable fear of not finding what one is searching for (Belka doesn't know this belongs to Strael). Unbeknownst to the group, a group of soldiers in armour and helmets is watching.

On the other side, Bris explains that they're refugees from the Sharrow in the west, and Tiller invites them to stay at their farm to talk more. Challa, Korrin and Fenrir get to ride an occant each (with the adults holding the reins), and Belka hands Tiller a campfire potato. They head back to the farm in pleasant company.

Half an hour later, three armed figures follow.

## Game Mechanics

* Challa rolls 4 in Scared with Unthreatening to slip away from Bris (Fail, mark XP; Challa spikes on Scared, causing another XP mark due to trait Hot-Headed.)
* Challa rolls 9 in [emotion not disclosed as not used in this move] with Stand Firm, promising upfront that she really does want to help Strael. Strael gains an additional bond on Challa.
* Bris rolls 9 in Peaceful with Survivalist to find a waterfall. *The feature is there, but different, changed, or dangerous to get to*
* Belka rolls 2 in Joyful with These Objects Hold Stories to find things out from Challa's parka (Fail; mark XP). *What strong emotions have recently been near this?*

## Plot Notes

**Warning! There may be spoilers ahead!**

*These Flimsy Rituals is distributed under a CC BY-NC-SA license. This wiki contains excerpts of scripted text and official shownotes, and is considered to be under the same license. Official artwork is not to be used on this wiki. Fanart pieces are distributed under licenses determined by the artist- please check the caption or alt-text.*