SoSS 1.2

***Don't Ask a Gift Horse Where It's From*** is the second episode of the first book of *Stories on the Subjugated Straits*, and the second overall.

## Plot

As the party departs from their campsite outside Reo, Voy questions whether Silence is capable of handling Yowuli, and offers to carry it to keep it safe. Silence, uninterested in the sword, gives it to him, and Voy discovers that Yowuli can wordlessly communicate by projecting emotions toward its holder. However, Kaseos disagrees with Voy's choice to leave it hidden away from their enemies, rather than use it as the powerful weapon it is. Nati expresses concern at the potential for bloodshed in the party's future, which most of the others admit is unavoidable given their prophecy to kill the king. In the end, no agreement is made, and they continue on with Yowuli in Voy's possession.

The party passes through a small apple orchard; as they traverse it, a small group of four kenku bandits ambush the group. With strength in numbers, the party is able to quickly dispatch them, with Kaseos and Cassandra each killing two. In the battle's aftermath, Detonia irreverently plays with one of the kenkus' corpses, shocking and upsetting the party - especially Nati - and spurring Cass to attempt to attack her. Detonia is eventually convinced to leave the corpse, but she continues displaying unusual and unsettling abilities, such as producing tentacles from her body, and transforming into a humanoid form and back again. Unable to get Detonia to leave, the party reluctantly proceeds to Devo with her in tow.

Reaching Devo without spotting the shrine, the party splits up. Searching from the air, Kas's owl Grey spots a shrine to the north of the orchard; Lynx distracts Detonia by asking about the kingdom of ponies she hails from, so neither notice. Meanwhile, Voy, Nati, Silence, and Cassandra visit the town elder, Scott Takeuchi, who gives them the same directions. He also reveals that the kenku bandit attacks are a constant problem in Devo, as they've even kidnapped a girl named Val. Voy promises to look into the bandits, but privately tells the others that they should focus on the shrine, and leave the bandits to the incoming Marines if need be.

Retiring to Devo's tavern for the night, Kaseos asks Voy if he can identify the symbol on his locket; Voy recognizes it as a noble insignia, but knows nothing else. Voy, in turn, learns from Kaseos about one of his possessions: a "phone," with which he'd taken a picture of the shrine back in Reo. Kas shows Voy and Nati a game that can be played on the phone, and both are enthralled.

As they split into two rooms to sleep, Kaseos proposes to Voy that they jointly attune to Yowuli, with Kas teaching Voy swordfighting so he can wield it as well, and Voy teaching Kas the sword's history so he can appreciate its importance. Pleasantly surprised, Voy accepts the offer. In the other room, Lynx continues asking Detonia about her origins. Cautiously, Detonia confides that she left her kingdom for the fae wilds in search of a cure for a dying friend, gaining her unnatural abilities in the process, before being exiled. She claims not to know how she was changed, nor how she got to this plane in her exile.

The next day, the party walks through a downpour toward the shrine in the orchard. Passing through the site of their last battle, they find the corpses gone. They take the fork in the road north, and spot the shrine in a clearing a ways ahead. But before they can reach it, Voy, Kaseos, and Silence fall victim to a massive pit trap. Though Nati's magic saves them from injury in the fall, through tunnels in the pit, they spot the beady eyes of countless kenku.

## Characters

### Main

* Cassandra Dunewatcher
* Detonia
* Kaseos
* Lynx
* Nati
* Silence
* Voy Graves

### Supporting

* Grey
* Kenku bandits (several; debut)
* Elder Scott Takeuchi (debut)