Trees on either side of the road, some bare of limb still and others budding arrays of colors among evergreens, rustled in wind. The horses had started the walk for them some half hour before, but the progress made due to Storm's gift had placed Ewan farther north than he had been so far in this land. This meant he kept his awareness high, eyes moving to mark passage of any beneath the shadows of the sheltering forest. Night was coming in swiftly with the tall trees and the low rise of hills blocking the last rays. "We should look for a good place to camp for the night while light is still with us."

Storm carefully tried to shifted her weight at the question within her seat. It had been some time since she had ridden for an extended period of time, but she did not make a sound of it. Lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, she was giving their surroundings a long look over, "I am sure that a clearing will come up pretty soon, do you think?"

A curve in the road prevented a long look down, but one should lifted in a shrug. "I could not say either way." Pointing to the left side and up, "There's possibly a natural shelter back in the woods there as there looks to be a rise in the land. If you wanted to stop, I could scout further in to find something suitable."

She tried to follow his pointing, letting her hand rest back from shielding her eyes. Turning to him with a warm smile, she gently shrugged her shoulders, "It does not matter to me, beloved. I can last a bit longer if you would like to see what is ahead."

He considered both possibilities in his head in the rapid fire way of this thoughts. "No, we will see what is ahead soon enough, I should think. Let us stop here for a moment. I may not find anything of use, and we will need to go further after all. Better to check early than leave it to late."

He drew the horse over to the side of the road and a stop there. "The horses will think they have had a light way about it." A low laugh as he flipped the reins over a low branch to keep the horse still.

She chuckled as well, following him to the three, "Do you want me to go with you?" Holding onto her reins, she lifted them for emphasis.

"No, if it is all right with you, I would prefer you stay with the horses. It should not take me too long." He went around his horse to give a quick kiss to her cheek, and then dashed off into the woods. His steps made noise at first and then into silence as he adjusted the lope to compensate for the underbrush and snag of reedy limbs.

She simply nodded, but her eyes followed him sharply until he was no longer in sight. Even then, her ears strained to listen for him moments, or for the possibility of something else disrupting the sound of silence. Taking the time to stretch her legs, she slid out of her saddle and off of the horse, before gently caressing it's neck.

His search went in further than he would like to be from the road, but in the swing about, arcing a bit from his path in, he found a nice small copse of trees surrounding and older fallen tree. It would afford a good shelter should something come calling. On return to the road just a few paces north of their position, he called to her, "I think I found a serviceable place. The horses should be able to make it through the brush." He took up the reins again to lead the way.

She smiled softly as he returned with news of finding a place. Taking the reins of her own horse, she followed behind him, since she did not think there was room for them to be side to side. Looking around at the place he had chosen, her mind went to different possibilities, "This looks like a good place. Would you like me to make a shield around the place as well?"

"I am not sure. I would rather you not tax yourself more than you should, but I would be too much the fool not to take what advantages of protection are available to me. Tell me more of the shield in what it might offer by way of protection, and I might relent." A warm smile, he started to remove the saddles from the horses to prepare them for their night.

paused and thought upon his request, before shrugging slightly. "I suppose it can be as you wish. I can make something that can keep animals and the like out, as well as keep us dry should that ever be a problem." She began to help unloading their things, "What did you have in mind?"

He shook his head as he thought through the wide and varied possibilities. "Tonight, just the weather should do. I do not want to get too complacent, and it would do me some good to readjust my awareness. I sleep too well with you beside me." He passed by her and gave her neck a kiss as he started with the saddle of her horse since she removed the saddle bags.

The kiss to her neck brought a warm sigh and it stilled her movement for several seconds, "I can keep you awake, if that is what you want." She sent him a cheeky grin, "Perhaps not aware, but awake nonetheless." Gentle teasing, she moved to repeated the same process of removing the saddle bags from his horse.

"I know that all too well, and the temptation is a great one, but not out here, beloved. I want to be aware of the strange surroundings." He started to brush down the horses with handfuls of grass from the forest floor. "I will find some stones to build a fire cairn and some wood, but I do not suppose you could find a nearby source of water with some..." a mild wave of his hand, "undraining and not stressful use of your talents?" He did not want to push her, but was rather sure that if she could it would be faster than his more mundane methods of finding water.

Setting the bags against a trunk of a tree, she licked her lips in thought. Her eyes danced around, straining her ears for the sound of running water. "I can take a quick look around, and see if I can find anything." Without another explanation, she winked to him, before her form flickered and faded to nothing, the gentle breeze giving an indication of her transformation.

She was about to offer to light the wood, but he seemed intent on doing it, and so she simply set the bucket down. "I have no preference." Her smile was a bit secretive, which suggested that she might have smuggled her craved item with them.

Looking up at her from his crouched position on the ground, "What is that smile, beloved? Am I to guess at your meaning?" He rose and eyed her with suspicion.

"I am just smiling." Of course now it was more of a grin, "I am just saying that I do not have a preference to what we eat. Would you care for me not to smile?" She gently teased to mask what the thought behind the original smile was.

"A smile is not always just a smile, Storm, and I have seen many of yours. This one, well, it has changed some now, but the one I saw makes me think you have some little secret." He stepped away and drew out a hunting knife from a saddle bag, "But I will not question you further. I am off to find something scurring in the underbrush that must make its peace with its place in the world and feed us."

Her smile twisted at his description, "Lovely, Ewan." He would know her secret soon enough, and so instead she said nothing about it. "I will go ahead and set up the shield, then. Any thing else I can do while you are gone?"

He laughed and called over his shoulder, "Decide if you want to share my blankets or have your own, and set them up accordingly." He was lost into the darkness of the surrounding woods and went along his silent way, listening for any signs of movement revealing prey.

She laughed lightly and looked to their things, "Now, why would he even give me an option?" This mumbled to herself, before finding the blankets and setting it up for them to share. Once that was settled, she sat on top of the blankets, and took a last glance around them. Then her eyes took on a faint glow as she began to build the shield.

The forest was not unlike others he had traveled through in his time, but it was staying silent for all their moving about. He went a little further and then kept to stillness again as the twigs played their tricks upon his senses.

A frightened patter rustled the underbrush, and he waited until the time was right. A flash of his hand, the flick of a knife, and the rabbit was dispatched. One, he felt, would be enough for the night time meal. He returned to the camp in the same sense of quiet. If Storm could sense him before, she surely could now while she was building the shield. Practice to the purpose was never a moment wasted.

She was making sure that she made the shield to cover all of their belongings as well as the horses. She began from the bottom up, and had nearly sealed the top as she heard distinct and familiar footsteps approaching. Since she knew it was Ewan, she did not pause or wait for him before finishing the shield.

As she tended to the shield, he started tending the rabbit. The hunting knife cleaned and replaced where he found it, and a smaller, more nimble knife was in his hand in its place. It was fast and neat with the fur removed and the head as well. He had always had trouble eating something that still looked like it was staring at him.

She finished the shield, and took one look at what he was doing, before having to look away. "Gah." It was something that usually did not affect her, but her stomach was not as strong as it usually was, either. Instead, she moved to their bags, to see what else he had brought for food.

Hearing her displeasure, he turned his back to her to finish up cleaning the game, and then setting up the way to roast the meat. "You could have suggested something, beloved, and I would have done my best to obtain it. As it is, this rabbit will give a little meat to the meal and should be a good one."

"No, it is fine. I just cannot watch you make it edible." Finding the bag that seemed to have the journey rations, as he had put it, she brought that back over to where she was sitting, and reclaimed her seat. "Did you want to make a soup with it?" Offering out the possibility as she began to pull things out of the bag.

Stopping his preparations, he considered that and gave a nod. "Yes, that would be much better, and I am less liable to burn anything." A low, brief laugh as he started to change the set up to support a small kettle over the flames now snapping their bright chorus in the growing dark of the set sun.

"I will help you." She said, though a cheeky grin rested on her face at the mentioning of him burning their food. Their options for spices were limited, but not impossible. Arranging what she thought would best in it, she put the other items away. Her eyes traveled to her bag, "I brought pears, also." It was said as casually as possible, though she could not look over at him since she would smile if she did.

He stopped the preparation, and looked to her. Laughter coated his words, "So that was the smile. You brought pears." He shook his head as he drew up the bucket of water to add to the pot over the fire, and then waited for her further instruction.

"I could not help it." She almost had a guilty look to her, "I thought it was best to have them just in case, than to take out my cravings on you. Right?" Even though the question was asked of him, she nodded to herself. Pulling out two pears, she set them aside, gathered the spices, and moved closer to him to assist in the preparations of dinner.

As they days went on, with the assistance of Storm's gift, they steadily saw the plateau give way to the foothills, valleys, and growing mountain ranges that signaled their nearing the Mount Yasuo region. The sun was a thumb's length above a tall peak, still raining down its glory on the road and keeping the early spring cool air from being too chilly.

Forest life had become more varied and plentiful as well. No absence of fauna, avian, four footed, or otherwise filled the area with breathing nature. Ewan had tested the ease of grasping a sword from his back from time to time to make sure he could be armed at a moment's notice. That he had taken to wearing his swords crosswise on his back was telling to the change of his surroundings. The unknown required higher precautions.

"What," he said more casually than his eyes surveying their surroundings would dictate he should feel, "do you think Avery got up to today?"

Storm placed her hands behind her head as she floated horizontally next to him. It gave her the opportunity to relax her legs from the horse. In the same way Ewan kept his sword on his back, she felt more comfortable and safe off of the horse than on it, "well, I believe right now he might be complaining about his studies, even though he reads those books in his spare time." The simple mentioning of their son back home brought a sweet smile to her face.

A low, brief laugh, "Oh, no doubt you are right. I do hope Whisper is not causing too much trouble." He kept a hand to one of the horse's necks. It had not made much difference how many times he had done this before, the moving without a horse and on something he could not see set him on edge. The warmth of the horse beneath his hand gave him comfort of something solid, even if the horse was not the one providing his transportation.

"Have you had contact with your people while on our journey?" He asked out of polite curiosity.

"I will be sure to do something special for Phen for putting up with the pair." Grinning, she closed her eyes for a moment to enjoy the change of weather, and welcome the sun of the spring. "A little, yes. I must go for a visit in the morning." Letting out a soft sigh, her eyes opened again to look back at him, "I reckon it shall not take long." Or at least, she hoped.

"A meeting then?" He wanted to know more of what was going on if she would let him, so he asked another encouraging question for her to share.

"No, thank the Goddess. I am rather content to not have another meeting for many months to come." It was unfortunate that her wish would not come true. "I am overseeing the new battle bond between Paola and Devin. That is the new Air and Fire that have been discovering this particular bond." She reminded him in case he had forgotten.

He spared a glance from his vigil of their swiftly moving surroundings to her, and gave a nod. He was listening. "I hope it goes well. I gather you have some particular concerns about it, though. If was so well buried, or guarded, a secret that it has not been done in time of memory, there must be some troubles. What do you think?"

He spared a glance from his vigil of their swiftly moving surroundings to her, and gave a nod. He was listening. "I hope it goes well. I gather you have some particular concerns about it, though. If was so well buried, or guarded, a secret that it has not been done in time of memory, there must be some troubles. What do you think?"

"Well, I believe part of the reason that it was so well buried is that the particular war it was used in we have almost no documentation. But yes, I believe that there are some troubles. The process of the bond will temporarily exchange and share elements between the Elementals. I think if the partners are poorly chosen, or if it is conducted wrong, it can be fatal. That is at least, my understanding, there could be more."

He frowned at the repercussions of the error in the bond creation. "So, the exchange is just between to the two bonded, or as the Guardians of the Elementals they would effect other Elementals of their nature?" The entire topic was somewhat outside his realm of knowledge, but he did want to understand. The flash of a fox, just a glimpse seen as they passed by, took away his thoughts in that moment of connection. But he looked to Storm and thought further on her words. "But these two, Paola and Devin, surely they are good partners to chose for the experiment. What qualities should they have? I cannot imagine any Fire is particularly non-volatile," this based on that limited experience when one tried to kill his wife.

"The exchange is just between the two bonded, which in this case is two Guardians. It affects no other Elemental directly." When he looked elsewhere for the moment, she did she too see what caught his eye. When she saw nothing, she offered a smile, and continued, "Well, they were first asked to research because Paola is a scholar of sorts and Devin.." she frowned trying to recall, "I believe he just spoke up at the appropriate time. But regardless of that, I do believe that they are excellent candidates for the experiment. You see, Devin is one of the strongest in his element, and Paola is rather average. If Paola was as strong as he, the air adding to his flame would be uncontrollable, and would more than likely kill them both."

"I can tell you my general ideas, but I am afraid I do not have specifics, since specifics are what I am here to find." He flashed a smile, and continued on. "I suspect the first night I will be staying in where we find a place to stay, the inn or what have you. From then, the next day in the streets might tell me more. I might find a suspicious building or group of people. I will also prowl around a bit at night. Places can be exceedingly different between day and night. What those two times tells me will dictate what I do next."

"And yet that all requires you to change your appearance?" She did not know his system of things, but it struck a curious chord within her. "It is not as though you will be recognizable, no?"

A low chuckle. "I have not gotten to the changing of appearances. No, at that point I am just me, as another traveler. It may come to me changing my appearance, but that is not a given."

"It, may come to you?" She looked over to him with a raised brow and an obvious question.

A nod. "Yes," he slowed his horse to assist with facilitating the discussion without the bounce of the trot. "If a situation arises that I need to look into with more depth, it maybe that I need to change my appearance so that I may continue to walk around as myself in other places without risk. Or, I may need to develop connections that are," he shrugged one shoulder, "less than appropriate for the Master of Arms of Yransea."

She slowed down her horse as he, and wrinkled her nose at his description. "This shall make things rather interesting, although I will be sad to see your hair any color than it is now." There was some teasing and some truth to that statement. "So, I gather depending on what you find, will depend on how much I see you during our stay?"

At her teasing about his hair, he reached out and gave a light tug to one of her curls. A nod to her question, "Very true. From what I hear, it is a very peaceful place. I will not trust that until I see it myself. There has yet to be a town that did not have a seedy underside, even in small measure. But, I am willing to be proved wrong."

Another break in the trees revealed the tower again. In fact, the trees seemed to be thinning into the grassy valley of the plateau that supported the structure. It was still a distance off, but they were making good time.

"Ah yes, the optimist shines brightly in you, beloved." She giggled as he tugged on a curl, finding the action oddly affectionate and her words teasing. "Well, if you are so right, then I will be sure to have enough fun for the pair of us." At a larger image of the tower, she took note in the upcoming changes in surroundings. "The air feels a bit different than Rhydin."

A curious lift to his brow, he asked, "In what way?"

"It has a different..." she searched for the right word, "hum to it. Like, in Yransea, there is almost no hum at all. And in Rhydin, it has no pulse, no rhythm. It is almost animalistic. This feels... better."

"I will take that as a good sign," he smiled and listened to their surroundings. "I would have thought we would have met some other travelers on the road, but it has been quiet. It seems few make the journey out of this region." He gave her a smile that could be interpreted as "think we will be trapped?"

She gave him a sidelong glance, and chuckled softly, "You know, most are sane enough to not travel in cold weather. I certainly would not come as of yet if I did not hold some control over that. A week without being able to speed up our travel or to keep us warm leaves several days of possible rain or snow. I am sure it will pick up in the summer months.

"What does sanity have to do with it?" He acted affronted by the accusation. "What better time to travel when the roads are not packed with wagons with broken wheels or pilgrimages?"

"Should we call up at the tower and see what it has to say?"

"I am sure you would be singing a different tune if you had no wife to keep you dry during the days and warm during the nights." She tried to lean over and tug on his hair, but her arms were just shy too short. "Hmph." She chuckled and ended on a sigh. "I suppose that would be for the better. Be my guest, m'love."

"When I find a trail that leads that way, or even better yet, perhaps a road, we will do just that." Riding on at an easy pace.

"You mean we are not there yet?!" She gave a dramatic groan and perfected Avery's pout. Unable to contain her laughter for long, she gave him a warm smile as they continued towards the road that would lead to the tower.

Luck it was, for it seemed there were three rooms left, and one in particular a corner room that viewed both sides of the street and out to one of the squares. That was the one Ewan chose, paying one night in advance, and then went out to gather up his wife. "We have a room, and bath ordered, so let us take the horses back to the stables where they will be seen to, and our items upstairs so we can be seen to." He kissed her cheek as he reclaimed the reins and went around to the back.

"A bath and bed." She said on a happy sigh and grinned at the kiss to her cheek. Handing his reins over, she continued to not put too much space between them as they went around the back, "What kind of care is provided for the horses?"

"Stabling and feed. Evidently a paddock out back where they are released two graze. I will check on them later today for any troubles that might have come up with the journey." The back courtyard was as adorned as the insides. Ponds with walking bridges, trees and fountains, the serenity was palpable. Two young men rushed from the stables to assist them in removing their saddle bags and then claimed the horses with soft urgings for the stables.

Her brow's rose a touch as she studied the back of the inn. Knowing she would have the time later to look upon the serene scene later, her attention turned as the young men helped with their things and took the horses to the stables.

Ewan led the way inside and by the directions give the man at the desk, to the top floor and the corner room with its excellent view. A tub in a corner was being filled by two young men and observed by a matronly lady.

"You got a room that requires stairs?" She playfully whispered as she followed him, the stairs not bothering her at all.

"Of course stairs, beloved," he whispered back, "must have ease of escape."

Storm was so relieved to have reached their destination, and to have a place to stay that the room's location did not matter. Once they reached inside the room, she almost went directly to plop on the bed, if there were not people arranging for the bath already inside.

Ewan gave appreciative nods to those assisting in drawing the bath and arranged his packs in a corner of the room close to the bed. He did not dare touch the bed coverings yet in his road soiled condition, but took a look through the sheer drapes covering the windows to the roads and city beyond. "Nice view," he gave Storm a glance overflowing with meaning.


She was rifling through her own bag, drawing out soaps and dry clothing. Pausing as he spoke, she rose to look through the windows. "Others can see through them." She looked over her shoulder and grin, showing that this was indeed a problem.

As if to acknowledge that, the lady who had just ushered out the men filling the steaming tub came along and revealed behind panels shutters than unfolded and shut out the view from below. She bowed her head and smiled and then stepped silently and swiftly from the room. Ewan grinned to Storm, "That solved that. Would you care to bathe first, beloved?" He moved to test the temperature of the water and found it lending itself to rather hot, but in a few moments it would be perfect.

She hid a chuckle with a sigh as the window problem was solved just a breath after she had voiced it. "Are you sure? I will take longer than you," which was nothing unusual, "though.. I do not mind sharing." Her grin turned impish.

"This afternoon bath may take a long time if we share, but," he considers, "I should definitely be relaxed and feeling particularly good by evening if we do." His smile matched hers. He moved towards her and his hands rested on her shoulders then down to the lacings of her shirt. "Would you like me to assist you in preparing for your bath?"

"Hmm," she bit on her lower lip for a moment as if she was trying to consider his offer, though the rest of her face indicated she already had, "You know, I think I could be in great need of your assistance."

He leaned forward so his forehead rested lightly against hers. "Good," and he kissed her, soft but sensual, perhaps influenced by the serenity of the room, the time on the road, or the excitement of a new place to explore.

She returned the kiss eagerly, excitement and energy returning to her with the feeling of the a new place alongside the sensuality of his lips. "Well, I am ready, then." She grinned, pulling the band out of her hair to let it fall onto her back, before holding out her arms to let him assist.

His hands moved with gentle care as he started with the removal of her clothes. A kiss to her neck as he slid hands down her back, though one hand snuck out to dip in the water, and when moved to remove her top, he sent droplets of water down her back. It was going to be, he hoped, a very long bath.

Following the point to the other side, Storm had her eyes on a particular set of statues that had a curling dragon surrounding a lotus flower in the silver and black streaked stone. At the kiss to her neck, she sighed happily to also mask his words. "I will take these, please." Indicating the two statues. After she paid, she waited for coins in exchange, and simply smiled to Ewan to give her understanding answer.

He watched the purchase being wrapped and gave a nod. "You made a very nice choice. I rather like those myself," he smiled. The truth was he still had not seen the man, but he was sure he was out there somewhere among the crowd. A change of appearance as well as stealthy movement of his own and Ewan might find him. It was still early and there was time, but the dye would need to set.

The herbal dye rarely lasted long, and its aroma was unrevealing, no more than a bath or a well spiced meal. He had many such things in his bag to help him transform from his usual appearance, and few of them were as pleasant as the dye used for his hair.

"Perhaps Avery will let you borrow them, then." Laughing lightly, she gathered her change and the small statues, offering him one to carry. After they had taken a few steps away from the vendor, she leaned closer to whisper, "Would you like to go back now? I can always get the book tomorrow."

One hand lifted to caress her cheek as she neared for a whisper. He nodded and started the way back to their temporary residence. "Besides, you can drop of your purchase before heading out for more discoveries." The vague feeling he was being watched came and went with the same disorderly arrangement of people along the streets until they made their way free of it. He had worn just the barest of weapons on his person, but that would change before he went out again.

Arriving at the inn, he followed Storm up the stairs, for many reasons, not the least of which was the excellent view, but also because he wanted to see if he felt the eyes follow him even in the hallways of the building, but he did not.

Easing her way up the stairs as if it was home, it was easy for her to keep a smile on her face while her mind played with the possibilities of what he saw. Entering into the room, she closed the door behind him, and took the small statue from him to put them both away in one of their bags, "What did you see, beloved?"

He held a finger up to his lips and then made a vague whirl of his hand around. While he was certain in his own perceptions no one was listening, he wanted to her to check and let him know for certain that she too felt nothing unusual about their room.

When she gave the nod all was clear he started for his bag within the travel pack to draw out the instruments of his transformation. "It is who I did not see. That man with the tattoo, something of an artistic impression of a dragon, on his neck? I had thought perhaps I could see him again and make more reason out of his purpose, but he was not to be seen. It is time I went digging around."

He drew out the vial of herbal hair dyes, only two of his choice, he grabbed a towel and asked her, "Black or brown, beloved?"

"Brown." While both options to her would not be her favorite, she could see brown complimenting him more, and looking more natural than the black. While her mind wondered why a man had to have a purpose to stand in the same place each night, she knew that Ewan saw many things that she did not. Drawing off her cloak, a hand briefly resting on her slowly protruding abdomen, before beginning to roll up her sleeves, "How long does it take to set?"

"Ten minutes or so though it should not take you long to work it into the hair," he answered and drew up the lone chair for her to sit. "I will sit on the floor," he clarified and did so. The towel about his shoulders, he continued muse out loud his thoughts as the bag of other items was set by his side. A roll of gauze drawn out of the bag. "There was something about that man. He was searching the crowd, that much I could tell, but more than that he could tell I could tell." He hoped that made some sense, for he was not sure there was another way to put it.

Moving to sit in the chair, she waited for him to sit before leaning forward and giving the back of his neck a gentle kiss. "I do not doubt your abilities to find something that is so different, beloved. I simply cannot comprehend your ability to do so." Shrugging slightly, she brushed her fingers through his hair repeatedly to make it as loose as possible. She reached down a hand around him and in front of him so that he could hand her whatever she needed.

He handed up the vial of brown hair colorant. "Have fun, I will." he laughed as he always loved the way her fingers felt in his hair. A deep breath drawn in and released, lessened that smile as the gauze was unrolled to reveal what looked like a preserved piece of skin, oils from the inside cotton of the gauze having kept it supple. He reaches for a jar inside the bag and opens it, dabbing the ring finger in the translucent gel inside. "I think it is because you are a good soul, Storm, and I would have it no other way. Darkness finds its like much more easily than light does."
The gel is dabbed along the jawline and he takes up the piece of skin to place it there. After this he takes out a bit of charcoal and begins to dirty and scruff up his hands and along his nose and brow, altering the depth and angle of his features.

If they were having a usual conversation, she might have further probed his theory. Instead, she was more distracted with what he was doing with the piece of skin. It did not register to her what it was until he placed it on his face. Wincing, she inhaled sharply and shifted her gaze away as her face lost some of its glow and color, "I am certain that your searching will not be fruitless." It was said meekly, one hand still curled around the vial.

He looked up to her with raised brows. It was a strange transformation. She, who knew him well, could see that features still there, but they were distorted by shadows and lines revealed in the plying of the charcoal. The new bit of skin had created what looked like an old scar, puckered with poor treatment. "I will not find out if you do not assist in the coloring. Would you rather I see to it myself?" Concern for her pale features coloring his voice.

She could not help but stare at the old piece of skin and how it changed his expression. Wrinkling her nose, she urged his head to look forward, "I love you very much beloved, but I cannot help but realized that you have..." She could not even finish the sentence as a roll of nausea protested. Clearing her throat, she opened the vial, "I can do your hair."