Chapter 47: Guiding Visions
Separate, apart --
Steaming teapot, shared, between --
Friend, my enemy.
~ Miyara Miwa
As we discussed our options, the White Faerie froze for a few moments, looking blankly into the air, and then told us his vision. He had seen Lord Osohara in a room sitting at a table with an ancient-looking orc. They were drinking ale. His vision had no sound, so he could not tell what they said to each other.
The White Faerie muttered that he should not be going down there without an escort anyway. At our questions, he said he certainly understood why Osohara would want to do this himself. By Faerie tradition, the one who clears an area is entitled to it. Should we help him, he would have to offer to grant part of it to us.
The White Faerie seemed concerned that this perhaps-royal faerie would be voluntarily drinking ale with an orc. That was an opening I could not resist, I confess. I sent Kyosuke, who can see in pure darkness with no light to give him away, to scout. I gave him precise instructions, knowing he would follow them as best he could and trusting him to improvise if he needed to.
I told him to try to follow the Lord Osohara's tracks. If they were too faint, he having been gone for 45 minutes and everything being stone here, he should just come back. If he could follow the tracks, I told him to do so and be careful not to leave any tracks of his own. Finally, he was simply to see where Osohara went and what he was doing without being seen, and then return and report.
An hour later, he returned. He found him, and it was not that difficult. The Lord Osohara was indeed sitting and having a civil discussion and ale with an orc. He thinks they were speaking faerie. The White Faerie glowered a little but said nothing, and we waited for Osohara to return. Two hours later, he was still missing.
We set the usual watch for the night, which passed quietly. The dawn did not bring Osohara.
The White Faerie, worried now, sat down and tried to purposely induce a vision. Much to our surprise, he succeeded. He did not tell us what he saw, merely that Osohara was busy and we should not disturb him. Since the White Faerie had been the most insistent that we go help Osohara, it seemed a good idea to follow his advice and remain here, bored stiff.
A couple of hours later, the White Faerie brought forth another vision. When he came out of the trance, he looked distinctly worried.
He said in the first vision, Osohara appeared to be locked in mortal combat. His opponent was in shadow and he saw no other details. The enemy was a group, so the fight was not a duel, but he could not tell who or what he was battling. He did not appear significantly injured, but did appear hard-pressed. The White Faerie had assumed that Osohara, who was certainly an experienced fighter, would be able to hold his own.
This time, though, he was still fighting, and seemed to be tiring. The group of invisible enemies had not seemed to grow any smaller. I asked if the fight was in the same room as that in which he been drinking ale, but he said no. It was definitely some room here in Osohara, but not that one. I asked if he felt Osohara required aid: if so, we should go help him and beg forgiveness later.
The White Faerie said the whole situation was just really weird and he did not know quite what to think. And so we armed and armored ourselves and prepared for the battle.