Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn bounced along southward after picking Álarr up at Fireside. Winter had arrived but thankfully it was rolling in slowly… at least in the south. No doubt the north was a mess of ice and snow. They'd worked their way southward to pick up their original trail though were forced to head southward across the Rio Grande to avoid the Traveler's Pitfall. It seemed like they'd hardly gotten started when the ran into another pack border. "Oop, here's another one Álarr. What do you think? There's a river to the west we could cross into the swamplands maybe." It was a large river, running swiftly but maybe there was a calmer spot. Or perhaps they could work their way along the bank?

She gazed about the forest of gray trees that were streaked with silver and white. Equally pale vines swooped from tree to tree. She would've though the land dead if it weren't for the carpet of green grass covering the forest floor. Jynn blinked for a moment as she spied what looked like a glowing purple light way out in the forest. "Umm… I think this place may be haunted." From her position she couldn't tell it was a glowing purple pool surrounded by a ring of dark stones. She could only see a faint, unnatural glow with an unknown origin.

Álarr followed after Jynn but with far less enthusiasm. "I can't believe I let you talk me into doing this again." Sure, seeing the great river had been neat as well as finding an area to cross but then they'd almost run into a bunch of quicksand and now they were at another pack border. He sighed. Fuck, he'd forgotten Ashen was right here in the middle of everything. "We'll need to take the western river, there's no other way around it." They could head east but there was no point because you couldn't hook back around to the south.

Álarr was facing west, sizing up the river and debating if it could be crossed. It was wide and fast but perhaps they could use some sort of raft. He looked behind him as Jynn mentioned haunted. "I very much doubt that." No sooner were the words out of his mouth then a large boom of thunder echoed across the sky. "C'mon, help me find a way to cross into the Corpseghoul Swamplands so we can get around this pack before the storm hits." Álarr slid down the bank, eyeing the remnants of white trees that used to grow along the river.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn scowled as Álarr dismissed her concerns about a ghosts. She could tell by his tone he didn't really believe in such things. "Ghosts are real. I've seen them." She slid down into the sand, padding after the horned man as they examined scraps of wood and fallen trees. Her ears flicked back as another boom of thunder rolled across the sky. "Umm… you sure we shouldn't just try to swim for it?" She didn't know that much about boat building though as she gazed at the river she supposed it did look awful rough for them. Spying a flat mess of boards she headed over to one. "How about this?" She pawed at it, wondering if it had once been some human thing.

Álarr noted the wind picking up and picked up his pace as well. He half considered going back but that would mean crossing the northern branch of the Rio Grande and he didn't care to try swimming across a river with a storm approaching. He rolled his eyes to the sky as Jynn mentioned that she'd seen ghosts but he held his tongue and let the comment pass. He looked over at Jynn where she was pointing to some old boards. "Ok, yea, I think that should work. Help me get it to the water." A fork of lightning blasted through the sky, followed swiftly by another boom of thunder. Álarr took the sand covered ropes in his mouth and pulled it to the edge of the river.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn scrambled over to the raft and took up part of the rope herself so she could help him drag it to the shore. No sooner had they reached the shore then it started to rain. Jynn was nervous but also terribly excited. She could feel the thing beginning to float, bucking and eager to take off into the river with its passengers. Jynn leapt on and turned to make sure Álarr could make it. Another boom of thunder and the rain continued to fall. She gazed back at the eerie white forest, watching as the trees were illuminated by the lighting that continued to dance through the sky. The raft followed the course of the river, sweeping them southward.

-exit-

Álarr heaved the raft up to the water. He shifted his position to let Jynn pull as he got behind and pushed. As the water started to take up the raft Jynn leapt on and Álarr scrambled on right after her. The river took up the raft and started to usher them south as the rain began to beat down. Álarr nudged Jynn and gestured to a black band of sand farther south. "There, we want to try and hit that beach!" The water had swept them to quickly to get to the swamplands. They'd have to try and hit a target farther south. Granted they didn't really have much to steer with other than their limbs. Still, they had to do their best or they'd be swept right out into the open ocean.

-exit-