Come down, come down sweet reverence

Even the most experienced explorer could get lost some times. Jynn had been exploring the mountains of the north and some how had gotten turned around. She'd been hoping to make it back to the woods before nightfall but instead here she was, wandering the strange terrain in the middle of the night. At least it was a nice autumn night. A full moon shed it's light down in pale blue beams and the black sky was peppered with stars. Jynn worked her way down into a small valley and was surprised to find a number of plants growing here. A carpet of green grass grew under her feet and a number of small deciduous trees seemed to be thriving. Jynn paused as she noticed specks of glowing embers lighting up the mouth of a small cave. At least she thought they were embers. Jynn carefully walked closer, noticing that the grotto was covered in small, brilliant orange gemstones.

Dagrún was working her way through the high mountains of the north after visiting the black sand cove again. She was headed toward the Mile-High Woods and trying to remember which way she'd come the last time so that she could work out the best way to go. Eventually night fell as she continued on the path she was on. It wasn't long after that she ran into Jynn again in a unusual grotto in the mountains. "Hey Jynn, glad I ran into you. I'm trying to get to the Mile-High Woods." Her voice trailed off though as she spied the glowing gem stones Jynn was looking at. "Wow those are pretty."

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn's ears flicked back as she heard someone approach, her head whipped around but to her relief it was just Dagrún. "Yea, they really are. Some kind of gemstone I think." She reached out and padded at one of the gems, scraping with her claws til it dislodged and rolled down to the ground. These were so pretty she was sorely tempted to just take one. "As for the woods, I'll see if I can help but to be honest I'm a bit turned around myself." She looked up at the sky, looking through the constellations she could see, finding the large bear. She made a calculated decision on the best direction to go. "Mk, I think we'll want to head this way. The woods should be east of here."

Dagrún crept closer, reach out to sniff at the gems before reaching out and prying one from the rocks herself. She took it and tucked it away. Dag didn't really have a specific need for the gem but it was so pretty she couldn't quite bring herself to leave it. Maybe she could work it into a decoration for her armor or some sort of pendant. She bet her mother or Alfrún could tell her more about the gemstone. Dag listened as Jynn worked out the best direction to head. "You can tell which way to go by the stars, then? I know my ancestors navigated by using the stars. I hope to learn more about that some day." She'd been meaning to ask her mother for a lesson.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn smiled and nodded, starting to work her way toward the east as she moved to climb out of the grotto. "Well, as long as you familiarize yourself with where the constellations are during certain times of the year you can use them reliably. Where most navigators run into trouble is forgetting that the constellations move." She'd learned that the hard way a few times. Jynn pulled herself up onto a path, noting how the darker rock started giving away to grayer and tan colored stone. She had a suspicion that volcanic activity was to blame for the dark color of the grotto's stone as well as the gem stones there.

Dagrún followed after Jynn, pausing before she attempted to climb to take a moment to examine the stars. She eyed the hunter's belt and a few other constellations she recognized. She knew the names of several but had yet to remember their relation to telling direction. Some constellations were more reliable than others. She glanced back to Jynn, deciding she may as well ask the older woman for a quick lesson on stars. It certainly wouldn't hurt. "So how did you figure out which way to go? Which constellation did you use?" Maybe she could learn enough to navigate better and impress her parents.

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn panted a little as she hauled herself up a steeper part of the rocky trail. When she was on a stable ledge she settled to answer the girl's question. "Are you familiar with the Great Bear and her cub? I located the mother bear and then the child. At the tip of the baby bear's tail is the northern star. From there I was able to determine the other directions." She knew there were other constellation that could be used to navigate but that was the main set she was familiar with. It had always amused her that her people saw them as bears when she had yet to meet a real life bear with such a long tail.

Dagrún nodded swiftly as Jynn mentioned the bear constellations. She was familiar with those but she didn't know they could be used to find one's way. She thought they were just used for children's stories explaining why bear's no longer had long, pretty tails. Dag leapt up onto the ledge next to Jynn. "That sounds useful. I'll have to keep it in mind if I do much more traveling." Dag could take wandering or leave it but after finding the gems it got her mind working. What else could be found in the north that could potentially be used for trade?