Adriana nibbles on some dried fruit as they travel the next day. She opted to not tell her family about the vision. She figures there wasn't a guarantee it's going to happen and no one else was in it anyways. This made her wonder if they all had a vision or two that they decided not to share as there's not always a need to do so.
"Mistress Adriana, we're almost at Uradera." Heith announces, bringing her from her musings to look out of the wagon. She and Marigold both feel their eyes widen as they see the sprawling settlement that was almost a city come into view. The buildings were made of twisted vines large enough to be trees in their own right. Beautiful flowers, moss and ferns decorated the buildings flawlessly in such a natural way it'd be hard not to think it was all part of the forest around them. Streams ran through the place with bridges, the pathways being stone and moss. The large trees all around them that towered high above them all completed the scene and she was besotted with the place immediately!
"Wow!" She breathes out, hearing similar exclamations around her from travellers while Heith chuckles at them.
"Shall we pay respects to the elders first?" Heith asks as he follows the path.
"Yes, we definitely should." Adriana agrees as she settles down again, suddenly overtaken with the urge to write a new melody.
"Very well then, please relax for the moment." He states as he continues leading their group.
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"We have arrived to offer our humblest greetings to you wise ones." Heith announces before a middle aged couple in the central building of the settlement, it also being the largest. They all offer a respectful bow to this.
"No need for such actions, but we thank you for your kind greetings all the same. I am Elder Cerifera Garnetleaf, this is my husband Oakia. Please, make yourselves at home in this settlement, just do remember to respect the natural realm while you're here." The elegant beauty of a woman spoke in a firm, but musical voice. The couple held an innate regalness to them that marked them as noble born, regardless of house.
"We shall keep and abide by the laws governed to us from thee." Heith replies.
"Very well. The first law is to not harm any living creature while in our lands, for all have souls we can hear. Second, don't take needlessly of nature's bounty, for it's not your own to horde. Third, do not pollute our lands, for we are the caretakers of them. Fourth, uphold yourself respectfully to yourselves and others, for all are equal. Fifth, ask for guidance when you need, please do not make assumptions if you're uncertain about something." Cerifera tells them with a gentle smile. "Do you acknowledge and agree to this?"
"We do." They reply easily, not bothered by the laws at all.
"We thank you for your cooperation while on our lands. This is the guide that will be attending to your group while you are here, Ambrosia Opalnight. Please feel free to ask her to aid you in any way within reason." Oakia turns to her now to speak. "Ambrosia, please take them to the row house and help them settle in."
"Yes father, right away." Ambrosia replies with a respectful nod before turning to lead them out. "Please accept our hospitality. Lodgings are free, but we do accept donations should you find your stay warrants it. The evening meal will be held in the dining hall in two hours, so please feel free to join and partake in our cuisine." She cheerfully says as she leads them to a large building that had individual entries. They couldn't help but feel like it was a motel, which she promptly settles them into rooms per family. "We'll take your wagons to the stables in the back, each one will have a tag matching your room number. Is there anything else you may have need of in the meantime?"
"Yes, we would like to continue our trip soon and would like to do some shopping while we're here." Quinton tells her with a half smile.
"Oh, I understand! How about we allow you all to freshen up and rest from your travels, then I'll take you to the bazaar after the evening meal?" Ambrosia asks.
"That sounds like a plan to me! I can use some rest." Quinton sighs, soon followed by everyone moving off to their own rooms.
Adriana waits for the attendants to bring in her items and draw her a bath before locking the door and taking a soak. The constant travelling was very wearing on them all, even for the bright-eyed guards they now had with them. She scrunches her nose as she watches the water turn darker from the dirt leaving her. She turns her head and immediately a mirror catches her attention. Or rather, the reflection within it. She had become more accustomed to her family looking different, but she hadn't seen herself much so it was always jarring when she did. Her features now were a mix of African and Polynesian features, exotic and alluring with long silver hair. Her whole family honestly got a glow up with this incident, but it still took some getting used to.
Besides that though, she also considers how it's been a while since she thought about how to return them. Speaking with Director Maxus felt as though a lifetime ago, and she supposed it should since they started travelling right away. It will be over a month of travelling by the time they finally reach the Spiders, then they'd still need to travel more to reach the capital and register as citizens and new clairvoyants.
She stops scrubbing herself and wistfully leans over the side of the tub, releasing a long held sigh as she remembers her old life. She always had felt like there was more for her, aimlessly wandering through her life as she tried to figure it out. She is young still though, only in her early twenties, so she always thought she'd have plenty of time. Now, a pang of sadness and loss comes over her as she recalls that she's never properly dated, traveled or did anything meaningful with her life before. She considers if she should consider this a second chance, but how can she consider dating when she was surrounded by puppets? As good of a person some seem, they weren't really alive and living. She simply couldn't bring herself to consider it! Of course there were others brought in that were actual people, but the risks were so great! This was a show where anything and everything can be turn against you in the quickest ways.
She exits the bath, toweling off as she focuses herself. Their only proper hope right now is the Spiders, she dared not complicate things further than that.
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Ambrosia returns in the two hours, patiently waiting for everyone to finish readying themselves to join the evening meal. "You'll have a table to yourselves, but the nearby tables will have a mix of travellers and locals for a more jovial time." She explains.
"Thank you for your consideration for our group." Evelynn replies, causing a flush to come to Ambrosia's cheeks.
"It's my pleasure to help! I shall be joining your company for the meal this evening. Honestly, hearing the tales of others is a fascinating and fun affair." Ambrosia adds as they enter the building with a forever open arched doorway that can easily allow ten to use at once. She takes them through a line, each taking a tray to put various dishes on as they went. To their surprise, there were meat options.
"These are delicious! How do you have meat without harming living beings, if you don't mind me asking." Helena asks Ambrosia, soon engrossing her into conversation as they ate.
Adriana finds herself half paying attention as she eavesdrops on the conversations from their neighbors. Apparently the different houses had made a number of moves lately, Lion and Fox seemed to be well on their way for a war from what was said. The contracted Spider members to other houses were returning to their territory as well, causing much concern from others. Wombat and Snake were still doing skirmishes with one another. Dragon is boosting their numbers, but as usual haven't made any large moves and Cervitaur was the same as always.
"Did you hear that Princess Gloria was spotted entering the Fox territories? It's a scandal and a shock!" An elderly man croones on.
"Araminta Malone has taken ill too, her children are doing a decent job keeping things going." woman states next.
"Oh my, but what capable nobles. I wouldn't be surprised if her illness was unnatural though." Another woman gossips.
"I heard she named her second son the Crowned Prince of House Wombat. Prince Orestis is really working hard in her stead too, trying to stabilize their lands and reclaim some of their territory from House Dragon." A man butts in, causing Adriana's brow to furrow.
"Is the Crowned Prince of Wombat not Prince Diomedes?" She asks them suddenly, wanting to smack herself immediately after as they turn their attention to her.
"Nay, he is the first son and their Queen is wiser than that." The man replies.
One of the women shivers before she adds in, "May the gods help us if that one takes the throne…" instantly many agreeing with this statement.
Adriana turns back to her meal, digesting this new information. She tries to ignore the curious and concerned looks from her family though, as they now knew she was hiding something in regards to these princes.
Maybe her food wasn't as appetizing as before afterall...