Phoebe had led Noah back through the portal, into the Hollowed Ground. She hadn't been sure how much history he knew, but she also didn't want to inundate him with information. It was a lot to take in ll at once, and he had already made rather clear he wasn't the adventure-y sort. That he had decided to come to the Hollowed Ground instead of returning to Halo was a surprise honestly. But it wasn't an unpleasant one. He was perhaps a bit awkward but endearingly so.
As they walked from the ruins of the Spire, he would see that the Grounds were filled with such relics. Ramshackle buildings, remnants of great structures. Sure, some had been rebuilt and were functioning. But unlike Halo's Citadel, which was clearly occupied despite the difficulties of surviving there, the Hollowed Ground looked abandoned in places. But as they reached the settlement, signs of human existence became much clearer. [say]"That's the Temple. It is where the main shrine is, as well as the Infirmary and my college."[/say] she said, pointing out the looming structure in the distance. [say]"This is sort of the main marketplace. Most of the guilds have their halls here and it's where most of the farmers and other craftspeople bring their goods to sell."[/say]
Noah followed her closely, though he made sure to take in what was around them. His hunter's instincts heightened as they traveled, and the need to keep them safe overwhelmed him. He needed to be aware, because in Caido, danger did lurk everywhere. At least while they were in Torchline it was mostly open, and you could predict where danger might come from. Here in the Hollowed Grounds, however, Noah could not see everything. Phoebe knew her way around, though, and he had to trust that she would not lead him into something too dangerous.
Finally, they made their way into civilization. It wasn't much compared to the citadel, but Noah imagined that even the citadel wasn't much. Caido was not a place that was abundant like it used to be. [say]"This is nice."[/say] He nodded toward her, a small smile cracking his lips. [say]"Much easier to endure than Torchline. It's like the middle ground between Torchline and Halo."[/say] Was he really talking about the weather? Gods, what a fool of a man. [say]"I would like to see where you do your work."[/say] He finally added, smiling in her direction.
[say]"Well the Deepfrosts here are much more like Halo, I will give you that."[/say] she said with a light laugh. The heavy snow and bitter cold were very Halo like. Still not nearly as frigid but come the next season he was sure to feel more at home in the Hollowed Grounds than Halo. But as they walked through the space, she was far more relaxed than he. There were dangers, but Phoebe knew when and where those things lurked.
[say]"Well some of my work is in people's homes, so I can't really take you there. But I can show you the College and my Clinic."[/say] she said, turning in the direction of the Temple. The College was far closer than her clinic at the moment so that would be the first stop. She led him through the streets to a large, stone building that had a closed walkway connecting it to the main temple. But Phoebe took him to the back entrance, where the garden was. [say]"This is the medicinal garden I keep here. We just acquired an old farm though so come Flowerbirth we will expand this there. I actually think the medicines we will made from it are part of our trade agreement with Halo. Least it was last time I spoke with Loren."[/say] she said, casually name dropping the name of Halo's Grand Healer and brother of the Warden.
[say]"Deepfrost in Halo is like nothing else, I will guarantee you that."[/say] He chuckled some. [say]"If Deepfrost here means a lot of snow, then it might look like our Flowerbirth. The name is misleading though, no flowers in Halo."[/say] He understood there to be flowers and plants and absolute amazing wondrous things that grew from the ground, but Halo was a frozen desert. Nothing grew there. Farmers were few and far between in Noah's life, and so when they stepped into the garden, the man smiled. Some in Halo were able to use magic to grow plants, some even sold them, but there were always expensive. All Noah was ever able to get was dried herbs used to season meat, and it was only through trading his best game. To be able to grow his own plants was a dream that man didn't even know he had.
Green was his favorite color, after all.
He reached out to touch a leaf on a plant. Although it was dry and brittle and more familiar than he thought it would be, he enjoyed it. He took in a deep breath. Even though this was the season of death, Noah was still surrounded by more life than he had been ever in his home. [say]"Will you be managing the farming?"[/say] He asked. When she brought up Loren, Noah nodded. He only knew the name of the outlander and his brother who had taken control of the council of Halo, and the man had yet to form an actual opinion about it. So far, their rule had not changed the course of his life or restricted him at all, and so they were merely a fact to him. [say]"Halo will surely be grateful for it. Do you know what the council has offered to your people in return?"[/say]
The look that crossed Phoebe's features was likely one the hunter was far too familiar with - the sort of distant look of one who had seen far too many terrible things far too young. [say]"Deepfrost here is like nothing you've experienced either, I am certain. Though for reasons other than snow and cold."[/say] she said softly, purposefully looking at the flowers rather than at him. The memories of LongNight...the monsters and death that plagued the Hollwed Ground...it was nothing the likes of which she wished to discuss with someone she just met if she could avoid it. [say]"Flowerbirth...somewhere else for Halo then."[/say] she said jokingly, a small melancholic smile curving her lips as she watched him inspect the various plants.
[say]"Perhaps from afar, but not on a daily basis. I am good with a garden but a full scale farm is far beyond my skillset. The College will likely work with the local farmers to see it tended to, maybe even employ a family to focus on it exclusively."[/say] she said, shrugging a bit. [say]"I am not certain what Halo has offered, but I try to stay out of those negotiations as much as possible. There are...a lot of tensions here between Outlanders like me and Naturals like you here in the Hollowed Ground...so I try to cause as little fuss as possible by sticking to my purview."[/say] she explained, leading him in then through the back entrance. It led into the large lecture hall, filled with chairs in a half circle towards the front where an autopsy table, a podium, and chalkboards were. [say]"This is the lecture hall, where our classes are held. We don't have many students at the moment so the space is sometimes used for other gatherings."[/say]
[say]"I am afraid I would have a total black thumb."[/say] He laughed. He wondered if he would have been someone more apt to farming and tending to the land if he had been born somewhere other than Halo. He appreciated nature and the way it changed and how it interacted with human lives, but his way of doing that was through hunting. Studying game and the patterns of animals and then harvesting was how he learned about the world, how he contributed to society, how he lived his life.
He nodded, following her. [say]"I have no interest in politics, so long as it doesn't interfere with the things I am interested in."[/say] In Halo, there was not much interference--at least, at this point. He imagined that would change as the very world he knew changed. As of now, however, he had no qualm with how the government was working itself through the changes.
Noah stepped further into the classroom, taking everything in. [say]"There is a magic school in Halo, but I have no part in it. I'm an attuned, so I don't have any need. But a medical college...now that's something anyone could learn about, huh?"[/say] He thought out loud, looking at Phoebe as he set his hand on the back of a chair.
As Phoebe strolled through the aisles between the chairs in the lecture hall she nodded slowly. It was a beautiful space she had created. Perfectly suited to her vision and hopes. And yet even now as she looked at the fruits of her labor she felt...empty. As empty as the halls always were. It lacked the bustle, the excitement, the will to create better longer lives she had wished for. Instead, all she had was a beautiful ediface of scientific exploration, and no explorers to accompany it.
[say]"Yes, it really is a pursuit for all. Even abandoned healers can use this kind of knowledge though few put stock in it. Magic runs out eventually. They get too tired to use it. And then what? If you don't know what plants to use to ward of infection, how to suture a wound, or how any of the organs in the body function, how can you hope to help anyone?"[/say] she said a bit wistfully. It was hard, mourning a dream like this, so intangible yet so real at the same time.
Noah nodded along with her as she spoke. He felt the passion she had as she went on, and it drew him in. He had witnessed her compassion and desire to help others first hand on the beach, but he was just starting to understand how truly a part of her heart it was. [say]"In Halo we don't have a lot of medicines. We rely on the healing magic of our mages more often than we rely on what nature has given us."[/say] Even the warmth of summer did not grow plants enough for medicine. [say]"It would be interesting to find a way to combat the elements and nature of Halo, to be able to work around it in itself and grow things."[/say] He shrugged, some, thinking his ideology too far off to be possible in reality. Noah was many things, but a dreamer was not one of them. He was too tightly wound to what he already knew.
Perhaps exploring the new world could help that. Perhaps Phoebe could help that.
[say]"The only life-saving thing I know how to do is stop a bleed and set a bone."[/say] At least, it was the only thing Noah had ever been taught. His father made sure to teach him that, even young. He was hardly a teenager when they had their first hunting accident in which Noah's father had had to set the arm and sling it up for the neighbor that had come along with them.
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