How deep the rabbit hole

Roana breathed a sigh of relief as Delah and her troop disappeared into the woods. Once again she just barely skirted around death. With as many close calls as she had had in her life, she was beginning to wonder if when she finally did die if her soul would believe it. ”Don’t apologize, I owe you a great debt.” she said with a small smile. While it had been terribly painful on her pride and ego to play the part of a simpleton, sometimes tricks were the way to survive. Since she still had work to do, and the barrier still needed to fall, she didn’t have much of a choice. As he asked her to follow she nodded…but had not anticipated him turning into a fox. Apparently this was going to be a quiet and brisk walk. But she followed the fox, trying to keep up at the pace he set, despite the burning in her lungs and the wounds that still plagued her from the poisonous gas. Roana 'Cause it makes me that much stronger Makes me work a little bit harder It makes me that much wiser So thanks for making me a fighter

it's not what it looks like

Ianto led them quickly and gracefully through the undergrowth, picking out unusual and seemingly non-existent pathways to get through the trees and shrubbery. Whilst he had spoken about his wagon multiple times around Delah, when the fox finally did come to a stop it was in a fragrant meadow dappled with moonlight. Shifting back into a man, he busied himself digging around in his coat, withdrawing a small jar of something.

"Just in case," he said quietly, unscrewing the lid - it looked like a balm of some kind - and applying it to his lips. He offered it to Roana, seemingly expectant that she would do the same. "It will make it so that our words sound garbled to anyone who might be listenin'," he explained - or tried to, since his words would be totally mismatched to her ears currently.

What was an easy path for the fox was proving treacherous for the Captain. Her lungs burned, her sides ached, and she felt clumsy as she tripped her way through the forest. It was frustrating, knowing that her dexterity would remain compromised until she healed up, yet having to pursue an agile animal through underbrush that usually wouldn’t give her pause. By the time they reached the clearing, she was panting for air, looking truly worse for wear and beyond exhausted. But they weren’t done yet. Ianto held a jar of…something…out to her. She looked at him in confusion as he spoke in…she didn’t even know what. Whatever it was it didn’t make sense. But she had trusted him so far and applied the balm to her lips. It soothed the cracked skin and she sighed a little. ”What did you say?” Roana 'Cause it makes me that much stronger Makes me work a little bit harder It makes me that much wiser So thanks for making me a fighter

it's not what it looks like

"Ah, sorry," Ianto murmured, accepting the jar back and slipping it into his pocket. "I said that this will make our speech sound garbled to anyone listenin'." He laughed awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his head and stepping slowly around the clearing as if he could hardly believe it. Now that the initial shock was over, the bigger shock was beginning to dawn on him.

"Captain Roana Steadman, of Northwind and Northaven," he murmured, rubbing at his forehead. "I... I'm real sorry, this is just... I've been out here for months alone. No one from Northaven is out here." No one but me, went his unsaid words.

"Can you... I mean, I don't want to make you repeat yourself, but what did you mean back there? About comin' from the Hollowed Grounds?"

Ohhhhh. Roana couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Well it definitely works. Where did you get it?" she asked. It was a curious but very useful oddity to have on hand. "Ianto Dea Arduinna... You were a merchant, right?" she said, trying to show him equal respect. Roana had made a habit of at least knowing names and professions but she still erred from time to time. She smiled at him warmly and shook her head at his apology. "Don't be sorry. This is...I am just glad to see a fellow countryman out here. I am sure it hasn't been easy being on your own." she said assuringly. "I meant what I said. A large number of us appeared inside the barrier that that Delah lady was calling within. It's also called the Hollowed Grounds. Which...apparently means my head is wanted for finding a way to break out." she said with a sigh. Roana 'Cause it makes me that much stronger Makes me work a little bit harder It makes me that much wiser So thanks for making me a fighter

it's not what it looks like

"Oh, here and there. I know a lot of people and I trade a lot of things." And as she rightly guessed, he was a merchant back in Northaven. That much had not changed, Ianto offering a roguish little bow in greeting as they were 'properly' introduced. He did wince a touch though, at the use of his full name, though he shrugged it off as though it was nothing.

"That's right. I was Warren's apprentice, for the Wumpus Wagon," he explained, the quiet respect in his voice one that likely would never disappear, given how under Warren's thumb he had been for so long.

Not easy was a very simple way of putting it, but Ianto nodded since there wasn't really the time to describe the, ah, interesting time he'd spent in the Greatwood. Listening closely as she repeated her explanation, he let out a low whistle. "I never realised everyone else appeared inside that thing..." Why, then, had he been thrown outside of it?

"The Hollowed Grounds hold a great calamity that must never be released," he said, almost as if he had recited it. "If you were able to find a way out, then I'm not surprised they want your head for it."

"You wouldn't happen to need an armed escort would you?" she said with a light laugh. Merchants regularly employed guards if their wares were worthy or their path treacherous. But right now things were starting to spin and Roana was wondering how much danger they were or were not in. She glanced around, sighing and shoulders slumping. "Think I'd be okay if I sat? Pretty sure I shouldn't feel like I am spinning...". Ah the Wampus Wagon. She never liked Warren. It was because of him she lost one of those stupid engagement games in Northaven. If she had gotten his okay, Roana would plop down, nodding as he spoke. "A lot of us did. My sons are still in there as we speak." she said quietly. "The calamity is a new god called the Voice. She makes these beings called Ascended - they are sort of like Bloodfiends but more...built rather than changed with magic. I don't fully understand how it works. But she and the old gods were in some big war and they trapped her and a bunch of people there." she said and sighed, looking over at him sadly. "Its like the worst parts of Northwind in there. All ruins and barely viable farm land. Monsters and...does Long Night exist out here? I fuckin' hope not." she said tiredly. "Ronin hatched a plan to get us out and I was doing follow through. Everything is contained in a Spire. I went down with a small group, ended up filling a room with poisonous gas. But there was a room with a light guarded by a giant snake and...well I figured that was the power source of the barrier and jumped at it to disrupt it...next thing I knew your lady friend Delah was tying me up." she said with a small smile. Roana 'Cause it makes me that much stronger Makes me work a little bit harder It makes me that much wiser So thanks for making me a fighter

it's not what it looks like

"I most certainly could. There's always room for an armed escort in my business, Captain." Ianto offered her a crooked smile that showed the gold in his teeth, and he nodded eagerly as she asked to sit. While she got herself comfortable he plopped down to sit in the sweet grass with her as well, drawing a waterskin from his inside pocket and uncorking it, offering it out to her.

It was wine, but... it was better than nothing, right?

"Your sons... I'm sorry to hear that." Ianto smiled sadly, though his ears perked up and he listened as she started to speak about life within the barrier. Bloodfiends that were created and mutations and barren land... it was all too much to consider, almost. He frowned, though, at the mention of monsters. "Longnight yes... the longest night falls for all across Caido, or so I've been told. But it's a peaceful time, as long as you don't get lost."

Honestly, after she began to explain about the Spire and launched into a further explanation, Ianto's eyes glazed over ever so slightly; he had no chance remembering any of that. "Mm...? Oh, Delah? She's harmless, I promise. Well... to people she knows, anyway. Not many visit the Greatwood."

Oh it felt splendid to sit. Her head was spinning but being closer to the ground certainly helped. Roana thanked him quietly for the water skin and took a healthy drink. Of course she had been expecting water and not wine; she she choked on it briefly before getting it down. Woof. Well then. Alcohol would definitely make the poisoning better right? "That is good to hear. I will need some sort of profession out here I suppose." she said with a small smile. "Unfortunately all of my references are inside a barrier or in another dimension. You'll just have to trust my skill." she added with a small grin. "It's alright. My sister in law is in there as well. She will watch them until we can get the barrier down." she said, almost clinically. Roana was keeping her emotions at bay, not wanting them to interfere with the task ahead. But a few things he said gave her pause. "Were you not here for Long Night last season?" she asked him. But...a Long Night of peace? It didn't seem realistic. "Inside the barrier, Long Night is terrifying. People lock up their houses, deaden the floor boards with moss...monsters stalk the darkness and try to coax you out, pretending to be lost people to lure you into opening your doors before ruthlessly killing you...but then, sometimes they are people who were misfortunate enough to find themselves outside." she said, frowning. Really, was everything out here so different? "Tell me about her and her people....and the Greatwood. No one inside the barrier knows anything about this place because it has been up for 300 years." Roana 'Cause it makes me that much stronger Makes me work a little bit harder It makes me that much wiser So thanks for making me a fighter

it's not what it looks like

"Ah, sorry. I'm used to it just being me." Ianto apologised as Roana choked on the wine in the waterskin, smiling weakly and rubbing at the back of his head. "I'd be honoured to have Captain Steadman escortin' my humble wares throughout the Greatwood," he said, chuckling at her comment about her references. "Your reputation precedes you, I assure you of that."

He knew better than to pry further about her children or the rest of her family - if nothing else Roana had come across as very military indeed, and Ianto would not try to break that shell when it kept her safe from her emotions. "Hm...? Yes, I was here for Long Night. I stayed in my wagon and read," he told her, sounding bemused, only for all colour to drain from his face as she explained the realities of Long Night inside the Hollowed Grounds.

"That sounds horrible," he said softly, before recovering enough to think on her questions. "There is not much I can say, because they still do not trust me with very much," he murmured. "But... the Greatwood is home to a winged race called the Fae - that is Delah and her people. They live in a village in the thick of the woods, and another tribe is set up along a river near here called the Stonesong. But beware - unless you know the paths through the woods, the forest will just turn you around and you'll end up back where you came."

"No, no! It's fine, just unexpected." she said with a light laugh. "And I am glad to hear my name still means something to someone. Perhaps we might find a way to bring this barrier down out here." she said with a grin. With a sigh she layed back in the grass, letting her arms fall to either side. She might have been known as a scary, no-nonsense captain, daughter of a literal legend, duchess from the highest echelons of their society. But in the moment she was just Roana, a young woman who had been through too much in too short a time, enjoying the feel of cool grass on sore skin. When he said he stayed in a wagon though she opened one eye to look at him skeptically. "A wagon? That's it? And you could have gone outside if you wanted?" she said in full surprise. His reaction to her description of Long Night was telling. Things really could not be more different between here and within. "It is. All the more reason that wretched barrier needs to come down." she said quietly. "Fae...what all can they do? Are they...usually friendly if you don't say you are from inside the barrier?" she said with a small smile. Hmmm...her mind wandered to the odd patterns he had taken in running through the woods to get them here. The way the woods shifted must have been why. "And you know the paths...because the Fae taught you? Delah did seem awfully fond of you." she said with a smirk. Roana 'Cause it makes me that much stronger Makes me work a little bit harder It makes me that much wiser So thanks for making me a fighter

it's not what it looks like

"Maybe..." Ianto smiled weakly. Because for all of what she had said - the description of life within the barrier, the barren earth, the monsters of LongNight - the fox had been taught very strictly that it was not to come down. Then again, he very much doubted he could keep a former captain of the Storm Army from anything she put her mind to. (Mainly because he was more of the 'live to fight another day' sort of guy).

His smile warmed somewhat at the sight of her relaxing in the grass; it made her much more human in his mind, and he leant back to prop himself up on his elbows. "Mmhm," he said. "I mean, I wouldn't have, because it was far too dark, and some people do try to take advantage of it. But there's no... LongNight monsters, or whatever."

Further mention of the Fae had Ianto sitting up again, the fox chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully. "They're a private lot," he said. "Curious, but they don't trust easy. They didn't take kindly to me when I first arrived, put it that way. And... they can do a lot of different things. They have wings, magic, I've seen some shapeshift, like I do..." He shrugged, before nodding to her in confirmation about the paths.

"I've made myself as useful to them as I can," he murmured. "Though it wasn't Delah who taught me the ways."

She could tell he wasn't convinced. She could understand, if people out here were so vehemently against it. Then again, some inside were too. Roana looked up at the sky. There absolutely were risks in bringing it down - it had been put up for a reason after all. But the climate inside of the barrier was stifling. No one who was trapped in a cage was actually living, they were merely existing. She wouldn't want that for her children, so certainly no god or goddess wanted that for their devout followers, right? A Long Night with no monsters. Roana just shook her head in disbelief, having a hard time wrapping her head around it. "Guess I am going to have to take you at your word for that one." she said with a small smile. "Did they hurt you when you first arrived?" she asked, tilting her head up to look at him again. they could fly, had magic, and were shapeshifters? Talk about a talented lot. And someone else taught him how to navigate the Greatwood..."Who was that? Are they...uh...as mistrustful of new people as they used to be, given the trust you have grown with them?" Would they be willing to show anyone else? "Or could you teach someone the paths now?" Roana 'Cause it makes me that much stronger Makes me work a little bit harder It makes me that much wiser So thanks for making me a fighter

it's not what it looks like

She would have to take his word for it, and Ianto would need to take hers in return. Until this barrier fell (if it would - could - fall, as Roana seemed to suggest was the case), he would remain as in the dark about it as ever.

It was subtle, but a captain with as many years of military experience as Roana would likely notice it anyway; the subtle flinch in Ianto's posture at her question about whether they had hurt him. He cleared his throat awkwardly and sat back up, ruffling a hand through his coppery hair.

"My godmother taught me the ways," he said. "Though even with the balm on our lips I'd prefer not to say her name out loud." Somehow she always seemed to be listening, and he did not think her presence here would be good for Roana.

"I cultivated trust with them over a long period of time," he explained. "I don't think it's impossible, but you'll have your work cut out for you. And I can teach people, yes - the question is whether I'm permitted to."