***
Sten began his trek into the Cragwood, excited for whatever lay ahead. When he and Chohla last met not long ago, Sten was told to go to a place they both knew of when both pale moons were near to full again. Caribou Lake was just over a day to the southwest, close to the low slopes of the western Skean Peaks. Provisioned with furs, food, and other simple essentials, the young hunter had no need to stop along the way.
The next morning was chilly, gray, wet and windy. Sten was not deterred. He came upon Caribou Lake before midday and spotted Chohla’s simple camp on the near bank. Coming closer, he saw that Chohla’s blue blanket was propped up as a lean-to. There was just enough room under it for the herbalist and a small fire.
“Hello, Khoveyo,” Chohla called out. He remained squatted under his blanket and tied his long hair back into a tail while Sten walked toward the camp. “I caught a fish. Have you eaten?”
“Only an apple,” Sten said as he unslung his pack. Keeping his hood pulled over his face to keep the drizzle off his face, he sat on a large rock near his mentor.
Chohla leaned out and handed him a wooden bowl filled with chunks of trout, local nuts, and a few types of edible wild greens. “How are things at your home?” he asked amiably.
Sten shrugged and ate a bite of fish before he answered, “Except for my sister, none of the women I know are happy with me...”
Chohla thought the young man was going to say more, but he simply resumed eating his meal. After a few moments of listening to the wind while chewing a nut, the wanderer said, “I cannot advise you on women, Khoveyo. Each one is her own mystery, one more confusing than the next. Let’s not be distracted with them right now.”
“Good,” Sten agreed around a mouthful of chicory.
“I know you’ve practiced with making paint and drawing symbols for a while now, and you’ve done well. The symbols you’ve learned so far are helpful, but not needed. Agreed?”
Sten grunted and nodded while he chewed the quickly-cooling fish. He recalled many of the plants needed for the paints, and which symbols seemed more beneficial than others.
“For high sigils,” Chohla explained, “the correct paint and proper symbol is necessary to empower the ability. Without those things, it won’t work. They are called high sigils because they are keys that unlock powerful creations.”
“Is there a plainer way to say it, master Chohla?” Sten asked without much embarrassment.
“I’ll just explain what will happen. See the hill on the far side of the lake? On the back side of it is a cave – a special cave, made sacred by my ancestors. You may ask how they did it another day. Back into the cave, there is a drop-off that falls away into darkness. We will leap into it.”
“We’re going to jump into a black pit in the far end of a cave?”
“Have some trust in me, Khoveyo,” Chohla said with a smile to counter the young man’s frown. “We will make a purple paint, a color you haven’t made before. It must be purple, made from poisonous skyberries. With it, we will draw symbols on our faces or chests. The truly important part of the symbol is the top half of a circle, like a rising sun, and it must be drawn correctly. Used in a hallowed cave, you are allowed to travel great distances. From one hallowed cave to another; that is how it works.”
Sten thought for a moment and then asked, “Will skyberries hurt my skin? What happens if I don’t draw the symbol correctly? What about the rest of the symbol? Where are –“
“Slowly, Khoveyo,” Chohla said, interrupting the barrage of questions. “You won’t digest well if you’re too jumpy. Skyberries will burn the skin if the symbol is left on longer than a day. What else did you ask? Oh yes, the symbol. If you leap with a poorly drawn symbol, I imagine you’ll die down in a cave. There is more to the symbol; it indicates which other hallowed cave you wish to travel to. That last part is tricky, I’ll admit,” Chohla commented lightheartedly. “Without exact placement next to the main symbol, you may end up far from your intended location.”
“That sounds more worrisome than how you say it...”
Chohla shrugged. “Perhaps it is for you, Khoveyo. Keep in mind that my people are more intent on the journey than the destination.”
Sten nodded, and then asked, “Where are these other sacred – uh, hallowed – caves?”
“Besides the one over that wooded hill, I can recall at least four others here in Kaldevarr alone. We’ll be travelling to one of them after my meal has settled.”
Frowning, Sten couldn’t help but ask, “Is – is that all there is to it, master Chohla? Skyberries, paint, correct symbols, and I simply pass from one cave to another? For such an amazing thing, it seems so... simple. I’ve never heard tale of a Maker having such ability, and their way is very tangled. In the head, I mean.”
“There are other considerations,” Chohla replied casually while he held his bowl out to catch some of the soft rain. “It’s nothing to be too concerned with. We can talk about it on the long walk back, or to another hallowed cave.”
Sten nodded, but then had a thought. “Master Chohla, if we are travelling from one cave to another, why can’t we take the same way back and use that cave to return here?”
“Ah, good question,” he said as he began to fold up his blanket. “That would be one of those considerations I mentioned. We’ll have plenty of time on the return trek, so remind me to explain it on the way.”