* S̱ƙɑɍ We had been hunting in the sprawling valley which lay between the icy feet of the final two mountains of the H'rimgar Range; we were in the area commonly called Ki'ni'ga'it, "where the hills are" by the people of the coastal regions which lay beyond them. We were within sight of the coast; or more accurately , the tops of these two mountains could be seen from fishing villages along the coast. Where mighty Ta'ruiq dances upon the frozen shore, ice forms the wide floating shelves; and one who stood upon these vast ribbons of ice along the coast is said to be "upon the Plains of Siku."
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 watches for Ember or Nuqi who both tend to range far and wide from us and the Verr, sometimes the returned with nothing, others they returned with portions of their kill, we never taught either of them this, it was just something they did; they were nowhere to be seen.
* S̱ƙɑɍ For the last five hands it had been nearly total darkness other than what light fell upon the ice from the endless tapestry of the wide star filled sky around us. Bright diamonds of light sparkled in the darkness all around us now, they were everywhere, far and wide in all directions. This was a sacred place and time, the beauty of this land at this time is absolute, and all encompassing; and even as I had slept entangled with her in the Northern Forest, I had dreamed of sharing this experience with her.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 has learned to read the stars, not as well as my Master but with them out day and night I was getting better, as odd as I found it to be dark day and night, I find it strangely beautiful too.
* S̱ƙɑɍ We have hunted this valley with the natural rhythms of our own bodies; we travelled as we hunted, when we were tired we slept, when we were hungry we ate. We lived, to Hunt; and we were at one with the world in that place and time. Everything was purely natural, and it refreshed my spirit to have such a perfect time and place to share with my woman.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 I had never known such freedom in the simple act of living, hunting, and sleeping when my body called for it, rather than when the world demanded it of me. Gor continues to surprise me.
* S̱ƙɑɍ Many times as we hunted throughout the frozen valley and the icy foothills we would stop to rest I would wrap her in my arms and simply breathe with her watching our warm breath whisper away in steamy trails of vapor. I pressed her so close in my arms that I felt the soft and gentle beating of her heart beneath the many layers of fur between us.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 found I enjoyed the times of rest best, nestled in my Master’s arms, watching our breath mingle in the frozen air as the world around us fell silent. There was something special in those quiet moments when I could simply lean into him and feel the warmth of his embrace against the cold.
* S̱ƙɑɍ It was enough to simply exist with her in this way wrapped entirely in the glittering mosaic of bright stars that shone and twinkled in such numbers they could not be counted and their ancient light bathed us in its own distant softness as it scattered over the icy landscape all around us.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 loved best when I could rest quietly against my Master, my eyes wandering over the glittering skies, feeling as though the stars themselves had wrapped us in their embrace. I could think of nowhere else I would rather be, nor anything I would wish to change about such a moments.
* S̱ƙɑɍ There was nothing more for a long soft moment; only the woman, me, and this view of our world as we shared this moment of our lives together. I do not know how long we stood this way; time too was gone for me.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 wished I could hold that moment forever, untouched by time or anything that waited for us beyond this frozen valley. Time stands still when I am in his arms, nothing matters but our intertwined limbs.
* S̱ƙɑɍ We had been living on a steady diet of dried foods and snow melt. The Verr had been on their staples of grains and dried grasses. Nuqi and Ember had been eating whatever they'd caught while hunting; and sometimes they brought a portion back for us. What we did not eat, we would save and return to them when game was scarcer.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 had been aware our supplies were dwindling, and I knew we could not depend upon dried provisions forever in this frozen land. I kept a careful eye on what remained, knowing we would need to replenish our stores before the journey grew much longer. Master had knew it too.
* S̱ƙɑɍ I had discussed our provisions with vexa; we had both estimated the remainder of them would carry us safely another three hands; and neither of us had seen, heard, or smelled anything other than ourselves and our familiar animals. Hunting Kurii is dangerous business at the best of times, and often becomes deadly when one pushes their luck too far by becoming stranded without adequate supplies. I would not risk it; we would turn toward the final mountain of the H'rimgar Range. There is an exchange cache among the foothills of this mountain; it is used by Hunters from various places; from among the mountains and passes, from upon the ice along the coast, from the Tundra, the Northern Forest and the Barrens.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 as much as I had come to love the wildness of this land, I knew we could not afford to grow careless with our supplies. I trusted my Master's judgment, knowing there was no glory in risking the lives of ourselves or our pack animals when wisdom could see us safely through.
S̱ƙɑɍ: Beyond the last mountain, toward the coast we can trade for supplies.
* S̱ƙɑɍ Such caches are well-known and well used methods for trade goods and food supplies. Anyone may trade at such caches, and only honor binds their users to equitable exchanges. You took what you wanted and left what you had. It was a simple and useful system of securing and disseminating vital necessities.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 in all the years of living in the forest I had not come across one of the Hunter's Caches, but then again Etna had kept us from anything remotely civilized, but with my Master, I was learning about a world I had only imagined. I find the thought of a cache quite interesting.
* S̱ƙɑɍ We talked our options out between ourselves, weighing them carefully. I decided that we would make our way to the cache first, and then onward Ror to the coastal ice.
𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘: What kinds of things do we leave the others my Master? I have extra tallow candles, is that something to use to trade?
* S̱ƙɑɍ We had broken camp upon rising, and we ate trail foods as we moved toward the icy spires of stony Bok'mahl in the distance.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 settled into the familiar rhythm of travel, keeping pace with my Master as we moved toward the icy spires of Bokmahl. The mountains beckoned ahead, and I wondered what awaited us among their frozen heights.
* S̱ƙɑɍ I had estimated that our supplies would see us safely past Bokmahl, the "last mountain" of the H'rimgar Range; beyond it lay the coast, the sea ice, and the many small fishing villages scattered here and there along vast and unpredictable Plains of Siku. It is said that the great sea hith, Ti'si'hip'iq, can sweep the villages of Siku out into the sea to be consumed by the grinding ice with a powerfully heaving swat of its tail.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 I kept my eyes upon the distant mountain, eager to see what lay beyond it and ready to follow wherever my Master led. The thought of meeting people was frightening and exciting at the same time.
* S̱ƙɑɍ I walked beside Vexa speaking softly as my left hand swept toward the jagged heights of dark stone. "Bokmahl. It is said that up there among the stones below a great cliff the bones of many of Torvald's men lie among those of many Kurii. I do not know, I have not seen such a thing myself."
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 shudders listening remembering the pile of bones we had stumbled across many hands ago not wanting to see any other piles, I nod listening to then respond quietly, "I don't know that I would want to see such a thing."
* S̱ƙɑɍ the wind whistled and howled along the sides of the mountain toward us as the wide low expanse of the coastal plain came into view and began to spread until lay sprawled across the entire horizon far beyond us.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 drew my furs closer against the howling wind, my gaze sweeping across the vast coastal plain as I took in the unfamiliar land stretching before us, my eyes keeping a watchful eye on the Verr
* S̱ƙɑɍ With my right hand I motioned toward the horizon as I spoken louder against the wind. "two hands across that ice is the Sea."
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 follows the motion of his hand, I had learned that I would indeed see the Sea and I tried to hide my excitement but I was sure he knew.
𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘: Two hands, until the Sea.
S̱ƙɑɍ: Ta'riuq
𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘: That is it's name, the Sea we go to?
S̱ƙɑɍ: yes
S̱ƙɑɍ: it means, The Sea.
𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘: I did not think I would ever see either of the Seas
S̱ƙɑɍ: You will see the land of Siku, the sea ice, where the sea and the land meet.
𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 : I do look forward to that I think
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 nods most thoughtfully
* S̱ƙɑɍ The mountain began to loom over us as we approached it from the wide mouth of the valley.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 walks on with my Master in awe of the size of the mountain as it shadows us as we approach it
S̱ƙɑɍ: Along the coast within sight of Bokmahl is the fishing village of Iqa'luit, the place of many fish. They have interesting hunting and fishing methods there; you will learn many things that will be useful to us.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 shivers with apprehension and nerves, my Master's idea of interesting and mine were vastly different, but I do enjoy learning
𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘: Yes my Master, I will strive to make you proud.
* S̱ƙɑɍ I led us toward the foothills, trying to keep out of the wind as much as possible as we moved toward the cache somewhere far in the distance.
* 𝑣𝑒𝑥𝑎 ~𝑺~ 𝑘 kept close to my Master, lowering my head against the biting wind as I followed him toward the distant foothills and the promise of the cache beyond.
* S̱ƙɑɍ It would be another hand and three days before we located the cache among the foothills and had the luxury of being at our ease within the shelter of it's well supplied walls.
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