Camping out in the tunnels wasn't too terribly terrible for Rilana. Much of Frigmount was carved directly into the glacial ice and down into the ground as well, and it was all cold. But she was sensitive to the distress of the rams and the horse and it was the waiting and not knowing that ate at her. She spent most of her time either tending the animals as though she were personally responsible for their well-being, and worked up the nerve to talk to Warden Drisceya and learn from her about the nature and habits of the Underdark beasts in the region. The veteran drow was pleasantly forthcoming, but Rilana was still cautious around any Ebon Knights.

And that included Svarak, who she followed with her eyes but largely avoided, speaking to him only when necessary. 

It was Ortha who spotted the other half of the party first, uncoiling herself from Rilana's lap and bounding off into the stalagmite forest, her black shape disappearing rapidly into the gloom, both heads making growling chirps that Rilana knew meant either friends or food.

As soon as Rilana saw Alya's face she felt a wave of relief wash over her, her boots loud against the stone as the tall, slender woman ran to meet her friend. [color=00aeef]"Alya! Alya! You're alright, thank goodness. What happened? Where were you?"[/color] Her questions were mostly useless, as the mute half-elf couldn't answer them easily, but Rilana's genuine gladness to see Alya again was openly apparent. While she did a quick head-count, eyeing the rest of the returning travelers and their mounts to look for signs of injury and finding none, she managed to get a cobbled-together version of the story from the other knights and Chartrose. Something about a house full of food and a naked elf woman? [color=00aeef]"I promise we'll find time to talk later. For now we all need to rest and prepare to head out in the morning."[/color]

--

When the group finally emerged onto the bright but frigid surface, Rilana breathed easier. Even Kona, safe and snug inside her head, appreciated life a little more with the open sky above them and the Druid could feel his need to fly free much more strongly than ever before.

But the wind was a concern, especially at night when temperatures continued to plummet so that even the wooly rams were uncomfortable and needed the extra protection of blankets and wind-screens. Rilana found Chartrose one evening while everyone was setting up camp and shyly but determinedly pulled the charr aside. 

[color=00aeef]"Chartrose, I need to talk to you about Tricia."[/color] Like most of her people, the moon fey was annoyingly resistant to the coldness, tending to wear far less than what looked comfortable to those who could feel the breath of ice down to their bones. But even Rilana had started bundling up in wolverine fur and reindeer hides, her dove-grey cashmere cloak almost obscuring her leggy frame. 

[color=00aeef]"It's going to get colder by the day, but this weather it's...not normal. I've never been able to feel the chill like this before, and I'm worried about her."[/color] She gestured towards the thin-skinned raptor swaddled in her blankets. [color=00aeef]"She's not going to survive if you don't do something more for her."[/color]

Rilana, tall by most standards but still short enough to look up into Chartrose's face, turned her pretty blue eyes on him, pleading. [color=00aeef]"Please, I want to show you something."[/color] She lifted her palm and showed him a small statuette of the two-headed balauradon that traveled with her. To anyone else, it would have seemed simply like a very skilled carving and nothing more. But to Chartrose the likeness to the creature it was tied to would be uncanny, not just a figurine, but an Effigy like the one he carried.

[color=00aeef]"I saw yours the other day and I knew you were like me."[/color] Taking his paw, if he let her, Rilana pulled him into the privacy of her tent, where Ortha was already snoozing on top of Rilana's pack. The creature was nearly bigger than Echo now.