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[i]Squall Whisperers, Minstrels[/i][/center]

When Hujaya awoke, it was to deep, reverberating notes which sounded like distant peals of thunder and the crackling of a fire closer by. Warmth irradiated the side of her face, competing with the mucus running from her eyes. She felt a fur blanket draped on top of her with Delfon snuggled into her arms, breathing softly. Behind her, laying against her body, was the familiar feel of Kaleo, who was also sleeping.

Hujaya opened her eyes blearily. The reddish glow of a fire was just outside her peripheral vision. The sky was the blue-grey of dawn, with clouds and smoke obscuring the stars above. She opened her eyes a bit wider and carefully moved her head to look around. She saw selka, some sleeping, some sitting vigil beside the dying. A faint colourful glow came from an alma perched near the camp, although she was pretty sure it was a different alma to the one she had seen previously. A campfire was not far from Hujaya. A hunter sat beside it, tending to the flames, his bow lying nearby. And across from the fire was Sulingu, her eyes closed as she softly strummed chords of thunder.

Very carefully Hujaya wormed her way out from between Delfon and Kaleo. She rubbed her eyes then crawled over to the campfire. "Good morning," she said.

The hunter gave her a brief glance. "Morning."

Sulingu did not open her eyes, but she said with a slight smile, "You're up early."

Hujaya cocked her head and gave a little smile in return. "And you're up late."

Sulingu's chest quivered briefly in a silent tired laugh. Hujaya continued, "I should take over and let you rest."

"Eat and drink first. I can go a little longer," Sulingu answered.

Hujaya climbed to her feet and cast her gaze about the camp. The hunter by the fire lifted up a dried gourd from his hip to Hujaya. "Here."

Hujaya reached out and took the gourd. "Thanks." She lifted the opening to her lips and drank of the water within. When she had slaked her thirst she returned to water gourd to the hunter.

"The food is stored over there," the hunter said, twisting around to point towards the chieftain's tent. "I'm heading out soon to find some more."

"Thank you," Hujaya replied. She walked towards the tent and through the opening. Inside was Lilut kneeling beside his father, who lay there with skin blackened and eyes softly glowing while staring blankly upwards. Wetness running down the sides of the marred selka's face and remnants of mashed food around his lips revealed that someone had tried to feed him. Lilut held his father's hand silently and looked up at Hujaya's entrance with weary eyes.

"Oh, sorry, I was just..." Hujaya started to say, glancing over to the stockpiles on the other side of the tent.

Lilut waved a hand. "No, it's... go ahead." Lilut turned his attention back to his father.

Hujaya hesitated for a few moments then went to sit beside Lilut, sharing in his vigil. Lilut did not move, but he did soften. They sat silently for a few minutes, with the only sounds being the Lightning Lyre, the crackle of the campfire, and the chieftain's breath growing fainter and less frequent. Then Lilut broke the silence. "Thank you." Hujaya looked to the boy, who continued, "Thank you for helping us. You and Sulingu and Kaleo."

Hujaya looked away from Lilut and down to the dying chieftain. "I only wish I could have done more."

A rattling breath came from the selka. "Father!" Lilut exclaimed and leaned down to put his face beside his father's. The selka sank into his bedding, his eyes dimmed and his head rolled limply to the side. Lilut sobbed and a fresh wave of tears flowed from his eyes. Tears welled up in Hujaya's eyes and dropped to the dirt.

There was movement at the entrance to the tent. The alma walked up to the recently deceased selka, dipped its head towards the body and began to glow. Wisps of faint blue light danced through the air above the body and coalesced into one of the sockets on the alma's frame. Lilut reached out to touch the soul crystal of his father, although Hujaya's brow furrowed as she noted the odd colouration of this crystal. A few similar crystals were already embedded into the alma.

Behind the alma came those selka who were awake. Each of the members of the tribe came in, laid a comforting hand on Lilut's shoulder while looking over at the chieftain's body and at the alma who stood impassively beside it, then moved on to allow the next person their turn. Hujaya took her leave at this point, going over to the food stockpile. She noted how little food was left and gave a worried glance over to the people of Lilut's tribe - for they were indeed his tribe now. Hujaya took a fistful of nuts and a few strands of dried kelp and walked out of the tent.

Sulingu was standing there, softly strumming the lyre and peering in through the crowd. Exchanged looks of sorrow were enough to tell her what had occurred. Together they walked back to the campfire and sat down. Hujaya ate her meagre meal while Sulingu continued to play the song which kept the Mar motes at bay. They watched the hunter leave the chieftain's tent, grab his bow and arrows and solemnly set out from the camp. Soon Hujaya had finished her meal. Sulingu and Hujaya performed the change-over of the Lightning Lyre, and Sulingu went to find somewhere to sleep while Hujaya played the lyre into the new day.

[hr]
The day wore on with the constant background of the Lightning Lyre's inescapable music. More of the marred passed away during the day. The alma from the morning departed with a full collection of soul crystals and another one of the prismatic birds took its place. Many of the mourning selka spent the day performing the funeral rites on the bodies. Pits were dug in the sand of the beach, the bodies lowered into them, and the graves filled back in with a few stones laid on top to mark them. The Stormbards provided music for the burials and Hujaya gave some words of comfort.

As evening came, a new issue presented itself to the tribe. The hunter, whose name was Karaji, had not returned and food stocks were dwindling. A few selka went out fishing and returned with a small catch, but not nearly enough to feed the whole tribe. Many selka went to sleep hungry.

The following morning Karaji returned. He brought with him the bodies of a few marred animals, no better than carrion, but also another tribe of selka. Chieftain Lilut and the other selka went to meet them. That tribe was in a similar situation to Lilut's tribe - their territory had been overrun by the Mar plague and many of their number had been afflicted. Yet when they heard the music and saw the circling storm, they decided to seek the source since it promised safety from the plague. They were quite happy to discover the Stormbards here.

Karaji and the new tribe gave some good news. Bushfires lit by the fire birds had burned away the marred forests and pushed the plague far away. After much deliberation and careful consideration, Hujaya, Sulingu and Kaleo decided to stop playing the Lightning Lyre since the Mar plague was no longer a threat. But the new arrivals brought with them a new problem.

"I wanna food!"

Hujaya sighed wearily. "We don't have any food for you."

Delfon stamped his foot. "Wanna food! Wanna food!"

As Delfon threw his tantrum, Hujaya looked out across the camp. All the regular food had been eaten. There was the meat from the creatures which had succumbed to the Mar motes, yet it was also blackened with blotches of white and grey such that no one believed it to be safe to eat. But if they could not find more food soon they would be forced to either find out or starve. The selka were able to catch some fresh fish from the sea, but the sea was almost as diminished as the land.

After Hujaya had managed to calm Delfon, she went to talk to Kaleo and Sulingu. "We have to help these people."

Kaleo stroked his whiskers thoughtfully, then suggested, "We could catch them some food. But the tricky part is that the plague has killed all the food nearby."

"Then we move the tribe. They-" Hujaya hesitated for a moment, then pushed on. "They don't have any reason to stay any more."

"We could go up-beach, the way we came," Sulingu suggested, "The fire-birds burnt down the diseased forest, and it shouldn't be that far to where we were before finding the plague."

Hujaya considered it for a few moments. "Delphina-willing, we should be able to find some food there. She would not leave us to starve. Let us tell the chief."

The Stormbards went to Lilut with their plan, who called in Karaji the hunter to hear the plan too. They all agreed that this was the best course of action. The call was made for everyone to pack up camp and the tribe was ready to move a little while later. The selka walked and swam up-beach, carrying their tents, bedding and few belongings with them. They walked past a dead forest, marred and burned. Eventually, the trees were just burned, with no evidence of the plague. Then, finally, they found greenery. Yet their stomachs were still grumbling and their legs were growing weary; they still had to find enough food to feed everyone.

The Stormbards, Karaji and a couple other hunters split off from the rest of the tribe to go hunting. Hujaya strummed a single chord on the Lightning Lyre and a few squalls arrived seconds after the reverberating note. To keep the squalls nearby, Sulingu played her flute, Kaleo tapped on a drum, and Hujaya played on Sulingu's lyre.

Karaji gave the Stormbards a skeptical look. "How is that noise going to help us catch any food?"

"I am yet to find a beast who can outrun the wind itself," Hujaya answered.

Karaji looked to the swirling wisps of cloud and wind, then back to Hujaya. "I hope you're right," he said, before turning his attention back to the terrain around him.

They walked for another hour or two through the forests until they found a trail. Trampled grasses and snapped branches revealed that a herd of large mammals had moved through here recently, likely fleeing the fires. Karaji knelt down by the tracks and inspected them carefully. "Boars. Quite a few of them. They probably aren't too far. It could be dangerous, though, since boars are quite aggressive."

"We have Delphina's strength on our side. We can handle a few boars," Hujaya answered. Karaji did not answer but followed the trail, with the others following behind him.

After about another hour, they heard the grunts of boars up ahead. The hunters went ahead of the Stormbards to investigate, then returned with their report. "There's at least four of them, probably more."

Hujaya nodded as she continued to play the lyre. "We'll circle around to surround them, then set the squalls on them. You can then finish them off once they've been brought down."

Karaji's eyes widened. "All of them? That's-" He shook his head. "Fine. You've known what you've been doing this far."

Kaleo set out to the left while Sulingu circled out right, each taking a squall with them. Hujaya stayed put and waited for a shrill flute note from Sulingu a few minutes later, signalling their advance. Their music picked up from a gentle ditty to a more energetic tune. The treetops rustled as the squalls were stirred into action. Hujaya walked forwards until she could see the boars, as well as Kaleo and Sulingu on the far side of the herd. The boars noticed the three selka approach and the weather close in and were beginning to move when Kaleo struck his drum hard and the song began.

Kaleo and Hujaya sang out, their voices meeting in harmony and driving the squalls forwards with a terrifying surge of wind. The gale threw the boars off balance, then when the squalls reached Sulingu she danced in a circle, sweeping the squalls around her and sending them back as one towards the boars. The mighty wind picked up one of the boars and hurled it high over Hujaya's head into the forest behind them with a crash. The squalls split around Hujaya and circled the singer once before being sent rushing at another boar who was thrown into a tree with a squeal. One of the panicking boars charged towards Kaleo, yet a drum roll and baritone note intercepted the boar head-on with the squalls, sending the boar tumbling head over tail.

The squalls continued to bounce between the three Stormbards, their forceful winds hurling the boars about like leaves until none were left standing. The hunters killed the battered boars by knife and spear, then as the Stormbards were calming down the squalls to send them away Karaji said, "That was terrifying, but you've impressed me."

Hujaya motioned for Karaji to wait. Only after the squalls had been safely sent away did Hujaya answer. "I told you we had Delphina's strength."

"I don't doubt that. It's not the sort of hunting Arryn taught us, but by Kirron it's effective."

Each selka picked up one of the boars and they walked back to where they had left the tribes. It was approaching evening by the time they returned. The selka cheered when they saw the hunters and Stormbards return with a bountiful haul of boar. Karaji set down his boar, got the tribe to gather up some firewood, then sat down with his bow, a straight stick and a concave rock to light a fire. Hujaya and Kaleo set down their boars and reunited with Delfon, who had been left in the care of Lilut's tribe. Delfon was happy to see his parents, but more happy about seeing that they had brought food and it was all Hujaya and Kaleo could do to make Delfon wait for the food to be cooked first before eating it.

Soon a fire was lit, which was spread into multiple fires. The boars were butchered and their meat roasted over the open flames. Lilut approached the Stormbards and said, "Thank you. This should be enough food to feed us all for many days, more than enough to establish ourselves here. You have our gratitude."

Hujaya smiled sadly and bowed her head. "Thank you. It was the least we could do, and only by the power of Delphina."

Kaleo heard Hujaya's tone and put a hand on Hujaya's arm. "We can't do everything," he said softly.

Lilut said, "I know you wanted to do more, but you have done all that you could, and that is more than we could have hoped for on our own."

Lilut walked over to one of the cooking fires and collected a piece of roast pork. He hoisted the meat above his head and announced to the tribes people, "I would like to dedicate this feast to Delphina and her servants, Hujaya, Kaleo and Sulingu. We have all lost much in the last few days, but if it were not for their devotion and compassion we could have lost so much more."

Lilut then proffered the meat towards Hujaya. Hujaya hesitated for a moment, then stepped forwards when nudged by Kaleo and accepted the offering. "Thank you again," Lilut said. Then he turned to the rest of the tribe and announced, "Eat!"

The selka feasted into the night, with music in the air and gratitude on their lips. Though grief still weighed heavily on their hearts, their spirits were buoyed by the fresh hope they had been given this day.

[hider=Summary]
We continue with Hujaya, Kaleo and Sulingu in Lilut's tribe, using the Lightning Lyre to keep the Mar motes away.

Lilut's father dies from the Mar plague, making Lilut the father. Funerals take place during the day for all the selka who died from the plague.

A second tribe arrives, attracted by the Lightning Lyre's music. They had also faced severe loss from the Mar plague.

A serious problem emerges - they don't have enough food, and there is no food in the surrounding land due to the plague.

The tribes migrate, then the Stormbards and some hunters go hunting to try to find enough food to feed all these selka. They find a herd of wild boars, and the Stormbards take them down with some squalls. Turns out magic is OP when hunting mundane animals.

They return with enough meat to feed everyone for days. Everyone is grateful.

[b]Prestige Summary[/b]
[i]Start:[/i] 12 Prestige
[i]Earned:[/i] 3 Prestige (major role, quest)
[i]Spent:[/i] None
[i]End:[/i] 15 Prestige
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