Episode 08 | Dew Breath

Lyn:     Raakaaa…

Raka:    Hn…

Lyn:     Turn it offfff…

Raka:    Turn what off…

Lyn:     The windshell… it’s annoying…

Raka:    Fine…

Lyn:     Raakaaa…

Malaki:  Shut up, human…

Lyn:     No, you shut up… Rakaaaaaaaaa

Raka:    What?

Lyn:     Turn off the windshell… So useless…

Raka:    Is it on again? Hmp-

Lyn:     It’s on again!

Raka:    Finally!

Lyn:     Seriously, the-

Raka:    Whatever it is, it must be close by.

Lyn:     The sun isn’t even up yet. My blisters didn’t have time to heal up, either. Couldn’t we at least have breakfast before we started out?

Malaki:  You only think about food.

Lyn:     I try to.

Raka:    The windshell doesn’t just act up for no reason. There’s something going on that I can’t ignore.

Lyn:     Okay fine, maybe YOU can’t ignore it, but you could’ve let US sleep!

Malaki:  She seems cranky without food.

Raka:    No kidding…

Malaki:  There are edibles ahead.

Lyn:     What?

Raka:    Were you planning to hunt?

Malaki:  No. On that tree. Edible mushrooms.

Lyn:     Damn, that’s a big tree!

Malaki:  Trees in the Kyrja are large.

Lyn:     Wow, and the shrooms are all the way up there!

Raka:    I didn’t know there were Mushrooms in this region!

Malaki:  Many. More where I come from. Just know where to look. Those on the bark are easy to find.

Raka:    Can you get them?

Malaki:  Easier with my äthwar.

Raka:    Don’t even think about-

Malaki:  I don’t waste runes on mushrooms. I can climb.

Lyn:     Oh, so now we get to take a break for mushrooms?

Raka:    I mean, of course… Finding the spirits is important too, but… food here is scarce and we will have to survive off the land. We can’t afford to pass by any opportunity to gather any food we find.

Lyn:     Hey, no need to justify getting food to me.

Malaki:  Eat this, human. Catch!

Lyn:     Wait- Dude!

Malaki:  Will make you less… cranky.

Lyn:     Urg… Actually I’d rather not…

Malaki:  Don’t be picky.

Raka:    Let me try that.

Lyn:     Uh, yea sure.

Raka:    Mhh, delicious! Malaki, can you collect more of them for later?

Malaki:  If you catch them.

Raka:    What? No wait!

Malaki:  Here, catch!

Raka:    Fiyarta. Don’t throw them! Put them in… a bag. Here, take this.

Malaki:  Fine…

Lyn:     Isn’t there anything else I could snack on?

Raka:    Try these, they’re good!

Lyn:     Look, I’m not eating raw mushrooms! I’d rather wait till we can cook them.

Raka:    We’ll cook once we figure out if there are spirits nearby.

Lyn:     I just wish I could have a snack, too…

Malaki:  You declined the mushrooms!

Lyn:     Listen, I don’t know much about survival, but I know better than eating unidentified mushrooms, especially raw.

Malaki:  You BEGGED to come, yet you need to be fed! If you want to be provided with sustenance, you can’t be picky!

Lyn:     Bro! You and Raka are animals! I’m a human! Our digestions are different, stuff YOU can digest might be poisonous to me! I might have an Asian’s stomach-

Raka:    A what?

Lyn:     -but that doesn’t mean I can eat EVERYTHING!

Malaki:  Y-you- you humans have strange digestion!

Raka:    There’s a berry-bush over there. We don’t need to cook those. Come, you can snack away on those.

Lyn:     Meh… I was hoping for bread or porridge or something like that…

Raka:    I’m the only one who thought of bringing supplies. Neither of you did, so I decide how to ration what we have. And I say we make that last as long as we can and live on what we can gather while we’re still in more fertile regions.

Lyn:     Urg, okay, you win. Fine!

Raka:    Tsk, “Sustenance”. Fiyar’ta.
Lyn. What?

Raka:    Where DOES he gets his vocabulary from… Sometimes he speaks like a Skur, other times as if he swallowed a dictionary.

Lyn:     Well, have you tried asking him?

Raka:    I don’t really want to give him the impression I cared. Bad enough that I have to drag him along just to keep an eye on him. Sometimes I just… wonder.

Lyn:     Well, maybe you SHOULD try getting to know him better. Y’know, gain his trust, learn how he thinks and what triggers him. You won’t need to put half as much energy into keeping an eye on him if you know when he’s about to-

Raka:    I don’t really see how asking him where he got his vocabulary from has anything to do with his erratic behavior.

Lyn:     You just complained that his speaking pattern is erratic. Coincidence? I think not.

Raka:    Hm. I see…
Well, we’ll have plenty of time to get to know him.

Lyn:     Yea…

Raka:    Anyway, take this pouch and fill it with as many berries as you can fit in.

Lyn:     … Are you even sure these are edible?

Raka:    Sure. We grow these bushes around Kaerûn as well. See? Totally edible. A bit sour, though.

Lyn:     Well, they look kinda like blueberries… I like blueberries.

Raka:    Snack away then.

Lyn:     What about you? Will you hunt us another Turkey?

Raka:    Sh- Do you hear that?

Lyn:     Hear what?

Raka:    That sound.

Lyn:     That buzzing?

Raka:    Yea. Do you see any runes or spirits around?

Lyn:     Uuh… No, nothing out of the ordinary.

Raka:    Hm… I’ll take a look around down that way, just to make sure we don’t accidentally pass by anything significant. I’ll leave my bag and bow with you.

Lyn:     Your Bow?

Raka:    Well I can’t shoot spirits with arrows.

Lyn:     But what if you see another turkey on the way?

Raka:    I’m hunting spirits, not prey. Focusing on both would be distracting. Oh, and don’t think of rummaging for the flatbread, that’s for later.

Lyn:     Fine… Just blueberries then… Boring.

Malaki:  I found roots and herbs. And grain we can grind- The monohorn is not here.

Lyn:     Yea about that… Don’t you mean unicorn?

Malaki:  Raku.

Lyn:     She went to check on a noise we were hearing.

Malaki:  She… is hear noises?

Lyn:     Yea? Are you alright?

Malaki:  Elaborate on the kind of noises she heard.

Lyn:     She… didn’t know what it was, that’s why she went to check. Come on, you can help me collect these berries. This bag just isn’t filling up.

Malaki:  Of course. You eat more than you put in.

Lyn:     I’m not! … Hey, Mal, can I-

Malaki:  Don’t shorten my name.

Lyn:     Awww, come on, its just a nickname!

Malaki:  You don’t acknowledge my Ki.

Lyn:     Your- Oh. The Ki thing, I remember. Alright, Malaki, fine. Anyway, can I ask you a question?

Malaki:  You… ask all the time.

Lyn:     How come you sometimes use words like “elaborate” or “sustenance”, and other times it feels like you forgot how to formulate a proper sentence?

Malaki:  I… don’t understand the reason the kind of words I use matter.

Lyn:     It just- Well, I’ll be honest, Raka mentioned you use strange words sometimes, now I kinda can’t unhear it. She said you speak differently than other Skur.

Malaki:  I- She knows nothing of my Rontar. I don’t know how she could make any assessment about how Skurka speak.

Lyn:     I keep hearing that word- “Rontar”. What does that mean?

Malaki:  My-my-my people, my race, my kin!

Lyn:     Oh.

Malaki:  Skurka.

Lyn:     Okay.

Malaki:  No!

Lyn:     Ouch! Hey!

Malaki:  Not that one.

Lyn:     Hä?

Malaki:  It is a different bush. It looks similar. It’s bad.

Lyn:     Is it poisonous?

Malaki:  Gives you bad digestion.

Lyn:     Pew, thanks… You saved my life. Hey, is the language we’re speaking right now the same you speak with your Rontar?

Malaki:  Of course. We don’t have another. Skurka speak… different. The language is the same.

Lyn:     Well you said your people live isolated on the mountain, right?

Malaki:  Mh.

Lyn:     Do you have big cities and high education up there?

Malaki:  (laughing)

Lyn:     Wh- what? Why you laughting, what’s so funny? Um, hello? Are you alright?

Malaki:  We don’t have cities. Claiming dens in sight of each other is offensive to Skurki. And… no education.

Lyn:     Wow, really? But then how DID you learn such fancy words?

Malaki:  I found books. Read them.

Lyn:     But if you don’t have an education system, how did you learn to READ them?

Malaki:  You’re sharp.

Lyn:     Hohoho, Oh stop it you~

Malaki:  The books are written with something similar to runes. Similar sounds, similar words. I compared runes I see in the forest to those in the book. Until the writing made sense.

Lyn:     You decoded the books from scratch?

Malaki:  Decoded… Yes. I have much time.

Lyn:     Still seems like a lot of effort! Didn’t you say there were hundreds of runes?

Malaki:  I read this… there are 200 per element and many thousand aether runes. I don’t know how to count them to confirm.

Lyn:     And you know them all?

Malaki:  No… I often find ones I didn’t know.

Lyn:     Well, how did you figure out what was in the books?

Malaki:  Some of the runes on paper formed meanings when they appear next to each other. Sometimes they are abstract, but… I pieced it together to words.

Lyn:     So you just taught yourself how to read just from cross-referencing the glyphithings with the letters in the book? That’s amazing! Can you teach me some?

Malaki:  I… don’t know.

Raka:    Nothing down there… Are you done with the berries?

Lyn:     Yea, ate enough. Should be enough for a bit…

Raka:    Great, then let’s move on.

Lyn:     Kay.

Raka:    Fiyar’ta… This buzzing is annoying!

Lyn:     Now that you’re back, the sound is back too.

Malaki:  Th- The buzzing- what are you- why- you hear- you hear?

Raka:    Yea, I hear buzzing. You hear it, too?

Malaki:  No! I can’t hear the aetherweb!

Raka:    Then what were you trying to tell me?!

Lyn:     Does that mean the stuff we’re hearing is on that etherweb stuff?

Raka:    It’s aetherweb.

Lyn:     Aether?

Malaki:  The buzzing, describe it.

Raka:    I’m not sure, it sounds like many small creatures chattering. But I can’t locate it. It seems to come from everywhere.

Lyn:     Wait, what’s that in your face?

Raka:    Augmentations – I already told you!

Lyn:     Not that, there’s something flying around in your face.

Raka:    My face? I don’t see anything.

Lyn:     Mal… aki, do you-

Malaki:  I see them.

Raka:    Are you playing a prank?

Lyn:     No, there’s small fishy spirits flying around your nose and mouth.

Raka:    My-

Malaki:  “Liw”… They’re “Liw” Vær.

Raka:    DEW spirits?

Lyn:     I think he said Lew.

Raka:    “Liw” means Dew.

Malaki:  The-They make dew out of moist in air.

Raka:    Fiyar’ta. Those must be what I’ve been hearing. They must be everywhere at this time of day.

Malaki:  They are. In the grasses and bushes.

Lyn:     Those are the same things as the ones in her face?

Malaki:  Yes. But… They shouldn’t swarm…

Raka:    Why are they flying around my mouth…

Lyn:     Bad breath?

Malaki:  If they liked that they would go in your face.

Lyn:     Hey! We just got along so well, don’t betray me!

Malaki:  They’re water Vær.

Raka:    I know they can get attracted to the moisture in breath, but… do you see them on your breaths?

Lyn:     Mal…aki doesn’t have them.

Malaki:  Neither does the human. It might be your äthwar that attracts them…

Raka:    Dew-Spirits aren’t drawn to water-äthwars, that’s not what they-

Malaki:  We’ve seen them do this.

Lyn:     “We”?

Malaki:  I…

Raka:    Really. You know someone with a water-äthwar?

Malaki:  Why is- you think- is it strange?

Raka:    Yes it’s strange! Was that person a Skur?

Malaki:  Doesn’t matter! We have to get the Liw out of your breath, or they will harm you.

Raka:    I don’t think they’re a threat. They just collect the dew from my breath.

Lyn:     Raka, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Malaki seems concerned.

Malaki:  Yes!

Raka:    Look, they have no reason to go for my äthwar. If we were in the aetherfrays I’d believe that, but not here.

Lyn:     Maybe we ARE already in the aetherfrays?

Raka:    Certainly not.

Lyn:     Uh… well, just so you know, there’s more of those Lew spirits moving your way from the brook.

Raka:    We should move away from anything that emits humidity then. Come on.

Lyn:     Shouldn’t you try to get rid of them?

Raka:    They will disperse when the sun comes up.

Malaki:  Don’t take them too lightly, they can do a lot of-

Raka:    Look, runt. These Spirits are harmless. If they had wanted to do something to me, they could’ve done it already. They are on my BREATH after all, they could’ve gone into my lungs by now.

Malaki:  They aren’t doing that yet, doesn’t mean they won’t at all!

Lyn:     This is so exhausting…

Raka:    We only did 5 paces, are you out of breath ALREADY?

Lyn:     Yes! So, will you carry me?

Raka:    I’ll IGNORE you.

Lyn:     Actually I meant your bickering. That’s really exhausting, especially before breakfast. But I’d still love to be carried.

Malaki:  Keh- you’re lazy!

Lyn:     I’m just tired and hungry and my muscles still ache from yesterdays hike.

Malaki:  You should’ve stayed in the village.

Lyn:     Hey, you SAID you’d rather have a third person on the trip who isn’t Raka!

Malaki:  You don’t even carry your own weight.

Lyn:     I’m kidding about the carrying part! I ask everyone that!

Malaki:  You never said it to me.

Lyn:     Did you want me to?

Malaki:  NO!

Lyn:     Pew, okay!

Malaki:  I prefer to keep as much distance between me and your armpits as I possibly can. My fingers still stink from when I had to carry you out of the brook yesterday!

Lyn:     I LIKE the smell of my armpits! It calms me down.

Malaki:  Urg…

Lyn:     Besides, I never asked you because you’re barely taller than me and only have half my weight. I wouldn’t want to put that on you.

Malaki:  Very considerate…

Lyn:     That’s how I roll. Oh shit-

Raka:    What is it?

Lyn:     Do you see that?

Malaki:  Swarm.

Raka:    Fog…

Malaki:  It’s a swarm.

Lyn:     Wait, fog is made out of spirits?

Raka:    Fog is made out of runes. Liw runes. The Liw spirits feed on excess fog-runes, so yes, there are Liw spirits in fog.

Malaki:  We must get rid of them, the-they’ll-

Raka:    Leave them alone. That is JUST fog. They’re not a threat! We’re NOT in the aetherfrays, the Liw are harmless.

Malaki:  Thrausar- They’re not! A swarm like this CAN harm you!

Raka:    Fine, let’s get away from them, if it’s only to calm your superstition!

Malaki:  You can’t, they’re in your face!

Raka:    Nothing we can do about that right now. Pick up the pace.

Malaki:  Thrausar liw-Vær… you should’ve stayed on your dew drops!

Raka:    Malaki!

Malaki:  We can’t run from the Liw again!

Raka:    Don’t you dare-

Malaki:  Calvar, æria! (Ground, rise)

Lyn:     Oh shit- Mal!

Raka:    You little-

Malaki:  I’m HELPING you!

Raka:    You just threatened them, that’s not helping anyone!

Malaki:  I know what I’m doing!
Mar, liw’værĥ fyalia! (Earth! Capture the Dew-Spirits!)

Lyn:     Mal!

Malaki:  Genturil, val væri’vus mea!
(Soil, with the spirit’s water mix!)

Lyn:     Mal, stop!

Raka:    Look, I appreciate the sentiment but you’re using too many runes!

Malaki:  Eteïe, gonuria usatar!
(Stones, shape a container!)
Koshia, tuuwynia, niscaĥ vus’værïe!
(Wrap, bind the water spirit!)

Raka:    MALAKI!

Lyn:     Stop! Oh Shit! Shit shit shit!

Raka:    Lyn, get out of there!

Lyn:     I’m in a stupid rocknado, I can’t-

Raka:    A’sarkra nah’flæþis-
VUS CORI! (Water shield)

Malaki:  NO! Thrausar kyrjir, they were on your breath!

Raka:    Fiyar’ta-

Malaki:  You can’t use water runes-
Spirits: A Broken soul!

Raka:    Malaki! You IMBECILE!

Malaki:  You FED the water-Vær with RUNES!

Raka:    You put Lyn’s life in danger with your stupid stone storm!

Malaki:  She should’ve gotten out of my rune-weave!

Raka:    She didn’t even know what you were DOING, how do you expect her-

Malaki:  Be still a moment-

Raka:    No, I’m NOT letting this pass! I told you to LEAVE them alone and-

Malaki:  The Vær are entering her breath, do something!

Raka:    What? A’sarkra nah’flæþis- What can I do?

Malaki:  I don’t know!

Raka:    You said you’ve been in a situation like this before!

Malaki:  This is different, they’re- You have a water-äthwar! Pull them out!

Raka:    Vus, rintasïa! (Water, dilute) Fatosþavus! (steam)

Lyn:     Oh shi-

Malaki:  Doesn’t work!

Raka:    I see that!

Malaki:  Hurry!

Raka:    I’ll try something simpler-
Myr, vus, yutan fai la’esu
Wyv, wyv, feïr lærahu!
(Fire, water, boil and seathe,
wind, wind, let her breathe!)

Malaki:  Still nothing!

Raka:    I don’t know what else to try!

Malaki:  Free our wind-äthwar!

Raka:    Definitely not!

Malaki:  You want her to die!

Raka:    There has to be something else! What did you do when this happened before?

Malaki:  Forced the water out, together with the Liw!

Raka:    That will HURT her, maybe even damage her lungs!

Malaki:  Better than dying! Just free my äthwar-

Raka:    I won’t-

Malaki:  Just- just release our koneŋ aur äthwar for a hornblowing heartbeat, you thrausar kyrjir!

Raka:    FINE! Þamratu, malakiri wyv!

Malaki:  Wyv, senahia! (wind, ascend)

Raka:    Fynïr! (heat)
Fatosþavus! (steam)
Valþæas! (cloudmaker)

Malaki:  Clouds!

Raka:    They can’t get back down so easily if they’re trapped in steam and clouds.

Malaki:  Should have burnt them. Wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone then.

Raka:    I’m not like you. I don’t take joy in harming spirits.
Pafyrinrir!
Lynar!
Þamrïa Malakiri wyv!

Malaki:  No don’t- urg…
You don’t TRUST me!

Raka:    After what you just did?! Of course not. Lyn, are you alright?

Lyn:     I almost dieded…

Raka:    You’re alive.

Lyn:     Is that supposed to make me feel better? You ARGUED about his damn Edgar!

Raka:    Do you know what damage he could’ve done to your lungs with the amount of force he puts into his runes?

Lyn:     My LIFE was at stake, there was no room for suspicion, Raka! What took you so long to get over your foolish pride? You’re WAY too paranoid about him.

Malaki:  I can CONTROL runes when I need to!

Raka:    Oh really. Right now it seems like you just throw them out there and let Lyn and me figure out how avoid being hit by them.

Lyn:     Well, I have to agree with that…

Malaki:  You should have gotten out of my-

Lyn:     Rocknado? You surrounded me with a bunch of uncontrolled swirling rocks and expected me to jump out of that? I’m no fucking superhero!

Malaki:  You should’ve gotten out BEFORE the runes started to take effect!

Lyn:     With my catlike reflexes? Sure, no problem!

Malaki:  The monohorn and I have to feed, protect and smell you. At least you could try not to get in the way when we DEFEND you!

Lyn:     Defend me?! Well, I’m SORRY that I was standing in your way when I didn’t know what was happening! Surprise, I don’t SPEAK your funny glyphi-language, you haven’t taught me yet! You could’ve recited a poem for all I knew, I didn’t know WHAT was going on.

Malaki:  You are right. I apologize.

Lyn:     Wait- What?

Malaki:  Skurka fight… against each other or side by side. Not one behind the other. I never fought with someone standing BEHIND me.

Lyn:     Oookay… Apology accepted. I will try to get out of your way next time… Just give me a warning.

Raka:    You shouldn’t have engaged the spirits in a fight in the first place.

Malaki:  I have SEEN Liw behave like this before. I didn’t want it to happen again!

Raka:    But what was a STONE STORM supposed to do against a wall of fog?!

Malaki:  I didn’t HAVE my wind äthwar, I needed something to stir the air with!

Raka:    Hold on- you used stones to create air movement?!

Malaki:  Yes! Fog can be blown away with enough wind! This is what I did when I last faced a Liw swarm!

Lyn:     See, maybe you SHOULD get to know him better, or at the very least LISTEN to him once in a while. He’s been telling you the whole time that he has been in a similar situation!

Malaki:  Yes!

Raka:    Let me show you something. Take out that charm I made for you.

Lyn:     You mean the thing that’s supposed to mask my broken soul?

Raka:    Yes, that.

Lyn:     Uh, okay… Oh… It’s…

Raka:    It broke when you were hit by the Stones. The Spirits noticed your soul and went straight for it.

Lyn:     That kinda makes sense… Wait. So this is all Malaki’s fault?!

Malaki:  No!

Raka:    THIS is why I didn’t want to take you with me!

Lyn:     Well, just make me a new charm that can survive being hit by a rock next time?

Raka:    I could carve the runes on your chest, that way it can’t break.

Lyn:     No. Nuh-uh. I’m not letting you carve or… or burn any runes on my skin. I don’t want a Tattoo like that.

Raka:    Well a broken soul can’t be fixed. Usually people like you do get a permanent protection to make sure things like this don’t happen.

Lyn:     Well I’m not planning on staying here forever!

Raka:    I’ll make you another charm.

Malaki:  There are still plenty of Liw in the dew drops around us. We have to move.

Raka:    Alright. Lyn? Are you alright?

Malaki:  Wait.

Raka:    Do you need some water?

Malaki:  Chew these. Good for coughing.

Raka:    Well, are they helping?

Malaki:  Don’t swallow-

Raka:    You made it worse! Why are you giving her leafs that make her cough!

Lyn:     Why isn’t that the first thing you tell me!

Malaki:  I didn’t expect you to swallow before you chew!

Lyn:     That’s what I always do! I thought you said these would help!

Malaki:  Not when you swallow them!

Lyn:     Yea well they taste terrible!

Malaki:  Swallow spit after you chew, spit out the leaf! Draws the water from your lungs.

Lyn:     Urg…

Raka:    Want a drink?

Lyn:     Hell no, I’ll pass. I’d rather not see water for the rest of the day.

Raka:    Anything to wash out the taste?

Lyn:     You know, breakfast would be nice. And while you’re so eager to make it up to me, why don’t you carry me up the hill?

Raka:    Don’t press it…

Lyn:     I’m not. I just had a near-death experience from which I barely recovered which- which you’re partially at fault for. I’m weak and shaky on my legs. I’m just a frail human, right?

Raka:    Fine. Just this once.

Lyn:     Yay! Backpacking Raka! Nice!

Raka:    Oh fiyar’ta- you’re heavier than you look!

Malaki:  I think she looks her weight.

Lyn:     Gee, thank you! You’re calling me fat again!

Raka:    Here, at least hold my bag and bow.

Lyn:     Sure. Hey, Didn’t you say they won’t be an issue when the Sun rises?

Raka:    Yea?

Lyn:     Well, look there. The dawn is breaking-

Auril:   Haha, you heard that? At the beginning? I figured out how to merge several shorter recordings on the same sphere. Now that’s going to save me a lot of spheres. And they are quite costly…
That’s about as much of my to-do list I managed to work on, since the last recording, though. Raka has only been gone for 5 days, and while that isn’t unusually long for patchers, her absence is starting to be noticeable. The Magistrate had to reassign the students from her class to the other Akasars, even I got one of her students… apparently he… they have a broken soul. They’re deaf… or rather, very hard of hearing, but they’re preparing to get a rune enchantment that will allow them to hear the things on the aetherweb. Just like Raka. Not the same thing as hearing what people say, but at least it will allow them to pursue a career as patcher, help other people like them. But… this kind of got me thinking… I had hoped the windshell would be helpful to future patchers, but now… I suppose I really need to make transcripts for these recordings, so they would be useful even to people like that. So if you’re a quick writer and interested, please get in touch with me via the established contacting methods. Auril (at)-Rune Trilunis dot com or via (at)-Rune Trilunis if you want to send me Bird-chirps, message me on the book with the face on it, or the instant picture album. Anyway, date of recording was Calvanuka on the 99th day of Bäkkos, 5th year of the Vær in the 101st generation.
Vocal enchantments were woven by Kessir Riliniki, Carollyn Monterola, Eyþór Viðarsson and Travis Vengroff. With Crowd-noises by Hem Brewster, Karim Kronfli, Matthew Boudreau, Whitney Johnson and Tal Minear.
Music-Shells provided by Fuimadane.
Audio-Enhancements by Sarah Buchynski of Polarity Audio Works.
Written and Produced by Kessir Riliniki.