Ragnar had heard of this new place in the Barrens, a new area to heal, and had decided to make the trek. After all, he was curious. What new and previously undiscovered form of destruction had the Others wreaked upon this land? The possibilities were endless. So he and Suma had traveled through the Barrens, following the river until they found Mistfruit Forest. A dead excuse for a forest, rotten corpses of trees everywhere and behind it, what looked to be a dammed lake holding back untold amounts of water from the parched land.
Ragner's lip curled in disdain as he stared upon this new sight. The anger in him grew as he took in the sight of the lake sitting on one side and the barren wasteland on the other. These foul creatures, the Others. Was there no end to the destruction? That rage was much of the reason he rarely visited the Ruins - too much evidence of the ghastly work left behind by those savage beasts.
"Look at this, Suma," he said in a low growl. "All this water. Nowhere for it to go. It's overfull, but nobody is here to let the water out."
"This is a land where gifts like yours will help, Ragnar," the faery observed, flitting along beside him as he made his way down to the lake.
"Yes... But I need more," he said, sounding uncharacteristically frustrated. "I need to be able to do more to make my mark."
The faery alighted on Ragnar's withers and folded his wings tight to his body. "I could help," he offered, flapping his leafy ears.
Ragnar tilted an ear back at the familiar. "What do you propose?"
"My talents lie in finding things," Suma said, his voice a rapid chitter. "Which is not healing the land, but perhaps I can help you find equipment that can. Plus, I have my own share of fighting ability."
Ragnar smiled at his friend. "You do, certainly, Suma. I quite like this idea."
He looked about him. The ceremony required plants. Quite inconveniently, they found themselves in the middle of a dead forest with few living creatures in it, much les living plants. He furrowed his brow. "We'll have to take a few hours to find the offerings," he said. "Meet me by the dam at dusk."
The faery took off, and Ragnar turned back to the forest in search of his own offering. Hours of peering high and low didn't particularly appeal to him, and when he found an odd-looking leaf that seemed to be clinging to its last legs, he snatched it and returned to the dam. They were both punctual creatures by nature, and Ragnar returned to find Suma waiting for him atop the dam.
The little dragon saw him coming, and leaped off the dam, only to snap his wings open and glide to the ground with a surprising sense of grace. "Ragnar, we may be able to use some of this water for the ceremony," he said. Together, they made the trek around the dam, coming to a stop by the overfull lake, where each of them dipped their leaves into the water and carefully scooped out a little dollop of liquid. They laid these leaves side by side, and Suma said, "You can use your ability to remove the water, and that will be our ceremony."
Ragnar nodded, reaching for the sense of magic thrumming inside him. He drew on it, imagining the water in the leaves evaporating as he exercised his Spillway ability. The water vanished, rising into the air as particles.
One moment, they were watching the water, and the next, it seemed they were in a dead forest. It might have been Mistfruit, but Ragnar didn't recognize it. He looked up, spotting a bundle of seeds high up in the branches. "We need to retrieve those," Ragnar said looking at Suma.
"That oughtn't be hard," The faery said, using Ragnar as a perch as he clambered up to the top of the noulicorn's horn and leaped into flight.
"Watch the left," Ragnar cautioned as Suma flew. The faery glanced in that direction, and adjusted course to avoid a cluster of sinister-looking branches that could have snared him. "Good, now see that little light area where the branches are thin? Go up through there."
Suma listened, jetting through the little opening and circling back to snag the packet of seeds. "Easy," the faery chittered, dropping them down through a carefully-aligned hole in the branches. The seeds landed with barely a sound, and Ragnar moved to pick them up as Suma hopped off the branch and gently floated back down. "But good heads-up. I might have hit those branches if I hadn't noticed."
Ragnar nodded. "That's what a partner is for."
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