Loreling Karaxa

Part 2, The Road to Tel Anor

A few hours later, Karaxa was back on the road. Normally, they wouldn't have N'ga out in public outside of emergency circumstances, but the road ahead was rarely used and cut through a forest, giving it good coverage from most sides. Even if N'ga could be a little harsh sometimes, he was good company on the road.
"You really screwed up back there Kar. In case you've forgotten, we're supposed to be uncovering forgotten lore, not sampling the local delicacies."
"Ugh, it pains me to think of that man back there was a 'delicacy' I sampled, but that's what it's like when I'm drunk. Sober I could entertain a monarch with my quips and tricks and win the admiration of a whole noble's feast. Drunk, well... I think we've both seen too much of what happens then. I've got the taste of a sailor 90 days gone from shore, and the desperation of one to boot."
"Did you find anything even remotely useful in that bundle of sticks they call a town? You know the contact's in Tel Anor and they are going to want at least something to go off."

"In a manner of speaking, yes." Karaxa bragged. "Before my second tankard I had formulated a rather erudite plan to extract information from the locals. As luck would have it, I wrote down my findings before I blacked out."

Karaxa produced a blotted piece of parchment from a pocket at their side. On it was drawn a crude map, one marker with a doodle of a village with a 'you are here' written next to it, another marker on the far side, much more lovingly sketched, was Tel Anor, labelled in cursive script. Between the two points, nestled between what appeared to be a pair of lakes was an 'X'."

"See N'ga, that's got to mean something. A point of interest between the village and Tel Anor, we just keep our eyes peeled for the lake pair and 'Bam!' we've found it!"
"Found what exactly, Kar? An X?"

Karaxa's face flushed in response. They had been anticipating this kind of response, but it was still embarrassing to be confronted with it."I'm sure the X had great meaning, N'ga. If it hadn't, I wouldn't have written it down." The bard tapped the side of their head knowingly, and gave their best conspiratorial smile."So what you're saying is you have no idea what it is."

"What I'm saying is that it's something! Something important no doubt! And that's why we're heading there. A brief detour before Tel Anor so we have something to feed the Keeper's messenger boy. It should buy us a little time to come across something concrete. The answers are out there, N'ga, I just know it. We're going to find out where this world came from, and why it's here."

N'ga groaned audibly. "You know, I've served a dozen Lorelings in the past, and I don't think any were as thick as you. Don't get me wrong, you've got good skills, and can recount a hundred tales verbatim, but when my last partner swore into the Lorekeeper's order their oath was to date when the first comedic play was put into writing 'Adventures of the Assless Ass'. The one before that, a bit more ambitious I'll admit, swore to find a schematic for a forgotten Dwarven mechanism. Both fulfilled their oaths and are now retired and wealthy. But you, dolt that you are, swore to uncover how the world came to be. Don't you think you could've picked something a little more... achievable?" 

"This again?" Karaxa looked askance, wounded even.
"What's the worth in doing something like attributing an unauthored poem to someone in particular. What kind of useless lore is that? No, N'ga. We're uncovering all of it. ALL OF IT. Either that or I die trying. No arguments!"The wyrm had a mix of respect and pity all at once for the Loreling's impossible dream. Though his immortal form would outlive Karaxa, it pained him to think the bard's life would be lived in vain, never rising to Lorekeeper, or even completing their first oath. Though in a way, he did also enjoy watching the struggle. So many Lorelings in the past had ventured around with him a few months or years and then achieved their aims. For N'ga, this meant heading back to the Astral plane until his next summoning and binding to a new Loreling. With Karaxa, however, he would at least have consistent company for a good deal of time. A few decades worth, if they weren't ingested by mimics at any rate.