“Perhaps you should lead,” Oda said, “since you seem to know more than the rest of us.”
Aloisia raised a brow at Inari, having expected him to lead the prayer.
He shrugged. “As you will.”
“What exactly is this supposed to do?” Oda asked.
“We shall see,” the shaman replied over his shoulder. “Go ahead, Aloisia.”
Silence fell around them. All Aloisia knew of the old gods was from what Brighde had told her. Ritual dances and sacrifices had been commonplace, but she knew little of their forms of prayer.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to approach it as she would when addressing the Divines. She placed a hand on the stone altar and the others followed suit. “Great Hawk, I call upon thee to proffer guidance in our pursuit of this map and what may lie at the end of it.”
A hush stretched around them as they awaited any sign they’d been heard.
“That’s all you’re saying?” Oda asked after a long moment.
Aloisia stared at her. “What else should I say?”
“I don’t know. I thought it would be more than one line.”
Kaja clicked her tongue. “How do we know if it’s worked?”
Inari shrugged again. “It did not say to await any signs.”
“Then, by the Divines, let’s get moving.” Oda hauled Inari to his feet. “Where to next shaman?”
A cry called high above. They all cast their gazes upwards.
“A hawk,” Aloisia said in wonder. “It worked.”
Inari grinned. “And now, we follow it to the Giant’s Teeth.”
“We follow a hawk?” Oda blanched. “You can’t be serious?”
“There are two huntresses with us. Tracking will not be an issue.”
“The Giant’s Teeth?” Aloisia murmured. “I’ve not heard of those.” She looked back to the sky, watching the hawk swoop towards the east.
“I must admit this is odd,” Kaja said, “but nothing about this has been ordinary. What’s tracking a hawk to an unknown place?”
Kaja started eastwards, and the rest followed. Oda turned back to Ragnar, clearly uneasy to be down one guard as they travelled through the woods. But, for Aloisia, it was one less guard to deal with when the time came to make good on her promise to Inari.
“Do you want to go higher?” Aloisia asked. “The canopy can get quite dense nearer the mountains.”
Kaja nodded. “My thoughts exactly. Into the trees I go.” As soon as she found a tree with low enough branches to climb up, she disappeared into the treetops.
The hawk’s call was still audible as they traipsed through the forest. Kaja shouted down instructions, jumping from tree to tree. Had it not been for her injury, Aloisia would have been up there. It frustrated her, along with the throbbing of her ribs. The further they travelled, the more she tired, using the trees to support herself as she walked.
“Are you well?” Inari asked.
She nodded, waving away his concern. She had to be. There was no going back now. She couldn’t lose one more moment, not when there was another trial the following day.
Inari offered his arm, and she looped her own with it, using his strength to support her. “If not for these chains, I could do something about it,” he murmured.
She smiled her thanks, though she well knew the cost he would pay for such magic.
Aloisia wasn’t sure how much time had passed, nor how far they had travelled, when Kaja appeared from the canopy.
