Tanisha woke up to a face full of notifications with her mental projection magic. Apparently she had leveled up a few times and needed to allocate her points by the end of the day or they would be automatically assigned.

Unassigned Cultivation Points Distribution

You have leveled up 7 time(s) without assigning your UCP.
You have 70 UCP
Please assign all UCP within 12 hour(s) or UCP will be automatically assigned.
Assign [yes/no]

She closed the mental projection and yawned. She needed to talk to Joha before assigning anything. That’s when her eyes opened wide as flashes of the night prior played in her mind. 

Tanisha sat up quickly, only to hit her head on a low shelf. She cursed under her breath, looking around. She was in the back of the goblin’s wagon; the piles of miscellaneous items told her that. She rolled out from under a rather precarious shelf and walked to the back of the wagon.

She tugged on the magical connection to locate Bjorn, but didn’t need to. As soon as she opened the tailgate she saw him looking at her with two of his three heads. The last was keeping watch. Her eyes opened wide when she saw the now large green hydra watching her.

“Bjorn, baby!” She jumped from the wagon and wrapped herself around him as best she could. “I am so-so happy you’re okay! You are okay, right?”

Bjorn was not prepared to be jumped on. He lost balance and fell over on his side. . She stayed latched on to him for a while before finally letting go and helping him get back on his feet. She nuzzled each of his heads, being sure to show him as much affection as she could to make up for the days he had been unconscious. 

“Now that you’re so big I guess I will call you my big-man from now on, but you are still my baby, okay?” she said as she petted him. “Now, where is everyone?”

There was no one in the merchant camp; she followed Bjorn’s gaze to the refugee camp.

“Well, that makes sense.” She was quiet for a long while. “Sabec, did you kill him?” 

Bjorn shook his heads no. 

“You should have. This was… He, why would he do this? I thought he was a friend but he-woah-woah!”

Tanisha let out a less than flattering screech when she was suddenly lifted off the ground by Bjorn's long tail, which had snaked around her waist. She was placed on his back, which had a saddle she hadn’t noticed until it was under her. Bjorn’s heads all hissed uncontrollably in a way she had not heard before. She felt his emotions and could tell he was laughing at her.

She would have been upset if she wasn’t so damn happy she had a mount. She didn’t know how big Bjorn was going to be when he fully matured, but she hadn’t expected she would be able to saddle him for at least five years, if ever. Her equestrian training allowed her to balance herself, and she held onto the saddle horn for greater stabilization.

“Okay-okay get it out of your system,” Tanisha said as she petted his side. “Oh, we found out what you are. Apparently Joha had an idea that turned out to be true.” 

All of Bjorn’s heads turned around to face her. 

“Oh, you aren’t laughing at me now, huh?” She turned her nose up at him in mock hurt.

Bjorn’s middle head nuzzled her, and after a second she broke character and returned the gesture. 

“Fine-fine geez, why are you so cute my big man.” Tanisha tapped his snout with a finger. “You are a Lernaean Hydra, either a greater or a True. If you are a True your mom is a big deal in the Higher Planes. The Queen of a Thousand Heads, he called her. I hope you don’t grow that many heads.”

All of the survivors of the gnoll raid gathered around six pyres as the dead were sent off. The gnolls were chopped up to prevent them from becoming undead and buried somewhere out in the field. For the wendigo to be buried is to deny the soul a return to the forest, and thus the Forest Father. There was no greater disrespect to the dead than to deny them proper rest.

Tanisha was happy to see that Joha, the goblin family, Tyr and Hrolf were alive and well. The pyres had been burning for some time so she couldn’t identify any of the dead. She looked around to see if she noticed anyone missing. She saw Unn in the crowd, the woman who helped her brew the potions when the village was attacked. Unn also had a son that was attending the Dorsehal Academy in the Salstar Domain. 

Tanisha looked around more and saw Snorri on his hands and knees near one of the pyres. Several people were holding on to the wendigo as he wept. His wife, Solveig, the elder who gave Tanisha her first accessory, was nowhere to be seen. Tanisha's heart sank as she reached up and touched the only accessory tied to her tiara.

After the funeral concluded, Hrolf and the men of the village gathered to talk. They invited Tanisha and the merchants to join them in the discussion. Now that there were so few defenders they were more anxious than ever to continue. In total nine gnoll females had been killed. Three in the main camp, one at the merchant camp, and Joha alone had dispatched five including the leader. 

Tanisha was shocked that Joha was able to take out so many of them by himself. For a demon that claimed to be done with chasing power he was really damn powerful. She was more shocked when they claimed she was responsible for killing three of the gnolls. The one in the merchant camp and two in the main camp. Apparently Bjorn had used some poison skill that led to their victory. 

Tanisha tried to deny their praise, but any kill from her familiar was a reflection of her bond and her strength in wendigo culture. She knew that legally speaking all of Bjorn’s actions were her actions; since he was her familiar for all intent and purposes she killed three gnolls. It didn’t feel right taking the credit, but Bjorn didn’t seem to mind.

“We leave as soon as everyone is ready,” Hrolf said, closing out the meeting. “We don’t stop until we arrive at Lavi. Everyone is dismissed. Tanisha, Joha, please stay.”

Everyone vacated except Tyr and Kolbein, and for some reason Tanisha felt as though she was in trouble. Hrolf was a figure that exuded authority; his gaze was intense. Kolbein, his father, was an elder and Tanisha had a deep respect for all elders. Then there was Tyr; she wasn’t fully sure why but the fact he was there made her all the more nervous. 

“I wanted to thank you both again personally,” Hrolf said with a quiver in his voice. “I have failed my people twice now and would have lost it all if not for you both.” He composed himself. “When we arrive at Lavi and meet with the rest of the village I will give you anything I can offer.”

“What a generous offer, but I feel as though it is a little misplaced. If we had not gone to your village, Sabec would not have attacked your people,” Joha stated.

“If you had not gone to our village we would have been wiped out by druids,” Kolbein said matter of factly. “If you had not come to our village, who is to say that the gnolls would not have targeted our people returning from Lavi in a few days. No, our gratitude is not so fickle as to blame you for the actions of those mangy dogs.”

“Tanisha, it is my understanding that you are shai,” Hrolf stated. The word meant she had a shaigaunt performed that removed her from her family. “It would normally be customary for me to ask your father, but instead I will have to ask you in the presence of your master.” He looked at Tyr and motioned for him to move forward. “I know that you are acquainted with my son, Tyr.”

Tyr stepped forward, his face beet red from embarrassment as he walked up to Tanisha. He knelt down in front of her, which made Tanisha want to run as she realized what was happening.

“I would like to arrange a marriage between you, Tanisha Scalebound, and my son,” Hrolf continued. “Of course the wedding will wait until you are both of the proper age.”

Tyr held out a white ribbon with silver in the stitching; it had several white feathers along the length and was quite possibly one of the most beautiful engagement ribbons Tanisha had ever seen. Even without touching it she could feel the mana protection enchantments within the item, preventing it from getting dirty or damaged. 

“I-I know this, this is sudden,” Tyr said, somehow turning a brighter shade of red. “But, I am interested in you and I swear I will make you happy and I will get strong enough to protect you and Bjorn from anything we will face. If you take this gift and place it upon your beautiful tiara I will love you until we one day join again with the great Forest Father.”

Tanisha’s mind blanked; what in the Higher Planes was going on? She looked back and forth between Tyr, Joha, Hrolf and Kolbein. Marriage was the last thing on her mind, right now she just needed to get stronger. She looked again to Joha, who remained silent, and she could tell he didn’t want to interfere in her love life even if she desperately wished he would. Fair enough, he was her master and not her parent.

“We do understand that this was sudden, Tanisha,” Hrolf said. “By taking the engagement ribbon you would acknowledge Tyr and we will give you time to think it over. If you accept the engagement, simply put it on your tiara, and if you decline, return it.”

“How long will she have to think it over? After we leave Lavi we will be headed to the Mesha Kingdom,” Joha added.

“Mesha? Hmm. Before you leave will suffice,” Hrolf said.

“Then…uh, I will hold on to your ribbon and consider your offer,” Tanisha said as she took the outstretched offering. “I thank you all for your consideration and you, Tyr, for your feelings. Now-now, please stand up. I… I have to get ready to leave now.”

Tanisha turned and ran to Bjorn. She jumped onto the saddle and told him to go quickly before she died of embarrassment. 

*****Author Note****
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