With the hell hound finally fallen, the abrupt return of the unnaturall stillness of the ruined city is eerie. The only sounds are your own laboured breathing and the clinking of the still-cooling rubble of your foe.
Tim just looks at his hands from his seated position on the ground, seemingly still in shock as the adrenaline drains out of him slowly. "I can NOT have just done that..." he repeats numbly.
Brian is likewise absorbed with studying his own hands. "That was," he begins, frowning, before shaking his head abruptly. "I'm kind of blown away, here. My sorry and out-of-shape ass is hurting here. So, I've got a stitch in my side, and that kind of hammers home the whole 'this ain't a dream' thing. On the one hand, I feel great that we managed to kill a lava dog."
He pauses briefly, then adds, "But damn, that thing scared the hell out of me. I think, uh. I think we should get away from what's left of it." He blinks, looking up at his friends and adding, "So, everyone's okay, right?"
Nathan - who was busy staring at the remains of whatever the hell that was - nods in response to the question, looking across at Brian to make sure that his gesture is seen.
Nodding back at Nathan, Brian relaxes faintly. Then he turns to Tim, who seems to know what he was doing. "So, this is like some uncomical version of El Hazard, huh? Any minute now and the Bugrom will attack." As he says this, he actually tries to use his keen hearing to detect any nearby sources of sound -- or movement -- if he can.
The wind doesn't bring you any hint of things stirring, other than yourselves. Of course, given that the hell hound sprang fully formed from the ground....
"I'll take your word for it - never saw it myself," Tim says, slowly getting back to his feet. "I mean, I know I FELT a bit faster and stronger, but... for god's sake, I just BROKE a freaking lava dog with a rock the size of my head. I was staring down its THROAT and still managed to get out of the way!"
It's an interesting conversation, but Nathan tunes it out for the moment . . . he's trying to work out how to turn himself back into normal-Rez.
Quote from: "Rezantis"It's an interesting conversation, but Nathan tunes it out for the moment . . . he's trying to work out how to turn himself back into normal-Rez.
The voice of... Erik Paitrsson, you realize abrupty, whispers to you, telling you how to "touch the heart of flesh within you," before returning to a low moaning of fright.
Well, Nathan tries to . . . wait.
He's moaning in fright? How long's he been doing that and what's he moaning about - just the dog?
Quote from: "Rezantis"Well, Nathan tries to . . . wait.
He's moaning in fright? How long's he been doing that and what's he moaning about - just the dog?
The moaning in fright is, in fact, about the dog. The one word that you can pull out of that chaotic mess is "Dragon."
Nathan ponders this for a second, then goes to voice something andd realizes he can't.
Grr.
So instead he tries to do what he did before to turn into . . . this . . . in the first place. Whatever 'touch the heart of flesh inside himself' means.
And back into human are you turned. To Brian and Tim, you rather abruptly shrink down into normal size, though the most visually dramatic effect is the sudden shift away from the monochrome hues of iron.
You also realize at this point that you feet have sunken into the soft loam that was under the torn-up cobblestones, and unlike your golem form, you don't have the strength to rip your feet free without thinking.
Brian is initially awestruck by Nathan's transformation -- especially since it maintained modesty. Then he realizes that Nathan's stuck, and can't help but snicker quietly. "Need, uh, a hand, Pinky?"
Without waiting for a reply, Brian goes to Nathan's side to help extricate him.
Tim heads over to help extricate the ex-golem, except that Brian seems to have it well in hand. "I think the question in mind at this point is 'okay, that was freaky as hell - but now what?' And honestly, I think getting the hell out of here sounds like a very good suggestion - I have no idea if that was the only one of those things here, and I'd rather not find out if it had a big brother."
Nathan, with Brian's help, eventually manages to get his feet mobile again.
"We gotta move, yeah. Anyone know where they're going, though?"
To refresh memory on what's been previously established: Brian's supaa-hearing established that the city you're on is on some sort of island. You originally headed to the east side of the island; the water flow is narrowest and slowest on the west side. The acquired memories of the humans tell them that they are in Primhaem, and that the humans of this world live to the north of Primhaem in the Hold.
Having no non-Brian memories to access at the moment, Brian turns towards Tim, who's seemed leadery at times, and also doesn't lose the ability to talk when he hulks out. "So, where do you think we should go next?" While working on helping Nathan out of the ground, he also realizes to ask, "Say, we were all sent here by that redhead, right? What exactly did she want us to do?"
"If these memories are right, there's some human settlements to the north of here - the Hold, I think. First step is getting out of this city, though - not particularly crazy about it to begin with and that dog didn't help a bit."
He shakes his head. "And I wish I knew why we were here - all she ended up asking me was what I thought was 'heroic'. Maybe we're supposed to be some kind of heroes here, I dunno."
"She either intends for us to be heroes of some sort, or she has a sick sense of humour. Take your pick, It's going to be interesting times whichever way we look at it."
Nathan shrugs.
"Let's just get off this island before something else bad happens."
"Your statement is rife with plannitude," Brian agrees, before pausing. "I wish I had my cigarettes on me." Another pause, during which he glances at the two who seem to know what's going on here. "Do these people have cigarettes? Ah, I bet they don't." With a sigh, he starts following Tim, eager to be out of the city and towards whatever passes for civilization around here.
Tim makes a beeline for the way off the island/peninsula thingy, from Brian's earlier directions, quite prepared to get out of the silent city himself. Assuming, of course, that they don't run into any more fiery dogs of doom(tm) on the way out, of course.
Once off the island, he turns his steps northward, searching his memories for the best way to the Hold.
As well as whether or not Brian's Quest for Smokes will prove fruitless or not.
Your fight with the hellhound left a massive swathe of devastation about you. As you make your way clear of the mess, and head west towards the edge of Primhaem, you realize that the same sort of devastation exists everywhere in the ruined city, but weather, plant life, and time has smoothed over the edges.
It doesn't take you long to reach the edge of the island-city, and you're there before noon. On the western bank, the river runs over a shallow ford, gravel-bottomed and quite wide. Spread out before you is a massive forest, which can only be described as primeval. The trees tower above you, massive oaks and hickories reaching a hundred feet into the air. Not a trace of smoke can be seen in the gunmetal-grey sky over the endless sea of green.
Fording the river is no simple matter. At its deepest, you find, the water reaches no more than to your knees, but the water flows quickly, and the footing is slippery. With his new found dexterity, Tim faces little problems, but in the end, Nathan is forced to switch into his golem form and carry Brian across, with the river tugging at his ponderous steps the whole way.
Once on the other side, you turn northward. The river is your best guide back to the Hold, your memories tell you, though they as they also provide, it soon proves difficult to keep it in sight. The banks are as steep as they were on the far side of Primhaem, and thick thornbushes wall the river. Within an hour's hike, Tim finds himself forced to climb trees periodically to confirm your course.
It is not easy to judge time, as the sky is blocked by the canopy of leaves, letting only the dimmest of green-filtered light down to guide your steps. The oaks are spaced far apart, and there is no undergrowth, or indeed even grass, that can survive under the light- and rain-blocking arboreal roof. Feeling like children, you make your way over a thick carpet of dried leaves, dwarfed on all sides by treetrunks the girth of a modest house.
Despite the lack of plant-life, the going is not easy at first, as the footing is uneven. It isn't until much later, when Brian sweeps leaves aside to find a comfortable place to sit on your first rest break, that you realize that you have been trudging over a garden of bones. As you continue your journey, sick to the heart, you have no choice but to disturb the remains of a thousand fallen soldiers, forgotten in these timeless woods.
You have no choice but to make camp early, as nightfall is abrupt as the sun sinks below the treeline. Surrounded by dry leaves, fire is not an option, and you spend a restless night after sparingly eating from your cold rations.
The next day's travel is more pleasant, however. As you get further north, the bones thin and then disappear, giving you easier and far less morbid progress. It is not long after that Brian's ears pick up the first sound of (natural) life since arriving in this world, as a squirrel, taken by surprise at your arrival, dashes out from the leaves and up a tree. With every step you take away from Primhaem, more and more life becomes obvious, and by the time noon comes about (an assessment you were able to make when hauling yourselves over the charred remnants of an oak shattered and fallen by a bolt of lightning, leaving the first clearing you've seen), it doesn't take magical winds whispering in your ears to listen to a continuous cacophony of squirrels chattering, bird calls, and the rustles of small animals.
It does, however, takes elvish magic to hear a distant crash and cries.
Brian perks up and points in the direction of the noise. "I heard something," he says quickly, trying to listen more closely. "Someone, I think."
Brian tries to get more information on what he's hearing, going so far as to throw his senses out across the wind before they close in with people who may or may not slaughter people who use Fae magic on sight. Or heck, people who hate trekkies, since he's still wearing that shirt.
Tim frowns a bit at that. "Any idea how far away? I can't hear anything but the forest." He keeps his voice low, since Brian appears to be concentrating.
Brian can make out very little; the sounds are at the limit of his hearing range. It sounds like people are being hurt badly, though, and whatever is doing the hurting must be doing a fair bit of collateral damage. The sounds are also coming from the north, though a bit farther to the west -- if you keep on your current path, you'll be skirting close to the source of the noise.
"It's a fight," Brian says slowly, squinting in that direction before admitting to himself that his hearing surpasses his eyesight in this regard. "I'm not sure what it is; people are getting hurt, though. It's at the edge of my hearing -- do we want to get involved?"
"Guess that depends on whether we want to be heroes or not, right?" Tim smiles wanly. "I'd say it's worth at least getting a closer look at - if nothing else it's other people to deal with, and we can decide what to do better if we get more info about what's going on."
"Okay," Brian agrees, guiding Tim and Nathan into the forest towards the sounds. As he walks, he taked the bow from his shoulder, not nocking an arrow yet. "But if it's humans, I'm not using any Fae magic around them. I get the idea that'd be bad."
"How far?" Nathan asks, somewhat antsy at the slow pace.
It's hard for Brian to be sure of the distance -- perhaps half a mile? Certainly farther than a quarter mile, since this is as far as he can actually control the winds, and the disturbance, whatever it is, is beyond that.
"Uh ... more than a quarter mile, I'd guess," Brian says, frowning. "I'm not sure yet. Noticing Nathan's anxiety, Brian opts to try and move in fast bursts, stopping every so often to use his nifty-keen sonar-hearing to ping the target until their approach vector and distance are confirmed.
It takes you about five minutes to get closer; Brian has no problems homing on the signs of battle. You can tell you're getting close when you find yourself face to face with the unhappily familiar form of a half-melted rock statue, all that's left of a hellhound.
Just up ahead, you can make out flashing forms; the battle is apparently moving around. At this distance, Brian can hear that there are two hellhounds, and three humanoids -- all chanting in elvish. As you come level with the molten statue, one of the voices cut outs.
"Hold on," Brian says sharply, trying to keep his voice low as he halts abruptly. "They're speaking Fae."
Rez skids to a stop himself, not totally sure which way to be going still. "So . . . they're Fae . . . fighting what?"
"At a guess," Brian says dryly, pointing at the molten remnants of a molten rock-hound, "two more of those. And one of the Fae just dropped. I hear two more chanting at the dogs. That's what it sounds like, anyway. I think it's the same spell I used to cool the last one.
"But I don't know what we should do here. We could probably help them, but we may not be automatic and fast friends -- still, we'd probably better choose fast. Like, within the next fifteen seconds, or else the choice will probably be made for us."
"I say we go myself," Tim says after debating for a moment. "That hound back in the city didn't seem to have any problems tracking us down, so if these two drop the Fae what's to stop them from coming after us? Better to take them down first since we know for sure they're not going to be friendly, and then sort out the Fae after."
"Agreed . . . don't know if we actually want to help them, but . . ." Nathan looks at Brian "You don't speak Fae, do you?"
"I do, actually," Brian says, already heading towards the battle since he's the slowest. "I have to, to use their magic."
Heading towards the battle, Brian mentally prepares himself to hit the first dog he sees with a wind blast -- that worked well last time. The Fae will probably freak at the iron-bound Nathan-collosus, if they don't cry over watching mega-Tim break the sound barrier on foot. But if that doesn't do it, at least they can contend with an arrogant human wearing a star-treck shirt who steals their magic.
In the time it takes you to race to the sight, a second Fae voice cuts out -- thought not before ending the spell that Brian recognized.
When you arrive on the scene, two hellhounds are squaring off a single Fae, who seems to be wounded, with one arm hanging limply, but alive... for the moment. One of the hellhound shows the same cracked and weakened hide that helped you end the battle so decisvely last time. As you burst on to the scene, the other hellhound leaps for the other Fae, but is seized in midair by ropes of earth that leap out on cooly-uttered command.
Let's see if we can handle this without an IRC session. You've taken everyone flatfooted with your arrival, so you'll get a free Turn of action. Technically, the order is: Hal, Hal, Nathan, Brian, Hal, Hal, Nathan, Brian; feel free to post a summary of your overall strategy, and I can run it from there.
OOCness!
My strategy is as follows: Phase 1, locate large stick (you'd mentioned on AIM that there's a fallen tree here that I could probably wrench a decent club off of). Approach enemy.
Phase 2 and following: Smash weakened puppies with club if available, hold until the pansy elf or Brian can weaken the other if this has not happened yet. No haymakers for now, though, just straightforward smacktification.
If the mutts decide to come after me, I shall abort to dodge and hope to hell they think Iron Rez is a better snack than I am.
Apply my CSL to damage for this fight, since I can claim proficiency in beating things with large sticks and thus do not need the boost to OCV.
OOC:
Rez shall draw his sword, drop his backpack, engage IronRez Mode, and smash things, focusing on the unhurt hellhound when it breaks out of it's snare.
If one looks to be going for Brian I'll try and catch it, but I'm slow enough I think that I can't really do that for everyone.
EDIT: Besides, I'm sure the other two can take care of themselves!
Brian reaches for his bow, fumbles it to the ground, then remembers to use magic and target the still-active lavadog with an energy blast. At the same time, before casting the spell, he shouts out, "Get the monsters," in the Fae tongue.
OOC: EB, bracing, +1 with ranged combat used for OCV. If anything actually attacks me, abort to dodge.
Faster than anyone's eyes can follow, Tim snatches up a hefty-six foot oak branch from the ground and races across the clearing. Before the wounded hellhound has a chance to react, he smashes its skull in. As before, the rocky skin shatters and the lava flows out -- but there is a new variable this time. As the molten rock touches the carpet of dried leaves, a bonfire is lit, and while the corpse of the monster soon solidifies, it does not prevent the conflagration from swelling. The sudden blast of fire takes Tim off-guard, and he stumbles after landing his blow, scrambling away.
Nathan, seeing this, shifts slightly as he assumes his Crafter form, trying to shield Brian both from the remaining hellhound and the leaping flames. But just as he moves to the fore, the hellhound breaks free of his earthen prison. Stones fly out, and the largest of them smashes into Nathan's chest. While it does no injury to his iron hide, it does stagger him, and before he catches his balance, he manages to knock over Brian, interrupting his attempts to summon the winds.
When Nathan and Brian regain their balance, they quickly regain their guard, but the hellhound has with typical single-minded ferocity gone after its original prey. The wounded but still-fighting Fae stoically stands his ground, chanting steadily as the hellhound bounds toward him. He finishes his spell as the Hellhound takes its final leap into the air... and earth surges up around the spreading wildfire, smothering it. His strength apparently fails him as the spell finishes, and he drops to one knee. The maw of the hellhound misses as a result, but the Fae is sent flying backwards to smash into a tree as the bulk of the beast slams into him.
Thoughout all of this Brian has not been wasting time, and as Nathan and Tim stand ready, he finishes his incantation. There is an ominous creak as the oaks bend in towards you, bowing in the gale-force winds that rush into the clearing and then hammer into the hellhound. It howls in agony as the armour along his flank chills, cracks, and then collapses. Spinning nimbly on its injured leg, it turns from the fallen Fae and rushes at Brian.
Tim has been waiting for this, and rushes in from the side, thrusting his club at the weakened hide like a lance. Fast as Tim now is, however, the demon dog is just as quick. Tim's blow is slightly off-target, as the hound darts to the side, and while it widens the wound, it does not finish it off.
But it does slow it, and before it is Nathan. With a massive overhead blow, he brings his greatsword down onto the hound's head. Off-balance from Tim's strike, the hound has no chance to dodge. The head is flattened, and the body awkwardly flips over the point of impact, spraying drops of lava through the air. Most of it cools and solidifies in mid-air, with the unnatural swiftness that marks the hellhound's death, but they are still hot enough when they land to make leaves smoulder and start to burn whereever they land.
"Dammit!" Tim swears, dropping the branch quickly as he moves to stamp out the largest of the flames - a blanket would be really handy right about now, but he doesn't have time to rummage through the packs for one.
"Are we okay?" Brian asks rather dazedly. "That was fast." After a moment he remembers that the Fae don't speak English.
In Fae, he asks, "Are you okay?" After that, Brian will heal anyone who needs it, though everyone looks to be okay, just alarmed.
Nathan drags his eyes away from the fire to fix them on the fae - trying not to make any hostile moves, ubt watching him very closely in case he tries something.
It doesn't take Tim long to put out the incipient fires, though he does manage to give himself a nasty blister in doing so.
The Fae doesn't reply, though he does shift around a little at Brian's remark. After making sure that everyone else is in good shape, Brian carefully makes his way over to the Fae. He hesitates for a second, and then somewhat self-conciously mutters the words to a healing spell. Within seconds, the worst of the Fae's injuries seem to vanish.
The Fae has been quiet through all of this, watching Brian unblinkingly with lizard-like eyes. When the healing is done, he does not immediately react, continuing to study Brian carefully. Nathan's hulking form, hovering protectively over Brian, draws the Fae's gaze briefly, and then he rises so smoothly it does not seem to be abrupt.
Seemingly ignoring all of you, he makes his way over to the other Fae in the clearing, who you have not seen move since you arrived. Without saying a word, he kneels over him.
"Can we offer any assistance?" Brian tries, reasoning that at least the Fae doesn't see them as apparent threats.
Still seemingly ignoring you, the Fae mutters a quick spell, and his fallen friend's eyes open. His eyes dart around, and then, faster than your eyes can follow, he surges to his feet, knife at the ready.
Before he can lunge at Brian, however, the first Fae speaks (in Fae) for the first time: "Not Betrayers. Others." With that, the second Fae freezes, and begins to study the three of you carefully.
Fae studies the Fae for a moment, thinking about this. Trying to make a positive impression, Brian tells Nathan and Tim, "I think we can talk things out."
Realizing how stupid that was to say a moment later, he raises a hand to indicate himself and his friends, saying in Fae, "We are harmless." He realizes that sounds stupid, too, and it takes a moment for sense of the fact that Fae uses a different word structure to come to Brian. "We desire peace," he says instead, hoping he can puzzle out any cultural issues before it gets to a point of him being stabbed.
The second Fae studies Brian for a long second, and then turns to face the first Fae, who nods. At that signal, the second Fae takes off running, the long loping stride of a long-distance runner. Within seconds, he's lost to the south.
The remaining Fae does not watch him go, but instead faces Brian. "You are Others," he says simply, as if that explains everything.
Brian thinks about this, and while he's thinking about it, translates what he's discussed so far to Tim and Nathan. Since Brian doesn't mention his initial stumbling, this boils down to, "So, they say we're 'others', and not 'betrayers'. That sounds good."
"What are betrayers?" he asks in Fae.
"What are Others, for that matter? Have they caught on to the fact that we're, ah, not exactly from around here or something?"
"That's going to be the next question," Brian says to Tim with a smile.
"Betrayers," the Fae says patiently. "The not-you Others bear their marks. They made the Lock and the Seal."
"So, all not-you are Others?" Brian asks. "And what are Lock and Seal?"
"Only you are Others," says the Fae, pointing in turn at yourself, Nathan, and Tim. "We are not Others. The Betrayers were Others, but are no more. The Lock and the Seal are the Lock and the Seal."
"I'm not clear on what 'others' are," Brian says to Tim in English. "Apparently 'betrayers' are a subclass of 'others'. He also mentioned that the betrayers aren't others anymore. I'm not sure what that means, either. Or if I got that right. Um. He also mentioned something about the Lock and the Seal. Some non-us others created it, though he didn't elaborate on what it is. And, betrayers are marked by...." He trails off and blinks.
"What are the betrayer's marks?" he asks the Fae.
"The marks are the signs they have chosen for themselves," the Fae patiently explains. He points at Nathan, "This not-you is clearest, as he has the iron." He then points at Tim. "This one does not have the touch of iron, but I have seen him move, and it is the movement of the Betrayers in the East."
Brian faithfully echoes this back to Tim and Nathan. "I'm speculating that others means some kind of ... um ... magic-user, I guess. Whatever it is that we are, now," he adds. "Should I ask him about those three we ran into earlier? Especially, well ... the other Fae?"
"From the east, huh?" Tim rubs his chin, where stubble is already starting to appear - it itches, sadly. "Sounds like he's referring to the regular humans as Betrayers."
Looking at the Fae curiously, Tim switches over to the trade tongue, Yrisian. "Do you understand this tongue?" he asks the elvish-looking guy.
The Fae does not even look over at Tim.
After waiting for Nathan to reply, it finally occurs to Brian that either Nathan won't -- or as an iron-clad warrior, he can't. Clearing his throat, he turns back to the Fae and explains, "When we arrived, we encountered three...." He hesitates then, because he's not sure what word is approprite in Fae here. Eventually, he settles on, "Beings. Two were like us, and one was like you. Do you know of them?"
The Fae half-steps forward, and shows the closest thing to animation you've seen yet out of him. "There were Others here when you arrived?" he inquires eagerly.
Brian nods and answers, "Yes," before trying to launch into a description of the three he encountered, though he supposes they're rather stereotypical in his memory by now. It was a few days ago, at this point. He expects that his description pretty much amounts to, "One was Fae, two were not." But at least he tries.
The animation dissipates. "Those were Betrayers, not Others," the Fae points out. "What happened to Fenn?"
"Who is Fenn?"
"The Fae who you met," he replies. "He was sent to the Betrayer's first home to find you."
"Well, he found us," Brian says uncomfortably. "He, uh.... Well, he and the two Betrayers each touched one of us. Then they died."
The Fae nods at that.
Brian explains his conversation to his friends, asking, "So, since we appear to be at an amiable node for discussion, do you have any questions I should ask?" Realizing that Nathan is still mute, he directs this to Tim.
Tim thinks for a moment or two over what Brian's relayed. "He wasn't surprised at all that the three people we ran into when we arrived died like that? Does he know anything about WHY, if it's something he was expecting?"
"I'm not sure," Brian says slowly. "And his name means 'nine' now that I think about it. The guy seems kind of detatched emotionally, but maybe that's just how Fae are -- you'd remember better than I would."
Turning back to the Fae, Brian explains, "I am Brian. What is your name?" I can't just think of this guy as 'The Fae', now.'
After getting an answer from Mifanetya, which Brian mentions to Tim means, "thirty thousand and two". Turning his attention back to 30k2, he nods and asks, "Can you tell me about Fenn's mission? Do you know why he died when he touched me?"
Mifanetya shakes his head. "He was Fenn," he explains, "and I am Mifanetya."
"Actually, no," Tim replies dryly. "About all I 'remember' about them is that they're supposed to be killed on sight. If not sooner."
"Well, Mifanetya doesn't seem to know much more than we do," Brian says dryly. Turning back to the Fae, who Brian tries, "What was Fenn's function? Why was he in the forest?"
"He was sent to meet the Others," Mifanetya promptly replies. "Scouts reported that there were Betrayers on their way to Primhaem as well, and so I and Mifanetil were sent to assist Fenn. I do not know what Fenn was to do. This is why Mifanetil has returned."
Brian blinks at this. "He was sent to meet us?"
Mifanetya nods.
"Well, we have some good news," Brian decides, turning back to Tim. "Apparently Fenn was sent to meet us. It seems like they knew about the Betrayers after he left -- the big guy and the tattooed dude with him.
"Um. It seems like this guy, Mifanetya, is a real stickler for orders. So right now he was sent to find Fenn, who, uh, melted when he touched me. Since Fenn's not around, his buddy, Mifanetil went back. But on the bright side, it does seem we were expected!"
He nods, then frowns suddenly, turning around. "Where did Mifanetil return, Mifanetya?"
"Thought as much," Tim nods. "Question is, what were we expected for, or to do?"
For only the second time since the conversation has started, Mifanetya shows emotion -- but this time, it's hesitation. "I cannot say," he says. "I do now know what is to be done with the Others. If Fenn has changed, I must wait until Mifanetil returns." With that, he turns, and makes his way into the forest.
"Please, wait," Brian calls out to the departing Fae. "Are we to follow you? What is to be done with the Others?"
Milfanetya pauses. "I will watch you. When I am told what I should do with you Others, then we will both know."
With a sigh, Brian relays this information to Tim and the quiet-as-iron-Nathan.
By the time Brian turns around again, Nathan is no longer made of iron.
"Well . . . that was interesting, if not very informative."
Tim frowns a bit. "So the question at this point is, do we wait on him to get his information or do we keep going? I'm not exactly happy about the fact that he can't - or won't - tell us what the Fae want with us, but on the other hand what else do we have to go on?"
The thin man slumps a bit. "Dammit."
"Uh . . . I don't know."
Nathan frowns. "Well, he said he'd watch us . . . I'd rather just keep going and assums he'll be able to catch up if he needs to."
"I was under the impression that humans and the Fae were on poor terms," Brian notes. "If we head towards human settlements, that may make getting more information difficult." He pauses, considering. "Though, since we don't know what they want with us, that may not be a bad thing."
After a moment of contemplation, Brian says, "The pragmatist in me wants to ask which faction we could escape more easily if we had to."
Tim takes a full two minutes to answer, his eyes closed as he sorts through the 'extra' memories in his head.
"All right, here's what Anyin remembers about this whole war thing and how it started, at least," he begins. "Apparently about 300 years ago some human lord made a pact with the 'Serpent' and the Fae first showed up and started attacking - drove straight for Primhaem, where we were earlier.
"The humans managed to hold out there for a good while and let most of the people escape to other places like the Hold, and in the time since the humans discovered iron's effects and how to use their own kind of magic, which brings us to where we are now. Iron slowed the Fae's attack down after they overran Primhaem, and magic brought the two sides up to even standing."
Tim removes his hat for a moment, scratching the top of his head a bit before he goes on. "Don't remember anything about WHY the Fae attacked, though, if Anyin even knew it. Just that it's the priests that keep track of the history more than anyone.
"That said, I'd take a couple of things from that. First off, the Fae have some kind of goal in mind - what it is, who knows. Presumably our friend over there, but I think the odds of getting it out of him are pretty slim.
"Second, Anyin's training pretty much pounded into his head that the Fae never talk unless they're trying to seduce or deceive. I'm not quite as willing to buy that at face value as he did, since it could just be solid propaganda, but it's pretty clear the humans at least have had it emphasized that Fae are evil incarnate and only worth killing. Like jihad level, almost. If they've been at war for three hundred years I can definitely understand why, though."
Tim replaces his hat. "Personally? From what we know so far I'd be more inclined to trust the humans. I know defending doesn't automatically make them the 'good guys', but I'd be more inclined to side with the folks that AREN'T the aggressors myself."
"Here's where we run into a philisophical conflict," Brian says in English. "See, if only the priests know the history, or only bother to keep track of it, it seems suspect to me. And I'm not entirely sure we should trust the Fae, either. Hell, they half sound like biological magic-using robots."
After a pause, Brian takes off his glasses, cleaning them with a cloth from his wallet that he dismally realizes he will have trouble washing later.
"Kind of remind me of that Heinlein novel -- Stranger in a Strange Land.
"Well, anyway. We could come up with an argument to trust either side, but as it goes, I think we'd have an easier time getting away from the Fae than the humans right now. I'm not sure about that, though. You two remember a lot more about the humans than I do about the Fae -- I remember absolutely nothing aside from the language, a handful of basic skills, and the spells. Spells which will get my ass killed for using around other humans, from what I got from you guys.
"I guess this makes me biased, and I can see why you would feel the same way about the Fae. But this guy is reasonable enough. The only thing that worries me is that, well, maybe they are living machines or something, and it turns out as soon as we go to talk to their high processor or council or whater, we get assigned for deletion.
"But I don't think they want to kill us right away. They seem awfully logical, and it seems to me from the way their language is put together that it might be really easy to misconstrue something they said as a lie, and they'd be beings we could at least reason with."
He sighs. "I hate to say it, but I wish we had a way to play both sides until we knew for sure what was going on. But I don't trust established religion in general, and even though I want to, I know better than to trust intelligences that are as alien as the Fae are.
"Either way, I'm kind of lost, and think I'll be better off with you guys than on my own with the Fae; I don't think we should split up, and I'll follow you wherever.
"On a side note ... I've been thinking about maybe why you remember things and I don't. I think it's precisely because the Fae are so different. Though, I'll admit there that I'm reaching. Just a thought."
Realizing how extensively he's been rambling, Brian shrugs and glances at Nathan and Tim. "Sorry," he says. "I talk too much. You think I should ask our friend here about the Serpent?"
"Yarr, maybe find out exactly what happened with this 'Betrayal' . . . well. It seems to me to be a completely moot point, but I guess I'm curious. But myself, I agree we should be sticking together, and we should be looking for more humans for now."
Nathan shrugs.
"Apparently -we- seem to be in no danger from the Fae . . . but eh. To be honest, do we actually -have- any real goals right now?"
"Not dying is a good one," Brian supplies readily.
"Not dying is definitely top of the list for me," Tim agrees wryly. "Getting back home would be number two, though. All I can really guess is that Ms. Redhead sent us all here for some reason and maybe if we can figure that reason out we can get home.
"And yeah, I'd ask about the Serpent - it might be a moot point for these guys at this point, but as near as I can tell the only thing we have going for us is that we just don't KNOW anything about either side here. Depending on what we find out, we could go either way - something that I'm guessing is pretty much impossible for both sides at this point."
He chuckles a bit at that. "My turn to reach, I guess."
"Alright, then," Brian says gamely, before switching back to the Fae tongue. "Milfanetya, can you define the Serpent for me?"
Brian gets about half way through that sentence before realizing that, in fact, he has no idea what the Fae equivalent for the word "Serpent" is.
On the edge of the clearing, Milfanetya pauses as Brian starts to speak, but when Brian simply tries the Yrisian word for "Serpent," he shakes his head uncomprehendingly.
Cursing himself in good old fashioned English, Brian tries again, "Mifeyenta, can you define who the Betrayers allied with?"
Even through his alien lack of expression, you can feel his uncertainty. "The Betrayers... are."
Brian relays this to the others with a sigh. "Well," he grumbles, "now what?"
Tim shakes his head a bit. "Wait a sec. Aren't WE - the 'normal' humans - the Betrayers? Maybe if you don't have the right word, ask who or what it was they betrayed. That's probably this Serpent, or close enough to it."
"Milfanetya, what was the betrayal?" Brian tries, not expecting much of anything at this point.
Mifanetya's eyes flick off to the south, before coming back to look at Brian. "The Betrayal was the making of the Seal," he says. He shifts, nose raising into the air. "Betrayers come," he says. "I can stay no longer. If you would come to see the Ten, I will guide you. If you stay, I will meet you again when Mifanetil has returned with instructions."
Brian relays this to Tim and Nathan. "Judgement call -- which way do we go? And we have to decide now, I think."
"I..." Tim pauses for several minutes, thinking. "On the one hand, I'm not sure how well Nathan and I can actually RELATE to the Fae - it seems like they've really got a different way of thinking, and we can't even talk to them. Bu on the other hand, it sounds like we'd be going straight to the top if we went to talk to them, which would help quite a bit in trying to get some answers."
He rubs his chin briefly. "Let's go with them. We have no idea what kind of position we're going to find ourselves in with the humans. Well.. hell, for that matter we don't know for sure with the Fae, either, but at least we've got a better idea."
"I'm not entirely sure I like that," Nathan chimes in unhelpfully, "I mean, they seem polite enough, but I'd sort of like to work out the deal with the humans before we get too comfortable dealing with the Fae. We might get answers, but I'm not really sure those answers would explain very much . . ."
Nathan shrugs. "I don't know."
"Alright," Brian says with a sigh. "I say we go with the Fae -- for now. I think they might be easier to get away from, and we can sell whatever we learn to the humans for survival if it comes down to it." He pauses, then winces. "I may sound cold, but understand, dying is low on my agenda. Though, part of this is 'cause I feel like Thomas Covenant. Is this a real world? I don't know. Maybe I hit my head and this is just the best coma ever. But, that's my vote."
"I'll go with the Fae as well for now," Tim agrees. "The language barrier is annoying but can be dealt with, and if our friend here is any indication we should get answers from them quickly. Or figure out quickly that we're not going to get anywhere. I'm not sure even Brian's talking the same language they are."
"Well," Brian says, walking after the Fae, "it also gives us an excuse to talk about them behind their backs. We just need to be sure they can't magically translate whatever we say, or don't learn the language too quickly."
Nathan plods along after Brian.
"Well, what's the worst that can happen?"
"Don't say things like that!" Brian says, shaking his head, but not actually looking back at Nathan. "If I've learned one thing from playing way too many RPGs, it's that saying things like that gets you into a random encounter faster than you can say 'disposable NPC'."
The march goes on for several hours more. The forest is endless, and you've lost track of which way you've been going, except that you've seen no sign of the river since before you ran into the Fae.
Soon, though, even with the dense foliage, you can tell that it's growing dark. Your Fae guide, however, shows no signs of stopping, though exhaustion is dragging at you.
"How much further do we have to go?" Brian asks the guide somewhat peevishly. For all that he can walk far, and does, he's used to sidewalks and streets. This 'uneven forest floor with roots and gopher holes' thing is wearing thin, and will be (strictly speaking) old hat by the time it gets dark. It's been too many years since Boy Scouts.
Milfanetya has been ranging some distance ahead, but Brian's question brings him back. "Five days."
Nathan is starting to look fairly tired. While walking isn't a problem, lugging armour while doing it is.
"What was that about?"
Brian shoots a worried glance back at Nathan, but asks, "Are we going to stop to break camp before we get there?"
Then he turns to his friend and says in English, "Uh, he says we're about five days walk away at this pace."
Mifanetya stops, and looks back. "You need rest?"
"We will soon," Brian returns. "We're also not really so great at walking in the dark, anyway."
"Dark will be soon," Mifanetya. "Rest here."
Without another word, he vanishes into the woods.
"Okay," Brian relates to his friends, coming to a halt. "Apparently we're supposed to rest here, and move on in the morning. Which I guess is good; I'm not used to hiking for long stretches anymore."
It takes you about twenty minutes to find a decent site, by a tiny, pace-wide creek, and clear away enough of the thick underbrush to make a safe place for a small fire. The voices that still whisper quietly in your minds tell you how to about this; a painstaking process, given the dangerously flammable nature of your surroundings.
Another ten minutes or so pass, and your feet have just begun to complain about the burdens of the day, when Brian's enhanced hearing picks up the sounds of footsteps in the distance. Many footsteps, perhaps two dozen or so, and headed your way.
Nathan is, by this point, sitting down near the fire and rummaging through his bag for some food.
"So you're telling me that we have five more days of this? With all that talk of 'things that need to be done' I didn't think a week's hiking was what she was talking about . . ."
"Footsteps," Brian says, raising a hand and peering towards the source of the sound, trying to cast his hearing out again to gather more information. "Hey, wait. She?"
"You know, the redhead," Nathan responds, making sure his sword is close at hand.
"Oh," Brian says, feeling a bit slow. "Right." Then he stays quiet, trying to hear whoever is approaching.
There are quite a few of whoever it is. They're still some distance away, but headed in your direction at a good clip. There seem to be two types of footsteps in the bunch. Some ghost along the ground, almost as hard to hear as Mifanetya. The others are accompanied by the clanking of heavy armour.
"People are heading towards us," Brian says tersely. "I hear armor, but sneaky-quiet feet, too. I can't make out more yet." He turns to look at the mighty Tim and Nathan. "What should we do?" Then he starts looking for places to hide, though he suspects that will go poorly.
"Think the elf's bringing people back?"
"I'm not sure," Brian says slowly. "It sounds like they're together, but we never saw any Fae with armor." He shakes his head abruptly. "If they are humans, don't say anything about me using their magic."
"I guess we're just . . . lost . . . do you know where we are?"
"Far from home," Brian replies wryly.
On the tails of Brian's last words comes the new party. Neither Tim nor Nathan hear them until they are upon you, testament to Brian's new-found hearing.
Before you are ten men in armour basically identical to that of Nathan's. They are all massive, stocky men, and their visors are down, making them featureless to Brian and Tim, except that the one in the lead seems to be taking poor care of his armour; it's a bit rusty. Nathan, however, knows that the rust has been carefully cultivated and patterned; this is a man of some rank.
On entering the clearing, there's clear confusion: a moment of freezing, then a rapid unsheating of arms, but they then freeze in place, carefully regarding all of you.
There's no sign at this point of the second source of footsteps that Brian heard; with the noise in the clearing from the armoured fellows, there's no way that his hearing alone can sort things out.