[Demon's Hand] Chapter 14: Duplicity?
[Ifreet]
Ifreet throws a look over his shoulder that almost seems impatient,
which is fairly surprising to most of the group who know him. His horse,
picking up on his mood, turns and paws the ground agitatedly. Ifreet's
eyes lock onto the halfling, and he gestures towards the plains, waiting
for him to indicate the direction to town.
[Argall]
"I tell ya true, Talonn, me boy. Them lasses are fixin to learn ye some
manners. If ye don't mind, try not to walk too near me. Kaa, the town is
beneath the notch in the horizon. If we keep heading fer that we should
reach the road in about a league or so."
[Ifreet]
Ifreet nods slightly, as though he expected the answer, and turns his
horse in that direction. The horse dances forward every so often, but
Ifreet reigns it back in. As they travel, Ifreet produces his harp once
more and begins to play a song that seems proper for the landscape, or
for himself. Quiet and barren but hinting at a hidden strength. He
glances briefly at Sala to see how she's coping with all of this, then
returns his eyes to the strings of his harp.
[Sala]
Sala moves over to Talabrina and giggles as she hears what she Talabrina
has planned. She mock glared at Talonn and said, quite righteously, "I
am not a trollup! Shame on thee for resorting to such blows." She
scowled cutely at him all the while trying to keep from laughing.
Since she had nothing to pack she had nothing to worry about when they
left the shelter. As usual she kept to the middle of the group, knowing
that she wasn't a fighter. She pondered whether or not she should ask
Kaa or Talonn if they had an extra weapon of some kind, but she figured
that the others would keep anyone away from her allowing her to do what
she could to help them.
As they crossed the barren landscape Sala felt something nagging at the
edges of her mind. It was as though the weather were about to change,
but she saw no signs of what she felt. She shrugged it off to nerves
and kept up with the pace of the group, listening to Ifreet's music. It
really was beautiful and fitting. Almost unconsciously she stroked Pine
turning him into a very small dragon. Pine perched on her shoulder and
creened in a perfect complementary harmony to Ifreet's playing.
Sala wondered if Talonn would be mad at the way she was going along
with everything. Then she wondered why she would care if it mattered
to him at all. The things going through her mind made no sense to her
right now. She walked along lost in her own thoughts.
[Talabrina]
Talabrina mounted Muffy and rode her without any reins of any sort, guiding
Muffy with her knees. She moved up beside Talonn, although staying well
out of arm reach of him. "Boy Talonn," she said in a mocking tone. "It doth
seem to me that thee doth not appreciate the nature of whom thou doth deal
with. So `tis up to me to educate thee to hath more respect for Lady Sala
and I." With that said she grinned evilly at him and waved her hands and
sang in drow. Immediately ghoulish purple flames leapt from the ground and
quickly spread over Talonn without burning him and neatly outlining him.
Then Talabrina spoke with an air of command about her and gazed imperiously
at him. "Thou art now cursed Talonn, whenever thou shall speak ill of any
woman thy voice shall become as a woman's voice! Know that I, Talabrina,
hath pronounced thus!" With a gesture the flames died away leaving Talonn
physically unharmed. Talabrina nodded once solemnly at Talonn and rode away
to the rear of the group. Her eyes watched Talonn mockingly as if daring
him to test her curse.
[Talonn]
Talonn was looking to the north when Talabrina rode to his side. He
tried to leap away when he saw the flames but soon realized there was no
escape. Talonn stared flatly at Talabrina wondering just what she was up
to with this show of her power. When the flames vanished and she smugly
rode away, Talonn started walking again. For a moment, he wondered if
she had truly cast a spell on him. Perhaps in retribution for when he
had tossed her drunk to the floor at Nagard's before they left? He
didn't feel any different and the "Rage' wasn't reacting as 'It' normally
did when he was spell affected.
Talonn decided to bide his time. He cast a quick glance at Sala and
Talabrina and made an oath to dunk them no matter what. The scowl
returned to his face and he simply grunted his displeasure.
[Kaa]
Kaa kept one eye on Argall while he watched Talabrina do her show. The
halfling tried to hide his reaction but it was obvious that he was not
envious of Talonn's predicament. That and the look on Talonn's face
pleased Kaa to no end and he burst out laughing. "Ye see there, laddie.
I told ye one day the lasses would have their fill of yer callous talk.
Well, ye made yer bed and now ye gots lie in it. Alone!" Kaa continued
to chuckle as he walked along.
[Argall]
"Hell's bells! I ain't nary seen anything like that in me whole life. I
tell ye, Talonn. You sure know how to pick yer enemies. Lady Talabrina,
do me the kindess of remindin' me never to git on yer bad side." Argall
cackled. He walked for several paces in silence and scanned the area. He
swung his shield casually at his side as he shuffled through the grass
that was nearly chest high on him.
"Ifreet. Do ye know any livelier tunes? Somethin suited fer a march such
as this. Any tune that will get the feet movin on their own and while
the leagues away will do, methinks."
[Ifreet]
Hearing Argall's request, Ifreet looks up at him with a gaze that would
freeze most in their tracks. He then bends back down over his strings.
[Sala]
Sala tried to keep from laughing as Talabrina worked her spell, but then
she saw Talonn's glance and watched him walk on scowling. How much of
that was part of the acting? Was he really angry at her? Sala felt
absolutely awful. She started to speed up to talk with him, but then
slowed wondering if she ought to. After wondering for a few minutes she
slowly speeds up until she's walking beside him. She looks over at him
looking for some sign as to whether or not he was angry with her, but
doesn't say anything.
Pine hissed violently at Argall when Ifreet stopped playing to look at
him. Pine liked this form and loved to creen to music that was well
played. He launched himself off of Sala's shoulder in disgust and
circled in close around Argall's head, hissing at him before spiraling
skyward until he was almost lost to the eye.
[Hammer]
Hammer took the rear guard position once again, watching the terrain
behind them, as well as the halfling in front of them. He didn't much
care for the tune Ifreet was playing, and was quite suprised by his
reaction to Argall. Something was bothering the man, that was easy
to see.
[Qki]
Now this would be something to see - Talonn talking like a woman!
Qki walked over next to Talonn and looked up at him. "Talonn! Say
something nasty so we can hear your voice!" Qki smiled innocently and
expectantly up at the half-elf.
[Granite]
Granite strode slowly along behind most of the group. While he was not, at
present, saying anything, the strange behavior of the group since the
smaller organic had appeared was puzzling. However, from what he had been
able to deduce of the organics' methods, they would become upset if he were
to inquire into the situation at present. So, he waited, more and more
questions forming in his 'mind'...
[Kaa]
Kaa glanced over his shoulder to check on the rest of the group. He
grinned and stifled a laugh as Pine expressed his feeling to Argall. The
halfling capered about but made no attempt to defend himself, except to
raise his shield. Kaa almost wished Argall had tried to harm Pine. If
Pine or, more likely, Sala hadn't squashed the halfling, he was sure one
of the others would have. Kaa shrugged off his musing and spoke to
Argall. "Where are ye coming from, Argall? Have you travelled far to
join the hunt?"
[Argall]
Argall heard the hissing and immediately threw up his shield. He
skittered around as the small dragon-kin circled his head and tried to
keep his shield between them. He stumbled on a gopher mound and nearly
fell before he righted himself. He looked around frantically but relaxed
when he saw that Pine had climbed higher into the sky. "By the hair on
me toes, I don't think that thing likes me." he gasped before he
regained his composure and his pace.
"Kaa, my friend, I was heading south when I heard of the hunt. Had
passage on one a them river traders that do business on the Moss Stone
river. No better than river rats, the crew were. Caught word of the hunt
at the town of Widebridge. That was, ah, near ten days and bout three
score leagues ago, I figure. Thought I should get paid fer what I'm a
good at. Last I heard, the bounty was near 30 gold a head for the hunt.
What was the bounty that ye heard?"
[Talonn]
Talonn noticed Sala had come up beside him. He chuckled inside as she
tried to decide if he was really angry. While Pine was distracting
Argall, he looked up and gave Sala a quick wink and a grin before the
scowl returned. Talonn was scanning the northern horizon again when Qki
came bounding up. Talonn motioned Qki closer and whispered to him.
"Qki, we are playing a game. We are all acting like we don't like each
other very much to fool Argall. He is a stranger and we don't trust him
very much right now. Understand? It is also kind of fun. Do you want to
have fun too? I am going to same some mean things to you in a moment
that I really don't mean. It is just part of the game. If you want, you
can say mean things back to me. I think we are going to play this game
for a little while so if you like you can act mean with us. I will tell
you when the game is over, o.k.?"
Talonn gave another wink to Qki then lightly thumped him on the head and
said, "I'll say somethin' nasty, you walking cook wagon! If you don't
get away from me I will rip off your head and piss in it. Ha, did you
hear that Talabrina? Your spell didn't work, you witch." The last word
came out in a high pitched screech. For a moment, Talonn wasn't sure if
it was his doing or if there truly was a spell. He muttered the phrase
again under his breath and found that it had been his doing after all.
He stole a quick glance at Talabrina and nodded his head slightly.
[Talabrina]
Talabrina giggled loudly at Talonn and then gave him a superior look.
"That was the barest flickering of my power boy Talonn. Keep that firmly
in thy mind and we may get along better after this." Talabrina looked at
Argall. "Politeness is a virtue milord, one can never be too kind to
another especially to a woman."
Looking back to Talonn she smirked. "Perhaps if thou doth appease Lady Sala
and myself, I may consider removing the curse. What doth thee think Lady
Sala, be that fitting enough punishment?"
[Sala]
Sala sighed when she saw Talonn wink and grin. Good, he wasn't mad at
her. When his voice squeaked she panicked until she heard him repeat it
to himself. At Talabrina's suggestion Sala got what was for her an evil
grin. It looked more mischeivious than evil though. She said calmly
and condescendlingly, "I think that would be wonderful. I know what I
would like to see before he is loosed form the curse. I wouldn't mind
seeing this 'boy' act like he wasn't raised with the pigs. Perhaps a
good show of courtly manners for the rest of the trip. I think he
should treat us as ladies ought to be treated. Then perhaps you should
lift it...." She grinned sideways at Talonn, "No, I think that wouldn't
be enough for him to learn. I believe he should be at our beck and call
AND on his best manners until the town....oh and perhaps a bath...."
[Talabrina]
Talabrina's eyes lit up in joy and she clasped her hands together
girlishly. "Oh yes!" Talabrina exclaimed with delight. "That is an
absolutely wonderful idea! Truth to tell I hath been tiring of his rude
manners this trip and think a little humility wouldst serve admirably to
strengthen his character. I bow to thy wisdom Lady Sala," said Talabrina
as she bowed as well as he could from the saddle. Talabrina laughed merrily
as they rode along.
[Ifreet]
Seeing Pine circle overhead, Ifreet shifts slightly in his saddle so
that one of his shoulders is available as a perch in case the creature
wishes to be closer to the music. Ifreet seems vaugely annoyed by
everyone's capering and dancing about, but doesn't allow it to affect
his music. Speaking of music, that song is about finished. The one he
begins is likely unappreciated by the halfling as well, but that matters
not to Ifreet. It is a whispering tune that brings back ancient moments
and forgotten memories, a bitter-sweet melody that plucks heartstrings
as deftly as Ifreet's fingers plucks the harp's strings.
[Qki]
Qki was taken aback by Talonn's talk of the 'game' they were
playing. Why would they need to be mean to each other? He really didn't
understand any of what the half-elf was talking about. Then, suddenly,
Talonn whacked him on the head! This was too much! He didn't want to
play this game! The golem fell on the ground, and then ran around Talonn
to hide behind Talabrina. She wasn't playing any nasty game. She still
liked him. "Talabrina! Talon is trying to take me apart! He's being
nasty on purpose!" To a casual onlooker, it might have looked as if Qki
was going along with the game, but in reality, he took it all very
seriously.
[Kaa]
"Aye, that is the same amount that I heard. I don't believe that will be
the rate when we arrive, though. Twill likely have been much less all
along. After travelling this far, there won't be many that will leave no
matter the bounty." Kaa answered. He was beginning to tire of the
chatter. Kaa turned slightly and, within a matter of paces, was nearly
twenty paces fom the group. He tried to make it appear as if he were
doing so to better scan the party's flank. He removed his helmet and
scratched his head near where the demon ring was woven into his braids.
As he placed his helmet back on, he tried to discover why he was feeling
so jittery. A covey of birds burst from the grass at his approach. By
the time he had realized what was happening, he found his axe in his
hand. Something was not right. Seasons of warfare had taught him to
trust his instincts. He kept his axe in hand.
[Argall]
Argall, seeing Kaa distance himself from the group, moved closer to
Sala. "Beggin' yer pardon, Lady Sala, may I speak with you a moment? I
promise I shall be a might bit kinder than the half-elf there. I was
hopin' to ask ye about yer pet. A shape-changer is he? Is that one of
the things from yer master's, what did ye call it...yes, circus?"
[Talonn]
Talonn grumbled and spat while he listened to Sala and Talabrina discuss
their punishment for his behavior. They were appearing to have great fun
with this. They would no doubt take great pains to enjoy themselves
since he would have to play along or ruin the ruse. He hoped there were
a couple good sized water troughs available when they reached town. He
vowed that he would enjoy dunking the two of them.
Talonn absently scratched his left hand. The ring did not fit too snugly
but had begun to irritate him. In the distance, the grass waved in
different directions as the light winds shifted and drifted across the
plain. The wildly waving grass gave the impression that something was
coming toward the group. Talonn looked carefully but saw no evidence
that there was anything crawling toward them. For as far as the eye
could see, the entire grassland was theirs alone. Talonn looked to the
west and noticed a dark speck appear in the sky.
[Sala]
Sala grinned back at Talabrina and then asked Talonn, almost tauntingly,
"So what do you think about this, Talonn? Do you think you can handle
it?"
Pine saw that Ifreet had freed up a shoulder and flew down to him. As
the new song started Pine crooned along happily. A couple times during
the song he seemed to fidget on Ifreet's shoulder and swung his head
around, but settled back down. By the time the dot in the sky appeared
he was too engrossed in the song to notice.
Sala was happy that Pine was relaxed. That meant that nothing was
disturbing him. She liked the song as well and hummed along until
Argall came up to her. Under her cloak she rubbed her hand with the
ring against her skirt. It was itching awfully. She wasn't surprised
by it though she tended to react badly to metals. She looked at Argall
blankly for a moment, "Oh, of course we may talk. I'm sorry I was so
caught up in the tune that it took me a moment to realize what you had
said. Yes, Pine was a find of our master's, but he took a liking to me
so I was allowed to keep him as long as I brought him back for the shows
relatively often. As for the shapechanging he just does that every now
and then, I have no idea why." She shrugged. This entire pretend thing
was starting to get to her. Qki didn't seem to like it all that much
either. It was hard to keep track of what she was supposed to say.
That and she felt oddly nervous. She had no idea why. Her birthmark
wasn't pulsing so there was no threat near her. She grimaced slightly
and then glanced over at Talonn hoping he would distract Argall. She
didn't really like him for some reason.
[Ifreet]
Unlike the others, the Ifreet did not notice a faint tingling from the
ring. He's used to having that feeling where from the necklace he hung
his ring on. He simply continues playing, not looking up even as Pine
settles on his shoulder, and certainly not looking up to see the black
speck in the distance.
[Talabrina]
Talabrina looked down to Qki from her position on Muffy's back as he ran
toward her. Reaching down to pat him gently on the head, she spoke in
kindly tones. " `Twill be alright my little Qki, I shall protect thee from
Talonn." Hoping to distract Qki from his current problems and to make him
feel better, Talabrina held out her hand to Qki. "Wouldst thee like to
ride Muffy with me? `Tis quite an experience I assure thee."
Talabrina smiled at Qki even as the ring on her finger began to itch.
Talabrina wondered why it had suddenly decided to do so. Were they nearing
the object of their quest? Talabrina looked about and let her inner senses
scan the land about them and looked into the air. It was then she noticed
the black speck in the air. What was it and what were its intentions? Just
in the advent that danger was in the offing, Talabrina wanted Sala close
in case she needed protection. "Lady Sala," she called, "wouldst thee come
over here a moment? Methinks we shouldst discuss Talonn's punishment further."
[Qki]
"I could ride too? That would be great!" He'd never ridden on
anything before. The metal man took Talabrina's offered hand up and sat
in front of her. As he did so he started to have an odd feeling in his
torso. It was somewhat like the dagger, but different. It made him even
more nervous than the dagger did. Was it Muffy? It started to happen
just as he sat down with Talabrina. Maybe he should walk again instead.
He decided to wait, because this was really pretty neat. He was moving
without having to do anything!
[Hammer]
Hammer was irritated by his ring. He scratched his finger that it was on
almost constantly. He looked at the others positioning, and noticed
Talabrina's and Talonn's attention were directed to the west. He also
looked to the west, and noticed the black speck. Kaa had also sensed
something, as he was now holding his axe. He tightened his grip
on his War Hammer, and wandered towards Kaa.
"Kaa, my finger itches. The one with the ring. No bugs can get through
my Web tatoo, so it must be the ring. Something is coming, and I wonder
if it is our prey." He wispered to Kaa. "Have you seen the black dot that
Talonn and Talabrina are looking towards? Perhaps our new ... friend ...
knows something?"
[Kaa]
Kaa spoke quietly to Hammer. "I too have an itch near the ring, Hammer.
It must be true for us all. I had not noticed the thing in the sky, too
distracted by the nattering halfling. I'm not sure if Argall is part of
this or not but I don't trust him. I think we should prepare for the
worst."
Kaa stopped and called to the others. "Lets stop fer a moment so that
Talonn can catch his breath. With all that snortin' and gruntin' that he
is doing over Talabrina's little lesson in behavior, I bet he hasn't
taken a full breath in 100 paces. Like it or not, he is the animal
trainer of the group and we need him."
Kaa sent a quick message to Talonn in rogue's code then shed his pack
and stretched. He kept a firm grip on his axe.
[Talonn]
Talonn stopped and said, "Worry about yerself, you rockheaded squat." He
looked at Kaa and nodded slightly when he got the message. Kaa had seen
the approaching thing in the sky and wanted to be ready for trouble.
Talonn scanned the entire horizon but saw only the wind tossed grass. He
casually reached back and drew an arrow from his quiver. He pretended to
adjust the fletching while he watched the speck in the sky come closer.
The 'Rage' fed on his unease and grew quickly. Talonn lowered himself to
one knee and waited.
[Argall]
Argall didn't seem to notice the approaching thing in the sky. He
continued talking to Sala even after the group had halted. "Truly a
remarkable animal, Lady. Do ye know what his true shape be? I think I
would like ta have one fer a pet meself. Where did ye find him and were
there more of them? I think my next adventure will be to fetch one of
them." Argall dug around in one of the pouchs on his belt and pulled out
a biscuit. He broke off a piece of the bread and popped it into his
mouth. He chewed noisily while he waited for Sala to answer.
[Sala]
Sala didn't want to insult Argall, but she wondered what Talabrina had
in mind. She had no idea that anything was wrong. She couldn't
understand why Kaa had them stop so soon after leaving the shelter. It
made no sense. She scratched at her ring some more vowing to try and
change the composition of its metal as soon as possible if the demons
would let her.
She said to Argall, "I am not sure of his true form. The first time I
saw him was when he was changing form. That's what caught my eye. As
for where that was, I cannot quite remember except that it was to the
south of here, quite a ways. Excuse me if you could, but Talabrina
requires my presence." Sala started over to Talabrina.
[Ifreet]
Ifreet turns his horse about with his knees, still playing his music,
which begins to trail off as he approaches Argall. By the time he has
reached Argall, Ifreet has finished the song and put his harp away.
After reaching Argall, Ifreet motions for Argall to close his mouth and
be silent. Ifreet himself begins humming softly to himself and closes
his eyes as they wait for the speck to grow larger as it approaches.
[Argall]
Argall nodded absently to Sala. All of his attention was on Ifreet. "A
right pushy fellow, ain't ye, plainsman. I didn't mean no slight when I
asked fer another tune." Argall spat into the grass and grumbled. The
halfling shrugged his shoulders and looked around at the others in the
group. When he finally noticed the approaching shape in the sky, he
started to slowly walk backwards toward the rear of the party with his
shield raised before him.