[Demon's Hand]Chapter 3:In Search of...the Mill
[Parieth & Airel]
~The boy looked up at the Drow and, smiling broadly, said, 'Oh, don't be
afraid of him. Really, it's all just his overdramatic nature.'
~The man in red gave an expression that said, 'Oh, overdramatic is it?'
~The boy continued. 'You see, things that most people can't see are what
he does - did - for a living. By the way, my name's Airel Tannis, and,'
looking toward the dwarf outside and raising his voice slightly, '..I
don't steal unless I have a reason to.'
~'Oh? Is tha' right?' the fellow asked sarcastically. 'Well we're all
certainly at ease to 'ear that! So what'll ya do 'bout the money?'
~The playfulness in the boy's enchantingly innocent face dissapeared,
and genuine concern replaced it. He looked looked uncertainly up toward
his collegue. 'Parry,' he asked, 'you really think they'll find me?'
~'If ya stay in town, I guarantee it! And I've a mind to let 'em. Else
ya'll neve' learn. Ya 'aven't told me where Dragon is.'
~'I'm not sure, but he's close.' Airel's expression became sheer plea.
'Don't let them. I didn't do no harm, and I'm too young to be in jail!'
~The fellow looked at the boy in thought for a moment, then turned to
Talabrina and Sala. 'My name is Parieth Synsa, an' I come from an
establishment tha' investigates those things we don' see tha' influence
us. I didna mean ta startle ya, but, miss, yar 'glow' is very
intriguing. I 'ad thought tha' maybe ya 'ad called up a demon to give ya
luck, but now tha' I understan yar dilemma, I may can 'elp ya. But I
would ask tha' since ya all are leavin' anyway, could ya let us follow,
ta give the boy another chance and ta feed us both. We're, I shudder ta
admit, vagabonds of a sort.'
~Airel jerked his head toward the others with hope gleaming in his
bright green eyes.
[Sala]
She saw no reason they shouldn't accompany the group. She rather liked
the child. Parieth scared her a little because he was so forward, but
he did not seem evil. She was just so stunned that anyone cared enough
to help. Pine flew back into the inn and circled Sala's head
insistantly. Sala bit her lip, poor Leaf out there all alone with all
those people. She had to get outside. "If you wish to help you are
more than welcome. I will see everyone outside." Sala nodded hurriedly
to them and rushed outside.
[Raye]
Raye drifted out after Sala, intently curious to see what sort of
creature Leaf might be"
[Talabrina]
The grim expression on Talabrina's face softens as she listens to the
taleand in fact, soon smiling. "I doth know all to well what it means
to be misunderstood and hungry." Talabrina takes a step towards Parieth
with her hand extended in friendship. "Prithee forgive me milord, I did
thee a disservice by thinking ill of thee. Allow me to introduce
myself, I am Talabrina Zolond. My companion is called Muffy. I would
be honored if thee and thy ward wouldst be so kind as to accompany us.
As an incentive I doth offer to feed you both as much food as you can
eat, if not more. What doth thou say to that?"
[Parieth & Airel]
~Parieth looked at the kid. 'Well?'
~A grin covered the boy's face and he looked at Talabrina. 'I like you!
I like you so much that if I steal anything from ya I'll give it back!'
At this point Parieth took the lad firmly by the collar and, saying to
the others, 'We'll be back.. we are in need of a conference', wandered
to one corner.
[Talabrina]
Talabrina laughed at Airel's words and smiled. "I am sure thou would
milord." Then Parieth intervened and Talabrina's smile faded somewhat.
She moved closer to the great cat and whispered into it's ear briefly
before heading out the door to join the others. Muffy proceeds to make a
great show of streching and preparing to leave without actually going
anywhere.
[Hammer]
Hammer was also ready to get started. He picked up his War Hammer
and left the milling group inside to go outside. There he joined Talonn
and Kaa. "Ah what a beautifull day for a walk, isn't it?"
[Kaa]
"Aye, it is. A good breeze to clear the air and the mind."
[Granite]
Granite follows the group out as they make ready to depart, keeping a
short distance away, and making no comment.
[Ifreet]
Ifreet nods to Hammer as he comes out to join the others ready for the
road, then turns to Airel and Parenth. "I am Ifreet. You may join us,
but don't touch my horse. It isn't healthy." He bows to both of them
slightly, concluding his longest speech yet, and turns his horse towards
the road.
[Raye]
The dark one considered Ifreets horse, a bright and slightly wicked
grin on his delicate face. "We shall see about that someday" he
murmured.
[Kaa]
Kaa reaches inside his tunic and pulls out the two gems. Tossing them up
to Ifreet, he says "Ifreet, I would ask that you keep these until we
have need of them. I think they would be safer up on that mountain of a
horse you have and the wizard will probably accept them as they are.
Those are rare indeed. They could be used as a spell component or such."
Kaa notices that Talonn has moved away from the group to a familiar tree
near the Inn. He walks over to the half-elf.
[Talonn]
Talonn walked straight for the tree after he came out the door. As Kaa
approached, he leapt up and grabbed a lower branch and began to climb.
He diappeared into the canopy in a few seconds and the sounds of his
ascent stopped a moment later. Kaa arrived at the base of the tree and
looked up just in time to catch the sack that fell from the branchs.
Another sack and an unstrung longbow dropped down a heartbeat later.
Branches bobbed and marked Talonn's descent until he dropped lightly
back to the ground.
Talonn bent to gather the second sack. He and Kaa removed seveal pouches
and bundles from them and began to stuff them into their backpacks.
Talonn fitted his quiver onto his belt behind his sabre and strung his
longbow. A soft leather flap secured the blue and red fletched arrows.
Leaning down he whispered to Kaa. "Well, War Axe. Quite an army you have
gathered. Do you think they can be trusted?"
[Kaa]
The dwarf looked over his shoulder at the assembling group and answered,
"I hope so, laddie. I feel in my bones that we must, for our lives are
going to depend on those folk there. Besides, with a group such as this,
we will likely scare away any we encounter. Were Raa here, we could send
half the lords in the area to raising their levies." Kaa gave a hearty
laugh and made a playful swing at Talonn. "And what do it matter to >you?
The moment the elf-lass mentioned she was in trouble, you were all set
to fight the demons by yerself. You always had chivalrous streak in ya."
Talonn playfully kicked the dwarf's behind as they headed back to the
group.
[Sala]
Sala headed out to the group and turned and walked over towards Talonn
and Kaa. She looked rather worried, but she turned away before she
got to them and walked even further away towards a stand of trees.
Talonn and Kaa could hear her talking softly to someone or something.
A few moments later a graceful deer slipped hesitantly from amongst
the trees.
Sala walked up to her and stroked her neck softly, leaning her head
against the deer's. Then she turned and walked over to Talonn and Kaa,
the deer following close at her heels. When she got to them she smiled
shyly at them, "This is Leaf. She is my ... mount I guess you could
say. Are we ready to go?"
[Parieth Synsa]
~Stepping out of the inn with the boy, Parieth glanced around at the
others and asked quaintly, 'Where are we goin' again?'
[Talabrina]
The great panther followed the man and the boy out and wandered over
to Talabrina. From within her cloak, Talabrina pulls out a saddle and
blankets as well as saddle packs. Within a few moments the panther is
out fitted for travel and Talabrina springs into the saddle.
"We seek a wizard that Kaa knows about milord. I take it that thou and
the boy wish to come along?"
[Kaa]
"Parieth, you and the lad are welcome to journey with us. We head west
on the aptly named Old Mill Road. If everyone is ready, let us be off."
Upon saying that, the dwarf adjusted the strap on his pack and started
walking westward.
[Raye]
"If its going to be a walk, then things need changing" Raye murmured
softly, speaking mostly to himself in the manner of someone who had
spent far to much time alone in their own company.
He stepped forward with the group, the white and black lines of his
lith form rippling and expanding with his steps, clothed and sword
vanishing and his body liquidly changing. With in a few strides, the
dark elf was gone, a powerful black unicorn in his place. With a toss of
his delicate head, Raye untangled the shimming moon white of his mane
from the long opaline spike horn that graced his forehead. He gave a
snort of greeting to the other animals, Leaf the deer, Ifreets horse,
and Muffy the cat, then gracefully walked on...ready to travel.
[Sala]
Pine nipped Sala's ear drawing her attention to Raye's transformation.
She looked at him in astonishment. She walked over to him and asked,
"You can do transforming magic too? Or are you really a unicorn with
different forms?" She paused and looked bashfully at him, "I don't
want to bother you or offend you, but may I pet you? You're quite
beautiful and I've never petted a unicorn before."
[Raye]
Unable to speak, the dark coated unicorn nodded his in reply to Sala's
questions, the motions making the colors in his black opal horn sparkle
and dance. He gave a soft chuckling whicker and reached over to gently
nuzzle with velvet lips at Sala's shoulder.
[Sala]
When everyone was ready Sala turned and headed off in the direction
Kaa had said that the Wizard lived in.
[Hammer]
Hammer hefted his War Hammer over his shoulder, and with a loud, booming
voice shouted "Hail Thunderer, we go to free the Lady Sala from her curse and
to seek glory. Smile over us and our STONE and STEEL will surely ring with
VICTORY."
Then Hammer waited untill the last of the group had gone past him before
starting off. He took up the rear of the group, making sure none would sneak
up on this group. While walking, Hammer hummed a traveling song he learned
growing up. The March for Glory.
[Raye]
The unicorn walked near Hammer,ears tipped back to hear the travling
song. His hooves kicked up puffs of road dust as he delightely
dance-walk-marched to the rythum.
[Hammer]
Hammer noticed the unicorn's dancing and smiled. He had never actually
seen one, and to have one this close to him was amazing. Hammer continued his
traveling songs, not wanting the unicorn to stop dancing.
[Talonn]
Talonn slowly approached Sala and Leaf. Murmuring softly to soothe the
deer, Talonn settled into a steady pace beside the elf-maiden. Glancing
over his shoulder at the rest of the group, he commented to Sala. "The
quest for your freedom has begun. Have faith Lady. With such a party at
your side, we must surely succeed."
[Sala]
Sala smiled shyly at him. "I certainly hope so." She paused and jumped
gracefully to Leaf's back, riding her sidesaddle, bareback.
[Qki]
Qki sat on the doorstep of the empty house holding his head in his
hands. This area of the town was only lightly travelled, and every time
he heard someone approach he looked up in the hopes that it would be his
friend. It never was. One of those times, though, he looked up and a
strange group approaching. The group was mostly made up of normal people
(at least as far as Qki could tell!), but one in particular caught his
eye. It was tall. Really tall. Compared to the little metal man, at
least. The most interesting thing, though, was that this one seemed to be
made of rock. Immediately Qki decided that he felt a strange kinship with
this creature. It was a new feeling for him. Overcoming his innate
shyness, he stood and walked into the middle of the street where they
would be sure to see him.
[Granite]
As the group passed by, Granite stopped, and his head turned towards Qki. "You
are attempting to be noticed by this group. Or one of the members of the group.
You are not an organic life. You are similar to them in appearance. If your
behavior is similar, then your actions indicate you want to interact. Is this
correct?"
[Qki]
Qki stared openmouthed. What was this guy talking about? He
had an awfully strange way of speaking. "Um, I guess so... You, uh,
you're kind of like me. I think," he ended doubtfully, looking at the
ground. "What... um, where are you going?" He cast a glance back at
Mosley's house.
[Granite]
In his grinding voice, Granite responded, "Like you. In appearance at this
time. In material nature. It would be interesting to know about your origins.
This group is travelling to a wizard. They want the wizard to summon a demon
for them. I am travelling with them. It is an opportunity to study them. Do you
want to travel with this group as well?
[[Airel]
Airel seemed absolutely enamored by the strange li'l.. well, assemblage. He
walked around and around it studying it with no subtlety.
[Qki]
Several different emotions ran through Qki as the rock man spoke.
When he mentioned his curiosity about Qki's origins, the little golem felt
a wave of melancholy overcome him. He had no idea where he came from.
The mention of the wizard piqued his interest again, and that of the demon
made him a bit nervous. All that was forgotten at the invitation, though.
"Wow! Yes! I'd love to!" The time spent sitting in the street was
forgotten, too, as Qki thought of the fun he could have with these people.
Suddenly he remembered the first part. "Um, I don't know my origins...
All I remember is being in a room. There was a lot of stuff everywhere
but nobody else was there so I left. Then I went to the Inn and I met
Mosley," he paused for a moment, hoping she was okay. Maybe he would see
her again someday... "and then I came here, and now you're here." He
smiled up at his new friend, and promptly started following him around
wherever he went. What a cool guy!
[Granite]
Granite nodded, his neck flexing the same wall all of his other joints seemed
to, and began walking again. "Where was this room? It may be possible to find
out more about you there. When this group has finished what it is doing. Do you
want to do that?" he asked as he and Qki began catching up to the group.
[Qki]
Qki had to move his legs pretty quickly to keep up with his
much taller companion. "Okay! I think I can remember how to get there!"
[Sala]
Sala watched the odd creature talking with Granite. She walked up to
them with Leaf. "Hello, I'm Sala. I am the one who's problem is
bringing us to the wizard."
[Qki]
"Hi! I'm Qki!" Qki bubbled, a fact that should have been
obvious, since those exact letters made up part of his chest. "This is my
new friend!" he shot a glance at the large rock man, "but I don't know
his name..."
[Granite]
"They are using the name Granite to refer to me." Granite responded. "That is
not my actual identifier. My actual name is not something that can be spoken."
[Sala]
This new creature was amusing. Sala smiled at him kindly and headed
back over to the head of the group. Granite could explain what was
going on and keep an eye on him if he needed it. Besides Qki seemed to
have taken a liking to him.
[Kaa]
Kaa looked over his shoulder at the group as he sauntered down road. He
nudged Talonn and gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. "I tell ya,
laddie. With a band such as this, we could conquer nearly any outpost on
the border of the Swordlands. Ha! I would like to take this lot into the
Swordlands and travel all the way to the tower of Malick and dare any of
those bothersome Bourgani to appear. Aye. That would be a tale for the
bards."
Suddenly, the dwarf let out a great roar of laughter. "Talonn, me boy.
That is the one thing we neglected to bring along on this adventure. All
we are lacking in this menagerie is a bard."
[Granite]
During the journey, Granite changed positions relative to the group often,
seemingly trying to watch from every angle at some point or other.
Surprisingly, Granite seemed capable of walking just as fast as everyone else
was moving.
[Sala]
Sala looked over at them and opened her mouth to say something, but
thought better of it. She nervously nibbled her lip. She said softly,
"A bard is one who sings, right?" She paused and then said shyly, "I
can sing. I sang alot before I came here to keep myself company. Pine
and Leaf seemed to like it."
[Ifreet]
Turns to the others, speaking quietly, "I am a bard. Something you
likely did not expect." He raises one eyebrow at them, and pulls out a
silver-chased flute in his pack and shows it to them. He then replaces
it and continues riding as quietly as always.
[Parieth]
The fellow in red simply walked amongst the others with a solemn regard,
saying nothing, but seemingly studying everything that caught his attention.
Particular attention he payed to Ifreet, as though trying to look through him.
He would occassionally stop and place his hand on the trunk of a tree and
stand in silence for a moment, then move on.
Meanwhile, Airel was still trailing Qki with the same consuming interest.
Before too long however, his obviously short attention span was kidnapped by
the unicorn, and he began loping beside Raye as though wanting more than
anything to mount this most remarkable of beasts.