Fable - Ask Chasing Tails

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

The life of an independent mercenary was, for the most part, dreadfully dull.

The No'rei kept his hood up as he waited outside the local inn. Karsh was as small a settlement as could be expected out here in the wild lands south of Elbion, a handful of wide and narrow, deeply rutter streets that in a warmer time of year would have been mostly mud. Now, with the bitter wind blowing out of the north across the wide, empty grasslands, everything was frozen. A thin rime of ice was visible in many places, mostly those that the sun did not touch. There were still patches of snow here and there, and the remnants of drifts in the lee of buildings.

This was not Gavril's favored time of year. The cold was every bit as ferocious an enemy as the sun in summer, it was just more difficult to evade the chill.

"Master Gavril, was it?" He looked up, dark eyes regarding the well-dressed fellow with barely concealed contempt. If it bothered the other, there was no sign of it. "My Lord is ready to receive you," he said, and then turned.

After a moment pause, the warrior shrugged, and followed.

He recalled the basics of the job as he followed the manservant through the common room., uncomfortably aware of the occasional glance at him. His kith and kin were not well received by the locals. In fact, his kith and kin were quite likely the reason for this job. Some wealthy merchant or lords' get had ventured out into the grassland looking for a mine that had been abandoned and had never returned. That had been during the fall, and it was getting on into winter now.

At the back of the common room was a private dining room. The No'rei dipped his head to pass inside, and stepped to the side of the door as he did. Seated at the table within was his employer.

The man was overweight, but not grossly so. He wore fine linen, embroidered with thread-of-gold round cuff and collar. A coat rested on the back of his chair. He looked up from the papers set in front of him as his servant and the mercenary entered, then waved the servant off back into the common room. "Well, one of you is here, anyway." He did not rise from his seat, nor offer a chair to Gavril. The gruff, leather-clad man did not comment either, merely stood there stolidly. The well-dressed man eyed the long handle of the blade that hung on the No'rei's macbk, and gave the man a quizical look. "There are others expected. I will go over the details when they get here. If you wish, you can stand outside."

He bent back to the paperwork, pen in hand and the audible scritch of his pen the only sound. After a moment, he looked up. "Or you can stand there like a lamp post." There was neither mirth nor anger in it, just a statement of fact.

For Gavril's part, he simply stood there and waited.

 

[Isaac]

A door was thrown open, and a cat waltzed into the room.

"Mreow."​

"I know." Sounded a voice in the hallway behind the cat, dripping with all the arrogance of a man who had never known a days work. "I know we're late, but well I'm worth waiting for."

"Mreooow."​

The cat said, slowly moving towards the corner of the room and bounding up to a shelf there. A leap which seemed strangely tall even for a cat. "Yes, Yes I do kno-'

Isaac cut himself off as he finally stepped through the doorway. His eyes flickering over the room, noticing the well-dressed pig of a man and his companion already waiting. The Warlock smiled at both of them, closing a book he had been holding in his hand and tucking it away in his coat. "Good day, Gentlemen."

The Warlock offered with a smile, not giving any sort of apology.

"Is this it, or shall we wait for more?" Isaac said, making his way over towards one of the chairs. Apparently not caring whether it was offered or not.

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

Gavril turned ever so slightly when the new arrival came through the door. Something prickled the hairs on the back of his neck, those that grew where there were no scales. Eyeing the man up and down as he came in from within the shadows of his cowl, he scowled only slightly less than he had for the man that was their erstwhile employer.

And said nothing. Something was off with this fellow, but for the moment the No'rei couldn't put a finger on it.

The heavyset fellow behind the desk scowled at the cat, and then the probable owner, and shook his head. He pulled a fancy steel case from out of a pocket and flipped the case. Pursing his lips, he snapped the lid back and looked up. "I believe this will be it. You are over an hour late," he said with a disapproving tone. He neither rose nor made any attempt at polite gestures. After all, the two men sharing this private room were more or less servants, and while he was not nobility, he was very wealthy. Sometimes, wealth bred poorer manners than good breeding did.

"You can take a seat," he said of Gavril. When the quiet warrior did not move, he shrugged. "Fine, have it your way."

"I have the honor of being Hyet Soleus. I run a variety of mercantile ventures across Arethil. In particular, my family specializes in rare metals and ores." He paused a moment, and then scowled. "As such, we own several mines and pieces of land that have been rather profitable. There is one, though, that was lost to use two decades ago."

Get to the point, Gavril wanted to say and did not.

"Well, it seems my daughter decided that we should reclaim that piece of ground. While I cannot say that I do not desire to have it back, there is a reason it has been left abandoned for twenty years and more." His face twisted in anger, though it was clear it was not directed at them. "She decided to disobey me and hired on some mercenary company to go and attempt to reclaim it."

There was a longer pause, and some of the anger drained away. "That was four months ago. I have not heard from her since. And so, I will cut straight to the point: I need you to go and find her and bring her back from the Aberessai."

Gavril looked up sharply at that. The Savannah. Home to him, and to his people. Certain things began to make sense, then. "She is dead," he said flatly. Hyet looked as though he had been slapped in the face at the comment, but Gavril simply looked on impassively.

"She is not. I refuse to believe that. Is it that you are afraid to go out there?" When Gavril said nothing, the fellow huffed and turned to Isaac. "You are not a coward at least?"

"Me, not have issue taking your coin. Even if waste it is," Gavril said before Isaac could reply. He fell silent afterwards, ignoring the burning gaze from the erstwhile employer. Instead, he looked to see what Isaac would have to say on the subject. For him, the risk was less, but for Isaac and the girl, it was near certain death. Unless all involved were lucky to avoid the attention of the natives, that was.

 

[Isaac]

"Yes, I was attending to things." Isaac said simply, his voice as bland as could be.

Fingers furled gently inward, and Isaac began to inspect them as the merchant began to talk about his daughter. Explaining the turmoil of the mines in the Savannah and his motivation of calling them here. Briefly the Warlock glanced over towards the large lump of muscle to his left.

A bemused smile flickering over his features as the man rebuked that the merchant's daughter was already dead.

"Mreow."​

Teekle intoned from his perch on the shelf, and Isaac smiled, finally drawing his attention back towards the merchant. "Do you have any of her effects?"

Isaac asked, there was a reason that he was here after all.

Oh he had his own motivations, a certain something located within the very mines the girl had gone to take back. But there was a reason that the Merchant had hired him specifically. He was not much of a fighter, but then someone like him hardly ever needed to fight.

"Some clothes, a hair brush." He offered with a roll of his hand. "Something she held dear."

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

Hyet stared at the well-dressed warlock for a long moment, and then shook his head. "This is not my home," he said. "Were that I could offer some such article that might suffice; alas, home is off in Elbion." He scowled for a moment, then shook his head.

Gavril turned to look at the well-heeled fellow - he had yet to offer his name - and gave an invisible and steady stare. He did not ask the question he wished to ask, though. The Seer's often asked for such things as this, and theirs was a power he neither possessed nor wished to trifle with. "Place you speak of, know it I do," he said in his thickly accented common. He made a gesture with one hand, a warding off of evil. "Tiel'an ap Lorien," he added, switching to his native tongue. The name flowed like a river from his tongue. "Spine of the Moon, is called. Sacred place among the inhabitants of Savannah."

A sacred place, though perhaps not in the same way many would see such things. Of all the Seven, the Lady was the least favored; no clan or tribe claimed her as their patron. She had been betrayed and slain, after all, and such a thing was evident weakness. The No'rei detested weakness and dishonor, two words that were nearly synonymous.

"I don't know what you savages call the place, but it was fairly claimed by my family decades ago." The merchant appeared agitated, a little at least. Turned to the warlock and smiled faintly. "Is there something else that would suffice?"

 

[Isaac]

Isaac blinked. "You're looking for your daughter and you did not think to bring a single thing of hers?"

A whistle escaped.

"Kress you're a terrible father." The Warlock said idly, frowning as he began to run through a list of something in his head. After a moment he reached into his coat pocket, pulling free what appeared to be a small booklet.

"Mreeeow."​

The cat upon the shelf jumped down, quickly slinking over to the chair and jumping upon it's back. Teekle peered into the book Isaac was flipping through. "Ah, here..."

He mused.

"Do you have a portrait of her, a likeness at least? Or did you leave that at home too?" Slowly the Warlock then turned his head looking at his more 'savage' companion. "You, can you point to this place on a map? Or close to it?"

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

"Why would I bring anything of hers here?" he snapped. "This place is at the ass end of the world. All of her things are where they - and she! - belongs. Home." The fat man took a moment to regain his composure, hard eyes gleaming at the well-dressed vagabond. After a moment, he took a deep breath and shifted some of the paper on the desk before him. He withdrew a sheet, and slid it across the table.

A detailed sketch of a rather fetching young lady stared back from her two-dimensional world at the warlock. Someone had even bothered to add color, giving the impression of pale hair, fair skin and a freckled face framing jade eyes. Gavril though he could sense something of mischief deep within them, but concluded it was his mind playing tricks. It was a drawing, nothing more.

"No," he said to the warlock after a moment of consideration. "Not have maps. Not need. But can take skethisal outsider there." The tall, musclebound No'rei had taken to standing straight, and regarded the so-called civilized gentleman with a touch of scorn, only vaguely seen from the depths of his hood. He uncrossed his arms, and scowled. "Four wheels of sun, maybe five on back of horse. Half of moon on foot." He shrugged. "Much danger. Outsider, not welcome." He paused a moment, and then offered a feral grin. "Me, not welcome. Outcast."

He turned to look at the image of the girl, and shook his head. He did not think that she would be alive. The No'rei seldom took prisoners, and if they did it was as slaves. They did not ask ransom, they did not hold hostages. Any who did not belong on the sacred Sea were slain out of hand, especially homesteaders. "Girl dead...but will look. For price," he said. He turned to the nameless warlock, and grinned. "Maybe soft-skinned outsider help? Much danger, not for coward."

 

[Isaac]

The Warlock reached out and snapped away the sketch from the Fat Merchant. For a few moments he studied it, musing with a shake of his head. "It will do."

Behind him Teekle began to purr rather loudly, smiling and swishing his tail back and forth. His gaze was fixed on the sketch, but Isaac seemed to ignore the cat as he began to roll up the drawing. A smile pulled at his lips as the 'savage' behind him began to warn against this entire adventure.

Pulling himself up, he gestured towards Gavril. "Outsider, Outcast, not too different eh?"

The warlock said with a chuckle.

There was no denying he was...soft-skinned. Isaac liked a fight about as much as fire liked water. There were always other, and markedly better solutions.

"Oh, don't you worry." Isaac said with a wave. "I'll be helping."

He turned, looking at the fat merchant. "But our friend here makes a good point."

His smile widened. "Price."

Teekle let out another meow.

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

Had he retained all the prickly nature of his kinfolk out on the great Sea, Gavril might have immediately challenged the warlock right then and there, consequences be damned. There were - supposedly - no similarities between the People and the disgraced peoples living at the edge of the true world. The simply insinuation that they were alike in any way...

Well. Gavril knew the truth. The No'rei were different, it was true, but they were not superior. Or, rather, not that superior. He grunted a noncommittal response. "Worry, more reason to," he said in his broken common, shaking his head.

Hyet scowled but did not protest. He knew the caliber of people he dealt with all too well. These were neither scum nor saints, just people who did dangerous work few wished to for coin without fealty or loyalty to another. In his personal opinion, many of their ilk preferred to resort to violence as a solution to any problem set before them whether warranted or not. "If you bring my daughter back to me alive, then whatever is in my power to pay is yours. My writ is mostly coin, but there are possibly other things I can offer as well. Of course, I am not willing to part with everything I own in the trade," he added, although that was not entirely a sure thing either.

Money was not the most important thing in the world, after all; he could make more. His daughter, however, was unique, and the only link connecting him and his late wife. She was worth more than all the gold in the world to him.

Gavril grinned, a feral thing that split his face darkly. He made no demand of price. He was curious what the oily warlock would desire; for him, coin was good enough. He was already disgraced, after all, so there was almost no reason not to indulge in what comforts he could, even if he still never seemed to do so.

 

[Isaac]

"Lovely." Isaac said at the mention of gold, but that was not exactly what he would need of this.

He waved his hand genially. "But, not what I need."

"Mreow."​

Teekle intoned besides him, the cat sitting itself down right by his feet. It's tail swished back side to side, watching only Isaac for just a brief few seconds before turning it's gaze upon the Merchant. An odd pulse ran through it's eyes, it's soft purr echoing from it's throat.

"I require a contract." The Warlock said with all the confidence of a man who already knew he'd won. "A simple legality allowing me to take one item of your ownership after the return of your daughter."

He smiled. "Open ended, I admit."

Even he couldn't deny that.

"But what is a thing compared to your daughter." Isaac reminded.

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

The merchant looked at the warlock with distrustful eyes. Open ended, indeed. Physical items were not at issue as with money he could always get more. It was the more esoteric things that concerned him. "So long as by an item, we are not talking of people or souls, or parts thereof," he said in a voice that was only half kidding. There was something about the well-dressed mercenary that he did not like.

"Souls belong to Sea," Gavril intoned from where he stood, then cast a sidelong glance at the nameless warlock and shrugged. "Coin is good." He did not add that they would likely be bringing back her bleached bones in exchange for coin, but that wasn't his problem.

"Very well, coin it is. As to you, warlock, if you can agree to those exclusions then I am content to accept your open offer." He picked up a little bell and rang it. A moment later, a well-dressed fellow in the manner of a manservant opened the door accompanied by another fellow, even more well-dressed and sallow of skin. The second man entered, tall and thin as a rail and looking not quite ulike death-given-flesh. "Mister Soleus?"

"This gentleman wishes a contract. Please draft one under his direction." He looked to Isaac, and smiled unpleasantly. "Master Alleux here is an advocate. As I had other business in the region that required his expertise, I may as well make use of his services here. You can rest assured that any contract so drafted and signed will be legally binding."

 

[Isaac]

"Please, I'm not some cheap conjurer found at a crossroads." Isaac had once thought of trading in souls, but the bargaining was never much worth it.

"Mreow."

Teekle reminded him, but the warlock waved off the cat. His attention turned to Master Alleux, a smile drawing on his face as he kipped up and walked over towards the solictor. Over the next few minutes he and the other man drafted a small contract.

Nothing lengthy, with just enough vagueness to it that Isaac did not leave anything specific. Though the fat merchant did negotiate a clause in which it said Isaac was not to harm him or his family. A fair, and rather useless item.

No matter though.

Not like he intended to double cross the man. "There."

Isaac said with a smile, scrawling his signature on the bottom of the contract and allowing the other man to do the same. A smile touching his face as he rolled up what would be his copy and began to shove it into his coat.

"Shall we be off then?" He asked the savage quite happily.

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

Whatever their employer thought of the assertion of quality, neither hired hand would know. He said nothing as the advocate drew up a binding document and signed the document without flourish or fanfare. When he looked to Gavril, obviously expecting a similar requirement, the tall warrior simply stared. He had little use for pieces of paper that promised a thing would or would not be done. If the merchant did not hold up his end of the deal, the No'rei would simply kill the man out of hand.

He might have shed a great many things of his former people, but honor was not among them.

Gavril turned and left via the way they had entered without answering Isaac. The savage walked with the heavy gait of a man that did very little to hide his presence, or the potential for violence possessed within. Once they were out of the room, he cast a sidelong look at the warlock, dark eyes gleaming in the shadow of his hood. "Trust not you," he said quite bluntly. There was no malice in it, no hatred, nor even the faintest hint of out-of-the-ordinary about the statement. He felt that way quite literally about everyone from the outside world. Something about this particular specimen, however, hinted at something slimy and unpleasant. There were depths to the warlock that the straight-forward warrior could not plumb - yet - and it made him wary.

"Afoot, or on horseflesh?" He asked a moment later, as if the previous comment had not even been made. People in the commons made room for the savage as he moved through the room. He stepped outside onto the boardwalk lining the muddy street, stopped and folded his arms as he waited for an answer. "Much time, must go now. No comfort in wild. Shelter, you bring?"

 

[Isaac]

Isaac swept out of the room hot on Gavril's tail. Teekle seemed to linger in the room for a moment longer, his eyes flickering over the merchant. Lingering for a good long while until the moment became almost uncomfortable.

Then he let out a loud meow and scurried after the Warlock and his new companion.

"Probably a good precaution." Isaac said to Gavril with a wave of his hand.

Trust never came easy, and in fact the Warlock tended to tell most people not to trust him. He most certainly did not afford them any sort of confidence. That kind of thing didn't tend to pay off in the end, a calculation he knew better than most.

There was only one promise he did intend to fulfill.

"Horse." He had absolutely no intention of spending weeks traveling. "I'll take care of it."

Isaac said absently, already walking away from the savage. "Meet me in an hour at the Griffin Gate!"

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

The concept of time that Isaac used was different from what Gavril knew, and so it was an hour and a half before the savage arrived. Had the instructions been a certain arc of the sun, he would have understood compeltely.

When he did arrive, he brought along a rather unimpressive beast. Tan and ruddy in color, the beast seemed undernourished, its ribs clearly visible. A deceptive look, though. The naimal was of the breed that his own people preferred, inured to scant water if not scant food. Further west, they could survive just as well without forage, either.

All he brought with him was a bedroll and some saddlebags that had been filled with travelling rations and tools. The ridiculous weapon on his back was still there, and the same stolid and brooding mien as well. He could not see Isaac in the immediate vicinity; perhaps he had already went on a head, or had yet to arrive. Looking beyond the gate out into the endless flowing tan blades of grass that made up the sea, he questioned himself as to what it was he had gotten himself into.

He crossed his arms, and waited.

 

[Isaac]

This time Isaac arrived punctually.

Though perhaps Gavril would not notice, exactly one hour after he had made his declaration the Warlock appeared at the Griffin gate. In his hands were the reigns to a black horse following after him, it's fur so dark one would surely lose sight of it within the night. Two saddlebags graced the beasts haunches.

It looked as fine an animal as money could buy, and yet there was something...off about it. The way it walked seemed almost unnatural, though only to the trained eye. There was something fierce about the creature, and Teekle was nowhere to be seen. "Ah, there you are."

Isaac said quite cheerfully.

"Ready to be off then?" The Warlock continued, apparently all smiles. "It's going to be a long journey."

Unfortunately.

Would that only the laws of magic allowed for a bit of twisting. It would have made this journey so much easier.

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

Man of few words that he was, he did not pass comment when Isaac did arrive. Simply one more tidbit to file away for later, though: the cat was gone, and in its place a horse with the same unnatural mannerisms that the cat had displayed.

Just because he was a savage, brutish in appearance and simple in his person, did not mean he was anything less than very observant. In the world he had occupied most of his life, those who were not, did not live long. As such, it was a noteworthy thing that he would file away for later. It might prove to be something important, or it might not. Most likely it would, however; Isaac gave off a similar impression to the Seers of his people, if not quite their gravity.

Gavril grunted his assent, and swung himself into the saddle of his mount. The beast snorted and sidestepped, casting an accusatory look back at the man on his back. The No'rei shrugged. "Long for you. Not for me," he said shortly. With that, he booted the beast into motion and trotted through the gate. Outside, the road wended its way through the low rolling hills of the grassland. Gavril did not stick to the road, though; almost as soon as he was clear of the walls and the sprawling settlement beyond did he veer from the path. There were few roads that went deep into the territory of the No'rei (truth to tell, there were few roads that went through the heart of the mostly uninhabited savannah). Where they were headed had been long abandoned, and the road that had led to it was long reclaimed by the wilderness.

Wending through draws and hidden folds in the land, the outcast moved with the confidence of someone born to the land and to the saddle; the fact that he offered no conversation, no pointed questions, was merely another aspect of his personality that was every bit a mystery as that the Isaac affected without the seeming intent of affecting it.

She sun drifted through the sky, and westward they rode.

 

[Isaac]

As they began to make their journey Isaac hardly seemed to mind the silence of his companion.

Probably because he enjoyed the sound of his own voice far too much. "In Elbion, they taught us quite a bit more about the distant lands that abutted the city..."

Was how he started early in their journey, and by the time several hours had passed the Warlock was somehow still talking. It seemed that he would not, or simply could not run of breath. His voice touched upon a multitude of different things. Some geography, some theories of magic, and even a few times mentioned cities beyond the veil.

It was an interesting, although one sided discussion. The few times Gavril did speak up, Isaac answered and conversed for a brief few seconds until once again returning to his lectures.

"So to summarize. Erestes had the right idea." He said, having just finished up a rather lengthy summation of the ancient sorcerers theorem on the control of time. "But there are forces in this world that even the most powerful of us cannot touch."

A finger stroked over his beard. "Shall we make camp?"

Isaac asked, apparently done with his previous topic.

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

Interesting to a scholar, perhaps. The tide of words washed over the grassland nomad like water over the stones of a riverbed, leaving little impression at all. Gavril could not even understand all of the words pouring forth from the mouth of his unwanted companion, either. A fact that he did not remark upon, as there might be a lesson in the common tongue as a result.

"Life and death," the man muttered after the last string of words. Not for the first time and certainly not for the last did he regret his decision to avoid learning anything of magic. Being able to silence the warlock would he been a delight.

The sun was still in the sky, albeit a handsbreadth above the horizon. The No'rei looked over at his companion with a neutral expression, shrugged. "Little daylight left. Travel longer, can, but not need. Rest now if like." After all, they were after a young woman who was quite likely dead and little more than bleaching bones on the chilly, windswept plains.

Somewhere out in the emptiness, prairie wolves or coyotes yipped at the setting sun as the gruff warrior dismounted from his animal, gently patting the beast on the neck. At least his equine transport could keep its silence while wending his way across a deceptively empty world.

Gavril did not waste any time waiting on Isaac to do anything, suspecting that the fellow would expect him to do all of the work anyway. The mercenary had met his like before, of course. It was still better than the ones that saw him as little more than an uncultured, unlearned savage. Might have been true, but the condescension would ultimately mean he had to kill someone on matters of honor.

The sun had sunk to within a finger from the horizon by the time he had gathered enough dung andgrass to start a fire, and undone his bedroll. Of his travelling rations he spared none for this first day.

"Tomorrow, in No'rei territory. Much danger if discovered." He hoped that would be enough to seal the lips for a time, but suspected not. He also suspected that the proverbial manure would hit the proverbial windmill tomorrow when they stepped across the unrecognized border between unclaimed territory and that which the Seven had set forth to be theirs.

 

[Isaac]

"Life and death are easier." Isaac commented idly, barely overhearing the mans words though not getting further into another lecture.

His head turned on a swivel, looking around them at the wilderness. A small amount of displeasure flickered on his features, but he nodded in agreement with stopping here. It was unlikely they would happen upon a tavern or somewhere civilized, so this place would have to do.

Isaac pulled himself off his strange horse, landing on the ground with a solid thud and 'helping' with preparations of the camp.

This mostly consisted of forming a small place for him to sleep with his sleeping roll, as well as snapping his fingers to assemble his own tent. Of course he did not help at all with tasks that both of them could do, simply tending to himself. Not to be rude, but simply because helping never actually occurred to the Warlock at all.

While they prepared, Teekle reappeared, though noticeably Isaac's horse was now gone.

The cat sat purring in the warlock's lap, fingers stroking over his fur.

"No chance at talking, huh?" Isaac asked, already knowing the likely answer. "No bartering for passage?"

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

Setting camp up required little time. He himself had brought no tent; such things were not of much use out here in the plains anyway. When rain came, it usually came with heavy wind, and otherwise it was not cold enough for the nomad to care either way. A bedroll and his pack for a pillow were all he required, and a fire to keep away unwanted predators.

"No," Gavril replied bluntly. "No'rei that are friendly not live in wild. Live in cities." He patted his chest to indicate he was one of these. He did not have the words in common to explain the full extent of their hostility and the reasoning behind it - the fanatic belief in their gods and the betrayal at the hands of those who did not look like them was so bred-in-the-bone that trying to open a lane of communication and understanding between the insular world of the desert and plains and that of the outside world had become nearly impossible. The hostility and violence they displayed was its own feedback loop, and for every atrocity they committed in the name of their gods, the outside world pushed back harder.

"Best to avoid notice. Unless small party, not survive fight. No'rei dangerous." The warrior looked at ISaac and his cat with a blank expression. "Stealth, you can use? Need it you might."

 

[Isaac]

There were so many little tribes in the world that it was hard to keep track of them. He was sure that Elbion had a department for the study of this type of things, those more scholarly inclined who wanted to see the world and observe it.

He'd never been one to fall into that sort of trap. "Ah."

Unfortunate.

This whole thing would have been far more simple if they could simply bribe a local warlord. Gold wasn't really much of an issue, or at least it would not have been. Least not until after they got the merchant's daughter back. Illusions were easy.

"Yes yes." He assured the warrior. "I can hide with the best of them."

"Mreow."​

The warlock rolled his eyes, correcting himself. "I can assure I am not seen when I don't want to be."

For a second he paused. "I will need a body of water soon. A small oasis, or even puddle will do. To help find the girl."

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

Gavril barked a laugh at the request. "The Sea hold little water," the former nomad growled and shook his head. He pointed westward in the direction they were headed, and gestured to indicate half an arc of the sun as he began to speak again. "Just so to a seep. Much water bring No'rei camp. Maybe much fighting. Small water safer, but far apart."

Again, the tall nomad assessed the damned cat with hooded eyes. Lacking any formal training in magic was definitively a problem in this; he knew there was something about it but not what. In any case, it was likely irrelevant to what he was doing now.

"Is good. No fight if not need." He patted the long hilt of the heavy blade at his back with a mirthless grin. "Not love lost between me and kin, but violence draws like iron to lodestone." He paused, and cast a sidelong look at the warlock. "Magic too, maybe. Not know. How will water help?"

 

[Isaac]

Explaining magic to those who had no experience with it was always a rather difficult task. Explaining it to someone like the savage in front of him?

Even the professors in Elbion wouldn't envy him. "If there are sorcerers among your people, or shielding the girl, they might find me."

Isaac mused for a second.

"Though it's unlikely." Teekle stopped most scrying, but there was always a chance someone pierced through the wars. Nevertheless, whether magic drew the eye or not it was really their only way forward. "Water is required for the spell I plan to cast."

The Warlock finally began to explain. "It will let me see her, and if we're lucky even where she is. I would have done it back in Alliria, but without something of hers it was impossible. Now that we're closer?"

He trailed off and shrugged. "Still difficult, but possible at least."

 

[Gavril Dan'kosi]

Gavril grunted in response. Obviously, there was a disconnect here between what Isaac thought of him and the reality of the No'rei. Although he could no more read the warlock's mind than he could use magic himself, he had the distinct impression that his companion thought him simple and backward. At least to some degree. He was relatively uninformed, but the Seers were a different subject altogether.

"Not No'rei that are concern," he said simply. He was unsure of what the gods of the outer world really consisted of, but the Seven of the No'rei were not simply spiritual manifestations of the land. Although they had not been seen in hundreds or even thousands of years, the great Wyrms were very much real. It was they who might sense the Warlock and his meddling.

In all likelihood, they certainly would. The question was whether the Seven cared enough to do anything about it, or to give them away to the denizens of the land.

He grunted again. "If important, sooner." He shrugged the enormous weapon off of his back, and hefted the weight of it easily. The edge was hardly polished smooth or razor sharp, and it was clear it was not intended to be when the savage slammed the broad tip of the blade into the earth. As an impromptu shovel, it would suffice. "Always water in the Sea, but not easy to find. Down where Ty'misons' blessing still lie."

He worked wordlessly for a time, digging a hole a few feet deep and a couple wide. Down below the sere surface, the soil was dark with moisture. After admiring the handy work for a while, he turned from the divot in the earth and tossed his blade beside his bedroll. "Time. Maybe few handfuls of water. Enough?"