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Drunk Dwarves in
Feast at Serpic-Moreal
Chapter Thirteen: An Unexpected Meeting
Part 2
...
"Excuse me, Sir, but I don't believe that I saw you do anything to stop that creature."
"You are right. I was frightened. I am still frightened. I am sorry. I believe that the both of us got off on the wrong foot." The man advanced with his hand out as he said, "I am Bethrayan from Geloosh. I am a representative of the divine force of honesty, and serve my town by being a silversmith."
"I am Lord Scorplin of the kingdom of Phomorsh. While I maintain my own property that provides some milk and cheese to the nearby barony, I mostly make my wealth by my own labor as a wizard. I lost my entire home and family in an earthquake, so took this adventure with Sarge and his men to get away from home and mourn in peace. I found your daughter in a slaver camp as we crossed the desert. She claimed a history with this place, claimed to be able to work with animals, and had a fabulous suit of armor. I thus purchased the armor in making an agreement with your daughter."
"I heard her say that she loved you. I also heard something about a year."
"I heard the words as well. If you care to hear my version of the story, I would have to ask you to join us."
Some needed discussion is now done.
Drunk Dwarves in
Feast at Serpic-Moreal
Chapter Thirteen: An Unexpected Meeting
Part 2
Borshik rushed to the door, then turned back to ask, "Why were we not taken?"
Scorplin answered, "Well, Sarge, I believe because it did not know our names."
The dwarf advanced towards the other human as he demanded, "What is your name?"
The man hushed the growls of his wolves, then calmly said, "I told one of your men that my name is Bethrayan."
Scorplin replied, "Ninette told us that he worked with magic, so used a pseudonym, just like I do."
Borshik said, "So, Scorplin, you are saying that if I want to join my men, then all I have to do is say my name?"
"I believe that I did hurt it, Sarge. How about you?"
"It was long and big. I don't believe that I could reach any vital areas."
"Right. Listen, I know that you would want to give chase, but we cannot be stupid. Let us return to the stables. We can share tactics, then I need some rest to enable my mind to prepare the spells that I believe will bring that thing down to your size."
Bethrayan asked, "You are simply going to leave my daughter in the clutches of that thing?"
"Excuse me, Sir, but I don't believe that I saw you do anything to stop that creature."
"You are right. I was frightened. I am still frightened. I am sorry. I believe that the both of us got off on the wrong foot." The man advanced with his hand out as he said, "I am Bethrayan from Geloosh. I am a representative of the divine force of honesty, and serve my town by being a silversmith."
"I am Lord Scorplin of the kingdom of Phomorsh. While I maintain my own property that provides some milk and cheese to the nearby barony, I mostly make my wealth by my own labor as a wizard. I lost my entire home and family in an earthquake, so took this adventure with Sarge and his men to get away from home and mourn in peace. I found your daughter in a slaver camp as we crossed the desert. She claimed a history with this place, claimed to be able to work with animals, and had a fabulous suit of armor. I thus purchased the armor in making an agreement with your daughter."
"I heard her say that she loved you. I also heard something about a year."
"I heard the words as well. If you care to hear my version of the story, I would have to ask you to join us."
"Certainly. Now that I have faced this monster, I believe the next time I will be able to contain my fear and actually be some help." The man now moved to the dwarf and said, "I apologize to anything coarse that I might have said. My daughter however would run away and spend time with a most dangerous dwarf."
Borshik replied, "I heard her say a lot more kind words about that dwarf than I heard her say about you. Anyway, you can call me Sarge. I served with honor in the military of Viscount Unbrill of Hochork, which is a part of the kingdom of Phomorsh. I came here with plans of making this fortress my own. So far, Serpic-Moreal is living up to its reputation, but I still plan on living up to mine."
"I would be happy to give you what assistance I can. As for my daughter, she is quite headstrong. That dwarf, Hoduyyal, only fueled her rebellion. I am sorry to have mentally associated him with all members of your race."
"Well, that is a problem as well. Hoduyyal is a legend among my people. I have also seen Ninette's armor. It is a fantastic set of crafted pieces."
"Dragons are dangerous, as I believe recent events attest. Anyway, gentlemen, shall we leave this place?"
Scorplin listened as Bethrayan grumbled about not liking the idea of not leaving the fortress, and felt that the man sounded a lot like his daughter. He then talked about knowing that the men had been inside the fortress for less than a day. He spoke of first traveling toward Serpic-Moreal, but found the terrain too difficult to pass. He thus went around to the nearby towns passing out his icons as he asked about news of his daughter. Having done as much as possible, Bethrayan had decided to return home. As it was that the path to Serpic-Moreal was on his way, he returned to find a recent group had cut a path. He thus had followed. He had rested the night before at the base of the steep climb, then started up only to find the campfire still wet from where the fire had been drenched. He had been expecting to return to that camp. Scorplin stayed quiet while Borshik then told the man about what had been done toward conquering the fortress.
Scorplin led the burros while discussing the attack on the dragon with Borshik. Neither man spoke of liking the way that the fight had gone, although Scorplin could tell that the dwarf did not appreciate his constant harping about how powerful and superior the dragon had been. He appreciated that the short bearded man declared his trust in not challenging him, and once again in the stables Scorplin quickly spoke to let the man know that there had been a reason for his boasting of the opposition.
"Sarge, that dragon can listen through most of this fortress. The echoes we heard was it repeating our names. It was not magic recognizing names and titles, but the dragon itself. No echo sounded in here, so I trust that we are safe from eavesdropping."
"So, Scorplin, you have a plan?"
"No, although you will find me making better comments now. I however first recommend that we uncover that well."
The eyes of Borshik moved to look at the hanging carcasses, then seeing them not bothered he turned back to the mage to ask, "You need a bath?"
"Yes, but mostly I want to see where that water goes. I am rather positive that I know the path the dragon used to come up and take our people down, but surprise is a better tactic in dealing with a dragon."
"You won't hear me argue with a wise man."
Bethrayan helped the two slide the great piece of slate. The task was much easier now that the underlying webs were no longer present. Seeing no sign of new webs or other movements of monsters, Scorplin cast the levitation spell on himself and dropped into the current below. Once certain facts were obtained, he called for some soap. Borshik commented that the man could get what he needed from his own packs, but he was going to get his parchments to sketch out what he had learned. Bethrayan accepted the duty of starting a fire and beginning to cook some meat.
Clean and with a plate of food, Scorplin spoke to Borshik about again discussing plans, although the dwarf was cautious with his return, "There is no turning back. Once we start into combat, we fight."
"How many dragons have you fought?"
"None."
"Well, you know that I have faced at least one. You have to go in with an open mind. Those things are quick, wary, and extremely dangerous. Plus, Borshik, you have men counting on you and I have a young lady counting on me."
Bethrayan said, "She is my daughter."
"No offense, Sir, but I don't believe she is counting on you for her rescue."
The man was silent for moment, then said, "I will accept that. Okay, go on."
Scorplin turned back to Borshik, "We follow the water tomorrow. Hopefully, it will lead to where the dragon or our people are at."
"Sir, exactly what are your intentions with my daughter?"
The dwarf answered, "It perplexes your daughter greatly that Scorplin has no plans for her. Scorplin just lost everything that he holds dear. He almost constantly lectures your daughter about how she should appreciate his mourning, as if she had been the wife in question she should not expect her husband to suddenly rush into the hands of another. When you hear statements about waiting a year, those are the terms that Scorplin has set before he will even entertain any idea about having intentions concerning your daughter."
Scorplin saw the eyes of Bethrayan stay on him, then spoke to him when Borshik finished. "You have my apology for the acts of my daughter. While I have felt the loss of my daughter, her rebellious attitude cannot in any manner match the loss that you should be feeling. You seem like a good man, and I see the dwarf trusting your counsel. I also heard the words of my daughter, so wondered what had transpired between the two of you."
"I have done work with many of the nobles of my kingdom, including the royal couple themselves. I thus promised your daughter that I would have her presented at some major balls, and that her beauty would surely attract the attention of some man. She did not appear to appreciate those words at all."
"That is more than I could offer her. Keep the three coins, but I would ask that you keep my daughter as well, and the promise that you made to her."
"The dwarves want to meet this Hoduyyal, and I told Ninette that I would bring her home. A more proper social occasion should thus be set for us to discuss matters."
Borshik interjected, "Yes, at the moment we are putting the horse before the cart. We first need to rescue the damsel."
Bethrayan replied, "Yes, sorry, but I have not felt much hope until now. Let me apologize for my earlier behavior. By the way, I do know magic, and my animals can give us some advantage. If Scorplin believes that he knows of some spells that can damage this monster, I would like to study those spells as well. Whatever my daughter believes of me, I do love her and will do all that I can to see that she gains a proper life."
In case you are wondering, the next chapter deals with the fate of those taken.
Posted by TerishD on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 (11:47:34) (412 reads)
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