RPGWW

Jeridan finds himself heading into the sandy wastes as he follows the trail. Paige must have been extreme panicked to have covered this much distance, he is certain she isn't normally this talented of a sprinter.

Dia follows behind, feeling much better after her rest and able to keep up with the garoujin guardsman without too much extraordinary effort on her part.

"Always, Paige?" Kelne's voice was positively frosty at this point, "I hardly think that 'tonight' counts as 'always'." He wasn't going to quote chapter and verse on all the occasions when he hadn't yelled at her. He also wasn't about to let her turn the argument around. He was confident he could win any topic she might bring up, except that he would have already lost by allowing her to sidetrack him.

"If you want to justify your behaviour, you might as well save your breath. No explanation you could possibly give would satisfy me." In point of fact, one explanation was beginning to take shape in his mind that would come closer than most. Not that Paige would ever admit to that one, of course.

Paige continued to shake..>Though it was no longer out of fear. Hadn't Kelne fought her former employer at some point?

Shouldn't he know what he was like?

Shouldn't he know WHO he was acting like?

They were bringing out the worst in her. First she hit someone with a wrench, and now...

...And now...

"...Of course not!" She shouted. "The only person who could, or WOULD WANT to satisfy you here," She began, "Is JAK!" She flailed her arms at him for emphasis.

"Now, if you'll stop acting like Loake, stop thinking you're SO VERY SMART, and GIVE A LITTLE RESPECT, MAYBE I WOULDN'T HAVE TO HIT YOUR STUPID HEAD WITH A WRENCH IN THE FIRST PLACE!"

She stood, continuing to shake...Wondering if she really just implied that Jak and Kelne had something for one another.

It was becoming more and more apparent to Kelne that Paige was completely insane. She was alternating between scared out of her mind and enraged beyond all reason.

How the hell was he supposed to deal with someone like this, short of lopping off her head and having done with it? At least he'd been right about the reason for it. If anyone could drive people to madness, it was Loake.

Still, he was damned if he was going to put up with this. His tone was icy calm. This was not a good sign. As long as Kelne was yelling at someone, he was venting his anger. If he was speaking in such tones, however, he was devising the nastiest possible vengeance his mind could conceive. In such tones, he had plotted the downfall of Malachias, and of the Infinity Corporation.

"You have one opportunity to retract those statements, Paige. If not, I am going to ask the locals to put you in one of their cells for a few days." It was difficult to tell whether he was angrier at the imputation of a relationship between himself and Jak, or at the comparison with Loake. The smart money would be on the latter.

Jak just stood there bemused, wondering someone with the mind of a child could run that abomination they flew here on. The rumors must be true. Technology drives you mad.

"No, I won't take it back!" Paige said. "Because you're acting JUST LIKE HIM! I don't do what you say, and you threaten me!"

"And I didn't do what you said, so you hit me with a wrench," Kelne said. Clearly the threat approach wasn't working. Why had he even thought it would? "And now, instead of taking responsibility for your actions, you're trying to blame it all on me. Which of us, I wonder, is acting more like Loake?" The parallels with said lunatic were obvious now that he knew to look for them.

Pervy, damn his piratical hide, must have known just where Paige had acquired her mechanical skills. Of course, he wouldn't have known about her little temper tantrums, otherwise he would have warned them.

"If you want to hit Loake with a wrench, I suggest you do it, rather than trying to pin his failings on me. You'll get much better closure that way."

"Then maybe you should stop yelling at me!"

Jak turned his eyes to the desert. He was tiring of this already. There was no use arguing with someone in with an addled mind. Back when he was working in the inn he could shock any problematic drunks and get them tossed out the door.

The inn...

He shook his head, clearing his mind of those now irrelevant memories. His mood had already been further spoiled, however, though his contempt was now directed at another. Not that he was present.

"Maybe I should. Clearly it's not doing a blind bit of good." He should stop yelling? Paige was making far more noise than he was right now. Was there even any point in talking to the idiot woman? She was off living in some fantasy world where she'd been giving useful advice all along and the rest of them (or just him) were utter pratts for ignoring her. No amount of evidence to the contrary would change that.

He had a momentary image of Dia and Jeridan bringing back a slavering hellhound with the eerie ability to disguise itself as a coyote, only to be told that there was nothing whatsoever unusual about it. What chance did the less obvious reality of mental manipulation stand?

Speaking of those two... "You don't think I should be judging you? Alright. We'll let Dia and Jeridan decide what to do with you. They're much more likely to be objective than I am." They were also far more likely to be lenient. But since serious retribution wasn't really an option anyway, he'd settle for Paige being confined to the settlement while the competent people went about their business.

Dia, feeling much better after her rest, is fortunately able to keep up with Jeridan without great effort--and does so!

She's happy enough to just follow behind, letting Jeridan do the work of finding out the path.

It bothered Jeridan to no end that they hadn't heard anything by now. That could mean a couple things: Either Kelne and Jak had already grabbed Paige, and had someone passed them by already...

Or they were stopped somewhere up ahead. Paige couldn't keep up that pace for too long, so there was no doubt in his mind that she was no longer running at this point. So, the question became: Why would Kelne and Jak be waiting with Paige in the middle of the desert? Images of the three being held hostage by some telegraphed intelligence danced through his head... What if the coyotes were just a diversion? Not good, not good.

Jeridan tries to pick up the pace, and continue to follow Paige's tracks in the sand.

Jeridan, after a bit more running, can discern the carpet and two occupants in the darkness ahead. As can Dia. They should be able to close in within a few seconds now.

****

Jak, his eyes wandering a bit, notices some sort of snake making its merry way through the sand not far from the trio of arguers.

Wait, are snakes nocturnal?

Edited by: Uncle Pervy  at: 3/11/06 5:15

Jak sure as hell didn't know, but he idly flung a ice spell at it, just to be sure. After what he'd discovered about all that crazy mental magic he wasn't in any mood for dealing with the local fauna tonight.

<span style="font-size:xx-small;">(Crystali, if it matters.)</span>

The snake, simply put, is not prepared to be impaled upon a shard of ice that appears from thin air, and dies with a significant deal of thrashing.

This is very noticable to all, including Paige, who hears the sound of the spell manifesting and cutting through the air.

Jak, however, is left feeling much more drained than he should by this. Perhaps just throwing a spell out isn't such a good idea?

Jeridan was prepared to see the group held hostage by a huge pack of coyotes, or maybe beset from the skies by condors or something... So he was a bit confused to find them standing around looking angry, and Jak expending valuable energy to kill a small snake. He slowed to a jog, and approached the group panting lightly.

"What's going on here...?"

"A lot of pointless shouting in the face of possible danger," Kelne said. The words might be ironic, but his tone didn't suggest he was deriving much amusement from them.

He obviously wasn't thinking clearly at the moment. Witness the fact that the first he'd known of the long-awaited snake was when Jak blasted it.

"We might want to put a bit of air between us and the desert before we're swarmed, by coyotes, reptiles, lemmings, or whatever else our adversary cares to throw at us."

'Sounds good to me. I admit to feeling better now that we're not scattered anymore.

'The EF have been informed of the coyotes--and me--though I've been advised that I'm not likely to be believed. I stayed a-wing while updating the three EF I found over the coyote situation.'

The mage once again cursed this blasted land. Still, couldn't be too careful, and things seemed like they were cooling down for tonight. Not that you could ever be sure of such things, he reminded himself quickly.

Jeridan nodded. Obviously nerves were frazzled here, and people were not at their best. Better to get the hell back and sort out what actually happened later.

"Alright. Everyone who can fit, on the carpet."

He moved to do just as he'd spoken himself.

"Coming, Paige?" Kelne asked, when she didn't immediately move to join them. Though phrased as a question, his tone suggested that this was a mere formality. If need be, he'd haul Paige back to the settlement by force.

Paige paused a minute. "....Whhhaat garuntee do I have that you're not going to blast me, yell at me, and do all sorts of nasty things as soon as we get back?"

Jeridan replied, almost amicably:

"Mostly just that we could do all those things here if we felt like it. Now c'mon, before we all freeze in the desert night."

Dia sniffed the air cautiously for any untoward scents. 'Well, personally, I'm not interested. You're on our side. What are you thi--no, let's not get into that now. Let's just get moving. I'm not comfortable here.'

Paige slowly nodded, and hopped onto the carpet...Was she reaching for another wrench, though?

With those people who would fit on the carpet aboard, Kelne lifted off, gaining altitude and setting a liesurely pace back towards the settlement. He did direct a look at Paige. One which travelled down to the reaching hand, then back up to meet her eyes. For a long moment, he held that look, letting Paige draw her own conclusions about what would happen if she tried brandishing a wrench at him again.

Then he turned his gaze aside, addressing the group, "First of all, my apologies, Jeridan. It sounds as if your theory was more or less on the money. Our adversary seems to have a distinct interest in us, particularly in Dia. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that it set up the incident at the farm with us in mind."

Thankfully, there was no evidence for the Infinity theory. It looked as if he'd been spared that particular headache.

"Don't worry about it. I wasn't exactly myself, and I was spouting crap. Some of it just happened to be close-to-right. ... I don't suppose we know why it wants Dia?"

"Maybe it wants her as a minion. Seemed to have fun playing the puppeteer with the wildlife around here."

The group could feel Dia's surprise flash briefly over them, as well as a hint of nervousness; she exhaled in a long hiss through teeth bared at the night. However, the only thing she offered--'I haven't smelled any dragons.'

Jeridan's fur ruffled and his ears flattened against his head in response to the sudden wave of foreign emotion. He took a minute to settle himself, before replying:

"Whatever he wants her for, it seems he can't get her on his own. The best he's thrown at us so far is a pack of wild dogs that break like porcelain, and this snake..."

He took a breif moment to look the thing over before continuing.

"Let's just head back and think on this more later at the settlement."

"Sounds like a plan. And tomorrow we can ask if the locals know anything about this strange nemesis."

Jeridan notes the snake has been rather skewered. It looks sorta like the non-poisonous garden snakes one finds around doma, in general. At least its head and length remind him of it; its coloration matches the wastes around them.

"..."

For the sake of peace within the group, Jeridan will keep quiet. It's better for now to let Paige think that Jak saved her.

Kelne simply nodded. Inwardly, he wasn't particularly sanguine about facing off against this adversary. Tonight, he was certain, had been a mere test. And it was a test they had failed in spectacular fashion. The foe now knew far more about them and their capabilities than they did about it. And if snakes, wild dogs and vultures were the worst it could throw at them, he would be shocked.

Still, experience told him that such pessimism wasn't what the group wanted to hear right now. And, truth be told, it could have been much worse. It could have been controlling the locals.

For now, it would be best to regroup and figure out their next move. More information, of course, would be a distinct bonus.

The carpet and the dragonhalf make their way back to the Settlement. Thankfully, the trip is untroubled by any birds or such following them, and the ground seems relatively clear. At least, as far as they could see in the dark. Kelne is fairly certain there is a bat or something following them, but he can't prove it.

Kelne stops the carpet by a group of Perimeter guards. Thankfully, it seems the word has spread and Dia gets nothing more than an odd look. They are passed through, and told that both AD-10 and EF-10 wishes to see them. Kelne makes his way toward AD-10's home. However, likely only one person would need to be there to report to AD-10.



Edited by: Uncle Pervy&nbsp; at: 4/16/06 21:57

Kelne didn't think any real purpose would be served by the whole group traipsing in to see AD-10. Indeed, he doubted that such would be welcomed.

"No sense in all of us going in," he said, "I'll handle the report. The rest of you see if you can find us lodgings for the night."

This course of action had the added benefit of removing Paige from his presence.

It also left her with Jak. Fortunately he was too tired to do or say anything now, but he'd be damned if he was going to let her little case of assault slide. Thus he began to head off to find an inn. Or somewhere to stay, in case this gods forsaken land didn't have any.

Dia spent a larger part of her time watching very carefully where she stepped. She wasn't much used to moving about human cities in dragon form, the action being banned in Doma City; walking in Settlement 10 was a slow, shuffling, thoughtful affair. Fluffy, for his part, had resurfaced, and was running circles around her feet, ever-energetic.

On Jeridan's part, he can feel some motion in his pack, before Ushyu paws her way out, and looks around blearly.

Dia certainly seems to be getting her share of attention, with Thalsians standing at their doors, some letting their curiosity or fear shine through, others keping their emotions masked.

Kelne makes his way to AD-10's home, and finds light coming from the windows. Walking inside, AD-10 looks to him expectantly. "I have head reports that several wild canines have been killed. Your work?"

As for Jak, his previous wanderings have left him with a fair idea of where the traveller's lodgings would be. Perhaps there is a little benefit to cities being laid out along similiar plans?

Kelne nodded, "Not that it'll do much good. The problem goes far beyond a few wild dogs."