Subject: The Noyakin retreats

The Kubalcat camp has been thrown into chaos. The warriors have gathered the women and children and look panicked along the edges of the grasses. Kubalc and a small cadre of warriors are running at full speed toward the trampled grass path the party came down earlier, staying as close together as possible. The rest of the party in the clearing falls into close pursuit.

Holn wonders how much of this reaction is a true belief in the Noyakin, and how much is simply a paranoid reaction after a legendary creature from mythology attacked and killed nearly half their fighting men. Was this tribe that superstitious, or were they just on edge from the giant weasel attack and jumping at shadows? There was no way to tell with tensions running so high.

Erk stepped quickly between the two warriors and Kayla and yells at her to get behind the mule, his hands splayed wide in front of him as nonthreateningly as possible, but with every intention of creating a one-dwarf wall to block their attack. As he does this, Kayla deftly drops off the pack animal and slips into the tall grass, effectively disappearing from sight. [Hide check 24 v. Spot checks 18 and 18]

Her heart pounds in her chest as she crouches ten feet or so in the densest part of the grass. She can't see them, so she assumes they can't see her. Her breath quickened, she wonders why they reacted to her the way they did. Racking her brain, she can't think of anyone she'd ever met that had reacted that way to her or to any halfling, and all the songs she knew about halflings inspiring terror were comedies.

Immediately after Kayla disappears, the two warriors freeze and turn back to back, their battle axes held before them defensively.

"Noyakin tekka loai! Kree bo loai! Kree bo loai!"

The group around Kubalc slows in the grass, and fall into a battle formation guarding against the grass. Holn and Buchek translate for the others as they run.

"Kayla slipped into the grass. They're telling everyone to beware of the grass."

Telwyn had understood it was something about the grass, and now realizes that "kree" must mean "beware"... the tribes to the south used "kuray" - just different enough to cause confusion. He makes a mental note as he rushes on, clearly noticing the increase in panic among the Kubalcat.

Subject: Re: The Noyakin retreats

"Cousins!" Buchek calls [Diplomacy Check] "Cousins! It is safe--there is no Noyakin here. She is...there is no word for it in our tongue, but she is what the Sunset people call a 'halfling'. She is a person, despite what she looks like! I have travelled with her, and she sleeps and eats as we do. She is harmless--she stayed with our beasts because she was afraid of Koftak's avatar!"

As he says this, he slips around the line of warriors and joins Erk between the tribesmen and Kayla. His axe is slung on his back, and he holds his hands outstretched in a calming gesture as he speaks.

Subject: Re: The Noyakin retreats

Holn edges toward Erk. "Master Dwarf, you did something to calm the mob that was ready to kill our friend here. Can you do that again?"

Subject: Re: The Noyakin retreats

OOC: Matt, did you have Erk use his Calm Emotions prayer up during the healing?

Subject: Re: The Noyakin retreats

Finally arriving at the mule, Telwyn positions himself by Erk and Buchek, similarly extending his arms. This had better work, he thinks to himself.

Subject: Re: The Noyakin retreats

Elotai follows suit, since he knows nothing about the customs here.

Subject: Noyakin

Kayla crouches in the grasses, listening to her friends who are trying to reason with the tribesmen.

She waits, expecting a cue to tell her when it is safe to reveal herself.

Subject: Bringers of the Grass Demon

?She is like me! Just another race!?

Elotai's words die in his mouth as he realizes what he just said. One of the men looks back at him with wide-eyed horror, surely now convinced that Noyakin could grow to the size of men. When they reach the wagons, Elotai is shoved up against the donkey's flank with a spear held a foot from his throat, and a look of panic in the tribesman's eyes.

The party stands by their wagons with hands splayed to the sides, watching the warriors spread out to an offensive formation. Telwyn recognizes their intention immediately, and further understands that any move to reach for his weapon now would likely be met with a spear through his neck, certainly one through Elotai's.

A flurry of conversation between the tribesmen passes in their native tongue that the Noyakin has moved to the grasses, likely circling for better position to attack. They wonder aloud how many of the grassfolk surround them, and nervously fidget with their weapons. There are five warriors, Kubalc and the shaman, the latter two growing increasingly unsettled.

Holn and Buchek grow nervous, watching how the warriors carry themselves and shift their weight. They have become the enemy somehow, suddenly. Their association with Kayla brought suspicion, and her disappearance into the grass confirmed the tribesmen's worst fears.

Buchek attemps to calm them. "Cousins! Cousins! It is safe--there is no Noyakin here. She is...there is no word for it in our tongue, but she is what the Sunset people call a 'halfling'. She is a person, despite what she looks like! I have travelled with her, and she sleeps and eats as we do. She is harmless--she stayed with our beasts because she was afraid of Koftak's avatar!" [Diplomacy Check 13 v. DC 20, fail]

Kubalc speaks loudly for all to hear. "You travel with the Noyakin? The grassfolk, bringers of pain and torment? She has deceived you! Returns-From-Death's-Sands, you have brought evil to this place! You have brought a grass demon, a stealer of babies! She used you to bring her to this place, to punish us as did Khoftak's earthly form! She stayed with your beasts only to see if the Great Weasel finished us first!"

Holn edges toward Erk. "Master Dwarf, you did something to calm the mob that was ready to kill our friend here. Can you do that again?"

Erk responds quietly, trying to show no aggression, "I cannot. I have called upon my god many times today in the service of healing, and I used the grace he granted me for that prayer to heal the shoulder of the warrior with the axe to your left.."

The shaman shouts at Buchek, shaking his staff high in the air. "I spoke that death does not let go of its victims lightly, Returner, and it has sent a devil spirit to plague your steps and bring ruin on those that aid you!"

"The Noyakin has fled to the grasses to attack us, clad in the skins of the dead, looking for fresh blood to renew the painted sigils on its face! It calls to its kind, and surrounds us!"

Kubalc looks back down the hill and calls in his own tongue: "Barash t'lek!"

Immediately Telwyn's eyes widen. "Torches? There is no need for torches, great chieftain..."

Kubalc speaks again. "We will burn the Noyakin from these fields - it is the only way to ensure the safety of our people."

In the grasses, Kayla hears this entire exchange, and her pulse quickens at the mention of torches. Glancing around, the grass is dry and brown, the same as the thatch from the Inn's roof. It would light quickly, and spread even faster. Without being able to see the tribal warriors, she has no way of knowing how long it will take for them to bring torches and burn her out of her hiding place.

It starts to dawn on her that maybe diving into the grass was not the best course of action, but writes that thought off as the clarity of hindsight. It also occurs to her that even if she fled deeper into the grasses, away from the fire, she would never survive the trek back to Caro - if she could even find her way through grasses well taller than she was.

Her mind raced, deciding how to act, as she began to hear agitated chattering from the barbarian warriors in a language she didn't understand.

[ODM: For reference, all quoted english dialogue is spoken in Common.]

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

"Would a Noyakin have allowed the healer to restore the men of your tribe? No! Noyakin would have chosen the moment that you had killed the avatar to swarm against the camp--that was your moment of greatest weakness. You know their ways! If I call this girl out from the grasses, let you, noble Kubalc, and you, wise shaman, see for yourself that she is but a person, will you let her live?" Buchek says, hoping both that Kayla would listen to him if he asked her to step forth, and that doing so wouldn't mean her death.

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

[ODM: Buchek Diplomacy check take two 4 vs. DC 25, fail]

"The demons of the grass are unpredictable and cruel - it is just their way to give false hope before death! You who are tainted with death, *you* have brought this curse upon us!"

Kubalc's hand plays lightly against the handle of his axe, the same axe that was used to split the chest cavity of the Great Weasel.

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

How many of them are there? What kind of penalty would I be looking at if Buchek tried to inrimidate them after two unsuccessful diplomacy checks? I can't remember, was it you who talked about the possibility of using a strength score instead of a chr. score for the purposes of intimidation attempts?

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

Right now there are five warriors, Kubalc and the shaman.

Two of the warriors have battle axes, and three have spears (with hand axes at their sides). Kubalc carries his great axe, engraved with all manner of designs and symbols, and the shaman carries his staff.

I'll enclose a map of how everything looks.

I'd have to leave the decision about whether agressiveness would work up to Buchek, and how he'd handle the situation. At the moment, he realizes that things are not going so well for him, and that his scars and tattoo are definitely playing against him at this point.

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

I realize I didn't include a key with that map.

The green dots, from left to right, are:

Telwyn, Holn, Buchek, Erk, Elotai, with Kayla in the grasses behind.

The red dots, from left to right, are:

spearman, axeman, spearman, Kubalc, shaman, axeman, spearman.

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

Erk adds his voice to Bucheks. "Indeed, Kubalc. I could stop your men from attacking us by calling on the strength of my God, if it were not for the fact I have expended myself in healing your men. We sacrificed much to aid you." To the shaman he says, "I have the power to detect works of evil. Many of us who speak in the name of the gods do. Do you? If so, I will bring the girl out, and let you call on your gods for divine insight. You will see she carries no taint. Would I offer to do this if she were demonkind?"

[Diplomacy attempts all over the place]

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

Given the results of his last effort, Elotai waits to see how the barbarians react to Erk.

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

Holn too will "wait and see".

Subject: To keep you up to date

I sent an email to Matt asking about some options for Kayla. But I don't want to leave you hanging. I had one extra question to add, Matt. What's the dirt like? It would take Kayla a while to bury herself in it, right? Certainly not in time to escape the fire?

---

Kayla sits in the grasses, cursing her fate. "This'd make a fine comedic bardic tale fer sure. If I live!" she mutters to herself, trying to keep still. She hears Erk's attempt to belay their fears and shakes her head a little. If previous attempts have failed, she has little hope in Erk reaching their ears.

She considers her options. Few options, that. She wonders if she can make it to the wagon unnoticed, but reminds herself that the barbarians would likely light the wagons on fire as well. She recalls a song that will make a person become enraptured by her, but it seems most likely that would only set them off more.

"What kinda fool sets a fire in the grasslands like this n'how? No way to control a fire, we'll all be killed." she grumbles to herself as she keeps thinking of a way to get out alive.

Subject: Bribery

Kayla bakes some chocolate and dried berry cookies using the fire as her oven.

She passes out the cookies to the barbarians, hoping to appease their sweet tooths.

Subject: Re: To keep you up to date

Kayla looks down at the "dirt" beneath her feat, and realizes that it is only a thin layer of dead grass, with a sturdy root structure underneath. She now understands why this land isn't home to more human farms, and why the tribes are so nomadic. Agriculture would be backbreaking labor, and irrigation would be constantly interrupted by blockages of dead grass.

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

Kayla sighs to herself, "Ain't walkin home from here. Time to get closer."

She crawls toward the wagon (ending about 10 o'clock angle in the drawing), controlling her breath. As soon as she can make out the wagon and the shapes of any barbarians, she will halt briefly to consider if she can creep under the wagon. She recalls seeing a bit of board jutting out from the edges underneath. With luck, she can grab onto the axle and find something to hold onto underneath the wagon. Maybe from there she can sneak under a friend's cloak and grab onto their back...?

But for now, Kayla just wants to get close enough to the wagon and the barbarians to see if she has a chance.

(Matt: Any of my friends wearing some bulky clothing? Cloaks, shields, etc? Especially the taller folks (sorry Erk!))

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

Telwyn doesn't move a muscle, but a bead of sweat forms on his brow and rolls down his cheek. Believe him, he thinks. But he remains silent, for the moment at least.

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

Holn calls Fancek Fa to him, wondering if he should begin casting....

Subject: Re: Bringers of the Grass Demon

OOC: Holn wears a big leather cloak. It's magic armor.

Subject: Runaway Burro

Kayla tries to move as quietly as possible through the underbrush toward the edge of the clearing, unsure of her footing on the strange root-covered ground. Losing her balance once, she steadies herself by swinging an arm to the side, just enough to make a *swish* in the grass. [Move Silently check 16]

Immediately, three of of the guards' heads jerk up and they fall immediately silent, scanning the grassline for movement. [Listen checks 16, 10, 20, 22] The party knows something is wrong, but they did not hear Kayla's movement, too focused on the spears pointed at them.

Moving forward to take a look at the situation, Kayla peers through the reed-like grass, watching the men stare blindly in her direction. [Hide check 27 v. Spot Checks 5, 6, 14, 10]. She can tell that they heard her, but that they cannot see her. They are, however, scanning the grassline, the blood drained out of their faces.

Feeling the intense scrutiny, she decides to divert their attention and makes ready a throwing knife.

Erk speaks quielty to the shaman, appealing to his sense of reason, and tensions ease somewhat. There is still conflict in the air and the warriors still scan the grassline, but the imminent sense of clashing steel has subsided for a time. The shaman speaks, but Kayla can't quite make out the words. [Listen check 6 v. DC 15].

"You speak wisdom, child of the mountain gods. I can sense the rot in a person's heart. If you bring out this 'companion' of yours, we will see what her soul tells me."

Just as Kubalc's shoulder's unclench, his men shout that there's something moving in the grass and the donkey pulling the lead wagon whinnies in pain and rears up a bit. [Hide check to throw without being noticed, 15 v. Spot 19, then Attack 14 v. Donkey AC 10, hit, damage: 3, subdual, hit with butt end of knife]

The donkey strains against its harness and starts to move forward down the path again, moving away from the stinging thing that hit it in the neck. The warriors grow immediately agitated, and Kubalc finally pulls his axe, though he steps back from the party and looks toward the place in the grass his men sighted.

With a nod, he sends a spearman and an axeman to walk cautiously out to Kayla's location to investigate, while the others look from the donkey to the party, unsure what to do.

Subject: Re: Runaway Burro

Addendum:

The spears relaxed a bit against the party, and now the focus is outward. So, Elotai's not in mortal peril at the moment, thanks to Erk's speech. (which was a Diplomacy Check 21 v. DC 20, btw). Also, the two on the left side of the map have moved between the wagons toward the back ridge of the grass.

Subject: Re: Runaway Burro

Buchek winces at Kayla's timing in whatever it was she was hoping to accomplish by spooking the donkey.

"Kayla," he calls, pitching his voice to carry into the grass, "the Kubalkat has agreed not to hurt you. Their shaman will peer into your soul and confirm that you are not Noyakin. Come out from the grass, but slowly, with your palms outward."

Subject: Re: Runaway Burro

Erk curses under his breath. The halfling seems determined to get herself killed here, and them along with her.

Erk calls to the shaman, "Wait! I will get her. I will bring her out for you."

He then runs to the area that the spearmen are advancing on and says, "Kayla! Little Bird, come out to me right now, or these men will kill you. Come out now!"

If she does, Erk will stand behind her with his hands on her shoulders, and move her toward the shaman. "Read her heart, with the aid of your gods. Assure yourself that she lacks the noyakin taint."

Subject: Pfft

(Pffft, Erk didn't have to make any sort of diplomacy rolls? How was I supposed to know he'd convince the shaman from pure niceness?)

Kayla hears Erk and Buchek, and shrugs, "Ain't much else to do." She steps out of the grass toward Erk, slowly and with her hands palms up.

Subject: Re: Pfft

Erk DID make a diplomacy roll.

His roll is the reason we are all not currently pincushions.

Subject: Cooler Heads

Erk leads Kayla quietly forward between the two guards, silently praying to Clangeddin to allow them to cross the distance to the shaman unharmed. The warriors look at her suspiciously, seeming to gauge her against some mental picture of a Noyakin they held in their heads. She certainly looked harmless enough - just like a smaller version of one of the Sunset People.

There is utter silence as the dwarf and halfling cross the distance. Even the donkey has stopped, no longer being assailed by knife butts from behind.

Kayla feels as though this is some sort of processional, like a queen's coronation, or a priestess' final dedication to her god... or a march to the gallows. She knows there is nothing to fear, but deep down she wonders at the alienness of this culture, and their immediate and unflinching decision to kill her on sight.

Standing before the shaman, she feels as though he is taller than the others. From afar, she saw that he is not - in fact, he is about average for the barbarian folk, which is small by city standards - but something about the way he stands, or the way the light plays across him, makes him seem immense and powerful. Some small part of her mind wonders at the trick, and starts calculating how it might be used in front of an audience.

Holding one hand to Kayla's forehead and hoisting the staff into the air, the shaman closes his eyes and calls out in a strange tongue that even Buchek and Holn do not understand. Holn at least understands it is the secretive shaman tongue they use to speak with their gods, having heard it during his travels with his master, but he cannot make out the words.

Kayla gets a feeling that she is somehow open, or laid bare. It is disconcerting - almost the feeling she gets when someone catches her in a lie, or when her hiding place is discovered. It makes the hair on her neck prick up for a moment before she regains control. After a short time, the feeling passes and the shaman opens his eyes.

"This one has no evil in her soul. She is no Noyakin."

The warriors visibly relax, and each takes a few steps away from the rest of the party and lowers their weapons. One's hands shake slightly as the adrenaline leaves his body, and two nervously joke with one another.

Kayla steps back away from the shaman and sees him again as an ordinary man, of normal size. Erk leads her back toward the wagon and the others, letting loose a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Kubalc steps forward to Buchek and bows his head slightly. "I apologize, Returner. If you are hiding any other surprises, perhaps you should tell us of them before we stumble upon them ourselves."

With a wry smile, he claps Buchek on the back, sending a shiver down his spine, and begins to lead him back down the grass path to camp. As they walk, Kubalc calls out to the others that all is okay and tells Buchek that his men would find a way to bring the wagons down to the clearing using the animal paths.

Subject: Whew

Kayla, still a little bewildered, turns to Erk. "Ho, friend. I can'na believe we're still alive." then after a moment, "Thanks, friend."

Subject: Re: Cooler Heads

Holn breathes a sigh of relief as Kayla is absolved. Fa leaps to his shoulder as he follows the pair to camp.

It seems too easy.

He feels destiny pull at him, wondering about the nature of Kubalc's interest in his old and massive friend. (Sense Motive: 3 +2 for Negotiator)

He hopes they can discover the whereabouts of the Druid Lysette....

Subject: Re: Cooler Heads

Buchek shoulders droop with sudden lifting of the tension. He laughs at Kubalc's words, appearing to shift moods as mercurially as his hosts, but internally he maintains a certain reserve. This man walking down the path with his hand on his shoulder could just have easily been unsheathing his axe from Buchek's corpse. Would have, if Erk hadn't been able to convince them to actually stop and examine Kayla. He will share a fire and food with this man, and be happy to call him ally in a fight with Tossuc, but the prospect of joining this tribe no longer holds any savor for the young barbarian.

As they walk back toward the camp together, Buchek says to Kubalc "Have your people been much harried by the Noyakin? Among the Cushat there were many who believed that the Noyakin were nothing more than stories told to scare children into staying close to camp."

Subject: Re: Cooler Heads

Elotai remains quiet, and trails behind the rest of the group. He doesn't trust the barbarians not to kill them yet.

Subject: Re: Whew

Erk can not stop the wide smile from spreading across his face. "Yes, well, my help does not come without a high price. I will expect an excellent song from you tonight, little bird. Something about the greatness of dwarves would be about right."

He puts one arm around her shoulders and walks with her back to the camp. "Now who are these grassland cousins of yours that everyone is so afraid of, hmmm? Let's keep our ears wide open tonight, and see what hints we might glean."

Subject: Re: Whew

Kayla grins back at Erk. "I've got the perfect song. Jus' you wait."

She furrows a brow. She tries to recall if any songs mentioned creatures like the Noyakin (arcane knowledge, I think?)...

Subject: Heading back to camp

Kubalc and the shaman wear smiles of relief on their faces, and the warriors shoulders hang low with the rush of fear and anxiety having left their bodies. Kubalc walks with arm over Buchek's shoulder, a smile playing easily across his face as though the preceding ten minutes had not even happened.

It makes Buchek uncomfortable, as his people did not let such strong emotions fade so quickly, but he goes along with the chieftain, if only to be sure tempers don't flare once again. As much as they may look and act like the Cushat, he sees now that they are most certainly foreigners. This is clearly not his home.

Holn is equally unsettled, not trusting the sudden change in demeanor. He watches Kubalc's closeness to Buchek with suspicion, but can't quite make out what the chieftain's intentions are. Is he honestly an ally? Or is he holding something back? Frustrated, Holn can't get a read on the man. [Sense Motive 9 v. DC 20]

"Have your people been much harried by the Noyakin? Among the Cushat there were many who believed that the Noyakin were nothing more than stories told to scare children into staying close to camp."

Buchek's question triggers a a sharp laugh from Kubalc. "Much harried? Before today, we were not harried by gods either, friend, and stories of great beasts were only told around fires. Such creatures exist, and we both worship and fear them, but none have been known to come out of the grass in three generations. Until today..."

Behind the group, Telwyn and Elotai drift toward one another, watching the barbarians speak ahead of them, and the dwarf and halfling behind. Both noticed the way the warriors looked at Kayla, and at their own pointed ears. Two had moved off with the wagons, leaving three behind. Two walked alongside the elf and half-elf, while one hung back behind the group entirely.

While the immediate tension may have lifted, there was suspicion and fear still behind their eyes, hidden from view. It made both Telwyn and Elotai uneasy, and they exchanged a look of concern as they proceeded after Kubalc toward the camp. Hidden suspicions could sometimes be more dangerous than those shown openly.

Kayla stayed close to Erk, already trying to put the events of the day into song. She had hammered out the beginnings of a refrain when Erk whispered so the warriors couldn't hear.

"Now who are these grassland cousins of yours that everyone is so afraid of, hmmm? Let's keep our ears wide open tonight, and see what hints we might glean."

She had been struggling with that question already, but wasn't any closer to an answer. [Arcane Knowledge check 5 v. DC 20] There was simply nothing she could ever recall hearing that bore even the slightest resemblance to these halfling sized fair folk. Surely she would keep her ears open for any clues, especially since knowledge of this race might be the only thing that could keep her alive in another such misunderstanding.

As if on cue, the shaman approaches her and bows his head slightly.

"I am sorry, small one. I know there is no evil in your heart. It is just that you are like a grass serpent that has wandered into a child's tent - no one is willing to ask the beast if it is friend or foe, lest the child die."

He pauses, then looks to Erk.

"I see now that you have some responsibility over this group, priest of the mountain. There is wisdom in your bones - perhaps the wisdom of the mountain itself, which has seen all things. I must warn you of a danger you no doubt already foresee.

"I know the small one is not a threat to our people, and Kubalc believes me in all magical counsel. But there are others who will not accept this. They will fear I was bewitched by the magicks of the Noyakin, or that Khoftak punished me with false vision for the sins of he who held this staff before me. They will not understand.

"Knowing this, I fear you cannot stay with us long. If it were not nearing sunset already, I would tell you go move on with your wagons tonight. As it is, you would do well to be on your way as quickly after daybreak as possible, to wherever you may be heading."

Both Telwyn [Listen 19] and Elotai [Listen 20] hear the shaman's words, which give even more weight to their fears.

Subject: Re: Heading back to camp

Kayla smiles slowly at the shaman, "S'alright, no harm, eh? 'cept the poor donkey. His bruise'll go soon." She pauses a moment, then asks, "D'you listen to music? Songs and the like? I promised my friend," she nods her head to the dwarf, "a song of heroic proportions."

Subject: Re: Heading back to camp

The shaman's words put a frown back onto Erk's face. "I appreciate your warning, Godsman. I will advise my people of your concerns. I wish we had time. I would like to learn more of your grassland gods. But I thank you for what welcome we have been given, and for your quick action in stopping a potential tragedy. The grassland peoples have men of wisdom to equal those found in the mountain folk." Erk bows low when he finishes, his fist before his forehead, in the gesture of respect given by his people.

Behind him he hears Kayla offer a song to the shaman. "What do you think? Would a song help our hurt our cause? This little bird has a sweet voice, and can charm the ears of men. But would this be viewed as harmless entertainment, or as evil grassland magic? Please, guide us in this."

After the shaman has spoken, Erk will make his was over to Buchek. "A moment, Buchek, if it will give no offense to our hosts." Erk says with a smile on his face to the chieftain. He takes Buchek to the side a small distance and relays the warning the shaman gave. "I have no reason to doubt this man. He seems to be wise and open in his dealings. It is perhaps best we mind our tongues this night carefully, and leave at first light in the morning. What do you think?"

Subject: Re: Heading back to camp

Softly, Buchek replies. "I mistrust them, though I agree that the shaman is a wise man, and good. Kubalc would have me think him a blood brother now, but a few moments before that he would have buried his axe in my chest, and a few moments before that was offering me the hospitality of his tent. These people are more changable than the Cushat. If the sun were not setting, I would take the shaman's advice and go. As it is custom and necessity both call for us to stay. I will stay alert tonight, and will not allow myself to be distracted by Kubalc's women's charms. If we are to make a watch we should be careful that our hosts do not take offense. Perhaps it would be best if they did not notice."

Subject: Re: Heading back to camp

Telwyn glances at Elotai when he hears the shaman's words. These tribesmen were a touchy lot, very different from the ones back home. Best to keep silent for now--he didn't want to be overheard, but there's no telling what suspicions their "hosts" would have if Telwyn and Elotai started speaking in Elvish. But it looked like, for now anyway, the two of them were stuck with each other.

It was strange to feel kinship to this elf. Stranger still to feel so alien. Growing up in a human village, Telwyn had always wondered about his father's people. And even though the taunts from the other children about his ears had eventually turned into respect and friendship as they grew up, inside Telwyn never really felt like he belonged with the people of Armis. Somehow he had always expected that meeting an elf would bring a feeling of rightness. But meeting Elotai simply reminded him of just how different he was. Suddenly, Telwyn wonders whether coming on this expedition was such a great idea.

But, of course, all of this is neither here nor there. First they need to get away from here alive. Telwyn keeps his tongue and continues following the group back to the camp.

Subject: Re: Heading back to camp

Mike, your character writing is really, really good.

:)

Subject: Re: Heading back to camp

::blush::

Thank you.