A much longer part tonight to balance last night's brevity.
-LurkingWolf
___
Opening the door revealed a pair of men, one cursed into the form of a
black wolf while the other remained human.Alex immediately recognized
the wolf as the one to whom he had spoken earlier.He was dressed in
clothing that was clearly intended for camouflage on patrol, rather than
to keep up appearances among polite company, its patchwork of blacks and
whites designed to escape the eye on cold winter nights.There was not a
blade to be seen on his belt.Instead, a pair of stout wooden rods was
secured in harnesses on either hip.The strange weapons drew Alex's eye
for a moment, but he avoided lingering on them long enough to cause
suspicion.
The man standing beside the wolf helped to redirect the lynx's gaze.He
was of a very stout build, and the truly impressive number of scars that
crisscrossed his bare skin spoke of many years spent in battle.His head
was bald, but his beard had been expertly woven into a pair of black
braids that hung down to his chest.He wore no weapon, but Alex doubted
he would need one to be a difficult opponent.If the lynx's surmise was
correct, the man would not depend on strength alone in combat,
either.According to what brief discussion he had undertaken with the
wolf, the man was also a mage of some power. A well-trained mage was
easily dangerous beyond even the finest of swordsmen.
The wolf smiled as he saw the familiar lynx standing near the
door."Hello again, Commander Alex.I have come in the company of my
party's mage, as promised.This is Balrog; he will certainly be of a
great deal more aid to you in this effort than I will myself."
Balrog nodded to each of the members of the party in turn, although he
clearly lingered at the sight of Julian before continuing on to
Lucy.When he spoke, his voice was very much what Alex has expected, a
gruff, deep voice colored with a slight accent that implied foreign
upbringing.His manner of speaking, however, was quite distinct from the
lynx's expectations.
"Greetings, gentlemen.Milady."He favored Lucy with a short, respectful
bow.Alex could see her rolling her eyes, but she accompanied her sarcasm
with a smile that clearly showed some gratitude for the consideration at
least."My commander informed me that a member of your number was
subjected to a spell that reduced him to feral in mind and body, and I
would like to contribute my own experience and knowledge to rescue him,
with your permission."
The formality of his speech almost made Alex laugh outright, but it
certainly did help to cool the tension that the lynx felt mounting in
the room.Either the man was sincere in his desire to help, or his acting
was camp in its most distilled form.Whatever the case, Alex favored him
with a smile and a nod in return.
"You are correct," he confirmed."Our companion was seeking to scout a
lutin camp for information, and it seems that he ran afoul of the
shaman."He waved to the cage on the table."The effects of the spell used
against him are clear, but the nature of the magic eludes us."
The man stepped forward as the wolf beside him took a step to one side
to let him pass.The man squinted at the white-furred creature that
crouched low between the bars, focusing intently to make out every
detail that presented itself to his gaze.
"I see no trace of a fetish stone," he observed."I suppose that is
likely the first thing that you ruled out?"He glanced to Lucy.It seemed
that he had determined that she was a mage, likely due to her proximity
to the caged ermine.She nodded, and he sighed with a shake of his head.
"I cannot fault your investigation, then, although I am sorry to say
that it leaves us very short on possible causes.To my knowledge, fetish
stones are the only implement that have been used to affect such a
change since the Curse itself." He grumbled and stroked his chin as he
rounded the table.Looking at the chalk lines that had been drawn about
the cage, he gave a pleased nod.
"Good, I see that you are certainly capable with enchantments.You
suspect a hidden spell, then?"
Lucy almost blushed at the implied compliment, but the mention of their
present business returned her attention to the problems of the
present."I have inspected the weaves of magic around him to the best of
my ability, and I cannot detect anything foreign besides the Curse itself."
Oddly, it was the wolf that responded, not the mage."That is odd," he
remarked."Most warriors have at least some enchantments to aid them in
battle, especially during missions of stealth."
Alex shrugged."The only magic I use is intended to make my archery more
useful in various ways.I have no outside enchantments on my person."
"I do not mean to suggest that every man has such enchantments, but a
great number of them do, myself included," the wolf insisted."I am
simply trying to note something I see as odd if it might perhaps suggest
some useful course of action."
"Unfortunately, they are right," Balrog replied.He had been staring at
the former assassin in silence while the others discussed the situation
as hand."If he had been under any sort of enchantment prior to
encountering this spell, it is little more than a faint echo now, and
those would be both difficult to find and useless to our current
pursuit.The magic we need to find should be new and currently active,
and pulling at loose strands in the dusty reaches of age-old
enchantments will not lead us to any breakthroughs in that venture."He
sighed and scratched his head in confusion as he continued to stare at
the creature behind the bars."What devious device has the enemy used
against you this time, Lois?"
"Lois?"Julian looked to Alex, who nodded and gave a subtle gesture
towards Lucy.Julian continued to pounce on the use of their companion's
name by a stranger as he stepped towards Balrog."How do you know his
name?" he asked pointedly.
Lucy, despite being at a disadvantage of both height and strength,
interposed herself between the stocky man and the cage with a hard
scowl.Alex and Julian confronted the wolf, although Julian's body and
attention were still turned the face Balrog.He slowly unsheathed his
weapon with his right hand and pointed its tip towards the wolf, while a
ball of flame developed in his left, the orange of its base giving away
to a light blue hue the further the flames licked into the air.
The human stood straighter and turned slowly to face the man who had
challenged him."I know Vincent Lois from many years ago," he
explained."We met a decade ago, perhaps more, in the lands south of this
Keep.We made a business of culling the smaller groups of lutins who
escaped your patrols and harassed the local farmlands.I understand your
suspicion, but there is no reason why we need to come to blows."He
raised both hands in surrender, specifically turning his gaze to the
moondog."No, I cannot prove it to you, at least not until Lois can
provide his personal vote of confidence."
Julian glanced towards Alex, watching as the lynx stepped towards the
wolf."Perhaps that may be so," he conceded."However, that is not the
only thing that you inexplicably know.For instance, how did you know
that we were here, or that we were in need of help?"
"I told you, we received a request for help while we were returning to
the Keep last night!"
"That is impossible; we sent no request for aid, especially not last
night!" Alex declared hotly."We had not even returned to Hareford until
late in the evening.What is the truth, then?How did you really hear
about our crisis?"
While the wolf looked ready to insist on his earlier explanation, a loud
sigh from his human companion brought him up short."Sir, I realize that
you do not want to so easily reveal your secrets to strangers, but
revealing the truth is infinitely preferable to receiving the tip of a
blade to the heart."The man nodded to the wolf seriously.Nathan looked
quite unhappy with his companion's conclusion, but he was forced to
admit that there was no flaw to his thinking.
"All right," he said with a quiet growl behind his words."I did not wish
to reveal this needlessly, but it seems that the current situation
affords me very little flexibility.I was telling the truth in a way when
I claimed that I had received a request for help, but the nature of that
request is what I did not admit.I have the ability to detect echoes of
events either present or future.Last night while returning from Metamor,
I felt a great cry of distress from the northern reaches beyond
Hareford.As is often the case, I could not determine the reason for the
feeling, but I have learned not to ignore such flashes of foresight when
they are given to me.When I heard you speaking with the guards at the
keep, however, I made the connection that your companion was the one
whose distress I detected."
"This all seems like quite a convenient set of coincidences," Julian
noted, never lowering his guard."Why would your patrol, which you have
already admitted was nearly to Metamor when you detected Lois' distress,
not only detect the cry for help from so far away, but also just happen
to have a mage who is friends with the man in question?"
Alex nodded his agreement."Julian speaks for my thoughts as well," he
agreed."It seems more likely that the two of you, and perhaps more, have
been tracking Lois for some time, and only now do you see an opportunity
to strike him down while he is vulnerable."
Again Balrog spoke, still holding his hands in the air in calm
surrender."I know that your suspicion is not unfounded, but I would ask
you to rethink your logic.If either of us had wished to kill Lois, we
could have done so immediately after our arrival.A fire spell used on
Lois' cage would not only have likely dealt with him in a matter of
moments, but it would have distracted the attentions of either one or
both of my fellow mages in this room."He nodded individually to both
Lucy and Julian, who was still brandishing the wreath of flame which
danced about his paw with a will of its own, never once singeing his
short fur."As a friend of the man, I realize that Lois has more than a
few enemies, but I also know that he has spent most of the past ten
years slowly culling the numbers of those that seek to do him harm.If we
wished the same, we would have not spared any risk to see him killed
immediately."
Alex nodded slowly."You make a few good points, but you still show no
proof."
Nathan took up their defense next."As Balrog has already stated, our
stories could be proven if Lois was released from the spell, but until
then you must either find a reason either to trust us, or to utterly
reject our claims.At this juncture, can you truly find enough wrong with
our words to justify shedding our blood on friendly soil?Can you truly
afford to reject our help because of a few doubts?"
Lucy maintained her position between Balrog and the cage, but she nodded
her agreement."We have made no progress on our own.Any help that we can
come by would certainly be helpful."
"Can we trust this help, however?" Julian argued.
Alex stepped towards the wolf, fixing a neutral gaze, looking directly
into the man's eyes.The wolf met his gaze fearlessly, although even he
could not stand the odd inspection without cocking his head
inquisitively in utter confusion.Alex's face betrayed no emotion,
however, and he avoided even blinking as he stared the wolf
down.Finally, he gave a sigh and stepped back, only to repeat the
process with the human.Balrog took the inspection in stride, although he
did once glance towards his commander with a helpless smile and a shrug
of uncertainty.Finally, Alex stepped away from both of them and waved to
his own companions.
"Stand down.I do not believe that they mean any harm to Lois.Do not
lower your guards entirely, but let them try to help at least."He nodded
to Julian, waving for him to sheath his blade and dispel the fire that
still guttered along the pads of his paw.The moondog was none too happy
with the sudden orders, but he obeyed them with no question, although he
kept himself in position between the two strangers.Lucy, who had never
prepared a combat spell at all, simply stepped aside, joining Alex and
Julian between the other two.Balrog gave a grateful smile.
"Thank you for your vote of confidence," he said with a quiet
sincerity."I will do what I can to see the spell broken.I hope that we
can cast aside any suspicion once it is done."
Nathan said a few similar words, but Alex's attention was instead on the
moondog, who was waving him to a private corner with no degree of
subtlety at all.Alex apologized for his quick departure, and Julian
waved a paw, keeping the sounds of their conversation from leaving the
corner where they would be speaking.
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