I never got Rimmes post. Please ignore my recent post. It's all messed up.
I'll post a good one ASAP.
ChrisThe Lurking Fox
On Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 10:21:15 AM EDT, Rimme the Weasel
<[email protected]> wrote:
I'm sending this to you all directly, since the list apparently didn't send
back out automatically.
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rimme the Weasel <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, Oct 1, 2023 at 10:20 AM
Subject: Round Robin: First to be Cursed
To: Metamor Keep <[email protected]>
Reed and Aldwin watched the fight at the bar in grave concern. As the teamster
drew his knife, Reed lowered his hand to his knife, but did not draw it, as
they watched Sal and Tony haul the drunk away. Both turned back to their
dinners, but neither had much appetite. They watched as "Tallow" left with his
bat friend and the Watch officer.
"That's two inns, and two fights where blood was drawn," Reed noted.
Behind them, a few tables down, the teamsters grumbled under their breath, as
much at the barbaric-sounding lizard as at their drunk arrogant comrade.
"Pay no attention to them," Reed whispered. "In a few days, they'll be gone."
After their meal, the two of them went out for a brief walk for some privacy,
and to gain some familiarity with this part of the Lower Keep.
Reed glanced around the rooftops, as if they were the treetops of an urban
forest. "Tomorrow we should seek out Kasaima, and learn as much as we can about
the Eastern Cities. Perhaps some things about the emperor, and the history of
his people. I'm not so good at reading, so we could ask the librarian for help
as well. And the land will be dangerous once we get there. We should also
practice some one-on-one combat."
"Reed," Aldwin said hesitantly. "I miss my family. So much."
Reed glanced at him in the dim lamplight, reading his face. "You want to join
those teamsters back there?"
Aldwin shrugged. "Stow away, actually."
"You want to abandon the quest?"
Aldwin squirmed. "I just... I don't know if the curse is worth it. I only came
to this caravan, because I'd always been good in a fight and I wanted to earn
some money for my family back home. I've never seen war. I've never
assassinated anyone. I just want to help people. But..."
"Do you worry you'll never see your family again?"
Aldwin looked up at the sky. "Papa told me that I might not come back home.
That's the reality of guardwork, and he was ready for that. But if I didn't
come home, then it should be out of bravery, not cowardice."
A lion morph passed them in the street, glancing at the two humans with guarded
but friendly eyes. Reed and Aldwin gave him a nod. They'd been at Metamor so
many days now, the animal morphs had lost their novelty.
"I just don't know what I'm feeling now, if I'm brave or foolish," Aldwin
finished.
Reed shook his head. "Stowing away would be foolishness. You'd never stay
hidden long enough, and they'd know right away if someone was taking their
food. You know how nothing gets overlooked in such a small caravan." He rubbed
his lip in thought. "You gave Kasaima your word."
"Do you think that was foolish of me?"
"Doesn't matter now whether it was or wasn't." Reed stroked his chin,
dissatisfied with his own answer. "You must trust yourself to know what to
fight for. Only your heart can commit itself to another. Only you can tell
where your heart lies." He tapped his chin. "Well, and maybe Kasaima, with that
aura-reading of his."
Aldwin nodded. "I know a man like me can't stay home forever. Being a guard
means having to tie myself down somewhere else to another. There's just... so
much I don't know about the world. So much."
Reed patted Aldwin on the shoulder. "You can help in more ways than you know.
Remember, we all look out for each other. You'll always have a family." He
looked back up. "And we have plenty of time to learn about the world."
The two of them turned a corner, careful not to lose themselves in the winding
starlit streets of the Lower Keep.
----
Nathan and Rodrick both bolted upright when they heard Jerrod's scream. They
saw Jerrod backed against a wall, staring in horror at a piece of straw on the
ground.
"What, pray tell," Rodrick said, "is the cause for alarm?"
Jerrod pointed, his nails noticeably darker as if he'd bruised them against the
wall. "T-THAT! I pulled THAT! From my BACK!"
Nathan yelped as his head butted against the invisible wall he'd forgotten was
there. From his own cell, Rodrick examined the straw more closely. It had an
unusual coloration, dark brown on one end, cream-colored on the other, with
thick bands in between. The ends were tapered to sharp points, like a large
toothpick. It reminded Rodrick of some desert tribes that hunted with javelins
banded with their tribal colors.
"Why," Nathan said aloud, leaning forward more carefully, "it's a porcupine
quill."
"A what? A WHAT?" Jerrod croaked, gingerly pressing his back against the wall,
no doubt feeling more of those quills behind him.
Rodrick chuckled. "It appears the curse has bitten you. In a most sensitive
area."
"But, but it's only been six days! Six days! It was supposed to be SEVEN!"
"Oh, don't forget that we spent a night camping in th' valley before reaching
Metamor. So it's really been six and a half." Rodrick waved it off. "I suppose
some of us are more susceptible to th' curse than others."
"This isn't how it's supposed to happen!"
"Would you rather have become a woman, Jerrod?" He laughed. "It suits you. Now
you'll always have a set of weapons on you that you won't thoughtlessly gamble
away."
Jerrod clutched his neck, pulling down his collar to feel the bare skin that
lay there. For now.
"Hey, now," Nathan said. "A porcupine ain't such a bad critter. They're great
climbers, and kin see in the dark."
"I don't want to see in the dark or go climbing!" Jerrod collapsed to his knees
and fell over. A patch of pinpricks pressed against his trousers. Some of the
quills had already grown to three inches. "I wanna go home!"
"Cheer up, Jerrod," Rodrick grinned. "I hear they love exotic pets in Marigund.
We can get you a nice cage, a collar. Teach you to do hand stands. You'll blend
right in."
"Rodrick, please," Nathan said, looking back at Jerrod. "Yer not gonna be a
full animal, ya know. Unless ya want it. Ya still got yer wits with ya. Stay
calm, and you'll git through this."
"Leave me alone," Jerrod said, turning towards the back of the cell.
He was inconsolable. Rodrick had already had his fun, and Nathan had nothing to
do but sit back and wait for however many hours it took for the guards to come.
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