"After that, I wandered about for a few millennia," he continued, momentarily hopping over, casually to compare his own wolf-head slippers to the larger, yet otherwise identical pair worn by his reluctant companion, who with the exception of his ever-widening eyes had frozen during said inspection. "No real direction, or purpose, you understand. Just a free spirit, meandering through the seventeen known universes."
"Uh-huh."
"Of course, there's not precisely a great many Deities looking to hire on disavowed Demons," he admitted, looking up to note that Jesse was in fact paying extremely close attention. On seeing that, he offered a somewhat disconcerting bucktoothed beam of approval.
"Demon?" Jesse asked cautiously, offering the first sign of a response other than shock.
"Now, don't let that upset you," the Rabbit advised comfortingly, as two small hornlike protrusions slowly appeared on either side of his forehead, and then disappeared like the smile of a Cheshire cat. "Demon is just a title used by some of the more aggressive Gods. I suppose they think it sounds foreboding, or ominous. They like to throw a good scare into folks, is all."
"It works," Jesse confirmed appreciatively.
"Anyway, back to my story," continued the Rabbit irritably. "Abhoron decided not to repeat the mistake I represented. But without a mediator, namely me, certain key lines of communication between certain key Deities began to degrade over time. This evolved into manifestations of war, pestilence, famine, and generally a good deal of bad luck for anyone caught between the opposing Factions. And that's when Abhoron went just a Hare too far," he intoned expectantly, waiting patiently, almost defiantly, for any sort of an amused reaction.
Jesse glanced about, wondering briefly why the Rabbit kept pausing.
"Yes, well, Abhoron finally decided to take it upon himself literally to pilfer the original Elvin bloodline right out from under the Deities of Nature."
"Bloodline? As in blood sample?"
"What? No, don't be ridiculous! What in the blue blazes would he want with such samples?"
"I don't know. You said…"
"Original bloodline, dear boy. As in the patriarch and matriarch."
"Oh, okay. Like the Adam and Eve of Elves. Got it."
"Surripere briefly considered a pursuance of the alien's Adam and Eve comment, and then decided that he had allowed Mr. Berrach to waste too much time as it was. "Needless to say," he continued adamantly, "Wildern and Natura were quite put out over that little faux pas. As a matter of fact, I wasn't very happy about it either. I suppose you could say that I felt somewhat responsible. After all, if I hadn't reformed, the entire mess would never have come about. So, while Abhoron was about the business of twisting the natures of his procurements, I struck a bargain with the Natures themselves, who were only too happy to join forces. As a matter of fact, it was their authorization that allowed me to gain a more…physical interaction in this world through the corporal use of their own lower minions. Of course I had to swear that no harm would ever befall any such procurement during my tenure."
Jesse's vacant expression suggested a lack of comprehension.
"I can possess animals," Surripere simplified.
"So, you're not an actual rabbit?"
Surripere paused again. "No, not an actual rabbit," he confirmed through gritted bucked teeth.
"Umm, please continue," Jesse insisted nervously, as Surripere's silent count-to-ten lingered.
"By the time Abhoron had finished the first settlement of Dark-elves, we were already moving to intercede on their behalf, not to imply that this was easy, or quickly accomplished. It took a great deal of time and patience, even by Deity standards. Unfortunately, it takes longer to enlighten than it does to corrupt, though it did allow me time to establish a small following of my own, not that I'm actual god, you understand."
"I never thought you were."
"Well…this brings us to you," he intoned irritably as Jesse's attention perked at the implication. "I thought that might get your attention," he continued. "You, or rather Jester, was to have been one of the primary focal points for the entire structure of my original Prophecy. Then your sister, and I presume the good Demon, Kwibee, inadvertently interfered. In fact, they came very close to foiling a great deal of hard work."
"Sister?" Jesse muttered. "Wha…what about my sister?"
***
{Location unknown}
"Our people have already got the filter working. All I'm asking for is the complete code. Whoever you're working for will just think we figured it out on our own."
"I'm not working for anyone, and I've already told you everything I know."
"You honestly expect us to believe you're just some civilian Kwibee picked at random?"
"I don't really care what you believe."
"Lady, I don't think you get it. I'm offering you a chance to walk out of here. Your name doesn't even have to show up on the report."
"For the last time, I don't know anything! I woke up this morning and found my husband sitting just the way you saw him! That's when Doctor Kwibee showed up! And that's the first time I ever laid eyes on him!"
"Fine. You wanna play it that way? That's just fine. Like I said, we've got the filter working well enough to access the program safely. All we're missing are a few of the bells and whistles. That might slow us down, but it won't stop us."
"You sent someone in, didn't you?"
"I'm afraid that's a classified…
"You people are nuts! I've been in there, and I don't care what codes you have. You're little program's gone fully psycho! Without Kwibee, whoever you sent in is toast!"
Chapter Seven-Roadside Service
"Let me see if I got this right," she continued as they walked. "You've no idea what the howling was, and you don't know what and or who might have caused it."
"That is the sum of it, Mis…Sarah," he replied carefully, not wishing to set her off again.
"And this Master of yours said nothing, except that a Paladin from Brinehaven, while following the call of a wolf's ethereal howling, would come to you at the very spot we met."
"Exactly so," agreed Crumly with an affirmative nod.
"You sure you didn't hear it?"
"Well, I was in meditation, but I don't believe I'm that good…yet."
"So, all this somehow ties into some Prophecy for which you were never given any specific details."
"Right again," he offered in praise of her solid grasp.
"Okay. What about this Trickster?"
"Nothing specific, I'm afraid. Except that he is part of an ancient legend involving the liberation of all the Dark races."
"All right. Where are we supposed to meet up with your friend?"
"Not a clue. I only know the route to follow."
"What if it's like a really long ways? You're not exactly well stocked."
"Ahh, but the faithless abound, and where there are faithless, the Scapegrace shall not want," he stated confidently, as if quoting from scripture.
"In other words, you're a Thief," she intoned with a raised eyebrow.
"Well… I suppose that's one way of looking at it."
"You mean there's another way?"
***
"Hail!" shouted someone to their left.
Crumly and Sarah stopped, and then turned to face yet another Dwarf who was standing a good forty-five to fifty meters off the path and holding the reins of some large type of transport beetle. Its tilted stature revealed that said barge of burden was obviously bogged in the mud.
"Afraid I'm in something of a pinch!" she called again while making for the road.
"Bogged down, eh?" Crumly called cordially.
"What was your first clue?" Sarah muttered, thus earning a sharp look from her companion.
"Unfortunately so. I don't suppose I could call upon your kind assistance, could I?" she asked sweetly, her curvaceous hips proffering a slight sway as she reached them.
"We would be honored to aid such a beautiful damsel," Crumly i
nformed her with a deep bow."
"We would?" Selina asked while noting her companion's bulging eyes.
***
"If it was Selina, then why would she all of a sudden reverse directions?" Borin asked speculatively.
"Why should I know?" Marcus returned in the same tone as that employed by Borin when he was first questioned about Selina's disappearance.
In response, Borin took a deep breath, and then released it in a long, silent sigh.
"All I know is that the barge we passed came from down there." He pointed to the large mud-hole with tracks leading to the road, and then turning south.
"What makes you think it was a barge beetle?"
"Well, for starters, it was about ten times the size of a rhino beetle. That means it was bred domestically. Also, there was that humongous tarp-covered lump on its back!"
"Marcus? I understand that you are upset," began Borin, "but exactly how long must you continue to…"
"And since the tracks we were following go no further," continued Marcus without regard to Borin's protest, "then it's safe to assume that Selina, if in fact it was Selina, is now aboard the barge we just passed," he concluded, returning to his barrow and lifting it, preparatory to commencing back in the direction from which they had just come.
"Hey! It's your turn to carry Father!" Borin shouted.
"Carry your own baggage!"
***
"I would like nothing more than to sit here and explain all the little details," offered the Rabbit, "but as I mentioned, time is quite short. Now, I do hate to be impolite, but I really must be on my way."
"You said something about Sarah!" Jesse insisted while coming to his feet.
"Oh, yes, I almost forgot," said the Rabbit as its clothing first faded, and then disappeared altogether. "These are standard mooring cleats." He illustrated, as a small white cloud appeared just above his head, housing the image of a bolted plate secured by a two-piece latch that was in turn connected with a spring pin through overlapping hinges.
"Huh?" Jesse asked, momentarily distracted by the disappearance of the one, then the appearance of the other.
"It's really rather simple. First, one lifts this," he pointed to the latch, which accordingly issued a pronounced click as it released its hold. "Then you pull this." He pointed to the pin's loop, which accordingly slid free of the two-piece assembly, thus allowing each to separate.
"Uh-huh."
"Well, I really should be going, so best of luck to you and yours, Squire Berrach," concluded the now naked Rabbit as its posture dropped from bipedal to the more natural quadruped.
"Wait! What about my sister?"
"Soon, Jesse," returned the Rabbit's voice from within the dissipating thought-balloon while the hare's previous air of intellect returned to its more naturally uncomplicated bearing.
Abruptly, everything about him rushed back into motion, like a movie jumping into action after the pause was removed.
***
"All right, what's all the commotion?" demanded Maestro Spinwyp, thrusting his upper body through the tent flap, his face half-covered in shaving lather while one hand held a small mirror and the remainder of lather dripped from the straight razor he held in the other hand.
"It's your pet half-breed!" Sibastian shouted, still brushing himself off. "He's run amuck!"
"Oh, do stop over-dramatizing, Prince. It's really becoming quite tiresome," replied the Maestro while observing the lumpy form atop the beetle directly behind his own as it finally managed to squirm about and face him, thereby revealing Aqua's own panic-stricken face.
"Jesse, is it?" he asked the Half-elf.
"Yeah… I think so," Jesse replied, uncertain.
"Could you possibly hold it down, dear boy? We're all still a bit groggy from having just gotten up, being early morning and all. You understand, don't you?"
"Sorry," replied Jesse apologetically, while eyeing the rabbit suspiciously.
"Now then, see there, Sibastian? Our new friend is more than reasonable."
***
"Hail the camp!" The shout came from a distance off the path to the northwest.
"Oh, dear," muttered the Maestro while wiping his half-shaven face.
"Squire Rainswalker?" Morgyn inquired.
Father? thought Aqua with growing alarm.
"Master Nowtright! What are you doing here, you old tavern-fly?"
"I'm on the charter. What's your excuse?"
Morgyn laughed as he started in Merfee's direction.
"I assure you, milord. It wasn't my idea," Merfee intoned while pointing over his shoulder.
"What's this business?" Morgyn asked while imitating Merfee's apparent gesturing toward nothing in particular.
Merfee glanced back over his shoulder, and then wheeled about as he discovered his wife's absence.
"Here I am!" Nefari called from behind and above them.
Oh, no! Aqua lamented inwardly.
"Looks like Mummy and Daddy were worried about Baby girl," Sibastian commented cheerily while passing her beetle to join the others.
Following the sound of her voice, Jesse was invariably forced to look upward to witness a figure literally flying, or perhaps simply floating at a downward angle as if on landing approach. Twins? he wondered as the floating woman neared, her figure producing an image almost identical to that of the girl that he had previously been on the verge of accusing as belonging to the Wood-elf ethnicity.
"What now?" Merfee asked while attempting to conceal his frustration.
"I found a red-winged squab on the path. I couldn't just leave it there," she replied while attempting to conceal her frustration.
"Will you get down here before that spell falls, along with you?"
"Oh, my!" tittered Morgyn. "I had almost forgotten how much I love watching you two avoid strangling each other."
"We would have been much further along by now if we hadn't been busy saving every varmint along the way," Merfee confided.
"I doubt that three small birds constitute every varmint ," Nefari countered as she caught up.
"Why aren't you on the path?" Morgyn inquired. "No, wait, I remember," he crooned in recollection of Merfee's motto. "Roads are for dandies and greenhorns," they recited in unison, grinning broadly as they clasped each other on the back.
"Well met!" Merfee exclaimed.
"Indeed!" Morgyn agreed.
"Mother? What are you doing here?" Aqua asked with an accusing glare aimed at Merfee while rushing to intercept them both.
"Your father and I have decided to take a vacation."
"Leave me out of this," Merfee added. "I didn't decide anything."
"Vacation? You don't take vacations. You won't even eat in a bistro!"
"Just you watch your tone, young lady!" Nefari countered, but with an expression that pleaded more than demanded.
"Father?" she inquired expectantly while facing him with an expression suggesting betrayal on his part.
"Honestly, Pumpkin, we really didn't expect to run into you."
"Pumpkin?" inquired Braumis as he joined them, thus causing Aqua to wince.
"Oh, surely! You just happened to run into the very charter I'm on while going out of your way to avoid me. That sort of thing happens every day, I'm sure," she intoned.
"You have a sister?" Jesse asked Aqua from behind while still gawking at Nefari, who promptly blushed bright red at the hairy-faced stranger's implied complement.
"Now see here, girl!" Merfee rebutted his daughter's insinuation while glaring at the comically clad stranger. "We're taking a second Honeymoon."
"What!"
"That's right!" added Nefari. "And we had no idea we would be running into you. We were heading for Brinehaven, but we thought for sure you'd have already passed through there by now."
"Yes, well, we've come upon something of a small delay in our schedule," offered Sibastian with a decidedly cheerful expression.
"Stay out of this, Siby!" Aqua growled through clenched teet
h.
"What sort of delay?" Merfee inquired.
"Apparently, we've become something of a home for wayward maniacs," Sibastian replied warmly.
"Maniac? Where?" Jesse asked, while whirling about.
"Hail the camp!" That shout came from down the path to the west.
All eyes came to bear as the Halfling, now no more than thirty meters away, finally brought his barge to a full stop.
"Hail, Stranger!" called Morgyn while sidling through the small group to stand between the interloper and his friends. "State your business, if you please!"
"I am but a merchant en route to Brinehaven, milord! I would pass by with no intentions toward or from your goodly caravan!"
"Ahh, I see!" Morgyn returned as he and the others relaxed a bit.
"Please forgive our wary ways, milord! One cannot be too careful these days!"
"Not at all!" the Halfling assured him while urging the barge forward. "I would have been more suspicious if you hadn't been," he laughed as he pulled his beetle up to their group, and then staked it down. "I'm Dobin," he offered in introduction while bowing deeply. "Dobin Eldaberry."
"Well met, Dobin," bowed Morgyn, following with his own introduction, and quickly emulated by the others, except for the Ladies of the group, who offered curtsies.
"Could we persuade you to join us for breakfast, Squire Eldaberry?" offered Morgyn cordially.
"Get away from her!" shouted Maestro Spinwyp, leaping from his beetle's back with his straight razor brandished like a Gnomish scimitar.
"Now!" shouted the Halfling, backing away quickly and pulling the rope that tied the canvas as it fell like a curtain, dropping about the outer circumference of the barge's shell to reveal a mixed group of armed individuals who immediately burst outward.
Merfee, Nefari, and Morgyn rushed forward as Maestro Spinwyp joined them to stand between their charges and the mixed group of perhaps two-dozen Ogres and Dark-elves.
"Attack!" came a battle cry from a clearing of trees to the southwest, where Magnatha raised one cane high from atop her charging shear beetle, followed closely by Cleetis, Tuda, and Hobson. Perdil and Ezlea also followed, but maintained a careful distance to insure casting safety.
Rendering Nirayel - Thief's Prophecy Page 10