After a couple of minutes, the Fasion returns, erupting through the bead curtain as if it were her life's worst obstacle. Proceeding straight to Gol'br'in, she mutters something as he bends to listen. Then he clicks his tongue impatiently, stands erect facing the curtain, and barks something that sounds like, "Tcakin, mek-mek!"
Turning to the party sheepishly, he says, "That's about all I know of her language. If you have any translating devices, they'd be a big help right now."
Lirassa taps a key on her helmet with a huff. Then she says in Brekka, "Kekkin [Testing] i [one], kuli [two], zil [three]. Brakken kg'ford [Do y'all understand me, now?]"
Mey'Luskar huffs in turn. "Why didn't you tell us you had one of those?"
Lirassa, still speaking Brekka (though everyone understands her now), replies, "Y'all can't expect a girl to let fly all her secrets, now, can ya?"
Pru sucks air through her teeth.
"Now, what's your problem, pee-wee?" asks Lirassa, throwing out a hip cockily.
"Your Yangae is a lot prettier," replies Pru.
"'Cause it ain't my own language, right?" retorts Lirassa, putting a hand on her hip. "It's prettier 'cause it ain't natural for me, right? I only speak Yangae 'cause I have to!"
"There are reasons for that," offers Gol'br'in in Her-galad.
"Naturally," says Nekshi in Yangae. Then it occurs to her, and she switches to Zorlan Standard. "Subject: Yangae language. Former condition: official language of commerce and administration. Location: this area. Applied time frame: over two centuries. Current condition: replaced. Object: Her-galad language. Agent: new Ergothei administration. Corrected time frame: limited to past forty years. Result: Yangae continues to be prevalent. Conclusion: understandable." (This entire dialog is expressed within a span of two seconds.)
Ham sighs. He has never been fond of telepathic translators. At least he understands what everyone is saying for a change...but the grammar of certain foreign languages squeezed through his tired brain tends to give him a headache!
He's not the only one, either. "Please!" cries Pru. "Yangae! Speak Yangae!"
Nekshi glares in return. "Directive refused. Reply subject: Yangae language. Condition: limited and inefficient. Apparent time frame: any case. Conclu..."
"Stop!" Pru clutches her mop of curly, black hair. "Just stop! Don't! Just d...eh?"
A wave of surprise sweeps through the chamber as all eyes turn to the face that is shyly peeking through the curtain.
Few present have ever seen a face like that in person, and those that have recall the experience with dread and/or hatred. And yet there isn't a single person there who doesn't know the racial identity of those large, tawny, slit-pupiled eyes set in a gray, scaly face...a face that seems like an evil caricature of the human form.
The face of the enemy.
"Don't try to read her thoughts," warns Gol'br'in. "As you know, she doesn't like it, and she hits back. You might not want to get too close, either. Her claws are pretty nasty." He rubs a thigh with a shudder.
Lirassa clicks on her rifle. "Y'all better explain quick," she hisses.
"Put it down," says Bina. "Poor thing! She's frightened!"
"You might want to pull in your senses," says Gol'br'in. "She can turn those on you, too."
"I won't!" retorts Bina. Intrigued with the Ahmonite enough to forget her own problems, she asks, "Where did you find her?"
"She found us," replies Gol'br'in. "Just wandered up out of the tunnels in a state of shock. I gave her sanctuary. We don't have a common language, so communication has been tough. She ran away from something. Actually, you know, since you have a translator, maybe we can..."
"The only way I talk to 'grays' is with this," spits Lirassa, starting to raise the rifle.
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In Her-Galad Zeton calmingly speaks to Lirassa, "Please, she is but one, we are many, I don't think she'll attack, at least not as long as we don't provoke her. Remember, we are trying to save Adulie. Lower your weapon and lets find out what we can. Maybe she can provide us some information about the Eye of Tann. Where else would she have come from if she wandered up from the tunnels than the Eye?"
After a very short pause, Zeton asks Bina, "Why don't you act as our representative Bina, but please be careful."
(Considering Lirassa doesn't understand much Her-galad, it's a very good thing she has her translator activated!)
Lirassa ponders Zeton's words for about a second. Then she says, "Whatever," and raises the rifle again.
Bina steps directly in front of it and stands there calmly, arms folded.
"Damned soft-hearted Herg!" snarls Lirassa. "Get out of the way unless you..."
"You'll just have to shoot me, Lirassa," Bina replies calmly.
With a sigh, Lirassa lowers the gun. With a sigh, Betham lowers the stun baton he already had positioned right behind her back.
Bina steps forward and holds her hands out. "I'm not going to hurt you," she says gently.
The Ahmonite eyes her warily for a moment, and then she drops to one knee and holds her hands together in front of her. "Brave one!" she says in her language as she bows her head to press her forehead against her hands.
"Ah!" says Nekshi in Yangae. "The rite of feminine supplication! She has just acknowledged you as a female of superior rank! Of course, you should probably slap her in return...unless you happen to have a convenient blunt object handy..."
"I'll just accept her honor," says Bina.
Everyone stands there staring for a while. Finally, Bina breaks the silence by saying, "Please tell me how you came to be here."
The Ahmonite hesitates before replying, "I came with my lord. He was...appointed...to meet someone. But he was betrayed. They let me go. I came here."
"Who are 'they'?" continues Bina. "The ones at the Eye of Tann?"
"No," replies the Ahmonite. "The ones that live under this mountain."
"What?" barks Lirassa. "Who lives under this mountain? And why would an Ahmonite be sent to meet them?"
The Ahmonite doesn't respond.
"Please answer her question," says Bina.
The Ahmonite frowns. "My oath is as the sands."
"No matter how the winds may blow them," points out Nekshi, "the sands remain. In other words, the secret will die with her. A strange expression considering sands are non-living to begin with..."
"Oh, I bet we could make her squeak it out if we tried," snarls Lirassa, patting her rifle.
Gol'br'in chuckles. "Do you really have to ask?" He gives Bina a smirk. "Oh, right. I forgot. The great circle wants us all to be totally ignorant of the Betrayers' works."
"That knowledge is dangerous!" snaps Bina.
"Well, this confirms what my master died trying to prove," says Gol'br'in.
"Hmm... for some reason I have a vague memory about the Kai-Kr'embol keeping a secret about something under the mountain, but for the life of me, I can't recall the details. So, maybe there was some truth to what I heard"
"It seems what appears to have been a straight forward rescue mission has unearthed much more than we bargained for; I never expected to meet an Ahmonite. Bina, does your newfound friend have a name?"
"Please elaborate Gol'br'in," Mon'Fargret replies.
"Things seem to be more random by the minute. Does any of this help us against the Eye?"
Bina glances at Zeton and Mon'Fargret with horror.
"This knowledge is forbidden for a reason!" she cries. "Look at the harm it's already caused!"
Ignoring her, Gol'br'in says to Zeton, "You remember surprisingly well, but you have the wrong mountain. Their secret is under the Temple on Mt. Er'weina, and it's the good secret. The one under this mountain is the bad one." He looks at Mon'Fargret. "And it has EVERYTHING to do with the Eye!" He jerks a thumb at the Ahmonite. "But this complicates things. I'll tell you this much. My master believed, as I believe, that the Atlanzi's physical body is nowhere on this planet. It might not even exist anymore. It uses a...a device, a Relay, if you will, to focus its presence here without alerting the Sentinel. But it has to work through a living host. The problem is that the Relay is in the wrong hands, which is very lucky for us."
"Meaning?" snarls Lirassa.
"Those that have it can't be controlled by it," replies Gol'br'in. "As long as it's in their hands, the power of the Atlanzi will stay limited. I'm sure Yangae struck up some kind of deal with them, probably under influence, and that's why the rune-poisonings started. But if they were to take it for themselves, or if the Ahmonites were to get it, we could very well have a much bigger problem." He eyes the Ahmonite and scratches his chin. "Very interesting that the delegate they sent got betrayed! Was it by the keepers of the Relay or by the Yangae it possesses? I wonder. And whose idea was it? Hmm..."
The Ahmonite eyes him silently in return.
"You know something about this," says Betham suspiciously, "don't you?"
Gol'br'in smiles. "I'm not neutral in this war. I've made a few deals of my own."
The Ahmonite gasps. To Bina, she says, "Your lord knows about the Poldites?" Then she covers her mouth with shock.
"He's NOT my lord," snaps Bina in return.
"The vine?" suggests Betham. "You've been using the vine to..."
"Just give the pass to the guards," says Gol'br'in, "and do NOT show any resistance. Everything should be fine."
"What do we do with that?" demands Lirassa, tossing her head in the direction of the Ahmonite.
"I'll give her sanctuary if she wants it," says Gol'br'in.
Lirassa huffs. "What, y'all don't think she'll try to cut your throat while you're meditating or something now that she knows?"
"What's your name?" asks Bina to the Ahmonite.
"I was named 'Atraktu zak-Camal' by my former lord," she replies, bowing.
"We just call her Camal," says Gol'br'in.
"Atraktu," says Bina, "do you wish to remain here?"
"Those that saved Atraktu's life," she replies, "own Atraktu's life. Atraktu will obey." She bows deeply.
"I think we should move on before Lirassa's branches burst asunder," Mon'Fargret intones as he suddenly checks his inventory and rehoists his rucksack.
"This improbable band of races has a date with the Eye of Tann. I aim to put that eye out if we can. We thank you for your assistance Gol'br'in. Any parting words to help us any more than you already have?"
Gol'br'in pauses, toying with a lock of hair. Then he says, "Maybe just one more thing the Runes told me through the dice." He clears his throat. Then he intones, "'Things aren't always what they appear to be.'"
"Oh, what does that mean?" demands Mey'Luskar testily.
Gol'br'in gestures dismissal. "How should I know? That's something you'll have to find out!"
"Well, then let's go find out!" snaps Lirassa, slinging her rifle. "Like he said, my branches are...whatever he said..., and I for one have had enough of the air in this place!"
Turning on her heel, she takes two steps in the direction of the stairs, and then she suddenly comes to a dead halt.
"Poldites?!?" she cries. "Did y'all say there's Poldites under this hill?"
"They've been here longer than we have," replies Gol'br'in.
"Like, how many are we talking about?" demands Lirassa.
Gol'br'in gestures dismissal. "Who knows? Dozens? Hundreds? Maybe even thousands? Like I said, just give the guards the pass and move on."
Following Mon'Fargret's lead, the other members of the party start to gather themselves up to leave.
Just as Bina is saying goodbye to Atraktu, however, Mey'Luskar suddenly approaches with a very uncertain look on her face. First she looks like she's about to speak to the Ahmonite, but then she turns to Bina instead.
"She accepted you," she says to the Hergoth. "Can you...have her accept me, too?"
Bina gestures understanding and turns to the Ahmonite. "Atraktu," she says, gesturing toward Mey'Luskar, "she is like a sister to me. Honor her as you honor me."
Atraktu gives Mey'Luskar the bow of supplication without delay.
Mey'Luskar still looks very uncertain as she says (confusing Her-galad and Yangae words), "Atraktu, do you know where the Re-...er, Relay...is?"
The Ahmonite stares at her blankly.
Mey'Luskar moans with quiet frustration. Then her eyes widen, and she snaps her fingers. "Do you know where the God Device is?"
"Yes-yes!" replies Atraktu. "Atraktu knows! Atraktu remembers where the Poldites keep the God Device!"
"If...I were to ask you...to take me there," continues Mey'Luskar as if freaked out by her own words, "would you...be able to do it?"
"What?" cries Bina, her already-large Hergoth eyes widening to their limit.
The Ahmonite gasps. "No! No-no! The brave one must not go there! The Poldites would kill the brave one...and eat her!"
"If I asked you to," repeats Mey'Luskar more surely, "would you be able to do it?"
"Lady..." gurgles Pru.
Atraktu swallows hard. Then she bows. "Atraktu obeys."
"What are you getting at, sister?" hisses Bina.
"Call it a hunch," replies Mey'Luskar. To Atraktu, she says, "Atraktu serves well." Then she turns and starts to head toward the stairs.
Zeton hurries to catch up to Mey after double checking to make sure he has all his gear, "I understand the desire to capture or destroy the Relay, but do we understand the consequences of that yet? Is it possible to rescue Adulie and destroy the Relay at the same time? What exactly is your plan?"
Mey'Luskar gives Zeton a quizzical look.
"If you think I'm planning to go marching into a cave full of big, ugly lizard things right now...," she snaps.
Widjgleeby glowers down at her.
One could almost hear the air rushing out as she deflates. "Um...I'll stick with the caves full of good lizard things!" She gives the Farbett her most charming smile.
Widjgleeby looks away again.
Mey'Luskar sighs. "Anyway, I don't have a plan. I'm just following you guys. I just had a hunch that I should ask her that. Just in case."
(New post time.)
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