Suddenly the elder figure nearly shouts out, "What is this?" He is pointing toward Asif, "Where did you get those?" He seems quite bothered.
Asif undressing to take a long overdue bath in the inviting waters of the lake spins on his heel to face this challenge. Stripped to the waist he glares back, and frightened somewhat by the strangeness of these people he half draws one of his scimitars before thinking better of it. In a measured tone he answers.
"Give not the evil eye to me efendi, or shall the light of Aten shine no more upon you. Such gestures we consider insulting in my homeland. For what purpose do you point at me?"
Forte looks over at the elder and then at Asif, wondering if the elf is referring to the red scimitars.
A puzzling expression appears on Ullar's face. "What are you talking about?" he asks, while following the pointing of the man with his eyes towards Asif.
Xania looks toward Asif, trying to figure out what he's pointing at.
The two jeweled swords from the middle tomb are conspicuously visible, and appear to be what is agitating the fellow.
Rhune looks up from the water to see what he is talking about...curious as to why he is bothered by Asif.
The man continues to point, this time certainly at the two jeweled swords that Asif bears along with his scimitars. "Where did you find those weapons? Who bore them?" He seems about to continue when Dakath speaks.
Dakath edges toward Xania to stand next to her, his eyes not leaving the Elder. "Xania, stay close to me, I don't know what it is, I've never met this man but I get a strong urge to keep away from him," he gazes at her, some confusion in his eyes. "I don't like not being in total control," he says more to himself than Xania. He seems annoyed and his jaw clenches. As he does so his eyes drift over to the lake and he begins to take a step toward it.
Xania tackles him. "Stop it!" she yells. "Stop trying to get us into that lake. Kyo is right, these people are demons!"
Kyo was in shock. He knew these people were demons, but he had never heard anyone agree with him in his life. Drawing his short sword he advanced on the demon. "Release the man DEMON!" The last word was spit with venom that could slit rocks.
Coming up from the water to see Kyo drawing his sword, "STOP THAT! He healed Forte and you want to kill him!" Rhune yells in Italian....
Ullar, still tired but aware that this situation can get out of hand quickly, steps between the 'demon' and Kyo, facing Kyo.
"They are not going to 'suck our souls', Kyo. Otherwise they wouldn't have wasted their abilities on saving Forte. Rhune is right. Please put back your weapons."
Whispering to Kyo he adds: "And.. if they do mean us harm, you can always get them by hand, since I've noticed your strength. It's quite impressive!"
When Dakath speaks and steps forward, the elder looks at him, all thought of Asif disappearing. He steps quickly toward Dakath, peering at him, "How can this be? Who are you? It cannot be!" He seems even more agitated, and the fellow that has done most of the talking up until now also seems disturbed, his calm eyes reflecting uncertainty.
The man seems totally unaffected or even unaware of Xania and Kyo's threatening postures. Indeed, the whole group is staring intently at Dakath.
Dakath draws his dagger and holds it out in front of him. "Don't come any closer," he watches with a mixture of fear and curiosity at the man, as he asks his questions.
"Perhaps it is you who should explain who you are and how did I find myself drawn here?"
Xania fumbles in her pouch for some sand, though she does not attempt to cast any spells, yet.
"Dakath!" Ullar calls out. "Please put back your weapons. They healed Forte, I can't believe they mean us any harm."
"Do you?" says Ullar, now facing the 'demons' again.
"However, his question is certainly worth an answer," the warrior adds. "Why did we end up here? And why are you so interested in us?"
Ignoring Ullar completely, the man continues to stare at Dakath, as if coming to grips with something in his mind. After a moment, "You are a spirit-speaker? The last of those were thought lost centuries ago."
Dakath shakes his head, "I've been called many things in my time, but I'm no spirit-speaker."
The elder looks on in wonderment at Dakath as he turns toward his younger companions, "Indeed, they have come, and they bear more than our salvation!" He turns back toward Dakath, "What message do you bring from him? They have been gone a long time, but I remember them still. You bear his aura." Whipping around toward Asif, "And you bear both of their weapons!" Turning back toward Dakath, "Tell me, do they live? Do you commune with them still? Are their spirits even now crying out for forgiveness? For revenge? As they were so many years ago?"
At the mention of their departure, Dakath lowers his head in shame, hardly listening to the words that the elf uttered, slowly the feeling dissipated as did the feeling of the strange spirit in his mind. He looked up somewhat drained and lowered his dagger "I don't have any message to give you, I felt a great sense of shame and then nothing, I am alone again. We did however set them free from the prison that held them."
Ullar is startled about the fact that he is completely being ignored. He is about to comment on it however the speech about some spirit-speaker intrigues him. He falls silent and watches the whole scene with interest but making a mental note about it. He feels not comfortable at all with the powers this man sees in Dakath, but that feeling can rise from some sort of jealousy, of course.
Seeing Dakath's expression of dismay and fear, "All these years, we did not know what had happened. When the warriors died, only the brothers were left among us able to fight. The old women, now dead, and the children, of which only I remain." He seems to be raving with remembrance now, as his voice rises, "I saw them! Yes, and he knows it, doesn't he? Saw them taking the weapons and armor of their father and uncle to go war upon the dark ones, leaving their clan to perish behind them! Yes, I remember. For revenge, that dark human notion, they left behind all of us, and never returned."
He becomes more solemn, "We died, as they must have known we would. We could not hunt, and the dark ones had killed everyone with the slightest talent for the spirit, or the higher forces. I was left, the guiding hand of my people, less than a century old! Only by turning to the Lake did we survive, and only a handful managed. And now the Lake itself has turned against us, and no hope remains. Lost, lost, we are...." He drifts off as one of the younger elves comes to support him.
Rhune quickly steps from the lake and dries off and rejoins the party, not quite sure what has happened...and not sure if she should have done what she did....oh well... "Please...they did heal Forte...perhaps if we can explain what happened in the barrows, Dakath," Rhune says softly....
Tag seeing that Rhune is unharmed shrugs and puts up his hands in the Italian gesture of acceptance. "I venti del destino non possono essere resistiti a (the winds of fate cannot be resisted). It seems safe, si, in fact the water looks very refreshing."
As she comes out of the water and notices the other lake elves looking at Asif, Rhune notices Tag stripping, but only briefly as the others seem upset by Asif and what he carries.
Taglio pulls off his clothes and dives into the water. His head disappears under and the ripples fade away. He seems to be under for a long time, but just as you begin to worry his head bobs up some 30 yards from shore. Tag squirts a stream of water in the air and laughs joyously. He then begins to swim back and you notice he does so with a strong and confident stroke. 10 yards from shore he stops and treads water, calling out.
"Come skinny dipping with me Xania, I am sure Dakath won't mind, si!"
"Skinny dipping is one thing, having these creatures transform me is another. I'll stay human, I think and try to keep Dakath human as well," Xania replies.
"Well, I will let both you and Kyo know if I come out of the water, either soulless or no longer human," Tag shakes his head and chuckles. He splashes about a bit more, enjoying the cool water, then comes out of the water and wraps himself in a blanket to dry off.
"I hope we don't have to kill him," Xania mutters to Dakath.
A slight smile spreads across Dakath's mouth as he hears Xania's words, "Now that would be a pity."
"Indeed. Why can't we find a nice normal lake where we can bathe instead of some sort of cursed lake whose occupants are trying to compel us to enter?" Xania sighs.
Tag just smiles sweetly.
As he leaves the water, Tag looks much cleaner, and smiles gaily. The wear of the long march has faded from him, and he stands tall and erect (still thinking about skinny-dipping with Xania, no doubt), obviously much refreshed. Noticeably, Rhune does not share this effect. The water felt plain and chilly to her, refreshing her not at all. Indeed, it only made her feel wet, which added to her weariness, not stole away from it.
Forte looks at Tag, and then turns to Ullar. "Help me up, if you can. I want to get into the water. Please."
Ullar lends his friend his arms and accompanies him into the water, making sure no demon is taking possession of his body. Feeling dirty and still feeling the pain from the blobs he enters the water as well. After a quick wash he leaves the water, unsure whether this was a wise decision or not.
Forte and Ullar slowly make their way down into the water. Forte relaxes in the water even as he sees his terrible wounds fade away. He feels the pain of the wounds, and his amazingly close to near death experience, fade away as well. Feeling his strength returning, he stands up in the shallow water and looks at his chest, finding not the slightest trace of the mortal wounds remain. He feels much calmed and well-rested.
Ullar, on the other hand, is not affected in the same way. While the ragged edges of his acidic wounds seem to smooth out, they are still severe. Indeed, he does not appear to have gotten much in the way of healing from the waters. A curious expression of distance appears in his face for just a moment, then passes.
Gradually, as the group settles down and some of the younger elves draw the elder away, the spokesman for the group begins to talk, "There is much here I do not understand, and much that you do not. All will come clear in time, but I fear that is something we do not possess in abundance." His voice loses it's more human inflection and descends back into the hypnotic tone it possessed before, "Each morning since the commune began, we have come to the water to find our strength. And the spirit of the lake has granted it to us, given us nourishment. Those particularly worthy find visions within it. But recently, the lake has only granted dark visions, ones of death and destruction. It has refused us sustenance, and we do not know how to provide these things for ourselves."
He continues after taking a slow deep breath, "So we began wandering again, as we had so many years ago. We found the land had changed much. Humans again had progressed into the forest, and found the foul denizens, as they had done before. Some of the humans were kind, and traded their knowledge for ours. Though it took some time." Again he refers to an uncertain period of time, but it seems quite a bit, "We gradually learned to provide for ourselves. But we always sought to renew with the Lake, who had nourished us in the blackest of hours. But it's spirit is troubled, and we cannot communicate with it any more."
His face turns downcast, "It occurred to some of us that perhaps the Lake had been disturbed. However, we have been forbidden since the beginning to approach it's center. During our first communion, and every one since, the Lake made that clear. Thus we cannot test our theory. And so we once again began roaming, looking for salvation from one of the lesser races." He appears thoughtful, "The humans who had been so much help, though, were gone from their dwellings, their homes burned to the ground. Everywhere we went, the foul goblinkind roamed, gathered to a frenzy by some great member of their species. We knew that the humans would be unable to help, and thus turned east, to the earth people in the mountains."
His expression remains somber, "But they cared only for digging gold from their mountain, even though they must have known what foul things dwell within the depths they plumb. Even when offered our clan treasures," at this the fellow raises a handful of beautiful small gems and shows them to the group, "they cared not. They offered us what they called 'partnership' in their venture, and gave us the gift of a beautiful statue in return for our gems, but would not offer their services."
His face brightens suddenly, "But then we came upon a human household that did not surrender to the foul ones. One that fought, and won! And we knew that the Lake had at last provided us with that which we sought. And so we came to you, though many of you are not the same as you were that instant ago when first we met." He shrugs his shoulders, "But humans are a curious breed, always changing, aging, dying. And one who shared our blood was willing to do as we asked. She thirsted for knowledge, and closeness with a part of her that she did not properly know. The lake could give her all those things. Thus she departed, leaving behind the gift of the horse-woman's lore book." At this his face turns quite sour.
"Horse woman. Fyodorll?" Forte says quietly to himself.
"She told us that you would come along, and that in exchange for her help, we must watch over you. And so we did, though you did not notice it, for human's eyes are not alert enough to see such as we. When Loshad intervened, we were not able to stay, as our deal with him supercedes that with the woman. And so the armed man died. After that, we were unable to find you again, as things here became more grievous. The woman crossed the water, alone, but did not return. And then things got worse. The statue gift from the earth people disappeared, and those communing at the lake were attacked." His face becomes tortured, "Several disappeared. We do not know what means caused their disappearance, though some that remained turned up with numerous small injuries. Not large enough to kill them, though we suspect that they would be enough to incapacitate in large numbers."
He turns toward the party with his hands outward, "And so you see, we have no hope other than you. We have never been numerous, and each disappearance is the tone of the death-knell of all our people. Only the young and quick have managed to stay alive, and the lucky. We fear that will not remain true forever."
Seeing the lake water did nothing for Rhune, Amibar accepts the elder's statement it will have no effect on him either. He therefore merely steps to the water's edge, kneels, and washes his face with the cool water, to refresh himself. Natasha jumps out of his pack, sniffs the water, and drinks gingerly.
Natasha is clearly not pleased at the taste of the water, and backs away from it accordingly. Amibar is mildly refreshed at the splash, but otherwise unaffected.
The elf draws up a pouch from within his cloak, "If you succeed, you shall be handsomely rewarded, in the manner of your people." At this he opens up the purse and you see many more of the small gems within, "And the manner of mine, with our friendship. And the spirits of the Lake will thank you as well, we are sure. They have been known to grant heroes great visions of the future, or the present, or the past. Anyone who has had such a vision has been forever changed by it."
Ami listens to the strange elf's story wonderingly. At his words of visions and transformations, he perks up, clearly intrigued.
He concludes at last, "So, will you help us? Of course you shall be allowed to rest and heal yourselves from the injuries that you already have received, though immersion in the water will certainly speed that process along. What say you?"
Forte looks around at the healthier members of the party, to gauge their reaction to the elf's request.
Amibar looks at the rest of the gathered party, curious about their feelings. He himself would very much like to make the way to the center of the lake, but he feels he has no say in this matter. After all, the group has mentioned a mission they were on, and he was just tagging along. Who was HE, to make decisions for them?
Slipping over to Asif, thoroughly wet and miserable now, Rhune looks at the party, "I say if we can help then let us do so. They healed Forte and they have done nothing more to harm us. Besides Marika may need our help," she replies to the man, wishing now she had listened to his words earlier and not gone into the water as she stands there shivering.
Asif seeing Rhune shivering beside him, wraps his cloak around her and pulls her close.
Rhune snuggles closer as Asif puts his cloak around her, "Thank you," she murmurs to him.
"How was the water? This poor Faris is certainly in need of a bath but with all this talk, and their strange looks upon me, one find oneself doubtful of these people's intent. Who are these people and is the water safe? I miss the soothing waters of the Nile, for they are but a distant memory now..."
"I found the waters to be okay a little cold but ok," she replies to him.
"Hmm..." says Ullar, after hearing the man, and Rhune gives her comment.
"It sounds appealing to help you, certainly now you showed us those gems, but I have to say that we already accepted a mission; rescuing the hostages made by the sieges of the Goblin on the nearby villages."
"Personally I find it rather hard to put that 'aside' and start working on something new right now. On the other hand, I have to admit that we don't have a track to follow right now, unless you have some information about a red-bearded man captured by the Goblins."
Dakath still grinning turns to face Ullar, "Ullar my friend, this is how heroes are made, and I thought you wanted to become the stuff of legend?" He shrugs "For me, the money is enough."
"Yes, sure. But we promised Petr to search for his brother, didn't we? I don't like to stall longer than necessary," the warrior replies.
Despite feeling miserable and cold, Rhune can't help but smile at Dakath's words. It would seem that her friend is much as he was before.
Ullar wonders about his own words for a few minutes and then adds something to them.
"However, it is unsure where this mess is coming from. I thought that there reigned peace in the woods for several years and for some reason those Goblin tribes must have found an urge to start destroying the settlements in this area. It could be that the source of all this evil is indeed springing from the isle in the center of this lake."
Curious, and anxious to get to Marika, Ullar asks the man how she got to the isle. "I don't see any boats here, or do you have them concealed somehow?."
"We had a small raft which the adventuresome among us infrequently would use to go deeper into the water. The last to do so never returned, as the woman did not. We have no more of such, though it would be easy enough to craft another one from the strong trunks of the trees here. We can help you do so without harming them, as they are still our friends, I think."