Game Log 06

## Is This a Dagger Which I See Before Me? - OR- More Fun Than an Orchard Full of Monkeys

The next morning, dawn's light woke Aud up plus she was slightly uncomfortable. Her head was resting on something warm and firm but she felt somewhat chilled because she was missing her blanket for some reason. She blinked her eyes open and saw Mankar sleeping there and she was resting on his shoulder with his arm around her.

"Ah," she thought sleepily, "that's right. I slept with Mankar last night." Mystery solved, she snuggled back into place and was about to drift off when her eyes snapped open. "Ah!"

She tried to struggle out of his embrace but he instinctively held onto her in his sleep. He was just too big and strong! Finally she gave up and called out. "Mankar, wake up!" She poked him in the chest and was surprised at how impervious his muscles were.

After she worked on him for a bit, he finally woke up. "Hmm? What's that?" He pulled her over so that she was lying on top of him and grinned. "So busy a night and you are ready for more?"

"No, you overgrown idiot, it's dawn! We need to get ready to go." She squirmed in his grasp like an unwilling cat.

He allowed her to break free and hunt for her clothes while he stood and stretched, naked and unashamed. Dressing and armoring much more leisurely than Aud, he was soon ready as well. Their companions came into the central area, bashful or content from their own night's revelries – though none of them with each other.

Mankar nodded toward the fields. "The final ceremony will be soon, we should go finish the ritual as we have – enjoyed – their hospitality." He grabbed a leftover honey oat cake and munched on it as they went to the field.

The priestess was there with her followers around her and she smiled at the Firstborn before continuing her sermon. "Just as the good earth and our beloved goddess feeds us and nurtures us, let us in turn give her love and strength so that she may bless us for another year." She raised her voice and it carried across the field and the surrounding acres, "Oh goddess, accept our sacrifice and guard and nourish your people! Bring forth your bounty and blessings!" A golden glow appeared around the priestess and the others and it spread over the fields like a silent explosion, causing the tiny stalks of grain to straighten and grow, promising rich harvests to come.

Mankar felt the power drain from him and returned as a comfortable warmth. "Huh, the blessings of a Goddess. It feels a little different than in our homestead. How odd." he thought.

Since the priestess would be busy through the day, they just waved from a distance and made their way to the river where the Dragonewts were ready to go. Although their expressions didn't show impatience, Mankar guessed that the increased tail-swishing served the same purpose.

The last leg of their river journey was both peaceful and relaxing. The previous day -- especially the previous night! -- had put Mankar in a fine mood and he didn't even mind that his legs were wet the whole way. In face, he resolved to enjoy the cool sensation of the river to counter the warm sun. As they neared the town, the Dragonewts hid themselves in a grove of trees. Members of the village or no, they realized their presence would be noted, and cause trouble, in a town that rarely saw their kind.

The town of Apple Lane was aptly named as they saw numerous apple orchards on their way there. None of them had ever been far from their village and certainly this place was larger by several times... a metropolis compared to their home!

Ryala looked at the apples, her mouth watering. "Do you suppose we could take some?"

Aud shook her head, "These all belong to someone. Best not."

She looked down, "How 'bout the ones on the ground? They obviously don't care about those."

Mantis chimed in this time. "We are here to do a mission, not steal fruit, Ryala!"

"Fine fine! It's not like I'm stabbing someone for an apple!" Her eyes misted over, "Not for a sweet, red, delicious apple." Astra hurried her along as she saw Ryala's hand move toward her axe as if she was about to start cutting down trees and gorging herself at any moment.

Another difference was the busy marketplace in the center square. Their village had no real sense of commerce other than the Issaries trader who stopped by several times a year to bargain with the elders. None of the youngsters had the concept of money... an oversight that was unforeseen by their parents and mentors for who money was no alien matter.

Mankar made a decision. "Let's split up an investigate the town. Don't mention where we're from, keep an eye out for her and don't cause trouble!" The rest nodded and went in separate directions.

Ryala's eyes grew wide as she saw an apple seller surrounded by his wares. "I, I'd like an apple please."

He hesitated as the well-armed, but very young girl didn't look like she had a lot of money. Still even a single apple was a sale, so he put on a smiling face. "Do you have money? Or something to trade?"

"Trade?" Suddenly she remembered the disks that the dead God Learner was fondling. The shiny golden ones she wanted to save but maybe this guy would take one of the others? "How about this?" She held up a silver lunar.

Surprised at her wealth, he still didn't miss a beat. "That would be fine, miss! Here you go." He filled a large sack with apples and handed it to her. Then he filled another sack and gave this to her as well. "Eat them in good health!"

Though more than strong enough to carry her newly gotten wealth of fruit, they were still unwieldy. "Mankar! Help!"

He came over quickly and frowned, "Ryala. You didn't..."

"No!" She interrupted him. "I traded one of those disks from that guy. Help me carry these."

He took one of the sacks and his eyebrows raised. "All this for that one disk? Though I'm no follower of Issaries, I think I'll need to get some of them myself."

Ryala held up two of the golden disks. “I was thinking about turning these into earrings; do you think you can help with that?”

Mankar felt the metal. It was quite soft compared to bronze or even the silver disks. “I think so, one moment.” He retrieved his redsmithing tools from his bag. They were only the ones he used while travelling so the ‘anvil’ was just a stout piece of bronze barely as large as his hand and the hammer was equally diminutive but good enough for minor repairs. He prepared to punch a hole into the disk and make simple earrings when he was suddenly struck by inspiration!

Working with impressive speed for such delicate work, the carefully snipped several notches in the coin in a particular pattern and then with deft hands, twisted it into an intricate and captivating sculpture of gold and talent! He repeated it with the other coin and then finally finished tiny bronze rings to attach it.

Ryala looked at the results, amazed. “Thank you!” She pulled her hair back to allow him to squeeze the rings shut on her ears. She tossed her head from side to side and the earrings caught the light with every movement.

He hefted the apple sack, “Now, back to work… remember why we’re here!”

Mankar, though almost entirely ignorant of trade, was very observant and had a keen intelligence. The disks were valuable units of trade and he watched several other transactions to get the rough value of them before venturing in himself. “Interested in trading for fish?”

The merchant looked him up and down. On one hand, Mankar was young, probably inexperienced and likely an easy mark. On the other hand, he had a big sword and shield, was over six feet tall and seemed entirely comfortable with his tools of war. In the end, he decided to be middling honest and just trade fairly without trying for a ‘bonus’. “Sure, what do you have?”

Mankar hauled his catch from his bag. “These here, freshly caught yesterday.” They had been expertly cleaned and smoked and he lined them up neatly on the table.

“Not bad. How about four clacks?”

That seemed fair to the youngster. “Fine, thank you.” He accepted the coins and scanned the crowd for the Lunar while the merchant arranged the fish for sale. Such a woman would surely stand out, so he was fairly certain she wasn’t here yet.

On the other side of the square, two initiates of Uleria were, like most in the area, keeping an eye out for business. What they had for sale was a bit different than the fruit sellers and fishmongers, though!

“Sister, look at those two over there. Aren’t they comely?”

Her fellow cultist looked at Mantis and Mankar as they shopped. “You have a good eye, but they don’t look to be terribly wealthy.”

She snorted (although discreetly so as not to sour her alluring image). “Is it only about money, then? They are young, gorgeous and I doubt a turn or two would be dull!” Looking again, she continued, “I might even give them a discount.”

Her companion gasped, scandalized, “Now, really! That’s going a bit far!”

She laughed, “Okay, perhaps not. Let’s see what they have to them, eh?” Using a skill that Uleria’s followers specialized in, they focused on the young men making it almost certain they would come over in time, like fish to very enticing bait.

Mantis was the first to arrive, or perhaps he had intended to do so in the first place. His willpower was quite strong and it’s doubtful he could have been forced so easily against his desires. “Have you come to trade with Uleria, handsome?” Her voice was low, seductive and flowed over him like honeywine. She was wearing a floral perfume and a lowcut dress and little else to interfere with her charms.

“Ah, yes, yes, what do you have to trade for?”

The initiate didn’t miss a beat, “Oh, all manners of services and,” she ran a finger down the front of his tunic. “Training.” She looked up at him with big, limpid eyes. “Do you need some training, hmm?”

“Training? I’m interested in that!” Although a novice like the others, he had observed the commercial activity around them. “I don’t have any disks but what can I get for this?” He pulled out the enchanted dagger (twin to the one he gave Mankar).

The woman’s eyes were quite discerning as he wasn’t the first client that lacked coinage but had valuables to offer. “Oh my… for that, I think we could train you quite a bit! Come with me.”

Around this time, Mankar had come over out of curiosity. She had been watching the men so she had some idea that they knew each other. She was, of course, a keen observer of human nature and habits! “So, do you want to join me for training as well, handsome?”

He shook his head ruefully. “I’m sorry, but I don’t I think I have anything worthwhile to trade right now.” He had only a vague idea how much his four clacks were worth but he knew for sure it wasn’t enough for whatever she was offering!

Just then, a heavily-panting, somewhat stout man burst into the marketplace. One of the other vendors who had been jostled complained immediately. “Oy, Largo! Watch yourself!”

Largo gasped in a few lungfuls of air and managed to get out. “H-hairy men! They attacked us… stole our apples!” It was hard to tell from the tone of his voice which crime was more outrageous. “Please, someone come help us!”

Mankar looked at his companions. Though this wasn’t their fight, they were here for adventure and to experience the world and how difficult could some hairy men be? Also, getting the goodwill of the people here could be very valuable!

“Good people, let’s see if my friends and I can be of help!” he announced boldly.

The villagers, while having some doubts about the newcomers, realized that they, themselves, were not enough to repel any sort of real attack and quickly agreed. Largo led them through an extensive apple orchard and whispered, “Just ahead. There were a lot of them and could feel more in the trees… it was horrible!”

Mantis whispered, “Let’s hide and ambush them.”

Mankar nodded, “Hide and get ready. I’ll try to talk to them. Beastmen are not simple and can probably be reasoned with. I feel that mutual benefits might be had here.”

They sneaked closer and saw a baboon shaman chanting over two roughly dug pits in the ground. “Recognize you are dead and stay in the holes. Stay in the holes! You are not alive, stay in the holes!” Other baboons were scattered around the clearing and hiding in the trees though they hadn’t noticed the humans’ approach just yet. Oddly enough, the shaman had several baboon children attached to his body with straps. They weren’t struggling but they did squeak a bit when the shaman moved too rapidly.

Mankar contemplated the scene… he recognized the shaman as a follower of Daka Fal. Many beastmen, those who bothered with religion, would choose that god for pacifying the dead and preventing spirits of their ancestors (and enemies) from beleaguering the living. He also noticed that they had nimble limbs and were quite comfortable in the trees and an idea occurred to him.

After the ceremony was done, he stepped out from behind a tree to the surprise of the shaman who jerked to one side causing the baby baboons to squeak piteously. “Noble shaman! I understand that you had a conflict with the farmers here over these apples. But this need not be a fight between you and them! Your followers are strong and nimble and the farmers cannot gather the apples fast enough during harvest season. Why not work with them and take a portion of the apples as your share?”

Even on his inhuman face, hatred and distrust could be seen. “You humans! You fence the plains, fence the hills! What right have you to divide up the earth? You would have us be slaves to humans for food?!”

Mankar was shocked at how rapidly the conversation had devolved. “Not slavery… cooperation! No one need be hurt and there will be plenty for all!”

The baboon yelled something incomprehensible and baboons poured out of the forest, shrieking their war cries! “Ha, you humans won’t attack these innocent babies, will?” he stated shamelessly.

Mantis, who had been hiding with bow ready, released an arrow as soon as negotiations had failed. Despite its accuracy, it bounced off of the tough hide on the shaman’s head! He cursed softly and activated a gift and gently floated upward and out of reach.

Aud – no fighter she! – quietly vanished using her ring. The others readied their weapons for the waves of simians pouring toward them!

Though unarmed and naked, the baboons were brave and insanely strong! Their bites could easily penetrate good bronze and their skin turn weapons to some degree. For every one cut down by Ryala and Mankar, two more would attack! Soon the two and Astra were covered with grievous wounds. Ryala was down to one arm and only scraps of armor kept Mankar’s right leg from literally falling off of his body. Still, five baboons in various states of dismemberment were littered around them.

In the meantime, the shaman, seeing that humans WOULD attack him, removed his baby baboon ‘armor’ and rushed to the floating Mantis. Unseen by all, Aud quietly collected the innocent little creatures and they vanished as well.

The two shamans exchanged spells as the baboon rushed toward the human. With a heroic leap, the simian flew through the air and grabbed onto Mantis’s legs! As he opened his mouth to attack, Mantis shot several more arrows at him with little effect. “Ha human! Your puny weapons won’t stop me from biting your legs off!”

“I have a bigger weapon than that, monkey! The ground beneath us!” He reversed his flight from holding them both up to one that drove the two of them directly toward the hard earth below! The baboon fired off a last spell in desperation that ate some of Mantis’s life force and transfer it to him. But it was to no avail when a second later, they fell to earth… the ground was the anvil and Mantis’s foot was the hammer! With a sickening crunch, the baboon’s breastbone broke in half and the impact crushed his heart!

Seeing their leader slain so viciously, the baboons shrieked and scattered immediately. Mankar narrowed his eyes… he didn’t want to win this battle, he wanted to resolve the situation for all time! Carefully balancing on his remaining leg, he threw his net and caught one of the baboons before she could escape. “Maybe now they’ll negotiate.” Just then, he felt something terribly wrong with his body. He felt a shiver take him and he collapsed suddenly.

Mantis walked over and looked at the fallen warrior. “I think one of the baboons has infected him with a disease spirit. If he doesn’t fight it off, I might have to fight it. We’ll know soon!”

In the meantime, Aud had healed Mankar and Ryala as best she could and then walked over to the netted baboon. “Here are your babies. You should treat them with more care.”

Though her face was unreadable, they could sense relief from the simian… and surprise perhaps? She responded with broken tradetalk. “Thank you. Make deal with humans. Pick apples. Take one in ten.” She gathered the squeaking baboon children quickly and hurried off to talk to the rest of her pack.

In the meantime, the others dug holes for the fallen baboons after they saw what was in the first two holes: one baboon and one human. Even if they had been attacked by Daka Fal’s shaman, there was no reason to offend that deity any further! That grim task done, Astra repeated the Daka Fal ritual over the holes, and they covered the simple graves.

During this time, Mankar shivered uncontrollably but, to the surprise of Mantis, actually managed to defeat the disease spirit by the time the graves were closed. The shaman murmured, “He actually won, huh? How unexpected.” He raised his voice, “Mankar is out of danger but he needs to rest for the night and then he’ll be fine.” Then he turned his attention to the only item that seemed of value on the baboons: a smooth rock that obviously had some mystic importance. Suddenly, it shattered, and the sky became night!

One by one, the stars went out in the sky and when the last one vanished, leaving the world in darkness, they heard a pronouncement: “For daring to kill my shaman, you are hereby cursed by Daka Fal! You are now neither living nor dead! So you shall remain until judged dead or judged quick! Let no healing touch you until then!”

The stars slowly winked back in and then the unnatural night faded, leaving only a sense of dread. Astra tried a small healing spell on her bloodied legs and then shook her head. “Nothing.”

Ryala, the strongest of them, picked up Mankar. “We can’t do anything for now. Let’s go back to the lizards.” Despite the rough handling, the exhausted man didn’t stir and remained unconscious.

The ‘lizards’ were a bit put out from hunger but Ryala and Aud appeased them by getting some sheep for dinner. When they came back with twice as many sheep as expected. Mantis asked quizzically, “How’d you manage that?”

Ryala laughed. “Apparently Aud has been making friends in town! She’s been healing their sick stock so they gave her a bargain!”

Astra said. “The bigger question is what to do about this curse? The biggest temple around is Iluria’s… they may have some ideas about this.”

The rest agreed and the night passed restlessly as the disfavor of Daka Fal hung over them all.