Larian Studios Forums General Chat Chat (Anything) Define Infinity

Sure, I'll try."
I drew the rune of flame with my finger, seemed to work faster at every try and hurled the flame into the pile. I couldn't bear to watch the little bodies write and curl up due to the fire, so I turned around - my duty was done - I hadn't been able to save a single rat, poor little things... and I had nearly hurt one of the group!
This was too much for me, I wandered on a few steps, found a dark corner and sat down to think about what had happened in the last 1/2 hour.

"I think it is about time for us to move on, you people sure are slow" *Nero walkes over to Kiya who is sitting on the floor with her head between her knees..."Kiya you ok?" Kiya kept sitting there slowly rocking back and forth...when she finally looked up she appeared to have been crying "Nero....I almost started you on fire..." I looked down at her quizically "what do you mean almost..." "Well" she said "I got so mad when you were going to slash those rats, before they attacked us, that I lifted my hand to shoot a fireball at you....." Nero spoke quietly to make sure that the rest of the group could not hear and said "Kiya its ok...you couldnt start me on fire if you tried...when you hit BG's ear, a little also hit me...found out my cloak is fire resistant..." With that I gave her a smile and she smiled back...we both got up and caught up with the group which BG had just rejoined and was 'finally moving ahead.

I could tell from Kiya's face that she still hadn't understood that those rats had been different, poisonous somehow. I shook my head, I didn't like to kill things; but, they were threatening my friends and I had to stop them.

I walked up to Kiya and said, "Sorry we had to do that Kiya." I furrowed my brow, "I remember you really loved animals before we came here... I did too." I shook my head to clear it. "This is a different place and if we're going to survive, and save Lynn, we have to do things we would never have done before."

"Let's look at your mirror and see if we see anything else down here that might attack us. Okay?" I looked at her trying to see if she'd understood or not. "And let's look at that map too, just to make sure we're going the right way."

"You've got the map, DQueene, remember? I had scorched it, so I gave it to you for safety. Maybe you dropped it when you grabbed the snake out of the wall?
Here, take the mirror, it's quite easy, just touch the gems and pray it will show something useful."
I handed it over to her, thinking about her words... "No, if this world is going to force me to kill, then I won't like it at all to stay here. Well, I'd better make sure to reach Lynn as soon as possible".

"You're right! I must have stuck it in my pack!" I rummaged quickly through one of the front pockets of my pack and pulled out the map and handed it to jvb. "Here you can see as good as I can, you be in charge of the map." I hated to admit I really wasn't good at mapping, it was too embarassing.

I took the mirror from Kiya and tried to do what she said, but all it did was show me a picture of a silver dragon. Even when I leaned closer all it did was show me the reflection of a big silver eye. I looked at Kiya. "That thing is really weird. It won't show me places like it does you, so it must be yours."

"me, in charge of the map?, what an honor..." I said, finally getting my good old sarcasm back. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devil.gif" alt="" />
"Hey, I dont mind it, but what are we gonna do with this sword i'm carrying?
I aint gonna use it i think, so if someone else needs it, you can have it.
I should warn you though, its kinda heavy."

"Not only heavy, JVB, it's kinda smudged, too. Have you seen what you're dragging along with it? And - NO, thank you, it's too large to clean my fingernails with it."

darn, somebody else then?
It looks to cool to just throw it away..

Bg cant you put it in that bag of tricks of yours?

"So.... Where are we off to??"

I showed JVB my little Bag of Tricks. It was almost big enough to hold the pommel of his sword. So, I just shrugged as if to say "I don't think it will fit."

DQueene led us through the labyrinth of tunnels. The floors got cleaner as we travelled, much to our relief. At one point it felt like we were turning back in the wrong direction, but we turned forward again and kept on walking. Except for a few insects and harmless mice, we had no more encounters until we found the long steep stairs that led up into darkness. A cold, dry, mildew smell wafted down from the lightless ascent, that sent shivers up my spine and back down again.

I listened carefully, but heard only the distant infrequent dripping of water on stone.

I whispered, "I don't hear anything. I think that's a good sign." Then, I turned to DQueene and asked, "Do you want me to lead the way?"

She shook her head "No", and pointed to Luc and Nero, indicating that they should be the first ones to climb the stairs. Then she pointed to the rest of us and gestured "Stay here."

Everybody else prepared themselves for the climb, then silently tiptoed up the stairs and out of sight. I listened as they climbed 142 stairs before reaching a door. They opened it with a quiet squeek, so I guess it was not locked, and I could see their distant silhouettes enter the torchlit room. Then they closed the door and we waited.

Lucidity and I nodded to DQueen that we both understood that we would go up...We turned and started to walk up the long narrow passage taking corners like members of a swat team...when we reached a hatch that was obviously a hole in the floor above I looked across the stairs to Lucidity and saw him pointing at his temple...he wanted to communicate but we both knew better than to talk...I had strange feelings like I had been in dangerous situations like this before...*Can you hear me* I thought closing my eyes and focusing...shortly later I heard *yes*...*you want to go first* I asked him...He looked across the
stairs and gave a big smile that I knew meant yes...*ok* I thought *we will go on three* Before I started counting I 'talked' to DQueen and told her not to follow until we told them to...*1.....2.....3 *creeeeeaaakkk* the rust old hinges hadnt been used in a while...I opened the trap door and Lucidity flew though the hatch silent as a soft breeze...I could barely see him perched in the rafters just inches from the cieling he nodded and I lept deftly through the hole to a spot behind some sacks of grain. The room was quiet as could be...a small light in far side of the room was all that broke the dark silence. Suddenly I caught a scent that didnt seem right...(I hadnt been able to smell much of anything since we had "arrived" in this world) my nose twitched and I looked up to Lucidity who nodded in the direction of a dark corner where something was hiding....In my mind I thought to DQueen...we sure could use someone with low light vision up here....right now...

When I 'heard' Nero calling for me to come into the room above, I quickly climbed through the hatch. I almost choked as an odor assailed my nose as soon as I stuck my head through the opening. Gagging I turned my head swiftly toward the corner, hearing a low growling rumble that suddenly turned into a full throated roar. A beast slunk out of the corner that can only be described as an abomination against nature. It had the appearance of something that had once possibly been a wolf that had been born wrong, two headed and the heads appeared to dislike each other almost as much as they wanted to get to us. A greyish black with slashes cut down it sides, weeping pus from infection, the beast was obviously in pain. It had six legs, the front two held out in front of it almost like hands but ending in deadly claws. The other four it was currently using to slink toward us all the while making a high keening whine. I looked into it's eyes and saw no sanity there.

I pulled my sword and prepared to fight.

I heard strange noises from upstairs, I inmediatly ran up there. I saw dqueene standing there with her sword..
And in front of there stood something horrible..
Something I never saw before in my entire life..
I was kinda scared, but knowing we had outnumbered it, gave me the feeling that we could have an advantage.
I just hope it isn't to strong.
I stood ready to fight, and yelled over to the rest that they should come to.
I hope this fight isn't going to be my last..

JVB ran up the stairs for no apparent reason. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" /> I guess he got impatient waiting down here.

I suggested to Polgara, Hypatia, Kiya, VIper, and Dragh that we sit on the floor and rest while we wait for DQueene and the three boys to see if it was safe for us to sneak up the stairs.

I heard jvb come rushing into the room and then he started yelling for the others to come up. I immediately wrapped my left arm around his head and covered his mouth with my hand. "Shhh! Be quiet!" I still heard him muttering about the monster; but, that was impossible! I had covered his mouth with my hand, so he couldn't be 'talking'. Still, I could hear his voice saying things. Why?

We had more important things to think about right now than how I could hear his thoughts. I looked at him again to make sure he understood the need for silence. He did, I could tell, so I quickly uncovered his mouth. The creature had halted in the middle of the room, swinging its heads back and forth, trying to keep all of us in its view. I pointed at jvb and then motioned him to stay where he was while I tried to circle around the poor beast.

It was watching Nero and jvb intently so I was able to slide around behind it. Remembering Kiya's upset over the rats, I couldn't help but think about how she would react if we killed this poor beast. "Well now is as good a time as any to try that sleep spell I read about in my book." I quickly chanted the spell, and watched as the creature sagged to the floor. "Whew," I let out a breath of relief. "jvb, please go get Kiya and Hypatia. Let's see if they can heal this poor creature. If they can't we can put it out of it's misery." I also 'thought' at him, "Go quietly, okay?" I wasn't too surprised when I heard him respond out loud, "Sure."

Young JVB called out: I rushed up the stairs without thinking and stopped abruptly. Poor thing, poor little thing - well, not exactly little and definitely not pretty or cute - but it had fur, more legs than a human and it was hurt badly.
DQueene's spell seemed to work, the beast lay on it's side, both tongues hanging out. I cautiously moved nearer and saw the wounds. Turning around to Hypatia for help, I noticed she backed away slightly - so I decided to try it on my own. Delving into my spell book, browsing it through - damn, no index, no table of contents - I found a spell that looked interesting: Rinse and Purify.
Well, why not? I shrugged my shoulders, concentrated on the rune and used it on the first slash - Hey, it worked! I saw the stinking pus coming out faster and changing into the white stuff with corpuscles.
"DQueene, please repeat your spell, I certainly don't want to get bitten. I need more time."
She nodded.
I carried on with my rune, slowly circling it over all slashes until every trace of pus had left the wolf's wounds. Looking into my satchel I found some desinfection lotion and poured it carefully into the wounds, hoping it wouldn't bite too much and wake the beast up. But DQueene's spell still worked. A short glance at her showed me, how strenuous it was for her, and I was thankful.
Finally I took the hem of my long blouse between my teeth, grabbed Nero's samurai sword to slash it and ripped it apart: I had a bandage - and a very short blouse, but who cares?
I bandaged Wolfy, hoping he had enough strength left to get well again and started to stroke it. Starting at the head, I moved my hands fondly and gently over his whole body, looking for broken bones or other hidden wounds I could have missed - no, I had been thoroughly enough.
"Ok, that's done - now has anyone got some water and soap for me? I'd like to wash Wolfy..."
Ups, on turning around and eyeing my comrades I saw in some eyes what they felt: She's crazy!
"Aw, come on - he's sweet and will be a pretty good watchdog, won't he? Four ears, nice teeth, a lot of them... Please, can I keep him?"

"Hmmm, Kiya, do you think we might want to put a muzzle on him, uh ..., them?" I quickly held up my hands when I saw what she was going to say. "No, no it's only temporary; just until we're sure he's not going to bite us."

I pulled the pants Kiya had given back to me out of the plastic baggie. Thinking to myself, "I'm going to have to find some more clothes if this keeps happening. I didn't want to wash these anyway."

I quickly sliced the legs into strips and gently wrapped wolfey's muzzles in them being extra careful not to wake him up. Pondering the problem of those huge claws, I proceeded to wrap them with the remaining cloth. I hadn't noticed but I had been humming the whole time I was doing this and I actually noticed that 'Wolfie' seemed to be emanating less 'chaotic' feelings. Maybe the humming helped?

Just then I heard some noises coming from the door at the opposite end of the room.

The two-headed wolf and the two-headed raven (on the signet ring and the coats of arms) made me think that the folks in this place were taking the old addage about "two heads are better than one" a little too seriously. I began wondering if the next place we journey to would have three heads per beast.

My wondering was interupted by a rattling sound at the door of the room. Everybody froze, stopped humming, and several of them reached for their weapons. I quietly floated over to the rattling door, ready to poof if necessary. My keen hearing told me that a fleshy hand was jiggling the door latch and checking to see if it was still locked. A male humanoid voice spoke english -- sort of -- more like Olde English, or maybe Middle English with a colloquial lilt, and a slight lisp -- or maybe he was chewing on a sandwich, ham on rye, or corned beef on whole wheat. I hope my hearing improves as I get better at this, because I prefer the corned beef on whole wheat (with dijon and lettuce) to anything on rye.

The door jiggler and his silent companion let go of the door latch and walked away -- across a stone floor, wearing heavy leather boots, jingling metal sounds (probably chain mail). He commanded "Forward Harch!" and at least twenty pairs of boots started harching. The sounds faded a little before disappearing completely behind the sound of a pair of heavy wooden doors.

"All clear!" I announced, and several blue faces decided to breathe again.

I checked the door. It was still locked. I examined the lock. It was too complicated for my simple lockpicking skills, but I tried anyway just for practice.

"We're gonna need a key" I finally concluded.

Wolfy stirred, a soft growl came out of his fang.
"Abah, Little One... there, be quiet, no one's going to hurt you, hm? Shshshsh, stay calm.... NOOO, Wolfy! Bad boy, keeeeeppp down!"
The beast tried to get up, so I covered his body with mine, trying to keep him on the ground. Actually it was quite silly what I did, he was stronger than me, but he didn't reckon my strong will and bony ellbows I pierced neatly into his both necksides, throttling both heads a bit. The beast groaned and looked at me trying to focus.
"Hey, I'll let go, but there's no time for nonsense - you're ill, my boy, so stop your wriggling, it will get you nowhere," I said sharply. His bandaged claws scraped over the ground, Wolfy whined.
"No, DQueene, this will not work. He's scared to death - I'm going to remove his bonds at my own risk..." I bent over a bit more and managed to loosen the first one.
Wolfy's one head broke loose and he turned his head into my direction, snapping for my elbow.
I was prepared for the pain, but his fangs held it only rather gently - as if he wanted to say: I could if I would - but I choose not to.
"Ok, you've made your point, Wolfy... you are an intelligent little wolf, aren't you? Here, let me get the other stuff - and here, look, I've found some candy for you, taste it."
I popped the bar into his one pair of jaws and patted him on the other head.
"That's good, eh? Now, if you're a brave monster and know what's good for you - you'll stay quiet now."
Wolfy chewed, the candy seemed to glue his teeth together, but it kept him occupied.
"See, DQueene? They're all the same, two- or more legged: They all have a sweet tooth!"

One thing that Kiya hadn't noticed while she was babying 'Wolfy' was that while his one head had been occupied snapping onto her arm, the other one had been watching me. She was right, he was a very smart wolf indeed. He and I already had an understanding. For instance, he knew that if he hurt Kiya ... or anyone else in our group, that he was mine... and I wasn't nice. Not when it came to my friends. I made eye contact with Wolfy one more time, purposely slipping my sword back into its sheath at my side. He totally understand, chomping on the candy and playing the gentle 'puppy' as if his life depended on it. I smiled at him, well ... maybe it did.

I looked up, "Kiya do you think that key we found will fit that door?"