(Yeah, I'm better today thankfully :) )
The cat washed its paw demurely. "The day after you and your bandit chief friend sent me off to cause havoc here. They already worshipped a god of death, but he was a fictional god created by their leader and I was able to easily fill the role without offending any higher powers. I must say, their shocked faces when I first appeared before them were quite amusing."
"I've never met or even heard of a spirit like you," Bernon said as he came forward. "At least, not under the name and shape you have now."
"No, I'm afraid we haven't had any dealings until today," the cat replied. "Thank-you again for the memories, they are painful and delicious indeed."
Bernon's face was one big question mark. "You're welcome, I guess…..?"
Mike put a somewhat protective hand on his shoulder and firmly steered him away from the cat. "Okay, well, I think we're done here. It's best we clear out before any other bandits come along. Ready, Tanrial?"
(That's good :) I'm glad you're doin' okay)
Tanrial nodded, "Yep, thanks again Whisper, really you were a great help. Stay safe, don't cause too much trouble. Seeya." She offered a smile to the cat, giving it a thankful nod before turning away in the direction they were headed.
(me too lol)
But the cat suddenly twitched its nose and sprang to its feet. "Wait, wait, wait! What is that you're carrying in your backpack, Mike my dear boy?"
Mike turned around in frustration. "I am not your 'dear' anything. And I don't know, you tell me. What am I carrying in my backpack?"
Whisper trotted over, its form shimmering. "The book of maps. Who gave it to you?"
"Some guy named Zachary Torres."
The cat's eyes widened. "Ohohoho, is that right! Oh bless your little souls, you're friends with him?"
“Well I wouldn’t say we’re friends with him,” Tanrial replied, “He just… gave us a map to help with out travels. Do you know him?”
"Know him! The pair of us used to be as thick as thieves back in the good old days. You're all probably too young to remember. Yes, even you, Tanrial." The cat chirped in amusement. "I had no idea he was still fiddling about on this crumbling continent. You'll want to be careful with him, my friends. He doesn't show his hand this easily for no reason."
"What do you mean?" Mike pressed. "You're think he plans to give us trouble?"
"No, not exactly. I'm only saying that being his ally automatically involves you in some rather grand things. Things you might not enjoy if you're looking for a quiet life. But I'll say no more! I'm sure you'll find out his game eventually."
“Wait hang on a second. He’s… older then.. me?” She raised a brow, “Okay so we knew he had some form of magical abilities but he’s definitely not human then. And what game? What else could be going on that’s worse then what’s happened so far? The universe is messing with us for sure now.”
"Sorry, I've spoiled too much already." The cat poofed into a swarm of flies once more and rose above their heads. "Just go along with the flow, you three, and I'm sure you'll do fine! Now I must be off, I wish you the best of luck on your journey! Ta-ta!"
Mike watched him go with a glare. "It would have been a lot simpler to just jump the bandit and get it over with," he grumbled.
Tanrial rolled her eyes, lightly punching Mike in the shoulder as they continued on their path, "Hey he helped us, didn't he? It was probably easier then jumping the dude and the bandit doesn't know what we look like in case we see him again. Sure, maybe there was some weird things at the end there but I'm sure we'll be fine."
Mike looked like he still had plenty of objections, but he didn't voice them. After a minute, he glanced at Bernon. "You sure you're feeling okay?"
Bernon blinked. "I feel fine! Just…kinda puzzled, is all. It's weird, knowing that I just lost some memories that were apparently fairly important and unhappy, but not being able to even guess what they might have been. I hope they weren't, you know, essential parts of my personality or anything."
"I still think you agreed to that spirit's deal way too fast," Mike said. "But what's done is done, I guess."
"There's one other thing I'm confused about," Bernon added. "How exactly did you meet Whisper, Tanrial? It mentioned something about the bandits that caught you guys….was it working for them or something?"
"Ah no," She said, "It's kinda a long story really but basically there was this guy at the camp, Blue and he like didn't talk and didn't like people very much, very jumpy and aggressive. Anyway, the bandits went out for a raid and I was patching up their injuries when they got back and this one boy was acting very similar to Blue," She explained, "So me and a few others including the chief went out to find what had caused this sudden change and met Whisper. Well, we found him in a mirror and yeah, made him leave their territory so it wouldn't happen again."
"So let me get this straight," Mike said once she was done explaining. "The spirit was somehow having a negative affect on people, psychologically? Any idea why? Was it just for its own amusement? I wouldn't be too surprised."
"Yeah pretty much," Tanrial shook her head with a small sigh, "Thought it was funny how everyone reacted to his effects if they got too close so he kept doin' it. Bit… strange but it's a spirit, what do you expect?"
"I admit I don't know anything about spirits. But what you're saying does match up with the way that sentry reacted to seeing him just now." Mike slowed to navigate a part of the river bed where the rocky sides had fallen into the center. "Oh well. I don't like anything about what just happened, but nobody got hurt and the spirit's not following us so I guess I don't really have anything to complain about. Hopefully he finds this tribe entertaining for a good long time."
(I have to go for a bit, sry)
"From the little bit that I know of the thing, he definitely will," Tanrial shrugged a shoulder, keeping her gaze on the ground so she wouldn't slip, "What do you think he meant? When he said we'd get involved in 'grand things?' I know we had our suspicions about Torres but…"
(All good, I should sleep anyway. ttyl)
(yeah seeya later ^^)
"I don't like to think about it. We just got done dealing with Ryker, and I'd rather not tangle with another megalomaniac so soon. Especially not one who might be a powerful, immortal magic-user. If this map book wasn't so amazing, I'd vote we ditch it as soon as possible. But as it is, I guess we'll just have to "go with the flow", as Whisper said."
Bernon nodded. "Agreed. And anyway, Torres didn't seem so bad. His letter said he wanted to help us get the data drive to the west coast. Maybe that's the 'grand thing' right there, and we were already planning on taking part in that. I'm sure not every mysterious dude in a position of power is automatically evil."
“Have you taken a look at a history book? Majority of the people in power tend to be manipulative evil assholes who threaten with nuclear war,” Tanrial said, “And being ‘mysterious’ is definitely not a good character trait.”
"How could you say that, Tanrial?" Bernon asked, pretending to be shocked. "Mysterious Mike is standing right here!"
Mike rolled his eyes. "You guys never quit, do you?"
"Sorry, bad joke. In all seriousness, you might be right, Tanrial, but you know me. I always like to give people the benefit of the doubt." Bernon sighed. "We can at least hope that Torres's particular brand of crazy isn't as dangerous as Ryker's was."
Tanrial snorted, “Mike may be mysterious but at least he isn’t trying to destroy the world,” She sighed, “If he’s helping us then hopefully he’s a good guy but you can never be too sure with people these days.”
Mike nodded. "At any rate, he's not bothering us right now, so I suppose it's better not to worry too much about him yet. In fact, we should probably be focusing on the path ahead. We're still pretty deep in the danger zone at the moment."
The road ahead was still rocky and unstable, probably more so then before. The little water that had run through the river had loosened the rocks and the sides, turning them to mud and wet sand that didn’t hold up well against weight. With the looming threats of killer cultists to one side, it was going to be harder then originally thought.
After an hour or so of picking their way over the difficult terrain, Bernon finally sighed and broke the silence. "Man, it's past noon already. Anybody else getting hungry? I know we didn't want to stop here in no-man's land, but I might vote on taking a quick breather at least."
"Suppose it wouldn't hurt to stop for ten minutes," Tanrial agreed, stopping on a patch of semi dry and stable land, "What do you say Mike?"
Mike looked around one more time, then nodded. "As long as we're quiet. This area seems a little more secluded anyway." He shrugged off his backpack and crouched down to rummage through it for his food. "So how's everyone doing so far?"
"Yeah good," Tanrial chuckled lightly, taking a seat on a nearby rock, "Not the most walking we've done so far. How about you guys?"
"I'm discovering I got a little out of shape during our stay in the village," Bernon puffed, "But otherwise I'm doing good."
Mike nodded. "Me too." He took out the map and studied it as he ate. "I'm a little concerned with the way the path's getting rougher, though. At some point we might have to climb up on the bank just to avoid going too slow or twisting our ankles."
"If only you had wings, Mike," Tanrial sighed, "It would make this a whole lot easier. And with all out bags we can't even give you a ride or anything just until we get to safe ground or out of these dangerous territories."
"Frankly, I'm glad no one has to carry me, but I admit it would be more convenient. In the meantime, If we do have to leave the river path, I vote we go to the north side since so far we haven't seen any bandits in that direction. Any objections?"
"None from me. If it means avoiding the killer cultist bandits on the other side of the river consider me in," She shuddered, "I am not ending up like that body we saw back there."
"Agreed," Bernon said firmly. "But if we do meet someone we don't want to meet, I volunteer turn into a bear and scare them off."
Mike glanced at him. "What if they don't run away at first? Will you be able to commit to the 'dangerous wild animal' act so they don't call your bluff?"
"Hey, have a little faith in me! Those bandits that had captured you guys thought I was pretty scary. And if this tribe isn't convinced, I can always summon my lightning and show it off a bit, right?"
"I guess so. But remember what happened last time you used your magic in bear form? You got burnt, and we can't afford those types of injuries while we're on the road, it'll only slow us down."
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