Payne Smashed!

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 40033

Fertal

"Mistress," Tolan offers feverantly. "Let us show you what we have learned so far. Would that please you? Please you and show we are worthy of being your instrument as we seek out those you wish found?"

They are VERY eager to tell all they know. Tell all they've learned and perhaps make up a lot of it from thin air. That is, they lie impressively in order to impress their "mistress" to all the better convince her that they are worthy (of not being eaten at least).

The information that they give (which sounds realistic enough to be true) is bad enough. But it is the stuff they tell us after we pull "a fast one" on them which really clinches things.

See, we don't want these jokers working for us (or even knowing of us). Dragoness Astra could perhaps breath on them all, killing them. However, besides that being rather villainous (we're the good guys so that's out) we have to consider how much of the forest would burn down around us from her dragon breath! Dragoness Astra, still playing the part of Moreau, has these fools so scared that they would do almost anything she ordered on the chance of seeing tomorrow. That includes drinking the "magical potion" that comes floating out from the tent we are hiding in to each bandit. Jarlath did the actual floating and the potions were actually waterskins filled with water spiked with a small bit of Dark Elfin wine (a secret recipe, one of many of the new knowledge- patterns that were implanted in my and my love's mind upon our coming upon our rightful form (re: 24811), for a refreshment three times more potent than ordinary elfin wine). Though diluted, it was enough to knock every last member of the Payne Gang on their asses! Even the heaviest drinker within the group wasn't up to handling this potent stuff! Undilluted Wine of our kind would quickly intoxicate an ordinary elf. Well trained human livers might survive a swallow of regular Elfin Wine (but would knock the drinker for a loop at the least), but it would definitely be lethal for them if the Wine was Dark Elfin! Being that we didn't carry enough diluted Lethe water for this Gang, this was a good compromise. Definitely loosened lips and made them much more receptive to interrogation spells we use.

We learn enough to convince us that we need to get the #$%^ out of here, else we'll be running into more people looking to make their fortune in one manner or another (either by trying to find the missing Astra and Fred, and/or by preying on those trying to find the missing Fred and Astra). Too many about for our comfort. One unlucky break and they might see something (like perhaps my wife's sisters, Dragoness Astra or Astra 9, with their disguise off).

Time to get "the heck out of Dodge" (whatever or wherever "Dodge" is).

We knock out and strip the smashed Payne Gang of all their clothing and equipment. Even take their money (turnabout is fair play). We don't need them following us (being naked and unequipped should be a good means at that).

....

'Tis simple justice, what we do to that Gang. How many people have they robbed (or worse)?

Well, that aside we must decide (and decide quickly) what to do. A few options are bandied about, but two seem to be the best course of action. Both aren't without risk, but we got to do something and soon, or we're going to be in trouble (again).

"Either we can ditch the idea of stealth, if only for a bit." Artizza says, reviewing. "Fly out of here on dragonback to get something like a few more days away on horseback from Walants. Good, but we risk raising a lot of alarms that might bring unwanted magical attention from wyrms who'd want the Crytsallic or mages who want the Crystallic."

"The other thing we could do," I say, taking up the conversation thread. "We could still travel by horseback, but cast nighteye spells on them so our mounts could see in the dark. We could ride through the day and night that way, but that'll take longer. We'd get out of this area faster than what we'd planned on, but we still would run risks of unwanted encounters."

Yeah, unwanted encounters. Either from fortune hunters, bandits, Aqualarian rangers (I'm sure that others besides the one group we met are out and about), or Allarians hunters.

  1. Astra 9, the group leader, decides after some thought that.....

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3/16/2004 4:03:18 PM

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