Furemn's Story

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 84818

"Hello, Furemn." purred Astra. She leaned forward and turned her head to face the boy. His hugged knees pressed harder against his chest in response, and he remained silent. Astra let a soft laugh curl from her lips.

"I'm not going to eat you, Furemn." she joked, stretching her legs out before her and placing her hands in her lap. Furemn apparently realised his manner and smirked slightly. He let his knees drop to the stone ground and tucked his legs under his backside.

"I know you're not." he murmured shyly. "But Garren says to be careful."

"I get the feeling Garren is a sensible man." replied Astra, flicking her gaze over to Garren. He was still with Wren at the fire, but Astra could feel his eyes on her every now and again. She returned her attention to Furemn. "This is a very dangerous place. I've travelled much in my time, but I would've surely perished here had your troupe not found me. You're a brave lad to be here, Furemn."

Another deep blush clashed with his bright hair. As stared down at the stone below, Astra almost didn't hear what he whispered next:

"I'm not a lad anymore."

"No," said Astra. "I suppose being here with those lisards could make a man of anyone, Furemn. But I still think you're brave."

"They killed my father."

Astra was momentarily taken aback by the brutal statement. "You.....you mean the lisards....?"she asked quietly. Furemn nodded rapidly, eyes darting from left to right. His hands were clenched into tight fists. "Oh, Furemn," whispered Astra. "I'm so sorry for you."

She reached out and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. His head bowed once more. "We had only been here a few hours." he murmured shakily. "Then they came.......six of them. We didn't know they were there. They got Jilpy first. The spear, it went right through her back and came out of her belly. She looked scared, and when she hit the floor all this blood came out of her mouth and I screamed. I heard my Dad shout my name. I shouted his, but then Raef picked me up and ran. There were flashes, so many flashes, magic from Pasfina and maybe Wren......"

Astra listened in silence as Furemn talked on, faster and faster, his grief and fury fuelling his desperate need for another to hear his pain.

"......I heard lots of clangs, like swords hitting each other, and shouts and screams and hisses. I wanted to go back to my Dad, but Raef wouldn't let go. The noises got quieter as we got further away, but then Raef stopped and pushed me into a little hole in the wall and told me not to move or talk. He told me to stop crying and be a man, then he left me. His footsteps went away. It was dark. I waited and waited, and then I heard footsteps again and I thought it was Dad but it was Raef and he said....he, he said that he was...."

A thick film of water swirled around Furemn's eyes, but not one tear came. His every facial sinew fought to contain his sorrow, and his fists somehow clenched tighter.

"Oh, Furemn. You poor soul." said Astra softly. She reached behind his head and tenderly stroked his neck. She could imagine few worse ways to lose a father, however it was clear that Furemn must trust her, at least in part. She shifted herself so that her bare right leg pressed against him. He looked up at her, eyes seething with corrosive emotion, and for a strange moment Astra thought that he might attack her there and then.

"Do you know what hurts the most?" he asked, voice dry and cracked and hot.

"What?"

"I'm still scared of them. They killed him, but I'm still scared. I don't want to avenge him, I don't want retribution, I just......I just want to run away and never come back. I'm not brave, Astra. I'm.......nothing."

As the hurt grew too much for him, Astra slid her arms around Furemn thin body and drew him to her bosom. There he wept, broken sobs and high, reedy gulps of air interpersed together. His hands wandered searchingly over her back, embracing her awkwardly but longingly. She kissed his hair and head, and gritted her teeth as Furemn's grief threatened to infect her, called out to her own personal sadness. She flicked her eyes to each of the other companions in turn - each was watching her solemnly. They glanced at each other in twitches, and Astra felt anger as she began to understand that not one of them had spoken to this boy of his loss. No doubt they had simply bundled him along in their hurry to reach safety, then to ensure survival, then to begin planning a means of escape, and all the time the child was alone, crumbling away inside, knowing his dead father lay forgotten in some rock tunnel, stripped and robbed and rotting.

She slowly released him, and he returned to his original position - back against the wall, knees tucked under his chin. He wiped his eyes frantically on his sleeve. "How long have you been in this place, Furemn?" asked Astra. For a while he was silent as his mind moved away from despair and back to the immediate now. Then he began.

"About nine days. It's hard to know because there's no daylight. Before that we had been walking through the desert for weeks. I was thirsty and tired; Garren and my.....my father had been arguing about the direction we were headed in. But we found the tower finally. My Dad had come so far to find that tower...."

"Why was your father looking for the tower?" asked Astra.

"He and Garren had heard about a legend of a powerful temptress that lived in a big tower in the Calamari Desert. My Dad is an.....I mean.....he, he was an adventurer."

Furemn's lips pursed tightly. He blinked furiously for a moment, then continued. "We spread the word around the county, looking for others to join us. A lot of people laughed at us, but those people had laughed at my Dad before, and he had proven them wrong before."

"But why did your father bring you?" inquired Astra. "He must have known it would be dangerous."

"He took me with him 'cause he had to." said Furemn simply. It seemed he would not be pressed further on the matter, and so Astra let him continue. "So, when we came into the tower, a lady appeared. She had a lot of talismans on her neck, I remember they were glowing. My Dad grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back. He walked forward and started to speak to the lady, but then Garren, Ghent and Raef charged forward and Wren and Pasfina starting chanting. My Dad shouted 'No!' but they didn't listen. They bound the lady with magical bonds and Raef had a dagger at her throat. Garren was shouting at her, telling her to tell him where the crest was or something. Then she laughed and it went dark and we woke up here..."

Astra's heart jumped. The crest.......

"What did you say?" asked Astra urgently, turning to face Furemn fully.

"What?"

"You mentioned a crest. What is it? What is the crest?"

Furemn blinked at her. "The crest is the reason we're here." he said.

  1. Just then, a strong hand clamped onto Astra's shoulder.
  2. Astra pressed the boy for further information, but gained little else. She decided to speak to the others.
  3. Before she could press Furemn further, he jumped up and ran past her toward Poliaun, who had just returned.
  4. Suddenly, an echoey hiss sent the camp into chaos. The lisards had arrived!

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12/28/2008 10:10:41 AM

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