| There is still just a chance that the youngsters are just here for
the herb....and not his head!
The adventurers mutter sincere thanks and walk within the room and Karin
leaves.
"Don' get many visitors!" Prang chirps happily, still acting the senile
one, "What brings ya' again?"
"We are here for a small quantity of herb called Hymenoptia." Jarlath
says, fighting off the urge to yawn, "‘Tis urgently needed in order to
save the lives of some children. Can you spare some?"
Prang blinks owlishly at them, in part to play out the role of one senile
wizard. Part out of the fact that he really IS surprised. While Hymenoptia
herb is hardly a common thing, he was surprised indeed that this was the
end all of the reason just WHY these young people were so vexing him!
"'Ow....How much?" Prang asks. A quantity is named and Prang mentally
shrugs. Even though it is actually a rather large amount, Prang figures
he may as well cut his losses for right now and let the young pups have
their day.
There are OTHER days, of course. Prang chides himself. 'Tis
not like you can't track them down later to settle matters.....if you still
feel the need!
Frankly, with the adventurers arriving days earlier than expected (re:
13644, lower half of page), the whole business had left bad taste in Prang's
mouth. Grumpily, he was halfway ready to just throw up his hands and just
follow his policy of not revealing his true power by just cutting his losses.
"Here you go, small one!" Prang chackles as he gives the herbs to none
other than the elfin girl that came forward to claim the herbs from him.
"Hmmm." Ti'mma says, carefully keeping a neautral face as she packs
it away in a belt pouch.
Then, with a bit of foreboding, she then turns and looks up at the smiling
old human being.
"Okay....I'll bite," she says softly, "Why?"
"Huh?" Prang blinks, expecting something more childlike than this elf.
"I wasn't sure....but I am now," Ti'mma says softly, drawing her Power
to herself in preparation.
"Ti'mma?" Jarlath asks, perplexed. "What is it?"
"This is the man that I sensed scrying on us back in Red Oak," the elfin
lass says, "Back right before the poisoning and all those strange monster
attacks on our way out here. Now....."
Prang, having heard enough and figuring (correctly) that he had just
been made (by a child.... no less!), laughs ruefully.
"So much for bluffing it out!" he mutters right before throwing a spell!
Downstairs, Mistress Cratchet looks up in surprise and dismay as she
hears a loud explosion upstairs
"Not again," she mutters, thinking it was yet another magical accident
by one of the senile mages.
But when more noise comes down.....Cratchet's eye's open wide in horror
when it dawns on her.....
"Mage battle?" the former army footman (er....woman) whispers, remembering
similar horrible sounds and such back in the border clashes with Hespen.
Then, mages had gone at it with each other while mere mundane, nonmagical
people had fought around them.
Even Mistress Cratchet, who wasn't afraid of anything, shivers at just
how destructive THOSE battles could be!
She reaches over and breaks a talisman that had been given to her by
Master Crus, the proprietor of this establishment, to summon aid in case
of emergencies.
She'd figured that it would be something like a fire.....or some summoned
creature by one of the more powerful but senile residents running amok.
Not this.
She then hurries out to gather the residents who are milling about.
"Come on," she orders them, herding them out the door and to what she
hopes is to safety......
-
 So
much for bluffing it out!
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