Dryad Eyes, part 43.
1,451.
1,280.
I had this whole thing written, just took my sweet time about piecing it together. Haha.
Thankfully, following the strange and brief encounter with Aorthain, Erek had lost interest in the beating that he had been about to hand Haron. The former officer was glad of that, silently thanking whatever Gods might be listening for their providence. He was still seeing stars from having struck the wall with such force, and was fairly certain that his neck would be stiff and sore for days to come. As he considered that, his silent voice went from prayers to a berating for himself. What a foolish thing to do, he thought. Why had he been so rash? Then, as he regained his feet, he saw Charis standing just a few feet away. She watched him with that same unreadable expression that she had worn since Erek had gotten his proverbial claws into her.
“Damn,” Haron said softly, and averted his eyes.
The demon snickered at him, and Haron suppressed a surge of fury. It would do no good to rail against the thing. Fighting it-- it had become increasingly difficult to think of Erek as a ‘him’ in spite of his nudity, and the arousal he often exhibited as he toyed with people’s minds-- was beyond the former officer’s abilities, at least at present. That would not always be the case. The former officer clung to that knowledge, that belief, and that was what made the necessity of dealing with the abomination bearable.
“Why have you not yet made your move against Alga, Haron?” Erek spoke a little more slowly than was normal, seeming somewhat distracted as he continued to pace. The former officer understood immediately. Not seeming to be limited to physical space, the demon often appeared to multiple people at once. It apparently took a great deal of concentration to pull it off, however. Haron had already grown accustomed to hearing that change in its voice, and seeing that distant look on its face. Undoubtedly, it was still harassing Aorthain’s psyche, punishing him with its foul power.
“You’re not neglecting you’re duties, are you?”
“Of course not. I am a man of my word.” Haron answered, cool and confident. This was not feigned bravado. While he was still deeply terrified of the demon on so many levels, he had several goals in mind, and had deemed them more important than that fear. Gambling with his personal safety again, he followed his statement with a bold observation of his own. “I’ve noticed that Geran is still quite alive, and walking about the Keep at will. Perhaps I should be asking the same of you.”
“Ha!” Erek seemed genuinely pleased. “Still bold, eh Haron? I’m impressed, especially now that you know exactly what I can do to you should you earn my ire.”
“A deal is a deal,” the man responded with a flat tone. “Whether it be with a God, a Demon, a King or a Beggar, I expect it to be honored.”
“Well, then. Still your worried mind!” Erek growled, an inhuman edge entering his voice. For just a moment, the officer feared that he had pushed too far. Perhaps, for a moment, he had. The demon had its temper under control as quickly as it was lost, however. “I will eliminate Geran when the time is right. When I have consumed all that he can give me.”
“Perhaps, then, we should each trust that the other is moving forward with all due speed?” Haron suggested. He was actually quite proud of himself for finding the nerve to continue with the line of conversation after so plainly seeing the most inhuman side of Erek. “While I need not consume anything of Alga’s, there are a number of things that I need to have in place for it to happen as smoothly as I would like.”
“And, I suppose, there is some reason that you cannot share those things with me?”
“Not at all,” Haron punctuated his answer with a shake of his head. “I can spend the next four hours explaining it all to you in detail. It would be a waste of time, though, and we both know it.”
“Very well. Have it your way. But I urge you, Haron,” Erek bared his teeth at the former officer in a hideous grin. “Do not spend too much time worrying over the details, eh?”
“Of course. I will take no more time than is needed.” Haron agreed. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask…”
“Yes?”
“Where is Bawo?”
The demon stared at him for a moment, another shadow of frustration passing over its features. It seemed, for a moment, as though it would not answer the question, until finally it did in a begrudging tone. “I don’t know. He has passed beyond my influence. Dead, probably. You… heh… have my condolences.”
“So it worked.” Bawo grunted, his satisfaction evident. He passed a hand over his freshly shaven scalp, completely devoid of any kind of hair save for the long, braided portion he wore in the back. He had not been himself of late. For near to two days, he had been walking about in a dark, red haze. Anger had consumed him. Hate. Only vaguely did he recall sitting with the demon when it made its deal with Haron, that it would kill Geran and deliver to him the dryad who was responsible for Thanik’s death in exchange for Alga’s life. Vague, also, were the memories of going to-and-fro across the fortress city, speaking to people here and there in Erek’s voice.
He did remember, vividly, those final moments he had spent under the demon’s control the night before. Alone on a dark street, he was accosted by somebody that had grabbed him from behind. A powerful fist had sent him sprawling. There had been nothing that he could do, then, save for gape at the purple robed priest of the ‘Angry God,’ whose coppery, scaled skin glittered dimly in the torchlight. Above that man’s head raised a red and orange visage of a massive creature. It was all muscles, wings and claws, with two very sharp sets of teeth that overlapped each other. Terrifying as the experience was, it had also been so very gratifying to feel Erek’s presence leave him at last.
“I would say so. Unless he was lying to me, which is always a possibility.” Haron slumped into a chair across the table from Bawo. Their positions were backwards. Normally, in at that table, in that musty old library that he had used as an office for so many months prior to his demotion, Haron would have sat at the head of the table while facing the door. Anyone other than himself would have sat where he did. “The charm he gave me seems to be working as well. Again, unless he was playing with me, Erek had no idea that I was playing him when I asked about you.”
“Praise be to the Elder Gods.”
“Indeed,” Haron agreed. “Did you do as I asked?”
Bawo nodded. “Every man I spoke to agreed to back your bid to be reinstated. More than half of them volunteered to back you by force, if necessary. I don’t think Geran quite realizes how much damage his lies have done.”
“Good. I thought, for a moment, that my plans had been derailed entirely. That is not the case. Once we’re done dealing with this Demon, we will return to our cause of ousting Geran. And I will try my hand at being King.”
“And we will find out who killed Thanik.”
“Gods yes. That we will, my friend.” Haron closed one fist and banged it firmly against the table, physically punctuating his statement. “That we will.”
1,280.
I had this whole thing written, just took my sweet time about piecing it together. Haha.
Thankfully, following the strange and brief encounter with Aorthain, Erek had lost interest in the beating that he had been about to hand Haron. The former officer was glad of that, silently thanking whatever Gods might be listening for their providence. He was still seeing stars from having struck the wall with such force, and was fairly certain that his neck would be stiff and sore for days to come. As he considered that, his silent voice went from prayers to a berating for himself. What a foolish thing to do, he thought. Why had he been so rash? Then, as he regained his feet, he saw Charis standing just a few feet away. She watched him with that same unreadable expression that she had worn since Erek had gotten his proverbial claws into her.
“Damn,” Haron said softly, and averted his eyes.
The demon snickered at him, and Haron suppressed a surge of fury. It would do no good to rail against the thing. Fighting it-- it had become increasingly difficult to think of Erek as a ‘him’ in spite of his nudity, and the arousal he often exhibited as he toyed with people’s minds-- was beyond the former officer’s abilities, at least at present. That would not always be the case. The former officer clung to that knowledge, that belief, and that was what made the necessity of dealing with the abomination bearable.
“Why have you not yet made your move against Alga, Haron?” Erek spoke a little more slowly than was normal, seeming somewhat distracted as he continued to pace. The former officer understood immediately. Not seeming to be limited to physical space, the demon often appeared to multiple people at once. It apparently took a great deal of concentration to pull it off, however. Haron had already grown accustomed to hearing that change in its voice, and seeing that distant look on its face. Undoubtedly, it was still harassing Aorthain’s psyche, punishing him with its foul power.
“You’re not neglecting you’re duties, are you?”
“Of course not. I am a man of my word.” Haron answered, cool and confident. This was not feigned bravado. While he was still deeply terrified of the demon on so many levels, he had several goals in mind, and had deemed them more important than that fear. Gambling with his personal safety again, he followed his statement with a bold observation of his own. “I’ve noticed that Geran is still quite alive, and walking about the Keep at will. Perhaps I should be asking the same of you.”
“Ha!” Erek seemed genuinely pleased. “Still bold, eh Haron? I’m impressed, especially now that you know exactly what I can do to you should you earn my ire.”
“A deal is a deal,” the man responded with a flat tone. “Whether it be with a God, a Demon, a King or a Beggar, I expect it to be honored.”
“Well, then. Still your worried mind!” Erek growled, an inhuman edge entering his voice. For just a moment, the officer feared that he had pushed too far. Perhaps, for a moment, he had. The demon had its temper under control as quickly as it was lost, however. “I will eliminate Geran when the time is right. When I have consumed all that he can give me.”
“Perhaps, then, we should each trust that the other is moving forward with all due speed?” Haron suggested. He was actually quite proud of himself for finding the nerve to continue with the line of conversation after so plainly seeing the most inhuman side of Erek. “While I need not consume anything of Alga’s, there are a number of things that I need to have in place for it to happen as smoothly as I would like.”
“And, I suppose, there is some reason that you cannot share those things with me?”
“Not at all,” Haron punctuated his answer with a shake of his head. “I can spend the next four hours explaining it all to you in detail. It would be a waste of time, though, and we both know it.”
“Very well. Have it your way. But I urge you, Haron,” Erek bared his teeth at the former officer in a hideous grin. “Do not spend too much time worrying over the details, eh?”
“Of course. I will take no more time than is needed.” Haron agreed. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask…”
“Yes?”
“Where is Bawo?”
The demon stared at him for a moment, another shadow of frustration passing over its features. It seemed, for a moment, as though it would not answer the question, until finally it did in a begrudging tone. “I don’t know. He has passed beyond my influence. Dead, probably. You… heh… have my condolences.”
“So it worked.” Bawo grunted, his satisfaction evident. He passed a hand over his freshly shaven scalp, completely devoid of any kind of hair save for the long, braided portion he wore in the back. He had not been himself of late. For near to two days, he had been walking about in a dark, red haze. Anger had consumed him. Hate. Only vaguely did he recall sitting with the demon when it made its deal with Haron, that it would kill Geran and deliver to him the dryad who was responsible for Thanik’s death in exchange for Alga’s life. Vague, also, were the memories of going to-and-fro across the fortress city, speaking to people here and there in Erek’s voice.
He did remember, vividly, those final moments he had spent under the demon’s control the night before. Alone on a dark street, he was accosted by somebody that had grabbed him from behind. A powerful fist had sent him sprawling. There had been nothing that he could do, then, save for gape at the purple robed priest of the ‘Angry God,’ whose coppery, scaled skin glittered dimly in the torchlight. Above that man’s head raised a red and orange visage of a massive creature. It was all muscles, wings and claws, with two very sharp sets of teeth that overlapped each other. Terrifying as the experience was, it had also been so very gratifying to feel Erek’s presence leave him at last.
“I would say so. Unless he was lying to me, which is always a possibility.” Haron slumped into a chair across the table from Bawo. Their positions were backwards. Normally, in at that table, in that musty old library that he had used as an office for so many months prior to his demotion, Haron would have sat at the head of the table while facing the door. Anyone other than himself would have sat where he did. “The charm he gave me seems to be working as well. Again, unless he was playing with me, Erek had no idea that I was playing him when I asked about you.”
“Praise be to the Elder Gods.”
“Indeed,” Haron agreed. “Did you do as I asked?”
Bawo nodded. “Every man I spoke to agreed to back your bid to be reinstated. More than half of them volunteered to back you by force, if necessary. I don’t think Geran quite realizes how much damage his lies have done.”
“Good. I thought, for a moment, that my plans had been derailed entirely. That is not the case. Once we’re done dealing with this Demon, we will return to our cause of ousting Geran. And I will try my hand at being King.”
“And we will find out who killed Thanik.”
“Gods yes. That we will, my friend.” Haron closed one fist and banged it firmly against the table, physically punctuating his statement. “That we will.”