Judian had fought in the arena at Hillsfar. He'd been part of a border patrol for Phlan, had taken passage as a caravan guide into the Underdark, had worked briefly for people who were accounted good and people that were accounted evil.
He had some standards, but they were up for sale as well.
He watched from outside the camp, careful not to draw blade or nock arrow, as his Thayvian employers got their tattooed butts handed to them.
Shrugging, he went down to where one of the taskmasters was smouldering and pulled the large iron key from its chain. Then he unlocked the cage of slaves.
"Any of you got money at home and care to hire a guard?" Judian asked the startled ex-slaves. "It looks like I need a new employer."
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed a running bunch of Thay slavers as they were pursued by a little fluffy bunny rabbit.
"NOOOO! NOT... AHHHH!" crunch munch scrunch chomp
"It's a devil bunny!" pointed out an ex-slave. "It just ate that Red Wizard!"
"ptooie!"
"And spat out his spellbook," pointed out Judian. "You aren't complaining about a rabbit's table manners are you?"
The ex-slave just stared around him.
Judian shrugged and looked around. Each and every one of those getting smooshed had drawn a weapon. That Krycia woman was currently being pecked at by an irate bluejay. There was a squirrel over there that had ahold of one swordsman's foot and was twirling him in midair. Everywhere one looked, harmless forest creatures were flattening anyone who acted the least bit threatening.
"Ah well," said Judian.
"Hold it right there!" said a blonde elven swordsman, rushing up and looking for a target.
Lena pondered.
The only groups of shapeshifters she knew of that could pull something like this off could be put in one of three distinct groups. Gods, dragons, or demons.
"They aren't demons," said Sinda after concentrating for a few moments. "I would be able to sense their evil. I'm getting that feeling off their victims..."
Lena nodded. Her own assessment was that if they were demons - more of the slavers would be dead instead of still running around in circles being chased by a fire-breathing penguin.
Deities? Gods or their spawn? Lena wasn't quite ready to accept this was the case either. Gods, in Lena's experience, had ego problems and appearing as small defenseless woodland creatures didn't sound right. If there was something they were watching, they'd use scrying devices or something like that.
That left only one possibility, and as they'd seen that one dragon already around chasing goblins and spitting ice chunks at them, that seemed the most likely.
She was an Invoker, not a Diviner, and her spell load was geared more to making loud booming noises than the subtle stuff like pulling answers out of the air.
"Now what would a bunch of dragons find so interesting, that a bunch of them would collect around here?" Lena asked aloud, just working out the basics on her own.
"How would I know?" asked Sinda. "Unless... M'reth is unusual, is she not?"
"They're here to see me?" purred the catgirl. "Somehow I don't think so."
"Well, you're the only mithra I've ever heard of," pointed out Sinda. "So why not?"
"Where I come from, mithra are very common," said M'reth thoughtfully. "But maybe that's it."
Lena rolled her eyes. "Maybe. Maybe it's me. I AM the rising star of the magical arts! Maybe they've foreseen how powerful a sorceress I shall become!"
Everyone stared for a moment at her.
"Okay, that's not likely either," admitted Lena, stepping past a slaver who was being gripped by the collar and repeatedly slapped by an owl.
"What about Sinda's friend?" said M'reth as their swordsman ran around, trying to find someone who could fight.
"What about Pewter?" asked Sinda.
Pewter settled into the small clearing and checked his reflection in the pool.
It would be awkward for him to go to a human city as either a big cat or as a dragon. Worse, Sinda had indicated his other forms had some problems.
How would he keep an eye on his friend while she was in a city?
Looking at his reflection, Pewter decided to change his shape again. He would have to practice it too. Get every detail right because it would have to stand up to people very familiar with such a thing.
Looking deep within himself, Pewter tried to find a human-like form. He'd seen the elves with Sinda, and that cat-person, and the short elfling. There had been artwork of humans in some of the treasure hoards of other dragons.
Pewter reached within and gradually the reflection of a young silver dragon blurred and shifted. When he stood again:
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(Posted Thu, 01 Jul 2004 09:45)
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