EPISODE 6
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Rose screamed over the sounds of the melee. She planted a foot on Ka's back to keep the shorter drowess from getting up and attacking her again, and the startled Dil immediately released his hold on Zoe's neck while the mage dropped the knife he had taken from the fighter. She stepped back from the squirming Ka and self righteously straightened her spider hairpiece out on her head. "We can NOT keep doing this every morning," she said. "It's just not going to work."
"I don't know," Dil'andau argued. "It's a pretty good work out. Or it would be if I had a better sparring partner." He cast a condescending look down at Zoe who glared up at him.
"You call that sparring?!" He demanded angrily. "Attempted murder maybe!"
"Hey!" Ka said. "It's not his fault you suck!"
"I wouldn't be talking, freak," Zoe shot back. "From where I'm sitting I'm not the only one who got beaten."
"I didn't get beaten!" Ka argued.
"Well Ka," Dil'andau said innocently, "you do kinda have her Excellency's footprint on your back."
"Dil'andau, this is your last warning," Rose said between gritted teeth. "Shut up!" The companions stood still for a moment in seething silence, each glaring from one to the next.
"Champ," Zoe muttered under his breath, glaring at Dil'andau.
"All right, that's IT!" Dil'andau made to jump at Zoe but Rose reacted quicker.
"Slayer!" She snapped. The black panther immediately reacted, jumping in between the two males and growling at both of them. They backed up uneasily. Rose glared at them.
"You know what?" She said. "Ka and I are tired. You two obviously are not. And since you've got so much energy, I suggest you two clean up camp, by yourselves."
"But that's not . . ." Zoe started.
"You can't be serious . . ." Dil said at the same time. Slayer ended the argument with a low growl. After staring helplessly from Rose, to Ka to Slayer, they reluctantly set about doing as they were told.
"Those two really need to learn their place," Rose muttered to herself, taking a seat beside Ka. "Don't you think?" She frowned when she didn't get an answer. "Ka?" She looked over and realized Ka wasn't paying any attention to her, but staring instead at something else. Following her line of sight, the priestess realized that she was staring at Dil'andau. "Ka!" Rose gasped. Startled out of whatever she had been thinking the psionicist turned to look at Rose.
"What?" She asked. Rose grinned and shook her head.
"Nothing," she replied. "It wasn't important." Ka frowned at her and Rose suddenly glared back. "I said it wasn't important, so don't even think about . . ." Ka's face suddenly turned scarlet.
"You think I . . . that I would actually . . . about Dil!!" She sputtered. Rose rolled her eyes and fell back on the ground.
"Well," she said, "that's what you get for nosing around in other people's thoughts!! Maybe now you'll learn!"
"You've got a lot of explaining to do!" Ka exploded. She lowered her voice at the curious looks the males shot her. "What could possibly have made you think that I . . ."
"You were staring at him," Rose pointed out.
"So?" Ka demanded. "Maybe I was just lost in thought and he happened to be where I was staring."
"You were following him with your eyes," Rose added.
"I . . . I was just . . . enjoying his suffering. That's all!"
"You carry around that halberd of his as though it was your most prized possession!" Rose said, exasperated.
"It IS my most prized possession!" Ka answered. Rose raised an eyebrow at her.
"You don't even know how to use it," she said. "You're still holding it upside down." Ka frowned.
"Well," she said, fishing around for an excuse, "it annoys Dil when I take it. He gets really mad, and I happen to find that funny. None of those are any reason to think that I would even consider liking Dil in . .. that way." Rose laughed suddenly.
"You call him Dil!" She said. "That's reason enough!" Ka opened her mouth but was unable to think of an answer to that one.
"I . . . that's stupid," she finally managed. "I mean . . . you call Zojikoe Zoe! It's the same thing!"
"You call him that too!" Rose argued. "None of us call Dil'andau Dil though. That's just a you thing."
"A me thing?" Ka demanded.
"Yes, a you thing," Rose replied.
"We're done," Zoe announced suddenly, interrupting the two's argument. He shrank back when they both turned to glare at him.
"Whoa," Dil'andau muttered. "If looks could kill . . ." Rose pulled the map out of her robes and handed it over to Zoe.
Ka and I are having a little discussion," she said. "You two walk up ahead and lead the way."
"What?!" Zoe demanded. "You want me to walk with him?!"
"Nothing doing!" Dil'andau insisted. "I'm not walking with the psycho."
"Psycho? Psycho?!" Zoe cried. "I'm not the psycho one here!"
"You wanna make something of it?" Dil'andau cried, his hand snaking over his shoulder only to find his halberd missing. "Hey! Where's my . . . Ka! You little wench!"
"Don't call my sister a wench!" Zoe cried, shoving Dil'andau backwards.
"CUT IT OUT!" Rose shouted, effectively putting an end to the arguments (though not until after Dil'andau had given Zoe an innocent little nudge that sent the mage flying onto his backside). "You two, go!" She ordered, gesturing for Zoe and Dil to start on their trek. "Slayer, you go with them. Make sure they don't kill each other." Slayer obediently began herding the two males out of the camp, Zoe still clutching the map in one hand.
"So," she said, turning to Ka. "Where were we?"
***
"Champ."
"Rat."
"Bastard!"
"Freak!"
"Reject!"
"Grrrr . . ."
"Nice kitty . . ." Zojikoe and Dil'andau immediately backed down and satisfied themselves with glaring at each other.
"We're coming up to a fork," Dil'andau said suddenly. "Give me the map so I can see which way to go."
"Sure," Zoe said, holding out the map. Just before Dil'andau's fingers could touch it however, he jerked it away. "Not likely. Why would I trust an idiot like you with the map?"
"Give me the stupid paper!" Dil'andau cried angrily, jumping for it.
"No!" Zoe cried, holding it up out of Dil'andau's reach. "There's no chance in . . ." He was cut off by an odd squeaking noise. "What . . .?" Both Drow turned to look just as a large bat-like creature swooped down from it's perch and snatched the map from Zoe's grasp.
"Uh-oh . . ." Dil'andau said, watching in horror as the bat flew away from them, gliding effortlessly over the large underground lake their path ran beside and vanishing into the Underdark.
"Oh that is so not good," Zoe said.
"Zoe! Dil!" Ka's voice suddenly snapped as she and Rose rounded the corner. "What are you two doing just standing there?!"
"Rose!" Zoe gasped.
"Ka!" Dil'andau cried.
"We were . . . um . . . um . . . we . .. were . . . just . . . ah . . ."
"Checking for tracks!" Dil'andau supplied quickly. "To . . . uh . . . see if there were any monsters around. But we're done now, so we'll just . . . ah . . . go back up ahead . . . again. So . . . bye!" Without waiting he and Zoe turned around and tore off ahead of the women who stared after them with raised eyebrows.
"I'm really starting to worry about those two," Rose remarked.
"No kidding, I . . ." She paused and frowned, tilting her head to one side. "Did you hear that?" Rose glanced at her and shook her head.
"Hear what?" She asked.
"I don't know. I thought . . ." Ka's voice trailed off as she extended her mind towards the lake. Her face suddenly went pale.
"Oh shit . . ."
***
"This is all your fault!" Zoe hissed, carefully keeping his eyes straight ahead and his back rigid.
"My fault?!" Dil'andau cried, then lowered his voice. "My fault? How is this my fault?! You were the one waving the map around in the air!"
"Well if you hadn't been bugging me for it in the first place!" Zoe responded.
"I wasn't bugging! I merely asked if I could . . ."
"Look," Zoe said irritably. "It doesn't matter. I know the way anyway, so it's not that big a deal. As long as we keep the girls from finding out, we're fine."
"You know, Zojikoe, I don't know if you noticed, but your sister's a FREAKING PSIONICIST!! She's gonna notice!!"
"Not if we . . ." He was cut off by a shrill scream from back where Rose and Ka had been. The two exchanged startled looks and then whirled around and took off down the corridor, back towards where they had last left the two women. They skidded to a stop as they rounded the corner and their eyes widened as they took in the scene.
A huge, octopus-like monster had dragged itself halfway out of the lake and was whipping it's tentacles lightning quick at Rose and Ka who were working frantically to dodge them.
"FLAME STRIKE!" Rose screamed, sending a huge fireball straight at the monster. A huge molten fireball flew from her hands and struck the monster square in it's elongated head. It gave an ear-splitting screech and toppled backwards into the water with a huge splashed that showered all four of the drow. Dil'andau stared at the priestess in shock.
"You can DO that?!" He demanded. "I . .. I didn't know . . ." Rose rolled her eyes.
"I'm a priestess of Lloth, Dil," she said, shooting a wicked smile at Ka when she used the name, "I do a whole lot of things you probably don't know about. Then again, if you'd spent more time at home with your sisters instead of out gallivanting around . . ."
"Uh . . . Rose?" Zojikoe said, his eyes widening slightly. He pointed to something behind her. "Rose?"
"What, Zoe? I'm busy gloating here!" She replied.
"I . . . uh . . . I don't think we're done yet," he said. She frowned and turned around, her jaw falling open as the octopus rose slowly out of the water, no sign of the effects of her fireball but a blackened area in the center of it's forehead.
"He survived it?!" She cried angrily. "How dare he!!!"
"It's a hundred foot octopus and she wonders how he dare survive her fireball," Ka muttered.
"Well I don't see you doing a whole lot of good," Rose shot back.
"Uh . . . ladies . . ." Dil'andau pointed up at where the now enraged octopus stood hovering over the equally enraged Rose.
"You are so dead you tentacled . . . freak!" Rose cried, trying to think of an attack that would have a greater effect on the monster. She was so busy glaring at the beady red eyes of the monster that she failed to notice it's tentacle descending towards her from behind.
"Rose!" Zojikoe cried out, diving forward and tackling her to the side just as the tentacle descended. They hit the ground sharply and skidded out of the way of the tentacle. Rose turned around in Zoe's protective grasp and stared at the mage in surprise.
"Zoe . . ." She said in shock. "You saved me . . ."
"I . . . well . . . kinda . . . I guess," he stammered. The two suddenly realized the suggestive position they were in and blushed to the tips of their pointed ears, pushing themselves apart.
"Ahem," Rose said, straightening her robes. "I . . . ah . . . thanks," she said, still blushing. Zoe laughed nervously.
"Um . . . don't mention it," he said.
"HEY!" Ka shouted angrily. "MAGICAL TYPE PEOPLE?!" She glared at them and gestured to the octopus behind her just as one of its tentacles descended towards her back with frightening speed. Dil'andau's battle cry rang out and he leapt through the air, slashing at the tentacle with his halberd (recently stolen from Ka) before the tentacle could strike the oblivious psionicist. "We could kind sorta maybe use your HELP here!" Dil'andau gasped and dodged the tentacle, slashing it in a long gash that splattered dark colored blood all over the place. He gasped again as he was suddenly grasped from behind by another tentacle. He gave a strangled cry as it wrapped tightly around his chest and he dropped his halberd.
"Dil!" Ka cried at the shout, whirling around. She stared up at him in horror. "LET HIM GO!" She shrieked, and her eyes suddenly went out of focus. Without warning the octopus screamed in pain and dropped the gasping Dil to the ground. Several tentacles went to its head and it writhed in pain.
"All right Ka!" Rose cried as she and Zojikoe raced to opposite sides of the monster. "We got it! Get Dil'andau!" Ka's eyes instantly regained focus and she raced to Dil's side as the fighter lay gasping for breath and holding his rib cage.
"NOW ZOE!" Rose cried, raising her hands as electricity began to spark up her body, sending her robes whipping about in an unseen wind. The mage reacted instantly, extending his hands and chanting as lightning began to sparkle between his fingertips.. At the same instant, the two let loose with their attacks. The octopus screeched in pain as the electricity struck it and surged through it's body. Their attack continued for a moment that seemed to stretch to forever and Rose groaned at the effort of keeping her attack going.
"It's . . . not enough!" Zoe cried. "Ka! Dil'andau!" Dil'andau struggled to a sitting position.
"Where's my stick?!" He demanded, then winced. "Dammit! I mean my halberd! Where is it?!" Ka picked up the weapon and pressed its cool shaft into Dil's hands, and then got to her feet and glared at the writhing octopus.
"Bye, bye octo," she told it as her eyes lost focus. The creature screeched again and the ceiling of the cavern shook violently. It fell forward onto the ground, it's head out of the water.
"Now Dil'andau!" Rose shouted. "Kill it!" Dil'andau shot to his feet, ignoring the pain in his chest - he must have broken a few ribs - and raced towards the writhing creature. Just as he raised his weapon over the tightly shut eye, he heard Ka cry out behind him. He skidded to a stop and whirled around, staring in disbelief as one of the huge tentacles slammed into Ka and sent her crashing back into the wall.
"YOU DIE!" He shrieked then, whirling around and ramming his halberd into the eye with all his strength. Black blood spurted high into the air and the creature shrieked one last time, rearing up and falling back into the water with an incredible splash that completely soaked Rose and Zojikoe, who were standing closest to the water's edge. The two magic users groaned and collapsed to their knees.
"Well . . ." Zoe breathed as Dil'andau took two steps towards Ka and toppled over. "That could have been worse." Rose threw a rock at him.
***
Later that night, the companions (having all been healed by Rose, who was now fast asleep on her blankets) were finishing setting up their camp, as far from the lake as they had managed to make it before exhaustion demanded they collapse. Zojikoe had expended the last of his energy setting up magical warning systems around their camp so they could all get some sleep instead of having to leave one up for watch and he, Ka and Dil'andau were crawling into their blankets. The mage's eyes were almost closed when Dil's enraged shout echoed through the camp.
"KA! GIVE ME BACK MY HALBERD!!"