20th Day of Goodmonth, 565 CY
Suderham, The Pomarj
Unru raised his right arm out, and with his fingers beckoned Aslan closer.
"Come on then, braggart. Let's see what you've got."
Behind Aslan's confidant return smile his thoughts were at a roiling boil.
What have I got? Dorbin told me months ago that even amongst themselves, Unru's always been the one most guarded about himself and his past. I don't even know anything of substance about his homeland, Yatia.
The paladin considered his options even as he and his opponent began slowly to again walk around the perimeter of the circle. Faintly, he could hear Sitdale making a few wagers with Wainold's men about something.
There was that one conversation in my cabin, though. True, it's second-hand information, but apparently that's fair game to use in this Duel. The problem is, it would require a use of polymorphing that I've never done before. It's just never- never felt right to do it. Plus, I suspect that story was never meant for Unru's ears. It was told for my benefit, not his.
"Apparently, his strategy involves hoping I'll die of old age," Unru smirked to the others. Aslan heard a few chuckles.
I don't have anything else, but I'm not sure I can do this, the paladin thought. I've always polymorphed for purposes of combat, transport or deception. I've never done it to- to teach before.
He stopped walking. Unru did likewise.
Well, here goes nothing again.
"I also have a conversation to relate, Unru," Aslan began. "It was back in Coldeven, the day I'd teleported back to the Brass Dragon with Cygnus from Highport. The day- Tad was taken."
The room went quiet again.
"After the brawl between Fee Hal and Aiclesis, I'd gone back to my cabin to turn in for the night and mindrest. She was- she was just finishing up when I arrived. Casting alarm spells and such to protect me against Nodyath while I slept."
Lord, this is going to be hard. I'd forgotten- that pain. This is going to hurt. This is going to hurt everyone.
Aslan took a deep breath and began to slowly walk forward.
And as he did, his form changed.
The room gasped as one.
Argo was the first to speak, although his eyes never left the paladin.
"That man never ceases to surprise me."
"Amen to that," breathed Nesco.
"What man?" whispered Cygnus.
Unru's eyes went wide as the full moons. He took a step backwards in shock. His lips formed one word.
"Torlina."
Still wearing her dark blouse and woolen long brown skirt, Torlina skirted the armor pile at the center of the circle and slowly continued to approach Unru. Her long, curly brown hair cascaded over her shoulders. The wizard moved aside several unruly bangs that hung over her face. Torlina's green eyes caught and held the illusionist's brown ones for just a moment.
"I- could see how much pain Aslan was in," Torlina began, her head bowing low. "He sat down on his bed and just stared at the floor. Then I noticed that he was looking at a wooden bowl that was lying next to his bed. It smelled of old meat, and I realized it- it was the food bowl for his dog, Mirage."
She stopped about ten feet away from Unru. Her face was heavy with pain. "He'd been killed by Nodyath. I didn't realize until then how much Mirage had meant to Aslan, but when I tried to say something to him, he assured me that he'd find Tadoa and rescue him. I think- I think he didn't want to appear insensitive by admitting his grief about Mirage to anyone. Not while poor Tadoa was still being held captive somewhere."
Torlina's eyes glistened with Aslan's tears.
"I- I wanted him to know that he didn't have to be alone with his pain. So I told him a story- about my cat, Ferrist."
Unru started trembling violently now. Knowing where his opponent was heading, he shut his eyes to close out that vision, but he couldn't plug his ears.
"Damn you, Aslan," he hissed. "That's low. What kind of a paladin would use that? What kind of a man would do this? What sort of freak are you?"
"I had a familiar once," Torlina began, not responding to Unru's accusations. Aslan was addressing Elrohir, Wainold and their allies now as much as Unru. Sitdale and Sir Menn glanced at each other.
"Ferrist. He was a tiger tabby. He was getting on in years, but I didn't want to release him. I guess- I guess I was selfish that way, but I'd had him since before I met Sir Dorbin or any of the others. He would always sleep curled up next to my face. Sometimes I'd wake up coughing with a face full of fur- no matter how much I brushed him, he always seemed to be shedding- but I didn't mind. He was always there for me. Always there to give me his unconditional love. And when I became stronger as a mage, Ferrist- grew- with me. We could actually talk together."
She took a deep breath and continued.
"I had this magical knapsack- I gave it to Aiclesis later. Whenever we were entering a dangerous situation, I would stick Ferrist inside there beforehand. He had plenty of room, air, food and water. I'd never dare risk him in combat."
Unru had opened his eyes again and was staring steadily at Aslan now.
"Then," Torlina gulped. "One day- it was shortly before we met Elrohir and his friends that first time, we were exploring the dungeons of Venom- four or five levels down, I think. Where we were hadn't been picked over like the levels above, but Venom had left many minions behind- and they had stayed."
"The dark naga," Sir Menn said softly.
Torlina nodded at him, and then turned to the others. "A horrid creature. At least twelve feet long. Something like a giant eel, but with a poisonous stinger. And its head- almost like a human's, but…
Her voice trailed off.
"It had snakes with it," Sitdale picked up. "A half-dozen at least. Pythons, maybe- giant constrictors in any case. They all attacked us at once when we entered the naga's lair."
Unru was scowling at his friends now, and Aslan knew why. This was an unexpected bonus- he'd never thought that they might want to tell the story, as well.
They may even know details that Torlina never told me, but Unru won't stop them. He's in the same situation that I was with his woman- he can't afford to appear afraid.
Thus strengthened, Aslan continued.
"The naga was a dreadful opponent. Monsrek had already been stung and fallen to the ground. We didn't know if he was dead or not- and then the naga started flinging spells at us. And all the while, the snakes were attempting to crush us in their coils."
Torlina took a deep breath.
"I- I don't know how it snuck up on me- I had my back to a wall and was casting support spells- but suddenly one of the snakes was on me. I twisted around, trying to throw it off. It was trying to swallow my head- its jaws were so huge- but they clamped down on my knapsack instead. I fell to the floor and managed to roll away from it, but I lost the knapsack."
She looked off into the distance.
"Sir Dorbin- he was under attack by the naga. I fired off some spell at it- I don't remember what one, but then I- I heard Ferrist yowling. When I turned around, I saw him. He must have gotten out of the knapsack. The snake had ignored him; it was going for me again, but he'd jumped on its head and was clawing and biting at it."
The paladin's voice dropped to a whisper.
"The snake moved so fast; all I saw was a blur. Ferrist was screeching, and then the snake was moving away from me- and there was this- this- big lump under its skin, right behind its head."
Torlina wiped her eyes clear and tried to bring her voice back up, with uneven results.
"Dorbin was pushing the naga back, and he yelled at us to grab Monsrek and fall back. So we did; it turns out Monsrek was all right; we revived him. I really don't remember much more of anything until we were setting up camp that night outside that night. I guess that's when- that's when it hit me."
Aslan paused, and as he hoped, one of the others picked up the slack.
"We had a shelterdome set up," Sitdale put in. "All of us wouldn't fit in it of course, but it was standard practice for the mages to stay there- make it easier to recover spells and so forth, but this time Torlina just grabbed her bedroll and lay down on the ground away from the rest of us." The half-elf's voice dropped lower. "We could all hear her crying."
Unru bit his lip but said nothing.
"I don't know how long I lay there sobbing, but then I heard someone coming up behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw that it was Unru."
Torlina's green eyes flashed with anger. "I told him to go the Abyss. I told him I wished it had been him who had been eaten by the snake instead."
Noticing the puzzlement on the faces of Elrohir, Wainold and the others, Sir Menn explained.
"Unru never liked Ferrist. He thought it was ridiculous to carry an animal around with you when you never knew what was going to happen. He'd make fun of the cat. Sometimes, he'd throw an illusion on him- give him square eyes and cinderblocks for feet. Or he'd use his ventriloquism spell to have Ferrist say rude things to Torlina. Lord, but she would get angry with him." The knight chuckled sadly, shaking his head at the memories.
"He sat down next to me," Torlina continued hesitantly. "I kept telling him to leave or I'd start throwing spells at him myself, but he said- he just said…"
It was several moments before she could get the words out.
"He said he figured that maybe I'd want to say goodbye to Ferrist, so he- he conjured up an image of him that I could touch, and pet, and-"
"You don't take a pet into a dungeon!" Unru suddenly shouted.
Everyone stared at the illusionist, who seemed to have forgotten who the Torlina before him really was. As they watched, Unru's knees buckled and he landed on the wooden floor on them.
"I tried to tell you!" he continued. "Why would you set yourself up for that kind of heartbreak? Isn't there enough of that in the world already? You…"
The mage broke off, unable to continue, his head bowed. Aslan walked over to him and spoke gently to the top of Unru's head.
"I cried for hours; or at least it felt like it. And then he- Unru lay down next to me. He never said another word. I- I just cried myself to sleep with his arm around me."
"I was busy with the naga," Unru croaked to the floor. "I didn't see your damn stupid cat. I would've saved him. I-"
And he looked up at Torlina now, his brown eyes filled with tears.
"I would've saved YOU!"
He broke down and cried, burying his face in his hands.
Elrohir glanced over. Sitdale had glanced away, his hands rubbing his eyes. Sir Menn stood stoically, but it was clear from the knight's face that the memory of that terrible day at the Brass Dragon had enveloped him, as well.
Unru continued to sob; quietly now." I would've saved you. I know I could have. I'm sorry- I didn't know about the scroll- I'm sorry…"
Torlina stood over Unru until his tears began to subside, and then turned to the others.
"I told Aslan that Unru was like an artichoke."
Still sniffling, the illusionist raised his head and eyed Torlina curiously.
"It's not very good-looking, and the outside is all prickly and it's difficult to get past it, but there's some good stuff underneath if you want to go through the trouble of finding it."
Torlina smiled sadly again as she turned to look at one particular person.
"And he said, yeah, I know someone like that myself."
A slight grin crossed Argo Bigfellow's features.
Torlina turned back to Unru and waited until the illusionist was looking into her eyes again.
"So I told him not to tell Unru, but that I really did consider him a friend- someone loved and would be glad to lay down my life for- just like Dorbin and all the others."
She swallowed hard as she finished. 'I told him they're my family, and- and I told him I was sure his family loved him too, and together, they'd get through this."
The tears started again. The voice started as Torlina's but finished as Aslan's.
"And so they did."
Unru was slowly bringing himself back under control. When Aslan had resumed his normal form, the illusionist had looked away from him.
"Stupid paladin," he sniffed. "Doesn't even know how to duel properly. You- you were supposed to try and tear me down, Aslan, not build me up!"
He looked up at the figure standing before him.
"Why did you do it?"
And Aslan smiled and held out his hand to his opponent.
"Because, Unru; that's the paladin way."
Unru stared at Aslan's hand a long time- and then took it and allowed the paladin to pull him to his feet.
The two men stared at each other for a moment, and then clasped each other by the shoulder.
The Revealing Duel was over.
"So then, Unru," said Aslan, wiping away the last of his own tears. "Friends?"
"Hell, no," replied the illusionist, who was doing the same. "You're almost as much of a manipulative son-of-a-bitch as I am. But I'll admit you've got more under there than I gave you credit for," he remarked, jabbing a finger into the paladin's chest. "That's worth a temporary truce in my book. All right, Aslan- when we get back from all this," you'll be able to report to Dorbin that I toed the line. I'll keep my raging loins under wraps for you."
"What more can I ask for?" grimaced Aslan.
An awkward silence ensued, which Elrohir took as his cue.
"All right, people," the ranger began. "It's time to turn in. We're all just damn lucky that we weren't overheard outside." With this last, he turned to his wife, who was peering out between a crack in the wooden wall at the street corner beyond. Talass turned and gave her husband a confirming nod.
While some began to make preparations for turning in, Unru turned back to Aslan.
"So," the illusionist said with a wicked grin as he opened his arms wide. "Will you be lonely sleeping up there all by yourself, Aslan? Would you like me to come up with you and hold you in my arms tonight?" Unru finished by throwing his arms around the paladin in a hug.
"Go soak your head," Aslan growled as he disentangled himself. He had just finished turning away from Unru- only to be blocked by Argo Bigfellow Junior, who stood right in front of him, a patently fake look of wide-eyed wonder on his face.
Aslan rolled his eyes. "What?" he snapped.
Argo tilted his head. "That accent Unru was using. Did you really used to talk like that?"
"He still does!" All heads turned to see none other than Wainold. The druid stepped forward, a rare mischievous expression on that weathered face. "You should hear him yell 'Ye Gods!' when he gets excited!"
"Hey!" piped up Cygnus. "That's right! I've heard him do that!"
"AARRGH! What is this, 'Pick on the Paladin Day?"
"Why not?" Argo replied easily. "Who deserves one better than the man who provides us with so many cheap laughs every day?"
"Fine! How about the anniversary of your murder?"
"Umm, it's supposed to be a holiday for you, Aslan."
"Try me."
"That's a holiday I'd travel to attend," Wainold cut in, still smiling but crossing his arms and glaring at Argo now.
"Well, that's it then. Better slay me, Aslan; we wouldn't want to disappoint Wayne of the Woods now, would we?"
"Call me that again, Bigfellow, and I'll make your tongue sprout toadstools!"
"That's telling him, Wayne!"
"You clam up as well, Unru, or you'll get the same!"
"No need for ye holy druidness tae get all upset now, ye ken?"
The light dimmed as Cygnus stowed away his continual light pendant.
Silence had- eventually- returned, mere moments before Talass had threatened to throw it over all of them like a wet blanket.
Elrohir tried in vain again to find another comfortable position in his sleeping bag. It was ironic, the ranger thought, that he could rest more comfortably outside, even on rocky ground, than he could inside this building.
When he looked over, his wife was looking at him.
"And these are the people who are going to bring this mission to a successful conclusion?" she asked quietly, her face clearly showing her doubts.
He smiled at her.
"That's them, Talass. That's them."