Chapter Thirteen
Devona was simply glad to spend some time with a friend she'd never thought she would see on this mortal coil again, thus she wasn't the least bit perturbed as Coran's words began to sail completely over her head.
"See, these 'flameless torches' as you so call them are run on what's called electricity." Coran said, pointing towards the "light bulbs" as he had called them as people carried them out of various dwellings to be disposed of. "It's really quite simple. Electricity is merely one form of energy, something that we burn in our bodies every day."
"I see…" Devona remarked, even though she didn't see at all.
"In this case, the electricity is generated by the semi-dormant volcanic activity of this region. The magma chamber several miles underneath the ground is what causes the remarkable hot springs that made this area so enticing for the original colonists of Hylan. By sealing off several of these springs under metal domes, the pressure creates large amounts of energy, enough to power the turbines that create the friction needed to generate polarization of the copper wirings, and thus, we have electricity."
Devona blinked. She might as well have been listening to Sslani mumble about teleporter pads. "You certainly learned some… unusual things while at that academy."
"Not nearly as much as I wanted to…" Coran replied, "But Sslani said I had the knowledge I needed."
They were interrupted by a grizzled, near corpse of a man. In other words, he looked old and disheveled. "Charon, are you sure I have to let 'em go?" He asked in pleading.
"We don't have suits for them, and I'd love to see you try and get them in one if we did." Coran answered. "We'll all have a better chance of survival letting them go free."
"I know… but I've spent ten years… training and raising 'em."
"It can't be helped. Who knows, when we are settled down in Ascalon, you might get the opportunity to start again."
The old man scoffed. "Doubt it. Whoever's the king now is probably as arrogantly set in his ways as the rest of that 'noble' line. Hell, it's probably still that Adelbern blowhard. No action anymore, just talk and heart-felt apologies."
Devona and Coran shared a wry grin before the prince said, "Well, you never know until it happens. I trust you'll have everything in place by the final colony meeting tonight, correct?"
"Idori would skin me alive if I wasn't." He answered glumly. "Well, I'll leave you to your business, Charon." With that, he rather shuffled away around a corner off the main road.
"Is that the slander you've had to put up with? Adelbern was anything but talk, and a truly noble man." Devona finally remarked with an insulted scowl.
Coran shrugged. "My father's legavy speaks for itself. The words of those who knew him in passing at best barely concern me. Besides, whether it was justified or not, he did leave the people of this colony to the mercies of the Charr. Such animosity should be expected."
Devona first caught a slight, distinctive smell that instantly set her on the defensive. She spun, looking for the source of the odor, and quickly found it, approaching from behind as if unfazed by the fact it was walking through the streets of the Hylan Colony. Even more surprising was that no one else seemed at all perturbed by the fact that a full grown Charr was moving through.
Further thought on the matter was overruled by her instincts, and Devona screamed out a battle cry before lunging to meet the canine-like beast, drawing her Rinblade from her back in anticipation of an attack.
"Devona! No!" Coran protested, but he was too far away for Devona to hear him clearly as she chopped downward. To her surprise, her opponent was nimble, leaping back with a surprised expression, and also fading away from the swipe that the warrior followed with.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two armored colony guards approaching, then was nearly blindsided when she noticed they were charging her. Devona spun away from the first, and parried away the second's attack, before taking another slash at the retreating Charr. What in Dwayna's name was going on here?
"Hold your ground this instant!" Coran's voice bellowed, and Devona's reaction to the monarch's order was instantaneous and expected. She froze in mid swing, and closed her eyes in anticipation of the Charr's attack, that she knew would take full advantage of her hesitation.
But when said reprisal didn't come, she opened her eyes again to notice that her opponent had also stopped, jerked into a board-rigid attention, its eyes glaring back at Devona with extreme confusion.
"Are you alright, my friend?" Coran asked in concern.
"Of course… a little confused as to why this Charr is…" Devona began, then was startled to silence when the prince walked right past her, and put a friendly hand on the beast's shoulder.
The Charr grunted and snarled, making swift and seemingly meaningless gestures with its hands. Coran smiled, turned slightly to Devona, and said, "He says you're crazy, and that you should be hanged."
At that moment, her three companions burst onto the main street. "We heard commotion…" Cynn said, "We thought maybe the… Charr!"
Coran imposed himself in front of the beast, hands held out in warning, "Stay your hand, fair Cynn!" When the elementalist reluctantly did so, Coran once more turned his attention to the Charr, and said, "I'm sorry, they don't know yet."
The canine creature seemed to ponder this, then barked softly, making more gestures that none of the four could make any sense of. "Well, obviously I'm going to tell them now…" Coran replied, "I wasn't embarrassed of you at all… I guess I'm so used to your lineage that it hadn't occurred to me to inform them."
Finally, Coran addressed the adventurers, "Well, to make the introductions formal, this is Grazz… I believe I might have mentioned him earlier…"
Cynn gave up trying to keep her head from spinning. They had returned to the central building, and into the same meeting room as before. From there Coran explained how a Charr had come into an alliance with the Hylan Colony.
Grazz had been rejected from his pride, for a reason that the Charr would not divulge even to Coran, and after some time of wandering, came upon the small colony, struggling to make ends meet in the north lands. No doubt drawn by feelings of isolation and loneliness, Grazz had assisted the floundering establishment from afar, usually by leaving meat from his hunts or trails to water.
He had met Coran as the prince had fled from the attack on his caravan. Delirious from thirst and hunger, Coran had drifted past a breach in the Northern Wall, and had been fortunate to stumble upon Grazz and not some less than noble representatives of Grazz's kind. Having provided the Prince with initial aid, Grazz had then taken him to the only place he knew with those of Coran's kind.
The move proved beneficial for both parties. The Hylan Colony gained a scholar that helped them improve on their lives after the Searing, and Grazz had benefited as well, eventually finding acceptance in the people who now came to understand how much they owed the outcast Charr.
"Okay… so you…" She said, pointing towards Coran, "Have befriended… that…" She added, pointing at Grazz.
"Well, actually, Grazz had taken a bit of a liking to the Hylan Colony long before I came around." Coran replied. "I just merely devised a way for them to communicate with each other."
"Is that what all those hand signals are about?" Aiden asked.
"Correct. They're a type of sign language. The Charr voice box isn't capable of forming the consonant and vowel sounds of the common Tyrian tongue, so I adapted a frequently used form of scout signing into a full language."
"Wonderful…" Cynn groused under her breath. "A talkative throw rug. How delightful."
Grazz took offense to the statement, growling as Coran smirked knowingly. "By the by, while Grazz may not be able to speak common Tyrian, he is more than able to understand what is being said… and has remarkably delicate hearing."
Even though Cynn had no grasp of Charr body language, and that any number of facial expressions could have looked no different to her eyes, she was fairly certain that the narrow eyed glare Grazz was eyeing her with would not fall under the "friendly" category.
"Anyway, we've had plenty of adventure at the moment." Coran answered, "And, the unobservant host I am, failed to realize that the four of you have probably had some hard travel just to get here. And considering that equally hard travel is likely waiting for you come nightfall… it might be prudent to take advantage of what food we have not stored for our move, as well as some bedding within this very building."
Devona didn't feel particularly hungry or tired, but experience had taught her that with her lifestyle, one took of either whenever the opportunity presented itself. The other three didn't need any cajoling either, quickly taking advantage of the offers as they stood and turned to find the bedding proffered.
As they retreated from the meeting hall, Coran turned to Grazz, and offered comfort to his large friend. "Grazz, this isn't anything you haven't had to deal with before. It will take time to earn their trust, but I know that they will come to do so. Pay no mind to words of ignorance."
Coran waited for Grazz to acknowledge the words before he added, "Are you sure you want to do this? You can be assured that I would not let any harm come to you in Ascalon."
Grazz nodded, and grumbled. His hands quickly forming into the signs that Coran interpreted to mean that Grazz fully intended to use his racial advantages to scout and report on the Charr. He was certain that his kind would not be satisfied with one campaign, and that any knowledge of their movements would be vital to Ascalon's survival.
"I will say this of your kind, their bravery knows no bounds. Nonetheless, my offer has no expiration. You will always be welcome in my home. Now, it might not be a bad idea for you to get some rest as well."