"Dagli. Dagli, wake up!"
The dwarf, sound asleep, snorted and rolled over in his bedroll.
"Dagli, get up. We're under attack." Euclid crouched over the red-headed dwarf and shook him.
Dagli's eyes shot open and found Euclid's pasty white face mere inches from his own.
"Get away! Ye can't have me brain!" Dagli shoved Euclid so hard, the man fell into the side of the tent and made it collapse on top of him.
Euclid struggled to get out from underneath the heavy fabric but Dagli climbed on top of him.
"Beacon! Beacon, I was wrong! He's after our brains!" Dagli shouted.
A fierce scream came from a short distance away. In the dying light of the campfire, he saw Beacon leap away from a monstrous shape that had too many legs to be friendly.
"I'm comin!" Dagli rushed to her side. He thanked his lucky stars he had chosen to sleep in his armor. He raised his hand and said some words of power. Suddenly, the campsite illuminated with a bright light that emanated from a smoldering log. Bright as day, Dagli could now see what Beacon was fighting in the tree.
A massive hairy spider clicked its mandibles and chittered. Three arrows were stuck in its dark carapace, but it didn't seem to be terribly hurt. It looked like it had a strange lumpy bag on its back which bulged and moved like something inside was trying to get out.
Dagli's hammer was still inside the collapsed tent. He made a gesture in the air and a ghostly maul appeared in front of him. He pointed at the spider that was easily larger than an ox and the spectral weapon soared toward it. It tried to bash in the hideous beast's face while Beacon shot arrow after arrow at it. Every arrow struck true but the creature remained in the tree.
Suddenly, the spider shot a gooey gob of webbing at Beacon, covering her legs and tethering her to the ground. She struggled and strained, but she couldn't get free of the horrible adhesive.
Finally, Euclid crawled out from under the tent but when he saw the atrocious spider stepping down from the treetops, he froze and hunkered to the ground. All he could do was tremble at the sight of the monster as it crawled toward Beacon. Venom dripped from its fangs in eager anticipation of its next meal.
Dagli launched a glowing bolt of light at the beast. The spider crouched low and the divine spell collided with the sticky web parcel on its back. It split down the middle and sent hundreds of tiny little spiders rushing toward the restrained woman. In a flash, they climbed up her webbed body and onto her face, delighting in their first meal.
And then, suddenly, in a puff of silver mist, Beacon vanished. The spiderlings were left with nothing to feed on as they frantically searched the web. But she wasn't gone for good. Beacon reappeared on the giant spider's back. With a roar of fury, she plunged her short sword into its thorax, sending blue blood gushing onto the forest floor.
The beast squealed and thrashed, trying to get Beacon off of its back. She hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her, leaving behind her sword still in the beast's thorax. The collision let the spiderlings know where she was and they raced toward their dinner. Dagli used his heavy boots to stomp as many of them as he could, but there were just too many to crush all at once.
Now the spider, still alive, reached Beacon. It reared up on its hind legs, preparing to send another shot of disabling web at her, but it suddenly toppled over. It kicked its many legs but couldn't turn itself over. Dagli continued to stomp the spiderlings while Beacon climbed to her feet, looking for any sort of weapon to attack the prone spider.
But a ray of bright violet light pierced the spider's abdomen. It shrieked once, spasmed and went motionless. All was silent in the forest except for the sound of Dagli stepping on the many baby spiders.
Gasping for breath, Beacon looked around for more enemies but she only saw Euclid. He stood with his arm stretched out toward the spider.
"Is it dead?" he asked.
A grin quirked on Beacon's lips. "Yeah, mate. I'd say it's dead."
Euclid lowered his arm and walked over to Dagli, who was searching for more spiders to crush. "Mister Dagli, Miss Beacon, I would have a word with you."
The dwarf turned around, satisfied that the spiderling threat was properly crushed. Beacon dusted herself off and drew closer to the two.
"Yeah?" Dagli asked.
"I want to make it clear that I do not hunger for your brain." Euclid shot Beacon an unreadable glance before returning his gaze to the dwarf. "Nor anyone else's. If you think I do, perhaps it would be best if you struck me down right here and now instead of taking me to Three Logs."
Dagli let out a breath. "Ye cannae blame me. Waking up to see yer face right over me. It was quite a fright. I apologize. Are we square now?"
Euclid was silent. He only stared at Dagli with his unnerving eyes until Beacon shoved him.
"Get out of his head!" Beacon shouted.
"You never intended to help me find a job. A life. You were just buying time to see if I turned into a monster on the way to the town," Euclid said. "If I did not, you would rest easy, knowing you did a good deed for a wretch like me. And if I transformed…well, at least no one would be around to see you put me down. That would be a traumatizing sight, wouldn't it?"
Dagli drew himself up, squaring off for a fight. But then, after a tense moment, he sighed. "Aye. Yer right, lad. Right on all counts. But there's every sign that the tadpole is alive and well in yer head. Otherwise, how could ye do what ye just did?"
"I have absolutely no idea. There's a lot I don't know. I don't know where I was born. I don't remember my hair color before I lost it all. I don't even remember my damn name," Euclid said. "My best guess is that maybe the tadpole is dead in my skull but I'm still receiving residual power from its presence."
"That's a big maybe, lad," Dagli said.
"You are correct. But it is a fact that if it weren't for me, you would be dead. However I did it, I knocked the spider over. I cast the final blow." Euclid sneered, the first expression other than fear they had seen since his rescue. "So I ask you, Dagli Daglisson. Are we square?"
Dagli turned his head and spat. "Aye. But if you go pokin around in me head again, I'll bash yer skull in."
"Do you actually wish to travel together? Even if I…?" Euclid trailed off, gesturing at his head.
"Aye."
Euclid turned to Beacon. "And you?"
She folded her arms over her chest. "Yeah. I'm figurin, we can rest at Three Logs. Get ya set up with a job at the woodcutter's. Then we can figure out what we're doin."
Euclid barked a harsh laugh. "If this is how two seasoned adventurers respond to me, how will the humble townsfolk of Three Logs react to…how did you put it, Beacon? To a "right creepy bastard" like me? I imagine they would hang me after a day."
"They're good folk in Three Logs. They wouldn't do such a thing," Dagli said.
Euclid shook his head. "You're good folk too. And you just threatened to bash my skull in."
"To be fair, he says stuff like that all the time," Beacon said. "One time, I lost his deck of cards and he threatened to rip off my ears."
Dagli huffed. "The whole deck, girl. The whole deck."
Euclid closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I will go to Three Logs with you. But I will find my own path from there."
"Fine. But let's set up camp away from the dead spiders. They give me the heebie jeebies," Dagli said.
So, using the light of Dagli's blessed log, they moved their camp a healthy distance away from the slain spider monsters and settled down to rest.
And Beacon made sure to keep watch for the rest of the night. She could stay up all night if she had to. She had done it plenty of times before.
The next day passed without incident although a tension filled the air around the three as they traveled. But the day was pleasant and made for good hiking. The forest thinned into a sparse wood and they could see a river running off in the distance.
"Iffin we follow the river, we'll make it to Three Logs," Dagli said.
Beacon made a noise of understanding and Euclid just nodded. He wished the trip wasn't so long. The traveling wasn't hard but no one wanted to speak too much. He couldn't blame them.
Finally, the day turned to night and camp was made once more. Dagli erected the tents easily and Beacon quickly built a fire. She didn't offer to teach Euclid anything more. She had kept her distance from him ever since the fight with the spiders.
But he occasionally caught her giving him an odd look when she thought he wasn't looking. One he couldn't discern. Was it wariness? Caution? Or was it just simple fear? It would be so easy to just brush her mind with his. She wouldn't even notice. Then he would know for sure.
No. He shook his head. No, he would not be doing that. He sat in front of the fire with a bowl of Dagli's porridge and ate with the other two in silence. The sky above them darkened and soon it was completely black save for a few glinting stars.
"Euclid, are you willing to take watch tonight?" Beacon asked suddenly. Her voice was a little too loud to sound as casual as she wanted.
Surprised as he was, he thought for a moment. "I have no issue with that."
Beacon let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Good. That's real good. There's nothing to it, really. Just stay awake and keep an eye out for danger."
He nodded "I don't sleep much anyway."
"That's real good," Beacon said again. She looked over at Dagli, expecting some objection but none came. "Then can you take the first watch? I'm kinda beat today."
Euclid nodded.
"Great. Then wake me up when the fire burns down to about halfway. Okay?" Beacon asked.
"Yes," he said.
"Okay. Good night." Beacon seemed reluctant to go to her tent, like she had something more to say, but she eventually crawled into it and curled up with her blanket.
"Ye got this?" Dagli asked, cleaning up the pot.
"Yes. Stay awake. Alert you if there's danger," Euclid said.
"Ye got it." Dagli packed away the cooking supplies and crawled into his tent. Soon, the ragged sound of his snoring was the only thing that could be heard over the crackling of the fire. The night grew chilly and Euclid wrapped his cloak around himself. He made sure to look up every now and then, fearing further spider attacks.
But as time passed, Euclid found himself getting drowsy. Not sleepy, not exactly. He was just lulled by a slow night in front of a dying fire. He focused, much the same way he did when he pulled up his psychic abilities. He cast his awareness over the camp, as if he were looking into his companions' minds. But when he touched their slumbering psyches, he passed over them.
Instead, he cast his mind wide, as wide as he could go. Euclid wanted to sense the thoughts of anyone else in the area. Perhaps there might be another group camping nearby. Perhaps there was a group of orcs posted up near a road, ready to attack travelers. Or maybe there was a family of farmers, sleeping after a long day's work.
He picked up nothing. They were the only people out in the woods. At least, as far as he could sense. Euclid sighed and once again mulled over what the hell he would do when he got to Three Logs. Even if the townspeople, by any chance, could tolerate his presence, what would he do? Would he become a woodcutter? Would he have to take a lesser job, an unskilled position? In any place of civilization, there were always plenty of stables and barns that needed cleaning out.
He rolled his eyes at himself. Yes, he should go find acceptance within the muck and filth. That was the only place for him, wasn't it? But soon he was brought out of his cloud of self-loathing by a small burst of what felt like sunshine. The sky was still dark, but he felt a warm radiance right behind him.
The sensation came from Beacon's tent. She was dreaming. Dreaming about something that made her immeasurably happy. For a moment, Euclid wanted to pry, to probe just a little deeper. Just to see what made her feel so peaceful. But he jerked his mind away from hers.
He would have to be content with the feeling of her pleasant dream. And to never know the dream itself. He hugged his knees and felt his muscles begin to relax. His jaw began to unclench. This was good enough. Wasn't it?
He began to breathe more easily. The fire was hypnotic and he was finally warming up under his cloak. Keeping watch wasn't so terrible after all. This was almost…nice.
Euclid.
His eyes went wide at the mental message that penetrated his brain. Going as still as a rabbit under a hawk's shadow, he didn't dare to even breathe.
Euclid. Let your heart be at peace. I still live.
He clapped his hands over his mouth to keep himself from crying out. Despite himself, he automatically responded in the way he had been conditioned over years to do.
Master Kezerath, how may I serve you? Euclid found himself asking.
I am most pleased. You were strong enough to drive away the pulsating rot that was Zabekus. Well done! This is why you remain my favorite slave.
Euclid clutched his head, fearing his skull was about to shatter. But he also felt a sense of elation, of pride at his master's praise. He felt his lips pull back in an ecstatic smile.
You fret about the tadpole in your brain. Worry not, it lies dormant. You will not ascend until I allow you to do so. But it will not be too much longer now. Rejoice and be glad in it. You will see me soon.
Then the presence receded from his mind. And not even the warmth of Beacon's sunny dream could stop Euclid's violent trembling. Or the unbidden tears running down his face.