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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/DrBlackJack21 on 2024-07-26 17:21:02+00:00.
Of Men and Dragons, Book 2, Chapter 37
An Image of Em'brel
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To'brel hadn't been sure what to expect in the morning but wasn't overly surprised to be greeted with a warm meal and a fresh change of clothes that fit quite well. What did surprise him was when several chairs were brought in without explanation. One was positioned to face the other three, and it became clear that this would be another meeting. Not knowing how long he'd be sitting and talking, he stretched a little to loosen up his joints. Eventually, three others entered, two of whomTo'brel was quite familiar with by now.
As they were speaking with the guards, asking how the "guest" was doing, the young noble felt relieved to see the easy-going hunter, Lon'thul. He was actually astonished at his relief. This was the male who'd attacked him and his father, then kidnapped To'brel. So why would he feel anything other than anger or fear in his presence?
Of course, as odd and uncomfortable as that line of reasoning might be, it was still preferable to the disquieting feeling that came with the sight of the second guest. He was still glad that Em'brel was alive and well, but her simply being in that state shook him to his very core. Had his father really been trying to kill her all this time? If she returned and bound herself to a male, would they resume her father's role as village leaders? If so, what did that mean for himself and his role in the village? Would his father be executed? Would he be exiled? Or worse?
Both lines of thought left To'brel uncomfortable, so instead, he turned his attention to his third host as they walked into the cell. Of course, that one raised as many questions in his mind as the other two, but at least they weren't as disquieting.
This one was an enigma. He'd been present at the meeting last night but had stayed quiet the entire time. At first, To'brel'd thought it was a child because of its stature, but now he moved with an odd stiff gait that made the noble think of a wizened elder. He used a walking cane and favored one leg, and when he sat down and pulled back his hood, there was a strip of dark leather covering one of his eyes, though it didn't completely hide the sizeable red scar that had obviously cost him that eye. The scar was the only part about him that was appropriately colored; the rest of his skin had an unhealthy pale hue. To'brel wondered if this male was about to topple over dead.
The male smiled and nodded affably in his direction before speaking. When he did so, To'brel was confused when he couldn't understand what was said. It took him a moment to realize the male spoke in an entirely different language.
To'brel was just trying to puzzle out what they expected of him when Em'brel started speaking. It took him another moment to realize she was apparently translating what the male said. The noble blinked a few times as he processed this and turned his attention back to the odd male. "It's a shame we had to get to know each other under such circumstances, but it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Jack, and this was originally my outpost before I turned the reins over to my partner, S'haar. You already know Em'brel, who's here to act as my interpreter, and Lon'thul, acting as a bodyguard to both Em'brel and myself right now."
At this, the hunter grinned and winked. "This is what Jack would call 'light duty.' Today's supposed to be a day off, but I figured this was more interesting than sitting around bored. So how're they treating you? You sleep alright?"
To'brel had, in fact, slept far better than he's thought he would, having been kidnaped and all. Though his dreams had been...odd, to say the least, he chalked it up to sheer exhaustion. Still, everyone was staring at him, waiting for a response. He finally cleared his throat. "Umm, yes... As well as could be expected... Considering..."
The hunter seemed as unfazed as ever by the response. "Yeah, I understand. Sleeping in a new bed can be offputting sometimes!"
To'brel just looked at the hunter incredulously before shaking his head in exasperation. "Yes... It's the bed that's offputting about all this. Not the fact that I've been kidnapped, am being held in an outpost that could only have come from some lunatic's fevered dream, or that I was visited by a dragon last night. That's all well and good, but the bed... Yeah, that might take some getting used to!"
For a moment, he'd been so caught up in his incredulity that he had forgotten about his other hosts until the male, Jack, threw back his head and barked out some high-pitched laughter. Then, after a moment, Jack caught his breath and grinned before speaking, with Em'brel still translating. "Well, if you can trade banter like that with our resident master hunter, you must be in surprisingly good spirits! Also, apparently, my sister paid you a visit last night. She can be a bit forward at times. I hope she didn't trouble you too much."
To'brel paused a moment in thought. His sister? Whatever giant being had been outside the noble's window last night and spoken in such emotional tones without even the hint of an accent, apparently was a dragon and was also this male's sister? He remembered her saying something to that effect the night before, but it had been lost in everything else going on at the time.
The young noble had to shake his head a second time. "I'm sorry, did... did you just say’ sister’?"
Jack smiled and nodded. "That I did. Though, to be fair, we're not related by blood. Still, we're closer than many families. Together, we've seen wonders and traveled over distances you couldn't possibly comprehend. Not right now, at least." Jack spread his arms wide to encompass the Outpost. "But now, this is our home, and these are our friends and family. We're here to stay, for the foreseeable future, at least."
Jack settled back into his chair. "I hope she didn't keep you up too late."
To'brel shook his head again, this time to emphasize his response. "No, if anything, she helped take my mind off..." –his gaze darted over to Em'brel again– "troubling thoughts."
Jack leaned back and nodded. "Good, glad to hear it. She can be intimidating at first and mischievous at times, but no one here is more likely to help you out when you're in trouble, big or small."
Lon'thul barked out his own laughter. "Hah! This coming from you? Please, I swear the two of you are practically competing to see who can be more of a... What's the word? Oh yeah, more of a humanitarian!" The hunter shook his own head, laughing again. "Leave it up to a human to name the act of being selfless after their own species..."
Jack whapped his cane across the hunter's legs. Of course, it harmlessly bounced off the bone plate, but it still got the point across. The rebuke was somewhat lightened by the sheepish grin on Jack's face. "Hey now! Back when we came up with that word, we weren't aware of any other intelligent life!"
The hunter shook his head. "That's no excuse. Here I am, a humble 'primitive' argu'n, yet even I'm aware of other intelligent life! I'll have you know I'm even friends with a human!"
Jack pointed a finger at the hunter and said something unintelligible before Em'brel cleared her throat. "Um, guys? You're getting a little sidetracked..."
Both males turned their attention to Em'brel and then To'brel, respectively. The hunter had his usual trouble-making grin on his face, but Jack at least looked apologetic. "Ah, yeah, sorry about that.
To'brel wasn't all that concerned with the distraction. Instead, he was still focused on something Lon'thul had said. Assuming he understood what they'd been saying, Jack wasn't argu'n. He was something else entirely. As was his sister. This was only getting more confusing as the discussion went on.
Finally, he'd had enough. To'brel didn't know if they were trying to overwhelm him or if this was the norm with these people, but instead of getting lost worrying about that, he decided to get to the heart of the matter. He looked Jack in the eyes. "So, what's this whole discussion about, anyway?"
Jack sat back and looked thoughtful, as though making a decision. Finally, he seemed to come to a conclusion because he leaned forward, his expression more serious this time. "Well, I'm here to more or less decide what happens with you. Of course, ultimately, it'll be S'haar's call, but in matters such as this, she places considerable weight on the thoughts and opinions of people who have earned her trust. So we agreed that it might be best for someone less...intimidating to speak with you first. To get an idea of what you're feeling and thinking moving forward."
Jack thought a moment more before continuing. "This isn't anyone's ideal scenario, but however or whyever it happened, you're here now. Most people come to learn and work, but you don't have to do either. So I guess the question is...
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