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<blockquote data-quote="Cerulean_Wings" data-source="post: 5195282" data-attributes="member: 55060"><p><em>I had emerged from the darkness, and that made me evil in the eyes of humans. The reason is simple: any creature fears that which they can't understand, </em><em>and to humans darkness was one big mystery. If they had darkvision, like me, maybe things would be different, but even then I still looked like what humans referred to as "monsters." Big and deadly, that was me. And so they expected me to attack them on sight.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Knowing this, I expected the same from them. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><strong>CHAPTER 2</strong></p><p></p><p>If I said that what first greeted me on the tunnel's exit was shining, golden light, welcoming me to the land above, I'd be lying. It was dark when I emerged from the rocky passage, which meant it was "night", the time of the day when the "sun" hides. Above me I had this... this mantle of dark, but a different kind from the one in the tunnels. It gave me an uneasy feeling, having no ceiling close to my head, and hoped I could get used to it quickly. Durzil taught me quite a lot about the surface over the years, mostly in the form of little bits of information that he had gathered on his surface raids with his imp friends. What can I say, my first stage of my exile came in the form of curiosity, and I had asked a lot of questions. </p><p></p><p>There were a lot of tall... plants, I think, in front of me. Tall and slender, like columns of wood, with greenery at the top. I approached one and tested its body carefully, but not shyly. I knew it couldn't hurt me, it was a <em>plant</em>, after all, but I didn't want to snap it in half by accident, gathering unwanted attention. A few knocks on the wood gave me the impression it was solid, and then I shifted to hugging the trunk and gave it a good shake. The branches at the top shook like stiff arms, and there was a brief rain of leaves. </p><p></p><p>Huh. It didn't come off or anything. It must be a "tree", according to Durzil's description. I nodded at the tree with respect, seeing that nature above wasn't weak or easy to break. My little experiment done, I picked up my sack and turned around, back to the tunnel. It's funny, how simple and nonthreatening the entrance to my world looked, almost as if purposely deceiving travelers as to the place's danger. The cave's black mouth opened at the base of a tall mountain, and I couldn't see much in that direction other than walls of rock. I wasn't going to just stand there and stare at it some more; I had things to do, now. I turned around and left the cave for good, no ritualistic goodbyes or anything. </p><p></p><p>"Good riddance," I whispered to myself.</p><p></p><p>As I walked between the trees, I wondered, what was the name for a place with this many trees? Hm. I actually forgot, and made a mental note to ask someone, if I ever had the opportunity. For now I referred to the place as a "tree herd." This tree herd was pretty big, at least for my surface standards, as the minutes went by and all I could see were more and more trees. </p><p></p><p>Strange sounds filled the night, all intriguing and new to me. I will admit that the first time I heard a surface bird call out I jumped on the spot, fetched a stone from the ground and chucked it in the avian's direction, causing it to fly away and caw in protest at me. Well. I was used to every single thing I heard to herald the coming of an attack, and thus I was a <em>bit</em> jumpy. Nothing that some time spent on the surface wouldn't get me used to. So a while later I had walked enough to only see the tree herd around me, and threw more rocks at birds that startled me than I could count. There was no one else in this tree herd, and I couldn't decide if to feel grateful or miserable for it. Part of me was eager to meet the locals, and the other wanted nothing more than being left alone. Ah, the dichotomy of having two distinct bloodlines. </p><p></p><p>The former got its wish, and quickly. I hadn't taken ten steps when I heard the very distinctive sound of the human language ahead of me. It was an exchange between a man and a woman, and it was too far away for me to understand. Yes, I knew enough of the human tongue to understand, maybe even have a simple conversation. Durzil was, once again, in a position to ask me favors for teaching me valuable things. All I had to do know was approach the humans and test my mentor's teachings. </p><p></p><p>"Remember, Aghemer, pronounce the words <em>slowly</em>!" Durzil had told me again and again in my lessons, "Otherwise, people are going to think you're barking and growling, rather than <em>talking</em>. And you're nagging me all the time to teach you how to <em>talk</em>, right? Right. And boy, do you learn <em>fast</em>. Hey, don't give me that look that says 'Durzil, I'm gonna smash your head against that big rock if you don't stop talking and start teach-' AUGH, damn you! I can't teach you if you keep punching me..." </p><p></p><p>Hm. What was I doing, again? The humans. Two of them. First contact. Yes. Hopefully the darkness is enough to persuade them from running away from me on sight. As much as I expected a hostile reaction, at the same time I wished to test the waters, especially if it was in a place seemingly far away from their community. Slowly but surely I approached the place where the voices were coming from, crouching so that I couldn't be seen (or at least not be seen as what I was).</p><p></p><p>"I'm telling you, Dana, it's gone for good! We shouldn't be here so late," one voice was saying, clearly male. </p><p></p><p>"And I'm telling you that it's still here, John!" said another, obviously female. "For goodness sake, it should be as valuable for you as it is to me. You don't seem very keen in getting it back." </p><p></p><p>I got closer and closer as they talked, trying my best to be quiet. I'm not master of stealth, like my half-sister or her minions, and to make matters worse every single little thing in the tree herd made some noise or another if I so much brushed against it. I was twenty feet away, crouching behind a bush, and they hadn't noticed me. Thanks to my darkvision I could tell them apart, man from woman, and that they were dressed plainly, which meant they were workers - or <em>peasants</em>, like Durzil had told me once. No weapons on them, either. How foolish of these humans, especially with the likes of me around (not that I intended to hurt them, at least in the beginning).</p><p></p><p>The man named John let his arms fall and his hands slapped his legs, "Sheesh, woman, I can't even see where I'm going. Why didn't we bring a lantern, or even a damned candle? We had plenty in the village" he said tiredly. The woman, Dana, was kneeling on the ground, searching the grass with her hands. </p><p></p><p>"Because you forgot to bring them when I told you we had to run this way, John, you fool," she replied condescendingly. </p><p></p><p>"I did <em>what</em>, now?" John practically shouted. "You didn't even tell me what we were coming here for, and now you're blaming me for not having a damned light to look for it?"</p><p></p><p>Dana stopped her search and looked over her shoulder to glare at John. "Yes, I am, and just so you know, shouting in the middle of the forest won't help me find it. It was a gift from my ma', in case you've forgotten, and I'm not leaving this place 'till I find it back." She went back to searching after that, and John paced around for a bit, grabbing (or possibly pulling) his hair with both hands, grumbling under his breath. </p><p></p><p>Something the woman said clicked in my mind, like the final piece of a puzzle. <em>Forest</em>. Intuition told me that's what this place was. Still, tree herd sounded much better to me. John eventually (and clearly resentfully) got on his knees as well and helped in the search for some object they had lost. </p><p></p><p>"I swear to the Goddess," Dana was saying, "sometimes I don't know why I'm still living with you."</p><p></p><p>And that was when I stepped forward from my hiding spot, still crouching, and into plain view. Maybe it was my imagination, but that simple movement sounded like an earthquake compared to the noise the two humans were making. They both froze on the spot for a second, then simultaneously turned their heads to look at me. </p><p></p><p>"Whoa, there, friend, you just scared the hell out of us," John sputtered, falling back on his behind. He rubbed his face with one hand and took a deep breath. "I mean, I thought-I thought you were an animal or something, coming to eat us."</p><p></p><p>Dana hadn't changed her posture, and placed a hand on her chest, breathing out in relief. "Aye, you got us good. Whoever you are," she said.</p><p></p><p>Are all humans this stupid and naive, or were this two the living example of that? A dark figure comes out of a bush in the middle of the tree her-hm, forest, and they think it's not a bad thing? At this rate, I'm betting my hide that I'll be sitting amongst humans in a circle, singing songs at night around a fire, or whatever it is humans do at night.</p><p></p><p>"Aye, who are you?" John asked, standing up.</p><p></p><p>I cleared my throat. This sounded like a growl, but they didn't seem affected by it. I wasn't nervous, but I wanted to create a good first impression for the sake of the experiment. Nice and slow, like Durzil had said.</p><p></p><p>"Eeeyeee. Uhmmm. Ah-geh-merrr."</p><p></p><p>Silence. Neither John nor Dana said anything. They just stared at me. And then they shared a look. "A-Aghemer? Is that your name, friend?" John asked, uncertain. I nodded slowly. John nodded as well. Dana got up from the ground and wiped her clothes with her hands. More silence.</p><p></p><p>"That's a weird accent you've got. You're not from here, are you?" Dana asked, arms folded. I did my best to keep a straight face, and quickly considered if to lie or tell a simplified version of the truth. </p><p></p><p>"Eeyee... nnoott frroomm heeere," I said after a pause. John gave me a sideways glance that I could only interpret as suspicion. Were they on to me?</p><p></p><p>"Pardon my asking, friend, but did you get hit in the head or something? You're talking like a little kid with a deep voice," John said. </p><p></p><p>"John!" Dana chided him in a low voice, hands on hips. John shrugged helplessly. "I'm just saying..." </p><p></p><p>"Yyess, eye gett hitt, yyess," I replied, relatively quickly. No need to clarify that getting hit didn't mean getting <em>hurt</em>, thanks to my thick hide. John gestured with one hand towards me and looked at Dana, "See? What'd I say? Poor fellow, got smacked or something and now he talks like that."</p><p></p><p>"Look, it doesn't matter, uh, Aghemer, we were just looking for our-" Dana was saying, when something ridiculous happened. Silvery light started to illuminate the forest, not by a lot, but well enough that I could look at the humans without darkvision. And they could see me just fine. I turned my head upwards, to find the culprit of this absurd light, and I found it easily enough: a silvery orb on the sky that most certainly wasn't there before. How did it manifest itself so suddenly, and why did it choose such a poor time to do so? Durzil never told me of this, that damned imp.</p><p></p><p>Before, in the dark, I may have looked like a big human, covered in animal hides. Now it should have been obvious, even for this pair of idiots, what they were dealing with in the middle of a forest at night, without anyone to protect them or even hear their cries of help.</p><p></p><p>"Wh-wh-wh-what the hell-" John stuttered, pointing one shaky hand at me as he backtracked. Dana had fallen down and was crawling backwards away from me, her eyes wide and her mouth wide open. "Oh my Goddess, oh my Goddess, please protect us-" she whispered hurriedly. I just stood where I was, not moving an inch, and couldn't help but look down at my own body. Did I really look that frightening to them? Most certainly dangerous, but if the humans had managed to talk with me just fine moments ago, it came as a shock that suddenly they were pissing themselves and getting ready to flee.</p><p></p><p>As I observed my own self, something tiny sparkled in the silvery light for just an instant, and I picked it up with one clawed hand to better look at it. It was a ring made of copper, with a small and simple amber stone in the center. Nothing special by my standards, but I saw no point in letting a forest animal step on it by accident. For some reason, my movement made John and Dana stop their panicky escape and stare at me. I, in turn, stared at them, a bit confused. Weren't they running for their lives seconds ago? Or were they so stupid they forgot about that?</p><p></p><p>"The ring," Dana said breathless, pointing at me. "John, he's got it, our wedding ring." </p><p></p><p>John blinked, and after a moment his eyes widened. "Bloody hell, Dana, you're right," he said.</p><p></p><p>The ring? <em>This</em> ring? The one in my hand? I looked down at the cheap piece of jewelry, then at the human pair. "Disss?" I asked.</p><p></p><p>They nodded in unison.</p><p></p><p>"Yorrss?" I asked. More synchronized nodding. </p><p></p><p>I extended my hand towards them, making them flinch, but they didn't move any further away. "Heeere."</p><p></p><p>No reaction. "Yorrs," I added, trying not to sound any more threatening, although I did feel like roaring at them "Just take it already!"</p><p></p><p>Dana got up slowly from the ground, and started to move in my direction, one hand extended carefully in front of her. John whispered her name fiercely and beckoned her with frenetic hand gestures, but she forestalled his calls with an upright palm. It took a boring half a minute for the woman to get one feet away from me, and then an interminable long minute of her eyes darting between the ring and my own. Was I lulling her into getting close enough, her eyes were asking. </p><p></p><p>Of <em>course</em> not. Judging by their reflexes, I could catch up to them without breaking a sweat. They didn't know that, and thus remained careful. Well. I suppose they weren't completely senseless, after all. </p><p></p><p>Tired of the seemingly endless wait for the damned woman to pick up the damned ring, I practically shoved it in her face and said, "Yorrss. Nnoww." She yelped, but kept her composure and actually picked it up. Seeing that I hadn't taken my chance at devouring her alive (or worse), Dana looked at me one last time and walked back to her husband. John had remained frozen in place, unable to believe his eyes, and said nothing as Dana dragged him away by the hand. </p><p></p><p>"Let's go, dear. Back to the village. We found the ring. Hopefully the others aren't worried about us," she said a bit shakily as they went. "Not a word of this to the others, you hear?" she added.</p><p></p><p>And that was the end of that. Not terribly disastrous for a first encounter. Future meetings with humans would go just as well, I figured. As long as they were missing valuables that I conveniently found by my feet, that is. Hm. </p><p></p><p>I was about to leave the area when I noticed the darkness returning in full. A quick glance skyward showed me no traces of the mysterious silver orb. Where had it gone to? I made a mental note to skin Durzil alive for withholding vital information about the surface if I ever met with him again.</p><p></p><p>"Buddy-buddies. Heh, right."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cerulean_Wings, post: 5195282, member: 55060"] [I]I had emerged from the darkness, and that made me evil in the eyes of humans. The reason is simple: any creature fears that which they can't understand, [/I][I]and to humans darkness was one big mystery. If they had darkvision, like me, maybe things would be different, but even then I still looked like what humans referred to as "monsters." Big and deadly, that was me. And so they expected me to attack them on sight. Knowing this, I expected the same from them. [/I] [B]CHAPTER 2[/B] If I said that what first greeted me on the tunnel's exit was shining, golden light, welcoming me to the land above, I'd be lying. It was dark when I emerged from the rocky passage, which meant it was "night", the time of the day when the "sun" hides. Above me I had this... this mantle of dark, but a different kind from the one in the tunnels. It gave me an uneasy feeling, having no ceiling close to my head, and hoped I could get used to it quickly. Durzil taught me quite a lot about the surface over the years, mostly in the form of little bits of information that he had gathered on his surface raids with his imp friends. What can I say, my first stage of my exile came in the form of curiosity, and I had asked a lot of questions. There were a lot of tall... plants, I think, in front of me. Tall and slender, like columns of wood, with greenery at the top. I approached one and tested its body carefully, but not shyly. I knew it couldn't hurt me, it was a [I]plant[/I], after all, but I didn't want to snap it in half by accident, gathering unwanted attention. A few knocks on the wood gave me the impression it was solid, and then I shifted to hugging the trunk and gave it a good shake. The branches at the top shook like stiff arms, and there was a brief rain of leaves. Huh. It didn't come off or anything. It must be a "tree", according to Durzil's description. I nodded at the tree with respect, seeing that nature above wasn't weak or easy to break. My little experiment done, I picked up my sack and turned around, back to the tunnel. It's funny, how simple and nonthreatening the entrance to my world looked, almost as if purposely deceiving travelers as to the place's danger. The cave's black mouth opened at the base of a tall mountain, and I couldn't see much in that direction other than walls of rock. I wasn't going to just stand there and stare at it some more; I had things to do, now. I turned around and left the cave for good, no ritualistic goodbyes or anything. "Good riddance," I whispered to myself. As I walked between the trees, I wondered, what was the name for a place with this many trees? Hm. I actually forgot, and made a mental note to ask someone, if I ever had the opportunity. For now I referred to the place as a "tree herd." This tree herd was pretty big, at least for my surface standards, as the minutes went by and all I could see were more and more trees. Strange sounds filled the night, all intriguing and new to me. I will admit that the first time I heard a surface bird call out I jumped on the spot, fetched a stone from the ground and chucked it in the avian's direction, causing it to fly away and caw in protest at me. Well. I was used to every single thing I heard to herald the coming of an attack, and thus I was a [I]bit[/I] jumpy. Nothing that some time spent on the surface wouldn't get me used to. So a while later I had walked enough to only see the tree herd around me, and threw more rocks at birds that startled me than I could count. There was no one else in this tree herd, and I couldn't decide if to feel grateful or miserable for it. Part of me was eager to meet the locals, and the other wanted nothing more than being left alone. Ah, the dichotomy of having two distinct bloodlines. The former got its wish, and quickly. I hadn't taken ten steps when I heard the very distinctive sound of the human language ahead of me. It was an exchange between a man and a woman, and it was too far away for me to understand. Yes, I knew enough of the human tongue to understand, maybe even have a simple conversation. Durzil was, once again, in a position to ask me favors for teaching me valuable things. All I had to do know was approach the humans and test my mentor's teachings. "Remember, Aghemer, pronounce the words [I]slowly[/I]!" Durzil had told me again and again in my lessons, "Otherwise, people are going to think you're barking and growling, rather than [I]talking[/I]. And you're nagging me all the time to teach you how to [I]talk[/I], right? Right. And boy, do you learn [I]fast[/I]. Hey, don't give me that look that says 'Durzil, I'm gonna smash your head against that big rock if you don't stop talking and start teach-' AUGH, damn you! I can't teach you if you keep punching me..." Hm. What was I doing, again? The humans. Two of them. First contact. Yes. Hopefully the darkness is enough to persuade them from running away from me on sight. As much as I expected a hostile reaction, at the same time I wished to test the waters, especially if it was in a place seemingly far away from their community. Slowly but surely I approached the place where the voices were coming from, crouching so that I couldn't be seen (or at least not be seen as what I was). "I'm telling you, Dana, it's gone for good! We shouldn't be here so late," one voice was saying, clearly male. "And I'm telling you that it's still here, John!" said another, obviously female. "For goodness sake, it should be as valuable for you as it is to me. You don't seem very keen in getting it back." I got closer and closer as they talked, trying my best to be quiet. I'm not master of stealth, like my half-sister or her minions, and to make matters worse every single little thing in the tree herd made some noise or another if I so much brushed against it. I was twenty feet away, crouching behind a bush, and they hadn't noticed me. Thanks to my darkvision I could tell them apart, man from woman, and that they were dressed plainly, which meant they were workers - or [I]peasants[/I], like Durzil had told me once. No weapons on them, either. How foolish of these humans, especially with the likes of me around (not that I intended to hurt them, at least in the beginning). The man named John let his arms fall and his hands slapped his legs, "Sheesh, woman, I can't even see where I'm going. Why didn't we bring a lantern, or even a damned candle? We had plenty in the village" he said tiredly. The woman, Dana, was kneeling on the ground, searching the grass with her hands. "Because you forgot to bring them when I told you we had to run this way, John, you fool," she replied condescendingly. "I did [I]what[/I], now?" John practically shouted. "You didn't even tell me what we were coming here for, and now you're blaming me for not having a damned light to look for it?" Dana stopped her search and looked over her shoulder to glare at John. "Yes, I am, and just so you know, shouting in the middle of the forest won't help me find it. It was a gift from my ma', in case you've forgotten, and I'm not leaving this place 'till I find it back." She went back to searching after that, and John paced around for a bit, grabbing (or possibly pulling) his hair with both hands, grumbling under his breath. Something the woman said clicked in my mind, like the final piece of a puzzle. [I]Forest[/I]. Intuition told me that's what this place was. Still, tree herd sounded much better to me. John eventually (and clearly resentfully) got on his knees as well and helped in the search for some object they had lost. "I swear to the Goddess," Dana was saying, "sometimes I don't know why I'm still living with you." And that was when I stepped forward from my hiding spot, still crouching, and into plain view. Maybe it was my imagination, but that simple movement sounded like an earthquake compared to the noise the two humans were making. They both froze on the spot for a second, then simultaneously turned their heads to look at me. "Whoa, there, friend, you just scared the hell out of us," John sputtered, falling back on his behind. He rubbed his face with one hand and took a deep breath. "I mean, I thought-I thought you were an animal or something, coming to eat us." Dana hadn't changed her posture, and placed a hand on her chest, breathing out in relief. "Aye, you got us good. Whoever you are," she said. Are all humans this stupid and naive, or were this two the living example of that? A dark figure comes out of a bush in the middle of the tree her-hm, forest, and they think it's not a bad thing? At this rate, I'm betting my hide that I'll be sitting amongst humans in a circle, singing songs at night around a fire, or whatever it is humans do at night. "Aye, who are you?" John asked, standing up. I cleared my throat. This sounded like a growl, but they didn't seem affected by it. I wasn't nervous, but I wanted to create a good first impression for the sake of the experiment. Nice and slow, like Durzil had said. "Eeeyeee. Uhmmm. Ah-geh-merrr." Silence. Neither John nor Dana said anything. They just stared at me. And then they shared a look. "A-Aghemer? Is that your name, friend?" John asked, uncertain. I nodded slowly. John nodded as well. Dana got up from the ground and wiped her clothes with her hands. More silence. "That's a weird accent you've got. You're not from here, are you?" Dana asked, arms folded. I did my best to keep a straight face, and quickly considered if to lie or tell a simplified version of the truth. "Eeyee... nnoott frroomm heeere," I said after a pause. John gave me a sideways glance that I could only interpret as suspicion. Were they on to me? "Pardon my asking, friend, but did you get hit in the head or something? You're talking like a little kid with a deep voice," John said. "John!" Dana chided him in a low voice, hands on hips. John shrugged helplessly. "I'm just saying..." "Yyess, eye gett hitt, yyess," I replied, relatively quickly. No need to clarify that getting hit didn't mean getting [I]hurt[/I], thanks to my thick hide. John gestured with one hand towards me and looked at Dana, "See? What'd I say? Poor fellow, got smacked or something and now he talks like that." "Look, it doesn't matter, uh, Aghemer, we were just looking for our-" Dana was saying, when something ridiculous happened. Silvery light started to illuminate the forest, not by a lot, but well enough that I could look at the humans without darkvision. And they could see me just fine. I turned my head upwards, to find the culprit of this absurd light, and I found it easily enough: a silvery orb on the sky that most certainly wasn't there before. How did it manifest itself so suddenly, and why did it choose such a poor time to do so? Durzil never told me of this, that damned imp. Before, in the dark, I may have looked like a big human, covered in animal hides. Now it should have been obvious, even for this pair of idiots, what they were dealing with in the middle of a forest at night, without anyone to protect them or even hear their cries of help. "Wh-wh-wh-what the hell-" John stuttered, pointing one shaky hand at me as he backtracked. Dana had fallen down and was crawling backwards away from me, her eyes wide and her mouth wide open. "Oh my Goddess, oh my Goddess, please protect us-" she whispered hurriedly. I just stood where I was, not moving an inch, and couldn't help but look down at my own body. Did I really look that frightening to them? Most certainly dangerous, but if the humans had managed to talk with me just fine moments ago, it came as a shock that suddenly they were pissing themselves and getting ready to flee. As I observed my own self, something tiny sparkled in the silvery light for just an instant, and I picked it up with one clawed hand to better look at it. It was a ring made of copper, with a small and simple amber stone in the center. Nothing special by my standards, but I saw no point in letting a forest animal step on it by accident. For some reason, my movement made John and Dana stop their panicky escape and stare at me. I, in turn, stared at them, a bit confused. Weren't they running for their lives seconds ago? Or were they so stupid they forgot about that? "The ring," Dana said breathless, pointing at me. "John, he's got it, our wedding ring." John blinked, and after a moment his eyes widened. "Bloody hell, Dana, you're right," he said. The ring? [I]This[/I] ring? The one in my hand? I looked down at the cheap piece of jewelry, then at the human pair. "Disss?" I asked. They nodded in unison. "Yorrss?" I asked. More synchronized nodding. I extended my hand towards them, making them flinch, but they didn't move any further away. "Heeere." No reaction. "Yorrs," I added, trying not to sound any more threatening, although I did feel like roaring at them "Just take it already!" Dana got up slowly from the ground, and started to move in my direction, one hand extended carefully in front of her. John whispered her name fiercely and beckoned her with frenetic hand gestures, but she forestalled his calls with an upright palm. It took a boring half a minute for the woman to get one feet away from me, and then an interminable long minute of her eyes darting between the ring and my own. Was I lulling her into getting close enough, her eyes were asking. Of [I]course[/I] not. Judging by their reflexes, I could catch up to them without breaking a sweat. They didn't know that, and thus remained careful. Well. I suppose they weren't completely senseless, after all. Tired of the seemingly endless wait for the damned woman to pick up the damned ring, I practically shoved it in her face and said, "Yorrss. Nnoww." She yelped, but kept her composure and actually picked it up. Seeing that I hadn't taken my chance at devouring her alive (or worse), Dana looked at me one last time and walked back to her husband. John had remained frozen in place, unable to believe his eyes, and said nothing as Dana dragged him away by the hand. "Let's go, dear. Back to the village. We found the ring. Hopefully the others aren't worried about us," she said a bit shakily as they went. "Not a word of this to the others, you hear?" she added. And that was the end of that. Not terribly disastrous for a first encounter. Future meetings with humans would go just as well, I figured. As long as they were missing valuables that I conveniently found by my feet, that is. Hm. I was about to leave the area when I noticed the darkness returning in full. A quick glance skyward showed me no traces of the mysterious silver orb. Where had it gone to? I made a mental note to skin Durzil alive for withholding vital information about the surface if I ever met with him again. "Buddy-buddies. Heh, right." [/QUOTE]
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