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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carnifex" data-source="post: 873571" data-attributes="member: 227">Eleven sandstone eyebrows furrowed at Kale's words, the beholder floating menacingly in the air. That alone was somewhat unnerving, that something so alike a ton of rock could just sit there in blatant defiance of gravity, born aloft by unknown manner, but the knowledge of the sheer power that beholders were reputed to have was another reason to be nervous. And now it had demonstrated that legendary power by striking down Melisande with a single glance. * * *Under Wyshira's ministrations that little way off, Melisande came back to conciousness; moments after the beginnings of her frantic panic she felt Pierre's terrified conciousness connect back with hers. The way she had fallen as she ran, the poor toad was trapped underneath her, and mightily vexed by it from the tones of his thoughts. Nearby Spike scurried into one of the myriad of little caves and erosions into the ravine walls at Burl's insistence, though the diminuitive hedgehog clearly wasn't very happy about it. Those clustered around Melisande couldn't help but notice that several of the eye tyrant's eyestalks were watching them cautiously. * * *The great mouth of the abberation opened again to reveal the blunt rock-teeth, teeth that could shatter stone into pulverised dust. "Your offer intrigues me... but how can you provide what you offer? Tell me now the truth, whether you can provide or not and how, or I burn another of your companions. And don't think I'm going to let any of you go running of anywhere... that serves me no purpose other than... perhaps you want to trick me? To ambush me or run to others?" It snarled angrily, causing the entire ravine to rumble with the reverberations. "You tell me now. I may still have a use for you disgusting little horrors even if you're lying... but I don't like being lied to..." Kale noticed, out of the corner of his eye, the difference between Wolf and Sebastion. From the tension in Sebastion's frame, the readiness, the man must have been fighting the urge to either run or fight. Wolf lacked that readiness, but not from practice with battle, Kale could tell. The veteran apparently seemed to think, from his body language, that fighting or running away were not options worth even thinking about, and was leaving it in Kale's hands to get them out of the mess. Now there was a pleasantly reassuring thought...* * *"I seem to recall it was you egging me on," Mel retorted crossly to the waves of amphibious admonition issuing from her crumpled pocket, and then whimpered in the throes of her burns. Maybe running away wasn't the best idea after all. Even Pierre's bruised right head had to admit it. Mel opened one eye as the huge voice of the Beholder rumbled up the ravine. She focused on Kale's back for a second and then shut her eye again to block out the whole scene. I can think of a worse idea. "What's he trying to do?" she whispered to Wyshira. "Oh, never mind. Can you hand me my canteen? And do you have anything else for the pain?" In her desperation she had already swallowed the herbs the priestess had given her. The scalding, itching, stinging sensation all along one side would soon become intolerable and she feared she might cry. “Don’t worry about it Wyshira. I’ll get it for her.” Reaching over Burl picked up the canteen, handing it to her. He then got back up, moving away slowly from the two. While not trying to catch the eye of the beholder, Burl wanted to at least move a bit away from the two. Stopping, Burl could only wait to see the final outcome of Kale’s ploy, whatever it was.With Burl's help, Wyshira continued to tend Melisande. Another prayer, another spell, and more soothing relief flooded into the burned sorceress through the priestess' cool hands. "Keep drinking the water," she encouraged her patient, while using water from her own skins to clean the wound. She tried hard to focus only on Melisande and her injury, but bits and pieces of the conversation between Kale and the beholderkin kept intruding on her concentration.Forget about these distractions...Send these folks on their way.....Kale was bargaining for their freedom, for their lives. Wyshira hoped that he knew what he was doing. Tell me now the truth...or I burn another of your companions...Wyshira had seen what the creature could do with just one of its eyes: it had burned Melisande to a blue-black crisp without even trying. What if Kale made it really angry? What could the beast do with all ten-plus eyes firing at once?! And then the beholdkin said something else: I may still have a use for you disgusting little horrors even if you're lying...The monster wanted them for something? Not for food, obviously - it ate rocks. But what then? Wyshira tried to imagine all the things that a big, rock-orb creature living in this barren ravine could want the party for. It must want us to DO something for it, she concluded. But what? Meanwhile, she prayed fervantly for Ishrak to guide Kale in his dealings with the beholderkin.</blockquote>

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