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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GodOfCheese" data-source="post: 1581333" data-attributes="member: 19170">Effrem and Andrew, continued“My angle, Effrem?”  Andrew blinks, standing up.  He doesn’t actually feign innocence, but his expression yields nothing.  “What do you mean?”“Your angle, Andrew,” Effrem says evenly, the fog of his mind having lifted.  “Thank you for saving my life, but why do it?”  He pauses for a moment to think.  “What exactly is your concern, as you put it?”Andrew runs his fingers through his greasy hair and grins.  “It’s not enough to say that I’d rather you not die?  A wise hawk doesn’t waste time asking the mouse why it isn’t in its den...”“When that mouse turns out to be bait in a hunter’s trap, the question will come up all too late.”“Are you implying that I’d send you into a trap?  Hasn’t their magic worn off you yet?”You might, for all I know, Andrew, if it served your interest.  “How am I to know that you’re not yourself entrapped?  Don’t play a fool’s game with me, Andrew.  I doubt we’ve the time.”Andrew exhales slowly, and he affects a condescending look.  “Playing the game makes certain niether of us gets played by it.  The man who doesn’t dance is the one who sticks out at the party.  You know this, or so I assumed...”“Quit stalling and answer the question,” Effrem says.  “What did you mean when you talked about victims, before?”“Fine,” the criminal scowls, “They murder people and tend to carry them off.  I don’t know what they do with them in secret exactly, but I have my guesses.  At first, I thought they were just disposing of the bodies...” at this, he seems to lose himself in contemplation.“...but...?”“I was surveilling one from atop a roof,” Andrew begins.  “I’d been running—it doesn’t matter.  I basically got lucky.  He stopped one of the town guard with his eyes—you’ve seen that, right?*”  Effrem shakes his head.  “Okay, I’ll get to that in a minute.“He stunned the guard, and then slit his throat.  It was very efficient, I must say.  I’ve seen killers at work in the past...” his nostrils flare contemptuously.  “It’s disgusting business, but you can tell the ones who are good at it.  You can also quite easily tell which ones enjoy it.”Effrem looks on silently, somewhat shocked by the way Andrew is talking.  Perhaps misconstruing his silence as interest, Andrew continues, his eyes averted.  “People are easy to kill, Effrem.”  His eyes flick up to meet Effrem’s, possibly to emphasize his point.  “What’s hard is to kill people easily.“These... beings... are talented.  They knew exactly where and when to strike, and they did so without hesitation.”“So they’re... what?”  Effrem asks, “...a race of assassins?”Andrew shakes his head violently.  “Not assassins.  Executioners, maybe.”  Effrem mulls this for a moment.  “This is what you avoided telling me?  That they’re dangerous?  We’ve fought these people and they don’t seem particularly talented.  I’ve met, fought, and defeated better warriors in my time.”Andrew looks annoyed.  “Effrem, the threat isn’t from them as individual fighters— they don’t seem to act as individuals.  They act...” he searches for words.  “They look and act like people, but also like they’re all ruled by the same mind.”“Some type of telepathy?”  Effrem offers.  Like Chloe’s voices...?Andrew’s brow furrows.  “I’ve no idea.”  He considers for a moment.  “Effrem, they... on that roof, I...” he starts again.  “I think they eat their victims.”*when the Slugs attacked the Cathedral the previous night, they made eye contact with Eyvind, a cleric there, and stunned him.  One one earlier encounter, a captive slug stunned one of the town guard from his cell, but made no attempt to escape.</blockquote>

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