UNDER A DARKSUN
SEGMENT 093
“Secret Admirers”
[Translated for reader’s ease]
“Eyyyye! There was no harm to come to her! He will be so unhappy with us! Pray she is not dead!”
“”Prince! Prince, we found her this way! We felt her strike the stone gate and we found her prone at its base! We have done nothing wrong!”
The four ugly short squat humanoids shuffled forward carrying a very prone and unconscience Glaze on their hard shoulders. Their noses were long and warted with hair growing from within it. Their small eyes say well in the darkness. Their short legs made them waddle instead of walk. Their fingers and toes each ended in long chipped nails. Their skin was rough and textured. They were Hej-kin.
Hej-kin were cavern dwellers that kept to themselves and their worship of the earth. They disliked and distrusted other humanoids due to the use of magics and construction using earth and stone. They phased in and out of solid stone and earth at will. Few knew they existed at all.
“Eyyyye! We are late with her! The king will not be happy!” they voiced in unison.
They phased from one pocket to another with enough precision to impress any earthen cleric. They carried her carefully being sure not to drop her or lose contact with her. To do so would soil the very stone and earth they worship.
Finally, after forty minutes of travel, they reach a large dark room and place her carefully on the ground. Their darkvision reveals the stern angry look of a fat cloaked Hej-kin sitting on a rock slab. His face brightens as a soft murmur escapes from her lips. She rolls over onto her stomach. All watch her carefully.
Still hazy she listened carefully before moving further. She was alone and possibly in the dark. She remembered leaning over to avoid getting the sand in her eyes and she hit her head hard on the rock she was using to shield herself. She then remembers hearing guttural murmurs and then found herself on the cold hard rock. When she opened her eyes she say nothing but complete darkness.
She was not alone however. She could hear them. One especially whom sounded like a fat man breathing after walking a long distance. Concentrating, she listened carefully. She could occasionally hear something-hard scrap on stone. It was everywhere. She was surrounded!
“Why does she not make pretty sounds? I want pretty sounds!” said the fat Hej-kin.
“Eyyyye! It is not a toy sir. She will make pretty sounds only when she wants too. Says a Hej-kin in tattered leather armor.
“Make pretty sounds!”
She moans again.
“Ohhh! Pretty sounds begin!”
“Eyyyye!” thinks the clothed Hej-kin to himself.
Silence.
“No more pretty sounds? It is broken? Fix! Grakt fix pretty sound! Grakt!” screams out the fat ruler.
Scrapping sounds can be heard. She peers with her eyes mostly closed. Nothing. It is as dark as Dessantee’s globe. The scrapping comes closer.
Grakt waddles up to her. He stops and peers at her then decides to go closer. “Fix!” he hears from the king.
Grakt looks up and down her prone body. The king catches him staring at her rising and falling chest. “Fix not watch!” he howls.
He leans over her with his razor sharp claws inches from her head. “I’m afraid. I might hurt it more with my touch. It is so soft. We are so tough.” He pleads to the ruler.
“Fix! Or I fix you!”
“Eyyyye. Sir…he may be right.” Comments the armored one.
The other Hej-kin now grow wary, as the king is becoming unhappy. When he becomes unhappy, others do also.
Grakt leans over her, his claws now a mere inch from her face.
She can smell and feel his breath and opens her eyes. She sees nothing but gets an earful still. “A! Pretty thing fix itself!”
“Eyyyye” mumbles further the armored Hej-kin. He steps down from his rock and walks slowly to the fixer and the pretty sounding thing. “She awakens, “ he says.
“What is pretty thing doing now?” asks the ruler.
“Ahhhhh! Casting spell she is!” screams the fixer Grakt. He leans in to attack but is stopped by the armored one. Both of them and the other 15 hej-kin all scream in unison as several balls of light pop into existence and wave about lighting up much of the room.
Even prepared for it, Glaze is blinded by the burst of light. Her dancing lights encircle her evolving close then away then close to her again. “Uggggh” is all she can say once she sees Grakt and the armored humanoid. “You guys are ugly!” She pulls out her dagger now and says “Dayglow”. The dagger glows a soft green light.
“Ohhhh….pretty!” says one Hej-kin whom is then struck by a fellow hej-kin. “Magic…bad magic.”
Her eyes adjust to the darkness and light sources now. She looks about and sees a total of 15 creatures. Worse, fifteen naked and ugly creatures. She figures the ruler and the two closest to her to be the smartest and leaders.
“Where am I? How did I get here? Who are you are?” She tries to pantomime her questions as she repeats them. Looks of wonder and confusion cross their faces.
“Where is pretty sounds?” asks the ruler.
She hears a guttural mumble then sounds like he has a mouth full of stones while talking. Looking at their teeth, maybe those are stones and not teeth. She sees no exit and realizes this is going to be a long day.
“I am Glaze. I am from Nibenay. I don’t know you.” She pantomimes while saying.
The armored Hej-kin wobbles past the other and cocks his head to the side. In a hard tone he says “Eyyyye”.
“Yes…I- am Glaze. I- am from Nibenay. I- don’t know you or your other disgusting naked warted buddies.”
“Eyyyye. His eyes blinking rapidly in the bright light. He points at himself and says “I”.
Her shoulders sag in defeat. Not being one to let this stop her she sits down and watches them for a moment. “You know, you guys seem very curious about me. You seem to be expecting something also.” A long pause. “Am I correct?”
“Eyyyye” Says the armored one pulling his armor over his head to block the light. His nakedness exposed within a few feet of her face.
“Ugh. Okay “I” is what I will call you.”
“Eyyyye?!?” he says peeking out from his armor.
Not able to hide it anymore, she begins to laugh long and hard. The sight of this short ugly creature with his clothes bundled up in his arms and face is too much for her. He stops and peers and shrugs. He tries to laugh but finds it hard to do so.
The ruler is now bronzed in the face. This is his pretty thing. Yet she talks to him. “My pretty thing!” the ruler shouts and stands up on his rock. “I” bows down low and shuffles backwards. His long toenails dragging the whole way.
“Jealous?” Suddenly she stops and looks again. 15 ugly and some obviously horny male humanoids and one decent looking female. Now scared herself, she fumbles with her dagger and curls up bringing the bright lights closer to her. They may not last too long.
Nervous, she unknowingly begins to hum the song she is working on about Mania.
It has an immediate effect on them, especially the one in a cloak.
From under the Dark sun
Will come a legend
From under the Dark sun
Will come a hero
“You like that?” She says to the robed one.
He mumbles a reply while rubbing his large tummy with his knuckles.
