Careena stood over the fallen Simulacrum and kicked it a couple of times to make sure it was now inanimate and turned to see how Rhuddli & Sammay fared. Sammay was completely unperturbed - still munching the grass, just as she had been. Rhuddli, however, was in a completely different state.
Every muscle in his body seemed to have gone completely rigid - his face contorted horribly and his back arched like a bow. Rushing over to him, Careena knelt at his side and tried to awaken him again by shaking him roughly, although without any hope ... but this time it worked! Gradually Rhuddli relaxed and showed signs of waking.
 |
| Rhuddli |
"Master!," Careena bellowed in his ear, "Can you hear me?!"
Rhuddli's head whipped round toward, "Yes!" he shouted back in an aggrieved tone, "I'm not deaf!"
"Sorry Master," Careena apologised, "I thought that I'd lost you."
"Not yet, my dear," he replied, "but you nearly - by all the Gods, is that a Simulacrum?!" Rhuddli had noticed the still form in the clearing ...
"I believe so, Master. It behaved as I had expected one would from your lessons, and it was certainly trying to get to you ... What did happen to you?" Careena finished
"I was attacked by an old enemy, someone I thought had long forgotten me - or maybe I just hoped ..."
Careena asked Rhuddli to elaborate and when he refused, she tried to persuade him
Going to try a Compel to persuade Rhuddli - not a move I've tried before ...Even as she spoke to him, Rhuddli was busy returning his bedroll to Sammay and then he untied her before turning to face Careena.
Compel: 3 +2 [heart] +1 [bond] - 8,7; miss; failure
so much for that then ...
"I will tell you no more as you have not the knowledge to understand more and we do not have the time for it to be explained now," Rhuddli announced in his 'I am your master, obey me' voice, "we must leave now," he finished, before striding from the clearing leading Sammay.
With little - or more accurately, no - other option, Careena trotted after her master, her mind a-fired with curiosity ...
After hours of waking in silence - Rhuddli had even forgone pointing out herbs as they passed them - they reached the edge of the patch of forest they had traversed and about an hour later, Rhuddli stopped and announced they would have a meal, in fact they would camp where they stood. This was unusual enough to cause Careena some concern, it was much earlier than they normally stopped and there was no water near them - they didn't need any as they had enough full skins, but it still bothered Careena.
As they unloaded Sammay and readied their meal, Careena carefully watched her master.
Careena's trying to work out what's up & as it's time for a move ...She could see that Rhuddli was moving slowly & deliberately, as if he was in pain.
Gather Information: 4 +3 [wits] +1 [bond w. Rhuddli] vs 8,7; weak hit; +1 mom (7), no need to Ask the Oracle as I know what she sees ...
"What ails you master?" Careena asked gently, afraid to be rebuked again.
Rhuddli was silent for a long time - Careena thought he was ignoring her until he finally said, "Food first, explanations after."
At least he had not slapped her down again. So after a silent meal, that made Rhuddli look a bit more like his normal self, he lit his pipe and began to explain.
"I mentioned earlier that I was attacked by an enemy, didn't I? Well this ... person ... used a ritual against me that I have only ever heard of before - neither seen it conducted nor seen its effects upon the victim." Rhuddli paused momentarily and then continued, "It drags the person effected into the dream world to confront the Ritualist that conducted the ritual. I would never have thought that it could work against someone who was awake ..."
Again he paused, and this time Careena looked up from cleaning her axe (her habitual task after eating) and saw a haunted look in her master's eyes - a look that frankly scared her ...
Shaking himself, Rhuddli continued, "Well, that is what happened to me this morning. The Ritualist conducted the ritual on me and drew me into the dream world, where we fought. Frankly, I was losing and trying to escape, when my enemy screamed, wavered and vanished, enabling me to escape and wake up. I believe, now, that they had planned for the Simulacrum that you destroyed to make doubly sure that I never woke up ... They must have made a mistake with their Awakening ritual though - that's the only explanation for today's events that I can think of."
He paused again and looked meaningfully at Careena. "When you destroyed it, the Ritualist experienced the loss of the life force that empowered it - something that should not have happened."
"So, from that, what can you tell me of my enemy?" Rhuddli asked.
Careena thought for a moment and then began to tick off points on her fingers as she made them.
"One - they believed that you were alone - if not the Simulacrum would have attacked me."
Rhuddli nodded at her logic.
"Two - I believe that they were rushed. The mistake in the Awakening ritual shows this - someone skilled enough to ensnare you like that should certainly have conducted the ritual properly."
Again, Rhuddli nodded, pleased at how Careena's mind was working the problem - all those lessons in logic had, after all, been learnt ...
"Three - your enemy was close to us. I believe that a flawed Awakening would have collapsed altogether if the Simulacrum had had to travel a long way - although I do not know this for sure."
Rhuddli raised his eyebrows at this admitted supposition, but Careena continued, "That said, I believe that the way you moved us quickly this morning supports this supposition enough to make it."
Rhuddli nodded and smiled indulgently at his pupil, "You are correct my dear - in both your supposition and your evidence. Any more?"
"Well there is master," Careena hedged, but then blurted, "This is not flattery, but my belief - this enemy must be a Ritualist of great power to ensnare you in that fashion."
"Thank-you. Let us just say that they are stronger than I am, shall we?" Rhuddli smiled at Careena, then continued, "Worry not though Careena. I can defend myself; first I will make a Talisman against my enemy, and at night I will create a Ward around us."
And so, Careena watched as Rhuddli created his Talisman. Although he instructed her how to conduct the entire ritual, Rhuddli sent Careena to find water, when he came to conducting it - "He does not want me to know his enemy's name," Careena realised as she trudged off with the waterskins ... "Why could that be?"
Reach A Milestone: Careena's learnt a lot about Ritualists in this conversation and I consider it to be progress on her formidable vow - I will become a Ritualist (2/10)Water found, the skins all refreshed, Careena was trotting back to camp when a shiver ran down her spine - had something else happened?