2022-01-05 Darkness on the Edge of Town - Gerhard
Jan 9, 2022 16:37:03 GMT
Velania Kalugina, Derthaad, and 3 more like this
Post by Gerhard on Jan 9, 2022 16:37:03 GMT
A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse, of course,
Unless, of course, the horse, of course,
Is the famous...
And no one can talk to a horse, of course,
Unless, of course, the horse, of course,
Is the famous...
Gerhard slows a bit, letting the rest of the party get ahead of him. The five of them are returning to Fort Daring from Ashkeeper Farmstead, where they just saved the dwarven blacksmith Ubric from an early end.
He slowly chews on one of Emmon's scones (that halfling can cook) as he thinks of the events that transpired: of Kavel and Marto finding Emmon's prize black stallion, a gift from Ubric, gone; of him and Goop finding the horse tracks leading deep into the Angelbark; of Derthaad reporting back from the cabin.
"That language Emmon heard Ubric speaking? It was Abyssal."
Gerhard shivers, pulling his cloak around him as he jogs a bit to catch up with the party. They are a hard crew to lose, what with Derthaad and Kavel both towering over even the few carts that they pass on the road.
He reflects on their trek into the Angelbark, of the clearing, and Ubric: burned and broken, a perfect thrall with which to spread Adhyël's message.
Adhyël... the fiend-who-was-a-horse. Or the horse-that-was-a-fiend? Nonetheless, the black stallion that Ulbric brought home, though now less horse and more humanoid, crumpled under Kavel's Čаkаn like any other. But this one.. this one was different.
Gerhard's hand subconsciously goes to a pocket just within his new breastplate, his daily ritual of ensuring that the sketch is still there. Losing someone close to you, or having them taken from you.. it lingers, the everlasting thought of "what ifs" and "maybes" that if one thing had changed, the family would be whole.
I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: five angels with the five last plagues—last because with them Goddess’ wrath is completed. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy are you, our Lord and Goddess, to receive glory and honor and power.
Gerhard shakes his head once more, and shivers again. Not from cold, but from memory. Of a fiend, melting as it crumpled, and the knowledge that it was not enough. Fiends can only be killed in the Nine Hells, of course.
Seeing that he had fallen behind again, Gerhard quickens his step, catching back up to Goop, and Kavel, and Marto, and Derthaad. As he does, he replaces the words of Adhyël with some more lighthearted ones of his own:
A horse is a horse, of course, of course,
And no one can talk to a horse, of course,
Unless, of course, the horse, of course,
Is a fiend from the Hells, of course, of course!
And no one can talk to a horse, of course,
Unless, of course, the horse, of course,
Is a fiend from the Hells, of course, of course!