Post by Tom M on Aug 18, 2024 18:36:18 GMT
Co-written with ruthcd and willemf
Set immediately after the events of Temple Run
CW:
Away from prying eyes, in a booth of a small inn somewhere in Daring Heights, Kem picks up a mysteriously paid-for round of drinks and a selection of bar snacks.
"So..." He rolls his eyes and resigns himself as to what has to happen next as he flips his hand over on the table - revealing the mark on his palm. "Does this mean anything to you?"
"So. You have one too. I knew there was something going on with you. I felt you watching me. As for your mark, I don’t know that symbol though. It does look a similar marking to my own." She shows her hand a little closer up.
"The others I talked about... they said there were several of these 'sentient curses' going round in the Dawnlands. I even have the name of the one who had this one before me. Most unusssual. What does yours feel like? Does it have a purpose?"
He rolls his eyes, “Their name is the One Who Gnaws. Their number is nine, their beast is the rat, their liquid is acid and their metal is rust. Their cults are the Nine Warrens, they will chew through the world and swallow it whole, they are hunger made manifest.”
“If you ask me why that information is seared into my mind or what much of it means I have few answers for you.”
"His name is the One and Many. His number is thirteen, his beast is the crow, his liquid is ink and his metal is gold. His cults are the Thirteen Watchers, he will rewrite the world anew, he is the changer and changed."
"Like our dragon, fond of titles these things... a little pretentiouss for a curse."
"I see we have the reason for all the snacking. Does it offer you something in return for carrying the hunger?"
Kem slides his fingernails across the tabletop, leaving a hissing trail of acid briefly behind them. “Nothing useful to me, but yours speaks to you? Maybe you have a deeper connection there? How do you do it?”
"I felt a presence inside my mind, a push that was trying to change my character and so I tried speaking to it... and it spoke back. It called me "its champion" rather than its victim. It claimed we work well together. So maybe there is more to it, to the mind within."
and then she hisses mostly at the mark, "But it better not get in my way."
Kem smirks at the hissed remark, “Not just a head in the clouds academic then?”
“Just talk to it? Of all things for me not to try.” He shakes his head, “And the others you know of? What’s their story?”
"If you only perceive an academic, then your cards are not helping you see as many truths as you boast." She winks back at him, a little condescendingly, "In truth I didn't get as much information as I would like. I was... focussed on this mission first and the secretss of this temple. But I will go back and ask more. I understand these numbered ones hide in books. That several of them arrived at once, and that they have been stopped previously by a 'remove curse' spell. Stopped but not destroyed. How did you come by yours? How long have you had it?"
“Well, let me tell you a story.” He leans in, “A handsome Skaraga, a pirate witch, a thief who makes poor life choices, and a mute warrior small enough to fit in your pocket found themselves trapped in a hag’s maze made up of twenty rooms accessible by a single door by means of a magic spinning wheel. Round and round the wheel went, spinning the threads of fate that led them on adventure after adventure. Even after the tiny warrior found themselves a voice, and the group found a way to escape, they continued. The lure of knowledge inspired them to acts of bravery in the face of great peril, but none more so than the open-minded Skaraga, who in addition to being a generous and attentive lover, desired stories above all else. Reading from a book in the hags’ library, corresponding with the wheel’s ninth spoke, a mark seared itself into his flesh, and a new story began.”
She grins, and laughs at the bit when he says 'generous and attentive lover'
"I like your style Kem, not trying to humble yourself in your pretty tales, I see! And so, if I understand the facts within your window dressing, we have once again a book reaching out in a place that shouldn't be tied to the Dawnlands. I was in Sigil even, another plane. And you in some kind of magically created environment... they seem to be reaching out to those tied to it specifically. Playing with luck when they do so. Are you... concerned? About the hunger and the consuming your riddle is about? Will you rush to remove it, or try to see where its story takes you?"
“I’m not sure yet. For now, I’m happy to wait and see. As for the poem, it’s likely metaphorical. Nothing to worry about.” He pops another snack into his mouth, “How about yours?”
"Oh wait... " she frowns, "I was getting my curses confused I think they actually said you have to die and be ressssurrected to have it leave you"
“Huh. That’s a little ironic. I can’t help notice you dodging my question Dee’arna. What are you planning on doing about this situation here.” He reaches out and gently turns her hand over to reveal the brand.
She lets him touch it briefly but then pulls away to get her notebook out and writes something to herself in there for a moment before giving her attention back to him. Kem however winces and pulls his hand back as the touch wracks him with pain, shaking it off, “Did you feel that?”
"Mmm? No. It's fine. You barely touched me. And to answer your question... I will study it. Find out more. Asking questions. And I am giving the One and Many a chance to help me. To help itself." She again now seems to be more talking to the curse then to Kem. "If we are aligned on our interestsss in discovery and knowledge then maybe it can sstop disstracting me with the incessant whispering!" She snaps at the end.
“Well then it’s important that we experiment right?” He holds his hand out, palm up, revealing the brand. “This isn’t me hitting on you. Well maybe a little bit, but you should touch it either way.”
Both pause as a thousand little voices chuckling from the corners of the room.
Dee’arna flinches slightly at the laughter and then reaches out to touch Kem's hand. As the same pain takes hold of her she maintains contact just a moment longer than needed, as if recording the pain whilst grimacing, and then writes down in her notebook. Kem might not be able to read it all from here but he can see the sketch of his own curse mark and some notes around it.
He raises an eyebrow, “Well isn’t that interesting? They don’t seem to like each other much.”
"That's what I thought. They want to be here but not together. Do these agendas and cults they speak of clash? I should find out about the other curses. Mine says it's number is 13 - does that mean there are at least 13? Or just, that is its favourite number? Maybe, for an experiment, you can see what happens to yours, if you help mine out? Tell me a secret."
“What makes you think I have secrets to tell?” He smiles flirtatiously.
"Hm. Hope. Thought you might be more interesting."
Kem clasps his hand to his heart in dramatic mock anguish, “And I thought Spiders was mean. Okay, fine.”
He leans in close, speaking in a whisper, “You and I have more in common than you think.” He sits back on his seat again and smiles “Another drink? They probably do actual meals here too.”
"Phsss. What kind of a secret is that? What, you also like long naps and sunbathing?"
“Never been big on staying still for that long, but you’re not the only one interested in things long buried beneath this place.” Kem’s eyes flick between her expression, her mark, and his own as he carefully and deliberately dangles a secret just out of reach.
She shifts forwards on her seat and narrows her eyes at him, her forked tongue flicks out briefly, like she is trying to taste the knowledge in the air, "Tell me. What things?"
Kem blinks and his eyes widen at the sight of her flicking tongue, “As much as there’s a voice in my head that’s definitely not the curse suggesting I tell you anything you want to hear right now… we haven’t had much time to get to know each other and some secrets about buried things can in turn bury you.”
The voices in the corner of the room whisper again. “Tell her, give her what you know.”
"Interessssting they are on my sssside here. You have sssomething worth sharing after all."
and she is suddenly giving Kem a lot more of her intense focus than she has before
He sighs, “As much as I love attention and feeling this threatened absolutely does it for me… maybe this is the time we take a step back and ask ourselves whether I’m dealing with Dee’arna or ‘The One and Many’ right now?”
"Urgh. I thought... you might have sssomething useful. Some knowledge about the sacred round here. Which is. Absolutely my specialism."
She relents, "It can wait. I can wait."
Kem studies Dee'arna for a while as she speaks, taking in the sounds of the voices around him. The focus on his words and only his words, "As I said, there are secrets buried here that can bury you. They can also bury me. You're asking for more trust than I'm prepared to give."
She looks at him carefully, again - this sudden focus of her attention, trying to shift the One and Many to the background as she studies him, "Well Kem. You brought something up, spun it in front of me like it was a story for me specifically. Now you say I am asking you for more trust... "open-minded Ssskaraga. When you change your mind about sssharing. It is all your choicesss.”
She rolls her eyes, “But it is true, we barely know each other. And you took a spike through the leg for my discoveries so I forgive the taunting."
"Well... yes. And now we know how that curse of yours works. If only mine could be so easily baited." He smirks, "If you keep flicking your tongue at me like that people are going to start talking."
She grins and then leans back and notes this down, "Fair point... it let me steer when I tried to steer you. And so you played me back. I always respect a trick well done. Maybe we need to plan how to get you invited to a feast or a hunt? Will it hold off a little hunger to be more greatly satiated after the denial?"
She flicks her tongue out again and says, "And what about this? My tongue helps me think. Not my fault yours can't."
Kem leans in and starts to respond before his brain fully catches up, "My tongue can do plenty. And if we're talking about being satisfied..." He stops, picturing how the evening might progress as Dee’arna’s successful baiting of his curse causes it to flood his mind. Thoughts of exposed flesh suddenly turn to thoughts of his teeth sinking into it. Gnawing, biting, consuming. The scent of Dee’arna’s perfume giving way to the scent of blood in his nostrils. He speaks between panting and salivating as she watches his eyes suddenly widen and beads of sweat drip down his face, "Yeah, err... yeah nice one. That… umm... did something."
Dee makes a steady slow movement, inching back from him, and sitting up straighter in their booth. "Well... That was effective. A little too much I could even say. Your... thing... doesn't seem as keen on restraint."
She moves on quickly, expecting Kem to try and pull the innuendo out of that line,
"But both of them can be baited. I did notice how they seemed to be united when it came to giving me secrets, so maybe friendlier with each other than we thought. What we need is to find the others. A little curse convention... would be a very interesting time."
There’s no innuendo, no flirting. The cocky demeanour has evaporated entirely. Kem slams himself back in his seat looking at the mark on his hand in fear as sweat runs down his face and he struggles to swallow the saliva in his mouth.
“This must be what…” he shakes off a disturbing thought as it’s replaced with a worse one. “That wasn’t even all of it though was it? Unless you heard that?” He takes a minute to get his breathing under control and lowers his voice, “Unless you’re suppressing an urge to tear the flesh off my bones?”
Seeing how suddenly stressed and changed he is, she grabs a glass of water and slides it his way. Giving him the moment to calm down. And likewise, she drops the flirtatious tone from her voice.
"I heard nothing that time... but you - you heard something you really didn't like. And no... despite my teeth and what you may have heard of yuan-ti, flesh-tearing is not on my mind at all. Is it my turn to ask about if you are fully in control... if that is what your Hunger is calling for? And what do you by 'that wasn’t even all of it'?"
“Yeah, I’m me. I just… apparently want things I don’t normally want.” He drinks the water, nodding appreciatively, and takes a minute to let the feeling pass. “Well, now I’m curious about two things and there’s nothing driving that but me. First off, what other harmful impulses are the others feeling? And secondly… I might need to find a butcher’s shop to really push this to its limit like we did for yours. Unless you’ve got any better ideas?”
"Ok, so what do you actually want to find out the most? What will it calm it down? For me, the moment I was close to something interesting - which by the way, I have not forgotten - it let me take control. So that is why I said, maybe planning a feast. But its appetites are a little more... unpleasant than a sumptuous cake or five. It seems the first thing you should do is talk to it properly. Ask it what it wants, why shouldn't you just seek to destroy it? Does it see you as its champion? And yes, here is not the place for such conversations. Do you have a place? I would invite you to mine to hear it out, but I have secret maps and we established that we're not sharing... our more persssonal goals. The other ssstep - ask around for more on who else has been afflicted."
“And to think how happy I would have been to hear you suggest that five minutes ago.” He sighs, “Okay, well I don’t think my caravan is a good idea either, but my tabs have been mysteriously paid for lately so we can get a room for free and everyone here can think we’re doing something I don’t feel in the mood for anymore. No offence.”
Kem pinches the bridge of his nose realising that he just dangled not one but two secrets. “And you’re going to need to fight your thing for a bit. Okay?”
She blinks slowly taking in what he has said, and smirks a little bit, "Kem. Hanging out with you is getting more interesssting by the moment. I just have to wait and the knowledge will come out anyway. And I am... very good at waiting."
Though she does take a look around the room to see if there is anyone who could be paying for his tab
“Ssso. A room at the inn, for secrets not sex. Shall we go?"
As the pair reconvene in a more private location, Kem checks the landing before shutting the door. “Okay, how do you do this then?” He looks at the mark in his hand, “Got anything to say, ‘One Who Gnaws’?”
The shadows at the edge of the room almost seem to darken and all of a sudden the air begins to feel heavy, the feeling of a thousand tiny needles pricking ever so slightly at both your skins grows as you both begin to hear a quiet chuckle from nowhere. Immediately Dee'arna you feel uncomfortable, like you are in a house you have not been invited into and are not at all welcome in
Kem puts a hand out to reassure Dee’arna as he draws a dagger with a ruby pommel gem from his belt and underhand tosses it across the room. (edited)
“Can’t say I hate the theatrics, but I think we were both hoping for answers.”
She had looked to the door for a moment, but pauses and stays after she sees his gestures towards safety. She takes her own bow from her back and puts in on the floor nearby in arms reach, and then sits herself down in a corner, as though by making herself small she can avoid its attention.
Kem smiles appreciatively, acknowledging a moment of mutual trust.
The chuckling seems to take an actual form, coming from a specific shadow now. Then many voices speak, all with one mind.
"Is this really his choice? HAHAHAHAHA, what a fool... He was always so greedy, so quick to find new flesh to burrow into. He has chosen her? Oh my old friend crow you really have sunk lower and lower through these many years.."
Kem raises an eyebrow at Dee’arna, as she spits back “Perhaps thirteen eyes watching see more than a distracted voice that wishes it had more bite?”
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, oh you're too precious. Perhaps this one will be fun, you miserable secret hoarder. Speaking of, how has he been treating you, morsel?"
Dee'arna finds herself weirdly defensive of her own curse, "So far. Fine. He could do with a bit more calm, since you're asking. And what of how you are treating Kem here? If you both have goals... that can align with your bearers it might be easier to understand them. To get us all on the same page, as it were."
A slick and quiet whisper, familiar now, slides into Dee'arna’s mind. "Do not indulge them, they will spin you round with false secrets and foolish words."
The other voice speaks up. "Kem? Is that what his name is? Wonderful, descriptive too heheheheheh. Oh yes I think he'll be quite enough. And as for goals... You have already been touched by that stupid mad little thing in your head haven't you? Goals are for the plotters and the schemers, I merely drift. I simply want to see what happens to my new bearer, I'm sure you understand a little curiosity now and again."
“Well at least I’m being acknowledged. So… no goals? I don’t know whether I feel better or worse for hearing that.”
A little more confident now Dee addresses the shadow voice again, "So, why shouldn't Kem just try and rip you out of his body now you have nested there?"
Kem looks down at his hand, "She has a point. Once I start having to pay for my own meals again these habits of yours are going to get expensive and you're not bringing a whole lot that's positive to the table."
"Not to mention that little outburst earlier put a dampener on an otherwise lovely evening."
The voice that is nine voices at once cackles. "Because I will always find new flesh, my warrens even now burrow their way into ripe earth and more and more prospective bearers present themselves. But Kem knows why I like him, and he knows why I am so right for him. Whether I am a curse or a blessing, it's too good a story to end so soon..."
The more the conversation goes on, the darker the room seems to get. Even the walls now are starting to blur, the reality around the pair almost seeming to fall apart at the seams ever so slightly, slowly, gradually
“Woah woah woah let’s not start that and we can keep the candles lit. Also… I love being talked about but I’m starting to notice you’re not addressing me directly.” Kem closes his eyes to shut out the disorientating blur, “Can you hear me?”
The voice bounces around Kem's mind. "Hear you? My boy I am you, and you are me. We are one, no longer two. I didn't think it necessary to address you directly, after all, we have an audience. Much more fun to perform"
“I hate that I agree with you on that.” He opens his eyes to see an anxious Dee’arna and becomes very aware that she heard that without context. “They like to perform. Not the eating people thing. We don’t agree on that.”
"Ah" Her green skin fades a shade lighter on her cheeks, embarrassed to have let the curse creep her out.
Kem watches her and recalls how she baited answers out of him earlier, “If you’re uncomfortable I’ve got a feeling this thing doesn’t have much more of interest to say. We can go.”
"You are right... just a voice after all, trying to seem bigger than it is"
"Bigger than I am? You both disappoint me. I have lived for longer than some of the gods! And I thought I was a fool, HAHAHAHAHA, no no no it seems I have found myself the biggest group of fools I could have. A boring little bard who has no interest in my little stories, a seeker of knowledge who seems blind even with the thirteen eyes you've been given and a boring old bird who knows everything but understands nothing. What a troupe, I truly have found my kin HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH"
Another voice creeps in, a voice like whispering paper. "You never change old friend, I have heard all your stories before, if they were of value I would help my chosen find them, but you are nothing but a fool after all."
The room begins to blur, the walls curving and peeling as it seems the influence of two of these beings together for so long has started to warp things around them.
“Oh please. You don’t have stories. I know stories.” Kem rolls his eyes.
Dee reaches a hand to her necklace, "Kem. It's like listening to two old priests arguing over texts in the temple. You shouldn't indulge them or they will go round in circles. I am satisfied that I have what I need for now. The One and Many is leaving now too," she says to her hand again at the end. "Resssst is the blessing of Lasseega."
She picks up her bow and touches Kem at the elbow to direct him to the door, but Kem lingers just a little longer, just curious to know if something else might happen.
The walls continue to peel, the room twisting and spiralling. For a moment they both feel themselves being pulled somewhere else, not in location, but in mind. The world swirls but Kem snaps out of it. There is a pain in both of their minds as the room snaps back into position, the shadows receding, the voices dying out. Dee'arna's hand is on the door.
“Yep we’re done here.” Kem uses Mage Hand to flip the dagger up off the floor and into his belt as he straightens his vest and makes his way toward the door. “Let’s get somewhere public. Fast.”
Dee'arna is already opening the door and joins him in striding down the corridor and back into the tavern downstairs.
As they reach the top of the stairs, hearing the sound of a busy tavern below, Kem stops. “Wait. I think we’re okay. Just hang on before we go down there.” He composes himself. “This whole thing is creepy and weird and we still don’t know enough about it, but this way of going about it seems risky. Figuring stuff out seems more your thing than mine so if you do; let me know. Okay?”
Likewise, Dee'arna breathes for a second, recentring herself. "It's been a very long day. I will sleep and think about next steps. Don't worry, I will not rush this research. I have other things to look into. If I find out more, where do I then find you?"
She gives Kem a look of approval, "I am certainly surprisseed a little post-adventure snack turned out to have so many strange twissts."
“I’m probably not the easiest person to find, but I check the boards so leave a note there if you need me.” He smiles, “For the record, the kind of person who wants to know more rather than turn and run after what happened earlier… that’s a story I will follow closely.”
"Very well. I am sure I will see you again before long."
Set immediately after the events of Temple Run
CW:
Body horror (mentions of cannibalism)
Away from prying eyes, in a booth of a small inn somewhere in Daring Heights, Kem picks up a mysteriously paid-for round of drinks and a selection of bar snacks.
"So..." He rolls his eyes and resigns himself as to what has to happen next as he flips his hand over on the table - revealing the mark on his palm. "Does this mean anything to you?"
"So. You have one too. I knew there was something going on with you. I felt you watching me. As for your mark, I don’t know that symbol though. It does look a similar marking to my own." She shows her hand a little closer up.
"The others I talked about... they said there were several of these 'sentient curses' going round in the Dawnlands. I even have the name of the one who had this one before me. Most unusssual. What does yours feel like? Does it have a purpose?"
He rolls his eyes, “Their name is the One Who Gnaws. Their number is nine, their beast is the rat, their liquid is acid and their metal is rust. Their cults are the Nine Warrens, they will chew through the world and swallow it whole, they are hunger made manifest.”
“If you ask me why that information is seared into my mind or what much of it means I have few answers for you.”
"His name is the One and Many. His number is thirteen, his beast is the crow, his liquid is ink and his metal is gold. His cults are the Thirteen Watchers, he will rewrite the world anew, he is the changer and changed."
"Like our dragon, fond of titles these things... a little pretentiouss for a curse."
"I see we have the reason for all the snacking. Does it offer you something in return for carrying the hunger?"
Kem slides his fingernails across the tabletop, leaving a hissing trail of acid briefly behind them. “Nothing useful to me, but yours speaks to you? Maybe you have a deeper connection there? How do you do it?”
"I felt a presence inside my mind, a push that was trying to change my character and so I tried speaking to it... and it spoke back. It called me "its champion" rather than its victim. It claimed we work well together. So maybe there is more to it, to the mind within."
and then she hisses mostly at the mark, "But it better not get in my way."
Kem smirks at the hissed remark, “Not just a head in the clouds academic then?”
“Just talk to it? Of all things for me not to try.” He shakes his head, “And the others you know of? What’s their story?”
"If you only perceive an academic, then your cards are not helping you see as many truths as you boast." She winks back at him, a little condescendingly, "In truth I didn't get as much information as I would like. I was... focussed on this mission first and the secretss of this temple. But I will go back and ask more. I understand these numbered ones hide in books. That several of them arrived at once, and that they have been stopped previously by a 'remove curse' spell. Stopped but not destroyed. How did you come by yours? How long have you had it?"
“Well, let me tell you a story.” He leans in, “A handsome Skaraga, a pirate witch, a thief who makes poor life choices, and a mute warrior small enough to fit in your pocket found themselves trapped in a hag’s maze made up of twenty rooms accessible by a single door by means of a magic spinning wheel. Round and round the wheel went, spinning the threads of fate that led them on adventure after adventure. Even after the tiny warrior found themselves a voice, and the group found a way to escape, they continued. The lure of knowledge inspired them to acts of bravery in the face of great peril, but none more so than the open-minded Skaraga, who in addition to being a generous and attentive lover, desired stories above all else. Reading from a book in the hags’ library, corresponding with the wheel’s ninth spoke, a mark seared itself into his flesh, and a new story began.”
She grins, and laughs at the bit when he says 'generous and attentive lover'
"I like your style Kem, not trying to humble yourself in your pretty tales, I see! And so, if I understand the facts within your window dressing, we have once again a book reaching out in a place that shouldn't be tied to the Dawnlands. I was in Sigil even, another plane. And you in some kind of magically created environment... they seem to be reaching out to those tied to it specifically. Playing with luck when they do so. Are you... concerned? About the hunger and the consuming your riddle is about? Will you rush to remove it, or try to see where its story takes you?"
“I’m not sure yet. For now, I’m happy to wait and see. As for the poem, it’s likely metaphorical. Nothing to worry about.” He pops another snack into his mouth, “How about yours?”
"Oh wait... " she frowns, "I was getting my curses confused I think they actually said you have to die and be ressssurrected to have it leave you"
“Huh. That’s a little ironic. I can’t help notice you dodging my question Dee’arna. What are you planning on doing about this situation here.” He reaches out and gently turns her hand over to reveal the brand.
She lets him touch it briefly but then pulls away to get her notebook out and writes something to herself in there for a moment before giving her attention back to him. Kem however winces and pulls his hand back as the touch wracks him with pain, shaking it off, “Did you feel that?”
"Mmm? No. It's fine. You barely touched me. And to answer your question... I will study it. Find out more. Asking questions. And I am giving the One and Many a chance to help me. To help itself." She again now seems to be more talking to the curse then to Kem. "If we are aligned on our interestsss in discovery and knowledge then maybe it can sstop disstracting me with the incessant whispering!" She snaps at the end.
“Well then it’s important that we experiment right?” He holds his hand out, palm up, revealing the brand. “This isn’t me hitting on you. Well maybe a little bit, but you should touch it either way.”
Both pause as a thousand little voices chuckling from the corners of the room.
Dee’arna flinches slightly at the laughter and then reaches out to touch Kem's hand. As the same pain takes hold of her she maintains contact just a moment longer than needed, as if recording the pain whilst grimacing, and then writes down in her notebook. Kem might not be able to read it all from here but he can see the sketch of his own curse mark and some notes around it.
He raises an eyebrow, “Well isn’t that interesting? They don’t seem to like each other much.”
"That's what I thought. They want to be here but not together. Do these agendas and cults they speak of clash? I should find out about the other curses. Mine says it's number is 13 - does that mean there are at least 13? Or just, that is its favourite number? Maybe, for an experiment, you can see what happens to yours, if you help mine out? Tell me a secret."
“What makes you think I have secrets to tell?” He smiles flirtatiously.
"Hm. Hope. Thought you might be more interesting."
Kem clasps his hand to his heart in dramatic mock anguish, “And I thought Spiders was mean. Okay, fine.”
He leans in close, speaking in a whisper, “You and I have more in common than you think.” He sits back on his seat again and smiles “Another drink? They probably do actual meals here too.”
"Phsss. What kind of a secret is that? What, you also like long naps and sunbathing?"
“Never been big on staying still for that long, but you’re not the only one interested in things long buried beneath this place.” Kem’s eyes flick between her expression, her mark, and his own as he carefully and deliberately dangles a secret just out of reach.
She shifts forwards on her seat and narrows her eyes at him, her forked tongue flicks out briefly, like she is trying to taste the knowledge in the air, "Tell me. What things?"
Kem blinks and his eyes widen at the sight of her flicking tongue, “As much as there’s a voice in my head that’s definitely not the curse suggesting I tell you anything you want to hear right now… we haven’t had much time to get to know each other and some secrets about buried things can in turn bury you.”
The voices in the corner of the room whisper again. “Tell her, give her what you know.”
"Interessssting they are on my sssside here. You have sssomething worth sharing after all."
and she is suddenly giving Kem a lot more of her intense focus than she has before
He sighs, “As much as I love attention and feeling this threatened absolutely does it for me… maybe this is the time we take a step back and ask ourselves whether I’m dealing with Dee’arna or ‘The One and Many’ right now?”
"Urgh. I thought... you might have sssomething useful. Some knowledge about the sacred round here. Which is. Absolutely my specialism."
She relents, "It can wait. I can wait."
Kem studies Dee'arna for a while as she speaks, taking in the sounds of the voices around him. The focus on his words and only his words, "As I said, there are secrets buried here that can bury you. They can also bury me. You're asking for more trust than I'm prepared to give."
She looks at him carefully, again - this sudden focus of her attention, trying to shift the One and Many to the background as she studies him, "Well Kem. You brought something up, spun it in front of me like it was a story for me specifically. Now you say I am asking you for more trust... "open-minded Ssskaraga. When you change your mind about sssharing. It is all your choicesss.”
She rolls her eyes, “But it is true, we barely know each other. And you took a spike through the leg for my discoveries so I forgive the taunting."
"Well... yes. And now we know how that curse of yours works. If only mine could be so easily baited." He smirks, "If you keep flicking your tongue at me like that people are going to start talking."
She grins and then leans back and notes this down, "Fair point... it let me steer when I tried to steer you. And so you played me back. I always respect a trick well done. Maybe we need to plan how to get you invited to a feast or a hunt? Will it hold off a little hunger to be more greatly satiated after the denial?"
She flicks her tongue out again and says, "And what about this? My tongue helps me think. Not my fault yours can't."
Kem leans in and starts to respond before his brain fully catches up, "My tongue can do plenty. And if we're talking about being satisfied..." He stops, picturing how the evening might progress as Dee’arna’s successful baiting of his curse causes it to flood his mind. Thoughts of exposed flesh suddenly turn to thoughts of his teeth sinking into it. Gnawing, biting, consuming. The scent of Dee’arna’s perfume giving way to the scent of blood in his nostrils. He speaks between panting and salivating as she watches his eyes suddenly widen and beads of sweat drip down his face, "Yeah, err... yeah nice one. That… umm... did something."
Dee makes a steady slow movement, inching back from him, and sitting up straighter in their booth. "Well... That was effective. A little too much I could even say. Your... thing... doesn't seem as keen on restraint."
She moves on quickly, expecting Kem to try and pull the innuendo out of that line,
"But both of them can be baited. I did notice how they seemed to be united when it came to giving me secrets, so maybe friendlier with each other than we thought. What we need is to find the others. A little curse convention... would be a very interesting time."
There’s no innuendo, no flirting. The cocky demeanour has evaporated entirely. Kem slams himself back in his seat looking at the mark on his hand in fear as sweat runs down his face and he struggles to swallow the saliva in his mouth.
“This must be what…” he shakes off a disturbing thought as it’s replaced with a worse one. “That wasn’t even all of it though was it? Unless you heard that?” He takes a minute to get his breathing under control and lowers his voice, “Unless you’re suppressing an urge to tear the flesh off my bones?”
Seeing how suddenly stressed and changed he is, she grabs a glass of water and slides it his way. Giving him the moment to calm down. And likewise, she drops the flirtatious tone from her voice.
"I heard nothing that time... but you - you heard something you really didn't like. And no... despite my teeth and what you may have heard of yuan-ti, flesh-tearing is not on my mind at all. Is it my turn to ask about if you are fully in control... if that is what your Hunger is calling for? And what do you by 'that wasn’t even all of it'?"
“Yeah, I’m me. I just… apparently want things I don’t normally want.” He drinks the water, nodding appreciatively, and takes a minute to let the feeling pass. “Well, now I’m curious about two things and there’s nothing driving that but me. First off, what other harmful impulses are the others feeling? And secondly… I might need to find a butcher’s shop to really push this to its limit like we did for yours. Unless you’ve got any better ideas?”
"Ok, so what do you actually want to find out the most? What will it calm it down? For me, the moment I was close to something interesting - which by the way, I have not forgotten - it let me take control. So that is why I said, maybe planning a feast. But its appetites are a little more... unpleasant than a sumptuous cake or five. It seems the first thing you should do is talk to it properly. Ask it what it wants, why shouldn't you just seek to destroy it? Does it see you as its champion? And yes, here is not the place for such conversations. Do you have a place? I would invite you to mine to hear it out, but I have secret maps and we established that we're not sharing... our more persssonal goals. The other ssstep - ask around for more on who else has been afflicted."
“And to think how happy I would have been to hear you suggest that five minutes ago.” He sighs, “Okay, well I don’t think my caravan is a good idea either, but my tabs have been mysteriously paid for lately so we can get a room for free and everyone here can think we’re doing something I don’t feel in the mood for anymore. No offence.”
Kem pinches the bridge of his nose realising that he just dangled not one but two secrets. “And you’re going to need to fight your thing for a bit. Okay?”
She blinks slowly taking in what he has said, and smirks a little bit, "Kem. Hanging out with you is getting more interesssting by the moment. I just have to wait and the knowledge will come out anyway. And I am... very good at waiting."
Though she does take a look around the room to see if there is anyone who could be paying for his tab
“Ssso. A room at the inn, for secrets not sex. Shall we go?"
As the pair reconvene in a more private location, Kem checks the landing before shutting the door. “Okay, how do you do this then?” He looks at the mark in his hand, “Got anything to say, ‘One Who Gnaws’?”
The shadows at the edge of the room almost seem to darken and all of a sudden the air begins to feel heavy, the feeling of a thousand tiny needles pricking ever so slightly at both your skins grows as you both begin to hear a quiet chuckle from nowhere. Immediately Dee'arna you feel uncomfortable, like you are in a house you have not been invited into and are not at all welcome in
Kem puts a hand out to reassure Dee’arna as he draws a dagger with a ruby pommel gem from his belt and underhand tosses it across the room. (edited)
“Can’t say I hate the theatrics, but I think we were both hoping for answers.”
She had looked to the door for a moment, but pauses and stays after she sees his gestures towards safety. She takes her own bow from her back and puts in on the floor nearby in arms reach, and then sits herself down in a corner, as though by making herself small she can avoid its attention.
Kem smiles appreciatively, acknowledging a moment of mutual trust.
The chuckling seems to take an actual form, coming from a specific shadow now. Then many voices speak, all with one mind.
"Is this really his choice? HAHAHAHAHA, what a fool... He was always so greedy, so quick to find new flesh to burrow into. He has chosen her? Oh my old friend crow you really have sunk lower and lower through these many years.."
Kem raises an eyebrow at Dee’arna, as she spits back “Perhaps thirteen eyes watching see more than a distracted voice that wishes it had more bite?”
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, oh you're too precious. Perhaps this one will be fun, you miserable secret hoarder. Speaking of, how has he been treating you, morsel?"
Dee'arna finds herself weirdly defensive of her own curse, "So far. Fine. He could do with a bit more calm, since you're asking. And what of how you are treating Kem here? If you both have goals... that can align with your bearers it might be easier to understand them. To get us all on the same page, as it were."
A slick and quiet whisper, familiar now, slides into Dee'arna’s mind. "Do not indulge them, they will spin you round with false secrets and foolish words."
The other voice speaks up. "Kem? Is that what his name is? Wonderful, descriptive too heheheheheh. Oh yes I think he'll be quite enough. And as for goals... You have already been touched by that stupid mad little thing in your head haven't you? Goals are for the plotters and the schemers, I merely drift. I simply want to see what happens to my new bearer, I'm sure you understand a little curiosity now and again."
“Well at least I’m being acknowledged. So… no goals? I don’t know whether I feel better or worse for hearing that.”
A little more confident now Dee addresses the shadow voice again, "So, why shouldn't Kem just try and rip you out of his body now you have nested there?"
Kem looks down at his hand, "She has a point. Once I start having to pay for my own meals again these habits of yours are going to get expensive and you're not bringing a whole lot that's positive to the table."
"Not to mention that little outburst earlier put a dampener on an otherwise lovely evening."
The voice that is nine voices at once cackles. "Because I will always find new flesh, my warrens even now burrow their way into ripe earth and more and more prospective bearers present themselves. But Kem knows why I like him, and he knows why I am so right for him. Whether I am a curse or a blessing, it's too good a story to end so soon..."
The more the conversation goes on, the darker the room seems to get. Even the walls now are starting to blur, the reality around the pair almost seeming to fall apart at the seams ever so slightly, slowly, gradually
“Woah woah woah let’s not start that and we can keep the candles lit. Also… I love being talked about but I’m starting to notice you’re not addressing me directly.” Kem closes his eyes to shut out the disorientating blur, “Can you hear me?”
The voice bounces around Kem's mind. "Hear you? My boy I am you, and you are me. We are one, no longer two. I didn't think it necessary to address you directly, after all, we have an audience. Much more fun to perform"
“I hate that I agree with you on that.” He opens his eyes to see an anxious Dee’arna and becomes very aware that she heard that without context. “They like to perform. Not the eating people thing. We don’t agree on that.”
"Ah" Her green skin fades a shade lighter on her cheeks, embarrassed to have let the curse creep her out.
Kem watches her and recalls how she baited answers out of him earlier, “If you’re uncomfortable I’ve got a feeling this thing doesn’t have much more of interest to say. We can go.”
"You are right... just a voice after all, trying to seem bigger than it is"
"Bigger than I am? You both disappoint me. I have lived for longer than some of the gods! And I thought I was a fool, HAHAHAHAHA, no no no it seems I have found myself the biggest group of fools I could have. A boring little bard who has no interest in my little stories, a seeker of knowledge who seems blind even with the thirteen eyes you've been given and a boring old bird who knows everything but understands nothing. What a troupe, I truly have found my kin HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH"
Another voice creeps in, a voice like whispering paper. "You never change old friend, I have heard all your stories before, if they were of value I would help my chosen find them, but you are nothing but a fool after all."
The room begins to blur, the walls curving and peeling as it seems the influence of two of these beings together for so long has started to warp things around them.
“Oh please. You don’t have stories. I know stories.” Kem rolls his eyes.
Dee reaches a hand to her necklace, "Kem. It's like listening to two old priests arguing over texts in the temple. You shouldn't indulge them or they will go round in circles. I am satisfied that I have what I need for now. The One and Many is leaving now too," she says to her hand again at the end. "Resssst is the blessing of Lasseega."
She picks up her bow and touches Kem at the elbow to direct him to the door, but Kem lingers just a little longer, just curious to know if something else might happen.
The walls continue to peel, the room twisting and spiralling. For a moment they both feel themselves being pulled somewhere else, not in location, but in mind. The world swirls but Kem snaps out of it. There is a pain in both of their minds as the room snaps back into position, the shadows receding, the voices dying out. Dee'arna's hand is on the door.
“Yep we’re done here.” Kem uses Mage Hand to flip the dagger up off the floor and into his belt as he straightens his vest and makes his way toward the door. “Let’s get somewhere public. Fast.”
Dee'arna is already opening the door and joins him in striding down the corridor and back into the tavern downstairs.
As they reach the top of the stairs, hearing the sound of a busy tavern below, Kem stops. “Wait. I think we’re okay. Just hang on before we go down there.” He composes himself. “This whole thing is creepy and weird and we still don’t know enough about it, but this way of going about it seems risky. Figuring stuff out seems more your thing than mine so if you do; let me know. Okay?”
Likewise, Dee'arna breathes for a second, recentring herself. "It's been a very long day. I will sleep and think about next steps. Don't worry, I will not rush this research. I have other things to look into. If I find out more, where do I then find you?"
She gives Kem a look of approval, "I am certainly surprisseed a little post-adventure snack turned out to have so many strange twissts."
“I’m probably not the easiest person to find, but I check the boards so leave a note there if you need me.” He smiles, “For the record, the kind of person who wants to know more rather than turn and run after what happened earlier… that’s a story I will follow closely.”
"Very well. I am sure I will see you again before long."