fate_has_spoken | (no subject)

[He heaves a very put out sigh as if he's been holding it for a while.]

A rest would not help matters. I did not see how an encounter would not spring up without intervening --- even as small as the action was.

[Rubbing his face.]

And I did not feel the need to search through the forest for a more proper sacrifice. That would have been even more energy wasted.

If it had come down to a fight, I could have handled it myself.

[He adds quickly:] But I'm glad it didn't. That was quick thinking, with the bracelet. Just... be careful when you choose to push yourself. You look halfway to keeling over.

Don't worry, dear Vagabound. I have no doubts a fight you will have before this excursion is over. I'm just hear to help ensure you actually make it to that final battle.

[The hedge looms before them.]

Shall we?

Pushing me to play the role I've been assigned does nothing for you if you kill yourself with too much walking, or too many magic tricks.

Your choices are your own, however.

[He shrugs and starts walking again.]

[He takes a deep breathe and walks in front weaving through the maze. He does stumble once or twice before he finds a rhythm making his way to the next trial.]

[Tyki stays quiet for now, but he's starting to wonder exactly how quickly or easily he could just... haul the other man over his shoulder, or something of the sort. Not that he thinks it'd be appreciated at all. Just something to spare Emet-Selch a little effort.]

[Tyki has never been known to have an overabundance of empathy or compassion, but he's finding it increasingly uncomfortable to watch Emet-Selch suffer like this. He nearly insisted on taking a break when Emet-Selch was stumbling, but now that the Ascian has hit his stride, Tyki is reluctant to make him stop.]

[Will he actually try to pick up the Ascian? Probably not, unless the man collapses in front of him, but that's looking more and more likely to Tyki.]

Edited 2019-09-15 04:13 (UTC)

[Well, at least he doesn't collapse yet! Also he's like 7 ft tall, Tyki! Man those Garleans.

A break in the bramble wall reveals a clearing where two
shapely feminine forms await. They have skin like polished
mahogany but hair and eyes as green as emeralds. They nod as
you approach—charming smiles blunted by something haughty
in their storm cloud eyes. ]

[Emet-Selch having maybe an extra foot of height on him is partly why Tyki's wondering how to pick the guy up rather than just doing it. So far Tyki has come to the conclusion that he would just have to try very hard. He hopes he won't have to find out if that's sufficient; he suspects Emet-Selch would not be thrilled by any attempts at that, successful or otherwise.]

[When they reach the clearing, Tyki reaches up to tip his hat, remembers it was lost to the water, and instead smooths back his damp hair. Damn the timing. These are not normal women, of course, and it's most assuredly some sort of trap, but he'd still prefer to make a better showing of himself in front of a pair of lovely ladies. He'd rather have not been recently drenched in muddy water, at a minimum. Oh well, nothing to do about it.]

[He puts on a charming smile of his own and bows a little.]

Evening, ladies. My, if I had known such a vision of beauty lay in store, I would have rushed here much earlier.

["Iwona" one coes. "Jagoda" the other replies. They wave their hands beyond them.

The glade behind them looks like the perfect campsite. It contains a green pavilion tent, beside which is an archery butt and a stone altar overflowing with cakes, ribbons, fresh fruits, and flowers.]

Come, join us. You look tired.

[Emet-Selch gives him the 'this is a bad idea' look.]

[He might have needed that warning look if not for the food. He will never trust suspicious food, like cake in the middle of a forest.]

It's a great loss for us, but I'm afraid we don't have time to spend here, as enticing as the offer is.

[Iowa heads towards Tyki and drapes on his arm. "Please allow yourselves at least an hour's rest."

Jagoda takes Emet-Selch's arm and starts tugging him towards the tent. He gives a tug and can see he is trying to argue with the woman.]

You're too kind, but we'll have to decline. What sort of gentlemen would we be if we neglected our prior obligations? You understand, I'm sure.

[He tries to disentangle himself from Iwona so he can go help Emet-Selch.]

[Iowna leeches on further, but Emet-Selch seems to finally untangle himself.]

"Just an hour. You must be tired. But if you must go, we do have a test before you can continue. A test to ensure you aren't tainted by evil."

An hour is far too long to wait, unfortunately.

[He stops trying to extricate himself for the moment.]

[A further pause while he does give the rest some consideration. They'd probably be fine as long as they stayed alert, he thinks, and it's probably good for Emet-Selch to take a breather. At least a short one. It's not an ideal situation -- he is positive this is supposed to be a trap, especially as the women are so insistent -- but is there going to be a better time? If it's so important for the rest to be an hour, then maybe they'll be safe if they stay for less time than that.]

Perhaps we can sit for a few minutes, and you can explain this test, hmm? Only for a few minutes, though.

[He looks over at Emet-Selch to get his opinion on the suggestion.]

[Emet-Selch looks very put out, but for many reasons. His exhaustion. This place. Everything. He sighs.]

Don't take a break on my account. Though I won't say no to learning more.

Fine, then it won't be on your account. Let's say I need a short break, myself, and hear about this test.

If that suits you ladies as well?

[Trying to gently extricate himself from Iowna's clinging again. If someone is going to touch him, an attractive woman is one of his top choices, but he knows his... peculiarity in this area, well enough. He's holding together for now but he knows his nerves will fray; better to get some space now than need it later.]

[Iwona takes the opportunity to usher them towards the pavilion to sit on a large set of skins by the altar. She gets him a plate of food and some fine wine and hands it to him delicately.

Jagoda does the same for Emet-Selch and he sits down almost obediently looking none to pleased, but he is trying to keep it off his face. She sits next to him with her own plate of food. He starts eating --- he doesn't have Tyki's DR worries after all.]

It is a test to remind you of the seriousness of breaking oaths. We cannot permit such evil to wander about the forest unchecked.

[Welp, looks like Emet-Selch gets to be the guinea pig. He has to stop himself before he winces. Sorry, pal.]

[He'll turn down his own offered food as politely as he can.] I'm sure it's delicious, but I'm afraid I ate not too long ago.

Oaths, hmm? I can understand why you might not like people who go back on their word wandering about, but I see no reason for a test over a warning. I can't even recall making any oaths to break recently.

[He doesn't turn into anything weird. His demeanor doesn't seem to change. It looks like normal food. Though he does forgo the wine. He makes light conversation with Jagoda, but Tyki will be able to tell that while he's perfectly engaged, he's not paying a wit of attention. It's like he's sleep socializing or something.]

Just a slap to the cheek. It is a small test. And if you haven't broken any oaths you have nothing to worry about.

[Still not trusting that food. Could have an effect that isn't very obvious, or is delayed, for all he knows. At least it doesn't seem to have dampened Emet-Selch's impressive social skills.]

[He's trying to keep account of the time in his head; he doesn't want to torment Emet-Selch for too long, just give him a little break from walking.]

I see. Well, that doesn't sound bad at all, does it?

[He tries to look relaxed, but a bead of sweat rolls down his spine. How old does a broken oath have to be for it to stop counting? He tries to wrack his brain for the last time he broke a promise, but between his memory at the moment and how frequently he lies and changes his mind on things, it's impossible to say much beyond "he has certainly done that."]

Would you like to be tested first?

[To which Emet-Selch will eventually perk up and look over still managing to keep most of the conversation flowing.]

Since you don't want to eat. We can get it out of the way so that you can rest.

Sounds good to me, if it's such a small test.

[And if it's more dangerous than Iwona is making it sound, he can just grab Emet-Selch and skedaddle, right? No problems with that plan, surely. Hopefully.]

Sit tall.

[Once he complies, she will pull her hand back and slap his cheek hard. The blow itself doesn't even leave a red mark, but he'll feel something ---- some magic searching, looking, looking ....

Nope, he's clean. It just stings.

She claps here hands delightedly.]

Oh, oh! No trouble at all. Of course it wouldn't be!

[Trying to feed him by hand again.]

[?!]

[Touching his cheek where he was slapped.]

Oh, you meant -- literally. You really weren't exagerrating how simple that test was.

[He almost accepts the food unthinkingly in his relief, but nope. Nope. If not for the feeling of searching magic, he'd think it was just a distraction and the food was the real trap, but he still doesn't trust that food at all. Especially when she's so insistent on him trying it.]

My apologies.

[She isn't forceful about it, and she'll eat from his plate.]

Are you sure you won't rest? We could have an archery competition!