Breaking the Rules Pt. 22

Breaking the Rules takes place in an RPG universe, and is the sequel to Bending the Rules. To understand the characters and how the world works, please start from Part 1 of either series. Not based on any particular gaming franchise or storyline, but there may be guest appearances.

*****

The next day was more perilous. The Random Encounters were higher-level, and out in the wilds there were more native creatures already stalking the area to worry about.

[This is a tiger's hunting territory. We must be swift.]

"No other way through?" Nuru asked the lyena.

[The other route goes near to one of Jelani's outposts. I will go no closer than necessary. I do not trust myself not to seek revenge for my captivity.]

"That's fair. As long as I don't look too tasty, it'll leave us alone, right?"

[Humans make a poor meal, and I am a strong foe. Let us simply not linger, so that no territorial dispute arises.]

"Right."

The going was tough, with heavy jungle draped across the trees, slowing him significantly. Tusa learned to pull down a wall of vines and let Nuru clamber over him, opening the way so that they could leap-frog each other making much faster forward progress. They crossed a river where the jungle abruptly ended, and plains began, great rolling mists continuously pouring out from the treeline and obscuring the way. Nuru had to step carefully to avoid twisting his ankle, and it was less strenuous but not much faster than before.

"Say, uh... you aren't bothered by me wearing Jelani's colors are you?"

[We do not see color as you do. Also, I must admit, you humans mostly look the same to me. It is smell, voice, and gait which we first use to distinguish one from another.]

"Good to know," Nuru said, wiping his brow in relief.

Nuru approached the final camp site on the route to the Glitch cautiously. He had no interest in being one-shotted by some crazy ranger testing out arrows subjected to randomized effects, who might have noticed him snooping around. Over the hill, he heard a strange sound. Tempted to avoid it though he was, his curiosity got the better of him. He peeked out over the hilltop carefully, and saw a woman and a (male?) elf, apparently arguing. He frowned as he listened, unable to make out the words.

"To piękne miejsce," she said.

"Musimy iść dalej," the elf replied.

"!Fassada Girma!" Nuru muttered.

"Biegamy od godzin! Jestem zmęczona, chcę odpocząć," the woman replied sternly.

(Hey - why isn't it working?)

/Hang on.!Fassada Mafi Girma! I'll get to make a joke about the universal language later, from the look of things. Good thing I'm a big city girl, I can actually translate this automatically./

The elf was speaking. "-annot stay. This land has strange rules which do not apply the way we are used to."

"I don't care! Nothing here is poisoning us, and I just want to rest awhile," the woman said.

"You know they will find us."

"Eventually. Let me have a few moments to catch my breath."

"They may know we are here. Already, we are being watched."

"What are you talking about? We-"

The elf pointed straight at the hill. Nuru slowly crawled backwards, then turned over to get up and leave, distracted by a quick flash in the corner of his vision.

"Hello," the woman said, suddenly standing over him.

"Uh... hello," Nuru said nervously, triggering Tusa's oath of assistance. He didn't know how far the animal was, but hopefully he'd arrive in time, if this went badly. "You move really fast. I didn't mean to disturb you-"

"But now you have. Is that... a drum?" she asked, sizing him up.

"Yeah. I play it. Do you sing by chance?" Nuru said.

"Nothing proper and ladylike," she said, eyes hooded.

"Even better," Nuru said, grinning. He noticed his MP ticking down.

(Are you doing anything?)

/You bet your ass I am. She's not from around here - I may never have a chance to vicariously fuck anyone like her again. She's getting the full barrage./

(When you say "not from around here" do you mean-)

/I don't know, that's how far away. Further than you and I are from each other, much further./

The woman stuck a hand out.

"Oh, thanks," Nuru said, letting her help him up. "You look so normal, but your language-"

"This is very ill-advised," the elf said, coming up from behind Nuru.

"Come on old man, he's just a boy with a drum. He's not even armed!"

"That is no ordinary drum," the elf said.

"It's not?" Nuru said, confused.

"Which way to the war?" the woman asked Nuru.

"There's not been a proper war here in ages," Nuru said. "I mean bickering, sure, but..."

"Then will you just let me have a normal conversation for one minute!" the woman exclaimed at the elf, who was staring at her with a piercing gaze.

"Very well. I simply remind you that it's not merely your life at stake," the man said, turning away a little bit, watching the surroundings instead.

"That reminds me - how is it that you speak our language?" the woman said.

"Translate spell," Nuru said, shrugging.

"That's handy. Can you teach me?" she asked.

"It won't work for us," the man said. "It has an extrinsic subparticulate entanglement, necessitating secondary features even you simply do not possess."

"If you say so," Nuru said, holding his head up high and wobbling it just a little bit as if imperiously declaring for a posh audience. "I was just going to say 'no'."

The woman gave a not-altogether-innocent smile that reached all the way up to her eyes. She was still holding Nuru's hand from helping him up. "He's a sage. One takes what one is given, whether it includes clarity or not. Nah-ah! Shut up!" She pointed a finger at the elf, not breaking eye contact with Nuru.

The man said nothing.

"What is this place then?" she asked, still holding onto his hand.

"Why, this is what's formally known as a 'hill.' This one in particular has the unique property of being occupied by the most intriguing woman I've laid eyes on possibly in all my life. Also, over that way somewhere is the Glitch, a tear in reality." Nuru waved his free hand.

The man looked over sharply, but held his silence.

"Are you mocking me?" the woman said, eyebrows narrowed, and frowning.

"I never mock that which I wish so badly to understand," Nuru said, shoulders sagging at the thought that he'd offended her.

Her head tilted just slightly to the side, and then she really smiled.

"Aren't you just the sweetest! You remind me of someone I know. Best friend of the man who's the closest I've ever had to a father."

"I'm glad you didn't call him your 'creepy uncle'," Nuru grinned back at her.

"Oh, he was a scoundrel of the highest order," the woman said, her tone dropping with hidden, sultry meaning. "But he was always kind to me."

"So where are you from then, that you don't have hills?" Nuru said.

She punched him lightly. "I don't want to talk about that. I want to talk about this Glitch."

"Oh, it's your everyday tear in the fabric of time and space. All the cool kids have one these days, I'm heading there for a party. What about it?"

"I was just wondering if it is known for making people behave strangely. Doing rash things, talking to boys when they're supposed to be elsewhere doing important things."

"Wouldn't surprise me. This one time, it made an ordinary undead skeleton drop a respec potion. One of the most expensive concoctions known to the gods, just an everyday drop. Incredible!"

"Then we must be close to it, because for all the world I just want to lean over and kiss you."

"Oh that's not the Glitch, that's my irresistible charm," Nuru grinned.

"Highly inadvisable," the elf muttered.

"Of course it is. I can't wait!" the woman said, pulling closer with Nuru's hand still loosely gripped in hers.

"What, just like this, right in front of him?" Nuru said, gesturing to the man.

"He can watch, he's seen it all," she said, winking.

"Oh, I very much doubt that," Nuru chuckled.

"Cocky bastard," she said, but craned her neck to put her mouth up towards his anyway.

Their faces tapped against each other, lips just briefly making contact, before pulling back.

"So, beautiful, what's your name?"

"Something's coming," the elf said. "I sense great magic not far from here. It's targeting your new friend here for some reason."

/Uh oh. I better turn this off!/

Nuru's skin lost a bit of luster as a glow went out.

"Now it's not. I wonder what changed. Feel any different?" the elf said.

"What... what was that? Were you enchanting me?" the woman said, frowning fiercely and backing away.

"Uh... not intentionally?"

"But you were."

"We don't know what's coming," the elf said. "This very world stifles my magical senses."

"I can Dash now."

"We've practiced it, but you've never tried it in combat."

"Then maybe-" she seethed, then vanished in a green glow. "-it's time!"

Nuru didn't blink, but he still missed her dashing much like Sun Walk, her words coming from different places as her body flitted with a flash of green from one place to another, and then struck with practiced speed. The blow laid Nuru out on the ground, stunned.

/Ooh, she's feisty. I like her./

"Hooooly angelshit," Nuru said, shaking his head to clear it. "Listen, I want to apologize if you think I was lying to you or trying to take advantage, this enchantment has a mind of its own. I really do like you and I love that offwhite color of your hair. Is that normal where you come from?"

"This really isn't the time to talk about the part of you with a mind of its own," she bit off. "We do have to be going. I find I am rested well enough now."

"I can see that we've gotten off on the wrong foot. I promise you, if you ever are back in these parts, I will make it up to you," Nuru said.

"That was well done," the elf said, brushing her shoulder gently. "You're learning to control it, and with practice you'll find ways to turn this into even greater advantage, as I told you."

"Let's go," she huffed.

"Safe travels!" Nuru said, waving at her as he got back to his feet.

"Be careful. There's a reason I brought us here. The anomaly here will muddles our pursuers' tracking, but this effect will also prevent me from following you precisely if-"

She vanished in a green glow again, and Nuru felt a slap on his buttocks. She reappeared at the elf's back, and winked at the shocked look on Nuru's face.

"-I don't follow you through, and we will lose precious time finding each other again," the elf finished.

"Then don't dawdle," she said, vanishing in a bright green swirling cloud.

She timed it perfectly to just stir enough for her to enter as she reached it, and then it dissipated. The elf shook his head, sighing heavily. Then, he opened another sphere of distortion and vanished without another word.

(Thanks a lot. You just about ruined everything.)

/You'd have never got to kiss her if I hadn't done what I did. Besides, you can tell she's not *that* mad, after what she did. She just wanted to think it was her idea./

Distant hoofbeats cut through the whispering wind. Nuru ducked down quickly, seeing some armored figures appearing on horseback some distance away, and closing the distance. Alongside them ran beasts on four legs with a vaguely caniform shape like a warg made out of blocks of ice, casting off a cold mist that wisped away into the air, as did the breath of the riders and their horses now that he looked closer at them. One rider with a great metal staff did something around the area where the strange pair had appeared. He then circled a bit before turning and looking straight at the hill, then dismounted and started climbing.

(And I might die now, they said something was tracking me, and this might be it. Was it worth it?)

/Stay alive a little longer. Let's find out./

Teams of the frost wargs, or whatever they were, ran in all directions, followed by armored handlers. Nuru turned and tucked himself into a bush before the deathly rider reached the top. There were not only heavy bootsteps but the air itself chilled in his presence, and Nuru suppressed a shiver, taking off as the figure suddenly turned and reached for Nuru with one giant gauntleted hand.

"I'm sorry I don't know where she is but she's gone!" Nuru squeaked.

The figure apperated right in front of him, clutched him by the throat and lifted him up effortlessly.

(I need Ashanti's shiny armor!) Nuru thought frantically, thinking of the other demon he'd once seen.

/!Fata Salamander!/

"!Wahayi mai kida!" Nuru grunted out. "I want her back as much as you do!"

The figure pulled him to look closer as the Influence Emotions spell took effect, giving just the barest moment of hesitation in his crushing grasp before the spell faltered at his resistance. Nuru's skin was suddenly slimy and slippery, and he twisted loose, darting in closer to the hulking man, who apparently expected him to flee and thus overreached in pursuit, while Nuru scrambled up his back and launched himself full force the other way. The metal rod came whistling in with deadly force, missing him by mere centimeters, and Nuru got several meters away while his attacker recovered his balance. He barely noticed as several other armored figures were clustered around where the elf and woman had departed, holding some kind of apparatus. One of them turned and called to the figure with the rod, who apperated near them; Nuru was relieved, until several of the frost hounds turned towards him and began to give pursuit.

/Climb a tree! You'll never make it!/

Nuru heard the footfalls of his pursuers closing the distance as well, but there were no suitable trees nearby.

"!Kafa Mara Nauyi!"

He put on a burst of speed as his succubus-derived spell put extra strength in his ankle, and he ran full-out over the roughest terrain he could see which would hopefully slow the hounds at least a little. He made for the distant treeline, expecting at any moment to be caught by his heel and torn to pieces, but he managed to stay one step ahead.

"Shit. Hate to lose you, but you're not worth dying for," Nuru said, pulling his drum loose and preparing to discard it.

Then he saw a big tree and had a better idea. Taking a quick glance over his shoulder, he saw that there were really only two of the creatures pursuing him. He chose a spot close to the tree trunk, ran past and slowed just enough to put the drum down standing up to his left, and tumbled to his right, ending crouched on one knee. One of the creatures sailed past, swiping at empty air, and the other came on behind it, bearing straight down on him. He tumbled again, back the other direction, and the following creature slammed into the first as it turned about to come after Nuru. Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, Nuru looped back away from the tree with the hounds drawing closer but with enough space to maneuver. With one last desperate burst of energy, he sprinted towards the tree and stepped up onto the drum, which by some miracle had remained standing upright, to take a flying leap towards one of the branches. He latched on for dear life, swinging his feet up and proceeded to try to climb higher without letting any part of himself dangle low enough for the ice creatures to reach, which was harder than he'd expected, particularly with the branch itself sagging with every shift of his weight. He reached a more solid part of the branch towards the trunk and pulled himself up into a fork in the tree, and paused to catch his breath.

"Most... expensive... kiss... ever," he panted.

/I guarantee you it's not. You've still got your soul./

"Bitch, you're not helping, and I've about had it with you," Nuru snapped. "How do I get out of this alive?"

/Wait for an advantage. You're outmatched, but you're safe for the moment./

Armored figures appeared in the distance, including the one with the rod. He gestured to the others, and they all opened spheres of distortion and disappeared. The ornately-helmed figure conjured a white ball of harsh light and launched it in a ponderous arc in Nuru's general direction, then turned and entered a sphere of distortion himself without watching to see it land. The glow hit the ground and with a great grinding noise a number of thick icy spikes grew explosively out in all directions from it, piercing the tree, the drum, and everything within a good ten feet or so. The hounds seemed invigorated by it, and renewed their frantic running about the tree, then leaped up into the spikes, breaking the ends off of them but using the parts that remained to climb higher and reach some of the tree branches. A sphere of distortion appeared at the ground, and through it Nuru could see one of the armored figures standing in some alien terrain, ground a color very different than anywhere nearby. One of the hounds heard the figure saying something, and turned and jumped through, while the other just kept awkwardly scrambling and trying not to fall while clambering after Nuru higher and higher into the thin branches. The sphere vanished, and it was eerily silent, aside from Nuru's heavy breathing and the scrabble of hard claws on soft wood, and the soft hissing of the creature itself breathing. Nuru watched below as he stood awkwardly on two branches that together were barely holding him up, as his pursuer made its way slowly towards him. The wood cracked and groaned, freezing solid in its proximity. The warg wavered, uncertain about taking the next step up - proven correct as the branch broke rather than bending under the weight, and sending the hound crashing down through several branches and back to ground level. It tried to climb again, but the tree was now too damaged to easily navigate, and it eventually jumped back and stared up at him, apparently content to wait.

(Care to explain why you suddenly don't care about consent?)

/Why should I if you don't either?/

(What are you talking about? We had a whole conversation about this.)

/And then you let those pixies have their way with you, without establishing anything of the sort. You said that this matters, but I'm not seeing it, really. They had no way to know that you meant for them to take advantage of you./

(Look it's one thing to have a principle, it's another thing to effectively enforce it. Sometimes there's no way to reach a perfect outcome. I tried, but they were too worked up to have that discussion.)

/You could have left earlier, you know. Actually gotten away./

(Alright, I fucked up. It happens. I didn't know what was going to happen, and if I could go back and do it differently, I would. I'll have to settle for trying to find them and talk to them about it, if I survive this.)

/Admitting weakness to a demon is usually a fatal move in a disagreement. Is that your final answer?/

(No one is perfect, there's always room to improve. Embracing that is strength, not weakness.)

/Nope, that's still just weakness. You can either show it or hide it. Showing it puts you at risk./

(But hiding it leaves it ignored and unresolved. If I work on it, I can become less weak. That's a stupid argument.)

/Call it what you will, that is how it works among demon-kind./

(Are you on my side or aren't you?)

/As long as it suits my purposes, sure./

(You don't have what you want, yet.)

/At this rate, I won't need you. I can find someone else that will get me what I want./

He knew it had been a little too easy to convince her. Nuru tried to find a comfortable position that wouldn't fatigue him too badly, and was only moderately successful. He was trembling with the exertion and knew he didn't have much left in him. Movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Something else was out there, that wasn't one of these ice creatures.

/Oh look, your friend is back. I'm turning the auras on so he can make an approach and rescue you./