Puppeteer Ch. 05

"Hey, I wanted to drink that, you know!" I hissed at the cloaked person.

Handing me a rag he responded: "Wash your face with this, then hide your face in your hood and follow me outside." Without any further comment the guy stood up and left the pub. 'Hell, someone should remove that stick from your ass!'

I scrubbed my face thoroughly with the cloth after dunking it into the spoilt beer, then put on my hood and left the pub. In a back alley I saw Norran again, his hood drawn into his face, two horses at his side. 'No, not horses.' I silently cursed but took the reigns he offered me nonetheless. After a short ride we were back at Belathia's mansion, handed the horses back to the hostler and went inside.

"I thank you for your help, Norran." I got a short nod and then the boy vanished to somewhere in the house. 'Weirdo!' I took place in the salon and waited. Time stretched and I happily accepted a carafe of ice cold, light red wine from the servants. Minutes seemed to last for hours when finally Belathia swept in the room. Her cheeks were reddened and a content smile played around her lips. She poured herself a goblet of wine and took a deep gulp, watching me over the rim of her cup.

"So, I take it everything went to your utter satisfaction?" I asked her a little nervously.

She smiled and sat her goblet down. "Yes. It seems you can be of avail. I think Naduriel will question his intellect for weeks and I will be the next First Magicae Communicatia. You did well, Niven!"

"So, about my request..."

"I didn't forget. I always keep my words." She reached into her décolleté and brought two pendants. They were small and unobtrusive. I stepped closer and opened my palm and Belathia dropped them in my hand. They both had a simple symbol inscribed on them, a long stroke vertical, another short one from the top of the long stroke diagonally and a third one parallel to the second just a little lower. The material was light and looked like a mixture of silver and gold.

"These are translation pendants. They have to touch bare skin and then they allow the carrier to understand many different languages; Katze being one of them. You won't be able to talk other languages because of them, though. That's why you need two to communicate with someone else when you don't understand each other. "These necklaces are a set; even though the wearer can understand different languages it may be difficult to get the real meaning of the words. Vernacular, irony, metaphors and feelings will be lost in the translation. That's different if the speaker wears a pendant because these things will be carried to the necklace so the carrier can understand them. "But pay attention, if the other doesn't know the word or feeling, it won't get translated. If your Katze boy never saw a horse or had heard of one then he won't get what you're talking about. "The necklaces will take some time to synchronize with their carrier and receiver so communication may not be flawless at the beginning, but you will realize that soon enough. "One last warning: On rare occasions the synchronization can go too far. That means that you can feel what the other is feeling, even hear what they are thinking and sometimes their feeling will override yours. It never happens when I used them and I never knew someone who experienced it. If this happens remove the necklace for a long period of time and the effect should vanish -- giving up the privacy and control of your thoughts and feelings has driven many people crazy. Just look at all the victims of the control-mages."

I nodded and was taken aback with the complex instructions. Slipping the necklaces in my pocket I looked at the sorceress. "Thank you Belathia, that's a great help."

She nodded and then waved me away. "I know. Now leave, boy, I want to celebrate."

I grinned at her, spun around and strode to the exit when I heard her say. "Oh and Niven, take care." I froze in my steps and looked over my shoulder but she sat with her back to me and stared out of her window. 'Must have been my imagination.'

When I entered Arias' manor I'm greeted by the host himself. "You got what you were looking for?"

I nodded. "How's Sorr'an?"

Arias smiled crookedly at me. "Confused. He hisses and growls at everyone that enters the room and when someone tries to touch him, he backs away and claws at them."

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'll try my luck." I went to the room Sorr'an and I slept in last night and knocked at the door. There was no response. I carefully opened the door and entered the room. I saw Sorr'an sitting with the blanket draped over his lap on the bed farthest away from the entrance, looking warily at me. 'Well, no hiss, good sign, right?!' I approached him cautiously till he bared his fangs. I stopped and fetched the necklaces from my pocket, showing them to him. Then I slowly slipped one over my head and stuffed it under my shirt. The catboy watched me interestedly and I threw the remaining necklace on his lap, signing him to follow my example. He did and when the small pendant dangles from his neck and touches his bare chest, I asked him. "Can you understand me?"

He looked at me with a baffled expression, so I tried another question. "Are you alright? Do you need something?"

He tilted his head, smiled at me, opened his mouth and said: "Food?"