Serpent's Pawn

 

I thought I settled down to sleep, but suddenly found myself looking down a similar tunnel to the one that had brought us here. It seemed to be one of 01's Abyssal tunnels. That's odd.

"01, are you doing that?" I asked as I realized we were in the mouth of the tunnel. I don't remember going into it...

"That would be Lothos, Scourge of Shadows" 01 sounded resigned.

"You're not doing that?" I confirmed.

"No."

"That's not good" I observed. I reached out a hand to Tekvar, worried that he would have no way to know what was going on without some input. Blind and deaf must be seriously unnerving.

As we travelled, there was a high pitched whine building. It began to feel like we were moving in slow motion, and far ahead there was a little pinpoint of light appearing.

"I don't like this" I mumbled.

The whining intensified, and was joined by a crackling, sizzling noise ahead, reminicent of bacon in a frying pan. The light seemed to be getting a little bigger, and closer. The whining and the crackling were getting louder and more insistant as well.

"Sounds like an energy storm" I observed.

The whining and crackling grew to an annoying level, and the light got closer, and closer, and then when it was about in our faces there was a flash of prismatic color, and felt a curtain of light/sound crash into us. This is new.

"Sounds like a shadow storm" 01 called, "I've heard of these." Oh, I hope he's wrong, or we could be all done.

Suddenly, the wall slammed into us, and everything went black. There was a total emptiness around me, no sight, sound, touch, anything. I don't know how long I floated, but after a time the blackness seemed to grow brighter.

I realized I was standing in what seemed to be a cave. There was a figure standing in the back of the cave. The figure seemed to be average height, standing still in the shadows (little s).

He seemed to be facing me. I took a step forward, and called a greeting out. He didn't respond. I found myself wondering if this was another display of potential paternal affection. Could that be Brand? If so, he definately had a strange way of setting up meetings...

The figure did not move or respond. Well, if the universe is going to off me, why cringe? Let's get this show going. I started walking towards the figure. As I got closer, and my eyes adjusted to the low light better, I began to see that the figure was wearing a trenchcoat. Snazzy. Could be Brand. Could be Merlin. Could be anybody, actually, but at least it didn't look like Mr. Happy. Small favors, eh?

"Can you hear me?" I asked him.

"Yes" came a serious, somber voice. Nope, not Merlin. Not Mandor either, though I doubt Mandor would hang around in caves in trenchcoats. Definately not his style, you know? Not Suhuy or Dworkin....too intense. Hmmm....running out of potential candidates here. Doesn't seem to be a scion of Amber either. Ah, damn. Shapeshifters annoy me.

"May I ask what I'm doing here?" I inquired politely.

"You are here to fulfill a task" he responded seriously. Oh really.

"May I ask who you are?" Always remain polite to anything that can yank you out of shadow and acts mysterious, that's what I always say. At least until you know what the hell's going on.

"No."

"Got it" I acknowledged. I noticed a small glimmering drift across his shoulder, it looked like a metallic sheen. Interesting. He is more than he would seem. I looked carefully at him again. He seemed very average, brown hair and blue eyes. In a universe full of shape shifters, however, this meant very little. I peered closely at those eyes, but there was nothing familiar to me in them, no hint of recognition or sorrow. Hmm. Oh well, I'll bite.

"What is this task?" I asked him.

"I want you to observe. When you are done, you will return here and give me your thoughts on it" he told me.

Interesting. "Why?" I asked.

He smiled faintly. "I have need of, an emissary, in my service."

"Ok" I noted.

"If you pass, you may be that emissary."

Crypic, yet unclear and vague. "What do you want me to observe?"

He stared evenly at me. "Evolution."

Tall order, that. As he spoke, I caught another flickering glimmer. A green-hued metallic flash played across one knee, giving an impression of a metallic, vaguely scaled surface. Green? I narrowed my eyes. Green, my color. And, as I'd learned in recent days, also Brand's. Ok, I'll play.

"Where am I to observe this?" I asked.

"From here" he answered.

I considered. I don't like blind agreements, but this could be the information I sought, or at least a path to it. It was, definately, an opportunity I dared not turn my back on. It's been my experience that such things do not knock twice. Still..

"Alright" I said carefully, "say for the sake of argument I agree to do this task for you, which I don't find objectionable. Who would I be an emissary for?"

"Me" he said, with a hint of mirth.

I laughed. "I love going around in circles."

He smiled in return, "So do I." As he replied, that flickering effect showed again, playing about his mouth. For just a brief glimpse, his tongue pushed forward, and was not normal. It seemed very narrow and thin, and shot out farther than a human or humanoid tongue. My heart skipped a beat. Glints of green metallic scales, long serpentine tongue? Pieces fell rapidly into place...this was no Prince of Amber I was verbally fencing with! This was definately NOT level one! My mind spun in a confused jumble, my blood pounded in my veins. I now suspected what just what I faced, but my mind rebelled against the possibility. How in Chaos had I gotten THIS kind of attention?! By the........oh yeah. Eh. Exactly. By the Serpent's Eye. Perhaps I should stop using that to swear by? Mother?

As levelly as I could manage, I responded "Very well." I may be scared out of my scattered wits, but I will not refuse my heritage. Push comes to shove, I cannot turn away from this.

"You agree?" he ascertained.

I took a deep breath, searching for some hidden reserve of courage. "I don't suppose I get to know any more than this, do I?"

He regarded me appraisingly. "I think, part of the test is being able to understand, better, what is going on. And when the task is over, if you have a better understanding, and can convey to me what you believe is going on, and if I agree that it is correct, then you will be worthy to be my emissary."

I closed my eyes briefly, and inclined my head in ascent. If this is so willed, then let it be.

A strange sensation began flooding out from somewhere in the region of my stomach. It made me feel nauseous, as if my insides were jockeying for new positions. I swallowed hard. This feeling continued, growing and building until I felt overly full, as if something was expanding in my stomach. I felt the feather touches of panic, and wondered if this observation of evolution required me bearing some form of offspring right here and now. I stood still, willing myself not to scream or run. After enduring this a few minutes, I felt something painfully pushing and probing at my abdominal wall, from within, as if it sought escape. I was convinced now that I was right, and knew that I would scream in horror. The pushing became more insistant and seemed to be on the verge of escaping. I concentrated on my ability to shapeshift, trying to let whatever it was out, but my shift failed me. I felt a great weight on me, pressing and holding me in from every direction. It was as if my center had developed an intense gravitational pull, and I was being held together by force. I felt a scream start low and raw in my throat as a tentacle burst from my stomach. The pain was excruciating, but I was cemented to the spot I stood on, unable to move in any way, with intense pressure holding all of me in place. I found that I was unable to speak or scream, but I could shift my eyes. The scaly tentacle reached out, and I cringed inside with a mental scream. After a few moments, the pain was numbed, so I did not feel it, but the tentacle was still there. It began extending, reaching out toward the far end of the cave. I watched in mute horror, even though I realized that something about it was reminiscant of a Logrus tendril. It extended to the end of the cave, hit the wall, passed through it and kept going. I could feel it reaching and reaching, like I had extended a tendril into shadow. After a time, I felt a tug, as when a Logrus tendril latches onto the object of desire. I mentally gritted my teeth as the tug intensified, and began dragging whatever it had found to me, like a Logrus summoning insideout. I stared at the figure in the trenchcoat, and he looked back at me, noncommitally.

Go on to Chapter Twenty, Part Two

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