Now Again

  - I don’t follow...- Nidia was trying to make herself an idea of what was going on and how can she and her brother get out, the details were sketchy, but she feel herself forming a plan; first step: get out… well no, first step: get up…

  - You Do Not Need To Follow, You Need To Stay And Obey- another booming nonsense - -No, I mean, what does that mean? You can’t make us do what you want, I can’t stay here there is a war, my friends need me!- with half feigned distress and some all fake tears Nidia was getting her best “ I’m a poor victim” impression, all the while trying to move, her body wasn’t doing his part of the deal, for every corner of it seemed happy to let her hanging to dry, damn it…

  War… that sounds… familiar… sample A seems distressed, its biological responses somewhat awry… I can tell… there is something… some of my lectures seems to be suggesting that sample A is to be taking actions against me… where that came from?... no matter, I can asses its gear as no treat, but I still need it to be cooperative… maybe that friends can be useful, I need to find out what that means, and how to use it.- Your Friends Need You For This War? How Many Goblins Are In This War? Do You Goblins Do War Often? Will This War Happen Near Here?- sample A seems to be confused besides distressed, this is going nowhere, but I have an idea…

  A faint haze in the air, and a spec of power was the only clue that something was happening in front of the stunned Nidia.

  Did he just say...- What did you…?- something.. cold and hot at the same time washed over her, the buzz of sleep and hunger suddenly forgotten, the fear, the doubts, all the machinations gone in some silent corner, only thing in her mind a sudden rage- you called me goblin you smug sunovabitch!?- there was a part of Dia trying to stay back, to keep her words in check, but trying as it was it all was for naught- come here, imma gonna wreck you, you… you...- the rage was real, almost a physical weight in her shoulders, all red and hot, while Nidia hurled abuse and spittle at her captor, the it was gone, as quick as it came, Nidia was struck, she have managed to right herself and was yelling her head off, but for all that sudden rage and energy her body haven’t gotten any better, it was as if all that was just a mirage, she can think clear, very much so, but the pain and hunger still cling to her body – aarg… What was that… you… you did something right? What did you do to me?-there was a creeping realization, for all effects and purposes, they were lost in combat, no one will try to look for them so far from the battlefield, and even then, who can tell what kind of place this was? She and her brother were very much at the mercy of someone with strange powers at its disposal, and a shaky grasp of reality - Correct- a deadpan voice startled her- It Was Only A Limited Mana Pulse- that even tone, that was only making all creepier – It Was Intended As A Relief For Your Mental State, The Secondary Effects Were Unaccounted For- another pause, while Nidia let that sink in – Are You Ready To Answer My Questions?-

  - Wait, you said mana?- oh shiiit… that makes so much sense oh shitshishit….- you are a wizard aren’t you?- Nidia could sense sweat forming in her back despite the almost cold air, while her mind puzzled and checked the pieces: odd place, check, suspicious behaviour, check, lack of common sense, double check; it all made so much sense now they were abducted by some cooked up wizard, and heavens only know what was him up to, the warnings of the old priest back in the city started to bang around, Nidia was of the M’nalishi faith, same as half the continent, and she knows all to well that the yet powerful church and their mages take a very dim and straightforward approach to wizards and their minions, burn first, ask later, even with the war in the streets she was sure that a wizard could not keep itself safe from the Hounds of the Fire, the armed branch of the church; and when they came down wreaking havoc in this place she can only hope that they check for prisoners and slaves before blasting the place, otherwise, she and her brother will be as dead as the other militiamen in their unit…

  Speaking of her brother, he was there, in all the confusion she almost overlooked the resting figure an arm width from her, laid in some kind of raised dais just like herself, his face pale, a soft but stable breath, he almost looked like he was sleeping, she didn’t see bindings, nor was she in chains, but that was something of a moot point, being as hurt and weak as they were the chance of an escape was slim, a little prodding revealed that her stuff was more or less in place: a Gaeffing in her hip, a smaller knife in her boot, her all too big trousers and the leather tabard, the smallest one she could find in the warrant officer lot, Lance was decked in somewhat similar pieces, a better fit than hers ought of height, but still lose here and there, a proof of the months of bad food and sleep, the sling bag limp at his side, he wasn’t carrying his blade, more likely lost during their initial clash, and unless she was wrong the demolition cube that they have been carrying have fared the same; if not that will probably be useful, crazy as it may be, their captor surely will be loath to turn into mincemeat shall them dare to use the damned thing with no way to run.

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  But there was no time for her musings, her captor was here, he was powerful, and probably mad as a hen, rescue was unlikely, so an escape was the only chance they have, in their current state it was nothing but a pipe dream, but if she can play along a little… only then Nidia noticed that the voice has gone utterly silent – humm… Sir?-

  My hands have been working, one of them is back in the exterior, it is a step price, but I will have it bury itself near the makeshift entrance, so as to give me an early warning in case more of this goblins came by, another one was assessing the chance of sealing for good the passage, as I predicted the operation will be all to much costly, the best I can do now is to pile rubble in there, it is better than nothing, odd, the idea of having such an obvious security breach is appalling and alluring at the same time, I can not explain it, it is almost as if a part of me… wished… to be found, to be exposed to the exterior and its dangers, to be… challenged…

  It matters not, the mission is my top priority, and that is were the rest of my hands are spending their meagre power, searching for the rest of my charges, for the rest of me. I have had my suspicions and now I can tell I was right: this chamber was at the east most end of my former reach, I can tell it was a kind of security checkpoint, the passage to the exterior was originally linked to a storage, I can only assume that that section was destroyed in whatever event rendered me dormant, there is an access to another passage, but otherwise this section is all but cut out from my original layout, I can not fathom the extent of the damage, nor the reason behind this location in particular, I must regain contact and hope that my other structures fared better than this tiny place, that somehow my charges remain intact, that somehow I can resume my mission… I need more power, more energy, and this samples are currently my only lead as to how…

  Sample A seems more lively, I do even register a small increment in the energy flow, but nonetheless the mechanism by which is happening eludes me, my analysis is limited, the array that I improvised has not enough finesse, and right now I can not alter it, this is vexing.

  Now sample A seems to believe that I am a wizard, and that makes it distressed by some reason, dealing with this is turning onto a distraction...- Wrong, I Am Not A Wizard – maybe if I change my approach… - I Am Not A Threat, And As Long As You Answer My Questions I Will Not Harm You- that must be enough to secure some cooperation.

  - Yes, thank you- not a threat? Pull the other one mr. Not-A-Wizard… I’m gonna show you not to mess with me, all that mana of yours ought to run dry sooner or later...- in the recess of her mind Nidia turned over and over everything that she know about wizardry, not a whole lot for the practice has been banned for over a century, yet some old nick-nacks and rumours drifted in her mind’s eye, rituals, sacrifices and thing with goats mostly, some of which made her skin crawl again, but it was a start, now all she have to do was to keep herself low and ready to strike. - The war has been going on for years… many many years… and all the… goblins... in the continent are fighting, my friends count with me to fight, so they surely will come looking for us and they are many, so you better release us...-

  -Understood – again that flat and eerie voice, Nidia wondered for the first time how much time has this particular loon has been isolated, and better yet how much of a fool it was, ignoring the war was a feat on it itself, but confusing a pair of half-alvs with goblins was beyond possible, the only possible explanation was that this particular wizard came all the way from Kaleside, riding at night, blindfolded…that or was so out of his gourd that not even the very clear lack of horns or the odd matching in eye and hair colours (a mate shade of honey) were enough to give them away…

  Something to work with at last… this war affair seems to be pretty big – What Is A War? Why Is Fighting Involved? - try as I may be, I do not have memories of war… must be stored out of my reach, if every goblin is participating, then it ought to be important, but why? The little information at my disposal suggests that goblins do not form large groupings… tribes are called?

…

  There is something odd with sample A, it has been silent and still, there is no sign of distress nor its biological responses have changed, its just as if its gone dormant, very much like I was… I wonder if another power infusion will help or make things wor… An alert!