In this environment, Zackley was in the lead whether he was guiding Zallus or not. He was so far ahead, in fact, that once Zallus lost sight of him, he realized that he could no longer hear him, either. Picking what seemed like a good direction, Zallus continued on alone, walking and taking forks at random for several minutes. Seeing a clearing ahead, he ran, stumbling, forward, but then, hearing yelling, he slowed and stopped at the canopy shadow's edge and listened.
Of course, the resulting sound was as unintelligible as Zackley had been upon waking. However, assuming that the language, like any Zallus had heard, carried an emotion context in its tone, someone was about to give, and someone receive, something very painful. Zallus stepped out of the brush and slipped quickly between the two voices, now visibly men in their mid-twenties, trying to ascertain which to protect from which, if either even wanted such a thing.
The answer came sharply to Zallus' left eye, and then heavily to his shoulder. Wincing, he fell onto the ground, rolling roughly in the dirt to look back at the other man, now clearly terrified. The aggressor, a tall, thin man in what looked formal and spangled enough to be some sort of uniform, stepped over Zallus and immediately drove his knee into the other's stomach. He fell onto the ground and cried out something that was clearly not speech, no matter the kind. The tall man, now smiling sadistically, pulled out a small, thin cylinder from which telescoped a long, curled, and very sharp-looking blade. He said a short word, and then pulled the blade back in the air behind him, curling the blade down with a secondary, hair trigger.
It was then, Zallus realized, that Zackley had his answer. Before Zallus was a man that was now on fire from well-groomed hair to polished boots, rolling on the dirt and vying desperately for the wet grass in the shaded wood. Oddly, the man looked to have enough experience at this activity that he had achieved quite some skill at it, and was proceeding about it methodically enough that Zallus had no concern over potential damage to the man. Instead, he motioned for the other, downed fellow to follow him, and crawled—slightly awkward with one closed eye—toward the other side of the clearing, the darkness of the forest now inviting and soothing for what he assumed would soon be a headache.
Safely re-enclosed in darkness, Zallus turned to watch the other man's slow progress toward him and stretch his slightly wrenched arm. Looking more closely, the man
appeared more youthful than Zallus had first thought—he could be, at most, 18. The boy, then—for that was what he was—approached Zallus smiling through whatever pain his posture hinted at. He gave a hushed squeak of appreciation, to which Zallus simply shook his head. Zallus returned English?
but the boy, then, shook his. With this mutual understanding in place, Zallus and the boy each stood up slowly and walked further into the forest.
Luckily, perhaps, Zackley was waiting only a minute further away. He was happy to see Zallus appear out of the trees, but seemed relieved, not surprised, when the smiling boy followed. When did you two run into one another? Ehm, I think…
Zackley said something to the boy, who replied excitedly. Zackley smirked and nodded.
Zallus, this is Tope. Well, his name isn't really important, because you can't really talk to him… but you can refer to him, I guess. Anyway, he told me what happened. He's very thankful for your stepping in, but says that it was more of a random act of nature that finally did the guy in; he's guessing the guy had some sort of explosive that accidentally went off, just as he was about to put his sword through him…
Zackley stopped and just grinned at Zallus, wide and intense.
Zallus affirmed Zackley's suspicion with a sideways smile and a roll of the eyes, but then changed his expression to concern. Who was that guy? Did he know you guys?
Zackley's smile faded as well. He's a local. Accountant or something. It doesn't matter; there are many people who act to us that way.
Us?
Tope and I, and others. I told you I make things, and grow things, but I did not tell you what I do to work. Me, Tope, all of us, we are what Pearl
Adventurers
calls. I do not know the meaning of that word, but sheit is a good thing to be
says.
Yeah, I suppose it is,
Zallus said, raising an eyebrow, and looking mildly goofy in the process due to the recent swelling of the eye under it. How is
adventuring
a job description, though? Does someone pay you for it? Or, rather, I suppose they wouldn't, since nobody gets paid for anything. And how does that work, anyway? What encourages people to work?
Too many questions, Mr. Zallus! They all kind of have the same answer, though, and so does the question you asked before, of who the violent man was.
Adventurer
is not a valid job description, at least according to the U.G.. An adventurer is someone who finds what they need and want in places it is no longer of importance to anyone. The U.G. says that that is not productive to other people, even though we don't take any of the U.G.'s resources, either. Apparently, just living on a U.G. planet is stealing from them.
Zackley's face was starting to redden at this point, and his neck became visibly varicose. He raced through the next part of what was quickly becoming a rant, and obviously one he had expelled before. Equus is not even the U.G.'s planet! It is pieces of other planets—independent planets!—that those places have given to the U.G., people and all, to stitch together. But the U.G. acts like they own it; like all its inhabitants are U.G. citizens! Most of them didn't even want to be given away; they were just living on the wrong continent at the same time!
Zackley was steaming. Zallus tried to reply, calmly and soft, this sounds personal to you, Zackley; were you on one of the planets you're talking about?
No. The friends I've made here, though—Tope, for example, but almost all the members—have all decided that the U.G. is not a good judge of people, and that there are better ways to spend time than trying to fit into the U.G.'s society.
Members of…?
The
Adventurer's Guild!
Again, Pearl's name, though everyone likes it. It's where we're going right now.
And that's where we'll meet Pearl, then? I'm assuming she's a member of this guild, too, if she named it and everything….
Uhm, yes, you could say that. The guild house is where we have to go if we want to see Pearl, though it might not be… right away….
Zackley's usually meek demeanor had returned at this point. Zallus smiled and pointed to Tope, who was sitting a few seconds away, awaiting the end of the conversation with amusement. Behind him there seemed to be light streaming into the brush. Zackley turned slowly to look, then, hanging down his head, he laughed quietly to himself and ran to join him. The forest ends here,
he said, and we're only a few minutes from Mith, now. Follow, Mr. Zallus.