Something distracted us before we could decide whether to chase the rat-man or allow him to bring us more vermin to kill. There was an audible hum in the room, and a glow of bright white light. Suddenly before us was some kind of wizard. This human man, possessing white hair but seemingly young, stood with a staff and white robes. I instinctively sensed a threat, and drew my blade, but then for some reason I sensed that he was all right. It wasn’t until later that I suspected magic in my sudden change of opinion.
The man introduced himself. He was Brother Michael, servant of the White Hand, and he was here by mistake. There had been an accident in some place called Pitzburk, sending him here. I knew Wol Sog had already begun considering the uses of such technology. While he spoke, I approached him and sniffed, wanting to memorize his scent.
Brother Michael spoke far too much, and no less after we became acquainted. White Hand blah blah creation blah blah disciplines blah blah order. And he accused us of being boring! I said nothing to him, for Treylin was happy to do the job. Michael seemed to want only to get fat and drunk, a goal that interested none of the rest of us, especially me. His audacity to insult our way of life after barely meeting us spoke as much of his personality as I ever cared to learn. I would tolerate him as long as the others did, but should my blade come to strike him, I would enjoy it.
We drove to the towers at the center of Cedar City. They seemed to be just as ravaged as the rest of town: Windows broken, fire damage, chunks of wall broken off. Kali tried to climb the wall but failed, and while the others mocked his attempt, I understood his instinct. We avoided some wrecked vehicles and went inside, each exploring on their own. I found two large bathrooms, side by side, but they had no water. I took the opportunity to clean myself in the wall mirror; my fur had become matted. There were no scents or tracks in this building, only a generally musty smell. Across the hall I found a dining hall with a stage. There were numerous skeletons, none of which intrigued me enough to investigate further. Cedar City was becoming redundant and boring.
The group turned their minds to providing power again. Simon recommended the library. His stuttering began to work Tom and Kali, who suspected he was running low on power. None of our D batteries worked, confirming my suspicions about their nature. Imoen and I investigated the library while the others drove off, probably at Wol Sog’s insistence. We found some ancient books, all useless to me, but I did find a fake person. This human woman appeared when I stood in one spot, and spoke to me, but she was clearly not there. It seemed like a holosuite again. Imoen and I learned the location of the power station from this woman, and rejoined the others with a plan to go there. |
