Deus Ex Machinarium

Greoo squirmed and twisted uncomfortably in her chair. It wasn’t that the chair was in any way at fault. On the contrary, it was spacious, soft, and very much tailored for her. So much so one could claim she couldn’t even imagine anything more comfortable. Her discomfort wasn’t due to the piece of imaginary furniture she sat on, but entirely because she called upon a meeting in their mindspace. Despite only four other people sharing it with her, she didn’t appreciate being at the center of attention. Especially, since it was her initiative, it was up to her to accommodate her kin.

As usual, it was a library similar to their Sheridawnian establishment. Except here open flames in a brick fireplace eternally devoured a larch log. Something that Anh and Thernohh would not even consider in their shop due to mundane pyre hazard. Here, however, it was not an issue and the aroma of the burning wood was quite pleasant.

She invoked five oak and leather chairs and arranged them into a circle. Greeo, with her feminine abundance, sat on one of them. On her left, Tow was floating slightly above his seat with his legs crossed. His goatee and eyebrows were dyed pink, and to match, he wore a light gray robe, shimmering with glitter, embroidered with a pink thread and trimmed in the same color and hue. To his left, the chair was empty. Further in that direction, sat Birdekk, calmly, deep in the provided comforts and with his naked feet propped on a stool before him. The stool matched his chair.

Lastly, to Birdekk’s left and Greoo’s right, sat Anh. The dominant didn’t veer too much from what he would usually look, even his attire was closely matched by the clothing he wore on the very day, or for the last few. His skin glistened a little with a faint shimmer and a yellow halo surrounded his cranium.

-” Thernohh!” - shouted Greoo into the air - “Stop this ‘I’m too awesome for having a projection’ nonsense and emerge here. For all I care, you can be a golden shovel with horns, or whatever else. Just come.”

-” Shovel yourself. I’m here” - came an echoing, disembodied voice from just about anywhere.

-” Suit yourself” - sighed Greoo - ”I would prefer you to be here with all of us. I called for this meeting, as all of you can imagine, to discuss a matter with our dominant. To put it bluntly, what in the Vhirs’ motivations are we doing?”

-” We haven’t washed in a week. We stink. So does our employer.” - said Birdekk with disgust.

-” Have you noticed how worn his clothes have become over the last several days?” - echoed Thernohh - “He starts to look like a beggar.”

-” You are overstating it.”- commented Tow - ”He wears some of the finest and toughest clothing you could hope to tailor in Sheridawn. Some wash, iron, maybe a needle and string here and there and they are going to be good as new.”

-” I have to disagree. I saw some seams coming undone, rubbed through or ripped already.” - continued Thernohh with an annoyed tone.

Greoo sighed. Thernohh was stubborn at times, as one could expect from a twelve-year-old. There probably was no reason to continue arguing with her.

-” Maybe you’re right. I’ll pay more attention.” - it turned out that Tow thought so as well.

-” Can we focus on the purpose of this meeting?” - interrupted Greeo, bumping her fingertips on the armrest - “Anh. What are you trying to achieve? Continuing to follow this murderer?”

-” We, obviously, want to obtain more information about the Na-No-Forges” - Tow spoke calmly, with the tone of a seasoned and patient lecturer. Greoo squirmed in disapproval.

-” You ought to spell it in Kerrid, nanoforge, it makes it sound more authentic” - voiced Thernohh - “I want to continue on this escapade. This is fun. Exciting even.”

-” So do I” - added Tow - “for different reasons to Thernohh. But I do. I recognize that you...” - the tanai nodded at Greoo - ”...desire to turn back. To get all of us as far away from Brandt as possible. How about you, Birdekk?”

-” Our well-being is deteriorating. We stink, we are undereating. Slightly. But we do. We need a change of clothes. I don’t see this improving.” - Birdekk rubbed his nose – “I am greatly concerned for our common well-being. Ever since the ‘event’ we have been heading downhill. I’m torn between my curiosity and a need to be back home. In Sheridawn.”

Tow raised his hand slightly, denoting he wanted to speak.

-” I believe this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”- he said towards Birdekk -” Preliminary results are promising and Arneg knows what lies ahead. I say we can endure a few more weeks of hardship.”

-” Yes. I acknowledge the reasons we are continuing on our quest” - replied Birdekk.

-” This man is going to get us killed” - interjected Greoo - “ I already said this, and am convinced further and further. He is most definitely not who he claims to be.”

-” He, so far, has been very courteous towards us.” - replied Birdekk -” I find your previous concerns unfounded”.

Greoo squirmed in her chair, uneasy.

-” I don’t know how to properly say this” - she finally said, slowly, measuring her words - “ as I’m very well aware all of you are not going to take it seriously” - Birdekk nodded in understanding - “I might be wrong regarding Brandt’s motives, I’m not about his background. He is hiding some secret, identity, or something like that from us. Whether intentionally or not, I cannot tell.”

-” Are you implying maleficence?” - asked Tow.

-” No. Not at all.” - the woman quickly denied - “I think that we barely register as a person for him.”

-” What about it?” - continued Tow

-” I think, what Greoo is suggesting”- said Birdekk -” is that once he deems it necessary to sacrifice us, he will.”

-” Yes. Although I am more worried of us being caught between the hammer and an anvil on his behalf.” - exclaimed Greoo - “To underline this. We are now, presumably, chased by an Ordo operative. We might have skirted the encounter but we will be found. Eventually.”

-” And what do you suppose is going to happen then” - Thernohh’s voice came from above - “ I hope you’re not trying to suggest that he will throw us to the wolves and run. That is preposterous!”

-” Oh for Vhirs’ sake! Thernohh!” - Greoo threw her hands into the air, visibly frustrated - “ The longer we stay with this man, the more trouble we are going to be in. My main worry, as I already said, is us being caught in cross-swords between him and whatever problems we encounter. I suppose we can’t be in any more trouble than now. I certainly don’t want to be proven wrong.”

-” I agree.” - flatly said Birdekk -” I neither like where this is going.”

-” I agree, to an extent, that we are in a volatile situation.” - added Tow - “nonetheless. We are still going towards a unique research goal. The preliminary results also confirmed the hypothesis. We ought to continue,”

-” The rainbow fellow speaks the truth” - came the disembodied voice of Thernohh - “ So far, apart from mild discomfort, nothing substantially worrying happened. The only lesson here is to be aware of those arbitrary rules hoomin like so much.”

-” You mean ‘the law’” - Greoo hissed – “The codified conduct of mutual respect hoomin wish everyone was following. Yes. We ought to take note.”

Throughout the entire exchange, Anh sat in his chair and as the argument progressed, he seemed to sink deeper and deeper into it, seemingly pushed by the weight of the anxiety of being the dominant during the time of strife.

-” Anh!” - suddenly exclaimed Greoo -” You have been oddly silent.”

-” I’m just listening to all of you.” - he said reluctantly - ” and am considering the options.”

Greoo tilted her head and threw him a cunning grin.

-” What do you think of our situation here?”

Anh caressed his head with an opened palm, and in the process dispersed the halo above and disheveled his hair.

-” What precisely do you want to hear? Greoo? Apart from me agreeing with anything you say. In truth… apart from the hardships of our travels. I am enjoying this,...” - Anh, with a corner of his eye, noticed a hint of disapproval on his kin’s face - “...to a degree. As Tow said. We are getting results.”

-” So. Are we going to continue?” - calmly said the mentioned.

-”...and this is the part I resent.” - mumbled Anh -“ Whatever I decide, at least two of you are going to be upset. Which, as all of you can imagine, I’m not looking forward to.”

-” But you are the dominant one.” - commented Birdekk - “It is your decision to make. Should we continue, or should we attempt to break off?”

-” Hoomin won’t be able to describe us” - interjected Greoo - “all tanai look alike in their eyes. So once we are on the road. We should be free.”

-” Fair point. It is probably the reason why Ordo didn’t apprehend us right when he met us.”

-” How do I tell this to Mr. Zerster?”

-” You don’t have to” - shrugged Greoo - “Just leave in the night”.

Both Birdekk and Tow cringed in unison when they heard this.

-” Out of question! We already tried his trust once. It’s not something I want to live with.” - quickly shot Birdekk - “We need to tell him that we are out.”

-” Listen!” - angrily responded Greoo - “The man is not trustworthy. We don’t know how he will react. Besides, us breaking off would make his escape easier as well.”

-” It would also make meeting him accidentally in Sheridawn very awkward” - murmured Birdekk.

-” You are probably right.” - said Tow - “But it still is just a smidgen above straight up lying to him.”

-” Do you think I like it?!” - replied the woman - “No I don’t but It is the safest option.”

-” Out of the question. I won’t do anything dishonest to Zerster” - said Anh -” Despite everything, he was very fair to us all and I can argue that our panicking when Ksintsaxii arrived forced his hand.”

-” Your upstanding moral fiber is adorable.” - snickered Thernohh - “ I would be more bothered by our shop being, presumably, protected by his men. Coming back without Mr. Zerser might … be challenging to explain.”

Uneasy silence befell the library and it seemed that the lights dimmed a little bit, as all kinfolk started to weigh both Anh’s and Thernohh’s words. The space was filled with the crackling of the imaginary flames in the fireplace and the scent of larch.

-“ He is awfully good with that sword of his, isn’t he” - Thernohh finally broke the uneasy silence.

-” As it happens, I don’t recall him using it.” - flatly said Greoo - “he murdered everyone with either his bare hands or their own weapons.”

-” The more dangerous he is, right?” - continued Thernohh - “ Thus the best bodyguard we can get.”

-” Maybe. But his ‘Ordos are after us’ paranoia is not doing him any favors.”

-” Enough!” - interrupted Anh - “ what do you kin think is going to happen if we continue with him?”

-” I reckon” - said Birdekk - “ that we are going to get dragged through this mountainous excuse of a roa for however many kimers. Tow, how long will it take us to reach the second site?”

Tow nodded. A moment later a scroll appeared before him. The tanai stretched it, revealing a rough map of the region of Erenden Mountains, and then started to trace things upon it.

-“ While Tow is searching for the answer. Thernohh. Your opinion?”

She didn’t answer right away.

-” Well. Since you are asking. We are where we are. Again, we certainly panicked when we saw that templar in Kaar Erd. Which, to be honest, is the most unimaginative town name I ever heard. Anyhow. We don’t know for certain what was his business there. Him having horses we stole on tow is a clue he is after us.”

-” Yes. I agree.” - commented Birdekk – “ Brandt’s insistence on this escapade is wholly justified”

-” Three weeks” - Tow provided his answer - ” It will take us about three weeks to reach the second site. Provided some infrastructure is present. Like - roads.”

-” Roads might be in short supply in the Wildlands” - snickered Thernohh.

-” Duly noted” - shrugged Tow - “ make that six weeks.”

Anh lowered his head and engrossed himself in thought. After a while, he looked around, at his kinfolk and started speaking inquisitively.

-” Let me recoup. We have about six weeks before this ends if we move with Vhirs’ allowance and Arneg's act. Then, let’s say three weeks before we return to civilization.” - everyone, who had a head present, nodded in confirmation -” there may, or may not be a functionary of the Ordo Pro Cvirsi after us. We don’t have a confirmation, but we agree it is trivially likely true. What we do know is that we are short on supplies and we are with Brandt Zerster. A hunter, fighter, trapper, and outdoorsman with many survival talents. And a banker with an expressed fear of the Church. The last is an inclination we, to an extent, share with him.” - Anh puckered his lips and blinked his eyes a few times, engrossed in a thought - “I say we continue. I don’t see this getting any worse.”

Greoo was not happy. She lowered her head and sighed heavily.

-” Fine.” - she just said and dispersed her image into the air.

Tow just nodded in approval and also disappeared.

-” I will continue to have reservations.” - calmly said Birdekk - “ but I understand that making choices is difficult for the dominant. I will fully support you.”

-” Thank you.”

Birdekk also nodded and not a moment later was gone.

Anh sat in his chair for a triskol, maybe two. He stared absentmindedly at the bookshelves before him, reminiscing and not being aware whether Thernohh was still with him. After a while, content that he was alone, he also decided to follow his kinfolk and allowed himself to disperse.