Strohe and I, now fully packed, make our way to Tedaz's room. The man is pacing back and forth.
"Hello Strohe, hello Reudh. Have I mentioned how this place makes me feel antsy? It's too... clean. I long to feel dirt beneath my feet. The feel of bareness on the soles of my feet... as a dwarf, surely you can empathise? One was not meant to live indoors for too long."
Now that he mentions it, I miss Spearbreakers all the more. I realise it will be dangerous to go home, but I must.
"Yes, I do miss the feel of soil and stone. Anyway, Tedaz, I have a question. Would you like to go home? Visit Allelide and Ceshcacil? Strohe wishes to return, and so do I. Though I dearly love Vanya, I have accepted she does not love me the same way. I fear Spearbreakers is dying in my absence, too - not that I was a good overseer, but the mind leaps to conclusions."
Tedaz sits down on his bunk. "Yes, I would love to. I want to see my Rushan and my Leto again. I have not seen them in far too long. Shall we visit Lurit before we go?"
We all agree that that's a good idea, and wait outside while Tedaz packs his belongings and a handgun.
Strohe bounds along like a child enjoying being alive, while Tedaz and I walk more calmly. We find Lurit's hospital ward and are allowed in.
The hearty Lasher is looking much better for his treatment in here. He has a bionic eye that replaced his old one, torn out in battle with Ballpoint, and an oddly primitive looking prosthesis on his leg-stump.
"Reudh! The whole gang too! How are you all? Good to see you all looking so fit! Check out my cool new body parts."
He easily hops up out of bed and springs onto the hospital floor. The prosthesis, despite being little more than a metal hook on a spring making a crude facsimile of a foot, leg and quad seems to function pretty well.
Lurit bounces up and down a few times, then flinches.
"Whoops! I'm not quite up to being that strenuous yet. But hey, when I'm better, lock up yer daughters!"
We all laugh, and Lurit sits back down, stretching a little bit.
"You're all here, so you must have something to say! Go on, go on! I'm sure you'll be better sitting down." He motions to the chairs sunk into the wall.
I begin, of course. It's my place now, while I never thought I would be the 'leader' of a group, growing up I was barely a sidekick!
"Lurit, old friend! I've been meaning to leave Parasol to go home, at least temporarily. Strohe and Tedaz want to return home too. Tedaz has his wife and child, and Strohe... Strohe wants to return for no reason but he misses home. What of you?"
Lurit's face falls, and he seems less pleased than normal.
"Ah, fooey. If you want to leave me here, do so. But be quick about it. Hate for me to get attached to you all. Return soon, though, okay? Don't leave me here with the robots."
Strohe jumps over to Lurit and shakes his hand vigorously, before clasping Lurit to him and doing some kind of hyper-masculine hug. He says something I can't quite hear to Lurit, then backs away, smiling, hands behind his back. Tedaz presents Lurit with a medium sized box, then gives him the same kind of hug.
"Open it later. It's something you'll really like. I've held onto this for a while, got it commissioned a while back," he says.
Lurit laughs. "I'll open it here, that way I can see what it is!"
He tore open the box like a child with a gift, to reveal ornamental dress fatigues emblazoned with 'Natives of Everoc'. Below the fatigues, a long whip made up of intricately linked steel, with tiny caltrop-like eminences on each link, two cavalry sabres, one of the finest dwarven steel, and another of the just-as-good human-made folded steel. There was also a shield, of Parasol make: a lightweight riot shield made of strong bulletproof plastic and aluminum.
The old lasher beamed profusely and shook Tedaz's hand so hard he risked shaking it off.
I stepped forward and handed him my PEA, with the note to Vanya on it.
"Lurit, I have no present for you, but could you give this to Vanya when next you see her? I cannot bear to face her."
"Of course, matey! But first, stay a while. I know I told you all to skedaddle, but have a drink, have some food. Nurse should be able to let me go to the mess hall."
He is cleared to leave for an hour, and we all have dinner in the communal mess hall. I don't see Vanya, but then again, that's good. I wouldn't be able to hold together if I saw her. She's probably having a meal with that nice girl Katie.
It's an uproariously fun time, and Lurit being the funny bugger that he is, we don't stop laughing. Of course, all good things come to an end. It's time to sleep, for tomorrow we actually leave. It'll be interesting to return home.
Poll
55 (71.4%)
Author
Topic: [34.11] Spearbreakers - It shudders and begins to move (Read 2191304 times)