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lantairvlea"No tongue for the sharp food," Beuskana added.
"There are some that don't burn so much, but really, the hotter the better," Thelus said.
"What are they called?" Sray asked. "I've never heard the Ela'yan word for them."
"I call them awful," Ottlin said. "Forn thought it was funny the first time I ate with them. I think I drank a full gallon of milk before my mouth stopped burning!"
"Your face was priceless, though," Forentel said.
"We call them peppers," Ientel offered, more helpful than the other two. "Some of them are a lot hotter than the ground peppercorns that are commonly used to flavor food here."
---
"It will be a long time before I would consider teaching insults," Sray replied.
"Maybe so, but my brother won't know the difference. If I use a grumpy tone he would assume."
"Not many can anymore." I think Ieshan still speaks some of the old Lunaisan language.
---
If it wouldn’t ruin their chances, she could just burn the whole thing down. She couldn’t feel anyone on the other side. She had Thelus set a boundary within the door and then Sray placed her hands on the wood, heating the thick, dense wood. It darkened and cracked, letting out soft hisses as small flames flashed and parts glowed red before ultimately crumpling to ash.
She cooled the ashes and charcoal that remained so they could pass through. She pushed it aside with her foot and ducked through the low opening. Thelus removed the construct and followed her through.
Sray slipped off her shoes, holding them in hand, and shifted into her natural form to take advantage of the heightened vision, smell, and hearing it offered. The entry hall was empty. She moved down the first hallway on the right. Mishor had managed to acquire a set of plans for Domman and there were two likely places they could be keeping Kallon. Thelus was right behind her and they moved swiftly and silently through the dark hallways. Sray felt beyond the closed doors of various empty classrooms. There were only a handful sleeping in the second story above the classrooms. The school was nearly empty, most everyone had a home to go to during the break that started that morning.
At each intersection Sray would pause and feel for anyone down the intersecting hallway. They moved past the central gathering hall and reached the library at the far end of the building. One of the doors was open, spreading a dim, flickering light that faded into the hall and failed to reach the far wall. A pair of late-night researchers sat hunched over their books, lamps glowing warmly beside them. They hugged the wall and slipped past unnoticed.
They passed two more crossings before Sray stopped short.
Thelus tapped her shoulder and then signed “how many?”
She shook her head and felt down the hall There was a single person and a warm light source down the next hall. She then held up one finger. She shifted back into her human form and slid her shoes back on before peeking around the corner. The figure was illuminated by a single gas lamp high on the wall. She couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman, but it was slumped in the chair. That would make things easier. She loosened the neck of the small bag in her pocket and fingered the contents. She walked quietly up to the dozing man, Thelus following close behind. Sray pulled out the syringe and Thelus stood on the other side of the man.
“On three,” he signed. The signing language he had learned in the Mekhdae’an military was coming in handy here. He held up his hand with one finger, closed his fist and presented two, and repeated the gesture, briefly presenting three fingers before shoving his hand over the man’s face and locking the man’s arm down with his other arm across the man’s body. Sray shoved the needle in the man’s upper arm and depressed the plunger. The man jerked awake and tried to yell through Thelus’ hand. It was muffled, too quiet to be heard. The man jerked unsuccessfully against Thelus’ grip a few times before his eyelids fluttered and his movements slowed before he went completely limp.
The door he was supposed to be guarding was locked. Sray fished in the man’s pockets and found a key. It unlocked the door and they slipped quietly through it, locking it again behind them. Thelus claimed the key and slid it into his vest pocket.
---
Thelus quietly removed the man from the chair and placed him sprawled along the upper stairs, more carefully than the man deserved, but they didn’t want to make any noise they didn’t have to. Thelus reclaimed the key, shut the door and locked it. He further secured it behind them with another construct seal.
They shuffled along in silence. Kallon made it to the first turn before his grip on Sray’s shoulder suddenly let go and she staggered to keep them both upright as he became dead weight. Thelus took hold of Kallon’s right arm and prevented both of them from going down.
“I can carry him,” Thelus offered.
Sray hesitated. There was no way to tell how long Kallon would be unconscious again or how he would react if he woke up being carried by a man he didn’t know. She remembered her own exhaustion after the fire. They needed to get out of here faster and Thelus would be able to go faster carrying Kallon than she could.
“Yes, let’s get moving again.”
Thelus pulled Kallon up and across his shoulders and they were off again, Sray walking beside him, close to Kallon’s head.
"There are some that don't burn so much, but really, the hotter the better," Thelus said.
"What are they called?" Sray asked. "I've never heard the Ela'yan word for them."
"I call them awful," Ottlin said. "Forn thought it was funny the first time I ate with them. I think I drank a full gallon of milk before my mouth stopped burning!"
"Your face was priceless, though," Forentel said.
"We call them peppers," Ientel offered, more helpful than the other two. "Some of them are a lot hotter than the ground peppercorns that are commonly used to flavor food here."
---
"It will be a long time before I would consider teaching insults," Sray replied.
"Maybe so, but my brother won't know the difference. If I use a grumpy tone he would assume."
"Not many can anymore." I think Ieshan still speaks some of the old Lunaisan language.
---
If it wouldn’t ruin their chances, she could just burn the whole thing down. She couldn’t feel anyone on the other side. She had Thelus set a boundary within the door and then Sray placed her hands on the wood, heating the thick, dense wood. It darkened and cracked, letting out soft hisses as small flames flashed and parts glowed red before ultimately crumpling to ash.
She cooled the ashes and charcoal that remained so they could pass through. She pushed it aside with her foot and ducked through the low opening. Thelus removed the construct and followed her through.
Sray slipped off her shoes, holding them in hand, and shifted into her natural form to take advantage of the heightened vision, smell, and hearing it offered. The entry hall was empty. She moved down the first hallway on the right. Mishor had managed to acquire a set of plans for Domman and there were two likely places they could be keeping Kallon. Thelus was right behind her and they moved swiftly and silently through the dark hallways. Sray felt beyond the closed doors of various empty classrooms. There were only a handful sleeping in the second story above the classrooms. The school was nearly empty, most everyone had a home to go to during the break that started that morning.
At each intersection Sray would pause and feel for anyone down the intersecting hallway. They moved past the central gathering hall and reached the library at the far end of the building. One of the doors was open, spreading a dim, flickering light that faded into the hall and failed to reach the far wall. A pair of late-night researchers sat hunched over their books, lamps glowing warmly beside them. They hugged the wall and slipped past unnoticed.
They passed two more crossings before Sray stopped short.
Thelus tapped her shoulder and then signed “how many?”
She shook her head and felt down the hall There was a single person and a warm light source down the next hall. She then held up one finger. She shifted back into her human form and slid her shoes back on before peeking around the corner. The figure was illuminated by a single gas lamp high on the wall. She couldn’t tell if it was a man or woman, but it was slumped in the chair. That would make things easier. She loosened the neck of the small bag in her pocket and fingered the contents. She walked quietly up to the dozing man, Thelus following close behind. Sray pulled out the syringe and Thelus stood on the other side of the man.
“On three,” he signed. The signing language he had learned in the Mekhdae’an military was coming in handy here. He held up his hand with one finger, closed his fist and presented two, and repeated the gesture, briefly presenting three fingers before shoving his hand over the man’s face and locking the man’s arm down with his other arm across the man’s body. Sray shoved the needle in the man’s upper arm and depressed the plunger. The man jerked awake and tried to yell through Thelus’ hand. It was muffled, too quiet to be heard. The man jerked unsuccessfully against Thelus’ grip a few times before his eyelids fluttered and his movements slowed before he went completely limp.
The door he was supposed to be guarding was locked. Sray fished in the man’s pockets and found a key. It unlocked the door and they slipped quietly through it, locking it again behind them. Thelus claimed the key and slid it into his vest pocket.
---
Thelus quietly removed the man from the chair and placed him sprawled along the upper stairs, more carefully than the man deserved, but they didn’t want to make any noise they didn’t have to. Thelus reclaimed the key, shut the door and locked it. He further secured it behind them with another construct seal.
They shuffled along in silence. Kallon made it to the first turn before his grip on Sray’s shoulder suddenly let go and she staggered to keep them both upright as he became dead weight. Thelus took hold of Kallon’s right arm and prevented both of them from going down.
“I can carry him,” Thelus offered.
Sray hesitated. There was no way to tell how long Kallon would be unconscious again or how he would react if he woke up being carried by a man he didn’t know. She remembered her own exhaustion after the fire. They needed to get out of here faster and Thelus would be able to go faster carrying Kallon than she could.
“Yes, let’s get moving again.”
Thelus pulled Kallon up and across his shoulders and they were off again, Sray walking beside him, close to Kallon’s head.
