Burning Nile Scene 01

Sabra gets close to Ipwet's ear. We should leave. This is turning ugly.

He turns to go but is pressed in on all sides by the mob. They push and shove at him now that Adom has indicated them as his compatriots. Knowing humans to be simple creatures, he begins to sing to them. Yet, even as one would have compassion for an animal caught in a trap, Sabra knows they have wounds that he can try to heal.

Ipwet has seem this kind of thing before. Mob mentality. It can be a great advantage when you're part of the mob, however I don't think I like being on the receiving end... What? Is that damn fool of an elf SINGING again?! He better thank me for this! Ipwet grabs Sabra's collar and starts dragging him towards the closest way through the throng: her Mill's front door.

"Adom, Tefri, this way if you don't want to be smashed underfoot!"

Ipwet is going to start shoving her way through the mass to get back inside her Mill, using threats and intimidation if necessary at first.

Tefri looks up at Ipwet and nods. He grabs his master firmly by the arm and shoulder and tries his best to "assist" him forcefully to follow Ipwet.

Adom watches helplessly as the crowd's mood turns ugly. He doesn't seem to comprehend the idea that it hasn't worked. When Tefri lays hands on him, there is an instant where a bright, flashing anger rises up in him that a slave would dare touch to do such a thing. It disappears as soon as it manifests as he realizes what the man is doing.

His eyes lock on the other bloody corpse lying in the street, unblessed, and now disappearing among the feet of the angry crowd. A strangled cry escapes his lips and he vows to pray for the spirit that had passed through him and rejected his call just moments before. It finally breaks through to his mind that he had failed, and that he is in grave danger. He lets himself be dragged off as his heart sinks.

With Tefri's assistance and each of then towing the other half of their group, Ipwet begins forcefully shouldering her way through the mob, at this point not caring if she ends up injuring any of them.

It is hard to forget how temperamental you are but even so, that rabble was especially mercurial. If you had let me finish my song, I would have subdued them. Sabra looks to Ipwet.

It is unfortunate that you have not been able to put the pieces together. That symbol, the Elven spirit, these are signs that the God Queen has disturbed the journey of the souls to the West. I did not study their heraldry as much as others of my land did but I can tell you this, this transgression upon my people's final rest will not be overlooked...

Sabra is letting the blood rush to his head from the exhilaration of battle and he can see eyebrows raising from these humans here. ...for...for it is a bad sign for the harvest. Ill omens are afoot when hungry spirits roam. Why have we gathered if not to make sure these omens are put to rest? I for one have fields that lie fallow that will not sprout seed. While I am but a simple elf, surely the efforts of the human farmers fair no better.

"No need to thank me by the way! I only just saved all your sorry asses..."

Ipwet's eyebrows are definitely one of those raised at Sabra's lofty words. "Simple elf... Sure... Say what you will but I see nothing simple about you. Do not think just because we have more pressing matters to attend to that I will pretend your 'singing' was so simple. Let's also not forget that if you finished your 'song' or whatever that was the three of us would have just as likely been subdued and left with the mob while you made your escape." She motions to include Adom and Tefri.

Ipwet walks to the small window by the front door checking to make sure the crowd has indeed moved on, then begins to barricade the door anyways, moving empty boxes and idle milling equipment up against the entryway. As she finishes Ipwet drops her head, her back to the group and slumps for a long moment. When she finally straightens her back and turns around, her mood seems less... argumentative. Like she has accepted this group and the fact that they are companions in this, unwilling as they all may be.

"Anyway, we shouldn't stay here too long. I have an exit at the rear of the building out into the alleyway. The real question is; where do we go from here? As much as I hate to admit it, it looks like we are stuck together for the time being until we can find out what in the afterlife is going on and how to stop it.

Adom lets himself be dragged inside and tries to sort through his feelings as the others talk.

He had failed utterly. His cries to the spirits of the departed had not simply gone unheeded, they had called down their hatred upon himself. The chill in his bones still lingers, and the breath he had used to try to calm the crowd has not yet returned to him. The crowd had turned on him as well. The bedrock of his faith had been tested, and he had been found wanting.

As he leans against the door behind him, he looks over at Tefri who is standing nearby, still with a shoulder under Adom's arm. Adom withdraws his arm from the man with a grunt, but it is the priest who lowers his eyes to the ground as he does so. The man had thrown himself into the teeth of the crowd to give Adom time to finish the rites over the dead woman. The priest would have one spirit on his conscience rather than two, and it was thanks to the sl... this man. And without hesitation... Tefri... had dragged him to safety. He mutters a low "thank you" to Tefri low enough that only the sl... the man himself can hear him.

Sabra's diatribe brings his attention to the elf. There is a heft to his words as he speaks them that tells of a great weight upon his soul. And what he says makes a certain amount of sense. There had been something strange about the spirits that had spoken to him as he had made his clandestine preparations before the consecration of the tomb's foundation. If it was true that the spirits of the dead here were not all men, what agendas might they have lingering after their descent into the underworld? It is a profoundly disturbing thought. The dead have always simply been the dead for Adom, but the thought that there could be spirits and spirits of some other sort is... not something he is prepared to accept lightly. Whatever that rampaging thing had been, it had been real enough to take the lives of innocent people in the street.

He opens his mouth to comment upon Sabra's claim to being a "simple elf" when Ipwet makes it for him. The woman, though clearly of an inferior social status, breeding, and upbringing, was... refreshingly direct. It was a strange thought for him. Normally that sort of bluntness would simply get someone killed, or make enough enemies to ensure that they would live a life devoid of prospects for advancement. And he supposes that given her current situation, she has dug this hole for herself. But as much as he enjoys the games of fanciful speech and fencing with words and hidden meanings, it is exhausting, and leaves you paranoid at times. Finding himself giving in to the temptation to drop his guard, and the pretenses, himself, if only for a moment, he looks at the three of them and says "We all knew the moment we came together that this would not be easy. I have been... unkind to each of you. I do not apologize for my opinions, but you have proven several wrong already and I anticipate you will yet do the same with more of them. Tefri, amongst ourselves, act as you see fit. I owe you my life as much as Sabra and Ipwet." He gives the man a solemn nod.

Turning to Sabra and Ipwet, he says "I do not yet know where we stand. But each of you acted without thought to keep the innocent from meeting the Lord of the underworld before their time. And you did the same for me, when I had given you no reason to love me." He looks down at his hands. "I... do not know what to do. But if we can learn more about who or what that thing out there represented, we may be able to track down the problem. I have no special love for elves... but I do not hate them, Sabra. I do not hate you. And... if the Lord of the underworld is the keeper of the souls of your people as well, then it is my duty to see that they go to their long deserved rest undisturbed. Even... even if that means..." The sentence trails off. He is unwilling to finish the thought.

Surprised to hear Adom's shift in tone, Tefri looks up and meets his master's eyes and for the first time ever does not avert his gaze. Surely the priest fakes this show of unity to gain the trust of the elf and miller. As long as it benefits me and gets me closer to my wife, I can play this game. Few are better trained in pretending to care for someone of higher station than a house slave. Besides, this odd pair seem better able to keep this man alive than I am.

Tefri returns Adom's nod, "You are wise and merciful. Thank you, Master Adom."

Ipwet appears visibly uncomfortable by the priest's words. Once he starts giving her actual direct *praise* she turns and walks a few steps away, unwilling to give eye contact. "Yes, well... It was simply my duty to protect you as guests in my mill. Just don't expect me to start getting all weepy and sharing my inner feelings now that you've had this revelation." She looks over her shoulder back towards the group, "But I suppose you three did at least attempt to put up a fight against that... *thing*, whatever that was. I guess it wouldn't be so bad to have you guys at my back when the dung hits the wall, so to speak. That singing thing still creeps me out though, Farmer."

All elves sing. It is a way of life for us. I would not have grains to sell you if it were not for the songs of harvest. I am not so trusting of your words, priest. I have seen four generations of your people walk the earth since I was born of the moon and stars. I know you to be fickle creatures that will say what you need to get what you want. Even so, I shall enjoy your fealty while it lasts. That driver was no elf. The chariot had symbols of my people but I saw his face. I was confused and concerned but glad though that none of my kin have come back from the West.