Scene 2 - On the hunt for Torbern

Diginus follows Fenwick's lead through the woods, always on the lookout for danger. "Tell me about your master, Fenwick."

Fenwick plods along, ignoring the chattering toy. He fiddles with the stone for a while and tries to get into the rhythm of the trail. He decides that they should take trails instead of the road, knowing that avoiding people is always easier for him. As he enters the treeline, his shoulders relax instinctively. He breathes in the scent of the wilderness and allows his senses to expand around him. In his head he hears an echo "about your master, Fenwick." He struggles with the echo for awhile before realizing that Dignius had asked him.

He turns and, still walking, meets Dignius', er, eye slot thing. "Master Hirstuit the Alchemist. He was powerful mage but did little things for friends. He finded Fenwick in the woods and fed him and took him home. He taught Fenwick mighty magics but made Fenwick fetch and carry always." He pauses and turns his eyes back to the invisible trail he is following. "He died. Chimera says he dids it. Fenwick thought... well, Fenwick glad he no have to fetch and carry stupid things for master, but Fenwick wish master were here."

His voice drops. "Everyone leaves Fenwick. Master leaves, Torbern leaves, stupid Dignius will leave. But Fenwick will show them, he will show them who is powerful and then theys will be sorry they left him."

"I'm not going to leave you, Fenwick. Unless we can find Torbern and Teasel, you and Coco are my only friends in the world now. It's a terribly big world. I suspect I'll need friends now that my master is really gone."

A creature of the forest, Fenwick slides through the brush following nearly indiscernible rodent trails. For the first little while, his concentration is mainly on Torbern's elbow, watching for any sudden changes in the small rock. Subconsciously, he hears the tiny automaton clank and grinding behind him, eventually growing fainter as the creature falls behind. As the unnatural creation gets farther from him, the small animals of the forest near Fenwick no longer fear a predator and begin to make noises again. This catches his attention.

He returns a surprising distance and finds Dignius pulling a small branch out of his gearworks, and contemplating a long walk along a narrow, spindly branch across a small gorge. While he is uncertain on how to read the expressions on the metal figurine, he imagines that the being is frustrated by the lack of path. Fenwick holds out the small rock and guiltily says "Would Dignius like to hold Torbern's elbow?" in a gesture of good faith.

They continue on, with Fenwick trying to pick easier routes for the two of them, until they come to a road. Traveling along the road is a merchants caravan. Fenwick knows from experience that humans are rarely as charitable as Sarah was to him, and to strange creatures like Torbern. His eyes flick to the stone in Dignius' hand and feels that they need to dart across through the traffic before Torbern gets even further away.

Diginus studies the road as Fenwick pauses. Getting around obstacles is easy for a portal mage like himself, but he needs to see where he's going. As it is, the caravan is raising so much dust it's hard to see the other side of the road. Diginus decides some ingenuity is needed. The little automaton concentrates on one of the wagons passing by. It is a blacksmith's wagon, pulled by two strong aurochs, loaded with plenty of iron and steel. Feeling a little sorry for the unlucky blacksmith, Diginus sends the metal straight up into the air and crashing back down on the wagon, breaking its axles. The caravan creaks to a halt and there is confusion everywhere. As the dust settles the two familiars are able to see the other side of the road. Diginus grabs Fenwick's arm and teleports them across.