ML: Utarchus's page

"Hey. I'm s'posed t' be watchin' now, but I wanted t' tell you. Th' guard on th' wath afore me saw Dashki sneak off into th' night, early on. Told me about it, so I was lookin' f'r him t' come back. Almost missed it, he's a sly one. Looked like he didn' want nobody seein' him, inside or outside, if y' get m' meanin'. All told, he was gone a few hours. He--" The mercenary breaks off at the sound of the rest of the party approaching, and says more loudly, "So good luck t'day. Kills a few gnolls f'r me, will ye?" and good-naturedly cuffs Valik on the arm before heading back up to the chapel balcony to watch.

One by one, the mercenaries start to laugh, until the courtyard rings with their hilarity. Utarchus claps Felliped on the shoulder, heedless of the sunburn. "Hahaha! Drank th' cactus water! That cactus is all pesh, boy!"

Utarchus holds up his longbow and nocks an arrow in silent confirmation as he ducks back into the shadows of the covered walkway.

More later tonight, I hope. Internet has been slow/nonfunctional at home, and I've only been able to stop in at the office for a few minutes.

Utarchus glares at Valik for a few seconds, then turns away. A few seconds later, he speaks again. "We was throwin' water at th' fire. Burnin' beam broke off th' wagon, fell towards us. Next think I knew, I was lyin' on a cot, barely alive, an' Kallien in th' next cot, not alive 't all. Everyone talkin' about what a hero you was, savin' card-man, no-one carin' 'bout--"

His words are cut off by a long, piercing shriek from the sky above. The two look up, and see a bird circling down, clutching something in its claws. It's hard to tell exactly how high up it is, so it's hard to get a sense of scale, but it certainly seems to be large.

"Yer the big hero then, are ye? Saved the card-man from the flames, killed them gremlins, all that?" He wrinkles up his nose and turns away. "Don' look too tough t' me, y' don't. Big hero, hmm, but y' din't save m' sister, Kallien, nor me neither. Came too late f'r that." He squats down in the shade at the edge of the courtyard, his bow held lightly in one hand, not looking at Valik.

I doubt anyone noticed, but I referred to one of Almah's guards as Utarchus earlier. That was a mistake, the guard's name is Vodrave. This guy is actually Utarchus.