Quinn looks around, hoping to find a way to disable the trap portion of the challenge, but cannot see a way. After all, she could easily just avoid the whole thing by walking around it.
However, her keen eyes notice something odd. There are no spy eyes in the hallway. The little floating devices were everywhere - looking behind her, she could see at least three. The people watching had excellent views of her successes, and near failures, so far. But in here, there was nothing.
Jibril looks into the bowl, and clearly sees two items. One is a small, leather-bound book, very thin. There are words scribed across the front in elven; it says Peace of Mind.
The half-elf feels a strange compulsion to look away, to ignore the item underneath the book. He easily defeats the effect, and focuses on it. He sees a silver handled mirror. It has many figures etched around the edge - Jibril can't see them all, but they include a rabbit, a spider, and several strange humanoid shapes - one seemingly made of flame, another of stone. The top of the mirror seems to have a sunshine and clouds etched on it.
He cocked his head, "So what did you find in that treasure bowl? Did you leave anything?"
Rex thought for a moment, but found his memories of the bowl a little bit blurry. "I think there was more stuff in there." Shrugging off the moment of self-doubt, he gestured to Jibril who was currently looking in the bowl. "Ask Jibril."
Jibril reached into the pool and tried to pull out the book and the mirror. Interesting, the mirror is etched with creatures Dun Can has called to his aid ... with the exception of the eagle he used to attack the archer in the city and the whiff of cloud just now. Jibril turned to Duncan and held out the silver handled mirror, "I think this is meant for you." He looked to where Quinn knelt out of sight then spent a little time flipping through the book He closed the book and listened for Quinn.
The book has only a dozen or so pages, but each one is a thick and smooth vellum. On the first page was a pencil sketch of a woman, and with a surprised glance, Jibril realized it was Quinn. Her face bore a look of intense concentration.
Beside her was a drawing of an ornate arrow. It pointed to where Quinn currently stood, behind the trapped wall.
The next page had a sketch of Duncan. His face bore an expression of unhappiness, and both his feet were coloured a very light red colour. Again, a drawing of an arrow pointed right at him.
Unsurprisingly, the next page held a drawing of Rex, looking neutral. His sketch was not coloured, the same as Quinns was. His arrow pointed at his physical self.
The next page was Khaddar. The image's eyes were closed and his face peaceful. His head was coloured a deep and vivid red. His arrow pointed back towards the market.
Elia and Ifanna were next. Again, both had eyes closed and looked peaceful. Elia's drawing was black and white, but Ifanna had a dark red wash all through her body.
Next was Ri'dwan. His face was creased in laughter, and his arrow was very very small, and pointed off to the west, where Jibril's home was.
"Um, guys? There's a body in here. I'm surprised no one has come for them. But there's no spyeyes in here so maybe they don't know."
She raised her voice so that those on the other side of the fence could hear her. "Timothy, is this one of yours?"
Seeing no possible way to disable the trap, Quinn has no choice but to try to get through.
The presence of the body had unnerved Quinn more than she would admit to herself. As she went to move she was shaking uncontrollably which caused her to touch one of the wires and trigger the trap.
Jibril stared at Ri'dwan's image for some time. The last time he'd seen his calm guru was twelve years ago I could go ... I could see him ... I could walk out of this game and see him then a thought occurred to him he held the corner of Ri'dwan's image What if ... what if my mother's image is on the next page ... what if it isn't? He couldn't make himself turn it over. Instead he turned back to Quinn's image and watched for movement.
Jibril looked back and forth from the page to where Quinn must be. Quinn is in trouble.
Rex gave Jibril a concerned look. "How do you figure?" Then upon hearing noise beyond the wall, he gave a slight double take from the wall, back to Jibril. Shouting towards the wall, he asked, "Talk to us Quinn. What happened? You saw a body, but are you hurt?"
He looked at the course that laid ahead, but didn't feel anymore confident about his ability to finish it than he had before.
Timothy's voice came back to Quinn, "A body? What, no, nobody from my team died in there! Are you sure? Bodies are never just lying around."
As Quinn began to make her way through the wires, she simply couldn't focus the way she usually did. A few steps in her elbow brushed one of the wires, triggering the first dart to fire. It hit her in the jaw, nicking a blood vessel, and causing blood to run down her throat and into her jacket. For a moment she thought she was going to faint, but the effect cleared quickly. She pulled the dart from her skin, and the bleeding quickly stopped. She was about to let the others know that she was okay, but her tongue wouldn't cooperate. It felt thick and heavy in her mouth, and wouldn't respond to her at all. In fact, her entire mouth felt weird and wooden, and Quinn found she was completely unable to speak, or to swallow. Fortunately, she was still able to breathe.
In Jibril's book, a slight pink wash of colour appeared in Quinn's jaw.
Timothy, waiting anxiously for Quinn to reappear, said, "Quinn, come on, hurry up. The hourglass is running!" He received yet another blow for the warning, but it didn't seem to faze him at all.
When members of Team Orra looked up, they saw that indeed, the hourglass on top of the shiny pole had sand running through it.
Duncan took the offered mirror, "For me? Really? Well that was thoughtful of ... somebody."
He saw his drawing and his feet quickly reminded him that he had indeed been hurt.
The hourglass running out called his attention, "Quinn, can you get out? I have a bad feeling that you won't like what happens if the hourglass runs out. And it's running out now..."
As Duncan glances at the mirror, he sees that it is decorated with images of his angels. Almost every one he's ever met is on there, and a few that he hasn't.
When he glanced at his reflection, he saw that there was no reflection at all. Instead, the silver surface showed an image of two attractive women - twins in fact. Familiar twins. They were peering at a large crystal ball, along with a bunch of other people, and they were talking animatedly.
A moment later, and he was able to hear what they were saying. Their voices were small and whispery, as if coming from a long way off, but they were clear.
"Oooh! Poor Duncan! Oh, his poor foot! Look how brave he is! Oh, I can't believe how well his team is doing! Go, Orra!"
The image in the mirror went foggy, then clarified again. This time it was his mother, and she was talking to somebody that he couldn't see. Again, in that dim whispery voice, she was saying, "Oh, I know, I couldn't be prouder. Surrounded by all those thugs and criminals, and he's keeping his wits and keeping them all together as a team. And he never forgets me, have you noticed? Always a wave and a hi mom. Do you see anybody else remembering their mothers? Not one, not in all the teams. I do hope the game is over soon, I just can't wait to hug..." The mirror went dim again.
Quinn figured she couldn't speak because the dart had hit her in the jaw. Obviously she didn't want to get hit with anymore darts. She was beginning to think that the person before her must have been hit with too many darts.
The rogue could hear everyone speaking but couldn't respond. She figured the best bet was to finish this part as quickly as possible or become another body in the tunnel.
The second dart hits Quinn in the back of the neck. This time there is no moment of faintness, there is just panic. Complete and utter panic. Quinn needed to get out of this place, right now.
Turning around, she blundered back through the wires, pushing them aside. As she'd already triggered the darts, no further projectiles assaulted her, and seconds later she was leaving the challenge, nearly hyperventilating, still unable to speak.
Jibril dropped Quinn's pack and ran to the dart tunnel. When he saw her thrashing he attempted to calm her down, attempted to be comforting "Now is not the time for panic ... you will only make the poison work faster. " He heard his own words come out of his mouth but couldn't seem to stop them, "You are better than this." This last comment was to himself but it didn't sound that way.
Then he attempted to grapple her to make sure she didn't harm herself.
When he came towards Quinn he put himself right in the way of her flailing arm. She couldn't help but smack him on the bridge of the nose which made his vision go grey and produced more than a little blood. Not only was Jibril completely ineffective but he looked incredibly inept.
As Duncan glances at the mirror, he sees that it is decorated with images of his angels. Almost every one he's ever met is on there, and a few that he hasn't.
When he glanced at his reflection, he saw that there was no reflection at all. Instead, the silver surface showed an image of two attractive women - twins in fact. Familiar twins. They were peering at a large crystal ball, along with a bunch of other people, and they were talking animatedly.
A moment later, and he was able to hear what they were saying. Their voices were small and whispery, as if coming from a long way off, but they were clear.
"Oooh! Poor Duncan! Oh, his poor foot! Look how brave he is! Oh, I can't believe how well his team is doing! Go, Orra!"
The image in the mirror went foggy, then clarified again. This time it was his mother, and she was talking to somebody that he couldn't see. Again, in that dim whispery voice, she was saying, "Oh, I know, I couldn't be prouder. Surrounded by all those thugs and criminals, and he's keeping his wits and keeping them all together as a team. And he never forgets me, have you noticed? Always a wave and a hi mom. Do you see anybody else remembering their mothers? Not one, not in all the teams. I do hope the game is over soon, I just can't wait to hug..." The mirror went dim again.
Duncan's chest puffed with pride... and longing. At least the people he cared about were interested in his well-being.
He shook the mirror forcibly a few times to try and get the images back, "Aw, c'mon!
He then went over and hugged Jibril, almost teary-eyed, "There are people out there rooting for me. For us!"
Jibril dropped Quinn's pack and ran to the dart tunnel. When he saw her thrashing he attempted to calm her down, attempted to be comforting [dice=diplomacy + elven serenity]1d20+1 "Now is not the time for panic ... you will only make the poison work faster. " He heard his own words come out of his mouth but couldn't seem to stop them, "You are better than this." This last comment was to himself but it didn't sound that way.
Then he attempted to grapple her to make sure she didn't harm herself.
[dice=grapple]1d20+5
When he came towards Quinn he put himself right in the way of her flailing arm. She couldn't help but smack him on the bridge of the nose which made his vision go grey and produced more than a little blood. Not only was Jibril completely ineffective but he looked incredibly inept.
With Jibril fumbling his attemts, it looked like Duncan had to calm down two people now.
"Listen both of you, just relax. Quinn, there's no lasting hurt in these games."
He then lowered his voice, "Remember that they even bring people back from 'dee ee a dee' so just relax, OK?"
He then added, "Are we done with this door then? Anyone else trying?"
Rex ran after them, initially thinking Quinn was fleeing from some attacker. However, as he saw Jibril get elbowed in the face, he realized she was in a panic and not in control of her own actions. Running around Jibril, he grappled her from behind with a bear hug. "...Just breathe....It'll pass...Just breathe..." He repeated calmly to her over and over again, not releasing his hold until he felt her relax or at least speak and demand her release.
Rex shook his head at Duncan, "I think we might be done with it. At least I am. I can handle simple obstacles just fine. But whatever's beyond that wall? Well, if Quinn can't do it..." He looked to Jibril, "If you'd like to try it, you can, but I know my limitations..."
Jibril held his bleeding nose and tried to squeeze the stinging feeling away by blinking his eye lids hard, "No, A 'fink I'b bebber nob. Bub whub'boub ba boby on be obber enb? Oh, the bleeding's stopped. We could use Quinn's gappling hook and draw whomever it is out.". Jibril went back for Quinn's things. He walked to the other end of the dart tunnel He thought about using Quinn's grappling hook to go fishing but suddenly shook his head and just went for it. He tried to shimmy in enough to tie some rope around a wrist then he slipped out as best he could. It's strange. If the effects wear off then how long has this person been in here?
The body Quinn had mentioned was very close to the exit of the dart tunnel. And, oddly, it was facing away from the exit (towards where Quinn had been). Jibril made his way carefully through the few wires between him and the body. This close, he could see that it was an elf, though he couldn't tell gender with them lying face down.
Balancing carefully, Jibril found his idea of tying the rope around the wrist to be thwarted - the person's hand had been cut off. That was the source of the blood Quinn had seen.
The other surprise was that Jibril carefully tried to grab the elf's other hand, the person groaned weakly, and tried to move their head.
Quinn fled like she was being chased by a flock of birds. She couldn't think but she could feel this all encompassing fear. She wasn't certain of much except the further she could get from this place, the better.
She barely noticed Jibril approaching or that she smacked him in the nose. She felt someone grab her from behind which intensified her panic. She did everything she could to squirm out of their grasp but the hold was like iron and she'd lost some blood.
She continued to fight against the hold that Rex had on her. Even though it was ineffectual, she continued to struggle.
"Thanks for the help..." Rex grumbled at Jibril and Duncan, as he was left to wrestle with Quinn. However, his complaints dissipated when Jibril returned with the injured woman. He muttered an expletive under his breath. "That's not good. She needs to get to the respite room...soon.."
To Quinn he said, "Talk to me Quinn. Just say what's wrong. Should we get out of here?" He began trying to move them both toward the exit to see if it would help her be less afraid. However, in doing so he lost his hold on her.
Jibril grabbed a piece of the rope he had and tied it as firmly as he could around the girl's wrist in an attempt to stem the flow of blood.
No need to worry about choking the artery. It leads to nothing. Blessings upon you Father for the teachings you have given me.
"Thanks for the help..." Rex grumbled
"I'm sorry Rex. This girl is still aive and my first attempt to help Quinn was calamitous. You are probably better off without my help. Just don't try to tie her up. I've seen her escape the bonds of an expert. Oh, she has slipped your hold." he added as if Rex didn't already know.
Jibril looked at the stump of the girl's wrist.
Jibril laid the young elf on her side, her head resting on her arm and checked to make sure she was breathing.
@Rex "How is Quinn doing? Is she relaxing at all? The book said she had an injury to the jaw.
@Quinn "Quinn, touch your throat if you're having trouble breathing."
Jibril looked down at the elf, "Her hand was taken in one quick slice. A device or and attack!? Does anyone have any water? Mine is in my pack. I left it at the beginning of this trial. If we give her a spoon full and wet her brow it might help to rouse her."
Jibril checked in Quinn's pack for a waterskin. He went to Quinn to see if she could take some water then he went back to gently trying to bring the elf back to conciousness.
Jibril looked down at the elf, "Her hand was taken in one quick slice. A device or and attack!? Does anyone have any water? Mine is in my pack. I left it at the beginning of this trial. If we give her a spoon full and wet her brow it might help to rouse her."
Jibril checked in Quinn's pack for a waterskin. He went to Quinn to see if she could take some water then he went back to gently trying to bring the elf back to conciousness.
Duncan's eyes went wide with surprise; his view of the games changed yet again.
He started yelling, "Organizers! Organizers! Someone is bleeding to death. It's for real."
He looked for the spyeyes and was determined to yell for help again and again until someone came to their aid.
--------------
Rex's grip loosened and that's all the rogue needed to wriggle free and take off. Still not being able to speak and having an overwhelming feeling of fear drove her to run.
Hysterical laughter came at them from the other side of the fence. Timothy's two companions were wiping tears from their eyes as they watched Quinn vainly try to flee the area. When she finally calmed down enough to speak, the woman said, "We gotta get moving, Starling, thanks for the show. I'll collect my 50 gold later, maybe when you stop drooling down your shirt."
Still giggling, the pair moved off, dragging a reluctant Timothy with them.
Duncan, meanwhile, yelled for help at the spy eyes, but he yelled in vain. Nobody came, official or otherwise.
Jibril's gentle ministrations brought the female elf around. Groaning, her eyes fluttered open, and she looked at Jibril in confusion. "Who...? Ahhh...my arm... Where is this?"
"I only want to help. My name is Jibril and this is Alvar and Dun Can. Quinn ... will join us soon. You are in The Great Game field, the thieve's challenge, I think. You are hurt but you will be ok. What is the last thing you remember?", he scanned the prone woman for any identifying marks, symbols, culturally specific clothing, etc. that might give him a clue of who she is.
Rex let out a frustrated groan as Quinn slipped from his grasp. "I'm going to follow her! Make sure she doesn't run into a lion's den or something!" Rex shouted back to the others as he ran after Quinn. "Hey Quinn! Wait!" Damn, she's fast...
Duncan looked disgusted and disappointed, "This is why these games SUCK. People get hurt in this and for what? Glory? Tell that to the girl who's got to live the rest of her life without a hand."
He yelled at Quinn, "Get back here! We need help."
And asked again, "Healing? Can anyone heal this girl?"
The woman closed her eyes for a moment, then said, "Animals. We had just come out of the Cold Door. There was...a tiger? We were fighting, then it ran off. A man....he was tall. White cloak. He .... he made me sleep. Ahhh...." she opened her eyes. "My team. Where are they?" she struggled to sit up, accidentally putting weight on her stump. Crying out in pain, she jerked back and lifted the arm into view. A look of complete shock and horror came over her face. "My hand! Where...." then she slumped into a faint, a dead weight in Jibril's arms.
The panic faded from Quinn's mind and she came back to her senses. She was back near the market and confusion replaced the fear. She turned to go back to the obstacle course and nearly ran into Rex. She tried to speak but couldn't. Apparently whatever had been in that dart was still affecting her.
Seeing Rex's confusion as he asked her a question and she didn't answer, she pointed at the dart wound on her jaw and shook her head as she mimed talking with her hand as if there was a puppet on it.
The two of them returned to the others and was surprised, or not, that Jibril had saved the body she'd seen in the tunnel. However, she was surprised to see that the elf was missing a hand and her team. How could her team not realize she was missing?
The elf was in Jibril's capable hands so Quinn straightened and stretched the aches out of her muscles. She looked at the fourth obstacle again, loathing the fact that she had failed and that Timothy had been watching. She groaned inwardly as she realized that she owed that b%&*! fifty gold. But...they never had agreed on which attempt she needed to succeed to win the bet. Quinn tried to remember if there was any rule against her trying again.
Duncan looked disgusted and disappointed, "This is why these games SUCK. People get hurt in this and for what? Glory? Tell that to the girl who's got to live the rest of her life without a hand."
He bristled with pride at Duncan's indignation and, although he had bonded with them quickly, Jibril knew at that moment he had found the right team. He converted to a pensive look, the kind that those few who knew him knew he was about to say something that might add up to trouble.
"I assumed the EFA had let the animals free. It may still be true but we have stumbled on another possibility.Who would need a hand?
Who exactly is this woman?
If who she is is unimportant then are all of the contestant's in danger?
Furthermore, this elf's life is in danger. Not from the wound, she has stabilized. She has seen her attacker. Her state suggests she was left to die. If this 'tall man in a white cloak' discovers she is still alive?..."
@Quinn "You look like you are improving Quinn. I am glad. I was ... we were worried. Are you able to help? Could you look around for a hand? I don't think we shall find it."
Jibril laid the woman carefully to the ground and went over to the far end of the dart tunnel again.
"We should take her to the authorities so they can watch over her in the healing tents. Hopefully her attacker is not so desperate as to try something under their watch. First, I would like to see if there are any signs of a struggle or a blood trail."
hmm, the blood trail that led to the cold door in the lower corridor, is it connected to this? Her team had just come from the cold door.
Jibril looked up at the spy eye(s) "Please send someone to check the Cold Challenge. I think there may have been an earlier attack. This woman must have been attacked not long ago, sometime between when the animals got free, or were set loose, and when we entered the Thieve's Challenge. She was probably attacked somewhere between the upper cold door and this spot."
Jibril took off his cloak and improvised a sling for the elf's arm, "Rex, can you carry her? I must collect my pack on the way to the tent of healing."
Despite a quick look around, the hand cannot be found. The area around the thieve's challenge had a fair amount of blood and fur splashed around, testament to the animals' escape earlier. However, a rather heavy trail of blood drops went the short distance from the thieve's exit door, to what appeared to be a 2nd cold door. The door they'd gone through initially was downstairs, but this one had an identical snowflake sigil on it, and when they opened the door, it contained a teleport symbol behind it.
Jibril took off his cloak and improvised a sling for the elf's arm, "Rex, can you carry her? I must collect my pack on the way to the tent of healing."
Duncan was sincerely concerned, "Yeah, let's give her some help. You reap what you sow and all that, right?"
He looked at Rex, "Rex, I can help carry her."
When the others looked at his frail body, he scoffed, "Well, not ME, but I can get an angel to help out if needed."
Quinn looked at the empty hourglass sadly realizing that there was no second chance for team Orra to finish the fourth obstacle. She had failed and that rubbed her the wrong way.
Jibril's voice cut through the rogue's dour mood. She nods silently before looking for the hand. But of course she came up empty handed.
Quinn followed the others. She thought it made more sense to take the girl to the respite room but if the others wanted to spend their wealth paying a medic then so be it. She wouldn't stop them from spending their money.
Jibril headed to the market remembering to grab his pack.
"Rex, If you need help carrying any equipment I can take it.", the ease that Alvar lifted the slight elf showed there was no need to ask. When they got to the market and learned that no guard was coming and that he would be charged for letting her stay there he shook his coin purse. It clinked a little but most of the sound came from spare arrow heads.
"Perhaps if we change some of her clothes? Put her in the Respite chamber under an assumed name she might be safe? At least the tall man in the white cloak may feel she presents no immediate threat. I am no card player. I haven't the craft to bluff. Perhaps one of you might arrange this. It is too bad. No one will be able to question her."
After coming from washing up Jibril tried to be sly but was absolutely transparent about it, "Let us get cold weather gear and head to the Cold Room next."
Where to next? You know the locations of the following doors:
Teeth
Cold (2 entrances)
Magic
Fear
Fire
Moon
Death (graveyard)
There is also the unexplored spiral hallway.
Sorry - I totally missed the end of Jibril's post. Since nobody else has furthered an opinion, I'll assume you're all happy to go to the cold door. You can get new cold gear for 15gp each at Em's Porium. Or you can get slightly used (and bloodstained) gear from the consignment tent for 8gp. Feel free to write that part up, or we can skip it and head straight to the challenge.
Quinn looked concerned at Jibril's last comment. "If you want to do the Cold Door for the sake of doing the Cold Door because it's part of the Game then I'll go along with it. However, I have no desire to chase down some boogie man. For all we know, that girl did something to provoke what happened to her. It's not our job to investigate this."
Duncan? Care to break the tie?
Quinn looked concerned at Jibril's last comment. "If you want to do the Cold Door for the sake of doing the Cold Door because it's part of the Game then I'll go along with it. However, I have no desire to chase down some boogie man. For all we know, that girl did something to provoke what happened to her. It's not our job to investigate this."
Duncan did not like neither the cold door or whatever Quinn had in mind.
"Quinn, we just through one of your challenges and you didn't come out victorious; why don't we let Jibril choose?"
He turned to the elf, "Listen cold door is OK but I agree with Quinn; no investigation. We're here to do the challenge and we'll report if there's any funny business going on. OK?"
With that, the man started to shiver in anticipation of the cold.
"If you want to do the Cold Door for the sake of doing the Cold Door because it's part of the Game then I'll go along with it. However, I have no desire to chase down some boogie man. For all we know, that girl did something to provoke what happened to her. It's not our job to investigate this."
Jibril's burning curiosity was getting the better of him and he tried to look innocent Investigation? What investigation?
"Listen cold door is OK but I agree with Quinn; no investigation. We're here to do the challenge and we'll report if there's any funny business going on. OK?"
He had been found out. Sheepishly, "OK! No investigating! Sheesh! It would be good to get this one out of the way though. It has more of a straight forward physical quality. There are other's that appear very curious and I do want to fit in as many as we can." Jibril noticably eyed the graveyard, something he ought to be taylored for, and the bizarre spiral hallway.
Finally properly armed against the cold, Team Orra walked back up to the 2nd Cold Door. Inside they found the familiar teleport symbol, and they stood inside, holding hands. "We are ready"
The walls around them faded to an incredibly bright white, so bright that they closed their eyes against it, fighting the urge to drop hands in order to shield their eyes.
A moment later, the cold struck. It was a dry, bitter cold that made their breath puff out in white steamy clouds. The brightness faded a bit, and they were able to open their eyes.
Team Orra stood on a raised, stone platform, with an identical teleport symbol scribed into it. Around them, in every direction, was a world of white. Fresh powdery snow lay in all directions, all the way to the horizon. Overhead the sky was a bright blue, and the sun glared on the snow. There was not a tree, shrub, or bush in any direction. Just a rolling, featureless plain, covered in snow.
Well, not quite featureless. Right next to the platform stood a signpost. Three wooden signs were nailed to the sturdy post. One pointed directly towards the sun, and said, Umiujak 6 mi. Another pointed in roughly the opposite direction, and said, Salluit 15 mi. The final plank roughly between them, and said, Cold Challenge 4 mi
As their eyes adjusted to the light, they could see that footprints broke the smooth snow, heading in the cold challenge direction. However, the breeze that whipped up their clothes also blew glittering snow over the tracks, and would eventually erase them.
"If we're going to do this then we should get going before the tracks disappear. Jibril? This looks to be something you should take the lead on."
Maybe it was because her gear was used, bloodstained and slightly damp, or maybe it was because she had rarely seen snow before. Whatever the reason, Quinn was shivering and very uncomfortable.
Jibril stood out front with his long fur kilt under his cloak and heavy fur shoulder wrap over it. He sniffed the air. His cheeks and the tip of his nose went an immediate dusty rose but not a shiver came from him ... he looked ... free.
He examined the tracks and relays the information to the others.
He took a quick glance around and keeps that info to himself.
He did a last check of his shoes to make sure the whale fat and wax mixture he used to water proof them was properly applied. He offered the mixture to the rest of the team (it smelled like fish). When he saw Quinn not adjusting to the cold he insisted she proof her boots. He rebuckled her jacket and showed her how to wrap her scarf so that it covered the back of her neck to her toque but kept her breath from freezing on her face. He was mothering her like she was a pup. It was quite awkward when he did the same to Rex. Then he marched forward like the lead Samoyed.
"Try to walk in each others footsteps. Steady pace. Perspiration is your enemy. We will need to stop every hour "
"Eew, that smells really bad. Is it really necessary?"
Seeing Quinn shiver made the choice for Duncan and he did as Jibril told him.
Wrapped in new winter clothes, Duncan thought he looked pretty smashing and searched for any spyeyes nearby.
He nodded as Jibril started moving, "Walk in your footsteps. Got it."
He mumbled, "It sure is cold..."
-----------
Jibril stopped in his tracks suddenly so that Duncan, who was concerned about the smell of his shoes and the general cold, almost walked into his back.
"My friend, summon an angel. We are being watched.", loud enough for Rex and Quinn to hear.
He stepped a few feet to his left, drew his bow and fired one of his last three blunted arrows about a hundred feet off at the eleven o'clock position. Though his aim was not as focused as normal and the target was probably completely out of sight, he hoped the arrow would lead Quinn, Duncan and Rex's eye to the hideout.
"It wears white. It may be the spell caster - the hand thief."