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Chicken Stroll, Part 22


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#1 Guest_Laufey_and_Ophidia_*

Posted 28 December 2007 - 05:13 PM

Falling Into Darkness


Chapter Twenty Two

While Nalia was busy picking locks, Dekaras crossed a hallway and descended a stone staircase towards the basement. It had never occurred to him before just how awkward it would be for a chicken to go down a flight of stairs, and now he was learning more about it than he wanted to. He was forced to resort to an awkward hopping motion, that was neither particularly efficient of fast. That was worrying - the longer it took to find those amulets, the higher the risk of discovery would be. Still, turning back now was hardly an option. At the bottom of the stairs, he paused, pondering how to proceed. In front of him was a wooden door, inconveniently closed. I suppose I will have to fly up to the door handle, and land on it in order to press it down. I just have to take careful aim, and it should work. He took a step backwards, trying to judge the proper distance. And then, there was the sound of rapid footsteps from inside the room, and the door flew open as Emeral Fress strode out.

***


“Oh, bother...” Nalia muttered, eyeing the scene in front of her. “Now what do we do?”

The skinny fellow was chopping wood right close by the door to the house, and looking very morose about it. Now and then, he'd pause to have a drink of water, and then throw a nervous and furtive look over his shoulder, as if he was expecting somebody to creep up on him. Nalia couldn't understand why - it wasn't as if chopping wood was in any way a shameful or risky occupation.

“Well, he's right by the woodpile,” Andorel said, shaking his head so that his green comb flopped over to cover his right eye. “I don't see how we can get there without him spotting us. Too much open ground in the way.”

“Never mind that!” Edwin said, and his sparkling green tail feathers drooped with anxiety. “What about Teacher Dekaras? If he comes out that way, the man is bound to spot him, and then...then...”

“Then he might just use that axe,” Andorel agreed. “Gotta warn Vaddy somehow. Hang on...I'll see if I can, you know, get a sense of him.”

“Distasteful as that idea still is to me, I suppose it has to be tolerated, for now.”

Andorel closed his eyes, and went very still. After a moment, he opened them again. “I dunno if I got through to him,” he said. “Couldn't sense much either, except he's still alive, and startled 'bout something. I'm not sure he heard me at all, but I did try my best.”

The three chickens were silent for a few seconds, the silence only broken by the rhythmical sound of axe against wood. Every time the shining blade descended, Edwin visibly winced.

“Well,” Nalia said in a bleak voice. “We'd better hope your best is good enough.”

***


Dekaras very carefully and slowly let his breath out, and then smoothed down an awkwardly squashed tail feather. He'd managed to leap behind the door as the wizardess opened it, and she hadn't noticed him, although it had been a close call. The woman had gone upstairs, muttering something to herself about 'further research', and now all was quiet again. Also, the door hadn't closed entirely, there was a small crack open through which an enterprising rooster could certainly fit. Oh yes, he certainly could. As he squeezed through the opening, there was a faint, nagging sensation at the back of his mind, barely noticeable. Andorel...something about Andorel. Being a little worried for some reason, but it didn't seem to be any kind of emergency. Having failed to pick up anything more specific, Dekaras momentarily spread his wings in the bird equivalent of a shrug. He had a job to do, and would probably never get as good an opportunity again, so going back to find out what Andorel wanted was clearly out of the question. And besides, he and Edwin have probably managed to work themselves into a mutual frenzy by now. If I must suffer through that, I will at least have something to show for it.

That decided, he surveyed the laboratory. On the wall above the wooden table were a lot of little pegs, and from each peg hung a small object, bone and hair tied together in shapes that could not be mistaken. There they are. And I am not leaving without the ones that belong to us. I've put up with this body for far too long already. The pegs were labelled with letters. Dekaras fluttered up to perch on the 'O' perch. Odd. It's not here. Ahh- this one is labelled 'Olivia Hethrin'. They are catalogued under first names. Very well. The black rooster fluttered onto three other perches: N first, since it was the closest, then V, then E, just above it. On each perch, he riffled through the amulets, then flicked on into the air and deftly caught it around his neck. Not exactly what the fashionable chicken is wearing, but I shall have to tolerate it. Now, where is Andorel's? He jumped along to the A perch, just left of E, and searched...and searched. It wasn't there. He checked a third time, but it was definitely missing. With a sinking feeling, he realised that Emeral must have taken it up upstairs to her lab- to experiment on.

***


Andorel suddenly staggered sideways. “Woah. Felt weird there for a second.” Nalia looked up with concern, Edwin with annoyance.

“I think...” Andorel said, his voice wavering with sudden worry, “Summat strange is happening...gnh!” He staggered back as if something invisible had hit him.

“What's the matter? Are you alright?”

“This is not the time to exercise your infantile sense of humour.” Edwin snapped, preening his feathers nervously.

“I'm not!” Andorel protested. “I reckon that...eeeeoooooooooww!” Andorel was lifted off the ground, squirming in protest. There was a bright flash of green light, and he dropped back to the ground with a tiny puff of dust. Nalia and Edwin found themselves simply staring in shock at the ex-half-orc.

“That wasn't nice...” Andorel looked up at Nalia and Edwin...up and up. “...at...all?”

“Andorel...” Nalia started, but found she simply couldn't think of a way to finish the sentence.

Andorel twisted his neck around painfully, trying to figure out what had happened to him. Yellow, fluffy feathers. Tiny, undeveloped wings. He started swearing bitterly in a high pitched, peeping voice.

“Really, Andorel.” Edwin said, sounding cheerful for the first time in days. “You're far too young to know such language.”

***


Emeral finished casting the 'Reduce' spell on the half-orc's talisman. Hmm. That should make him look more like a normal chicken, if she had got her calculations right. That would make him far more edible. Although one never knew what would appeal to her more select customers... She turned her back on her workbench for a second, to make some notes in a logbook. A slight sigh of breeze rustled her hair. She ignored it, and finished her notes. Then she looked back- at the empty bench.

“GRAT!”

And a black rooster slid through the shadows towards the door.

***


Dekaras crept towards the woodpile, trying to stop the amulets around his rustling. Where were the other three? Surely they should be here by now...Oh.

Thom was stood by the pile of logs, axe casually sunk into a tree stump by his side. He was rubbing his forehead and drinking from a glass. Curses! I wonder where they've got to? Maybe they're hiding somewhere nearby? Only one way to know for sure... Dekaras looked at the glass of water in Thom's hand...and concentrated. Thom took a sip of water, and then spat the red liquid in surprise and horror, throwing the glass away as quickly as he could. Dekaras couldn't understand the words the man used, but he didn't need to get the general gist.

Thom turned around- and saw the black rooster. His eyes flicked to the splatter of blood he'd just spat out, then to the rooster with the evil-looking hair and bone necklace. He paled, gulped uselessly for a few seconds, made an odd squeaking noise, ran off a short distance, staggered, and finally fainted.

“Hmm. That was more dramatic than I expected.” Dekaras remarked to himself. At the sound of his voice, a white and a red feathered head popped out of the bushes.

“What did you do to him?” Nalia gasped in surprise.

“Where's Andorel?” Dekaras demanded. “I suspect he may be in danger.”

“Here!” A tiny fluffy head poked out from under Nalia's white wings. Andorel looked briefly embarassed. “I was cold.”




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