rone | e&tg 46 (Reply)

(i realized i neglected to have the characters introduce themselves, so i edited the last entry)

"Do i!" He practically jumped towards me and tried to take the axe, but realized he couldn't grab it with one hand still clutching the crossbow. "Here," he said, offering it to me. I traded weapons with him. His fingers traced over the engravings on the axe head; he rubbed his thumb against the blade, and then struck the head with his thumbnail, which produced an even, rich thung. "It's a beautiful axe," he breathed. "Do you see the clan motto here?" He pointed at some runes. I craned my neck as i surreptitiously uncocked the crossbow. "‘Survive.’ That's what the runes say. When i heard of the massacre, i assumed the worst." We traded weapons again. "It's not every day i find a human who appreciates the beauty of the axe."

"Yeah, well, swords are fine if you're into poncing duels or slaughtering conscripted peasants. If you want to crack open a steel-plated hero-wannabe," i hefted my axe, "you use the right tool for the job." I put the axe back in its place. "Anyway, it's not every day i find a geologist with the latest Stone & Súa repeating bow."

He grinned. "You've got a good eye, too." He cradled his crossbow. "It took me almost a year to save up enough for this. Still itching to try it, as you found out." I snorted. "Anyway, if those Mafia types come back, i'm not going to waste any more time talking."

"You, too, huh? Why are they giving you trouble?"

He shook his head. "Mad rumors of something under the city. My crew and i have been taking surveys, and they seem to think that we've uncovered data that will be useful for them. The data hasn't even been processed, let alone peer-reviewed! We can't let anyone muck around with it!"

"I... see." I didn't. I pulled the soil samples out. "Well, like i was saying," i said as i handed them to him, "these haven't been magically preserved, so you'll probably want to get to them quickly. Then i'll get out of your hair and be on my way."

He grunted. "Thanks a lot for bringing these over. Good luck out—"

The front door burst open and a grimy young human stumbled through. "Ĥavar! They. Mafia." He fell on his knees, wheezing.