<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> -LurkingWolf ___ <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> “I think I may have discovered the subject of my vision,” their commander announced before either of them could ask him. “I have need of a mage, Balrog?”<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> The disguised lutin gave a nod, while Victor stepped forward. “Will my help be required?” he asked.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Nathan shook his head, though he did offer a smile. “I do not believe so, Victor. Feel free to take some time to relax. I’m certain both you and those in your company would appreciate it if you could wash the dirt off the grime of the last few days.” This last advice he gave with a wink, and Vic nodded his thanks as he made for his quarters. Balrog and Nathan watched him go for a few moments, and then the wolf turned and led the way through the halls.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> “I did not want to confront you in front of Victor, but you know I still don’t like how much you depend on those visions of yours,” Balrog said as they went along.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> “You’ve said this much before, and I have constantly reminded you that it has only ever proven useful,” his commander replied. He spoke in a friendly tone, but also one that made it clear that he was tired of hearing the same arguments from his fellow.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Balrog shook his head, running a few steps to close the gap that the wolf was working to open between them. “I would not have such a problem with following them if they were simply visions, devoid of emotion or motives, but your reactions always indicate that such is not the case. You looked devastated when I found you last night, as though your closest friend had died.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> “Indeed, my visions are almost entirely emotion,” the wolf admitted. “Rarely are they so much visions as they are foreign emotions expressing themselves to me from an unknown source.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> “That is why I have a problem with this,” Balrog insisted. “Emotions do not come from a vacuum. If there is emotion, then there is consciousness behind it, and if there is consciousness then there are motives. Anyone whose motives you follow without question can control you, and whatever foreign entity is the source of those emotions can as easily be evil as it can be good. Think about it; what emotions did you feel last night?”<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> The wolf stopped and turned to him, the gaze of his golden eyes stopping Balrog where he stood. He hesitated for a moment, but did give an answer. “Terror,” he stated at length. “I felt terror, and then uncertainty, and finally nothing.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> “Very positive emotions, don’t you think?” Balrog asked with biting sarcasm.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> “Negative emotions do not indicate the presence of evil,” Nathan pointed out. He leaned closer to meet the shorter man’s gaze more effectively. “Besides, I think you would be more than willing to go along if you knew why it was that we are here.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Balrog hesitated, but he decided that it could cause no harm to continue in that vein. “Very well, what is it that requires my aid?”<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> “They tell me that your friend Lois was brought here last night,” the wolf replied, measuring his speech carefully. “Some spell has locked him into the form of a feral animal, and his companions have not been able to remove the spell from him despite their best efforts. Of course, if you are not interested in going along with something you don’t understand, I suppose we could simply leave him in a cage.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Balrog eyed him carefully, seeking any sign of a bluff, but he saw none. “And have you wondered why it would have to do with him?” he asked calmly. While this news was unexpected and did concern him, he was not the sort to allow an argument to go to his opponent. “You met him once, on a tourney field, and the your only interaction with him left him so badly bruised that he had to see a healer. Why would your visions concern you with his fate?”<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> The wolf straightened and shrugged to relieve the tension that had found its way into the muscles of his neck. “I am not certain, but they have come from men I don’t know at all previously. In the end, the ability is supernatural; almost by definition that liberates it from any subordination to mortal logic.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> The shorter man crossed his arms, but he said nothing. While he did wish to continue his questioning, his concern for his friend was finally winning out. “Very well,” he conceded at last. “Let us see what we can do to help him, at least. We can continue this conversation later.”<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <span style="font-size:11.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language: EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">“Very well then. Follow along.” He turned and took three quick steps and was already around the corner as he spoke again. “We’re almost there.” Balrog sighed and followed. Although he did not look forward to the thought, he would have to revisit the subject again later. <meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"> <meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 14"> <meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 14"> <link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNathan%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml">  <link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNathan%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"> <link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5CNathan%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml">  <style>  </style> </body> </html>