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Old 04-10-2004, 11:34 PM   #157
Child of the 7th Age
Spirit of the Lonely Star
 
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Ráma:

Peering out from under the overhanging cliff that marked the beginning of the complex of caves, Ráma impatiently watched the late afternoon sun inch lower in the sky until it finally sank beneath the horizon. She was still bitter at Mithadan and Airefalas for placing her in this predicament. The small voice echoing inside her head that had earlier urged her to leave Umbar and return to her family was becoming more insistent. For over an hour, she debated back and forth whether her promise to the Men was binding, when they had so casually dismissed her aid. Despite her desire to believe otherwise, she could not help but feel that a pledge given in good faith should be honored, even if those who were its beneficiaries had shown less than full trust and gratitude.

Still, this did nothing to assuage her thirst or discomfort. In her desire to shield her friend Lena from the unwanted inquiries of the stranger, she had ridden out of the Inn only half prepared to travel, the most important omission being that she had neglected to fill her water skin. This large leather pouch with the clan’s eagle crest, the one she normally used to store water for treks across the desert, hung flat and limp at Kyelek's side.

Since crossing the desert without sufficient water would be reckless and irresponsible, Ráma felt compelled to pay a visit to one of the nearby neighborhood wells once it was fully dark. She planned to wait several hours until traffic on the streets had thinned out a bit, but before the brigands and thieves had come out to ply their trade. Traveling on foot seemed like the most unobtrusive way to reach the well, which was no more than a few streets away, but there was still the possibility that her unknown pursuer would surface and require her to adopt a faster means of travel. Reluctantly, she concluded that she needed to saddle up Kyelek and ride over to the public square, filling her leather pouch and returning as quickly as possible.

By the time Ráma set out, the citizens of Umber were shuttering the windows of their homes and latching their doors for the night. Songs and snippets of conversation still floated out onto the street from those public houses whose doors were flung open to welcome travelers seeking shelter. Ráma listened as intently as she could, but could hear no references to troubles in the harbor or other news of the visitors from Gondor. Mithadan and Airefalas had seemingly vanished with the Star and would likely never return.

Ráma dismounted and approached the well on foot, leading her horse behind her. Only a few latecomers lingered in the public square chatting with each other or heading back towards their homes carrying containers of water. Ráma stood beside the well and let the bucket down, and then cranked it back up again, repeating this process several times until the bag was full. With some difficulty, she shifted the heavy skin onto Kyelek’s back and secured it tightly with a rope before turning and preparing to leave the square.

At that instant, her departure was unexpectedly delayed by a long line of servants striding in from a side alley and trooping purposefully through the square, their livery identifying them as retainers of Falasmir. Ráma instinctively backed off into a nearby cubbyhole to avoid being seen, as she peeked out at the parade that was now making its noisy way back towards the palace. There were large cages set atop flatbed wagons bound all around with chains. Inside each of these square metal boxes were imprisoned one or more large predators---leopards, hyenas, jackals, and wolves---discontentedly pacing in circles or staring out with sullen eyes. Most of these unfortunate beasts were desert dwellers taken from the wild and now bound for Falasmir’s palace menagerie.

Ráma looked at the scene with disdain. She would not hesitate to hunt down these beasts for food or to protect her kin from attack should that be needed. Yet to collect them in some haphazard fashion and force them to fight against each other, as was commonly done in the palace menagerie, seemed to go against everything she had been taught about respecting these beasts and the elements of swiftness, strength and grace they embodied. These were creatures who deserved to live free in the desert, not here in the miserable cages that the Lord of Umbar deigned to provide for them. She glanced at one wagon near the end of the procession where a single spotted leopard glared out through the bars, snarling in protest and exposing a line of razor-sharp teeth.

When the creatures and their keepers had finally passed by, Ráma slipped into the alleyway, forcing the distasteful image from her head as she prepared to lead Kyelek back to the caves. Suddenly, and with no prior warning, a wave of nausea and lightheadedness overcame her. Unable to keep her feet, she lurched awkwardly to one side and staggered a few paces over to where her horse was standing. She leaned against Kyelek's withers in an effort to steady herself until the dizziness let up. Several citizens of Umber scattered around the square stared curiously at the stranger who was apparently drunk or ill. But to Ráma's dismay, there was no letting up. Her physical form began to waiver and merge into another shape. This time it was not a housecat, but a larger beast, the one she had been contemplating just a few moments before. There were screams of dismay from the onlookers as a spotted leopard paced in a circle beside the well, glared back towards them showing a row of razor-sharp teeth, and then turned to pad away.

Ráma tried to push down her feeling of panic and the rapid thumping of her heart. This should not be happening. To be late in taking on forms was one thing; to be unable to control those forms once they came on was something far more serious. There was nothing in her culture or upbringing to prepare her for this. She veered out of the square, with Kyelek trotting alongside her. Far behind, she could glimpse several of Falasmir’s liveried servants who had run back from the long procession with chains and sharpened spears in their hands, apparently intending to recapture the wild beast whom they assumed had escaped from one of the cages.

Aware of her danger, Ráma took off like a bolt of lightning slipping through alleyways and squeezing under gates to shake off her pursuers. She raced on silent paws through Umbar's maze of streets and courtyards, which were thankfully free of too many onlookers, by springing from shadow-to-shadow and charting a random path. She finally managed to shake off the Men with their hated chains and spears. Even with her convoluted path, she had been careful to stray not more than a few streets away from the city gate and the safety of the caves. Under cover of darkness, she managed to slink outside the walls without attracting more attention.

Once back, the first thing Ráma noted was that Kyelek had also managed to return to the caves with the waterskin tied to his side. She threw herself down at the rear of the first cavern, too frightened to venture out again and not really understanding what had happened to her. Again and again, she tried to shift into her human form, but with absolutely no success. Ráma finally fell asleep on the sandy floor, still in leopard form but too exhausted and confused to think about the men from Gondor or to wonder what would happen in the morning.

Last edited by Child of the 7th Age; 04-11-2004 at 09:32 AM.
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