Hello, Everyone!
I hope you’re doing well! I think I’m gradually getting better at describing things from Mary’s perspective and so, I decided to try something new. I’d appreciate you telling me what you think about it! Is it as innovative as I’m imagining it being? Or is it disorienting or ineffective as a storytelling device?
Anyway, we join Mary and her company right after they’d reached the duergar city of Gracklstugh. Last time, she conjured her Flock of Familiars and they went ahead to scout the area in place of the party members. Now we’re going to check out what they see.
Atti and Aingels flew off above the city, and Rudhol started hopping his way through the streets.
In the alcove, Mary sat on the ground and prepared to use her familiars' senses. She could see and hear what they did, but while she was connected to them, she wasn’t able to use her own sight or hearing. If her companions wanted to ask her something, they had to attract her attention through touch rather than anything else. It wasn’t the perfect solution but it had to do.
She could only 'sync' with one of her origami creatures at a time, and so, she had to be careful which was best at any given moment.
First, she flew on Aingels’ wings.
“I can see the whole city,” she started describing to her party. “It’s huge! It’s just like in my dream! So enormous! Every building is sharp and ominous. Have you ever had the feeling that an inanimate object like that could hate you? Anyway. There’s light coming from some green crystals on the walls and ceiling. It's sickening, it's nothing like the blue Lumeer shine! There’s a dark spot on the ceiling, I wonder what… Oh! I can see a tower in the center of the city! This might be the one they’re holding Saami in!”
She let Aingels fly towards the tower and, without saying anything to her companions, sent Atti to search for the fissure from her dream.
The owl rose up above the city and looked around. She saw a few paths leading away from the cavern. The first one, very near the party’s alcove, was a natural tunnel heading slightly downwards that had recently been artificially widened. The other was almost to the other side of the city and the owl couldn’t see any details.
Mary sent Atti there and went back to Aingels.
“The tower is a big square building,” she kept narrating. “There are guards at the front doors, duergar, but only a couple of them. I can see through the windows, too. Hm… there are dwarves sleeping here, it’s like a barracks of some sort. I imagine the duergar have shifts just like normal people… Anyway. There’s an armoury, too, and, well, let me fly up…”
She jumped to Rudhol to see what he was doing.
The almiraj was approaching the tower and just when he was about to reach it, a duergar turned a corner and found himself eye to eye with the familiar. The dark dwarf froze and stared in disbelief, and Mary realized that what he was seeing was an origami rabbit with a horn on its forehead. Rudhol turned and ran, and in the single second it took the duergar to react, the familiar was already too far away to be pursued.
Mary sighed with relief and went back to Aingels.
“I’m outside a window on the highest floor of the tower now,” she was saying. “There’s a room there, big table, many duergar around it. It looks kinda familiar, like… Ooh, yes, just like the Council in Belfast, only with much fewer dwarves. They’re talking but I don’t really understand what they’re saying… Oh, the door is opening. It’s a woman, a drow. She's very beautiful but her face is kinda harsh. She’s probably the one Victor and Belt mentioned, remember? She’s looking around and starts talking. Now she’s raising her wooden staff, it’s like a hand with crooked fingers. It’s so cree… Oh… oh, no! No, no, no, NO! She noticed me! Oh, my gods! Fly, Aingels, FLY! Come ON!”
Mary’s chest started pumping air like crazy, as if she was flying herself. She shook violently from the tension but kept on using Aingels’ senses. That’s how she was able to see the tressym get away from the drow’s spell and take cover on the other side of the tower.
She found herself on the cave floor, in her own body once more, surrounded by her freaked out companions.
“Ooooh!" Mary sighed with relief. "That was a scare! I was sure I'd get caught!”
Well, that was definitely… something, eh? Jumping from one pair of senses to the other. What a trip!
Anyway, let’s see what else these useful familiars are going to find. See you in the next chapter!
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the chapter guide. You're welcome!)