Chapter Four of Gathering Lead

Ferren and Annette flee the Hammer through a secret passageway.

Chapter Four

Ferren reached into his pocket and withdrew the sleeping creature. He held the lizard in two cupped hands and spoke quietly to the nilalang.

“Altera, I need some light.”

“Shhhh!” Replied Annette.

“I wasn’t talking to you!” Ferren glared into the darkness where he thought Annette stood.

“I’m the only one here connard!

“My name is not connard! It’s Ferren! Ferren Grey!”

“It means shithead!”

“What? No it doesn’t I actually think it means adventurer, or Ferret I guess since your Chaullusi.”

“Not Ferren A*****e! Connard means shithead!”

“Oh. . .That makes more sense.”

“So?”

“So what?”

Annette let out an exasperated noise.

“Who. . . were you. . .talking to?”

“Altera”

The Nilalang let out an inquisitive chirp.

“No not you. . .Never mind we need some light in here can you give me a hand?

In the darkness Ferren felt Altera roll over and place its head next to the thumb on his right hand.

“Thanks” Ferren said as he grabbed Altera by the torso, so that just the creature's head hung loosely out of his grasp. Ferren reached out and slashed the creature's head against the rough cavern walls as if he was lighting one of those new alchemical fire starters. There was a muted green flash and the smell of smoke. Suddenly Ferrens hand was filled with a wet and sticky mass of writhing tentacles.

“Yelch!” He yelped flinging the squirming monstrosity forcibly to the ground before stomping on it till he was rewarded by another flash of green and smoke. This time there was light. Another reincarnation Ferren had never seen before gently floated up off the ground as if it was swimming. Several tendrils of silent lightning coursed out from a glowing blue cloud which billowed slightly as it floated along through the air.

Annette gasped as the creature illuminated the blackened tunnel.

“This is Altera. It’s a Nilalang.” Introduced Ferren.

“Altera, this is Annette. She’s an A*****e.”

Annette flashed Ferren the archer's salute with her middle finger. Before turning back in awe toward Altera.

“Whats a Nilalong?” Asked Annette.

Ferren smiled to himself at the woman's fumbling butchery of the name he had made up for the little creature.

“Nil-i-lang” Pronounced Ferren slowly. “And it's a . . . Creature. . .of some sort. I found little Altera here when I was first starting to gather for the Guild. It saved me from walking into a ghost pocket a few years ago and it hasn’t left me since.”

“Ghost Pocket?” Annette asked tentatively.

“Oh it's just a bubble that you can’t see the borders of.”

Annette continued down the passage in silence for a bit.

“I’m sorry, a bubble?” she asked.

“Yeah, you know, a world bubble, an alchemist pocket, a void.”

“Avoid what?” She asked.

“No not avoid. A . . .Void. . . I’m not explaining this well. I thought it was fairly common knowledge.”

“Well?” she asked.

“Well. . . a bubble is an area that is . . .different. They're called bubbles because mostly you can see a boarder where things change. Like this one I found up north. Just a big ol bubble of heavy.”

“What do you mean?” Annette Prompted as she began to readjust the emballage around the child who had gently wakened and was now pawing at her breasts.

“I don’t know how else to explain it just this bubble of heavy. All the grass in the area was pressed down like there was an invisible giant stepping on everything. There were old oaks with branches that just fell to the ground and crushed themselves. I saw a sparrow fly into the bubble and drop to the ground like it was made of stone.”

“Effrayant” Said Annette in a hypnotized tone.”

“So a ghost pocket is just a bubble with edges that can’t be seen. They can be really dangerous because if you don’t notice the edges you could walk right into a bubble of acid rain or an aging, or a menagerie or. . . Ah. . . what are. . you. . . um. . ”

Annette looked up at Ferren now that the child was suckling peacefully at her breast.

“Quelle?”

Ferren attempted to look into the woman's eyes but his gaze was continually drawn downward to her exposed chest.

“I. . .Um. . . your. . .”

“What?” Annette inquired again in a concerned tone.

“I mean your. . .” Ferren fumbled for the words and glanced down at her chest again. He then realized that he was attempting to mime the word breasts, with two cupped hands held up at his own chest.

Annette's eyes narrowed in the pulsating blue light Altera was providing.

“Mes tetons?” Annette asked unhelpfully.

Ferren blushed and tried to change tactics. “I mean. . . it's just. . . wrong isn't it?”

“Why? êtes-vous gay?”

“What? No!” Ferren retorted defensively, after he correctly interpreted the last word.

Alteras light began bobbing shakily as though it were in the throes of laughter. Ferren quickly flipped it the finger.

“No, I mean can’t you use a bossa or something?”

“Well Connard, how about because I am on the run from a group of bloodthirsty assassin zealots and I’d like to travel light?

“I. . .”

“Or because I have every right to feed this child and I’m not going to be shamed by some couillon dégénérer because he doesn’t like tits?”

“Um.”

“Or because I have perfectly good milk here?” She grabbed her exposed breast and shook it at Ferren.

There was a long pregnant moment of silence.

“. . . I like tits. . .” Ferren said petulantly.

“Père céleste.” Annette shook her head and stomped ahead of Ferren and Altera down the dimly lit passageway.

Ferren looked up at Altera as it light bubbled out of the cloud giving the distinct impression of laughter.

“It’s weird isn't it? I mean I don’t just whip out my twig and berries whenever I want.”

Alteras bubbling laughter ceased and the calm blue cloud of light suddenly took on a dark violet visage. The nililang suddenly seemed threatening, like black clouds on a sunny day. The gentle tendrils of lightning that had been slowly undulating beneath Alteras happy cloud suddenly shot out at Ferren like accusing fingers accompanied by several crackling snaps.

“Woah!” Ferren backed away from the dangerous looking cloud with his hands up in the universal gesture for please refrain from eviscerating me for my foolishness. “Woah, I’m sorry.”

Altera dropped its tendrils and stalked away down the tunnel to float companionably alongside Annette.

Ferren sulked behind the duo in the wake of Altera's thorough berating and kicked at a small stone on the tunnel floor. As the party continued on in relative silence, a soft sound came from behind.

Ferren hissed at Annette. She turned back to him to see him with a finger raised to his lips.

As the pair listened there was a subdued clamor from the tunnel behind. Ferren crept forward slowly and reached up to take Altera in trembling hands. He plunged his fingers into the blue cloud and ripped the creature asunder. He was rewarded with the familiar flash of green and smoke and the feel of downy feathers as Altera morphed into one of its more recognizable forms; a small owl the size of a large apple. Ferren reached out in the dark looking for mother and child. As he searched for Annette his hand fell heavily on the smooth rounded curve of a silk covered buttocks.

“Uh. . .” Ferren said in the second between his accidental groping and the fully intentional flailing punch Annette managed to sink into his nose.

“Ow!” Ferren cried out as his eyes began to water and the sharp metallic taste of blood ran down his throat.

“ oh. . . pardon” Annette winced in the darkness.

“It's fine.”Ferren said as he reached out again this time grasping her hand. “Follow me.”

Altera lead the way using a method it and Ferren had worked out years ago. The nililang purchased on Ferrens outstretched left hand with a tallon on both his middle and index fingers. Altera would give directions by squeezing tight on either finger; middle for left index for right, with a few other signals thrown in for good measure. The party fled down the tunnel in silence. Listening as the clamor to the rear eventually subsided. Although the passageway was more than slightly circuitous Ferren felt as though they had been traveling predominantly north for the majority of the voyage meaning that the exit was most likely somewhere near one of the smaller villages which surrounded the large city of startford; Davenshire or possibly Kersy.

Ferren did some quick calculations and came to the conclusion that if the passageway did open in one of the northern villages he would need to do about an hours worth of backtracking to get back to the guild so he could pay Adalard his winnings and ask for a new loan to cover what he should have taken away from confessional.

Ferren felt Alteras claws dig into his fingers. Left right left right left.

Danger.

Ferren Froze.

Annette; not having received the signal to stop walked headlong into Ferren abruptly ramming the child into his back. There were three sudden sharp intakes of breath as Ferren and Annette cringed and the child readied his lungs.

“Waaaaa-eeeeee” The babies cry pierced the darkness. The sound echoed through the tunnel and met with silence for the space of a few quick heartbeats. Then footsteps - loud and quick and close.