Things that go bump in the night -- Alt. Board for the world of Variance

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Date Posted: 12:03:54 07/25/03 Fri
Author: Eremis, Jeremy, Soran
Subject: Things that go bump in the night

Eremis shifted in his seat, gripped by nervous apprehension. What in all bloody hell was going on in Moltare? Who could be behind the recent senseless slaughter of animals and Farmer Jomie? He started at Alexander while thinking about the question he'd just posed. As far as he knew, the village of Moltare held nothing important enough to kill for.

"Moltare isn't like Bizmar or other big cities," he told Alexander. "Most of the people living here are very religious, worshipping both Apollo and his sister Artemis. They fear the gods and wouldn't do anything to upset them. They're mild mannered folk, who work hard to earn a decent living. I can't imagine any of them committing such random acts of violence."

He forced himself to eat some of the delicious stew even though fear had taken away much of his appetite. "I've been away from Moltare for a year. A lot of things could've changed in that time, but I doubt anything changed that drastically. I did notice a few newly constructed homes and shops in the village, and I'm not familiar with many of the faces in this inn. Whoever's committing these horrible acts must be mad because no sane person could ever do such a thing!"

Thoughts of a deranged lunatic running around the village at night murdering animals and innocent people made him shudder. The feel of Cas' hand grabbing his beneath the table eased some of the terror building inside him. "We'll talk further in the morning," he said, meeting Alexander's eyes before getting to his feet and following Cas upstairs.

Eremis felt a lot safer within the confines of the small, rental room. Cas' fervent kisses took his mind off the mission, and the danger that might be lurking just outside the inn on the dark streets. Somehow, Cas managed to back him up to the edge of the bed while continuing to kiss him passionately. He fell upon the mattress, dragging his lover down on top of him. When the demon boy abruptly pulled away from him, he blinked in confusion.

"Remy, do you think we�ll make it, me and you? Do you think we�re just too raking different?"

The rest of his lover's words were lost to him when a new kind of fear welled up within him. Was Cas thinking about ending their relationship? Had he started developing feelings for someone else? He thought about Soran and frowned. The blonde seemed to be a likely candidate since he had a lot in common with Cas. And, they'd grown awfully close while he was away at Makoto's cabin kicking his drug habit.

He pushed Cas into a sitting position then took hold of his hands and gazed deeply into his vivid green eyes. "You can't leave me, Cas. I love you! I'll do whatever it takes to make our relationship work. I know I'm a coward and unbearable to live with at time but..."

The huge lump that had formed in his throat made it impossible for him to continue. Unable to blink away the tears that flooded his eyes, they streamed down his cheeks. He threw his arms around Cas, pulling him close and burying his face in his shoulder. "Please don't ever leave me," he begged. "I'll kill myself if you do."

*******

A wave of shock ran over Jeremy when he saw Rowan head upstairs with Soran instead of the sexy barmaid who'd offered to share her room with him. There had to be something terribly wrong with the elf! He wouldn't be surprised to learn that Soran had fed Rowan a love potion because that would explain his sudden attachment to the youth.

His brow furrowed in thought as he wondered if he could negate the effects of a love potion with another love potion. If so, he'd be able to win Rowan away from Soran with ease. He made a mental note to visit the shop of an experienced mage as soon as possible to learn exactly how the magical potions of this world worked.

A scowl crossed his face when he overheard Xue invite Kato to share a room with her. Obviously, his wish of spending the night with the hot, little wolfing wasn't going to be granted. He glanced at Alexander, and wondered if he might be up for a little action between the sheets but decided not to press his luck until he got to know him better. The youth might not appreciate the advances of another male.

"I'll share a room with you," he said, grinning at Alexander. "We can talk some more over a couple of drinks." Jeremy stopped at the bar to purchase a bottle of wine before they made their way upstairs to a room with two single beds. He tossed his backpack on the floor before sitting down on one of the beds and popping the cork from the bottle. After talking a long drink, he passed it to Alexander then leaned back against the headboard and lit up a cigarette.

"I told you a lot about myself and my home world during the ride here. Now it's your turn to spill the beans." He blew a few smoke rings into the air then shifted slightly to face the youth. "Have you ever been on an adventure before, Alex? Do you know how to wield a sword or can you cast spells or anything? I'm a pretty good swordsman but I don't know shit about magic. Cas and that idiot Soran are the novices in the group. This is their first adventure so I wouldn't rely on them too much if I were you." He quieted down and took another drink from the wine bottle while waiting for Alexander to say something.

*******

Soran bit his lip to keep from saying anything derogatory when Rowan pulled the barmaid onto his lap. Once again he tore his eyes away from the pair and stared at a couple of elderly drunks sitting at the bar, while battling down the green-eyed monster again. He had no raking right to be jealous of Rowan since they weren't committed to one another. The elf could sleep with whomever the hell he wanted to sleep with, and he'd simply have to grin and bear it, but he was finding out that that was a lot easier said than done.

Once the blatant little hussy ran off to the kitchen, Soran focused on his meal since he still didn't trust himself to say anything pleasant to Rowan. Maybe one day he'd learn to keep his sarcastic comments to himself, but that day hadn't arrived yet. He swallowed down a few spoonfuls of stew, facing the elf only after he called for everyone's attention.

Soran's cheeks turned a bit red when Rowan warned him not to venture outside the inn tonight, because he'd been thinking about doing just that. Wandering around the village seemed like a better idea than sitting upstairs imagining what his teacher and Belle were doing together in another room. He'd managed to survive on the streets of Bizmar all these years, so he had faith that he'd be able to avoid whatever terror happened to be lurking about Moltare right now.

"Soran and I will share a room; the rest of you decide amongst yourselves who goes where."

Huh? Soran blinked, not quite sure he'd heard his teacher correctly. Why would Rowan pass up the opportunity to be with a sexpot like Belle in favor of staying with him? Because he's your teacher and feels responsible for your safety, his inner voice told him. Rowan knew about his insomnia, and wisely didn't trust him to stay put in a room all night long. So, he's going to watch over me like a guard watches over a prisoner! That thought made him angry. I don't need a fucking keeper!

Once up in the room, he leaned against the door trying to shake off his anger while watching Rowan pace. He was somewhat taken aback by the worried look he saw in the elf's eyes when he rushed up to grab his shoulders and asked him to promise to wake him so that he could accompany him if he decided to leave the room. Suddenly, he got the distinct feeling that Rowan was with him because he really wanted to be with him and not because of a sense of responsibility.

"I promise I won't leave this room tonight," he said, locking eyes with the elf. When Rowan released his grip on his shoulders, Soran strode to the window and pulled open the shutters. Maybe the rest of Moltare felt safer sleeping behind closed doors and windows, but he preferred letting in a little fresh air a while, especially since the room reeked of garlic. "These people must think there are vampires running around."

He slammed his mouth shut and cocked his head when he caught a glimpse of Belle before she disappeared behind some tall trees. "I take my earlier promise back," he said, rushing up to grab Rowan's arm. As he pulled him from the room, he told him about seeing Belle. "For some reason, she's not too afraid to walk around in the dark. If we hurry, we should be able to follow her."

They ran down the stairs, jumping over the bodies of the sleeping patrons that littered the floor on their way to the front door. Soran led them to the tree where he'd last saw Belle then paused, unsure of how to proceed since the woman was nowhere in sight. Remembering Makoto's advice, he closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, focusing on his instincts. "That way," he said, pointing west a few minutes later.

After nearly twenty minutes of traveling they still saw no sign of Belle but came upon an eerie sight in a small clearing within a sparsely wooded area. The half moon revealed strange symbols drawn around a large circle in the dirt. Soran crouched down, scooping up a bit of dirt from one of the symbols, and smelling it. "This was drawn in blood." He rose to his full height, hurrying up alongside of Rowan, who kept rubbing the backs of his palms as if they pained him.

"Devil worshipers," the elf muttered.

Soran was about to ask him what he meant when a large rodent of some sort ran across his path. A loud yelp of fear poured from his mouth instead as he withdrew his sword. "It was probably just a rat," he said, once his heartbeat returned to normal. "My shout might have drawn unwanted attention. Maybe we should return to the inn since we have no real idea what we're up against here." He glanced at the strange symbols then sheathed his sword before meeting the elf's eyes. "I'm damned glad you decided not to spend the night with Belle."

An image of the barmaid reaching out to touch Rowan's hair flashed in his mind. "I bet she's got a few strands of your hair, Ro!" Worry filled his eyes. "She can't use them to cast nasty spells at you from a distance or something like that, can she?" Not knowing anything about magic and such things as devil worshipers really sucked at times.

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