video | un: haltham

[aprescoup]

( Friends, family, travellers: you might remember this friendly speaker, eyes bright and wild while blood's drenched the better half of his grinning face. )

Hello? This is Haaaaaaltham. How do you do? Me... I'm — ( The pendant briefly slips from his hands, showing glimpses of Haltham and a rolling, feral dead creature he subdues with a final snap of its neck. Patiently, after recovering the pendant: ) Fine. You, um... you're fine, yeah? Also? You're good people. Good people.

So I told m'friend, I told her... said, me, these are good people, and they will help you. ( Another pause, as a rabid goat jumps over Haltham's head to crush a dead man. Behind him, rows of burning homes distinctly different from the snowed-under peaks of Haltham's native Sa-Hareth. ) Goat says hi. Good goat.

Now... now, my friend, yeah? She's... last we met, she wasn't that, she was... riding hard. In the fancy magic city. And them others coming after, her old friends. One of them. Only... now she's not feeling friendly with the Brothers no more. Now, she's wanting to be friends with us. All of us. Cause she's... in a bit o'trouble with that one. The mean one. The one that brays like animals... and... that's no nice way to treat a lady. Me, I always thought... you got a lady friend, you treat'er well.

She's got to stay in Krrrr-Croak-Weeeey-who? Couple o'days. Call it... three? Four weeks? But she doesn't want no finding, when the animal comes. And she's a little... slimmer in her strengths. Til the old man mountain breathes fire again. So, you know. If you can be nice to her, our huntress. She'll make it worth everyone's while. Yours... mine... ( Another undead creature assaults his back, only to solidify in pure ice within half a heartbeat. Haltham points behind himself: ) His.

What do you say? ( All at once, warmth wanes from Haltham's voice, hollowing it: ) ThIn K. Th ErE aRe BenEfitS o F Gi vInG HER tHre E weEks o F shElt Er. WhaT Do YoU saY?



( ooc: — cast an IC vote until 23:59 GMT on 2 April if the party should hide and protect the Huntress for a few weeks in Ke-Waihu, during the Beastmaster's upcoming visit

— new characters can assume party NPCs Asgeirr or Hatisse have shared told them about the Huntress, Haltham/Anurr and Beastmaster

— feel free to spam/threadjack/discuss IC opinions in this post — Haltham will respond sporadically; no input from the Huntress at this time! )

Comments

[thebrideoffire]

Of course not. Nor will I make such a decision based on trust alone. Not when there are so many innocents in this village that we must protect.

[aprescoup]

Yeah... yeah, you've got the look of a woman distrusting. Me, I'm... she's a soft one. She is. Frail. Frail looking.

[thebrideoffire]

Frail looking? Is she ill or is this a normal look for her?

[aprescoup]

Only know her some days... past that, what was worth seeing at distance. She's slim, ah. Small. Human-like...

[thebrideoffire]

[Changing the subject briefly.]

Is there another language you speak?

[It seemed his language was broken, as someone might if this was a second or third language.]

[aprescoup]

Me? I'm only...

( But then his voice withers, replaced by sounds that might as well be born of dozens of different mouths: ) H aL thAm.

[thebrideoffire]

[She's disturbed now. The sound making her skin crawl.]

So you are. Who do you serve?

[aprescoup]

Only me. Only m'self...

[thebrideoffire]

[Yet there are so many voices in him. It's disturbing.]

And if we don't accept the Huntress? Will anything happen?

[aprescoup]

To you? Or to her?

Ain't no oracle, me, but... can't see it going well. She dies, you're left with him at full strength. Least she knows where he's soft.