It was that breathless time in the afternoon desert when all living things cease to move, when the air is still and anything with any intelligence whatsoever seeks shelter from the baking sun. Shelters had been pitched and the travelers rested in the shade, waiting for the shadows to lengthen so they could continue scouting the area. For the moment, they were secure in the knowledge that only the insane would move during the heat of the day, and so nobody would sneak up on them.
Even the vultures appeared to have taken a break. Sitefnut wondered idly how long it would take them to pick clean the corpse of the dragon. They'd bury the dead men, but the dragon there was little they could do about.
She held the little grey symbiote in her hand, having managed to coax it out of her eye. After checking to make sure that nobody was currently looking her way, she held it up to her ear, and winced in disgusted fascination as it seemed to flow down her ear canal. It seemed to settle into place, and she tilted herb head as she began to hear...
Voices?
Voices not human. Voices growling, laughing, whining. Speaking in the hyena tongue. If she concentrated, she could make out single voices in the cacophony. They were talking about the movements of humans, the movements of prey, asking for the location of water, noting places that fights had happened. She heard Usi's voice and then Isu's saying, We are here, in (north north northerly past the sand sea by the big north water). There is perhaps a herd or two in the area, but we have not seen them, only smelled old spoor. There was an encampment of tailless here, but our pack destroyed them. There is a dead dragon here, meat for any in the area to come eat. This is the pack of Rememberer. Chosen is listening now.
Ripples of disbelief. Chosen? But Chosen is still tailless.
Chosen listens. Chosen is still tailless. Amusement from Usi. Chosen is occasionally clever.
Sitefnut kept listening to the news that rippled among the Pack. "And you hear this all the time?"
Usi looked up at her. All of us do, except Chosen. And now you can, as well. There was still amusement in his voice, and she nudged him with her toe.
Keeping her voice low, she said, "You know, except for the collar, I seem to almost be a Rememberer myself."
Not quite, said another voice. There is quite a lot about being Rememberer that Usi has not told you.
She smiled as she recognized Imhotep's voice. He wasn't visible, but he never was when she was in view of other people. She shook the symboiant out of her ear and slipped it back into her eye, blinking, looking around.
Sekath limped past her, into the shade of the main shelter. Sitefnut blinked as she saw the druid looking exactly as he always did...and his staff, which seemed to be alive. She couldn't say why she suddenly had the conviction that there was a dragon in the staff until she noticed that the staff had a faint glowing outline around it, glimmering in the shape of a gold dragon.
He disappeared behind Raam, who Sitefnut took yet another close look at. She'd had a conversation with Imhotep recently that had yielded nothing but more questions about what precisely the other function of the amulet was. Her theory was currently that Raam was really something else. Maybe something icky, like an illithid. Or better yet...a girl. A tiny, delicately built girl, maybe someone like Amun. She regarded the half-giant's bulk and giggled quietly to herself with that thought.
She wondered, idly, why the symboiant couldn't see Raam's true form. Maybe the half-giant was his true form. Boring, she sighed to herself. At least it could show me what the other function of that amulet does. Why can I see the magic with my Detect Magic, but the critter won't show me even that?
There was a strange sensation as of something moving inside her skull. A small voice in her head piped, god magic.
She started, sitting upright. "Excuse me?"
The little voice again. It sounded somehow metallic, a little grating. no show you god magic.
Was that the symboiant? She closed her mouth and thought in its direction, as she did when she spoke silently with her familiars and Imhotep, Oh, yes, that would be Imhotep, who's currently around somewhere. That's....beyond a normal artifact, isn't it? Hm.
yes your arm band before he was a god. necklaces after. bad for me to show after.
She swallowed. The symboiant was intelligent? Somehow, the dwarf mage hadn't mentioned that. You can, you just won't? Um, not that I'm blaming you.
no, bad things happen. pain, both you and i. weakness, death, seconds all it take. very bad. The voice was a little sulky. used to a while ago. imhotep make it difficult to do. we quit.
This thought conversation was odd and tiring. Sitefnut looked around and scooted herself so she was facing away from the others. She pitched her voice low, so that though they'd hear her talking if they were listening, they wouldn't be able to make out what she was saying. Hopefully, they'd figure she was talking to the hyenas. "Probably a good idea. Hm. Are there more of you than just the three, then?"
many. in the late present, thousands. in the near present just a few hundred. we hide mostly.
"Oh. In people? The dwarf said he'd thought you were destroyed."
yes, have to, only way to live. only hibernate for months maybe less. dwarf mage say he hoped we were all destroyed. big difference.
The marble had a point. "Yes, true. so you can live in people without knowing that you're there. Did the last person you inhabited know about you?"
The metallic voice somehow had a shrug of indifference in it. maybe. i leave him alone. darkling take him over. bad darkling.
The darkling? Oh, the black marble that she'd wrapped up and stuck in a pouch. "I see. I've got that one here--or at least I did." She reached into the pouch where she'd stuffed the wrapped marble, only to encounter dampness. The darkling was liquid, attempting to ooze through the bag she'd tucked it in. At her touch, it shrank into itself, becoming as hard as a marble once more. "Naughty thing! Goodness. I've got a waterskin that should contain it for the moment." She found the waterskin and slipped the darkling inside, capping it firmly.
best to find iron box with lead lining around it. iron makes us hurt. won't cross iron.
She weighed the waterskin in one hand. "I probably ought to destroy it, shouldn't I? Even if it's evil, it's probably better to do that than to let it starve to death."
no, no starve! must be three always three in range. The metallic voice took on a tinge of panic. One die all die.
"Oh. Ah. You said you could go into hibernation for months. How long do you need to feed before you can go into hibernation again?" She was trying for diplomacy, and wondering if she was succeeding.
When it next spoke, the symboiant seemed a bit calmer. not long day at most. take months to influence. best to feed us, then let us rejoin as one, we feed darkling and split again.
Reasonable enough. "Ah, that's an idea. The darkling's probably pretty well-fed at the moment, since it had taken over Rameses, right?"
be months before he need food. watch your other friend though, added the symboiant, casually. might act funny in a few months.
She raised an eyebrow before she remembered that the symboiant couldn't see her. "Funny how?"
goldling like to influence people just like darkling.
"Ah. But in the other direction, I assume. I'll have to let him know. And you don't like to influence people?"
nope, don't care.
"Well, that's reassuring. You're the best of the batch, then." She smiled, remembering her instinctive protection of the little grey ball despite Amunet's request for it. He'd gotten quite enough of the magic stuff lately, she figured. "You influence dragons? To what end?"
yep, me best. The metallic voice was smug. dragons not see well in days past. we help them. they get smart, decide they not need us. they use magic to enhance themselves. but we fix them. we change them. fight each other now.
Sitefnut swallowed. That We fix them was a chilling reminder that what she was dealing with wasn't human--and had a very different way of looking at life than she did. She had to remember that this was not a pet, and she didn't even know if it could be trusted yet. In as neutral a tone as she could manage, she asked, "And those changes are passed down from parent to child?
yes. all neutral before, walk around like they knew everything. we fix them. made them fight.
She murmured, "And thus, probably, why they don't rule the world."
Was that pride in the little voice? happened many times over the long ago present. Make drow, druegar, deep gnomes.
"I guess that's why the dwarf said he hoped you were all destroyed."
Resentment from the symboiant. dwarves very smart, nearly killed us all. we hid, humans mostly. humans we hard to tell in. humans already that way. we just make extremes. don't have to, in nature now.
She chuckled. "We'll see if the elf still wants the goldling after I tell him this."
take him months to even notice. might make him happier.
She paused, thinking. Without Tetikare, Amunet was slowly changing in how he treated the rest of them. She wondered if he missed her, or if something about her had masked part of the elf's nature. Slowly, she replied, "Maybe. Maybe I'll give him what he needs to find out for himself."
you choice, you say you didn't like him that way anyway. change good.
She considered. "I might not like him this way. But he probably likes himself that way."
ok you call. don't let him squish goldling.
Sitefnut shook her head. "I won't. I'll be sure to tell him that if he kills one, he kills all three. I can't promise, but I'll do my best."
ok thank you. Relief from the little voice. you should try me other places. eyes ok but other places fun too.
She thought about it, glancing around again. Nobody seemed inclined even to move, much less come over and talk to her. "Come out, then. I'll try you on my skin."
The symboiant slipped out of her eye and into her cupped hand, and then seemed to collapse and disappear into her skin. She held her breath as a very strange feeling came over her, cold and hot at the same time. Suddenly, she could feel just the slightest movement of the air as if it were a live thing. She could feel the differences in temperature on every part of her body, warm torso, cooler limbs. She could feel every minute detail of the weave of her clothes, feel the linen of her dress and every flaw in the warp of the fabric. The staff she laid one hand on was from a tree called a hickory, from a land far north of here. She'd had no idea of that until this moment--she'd bought it in Pi Rameses because she'd liked the color of the wood. She could feel the heat of Usi and Isu, lying near her feet, and even if she hadn't been their familiar she would have known exactly where they were.
Sitefnut sat for long minutes, her eyes closed, absorbing information. She muttered, "That is interesting. In a good way. Um, before I try it, what would you do in my mouth?"
The symboiant replied, for you mostly taste, things like differences in flavors. tell you what place wine comes from and how much water added. tell you spices in food, tell you if poisoned or just gone bad.
"Ah. You won't change the words that come out of my mouth like the darkling, then?"
or goldling. no, you speak lies or truth, doesn't matter to me. Seemingly offhandedly, the symboiant added, if you leave me on your skin, you have the best matings of your life.
She choked, her eyes flying open. When she recovered, she said, "Ah...no chance of that, I'm afraid."
There was just a tinge of regret in the voice. ok, you no like to make the funny faces. many do.
"Tried it. Didn't like it. Why am I even discussing this with you? Sheesh. Come here. Back in my eye with you." As the symboiant came off of her skin, every hair on her body seemed to stand on end, her skin crawling. As a change of subject, she asked, "And what do I call you? Mistling?"
greyling is the one I use most.
"Greyling it is. And how close do you need to be to the others?"
no more than three miles apart for three days.
"Ah, so if we were farther apart than that for more than three days, you'd die. Good thing that we tend not to separate much. Having enemies who'd like to kill you is good for that." She added, thoughtfully, "I think I'll get the teleporting knife from Terik, though."
The metallic voice seemed to warm to her once more. we like to travel in families like this one.
She frowned, puzzled. "Doesn't it defeat the purpose, then, for the goldling and the darkling to change their hosts so they'll fight?"
they hate each other. try to fight. most often darkling or goldling put in box and sleep. Shrug in the voice. that why I suggest.
"An excellent idea. And, well, the darkling might come in handy if one of us is subjected to torture."
yes he has his uses. both do. just not as useful as i. The smugness was back. It was a proud creature, Sitefnut thought. She'd need to remember that.
"Glad I insisted on taking you, then. Besides, the goldling and I probably wouldn't have gotten along at all." She stretched, running her hands through her sweat-damp hair, wishing the breeze from the ocean would rise soon.
no you have wrong attitude.
"It would have had to change me, and wouldn't that be strange. Though it might be interesting to be like Mayet for a while."
She could have sworn it was laughing. mayet a bit too fanatical. The greyling's voice stopped and then sobered a bit. make sure you don't touch or give us to the godlings amulets.
She stopped. "Let me guess. Whatever Imhotep did you to to make you not look at his stuff will kill you if you touch them?"
purge purge purge. bad purging.
She didn't even want to know. "I'll....leave it at that. There's not much chance of my touching those amulets, but I'll warn Amunet. Besides, The amulets will throw people away from them if they try to touch them. Including me."
Smugness again. yes, you liked when the one you lust after get tossed.
"Hey! I do not." Indignation straightened her spine.
me see you staring at his bulges. me your eyes, remember. It was laughing.
She wrinkled her nose, lowered her voice to barely a whisper. "Pfft. So I look. I'm surrounded by men who keep themselves in shape. That doesn't mean I lust after them."
Still smug. me your skin for a minute. you have urges. you just shut them off.
She hissed, "You might not have noticed, but I'm a respectable widow. Long past breeding age. Lust completely fails to be dignified. Besides, isn't a one of them who would indulge me even if I did participate in such ridiculousness." In the back of her mind, she could feel amusement, and she sent a silent snarl towards the source of that amusement. You stay out of this, Imhotep, she thought. Then she paused. Why so vehement? Why did this hit such a deep nerve with her?
The greyling replied, mind knows but body doesn't. still works.
She sighed. "Like I said, I tried it and I didn't like it." To herself, she thought, I can't believe I'm discussing *this* with a little grey marble.
The metallic voice paused. no you didn't like it because you hated your father for marrying you off. Mind take over. Make it painful.
She clenched her teeth as the words hit bone. She fought her irritation down. "Hmph. Like I said. Too old for such things." Perhaps the greyling would leave it at that?
No such luck. never too old, just too stubborn.
She wrinkled her nose. "Even if I did decide to indulge, I'm reasonably certain none of my companions would want to cooperate. Better to leave it where it is."
maybe but mates come when you don't expect. you love now. never have before. The greyling paused, seeming to be considering. feelings long locked away. now returning. let love be one of them.
It was becoming a little difficult to breathe, and Sitefnut clenched her fists. I do? she wondered. Is that what this is? Aloud, she replied slowly, "Maybe. I've heard things about love that made me glad that it didn't seem to affect me. But it would be a new experience, that's for sure."
Again the greyling was laughing a little. you can be old hag or you can be wild witch. you choice.
She chuckled, wondering if this thing wasn't in league with Imhotep. It certainly seemed to be speaking in the same vein as he sometimes did. Perhaps he was trying out a different voice to help convince her. She wondered, briefly, who else was going to happen by her head and make themselves comfortable. It was going to get very crowded in her head if this kept happening. She replied, "I've had the grief. I might as well have the good side of that, eh?"
might. you old. experience all things. not just half.
She twisted her mouth. "What's a little loss of dignity, after all?" But in the back of her mind, belying her brave words, she wondered, Who would have me, as old as I am? Thirty, even twenty years ago, perhaps. But nobody but Soren ever gave me a second glance--and he was somewhat obligated to. Why would anyone now, when I am this? She shook herself. It was all an academic point, anyway.
The greyling said, yes, have fun. you been mother, grandmother, leader, stick in the mud. never fun, smiling, laughing, happy. you face not break if you laugh. me don't think so anyway.
Stick in the mud? Hmph. "I suppose you'd know, eh? hells. I'm in the middle of an undeclared war, neck-deep in pharaohs, and death runs after me like one of the hyenas. Why not laugh? It's really all rather absurd, honestly." She was snickering now, thinking of the large world and all of its eyes seemingly trained on her and those she traveled with. "I mean, me! Involved in all of these stupidly important things!" Usi, at her words, looked up at her, brown eyes dancing with amusement.
see look, it not break. me worried there for a minute.
She rolled her eyes. "I'd throw something at you, but you're in my eye, so I won't."
just try and poke me. me dare you.
She snickered. "Right. You'd just slide around to the back of my eye and all I'd do is hurt myself."
she smarter than she looks. The greyling seemed to give itself a mental shake. ok sleep now. must rest. The voice and the presence disappeared from her mind. If she prodded, she could almost feel it, but she was shaken enough by their conversation that she didn't want to.
She leaned forward and laid her cheek on Usi's warm hide. "I do laugh, don't I? Sometimes?"
Not enough. Laugh more. Like the god said, it'll help you understand. His voice was gentle. You still fight what you're becoming.
Isu opened one eye. What you are, she corrected. You're one of us. You just have some bad human habits to shake.
She snorted. "Like dignity?"
"Like dignity." She looked up and saw Imhotep sitting cross-legged on the other side of Usi. "All in good time--or when you are least expecting it."
She wrinkled her nose at him. "A lifetime of habit takes some time to undo, you know. I thought you said I wouldn't see you unless I was alone."
He waved his hand. "Close enough. I've been doing a bit of masking. The others think you're studying and muttering to yourself."
"Must be nice," she grumbled. "At this point I can't figure out if I have nothing to lose--or everything in the world. And I'm starting to wonder if it actually doesn't matter which it is."
"Depends on your point of view I suppose." The god shrugged. "You were wondering about the pieces of First. Think of the hyena god as a cup of water. Tip it enough and the rest will come out of the pharaohs and your family, and the god will be rejoined."
This was new information, and Sitefnut blinked as she absorbed it. "How close are we?"
"Very close. A few more pharaohs killed, and over it will go." He was watching her with mild eyes that Sitefnut was sure were masking a sudden, intense interest.
She bit her lip and sat up, thinking. "Hm. And at that point, we have...the god living inside Usi's collar? That can't be comfortable for him. And I'll have to figure out right quick what to do about it, when that happens."
"In a manner of speaking."
She blinked, then sighed. "Let me guess. I'm going to have to wait to find out what happens when we get there, right? Knowing that it's probably going to be sooner rather than later helps, though."
"Something like that. There is a reason I am here, you know." He gave her a quick smile. "Not just because of my charming personality."
She chuckled again, looking at him a bit sidelong. "I figured it wasn't just because you liked me."
"Ah, but you have such a charming manner about you. It's fun to be an avatar to only one person."
"I think that's the first time in my life anyone's ever described me as charming, even in jest. Not too many people get this sort of personal attention from even the avatar of a god, though. I'm not certain if I should feel privileged or afraid." She smiled at him, thinking to herself that at the moment she felt more the former than the latter.
Imhotep shrugged. "None before, and probably none after."
Sitefnut blinked, sitting up a little more. Carefully, she said, "Really. I figured there must be some sort of precedent." She frowned, thinking. "It's very odd to think that what I am is so very important, you know."
"It will only be important if you do it right." He was watching her again with that direct gaze that she'd found unnerving at first but was starting to grow more comfortable with.
She had been speaking to him over the last day or so about this, after she'd gotten her first (and, she hoped, her only) glimpse into his mind. He had revealed that she had the potential to reunite the First Hyena, the god that had split himself into pieces and hidden them in hyenas and humans with hyena souls, and return him to the place where he had come from. But he would not tell her what she was going to have to do, only saying that it was an internal journey, not an external one. There was something she was going to have to do, something she was going to have to be, and she still had not the first clue what it might be. She sighed and shifted, fanning herself. "Well, if I get it wrong, the chance is evidently gone forever. Hm. Wonder if it's going to kill me? It might, I suppose. Not that that's any reason not to do the right thing." She was speaking more to herself than him, thinking aloud.
"Might, might not." He shrugged again. "Too close to call at this point."
Sitefnut shifted and looked out at the ocean. "Eh. If it's my time, it's my time. Hope my heart balances. I'd regret not getting the chance to see what comes next, but."
Imhotep's voice was quietly confident. "I am sure that it will balance. Even if I have to put my finger on the scales."
She blinked, looking at him. Was he serious? There had been no laughter in his voice, nothing to suggest he was making fun of her. She chuckled. "You wouldn't do that to poor Osiris, would you?" Somewhere within herself, a small warmth glowed, one that she didn't really want to think about right now. She had never wanted protection from anyone. But if it were offered...
Imhotep interrupted her thoughts. "He owes me one or two or twelve. But who's counting?"
"You, evidently." She wrinkled her nose at him.
He was laughing now, quietly. "Just a little."
"Maybe you're a bit human after all, still."
"I was, after all, human. Being a god doesn't mean I've lost that."
Sitefnut wondered, suddenly, And just how human are you, Imhotep? How much of the man is left inside the god? If he heard her question, he didn't answer. Aloud, she said, "Well, I'm helping return people to Osiris' realm that escaped. That should count for something."
"It's racking up that way, yes."
They were silent for a space. Then Imhotep stirred and lifted his face towards the blue line of the sea. "Breeze is coming up. I'll see you later." He gave her a quick smile and disappeared, the sense of his presence receding. As promised, a wind cooler than the burning desert air blew across the travelers, shaking the cloth of the shelters and lifting Sitefnut's hair away from her face.
She smiled, pinning her headcloth back in place. There was exploring to do--and, if she and her hyenas were lucky, it might be deemed safe enough for them to hunt tonight...
