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our forest terrain. Hah!" Tallin sounded excited. "We could be invisible in
the trees, and run up among the branches, shooting down with our arrows. We
survived the Scouring, when some of you high-minded human characters decided
to wipe out the other races on Gamearth."
Delrael looked for some resentment in the ylvan's eyes, but he saw
none. After the Sorcerer race departed on their Transition, the remaining
character races were left to fight over the map. Human characters rallied with
some of the half-breed Sorcerers to defend against the reptilian Slac. Other
human fighters, thinking themselves brave, went to extremes and tried to
exterminate all other character races. In their fear and fanaticism they
struck at even the benign ones, like the ylvan or the panther people, the
khelebar.
That was many turns ago, though, and Tallin did not seem to carry a
grudge.
"I stayed with my people. _Somebody_ has to take care of them, since
they all seem to have knocked their heads against a tree too many times,"
Tallin said. "Even though they turned into a bunch of sore Losers even before
they went into their daze. They stopped playing games for enjoyment. Kellos,
our village leader, turned them sour, made them afraid and suspicious, for all
the good it did them. They still succumbed to whatever put them in a daze
anyway. They could have been having fun instead of worrying all that time.
I've been getting food for them, since they don't seem to have any interest in
doing it themselves."
Vailret repeated his original question. "But what's wrong with them?
Why are they acting like that?"
Tallin knitted his eyebrows and looked at Vailret. "Do I look like
someone who sits around and explains things all day? Normally they would have
fought like hornets, especially with Kellos stirring them up. Now, though,
they're just sleepwalking -- well, you saw. What's gotten into them? Is it
some kind of spell? You tell me. I don't understand these things."
Vailret stared ahead, eyes fixed but unfocused on the little man's
green cap. Delrael couldn't imagine any reason, but then Journeyman spoke up.
"Scartaris has the power to manipulate other characters with his mind,
as if he is a Player in his own right. He can control actions, even from this
great a distance."
Tallin looked at them, puzzled. "What's a Scartaris?" Nobody answered
his question.
"Wonderful..." Bryl said. "What's going to stop it from happening to
_us_?"
Delrael thought the Earthspirits in his belt might protect them, if the
Spirits were even still alive.
"As a matter of fact," Bryl continued, "What protected Tallin? He
should have been controlled just like the others."
Journeyman raised his lumpy eyebrows, like two hairless caterpillars
arching themselves for battle. "Enquiring minds want to know."
"Maybe _he's_ a spy, planted here to join our group and sabotage our
quest," Bryl said. He glared at the little man.
"Bryl, you said that about Journeyman, too." Delrael frowned at the
half-Sorcerer with open skepticism.
"Look, I didn't _ask_ you to come rescue me." Tallin flared his
nostrils, angry and insulted, but he managed to hold his temper. Delrael
admired that. "Are you suggesting I _pretended_ to get captured by Gairoth?
You've got mud for brains."
But Vailret's face carried a doubtful expression. "If your entire
village was corrupted by Scartaris, how did you alone stay untouched?"
"Brilliant question. I probably never would have thought of that one
myself!" Tallin looked at the rest of them with a haughty expression, and then
turned to Delrael for support. "How should I know? I've told you the truth."
Delrael pursed his lips. "If he was working with Scartaris and the
Outsiders, he'd make sure he had a good cover story."
"Good point," Journeyman said.
"Wait a minute." Vailret motioned with his hands for them to calm down.
"We all know about some of the rulebreakers. Characters like Lellyn, and like
Tarne. Maybe certain characters have a natural immunity, something Scartaris
can't touch. It would fit with the Rules of Probability."
"Maybe this is Gamearth fighting back with flukes of its own, twists in
the Game," Delrael said.
Vailret's eyes sparkled with the possibility. Delrael could see how
intrigued he was by the idea. "And what if the Outsiders don't know anything
about it?"
Delrael clapped the ylvan on the back to get them all moving again.
"Can you give me a hint about where we're going? I don't waste much time
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