[Challenge 007: Vision] Old Friends and Fortunes
Challenge: #007, Vision
Title: Old Friends and Fortunes
Characters: Hannah, Eliwood, Hector
Word Count: 691
Notes: This is so lame..... but maybe I get points for using character nobody ever thinks of? 8B;
"I really don't see why we have to pander to this crazy old bat, we--"
"Peace, Hector. Fifty is not so much, not for a chance to spare even one innocent life, for a chance to help find my father."
"Eliwood! She demanded hot tea and," He spat of the ground, grinding his teeth with sneer, "It's like she expects us --us-- to wait on her hand and foot! If she'd had the gall to pull this in Ostia, I'd have had--"
"Much to my own disappointment, Hector, we are in Laus, not Ostia, and we are at the mercy of her own forces with little time and means to prepare. Hannah says she can tell us what weapons to take and who to wield them. Such knowledge will not only spare lives but resources."
Hector stopped and folded his arms, the sloshing of the mug in one of his fists darkening his other arm with the hot liquid. His lip twitched but he did not otherwise react. "And what if she is wrong, Eliwood? What if the old bat takes us for fools, leads us to our death and rakes our bodies for valuables?" He bowed his head, fixing Eliwood with a focused gaze, "are you prepared for that?"
Eliwood took the tea--or what was left of it-- from Hector's hand and wordlessly took it ahead. "Here you are, milady. It's not much, but the best we could come up with, given the circumstances. And here is your fee." He placed the cup and a small pouch of coins into the old woman's extended hands.
"What a thoughtful man, thank you so much, dear." She delicately brought the unwieldy mug to her lips as if it were a fragile cup of Etrurian porcelain. She took a deep breath and leaned back, eyes closed, before coming back for another sim of tea. She did this several times before returning the mug to Eliwood.
Realizing he was holding his breath, Eliwood let it and the tension in his shoulders go. "Well?"
"Oh, sorry, dear, I haven't performed my ritual yet. I was just enjoying the tea you brought me."
"Get on with it, you frog-kissing hag unless you want death to reach you sooner than you expected!"
"Hector!"
"What? She's wasting our time, Eliwood, we have things to d--"
"Your foes favor spears and lances," The bickering lords turned to see Hannah standing loosely with her eyes closed. One of the coins from the pouch she had been given was pressed against her lips. She moved it to her eye, leaning her head back. "I see familiarity. You have among you a self-possessed and assertive friend--a female cleric-- and if she is in the right place, her former companionship with someone may earn you an ally." Hannah gestured in the air, as if wafting smoke and fog from before her. "The weather will be unpredictable. Don't be caught in the open--be prepared for sudden changes."
Eliwood and Hector regarded the old woman with awe as she slowly opened her eyes, blinking several times. She leaned her head back down, taking the coin and dropping it into her bag with a smile. "I will see you on the morrow, I think, but, for now, I must rest my old bones. Seeing that which is Beyond sight is a tiring business." She waved to Eliwood and strode away, angling towards Merlinus's wagon.
"He...Hector.... has--has she...met Serra before?"
Hector paused, shaking his head and folding his arms again. "She has to be lying, Serra doesn't have friends, let alone old ones."
Eliwood shoved Hector's arm, "But certainly you must have some belief in her now. Admit it. You were wrong."
Hector pinched his chin between thumb and forefinger, looking up as if in a great deal of thought, "Well," he conceded, "she didn't really tell us what weapons to bring or who to wield them." He made a face at his friend and narrowly dodged another swing.
"You're just reading too much into things. Next you'll be asking her to tell you which end of your axe is the one you hit people with."
...x0x...Fin
Title: Old Friends and Fortunes
Characters: Hannah, Eliwood, Hector
Word Count: 691
Notes: This is so lame..... but maybe I get points for using character nobody ever thinks of? 8B;
"I really don't see why we have to pander to this crazy old bat, we--"
"Peace, Hector. Fifty is not so much, not for a chance to spare even one innocent life, for a chance to help find my father."
"Eliwood! She demanded hot tea and," He spat of the ground, grinding his teeth with sneer, "It's like she expects us --us-- to wait on her hand and foot! If she'd had the gall to pull this in Ostia, I'd have had--"
"Much to my own disappointment, Hector, we are in Laus, not Ostia, and we are at the mercy of her own forces with little time and means to prepare. Hannah says she can tell us what weapons to take and who to wield them. Such knowledge will not only spare lives but resources."
Hector stopped and folded his arms, the sloshing of the mug in one of his fists darkening his other arm with the hot liquid. His lip twitched but he did not otherwise react. "And what if she is wrong, Eliwood? What if the old bat takes us for fools, leads us to our death and rakes our bodies for valuables?" He bowed his head, fixing Eliwood with a focused gaze, "are you prepared for that?"
Eliwood took the tea--or what was left of it-- from Hector's hand and wordlessly took it ahead. "Here you are, milady. It's not much, but the best we could come up with, given the circumstances. And here is your fee." He placed the cup and a small pouch of coins into the old woman's extended hands.
"What a thoughtful man, thank you so much, dear." She delicately brought the unwieldy mug to her lips as if it were a fragile cup of Etrurian porcelain. She took a deep breath and leaned back, eyes closed, before coming back for another sim of tea. She did this several times before returning the mug to Eliwood.
Realizing he was holding his breath, Eliwood let it and the tension in his shoulders go. "Well?"
"Oh, sorry, dear, I haven't performed my ritual yet. I was just enjoying the tea you brought me."
"Get on with it, you frog-kissing hag unless you want death to reach you sooner than you expected!"
"Hector!"
"What? She's wasting our time, Eliwood, we have things to d--"
"Your foes favor spears and lances," The bickering lords turned to see Hannah standing loosely with her eyes closed. One of the coins from the pouch she had been given was pressed against her lips. She moved it to her eye, leaning her head back. "I see familiarity. You have among you a self-possessed and assertive friend--a female cleric-- and if she is in the right place, her former companionship with someone may earn you an ally." Hannah gestured in the air, as if wafting smoke and fog from before her. "The weather will be unpredictable. Don't be caught in the open--be prepared for sudden changes."
Eliwood and Hector regarded the old woman with awe as she slowly opened her eyes, blinking several times. She leaned her head back down, taking the coin and dropping it into her bag with a smile. "I will see you on the morrow, I think, but, for now, I must rest my old bones. Seeing that which is Beyond sight is a tiring business." She waved to Eliwood and strode away, angling towards Merlinus's wagon.
"He...Hector.... has--has she...met Serra before?"
Hector paused, shaking his head and folding his arms again. "She has to be lying, Serra doesn't have friends, let alone old ones."
Eliwood shoved Hector's arm, "But certainly you must have some belief in her now. Admit it. You were wrong."
Hector pinched his chin between thumb and forefinger, looking up as if in a great deal of thought, "Well," he conceded, "she didn't really tell us what weapons to bring or who to wield them." He made a face at his friend and narrowly dodged another swing.
"You're just reading too much into things. Next you'll be asking her to tell you which end of your axe is the one you hit people with."
...x0x...Fin