Rask moans in in his sleep…
“No… not Gus…”
“…Ca’armine…”
Sad moans shift to flat mutterings…
“… exis… join the horde… sword…”
“… ‘thelred is the weakest…”
“Two swords… the only real threat…”
“.. ‘us… at a distance…”
And finally, grim determination.
“Break the bow… cut Red down… then the Priests…”
In the morning Red approaches Rask.
“Rask, last night on my watch you seemed to have some pretty concerning dreams. I got the sense that your are in conflict with the demon soul that has entered you from your sword.
Do you have any concerns yourself? Do you have any hope that you can be rid of this curse? Any ideas on how to expel the soul?”
Rask looks furtively at his arm and at Ca’armine to make sure the priest still has the Black Blade.
He speaks slowly, choosing his words with care.
“I… am… very concerned Red. I do not feel like I am in complete control of myself and that is very dangerous.”
His face matches his words. He takes a deep breath.
“I don’t know much about… turning… demons back to the path…”
He looks at Ca’armine and Alexis,
“It would probably best for… the subject of such an action to be… restrained…”
He looks at his own feet for a moment and glances as it his off-hand,
“And the… Bushwacker’s Bad Brother might be helpful too.”
Rask chuckles and glances at the bundle on Carmines back that contains the Black Blade.
“Thank you for asking Red. Your engineering skills may be just the thing this pit needs.”
“This is not a task for engineering. The best skill here would have been a good dose of caution when dealing with powerful forces poorly understood.
With the lack of previous caution, it appears we are now forced to deal with this little ‘Telosh Pit’ sooner than later.”
Rask’s face flashes red, Alexis is reminded of the time he himself was under the sway of the Eyes of Magubliet. Rask’s sword hand twitches slightly.
“You would know best Alexis.”
“Alexis, Red—we have learned to trust our friend Rask with our very lives, yet he is saying to us, that he cannot now be trusted. We must respect him in this.”