Adventurer's Cabin
The 'deluxe' adventurer's cabin in Stonebarrow is actually furnished quite nicely. It's several rooms, meeting/kitchen, sleeping, and bathing. Recent renovations have even added internal plumbing to the cabin, making the bathing room equipped with running water. Hot water is provided by a second ceramic fireplace quipped with a water reservoir. Needless to say, it wakes a while to actually get a warm bath. The hot springs are still faster.

Night has fallen hard and poor Aiken is feeling it now. He's up much later than normal, all thanks to being at the Boathouse drinking and partying with Jack, the latest visitor to this town. But at long last (and in spite of the complaints of a few rather sloshed otter girls), Aiken has escaped back to Jack's rented cabin. After a quick explanation to the Kadie to not open the windows as they're now boobytrapped and locked, and that he'll see him by mid-morning most likely, Jack headed back into the Oggton territory. So … here Aiken is; in the middle of a living room full of artifacts from who knows where stacked around him. In some ways it seems like the boxes are staring at the Kadie, but the worst offender of that is still the small box housing the vermite on the bookshelf.

Although the vermite laden box still sits in the back of his mind – along with the hazy mental mist of the alcohol he consumed earlier in the evening – Aiken manages to shrug it off. The allure of the living room treasure hoard is more than enough to keep the Kadie occupied during the night, long after he should have turned in. Now, the squirrel finds himself sitting in the middle of the room, fighting to keep from nodding off as he examines yet another curiosity. "Dagh… stupid Oggton booze… "

The curiosity is … well … yet another recovered statue. Except this one seems to be of some generic doglike species stretching its lips apart and sticking out its tongue.

Aiken stares at the statue for a short while… then suddenly jolts back, having caught himself starting to nod off. "Acorns," the squirrel grumbles, "I need to go to bed. Still gotta work tomorrow anyroad." Standing up, the Kadie pops his neck, back, and tail with a long stretch, then places the statue back where he got it. Groggily, he begins to make his way towards the cabin's bedroom, but as he turns, his eyes come to land on the vermite box. Pausing, he eyes it for a few moments.

The box practically stares back, daring the Kadie to open it. Who knows, maybe its resident has decided to go for a walk. But that would be silly; it's a statue afterall. How would it walk?

The squirrel fidgets, staring at the box while his tail twitches to show off his internal agitation. After another few moments of indecision, his shoulder's finally slump in resignation. "Dagh take it… " Giving in to his whimsy, Aiken quickly darts over to the box – his curiosity apparently giving him a second wind.

The box is surprisingly lighter than it looks. It feels like it may have been molded from something and isn't made of real stone or wood. There's a small latch on the front.

Tail cocked sideways in confusion, Aiken shakes the box gently a few times like a Candlemass present. Then, taking a deep breath, the squirrel undoes the latch, and slowly opens the box… You're a fool, Aiken Briar, he thinks, a darn fool. Now, let's see what this thing is all about…

Click goes the box and the lid flips back. Nestled inside in a lining of soft cloth is the vermite statue. Its red jewel-like eyes 'look' up at Aiken, unblinking.

Aiken stares back with eyes of greenish-brown, taking in the sight of the small statue. Without taking his eyes from the artifact, he leisurely returns to the center of the room, taking a seat on the floor with his tail curled into his lap. "By the Star… this belonged to one of the necromancers? I wonder what for?" The squirrel gently places the box on the ground, then slowly reaches in to pick up the vermite – his slightly shaking paws acting as though it were the real thing.

When Aiken's fingers touch the statue, it feels almost unnaturally smooth to the touch. And cold, very, very cold. It's almost like touching the surface of a sheet of ice; though not so cold as to be painful. It's also lighter than it looks as the Kadie slowly picks it up.

The Kadie's fur stands on end – with as warm as the cabin is, there's no way the vermite should be a cold as it is. Still, a small smile crosses Aiken's face, and he lifts the artifact up, closer to the room's lantern so he can get a better look.

As creepy as it is, the detail carved into the statue is amazing this close up (right down to the nasty jaws). It's nearly lifelike in its appearance. The only think that breaks the illusion of appearing 'real' is that instead of fur, it has intricate runes carved all over its body.

Aiken holds the vermite closer to his muzzle, peering intently at the runes with furrowed brow as he runs his fingertips over them. "These look familiar… where have I… ah!" Fishing into his pocket, the squirrel pulls out the small stone he, er, 'borrowed' from Jack earlier in the evening, and compares it to the statue.

Well, with as worn as the smaller stone carving is, it's pretty hard to compare them. There might be a couple markings on the stone that are close to some near the 'mouth' of the statue, though. Perhaps if the two markings were side by side it would be more obvious if they matched or not.

Filled to the brim with curiosity, Aiken moves the stone closer to the vermite's mouth, holding both up to the lantern for a better comparison.

Yes. They are definitely the same markings from this angle. Or at least, Aiken assumes that in the few moments he has to examine them side by side … until the black statue lurches in his hand and chomps down on the small stone; swallowing it!

"Holy First Ones!!" Aiken's tail bristles like a bottlebrush as the squirrel springs straight up, quickly tossing the now animate statue away from himself. Heart beating rapidly, he zips to the other side of the room in a flash, knocking over plenty of knick-knacks along the way before he dives behind one of the crates. Cautiously, he peers up and over the box, wide eyes scanning for the vermite.

Up and up the statue goes when Aiken flings it. And it sticks to the ceiling. From Aiken's new vantage point, he can see the strange statue yawn, its jaws stretching in almost a comedic fashion, right before it licks over it 'lips'. Lazily, it starts to putter around on the ceiling, its red eyes scanning around the room.

Aiken's jaw drops, his feet frozen to the ground as he stares up at the bizarre creature. Slowly, he creeps around the box for a better vantage point.

Clickclickclick goes the 'vermite' as it wanders around for a bit on the ceiling, then stops. Its red eyes turn and lock onto the Kadie…

The squirrel freezes, his heart somehow both sinking and jumping into his throat at the same time. "Um… h-hello there, mister Necromancer… thing. How 'bout we go back into the box now? The fun… happy… box… " With feet like lead weights, Aiken starts over towards the vermite's holder, never taking his eyes off the strange artifact.

Somehow, the statue manages to blink. "I hardly find boxes as fun and happy," it rasps out in a rather strange, hissing, tone. It stretches out one leg at a time, the tips wiggling slowly. "You do not look like much of a sorcerer."

Aiken freezes dead in his tracks, tail sticking straight out. "Y-you can… you can talk?!" Just how much of the Oggtons' brew did the Kadie have, anyhow?

"Gods take me, I got a clueless one," the statue grumbles and hops down to the floor with a clicking of its legs. "Of course I can talk. I'm a familiar. We can all talk to our bound masters. You did summon me, did you not?"

Aiken recoils as the vermite moves closer, grabbing his tail and trying to hide behind it as though it were some sort of barrier. "S-summon you?" He peeks out from over his fluff. "I just put you an' that rock together, then you gobbled it up like it was some kinda… cheese… "

"You completed the summoning ritual. It means we are bound together until such time as the ritual is done," the statue says and shakes its head as he starts puttering over towards Aiken. "You are a pitiful necromancer if you do not know even the basics of binding a familiar."

"Necromancer?" The squirrel lowers his tail further, now regarding the vermite fully. "I ain't no necromancer, and I didn't do any ritual, honest!"

"I wouldn't be here if you didn't," the statue says, now only a few feet from the Kadie. "What? Am I not good enough for you? I admit I'm not an elder spirit, but … many would be proud to have me as their life-companion. And don't worry, I don't require a large part of your spirit as part of the contract. My price is smaller."

"My… spirit?" Aiken backs a pace away from the artifact. "What do you mean that we're 'bound', anyroad? And what is your, uh, 'price'?"

It's amazing how frustrated a statue can look. "You really are hopeless, aren't you? I just need to drink a bit of your blood or consume a bit if your flesh to seal the bind. So, a small nibble is all I require, Perhaps your small toe? You don't really need it. As for being bound, well, it means just how it sounds. Once complete our lifespans will be forever linked. If I die, you die. If you die, I die. We will be as one in many ways; we will even be able to hear each other's thoughts. Similar to how we do now, but … much more intimate," the thing explains.

With a loud rodentine squeak, Aiken dives behind one of the crates. "You ain't nibblin' on me, you, you… rock!" He peers over the crate at the vermite, tail twitching back and forth in spastic agitation as his face contorts into a weird mix of fear and anger that only a squirrel could manage. "Why would I even think of doin' that? I'm a family man!"

"You summoned me," the vermite reiterates, now completely exasperated, "So, you obviously thought about it. Why are you being so difficult now?" It starts puttering towards the crate Aiken's hiding behind. "Or am I too ugly for you? Ah, yes, you must be one of those necromancers that want some sexy demon girl as their familiar. Well, let me tell you that never happens. You should feel lucky you got me."

"I told you, I ain't no necromancer!" The squirrel darts back to the cabin's far wall, leaping up and climbing its face with his claws until he's almost to the ceiling. "And I didn't do no summoning," he chitters, rotating to hang upside and glare at the vermite. "So just go and… and… unsummon yourself!"

"I always get the difficult ones," the statue mutters and stares up at the Kadie. The back of Aiken's head starts to feel … itchy.

With a shiver running up his spine, Aiken releases one of his paws from the wall, and scratches at the itch, ears flattening. "I'm not bein' difficult! I told you, I ain't who you think I am!"

"Fine. It looks like I'll have to do this the hard way, then," the statue grumbles. It hops up and down a few times (which looks rather silly, really), then disappears into a puff of smoke.

Nearly falling off the wall from sheer shock, Aiken stops scratching his head, and digs his claws in deeper. Eyes darting this way and that for any sign of the beast, the squirrel finally snaps, and begins to race sideways along the wall like a crazed maniac, regaining his composure briefly enough to redirect himself towards the cabin's front door.

As Aiken reaches out towards the door, there's a light knocking on it. "Aiken, dear?" comes the voice of Curiel from the other side. "I missed you and wanted to make sure you were okay. I know how much things from other places interest you."

At the sound of his wife's voice, Aiken skids to a halt before the door, snatching his paw back away from the doorknob. "Curiel?" he calls out, briefly frozen to the spot in indecision. With a gulp, the squirrel instead braces the door, pushing against it to bar any entry. "Um, it's nota good time right now, Chestnut! But I think I'm gonna come home soon, so I'll meet you there!"

"Honey, what's wrong?" Curiel calls out and the door handle jiggles. "You've got me worried now. Please, let me in."

Worry creases the face of Aiken, his ears drooping. "I'm fine, sweetheart! It's just, uh… it's just that Mister Jack has some stuff in here he doesn't want people to see just yet! He's gonna have a surprise for the village, an' he's trusting me to keep the secret!"

There's a pause. "Honey? Are you sure there isn't something wrong? You usually don't keep things from me," Curiel says, her voice dropping quieter. Another pause. "You went to the Boathouse, didn't you? Is there a girl in there with you, Aiken Briar Silverfoot?"

"What?! No! I'd never… Dagh!" Aiken swivels towards the door, and cracks it open just a sliver – enough to peer outside at his wife. "I'd never do anything like that, Curiel – I've been here all night! Er, well, okay… " he fidgets, "I did go to the Boathouse earlier, but it was just to show Mister Jack around! Ask Silas!"

Outside is Curiel, worry evident on her face. She peers through the crack in the door as she leans in. "Then why won't you let me inside? I won't be here long, I promise. You know I can't sleep well without my goodnight hug," she says, nose quivering.

Aiken's ears droop lower. "It's just… I can't, sweetie! Here, wait a minute, and I'll come out. I need to get something first!" Giving his wife another worried glance, the Kadie quickly shuts the door and bolts it. "I'll be right back, I promise" he calls out, swiveling to face the rest of the room. Taking a deep breath, he darts as quickly as he can back to the cabin's main room, meaning to grab the box that holds Curiel's present before he leaves.

Still no sign of the vermite anywhere as Aiken darts through the main room and grabs up the package he brought from the Boathouse. Maybe the Kadie did imagine it all; he did have a lot to drink.

Given that he was sipping at the Oggtons' brew, that's not out of the question. Still, Aiken's been sloshed more than a few times in his day, and he never remembers hallucinating before! Gathering up his nerve along with the package, the Kadie zips back towards the front door, quickly fumbling with the lock as he looks over his shoulder for the vermite.

Nope. Nothing. The room is empty. Well, except for Jack's various knickknacks. The lock gives way and in moments Aiken finds himself wrapped in Curiel's arms. Her face buries into his neck and she whispers, "You had me worried."

Aiken slams the door behind himself, giving a bit of a start as Curiel quickly embraces him. Heart pounding rapidly, he gives the gray Kadie a kiss on the head, and quickly begins to steer her away from the cabin, nervously glancing back a few times. "Nothing to… nothing to worry about, Chestnut," he says, forcing a smile on to his face. "It just got a bit creepy in there with all that old stuff is all."

Something just doesn't feel right all of a sudden. It takes a moment, but it registers what. Curiel feels cold. And for a moment, she seems to shimmer and fade to almost black, eyes red. Around her neck appears that small stone Aiken had earlier that the statue had eaten, too. She draws in close to the Kadie again, hugging on tightly, murmuring, "Don't worry, dear. We will always be together."

Aiken gives a double-take, his already rapidly beating heart speeding up even more. "You!" The Kadie attempts to push the faux-wife away as hard as he can, staggering back towards the cabin.

The fake Curiel gives Aiken one of the most soul-crushing looks of rejection he may have ever seen. "Dear? What is wrong?" she asks and reaches towards Aiken as he rapidly retreats.

"You've got a lotta gall," Aiken chitters angrily, backing up against the cabin door, "impersonatin' a fella's wife like that! Why don't you get it through your little vermin skull: I ain't no necromancer!" Still facing Curiel's simulacrum, the squirrel feels backwards, fumbling to open the door again. "I ain't no necromancer, I ain't so sorcerer- Dagh, I can't even do a card trick!"

And in a flash, 'Curiel' is standing before Aiken. No, practically towering over him in an oversized parody of the form. Her hands land on the cabin walls on either side of the Kadie with a thud. She leans in, the stone on a string swaying mere inches from the Kadie's nosetip. "But I could help you become one," comes the vermite hiss from 'her' mouth. "I promise that once you give in, you will find a whole new world open to you… "

Aiken cowers, eyes wide in fright as the strange version of his wife bears down on the Kadie. "I don't wanna be one," he squeaks nervously. "Just go back where you came from!" Glancing down at the stone, the frightened squirrel swallows hard, then grabs at it as fast as he can, trying to wrench it off the creature's neck.

The stone comes away in Aiken's hand. For a moment, the faux-kadie's eyes go wide. 'Her' face contorts in rage and surges in as if to literally bite Aiken's head off. And then … nothing. As if she was never there, she's gone. At the squirrel's feet sits the obsidian statue of the vermite, once again motionless.

The Kadie just stands there, staring down at the statue while breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. After a few moments and several thousand heartbeats later, he lightly reaches out his foot and nudges the statue with a toe, quickly snatching it back.

It doesn't move, it doesn't bite, it doesn't talk. It just sits there looking creepy.

Aiken heaves a tentative sigh of relief, his eyes closing only momentarily, and soon alighting back on the statue. Hesitantly, he reaches down to pick the statue up, holding it away from himself with a wince as he fumbles to open the door and reenter the cabin.

The statue is still cold as it ever was, but it's at least not moving anymore. Back into the cabin Aiken goes carrying the thing. Nothing has really changed on the inside, either. In fact, the box that normally houses the statue is still sitting open on the floor.

Racing over to the box, Aiken drops the vermite inside and quickly snaps it shut, his shoulders slumping as the Kadie finally relaxes. Flopping down on the floor in exhaustion, he sprawls out, giving yet another sigh as his fur finally starts to smooth itself out.

Still sitting in Aiken's left hand is the stone he snatched off the neck of his 'wife'. It looks as worn and dull as it ever has. But that's the funny thing about life, really. Even something that looks dull on the outside might have a surprise or two on the inside.

Tiredly, the Kadie turns his head to the side to regard the rock. Turning it about a few times in his fingers, he quickly places it back in his pocket, then pushes the vermite box further away with his foot. "Probably best to keep these separated," he mumbles under his breath, fighting to stay awake.

With the alcohol hitting again as well as the crash from falling out of a frenzy, sleep seems really, really, welcome right now. In fact, it's a struggle to keep his eyes open.

It's a struggle Aiken loses, a large yawn escaping from his mouth as the squirrel shifts to his side, curling his tail around himself as a makeshift blanket. Soon the Kadie is fast asleep, twitching occasionally as images of vermite armies and very large, very angry wives intrude upon his dreams.