Audrey shook her head in disgust at Ed, then turned back to the half-cat boy and mouse. The boy seemed unsure of what to do, debating whether or not to trust these strangers who had tied him up, but at the same time had promised not to hurt him. Distress evident on the boy's face, not to mention his furry tail standing on end, the mouse sidled up the boy's shoulder and gently put a paw on his cheek. The boy turned his head to look at the mouse, calming at the touch, then nodded as though he had made a decision.
"My name is Darbes Zenbow, and this is my sister, Larys," the lad began, then paused expectantly. It took a moment before Mika realized why the boy stopped.
"Ah, sorry, we didn't tell you who we are, did we?" Mika smiled, trying to win the boy's trust. Mika could feel Audrey's glare, and realized she did not want to give out any information. However, Mika felt certain the two before him were strictly victims, and he would learn more by being open with them rather than by being secretive.
"I'm Mika Permute, and this is my companion, Audrey Ifral," Mika indicated Audrey, who just snorted angrily. "The horse we met here at the inn; his name is Bedlan Turcel Sontine, but he goes by Ed."
The boy gave the jittery horse an odd look, but nodded, and replied, "You can call me Darbie." Then, taking a deep breath, he began his tale.
"My sister and I live in the village of Diroge, near Wodenfell. My sister is training to be a priestess of Minar."
"Oh, Minar!" Ed cut in, forgetting himself and taking a step into the stall in his distraction. "The god of balance and vengance; truly a magnificent deity. Beloved and feared by noble and commoner alike! Ah, the songs that I used to sing about Minar were quite popular indeed! 'God of the crystal scale, How the vile before thee pale...'" At that point, Ed's ears pricked up at the sound of the mouse squeaking along to the tune. Suddenly aware of his position, Ed quickly backed himself out of the stall again.
"Maybe these two might be useful after all," Audrey grinned nefariously.
"Larys was one of the best acolytes, and everyone admired her," Darbie stated proudly, but then his brow clouded over with memories. "It was just the two of us, since our parents died when I was really little. Larys has always looked after me since then. Before she could become a full priestess, she had to help someone who was not okay find their balance. There was this weird guy that everyone avoided," Darbie grimaced. "I told Larys he was scary, but she had to do something to try to help him, since she was an acolyte. At first, it looked like she was helping him, but then he got weirder around her. He hated when she spent time with anyone else, and he really hated me, since Larys was always looking after me. I was really worried about Larys, so one night I followed her when she went to see him. I sneaked into his house through an open window and hid. He was yelling at her, saying that she had to be with him all the time and stuff. I got worried and accidentally bumped into a table, and he saw me, and held out something towards me. I'm pretty sure he was trying to curse me, but Larys stepped in front of me. When I blinked, Larys was like this. I didn't know what to do! I grabbed her and ran as fast as I could."
Darbie was nearly sobbing at this point, his chest heaving. After a minute, he continued, "We couldn't go back, not with him around. I remember hearing stories about the great wizards around Arlor, so I decided to take Larys there. When we got to this town, it was rainy outside, so I snuck into the inn basement through an unlocked window. The innkeeper found me and got really angry that I brought a mouse into his inn. He said if I liked mice so much he'd turn me into something that REALLY liked mice. I don't know what he did, but I started growing this tail and ears. Larys ran up his leg and distracted him. He fell over, and I grabbed Larys and ran away."
Darbie raised his tear-filled eyes to gaze at Mika. 'You're a wizard, right? I saw you change from a mule into a human on the road yesterday. That's why I went through your stuff. I wasn't trying to steal anything, I just thought there might be something to change Larys back. But you can do it, can't you? Please??" Darbie begged desperately.