Mockery

Characters: Jester, Grave Robber, Bounty Hunter, Occultist.

Rating: T

Sitting around a campfire, deep in the warrens of the Estate, whose name had become a forbidden word, sat a bounty hunter, an occultist, a grave robber, and a jester. The jester leaped to his feet and began drawing his hand across his mask, trying to figure out where to start his joke.

Ellyn had challenged him to mock their fellow enforcers and Percy was not one to turn down a challenge. Not that it would be a challenge to share what he really thought about his fellow mercenaries.

"I'm Reynauld! I'm the hero you all need! Everyone follow me towards death!" Percy yelled, mimicking Reynauld's deep, imposing voice.

Ellyn brought a hand to her face to hide her giggling. Alhazred peeked up from his dark incantations and smiled. Tardif continued to poke the fire, the ever-stoic body hunter.

"No, I'm Dismas and I'm dark and brooding. I'm only in it for the money, but I am desperately trying to atone for something! NONE OF YOU ASK ME ABOUT IT!" Percy continued, now standing just like the absent highwayman, and using a surly, angry-at-the-world voice.

Ellyn howled with laughter. Tardif let out an amused huff, while Alhazred chortled despite himself.

"Listen to Reynauld! I'm Junia, and I do whatever Reynauld tells me to, because I want to be a good little nun and because I'm secretly hoping he'll take off this chastity belt and let me have it!" Percy continued kicking the gag up a notch and strutting about with his hands on his hips. He ridiculed the vestal with a high pitched, pompous voice that transformed into a giggling teenage girl.

Ellyn was now shrieking with laughter and struggling to keep herself up. Alhazred was staring at the skull in his lap, while Tardif wasn't moving a muscle. Percy wasn't paying attention to his audience any longer (which was the first rule of stage business), instead, he was circling the fire, continuing his charade.

"NO! I'm Sybil, and I agree with Dismas. I am too smart to let myself be killed! I'm important! The rest of you could die, but I need to live so that I can change the world. Then the people who discredited my work and called me a madwoman will finally appreciate me! They'll see! They'll all see! HAHAHAHA!" Percy stated, now moving like a chicken to mock the plague doctor.

Tardif finally spoke. His voice escaped his helmet as an echoing hiss. It broke Ellyn's dying laughter and caused Alhazred to turn away from them all, knowing full well where this was going.

"How about yourself?"

The hiss was smug and demanding. Percy had once entertained a lord who liked to throw things at him when Percy failed to entertain. Tardif wasn't going to lob his rations at Percy, but if Percy did not do as commanded, then he would prove how weak he was.

On the other hand, if Percy mocked himself, Tardif might finally laugh. There was no triumphant option.

Percy stared at the bounty hunter for a long moment, with Tardif's gaze unmoving. They had a half-human in their company of heroes, but out of all of them, Tardif was the least human. Percy had expected he would enjoy the harsh jokes at the expense of their friend's dysfunctions the most.

Ellyn and Alhazred were anticipating his reaction. Well, the show must go on. He supposed.

Percy took off his mask, revealing his short, dirty red hair and mismatched colored eyes and tossed it to the ground. It clattered against the dirty stone.

He cupped his eyes with his gloved hands and did a little dance. His voice became that of a petulant child. "My name is Percy, I make jokes to hide my deep insecurities and I've joined this mission so that I can cut myself a slice of the glory cake and do something other than debase myself for others before I die! If I don't get any attention, I'll probably kill myself! Yippee!"

He stopped and returned his mask to its place. Then he picked up his rations and ate them as his fellow party members watched him with greater discomfort than anticipated. Tardif wasn't the least bit worried, just surprised, but Alhazred's face was the bleakest thing Percy had ever seen. Ellyn was watching him with dead, green eyes.

There was no more laughter. Only the distant squealing of malformed pig flesh.