Zedd Witlock -- Feeding the troll<br/><br/>Zedd's attention was once again torn away from the lovely woman in front of him, this time by the sensation of the ground falling away from his feet. His vest tightened in the back, and hard, calloused knuckles pressed into his spine. An irritated sigh escaped his lips; with as many bar fights as he'd been in (been in, hell...started, more like), he was depressingly familiar with the feeling of being picked up bodily like a wayward puppy by some thundering lunkhead. The years of experience had taught him that the best reaction was usually no reaction at all.<br/><br/>He crossed his arms and his ankles loosely, swinging in the light noon breeze as he hung from Talos' titanic grip, a bored expression carefully plastered over his face. He glanced back over his shoulder and confirmed his suspicions; sure enough, he was about to launch into another hot-aired speech. '<em>They must have been his trademark when he was living. 'S no wonder he died; probably couldn't shut up long enough to defend himself</em>!' The feel of Talos' hot, stinking breath on the back of his neck made Zedd stifle a revolted shudder.<br/><br/>At Talos' words, Zedd let out a bark of laughter. "Mind my manners? Well, of<strong>course</strong>, oh great one! I would never<em>dream </em>to be considered rude to such a paragon of etiquette as yourself! Hey, Feldor, did you hear that? I was impolite! Can you imagine? Boy, is my face red or what! Oh, I must have hurt the widdle warrior's feelings! My<em>apologies</em>, Talos, good sir, I implore your forgiveness." Mirth and sarcasm practically dripped from his words as he hung in the air, seemingly oblivious to his predicament. If it weren't for Talos' implacable grip on his vest, Zedd may well have collapsed in a fit of laughter.<br/><br/>His feet again on solid ground, Zedd spun and looked up at the towering strongman, his expression a bit darker now that his back was to the young woman. Talos' death threat, while chilling, was nothing he hadn't heard before. His voice lowered slightly, so that only Talos could hear him. "Fine, then. Now<em>you </em>listen. I'm sure that in your glory days, you must have met at least<em>one </em>gentleman that you didn't outright slaughter because he looked at you funny. So I'll thank you to try,<strong>try</strong>, to remember his sort of behavior, and imitate it as best you can manage. Otherwise, if you feel you can't maintain even a modicum of civility, then while you are still welcome to remain with us, I invite you to<strong>shut your damn mouth</strong>and allow us to travel in peace."<br/><br/>From the look on Talos' face, there was little doubt Zedd had made himself an enemy. Whether it was one he would survive, only time would tell. '<em>Ah, hell with it. Everyone dies eventually</em>,' he thought. '<em>May as well die of something interesting</em>.' He was fully prepared to goad the big man into further aggression, but Feldor's booming voice and barely suppressed power suggested it might be wise to start toning things down. As frustrating as Talos was, Zedd held too much respect for the Elf to quarrel any further. Besides, if it came down to it he would much rather have sided with Feldor than the brute, and he had a feeling that the Elf could make good on his own threat.<br/><br/>Zedd cleared his throat and addressed both the young woman and the two other men. "So, lady and gentlemen. Shall we sit and make camp, enjoy each other's company?" He looked back at Feldor and Talos. "Or do we need to kill each other first?"