EarthDawn: A Brave New World - Act 1, Scene 1: The Great Escape

[Atomicweasel]

Ignoring the whining elf and prattling Magistrate, The Catslayer buzzed over to Arcata and hovered before her, reaching around to adjust a leather coin pouch that he had quietly and surreptitiously obtained, and slung around his shoulder. The pouch glowed strangely, casting off an eerie, astral light from the supple leather it was made of, and a sharp and stunning brightness from within, that vanished only as The Catslayer cinched it tightly shut.

“Let us see,” he bent to inspect Arcata’s brooch, nodding as knowledgeably as a master jeweler. “ah yes.” The Catslayer pronounced. “Silver. Fine worksmanship. Probably made before the Scourge. Good etching. That’s a very serviceable bauble you’ve found there.” He patted Arcata’s head and smiled at her indulgently. “Well done, Arcata. Lamentably, I myself have found nothing.” The Catslayer turned away, the pouch astrally all aglow at his hip. “Not all of us have fortune’s blessing. Where is that wretched boy? There he is. Boy! Come and show Arcata your blade.” In an aside to Arcata, The Catslayer stage-whispered, “He’s as clumsy as a mule and dumber than a new born Obsidiman, but see if I can’t teach him...”

[SalmonMax]

"Nothing?" Arcata replied, torn between being pleased at the hero's praise and confused by his apparent ignorance of the treasure at his side. "But...that bag..."

Catslayer turned and gave her a quizzical look as Gamrin dutifully marched over. "What about it?" he asked.

Arcata glanced up at the wizard, then back at Catslayer. Was there some reason he didn't want anyone else to know perhaps? She decided to ask him about it later. She flew up to be level with Gamrin's face.

"The mighty Catslayer tells me you are learning the blade," she said. "Show me what you can do so far."

[Gamrin]

Looking back and forth between the two... two windlings, Gamrin considered for a moment. As he saw Catslayer start to draw breath, he decided to go for the best offense.

"On guard!" he shouted, attempting to square his feet as he went to pull the sword from the scabbard now belted over his robes, while still holding his staff in his left hand. He thought he was doing okay, until he saw Catslayer's eyes widen, and heard a gasp and a sudden increase in wing beat frequency from Arcata.

He wasn't quite sure how it happened, but something must have caught on his robes, because he couldn't spread his legs out as much as he thought he'd expected, which caused him to lose his balance. Somehow, his staff got knocked away by his flailing as his weight shifted away from it, sending the staff careening up into the air as Gamrin fell to the ground, with an undignified "umph" knocked out of him as he landed on his rump.

The staff flipped end over end through the air, narrowly missing Arcata, and was parried aside by Catslayer, to have one end land plant itself on the floor, and the other fall into a nook containing a series of trays. The force of staff's landing actually broke the end of one of the trays, causing it's contents, a crystalline chain of some sort, to slide out of the tray and collapse on the floor.

Gamrin suspected the Magistrate had actually been knocked over by his windmilling arms, and hoped that the look on the Magistrate's face had more to do with shock than anger.

"I-I'm sorry, your honour," he offered getting up, then looked at the windlings as well. "I hope I didn't injure any of you! It was an-an ax-accident!" Gamrin felt his face, neck, and ears turning bright red.

[Misthal Thorn]

Completely oblivious to the hijack's occurring just outside, Misthal was in awe.. as his fingers ran gently over the feathers of one of the arrows. "By all the Passions...." His tone was one of whispered reverence as he looked over the glorious treasure trove he had just found. He could hear the call of each of the arrows, the eagerness to fly, to enter battle with him, to leave this place, and find their purpose.

"Gently, my friends.. I hear your call, you will get your chance, but I can not take all of you." He whispered, with reverence in his voice, as he reached out to pick up the quiver lined with orichalcum he carefully began to transfer the 15 arrows from the urn lined with orchalcum into the quiver lined with orichalcum as well.

He next turned to look over the other arrows, it was like a dragon's hoard of arrows.. more then he could take, which made him both joyous and distressed for a moment.

[Stargaizer]

The Magistrate closed his eyes and shook his head ever so slightly at the antics of the 'heroes' of the kaer. He wanted, ever so much to face-palm, but doing so was beneath his station (maybe after the others left, while he was 'locking up'.

"Please, after you have gotten the equipment you require, feel free to leave the way we came and go see whatever friends or loved ones you wish to bid farewell to. I have to stay to lock the doors back, but I will meet all of you at the entrance to the library at the beginning of the second hour. It should be mid-third hour before the doors are ready to open."

He paused and looked around, "That is unless anyone has any objections or further questions for me?"

Click to reveal..

Unless you plan on going on a grand adventure, you can keep posting here while split up. If you do want to go back to your own thread, please post your first post in both threads with links to each other.

[Atomicweasel]

The Catslayer waved off the magistrate’s question. “Passions grant me strength.” He lamented, heaving a sigh up at the vaulted ceiling of the room. “Boy, what defect have you?” he asked Gamrin, his tone surprisingly conversational. “Did you line your boot heels with butter? Were you too busy learning magicks to be bothered with learning how to walk? Was your father so like a snake he never taught you to stand?” The little Windling swordmaster sighed, twirling his blade deftly and snapping it back into its tiny scabbard.

“I suppose I must teach you everything,” The Catslayer sighed prodigiously, “how to stand, how to walk, how to fight, how to talk...” he stepped over to Gamrin and began to tug on the young wizard’s arm with both hands, fruitlessly trying to haul him upright like an ox pulling a cart. Only the cart was too big and the ox too small. The Catslayer held fast to Gamrin, back turned and pitched forward, barely advancing. “Ungh, help me pull this thing.” The Catslayer called on Arcata. “He’s too fat.”

[SalmonMax]

Arcata flew over to Gamrin's other arm and gamely started pulling as well.

"You have your work cut out for you," she grunted. "It's a wonder he can move at all."

A thought suddenly occurred to her then; a realization of a question that had been bothering her since coming to the second vault.

"Magistrate, I do have a question! Where are all the legendary windling weapons and armors? I look around and see dwarfcrafted armors, elven bows, swords of quality made by human smiths...but nothing of windling make! What of Gleerindree and Last Laugh? Where is the Oak Man, or the Millenium Leaf or...or...anything?"

[Stargaizer]

The Magistrate looked somewhat quizzically at Arcata. "All of the weapons that could be used to protect the kaer, and all the armor that could be used to protect its' residents was stored here. Some of the arms and armor have been taken out by the constabulary, but other than that, everything should be here."

He poked his head through both doors and quickly looked around. "I see no toothpick holders here, so you may wish to speak with your windling leaders and representative if you desire such.

So, if everyone is done here, might I suggest attending to other personal matters? Every moment you waste here is a moment that you could be using to say your farewells to loved ones." Seeing that everyone was out of the first room, the Magistrate closed the door and started locking it.

[Atomicweasel]

“Pardon, maggot,” The Catslayer had flown up to the Magistrate’s eye-level and now stared at him with seething fury, though his voice came out with strained courtesy. “pardon, intestinal tapeworm, it seemed almost as if I’d heard you belittle my people, yet again. Did you not just now, refer to our weapons as tooth-picks?” Catsbane made a whisper of a sound as it left its scabbard. “It strikes me as impossible that you would denigrate us, grub, worm, larva, because half of this party, chosen to defend our Kaer from the Horrors of the outside world, chosen to lead the most significant expedition since its founding, are Windlings. Did you not notice, Idiot? Did you fail to see with your clouded eyes, Simpleton? Were you too busy seeking sows to lie with to perceive so plain a detail? Did it escape your attention, you slavering sodomite? If I may, this is my blade.” The Catslayer politely displayed his sword. “It should perhaps not surprise me that someone so devoid of reasoning, so limited in function as yourself, might confuse its purpose. Shall I jam it into your mouth, you loose-lipped leper, you withered old ass, you donkey, so that you may test its tooth-pick like qualities more concretely?”

The Catslayer looked hopeful.

[Misthal Thorn]

Misthal didn't even really hear what was going on behind him, and truthfully, if he had, he would not really care all the much, he had found a treasure, to him, more precious then thousands of gold.

Pausing a moment, he noted the mark on the side of one of the urns, as he ran his fingers over it, he thought it might be the mark of the artist who had created these arrows.

He continued to transfer the various arrows into the quivers and then he carefully strapped the quivers to his back, with his own normal arrows, taking note of where each was. He also took some of the empty vial heads, that were not attached to any shaft.

He then put one of the healing potions in his pack, putting on the armor he'd chosen and stepping back into the next room, and looking at the mark on the orichalcum quiver. "I believe this mark is one of the greatest archers who lived in the kaer, Jadera Heartsong, would someone be able to confirm that?"

[Gamrin]

While the Magistrate squared off against Catslayer and Arcata, Gamrin slowly got up, then went to try to fix the damage he had wrought.

First he picked up his staff, and noticed with relief that it had not been damaged, not that he had expected it to be--it was quite solid.

Then he picked up the curious chain that had been knocked loose. Upon picking it up, he felt he was on the verge of sensing something he'd never sensed before, and tried to open himself to the sensation, but nothing more came of it. Still, it was beautiful, and it must be good for something. He took the chain--a necklace, really, and deposited it in his pocket for now. He could ask his mother and siblings later, he supposed.

He then tried--in vain--to square up damaged and dislodged trays. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, he turned, trying to figure out how to get past the verbal storm at the door, which was when he noticed a grubby looking canvas wrapped bundle, tucked in almost as an after thought on a shelf by the door. He carefully picked the bundle up, then--propping the staff in the crook of his elbow--Gamrin unwrapped the bundle enough to see what was inside. After a moment, he rewrapped the bundle and inserted it into one of the large outer pockets of his robes.

"Sir Catslayer, sir?" He asked, trying to strike a balance between audaciousness and deference. "We need to finish gathering supplies, and there are some things I need to clear up before I go."

The sword master, intent on having it out with the Magistrate, did not even react to the comment.

After a moment, Gamrin fell back to a trick he hadn't used in, well, years. "Mr. Catslayer, I'm Huuuungry!"

[Stargaizer]

The Magistrate turned from the door and looked The Catslayer straight in the eye. "The level of insolence that you have shown me today would be enough to get a normal person thrown out of the kaer." He then turned to Gamrin. "And the level of immaturity that you have just shown tarnishes not only the wizards and humans in the kaer but all those who have gone before.

But, since you four are the heroes that have been chosen to save our kaer, I will overlook such indiscretions. My patience is nearing its' end though, so I suggest that you leave for what or whomever you hold dear. We will meet again in front of the Great Library."

After that, he turned back to the door, dismissing them with the motion, and started again to lock the door. He muttered as he did so, so quietly though that one would have to strain to even recognize it as more than just his breathing.

[SalmonMax]

"We -are- being thrown out of the kaer," Arcata points out. "Sort of."

She flies over to Catslayer and puts a hand on his arm.

"We should go. He won't change. We can shove it in his face when we return as heroes. He'll be the one who needs -us- then, and we won't forget this."

[Gamrin]

Biting down on his tongue, Gamrin prevented himself from responding audibly to the Magistrate, but his face went crimson--whether with rage or embarrassment was anyone's guess.

After a moment, the boy drew himself up to his full height, and silently nodded down to the Magistrate. Then brushed silently past him, back the way they had come.

"Boy! Stripling! Where do you think you are off to?" The Catslayer brayed behind him.

Stopping for a moment, and turning only his head, and that only part way, the young wizard replied "I am going to visit my family. My elders. To learn what I need to before I leave, and to say my goodbyes. I will meet you in front of the Great Library before Orson is crossed a quarter of our great kaer." With that, he departed.

[Misthal Thorn]

"I'm impressed, you managed to offend the Magistrate in less then an hour, one might almost think you were trying." He glanced over to Catslayer, then Arcata a moment, then at finally at Gamrin.

"If you folks are done acting like children, I'm off to make my own goodbyes, but I suggest one of you take the other healing potion here. I can appreciate being direct and too the point, but there is a point to diplomacy, it can make it much easier to reach your targeted goals. I'll meet you all at the library, perhaps perhaps some folks can learn to overcome self-important arrogance by that time, though I have my doubts." He tossed the remaining healing potion from the chest onto a nearby table.

He stopped and moment and glanced at Arcata, and his manner softened somewhat. "I apologize once more for your friend, I'm glad that the damage isn't permanent. It's clear I have much to learn about your people, I look forward to what you would teach me.. but for now, I must say my farewell's." With that, he turned and walked out, to seek out his parents, as he said, and to say goodbye.

[Atomicweasel]

“Go and blow upon a dandelion, you moron Elf!” The Catslayer cupped his hand around his mouth to shout after Misthal. “Go and shoot an arrow up your ass, if the target be not too narrow!”

“As for you. You have squandered my good-will. You are unworthy of the mantle you wear. I WILL save this Kaer, but not for you, you fat dripping seducer of chickens.” The Catslayer called, snatching up the healing potion Misthal had discarded, as he allowed Arcata to drag him away. “You will answer for your insults,” The Catslayer paused dramatically on the threshold, little wings beating frantically to keep Arcata from pulling him out until he was able to deliver his last missive “and sooner than you think!”

[SalmonMax]

Once outside, Arcata grabbed Catslayer's hand and tugged forward faster. Soon the kaer was fairly flickering past as they zipped down the boulevards, dodging obstructions like wagons and awnings and people adroitly as they went.

"Come on!" she shouted gleefully, the Magistrate already forgotten. "I bet my father will know where the windling things are! And I can introduce you to my friends in WAIFU!"

At Catslayer's quizzical expression Arcata laughed and said, "Windlings Advocating Independence For Us! Take the first letters and it spells waifu, which I thought was cute. It's the beating heart of the windling uprising! You'll love them. And they'll be so impressed to meet the great Catslayer!"

[Misthal Thorn]

Misthal headed home, to speak with his parents for a moment, before he departed. Of course, when he got there, it turned out that they were already aware of what was happening, and much to his embarrassment, his mother was all weepy.

"My child, going outside, into danger, where horrors may walk.. " She threw her arms around him and just began to cry. Misthal looked at his father with panic in his eyes, even as he hugged her back.

"Now, Ilea, darling, we said wouldn't do this."

"I know, but I just... "

"Mother, please, I want to do this, it needs to be done, dangerous or not, someone needs to see if it might be safe to leave."

"But..."

"I promise, Mother, I will do my best to live though it, and come back, if at all possible."

His father put his hand on her shoulder, then drew her into his arms, and she shook a moment, then gathered herself together.

"You've never broken a promise to me before, I'll hold you too that, son."

His father didn't say much, just reached out and grasped his hand to squeeze it a moment. "We raised you with stories and legends, perhaps someday, I'll be singing songs about you, my son."

"I don't have long, I have to go soon.. but until then, my time is yours.."

[Gamrin]

Absorbed in thought and marching briskly towards home, Gamrin failed to notice some of the people that he cut off and bumped into. Normally, at least some of them would have called him down for it, but there was something about the way he was walking that made them more conscious of him as a person than most of them had ever been before.

He new that any other eighteen year old human would be treated as an adult, but he felt he'd been sheltered--told what to do--for his entire life, understandably, since he was realizing he wasn't mature, but now--now!--everyone wanted him to grow up. He felt himself getting bitter, and part of him knew that would just lead to the philosophy of a slight for a slight that his father practiced.

He thought of his companions--Catslayer, Arcata, and Misthal. He'd never spent time with Windlings before, but those two Windlings really were people. Flighty. In some ways more imature than he was, but still people who had done things. Arcata was not someone Gamrin was familiar with, but he'd heard some of the younger Elves speak Arcata's name in respectful, if not quite reverent tones.

Arriving to an empty house, Gamrin poked through to make sure, then turned to head to Anaya's home. Minutes later, Gamrin arrived at his sister's home, to find her there alone.

"Looks like father's finally gone too far," the Elementalist said as she let him in.

"Yes. Killed a Windling," Gamrin responded, propping the staff she'd given him in a nook in the corner.

(To be continued in an edit....)

[Stargaizer]

The time Misthal had with his parents seemed both like an eternity and gone in the blink of an eye. His father cooked them a beautiful meal while his mother tried to impart some final bits of wisdom to him. Most was lost in the translation from an illusionist to an archer, but some made it through.

Then, over dinner, they broke into the 'deep' stuff... elven politics. Misthal had been shielded his entire life from the jockeying and politicking that went on, even in the kaer, but his parents had decided that it was time that he learned the 'down and dirty' about how his people worked.

He was told of the glory of Wyrm Wood, the majesty of the Elven Queen and the Rose Throne, and of the dangers of visiting the capital unaware. He was told the story of good Queen Dallia and how he should never trust a dragon. He was also told of Queen Alachia, and how she had entrusted the entirety of Wyrm Wood to a wooden kaer. He was also told of how Alachia had promised Separation for any elf that trusted the Theran Rites over her wisdom. Before they all tried to get some sleep, they made sure that he knew that he didn't know whether any elf that he met on the surface was separated or not. They trusted their son to find that truth of the matter behind what had happened to the great Elven nation during the Scourge and whether Queen Alachia had finally found mercy.

But trying to sleep was futile. Ourson was already starting to climb the wall of the kaer before anybody had had so much as one dream.

******************

Gamrin talked with his sister and was completely oblivious to the fact that someone was using the thread that attached him to the town hall to track him down. So when, just as Ourson was completing its' journey, his father burst in for a second time (albeit somewhat less frenzied than before), it took both Gamrin and Anaya both by surprise.

What really shocked them, though, wasn't that their father barged in, it was how their father looked. His hair was extremely unkempt, gray strands standing up as though he had been standing too close to a lightning bolt spell. His robes were disheveled, and his eyes were wide and unblinking. If Gamrin hadn't known better, he would've said that his father, the first wizard of the kaer had gone completely and totally mad.

"Son, my son! Here, now am I. Where? Gifts, yes! Present, know, head, yes!" He babbled as he approached Gamrin in a shambling walk. His eyes darted around wildly, as he approached, then fixated on Gamrin's grimoire. He grabbed it, wresting it from Gamrin with strength that he hadn't shown except for this morning, opened it up to the very last page, and with magical energy emanating from his finger tips scrawled gibberish and unintelligible symbols all over it. The page completely filled, he handed Gamrin back his grimoire, placed a hand on both shoulders, and for the first time since entering, really looked at Gamrin. For a moment the madness was gone, and all that was left was a concerned father.

"Just know, always remember: what I've done, I've done because I love you. Never forget that."

Those words said, his eyes lost focus and widened again and he ran out of the house, babbling so vehemently that spittle flew from his lips.

Completely shocked, neither could say anything, and regardless of whether they got up to follow or not, he was long gone by the time they got to the door.

[Atomicweasel]

“Waifu. Hmm.” The Catslayer rubbed his jaw thoughtfully as Arcata pulled him down a back alley, around an old man and a young boy pulling a cart behind them, and into the Windling district. Small homes were built into the walls of the Kaer, arranged like steps and shelves. The supports had been built by the dwarves, carved seamlessly into the stone and providing elegant foundations shaped into discs and ovals upon which the Windlings had made their homes in a variety of styles and colors that bore no semblance of rhyme or reason. There were houses built from wood and colored stones. There were houses made of glass and shaped like bowls. There were houses covered in windows, houses with no roof, wobbling crooked towers with trap-doors on their tops. The finest houses were placed the highest, built in imitation of human homes, with miniature logs and beams or tiny bricks that seemed ablaze under the enchanted lights of the Kaer. Arcata took The Catlsayer to the very top of those heights, where a bleached stone dais supported a diminutive palace, carved from a single block of marble.

“I have always admired your father’s home.” The Catslayer said as he and Arcata alit upon the entryway.

“It's alright," Arcata demured, secretly pleased. She still held The Catslayer’s hand in hers, leading him into the foyer, across a long and brightly patterned scarf that served as a carpet and stretched from the double doors to a central stairs. “DAD!” She shrieked. “COME LOOK!”

“Cargill’s work is the finest,” The Catslayer mumbled to himself, squinting at the elegant balustrade at the top of the stairs. He rested his free hand on the lion-shaped post to his left, rubbing a thumb into the lion’s marbled eye. “The detail is incredible. That’s what marks a good craftsman. Detail. Discipline. Detail.”

“My wayward daughter,” Havig called from the balcony of the second landing. “what horrible predicament have you manufactured now? What new chaos have you wrought?”

“I haven’t wrought anything! The Catslayer is here! I brought him!” Arcata shouted proudly, then paused and added for emphasis, “with me!”

“Catslayer, eh?” Havig flew down to Arcata, who beamed triumphantly, as if she’d bested her father in a game. “Friend, it has been long since I’ve looked upon your face.” Havig did so now, seizing the hand Arcata wasn’t clinging to and shaking it emphatically. “Your eyes grow ever harder.”

“Elder,” The Catslayer answered respectfully. “not all of us can hope to bear the weight of experience with such grace as you.” He caught Arcata peering at his eyes and drew himself up tall and straight as a sword. “Some scars run too deep. But you know well of what I speak.”

“I do.” Havig agreed. “Ilspeck!” he turned to yell over his shoulder. “Our daughter has come.”

“Is she being pursued by the police?” a small voice answered from above.

Arcata shook her head, but it wasn’t until The Catslayer echoed the gesture that Havig called back “No.” He glanced down at his daughter’s hand, clasped around The Catslayer’s, and added carefully, “she’s brought a friend. Come say hello and bring us some tea.”

“We haven’t got time for tea,” Arcata gushed impatiently. “We have a top-secret mission to go scout outside the Kaer and make sure the surface is safe from Horrors, and we need all the legendary Windling items you can spare.” She looked to her left, toward the kitchens, then to her right, where a small door led to the mushroom gardens. “How many have you got? We’ll probably need them all. Especially swords and lances and armor. Have you got the Whispering Wind? Have you got the Last Lament? How many trained Bunyips do we own? We’ll need at least two for mounts.”

[Gamrin]

Gamrin collapsed on one of the sturdy maple chairs in his sister's common room, and lay his head on the table. Anaya just stood there for a moment, before sitting wearily on the chair next to Gamrin. They sat there, neither of them moving for a few minutes, until

"What is happening!?" Gamrin cried out, suddenly, slamming his fist against the solid table in frustration. "Yesterday, I was still just a kid, and tomorrow I'm supposed to 'lead' a bunch of accomplished professionals out of the kaer! I bet I'm not even half as old as the next youngest person in our group! Father is going insane, and I can't find anyone else in the family to say goodbye too!"

With dull eyes, Anaya looked at him. Gamrin realized suddenly that she was every bit as afraid as he was.

"I don't know why father has gone so far today," he croaked out, his throat feeling gravelly, while he ignored the tears that threatened to form in his face. "He killed a Windling today. Not on purpose. Just in a fit of anger at a door. Then he fought off another Windling--one I am to lead. At the same time, I am to be in the custody of this Windling, as ridiculous as that will be. I don't know how to help father, and I don't know where mother is so that she can do so."

Slowly, Gamrin pulled the crystal chain out of one of the pockets of his robe, and the odd bundle he'd spotted out of the other. He lay them both on the table, and circled the chain around the bundle, idly leading one end of the chain with his left hand while he leaned his on his right arm, it's elbow planted on the table.

"I have no idea what these things are. We were in the armoury, and I didn't know what anything was.... Why was father not the one chosen to go outside? He has power and knowledge both."

Sighing wearily, Anaya leaned forward. "Then don't go. Tell them you changed your mind, little brother. Father loves you. He loves us all, in his way, as poorly as he shows it, but I think he loves you the most. I...." His sister tossed her hair, head back, then looked out the door into the darkness, while she started braiding her hair into an intricate braid. Just as Gamrin had decided she wasn't going to continue, she did. "I think he believes you are going to die if you go outside, Gamrin. I believe this will be the last time I ever get to see you. I don't want that to happen, but I think he's terrified of it."

Anaya completed her braid, then leaned forward, and kissed him on his forehead. "Sleep in my bed, tonight, little brother. It might be the last night you sleep on a bed for quite some time. I'll get your things from mother's place, and if she's there, I'll bring her along, too."

She lead Gamrin to her room, and him into her tiny bed, and stroked his hair until he was sleeping somewhat calmly, before going off to do what she could to ensure her brothers survival. Before leaving, she scooped up the crystalline chain and wound its length around the bundle, then tucked them into a pocket of her own robes. She wanted him to stay, but stubbornness was a family trait, and she didn't want to tire him out before his journey even commenced.

[Misthal Thorn]

Misthal listened closely to everything his parents had to tell him, and watched it too, when his mother demonstrated using her illusions. He was unaware of the drama that his companions were undergoing, spending the day as he was learning the drama that had brought the elven people into the Kaer. It was certainly worth learning everything he could about, and he wondered what madness had possessed the elven Queen to make such dangerous choices.

Trying to rest, at last he gave up, and saying his final farewells, with a few more tears, he went to see his teacher, Vera Kea, the one other person he thought he should see before he departed, after that, he decided, he would meet the others at the Library.

Vera greeted him with a hug, which was unusual for her. "I hear your going outside the Kaer, I don't know why they chose you, and I can see your a bit eager and excited about it, but I have a bit of advice for you. Chose your targets with care, be watchful, keep your eyes open, and remember your companions will be your closest allies, perhaps even dear friends in time."

She smiled. "Now, that aside, I see you have gained some interesting stuff from the vaults, let me take a look at it all, maybe I can give you a suggestion or two." From there, the discussion turned to bows, arrows, strings, and archer half-magic, as well as a few archers of legend.

[Stargaizer]

The Catslayer & Arcata

Havig chuckled at his daughter's enthusiasm as he lead them to the tea room despite his daughter's urgency. The news of the 'top secret' mission didn't seem to phase him as they made their way through the house.

"I know daughter. I was told. Not inquired upon, not asked, I, the leader of all Kaer Nilak windlings and a prominent member of our governing council was told that my one and only daughter would be thrown out of the kaer on a daringly heroic mission." Now in the tea room he motioned for Arcata and The Catslayer to find a seat. Once they did, he sat down as well.

"If I hadn't been so proud I'd have been infuriated, and if I hadn't always wondered when they would toss you out I would be shocked." The smile on his face showed that what he said was mirthful, but his eyes held the hardness of a concerned father.

It wasn't long before the tea kettle whistled and Ilspeck came in with the formal tea set, setting it down in between the three sitting down. She then took up her formal place, leaning ever so slightly on the back left corner of Havig's chair, ready to jump into action if any of their 'guests' needed anything. It was Havig who spoke first.

"As to why you've come, I'm afraid I have disappointing news for you. First we do not have, nor have we ever have trained bunyips or any other sort of animal. Nilak had no windling calverymen before the Time of Darkness descended, and even among the large folk, the discipline has died out here.

Secondly, the greatest warriors of our people at the time that the Darkness was descending, of which I know you know the tales, they are the ones who had our famed Whispering Wind, Last Lament, Last Laugh and Gleerindree as well as the Millenium Leaf and Oak Man. These legendary arms and armor of ours are what allowed them to do the heroic deeds that they did in keeping us safe as we retreated to the safety of our kaer. It was their windling valor, however, that kept them there, fighting for our lives, until they knew that the doors were safely sealed.

Which means," her father finished, "that our legendary arms and armor, as well as the heroes that wielded them, were the price that we paid for our safety. But we do have a few pieces of the mundane arms and armor that we brought in, but that wasn't considered dangerous enough to be stored in the armory. Finish your tea and I will take you to Trusslehuff the keeper."

Gamrin

Gamrin's sleep, once he fell asleep, was peaceful and when he woke, Ourson was already making it's way across the ceiling. It looked like he still had some time, probably wasn't even the end of the first hour yet.

As he drug himself sleepily out of bed, the events of yesterday and last night flooded back through his mind at the same time as the smells from his favorite elven breakfast flooded his nose and the hushed whispers of his sister and mother tickled his ears.

Misthal

Some of the stories that Vera regaled him with would've done his mother and father proud at their best. Of course, for some of the arrows that he had acquired at the armory, tales were all that Vera had as far as information, and for some of the truly rare specimens it was merely an oblique or implied reference.

Their time together was enjoyable for both of them, but teach she did. Vera made sure to make the most of this, possibly her last, opportunity to teach her now (or at least soon to be) famous student.

In fact, she would take all the time he would give her, all the way up to making him almost late for his meeting with the others at the library... if he let her.

[SalmonMax]

For a brief moment Arcata's spirits were dampened by the double whammy of bad news. By the time she'd finished her honey-sweetened tea though, she was discovering silver linings. She appeared at Catslayer's side and said in an encouraging voice, "Don't worry about the bunyips. They smell anyway. And the treasured artifacts of Windlings being lost outside...well...that just means it falls on US to find them and return them to our people! It's really GOOD news, when you think about it!"

Almost as fast she spun around to locate Havig and soared over his way. "Fatheeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr," she complained, "We've been done with the tea forever now, we need to see Trufflehuff!"

Then she paused long enough to spy some of the resentment and concern in Havig's face, and Arcata smiled and reached up to pat his bearded cheek.

"Don't worry. They think I'll die out there, but I won't. I'll surprise them all. I promise."

[Stargaizer]

Arcata & the Catslayer

Havig took them to see Trufflehuff the Keeper. He was an old, crookedly bent windling with wings so shriveled that he could barely fly. Old and wizened (by windling standards) he stared at the trio through his thick glasses as they wandered through his catacombs that had been dug and carved out of the root system of the oldest tree in the kaer. There they found all sorts of finely crafted and perfectly preserved windling arms and armors (including saddles for some long dead beast). Because of Havig's presence and their mission, they had unfettered access and were allowed to take whatever they so desired.

After they left Trufflehuff's catacombs, they each had their own idea of what they should do with their last night in the kaer...

Gamrin

Gamrin went downstairs and ate his favorite elven breakfast with his mother and sister. There wasn't much talking, but what conversation they did have was pleasant. But their time was cut short by Gamrin's need to be at the library...

Misthal

Misthal was almost late, listening to the stories and tales that his teacher spun, but though he was the last to show, he was by no means late... just almost.

Everyone

Gamrin thought he was the first to arrive, but then looked up to see Arcata and the Catslayer hovering above them. Misthal was the last to show just as the Magistrate walked out of the Great Library.

"Welcome brave heroes. We have information inside that should be of use to you. If you would please follow me." And with that he turned and walked back inside.

Click to reveal.. (OOC)

Anyone who feels too glossed over, please feel free to expound upon what happened in the beginning of your post. Also, I apologize for how long this took, I just haven't had the time to do this big of a post.

Feel free to catch up, or just follow the Magistrate... or anything in between.

[Gamrin]

With a quick hug for his sister, and the same plus a peck on the cheek for his mother, Gamrin hustled off, carring a pack that was filled with a change of small clothes, an extra tunic and socks, Gamrin's old writing kit, a bundle of something baked his mother had made that morning, and a second bundle with something his distaff many times great grandfather had worn before being sealed into the Kaer. Gamrin's quick glance hadn't given him a clue as to what the second bundle might be.

He tried not to cry as he hurried off, trying in vain to get the straps of the pack comfortable over his shoulders, and occasionally stumbling as his robes and staff crossed paths while he was focusing on getting to the library in one piece, without tracks of tears over his cheeks. It probably helped that he had half-cried to himself in the middle of the night--his eyes were bleary, but parched of tears.

As he approached the steps he was pleased to see that he was apparently the first one there....

[SalmonMax]

Arcata took a longbow and quiver, then added to it a slim rapier-styled sword at her waist. Both were finely made, though neither bore any legend or touch of magic. Even so, Arcata liked the hilt of the rapier, whose guard was fashioned to resemble coiling serpentine dragons...and the arches of the bow which were carved into feathered wings arising from a falcon's body where the handgrip was.

Her farewells to her father and mother were awkward at first...but finally their differences seemed to melt away, and they all embraced in a rare moment of openness. Arcata then flew out into the night to her handful of friends in the 'resistance' movement and explained what was going on. Though initially dismayed to find she was "serving" the human Magistrate, Arcata was quick to set them straight. She wasn't going for the humans. She was going to find the lost artifacts and history of the windlings! Why, for all anyone knew, there might already be kaers that opened and windlings living free and wild in the countryside! In fact, there might be nothing BUT windlings, with all the other races hiding like cowards behind their Theran spells!

The next half hour she spent making sure none of the others tried to follow them out.

Finally she returned home and settled into bed for some well-earned shuteye.

The windling awoke early, and was so excited that by the time she had made absolutely sure she was ready to go, breakfast eaten even, there was STILL more than thirty minutes to wait! Arcata managed to wait five, then grabbed her things and sailed off and away. After all, things might start early at the Magistrate's! For all she knew, they were all there already, tapping their feet impatiently and looking around to see where she was!

Well. They weren't. So she took her place atop a rafter and waited...sighing extravagantly whenever someone looked her way. When the others finally arrived and the Magistrate invited them in, she dove for the door with such eagerness that she nearly plowed right into the back of Gamrin's head in her haste!

[Misthal Thorn]

He spent a number of hours discussing things with his teacher, thoroughly enjoying himself, but as he realized the time, he made his excuses. "I'm sorry, but I must be going, we agreed to meet at the library very soon, as it is, I may be running a bit late, unless I run."

"Good Luck, may the passions be with you."

He waved at her as he ran toward the library, to arrive behind all of the others, but just barely on time, breathing a bit hard, as one who had been running would be.

[Stargaizer]

The group, band as they might one day be called, followed the Magistrate into the library. Each had seen the inside at least once before, but it was still a sight to behold. The polished stone of the inside gleamed in the combined illumination of strategically placed light crystals and Ourson that streamed through the windows. The inside was filled with polished dark wood shelves jam packed with tomes of various size, shape, color and apparent age. The only place that the group had seen such splendor was in the Magistrate's office. The Catslayer and Arcata could actually notice some shelves off in the distance that were completely encased in magical wards.

After they entered, a squat, grey bearded, bald Dwarf waddled up to them, adjusting the gold rimmed glasses on his face and the brown robe he wore as he walked. The Magistrate was the first to speak. "May I introduce Torcher, the head librarian. He knows this library and every tome therein like the back of his wrinkled old hand, don't you?" Torcher, for his part, rolled his eyes and waved a dismissive hand toward the Magistrate. When he finally did speak it was in a surprisingly strong tenor.

"Leave us to do our research. Your presence will only stifle our ability to find the correct tomes, and that could cost these heroes their lives. Now go prepare a speech or something else that doesn't involve you intruding on these sacred halls." The Magistrate harrumphed, but left as he was told. Torcher's attention then turned back to the group. "Come, follow me, I know exactly where the volumes are that we need. Come, come." He turned and waved them after him as he headed into the maze of bookshelves, in the general direction of an area of the library that the Catslayer and Arcata could tell was completely warded, not just the shelves therein.

[SalmonMax]

"That...was...AWESOME!" Arcata bleated adoringly as she swooped down to buzz the dwarf librarian, giving his beard a pull as she zoomed past. "You told the Magistrate off! You're the BEST DWARF EVER!"

She dive bombed his beard yet again, laughing uproariously at the memory of the Magistrate creeping off with his metaphorical tail between his metaphorical legs.

Then, with customary abruptness, her train of thought derailed and somehow jumped onto an entirely new track moving in the opposite direction.

"There's so much magic in here! Why? They're just books, aren't they?"

[Gamrin]

Gamrin almost stared in fascination at the Dwarf. He knew they were the best craftsmen in the Kaer, but he'd never considered that they might also be capable of doing more cerebral activities. He almost started to ask a question of the Librarian, then bit his lower lip, in thought.

Every time he opened his mouth, he ended up saying something everyone else thought was either stupid or insulting, when it wasn't both. This would be the one chance they had to get as much information as possible, and if there was one thing he still did agree with his father on, it was "knowledge is power". They'd need all of the knowledge they could get to prepare for this event.

Gamrin squared his shoulders, blanked his face, and tried to keep about a body length away from the doughty Librarian.

[Atomicweasel]

After leaving Arcata earlier in the day, the Catslayer had returned to his more modest home in the scattered Windling quarters of the Kaer. He had planned the many things he wished to tell Semaki, had even stood outside his home, practicing the words and gestures he would use, watching his shadow imploring with penumbral elegance against the wall. But when he had dared to go inside he had discovered Semaki’s silence too terrible a foe. Her mournful melancholy had stolen his words. They had shared a tensely quiet meal. There had been no empassioned speeches. No soulful soliloquies.

Now the Catslayer brooded. He couldn’t even bring himself to gloat when the Magistrate was so summarily dispatched. He barely registered the bright glow of magic that had drawn Arcata’s eye. Instead, he lit upon Gamrin’s shoulder, his eyebrows locked into a ferocious frown, and rested his elbow on the young wizard’s head.

With his fingers drumming lightly on Gamrin’s skull, the Catslayer replayed in his mind the many things he had sought to say. Semaki. You have shown me a love and loyalty I have done little to earn, or if earned, not near enough to keep. You know that Snowflake died with Luna and I may never return to what I was. My mistress as you call her has come between us yet again, for I must answer her call beyond the walls of this Kaer. Nay. Do not protest. If I cannot live as a man, may I die as a hero, fighting the Horrors who have taken everything from us.

When Gamrin squirmed, the Catslayer fluttered his wings to keep his balance and absently chided “Be still. You’re disrupting my thoughts, Boy.”

[Misthal Thorn]

Misthal looked though the library with interest, there was much here, history, legend, philosophy, magic, knowledge. It interested him mostly in terms of what use he could make of it now though. He thought of the long talks he'd had with his teacher and even more the stories his parents had taught him, but then he pulled his mind to the present.

"Torcher is it? What tomes is it that you are taking us to look at? It sounds like you have some idea of what might be most useful to us?"

[Stargaizer]

Torcher softly chuckled at Arcata's overly enthusiastic outburst, but waited long enough for everyone to have a chance to chime in before responding. "Yes, young windling, these are books, but to call them just that would be akin to saying that you are just a windling." He paused a moment, letting what he'd just said sink in.

He continued walking, leading them deeper and deeper into the maze of shelves. "These books contain all the knowledge that we could collect about the world, the workings of magic, the disciplines, and the world in general from before the Scourge. Some sections contain knowledge so dangerous that we need to keep people away from them, while other books contain writings so dangerous that we need to lock them away from the people that they could harm. Those are two sections that are warded. Most of the regular books just need to be preserved until this time of hiding is over. Through one lifetime, maybe two, most books and scrolls, if handled properly, won't wear out. But when they sit for generations upon generations, even the parchment and ink age. That's most of the rest of the books."

Torcher led them down and around another section of bookshelves, further and further away from the 'natural' light that flooded the front section of the library. The windlings could see that the section just to their left was completely warded, and everybody could feel the hairs on their arms and the back of their neck stand up when they got too close to the shelves. "I warn you, stay in this aisle, don't even touch the shelves on your left. These are perhaps the most heavily guarded of all the books. These tomes contain all the details of the Kaer, from its' construction to its' operation from the day Namegivers first set foot in here until now. Anything that you would need to gain power over this kaer, or that you would need to know to leave, or to let others in, is stored in here. The builders of the library were wise enough to set this section up, and to have events automatically recorded, factually and without bias." Torcher stopped suddenly and turned to face the group. "Of course, they were also paranoid enough not allow anyone to go inside."

There was a small orachilium bowl sitting atop a white marble column streaked with gray at the end of the bookshelf where Torcher stopped. It was about waist high for most namegivers, though on Torcher it came up to about his shoulders. Also, just behind the ward, between the two bookshelves, there was a ring of orachilium, about 2 inches wide and about 3 feet across. Torcher reached around behind his back and withdrew a knife. "They did, however, give us one way in which we could gain access." And with that he pricked his finger and let a single drop of blood drop into the bowl. Both Arcata and Catslayer could see the bowl light up with magic as the blood was literally absorbed into the bottom of the bowl. The magic traveled down the column and across the floor to the ring of orachilium where it went from a white color to the pinks, purples and blacks of nethermantic magic. It also took on the shapes of various bones beneath the surface of the circle.

The non-windlings in the group saw none of this display, they simply saw the blood be absorbed into the bowel and felt the tingling of magic as a portal opened in the air above the circle on the ground. Out of the portal floated a translucent specter. It had the head of a namegiver (more human/elf than other varieties, but still nondescript) and two arms with hands and fingers, but it's torso thinned into a V where the legs would've been. Neither Torcher or the spirit seemed surprised by the summoning. In fact, the spirit's face almost made it look bored.

[Gamrin]

In the journey through the library, Gamrin looked longingly at all the books they passed, but it didn't compare to the focus and concentration he brought to bear on Torcher as he performed his ritual.

When Gamrin saw the look of boredom on the spirit, he tensed in anger. "Boring magic!?" he hissed, then clenched his teeth and his fists as his cheeks coloured, and he tried to regain his composure.

[SalmonMax]

"Blood magic," sighed Arcata, eyes wide. She hovered near Torcher's shoulder.

"Is it a spirit guardian, to crush anyone who dares come this far?" she whispers...then, unable to wait for an answer she addresses the spirit itself, "Oh mighty ghost of the past, what do you want from us?!"

[Stargaizer]

The spirit let out a whisper of a sigh and rolled its' translucent eyes, at both Gamrin and Arcata. Torcher was the one that spoke up.

"There is nothing boring about this magic boy," Torcher said to Gamrin before turning his head to Arcata. "And no, this spirit isn't going to crush anyone. As I said before, the founders of our Kaer didn't want anyone going into the records, so they bound these spirits to do the retrieval for anyone authorized to have access to the info. That's what the blood is for, it's both the key and the power to summon him." Torcher motioned his head towards the spirit.

Torcher then looked at the assembled group, and seeing as how no one had any further questions he turned back to the still waiting spirit. "These heroes are being sent on a mission outside the kaer. On the orders of the magistrate and the authority of the master of records, we need all records regarding the entryway, stairwell, and everything that these heroes might face or encounter between the safety of the kaer and the surface."

The spirit bowed, both formally and sarcastically at the same time. It then turned and faded into the distant darkness down the aisles of books.

Torcher turned around and spoke softly. "These are the same spirits that were bound when the kaer was made. Normally they would go do their own thing on the Astral plane when they weren't here, but because of the wards, they can't leave... so some of them have gone a little..." Torcher twirled his index finger around his temple. "They have to do what we ask them, but many times they'll find some way to twist what you say. They'll bring back something that you didn't want or not bring an important piece of what you asked for."

[Gamrin]

At Torcher's cool rebuke, Gamrin's ears burned red again, but he reminded himself to keep calm. Wizards kept their calm, no matter what. He would not fly off the handle again. That was how his father reacted to things. He promised himself he would stay calm and silently observant like his mother.

So when Torcher got to his explanation about how the spirits of the archive acted, he bit his lip to keep from saying "I feel like that too, sometimes."

[Atomicweasel]

The Catslayer shot a sharp glance behind him, as if he half expected to find some foe slinking up on them unawares. He squinted murderously down the hallway, and then began pacing listlessly from Gamrin's right shoulder to the left, and back again.

"Do you see what wicked things your magicks make, eh boy?" The Catslayer asked Gamrin. "Spirits born of blood," The little Windling swordmaster put a special emphasis on 'blood.' "creatures crafted from dark pacts with powers we know little and less of," The Catslayer dropped his voice to a dread whisper. "Foul sorceries that turn a Namegiver's soul to pith, to cinder and ash. And for what? Power?"

The Catslayer struck a bravo's pose on Gamrin's shoulder, a pose of lazy menace. "True power is not bartered for. It is not granted like a boon from some demon," The Catslayer clutched his hand into a fist. "It is earned, by sweat and toil and strength. You would do well to remember that, my ward."