A Tunnels and Trolls® play-by-post adventure run by khara_khang
Jay immediately checks to see if he has the favour coin once again, since he seems to have gone back in time.
Sorry. Once the favor coin is used, it disappears.
Before parting company, Jay briefs Olvarin and Quickly about everything that has happened in the alley and otherwise, and on his intentions. The pair heads back towards the Blue Frog Tavern as Jay turns away to follow the winding Khazani streets toward the Royal Palace. Jay's pace wanes in the very early morning hours. The fog is breaking, with daylight not far behind. He is admittedly very tired but his determination is stronger than ever, whether or not his cause is lost.
As he walks, Jay thinks about what he has learned from speaking with the guards back in the alley: the men dressed as city guards were actually hired thugs who worked with a nearby street gang of which the city guards have no great love loss. It is still a mystery as to what actually happened to cause their deaths, although it is easy to assume that the Elf changed back into his Gargoyle form and made a quick meal of the lot of them. But that is only a guess.
He also ponders the guards' stubborn refusal to follow up on the crime. They refused to put out an APB out on Shipy Sr. or Kazad since the thugs were most likely not killed by a Hobbit and/or a Human. As for the supposedly kidnapped Elf, there is no real proof he ever existed. The assault on Ebony? It is her word against Shipy Sr.'s, and Ebony would need to file charges, not Jay. The sergeant did explain that if Ebony were to come in and file an assault report, then they would pick Shipy Sr. up if they could find him, but he added that it is not something they would consider a high priority case. Lastly, the wild story about the Balrog was just that to the guards. Jay's mind snaps back to the present as he approaches the Royal Palace.
The royal guards stand in their usual brighly colored Phoenix uniforms at attention in front of the palace gates. They are not impressed with Jay or his attempts to gain entrance into the Palace. To the guards, Jay is no different than the throngs of other wayfarers attempting to gain admission to see the Death Goddess. He is turned away.
"All of you be gone, lest your next visit be the Arena Of Khazan! No one sees the Death Goddess at this hour!" The guard shouts at Jay and the dozen or so other people gathered in front of the gate.
Fearing the Arena Of Khazan, most of the people gathered together quickly disperse into the street.
Jay looks at his necklace of dice as he considers his last option. Each standard size die has a separate five-inch long chain ending with a metal thumb-sized ring on it. Each die is attached to a swivel which grips the die magically (like a magnet). There are no marks on the two dice; they look brand new even after all this time. They are red with white dots and appear as if they could have been cut from solid rubies and diamonds. The necklace is a leather string looped through the two metal rings (Jay suspects the dice were once attached to some other necklace now long lost). He knows that to take the dice off, all he has to do is reach up and pull them free; they would reattach magically if held close to their swivels. Jay puts his hand around the dice and considers their use.
"That doesn't seem like such a wise thing to use, Jay," says a deep voice as it approaches.
Jay turns to see his old friend Prince Thalion the male Sphinx standing a few paces away. His green piercing eyes hold more knowledge than most could fathom and his golden fur is groomed to perfection as it always has been. Prince Thalion moves closer and rubs up against his friend in a warm greeting.
"You do know Lerotra'hh is not really in there, don't you?" He glances towards the palace and then back at Jay. "They are just as likely to steal your treasure and slit your throat when you draw attention to yourself by using that powerful magic. That would be a great loss to me." He looks at Jay, his eyes stern.
Seeing your friend brings back a flood of old memories as the new day begins:
As the only apprentice of Tamara The Small you wonder if this is all her doing. Maybe she is just teaching you a lesson. Knowing you have a lousy voice, you are quickly convinced by the jab of the spear to play along for now. Then again they are Orcs. Maybe what's lousy to humans will seem halfway decent to them. You cough, clearing your throat, and these are the first words they hear out of you (to the tune of The Beverly Hillbillies):
"Come and listen to my story 'bout a man named Jay
Touched a magic ball, and was teleported 'way.
Found by some Orcs who were awful mean and crude,
He really, really hopes he's not here to be food.
(Dinner that is. Stir fried, barbequed....)"Well, the next thing you know, Jay's singing for his life
Hoping to avoid that Big Ol' Butcher Knife!
Hey, all these Orcs are listening up to me,
Bet I'm gonna live, and maybe even go free!
(To Khazan, that is. Arena, Death Goddess....)"
"Thank you, thank you, you've been a wonderful audience." Having little more than finished those words, you collapse to the floor like a well-dropped pile as the metal head of a spear slams into the back your head. So much for your troubadouring career.
Jack goes back into the main room as the others (Taran, Jax, Ebony, Lilac) leave the private room and the bar to head home to wherever that may be. Finding an empty stool at the end of the bar, Jack sits his bones down with a weary thud.
"You need some more food, Jack?"
"Nah, I'm trying to watch my figure. I need plenty of wholesome nutritious alcohol."
"Why do you drink if you know it only spills onto the floor?" Lucky sets Jack out a mug filled with Dark Swill and watches him with his one good eye.
"It makes me look cool."
"A Mummy Warrior named Pnakh used to say the same thing around here."
"Damnable Mummies! Can I ask you a question, Lucky?"
"As long as it's not about my missing eye, leg or arm."
"Uhh...."
"Is it about one of those?"
"Sort of."
Lucky sighs. "Just ask the question."
"What's with the missing eye?"
"I was battling a Dark Elf named Malstam on the snow-covered peaks of Mount Ausmon in the Goblin Mountain range as my compatriots defended against the great White Dragon Shard. It was a final battle of life or death. At the time, death seemed an easier end. As our blades clashed together the Dark Elf's blade shattered in the cold harshness of the climate and a piece flew into my eye as my sword continued downward and removed his arm at the shoulder. It was a most tragic moment." Lucky thinks for a minute. "It was a long time ago." He goes back to washing glasses.
Jack, excited, responds with, "Cool, good story." Then he drinks.
With most everyone gone, Bela asks for the return of his book from the shifty Hobbit he has grown to know very well. Shipy of course promised Bela long ago that he would keep the book in a safe place. Even now he swears he still has it tucked away in a very safe place.
Bela follows Shipy into the store room and then up a narrow ladder into the attic. The attic is nothing more than a small unfinished room with a dresser, a child's bed (Hobbit-sized), a child's table and a couple of small chairs. The attic has a single small Hobbit-sized window that stands open. The room is much too low for Bela's tall stature; he bumps his forehead with a resounding thump on one of the rafters as he enters.
"Watch your head there," he adds a wee bit too late. Shipy looks around and then spins to face Bela, "Oh no! It's gone! The book's been stolen!" Shipy runs to the small window and looks out into the light of the new day.
"What? It's gone?" he gasps in disbelief, gently rubbing his forehead.
"Wait a minute... just kidding, here it is." Shipy grins as he walks over to the dresser and pushes the dresser to one side while at the same time pulling the book out with his foot.
"You used it to level a dresser?"
"Uh huh. It worked fine up until now. Is that bad?"
Bela frowns. Weary of the low rafters, he makes his way over to the book, picks it up and dusts it off. The Hobbit smiles back sheepishly.
Elsewhere in the bar, and with everyone having gone off somewhere (save for Jack), Cambrea stands and heads for the door. She can't help but look at Chereva. With one last sigh, she walks out the tavern doors and down the busy street. Taran would not be happy with her absconding with his treasure. Orcs should know better than to be so trusting. She wonders if she will ever see Taran again.
Quickly and Olvarin make their way back to the Blue Frog Tavern after having spent the last 24 hours filled with excitement, fear, and near death. It has been a very wild ride that hopefully is soon to end.
"Thank you for helping, Quickly. Maybe Jay'll do a better job making something worthwhile out of it." He softly smiles again. "At least at the bar I know you'll keep yourself entertained, probably better than I can." Olvarin wonders if this adventure is truly finished like an expired incantation, and if they really have achieved as much as they should have.
Quickly stares at Olvarin accusingly, then smiles widely. Leading Olvarin back to the tavern, he flutters along in the fading fog and the morning light. "Hell is a bad place. No sense in rushing to get there!" Quickly lifts his hands to look at the silver eagle he holds. "This was unexpected."
What do you do?
"Hell is a bad place. No sense in rushing to get there!"
Mulling over the line, and finding another iteration of it, Quickly grins and tries it out loud, on nobody and anybody in particular: "Hell is a bad place. No sense in rushing to get there. But then again, so's Blue Frog, and everybody does! HAH! I gotta try that on Lucky. Oh, Lone Olvarin, only don't let me go lonely! Ev'ryone'll be at the Blue Frog. Surely, and not only Shirley but the Orcbrothers and that spectacular Centaur bouncer---and I do mean bounce. Come along, and carry this for me if you will; I haven't the pocket for it but come along!" He flips Olvarin the bird, er, the silver eagle and doubletimes it to the bar.
Sorry. Once the favor coin is used, it disappears.
So much for the Back to the Future resolution. (DVD trilogy soon to be released, with cut scenes added! Woo-hoo!)
"What's with the missing eye?"
"As our blades clashed together the Dark Elf's blade shattered in the cold harshness of the climate and a piece flew into my eye as my sword continued downward and removed his arm at the shoulder."
Lucky neglects to mention his missing leg came soon after---the very next time he swung his sword. Losing the eye sure hurt his depth perception....
That whole post was written OCC [sic], you know, out-of-character.
But there's only one "c" in character. ;) [Really? ;) --ed.]
I went back to the Archive recently, looked at part of the interplay with Lilac and myself, and noticed this.
I'm fully aware there're two c's in "character." I was feeding line out, expecting someone would challenge me on it. Unfortunately, nobody said anything, no doubt being more interested in chasing Gargoyles. Fancy that. At any rate, that left my response unposted as well: it had to do with the "OCC" misfit_sprite used for "Out Of Character," but I can't remember much more than that. Quips are stream of consciousness, editor! Call me on this stuff immediately so I can use 'em! :D
[The city guards] refused to put out an APB out on Shipy Sr. or Kazad since the thugs were most likely not killed by a Hobbit and/or a Human.
"I see. And other than what you've just heard from me, as well as from the other two individuals who led you to the site in the first place, do you have any other working theories?"
As for the supposedly kidnapped Elf, there is no real proof he ever existed.
...other than three eyewitnesses right here, as well as several more either at or heading to the BFT. In addition, the Master Wizard of the Death Goddess, Grutoss, can at least confirm a Gargoyle, lending credence to the veracity of that part of the story. Plus, there's the presence of a new Gargoyle statue in the Grand Khazan Library Hall at Castle Zaxhere.
The assault on Ebony? It is her word against Shipy Sr.'s, and Ebony would need to file charges, not Jay.
I'll buy that. Although she'll have some back up if need be: Shipppy Sr. [sic] stated in front of several of us that he was using her for bait.
The wild story about the Balrog was just that to the guards.
No doubt. However, given the implications and the definite flensing of several people, and given that several high-profile individuals are involved, they might want to consider moving this a bit closer to the front burner.
The sergeant did explain that if Ebony were to come in and file an assault report, then they would pick Shipy Sr. up if they could find him, but he added that it is not something they would consider a high priority case.
As my talk with the guards came before Olvarin and Quickly left, I'll ask them to mention that bit to Ebony, oh, and to have someone (Bela most likely) see if anything can be done about the second Gargoyle at the library. If Shipppy Sr. [sic] lost the first Gargoyle, he might go looking for the other one that came through the portal. (I believe he left before Grutoss arrived and stoned the thing, but the library would be the most logical place to start looking if he decided to pursue this avenue of investigation.) Perhaps if Lilac is available as well, this one can also be restored and answers found.
The men dressed as city guards were actually hired thugs who worked with a nearby street gang of which the city guards have no great love loss.
They might have no love lost for the dead thugs, but that doesn't abrogate their responsibilities. Besides, given the savagery of the attacks, they can ill-afford to leave it unsolved, lest it continues on to law-abiding folk.
It is still a mystery as to what actually happened to cause their deaths, although it is easy to assume that the Elf changed back into his Gargoyle form and made a quick meal of the lot of them. But that is only a guess.
Still, it's a good working theory. However, until more is known about the Elf's condition, Jay will continue to place not the blame, but the responsibility for the deaths with Shipppy Sr. [sic]. (Of course, if the Elf/Gargoyle did kill the thugs and moved on, he could be who-knows-where right now; Shipppy Sr. [sic] might not have him at all depending on the circumstances of the deaths.)
The royal guards stand in their usual brighly colored Phoenix uniforms at attention in front of the palace gates. They are not impressed with Jay or his attempts to gain entrance into the Palace.
I'd tell them I'm a personal friend of Krandor, but I'd probably choke on the words [another reference to the Captain in the Royal Mounted Khazanian Army who irritated Jay to no end in Dangerous Creations --ed.].
To the guards, Jay is no different than the throngs of other wayfarers attempting to gain admission to see the Death Goddess. He is turned away.
Do I still have my official invitation to dine with the Death Goddess, or was that taken the first time I showed up? I realize it's not for this occasion, but it would help separate Jay from the masses, or whoever else is left here.
Jay puts his hand around the dice and considers their use.
"That doesn't seem like such a wise thing to use, Jay."
"And you would know because... ?"
Jay turns to see his old friend.
Friendly acquaintance, although I did like him a lot more than 'Skimmer.
His green piercing eyes hold more knowledge than most could fathom.
Although he was still fool enough to agree to a frontal assault on a Minotaur, and a couple'a Orcs led by a Troll....
Prince Thalion moves closer and rubs up against his friend in a warm greeting.
"Hi, it's been ages. What brings you to Khazan?"
"You do know Lerotra'hh is not really in there, don't you?"
"No more than any of these other idiots out here."
"They are just as likely to steal your treasure and slit your throat when you draw attention to yourself by using that powerful magic."
"Joke's on them: all my treasure went to a dead Leprechaun."
"I seem to recall you not being on the best of terms with Leprechauns, or at least one of them."
You are quickly convinced by the jab of the spear to play along for now. Then again they are Orcs.
Hence Jay's less than warm greeting upon meeting the Orc Brothers™.
Having little more than finished those words, you collapse to the floor like a well-dropped pile as the metal head of a spear slams into the back your head.
Everyone's a critic.
I went back to the Archive recently, looked at part of the interplay with Lilac and myself, and noticed this.
Heheh. Glad you caught that, ericeick.
You may also have caught that I have preserved Lilac's use of "OCC" in the Archive too, just like I preserve Jay, Olvarin and Taran's purposeful (at least I think so) mispellings of Shipy (as Shippy, Shipppy, Shippppy, etc.).
I haven't been preserving Jay's mispellings of Olvarin (as Olvarion) in the Archive, as failing any justification that I can recall, they come across more like honest (though amazingly consistent) mispellings. But I can change that if you actually intend to mispell Olvarin's name.
-The Archivist
You may also have caught that I have preserved Lilac's use of "OCC" in the Archive too...
Because you preserved it, it was the only reason I had even the faintest idea why I said 1 "c" in character.
... just like I preserve Jay, Olvarin and Taran's purposeful (at least I think so) mispellings of Shipy (as Shippy, Shipppy, Shippppy, etc.).
Well, purposeful on my part. I dunno about the others. As for mispelling Olvarin, thanks. Those were just boneheaded mistakes on my part (sorry 'bout that!). I'm not the greatest with names (I had to join the army or McDonald's, since you wear names on the uniforms of both), and haven't been keeping a personal 'game log' recently either, so I just screwed that one up. Again, mea culpa.
Pax!
On behalf of Lucky the bartender of the Blue Frog Tavern, who couldn't write this note himself since he's spending the holidays in the hospital after slipping on a dropped mug of ale, I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
Does Khazan have a calendar of holidays and special occassions that we could celebrate assuming there are relevant mappings from Gregorian Calendar to Khazan Calendar? (Merry Lerotra'hh's Day? Happy Khara Khang's Eve? Blessed Dragon Feast Day?)
Stay warm and don't forget to tip your bartenders!
TD
Does Khazan have a calendar....
Yes it does. Go here and have a look.
Glarghj'naslk'ncdl'n [cf. Goblin Lake, Part Deux --ed.] has always appreciated being remembered with Frogday.
"YAWN" Taran wakes the next morning feeling refreshed. He stretches his arms, legs, neck, toes, mouth and fingers, but not in that order. Opening his eyes, Taran looks straight up into the cave ceiling of the room where he sleeps in Dracon Warren. "Jax, you awake yet?" he says sleepily into the morning's light that has made its way through Dracon Warren's caverns to the back room.
"No! Argh! Go back to sleep!" Jax grumbles, now awake but not wanting to be.
Ignoring him, Taran rolls over and hangs his head down to look at his brother, who lies on the bottom bunk. "You sound like you're awake." He gives Jax a toothy grin.
Grumbling, Jax swishes his leg up and kicks the underside of Taran's bunk. "You kept me up all night snoring... again!"
Laughing, Taran rolls over and drops to the earthen floor. "Rise and shine, my ever stinkin' brother! Today we feast!" Taran wonders what kind of exotic foods Bela has arranged for them. "I feel great today! AAAarrrururuuggghghghg!" he says, stretching his arms in the air.
Jax covers his ears with his hands. "Go find somebody else to bother, and let me sleep!"
"You're grumpy. You should try and get some sleep, you know."
"ARGH!"
Taran leaves the room, walks into the water closet, dumps a bucket of cold water on himself and saunters to the sun room where he drip-dries, sitting on a comfortable rock. He wanders over to the clothes heap and dresses himself in a relatively clean set of leather clothes, then finds and shoves on his new sturdy boots, and finally stops by the warren guard roster.
He isn't on duty today. Smiling, he walks over to his trunk, unlocks it using the key he keeps cleverly hidden under the trunk itself, and fishes out his money bag. He picks out 10 gold crowns and stuffs them in his pocket. He straps his broadsword across his back, puts his eating knife in another pocket, locks the trunk and leaves the den.
Hours later, on the streets of Khazan, Taran thinks, "I wonder where my mate has got herself to?" He has been looking for Cambrea all morning but no one knows where she went. Maybe she is up to her mischevious ways, he considers, before he remembers that her mischevious days never happened. At least the ones he remembers. He wanders by the city guard house, considering asking them to find her, but he realizes they would have no reason to look. But he does spot Ebony leaving the guard house, so he catches up with her.
"Hey!" he says brusquely as only an Orc can.
"Taran, one of the infamous Orc brothers," she says matter-of-factly.
"What were you doing in there?" Taran asks nosily.
Ebony considers telling the Orc to mind his own business. Then again, she doesn't care really much anyway. "I filed an assault report against that little scruffy Hobbit's dad."
"Shippy [sic] Senior?"
"Yeah that's the one, the little creep. Seems like Jay already told 'em what happened, so they were happy I'd come forward to file charges, so they could pick him up if they see him again."
Taran scratches his head. "Well I don't guess he'll be coming to the big feast, harurgh!" Taran says, chuckling as only an Orc can.
"Oh yeah, the big adventure party. I'd almost forgotten about that. You going, I guess?"
"You bet. Bela throws good parties. Lots of food, some folks get all dramatic and teary-eyed, maybe Grutoss'll even show up. Hey, you haven't seen Cambrea, have you?"
"Not since last night. After you left she stuck around. We talked for a bit---chatted about Khazan mostly, like she hadn't been here in a while. When I left, she was still sitting there. Anyway, see you at the party." Ebony gives Taran a finger-salute and sets out.
Taran wanders to the Blue Frog Tavern. He walks in to the busy establishment, sits down at his usual spot and broods over a late breakfast. How long ago was it that he sat at this very spot gumbling about his life before this latest adventure began? One day? Two days? He gets Lucky's attention.
"Yeah, I ain't got all day you know," he says as he hobbles over. "If the food's not cold enough, I can throw some ice on it."
Ignoring him, Taran speaks as he pictures Cambrea in his mind's eye. "Elf, golden hair, about so high, kinda perky, walking around in baggy leather clothes, has a talking sword..." he suddenly remembers he gave Cambrea the backpack he found in the temple. "...and a backpack. Seen her?"
"Yeah, few hours ago, last one to leave. Ain't seen her since. What's she to you, Orc?"
"Nothin', just wondering," Taran lies.
Finding none of his adventuring friends inside the Blue Frog, Quickly sacks out on the roof. After being kissed awake by Rosy-Fingered-Dawn (all too brief an appearance from that one) Quickly waits for a familiar face.
He flits forward, down and in, following Taran as he enters the tavern and glancing around for more of the company, uncertain of his welcome. He settles down just out of Taran's reach and quietly watches the Orc's brooding meal.
After listening to Taran's conversation with the bartender, Quickly clears his throat. "Hm. Ah. Morning! Hi. You don't look so hungry anymore. You gonna eat that?"
[Quickly joins the crowd:
"Huh?" Taran looks up at the Fairy. "Oh, hey Quickly." Taran isn't particularly hungry anymore anyway. "Uergh, no, I don't feel so hungry anymore. Help yourself." Taran shoves the plate forward on the table and leans back, considering his life. Maybe he would go back to brooding again. "Seen any Elves recently?" The question is completely vague but Taran doesn't care. He is an Orc.
Quickly tucks in. Between mouthfuls and swallows, Quickly nods and pipes away. "MLWS? Gulp. Elves, Elves yes, well, not so much Elves as Elf and not so much Elf as Olvarin, and that was last night, and I kept trying to get him to follow me here but he was all mopey and wouldn't and I got here too late anyway and hey he's got my silver eagle, and that was way last night so he's had plenty of time to spend it already. HMP!"
He remembers his manners. "Oh! By all that's growin', thank you. I was hungry!" He grabs off a crust, and chews on it for a thoughtful instant. "So! Where are we going?"
In Shipy's room, Bela stands holding the book. "Nicely hidden, little friend," he says, smiling at the Hobbit. He opens the book and sees that it is indeed the linking book back to his home. He thinks about touching the moving image on it and returning home, but instead he closes the book. "This linking book is both a gift and a curse, for while I can move back and forth between my world and yours easily and safely, this link puts my world in great peril, for the Powers here would quickly overwhelm us. Calenril, my father, and I have been studying these books to learn their magic. I do not yet feel confident that I can make another link, so I wish to preserve it."
He then rummages through his own pack and pulls out a leather strap with a buckle. He wraps the book in the strap and closes the buckle, then says a word. The buckle and strap flash with a green light, then Bela places the book in his pack. "This book will be destroyed in a hot fire if the strap is not opened with the proper word."
"What is it? Tell me, tell me! I won't repeat it to anyone, I swear!"
"Do you? Will you keep it safer even than you kept this book?"
"But it was safe, and you know it!"
"Yes, it was." Then Bela tells Shipy the opening word. It is an old, old word in the most ancient of Elven tongues, one that is not known in Trollworld. "I must leave, now. Ruth and I have many preparations to make for the feast of the giving of thanks, tomorrow."
The locking strap is Calenril's invention---Bela doesn't yet know how to make his own spells.
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