The Southern Continent (part 2)

[Graybeard]

Not having much else to do, Khoo finished another installment in his travelogue, carefully ... amending certain observations so that he wouldn't get sued later by Udo. (Or his heirs and survivors.) This concluded, he started to put his crystal ball away, but then he changed his mind. Everything he'd been led to believe suggested that he would have no Crystal-net access on the Southern Continent, but why should that be so? In straight-line distance, they weren't all that much farther here from the nearest gateway than a ball in southern Veracia would be, and he'd heard rumors that Professor Dirienzal had received a transmission from there recently -- a transmission he hadn't liked very much. (Khoo could believe that last part. One of his female -- and spectacularly well-endowed -- classmates had mentioned something to him once about word leaking out about the professor's fetish for canteloupe-flavored -- No, I don't want to think about that.) If whoever contacted Dirienzal could do it, why couldn't he? (The connection between that long-distance exchange and the unfortunate episode with the late Professor Damyo was completely unknown to Khoo.)

He sat for a few minutes and fiddled with the crystal ball, muttering the occasional spell. Aetherics were rather advanced stuff, even for a student in his line of specialization, but he knew enough to at least be able to coax a bit of performance out of the thing beyond its advertised capabilities. Sure enough, to his delight, he was able to get a weak, intermittent Crystal-net connection, and he even managed to summon the Tsuipedia article on the Southern Continent ...

But then there was a weird, multi-colored splash of light in the ball, and with a FZZZT, the connection went dead.

Startled, Khoo started to check diagnostics on the ball. Some of the thaumatic circuitry was behaving as if it had just had a severe shock -- literally. It was like there was some source of aetheric energy nearby that had simply overloaded the thing, a source that wasn't tied into Crystal-net itself and was beyond the ball's ability to exploit, yet was powerful enough to shut the thing down.

The ball was beginning to get warm to the touch, which was a bad sign. Khoo shut everything down so it could cool off, which would take some time, and went looking for his colleagues. Finding Tamina, he asked (in the language of the kobolds, for his Translation spell was still active), "Tammy, you're from around here. Do you know if your people have any kind of magical communications system that might ... now why are you looking at me like that?"

[Drusia]

"Tammy, you're from around here. Do you know if your people have any kind of magical communications system that might ... now why are you looking at me like that?"

Hearing Tamina's name - or part of it, anyway - I head over in that direction.

"They might, Waiter-kun" I tell him, "But nothing that's going to interface with Tsuirakuian databases. I'm afraid you'll be stuck with a weak connection until we head back Tsuiraku way."

I turn to Tamina, dismissing Waiter-kun's tech issues from my thoughts. "How are you feeling?" I ask her. Before she replies, I add "If you were feeling better, I was hoping for a tour." I smile at her hopefully.

-- Drusia

[Jack Rothwell]

"Tammy, you're from around here. Do you know if your people have any kind of magical communications system that might ... now why are you looking at me like that?"

"They might, Waiter-kun, but nothing that's going to interface with Tsuirakuian databases. I'm afraid you'll be stuck with a weak connection until we head back Tsuiraku way."

"Actually... umm... that's what the Ralkin artifact is Khoo." Tamina said. "Leli figured it out, she's trying to... err... 'tap in' and listen to them. Very useful find, thanks for your help finding it." She added.

"How are you feeling? If you were feeling better, I was hoping for a tour."

Tamina smiled shyly at Drusia and nodded, she gave a final word to the waiter to pass the news onto Udo, and to try the garlop (it occured to her that a man who served food for a living would appreciate the culinary delights the southern continent had on the menu, and that there was a lot going on at ground level besides roasting pig-thing to sample) before leading the elf to the nearest balcony and leaning over it to point out the features her village had to offer.

"I know it's not as impressive as human towns." She admitted. "But it's home... and it's nice. Got the Killikah homes down there..."

The kobold pointed to the half-dozen, wide circles of huts that were the living spaces of the typically big families that lived in her village, each was speckled with cooking fires, big pots and racks upon which hides were stretched to scrape and cure. She indicated the pair of deep wells on opposite sides of the clearing, the square-sided buildings that served as smoke-houses and larders for the tribe, adding that her people held certain things, like food, in common. She indicated a squat contruction with a metal chimey which functioned as the distillery for the 'jungle punch' Alleece and Udo had overindulged in (and pointed out the semi-cuddling pair with a giggle). There were few other locations in the settlement to see, an armory (where spears and arrows were made, sometimes with imported metal purchased in Grendell), an oversized hut which housed the orphans from hunting accidents and the recent Ralkin attacks (Tamina reassured Drusia that the parentless gah were treated as the responsibility of the whole clan, and voiced her bafflement that the human towns she'd been in didn't practise the same behavior) and, lastly, the Elder's hut which served as a place of education and medical care.

As the sun began to sink past the horizon, an idea flashed through Tamina's mind.

"I saved the best part for last." She said.

She impulsively took Drusia's hand, led her to a tall trunk at the edge of the upper level, and pointed to the ladder fixed to it's side. A minute later the pair were clambering onto a small platform built level with the top of the tree to serve as a look-out post.

The view of the jungle capony as the sky turned a deep orange color was beautiful to behold. The scenery fairly glowed, as if absorbing the dying rays of light. Flocks of birds sweeped across the sky in flapping clouds with musical cries. Tamina took in the view with a sigh, she spoke in quiet, almost reverent tones to the woman by her side.

"When I was captured by the poachers and took to Port Lorrel there was a moment... a moment when I thought I'd never see this again." A tear formed in the corner of her eye. "Funny thing is... I never really thought about it before then. Just... what's the human expression? 'Took it for granted'?"

She turned and looked into Drusia's eyes, a happy smile spreading across her face even as the tear spilled down her cheek.

"It's breathtaking." She said.

[Alberich]

Udo was being tutored in a cheerful killikah song he'd once heard from Tamina. Given his limited grasp of the language and the skinful he'd imbibed, his own version was a little eccentric --

<(Unintelligible) is spattered on my fur
But this does not incline me to stand
I vomit the viscous liquid
Because viscous liquid doesn't stop the (unintelligible)
I have pungent leaves
And I'm carefree
Soon the heeka will say (bleating sound associated with mating)
And (unintelligible) is spattered on my fur.>

Of course he was sure they were laughing with him. (Did he but know it, his effort to pronounce the word leesha would become a naughty word among the killikah. He made history even as he lived it.) And this kobold cuisine was delicious! And the fire was dancing with strange spirits. He gave it a purple-eyed bloodshot stare, oblivious to his surroundings for a moment.

[Graybeard]

Roast garlop wasn't bad, Khoo thought; a little gamey, and it could do with a bit of seasoning, but with an interestingly aromatic flavor. Fortunately, the seasoning was a solvable problem. He popped open his Pocket Dimension and extracted that restauranteur's indispensable item, his spice kit. Never thought this would be useful anywhere except back in the restaurant, or at home, he thought. Yes, a bit of basil would work. Too bad he didn't have any almonds with him; that would make a nice garnish.

"You know, there might be a market for these things," he observed to nobody in particular, around a mouthful of his newly seasoned dish.

[Drusia]

"When I was captured by the poachers and took to Port Lorrel there was a moment... a moment when I thought I'd never see this again." A tear formed in the corner of her eye. "Funny thing is... I never really thought about it before then. Just... what's the human expression? 'Took it for granted'?"
She turned and looked into Drusia's eyes, a happy smile spreading across her face even as the tear spilled down her cheek.
"It's breathtaking." She said.

I lean down and kiss the tear from her cheek.

"Tomorrow, we can talk about sad memories," I tell her. I kiss her again, next to her eye, erasing the trail of her tear with my lips.

"Tonight," I say, my lips brushing against her face. "Tonight is for you and I."

She expects me to kiss her. Not... quite yet. Time enough for that. Instead, I smile and step around behind her, hugging her against me so that her head is pillowed on my breasts. Together we look out at the view.

"You're right," I say after a moment. "It is... <breathtaking.>" I did a little asking around about that word while she was occupied. Nice to know I'll get to use it.

-- Drusia

[Jack Rothwell]

Tamina smiled quietly, and pulled the arms around her a little tighter, feeling gratitude for her companion. She relaxed and allowed herself to enjoy the moment, and felt the burden in her heart lift a little.

.......

In the privacy of Leli's hut, there was a brief flash of purple light as the crystal lit up the darkening interior. The old kobold smiled to herself. She was in.

With her mind reaching out, listening for the conversation that would be her enemies end, she settled in to wait.

OOC Fast forward 'til moring?/OOC

[Alberich]

Somewhere after the feasts, the visions, and the laughter, Udo found himself in Alleece's hut, on his back and with the impetuous young kobold on top doing playful things to his hair with her claws. Boyoboy, oh yes, at last, now the hero was going to reap the hero's reward..!..

*SNORK!*

...if he could stay awake. The day's adventure, the long pig-haul, and the kobolds' traditional drink had caught up with him. Alleece didn't know whether to sigh or laugh. So she did both.

The kobolds had a traditional song about what to do with a warrior in Udo's position. The verses debated whether they should put him on a tree branch 'til he's sober, give him a scale of the snake that bit him, put him in bed with the chieftain's daughter, etc. etc. On the other hand, Alleece knew enough about the fruit-root-snake juice to know that Udo would not remember much of the night's proceedings, so she could fix him up to believe just about anything she liked...

[OOC: 'til morning is fine - though in what circumstances, well, he's at Alleece's mercy on that one.]

[Graybeard]

OOC: Khoo has nothing more to say or do until morning. Ready to FF as soon as you are.

[Jack Rothwell]

Some twenty miles off the coast of Grendell a pair of ships were cutting through the water at a pace. The red sails were full, picking up the sun rays at it cleared the horizon on a new day.

Standing at the prow of the leading vessel was a tall man with a humorless face clad in heavy black armor. He stood, straight-backed in defiance to the rocking of the vessel, and peered through a telescope as if he could already see the small port approaching. As the sun began to climb he wheeled around and headed below deck, moving gracefully despite the weight of the metal he was encased in. He passed crewmen and other soldiers as he made his way to the belly of the ship , who touched their foreheads and murmured respectfully.

Moments later he was pushing open to the door to a room where dozens of men slept in hammocks. He banged on the door frame and called sharply in a deep, gravelly voice.

"We arrive in an hour! Everyone dressed, fed and on deck by then!"

There were a few jerks of surprise at the harsh awakening but not, their commander observed, any audible complaints. The recruiters for the organisation had exercised good judgement in their selection. No surprise there, he'd led that particular commitee.

With the soldiers up and moving, the tall man crossed a narrow hallway to his own room. He shut the door firmly behind him and sat down on a stool. The man stared out the porthole for a moment as if deep in thought, then reached under his breastplate and pulled out a crystal hung from a gold chain. He pulled a gauntlet off his hand and put the jewerelly on the naked palm. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

'Aleron...'

.........

Back at the kobold village, a nearly dozing Leli jerked out of her slump as a grainy voice began speaking in her mind. The Elder's eyes widened, sleep disappearing in an instant as she realized her intuition had been correct. The old kobold clasped the artifact in her hand, cleared her mind, and listened.

.........

Tamina was up with the dawn and out to the edge of her settlement to concentrate on her own plans.

The kobold had bid Drusia good night the previous evening (as little as she'd wanted to) to focus on getting prepared for the upcoming battle. She'd stayed up late practising the exercise that Argus had taught her a couple of days ago, and had made some progress with her determined efforts. Waking up in the morning tired but motivated (and alone and unfulfilled) had given her more pent-up energy to use at least.

"<When this is over... I swear, I'm pouncing on that elf.>" She muttered to herself.

........

Elsewhere, Allece was standing over an unconscious highwayman with a mug of water, cleaning paint off her fingers and giggling to herself. She was a gifted artist (by kobold standards) and Udo's thick torso had been an exceptional canvas to work on.