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There are 4 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. [DL-C] Wobbly Wings
From: "Simon Gale" <s.gale@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
2. [DL-C] United We Stand - JP
From: "Arlene" <wondermom@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
3. [DL-N]Whispers of the Dead
From: "Katie Mae" <wildcat10984@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
4. [DL-N] Nrpg: Its a JP
From: "Katie Mae" <wildcat10984@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 1
Date: Mon, 1 Nov 2004 11:50:07 +1000
From: "Simon Gale" <s.gale@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-C] Wobbly Wings
Day 7
Morning
Memnon and Rage trudged up the hill behind their fellow trainees. It
was yet another bright sunny morning in the Cleft and the many
coloured hides of the wilder hatchlings made for a pretty show when
they got together at training times. The riders themselves seemed to
be taking on the colours of their respective dragon bondmates in their
attire, some in subtle pieces of jewelry or scarves and others in a
flagrant selection of robes that dazzled the eye with their bright
hues and in some few cases, outshone the young dragons themselves.
Which was not neccessarily the dragon's fault...often the more gaudy
and extravangent trainees took the poorest care of their dragons, and
it showed in the dullness of their scales.
*Not that you're all that good at my scale care* Rage said, snorting
in amusement beside him.
*Not as if you really care! Or that it really shows on your hide*
Memnon retorted, glancing over Rage's rust coloured back. The young
dragon had only a few streaks of bright colour that really shone when
oiled, the red under his eyes and along the underside of his wings.
The rest of the rusty red and dark brown scales seemed to only take on
a deeper lustre when oil was applied, never shining or gleaming, no
matter how hard Memnon polished and rubbed. Also, Rage seemed to like
dust bathing a lot, a little more than he suspected dragons should.
*Its so warm though...and dusty* Rage argued, a little abashed that
Memnon knew his secret.
*Obviously. And its a bit hard not to figure out what you've been
doing when every time I have to oil you I find dust all over your back
and behind your ears!*
The young dragon dropped his head and seemed to mutter something
softly. He picked up his pace as well moving quickly towards the crest
of the hill. Memnon smiled, because what he thought he had heard from
Rage just then was most definatly not something repeatable in general
public. He hurried after his dragon, amused that he had caught him out
in something so silly.
*Maybe I should let some of other riders know, so that they can tell
their dragons?*
*Don't you dare* Rage cried, spinning in his tracks so quickly that
the dragon beside him copped a swipe from his tail and looked over
angrily. He stared at Memnon in horror, completly ignoring the
offended dragon.
Memnon smiled wickedly.
*I guess you'll just have to be a good little dragon then won't you?*
he replied, assuming a cocky air and strutting past the red dragon. He
grinned again as he heard more dragon swearing behind him, this time
quite clearly.
At the top of the rise they stopped and as Memnon leaned against
Rage's shoulder, Eth'n the trainer explained the training drill to the
assembled group. Then he headed down to the landing zone and waved for
the first hatchling to take off. Memnon and Rage stood back for a
while, just watching and noting common mistakes. They discussed the
drill seriously amongst each other, both focusing on the task at hand
and how to do it well. They were both restless to be out of training
and into a proper wing and some real action, away from this play
fighting and games. Each had an agenda of their own that would reach
no resolution in the training corp.
They watched the yellowish hatchling take off on its own, and glide
beautifully for a long time, before landing extremely well for a first
go...if in fact this was their first attempt at this activity. Then
Rage noticed the white dragon, Param, take off with its rider on its
back. The two of them were very much like Rage and Memnon, solitary in
their ways and dedicated to their training and perfecting of skills.
And their current treatment of this training drill showed the results
perfectly. It seemed almost contemptous in the way they met and then
exceeded the requirements of the drill, before finishing in a flashy
landing, that for all its show, was far better than even the yellow
hatchling's attempt.
*Those two would be very dangerous to have as enemies* Rage thought,
stepping up to the starting place, as they prepared to go next.
*And just as dangerous to have as friends, I think* Memnon replied. He
had seen the way Cholmon pushed away attempts at friendliness in the
trainees quarters. He had also heard the tales of what she had done
for the sole purpose of revenge. She was only a few years older than
himself, but from what he had heard, she had committed an unthinking
act of mass murder, killing the men of a whole tribe and almost
definatly condemning of the women and children of that tribe to a
future of slavery or death, the only two options left for a tribe with
no warriors on the merciless Nomad plains. Someone as callous and
deadly as that was someone to keep at a distance in all things.
*Lets get this over with* Rage snorted, waiting for Memnon to mount.
He took two steps, then swung up on the rusty red back of Rage. The
young dragon was not as big as the white dragon, Param, the biggest of
the wilder clutch, but he was definatly getting there. His size had
increased massivly in the short time since his hatching and though not
bulky, he was developing a rangy, loose-limbed bigness. Memnon had
been told that he wouldn't be the biggest of dragons, but he would not
be in the small category either.
*Right, lets fly* Memnon sent, gripping hard with his knees as Rage
swept his wings down once, twice and then leapt into the air of the
top of the rise. The dragon extended his wings wide, picking up as
much air as possible under them as he instinctivly read the thermals
and headed for the best ones. He banked and turned, following the
thermals towards the landing place.
*Steady* Memnon whispered quietly, as Rage hit a thermal crookedly,
his left wing dipping and buckling as he tried to adjust.
*I'm trying* Rage said abruptly, concentrating hard on not making a
fool of himself. He lifted and adjusted the trim of his wings as he
had seen some of the better hatchlings do previously, and was able to
straighten his flight and ride the thermal a lot better.
*Now we just gotta land* Memnon said, gripping tighter with his knees
as the red dragon started to gradually descend. They drifted closer
and closer to the ground and about 100 feet away from the river, he
realised they were not quite going to make it to ground level before
they reached the water's edge.
"Pull up, pull up", he shouted urgently to his dragon. Rage reacted
quickly, dropping the tip of one wing and sideslipping towards the
ground rapidly. It was a move he had not really meant to happen and
only a few feet above the ground, he had to back air frantically to
avoid crashing ingnomiously into the sand. Memnon clung on desperatly
to his back, nearly dislodged by the jolting movements. He managed to
stay there as Rage touched down in a cloud of sand and dust, but slid
out of the saddle a little shaken. Both of them looked at each other
with a grin that was mostly adrenaline.
*I guess we might need to work on that landing a bit more*
*You guess?* Memnon said back, his eyebrows lifting in mock outrage.
"Good job for a first go," the Andahar's voice came from behind him.
Memnon turned and acknowledged the other Nomad.
"Yeah, it was alright. Landing needs some work tho," he said
grudgingly, proud nevertheless that they had been noticed.
"Hmmm, yes. Maybe start pulling up a little earlier next time," the
Nomad chief acknowledged.
"Good reaction to situation though. Keep it up."
And with that he moved on to talk to another Nomad trainee that had
just landed.
*Next time we'll nail it* Rage said, moving off the sands and
slouching down to watch the last of the trainee's first round come in.
Memnon agreed and left his dragon to go down to the rivers edge. He
knelt down, carefully wiping water on his face and neck to cool down,
before taking a deep draught of the cool water. He was still very set
in the Nomad ways of the plains, where water was often scarce and
never wasted. His fellow trainee's tho, were not like-minded. There
was in fact a nearby water fight that seemed to involve much splashing
and laughing and wetting of people. Even some Nomad's were involved,
mostly the tattling and simpering females that yearned after the head
trainer's affection. Memnon saw little of worth in these women...the
way they portrayed themselves was not right for a Nomad woman and
altogether to bold.
His thirst now slaked, he stood and moved back towards the landing
sands and Rage. It looked like the next round was heading off up to
the hill again and he wanted another go with Rage at this exercise, to
really get it right. It was only a drill, but the sooner they got it
right and the better they did it, the more likely the chance of
getting into a fighting wing.
And that was what they both wanted.
* * * * * * * *
Submitted by
Simon Gale
aka Memnon/Rage
Summary: Memnon and Rage participate in the gliding drill with average
results. They are both yearning to be in a fighting wing, for reasons
yet to be clarified.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 31 Oct 2004 23:18:46 -0500
From: "Arlene" <wondermom@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-C] United We Stand - JP
Day 8
Late afternoon
Rowan straightened her office and made sure the things that she would
need for the next day was at the ready and easy access. She had kept
her door open to allow the cooler air that was beginning to filter in
and attempt to cool the warm room.
Having lived all of her life in this climate, one would have assumed
that one got use to the heat during the day and the cool of the
evenings. Rowan thought she would never truly get use to the heat,
but
she at least knew how to live with it.
She stepped out of her office and locked the door behind her. Not
that
it was necessary, just a habit she had developed. She made her way to
where she knew the trainees were and hoped to catch up with Andahar
there. Somehow she had missed him the day before, and she was not
completely sure if that was an accident or perhaps he was avoiding
her.
She walked to where Vashah had told her they were and yes Andahar was
still there. Rowan stepped up her pace and strode with confidence up
to
where he was standing.
"Afternoon Andahar." She greeted him in the semi formal manner.
Andahar saw Eth'n stop and glance their way with a questioning look
and
then quickly look away. Andahar looked toward Rowan and nodded,
"Greetings, Rowan. How goes your day?"
"It goes well, and you?" she asked as she smiled and nodded
acknowledging the need for general formalities before the act of
business could be discussed. That was the one thing she noticed among
those not of the nomad way. It was an insult to jump right into what
you wanted. It was proper to show the respect due the person you
approached and many times she had seen the ill will grow between those
who did not understand this simple fact.
"Training is going well today." He looked over at Eth'n, who had been
standing just within earshot, though pretending to watch the new
riders
oiling the young dragons. Eth'n seemed to relax slightly at that
comment. "But you did not come to talk about training?" Andahar
continued, to let Eth'n know that he was not the topic of their
conversation.
Rowan looked over to where Eth'n stood and smiled. "It is true I have
not come to discuss training matters." She answered evenly.
"You and I have much to discuss, and I feel it is time that we do so."
She replied simply as she too watched the trainees before her. Her
eyes
fell to the young nomad girl she had seen the day before. She stood
and
watched the scene before her and then turned swiftly and with grace to
stand face to face with Andahar.
"Would you grant me your presence at this time?" she asked
"I am no longer required here and am able to attend you at this time,"
Andahar nodded to Eth'n as he walked away with Rowan. They strode
along
the rocky path to find a quieter location where they could talk with
privacy. They stopped in the shade of a tree and Andahar asked, "Is
there something you need from me?"
Rowan smiled and studied him as he stood there quietly waiting for her
to begin. She took a deep breath and took a long look at the vista
before her and with the resolve she was still working to achieve
turned
to face the young chieftain.
"Yes." She began. "I have been asked to consider you for wing
second."
She stated while watching his reaction. She was still not quite sure,
and she needed to get those issues settled in her mind before
committing
to the warren lady's suggestion.
His look of surprise was quickly covered, and he nodded gravely at
her,
"I will perform any task you set before me to prove my worthiness."
Rowan smiled and softly cleared her throat. "I am sure what ever task
I
give you will complete, and complete well." She replied giving him the
praise he deserved. He was well known and well liked.
She studied the leathers he wore and once again at close range noted
the
high quality of the hand that made them.
"I do need to ask you a few questions, to set my mind at ease." She
replied evenly.
"I understand why we both have been chosen for the positions. We both
walk in both worlds with ease." She explained.
"My first question is of a personal one. Can you, and will you stop
the
needless pursuit of the one who gifted you with such powerful magic?"
The only indication that he was surprised by her question was a raised
eyebrow but he answered her quickly, and seriously, "I was not aware
that my desire to thank giver of gift would come to your attention. I
promise that it does not take me from my duty to warren."
It was Rowan's turn to lift and eyebrow in mock surprise. Surely he
was
not that obtuse of his actions having such a consequence to those
close
to him. She smiled again and softly chuckled.
"Many things capture my notice. And when half the warren bets on when
and whom, then I make it my business." She answered.
"Several times the training classes have been nothing but the
discussion
of your ability to pay the asking bride price." She added for effect.
"Bride...?" Andahar now did look surprised. "I wish only to
thank...."
He inhaled sharply and then said with resolve, "I will make sure all
know that I do not intend to marry maker of gift!"
I would think you would show this by not pursuing the matter." She
replied. "I would think you must know how this affects...." She
stopped, for she was not quite sure just how deeply his relationship
with Alania went. On his end she was important, at this time, but
remembering Alania's reaction, it obviously went deeper on her end.
"How this affects Alania." She finished. "I need to know that you will
drop the matter, and move on, and take your place as Second."
"This is my task?" Then he narrowed his eyes and asked, "Did woman
who
made clothes ask this of you?"
"Believe it or not I thought this up on my own." She replied tersely.
"Certainly you wish to ease the sorrow of your....Murad." she guessed
and hoped she was right.
By his reaction she knew she had guessed correctly. "She never said
anything." He then chuckled as he saw Rowan's quick smile and
realized
she had caught him in admission that he had not yet made public. It
was
time, he realized to ask Alania and make her a promise. "I will not
fail at your task, for she means more to me than any obligation of
thanks."
"This is good to know." She replied. "And it is good to know you will
not have a problem with a woman being your leader." She held her hand
out to shake his hand.
"Welcome, Andahar, Wing Second of Alpha Wing."
Another surprise. A handshake -- the warren style way to close a
deal.
"I will follow your lead, as I swore to follow Warrenlady Cynthia."
He
took her hand.
---
Time Jump
Day 1
Morning
Andahar met Rowan after his morning ritual. They walked to her office
together.
Rowan always enjoyed this time of the day. The breezes from the
desert
were cool and she also enjoyed the quietness of the day. She was glad
that Andahar had agreed to give up the foolishness of the quest to
find
the giver of the gift. Together they made a formidable team.
She also enjoyed that there was not a lot of chitchat between them.
The
silences that sometimes came upon them were of a comfortable type.
She was surprised when this morning he reached the door before her and
opened it for her. She smiled and nodded and they both walked in.
Andahar propped the door open to let the room catch the rest of the
cooler breeze.
"Is everything ready for later?" she asked him as she sat down at her
desk and sipped her coffee.
"Yes, I checked again with Eth'n." Andahar assured her. "All trainees
are ready to move to wing. Cynthia has his recommendation for each
rider, but she will make final decision for which rider to place in
alpha or beta wing."
Rowan nodded and took another sip of her coffee. She too had several
chats with the warren lady and hoped that she would get at least one
of
her personal choices.
"You have watched them all, even more closely than I, do you have any
personal favorites you wish to join us?"
He smiled, "I do not choose favorite. All have strength and weakness.
We will work with who we get."
Rowan smiled and nodded her pleasure in his answer. "Well spoken, and
good to know. You are right of course, the next step takes us to
molding them to the wing making us stronger and better." She answered.
She studied him quietly and was glad to see that as far as she knew he
had not sought out the one who had gifted him with such a gift. She
knew that was a hard task he accepted, for in their culture such a
gift
was to be acknowledged and shared so the power and magic grew
stronger.
But, like she kept reminding herself, they were no longer nomads.
They
were Sky spirits, who lived in the mountains of the sky beasts. They
needed to learn to be one with their new family and clan.
She hoped that some of the new trainees would be able to make that
step.
Some of them appeared to be rather apathetic towards the new life they
were in. She hoped somehow she and Andahar would be able to get them
over that hump and learn the gift of a dragon truly was.
"I only worry...," he paused unsure of how to voice his one concern.
He
forged ahead knowing that if he had thought of it, Rowan probably
would
have as well. "With you and me as leader and second... and Katrina
and
Kelly as leader and second of Beta... that we will be thought of as
Nomad Wing and they will be DragonLander Wing. That members of wing
will want to transfer." He wasn't exactly sure which group would be
more likely to want to transfer, but since his being named as second,
he'd been approached by a few Nomads to change wings.
Rowan nodded as she listened to his opinion.
"Yes I have thought of that as well. I have not been approached yet
for
any who wish to transfer. Have you?" she asked, knowing he would
tell
her, for to hide such a thing would not help the issue.
He nodded once and replied, "I have not encouraged this. I told them
we
are all Cleft Warren dragonrider, and both wing are worthy. Some,
especially some nomad men, are not as accepting of," again he
hesitated,
but this time only because he did not want to insult Rowan, but then
he
plunged on, "women wingleader."
Rowan smiled and chuckled softly. "I too am a woman leader." She
replied, "What makes Alpha appear to be better? You as second?" she
asked in a teasing manner.
He felt his cheeks flame and he looked away. Though she was partly
teasing, he and she both knew the truth. Some nomad men would take
their orders from her, but only through Andahar. Instead he answered,
"Because we are Nomad."
Rowan nodded and smiled warmly. She appreciated his candor and his
acceptance of her and her status as a warrior. So in turn his words
only
told her he watched her back, as he knew she would watch his.
"Maybe we should arrange for training of both together at times, so
they
can see how much we are alike." She said.
He agreed, "I think it would help. Do you want I should talk to Kelly
or Katrina?"
"Well." she pondered for a moment. "How is your rapport with Kelly?
Would you be able to see if she would be willing to talk it over with
Katrina? Or do you think it would look better for me to approach
Katrina?" she asked.
"I know Kelly well, but it if you have time, it would show more
respect
for you to discuss with Katrina," he answered.
"Yes I think so too. I think maybe we need to meet together." She
replied evenly. "I think a showing of both wing leaders and their
seconds to discuss what we need to work towards for the Warren as a
whole would perhaps send the message it does not make a difference
where
you ride, we are Cleft Warren."
"Yes, perhaps we should meet after wing assignment of trainee riders?"
He liked the way she thought and he was reassured by her reaction to
his
concerns.
Rowan nodded and rose to stretch out her muscles before they had to
join
the others. "Wise counsel Andahar." She replied. "I will speak with
Katrina and set up a time for the 4 of us to meet and begin the
strengthening of the Warren." She started towards the door and
Andahar
had once again reached it first. With his usual impish grin he opened
the door for her and followed her out.
---
Summary:
Day 8
Late Afternoon
Rowan talks to Andahar about becoming her wingsecond. He agrees. He
also agrees to give up the search for the giver of his new clothes.
After Time Jump
Day 1
Morning
Andahar meets Rowan at her office. He brings up one of his concerns,
which is that some nomad men wanted to transfer to their wing after
his
becoming the wing second. Rowan and he resolve to speak with Alpha
wing
leaders to train jointly with Beta Wing to show solidarity.
---
Respectfully submitted by:
Carys Murray
AKA
Rowan, Wingleader of Alpha Wing, rider of Vashah
And
Arlene Jacobs
AKA
Andahar, Wingsecond of Alpha Wing, rider of Bohoc
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2004 15:41:17 +0000
From: "Katie Mae" <wildcat10984@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-N]Whispers of the Dead
Day 6
dawn
<Snip>
Jocko turned just as K'tarr appeared to walk right through one of the
walls
and he gasped in surprise. Breezy chuckled then grew serious. "Here,
load
yourself up with torches, you'll need them!" She said, stuffing
several in
the pack he carried. "Don't wander off the path and you stick right
with us,
it's easy to get lost in here! This place is like a giant maze and a
lot is
still unexplored yet! This place is filled with all sort of crazy
traps, and
whatever you do, 'don't' lean on the walls!"
<End snip>
He shifted his glasses, don't lean on the walls, he thought. He
wondered if
the floors were the same. His mind was going in all directions
thinking and
already trying to understand how the walls worked. He moved his bag so
it
was comfortable on his shoulder and made a small skip to catch up to
Breezy
and the others. He wondered where they were going.
He walked up next to Breezy. "Has anyone ever got lost in here?" He
asked
her as they continued down deep into the cave.
Breezy hesitated for a moment before answering, "Not that we actually
know
of! Once the bad weather set in we were cut off from the cave and any
further exploration was halted until recently. The bad thing is that
without
guards and the word leaking out that Norwall had some kind of
treasure, all
sorts of riff raff started showing up heedless of the weather. Several
of
the patrols found people stranded in the snow trying to get through
the pass
to the warren." With a deep sigh she added grimly, "Some were found in
time,
and some weren't so lucky. The one person that could reveal a lot more
of
the cave's secrets sadly is no longer with us."
How long Jasmine had known about this place was anybody's guess but
Breezy
didn't doubt for a second that the wild child had explored it in a
fashion
they could only hope at. She knew Jasmine's animal instincts would
have kept
her from getting 'lost' persay, but from some of the comments the
young
woman had made the Sr. Wingleader knew there was a lot that they
hadn't seen
yet.
Suddenly Jocko jumped startled by a dark sinister face and red glowing
eyes
illuminated by the torch. Breezy chuckled, "Oops forgot about them!
Hold up
a sec!" She called to the two riders. Lifting her torch towards the
wall on
their left several images appeared.
"Oh!" the scholar gasped his eyes widening as he gaped at the wall
paintings.
"These are different then the ones in the main room. These give me the
creeps it's like the dragons are watching us! And not one of them
looks any
too friendly. There are several like this one along this narrow
tunnel. What
they represent we haven't figured out yet!"
Jocko stepped forward raising his torch to better examine the artistry
while
Breezy lowered hers and began checking the floor. Finding what she was
looking for a little smile came to her lips. "Okay here it is, and
this is
why we don't lean on the walls. Talking the few steps to the other
side of
the tunnel she raised the torch then reached out with her other hand
and
pushed on the wall. A whoosh of musty air hit her as the stone door
swung
open.
Jocko was behind her in a flash peering into the darkness. "What is
it?"
A soft chuckle from the Alpha Wingleader had the redhead frowning,
"It's a
room with some very nasty fat rats and one human with no skin!"
"A what?"
Loki laughed grinning at the younger man, "Jasmine's term for a
skeleton!"
"Oh!" He smiled to himself, always a good thing to beat around the
bush.
It had taken a while but on one of their excursions Galen had found
the
release mechanism for the door and Breezy moved her hands over the
wall
finding the loose stone and in a moment the heavy door swung shut.
Jocko stepped back so that Breezy could move. This place was very
interesting to him. The dragon like paintings he was not to overly
thrilled
about. They could very possibly be paintings of wild dragons, seen as
evil.
Or something that was worshiped, in a since.
"Okay, lets go!" Breezy said motioning to the others to continue on.
"You
have to be very careful. I don't know who these people were but they
had
some seriously good stone mason's among them. You will find lots of
main
corridors that go to different rooms, 'but then there are the
shortcuts.'
Doorways cut in such a fashion that they blend right into the wall so
they
can't be seen. Like the one we came through. It's quite an illusion
and can
be very dangerous because you just never know what's on the other
side. A
few of them we have found appear to go nowhere except straight down
into a
deep chasm."
A chill went up Breezy's spine as a soft murmuring touched her ears
and she
noticed that K'tarr and Loki had slowed and were also hearing the
eerie
sounds.. She knew what was causing it but it still gave her a creepy
feeling. Turning she looked back at Jocko. "Relax, it's only the wind
through the tunnels, that's where the Whispering Cave got its name
from!"
Loki chuckled uttering a ghostly sound, "You know it really could be
ghosts!"
Breezy sighed, K'tarr frowned, and the two Wingleaders spoke
simultaneously,
"Loki, don't start!"
The rider shrugged with a grin, "Just trying to lighten the mood!"
After walking several minutes in silence the group emerged into the
central
room with the large painted stone disk and altar. A pile of torches
lay
neatly on the floor and the riders lit several, placing them in
special
niches in the walls lighting the room with a golden glow.
"We think this was a main meeting place of some sort because of the
way the
altar sits with that disk behind it. That disk is thick solid stone
and how
they have it hung up there I have no idea and the design is something
we've
never seen before. Now just to the left of the disk there," she
pointed at
the wall," about three feet over is one of those hidden doors. We know
that
passage comes out by the armory." For a brief moment the image of
Jasmine
jumping out at her formed and brought a sad smile but it quickly
disappeared. Turning she pointed to the far wall, There's another over
there, but that one is a one way trip down if you're not careful!"
Taking a sip of water from her flask Breezy cleared her throat, "These
main
tunnels go to various places, "We've found a great hall, some living
quarters, and a few other places that tells us that this was some sort
of
community. We also found a room that might have been a library that is
where
we found most of the scrolls so far. From what we can tell these
people were
quite prosperous and lived an opulent life, but from the looks of it,
they
also left here in a big hurry, which is part of the puzzle."
He had a hard time understanding how anyone could leave this place in
a
hurry. A minor tip could send you downward. What could possibly make
the
people that lived here want to run. Had to be something bad.
K'tarr motioned to her that he and Loki were going to look around and
Breezy
nodded then looked back at the scholar, "Jocko, I'm going with my gut
instinct about you and trusting that what you see in here you will
keep to
yourself. Word has already leaked out and we don't need to add any
fuel to
the fire. I don't want the opportunity to find out who these people
were and
what we're dealing with here marred by a bunch of get rich quick
treasure
hunter's! The guards have strict orders to keep trespasser's out!"
He smiled. " I know when to keep my mouth shut. Talking about places
like
this can get you killed."
She smiled and nodded.
K'tarr and Loki went in there own directions from Breezy and Jocko.
Jocko had gone over to the door that lead straight down. Kneeling down
he
peered into it. He wondered how far down it went. He thought of
tossing a
rock down, but he had a better idea. He took the torch he was holding
and
let it fall. He watched as it fell, and after a bit it hit. He could
still
he its flame. It had hit bottom, and the bottom was not that far. He
pulled
off his pack and reached into the bottom of it. He pulled out a rope.
Breezy was over by the disk trying to figure out what was holding it
up.
Jocko walked from the hold and looked for something to tie the rope
around.
He found a half a pillar and tied the rope around it. Pulling on it
with all
his weight he smiled. He went back to the hole and with a deep breath
starting to climb down the rope.
It was dark, he couldn't see the wall beside his head. He had brought
a
torch with him and was going to light it with the one down at the
bottom.
That is if he rope was long enough. Then something bounced off his
head, his
guess a rock. He looked up. He could see the figure of Breezy.
"What the hell are you doing!"
If he could see her eyes he knew they would be glowing red.
"Ummm....looking around."
"Have you lost your mind?!!" Breezy exclaimed in exasperation. "I told
you
not to wander off!" The torch below made a shadowy outline of the
young man
as he hung suspended against the wall. Taking a breath she closed her
eyes
and counted backwards for a few minutes. Why was it that no one ever
listened to her? Yet she couldn't really fact him for his curiosity,
she had
seen the light in his eyes and knew he felt the same as her and Galen
did.
The need to discover was just too overpowering.
Opening her eyes she sighed, "Well, since you're already down
there...."
The sigh of relief echoed upwards. "Is your rope long enough? Hang on
let me
get some more torches."
Backing into the main room the redhead looked around the room her eyes
coming to rest on her pack and was now glad she'd thought to grab it.
It
normally hung on her saddle and was filled with an assortment of odds
and
ends including an extra set of leather gloves she used on colder days.
Breezy didn't doubt for a second that it was an empty shaft and a
sudden
flash of exhilaration consumed her as she quickly dug into the bag. If
Jocko
thought he was going to have all the fun he had another thing coming.
Finding a length of cord she tied several of the unlit torches in a
bundle.
She really should be angry with him for being so foolish but her
excitement
of the unknown got the better of her.
Taking a couple of the loose stems she fashioned an arrow on the floor
pointing to the doorway for K'tarr and Loki. Then grabbing her bundle
and a
lit torch from the wall Breezy returned to the ledge, "Well, what's
down
there?"
A scrapping sound, a yelp, a thump and then a loud ouch drifted up to
the
little redhead as the small circle of light from the torch below
almost went
out. She could barely make out his form in the dim glow but she could
see
that he was still moving. "Jocko are you okay? What happened!" Her
only
answer was the faint murmur of the wind coming through from the shaft.
"Jocko answer me!" She called out in concern, her voice echoing in
concern.
Exploring was one thing, but rescuing was a whole different deal.
"Jock..?"
"I think I'm ok!" He answered hesitantly. "Ow, boy that last step was
a
doozy. Landed on the torch and burnt my..."
Breathing a sigh of relief Breezy leaned farther over his form now
silhouetted in the firelight, "What do you see down there?"
"finger." He finished painfully then after a moment she saw the torch
moving
around. "There's some tunnels...and.." The light suddenly disappeared
and
reappeared. "You know that whispering sound is louder down here, I
wonder
if..."
The little Wingleader didn't wait for him to finish, "I'm coming
down."
Shoving the handle of the torch into the wall so that it lit the ledge
she
quickly fashioned a sling holding her bundle then donning the gloves
grabbed
the rope and was over the side in an instant. "Hold your torch up
close to
the wall so I can see what I'm dealing with!"
The young searchling did as he was bid and the rocky surface of the
wall was
illuminated enough for her to see. Her training served her wall and
she slid
down the rope with ease. Reaching the end she realized he was right,
the
last step was a real doozy. "Step back I don't want to fall into you!"
Bracing herself she made the drop then sprang to her feet. "Yeah! Now
that
was fun!"
Jocko looked at her in surprise and Breezy laughed feeling rather
giddy.
Noticing a tear in his pants she looked him over. "You sure you're
okay?"
He looked down at his pants, there was a tear. A little bit above his
knee.
He pocked at it, there was a little bit of blood. "It dosen't
hurt...." He
smiled. "What will K'tarr and Loki do when they can't find us?"
"Oh, I left them a arrow pointing toward this door."
"Good idea. Should have told ya I was coming down here....sorry about
that."
She laughed. " Don't be getting mushy, and trust me if you would had
told me
I wouldn't have let you come down here."
He sighed, and picked up the torch on the ground. "Shall we move on
then?"
She walked close to the wall and he followed making a point, not to
limp.
Jocko could tell she was not happy at first with him, he hopped she
wouldn't
get him later.
It was cooler then it was up top, the halls here were a bit smaller
then the
ones above them. Jocko could reach out his hand and touch the other
wall, it
was almost the same with the ceiling. It was a finger length away. As
they
walked he put his hand on her shoulder, just to make a link. To make
sure
nothing came in between them, and so she didn't just disappear right
in
front of him. Jocko's heart was racing, he was all in for finding
secrets
and stuff. Though he was not sure what was living down here. He didn't
know
what he would do if something were down here....fight it off with
smarts.
"Yeah that would work." He said louder then he meant.
"What would work?"
"Oh nothing. So I take it you guys never thought of coming down here?"
He
asked with a soft smile.
It was so dark in the small tunnel the torch was little more than a
small
circle of light as Breezy lead the way through the darkness. After a
few
minutes she realized that they were gradually moving downward as the
tunnel
twisted and turned this way and that, "Watch your head it's getting
pretty
narrow in here." She said softly to the taller man. "Actually it's not
that
we haven't thought of coming down here. We'd started mapping the above
chambers and inventorying the contents and we've already removed quite
a
cache from here so far. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided not to
play
nice and cut us off. " Suddenly the little redhead stopped and Jocko
almost
walked into her. "Quiet!" she whispered listening to the soft
murmuring
coming from ahead. "Do you hear that?" she asked in a tone so low the
young
man barely heard her.
There was barely enough room to stand side by side but the blonde
stepped up
next to her and nodded. "It sounds like there is someone up ahead." He
whispered back. "Do you think."
Breezy suddenly raised her hand for silence, listening for several
tense
moments the Sr. Wingleader finally started forward slowly motioning
Jocko to
follow. The tunnel grew narrower until they were both hunched over and
Breezy lifted the light trying to see farther in the inky blackness.
At the
rate the tunnel was shrinking they would soon be on their knees at
this
rate. Sniffing she wrinkled her nose up at the dank musty smell that
permeated the narrow opening. Half-crawling the two finally came to
the end
of the long passage and the little redhead uttered an oath seeing it
was
blocked. Yet the murmuring was growing louder and she felt a faint
breeze on
her face.
There was no room for the young man to see past her and her muttered
words
obviously didn't ease his tension when he asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's block....no wait! I swear these people were extremely crafty or
totally paranoid? It looks like we are in a in a hidden passage of
some
sort." The sound of the flame sputtering urged her one. She would need
a new
torch shortly. Crawling forward she heard Jocko's gasp as she
disappeared
from view. "Just keep coming and you'll see it." She called back as
she
emerged from the small opening, Breezy could just barely make out what
looked like a larger tunnel when a hard cool gust of air hit her and
the
torch went out. "Shit!" the redhead jumped emitting a squeak when
something
grabbed her leg.
"Breezy is that you! Please tell me that's you? My torch is finished!"
"Well if that isn't you grabbing my leg we could both be in trouble!"
She
reached for the bag on her back and came in contact with something
soft and
fleshy instead and really hoped it was her exploring companion.
"Ouch!" Jocko yelped.
"Oops sorry!" Breezy apologized realizing she had poked him in the
face.
Fumbling around she managed to get the young man by the arm and help
him to
his feet. "Oh, this is just peachy! Hold on a sec! Don't move!"
Visions of
being lost down here or falling into a hole entered her mind and for a
moment the darkness closed in on her. She'd never been afraid of the
dark
but the dank atmosphere along with what she knew of the place gave her
the
heebie jeebies anyway, but now was not that time to panic. She
couldn't help
wish Galen was here though, of course he would be as exhilarated as
she was,
even more so probably. The weight of Jocko's hand resting on her
shoulder
was a definite comfort as she took and uneasy step then stopping to
listen
for any kind of echoing that might signify another drop off. "Ok stay
with
me now, and don't let go! We're going to have to move a little away
from the
opening to get out of this cross breeze so I can get a torch lit."
"Oh you don't have to worry about that!" came the voice out of the
black
nothingness the grip on her shoulder tightening as Jocko blindly tried
to
gauge her movements.
The Sr. Wingleader giggled, "Bet you'll think twice about going down a
hole
again, won't ya?"
Taking shuffling steps Breezy inched forward her hand moving around
carefully trying to find something solid. *The blind leading the
blind!*
came to mind and emitted sigh of relief when she touched a solid
surface.
Grabbing the hand on her shoulder she pulled him next to her to move
closer
to the wall.
The whispering was louder here and seemed to come from all directions.
"Breezy?" Jocko said the nervousness in his voice quite evident.
"This is crazy?" She muttered under her breath the sound of her
rifling
through her bag echoing in the darkness. Then came the sparks of the
flint
striking a stone and a torch flamed to life. "And there shall be
light!"
"Where are we?" Jocko asked more to himself then anything.
Turning to face the young man she could see her fiery reflection in
the
lenses of Jocko's glasses and something else...
The blue eyes narrowed at the reflected image then turned to gaze at
the far
wall. A lantern! "Check it out!" She quipped with a happy breath then
hesitated when a faint whispery moan drifted from the dark end of the
tunnel. It was the wind, only the wind she kept telling herself.
Finding the
lamp still filled with out it was quickly lit revealing others lining
the
long dark corrider.
"Look it's stairs!" The scholar exclaimed yet moved farther down the
wall to
light another lantern.
Breezy hesitated, her common sense telling her they should go for now,
"You
know Jocko, maybe we should be getting back. K'tarr and Loki.."
The young man turned to answer but looking past her his eyes lit up,
"Look
there!" Hurrying to the stone steps then bending, he scooped up
several
items.
"What do you have there!"
Opening his hand Breezy gasped at the sparkling stones, they were
quite
large by normal standards and were obviously jewels that went to
something
important, simply by the delicate cut of each stone. Holding up what
appeared to be a ruby the little redhead emitted a low whistle.
"Are they real?" the blonde man questioned in amazement.
"Oh yes..." Breezy whispered in awe. In his other hand holding the
torch she
noticed something stuck in his fingers. "What's that?"
Jocko chuckled, "Not sure why this was there too!" He answered and
shifting
his hands showed her an ornate spoon. Dusty and blackened from age
Breezy
took it and rubbed the dragon shape at the end of the handle and after
a
moment there was no doubt it was silver. That's when it hit her and
her face
split into a grin, "This is Jasmine's! She's been down her! Now it all
makes
sense!"
The scholar looked at the small woman with a puzzled expression,
"C'mon, I
know we really need to get back but let's go just a little further!"
As they
started down the long tunnel lighting the well placed lanterns as they
went
Breezy explained. "Trust me the wild child wasn't one of the easiest
person
to question. Galen and I figured out from what we managed to get out
of her
though, was that she had found some sort of burial chamber. But she
was
quite upset about it because she had fallen down some steps and lost
some of
her treasures. I'm sure that's it and that means..."
The whispering grew louder with each step and Breezy shivered not sure
if it
was from excitement or not ,because the soft murmuring vibrating
through the
tunnel was starting to sound just a bit too real. Her senses tingled
and her
hand instinctively rested on the dagger that hung from her belt.
A huge fat rat scrambled across the floor in front of her and Breezy
tap
danced to avoid stepping on it. "Eeewww! Uck! I hate rats!" The tunnel
suddenly widened into a small circle with no where to go. A hand on
her
shoulder and Jocko pointing upward made her look and she found they
were
standing at the bottom of a very talk shaft, with a tiny opening at
the far
end. Well at least it looked tiny from where they were standing.
"That must be where the wind blows through." She said thoughtfully and
the
scholar nodded in agreement. She visibly relaxed for a moment until
she
realized the sounds were coming from around them not from above.
"There's
got to be a door. Nobody would go to this much trouble for a dead
end!"
[..] A few minutes later
"Breezy, what did you do?" Jocko question, "What is happening?"
The spider webs were not webs at all and her eyes widened as what
appeared
to be fuses began to burn. "Oh no! It's a trap!" The tiny circles of
fire
sputtered ominously, working their way across the ceiling in various
directions. This was definitely not a good sign. "Back! Get back! Back
in
the tunnel!" Being buried alive was fresh in her mind as she shoved
the
blonde backward towards the hidden opening.
Rapid popping started all over the room, the sound vibrating along the
stone
walls like miniature explosions and Breezy and Jocko ducked
instinctively
for cover. After a moment and hearing no sound of a cave in both
uncovered
their head and looked up gaping at the sight before them. The room was
bathed in a brilliant light at first making it hard for them to see as
each
squinted against the sudden brightness.
"Oh my!" Jocko uttered his eyes huge as he stared over the top of
Breezy's
head.
The little redhead gaped in amazement as the room came into focus.
"Holy
cow!"
Both scrambled to their feet and stared open mouthed at the massive
room
spreading out before them. A burial chamber was putting it mildly.
The walls had large 'niches' intricately carved into them about two
feet off
the floor and in each niche was one very preserved body. In the center
of
the room, row after row of large slabs of stone had been somehow
lifted
upright and had the same type of niches, like upright stone coffins
each
filled with a bony occupant. Amazingly, the bodies were well preserved
despite their age, and the garb they were buried in was still
relatively in
tact, as ornate in death as they were in life, but Breezy guessed that
was
because of coolness of the cavern and the constant airflow keeping out
the
dampness.
A crypt of an ancient civilization, the whispers of the dead, no
wonder
Jasmine had been so freaked out about the 'humans with no skin.' A
multitude
of lifeless faces stared down at them, some still with leathery shreds
of
flesh clinging to their mortal body some without. As they stepped
farther
into the room Breezy suddenly felt very small.
Jocko didn't know what to do or what to say. He wanted to look over
each and
every body, but that would take a very long time. There were so many.
To
examine each one carefully, would take forever. He walked up to one of
the
bodies and slid a finger over a bone, only hard enough to take the
dust off.
"Breezy, this is a wonderful find. We could learn so much from this!"
He
said as turned to her.
She too was looking over some of the bodies, but not touching.
He smiled at her. "I mean look how this place is lit up, I bet some of
the
other rooms are like this." It was like a kid in the candy store.
"Maybe, but we are not going any further."
He made a pout face. "I know."
She nodded her head and turned to look at the lights. There were
plenty of
oil amps adorning the walls yet this sudden 'lighting' of the room
with the
strange webwork of fuses had her puzzled. So far there had been no
indications of a trap, something she'd been watching for. Yet why
would they
use this strange method, unless it was for emergency of some sort. She
sucked the grin from her face when the thought of *dying to get in*
crossed
her mind. Gazing at the ceiling her eyes followed the blackened
pattern and
realized there were more of the spidery fuses still that hadn't been
touched. The only thing she could thing of that would cause the kind
of
flash that they had experienced was a compound called magnesite. Yet
there
were no large deposits around Norwall at least that she knew. The
closest
mining of any kind of minerals of that type was over in Daere. Another
puzzle indeed.
But there was one mystery she was sure she could solve and that was
when she
found herself at the far end of the room standing in front of an
ornate
alter. Anther massive stone disk hung high on the wall this one was
flat and
smooth and on it was painted the lifesize figure of a beautiful woman
with a
sky full of dragons in the background. The colors in the image were
even now
still quite vivid and she found herself mesmerized by the immense
painting.
Her jaw dropped slightly when she recognized the sword in the woman's
hand.
Her gaze dropped to the stand below the painting. On it stood a large
ornately carved dragon statue fashioned in such a manner that she
didn't
doubt at one time it probably held the weapon depicted in the
painting. But
the sword was no longer there as it was no in the possession of
Jasmine. But
this sword wasn't one of the wild woman's treasures it was the sword
they'd
gotten at the village. A small groan escaped the little redhead. It
just had
to be the one that was cursed.
Stepping back she scanned the altar, the area was fashioned like an
alcove
albeit quite a large one and when she turned to look behind her she
understood the positioning of the bodies. In death as in life they
were all
facing their queen or more then likely their Goddess. The walls on
each side
were filled with the similar body sized niches and by the jewelry and
armor
they wore she guessed these were several generations of leaders. The
ceiling
here was much higher and the corpses stood from floor to almost the
ceiling.
Her eyes lifted taking in the details of each one. Some were quite
ancient
but each was adorned so richly and from the armament she'd seen she
couldn't
help but wonder how a people like this could simply die out without
anyone
knowing about them. The whole thing was quite magnificent in an odd
sort of
way but it was starting to give her the creeps. It's as if a thousand
pair
of eyes was watching them.
A movement caught her attention and the little Wingleader noticed the
scholar watching her and she nodded slightly then returned to her
exploring.
Jocko smiled and started to walk around, up and down the alleys of the
room.
Each and every one was filled, some of the bodes were standing up
right
others were on the floor. He was coming to the end of the one the
isles, and
there at the end of it was something different. He walked close up to
it.
"Breezy!"
The tone of his call brought her quickly and he could hear her hurried
foot
steps. "What's wrong?"
"I think I know why Jasmine didn't like this place." He pointed as she
came
up behind him.
She gasped in surprise.
There at the end of one the isles on the wall, was the deepest niche
in the
whole place. Within were bones of something big. Ropes were pulled
across
the opening, lots of them.
This niche was fashioned differently, almost crude in comparison to
the rest
and it was located more off by itself. There was definitely something
in
there, something she couldn't quite make out in the dark shadows "What
the
hell is that?" Taking a hesitant step forward Breezy tried to peer
into the
darkness but other then it was big she couldn't tell what it was for
sure.
"Light one of the lanterns while I cut the ropes!"
Her dagger was sharp but it barely made a dent in the heavy hemp,
"Jeezus
what is this stuff made off!" The next instant the dagger finally
sliced
through the rope and they all came free as if by magic but the redhead
was
not prepared for what was inside to spring out at her. Jumping back
she
slammed into Jocko knocking the lantern from his head as the form
crumpled
to the floor in front of them..
"Geezus! Geezus!" She yelped as the young man righted her. "As I said
before
what the hell is that!"
Jocko crept forward, "Well it's dead what ever it is! I have never
seen
anything like it! Is it an animal of some sort?"
Breezy moved closer her eyes widening at the huge claws that extended
from
long bony fingers, "Well I haven't ever seen an animal like that
before! I
haven't ever seen 'anything' like that before! Whatever you do don't
touch
it!"
"Breezy it's dead! Look at this, is it hair? It looks like hay or
straw or
something!"
"Don't! don't, don't!" She yelped as he reached to touch it. 'You
guys, you
gotta touch everything! Look just don't touch!" Walking to one of the
bodies
she retrieved a spear apologizing to the silent holder as she did.
Moving
back to the strange creature she used the blunt end to lift the half
covered
skeleton. Jocko followed her actions and they turned the large body
over.
"Look at the size of the fangs on it!" The long razor sharp teeth
glimmered
in the bright light and she noticed they were strangely discolored.
Something niggled at the back of her mind as she looked the creature
over. A
bad feeling crept up her spine and the sudden need to get out pressed
in on
her. "Leave it for now! Jocko we need to get out of here."
"But.."
"No, no more exploring for now! K'tarr and Loki are probably worried
about
us we need to get back! Grab as many scrolls and such that you can
carry and
lets get the heck out of here! "
[..] Later Early Morning
The two dragons landed on the green and the quartet solemnly
dismounted.
Breezy looked at the men, "You know the routine. Not a word!" Looking
at
Jocko she added, "There is a small office down the hall from mine not
being
used, you can work on the scrolls there. Just tell Jack in the offices
he'll
show to it."
Looking at the Alpha Wingleader she sighed, "We need to do some
talking!"
Jocko nodded and pulled his bag over his shoulder. It hung low on his
back
with all the items he had in it. He watched as the others walked off,
then
made his way to the offices so he could get his stuff out and
organized.
Once in the office he stood there for a moment just kinda looking
around. He
almost felt like a lost child. After a bit he stopped someone rushing
by.
"Um, could you tell me where Jack is?"
"Why that would be me. What do you need...?"
"Jocko."
"...Ah Jocko, I'm Jack." They shook hands.
"Well Breezy said that there was a office near hers that was empty?"
He thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, follow me."
Jocko followed him to a room a couple of doors down from Breezy's.
"Here ya
go Jocko."
He smiled as Jack opened the door. His own office, how wonderful was
this.
"Thanks."
"I must be going, if you need anything just find me, I should be able
to
help." with that he left, shutting the door behind him.
The desk in the room was off in the corner, it had a small layer of
dust on
it. The corner that was desk was angled at had selves built into the
walls.
Very easy to reach from the chair. The desk and shelves where about
the only
things in the room. And to Jocko that was fine. He walked over to the
desk
and sat in the chair. He swept his arm over the top and dust flew up,
making
him cough a bit. He opened a few of the doors on the desk. The
biggest one
he placed the un translated scrolls in and the smallest on, the one
dead in
the middle of the desk he put the stones. The scrolls that were
translated
he placed behind him on the self.
All this new stuff happing so fast, the hatching was coming up. The
findings, that thing that was in cave. What ever that thing was he had
to
find out. He left his office to go back to the barracks. He grabbed
some of
his stuff. One thing being a little leather note book that had a
leather
band to kept it tied shut. With that he was out and back in the
office,
sitting down he starting writing in the book. Everything about the
Whispering cave, and what they found. Setting out each rock he drew a
small
picture, with the color and anything else in it about it next to the
picture. Next was to starting write notes in the little book on the
already
translated scrolls. Then start work on the new ones. He could already
tell
it was going to be a long day.
Respectfully submitted by,
Katie Mae
AKA
Jocko
AND
Tree Deutscher
AKA
Breezy
***Summary***
Day 6
Breezy and Jocko explore the Whispering Cave
hope I got everything fixed ok :D
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 4
Date: Mon, 01 Nov 2004 18:03:52 +0000
From: "Katie Mae" <wildcat10984@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-N] Nrpg: Its a JP
The Whispers of the Dead was a JP I forgot to put it
Sorry Tree!! :D
Katie
________________________________________________________________________
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