Message 3673
From: trissana@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sat Mar 12, 2005 3:49 pm
Subject: [DL-J] The Not-So-Secret Secret Of Pirate's Cove! (JP)
Ansel and Eliase
Early Afternoon, Day 1
=C2 =C2 =C2 When the three seadragons teleported in, the queen wasted no
time in contacting them. =C2 After informing Syngnath that she needed to
borrow Riyanne and Khamorray and their riders, she spoke directly to
the two seadragons.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 [My rider has a message for you,] Varaenna told them. =C2
[Listen carefully, and pass this along to your riders, just as I pass
it to you and as my rider passed it to me.]
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 [Shouldn't we just send our riders to see your rider?]
Khamorray asked, not really liking the responsibility of having to
remember messages and pass them along word for word - especially since
dragons communicated among themselves in a slightly different manner
than they did with humans.=C2 That meant that Khamorray and Riyanne
would have to "translate" Varaenna's message, which the queen would
have already translated into dragon-style communication from whatever
her rider had told her.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 [No, because my rider is concerned that the sea-humans may
have spies who can listen in on human speech.=C2 What you are to do must
be absolutely secret...your riders must not even discuss it aloud among
themselves until you and they are well away from the warren and are
certain of not being overheard.]
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Khamorray and Riyanne exchanged puzzled looks, but
signaled
the queen that they were ready to hear her message.
=C2 =C2 =C2 [Listen closely,] Varaenna said.=C2 [You two and your riders
are to find the human Dolfis as quickly as possible.=C2 You know what
his ship looks like, and we believe that=E2=80=99s where he is.=C2 We
believe he will soon be attacked, and you must get to him first.=C2 You
must take him off of his ship, whether he wants to go or not.=C2 He MUST
leave the ship, is that clear?]
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Khamorray and Riyanne both replied that it was clear.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 [You will then take him to *this* place,] she said, and
gave them an image of an isolated stretch of coastline far from either
Jasra or Cabral.=C2 [There, you will be met by another dragon and rider
from the warren who will take him somewhere he needs to go.=C2 That
rider will tell him what he needs to do.=C2 You will then return here,
and neither you nor your riders will tell anyone - rider or dragon -
where you have been or what you have done.=C2 Is that clear?]
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 [Why can we not just take him all the way?] Riyanne
inquired.
=C2 =C2 =C2 [Because this place is inland, where you cannot go,] Varaenna
replied.
=C2 =C2 =C2 [But where...] the ever-curious Khamorray began to insist.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 [You do not need to know,] Varaenna told him in a tone
that
brooked no argument.=C2 [Now go, as quickly as possible.=C2 My rider
fears that every moment may count.=C2 And whether or not Jasra Warren
survives may depend on whether you succeed!]=C2
* * * *
=C2 Eliase stood next to Riyanne with that far off look that a rider got
hen she and her dragon conversed.=C2 After Riyanne delivered the message
in whole Eliase glanced to Ansel who was already atop Khamorray.=C2 She
opened her mouth to ask him something and then closed it again and
glanced around.=C2 This was going to be tough.=C2 Ansel smiled at Eliase
and nodded to her. She smiled back and then climbed onto Riyanne.=C2
=E2=80=9CReady?=E2=80=9D she asked Ansel.=C2 He nodded to her and together
they took off. =C2 The trip as relatively quiet as all parties involved
were more worried about giving away the mission than anything else.=C2
Every so often Eliase and Ansel would exchange glances but that was
about all the communication there was.=C2 Even dragons and riders did
not talk much to each other. =C2 Since they did not know exactly where
Dolfis=E2=80=99 ship was they flew back and forth across the ocean,
going further and further out to sea.=C2 After a few hours of searching
the spotted a small deserted island.=C2
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Ansel signaled that they should land and Eliase nodded to
him.=C2 A few moments later the dragons landed and both riders slid to
the ground.=C2 =C2 =E2=80=9CI thought we should take a short break,=E2=80=
=9D
began Ansel.=C2 =E2=80=9CLooks like this is gonna take a
while.=E2=80=9D=C2
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =E2=80=9CGood idea,=E2=80=9D replied Eliase.
=E2=80=9CRiyan=
ne has
not flown this much all at once.=E2=80=9D=C2 The younger seadragon, as if
right on cue, flopped down and snuggled against Khamorray. The older
seadragon smiled and nuzzled her back. Ansel grinned and glanced back
at Eliase. =E2=80=9CHow are you doing?=E2=80=9D
=C2 =E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m ok.=C2 A little tired, but good.=E2=80=9D She
moved
to sit on a rock under a tree.=C2 Ansel nodded and moved around a bit,
exploring.
Suddenly he stopped, and a strange look came over his face. Eliase
noticed at once, and looked curiously at him. "Are you all right?" she
asked.
"No," he said. "I'm losing my memory!" Without further explanation, he
dashed over to where Khamorray lay, digging through one of the
waterproof pouches attached to the saddle straps. He pulled out a
weathered-looking piece of parchment and hurried back over to Eliase.
"Dolfis once gave me a book about pirates," he said. "I think he forgot
this was in it." He held it up and showed it to her. She saw that it
was a map.
"A pirate map?" she asked, surprised. "Does it show...?"
"No, it doesn't show where his buried treasure is," he said with a
faint smile. "But I did remember something..."
"He pointed down at a spot marked with a small drawing of a ship.
"Notice how the ship was inked in after the map was originally made?
It's drawn next to this small island here. Maybe this could be where
Dolfis drops anchor when things are too hot for him at Cabral or
anywhere along the coast?"
"One way to find out!" Eliase said enthusiastically, springing up.
Together, they dashed for their dragons.
* * * * *
Mid Afternoon
The island was in view, and from what they could see here at sea level,
appeared to resemble the one drawn on the old map. Ansel urged
Khamorray to move in the direction of the spit of land which, according
to the map, enclosed a small, secluded cove.=C2 The island itself, from
what he could see, was covered in palm trees and other tropical
vegetation.=C2 No sign of habitation as he'd halfway hoped.=C2 And, when
they came within sight of the cove itself, he saw that there was no
sign of a ship.
[Riyanne says her rider is asking if we should go in,] Khamorray told
him.=C2 [I think they've noticed that there's no ship there.]
Ansel scratched his head and thought for a moment.=C2 *Yes, tell her
that we'll go in.=C2 Even though the Marquesa obviously isn't here,
maybe there's some clue as to where she might have gone.*
Khamorray swam into the entrance of the bay, with Riyanne following
right behind.=C2 All four of them peered curiously around the rim of the
cove. "Hah, we should call this 'Pirate's Cove,' what do you think?"
Ansel said with a grin.
"I don't see any pirates...no sign of a dock either," Eliase called
over to him, "or any other signs that anyone has been here."
"Yes, but Dolfis must have marked it for a reason," Ansel called
back.=C2 Of course, he might have simply marked it as a place to weather
storms, not as any sort of habitation or base.=C2 "Let's take a quick
look around, and if we don't see anything we'll leave. Hey, maybe
there's something secret here for us to find! Gold dubloons, or..."
The two dragons swam out into the center of the cove and started
veering toward one shore when suddenly a familiar series of squeaking
and clicking noises echoed around them. "Oh great," Ansel muttered to
himself. "Some secret."
[I think we've got company!] Khamorray warned, just as the first
streamlined gray shapes arched over the dragon and rider.
*Good guess,* Ansel sighed, as he watched the dolphins cavort around
the two dragons.=C2 The last thing they needed right now was to have a
bunch of playful dolphins interrupting them.=C2
"I think we'd better steer toward the entrance...*glub!*" Ansel started
to call to Eliase, but was cut off as he was dunked by Khamorray's
sudden roll to chase a couple of dolphins darting underneath him.=C2 He
came back up as Khamorray completed his roll, and looked back to see
that Eliase and Riyanne were being similarly swamped by the playful
creatures.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Eliase looked around a bit nervously as the
dolphins
played around her and Ryianne. The little dragon, on the other hand,
seemed completely at ease. After a moment she even began to splash and
play with the dolphins. It was not long before Eliase was soaked from
the splashing.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 {What are you doing?} She asked.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 {Playing, of course. They asked me to play with them.}
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 {They asked you?}
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 {Well yeah silly. Didn't they ask you?}
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Eliase looks over at Ansel, who was as wet as she. "Can
Khamorray talk to the dolphins?" Perhaps all sea dragons cold and she
had just not been told.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Khamorray cocked his head at Riyanne's question.=C2 [No, I
can't talk to them,] he said.=C2 [Nobody can except a few of the
waterbreathing-humans, like Kethriss' and Adas' riders.=C2 I've never
met a seadragon who could.]=C2 =C2 =C2 The ever-playful Khamorray -
without bothering to tell his rider - decided to test out Riyanne's
capability by darting directly at her, and getting the group of
dolphins he'd been playing with to follow him.=C2 At the last moment he
veered away.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 [Here, you can have mine too,] he told her. [Can you tell
them to settle down and behave?]=C2 That would indeed be a first!
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Ryianne seemed much more intent on playing with the
dolphins that telling them to settle down.=C2 Eliase sighed.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 {We have a job to do, remember?}
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 {Oh yes! Our special mission.}
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Suddenly Eliase brightened.=C2 Perhaps their luck was
changing. {Ryi can you ask the dolphins if they have seen a big sailing
ship?}
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 {Sure!} Ryianne directed the question to the dolphins.=C2
They, of course, had no idea what a 'ship' was.=C2 But after a few
moments of translation between the human, dragon and dolphins, they
were beginning to understand.=C2 Eliase looked to Ansel excitedly.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 "They know where the ship went."
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 "Can they show an image of where it went?" he asked.=C2
"Or,
at least, can they lead us in the direction it went?"
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Eliase looked thoughtful.=C2 "I think they could lead us.=
=C2
But it took a lot of translation jus to communicate with them.=C2 I
dunno that I would trust us to understand an image they give us." She
relayed to Ryianne what they wanted and within minutes the dolphins
took off in the direction of the ship with Riyanne and Khamorray
following them.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 The two dragons settled into an easy swimming pace behind
the dolphins as they steered a course around the shoreline of the
island.=C2 Just when they had passed around it's far side, the
sharp-eyed Khamorray made an observation.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 [Um, aren't those sails in the distance?] he asked.
=C2 =C2 =C2 Ansel blinked in surprise and looked across at Eliase.=C2 By
the look on her face, she'd seen the sails too.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 [Riyanne has just pointed out that if we'd simply gone
around the island instead of stopping there, we wouldn't have needed
the dolphins,] Khamorray said unnecessarily.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 *Guess that's what we get for following pirate maps,*
Ansel
grumbled.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Suddenly Riyanne surged out of the water and took flight
in
the direction of the Marquesa. *What's gotten into her?* Ansel asked.
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 [She thinks the ship is under attack,] said Khamorray.
[Um,
since I see waterbreathers swarming up it's side, I'd say she is
right.]
=C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 *Then what are we waiting for??* Ansel demanded. *Go!!*
(Tag to anyone aboard the Marquesa - anyone want to JP a battle while
Dolfis is being rescued to go on his mission?)
Submitted by:
Rachel (Eliase & Riyanne)
and
John (Ansel & Khamorray)
Jasra Warren
|
