There are 3 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. [DL-N] Like no other night
From: Bianca Payne <biancaknox@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
2. [DL-N] Forever lost secrets
From: Katie <wildcat10984@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
3. [DL-J] Delegated Duties
From: John Pepper <trissana@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
________________________________________________________________________
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Message: 1
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 13:27:20 -0800 (PST)
From: Bianca Payne <biancaknox@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-N] Like no other night
Day 11, close to midnight
Norwall Warren had been around for countless years. It had existed
long before the time of the Contract between the warrenfolk and the
landbound. Over the generations, certain warrenfolk had used the
natural resources of it's location to make certain advances in the
construction of the warren to better benefit the inhabitants. The
reservoir high up in the mountain caught rain and snowmelt and drained
it down into holding tanks where it could be piped to showers and tubs
in some of the dragonrider apartments and the visiting dignitary
quarters. There was also a natural gas source not far from the warren
proper that had been harnessed and pumped through pipes in the rock
walls to provide gaslamps in key offices where a candle might cause
smoke damage to documents, historical archives, or medical supplies.
There was the glassmaker where sand was melted in carefully maintained
fires to form glass instruments for the medical center, syringes and
jars to hold precious medicines and
tinctures. The medical centre itself was a wonder, with a large
assortment of natural flora and fauna native to the environment that
had proved very effective against a wide range of ailments and
maladies. Norwall often bartered extra medicines with landbound lords
for extra supplies and specialty items.
Of late, however, Norwall had needed all the supplies it could
muster. In the aftermath of the ground shudders, no few of the warren
residents had ended up in the medical center for treatment of minor
wounds. There had been a few broken bones to set, and countless cuts
and bruises, many from the clean up after the disturbance. In general,
the usually immaculate medical centre was much less orderly than
expected, which was way Kaitlan was staying late to clean up and
restock supplies.
The place had gotten quiet as the patients settled down for the night
and the small handful of nightshift workers had come on duty. Amelia,
the night nurse was filling out reports at the front desk by the main
entrance when Kaitlan passed her heading towards the back storage room
of the center, pushing her small cart. She needed another load of
bandages, sewing supplies, and alcohol for the emergency room supply
cabinet. Amelia glanced up and nodded before going back to her
reports. Kaitlan pushed the cart slowly so the wheels wouldn't squeak
as she followed the long corridor passing hurricane sheltered gaslamps
turned down low between the open doorways into each room. There were
individual rooms up front, but towards the back there were larger wards
sporting at least ten beds each, ready in case of a wrath attack or
other large scale disaster. Thankfully they hadn't needed to use
these since the worse days of the plague that had wreaked havoc on
Norwall's population only
last year.
When it had been discovered that poisoned grain shipments had been
responsible, actions were taken to stop the problem. It hadn't saved
the ones already ill with the strange coma state, but it has stopped
further outbreaks. There was still one ward where the remaining
victims lay, hand fed soup every day to keep their bodies nourished, in
case a cure was discovered. Most of those were due to be transferred
to Tinobel soon, now that the winter snows were gone for sure and
things were settling to normal again. Kaitlan passed the open door,
recognizing the faces of several dragonriders in the beds closest to
the doo, even in the dimmed light. M'Lent, the retired Searcher,
Alexandria, the pretty young rider, and even the old healer Nash, who
had come down with it right towards the end. She'd check in on them
when she finished restocking the cabinet.
The corridor ended in a large doorway. Kaitlan pushed the cart to
one side and pulled out her keyring. The small silver key fit the lock
on this door, a precautionary measure to keep the precious medicines
safe from attempted theft. She clicked the lock and slowly opened the
door, in case the hinges squealed. A light breeze rushed past her as
she pushed the door wide, and reached into the dark room to turn on the
lamp inside. As she did, the lamps along the long corridor dimmed a
little. Suddenly uneasy, Kaitlan glanced over her shoulder to see if
someone had followed her down the corridor even a she hurried to ignite
the lamp with the little switch. She clicked it once, twice, and it
finally sparked igniting the gaslamp...and the whole supply room full
of odorless natural gas that had slowly leaked in from a cracked pipe
after the quake.
Breezy was lying in bed beside Galen, worrying about the events of
the day and thinking about the dragon's tribute to poor Dargis when the
explosion rocked the whole warren with a huge boom. She was out of bed
and dragging on a robe even as she ran for the entrance to her
apartment. Galen was right behind her, and both stopped in shock as
they reached the outside ledge. Half the roof of the medical center
and a large portion of the crater wall above it had blown off and was
falling from the sky in a rain of rubble and burning bits of debris.
Flames four stories high were roaring through the remains of the
structure, burning everything down to the stone walls, including the
wooden support beams that held up the ceiling. A single woman in a
flaming nurse's uniform ran through the blasted open hole that had once
been the main doorway, her body blackening, her hair an orange inferno
and her screams filling the air. Amelia fell to the ground, still
burning.
Torn from their beds, the warren still ran to respond to the
disaster. The fire warning bell was already ringing, and the water
brigade had dashed for the water wagons, but the fire was burning too
hot for them to approach. More of the roof collapsed, setting up
another shower of flames and burning debris that fluttered back to the
ground. It was a hellish scene as warrenfolk ran across Green under
the bright golden orange glow, buckets in hand, ready to help and
unable to approach the fire. Coughing and shutting their eyes against
the blinding light and the stench of smoke and burning chemicals and
the sickly sweet stench of burning meat.
The fire was like a living thing, dancing in the night sky, burning
high and hot, white hot near the source and tinged with blue where the
gas and air mixed. But it wasn't through just yet. The fire wanted
more. It followed the gas pipes from the medical center through the
rock tunnels of the warren crater until it found other weak spots,
loosened from the ground shudders, other gaslamps.
With a second ground rocking explosion, the lower warren
administration offices exploded outward, raining more rock into the sky
as well as bits of paper, a wild scattering of tithing account
records, the historical scrolls of the warren, even the ancient scrolls
from the whispering cave, the archive records were fluttering like
flaming flutterbys on the night sky, riding the fire heated currents,
as they drifted slowly to the ground as bits of curled ash.
A horrid rumble followed the second explosion, a sound the older
riders knew too well, the sound of collapsing rock, as several
apartments above the offices collapsed.
Somewhere in the scramble a voice ordered a blockade of sandbags and
water around the coal storage area. If perchance the fire managed to
cross the Green and get inside the coal caves...and the ignitable
stone.it could very well be the end of the warren. Riders and
unjoined alike scrambled to respond to the command.
<Tag All! Let's save the warren before it all goes up in flames!>
Respectfully submitted by,
Bianca Payne
Summary: Day 11, close to midnight, Kaitlan is restocking the supply
cabinets at the med centre when she accidentally ignites a lamp in a
room that was filled by a natural gas from a pipe that after the quake.
The med center goes boom, with no surviviors, and while the warren
scrambles to stop the flames, the fire travels along the pipe system to
the archive rooms and the administrative offices and causes a second
explosion that leads to a cave collapse. Orders go out to protect the
coal storage cavern and everyone rushes to help.
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Message: 2
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 19:40:48 -0800 (PST)
From: Katie <wildcat10984@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-N] Forever lost secrets
Day 10
Mid Afternoon
Leaving Breezy office
*Cookies are not good for a growing dragon.* Jocko said as he pulled
on the little brown.
[And Cooookies would be?]
*Those things you just ate.*
[Oh...the little round things.]
*Yeah...*
[Where are we going?]
*My office....* They turned a corner. *I need to do some work... I
kinda have forgotten it the last few days.* He opened a door.
Bazil walked in and sneezed instantly. [Why so dusty?]
*It was a unused one before me and I have yet to clean it....Oh don't
do that!* Jocko covered his nose and mouth as Bazil flapped his little
wings.
[I'll make the dust go away!] He flapped harder.
Jocko heard the scrolls start to flutter and move. He went over and
placed his hands on the papers. He looked at them, this could easily be
his life's work. He reached in and grabbed his little note book and
placed it on the table. He placed some other bits of paper on the table
and sat down. Bazil sat on his hind legs and placed his front claws on
the desk. [What are these?]
*Very important papers...very important.* He told him as he moved
some of them from Bazil's sharp claws.
[Why are they VERY important?]
*They tell secrets... and things of old... like of dragons of the
past... riders of the past....* He stopped and he came across the
monster drawing. *......of dangers.*
[Wow... can you read them to me?]
*Can't hurt anything....* He reached and grabbed some of the ones
already translated. His notes were just that notes they didn't tell a
story.
~~~~A Time Long Past: Premonition~~~ (This is the one he grabbed and
read)
Bazil nodded his head like he understood then started to sake his
head. [Ok you make no since what so ever...] He started to flap his
wings again. [ I'll clean you do what ever it is you doing.]
Jocko laughed. *Alright.*
So till early in the morning, Jocko read and wrote notes and Bazil
'cleaned', mainly just stirring up that dust so much that Jocko had his
shirt over his nose.
Day 11
Early morning
Jocko stretched and rubbed his neck, and took off his glasses. Bazil
had curled up just a bit ago and had gone to sleep. His tail swishing
back and forth as if to still be sweeping. He nudged the little one.
*Come on lets get back to our room.*
He opened his pearled eye and 'looked' at him. [Are you done?]
*With as much as I can stand. Just let me put everything up and we'll
get out.* Jock turned and placed the translated scrolls back on the
self behind him, the others in the back in the desk draws. He had still
yet to translate anything, just got more mess written down that he
didn't understand and probably never would. He grabbed his little
leather book, placed a couple of his notes and drawing in it and tied
it up and put it in his bag. He latched it so nothing would fall out.
Bazil was standing at the door. [Come on....]
He grabbed his pencils and other things and placed them in the bag.
As he walked to Bazil he placed the bag over the little brows neck.
[What are you doing... get this off....]
*Oh just hold it for a moment....* He looked at him. *It looks cute
on you anyway.*
He growled.
Jocko took on last look around the room just to make sure that
everything was in its place and everything had a place. One day I'll
make this room my own. He thought to himself.
Once at the room they both crashed, Jocko barely made it to the bed.
Bazil laid next to the bed, not even bothering taken off the bag that
his rider put over him. Sleep was what they need. Jocko's glasses fell
to the ground as he feel into a deep sleep. They didn't know they would
sleep though the hole day.
Close to midnight
The explosion shook his room, to no end. Jocko feel from bed, landing
on his glasses. Some glass cut into his arm, he reached over to see
what he had smashed and then sighed as he found out it was his glass.
"Damn it!" He yelled as he got up, only to be knocked down by the
other explosion. He tripped over Bazil who was up and running
around.
[Rider! Rider! What's happening?!]
"Son-of -a-.....*I don't know... I can't see.. *
[Grab my tail.] Bazil said as he smacked Jocko in the face with it.
[Just hang on!] He said as he heard his rider curs again.
Jocko was on his hands and knees following Bazil out of the
searchling barracks. Bazil had his head low to the ground and was
smelling, weird smells were coming in from the outside...but he could
smell the outside, and that was what he was heading for. He stopped
short and Jocko ran in to him.
<Snip>
With a second ground rocking explosion, the lower warren
administration offices exploded outward, raining more rock into the
sky as well as bits of paper, a wild scattering of tithing account
records, the historical scrolls of the warren, even the ancient scrolls
from the whispering cave, the archive records were fluttering like
flaming flutterbys on the night sky, riding the fire heated currents,
as they drifted slowly to the ground as bits of curled ash.
<Snip>
He squinted at the sight in front of him, squinting so hard his eyes
almost closed. They sky and air was hot and red. People were running
every which way. It was so hot...fire.
[Rider you office!] Bazil shouted at him.
He slowly turned his head and looked toward the offices... gone! Then
something landed in his hair, he reached up and pulled it out. He
looked at it, bring it close then far... trying to focus on it.
Jocko feel to his knees as bits of flaming scroll fell into his open
hands. Muttering. "No, no this can't be...I haven't had
time...no.....everything in my office.... the stones...oh my god." He
ran his hands through his hair, panic setting in. His mind racing. "I
had only worked out...." He groaned. "All that work...."
The little brown walked up to him brushing his arms. [Are these the
papers?]
He nodded and looked at all the other pieces on the ground. *There
all gone Bazil.* He started to shake. *Lost secrets...never to be
figured out.* "Damn it, should have left the damn things in the
caves!" Tears burned his eyes.
Bazil remembered the bag. [Rider!] He chirped, his tail wagging.
Jocko looked at him was about to ask what when he heard them calling.
"We need more help over here!!"
Men and women were making and tossing sand bags stacking them to keep
the fire away from the coal. *Come one Bazil, help me over there.*
[But, Jocko!]
*Bazil, please... we need to help out! And I can't see!* He was very,
very frustrated at the moment.
He knew his rider was right, but also knew how happy he would have
been. He had to keep it safe! He nudged the bag so it was under his
wing and flipped up his tail so Jocko could grab it, hitting him in the
leg and knee.
Tag: Any one and everyone!!!
Nrpg: Just a bit of character development on his part of the office
and scrolls.... never know what you have till its gone. And as always
if something is not right just say so, so we fix : )
Submitted by
Katie
Jocko and Bazil
Day 10
Mid to late evening
Jocko and Bazil leave Breezy office and go to his office to work. The
little brown 'cleans' as jocko works on the scrolls and works on other
things.
Day 11
The explosions happen and Jocko falls out of bed smashing his
glasses. Now he can't see very well at all.
He is devastated to see the offices destroyed and bit of the scrolls
fall into his hands. Bazil tries to tell him about the little bag
that Jocko put his note book in. Jocko hears the call of the others and
he has Bazil lead him over.
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 21:41:12 -0800 (PST)
From: John Pepper <trissana@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-J] Delegated Duties
Tanami
Day 2, Morning
(before the beginning of the peace conference)
Having been appointed de facto "escort" for the Imperial Delegation
while it was in the warren, Tanami knew she had only a short time to
accomplish a very important task Corwin had given her. And, having
suddenly found herself as one of the few dragonriders who was both
ambulatory and in a position of authority, she'd learned she needed to
delegate things.
The problem was finding someone to look after Jasra's seadragon
queen, Keeza - the single most valuable dragon in the warren, by virtue
of being the only joined seadragon in existance, as far as was known.
With her rider Hsina injured, Corwin had felt it best to assign someone
to look after the queen until Hsina was able to once again. Tanami's
first thought was to have the person she felt was most qualified do it
- herself. It wasn't just a matter of feeding and oiling...seadragons
didn't need to be oiled, after all - but more in the way of having
someone to keep Keeza company, and see to all the various small needs a
seadragon *did* have.
Corwin had been adamant that Tanami could not do it herself...she had
more important duties, being the Warren's designated liaison to Emperor
Toru. Her next suggestion had also been vetoed. "We can't spare any
of the riders," he'd said. "The Maritime Wing riders - except for you
and me - are more or less on 'break' today, but are on immediate call.
Use one of the Alpha Wing riders."
"Alpha Wing suffered terribly yesterday," Tanami needlessly reminded
him. "Many are tending their own wounded dragons, or are themselves in
the med center."
"Yes, but a few were kept here for other duties," he reminded her.
"Get the roster from..." he hesitated for a moment. "...from the, ah,
Wingleader's office, and see who was here. Any of them should be
available for other duties."
And so Tanami hurried over to the now-empty Alpha Wingleader's
office, and took a quick look at the roster. She saw that there were
indeed some riders who hadn't been in combat, but most had other
responsibilities at the moment. However, she saw one name that seemed
to fit the bill just perfectly!
* * * *
*I can't believe it!* G'ret grumbled to his dragon Seroth as he
cautiously made his way inside the quarters occupied by the immense
seadragon queen. "Letting the bloody mermaid give orders to real,
honest-to-goodness dragonriders! What the hell's this warren coming
to?"
<I don't know, but I could use an oiling,> Seroth yawned from his
safe position at the edge of the green. Seroth, for his part, had
decided to remain outside despite his rider's threat to tell all the
other dragons that he was a sissy. It wasn't much of a threat, anyway,
since he knew that his rider couldn't talk to or hear other dragons
anyway.
*Well, you don't get no oiling, cause fish-girl says I gotta polish
the fish-queen's scales with this godawful-smelling fish-paste!!>
<Well, better her than me,> said the bright orange dragon. <That
paste smells awful! Give me regular old dragon oil any day!>
G'ret was about to respond that good old dragon oil didn't smell all
that great either, but forgot about Seroth when he walked into the
partially submerged seadragon queen's quarters - and found himself face
to muzzle with a very irritated-looking Keeza!
*Hey...tell her I'm not here to steal her fish-snacks or nothin',
just here to polish her and...ugh, brush her teeth, and the other stuff
the mermaid told me I hadda do.*
There was a moment of silence as Seroth communicated with Keeza, and
then the queen settled herself down somewhat reluctantly on her watery
couch.
<She says she wishes they'd sent somebody that was any good, but will
let you wait on her since there's nobody else to do it,> Seroth told
him.
"Lucky me," G'ret grumbled under his breath. He wanted nothing more
than to get out of here as quickly as possible, so for once he was
seriously motivated to get to work.
He decided to do a polish-job on her first...that seemed less onerous
(and dangerous) then trying to clean her teeth. He opened the jar of
awful-smelling polish and rubbed some on a rag to get to work. He
noticed the line of very smooth and bright scales that ran along her
side, from neck to tail, and decided to start with those. Being
shinier already, they'd be less work.
He started to rub the polish in, and felt the dragon shift under his
clumsy efforts at polishing. Suddenly, a tremendous shock erupted
through him, as though he'd been hit by a lightning bolt. It sent him
flying backwards through the air, to land breathlessly in a shallow
puddle of seawater near the edge of the chamber. He groaned, unable
even to raise himself up onto one elbow for a few minutes. Keeza, from
her couch, looked on unsympatheticlly, giving him a snort and pointedly
turning her head away from him.
<She didn't like the way you were doing it,> Seroth told him. <And I
guess you forgot that line of shiny black scales is what they use to
give shocks?>
As soon as he was able, G'ret heaved himself upright. With a black
look at the queen, he stalked out the door without a backward glance,
leaving the polishing paste and the rag where they'd fallen. <Be
damned if I'm going in *there* again!* he told Seroth.
<But won't you get in trouble if Keeza's rider finds out her dragon's
being neglected?> Seroth asked. <Of the two of them, Keeza is probably
the safer one to have mad at you.>
G'ret had to admit that there was some truth to this. He thought
about it, and then had an idea. The queen *would* be cared for...just
not by him. He would simply take the credit if his proxy did a good
job, and he would find a way - as he always did - to avoid the blame if
things went wrong.
Now all he had to do was find someone who wouldn't go complaining to
Corwin or one of the others if he tasked them with doing this job. He
started walking, keeping a sharp eye out for any decent prospects.
(Tag Mel - have him find Charis whenever you're ready!)
Submitted by:
John
Tanami & Kethriss
Jasra Warren
Summary:
Morning, Day 2: Tanami orders G'ret to see to Keeza's needs while
Hsina is in the med center. But, after having a rocky start with the
seadragon queen, he goes off in search of someone he can get to do his
job for him.
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