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Post by kei on Jun 24, 2013 9:17:42 GMT
It Begins:
“‘-Black is the colour of Goth, often tempered with darker reds, purples, greens though it is not uncommon to see white or silver accenting-‘ No ‘accenting doesn’t really fit. How can I write this?” Placing his quill back in the ink bottle librarian Tegraine pulled his dark hood over his third eye and, closing his main eyes, he placed his hands together and began to meditate.
“Professor, we are approaching the planet Khula.” A computerised voice broke the silence. With a sigh Tegraine pulled his hood back down and gathered together his writing equipment placing them in a metal box that sat on his desk. Then picking up his researching book, his one eye focusing on the gothic pixie that winked through the cover, he began to head up the metal stairs that led to the bridge one eyes on the pages while his main eyes watched where he was heading.
Upon reaching the bridge he placed the book on his pile of recently acquired rare books before taking a seat at the helm. “Are we within hailing distance?” he asked his ships Intelligence as he began to bring his screens to life.
“We can hail the land when we are point two metras closer. We will be within this distance in the time it takes you to debate which spell to use to attempt to make a coffee without having to get up from your thesis.”
“Are you making fun, Ahura?”
“I am merely pointing out your inability to make a quick decision when in the end it is so much faster to leave the books and make it yourself.”
“So, how long before we are within hailing distance?”
“Thirteen minutes and 49 seconds, 48, 47, 46.”
“I get it. Turn yourself off, Ahura, I can handle it from here.”
“As you wish.”
Tegraine punched up the systems for hailing and looked once more at the timer Ahrua had set for him -12 minutes 10 seconds-. He watched it count down slowly till it hit 11, then his three eyes moved across to the pile of books. “Accented isn’t the right word, but silver and white is obviously involved somehow. How can I put it for all species to understand?” Pulling his hood over his third eye once more he fell back into meditation.
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james
Junior Member
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Post by james on Jun 26, 2013 17:14:43 GMT
A maelstrom of silver accented darkness swirled around the librarian's mind. He wrestled with the words needed to describe the thoughts in his head. Time passed unheeded. The countdown reached zero. The only movement on-board was the blinking of Tegraine's two lower eyes.
The ship continued its unguided flight towards Khula. The image of the planet began to rapidly fill the view-screen.
The silent vessel went unnoticed by the planet's occupants, but the strange behaviour drew more predatory attention.
The lurching shock of a hull breach dragged Tegraine back into the here and now. He hastily pulled up his dislodged hood, to cover the distracting images coming from his third eye. He struggled to form his panicked thoughts into a physical response. The harsh alarms and sensor readouts woke Ahura's program from standby mode. Within less than a breath's span the ship's shields were up, and a safety web had secured Tegraine's shocked body to his seat.
“Ahura, what is going on?”
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Post by fruitbat on Jun 27, 2013 20:21:01 GMT
“There appears to breach in the hull, professor. I am trying to rectify the issue now.”
Tegraine could feel a sickening lurch as his stomach reacted to the increased velocity at which the ship descended towards the alien planet. With his third eye, Tegraine began to see visions of the ship’s exterior, a hole the size of an armchair on the starboard side, wiring that should have been attached to something crucial now flying in chaotic banners along the side of the hull. But this was far from the worst that he witnessed. Books; unique, priceless, irreplaceable, peerless and in his care, were fluttering away and out into nothingness.
Tegraine knew that despite Ahura’s superior skills in navigation, there was nothing that even she could do with a breach this large. He was glad of the safety web. Tegraine re-covered his third eye and prepared for impact. He tried not to think of the loss of knowledge he had just witnessed.
“Professor, I have assessed the damage and have calculated that there is no alternative but to activate the emergency landing protocol. Hold on tight, sir.”
“That’s what I’m doing Ahura.”
Seconds later, Tegraine felt a blow to his body that shook every bone, despite the safety web that secured him. The ground, the walls, the very air vibrated with a sonic boom that ripped through the craft and the control bridge at which he sat. There was a sickening silence, followed by the squeak and shudder of metal bending and cracking.
“It appears that we have arrived on the planet Khula. Apologies for the rough landing, professor. The emergency landing procedure is due an upgrade.” Tegraine moved his arms and legs experimentally and was pleased to discover they were still in working order.
“That, Ahura, is an understatement. Even for you.”
“Coffee, sir?”
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Post by kei on Jul 3, 2013 8:32:43 GMT
'Coffee,' Tegraine thought as he took breaths to help himself calm down. 'Why they had to equip the ship with a sense of humor is beyond me.'
The safety web melted away and he got shakily to his feet.
"What happened, Ahrua?"
"After a collision with a missile we descended at the unsafe angle of 142 degrees with the not so great speed of 82 miles an hour hitting the trees with enough force to snap off the topmost branches bringing our unscheduled sub-orbital descent to a rough halt on the not so firm land of Khula. To use simpler terms for your exhausted mind; we were shot down."
Professor Tegraine closed all three eyes as he willed patience to be on his side. "By who?"
"Unknown."
"Great."
"Professor, there is a ship approaching, would you like me to hail them and request assistance?"
"Do it, I'll see where we are."
Walking across the bridge, Tegraine began to open the doors leading to the unknown world outside.
"Professor my request for aid has received an alarming response of negative feedback - I do not believe the approaching ship is friendly. The life forms on the approaching ship may be the owners of the missile."
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Post by kei on Jul 4, 2013 10:42:30 GMT
"Do they want their missile back? No silly. Er perhaps not," he finished, backing away from the door.
"Best stay inside, don't you think Ahura?"
"Indeed, they are firing again."
The librarian had to steady himself as a series of small explosions rocked the ship.
"Smaller munitions this time. I'm getting a transmission. Apparently we need to surrender our cargo or we will be destroyed. They have given us one ursong to comply, I calculate that that gives us fifteen minutes to do something."
"Oh dear. We can't possibly give up the books. The library doesn't go around collecting the rarest books just so anybody can come and take them."
"Time is running short. I'm afraid that I don't have the fire power to fight them off. Now we are grounded I could boost shield to hold them for a while."
"But we would have to surrender eventually. I have the beginnings of a plan."
"They are calling again, demanding an answer."
"Could you eject a small package without leaving us too vulnerable?"
"Yes.what do you have I'm mind? They well surly scan anything before they pick it up. No pirate wants to take a bomb on board."
"tell them I am sending them a sample of my wars in the hope that they will understand it's worth and therefore know why I must continue unhindered."
"I doubt that will work."
"Just tell them, and then I need some uninterrupted time with my books."
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Post by fruitbat on Jul 9, 2013 9:43:37 GMT
“Sir, I will do as you request, but I fear our offering may be insufficient.”
“Ahura, for the sake of the cargo, it’s a risk I am willing to take.”
Tegraine was less afraid of the hostile beings than he was about the books in his care. As soon as Ahura had finished her transmission, Tegraine made his way to the hold to assess the damage to the cargo. As he feared, the missile had caused a hole large enough for at least two humanoids to pass through, and he could see that several of the neatly parceled tomes were damaged. What he feared most was assessing which of the precious volumes had been lost, possibly forever. An idea struck him.
“Was there a way,” he thought, “that Ahura could replay the ship’s flight record to calculate the exact time of impact and cross reference this with their position to obtain the likely trajectory that the lost books would have made?” It was certainly possible. Ahura could do many things, unless, of course, the vital circuitry that allowed her to access this information was now also damaged. They had taken several hits since the one that had brought them down. Tegraine frowned at the jagged opening that had destroyed his ship and moved behind the book stacks to keep out of sight. If the hostile beings saw him in here, he knew his life would most probably be terminated. He reminded himself that skills in combat were not something he had been taught on Yarbril.
Just as Tegraine moved out of sight, he became aware of a sound close by the breach. Tegraine tried to slow his breathing and strained to hear. The sound was getting closer but was too muddied by the echo of the ship’s interior for clear identification. With some trepidation, Tegraine focused his third eye to give him a view of what was happening outside. It was then that he saw them: a small group, possibly five or six beings of various heights and breadths, peering into the breach, metres from where he stood. He realised that the sound he had heard was their language. They communicated in a strange series of tones and clicks. The scholar in Tegraine was momentarily distracted as he listened to the alien sounds, thinking about the possibilities for archival enrichment that learning and transcribing this fascinating new language would bring about. Then he remembered, they were hostile and his close proximity placed him in peril.
“Professor, please state your location. I am unable to find you.” Ahura’s voice broke through the ship’s still functioning communication system. The voices outside the ship stopped. Tegraine knew they had heard Ahura and were listening. “Sir?” Not receiving his response, Ahura continued. “Where are you? Please state your location. The unidentified life forms were not satisfied with our offering. They repeated their demand for all of our cargo or our destruction is imminent. Sir, I believe a group of them have left their ship and are now seeking entry to our own. Professor, if you do not state your location, I am unable to secure your safety.”
Tegraine knew that he had no choice. Either way, he was trapped. Tegraine drew a deep breath and stepping out from behind the books, spoke in a clear voice.
“Ahura, I am here, in the hold, and it appears I am about to receive company.”
Tegraine stood very upright as the beings he had witnessed outside the damaged ship crawled swiftly into the hold. He noted that each of them moved with speed and grace, despite their variety of statures. He was face to face with the hostile beings.
“My name is Tegraine,” announced the Professor. “You are standing before the universe’s most extensive collection of rare and ancient archival material. I am their guardian.”
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Post by kei on Jul 9, 2013 9:52:42 GMT
One man, human, stepped forward and spoke clearly in the galactic language of the universe; “You have been warned have your crew step aside whilst we take your cargo or suffer the fate of death.”
Tegraine held his ground giving an appearance of complete fearlessness while his third eye began searching around for something to help him. “ I carry only books, books. And a good supply of coffee, all other supplies are running low. I carry nothing of worth to you.”
His third eye settled on a book, the book he had found in the space stations of Kapetika. It told the story of a temperamental dwarf with a good strong axe and no love for humans.
Turning all three eyes to the pirates Tegraine continued; “I have the commission to find these books and take them back to Yarbill. As a guardian of the library it is a commission I must guard with my life. Will you not step aside and allow me to continue my journey?”
The human looked from side to side at his companions of other species and the clicking language continued with a note of hilarity. Focussing back on Tegraine the human put one leg forwards and drawing a gun he placed his arm on his knee pointing the gun loosely in Tegraines direction.
“Step aside, guardian, your commission is done.”
Focusing his third eye on the book of the dwarf the professor closed his main eyes and began to mutter under his breath, the pirates stepped back as the air around Tegraine began to prickle with magic. Then, with a cry one of the pirates charged forward his wings thrusting him forwards with an alarming speed.
The professor, all of his focus on bringing help out of the book didn’t hear the cry of the charge or the warning given by Ahrua but his eyes snapped open as the iron shoulder cracked into his own knocking him to the ground. The magic broke and shards flew all over this ship.
Books were bursting open around him.
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james
Junior Member
Posts: 90
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Post by james on Jul 9, 2013 15:31:32 GMT
Pure white light streamed from the book of the dwarf, filling the room. The watchers were blinded. As the light ebbed back into the book, the consciousness of the watchers was dragged along. Words that only the librarian could read sped across the vision of the watchers, but despite the differences in language all the watchers experienced the events in the book...
Stacius shuffled his feet forward, the noise they made was sucked away instantly by the shale that coated the tunnel. He had a sudden fear that he had travelled too fast and too far away from his party. The second he turned his head to look, the Scuttler that had been hanging from the ceiling ahead launched itself at him. The suit's movement sensors squealed a warning that saved his life. He thrust the haft of his axe forward, keeping the head by his shoulder. The haft took the force of the blow that was meant to knock him backwards, and leave his throat exposed. Stacius staggered before falling backwards trying to push the Scuttler away as it flailed its legs leaving deep gouges in his abdomen plate. He was yelling nonsensically at the top of his voice. He brought his knees up towards his chest, instinctively trying to protect his groin and midsection from the slashing legs. He tried pushing with his axe, any pretence of technique rapidly falling away as the crawler settled on top of him. Its legs started methodically hunting for the edges of his armour. He tried to roll, to throw the monstrosity off himself, but he could barely move. He stopped yelling; all he could hear was his own panicked breathing. The hot air from his lungs was rebounding off his face plate, stinging his eyes. Suddenly the Scuttler sprouted an axe blade from its side. As the Scuttler changed its focus away from him Stacius tried to curl up, afraid of the swinging laser blades of his fellow dwarfs that were hacking at the dying beasts.
As the weight of the Scuttler left him completely he kicked his legs, still on his back, he pushed himself away from the thing as fast as he could, only stopping when his back soundlessly hit the shale.
His breath was coming out in panicked gasps as he frantically checked himself all over for blood. He remembered the marble white face of his friend Ysac, still smiling in victory having just killed a Scuttler, not realising that the Scuttler had also killed him by opening his femoral artery. He had died seconds after the creature's own death. His panic raised in pitch, suddenly he felt like he was fainting, his vision contracted to a single pinprick of light. When his vision expanded again he found himself sprawled inside some kind of metal cavern, strangers, human and alien surrounded him. He fought down his panic as he reached for his axe.
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Post by fruitbat on Jul 9, 2013 18:33:16 GMT
Tegraine felt the cold metal beneath him as consciousness began to return. Experimentally, he raised his left index finger and found it was still working. His head ached. With his third eye, he tried to take stock of his surroundings whilst keeping his main eyes closed. He was no longer on the ship, of that he was sure. The surrounding walls echoed with the sound of conflict. Not too far away someone, or something was putting up quite a fight. The librarian reached out with his third eye and saw that he was in a dark cavern. It was unlike anything he had encountered before. He was surrounded by something familiar but he sensed no other being close by. He was alone here, although he knew that others were not far away. He listened hard to make sense of the sounds. A deep voice he recognised bellowed a familiar battle cry. It could be no other than Stacius, the dwarf. Tegraine could hear that he was engaged in fighting off what sounded like far more than one opponent but he knew from all he had read on his world that Stacius could more than hold his own. Unlike him, he was a warrior.
Tegraine tried to move his other fingers on his left hand; the right was trapped beneath something very heavy. It ached abominably but one by one, he managed to regain use of the full five digits. He tried to feel around him in the darkness. His third eye seemed hazy and its vision was limited in this strange environment. As Tegraine moved his arm, he realised that it was not just his hand that ached. His arm, neck, head and shoulder all sang with pain when he tried to move them. As for his legs, he wasn’t even sure that he could still feel them at all.
He tried to recall what had happened. He remembered being in the hold, facing those strange creatures. What were they? Renegades or a deputation from Khula’s governing body? Tegraine hoped it was the former. If he could find out where he was right now and get Ahura to send out a message to Khula’s real leaders, explain his purpose here, he was sure this matter could be resolved.
Tegraine listened again to the sounds of battle coming from a nearby chamber. It sounded as if Stacius was doing a bit of his own resolving already. He hoped that this would not jeopardise their chances of a cordial welcome here. Stacius had come from one of his books, after all. He was one of his crew. He had pulled him out of his world because he knew he would be a useful ally and right now, he sounded as if he were being very useful indeed. He was keeping the rebels away from him, buying him time. With a jolt, the professor realised that time was the one thing he could not waste. He had to get moving. With a supreme effort of will, the librarian used his left hand to try to release his right from whatever held it prisoner. He gave it a sharp tug, which was followed instantly by a booming crash, the echo in the metal cavern resonating like thunder. With his right arm free, Tegraine performed the simple spell that brought forth light enough for him to see his immediate surroundings. Now he could see why he was unable to feel his legs. Stacks of heavy tomes pinioned the lower half of his body. On every side, there were towers of books. His books. One large pile to his right, now scattered severally about the floor had, until recently, trapped his right hand. Tegraine rubbed his aching hand and frowned. His books were safe; at least the pirates had been curious enough to take them from the ship. But how had they got them here so quickly? There were thousands! Unless he had been unconscious for longer than he realised? Unless there had been far more rebels on board that ship than the librarian was aware of? And what of Ahura? What had become of his trusty interface, his ship’s protector? Tegraine felt his anger rise at the thought that they may have removed her circuits or worse, destroyed her completely. She had taken years to build and many months to program. If there was one thing Tegraine hated it was seeing vital resources destroyed. That was why, he supposed, he was the guardian of such a valuable resource as the library and why he had to protect it at all costs, even if it meant with his life.
As he attempted to wiggle the feeling back into both sets of toes, his right foot jerked involuntarily and knocked a large volume from one of the piles of books. Tegraine recognised it immediately. It was the book on gothic fashion he had been working on when all this business had begun. The pixie winked back at him through the front cover, just as she always had.
“Time to call up a little more help,” whispered the librarian. Focusing all his remaining energy on the book, Tegraine pushed out. A shard of brilliant white light cut through the darkness and then there was silence.
Tegraine uncovered his eyes to see black smoke tinged with wisps of purple emanating from the Book of Goth. On the now open pages, no bigger than two feet high, sat a small pixie, her knees drawn up to her chin, shivering with cold. Her large, dark eyes regarded the librarian balefully.
“Well? What are you staring at? Get me a blanket! It’s the least you can do for bringing me here. You know I hate the cold!”
The librarian began to chuckle, more from relief than amusement.
“Hello, Raisa. I see that the last century has done little to improve your mood.”
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Post by kei on Jul 13, 2013 6:56:59 GMT
Dulin (doo-leen) scaled the wall effortlessly, her bow slung across her back effectively pinning her dark cloak to her black skin. She was a dark elf of the Ava Sorya resistance movement, the one, that history claims, single handedly brought down the seven Generals of Ohta.
Swiftly moving over the top edge of the wall Dulin crouched on the battlements of the Ohta and, drawing an arrow from the quiver attached to her thigh, A silent death. They never saw her coming.
She stood silently for a while just looking down into the compound; noting where the fires blazed, forcing the dark night away from hunched up figures, her keen eyes found several escape routes in the event of anything going amis. Not that it would. They never saw her coming.
Then her target appeared. This would be the third general she'd take out this night, and the last till the following night. Dawn was not far off.
Placing her arrow calmly against the bow she stood at a side angle, her eyes following the line of sight provided by her stretched out arm. She drew the arrow back till the nail of her thumb rested in the cleft off her chin:-
She let out a gasp as a weight pressed down on her, lights had appeared everywhere and they were being followed by an enveloping darkness. It was an impossible sensation of being crushed and released in the same moment a sensation that vanished as suddenly as it appeared. Her world had changed around her.
Dulin was still in position to shoot as she saw the Dwarf in front of her hacking at some winged creature that was trying to pin him down in the surrounding chaos. Aiming for the drawfs throat she let loose the arrow but it vanished before it could reach its target, swallowed by white lights that were bouncing in the chaos, books were exploding around her, falling to the floor in heaps, A bunch of insects swarmed out of one and flew to an opening in the metal wall, water was pouring out of a book that bore the title 'The Greatest Falls of the universe'.
Beside her another book had released a wolf that was now charging her with bared teeth. Reacting on instinct Dulin drew her dagger and as the wolf dived toward her she took a step backwards and thrust the dagger in the back of its neck as it charged past. As she pulled the dagger back she felt a hand on her arm. Swinging around to deal another blow she stopped. A Human was besides her, he was sporting a winning smile and had silent determination in his eyes. Drawing on her knowledge that humans were friends Dulin relaxed. In that moment the human attacked, taking his gun he slammed it into her chest, into the weakest point between the transition of her top armor and her overlarge leather belt, he then brought the weapon down again over the back of her head as she doubled forward. Stunned Dulin fell to one knee as more dived on her.
Angry now, Dulin held nothing back, she did not need to hold a weapon to be a effective fighter. Throwing the attackers of her back and taking hold of the arm of the human who had attacked her she spun him around and he went flying into a pile of books that then came thundering down. "Ay yai yai yai yar!" she cried her own battle cry as she joined in the fray that had spilled outside, hitting as many as she could heedless of who or what she was fighting, the madness of battle in her black eyes.
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james
Junior Member
Posts: 90
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Post by james on Jul 24, 2013 15:51:27 GMT
Stacius sluggishly hefted his axe. His shoulders burned and his back ached, he knew that he did not have much energy left. A piercing battle cry from his left brought forth a sigh as he turned to face the threat.
“Cease! Á pusta!” shouted a voice. The shout echoed around the room in a way that no sound Stacius had ever heard before had.
Stacius saw a three eyed human stood next to what Stacius first took to be a child. The three eyed man was looking around at the disarray that surrounded him.
“Please, there is no need for violence.”
'There was from where I was standing' thought Stacius. He looked around making sure that he was safe from attack, before gratefully resting the shaft of his axe on the floor. He fought to hide the shaking from his exhausted body. He took the chance of this brief respite to ponder on his situation. Where was he? Where were his friends? How had he escaped the tunnels? His surroundings gave him no clue. Of the beings around him only a couple matched the descriptions and pictures that he had seen of humans as he was growing up. He did not recognise any of the others, and as far as he was aware there were only humans and dwarfs where he came from, that being said humans thought there were only humans; dwarfs hid below ground, beneath notice.
“I think you had better leave,” said the three eyed being to the group who had attacked Stacius. Those who were able to leave on their own carried those who weren't. Stacius watched them limp away, warily.
After they had left Stacius saw a humanoid that he had not noticed before. It was stood absolutely still. Stacius doubted he would have seen it had it been in any kind of shadow. He noted the bow the being carried was hanging loose in its hands, but an arrow rested on the bow stave ready to be drawn at a moments notice. Stacius shifted slowly, bringing the creature into comfortable line of sight, whilst looking for something to hide behind.
“I think that an explanation is in order,” said the three eyed being.
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Post by fruitbat on Jul 24, 2013 20:45:56 GMT
Even though the librarian was three times his height, the dwarf faced his questioner boldly.
“I did what I had to merely for survival,” he replied. “But as you mentioned an explanation, I think I might not be the only one who needs to explain. Why am I here? Did you bring me from my world?”
The librarian sighed. “Yes, Stacius, it was I. Your skills as a fierce warrior are the stuff of legends. Believe me, I have read every book there is on your people and several of those books are here, with me now. The books are the reason I have travelled to Khula and the reason you are all now here.”
Tegraine looked to his two companions standing close by; a dark elf and a goth pixie from the planet Sastre Barroco, although Tegraine was now beginning to regret his latter choice. She had vexed him already with her demands for warmth and disagreeable demeanour. However, Tegraine was familiar with her unique powers. He had studied them in the Book of Goth over many years. He knew that given the right circumstances, Raisa could change her form to resemble any living creature she chose. Under his present conditions, on a planet with as yet, no sign of welcome, the recent attack from possible renegades from which he was still recovering and the lack of Ahura, Tegraine knew that Raisa’s powers would be invaluable.
“My name is Tegraine,” he began, “I am the Sagamore Librarian from the planet Yarbril. We are on the planet Khula. I was travelling here to seek out the Shamanic texts made from the rare Corteza tree native to Khula. Sadly, the tree species has become increasingly rare, many having been cut down several centuries ago. The tree takes hundreds of years to reach full maturity and there are...”
“Save the history lesson for your students,” interrupted Raisa. “I’m sure they’ll be fascinated. What is it you want with us?”
“I apologise for the digression, Raisa. I tell you only so you may see how vital my mission is. I believe that my ship was brought down by the band of renegades that you, Stacius, were fighting. For your help, I am greatly indebted, although to attempt to kill them all was by no means necessary.” Stacius shifted about on his feet and began to mumble to himself in the language of his people. “I heard that, Stacius,” said Tegraine.
“But you still haven’t told us why you need us,” reminded Raisa. “I am still shivering from the shock of being torn from Sastre. I was busy!”
“And for that I can only apologise again, Raisa. I brought you here because I realised that with Ahura, my ship’s interface, now out of action, I have no one to assist me. The impact of the ship’s sudden landing, the contretemps with the renegades, the magic I had to use to bring you here has left me depleted. Stacius, Dulin, Raisa, you three have powers and abilities that I do not. There are no other beings that I could trust with the protection of these priceless books. In short, I need your help.”
As Tegraine finished speaking, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching. All turned to face the new arrival.
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Post by kei on Jul 25, 2013 8:30:53 GMT
Dulin watched the three eyed librarian silently. His third eye was flicking between her, the drawf -'Staicus, did he say?' - and the annoying little pixie. His main eyes were focused on the approaching guard. Three abreast they strode towards them, the sun catching on their silver Armour. The greenish leather of the tunics beneath the silver appeared to be of the same material as the metal tipped boots they all wore. Raising her bow, she prepared to take out the leader who was striding confidently in front of the troops heading right for them.
"Dulin! Lower it! They are not enemies."
It was against all her instincts but some power in Tegraines voice prevented her from resisting and Dulin slackened her hold on the bow.
"Peace my good friends." Tegraine called when they had reached hailing distance. "I am Professor Tegraine from the planet Yarbil. I believe I am expected."
The leader bowed his head slightly touching his forehead in the customary sign of respect. "General Kohtera of the Khula defense. We got word that you were coming from the moons of Gotisis. I apologize for the welcome. If you'd have contacted us when you entered our atmosphere we would have sent ships to guide you in safely, then the backlightes wouldn't have dared to attack you."
"Well, in the here and now, everything's a mess. I could use your help to get the remaining books to a place of safety and my ship is going to need repairing before I can travel on."
"I'll have the Calamita come out and pick everything up. She's big enough to transport your ship to the city. If you and your 'friends' follow me we'll escort you to the conclave."
Dulin tightened her grip on the bow raising it slightly as she did having picked up on the slant he had put on the word friends.She was not a friend of this group, she had never even met them before today and she was willing to go to any lengths to prove it.
Tegraine stepped forward to prevent the situation from escalating."My friends were brought out the books by the magic of Yarbil. Before I come with you to meet the conclave I really need to set them about collecting my lost tomes, please-"
"It is against our law to allow any visitor to wonder freely without first being seen by the conclave." The general replied looking at the trio with new wonder in his eyes. "Brought here by the magic of yarbil you say? You cannot send them back?"
"Between them they have the skills needed to get my collection back in order, and even if I wanted to, my powers are drained, I will need rest before I attempt any such spells again. These books are precious commodities and if they land near any of the trees of Corteza they could be damaged or enhanced by the magic that surrounds them, with un-comprehensible consequences. This is important."
"I understand, but I am afraid I must hold to my sword on this. The conclave should see no reason to forbid them from finding your tomes, but I must insist you speak to them yourself first. Garathus, you and your unit, stay here until the Calamita arrives."
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james
Junior Member
Posts: 90
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Post by james on Jul 25, 2013 9:08:01 GMT
The creature with the bow seemed intent on shooting someone. Stacius was determined that it would not be him but he was torn between moving towards these new warriors or the archer. With a low growl he decided he would have to talk his way out, he had plenty of axe for everyone but there was only one of him.
“Magic? Books? What nonsense are you talking. I'm not going to meet any 'conclave' of shiny weaklings; I've got things to do, I need to help my friends.”
The general shifted when he heard 'shiny weaklings', but before he could react Tegraine spoke.
"Stacius, we mean you no harm and I apologise for interrupting your mission. I will send you back as soon as I am able. First though I must ask for your help. As you have no doubt gathered I am a Librarian, I have several important books that I need recovering. I will give you valuable aid that will help on your mission in the tunnels. I know how to stop the Scuttlers and how to turn back the 'Hungering Shale' that is coating the walls of your mines. Will you help?"
Stacius looked around him; he was surrounded, he had no friends in sight. As soon as I know how to get back home, I will leave. I owe nothing to those here, but if I refuse I may never see my home again, I will play along for now.
"I will help you Librarian, Tell me what I need to do. I must warn you though, my technology does not work here so far from it's power source, already the systems fail. I am left as you see me."
"I hope that neither your armour, nor your weapon are needed on this mission. I will give you a description of the books I seek shortly."
As Tegraine turned to speak quietly to the alien General Stacius looked superstitiously at the archer who still had not returned her arrow to it's quiver. Stacious knew a dangerous foe when he saw one. As soon as he was out of sight of the others he would remove that threat, permanently. He may have no friends here, but he could cut down the number of enemies.
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Post by fruitbat on Jul 25, 2013 9:13:20 GMT
Raisa the pixie pulled the makeshift blanket around her shoulders. She was still cold and she hated waiting. She wondered how long it would take for the Calamita to arrive. Unlike the dwarf and the archer, who seemed unfamiliar with the Librarian, Raisa and he had met before. He had come to her homeland of Sastre five millimoons ago as part of his book gathering quest. Her people had been suspicious of him but they had helped. They had entrusted him with many of their treasured tomes on Gothic culture and customs, but not before a robust discussion had taken place between the Librarian and her parents, Sastre’s cultural leaders. As their only daughter, Raisa had been given the lofty title of ‘regent cultural ambassador’ even though it had often been remarked that her erratic temperament was at variance with such a role. Raisa neither liked nor tolerated most other beings. The creatures with which she had the greatest affinity were animals, but at present, there was a definite lack of this species to provide her with any sense of security.
She knew why Tegraine had brought her here. He had observed her unique skill during his time on Sastre. Raisa did not realise that she was being watched when she was playing with her pet Lemur. She thought they were alone. It was a private moment, a moment of delight in play when she changed her form to match that of her pet’s. Even though it was exhausting, Raisa so loved to play with Primavero she would often change for him. He loved it when she became like him, but at the same time, Raisa felt his loneliness, his desire for a true mate. It often brought her to tears. Raisa knew that Primavero would never find a partner. He was the last Lemur on Sastre. She was reverting back to her pixie form when she saw the Librarian. He was standing at the window on the high bridge overlooking the courtyard. She had forgotten about that window. The way he had looked at her, like he had discovered a valuable secret. She knew then he would not be able to forget her, that one day, he would seek her help. Now, here she was.
As far as Raisa was concerned, he could not have summoned her at more inconvenient moment. She was half naked as she was having a fitting with the court tailor for a new outfit. It was a beautiful garment, made of fine, black silk with velvet inserts. The sleeves were hand-made lace of a delicate filigree, weaving an intricate pattern down her arms and ending in a trailing point. Raisa started to pout as she remembered the indignity of being ripped away, half dressed, to this strange, and as she was quickly discovering, dangerous place. She trusted that the tailor would keep her garment safe in her absence, which she hoped would be short.
Raisa looked at the Librarian, who was still engaged in a whispered conversation with the Khula General. She had had enough. She pulled the ragged blanket around her shoulders and marched over.
“Excuse me for interrupting your important conversation, but if you’re the one in charge, do you think you might get me some clothes, since I’m stuck here because of him and with it being so cold!” Tegraine and the General broke off their conversation instantly and looked at the tiny pixie in surprise. Never had the General been spoken to so directly by anyone other than his wife and to be given an order by a strange being half his size was a new experience. A mixture of shock and embarrassment crossed Tegraine’s face as he opened his mouth in an attempt to limit the potential damage the pixie’s words might mean for his mission. The General spared him the indignity.
“You can ask the Calamita yourself.” The General’s words were frosty, but the smile that was starting at the corners of his mouth betrayed him. “They will be able to give you all that you require. Here they are now.” Raisa, Tegraine, Dulin and Stacius turned as one to follow the General’s gaze. The conclave had arrived.
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