A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
- Thread starter ellinor
- Start date
ellinor
Explorer
39x01
Wind rustled the exact same black, spiky grass. In exactly the same way.
Tavi yawned as Kormick poked him awake. You’d think the wind would get tired of it, Tavi thought. But he heard the voice of Mena’s lessons in his head: the wind never tires.
Tavi was frustrated, He was ready to be done with the time loop and back to the work of the prophecy. This trip was about Rose, and the time loop was an impediment. Worse, an impediment they didn’t know how to get out of. Tavi peeled away his bedroll, stretched, and began his morning forms.
They sent their ordinary morning sending to Aeton, asking him to meet them at the cave they’d found in the previous loop, and received Aeton’s ordinary gratitude for waking him. If I’m ready to be done with this, Tavi thought, imagine how Aeton feels.
Before setting out for the cave, the party ate breakfast and discussed what they’d learned in the previous loop. Tavi described the cave with its strange markings, and Nyoko described the Sovereign priest’s ritual circle and prayer. With some prompting from Twiggy, in fact, she closed her eyes and described it in painfully precise detail. When those two get going, Tavi thought, life gets awfully detailed.
“Could this time loop have been caused by some irregularity in the priest’s prayer?” Savina asked. “Like the fact that his ritual discharged early?”
“Word choice can be important,” Twiggy said, “and sometimes getting cut off in the middle of a ritual can have unpredictable results—but this is well beyond ‘unpredictable.’”
That’s an understatement. “There was a lot of Sheh magic in the air,” Tavi pointed out. “And Sovereign magic as well. Maybe they interacted strangely. Especially since Sheh magic is a strange combination of divine and arcane.”
“What would have interacted?” Savina asked. “There were bears, and sinkholes, and swarms, and fires, and spores, and vines—”
“But none of those things have to do with time,” Tavi jumped in.
“Wait,” Mena said. “That’s right. Sinkholes are earth. Kettenite. Bears are earth animals. Kettenite too. Vines and spores—plants and pollen—are surely Alirrian. Swarms are chaotic. Ehktian. And fires are—” she looked down reflexively at the burn scars on her hands and arms. “Fires are Ehktian…. The point is, none of them are Sedellan. And Sedellus is the goddess of change.”
“So there was an absence of change magic?” Tavi asked. It was just on the edge of making sense.
“—Yes,” Savina said, as if Tavi’s sentence had resolved the matter. “All that magic in the air. The priest saying ‘preserve us upon this day.’ And an absence of change magic, as you said. Together, they meant the priest’s prayer preserved that day. The same day, preserved over and over again, without change.”
Twiggy got that far away look she got when she was running equations in her head.
“So what you’re saying is that to stop the time loop, all we have to do is get to the fight and add some change magic,” Kormick said. “Easy peasy.”
“Probably best to make sure it’s Sheh magic,” Tavi mused. “Otherwise it could unbalance things in another direction.”
“Right,” Twiggy said, with a nod. “Step one, figure out how to do Sheh magic. Step two, figure out how to do Sheh Sedellan magic. Step three, do it in the middle of a battle.” She said it as if it were actually possible. Tavi almost believed it.
###
Excerpt from the notebook of Jan Kormick:
###
It was a large cave mouth. Mena looked over at Arden, whose lips were pressed tight. Arden didn’t often show discomfort, but Mena understood. She’d had her fill of caves for the day. “I’ll see what’s inside,” Mena offered. Kormick offered to accompany her.
“No need to go in just yet,” Twiggy said. She cast light on a small rock and tossed it inside the cave. It cast a small pool of light, revealing a GIANT blue snout. The snout hissed.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was a dragon,” Kormick said.
The snout inched forward into the light, followed by a huge head, huge eyes, huge mouth—
“It’s a dragon,” Savina confirmed.
The dragon’s mouth opened and it ROARED. “Stay back!” Savina shouted. “Its breath will burn!” The pool of light now illuminated its enormous head. From its mouth came a blast of icy air. The grass in front of them crackled, frozen. “Or—I guess—freeze!”
Twiggy immediately ignited her flaming sphere, and situated it in front of the cave mouth, blocking part of it. But it was a big cave mouth, and the dragon was far from trapped. Already Mena could glimpse it shambling around the flame—unwilling to get too close to the fire, but determined to come after them. They had mere seconds. Everyone backed away. Mena pointed Rose to a hiding place to the side of the cave. Rose darted out of sight.
Aeton clambered up the rocky hillside beside the cliff until he was at the top of the cave mouth.
“What are you planning to do?” Tavi yelled up to him. “Jump on it when it comes out?”
Aeton laughed. “You got it. What’s the worst that happens? It kills us? At least I haven’t died that way yet.”
Mena wasn’t ready to watch her friends die, however temporary Aeton said it would be. She raised her sword and strode to the front of the group.
Kormick stepped in front of her. And—the gall of him—he did it protectively. The look he shot her was downright concerned. For her welfare.
The look made her stop, reflexively, despite herself. She didn’t like stopping. She didn’t even like the look. She liked even less that it had made her stop. Is this going to be a thing? Mena thought. I can’t run into a cave to attack a dragon because someone cares about me?
The dragon’s snout nosed beyond the flames. Then its eyes. Then its sinuous neck.
Kormick glanced again at Mena. This time she caught his eyes and held them. He held hers right back.
Then Kormick grinned. “After you, Dame Mena,” he said. Readying his warhammers, he stepped aside.
Wind rustled the exact same black, spiky grass. In exactly the same way.
Tavi yawned as Kormick poked him awake. You’d think the wind would get tired of it, Tavi thought. But he heard the voice of Mena’s lessons in his head: the wind never tires.
Tavi was frustrated, He was ready to be done with the time loop and back to the work of the prophecy. This trip was about Rose, and the time loop was an impediment. Worse, an impediment they didn’t know how to get out of. Tavi peeled away his bedroll, stretched, and began his morning forms.
They sent their ordinary morning sending to Aeton, asking him to meet them at the cave they’d found in the previous loop, and received Aeton’s ordinary gratitude for waking him. If I’m ready to be done with this, Tavi thought, imagine how Aeton feels.
Before setting out for the cave, the party ate breakfast and discussed what they’d learned in the previous loop. Tavi described the cave with its strange markings, and Nyoko described the Sovereign priest’s ritual circle and prayer. With some prompting from Twiggy, in fact, she closed her eyes and described it in painfully precise detail. When those two get going, Tavi thought, life gets awfully detailed.
“Could this time loop have been caused by some irregularity in the priest’s prayer?” Savina asked. “Like the fact that his ritual discharged early?”
“Word choice can be important,” Twiggy said, “and sometimes getting cut off in the middle of a ritual can have unpredictable results—but this is well beyond ‘unpredictable.’”
That’s an understatement. “There was a lot of Sheh magic in the air,” Tavi pointed out. “And Sovereign magic as well. Maybe they interacted strangely. Especially since Sheh magic is a strange combination of divine and arcane.”
“What would have interacted?” Savina asked. “There were bears, and sinkholes, and swarms, and fires, and spores, and vines—”
“But none of those things have to do with time,” Tavi jumped in.
“Wait,” Mena said. “That’s right. Sinkholes are earth. Kettenite. Bears are earth animals. Kettenite too. Vines and spores—plants and pollen—are surely Alirrian. Swarms are chaotic. Ehktian. And fires are—” she looked down reflexively at the burn scars on her hands and arms. “Fires are Ehktian…. The point is, none of them are Sedellan. And Sedellus is the goddess of change.”
“So there was an absence of change magic?” Tavi asked. It was just on the edge of making sense.
“—Yes,” Savina said, as if Tavi’s sentence had resolved the matter. “All that magic in the air. The priest saying ‘preserve us upon this day.’ And an absence of change magic, as you said. Together, they meant the priest’s prayer preserved that day. The same day, preserved over and over again, without change.”
Twiggy got that far away look she got when she was running equations in her head.
“So what you’re saying is that to stop the time loop, all we have to do is get to the fight and add some change magic,” Kormick said. “Easy peasy.”
“Probably best to make sure it’s Sheh magic,” Tavi mused. “Otherwise it could unbalance things in another direction.”
“Right,” Twiggy said, with a nod. “Step one, figure out how to do Sheh magic. Step two, figure out how to do Sheh Sedellan magic. Step three, do it in the middle of a battle.” She said it as if it were actually possible. Tavi almost believed it.
###
Excerpt from the notebook of Jan Kormick:
###
It was a large cave mouth. Mena looked over at Arden, whose lips were pressed tight. Arden didn’t often show discomfort, but Mena understood. She’d had her fill of caves for the day. “I’ll see what’s inside,” Mena offered. Kormick offered to accompany her.
“No need to go in just yet,” Twiggy said. She cast light on a small rock and tossed it inside the cave. It cast a small pool of light, revealing a GIANT blue snout. The snout hissed.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that was a dragon,” Kormick said.
The snout inched forward into the light, followed by a huge head, huge eyes, huge mouth—
“It’s a dragon,” Savina confirmed.
The dragon’s mouth opened and it ROARED. “Stay back!” Savina shouted. “Its breath will burn!” The pool of light now illuminated its enormous head. From its mouth came a blast of icy air. The grass in front of them crackled, frozen. “Or—I guess—freeze!”
Twiggy immediately ignited her flaming sphere, and situated it in front of the cave mouth, blocking part of it. But it was a big cave mouth, and the dragon was far from trapped. Already Mena could glimpse it shambling around the flame—unwilling to get too close to the fire, but determined to come after them. They had mere seconds. Everyone backed away. Mena pointed Rose to a hiding place to the side of the cave. Rose darted out of sight.
Aeton clambered up the rocky hillside beside the cliff until he was at the top of the cave mouth.
“What are you planning to do?” Tavi yelled up to him. “Jump on it when it comes out?”
Aeton laughed. “You got it. What’s the worst that happens? It kills us? At least I haven’t died that way yet.”
Mena wasn’t ready to watch her friends die, however temporary Aeton said it would be. She raised her sword and strode to the front of the group.
Kormick stepped in front of her. And—the gall of him—he did it protectively. The look he shot her was downright concerned. For her welfare.
The look made her stop, reflexively, despite herself. She didn’t like stopping. She didn’t even like the look. She liked even less that it had made her stop. Is this going to be a thing? Mena thought. I can’t run into a cave to attack a dragon because someone cares about me?
The dragon’s snout nosed beyond the flames. Then its eyes. Then its sinuous neck.
Kormick glanced again at Mena. This time she caught his eyes and held them. He held hers right back.
Then Kormick grinned. “After you, Dame Mena,” he said. Readying his warhammers, he stepped aside.
ellinor
Explorer
39x02
Ice exploded from the cave, straight at Mena.
She ducked, but a sliver grazed her cheek. It stung, a sharp cold knife just below her eye. She blinked it back, and suddenly the dragon was right there, coming at her. As it emerged from the cave, it spread its wings. They were enormous. Mena had never seen an animal so big.
With a giant swoosh of its wings, the dragon flew upward, barely missing Mena as it went. She jabbed her sword up, a wild attempt to stab it in the underbelly. Dragons have soft underbellies, right? It worked—she felt the sword break through the dragon’s leathery flesh, but the dragon jerked upward, sliding itself off the blade. Then it dipped down, raking its talons at Mena. They tore into her shoulder. For a moment, everything was pain. Hot pain, this time.
“You. Don’t hurt her.” Kormick was right behind Mena. He reached up and grabbed one of the dragon’s scaly legs, and held on.
Like in the Sovereign wrestling match, Mena thought, but with warhammers— and as the dragon flew higher, Kormick climbed, like climbing a tree, and reached the base of its wing. He pounded at one of the joints where its wing connected with its massive, blue-green, lizard-like body.
“Just like a kneecap!” Kormick bellowed down. He swung himself underneath the wing, closer to its joint.
“Hit it again!” Mena replied. Kormick did.
The dragon folded its wing and swiped at Kormick, dipping toward the ground in the process. Mena could see talons on the back of its wing, scratching Kormick, tearing at his cloak. Kormick dropped to the ground, safe for a moment.
The dragon roared. ROARED. It might have been the loudest sound Mena had ever heard. Mena reached up to cover her ears, reflexively. Her ears rang. She couldn’t concentrate on anything.
She shook her head, trying to clear the ringing sound, and took stock of what was happening around her. Everyone, it seemed, was stunned just as she was, shaking their heads and rubbing their ears.
Everyone except for Aeton, that is. Aeton was flying. No, not flying, jumping—leaping, from the top of the cave onto the dragon’s back. It was a mighty leap, and he landed on the dragon’s neck and grabbed its wing, pulling back. But the dragon jerked its wing back and Aeton fell to the ground with a thump. He looked up at Mena, shrugged painfully, and groaned “Nice try?” Mena nodded in support, but she could tell it had been a tough fall.
She stepped forward to help him up, but had to step back as the dragon reared back again and let loose a blast of icy breath. More ice knives. Freezing air and ice crystals ripped the skin of her neck and arms. It was so cold it almost felt hot, so cold she could barely think. It had hit Aeton and Twiggy, too.
Mena tried to run to them, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t even move her legs. They were cold, she realized. Even colder than the rest of her. She looked down, and saw ice, wrapped around her feet and legs, holding her to the spot. Where was Tavi? Where was everyone?
Mena chipped at the ice with her sword, and it loosened. She pulled one foot free, and flexed it. It was stiff from the cold, and even just flexing it was painful. But she felt the warmth of Savina’s healing—Savina must have been behind her—and flexing became easier. Her other leg was still caught, but now there was hope. She set to work at the ice.
Mena twisted around in time to see Tavi, stabbing upward between the dragon’s wing and scales. The dragon flapped its wings, but Tavi ducked. “That’s it, Tavi!” Mena yelled, and continued chipping away. Tavi stabbed upward again, and connected again. From behind him, Twiggy cast, and the dragon reeled for a moment, pawing at some imaginary enemy. A flurry of arrows came from behind a scrubby bush—Nyoko’s, although Mena couldn’t see her. Some of them glanced off, but a few connected, lodging in the dragon’s scales. The dragon was having trouble staying up, and although it flapped its wings, it dipped low enough for Arden to swing underneath the beast and wedge her dagger between two scales. Perhaps it was Mena’s imagination, but the dragon almost flinched. It listed to one side, and touched down to the ground, favoring its injured wing. It had taken everything they had, but they had forced the dragon to the ground. Maybe they were finally doing some damage. Mena wanted—needed—to be back in the action. Chip. Chip. Chip.
Arden’s distraction gave Kormick the chance to clamber forward under the dragon’s wing, straight toward that same wing joint—
Mena tugged against the ice and with a crack her foot came free at last. She ran forward, every other step a stabbing pain—and ducked beneath the wing—and there was Kormick. She stabbed upward and pierced the dragon’s hide where its leg met its body. Kormick swung his hammer at the joint, and it buckled. “Again!” Mena said, and twisted her sword deeper. Kormick complied, and Mena heard a solid crack. That wing won’t work the same anymore she thought.
“We should do this more often,” Kormick grinned.
“Maybe not this, exactly,” Mena replied, as she retrieved her sword from the dragon’s hindquarter. She braced herself against Kormick for another upward stab. It connected. But we do make a good team.
Above her head, the dragon’s muscles tensed. It was trying to take off again. Its bad wing folded under, and Mena slashed at its membrane. She cut clear through, separating wing from bone. It bled, black ichorous blood. Tavi extended his flaming sword like a torch, and the membrane began to burn. Now it really won’t work the same.
The dragon used its other wing to rise from the ground. It was off-kilter, erratic, and no less frightening for that. As it rose higher and higher, it spewed icy breath down toward the ground. Shards tore at Mena again, but Twiggy, Aeton, and Kormick got the worst of it. Kormick fell forward and ice piled atop him, holding him to the ground as it had done to Mena. Mena immediately began chipping at the ice, and freed one of Kormick’s hands. He immediately set about at the rest of the ice with the sharp end of a warhammer. “Go get ‘im,” he said, as he picked away.
“Over here!” Mena heard Savina yell. The dragon heard it too, and whipped around to face Savina. It was high above their heads now, and poised to dive for another attack of talons and ice.
Ice exploded from the cave, straight at Mena.
She ducked, but a sliver grazed her cheek. It stung, a sharp cold knife just below her eye. She blinked it back, and suddenly the dragon was right there, coming at her. As it emerged from the cave, it spread its wings. They were enormous. Mena had never seen an animal so big.
With a giant swoosh of its wings, the dragon flew upward, barely missing Mena as it went. She jabbed her sword up, a wild attempt to stab it in the underbelly. Dragons have soft underbellies, right? It worked—she felt the sword break through the dragon’s leathery flesh, but the dragon jerked upward, sliding itself off the blade. Then it dipped down, raking its talons at Mena. They tore into her shoulder. For a moment, everything was pain. Hot pain, this time.
“You. Don’t hurt her.” Kormick was right behind Mena. He reached up and grabbed one of the dragon’s scaly legs, and held on.
Like in the Sovereign wrestling match, Mena thought, but with warhammers— and as the dragon flew higher, Kormick climbed, like climbing a tree, and reached the base of its wing. He pounded at one of the joints where its wing connected with its massive, blue-green, lizard-like body.
“Just like a kneecap!” Kormick bellowed down. He swung himself underneath the wing, closer to its joint.
“Hit it again!” Mena replied. Kormick did.
The dragon folded its wing and swiped at Kormick, dipping toward the ground in the process. Mena could see talons on the back of its wing, scratching Kormick, tearing at his cloak. Kormick dropped to the ground, safe for a moment.
The dragon roared. ROARED. It might have been the loudest sound Mena had ever heard. Mena reached up to cover her ears, reflexively. Her ears rang. She couldn’t concentrate on anything.
She shook her head, trying to clear the ringing sound, and took stock of what was happening around her. Everyone, it seemed, was stunned just as she was, shaking their heads and rubbing their ears.
Everyone except for Aeton, that is. Aeton was flying. No, not flying, jumping—leaping, from the top of the cave onto the dragon’s back. It was a mighty leap, and he landed on the dragon’s neck and grabbed its wing, pulling back. But the dragon jerked its wing back and Aeton fell to the ground with a thump. He looked up at Mena, shrugged painfully, and groaned “Nice try?” Mena nodded in support, but she could tell it had been a tough fall.
She stepped forward to help him up, but had to step back as the dragon reared back again and let loose a blast of icy breath. More ice knives. Freezing air and ice crystals ripped the skin of her neck and arms. It was so cold it almost felt hot, so cold she could barely think. It had hit Aeton and Twiggy, too.
Mena tried to run to them, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t even move her legs. They were cold, she realized. Even colder than the rest of her. She looked down, and saw ice, wrapped around her feet and legs, holding her to the spot. Where was Tavi? Where was everyone?
Mena chipped at the ice with her sword, and it loosened. She pulled one foot free, and flexed it. It was stiff from the cold, and even just flexing it was painful. But she felt the warmth of Savina’s healing—Savina must have been behind her—and flexing became easier. Her other leg was still caught, but now there was hope. She set to work at the ice.
Mena twisted around in time to see Tavi, stabbing upward between the dragon’s wing and scales. The dragon flapped its wings, but Tavi ducked. “That’s it, Tavi!” Mena yelled, and continued chipping away. Tavi stabbed upward again, and connected again. From behind him, Twiggy cast, and the dragon reeled for a moment, pawing at some imaginary enemy. A flurry of arrows came from behind a scrubby bush—Nyoko’s, although Mena couldn’t see her. Some of them glanced off, but a few connected, lodging in the dragon’s scales. The dragon was having trouble staying up, and although it flapped its wings, it dipped low enough for Arden to swing underneath the beast and wedge her dagger between two scales. Perhaps it was Mena’s imagination, but the dragon almost flinched. It listed to one side, and touched down to the ground, favoring its injured wing. It had taken everything they had, but they had forced the dragon to the ground. Maybe they were finally doing some damage. Mena wanted—needed—to be back in the action. Chip. Chip. Chip.
Arden’s distraction gave Kormick the chance to clamber forward under the dragon’s wing, straight toward that same wing joint—
Mena tugged against the ice and with a crack her foot came free at last. She ran forward, every other step a stabbing pain—and ducked beneath the wing—and there was Kormick. She stabbed upward and pierced the dragon’s hide where its leg met its body. Kormick swung his hammer at the joint, and it buckled. “Again!” Mena said, and twisted her sword deeper. Kormick complied, and Mena heard a solid crack. That wing won’t work the same anymore she thought.
“We should do this more often,” Kormick grinned.
“Maybe not this, exactly,” Mena replied, as she retrieved her sword from the dragon’s hindquarter. She braced herself against Kormick for another upward stab. It connected. But we do make a good team.
Above her head, the dragon’s muscles tensed. It was trying to take off again. Its bad wing folded under, and Mena slashed at its membrane. She cut clear through, separating wing from bone. It bled, black ichorous blood. Tavi extended his flaming sword like a torch, and the membrane began to burn. Now it really won’t work the same.
The dragon used its other wing to rise from the ground. It was off-kilter, erratic, and no less frightening for that. As it rose higher and higher, it spewed icy breath down toward the ground. Shards tore at Mena again, but Twiggy, Aeton, and Kormick got the worst of it. Kormick fell forward and ice piled atop him, holding him to the ground as it had done to Mena. Mena immediately began chipping at the ice, and freed one of Kormick’s hands. He immediately set about at the rest of the ice with the sharp end of a warhammer. “Go get ‘im,” he said, as he picked away.
“Over here!” Mena heard Savina yell. The dragon heard it too, and whipped around to face Savina. It was high above their heads now, and poised to dive for another attack of talons and ice.
ellinor
Explorer
39x03
Mena struggled to free herself as the dragon lurched right for Savina.
Mena was frightened on the girl's behalf--but Savina looked more determined than scared. She held her holy symbol out in front of her like a weapon, and narrowed her eyes. “Down,” she commanded. Blue light radiated from the holy symbol toward the dragon.
The dragon stopped beating its wing and tumbled to earth with a shuddering thud. It roared—still loud, but no longer painfully so—and whipped its head down as if to attack Savina. It caught its neck in its torn and smoldering wing, and yowled in pain from the depths of its throat. Twiggy was still caught in the ice, but it didn’t stop her from casting, and the beast became even more tangled in itself. It fell to its side, exposing its belly.
It's vulnerable now, Mena thought Finally. Nyoko sunk two arrows in its underside and Arden did the same with a dagger. Twiggy let out a burst of fire, searing the wounds. But somehow the dragon righted itself and charged at Kormick, who was just freeing his last foot from the ice.
“Look out!” Mena yelled, but it was too late; the dragon closed its teeth around Kormick’s shoulder, pulled him from the ice, and lifted him from the ground. With his free hand, Kormick slammed a warhammer at the creature’s jaw. And slammed again.
“Don’t stop!” Mena cried out.
“Yes ma’am!” Kormick replied, and pounded again. The dragon dipped its head and let go, dropping Kormick a few feet to the ground. Kormick clambered to his feet and away from its head, wiping icy dirt from his cloak.
Blood streamed from the dragon’s eye and jaw. It lifted itself from the ground again, weak and wobbly but, Mena had no doubt, still dangerous. Twiggy, still caught in the ice, cast magic missile, but that did little harm, and soon the dragon was too high up for any of them to reach it.
“I’ve got this,” Tavi announced, and he teleported to the top of the cliff and threw his sword. It lodged in the back of the dragon’s neck and exploded into flame.
As the sword re-formed in Tavi’s hand, the dragon plummeted to the ground, burnt, bloody, and at long last, dead.
***
Inside the cave, Mena and Twiggy checked the walls for more writing. There was none. The cave held only a few animal carcasses and staggering amount of what Mena assumed was dragon dung. Savina poked a stick at a pile. “I thought dragons were supposed to have hordes of treasure.”
“They’re supposed to be wise, too,” Kormick called in from outside, “but we just beat one to death with hammers and fire.”
They returned outside, where Tavi had built a fire and was roasting hunks of dragon meat. “How often do you get to eat dragon meat?” he asked Aeton.
“Haven’t yet,” Aeton replied.
“Maybe there’s a reason it’s not a delicacy,” Rose said, waving away the smoke. “It smells terrible.”
“Or maybe,” Tavi smiled, “it’s just that they’re rare and hard to kill. And we get to say we’ve killed one.”
“How Ehktian of you,” said Rose.
“If we weren’t so far off the map, I’d say we should put a big red Ehktian X on this spot,” Tavi said.
“A big red Ekhtian X,” Twiggy mused. “Maybe that’s what the symbol on the map was.” She pulled out the map she’d copied from the Sheh cave wall. “There are a bunch of these symbols around the cave. They’re all a bunch of Xs, really. An X with slanty lines around it, and a little X with a line above it. Maybe that symbol means ‘danger.’”
“Hm,” Mena said. “It’s a more complicated symbol than the others. But the concept of danger is more complicated than, say, the concept of 'stream' or 'waterfall.'”
“The stream and waterfall both had wavy line symbols,” Savina commented, “and the wavy line reminds me a tiny bit of an Alirrian holy symbol. So maybe the wavy line means water.”
“The Sheh cave also had wavy lines,” Nyoko observed. “And there was no water there.”
“That cave was a shelter,” said Savina. “A place of safety. And the pond had wavy lines, too, but little ones. Shelter and water are both Alirrian. Maybe the wavy lines all denote something Alirrian.”
“Why not a big set of wavy lines for the pond, then?” Nyoko asked.
“Maybe the symbol wasn’t just about the pond,” Arden said. “The pond had fish, too.”
“They were delicious,” Kormick observed.
“They were,” Twiggy continued. “And if you want to make a useful map, you don’t need to tell people where to find a pond. You need to tell them where to find food. So this X with a wavy line must mean ‘animal.’ The map shows the fish—water animals—and over here, where we found the hoofprints, deer. Earth animals.”
“So the diamond is Kettenite,” Nyoko said. “Fitting.”
“And the swirl must be Sedellan,” said Mena, stabbing at the roasting dragon meat. “All those Ehktian Xs surrounding a swirl. Danger: there be dragons.”
“So there must be a difference between the big symbols and the small ones,” Twiggy said, taking off her glasses to squint at her notes.
“Parts of speech,” Kormick said. “The big ones are nouns. The little ones are adjectives. You basically already said it yourself.” Everyone turned to stare at him. He shrugged. “What, you’re surprised I know basic grammar?”
“Of course not,” Mena said. It made her wonder all the more about what Kormick was always writing in his little notebook. Maybe he’s secretly a poet, she thought, and chuckled inwardly.
Tavi handed around hunks of charred meat. Rose took a bite, chewed, and gagged. In fact that was more or less everyone’s reaction. Even Aeton lost enthusiasm as he chewed. Arden was the only one who swallowed hers, and Mena suspected that was only to keep Tavi company.
“So what have we learned?” Rose asked. “Dragon tastes terrible after all.”
“Or maybe we just didn’t have the right spices,” Tavi mused.
“Or maybe that we shouldn’t let Tavi prepare the food,” Twiggy smiled. “At least we’ve made some good progress on the language.”
Kormick shook his head. “But what good is a language, without any verbs?”
Mena struggled to free herself as the dragon lurched right for Savina.
Mena was frightened on the girl's behalf--but Savina looked more determined than scared. She held her holy symbol out in front of her like a weapon, and narrowed her eyes. “Down,” she commanded. Blue light radiated from the holy symbol toward the dragon.
The dragon stopped beating its wing and tumbled to earth with a shuddering thud. It roared—still loud, but no longer painfully so—and whipped its head down as if to attack Savina. It caught its neck in its torn and smoldering wing, and yowled in pain from the depths of its throat. Twiggy was still caught in the ice, but it didn’t stop her from casting, and the beast became even more tangled in itself. It fell to its side, exposing its belly.
It's vulnerable now, Mena thought Finally. Nyoko sunk two arrows in its underside and Arden did the same with a dagger. Twiggy let out a burst of fire, searing the wounds. But somehow the dragon righted itself and charged at Kormick, who was just freeing his last foot from the ice.
“Look out!” Mena yelled, but it was too late; the dragon closed its teeth around Kormick’s shoulder, pulled him from the ice, and lifted him from the ground. With his free hand, Kormick slammed a warhammer at the creature’s jaw. And slammed again.
“Don’t stop!” Mena cried out.
“Yes ma’am!” Kormick replied, and pounded again. The dragon dipped its head and let go, dropping Kormick a few feet to the ground. Kormick clambered to his feet and away from its head, wiping icy dirt from his cloak.
Blood streamed from the dragon’s eye and jaw. It lifted itself from the ground again, weak and wobbly but, Mena had no doubt, still dangerous. Twiggy, still caught in the ice, cast magic missile, but that did little harm, and soon the dragon was too high up for any of them to reach it.
“I’ve got this,” Tavi announced, and he teleported to the top of the cliff and threw his sword. It lodged in the back of the dragon’s neck and exploded into flame.
As the sword re-formed in Tavi’s hand, the dragon plummeted to the ground, burnt, bloody, and at long last, dead.
***
Inside the cave, Mena and Twiggy checked the walls for more writing. There was none. The cave held only a few animal carcasses and staggering amount of what Mena assumed was dragon dung. Savina poked a stick at a pile. “I thought dragons were supposed to have hordes of treasure.”
“They’re supposed to be wise, too,” Kormick called in from outside, “but we just beat one to death with hammers and fire.”
They returned outside, where Tavi had built a fire and was roasting hunks of dragon meat. “How often do you get to eat dragon meat?” he asked Aeton.
“Haven’t yet,” Aeton replied.
“Maybe there’s a reason it’s not a delicacy,” Rose said, waving away the smoke. “It smells terrible.”
“Or maybe,” Tavi smiled, “it’s just that they’re rare and hard to kill. And we get to say we’ve killed one.”
“How Ehktian of you,” said Rose.
“If we weren’t so far off the map, I’d say we should put a big red Ehktian X on this spot,” Tavi said.
“A big red Ekhtian X,” Twiggy mused. “Maybe that’s what the symbol on the map was.” She pulled out the map she’d copied from the Sheh cave wall. “There are a bunch of these symbols around the cave. They’re all a bunch of Xs, really. An X with slanty lines around it, and a little X with a line above it. Maybe that symbol means ‘danger.’”
“Hm,” Mena said. “It’s a more complicated symbol than the others. But the concept of danger is more complicated than, say, the concept of 'stream' or 'waterfall.'”
“The stream and waterfall both had wavy line symbols,” Savina commented, “and the wavy line reminds me a tiny bit of an Alirrian holy symbol. So maybe the wavy line means water.”
“The Sheh cave also had wavy lines,” Nyoko observed. “And there was no water there.”
“That cave was a shelter,” said Savina. “A place of safety. And the pond had wavy lines, too, but little ones. Shelter and water are both Alirrian. Maybe the wavy lines all denote something Alirrian.”
“Why not a big set of wavy lines for the pond, then?” Nyoko asked.
“Maybe the symbol wasn’t just about the pond,” Arden said. “The pond had fish, too.”
“They were delicious,” Kormick observed.
“They were,” Twiggy continued. “And if you want to make a useful map, you don’t need to tell people where to find a pond. You need to tell them where to find food. So this X with a wavy line must mean ‘animal.’ The map shows the fish—water animals—and over here, where we found the hoofprints, deer. Earth animals.”
“So the diamond is Kettenite,” Nyoko said. “Fitting.”
“And the swirl must be Sedellan,” said Mena, stabbing at the roasting dragon meat. “All those Ehktian Xs surrounding a swirl. Danger: there be dragons.”
“So there must be a difference between the big symbols and the small ones,” Twiggy said, taking off her glasses to squint at her notes.
“Parts of speech,” Kormick said. “The big ones are nouns. The little ones are adjectives. You basically already said it yourself.” Everyone turned to stare at him. He shrugged. “What, you’re surprised I know basic grammar?”
“Of course not,” Mena said. It made her wonder all the more about what Kormick was always writing in his little notebook. Maybe he’s secretly a poet, she thought, and chuckled inwardly.
Tavi handed around hunks of charred meat. Rose took a bite, chewed, and gagged. In fact that was more or less everyone’s reaction. Even Aeton lost enthusiasm as he chewed. Arden was the only one who swallowed hers, and Mena suspected that was only to keep Tavi company.
“So what have we learned?” Rose asked. “Dragon tastes terrible after all.”
“Or maybe we just didn’t have the right spices,” Tavi mused.
“Or maybe that we shouldn’t let Tavi prepare the food,” Twiggy smiled. “At least we’ve made some good progress on the language.”
Kormick shook his head. “But what good is a language, without any verbs?”
I'm loving the slow piecing together of the language -- another really elegant construction from Fajitas, which is also presenting an interesting challenge as I'm assembling the next chapter of the collected Story Hour... 
I'm guessing that the 'triple wavy line' glyph, which appears three times on the map, is actually a composite symbol. Like the 'animal' symbol (a wavy line combined with the Ehktian X) and the symbol that seems to indicate the dragon (a wavy line combined with the Sedellan spiral -- the whole thing meaning 'hazard', perhaps?), this one is a wavy line combined (or in this case, surmounted) with the two wavy lines that signify Alirria. If I'm right, this symbol would signify a whole new class of map feature ('plant', perhaps?), that can be modified by adjectives just as the others can (two of the three on the map are Alirrian, the other one is Kettenite).
That only leaves one anomalous symbol -- the small Sedellan spiral at the lower right that has the horizontal line below the spiral rather than above. I've no idea what this could mean, but I'm sure the party won't be able to resist going over there for much longer...
I'm guessing that the 'triple wavy line' glyph, which appears three times on the map, is actually a composite symbol. Like the 'animal' symbol (a wavy line combined with the Ehktian X) and the symbol that seems to indicate the dragon (a wavy line combined with the Sedellan spiral -- the whole thing meaning 'hazard', perhaps?), this one is a wavy line combined (or in this case, surmounted) with the two wavy lines that signify Alirria. If I'm right, this symbol would signify a whole new class of map feature ('plant', perhaps?), that can be modified by adjectives just as the others can (two of the three on the map are Alirrian, the other one is Kettenite).
That only leaves one anomalous symbol -- the small Sedellan spiral at the lower right that has the horizontal line below the spiral rather than above. I've no idea what this could mean, but I'm sure the party won't be able to resist going over there for much longer...
Similar Threads
AD6_gamerati_skyscraper
Recent & Upcoming Releases
-
April 16 2024 -
May 31 2024 -
June 3 2024 -
June 4 2024 -
June 18 2024 -
July 16 2024 -
September 17 2024 -
October 1 2024 -
November 12 2024 -
February 18 2025
