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A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
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<blockquote data-quote="ellinor" data-source="post: 6159255" data-attributes="member: 14561"><p><strong>33x01</strong></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #FF8C00">Thanks for the warm re-welcome! With no further ado:</span></p><p></p><p><strong>33x01</strong></p><p></p><p>Tavi listened carefully to the rustling branches. Still only wind. By the rays of the moonlight, he began to explore for signs of where Rose could have gone. Savina was healing everyone, and Twiggy was reading from her magic map. They were in a small, forested valley, surrounded by mountains, with no structures of any sort in the map’s radius. </p><p></p><p>“She’s probably in a cave somewhere,” Tavi said. He remembered playing hide-and-seek with Rose and Twiggy when they were kids. Twiggy had ended up in the kitchen’s coal scuttle, and had to be freed by the butler. Rose had been under her bed the whole time. “This is my cave,” Rose had said from beneath the bed, as the butler dragged the coal-covered Twiggy toward a bath. “Come on in.” </p><p></p><p>Tavi spotted a bit of torn fabric caught on a branch, and beneath it, a few sticks arranged in the shape of an arrow. “This way!” he announced. They followed Rose’s markers, spotting them in the moonlight, until they reached the mouth of a cave. They inched toward it cautiously. </p><p></p><p>Tavi heard flapping and caught a gust of wind. Something flew toward him from the darkness. He ducked and shut his eyes…and Whisper landed on the top of his head.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #EE82EE">Hey! Move! That’s my spot!</span> thought Phoebe.</p><p></p><p>Tavi was too relieved to tell Phoebe to be quiet.</p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>Kormick brandished his hammer and followed Whisper into the cave. </p><p></p><p>Rose sat in the glow of a small fire. “Glad you could make it.”</p><p></p><p>“It isn’t pretty out there,” Kormick replied.</p><p></p><p>“No kidding,” Rose said. </p><p></p><p>Tavi reached down to help her up, and she threw her arms around him. “Really. I’m glad you made it.” Her voice cracked as the tension of her wait came flowing out in long, ragged sighs. She hugged Savina, and Twiggy, then Mena, one by one.</p><p></p><p>“You’re fine, kiddo. You did well. Good job with the arrow markers,” Kormick said.</p><p></p><p>Twiggy arranged the components for the scroll of <em>linked portal</em> that Miele had sent with them. She began casting. “Something’s wrong,” she said. “I can feel something trying to push in. But it’s faint, as if I’m listening to something from under a blanket. It’s coming from that direction—” she pointed southwest, toward whatever had pushed Rose from the original teleport. “Whoever it is, they know we’re here.”</p><p></p><p>The runes glowed brighter. There was a rustling at the mouth of the cave. A sharpened stick flew into the cave and shattered at Kormick’s feet. Then another. One caught Tavi’s ankle. A high-pitched chittering came from outside. The lemurs were regrouping.</p><p></p><p>Tavi shoved Rose into the teleport circle. She disappeared. Savina stepped in, and Kormick dove in behind her, dragging Mena, who grabbed Arden. The world went white. Then they were all in a heap on the floor of the Teleport Center in Overlook. Everyone was there. Miele stood over them.</p><p></p><p>Kormick looked up from the bottom of the heap. “Some very strange monkeys may be following us.” </p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>“If we don’t do something, this will just keep happening,” Savina said. They were all gathered in a private room at the Overlook Teleport Center, deciding their next move. “We need to be able to teleport safely.”</p><p></p><p>“They could find us on the main roads and in the teleport,” Kormick pointed out, “but not in the city. Whoever it was had a limited idea of where to look for us.” </p><p></p><p>“But until we get to Divine Mark, we’ll be on the main roads,” Tavi pointed out. </p><p></p><p>“Well, we know something about them now,” Twiggy said. “They have a mix of arcane and divine magic, and they’re…” Twiggy motioned toward a place on the large map of the Ketkath that hung on the wall “somewhere in this area. I could feel the energy, and it was coming from the same place Goodman Miele identified before. Whoever it is, they would have had to set up something pretty elaborate to push Rose out of the teleport like that.”</p><p></p><p>“We are expected in Divine Mark,” Unsuku said. “When Lady Akiko-san calls, one does not just wander off into the woods and keep her waiting.”</p><p></p><p>Nyoko raised an inscrutable eyebrow. </p><p></p><p>“I have an idea,” Twiggy said, and called Miele into the room. “Can you help us scry the location where the teleport meddling originated?”</p><p> </p><p>Together, they built a scrying pool. In the water, Savina could see some feathers and leaves . . . and an old Alirrian symbol. That seemed surprisingly promising. “Maybe this is someone we can just have a conversation with,” she said. “We can get another scroll of <em>Linked Portal</em> from Goodman Miele. We can go right there, and come right back. No wandering at all,” she said, staring at Unsuku.</p><p></p><p>It was decided.</p><p></p><p>“We’ll be ready to send you off first thing in the morning,” Miele said, with a deep bow to Tavi.</p><p></p><p>###</p><p></p><p>The next morning, they all rose with Savina. Twiggy packed as Savina prayed, and they arrived at the Teleport Center shortly after dawn. Miele was ready, waiting. Twiggy wondered whether he had slept. </p><p></p><p>They gathered in the teleport circle. The world went white.</p><p></p><p>And then they were in a cave. A small one, but they were all in it—together. <em>Already better than last time,</em> Twiggy thought. They stood on a raised stone platform, surrounded by runes, feathers, and shards of tile, each with different patterns. The arrangement looked wrong to Twiggy, as if someone had had a teleport circle described to them, but had never seen one before. To the side was a small pool of water—for scrying, Twiggy presumed. </p><p></p><p>“We’re in the side of a mountain,” Kormick announced. The morning sun began to stream in the cave mouth, illuminating the walls of the cave. They were covered with glyphs and icons that Twiggy couldn’t understand.</p><p></p><p>“These are Alirrian,” Savina said. “They’re for consecrating a space. But they look old, somehow. Used.”</p><p></p><p>“Maybe refugees stayed here to keep away from the Sovereigns,” Tavi suggested. </p><p></p><p>Twiggy picked up a shard of tile and cast <em>object read</em> to see its past. Her vision began with a view of a plaster ceiling—it must have been a floor tile—until a woman came into view. She had gray-blonde hair peeking from a scarf, and wore the simple Alirrian shift of a Tender. Her features were unclear. Twiggy could see the room behind her. It was a Teleport Center. <em>These tiles must be from the floors of different Teleport Centers across the Halmae, Twiggy realized. Perhaps a way of knowing when we were teleporting. Whoever this is, she’s just been waiting for us to teleport.</em> Then the Tender in her vision leaned forward, threw a powder, and seemed to speak. There was a flash.</p><p></p><p>Then another vision. Under a blue sky. No buildings, but then the face of the Tender. She concentrated for a moment, and spoke again.</p><p></p><p>Then the third and last vision. A flash of light, then the Tender’s face. Her eyes widened, then she turned away and ducked down. It was in this cave. </p><p></p><p>Twiggy explained the visions. “Sorry they’re not more help,” Twiggy said. </p><p></p><p>“At least we know now that the teleport circle has something to do with a Tender,” Savina said. “That must be a good sign.”</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #8B4513">BEHIND YOU!</span> Acorn suddenly screamed in Twiggy’s head. Twiggy ducked reflexively. <span style="color: #8B4513">Not down! It’s a rat!</span></p><p></p><p>Savina pointed at the rat. “Stop,” she <em>commanded</em>. It did.</p><p></p><p>Nyoko peered at the rat. “What’s this?” she asked, pointing to its neck. There was a thin ribbon tied around the rat, holding a small bundle of feathers and moss.</p><p></p><p>Twiggy identified it as a scrying sensor. “Someone’s watching us through it.” She instantly felt unsafe. “Probably that Tender.”</p><p></p><p>Savina spoke to the rat. “I don’t know why you’re trying to harm us, but what we’re doing is good. I’d hate to oppose an honest Alirrian without need. We will not harm your creature. We will wait here until dusk if you wish to meet.”</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #8B4513">Really? We won’t harm it?”</span> Acorn asked. <span style="color: #8B4513">But it’s a rat!</span></p><p></p><p>And so they sat at the mouth of the cave and waited, as the sun passed overhead.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ellinor, post: 6159255, member: 14561"] [b]33x01[/b] [COLOR="#FF8C00"]Thanks for the warm re-welcome! With no further ado:[/COLOR] [b]33x01[/b] Tavi listened carefully to the rustling branches. Still only wind. By the rays of the moonlight, he began to explore for signs of where Rose could have gone. Savina was healing everyone, and Twiggy was reading from her magic map. They were in a small, forested valley, surrounded by mountains, with no structures of any sort in the map’s radius. “She’s probably in a cave somewhere,” Tavi said. He remembered playing hide-and-seek with Rose and Twiggy when they were kids. Twiggy had ended up in the kitchen’s coal scuttle, and had to be freed by the butler. Rose had been under her bed the whole time. “This is my cave,” Rose had said from beneath the bed, as the butler dragged the coal-covered Twiggy toward a bath. “Come on in.” Tavi spotted a bit of torn fabric caught on a branch, and beneath it, a few sticks arranged in the shape of an arrow. “This way!” he announced. They followed Rose’s markers, spotting them in the moonlight, until they reached the mouth of a cave. They inched toward it cautiously. Tavi heard flapping and caught a gust of wind. Something flew toward him from the darkness. He ducked and shut his eyes…and Whisper landed on the top of his head. [COLOR="#EE82EE"]Hey! Move! That’s my spot![/COLOR] thought Phoebe. Tavi was too relieved to tell Phoebe to be quiet. ### Kormick brandished his hammer and followed Whisper into the cave. Rose sat in the glow of a small fire. “Glad you could make it.” “It isn’t pretty out there,” Kormick replied. “No kidding,” Rose said. Tavi reached down to help her up, and she threw her arms around him. “Really. I’m glad you made it.” Her voice cracked as the tension of her wait came flowing out in long, ragged sighs. She hugged Savina, and Twiggy, then Mena, one by one. “You’re fine, kiddo. You did well. Good job with the arrow markers,” Kormick said. Twiggy arranged the components for the scroll of [i]linked portal[/i] that Miele had sent with them. She began casting. “Something’s wrong,” she said. “I can feel something trying to push in. But it’s faint, as if I’m listening to something from under a blanket. It’s coming from that direction—” she pointed southwest, toward whatever had pushed Rose from the original teleport. “Whoever it is, they know we’re here.” The runes glowed brighter. There was a rustling at the mouth of the cave. A sharpened stick flew into the cave and shattered at Kormick’s feet. Then another. One caught Tavi’s ankle. A high-pitched chittering came from outside. The lemurs were regrouping. Tavi shoved Rose into the teleport circle. She disappeared. Savina stepped in, and Kormick dove in behind her, dragging Mena, who grabbed Arden. The world went white. Then they were all in a heap on the floor of the Teleport Center in Overlook. Everyone was there. Miele stood over them. Kormick looked up from the bottom of the heap. “Some very strange monkeys may be following us.” ### “If we don’t do something, this will just keep happening,” Savina said. They were all gathered in a private room at the Overlook Teleport Center, deciding their next move. “We need to be able to teleport safely.” “They could find us on the main roads and in the teleport,” Kormick pointed out, “but not in the city. Whoever it was had a limited idea of where to look for us.” “But until we get to Divine Mark, we’ll be on the main roads,” Tavi pointed out. “Well, we know something about them now,” Twiggy said. “They have a mix of arcane and divine magic, and they’re…” Twiggy motioned toward a place on the large map of the Ketkath that hung on the wall “somewhere in this area. I could feel the energy, and it was coming from the same place Goodman Miele identified before. Whoever it is, they would have had to set up something pretty elaborate to push Rose out of the teleport like that.” “We are expected in Divine Mark,” Unsuku said. “When Lady Akiko-san calls, one does not just wander off into the woods and keep her waiting.” Nyoko raised an inscrutable eyebrow. “I have an idea,” Twiggy said, and called Miele into the room. “Can you help us scry the location where the teleport meddling originated?” Together, they built a scrying pool. In the water, Savina could see some feathers and leaves . . . and an old Alirrian symbol. That seemed surprisingly promising. “Maybe this is someone we can just have a conversation with,” she said. “We can get another scroll of [i]Linked Portal[/i] from Goodman Miele. We can go right there, and come right back. No wandering at all,” she said, staring at Unsuku. It was decided. “We’ll be ready to send you off first thing in the morning,” Miele said, with a deep bow to Tavi. ### The next morning, they all rose with Savina. Twiggy packed as Savina prayed, and they arrived at the Teleport Center shortly after dawn. Miele was ready, waiting. Twiggy wondered whether he had slept. They gathered in the teleport circle. The world went white. And then they were in a cave. A small one, but they were all in it—together. [i]Already better than last time,[/i] Twiggy thought. They stood on a raised stone platform, surrounded by runes, feathers, and shards of tile, each with different patterns. The arrangement looked wrong to Twiggy, as if someone had had a teleport circle described to them, but had never seen one before. To the side was a small pool of water—for scrying, Twiggy presumed. “We’re in the side of a mountain,” Kormick announced. The morning sun began to stream in the cave mouth, illuminating the walls of the cave. They were covered with glyphs and icons that Twiggy couldn’t understand. “These are Alirrian,” Savina said. “They’re for consecrating a space. But they look old, somehow. Used.” “Maybe refugees stayed here to keep away from the Sovereigns,” Tavi suggested. Twiggy picked up a shard of tile and cast [i]object read[/i] to see its past. Her vision began with a view of a plaster ceiling—it must have been a floor tile—until a woman came into view. She had gray-blonde hair peeking from a scarf, and wore the simple Alirrian shift of a Tender. Her features were unclear. Twiggy could see the room behind her. It was a Teleport Center. [i]These tiles must be from the floors of different Teleport Centers across the Halmae, Twiggy realized. Perhaps a way of knowing when we were teleporting. Whoever this is, she’s just been waiting for us to teleport.[/i] Then the Tender in her vision leaned forward, threw a powder, and seemed to speak. There was a flash. Then another vision. Under a blue sky. No buildings, but then the face of the Tender. She concentrated for a moment, and spoke again. Then the third and last vision. A flash of light, then the Tender’s face. Her eyes widened, then she turned away and ducked down. It was in this cave. Twiggy explained the visions. “Sorry they’re not more help,” Twiggy said. “At least we know now that the teleport circle has something to do with a Tender,” Savina said. “That must be a good sign.” [COLOR="#8B4513"]BEHIND YOU![/COLOR] Acorn suddenly screamed in Twiggy’s head. Twiggy ducked reflexively. [COLOR="#8B4513"]Not down! It’s a rat![/COLOR] Savina pointed at the rat. “Stop,” she [i]commanded[/i]. It did. Nyoko peered at the rat. “What’s this?” she asked, pointing to its neck. There was a thin ribbon tied around the rat, holding a small bundle of feathers and moss. Twiggy identified it as a scrying sensor. “Someone’s watching us through it.” She instantly felt unsafe. “Probably that Tender.” Savina spoke to the rat. “I don’t know why you’re trying to harm us, but what we’re doing is good. I’d hate to oppose an honest Alirrian without need. We will not harm your creature. We will wait here until dusk if you wish to meet.” [COLOR="#8B4513"]Really? We won’t harm it?”[/COLOR] Acorn asked. [COLOR="#8B4513"]But it’s a rat![/COLOR] And so they sat at the mouth of the cave and waited, as the sun passed overhead. [/QUOTE]
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A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
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