Session 45 (March 16, 2009)
2 Skard (continued)
We send for a redactor, and get an old woman. A very elderly (several hundred years old) half-elf is the first to respond. We swear her to secrecy. “On my honor and on my father’s honor, who was a Sindarim of the Forest of Singing Leaves, I so swear.”
Kit begins explaining how she coordinates her spy network and shows the redactor the fan.
“This is a powerful artifact. They built it to be usable by humans, but perhaps without the fullest understanding of humans. Things they would find easy to do mentally I find most difficult. Humans are a step weaker. The artificer made it so that it could be used by a human, but it was probably beyond her ability to limit its draw so that someone much weaker than me could use it easily.”
“Ah. That sounds like what happened. I was using it for a long period, with great need, and when I came out of it, I was ravenously hungry and covered in ice.”
“You should eat heartily after each time you use it. And other members of the Court who are aware of this should keep an eye on you. If you wait too long before you leave the trance, it can lower your body temperature, which can grievously harm or even kill. With practice, we can probably double the length of time you can safely use this within a few months. Have you had meat, cheese? High protein foods are best.”
“There are important people I need to contact, that I can only reach through the fan.”
“Then I will provide you with the energy. We will do a small version of a metaconcert. It must not extend beyond 5 minutes.”
Redactor: Variana of the House of Laranthiana
* * *
Kit contacts the little boy in Brightspan.
He is intently listening to the priest haranguing the crowd, but he’s watching the men of the village fighting the fires. He is clearly alright, but a number of people have been brought out of the buildings that were hit by the fireballs and are being triaged. The crowd is very scared, not particularly angry, there is murmuring but more of the fearful type than anything else. After a moment, the priest finishes and joins the acolytes and the 20 people or so who are laid out on the ground.
Kit looks at the child’s mother, who looks to be human—the child’s father is probably not human.
<<Are you alright?>>
<<I’m alright. Mommy’s alright. But some other people were hurt. I don’t think he’s coming back. I knew he was there ever since you told me so months and months ago before the great lady passed over, but he never budged. I knew because you told me so, and you always tell me the truth.>>
<<I’m going to tell you the truth again. I’m someone different. I’m still your friend, and I’ll still tell you the truth.>>
Pause and thought. <<Did she go with the Great Lady? Mommy told me some people did…>>
<<I’m sorry.>>
<<Are we still special?>>
<<You are still very special.>>
<<Okay. Do you look different?>>
<<Yes, I look different.>>
<<Okay. And do I still serve the Archduke?>>
<<You do. There are many people who will be saved because of you.>>
<<Okay. Should I send the weasels down the tunnels to make sure nothing is left?>>
<<Yes! I didn’t know you have weasels.>>
<<Animals like me.>>
<<Do you have other animals?>>
<<Chipmunks and squirrels, but they aren’t as smart as the weasels.>>
<<She came to the village when I was only six. And she spoke to me in my mind. And she said I could serve the Great Lady and her family, and that they would always take care of my mommy and me.>>
<<We will.>>
He gasps and looks up, and you see a beautiful ship with butterfly wings and a hull of crystal flying past, faster than the demons were going.
<<See that ship?>>
<<Elves!>>
<<Because you told us there was trouble, we sent elves to help.>>
<<Wow… I won’t know what the weasels say until tomorrow morning.>>
[cont'd]
2 Skard (continued)
We send for a redactor, and get an old woman. A very elderly (several hundred years old) half-elf is the first to respond. We swear her to secrecy. “On my honor and on my father’s honor, who was a Sindarim of the Forest of Singing Leaves, I so swear.”
Kit begins explaining how she coordinates her spy network and shows the redactor the fan.
“This is a powerful artifact. They built it to be usable by humans, but perhaps without the fullest understanding of humans. Things they would find easy to do mentally I find most difficult. Humans are a step weaker. The artificer made it so that it could be used by a human, but it was probably beyond her ability to limit its draw so that someone much weaker than me could use it easily.”
“Ah. That sounds like what happened. I was using it for a long period, with great need, and when I came out of it, I was ravenously hungry and covered in ice.”
“You should eat heartily after each time you use it. And other members of the Court who are aware of this should keep an eye on you. If you wait too long before you leave the trance, it can lower your body temperature, which can grievously harm or even kill. With practice, we can probably double the length of time you can safely use this within a few months. Have you had meat, cheese? High protein foods are best.”
“There are important people I need to contact, that I can only reach through the fan.”
“Then I will provide you with the energy. We will do a small version of a metaconcert. It must not extend beyond 5 minutes.”
Redactor: Variana of the House of Laranthiana
* * *
Kit contacts the little boy in Brightspan.
He is intently listening to the priest haranguing the crowd, but he’s watching the men of the village fighting the fires. He is clearly alright, but a number of people have been brought out of the buildings that were hit by the fireballs and are being triaged. The crowd is very scared, not particularly angry, there is murmuring but more of the fearful type than anything else. After a moment, the priest finishes and joins the acolytes and the 20 people or so who are laid out on the ground.
Kit looks at the child’s mother, who looks to be human—the child’s father is probably not human.
<<Are you alright?>>
<<I’m alright. Mommy’s alright. But some other people were hurt. I don’t think he’s coming back. I knew he was there ever since you told me so months and months ago before the great lady passed over, but he never budged. I knew because you told me so, and you always tell me the truth.>>
<<I’m going to tell you the truth again. I’m someone different. I’m still your friend, and I’ll still tell you the truth.>>
Pause and thought. <<Did she go with the Great Lady? Mommy told me some people did…>>
<<I’m sorry.>>
<<Are we still special?>>
<<You are still very special.>>
<<Okay. Do you look different?>>
<<Yes, I look different.>>
<<Okay. And do I still serve the Archduke?>>
<<You do. There are many people who will be saved because of you.>>
<<Okay. Should I send the weasels down the tunnels to make sure nothing is left?>>
<<Yes! I didn’t know you have weasels.>>
<<Animals like me.>>
<<Do you have other animals?>>
<<Chipmunks and squirrels, but they aren’t as smart as the weasels.>>
<<She came to the village when I was only six. And she spoke to me in my mind. And she said I could serve the Great Lady and her family, and that they would always take care of my mommy and me.>>
<<We will.>>
He gasps and looks up, and you see a beautiful ship with butterfly wings and a hull of crystal flying past, faster than the demons were going.
<<See that ship?>>
<<Elves!>>
<<Because you told us there was trouble, we sent elves to help.>>
<<Wow… I won’t know what the weasels say until tomorrow morning.>>
[cont'd]