Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Barsoom Tales I - COMPLETE
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="barsoomcore" data-source="post: 1182932" data-attributes="member: 812"><p><strong>Bayonne Opera Blues -- Part Two -- Too Many Cooks</strong></p><p></p><p>The deep basso moaning of the parasaurs had become a constant in Philip's life. He looked to his right, upstream, at the unruffled surface of the Bayonne river rushing towards him. Autumn sunlight dappled off ripples and played at blinding him as the water swept under the bridge and out the other side, swinging in a wide curve around the wall of the city.</p><p></p><p>Bayonne. Home of Percival de Beliard, mercenary captain and former Marshal now calling himself King. And apparently in cahoots with the del Orofin Familia of Saijadan. The family Philip had sworn to destroy.</p><p></p><p>He slapped the reins and clucked to the big dinosaurs as the wagons ahead moved forward. Guards were checking every wagon, and traffic had backed up on the bridge. With a quick look around, Philip raised a hand a slipped the eyepatch off his face, revealing two perfectly normal brown eyes. He grimaced and hoped none of his companions would come out. Awkward questions he preferred to avoid.</p><p></p><p>There was probably a del Orofin in the city right now. Maybe even somebody important. Philip knew next to nothing about the organization of the Familia, only that they had orchestrated the destruction of everything he had ever loved. Just thinking about them, laden with power and wealth, pulling at their strings and crushing innocent people, made him angry enough to scowl.</p><p></p><p>His scowl deepened as he thought of his last run-in with the del Orofins. That sneaky, deceitful cow Collette de Maynard back in Fort Burnoll, who'd manipulated him into a duel and then arranged for his arrest. She'd made fools of them all. He scowled still more blackly.</p><p></p><p>A young fruit seller going past caught the edge of Philip's scowl and decided not to approach the burly Saijadani. He hurried to the wagons behind, calling up to the drovers and displaying skewer of melon slices.</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>Elena could make out the voice of a fruit seller calling from outside the wagon. Her throat tightened, dry and tired from the stuffiness inside the portable stage/dressing room they all sat in, crammed together, the dancers still giggling over Arrafin and Elena's transformations.</p><p></p><p>One of the girls had attached herself to Arrafin's side and plied the university student with questions about life at school and classes and books. Questions that came right back to her, as Arrafin seemed as fascinated with the rootless life of an itinerant performer as said performer seemed about the sheltered life of a university student.</p><p></p><p>"I can read."</p><p></p><p>The dancer's name was Bel. She raised her delicate chin slightly as she announced her skill, obviously proud but also intimidated by the great intellect sitting next to her.</p><p></p><p>The great intellect widened her eyes and shook her fluffy halo of unruly curls.</p><p></p><p>"Wow. I mean, that's great. I guess... Great. You can read. Me too."</p><p></p><p>Arrafin smiled.</p><p></p><p>Elena stifled a chuckle, then sighed as she shifted position yet again, bumping against Hinsuan legs to all sides of her. Costumes hung amongst them, swaying with every motion of the wagon. Outside, parasaur bellows sounded like slow-motion waves crashing against some distant shore.</p><p></p><p>"You walk the path of the mother."</p><p></p><p>Since last night, Elena had pondered these words of Kalibar's. She hadn't had a chance to talk to the old fellow yet, and curiousity consumed her. She thought back to her home, to that bizarre, horrible day when everything changed.</p><p></p><p><em>The road was just as she remembered. Elena strode easily along the elderly cobblestones, following the curve around the trike paddock. The big horned creatures called out to one another, croaking rumbling cries that echoed each other with oddly comforting repetition. She grinned, repressing both excitement and concern. Surely Daniel would know that she would return in time? He would understand that she'd just needed some time to herself, to think about things apart from their families.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>He'd be waiting for her.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>She grinned again. He'd better be.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Daniel's family had situated the villa near the same creek that wound through the de los Santos farm. Willows overhung the banks, trailing green fingers in the murky, slow-moving water. The villa, Elena could see as she came down the birch-lined road, had been festooned with banners. With a frown, Elena counted sigils of at least four of Las Familias, indicating their official blessing on today's event.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Elena quickened her pace. Normally such displays were reserved for important occasions, like funerals or weddings. But there wouldn't be a wedding here. Not today.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>She was running as she came around the courtyard gate but stopped dead at the sight there.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Daniel looked tremendously handsome. The formal suit, black and red and silver, fit him perfectly and with his hair coiffed like that he was a far cry from the grubby boy Elena had known all her life. She smiled in spite of herself at the sight. Her wedding day.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>It was what stood next to him that froze Elena's smile in place, that sent her reeling back from the scene before anyone noticed her.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>It WAS her wedding day. There she was. Standing up next to Daniel.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Elena shook her head violently, trying to tell herself this was a dream.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>It wasn't. Elena stared at the other woman. Herself. Certainly her. The faint scar across her left cheek. The stance, the hair. Even painted and done up and wearing the dress her mother had made, it was her. Standing there.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Elena's heaving cries did not disturb the willows at all as she ran. The dinosaurs in the paddock never stopped their braying as she passed, back out along the old road, into confusion and darkness.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>She could never go home again. They'd replaced her.</em></p><p></p><p>Elena returned to her present situation as the wagon started forward with a jolt, startling her out her near-drowse. She scowled and rubbed moodily at the rouge on her lips, causing one of the girls to squawk in alarm and descend on her, brush at the ready.</p><p></p><p>*****</p><p></p><p>Nevid clutched at the reins and tried to look like he knew what he was doing as the big dinosaurs began plodding forward. Philip had assured him that the second wagon's beasts would just follow the first wagon's, and to his great relief, that seemed to be true. He held the reins limply, trying not to stare around him too much.</p><p></p><p>The Gap was vastly different from Saijadan. Nevid felt a very long way from home. The great cities of Saijadan -- Cadencia, Mataleo, Burnoll -- were home to well-dressed, swaggering bravos with keen wits and keener rapiers. Countless factions schemed and brewed plots in the baroque architecture or among sunny gardens. Bayonne seemed like a muddy border town by comparision, where the warriors carried massive battle blades and wore half-finished furs over great swathes of plate metal. It seemed like he had gone backward in time to some savage epoch of ancient tales.</p><p></p><p>The bridge was packed with wagons, dinosaurs, soldiers, merchants, beggars, a furious whirlwind of sound roiling all about the young man. He looked forward at the gate, a purely functional structure of rough granite, towering above all the traffic like some patient monster lying still as food poured willingly down its throat.</p><p></p><p>Nevid shook his head. This was still Family business, and Family business was what he was trained to handle. Somewhere in this city some scheming del Orofin minions were trying to pull off an international tax scam at the expense of the people of the Gap and Saijadan, and at the risk of destabilizing this whole area, making it vulnerable to Kishak armies. Contracts, negotiations and legal obfuscation. Nevid grinned.</p><p></p><p>This was his idea of adventure.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="barsoomcore, post: 1182932, member: 812"] [b]Bayonne Opera Blues -- Part Two -- Too Many Cooks[/b] The deep basso moaning of the parasaurs had become a constant in Philip's life. He looked to his right, upstream, at the unruffled surface of the Bayonne river rushing towards him. Autumn sunlight dappled off ripples and played at blinding him as the water swept under the bridge and out the other side, swinging in a wide curve around the wall of the city. Bayonne. Home of Percival de Beliard, mercenary captain and former Marshal now calling himself King. And apparently in cahoots with the del Orofin Familia of Saijadan. The family Philip had sworn to destroy. He slapped the reins and clucked to the big dinosaurs as the wagons ahead moved forward. Guards were checking every wagon, and traffic had backed up on the bridge. With a quick look around, Philip raised a hand a slipped the eyepatch off his face, revealing two perfectly normal brown eyes. He grimaced and hoped none of his companions would come out. Awkward questions he preferred to avoid. There was probably a del Orofin in the city right now. Maybe even somebody important. Philip knew next to nothing about the organization of the Familia, only that they had orchestrated the destruction of everything he had ever loved. Just thinking about them, laden with power and wealth, pulling at their strings and crushing innocent people, made him angry enough to scowl. His scowl deepened as he thought of his last run-in with the del Orofins. That sneaky, deceitful cow Collette de Maynard back in Fort Burnoll, who'd manipulated him into a duel and then arranged for his arrest. She'd made fools of them all. He scowled still more blackly. A young fruit seller going past caught the edge of Philip's scowl and decided not to approach the burly Saijadani. He hurried to the wagons behind, calling up to the drovers and displaying skewer of melon slices. ***** Elena could make out the voice of a fruit seller calling from outside the wagon. Her throat tightened, dry and tired from the stuffiness inside the portable stage/dressing room they all sat in, crammed together, the dancers still giggling over Arrafin and Elena's transformations. One of the girls had attached herself to Arrafin's side and plied the university student with questions about life at school and classes and books. Questions that came right back to her, as Arrafin seemed as fascinated with the rootless life of an itinerant performer as said performer seemed about the sheltered life of a university student. "I can read." The dancer's name was Bel. She raised her delicate chin slightly as she announced her skill, obviously proud but also intimidated by the great intellect sitting next to her. The great intellect widened her eyes and shook her fluffy halo of unruly curls. "Wow. I mean, that's great. I guess... Great. You can read. Me too." Arrafin smiled. Elena stifled a chuckle, then sighed as she shifted position yet again, bumping against Hinsuan legs to all sides of her. Costumes hung amongst them, swaying with every motion of the wagon. Outside, parasaur bellows sounded like slow-motion waves crashing against some distant shore. "You walk the path of the mother." Since last night, Elena had pondered these words of Kalibar's. She hadn't had a chance to talk to the old fellow yet, and curiousity consumed her. She thought back to her home, to that bizarre, horrible day when everything changed. [i]The road was just as she remembered. Elena strode easily along the elderly cobblestones, following the curve around the trike paddock. The big horned creatures called out to one another, croaking rumbling cries that echoed each other with oddly comforting repetition. She grinned, repressing both excitement and concern. Surely Daniel would know that she would return in time? He would understand that she'd just needed some time to herself, to think about things apart from their families. He'd be waiting for her. She grinned again. He'd better be. Daniel's family had situated the villa near the same creek that wound through the de los Santos farm. Willows overhung the banks, trailing green fingers in the murky, slow-moving water. The villa, Elena could see as she came down the birch-lined road, had been festooned with banners. With a frown, Elena counted sigils of at least four of Las Familias, indicating their official blessing on today's event. Elena quickened her pace. Normally such displays were reserved for important occasions, like funerals or weddings. But there wouldn't be a wedding here. Not today. She was running as she came around the courtyard gate but stopped dead at the sight there. Daniel looked tremendously handsome. The formal suit, black and red and silver, fit him perfectly and with his hair coiffed like that he was a far cry from the grubby boy Elena had known all her life. She smiled in spite of herself at the sight. Her wedding day. It was what stood next to him that froze Elena's smile in place, that sent her reeling back from the scene before anyone noticed her. It WAS her wedding day. There she was. Standing up next to Daniel. Elena shook her head violently, trying to tell herself this was a dream. It wasn't. Elena stared at the other woman. Herself. Certainly her. The faint scar across her left cheek. The stance, the hair. Even painted and done up and wearing the dress her mother had made, it was her. Standing there. Elena's heaving cries did not disturb the willows at all as she ran. The dinosaurs in the paddock never stopped their braying as she passed, back out along the old road, into confusion and darkness. She could never go home again. They'd replaced her.[/i] Elena returned to her present situation as the wagon started forward with a jolt, startling her out her near-drowse. She scowled and rubbed moodily at the rouge on her lips, causing one of the girls to squawk in alarm and descend on her, brush at the ready. ***** Nevid clutched at the reins and tried to look like he knew what he was doing as the big dinosaurs began plodding forward. Philip had assured him that the second wagon's beasts would just follow the first wagon's, and to his great relief, that seemed to be true. He held the reins limply, trying not to stare around him too much. The Gap was vastly different from Saijadan. Nevid felt a very long way from home. The great cities of Saijadan -- Cadencia, Mataleo, Burnoll -- were home to well-dressed, swaggering bravos with keen wits and keener rapiers. Countless factions schemed and brewed plots in the baroque architecture or among sunny gardens. Bayonne seemed like a muddy border town by comparision, where the warriors carried massive battle blades and wore half-finished furs over great swathes of plate metal. It seemed like he had gone backward in time to some savage epoch of ancient tales. The bridge was packed with wagons, dinosaurs, soldiers, merchants, beggars, a furious whirlwind of sound roiling all about the young man. He looked forward at the gate, a purely functional structure of rough granite, towering above all the traffic like some patient monster lying still as food poured willingly down its throat. Nevid shook his head. This was still Family business, and Family business was what he was trained to handle. Somewhere in this city some scheming del Orofin minions were trying to pull off an international tax scam at the expense of the people of the Gap and Saijadan, and at the risk of destabilizing this whole area, making it vulnerable to Kishak armies. Contracts, negotiations and legal obfuscation. Nevid grinned. This was his idea of adventure. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Barsoom Tales I - COMPLETE
Top