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Message: <blockquote data-quote="simmo" data-source="post: 1390207" data-attributes="member: 9744">chapter 2 Guess Who's Back in TownStanding on the banks of the wide placid river in the fields of Elysium at the edge of Tomeri's realm, goddess of Love and Wisdom; Serena and her friends could see the metallic gleam in the distance of the great modron march meandering down through the hills towards the colourful port city Haven. Moving like a great snake of flesh and metal it crawled and flew over the hills with perfect precision, cutting a straight line across the land towards the river.Malkir managed to get the attention of a ship captain before he was about to set sail for Haven and they all jumped aboard the ship. Even Caleb who was normally reluctant to take his feet off the ground for any reason climbed in to the boat relatively quickly. The mephits scrambled to the front of the ship and fought over who got to stand on the figurehead of the ship. The ooze mephit let the mineral and earth mephits fight over it and quietly climbed on the top of the mermaids head with its wings and arms outstretched behind it towards the heavens.Caleb joined in with the oarsmen in rowing the ship across the water. They'd been busy all day trying to ferry people across and were grateful of the extra strength that he provided. His muscles straining from the effort and glistening with sweat, he positively glowed with vigour in the Elysium sunlight."My Lady," Zakar growled somewhat apprehensively. "If the hour of need is great indeed then you may call for additionally help.""From the Garden?" Serena stood at the edge of the ship watching the panic in the distance taking place in the dock front of Haven."No," corrected the hound archon. "From one who stands watch over the Garden."Serena cast him a questioning look, but was interrupted by Malkir who had walked over from the other side of the ship. He asked Serena to recall the words that Kendrick had used in his description of how to get help. Taking the instructions apart word for word they realised that Kendrick had talked about refracting the light and not reflecting the light. "Crystals are your thing," commented the mystic."OK, I will do it." Serena said agreeing to climb the huge tree that reached higher that the tallest tower in the city. Malkir sat on the deck patiently waiting for the ship to reach Haven."I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO," Caleb was still pulling on his oar. The captain had already moved another man to the opposite oar to compensate for the difference in strength and weight. He was considering moving another man, but decided to wait and see how long the genasi could keep up his pace."My Lady," Zakar began, impatient with the slow speed of the ship. "Please pardon my impertinence. But I will call her on your behalf."Suddenly the heart seer of Tomeri realised whom her hound archon was referring to. "Eliel," she said.Serena felt a moment of soothing warmth next to her chest and then the air above her was filled with a soft, silver light. The light faded and was replaced with a female figure with shining wings whose beauty was simply beyond words. The sailors gasped and cried out when they saw her and fell to their knees in adulation of the divine servant of Tomeri. The female figure's wings beat slowly and gently. Each wing beat causing a wave of pure and innocent love to fill all those who looked upon her.The planetar wore a white robe and carried a sturdy silver sword. In her other arm she cradled a large green gem-stone that pulsed with an inner light. The angel smiled at Serena washing away all her fears. The seer felt as if her heart was soaring above the clouds and that she was finally coming home. Again the planetar's wings beat, sending another wave of love over all those who gazed upon her."Eliel." Serena was surprised to hear the name spoken and then realised that she'd said it aloud herself. Gazing up at the divine servant of Tomeri floating above her, she felt as if no harm would ever come to her."My child," Serena bowed deeply as Eliel acknowledged her summons. "The hour of your need is great."The captain who'd spent the day making tough decisions on who should come aboard the ship for the evacuation, was about to reprimand his men for stopping their work. He'd sailed the river Oceanus as well as the river Styx and had seen many things which had made him a fair but also bitter man. Life had taken it's toll on the captain and he'd spent the last few years of his life trying to redeem himself for all the wrongs that he'd committed.When he looked up and saw the planetar on his ship, he gave out a strangled gasp. Never had he seen anything so beautiful and pure. Bitter tears of joy poured down his cheeks. At last he was given a sign from a greater power that his struggle had not been in vain. The creature beat its wings and the captain almost fainted from the ecstatic feeling of love and hope that filled his whole being.The planetar landed lightly on the deck of the ship and walked over to the heart seer of Tomeri. The sailors who'd stood paralysed in awe of her unearthly beauty felt their hearts ache as they watched her walk across the deck. No creature of such beauty had ever been in their presence and they each felt as if they would never be the same again. Eliel walked over to Serena, sheathing her sword and placing the gem-stone in a small bag. She embraced the heart seer of Tomeri and lifted her off the ship in a single beat of her wings. A collective sigh went up from the sailors. Andrew allowed himself to feel the love for a brief moment. Malkir let it wash over him, absorbing some of it during his meditation. Caleb, who'd been wondering why the other sailors had stopped rowing, looked over at his friends. When he saw Serena fly up in to the air by herself he asked: "HOW DID SHE DO THAT?" but no one answered his question.The planetar flew swift and sure across the river. She landed on the top most branch of the huge and ancient elm tree. Balancing on a small twig at the top of the tree, she took out the green gem-stone and handed it to Serena. The seer, who still had one arm tightly wrapped around the angel, held up the gem-stone. The sunlight hitting the gem-stone, as well as the light reflected from Eliel's silver wings, shone through the stone filling the sky with pale beams of green light. Eliel's laughter was the sweetest sound that Serena had ever heard. She felt perfectly safe as the planetar pirouetted on the twig, sending the green beams of light spinning around the top of the city as if from a lighthouse.At base of the tree the beams of green light were answered by circular pulses of blueish light. Accompanying the pulses of light was a strange popping sound and when the light dissipated ten warriors dressed in white and blue appeared. Each wore a blue crystal breastplate and helmet as well as carrying a crystal sword at their sides. When the warriors appeared they looked up at the beautiful sight at the top of the tree and bowed low.Swooping down on the magnificent warriors, Eliel gently set the seer on the ground before flying over the river to pull the ship faster to the city of Haven. The sailors once again stopped their work and stood transfixed by the heavenly beauty of the divine servant of Tomeri. Caleb realised that the rowing was becoming easier, but simply shrugged his shoulders and thought that perhaps he was getting the hang of it. Ships might not be that bad, he pondered, as long as you don't rely on the wind to propel it.Once the ship reached the harbour Eliel disappeared in a flash of silvery light. Caleb, Malkir and Andrew quickly jumped of the ship and Littleby came running after them trying to catch up. It was Caleb who came up with the idea of climbing one of the nearby towers to see which direction the modrons were approaching from. After a sprint up the stairs, Malkir was the first to reach the top. He could now make out individual modrons at the front of the march and was surprised to see them carrying pieces of wood. Littleby explained that they might be carrying bridge building materials to get across the river.By the time that they'd come down the tower, they were joined by Serena leading forty Defenders of Tomeri. The leaders of each group of ten men came forward to introduce themselves. They suggested that runners be employed to keep in communication and set about restoring order to the dock front in the city. "Littleby, do modrons talk?" Serena asked, having only seen modrons once before. "Do they negotiate?""Probably some of the ones higher up, but not the rank and file." Littleby replied, curious to see the modrons up close."Will we be able to talk to a unit commander or maybe even the leader?" The seer was conscious of the warriors standing nearby and wanted to come up with a plan quickly."I don't think that you will be able to talk to the leader of the march, but we may be able to talk to a unit commander." Littleby quickly thought over the different ranks of modrons and described some of the lower hierarchy modrons with whom they could possibly communicate.Malkir absorbed the information and promptly began racing up the main causeway in the city towards the gate and the approaching modrons. Caleb and Andrew followed at a slower pace, intent on finding a way to slow the modrons down. The earth genasi was trying to come up with a plan to turn the ground outside the city in to a swamp, but thinking up ideas quickly was not his strong suit. He preferred pondering on them for some time, rather than rushing in to them.Having always been a good runner, Malkir made it out of the city almost as fast as Serena had been carried across the river and he was soon in the foothills outside Haven. He slowed his pace so as not to appear too threatening and briefly thought about how best to contact the modrons. Choosing a modron at random which fit the description given by Littleby as one of the more intelligent modrons, he called out to the cube-shaped creature."What is the manner of your business?" the creature spoke in a metallic mono-tone which conveyed no emotion whatsoever."You are aware that you are travelling to a city that is inhabited by a large number of people?" Malkir decided to cut past all the pleasantries and get straight to the point."We have maps of this city. We are permitted to enter it." The modrons continued marching along with the others. The cube-shaped creature studied Malkir taking in his dimensions, movements and rate of travel."You will be going in to many areas?" Malkir was concerned that they would cause widespread destruction and loss of life."We will enter the city through the designated routes." Having analysed the information that its senses provided, the modron began to question the creature walking next to it. "Please state you name?""My name is Malkir," the mystic replied. He remembered that Littleby had mentioned something about questioning and hoped to get through it quickly."What race are you?" the creature asked in a mono-tone which gave nothing away as to whether it cared about the answer at all."I am a human," Malkir sighed. He was glad to see that the modrons were not moving that fast and appeared to be travelling at the pace of the march's slowest members."What manner of food do you consume?" Gears could be heard moving inside the modron, absorbing and analysing the information."Is this relevant?" Malkir asked, exasperated by this line of questioning."Relevance does not matter," the creature stated flatly. "You must answer the question.""I consume all foods that humans eat." The mystic stated cryptically."What is the nature of your business here?" the modron repeated its original question, analysing it again with the new knowledge that it had acquired."I am concerned about all the people living in a large city," Malkir was keen to get back to the city, but first wanted to get a map of where the modrons planned to march. "I am also concerned, on your behalf, as you appear to heading towards a very large river.""We are prepared to deal with such a situation." The modron stated. It knew that the river obstacle would be crossed, but not the details of how this would happen. Only its exalted superiors the pentadrones knew how. "We have materials.""Materials?" asked Malkir, curious to hear how they were going over the river. "How do you plan to use them?""I do not know." The quadrone lacked the knowledge on how to cross the river and pointed the stranger to its guiding light. "I will direct you to my superior.""Please state the nature of your intent?" the five sided modron asked Malkir when he caught up with it."You are aware that you are travelling to a city that is inhabited by a large number of people?" The mystic wondered how many of these alien creatures he'd have to talk to before he got the information that he wanted. It was an exercise in frustration and he hummed a mantra to keep his mind focused."We have maps of this city." This creature spoke in the exact same flat, metallic mono-tone as the previous one had. "We are permitted to enter it.""Are you planning to go straight down the middle?" the mystic asked, catching up easily with the creature."We are planning to enter the city in the way that we have always entered it. We will split off in to groups and subgroups before converging when we reach the river." The modron was higher up the hierarchy and had more information about how they would proceed through the city."I am concerned for the lives of humans and modrons." Malkir was hoping to avoid the same line of questioning that the previous modron had gone through and tried to keep the topic of conversation on track. "I am concerned about this and hope that it can continue in the way that it was specified.""The march will continue as we have before. Our maps indicate that a large city lies ahead of us." The five sided modron held up a map of the city to Malkir. It was clearly a map of the port city of Haven, but was incorrect in several places. Where there were lines on the map indicating the different routes that the modrons would take, Malkir realised that there were now houses built in those places including the orphanage. He abruptly snatched the map from the modron and left it and the rest of the march behind quickly, sprinting back in to town.[edit: correction, Malkir did indeed take the map with him back to town to show to the others.]</blockquote>

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