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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Enk&amp;D'Shai" data-source="post: 425414" data-attributes="member: 7569">"Calm Before the Storm" or "Can I Still Buy Backpack C?"Hidey ho, neighbor!Since D'Shai is all hopped up on Sinutab, he won't be joining us today, and for once I get to post the installment in peace. Hooray for Sinutab.Anyway, I'll keep this short... Wait a second. BRB.***OK, D'Shai says that if I don't post a tip of the day he's going to break into my house and put a Vanilla Ice CD in my disk changer when I least expect it. He called it the audio version of Russian Roulette. And since I've already seen the CD (he said he bought it for just such an occasion), and I'm fairly sure that Mrs. Enk would just let him in the house to do it, I'll oblige with the tip.Just one problem: he didn't give me a Tip. He said I had to come up with it myself, and it had to be related to pirates. So here's your rack'n frack'n goldurned Tip of the Day."Loose lips sink ships."I tell you, if he does this to me again I'm just going to open up the floor for suggestions. In fact, for the next week, I will be taking requests for the next Tip of the Day I have to do solo. All you have to do is email me <a href="mailto:enkhidu527@cs.com">here</a>. The winner of this impromptu contest will get their Tip o' the Day used sometime over the next few weeks (D'Shai is bound to do this again sometime soon). The loser(s) get a noogie from HULK.Oh, and Mrs. Enk says thanks to all the well wishers. I'll do my best to keep you informed!Enjoy*****"Calm Before the Storm" or "Can I Still Buy Backpack C?"Aurora closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, focusing on the rush of energy that welled up deep inside her. She imagined herself standing near a stream of flowing magic deep in the fey lands. Slowly she dipped her hands into the shimmering surface, drawing its essence into her own. The young sorceress concentrated and the mystical substance flowed and formed shapes at her bidding, covering her in its essence and slowly melded with her body. Just as the process was nearly complete, her concentration was broken by a sharp poke in the ribs. “You feel good, Rora Angel?” Meepo’s scaly faced asked her as she opened her eyes. “Why you close eyes? You sick?”The young sorceress giggled at the kobolds words and smiled at the look of concern that played in his eyes. “No, Meepo. I was resting. I need to rest to gather my ‘dragon’ magic. You do rest down here don’t you?” “Yes, Meepo rest, but never with both eyes at same time.” The kobold stopped and looked around before continuing the conversation. “Many dung grubbers down here, and they try to take Rora angel from Meepo like they take Cal. Meepo protect Rora Angel when she does both eyes rest.” Aurora almost giggled again when the kobold quickly turned after the statement and proceeded to march around her like he was on patrol at a castle tower and she was the maiden locked in that same tower. “You rest now, Meepo watch with both eyes.” Aurora muffled another series of giggles by feigning a yawn and emphasized it by stretching her arms and legs. Knowing that she was unlikely to concentrate with her guardian stomping around her, the young sorceress look about to see what her companions were doing. Ash and Ander had camped on the far side of the room near the door, like watchmen, and they were deep in a conversation that Aurora didn’t think would be wise to interrupt. Theo and Pack were likewise engaged in a theological discussion and the sorceress had always felt lost when it came to the gods and their magic. That left just Meepo. With a sign, Aurora turned her attention back to the small kobold and hoped that she would be able to get some useful information from the confusing sentry. “Meepo. I’m not resting right now, why don’t you sit down and talk with me.”The kobold stopped in his tracks and turned to face the maiden, his face was skewed: almost as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. With a rush, Meepo sat right up against the sorceress with his head on her chest, staring straight into her eyes. “Um, Meepo, not so close alright. There that’s better,” she said as she nudged the small beast away to about arms length. Meepo merely stared back at her, undaunted by the brush off. His eyes held her gaze as if he was captivated by her in some way. Unsettled by the intense attention, Aurora shifted uncomfortably and tried to think of something to talk about. “Meepo, What do you know of the doors?” The small kobold tilted his head, like a lost puppy: confused. “Many doors down here. Rora Angel like doors?”“No, No, just the special doors, the Dragon Doors.” Aurora guessed that he finally understood because his eyes lit up and he began babbling at her too fast for her to understand. “Scorch………armies…….dragon priests…….Angels…….” “Stop!” The sorceress shouted, causing everyone in the room to stop for a moment and look at her. With a flushed face she turned to address Meepo again as she heard the other conversation pick up again. “Slow down, I don’t understand you when you talk that fast.”The sorceress’ words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the kobolds eyes grew large and he quickly scampered to his feet to examine Aurora’s face. “Rora angel in heat? Why soft scales turn red, you life-mate nearby?” Aurora felt herself blushing yet again, as the scaly protector turned and looked around the room and the young sorceress instinctively sneaked a peek towards the woodsman, Ander. “No, Meepo,” Aurora protested as she shook her head, “it’s not that. I was embarrassed that’s all. You know when you say something and…you know what, forget about it. Tell me about these dung grubbers.”Meepo turned and suspiciously eyed the sorceress, but soon grinned and plopped back down like a child for story time. “The ugly, nasty, soft scaled dung grubbers that weak like new hatches.” The kobold proclaimed puffing out his chest. “If they are weak, how did they steal Calcryx?”“Meepo out catching rats and come back and Frimp and Grendo dead, many dung grubbers in cage room, too many for Meepo. Meepo miss Cal.” The poor kobold began to whimper softly and Aurora found that she felt sorry for the small thing and instinctively scooted closer and held the kobold why he cried. “Rora angel help Meepo?”“Yes Meepo, Rora Angel help.” She said softly stroking the kobolds scales as he began to snore and a smile broke out across her lips as she noticed he left one eye open. *    *    *Ashrem sat quietly against the wall next to the door, his attention fixed on the whisper like motions on the other side of the thick wood. The company had not been disturbed since entering the chamber, unless one were to include the incomprehensible yammering of the kobold that Aurora, against the scout’s better judgment, had taken under her wing. Ander plodded up to the feloine. “All in all, I’d rather be in bed.” The woodsman slumped next to the stone wall and slide to the dusty floor. “I could second that.” Ashrem looked at his young friend – he had laid his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. The scout could still smell the ranger’s fear filled sweat, mixed with the metallic tang of blood. “Though I imagine that either of us would settle for a comfortable patch of moss, at least at this point.”“Point taken.” Ander seemed to deflate as he spoke. He seemed defeated, and the sight of it turned Ashrem’s stomach. “Do you think we’re ready for this? Supplies wise, I mean.”“I would say that our chances of achieving our goals are quite favorable, actually. Supplies should not be a problem, and I have secured more than ample emergency rations should the need arise.”“Oh yeah, I keep forgetting you can carry a full keg’s worth of supplies in your rucksack. Well, at least we won’t have to worry about food. What about other stuff: rope, torches, etc.”“All present and accounted for, Ander.” The feloine patted the traveling pack next to him. “Approximately forty feet of rope remains untouched, and we currently have over two dozen torches.”“Good, now all we have to worry about is getting a dragon back for a horde of not so friendly kobolds from an even more unfriendly horde of goblins. Peachy.” The feloine huffed a quiet laugh at the woodsman’s joke, more out of politeness than humor, and fell quiet again.The pair of warriors sat silent for a few moments, while the sounds of two other murmured conversations continued to fill the room. Finally, Ashrem broached the subject hanging in the air.“You should have Brother Theo tend to your wounds.”“I already did.” Ander didn’t even open his eyes.“All of them? Including the gash seeping under your leather jack?”Ander sat in silence as the feloine watched him carefully. “I’m more worried about making sure that Theo has enough healing for everyone else. If Aurora or Pack got hurt…” he woodsman trailed off, unable to continue his train of thought.“Pack and Aurora may very well get hurt on this mission. They may very well die on this mission. However, they each knew the risks involved in coming, and they both decided to come, regardless of the danger. As our commander, you must remember this.”“Who says I’m the commander?”Ashrem looked at the others. Pack and Theo had huddles together in some deep conversation, and Aurora sat looking either bemused or confused at her new kobold lap dog’s antics. “They do, my friend, and I do as well.” The feloine breathed deeply, letting his words sink in to his closest friend’s mind, and continued, “A commander should always be healthy if he wishes to lead his troops from the front. It is better for morale.”“Bones, Ash. I didn’t want this. I never wanted this.”“The Winds of Fate do not always fill our sails: sometimes we must row. Please, see Brother Theo and have him attend your wounds.” Ander stood on shaky legs, and began moving toward the aging cleric cloistered with Pack. After taking two steps, he turned to face the placid feloine. “What if I’m not good enough, Ash?”“You will be, my friend. You will be.”*    *    *Pack looked up from his never ending task of rearranging the contents of his backpack as Theo plopped down a few feet from him. Now that the room was fortified and the camp was made, the aging cleric shrugged off his chain shirt and began tending to his own ails, looking drained and sore. The halfling watched the priest as he chanted and moved his hands over his wounds. A soft blue glow and sounds of rainfall seemed to accompany the strong hymn-like spells of the storm worshipper. The small bard paid close attention to even the slightest detail of the cleric’s movements, just as he had for the past few nights since first seeing his healing touch. Pack did believe that Theo’s powers came straight from Zuras, but on a whim a few nights before he had mimicked the priest’s motions while humming the same hymn the priest had chanted and felt a tingling in his finger tips. With proper homage paid to the Storm Lord, and Theo, maybe he would grant me a few coppers of healing in my hat.Pack paused, realizing that he had been focusing too much, and found Theo had finished with his prayers and was staring directly at him. “Ooooh Theo, tsk tsk! That armor is covered in blood and fur. I know I have some oil in here and a wire brush. Steel is hard to come by these days you know, the demon wars and all, and I wouldn’t want to see yours rust.” The halfling rummaged through his pack as he spoke, producing a small armor care kit he had picked up along the way.“I am well aware of that Pack.” The cleric replied taking the small case of polish and brush from the halfling’s outstretched hands. “Where do you think I got this?”“Oh yeah. Sorry, I forgot.”“Its fine, son. I sometimes forget that I’m older than the rest of you, too. This little trek makes me feel young again.” The Priest paused and began cleaning his armor before speaking again. “Useful too.” Pack waited, expecting the priest to continue, but the old warrior merely stared at his armor, lost in thought.“Theo, did you want to finish your story?”“What was that, Pack?”“Did you want to finish your story? The one about your time in Tor. The last thing you said before we had to start being quiet was something about how something made you decide what was important to you.”“Ah yes, Eleanor.” Theo eyes looked toward the wall, but Pack got the impression that he was looking past the stone, into the past, or at least a place where he was very happy. “My wife.”“What was she like?” Pack almost whispered the question.”“Beautiful as a rainbow, and gentle as a summer shower.” He sighed heavily. “Gods know how I loved her…” Theo sat silent for a while, his busy work seemingly forgotten.“She was everything to you wasn’t she?” Theo smiled and began slowly polishing his armor again. “The power should have been hers. She was the one who truly believed. I just showed up at the temple to see her. Her father was the head priest you know. I hear he’s the High Abbot at the Church in Tor now. He always worked hard and had a real gift for healing and sermon.”“He was there when I found her, or what was left of her after the demons raided. He was there when I made my oath and when the thunderbolts first leapt from my hands. He said I was Zuras touched and that it was my duty to be a beacon for the church, to bring followers into the fold. I tried, and even though within a few months time my healing powers were greater than anyone else’s at the abbey and even though I also had other powers that none of the other followers had, the gift of sermon was not one of them. Every time I stepped in the pulpit and began to speak, I felt like I was lying.” Theo stopped and laughed as if remembering a joke long forgotten. “Did you know that I grew up praising Zuras so that he would bring rains and sunshine to our lands to make crops plentiful, and in Oscourt they fear Zuras and pay his priests to keep the storms at bay while they haul in their nets?”“No, I didn’t.” Theo stopped for a moment and looked back towards the Pack. The bard’s eyes were bright and intense, taking in everything the older man did as he spoke, committing the entire act – words, movements, and pace - to memory. Hungry for more of the tale, Pack prodded the cleric on. “I didn’t know that. Go on…”Theo took a deep breath, and the halfling could see built up tension leak out of the priest. “Not today, my friend. We should both be getting rest now.” Theo went back to cleaning his mail. “We’ll talk about it later.”Pack leaned up against his backpack, its weight countering his own. “Theo, tell me about the demon wars. Did you meet any of the heroes?”The old cleric paused for a moment. “I learned something during the wars, Pack, that I think is very important to remember. A hero doesn’t have to have songs written about him to be a hero. No, I never met anyone back then that you’d likely know, but I did meet a lot of very good, very brave men; and women for that matter. In fact, I still meet heroes today.”“Like who?”“Look around, Pack, they’re in this very room.”“You mean Aurora, and you, and Ander, and Ashrem?”“Oh, I suppose I mean them, but you left someone out, son.”“No I didn’t, Worm didn’t get to come with us, even though he volunteered.”“But you did. Even without him, you came all the same. And I think that’s probably the bravest thing I’ve ever seen a body do.”Pack was silent for a moment. Talking about Worm had brought back the reality that his older, bigger, and stronger brother was not at his side. As if in answer to Pack’s thought, Theo continued.“I dare say that your brother is more worried about you than you are of him, Pack. But you’ll both be fine. All of us will. Now get some sleep while you have a chance.”The halfling absentmindedly laid covers on the ground to serve as a blanket, his thoughts back in Icemist. As he curled up in the heavy cloth and nodded off, he thought of Lizon, of Worm, and of home.*****Next Week!"Rodents of Unusual Size," or "What is the, the Fire Swamp?"</blockquote>

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