Tanuchan

Tanny blinked, then looked up and smiled. "Degorram! So you're also back?" She looked at the Changeling's slightly puzzled face, and gave her a wry smile. "Seems you hadn't found these walled doors until now? Funny how some have that 404 scrabbled all over, and others have some scrawling about a problem to process directives." She snorted. "The spells and anchors that kept them working seem to have unravelled with time... and they certainly had some sense of humor to leave us with such enigmatic words..." Frowning for a moment and focusing on a Weaving, Tanny carefully unmade the threads of earth and water that were the base structure of the old bricks, and nodded in satisfaction as they crumbled into dust. "What tales do you bring with you? I've certainly been absent long enough to not be sure what has happened around the Keep since I left... " The wolf's ears flicked at a distant sound, and her grin widened. "I think Mynx is also around. How about going to meet her? I'll see if I can fix more of those walled doors, if they appear in our way!"

Dratted doorways... Sniffing here and there, trying to understand how some of the smaller, shortest-distance portals could become so messed up, a wolf sat down and scratched behind an ear idly. They'll behave. Most of them, hopefully... and I can always shout for more knowledgeable help if they try to knot my brain. Though she wasn't sure her brain was actually working, after being month after month pulled from one place to another by demanding pupils... Stretching, she looked around again, wondering what next bunch of doorways she'd try to map. Maybe not right this moment, as others still demanded her attention somewhere else, but soon. It's good to feel Home... She hoped the feeling stuck. Shaking herself, she decided to head to the Cabaret and see if she couldn't get something to eat and drink, and ease the cramps in her braincells before heading back to the several chambers of the Keep ... Soon. Hopefully soon there will be some cleared paths through the oldest doorways.

Giggling softly, the black wolf stared at her friends while munching the bone chocolate. "Let me know if your door needs some oiling... I have some useful tricks using Energy threads." She winked.

Oooh... it's open again?! Padding quietly, a black wolf nosed her way in carefully, pushing the door slightly open and sniffing in tentatively. Nice! No more dust! Curious, Tanny got first her whole head in, looking this way and that, and then half her body. Cleanliness! Great! More confidently, she got herself in, sniffing at the air. And I smell... oh yes! Making a rather happy bee-line towards Degorran's desk, she grinned at one of the drawers, then - being satisfied at the current results of her investigation - went to curl up in one of the corners of the office. "Hi Degorram," she quipped, smiling. "Missed seeing this office being used! I'll make you company at least for a while, if you don't mind it!"

I enjoyed reading this greatly, Aadvark! Made me curious about the glipsed future-Earth. Thanks for sharing it :-)

Werewolves... that was so long ago... we used to hunt them down, yeah. So many tales and adventures involving those days! That was before I retired from the hunts. I wonder if any of those are still around; adventuring has worn me down, but I surely miss those days. (Ancient I might be, but certainly still very much alive and kicking!) Maybe trying to find the Portrait of Zool will also unearth other treasures... where should I start, I wonder. Wasn't there a Treasure Room somewhere in the vaults of the Keep, once? Looks at Jechum floating in and out of towers, wondering.

It's missing yet again?! Hm... maybe it was misplaced in that last Spring cleaning... so long ago... check the North Tower, maybe?

A blank square full of thoughts might be A canvas ready to make one see Infinite possibilities, endless games Painted in white over a blank panel All one needs is the heart to follow - Mind's eye painting all blank thoughts.

Around but not much, RL keeping me busy. I can be reached through PM, though, since they go into my mailbox.

Thomas looked at the Traveller dubiously, and tried to get from Tom any hint about what he thought on the matter. When Tom didn't answer, looking rather bewildered, Thomas cleaned his throat. "Sir C, excuse me, Sir... but... I do not think I can agree with such planned destruction of the Keep... Most who live here do not have nor want anything to do with Mr. Wyvern's businesses... Wouldn't chivalry ask you to protect them from danger?" He blushed self-consciously, but surprisingly did not stammer or even stumble as he bowed low. "I am honored by your trust in me to act as a lookout, and will do what you ask of me - but I cannot agree with wantom destruction. Can't we just focus on Mr. Wyvern's office? Just his papers maybe? A lamp carelessly thrown on the floor?"

Thomas actually stumbled when Solorassil's quiet voice registered in his mind, and he turned so fast that he almost stepped on Tom. "Huh... ah... knowledge?" He stammered for a few seconds, trying to get his mind back to the figure shrouded in mist that kept eluding a straight gaze. Then, drawing a calming breath, Thomas shook his head and answered with a chagrined smile. "I have knowledge only of the ballads, Master Solorassil. I have traveled through many lands, and I have witnessed much that was different from my homeland. I have composed songs and short ballads but... nothing that comes close to the great tales sung by minstrels at the courts of the kings." The minstrel looked up to the Traveler, and beamed suddenly. "Nothing of the kind until now. Being in a Knightly Quest will change that, and the ballads and sagas I can compose after witnessing the deeds of Sir C will become famous and spread his name through the kingdoms!" He managed a small bow that did not unbalance him, and sighed. "And I hope to have the honor of having my songs chosen to be taught and learned, as I have with my masters long ago. No, Master Solorassil, our guide is, and has to be, Sir C! I am but a minstrel, and my knowledge is just from the songs I've heard."

Thomas blinked, for a moment seeming confused at the two questions posed to him. Library? Maps? A sword? Then, as he was opening his mouth to answer, Tom talked about flamethrowers. The minstrel frowned, something in all those words tugging at him. Absent-mindedly, his fingers started playing the lute very quietly, almost as if the instrument was thinking with its owner and master; trying to recall something he had heard once, Thomas did not truly notice that he was reciting the tale aloud. It is said that in ancient times, mortal men delved in the secrets of the gods. That some of the secrets lay in ancient scrolls, so old that none but the wisest of mages knew of them. And to protect mortal lands, for not secret from the gods should ever be in mortal hands, the Circle of the Wise built a stronghold, a fortress made to withstand the ravages of time, a bastion of knowledge that was forever forbidden for the non-initiated. An ancient library, lost in the heart of the darkest of forests, locked from inside and defended from outside, treasuring inside all the tomes of knowledge, all the wisdom of gods and all the power of mages. An ancient library, hidden in the mists, protected by curses, invisible but for the initiated. Thomas played a chord that resonated among them, still distracted with his own thoughts, still entranced in his own memories. His tale became a song, quiet and ominous, full of mystery but also of promises. The road to knowledge is full of danger veiled by mists and waning moolight winding through darkness and dangers unseen mocking the courage of creatures and men. Paladins will come mages will aid - songs of power and weapons of might. What is to open the gates of mystery? Danger stalks the roads of mystery, draining the will of unwary travelers; mists swirl around those who search, memories of old are lost in the fog. Who leads the quest for knowledge? Who reads the maps of old? Who comes to free the spirits? Who slays the cursed guardian? The gates will open and sunlight will enter, revealing the knowledge of gods and men; tomes of old and maps of power will banish the mists that kill the memory bringing again the Age of the Sun the warmth of love and the peace of the gods. With a soft sight, Thomas paused, and ended in a whisper at the same time wistful and hopeful. And so the tale goes, that the Library of Knowledge can be found in the forest; deep in its heart, protected by curses, opened by memory and faith and courage. Many will search, few will find, even less will gaze upon the ancient tomes... for those who try, a warning to remember: knowledge is hope, but also a sentence. Will you hold the memories by trust or treachery? Flames will consume those unworthy the knowledge. Suddenly, Thomas brightened and turned to Tom. "You mentioned flamethrowers... do you think it could consume the unworthy?" Grinning widely, the minstrel completed, "That might be just perfect as the theme for the middle part of the Ballad - the flaming tongues opening the way, cleansing the path for the Knight to pass, dispelling the darkness around and allowing the pure of heart to find their way!"

A dragon! Thomas stared slack-jawed at the Traveller, eyes widening as his vivid imagination pictured the glorious lady-dragon. In a leap, his mind was already over a few verses, and he started humming a tune under his breath in step with the battle scene he saw the dragon flames arching high and bright. Spiders... no no no, not simple spiders. Even giant ones. No... something ... oh, more epic... giant, twelve-limbed hybrids of spiders and scorpions maybe... no, they'll say it was impossible... but if we add sorcery... oh yes, a troll sorcerer controlling them! A mighty one, but who was nothing for beautiful, glorious fire-dragon Aen... Thomas was so caught up in his own visions that he never saw Solorassil coming in, mist or not mist. Even the voice of the mysterious stranger was only dimly registered while Thomas turned and dismissed for the moment the momentarily absorbed stranger. Picking up his lute, that he had carefully unslung and propped against a tree trunk while untangling the vines, Thomas' voice interrupted the conversation around his as he started to to sing a ballad. Wandering in the dark, shadowed place, a traveler and his companion against darkness fought; the magic of the forest in their bones sang, lurking dangers their minds recognized. But nothing would stop resolution and valor; their elven eyes shining with light, bows in their back, sword in their hands they strode without fear to face the demon-god. A roar shook the earth, stamping feet announced death and the leaves parted to the fearful face. "Who art thou, foolish creatures, who dare the land of mighty Bagrooth? For your brains I will eat and your wisdom will be mine; mighty Bagrooth is the lord of the forest!" The elven lord did not smile, not even to himself; mighty, Bagrooth might have been, but the forest lords do not bow to demon trolls. Chittering from behind, around, and above giant creatures gazed at them; the shape of spiders, the sting of a scorpion and malicious eyes that sparkled with evil as their sorcerous master rumbled with glee. The elven lady, cold and beautiful, deigned the creatures with her unsullied smile and the elven lord bowed in reverence as space shifted, and the forest silenced. And in her true form she showed herself cold, beautiful, and glorious: a crimson lady, a fire dragon Lady Aen, princess of her kind. Bright flame arched around them, a perfect circle of cleansing fire; scorpion-spiders were no more, and mighty Bagrooth faced its bane. Soot finer than glassblower's sand filled the earth where darkness reigned. The elven lord smiled to the lady - Lady Aen, Lady of Fire! - and onward they went, a quest to fulfill.

Thomas nodded, standing up in a fluid movement that almost made him stumble backwards. Flushing slightly, he straightened his clothes, and then looked down at the vines. His keen eyes followed them until he found the roots and, smiling to himself, he knelt again. C and Tom Atoe eyed Thomas warily, the first hoping that the minstrel did not have a blade upon himself, lest he'd indeed shred the legs of everybody around, and the valiant Cauliflower clanmember making sure he would not end up as a mat. Surprising both of them, Thomas teased the vines loose with dexterous fingers, untangling them quickly and neatly and piling them over their own roots in a well-ordered way. Shifting his position, he proceeded to do the same to another patch of vines and, after a while, the whole area around them was clean and free of traps. Bowing low, Thomas said with a grin, "There, sire - as you wished, your path is now clean." He had to make an effort to not fall on his face with the depth of his bow, but managing to keep balance, he straightened in triumph. Only to turn around and trip on Tom Atoe, this time suceeding in falling and trapping the eight inch creature under himself.

A squire! Of a noble Knight! Thomas' eyes widened in utter disbelief, and then a slow grin brightened his face. "Oh noble sir! I will gladly accept the position! You have my word that I will serve you with all my honor and skill, and praise your deeds to the four winds of the world and sing songs of heroic acts! Thank you, thank you with all my soul, Sir C!" So dazed with his good luck he was, that Thomas did not pay further attention to Tom Atoe and almost squished him once again when he knelt in front of the Traveller, ducking his head in expectation - he should feel a sword touching his shoulder, shouldn't he? Or was that when people were knighted? Oh I will be famous! My talent will finally be recognized! Everybody will talk about Thomas of Taigel, the brave minstrel and follower of Sir C, the Unforeseeable Knight, who braved monsters and dragons in his quest! Wait... dragons?

"Sir! Noble Sir!" The Traveller winced, the crashing sounds coming towards him making him visualize too easily a rather awkward minstrel - he recognized Thomas' voice - coming towards him at what seemed to be a breakneck speed. Breakneck... huh... his, I hope... He tried to stand up, glaring for a moment at the vines still trapping his feet, and then shouted. "Halt!" Thomas grinned when he heard the Traveller's voice, resulting in an unfortunate breaking of the concentration with which he had been running. As a consequence, it didn't take him three steps to stumble on a stone that nonchalantly seemed to be asleep right in the middle of his path, and with a startled yelp Thomas appeared in the Traveller's - and the Eight Inch Thingy™'s - view, windmilling madly. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhh...." Thomas splatted on the ground, missing the Eight Inch Thingy™ by maybe a finger's width.

Tanny managed a sweet smile, disengaging herself gently from the Traveller's grasp. "I am very sorry, but I really have to go." She wove quickly something that Stephen barely followed with his earth-sense, then pulled the Ranger with her. "Come," she hissed. Both disappeared from sight, into the forest, while the Traveller found himself inexplicably trapped by the vines - until then hidden by the undergrowth.

Thomas blinked, and his countenance lit up in a beatific grin. A nobleman! It can only be a nobleman - such beautiful language, the use of the tenses, the words! Just by being with him I'm sure I will absorb such knowledge and skill with words that no one will ever be able to accuse me again of being no more than a singer of tales already told! He grabbed the Traveller's hand and almost knelt to him - actually, what stopped him was a most annoying hem of a robe that entangled itself between his feet. Surprised at the intruding fabric, Thomas tripped and fell on the Traveller who was still moving back a step. As a consequence, both suddenly found themselves on the floor, Thomas flushing furiously as he tried to stand up to only get more entangled and fall again on top of the Traveller. "I'm... I'm terribly sorry, noble sir... I'm but nervous at being in the presence of such eminent figure... but truly, I see now I was mistaken and you could never be a simple Knight. Oh noble Sir, please I protest my highest esteem and again offer you my service to chronicle your noble endeavour!" Tanny cringed, and with Stephen quickly went to them to help Thomas up before he ended up mauling the Traveller by continuously falling on him and knocking him down. "Erm... Traveller... huh... this is Thomas, one of our resident Minstrels... he's... a good person, really." She sighed inwardly, remembering the uncountable times he had mangled her poems while trying to put them to a tune. "Hum... I'm sure he means only the best by offering his services..." "We are very sorry, Traveller," added Stephen quietly, tugging at Tanny's elbow, "But unfortunately my friend the Wolf-Lady and I are need elsewhere for a while. I'm sure that there will be others joining your Quest, we will indeed... spread the word while we go on with our errand." Bowing, the Ranger stepped back almost hastily. "We wish you the best of luck, Traveller. It's even possible our paths cross in our separate journeys!" With a similar bow, Tanny also retreated. Once out of earshot, she murmured to Stephen, "Be wary of what you wish for, Ranger... what if our paths do cross?" Stephen shuddered, and then shrugged. "I'm pretty sure the track I mentioned leads to the opposite way. To tell the truth, I'm absolutely sure we are going in the opposite direction in relation to the Quest."

As the Traveller grabbed his belongings and went outside, ready to announce his search for valiant people to go on a righteous Quest - even though he frowned at himself at what exactly was righteous about Wyvern's magazines - Tanny and Stephen exchanged wary whispers. "Stephen, I do think we should better find something that keeps us very busy for the next few weeks...?" "My thoughts precisely, Wolf-Lady... time to take care of that strange track I located while wandering around with Anileh and Amareyha maybe... Would you like to join me?" Tanny's expression showed some conflict, but her allergy to lizardy quests proved to be stronger than her wariness at the mention of the name "Anileh", and she smiled wryly. "Why not..." They followed the Traveller at some distance, hearing clearly when he, entering the Conservatory, announced his Quest. Tanny looked curiously through the door to the Conservatory, and winced when she recognized a tall, lean figure that had been sitting in a corner of the room and who, upon hearing the Traveller's words, straightened suddenly and looked at him. Huh-oh... I wonder if I should warn him... "Him" being either the minstrel or the Traveller, Tanny wasn't sure which - for Thomas was prone to be as awkward as a bull in a china shop, but on the other hand had always wished to accompany a true Quest... "A Quest!" Thomas the Minstrel leapt up, almost falling as his legs stumbled against the stool where he had been sitting. "Noble Knight, I am honored to offer my services to you in this most admirable mission! I'm Thomas of Taigel, Minstrel, and will be glad to go with your company to record your efforts and good deeds, and make them into a song no one will ever forget!" Thomas bowed low, managing to not bump into the Traveller by a mere inch.

"There are more people around that might or might not come to this Office... but as for those already in, I think you didn't miss anyone." Tanny rummaged around Wyvern's office, trying to clean enough places for the people to sit down and at the same time making a nice pile of papers right in the middle of the room, keeping a straight face but with a telltale mischievous smile in her lips. Tanny seemed to ponder at something, eyeing Stephen. With a grin, she turned again to the newcomer. "How should we call you? 'Traveler' seems very impersonal... and I'd be curious about what tales you can tell us. Tales around a fire have always been one of my favorites... right, Stephen? There's such a nice pile of paper right in the middle of this room, I'm sure a skilled Ranger can provide the fire..."

"Oh, no worries... we will not torch you, Traveler!" Tanny laughed softly. "Though my first advice is to stay as far from Wyvern as you can!" Tanny grimaced, memories of prosthetic limbs making her shudder. "At least, as far as you can from his gelding schemes... you'll need his stamp on your papers, just be careful what he asks you for."

Tanny smiled, ducking her head in a small bow. She could feel some mix of emotions from the Traveler, and on top of it his wish for a place where Life went on without being troubled by desolation. That made her pause for a moment, aware that the Pen Keep had periods of slumber while its residents were busy with farming and traveling. But that is not desolation... just a period of quiet, I guess. "You can call me Tanny-" She was cut short by a blast of cold air that blew her loose hair all around her face. Her senses told her who had just come in more than the soft voice, and she growled. "Stephen..." Her voice had a hint of an edge as the Ranger chuckled and also greeted the stranger. Pushing strands of hair out from her face, Tanny sighed and went back to the newcomer, knowing her glare would be lost on Stephen. "This is Stephen Hascodem, Ranger, friend, and resident troublemaker." She smirked. "Though not as much of a troublemaker as Wyvern..." And as the door opened, revealing a quite surprised feline, she completed, "... and that's Mynx."

A wolf who had been half-asleep at a shadowed corner of the Recruiter's Office perks her ears, the stranger's voice registering as a completely new one. Peeking out from her refuge, she rests on him a thoughtful look, wondering what would bring a traveler to seek refuge in Wyvern's place. But then, she herself had happened to be caught by the windstorm during one of her walks around the Keep, and had ducked in after making sure the lizard was nowhere to be seen... I hope he is out in one of his geld-raising enterprises and got caught by the windstorm... on the other side of the Keep! Chuckling to herself, Tanny stood and shook herself, noticing quickly that the noise had made the traveler turn to her corner. As he looked at her warily, she grinned toothily and took a few paces forward, tilting her head curiously at him. ::Hello.:: Aware that a mind-speaking wolf might startle a newcomer too easily, Tanny Changed back to her human form. As the shimmer of shapechanging involved her and then was gone. she stood a few paces away from the curious traveler, and smiled. "Hello, Traveller... what brings you to the Pen Keep in this weather?

Pending the theme and my own time, yeah ^.^

Yay! Thanks for the fun, Wyv!! 1. Name of Pennite - Venefyxatu 2. Plural Noun - cans 3. Adjective - ornate 4. A Shape - catenary 5. Noun - canary 6. Noun - tiger 7. Adverb - simply 8. A Profession - killer 9. A Material - glass 10. Noun - cemetery 11. Verb, Past Tense - wrote 12. Dining Utensil, Plural - forks 13. Nonsense Word - grelanphrat 14. A Color - mauve 15. Adjective - blind 16. A Plant - venus flytrap 17. Part of Body - wrist 18. An Exotic Food - bird's nest 19. Name of a Group - Greenpeace 20. Name of Another Pennite - Patrick 21. Article of Clothing - mini-skirt