Patrick Posted September 13, 2005 Report Posted September 13, 2005 Patham smiled as he arrived back to his room. It had cost him 25 geld, but it was definitely worth it. As he rolled out the map he tried reading the antique writing next to it, but did not understand a single word of it. Nevermind. It's with trying out things that you really get to know them. - he thought and looked over the small symbols representing the trollgates. The closest one was in the forest not far from the Mighty Pen Keep. He set out to find this trollgate. Once he reached the marked spot on the map he saw nothing. Not a single trollgate in sight. Only trees all around. Then it hit him. As an acorn fell from a tree and hit him on the head he looked up and saw the tiniest pair of eyes staring at him from the branches. At first he thought it was a squirrel. Then when it did not move even after the acorn had been thrown at it, Patham finally realised what he was seeing. Probably the trollgate had been immobile for so long that its two legs were now firmly inside the trunks of two large trees. I'm not sure whether it shall still work this way. Better try it out. And he did. But to be careful he only stuck his head through to take a look. The twin of this trollgate was standing at the top of some mountain, looking down from this with only his head stuck through the void, Patham could see several other trollgates down below. Must be their main island.
Patrick Posted September 13, 2005 Author Report Posted September 13, 2005 He had already found several mistakes in the guide. It seemed that two of the guides who had been close to each other had changed places and one or two were missing. But now he was in high snowy mountains, somewhere in the north he guessed. It was nighttime here and he was in owl form, trying to see where he was going. A cave loomed in the distance and Patham went to check it out. The smell he felt as he got near the entrance was that of some predatory animal, and unknowing of what he might have to face he chose discretion and went back to the trollgate. The next trollgate he took from the main island took him to a windy grassland, where the grass reached to his chest, when he was in human form. As he flew up in his owl form he could see that the plains stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction, and all that broke the monotony of the landscape were a cluster of trees towards the setting sun and a cluster of huts not far from what seemed to be a watering hole. He approached the huts and saw several dark skinned natives staring at him with bewildered eyes.
Patrick Posted September 13, 2005 Author Report Posted September 13, 2005 One of the black-skinned men, who were all scarcely dressed, moved towards Patham and uttered words in a language Patham did not comprehend. All of the natives eyed him curiously, as if he were an alien from several million light years away, and to tell the truth, Patham eyed them with the same curiosity. Here were people he would never have met without the Trollgate Guide. It took at least an hour of communication by sign language until both Patham and the tribe of the Unkakas understood that they had no hostile intentions towards each other. They had to find a better method of communication. Patham explained during ten minutes that he was going to go back to the Pen Keep to ask someone for a translation device. He shifted to his owl form. This was another thing he would have to explain to them, when he could speak with them. He passed through the two trollgates he needed to go through in order to get to the Keep. Once he got to the common room he looked at those who were there and asked: "Does anyone here speak Urkaka? Or does anyone have a translation device I might be able to borrow?" OOC: I don't have anyone special in mind for this so anyone who can help Patham out is welcome.
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