| Logs |
2004 August 15
| Idlewild |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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| Realms: Idlewild Logs |
August 15
Despite Lauren's history with, well, acting completely crazy, her assertion that she can get the bottle of sleeping potion into the communal stewpot across the hostile camp appears to be spot on target. The bottle goes sailing across and then back, emptied, as if flown by an invisible, floating squid-- or some other equally invisible flying agency. From their hiding places, Aiden and Steven see Lauren make frantic shushing gestures at thin air. It's not to Sol, who along with Seodil is flanking the crazy sister in complete and hidden silence.
Aiden glances at Steven and whispers, "What's she doing?"
Steven shakes his head, dazed. "I... don't know! Maybe magic like Lotte can do? Telekinesis?"
Aiden says, "Lotte sings. Lauren.. makes herself look crazier than normal? Sure.. maybe."
The elven camp appears not to have noticed anything untoward, most of them occupied gathering around the bound form of Kip, obscuring him from view. The sole elf tending the campfire's drugged pot is watching whatever entertainment Kip is providing, not the pot he stirs.
Aiden's voice never goes above a whisper when he says, "I'm going to kill the one that just kicked Kip." He kneels and relieves the guard they felled of his bow and a single arrow.
Of Zhi on Crenshaw, the appointed stealers of Kip when the time comes, there is no sign yet-- as it should be.
Steven hisses softly, "You heard what his brother said, Aiden! Don't do it. No killing! We'll deal with them later, but not now."
Aiden's already got the arrow nocked, but not drawn. He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't shoot any of them, either.
Lauren keeps her mouth shut after giving Moopy's conehead a thank-you ruffle, and watches the stewpot intently. Eat it. Eat it, you horrible carnivorous Kip-stealing bastards...
Steven watches Aiden carefully and closely, heeping his eyes locked on him.
One of the elves gathered around Kip laughs, and the rest join. It's low and has a nasty edge.
The elven laughter comes again, but right on the heels of it the cooking-elf calls them over in a barely understandable accent, and the little knot around Kip disperses to move to the campfire and start filling wooden bowls from their packs. The orientation of things prevents the rescuers from seeing much of Kip but his feet. He's definitely not moving around.
Aiden's fingers play against the string of the bow. I could take one of them out before they knew what was happening. Maybe two or three if I grab the quiver and shimmy up the tree..
Steven continues to watch Aiden closely, almost but not qute staring.
Lauren yearns, oh how she yearns, to send Moppy over there to strangle them all one by one. They've probably done horrible things to Kip already, and it makes her want to HURT people.
Time passes, as the elves eat. There is apparently a small argument; one fills his bowl a second time, stands, and walks over to Kip. The others growl something; he growls back, and kneels by Kip's head, putting the bowl down and moving him a little to prop him up. Kip stirs, limply, and the stranger appears to be having some success spoon-feeding him... hard to tell with Kip's back to the party.
Aiden looks back at Steven, perfectly straight-faced and not at all looking like he's about to kill someone.. sort of. Maybe I'll let the one feeding him get away.
Steven frowns, and shakes his head once to Aiden, trying to look mild but stern.
The elves holding Kip captive number five-- four swordsmen, and one with a bow. They notice something is wrong as one sits to close his eyes and cannot be roused; another staggers. The lone archer stands, raising his bow and looking wildly around into the darkness outside the campfire-- he is joined by one of the swordsmen. The one that had been feeding Kip, having just finished, stumbles getting up and falls across Kip's upper body. A muffled yelp in a voice the party definitely recognizes, follows-- Kip's, and in pain.
Aiden frowns and whispers to Steven. "Two of 'em didn't go down. Now what?" He looks down at the bow in his hands.
The swordsman doesn't look groggy at all; Aiden recognizes him as the one that kicked Kip. The archer sways where he stands, less fortunate.
Lauren looks anxiously at Seodil-wolf and Sol, over in her patch of grass. "Can somebody kill them now?" she whispers.
Aiden whispers to Steven, "Can I kill him now?"
Seodil the wolf looks tempted. Sol does too, but mutters "Melierel said it could start a war, damn it."
Sol creeps closer to Lauren and says, "Can you... you know. Do something to them?"
Lauren flounders, quietly. "Um...uh...maybe? I don't know...I can try...or something..."
Sol whispers, "Now would be a really good time if you're going to."
Lauren nods, swallowing thickly, and whispers something to the empty air. She tracks this same patch of nothing across the clearing, toward the standing elf, and waits for something to happen.
Steven says firmly, "No. especially now."
Aiden says, "Fine fine." He doesn't, however, let go of either the bow, or the arrow.
For no apparent reason, the elf with the sword startles. His mouth twitches. He starts snickering. Then cackling. It gets louder and louder, uncontrollably, and he actually drops his sword he's laughing so hard. The archer beside him spins toward him, arrow nocked but wavering dangerously.
Steven glances over at the standing elf, chewing his lip. "Well. NOthing to be done for it, then. He needs to go down-- eh?" he blinks, watching.
Aiden looks confused. "The hell...?"
Sol looks like his skin is crawling, but he tells Lauren "Well done," in a more respectful whisper than usual. "What about the other one?"
The laughing elf collapses onto the ground, prone and still laughing. Moopy pops into existence beside Lauren's head and says, "Boss, he won't be down long. Maybe thirty seconds. Go get 'em, tiger! Charge!"
Lauren stifles a snicker. It worked! "I don't think I can do that again," she admits. "Can't someone knock him on the head, or dart him? There's just the one."
Aiden looks at Steven. "Do you think that's lasting? The other one is still up, but he's not very quick. Think we can take them down?"
Moopy adds thoughtfully, "The joke I told him wasn't that funny, yeah, sorry. Go knock his lights out."
Lauren hastens to add, "And do it quick, too. That one's not going to be down long at ALL."
Aiden whispers to Steven. "Hoofbeats. I hope that's Crenshaw.." He looks off in the direction they're coming from.
Aiden has the arrow nocked and ready to pull, just in case it isn't.
Crenshaw bursts onto the scene, bearing a neck-hugging and precarious Zhi. She yells something much like a war-whoop. None of the sleepers stir; the archer startles badly at the horse war-whooping towards him and shoots at her, loosing his arrow. The effort, in this state, sends him over backwards.
The arrow hits Crenshaw in the dainty melon-orange left shoulder. She shrieks, and angles to trample just as the sword-wielding elf stops laughing and reaches for his sword on the ground beside him.
Lauren flaps her hands frantically. He shot Crenshaw! Or Zhi! She emits a strangled squeak, and scrambles to her feet.
The elf on the ground next to the prone archer, Crenshaw's target, has his sword now and is starting to raise it, pointing it up at an angle. He's dangerously close to where Crenshaw's belly will be in a moment. The world seems to slow down as pieces with violent intention start coming together.
Lauren lunges forward, nerves already abuzz with anxious energy. A red-skirted missile of snarling vengeance is rocketing across the clearing toward the sword-weilding elf.
Sol and Seodil burst out of hiding right behind Lauren, but clearly, to Aiden and Steven, will not reach the elf before Crenshaw does.
Aiden steps out from behind the tree, brings the bow up, pulls and sends an arrow flying straight for the sword-wielder's sword hand, without so much as a blink of hesitation.
Steven takes in a sharp breath to shout something to Aiden, to keep him from killing the guy, then holds his tongue when he sees it isn't going to hit the guy in anyplace that he'll need right away.
Aiden's arrow flies straight and true-- also straight through his target with a nasty meaty ripping sound and a sudden bloody hole. The elf's sword drops from his useless right hand, no longer a threat to Crenshaw or anyone else. The elf himself is staring in shock, turning an unhealthy shade of pale.
Steven comes out quickly, moving to get the sword away from the perforated elf before he remebers that he has another hand.
Aiden lowers the bow, looking.. pleased.
Both Sol and Seodil make a triumphant, wolfish baying sound, all the odder for coming simultaneously from different species' throats. Crenshaw trumpets equine rage again as she reaches her archer and tramples him, skidding to a halt as she overshoots Kip. The bloodied swordsman is not unconscious despite having one useless hand now, and yells hoarsely for help as he sees everyone pouring in around him.
No help answers, the two archer guards having already been accounted for.
The trampled archer kicks jerkily and does not move again.
Lauren, at full speed now, plows into the formerly sword-wielding elf head-on. See him yell for help when he's got a faceful of skirts and hateful Lauren! HA!
Lauren is, in short order, comfortably settled with her knees digging into the sword-elf's breastbone and is using both of his pointy ears to knock his head repeatedly against the packed dirt ground. Dull hollow thuds repeat at intervals of a few seconds.
Sol eyes Lauren as he arrives beside them and lets her be, apparently not concerned with the sword-elf's welfare. Bending down, he takes the elf's dropped sword and tosses it off into the darkness. "Lauren. Try not to kill him, remember. Politics." Then Sol goes thoughtful. "Or should we? He's seen our faces." It's a remarkably less-than-compassionate tone.
Seodil has already begun moving toward Kip, seeing that Lauren and Sol have the wounded elf under control. Zhi is in the process of dismounting from Crenshaw.
THUNK. "Crenshaw stepped-" THUNK. "-on one already." THUNK. "He's dead, right?" CH-KRUK. "I really, REALLY want to hurt this one." Lauren continues to hurt her elf.
Aiden bends and grabs the unconscious elf's quiver before running into the clearing. He nocks another one, standing to cover Zhi as he gets Kip. "Lauren, enough!"
Steven moves to get Lauren -off- the elf. "Stop it! That's enough, already."
Lauren glares up at Steven, but gives her elf's head a break. "Fine. Is the other one dead?"
Steven says, "We should hope not."
Giving her elf a final good THUNK for luck, Lauren sits up. "Well, check," she snaps. "It's important."
Melierel's voice says, "Still, hold still, brave girl," and Crenshaw shrieks again. There is a snapping sound, like a stick breaking.
Aiden whirls on the sound, arrow up and pulled.
Steven blinks, turning quickly to look at Crenshaw.
Lauren winces. Right. The arrow. Poor Crennie...
Melierel is dropping the broken shaft of an arrow as they turn to look, a shorter length of shaft protruding still from Crenshaw's orange-cream shoulder with a trickle of blood. Zhi is inspecting Kip, and starts to bend to pick him up. Melierel stops him and does it himself, carrying his brother. He looks the clearing over with a grim satisfaction. "Thank you. Is anyone dead?"
Aiden lowers the bow and goes to inspect the other archer, the only one that's at risk of being dead.
The trampled archer is hot to the touch and looks very unhealthily unconscious, but alive. There are still hoofprint indentations in his armor.
Lauren's elf subsided into unconsciousness several blows to the head ago.
Aiden kneels beside the archer. "Well. The one we took out over there is alive. This one is right now, but might not be for long."
Sol says, "Where's Grennit? Is it worth the trouble to bring her in with something to help him, or should we make sure the two that definitely saw us don't live to tell?"
Steven says, "Melierel asked that we kill nobody, and we should see to that. We can worry about repurcissions from them seeing us later."
Lauren clambers up of what is by now a thoroughly concussed former swordsman. "I've got something in my pack that she gave me. It's for if you get hurt and still need to do things. I don't know what it actually DOES."
Aiden says, "Lauren? I'd rather this one didn't immediately get up to start doing things." He pauses with a sigh, "but, I'd rather he lived too.""
Kip moans in his sleep. Melierel says grimly, "I would prefer no deaths, thank you, Steven." He considers Lauren. "Foxcatchers are not known for their magic. I suspect that the effect is not true healing." He scowls. "I have one potion for emergencies. Crenshaw and Kip are not badly enough hurt to warrant it. That one is. If someone will carry Kip now that Crenshaw should not, I will be last here to administer it."
Kip's brother adds, "While you go to the rock and await me. If he wakes too healed, I will have to stay. Do not wait more than twenty minutes for me once you arrive at the meeting rock."
Aiden puts the pilfered bow and quiver down next to the fallen elf. He only grabbed them because his are not here. "I'll take him."
Steven says, "I'll carry him,."
Lauren nods glumly. "Let's go."
Zhi grins faintly at them both. "I'm closer, but thanks." He takes Kip immediately without further words, and starts walking.
Crenshaw whimpers as she starts. "Lauren, it huuuurts."
Steven nods a little, and starts to follow them towards the rock.
Sol and Seodil both sweep in to flank Aiden now that the objective is achieved and the retreat begun.
Aiden nods at Zhi and turns to make his way to the rock they're all meeting at.
Behind them, Melierel kneels at the fallen archer's head and unstoppers a bottle, waiting to pour until the rest are out of sight.
Lauren drifts over to her mare and pats the unhurt shoulder consolingly. "I'm REALLY sorry, Crennie. We can get you fixed up. You did really really well."
The trek to the rock is as quiet as possible, everyone aware that the state of affairs behind them remains uncertain until word arrives from Melierel-- or twenty minutes pass without him. When they arrive, Grennit is there looking anxious. She exclaims softly over Crenshaw and goes to tend her. Zhi carefully puts Kip down, his uncharacteristically angry face set in stone. The front of Kip's pants are blood-spotted from navel to crotch.
Aiden comes over to Kip and kneels down next to him, saying something that sounds startlingly like: "Jaysus Murphy." He touches Kip's forehead, frowning.
Steven frowns, crouching beside Kip. "What the heck happened?" He frowns a bit, the normally not-suspicious part of him making him glance back the way they came. he stands. "I'm going to start going back. I don't like this all of a sudden. Give me twenty minutes."
Aiden nods, "Be careful, Steven."
Steven nods, and heads off back the way they came.
Lauren is carefully not-looking at Kip. "Zhi? He's okay?"
Steven considers to himself as he makes hios way back to the site. For some reason Mel's remaining at the site to tend the elves bothers him. There's just something that doesn't make much sense about this.
Kip actually doesn't feel too far off normal, nor is he a bad color. He's a little cool, and still unconscious. Zhi starts unfastening Kip's pants, pulls them gently off the dried blood. Runes have been cut straight across, an inch or two below his navel. Zhi hisses something foreign.
Aiden's eyes flick down. "Zhi? What the hell is that?"
"It says... it translates best as 'honorless,'" Zhi says flatly, face furious. "I think I can make sure it doesn't scar, though."
Lauren fumes, still not looking. "Aiden? You should have shot that one in the FACE."
Aiden stands up. "I should've killed the bastard." He turns and glares off in the direction that Steven went walking, not trusting himself to go. He knows what he'd do if he did.
Grennit winces, over by Crenshaw, and mutters viciously. "Antiquated old bastards. Should let them die out."
Meanwhile, Steven reaches the halfway point to the campsite and encounters Melierel on his way toward the rock, five minutes' walk more. Melierel looks alarmed and hurries toward Steven. "Is something wrong?"
Steven shakes his head. "No, nothing." He starts to head back towards the rock with Melierel. "Just was worried, though I should wait halfway or so. All went all right? They cut Kip, I didn't get what it was, though..."
Melierel's face darkens and he breaks into a run with a terse, "They'll live." He doesn't sound particularly happy about it.
Steven nods a little, following Mel at a run.
Back at the rock, Lauren is pacing. "Has it been twenty minutes yet? They might come after us..."
Aiden shakes his head, "Not yet.. Just wait a bit longer, we can't go without Steven."
"I hope they get here soon, damn it." Lauren takes a deep breath, calms down, and goes to help Grennit tend to Crenshaw.
Grennit has gotten the arrowhead out of Crenshaw's shoulder and applied a sticky blue paste to the wound by the time Steven returns with Melierel, both at a run-- Melierel looking angry enough to bite someone. He skids to his knees by Kip, startling an equally furious and edgy Zhi, who shows him Kip's new decoration and then laces Kip's pants back up with a terse, "No other damage. That's something, I suppose, for your people." Melierel growls and reclaims the carrying of his unconscious brother, standing. He looks over the group. "Noone was awake when I left, but we should not assume it will last. It's best we were all moving. I'm taking my brother home. I can hide you nearby until the mare is ready to travel again, and provide you with what I can in thanks."
Aiden glowers at the woods in the direction of the camp. "Let's get out of here." He eyeballs Melierel's back. Don't think that we're done discussing this.
Melierel moves out immediately, presumably leading the way closer to his family's ancestral home.
Lauren hoists the pack Crenshaw was carrying on her own narrow shoulders and totters off after Melierel.
Steven nods a little, unable to keep from remaining suspicious about Mel. He also feels strangely unrepentant about being suspicious. After all.. we just have his word that he's Kips brother, as much as they look alike.
It wears on into the night as the group travels, and the lack of sleep is sorely felt by all but Grennit, Zhi, Sol, Seodil and Melierel. Kip does not show signs of waking for two hours... when he starts to make groggy noises, Melierel dips his head to speak quietly to him, and Kip subsides into silence after one gasped intake of breath.
Aiden's nearly on the edge of exhaustion. They didn't sleep last night and he hardly got any sleep the couple of nights prior to that. He keeps going, but the movements are automatic. He keeps walking because that's where the momentum is.
Another hour or so later, Melierel stops them and says quietly, "Can you climb? I have a place to conceal the mare if she will sleep lying down, but the rest of us must climb for safer shelter. There is a ladder."
Lauren groans. Crenshaw's pack is half her size, and she's been carrying it...and carrying it... "Can't somebody just throw down a rope or something and pull me up? I hurt."
Aiden rubs his hands across his eyes. "We all hurt, Lauren.. We can climb."
Melierel says solemnly, "The reason it is safe, Lauren, is that no one else is there. If you wish to be last, and to be hauled up... I suppose it can be done. I do have rope."
Lauren nods and mumbles something indistinct about compressed vertebrae.
Melierel produces a ladder from the treetops by some means; it falls with a silken whisper, some ultra-light rope. He taps it. "I will see to the mare. Go, if you choose, or await me. No one is there."
Steven says, "I'll wait down here with you. I don't mind climbing up a rope."
Melierel adds, "I can also hide or carry your packs myself, if they are a problem to carry up." He waits, looking tired now for the first time.
Lauren takes pity. "S'fine. I can manage my own Maybe I'll just stay down here with Crennie."
Since Steven seems to be waiting down here, Aiden decides to go up first, and sets about doing that, immediately.. As soon as he gets to the top, his hand is on the hilt of his sword, just in case it's not as empty as Melierel claims. He doesn't trust the Fall Elf.
Melierel shakes his head. "I would prefer not. Please, Lauren. If they do follow and find us, your mare is an animal and blameless in the attack. You are not."
Half-heartedly, Lauren protests: "But she's not a STUPID animal," and finally just shuts the hell up with a heavy sigh. "See you in a few hours, Crennie," she says, and follows Aiden up the rope very, very slowly.
Aiden finds the top dimly but acceptably lit to his eyes, silvery moonlight making the scene almost breathtakingly beautiful as it touches the elegant shapes and elven lines of the treetop gazebo. It feels old... and appears to be quite empty other than Aiden. It does have some bedrolls and other lumps in one corner of the octagonal room, but all are too small to be adult elves.
Aiden stands and quietly moves over towards the corner where things are piled, hand still on his sword..
Melierel finishes concealing Crenshaw and inquiring as to her comfort; she sounds groggy but sincere when she professes that she'll be all right for the night now. He nods to Steven, waiting with the Fall elf, and then goes up the ladder as if unconcerned about having Steven behind him. The others, including a silent and withdrawn Kip, have already ascended.
Steven nods, and follows Mel up the ladder.
The pile in front of Aiden is wholly inanimate, a few chests and piled blankets and bedrolls. It does not attack him.
Kip gets to the top, moves over to a corner, sits down and starts to cry-- very, very quietly. He sounds terribly young.
Aiden walks over to Kip, untying the sword as he does. He puts it down, and sits down next to Kip, hugging him. Aww, Kip.. I can't believe they could be so cruel.
Chewing a lip, Lauren tugs out something warm to wrap herself in from the pile of bedrolls. She watches Aiden and Kip from the corner of her eye. He probably doesn't want to talk about it, she decides. Not to me. My fault. Bring the angst. She goes to the other side of the room entirely, and huddles up.
Kip says nothing, only leans into the hug, still crying softly. Zhi and Melierel look at each other, at Kip, and then Zhi goes to Lauren while Melierel joins Aiden with Kip. Across the room from each other, they both say the same thing in gentle tones to different people. "It's not your fault."
Steven lets out a breath, and crouches down near the center of the room, crossing his legs, trying to focus his mind a bit.
Aiden doesn't say anything. He lets Kip's brother do the talking. He just sits with his friend, rubbing his back in silent comfort.
Grennit looks between the two huddled masses and crawls over to Steven. Miserable, she says "I want to help and I'm not needed anywhere right now that somebody else isn't already. Can I be here? Please?"
Steven blinks a little in surprise. "Uh... sure, all right." he wonders what she wants, specifically, but he puts the question from his mind. This has been a rough time for all of them..
Flashing Steven a grateful look, Grennit scoots closer, leans warmly on his shoulder and sighs, apparently soaking up the creature comfort.
In the silver-touched dimness, the sad lump of Kip finally whispers, "I want to go home."
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