Wayward Squirrel 3--Chapter 3
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In the Borderlands or Just What We Needed: Another Bromance!
In the repaired, and renamed, Gearloose Goose below, shouts of truimph explode as the Wayward Squirrel slides into the carefully placed anchoring beacons. Just beyond, glimpses of a laser cutting floodlight and a billowing sale indicate that Izzy and Lucien have made it through with the Protectors.
Best of all the darkfog is dispersing, and the night sky full of stars is shining through. Tanaka and TwoFer, heading up with a ladder for the Squirrel inhabitants, are met with an astonishing apparition who has appeared to hover over the Frenchman and the Vixen as they descend toward the Border's edge.
Outfit Not Found
<p>Return our order, push back the darkness, and drive the Riders from our realms. Our hope is in you. Farewell for a time. We shall meet again!
With those words, the image fades. TwoFer locks the last rung into place with a firm swat of a paw, and then drops lightly back to Tanaka's shoulder.
Not a moment too soon, as a shrill scream goes up from below. It sounds like Ms. Miranda who runs the General Supply Mart across the street.
"Bone Riders!!!"
Tanaka almost flies down the cable, rolling over the bar surface below and grabbing two swords from the rack by the door.
The Goose participants rush to the door as Jack rushes up from the basement with a hand cannon and goes to join Tanaka. However, as he exits the door, he sees that most of the Riders have already been dispatched. A tall stranger is standing back to back with Tanaka and both of them have turned their heads to look at each other and smile.
Ms. Miranda is laughing heartily, the sound made fuller by her considerable bulk.
"Nice going, boys! Sure does make my back surplus pit easier to get to!"
Within two hours, the Frenchman and the Vixen have docked safely near the Gearloose Goose, and the crew of the Wayward Squirrel has decended from up above.
Jedro, Tony, and Nancy have whipped up a simple meal, and everyone seems to be in high spirits.
"I can't say we've managed to repair everything," Hayao explains, "but we have made it into a liveable base of operations."
"Yep," agrees Jack. "We need one of those. This is one crazy place."
"Must have tuckered all of you out," Ms. Miranda adds. "I reckon you should all get a good rest. You can tackle Bordertown tomorrow. You'll be needing someway to get around too, I think, so I can give you all access to my surplus pits."
"You can?!?" Pugsy fairly shouts. "I can go tonight!"
"Hold it a minute," Ms. Miranda adds. "Nobody gets access for free. Seeing as how you all seem to be really clever, plus you don't have a lot of Bordertown coin, I'll make you a deal." She hands a piece of paper to each team captain.
The paper contains two conundrums.
"That first one's been bothering me for some time. I've got someone sneaking in by nights and smuggling out my goods. Now, I've got three suspects: Joe, Bill, and JimBob. Marshall almost had it figured before he became a Rider bike. Maybe you can do better."
You open the paper and read:
<ol start="2">
<li>Ms. Miranda&;s birthday is approaching, so she gave Hayao and Nancy ten dates on which it might fall:</li>
</ol>
<p>July 17 July 18
August 14 August 16
September 14 September 15 September 17
October 15 October 16 October 19</p>
<p>Then she took Hayao aside and told him only the month, then did the same thing to Nancy, but told her only the day.</p>
<p>After that, Hayao said: "I don&;t know when Ms. Miranda&;s birthday is, but I know Nancy doesn&;t know either."
"Oh!" exclaimed Nancy. "At first I didn&;t know when it is, but I know now!"
"You do?" asked Hayao cheerfully, and, when Nancy nodded. he added, "Then I know when it is as well."
Ms. Miranda chuckles. "That second one is my own test of what kind of brains you got rattling around. I've had a lot of fun with that one over the years.
"My head hurts," says Pugsy after a few minutes of trying to figure. "I think we all need to sleep."
"That does seem wise," Ertrude puts in. "The inside of the Squirrel is still perfectly operational, and so everyone is welcome to climb on up and get a good night's sleep."
Even Kelian nods. "That's nice of you. Might be good to scrub up a bit." He smiles at Larianne, who blushes slightly.
Tanaka's head comes up slightly, and he frowns at Kelian. "Take it slow, mate. She went through a lot a while back when she was abducted. Had a bunch of drugs pumped into her. I had to give her a shot to help her out of it."
"YOU!!!" Larianne snaps out of her chair like a rocket. "You! You're the one who gave me that shot?!?!?!?" Looking around frantically, she grabs the used bucket of soapy cleaning water Jedro used to mop the floor and dumps it over Tanaka's head. Then, with nothing else in immediate throwing distance, she turns and flounces up the ladder and into the inn.
"Dang!" says Kelian admiringly as Tanaka wipes and sputters. "I do like a gal with spirit!"
(OOC: This is a puzzle and RP challenge. If you are playing in Traveler Mode, you must solve ONE of the two puzzles above and also RP chatting, settling down in the Wayward Squirrel above, etc. It can be a simple and homey RP, and you can wonder about what's ahead, what Bordertown is like, what vehicle you might want, etc. Basically, settle in to the story. It's been a busy day. :D If you are playing in Adventurer mode, you must solve BOTH of the puzzles and also do the RP. You have until 11:59 Subeta time on June 5th. Comments and questions on the OOC thread please.)
UGH! MATH! Wake me when it is over zzz
(occ ~ sorry greenrowan, posted to you on wrong board meant other one ... lol you caught me before I edited below. LOL)
(OOC) Puzzle answers by smail. (RPs here)
, : Here is our entry.
Shasa the Bard
Safe inside the Goose, Shasa sighed with pleasure as she sipped daintily from a cup of mulled wine. Hearing Lady Frieda&;s offer, she called out "But I would like to buy Miss Dace&;s drinks, Ma&;am! It&;s the least I can do after she saved me." she raised her glass in a toast to Dace.</p>
<p>Looking around for Kiska, she spotted him slowly waddling towards the fireplace. The cold weather had taken its toll and after ordering and consuming nearly double his weight in sausages, the tree snake, now looking rather like a sausage himself, was intent on taking what even Shasa had to admit was a well deserved rest.</p>
<p>She herself, however, was too wound up to sleep. After a quick glance around the room, Shasa rummaged inside her backpack for a few minutes before withdrawing a carefully wrapped but slightly squashed parcel which gave off a delicious scent of warm honey and an old but lovingly cared for mandolin. Frowning in concentration, the werefox carefully began to tune it. A few minutes later, with a nod of satisfaction, she gently strummed the instrument, warming up with a soft, well known ballad before gradually increasing the tempo until she was playing a cheerful and triumphant jig.</p>
<p>Muscle memory took over as her fingers danced on the strings and she slowly relaxed, giving herself to the music. &;Lively, but not prancing-upside-down-on-the-roof lively,&; she reminded herself. Despite the celebratory mood, everyone here was tired, and dancing too fast could easily leave them with injuries and aching muscles the next morning. But a bouncy jig was just right to give everyone a good time.
Eren the Ranger</p>
<p>Eren lounged in his chair, nervously keeping to the edges of the group. He wasn&;t much for drinking, which was strange considering his country of origin, social station, and family, all of whom were known to indulge in the drink at any given moment; the pressures of ruling a country did that to you, he guessed. He wasn&;t all that comfortable with the fact that everyone was relaxing, despite the ordeal they had all just gone through. There seemed to be no time for lazing about and this, this, strange camaraderie between the group.</p>
<p>Well, all except the mage. Personally, he still thought she was kind of a bint, what with her smug attitude and sense of superiority over everyone else. She seemed to believe that because she had magic, so much magic, all at her fingertips, literally, she was automatically terrifying and better than everyone else. Eren did not mesh well with groups, but even he knew that you had to interact somewhat civilly and without hostility if you did not want to be punched in the face. At the moment, staring across the room towards where she was sitting, he felt a strong urge to put an arrow into her forehead...but he would never do it (at least, not in front of witnesses).</p>
<p>Glancing around quickly to find where Pavel was located, he flicked his fingers, summoning the slender black wolf towards him. He wanted some sense of familiarity at the moment, when he was so out of his depth. At the moment, Eren was reconsidering what the hell he was thinking when he signed up for this.</p>
<p>"But I have to stick with it now, or else none of us are going to make it through this intact...physically, anyway. I&;m almost positive that no one is coming home mentally unaffected...except for perhaps the mage. She probably cracked a long time ago already" Eren mused sullenly.</p>
<p>Picking up his glass of water and threading his fingers through the fur at Pavel&;s scruff, he leaned back and tried to relax, however fruitless that seemed.
Dace the Vagabond</p>
<p>Dace raiser her mug of spiced wine and smiled broadly at Shasa. "It was my pleasure! Your fast flying paws helped us get hooked up in no time!" She took a swig of the wine and looked over at Frieda who had asked about her present state as a minotaur.</p>
<p>"Well, it&;s a long story, but when mom and pop found me as a baby I was in some kind of ice chest, floating down the river that ran past the BioGene labs up north. They just thought I was a regular human baby until one say I grabbed an old pelt and shifted into a beaver! Later, I turned into a baby river otter, which relieved them since they were otters, but they realized that there was something off about me and tried to make sure I didn&;t come in contact with any humans until I was older. I was too young to easily shift, so they felt letting me live like them would be best.</p>
<p>It wasn&;t until I accidentally shifted into a skunk at boarding school that I realized I was too different to live with animals anymore, so I ran away from school and eventually ended up on my fishing barge. I sure miss mom and dad though." She took a big gulp of wine and wiped a tear away from her eye. "No one knows why I can do what I do, but if I touch a creature other than myself I can shift. But it&;s one at a time, and it takes a while to shift again, which is why I didn&;t turn into a fox after grabbing Shasa. Oh well, my secret&;s out now."
Frieda the Alchemist</p>
<p>Frieda looked at the paper and scratched her head, "I think I might want an ale before I try to solve these puzzles... I mean this is a pub, correct?"</p>
<p>Once inside the Gearloose Goose Frieda was still shocked by Dace&;s appearance and couldn&;t help staring, though she knew it was rude and that her mother would have said something by now had she been there. "You&;re a MINOTAUR? You look like Nico...or is it Nicky? How are you a minotaur?" She caught the attention of the server and ordered an ale.</p>
<p>Dace explained that while she was raised as a river otter, her parents discovered her &;special ability&; but didn&;t bestow it upon her. Frieda already knew that she was Dace&;s cousin by adoption, but she was previously unaware that Dace was a shape-shifter. And, nothing Dace said this evening explained how she could do what she did.</p>
<p>Frieda wondered what might happen if her cousin came in contact with a faerie, a wizard, or worse...a demonic being. Frieda shuddered, and took a gulp of ale. "Oh well, I guess that explains how, even though you&;re my cousin, you don&;t look anything like anybody in our clan." Frieda scratched her head and looked into her empty tankard. "I think I would like another ale." She was going to have to sort out her feelings about Dace real soon, because she didn&;t want to be afraid of her cousin, she was already a little afraid of Aicha. She was going to have to work on that too.</p>
<p>She looked at the others as they gathered near the bar, " I&;m buying the first two rounds for the whole group, any takers?" She hoped the gold coin she had in the pouch next to her bosom was enough, she had no idea how much ale this group could put away.</p>
<p>Doom came strolling into the Gearloose Goose, her pretty red bow tied to her tail and still smelling nice. She instinctively knew exactly where the food was and waited patiently as the server brought her a large bowl of scrambled eggs, sausage and fruit. It was obvious that the server knew Doom&;s food preferences, had Doom frequented this place before?</p>
<p>Once finished, the honey badger sauntered over to the rug in front of the fire, turned three times, settled down and fell asleep unconcerned by the music and ambient noise, her large fluffy tail was up over her nose.</p>
<p>Frieda wasn&;t tired and enjoyed a few pints of the Inn&;s nutty brown ales and reminisced about her Uncle Poppy&;s Famous Wheezle Brew, back home. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed that most excellent High Sierra ale. For a little creature, all of four foot and four inches, who weighed eighty-eight pounds soaking wet, she could put away a lot of ale. She could also hold her ale like a pro. One of the benefits of her rapid metabolism was that she frequently won drinking contests among her pirate friends and paid for a lot of drinks with her winnings.</p>
<p>She watched with growing interest as Shasa produced an instrument, tuned it up and started playing. Her fluffy tail picked up the beat and Frieda was again transported back home in her thoughts and memories to happy times on Terra. A small tear fell on her cheeks as she remembered the Market Day dances when she was a young adolescent and the first time she danced with Weldon, her protector. How she longed to be free to go back home and escape the bonds of her exile. She finished her last ale and decided it was time to dance.</p>
<p>Frieda made it a point of dancing with Teislyn, Dace and Shasa first so that she could get her nerve up to ask one of the males to dance. It wasn&;t that she was shy of human men, on a professional level, she had seen a lot of human men at her healer&;s practice on Omen. She was just a little shy around them from a personal standpoint.</p>
<p>The only human male that she had ever &;dated&; was when she was ship&;s surgeon on the Midnight Lamp a few years ago. After she had kissed him only once, he confessed to being a 47,000 year old seven-foot demon warrior, the last of his race from another dimension. Immediately after that, she gave up cross-species dating, fell in love with her Weldon and was married.</p>
<p>Frieda wasn&;t interested in any kind of romantic encounter tonight, she just wanted to get to know her new friends. They had fought together, now they should get to know each other better. She thought that dancing was a good way to get acquainted...like at Masquerade, only without masks.</p>
<p>She looked at Dace and shrugged, "I want to dance with Eren...reassure me that he&;s not 47,000 years old?</p>
<p>Frieda was proud to be a Stone Cold Rogue, she was impressed with their performance fighting the Dark Fog Wraiths and rescuing the Wayward Squirrel and she showed her pride by ordering several more rounds of drinks for everybody in the Inn. She noticed that Aicha seemed to be off by herself in the back in the dark, not dancing or drinking with the rest and she thought that she might inquire as to why.</p>
<p>She found out from Winton what the Mage was drinking and ordered her another. Frieda took the drink over the Aicha and set it down on a cocktail napkin. "Evening Aicha. I just wanted to thank you for all your help today. Would you like to join the others for some singing and dancing? I&;m sure they would love your company."</p>
<p>Aicha&;s response wasn&;t quite what Frieda had expected. She was well acquainted with gruff, threatening bluster from coyote and fox kind on her home world. She was often subjected to verbal abuse at Healer&;s Hall when she was sewing up a wound or extracting a tooth. But bark and bite were two different realities that often were not connected. Perhaps Aicha was hurting but was unable or unwilling to acknowledge it and bring herself to seek help. Maybe it would be wise to let Aicha have some room for now and to be ready and available to her if and when she asked for help. "Ok then. If you need somebody to help in your work, you be sure to let me know what it is that I can do to for you. Other then being a snack, that is. I don&;t think my Welly would approve of that."</p>
<p>Frieda curtsied, smiled, turned and was strolling casually back to the group when she met Dace approaching and gave her the &;oh brother&; look. "I&;ll be back for more ale in a moment...I think I peed a little just now."
Alphonse The Warrior</p>
<p>Alphonse climbed down from the Wayward Squirrel stepped into the common area of the Gearloose Goose found a server and ordered a tankard of ale before Frieda had offered to buy drinks for everybody. He raised his tankard to the small weasel-woman, nodded her way, tilted his head back and downed his drink in one go. "I&;ll have that drink little lady!" He exclaimed as he set his empty down on a table and sauntered over the the rest of the group. He was ready to unwind after the battle and hoped that one of the bards would break out into some songs. He needed some drink and he hated drinking in silence. Music and alcohol did a lot to drown out one&;s thoughts.</p>
<p>The conversation was light, some were wondering about what sort of vehicle they were going to need, others were reflecting about the battle they had just been through. Alphonse wasn&;t much for conversation, but he didn&;t just sit silently by. He made a few comments about the need for weapons on the vehicle if they were going to encounter any kind of hostile. He reasoned that if the first wave of attack came from electric storm wraiths, what was next. The first wave of hostilities was never the worst.</p>
<p>Alphonse took a short break to "get some fresh air" and returned only to have another tankard thrust into his hand. Somebody was feeling generous and he wasn&;t about to complain, free ale was the best ale. He had a feeling it was the alchemist, was her way of taking care of everybody&;s emotional health. He didn&;t care, he just raised his tankard her way and took a drink. Shasa the Bard was tuning up her instrument and he was impressed with her skill with a stringed instrument. "Good, there&;ll be some good music after all.</p>
<p>He strolled over the ranger, Eren and sat down "Mind if I join you for a few moments" The two exchanged pleasantries and Alphonse asked a few questions that had been troubling him about the wraith encounter. He was especially in the Ranger&;s bow techniques, he had seen some mighty fine bow skills in the young man and thought he could pick up a few pointers. He rarely used a bow himself, but he was no slouch. He was always looking for ways to improve his skills.</p>
<p>At one point, Lady Frieda started dancing with some of the other females and her tail caught his attention...why was she a Lady? Did he miss that part? Was she royalty? Why did she have a tail? He shrugged, it didn&;t matter, she was a pretty little thing and she made him smile. After she had danced with all the females in their group, she strolled over to where he and Eren were seated. Alphonse rose to his feet, as was the custom in the presence of a female. She seemed a little timid and he knew that she was going to ask one of them for a dance. He knew his manners, stepped forward and bowed. "Lady Frieda, Good evening. Would you honor me with a dance?"</p>
<p>He led her to the small dance floor, took her paw in his hands and danced a lively two-step with her. He admired her dance skills, she was quick and lively, and she matched his own skill. He was a marvelous dancer himself, and tonight he was at his best. He whirled and twirled to the music to show his amazing talent when suddenly there was a loss of gravity in the room and it turned on it&;s side and crashed. Alphonse was suddenly thrust into utter darkness and the room went silent.</p>
<p>When he opened his eyes again, the room was still spinning, but Lady Frieda and the others were standing around him laughing. He realized what happened, twelve tankards of ale had caused everybody else in the room to suddenly become quite drunk. Maybe he should sit in one of the big overstuffed chairs and relax...after another ale.
Taking a break from playing, Shasa tiptoed towards the sleeping Doom, the honey scented perfume in her hand. It contained an exceptionally delicious honey cake she had purchased from a small but crowded bakery in the last town she had gone through before reaching the Crossroads. Apparently the owners kept their own hives and were well known for their honey flavoured foods. Shasa had succumbed to temptation after passing by the shop and bought a large portion of their famous honey cake as well as some assorted tidbits. The cake itself was a rich golden brown and wonderfully sticky, with a shiny glazed crust and small fruit chunks embedded like little pieces of treasure inside it. Shasa carefully loosened the parcel's wrapping and placed it beside Doom. As far as she was concerned, the honey badger deserved it, and much more.
Standing up, she caught the tail end of Lady Frieda and Aicha's conversation, and felt a shudder go down her spine at the sight of the mage's glowing eyes. Her irritation at Aicha's behaviour quickly overtook her fear and Shasa was about to go over and say... something, when Dace intervened. Shasa watched
I got them both. second one was a brain teaser XD
do I smail or should the captain send you a message when she gets on?
Looking , as she puts her feet up on the table, she shakes her head, and says, "No Worries THIS Time ! WE got us a Real Smart Werewolf here, and SHE'LL know how to figure this out in a snap!"
Grabbing a drink from a passing waiter's tray, she sits back to let the poor startled werewolf cogitate.
Teislyn looked over at the paper was holding and nodded in agreement. "Drinks first! We can figure this out later." she said.
She cast a glance over at Kelian and decided that he was a pretty good looking man. "it's nice to have such distractions." she thought to herself.
Still trying to get a few wayward strands of hair back in place, Laurie politely took the paper from Ms. Miranda, tucking it away in her notebook so she didn't lose it. Sure, she was intrigued by everything she had heard but in all honesty after what she and the rest of the had just been through the things she found most interesting were a stiff drink and somewhere to grab a hot shower.
LairBears never truly walk alone
Our Lair is proof you don't have to stand face to face to know you've got friends who stand with you when you need us.
Mni wiconi -- water is life
Kronus dusts himself off from looking over all the junkyard relics and rebuilding the bike.Wow the food sure smells good looking at Blood Frenzy,Elne,Dori,Chandie Teche,Galadeth.Anyone else as hungry as i am?I think a drink would also be a welcome sight.I'll buy this round...pulls out a Sorobian $5er.....hope this covers it??
"Wait, I understood there might be punch and pie?" Phineas frowned, because he found it not stylish to pout, but someone could call it a pout. His eyes strayed toward the bar briefly and he made a solemn vow to see it real soon. For now there was paper with which to deal, and things that needed figuring out. And team work. Stuff like that. Therefore, he pulled on his best professorial look and struck what he was sure was a very intelligent, thoughtful pose.
Later that night, with the exhausted adventurers fed, clean, and properly at rest in the Protector's wing, Ertrude knocked gently on Larianne's door, then entered. Larianne was brushing her light honey brown hair with a vengeance.
She's gotten prettier, Ertrude thought fondly. But she needs, in so many ways, to be a bit more grown-up. Aloud she said, "Leave some hair on your head and not on the brush, darling."
"How could he just show up here like that! After what he did to me!" Larianne sobbed out, her eyes brimming with tears.
Ertrude sat gently on the edge of her daughter's bed. "What he did to you....hmmm. Well, let's see what I remember. When your father and I first saw Tanaka, he was carrying you, very gently since you were in pitiful condition. He'd evidently walked a long way with you in that state. While you were awake, your eyes couldn't even focus. Evidently, the man on whom you had that terrible crush planned on having you die that day, so you had some extremely lethal drugs in your system.
"He told us his uncle had brewed a potion for you, but he wasn't sure of the side effects of the formula, so he also served as the lab rat. When he didn't have any ill effects, Hayao gave him a syringe to use on you. After Tanaka delivered you to use, he ran back as fast as he could to help all our Protectors save Crystania. Today, he and Kelian took out a 'welcoming party' of those Bone Riders, who, from what I've heard, are very grim indeed.
"So that's what I know he's done so far."
Larianne wavered a bit, but then exclaimed. "I aged three years!"
Ertrude stood up. "As opposed to no life at all, I'd say it's a fair exchange. Live three years longer. Stop pulling your hair out and go to sleep now, darling."
She waited to tuck Larianne in and stroked Lappy as he hopped onto the bed to be next to his mistress.
"Mama, how come you always make more impact talking quietly than dad does with his 'now see here, girl' lectures?"
"I'm a witch," Ertude winked as she left and closed the door behind her.
She went back downstairs to turn down the entry lights and found Tanaka fast asleep on the sofa nearest the rigged ladder, near enough to waken if any disturbance should occur. Ertrude opened a side cupboard, pulled out a comforter and lightly put it over him. Finally she reached out and smoothed his dark hair back off his brow.
"Yes," she said to herself with a small smile, "I'm a witch, and a mother."
The next morning, Ms. Miranda's eyes widened with surprise at the speed with which the answers returned to her.
"Well, dang, those rumors about you all seem to be true. Pugsy was first up this morning, and she's already at the back lot with those fox friends of hers , trying to find what she might need to make her own Trainquility Class Streaker. Got enough crashed ship parts back there to make the whole line of Trainquilities, though, so go pick your model. On t'other hand, you might want to build yourself a bike. I'm thinking you don't want one of them bone things, but there's lots better stuff in the east pile. Take your choice."
Winton comes over to join you. "Also, Fawnira, I think her name is, has invited you to enter the West March if you want to seek out creatures to pull a Faerie Glider or Enchanted Coach. She says they'll be proud to serve you. Please keep in mind that you can't take any Border vehicle into Seelie lands, only Faerie crafts. Also, those bonebikes are about as Unseelie as it gets."
"Amen to that," adds Jedro, spitting on the ground in contempt, "those Riders didn't appear until after we started seeing those fogs and storms. Now they're everywhere, and they'd just as soon kill you, eat you, and use your bones for bike frames as they would breathe. Never let your guard down, that's all!"
"Off you go then," Ms. Miranda gives you a friendly wave, "pick what you need. Just be sure to show us all the plans when you get done, and tell us which items you used."
(OOC: Since nearly half of our teams has already turned in correct answers to both puzzles, I'm putting the second chapter part up now. All teams must have or make at least one vehicle. Choose the vehicle(s) you want to submit and: 1) List your materials. 2) Give a description OR a detailed sketch of the vehicle. Teams will be scored on only one vehicle. You do NOT need to RP finding parts or building your vehicle. You can, of course, always chat as you wish. but this is a DESIGN challenge. You have until 11:59 Subeta time on June 8th. Comments and questions on the OOC thread please.)
Not quite sure how you missed this, but here is the post with the second part of the challenge. You still have two days to meet the deadline, and any entry is better than none!
(occ) So RP and puzzles still due the 5th...the design due the 8th
And sorry everyone for pinging all of wayward squirrel. That is what I get for simply copy and pasting ALL of the above and not noticing the # WS til AFTER I posted. head desk
(OOC: Yes, correct.)
Yep that should cover the drinks. I'll get the next round. Think this could be a long night.
Going Fishing!!! 🐟
Misfits Chatting Over Breakfast
Early next morning Jenna woke in a cold sweat. She just experienced a horrible nightmare. The wraiths came to her and started taunting her. They told her that they could never really be destroyed. The dark mist surrounded Jenna and she started to run. The diabolical laughter followed her wherever she turned. Panicked, she realized that she couldn't run very fast, almost as if she was trying to run through mud. To her horror, she looked down at her legs and saw they had turned into gelatin. Then her body started to jiggle, the curse started to creep upward. She tried to brush away the powder that was falling on top of her, but she soon realized her arms were also turned into gelatin. The evil laughter turned into battle cries. Jenna looked around frantically, the voices almost sounded familiar. And there they were. Amdir and Juana with their swords swooping downward on each of her arms, cutting them clean off. The last thing she remembered was an arrow shooting straight at her head and Leaf's deadly look.
Jenna sat up and looked around the room. She could feel the cool breeze coming in through her window. As soon as her heart stopped racing she jumped out of bed and dressed quickly. She found Leaf downstairs, sitting at a table in the corner of the room. He was studying the puzzles while sipping on a cup of herbal tea. When he saw the bard coming, he smiled at her briefly, but then cocked his head at her. He knew something was bothering her. Jenna tried to distract him and kissed him lightly on the cheek then sat down next to him. "Good morning. Any luck with the puzzles yet?"
Leaf stared at her for a moment, then looked back at the papers. "Not yet. I've been trying to match the numbers to things I know, but nothing seems to make sense. I haven't looked at the other brain teaser yet. Did you sleep okay?"
Jenna avoided his gaze, "It's not my own bed, you know. I couldn't get comfortable."
A giggle was heard coming down the stairs. Jenna was relieved that she was no longer the focus of Leaf's attention. Anna and Jilly were discussing excitedly what they had learned over the long winter. Amdir was not far behind them. The three of them spotted the ranger and bard and headed over to help solve the puzzles.
Amdir scoffed, "No Juana, eh? Why am I not surprised?"
"Don't be so hard on her Amdir", scolded Jenna. "She put up a good fight yesterday and was almost killed. Let her rest."
Right then, the door of the inn opened and in walked Juana. She had a thin sheen of sweat on her face. "Sorry I'm late, I was out practicing my morning exercise routine."
The look on Amdir's face was one of surprise. Jenna just smirked and turned back to the papers. "We need to figure this out so we can win favor with Ms. Miranda."
Juana scanned the code. "It's just a bunch of random numbers. Is there a safe around here? Maybe it's a lock combination?"
Anna giggled, "That would be one ginormous knob on it. The largest number is 57735!"
Leaf frowned. He wasn't very good at math. He turned to Amdir. "My friend, have you any idea what this could mean?"
The vagabond looked at the numbers. "710- is that a time? 57735 could be coordinates? 34 is the person's age?"
Juana furrowed her brow. "I don't see how 57735 can be coordinates. WHERE would that take us?"
Amdir shot her an angry look, "I don't know! At least I'm TRYING to come up with reasonable ideas!"
Anna grabs the piece of paper, "Maybe it's a magic spell and these are clues to the ingredients used."
The ranger rolled his eyes. "And I suppose the magic spell will reveal some person's name and what he's selling?"
The misfits continued to argue over the puzzle and the coded paper was snatched from one person to the next. At one point the paper flew up in the air and fluttered down in front of Jilly, who had been sitting quietly there during the heated arguement. She looked at the numbers and realized something strange... "Ahem. I think I figured it out." Everyone stopped mid-sentence and turned to Jilly. She blushed, and then continued to share her find.
"Well who would've thought of that?" chuckled Jenna. "Well done Jilly! I think we have our first answer!"
The misfits congratulated the alchemist, who blushed an even deeper shade of red. Now they just had to figure out the birthday puzzle.
As if on queue, Juana pipes in, "Well at least the birthday puzzle is more obvious!"
The group looks at her as if she had an alien bursting out of her ear. "What? Do I have bugs in my hair or something?
"How is that obvious?" Anna shook her head. She just couldn't wrap her head around the logic of the riddle.
Juana explained to the group, the way the puzzle worked. She had to explain it more than once but slowly, one by one, they began to comprehend what seemed impossible to solve was indeed possible.
Leaf turned to Juana, "I'm impressed. You have changed since we last traveled."
Juana smiled at the elf. "Maybe I just grew up a little bit." She then bopped his nose and dashed out of the tavern. "But only a little bit! Hahahaha!"
Leaf scowled while he rubbed his nose. The rest of the misfits broke out in laughter. Jenna smiled, the memory of the nightmare was slipping away, becoming a distant memory.
Bohemian Travelers Relax
Frenzy ordered a well deserved pint of ale from the barmaid. It was good to have the Wayward Squirrel safely anchored at last but who knew what may happen next? Taking my drink, with my companion, Lairbear, by my side. I sauntered out front into the fresh air to await the arrival of my friends. I pondered on how wonderful it was to see the darkfog dispersing, and the night sky full of stars shining through. It looked as thought things could return to normal. The others finally arrived and I followed them into the Squirrel.
Chandie followed others into the Wayward Squirrel quite subdued yet she knew from the start, their group was wonderful and could get a lot accomplished! Maybe no one heard her shameful admission that she was scared of heights? Everyone just seemed so brave without any fears of their own. Perhaps she can contribute with her lyre and avoid heights altogether? Ninja, her companion, possibly feeling her distress scooted closer and laid at Chandie's feet before closing her eyes. Sitting in a chair near the rest, Chandie nodded to the offer of beer then took a sip before allowing it to sit untouched at the table in front of her then pulled the lyre from the leather carrying case on her back to lay her lap. An unfamiliar song softly filled the air yet didn't appear to be heard except as a background noise to the chatter of others. Either the influence of the beer, or possibly the tune seemed to encourage relaxation. She had always had a knack for conveying what was needed and desired with her lyre. The day she was given this while still a toddler barely able to walk was etched in her memory..she remembered her grandfather on his death bed.
"Child, it is your heritage to carry on, this is yours now. You will know what to do with this magic, I will tell you it's name..."
Before she learned the name, her grandfather closed his eyes for the last time. He was long gone, or it seemed like it in her twenty-two years, as his scraggly face was barely remembered yet sometimes she felt him over her shoulder, and smelled his particular brand of pipe tobacco then imagined him nodding or frowning at her performances. Possibly that could be why midnight walks with Ninja, and her music was the speed she was used to... perhaps she could even take another late night walk once the rest were all in bed.
Somewhat alarmed at the thought of traveling away from the Wayward Squirrel while the triumvirate partners are away, Dori's alarmed body expression alert the fiends to Dori's distress. Dori carefully sips some water that was handed over, attempting to maintain calm within the alarm. Adventures are fun, safety in numbers, all will be well.
Kronus dusts himself off from looking over all the junkyard relics and rebuilding the bike.Wow the food sure smells good looking at Blood Frenzy,Elne,Dori,Chandie Teche,Galadeth.Anyone else as hungry as i am?I think a drink would also be a welcome sight.I'll buy this round...pulls out a Sorobian $5er.....hope this covers it??
Frenzy downed the last of her pint. "Yep that should cover the drinks. I'll get the next round. Think this could be a long night."
Elne took a seat at the table with the others but jumped to her feet again at a sudden rumbling noise. She realized it was the sound of her own growling stomach and quickly sat back down. Soon she relaxed at the sound of Chandie's music and gratefully accepted an ale from Kronus. The camaraderie with her friends at the table, the cool ale and the aroma of food provided Elne with a sense of peace she had not felt in years. She was confident that together they could handle anything.
Letting out a sigh of relief, happy to have the Wayward Squirrel safely anchored; Galadeth follows in behind the rest of the group. Exhausted from the ordeal Chaise finds a nice spot on the floor to rest for the journey ahead, the sound of Chandie’s lyre filling his ears gently sending him to sleep. Galadeth passes at the offer of ale; instead brings over a jug of water for herself and Dori. She leaves a bowl of water beside her sleepy companion and soon joins the table with the rest of the group. Listening to the others chatting away and laughing over drinks she starts to feel a sense of comfort within the group, the type of comfort she never believed she could have with anyone other than her own, they were friends & she believed that together they could handle anything ahead of them.
Dancing to Dreamland
Phineas looks over the paper, hemming and hawing in what, he assumes, is a most thoughtful and intelligent sounding way. He even knits his brows together as if in supreme concentration, making sure to purse his lips and nod thoughtfully. He is so sage and wise, ya know? Never mind that, internally, he is wondering what strange language this is all in that everything is so weird and backward looking. Why couldn't he be up bathing or sleeping or drinking? He would very much like to be drinking. Maybe he could claim fatigue due to battle injury? No, that was the dark elf that was hit by the electricity, Phineas probably could not claim that as an excuse. As if reminded of Nightshade (thinking about people reminds you of them, and what not) his eyes raise slightly over the paper to see said warrior giving what seems a penetrating look. "Erm...yes?"
Without a word Nightshade gingerly takes the note from Phineas's hand and flips it right side up. "Moron..." he grunts.
With all due aplomb, Phineas retakes the note, inclining his head ever so cordially. "My thanks, dear fellow," the bard comments Nightshade, "I was, however contemplating all the angles, you see." With that, the bard promptly turns the page sidewards, raising his brow in the ancient aaahhh I see way, and then uprights it again. Then he blinks- twice. "Hey, I think I actually got this! - I mean, ahem. Simple child's play, as you see here, and here." Handing the paper over to Amaryllis, he turns off toward the bar, all sorts of proud of himself and determined to drink to his own continued good health.
Nightshade rolled his eyes. Why do I even bother? Well, there is SOME genius in there....somewhere. Like sending messages out into space, if you waited long enough you MIGHT get an intelligent response.
Peering at the two 'gentlemen' over her very welcome glass, Lara watches the brief exchange. It seems the poet does have some smarts after all. Lucky for him that Nightshade looks too tired for a more scathing remark. "Well I'm off to find a corner to curl up in. If I don't get my sleep there'll be hell to pay".
Nightshade then turned his gaze to Kaiidth. "So, we ARE getting paid for this? If they're putting us up against those smoke demons and the like they'd better be offering a decent amount."
Kaiidth sat down on a stool at the bar as she orders some food and a glass of Barley water. Kaiidth took her food and drink to the table with their group. Sitting quietly she eats her stew as they all pass the paper around. She almost jumps when Nightshade speaks to her. "Uhhh I'd assume so but I don't rightly know now do I? Wouldn't Ayla know better?" Finishing her food and drink, Kaiidth gets up to bring the dishes back. "I'm heading to bed. Wake me if you need me." She leaves the group waving bye behind her.
Amaryllis was writing a letter to her old mentor when Phineas held up the puzzle they were given, and promptly stowed the pen and paper away in her satchel. She slowly moved behind Phineas to glance at the note, only to be handed it a moment later with a near-immediate answer from the bard. She examined it, nodding in agreement, then passed it to Ayla. She looks up as her fellow teammates head off to bed, and excuses herself to follow suit.
Ayla, having finished her dinner and observed the solution to the first puzzle in quiet amusement, pointedly ignores Nightshade’s questioning look as she examines the second puzzle. Quickly seeing the pattern, she jots down the answer and takes the paper to Ms. Miranda, who nods her approval. Ayla smiles, and then invites Ms. Miranda to accompany her in joining Phineas for one last drink before turning in.
Fallen Angels Slumber
"Let's get over to the Wayward Squirrel Angels." Atrueheart calls out to her team. Â "Gather your stuff and I'll meet you in the common room." Â Atrueheart picked up her bag and Jinx scrambles up on her shoulder and she climbs her way to the Wayward Squirrel muttering to herself... "That Squirrely would have come in handy about now.. at least he could've fetched and carried for me!" Â Ingrid and Thorson greeting her at the door with big smiles. Â "Velcome, Velcome all Protectors of the Wayward Squirrel!" Ingrid cries. Â Atrueheart hugs Ingrid and Thorson and asks "It's great to be back! Â Do you think I could have a pitcher of cider and some food for my team?" Â Ingrid says "Ya Ya! Â Vill have it at your table in two shakes of a squirrel's tail!" Â Running into the kitchen she gets the cooks busy preparing a meal as Thorson goes over to the bar and prepares the cider.
The other Fallen Angels quickly gathered up their things and headed over to the Wayward Squirrel, companions following swiftly. Â When they get inside they see that Atrueheart had already put her things up in the room and had comandeered a table for them over in the corner of the main room, a pitcher of cider at her elbow. Â Waving them over Atrueheart says "Y'all go ahead and put your things up in the same rooms we had last time we were here. Â I've ordered the food and it should be here when you get back downstairs." She takes a deep draft of her cider and relaxes for the first time in 24 hours. Â
The Fallen Angels rush up the stairs, Webby talking a mile a minute and Laurie looking as thoughtful as ever. Â Returning downstairs swiftly they call in their drink orders and tuck into their food. Â "I really missed this place!" Webby says as she flops down in her chair. Â The rest of the team nod in agreement as their mouths are busy chewing. Â After Laurie made sure Hope was behaving herself (and all in one piece) and tucking away the paper from Ms. Miranda she helped herself to an adult beverage or two, taking in everything going on around her including Larianne's reaction to coming face to face with Tanaka. Â Odd she thought to herself, from what I heard, he saved her life. Â Nailing him with a bucket of muck water hardly seems appropriate.. With a shrug she went back to enjoying the drink in her hand, whatever that was about, it wasn't her business.
After the edge is taken off their hunger Calie asks Atrueheart "So what's up next True?" Â Before Atrueheart can speak up Laurie says quietly "I have the puzzle answers already and have our next assignment." Â Pulling out her trusty notebook she looks at her notes and nods. Â Atrueheart leans over and reads over her shoulder. Â "So.. next up is we have to build us a ship!" Â she exclaims. Â Webby perks up! "Well that's right up my alley! Â I brought along my tools." Â she wiggles with excitement. Â Talli, looking flabbergasted, exclaims "A ship? Â What do we know about building a ship?" Â Jeice laughs and says "Hey... We're the Fallen Angels! Â We can do anything!" Â The team laughs appreciatively. Â Laurie speaks up timidly "Well Pugsy says there is a back lot down in Bordertown that has all kinds of surplus parts and odds and ends. Â Enough to build a bunch of ships. Â We just have to decide what kind we want to build and scrounge the parts." A discussion ensues about types of ships and Atrueheart speaks up "We have to have room on the ship for my companions shuttle and for the Vixen as well. Â Let's not forget about that!" Â Laurie is scribbling in her notebook supply lists and a ship's diagram. Â
Seeing Pugsy walking through the room, Atrueheart calls out to her and motions her over to their table. Â "We need to make a Trainquility ship... can you tell us a little bit about those?" Â Pugsy pours herself some ale and after taking a deep drink states "I can do better than that!" and pulls out a small vid screen. Â "Now these here are different classes of Trainquility ships. Â I think the FlameFly class is gonna be your best bet to serve all your needs!" Â The Fallen Angels lean in toward the screen and nod in agreement. Â Laurie scribbles furiously in her notebook making more supply lists. Â "Do you think we can borrow some welding equipment?" Jeice asks. Â "It's not something we normally carry with us." Â Pugsy nods in agreement as Talli slips her some coins. Â Getting up Pugsy stretches and yawns. Â "I've got a busy day tomorrow so I'm gonna go and work on my ships plans and hit the rack!" Â
At the table Jeice, Webby and Laurie are poring over the ships plans Laurie had swiftly drawn up. Â Webby is bouncing up and down in her excitement. Â "Do you think there will be time for a little decorating?" she squeals. Â "You have to get that engine up and running Webby!" Â Atrueheart states. Â "There'll always be time for decorating later!" Talli says. Â Pouting Webby states "But I can do that in my sleep! Â You'll have your engine ready in no time." Â An argument ensues about what color to paint the ship and Jeice snorts "Hell no we ain't painting it PINK Webby!" Â Talli speaks up "Fuel will be no problem. Â Between me and Calie we can get that part together." They continue to look over the plans and Laurie scribbles notes and finally slams her notebook shut. Â "I think we have a plan and an idea on how to proceed now." Â she states as she stands up. "Right then!" Atrueheart says clapping her hands together. Â "I think it's time we all get to bed. Â Busy day tomorrow!" Clicking at Jinx, Atrueheart stands up and heads for the stairs, the rest of the Fallen Angels following close behind. Â Webby is still arguing with Jeice, Calie and Talli over the color of the ship and Laurie and Atrueheart roll their eyes at each other. Â Stifling a yawn Atrueheart calls out "Enough of the fighting! Â We are not painting it pink Webby!" she states exasperatedly. Â "Bed time!" In an aside to Laurie "Don't stay up too long worrying over the details hon. Â We got this!" she murmurs and then heads into the room. Â Tumbling onto her bed Atrueheart mumbles something about that sexy man Kelian... "But he's no Squirrely!" she whispers as she falls into a deep exhausted sleep.
Once the Laurie and Hope reach their quarters, she puts a plate of food on her nightstand which is right where she found it when she opens her eyes a few hours later. Â Waking from a dead sleep with a start, Laurie jumps to her feet, trying to get her bearings. Â Spotting her sleeping cub curled into the pillows calmed her instantly and she inhaled sharply as her body remembered to breathe. Â I need coffee she murmured quietly. Realizing she must look quite a sight, she considered putting on pjs so she appeared to have changed into something suitable before collapsing but decided to put on some clean clothes instead. Â Without making a sound, she then makes her way down to the kitchen, helping herself the biggest carafe she could find and brewed herself a pot. Â Returning to her quarters she poured herself a steaming mug of the delicious brew, and in-between sips of coffee and bites of last nights dinner alternating between chewing on her trusty no.2 and scribbling in her notebook she busied herself in jotting down what she recalled from the night before for future reference.
Fawnira appeared as of some kind of messenger spirit from the border glades and marches - interesting way to communicate. Â Need to find more about this place, is it only guardians who can do that? Â Tanaka says the vision hovered above the Frenchman before vanishing like a ghost - wish I'd seen it. Â Riders and darkness are invading. Â Darkness - is that more darkfog entities? Â Certainly could be. Â O'joy .. not sure I could survive another glider ride Riders must be bone riders - awful things, those. Â Riding on bikes made from the bones of their kill. Â Who does that?! Â Where did things like that even come from? Â (other than a place to avoid like the plague) Ms. Miranda runs the supply mart - can't wait to check that place out, sounds like it's got a little of everything you could possibly want or don't want for that matter. Never heard of the one called Kelian before. Nice crossbow. Â Wonder if I can get a closer look at that? Would love to explore a bit, borderlands seems a rather unique place.
As the others begin to stir, she tucks her notebook away, greeting them all with a smile and an almost empty carafe of coffee. Â "Whoops, sorry about that but hey, it was the thought that counts, right?" Â With a scowl on her face Jeice looks at the empty carafe and nudges Webby. Â "Sensuous up... run get us a refill!" Â Webby squeals and grabs her robe and heads out the door. Â "I'm going I'm going! Â Ya don't need to push!" she yells. Â The rest of the Fallen Angels quickly begin dressing for the day, Laurie tapping her toes impatiently. Â "We need to get to that lot before all the good stuff is taken." she grumbles. Â Atrueheart places a soothing hand on her shoulder and says "We'll get there hon. Â We've never missed a challenge or deadline yet and this one will be done on time." Â Webby rushes back into the room, sloshing coffee out of the carafe held in one hand and mugs clutched in the other. Â "Coffee is served!" she cries out. Â The Fallen Angels surround her and quickly grab a mug. Â Webby, playing mother, pours for everyone and the team quickly downs there coffee with sighs of satisfaction. Â Atrueheart looks her team over then and nods. Â "I think we're about ready now! Â Let's go build a ship!"
LairBears never truly walk alone
Our Lair is proof you don't have to stand face to face to know you've got friends who stand with you when you need us.
Mni wiconi -- water is life
Catnip Thieves
“Whew! That was a close call.†Reyna commented, wiping some sweat from her brow. The Catnip Thieves were barely able to lug the Wayward Squirrel into the protected zone. The darkfog was quite literally on their heels! “Good job, guys!â€
“Amen to that. I think this calls for a celebration.†Lizzy piped up.
There were general murmurs of consent as the rest of the team agreed. But before anyone could go anywhere, something-- no, somebody -- flickered into existence above their heads. Everyone looked up. The Catnip Thieves marveled as Fawnira, the Guardian of the Border Glades and Marches, appeared.
Fawnira had perfect skin coupled with luscious, wavy brunette locks that seemed to sparkle in the gentle moonlight. The guardian’s loose-fitting robes flowed around her body in the gentle breeze. Her entire being emanated confidence and serenity. In short, she was stunning.
Dana gulped. For the second time that day, the vagabond felt the desperate need for a drink.
Reyna’s jaw dropped. “Uh…†Suddenly, she really wished Fawnira could join them for said drinks.
Celeste furtively glanced at Dana, and then at Reyna, who were in similar slack-jawed amazement. The mage smirked. “Those two are definitely getting togetherâ€, she whispered to Amalia.
“Pfft. Them? Seriously?†The warrior was very amused by this notion. “I bet my socks that that’s not happening.â€
The horned girl wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Ew. Who wants your socks?â€
Aodh, on the other hand, was unimpressed by Fawnira, in large part due to his Unseelie heritage. Upon seeing the girls fawning over the guardian, he sneered. “What’s so good about her anyways?†SlÃocach flitted around the bard in agreement.
“Yeah… †Gavin gave a vague response. While Fawnira’s strong Seelie presence didn’t make him feel at ease, everything else about her reminded him about his missing sister. Gavin sighed. He needed a drink, too.
“Is something the matter?†the bard asked, slightly concerned.
The horned boy sighed again. “It’s… nothing, really.â€
Aodh raised an eyebrow at Gavin’s noncommittal response, but didn’t push his friend for a response. After all, the group was going for drinks later. He would surely get his answers then.
“Farewell for a time. We shall meet again!†Fawnira bade goodbye as she vanished the same way she appeared.
Immediately after the mystical figure vanished, there echoed a shrill, terror-filled scream. “Bone Riders!â€
In an instant all members snapped into battle position -- again.
“Shit! Is that Ms. Miranda?â€, Dana yelled, already dashing downstairs before anyone else moved.
“Dana! Wait up!â€, Lizzy shouted, running after her. The rest of the team was hot on their heels.
“Ms. Miranda! Stand back!†Dana hollered and barged in, bearing a metal pipe menacingly.
But Ms. Miranda just laughed heartily. “Thanks for your concern, but the situation’s already been cleared up. “These boys--†She paused to gesture at Kelian and Tanaka, “--helped.â€
Dana exhaled in relief. “You scared me!â€
“Hyah!â€, Lizzy shouted as she appeared, brandishing a knife. “Where’s the trouble?â€
“Thankfully already taken care of.†Dana responded.
Just then, Reyna blew in with a giant net, swinging it wildly. “Bone Riders begone!†In her enthusiasm, she accidentally swung the net over Dana instead.
“Oof! What the-â€
Upon hearing Dana’s voice, Reyna stopped swinging. “Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! Lemme just-†Ever-so-gracefully, the blonde ranger tripped over her own net and fell onto the vagabond.
“Ehehe… Oops…†Reyna glanced away and flushed in embarrassment.
“It’s… u-um… fine!†Dana fidgeted awkwardly, blushing. Up close, she could smell the ranger’s flowery-sweet shampoo. If she could just lean in a bit closer…
“I believe this calls for a pair of scissors.†Gavin calmly commented as he poked his head through the doorway, completely unaware that he was ruining the moment. "Are you sure that a net is the right way to battle a Bone Rider?" Aodh couldn’t help but laugh at Gavin’s obliviousness and Reyna and Dana's misfortune. It was just too good.
Celeste snickered and elbowed Amalia.
Amalia huffed. “Ah, this means nothing. I’ll be proven right. Just you wait and see!â€
Meanwhile, a flustered Reyna got off Dana and helped cut her free from the net. Another net gone - although not in a way she had expected it to.
The false alarm left the Catnip Thieves relieved. After the darkfog monster attack, most of them only wanted to have an ale and rest their feet, especially Lizzy who was still struggling with fitting in with a new team even as she seemed to slowly come out of her shell.
“You guys deserve a dinner. It was hectic out there today.â€, Ms. Miranda commented, offering the crew dinner and greeted with shining eyes. Everybody enjoyed the simple meal brought up, as Ms. Miranda also offered to access her surplus pits in exchange for two riddles. Gavin pricked up his ears. He knew that Bordertown had a lot of supplies he'd need to adapt his small spaceship. And after the last fight he definitely saw the need to provide some kind of shuttle for Catnip Thieves, but he'd need help. Dana came from the Borderlands... maybe she had any mechanic skills? And if not, maybe her and Lizzy could at least use some of the materials to ... dunno ... upgrade their polymath equipment? "I cannot underline the imperative to get a hold of--"
“Gotcha!" Reyna, who was holding the piece with the two conundrums, gave Gavin a playful wink. "Let's follow Larianne inside of the Squirrel and let our brains go full speed. Well-- maybe without the whole dumping a bucket of soapy cleaning water thing." She turned to smoothly climb the ladder and entering the inn. The others followed on foot and when all members were sitting on a table, the ranger put the paper on top of it so everyone could see it clearly.
"Not my strength." Amalia admitted with a sigh. "I'm a warrior and no scholar."
Reyna petting Tab, her bat companion, shrugged. "Me neither."
"I'm good with puzzles." Celeste contributes. "The magical arts require a strong mind."
"So do the performing arts." Aodh, the bard, added. "I'll help."
"Me too. I'm good at problem solving." Lizzy joined in and the three of them closed ranks with Gavin, who was already examining the text.
"Seems like we have some time off.", Dana declared. "What about an ale? We really deserve one, I think. Amalia, Reyna-- count yourselves invited. Let's exchange some stories while we wait for the others to come to a solution..."
[URL=http://subeta.net/cw_shop.php/BlueFaelis]CW Shop[/URL]
[spoiler=The Fellowship rests and regroups] Quercus remained by Wolf as the ship landed, taking out any remaining wraiths that came too close to the ship. Star's return was a frightening moment as two wraiths reached out to grab her. Quercus had to shoot as her friend raced directly towards her. Fortunately, Quercus had practiced enough to make the shot. Star was still thrown forward by the resulting explosion of fire though. She landed with singed tail feathers but was otherwise unhurt. Quercus retrieved her from the deck and carefully placed her on her shoulder. For once, Star was content with being coddled and remained half hidden by Quercus' hair and vines. Tipper too was unharmed but still worried over Wolf.
Quercus helped Wolf to the Squirrel and made sure her leg was bound before getting everyone some food. She arrived just in time to see Larianne's actions and Tanaka's soaking. Quercus was surprised at Larianne's anger rather than amused and watched as she swept off. She frowned a little at Kelian's comment. "Seems to me everyone should be giving her some space," she muttered with a shake of her head. She wondered briefly if she should follow and check to see if Larianne was okay. It can't be easy to have gone through so much. But her team mates needed something to eat first. She placed the plate on the table as the puzzle arrived. Inwardly Quercus groaned. She never understood puzzles like these. August? Did that come before July or was it May? Her people used a very different calendar and while it was possible to match them she did need to sit and think hard for a while. She took a portion for Wolf while she thought. Tipper was whining that she was hungry too and Star deserved a treat after all she'd done.
Wolf, after what seemed an eternity to poor Quercus, seemed to finally wake up from her slumber, "Wow," she said to her friend as she came to, "I was out for a while." She yawned and stretched, "That feels much better though, except..." she winced as she remembered her leg was still broken. She sighs, "Well that won't be fixed for a while. Even with my magic, it usually takes me about five days for my bones to heal. Well, that's one advantage to being a magical being - you're not off your paws for six weeks," she chuckled. Muttering a spell to numb the pain, she stayed still as Quercus bound her leg. Once she was done, Wolf reached around and gave Quercus a kiss, "Thanks for your help back there and now." Wolf noticed Spring coming up towards them, "Thanks to you, too. I've been in worse, so don't worry about me, but you certainly did help, the both of you."
Wolf's baby and friend came up just then and were relieved she was alright. Flame, yipping, tried to jump into her Mommy's arms, but Wolf had to tell her to calm down.
"Baby, I can't hold you very easily right now. Mommy's leg is broken for a few days. Come here, love." Wolf got down awkwardly on three legs and nuzzled and loved her kit, giving her kisses.
"I'm glad you're alright, Wolf," Sierra said. "Tipper told us about the accident, but I had to keep Flame from coming up on deck with those creatures around. It was fun being a mom figure again..." Sierra trailed off thinking about her family she had left behind. She came back from her reminiscing and added, "Flame was very worried about you, and so was I."
Smiling down at the little bunny, Wolf treated Sierra to the same kind of attention she gave her kit.
"Thank you. I'll be fine. I've been through much worse."
Venom appeared just then. Seeing poor Venom singed to pieces, Wolf giggled at the hilarity of it while shaking her head in sympathy. He looked as though someone had stuck his wet tail into a light socket. "Oh, Ven," she said with a mixture of deep affection and humour, "only you could find a way to get around my charm in such a way!" Wolf couldn't help it, he just looked so goofy with his hair and fur standing on end and all charred that she just started to laugh...and laugh she did until tears came to her eyes. Catching her breath, she walked over to him and gave him a couple of kisses. Muttering a few words, she waved her paw over him and he was back to normal.
"Nothing a little anti-static spell can't fix," she said still chuckling, tail flicking back and forth playfully.
By the time Venom and Jean had climbed back to the Frenchman’s deck the worst of Wolf’s injuries had been taken care of. Even with the odds stacked against them the way it had been Ven still couldn’t help but feel partially responsible for her pain. This early in the game, serious injuries like broken bones were unacceptable. Quietly he was reminded of why he had chosen to work alone for so many years prior. But surely all the good memories were worth the hard times. What sort of monster would he be to think otherwise? “Selfish…†He muttered absently to himself before walking in to confront the team he had let down.
Wolf was doing well to make the best out of a bad situation. With Spring and Quercus helping to comfort her and bind her leg he felt sort of useless before Wolf started to laugh at the sight of him. Looking down at his hands he realized that he was still singed from his confrontation earlier on. “Without your enchantments I wouldn’t have been able to touch them at all...†He didn’t feel like he deserved her kindness. “You should save your energy, some singed fur isn’t anything a bath can’t fix.†Despite his protest she cleaned him up a bit anyway before they descended to the Gearloose Goose for some food and a debriefing.
As they made their way into the Goose, Wolf was surprised to see that brief apparition. I wonder what that was all about? she wondered as she watched that guardian appear and disappear quickly. They found a table and sat down to eat. At that moment she heard a shout by Ms. Miranda and was slightly alarmed until she discovered Tanaka knew this new group of people.
Jean quickly wrote down the details for the two puzzles on her notepad, and headed towards a corner table. She chuckled at Larianne's reaction to Tanaka's comment. She wouldn't be thrilled with gaining three years either, and Tanaka's sopping distress was highly amusing, in a pitiful sort of way. The poor man would have a hard time fixing his hair while it was still dripping. She looked at the others. "I think I can figure out the second conundrum with little trouble," she told them. "It reminds me of the pop quiz paradox. But what do we want to acquire for transportation? I'm rather fond of flying machines and motorcycles, myself."
Spring had been cleaning up when the messenger had brought in the puzzles. She came into the room just as Jean was writing them down on her notepad, and blinked. "Puzzles? I think my brain is dead after all that excitement! Do you think you know the method we need to solve them, Jean?" She paused and saw Wolf sitting up. "I'm glad you are back with us! You rest and let your energy rebuild and your leg heal, okay? Also, good job out there, everyone! We made a good team."
Looking back at Jean, Spring said, "I'm not always good at puzzles, but I'll be glad to hear what you've got. Sometimes working backwards is easier for me. It's a good thing we have so many talents among us."
Quercus heard Jean comment about the puzzle and let a sigh of relief slip out as she fed her friends. Quercus sat down and took a swig of the drink she'd brought. She was feeling very tired. She listened to the chatter of her team mates, content to let her mind go blank after such a long period of intense concentration. She came back to reality at Jean's comment on transport. The sinking feeling that she'd understood next to none of it was slipping through her chest again. "Er, what's a motorcycle? Is it like those air ships we flew in Crystania?" Quercus asked, worried about her limited knowledge. Yes, she'd flown an airship but she still wasn't sure how and a motorcycle sounded much more complicated.
While she was eating, Wolf saw that the teams were given a couple of puzzles to solve. She looked at the sheet. While she knew the human calendar well enough, she hadn't a clue as to how to solve that puzzle. The code was easy. Quickly she took her paw and magically wrote the code down on a scrap of parchment. Studying it for a moment, she grinned. This was something she had done for fun back when she was a young pup. It had been years since she had seen something like this!
"I know the first puzzle. It's very easy. If you all are lost, I can give you the answer? I know you're going to groan, I'm sure, once the answer hits you."
Before anyone could answer, Wolf became very surprised at Larianne's reaction to Tanaka's statement and was even more surprised that he was dripping wet.
Overcoming her surprise, yawning, she stretched and shook, minding her leg, "I think I'm going to bed. I'm really in need of rest, still. Come on, Flame love, you as well, Sierra. I have dinner with me for the two of you."
Looking backwards over her shoulder as she left, she replied to Quercus' question, "A motorcycle is a bicycle that has an engine to it. The engine is filled with gas, and the mechanisms of the machinery operate the bike so that you don't have to pedal. All you do is steer. It's quite fun and quite the interesting bit of craftsmanship," she added with another yawn.
"Wolf, don't oversimplify a motorcycle," Jean said, a note of caution entering her voice. "There's more to it than just steering, though it does provide the power for you."
"There isn't much more to a motorcycle than that, Jean," Wolf said as she was getting Flame to stop playing so they could get up to bed, "unless you want to over complicate things by getting into the mechanics. It is, in a nutshell, a motorized bicycle that does all the propelling for you. All you need to do is steer and brake." Wolf finally managed to catch Flame by her tail as she was streaking by, "Okay, you! That's enough!" she said through a mouthful of fur. Flame barked with surprise and glared at her Mommy as she was disappointed that she was finally caught. "But Mommyyyyy...!!!" Flame whined. Wolf smiled. "Sorry," she said firmly, "it's bedtime. You've had a big day!"
Wolf was pleased that Flame was having such a good time with all this, but still bedtime was bedtime. Giving the kit a kiss on the top of her head Wolf added to Jean with a smile, "Besides, complicating things for Quercus, and possibly Spring and Ven, will probably confuse them further. I know I like to have things kept super simple when I don't know about something."
With that, she bid the others goodnight. Flicking her tail made her way to her favourite room in the Squirrel, Flame and Sierra at her heels.
Venom wasn’t too thrilled to see another puzzle going around the table, but he had all the confidence in the world that Jean would be able to work it out. As technical as Ven liked to think he was, the vagabond seemed to have the upper hand in the logic department every time. After scratching his head a while over the puzzles something clicked and he flipped the first puzzle upside-down. Sitting back he crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. If there were any way for him to physically injure a logic puzzle he surely would.
When the topic of transportation came up Venom’s melancholy seemed to momentarily subside. “Motorcycles are incredibly fun, is what they are.†The word ‘fun’ seemed strange coming from the stoic warriors lips. “Although dirt bikes tend to be a little more forgiving when you go off-roading. Better suspension, designed for jumps.†He smirked slightly having some knowledge on the mechanical side of the subject.
Quercus sat quietly as she wracked her brain for what the words meant. Pedal bike? She recalled seeing something that someone had called a bike. But it had been a slim thing that they had been pushing. Self propelled? The only thing she'd seen that looked anything like that bike had been the things those thugs calling themselves Bone Riders had been riding. Quercus didn't much like the sound of those. Se gazed out the window of the Gearloose Goose and wondered what the best thing to do would be? They needed to get around but it was clear everyone had a much better idea of what they could do than she did. Quercus reached out to Star and gave her a gentle stroke. She was feeling despondent. She didn't like it when she couldn't offer anything to help but this was beyond her experience. She could shoot with the best of them, find her way through any forest and knew what she could make from the natural world around her. But when it came to mechanics... A whine from down by her feet brought her attention to Tipper. She'd finished her meal and could tell Quercus was feeling unhappy. She picked her friend up before she drew any attention. It wasn't anyone's problem but her own. She'd flown an airship hadn't she? Admittedly that was with a book and she had no idea how she'd achieved it but she could. Plus there were machines of a sort back home. Mostly it was fae-made so magic was involved but she understood that to a point. Whatever comes next, it ill be an adventure, Quercus reflected with a smile. She scratched Tipper's head as the vixen watched Flame bolting around their feet. Venom's comment about a motorbike being fun intrigued her. "How fast do they go?" She asked. "Do they fly?"
“Feels like flying but you can only move horizontally… Usually…†Ven scratched his head trying to come up with a more comprehensive way of describing a motorcycle for Quercus. “When you see it, maybe more of this will make sense. If you can fly an aircraft I don’t see you having much trouble with a bike.†Shrugging slightly he glanced between the two archers. “Shifting won’t be hard to learn for those who are dexterous.†Unconsciously he clenched and unclenched his right hand.
Quercus nodded at Venom's description. He'd assessed her skills and she trusted his judgement on such things. If he felt she could learn how to use a motorcycle, then she wouldn't worry. It will make sense when I see it, Quercus reflected. Whatever their future held would be interesting.
As Wolf took the unwilling pup upstairs, Quercus felt her own energy flagging. She rose and picked Star up from the table and placed her on her shoulder. "Maybe we should get some rest before we decide on transport. I'm going to try and find a bed before I decide. Spring? Do you want to join me?" She wondered if her friend had ever come across these bikes before.
That night Venom found it nearly impossible to sleep. Instead of tossing and turning he sat in his room on the floor and meditated the hours away with his sword laid across his lap. A few hours before dawn he dressed and went downstairs to have a cup of coffee and await the rest of the team.
The next morning Wolf woke up feeling great. It was a wonderful feeling having her baby snuggled up into her under her chin and Sierra on top of her. The energies felt much different than they did the previous day. After cleaning up, the three of them came downstairs to see that there was a new task the rest of the group was already involved in - they needed to build a couple of ships.
"Good morning all!" Wolf said cheerily. She noticed Ven looking a little hesitant when she approached him. Hmmm...he's probably feeling badly from yesterday about not being there for me. Poor guy doesn't know that I'm as tough as he is, she thought, giggling inwardly. Making her way over to the table after getting some breakfast for her baby, friend and self, she gave the ladies a hug, loved Tipper and Star up and said hello to Spring's little mouse. She then sat down right next to Ven and started playfully flicking his ears, giving him a tiny little kiss on the cheek at the same time.
"So, aircraft or some mode of transport, is it? That's certainly not my strong suit. Especially now that I have my own transportation," Wolf giggled. "However, I'm thinking of something super elegant and airy, almost ethereal. A bird or a horse maybe. Better if it was a bird. Maybe it could have a pastel trail coming out from the wings and tail as it flies through the air to ad
The way some people spell makes me wonder about their pronunciation. My CW shop, and my ping group