A forum for the Port Luskan role play

<Tilts his head slightly as he senses others moving about the island. As he hears the obvious sounds of Alyra in flight he grins to himself.>

It seems, we have come back, now we just need to be back..... and aware.

<closing his eyes Celelond focuses on all he is able to in the dream realm, all able, and willing to listern.>
Welcome back, all. Enjoy, remember, but keep in mind, this is a place of dreams, and with us we bring the fond and fiend.

After Alyra left, Lacy continued to sit quietly, just enjoying that she was back in Port Luskan, however it had happened, when she heard Alyra’s whoops of glee echoing through the cold air. She grinned to herself, then stretched her arms, and slowly stood up. She walked over to the table, idly thinking to herself that she’d have to get fresh elements and new candles for the bowls and candlesticks, when a voice drifted into her mind.

A little startled, Lacy listened to the words that had the unmistakable sound of Celelond in her mind, although she did have the presence to wonder if she was really hearing his words inside her mind or outside.

“Fond or fiend?” Lacy repeated the words quietly.

“Well, that seems to be a sign that life is back to normal here. There’s always been something to worry about,” she thought, smiling slightly to herself.

Ceri wanders around, up hill, over dale, through bracken... well its a good thing she was wearing trousers instead of a skirt, that thing was prickly!

Still searching for a good place to set up her tent, she passes obstinately-indistinct buildings and clusters of trees she could swear moved on her when she wasn't looking. Having not been to the Island in well over two years she remembers very little of the layout, so nothing settles for her. It was rather disturbing really. Especially with those 'Whoo Hoo's echoing around. What she would give for a nice backdrop of pine trees to keep off the wind, maybe with a fallen log and some benches for seating, and a cozy campfire right in the middle! Would make a perfect setting for a Bardic Circle too. Yes, she could picture it now, right over there at that hill - wait a minute!

Ceri froze mid-stride with one foot still in the air, balancing precariously on her right foot as her neck craned around. Yes, and it even had a firepit set up! Noticing what she was doing, Ceri muttered "hokey pokey" and put her left foot in - er, down - turned herself around and took off at a run to the Bardic Circle.

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Never tickle a sleeping dragon, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

After leaving the bookshop, Triksey sets out to explore. The island is reminiscent of both places she remembers, yet not identical to either. She mulls this over as she travels.

Her cave has been secured; the spirits saw to that. And with this much more comfortable and forgiving body, she does not mind the stairs so much. But the place is drafty; some curtains would be welcome. She wonders idly if the shaman lodge exists in this place?

She sets out at a steady pace, down the hill from the street by the shop, towards the docks. At present there are no ships in the harbor, but there is an aura of dockside bustle, as if this is not the norm. She peers into the darkness but cannot make out much other than vague shifting forms. She wonders what the spirits are up to.

As she crosses the center, she feels a momentary chill, but shrugs it off to the night air. She pulls her cloak more tightly around her and hurries on.

At the opposite shore, she feels the brush of a feather, and stops dead. There is a distant cackling, distinctly corvine, and she knows she has missed something important. She waits for a clue, but of course there is none. This is the way of Crow.

Annoyed, she retraces her steps to the center, the spot where she felt the chill. Now, of course, she feels nothing, and there is no further indication of what she should be seeking.

Grumbling under her breath, she resolves to pay more attention, and sets out, deliberately, for the shore once more. As she leaves the wooden walkway and steps into the forest, she is alert for the subtle, the hidden; and of course, there is nothing of the sort. She does notice a small dwelling to one side, and cannot help but think "What a perfect place for a hobbit to live."

She follows the path up the hill, up the long, bitter steps that gave her so much trial when she walked this land before, and exults in her young body.

At the top, she sees the great tree with its curtained entrance, across from the wooden platform where the bards held court. She pulls aside the flap and enters, breathing in the warm, smoke-scented air, the distinctive aroma of burning herbs. Her eyes take in the familiar details: the fire at center, the sacred objects strewn about, the painted symbols on the walls, and above all, the subtly dancing stars, as though one looks into the very heavens on a summer's night. This feels, far more than she cares to admit, like home.

Having sat around the Bardic Circle for a while Ceri decides it isn't as fun without an audience. And she still hasn't found a good place to set up her tent. "Well maybe Alyra will be around this time if I stop in the Bookshop again." she muses, and sets off... in a rather round-about way. Just maybe she'll find a nice spot for her tent on the way.

**Conversation between Ceri, Alyra and Lacy occurs In Ye Olde Book Shoppe before the posts below**

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Never tickle a sleeping dragon, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

Waving at both women, Lacy closed the book shop door behind her and headed across the street. There was something there, but she couldn’t quite bring it into focus. Sighing, she walked around the building a bit, but it continued to shift and blur in front of her, no matter what she did. Finally she just stopped.

“I guess it’s because I didn’t actually know this bakery myself. I’ll have to get Alyra to come look with me at some point,” she muttered in frustration. “Well, maybe if I follow this other path down to the docks where the shops were before, I will find something that I can get.”

Meandering down the path to the docks, Lacy forced herself to relax and to breathe deeply, to enjoy the beauty around her, the beauty of Port Luskan that she had missed so much. When she got to the docks, to her delight, there were a few shops and there were stalls on the docks where fruits and vegetables were for sale. Reaching in her pockets, she was a little startled to find some coins, but she wasn’t going to argue with that bit of good fortune.

She looked through the fruit at the first two stalls, but it was the third stall that caught her attention. There were rosy apples that smelled so deliciously fragrant, and this man had a small basket of warm rolls, with a sign “Freshly baked this morning." Selecting a few of the apples and three of the rolls, Lacy paid for her purchases and headed back for the temple.

Alyra walks across the street from the bookshop, to the little courtyard just north of the path down to the docks.

In the courtyard there are two buildings, one on either side of a well. Alyra goes to the building on the left and knocks on the door. It opens wide almost as soon as she touches it. From within wafts the heavenly aroma of freshly baked bread.

Ceri jumps as one of the indistinct buildings suddenly snaps into focus for her. "Oh! Is that the bakery?"

Alyra turns to her and grins. "Sure smells like it! I wonder if Zeree is about? Zeree? Zeree! You home?"

"We can go in and see if she is. It's a bakery and not a home, right?"

They enter, but no one seems about. They wait for some minutes in silence, in case someone is in the inner room, but then Alyra sighs. "I don't think she's home, Ceri. And by the look of it, neither is her bread, although I can still smell it good and proper."

Ceri blinks and sniffs the air. There's a faintest hint of bread hovering about, more of a memory than an actual scent. "Huh, I can barely smell anything. Is this anything like the buildings being so fuzzy for me?"

Alyra tilts her head. "I suppose it could be, Ceri. I mean, I smell *bread* and no mistake. Maybe Lacy had the right idea - there might be something down by the docks. Want to go look?"

"Okay, lead the way!"

Alyra heads back they way they came, turning left opposite the bookshop and starting down the hill towards the docks. As they reach the bottom of the roughly cobbled walkway, Alyra stops so suddenly that Ceri almost runs into her. "Oh!" she exclaims. "This is different!"

Ceri glances around. A lot of clothing shops, some fruit stands... and more indistinct buildings scattered around. "Well besides the fuzzy places, I don't see much different. What's wrong?"

The dock is bustling, as Alyra remembers it being, but there are shops and stalls all over the place, lining the boardwalks and surrounding the central platform. She has some vague sense of what some of them are, but most are as indistinct for her as they are for Ceri. She looks around, slightly bewildered.

"Oh look! There's a stand selling bread rolls!" Ceri says, and happily walks over pulling a bewildered Alyra behind her.

Alyra is still looking around, trying to make sense of this. But the bread does smell good (almost as good as she remembers Zeree's), so she doesn't resist when Ceri pulls her over to the stall. "I should tell Lacy about this," she remarks, as she plunks down coin for a couple of the small loaves. "Or better yet, take some to her."

Ceri happily digs out some coins, and goes about buying a couple fresh rolls, a nice juicy apple, and some yellow cheese with a sharp scent to it. "Now all I need is some nice cold water and I'll have an excellent lunch... Ooo roasted turkey legs!"

Alyra also decides that that cheese smells pretty good, and she is just purchasing a wedge when Ceri discovers the turkey legs. "Oh, no," she says. "I am *still* sick of turkey legs! That was all we could get when we first came here. If I never see another turkey leg, it will be too-- oh... too late!"

Ceri, mouth full of hot savory turkey meat, gives Alyra a confused look.

Alyra looks at the turkey, then shrugs and buys two legs. She wraps one carefully in parchment and shoves it in her pocket. "Never know when you're going to meet a starving animal or a wild hobbit. Shall we take this stuff to the Temple?"

Ceri nods and munches happily as they head back up the path.

Post composed from RP by Ceri and Alyra.

Alyra and Ceri head back up the path towards what used to be - what Alyra still thinks of as - Edonil, when Celelond was Duke and she was Dame - his protector. Her face is wistful as she reaches the top of the path and glances about. Although the buildings - the bookshop, the bakery, the school, Cel's mansion (or is that the Inn?) - are an amalgam of what they were in those days and earlier, when it was still Upper Rendan, she finds the details unimportant. She feels strongly that this is her place, her home, and Cel's. She turns to look at Ceri, to comment on this feeling, and finds herself facing empty air.

My, people do come and go around here, she reflects. First Steph, now Ceri - am I dreaming them here, or were they truly here, and woke up, or something?

With an uneasy feeling in her gut, she bears right towards the passage to Cliffside - or Solice - or whatever they're calling the place where the temple is now.

Whoever "they" are. I wonder if KW is back? I think I heard his voice, somewhere on the wind...

She finds the temple again and enters, calling Lacy's name. The priestess is not about, but Alyra notes with satisfaction the altar decorations and the welcoming cushions of the meditation room. She sighs; it has been so long since she has been able to sit in the home of the gods with her friends and neighbors, to meditate together in holy space, to give thanks for life's blessings and to offer support to one another in times of trouble.

She smiles with mild amusement when she sees the plate of apples and rolls; Lacy apparently had found the same stall in the market. She adds a wedge of cheese to the array as her offering, and moves to exit the temple.

It is then that she notices the ink and the tablet. She smiles, and goes to it to .

Ceri finds herself wandering up the path towards Drathir. She tries to remember what she'd been doing before... looking for a place to put up her tent? Yes, that seemed right.

* * * * *

Alyra decides to go for a stroll. She walks down the hill from the bookshop towards the docks.

* * * * *

Ceri wanders around the edge of the the woods, up hill, over dale, through briar...

Suddenly this is starting to feel familiar...

Well, it's a good thing she's still wearing trousers!

She wanders around a hill, trudging through snow and the occasional gorse bush, only to find herself coming out the trees facing the docks again, albeit somewhat off to one side. Huffing in frustration, she turns around and trudges up the hill she'd just gone around.

Wasn't there a fire circle around here somewhere?

Having discovered a nice clearing by virtue of rolling downhill into it, she decides this would be the perfect time to make snow angels. At least until the world stops spinning.

Eventually Ceri climbs to her feet and staggers off in a somewhat twisty path. Funny, she couldn't remember Drathir being quite this confusing before.

This time, she manages a fairly smooth walk, only having to turn slightly here or there to avoid running into trees. Making a detour around one particularly large trunk, she manages to catch herself just in time to avoid stepping off the bank and into the lake. Well at least she knows where she is again. Maybe she ought to follow the tree line and just go back to the docks. She seems to be in need of a lodestone.

* * * * *

After standing on the dock listening to the killer whale for a full five minutes, Alyra slowly walks one full circuit of the docks. It is eerily quiet at this hour; despite the perpetual darkness, the island does have a sense of daily chronology, and it is late evening, by Alyra's reckoning. With (apparently) no ships due, the docks are all but empty, the market stalls battened down for the night.

She starts to move north to the lift up to Solice - or is it Cliffside now? - and then stops, uncertain.

Was that a sound?

* * * * *

Ceri walks up the wooden planks back into the docks.

* * * * *

Nervously, Alyra retraces her steps, then freezes as it happens again: a faint scuffing sound, as of leather - or paws - on wood. With visions of monsters dancing in her head, she goes on alert, prepared once more to summon her sword.

* * * * *

Ceri shuffles another step forward, not really looking where she's going...

* * * * *

Alyra's voice is a taut whisper: "I heard that!"

* * * * *

Ceri's head snaps up. "What?!"

* * * * *

Alyra, already in battle mode, takes a step forward as she sings at full throttle: "TO HA--ack!" Alyra's song ends abruptly as she slips on a patch of ice and goes skidding towards the middle of the dock.

Ceri shrieks as Alyra crashes into her, and they both go down in a heap.

Alyra sits and stares at Ceri, then brushes her hair from her face. "It's a good thing you weren't a monster," she says.

Ceri heaves, and Alyra gets tumbled off as she sits up. "What was that for?"

"What? I thought you were a monster! If I hadn't slipped, I'd have had my sword and then we'd really have had a mess." Alyra manages to get to her feet with the barest shred of dignity.

Ceri unwinds the rest of Alyra's skirt from around her boots and hands it up to her. Standing, she brushes dirt and snow off her shirt. "You know, this is the second time I've fallen today. Found a lovely clearing earlier by rolling downhill..."

Alyra accepts the offering ruefully. "I don't know where I'll find a replacement for this," she muses as she tries to piece the torn fabric together. "I haven't seen Suki's shop anywhere."

Ceri frowns. "I thought I saw it earlier," she says a bit doubtfully. "Then again, that could have been a different clothing store...."

"I haven't seen any clothing stores at all - but I've just started looking. Where did you find it? And speaking of finding, have you found a place for your tent yet?"

"Er... I said I thought I saw it, not that I knew where it was. As for my tent..." Ceri thinks of her rather roundabout exploration of the edge of Drathir, "Well I haven't gotten too far into my search just yet."

Alyra, understanding full well Ceri's "directionally challenged" status, suggests, "Would you like company while you search?"

Ceri brightens immediately. "Oh thank you! I'd love that! Do you happen to have a compass?"

Alyra grins. "Don't think I need one - I have a pretty good head for directions - as long as I know where I am to begin with, where I'm going, and all the steps in between. Let's go!"

The two set off towards Edonil - or Rendan, or whatever the heck it is now - then stop, about face, and head towards Drathir. Ceri resolves to point out the mess of footprints when they get to the snowline and ask Alyra to find that nice clearing she'd tumbled into earlier. She whistles cheerfully as they march along, knowing in her heart of hearts that never will she lose track of the docks. Indeed, she seems to have trouble getting away from them!

They pass through the woodlands towards the base of the long stair up to the bardic circle. Deer and rabbits peek through the trees and skitter away leaving their tracks in the fresh snow. Ceri glances around a bit nervously at all the fresh snow. What happened to all the tracks she'd made in the last half hour?

Alyra leads the way across the covered bridge into Drathir proper. "We could go up to the bardic fire circle, but I'm not sure that will help, unless you fell down that hill into a clearing - in which case, I have NO idea where we're going."

"Um, I never crossed this bridge, and I think I would have noticed the bardic circle," Ceri says. "Anyway, never got very far from the docks. Just went 'round in circles a lot, I think. Come to think of it, we should have seen some of my footprints by now."

Alyra stops and looks at her. "You think? Hmmm." She looks around. The snow is spotless except for their ragged trail leading back towards the docks, and the odd deer or bunny track. "Maybe... hmmm. Maybe we ought to find you a place a bit closer to the docks for your tent. So you don't have so far to walk to get stuff, you know...."

Ceri nods, "Probably for the best. What little sense of direction I have seems to disappear completely as soon as I hit the treeline."

Alyra nods and begins to retrace their steps. "The hobbit hole is around here somewhere. I think. So you might have a neighbor if you camped in this area. But what do you think?" She stops and looks around, waiting for her friend.

Ceri hurries to catch up. Luckily their footsteps have not wandered off, unlike her earlier set. Together, they recross the covered bridge and continue on back toward the docks. "It's almost like something wants me to stay near the docks... earlier I kept stumbling back to them, and now here we are deciding to walk back."

Alyra stops again to consider this. "I wonder... remember those stone tablets we kept finding back after we first moved to the second island, and how it seemed we were being guided to find them?"

Ceri racks her memories. "Uh... not really."

"Oh. Well, I was just wondering if it seemed kind of like that, but if you don't remember, well..." Alyra shrugs.

"So about these tablets...?" Ceri asks as they continue walking.

"Well, we found what - six? Eight? I think it was eight, or there were eight total..." Alyra's brow furrows slightly as she tries to bring the memories to the fore. "They were the symbols of eight Houses - kind of philosophical houses, I think. Derek told me about them. They had appeared before sometime - somewhere - a bunch of people were finding them and gathered them all into one place, and then there was devastation. So I was afraid if we did find them all, we'd have trouble. I had copies of them, of the symbols on them, but I kept them apart from each other. But it turned out not to matter. Once we knew all the names, that's when the trouble started. Abiorn remembered who he was. It was his-"

Alyra stops abruptly, both in vocalization and in motion.

Ceri frowns, "But wouldn't the Island itself count as 'one place'? It's isolated by virtue of being an island..." she trails off as she realizes she's leaving Alyra behind. "Alyra? What's wrong?"

"Um... I was just thinking... if Abiorn is here... and I remember those houses, those symbols... we could be right back where we started again. In trouble." Alyra bites her lip.

"Then don't think about them," Ceri suggests, "and certainly don't write them all down."

"Um... right." Alyra does her best not to think of the images, but of course as soon as you try not to think of something, that is all you can think of. She grins lopsidedly; Ceri has turned back around and is continuing on. Alyra follows her up a small hill. That's odd, she thinks. I thought this area was flat.

They continue on across a shallow dale dotted with a few trees, then Ceri freezes in front of a briar patch. "Oh dear..."

Alyra almost collides with her, so intent is she on not remembering certain house names. "What? Where?"

"Briar patch," Ceri says. She turns to Alyra. "Maybe you'd better lead."

"Me? Um... OK..." Alyra looks around in mild confusion. "Let's see... we were heading for the dock, right? Did you find your clearing yet?" She notes with some uneasiness that the path in this area is unfamiliar to her.

"Never mind the clearing," Ceri says quickly, "I'd much rather be in sight of the lake. That way I won't get lost on my way to the docks." She circles around the brambles and heads off perpendicular. "Come on, let's find that hobbit house."

Alyra nods and follows her friend bemusedly. She is certain that the one that Deleol showed her was - Stop that! she scolds herself. Derek used to call them by their initials, she thinks. I can see the wisdom in that now.

Ceri, moving a bit faster now, dodges around several trees and -- "Oh drat!" There's the covered bridge leading to the bardic circle again. "Alyra dear, maybe you should lead."

"The only house ever to stall the Darkmare..." Alyra mutters; she looks up abruptly as Ceri's words finally penetrate. "Um... OK. Lead where?" She looks around. "I thought we were heading back to the dock!"

"I know, I tried. That's why I want you to lead!" Ceri glances around and adds in a conspiratorial whisper, "I think the forest moves around me."

Alyra nods. She has now gotten her bearings, though she is uncertain why it is that the land seems familiar now when a moment ago it seemed alien territory. She starts walking once more towards the docks; this time they manage to navigate the wooded corridor without incident, although POR, Sable Moon and Alliance of the Eclipsed keep vying for attention in her mind.

"So," Ceri askes, "what's this Darkmare thingy?"

"Ummm..." Alyra frowns. "I'm trying to forget, but it's um... well, you remember Deleol?"

"The manticore, right?"

"Yes... he appeared in that form to us when we first saw him. But he was a Mare. There was -- it was the Plane of Dream, Ceri. That's where he was from. And there were two factions, and a battle... I wish I remembered more about it. Derek told us the story after... I am trying to remember her name. She had a dream, and saw the fourth symbol, I think."

Ceri blinks at the shift in pronouns. "She?"

"Actually, Deleol wasn't really a Mare himself - he created them. He was... he was like their father. Their god." Her voice drops with respect and awe. It is only then that she seems to become aware of Ceri's latest question.

"Well I certainly hope he wasn't a mare," Ceri mutters, "seeing as you've said he's a he."

"She. Aurora, that's who it was, I'm pretty sure. She had this dream, and saw the fourth symbol. Or maybe it was the third? And Deleol showed us the fourth? I can't remember now; I've got it all written down back at Windang... Hall..."

They step out of the trees and onto the wooden planks leading across the lake, and Ceri heaves a sigh of relief.

"Anyway, Derek was there when she told the dream, and he identified the symbol, and explained about the houses. The mares... there was a battle... and POR - that's 'Protectors of Radiance' - was the only house to ever stall the Darkmare. That's what Derek told us then. But I really shouldn't be talking about all this. Remembering it. It's not healthy, especially not if Abiorn's around."

Ceri turns to Alyra and regards her thoughtfully for a moment. "Alyra," she deadpans, "don't think of a pink elephant."

Alyra looks at her blankly. "Now, why would I think of a pink elephant?"

Of course, now all that Alyra can think of is ... a pink elephant.

Post composed from RP by Ceri and Alyra.

Eventually, Ceri finds a nice area just inside the treeline northwest of the hobbit house and bridge. She can still see the lake through the trees to the west - barely, but it's still reassuring. The clearing is wide and flat, most of the trees ringing it hang over a little ways providing some shelter without shutting out all the sky. There's a cliff just beyond the trees to the North. It's perfect for her rather large tent, and only needs some digging and a few trips down to the shore for some large flat stones to set up a firepit in the center.

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Never tickle a sleeping dragon, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup.