Ambrosia Software Web Board: The Alraeican Tavern, Part IV - Ambrosia Software Web Board

Flynn sat back down, muttering under his breath. All the death and destruction, dredged up again by that strange fortune teller; and Sideline's news on top of that...

Sideline continued for several minutes, with Flynn listening in rapt attention. After he finished, Flynn thanked him, and he left. Flynn sat thinking for a long time; eventually, he turned to Ferazel.

"I think I know what to do, but I'll need your help."

"Anything," Ferazel replied.

Flynn stood up and walked over to the rest of the Ronin, with Ferazel folowing behind.

"There's something I need to take care of," he told them. "Don't worry, but I may be gone for several days."

Sasha began to stand, as if to go with him, but Flynn stopped her. "I have to do this alone. Take care of the others."

Sasha nodded, but still looked uncertain. "Take care," she said, as Flynn left the tavern, followed by Ferazel.

A short while later, Ferazel walked back in and sat down; he seemed preoccupied. Sasha tried to engage him in conversation, but he just waved her away.

In the pit of her stomach, an intense feeling of dread began to form.

------------------
There are three kinds of computer users: those that use Macintoshes, those that wish they used Macintoshes, and those that don't know any better.

Wolmark leaned over towards Katze. "You made it in one piece, I see; how's my zeppelin?"

------------------
Nothing is foolproof to a talented fool.

Katze waved absent-mindedly. "All safe..." she replied. "Don't worry."
Wolmark nodded contently. "Well, it's a good thing you brought it back here, considering how we were 'brought' back here."
She smiled, only half listening to him. "Indeed."
Wolmark frowned, but decided to make another attempt at conversation anyways. "So did you like flying the zeppelin on your own?"
He didn't even get a reply this time. Katze was apparently already (or still) concerned with something else, staring off into nothingness as she was. He shook his head, giving up, and turned to go, asking a last question. "Where are the other Ronin?" the others, that meant Ulf, Kwon, and Leandra.
"Huh?" Katze looked up, a slight frown crossing her face. "... they're in your barracks, I guess."
"Thanks."
He got up and left the tavern, heading in the direction of the Ronin's barracks.

------------------
As l lay in my bed staring at the sky I asked myself:
Where the hell did the roof go?

***OoC***
Was that a comment on your own distraction, Moonshadow?
***BiC***

Sasha and Trinias quickly followed Wolmark; they were just as concerned about Kwon as he was. Sasha was thinking about Katze too; it wasn't like her to be so distracted. Sasha sighed; just one more concern to add to her ever growing list.

In the barracks they found Ulf asleep, and Leandra drinking tea.

"Where's Kwon?" Wolmark asked, after a quick look around.

"He's up on the roof, meditating; but I've never seen him so deep under before. Where's Flynn?"

"He said he had something to take care of," Sasha replied. "He also said it could take several days, and we weren't to worry."

"Oh." Leandra was severely disappointed.

Wolmark and Trinias, who'd both run up to the roof, walked slowly back down the stairs. Wolmark was shaking his head, staring into space.

"At least he's out of the coma," Trinias commented. "There's nothing to do here, then; I think I'll go back to the tavern. Anyone else coming?"

Leandra and Sasha both nodded, but Wolmark shook his head. "There's some research I need to do; I think I'll spend the next few days at Pnyx."

"All right," said Sasha. "Don't be away too long though, I don't like splitting us up any more than we already are - what with Kwon's condition, and Flynn away." With that, the three departed for the tavern.

Wolmark wandered about for a few minutes, packing up sundry items, then opened a portal. An instant later the barracks were empty, except for the sound of Ulf's snoring.

------------------
There are three kinds of computer users: those that use Macintoshes, those that wish they used Macintoshes, and those that don't know any better.

In short order Sasha, Leandra and Trinias arrived back at the tavern. Nothing much appeared to have changed, so they called for three drinks and sat down at the long table.

Leandra began pestering people for details of everything that she'd missed on the quest. She frowned at news of Flynn's trance-like depression, smiled at descriptions of his return to the land of the living, and couldn't quite conceal a smirk on hearing of Moonshadow's departure. She sat and thought for a few moments.

"If the dark magic did that to Flynn, I wonder if that's what's affecting Kwon? Trundaylan, do you think you could tell, if you saw him?"

Trinias turned to Theo. "You remember that story the old guy told a while back? You wouldn't believe the contraption Wolmark dreamed up, inspired by that!"

Sasha just sat there, deep in thought, frowning alternately at Katze and Ferazel. Too many things were bothering her; some of them would simply have to be resolved.

------------------
There are three kinds of computer users: those that use Macintoshes, those that wish they used Macintoshes, and those that don't know any better.

[This message has been edited by Ronin (edited 11-04-2001).]

Flynn rode into Kosha, and drew up at the inn. Although it wasn't his ultimate objective, he was characteristically taking the opportunity to follow up on a few of the loose ends from their most recent adventure.

He spent what was left of the day walking the town, calling on various people and asking a great many questions; he then retired to the inn for his evening meal.

Flynn pondered, as he ate. Life in Kosha was going on as if nothing had happened; in fact, to most people, it seemed nothing had - they had no recollection of ever being gone. Itanos was back holding his seat as Judge, and Pelagon was once again going about his business, as sane as ever. No-one knew anything at all about Talos.

Flynn shook his head. It was all quite beyond him.

There was nothing more to do here; tomorrow he'd set out for his final destination.

------------------
The only substitute for good manners, is fast reflexes.

"Oh really?" Theo raised an eyebrow, but continued to stare into his glass of water and didn't look up at Trinias. The stranger had given him a lot to think over.

------------------
I am no one, and I am everyone. But most importantly, I am
The One And Only:
~Theo Nean Donly~

*Trundaylan looked up, having idly stirred his drink unknowningly. With a glance around he realized he'd been wasting hours sitting, thinking. Seeing he had been asked a question he tried to answer.*

"Uh...I'm really not sure, perhaps." Trundaylan stammered. Recieving a frown in reply, Trundaylan continued, "I'm sorry, I'm just not myself right now. I suppose I need to go think some more." Trundaylan headed out, going West Theo noticed. To Pnyx probably.

------------------
"We've added years to life, not life to years."

On arriving in Pnyx, Wolmark wasted no time in securing a private study room. He paid a long visit to the library, collected various books (including the "Timeflux" book), then tracked down Selinus.

"Are these all you have on the subject of Time?" has asked, somewhat surprised.

"Why, yes," Selinus replied. "I assure you, that's the most complete collection, anywhere."

Wolmark turned to go, shaking his head.

"Except, perhaps," Selinus continued, "for the Ancient Library."

"Where's that?" Wolmark asked in exhasperation.

Selinus gave Wolmark the directions. Wolmark locked the books he had in his study, then left for the library.

-------------------

A few hours later he was back. His search had been largely fruitless, gaining only two books he didn't already have.

Entering his study, he locked the door from the inside, and began to pore over the musty tomes. After several hours, he went to his pack and extracted the book he'd taken from the cave: "Time: the Undine perspective."

After several more hours comparing various excerpts from several books, he slammed his palm down on the desk in frustration.

"Wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong! It doesn't make any sense! The Undine are of Water, just as the Seldane are of Earth. Time is no more in their province than that of the Seldane, Ignae or Sylph! I must be missing something! Unless... that means..."

Wolmark was so lost in thought, that he almost didn't notice the room brightening with a golden glow. Wolmark blinked, and spun around. Against the far wall, a point of light was hovering, glowing with an intense golden light.

"Voice!" Wolmark exclaimed.

"Indeed," came the deep voice from the heart of the glow. "You have done well, child; you have done what no other in Cythera has ever done: deduced the existence of the fifth element. You deserve, now, to know me by my name: I am Kronos, of the element of Time!"

Wolmark couldn't speak - he could scarcely even breathe. He simply stood, waiting for Kronos to continue.

"Time is unique among the elements. It alone has no opposite, no counterpart to balance it; instead, Time is the fulcrum on which the other elements are balanced. I have no personal motivation, I am merely a servant to the Maker."

Kronos' voice seemed to soften a little, and the glow became somehow warmer.

"For an eternity, I was content to watch, not interfering in any way. Then you and your friends were cast out of Cythera, and into my domain. I took pity on you, grew to know and understand you; I approved of what I saw in your hearts, and took steps to ensure your lives would continue. To compensate for the time you lost, you and your decendants will live long; many hundreds of years, rivalling even the elves. Your wounds heal quickly. Your Staff of Reversal, which I empowered, gives you limited control over the fifth element. And when necessary, I will intervene in the lives of you and yours, giving guidance, though I can never directly interfere. That is the limitation placed on me by the Maker; but all I have done was done with his approval. He has plans for you - that is my belief."

Kronos' voice grew stronger once more. "That is all I may say at this time. You must return to your friends. Soon, events will be set in motion that will cause you great anguish; but always remember this: it is for the best. Go now, but don't reveal what you know too quickly."

The golden glow quickly faded, then vanished. Wolmark stood still, too stunned to even think.

Eventually, he shook himself awake. Half in a dream, he returned all the books to their correct locations, making a gift to Selinus of the one from the cave. He packed up his things, and opened a portal to the tavern.

------------------
Nothing is foolproof to a talented fool.

"Wolmark!" shouts a voice from behind him. Wolmark turned around from the open portal. Behind him stood a man, about thirty years old. He was dressed in a bluish robe. "Remember me?" The man inquired. "Talm? is that you?" Wolmark replied. "I'm farily sure that's my name" said Talm. "As I recall, the last time we met, you we're taking a break from your quest to find the lost solar crystal. What brings you back?" Wolmark inquired. "Two things, friend. Study of the fire element, and a tip from Selinus that you were here. I can see you're busy, but I've got somthing to show you - and it involves that crystal. Were can I find you normaly, in a less urgent situation?" Talm finished.

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flamer n.
[common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious webboard personalities.

[This message has been edited by Talm (edited 11-06-2001).]

***OoC***
Not a bad start, Bryce. Just one slight problem, though, my characters have only been around in the current time-period for a couple of months, so Wolmark couldn't have met Talm 6 years ago. Do you think you can change that and not mess up your intentions too much? Perhaps Talm could have stopped in at Pnyx a couple of months back, taking a break from his 6 year search? Anyway, glad to have you aboard!
***BiC***

"Well, Talm," Wolmark replied, "if we're not out on some quest or mission or something, I'm usually in Cademia. My friends and I have a barracks there, or we might be in the Alraeican Tavern. It's not hard to find, just follow the noise. You'll have to be quick to catch us there anytime soon, though - I have a feeling things are about to get ugly."

"Ugly? How?"

"I'm really not sure," Wolmark continued with a far-away look in his eyes, "but I'm beginning to get deathly afraid..."

"OK, Wolmark, I'll let you go then. Hope I can catch up with you in Cademia!"

Wolmark shook Talm's hand, then stepped through the portal.

-------------------------------

Wolmark appeared in the tavern once more; this was getting to be such a common occurance, that nobody even glanced in his direction. He spied the three Ronin that were in the tavern, sitting at a table with Theo, and joined them.

"Welcome back, Wolmark," Sasha greeted him. The others nodded in his direction.

"Is everything all right?" Leandra asked after a moment. "You seem a little - distracted."

"Hmm? Oh; I just had a visit from the Voice; he warned me that something was about to happen. Nothing unusual has occurred yet, then?"

The others looked at him in surprise. "No, nothing," Trinias replied.

"Hmm," Wolmark muttered.

Try as they might to persuade him, Wolmark wouldn't tell them anything more.

------------------
Nothing is foolproof to a talented fool.

Two days after setting out from Kosha, Flynn arrived at Landsend Volcano once more. He'd taken the round-about route this time, avoiding the swamp; but being ahorse, had still made good time.

He quickly located his objective - the small cave where he'd fought the cavetroll. His memories of the event were still dim, but were gradually becoming clearer - it was a vague recollection of the treasure inside that cave that had brought him all this way.

He pulled up short. There was a band of ruffians attempting to enter the cave, but whatever that barrier was, it still held. One of the bandits saw him, gave the alarm, and the band started to approach.

"Well, it seems fate has delivered us some easier pickings!" the leader exclaimed. "If you hand over everything you have, we might just let you live!"

Flynn was in no mood to waste time. He drew his diamond sword, pointed it in the direction of the man who'd spoken, and pulled the lever. A powerful electrical discharge leapt from the blade and struck the man down.

Seeing thier leader toasted in front of them, the rest of the gang panicked and fled in all directions. Flynn grunted, dismounted, secured his horse and entered the cave; as before, the barrier offered him no resistance.

He spent a considerable length of time, picking objects up, studying them, and putting them down again. Several items gave instruction in their use, much as the rings had done; but Flynn replaced each one in turn, unsatisfied. He was looking for something particular.

Finally, he saw an object that might do. He reached out and grasped it. "Ah," he sighed, smiling for the first time in many days, as knowledge filled his mind. "Perfect, just the thing."

Leaving the cave, stowing the object he'd taken with his gear, Flynn remounted his horse. It was time to return to the others; they'd be worried.

------------------
The only substitute for good manners, is fast reflexes.

It was evening.

Talm stood in the library of his balloon, which was presently caught in an air current bound for Cadimia. Had Talm been watching, the sunset would have been breathtaking. The great mountain range was looming, and, had he been on the balcony, Talm might have caught a glimpse of the distant Land's End valcano. But right now, his focus was on a object held tightly in his hands. A shiny, silver disc four inches in diameter, the object was engraved with over a hundred small runes, each painted with a pigment resembling that made with the finest of Lapis Azul, as costly as gold in itself. For months, Talm had been strugling to give meaning to them, but with no sucsess. All he knew was that the disc was found in the same area as the Solar Shard that provided heat to his flying home. Similar runes were engraved in the Shard itself, and some were the same.

Frustrated, Talm Turned to the bamboo bookshelf and removed a large, green tome entitled "Rise of the Tyrants". He opened the book and inserted the disc into a secret compartment in it. Satisfied that it was hidden, He returned the book to it's shelf and exited the Library. His pet wolflizard, long ago defanged, greated him with a hissing bark. Tomarrow morning they would be in Cadimia. There, they would talk to Cythera's most talented linguist, who was the only person alive in the land who might have a chance of decyphering the disc, and unlocking it's secrets.

Sleep came quickly to Talm, as did dreams of what the next day would hold.

------------------
flamer n.
[common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious webboard personalities.

On the roof of the Ronin's barracks, Kwon Chen was sitting absolutely still - and fighting harder than he'd ever fought in his life.

At first, he'd fought just to control the terror; then, as the fear was brought under control, he'd recognised that it stemmed from a source outside himself. He'd begun fighting to expel that influence from his mind.

In that task, too, he succeeded - mostly.

Kwon opened his eyes. He was at last his own master once again, but he could still feel the dark power, hovering about the edges of his mind; it would be many years, he was sure, before he was completely free of that evil taint.

There was one thing that he would always carry within himself from now on: the experience had given him a glimpse into a dark future, one he was sure was not a lie; what he had sensed would come to pass someday, and they must all be ready - or perish.

It would be a long time before he ever smiled again.

------------------
Confucious say, who say I say all they say I say?

*OoC* Boy, you and I are running the show tonight, eh cache22? *BiC*

High in his balloon, a noise stirred Talm from his sleep. He quickly wrote it off as one of his Wolflizard's nocturnal excursions. Then suddenly, something happened that he could not blame on the reptilian hexoped. A tremor shook the balloon. Talm got up, and was almost knocked from his feet by a second blast. Talm climbed into the central ladder well. As he climbed up it, he felt searing heat. Something was terribly wrong with the Solar Shard. Talm opened the balcony door and looked up to the pedestal which housed the Shard. It's wooden parts were starting to smoke, and at the top the Shard glowed white hot. Talm assessed the situation - if he did not act quickly, the frame holding the Shard itself would buckle, and the heat-producing surface of the Solar Shard might come in contact with the wood of the balloon's cabin. Should that happen, Talm would be trapped in a flying conflagration with no escape.

No amount of water would quell a fire instigated by the Shard. All evidence seemed to spell doom for Talm. But his mind was sharp, and a plan came quickly. Talm Entered the ladder well, and slid down the ladder to the bottom floor, gaining a few splinters along the way.
Talm rushed over to a rack of bottles and removed a gallon flask of the finest heat-surpressing chemicals. Talm wasted no time climbing the ladder. Resting his hope on his own aim, as the frame would not hold long enough to let him get another bottle should he miss, Talm threw the bottle onto the shard. A hissing noise heralded Talm's success, the crystal grew orange, then red, then black. The frame holding it had survived. Talm Would live.

But Talm soon realized that his problems had just begun. He didn't know exactly how long the brew would suppress the heat of the Shard, If it was too long, he would crash over the Cytherian mountains. Further, Talm was unsure if the tremors were temporary at all, or if the Shard would begin to erupt again. At any rate, Talm spent the next half-hour adjusting the Shard's frame and mountings.

---------

As he held the Black Crystal in his now-gloved hands, Talm could feel the heat radiating onto his face. At any other time, being the close to the Shard would burn him severely. Talm could tell that the Crystal was alive and well, and the heat suppressant was doing it's best to block the tremendous heat trapped within the Shard's fiery heart, eager to burn it's way out. The Crystal was by all accounts normal. Baffled by the lack of a apparent cause of the disturbance, Talm sat the Shard back onto it's frame. Stepping down to the balcony, Talm secured a small vial to a long pole. He lifted the pole above the Shard's frame. Talm Rotated the Pole. The tinniest amount of clear liquid dripped from the vial's mouth. The drip touched the surface of the crystal with a fizzing sound, as if acid eating away the heat-blocking film. In seconds, a tiny beam of red light lit up the early morning air. As the edges of the hole in the film grew, more and more exposed Crystal illuminated the inside of the balloon in eerie, volcanic tones. Talm waited for minutes, which seemed like hours, until he was sure of the stability of the Crystal. It had stabilized.
Talm Turned to admire the sunrise. He could make out clearly the the shoreline. At the delta of the river Styx, stood the mother city of Cadimia. he had arrived.

-----

Barely visible, on one the the rooftops, sat a figure, entranced in thought. Talm didn't notice, he was preparing to teather the balloon.



------------------
flamer n.
[common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious webboard personalities.

*Trundaylan sat poring over books in the library. Seeing that he had drifted off, Trundaylan blinked of weariness and looked around. Appearantly he had been here for days, he'd lost all track of time. But, there were some rather interesting stories he'd discovered in the moldy depths of the Pnyx libraries. However, none applied to his current interest, so he slammed the book closed in disgust.

Standing up and streching his cramped muscles, he replaced the book. Briefly scanning the bookcase with tired eyes, Trundaylan chose a leather bound book that caught his attention, tucked away in a corner as seemingly unimportant.

Hefting the heavywieght back to the table, and collapsing in the chair, Trundaylan opened the book to a page in the middle, and glanced at the ancient text. After reading a small part of the page, Trundaylan stood up straight. This book seemed to offer its assistance, he had discovered an ancient book of prophecy...*

------------------
"We've added years to life, not life to years."

***OoC***
Yeah, I was afraid it would be that way, Bryce. Hey, guys, the more posts we get in the tavern in the next few hours, the sooner I can start the story; unless everyone is prepared to stiplulate that 2 or 3 days have passed since my last 'Flynn' post, to give him time to get back to Cademia. In either case, it appears Bryce is leading into at least one more post before then; after that, we'll see.
***BiC***

Kwon walked back downstairs, to find Ulf just stirring. "Where are the others?" he asked the giant.

Ulf beamed, happy to see Kwon relatively himself again. "Tavern," he replied, in his normal, simple fashion.

"Shall we join them?"

Ulf just nodded, and the two Ronin left the Barracks.

--------------------------------

As Kwon and Ulf entered the tavern, the rest of the Ronin rose to greet them.

"Glad to see you're yourself, again!" Sasha exclaimed.

"I am myself, yes - if, perhaps, not entirely whole," was Kwon's enigmatic reply; he refused to elaborate on the comment. Instead, he turned to address Wolmark.

"Wolmark, as we were coming here I saw something in the distance that may interest you: it appeared to be some kind of large balloon; larger, perhaps, than a house."

"Well, well," Wolmark murmured, "that must be what Talm meant; he actually managed to build it! I guess that means he found the crystal, after all!"

The Ronin began to bring Kwon up to date on events since the Nîthruk attack; much had happened, so this took considerable time.

Kwon felt a twinge of panic as Wolmark related the Voice's warning, but quickly brought it under control. "It could not be that - it is much too soon!"

Regaining his internal composure (his face had remained as expressionless as ever), he pondered Flynn's absense long and hard. "That is not like him," he thought. "If he is indeed being influenced by the same dark forces that influenced me, then his judgement may well be impaired."

Kwon couldn't be certain if the concern he felt was genuine, or was being influenced by something else...

------------------
There are three kinds of computer users: those that use Macintoshes, those that wish they used Macintoshes, and those that don't know any better.

Talm Spent the better part of the morning, even with the help of three friendly town's people, tethering the balloon to the ground. When he was satisfied that the balloon wouldn't be lifted up and carried out to sea by a sudden breeze, Talm gave a few olbi to the volunteer assistants, and walked into the lower side of Cadimia, fallowed by the ever-present wolf-lizard.

----------

Talm looked around. Sensing that he was lost already, not more than ten minutes into his small excursion, Talm reached into his robe and pulled out a well-worn map. As he stood there trying to locate himself, someone called out. "Hey, you lost!?" Talm turned to his right. A boy, no more than ten or eleven, stood there.

"Oh, I'm alright, " Talm said. "But I'm trying to find someone. Do you know a man named Vios?" Talm added.

"Oh, yeah - He's my grandpa. You find him in the Two-Tailed Rat this time of day. "

"Thanks" replied to the boy.

-----------

Talm Walked into the Eatery of the Two-Tailed Rat. Assorted bums, a few respected business men, and some others, who seemed to belong to neither category, sat around. Talm scanned the room. Over at one of the small tables sat a man in a tunic and trousers, which were clean and well maintained. Talm walked over and addressed the man.

"Vios, have I got something for you..."

"Talm? Well, it's certainly been a while since we meet. How did your expedition turn out?"

"Wonderful, that's why I'm here. What do you think of this?" Talm asked. He then pulled out the disk from a deep pocket on the inside of his robe.

Vios jumped on the disc and began to try to read it. Talm might as well have been alone at the table, so intent was Vios' examination of the blue runes of the disc.


---------


It was about two in the afternoon, the Cytherian sun was a bit to the west of noon. Talm sat in his study in the balloon, reading the piece of parchment upon which the translation was written. It was grammaticaly correct, but it made little real sense. Talm would have galdly sat there all day, trying to put meaning into the words, but he knew he had an appointment to keep, so he put the message into the same book as the disc itself. Talm climbed down the rope ladder and walked over to the Alraeican Tavern, with thoughts of the strange words on the disc playing in his mind.

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flamer n.
[common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious webboard personalities.

Talm walked into the Tavern, with his wolflizard at his heals. Talm exchanged greatings with Wolmark and the other Ronin.
"Kown tells me he saw a huge airship... is this your doing, Talm?"

"I'm happy to say it is. Took me and and lot's of hired help in Catamarca six moths to build it. " Talm replied.

"But I wasn't the first to take to the air, I hear. Whats this about a zephlin? " Talm continued.

"Yes, my Zephlin. I'd say that's one of my best achivements. It relly comes in handy, no one can accuse it of not being practical." Wolmark said.
"So, Talm, I assume you found the Solar Shard. I'm curious about it, please tell me more." Wolmark added.

"Well, were it not for the shard, my balloon couldn't even get off the ground, much less fly. The whole thing is amazing to me - the crystal takes in nothing, but produces great energy. At Phynx, none of the teachers could sense an aura from it. Say, Wolmark, would you like to see the shard? Your freinds can come to, any freind of yours is a freind of mine. The balloon is tethered just outside of town, what do you say?" Talm asked exitedly.

------------------
flamer n.
[common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious webboard personalities.

"Lead on, my friend!" Wolmark replied, "I could use a little distraction!"

Talm left the tavern, with the six Ronin following.

------------------
Nothing is foolproof to a talented fool.

Katze brushed away some errant strands of short black hair, only half listening to the conversation, until the stranger mentioned the word "airship". She looked up, seeing the Ronin talking to a man she did not know, and then leave the tavern. It took her just a few seconds to make up her mind, and the patrons gave her startled glances as the formerly inactive woman sprang up, almost knocking her chair over in the process. "Wait!" she called, and the group halted.
She wanted to run over, but restrained herself and walked over calmly, asking: "Mind if I tag along? I've been getting quite used to the zeppelin, and this airship sounds interesting..." She failed in hiding the excitement from her face, and Wolmark grinned, shaking his head.
Katze noticed. "Hey, you're not the only one to be interested in inventions!" she said, her tone just a little pouting. "I'm just not that good at it..." and, so silently nobody could hear it. "...yet."
Talm smiled and nodded, watching their short exchange with amusement. "No, I won't mind you coming along. Shall we?" He didn't wait for an answer but turned around, motioning for the Ronin and Katze to follow.

------------------
As l lay in my bed staring at the sky I asked myself:
Where the hell did the roof go?

[This message has been edited by Moonshadow (edited 11-08-2001).]

*OoC* Wow... That was quick. And people make fun of my checking the board every half-hour.

Talm stood in the balloon's lower level with the Ronin and Katze. It was rather crowded, and the Wolflizard's insistence on sniffing his new friends didn't help much. Ulf was forced to stand in the ladder well, since the utilitarian lower level had only a 6.5 foot ceiling. Talm spoke up.
"This is the lower level hall. We just came up from the ladder well, which connects the entire central cabin..." As Talm continued to prattle, which entranced more curious elements among the guests, Kown noticed something odd. On one wall, to the left of his position, was a very thinly concealed secret compartment. There was no obvious way to open it, but if the box was so poorly hidden then it shouldn't be to hard to find the lever.
"And so, " Talm finished, " since it would be impractical to store the waste, it is dumped out the bottom of the balloon. Thus it is important not to use the bathroom while over a populated area". Talm chuckled at his joke. As Talm led the way up the ladder into the second floor, Kwon took one last lingering look at the compartment. Katze seemed to have noticed it to, but neither felt it would be prudent to ask Talm about it.


------


On the less crowded second level, which was, in fact, quite airy, the guests fallowed Talm into the various rooms on the second level. A kitchen, with a small oven, designed to be light weight, and a living room dominated by a large table, which was also used for eating. The canvas-frame walls were covered in paintings and maps. "This seems like a large table for one person" remarked Katze. Talm replied hopefully, "I hope I don't have to travel alone for much longer. It's getting to be quite allot of work - taking wind measurements and navigational checks every other hour of the day, realigning the crystal, inspecting the balloon harness. It amounts to allot of work for just one man." Talm gestured to a door off the living room. "In here is my small forge. I mostly use it to repair the rigging, but I've taken to making things in my little spare time." Talm said.
"That other door leads to the library. " Talm finished.

------


Suddenly, a fairly small tremor rocked the Balloon. "The Shard! Not again!" Shouted Talm. "Is there anything I can do?" Asked Wolmark. "Yeah - go down to my lab. It's down the ladder well. Bring a red bottle from the big shelf. Thanks." Talm and Wolmark both entered the ladder well, almost crashing into each other. Talm went up, and Wolmark head down.
Katze, overcome with curiosity, fallowed Talm up the ladder well.


------


Wolmark looked around the lab. A distiller sat on one bench, along with a mortar and pistil and many tubes and vials. A huge shelf dominated one side of the lab. Wolmark scanned the bottles, and selected a large red one. As he walked briskly to the ladder well, he realized what Talm intended to do - the bottle's label read: "Ru. Heat suppres. "

Wolmark arrived on the balcony just as another minor tremor shook the balloon. He gave the bottle to Talm, who threw it onto the Shard as he had done earlier. With a hiss, the tremors stopped.


-------

Minutes later, Talm, Wolmark, and Katze were in the lab, examining the crystal, which was still in it's stand, now quited by the potion. Sadly, even two fresh perspectives were not enough to solve the mystery of the tremors, and they prepared to replace the crystal again.

Meanwhile, the other Ronin found themselves alone on the main deck. Something, perhaps destiny, told them that they should make a investigation in the library.

------------------
flamer n.
[common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious webboard personalities.

Wolmark watched thoughtfully, as Talm replaced the crystal in its cradle. "If this kind of thing happens often, wouldn't it be prudent to rig some kind of fast-delivery system for the heat suppressant? A reservoir, some heat-resistant tubing, and a remotely controllable valve should do it, with a lever somewhere handy down below. What do you think?"

Katze listened with interest; she was beginning to get an understanding of how Wolmark's mind worked, and was finding it very educational.

------------------
Nothing is foolproof to a talented fool.

"I aggree, Wolmark. Theese tremors just started happening, though. The first time was last night, on my way here." Talm said.

"I've still got some time to kill" said Wolmark. "Would you Like some help?" He asked.

"Sure. Maybe we can find out a way to simply reduce the heat output without quelching the crystal totaly."

"Maybe, If we make the suppresant into a mist, we can apply a small ammount to the entire crystal surface" Suggjested Katze.

With that, the threesome climbed down the ladder well and into the lab. They didn't even notice that the other Ronin had retreated into the library.

------------------
flamer n.
[common] One who habitually flames. Said esp. of obnoxious webboard personalities.

[This message has been edited by Talm (edited 11-08-2001).]

Wolmark stood staring into space for a few moments, lost in thought. "A mist. That was a good idea, Katze. We'd need atomising nozzles, four or five I think; one each for top and bottom and two or three to reach all sides. The reservoir would have to be pressurised; I can help there, Talm, I had to develop an efficient compressor for the Zeppelin. Now, if the heat from the crystal could be utilised to run the compressor as well..."

His voice trailed off, and Talm began collecting various components from the shelves and storage compartments.

------------------------------

In the library, Leandra was browsing through the book titles. Occasionally she took a book off the shelf and leafed through it, but didn't find anything that directly interested her. Eventually, she came to a large, green book.

"'Rise of the Tyrants'," she mused with a tone of interest. "I've heard stories about them; some kind of dictators from the time before Alaric."

Opening the book, she was surprised to find a hollowed out section, containing a silver disc with strange writing on it, and a note; the note appeared to be a translation of the disc.

"Hey, Trinias, look at this!"

Trinias hurried over. After a brief glance at the note, he located a piece of paper and a pencil - not difficult; like Wolmark, Talm was apparently used to getting ideas at odd times, and kept note-taking implements handy. Quickly, he copied the note, drew a diagram of the disc, and put the paper in his pocket. "I'm pretty sure Wolmark will be interested in this," he commented.

Leandra returned the items to their hiding place, and the book to the shelf.

------------------------------

Several hours later, the three grimy tinkerers joined the rest of the Ronin. The new system was almost complete, lacking only the compressor; but Wolmark had furnished Talm with blueprints so he could build that himself.

Wolmark yawned, and stretched; he looked very tired, and Katze was almost dead on her feet - but wore an extremely satisfied smile.

"I need a drink," Wolmark said. "Shall we go to the tavern?" The Ronin agreed. "I need to get cleaned up a bit, though," he continued, "so I'll stop by the barracks first. How about you, Talm?"

"Yes, I'll meet you there when I've cleaned up, too."

The six Ronin and Katze exited the cabin; Wolmark headed for the barracks, Katze made for wherever it was Katze disappeared to, and the other five Ronin made for the tavern.

------------------------------

About half an hour later Katze re-entered the Alraeican Tavern, looking much refreshed. Wolmark and Talm had already arrived. She fetched a drink, and joined the other seven at their table.

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