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| Ghosts of Weavers Past | |
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| Topic Started: Sep 12 2009, 12:55 PM (656 Views) | |
| dinowoman | Jan 22 2010, 03:50 PM Post #31 |
Living Fossil
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Aldrich made his way towards the spot where he'd last seen Conner, which was easier said than done with so many people rushing about between the trees. At this moment in time his 'Weaver's propensity for remaining unnoticed was more of a handicap than an advantage - several times he had to sidestep smartly to avoid being cannoned into. Once he was out of the woods, he had the task of pushing through the crowd, against the flow, while trying to keep an eye out for Conner. Being rather short, the blind 'Weaver was easily obscured by the mass of bodies around him, but fortunately his golden hair and black blindfold were rather striking and it didn't take Aldrich too long to pick out the familiar colour combination between the bobbing heads and shoulders. Now that he had a definite target, he redoubled his efforts and began shouldering his way vigorously between the pressing bodies, occasioning numerous cries of indignance from those who found themselves being less than politely shoved aside. "Conner!" he yelled over the general din, as he got to within a few people of his colleague. "Conner!" |
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| Teenage Mage | Jan 23 2010, 12:54 PM Post #32 |
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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Conner lifted his head, catching a familiar voice. "Over here!" he yelled, waving one arm in the air. He lurched forward, shoving some hapless bystander aside, and tumbled into Aldrich. The Weaver Captain groaned as Conner's head whacked into his battered chest, but he didn't complain. "Thank God," Conner muttered, pulling away apologetically, but staying close to his friend. The absolute last thing he wanted to do was get separated again. "You wanna lift us out of here or should we go the slow route?" |
 He said, "I left my home, where the dead never rose, For the streets of gold I've yet to find. And at the end of the day, all you can do is pray, Without hope, well, you might as well be blind, Yeah, be blind." Tomorrow comes a day too soon....tomorrow comes a day too soon. | |
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| dinowoman | Jan 24 2010, 02:27 PM Post #33 |
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"With Mr. Gargoyle up there," Aldrich motioned with his head towards the Inquisitor up on the hill, "sending out his goons in all directions, keeping a low profile might be the wisest option for the moment - at least until we're back up to full strength. Ivan's gone and gotten himself shot..." He shot a glance at Conner as the young man recoiled in shock. But his eyes betrayed a reassuring twinkle. "Nah, he'll be ok. Clean wound, through the calf. Nothing that a bit o' the old phlebotinum won't mend...." A sudden irritation of the trachea brought Aldrich's explanation to an abrupt end as he broke out into an increasingly violent series of coughs. "...which is more than can be said for me," he wheezed when he was finally able to speak again. "So yeah, cough we take the slow route. We get Ivan out of here and we go find Wolfie. Then it's time for histrionics. We confront that demon wannabe and see what he has to say for himself. I'm cough laying my money on "nothing we're gonna enjoy hearing". Having said his piece, Aldrich, with Conner now in tow, began parting the crowd once again as they made their way gradually back in the direction of the forest. "'Scuse me! Ta!.... Coming through.... cough" As they wormed their way through the mass of bodies, several individuals noticeably jumped as Aldrich's voice sounded inches from their ears when they had totally failed to register his presence until that instant. As they came closer to the first trees the crowd began to thin out. Some were holding back, clearly not planning on entering; others dispersed in different directions between the trees. Aldrich led Conner nonchalantly between the towering trunks for a hundred yards or so, and then paused at the base of a tree. He looked around. Few people were in the immediate vicinity and no-one was paying any attention to them. "This looks a good spot. Wait here," he growled. Then, without waiting for Conner to reply, he floated up into the branches and disappeared from sight. Once shielded by the foliage, he made his way back to where he had left Ivan and the elf. To his surprise, the elf had already gone. I guess he knows what he's doing, he thought fleetingly, before turning his attention to Ivan. "How's the leg now? You feel up to walking? I've got Conner. Just a Wolf to go, and we'll have a full set. Care to come hunt for one?" |
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| Zeth | Jan 30 2010, 07:52 PM Post #34 |
 
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Ivan turned his head suddenly at the sound of Aldrich's weight suddenly resting upon a branch. At the question, he nodded his head once to the side in his peculiar fashion. "It's a leg, it heals. As for using it, I'm fine as long as you don't expect me to best an olympian." He took his cane from where the elf had left it, wedged between a branch and the tree trunk, before crouching down on a branch beside Aldrich. Yes, there was pain in his leg, the phlebotinum wasn't that good, but Ivan resisted giving in to the discomfort. At least to a degree he could pass the sensation of pain exclusively to Shark. The more cynical side of Ivan--the cynical side of Ivan that wasn't Shark at any rate--couldn't help thinking that the least Shark could do for putting them through that fight with the demon-man was endure a little shared pain. "What's the plan? Wait, why do we need a plan, where's Wolf?" Ivan took a breath, "But nonetheless, my thanks to you all, I couldn't possibly have done without you." Edited by Zeth, Feb 6 2010, 08:26 PM.
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| dinowoman | Feb 7 2010, 05:03 PM Post #35 |
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Living Fossil
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Aldrich grunted an acknowledgement. “You can thank Connor in a moment. I’ll settle for being the idiot who got you into this mess in the first place.” Although he wasn’t aware of anything he could have done differently, Aldrich had been silently chastising himself for getting his ‘Weavers separated ever since they’d arrived. A little less in the way of luck, and he could have found himself with Ivan’s and Shark’s deaths on his conscience, and he knew he wouldn’t feel at ease until he could be sure Wolf was safe. “As for a plan, we’ll worry about that when we get there. Wherever “there” is. Conner’s the one who last saw Wolfie. Let’s hope he has a good sense of direction. Shall we go meet him?” Aldrich held out a hand to steady Ivan as he rose to his feet on the branch, then, gripping the slender ‘Weaver firmly under the armpits, he rose into the air and gently drifted between the trees with his lightweight passenger, until he alighted on the ground beside Conner. |
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| Teenage Mage | Feb 16 2010, 04:39 PM Post #36 |
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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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Conner leaned against the tree, wishing his eyes worked. His second sight enabled him to get around without too much of a handicap, but it wasn't the best for absolute specifics. He would have liked to look at the leaves on the trees, the clouds in the sky, but this far down below seemed undetailed and blurred. He reached out and rubbed the rough surface of a low-hanging leaf as Aldrich and Ivan dropped down beside him. Conner "looked" over his vampiric comrade. Ivan gave him a weak smile. He didn't seem too hurt, to Conner's relief. "What are we doing now?" he asked Aldrich, and listened as Aldrich asked him about Wolf. Conner winced, still unable to believe he had simply let her run off into a strange city. It seemed impossible that they could find her now. But then, the Weavers themselves were highly impossible. "We were in the marketplace when we got separated," he said. "I could find that again, I'm sure. I don't know after that, but someone must have seen her leaving. We can follow the trail from there." The other Weavers agreed. Conner set off, leading the way through the trees, back to the town and market, where they would hopefully find a clue to lead them to their younger comrade. Wolfie, dear girl, Conner thought as they trooped off, I hope you're taking care of yourself... |
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He said, "I left my home, where the dead never rose, For the streets of gold I've yet to find. And at the end of the day, all you can do is pray, Without hope, well, you might as well be blind, Yeah, be blind." Tomorrow comes a day too soon....tomorrow comes a day too soon. | |
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| dinowoman | Feb 18 2010, 04:18 PM Post #37 |
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Living Fossil
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Aldrich pointed a finger, knowing that Conner's "sight" would pick it up. "Head over that way, where the trees are densest. We still ought to keep Ivan out of sight of any stragglers. I'd rather not have to take down innocent civilians - even if they are trying to lynch him," he added with a slight smirk in Ivan's direction. And then we'll swing round and by-pass the cemetery and Bird Man out there." The three 'Weavers made their way in virtual silence between the trees, pushing through thick undergrowth as they progressed further and further from the well-trodden paths and areas of trampled grass. Once or twice they spotted a lone figure, or a small group, peering into the distance or trawling through clumps of low-growing shrubs, presumably checking out potential hiding places. But none of those figures seemed to be aware of them. Eventually, after walking for maybe twenty minutes, shafts of sunlight began to show themselves up ahead. The were coming to the forest's edge. Beyond were mainly green fields populated by various livestock, and to one side, a farm gate that opened from the nearest field onto a quiet road with a couple of houses visible. They were clearly right on the very edge of the town. They had taken a rather longer detour than Aldrich had intended, but at least their route back should be well away from the cemetery road and the lynch mob. Having carefully climbed over a barbed wire fence that separated the field from the forest, it only took a moment to reach the gate. In the distance the taller, grander buildings of the town centre were clearly visible. Aldrich estimated they must be a good forty-five minutes' walk from the marketplace and the location where Conner had last seen Wolf. He paused to consider. Flying with one colleague was a fairly straightforward matter; flying with two wasn't. He simply wasn't built for carrying a man under each arm. They'd have to do things the traditional way. "Ok, gentlemen," Aldrich announced. "Time for your daily exercise. We're gonna go for a run. Last one to the marketplace buys the drinks." And then, after a sympathetic glance at Ivan: "Except Ivan. He's exempt.... We just make him buy double when he's fully fit!" He winked, before adding more seriously: "Can you manage a 3 or 4 mile run?" Edited by dinowoman, Feb 24 2010, 09:46 AM.
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| Zeth | Feb 21 2010, 03:10 PM Post #38 |
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Ivan ignored the dull throb in the leg in favour of not disappointing his friends. It wasn't unendurable anyways. Ivan shifted back to his half state, which he had neglected during the walk, as a response. "Of course. But I'm afraid I'll have to let you lead, I've not been to the marketplace yet. Haven't been anywhere except the courtroom and road." |
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| dinowoman | Feb 24 2010, 11:53 AM Post #39 |
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Living Fossil
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The corners of Aldrich's mouth contorted into a smile behind his scarf, echoed by his eyes. He gave Ivan a thumbs-up. "Good lad." Then, after pulling his scarf up over his nose to provide what little protection he could against the inevitable respiratory distress that a run in this dry atmosphere would occasion, Aldrich raised his right hand in an overly theatrical and dramatic gesture, thrust it forward in the direction of their destination, and declared, "Wagons ho!" before breaking into a jog. Once he was satisfied that the two men were alongside him, he increased his pace. These were small residential streets, not like the long, straight road that led to the cemetery, and they had to negotiate numerous junctions and changes of direction, but all the while he kept his eyes fixed on the most recognisable landmark: the courthouse, whose roof was clearly visible between the various taller, unidentified, buildings of the town centre. Finally, they found themselves standing once again outside the main door of the courthouse. "Well, Conner, it's up to you now," Aldrich announced. "Can you find the place again where you last saw Wolf?" |
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| Teenage Mage | Mar 10 2010, 03:15 PM Post #40 |
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Conner stood before the courthouse door, stock still, his head not moving an inch even as he surveyed the streets around them. Nervously he tugged at the tied-off knot of his blindfold as he realized that he really wasn't sure of where to go next. He had arrived directly in the marketplace without any knowledge of what path led to its gates. The appearance of the strange winged man had sparked such chaos that his memories of the way out of the market were not much better. He sniffed the air, inhaling the smoke and dust laden in the city air. Somewhere far off he thought he heard voices that might belong to the crowded market, but he couldn't pinpoint the direction, and wasn't even entirely sure that they existed at all. He swiveled on the heel of his boots, pacing back and forth, feeling slightly sick at his stomach. He'd led them all astray; he'd claimed he could find the market and know he couldn't. At long last he sighed. "No," he said. "I'm afraid I can't find the market again. But," he added, struck by a sudden thought, "she was chasing slavers. A couple of them were after an escaped slave. If we find the slavers, we'll probably find Wolf. Soo..." He turned around in a circle, waving his hands in pointless but excited motion as he thought out loud. "No one was looking twice at them-I'm sure slavery is completely legal in this city now. So then, they might have their own market somewhere, or a warehouse of some kind." He grimaced at the thought. "Knowing Wolf, she probably would try to save all of the slaves. So she'll probably still be at this warehouse, if she's not been captured herself..." Conner's shoulders slumped for a moment, picturing his bright young friend in shackles, driven with a crowd of captured slaves like cattle. He shook it off, reminding himself that such ruminations wouldn't help anybody, least of all Wolf. "Find the warehouse or the auction and I bet we'll find Wolf. And I bet that someone's going to have any such auctions posted like some obscene yard sale, so all we have to do, theoretically, is find those ads...and where better place to start than a courthouse?" His train of thought having finally come to a stop, he turned to face his companions. "Yes?" |
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He said, "I left my home, where the dead never rose, For the streets of gold I've yet to find. And at the end of the day, all you can do is pray, Without hope, well, you might as well be blind, Yeah, be blind." Tomorrow comes a day too soon....tomorrow comes a day too soon. | |
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| dinowoman | Mar 10 2010, 07:03 PM Post #41 |
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Living Fossil
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Aldrich stood, wheezing from the exertion and trying to suppress an outbreak of coughing, as Conner sent out his senses in search of the place where he had last seen Wolf. As the seconds passed and it was clear that Conner was having no success, Aldrich found himself nervously twirling the phlebotinum vial that he had previously used on Ivan, as he pictured Wolf in his mind, and tried to push away the negative thoughts that were beginning to coalesce around the edges of his consciousness. As Conner's shoulders slumped in defeat, so Aldrich's own morale plummeted, but fortunately only momentarily, before Conner suddenly came up with his idea of looking for ads. Aldrich gave him a thumbs up sign from around the vial in his hand, before returning his plaything to his pocket. "Ok, Ivan," he began, turning to the vampire. You check the posters round that side of the building; I'll go this way. And if there's nothing here, what's wrong with simply asking someone? If slavery is the norm, I expect pretty well everyone in this town knows where the slave market is...." His voice trailed off as he finally lost the battle against the coughing reflex and a massive attack wracked his body. |
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| Zeth | Mar 12 2010, 06:32 PM Post #42 |
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Ivan winced as he slid to a stop, panting a bit due to his leg. The skin and nerves may have healed, but there wasn't a chance the magically knit muscle was ready to take a run like that already. He listened edgily, giving furtive looks around down the road, where people were still going about their business in the late day reddening light. Ivan gradually shifted back to his own complete form so he'd be less likely to be noticed, if that was indeed possible. "Ok, Ivan," Aldrich said as he turned, "You check the posters round that side of the building; I'll go this way. And if there's nothing here, what's wrong with simply asking someone? If slavery is the norm, I expect pretty well everyone in this town knows where the slave market is...." "Eh-heh." Ivan aborted something of a resigned sigh as Aldrich coughed, "Not to be a burden, but if we don't mind the buddy system could we perhaps spare one of you to have me follow? Neither the judge nor bailiffs accompanied my mob to the cemetery--I'd assume they're still here. And furthermore," Ivan directed the head of his cane at the corners of the corners of the courthouse and an Automated Teller Machine across the street, "It seems there's electronic surveillance. Given the paranoia of this place, I'd also assume they do have people watching. At least the courthouse after the mob trashed the courtroom." He paused a moment before going on, a puzzled look crossing his features, "and I haven't been to the other district of the city yet, but judging from the snobbishness of the pure humans here, is it not unreasonable to conclude that they may still leave the slavers to their own devices only in the 'lower' district? Perhaps it'd be easier just to look for a police or military bulletin or a map of directions referencing the other district." |
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| dinowoman | Mar 13 2010, 12:30 PM Post #43 |
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Aldrich, semi-seriously, performed a facepalm. "You've just been nearly executed and already I'm forgetting you're a wanted man. Of course, the courthouse is not the ideal place for you to be." He eyed the facade of the building and then swept his gaze around the street that they now stood in. There was no obvious sign of CCTV cameras, but Ivan was right: if they had the technology for ATMs, you could be pretty sure they also had the technology for automated surveillance equipment. "Right then. Change of plan, " he announced. "Looks like we don't want to hang around here any longer than necessary. It shouldn't be beyond the combined capabilities of Conner and myself to retrace the route that Peter brought us from the market square, and I know from my excellent information-gathering skills that that market is in the centre of the town. If this side of it is the snobs' neighbourhood, there's a good chance that the other side is the "lower" district. And centres where people congregate also often have information stands, town maps, and useful locals who know their way around. The day may be drawing to a close, but I bet there'll still be plenty of people down there. Maybe even Johann. He strikes me as the kind of guy who'd know about what goes on where." He looked across at Conner as he said this, knowing that the name of "Johann" would mean nothing to Ivan. "I propose a stroll back down to Johann's stall." When neither 'Weaver raised any objections, he moved off, keeping his manner casual, but at the same time alert for any sign of officialdom (or lynchers) coming after Ivan. The other two followed. As the distance between them and the courthouse increased, so he began to relax more. Even so, his fingers twitched against the butt of his pistol, now reloaded with stun rounds, just in case. To his relief, they made it to the market's edge, near to where Johann had his stall, without incident. However, there was no sign of Johann. The stall was now bare, and various other stallholders were in the process of packing away their goods. The market, while certainly not devoid of people, was far from the bustling place that it had been earlier in the day. Aldrich looked around, considering. Should he just go up to some random person and ask about the slave market? Without hesitating long enough to give the impression that he was unsure, he made a decision. "Conner, when we met up, you were coming from that direction." He pointed across the square. "If we head that way, you may spot some landmarks that trigger your memory." Once again they moved off, walking between the now quite wide open space between the rows of stalls. They had gone about two hundred metres or so when Aldrich stopped suddenly. Up ahead, right in the middle of the square, stood a broad, squat, straight-sided metal pillar. Attached to it were various notices. Some were clearly official and were behind glass; many were simple printed sheets of paper, stuck there by whatever means their posters had found for keeping them in place. At the top, in large, black letters was printed the word "INFORMATION", and underneath, filling a large chunk of the side facing them, was what was clearly a map. "Gentlemen," Aldrich declared, "I think we may just have found what we need." |
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| Teenage Mage | Mar 17 2010, 06:29 PM Post #44 |
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Wolf woke up. It took a while. The minutes passed in a fevered slur of half-thoughts and vague conceptions, swirling around behind her tightly shut eyes. It was a long crawl back to full consciousness, until finally one eye cracked open to the waking nightmare of foul air and distant screams. The young Weaver staggered to her feet, numbly brushing off the dirt that clung to most of her clothes. She was in a cage that was only just big enough to accommodate her slumped form. It was only one cage in a row; to the left and right of her a long line of similar cages stretched out, each containing a human-or at least humanoid-form. Very few of them were bothering to struggle. Wolf let out a hoarse yell and battered the rusty metal bars with her bare hands, but nothing happened. Though well worn and covered with rust and other things, the bars held through her assault. A bark of sharp, mocking laughter rang out from somewhere. "Arena's starting!" someone yelled, above the horrible racket of the place. Someone else yelled back an affirmative. In a moment or two a group of slavers appeared, each heading to a seemingly random cage. They unlocked the doors, grabbed the slaves out, and shackled them, then started pushing them away down the line. One slaver came to Wolf, yanking the lock open and pulling her out by her arms. Wolf was about to try to fight back, before she remembered what had happened before. Grudgingly, she allowed the slaver to shackle her. She would have to hope that an opportunity would come up soon. "This can't be a very efficient process," she muttered as she was led down the line. "Where are we going?" "The Arena," the slaver said, sounding surprised that she didn't know. "They're looking for gladiators." |
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He said, "I left my home, where the dead never rose, For the streets of gold I've yet to find. And at the end of the day, all you can do is pray, Without hope, well, you might as well be blind, Yeah, be blind." Tomorrow comes a day too soon....tomorrow comes a day too soon. | |
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| dinowoman | Mar 18 2010, 05:58 PM Post #45 |
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Living Fossil
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Aldrich headed straight for the map. Johann's information earlier on had been correct. The market place was indeed right in the centre of town, and it was large too. Apart from the area that he had already seen, with traditional stalls, there was also a sizeable livestock market. And just to the south of them, quite small, and labelled in much tinier print, as though the map-maker had been embarrassed by its presence, was the slave market. Aldrich turned to Conner as he traced a route with the index finger of his left hand. "It looks to me like we need to carry on in this direction until we're level with that odd-shaped building." His green-gloved hand rested on the drawing of the structure that he was referring to, before the finger continued on its journey. "Then I think we need to head down here. It should take us to the south gate, near to the slave market. Does that look right to you? Does it correspond to what you remember?" Having obtained the necessary confirmation, Aldrich set off once again, striding purposefully in the direction of their goal. "You're our tour-guide for today, Mr. Conner. Let us know if anything starts to look familiar." |
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