Pink Poogle Toy Forum

'He's a Korut, an animal that lives in trees with pink leaves. You can find them if you go south far enough,' the stranger said lightly. 'As for the king, that is exactly what I would like to find out.'

He glanced out the window. 'I hear he has a new mage,' he said half to himself. Then he turned back to the others. 'But I forget myself. I have not introduced myself yet. I am Randius - Miran has probably never mentioned me to you.' His eye twinkled.

Miran turned and muttered, 'I'm going to pack,' and disappeared into the back room, leaving her guests alone.

Randius smiled at Kenzi. 'Are you going to pack as well?' he said. 'I'd like to leave within two hours if that's possible.'

Esthemazaar heard felt a shudder in the aqueduct. He heard a soft boom in the distance, to far from the town for anyone else to hear. He turned his head and looked up the endless open pipe. He saw movement at the other end and squinted. Whatever it was grew in size. He unfolded himself and stood in the stone trough. He looked upward once more, and saw that whatever it was was moving toward him very quickly. It was speeding up. His eyes widened in horror. He scrambled down out of the aqueduct. He struggled to get his feet under himself and uncharascteristically staggered. He caught his bearings and ran for the town that the aqueduct was pointed towards. He burst into the square and looked around. Everyone was in the buildings. Most were in the inn, but he saw a few at the lady's place he had gone to earlier. He hurriedly looked back and forth between the buildings, trying to decide which people he should warn. He couldn't come to a decision and instead planted his feet and drew in a huge breath. He expelled it while rearing his head back. What came out was the highest-pitch, whistling scream he could have imagined. It lasted for nearly ten seconds before he ran out of air. He leaned over and put his hands on his knees, heaving for breath and waiting for everyone to come.

In her bedroom, Miran started and came running back to the kitchen. The Korut jumped off the table and scurried up her leg and into her arms. She hardly noticed she was holding it. 'What was that?' she asked in a strained voice, her heart thumping.

Randius was looking out the window and his face was serious when he turned back. It broke into a smile almost immediately afterwards, so it seemed as though nothing was wrong, but Miran had already noticed it. 'It's nothing you should worry about, Miran,' he said jauntily.

'No.' She cut him short. 'What is it?'

'One of our travelling companions,' he replied, smiling less now, but still in no less firm a tone. 'Don't worry yourself about it too much. I'm just going to step outside a moment, but please finish your packing soon.' He waved an arm in Kenzi's direction. 'Perhaps this young lady should return to her home to pack as well? Or perhaps not.' He glanced at Esthemazaar. Miran craned her neck to see but Randius had positioned himself so that he was blocking part her view. She saw the square but not the stranger. 'Maybe you'll be so kind as to help the young lady pack some things. It doesn't matter if it isn't very much. You will need to get some new travelling clothes soon anyhow. Nothing you have is likely to be appropriate for long distances of travelling. Now go, both of you,' he said, shooing them to the back room like chickens. 'And don't come out until you've finished!' He closed the door after them and waved his staff. The doorway gleamed blue for a minute.

Miran spun around a few seconds after the door was shut. She hadn't been able to resist Randius's commands, but now she realized what was happening. She rattled the door handle but it was well and firmly locked by magic. She began to splutter with rage. 'Open the door, you coward!' she yelled, but Randius was already stepping outside. There was no sound of him. The silence infuriated the young healer. 'Why, the arrogance of that man! Locked in my own house! Urgh!' Kenzi's presence reminded her suddenly of her position. She coughed, sighed and turned to the girl. 'Come, Kenzi, there's no getting out of this room until we've packed. I daresay he's charmed the door so that we can only leave when everything is quite packed up.'

Randius was shaking his head slightly at Miran's insults as he left the inn. Nothing had changed with that girl, he thought, pulling his hood up, except everything had changed, and the smile left his face. He put it back on as he went towards Esthemazaar. Ah, that young man. He'd thought he would be seeing him again. And he was bringing bad news, no doubt.

Randius had not heard anything that Esthemazaar had, but there was an unshakeable feeling of unease hanging about him. He spoke lightly to the young giant. 'Trouble?'

Esthemazaar nodded, his throat already sore, having used it for the first time in many years. He caught his breath and stood back up. He pointed at the aqueduct. He moved his arms very quickly in a downward slant. He pointed to the aqueduct and then spun with a broad gesture and pointed at the buildings, clapping his hands together vertically. He jumped up into the air and stomped onto the ground. His face gained some color for the first time in a long while as well, his feelings becoming heated. He poked the man that had approached him and jabbed a finger at the inn, where none had come out.

Confused, and frightened by the scream, Kenzirin allowed herself to be herded into the back room. She stared at the door, startled as it gleamed blue.

"...magic?" she whispered to herself.

She nodded as Miran spoke, and then frowned. Glancing around the room, she started gathering things she thought would be useful on the journey. "Tell me if you don't want anything, or if there's anything in particular you would like me to grab," she stated, surprising herself at the strength of her voice. Evidently she was in more control of her feelings then she had believed. She almost smiled in amusement.

She worked quietly for a few moments, until her curiosity overcame her. She glanced up at the healer, her words forming in her mouth almost without her knowing it. "Miran, if you don't mind me asking... who is Randius? You seem to know him... and what is he? A wizard? That was magic he did, right?"

She almost asked if the horse she had led out of the stables earlier was his. Her father had, after all, told her to bring it out unnaturally soon before all the excitement had been caused. And the man seemed in a hurry, to her... But no, it wasn't likely. For one, Miran would have no way of knowing if the horse was his -- even if she had known him when she was young, Randius had obviously traveled a lot and would most likely have gotten a new horse.

She breathed out of her nose sharply, resisting the urge to laugh. Here they were, locked in a room with something screaming outside and Kings not wanting healers, and there she was thinking about a silly horse!

Brair, who had slipped into the building some time ago and was raiding the liquor's cabnet, came over to the door and quickly blasted it open. "There you are." He said butlerly like and wandered out, various bulges sticking out from around his robe and back as the liquor bottles poked out. He walked over to where the tall guy and the arrogant mage were and handed the tall guy a bottle of tequila. "Take a breather. The worst thing that could happen is a river drowning us all, and I'm sure our arrogant friend ofer here," he said jerking a thumb at Randius, "can fix that."

Miran was just about to reply to Kenzi when the door splintered into a thousand pieces and fell apart. A stranger who she had not known was in her house before - he looked vaguely familiar - was he from the inn? - stood there, said something that she couldn't quite catch in the most casual tone of voice (as if it were his door he was breaking), and vanished again.

When the dust had settled, Miran saw the blue glimmer where the door had been. She approached it gingerly and gave it a cautious poke. It didn't give. Randius's charm was still there although the door wasn't.

She wanted to cry. Her clinic was being taken away from her, Randius had locked her in her house and now her bedroom door had been destroyed. She looked at the blurry pieces of wood that lay scattered on the floor, the remains of the door, and more symbolically (to her now depressed line of thinking), the pieces of her life. Everything was breaking apart and it was only lunchtime.

A tear fell. The Korut nuzzled against her leg.

---

Randius heard the mini-explosion from Miran's house and raised a brow as he saw the man who'd been at the bar come out with two bottles of liquor under his arm. That can't be good, he thought to himself.

He raised his other brow as the casual thief proceeded to insult him. He felt a twinge of resignation as he recognised Briar as another one of those who would follow.

'I'd have you know that liquor he just pilfered is from my lady's medicinal cabinet,' Randius said calmly, nodding towards Esthemazaar. 'She keeps it only for healing purposes and they cost her a pretty penny she spent much time and effort earning.'

His tone shifted into a voice more iron as he turned to acknowledge Briar for the first time. 'As for what our friend here is so concerned about, I will make no pretence of knowing. I highly doubt, however, that it is a flood, although that would be a significant calamity should the whole townsfolk die. Will you not tell us?' he asked, turning to Esthemazaar again.

Esthemazaar heard the sound of the approaching disaster growing in his ears, and was amazed that the others could not hear it. He rose back to his towering stature and watched the small man hand him the stolen goods. He took the bottle and set it on the ground next to him. He looked at the regal man and pointed toward the aqueduct. He tried speaking, but the noise that came out sounded close to that of a donkey. He again swooped his hand around toward the buildings of the town. He thought hurriedly, wondering what could save any of them. An idea broke through. He pointed at the inn and then ran in place, pointing down the path that ran along one side of the aqueduct, back toward the mountain. He moved his hands, trying to imply urgency to the situation.

"Really? I cleaned out the entire cabnet and there was not a single drop of anything other than alchohal... Possibly you mean the giant floor-to-ceiling cabnet labled 'Medicine and Herbs'..." he said to Randius before turning toward the tall man. He watched the dispay carefully and sorted the possibilities through his mind. “Alright, its either a rock slide, an invading army or, most probably, a flood. Must be some break in the aquaduct up there!” he said to the regal looking character who's name escaped him.

[Immortal_Z, your character has already destroyed what was supposed to be a spell that only Randius can unlock, and is now casting aspersions upon Miran which are most certainly not true. Although I realize the latter may be part of an in-character comment, Briar is becoming a little too all-powerful for my liking. I'd appreciate it if he doesn't contradict my characters' speech and actions quite so often, please. Thank you.]

Randius rolled his eyes at Briar. He seemed entirely incapable of holding a normal conversation; no wonder he wandered from place to place. But now was not the time for such disparaging thoughts, he reminded himself, and tried to understand what Esthemazaar was telling him.

One thing his travels had not really taught him was how to read body language. This was something he probably had in common with Briar, he thought with some disgust.

'Begging pardon,' he said to Briar. 'I see that it may indeed be a flood.' He looked at Esthemazaar again. 'Redirect it? Is that what you are saying?' He frowned and shook his head. 'I am afraid I do not understand. Can you not speak? Perhaps - '

He walked over to Esthemazaar (scooping up the brandy as he passed it, and tucking it into his robes), and pressed a finger on the back of Esthemazaar's hand.

Is this better? his mind spoke. Only it was not so much a series of words as a flash of a thought, a light that seemed to flare up for one brilliant moment, a tune that sang a roaring, silent song. Can you hear me like this?

((Briar is supposed to be obnoxious, lazy, and seemingly ingored by reality. This is because his race is not affected by magic near as much as other races. oh, he can get blown up by a fireball or killed by a blast of lightning, but a lot of the more practical magic [lesser sealing spells, for instance] don't acknowledge him. the drawback being not afected by healing spells nearly at all. If he contradicts you, its intentional. no post, just wanted to explain his behavior))

Esthemazaar felt a tickle in his mind that noted the song of Randius. He smiled that someone else could talk in both worlds. He prepared himself for something he had not been able to do for a long time. He moved his hand from under Randius'. He placed a finger against Randius' temple. He began his song, which lasted for less than an instant, yet still conveyed everything that follows:

I bid you greetings. My name is Esthemazaar, and I do not speak by choice. The glacial wall that stopped the flow of the aqueduct long ago has been breached. It was breached all at once, as if it was done by someone. This has happened in the past, but the breach was so minor that the water often did not even reach this town. Esthemazaar pointed at the road. This used to be the aqueduct stream. Since it has all been breached at once, this entire town will be destroyed in a matter of minutes. We need to get the people out of here and move them back toward the mountain, out of the path of the coming torrent.

Esthemazaar stood, feeling energised from his favorite pastime, mental activity. He dropped his hand, now confident that their mental link was strong enough to not require physical contact, if Randius' mnd was strong enough.

"...oh!" Kenzirin exclaimed, shocked as the door splintered into a thousand pieces. Miran neared the door, and Kenzirin followed at a slower pace, looking at the debris from a distance.

She could tell it wouldn't be practical just to piece to door back together again. There were far too many pieces for that, and a risk of getting slivers as well. She shuddered lightly at that, because she got them quite often and had a horrible time getting them out of her skin.

"Miran," she said quietly. "I'll finish packing. Maybe we can find someone who will be willing to help you with your door." She looked down at the Korut for a moment before turning to continue packing.

"Alrighty then... I'll just go fix out friends door. Anything that gets blown up can get put back together eventually... Proven fact, you know." Briar said, not being able to contribute here in the least. He hesitated for a moment, wondering wether he should 'reclaim" the brandy from Randius and thought better of it. No telling what safeguards the mage has put on his robe. He wandered over to the house, again passing through teh dorr, meeting a much greater resistence this time. The spell didn't want to slip up twice. Briar finally gave up, sticking only his arm through it and grabbed his staff that had fallen through somehow. "Alright. Lets assume that this spell only blocks people, not items then... Maybe items directally connected to the person as well, clothes comming to mind there..." He rambled off to himself, trying to figure out the limitations of the spell. He looked through it to the people on the other side. "Sorry about the door! Thought the spell was tied to it at that point... Can you see if the spell will allow you to kick teh door shards towards this side? I might be able to freeze them in place good enough that the mage over there can stick them together permentally." Briar, majoring in raw elemental magic at Unseen University, had a hard time with mroe practical magic. Interestingly enough, practical magic seemed to have a hard time with him.

[Just to clarify - the second half is just Miran speaking.]

Interesting, Randius thought to himself at this new form of communication, then recalled that Esthemazaar could now hear him. I beg your pardon. He thought carefully of what Esthemazaar had told him, and then shook his head. It will not be possible to move everyone from here within minutes, and that is what is needed... Do you think it is not possible to redirect the course of the aqueduct? I could not do it on my own, but if you had any powers, and if that man - He looked around for the elemental mage and saw a fleeing piece of fabric fly back into Miran's house.

'Great,' he said aloud. 'When we need him, he's not around. Excuse me while I retrieve him,' he added to Esthemazaar and hurried towards the house.

---

The sight of Briar almost drove Miran insane. She began to scream like a psycho. 'Out! Out! Get out of my house!' she yelled, weeping tears of rage. She had not cried since her mother died. Picking up bits of wood, she flung them at him, but they bounced right back off. It seemed to frustrate her even more as her throwing became wilder and she began to crumple, but she did not want this stranger, this villain who had come into her home to do as he pleased, this person who for Miran symbolised everything that had been going wrong - him, Randius and all mages - today, to see her fall apart, she would not, but he was still there and her strength was slipping but her pride was not and the shame was mounting with every tear she shed to know that he and Kenzi were watching.

From the front doorway, Randius watched with horror as the young healer fell apart. He strode over to Briar, keeping as little in view as possible, and grabbed the man's sleeve.

'Get out,' he hissed to the man. 'Both of us.' And he pulled. 'We have work to do.'

Miran suddenly fled to a blind corner where Briar would not see her. She thumped her head against the walls and sank down to her knees, tears falling fast.

[Goodness, she's way too emo.]