Chapter Three: Vardadraug and the Cosmic Ore

[Purr]

<p>


<strong>Luna has no memory</strong> of Sparkle ever having gone for a lack of words - her wise, old familiar and friend <em>always </em>has an opinion and always has something to say. Until now. Sparkle stares up into the sky with an expression of incredulousness as if doubting her own senses. Then, also a first, she <em>stammers</em>. "Lu- Luna, she... we are... why is she... Luna, please meet..." The "old girl" is interrupted by another, much larger, old girl. When the dragon speaks from above, her power and the tremendous honed will behind it, are clear to everyone. All the while, she glides like a dream through the sky, her incredibly-beautiful scales shine and shimmer in the moonlight like the stars themselves. Her graceful gliding is captivating; one could watch it for hours and never lose interest. Interest, however, is a feeling she apparently shares <em>with all of you.</em> "Thank you, <em>camou-dragon,</em> but I'll make my own introduction<em>.</em>" Her tone at first is not friendly; nor is it unfriendly. "I am Koshianth. Grimauldin is my mate. I am the Silver Flame of the North and conqueror of Cratia. Long have the stars given me cause to wonder, and tonight, once again, one fell. I saw and followed." She stretches her great wings wide. "I sensed gnoll-magic when I got here, of all the crappiest magic there ever was, and I thought to myself, 'I have enough prismalcum for even my lifetime, but <em>damned</em> if I'm going to let a bunch of flea-scratching, dim-brained cowards like the gnolls carry something like<em> that</em> off.' So I came to investigate and see who became enlightened. Turns out it was you." She nods. "Oh, and little kin? Your mageling familiar there is correct - attacking me will... well, I don't have to say it, do I?" Sparkle shakes her long neck and head vigorously. When she looks back up into Koshianth's eyes, it is with full composure and dignity. She takes a breath and states, "It needs not be said. The Silver Flame is brighter since it came to the north. You are greater than I am. I am Sparkle." Koshianth's eyebrows raise. "My, my! And you are wise for your size, Sparkle Human-bonded." Then you think you see a grin form at the curve of that gargantuan maw. "Could you... would you do <em>what </em>you do for me? I want to see if something still holds true." "Most certainly, Queen of Cratia," Sparkle replies with a smooth draconic curtsey that is amazing to watch. Her wings and tail unfurl and collapse as one. With a graceful twist of her neck, she closes her eyes, head bowed. Upon the conclusion of the curtsey, Sparkle stays in position. Then the psuedo-dragon's purple scales mix into her surroundings. In a moment, she appears to vanish. Koshianth's eyes then flare with magical brilliance of the purest white. She stares down upon Sparkle, and her gaze is so great that it covers all of you. Her gaze is accompanied with an odd feeling, as if you are wearing no clothes out in the open. "Oh, you little <em>camou-dragons</em> and your cloaking. You <em>remain</em> the <em>only</em> ones who can hide from the eyes of your greater kin. Tell me. How do you do it?" From the spot where you last saw Sparkle comes a proud, little giggle. "<em>Hoard your secrets but do not lie</em> <em>about them." </em> This gets a chuckle in return from the draconic matron. "Ohhh, <em>you </em>remember the old code <em>well</em>, unlike most of our generation... Talk about lazy- Wait..." Her gaze then falls on the rest of the Wardens. "What do we have here? Just who do you call company, Sparkle<em>?</em>" "My friends have their own secrets." "The Silver Flame illuminates all things... Except <em>that</em>!" She aims a claw straight at Powerpaw. "What are you, fuzzball? In all the long centuries I have flown the skies and read the stars, I have not seen your like. Are you a new race? And why do you carry such death-lust in you?" Powerpaw stands up proud and straight. He flexes his hulking muscles and produces a toothy "meow" of greeting. He thumps his two-handed hammer upon the earth and stares right back up at the silver dragon. "I iz a kitty-face! I comes from da Land of da Kitty-Faces. I noms faces an' count da bodies afterward." From Powerpaw's chest comes a great growl. "An' da count iz high. You wanna play a game of Hammer Smacks? You kin even haz da first smacks!" "Maybe later," Koshianth replies calmly. "And you, Ko monk? You have even more life-energy in you than most of your people, and they have never lacked for it." Bria places her fist into her open palm and then bows curtly in greeting. Her voice is filled with great joy. "Hello, Silver Flame of the North! You're so pretty! Your children are lots of fun to play with! How many do you have?" Koshianth nods and murmurs. "Over two hundred and fifty. You must hang out in Highwind, bright one. Your kind possess mysteries even my kind aren't sure about..." Her gaze passes over all of you. "Hello, fighting hobbit. Just look at you with your little magic flail. And you, Man of the Wood with your little shivering birdie there. No, no, honey, you can relax, little birdie. I am <em>not</em> hungry. Talk about giving a whale a tater tot... And you there, hammer-wielding fellow with... hmmm... I thought only dwarves had that special kind of energy in them." The great dragon's gaze stops cold when she spots Otiorin in your midst. The silver destroyer stares in disbelief. She flies down a little lower to get a better look. Then she stares again. "Oh, <em>you have </em>got <em>to be kidding me!</em> Sparkle, where have you been hiding this one?" Sparkle looks to Otiorin then right back to Luna. Then she puts her little claw straight to her forehead. Her expression seems to say, "Oh, <em>great!</em> I was so careful, and now that lazy buffoon is going to find some way to mess this all up!" The great silver dragon's face becomes brighter with pleasure and surprise. She then does something perhaps no dragon has ever done to an adventuring party in the long history of Sharseya - she begins gushing like a doting mother looking upon someone else's newborn baby. There is no sarcasm here; she appears to mean every word. "<em>Aren't you cuuuute?</em> Oh, just <em>look </em>at you and your little half-elfie self! And you come with baby shiny claws! <em>Oooooooh</em>! <em>I could just take you home and cuddle you until you were fully grown!" </em>She pauses. "Of course, Daddy would have a heart attack..." Bria turns to Otiorin and gives a little "eeep!" when she sees him in his current state. Powerpaw turns with her. He points and says, "Wha? You comes wif claws? Where in da hell waz those when you waz fightin' da doggie-faces? An' what's wrong wif yer eyes? Why dey shining like dat?" Koshianth addresses Otiorin directly, her expression a mixture of adoring amusement sprinkled with a touch of seriousness. "Listen, Piece of Eight, you <em>must </em>be from Charmsring's brood because Daddy and I sure as stars didn't make you. And when the others find out about you, you can... Hold. When did your line come into being? It must have been before Charmsy was imprisoned in stasis by that crazy Mielikkian-wanna-be lich lord. Gosh," she looks to the night sky and reminisces, "how long ago did that happen?" Sparkle thinks for a moment and shouts back to Koshianth. "What did you call the fallen star?" "Prismalcum. Cosmic ore. Whatever." "What do we do with it, Silver Flame?" "Well, you forge it into whatever you want. They make great weapons. Of course, you'll need someone who really knows what they're doing or you'll get yourselves killed..." Koshianth then glances to the stars again. "Listen, little currently-nameless adventuring people... whatever you call yourselves... as fun as this is, we don't - hold - <em>you</em> don't have much time. See, if <em>I </em>saw the <em>starfall</em> from where I was, I <em>know </em>the others saw it too. I'm just the first one here. When they arrive, which should be in about fifteen minutes in this weather, they'll want to challenge and kill<em> </em>you for it. So how about you ask a few of those questions that adventurers always have, and then skedaddle the stars out of here before..." Koshainth's eye returns to Otiorin along with a soft smile. Then, unable to resist, she bursts into gushing again. "<em>Before I take you home and snuggle you all up, you cute widdle half-baby yooooooou!</em> And just look at those shiny eyes! Don't you look fierce? Oh, do your feets have little clawsies too? Mommy wants to see!" Bria looks at the great hunk of ore. It shines in the firelight reflecting a dazzling display of colors of all variations into the night. She says slowly, "Oh, dear. Enlightened? Prismalcum? What is that? What have we gotten ourselves into? And what are we calling ourselves now that Bilal the Rich has fallen?"


</p>

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

"An actual dragon! And not just any... " Wolf finally snaps out of it, but only to give voice to his thrill. He kneels down on one knee before the dragon and delivers this:


"Oh, mighty Great One! This humble ranger stands in awe... All things of the wilds are my passion, but this encounter is almost more than I could hope for. Verily, you are beyond the legends that describe you! It is nothing short of a privilege to gaze upon the sight of one such as yourself."


For the moment, this seems to be all that is capable of taking the ranger's attention.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Otiorin was warring with himself. One part of him wanted to throw himself headlong at the dragon that reared up before him, ripping and tearing at her flesh, her scales, her wings. The other part was recoiling in fear. It's a fucking dragon and I want to bite it!! What was making it worse was that she was cooing and making baby-talk at him like some doting mother with a beloved offspring. Had it come from any creature less colossal than a dragon, he might have been induced to rend it asunder with tooth, claw and blade. As it was, the rational side of him finally overcame his instinctual response and he mastered himself. His claws slowly, painfully, retracted and his lips slid back down to remove the snarl that had twisted his handsome features into a fearsome rictus. His eyes, however, retained their otherworldly radiance, he was comfortable revealing this to his compatriots and the ancient mare before them.


"Prithee, honored matron, thou speakest the name of Charmsring. Mayhap I may impose upon thee to enlighten me further upon this kinsman of thy kind. While I know my grandsire and my great-grandmare before he, I knew not my great-grandsire. Knowest thou what becamest of him? Does he still roam this plane of existence or does he travel in places beyond mortal reckoning?", he spoke in immaculate Elven, sweeping down into an elaborate bow that almost had his forehead touching his knee.

 

[Sherwood]

Luna's jaw finally closes with a snap. She is not sure what is more surprising; the presence of the dragon, or the cultured mannerisms of her colleagues. Her hands fumble with the strength belt that Powerpaw gave her, and she slips it back to the giant kitty-face. "Thank you, my friend, for the loan of the belt. This stone is heavier than it looks. Now that it has had a chance to cool off, could you take it and we can move out of here to the wagons? When a noble dragon gives you advice to be on your way, it is a good idea to take it." Turning to face the glittering form, the wizard bows deep. "It is with a deep sense of awe that I greet you. My grandfather once had a chance to meet a true dragon, but I had never thought that I would ever do the same. I am Luna Kaftan, a humble mage, and these are my companions and friends. Well met, noble dragon." With that, she bows deep once more.

 

[Kaerri]

Kitrin has been just staring in awe. Like any native of Highwind, she's seen the gaels* that serve that city, but there's a big difference between baby dragons and a full-size, real dragon! When the great silver dragon addresses her, though, she pulls herself together and gives Koshianth a big grin and a wave, almost a salute. Then the dragon's attention turns to Otiorin, and Kitrin starts dissolving into giggles. It's almost as adorable as Koshianth seems to think the half-elf is.


*Gaels are baby dragons, which are sort of on loan to Highwind and serve as scouts and that sort of thing, with a rider to guide them. They're all the offspring of Koshianth and Grimauldin (but not all their offspring are in Highwind, of course; many - most? - are back at their lair being young'ins). More on this when I write that dragon post... I'll get to it soon, I promise!

 

[killfire]

Bronze looks at the dragon, and gets this feeling of spiffyness, in his mind he thinks. "Just a few days ago I was wandering around trying to decide where to put the new forge and now all this happens." Then looks at Luna with that whole "Are you trying to be insulting?" look. "Mr. Powerpaw, I think you might want me to handle that. But it's up to you." Glares at Luna with that "I'm gonna WHAPT you with a fluffy pillow when you aren't looking!" look. "Depending on the weight and density of that rock it could be hot for days. Luna I have the gear an equipment that can be used to, not only carry, but forge that stuff." Thoughts of elegant items comes to his mind. Hands twitch at the thought of forging. Then looks around for his cart.

 

[Purr]

Koshianth listens to Wolf's words as she glides over you, a shimmering spectacle in the starlit sky. She muses to Wolf. "If only the world had more rangers and druids... If only more of your kind treated us the way you do..." Her mighty chest heaves a sigh. "It is just as much a relief to hear such words from you, human. I'm used to your kind coming off with, 'Oh, how can we trick the stupid reptile out of her incredible loot? She's only a dumb lizard, right?' and 'Have at thee, dragon! I will make my glorious name on your corpse!'" She rolls her crystal blue eyes. "Oh please.. If they are not going to be respectful, can't they at least be original?" Koshianth nods kindly to Wolf. "Keep adding to the world, wood-people. Learn your destiny in it and people like you and I will get along just fine."


Her eyes drift to Otiorin as he speaks, beginning with...

"Prithee, honored matron, thou speakest the name of Charmsring.

Sparkle heaves a sigh of relief. Luna hears in her mind, He is part-dragon. Someday I hope he speaks that way in draconic.


The longer the great silver dragons listens to Otiorin, the more amused she seems to get. She replies in Common with a hearty chuckle. "You can impose all you want, Piece of Eight. At least you got his name right," she winks at Sparkle and returns her attention to Otiorin. "To mispronounce a dragon's name means only one of two things to our kind - guttural ignorance or dire insult, as if the name were not worth remembrance. But as for Charmsy..." She looks to the stars yet again as if reminiscing. "What's he like? Well..."


Koshianth addresses Luna. "You called me 'noble,' fire-soul? Oh no. I assure you - I am anything but. Anyone who has played the Great Game as long as I have is truly noble. Except for dashing Charmsring..."


She turns to Otiorin and smiles, her diamond-like fangs casting a glow of awe-inspiring radiance. "Oh, he's still got it. He's the noble one. Honest. Valiant. Always repays a debt. Heck, he drove old Black Lightning out of the Forest Eternal while he was wrecking the place. The wood elves who live there don't really know Charmsy, but yet he came in with fangs and claws wide. The way he tells it, one of their wood-folk called him somehow. He dropped what he was doing, flew from the next continent over, and had it out with Arumgorath right there over the wood." Koshianth chuckles in admiration. "I think Charmsring is the closest thing we dragons have to a paladin - and you can tell him I said that. Oh, and yes, he's become active again on this plane... after one hell of a vacation." Koshianth peers down on Otiorin. "What about you, hatchling? You don't appear very holy to me, unlike the brown-haired sunbeam standing beside you. What are you going to do with your time on this world?"


Bria puts her hand to her mouth in surprise at the compliment. The Ko monk blushes in silence, mindful not to interrupt your conversation.


Then Koshianth points a claw about your burning battlefield and back to Luna. "Oh, those look like the result of Fireball spells. Decently done. Keep practicing and you'll pack a serious punch someday - not that those gnolls are alive to tell about your current punch. Heh, heh, heh. Idiot gnolls."


Luna passes Powerpaw his belt. Powerpaw replaces it about his waist and moves to accept the prismalcum, but pauses at Bronze's words. "Oooh, don't wanna get burned."


"Give it a short while." Koshianth says. "It ought to be cool enough for someone not protected to handle then." Then she gives Bronze a quizzical look. "Prismalcum is strange ore, but in the right hands..." Her nostrils flare. She raises an eyebrow at Bronze. "No normal forge can possibly handle what it takes to forge prismalcum. Then again, successful adventurers tend to be pretty resourceful... What would you create with the cosmic ore, gifted maker? And what more would you know?"


Bria raises her hand. "Um, Missus Silver Flame, ma'am? How do you know I am holy and Otiorin isn't?"


"Otiorin? That's not a half-elven name..." Koshianth regards Bria with interest. "I know because that's what dragon-sight does." She points to each of you, and then makes a gathering motion with her great claws. "I can see what makes up each of you clearly, but only a hatching stops there. Here is how destiny works, hatchlings. All of you have to decide what you will become together. Alone, you'll die out here faster than a monster coming after one of my meepies. Well, not much faster... What I mean is this - what you are individually will make or break what you could become as a whole." Koshianth sighs. "I think you better start to get to know each other and fast. You know, mix those energies of yours. In the blending, your togetherness will form its own energy, not unlike Daddy's and mine. Oh, dear," she wrinkles her nose. "I hope that didn't go over your collective heads."


"I got it," Bria bows in gratitude. "But why should we do this quickly?"


"Well, let's see," Koshianth muses aloud again and counts on her claws. "For starters, you have a dragon-blooded half-elf (thank Bahamut, he's silver or I would have probably killed him by now - The Great Game being what it is), and you have a true healer (probably the last of your kind if I've read the stars right). On top of this, you have a fresh chunk of cosmic ore (talk about outrageous luck, a commodity you may now be out of) with someone who, with some help, will probably be able to do something with it (or many somethings, if he's wise). You have a respectful and hopefully resourceful ranger among you who can help you in or around these woods to get to wherever you're going (probably Highwind. Why is it almost everybody who is interesting stops by there of all places? Don't they know there's a war on?), and an ogre-sized white and black fuzzball who seems to come with an endless supply of death-lust (useful for killing all the powerful foes who, at any moment, could come after you for your fabled ore there)."


Koshianth looks askance at Bria. "I can't possibly think of why time would be on your side..."


"Oh, dear," Bria gulps.

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

"Then the time for talk is over!" Wolf springs to life. "We must make for Highwind, with haste. It does seem like we're quite done here." and he glances back at the field of battle.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Otiorin, let out a sigh of relief, "I am gladdened to hear that my great-grandsire fares well. I am assured that my great-grandmare shall also have her heart lifted by news of his continued good fortunes. As for myself?", he looked around, "I have yet to find a place for myself as yet, nor a profession, virtuous or otherwise, that fits me. Thus 'twas I left the mountain fastnesses of my mother's people and ventured forth. To find such place and purpose as befitted one of my ilk. I have twinned my fate with these others and intend to mingle my abilities with theirs for the betterment of all."


He looked around as the venerable dragon spoke of making haste.


"She has it right, though. That explosion drew her here from wherever she was, it will draw others too. And likely those others will not be as benevolent as the great Koshianth. Let's beat the trail before we have to fight for our lives again."

 

[Kaerri]

Kitrin wonders what Bronze finds so offensive about Luna, but loses that train of thought as she follows the conversation between mage, dragon, and half-elf, and eventually Bria as well. She nods when people start agreeing that it's time to go. "Right-o, then, best we get to steppin'! Or riding, I s'pose. Ma'am dragon, it's been really awesome to have met you! Thanks for not eating us, and for the advice."

 

[killfire]

Bronze proceeds to seem to shake something off, wave ecstatically at the dragon, bows to the dragon. "I'm gonna go get some buckets, and some water to quench the ore there. By your leave Ok great Fluffy Dragon of something or other... can't think at the moment, seem to be coming out of a cloud now... dunno where that came from..." Waves his hands around like he's fanning of some smoke. "Anyone want to come along? I think we should gather what we can from the luxury cart, maybe share a haunch of beef with the Biggie Flying Fluffy up there?" Walks off humming an odd tune.

 

[Purr]

Koshianth nods at Kitrin and replies, "You're welcome, little 'nom-lette.' That's what we dragons call people your size that come after our treasures. It's kind of like an omelet but twice as nommy." The great silver dragon grins. "Not that you're after our treasures or anything - you're sensibly running in the other direction. Just remember to quiet your minds later tonight or you'll miss out on all that wonderful enlightenment you risked your lives for."


Bria hears these words and does not dismiss them. Powerpaw, on the other hand, simply says, "Moar?"


Koshianth looks down upon Otiorin, listening carefully. She muses for a moment. "Well, sounds like you're on the path every dragon takes - finding your destiny. It's out there... unless you're lazy as hell, of course." Sparkle hears this and puts her claw to her forehead. Koshianth frowns, her eyes become slits of silver light. "Just be very careful about showing yourself to my kind. Not everyone playing the Great Game feels as warmly about Charmsring as I do."


Just then, a green flash of light appears above all of you. Like a deadly star in the night, it shines. Then it is gone as suddenly as it came and now another great shadow curls and glides along in the dark. It is a shadow that roars!


"Cower and despair! The Destroyer in the Night has come! Tremble before my mighty wrath, little wyrms! The fallen star is mi-"


Koshianth looks up. From the side of her mouth, she ejects a glittering cloud of star-like fog in annoyance. Her eyes narrow. "Shut it, little egg. I'll drop you so fast you'll think you're an orc."


"Holocaust!!"


"And it's 'worms,' you idiot. Leave... while those wings are still attached to that skinny, little body..."


Without another word, the other dragon quickly and immediately changes his course back the way he came. With a second flash of green light, he is gone leaving the sky empty.


Koshianth turns back to you as she glides up higher into the air. "Now that I have learned what I want, I am for other interesting places and events." She grins once more, this time to Sparkle. "You know... you did not have to reveal yourself to me."


Sparkle cannot help but chuckle at what she seems to take as a compliment. "And you did not have to restrain yourself from what could so easily have been yours." The psuedo dragon glances to the prismalcum. With folded wings and careful claws, Sparkle hops on Luna's shoulder, mindful not to get near the burning ore. She looks to Koshianth and gracefully curtsies again. "May the Silver Flame continue to glow brightly."


"Such manners all of you have..." Koshianth grins, nods at the reply, and her immense form ceases to fill the night and make the moon look small. In but moments, she gently fades from sight as she looks northward. She is gone from here.


Powerpaw looks at Bronze and says, "Let's get da hell outta here!" He waits only for Bria. Stewart already has the wagon in motion. The Meadowsweets on the prison wagon also trot forth, side by side to Stewart.


Bria hops on Powerpaw's back as he bounds northward toward the Grand Wagon. The peaceful healer cannot seem to take her eyes off of the skies where Koshianth was. Nor can Sparkle. Pecker, on the other hand, is flapping impatiently to leave... To Wolf, he says, "We can fly now, yes?!"


Bria speaks to Luna and Bronze without looking to them. "Do you know about prismalcum, Mister Bronze? Cooling it off with water sounds like a great idea, especially before Miss Luna's spell expires!"


Unless you dally, each of you finds yourself upon the Grand Wagon. Stewart reaches for his trumpet out of habit, but thinks better of it, and leaves it alone. Upon seeing Otiorin, he reaches to a table at his side and produces a glass of wine the half-elf should recognize. "Welcome back," Stewart guides the horses to full gallop, and soon the wind is rushing by you all as you leave the bloody battlefield and the memories you have created upon it behind you.


Before you, the Road of Kings stretches on in the night. For the first time since you have set foot upon it, you now travel with a sense of peace, or at least, a lack of things trying to kill you...

 

[killfire]

Bronze splashes the ice cold water onto the prizzystuff, and actually hopes for a shatter. Grabs the stuff, packs it in a few baggies so he can share the burden. "Power-MOAR! I'm thinking we two can handle the weight, but I'm gonna need help coming up with stuff to make. I can work almost any metal miss Bria, I have yet to encounter anytink that, with enough time, and a hot enough forge, I can't mold, forge, or smelt. Got some idea's anyone?"

 

[Sherwood]

Luna does what she can to assist Bronze in gathering up the pieces of the star-metal, keeping watch around her for more sudden arrivals. "Personally, I have little need for such things, since I rely upon my magic to get by. But, for the others, I would like to see what kind of items you could come up with in the way of arms and armor for my friends. They are the ones that could make use of such things. Now, let us be on our way before any more claimants come for our find! Besides, I never did get the chance to try out the pool in the Grand Wagon; I want to change that soon."

 

[killfire]

"Try and gather as many shards as you can Luna, I can smelt em into bars, then other things, and stuff like that there" Loads up, and sits on the tailgate. "Anyone spot the remnants of my cart? Or preferably my cart, as in whole and stuff? My fluffy pillow collection was in there... SPEAKING of fluffy pillows..." Gets up and wanders into the wagon's insides looking for fluffy pillows.

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

Wolf jumps onto the wagon with the skill of a prowling animal. "So..." he says, to no one in particular. "To Highwind!"


Then he approaches Luna on and asks in a lower tone: "Might I have you alone for a second?"

 

[Sherwood]

The wizard nods. "Sure. It looks like we have all the starmetal gathered up, and we just need to move on. Walk with me." She moves a short distance from the others to give Wolf and her some privacy. "What's on your mind, Wolf?"

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Otiorin did his part by settling companionably by Stewart and taking a sip of the wine. Oh, cheeky! The flavor flooded his mouth, musky yet piquant, with shades of wild berries and the aftertaste of aged oak. He smiled cheerfully, wondering which of the rustic cheeses he'd experienced would best compliment the savor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wolf leading Luna away and fought to keep the leer from his face. No, that was crass and beneath him. But it wasn't too beneath him to nudge Bilal's ex-steward and draw his attention to the two and their private assignation.

 

[Purr]

Bronze adds the contents of the two buckets of water on the prismalcum and does it not shatter into shards, but remains one solid chunk. Bronze immediately notices that the prismalcum, though appearing to be a type of natural ore, does not act as any ore he has ever seen should - the ore seems to drink up the water added to it. In moments, the very steam stops rising, and falls into the prismalcum which is now cool enough for one person to handle.


Powerpaw hefts the ore without trouble. The bloody warrior looks down on the prismalcum. "You doez not acts like anything I haz evar seen on a forge..." He leaves the prismalcum to Bronze and moves away from it as if not trusting the thing. Should Bronze take it up, he would take notice - While there is substantial weight to the chunk, it is not as heavy as iron by a long shot.


As for the pillow hunt, it will clearly take time to search out the entire wagon. But for now, Bronze sees several large, plush seating cushions by the pool, each large enough for someone to sit on.


Discreetly, Stewart follows Otiorin's nudge. He grins and once Luna and Wolf are out of sight, he whispers. "Are they an item?"


Bria slowly steps beside Powerpaw. She is quiet and breathing heavily. With both of her her hands, she reaches out and grasps his muscled forearm. The fuzzy warrior looks at her. Bria doesn't say anything, but you can tell she's thinking. Deeply. Even with the galloping horses taking you hoofbeat by hoofbeat away from the horrible battlefield-become-cosmic-event, you can tell there is a lot on her mind. Not Powerpaw, though. He appears to take the recent events in stride.


Powerpaw looks about, his red eyes eagerly peering for any signs of danger. For once in what feels like a long time, there are none. He wrinkles his nose and whiskers and kneels down. Even on one knee, the cat is taller than his Ko monk friend.


"I iz here," is all he says.


Bria sighs, her face strained with a hint of relief. She leans into him and closes her eyes.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

"It's hard to say.", Otiorin replied, glancing from the couple to the steward, "They seem close, but I've certainly never caught them, shall we say, 'compromised'? Perhaps they are very discrete, or perhaps there's nothing there. We'll find out in the fullness of time. Or the day she starts to show."


Otiorin had to admit, the beautiful young mage and the rugged woodsman seemed to be a very romantic couple, always sloping off for a moment alone together, always listening closely to each other's words, poised on them almost. And the most romantic thing was that they were from such widely diverse backgrounds! She was the descendant of a long magical history, expected to increase the legend of the Kaftan name through her deeds. And he was a relatively unknown ranger, a warhawk on his arm and death ever in his eyes. It almost moved him to write their tale, with some minor embellishments, as an epic poem, or a passion play maybe. Someday he might, when he got around to it.

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

Wolf continues down the hall, trying his earnest to slow down his usual, subconscious fast pace and match Luna's footsteps.


"Oh, just.." he starts, pauses for a second, then continues: "We've been through quite alot today, certainly comparable to the most intense adventures we shared in the past, if not beyond, actually, and... Well I felt the need to express how glad I am that you are alright." He gives her a kind smile. "You've been in the heat of things, as usual!" And he chuckles. "And most helpful at that. It's... It's good to have you on my - I mean our, side. Y'know?"

 

[Sherwood]

The normally confident and sure Luna is suddenly dumbstruck. Is Wolf flirting with me? No, that can't be. Why would he want to spend his time like that with me? I must be misunderstanding things. Again. Why must I be so awkward when it comes to men? In a tiny voice from a face that is bright red with embarrassment, "Oh. Well. I'm glad that I was able to be of help. Y'know. With my magic, and stuff. Oh, and I'm glad that you're alright, too. I mean, you're a good friend, and I would hate to see you hurt." There you go, Luna. If he had any interest in you before, your clumsy fumbling is a sure way to make him run in the other direction. She tries a smile, feeling very uncertain of herself.

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

Not that he seemed overly confident to begin with, but at Luna's reply Wolf shows a flash of uncertainty that is quickly wrapped up in a polite but hearty goodbye. "Ah, yes... Same here. Glad to have friends like you. Well, I - here we must part. I shall use the time we have left before dabbling in the next trouble to rest, and perhaps do some writing at that." He didn't need to explain the writing part, as Luna knew his penchant for storytelling very well by now.


"I'll see you later, then." he said with a slight bow of his head and then turned aside to seek a solitary corner. He didn't look back.

 

[Sherwood]

Luna is quiet for a minute, wondering what she should do now. A sudden impulse grabs her, and before Wolf has a chance to get too far away, she chases after him, calling his name. "Wolf! Wait!" Oh, crap. Now you've done it. What are you going to do now, smart girl?





Shuffling her feet, she says, "Um, I was going to look around the Grand Wagon a bit, since we have this amazing place to call our own. Would you like to keep me company?" Her face is burning bright red in embarrassment, and she is sure that she is making a absolute fool of herself. "There may be some dangers still lurking in the Wagon, and until we have had a chance to make sure its safe, pairing up is the smart way to go."

 

[Wolf Rawrrr]

Upon turning around, he does his best to erase the dumbfounded look that came across his face and replace it with something more pleasant. She wants what?


"Oh. Actually, I think I would very much like that. I mean... it sounds like a good idea, Luna. Let's have at it, then!" The grin at the end came completely naturally. He felt the tension leaving him, replaced by gladness. "Who knows what we might find, right?"