Log Date: 1/16/96
Log Intro: In Doreel's hidden grove, Rillwhisper has just made an abortive
attempt to infiltrate the surrounding, spider-infested woods to rescue her
missing friend, the archer Strongbow. The Willowholt chieftess has once more
been bitten by the venomous spiders, and Doreel's helpers, Lar and Lira,
have endeavored to heal her with Lira's medicine. But Rillwhisper has
not responded to the treatment, and thus, Lar has hastened to fetch his 
master...

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The grove is filled with the *click* *click* *click* of the spiders. 
  Rillwshisper lies on the ground, spider venom in her veins. Lar has 
  returned, having gotten Doreel.

Lar points to Rillwhisper. "See? See? The Other needs get better. Preservers 
  tried to eat her again."

Rillwhisper sips muzzily at a cup of water Lira has provided, and at the sound 
  of Lar's returned voice, pauses, trying to turn her head to look.

Doreel walks down the steps of the tree slowly, his eyes are quietly looking 
  back and forth, "Did not listen..."

Rillwhisper squints up at Doreel, frowning a little. "Had to find him," she 
  mumbles.

Lar shakes his head again.

Doreel shooes Lar away, "Yes, yes, I see," he stands over Rillwhisper, looking 
  down at her.

Lar skitters out of the way as he's shooed, but stays nearby, hovering over to 
  see what's going on.

Rillwhisper lifts her gaze up and up and up to Doreel, blinking owlishly, and 
  a strange dreamy expression softens her face. "You again... remember you... 
  don't want to burden, I'll be fine... just a little dizzy..."

Doreel shakes his head, "I considered not helping you. You didn't listen to my 
  warning."

At that, Rillwhisper blinks, and protests slurrily, "Still feel him. Can't you 
  feel him? S'bow. 'Smind's out there." She tries to get up, pointing vaguely 
  off towards the woods. "Not dead yet..."

Lar blinks at Doreel, a bit surprised, then down at Rillwhisper. "See? Told 
  you, you shuoldn't have gone..." He shakes his head again. "Told you. Too 
  dangerous..."

Doreel looks towards the woods and appears to send briefly, but then shakes 
  his head, "there is nothing there."

Rillwhisper insists with surprisingly serene patience, "'Smy friend. I need to 
  find him. Take him home." She wobbles to her feet despite Lira's protests, 
  and Lar's loaned spear clatters from her unheeding fingers. With a wistful 
  smile, she adds drowsily, "Spiders scared him."
Rillwhisper, with that, totters towards the trees.

Lar skitters after Rillwhisper, grabbing at her hand.

Doreel sends openly ** There is nothing there! **
Doreel's face twists with anger as he sends.

Rillwhisper reels, with Lar's tugging, and again at the sharp sending. She 
  blinks several times, and peers back at Doreel. And pouts. "Is!" she 
  insists. "My friend!"

Lar tugs at Rillwhisper, trying to get her back towards the clearing.

Doreel strides towards Rillwhisper, his steps slowing slightly as he walks 
  towards the edge of the grove, the edge of his sanctuary.
Doreel says "Your friend is dead."

Rillwhisper scowls vaguely at Lar, and tries to tug her hand free. The effort 
  makes her reel hard the opposite direction. Then she staggers, and wails at 
  Doreel, "No!"

Lar jumps a bit at the wail, then struggles to pull at her hand again. "Been 
  too long. He either gone, or goo. Preservers not let stay long."

Doreel takes hold of Rillwhisper's arm, "The small one speaks the truth. Let 
  him go!"

Rillwhisper's already pale face blanches, and she yells stridently, "He's not 
  dead! I can feel him! He's still there! Preservers don't kill elves!" She 
  breaks free from Lar only to be caught by Doreel, and when she feels his 
  grip on her arm, she struggles anew.

Doreel snarls and shakes his head and lets go of Rillwhisper's arm, turning 
  away from her, "Go then. Wander into the woods and become like your friend. 
  Like the Others."
Doreel mutters and starts to head back towards the tree.

Lar looks from Rillwhisper, to Doreel. He then looks back to Rillwhisper. "The 
  Rillwhisper must not go...will not make it another time."

Rillwhisper's wounded leg, though, objects to her continued standing, and it 
  doesn't take her long to tumble hard. Doreel's abrupt release pitches her to 
  the ground; with an animal whimper, she starts trying to crawl to the trees.
The small elf does not make it far. Her energy giving out, she crumples in a 
  heap, with only enough strength left to lift her head, to try to send. He 
  _has_ to answer her. Strongbow! The sending falters out of her, and after a 
  time, her green eyes well over with tears.

Doreel turns slightly and shakes his head, "He is quite gone child."

Stricken, Rillwhisper stares out into the trees for a long moment, before 
  finally curling up on the ground, in a tiny ragged ball. Her shoulders begin 
  to shake with unvoiced sobs. It must be. What other reason could there be 
  for the archer failing to answer her?

Lar blinks at the crying elf, then looks puzzledly up at Doreel. He's never 
  seen an Other act quite that way before.

Doreel watches the smaller elf quietly, he says nothing, only watching her.

Rillwhisper mumbles hoarsely, "No..." And the sound chokes itself off as 
  Rillwhisper weeps.

Doreel says "The preservers do not let Others live who get caught in there."

Rillwhisper bursts out, eyes overbright, "_Spiders_! Don't you know the word 
  _spiders_? They're not Preservers! I've seen Preservers! Fallberry and 
  Sunbright and Flickerflame and Flutterbye! I slept in Preserver cocoons! But 
  they didn't kill me!" Then, just as abruptly as she shouts, she crumples 
  again, face wet, body shaking.

Lar looks confused at the names used.

Doreel shakes his head, "Those Presevers are long gone child. Killed by the 
  humans."

Lar is quiet. The other preservers were before his time.

Rillwhisper growls out, anguished, "Fallberry was with me in the woods. I-I 
  remember. It w-w-w-was there. No h-h-h-humans!" She hugs her arms to 
  herself, trembling violently now, and refusing to look at the elf and oddly 
  small troll who talk nonsense at her.

Doreel shakes his head, "If you expect me to believe you... show me. Show me 
  this Fallberry."

Rillwhisper then jerks her head up, mumbling, "Fallberry..." In stark contrast 
  to her grief-stricken gaze, she abruptly beams, whirling unsteadily to 
  insist to Doreel, "Fallberry will go home! To the others! They'll come to 
  find Strongbow and me -- I know they will! My mates will come!" Her words 
  tumble out of her like an undammed river, and again, her eyes glitter 
  febrilely.

Doreel raises an eyebrow and peers at you suspiciously, "Others. You are 
  bringing others here?"

Rillwhisper blinks several times, tears glistening on her eyelashes, and 
  blurts guilelessly to Doreel, "Mates have to find me."

Doreel shakes his head, "They won't take you away from me again!"

Obviously baffled at that, Rillwhisper blinks again, and awkwardly tries to 
  scrub wetness out of her eyes with the back of one grubby hand. What? "My... 
  my mates... they have to come... they'll know I'm gone..."

Lar looks from one elf to the other, clearly not understanding what's going on 
  for the most part. He looks over at Lira, as though hoping she has more of 
  an idea.

Doreel turns and starts to head off to the outskirts of the grove, and the 
  path, "I won't let them in here again!"

Rillwhisper shivers, then, once more hugging her arms to herself. Why is she 
  so cold? Doreel's behavior, too, alarms her, and she cries, "But... but 
  I-I-I have to go home!"

Doreel turns and glares at Rillwhisper, "This is home!"

Rillwhisper's brow furrows, and she shakes her head, vehemently. 
  "W-W-Willowholt's home. My home." She fumbles at the lock in her hair. "My 
  tribe. I-I-I'm chief! And the tribe will come for me!"

Lar frowns and shakes his head. "Then they will die. Preservers goo them."

Doreel snorts, "They will not get past the Presevers then."

Lar says "Tell them no come."

Rillwhisper shrills, "_No_! They're not Preservers! They're not!" As if intent 
  on making her point through volume alone, she yells out the words, roughly. 
  And to Lar, she insists, once more wildly trying to get to her feet, 
  "I-I-I'll tell them. Tell them where I am, and Strongbow, and we'll go home, 
  and be safe. I'll tell them!"

Lar shrinks back from the shrieking elf, partially guarding Lira with his body.

Lira watches silently, eyes wide as the elf shrieks at her master.

Doreel's face twists with anger, "You are going nowhere! This is your home 
  now! The Others will not find you. Will not take you back!"

Rillwhisper stands as firmly as she can manage, but it's clear she's 
  treacherously unsteady. "Not my chief!" she snarls, and with that, she tries 
  to whirl, and run.

Lar blinks at the Other's sudden run, hesitating only briefly before 
  scrambling after again.

Doreel sneers and folds his arms across his chest, glaring at Rillwhisper as 
  she runs. He makes no moves to stop her. "The Preservers will stop her..."

Ordinarily, the small fair-haired elf might have outrun the helpers. And for a 
  few yards, she does. But her burst of adrenalin cannot carry her far enough 
  to elude the determined Lar, who reaches her side in two breaths.

Lar grasps her arm again, then looks at Doreel.

Doreel stands, watching, a sneer across his face.

Rillwhisper shrieks, "Let me _GO_!", and struggles, for a few brief seconds, 
  before she tumbles to her knees. Lar might be small, but the venom in her 
  veins saps her strength; her limbs are barely mobile.

Lar looks surprised at the fall, then looks to Lira. "Get more medicine?"

Rillwhisper abruptly subsides, but not entirely, as she coughs and mumbles, 
  "Lemme go... lemme..." Her head droops.

Lira blinks and nods, moving quickly to do as she was bade.

Rillwhisper slumps back against Lar. Is she unconscious?

Doreel just stands, watching, anger still in his face.

Lar grabs Rillwhisper a little moer firmly, looking towards Doreel. "The Other 
  needs rest. Where I put her?"

Doreel shakes his head and turns away, stalking towards his tree.

Rillwhisper, apparently genuinely fainted, hangs unmoving in Lar's grasp.

Lar sighs and shrugs, tugging at the unconscious elf.
Lar pulls her towards the Helper's hole.

You clamber into a small and snug hole in a tree at the edge of the grove.
Helper Hole(#9455RLU)
Barely outside of the grove, but far enough away to make this small, well kept 
  lair creepy enough. The *click* *click* *click* heard from the grove is more 
  audible here. Shaped from a fairly large tree the room has no windows though 
  the entrance gives plenty of ventilation. There are a number of furs lying 
  in a large pile on the far wall. Little else is in here with the exception 
  of a few wooden tools.
Obvious exits:
Grove  
Lar crawls into the hole from the grove.
Lar has arrived.

[End log.]