Log Date: 1/17/96 Log Intro: While its companion highthings Rillwhisper (sunnygreen highthing) and Strongbow (sharpquiet highthing) were overcome in battle with the spiders surrounding Doreel's hidden grove, the Preserver Fallberry was snared by a passing glob of the spiders' "bad wrapstuff". But fortunately, the little bug was far too small a target for the larger spiders to sting, and thus, it remained awake to scratch its way free of its prison. Intent on finding its companions, Fallberry began to search -- and heard its favorite highthing, sunnygreen highthing, shouting off in the distance. Promptly, the sprite headed for the source of the yelling, and found Doreel in his grove.... ---------- Fallberry flitters in through the nearby trees, frowning tinily. It heard sunnygreen highthing, it's sure! Doreel turns slightly, his hands reaching out towards another part of the tree. The braches turn and twist, somewhat erratically, as if something is bothering him. Fallberry mutters unhappily, /Nastybad manyleg chitterthings! Make bad wrapstuff! Not good for highthings!/ Then, spotting Doreel, it eeps, and zips towards him. /Hellohellohello!/ Doreel turns suddenly, the branch he was shaping slumping to the ground. His eyes open wide, fear deep inside. Doreel says "By Vargo's Blood." Fallberry pipes importantly, /Hellohello highthing! Highthing see sunnygreen highthing? Fallberry look for, no find!/ Fallberry flitflitflits, hopefully, and regards the tall elf with an innocent gaze. Doreel blinks, his eyes following the small butterfly creature, "She was right..." Fallberry tilts its head, and blinkblinks right back at the shaper. /Fallberry look for sunnygreen highthing friend! Highthing see?/ Doreel reaches out to grab the flittering creature. Fallberry urges hopefully, /Bendtree highthing see sunnygreen highthing friend? Fallberry must find! Sharpquiet highthing, too!/ Doreel shakes his head slightly, "No. There are no others here. Come here my little friend." His eyes are glazed over slightly... Fallberry insists earnestly, /Heard sunnygreen highthing yell! Fallberry knows!/ Doreel holds out his hand, his head still shaking, "No, there is no one but me and small ones here." Doreel points towards one of the helpers, "Surely you haven't forgotten." Fallberry ooooooh! /Hellohello digdig!/ it pipes, promptly flittering over to inquire, /Digdig see sunnygreen highthing friend?/ Doreel gazes at the preserver intently. The helper looks up, and scrambles away, running to hide. Fallberry awwws, and droops a bit, dejectedly. Sunnygreen highthing must be here! Fallberry heard! Doreel speaks quietly, "Trust me my small friend. I am the only highthing here. Perhaps as if on cue, there comes a ragged sending from the vicinity of the Helper Hole. There's no form to it, but the emotion within it is a fierce, desperate cry for help. The Preserver doesn't hear it, but nevertheless, Fallberry frowns suspiciously and flits over to demand of Doreel, /Howcome Fallberry heard sunnygreen highthing yell?/ Doreel's eyes glance briefly towards the hole, but then back at the preserver. He holds out a hand with a smile, "Perhaps the other preservers bit you small one." The formless sending continues, blurred, but urgent. Within it, as it rises and falls in random waves, are calls, becoming distinguishable as individual names: Strongbow. Woodhawk. Trollkiller. Through it all is threaded a frantic request to be found. Doreel locksends ** They are not coming for you child. Stay quietly where you are. ** Fallberry lands on the offered hand, and puffs itself up proudly. /Fallberry no see other we-things! Just nastybad manyleg chitterthings -- too big to bite Fallberry!/ You locksend to Doreel, Rillwhisper's mind, gripped in a hot flush of fever, whirls around and snaps at you, wolf-like. In her thoughts, she continues to howl, trying to summon the rest of the Pack. Doreel shrugs slightly and reaches his other hand up to run it along the back of Fallberry's head, "Perhaps your funny little head was just hearing things." Fallberry waggles a scolding finger at Doreel. /Fallberry know! Fallberry take good care of sunnygreen highthing! Fallberry promised!/ Doreel suddenly closes his hand around the preserver's head as he strokes it... attempts to at least. You sense in a locksend, Doreel sends back an array of images of the Others who have come before you, scattered memories, all the deaths he has known to happen due to his 'Preservers'. Doreel locksends ** They will just end up like that. ** Fallberry EEPS, taken entirely by surprise as it's caught. It immediately starts trying to bite the fingers that have snared it. Its tiny voice is muffled, but nevertheless strident, as it pipes, /Naffybad highfing!/ You locksend to Doreel, Rillwhisper in her mind backs up from you, crouching. There's something oddly animal-like about her, a trace of fur and fang to her appearance, and like an animal, she snarls at you. Threat-smell. Death-threat. She will call the Pack, and the Pack will defend her and take her home.... The sending continues, but as it does, it's joined by an audible noise, now: a hoarse voice, howling, the notes climbing into a high register. Doreel squeezes slightly, "You should never have left me little one. If you hadn't. None of this would ever have happened." Doreel looks up, towards the sound, towards the hole where he knows Rillwhisper is hidden away. Fallberry squirms! A howl! Sunnygreen highthing! /Lef Fallberry go! Naffybad highfing!/ The howl rises in pitch, echoing out of the Helper Hole, and occasionally wavering. But it continues, loud, and urgent. AyooaoaoaoaoaaaAAAAAAAAAooooooooAAAAAAAAAH.....! Doreel looks back towards the preserver, he squeezes again, this time, he adds some magic to it... harmful magic, "Stay still. You're not leaving again." He then looks back towards the hole, fear filling his face. Fallberry squeals! Fallberry wilts, frightened now, of the nastybad hurtglimmer in the highthing's hands. It peers anxiously over Doreel's fingers, towards where the howl emerges, drawn out, and hoarse. The howl continues, for many long minutes, until at last the voice producing it seems to go hoarse. As soon as the din dies down, the sending flares up again, wild, unfocused, but pitched to carry just like the howl. Doreel watches the hole. Doreel stalks towards the hole, he is confident now that Rillwhisper won't try anything, not with her preserver as a... well... hostage... Doreel slips into the hole, cautiously, his grip on the bug tight Doreel clambers into a relatively unnoticed hole and disappears into the tree..... [Switching to Rillwhisper's point of view.] 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. Contents: Doreel(#6997PJXce) Rillwhisper(#6POXace) Obvious exits: Grove Fallberry crawls into the hole from the grove. Fallberry has arrived. Doreel ducks as he comes in. Rillwhisper crouches in the middle of the hole, glaring outside. And she skitters back against the far wall as Doreel enters. A snarl rumbles out of her throat. Doreel stares at Rillwhisper, half in fear, half in anger, "What are you doing." Fallberry eep! /Funnygreen highfing!/ It tries to flit as best it can in Doreel's grasp. Doreel squeezes the bug, but refrains from hurting it anymore than he has to to keep it in his grasp. Rillwhisper's face is stark white, save for two high spots of color on her cheeks, and her eyes glitter hotly, far too bright. She snarls again at Doreel, more loudly; her throat must be indeed raw, though, for the sound is barely distinguishable as an elfin voice. But that doesn't stop her sending, as it continues to pour out of her. Doreel takes a step back, his mind holding against your vicious sends, "Stop! Stop!" He squeezes the preserver, giving him confidence, "Quiet!" Rillwhisper blinks several times, and stares blankly at the little creature. Then croaks, "Bug! My bug!" She then snarls again, and tries to charge at Doreel, all at once. "MY BUG!" Doreel gasps and stumbles back, letting go of the preserver as Rillwhisper slams into him. Fallberry flitflitflits up high, shrieking angrily, /Naughtybad highthing!/ at Doreel. Rillwhisper barks at Fallberry, triumphantly, "Find mates! Bring! Find!" Doreel says "No!" Doreel reaches out to grab hold of Fallberry... Fallberry promptly spits wrapstuff at Doreel, and chirps /Fallberry do what sunnygreen highthing say!/ And with that, it zips out of the tree, intent on following Rillwhisper's orders. Fallberry leaves you and the hole behind, going into the light and life of the grove. Fallberry has left. Doreel sputters as he gets a face full of wrapstuff. Rillwhisper grins, ferally, and scurries after the Preserver. You move out into the grove quietly, the *click* *click* *click* that resounds in the walls of the hole fading from your ears. Grove(#9784RJLU) Life fills you as you walk into this grove. All around you plants grow, twisting around each other in a magical dance of life. A majestic tree stands in the center of the grove, it's life force encompassing the whole area. Small rock formations dot the garden adding another level of beauty to the place. A small spring flows from between some of the rocks and becomes a miniature strem meandering through the many trees and flowers. Other than the huge tree in the center of the grove all the others bear wonderful fruit of all different varieties while each flower is in bloom and full color. You notice stairs curling up around into the tree directly into it's heart. Even through all this beauty you can hear the constant *click* *click* *click* off in the dark woods surrounding you. Contents: Fallberry(#111IMOQZp) Obvious exits: Woods Path Hole Tree Doreel crawls out from a hidden hole off to one side of the grove. Doreel has arrived. Doreel scrambles out after the two of you. Rillwhisper wobbles on her feet, clearly about to fall over at any moment. The skin of her face seems drawn far too tight over her features, but her expression is alight. "Go! Find mates!" Doreel starts to head towards Rillwhisper... to hold her like he held Fallberry, but instead... he stands back, leanding against a tree. Fallberry promises, already winging as fast as it can manage towards the sky, /Fallberry find! Get hunter firehighthing! Get strongfurry highthing! Fallberry bring!/ Rillwhisper slumps to her knees, beaming dazedly, unaware that Doreel has emerged behind her. Doreel stands, watching Rillwhisper, his eyes flitting after the preserver. Rillwhisper echoes fervently, almost in a sing-song tone, "Bring hunter firehighthing... bring strongfurry highthing... yes...." Her voice drops to a raspy whisper. And in the seconds that pass, Fallberry gets out of physical reach. Doreel walks over towards you slowly... Rillwhisper makes a noise as if she's trying to giggle, hysterically, with relief. "It'll find 'em," she mumbles, "and I'll get out, and..." Doreel kneels down quietly behind you. Rillwhisper belatedly, through some slowly triggered sense, feels your presence behind her, and whirls. Or at least begins to... Doreel pulls his hand back that he had been reaching to place on your shoulder. Rillwhisper looks up at you, and continues giggling a little, wide-eyedly. Her voice still hoarse, she declares with satisfaction, "They'll get us out of the spiders. They'll get us out..." Doreel reaches out his hands, "Sorry... so sorry..." Rillwhisper blinks several times, as her sluggish mind has trouble keeping up with the sudden change in your mood. Through the ragged leather of what remains of her tunic, her flesh is overwarm. Doreel places his hands on the sides of your face, sorrow filling his face. His magic slowly starts to flow into you... fixing what he should have fixed before. Rillwhisper looks, for a moment, vividly startled. She starts to growl, and then the noise abruptly dies in her throat, as she keels forward towards you. Doreel's magic continues to flow into you... the poison slowly gets pushed out. As he heals you, he sends his apologies. Rillwhisper sends openly ** ** As he feels that... non-elf in you, he pushes again, trying to remove it from you. It is foreign... it should not be there... The spider poison goes, with an effort. It's interwined with poison made by the wound in her leg, and between them, they cause a dizzy heat in Rillwhisper's head, making it hard for her to think, to do much besides crumple into your arms, for the healing. She mumbles a little; in her vague sending, there's a sense of a sudden flash of fright. Doreel quietly continues his healing, his sendings offer no sense of fear now... he tries to calm what has angered you. In her sending, the small elf is confused, oddly frightened, as she feels the healing magic penetrating into her blood rather closer than she likes. As her head clears, she struggles to form a protest. "Wh... what are you..." Doreel stops slowly, his magic slowly pulling from you, a haggard look on his face. He shakes his head, "Not done yet..." Rillwhisper blinks, muzzily. The heat in her mind begins to diminish, and as the magic releases its hold on her blood, she shivers, weakly, exhausted. Doreel says "Something else is there... pushing... stopping me from healing you completely..." Rillwhisper mumbles, "The... the poison?" She tries to lick her lips, finding her throat dry. Doreel shakes his head, "No... not the poison. Something else... Something that does not belong there." Rillwhisper finds her eyelids heavy, too, and they drift towards closing, but not entirely. Baffled, she mumbles slurrily, "Don't feel very good... don't think I ate anything bad...." Doreel shakes his head and stands up slowly, carefully lying you back on the ground, not knowing what more he can do. Your wounds closed, the poison gone... Rillwhisper draws in a few breaths, and murmurs absently, "Tired..." Doreel looks down at you and nods slightly and turns around, walking towards his own tree, "Sleep then. The helpers will watch you." Rillwhisper, though, has already begun to drift off. Doreel climbs up the winding stairs around the tree, and then moves inside. Doreel has left. [End log.]