[Intro]
It has been many long years that Rayek, the hunter who wields magic
as effective as a knife, has probed the secrets of the Palace of the High
Ones. Ever since the Wolfriders and Go-Backs won it back from the trolls,
he has labored to learn everything it could teach him. Often, his
ambition has far outstripped his gentler and wiser sides of his nature--
ambition to use the Palace to rescue his kind from this world of two moons
on which they have been marooned. This ambition has already driven him
twice to cause the Palace to fly, the first time far into the past to
attempt to rescue the High Ones from the humans who slew most of their
number, the second in a flight about the land to seek out magic-using
elves who might help power the Palace on a flight into the far future.

But neither of these quests were successful, and some of their results
have been traumatic. One such result Rayek has not allowed himself to
dwell upon: his sundering from the revered High One Timmain, who has
vanished into the world once more in wolf-form... and from the healer
whom he arguably reveres even more, Leetah. The other drastic result of
his errors is Tilia, a Go-Back and throwback to the elves' magically gifted 
ancestors, caught in a kind of limbo ever since the ill-fated first jaunt: her 
body in wrapstuff in the Palace's chamber of the Scroll of Colors, her spirit 
absorbed into the very stuff of the Palace itself, and providing the power to 
make the Palace move... while Rayek directs it and wills its destination.

At the end of his second jaunt with the Palace, Rayek allowed it to return
to the territory of the Go-Backs--but soon found himself growing disgusted.
The warrior tribe, to his way of thinking, proved far too inadequate
guardians for a place he considered sacred. Between the ever-increasing
encroachments of the Northern trolls and the seemingly endless attempted
visits by elves Rayek deemed unworthy to tread the Palace's halls, he
became convinced that he must move it. And he convinced Tilia to aid
him.

The pair of elves--one navigating the Palace, one providing the power to
make it fly--hid the ancient shaped craft in a remote valley in the
World's Spine Mountains. And there, Rayek believed he could at last have
the solitude he needed to study the Palace without interruption.

But--perhaps seeking the wisdom of his old teacher, the Mother of Memory,
Rayek journeyed to Sorrow's End, nearby, only to find the place in a
furor. Winnowill had come, and had demanded that Leetah heal her. Partly
incensed, partly frightened that a fully healed Winnowill could ruin
his plans, and partly oddly scared to face Leetah properly, Rayek
stormed back into hiding.

Ten years passed. Rayek kept the Palace hidden in the mountains, convincing
Tilia to help him disguise it as part of the surrounding landscape. And
he began to commune with the place, and with the spirits that dwelt within,
hoping to at last fully understand every ounce of magic that had gone
into its shaping. With the Preserver Petalwing as his only corporeal
companion, Rayek subsumed any hint of loneliness by talking to it and to
the disembodied Tilia, as he strove to convince the latter of the rightness
of his plan to take the Palace into the future--if she would only help
him.

But Tilia ceased to trust Rayek, remaining an uncertain ally at best,
and without her, he could not make the Palace fly.

And unknown to Rayek, the half-elf, half-troll Two-Edge had set plans of
his own into motion--gathering elves, dropping clues to the whereabouts
of the Palace, and at last showing a party over twenty elves strong to the
remote valley in which it is hidden.

Our log opens with Petalwing on watch--or at least, ostensibly on watch,
which means for a Preserver that half the time it's playing at chasing
its own shadow, and the rest trying to find something to wrapstuff--
and with Rayek ensconsed in the Scroll Chamber, once more communing with
Tilia.....

----------
The misty voice says, again, "No." It has little tone or timbre, it just 
  becomes a sound in the chill hall.

Rayek frowns, where he stands poised before the Scroll of Colors, and his amber 
  gaze sweeps the room.
Rayek, with careful patience, reaches out with his will again. Tilia has been 
  ignoring him as of late... but he has all the time in the world. He will 
  reach her eventually, he's sure.

Petalwing> Somewhere deep in the World's Spines(#10612RFJL)
Petalwing> This remote, barren valley somewhere in the heart of the World's 
  Spines seems a distinctly forbidding place. There is very little greenery 
  here to break the starkness of the rocks or the heat of the Daystar that 
  reflects off them; at night, the sky overhead, inky black and pierced with 
  ungentle stars, seems more intended to overwhelm than inspire the eye. What 
  few animals can be spotted lurking among the rocks are tiny ones, that show 
  themselves infrequently, and then only with a flick of a tail or foot before 
  they vanish.
Petalwing> The twin stars of Timmorn's Eyes begin to come out as the dimming 
  red light of sunset fills the chill winter skies.
Petalwing> Contents:
Petalwing> Palace

Rayek sends, feeling the spirits in the Palace flit curiously in his presence, 
  but as usual, they very rarely draw too near to him. Mostly, they are 
  ephemeral wisps in his sensing anyway... the one spirit he seeks is a more 
  vibrant presence.

[While Petalwing is on watch, a rather huge party of elves--Ember, her
 brother Suntop, and a group of about twenty Go-Back warriors led by
 Kahvi, Brindle, and Kerial arrives on the scene. Two-Edge, too, arrives,
 but is a much subtler presence, lurking in the shadows of the nearby rocks.]

Petalwing> Ember has arrived.

Petalwing> Brindle has arrived.

Petalwing> Kerial has arrived.

Petalwing> Two-Edge has arrived.

Petalwing> Brindle follows slowly.

Petalwing> Ember finally breaks out of the tunnel, moving outside in relief, 
  then looking around in awe.

Petalwing> Petalwing, high up on a spire of rock, ooohs, and peers down 
  curiously. Highthings!

Petalwing> Brindle rolls her eyes, "Great, another bug."

Petalwing> Ember tilts her head up, looking for the bug, then squints, and 
  laughs suddenly. "Petalwing?"

Petalwing> Kerial looks around, noting 'Yes, this is a valley, yep.'

The toneless voice again, lagging a little, "No." So many requests, so much 
  time, the answer easy and quick taking less than hours to coax and explain 
  and describe.

Petalwing> Petalwing isn't in earshot, but it flits down before the oddly 
  shimmering rock of the cliff, and inspects the highthings closely. 
  /Hellohello highthings!/ It beams. /Petalwing remembers!/

Petalwing> Brindle frowns, leaning on her spear, uncertain of what to do.

Petalwing> Kerial looks around for signs of the Palace.

Rayek scowls. And says aloud, in a voice gone slightly gravelly in recent 
  years--for he's had no one to talk to but the Preserver for some time--"Why 
  do you avoid me, Tilia?"

Petalwing> Ember laughs again, holding out her hand for the bug to perch on. 
  "Hello, Petalwing." She grins a little tiredly, and says, "Take us home."

Petalwing> Petalwing flits down in front of Ember, and oddly, doesn't land. It 
  looks slightly worried, and pipes, /Highthings want to go to homeplace?/

Petalwing> Ember lets her hand drop, and nods. "Aye, bug. Home, please."

Petalwing> Petalwing, if it had teeth, would bite its lip... if it had one. As 
  it happens, it fidgets with its hat, and says brightly, /Highthings come long 
  way from hometrees?/ With an almost desperate curiosity, it flitflitflits 
  around the elves' heads, peering at the ones it doesn't know.

Petalwing> Ember looks curiously at Petalwing. "Aye, we came a long way. What's 
  wrong, bug?"

Petalwing> Petalwing, zipping back to Ember, blinkblinks guilelessly. /No 
  wrong! Petalwing very happy to see highthings!/
Petalwing> Petalwing pipes, /Highthings want Petalwing fetch sparklewaters? Or 
  hideyberries?/

Petalwing> Kerial says "Hey, I thought it was the duty of bugs to take people 
  to the Palace."

Petalwing> Ember
Petalwing> Ember is a lithe, whip-slender elf. Contrary to popular belief, she 
  is no longer a cub, and something in her eyes tells you that she has forever 
  put behind her the days of childhood. Flame red hair cascades in a soft riot 
  of tangled curls down her back, one long strand of bangs falling into 
  blue-green eyes.
She's dressed for the desert heat, wearing a short, gauzy, dark green skirt 
  with sparkling trim and a brief top of the same shade. The color sets off 
  naturally sun-darkened skin that is growing rapidly darker in the desert sun. 
  Her outfit is completed by soft, thong-like sandals.
Strapped to her right thigh is a dagger, and in the hollow of her throat rests 
  a delicate wolfshead necklace.
Petalwing> Carrying:
Petalwing> Dagger
Petalwing> Wolfhead necklace

Petalwing> Kerial
Petalwing> Big blue eyes meet yours with stubborn determination. Whatever you 
  want, she's not gonna do it! With a quick sweep of her hand, she shoves her 
  mousy brown mop of hair out of her face. Her charcoal-colored tunic and 
  lighter gray leggings are made of well-tended leather - someone seems to be 
  keeping her dressed decently. She wears knee-high boots to keep the snow away 
  from her feet; wet feet are icky, especially when it's cold out. Her height 
  and shape tell you that she is young, and has seen maybe 12 or 13 winters; 
  her demeanor tells you that she is a young GoBack.
Petalwing> Carrying:
Petalwing> Knife

Petalwing> Brindle
Petalwing> Brindle's ferally amber eyes catch your look and narrow. Once she 
  has established that you are neither a threat nor a meal (unless you are), 
  she treats your presence with wary disinterest. She shows a perfect blend of 
  Go-Back and wolfrider traits, from her pronounced aquiline nose to her 
  charcoal-streaked silvery hair. She wears a pale gray vest of sorts, worn 
  thin with use, and a belted fur-trimmed skirt. Shiny silver metal adorns her 
  ears and throat, and all around the edges of her warm clothing is a silky fur 
  trim.
Petalwing> Carrying:
Petalwing> trollspear
Petalwing> troll knife

Petalwing> Ember says "Noooo, Petalwing, highthings want to go to the Palace."

Petalwing> Brindle scowls, leaning against her spear impatiently.

Petalwing> Petalwing's wings droop. /Awww... Petalwing want help highthings... /

Petalwing> Two-Edge
Petalwing>      Two-Edge is a most singular being: half elf, half troll, and 
  entirely paradoxical in appearance. The tips of pointed ears poke out of a 
  mane of white hair that extends into a full beard, while high cheekbones 
  frame a large mouth and a nose that is far too long for an elf, but too short 
  to be a troll's. And the eyes... which can be slanted slits watching you, or 
  wide and round in rare surprise. 
        His body just as much a strange cross, Two-Edge's frame is both muscled 
  and lithe, with the best of both races in it's form. His skin is almost 
  yellowish-green, offset by brown leather pants and a light green tunic, over 
  which is belted a metal band. Heavy gloves with wide, metal studded wrist 
  collars protect his hands when he wields his hammer at the forge. The 
  thick-soled boots on his feet show a great deal of wear, but are no where 
  near needing replacement.
Petalwing> Carrying:
Petalwing> Character Log Object
Petalwing> Hammer

Petalwing> Ember says "Why can't you help, bug?"

Petalwing> Petalwing, still clinging to its hat, flits onto Ember's bright head 
  and peers into her face. It says plaintively, /Petalwing _promised_!/

Petalwing> Brindle starts pacing around, looking for anything particularly 
  unusual.

Petalwing> Brindle pokes at Suntop, saying, "And where's that great magic of 
  yours, eh?"

Petalwing> Suntop blinks, having been watching the bug. "Oh," he says. "Yes." 
  He tilts his head, eyes closing as he concentrates.

Petalwing> Ember says "Promised _what_, Petalwing?"

Petalwing> Brindle smirks.

Petalwing> Ember crosses her eyes at the bug.

Petalwing> Petalwing eeps at findmagic highthing, its eyes widening--it didn't 
  see the other highthing before! But it says, trying to pull itself up to look 
  staunch and proud, /Petalwing good guard! Petalwing keep homeplace safesnug!/

Petalwing> Brindle doesn't wait for the magic malarkey, and keeps looking for 
  some kind of hidden entrance.

Petalwing> Kerial starts kicking at rocks and boulders.

Petalwing> Brindle jabs into spaces between rocks with her spear, hoping that 
  if not the entrance, she at least finds Two-Edge. :)

Petalwing> Ember pulls the bug off her head so she can see it, and explains, 
  "We don't want to hurt the palace, silly bug."

Petalwing> Kerial climbs up on some rocks, looking for the Palace or something.

Petalwing> Suntop wanders away, oblivious to everything but the Palace's pull. 
  "Entrance," he says absently. "There's so much magic it's hard to single out."

Petalwing> Brindle rolls her eyes, making a quiet disparaging comment.

Petalwing> Petalwing, on Ember's bronzed hands, cranes its little green head 
  around her fingers and glances very briefly up at the cliff before hastily 
  glancing away. /Petalwing promised would guard!/ Seeing Suntop searching, it 
  eeps again, flits up, and hastens over to him in a blur of orange and yellow. 
  /Sharpdark highthing be vexed with Petalwing!/

Petalwing> Kerial waves from on top of a large rock! "I found it...er, maybe 
  not."

Petalwing> Suntop walks around, looking rather distracted by something.

Petalwing> Ember, with amusement, calls after Petalwing, "We won't let Rayek 
  hurt you, either, bug. Suntop, brother of my heart, stop looking so dazed and 
  concentrate."

Petalwing> Petalwing straightens hopefully, and confides, /Sharpdark highthing 
  gets much vexed lots!/

Petalwing> Suntop shakes his head, bringing himself around.. "Wha-?! Um. Yes.." 
  He frowns a bit, and concentrates.

Petalwing> Ember grins wryly. "I know he does, Petalwing. But we'll make him 
  mad at _me_, not you. I'll threaten to pull your wings off, or something."

Petalwing> Brindle thinks Ember should let Kerial do that. >:)

Petalwing> Kerial smiles.

Petalwing> Ember's head of this little mess. She'll take the heat. :)

Petalwing> Petalwing wilts and flitflitflits out of Ember's way! /No pull 
  wings! No pull!/

Petalwing> Ember waves her hands about. "No, no! I'm not _going_ to! I promise! 
  Just bring us to the Palace!"

Petalwing> Petalwing hesitates, and asks pensively, /No hurt sharpdark 
  highthing?/

Petalwing> Brindle glances over at Kahvi, a merry grin on her face.

Petalwing> Ember looks solemnly at the preserver. "Petalwing, I promise that I 
  don't intend to hurt Rayek. None of us do."

Petalwing> Petalwing seems to gain some confidence from that, and to reach a 
  decision. It bobs its little head, and relents. /Petalwing do!/

Petalwing> Petalwing, with that, flits off in a wide arc... and abruptly 
  vanishes into the rock.

Petalwing> Palace
Petalwing> Now much closer to the strange 'cliff', you can see that the rock 
  face before you has a crystalline sheen that tosses the slightest bit of 
  light back at you in tiny, dazzling glints of color. An odd feeling plays 
  subtly over your skin each moment you linger here.
Petalwing> Obvious exits:
Petalwing> Opening  
Petalwing> You approach the strange glowing 'cliff', and the itch at the base 
  of your skull seems to rise.

Petalwing> Some distance away, Ember smiles in relief. "Thank you, Petalwing." 
  She blinks as it disappears into the rock. "Petalwing?"

Rayek abruptly straightens, and breathes, "Leetah's child... here?"

Petalwing> Some distance away, Ember, very uncertainly, goes where Petalwing 
  went...
Petalwing> Some distance away, Ember has left.
Petalwing> Ember approaches the strange glowing 'cliff'.
Petalwing> Ember has arrived.

Petalwing> Some distance away, Suntop stares at the rock where Petalwing just 
  disappeared, arching his eyebrow.

Yes.

Petalwing> Some distance away, Brindle looks confused.

Petalwing> Some distance away, Suntop looks uneasy for a moment.. then 
  approaches the wall.. sticking his hand through, curiously.
Petalwing> Some distance away, Suntop has left.
Petalwing> Suntop approaches the strange glowing 'cliff'.
Petalwing> Suntop has arrived.

Petalwing> Some distance away, Kerial jumps down off her rock, and notes the 
  strange cliff what her next place to search.
Petalwing> Some distance away, Kerial leaps through!

A plethora of emotions play across Rayek's face... alarm, anger, and for an 
  instant, a hint of something that might be relief. Suntop. Of all the elves 
  in the world, Suntop might understand...

Petalwing> Some distance away, Kerial has left.
Petalwing> Kerial approaches the strange glowing 'cliff'.
Petalwing> Kerial has arrived.

Petalwing> Some distance away, Brindle walks over curiously.

Petalwing> Suntop starts as his magic feeling SOARS with the tingling of 
  intense magical power.. he gasps softly..

Petalwing> Petalwing pipes, /Is homeplace!/

Petalwing> Some distance away, Brindle has left.
Petalwing> Brindle approaches the strange glowing 'cliff'.
Petalwing> Brindle has arrived.

Petalwing> Ember says "It sure is. Timmorn's _Blood_."
Petalwing> Ember rubs at the back of her neck. "Well. Where's Rayek, bug?"

Petalwing> Brindle is even quiet, looking around in amazement.

Petalwing> Suntop looks around, murmuring softly, "So this is where it's been 
  all this time. Rayek MUST be nearby.."

Rayek then abruptly scowls once more. But how did the lad _find_ him? Abruptly, 
  he rises and soars out of the room...

Second Level
You have come up the stairs into a wide, mostly featureless corridor; here, as 
  have been in most of the other twists and turns of this place, the walls 
  around you are faintly opalescent and the air around you subliminally tingles.
At one end of the corridor you can see the stairs that wind back down into the 
  lower level of this place; at the opposite end, a tall doorway that glimmers 
  golden in the faint light.
Obvious exits:
Scroll Chamber  Winding Stairway  

Suntop locksends ** Rayek! Can you hear me? **

You make your way down the staircase.
Entry Hall
High-ceilinged, drafty, its stone walls occasionally glimmering eerily when 
  struck by the light, this expansive chamber contains little in it besides the 
  occasional ornate column and patterned frescoes on the walls. But despite its 
  emptiness, there is a palpable tingle to the air, and a constant feeling as 
  of being watched from the many shadows.
A long winding stairway twines its way up out of this chamber and into the 
  upper heights of this place; you might be able to find other ways out of 
  here, but the only other exit in immediate sight is the archway that leads 
  outside.
Obvious exits:
Winding Stairway  Out  

Petalwing> Suntop looks straight into the Palace, eyes distant as though he 
  were trying to contact someone.

Petalwing> Petalwing zips off! /Petalwing show!/

Petalwing has arrived.

Ember has arrived.

You locksend to Suntop, Rayek's mind is readily sensible to you... though it's 
  almost as if you're sensing a cliff, unscalable, impassive.

Brindle backs away from the strange glowing 'cliff'.
Brindle has arrived.

Ember ohs, looking around. Every bit as frightening as it was when she was a 
  cub...
Ember looks at you for a moment.

Kerial backs away from the strange glowing 'cliff'.
Kerial has arrived.

Petalwing brightens a little, still plaintively, as it leads the elves into the 
  Palace.

Rayek is not readily visible... until you look up the huge, winding staircase.

Brindle leans to mutter something to Kahvi.

Suntop has arrived.

Kerial looks around. "Huh. Big. This is it?"

Suntop walks in after a moment or two, eyes dancing with the wonder that has 
  never left him, where the Palace is concerned.

Rayek, a shadow in the shadows of this place, floats near the top of the 
  stairs, surveying the band of elves making its way into the grand, wide hall. 
  His eyes narrow as he sees the Preserver... and a brief flicker of emotions 
  crosses his face at the sight of Suntop. He sends, though, almost lazily: ** 
  Leetah's son. Did your mother send you, after all this time? **

Brindle even seems a bit affected by it, looking around in wonder.

Ember nods absently at Kerial. "Aye, this is it." She looks up as Rayek sends. 
  _There_ he is.

The halls are a little cold but dance with inner wonder and light, presence, 
  unseen, all about.

Kerial likes the stairs...

Suntop looks up at Rayek, and shakes his head. "No, not Mother.. I haven't seen 
  her in TURNS. I've been too busy, training with Savah. Ember came to the 
  Village and found me there.. And I followed her, when she told me that the 
  Palace was to be found again."

Ember smiles faintly, and inclines her head towards Rayek. "Sorry to disappoint 
  you, Rayek."

Brindle, glad no one is paying attention, ambles over to examine something.

Rayek, counting several elves who are undeniably Go-Backs, remains in a wary 
  stance, and glares daggers in Petalwing's direction; the bug eeps, and darts 
  behind a column.

Kerial decides to check out the stairs, and climbs up a few. She then takes out 
  her dagger and pokes at the wall curiously.

Rayek's amber gaze sweeps the gathering, and if he is disappointed by Suntop's 
  reply, he gives no sign. He answers with a slight scowl, one dark eyebrow 
  arched, "And who decided this, Ember?"

Suntop's eyes measure Rayek carefully, before slowly looking around the Palace 
  again.

Rayek's gaze flicks to Kahvi, impassively.

Brindle watches this exchange with amusement, and goes over to nudge Kerial.

Ember lifts an eyebrow, then chuckles softly. "Don't be mad at Petalwing, 
  Rayek. I insisted it bring us. And even if it hadn't, Suntop would have found 
  the entrance." A pause, then, "Two-Edge...suggested...we search the Palace 
  out."

Brindle leans to mutter something to the Goback lass.

Rayek _does_ seem startled at that, at least briefly. Then his regal demeanor 
  returns, and he crosses his arms, still hovering a foot or so above the 
  stairs. His voice, though, oddly gravelly in tone as it carries down to you, 
  is brusque as he asks, "And what purpose did the half-elf propose for this 
  search?"

Brindle nods.

Suntop nods to Ember's comment about him finding the Palace, then he looks to 
  Rayek when he hears that question. "That's a question that _I_ have been 
  wondering about, myself."

Ember rubs at the back of her neck, looking up at Rayek. "Could you come down 
  here? I'm getting a stiff neck." She shrugs a shoulder. "I don't know why. He 
  seemed to think it was important, and _I_ wanted to know where the Palace 
  was, so...here we are."

Rayek surveys the rest of the elves with the party, his gaze glinting. He 
  almost smirks, as he eyes the weaponry visible on the Go-backs' persons... 
  and he concedes to Ember's request, at least partially.

Kerial watches the smirking, floating, sun-fop calmly.

Ember, dryly, says, "Thank you."

Brindle leans against her spear casually, watching him.

Rayek floats down the stairs into better view. He carries himself regally in 
  the air, though the leathers he's wearing are worn in places, and he is thin 
  and gaunt of feature when closely surveyed. "And I suppose Two-Edge advised 
  that... _these_... accompany you?" he asks Suntop and Ember.

Brindle looks up sharply, "Hey!"

The voice that can be heard has no tone, no timbre, comes from nowhere yet is 
  just there. It's a whisper, that's all. "No bickering."

Kerial smirks.

Rayek stiffens slightly at the voice in the air, and says softly, "I would not 
  dream of it, Tilia."

Ember shakes her head. "They asked to come. I saw no reason why they 
  shouldn't." She blinks. "Who's Tilia?"

Suntop blinks as he hears that voice. "Who-?"

Kerial rolls her eyes, "Not another -damn- voice coming from nowhere. What? No 
  rhymes?"

Brindle moves over so she can clamp a hand on Kerial's mouth next time.

Rayek gives a bit of a twisted half-smile at the various reactions; he seems 
  utterly unruffled.

Kerial says "I'm sure there is a rhyme for 'bickering.' Flickering, snickering. 
  You just aren't trying."

Ember, in a warning tone, says, "Kerial."

Brindle moves her hand over Kerial's mouth firmly.
Brindle makes a grab for her frien's waist so she hopefully can't get away.

Suntop almost smiles, but shakes his head, managing to maintain self-control. 
  He looks to Rayek. "How've you been, Rayek?"

Rayek addresses Ember brusquely, "I cannot say I am disappointed your mother 
  has not brought you up to date on... old history." Blatantly ignoring the 
  Go-Backs, he almost smiles to Suntop.

Kerial bites at Brindle's hand. (When will she learn?)

Brindle keeps it clamped, setting her jaw.

Kerial gnaws.

Suntop obviously takes note of Rayek's worn clothing and gaunt features, and he 
  shakes his head a bit, showing his concern.

Brindle does not remove her hand, although it is bleeding rather profusely now.

Rayek, for a very brief instant, seems to soften his regard slightly at the 
  golden-haired elf. For an even briefer instant, there is a hint of a flicker 
  in his gaze, but a flicker that can't be read. His stance remains alert. "I 
  am well enough, Suntop." He considers, then half-chuckles. "If you intend to 
  stay, I will not hinder you; you of all these here should understand what you 
  have sought."

Kerial oddly enough stopped at another send, but in getting blood all over her 
  face.

Suntop locksends ** What have you been doing? You look as though you haven't 
  eaten in weeks..and your leathers look more ragged than zwoots after a long 
  run on a hot day! **
Suntop smiles faintly, and nods to Rayek's comment, looking up at him fondly.

Rayek's words harden slightly as he speaks, and the sidelong sarcastic glance 
  he gives the Go-Backs is not hard to miss.

Brindle carefully removes her hand, giving Kerial a significant look.

Ember puts a hand over her eyes for a moment, shaking her head.

You locksend ** <a glimmer of amusement> The hunting is... scarce, here. ** to 
  Suntop.

Brindle tosses Ker one of her scraps of leather to wipe the blood off her face.
Brindle checks her hand casually, noting no tendons were chewed through, and 
  returns to examining the brownskinned floater.

Suntop smiles at a send, and nods, murmuring, "I can believe that."

Kerial catches it, wipes the blood off her face, and goes back to trying to 
  chip at the wall.

Rayek then turns away from you all, dismissively, saying, "I have work to which 
  I must attend. Ember, Suntop... I will trust that these with you will be kept 
  from profaning this place."
Rayek starts to float back up the stairs, his expression intent, distracted.

Brindle raises her voice slightly, casually, "Oh, brownskin..."
Brindle says "Ekuar sends his greetings."
Brindle examines her bleeding hand studiedly.

Suntop arches an eyebrow, and turns to look to the GoBacks, curiously.

Rayek casts an equally casual glance over his shoulder, regarding Brindle with 
  the deatched interest a wolf might have towards an animal too small to be 
  prey--until she mentions Ekuar. His calm wavers, a very slight bit, as he 
  answers, "You have seen him?"

Brindle makes the effort to send so there is no doubt, ** He awaits you at the 
  Lodge. He wishes to see you. **

Rayek, still half-turned away from most of you, gives a strangely bitter smile. 
  "He has had many years in which to do so. I regret my inability to indulge 
  him now."

Suntop nods to Ember, then walks over to her and gives her a gentle hug as he 
  turns to look at Rayek.

Brindle shrugs, "Too bad."
Brindle smirks lightly, "Some of us were getting to like him."

Suntop locksends ** Do you leave us again, then, so soon after we find you, 
  Rayek? Are you so used to solitude now? **

Kerial chuckles.

Rayek, with that, starts to float up the stairs again. And once more pauses.

Ember locksends ** <curiously> Don't you care enough to visit your old mentor, 
  Rayek? **

Brindle scratches the back of her head, muttering about how much the trolls 
  liked the latest captives.

Suntop looks up at Rayek with the eyes of a concerned friend...seeming to miss 
  the comments that Brindle flings at Rayek's retreating back.

You locksend ** I doubt I would find the company of most of you at all 
  fulfilling. Nor would most of you find the same of mine. ** to Suntop.
You locksend ** .... it is not a matter of care, Ember. <His tone is guarded, 
  and reserved.> ** to Ember.

Brindle shrugs, "Well, Notooth was wanting a gesture of goodwill from Kahvi... 
  I bet the rockshaper'd be just the thing."

You sense in a locksend, Suntop sighs softly, seeming to shake his head. ** If 
  you do not even try.. how can you ever hope to have friends? Without friends, 
  life is very lonely, don't you agree? I've learned much at Sorrow's End. That 
  lesson, in particular has been one that I have thought on most. How life 
  would be like, were I away from the Village..and with no one around. **

Brindle ambles off to look at something on the wall.

The walls shift their colorful, shimmering patterns a bit.

Ember locksends ** What, then? <blinks, breaks off, looking at Brindle> **
Ember blinks and looks at Brindle.

Rayek turns. And fixes Brindle with a smoldering stare. "If your tribe, girl, 
  have attempted to learn subtlety since last I saw you, your lessons are not 
  going well."

Brindle raises her chin, yellow eyes meeting his. "Darn." She says with a smirk.

Suntop turns at long last, to regard his sister again.

Petalwing peers out from behind the pillar, and eeps to itself. Sharpdark 
  highthing looks mad....

Rayek, evidently unimpressed by the display of insolence, states, "If you are 
  suggesting to me that you intend to place Ekuar in danger if I fail to come 
  see him, I recommend you try a different tactic."

Brindle shrugs.

Ember nods absently at Suntop.

Brindle says "Oh, we intend to place Ekuar in danger if you do not come 
  hubward. Whether you see him or not is irrelevant."

Ember says "Timmorn's blood, Brindle. Why?"

Brindle glances somewhat apologetically at Ember. "You wouldn't understand."

Ember, deadpan, says, "Try me."

Kerial glances at Ember, wondering why she's gotten all stupid.

Suntop locksends ** Don't let them anger you.. they WANT you angered.. for some 
  reason. I think you know that much. Let them threaten. Hmf. I can't believe 
  they would threaten to give poor Ekuar to the Trolls! **

Kerial says "Can I ask a question of fly-boy up there?"

Suntop glances up at Rayek again, sending, his eyes glancing to Brindle, as 
  though aghast.

Brindle shrugs, not the planner of this thing, and not against it either.

Rayek stares down at Brindle from where he floats, eyes gone more yellow, and 
  narrowing. Regarding both Brindle and Kerial now as if they are tiny 
  wolf-cubs with barks far too big for their sizes, he glances past them to 
  Kahvi, who lounges lazily against the archway; the Go-Back chieftess's gaze 
  is hard, and a smirk is visible on her amused face.

And again the toneless voice, coming not from anywhere at all, "Get to the 
  point."

Brindle chuckles unpleasantly. "We want the palace back where it belongs."

Ember makes a slight face; at least Two-Edge's rhymes have some emotion to 
  them. This voice is...eerie.
Ember, lightly, says, "In the stars?"

** It is fortunate for you, ** Rayek sends coldly to Brindle, ** that I find 
  this to be a bluff worth little attention. If you prove otherwise to me, your 
  entire tribe will regret it. **

Kerial smiles, "Ok, thanks. Ray...what did you think would happen when you 
  stole the Palace from the people who died to get it? Thought we would shrug 
  our shoulders and roll over? We are Gobacks, and that mean...you rather dull 
  sunfolk, that we want the Palace.

Brindle grimaces, the send cutting into her head.

Ember straightens slightly. "We all shed blood to regain the Palace, Kerial."

Brindle locksends ** We will do it. **
Brindle turns to smirk at Ember.

Rayek abruptly and harshly laughs, as the point of this entire visit is brought 
  out, and turns to float away.

Kerial says "We shed GENERATIONS of blood!"

You locksend ** <impassively, simply> Then you will regret it. ** to Brindle.

Brindle sets her jaw, hating all this stupid sending.

Ember, softly, says, "And the Wolfriders shed a part of their souls, Kerial. We 
  did not know 'war' as you knew it until then."

Suntop shakes his head. "The Palace belongs to everyone.. not one group in 
  particular."

Brindle locksends ** So will he. **

Kerial fehs! "We live with war everyday. And you suffered cause you felt it a 
  -little-?"

Rayek, with an expression that clearly broadcasts his disgust with this petty 
  arguing, floats back up the stairs.

Suntop looks up at Rayek again, curiously

Ember nods to Suntop, then adds, "We're all one blood, one heritage." She 
  sighs. "Which is so easily forgotten."

You make your way up the long, winding stairwell.
Second Level
You have come up the stairs into a wide, mostly featureless corridor; here, as 
  have been in most of the other twists and turns of this place, the walls 
  around you are faintly opalescent and the air around you subliminally tingles.
At one end of the corridor you can see the stairs that wind back down into the 
  lower level of this place; at the opposite end, a tall doorway that glimmers 
  golden in the faint light.
Obvious exits:
Scroll Chamber  Winding Stairway  

Petalwing> Brindle turns coldly on the wolfriders, "How many of you died in the 
  palace war?"

Suntop locksends ** I felt those sends.. but I do not know the voice.. Rayek: 
  Who ELSE is here in the Palace? **

Petalwing> Brindle trots after him.
Petalwing> Brindle makes her way up the long staircase.
Petalwing> Brindle has left.
Brindle comes up the stairwell from below.
Brindle has arrived.

Petalwing> Ember says "One."
Petalwing> Ember closes her eyes, then opens them and looks at Suntop.

Brindle follows, climbing more slowly.

Petalwing> Petalwing peers worriedly out after sharpdark highthing, and pouts 
  anxiously. It doesn't like this! Are the highthings going to hurt moverock 
  oldhighthing?

Petalwing> Suntop shakes his head slowly, as he notices Brindle go up the 
  stairs after Rayek. he turns to Ember. "We'd better follow..to make sure that 
  she doesn't do something stupid."

Petalwing> The whole air seems to imply, Probably.

Petalwing> Ember shrugs, and follows after, nodding.

You locksend ** <in a edged tone> She is Tilia. Ask your mother of her someday. 
  ** to Suntop.

Petalwing> Ember makes her way up the long staircase.
Petalwing> Ember has left.
Ember comes up the stairwell from below.
Ember has arrived.

Brindle locksends ** <picture of Ekuar's three-fingered hand, and Notooth's 
  grinning face> **

Petalwing comes up the stairwell from below.
Petalwing has arrived.

Suntop comes up the stairwell from below.
Suntop has arrived.

Rayek, if he knows Brindle is following him, blatantly ignores her.

Brindle follows, not aggressively in the slightest, but very persistant.

Kerial comes up the stairwell from below.
Kerial has arrived.

You step through the tall doorway, and into the...
Scroll Chamber
Like many of the other chambers in the Palace, this room's walls are mostly 
  bare, but oddly glimmering in hue. And in this room, more than many others, 
  is a feeling of *presence*, of insubstantial eyes watching any occupants of 
  the chamber. The one feature of this room is a large, ornate stand upon which 
  rest two intricately carved stone objects... and before these, a chair, on 
  which rests a wrapstuffed elf-sized form.
Contents:
Tilia
Scroll of Colors
Obvious exits:
Out  

Petalwing> Ember says "Brindle, chasing him's not going to do any good."

Petalwing> Petalwing blinks, as the doors to the scroll chamber begin to slide 
  closed.

Petalwing> Ember points. "Petalwing, open it please?"

Petalwing> Brindle enters the chamber of the Scroll of Colors.
Petalwing> Brindle has left.
Brindle arrives from the corridor outside.
Brindle has arrived.

Petalwing> Suntop follows in, after Ember, noticing the doors shutting.. he 
  arches an eyebrow. "He went in there, hm?"

Brindle dives in before the door is fully closed.

Petalwing> Ember groans and darts down the hall, nodding.

Petalwing> The doors close with a clang... and a flare of tingling in Suntop's 
  magic feeling as they are clearly being closed with Rayek's power.

Brindle picks herself up off the ground.
Brindle straightens out her clothes from the leap that got her in the door.

Rayek floats poised before the doors as Brindle dives in, and scowls at her....

Brindle picks her spear up off the ground.

Petalwing> Ember slams a fist against the door as it shuts just in front of 
  her. "Puckernuts!"

Brindle stands there easily, not forcing the issue physically.

Petalwing> Suntop sighs softly.. "He's insistent about being left alone, isn't 
  he."

Brindle examines the wrapstuff, frowning slightly.

Rayek, as the doors clang shut, straightens and narrow-eyedly regards Brindle. 
  Clearly unintimidated, he says dryly, "Do you have a point?"

Petalwing> The comment was not meant to be a question, obviously.

Petalwing> Kerial almost made it in, too.

Petalwing> Ember pounds on the door. "Rayek, you arrogant air-walker, let us 
  in!"

Brindle smirks, gesturing to her spear and knife, "Got two. If Kerial had made 
  it in here with her tongue, there'd be three."

Petalwing> Ember turns and slides down the door, sitting, feeling better now 
  that she's made a bit of a fuss.

Petalwing> Petalwing peeps plaintively, /Sharpdark highthing in glimmerroom 
  almost all-time. No talk to Petalwing. Talk to no-body highthing./

Petalwing> Suntop shakes his head. ** He won't listen, I think. ** He goes to 
  sit beside the door. ** There may be a better way to get through to him. **

Petalwing> Ember says "What was he -eating-, Petalwing?"

Brindle says this with amusement, really not wanting any argument. "Look, we 
  only want what's ours."
Brindle sounds completely reasonable.

Petalwing> Petalwing's wings droop again. /Petalwing wrap fursoftthings for 
  sharpdark highthing, sometimes.... /

Rayek half-grins, turning away from you. "This is not it."

Brindle arches her brows. "You did not shed blood for it."

Petalwing> Ember says "Aww, bug, it's not your fault if he didn't eat 'em."

Brindle says flatly, "Even your suggestive rockshaping friend left a few limbs 
  in the troll tunnels."

Petalwing> Suntop goes into a trance, unnoticed by all.,..

Brindle says "We Gobacks have all sacrificed something for this."

Astral Body has arrived.

Rayek does not answer you, landing on the floor near the Scroll of Colors, his 
  lean brown body beginning to shimmer with concentration.

Brindle has no clue what he's doing, but doesn't like it.
Brindle locksends ** You can't ignore me, because you know I'm right. If it 
  takes hurting the rockshaper to get to you, you -know- we will. **

Petalwing> Petalwing says anxiously, /Sharpdark highthing no go stillquiet! 
  Sharpdark highthing no eat! Is all-time make bright-sparkles in hideyroom.../

Petalwing> Kerial shrugs, "He'll have to come out sometime."

Brindle walks up, and shoves a hand at him, to get his attention.

Petalwing> Ember says "Sharpdark highthing is a little crazy, Petalwing."

Rayek's mouth tightens, but other than that, he gives no sign that he cares the 
  slightest bit for Brindle's presence. The shimmer of power around him 
  builds... and Brindle's hand stops a few inches away from him as it touches 
  an invisible shield.

Petalwing> Ember sighs. "You did a good job taking care of him, though."

Brindle scowls, "Have you forgotten every other elf but yourself?"

Petalwing> Suntop
Petalwing> A slender elf stands before you, seeming to be interested in 
  everything around him. The first thing that you would probably notice about 
  him is that his hair is a brilliant yellow-blond, thus giving him the name of 
  Suntop. He has blue eyes which, when are focused on you, seem to convey the 
  feeling of a powerful mind. There is nothing that is particularly threatening 
  about him, however. He wears a tunic made of a red and yellow silk-like 
  material which appears greenish in tint, when the sun reflects off it. His 
  leggings are suitable for travel or lounging, and are robin-egg blue in 
  color. On his feet are a pair of moccasins which are well worn from moving 
  back and forth between Lostholt and Sorrow's End. Over his shoulder is the 
  pack, which he uses to carry his few belongings and necessary items for 
  travel.

Petalwing> Ember tilts her head towards Suntop. "How l ... " She blinks. 
  "Suntop?"

Brindle pounds her palm against the shield.

Petalwing> Petalwing blinkblinkblinks at Suntop, flits to him, and waves its 
  tiny hand in front of his face.

Petalwing> Suntop is still, his eyes blank, head bowed to his chest, 
  comfortably..and you get no response to saying his name.

Brindle wonders if she could reach around the shield and shake it and him 
  together.
Brindle scowls.

Petalwing> Ember blinks again. "He's 'gone out'." She looks at the door to the 
  scroll room. "I wonder if he's talking to Rayek."

The large stone door begins to shimmer.

Rayek sends, but to no one in this room... reaching for Tilia's presence, he 
  strives to lock-send to her. If her people have come looking for him, he is 
  with less time than he had thought--and he must settle this argument with 
  her, now....

Petalwing> Petalwing eep?
Petalwing> Petalwing ooooh! /Hideydoor all sparklebright!/ Confusedly, it flies 
  up to look at the door.

Petalwing> Ember squints at the door.

A presence is felt in the room as Brindle struggles with Rayek's shield...** 
  Rayek.. What ARE you doing? **

Brindle pauses, startled, "Her people...?"

Rayek frowns into the air. ** I need you on this, Tilia. You know it. We cannot 
  save our kind unless we work together! **

Brindle looks over at the bound elf.
Brindle looks too shocked to immediately respond.

In the corner of the room, a soft shimmering can be seen, as Suntop's body, in 
  a seated position can be seen forming..observing..shaking his head at 
  brindle's actions.

Brindle's face twists into a deep scowl, "This isn't my place! Kahvi's supposed 
  to know how to deal with all this troll-poking magic1'

Petalwing> Ember keeps looking at the door. "Well, open," she says to it.

Petalwing> Suntop literally does not move.. his body seems almost rigid..fixed 
  into it's position.

Rayek's gaze sharpens, as he continues to address the air around him, 
  still lock-sending:. ** The past failed--I will grant you that! We must try 
  the future. **

Petalwing> Kerial shrugs.

Brindle grips her spear and wants something solid she can deal with!

The door starts to move, it may seem, little by little caving in.

Brindle looks over to the door, at the various shimmerings, and the bound body.

Rayek suddenly whirls, and eyes the door, then sends openly and angrily, ** 
  Tilia, hear me! These will not understand! **

Brindle shouts, "We're not a -these-, we're a we!"

The form fades quickly, disappearing without a trace...
Astral Body has left.

Petalwing> Petalwing stares in undisgused amazement at the doorway--it's never 
  done _that_ before...!

Petalwing> Ember watches the door a little nervously, herself.

Petalwing> Suntop comes to, with a GASP... and he stands up quickly, like a 
  bolt, looking to the door.. "What is this 'Tilia' doing?!"

The motion in the wall suddenly stops.

Petalwing> Ember, from her seat on the floor, says, "Collapsing the door?"
Petalwing> Ember says "Or not."

Petalwing> Suntop pokes at the door curiously.

Suntop locksends ** What or WHO is this Tilia?? And why is she shaping the door 
  to the chamber, Rayek? **

Brindle nervously picks at the clotted blood on her hand, completely at a loss 
  for what to do.

Rayek flashes a disgusted glance to Brindle, and does not even bother to send 
  to her to order her to leave the room. Turning slightly so that he faces the 
  wrapstuffed figure--perhaps this will focus him better, to reach Tilia--he 
  sends again, for the slightest sign that Tilia is registering his attempt to 
  communicate.

You locksend to Suntop, Rayek's mind is heavily focused, directed elsewhere... 
  at Tilia? He is angry, and the magic threaded through his thoughts fairly 
  blazes in your senses.

Petalwing> Suntop gasps softly, as his magic feeling makes him shiver visibly.

Brindle blinks and backs away.

Rayek sends, forcefully, intently. Curse it, she _will_ listen...

Brindle says "What are you doing...?"

The entire room begins to shudder from top to bottom, the glow of everything 
  flaring brighter.

Brindle mutters, quite overwhelmed by all this.

Rayek narrows his eyes, floating up in startlement as the room begins to shake. 
  ** _Tilia_! Listen to me, curse it! **

Brindle makes a grab for Rayek, shield and all, "Curse it! What are you doing?"

Rayek is taken enough off guard that his magic wavers, and he is knocked 
  slightly off-balance. He flashes an angry gaze around, and promptly attempts 
  to throw Brindle away from him, with his own power.

Brindle oofs and slams against the wall.
Brindle picks herself up. o O ( ####### ! )

Petalwing> Kahvi comes up the stairwell from below.
Petalwing> Kahvi has arrived.

The whole Palace seems to be shaking... then it stops.

Petalwing> Kahvi kicks at the door uselessly, like it matters....

Rayek stands before the wrapstuffed figure now, and when the Palace finally 
  settles, he throws out in sending: ** Tilia, we are rapidly losing time! **

Petalwing> Petalwing frantically flits about as the homeplace shakes, and backs 
  up in the air as the Go-Back chieftess storms up the stairs into view.

Petalwing> Kahvi looks at the preserver. "Hey, bug! You got in there before! 
  Can you get in there again?"

Petalwing> Petalwing anxiously shoots its gaze from face to face, and nods 
  hesitantly. /Stop no-body highthing from making homeplace rattleshake?/

Brindle advances on Rayek, anger overwhelming what little common sense she ever 
  had.

Kahvi locksends ** Your end is soon, magic spewing dung-colored troll! **

Petalwing> Kahvi holds her breath in disbelief, and blurts out... "YES!"

Rayek starts as a sending lances to his mind.... and then realizes something, 
  and his eyes widen. What _is_ Tilia doing...?!

Brindle pauses, uncertain.

Petalwing> Suntop nods.. "We need to get in there.. Petalwing.. Do!"

Petalwing> Petalwing gulps and flits up to the top of the doorway, darting into 
  the little preserver-sized doorway.

Brindle's gaze falls on the figure of the poor, bound Goback, and her anger 
  rekindles.

Petalwing> Abruptly, the door swings open... and Petalwing darts through.

Petalwing arrives from the corridor outside.
Petalwing has arrived.

Brindle curses, "You may be able to keep me away from you, but your prisoner 
  will at least be freed."
Brindle pulls her knife and starts cutting Tilia out of the wrapstuff.

Suntop arrives from the corridor outside.
Suntop has arrived.

Rayek blinks, and whirls on Brindle. ** Are you _mad_? You'll kill us all! **

Suntop races in, following Petalwing..

Brindle says "You magic-spouting trollbait!"
Brindle keeps slicing at the wrapstuff.

Rayek throws himself at Brindle bodily and magically, as the knife cuts the 
  cocoon...

Kahvi arrives from the corridor outside.
Kahvi has arrived.

Brindle kicks back at him, intent on cutting open the cocoon.

Rayek slams into Brindle, making her knife catch in the wrapstuff even more 
  tightly before he knocks her down...

Suntop looks in bewilderment as he notices Brindle trying to cut the cocoon..he 
  sends rather strongly, ** STOP!! **

Brindle whuffs, but is used to combat and has no intention of letting Rayek or 
  the other brownskin get to her.

Kahvi sees Brindle get knocked down and charges in, bringing whatever army can 
  get through.

The room tilts dangerously before righting again.

Brindle recoils at the send, but continues slicing the sticky strands.

Kahvi oofs and trips with the swaying of the floor.
Along with the rest of the Go-Backs.

Suntop races over to the cocoon, avoiding Rayek and Brindle as they struggle.. 
  he grabs the knife, and pulls it out quickly, calling to Petalwing: 
  "Petalwing!! Make wrapstuff!"

Rayek rolls on the tilting floor, and sends frantically to Brindle, ** You 
  fool, you'll kill her! **

A little blood starts seeping from where the knife bit into the cocoon.

Kahvi gets up and charges at Rayek.

Brindle grips her knife more tightly, and shakes at all of them, "Let me -go-! 
  Let -her- go!"

Petalwing eeps, and looks from face to face. Who does findmagic highthing want 
  it to wrap? It then hastily flits to Tilia's silent form, shrilling, 
  /Noooooo! No hurt wrapstuff!/

Suntop glares at Brindle, as he grapples at the knife.

Rayek oofs as Kahvi slams into him, and glares at her hotly, as if finally 
  registering her presence.

Brindle shakes her head at the yellow-haired brownskin, "NO Goback should be a 
  prisoner!"
Brindle keeps slicing at the web.

Petalwing dashes in, desperately trying to close the slices Brindle makes.

Brindle tears at it with her knife in one hand, the nails of the other.

Kahvi bares her teeth and rams him into the wall, threatening with her 
  troll-made sword.

Brindle sends openly ** I'll get you out! I won't fail in that, at least! **
Brindle yiiiiiiis!

Rayek, struck breathless by the impact, is momentarily stunned....

Brindle holds her head with one hand, other gripping the cocoon.

Suntop swipes at Brindle, as he struggles to keep the blood from flowing 
  anymore.. from the knife cutting any deeper into the one in the coccoon.

The room tilts again, further, tilting back like a elf lost of balance in the 
  midst of a storm. Balance is thrown this way and that, teetering.

Petalwing spits wrapstuff at top speed! /No cut cocoon! Is bad for no-body 
  highthing!/

Kahvi grins a very mirthless grin. "Now, Black-Hair, I don't know what she's 
  doing, and frankly, I don't care."

Brindle drops the knife, and, ignoring the pain as much as possible, claws at 
  the web with her fingernails.

Kahvi oofs again, losing her balance.

Suntop gasps, and frantically LEAPS at Brindle..

Rayek looks up wide-eyedly, and snarls to Kahvi, "Don't you _realize_? 
  Brindle'll kill her! _And us_! We fly!"

Kahvi grabs Rayek's arm. "Realize what? You know what we want!"

Brindle sends openly ** <weakly> No elf should be bound... **
Brindle claws at the wrapstuff frantically.

Rayek goes flying, but his body glimmers as he lessens his speed just in time. 
  Kahvi is hurtled into him, but he tries to shove her aside as quickly as he 
  can with his magic.

Suntop gets onto Brindle's back, trying to pull her awya with his weight

Brindle looks apologetic as she whacks at him with a backhand.
Brindle rolls with him and wants to hurt him just enough to leave her alone.

Under the white, sticky strands, the dark of leather can be seen, in another 
  bleeding flesh.

Suntop flies backwards, hitting the wall, with a loud: "OOF" and shakes his 
  head.. ** I.. I don't want to do this... **

The Scroll of Colors' two halves tilt slightly on their stands, their heavy 
  weights not liable to move far. The single chair in the room seems sturdily 
  rooted, though the wrapstuffed form there sways as the Palace tilts.

Kahvi charges again, this time backed up by 5 Gobacks with knives and spears.

Brindle takes the wrapstuffed form and gently cradles it as she rips. "I'll get 
  you free..."

Suntop sends openly ** <<* STOP ALL OF THIS NOW!! *>> <sent with more force 
  than even Winnowill could muster..> **

Rayek is quickly overcome; he cannot keep off all the elves at once, though he 
  does his level best. He swings an angry--and suddenly oddly glittering--stare 
  at more than one Go-Back face, sending Kahvi's warriors into abrupt stunned 
  immobility.

Brindle falls over the form, clutching it like a cradled fawn.

The gobacks wince from the force of the sending.

Petalwing eeps as Brindle's falling body squishes it against Tilia.

Brindle weeps from the pain in her head, gently tugging at the wrapstuff with 
  her fingers.

Suntop looks around, frantically.. ** <<* WE FLY..AND IF YOU CUT HER WRAPSTUFF, 
  WE WILL FALL! I _FEEL_ IT AS BEING TRUE! *>>

Petalwing muffledly pleads with Brindle to get off! /Poor Petalwing! Poor 
  Petalwing! No squish!/

The very room echos the send only with a whispered undertone, "Breathing."

Kahvi angrily charges Rayek into the wall and covers his eyes. "Do that again, 
  black-hair, and I cut your throat!"

Brindle leans up slightly, letting the bug free and listening, tears streaming 
  down her face.
Brindle says "Yes, breathing..."

Voiceless, yet the warmth of emotion, the feeling falling into a kind of ... 
  send. ** Waking. **

Brindle cradles the form.
Brindle says "Yes."

Rayek, slammed into the wall and pinned on each arm by two of Kahvi's brawniest 
  warriors, sends as he gasps for breath, ** _Wrap her_, curse you! **

Brindle tears at the wrapstuff with shaking hands.

Kahvi looks to Brindle. "What goes on there, Black-hair?"

Brindle weeps as she pulls the cocoon off, "No more being a prisoner..."

Petalwing nooooooooooos! And tries to spit wrapstuff at the naughtybad 
  highthing who wants to tear the wrapstuff!

Rayek cries, ** Her spirit is in the Palace! Not in her body! If she is 
  released, it will kill Tilia! **

Brindle waves one hand at the bug, using the other to disengage more of the 
  threads.
Brindle says "She's not your prisoner, curse you!"

Kahvi says "Suntop, is this true?"

The teetering stops, for a moment, before being replaced by a sensation that 
  cannot be explained until it is felt, weight simply ... disappears.

Brindle says tenderly as she cuts open more of the webbing. "Just a little more 
  now... and you'll be free."

Kahvi yeeps as she and the other warriors rise up into the air, and surprisedly 
  let go of Rayek.

Brindle clutches at the bundle as she leaves the ground.
Brindle says "Whaaa?"

The bundle, too, leaves the chair, only it's screaming as it does.

Tilia says "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Rayek squirms as the two Go-Backs pinning him exchange frightened glances; but 
  then, he is no longer held. And immediately, he begins to glow, floating 
  under his own power....

Suntop moves to race at Brindle, only to be lifted into the air!

Kahvi says "Set this right, you magic spouting --!! Both of you!"

Suntop locksends ** I can't stop her. I cannot get to her! **

Kahvi says this to Suntop, too.

Petalwing hastily tries to cover the wrapstuff tears, but it, too, is floating. 
  Its wings flit desperately as it tries to keep its place.

Brindle clings to the bundle, cradling it and using it for security.

Suntop looks over to Kahvi, frantic, then he turns to Brindle, and seems to 
  steel himself..

Kahvi hmphs and swims toward Brindle.

Brindle's eyes are wide!

Kahvi says "All right, Brindle! You listen to someone, and at least Suntop is 
  SANE."

Brindle says "Bug! Make wrapstuff!!!!!"

Suntop calls out desperately: "PETALWING!! Make wrapstuff!" As he points to the 
  bundle that Brindle and the cocoon now make..

Rayek arrows towards Brindle...

Brindle holds the bundled form close
Brindle cups her hand over the bleeding.

Petalwing is already spitting wrapstuff at a desperate rate, not caring now 
  whether it is getting Brindle as well as Tilia....

The army clings to any sort of support in the palace, some starting to panic.

Brindle gets webbed up with the other.

Kahvi says "Bug! What are you doing? Not my warrior!"

Suntop swims at the almost-wrapped form.. "Kahvi! LET it do its job..or we all 
  die!"

The room stops and falls black. Weight returns, and everyone becomes ... part 
  of the ... where is everything? Where is anything? Like having a troll land 
  on you, only the other way around, and the troll made out of stone.

Suntop hits the floor, in mid-send, rolling, and calling out in pain from the 
  jarring land! "OW!"

Brindle is three-quarters spooted upon, still cradling the fully wrapstuffed 
  form.

Kahvi grunts as she crashes. "Black-Hair! What's going on?"

Impact. The wall cracks... and Rayek goes flying, slamming hard into the wall.

Suntop goes rolling into a wall, with a solid *THUD*

The walls begin to shatter, and pieces of the ceiling begin to drop from the 
  collision. The doors into the chamber fly open with a thunderous _clang_.

Kahvi grunts and groans.

Ember (posed) flies into the room, thrown in by all the commotion of the 
  Palace.. ** What is going ON? ** as she flies through the air..and hits a 
  wall, also rather solidly..

Petalwing is solidly squished under a flying and terrified Go-Back.

[Near the Worldspine Mountains, near the desert that boarders it, the world 
  shakes. Preservers nearby begin to panic, loose sense of their surroundings 
  and of their playfulness, as they sense the sudden movement--and abrupt
  crash--of the Palace. Anyone in the desert just to the north, in Sorrow's
  End to the east, the Wolfhaven woodlands to the west, or the jungles of
  the Cat Elves to the south can see a massive explosion of light.... ]

All is dark and still. Black as a cave, dead as the same.

Petalwing whimpers terrifiedly into the silence. /Poor Petalwing! Poor 
  highthings!/

Time passes in the silence... with only the tiny plaintive pipings of the 
  Preserver as Petalwing tries to struggle out from under the Go-Back that has 
  it pinned. The Go-Back in question lies unconscious, blood streaking her hair.

Kahvi groans into the air. "Is everyone alive?"

Suntop slowly comes around to consciousness...groaning from pain.

One go-back calls out in the dark. "Teyk's dead."

The sounds of motion and clearing rubble are heared echoing throughout the 
  room. After a moment someone lifts up the lightly smouldering end of a torch.

Suntop starts to sit up, wincing at the pain.. "Owww..."

Rattlerattle.

Other gobacks call out other names that are dead.

Kahvi grumbles. "Suntop? Ember?"

After a moment or two, a soft groaning can be heard from somewhere near where 
  Rayek was buried.. Ember moans: "I'm here.."

Kahvi says "Brindle?"

Petalwing eefs, breathlessly. /Poor Petalwing! Poor Petalwing! All squashed!/

Suntop struggles, and sits up after a moment, vertigo making him be a bit 
  dizzy, due to a head-wound, from his fall and roll. "Ohh..where..where's 
  Rayek?" he asks, weakly.

Kahvi leans on one arm to get up and winces and falls again. "Fish guts. My 
  arm's broken!"

There is no answer from Rayek, and Petalwing peeps tinily, /Sharpdark 
  highthing?/

Someone else with an obviously shaking hand lights another torch.

Suntop gasps in pain as his left arm is jarred.."Ooohh.. my arm, too.."

Ember looks around, then sits up, herself, checking herself out for injuries.

Kahvi says "BRINDLE??"

The Scroll of Colors's two halves have gone scattered in two opposite 
  directions; one of the unmoving Go-Back warriors lies pinned between one part 
  of the artifact and the wall.

Brindle is soundly wrapstuffed.

Petalwing wriggles at last out from under the female warrior that had squashed 
  it; its wings are rumpled, and it awkwardly flits about, pleading, /Sharpdark 
  highthing?/

Kahvi stands up, legs trembling.

There is still no answer from Rayek. And, as the two torches cast flickering 
  circles of illumination in the blackness, there is no sign of the airwalker, 
  either.

Some of the other GoBacks try to stand. Some fall right back down, but others, 
  about five of them, are able.

Suntop looks around, squinting through the relative darkness. "Rayek?"

One of the gobacks gets ticked and shouts, "Will you stop blabbing that name? 
  He's a goner! Get it through your head!"

Petalwing wails pipingly, /No see sharpdark highthing!/ It flits from face to 
  face, and when none of them are Rayek, it crumples in visible disappointment.

Suntop puts a hand to his head...and concentrates, groaning at the effort..

Kahvi gropes around. "We have to get out of here, before the ceiling comes down 
  on us."

Petalwing screeches in protest, /Petalwing want find sharpdark highthing!/

Kahvi hehs. "*Before* you get 'allsquashed' again?"

Petalwing frantically flitflits, or tries to, as best it can with crinkled 
  wings. /Petalwing PROMISED! Would take good care of sharpdark highthing!/

Kahvi says "Who can stand?"

Kerial arrives from the corridor outside.
Kerial has arrived.
Kerial limps in, favoring one leg and looking around.

Two-Edge arrives from the corridor outside.
Two-Edge has arrived.

Kerial says "Ok...who's idiot idea was it to crash the Palace,...huh!?!"

Petalwing anxiously starts trying to move pebbles, determined to find sharpdark 
  highthing!

The two pools of torchlight move slowly as rubble is cleared.

Air blows in from outside the chamber; the doors to the room are ajar.

Petalwing makes tiny noises that sound like it is almost about to burst into 
  tears, if Preservers can actually do any such thing. It whimpers to itself, 
  /Promised would take care of highthing! Petalwing no break promise!/

Kahvi shakes her head.

Kerial looks around tiredly, "So now what? And where Brindle?"

Suntop locksends ** <faint, but growing in strength.. hazed by pain..but 
  steady> R...Ra..Raye..Rayek? Rayek? Can you hear me? **

You locksend ** <void> ** to Suntop.

Kerial kicks at the rubble with her good leg, "Lousy place just fell to pieces. 
  Not too impressive if you ask me."

Kahvi says "We have to leave. Now."

Suntop puts a hand to his head, as he groans again.. "Can't do that again.. 
  Rayek's not answering.. ow."

Petalwing squeals in impotent anger at Kerial. /Silly highthing! Is homeplace! 
  Naughtybad highthing cut wrapstuff, made no-body highthing crash homeplace!/ 
  Its tiny voice is strangely roughened.

Ember asks dryly, though pain edges her voice: "And how do you suggest we get 
  out? Some of us can't move..while others are unconscious..or worse!"

Two-Edge disappears through the doors, thinking it's not a good idea to be 
  around when the Gobacks decide to leave...

Kerial glances at Kahvi. "What?"

Two-Edge pauses and listens to Ember

Kerial looks over at the bug, and has a horrible idea she might have to talk to 
  it.

Kahvi says "They're worse... they're gone. If you can carry anyone, I suggest 
  you do it."

Petalwing anxiously resumes its frantic and extremely slow search, as all the 
  rubble it can move is those few bits small enough for Preserver hands to 
  grasp.

Kahvi says "And where's BRINDLE??"

Kerial rolls her eyes at Kahvi, "I asked that already."

Suntop looks over at Kahvi, then motions.. "She's been wrapped up..Because she 
  wouldn't listen.."

Kerial frowns, "Where is she?"

Motions with his right arm, towards the general area that he has last seen the 
  cocoon in.

Petalwing grumbles, /Naughtybad highthing in wrapstuff! Told naughtybad 
  highthing to not tear wrapstuff!/ Panting, it heaves another stone to its 
  side.

Kahvi looks toward the motions.
Kahvi walks there and grunts.

Suntop says "She insisted on tearing apart the wrapstuff, disturbing the one 
  within from guiding the Palace while it.. ow...flew..""

Kerial heads over there slowly, relieved she can leave the bug in peace.

Kahvi says "Okay to unwrap now?"

Petalwing jerks up its head and scolds angrily, /No touch wrapstuff!/

Suntop shakes his head. "I don't think so.. At least.. not until a healer gets 
  here.. no telling how much she is hurt by the bits of Palace that fell on us 
  all.."

Kahvi glares at the bug. "Well, how in $#@#$! are we getting Brindle out??"

Suntop slowly gets to his feet, groaning about how the room spins.

Ember says, "Go get a healer. THEN unwrap and heal.. Easily said, I know.. but 
  it CAN be done."

Kahvi says "Someone help me then. I can't carry both of them."

Kerial says "Carry who?"

Suntop nods to his sister's comment, once the dizziness passes. He favors his 
  right foot as he stumbles towards the pile where Petalwing is digging. "For 
  now, we need to try to dig everyone out from under this stuff.. Might still 
  be alive.."

Petalwing grrrs tinily, but is easily swept aside by those elves who lean in to 
  grab the two-in-one cocoon.
Petalwing is then promptly distracted by Suntop's comment. /Findmagic highthing 
  help look for sharpdark highthing?/

Suntop tries to nod, but finds it too painful a thing.. he mutters a "Yes.. 
  he's got to be under this somewhere.." as he drops to his knees, and begins 
  to pull at rubble and debris, tossing it here and there..

Another female warrior growls, "It's useless, all right? Dung, they're 
  helpless, and we're not, and we have to save our skins."

Ember turns, seeing her brother digging..and moves to help him.. "At least 
  someone is concerned about those who are in more need of immediate help.."

Kahvi puhs. "Need of healers?"

Petalwing awkwardly flitflits to Suntop's side. /Help find sharpdark highthing! 
  Please help find sharpdark highthing!/ It begs this of Ember as well, and 
  wrings its miniscule hands.

Some Gobacks leave alone, and some slowly pace out with unconscious elves on 
  their shoulders.

Kahvi stays behind for some reason.

Two-Edge ducks back out of the way, hiding as the elves pass.

Ember pauses, visibly, looking around, quickly..then turning back to her 
  digging..

Kerial scratches her head for a second, and decides to help out. Not that she's 
  all that interested in finding Rayek, but some gobacks might be buried.

Suntop begins to dig faster, trying to dig out anyone who is under the pile 
  where Rayek was buried..

A bit of rubble reveals a foot--but not Rayek's, as the heavy warboot can 
  attest. But there's rubble seemingly everywhere.

Suntop mutters: "HAS to be here.. somewhere.. eh?" he sees the feet..then digs 
  the rest of the body out.

Petalwing starts to perk up as Suntop begins to uncover the first body, but 
  wilts again as the limp form proves to be another Go-Back. /Poor fightsmuch 
  highthing,/ it says, but without much enthusiasm.

Kerial growls at the damn bug, and tries to figure out if the goback is dead or 
  not.

Kahvi shakes her head and hoists the wrapstuff up with the other Goback.

Two-Edge eyes the room, looking for loose rubble that hasn't *quite* fallen 
  yet...

Kahvi says "Kerial, are you coming?"

Ember looks up, then tugs at Suntop, saying, "C'mon.. We have to get out of 
  here.. he'll be all right.. we can come back and look later, if things calm 
  down in here!"

Petalwing wails! /Nooooooo!/

Kahvi trudges across the floor, grumbling to the other goback about letting the 
  dead be.

Two-Edge picks up a piece of the loose rubble, and hefts it, finding a spot 
  that suits his purpose

Kerial says "Are all the gobacks accounted for?"

Kahvi sighs. "I guess you can check. Five left with three unconscious... six 
  are dead."

Kerial says "It would be a lousy death if one of us is trapped under there..."

The rubble sails unseen in the darkness, hitting a loose part of the room and 
  causing it to collapse.

Kahvi rolls her eyes. "And I suppose you would like to bring them back?"

The other Goback yipes and jumps back, dropping the bundle.

Kahvi falls backward under the load.

Kerial says "No...I -mean- it would be a lousy death if someone died under 
  there cause we ignored them."

Ember YANKS Suntop away from the rubble, calling out loud: "C'mon, brother.. 
  move your TAIL!"

Suntop oofs as he is yanked away from the pile rather forcefully..stumbling 
  towards the doorway, due to Ember's determined grip.

Kahvi gets the bundle up again with the other Goback and trudges out more 
  quickly.

Two-Edge tosses another piece of the rubble, causeing another noisy collapse

Petalwing wails in fright, /Nooooooooo!/

Suntop is yanked out the door, by Ember... and disappears down the corridor, 
  protesting that he has to find Rayek
Suntop has left.

Kahvi quickens her pace out.
Kahvi has left.

Kerial takes another glance over her shoulder at the rubble, picks up a few 
  shards as reminders, and heads out.

Brindle has left.

Kerial has left.

Two-Edge creeps around the edge of the room, watching for any elves...

Petalwing shrieks tinily, /Noooooo! Come back! Help find sharpdark highthing!/

Two-Edge moves to the pile of rubble, ignoring the Preserver, and lifts a rock 
  out of the way. A large one.

Petalwing eeps? A noise? It awkwardly flits in the direction of the sound.

Two-Edge hefts another rock out of the way, looking for the foolish brown 
  skinned elf.

Without the Go-Back's torches in the room, the chamber is once more black, 
  without even the barest vestige of eldritch glimmer in the ruined walls.

Two-Edge chuckles quietly, in many ways prefering to work without the flicking 
  lights, and keeps moveing rocks out of the way, digging into the pile.

With hands rather than eyes, an elf's form is eventually located, as the 
  half-elf's fingers brush against shredded leather.

Petalwing runs smack into Two-Edge's ankle and eeps!

Two-Edge frowns, and checks the body for warmth, then looks down, trying to 
  make out what it was that bumped into him.

Blood... warm streaks of blood on the side of the elf that's been partly 
  uncovered. And as Two-Edge turns, Petalwing pipes up boldly, /Highdigdig! 
  Nastybad highdigdig!/

Two-Edge says "Save it for him, little webspitter. None of the rocks in this 
  place glitter."
Two-Edge hefts the last of the stones off of the body

Petalwing squints warily through the blackness, and pipes, /Sharpdark 
  highthing?/

In the deep silence in the room, once Two-Edge tosses the last of the rubble 
  away, the faintest of rattling breaths cna be heard.

Two-Edge listens. "You tell me, little one. But if it is, he's just about 
  done..."

Petalwing flits anxiously down to the source of the rattling gasp, and feels 
  all over the form that lies there. /Sharpdark highthing?/ it pipes, and is 
  answered by a hoarse moan.
Petalwing squeaks in dismay as its small fingers touch sticky dampness on 
  Rayek's skin, and promptly starts spitting wrapstuff.

Two-Edge listens, and thinks for a few moments, while the Preserver wraps...

Petalwing mutters to itself, /Promised would take good care of sharpdark 
  highthing...! Petalwing promised!/

Two-Edge says "That, little one, is a promise to keep. But while we wait, this 
  one must move while he sleeps."

Petalwing pouts as it finally finishes wrapping the limp form. /No take 
  sharpdark highthing!/
Petalwing perches defiantly atop Rayek's wrapped form, and peers, knowing the 
  naughtybad highdigdig is right up there somewhere. /Petalwing will take care 
  of sharpdark highthing!/

Two-Edge just picks up the body, bug and all, being careful to avoid getting 
  wrapstuffed.

Petalwing squeaks again, and clings to the cocoon, shrilling its protest all 
  the way.

Two-Edge grumbles to himself at the noise, but figures it's about the least of 
  his concerns at the moment.

Petalwing tugtugs urgently at Two-Edge's hair and demands, /Naughtybad 
  highdigdig better not hurt sharpdark highthing! Petalwing be much vexed! Fill 
  nose with much wrapstuff!/

Two-Edge snorts. "Chatter, chatter, what a noise. He's not going to see any of 
  my toys."

Petalwing finally quiets down, and if Two-Edge displays no overt hostility, it 
  clings stubbornly to the cocoon.

----------
And with that, Two-Edge sneaks out of the crashed Palace--which has come
  down hard in the pass through the World's Spine Mountains. Avoiding the
  party of wounded Go-Backs and Ember and Suntop, the half-elf, half-troll
  heads quickly into his network of underground tunnels... heading towards
  Sorrow's End and magnanimously allowing the Preserver to continue
  guarding the cocoon containing the injured Rayek. Where might he leave
  him? He knows of a cave... and they might retrieve him, if the
  sun-elves are brave....

[End log.]