Log Date: 11/5/95 Log Intro: At the Festival of Flood and Flower, Rillwhisper, chieftess of the Willowholt, has been having to deal with several rounds of unexpected strife for her tribe. Chief among these has been the news that Jasmael's Glider lifemate, Gerren, has awakened from his trance in Blue Mountain -- and furthermore, that the Glider Sar, whom Jasmael blames for her inadvertant departure _and_ the death of her infant child, is present at the Festival. Upon receiving a desperate sending from Jasmael -- ** Not him, oh, please, not him! ** -- and shortly thereafter seeing suspicious tendrils of smoke from the edge of the village, where a hapless tree has yielded to Jasmael's angry outpouring of magic as Woodhawk's daughter struggles to keep Savah's peace edict -- Rillwhisper goes to investigate.... ---------- Rillwhisper comes striding into view, eyes narrowed slightly as she looks around. Dancing Square A wide paved square surrounded by brightly colored pavilions and canopied platforms. Gaily colored banners and paper lanterns hang from poles at the corners in the bright afternoon sun. Warm spring winds dip to ground level from time to time. In the mellow spring afternoon there are still elves found working in the fields, while others gather near the well or forge to chat. Soft laughter is heard from a hut. FESTIVAL: The Festival is an occation for fun and celebration, and should progress peacefully. Fighting and similar angstful activites are not permitted, please respect this. Contents: Sun-Toucher Zalen Dawn Gelnah Sar Trollkiller Tylek Starstreak WolfFlame Rhentagoth Cutter large wooden cask Kissing Booth Gambling Pavilion Balancing Game Tables Shimmer(#7746Jeops) Drum Obvious exits: Garden Canopy Savah's House Boundary Path Crossroads Sun-Toucher sits down slowly, smiling at the blissful chatter of the Festival. Tylek looks at you closely for a moment. Zalen hugs Dawn back worriedly. Rhentagoth starts to lead Stars to the north away from everyone else. Gelnah fingers a long lock of her pale gold hair, glancing at the newcomer Strongbow arrives from the south boundary path. Strongbow has arrived. You locksend ** Beloved...what's happening? I just got a sending. ** to Trollkiller. Starstreak walks off with Rhentagoth, holding his hand as she's lead away. Rhentagoth goes north. Rhentagoth has left. Strongbow stays back by the edge of the square, glowering silently. Rillwhisper, expression carefully neutral, goes to Trollkiller's side. Starstreak goes north. Starstreak has left. Zalen moves slightly to Dawn's side, eyeing the others, finally noticing a few choice gliders eyeing him. You sense in a locksend, Trollkiller isn't sure. ** Sar arrived. Jasmael says he killed her daughter. Cutter says there's all sorts of badness between Sar and Cutter's holt. Lots of people got very upset when Sar got here, and Sar is... well, like a lot of gilders are. ** Sar leans lightly against one of the poles, shadowed by a canopy as he takes a bite from a fruit. Rillwhisper nods briefly to Trollkiller. Then turns, green eyes surveying Sar. Dawn tugs lightly at Zalen. You locksend ** Glider, I would like a private word with you. Outside the Festival. ** to Sar. You locksend to Sar, Rillwhisper adds, sending neutrally polite, ** At your leisure. ** Dawn goes south. Dawn has left. Trollkiller catches himself panting and drinks more water. Sar looks at you closely for a moment. Ember emerges from the shelter of the canopy. Ember has arrived. Sun-Toucher bites into a fruit, leaning on his staff as he listens to the sounds of the elves about him. Sar flicks the last of his fruit away, regarding Rillwhisper. "I have no quarrel with you, wolfrider." Rillwhisper says aloud, voice quite cordial, "Did I send anything about a quarrel?" Sun-Toucher's brows knit into a slight frown, his blind head turning towards the sounds of the voices, at the word quarrel. You multipage, to Strongbow, Trollkiller: Rillwhisper, perhaps only to your two sets of eyes, can be seen to have a very slight tenseness to her thin frame. Sar walks smoothly away from the canopy. "Then we are agreed." He looks to Ember. Ember's eyes meet Sar's, quietly. Cutter's posture shifts one more degree toward unpleasantly tense. Strongbow sidles over to Trollkiller and Rillwhisper without any comment, gaze flickering to the wolfish one for a moment before refreezing on Sar. Rillwhisper adds in Sar's direction, "I am not in a hurry. But at your leisure, I would like a private word with you. I shall await you outside the village." Sun-Toucher's long, supple brown fingers tap the head of his staff as he fa frown creases his aged face, listening quietly to the conersation. Rillwhisper, with that, turns and slips northward. [Rillwhisper returns to the outskirts of the village, where many of the Festival visitors have camped. There, she rejoins Woodhawk, who has grimly requested to stand with her when she speaks with the one his daughter claims killed her cub....] You wander down a winding path, towards the gate out of Sorrow's End. Hills near Sorrow's End The foothills are tumbled masses of cave riddled sandstone worn into unusual shapes by the wind. Sunlight reflects back from every direction and the only shade is close by the rocks. Odd cactus plants shaped like ranks of men with upraised arms stand near the verge of the desert, and smaller cactus shows wicked thorns to all who draw near. The NW Trail leads towards Blue Mountain, across the desert. N across the Northern Desert lies the Tunnel of Golden Light and the heart land of the Trolls. Hidden to all but elves, the village of the Sun Folk is to the South, in a sheltered canyon among the sere hills of the World's Spine Mountains. Contents: Talon Wandering Camp(#10277JLe) Willowholt Camp(#6874AJe) Obvious exits: Barren Desert Desert Trail You arrive at the desert's edge, the 'Gate' to and from the village of Sorrow's End and the territory of the elf-kin known as the Sun Folk. Woodhawk makes his way out of the Willowholt Camp. Woodhawk has arrived. Trollkiller locksends, to Strongbow, Rillwhisper: ** That's bad. Should we come? ** You locksend, to Strongbow, Trollkiller: Rillwhisper pauses, then sends back to both of you, ** I... would appreciate if you both are near, but be discreet. I do not want a fight if I can help it. ** Rillwhisper tribesends ** I am going to have a word with this Sar, outside the village's boundaries. _No one_, repeat, _no one_, confronts him inside the village. Woodhawk and I will be near the camp. ** Sar arrives from the winding path from Sorrow's End. Sar has arrived. Ember arrives from the winding path from Sorrow's End. Ember has arrived. Sar looks at you closely for a moment. Woodhawk> Sar looks at you closely for a moment. Rillwhisper, off a short distance away in the shaded rocks where a rough campsite can be seen, glances over at the arrival of Ember and the tall Glider. Beside her, Woodhawk stands, and he straightens, alertly. Ember releases Sar's hand, standing back a few feet. ** May I be here, chieftess? ** Sar approaches from the village, with Ember. He walks up to the two wolfriders, stopping and regarding them with a slightly cool gaze. Rillwhisper turns, and approaches. She is unarmed, as is the hunter behind her, but both their eyes are grave. "Thank you," she says, including both new arrivals in this. And to Ember, she quirks an eyebrow; briefly, she glances back to Woodhawk, who nods. Then she says to Cutter's daughter, "Aye. I'll try to keep this short." Rillwhisper looks up at Sar and addresses him, "I don't have a quarrel with you, but my lifemate's cub does. I'd like your side of it." Trollkiller locksends, to Strongbow, Rillwhisper: ** Are you and Sar together? Where? ** You locksend, to Strongbow, Trollkiller: ** He is here. As is Ember. We're near our camp. ** Sar glances sidewise at Ember, frowning faintly. Then he folds his arms over his chest. ** I gather I am being held responsible for the death of a child of your tribe. ** The latter directed at Rillwhisper. You sense in a locksend to Strongbow, Rillwhisper: Trollkiller is at "Winding Path," in (theoretical) visual range of "Leave Sorrow's End," where Rill and Sar and Ember are. Strongbow is a few spots behind, "in srange of send or scream." ** Rillwhisper unruffledly switches to sending, not batting an eye; her face remains upturned to the much taller elf, as she answers, ** I'm not holding you responsible for anything, yet, until I hear both sides of the story. But Jasmael does make that claim. She also claims you smuggled her out of Blue Mountain, against her will, and delivered her into the hands of a dangerous and possibly mad elf. I presume you claim otherwise? ** Sar looks down at Rillwhisper calmly. ** I do. ** Woodhawk watches Sar over Rillwhisper's shoulder. He doesn't speak or send, but his expression is grim, and his eyes glitter golden. Rillwhisper requests, ** I'd like your side of it, then, before I decide what to do about this. ** Sar shifts his stance slightly. ** There is nothing you can do. I owe no explanaitions to any outside the Mountain, nor will I be intimidated by them. But for the sake of those I do care for, I will tell you this. ** Rillwhisper almost, _almost_, grins, aware that she's probably not particularly intimidating to an elf over a foot taller than she is. She waits, though, patiently. Sar sends openly ** When last I saw the child you speak of, she was alive and well within Blue Mountain. And yes, I did deliver the one now known as Jasmael into the hands of another. I can make no judgement about his mental state then, or now. ** Rillwhisper glances at Woodhawk, who starts just a little, and makes a brief short 'be still' gesture at him. Looking then back up at Sar, she sends, ** When did you last see the child? ** Ember folds her arms around herself, listening silently. Sar looks thoughtful. ** Within the last season, or so. I do not particularly pay attention to her whereabouts. ** He turns his thoughtful on Woodhawk. Rillwhisper's eyes glitter at this, and she inclines her head. ** I've heard all I need to know, then. Thank you for your time. ** Woodhawk meets Sar's gaze steadily, remaining silent, as his chieftess bade. Ember's shoulders drop slightly, in relief, and she lets out a small sigh. Sar locksends ** The child does not belong in the Mountain. If you are her grandsire, I would suggest you bring her back to her own kind. ** Sar nods slightly to Rillwhisper, and turns back to Ember. You locksend ** We'll be thinking about just that. ** to Sar. Ember reaches out for Sar's hand again, silently. Rillwhisper, evidently satisfied, nods politely to both visiting elves, and then turns with Woodhawk back to the campsite. Willowholt Camp(#6874AJe) This is a small and rough-looking campsite, set up somewhere as out of the way as possible, and consisting of assorted piles of sleepfurs, a few tents, and a few Preservers and wolves that mill about and make sure unwelcome intruders do not venture into this sheltered area. Contents: Willowpaw Swiftrunner(#4777Qae) Sunruff(#39aes) You venture into the Willowholt camp. Woodhawk has arrived. Around the camp, Sar smiles faintly, and takes Embers hand once more, enfolding it within his larger one. You locksend, to Strongbow, Trollkiller: ** I... am done talking to him, now. I will have to think bout what he's said. 'Hawk and I are staying in the camp. ** Around the camp, Ember leaves the gateway headed south, towards the sheltered village of Sorrow's End. You sense in a locksend to Trollkiller, Rillwhisper: Strongbow sends wordless assent, and comfort. [End log.]