The orb of Miyandei breaks over the surface of the sea, reaching out with probing fingers of cherry red through the misty sandbars and swaying grasses of Bal'tem Bay. At once the morning creatures begin the day's performance. It begins with the raspy croak of the tunies (kind of like Terran mudskippers, but much more vocal) and is soon joined by a symphony of twitters, buzzes, whoops, and clicks uttered by the many insect and amphibian denizens of the marshy shores. Last to come is the weird, booming bark of the bumpha fish, which provides an eerie sort of rhythmic accompaniment until the sounds of technology and civilization begin to take over.
Even with the luxuries of antigrav projection and repulsorjets, there is still no replacing the common boat. Commercial fishermen, sport anglers, and pleasure boaters are plying the waters long before Miyandei clears the horizon, their various engine hums and rapids shaking the natural symphony but never quite disrupting it. Inland, the coastal town of Bal'tem is still mostly asleep, but just beyond it Mul'ein is already coming to life. Eerie sirens mark the changing of the shifts in the factories to the north and south. Those hardy souls that fill the unpleasant yet oh, so necessary roles of urban society go about their jobs with the efficiency of well-practiced routine, working hard to get the worst done before the commuter traffic starts to clog the streets.
Meanwhile, the various hills that rise like sentinels above the urban sprawl stand in marked contrast both to the world below and to each other. Among the rugged peaks of Danteir to the north the chimneys of industry wake from the quiet of the night, their growing steam adding to the mists washing in from the sea. In Düa, near the center of the city, the sharp, rhythmic chants of exercising sports teams echo among the walled fields of Yanda University. In Danstül' Park in Ekr'in street hawkers, artists, and buskers are already setting up for the day's toils as joggers thread around them. Atop Sa'Barj to the southeast, the three great palaces of the highest of the local high stand silent, their occupants no doubt sleeping off the excesses of the previous night (as usual). And on the crown of the sprawling bulk of Erweina there is the faint sound of chanting on the breeze as the priestesses lead the dawn devotions inside the open-doored Temple.
But then a new sound cuts the harmony. From within the temple complex there is the bang of a door being flung open violently followed by the pat-pat-pat of bare feet running on a brick walkway. This is accompanied by desperate moaning, as of asthmatic breathing, as a half-panicked figure dashes out of the clearing and into the safe confines of the temple forest. The pattering and raspy gasps continue until they draw near to the gurgling of the spring-fed bathing gardens. They don't stop there. There is another bang as the gate is knocked aside, the briefest of splattering sounds as the shower curtain is plowed through unheeded, and then a great splash as the running figure dives into the main pool.
There follows a few moments of silence. Then the sound of a youngish female Hergoth voice can be heard saying, "Um...it helps to take your robe off first..."
To which Dabid replies, "DON'T LET IT GET ME!!!"
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First what?
Sounds like someone else had "The Dream."
Most of the party was awake when the commotion happened, but most are so exhausted that they soon drift back into slumber. Those that don't eventually hear quiet voices in the hallway, and someone (or someones) goes into Dabid's room. After a few minutes someone leaves again, and a boy and a girl can be heard talking quietly as they head off down the hallway.
Decides his needs some fresh air...walks outside slowly and quite entirely sure about this place. He could understand if he had been drinking heavily, but this just isnt fair when you are stone cold sober....
Wanders out to the gardens and decides to sit down on the edge of one of the bathing pools in a more secluded spot, and see what the water is like.
(Keep in mind that, while Ham is feeling pretty disturbed, he's still quite exhausted. But anyway...)
Ham heard a door slam and someone running off down the hall before setting out. Oh, well. These things happen.
Anyway, leaving the building and following the path marked as leading to the bathing garden, Ham is soon in the confines of the temple forest. It isn't long before the faintly sulfur-smelling mist from the bathing area becomes visible. Strolling closer, Ham hears what sounds like a shout, but it's too indistinct to make out. He quickens his pace a little.
Just then two figures come hurrying into view as they come up the path in the opposite direction. It appears to be the teenage acolytes that helped get everyone settled into their rooms. They are holding towels and look very worried. They are also stark naked.
Seeing Ham, they slow their pace and glance at each other. The girl stammers something in very quick Her-Galad that Ham doesn't understand at all (and he doesn't have his translator with him). Then she looks at the boy with frustration.
The boy whispers something to her, and she gasps and thrusts her towel in front of herself. Then the boy says something more slowly to Ham, of which he is able to make out "Your friend is...". Then he points back toward the garden.
Then the girl asks, "Do you speak Yangae?" Fortunately, Ham does, although he's not totally fluent. At least he understands it better than Her-Galad. The acolytes read this and seem relieved. The boy says in Yangae, "Please come with me," tugging at Ham's sleeve. The girl bows quickly, mutters something to the boy, who bows back, and hurries on her way back up the path.
Ham arches an eyebrow at the girls reaction ...but figures..native taboos and mentally shrugs ...
Dragon bollocks... so much for a brief downtime ... not as bad a burn out as some of his past field ops..... but still ...as he moves along with the acolyte.
(Actually, Hergoth have few if any taboos. They naturally figure Ham does. Many races that live on Lyranell, Yangae in particular, tend to be quite prudish.)
It's a very traditional Hergoth-style bathing garden, i.e. there's a very clear division between "outside" and "inside", marked by a gate which is actually a curtain of cleanser-infused water. One leaves ones clothes (and outside issues) in the changing area outside, steps through the curtain (preferably with all orifices closed and the breath held), and enters the pool.
"Your Annuitis friend is inside," says the acolyte, pointing toward the curtain. "He's not well." He places his towel on a shelf and then turns away, apparently so Ham can get undressed. (In Hergoth tradition, watching someone dress or undress is extremely rude.)
Zeton, waking up due to a nightmare and then hearing the commotion outside, briefly considers getting up to investigate, when he quickly realizes there are healthier and more competent people around to handle whatever is going on. He stays in bed and tries to get more rest.
Before trying to fall asleep he assures himself his dream is only that, a dream, and no harm can come to him should it appear again.
(It sounds like most of the party is going back to sleep, so I'm just going to assume people are going to sleep in unless I'm told otherwise. For now I'll just deal with the current issue with Ham and Dabid.)
Nekshi, "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz, *snort*, zzzzzzzzzzzzz."
Granite pokes her head out of the pond at the sound (assuming she heard anything). She's been having some *trouble* sleeping, but decides not to leave the comfort of the pond just now. After all Kuluf seems relaxed enough, so why shouldn't she? After convincing herself to close her eyes, she manages to squeeze off a few more Z's.
It takes a bit for Granite to settle down enough to go back to sleep, but eventually it does happen.
(What is Ham going to do? Is he going to observe Hergoth custom? Is he going to say "fuggit" and just march through the water curtain fully clothed? Or is he going to go and look for another way in?)
Nekshi will wake at some point and seek out Zeton to compare "notes".
In the hope that he left his comm unit on during the transition through the Hergoth meta-gate.
She will also remember that Hamm, has the scanner unit, and will seek him out as well.
As she leaves her room to pursue Zeton, Nekshi whistles the standard summoning routine for Granite. It sounds like the start of a Warner Bros. Cartoon.
Daaaa, dada da da daaaaa,
daaaa, daaa da da deeeee,
da dada da, da da dada da,
etc...
(Nekshi wakes up after a little more than three hours of sleep. That's about two hours after Dabid's bolt to the bathing garden and Ham's unwitting pursuit. We'll have to wait to catch up on that.)
"This is the only way in or out?" Ham asks the acolyte, pointing to the entrance curtain of water.
"And you do realize that me observing your customs is going to probably unerve him more?"
Widjegleebe groans and stretches. Then she flicks a few beetles in her mouth and chews them lazily. She thought she heard the muffled sound of people running and shouting but she wasn't all the way awake yet and wasn't sure. the noise didn't continue, so she rolled over, wriggled around until she found a comfortable position and let the gurgling sound of digesting beetles lull her back to sleep.
"Mmmh" she mumbled to herself "eyes are tasty. . . I think I need a gun."
(On waking, Widjgleeby also notices that the pain in her gut from that little ray gun burn seems to have gotten worse. She has never been one to let an ache get in the way of her appetite, nagging or not. She's feeling a bit dizzy and queasy, too, but it's probably nothing a few beetles can't cure.)
The acolyte turns and looks at Ham with a befuddled look on his face.
"Well," he says, "if you only want to talk to your friend, I can turn off the curtain. But there's one more guest in the pool. Please don't diakae him."
[game breather...whew!]
Sensing Ham's intent, the acolyte goes over to the water curtain and, with some discomfort, shuts it off. First the water eases from a stream into a lazy trickle, and then the gentle hum of the restrainer field fades, becoming conspicuous by its absence. Now both the view and the sounds of the bathing pool itself pass unhindered through the gate.
And Dabid can be seen. It isn't hard to spot him, since he is still dressed in the white robe provided by the dorm. He is up to his chest in the water, and he looks totally befuddled.
"Um...," attempts the acolyte, gesturing toward the gate with embarrassment.
Ham nods curtly and says "hopefully this wont take long at all" and strides in directly towards Dabid.
"Let me guess you had the same dream with the big eyeball too eh?....probably be a good idea to get dry and let the Hergoths have their pool back. Sound good?" Ham offers a hand to Dabid.
(Well, Ham's Yangae isn't quite that fluent, but I think his ability level is enough to get the meaning across, at least.)
First Dabid screams, "The Master is coming! He's calling the chosen ones! The beginning is the end! The eye sees...hot water?" He looks up at Ham stupidly, lifts a couple of soggy sleeves out of the water and mumbles, "I'm in hot water..."
Then he seems to snap out of it. Shaking his head to clear it, he says, "What, you mean you saw it, too? What in...uh...?"
He struggles out of the water, holding his drenched robe about himself.
"You're all welcome here," says the acolyte nervously, "but please respect our ways!"
"If it got through my thick skull ...rest assured we arent the only ones...." Ham jerks his head in the direction of the door "I suggest you get our sopping wet selves out of here and not inconvience our hosts any more than we are"
[And I was hoping this was going to be an easy morning]
Dabid follows Ham out looking very embarrassed. He pauses only long enough to give a very glib apology to the acolyte standing next to the gate.
The acolyte, looking very disturbed, answers with an awkward bow and reactivates the shower curtain. Then he dashes over to one of the cabinets, takes out a towel, and hands it to Dabid without a word.
As Dabid and Ham make their way back up the forest path toward the temple complex, Dabid sighs and moans, "I thought the nightmare would end when we came here."
Zeton is able to get a bit more sleep after his dream, but nothing substantial. He decides he might as well get up, get cleaned, dressed and get ready to face a new day.
After he is ready, he takes the time to scan the news and check his aggregator feeds for any information that may have surfaced during his short rest. It's not an intensive environmental scan, but he looks for anything that might relate to "Mas'Vellaf" and any of his alias or connections, Mira or anyone associated in the attack on Nekshi's appartment, the poison, the blues, any outbreak of people reporting strange dreams, that sort of information.
Zeton also takes the time to organize his thoughts and jots down some notes for later reference.
Once that is completed, he begins to think about going out to find the others, as well as if he might be able to find a cane to assist him getting around until his ankle is well enough to support his weight.
(Okay, we're getting into a time schism here...so let's back up a bit.)
Dabid returns to his room with some reluctance. Ham does the same, but even though he's still tired he realizes he's not going to get any more sleep any time soon. His thoughts are still in disarray, so he just lounges about for a bit hoping to relax.
After about an hour the door at the end of the corridor, i.e. the room shared by Lirassa and Mey'Luskar, can be heard to open, and the sound of quiet feminine chat can be heard as at least two people come into the hall. Then the door to Pru's room is heard to open, and the chatting stops, replaced by the sound of what is obviously Lirassa humming as she heads off down the hall.
This is the point where Nekshi wakes up, hearing the sounds out in the hall, and gets up to look for Zeton. Zeton is still asleep, however (unless Nekshi wants to try to wake him up somehow).
(Granite Spear is sound asleep at the bottom of the pond. Widjgleeby, down in her basement room, is drifting in and out of sleep but can't get comfortable.)
[Mon'Fargret walks out of Pru's room with his shirt untucked, his hair messed up, a couple of scratches around his neck, and smoking a cigarette. Well, maybe not.]
No, Nekshi will wait to see Zeton at breakfast.
[You mean you aren't sure about smoking the the cigarette part? *innocent look*]
[The weirdest thing about it is that Pru wasn't there.]
[Or maybe it was because Pru found him in her room when she came back and proceeded to beat the snot out of him...?]
Anyway, Nekshi goes back to her room, and things quiet down again. After about another hour or so Zeton can be heard taking a shower, and Lirassa can be heard humming her way back to her room again. It's at this point that Mon'Fargret wakes up (in whichever room he was in).
Ham never managed to go back to sleep, so he's feeling pretty spaced out and cranky.
Soon afterward, what sounds like a small group comes walking quietly up the hall. Once they arrive in the midst of the party's rooms there is a period of silence other than a little nervous shuffling of feet. Then someone taps Foldorian style on Nekshi's door, followed immediately by an unusually quiet rendition of a Hergoth Song of Calling.
[For reference sake, since I'm falling behind in my Wiki entries, a Song of Calling is like a sort of human doorbell. Hergoth sing one instead of knocking.]
Nekshi sings the Zorlan song of entering. "Come in."
The door opens quietly to reveal the same two junior priestesses seen the night before together with two different acolytes. On seeing Nekshi, they bow as one and intone a polite greeting.
The offworlder priestess, who seems to be of higher rank than her partner, says, "When you are ready, we need to assemble as many of your group as possible. There are matters which must be discussed. We also need to find out what your plans are for breakfast. The cafeteria on the first floor is ready. The restaurants in the tourist building and down in the resort area are also open, but they are already filling with visitors. It won't be as easy to guarantee your safety."
The second priestess throws an impatient look at the first which is answered in kind. Then the first priestess adds, "If any of you need any help or refreshment, such as having your clothes washed, the acolytes will take care of you. Is there anything you require at the moment?"
Nekshi bows, "Thank you for your kindness. I shall gather my friends and we shall meet in the cafeteria. I don't think a public restaurant is a good idea right now."
*glub glub glub*
Nekshi notices Pru's door opening just a crack, but that's all the further it goes.
Widjgleebe gives up on sleeping and emerges from the basement. She is going to try and find the others. She could do with some breakfast and a painkiller.
Mon'Fargret awakens. He scratches his head remembering an extremely vivid and disturbing dream.
He will use his novice skills to reach out with his mind to the Hergoth whole in this place of power for a minute. Assuming he keeps his sanity points, he will get dressed and look for some familiar faces.
Dabid's door opens, apparently in response to the chatter. He definitely looks like he's seen better days. His blue-violet face is looking a little green around the edges, and his silver eyes are red-rimmed.
Quite a colorful spectacle, really, but not in a good way.
Lirassa emerges from her room soon afterward, dressed in the provided robe, and glares at the priestesses. There is an awkward pause, and then one of the acolytes bows and asks her politely (but anxiously) if she wants her clothes cleaned.
Lirassa disappears back into the room and emerges a short time later holding her clothes wrapped into a bundle, which she tosses to the acolyte.
"Be especially careful with the coat," she says in Yangae as if delivering an ultimatum. Then she glances at the priestesses scornfully and tosses her head before turning to Nekshi. "If I understood all that," she says, "you're planning to get everyone together in the cafeteria, right?"
Ham's door opens at this point, and he emerges. Lirassa allows him a thin smile, and then she jerks a thumb back into her room. "Our little princess is still sound asleep in here. I'd better stay and keep an eye on her. Otherwise that other one might." She nods in the direction of Pru's door, which opens wider to reveal her very uncertain-looking face.
Nekshi beckons to Pru to come out into the hallway. "You're welcome to join us, we're going to see what kind of excesses these priests are capable of in way of breakfast."
Pru cautiously opens her door and scans about but doesn't come all the way out of her room. For a second or two she eyes the priestesses warily, cowering behind her door as if it were a shield.
Then the priestess native to Lyranell says in Yangae, "I promise we don't bite."
Pru coaxes herself out of the room, eyes still leveled on the priestesses. She moves like she's trying to keep as much distance between herself and them as possible, rushing the guantlet when they are at their closest.
Stopping next to Nekshi, she sighs and mops her brow. Then she turns her gaze to the Zorlan, gasps, and takes a step back. "Um," she says in an anxious near-whisper, "I assume you're joking." She giggles nervously. "I mean, with a head like...er, you must know what they eat!"
"The cafeteria serves parvan," reports the Lyranell priestess.
"It does?" asks Pru.
"We're not stupid," retorts the Lyranell priestess.
"We get many kinds of guests here," puts in the offworlder priestess in Her-Galad, throwing her companion a look of surprise. "We do our best to make them comfortable!"
"In other words, we're not stupid," repeats the Lyranell priestess in Yangae.
Pru turns to Nekshi again and raises her eyebrows. "Well, that's different!" She allows herself a chuckle. Jerking her thumb at the Lyranell priestess, she adds, "She's sure a fire bud! Not what I'd expect from a Herg witch, unlike her friend there. I could almost like her! Almost." Her gaze turns to Lirassa. "Speaking of which, why didn't anyone tell me Mesk...the lady...is rooming with a main battle tank?"
Lirassa smirks and strikes a cocky pose.
[I understand my posting on Jan 20th was a bit ahead of the time line when I posted it, but I think we may be caught up by now. Zeton will perform all the tasks described in the original post. By the time he's gotten himself up to date from scanning the news & his searches, I'm guessing that's when Pru would be leaving her room.]
After Zeton discovers there is nothing in the room to act as a cane, he hobbles out and makes his way into the hall to join the others.
Upon seeing the small crowd and hearing the end of Pru's comment, Zeton smiles and casually says, "Hey, looks like another rousing party hosted by Nekshi. I just hope we aren't visited by any more party crashers... wait, with a MBT on hand, (gives a respectfully happy nod toward Lirassa), I guess we don't have any reason to fret... So, when is breakfast?"
[I'll e-mail you your search results.]
When Zeton emerges from his room and makes his comments, the four Hergoth look visibly disturbed. Then the offworlder priestess says, "Your foot! It really hurts a lot, doesn't it?"
"We wondered where the ache was coming from!" remarks the Lyranell priestess.
She is given a reproachful look by her companion, who adds, "We might be able to help you with that. But only if you wish us to."
At Pru's remark, Nekshi self-consciously strokes her abundant, tri-lobed skull. "I don't understand; do you think the Hergoths here eat cranial matter?"
She smiles at Lirassa and brightens visibly when Zeton limps out of his room. "The next party I throw will have slightly less gun play, but definitely more Farbetts. That's the only way you'll survive the experience!"
She looks around and sees Dabid peering out of his door. Shocked at his appearance see asks the Lyranell priestess to summon immediate medical aid.
*Forgive the multi-post*
Nekshi approaches Dabid slowly and holds out her hands. "You've seen the Eye, haven't you? I've seen it too. It's horrible. But I didn't see it in my last sleep cycle. So be afraid, but don't despair. We will solve this if we work together. I know where the sending comes from."
She clears her throat and looks around at the others in the hall. "Well, approximately."
Dabid stares at Nekshi sullenly and rasps, "Ham said he saw it, too. I have a feeling we all did."
"This is seriously weird," sings Lirassa. "Nekshi and I saw it before you came here."
Pru's dark face somehow turns a shade paler. "You mean...I'm not the only one that had a dream about a sodding ugly guy with a star for an eye that said something about gathering the chosen, or some peat rot like that?" She throws an accusing glare at the priestesses, who gasp in reply.
"We...don't know anything about this!" cries the Lyranell priestess. "Honestly!"
The poor acolytes look like they're about ready to faint or bolt, or even both.
Pru makes a horrified (but rather comical) sound in her throat.
"We really shouldn't discuss this here," says the offworlder priestess (in Her-Galad).
"You're filthy right!" spits Pru. Then she turns to the others and says, "Everything I heard about this muddy place is right! It's just one, big Herg mind-screw, one and all! This whole peat-rotting mountain is crawling with demons...and-and witches, and curses, and..."
"And really noisy Yangae femmies," interrupts Lirassa calmly, clicking her tongue with annoyance.
"The real mind-screw is in the lady's pocket," retorts Dabid.
Zeton, smiling, looks at the priestesses and replies, "Any medical aid you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I imagine it must be just as annoying to you, as it is to me."
The priestesses, who were getting quite perturbed at the line of dialog, are caught off guard by Zeton's comment and seem confused at first. Then the offworlder priestess smiles awkwardly and says, "Oh, uh, yes! Of course!"
After looking at her partner, Pru, and some of the others in turn, she moves over to Zeton, kneels down beside him, and appears to pray quietly for a few seconds. Then, her head bowed and her eyes tightly closed, she leans over and grasps his injured ankle.
Almost immediately, everyone in the area experiences a strange rush for the briefest instant, during which the priestess seems to be enveloped in a faintly orange aura.
Zeton feels no pain, only a deep sort of warmth that seems to spread throughout his form. When the priestess takes her hands away, his ankle still feels a little tight, but there is no pain.
The priestess takes a deep breath and gathers herself. "I'm no Geishana," she says breathily, "but that should be okay."
Lirassa chuckles. "Was that an evil curse, or just a mind-screw?"
Pru sets her jaw, but her only reply is a searing glare.
"If this place bothers you so much," says the Lyranell priestess in Yangae, "why don't you just go?"
Her higher-ranked partner gasps, but she waves her off.
"Are you talking to me?" demands Pru.
"Obviously," retorts the priestess. "I'm sure your friends in the hospital need you more than we need your mouth. The Peace Force would be happy to talk to you, too...if they ever pry you away from the Morva Free Channel reporters. We'll pray for you."
Lirassa hums with delight.
"How dare you talk to me like that!" snarls Pru.
"I think that's my line," retorts the priestess in the most patronizing-sounding Yangae she can muster. "Who is the guest in whose house? Where is your place?"
Next it's Dabid's turn to hum.
Pru gasps with surprise, clenches her fists, and then suddenly bows. "Pardon my rudeness," she says.
"Done," says the priestess, "one and all. Now, I believe we asked you a question. Do you wish to have any of your clothes washed, or will you accompany us to the cafeteria? Or would you rather just be gone?"
"I'll go to the cafeteria," replies Pru quickly, sounding very deflated.
"Your Farbett companion is on her way," says the Lyranell priestess, still using somewhat haughty-sounding Yangae. "What will the rest of you do?"
"Give you a warrior's salute!" says Lirassa.
"We're not stupid," replies the priestess, straightening her tiara.
"What's all the shouting for?" says a drowsy-sounding voice from behind Lirassa.
"Well," says Lirassa. "Back from the dead to join the living, are we?"
Mey'Luskar comes into view in the doorway. She's dressed in her provided robe and looks rather disheveled. It doesn't show in her face, though. She actually looks as cheerful as she did at Wirg's the day before (which seems more like half a century ago). After an indulgent yawn and stretch, she sighs contentedly and says, "Did the rest of you sleep as well as I did? And why is everyone up and dressed already?"
Mon'Fargret wanders out in his robe at the tail end of the sniping between Pru and the others. He decides not to intercede.
"I am starving. Is everyone here? My word, old root. What on Lyranell happened to you?"
Dabid turns his baggy eyes to Mon'Fargret.
"My lord," he asks anxiously, "did you see it, too? The dim star? The eye? That horrible face?" He shudders and glances around at the others. "We all saw it, didn't we? That voice...that awful voice that seemed to be coming from the whole..."
Mey'Luskar bursts out laughing.
"What...is so...funny?" asks Lirassa quizzically.
After taking a minute to catch her breath, Mey'Luskar says, "You saw that, too?" She starts laughing again, so overcome with mirth that she slaps her knees, pounds the wall, and finally hugs Lirassa, who looks less than amused.
The acolytes moves behind the two priestesses, who look at each other.
"Um...," says Lirassa.
"What's gotten into you, lady?" demands Pru, not looking at her.
"That ridiculous dream?" Mey'Luskar pulls away from Lirassa (who quickly moves a couple of steps away), fights to catch her breath again, and continues, "The little star turning into an eye was pretty freaky, it's true! That ugly guy did me a start at first, but then when he tried to scare me with that muddy spew of his..."
"You weren't frightened?" asks the Lyranell priestess.
"Frightened?" Mey'Luskar looks at her like she has just been asked the dumbest question imaginable. "Are you joking? I told the sodding clod to put a cork in his hole and go bury himself! And he did!" She laughs again. "He made the cutest little 'awww' sound when he did, too!" She bursts out laughing again, stumbling once again into Lirassa, who looks as puzzled as she is embarrassed.
The off-worlder priestess holds up her hands, a strange rush fills the hall as before, and she vanishes in a swirl of orange fire.
By now the obvious sound of a Farbett galumphing up the stairs can be heard.
The Lyranell priestess looks to be at a loss. "Um," she says, "should we head toward the cafeteria?"
Nekshi has turned away from the group and is furiously typing on her wrist comp.
Her eyes, slightly feverish, but determined.
She has attached a psychokinetic lead to her lower left jaw and seems to be doing 3D work in the hallway.
Zeton spies Nekshi at work and wonders what she could be doing. Realizing that Mey might unintentionally interfere due to her uncontrolled laughter, places himself to screen Nekshi from any interruption, but not to block line of sight to whatever she is working on.
Sensing something isn't quite right, Mey'Luskar stops laughing and looks around at all the staring faces (and Nekshi's frantic cyberactivity).
"What, did I say something wrong?" she asks.
"Not wrong," corrects Lirassa, "just damned peculiar, which pretty much describes you in general. Let's go eat." With that, she turns and strides down the hallway with a huff and a haughty toss of her strawberry-blond tresses, halting when Widjgleeby comes up out of the stairway and effectively blocks her way.
"Good morning!" she says to the Farbett. "Excuse me..."
Seeing that Mey has calmed down and that the group appears to be heading toward breakfast, Zeton politely speaks to the Lyranell priestesses.
"I'm sorry I didn't have the presence of mind to thank the other priestess straight away and now that she's gone, I'm not sure I'll be able to in the future. Would you please accept my deepest gratitude for taking my pain away and if you should see the priestess that performed the task, let her know how thankful I am?"
Zeton lingers to test out his ankle and marvel at how much better he feels. He also wants to see what Nekshi is working on in order to learn if it might help clear up, or only make more convoluted, the situation as they understand it so far.
The Lyranell priestess responds with a polite bow and intoned blessing, but she looks anxious.
The rapidly-changing 3D monitor projection that Nekshi is working with first looks like a guide map of the Lyranell night sky. After spinning it around for a while, she seems to narrow her search down to three constellations. Then she starts rapidly alternating between them, studying them, comparing them...
...making everyone else dizzy...
"The dream!" says Pru, snapping her fingers. "I think it was that one!" She points at one of the three constellations as it whizzes past her. "The Prisoner!"
"Yes!" agrees Mey'Luskar. "His manacles! I'd know it anywhere!"
The priestess and the acolytes shudder. The priestess says, "We know it as the Merrymaker..."
"You would," retorts Pru dismissively.
Only half aware of what the others are saying, Nekshi nevertheless registers the comments with at least one of her lobes and zeroes in on that constellation. Then the site changes. Instead of a constellation guide, it becomes what looks like a navigation map of the Miyandei system. As the others watch, the image of the system shrinks down until the entire Oort cloud is just a little doughnut hovering in the air. Then Nekshi rotates it so that that constellation is directly in the line of sight.
Right in front of Dabid's face, there is a small, reddish-purple orb.
"Are you telling me," he says, "that that thing we all saw was the Eye of Tann?"
"Yes, it was," says the priestess with a worried sigh. "And we shouldn't talk about it here."
[Gamemaster override]
The priestess makes it as clear as possible without actually saying so that she wants to get a move on.
Mey'Luskar responds with a cheery, "Just a minute," and disappears back into the room. She reappears a short time later looking a bit less disheveled and hands her clothes to the acolytes. "Okay," she says melodically as she gathers her robe and strides off down the hall. "The cafeteria it is!" To Mon'Fargret she says, "Shall we?" Then she turns and says, "Come on, Pru!"
"Yes, lady," replies Pru uncertainly as she falls in behind the other two Foldorians.
Dabid stares at the projection of the Eye of Tann for a few more seconds and then hurries after the others.
Widjgleeby, who has only just arrived and is totally puzzled at the worried-looking throng and holographic projections, perks right up. "Cafeteria?"
"Let's go, Ham!" says Lirassa when the Farbett finally gives her enough room to pass. The procession falls into a rather motley line behind her.
"Um," says Zeton quietly, "What about...?" He gestures toward Nekshi, who is still pecking away intently.
Harrumphing impatiently, Widjgleeby squeezes her way past the procession, lifts Nekshi by the shoulders (which in no way interrupts her activity), and turns to follow after the others.
The priestess can be heard to sigh with exasperation as she takes up the rear.
And thus the party finally makes its way to the cafeteria.
Meanwhile, out in the pond...
Some strange, inner sense jars Granite Spear awake. Jerking instinctively, sending fish scattering in a panic, she scans her surroundings, sees that all is clear, and settles down again.
Oh, you're awake! says Kuluf telepathically. I sense that the others have assembled and are discussing something of great importance. They are now going to the cafeteria on the ground floor of the building. It would be best to join them.
With that, the N'gaina heads for the surface.
(I will continue on a new post.)
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