Chapter One: Infiltration

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

Koldar , Silfer and Talia are heading to the garden: „ Koldar, though I would like to hear a myth or legend I prefer for now a true story, one of the adventures you encountered. It seems that we are together now for quite a while , we will face dangers together and maybe we even have to risk our lives for each other, so I would like to get to know you all a bit better. Have we really met only this morning?“ Grinning to Koldar she touches slightly his arm , adding,“ my stable boy?“
Suddenly her face gets concentrated , she says: „ Something is wrong. Silfer, don‘t you feel anything ?I‘m going back to see after Avour, please wait for me in the garden if you like! “
And she hurries towards the main tavern room, rushing inwards and looking around.There she finds Avour standing in the middle of the room - totally lost. She is calling for her  new friends.
„Avour , I‘m here,“ Talia shouts and moves quickly over to her. „What‘s the matter?“ Talia sees a lost, frightened face full of distress. „ Avour, I‘m here! „ she says again  with a low warm voice. And then she takes the lonely young woman in her arms, holding her tight for quite a while, not bothering about all the people around.

[Avour]

“Talia Friend” Avour sobs as Talia wraps her arms around her. “New Friends there, then gone and storm came. Mother cut Avour to heal Father again. Talia Friend and New Friends appear and then make Mother and Father stay away.” Trying to stop herself from crying Avour continues to tell Talia about her dream.

“Avour woke up and grip hard window. No one in room. Avour frightened Talia Friend. Pulling away from Talia a little Avour starts to rub over her arm slightly picking at one of the small scabs that has formed. “Woke up and Avour bleeding.” She looks at Talia “Why Avour Mother not as caring as Talia Friend. Avour would stay home and be smart like both kin kind. But Avour Mother bad, so Avour runaway. Now Avour no Mother, no Father and dumb.” Still a little sleepy Avour rubs her eyes and then folds her arms being careful to make sure that her dirty arms don’t touch Talia’s wonderful coat.

Avour tries to calm her self down by breathing deeply. “Avour emotion up happy then down sad. Since meeting new friends. Avour very confused.” She giggles a little and smiles shyly at Talia.

“You’d be lost if I wasn’t here to annoy you”               – Little Sister speaking to Big Sister.......

[Terra Artemos]

Terra follows the Ai' to the well and retreaves a bucket of water, then promptly returns to her horse, who dinks the water thirstaly. When her horse was finished, she lead him back to the stables and into one of the stall to be his for the night. "I will return before dawn.", she says reasuringly, "I know this for sure.". Terra then leave the stables for the garden where the others have gone.

'Life is a grim reality, through which only honor shines.'

[Koldar Mondrakken]

"A true, real story then. But it should be happy or sorrowful. About destiny or maybe ...hope?" I add responding to Talia's soft touch and her fascinating smile.
Thousand different thoughts, chaotic perceptions and various memories rushing through my mind. Before there's time to identify my and her feelings she suddenly turns serious again and looks at the tavern as if she is listening to someones calls.

I can't even ask what is wrong when she hurries into the tavern. I follow her quickly fearing the worst but also wonder: 'Didn't she mention something about mindreading? Sometimes she seems to sense things beyond common perception.'
In the tavern we find Avour standing in the room totally confused and still shaken by a terrible nightmare. I stand behind Talia when she holds the girl in her arms trying to calm her down.
With hard eyes I flash at anyone in the room who shows only the slightest sign of amusement for the situation till everybody is only caring for his own matters again.
Shocked by the obvious desperation by Avour I try to solace her as well.
"Don't worry, Avour. Seyella can be cruel sometimes. But now we will care for you as good as we can."
Smiling warmly at her "And when you feel dumb... Well, we can change that!"
I reach out with an open hand to invite her. "Come with us now. You don't have to fear anything...", glaring at Talia "I think it is time for a happy story..."

Koldar Mondrakken, Knight of the Moonlight

[Silfer Darkflare]

When Talia asked me, i suddently felt it. Avour wasnt asleep anymore, she was awake, and her aura was trembling, like of wind. Fear... I thought.It must be fear. But what could scary her so much?... I began to run after Talia and Koldar, while many things were swirling in my head. I rushed up to the room, finding Talia, Koldar and Avour standing, AVour scared, while Talia and Koldar trying to calm her down.

"Who or what scared her so much?!" i ask in a calm, but worryed tone.

Wisdom is only possesed by the learning.

[Avour]

“Avour dream bad. Mother make Avour child bleed to keep Father alive” Avour tried to breath deeply calming herself down. Having the caring faces of her new found friends calming her did wonders.

Rubbing her right eye with her right hand and holding her stomach with her left Avour focused on Talia. “Avour not at with Mother. Sil-fer have healing blood? Elf-Kin magic?”

"And when you feel dumb... Well, we can change that!" Koldar says as he says as he reaches out with an open hand. "Come with us now. You don't have to fear anything. I think it is time for a happy story..."

Avour reaches back for Talia’s hand and walks with Koldar and Talia following their lead. “Where Rock Human?” She pauses thinking of how to say his name again “Cap-her?” She looks with her eyes trying to find him.

“You’d be lost if I wasn’t here to annoy you”
             – Little Sister speaking to Big Sister.......

[Silfer Darkflare]

I really hope that we will get a story or two, since this is going more and more away from the storytelling... I went on behind them as this went trough my head.

Wisdom is only possesed by the learning.

Edited by: Silfer Darkflare at: 12/3/01 5:46:28 pm

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

Talia takes lovingly Avours hand and they all are heading for the garden as Avour ask for Capher. Talia stops saying:
„Oh yes, if we will have a nice story telling evening we should ask Capher if he wants to join us. Come on Avour, we go to his room and look for him. Why don‘t you two go to the garden meanwhile“ and with a little smile,“ perhaps you ask for some fine elven in the kitchen and some doch nuts, we will follow soon.“

Avour and Talia are going upstairs to Caphers room and knock, but they don‘t get an answer. „Is he so fast asleep?“ she is wondering, looking at Avour. Talia can‘t read minds and has only few magic abilities, but a certain sense when something is wrong. So, after several more knocks she decides to intrude. The room is empty, the bed seems to be used, but there is no Capher anywhere.  On a chair are lying some womans clothes, a dark red skirt, a white shirt , a black shawl with red roses woven in, a dark coloured cape with a hood and some other items. „Look at this, Avour , there are the clothes he wanted to get for me, but where is Capher? Where from did he get those, there is no store around“ Holding the skirt to her waist she starts laughing: „Quite a time that I did wear such things. And big enough to just throw this skirt over my trousers. Hmm, I don‘t have colours for my face, but it is dark, maybe we are doing a little joke with our friends?“

[Avour]

Talia leads Avour to Caphers room. She doesn’t say anything, merely follows Talia’s lead.

The two wait at Capher’s door. There isn’t any answer. Avour is a little worried about the shiny rock man and gives Talia a puzzled look. Eventually Talia opens the door and the two women enter the room.

There is no sign of Capher being in the room, however there are some female clothes lying on the bed. Talia picks up the clothes and measures the clothes up. She says something about them being just big enough to fit over her trousers. Avour looks at the strange out fit filling with curiosity more and more as time ticks by.

“Paints have no leg whole!” She giggles looking at the skirt, reaching out her hand to touch the material she quickly pulls back her hand and smiles at Talia. “Smooth like Deer belly!” She exclaims.

She touches her own trousers, roughly made from leather. Her top simply a longer thinner piece of leather wrapped about her chest. Trying to figure out how someone could wear a set of trousers with no legs she squats and opens the material to see if there are any legs in the skirt.

“No leg wholes Talia Friend!” She giggles again sounding as though the person who made it left out the ‘leg holes’. “Belly soft leather though.” She gently rubs the material against her cheek and grins looking about the room at nothing in particular. Then turns to Talia.

“What you do with a paints but no leg wholes?” Having gone from such a low not to long ago, and slowly waking up Avour now feeling a little refreshed and completely baffled by these paints cracks up into a full belly laugh almost falling on the floor, however defiantly having tears starting to appear in her eyes from laughing so hard. The more she tries to contain the laugh, the more she laughs……

“You’d be lost if I wasn’t here to annoy you”
             – Little Sister speaking to Big Sister.......
Character Description

Edited by: Avour at: 12/3/01 5:53:03 pm

[Koldar Mondrakken]

I look at Silfer and shrug my shoulders concluding that I've no idea what is going on.
I go to the bar and take a bowl of doch-nut and a bottle of wine sitting behind the table. I nod at the bottle if Silfer is agreeing in my choice. My lucky hand had discovered a strong Leithe.
Relaxing I take some doch'nuts and happily eat some.
After some bites I offer the bowl to Silfer.
"Should we go to the garden or do you want something from the kitchen?" I ask having some more doch-nuts while we wait for the girls.

Koldar Mondrakken, Knight of the Moonlight

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

Talia is happy to see Avour in a good mood again and joins her laughter.
„Oh Avour, this is a skirt, there is no need for holes for the legs, look, I will put it on for you, but perhaps we go to our room, I have to remove at least my armour and don‘t want one of the men coming in accidentally.. My armour is very light but nevertheless wouldn‘t look very good with a skirt.!“ Talia grabs all the clothes and goes with Avour to their room, thoroughly shutting the door of Caphers again wondering where he might be.
Talia removes her sword from her back, then the armour follows and the dune mouse is freed as well again, Avour  is looking curiously.
„Ok, let‘s see if this skirt fits over my trousers, Avour, normally you wear nothing, I say nothing under a skirt, but for now it will do.“
Talia slips into the skirt and turns around herself, asking Avour: „Now, Avour, any comments? What do you think, should I dress and look if our friends recognise me? I have some black colour for the eyes here, that should do to alter my face a bit. You can go a bit earlier and tell them I will follow soon - or would YOU like to put the clothes on, that‘s an idea?? !!“

"Imagination is more important than knowledge; for knowledge is limited whileimagination embraces the entire world." - Albert Einstein

[Silfer Darkflare]

I take some doch'nuts, and nip to the wine. "Lets go to the garden, i am not hungry at the moment. Or maybe we shall wait for the girls?..." I smile childish, and a bit foolish, revealing myself a bit. I hope that they dont think of me as a grim and nasty person, but see now that i have been much like thta. Darn!

Wisdom is only possesed by the learning.

[Avour]

Avour follows Talia into their own room and continues to smile with her top row of teeth showing the laughing dying down to a giggle. “ Skirt no need of leg wholes?” Avour scratched her head. “How does Skirt stay up?” She watches as Talia gets dressed in the skirt and marvels at the beauty of Talia.

“ Ava!” She whispers, her eyes unblinking as she stares at Talia’s sudden and now very dominant feminine beauty.

“…Avour, normally you wear nothing..” A look of confusion comes across Avour’s face when Talia explains that you wear nothing under the skirt, feeling suddenly glad that she has somehow been able to make her own trousers.

“…or would YOU like to put the clothes on, that‘s an idea?? !!” Talia asked. Avour’s eyes immediately find Talia’s. A shy smile showing that her answer would be a yes, she sheepishly looks down and nods a little.

“Avour keep trousers on like Talia Friend!” She quietly announced. Then quite out of the blue Avour looks up at Talia and smiles at her, unlike Avour’s other smiles it is one of total and utter trust that Avour has in the woman in front of her. “Avour wear Skirt and be beautiful.”

“You’d be lost if I wasn’t here to annoy you”
             – Little Sister speaking to Big Sister.......
Character Description

[Koldar Mondrakken]

"Let's wait for them in the garden. Shouldn't take them long to wake Capher up." I say. Taking the bowl of nuts with me as well as the wine -I fish for another bottle. 'We mustn't forget Terra. That makes six of us- I went out of the tavern. Looking back at Silfer.
"In the meantime I'll have a short story for you. This'll help us to survive the time till the others come back." I smile. "If it is a true one or not you've decide on your own..."

Looking into the starfilled sky and back at Silfer I begin...
"So, once upon a time there were three people in the biggest wine cellar of South Sarvonia. In fact they were stuck. And in fact it wasn't three men sitting in a dark, cool room filled with fine smelling barrels but a Halfling, a dwarf and a human. I can't speak for the two small people but the human was quite angry at this time.
How they got there sitting in a dark room deep under the castle is unimportant. But they didn't want to wait for someone to find them so they investigated the place further. Roaming through the columns of barrels taking a gulp or two from the fabulous collection.
As they had investigated the place they found no exit but one. A small window at the top of one wall with iron grilles before it brought some fresh air to this dark, wet place. I should mention here that they had roamed the place for hours already taking any opportunity to drown their growing desperation in the content of the wooden barrels.
They looked at their only hope to escape for some time and then the human spoke first \"I think I can climb the wall. Dwarf, gimme' your axe and I'll break the lock and we escape.\" The two others first thought about this but then heavily refused this idea. The  dwarf spoke \" I know what you plan, Longlegged. You want my ax' to escape and let me stay here without weapon and without a way out.  Lif' me up, boy and I'll break the lock for both of us!\" Naturally, this idea was not well-accepted by the Halfling. \"Even if the great man gets your fat butt up this wall you won't reach it to break the lock.\" Playing with some lockpicks he adds \"When the big guy lifts you up, smaller rednosed guy, you can raise me to the lock and I can break it. I can throw down a rope then.\" Of course, the two others revealed the plan at once and the human grabbed the halfling by his neck. \"I know you tiny folk. Where do you have this rope? You have to go to town to get one, I assume. This will certainly take long enough to forget about two friends sitting in a dark, black pit...\" The dwarf prepared his axe. \"You wouldn't betray your frien's, would ya'?\" Lowering his axe again as the Halfling was only winding in fear again he spoke to the human \" Now lift me up, boy and we can get out off here!\" But the human was not welcoming any ideas excepts his ones anymore. \"No, give me your axe and we may all escape.\" \"And how do you expect me to climb the wall. You don't have a rope as well and I don't see a reaon to believe you'd do better than the Halfling. \" he added pointing at the Halfling who recovered from the grip of the human. \"Maybe we can break the door with your stubborn head, dwarf!\" the human yelled.\" But that was enough for the dwarf and he tried to chop the human to acceptable size. The human, evading the blow stumbled over the halfling cursing him and his kind and then retreated between two barrels to have a better chance against the angry dwarven axe.
The halfling, in the meantime, thinking practical again tried to calm down the big people. \"Stop that! You'll wake up the guards!\" But the dwarf was not listening pushing the Halfling back onto the floor. \"No time for guards now, child! I've to chop some tree who had done to be too clever. I'll get his mouth shut with my ax'!\" With a loud burst the axe hit a barrel where the human stood only a minute ago. While the dwarf tried to correct his misplaced stroke the Halfling's eyes widened as he heard the noise of heavy boots coming down the stairs.\"They're coming! They'll get us!\" \"NO! I'll get him!\" the dwarf snarled preparing another powerful stroke.
The steps had already reached the door, the official entrance to the cellar and with loud clinging a key entered the old rusty lock.
The Halfling stood still in shock but the last axe blow hit. The man ducked away escaping the stroke for another time but the axe smashed a wooden object crushing it into pieces.
The door was thrown opened, torches revealed and five guards entered the room looking at the mess and the three uninvited visitors. \"Who is disturbing the peace in the King's cellar!\" the first guard yelled but none of the three was listening. All stared at the wooden object now lightened by the guard's torches right next to the small window in a corner: A simple wooden ladder to climb the room-high wine barells broken into pieces..."

I end my small story "What happened to the three thieves I do not know. Perhaps they were thrown into prison or worse... however: Do you think this story is true? Can people be that stupid?"
I smile at Silfer waiting for an answer. We had already reached a nice place to overview the vineyard and the surroundings so I pack the wine and the nuts at the bottom of a tree and wait...

'This was one of the small stories...', I think by myself.

Koldar Mondrakken, Knight of the Moonlight

[Ta'lia of the Seven Jewels]

„Oh Avour, my dear, you are beautiful as you are, this skirt surely doesn‘t improve your beauty, but you will look different, then allow me to help you to dress. Here is a top, would you like to put it on as well?Ah there are laces all around the sleeves,  Capher is really a connoisseur!“ Avour  doesn‘t  say no at once, so Talia helps her into the blouse and the skirt. The last is quite long, but Capher has an belt found as Talia requested and with it she fastens the skirt to Avours small waist. „Avour, you have now to be careful not to step onto the hem of this skirt, otherwise you might fall“.  Going a few steps back Talia looks at Avour  and sees a totally different person standing in front of her. The dark red velvet skirt looks fantastic with Avour, the white shirt contrasting. Talia is simply baffled.  „Avour, now you are a young lady, I bet that all men outside will fall immediately in love with you when they get a glimpse of you. Wait, there is that matching shawl“ and Talia decorates the shawl , black with red flowers wovwn in it around Avours shoulder. Critically Talia looks a last time at Avour. „One thing is missing,“ she states and with these words she is going to her belongings, searching for a little while and has finally a red ribbon with golden embroidery in her hands. „This is the last missing thing, would you allow me to put it in your hair, Avour?“
And again not waiting very long for a negative answer Talia tries to comb Avours hair a little with her fingers - a comb would be so handy, but Talia don‘t want to overdo it this first time -  and puts the ribbon into her hair.
Stepping back again she only can‘t admire Avour, what unexpected change. Avour had her own loveliness before, but now it has changed to a different kind of beauty Talia hadn‘t expected.

Finally Talia collects her dune mouse, decides against her armour but takes a woolen blanket out her pack, her cape Avour doesn't need any more finds again its place in her trousers:
„Lets go now in the garden, Avour - I want to see the baffled faces of the others.“

"Imagination is more important than knowledge; for knowledge is limited whileimagination embraces the entire world." - Albert Einstein

Edited by: Talia Sturmwind  at: 12/5/01 8:24:38 am

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