"Those plodding weary footfalls of our undying quest
Had led us to the land of elves, the city of the west.
In these fair quarters man and elf may mix without a care,
With leaves and birds and merry laughter ringing in the air.
I swear that even now I cannot summon to my sight
A vision pretty as the Ascaill glittering in the night."
>>>>- Le Chanson de Reynaud
**The long road from the Geata to the Crann de Crann is known as the Ascaill na Duilleoga ag Titim, or the Ascaill--the Avenue of Falling Leaves.
Entering through the Gates, a traveler is embraced by the soft glow of the hundreds of small, lunate lanterns which hang from every branch of the trees lining the Avenue. The road is long and straight, and only moderately inclined, making it a pleasant ramble during the day, when the street bustles with the activity of a thousand street carts peddling their wares.
To visitors to the city, the Ascaill is the first glimpse of the gentle wonders of the town, but for residents, it is the promise of glories to come.**
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
**In a darkened gazebo on the Ascaill, an old man sat, fidgeting nervously with a small brass clockwork device.**
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
A young woman in maroon riding clothes and clad in silvered gauntlets approached the gazebo on horseback. As she drew closer she shifted to side saddle in dismounted fluidly but without flourish.
**The man looked up at them as though he didn't see them for a moment, then with a startled flash of recognition hid the device in his sleeve. As he did so, an elegant-looking man in a long coat stepped out of the shadows, who happened to be my character Édouard.**
Startled Man - "Are you all here responding to my advertisement?"
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Man - "I see... well, then, we might as well begin."
**He straightened himself up in his seat, seeming to gain for a moment a bit of dignity.**
Man - "You must understand, at the time all of what I'm about to tell you seemed like a good idea. This was how we would make our mark, we told each other. This was how we'd be remembered! We always wanted to be remembered, Henry and I. I don't... you see, we found it, rather by chance really, in a cave. We went exploring, wandering through with little more than the light we could cast up, and then... there it was, really. The chamber cut into the living stone. The casket, all gold, we never could open it. And then floating on top..."
**He held out the device before them, somewhat reluctantly. It was a sphere of smooth bronze, polished, with strangely geometric gaps which revealed a red crystal inside, glowing faintly.**
Man - "...there was this. It shone so much brighter back then; I believe we must have fallen in love with it at sight. Of course, we didn't know what it did then, how to use it, or even if it was safe--Henry always said it was surely safe, and I let him--but we had to take it. Back to the tower, back to our books. We spent years poring over the tomes and scrolls, trying to find something that would explain it, something that would open it--and then there it was, clear as day upon the vellum in front of me. It was a homing device, a beacon, a door. It would take us there."
**He looked off in the distance for a moment, then returned.**
Man - "He always told me that it was wonderful. He never used to let me go, said I couldn't handle it. Sometimes he'd go for an hour or so, and I felt so very alone, but he'd return with a grin. Then they became days; then weeks. I finally asked him what was there; I finally demanded that he take me. Two years is a long time to live with someone and never know where they're going... or at least, it seemed that way. But he took me, and... I can't talk about it. I escaped. I survived. But you have to stop him."
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
**The man looked down for a long time, then stared hard and straight into Morgan's eyes.**
Man - "As well as I can reckon, Hell."
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Man - "Letting them out! Bringing them here! A slaughter of proportions yet unimaginable."
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
"Of course, 'slaughter of proportions yet unimaginable'. That must be the flavor of the week." A figure appeared near the gazebo, almost but not quite leaning against a beam. His left hand was feeling at the hilt of the sword at his hip, its pommel the imagery bird's tail feathers. "Has anyone smelled his breath? I will wager 5 gold that the man is intoxicated."
If anyone had cared to look at him they would have noticed that Sly seemed to be getting more and more nervous as the conversation went on. He stayed silent for the moment, and he seemed noticeably relieved when Alacritas made the joke about their employer being drunk.
**With a disgruntled sound something between a roar and a sob, the man slammed the device against one of the doors of the gazebo. Suddenly the doorway filled with seething red light, flashes of impish laughter heard from beyond.**
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Man - "It's not of earth at all. He's through there. They're through there."
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Man - "It can only be closed from the other side... and even if I did, a far larger door will form soon."
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Sing lustily and with good courage.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
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Had led us to the land of elves, the city of the west.
In these fair quarters man and elf may mix without a care,
With leaves and birds and merry laughter ringing in the air.
I swear that even now I cannot summon to my sight
A vision pretty as the Ascaill glittering in the night."
>>>>- Le Chanson de Reynaud
**The long road from the Geata to the Crann de Crann is known as the Ascaill na Duilleoga ag Titim, or the Ascaill--the Avenue of Falling Leaves.
Entering through the Gates, a traveler is embraced by the soft glow of the hundreds of small, lunate lanterns which hang from every branch of the trees lining the Avenue. The road is long and straight, and only moderately inclined, making it a pleasant ramble during the day, when the street bustles with the activity of a thousand street carts peddling their wares.
To visitors to the city, the Ascaill is the first glimpse of the gentle wonders of the town, but for residents, it is the promise of glories to come.**
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Come on and check it out. You know you want to.
Sly - "Having troubles friend?"
Go ahead and run, you'll only die tired.
Those who might never meet are pooled together
Morgan- That thing looks more complicated than weaving polarised spells.
Wayland - If a piece is broken, I could probably help replace it for a fair price.
Come on and check it out. You know you want to.
Startled Man - "Are you all here responding to my advertisement?"
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Come on and check it out. You know you want to.
Go ahead and run, you'll only die tired.
Those who might never meet are pooled together
**He straightened himself up in his seat, seeming to gain for a moment a bit of dignity.**
Man - "You must understand, at the time all of what I'm about to tell you seemed like a good idea. This was how we would make our mark, we told each other. This was how we'd be remembered! We always wanted to be remembered, Henry and I. I don't... you see, we found it, rather by chance really, in a cave. We went exploring, wandering through with little more than the light we could cast up, and then... there it was, really. The chamber cut into the living stone. The casket, all gold, we never could open it. And then floating on top..."
**He held out the device before them, somewhat reluctantly. It was a sphere of smooth bronze, polished, with strangely geometric gaps which revealed a red crystal inside, glowing faintly.**
Man - "...there was this. It shone so much brighter back then; I believe we must have fallen in love with it at sight. Of course, we didn't know what it did then, how to use it, or even if it was safe--Henry always said it was surely safe, and I let him--but we had to take it. Back to the tower, back to our books. We spent years poring over the tomes and scrolls, trying to find something that would explain it, something that would open it--and then there it was, clear as day upon the vellum in front of me. It was a homing device, a beacon, a door. It would take us there."
**He looked off in the distance for a moment, then returned.**
Man - "He always told me that it was wonderful. He never used to let me go, said I couldn't handle it. Sometimes he'd go for an hour or so, and I felt so very alone, but he'd return with a grin. Then they became days; then weeks. I finally asked him what was there; I finally demanded that he take me. Two years is a long time to live with someone and never know where they're going... or at least, it seemed that way. But he took me, and... I can't talk about it. I escaped. I survived. But you have to stop him."
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Morgan- A door to where? Where did your brother take you?
Man - "As well as I can reckon, Hell."
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Come on and check it out. You know you want to.
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Go ahead and run, you'll only die tired.
Those who might never meet are pooled together
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Come on and check it out. You know you want to.
Man - "It's not of earth at all. He's through there. They're through there."
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.
Man - "It can only be closed from the other side... and even if I did, a far larger door will form soon."
Be aware of singing as if you were half dead,
or half asleep:
but lift your voice with strength.
Be no more afraid of your voice now,
nor more ashamed of its being heard,
than when you sang the songs of Satan.