Log:Princess Guard: Opening the Way

The Lost Archive 2021/06/07 	 Meleryniel Union Harlequin Ascendant Titan Lennox Gruglug Chittaknotsam Mutsenminmak Delmorkidtoh

2

The Scene So Far ....

Princess Meleryniel was asked/directed by her grandmother Princess Liandere to investigate a human who claimed to be a Knight Witness when passing into Undermoon. The concern arose when it became evident that his wandering around was in aim of reaching Mistsea which, though not explicitly disallowed, is unusual enough to warrant attention. In some back-beyond, he'd attached a troll to his person (in the lyrical sense, not literal) and at some point wound up setting out to reach the back end of the goblin kingdom of Wyrmwood -- where it borders with what is generally considered to be whisperer territory.

Not wanting an international incident in either direction, and with the firebird carriage driver Raptlennograp refusing categorically to bring his charge into temptation's reach of Nogjalnadrump, the Princess's Guard rode a fast and furious 'hellride' through dozens of Ways and out one near the border of Wyrmwood and the whisperers.

Escaping Wyrmwood territory without incident, the Guard found and came upon the black man and troll as they were disturbing (?) a trio of what turned out to be gravesites-cum-shrines. After settling the mayhem that insued with ... some damage but not /too/ much of it, came the arrival of three goblin warriors with Spears of Unusual Quality on the back of great hounds -- definitely dogs and not wolves of any sort.

These three demanded to know who came to the Threshold of the Archive, at which point the black man (Lennox Hardigan, from Colonial Bay) claimed to be a Knight Witness, and the goblins became less pugnacious -- especially when Lennox and Gruglug (the troll) moved away from the graves.

Lennox looks around, then, grimacing a little as he examines the terrain. "Thing is, they're right -- this /is/ supposed to be the location of a Way directly to the Archive. Most if not all of them were physically triggered, but I don't see how that could be done."

Titan remains quiet, waiting to see if a full explanation is going to be forthcoming.

Meleryniel looks about with Second Sight, trying to see if there is any sign of a Way here,

Union looks at the arrangement of the stones, trying to see if there's a pattern.

Harlequin glances around for a moment then points at the split stone with the canopy over it. "I'd start there," he murmurs in his archaic Faerie.

This is a clearing roughly forty meters across, and though there is grass here and there, it's mostly hard-packed dirt, stones, and (near the fringes) tree roots. Careful examination will reveal several stones of dwarf/human size lodged here and there, some half-buried in the earth, others laying next to them, one of them clearly split in two but, oddly, with a small canopy constructed over it.

Meleryniel's understanding and perception of such things keys in on the sizeable stones; indeed, there /is/ a way, triggered by manipulation of some of the stones. Like compass needles, half of them are meant to be balanced precisely upon the other half, but have been knocked off, and the one stone has been shattered. Whether this disruption is due to time or deliberately done will require further examination.

Gruglug scratches at his chin as his lower jaw and tusks jut out. "Dis place be needin' a stonecarver, it does." He leans over and drags his clawed fingers around a half-buried dwarf-sized stone to try and dig it up. "Shame it ain't no bridge. A troll woulda taken care o' it."

Meleryniel says, "Time - or sabotage - has taken its toll. The stones of the gate are in disarray, and one broken. Many of the old gates on Earth have the same problem, since people forgot what they were!"

Lennox, seeing Titan's 'you haven't finished explaining' look, adds quietly, "I'm /trying/ to get to the Archive. I've /been/ trying, but fae still love giving humans the run-around, which is why I'm in the back end of beyond. They send you towards Ways they've /heard/ connect to somewhere that is right next to a Way to the place -- even if they've never heard of the place at all."

Union says, "Can it be repaired?"

Meleryniel says, "A Master Worldwalker could rebuild it, no doubt - unless perhaps similar damage has been done at the other side. I doubt I have the skill myself! I could, of course, try."

Union says, "Would it help if the unbroken stones were returned to their places?"

While the fae and interested others are pondering the Way, Kalwara is considering her moves during the short lived conflict, replicating some of her actions in slow motion as she looks for ways to improve.

Meleryniel says, "Putting the stones back as they should be would be a step in the right direction, certainly."

Union says, "So which ones go where?"

Meleryniel says, "I'm afraid I'm no archaeologist."

Titan nods to Meleryniel, "I can help with that, if you know where they should go."

Titan says, "Well...moving them. Repairing...not so much."

Lennox blinks at Meleryniel, then looks around at the stones said to be of the Way. He takes a step towards the goblin trio, causing the third to shift his spear in wary uncertainty. "The Witnesses who came this way -- what were their races??"

After a moment of consideration of him, the lead goblin -- Chittaknotsam -- nods slightly, and the second (female) goblin, Mutsenminmak, chants softly as if reciting a tale, "The elf was he first, and found by our foremothers, died of long wounds after telling us tales. The whisperer next, never spoke once to we, never knew we its presence, save when at last it fell. The dwarf came she last, in the fullness of time, but hunted by age fell the teacher of all."

Lennox stares. "Three. They overturned them, shattered the one ... knowing that except for a troll and a rockbinder, they wouldn't be able to be fixed ..."

Meleryniel says, "The stones may slot together, like a puzzle."

Harlequin murmurs as he approaches the split stone, "A rockbinder, you day, Mssr Lennox? Well, I can at least return this stone to wholeness." He places his hands atop the two halves the spilt stone then begins to speak Words that refuse to stay in anyone's minds.

Meleryniel goes to examine the stones for indication of the interconnecting parts.

Lennox glances towards Harlequin, then says, "Gruglug, I think you need to stop digging that one up. Meleryniel, the ones on the ground balance on the ones buried?"

Gruglug exhales sharply from his nose and stops playing with the dirt and stones. "If'n you says."

Meleryniel says, "I should say so."

Meleryniel checks the various stones to see if the concavity shapes vary, or the concavities are marked, in such a way as to indicate which stones should go where.

The three warrior-goblins watch from their grave-guard position with wary uncertainty. "What is it you are doing?" demands the female (in Fae).

[Speaking Fae] Meleryniel says, "I am seeing how the gate may be repaired."

Union beckons Kalwara over to the smallest stone. "Can you help me lift this stone onto that one?"

Titan starts to repond to the goblin, but Meleryniel beats him to it. He waits to see where things need to be moved.

(Stone weights in kilos: 2875 (the largest), 809 (the smallest), 1650, 1136, 1209, 1784 (the broken one, after being repaired).)

The masked mage speakd those same Words a total of five time including the first time. His voice grows weary as the stone, visibly, starts to 'grow' back together as he speaks the Words each time. Finally, after the last syllable of the last Word is spoken for the fifth time, the stone, with an audible 'snap' is once again whole, its surface one more whole.

Harlequin leans against it for amoment, resting his head on its surface. "See now? That was not so hard for you, was it, old stone?" he murmurs.

Kalwara turns to Union, "I will gladly help, although even with two I fear the stone may well weigh more than can lifted."

The three goblins' attitudes change -- a straightening-up in realization that perhaps, just perhaps, their long wait might finally be over.

Meleryniel tells people which stone should go where, as nearly as she can determeine.

Kalwara assists as much as she can albeit she has only the strenght of a fit human.

Union says, "Let us make the attempt."

The Fae Princess will go around examining the stones and giving direction, though with two stones there are two similar 'slots' that might be correct -- and time has worn away the original direction. She makes her best guess on each.

Union takes her position at one end of the stone, and heaves in coordination with Kalwara.

Meleryniel says, "I hope that's right. It's hard to be sure in the case of a couple of stones."

With effort, Union and Kalwara manage to lift the stone and place it atop (they hope!) its partner.

"I'll be happy to take a look when I catch my wind, mam'selle Meleryniel," says Harlequin. "Although Way magicks are not something I've studied so far. Just human Gate magicks."

Titan easily lifts stones, placing them where Meleryniel directs him to do so.

Gruglug attempts one of the big ones, but not the biggest. He grunts and manages to budge it a little, but not straight lift it. Grumbling, he goes to a smaller one.

The goblins -- not only the three lead warriors, but the score or more that had swarmed towards Lennox and Gruglug, ignoring the Guard to protect the graves -- watch with growing hope as the newly-arrived begin to put right what had long lain ruined, which had been the despair of not one but three Knights Witness. "Will it work?" asks Delmorkidtoh softly, the youngest of the trio.

Meleryniel says to Delmorkodtoh, "I can make no promises, but it may."

Between Harlequin's careful repair of the broken one and the rest of the Guard's careful digging-out and replacing of the 'tuning' stones on top of the 'anchor' stones, a good half-hour passes; a number more goblins arrive from the nearby 'village', of both genders and many ages, to watch in hopeful wonder.

As they work, Kalwara will feel the breezes bringing teases and hints of her surroundings to her. This is something that always happens to a wa suri, of course, and especially in a crowded area like Colonial Bay, one tends to accept the input without paying much attention to it.

Now, however, is a more potentially charged time, and besides the six-score-and-more goblins Kalwara knows are about, she can feel several more -- from four or five to ten or twelve -- of the furred humanoids present within her range. They are not always ... trackable; this may be disturbing to the wa suri.

Lennox stares at the reassembly, then says, "It would be a long walk through the palace to remember how this one works. Your Highness, Harlequin, if you happen to be able to deduce it somewhat more quickly ..."

Kalwara straightens after helping to lift one of the stones and tilts her head slightly, twisting her neck to bettwe catch the wind traces. "There are others watching," she says, "A hand to two hands, either furred or wearing furs."

Meleryniel moves about, adjusting the positions of the stones - or, given the weights, more often instructing other how they should be adjusted.

Titan continues following instructions, moving the stones as needed. He doesn't seem to have any issues with the weight at all.

Once balanced, actually, the stones are capable of being moved -- slowly, admittedly, but moved -- even by a human or fae of average strength; moved by Titan, it's a cinch. As Meleryniel goes about adjusting the position of the tuning/key-stones, she, Kalwara, and Harlequin can sense the growing tension in the area; even Union gets a kind of psychic 'itch' in the way the barriers between dimensions tighten up. This is not unexceptional; it occurs during pretty much every opening of a Way. It's just that most of the time, it takes place in a fraction of a second, while here it's slow to be brought into existence --

--

-- and then it Just. Doesn't. Resolve. It's /almost/ there, but something has been done wrong, something isn't in the right position, in exactly the right place.

Meleryniel frowns, sighs. "It's not right. Something... Did I get those two stones the wrong way round? Or is something out of position?"

Titan blinks. "Sooo...is something supposed to happen?"

Meleryniel says, "Something should. Can't you feel it? It's very close..."

Meleryniel steps back from the stones to look them over as a whole and see if she can see what's not quite right.

Kalwara is willing to try and help. She attempts to assess the prevailing wing directions and how that matches with the weathering of the stones in their current position.

Gruglug is skeptical that anything will happen. "I don't feel nothin'. There ain't no other way around?"

Lennox sighs a little. "There's a number of other ways around -- but that's kind of the problem. Every other Way I've found has been disrupted."

Union says, "That doesn't sound like coincidence."

The wind patterns tell Kalwara nothing, though even she can feel the slight 'vibe' about most of the stones; the winds do not wish (as it were) to move about the clearing at the moment.

Going about and inspecting each of the tuning stones, now with a greater sense of the activity of the Way, Meleryniel will zero in on the one she was most uncertain about: one of the two with the 'alternate' balance-point. With a few moments' work by Titan, that gets corrected, and then adjustment --

-- and the tension resolves, the Way is open. Into brambles, apparently.

Lennox's expression is grim as he looks sideways at Union. "I agree."

Meleryniel grins at a difficult job finally done! "The Way is open," she proclaims.

A resounding cheer comes from the throats of fifty or more goblins, weapons and fists shaken in the air in joyous triumph at not just a difficult job, but what seems to be the end of a generations-long wait. Half-a-dozen goblins surge forward to grasp at the brambles, hacking away at them and dragging the remnants through in order to clear it.

Meleryniel says, "It will not stay open for long. Two minutes, perhaps."

Titan looks to Meleryniel, "This goes to some kind of archive? What is it?"

Meleryniel says, "That, I don't know." She turns to Lennox. "What is this archive?"

"The home of the Knights Witness. The original, first home of the sages, if our histories are to be believed," says Lennox, nodding in acknowledgement at Meleryniel and then looking around at the goblins and the Princess's Guard. "Thank you; repairing this would have taken a hell of a long longer than half an hour if it'd just been Gruglug and I. And the back end of never if it'd been just me."

Union says, "Are we permitted to enter?"

Meleryniel says, "This archive is on Mistsea?"

Lennox grunts. "Go through the Way, certainly. At this point, though ... well, last time I was here, back when there were many Knights Witness, the gate to the Archive would open only to a known Knight, after a test." He nods to Meleryniel. "Yes."

Gruglug looks about at the opening of the Way. "So now we's goes throughs and talks to dem 'bout dere stone issues?" he asks Lennox.

Meleryniel says, "Why were you seeking the Archive?"

Harlequin looks at the open of the Way, his head tilted to one side. He holds his right hand out towards the opening as if feeling a wind.

Lennox watches the goblins moving in, mentally counting down the two minutes Meleryniel warned, then calls out in Fae, "Everyone back, it's going to close!!" Which, after their trio of leaders (with a fast by-eye consultation of each other) reinforce, they do. And sure enough, the dimensional link that is the Way closes, and the six key-stones start to slowly turn on their pivots.

"Oi, we missed our chance to get to the archive standin' around," Gruglug groans in disappointment.

Lennox nods slightly at the closing, then turns to Meleryniel. "To find out what happened to my fellow Knights, your Highness." He turns to look at the graves. "These may have been the last besides me, and I would /dearly/ like to know what the hell happened. As your young woman said," and here he nods to Union, "this doesn't sound like coincidence."

Lennox smiles, and heads over to Gruglug. "Nah, big guy -- place like this, it's just a matter of putting them back in place. C'mon, you're going to have to learn how this place works yourself, so ..." He moves to stop the first of the stones' slow turning, then wrangle it back into position.

Harlequin murmurs to the others. "I can always try to pass through the Way if we re-open it. Well, once I make a place here to return to if I end up, well, lost. Unless I end up in back of the Far Realms, I can return here."

Gruglug is consoled and lumbers along to observe Lennox' use of the stones and their alignments. "Well...good. Thought we cames all this way to get locked out."

Kalwara checks in on the shy watchers, the mysterious furred humanoids she noticed before the Way opened.

Meleryniel says, "THe gate should open again once the stones are realigned. But someone had better stay on this side to reopen it when people go through!"

Harlequin looks around at the clearing with both his outer and inner senses. He seems to be setting it in place.

The 'watchers' remain as they were, in and behind trees, only one somewhat in the open as the goblins get ready to go through again, to hack and clear the far side of the Way of brambles.

Meleryniel says, "There may be other ways back from the Archive. But Mistsea is fragmented, and any given island may be short of Ways to leave."

After careful adjusting, the Way reopens, and Lennox suggests, "Gruglug, why don't you push on through? Grab briars as you go, just clear it out the other side?" He hefts his pack and says absently, "The Archive was something of a nexus -- it had dozens of Ways to and from it. It's just that most of the Ways in and out are, well, like this place -- in the middle of nowhere, and inconvenient to get to." He glances south and east, into whisperer land. "Though I expect this one served to give access to Wyrmwood and the whisperers both."

Titan nods to Meleryniel, "Sounds like we might want to keep people on this side to reopen things?"

Meleryniel says, "That's my thinking."

Gruglug grunts and nods, then lumbers through the way. He clears some of the briar by merely crashing through it. Other larger twisting branches are twisted and snapped out of the way. His thick hide isn't much bothered by the briar, but occasionally his leather loincloth gets snagged.

Meleryniel says, "And I had better be one to stay, as most likely to be able to work out how to realign the stones if things go wrong."

One big troll does in ten seconds what a band of merry goblins would take half an hour to do; after a moment or two to let the zipping and snapping vines finish their snapping and zipping, Lennox enters the Way and follows Gruglug through to the other side.

Kalwara informs Titan "I will stay with whoever is chosen to reopen the Way. My doubts of the intention of the hidden watchers grow."

Union follows Lennox through the Way.

Harlequin takes one last look around then nods poltely to Meleryniel and Kalwara, "Hopefully we'll be back soon." He then heads after Lennox and Gruglug.

Titan nods. "Will you need me here to move the stones again? I can remain as well."

Meleryniel says, "It seems the stones can be turned without needing much strength. And Kalwara can protect me, I'm sure."

Titan nods. "Okay, I'll go ahead through, then."

There seems to be some discussion amongst the goblins, and the third (clumsiest) of the warriors is detailed to remain behind while the First and Second Applicants go through. The majority of the goblins hurry back off to their village.

The masked mage stops just inside the way then murmurs, "A representative of the whisperers may be welcome. If the Knight Witness disagrees, I can send them back here."

Lennox looks back over his shoulder. "What makes you think one hasn't come through already?" He gives Harlequin a twitch of a smile, almost a grin, and goes onto his toes to try to look around.

Harlequin shrugs slightly. "Just being polite. I was told I should work on it by an enemy."

Meleryniel says, "Whisperers do what Whisperers will. If they want to talk, they talk first. Otherwise they prefer to be left alone."

After the two minutes (it's actually more like two and a half) the Way closes once again, leaving Meleryniel and Kalwara with the goblins on one side ... and the rest of the Guard with Lennox, Gruglug, and the two goblins on the other.

The Way on this side, as most Ways are, is also a clearing in a wood, albeit nearing to the point of no longer being a clearing; the trees are old, and there are new ones in multiple places, though the majority of this clearing seems to be brambles, or at least was before a troll pushed through it. What might have been a paved trail leads out from it, though, giving some direction to exploration. There is definitely a sense of ... waiting, though; the usual sounds of a wood are lesser, muted. In the distance is a low sussuration, as if the shore were near, but not too near.

Lennox laughs. "Point taken, and a good one at that. I expect a whisperer is here and listening; few and far between can sense a normal whisperer, and those who were Knights were ... among the very best of us." He pauses, looking around again, and frowns. "Clear the area and be able to re-open the Way from this side, or head to the Archive?"

Titan nods. "I think we should see if we can open the way back first. Then head to the archive." Titan shrugs, "It might not even be possible to open it from this side, after all. Might be nice to nail that down."

"Well, I would say, we should clear the Way here. Best to leave it ready behind us, no?" He looks around for a moment, then says, "Let me bring us some help in clearing the underbrush, yes?"

"Sure," agrees Lennox.

The masked mage whispers some words and after a moment, some translucent humanionds, many sprouting prodigous beards, dressed in colorful Russian folk dress, materialize around him. They all stand about 2 feet tall. In Russian, he asks of them, "Domovoi, can you aid me in removing the brush in this this clearing?"

The domovoi look around for a moment, then nod and get to work around the mage, taking time to strip and bundle the branches for curing and (much) later use; good firewood can be hard to find. Older dead branches are likewise bundled for sooner use.

Harlequin reaches into the leather bag at his side and takes out various small wrapped bundles that he gives to the two 'oldest' looking domovoi, one with a white beard and the other in a babushka.

Titan goes ahead and starts to clear some of the brush as well. He's not sure what exactly needs moving, but he's seen enough well-manicured lawns to make some guesses.

Titan pulls one of the branches, and he pulls a keystone off the anchor underneath it, causing it to land with a thump on the ground. "Good news...found the stones. Bad news, I ruined whatever alignment was set up."

Union says, "Assuming that the plants hadn't already moved it."

During the cleanup, Harlequin will identify -- well before his domovoi get to them -- stones of similar design as those in the clearing which they left, and direct the spirits to take care around them. Likewise, Union and Lennox recognize the ones they comes across as being, you know, something to take care around.

"Looks like something similar as the entryway," calls Lennox. He clears away the brambles from the stone he's found, then heads over to Titan. "Going by how the other side was, I think the position you find it in is happenstance." He nods to what Union's said. "Let's see ..."

Lennox eyes the fallen stone, then suggests, "Remount it with this," and he runs fingers along a depression, "on the anchor stone. Seems least mucked up."

Harlequin bows to the domovoi when the clearing is, well, clear again. In Russian, he murmurs, "Domovoi, your aid as always touches my heart. Until we meet again." The spirits then fade away back into whereever spirits go.

Gruglug is careful not to touch anything yet. He doesn't want to mess things up. Seeing Titan break something makes him feel better about getting touchy with things, and he starts prodding around.

Titan picks up the stone..and tries to place it where Lennox suggests. "I can adjust it afterward."

Lennox nods. "Well, it should move freely," he says. "Now, let's see ..." He considers, then asks, "Harlequin, any guesses?"

The masked mage wanders over to stones and looks at them. He touches the one that goes on top as he looks at them.

Harlequin adjusts the stone very slightly from the way Titan placed it. Then, he moves to the next stone, then the next, until he has touched all of them. To most he makes small adjustments. He then holds out the hand on which he wears an ancient Fae ring as if feeling the air. "I am certain enough of the stones. Well, as I can be not being Fae or a Way builder. Shall we give them a try, Sir Lennox?"

"It's positional," replies Lennox, "not triggered, so ... adjust them a bit?" He is paying close attention to the alignment of each of the key stones.

As he moves to one stone, adjusting it slightly, Harlequin murmurs, "Have you considered that they may have closed the Way to keep something in rather than out, Sir Lennox?" There is a change in the air and the Way opens back up.

Titan shrugs at Harlequin's comment, "I'm sure that if that's the case, we can deal with it."

Lennox regards the Way as it opens. "Yes," he answers with both simplicity and finality. "The Knights Witness. Someone /really/ doesn't want something found out. Or ..." He hesitates, then says in a low voice, "someone got tired of us telling the truth."

"Da truth be awfully in-con-vin-ient," Gruglug agrees and pronounces the big words piece by piece.

Titan pauses as things get into conspiracy theory territory. "Hmm. Well, now that we can open the way back, let's go check out this archive?"

"Let us, yes. But, well, Titan, could you take that one," he points at one of the stones, "off the others when the Way closes? That way, well, just in case."

Even the goblin pair were helping to clear the underbrush away, and frowning at some of the 'young' trees of three or four inches of thickness that occupy several spots in what on the other side is an open area.

Lennox nods, looking around for a few more moments and frowning. "I would rather you didn't," he says, "but as I cannot /prevent/ you from doing so ..." He eyes Titan, then Harlequin, then gives a brief shake of his head before thumping Gruglug's arm. "Let's go." And he starts down the trail that has been found, paving stones half-buried beneath moss and grass.

Titan nods. "Sure, I can...but I'm not sure it's necessary. And Kalwara and Charm are on the other side. They're hte goalies.