94 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
94 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: 00041
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created: Wed, 14 Dec 2022 17:50:38 -0700
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updated: Wed, 14 Dec 2022 17:50:44 -0700
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syndicated: yes
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public: yes
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---
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### 00041 {#00041}
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> Alex grips the encoded message he received in reply to his last
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> request firmly in his coat pocket. It was simple, curt, impactful.
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> "Trust no one". Which begged the question, could even it be
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> trusted? Was HQ compromised? His informants in danger? His allies
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> and leads awash in the dark grey mist of uncertainity. Or had his
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> message been intercepted, cracked, and a farsical response been
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> sent in its place. Alex wasn't certain which, but the strange
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> format and unusually speedy response had him on edge.
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>
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> This anxiety didn't boil up to the surface, not a line of worry or
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> hint of the inner turbulence broke his cold blue eyes. Outwardly he
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> was just as composed as ever, but between these uncertainties, the
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> loss of his uncle, and now this utterly strange dagger he'd found
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> amongst his uncle's belongings, he wasn't certain how long that
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> composure would last. It didn't held that he felt this gnawing at
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> the back of his mind, as though something was probing, attempting
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> to communicate with him, somewhere between telepathy and utter
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> magic, and not in any sense that Alex understood.
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>
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> And here he stood, a stranger amongst amidst his uncle's allies,
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> and very little intention to change that situation at the moment.
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>
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> As the gondola touched down and the Toques rushed to greet them
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> Alex jumped blithely off the ship and onto firm, but fluffy,
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> ground. He cast a look around him at what appeared to be an
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> ordinary port of entry, noting the crowds of people passing by. As
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> the Toques arrived Alex spoke curtly to them, "Who sends you to
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> greet us, and where do you wish to take us, and by what means do we
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> travel?". Short, cut, information only. There's too much unnerving
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> in an unknown situation like this.
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~
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> Inky greets the toques in turn politely, then turns to the second
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> toque and says, "A little bit of bread and no cheese."
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"Cheese?" Bread cocks their head looks at Inky with a touch of
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embarrassment. They start patting at their pockets, presumably
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looking for a morsel of cheese to share with the travelers, but
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finding none. They groan miserably. Confidence butts in
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apologetically, "There will be plenty of food at the hotel if you
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want some! Some delicious fondue perhaps? Kelsun Peak's famous liquid
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gold!"
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"Blavin Blandfoot arranged for us to meet you," Bread answers Alex.
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Confidence nods enthusiastically in agreement. "But I suppose
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technically the hotelier sent us." Bread points up at the sky, in the
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general direction of the summit of Kelsun Peak. "We are to escort you
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to Palace Runesocesius." They thumb over their shoulder in the
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general direction of the stairs. "By way of the cloud steps. On
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foot."
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Confidence leans in close and lowers their voice. "A Ginnarak
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Crystal! I can't hardly believe it! Thought they had all been lost to
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the ages. I hear it's complete dumb random luck that this one turned
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up. Story is, an aetherwael beached itself on some wide zephynos
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boulevard. Happens sometimes. Poor things can't distinguish between
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clouds and cloudstuff. I don't blame 'em! At a distance, you and me
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can't either! Anyway, this aetherwael has got a harpoon stuck in its
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side. Dratted poachers. May they all fall out of the sky and be
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dashed to a thousand pieces on the rocks below. But it had a harpoon
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in its side and was trailing behind it a float bag tethered to the
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harpoon. And you probably already guessed what was inside of it!" By
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the time Confidence finishes their brief story, they are trembling
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and nearly breathless with excitement.
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"Anyway," Bread interrupts their excited companion in an attempt to
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restore decorum. Both of the toques have been gently herding you
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toward the base of the stairs this whole time. "You know how the
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zephynos are. You could give them all the coin in Basmentaria, or
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something priceless like a Ginnarak Crystal, and they'd just as
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quickly misplace it out of carelessness. If it's not a cloud they can
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sculpt into the shape of seussomorph or the likeness of some fantasy
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creature, they just don't give a fig. Luckily the hotelier caught
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wind of the aetherwael and found out about the crystal before they
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managed to lose it, or bury it inside of a sculpture or something
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silly! He has it safe and sound in the library up at Runesocesius
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now." Bread climbs the first step, his foot sinking barely a
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centimeter into wispy cloud before striking the solid cloudstuff.
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"Come! The hotelier will be very excited to greet you!"
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WHAT DO YOU DO
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[www](https://framalistes.org/sympa/arc/tildepals/2022-12/msg00193.html)
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