Chronicles of Absaroke

Medicine Crow 1848 - Apsaroke Nation

Nice story Hugie

Caravans containing books began to wend their way across the continent towards Lucyville, urged on by their cities desperate to gain the honour.  Creaking and groaning, wheels splitting and horses foaming at the mouth, the journeys are made.

Lucyville is in celebration mode!  The great blue goddess has ordered a feast and has hung bunting and flags from the highest buildings her self (riding a winged dragon).  Mages create magnificent visual and auditory effects with magic, and the noble elf leaders of all of her cities have come to join in the celebrations and welcome the caravans containing that special gift, that one single volume of poetry, that will trigger the dream and reveal the location of the next piece, and the clue to the next search.

The vans rolled in over the week following the finding of the clue.  Some had to travel almost right across Illyria.  Weary wagonners could barely keep their eyes open as they found themselves lifted shoulder high, and the customary bowing and scraping was forgotten in the melee.  But in the midst of all of this, the next clue was found.

Then as the celebrations died down and the last of the sprained ankles and torn hocks were set correctly for the journey home, a young scout who had ridden shotgun with his father asked "where to next?"

What an oversight!  The mages had forgotten to ask, and now the first vans would return to their cities with no idea how to take the quest forwards?

There is an army encampment, near a stone circle in Turalia.  The blue goddess has sent her mages with armed guard to this sacred location, to find the next clue.  It is still there - for now (for readers, it leaves on Thursday 20 Oct) 

There is the encampment, there the soldiers going about their business.  This one is to be a secret mission, a task of daring and above all, dangerous.  One false move and Spens could be discovered, and with discovery, ridicule.  Still, reflects Spens gravely, at least he isn't  risking his life (or his sister's) on this quest.

There's the tent with the wise man symbol, just to the North East of the camp.  Neytiri's seer is encamped there - Spens can see his elbow from this angle, the old man is seated in a chair facing towards the centre of the camp.  The treasured fragment of map should be just inside the tent.

Sophia comes to his side.  She has already placed her camouflage cloak into Hygens' saddle bag, and Hygens checks it briefly.  His task is now to wait.

Spens and Sofia briefly touch hands.  He's barely out of training, and she is much younger.  Yet Spens' success depends on her - on her guile and also on her speed.  As arranged, she goes to the North side of the tent, and begins to walk around it, whistling a child's nursery tune, very quietly.  She practiced this all the way to the encampment, and Spens thought there was nothing he hated more than that little tune, but now he hears it with relief.

The whistle covers the slice of his knife, through the back of the mage's tent.

Sophia has now caught the old man's eye.  She's carrying an elven cup, with coconut juice.  She wafts the smell of the drink towards him.  She has to stay out of reach, but distract him and entice him for just long enough.  There are no guards nearby, and soon, Maurice is out of his seat and pacing round the fire as Sophia keeps the fire between her and him.  Maurice stumbles a little; he knows he's supposed to remember something, but he's lost track.

Spens is inside the tent.  A brief look around reveals no trap.  The fragment is there, by the door, pinned up with a bronze broach.  There's a letter with it, written in elven hand that Spens cannot interpret, but he guesses it is the next instruction so he grabs both, being very careful not to damage the tent fabric.  Elves hate waste and damage, and Spens doesn't know how long his luck will hold out.

A brief glance out of the doorway reveals Sophia nearly on his side of the fire, and Maurice now on the other side.  Spens claps as agreed, and speeds out through the cut he made and back to Hygens.  He's convinced Hygens is grinning, if a horse could grin, but decides to save it for the trip home.  They can hear Sophia giggling and telling the old mage to check behind him, and the roar as Maurice finds his treasured map is missing from his tent.  On cue, Sophia leaps up onto the horse, and even before she has her cloak around her, the gallop away to safety.  An arrow whistles through the trees behind them, but even in their excitement they know that it was never meant to strike - if an elven archer was serious, they would be in trouble. Spens wins the feather this time - they are so proud!

On the way home, Spens opens up to Hygens and asks what he was laughing at.  Sophia hasn't learnt to communicate with the horse - may never learn - but Spens explains how the conversation is going.

From Hygens' vantage point, he'd seen an elven sureshot - marksman - stiffling a fit of laughter just out of sight behind a nearby tent.  They definitely approved of this tactic - no violence, just distracting the old mage with his best known weakness.

The other scouts will be disappointed that Spens and Nefarian got there first.  Spens hopes against hope that he is the one with the prize, that this isn't a fake to throw a less experienced scout off the trail.