RP Board Summaries
Our board moves pretty fast sometimes. Suspect you missed some role-playing? Check below to catch-up with what happened on.....

Thru Monday, December 18, 2000 (events not in chronological order, since I'm so far behind. Sorry!)

The Queen was having bad dreams about the curse, when she awoke to find the box containing her key missing. Later information revealed that it had been stolen. Through a valiant effort of several members of TRC and KS, the key was recovered [go here for the full story with pictures], and the wedding plans continue for this upcoming Wednesday.

As he prepares for battles over the last several weeks, Elros would write to his brother; the discussion seemed to revolve around his sister Yavanna. One night at court, Orion revealed what Elros had told him: that Yavanna held a grudge against the  Queen because Elros has joined her army.

Lor Manshoon showed up at court, badly injured and clutching a strange scroll. Yorgrace, who found him, took the scroll and put him under guard as well as under the care of a healer. When he recovered enough to speak he told Queen Ruby that he had escaped from Yallum. He has, he told her, been taught some chaos magic by Yallum, but that while he learned chaos always trumps order, the price on one's humanity was too much for him to pay. The scroll, he adds, is potent chaos magic and should be used carefully; it was the only way he could escape Yallum's control. He appears to be seeking asylum, as Yallum would bind him further were he to return; yet he also appears doubtful as to whether there is any place for him among the court, and does not appear to think highly of them.

Yorgrace has been quite ill on occasion lately, and there is some speculation among the ladies of the court that she may be pregnant. Red looks nervous.

Awakening, Elerond finds himself in a small stone room empty save for a few chairs, a blazing fire, and the noblewoman. She assures him that he is safe. He asks for her Master's name, so that when he returns to the court he may tell them who offered him such assistance. Changing back into her normal guise, Fae informs him that the court is likely already acquainted with her Master. Further, she tells him, he cannot use magic within Yallum's walls, and that he must await Yallum's appearance as he would wish to talk to the mage. Elerond takes the information calmly, but checks the room for possibilities of escape; there are none, Fae tells him, and settles back to watch the man pace as they wait for Yallum.

After visiting the remains of the village where Skirvin grew up, he then takes S'karlett to the next part of their journey: the swaying deck of a battered ship, in what remains of long-ago battle between ships and shore. There, Skirvin tells her of his life as a pirate, the man who stole him away into piracy, and the battle waged there between them when Skirvin found out what he had done. On shore, he examined the scars left by magic on the buildings and told S'karlett to step back, as he wished to try something: summoning magic, he shielded them and then recreated the electrical storm that had won him the battle waged so long ago. "Did you see that?!" Skirvin asks the awed S'karlett, and kisses her. Immediately he pulls away and begins to apologize. S'karlett reacts by imagining for just a moment that she kisses him back, but instead turns away and tells him he has forgotten who they are and that it should not happen again. Continuing with their journey, Skirvin then takes S'karlett to a sacred grove of ancient trees; there, too, remain the scars of death and battle. Feeling this to be an important place, S'karlett listens quietly as Skirvin tells of his rescue by the Kin; the sacrifice Il'liandra made for him, their love, and their son. S'karlett is surprised, but hardly has time to react before a man appears from the trees where he had been watching them. "Why did you bring her here, Father?" he asks accusingly. S'karlett, recognizing the menace towards her, remains very still as Skirvin's son confronts him. It is clear that Samson hates S'karlett and blames her for taking his father away from him, and as a betrayal of his mother's memory. Finally Samson breaks down and his father comforts him. Shaken by the whole trip, S'karlett asks to be taken home; she is distant and cold, but they part ways amicably after Skirvin surprises her with a snowglobe, then recreates the snow scene around them with magic. 

Later, Samson returns to the grove of trees, and summons the spirit of his mother. Skirvin appears and questions Samson's use of the ritual for evil purpose. "I did what I had to do," Samson argues bitterly. "You abandoned me for the love of a woman." Il'liandra's spirit tries to explain why Skirvin has done as he did, and transfers her knowledge and understanding to Samson via placing her hands on  his face and using magic. Suddenly understanding, Samson breaks down again and embraces his father.

Merick has opened a gate with the Skull of Mondain nearby when the shadow of a figure crosses the light of the gate. Worried, Merick asks who is there without turning, his attention on the gate as his body convulses in the magic. Just then a silver spear pierces Merick's chest and as he falls, a shadow of a hand with claws grabs the skull and enters the portal.

Thru Monday, November 20. 2000

A weakened and injured Elerond accepts the warm drink from the noblewoman outside Yallum's tower.

Several member of the court travel to the guildhall of the Emerald Sashes, at Lady Dori's invitation, for a visit. While Catfish Charlie is hauling in kegs from his ship, he throws some old nets overboard, which result in a Kraken and sea serpent attacking the hall. Max Balance, Faith, Cryptoknight and others were instrumental in staving off the beast, although it was Or E (who had been mining nearby) who delivered the fatal blow with her shovel, saving them all. Max Balance was injured in the battle and Dori tended his wounds before he departed. Samson was also seen lurking about, stealing a keg for his own use [and although the others don't know this, he aided in killing the kraken by shooting arrows while hidden in the trees]. 

S'karlett is tending the roses in the Keep's rose garden when Skirvin arrives. It is their first meeting since the confrontation, and she is flustered. Skirvin kneels before her and asks her to make a leap of faith and trust him. "I didn't kill you," S'karlett replies, "So I might as well hear what you have to say." Skirvin inscribes a scroll for her, so that she can return safely at any time, and then says that he wishes to show her a place; will she go? he asks, holding out his hand. S'karlett accepts and, to show she isn't afraid, marches off into the opened gate first. To her surprise, they find themselves on a warm black sand beach; the remains of a ruined hut are nearby. This is what remains of his home, Skirvin explains, when he was a boy; he takes her for a walk around what remains of the village, sharing memories with her, although the memory of many of them are painful. Finally he stops: "This is the first part of the trip, ready to see more? I can't guarantee it'll be a cheerful trip... for either of us... but, it should prove... enlightening at the very least."

Thru Friday, November 10, 2000

Fae watches the shivering Elerond from the ramparts of Yallum's tower, spying on him and muttering to herself: ...Fae likes you, oh yes she does. She decides that Yallum might like the man as well.  Then she gets an idea and disappears. Some time later a beautiful blond noblewoman on a white horse rides by. She is dressed in blue with white fur trim, and there are jinglebells upon the reins. She smiles gently down upon the cold mage. "You look cold," she says. "Are you in need of help?"

"What exactly is going on here?" Skirvin asked S'karlett when he found her lying on his floor after she had let herself into his cabin. S'karlett realized how it looked, her clenching the dagger, and let it drop to the floor. "Nothing," she says. "I was alone. You surprised me." Still wary, Skirvin presses her: Why are you here? "I had to see you right away," she says. "I heard you were a pirate." Skirvin recoils. "Why were you looking into my past?" he asks. "Not yours, mine!" S'karlett replies in anger and tells him briefly of how Yana was killed. Skirvin asks her to sit and they will talk. Skirvin begins to tell her of his family, his mother, how he came to be a pirate: "how could a child be expected to understand the ways of evil men...?" Coldly, when Skirvin informs her that something "vile" happened to his mother, S'karlett interrupts him: "And was she killed, leaving you an orphan? Were you alone, like I was, after you killed my Yana?"

Shocked and disbelieving, suddenly realizing why S'karlett is there, and what she is saying, Skirvin's mind races...trying to think of all the faces over the years, trying to remember who she is talking about. He pleads, "S'karlett... I would never think to brand you as one to accuse without reason... but I assure you, I have no memory of your Yana...." At the same time thinking: Can it be? Yet another life I've touched... ruined... anyone elses! Just not... her's... please Light... not her's...

"I have reason," she replies, angry but still hoping that maybe she is wrong. She puts her hands out to his chest, then up over his shoulder and allows them to rest on his upper arms. "A tattoo," she says, indicating her right hand.  "Here. That is my proof." Skirvin rolls up his sleeve and shows her the tattoo. "This?" he asks. "This... was a badge of seniority... rank... and fear. It has become a symbol of a life I should never had led. Though I am not proud of much of my past, I've chosen not to have this mark removed to serve as a reminder of the monster I once was... the monster I would rather have slayed than allow to be unleashed upon the innocents of this world, again." He continues, "I'm not sure how this implicates me, but if you will tell me the story, I will hear you out." But S'karlett, reacting strongly to the sight of the tattoo, recoils from him. She is horrified: It's true! Oh, it's true! She turns pale and can't breathe: "It's you!" she tells him, and turns away fumbling for a chair to steady herself. Seeing her distress, Skirvin is stricken to realize that S'karlett knows he is the one who killed Yana, even if he can't remember it. Oh not again, he thinks, saddened. He helps S'karlett to the chair before she passes out, gets her some water, and then stands nearby holding out a towel to her. "S'karlett..." he says cautiously.

But S'karlett cannot answer him, cannot even look at him. She ignores the towel. She stands and moves to the door. Only then, pausing with one hand upon the latch, does she manage to turn and look at him: "I came here to kill you," she says, all trace of emotion fled. No apology, no anger. Just a sadness ensconced in fact. "I cannot. But neither can I bear to look at you anymore." He looks wretched, she notes, but doesn't care. Then she leaves. Skirvin, thinking he must try to do something to stop her from leaving, instead (realizing that nothing he said would do any good) does the hardest thing of all and lets her go: "I understand." Overwhelmed with sorrow after she leaves, Skirvin drops into the nearest chair, buries his face in his hands, and weeps. 

However, outside the door the sound of his weeping arrests S'karlett's footsteps. She stops and turns back. Go to him! she tells herself, struggling. No, I can't! But she takes another step towards the door and seeing him there inside, weeping, makes her realize that she'd been stubborn to acknowledge that she loves him. Hesitating, realizing she could just keep going and be free of him, S'karlett nevertheless takes another step towards the room. Then she goes to him, allowing herself to place a hand on his head. "Please..." she manages, forcing the words she is not used to saying. "Please...don't." And then she hurries out again, riding off on his horse before he can stop her. 

Inside the cabin, Skirvin is overwhelmed: She came back? He tries to catch her but she is too fast and gone before he can react. She came back! he realizes. He goes upstairs and out on to the porch with is pipe to think about that fact. "Skirvin gazes out and up to the moon above the treeline. In a burst of joy, he hollers to the trees,  'WWWWWWWWWWWOOOO' Aiming one hand to the sky, he shouts another incantation, this one much more complex... an orb of light forms on his palm, and then rockets straight up into the night's sky. After what seems an eternity, it explodes with a huge BRABOOOOOOM!! Birds take flight from the trees all around the cabin... the soundwave shakes the ground and the home, itself! Another globe... and then another... and yet another! Lines of light skewer the heavens for minutes upon minutes....For you. To light your way home.... Love, he thinks. The show is spectacular." 

Tuesday, November 7, 2000

Marlena tells Briar that she deserves to be punished for touching her in the rescue; but Briar, saddened at the past that would leave such a wretched soul, merely pats Marlena gently on the head and heads to curl up behind the Queen's throne to sleep, still exhausted from her experience. Marlena crawls along behind her and curls up at Briar's feet to sleep as well.

Everyone finally realizes that Angie, who had gone in after Briar, is now lost in the airvents. They shout at her to come on out, but Angie cannot hear what is being said, only that there is a lot of shouting going on. Angie thinks the giant slug is killing everyone and continues to struggle against the rope against her waist and the grappling hook in her pigtails. Realizing that Angie can't hear her, Faith convinces Red to give her a boost up so that she can go in after Angie. They search for a rope or a belt to tie around Faith to prevent *her* getting lost as well. Red lends his belt, but then has to hold up his pants with one hand and hold on to Faith's ankles with the other. In the vent, Faith finally finds Angie, who explains about the giant slug and starts crying because she thinks everyone has been eaten. Faith, laughing, untangles the grappling hook from Angie's hair and tells her that everyone is fine, no one has been eaten. "Did you wallup the giant slug?!" Angie asks, thinking Faith must be a hero and saved everyone. Meanwhile Red hauls on the belt to pull out both women, but to do so must use both hands. Just as the women come tumbling out, Red's pants fall down, and the whole pile of people fall off the chair and into Catfish Charlie and Cryptoknight. 

Monday, November 6, 2000

A mysterious admirer leave a single white rose and a red-silk wrapped present [with a diamond] for the Princess. Her maid finds the gifts and sets them near S'karlett's bed for when she returns.

Elerond awakes to find himself in a place of blinding snow and cold. He is disoriented and surrounded by orcs. Dodging them, he struggles thru the snow trying to figure out where he is. Some time later he arrives before a large stone tower: "He glances at the two iron clad doors that seem to be the only way into this dark and sinister tower. A small sign hangs off to the side of the east door. Elerond squints to see what it says. His eyes open wide, and his jaw drops. He only had to make out one of the archaic symbols on the sign to know that he was very much up to his loincloth in more than snow: 'Yallum'."

Thru Friday, November 3, 2000

Red found Marlena cleaning the floor and helped her, to Marlena's dismay. He then dragged her off for a meal. She was sure he was just trying to get her drunk, but he simply passed the time with her and then went on his way.

The next day, Red was heading into the keep when he caught sound of some rustling and noise in the wall that seemed to be coming from the airvent [where last we saw Briar Windsong]. Yorgrace did not know what it was either, but had to go on to guard duty, so Ai'ne kept guard with Red while he tried to figure out what to do about the apparent creature trapped in the vent. Red, pointing out that if the thing died it would stink up the place, went to get some food from the kitchen to lure out the creature so that they could kill it. Meanwhile a curious Catfish Charlie, Faith, Marlena and Dori showed up to see what all the commotion was about. Once Red returned and explained the situation, Dori tried to lure the creature out with some hypnotic music, but to no effect. Marlena offered to crawl in there after the stuck creature since, by her logic, she was worthless and no one would miss her if the thing bit her head off. Red, wanting to protect Marlena, told her no: "we'll be tearin the keep apart stone by stone afore I let that happen!" Everyone agrees, though, that someone small should crawl in there after the creature stuck in the vent. Catfish Charlie suggests Angie 'cause she can sing real good, and goes off to the pub to get her. Angie, somehow convinced that the poor thing stuck in the wall could be a dolphin, hurries to help. Back at the airvent, they tie a rope around Angie's waist and hoist her up. As she starts crawling thru the vent, she sings...horribly off-key. That should flush the creature out, Red notes.

Meanwhile, Marlena, convinced that she should be the once to sacrifice herself to the creature in the vent, had snuck off to the kitchen, filled a pack with lard to grease up the stuck creature, greased herself up as well, and climbed into the vent system from an opening in the kitchen. After awhile she came upon the unconscious Briar Windsong stuck in the curve of a hairpin turn where many vents vents came together. Apologizing to the unconscious elf for defiling her by touching her, Marlena slathers lard all over the sleeping elf and starts dragging her back out thru the vent towards the kitchen. Finally, just as Briar is waking up, they reach the kitchen vent and fall thru to the floor. Red, hearing the commotion, races off to the kitchen to find a mass of limbs covered in grease and dustbunnies. Certain that this is the creature, finally flushed out by Angie's singing, he grabs at the pile, hauling one up in each hand, calling for someone to get the guards. After a moment, however, he realizes just who the two are, and what is going on, and instead breaks out into a hearty laugh. As they clean themselves up, a starving Briar eats the fruit and vegetables offered to her. Marlena, prostrating herself before Briar, tells her that she awaits her punishment for touching her. 

Angie, meanwhile, has reached the spot in the air system where the vents come together. Angie notes the lard on the floor, but thinks it is slime from a giant slug. However, just as Faith begins yanking on the rope around Angie's waist and yelling into the vent for Angie to come back out, Philippe, who had gone up on the roof and dropped a grappling hook down the vent from a roof opening, got the hook tangled in Angie's hair and started pulling. Hearing the yelling from the kitchen and from Faith, Angie is convinced that the giant slug is killing everyone. But she is tied to one rope and tangled up in the other and cannot move.

A mysterious man leaves a note written in a flowing script upon S'karlett's doorstep: "My dearest Princess, You do not know me, for one such as I am well beneath notice for one such as you. However, I wanted you to know that I have pledged to your protection, happiness, and well being all that I have and ever shall have. I cannot explain the affect your dazzling beauty has had upon my soul, nor the overwhelming emotion I feel whenever you pass by. I only know that you have reached in and laid claim to the very essence of my soul. I know full well that there are many others who would claim your love, and verily, I will not even attempt to intrude on your life in such a way; I shall be content to merely bask in your presence occasionally and try to be of some anonymous service to you. I shall be there whenever you are in the most danger, Princess, for though a mere Princess in this land, you are the goddess that rules my very being." S'karlett's maid retrieves the note and places it on S'karlett's desk for her to find when she returns home. Later, in an event that may or may not be related, Elerond is passing by the marble house hoping to talk to the "fiery Princess" when he spots a note upon the door and, red-faced, turns away. Then he stops, turns back, and uses his magic to draw up a lightening bolt that not only incinerates the note on the door...but apparently Elerond as well. Only his wizard's hat remains. [Ed. Note: Theory may be that Elerond was incinerating the note on the door not realizing that it had been moved to S'karlett's desk; However, it could be a different note].

Thru Wednesday, November 1, 2000

Briar Windsong appears to have become stuck in the vent of the keep and no one is aware of her presence at this time. We do not know why she is there or what she is after.

Meanwhile, everyone had been busy preparing for a second attempt to retrieve the skull of Mondain. And air of tense anticipation hung over Newcastle. In the home of Faith and Cryptoknight, he did his best to dissuade her from participating in the upcoming battle as he feared for her life. Faith was adamant that she could help, however, and sought to assure her new husband in other ways. Centurion Elros woke on the day of the battle and penned a letter to someone [I am not sure who, tho I believe it was family], and then continued preparing for battle. Philippe tended his armor and put aside thoughts of the ranger long enough to make ready for war.

In Yallum's keep, all was being made ready for the second ritual to extract another glyph from a shrine. Yallum ordered Lor to acquire the victim needed for the sacrifice. Little did they know that Her Majesties Legion had been scouting the shrines ever since learning that the glyph was gone from the shrine of Honesty, and had noticed particular growing activity near the Shrine of Sacrifice. Therefore, they had quickly mustered an ambush. Suspecting that Yallum may try to take the glyph very soon, HML was preparing for war. Finally, they settled in at the Shrine of Sacrifice to wait.

The weeks of scouting paid off. Hidden in the vegetation around the shrine, HML soon saw members of LoY arriving and preparing for a ritual. Zircon had warned the court many weeks before [on the guild night we visited the Shrine of Honesty and discussed the missing glyph], that Yallum might try something like this. Realizing that they must stop the ritual at all cost, the forces for the Queen attacked while LoY was unsuspecting. The surprise ambush worked, as LoY was unprepared for a battle at that time. Members of LoY began to fall to HML swords when one of Yallum's minions arrived with the unwilling sacrifice victim. Already severely hurt and near death, the victim was dragged towards the shrine while all around them battle raged. Sensing that nothing could be done to save the unlucky victim, and desiring to halt the ritual at any cost, Vox decided to risk condemnation of the Court and landed the final blow on the victim, thereby ruining the ritual. The battle continued and LoY, never fully recovering from the surprise attack, fell one after the other. Finally, the field was quiet, the carnage horrible, but the shrine defended. Members of HML tried to rally: should they attempt a second raid on Yallum's tower to gain the chest containing Mondain's skull while the forces of Yallum were weakened and thinned? It was discussed but decided that word of HML's surprise attack, and the loss of the ritual, had probably already reached Yallum and he would be prepared for any assault on his Tower with increased forces. Wisely, HML decided to wait to gain the skull on another day, lest they themselves fall victim and be overrun. They had stopped the ritual and defended the Shrine. The battle was won. They would leave it to another day to win the War. [For pictures of the battle, go here].

****

Thru Monday, October 30, 2000

S'karlett arrived at Skirvin's empty house and let herself in. She noted that while only the day before she would have been eager to see the home of the man she was growing closer to, now she could not bear to touch anything. She seemed to be in a state of shock still and went over and over the information the man had told her: that Skirvin was the man who killed her Yana. Exhausted, she fell asleep on the floor to wait for him, her dagger clutched in her hand. Arriving home later, Skirvin could tell someone was inside his home and, spotting the figure lying on the floor, used magic to surprise and hold the intruder in place. "Who are you?" he demanded. "Reveal yourself!" He was shocked to find that it was the Princess who replied, and immediately let go the magic to see if she was injured. Concerned, he knelt by her, trying to figure out what she was doing there, asking if she needed anything....and then he spotted the dagger she was holding. "What exactly is going on here?" he asked.

Wednesday, October 25, 2000

Philippe is chasing Shadomir as usual; Shadomir is using the opportunity to find out why Brandy [the barmaid] invited Shadomir to stay in Jhelom. Philippe keeps dodging the question.

In Britain, S'karlett met with the man in black and gave him the painting she'd stolen for him several weeks earlier. Pleased, the man agreed to fulfill his end of the bargain and provide the information S'karlett was looking for: the name of the nobleman who struck down Yana [S'karlett's guardian and only family as a child] when she was eight years old [Yana was backhanded by the man because she was in the way, and died as a result of the blow, leaving S'karlett an orphan]. To help identify the man, S'karlett relives the day and the moment that it happened. At first she only knows that he had shiny boots, but at the man's urging she tries to remember more: "They are cuffed boots," she said, surprised at her own memory. She forced her mind to look further. There…. "And a sash. Black." She also realizes that the man had no shirt on. It is then that she remembers an identifying mark: a tattoo. "A skull…here…and below it two swords crossed…like this. Both on fire," she describes. The man in black recognizes the tattoo and informs S'karlett that it is no nobleman who struck down Yana: "It was a sea-captain of one of the most dangerous pirate gangs around at the time. The tattoo marks 'em. All of 'em carried the same tattoo; but only the swords on the captain's arm were in flame." S'karlett is excited. At last she will find the man who stole her childhood and when she does, she means to kill him to exact her revenge. "Who is it?" she demands. "Tell me his name." The man is dubious: "I don't know what name he uses now, or even if he's alive," he tells her. "But back then," he said, pulling another glass of whiskey, "he went by the name Skirvin."

Later, some merchants in Britain note a pale woman [S'karlett] emerge to take the reins of a horse. She looks ill but the expression on her face forbids help. The woman is seen crossing the bridge out of town, only to stop and pull out a piece of paper [Skirvin's note]. Then she grimly turns her horse to the south.

Tuesday, October 24, 2000

Dori, who has been acting strange lately [arriving at court in a kilt and not much else], spent much of the day lugging huge bundles in and out of the keep. No one is sure what they contain.

Briar Windsong, away for quite some time now, arrived at the keep and slipped in past the guards [tho not attempting to hide]. Once she was in an empty corridor, she slipped into an air vent and disappeared.

S'karlett arrived in Britain, planning to meet the man in black the following day to give him the painting she'd stolen for him. She was anxious to get the business over with however, as all she could think about was the note Skirvin had sent her and going home to see him.

Friday, October 20, 2000

[Two notes from previous weeks: Faith and Cryptoknight are wed; Samson returned to a place where the "Kin" used to live and was overcome with weeping. The Kin are the same people mentioned in Skirvin's background].

Skirvin painted a picture described as the following: "Before him stood his easel, the paint still tacky from his efforts. At its center lays a brooding girl, bathed in moonlight, perched on the edge of a small, shiny pool. Her chin rests on the palm of her left hand as she lazily draws designs in the surface of the water with her right. Her brow is slightly furrowed in concentration... who could fathom the thoughts of such a vision? The opalescent nightshift she wears seems translucent if not transparent... but certainly not to the casual eye. She glows with a light of her own, her inner beauty radiating starkly against the night-darkened sky around her. Her fiery hair, loosely pulled back from her face, just reveals the thin circlet resting upon her head. Centered on the circlet can be seen a single tear of blue gem; small as if making an attempt to not draw attention, yet it glimmers proudly for those that would give more than a glance. The gem is the woman... and she is precious." He then wraps up the painting and arranges to have it sent by messenger.

Meanwhile S'karlett has been spending her time tending to minor correspondence in her Sister's absence. She is, however, quite restless and spends more time daydreaming and watching the entrance to the keep than anything else. On Friday she was bored and daydreaming when a courier arrived to announce that a carriage had drawn up bearing a large rectangular package addressed to the Princess. Having learned that the package had been delivered to her room, S'karlett raced upstairs and opened the package to discover the painting. Overwhelmed, she realized the painting was of her...and searched for some sign of the sender. Inside the wrappings, she finds the following note: "Princess. My sincerest apologies for not being present to deliver this gift to you, personally. Duties to those I honor keep me far too distant from my selfishly desired life. Rendering an image of you unto this canvass hath taken the edge from my feelings of loneliness... 'though I fear it is a pale substitute for the real thing. I long to return to any place where I can but set a gaze upon you, even but if for a fleeting moment. In truth, no moment would ever be long enough. -Skirvin"

Although first in awe that he would send such a note, S'karlett is soon smiling and sets about composing her own note. She is very happy and yet unsure of herself, but she makes the effort to be brave and say what is actually on her mind: Dear Skirvin, Thank you for the picture. I am....overwhelmed. To think that you would think enough of me to send that, why I-I am honored. And I am touched. I do not know why I should feel this way, but I cannot stop thinking of you. I must go out of town for a few days. But when I return...I would like to see you. It would make me very happy to see you again. Until we meet again, then. I shall be thinking of you. S'karlett

Although he has not yet received her note, Skirvin has managed to catch a glimpse of S'karlett's smiling face from his ship out on the ocean [magically, in the stars] and thinks only of going home to her.

Thru Friday, September 29, 2000

Shadomir arrived to inform Queen Ruby that Arakthor had passed away before coming to trial in Dawn; although the Queen was unavailable due to state business, Zircon was able to take the message for her. Shadomir indicated that Dawn wished to make reparations, should the Court need any, and that she would remain in Newcastle for a few days until the Queen could formulate a reply. Meanwhile, Queen Ruby sends a note to her sister S'karlett that all is well but that she will be mostly unavailable for the next several weeks [S'karlett has not yet received this note].

Skirvin arrives back in Newcastle and shows up at S'karlett's door. No one answers, and Philippe, who happens to be passing by at that moment, explains that S'karlett is out of town. S'karlett's maid, Lily, opens the door just then and confirms that S'karlett was indeed out of town but that she had returned several days prior and was in fact up at the Keep. Skirvin thanked Lily for the information and headed to the Keep.

Meanwhile,  in the dining room of the Keep, S'karlett is lazily having a lunch of apples and wine before her trip later that evening. Skirvin arrives at the keep in search of S'karlett, asking the servents if they'd seen her; eventually an upstairs maid volunteers that she'd seen S'karlett in the dining room. Apparently much emboldened after his recent illness, Skirvin heads right into the dining room and, much to S'karlett's sudden panic [she remembers that Merria had told her that Skirvin had "fallen for her", and was hoping to avoid him entirely], Skirvin asks if he might join her at the table. Warily, S'karlett agrees and the two start talking. She is on guard, trying to figure out if what Merria said was true, but relaxes as the conversation progresses, and fills Skirvin in on the recent events [including how Philippe brought him into court drunk; his attack of the healer; and his disappearance]. Finally Skirvin notices the sun coming thru the windows and suddenly asks S'karlett to take a walk with him. She is about to refuse but impetuously, to her surprise, changes her mind and grudgingly agrees. Later, rumors abound among the village guards that the Princess was seen walking with the Lord Chancellor and actually smiling for a change.

Later that evening, in a hurry [because she had been reluctant to end the walk with Skirvin], S'karlett packs her bags and heads out. The next day at Baron DiMera's keep south of Trinsic, at a masquerade, a woman dressed as a Swan [S'karlett] is seen leaving the party. Baron DiMera, an underground art thief and collector, wonders who the woman is, but becomes distracted when one of his guards shows up to inform the Baron that a painting has been stolen.

Skirvin is bathing at a pond near his house when he has a memory from his childhood: he is six years old and swimming at a pond, but when he returns home he finds his mother gone and a group of men at their cottage. The leader, Jacques D'Fontaine, and his men are dressed in colorful clothes, with bandanas and earrings. Believing the men to be friends of his fathers, the young Skirvin helps them search for his mother [the pirates don't seem to know where she is either] but when he can't find her, he gladly accepts the Pirate's assurance that his mother must have gone to meet the boy's father: "She musta known I was comin' for ya. If ya wants, I'll be more'n happy to take ya to yar dad, son. That's why I'm here, right?" The six year old Skirvin accept the Pirates offer and is whisked away by rowboat to a larger ship waiting offshore.

Thru Tuesday, September 26, 2000

Marlena fills Faith in on what happened while she was gone. 

Skirvin hitches a ride cross country with the circus, where he finally leaves them and heads back to Newcastle.

While holding court in Nujel'm, Queen Ruby questions Zircon about the Glyph of Honesty. "Much is happening," he replies, and continues to tell those assembled that because the Glyph of Honesty was stolen from the shrine, lies and deceit will fill the land. Deciding to investigate further, Queen Ruby gathered her guards and anyone else who was willing and traveled to the Shrine of Honesty. There, while the snows and winds whipped about the desolate landscape, Zircon explained that the Glyph was gone and that someone must have trapped it. Although the Glyph itself is not visible to us, the gem it was trapped in would be: we should therefore be looking for a blue sapphire, as blue is the color of Honesty. More ominously, Zircon noted that the Shadowlords were banished, so who else could have taken the Glyph? Suspicion arose that Yallum might be behind this, as he is still in possession of Mondain's skull; it was therefore decided to send a spy into Yallum's stronghold. Many names were bandied about, but most were dismissed: Yallum would not believe their change of fealty. Finally Phoenix suggested the pirate Skor D'Argent owed him some favors and would believable as an ally of Yallum's. Satisfied, the members of the Royal Entourage were about to depart when Yallum suddenly appeared, accompanied by his henchman, Merc. The Queen was in a nearby building visiting a sick child before they left, and all quickly understood they should keep her presence secret for her protection. Princess S'karlett, speaking on behalf of the Royal Family, quickly stepped up and demanded to know what he wanted here. It was the first time the brother and sister had met face to face. "I have the Glyph!" he shouted triumphantly, confirming their worse suspicions. "And I will see that Yoran is destroyed." Although those present sought to deny this, he persisted in his taunting. Finally, he left and the court gathered the Queen to safety and departed back to the warmth and protection of Nujel'm. Glad, too, were they that the Prince [Yallum's son] had been cautioned to remain behind and not risk a journey so near Yallum's fortress. All members of the Royal Family returned safely, thanks to the protection of the Royal Crimson Guard; yet they wait cautiously, too, to see what Yallum plans to do next....

Wednesday & Thursday, September 20-21, 2000

The recovering Skirvin was visited by a curious circus gypsy-girl by the name of Isabella who, while first denying knowledge of where his belongings were so that she could talk to him, eventually returned his clothes and bag. 

Marlena's search for Faith continued. Meanwhile, Faith has managed to get her hands free but is still trying to determine whether she has all the reagents she needs to escape. To keep him talking while she figures out what to do, Faith agrees to answer Samson's questions. To Faith's amusement, Samson wants to know how well she knows the Princess. "When she is in the village I believe she stays within the walls of the keep most times, so if your having maleficent thoughts about her I assure you she is well guarded," Faith replies. But Samson only laughs and then suddenly announces that they are going. Still delaying for time to figure out if she can escape, Faith asks where they are going. "Why not leave me here?" Faith asks. "Allow me to make this gesture," Samson replies. He even seems to have grown a grudging respect for Faith: "Ya kept yer head even though ya knew I was gonna kill ya. I think yer worth more than what 'She' is lettin' ya become. Yer young enough ta still do somethin' about it..." Faith agrees to go with him, and they recall to the middle of a dense woods. Samson tells her to go: half a day's walk along the creek and she'll be back in Newcastle. With what appears to be sadness he disappears into the woods and Faith, grateful to be free, starts running towards home and her Cryptoknight, where eventually she runs into the searching Marlena.

Up to Tuesday, September 19, 2000

Marlena continued to lead JJ, Yorgrace, and a rag-tag bunch in search of Faith. Samson and Faith were holed up by a waterfall somewhere, where Faith had managed to work her hands free of the ropes while talking to Samson. Cryptoknight, despairing and feeling like a failure, seemed to give up his search and headed back to the keep.

Skirvin, still unconscious in the Circus-folk's care, had another dream only this time it was of time spent with the "Kin" [four years] and of an elven woman he loved by the name of "El'liandra" or "Elly." It is a good dream and happy, but he awakes to find the fat circus woman staring down at him. She announces that his fever has broken.

Thursday, September 14, 2000

S'karlett returned from Britain and coldly dismissed her friend Sister Emmaline, telling her to go home: "I'm tired of being watched over constantly." Shocked by the tone S'karlett's order, Sister Emmaline nevertheless packed her back to go. Later, S'karlett was about to set off towards the keep when she found a love poem left for her on the doorstep. She read it, then crumpled the note into a ball and threw it away.

Cryptoknight continued to chase Samson and his beloved Faith. Hearing Cryptoknight approach the place where they'd spent the night, Samson used a scroll to open a gate and took Faith thru. They ended up in a place near a waterfall, where Samson told Faith her fate while she spit at him and threatened him. Meanwhile, Marlena tried to marshal forces to help her go rescue Faith.

Wednesday, September 13, 2000

Still unconscious in the Circus-folk's care, Skirvin continues to have horrible dreams/memories, including one where he ruthlessly and cold-bloodedly slaughters a noblewoman aboard his ship, then turns on her orphaned child who is likely to meet the same fate. [These appear to be memories from when he was younger, as his hair is still red and he is aboard his ship]. 

Marlena was busy scrubbing the Keep's floors with JJ's toothbrush when Yorgrace showed up and decided to teach Marlena how to be a "real woman." Dragging Marlena off to the armory, Yorgrace had her fitted out in armor. Then, sticking a dagger in the cringing woman's hand, Gracie dragged her out the courtyard to practice her fencing on a training dummy. Unfortunately, the dagger ended up in the dirt most of the time, and when Marlena actually managed to hit the dummy, it ended up swinging back and knocking Marlena into the dirt. Yorgrace showed unbelievable amounts of patience.

Meanwhile, S'karlett is in Britain meeting with the man in black. They appear to have a long history together and he asks that in return for providing S'karlett with the information she wants, she steal a painting for him from another thief. The other thief is a nobleman who is having a masquerade the following week: "Ain't nobody got your knack for carrying off what doesn't belong to you," he tells S'karlett.  "And this is right up your alley: you just got to get out of there with the painting and you're safe; he can't send the law after you, bein' a thief himself." S'karlett agrees to the deal.

Comatose, Arakthor is wracked by memories of being tortured in the Terthan keep in an attempt to get him to renounce the Virtues. Meanwhile a Royal Delegation from the Kingdom of Dawn arrives at Newcastle, bearing the Lady Arrianna who has come to speak with the Queen about Arakthor. Escorted by a contingent of guards [one of whom is an imposter] and the ranger Shadomir, Lady Arrianna is given audience in the throne room where she asks Queen Ruby to allow her to see Arakthor, a citizen of Dawn. Agreeing, Queen Ruby orders Jad to have the guards bring Arakthor and his guard, Cryptoknight, upstairs. Arakthor is brought upstairs for Lady Arrianna's inspection; he is well physically but still comatose. She appears to be quite overcome with emotion for the man, yet remembers her mission and asks Queen Ruby to allow her to return with Arakthor to Dawn. Queen Ruby agrees, provided that Arakthor be returned to Newcastle in the future to answer for his crimes against the court. "If he is still alive," Arrianna answers, "he will be returned." 

Lord Yallum places the glowing blue orb [presumably the stolen glyph] in the chest with Mondain's skull. He then gives Samson a pill and him to go find a virgin about to be married and bring her back to be sacrificed. He also orders Lor Manshoon to take a bag of pixie dust and sprinkle it over the sleeping form of Zircon in order to render him unable to transform from his gargoyle persona. Lor later slips into the sleeping Zircon's room and accomplishes the task. 

Back in Newcastle Faith is returning from a visit to Catfish Charlie's where she had been making arrangements with Angie to host Faith and Cryptoknight's wedding reception. Suddenly a man [Samson] posing as a knight of Dawn intercepts her and pretends that the Queen wishes to see her. Protesting, Faith questions the man, and he reacts by placing a cloth over her face that renders her unconscious. Just before she passes out she whispers Cryptoknight's name. Rumour has it in the village that Cryptoknight somehow heard Faith's call and burst into the courtyard of the keep to come to her rescue [with the surprising help of Marlena who aided him by "Corp Por"ing a hole in the Keep's outer wall so that he could get thru; Yorgrace had greater respect for Marlena after that]. Outside Samson, with the unconscious Faith slung over one shoulder, looked up to find Cryptoknight charging at him. Samson fired a crossbow bolt at the enraged knight [who either was not hit or undeterred by the injury] and took off on horseback with Cryptoknight hot on his trail. "Long Live Lord Yallum!" Samson cried as he rode away.

Shadomir and the Dawn guards left to return Arakthor to the Kingdom of Dawn, while Arrianna stayed to sort out the mystery of the man impersonating one of Dawn's guards.

Later that night the tale of the day's events were whispered and retold throughout the village, each telling growing more and more fantastic. "I heard he knocked over the Dawn carriage and all four guards," someone said. "No no," said another, "There were at least a dozen guards but he only knocked over half of them." "Well I heard he shook the earth with each step and knocked over trees," breathed some of them. "I heard he picked up the trees and threw them at the guy," said others. In the end, no one was quite sure how much was true and how much was the fancy of the villagers telling tales. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, September 12, 2000

A wagon train of circus folk meander into the area [where, exactly, we're not sure] looking for a place to settle for a night. Nearby, an old man is mending his fences when he spots a figure lying on the ground near the pond of  a neglected pasture. He is just about to investigate when the circus folk appear and, at the old man's gesture, set to taking care of the unconscious person [Skirvin, who is dying and having terrible nightmares (memories?) of death and killing those he loves]. 

S'karlett is in Britain [which she considers "home" because it's where she grew up as a rogue] in disguise, searching for a unnamed man. When she finally spots him after three days of searching, she finds him demanding protection money from a boy thief. After the boy leaves, S'karlett approaches the man who recognizes her, but calls her "Duchess" [because before she was a Princess she would disguise herself as nobility to rob people, thus the nickname]. They meet in the man's office and S'karlett tells him she needs information: a "name" to be specific. They begin to discuss his price. "I always get paid," he says, eyeing her suggestively.

Arakthor arrives at the keep bearing a staff emblazoned with the staff of humility and demands the guards to open the gate. When they halt his progress to check with the Queen first, he poisons them [they remain alive, but rendered immobile]. He makes his way into the throne room where he is challenged by Yorgrace and Shadomir. Yorgrace tells him that if the guards do not live, he will not. Heedless, Arakthor ignores Shadomir's assertion that he is under arrest by order of King Desmond of Dawn: "I think not. Not today." "The Queen is not here," Yorgrace informs him. "She hath not heeded my warnings. There is little else I can do for her," Arakthor states. Jad and Cryptoknight arrive and challenge Arakthor but he answers the challenge, indeed all their challenges, by daring them to kill him. "I am here in judgment," he says. Quickly, seeing the insanity, Yorgrace and Shadomir move to tackle the knight. However, seemingly unaware of pain in his madness, Arakthor allows his arm to break as he twists free of the two women. They call the guards, but Arakthor threatens the people in the room with another potion as he sits in the throne. "Do not be so hasty," he warns, wagging his finger. He then begins screeching about being a Justicar there to judge them. "Enough!" Queen Ruby says, entering the throne room, as she paralyzes the mad Arakthor, who is looking wildly about the room. Finally he says, "She comes," and collapses. A hole erupts in the back of his neck and a spidery looking creature about half the size of fist emerges and scuttles down his back [note: Arakthor was imprisoned and tortured in the Terathan keep for many months]. Yorgrace and the others kill the spider creature which fills the keep with a horrible stench. Briar Windsong [who had watched his arrival with fear, and tended to the fallen guards at the gate] rushes to the fallen knight and tells Queen Ruby that he is still alive, but dying. Ruby uses Order magic to repair his physical wounds, but informs Briar that she cannot mend his soul. Then Ruby places Cryptoknight in charge of Arakthor and departs. Before she can go, however, Shadomir asks that Arakthor be turned over to her so that she may bring him to Dawn for trial. Queen Ruby, however, denies her: "I cannot grant thee this at this time Shadomir. I know he has crimes to answer for to Dawn, but he has crimes to answer for in Newcastle also. He is restrained under my Knights command, and he will remain thus until he is cleared of charges against myself and Newcastle." Shadomir left in anger.

Monday, September 11, 2000

Skirvin remains passed out in a field somewhere.

Zircon has been arriving at the Keep in  his gargoyle form [yesterday was the second day this has happened recently]. Shady nearly plugged him full of arrows, not knowing who it was, but Yorgrace stopped her in time. Zircon then sought to tell the Queen that the "Glyph" has been stolen and that, as a result, the people are doomed to falsehood and lies will fill the land. On a related note, Lord Yallum told Samson that he had taken the "glyph of Honesty." Further, Yallum stated: "Through the act of freeing Merrick from the ether, I had drained most of the skull’s power. "Through time the skull would recharge but time was something I had little of. The gate to Yoran would be opened soon and the skull must be fully charged to be of any threat. I therefore need to charge the skull with at least 3 glyphs from any of the shrines of Britannia."

Cryptoknight awoke and Faith continued to tend him. Determined, Cryptoknight dragged himself to his feet on his crutches and went to see what the Queen wanted of him. When it was determined that the Queen was away on Court business, Cryptoknight returned. During the trip, Faith and Shady spoke a few words; Shady got angry and went to kick a stump. Back at Faith's house, Cryptoknight took his medicine and continued to call for Shadomir. Angered, Faith lashed out at him but Crytoknight didn't notice. Despairing, Faith took his crutches and threw them into the water. Alycia showed up and finally knocked some sense into the knight. Realizing at last who it was who loved him, Cryptoknight set off crawling [since his crutches were gone] to the village searching for Faith. Finally he returned and they found eachother, declaring their love. Faith accepted Cryptoknight's marriage proposal.

Thursday and Friday, September 7 & 8, 2000

On his way to Jhelom, Philippe [somehow] found both Cryptoknight and Skirvin and brought them to the keep. When he arrived, he told the guards to inform Princess S'karlett. Meanwhile, both Faith and Alycia overheard the ruckus and ran to see if Cryptoknight was ok. S'karlett arrived and, not knowing Cryptoknight, assumed she had been summoned for Skirvin, who was obviously [odorously] drunk. S'karlett appeared to go off in a huff, but asked the Healer to keep her informed of Skirvin's progress. At the healer's, Faith took matters into her own hands and decided to pretend to be Shadomir so as to aid Cryptoknight's recovery. She made arrangements to take him to her home where she could nurse him back to health, hoping somehow that he would fall in love with her. Cryptoknight was unfortunately oblivious to Faith's tender care, however, and remained calling out for Shadomir.

During this time, the Queen had been informed of both injured knights and gone to see their state. She, too, detected Skirvin's drunken state and ordered him dunked in a cold tub; then the Queen left. Shocked by the cold water, Skirvin awakened and tried to stand up but slipped and banged his head. That, combined with his drunken confused state, caused him to lash with magic out at the Healer who was injured but lived. Skirvin then pulled out a rune and escaped to some unknown place.

Meanwhile, downstairs, S'karlett was headed back to her rooms when she heard Merria calling for her. "Is it true?" Merria asked. "Is my brother here and under your care?" S'karlett informed Merria that Skirvin was indeed upstairs, but that he was not so much injured as drunk. Merria, however, informs S'karlett of why she thinks her brother is in such a state. "He has fallen for you Princess, can't you see that?" S'karlett is taken aback and blushes, trying to think of a reply...when a loud crash [Skirvin falling from the tub] distracts them and they rush upstairs to find him gone. S'karlett then forbids Merria to speak of the subject again and disappears. 

In her room, S'karlett appears to be in a panic and orders the maid to pack all her things: "I'm going home," she says, but not to the Marble. She puts on the famous rogue clothes and disappears again, only to show up at Sklar's door. Overcome by the things Merria told her, S'karlett has finally remembered the things Sklar told her in her dream while she was ill: namely that he has chosen not to return to her. Enraged, S'karlet informs Sklar that she can take care of herself and throws the engagement ring at the sleeping Sklar. "Goodbye," she hisses and leaves, slamming the door behind her.

Briar Windsong is kidnapped by four dark-clad men on horseback. Jad, Ambrov-Keon, and several others give pursuit to rescue her, managing to injure several of the riders with arrows. Finally giving up, the men throw Briar into the brush and leave her. She is bruised and hurt. [Note: for more on what happens to Briar after this, please read the RoR board].

Tuesday and Wednesday, September 5 & 6, 2000

The knight Cryptoknight fell in love with and chased Shadomir around declaring his undying love of her. Alycia Windsong informed everyone that Cryptoknight has a habit of fixating on a ladylove in such a manner, to the exclusion of all else. Yesterday, growing tired of explaining the knight why he wasn't her type, Shady tricked him into going to get some wine for her and took the opportunity to run away. The Knight, undeterred by her roadblock, headed out into the forest to find her, clutching the wine and wineglasses to his chest. Unfortunately he wasn't looking where he was going and plunged over a cliff. Meanwhile, Faith was telling Alycia how she longed for such a love and set of to find the knight.

Philippe headed towards Jhelom, muttering things and thumbing thru a small book marking pages.

Skirvin awoke drunk and delirious on a hot beach, overcome with sorrow and self-pity.

Friday, September 1, 2000

Red Talon killed the infamous Mahn's D'Morte and presented the evil one's head to Queen Ruby. Skirvin received a note from Samson informing him that Samson was removing himself from Skivin's employ and tutelage, and had taken up with Lord Yallum.

Wednesday, August 30, 2000

Briar Windsong revealed in her continued conversation with Queen Ruby that her voice was taken from her long ago. Marlena Soultree met with Briar at Ruby's insistence and Briar did her best to convince Marlena that she was worthy but Marlena resisted all efforts to convince her otherwise. Briar informed people that Marlena is a broken spirit. Meanwhile in an effort to make a point that all are equal, the Queen set to scrubbing the floors and enlisted Phillipe and Skirvin among others to help her. When Marlena's sister Alycia Windsong showed up she accused Marlena of speaking untruths to the Queen.

In other news, everyone got mad at everyone else because Jad's necklace was pretty and he wouldn't let S'karlett wear it. S'karlett hired Garick to kill Jad and steal the necklace, but Yallum said, "no, I want that pretty necklace for myself!" He then used the powerful skull of Mondain to turn some iron ingots into a perfect replica of Jad's necklace and told Garick to switch them. S'karlett, spying thru her Bustier of ISeeYou!, said, "I want one of those too!" and started to pout. Everyone knew great fear. Palamon said, "She doesn't want another house does she?" and ran away. Then everybody got mad again. The Queen gave some orders but no one listened to her, except Red. Unfortunately, Yorgrace distracted him at that moment, so no one really knows what the Queen wanted. In retaliation, she put Bowie on the Royal Boombox. Skirvin ran away screaming. Garick laughed evilly. Jad told Yallum, "8-p".....S'karlett, having not been the subject of a sentence in half a paragraph wrote this one. Shady took the opportunity of the resulting confusion to hug as many women as possible. Dread filled the court. Would Yallum succeed in switching the necklaces? Would Garick steal S'karlett's Bustier of ISeeYou! And if he did, what would he do with it? Where did Skirvin go and why did he go there? Why didn't the Queen just kill Jad and be done with it? Who has the necklace now and which is the real one? All these questions were about to be answered when it was revealed that Phillipe had sent dinner to Yorgrace and Red, but Jad...ever confusing himself and himself....mistakenly intercepted the dinner and ate it on purpose. Turns out it was poisoned mushrooms and everything was just a dream. When Jad woke up he was in the shower and Vik was calling from the other room to tell him that Jenna shot JR. Since Jad was in the shower, nobody much wanted to spy on him. The end.

Tuesday, August 29, 2000

Yorgrace swore vengeance against anyone who would defame the name of the Queen, the Royal Court or the RCG. Meanwhile, in a tavern somewhere, Phillipe nursed some mysterious bruises.

S'karlett left a note for Mistress Vik telling her she'd be glad to stand up with her at Vik and Jad's wedding.

Briar Windsong and Queen Ruby tried to communicate. At first Ruby thought that Briar was asking to join the Court, but Briar denied this. Next Ruby asked if the Keep had been built atop Briar's home. Briar shrugged and kept trying to communicate her message. Puzzled, Ruby suddenly came up with an idea and used some Order magic to create a spell of translation. She was now able to sign and talk to Briar in her own language. Briar first wanted to be reassured that the Court was not of Lord British, which the Queen assured her we were not. The Queen offered to help Briar find more of her people, but Briar said she did not know if any still existed. Briar was greatly concerned upon hearing that the Queen was acquainted with what Briar called the "dreaded drow," but Ruby assured her that Briar had none to fear of the drow associated with the Royal Court. Finally Ruby asked if Ruby could gift Briar with the uses of humankind speech, but Briar sadly noted that she is incapable of speech.

Monday, August 28, 2000

In the morning, S'karlett teased Jad about his unexpected betrothal; then abruptly dropped the subject and headed out to her usual daily thinking sessions in the garden. 

Later, Briar Windsong, finally admitted to the keep [see summary 8/24/00] sat in front of Queen Ruby's throne holding a ring made from the red hairs that had been transformed and now resembled a ruby type jewel. She seemed to be under some sort of spell and basically ignored the hovering ranger Phillipe and Lord Chancellor Skirvin, both ready to strike should the woman intend harm to the Queen. However, when the queen arrived and placed the ring upon her finger, the winds told her that the ring is enchanted and would save her life once. Ruby tried to thank Briar, asking her if they could do anything for her, but Briar could only reply in her elven signs, gesturing around the throne room. 

Mistress Vik asked Ruby and S'karlett to stand up with her at her marriage to their nephew Jad.

Thursday, August 24, 2000

On a previous day, the mysterious silent Briar Windsong snuck into the keep and took some "long red hairs" from a hairbrush in a room with a velvet-covered bed. On Thursday, Briar mixed the hairs in with some ingredients she'd mixed in a mortar. When she was done, she emerged from the trees and walked "proudly, determined towards the Keep." Then she walked right up to the gate and motioned the guards to let her in, in a passage that noted if she *had* undergone some sort of transformation, her eyes are still brown. We left off with her waiting for the guards to open the gate.