At the gathering of the Grand Carnival many Beings of distant origin as well as local folk amassed in the Pan Tree Village center under the beautiful Pergola of Life.
Surrounding the pergola were food and drink establishments, a jeweler's shop, an apothecary, a weapons shop in a tree, and a recently arrived fortune teller clad in flowing fabrics which were covered in gold coins and trinkets. As well, there was a barely visible, long, sinewy Pine tree spirit wafting through the crowds.
She carried and hawked a collection of miniature, beautifully wrought images-many of which looked very familiar to the citizens of Pan Tree.
There were rumors that some magic attended the images. Some said that two of the miniatures, marked "Half Wish", when brought together would grant any wish of the holder.
Many of the miniatures had multiple matches among the set, but the spirit said that there was one special miniature that was Unique. A black-clad man remarked to the spirit that there were apparently several copies of his likeness. In a challenging voice he broached her, "does this mean that you think I am worthless?" The spirit only smiled. The man pushed further in a suppressed growl, "I have very limited powers but they are very annoying." The spirit answered with a smooth warm breath across his forehead which seemed to cause the man to calmly walk away while humming quietly.
The spirit bartered these pictures for a variety of goods, including a pretty rock, and even a gnome waif-traded by a gnome elder. "Is this all the child is worth?" asked the spirit, but the older gnome had vanished. In sympathy she gave the blubbering girl a bundle of pictures for herself. She even traded some miniatures to the fortune teller for a tarot reading that turned out most happily enlightening.
It almost seemed that the spirit was trying to unload her whole collection. A being called Seed, a wanderer who apparently spent his life moving about and planting whatever seeds he had, approached the tree spirit (feeling some kinship).
He offered two walnuts in exchange for a picture, which she accepted. As darkness fell, Seed disappeared into the night.
Meanwhile, a fair young half-elf stood off to the side watching the tree spirit in her labors. Finally, seeing that the price of the miniatures was dropping dramatically, she offered a stick she had just picked up off the ground. The spirit expelled a sigh of cold blustery breath and traded her last small bundle of images to the destitute (or cheap) half-elf.
There was another Pine tree spirit who generally hung in the background, unless food was available.
It was later mentioned to the gnome queen that these tree spirits as well as other denizens of the forest, like the Ents, had lately been fearful of the Beings effects upon the woodlands.
She was to warn her people that there might be magical deterrents set for careless travelers. In fact, soon after she learned of this there were many loud noises erupting from the region of the Hawk's Flight trail as the tearful gnome orphan came running out of the woods. "Ah, never fear Queenie," said the she spirit. "The traps will be reset." The gnome queen smiled knowingly as the spirit vanished into the crowd.
Following the general consumption of foods, tournament games were initiated. There were archery and spear throwing competitions, the latter won by a remarkably agile and strong young Count Dooku. The beautiful Lady Blue, a young dowager of the village, gracefully participated in most of the sports and accounted herself well in some of them.
There were competitive tosses of all manner of common goods, such as horseshoes and sacks of beans but, most popular of all, were the challenges with full weaponry.
A young human-elf named Grunt stood well in several of these battles though wielding a sword new to his touch.
And the oriental princess, Kikio fought on and on even with the loss of several appendages (she was also in possession of several very strong healing potions). Harry Potter did well, even without using magic.
Even Seed tried the Bow, but was barely able to draw it. His muscles were used to digging small holes and burying seeds, not quite a warrior's habit and strength.
After a relaxing evening of delicious beverages supplied by the Priestess of the Rabbit, a communal fire was enjoyed amidst low conversations and exchanges of possibly duplicit information.
As the coals burned to dust most Beings retired in warm anticipation of the Carnival morning.
The next morning Events were begun in the pergola, with an intonation by the Rabbit Priestess and an invitation for all to join her in a pilgrimage to the Rabbit Shrine. A great throng followed her, including even many of the laborers of the village. Two of these were strong spirited young-bloods: Grunt, who did the odd heavy jobs all around the village and Molly, a persistently happy wench who scrubbed and served in the tavern. They were both good workers but loved nothing more than joining a frolicking crowd.
This particular crowd frolicked all the way up King's Walk to the Rabbit Shrine, where the mood suddenly changed. There, in the pristine glade surrounded by sparkling asters waving on tall stalks was the body of a murdered rabbit. Evil was in the air and the Priestess, through blubbering sobs, begged the people to rout out the cause of this devastation and destroy it. Groups and individuals dispersed in every direction of the compass (mostly along cleared trails). "Evil will be found and good will prevail!" came back one very loud voice from the trees, but it almost sounded, to the Priestess, like this was followed by a cackle.
One group of noisily jolly travelers continued up the hill and into a rough area without marked trails. This was the Lair of the Fox and was a place that an informed person would avoid. As with the luck of the innocent, they happened first upon several keys hanging from some tree branches. These were gathered and pocketed. You never know when a key might come in handy. Further along they even found a small chest tucked up into a tree notch. This, too, they garnered though none of the keys fit the chest.
Meanwhile, over the hill and not too far away a great Rock Troll was ensconced in a small clearing.
The troll was blocking the Deer Valley trail, just where the trail from the Fox's Lair drops to the valley floor. He had been entrusted with one of the king's treasures which he had in a bag hanging from a nearby tree. The Rock Troll attacked anyone entering his clearing with a great stone club, yet he was impervious to natural elements and most magical. Early in the day a group of noisy revelers came prancing through the forest and down the slope from the Fox Glen.
Upon receiving the warning from the troll, "I am Thud, the Rock Troll. You may not enter my domain", an Elder Gnome in the group, Puck, volunteered to distract him while the others hurried past. The Gnome fought courageously as his compatriots rushed through the clearing and down the trail. Then they heard hideous screams.
Priestess Lana could not continue. She turned back to see if she could offer aid while Robin and Lilah followed in her wake trying desperately to convince her to sacrifice the gnome and save herself. They found the gnome crawling from the troll's clearing, both arms crushed to rubbery flanges. But he was not crushed in spirit. "Never fear," grimaced the gnome bravely, "just here, in my pocket, I have a healing potion. Please retrieve it for me and I will be as good as new." Lana dug into a deep pocket and finally felt a tiny vial which she applied to the gnome's lips. He soon grew strong enough that the reunited group moved on down the trail. However, just as they reached the shrine of the deer the gnome suddenly slouched against a tree and murmured, "the potion must have been poisoned…" and he collapsed in death. The reduced group took the gnome's axe, since he had no further use of it, and traveled on.
Soon after this a lone wanderer (apparently part human and part elf) innocently approached the Rock Troll. "I am looking for something," she said with apparent confusion, "but I've forgotten what it is. Can you help me?" Thud answered only, "I am Thud, the Rock Troll. You may not enter my domain." The small, young wanderer babbled on and absently took a step into the clearing. The massive troll advanced upon the tiny tidbit and sudden wisdom flooded her as she turned and retreated upon her original path.
Thud dumbly stood his ground and waited, the bag hanging behind him, while from a point high above the clearing two figures planned to throw down the troll with a loop of rope about those hunks of rocks he thought were feet. It wasn't long before a slight scittering of leaves marked the passage of the two Monks of Chaos along the ridge above the troll. Their mission was neither to the "good" nor to the "evil". They were merely agents of disruption and followed their spiritual glee.
The Monks were silent, knew the land well, and could be all but invisible. They were, of course, completely unseen to the next group of travelers who approached the troll from the same gloom into which the wanderer had retreated. Five travelers in all, Shesshomaru the Elf, Taniss a human dragonologist-without a dragon, his friend Sias, also hopeful of dragon involvement, and two small ones-a Count Dooku and a young wizard called Harry Potter.
These received the standard troll warning. Shess tried throwing magic at the troll in the form of fire, water, and ice until he became weak with the effort (he should have known that the troll being rock, was immune to these elements). After a short recovery the brash young elf simply engaged the troll in direct combat at which opportunity Taniss, on the run, tried to make off with the troll's bag-not realizing it was firmly attached to the tree, with a flip and a thud he was flung to the ground. In Elf's defense, Taniss and Sias joined the attack until all three were through the clearing.
Meanwhile they were encouraging the small ones to simply run past this deadly boulder. Harry, who had powers of teleportation, with calm intelligence marked herself with the yellow ribbon and passed invisibly through the clearing. After noticing that Count Dooku was still stuck on the other side she transported back through the clearing, while the troll stood by unseeing, and shared the ribbon with Count Dooku, thus teleporting him along with herself to safety. Just at this moment one of the Monks of Chaos (Monk Won) who had crawled through the tall nettles behind the troll, jumped up and, using an illegal out-of-game tool (pocket knife), cut the troll's bag from the tree and ran with it.
"Let's get him," yelled the alert little wizard. But her elder traveling friends had become enamored with a now-inert troll (the magic that animated the troll was gone with the loss of the treasure). As she implored the fools to chase after the treasure bag, they stood dumbly by and poked and prodded at the pile of stone.
Meanwhile the monks, thinking they had the whole game treasure, returned to the village, in disguise as normal travelers, and called everyone to gather to them. "A witch enchanted us and forced us to steal this chest from the rock troll", they intoned. Few paid attention and fewer still approached the black clad pair. Of those who came close was the human/elf Wanderer. The monks were sure that she was hiding secrets (and treasures) behind that mask of innocence and forgetfulness. They bargained and implored her to lend them the key to their chest. She denied possessing it. Her response and attitude were highly suspicious and ignited a quick outlaw response. They ran from the village to hide their treasure.
Charlie Frederickson, cousin to the king, was warily moving along Coon's Romp, occasionally practicing mighty swings of the war hammer he had borrowed from the king's weaponry. Without provocation or warning Shesshomaru stuck an enchanted dagger in his back and, chuckling, informed Charlie that he would die after being asked three questions. A moment later Shess asked, "Are you all right?" He laughed raucously and walked away toward his companions waiting further along the trail. Before departing the wood Charlie heard Shess call back, "Are you sure you're OK?"
Two down. Charlie lurched into the town square knowing that his time was short. Unawares, Count Dooku, approached Charlie and asked, "Can I buy that war hammer from you?" Charlie gasped in realization that this was his end and he fell down dead. In moments a crowd gathered around. Count Dooku, ever the pragmatist, asked the crowd in general, "If he's dead can I take the war hammer?" and, with quiet assent from the crowd, he grabbed it and ran. Wanderer and Madam Zemanski were first in the crowd of eager body looters.
Later, when the monks returned to the village for sustenance, the stealthy elf Shesshomaru snuck up from behind and assassinated Monk Too with a poisoned dagger. Ahhh, true chaos then ensued, as the people of the village, finally with attention focused gathered in excitement to loot the body.
The spirit of the dead monk was escorted by other invisible spirits to the land of the dead where, from several choices he was given, selected to remain a spirit for some time. In this guise his principal role was to escort other dead to that place and present them with their ultimate choices.
In a short time he was presented with the spirits of Sias and Liz. Sias chose to return as a monster to avenge deeds done to his person in the life just past. The monster plagued the land with fear and sent many to the land of the dead in his wake. Liz, a playful human-elf daughter to the village jeweler and cook, chose resurrection, a state in which she was compelled to give help to any living person in need (good or evil).
Many exploited her for acquisition of information and other things she would never have done in real life. After performing way too many annoying deeds Liz melted into the forest and wandered blissfully alone for some time. At one point she was visiting with a gnome who was relaxing in his bath. As Liz bid him g'day and turned to leave she just barely glimpsed a movement in the still undergrowth and realized she had company. Gently waving a greeting to the almost hidden Pine Tree Spirits, she murmured, "Hi Tree People", and walked off.
Many times those appearing most innocent are truly the most guile. And so it was with the forgetful wanderer. Feeling an occasional chill, she surmised that the monk just passed might be in their presence in spirit form. She also recalled that the Oriental Princess Kikio, among her many weapons for sale, possessed a brace of spectacles that enlightened the spirit world to the wearer. Wanderer made haste to buy said spectacles, again appearing to be in confusion and obtaining them for the paltry sum of two lamns, a gnomeprint, and a walnut. Thus she could not only see but also communicate with the spirit of Monk Too.
Monk Too was happy for the living company and, having lost his loyalties of life, imparted much information to her. Wanderer was not all innocence and gathered as much knowledge as she could. She soon learned of the location, on the creek bank, below the bridge, near the fallen willow, of the chest which the monk had hidden.
Feeling that the chest should be moved she implored the monk to do so for he was invisible to most people. Spirits, however, have a very difficult time moving any objects. The monk moved the chest with grave difficulty but, thereafter, instructed the wanderer to ask the resurrected person for help.
The chest was hidden in a different place and with exceptional help from Lillian Potter, many more treasure chests were found (some under the feet of distracted Beings) and hidden. Lillian, of course, possessed great powers of teleportation and quickly moved over, across, and around the land in mere blinks of a mortal's eye.
Beings wandered over all the land that day. Some talked of a cat shrine encased by auras of power. Others visited the cave of a sleeping dragon and emerged either with treasure or deep claw gashes. On Misty Isle, many were able to spot a fairy or two and some were even granted magical potions by the fairies.
Gnomes were playful everywhere, unusually overt for their species. Their village near the Royal Inn was even allowed to be visible to other Beings.
One gnome deeply regretted this state of visibility since he was in a compromising attitude when a sprite swung open the outhouse door just as Beings were arriving for the Queen's Tea.
The Queen's Tea was a grand but calming event. Although the invitation was extended only to the discreet and well-behaved there was a table outside the dining hall for the uncouth. This was laden with the bits and pieces left by the pastry and sandwich chefs. All were sated by herbal teas, flavored coffee, fruit cordials and small, light sandwiches and cakes. But food alone cannot fill the soul.
It soon became clear to many Beings that not only were the highly mobile chests and their keys crucial to the problems of the land but that there also existed a series of maps. Somehow, the spirit of Monk Too and Wanderer were in possession of one of these maps, but ignorant of its use.
Wanderer and Lillian, two beings with strong, quiet mental strengths, soon realized that they must acquire several treasure chests by any means they could. Wanderer suggested that possession of the Unique miniature might give them an advantage in any upcoming negotiations. Lillian dashed off to collect several caches of miniatures which she had stashed to look for the Unique miniature. It turned out that Lillian found she had two half-wish miniatures and after a quick consultation with Wanderer she made her wish in front of several people in the village center. "May I not be compelled to tell the truth." Huzzahs surrounded her, though most did not really understand the significance of her words. This, however, became quite clear moments later when Shesshomaru and his gang sauntered into the village.
"Ah ha," he roared approaching Lillian. "I've heard that you have great knowledge," he said to her as he drew his sword. He held the point just below her ear and with a flick drew a drop of blood. "This is a Sword of Truth," Shess raged, "and I demand that you tell me the location of the chests you've acquired."
"Hee, hee, hee," giggled the gnome orphan, "she was just granted a wish, in front of ten beings, that protects her from your Sword of Truth. Hee, hee, heeeeeee."
Lillian did discover the Unique miniature. And, over time, Wanderer and Lillian joined forces with another Human-Elf, Reyahlana, a Human-Fairy Friend, Lilah, and even with a shady-seeming man named Robin. Together they accumulated several chests, keys and maps. It was their trust in the Rabbit Priestess that was their downfall.
Believing that the Priestess, of all people, should be on the side of good, Lillian and Wanderer led her to their stash of chests. Meanwhile the Fox Priest was gathering the population to a point of final confrontation.
To the chagrin of Wanderer, Lillian and their followers, the Priestess delivered the treasures to the Priest of the Fox, whom they thought was of questionable repute.
The chests were laid in a predetermined pattern. Shesshomaru was called forward to chant the words that would close the portal of evil forever. As the Priest began the ceremony the crowd realized that evil prevailed. Many tried to interfere-Monk Too struggled off under the weight of a chest his spirit could hardly lift, Molly stole a critical ceremonial document, and Lillian tried to cast Good magic over the Priest's Evil. But all was for naught. Shesshomaru invoked the spell.
Explosions, lights and smoke burst over the crowd and the Priest of the Fox intoned, "All the animal shrines have been destroyed, the portal is bound open, and Shesshomaru-who was trying to become more powerful than me-has been torn into a million bits and thrown into oblivion."
The crowd was hardly breathing. The wind rose around them in a swirl of dust and leaves and a grand old elm, just across the creek, resounded with a loud explosion half way up its trunk and the fully leafed crown fell to the ground.
Thus ended MNLA III
Omens from a Great Game:
Soon after leaving the game site on Sunday, Joe's family vehicle was barred from proceeding by a rabbit in the middle of the road. Not until they came to a full halt and saluted the rabbit did it give way.
After a slow and arduous trip through a big hail storm, Robin's group entered their home town to a gorgeous welcoming rainbow.
The last sentence of the story really did happen. The wind rose around them in a swirl of dust and leaves and a grand old elm, just across the creek, resounded with a loud explosion half way up its trunk and the fully leafed crown fell to the ground.