Cerberus Keep Thursday (19 Sep 2001) Lord Explorer Thomas and Knight Redmane retrieve the Golden Arrow.

Ruined Castle Wall
The branches of the twisted trees of the Goblin Forest reach out like bony fingers, snatching at clothes and exposed skin, joined by brambles that seem to crowd in most any path. Atop this hill, a ruinous castle stands, once a mighty fortress, but now its towers broken and collapsed, and its walls compromised in several points. Unearthly howls of creatures of the night can be heard now and then, and glittering eyes peek malevolently from holes in rotten trunks. Over the broken wall can be seen the top of Cerberus Keep ... and somewhere beyond is the cavern lair of the dreaded Troll of the Trash Heap.

Crouched as if poised to pounce some unseen foe, Lord Thomas overlooks the shattered ruins of the old keep. Once a shining point of defense for the kingdom, it is now fallen upon hard times and disuse. Rumors have it that one of the artifacts the wizard Pelles has hidden as part of a trial resides here.

The explorer's eyes narrow and he looks over the walls, noting good breach points. "'Tis a pity Redmane has chosen to face the troll directly. I don't understand her obsession with being straightforward, it can just make you end up very dead. Sometimes, bending the rules is the answer," he mutters softly. "I fear she thinks herself high and mighty, going to face the troll bravely. Perhaps she looks down on me for preferring to avoid battles, ah well."

He reaches back and tightens the strip of cloth currently holding back his wild mane of black hair, and stands. He then digs into his side-pouch and pulls out his fingerless gloves and slips them on, musing quietly, "And besides from Pelles' object, I hope I do find some weapons to further aid our defense of the kingdom. Surely some old weapons do remain in this keep, after all -- perhaps even some of an arcane nature."

A distant peal of thunder echoes across the hilly country. The sky is dark and grey, threatening to unleash the fury of a storm at any moment.

Thomas smiles, green eyes glinting as he spots his target. "The back wall: I can enter through the breach without being seen," he says, rubbing his gloved hands together. He ducks low, then beings to make a wide circle of the fallen keep; his target, the back wall where the mortar has crumbled enough to allow access. The experienced explorer keeps to the shadows of trees and the tall grasses to obscure his approach. After all, he doesn't wish to face the Troll, simply sneak around him.

There comes a horrible screech from the front of the castle, from some foul beast of the darkness, and the scraping noises of the portcullis drawing open. Surely no one could have noticed Thomas's approach!

Another peal of thunder echoes across the countryside, this time closer.

The Lord Explorer pauses momentarily, the screeching of some beast catching him unaware. He glances back toward the entrance to this foul place, then shrugs. "As long as it's not where I'm headed, it doesn't matter," Thomas mutters to himself and moves on, making his way slowly and quietly to his planned entrance point.

Thomas sniffs the air after the thunder claps. "Ah, the sound of the sky preparing to weep. This can only aid my quest by obscuring my movements," he thinks.

Here, the rear wall of the castle has crumbled away, severely compromising its utility as a defense against those who might assail this fortress. Nonetheless, the height is still formidable, and most would be unable to scale it without a siege tower or proper grappling equipment ... but then, most would not have the skill of climbing possessed by Lord Explorer Thomas.

The explorer reaches the wall and flattens against it. He stops movement and listens for sounds of monsters on the other side. Hearing none, his fingertips dance lightly over the rough hewn surface of the wall, noting good footholds and places that may be too soft to be safely used. Within a few minutes, he's planned out and ascension route and begins climbing. He moves slower than he normally would, but then this is a covert operation for the explorer.

In the distance, a chorus of howls break out -- the call of the slavering beast, Cerberus, which haunts these ruins.

At last, Thomas scales the broken wall, and is able to pull himself across crumbling stone, to the remains of one of the guard walks just inside the wall. From here, he has an excellent vantage of the ruinous state of the area inside the fortress.

The explorer lowers himself into a crouch and looks over the ruins before him. A look of grim determination creeps across his face, realizing the full extent of the danger he's walking into. Still, he's never balked before, he won't now. He must find the object Pelles planted, at the very least. He glances toward the gate briefly, wondering how his knight companion fares.

Just then ... it starts to rain in heavy sheets that threaten to knock the explorer from his perch. My, but the weather here is cursed!

Thomas looks toward the sky briefly and thinks, "Appropriate for the place, but can make the footing treacherous. I'll have to be doubly careful." His attention returns to the ruins before him, his eyes scanning until he locates the main keep. "His note said the arrow would be near the lair of the foul beast," he says slowly, "So that is where I must go." Carefully, he leaves his vantage point, slinking along the back wall, keeping low.

As Thomas makes his way down, he can see remains of a great battle that must have taken place here ages ago -- with the fall of the fortress -- or perhaps these are the remains of more recent warriors that have tried in vain to reclaim the fortress. Here and there are bones and rusted implements of war -- broken swords and shields, remains of war chariots, and the decayed remnants of once-mighty giant war-birds of the Sky Kingdoms.

The state of ruin is warning to the condition of the footing he is forced to use -- As he steps on a stone fortification, it crumbles under him! He is only barely able to recover, diving to the side, as a column comes crashing down, smashing the place where he stood moments before! With an agile leap, he is able to make it to safer ground ... the wiser for the experience.

Again, there's a howl and barks from the three-headed monster from the three-pronged tower of Cerberus Keep. The beast ... is coming this way!

Thomas lands with a soft thud and looks around for a place to duck and hide. Surely the crashing ruins will draw unwanted attention. "Cursed realm. I fear this may be more arduous that I even expected," he muses softly. Upon hearing the sound of the beast, his hand dips into his side pouch, searching for some dried meat rations to use to lure the creature away.

Yes, in the gloom, Thomas can make out the six glowing red eyes of the Beast, as it sniffs the ground and the air simultaneously, trying to find the intruder. And then ... behind it, Thomas sees a darting shadow, and a flash of red. Could it be? Knight Redmane, making a daring dash for the Keep!

Thomas inwardly curses, realizing he should have planned more, as he finds miniscule supplies. Instead, he decides he'd better move, fast. After all, if Cerberus is over here, it's not near its lair, now is it? He moves away from the fallen pile quickly, away from the beast and arcing as best he can towards its lair.

Meanwhile, it looks to Thomas as if Knight Redmane has managed to evade the Beast ... for now....

This time, Lord Explorer Thomas is more careful, as he makes his way along, bypassing the beast. Oddly enough, he spies a ruined boat here. Could it be that these are not the corpses of knights that fell in battle here, but perhaps they were dragged here by some foul beast, perhaps a flying dragon? But there is little time to consider that. The Keep is before him now ... and though the beast hasn't seen him yet, somehow it is still between him and his goal -- perhaps possessing the ability to teleport?

Thomas looks down and picks up a small piece of the rubble that has gathered here. He tests the weight in his hand and looks toward the beast. "Interesting; he moves like lightning," he murmurs. Looking far to the side of the keep, he spies a likely pile of loose rubble and smiles grimly. His arm pulls back, then slings forward, letting the small piece fly, hoping to cause a distraction and lure the beast away.

At that moment, one of the three heads of the beast turns to focus on Knight Redmane. However, Lord Explorer Thomas's stone strikes a pile of debris, which comes crashing down. Immediately, the other two heads start barking, and charge off after the sound, drawing the third one with them.

Moments after the beast heads off, Thomas moves rapidly toward its now vacated lair. He grins and chuckles inwardly, pleased to have aided his friend who was so sure that the direct method was the best approach. It seems sneaking does have some advantages.

Lord Explorer Thomas and Knight Redmane both take advantage of the distraction to, at that moment, dash for the base of Cerberus Keep. As Thomas reaches the front portcullis, he spies that Redmane has already found her prize -- a golden arrow lying on the ground!

"Glad to see you've made it and found the arrow," Thomas whispers as he makes it over to the keep. "Distraction worked better than I hoped," he says to her, glancing toward the arrow. "Find anything else of interest on your way here?"

Terrible crashing noises emit from the other side of the keep, where Cerberus does battle with whatever rubble has displeased him.

Redmane tucks the arrow into her armor, grins to the Explorer, and looks to see if the path is clear to Troll's Gate. "This lance is serviceable, I think," she says, lifting the salvaged weapon.

Tom nods slightly and looks over the weapon. "Nothing more than that?" he inquires. "Pity. Perhaps I can locate something on the way out. That supplies you a new weapon, but I believe I'll also need something if we are to face the evils that have befouled our forests."

The clattering has stopped, and then there are barks and howls from the foul beast. It seems to have grown quickly tired of the momentary distraction. It must be coming back this way.

"There may be more at the ruins!" Redmane says, and begins running back towards the ruins near the Troll Gate.

"Rest time over, time to flee, Redmane! I'll meet you outside," the explorer says hastily. He darts off, back toward the back wall and away from the approaching beast. He tries to keep low and avoid stepping on anything that may produce noise that will attract the beast.

Lord Explorer Thomas, now quite aware of the pitfalls to be found, deftly picks his way amongst the ruins and the carcasses, clambering with almost supernatural ease back up the broken wall that must have provided his way into this ruin. Knight Redmane, however, is not to be outdone, and despite the encumbrance of her armor, she is able to deftly bypass the piles of ruin, rushing back toward the front gate.

The three-headed beast is only briefly visible, looking one way, then the other, then seemingly confused by the different paths taken by the fleeing intruders, and its heads fall into fighting amongst themselves!

Thomas makes his way toward the exit quickly. He does, however, look over the piles he passes, hoping to search out something he may fashion into a new weapon. An old pole arm, perhaps, or maybe an old sword or lance such as Redmane found. After all, it looks that many battles have occurred here.

Redmane pauses once she reaches the leeside of the ruins, and makes another search for old weapons and armor that might be reused for battling fey creatures.

The knight, during her searching, almost grabs at a box near the entrance, but then her nose warns her of a very foul smell coming from it, as if something had died inside, and not all that long ago (just long enough to reek horribly). Just then, her eyes are caught by a sparkle of light on something shiny....

Lord Explorer Thomas has similarly favorable luck, as he spies ... what is this? ... a Dwarven war hammer, forged within the bowels of the earth, a true weapon of well-tested iron, with a sturdy wooden handle. And beside it is a wand of cold-forged iron, no doubt used by some brave warrior of ages past who tried however valiantly to use it to vanquish the fell shadows that inhabit this ruin.

"What's this?" Agatha wonders, falling out of character. A bit of digging reveals a blade off of a combine harvester, nearly three feet long!

An Elven blade of great antiquity!It seems to glow faintly blue in the dim light afforded by the flashes of lightning that are far closer now. There is a tinge of magic in the air. Truly, Redmane has stumbled upon a great artifact, long lost within this miserable ruin.

Eye's lit up, Redmane quickly unburies the heavy prize, and carries it and her other acquisitions to the Gate.

Thomas kneels down and gathers up the fallen hammer and wand of iron. "Amazing, a Dwarven war hammer. So, even the dwarves have fallen here in battle," he murmurs. Thomas ponders looking for more, but decides against it. Carrying too much will encumber his escape. He makes his way to his exit and proceeds to make his escape.

The storm covers the escape of the heroes, and the howls of Cerberus soon die behind....

Back in the real world, Agatha takes the place of Knight Redmane in bargaining with Jon the "Troll" over the treasures she's found. He stays on the porch, grumbling at the rain, or just grumbling at things in general, and seems not particularly inclined to be bothered. "It's junk, all right," he says. "Tell you what ... fifty cents for each piece."

Thomas waits nearby and out of sight, thankful that Agatha is handling actually buying the junk he scrounged. He'll of course pay her for whatever it costs for the junk he found. He may like to sneak, but he's no thief.

"So," Jon says, "Two-fifty. I don't give change."

Agatha digs deep into her pockets and produces a crumpled up dollar, five quarters, a dime, and three nickels. "Here you go," she says, holding the small fortune out to the man.

Jon counts every last coin. "All right," he says. "Now run along. You'll catch cold or something."

Agatha bundles up the scrap in her arms, and starts off down the road. "Thanks, Mister!" she calls back, and hopes Tom isn't too far off to help carry this stuff.

Just up the bend in the road, Tom intersects with Agatha and helps take some of the burden of the junk. "Hey," he says, "That went pretty darn well!" He grins excitedly. "I think we did pretty good. Got the arrow and a few things we can use as weapons with a bit of work. Where do you think we should store them?"

Right now, it's drizzling just enough to be a little more than a light mist -- not enough to get the kids terribly soaked by any means, especially since they're pretty well outfitted to stave off the elements at the moment, but enough to encourage those particularly touchy about rain (such as Jon) to stay indoors.

There's something to be said for the shelter that overhanging branches here and there offer against the drizzle, at least.

"Yeah," Agatha agrees. "How about helping carry some of this, so we can check out the arrow? Where should we bring it all?"

"Think we could store it briefly at the manor? I don't have a roof yet at the tree house or I'd say there," Tom replies, taking the hammer and the two bars from Agatha. He knows her well enough she may want to check out her new "sword" on the way.

Agatha nods. "I wish I'd brought Destre now, he could have carried us and the metal. Let's go down Wolf, I suppose."

"But, if Destre is fey, the iron might hurt him," Tom points out.

"He doesn't mind his horseshoes," Agatha points out, resting her "lance" and "sword" over a shoulder to carry them more comfortably.

"They could be part of him, not real shoes," Tom says, the iron bars resting on his shoulder. "Cool blade you've got there. You could probably file down one small section of an end and make a good handle."

Agatha looks at the base of her blade, where it was snapped off from the larger "comb" of the harvester. "I guess so. I'll ask Toby; he probably knows what to do."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Tom asks, shrugging slightly, "We don't want to advertise we're actually making such things, you know."

"I might be able to do it myself," Agatha says, but doesn't sound too sure.

Harcourt Manor, Kitchen
The kitchen is an oasis of light in the still largely dusty, spider-webbed house in which Richard Kuning lives, with sunlight pouring in through the high windows, each of which is decorated by wrought ironwork forming the shapes of fleur-de-lises at their peaks. A marble-topped counter runs across two walls and part of a third, and the large ovens and places for hanging pots and roasting meats suggests this manor once housed many people and a full-time cook. The pantry nearby is walk-in, a stairway leads down to a roots cellar, and a simple wooden table serves for dining until the more expansive dining room can be cleaned.

The two children find a much dryer place to converse and plot, sheltered from what has become a proper downpour outside.

Tom rolls one of the bars in his hand, peering down the length to judge if it's straight. "So, what's the note say?" Tom inquires as he checks out their "loot".

Agatha removes the golden arrow from her jacket, and sits at the table to examine it. "Which one do you suppose is the archer, Pelles or Bragwaine?"

"My guess would be Bragwaine," Tom replies.

The arrow doesn't have a note around it, actually, and doesn't look like a very ordinary arrow at all. Rather, it looks like a rolled piece of metal -- a curtain rod of some sort? -- with a somewhat arrow-head-like tip on one end (yes, probably a curtain rod), and some feathers attached as fletching on the other end.

The metal has a somewhat brassy look to it -- about as close to gold as a kid could hope to afford, really, without spray paint -- and the back end of the arrow is obviously hollow.

Guessing one end or the other comes off, Agatha tries twisting and pulling on the fletched end.

Tom sets the rod aside for now and turns his full attention toward Agatha. He looks over the arrow in her hands and says, "Hey, that's a lot weirder than I thought. Think it's hollow?"

"I think so, if I can get one of the ends off," Agatha says.

As Agatha examines the arrow, she finds that the rear end is open, and that the edge of some paper can be seen rolled up tightly and slid inside. Getting it out might require the help of some sort of implement, such as a piece of wire, or a sharp point of a tool.

"Aha, got your knife with you, Tommy?" Agatha asks as she looks down the rear of the arrow. "It's hollow here, and you can see some paper inside."

Tom digs in his pocket. "Yep, just a second," Tom says, "You could probably use the corkscrew on it, it should be able to snag that ... aha!" He produces his Swiss-army knife and offers it to Agatha.

Agatha digs with the point of the corkscrew, trying to pry out the edge of the paper.

It takes some work, and the sheet tears a couple of times, but that's hardly unexpected, given how tightly this thing is snuggled into the arrow, and that the edges have gotten wet from the rain. At last, however, the tightly-wound "parchment" is extracted far enough that it can be pulled the rest of the way out with only a minimum of damage.

Agatha hands the Army knife back, and unrolls the paper on the table. "Let's see what we have this time."

Tom watches with interest. "So, why do you think Max and Sabrina are doing this, anyway?" e asks slowly, accepting the knife and slipping it back into his pocket.

The paper reads, "Hero of the Realm: Dire times have befallen this land, and the land requires a hero. If you feel that you are this hero, you must prove your bravery and ability by undertaking a perilous quest...."

"What else are they gonna do?" Agatha supposes, and reads the note. "A perilous quest!"

"... a test of your bravery, your agility, your prowess with the sword, and your wits," the note continues. "If you are willing to undertake this quest, you must hang a banner outside of your domicile as a sign that you are ready. On the next Thor's Day after you have hung your banner, you must go to the Point of Peril when the sun is at its highest point in the sky, equipped for whatever dangers you might face...."

And then, there is a map. It looks amazingly like a certain map that Tom / Lord Explorer Thomas found some time ago, that led him to his treasure chest -- though it's not in quite as good of condition.

Tom oh boys and face-palms. "Just what we need, more danger!" he mutters softly. "Looks like you're in for some interesting times!"

The point that is indicated on the map is very close to the "key" that was indicated on that map, although no such key is shown on this one.

"Point of Peril?" Agatha wonders, looking at the map.

Tom leans over the table and tries to get a good look at the map.

A skull and crossbones marks the Point of Peril. It looks like, nearby, there is some sort of ruin, a dragon in a lair, a steep cliff, and then a bridge (Eve's Ford?) with a small knight brandishing a sword, colored green.

"Thor's Day could be Thursday," Agatha guesses. "I'll have to make a banner now."

Tom nods. "Sounds reasonable. What would you put on your banner?"

Agatha hmms. "I'd make it green with a gold stripe, and maybe a horse's head."

Tom rolls his eyes. "You and horses, sheesh.

Agatha gives Tom an indignant look. "What would you have? A compass and a tree?"

"Certainly not, a mountain and a gold hawk, of course," Tom replies.

"So..." Tom says, "Are you going to take the quest?"

"Someone's gone to the trouble to make it, so sure!" Agatha says. "If we survive the Scare Crow anyway," she adds with a grin. "How are you planning to turn your scraps into weapons?"

"Good question," Tom replies. "I think I can convert the bar into a rapier of sorts. Sharpen one end, make a wooden circle-guard for the other and some strapping tape for a handle. The hammer works as is, or I might put it on the head of a staff to extend its reach."

Thunder rumbles outside, and there is a creaking noise as the house settles, that sounds disturbingly like footsteps somewhere upstairs.

Tom looks upward and mutters, "You know, even though I've been working at this house often, that still creeps me out."

"I hope there aren't any leaks in the roof," Agatha says, looking up. "I'll have to see what there is in my dad's workshop for working metal."

Tom nods. "Let me know too, okay? Might be able to work on mine there."

"Okay," Agatha says. "Do you have your excuse yet for why you might be gone overnight for the raid?"

Tom laughs. "I had that long before I told you about my idea. Why, camping out at my new tree house, of course!"

"Ah!" Agatha remarks with a nod. "I'd just be staying the night here, since I figured on doing that a few times anyway."

Tom nods. "Or, maybe I could claim to be staying here. Say I'm helping work in the basement or something. Maybe with Simon, we can claim to be having a sleepover here while we help clean it for Mr. Cunning."

"Staying the night in a haunted mansion with a girl?" Agatha asks, looking shocked. "You really think they'd allow that?"

"As long as Simon is also here, yes. My parents know how odd you are. You're not really a girl, not like that, anyway," Tom retorts.

Agatha turns bright red, and glares at Tom. "Not like what, exactly?"

"Not like Elinor," Tom explains. He then cocks an eyebrow and asks, "What? You're getting all red."

"Not like Elinor, eh?" Agatha grumbles. "Right ... I'm human, after all."

Tom sits back and grins. "What's this? Are you jealous or something?"

"Jealous of what? You two don't have anything going on, do you?" Agatha asks. "I just don't like being teased is all. You've seen me in a dress, even if I don't wear one every day."

Tom sighs softly and shrugs. "No, we don't have anything going on as you put it," Tom says, "I tease you because you're my friend. Because I do happen to like you and I'm comfortable chatting with you. Kinda like being around Simon, in a way."

"Just taller?" Agatha asks, grinning.

Tom laughs. "And a bit more adventurous."

"I can live with that," Agatha says, leaning back and fingering the arrow. "Just don't expect me to become a fan, okay?" she grins.

"And it's nice you're honest with me. I can bounce ideas off you and expect honest comments," Tom replies, grinning widely. "And no, I don't expect that. You're just my minion."

Agatha stops twiddling the arrow and gives Tom a look. "I could make you my sparring partner if you aren't careful, you know."

Tom grins and waggles his eyebrows. "Bring it on! We need to prepare to fight that thing anyway." He leans forward and rests his chin on his palms. "And if you ever tell anyone how much I've moaned about Elinor, I will beat the crud outta you." He grins lightheartedly.

"Who would I tell, Simon?" Agatha says. "Although, when Rebecca gets back...."

Tom looks aghast. "You wouldn't!" His expression turns grim. "If she gets back."

"Why not?" Agatha teases. "Aren't you and she friends like you and I are?"

Tom looks hesitant. "Not in the same way. She can be a bit weird at times. Like, really weird. Like 'running off to live with fairies' weird."

"Yeah, we just either like horses or want to live in trees," Agatha points out.

"Horses are normal, I guess. Living with or around fey isn't," Tom explains haltingly, realizing this contradicts with his own feelings.

"None of us are normal, I think," Agatha says. "If we were, then we wouldn't be caught up in this. Probably wouldn't even be friends. Want some milk?"

Tom nods. "Please." Tom takes a breath and says, "Yeah, I've been trying to figure out why we were pulled into this -- what makes us special."

Agatha sets out two glasses, then picks up a flashlight and disappears into the cold cellar for a minute before coming back with a bottle of milk.

Tom lifts up the glass toward Agatha and says, "The only theories I've come up with are too far-fetched to actually be true."

After pouring the milk, the girl checks through one of the windows to see if the rain has stopped or not.

"What did Sherlock Holmes say?" Agatha asks. "Once you've eliminated the impossible then whatever's left must be true, however implausible?"

There are still drops of rain running off of the edges of the roof where there aren't gutters attached to divert them. For the moment, the rain has slacked off.

Tom nods. "That would be what he said. Great set of stories, those were..." He shrugs. "Did I tell you my theory?"

Agatha shakes her head and sits back down to drink her milk. "Nope. Rain's dying down too, it looks like."

Tom glances to the window and nods. "Good thing. I don't want to be too late in getting home." He fingers his glass slowly and says, "Well, one thing that came to mind is ... what if we're all descended from the fey? Somewhere in our lineage, someone from the fey world became part of each of our families. It would kinda explain why we've seemingly tapped their world."

Agatha hmms. "Could be. Maybe there used to be regular settlers coming through the Sieges."

Tom nods. "Something like that, yeah. It could explain it, and seems reasonable." He shrugs. "Creeps me out to think I might not be entirely human, though." He suddenly points at Agatha. "And no comments!"

Agatha shrugs. "You could always trace your family tree to find out for sure. I come from a background where stories about changelings and faerie-wives aren't uncommon."

Tom hmms. "I suppose I could do that. I guess I've been a bit afraid to." He looks at Agatha. "Would you really want to know the answer to that, though?"

Agatha shrugs. "Doesn't bother me. Fairies are people too, just different."

Tom snickers and leans back in the chair. "Then going back to Mirari would almost be a homecoming, eh?" He shakes his head slowly. "If it were true, I think I'd want to stay in Mirari for a time and learn about their culture -- well, after all this Year's-End business."

"Going to live with faeries, eh?" Agatha grins. "I'm sure Elinor could show you around in that case. You could be a real Golden Hawk then too."

Tom coughs. "That thought never crossed my mind," Thomas replies quickly.

"Well, think about it, because if we do get through, they might offer you that as a bribe," Agatha says. "I mean, they gave me a Knightsteed."

Tom chuckles. "Well, I'd turn down living there," Tom says, "I have my parents here after all. But, once we settled this business and resolve what's going on, maybe I'd spend part of my vacation there or something."

"Just be prepared to be tempted is all," Agatha warns. "I think they know what we really want, deep down, you know? Maybe that's why Elinor has such a big effect on you ... because she's what you really want, somehow."

Tom sets his glass down. "Honestly, I hope I don't really screw everything up. I really don't know what I'm doing, you know. I'm..," Tom starts to say, then stopping at Agatha's words. His lays his head down. "I never thought of that ... Now I feel awful."

Agatha blinks. "Awful? What for?" she asks. "And do you want some more milk?"

Tom pushes his glass toward Agatha, head remaining on the table. "How would you feel, hearing that the person who makes you feel all ... odd, in a good way, is just there ... is just there to lure you, to tempt you. It's one thing to be offered an object, another to... " He sighs softly, then mutters, "It would explain her claim of belonging to the Golden Hawks."

"Hey, you're not a trout chasing a worm on a hook," Agatha says, shaking her head. "It could work the other way too, you know. You could be the worm that got Elinor to risk coming here."

Tom scoffs. "Me? Lure someone? Right. Agatha, I can't even figure out a way to keep this group safe. I feel like I drug you all into this. Going into that cave. Insisting we try and figure this out. I should have just let it go," Tom mutters.

"And miss out on all this?" Agatha says, slamming her (empty) glass down. "Are you kidding? Would you really trade this chance for real adventure just to be ... safe? You could break your neck every time you climb a tree, I could fall off a horse and crack my head open.... There's plenty of danger in what we do, but we do it anyway because it's fun and it makes us ... makes us ... alive, you know??"

Tom sits up. "Agatha," Tom says, "Not what I mean. Look, I'm the oldest one of us, right? It's my duty to all of you to protect you. It's one thing to endanger myself, to climb trees or dig in caves. It's another to drag others into it. If anything happens to any of you ..." He sighs.

Agatha shrugs. "Who are you dragging along, exactly? I mean, you're worried about keeping others from tagging along for Pete's sake!"

Tom nods. "Now. Before, I did drag people around. Heck, when we found the Scare Crow, we were out there because I wanted to go look for hoof prints. Now ... now I just want people safe." He shakes his head, "And think, Simon could've drowned in that cave."

"Leaders lead," Agatha says. "It's up to us to follow or not. And you pulled him out okay. If you'd had trouble, I would have gotten him out. You should focus on leading and not worry so much about the rest, Tom. We can take care of ourselves, or help each other as needed."

"First in and last to leave any area," Tom says, "as my father puts it. It's my duty to make sure you're all safe. It's why I stood my ground that day in the cave when Simon and I first met a Jruuh directly. I told the others to leave while I targeted it." He sighs. "If anything should happen to me, though, it's up to you to see them through, okay? You're more than capable, probably more so that I am now."

"Don't worry, I can follow a path back pretty well," Agatha says. "Do you want to leave your stuff here for now, or carry it back home? The rain has pretty much stopped now."

Tom hmms. "Mind if I leave it here until I get the roof up on my tree house? After that, I'll move it there," he replies.

Agatha nods. "No problem. I'll move it out of the way until then."

Tom nods. "I'll move it quickly. I'm sure Richard won't want it cluttering up his place. I hope I get a chance to say 'hi' to him again someday."

"He can't stay out of town forever," Agatha says, grinning. "Otherwise ... I guess I get the Manor!"

Tom grins. "Can I have the tower?"

"Maybe," Agatha says, crossing her arms, "if you agree to become one of my fans."

Tom makes a face. "Geez, what a horrid thought," He says, then sticks his tongue out. "I'll just go live in Mirari and tell Souhait hello for you."

Agatha laughs!

Tom stands up and stretches. He walks over to the door and says, "Well, sorry to dash off, but I'd better get home before it gets much later. Thanks for the adventure today. Good luck with that Pelles quest!"

"Thanks!" Agatha says, as she takes the glasses to the sink for washing. "I hope I can remember how to sew enough to make a banner!"

Tom laughs. "My lord! Agatha, sewing! Geez, you are becoming a girl!" He grins widely, winks, and opens the door. He takes off running for all he's worth, as if the devil is behind him. In this case, it might be pretty close.

Previous Log: Jon's Junkyard	Next Log: Talk to the Animals

Thread Links
	Previous Log: Jon's Junkyard Next Log: Talk to the Animals		Previous Log: Jon's Junkyard Next Log: Intruder at the Tree House
	Previous Log: Secret Messages Next Log: Talk to the Animals

---

This site serves as a chronicle of sessions in an online roleplaying campaign moderated by Conrad "Lynx" Wong and May "Rowan" Wasserman. The contents of this site are (c) 2001, 2002 by Conrad Wong and May Wasserman except where stated otherwise. Despite the "children's fantasy" theme of this campaign, this site is not intended for young readership, due to mild language and violence.