Lord April (17 Oct 2002) Our heroes make their way through enemy territory.

Destroyer's Keep, Noble's Quarters
Lavish tapestries and furnishings seem like barbaric splendor, set against the harsh stone blocks of the Destroyer's Keep. The bed is a four-poster, canopied with silk curtains that can be drawn to hide its occupants; a wardrobe sits next to it, easily large enough for two ice goblins to cramp into, side by side. There is no window, and only the one door that opens inward. A brass bathtub sits on a dais to one side but with no visible attached water fixtures. Braziers and an enormous fireplace provide heat and light.

A familiar red-haired head pokes around the door to look into Thomas' 'guest suite'. "Not bad," she comments. "Do you get free room service in here too? Mint on the pillow? Hot and cold running arsenic? Ready to bug out and head upstairs yet, or are you going to write your will with that pen first?"

"Quite. Free food, all the luxuries a noble might like. Pity -- I hate luxuries," Thomas replies with a wry grin. And, without missing a beat, he adds, "One goal done, two to go. Nothing like a bit of excitement to make you feel alive!"

Sir Lefallon, following Lady Redmane, shakes his head. "I thought you were a goner for sure when he spotted you. That was smooth talking; I nearly believed it myself when you said you wanted to work for the Destroyer." The younger boy gives Thomas a raised eyebrow, as if making sure that it was only a line.

Rachel glances back down the hall. "The guard just locked the door into this hall," she observes. "What does a lot of excitement do for one, Lord Thomas?"

Thomas pats Sir Lefallon's shoulder and comments, "Maybe I do, eh?" He grins and winks, looks toward Rachel. "A lot of excitement, you say? Why, we come up with a simple, yet insane plan, of course! We need to go up? Well, we find a window and go climbing. Easy, see?" Thomas answers.

"We'd better check out the other rooms in the hall first," Redmane suggests. "Maybe they stuck Lord April in one of them?"

"If we're lucky, they do. But with a 'guest' that important, I expect him to be kept elsewhere," Thomas replies as he looks down the hallway. "Each check a room? Go as a group? I have ideas to verify if it's really Lord April..." He counts doors.

The younger knight looks not at all reassured by either of Thomas's statements. "Jest not, milord," he says. "The Destroyer might promise much, or threaten direly should he fear your words."

"You worry too much," Thomas comments to Sir Lefallon.

Sir Lefallon grins wryly. "It appears to be a perennial trait of mine, milord." He heads down the hallway to have a start looking. There are some eight suites similar to Thomas's, but as the younger knight quickly finds, the others seem to be locked and dusty.

The white stallion flicks his tail and snorts. I'll just start checking the doors here then, shall I?

The hallway bends into an L-shape, but ends at what must be a royal suite, to judge from how finely decorated the door is compared to Thomas's suite's own entrance. This too is locked. A heavy bronze gargoyle head holds a huge ring that would be used as a knocker.

Thomas crouches down, placing one hand on the floor to steady himself. He peers through narrowed eyes along the floor, trying to judge how often people come this way. He moves slightly, adjusting his view like an animal on a hunt.

"So, should we bust down this door to see what color socks the Destroyer wears, or try to get out without raising an alarm?" Redmane asks.

"Quiet," Thomas mutters.

Sir Lefallon studies the large door. "Methinks that if this door is as stout as it appears," he murmurs, then shushes at Thomas's words, looking at the explorer curiously.

Rachel hunkers down next to a door, squinting at the keyhole.

"No one comes this way often," Thomas says a few moments later. "This section looks incredibly old and see? Dust on most of the floor. If people came this way often to feed, say, Lord April, there would be patterns in it. Only the room they assigned me to has any markings of recent usage and cleaning." He gets up and dusts off his hands, then says, "Ahearn, why don't you try listening at the door and see if you hear anything or one on the other side."

The young knight looks a bit disappointed that there will be no smiting today.

"You'd think the Lord of Year's End would have a better cleaning staff," Redmane mutters, the housekeeper side of her appalled by the dust.

In silence, the horse complies, listening at the newly-locked door that leads to the rest of the tower. After a moment, he gestures to it with his head. In his curious speechless way, he conveys, Guard on the far side, standing. Breathing.

"This is clean compared to most of the places I've stayed," Thomas mutters.

Sir Lefallon quips, "In most of the places you've stayed, the dirt was supposed to be there."

"Breathing is a good sign," Redmane whispers. "It means the guard is probably alive... and therefore easier to kill."

There is a thin slit of light along the bottom of the door that leads out to the main hallway, shadowed along two places, presumably the guard's legs.

"Let’s check the far end before we tangle with 'Mr. Grumpy', eh?" Thomas says and heads toward what appeared to be a royal suite.

A tiny lizard scurries through the narrow rectangle of light, a momentary third shadow.

Following after Thomas, Redmane quietly urges, "Let's not be too long about poking around, okay?"

The stallion paces ahead of Thomas, moving with an unnerving silence, for a hoofed animal. His ears flick from side to side as he strides. At the far end, Rachel moves away from the door as Ahearn put his head against it to listen.

Sir Lefallon asks curiously, "What exactly will we use for a key?"

"You're awfully impatient, Redmane," Thomas says. "Frightened?" He then asks Rachel, "Did you see anything?"

"I'm not frightened," Redmane asserts. "But won't someone be coming to check on you, Thomas?"

"You're not? Funny, most sane people would be," Thomas replies with a wry grin. "Besides, they just put me here; I doubt anyone will be coming by for some time."

Rachel fiddles with a pouch at her side, producing a long hairpin, and urges Ahearn to move over a bit. Bemused, the stallion obliges. He reports to the others, No sounds from within, while Rachel crouches again, and jabs at the lock with her pin.

At that moment, a white lizard-like form emerges from the shadows to tug upon Thomas's sleeve. It hisses a warning, "Hide! A watchful eye approaches!" and then following its own advice, Guide scrambles into the open guest suite.

Redmane eyes the gargoyle door-knocker with suspicion. "Is there any way you can tell if there are any magical alarms on the door, Rachel?" she asks the dark-haired girl.

Sir Lefallon blinks, looking around where the lizard was, having noticed the sound of quick movement. "What was that?"

"Scatter and hide," Thomas says then heads back toward the suite. "I'll keep them focused on me. Hurry."

The young knight blinks, looking around, then presses himself into the narrow niche provided by a doorway. One hand goes to the hilt of his sword.

Ahearn looks alarmed by the suggestion to hide. He presses his bulk against the side of the hall which would be seen last by someone walking in from the outside, near the door Rachel is trying to pick.

Redmane presses herself to the wall just around the corner as well, out of view of the main branch of the hall.

Rachel grits her teeth and takes a few more jabs at the door's lock, jiggling the handle to judge her level of success.

Two new shadows cross the slit of light. Grumbling persons speak to one another in a foreign language.

Thomas makes his way back to the entrance to his suite and leans against the doorframe. He places most of his weight on one leg and cocks the other at a slight angle. He smirks slightly, then crosses his arms and tries to look completely bored.

One more exchange, and then the guard moves to the side to unlock the door. clack! The door opens slowly inward to reveal the bulky guard standing next to a smaller ice goblin, grey-skinned like his larger friend but stooped over and thinner, servile and cringing in attitude. He is dressed in the same livery but with a subtly butler-like cut to his uniform, and a silvery eye amulet serves as his cloak-pin.

The servant catches sight of Thomas immediately and scuttles in, then bows low. "Zhoor zhervant awaits zhoor commands, me lord," he says in a horribly accented voice.

"Am I to be kept bored while I wait?" Thomas asks with a hint of impatience. "There's not even one person to converse with in this hall."

Sir Lefallon waits in the shadows of the hall out of view, next to Ahearn.

The guard begins to close the door again, while the servant bows low again. "What me lord wish? Zis lowly one knows few words of zhoor tongue." His beady eyes glance sideways around the suite, making sure that everything is as it should be.

"Well, since I am not allowed out of this hall, could I at least be given a key to the other rooms along this hallway? I could spend some time looking for books or other trinkets to amuse me during my stay," Thomas says with a slight yawn. "Or perhaps there are others that could be brought to this hall to converse with me? Surely I cannot be the only guest here."

Gripping the hilt of her sword, Redmane tries to figure out just how quickly she could get to the far end of the hall if she had to.

"Zho zhorry, me lord," the servant says as he grovels some more. "Zee other rooms, zey are empty. Not for looking!" Picking himself up somewhat, he moves into the suite to start tidying it, straightening a tapestry uselessly. Out the corner of his eyes, Thomas notices a white lizard tucked inside the curve of one of the bath tub's clawed feet.

A loud clack echoes from the side corridor, sounding like a clarion to Tom's over-sensitive ears.

The servant pauses in his cleaning, looking toward Thomas to see if he made the sound.

At the sound of the clack, Redmane turns to see if Rachel had managed to open the locked door.

"Pardon. I banged my boot on the doorframe," Thomas says as he shifts his weight. "Don't mind me. So, who may I ask, are you?"

The servant bows again and says, "Me lord is very kind to want to talk to me, but this lowly one, no is important." With slightly narrowed eyes, as if suspecting something, he walks toward the far side of the chamber, adjacent to the L-section of the hallway, and reaches out for the wardrobe to open it.

"And now you insult me," Thomas says, voice taking a dark edge. "You say one thing, and yet act as if I'm hiding something. Do you have so little faith in your own Dark Lord in keeping outsiders out of this place out of this very hall? I think I'll have to bring that subject up with him when I meet him ... how little his own servants have faith in his power."

The servant begins to cringe from Thomas's verbal onslaught, drawing his hand back from the wardrobe, but then there is an audible thump on the far side of the hall, followed by several more. The ice goblin looks around, puzzled.

Thomas approaches the goblin, eyes narrowing. "And what's this noise now? I see ... did perhaps you and your friends think you could come in here and distract me? Perhaps another sneak up behind me and slit my throat while you talked to me? Did you plan to rob me like I was some sort of commoner?" Thomas roars.

The servant cringes again. "No, no, me lord! Rats! Thizh lowly one will fetch zhomeone to kill them!" He bows low and hurries to the door, eager to be away from the sharp-tongued Lord Explorer.

Thomas laughs evilly. "Rats, eh? Perhaps I will amuse myself by dismembering them. You are dismissed, then. However, if I find out you are lying to me and are trying to harm me ... "

"Me lord is perfectly safe," the servant assures as he backs away from the door. "Izh nothing to worry about." Turning tail, he knocks on the door and rattles off something quickly in the foreign tongue.

The hallway door opens briefly, letting light flood the adjacent end of the L-shaped corridor.

Thomas watches the goblin, a bemused look on his face at the fear evident in the creature.

The door closes again, and the hallway is silent for the moment.

Thomas moves up to the door and peers under it to check for how many shadows he can make out.

There are again two shadows, those of the (grumbling) guards.

Thomas then hurries back toward the royal suite door. "All right, which one of you couldn't hold still for even a short time?" he hisses.

Greeting Thomas is an empty hallway and a closed door.

Thomas hmms and walks up to the door with the knocker. Carefully, he tests the handle.

A tiny sneeze sounds on the other side of the door, audible this close. The door seems to have been unlocked.

Thomas opens the door slowly and places one hand on his sword-hilt just in case.

The doorway opens onto a large and dusty room that appears twice as high as Thomas's own room. There are windows in the upper half of the room, letting in enough light to show just how much dust has accumulated ... which is to say, Years of dust. Sir Lefallon has belatedly put a handkerchief over his nose to filter out the worst of it, while Lady Redmane investigates an empty wardrobe, pulling aside the covering sheet to access the doors.

"I suggest you be a bit more quiet," Thomas hisses, irritated, as he looks around the room.

Sir Lefallon looks sheepish, glancing sideways to the large King of Horses, then back to Thomas. "Did you get rid of them?" he whispers muffledly.

"Empty," Redmane mutters once she gets into the wardrobe, then turns towards Thomas.

You should tie rocks to his hands and feet, Ahearn grumbles to Agatha, and see how quiet he is then. The stallion has moved behind the four-poster bed, to let what's left of the curtains shield him. Rachel is checking the suite for signs of windows.

"For the moment. It was for now, only one," Thomas answers. "Redmane? Did you check for a secret passage? If this is a royal suite, I suspect there would either be a secret escape, or a passage to a mistress' quarters," he offers.

Unlike Thomas's own guest suite, this room has a separate bath room with a bathtub and washbasin, and a guest bedroom of its own, perhaps used by an attendant. The dull glint of gold shines through some places where the dust has been dislodged.

Redmane blinks at the suggestion, and rechecks the back of the wardrobe again for a hidden door. "Had to make a few quick escapes from rooms like this, Thomas?" she teases.

Sir Lefallon asked curiously. "How exactly do we find a secret door, if there is one?"

"On occasion, yes," comes the answer from Thomas. "And no, it's not what you're suggesting. I've had to escape the attentions of bored noblewomen before. It's the whole rough adventurer thing, they seem to like it. Bah."

The younger knight looks at Thomas askance, as if not sure what he meant.

"Well, first check the floor near wall mirrors, book cases, clocks, and wardrobes for slight scratches. Feel along hanging rods for switches, that sort of thing," Thomas explains.

While tapping at the back of the wardrobe and listening for changes that might suggest an open space, Redmane says, "Maybe there is a dumbwaiter."

"No, I scared him off," Thomas jokes.

Sir Lefallon nods thoughtfully, and with handkerchief still pressed against his face, begins looking around one corner of the room. He pauses, realizing that the thick layer of dust might cover any number of scratches, then begins sweeping dust from the floor by hand.

The tapping pauses while Redmane considers murder, but starts up again soon enough.

Thomas moves over to the wardrobe now and starts feeling along the seam where it meets the wall.

"I couldn't hear anything that sounded like a door," Redmane tells Thomas as she exits the wardrobe, and goes to check the guest room next.

Thomas snorts and goes to the section where Redmane was tapping. He runs his fingers on the inside back seam of the wardrobe, feeling for irregularities.

Sir Lefallon declares his corner of the room clean, and moves on to the next.

"Keep looking. I hear our servant returning," Thomas says quickly and heads back to the door and tries to exit quietly.

At the entrance of the L-shaped hallway, the guard is just admitting the servant and a larger, imposingly black-uniformed ice goblin. This latter person wears a black hood with eyeholes cut in it, with a V-cut to expose his muzzle, and carries no obvious weapons. He sniffs at the air.

Thomas scowls. "What's this?" he inquires.

The servant grovels before Thomas as he appears and says, horribly accented as before, "Zhoor zhervant has come with the rat killer, me lord!"

"I thought I told you I would deal with the rats," Thomas says coldly. "It would provide me with some meager amusement."

"Oh no, no, no, me lord, couldn't let me lord zhully his hands with such work!" the servant protests. Meanwhile, the “rat killer” sniffs at the air again, then barks something gutturally to the servant.

"What did he say?" Thomas inquires, looking irritated.

The servant looks aghast. "We have very beeg rats here, me lord! He zhays he will go keel them right away." He bows low, while the rat killer follows his nose down the hallway slowly.

Thomas walks quickly, trying to get ahead of the two. "Is that so? Well, you won't count me out of the fun," Thomas replies, eyes narrow. Inwardly, he's cursing.

The servant follows, apologizing profusely that the noble lord is forced to endure the presence of rats. The ratkeeper says nothing, but checks each of the doors, at which the servant fetches out a key and unlocks them, letting him in to verify that the “rats” have not been there.

Redmane begins checking the wardrobe in the guestroom next, while wondering if someone would put a trapdoor under a bed or rug? Something to check out next.

With some surprise, Redmane taps again at the back of the guest wardrobe. Did that sound hollow? She starts feeling along the inside of the wardrobe for a latch or switch, like Thomas suggested.

A tiny panel of wood clicks under Redmane's hand, and the back of the wardrobe suddenly feels loose.

"Yes!" Redmane whispers, and tries to slide the loosened wood out of the way.

It opens inward to a dark and dusty corridor, very narrow. A lever on the floor inside looks like it would open the door from the inside.

Figuring the passage is part of the servant paths, Redmane leaves the wardrobe to let the others know. She's glad that Ahearn doesn't have any problems walking backwards, since the way will be too narrow for him to turn around if needed.

Sir Lefallon, meanwhile, fruitlessly searches the area of the main room around the bed and looks over his shoulder to Rachel and Ahearn, then to the just-arrived Redmane. He shakes his hand to indicate he hasn't found anything yet.

"There's a passage behind the wardrobe in the guestroom," Redmane whispers to Sir Lefallon. "We can just squeeze Ahearn through it, too."

The younger knight perks up at the news, then waves to the others to catch their attention and follows Redmane.

"I think they're heading our way. We'd best disappear into it as soon as we may," Rachel whispers to the others.

Thomas moves ahead of them and checks each doorknob quickly, acting as if he's also trying to check for rats. As he gets to the royal suite, he turns the handle lightly then steps back. Slowly, he draws his sword and growls loudly. "I thought you said all these doors were locked. Why is this one open, then? Ah, is this were your friends perhaps planned to hide and wait ‘til I fell asleep, is that it?"

The servant looks astonished as the handle turns, and scrapes and bows lowly. "No, no, me lord! Know notheeng of this, I do!"

The rat killer, however, sniffs at the air and then moves forward to gain access to the door. This close, he looms over Thomas, and he reeks of something sour.

"Is that so? So, if I go in there, no one will be visible, then? Because if they are, they'd better pray," Thomas shouts angrily, then turns and opens the door, trying to ignore the nearby stench.

A trail of cleared dust leads toward the nearby wardrobe, and drifts of dust blow loosely. There is no one immediately visible inside. The rat killer growls deeply and begins to push by Thomas into the room, while the servant looks horrified, perhaps over the room's conditions, or over the obvious evidence of intruders.

"What is this?" Thomas demands. "There were things in here!" he roars and marches into the room. "What are you hiding?"

The rat killer grumbles and grunts something to the servant, then follows Thomas inward, looking obviously amused. He sniffs at the air here and there, then sneezes voluminously, spattering part of the floor. With so much dust, it seems likely his nose will be of no use here.

The servant scrapes some more and says, "Leave it to the rat killer, me lord! We find and keel rats!"

Thomas turns and glares at the “rat killer.” "Are you in on this as well? Trying to cover up for your friend back there?" Thomas inquires firmly, then turns and marches toward the wardrobe. "No matter, I will find those who seek to harm me."

The rat killer snuffles hugely and grumbles, looking quite displeased now that his nose has been stuffed up.

Thomas intentionally kicks up dust as he marches, looking irritated.

After a cursory search of the room, the servant and the rat keeper are sent away empty-handed, and the servant assures “me lord” that the rats will be found if they should dare to show up again. It is some time later and things have quieted down considerably, when Thomas is again able to return to the royal suite to look around without the help of ice goblins.

Thomas just shakes his head. "I'm going to convince myself I'm evil at this rate," he mutters as he heads back into the suite and to the wardrobe. "Now, let’s see how they got out..."

Thomas opens the wardrobe. "Tail ended here and, there were no drag marks, so whatever they went through has to be in here somewhere," he comments and starts feeling around.

A tiny panel of wood clicks inward.

"Any rats in there?" Thomas calls out.

"That depends," Redmane whispers from the other side of the panel. "Did you bring any cheese?"

"Sliced or block?" Thomas grumbles, then tries to move the panel. "Let’s get moving and out of here. I'm getting tired of having to distract them."

A Sir Lefallon-ish voice chides, "Let's not keep the Lord Explorer waiting!" The panel moves almost as soon as Thomas's hands push, and whisks it open to reveal the others crammed into a narrow corridor, evidently waiting for Thomas's arrival before they proceeded onward.

"You have no idea how silly you all look," Thomas comments with a grin. "Well, lead on, then. There's no way I can squeeze by Ahearn."

A flick of Ahearn's tail is all the sign he can make, and he requires no urging whatsoever to move on.

The secret passage winds back and forth, and eventually comes to another lever, which if Thomas and Redmane recall correctly, would open a door into the area of the smaller stairwell that they saw leading upward from the main hallway. Tiny peepholes admit light into the darkness.

Sir Lefallon, crowded in next to Ahearn, mutters, "I hope we get out of here soon. Where are we going, anyway?"

"Ahearn, can you hear or smell anything on the other side? If not, can you look for a lever or switch to open the passage?" Thomas asks. "And mind the tail. You've come close to swatting me a couple times."

"If it lets out into the main hall, we might run into the door guard goblin if we aren't careful," Redmane cautions.

Abruptly, light floods into the narrow access, as the panel ahead swings open. The torchlight flickers, but seems bright by comparison with the dimness they'd been traveling in. The stallion jumps lithely into the open, without incident, apart from his tail swishing with the movement and smacking Tom squarely across the face.

Thomas glowers.

Sir Lefallon gasps with relief as fresh air floods the corridor. He staggers out and mutters, "Much more of that and I'd have been grateful to do just that if it let us get out."

"I don't know why I put up with all of you," Thomas mutters as he exits the passage. "Is everyone all right? Rachel, Sir Lefallon, Redmane?"

This area is a nook underneath a stone stairwell, smaller than the main one by which the travelers entered the uppermost floor, but still large enough for easy transit by everyone. This is the bottom of the stairs; it winds upward some twenty feet before disappearing through an opening in the ceiling. The sallow lighting suggests this is not a place for nobles.

Hiding a smirk, Redmane steps out and looks around for herself. "I'm fine. Let's get up the stairs before your pet goblin shows up again, Tom."

Sir Lefallon shakes his head. "Fine, but I'll be glad when we can get out of here, milord."

Rachel creeps out last, and nods to Tom. "I am well."

"Better to have a pet, than be one of a horse, Redmane. Ahearn's not kept you in line very well," Thomas retorts with a smirk. He then starts up the stairwell.

Unnecessarily, the stallion signals, As am I, thank you for asking. He shakes out his mane, and looks up and down the stairwell, ears pricked for other sounds.

The stairs lead up into a tower dungeon: a quarter of the space is a jailer's nook with a table and a barred door looks onto the cell on the other side, which has been furnished with most of the comforts of home, except for freedom. A slot at the bottom of the door allows a tray to be slid in or pulled out. Barred windows look out, showing the nearby rooftop and battlements, and the courtyard below. Someone has been here some while ago, to judge from the scraps of food on the table and floor.

Thomas raises a hand to indicate silence, then heads toward the door, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Through the stone bars on the door, he sees a thin, gaunt man in a dirty white shirt and brown pants lying upon a bed that has not been made in a long time. Blond hair, blue eyes staring endlessly up into the ceiling. He might be dead, save for the faint movement of his chest.

Thomas sneaks back to the others and whispers, "Okay, I think we may have found Lord April. I have an idea for testing to see if he's a doppelganger. Are you willing to wait and let me try? Or do you all have any ideas?"

"We may need to wait for the guard to return, if there aren't any spare sets of keys up here," Redmane whispers back. "You do your test, while we rest of search the room."

Sir Lefallon looks askance at Thomas. "What do you have in mind, milord?"

"We still have the flute. We don't have to have keys," Thomas points out with a whisper, then looks to Simon. "Well, I've done well at being evil so far, I'm going to continue it and 'test' the man's reactions to jibes and threats on Mirari. His reactions may indicate his true nature and alliance. Best I could think of at the moment."

The younger knight looks faintly worried, but nods. "All right, milord. But... he's been in there for a long time."

"I'll guard the stairs then, in that case," Redmane volunteers.

"If you have any better ideas ... I'm listening," Thomas says.

Sir Lefallon shakes his head. "I hadn't even thought what we'd do if it were an illusion..."

"We cross that bridge when we come to it," Thomas answers, then heads back toward the door. This time, he calms himself and focuses inward, trying to push the idea that he looks like one of the misshapen servants of the destroyer, one of the many guards that have likely frequented this place.

At the sound of Thomas's approach, the prisoner glances his way. His eyes narrow, but he says nothing.

"Rise and shine," Thomas hisses softly. "How's our happy little guest today?" he then taunts.

The prisoner replies, voice cracked and dry, "I will not submit myself for your entertainment, whomever you are." He slowly folds his arms behind his head, looking for all the world as if he were merely relaxing until he chose to arise for his own reasons.

"Aww, and here I thought we could be friends," Thomas hisses and grins. "Somehow, I don't think you have many in this place, now do you? I've always wanted to be a Lord's friend." He laughs quietly.

The thin man inspects Thomas carefully. "You speak more intelligently than these goblins who inhabit this place," he says slowly, forcing himself to enunciate correctly, though his speech is long unused. "You have the semblance of glamour about you, though you are unskilled in its use. The Destroyer has little patient for those who would exercise their own will in his service. Who are you, truly?"

"Who am I?" Thomas replies in answer and gives up on the glamour. "A houseless and homeless wanderer who is far older than he looks. If you can figure out my name, then you are likely whom I seek. Nobles are more likely to remember tales of me."

"Guessing games," the prisoner replies angrily. "I have tired of games; I will submit to no more childish riddles, tests of power, struggles of will." He sits up on the bed, stands, and walks to the barred door to stare into Thomas's eyes from the other side.

A look of surprise comes across his face, and then he studies the lines of Thomas's face more closely. "The long lost Lord Explorer? Are you a trick or..."

"And I can't risk being so obvious when I'm on such a dangerous mission, Lord April," Thomas answers, green eyes looking back intently. "You are correct. It's been a long journey for me, across two worlds. But, I have returned, as have others." Thomas then waves his arm, trying to indicate to the others to approach.

Redmane takes a quick look down the stairwell to make sure nobody is sneaking up it before going to see what Thomas wants.

Sir Lefallon looks relieved as he approaches. "My lord!" he says to Lord April, who looks even more surprised to see him. "Page Lefallon? But you are dressed in knight's clothing..." The prisoner's gaze sweeps across the others. "More figures from legend accompany you: Lady Redmane and the King of Horses... and a lady Explorer. Truly, it would take a creative mind to conceive such rescuers from illusion." He smiles wryly, and it may be the first time in a long while that those cracked lips have done so.

"Forgive me for asking, Lord April," Redmane says, "but how fit are you to travel, and when are you expecting the guard to return?"

The young knight blinks, and then trembles. "Milord... It is a long story, and I swear I seek not to usurp the privileges of a knight." He looks toward Thomas, and whispers, "How am I going to explain myself to my lord?"

Rachel dips a curtsey, half hidden through the bars on the door, and Ahearn bows, too. When the stallion rises, he gives a look to the door as if ready to kick it in himself. We can talk later. We should move now.

Thomas turns to Rachel and asks, "Do you think you can pick the lock? If not, I can use the flute. I'd like to keep quiet and not alert the guards, though."

Lord April shakes his head to Lefallon to dismiss his offered explanation as unimportant for now. "I would crawl across the West on hands and knees to leave this place if need came to that, but there are other ways open to us. I have long considered how I would escape this place, had I only the means. As for the guard-- an hour ago was my last meal, and he will not return for several more hours."

"We cannot leave until we locate the Lord Protector," Thomas says. "We will not likely get a second chance."

"Last meal... Hah! An hour of an attempt to entertain himself at my expense," the prisoner mutters to himself.

"Him too, we may find most readily," Lord April assures. He smiles thinly. "But freeing him from his prison may prove more difficult than freeing me."

Rachel barely glances at the lock before shaking her head at Thomas. "No, m'lord. I am no pick-lock -- the other was a simple thing, meant only to keep out one who might accidentally wander past. This is a serious lock, far more complex than some poking with a hair pin will handle."

"The statue in the mock Siege?" Redmane asks the noble, getting a sinking feeling in her stomach.

The Lord April nods quietly.

"I've crossed worlds and survived much. I will find a way, I always do," Thomas replies, then digs into his pack and retrieves the flute. "Then we open it the other way. Sir Lefallon, Redmane, keep watch for guards. I'll try to play as quietly as possible."

Sir Lefallon nods. "Of course, milord." His eyes linger for a moment longer on Lord April, who is looking more and more revived by the nearness of escape, and then he kneels by the entrance to keep watch.

Lord April watches Thomas intently.

Redmane returns to the stairwell to think while Thomas tries the flute -- not that she doesn't trust the thing, in spite of past experience.

Tom unrolls the notes diagram, then raises the flute. This time, he tries to use as little breath as possible to produce tone and play the short song.

The slow strains of the opening music visibly ease the lines in the prisoner's face. "Music... I have not heard it in so long; only the raucous cries of the Vyglari, the noises of the Destroyer's army," he whispers. And then as the last notes fade away, something clicks inside the door and it falls ajar. Lord April steps out of the dungeon.

"Everyone check that your bootlaces haven't come undone," Redmane warns.

Thomas wordlessly slips the flute back into his side-pack, then the notes diagram. Cracking only a slight smile at Redmane's comment, his expression then fades to a grimmer one and he says, "Now, we make our way to the courtyard. We may face a fight there, and some of us may fall. Rachel, I want you to think on curse items that might indicate turning someone to stone; I'll act as your guard. Redmane and Ahearn, be ready to tangle with Vyglari. Sir Lefallon, stay by Lord April and protect him at all costs." Thomas then tightens his fingerless gloves and adds, "And now ... we bring the fight back to the Destroyer."

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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.