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Adrian Bishop · Adventurer Joined: 08 Oct 2009 Posts: 95

He had been there only a few moments before. What had changed? Shouting and confusion permeated the air as the shimmering ground solidified beneath his feet. Bathed in the glow from the windows of Maggie’s stood Skye, shoulders slumped fearfully as her eyes wildly searched the strangers before her. The strangers, in turn, shouted orders and commands at her.

Instinctively, Adrian slid his runebook into his pack and stepped between the strangers and Skye, extending one palm forward to quiet the demands, and reaching back with his free arm to make sure the girl stood safely behind him.

Adrian looked from one face to the next until he found eyes that hinted at wisdom, and honour. He squared up his gaze and faced the man fully. “What’s all this about?”

What ensued was a barrage of accusations and a volley of demands and complaints from all directions. He felt Skye trembling as she clutched his robe and buried her face against his back. Only one thing had become clear – Skye was being arrested.

“Enough!” The cacaphony was insane! “By what jurisdiction do you arrest this woman?” He turned again to face the man who seemed to be their leader.

The man’s face was covered, save for his eyes. But in the eyes, some hint of concern and urgency glimmered darkly. Not just his own agenda, but perhaps something more. There something genuine in his manner that betrayed his words. “My jurisdiction is wherever I stand.”

A pompous claim to be certain, meant to support such ridiculous charges. The others began anew to shout of drug trafficking and luminescent fungi.

Adrian raised a hand again toward them and wrapped an arm around Skye’s waist, drawing her to his side. He was a watcher of people, but moreover, he was a watcher of souls. What he saw in the eyes of the leader was reassuring. Skye was in no danger if she followed them as they commanded. A twinge of panic wrenched in his gut as he held Skye close and looked over the accusers once more. What if I’m wrong? I’m far too outnumbered. In the end, what choice did he have? He had never considered himself a protector, but an untold fury churned inside him now, with no outlet. Reluctantly, he drew his dagger.

“Let us go with them, Dear Skye." He felt, more than heard her gasp. "I won’t let them hurt you, I promise. This will be resolved soon enough, and the truth will clear your name.” He looked into her stormy grey eyes, red-rimmed and wide with innocence, confusion, and fear. But she nodded without hesitation. Adrian swallowed a knot of anxiety that caught in his throat as he realized the gravity of the trust this fragile flower had placed in him.

Before him, a moongate opened, and the guards surrounded it. He took a deep breath and stepped toward it. Skye clung to him as he felt the cold blue rush of the gate pulling at them both. Gods forgive me if I lead this child into danger…

Starfire · Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:34 am Post subject: Bewilderment

Skye stood there and shook her head. This was complete madness. Drugs? Fungus? What on earth were they babbling about? Then she spotted Adrian. A rock in this sea of noise and confusion. She clutched him tightly to her when he came within reach. "Adrian, I don't know what they are babbling about." Adrian assured her he would not leave her side. This brought her a measure of calm. These folks were shouting about some guy named Buck and his den. They even waved some pages at her. It was all lost on her. All of these folks shouting at her and going on and on about weird stuff. Then they opened a gate and commanded her to enter. Adrian acted like it would be okay. So Skye ented the gate.
She had no idea where she was but Adrian was there too so she didn't panic. Again the shouting and demanding to know what she was buying and selling. They commanded she go up to some room... and Skye nearly panicked and ran. In the middle of the floor was a large smear of blood. She clung ever tighter to Adrian. He was such a solid rock of peace in all this nightmare. More yelling.... more demands about fungus.... she really thought they were a group of insane folks. Skye just held tight to Adrian and prayed this nightmare would all go away.
After much shouting and yelling and talk about fungus and some papers, they urged her to go to another location, which at least was pleasant, no blood on the floor. Again with the silly questions and then one guy finally said something about her staying there until it was all sorted out. She stared at him totally disbelieving, but Adrian was there and assured her he was not leaving her there alone. Skye clung to his hand totally lost in the nightmare. She layed her head down on his thigh and drifted into restless slumber.
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aka: Tatiana Thorn nee Alexi; Summer Kane; Ivory Skyfire; and others

Golgrin D'Brae · Visitor Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 1

Incident report, by Inspector D'Brae.

Time, seven in the evening local, on a Monday night.

Place, just outside the Luna citylimits.

Constables on duty, Commander Bleys; Constable Longlimbs; Constable Crabby;
Constable Ravencroft and myself, Special Inspector D'Brae.

In the pursuit of our investigations the City Watch had received reports that
a suspect had been sighted at a local drinking establishment. We arrived at said
tavern, colloquially referred to as Maggie's Place, and proceeded to look around.

On locating the suspect, one Skye Haldor, we proceeded to take her into custody
for the crimes she has been accused of. In this case, the illegal trafficking of over
30 kilograms (roughly 66 stones/pounds) of dried luminescent fungi, quite a haul if I
do say so myself. This appears to be the new fad in hallucinogenic substances. Best
as can be determined, it all started when an unknown crafter inadvertently knocked a piece
of the stuff into their cup of hot tea, while working at their toolbench late one night.
Some minutes of steeping later; a nice deep swig of it and bob's your uncle. That one
cup of "magic" brew has henceforth turned into countless "happy and free" partakers
galavanting, hand in hand, about the countryside all hopped up to the gills, on "really,
really special" tea. These "happies" are now starting to become a serious problem for
law enforcement.

We had a number of, shady, local import/export operations under surveillance, trying to nab
some of those who were "hopping" on the wagon. Little did she know, that when she had gone
into the import office in Skara Brae to sign the invoice for her shipment and make payment,
that she had been snared in the dragnet of our sting.

When the ship arrived, we raided the import company, seizing the shipment and all
documentation of the company's transactions.

Some days later, as we worked our way though the papertrail and began to close the noose on
our suspects, we got an anonymous tip on where Miss Haldor would be on Monday night.

In the process of apprehending her, one Mister Adrian Bishop, interjected himself into the
situation. A rather foppish fellow in demeanor, he proceeded to blow things out of all
proportion. In the course of our cursory questioning both Miss Haldor and Mister Bishop
exhibited "extreme" paranoia, constantly accusing the Watch constables of intending them
bodily harm. This led us to believe that they might, both, be under the influence of the fungi
at that very moment. By their behavior and dress the two of them, clearly, appeared to be
part of the "happies" counterculture.

Fearing the two might have full psychotic breaks at any moment, we put on "kid gloves"
as it were and tried to, gently, convince and cajole them into accompanying us to the
precinct, where they would be "safe" and looked after. Which is the standard operational
procedure when dealing with suspects who exhibit such symptoms of being on mind-altering
substances. In the process of escorting them to the precinct yet a third suspect entangled
himself into the circumstances, one Mister Rotep. Much like the previous two, he exhibited
quite a number of symptoms of the "fungi glow" as it is called in local drug slang.

Sometime later we managed to get the three temporarily ensconced in a holding cell at
The Garden, a "public house" next door to the yet as unfinished City Watch headquarters.
At this point Mister Rotep began making all kinds of outlandish and exaggerated demands,
obviously humoring himself to be a public defender. We decided to go along with it. He demanded
cupcakes for himself and dinner for his "clients", so we provided. A strange non-human fellow,
one Mister James Bunny-Man had followed us at a short distance the whole time, seeming rather
bemused at all the goings-on. I checked his identification papers, it seems he is some sort of
ambassador from foreign lands.

Both Miss Haldor and Mister Bishop continued to profess innocence and protest the arrest. At some
point Miss Haldor fell into a deep sleep, likely a result of too high a dosage of the fungi in
question. Mister Bishop, in a hyper-vigilant state, sat rigidly, at her side, it appeared he was
in the grip of some sort of paranoid delusion that they might be attacked at any instant. Having
taken Miss Haldor into protective custody, nothing more could be done, so we left her and her
"protector" to sleep it off, overnight.

Much discussion has since taken place over the questions of bail and arraignment.

All in all, a rather exhausting incident. I proclaim here in writing that I intend to apply for
a raise.

Stamped and Signed,

Special Inspector Golgrin D'Brae

James BunnyMan · Visitor Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 7

James saw some people going through a gate, and followed on a whim, in short order he learned that it was something about a new sort of drug that Skye was selling. Obviously this disturbed the ambassador sense that was how he was getting some of the shiny things they use for money and didn't particularly want more competition.

However, after asking the strange guard people, he learned that it seemed very unlikely that you could make a drug from luminescent fungi, or at least not from simply putting the poisonous plant in tea. In his experience poison plus tea equals poison. Oh well, still Golgrin was right in his suggestion that he should start selling pixie dust, so it would probably be worth listening to. Plus of course learning if Skye was planing to go into competition with him.

Fortunately as the night went on it was getting more and more likely that Skye was not selling drugs, so nothing to do but try and learn more about what other new drugs the mortals had been considerate enough to learn about for him and watch Rotep, who was once again doing lawyer things (making a note to himself to throw a pie at him later). He didn't have to wait long, Rotep weather by accident or design told them to tell James about different drugs. Unfortunately their description of a drug called "Black Lung" seemed even more like a joke then the poisonous tea (claiming it was made by cutting up the lungs of people who suffer from black lung disease).

Though that was far from the only thing learned, they also had obi that made strange noises, probably something that contains gears (which James believes to be evil). Also, later on there came the setting of bail, which was fun, as haggling can be. Unfortunately that was when things started going downhill, mostly because Pia kept demanding things like sect badges and virgins and ridiculous amounts of yarn. Eventually as more of them started to arrive in the hallway, the guards (as James had begun thinking of them as) told Rotep that he is no longer her legal representative, and started steering the conversation away from setting bail to offering bribes, however Rotep was steadfast against offering them one (and James was completely unwilling to give them his shinies), they then started talking about rabbit stew for some reason and refused to talk about bail anymore.
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"I've wrestled with reality for 35 years...and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it."
--Elwood P. Dowd

Crabby · Visitor Joined: 10 Dec 2009 Posts: 2

Crabby’s Note Book
Time: 6:45 Local judging by the angle of the sun.
Report from Omni: Suspect spotted at Maggie’s Place (tavern), Fitting the descripton of one Skye Haldor.

Warrant Issued For arrest and questioning in regards to Drug Smuggling rings and Importation of a banned substance.

Upon arriving : a search was made of the establishment resulting in a locating of said suspect.

Upon asking her to step outside for questioning suspect became parinod and dillusional. A Man stepped in claiming comforting her, possibly to interfere with our job, One Mr. Adrian Bishop.

After a time we finally convinced all of the involved parties to join us... and more. Without, i must add, involving the use of force, which is the new method of law enforcement. Why when I was a Pirate I would just get clubbed over the head and dragged off and questioned, but now oh nooo we have to be nice to everyone to presurve our public image....

Upon Reaching HQ the suspect still maintained high levels of paranoia and trying to run away. I had to grab her by the wrist to stop her from leaving (... which was the only show of force we used).

After a brief and pointless questioning we had to place her in a safe house to, possibly, prevent her testimony being corrupted by others in the, suspected, drug smuggling and distribution ring.

A Mr Rotep made a bid for her council shouting furiously and making demands, possibly impaired by Rum or other? (Arrr i need a drink) Upon finding out that he was not going to be the suspects council we Humoured him for a while until he left.

A Mr(?) James BunnyMan also chose to involve himself about the proceedings but made clear that he was just paranoid of Gears and valued balls of string... Interesting note “If all Bunnies die so does he” (Kill Bunnies?)

Starfire · Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 9:16 pm Post subject: doomed to die

Skye stared at the closing gate. She was too stunned to even think, abandoned to die. She stared at the spot the gate had closed. What had she ever done to deserve such a fate. Orphaned when the vile Dark Order had invaded Minoc and her parents had died. She had been one of the lucky ones that got moved to Mazewood and there she had met Miss Tatiana. Life could not have looked brighter then, folks who cared about her, crafting she loved, and she had met Adrian. Then she had gone to visit a tavern and the madness descended.
It was that simple. That was when the madness started. Some folks accusing her of selling some fungus to some guy named Buck in his den. She stared around the tiny island she had been abandoned on. The few palms offered a tiny bit of shade but not much against the sun. They had left a pitcher of something called sake and a few pieces of fish. She had tried the sake and promptly set it aside. Skye could taste the alcohol in it. She would only drink that if she absolutely had to drink it. She stared out at the water and then glanced at the island. Left to die. She just couldn't quite wrap her mind around that reality. Surely this was some horrible dream she would soon wake from.
Skye sat down and sobbed. How could anyone do this to another person? The thought staggered her, abandoned on an island to die. She stared across the water in every direction. No land anywhere in sight. Swimming was out. She eyed the few odd straggly plants. Maybe if she had had a few tools to work with.... she could have made a crude raft. She wondered how long it took to die without water.
In utter despondancy, Skye curled up in a tight ball under what shade was offered. Maybe if she just went to sleep she would never wake up to die this slow horrible death.
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aka: Tatiana Thorn nee Alexi; Summer Kane; Ivory Skyfire; and others

Adrian Bishop · Adventurer Joined: 08 Oct 2009 Posts: 95

Adrian awoke slowly. His mind was instantly alert, but his body would not cooperate. There were very few sensations he seemed to be aware of, but the primary one was the cold. His muscles were stiff, half-cramped, and his limbs were heavy.

Prying his eyes open a crack, he looked around him to discern where he was. All around him, a dusting of snow lay lightly across the grass. Snowflakes littered his tangled hair, and more snow was falling. He drew his arms in to his chest and tried to lift himself from the frozen ground. But his hands were red stiff with cold.

Inch by agonizing inch, he raised himself until he could sit up. His eyes struggled to focus – it was as if he’d been sleeping for days. He blinked once against a bitter wind that tossed his hair across his face. When he opened his eyes and brushed his hair back again, he remembered.

The building that stood before him was where he had been held. Where she had been held. Ignoring the stiffness in his joints and the heaviness of every part of him, he struggled to his feet and looked around. There was no sign of her. No spot where she may have lain, no tracks in or out of the building.

“Skye!”

Adrian stumbled forward as he screamed. The wind tore her name from his lips and scattered it with the snowflakes. He stood for a moment, regaining his balance. His head was splitting with pain. With a sudden thought, he looked down at his hands. The tiny crescents at the base of each fingernail were purple, nealy black. Poison.

He lifted his head again and screamed. “Skye!” But there was no answer. And he hadn't expected one. He had sworn to protect her with his very life. If he had been poisoned, it was likely done so that she could be taken from his protection without a fight. He hardly gave a second thought to who had done it or why. He wouldn’t have put it past anyone. Not the insane lawyer, the half-rabbit, or the guards. And it didn’t matter at this point.

Adrian wandered inside the building. As he suspected, the place was bereft of guards, and the door to the room that had held them stood wide open. His heart sank heavier than any other part of him. He had failed her. Failed his promise. He returned to the front steps and looked around at the soft and silent snowfall. He gave one last futile glance at the black dagger in his hand before sheathing it. Then, resignedly, he flipped through his runebook and touched the gem that would take him home to Minoc, to the tents, and to those who might be able to tell him where life goes from here.

Starfire · Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 8:47 pm Post subject: Surprised

Skye fell into a fitful sleep that evening. She really worried about Adrian and hoped he was unhurt. It had been a long miserable day on this.... rock. She knew every rock and blade of grass on this rock. She knew how many paces from one side to the other. Skye smiled weakly and thought, "I can even walk this rock blind". When the first rays of morning danced over her face, Skye awoke. She groaned softly and hoped to go back to sleep......sleep the day away. But alas, it was not to be. Too many days of listening to Tatiana instruct her on chores and things to be done and idle hands and all of that. Skye sat up and looked around. She was shocked to realize that while she slept, fresh food and water had been delivered. And to her amazement, a bench and a bit of cloth. Maybe her captors were not barbarians after all.
She made a crude pillow with grasses and cloth. Sat on this as she ate some of her days rations. Now there was the long day ahead of her. Maybe she could make a crude fishing pole and line and take up fishing. Looking around, there was not much else to do. So Skye set to work on something to keep her occupied.
_________________
aka: Tatiana Thorn nee Alexi; Summer Kane; Ivory Skyfire; and others