"Hmm... that outfit looks like it could fit me... but I don't fancy trying something on that we found on a dead man. Might be cursed..."

Ford pokes the other bizarre object they uncovered.

"Now that is just wierd... I've never seen a metal that returns to it's original shape like that..."

Lurel suddenly sees the tide lapping at the soles of his boots. Midge is staring into nothing, as is Lisette, as if they were not there.

The tide is racing in on all sides.

From over the sea you notice what at first seems to be a flock of huge birds heading towards you. Somehow you realise they are humans.

Lurel looks at the water around them in disbelief.

"Midge!" he shouts angrily. "I asked you to warn us, didn't..." Lurel's shout breaks off abruptly when he realizes that Midge is not responding. "Midge? Midge, are you all right?"

He turns to the others. "Lisette? Ford?"

While looking at the others Lurel notices the approaching creatures.

"What do we do now?" he asks helplessly. "Should we try to outrun them? Should we prepare to fight? Or maybe we should find out first what they want?"


Having another glance at the rising water Lurel realizes that outrunning the tide would be all but impossible - especially since Midge and Lisette are not reacting.

There is only one thing he can think of - and he hopes that his earth magic will not fail him. He attempts to raise the ground they are standing on above the high tide mark, to create an island for them where they can wait out the high tide.

Lurel hopes that somewhere under the sand and mud there will be rock, solid enough to withstand the tide.


"Ford," he says urgently, "see if you can 'wake up' Lisette. I'll try the same with Midge. And we need to keep an eye on those things, too."

He grabs the first metal object as he leaps over to Midge.

"Oh ruddy hell..."

Ford runs over to Lisette and starts shaking her.

"Hello?? Anyone home? Come out of your catatonic state if at all possible please unless you want to be drowned and eaten at the same time!"

Whether or not Ford's fear of being eaten is valid, you can tell that the people are approaching you with the intention of destroying you. Their 'uniforms' are golden brown and russet and of course silver.

A second group appears all in black with the occasional scarlet or golden blaze. They too seem extremely aggressive.

A third, smaller group in black and white comes from the land side. They are as yet too far away to judge their demeanour.

There is no response from Midge or Lisette.

The water laps over Midge's boots.

"This isn't looking good Lurel! Lisette isn't even twitching!"

Ford turns around and sees all the groups approaching them.

"Oh for..."

"Those, at a guess, would be the Alyssians."


Lurel gives up trying to alert Midge to the danger, and instead considers their options.

"Nice trap we walked into," he mutters.

Things are not looking good - with half the party unable to move for some reason, the tide rising, and 3 parties of what must assumed to be enemies approacing there seems little hope.

"Just about the only way out for us I can think of is to sink into the ground," Lurel says to Ford. "The only problem with the ground here is, though, that it's full of water.... what do you think, is it worth a try to see if I can persuade the ground to swallow us up?"

He turns the metal object over and over in his hands while he tries to make up his mind - though he does not expect it to provide them with a way out.

"Unless it's a teleporter," he mutters.

The attackers in brown are almost upon you when they notice the group in black. With shrill cries they change tack and charge into a fierce battle with them. . As the water reaches Midge's waist bits of armour and bodies begin falling from the sky onto you.

Lurel's attempts to reach the elementals of earth are fruitless.

Three of the small group in black and white are flying under the skirmish above you coming straight at you. Before you can think what to do eveything goes black.

Time passes.

When you come to the four of you are alone in a vessel that looks a little like a boat. It is black in colour long, narrow and shallow, symmetrical about both axes.

At either end the prow/stern rises up like a rearing sea-serpent although there are no features on the 'faces'. The craft glides soundlessly. One very odd thing is that it is moving through the air. A glance over the side induces verigo as there is no land visible.

Inside the vessel are six slatted seats. There is no visible means of propulsion.

As you look around you notice several such 'boats' moving in different directions and at different levels. There appear also to be three kinds of solid body. Most are some way away and hard to make out. The largest seem to be huge cities made out of trees or perhaps pipes, it is hard to tell. At some angles they also seem to look like faces. One appears to be on fire an eerie glow visible through one of the 'eyesockets'. Huge numbers of flying creatures are circling around each of them. The second group of 'bodies' are smaller, perfectly spherical and clothed in a grey fog. Finally, and the only kind close to you, are what look like brick built edifices of huge size. They are very tall and very long but exceedingly narrow. They have huge elongated towers on their entance facade and occasionally elsewhere. The entrances take up the whole of this facade and appear as vast black maws. From the entrance stairs lead down and hang over the void. Some of the towers have illuminated clock faces but not one has any hands.

OOC> You may want to get to grips with this before I post the next bit. Look up Bekzinski on the internet to get a better idea.

"What... the... ruddy..."

Ford gets up slowly, and looks over the edge of the boat, jumping back inside again as soon as he sees the height they're at.

"Whoa!! What is this place?"

He looks around at all the bizarre structures.

"Are we... dead?"

Lurel shakes his head, trying to piece together what happened, but nothing comes back. He glances around to see if Midge and Lisette have recovered.

"Dead? I don't think so. I've never heard of the dead needing flying boats."

He cautiously peers over the edge.

"And those buildings...if that is what they are.... why would the dead build those?"


He looks at Ford helplessly.

"I think we have been taken to another dimension - and it isn't like any dimension I've heard of."


He shrugs, and opens his backpack.

"We might as well eat while we can."

"Hmm... I suppose you're right. Hey, maybe that bizarre thing that reformed it's shape was some sort of... dimensional transporter?"

Ford opens his pack as well and pulls out an apple, taking a bite.

"Well, if I was dead, I doubt I'd be hungry..."

He grins.

"I'm just glad we got away from those lunatics... I didn't fancy getting impaled on an angry Alyssian's spear..."

OOC> My mispelling, the internet sites you are looking for are zbigniew beksinski (start with page 2 if using google)

The craft changes levels and moves towards one of the huge buildings banking steeply at an awe-inspiring angle of forty-five degrees. It enters a small rose window above the main entrance. Inside, the huge building is almost empty. A walkway hugs the wall just below the ceiling. The craft follows the walkway to the back of the building. It is almost pitch dark. A door opens and the craft enters a small room, still relatively poorly lit. There is a table against on side of the room with three people seated on a bench behind it; two women and a man. At first sight they are typically human, though the lower parts of their bodies are concealed by the table. Each wears a silver robe made up of thousands of small, silver interlocking v-shapes. They are very alike until studied closely, when an increasing number of differences from human beings becomes apparent. Their complexions are very pale, though not white, whereas eyes and hair are a violent orange. The pigmentation in the lips is yellowish.

The three rise and bow to you. This incorporates a complex movement involving folding their arms across their chests. Except they have no arms but delicate metal constructions more like wings.

“You are almost the first of Zorlon to visit us. Welcome.” The woman who speaks, the one who occupies the central position, has a clear bell-like voice. Each syllable sounds individually minted. "We must thank you for coming to our aid."

Glancing beneath the table you see each wears a pale skirt that stops a boot's height above the ground. There is however no evidence of any legs.

"Please have some refreshment."

A bowl containing a grey sludgy paste that resembles - as close as you can imagine - congealed vomit - floats across to you.

The three smile, their heads nodding as if uncontrollably.

"I suppose it's probably a good sign that they haven't killed us outright," Lurel replies, nibbling on some dried fruit he has found in his pack.

"But at the moment we don't know what is going on, or which faction has captured us. Unless that metal thing really is some strange sort of teleporter.... in which case we need to work out how we get back. But the very fact that we're alive, and still have our packs... well, the first thing you'd do with a prisoner is to disarm them, isn't it? So perhaps whoever sent us here wants something from us."

Lurel sighs, and glances uncomfortably at the strange surroundings.

"I suppose we'll have to wait and see. I'd be happier if I knew what caused Midge and Lisette to stop reacting, though. I hope it's not something controlling their minds."


EDIT: Argh - posts crossed. Will post again soon.

Lurel tries to imitate their hosts' bows as best he can. While he is doing this he is attempting to use his empathy on them - though he is not sure whether his empathy will be able to tell him anything about the inhabitants of this dimension.

"We thank you for your welcome," he says. "Please, I am curious to find out the name of this dimension - you have heard of Zorlon, but I must confess that I am ignorant of your dimension. And naturally I am curious as to those other visitors you mentioned. What aid is it that you require of us?"


Hesitantly he accepts the bowl.

Something pink wriggles in the grey sludge. Could it be a worm?

The woman looks at her companions. "I will tell you a little but much you should hear from our ruler. We are, I suppose a part of Zorlon - Avelyssia - deliberately hard to reach accessible from Levdia and Jourtres though none has done so for millennia. My name is Tallian, a Laridian"

Her two companions start getting excited and shout "long live the Laridians, defy the Corvidians!"

The second woman shrieks at you, "They betray us!"

Tallian calms them. "We are, I suppose rebels. To be honest we did not want you here but since you are here it may prove to our advantage. When we die we are entombed in the necropoleis. Each family has their own. But great warriors are buried in the hallowed ground of Xetcherin. A tomb has been defiled."

Lurel has the suspicion that the objects they found may have something to do with this tomb desecration, but he asks anyway - he finds it preferable to keep talking rather than brave the 'refreshments'.

"A tomb desecration?" he asks. "Please, can you tell me more about this? Whose tomb was it? And who would do such a thing?"

He pretends to sip from the bowl, then hands it to Ford while he continues to talk.

"I hope you will forgive my curiosity, but how did you know that we were on the beach, under attack - I presume by the... the Corvidians? And how where we transported to your dimension? I remember only that everything turned black, then we awoke in your flying boat."

"Er... thank you."

Ford cringes slightly at the bowl floating in front of him. He picks it up none the less and runs his finger through it. Then just out of sheer curiosity tastes a bit.

Ford

It tastes pretty much as you imagine congealed vomit with live worms would taste.

The party

Tallian nods repetitively.

"The Corvidians attacked, but the Falconians would have done, too. Fortunately for you they hate each other more than anything. It gave us the chance to get you out. We sprinkled something we call Lethe Water on you. You lose all knowledge of where you are and what is happening for a short time."

Tallian glances at the others. "We need to take you to the princess. She is under guard so it will not be safe to do so until it is dark. We can take you to sleeping quarters to wait. Or if you have any questions I will try to answer them. Which would you prefer?"

Lurel realizes how tired he is after all the climbing they have been doing on the storm beach.

"Some rest would be good," he sighs, "but I have so many questions too. Maybe you could tell us a few things - it might be easier to sleep with our curiosity satisfied. How did you know we were on that beach? And can you tell us something about those wards, which are discouraging the Levdians from even thinking about the sea?"

He yawns, and covers his mouth with his hand.

Tallian inclines her head. "We do not know how the wards were made. We have no magic in Avelyssia and they are magical. They warn us of any who approach and try to keep them back. If any reach the beach the birds watch for us. Should they become too inquisitive we destroy them. Unfortunately we need you alive."

She glances at her companions. "You will have time to talk again as we go to meet the princess. Think of any questions you may have until then. You are clearly tired."

She claps her hands and your craft moves out of the building and into one of the huge 'faces' of pipes. You still cannot decide which they are. It stops in a huge void filled with floating platforms that are sleeping pallets. Each is large enough to sleep six or seven. When you get on you find no blankets or pillows but a job-lot of pebbles and chunks of metal - apparently scavenged items from the beach at Levdia. Although it looks impossible to rest on, you are all asleep in moments.

OOC> Post any thoughts or dreams you have. I am not back now until Tuesday 4th am when I will get you to the princess (Kethruch). If you have questions for Tallian you can ask them on that trip.

Ford cringes and retches as the taste kicks in. He quickly spits the food out on the floor.

"Oh... um... I'm sorry! I guess your food sorta doesn't agree with... our dimension's... pallette?"

He grins nervously hoping he hasn't angered them.

Lurel has all sorts of strange and unsettling dreams. In one dream he is eating a bowl of porridge when suddenly pink worms start wriggling in it. The worms turn into a swarm of insects which flies out of the porridge and straight at him, and he wakes with a start.

He takes a sip of water from his bottle, and tries to go back to sleep.

This time, he dreams about the beach. As he bends to pick up the strange metal he realizes that he is surrounded by the poisonous plants he fell into. They are sprouting from the sand and the mud around him like a rising tide, and before he can turn to run they have grown so huge that he is smothered by them.

This time he wakes bathed in sweat, and it takes a while for him to calm down.

He lies awake for a long time, only to fall, at last, into a dreamless sleep. Yet just before he drifts off, he hears a strange voice in his head....a voice he has heard before.

"The Keeper. You must find out about the Keeper. Ask about the Keeper."

Movement suddenly comes to Midge, if only it hadn't been to roll out the side of the bed he had been placed in... then landing with a thud.

Midge stumbles over to the nearest window, takes one peek and then says

"I'm not even going to ask"

and with that goes back to sleep on his bed

Lurel is wakened by Tallian shaking his shoulder telekinetically (a very odd sensation).

"We will be ready to leave in a short time. Make your preparations. Leave what you do not need. Everything will be safe here. The gondola will arrive at the window."

She points a 'wing' at the window Midge had earlier peered from.

"I noticed that our welcome dish did not appeal to you. We have so little contact with your kind I do not know what to suggest. Some of the colonies prefer nuts and fruit if you prefer that. We have insects, a few rats....?"

Lurel yawns and rubs his eyes as he sits up - he feels as though he hasn't slept at all.

"We didn't mean to offend you by refusing your welcome dish," he says apologetically, "but it was very different from the types of food we eat. Nuts and fruit sound much more like our kind of food though. I'm not so sure about insects and rats...."


He pulls on the boots he discarded before going to sleep.

"How many of us should go?" he asks. "All of us? Or just one or two?"


With a sigh, and a stifled yawn he gets up, and walks over to Ford to shake him awake.


He turns to look at Tallian.

"Who is the Keeper?"

Tallian had already turned to fetch you the fruit and nuts when you ask your last question. She turns and stares at you with a frightening intensity.

"Explain where you heard that name. And you'd better be convincing or you'll none of you leave here alive."

You are suspended on a sleeping pallet that hangs over nothingness, in a country of which you know nothing, that is full of hostile people. You had better be convincing!

Ford stirs and sits up, still half asleep.

"Huh, what? What's going on?"

He looks at the two.

Lurel stares at her in surprise and alarm. However much he has tried to accept this world as just another dimension, it now comes home to him just how alien it is.

A chill creeps up on him as he considers his answer...and as he uncomfortably remembers something Tallian said which had not properly registered at the time. 'Unfortunately we need you alive'.

In desperation he uses his empathy skill on her, hoping it will tell him something about her.

"I don't understand your sudden hostility," he says to gain time. "The more so since I know nothing about this Keeper, and can therefore not tell why my question should have angered you so. Before we were brought here we did not even know of this dimension's existence. I can tell you where I heard that name - but for you to believe me I would have to tell you many things, about myself, my friends, and the chain of events which brought us here. It is a long story, and will take a long time to tell. Do you want me to tell you now?"


Anxiously he waits for her reaction.

Midge sensing the mood needs to be lightened a touch offers up
"well, i suppose it depends how do you present these rats... baked? stewed?, i once ate raw insects adn as for the taste.. well i was just desperate"

Tallian seems distracted by Midge's comments but quickly looks back at Lurel.

"You need tell me nothing except how you know of the Keeper. Who told you of that name?"

"Without knowing me - what I have gone through, what has happened to me and my friends, how I came to be where I am, would you believe me if I told you that I heard the name in a dream?" Lurel asks her directly. "If you want to kill us, I don't think I can stop you - we are in your power. But if there is one thing I am sure of it is that we have been brought here for a purpose. Coincidences don't happen to me and my friends. Now - will you tell me who or what the Keeper is?"


Just in case his answer was not good enough for Tallian, Lurel tentatively tries to establish contact with the Earth elementals - though how he would reach them from a flying platform is unclear to him.

Tallian narrows her eyes. "You heard it in your head? You dreamed it?" She sighs. "I suppose it is possible. There are often strange dreams in this room. However, forget about it. The keeper is not your affair. Should the princess choose to raise the subject with you that is her prerogative. Now come."

A gondola is ready. Tallian's two companions of the day before are already in it. Within moments you are floating over nothingness. Your Avelyssian companions are silent and indicate that you should not speak.

The craft enters a turret high up on one of the 'cathedrals'. There is a spiral staircase leading down. It is worn and crumbling with age. Tallian and her companions float forwards. Then beckon at you impatiently.

Ford looks around the bizarre structure and gets out of the gondola, following the Alyssians to their new destination.

Ford slips as the step crumbles beneath him. He sits down abruptly injuring his dignity but nothing else . The Avelyssians press against the wall. A black Corvidian moves round the corner to investigate the noise. What you had not noticed was that the Avelyssians are operating an all but invisible razor-shap wire. The Corvidian's head is sliced off cleanly at the neck. Talliann catches it. The remains are all floated into the gondola and away. The look Tallian gives you tells you she feels you were a clumsy oaf. The stairs are very unsafe looking.

Lurel takes one look at the stairs.

"We're not going to get down there in one piece," he murmurs to Ford almost inaudibly. "Let me try something."


Although he has little hope of success in this strange dimension he attempts to use his earth magic to stabilize the stairs.

If he does not succeed he will attempt the stairs with great care, seeking out firm footing wherever it is available, and seeking handholds on the wall too. If he does succeed his descent down the stairs will be somewhat speedier, and allow him to concentrate on his surroundings rather than his survival.

Lurel's attempt with earth magic produces information but no results. He can tell at once that there are no earth elementals present in the floating world of Avelyssia, unless in the necropoleis that are more solid.

The Avelyssians appear to be unaware of his attempt but he has a strange sensation that someone is. It isn't anyone near him.

Helping each other, you reach the bottom of the stairs, mercifully short, in time to witness the decapitation of a second Corvidian guard. The stairs open onto a walkway just below the ceiling of the enormous building. It is wide enough for three to walk abreast and there is a stone parapet rising to Lurel's waist. It is possible to peer over, or in Midge's case, to peer through the parapet should you choose to do so.

Tsillian has moved ahead, her two companions bring up the rear. The walkway extends in either directrion as far as you can see.

"Ugh... gross... why are we beheading guards as we go? Can't this place make sense for 5 minutes?"

Ford sighs and continues to follow the Avelyssians through the bizarre structure.

Lurel shivers at the swift and silent efficiency with which the guard is despatched, trying not to judge their hosts - or should he think of them as captors? - until he knows more about what is going on in this place.

The vast spaces around him, together with the absence of the earth elementals, make him feel insecure - he feels too exposed, too vulnerable in this place. And he cannot get rid of the feeling that someone - or something - is watching him, is aware of his presence in this world.

"This is a place for Windrunners, not for Rockbrothers," he thinks as he looks around, and peers over the parapet to see what lies beyond. "Why have we been brought here though?"

Lurel peers over the side to find the bottom of the building is so far down as to be invisible. He is pulled back roughly by one of Tallian's companions.

"There are guards. Hard to see in the dark but they will see you."

If it is 'night' or 'dark' the lighting seems no different to you all. A small passageway to the right decends a few steps to a door in the wall. Tallian makes a stick rap in code on the door. It is opened at once.

As the door opens you are momentarily blinded by the glare of whiteness. For a moment you see nothing but white. Showly you make out a woman.

Talian bows and says to you. "This is Princess Siffli, a Cygnidian."

The woman is dressed entirely in white. Her face is almost devoid of pigmentation except for a dark red gash of a mouth. Her eyes, however are vivid jade green and huge. She has the same silvery metallic 'wings' as the others.

"Aaagh! Too bright..."

Ford staggers a bit and sits down on the floor, rubbing his eyes. He then looks up at the princess once the light clears and stands up.

"Whoa..."

Lurel blinks in the sudden brightness as the door is opened. Once his vision has cleared he bows to the Princess, trying once again to imitate the bow their hosts accorded them.

Involuntarily his gaze is drawn to the huge jade eyes, and he uses his empathy skill.

"Cygnidian," he thinks as he finally puts two and two together. "Cygnidians, Corvidians, Laridians.... all named after species of birds. Evolved from such species perhaps? Or maybe they adapted the names for the characteristics they wish to identify with? But now I think I understand about the birds on the beach."

He shivers slightly as he imagines what it would be like to meet the Gypaetians or the Aquilians - if there are such...

Lurel's empathy skills tell him that Siffli is very anxious about something. She is not directly hostile indeed she is more curious about you. Presumably she has little experience of humans. As with the others it is clear that she has plans for you.

OOC> Kethruch is playing the Princess Siffli.

"Who are they that have the honor of my presence?" the avian-like princess asks those in front of her. Her tone is even and practiced, her stare somewhat odd, almost as if she were looking at a spot deep within your soul.

Lurel waits for Tallian to introduce them. When the Avelyssian remains quiet, he clears his throat and says:

"We were brought here from another dimension, Princess - strangers here, and not familiar with your society, or your history. Yet we were told that you need our help. Please, will you tell us what aid you require?"

Tallian turns to the princess. "We have told them little. Will you tell them, or would you like me to act as your mouthpiece?"

"I would like to have this officially done. I am a princess, why have they not been announced to me?" She fixes her gaze on Tallian and continues in a very condescending voice. "Introduce them, announce me with the proper titles, and then we can get on with what needs to be done."

Tallian bows. "Yes. Er. Well. Princess Siffli these humans have come from the world of Zorlon, Levdia to be precise. The young wizard is called Lurel and I assume he is is originally from Tagfier. The fighting girl is Lisette from Jourtres. The other boy is called Ford Arvind from Dayone - a farmer. The little one they call Midge. I am not sure where he is from."

At Tallian's prompting you repeat the bow Lurel has already tried.

Lurel waits, wondering why the princess is hesitating. Is she worried about something?

"Very good." The princess finally responds. "I expect you would like to know why you are here." She pauses again for effect. "Something has happened that shouldn't have. I don't mean that someone made a mistake, but perhaps it's better said that something happened that couldn't have. There is a place that was defiled, that we do not know how it was defiled. We need to figure out how it was, and then restore the area so that one who is important to us all will live. We need your help, and hope that you will be successful."

Lurel frowns as he tries to work out what the princess is actually saying.

"I'm sorry," he says cautiously, "but what exactly happened? In what way is the place defiled, and who precisely is it that must live again? We need to know a little bit more about this if we are to help you. And one thing I would like to know also is this - could it be one of your rival factions who has defiled the place you speak of? Or when you say, 'important to us all' do you mean the Corvidians and Falconians too? "

He looks at Ford to see if he can make any sense of this so far.