Patchwork Universe

Lady Violetta Kingsley · Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 7:03 pm Post subject: In which conclusions are leapt to

Emerging from the mist on the east side of the desert is a small figure in Victorian riding clothes on a black mare. As she emerges from the mists, she makes an enthusiastic sort of noise, and exclaims "See! The moon. I told you so." to no-one in particular. Certainly the horse doesn't seem to be paying any attention to Lady Violetta's words. Removing a handkerchief from her sleeve, she wipes sweat from her face. "It's rather hot here though." She removes a parasol that matches her dress from her saddle bags and holds it above her head to shield her from the sun.

Scanning the horizon, she notices the city in the middle of the patch. "Well, who'd have thought the moon would be inhabited, although one wonders how anyone could live it such a strange angle. Well Blackie, no use standing around here. We'd better go and say hello. We're ambassadors now, and I suppose Hey Majesty would want us to establish diplomatic relations or something. I'm not entirely sure how one goes about doing such a thing, but I'm sure I'll figure it out as I go along."

After half an hour or so of riding, both horse and rider are exhausted, and the city is still some distance away. "Never mind, Blackie," Lady Violetta says encouragingly, "it wouldn't be a real adventure if we didn't suffer hardships and toil, now, would it? I'm sure that someone in that city will give us some water." Looking around surreptitiously to make sure there is no-one in sight, she unbuttons the top button of her blouse and fans herself ineffectually with the handkerchief.

"You know, it occurs to me that it's very odd that no-one has seen this city with a telescope. I think we must be on the dark side of the moon. That's why it's so bright here. It's sucking all the light away." She frowns. "That doesn't sound at all right. Never mind, I'm sure someone can explain it to us later."

Horse and woman continue to traverse the desert in the direction of the city.

Karl Groever · Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 11:26 pm Post subject:

From an outcropping of rock, half hidden in the sands, beneath the harshness and the haze of heat, two pair of almond black eyes stared outward from beneath the swathings covering face. The figure in the distance wore dark clothing, and rode a black horse. Perchance one the Muydashim had wrested from the ownership of they themselves, the Speakers, Tsaythi.
The second of the two raised crooked finger, acknowledging a thief. Reached for his bow, to take the distant rider down, down into the sinking sands. The first laid hand on shoulder, restrained him, hissed low, 'too far. Leave her. What need have we to shed Muydashim blood three days before the Feast?' The second glared, but did as bid, turned away, stopping only a moment to release the ululating roar of the Banirat, the Stern - as - Rocks, most feared of the northern tribes, in one long pulsation of defiance.
And then both shifted, moved away from stone to sand, and, within moments, it was as if they had never been.

Lady Violetta Kingsley · Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2004 11:41 pm Post subject:

Lady Violetta was beginning to get distinctly bored. What, after all, was the point of having an adventure if nothing were to happen to one. The city was thankfully a little nearer, but clearly the rest of the moon was simply not very interesting. At least the big marble domes ahead were something different. Maybe people lived in them, although they didn't look much like houses. Still, foreign places, foreign customs. Weren't igloos supposed to look a bit like that? This was the problem with having all one's knowledge second hand from books. One could never postulate with any certainly.

"Well, obviously snow wouldn't work here, it's far too hot. But maybe the eskimos came from here originally. After all, I got here, so there's no reason why people couldn't have gone from here to whereever it is eskimos live. Alaska? That sounds about right. Oh I do hope there's someone who speaks English, otherwise, it's going to be a terrible bore explaining anything."

Reaching the site of one of the domes, Violetta dismounted and ran the tips of her fingers across the surface of the marble. Seeing no obvious entrance, she decided to plump for the direct approach, and rapped the end of her parasol neatly upon the surface of the dome. "Excuse me, is anyone at home? I'd really be terribly grateful if you could see your way to providing me with a glass of water." The wind wisped up around her and carried her words away abruptly. Suddenly Violetta felt terribly lonely. It was clear to her that she was in fact among ruins, and that any residents had long departed. Except for Blackie, she was the only living creature on the moon. She slumped against the marble dome, temporarily at a loss as to what to do.

Karl Groever · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 12:02 am Post subject:

As she slumped, hard, against the marble, she felt something in the stone give a little way beneath her.

Lady Violetta Kingsley · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 12:14 am Post subject:

"Aha! A secret door!" Violetta's spirits revived almost instantly. After all, wasn't this the sort of thing that was supposed to happen on adventures? And thanks to Great Grandfather, Aldersley was full of such devices and she felt more on home ground now that something at least vaguely familiar was happening. She was reminded of the time she found the entrance to that abandoned gold mine in one of the recesses in the west cellars, not that she could ever quite remember where the recess was since, which was a shame, really, since she'd been unable to extract any of the gold without the appropriate tools, whatever they might be.

Violetta looked around for the opening, wondering if she were going to be able to get Blackie inside with her, since there didn't appear to be anywher obvious to tether the horse.

Karl Groever · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 12:27 am Post subject:

As Violetta's eyes turned towards the palely blue dome, she quickly saw that there a shallow recess had, indeed, now appeared on the previously smooth surface of the dome. If she could but exert a little more strength, she should surely be able to force the secret door open. And, although the entranceway looked rather squat, it would allow room for Blackie to be led in after her...

Lady Violetta Kingsley · Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2004 12:43 am Post subject:

The entrance proved somewhat difficult to push open, but eventually a rather red faced and puffing Violetta lead her horse through the Entrance and into the blue dome. Blackie did not seem terrilbly keen on the idea, but Violetta, through a mixture of persistence and coaxing, managed to get the horse through the gap and into the structure. Leading the horse by the reigns, her hand against the wall, Violetta realised that about now was when a candle and matches would have come in rather handy. "Oh well - I'm sure my eyes will adjust," she remarked to herself as she blundered forward into the darkness.

Karl Groever · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 2:31 am Post subject:

The first thing Violetta began to sense was the opening out of the space around her, in the darkness. This, she mused, was only to be expected within a Dome, after all. Around the edges of the dome, and, indeed, at the edges of vision, she seemed to make out a series of evenly spaced niches, long and tapering upwards to a sharp point. As her eyes adjusted, she could discern what appeared to be a plinth standing dead centre in the middle of the space. In the air, there was a smell of must, which Blackie sensed, causing the horse to whicker uncertainly.

Lady Violetta Kingsley · Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2004 10:30 am Post subject:

"Hello. Is anyone here?" Violetta's words echoed hollowly around the dome. Patting Blackie reassuringly, she fumbled her way towards the centre of the chamber. "Hmmm. Smells like this place hasn't been used in a while." she muttered to herself - even the hollow wispy sound her voice made in this eerie mausoleum was better than the silence, which was, if she were absolutely frank, giving her the absolute willies. Still, noblesse oblige or something. Daddy and England would expect her to do her best, although the dry feeling in her throat told her she was going to have to head back for supplies soon. There was obviously more to this adventuring lark than met the eye.

Still, now she was here, she ought at least to see what all the fuss was about. Leading Blackie by the reigns, she approached the plinth, reaching out to feel the surface for any irregularities. She was disappointed to find that her investigation, which some might have regarded as rather cursory, revealed nothing further. Yawning she realised that the trip through the harsh sands had tired her. For want of any other tether, she tied Blackie's reigns to the plinth, and using the saddle bag as a pillow, settled down to rest her eyes. Just for a minute or two. Then she really ought to be heading back.

Lady Violetta Kingsley · Posted: Wed Apr 14, 2004 5:53 pm Post subject:

Some hours later, Lady Violetta awoke, chilled from her cold sleep upon the floor. Apparently, nothing had changed in the time she had slept, and doubtless Daddy would be in a terrible state by now. She really needed to be getting back. But where had she entered from. She was almost certain that it was that passage over there. Almost.

Following the passage, she shivered, and patted the still skittish Blackie reasurringly. "Sorry, Blackie." she whispered - this place did not feel like the sort of place where one should speak in a loud voice. "We'll find some water soon. Eventually she reached the surface, and exited into the now somewhat cooler twilight of the desert. How much time she had actually been asleep for, there was no way of telling. The desert winds had certainly wiped all trace of her passage from the sands.

Still, there was no point in worrying about these things. The moon was an odd place certainly, and the sooner she was back at Aldersley, the better.

It was something of a shame that Violetta had completely forgotten about the ship's compass she was carrying in her saddlebags, since if she had remembered, she might well have actually noticed that she was travelling north, and not back east as she believed. Reaching the wall of mist with little incident, she took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself for the trip home. Patting Blackie encouragingly. she entered the mists.

[Continued in Chimera.]