Patchwork Universe

Abigail · Poor Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 88 Location: Toon Town

(OOC: Abigail and the apprentices have come from Kerya 'Children exploring')

Halfway through the mist to the west, a brightly coloured dug-out canoe with a living face on its prow ran aground. A cartoon girl jumped out, followed by three normal children, two in plain robes and the third in brightly coloured cartoon robes, making an odd contrast with the 'live action' child.

Abigail turned back to the boat once her companions were all on dry land, helped it to turn round, and called "Thank you and goodbye!" as she gave it a helpful push back into the jungle streams of Kerya.

(OOC: the boat moves to Kerya 'Toon boat')

"World number seven!" she said, looking around at the Mausoleum of Dreadful Night.
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Snark Sinistre · Good Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 59 Location: Dark Towers

"It's like the Dark Towers," Tal said, looking about.
"Do you think it's a wizard's castle?" Suli asked.

"Wizards don't like it when people come to their castles uninvited," Vivi said worriedly. "You don't see anything about to shoot balefire do you?"

Abigail · Poor Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 88 Location: Toon Town

"I'm sure it'll be fine!" Abigail said, cheerfully. "After all, your world didn't shoot fire at me! But I can give you a shield if you like?"

She reached into her pockets and looked hopefully at the apprentices.
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Lord Doomshadow · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2004 9:34 pm Post subject:

The children's conversation was interrupted by the distant sound of laughter. Turning, they saw a pretty young girl running towards them across the desolate, blasted landscape.

As she came closer, her pigtails bouncing over the shoulders of her black velvet pinafore, they could see that she was dragging a small dolly behind her, piled high with wooden boxes.

"Gweetings!", she called out. "I weally weally want to thee you! Pleathe wait! I have thweeties!"

Abigail · Poor Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 88 Location: Toon Town

Abigail turned to look at the girl. "Hello!" she called cheerfully. "I'm Abigail, and this is Vivi, Suli and Tal. We've just come from the jungle!"
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Snark Sinistre · Good Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 59 Location: Dark Towers

The apprentices glanced at each other. Cuteness was not the sort of thing that appealed to them and lisping definitely did not do the trick either. However they were willing to give the newcomer the benefit of the doubt, for the time being.

"Hello," Vivi said and was followed a moment later by the two boys. "What's this place called?"

Lord Doomshadow · Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2004 12:31 pm Post subject:

"It's a nathty plathe!", panted the little girl. "A howwible, howwible plathe, where the nathty people want evweybody to get nathty and icky and dwead, jutht like thwem!"

"I've bween hiding and hiding, and I've bween eating thweeties, and now I feel thwick!"

She looked up at Abigail, wide eyed, and clasped her hands beseechingly beneath her chin.

"Pleathe rethcue me!"

Snark Sinistre · Good Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 59 Location: Dark Towers

The apprentices looked at each other and Tal nudged Suli. Vivi hesitated and then said to the newcomer:
"Will you excuse us for a moment?" Without waiting for an answer she pulled Abigail and the boys aside and lowered her voice to whipser to them.

"I don't believe she's a real person," she hissed. "I don't think real people talk like that. She's probably a golem or a construct or something."
"I don't know, some of the really young apprentices say prayers before bed," Tal pointed out. "Kneeling down and everything."
"And if it's as bad as she says here we can't leave her..." Suli added. "Perhaps we can just take her as far as the next world."
"Well watever you do don't eat anything she gives you," Vivi said sharply. "What do you think, Abigail?"

Abigail · Poor Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 88 Location: Toon Town

Abigail, unused to treachery or to the possibility of harm, was confused.

"I didn't think that she might not be real." She looked thoughtful. "But what if she is real? What if she's in trouble?" She paused again.

"Let's investigate!" She sounded more certain now. "We can find out if this place is really nasty, and if it is, you three can do some magic, and I can make some useful things and we can turn it into a nice place! And I'll make her a cheese sandwich in case she's telling the truth about eating sweets."

She pulled a cheese sandwich from a pocket. It was modelled on the apprentices' sandwiches, so was a bit squashed.
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Lord Doomshadow · Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 4:08 pm Post subject:

"Nwo!", screamed the little girl. "Theyw'll eat you! Jutht like they ate my pawents... and my bwother... And then they all cwame bwack..."

She pulled a battered looking wooden doll's head from her pinafore, and, turning her back on Abigail and the apprentices, began talking to it instead.

"It'th jutht you and mwe now, Cathey. Just Fwog and Cathey, all alone..."

Then she burst into tears.

Abigail · Poor Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 88 Location: Toon Town

"Is your name Fwog?" Abigail asked. "Don't you want the cheese sandwich? We can take you into the jungle if you want? We just came from there. It was nice. There were flowers and trees and rivers and birds and all sorts of things!"

She looked across at Vivi, worriedly. Was this more evidence that Fwog wasn't real? She wasn't sure, and Vivi seemed to know about things like that.

"We don't really think you're not real!" she declared, while making what she hoped were "Yes we do!" eye motions at the apprentices over Fwog's head.
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That's all folks!

Snark Sinistre · Good Joined: 18 Jun 2004 Posts: 59 Location: Dark Towers

"If it's as bad as she says it is here, it could probably have turned her brain," Vivi admitted. Taking a handkerchief out of the sleeve of her robe she offered it to Frog.

Lord Doomshadow · Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2004 3:58 pm Post subject:

"It'th not "Fwog", said the girl defiantly. "It'th Fwog".

Taking Vivi's handkerchief, she wiped her face before continuing.

"And it doethn't matter where we gwo, ath long ath we wun!"

In the distance, Abigail and the apprentices could hear a faint... clicking.

Abigail · Poor Joined: 14 Jul 2004 Posts: 88 Location: Toon Town

"Fwog - that's what I said!" said Abigail. "But what are you running from? We might be able to help! We can do lots of cool things!"

She looked around.

"What's that noise?"
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That's all folks!

Lord Doomshadow · Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2004 9:55 am Post subject:

"Thwem!", shrieked the girl. Pausing to inhale, she added "The noithe - it'th thwem!"

In the distance, the group could see things emerging from the muck. Peering doubtfully in their direction, Vivi realised that they were not so much skeletal as exo-skeletal. They were, in fact, the outer shells of ants, supported by gleaming legs which appeared to be made from brass and bristling with sharp prosthetic mandibles.

But these were very large ants. Very, very large ants.