Soft fog flows like water around the crumbling remains of the Arius Gate. Once it was supposed to be the gateway to worlds. It's instability left it abandoned and forgotten in the plains that cover much of the landscape. Nothing save the sound of wind echoes across the grassy field... Slowly a gentle hum, imperceptible at first, begins to fill the air until it would be deafening to a normal traveler...
Carvings long thought to have worn away glow with a gentle red light. It moves as if alive, slowly traversing the markings on the stone pillars... The light grows stronger and brighter pulsing like the arteries of some great creature. The sound shifts to a high pitch, a shriek, as the fabric of reality is torn. The pillars glow brightly...a glimpse of another place can be seen for a mean moment...A great flash of red light... Silence returns, leaving a large form in the center of the pillars...
Kainudy gets back onto her feet and shakes her head clear. "Why do these trips always give me a headache?" She looks around at the unfamiliar ruins. "Definitely not Kansas, either."
Kainudy calls out, "Hey, anybody out there?"
Nothing but silence answers.
Kainudy sighs. The dragon begins to look for a road or path.
Back in the forest that borders the edge of the plains, a shadowy figure makes her way though the light underbrush. Ahead, she can see the great flash of light ripple through the landscape, then the shrieking sound...
Delachiel stops and frowns. Suspecting a great event of magic, and thus intelligence, she begins to work her way towards the sound, proceeding fast now, with newly found enthusiasm, yet common caution.
No roads, no paths... Wherever this place is, it seems to have been long forgotten, or shunned... No indications of any visitors exist... All that surrounds the dragon it a grassy plain and the sound of wind moving the long blades...
Kainudy sits down and prepares to go into serious grump mode. "I'll probably have to wear my wings out trying to find a settlement.."
~~Life can indeed be strange, Lady Kainudy.~~ The tall, dark female stands in the shadows of some remains of a building, smiling her usual, unreadable smile.
Kainudy's mane stands up on end briefly, and she looks over her shoulder. "Delachiel??"
Delachiel says, ~~I assume that you did not expect to end up here either? Whatever place 'here' may be.~~
Kainudy pads over to the elf, "You mean you don't know where this is either?"
Delachiel shakes her head. ~~I was brought to Jarik's homeworld to help with a problem, but I cannot say if I'm still there.~~ She grins a bit and lowers her veils, not having aged much if at all. ~~And what brings you here?~~
Kainudy says, "The luck of Copernicus, pretty much.."
Delachiel chuckles. ~~Small world indeed, although I doubt Copernicus is to blame for my predicament.~~ She sighs a bit. ~~Well, I guess we should decide on what we want to do now. If that gate could be made to operate, we could use it to look for a more civilized place, or we can try to find life on this world.~~
Kainudy looks back at the portal. "It looks older than I do. I'm up for finding civilization if it exists."
Delachiel shudders a bit. ~~I certainly hope so. Otherwise the remainder of our lives may prove to be rather boring.~~
Delachiel points at where she came from. ~~That's where I came from. I'll let you pick a direction, or perhaps try some scouting.~~
Kainudy says, "I was going to take a look from the air. Is it too bright for you to see very far?"
Delachiel nods. ~~It's beginning to border on that, I'm afraid, especially higher. I've been on foot for most of the night.~~ She toys idly with her necklace while finding a rock to sit on and rest.
Kainudy says, "Hmmm. I can carry you, but I want to wait for more light before taking off. Find anything to eat in that forest?"
Delachiel nods. ~~Some berries. I'm fine, Lady Kainudy.~~
Kainudy says, "Berries? Why can't I ever get stuck on a planet that has pizza-trees or something.."
Delachiel smiles a bit. ~~I think I prefer berries.~~
Kainudy grazes on some of the wild grasses. Maybe she'll be surprised and find something that tastes.. well.. ungrasslike.
Delachiel eyes the dragoness with some curiosity, not having seen one of her kind for a while.
Delachiel says, ~~So, what have you been up to?~~
Kainudy spits out a greenish wad of chewed grass and makes a sour face..
Delachiel can't help but to grin.
A faint glow of blue seems to be coming from below Delachiel. It's almost imperceptible, but it is there...
Kainudy glances back at Delachiel, and notices the glow. "You haven't been walking across any nuclear waste dumps, have you?"
Rather...it seems to be coming FROM Delachiel...
Delachiel hms? ~~Pardon?~~ She follows Kainudy's eyes and now notices the glow herself. ~~Goodness.~~ She quickly manages to dig out a necklace.
Kainudy hmms, "This has happened before?"
Delachiel shakes her head, concentrating on examining the item.
What once was a rather plain medallion on a chain has taken on a soft blue glow. Intricate lines now appear on the surface of the small disk. It's an odd pattern, one shows a small star symbol, that glows brighter than the rest, and towards the edge glows a faint star. It's funny, it almost looks like a map.
Kainudy arches an eyeridge as she looks at the medallion. "A gift?"
Delachiel says, ~~Or a curse. I got this as I was transported here.~~
Kainudy says, "Who gave it to you? Or did you just find it?"
The brighter star seems to be indicating a place on a vast open plain...if it is a map.
Kainudy says, "It looks like a sort of compass."
Delachiel nods, now examining the medallion closer. She glances at the sky, then at the surroundings, trying to make any obvious connections to the figure.
Delachiel says, ~~I guess you could say I just found it.~~
Kainudy says, "No instruction manual then?"
The medallion seems to show a map to some soft of location. The lines indicate the location is in a mountain range far from the bright star. The bright star seems to move if Delachiel moves, how bizarre...
Delachiel shakes her head. ~~No instructions whatsoever.~~
Delachiel hms, and tries to see if she can move to align the bright star over the fainter one.
The star moves only slightly. The fainter one is far in the distance...
Delachiel ponders. ~~It's obviously a device to find a place.~~ She tries to hand the medallion to Kainudy, to see if she can handle it by herself.
The medallion continues to glow faintly. It doesn't seem to care who has possession of it...
Delachiel says, ~~Interested in where this will lead us?~~
Kainudy's hands are a bit large, but can manage. She turns in a circle to see if things change position. "It's the only lead we have, might as well check it out." She hands the medallion back to the elf.
Delachiel nods, and bites her lip. ~~Shall we? It may become too bright for me after a while.~~
Kainudy says, "I wish there was some way to tell distance on it though. Care to ride?"
Indeed, the map always seem to lay out in the same direction. It rotates as the dragon rotates...
Delachiel smiles and nods. ~~Please.~~
Kainudy lays down to make it easier for Delachiel to mount.
Delachiel climbs on Kainudy's back, shifting into a comfortable and above all secure position.
Kainudy gets up on all fours, and starts to trot in the direction indicated by the 'map'. "Once the last of the fog has burnt off, we can try flying. Wouldn't want to pass over it or something and not see it."
~~Indeed. Please let me know when I'm becoming too much of a burden. I'll do my best to stay awake.~~
After an hour of walking the fog has disapated from the ground. The glowing star, which is the traveling group has only moved slightly more towards the dimmer star. With the increased daylight mountains can be seen in the distance. If the rate of the moving glowing star is any indication, it's probably a good 20 miles ahead or more. It'll take quite a time without faster transportation...
Kainudy spreads her wings, "Hold on, time to fly!" The dragoness runs a short distance before leaping into the air.
Delachiel is shaken awake and takes a strong hold of the dragoness as the wind blows back her hood, her white mane now flowing freely behind her as she hugs the dragoness close, not quite used to flying yet.
The land moves quickly beneath the two. Much faster than before, they close in on the mountains while the little glowing star seems to slowly but smoothly glide across the medallion surface...
The traveling two enter the mountain range after a short pleasant flight. The only really odd thing is the lack of any sort of civilization anywhere along their flight. The light glowing star finally intersects with the other and it flashes brightly. Below a huge waterfall cascades down a sheer cliff. There is an outcropping about half was up the cliff and...yes...a small trail leading to it. It looks large enough to land on...
Delachiel is still too bewildered to do much but hang on.
Kainudy angles down to land on the ledge. "Nice spot at least.."
As they draw close the path looks like it has been regularly used, and fairly recently...
Kainudy looks towards the waterfall, and asks Delachiel, "Do you think we're at the beginning or the end of this path?"
Delachiel hms, and looks at the waterfall as well, squinting in the brightness. ~~I'm not sure which one would be better.~~
Kainudy looks over the elf, "Sleepy? Want to take a break before going on?"
Delachiel looks around. ~~Some rest wouldn't hurt.~~
The path is dotted with hoofprints of some sort. They seem to go up and down the path, and right to the edge of the falling water. There's a slight dark edge to the waterfall, and a cool breeze...
Kainudy curls up, noting what must be a cave entrance behind the waterfall, and drapes one wing over to provide some shade for Delachiel.
Delachiel smiles gratefully and almost collapses on the spot, exhausted from the ordeals before.