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Ely Game Masters [M:140:1508:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814] member is offline
[b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 459
Puzzled « Thread Started on Jun 16, 2012, 4:29pm »
Ely was dusty, tired, and starving. She had spent the better part of the day going through Wistvale’s motley collection of shops to no avail. There were several books printed in a language she had never seen before in the house that she had acquired. For months she had done nothing more than sort them based on their condition or lack thereof. After that, she went back through the ones in good, if not excellent shape, to separate fact from fiction.
In the midst of this she had come across a few volumes whose the text was utterly foreign. Ely had an excellent grasp of language. There was no word written that Ely could not read, or figure out even if said study was terribly laborious at times. She had not known what to make of it. A personal code perhaps; by the previous owner of the home, the books were all of similar design. But, as for the text inside she was stumped. She hated that. Puzzles drove her absolutely bonkers. Why produce a book just to make it unreadable?
Of course, there had been ancient languages by people long since fallen into dust. Ely had even seen some of their stone tablets kept within the huge brick and mortar library of Brindisi. But surely a book; a thing of parchment and leather, would have never lasted long enough to be such.
With all of this in mind she had left her home to see if maybe someone or anyone could identify the book maker’s style. A long shot, but she was hanging from the last inch of sanity’s rope. At first she had been only mildly annoyed at the lack of intelligence in the merchants. But, as the day worn on with exactly nothing for information her temper was climbing toward explosive.
Oh.
In case you are unaware?
Explosions are very bad things around a fire mage.
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242] member is offline
"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Joined: Aug 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 722
Re: Puzzled « Reply #1 on Jun 16, 2012, 9:45pm »
On one of his periodic - but exceedingly rare - treks from his home to search Wistvale for anything new to read, having long ago devoured every book in his rather sizable personal library, Alec has once again become terribly annoyed at the lack of new material. One might think, after seven years of him showing up occasionally at all the same shops, the merchants might have at least tried to pull in some new merchandise, but no. The same selection since the day he arrived.
The more he brooded on this, the fouler his mood got, a downward spiraling morass of annoyance and, in all truth, more than a dash of bitterness at the scholarly state of the world. Or the lack thereof flits across his his mind, making him huff, put his shoulders, and cast his eyes down to the hardpan. It was at this point he ran into, quite literally, an explosively unhappy fire mage.
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Ely Game Masters [M:140:1508:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814] member is offline
[b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 459
Re: Puzzled « Reply #2 on Jun 16, 2012, 10:15pm »
“HEY!”
The books Ely was hugging to her chest went flying out of her hands. Her eyes flared open, her ears went flat to her head, and her tail lashed the air around her ankles violently.
“You… “
Her voice was cut off with a sharp hiss of anger. The dust around her feet was sizzling loudly and an errant piece of wood from who knows where cracked, snapped, and started to smoke.
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242] member is offline
"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Joined: Aug 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 722
Re: Puzzled « Reply #3 on Jun 16, 2012, 10:27pm »
"Me what?" Alec snaps, not even bothering to bring his eyes up until he hears the familiar snap of wood tossed into a fire. But it was still daylight, and the middle of the hot season to boot, so who would have a fire at this time? He finally glances up, shoulders falling to their normal position. He takes a deep breath, wipes a gloved hand down his face.
Shaking his head, trying to clear and get his head in the right place for human - well, sentient, at any rate - interaction. "I apologize, ma'am," he mutters through gritted teeth, hands stuffed into his pockets. "My day has been....fruitless. And to look at you, I might guess the same."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Ely Game Masters [M:140:1508:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814] member is offline
[b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 459
Re: Puzzled « Reply #4 on Jun 16, 2012, 10:40pm »
The strident "what" came out of his mouth and that was all it took. The piece of wood went up like a torch. There was a split second, barely enough time to register the sudden change in the air and then...
Whoosh!
Flames devoured the piece of wood and searched for something else to eat. Ely, meanwhile, went as red as the flames and stomped on the burst of fire trying to reach her books. She did not hear the rest of Alec's words. He could have been speaking the same language that were in these maddening books for all she understood in those few seconds of rage.
But, it was dowsed just as quickly with the apology as it had appeared. Ely was mercurial; certainly, not psychopathic.
"Yeah. You could say that. Not a merchant in this town that knows a thing about the written word."
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242] member is offline
"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Joined: Aug 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 722
Re: Puzzled « Reply #5 on Jun 16, 2012, 10:58pm »
Lighting up at her words, eyes falling on the books, Alec changes his opinion of the woman rather quickly. Helping to stamp out the rest of the flames, he crouches and collects the books in one arm, dusting them off with the other. "I share your pain. I've been here seven years, and I'll be damned if there's a single new volume come into the town in that entire time."
Standing, he brushes off the cover of the top tome, then asks "D'you mind?" rather absently, and cracks open the cover without waiting for a response.
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Ely Game Masters [M:140:1508:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814] member is offline
[b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 459
Re: Puzzled « Reply #6 on Jun 17, 2012, 7:21am »
Ely made a throttled hiss. This stranger was way too familiar with her books. At least the merchants had not put their grimy hands on them without first asking if they could see. This... this... human creature was already flipping them open.
So what that he had not found anything to read. Was that her responsibility? No. No, it was not. Still. If she had been stuck without new books for seven years she would likely be insane.
"Umm... those probably won't help you. They are impossible to read."
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242] member is offline
"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Joined: Aug 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 722
Re: Puzzled « Reply #7 on Jun 17, 2012, 7:28am »
"Impossible," Alec mutters, thumbing through the pages, "or merely difficult?" Finishing flipping through the first tome, nothing more than a cursory glance every few pages, he closes the cover gently, and hands the small stack back to Ely. "The only thing impossible to read is true gibberish, and those are not that at all."
Gesturing towards an open culvert so they get out of the center of the street, Alec shrugs and scrubs at the scruff on the bottom of his chin with the heel of a palm and casts his eyes up, as if searching the late afternoon sky for answers. "There is definite structure there. It means something. What, though? I'd need a closer look to tell you that for sure."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Ely Game Masters [M:140:1508:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814] member is offline
[b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 459
Re: Puzzled « Reply #8 on Jun 17, 2012, 2:30pm »
Ely wrapped her arms around the books. She hugged them in a gesture more commonly seen by a parent to their child. And it must be said, that for Ely, books were her children. She lavished love and care on them, held them close at night. The information inside them was wonderful, but that was not why she loved them.
Ely loved books because they were glimpses into the hearts and minds of the authors; be it dry facts or lyrical prose. They had put pen to paper and given their thoughts shape and form. She was rather envious of that ability, too. She had never been able to hold on to a thought long enough to do more than scribble notes.
She looked at Alec. Maybe today was not a total waste. He seemed nice enough and curious, too. And... if his statements earlier were any indication she might have just found something, err someone to help her solve this puzzle.
"I don't know. It is no language I have ever seen. I thought, perhaps, it might be a personal code. I found them among a whole mess of other books in this rundown house out by the docks."
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242] member is offline
"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Joined: Aug 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 722
Re: Puzzled « Reply #9 on Jun 17, 2012, 2:47pm »
"Code?" Alec mutters, eyes narrowing slightly. They return to normal as he levels his gaze at the woman. "Could be code, I suppose. By the docks....d'you know who owned the house before you purchased it? And have you searched the house?" He gestures, vaguely, with his hands, the entire time he talks, eyes starting to go absent as he hits his stride. "No sort of hand-written notes in any of the other books, might be a clue? Search for any hollowed out books, those are a favorite. What of secret compartments? False paneling, hidden doors, anything of that sort? And if all of that failed then perhaps......did you read every book written in this language, or this code, or whatever this is, thoroughly? To ensure there was no portion of any of them you could read?" Coming back to himself, he blinks, then looks at Ely. "Sorry. Just throwing ideas out there."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Ely Game Masters [M:140:1508:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814] member is offline
[b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 459
Re: Puzzled « Reply #10 on Jun 18, 2012, 2:15pm »
Ely blinked her wide emerald eyes at the man. That was a slew of questions from a complete stranger. Did he act like this with everyone? Just blurt out a thousand things at once? Was this normal for him? Maybe he was crazy. A lunatic out for a stroll on the street. Right, Ely. Maybe he'd forgotten how to hold a proper conversation. Maybe he just didn't have anyone to talk to.
Ely shook her head and answered his questions one at a time. Though, the last one ticked her off and her reply was rather terse at that point.
"No. Yes. No. No. No. No. No. And of course I read it thoroughly to see if any of it was understandable. If I had understood some of it I would not be roaming Wistvale's pathetic selection of bookshops to find out if anyone recognized the book maker!"
Ely's hair had started to fan out around her face and the air between her and Alec was several degrees higher than it had been just seconds ago.
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242] member is offline
"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Joined: Aug 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 722
Re: Puzzled « Reply #11 on Jun 18, 2012, 2:56pm »
Alec shrugs, then cracks a small smile. "Sorry. I only ask because I thought perhaps the part you could understand merely made it more cryptic." He yawns, slightly, and braces his hands on his hips, not a gesture of defiance, but more one of fatigue. "I mean, if it had said 'yakow walnuts' at the end of one of the books, the whole thing would make even LESS sense, unless there was a cypher for those words."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Ely Game Masters [M:140:1508:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814] member is offline
[b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 459
Re: Puzzled « Reply #12 on Jun 19, 2012, 11:07am »
Ely's temper was still hanging by a loose thread, but the air had not gotten any hotter yet.
"I could not understand any of it. This is not just a hobby for me. I can read any language written today."
It wasn't a boast only a flat statement of truth. Though, why she felt the need to let this stranger know that Ely couldn't decide. Confusion was overcoming her anger at his abrupt inquisition, too.
"If there is a cypher I did not find it with the rest of the books. It could be somewhere else in the house. I have not searched everything. For that matter the decoder does not have to be a written document."
“Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242] member is offline
"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Joined: Aug 2011 Gender: Male Posts: 722
Re: Puzzled « Reply #13 on Jun 21, 2012, 4:25pm »
"Ah, but what about dead languages?" Alec says, one hand rubbing at his chin. "It tends to be the dead that baffle the living." He clears his throat, straightens his back, and squares his shoulders, looking around, then at Ely. "Why you would leave your house, to ask the - if I'm going to honest, rather unlearned - merchants of the town, without first searching carefully the entire place for any sign of something to help you translate.....well, it seems a little short-sighted to me, especially if you, as you claim, speak all present languages, and don't recognize it at all as a root for a modern language, which either makes it extremely ancient, the possibility of which is lessened by the books still being - mostly - intact, or, and far more likely, an extremely clever code."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Ely Game Masters [M:140:1508:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=394&page=1#14814] member is offline
[b]A soul on fire...[/b][0:Snuffed][1:Flame On!]
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 459
Re: Puzzled « Reply #14 on Jun 21, 2012, 5:01pm »
Ely hissed. Her tail lashed around her ankles. She took a tighter grip on the books in her hands as if taking strength or calm from the volumes. Her voice when she spoke was steadily growing louder.
"If I waited to search every single nook, cranny, drawer, mouse hole or hidden compartment in the books themselves? I would be there for several years."
How dare this... this... impertinent, bad-mannered, presumptuous... person... THING question her ability to read!
Cathians had been reading and speaking languages before it crawled out of the muck. The tips of Ely's ears were way past red and straight into scarlet with fury.
She tried to stop it, she honestly did. Her inner voice was racing through her mind. Take care Ely. But she did not want to be careful. Stop. Stop. He has no idea of the amount of work the place is going to take or has taken up to this point. He probably assumes you just found a trunk of books or gave them a cursory glance. Her fingers were digging into the pliant leather of the book covers. She did not want to stop, either.
Her left hand came off the books and a tiny bit of flame from a nearby food vendor darted straight to her palm. Her fingers were engulfed in fire just as quickly, too.
Welcome to The Menagerie. We are a free role playing game with less rules and more freedom. After many years, a couple of hosts and a few different game systems, we feel that less is more. Players get to be truly creative, which in turn leads to more enjoyment in game.
We invite you to join us in crafting our world and look forward to making friends. Should you have any questions, feel free to post in our chat box or ask any of our members or staff.
May you enjoy your stay.
It must be said that this game is the product of continued dedication and friendship.
Grayell: Game inventor and closet basement geek.
Yukiko: Admin and dream-weaver.
Marlena: Admin and promoter extraordinaire.
The Menagerie has enjoyed many incarnations, revamps, reimaginings and renovations and none of it would have been possible without the ongoing support of my friends, the players. Their unwavering loyalty and endless dedication to this project has been stellar.
I would like to thank all admin and staff past and present, in particular Tiberius.
I would like to thank friends and staff no longer with us, and to the few I hold most dear: John, Roland, Alex, Azriel and Jenkins.
Thank you all.
All images are the property of their creator.
Our 2nd site archive with: Total posts 70665, Total topics 1819 & Total Members 86.
...or our first site archive with: Total posts 69401, Total topics 1325 & Total members 145
...OR the very humble start of our game at our friends, www.Heroscapers.com.
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