Tale of the Red Hat Gnomes- Part 3

Discussion in 'The Library' started by Mingo, Oct 1, 2019.

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  1. Lily Byrd

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    Deep in shadows, Lily chuckles and takes a sip of her very warm rum.
     
  2. Mingo

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    (Fire Lotus Tavern-present) I look around in consternation as there are no supports holding up the ceiling. "The posts are gone!" I exclaim with exclamation marks.
    --"Silly Bard," says LilyBird, "You are in Novia, not Conster which is a long ways down the street, and you are on page 2."
    --"Oh, of course," I say calmly. "Or is it coarse....I can never remember..."
     
  3. CatherineRose

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    While standing enjoying the beautiful portrait of Possum Rose or maybe I was enjoying the sight of the pulchritudinous young man. He was so inviting to view....

    "Ohhhhh dear! Trinity, I told you my mind was losing the ability to think straight!. We must get some rest and return to Dragomir Mori."

    As I turned from the portrait and looked toward Trinity there under the cask of rum was the fuzzy little creature.

    " Isn't he cute I said. He is hoping rum will drip onto the floor so he can enjoy what we are enjoying. "

    I began to have concern if our lurking here so long is causing a stir of wonder.
    It is causing me to be uneasy for how can the fuzzy little creature be here with us ?
    How is it that the ceiling is still up above and not down here covering us in a pile of rubble? Yes, I truly am in wonder!

    We shall return at the crack of the pink dawn.

    " Oh Mingo. Mingo....ah um....this rum is quit delightful."
     
  4. Bodhbh Dearg

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    Bodhbh Dearg had returned downstairs for breakfast just in time to hear Mingo's facepalm-worthy joke about Quoth, the Raven, and mumbled something that sounded like "the head of Mars" to his blood ravens, who then hopped up and flew upstairs.

    Glancing with a bit of surprise at the new Bobbit door that had appeared downstairs, he walks over to Mingo and asks with a grin
    "So Mingo, you old blow-in, where's the craig?"
     
  5. Mingo

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    (Present day-Fire Lotus Tavern....see how I made a change to keep things fresh?) --In the relative cool of the morning I walked outside the Fire Lotus Tavern to look around. Quoth the Raven hopped and flew along beside me, demanding "Corn!" which I provided from time to time. Four years ago, in my personal timeline, I was not able to open the door... but now I saw some familiar, and some new things. The crafting area was still across the street. Nob (edited) the stableboy a block away was still happily playing rousing games of "kick the dirt". But there were many new buildings, and vendors, and decorations.
    --Continuing down the road I went beyond the boundaries of Owl's Head and found myself in the Hidden Vale of Novia. "Dead Rabbit!" exclaimed my carrion eating friend, who began to do just that. I walked on, leaving him behind.
    --I had been given a gift by Bov which I now removed from my shoulder bag. "This is kind of magic," Bov had told me. "It only works outside the city limits." Now unrolling the map I saw that the island of Hidden Vale lay on the upper right, and a large continent, heretofore unknown to me, spread westward. "The world has grown," I muttered to myself. "Eventually I need to begin traveling."
    --But not yet dear readers....not just yet.
    --Returning to Fire Lotus Tavern I found a new denizen with a large stack of firewood on the floor by her seat. "Perusing the logs prodigiously, I see," I smiled to my old friend, FireAngel, not to be confused with Fire Lotus, although sometimes I do.
    --"Did you call me something insulting?" FireAngel blinked at the word "denizen".
    --"Never. It has been a long time...four years."
    --"YOU left US," FireAngel complained. "Just when things were beginning to develop."
    --Eschewing apology and explanation I asked, "Have you been active in this Metaverse all these years?"
    --"Not all," FireAngel admitted. "We tried to call you back, but apparently you didn't read the messages we posted. You seem to be using words above the sixth grade level also. 'Eschewing" indeed! Who talks like that?"\
    --"I do, sometimes." said an educated sounding voice.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2019
  6. Bodhbh Dearg

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    "If you ever make it outside Owl's Head, take the ferry to the mainland, and come visit one of my homes in Port Phoenix" I tell Mingo and the others at the table... "You're absolutely welcome to come and hang out, although I lately do not have a lot of time to spend there or anywhere..."

    "Go south from the pier, and you'll find the Lighthouse I maintain for the port, with a hot tub and a cold tub in the basement... To the north of the pier you will find the houses of my son, Goibniu, and me..."
    Pointing at the map, I continue "You'll find Port Phoenix on the Island of Elysium, at the south-west of the current map you have there, Mingo."
     
  7. Mingo

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    (Fire Lotus Taven-present day) --"Jason you old Lurker you!" I say happily shaking Jason's hand. "By what name are ye known now? excuse me..." I take a moment to write on the back of my map, "Port Phoenix - Bodhbh Dearg."
    --"Let's go look at this new painting on the wall," I invite. It is a large, beautifully done portrait of a horse, with the notation "Possum Rose" at the bottom. I smile as remembrances come to mind, "I knew this horse. She was on Old Earth, in....Kansas as I recall. The daughter of the owner was a skilled artist at portraits, and had the most beautiful speaking voice...."
    --"Excuse me Master Bard."
    --"Yes Captrrrrr um CatherineRose," I reply politely.
    --"I am glad you enjoy the painting, sadly in this Metaverse horses cannot be ridden."
    --"No?" I comment sadly, for I truly enjoy riding horses. "but I have seen horses!"
    --Bov comes up and offers me something, it is two halves of a coconut. "Here is a mighty steed for your use, my friend."
    --"Our particular corner of the Metaverse has some oddities," Bov says. "It is a flying circus of sorts sometimes."
    --"I knew sorts could fly," I comment. "but I did not know they had a circus.
    --At that moment the great round door rolled aside, revealing a shimmering blue portal, accessway to the basement.
     
  8. Mingo

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    (Fire Lotus Tavern-main room-present day) ---"ooooooh! Main Room!" Rentier observes. "This means we might be progressing in the story sometime in our lifetime...."
    --"Some of us are longer-lived than others," Timelord observes.
    --At that moment, two slender ladies step through the shimmering blue portal. They are similarly dressed in ankle-length kimonos of a shimmering gray cloth. Each has a wide cloth belt, called an Obi about her midriff, extending to her lower ribcage. Their look in their dark eyes indicates there is more to these ladies than meets the eye. Two hairpins hold a bun in which their massive amount of dark hair has been shaped.....the hairpins, I observe, are actually slender knives. The Obis they wear are dark blue for each lady. However they have different colored accent cords over their obi, light tan for one lady and teal for the other.
    --"You mean green?" Trinity asks.
    --"Bite your tongue!" I warn, "Shania used to get very angry when I called teal, green."
    --The ladies place their hands flat on their stomachs and bow from the waist. Then without a word they walk quickly to the kitchen. Soon they emerge, each pushing a large covered cart of silvery metal back through the portal. Mysteriously the round door rolls back to cover the portal. "Not a Bobbit door after all," Bov observes.
    --"Say, how about lunch?" I suggest, but the Assistant Manager, who is lurking nearby (I see you!!) informs us that lunch will be provided by the group which has rented the basement for the day. So we have to wait.
    --"What about a hook?" CatherineRose suggests. "You know some foreboding of what is coming next, provided by your wit."
    --"Well it would be half a hook then (edited)," Timelord notes.
    --The round door soon rolls open once again (how's that? it's something, stop complaining!)
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2019
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  9. Mingo

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    (First in the main room of the Fire Lotus Tavern, then in the basement) --One of the ladies previously seen stepped through the portal, which supposedly lead to the basement of the Fire Lotus Tavern (hint hint possible misdirection, don't know yet). Her compatriot followed and they stood side by side. One of them rang a small gong which sounded a pretty if unusually loud, note, following that by a sort of long sentence in a tongue unknown to almost all the patrons. Her counterpart translated, calling loudly "Ya'll come eat!" in an accent worthy of south Georgia. (I DON"T teach "Ya'll" !!! I don't know where they learned it! it wasn't from me, I swear!)
    --"Lurkers too?" Gabriel asked.
    --"Ehvirybaahdie!" answered the lady.
    --Blue glowy portals are always mysterious and potentially lethal. Why I remember one time....
    --"Let's go already!" said FireAngel, giving me a push. "I'm hungry."
    --We stepped through to find ourselves in a tiled space about 12 feet square. On both sides were stacks of little alcoves, some of which contained shoes. Our guide stood in a door way on the floor of a hallway raised about six inches above the alcove floor, upon a surface of highly polished and remarkably clean wood. "If ya'll would be so kind," she said (sayed) indicating the little alcoves. We felt obliged to comply and removed our shoes and placed them in the proper locations.
    --"This is the wrong color text," Gabriel Nightshadow complained. "You used something different for 'basement'."
    --"how's this? no? this?"
    --"Yes, that's it. Try to remember please."
    --"That's not quite it," CatherineRose pointed out. "Try again."
    --Grumbling I made one more change. "This is it!" I cried. no more changes."
    --"I'm colorblind," said a Lurker. "I don't care."
    --"I'm blind," said another Lurker, "I use text to speech. Also I use a tactile interactive touchscreen. Sometimes I lick my fingers to get a taste of the story."
    --"I can't read," another Lurker said.
    --"Please! People!" I begged. "This is just getting too silly."
    --"You are the one writing it," Bov pointed out.
    --Moving right along we followed single file down the narrow hallway. On either side were walls composed of wood slats with rectangular translucent paper, or it appeared to be paper, filling the spaces between the wood. Somewhere a harp was playing. No, not quite a harp. A similar stringed instrument. "That is pretty Koto music," Timelord commented, revealing the name of the instrument. Being a Bard, I'm always interested in instruments. Someday I hope to see a Koto, maybe even with sound files...
    --our guide stopped and knelt. She slid a part of the partition aside, revealing her associate in a rather large room. Saying something, which obviously was a greeting, this lady bowed from the waist and indicated we should follow her....
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2019
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  10. Mingo

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    (In a place that we think is the basement of the Fire Lotus Tavern) "That's it!" CatherineRose says in a pleased voice. "Try to remember this colour."
    --"color" I say, wondering why everyone wants to use British spelling all of a sudden. We see that the room ahead is about twice as long as it is wide. The walls on either side are that paper-lattice construction. The floor is composed of some kind of woven mats placed edge-to-edge ("tatami mats" I was later told.)
    --On either side of the center aisle are unusual seats. The legs are very very short, such that one would cross their legs in what I have always referred to as "Indian style" although perhaps these days that might be poltically incorrect. Pretty much they are just slightly raised seats with backrests for those who are unaccustomed to maintaining a kneeling position for long periods of time. There are, however cushions available for those who wish to kneel on them instead. There are three seats on each side, and the co-hostess walks to the platform and indicates we should take seats.
    --"I don't like this color text," says Cordelayne.
    --"Well maybe it will grow on you!" I answer.
    --"Like a fungus?" Trinity asks. "It looks fungus-coloured."
    --"Colored....ah I give up."
    --There were plenty of seats for all of us, including the lurkers. The first row of seats had low tables in front of them, but for the rest of the seats you could make a kind of table/tray drop down from the back of the seat in front of you. I almost expected a demonstration of how to use a seat belt, but there were no seat belts. Now both of our hostesses were up on the slightly raised stage.
    --This stage extended across the room. In each corner of the room a large....pearl? was mounted on a metal pole, giving forth considerable light. Also, at the front edge of the stage there seemed to be footlights to project light upon the actors or performers. Most of the center of the stage had a shrouded rectangular structure extending half way from the end wall to the end of the stage. This structure seemed to be a kind of black mesh, making it impossible to see what lay within.
    --The two metal carts from the kitchen of the Fire Lotus Tavern were parked at either side of the room at the foot of the stage. Pleasant food aromas wafted forth toward the hungry patrons.
    --Then the lead hostess, the one with the teal colored accent sash, began to speak in that interesting language.
     
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  11. CatherineRose

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    I looked around after being so pleased the colour to be just the right shade of fungus.

    To my dismay everyone, including Trinity, had found a seat and was siting cross legged ready to listen to the speaker. More than that everyone, even Cordelayne who did not like fungus, was eager to receive the food which was just beginning to be served. Oh my goodness, it smelled so delicious that my stomach began to make loud sounds. This was quite embarrassing. I am thinking that hopefully, Mingo is hard of hearing.

    Now, where was I going to be able to sit? Oh, over there...way over there. I should not have been so concerned about the colour of the text.
     
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  12. Mingo

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    (In a place that we think is the basement of the Fire Lotus Tavern) --"you know" Trinity advised me, "You don't need to write in the same colour as the location notation. You can use your ordinary 'burnt umber' colour."
    --"Where do you get umber?" asked Cordelayne. "I did not think it existed in this version of the Metaverse."
    --Despairing of my futile attempts to get others to cease using the British spelling of words....I acquiesced. "Ok."
    --My little seat was surprisingly comfortable. "Why aren't you sitting on the back row?" FireAngel asked me. "Aren't you a Baptist?"
    --"How would that work?" asked TimeLord. "I mean, if everyone sat on the back row....."
    --The gong sounded again.
     
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  13. Rentier

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    hearing the quite annoyingly loud gong
    Remtier sat down fast to not loose any sentence that is spoken
    and enjoy the oncoming feast meal
    while leaning back, just in time remebering that ther is no such thing to lean on
    her eyes darted to the flasks and she took one to sniff
    and - oh man - it was delicious, obviously ignoring the irritated looks she got while having "gambai"ed the whole flask...
    after which she looked around for more to drink to forget the manial tasks she had gotten in another realm
     
  14. Mingo

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    (Somewhere that might be the basement of the Fire Lotus Tavern) ----The other hostess lady translated. "You may choose either fish or chicken, and we have both green tea and black tea. If you are so inclined, we shall also provide a small flask of osake which is alcoholic, so no one under 18 may choose that. Please enjoy!" Then the ladies began trundling the carts down the aisle. I, and all of us, were first given a pot of hot water, a teacup,and some kind of clear bag containing two kinds of tea bag, neither of which was Daemon Hoof Tea, as well as packets of sugar, pepper, salt, and one with some kind of dark liquid and the notation "Kikoman" printed on it. Also we were given a spork and a pair of disposable o hashi (chopsticks).
    --From the second cart we were issued a bowl of rice and a compartmentalized tray containing the entree of our choice, along with broccoli and, seemingly out of place, french fried potato strips. Also for those who wished, a small flask of o sake and a small shallow drinking bowl. The food was remarkably.....bland. I'm sure the Fire Lotus Tavern cook tried their best, and all in all it was ok food, just lacking anything special. It reminded me of food I had eaten back on Old Earth while traveling....
    --Anyway, it was filling. "Please honored guests," our hostess spoke once the dishes had been collected. "in fifteen minutes we have someone to speak to you. Please if you need, visit the facilities just down the hall to refresh yourselves.
    --Some of the "guests" had ordered multiple small flasks of o sake and wobbled a bit as they stood to go down the hall.
     
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  15. Bodhbh Dearg

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    Before the food was served I looked at the disposable o hashi and mumbled "at least they're not learner chopsticks" before tossing them aside and digging out my personal hardwood (with angled inlaid discs of a lighter wood at the back-end) o hashi together with a glazed porcelain hashioki and laid them out on the table.
    When the dishes were collected at the close, they also tried to take my o hashi, but a single glance sufficed to abuse them of that idea...

    Carefully cleaning the o hashi before putting them back in to their case, followed by the hashioki, I snickered at the recollection of some of the patron's struggles to get the food in to their mouths. After a few minutes, several sporks had been picked up and defeat admitted, though...

    (See Mingo, I can do first person too!)
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2019
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  16. Mingo

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    (Somewhere....we still think the basement of the Fire Lotus Tavern...maybe) --The tiny gong sounded as our two hostesses stood on the stage of highly polished wood. I noted that on the stage, they had once again donned the odd shoes they wore, which were kind of a sandal with a thong that fitted into a slot between their big toe and the other toes that was evident in the white....socks?....they wore. They did not wear these on the tatami mats.
    --The senior hostess made a short speech, which was then translated by her junior. "Ladies and gentlemen. Please be seated once again. There are extra cushions if you do not wish to use the short chairs. The lights will be turned low soon. We ask that you refrain from eating, drinking, and smoking and for the safety and comfort of our performers and guests, please no flash photography!"
    --"I've never photographed a flash," TimeLord mused. "I hope they are not accompanied by thunder and rain....."

    --"Gerta will speak with you now," announced one hostess as the two ladies moved to either side of the stage and knelt on pillows at the base of the two light fixtures.
    --The light fixtures in the back of the room dimmed, as the ones one the stage got brighter. Then suddenly the stage lights went completely out. the gong sounded and the footlights came up quickly, as well as a ceiling mounted light that seemed to direct its beam on the center of the stage.
    --There stood Gerta, dressed much as I remembered the ten-year-old Keeada-chan, Anjin-sama of the great and mighty sea turtle Minogame, but with a more grown-up womanly shape. Her eyes had regained the look of a woman of power that they displayed when she piloted Minogame and we all eagerly anticipated her words.
     
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  17. Mingo

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  18. Mingo

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    (Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore....) --Gerta did not bow. I became uneasy at this cultural abnormality...her culture anyway. She stood there, arms outstretched, displaying a beautiful kimono printed in red and white flowers, a few purple flowers, and other accent markings on a deep black background.....staring at us. Even though the light was in her eyes and we were in subdued lighting, I felt certain she could see us clearly.
    --Those of very very high rank in her culture might nod their head, maybe, if they like you, but they never bow to inferiors. Certainly they never do the kneeling/bowing thing we had witnessed by our two hostesses. Gerta, also known as Keeada, apparently was more than I ever imagined; much more. Slowly and deliberately Gerta crossed her arms, placing hands at elbows, leaving the rectangular panels of her sleeves hanging in front of her. "I am the same Gerta you have always known," she said in a calm friendly tone with a slight sense of .... sadness? resignation?
    --"I want you to know, first of all that I am 99% human and as I said earlier somewhere I was adopted into this .... this zone of the Metaverse. This form is the only form I can manifest, and it will not change for the possibly 400 or so years of my life."
    --"I'm 99% human myself," muttered TimeLord in a low voice, who then bit his tongue.
    --"The last year of my personal time line I have spent at Katya's Koffee Klutch in the small fishing village of Writer's Ink, in a ...zone...called Prodigy. I met Mingo the Master Bard there, and he looked exactly the same, although it was 20 years in the past in his personal timeline. You people, all of you, have come to the ....zone...of Novia only four or five years ago in your own personal timelines. Novia is not the same a Prodigy. Old Earth, the origin of the Novia Avatars is similarly in a different.....zone. I sense questions about what I mean by 'zone'."
    --CatherineRose who sat at one side of me, whispered, "You looked this old 20 years ago?" "Shhhh," I responded. "Later."
    --"Consider the honeycomb," Gerta said in a professorial voice. "Each cell is adjacent to six other cells. If there were to be a weak spot in one of the cell walls, honey could move between the two cells. In the Metaverse, you might think of "zones" as being similar to the cells in a honeycomb. However, instead of six adjacent zones, there could be few, or millions. Old Earth is famous among....travelers...as being adjacent to many zones, with "thin spots" that come and go, allowing passage from one zone to another.
    --"Think of the myths of Old Earth," Gerta continued. "Mermaids, unicorns, centaurs...and many many more mythical beings that are embedded across Old Earth cultures into stories and.....tales." Gerta seemed to suppress a grin. "These represent manifestations of "thin spots" where zone to zone crossover occurred in the past. Today with highly advanced technology....or "magic"...it is possible to force a thin spot to appear and thus permit deliberate travel between zones. You are now in the zone of the Apsara, and not in Novia at all."
     
  19. Rentier

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    Whispers apsara and thinks what a weird place for a name but is still concntrating on the given performance
     
  20. Fireangel

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    The lady fell off her short chair but fortunately landed on a cushion. Unfortunately, she nearly tripped Gerta. "Denizens and eschewing aside, I do apologize for staring, Greta, and for nearly causing you to fall." She waved a pale hand with annoyance. "Flying sorts!" *Ahem* "I did quite a lot of zoning in the past, but mermaids, unicorns, and centaurs! Oh my!" Fireangel looked at Mingo. "I see you've grown incredibly fond of Gerta, the way you lingered over her every detail. Is Gerta the apsara?" Fireangel smoothed her hair. "I tend to chatter when I'm embarrassed. Sorry." She patted Mingo affectionately. "Did you say I was pushy?" The lady pushed corn into Mingo's hand. "Perhaps you have enough for a murder now, instead of Quoth being left alone while we zone. I did miss you -- all." She waved cheerfully at Bov, then blushed and went quiet on her cushion.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2019
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