Tale of the Red Hat Gnomes - Part I

"That's something we need to talk about in privet Chariya, as this may not be the time or place to speak of other's death".
*the little Time Lord monk takes her little blue box in his hand and touches it to the center of his forehead*


"I hope you understand now Chariya, your time is coming soon and so is one of theirs"
~Time Lord~

 

(Fire Lotus Tavern) --I turned to the youthful monk and Chariya, shaking my head. Then something came to mind I read on an actress somewhere, and I quoted:

May your enemies run far away from you.
If you acquire riches, may they remain yours always.
Your beauty will be that of Apsara.
Wherever you may go, many will attend, serve and protect you, surrounding you on all sides.

--The couple looked at me somewhat awestruck. Gerta then took a broom and shooed the awe away. "Quit hitting my patrons!" she scowled.
--"I sense a disturbance in Continuum," I said mysteriously. "A divergence of time lines."
--"Well," sniffed Gerta, "At least you are using your spell check more these days....."

 

The lady had gotten too warm. She had removed her cloak early in the day. While she listened to Mingo's latest bit of the tale, she loosened the silk ties at the top of her shirt and gave her collar bone some time in the fresher air. Fireangel took out an intricate ivory and lace fan from her bag, and tried to get some relief, but the day was simply too hot, and the tavern felt stifling. The more Mingo talked of swimming, the more the lady wanted to go.

When the juvenile Time Lord came in demanding a drink, the lady got tickled. "Bless your heart, young man." She winked mischievously.

She curtseyed to the group. "Please pardon me. I am going for a swim myself. I will return when the day is cooler."

 

Bodhbh, having caught up after traveling halfway across the world without leaving the tavern, threw the last log In to the fire, while wondering who tickled Fireangel, as it hadn't been Time Lord, and no one else seemed to be near enough. Bodhbh thought he could use a refreshing swim himself, but following Fireangel now could start strange rumors, so he just sat down again and wished they'd discover the principles of electrothermic cooling already...

 

(Aboard POSSUMROSE) -- Lyra took care to follow the pilot whale through the reef, which required two major and abrupt changes in course. Eventually Foamy bobbed straight up and let forth a loud whistle, indicating they had passed beyond the reef. "Ed," Captain Lyra ordered, "Get another fish from the cooler lashed to the mast and toss it to Foamy,"
--Gobbling the fish, Foamy squeaked loudly, bobbing his black body in the waves, before diving out of sight.
--Now Lyra unfurled the mainsail, then the jib, and set her course. "Look here, Krisskar," she indicated a gage. "this shows the strength of the Tesla broadcast, which sends electricity to power the motor. It is dropping quickly as we move out of range. At 25% the batteries would kick in, but they won't run the motor very long." Lyra then shut off the electric motor and POSSUMROSE sailed silently in the gentle off shore wind, her rigging creaking slightly and the gentle wind rustling the sails.
--"It iss not alwayss thiss pleassant ssailing, iss it?" Krisskar said, settling back in his seat next to the helm.
--"Not always," Lyra agreed. "But then those are often the most interesting times!" Lyra then called Ed to hold the helm after adjusting the rigging to her liking, and pulled a rolled up chart, spreading it out on the table. Krisskar and Jeb observed and listened.
--"I took a bearing on that glow last night," Lyra said, "This line from the harbor runs toward that bearing."
--"there is an island very near the line," Jeb observed. "Ominously marked with a skull and crossbones."
--"I suspect that island, though it is not named on this chart, is Feinantz. It is only about four hours as the gull flies. I estimate we could arrive as early as tomorrow sunrise."
--"Your ssense of time elludess me," Krisskar said with Puzzlement.
--"I agree," said Puzzlement
--"Shoo!" Lyra adminished, "You aren't here! Anywho, we cannot go over this area," and Lyra pointed to another death's head mark over a bit of the chart near the midpoint between Writer's Ink and Feinantz. "Rather we could, if this were an armored vessel about ten times larger. So we must sail around a bit. This is our current heading," and Lyra traced her finger along a path at an angle to the direction of their destination.
--"What danger lies there," Jeb asked, his eyes glowing at any prospect for adventure involving battle. "Krakens? Sea Serpents? Water elementals?"
--"Sea otters," Lyra said simply. "and my insurance does not cover damage done by any kind of animal life, although the Sea Otters are more sentient....kind of like evil cousins to those Squirrels we recently met."
--"Sea....Otters?" Jeb blinked. "Swimming Squirrels? Are they really that dangerous? We couldn't clear a path?"
--"We would not even see them," Lyra explained. "They destroy boats passing through their kelp forest by chewing through the hull from below. Then there is the kelp itself; Possumrose could pass through I suspect, but we shall go around."
--Krisskar was mesmerized, looking at an odd mark, seemingly Sanskrit, along the path Lyra had traced with her finger. Slowly he pulled up his sleeve, and placed his arm, palm up, on the chart table.
--Jeb and Lyra stared at the tattoo on Krisskar's fore arm; a tattoo which matched exactly the mark on the chart.,

 

Anybody heard the tale of the clone of the Red Hat Gnome?

One day a mad scientist (kind of like Frankenstein), came along and thought he could create his own Red Hat Gnome. He was able to make a clone of the Red Hat Gnome cell by cell. He called it the CentOS Gnome (because the name Red Hat was a trade mark).

The CentOS Gnome did all the same stuff as you saw written above as the Red Hat Gnome, but he did it for free.

--Isaiah

Community Enterprise Operating System

 

*the Time Lord looks up from his drink *
Isaiah, you're not drinking? If it's a clone, then I like it, but I like how Mingo said it a whole lot more than when the mad scientist said it. Because though it was for free, it seems more like one of those made for TV movies, that made a much more enjoyable read than it ever was as a movie. Want a sarsaparilla?
~Time Lord~

 

Bodhbh rather wonders what Isaiah has been drinking or smoking, because he certainly doesn't make a lot of sense to him for Immersion. And Immersion too was wondering what Isaiah was all about, but decided to ignore him, before he'd be sent out of the door again...

 

Fireangel came back into the Fire Lotus Tavern still squeezing water from her curls with a towel. "What was on the tattoo and the map, Mingo? I've been in the courtyard, drying my hair and listening. I didn't want to come in and interrupt." She felt her hair. "I guess it isn't dripping any more."

The lady was surprised when Gerta took the towel from her. "Thank you, Gerta. If you just toss it over the line --"

"Nonsense, Fireangel. I'll put it in with the other wash of towels. You'll find it clean and dry on the outside line in an hour or so, as the sun is warm, and there's a little breeze." The rotund barmaid walked to the back while she finished her sentence.

"Thank you again, Gerta!" the lady called after the barmaid. She blushed when she looked back at the crowd, which stared. "And now I've just made a racket. My apologies." She cleared her throat and patted Isaiah on the shoulder as she passed him. She took a seat, and deftly put the racket away.

 

(In the Fire Lotus Tavern) --Pondering Isaiah's clone comments I feared the Ringmaster might have sent them in. Then I worried that the Ringmaster might put on his top hat. I knew FireAngel stayed immersed, judging by her wet hair, but gnome clones were beyond my ken.
--"Welcome anywho, Isaiah the de-lurked!" I called.
--Then in a whispered aside to Bov: "Nice touch on the Immersion there!"
--"I personally have no tattoos," I told FireAngel noting the racket....ah perhaps I have started a trend in some fashion.
--Time Lord guffawed, "Your fashion is mid 15th century Ireland! Oops, sorry FireAngel, that wasn't very immersive of me...."

 

Looking at Trend, just started in it's mid 15th century Irish fashion, Bodhbh inquired of Time Lord "You say that like that is something bad?", motioning to Immersion to stay and ignore the Disturbances that kept trying to push him out, and then arched an irritated eybrow at said Disturbances, who - like little kids - quickly ducked away out of sight again, waiting for another opportunity to raise their ugly little heads...

Trend, in the mean time, had made it's way through the common room and exited through the door...

 

Gabriel put his hand on young Time Lord's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, old friend! Everything will work out in the end for you and Chariya."

"How could you possibly know that, Gabriel?", asked young Time Lord.

"I have seen into your future...", said Gabriel.

"What?! That's not possible. You don't possess that kind of power...", replied young Time Lord.

Gabriel grinned as he pulled a glowing golden quill pen out of his pocket, sat down at a table, and began writing furiously on a piece of parchment. Words suddenly started appearing on the parchment, despite the fact that Gabriel had no inkwell

"Never underestimate the power of the pen!", Gabriel said, as the parchment started to glow...

 

(aboard POSSUMROSE) --Lyra and Jeb stared at the tattoo on Krisskar's forearm: अप्सरा which matched exactly the notation on the chart. "What does it mean?" Captain Lyra asked.
--"Apsara," Krisskar replied, not adding any extra "ssss's" to the word.
--"Is it a name, or a warning, or what?" Jeb said blinking at the odd turn of events.
--"It isss.....my desstiny," Krisskar said in a halting voice. Calm exuded from the mage, as if ice water ran through his veins. It made Jeb shiver to see how calm he was.
--"Captain, when the ssea turnss milky white tonight, and the shattered moon rises. Please be prepared to stop for a while. And Captain..."
--"Yes?"
--"If you have on board any earplugses, or wax, Jeb, Mingo and Ed will have need....I am going to wake Mingo now, and try to ssleep just an hour, by your leave."
--"Of coarse Krisskar; I will wake you in an hour, and I will find my store of earplugs."
--Krisskar went below. Ed, having been listening while at the helm, intoned, "I have a baaad feeling about this..."
--I came up the steps to the pilot house with a yawn. "That was a good power nap!" I said with a smile. "What did I miss?"

 

"I knew this was like a circus!" the lady exclaimed, as she took away Bodhbh's Trend, as it was only a trend in the first place.

She hadn't looked at Bodhbh, however. She watched Gabriel with mild fascination.

"I've seen that before!" she shouted with a grin, and leaned over the parchment. Fireangel tapped the parchment and said, "Mischief managed!" Immediately, the magic worked to hide the writing so the parchment appeared blank again. She laughed heartily. "Ah, I always wanted to do that!"

 

sarsaparilla*Time Lord forcefully slaps another one of his Asian silver pieces onto the bar and with his authoritative young voice demands*
"Give Me Another Sarsaparilla!"
~Time Lord~

 

The parchment and golden quill pen both suddenly vanished in a flash of light due to Fireangel's actions!

Unfortunately, Time Lord's Radozan mind cube containing Chariya's soul suddenly vanished as well

"What have you done, Fireangel?!", exclaimed young Time Lord, as he started sobbing, "My dear Chariya..."

"I hope there was enough time for the pen to work its magic...", said Gabriel, as he crossed his fingers.

Young Time Lord suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't cry, my darling. I will never leave you!"



Young Time Lord turned around and saw a ten year old version of Chariya standing there, in the flesh! She was wearing a nice floral print dress.

"Is it really you, my love, or am I dreaming?", asked a stunned Time Lord.

"Yes, it's really me, my darling Nystal!", replied young Chariya, as she hugged him.

Gabriel smiled.

"I've always been a sucker for happy endings!", he said

 

"Wellmet, Nystal! Nice to see you, Chariya. I hope it is a happy ending for you two." She snatched up Gabriel's parentheses, and the words inside, and shoved them under the rug.

Fireangel puzzled. "Are you related to Nystul, Nystal?" "I met Nystul a couple of times, he was nice enough, poor chap. I hope you don't mess with explosives. Hmm."

 

"How very perceptive of you, Fireangel!", said Gabriel,with a sly grin, "He is indeed a slightly different version of that fellow you met, hence the different spelling. I won't bore you with the details about the multiverse."

 

(In the Hall of Dohlar, King of the Blue Hat Gnomes) --Princess BlueBell was a fetching lass. Diminuative of stature for a Gnome, she stood only ten inches high, but was cheerful of demeanor and rosy of cheek. "Father," she sighed coming into the presence of the King, "How long do we have to lay low?"
--"Until part II," her father replied. "why?"
--The princess sat daintily upon a faux Victorian chair and sighed. "I've been having that dream again; about a broad expanse of green grass, and roses growing in the sun around the edges."
--"A lawn?" asked Dohlar with a grimace. "How can you be so enamored of a nightmare like that?"
--"It is not a nightmare for me....." the princess said with a faraway look in her ceramic eye. "For in my dream I do not stand alone!"
--Her father groaned and opened his desk drawer, looking at the bumper sticker he had just received "DADD, Dads against Daughters Dating." "You are barely 300 years old," he said sternly. "You aren't ready to go out into the BIG WORLD yet."
--A fierce glare from the Gnome Damsel took the King aback and he quickly added, "You might be mollified a bit to learn we are to have visitors from the BIG WORLD soon...."
--This did indeed cheer the princess, who was a bit blue. "Really! Oh good! Perhaps my boredom will subside for a while then!"
--Dohlar smiled as his daughter gave him a kiss on the cheek and then skipped out the door. "Indeed my child, Krisskar's visits are never boring."

 

(Aboard POSSUMROSE)--Lyra handed me the logbook, and a large seashell. "The shell is an additional app for my logbook," she explained. "It provides audio enhancement for the reader."
--I noticed both the shell and the logbook were imprinted with the symbol of a Peach, partially eaten. Not asking about that I caught up on what had transpired during my nap.
--"Mermaids?" I said with incredulity. "Is this a work of fiction?"
--"What?" Lyra asked for clarification. "The logbook or the threads of this yarn?"
--"Keep out of my knitting basket!" Terra admonished as she came up the steps. "Did I miss something?"
--Handing the log and the audio app to Terra I went to the chart table and found the mark of the Apsara of which I had read. My knowledge of the written language is nil, but I remembered a dance I once saw, in a far off land. "Water nymphs," I said. "No, actually.....she, or maybe they, were once upon a time water nymphs. And you say Krisskar had a tattoo that matched this?"
--"Yes," Captain Lyra nodded. "Now I am concerned about possible danger. Krisskar told me to get earplugs for all the other men aboard, oddly not for himself."
--"That is because Krisskar is not entirely a 'man' is my guess," mumbled Jeb.
--"The wind seems to be changing Captain!" Ed said suddenly. "I cannot hold the course."
--Lyra took the wheel and sailed close to the wind. "Ready about!" she called, causing me to hold on. The others followed my example. "Jibe Ho!" and with that Possumrose turned onto a starboard tack. Lyra turned a small hourglass which resided in a fixed gimbol. "Hold this new heading," she instructed Ed. "Call me when the hourglass runs out; I'm going below to make some stew."
--"aye aye Captain!" Ed cheerily replied. He seemed to have taken a liking to sailing, at least to fair weather sailing. But the sea is fickle, and harsh....