Re: -I- The Second Tale of Westala and Villtin (13)
Tale Chronicler
A Tale of Westala and Villtin
by Elin Rosén, Marco Villalta, and Orjan Westin
-----------------------------------------------
Episode Thirteen
In which girls are fretting idle,
beer is brought for drinkers rough,
adventurers through strange doors sidle,
and a lord has had enough
-----------------------------------------------
The leaves on the trees were about to turn any day. There were apple
trees in the orchard, and through the library window Messy could see
young women picking the ripe fruit and gathering it in baskets. The
sun shone in a clear blue sky. Her nose was filled with the
comfortable scent of old paper and dry air. Messy could barely
remember the last time she had felt so at peace, which,ironically,
she found quite disturbing.
The Dancing Rodent cult was not what she, or any of them, had
expected. Mostly it appeared to be a lot of women and girls walking
to
and from classes, everyone living day to day lives, growing crops and
harvesting, making friends, arguing... just life as in any village or
convent community. People would come up from the nearby village to
barter fish for apple cider the Rodents made, or bring news of the
outside world. It was all just... ordinary.
Granted, occasionally she would see a scantily clad Conga Rat cross
the courtyard, which would make all the other women and girls there
stand a little straighter, talk a little more quietly, and laugh a
lot less. And she would hear whispered conversations between the
older girls in the halls, stories about legendary assassins coming
back from a mission wounded, or not coming back at all, and about
whether they too would take the vows when they were old enough.
Another thing that was odd was that she and the others had been
recruited to be seamstresses, yet they had so far not been given a
single task. They had been given rooms in one of the further parts of
the complex, been told that they could go wherever they wanted,
except the decorative garden, some of the teaching rooms and the
central temple -- all of which were reserved for senior students and
full Dancing Rodents -- and then ignored. Seemingly forgotten.
Messy was spending a lot of time in the library, which was well
stocked and well kept, and populated by a few silent and serious-
looking women who had welcomed her with a nod and then left her
alone. Messy and the others had been at the complex for three days
now, and had so far learned next to nothing. It appeared that there
were several sections, or orders, within the Dancing Rodent cult --
there were the Conga Rats, the assassins, who no-one really talked
about, and then there were the others, who were more like nuns. Messy
got the feeling that maybe there were groupings within those two
major branches too, but she couldn't be sure, and any attempt to
surreptitiously ask questions was met with silence or evasive answers
that told her nothing. It was plain the Rodents didn't consider her
an initiate, or one of them.
This meant that the four women had almost nothing to do, indeed,
almost nothing they /could/ do, and tempers were wearing thin.
Especially Capulette and Fiftyseven seemed to be getting on each
others' nerves. This, as much as real curiosity, was what kept Messy
in the library most of the day. They were all scared, tense and
frustrated, and being cooped up together really wasn't helping.
* * *
The sun had just about decided that enough was enough, and that it
would soon be time for some beauty sleep. Westala and Villtin came
out of the forest, into a small area of farmed land.
The fields should have been busy with harvest preparations, but they
were deserted. It wasn't hard to guess why. Here and there, the crops
had suffered some highly localised fires, particularly around a manor
atop a hill.
There was a wrought-iron gate in the wall around the yard. The top
arch of the gate was formed by the word "SENNA". Villtin pointed it
out, frowning. "Wasn't there a Lord Senna who lived in Anorankhmar a
while ago?"
"Yeah, Lord Sef Senna," said Westala. "But this can't be his estate,
can it? I'm sure we're further away from Anorankhmar than that."
"I should hope so, otherwise we'll be too easy for the Dancing
Rodents
to find, for my liking."
"Only one way to find out. Come on, spit out the resin and look
respectable."
"Meh." A sign on the wall caught Villtin's eye. "Hey, what do you
make
of this? 'Visitors, Please Tie Your Dragons Outside The Gate.' Do you
think this guy is really serious, or ironic?"
"He may or may not be either. Can you get the gate open?"
"Yeah, yeah, just a second..." Villtin got out a lock-pick.
Up at the manor-house, they found that it had been provisionally
fortified with boards and wet clay. The front door and all the
windows were barricaded, making it impossible to tell if anyone was
at home. Eventually they picked the lock of the back door.
When they stepped inside, twenty gallons of water came down on them.
Coughing, spitting and snorting, they were helped to their feet by a
couple of servants, while another two servants were, very olitely,
holding crossbows. Not aimed at Westala and Villtin, but in a way
that conveyed that this was an option.
"Nice... I'll have a warm welcome now, if you please," Villtin
muttered.
"My apologies." A tall, sturdy man with red hair and beard came up to
them. "We thought you were a dragon."
"Yes, I can see how you might confuse us with a big scaly creature,
that has sharp teeth and bloody *fire* coming out between them!
Easily done."
"Well, you were actually breaking into my home," the man pointed out.
"Well, you didn't actually answer when we knocked on your front
door,"
Villtin pointed out. His teeth were beginning to rattle. "So, are
twenty gallons of water any good against a dragon?"
The man nodded. "With a little bit of luck... actually, a rather
large
bit... you can temporarily put out the dragon's flame. They're
somewhat easier to kill when you're not fried to a crisp. Anyway... I
am Sef, lord Senna. Who are you gentlemen, may I ask?"
"I'm Westala, this is Villtin. Swordsmen," said Westala. So you are
the Lord Senna who used to live in Anorankhmar? Damn."
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry, didn't mean to slight you. It's just that this means that
we're closer to the place than we'd hoped."
"Why, do you have any trouble there?" Lord Senna asked suspiciously.
"Well... kind of, but I assure you it's nothing illegal."
"You could say it's the opposite of illegal, since we're the ones
that
are targetted for murder," Villtin added. "We would probably have
been there now in any case, but a friend advised us to stay away
until the matter could be resolved."
"This friend of yours, does he have a name?"
"Gideoallet. A swordsman, debater and contender, who lives in a
refitted bastion near---"
"Yes, I've heard of him." Lord Senna mulled this over. "Very well, I
think a warm welcome is indeed in order. Come with me."
He led the way to the dining hall, where Westala and Villtin were
seated by the fireplace and served tea and brandy. Before long, a
fire
was burning and the warriors were dried out.
"So, what's new from Anorankhmar?" asked Lord Senna.
"Actually, it's close to a month since we left there," said Westala.
"We first left to attend the festival in Hanoverian Hinckley, and
have been travelling since."
"Ah, yes, I would have liked to go there too. Maybe next time. Still,
you were last in Anorankhmar more recently than anyone in my
household. How's the old place doing?"
"Not too well, really," said Villtin. "Do you know about a religious
group called the Cult of Me? I'm told they've been there for some
time. Well, apparently their preaching of selfishness left the city
open to the bullying of a pair of sorcerers. We took care of them,
but I'm not sure that helped very much. People still seemed very
scared when we left."
"The people of Anorankhmar frightened? I don't believe it!"
"Neither could we, at first," said Westala. "But the Cult of Me has
sapped their morale, and now everyone just tries to get on with their
own life without drawing attention to themselves."
"And the government seems to be very weak," Villtin filled in. "We
weren't there long enough to find out for sure, but we heard that a
lot of the nobility has moved out."
Lord Senna nodded. "I hold a seat in the senate, and so do many of
the
other nobles who have country estates in this area. If only we could,
I'm sure that quite a few of us would go back and try to sort the
matter out. Unfortunately, we are draconically busy, if you'll pardon
my pun."
"So this is where the missing nobles from Anorankhmar went?" asked
Westala.
"Some of us, anyway. A little over a year ago, dragons started
attacking our lands. Myself, along with many others, had to come here
to defend them."
"Yes, we know," said Villtin. "We're intimately famliar with the
leaders of those dragons."
"A charming couple," Westala submitted, "if you disregard the
imprisoning, and the wanting-to-feed-us-to-their-pets."
Lord Senna's jaw dropped. "How did you manage to escape?"
"Very quickly."
"It's a long story, I'm afraid, and... story-telling is thirsty
work,"
Villtin grinned.
"I see," Lord Senna smiled, and gestured to a servant.
* * *
Malindrew waited until the man he'd hired had unloaded the four beer
barrels from his cart and departed, then looked around carefully
before rapping the agreed upon barber's knock - on the door of the
seemingly abandoned warehouse.
Ellithon opened the door to him, and Malindrew swept in, smooth as a
cat. His eyes twinkled between the brim of the hat and the kerchief
covering most of his face.
"Ellithon," he said in his commanding voice, "get someone to help
you,
and fetch the barrels outside." He smiled under his disguise as the
former Turnip put a hand to his forelock. He could get used to this.
When everybody had been given a serving - a procedure that almost
emptied one of the barrels - Malindrew gracefully jumped up on an as
yet unopened barrel and addressed them.
"You did well, the other night, and the Upright Man is very pleased
with you."
This was met whith a big cheer and raised tankards. Enthusiastic
quaffing and backslapping occurred, although it was unclear which of
the two caused the other.
Malindrew waited until they quieted down again. "You have proved your
worth, and your ability to follow instructions. I know some of you
were less than happy with the order to be gentle with anyone who
wasn't a guard, but you did well."
He lowered his voice and took on a more somber tone. "The servants of
the rich should have nothing to fear from us. They are our brothers
and sisters, just trying to earn a living."
Gradually, he raised his voice as he continued. "No, we do not prey
on
the common people. We are no threat to the honest man in the street.
We have honour! And we only prey on those that have none!"
He let the cheers die out. "And there are many of those around. Not
only the rich, the so-called nobles. No, even worse are those who
prey on their own kind, the gangs that rob and murder honest workers
and abuse their widows!" He held his hands up. "My friends, I know I
can rely on you, that you will make the Upright Man proud. You will
get your fight. Even now, the Crips are hiding, licking their wounds
from a fight with the Doves a few days ago. We'll finish them off."
"Some of them are good men, led astray. If we can bring them in, and
they can follow our rules, that's all for the better. We don't want
unnecessary bloodshed. But those who lead them..." Malindrew paused
dramatically. "They must die."
"Yeah," Goffild shouted, waving his empty tankard. "Let's get those
cripples caned!"
Malindrew raised an amused eyebrow. "Tonight, you can get lashed.
Tomorrow..."
He paused, and savoured the moment. "Fetch the leader of that pack!"
* * *
Refreshed by ale and cider, and strengthened by a generous meal,
Westala and Villtin had related the highlights of all that had
happened since their last visit to Anorankhmar; the influence of
the Cult of Me, the plight of the cabal, the fight with Bos and
Ballong,
the trouble with the Dancing Rodents, and the time at Ormbo Castle.
Lord Senna had listened to their tale, at first evidently not
believing a
word of what he heard, then steadily more enthusiastic -- and
thoughtful.
Presently, he sat silently musing. "I've lost good people to those
dragons," he said eventually. "There's hardly enough left in the
house now to hold them off."
"You've been hit bad by the attacks?" Villtin asked gently.
"We all have. I can't name one estate within five days' travel that
hasn't suffered severely."
"That Prince of Dragons is really keen on acquiring treasure, isn't
he?" said Westala, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"He is. Particularly diamonds and pearls, I've noticed. Anyway, like
I
said, we have all been hit bad. In fact, for all I know, this could
be the last estate still standing. We haven't had any communications
for a month -- I simply don't have anyone to spare to deliver
messages."
Lord Senna paused, and looked gravely at the swordsmen. "I would very
much like to hire you. I want you to find out who else is still
around, and see if you can co-ordinate a counter strike."
Westala and Villtin exchanged glances. "Er... us?" said Villtin,
taking care to make his voice very small.
"Yes. You seem quite capable -- unless you've been telling me tall
tales in order to eat and drink at my expense."
"Nonono, we wouldn't do that," Westala said hurriedly. "But what with
people wanting to kill us, which I think we mentioned, we were trying
to keep our heads down."
"I understand that. I've heard of the Dancing Rodents. There's a Lord
Mansgris who lives, or lived, a couple of days' away, who has been
targetted by them. As far as I know, they haven't found him yet,"
Lord Senna reassured them. "The dragons might have gotten to him,
though..." His voice became a mumble. "... which would be a waste of
poetic justice, frankly..."
He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I'd just as soon just hire you for
myself -- as I said, my household is spread thin enough as it is --
but that will at best postpone the inevitable. I want to beat the
dragons, not just kill one here and one there, mostly by sheer luck.
I suspect the others feel the same way."
Westala and Villtin exchanged glances. "We'll need to know everything
you've found out about the Prince of Dragons and his... subjects,"
said Villtin. "And about the knights you want us to rec-- persuade to
join this action."
"Well, the Prince controls the dragons, but you already knew that. I
don't know how he does it, but it does seem that his control is a bit
erratic."
"Yes, we noticed that too." Westala stood up, and moved away from the
fireplace. "Sorry, please go on."
"I'm also not sure what role the LAW plays -- except of course that
of
the sacrifice." The lord noticed the swordsmen's grins, and smiled.
"Yeah, that worked. Ah, and you were right when you thought that they
hadn't revealed all their plan to you. They're not content with
stealing all our treasure; they want to kill us or drive us from our
homes, and take over our lands. They want to make this a kingdom of
dragons."
Lord Senna paused, nursing his ale. "Apparently, there's a prophecy.
A
Prince of Dragon shall rise, all dragons shall heed his call, and all
gold shall be theirs. The woman he chooses to be his Queen doesn't
have to rich to his girl, or cruel to rule his world. And the fields
shall grow purple grain."
He took a swig. "Something like that, anyway. Can't say I actually
believe it."
"But you'd still like to get the dragons off your back, yes?" said
Westala.
"Very much, yes. I'd like my stolen treasure back, I'd like not to be
driven from my home, I'd like to live another year. And I'd like to
go to Anorankhmar and look into this matter of its failing
government."
"And the other knights?" asked Villtin.
"Surely want much the same, I'd imagine. Now, let's see, who do we
need for this... Lord Deimos is a good start... Sir Gentle and Sir
Gentle... oh, and certainly Lady Alex Mann! If you can be ready to
begin this action in the morning, I'll give you a list of everyone
who lives in the area and travel instructions before you leave."
Graycat
>* * * * Return of the Striking Knights * * * *
>A Tale of Westala and Villtin
>by Elin Rosén, Marco Villalta, and Orjan Westin
>-----------------------------------------------
Sorry about the delay in posting this time around. The Chronicler
assures us it was no more than an unfortunate misunderstanding and he
did get off the picket line as soon as we explained that there _are_
no DVD sales to get royalties off...
Then he promptly went on holiday, so expect the next episode sometime
this spring.
--
Elin
The world makes perfect sense, as a black comedy
Sabremeister Brian
e3cd01d7-891a-47ba...@w56g2000hsf.googlegroups.com,
Tale Chronicler <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> said:
> * * * * Return of the Striking Knights * * * *
> A Tale of Westala and Villtin
> by Elin Rosén, Marco Villalta, and Orjan Westin
> -----------------------------------------------
> Lord Senna paused, nursing his ale. "Apparently, there's a prophecy.
> A
> Prince of Dragon shall rise, all dragons shall heed his call, and
> all
> gold shall be theirs. The woman he chooses to be his Queen doesn't
> have to rich to his girl, or cruel to rule his world. And the fields
> shall grow purple grain."
"Kiss" by Prince, who starred in the 1984 movie "Purple Rain"
> "Surely want much the same, I'd imagine. Now, let's see, who do we
> need for this... Lord Deimos is a good start...
Lord Terror
--
www.sabremeister.me.uk
www.livejournal.com/users/sabremeister/
Use brian at sabremeister dot me dot uk to reply
"He who laughs last thinks slowest"
CCA
wrote:
> "Yeah, Lord Sef Senna,"
I don't know about the Senna bit, but the 'Sef' makes me think this
might be Jens Ayton (whom I seem to remember was the inventor of the
expression *sef*)
> "That Prince of Dragons is really keen on acquiring treasure, isn't
> he?" said Westala, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
>
> "He is. Particularly diamonds and pearls, I've noticed.
Reference to Prince and his song 'Diamonds and Pearls'
> "I understand that. I've heard of the Dancing Rodents. There's a Lord
> Mansgris who lives, or lived, a couple of days' away, who has been
> targetted by them. As far as I know, they haven't found him yet,"
> Lord Senna reassured them. "The dragons might have gotten to him,
> though..." His voice became a mumble. "... which would be a waste of
> poetic justice, frankly..."
Gris - grey, mans - hands... the only afper I can think of for this
is Andrew Grey.
> Lord Senna paused, nursing his ale. "Apparently, there's a prophecy.
> A
> Prince of Dragon shall rise, all dragons shall heed his call, and all
> gold shall be theirs. The woman he chooses to be his Queen doesn't
> have to rich to his girl, or cruel to rule his world. And the fields
> shall grow purple grain."
More references to Prince and the lyrics of 'Kiss'
> Lord Deimos is a good start... Sir Gentle and Sir
> Gentle... oh, and certainly Lady Alex Mann!
I'm pretty sure these are afper references but I'm not sure who to.
I'll look forward to seeing what Daibhid comes up with :-)
CCA
Andrew Nevill
wrote:
>On Dec 15, 9:11?am, Tale Chronicler <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com>
>wrote:
>
>> "Yeah, Lord Sef Senna,"
>
>I don't know about the Senna bit, but the 'Sef' makes me think this
>might be Jens Ayton (whom I seem to remember was the inventor of the
>expression *sef*)
Ayton is very close to Ayrton, as in Ayrton Senna, the racing driver.
--
Andrew Nevill B.F. D.W. FdV. Reply address: ane...@ntlworld.com
Winterbay
> "I understand that. I've heard of the Dancing Rodents. There's a Lord
> Mansgris who lives, or lived, a couple of days' away, who has been
> targetted by them. As far as I know, they haven't found him yet,"
> Lord Senna reassured them. "The dragons might have gotten to him,
> though..." His voice became a mumble. "... which would be a waste of
> poetic justice, frankly..."
"Mangris" is Swedish for "male chauvinist pig" which I guess is the
basis for the joke in that paragraf.
/Winterbay
CCA
wrote:
> "Surely want much the same, I'd imagine. Now, let's see, who do we
> need for this... Lord Deimos is a good start... Sir Gentle and Sir
> Gentle... oh, and certainly Lady Alex Mann! If you can be ready to
> begin this action in the morning, I'll give you a list of everyone
> who lives in the area and travel instructions before you leave."
Sir Gentle and Sir Gentle - Uwe and Rolf Milde. Milde - mild -
gentle.
I think Lady Alex Mann might well be Caroline 'Carl' Alexander, but
it's only the 'Alex' bit that makes me wonder that...
CCA
Daibhid Ceanaideach
> * * * * Return of the Striking Knights * * * *
> A Tale of Westala and Villtin
> by Elin Rosén, Marco Villalta, and Orjan Westin
> -----------------------------------------------
>
> Episode Thirteen
>
> In which girls are fretting idle,
> beer is brought for drinkers rough,
> adventurers through strange doors sidle,
> and a lord has had enough
> -----------------------------------------------
Excellent stuff. And I promised a while ago that I'd stop complaining
every time an episode fails to advance the Kendy subplot, so I won't even
*mention* it...
> Granted, occasionally she would see a scantily clad Conga Rat
I think this is the first time the Dancing Rodent assassins have been
referred to as Conga Rats, the play on "congrats" that morphed into the
phrase "dancing rodents" in the first place. This is possibly because
this section is the first time we learn not all Dancing Rodents are Conga
Rats.
> "Yeah, Lord Sef Senna,"
Between them, CCA and Andrew got this one: Sef as in <sef> and Senna as
in Aryton Senna = Jen Ayton. Which saved me trying to work out if any
afpers shared their names with laxatives...
> Do you
> think this guy is really serious, or ironic?"
>
> "He may or may not be either.
Although that should have tipped me off, since it's a reference to the...
indeterminate meaning of <sef>.
> "Fetch the leader of that pack!"
Since nothing in the previous conversation suggests the Shangri-Las, I'm
not sure if this is a reference or not, but I'm annotating it anyway,
just for completeness.
> diamonds and pearls,
Diamonds and Pearls, Prince.
> Lord Mansgris
Andrew Gray. Also, according to Winterbay, Swedish for "male chauvinist",
which is presumably why he's been targeted by the Dancing Rodents.
> The woman he chooses to be his Queen doesn't
> have to rich to his girl, or cruel to rule his world.
Kiss, Prince
> purple grain."
Purple Rain, film starring Prince. (Also soundtrack album by Prince, and
title song by Prince.)
All these are, of course, continuations of the gag that the Prince of
Dragons' real name is a symbol.
> Lord Deimos is a good start... Sir Gentle and Sir
> Gentle... oh, and certainly Lady Alex Mann!
Deimos was one of Ares' sons, the other being Phobos.
That's all I got. Unless you want to hear the rickety chain of alleged
"logic" that led to me briefly considering Lady Alex might be Catja. (You
don't.)
--
Dave
"There is no Neils the Bouncing Cat! He's gone!
Now there is only... P-Cat, the Penitent Puss!"
Daibhid Ceanaideach
> On Dec 15, 9:11�am, Tale Chronicler <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com>
> wrote:
>
>> "Surely want much the same, I'd imagine. Now, let's see, who do we
>> need for this... Lord Deimos is a good start... Sir Gentle and Sir
>> Gentle... oh, and certainly Lady Alex Mann! If you can be ready to
>> begin this action in the morning, I'll give you a list of everyone
>> who lives in the area and travel instructions before you leave."
>
> Sir Gentle and Sir Gentle - Uwe and Rolf Milde. Milde - mild -
> gentle.
Oh, well done!
> I think Lady Alex Mann might well be Caroline 'Carl' Alexander, but
> it's only the 'Alex' bit that makes me wonder that...
Yeah I thought of that, but I couldn't get the rest to fit... Wait, hang
on...
Okay, got it. "Carl" or "karl" is the Scandwegian equivilent of "ceorle",
the OE word for a commoner, or an ordinary man. "Mann" is German for
"man".
Richard Bos
> The sun had just about decided that enough was enough, and that it
> would soon be time for some beauty sleep.
I really like this image.
Richard
Marco Villalta
> CCA <sphir...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Sir Gentle and Sir Gentle - Uwe and Rolf Milde. Milde - mild -
>> gentle.
>
> Oh, well done!
Indeed!
>> I think Lady Alex Mann might well be Caroline 'Carl' Alexander, but
>> it's only the 'Alex' bit that makes me wonder that...
>
> Yeah I thought of that, but I couldn't get the rest to fit... Wait,
> hang on...
>
> Okay, got it. "Carl" or "karl" is the Scandwegian equivilent of
> "ceorle", the OE word for a commoner, or an ordinary man. "Mann" is
> German for "man".
Indeed!
--
Marco Villalta -- afpStuff in headers
Marco Villalta
> Tale Chronicler <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>
>> * * * * Return of the Striking Knights * * * *
>> Episode Thirteen
>> -----------------------------------------------
>
> Excellent stuff. And I promised a while ago that I'd stop
> complaining every time an episode fails to advance the Kendy
> subplot, so I won't even *mention* it...
Wise man...
>> Granted, occasionally she would see a scantily clad Conga Rat
>
> I think this is the first time the Dancing Rodent assassins have
> been referred to as Conga Rats, the play on "congrats" that morphed
> into the phrase "dancing rodents" in the first place. This is
> possibly because this section is the first time we learn not all
> Dancing Rodents are Conga Rats.
Indeed.
>> "Yeah, Lord Sef Senna,"
>
> Between them, CCA and Andrew got this one: Sef as in <sef> and
> Senna as in Aryton Senna = Jen Ayton.
Jens "not Jen" Ayton, even. Indeed.
> Which saved me trying to work
> out if any afpers shared their names with laxatives...
... although that would have been interesting to know. <g>
>> Do you
>> think this guy is really serious, or ironic?"
>>
>> "He may or may not be either.
>
> Although that should have tipped me off, since it's a reference to
> the... indeterminate meaning of <sef>.
Indeed.
>> "Fetch the leader of that pack!"
>
> Since nothing in the previous conversation suggests the Shangri-
> Las, I'm not sure if this is a reference or not, but I'm annotating
> it anyway, just for completeness.
Indeed.
>> diamonds and pearls,
>
> Diamonds and Pearls, Prince.
Indeed.
>> Lord Mansgris
>
> Andrew Gray. Also, according to Winterbay, Swedish for "male
> chauvinist", which is presumably why he's been targeted by the
> Dancing Rodents.
Well, I don't think the Chronicler intended to associate Andrew Gray
with chauvinism -- or, indeed, any other afper. (Except possibly
"Jimmy" in the first Tale, but I'm not sure he counted as a Real and
True afper.)
>> The woman he chooses to be his Queen doesn't
>> have to rich to his girl, or cruel to rule his world.
>
> Kiss, Prince
Indeed.
>> purple grain."
>
> Purple Rain, film starring Prince. (Also soundtrack album by
> Prince, and title song by Prince.)
Indeedily-deedily-doo.
> All these are, of course, continuations of the gag that the Prince
> of Dragons' real name is a symbol.
He's the Prince formerly known as a dragon. Or vice versa.
>> Lord Deimos is a good start... Sir Gentle and Sir
>> Gentle... oh, and certainly Lady Alex Mann!
>
> Deimos was one of Ares' sons, the other being Phobos.
Ooh, haven't seen him around in a while.
> That's all I got. Unless you want to hear the rickety chain of
> alleged "logic" that led to me briefly considering Lady Alex might
> be Catja. (You don't.)
Oh, but we do...
Good work, everyone!
Tale Chronicler
A Tale of Westala and Villtin
by Elin Rosén, Marco Villalta, and Orjan Westin
Episode Fourteen
In which people get ready to leave
We hear the sound of three hands clapping
And see tense young women snapping
As avengers their assault concieve
-----------------------+-----------------------
Lord Sopracasa closed the door behind him and stepped out onto the street,
only pausing to burp contentedly. He'd hired most of the staff back,
including his cook, and now that they'd had a taste of unemployment they
were all working very hard to keep him pleased. Lunch had been excellent,
and while his cellars would take some time restocking, his old butler had
managed to find a good vintage somewhere.
"Good morning, my lord."
Lord Sopracasa nodded to his manservant, who was hurrying up to him from the
street. "Ah, indeed it is, Malindrew. And how are you, this fine day?"
"I am very tired, my lord. I've been up all night--"
"Glad to hear it. I'm on my way to the club to check the latest gossip.
Any interesting news from the gutters?"
"Well, my lord, it seems everyone has heard about..." Malindrew looked
around to make sure the street was still deserted. "Um... your venture by
now, and people are both curious and wary. The work done at the eve of the
Harvest Festival has earned us, that is you, a lot of respect, though."
"Excellent. That is also the talk of my peers, it appears."
"Yes, my lord. That's what I've heard from servants. Word is that the
competition is annoyed, though. Especially those we talked about offering
a..." Malindrew paused to recall the phrase his lord had used, "um... a
make-over bid."
"Take-over, Malindrew, unless you want to give them all a new hairstyle."
Lord Sopracasa chuckled. "I suppose we could offer them a close shave,
though."
"Yes, my lord. There is a rumour that they're looking into following our
example, and make a visit to this area of town."
"Really? Excellent. In that case, stand down your troops for the moment, and
see if you can induce the competition to focus their attention on Lord
Krissakes."
"My lord?"
"It's time we did some pro bono work. For the city, and for Krissakes."
* * *
Villtin unpacked some of the food they had taken before escaping from Ormbo
Castle and offered it to Westala, who was holding the reins. Lord Senna had
given them the use of a cart and his last surviving donkey. Having studied
a map of the area, the mercenaries were confident that it would take less
than a fortnight to visit all the noble families the lord had suggested,
that he thought could help.
Back on the road again, their first stop would be Sir Bolte and Lady Kimmi
of Truefort. It was about two days' travel, but the donkey was young and
strong and they were making good pace.
After a silent meal, Villtin took over the reins while Westala stuffed and
lit his pipe. The northman then held out a purse, containing little blobs
of pine resin.
"Don't mind if I do," said Villtin gratefully.
Westala puffed his pipe. "Fortunately, I know that you're a decent
multitasker."
"Hm? What's that?"
"No, I... I once heard about a guy who absolutely could not do more than one
thing at a time."
"Yeah?"
"To the point where he couldn't chew pine resin and go for a walk at the
same time."
"Ah. Well, that's no problem for me. I might even be able to chew resin,
drive a mule-cart, *and* smack the top of your head."
* * *
/Slap - slap - slap/
Conon's sandalled feet pounded against the cobblestones as he raced through
the streets of Anorankhmar. He tore round a corner, barely avoided tripping
over a small handcart being pushed by an elderly hawker, staggered for a few
steps before regaining his footing and kept running.
He was breathing hard - being a city-dweller born and bred, Conon didn't
really run long distances all that often - but kept going anyway. Not
because he was really in a hurry, but because an occasion like this demanded
a dramatic sprint through crowded streets. He felt that very deeply, it
wouldn't be right otherwise. He needed to arrive panting and sweaty, and
distraught. He just /did/.
Despite his vow to himself not to stop until he reached her, he had to stop
and lean against a doorway for a few seconds, about halfway there. Either
that or pass out, or possibly throw up. Or both. He really had to get in
better shape.
He kept running.
Finally, there was the door - her door. He staggered up to it and pounded
dramatically on it with both fists.
"Mega Vole!" he shouted valiantly, only it came out as a cough instead.
Better shape, yes, definitely. As soon as he could breathe again.
After a short while the door was finally opened by a young woman.
"It's terrible--" Conon began, before realising that it wasn't her at all,
it was some other young woman, maybe the inn-keepers daughter.
"Oh, hi," Tessan said brightly. "Aren't you that guy Mega Vole's been going
out with?"
Conon nodded feebly, still catching his breath.
"She's out back, feeding the chickens. Go on through." Tessan smiled and
stood aside to let him pass.
Conon made his way through the common room and the kitchen, and out the back
door. And there she was, in that blue dress he liked, feeding chickens.
And she was lovely. Trying to regain some of his previous sense of drama
Conon rushed up to her, took her hand earnestly in his and said- nothing as
it turned out. Getting knocked over the head with a sudden bucket will do
that to a person.
"Oh no! Conon!" Mega Vole immediately dropped the bucket and knelt by his
side, cradling his head in her lap. "I'm sorry! You startled me."
Oh well, it wasn't a herioc sprint - but it wasn't so bad, at least the pose
was suitably dramatic.
"It's terrible!" Conon began again, grasping her arm. "My uncle is going on
a business trip, all the way to the Western Plains!"
"Oh? Well, I'm sure he'll be fine. You'll see him when he gets back." Mega
Vole replied calmly.
"No, you don't understand! I have to go with him!"
"Oh."
This felt a bit lacking in tears and big emotional displays to Conon, who
had been hoping for, even expecting, Mega Vole to be rather a bit more
distraught.
"We won't see each other for at least a year! Maybe never! Aren't you
upset?"
"Hm?" Mega Vole appeared lost In thought.
"I thought you...liked me."
"I do," Mega Vole replied matter of factly. "In fact I think... yes... I
love you."
Conon gaped at her, like a stunned fish. "But... you do? Don't you want
to... cry?"
"No... no, I really don't think I do. I think I want to pack." Mega Vole
nodded to herself.
"What? Pack? Where are you going?" Conon was completely lost now.
"With you, of course," Mega Vole replied and kissed him. "When do we
leave?"
* * *
Autopet was hitting the bars and taverns hard. Go in, have a small drink, a
look around, and a word with the barman, then on to the next. That's how
advertising in the mercenary business worked. So far, he'd had little luck,
though. As the barman at the usually crowded Wonky Tambourine had put it,
business was as slow as a dead snail in a glue pot.
"Why is that?" Autopet asked.
"There are a bunch of small wars going on up north, all the little barons
seem to want to settle their grudges now that the harvest is in. A lot of
guys have gone up there." The barman put a mug of ale on the counter. "And
there's a lot less trade passing through town, now, so there hasn't been
much of a market for caravan guards. It just wasn't worth it with those two
sorcerors around."
"But there's still trade," Autopet pointed out, picking up the mug. "I came
in on a ship from Byxans a while ago."
"Oh, sure. But I bet they had proper guards, with uniforms and things.
It's the independent traders who hire guys like you, right?"
"Yeah, I guess." Autopet sipped his ale. "Still, I'm surprised none of the
old guys are around. What happened to Slightly Peeved Hamish?"
"Dead. Fell off a mountain, I heard."
"Shame. What about Pinchogal?"
"Got himself a regular job, guarding some noble I think."
"Really?" Autopet shook his head. "Never thought he'd settle down."
"What about Autopet?" a woman's voice behind him asked. "Is he still a
Varing in Byxans?"
Autopet stood still, careful not to make any threatening moves, and tried to
place the voice. In situations like this, it was imperative to find an
answer to the most pressing question, friend or foe?
"Ven?" he asked.
"Yes."
Autopet turned around and gave the woman standing there a big hug, then
froze and stood absolutely still.
"It's not that I'm not happy to see you," she murmured in his ear, "but
that's an axe."
Autopet carefully disentangled himself and looked down at the battle-axe
hanging from her belt, its sharp edge level with his groin. He winced.
"Sorry," she said with a smile, "but you should have remembered. How are
you doing? I haven't seen you since that undertaking we did at Mount
Caliga. Do you have time for a chat?"
"Love to." Autopet took his mug and followed her to her table, but had no
more than sat down when someone came up to him.
"Are you Autopet? Are you recruiting? Can I join you, can I, please?"
A tall young man, dressed in a slick suit of a curiously patchy green and
khaki fabric, was looking at him eagerly.
"Dunno. Who are you?"
"Andrés Perron, but they call me 'El Perro'." The young man turned slightly
to show off the garishly gilded handle of a shortsword. "I'm a mean
fighter, and I need a job, and I've always wanted to be a guard."
"Hey, I've heard of you," Autopet said, and waited until the young man's
face lit up expectantly. "You're a pimp. If you've been in any fights,
it's been with men handicapped by having their trousers around their ankles.
What happened, the girls left you?"
El Perro blushed. "Er... yes. They said they got a better deal at Candy's
Door. But I am good at security work, that's what I've been doing,
protecting them!"
"Really?" Autopet stood up. "Well, then, let's see how good you are."
"Here?" El Perro reached for his sword.
"Oh, leave that alone," Autopet sighed. "I don't care if you can use that
thing to write your initials. That's got nothing to do with fighting. Hold
your hands up."
Hesitantly, El Perro lifted his arms over his head.
"No, in front of you, a shoulderwidth apart, like you're telling me about
the fish that got away."
Autopet stood calmly in front of the former pimp, his arms by his sides.
"Good. Now clap."
"What?"
"Do you know how to clap your hands together? Clap!"
El Perro clapped, and found one of Autopet's hands between his own.
Autopet put his arm down by his side. "Again, faster," he barked.
"Whenever you want."
This time, El Perro waited before clapping, but again, Autopet's hand was
faster.
"See? You've got to be able to read your opponent, anticipate his moves,
and react fast." Autopet held his hands up. "Now you try."
Autopet's hands met with a loud clap. "Too slow. Try again."
El Perro studied him closely, but was still taken by surprise. Again and
again and again.
"Go home, boy," Autopet said and sat down. "Go back to mum, or blowing air
bubbles or herding geese. You're not cut out to be a fighter."
El Perro stared at him, his face crimson, then turned on his heel and ran
out without saying a word.
"Wasn't that a bit cruel?" Ven asked.
"Perhaps, but I have no patience for boys who think being a mercenary is
somehow glamorous, or a fast way of getting rich or whatever." Autopet
emptied his mug. "He wasn't thinking about the job. You could have taken
him out with a knitting needle without breaking a sweat, right?"
"Well, yes, but it's not very nice of you to say so," she chided. "So
you're recruiting for a job?"
"Yeah. I've been trying to get some good people together, but it's not been
easy."
"Oh? How many do you have?"
Autopet raised his hand, one finger extended. Ven smiled, and raised her
own hand, two fingers extended.
* * *
Tessan looked up as Mega Vole entered the kitchen.
"What's up? Your boyfriend looked a bit... strained," she smiled.
"Oh, he was just a bit upset," Mega Vole replied. "He's going away, to the
western plains. But it's ok now, I told him I love him and I'm going too."
"You what?" Tessan was stunned. Mega Vole had allready gone out the kitchen
door and was making her way up the stairs, so Tessan put down the carrots
she was peeling and ran after her. When she got to Mega Vole's room, the
former Dancing Rodent was standing in the middle of the floor, holding a
linen blouse, and staring into nothingness.
"I told him I love him," she mumbled. "And then I came up here to pack, and
I don't have a bag." She turned towards Tessan. "What am I going to do?!"
"Uh... I'm sure we can find you a bag. Are you ok?"
"/I told him I love him!/ And now we're leaving next week, and I'll be
gone, maybe for years, and I barely know himandwhatamIgoingto/do/??" Mega
Vole wailed.
It had felt so clear, out in the courtyard, with his head on her lap, she
had /known/ she loved him and wanted to go with him wherever fate might send
them. She had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. And now it was
coming apart. That lovely clarity was shattering like a dropped mirror.
What if he was actually a jerk? What if they were
robbed? Or he didn't really love her? He hadn't said anything after all,
just gaped like a fish. He /was/ a jerk! Here she'd opened her heart to
him and all he could do was look stupid. It was her own fault, it was too
fast, too much. This was a disaster!
"Mega Vole?" Tessan asked again, gently. "Are you ok?"
"I don't know!" Mega Vole started crying. "I hit him with the bucket, and
he's leaving, and now I have to leave too, and I barely know him, and I
really don't know myself, and I've just gotten a life, and, and, and--"
"Hush," Tessan gathered her sobbing friend into her arms, "slow down. Come
sit with me on the bed and we'll talk it out. Ok?"
Mega Vole nodded and let herself be led over to the bed, and sat down.
"You /hit/ him with the /bucket/?"
"Yes, almost knocked him out too," Mega Vole smiled tentatively. "Great way
to show your love, eh?"
Tessan stifled a laugh, "Yeah, brilliant."
Mega Vole giggled too.
It was going to be all right. She did love him. She did. He was her
family, she wanted life with him. And she had always wanted to see the
western plains. She'd heard they had spectacular bush fires there, and
eagles with no feathers, and all sorts of weird and wonderful things. Maybe
even elephants.
* * *
/SLAM/
"Gah! That woman drives me crazy!" Capullette stomped through the door she'd
just banged open and plopped down on one of the chairs in Messy's room, only
to imediately jump up again and start pacing.
Messy sighed. She'd been reading a particularily interesting volume about
internal medecine by a female author she had never heard of, but who had
some extremely fascinating theories on gastric malfunctions, and she really
didn't feel like listening to Capullette rant. Again.
"What now?" she asked resignedly.
"That Fiftyseven woman! She's such a know-it-all! And she keeps going on
about weaponry, and the use of whips in the entertainment trade, and how
difficult it is to guard some stupid donkey caravan!"
"Well--"
"Oh, and she interrupts! All the time!" Capullette sneered. "Can't wait to
offer her all important gems of wisdom! Doesn't think any one else knows
anything, just because she's travelled. Well she can't be that smart if
she's never learned to /listen/! Aaaargh!" She sat back down again, and
sighed. "Oh, anyway, I'm gonna go, I'm to irritated to sit down. Thanks
for listening."
Capulette rose and left, shutting the door behind her. Messy settled back
into her book, moving onto the chapter on the importance of fiber, when...
/SLAM/
... Fiftyseven stormed in.
"/Good grief/, does that woman ever /shut up/? If I wanted to hear about
her horses for the sixteenth time, I'd /ask/! And that husband of hers! I
don't need to know about the state of his feet! /No-one/ needs to know that
much about another person's feet!"
"You know, she's just--"
"And she interrupts!" Fiftyseven threw her arms up, then left, still
ranting.
Messy sighed. Again. Oh well, back to the--
/SLAM/
"Those two drive me nuts with their bickering!"
Right on time, here was Newra. Messy resignedly put her book aside.
Apparenty the gods didn't want her to get anything done today.
"All day long, /bicker, bicker, bicker/! About the dumbest things! Neither
of them listens, to me or each other, they just stomp around, /huffing/ at
each other! It's so unprofessional!"
"I th--"
"And they keep interrupting when I try to help! Something's gonna have to
happen soon or there's gonna be trouble, I'm telling you!" Newra slumped
down on the edge of the bed and blew out a long sigh.
"Anyway," she turned to Messy, "what are you reading?"
* * *
Lowmar looked up as Autopet and Ven came through the door. "There was a
woman looking for you, Autopet. She said she was a friend, so I let her into
your room."
Autopet exchanged a look with Ven, walked quietly to the door of his room
and drew his sabres. Ven nodded to him, holding her axe, and he took a deep
breath before pushing the door open.
Sitting on the chair by the bed, polished boots on the little table, was a
woman, elegantly dressed in black trousers, white blouse, black bustier and
black leather gloves. Strapped to the belt around her waist was a shortsword
and a holster with a small crossbow.
"Remember me?"
Autopet sheathed his swords. "Yup."
"You need people for a job on the outskirts of town? How long?"
"Four, maybe six weeks."
"That ought to do it. How much does the job pay?"
Autopet sat down on the bed. "I thought you were looking for the Jolson
brothers, Liann."
The woman smirked. "I found them."
"All?"
She nodded curtly. "Now, how much does the job pay?"
"Twenty dollars."
Liann stood up. "I'll have the money before I leave. It should just take
care of my last two days' rent."
Silently, Autopet paid her, and she left. Ven looked after her, then at
Autopet. She raised a hand, holding three fingers up, and smiled.
* * *
On the third day Wilkinson and her followers crested a hill and found their
targets. Below them was a village, right by the coast, and, a little
further inland, the Dancing Rodent complex. Wilkinson had never been there,
but had concluded that such a place must exist, somewhere, from the visits
Valanis regularly received.
"There it is," she said to her companions. "That's where they are."
Yubari Sky stood beside Wilkinson and looked down at the people moving like
ants between the houses in the distance. "Are you sure captain?" she asked.
"Yes. We wait until nightfall, then we go. Tomorrow they pay."
"Good," Azul Moon nodded. Her nose was still bruised.
-----------------------------------------------
Your humble,
Tale Chronicler
--
The Tales of Westala and Villtin, both the first one and the ongoing second
one, can be read on the web, at:
http://tale.cunobaros.com/
jester
<chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
<hack>
>"Are you Autopet? Are you recruiting? Can I join you, can I, please?"
>"Yeah. I've been trying to get some good people together, but it's not been
>easy."
>
>"Oh? How many do you have?"
>
>Autopet raised his hand, one finger extended. Ven smiled, and raised her
>own hand, two fingers extended.
Five to go then...
<snip>
>Sitting on the chair by the bed, polished boots on the little table, was a
>woman, elegantly dressed in black trousers, white blouse, black bustier and
>black leather gloves. Strapped to the belt around her waist was a shortsword
>and a holster with a small crossbow.
Make that four. Now is my memory rusty, or shouldn't this one be doing the
job for a meal and somewhere to hide out for a while?
--
Andy Brown
"How do you feel about women's rights?"
"I like either side of them."
-- Groucho Marx, 1890-1977
Winterbay
> "Really? Excellent. In that case, stand down your troops for the moment, and
> see if you can induce the competition to focus their attention on Lord
> Krissakes."
>
> "My lord?"
>
> "It's time we did some pro bono work. For the city, and for Krissakes."
"For christ's sake" is standard expression now turned into a name for
pun. Well done :)
<snip>
The entire section, which could probably have been snipped more, is a
reference to Vimes and Sybil. Even though the dragons have been exhanged
for chickens and the Interchangeable Emmas have been turned into a Tessan.
<snip>
>
> "Yeah, I guess." Autopet sipped his ale. "Still, I'm surprised none of the
> old guys are around. What happened to Slightly Peeved Hamish?"
>
> "Dead. Fell off a mountain, I heard."
>
> "Shame. What about Pinchogal?"
>
> "Got himself a regular job, guarding some noble I think."
>
> "Really?" Autopet shook his head. "Never thought he'd settle down."
>
> "What about Autopet?" a woman's voice behind him asked. "Is he still a
> Varing in Byxans?"
This somehow rings a bell form the Silver Horde discussing where the old
heroes have gone. I think it was in TLH but it might have been IT as well.
<snip>
> "Dunno. Who are you?"
>
> "Andrés Perron, but they call me 'El Perro'." The young man turned slightly
> to show off the garishly gilded handle of a shortsword. "I'm a mean
> fighter, and I need a job, and I've always wanted to be a guard."
>
> "Hey, I've heard of you," Autopet said, and waited until the young man's
> face lit up expectantly. "You're a pimp. If you've been in any fights,
> it's been with men handicapped by having their trousers around their ankles.
> What happened, the girls left you?"
>
> El Perro blushed. "Er... yes. They said they got a better deal at Candy's
> Door. But I am good at security work, that's what I've been doing,
> protecting them!"
>
> "Really?" Autopet stood up. "Well, then, let's see how good you are."
>
> "Here?" El Perro reached for his sword.
>
> "Oh, leave that alone," Autopet sighed. "I don't care if you can use that
> thing to write your initials. That's got nothing to do with fighting. Hold
> your hands up."
This is something of a reference to Zorro I think, with El Perro being
"the dog" in Spanish and the mentioning of writing your initials with
your sword...
I thinkk that's what I can come up with atm.
/Winterbay
CCA
wrote:
>Lord Krissakes."
I'm pretty sure this is a reference, but not sure who to...
> Back on the road again, their first stop would be Sir Bolte and Lady Kimmi
> of Truefort.
It's possible that Lady Kimmi might be Kimmi from #afp. Not sure
about Sir Bolte - is there an afper with the surname Lock, Locke or
Lockhart?
> Conon's sandalled feet pounded against the cobblestones as he raced through
> the streets of Anorankhmar. �He tore round a corner, barely avoided tripping
> over a small handcart being pushed by an elderly hawker
I think this is quite a popular image in chase scenes
> As the barman at the usually crowded Wonky Tambourine
Broken Drum/Mended Drum
> "Yeah, I guess." �Autopet sipped his ale. �"Still, I'm surprised none of the
> old guys are around. What happened to Slightly Peeved Hamish?"
Mad Hamish
> "Dead. �Fell off a mountain, I heard."
>
> "Shame. �What about Pinchogal?"
>
> "Got himself a regular job, guarding some noble I think."
>
> "Really?" �Autopet shook his head. �"Never thought he'd settle down."
This bit reflects a bit in Interesting Times, with the Silver Horde
discussing various other mercenaries (usually of a similar age, in
that particular case) and what happened to them. The same sort of
theme is used again in 'The Last Hero', discussing (I seem to
remember) what various baddies are doing nowadays.
> "Ven?" he asked.
Reference to Vena the Raven-Haired in TLH? And possibly also Xena
Warrior Princess, possibly not...
> "Andr�s Perron, but they call me 'El Perro'." �The young man turned slightly
> to show off the garishly gilded handle of a shortsword. �"I'm a mean
> fighter, and I need a job, and I've always wanted to be a guard."
Reference to Torak, who's appeared as Andres Perron at least once in
the first Tale. Possibly also a reference to the fact that Torak owns
swords (well, at least one katana, anyway)
> El Perro blushed. �"Er... yes. �They said they got a better deal at Candy's
> Door. �But I am good at security work, that's what I've been doing,
> protecting them!"
I seem to remember Torak was considering being a security gopher at
the last Convention, although I can't remember whether or not he
actually did it
> "Oh, leave that alone," Autopet sighed. �"I don't care if you can use that
> thing to write your initials. �That's got nothing to do with fighting. �Hold
> your hands up."
...
> "See? �You've got to be able to read your opponent, anticipate his moves,
> and react fast." �Autopet held his hands up. �"Now you try."
Possibly a reference to Sam Vimes's speech to Lord Rust in Jingo:
"They want to *kill* you...and by the time you've swung your nice
shiny broadsword they've carved their initials on your..." (insert
part of the body I can't remember here, it might have been stomach)
> "That Fiftyseven woman! �She's such a know-it-all! And she keeps going on
> about weaponry, and the use of whips in the entertainment trade
Fiftyseven is obviously Esmeraldus as pointed out in the first Tale -
she owns a number of whips, and, er...could probably entertain with
them if asked nicely...
> ... Fiftyseven stormed in.
>
> "/Good grief/, does that woman ever /shut up/? �If I wanted to hear about
> her horses for the sixteenth time, I'd /ask/!
Capulette is obviously Jenny Delaney, as pointed out in the first Tale
- Jenny knows a lot about horses and owns at least one
> Autopet sat down on the bed. �"I thought you were looking for the Jolson
> brothers, Liann."
Bugger, another one that goes right over my head... Possibly another
two, with the Jolson brothers in there too...
Right, let's see if Daibhid can do any better than me (I suspect he
will :-)
CCA
Orjan Westin
> On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:53:17 -0000, Tale Chronicler
> <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
> <hack>
>
>> Sitting on the chair by the bed, polished boots on the little table,
>> was a woman, elegantly dressed in black trousers, white blouse,
>> black bustier and black leather gloves. Strapped to the belt around
>> her waist was a shortsword and a holster with a small crossbow.
>
> Make that four. Now is my memory rusty, or shouldn't this one be
> doing the job for a meal and somewhere to hide out for a while?
Um... No, this is the posh one (I believe IMDB has this conversation, too).
We might have changed and/or misremembered the order, but that ought to be
acceptable, I think?
IIRC, the meal and hide deal was the one with the knife - does that sound
right to you?
Orjan
--
The Tale of Westala and Villtin
http://tale.cunobaros.com/
Fiction, Thoughts and Software
http://www.cunobaros.com/
Nigel Stapley
> On Feb 29, 11:53�pm, "Tale Chronicler" <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Lord Krissakes."
>
> I'm pretty sure this is a reference, but not sure who to...
First thing that comes to my mind is our recent arrival Mr Zakes,
because I keep reading his name like that every time I see it.
If this is correct, then it possibly marks the quickest transition from
froup arrival to Tale-reference in history. Some of us still haven't got
in after 6+ years...
--
Regards
Nigel Stapley
<reply-to will bounce>
Graycat
<snip a lot>
>> "What? Pack? Where are you going?" Conon was completely lost now.
>>
>> "With you, of course," Mega Vole replied and kissed him. "When do we
>> leave?"
>>
>
>The entire section, which could probably have been snipped more, is a
>reference to Vimes and Sybil. Even though the dragons have been exhanged
>for chickens and the Interchangeable Emmas have been turned into a Tessan.
Well, would you look at that...it fits astonishingly well... Cool.
Andrew Nevill
>On Feb 29, 11:53?pm, "Tale Chronicler" <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com>
>wrote:
>
>> "Ven?" he asked.
>
>Reference to Vena the Raven-Haired in TLH? And possibly also Xena
>Warrior Princess, possibly not...
The whole recruiting sequence is a parody of the recruitment of the
Seven in The Magnificent Seven. Autopet is Chris (Yul Brynner) Every
time they got a member Chris held up one more finger.
Ven is Vin ( Steve McQueen), CCA could also be right. The Multiple
reference would work and the Chroniclers never do a single reference if
they can do two or three
>
>> "Andr?s Perron, but they call me 'El Perro'." ?The young man turned slightly
>> to show off the garishly gilded handle of a shortsword. ?"I'm a mean
>> fighter, and I need a job, and I've always wanted to be a guard."
>
>Reference to Torak, who's appeared as Andres Perron at least once in
>the first Tale. Possibly also a reference to the fact that Torak owns
>swords (well, at least one katana, anyway)
Agreed
>
[Snip]
>> "Oh, leave that alone," Autopet sighed. ?"I don't care if you can use that
>> thing to write your initials. ?That's got nothing to do with fighting. ?Hold
>> your hands up."
>...
>
>> "See? ?You've got to be able to read your opponent, anticipate his moves,
>> and react fast." ?Autopet held his hands up. ?"Now you try."
>
>Possibly a reference to Sam Vimes's speech to Lord Rust in Jingo:
>"They want to *kill* you...and by the time you've swung your nice
>shiny broadsword they've carved their initials on your..." (insert
>part of the body I can't remember here, it might have been stomach)
Also the whole clapping sequence is used in the Magnificent Seven when
Chico (Horst Buchholz) tries (and fails to join)
Would I be right in thinking that El Perro is Chico's equivalent? And
that like Chico he may get to join after all?
>> Autopet sat down on the bed. ?"I thought you were looking for the Jolson
>> brothers, Liann."
And Liann is Lee (Robert Vaughan) the professional gunman, only here a
professional crossbow-woman
--
Andrew Nevill B.F. D.W. FdV. Reply address: ane...@ntlworld.com
AFPWorshipper to Spooky, AFPfiance to Sarah (Nanny Ogg) & Esmeraldus.
AFPUncle to James Vaughan. You cannot value friends as pennies,
nor can you replace them as easily (Spooky in email, Aug 2001.)
jester
<nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
>jester wrote:
>> On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:53:17 -0000, Tale Chronicler
>> <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>> <hack>
>>
>> <snip>
>>> Sitting on the chair by the bed, polished boots on the little table,
>>> was a woman, elegantly dressed in black trousers, white blouse,
>>> black bustier and black leather gloves. Strapped to the belt around
>>> her waist was a shortsword and a holster with a small crossbow.
>>
>> Make that four. Now is my memory rusty, or shouldn't this one be
>> doing the job for a meal and somewhere to hide out for a while?
>
>Um... No, this is the posh one (I believe IMDB has this conversation, too).
>We might have changed and/or misremembered the order, but that ought to be
>acceptable, I think?
>
>IIRC, the meal and hide deal was the one with the knife - does that sound
>right to you?
After a quick dig round IMDB to confirm things, I'm thinking of the
character played by the same actor in my favourite version of the story.
--
Andy Brown
To iterate is human; to recurse, is divine.
Elin Rosén
> On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 04:16:31 -0800 (PST), CCA <sphir...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> On Feb 29, 11:53?pm, "Tale Chronicler" <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>
>>> "Ven?" he asked.
>>
>> Reference to Vena the Raven-Haired in TLH? And possibly also Xena
>> Warrior Princess, possibly not...
>
> The whole recruiting sequence is a parody of the recruitment of the
> Seven in The Magnificent Seven. Autopet is Chris (Yul Brynner) Every
> time they got a member Chris held up one more finger.
>
> Ven is Vin ( Steve McQueen), CCA could also be right. The Multiple
> reference would work and the Chroniclers never do a single reference if
> they can do two or three
Oh, no, we've been found out...
Elin
Orjan Westin
> On Feb 29, 11:53�pm, "Tale Chronicler"
> <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Lord Krissakes."
>
> I'm pretty sure this is a reference, but not sure who to...
Nigel nailed (or stapled?) this one.
>> Back on the road again, their first stop would be Sir Bolte and Lady
>> Kimmi
>> of Truefort.
>
> It's possible that Lady Kimmi might be Kimmi from #afp. Not sure
> about Sir Bolte - is there an afper with the surname Lock, Locke or
> Lockhart?
I think you need to look at the name of the manor, too.
>> As the barman at the usually crowded Wonky Tambourine
>
> Broken Drum/Mended Drum
Yep.
>> "Yeah, I guess." �Autopet sipped his ale. �"Still, I'm surprised
>> none of the old guys are around. What happened to Slightly Peeved
>> Hamish?"
>
> Mad Hamish
Yep.
>> "Dead. �Fell off a mountain, I heard."
>>
>> "Shame. �What about Pinchogal?"
>>
>> "Got himself a regular job, guarding some noble I think."
>>
>> "Really?" �Autopet shook his head. �"Never thought he'd settle
>> down."
>
> This bit reflects a bit in Interesting Times, with the Silver Horde
> discussing various other mercenaries (usually of a similar age, in
> that particular case) and what happened to them. The same sort of
> theme is used again in 'The Last Hero', discussing (I seem to
> remember) what various baddies are doing nowadays.
Yep. And referencing T1, too.
>> "Ven?" he asked.
>
> Reference to Vena the Raven-Haired in TLH? And possibly also Xena
> Warrior Princess, possibly not...
Inasmuch as Vena does, yes.
>> "Andr�s Perron, but they call me 'El Perro'." �The young man
>> turned slightly to show off the garishly gilded handle of a
>> shortsword. �"I'm a mean
>> fighter, and I need a job, and I've always wanted to be a guard."
>
> Reference to Torak, who's appeared as Andres Perron at least once in
> the first Tale.
Yes.
> Possibly also a reference to the fact that Torak owns
> swords (well, at least one katana, anyway)
He does?
>> El Perro blushed. �"Er... yes. �They said they got a better deal
>> at Candy's Door. �But I am good at security work, that's what I've
>> been doing, protecting them!"
>
> I seem to remember Torak was considering being a security gopher at
> the last Convention, although I can't remember whether or not he
> actually did it
Yep.
>> "Oh, leave that alone," Autopet sighed. �"I don't care if you can
>> use that thing to write your initials. �That's got nothing to do
>> with fighting. �Hold your hands up."
> ...
>
>> "See? �You've got to be able to read your opponent, anticipate his
>> moves,
>> and react fast." �Autopet held his hands up. �"Now you try."
>
> Possibly a reference to Sam Vimes's speech to Lord Rust in Jingo:
> "They want to *kill* you...and by the time you've swung your nice
> shiny broadsword they've carved their initials on your..." (insert
> part of the body I can't remember here, it might have been stomach)
Er... no.
>> "That Fiftyseven woman! �She's such a know-it-all! And she keeps
>> going on about weaponry, and the use of whips in the entertainment
>> trade
>
> Fiftyseven is obviously Esmeraldus as pointed out in the first Tale -
> she owns a number of whips, and, er...could probably entertain with
> them if asked nicely...
Yep
>> ... Fiftyseven stormed in.
>>
>> "/Good grief/, does that woman ever /shut up/? �If I wanted to
>> hear about
>> her horses for the sixteenth time, I'd /ask/!
>
> Capulette is obviously Jenny Delaney, as pointed out in the first Tale
> - Jenny knows a lot about horses and owns at least one
Yep.
>> Autopet sat down on the bed. �"I thought you were looking for the
>> Jolson brothers, Liann."
>
> Bugger, another one that goes right over my head... Possibly another
> two, with the Jolson brothers in there too...
All of Autopet's recruits are (will be) afpers, if that's any help, although
the first two haven't been around for many years.
Orjan Westin
> CCA wrote:
>> On Feb 29, 11:53�pm, "Tale Chronicler"
>> <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Lord Krissakes."
>>
>> I'm pretty sure this is a reference, but not sure who to...
>
> First thing that comes to my mind is our recent arrival Mr Zakes,
> because I keep reading his name like that every time I see it.
>
> If this is correct, then it possibly marks the quickest transition
> from froup arrival to Tale-reference in history. Some of us still
> haven't got in after 6+ years...
Don't worry, your luck is about to change (there wasn't room in this
episode, though). :-)
Orjan
Orjan Westin
> On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 04:16:31 -0800 (PST), CCA <sphir...@aol.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Feb 29, 11:53?pm, "Tale Chronicler"
>> <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>
>
>>> "Ven?" he asked.
>>
>> Reference to Vena the Raven-Haired in TLH? And possibly also Xena
>> Warrior Princess, possibly not...
>
> The whole recruiting sequence is a parody of the recruitment of the
> Seven in The Magnificent Seven. Autopet is Chris (Yul Brynner) Every
> time they got a member Chris held up one more finger.
>
> Ven is Vin ( Steve McQueen), CCA could also be right. The Multiple
> reference would work and the Chroniclers never do a single reference
> if they can do two or three
Ayup.
The third reference there would be the afper. I would have thought Jester
would have got that, at least.
>>> "Oh, leave that alone," Autopet sighed. ?"I don't care if you can
>>> use that thing to write your initials. ?That's got nothing to do
>>> with fighting. ?Hold your hands up."
>> ...
>>
>>> "See? ?You've got to be able to read your opponent, anticipate his
>>> moves, and react fast." ?Autopet held his hands up. ?"Now you try."
>
> Also the whole clapping sequence is used in the Magnificent Seven when
> Chico (Horst Buchholz) tries (and fails to join)
Yes.
> Would I be right in thinking that El Perro is Chico's equivalent? And
> that like Chico he may get to join after all?
On an unrelated note, it's not uncommon for people to call their dogs "boy",
regardless of their name.
>>> Autopet sat down on the bed. ?"I thought you were looking for the
>>> Jolson brothers, Liann."
>
> And Liann is Lee (Robert Vaughan) the professional gunman, only
> here a professional crossbow-woman
Yes. And an old afper too.
Orjan Westin
> <snip>
>>
>> "It's time we did some pro bono work. For the city, and for
>> Krissakes."
>
> "For christ's sake" is standard expression now turned into a name for
> pun. Well done :)
We are glad to be of service. <bows>
<snip>
>> "Oh, leave that alone," Autopet sighed. "I don't care if you can
>> use that thing to write your initials. That's got nothing to do
>> with fighting. Hold your hands up."
>
> This is something of a reference to Zorro I think, with El Perro being
> "the dog" in Spanish and the mentioning of writing your initials with
> your sword...
Yep. Because "Zorro" means...
jester
<nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
>Andrew Nevill wrote:
>> On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 04:16:31 -0800 (PST), CCA <sphir...@aol.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Feb 29, 11:53?pm, "Tale Chronicler"
>>> <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>>
>>
>>>> "Ven?" he asked.
>The third reference there would be the afper. I would have thought Jester
>would have got that, at least.
Probably would have done if I was really trying. I assume the axe is
significant, and it's the .seian afper with the similar sounding name that
you're talking about. (There, nice and cryptic for the *real* annotators
to go googling with 8-)
>>>> Autopet sat down on the bed. ?"I thought you were looking for the
>>>> Jolson brothers, Liann."
>>
>> And Liann is Lee (Robert Vaughan) the professional gunman, only
>> here a professional crossbow-woman
>
>Yes. And an old afper too.
This one I can't place, though I suspect I'll be kicking myself when
they're identified.
--
Andy Brown
"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."
-- Albert Einstein.
Andrew Nevill
wrote:
>On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 16:05:08 -0000, Orjan Westin
><nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>>> On Feb 29, 11:53?pm, "Tale Chronicler"
>>>> <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>
>>>>> "Ven?" he asked.
><hack>
>>The third reference there would be the afper. I would have thought Jester
>>would have got that, at least.
>
>Probably would have done if I was really trying. I assume the axe is
>significant, and it's the .seian afper with the similar sounding name that
>you're talking about. (There, nice and cryptic for the *real* annotators
>to go googling with 8-)
<grin> Jen with the Axe and the Temper
Sabremeister Brian
>>> you can use that thing to write your initials. �That's got
>>> nothing to do with fighting. �Hold your hands up."
>> ...
>>
>>> "See? �You've got to be able to read your opponent,
>>> anticipate his moves,
>>> and react fast." �Autopet held his hands up. �"Now you
>>> try."
>>
>> Possibly a reference to Sam Vimes's speech to Lord Rust in
>> Jingo: "They want to *kill* you...and by the time you've swung
>> your nice shiny broadsword they've carved their initials on
>> your..." (insert part of the body I can't remember here, it
>> might have been stomach)
>
> Er... no.
Could it be a reference to Blazing Saddles, the scene where The
Waco Kid (Gene Wilder) demonstrates how fast he is by doing
something similar with a chess piece?
--
www.sabremeister.me.uk
www.livejournal.com/users/sabremeister/
Use brian at sabremeister dot me dot uk to reply
"You are writing children's books, you need to be a ruthless
killer."
- JK Rowling
CCA
> CCA wrote:
> > On Feb 29, 11:53�pm, "Tale Chronicler" <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com>
> > wrote:
> >> Lord Krissakes."
>
> > I'm pretty sure this is a reference, but not sure who to...
> First thing that comes to my mind is our recent arrival Mr Zakes,
> because I keep reading his name like that every time I see it.
Ah yes...completely missed that!
CCA
Nigel Stapley
Uh-oh.... :-)
Orjan Westin
> On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 17:11:47 +0000 (UTC), jester <use...@jester.nu>
> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 1 Mar 2008 16:05:08 -0000, Orjan Westin
>> <nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
>
>>>>> On Feb 29, 11:53?pm, "Tale Chronicler"
>>>>> <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>> "Ven?" he asked.
>> <hack>
>>> The third reference there would be the afper. I would have thought
>>> Jester would have got that, at least.
>>
>> Probably would have done if I was really trying. I assume the axe is
>> significant, and it's the .seian afper with the similar sounding
>> name that you're talking about. (There, nice and cryptic for the
>> *real* annotators to go googling with 8-)
Thank you.
> <grin> Jen with the Axe and the Temper
Ayup
Richard Bos
> On Feb 29, 11:53=EF=BF=BDpm, "Tale Chronicler" <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com>
> > Autopet sat down on the bed. =EF=BF=BD"I thought you were looking for the
> > Jolson brothers, Liann."
>
> Bugger, another one that goes right over my head... Possibly another
> two, with the Jolson brothers in there too...
I don't know who Liann refers to, but Al(l) Jolson was a well-known film
entertainer.
Richard
Richard Bos
> "Sorry," she said with a smile, "but you should have remembered. How are
> you doing? I haven't seen you since that undertaking we did at Mount
> Caliga.
A caliga is a Roman army boot, but don't ask me what that refers to.
Richard
jester
That's the start of the Magnificent Seven, driving the undertaker's hearse
up to Boot Hill.
--
Andy Brown
Real programmers don't comment their code. It was hard to write, it
should be hard to understand.
Orjan Westin
> On Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:35:12 GMT, Richard Bos
> <ral...@xs4all.nl> wrote:
>> "Tale Chronicler" <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>
>>> "Sorry," she said with a smile, "but you should have remembered.
>>> How are you doing? I haven't seen you since that undertaking we
>>> did at Mount Caliga.
>>
>> A caliga is a Roman army boot, but don't ask me what that refers to.
>
> That's the start of the Magnificent Seven, driving the undertaker's
> hearse up to Boot Hill.
Well done!
jester
>Sitting on the chair by the bed, polished boots on the little table, was a
>woman, elegantly dressed in black trousers, white blouse, black bustier and
>black leather gloves. Strapped to the belt around her waist was a shortsword
>and a holster with a small crossbow.
Sudden thought, this isn't an antipodean pistol shooting champ, is it?
--
Andy Brown
Windows, another fine product from the folks who gave us edlin.
Gid
decided to share with us..
Sounds like some undertaking at Boot Hill to me.. quite a common place
for undertakers so I'm told..
--
Gid
Current Project: Bragdy'r Ddraenen Wen
(if it ever stops raining for long enough)
CCA
> CCA <sphira9...@aol.com> wrote:
> > Bugger, another one that goes right over my head... �Possibly another
> > two, with the Jolson brothers in there too...
> I don't know who Liann refers to, but Al(l) Jolson was a well-known film
> entertainer.
I thought of him, but wasn't sure how he'd fit in here.
CCA
Sabremeister Brian
Orjan Westin <nos...@cunobaros.com> said:
> jester wrote:
>> On Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:35:12 GMT, Richard Bos
>> <ral...@xs4all.nl> wrote:
>>> "Tale Chronicler" <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> "Sorry," she said with a smile, "but you should have
>>>> remembered. How are you doing? I haven't seen you since
>>>> that undertaking we did at Mount Caliga.
>>>
>>> A caliga is a Roman army boot, but don't ask me what that
>>> refers to.
>>
>> That's the start of the Magnificent Seven, driving the
>> undertaker's hearse up to Boot Hill.
>
> Well done!
It's also a very bad pun on "the foot of the mountain"
--
www.sabremeister.me.uk
www.livejournal.com/users/sabremeister/
Use brian at sabremeister dot me dot uk to reply
"Give the man a biscuit! He knows his literature!"
- Raymond Forge in "Sea Dog" (NaNo 2005)
Daibhid Ceanaideach
> Right, let's see if Daibhid can do any better than me (I suspect he
> will :-)
Not much. The only ones I spotted that haven't been mentioned:
> couldn't chew pine resin and go for a walk at the
> same time."
Refers to the phrase "can't walk and chew gum at the same time".
> "Shame. What about Pinchogal?"
>
> "Got himself a regular job, guarding some noble I think."
Pinchogal appeared in the first Tale as captain of Lord Gleur's guard.
He's the Tale counterpart to Gary Nicolass.
> She'd heard they had spectacular bush fires there, and
> eagles with no feathers, and all sorts of weird and wonderful things.
> Maybe even elephants.
Might the Western Plains be America? It has bush fires (although the word
is Australian; in America they're brush fires), "bald" eagles, but no
elephants.
--
Dave
"I thought Billie Piper was an oil rig."
-Sandi Toksvig, The News Quiz
SteveD
wrote:
>Might the Western Plains be America? It has bush fires (although the word
>is Australian; in America they're brush fires), "bald" eagles, but no
>elephants.
Given that America is west from the UK and the elephants are political,
quite possibly.
-SteveD
Graycat
>
>> She'd heard they had spectacular bush fires there, and
>> eagles with no feathers, and all sorts of weird and wonderful things.
>> Maybe even elephants.
>
> Might the Western Plains be America?
Well done
> It has bush fires (although the word
> is Australian; in America they're brush fires),
See? See!!
> "bald" eagles,
yup
> but no
> elephants.
But travelling and elephants go together, don't they? At least, so I
think some people would tell you... Also, there sort of used to be
--
Elin
I am the sense of freedom after the last bell rings.
Graycat
<daibhidc...@aol.com> said:
> On 01 Mar 2008, CCA <sphir...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Right, let's see if Daibhid can do any better than me (I suspect he
>> will :-)
>
> Not much. The only ones I spotted that haven't been mentioned:
There weren't too hugely many this time i think...
>Back on the road again, their first stop would be Sir Bolte and Lady Kimmi
>of Truefort.
Did anyone get these?
>El Perro blushed. "Er... yes. They said they got a better deal at Candy's
>Door.
Or these?
>Autopet sat down on the bed. "I thought you were looking for the Jolson
>brothers, Liann."
>
>The woman smirked. "I found them."
>
>"All?"
And I think an obvious one might have been overlooked here...
There may be more ;o)
Orjan
> On 2008-03-02 20:36:22 +0100, Daibhid Ceanaideach
>
> >Back on the road again, their first stop would be Sir Bolte and Lady Kimmi
> >of Truefort.
>
> Did anyone get these?
Not that I've seen. Lisa speculated about Locks, which is a clever
idea but the wrong kind of bolt.
> >El Perro blushed. "Er... yes. They said they got a better deal at Candy's
> >Door.
>
> Or these?
"El Perro" has been identified (and I think we can take his appearance
and profession in T1 as read), but not "Candy's Door". To be fair,
that may still be too obscure, although it ties in with one that
Daibhid identified in the previous episode but couldn't see the
relevance of. I think that will come to fruition in the next episode,
or the one after that (I don't have my notes with me).
> >Autopet sat down on the bed. "I thought you were looking for the Jolson
> >brothers, Liann."
>
> >The woman smirked. "I found them."
>
> >"All?"
>
> And I think an obvious one might have been overlooked here...
Well, it's always worth going back to the source, too.
<cut'n'paste from another post, same attributions>
> >> She'd heard they had spectacular bush fires there, and
> >> eagles with no feathers, and all sorts of weird and wonderful things.
> >> Maybe even elephants.
>
> > Might the Western Plains be America?
>
> Well done
>
> > It has bush fires (although the word
> > is Australian; in America they're brush fires),
>
> See? See!!
Yes, okay. But I still say that would have obscured the references to
what's already been established in T1.
(Yes, we occasionally give continuity some consideration, people.
Shocking, but true)
Orjan
CCA
> On Mar 3, 9:57�am, Graycat <rosen.e...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >Back on the road again, their first stop would be Sir Bolte and Lady Kimmi
> > >of Truefort.
> > Did anyone get these?
> Not that I've seen. �Lisa speculated about Locks, which is a clever
> idea but the wrong kind of bolt.
Something to do with thunder?
> > >El Perro blushed. �"Er... yes. �They said they got a better deal at Candy's
> > >Door.
> > Or these?
> "El Perro" has been identified (and I think we can take his appearance
> and profession in T1 as read), but not "Candy's Door". �To be fair,
> that may still be too obscure, although it ties in with one that
> Daibhid identified in the previous episode but couldn't see the
> relevance of. �I think that will come to fruition in the next episode,
> or the one after that (I don't have my notes with me).
I think it's possible that Candy's Door equals 'Candy Store', but
where that comes from I don't know...
CCA
Marco Villalta
> Winterbay wrote:
>
>>> "Oh, leave that alone," Autopet sighed. "I don't care if you can
>>> use that thing to write your initials. That's got nothing to do
>>> with fighting. Hold your hands up."
>>
>> This is something of a reference to Zorro I think, with El Perro being
>> "the dog" in Spanish and the mentioning of writing your initials with
>> your sword...
>
> Yep. Because "Zorro" means...
... "fox".
Or "flashy show-off bastard". ;-)
--
Marco
Marco Villalta
> Daibhid Ceanaideach <daibhidchened...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Might the Western Plains be America? It has bush fires (although the word
>> is Australian; in America they're brush fires), "bald" eagles, but no
>> elephants.
>
> Given that America is west from the UK and the elephants are political,
> quite possibly.
There aren't any mastodontic pachyderms anymore (possibly some
mastodermic pachydonts), but there used to be.
But the Western Plains are America, yes. This was also first
mentioned in IiA.
--
Marco
Marco Villalta
> Orjan <orjan.wes...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
>> Graycat <rosen.e...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>> Sir Bolte and Lady Kimmi of Truefort.
>>>
>>> Did anyone get these?
>>
>> Not that I've seen. Lisa speculated about Locks, which is a clever
>> idea but the wrong kind of bolt.
>
> Something to do with thunder?
No, something you might find in your toolbox.
--
Marco
CCA
Beads, beading needles, headpins, jump rings... Oh, you don't
actually mean *my* toolbox? *g*
I think this *might* be to do with the fact that Kimmi's surname is
Stock. Bolte - Lock - Lock, Stock and Barrel... Okay, that's only a
very loose connection but I thought I'd mention it just in case
CCA
Winterbay
I was wondering if that was a reference to WA or not...
/Winterbay
Richard Bos
> On Sun, 02 Mar 2008 09:35:12 GMT, Richard Bos
> >"Tale Chronicler" <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
> >
> >> "Sorry," she said with a smile, "but you should have remembered. How are
> >> you doing? I haven't seen you since that undertaking we did at Mount
> >> Caliga.
> >
> >A caliga is a Roman army boot, but don't ask me what that refers to.
>
> That's the start of the Magnificent Seven, driving the undertaker's hearse
> up to Boot Hill.
Oh, I see. I've seen Sichinin(sp?) No Samurai, quite some time ago, but
I've never actively watched the Merkin remake.
Richard
Richard Bos
> On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:53:17 -0000, Tale Chronicler
> >Sitting on the chair by the bed, polished boots on the little table, was a
> >woman, elegantly dressed in black trousers, white blouse, black bustier and
> >black leather gloves. Strapped to the belt around her waist was a shortsword
> >and a holster with a small crossbow.
>
> Sudden thought, this isn't an antipodean pistol shooting champ, is it?
Sounds somewhat like Lara Croft to me. Is she antipodean? But I'm not
sure how Lara fits with Liann.
Richard
CCA
Now Jester's pointed it out, I agree it might be Melinda. She hasn't
posted here for a while, like Jenny-With-The-Axe.
CCA
Nisaba Merrieweather
>
>>Might the Western Plains be America? It has bush fires (although the word
>>is Australian; in America they're brush fires),
Australia has Western Plains. That's where the infamous Western Plains Zoo
is. Duh...
And I've heard Merkins refer to "forest fires", but this is the first time
I've ever heard anyone of any jography referring to brush fires. What
happens - all the toilet brushes, paint brushes, dish brushes and hair
brushes in the household congregage, then spontaneously combust?
Now, that's be one for the hideous youtube.
>>"bald" eagles, but no
>>elephants.
I saw two bald eagles not far from where I live a couple of months ago.
Driving to the local rubbish tip, the movement of my car flushed them out of
a low tree. They looked sick as, with occasional flight-feathers missing on
their wings, and chunks of bare skin randomly on their bodies. They had no
gloss, either. I'm not quite sure, but I think, given better health, they
may have been native wedge-tailed eagles. I felt compellingly sorry for
them. They'd probably been drinking form the town's water-supply.
--
Nisaba Merrieweather
... She's the pathologist, I don't argue with her in fear of pathogenic
revenge. (Mark Lightfoot)
ICQ: 361 565 370
http://nisaba.etsy.com
http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/nisaba000
Orjan Westin
"Sabremeister Brian" <bpwak...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:62tjgvF...@mid.individual.net...
>
>>> On Feb 29, 11:53�pm, "Tale Chronicler"
>>>> you can use that thing to write your initials. �That's got
>>>> nothing to do with fighting. �Hold your hands up."
>
> (Gene Wilder) demonstrates how fast he is by doing something similar with
> a chess piece?
No, I don't think so, given that it's taken directly from "The Magnificent
Seven".
(Incidentally, Lucky Luke does the same thing with a candy when he meets
Billy the Kid, so I think it's a Western cliche by now)
Orjan Westin
news:47c9b374...@news.xs4all.nl...
That scene in "The Magnificent Seven" is very closely mirrored here, and the
character names in that film might give a clue.
Orjan Westin
"jester" <use...@jester.nu> wrote in message
news:slrnfsl0pq...@angel.jester.nu...
> On Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:53:17 -0000, Tale Chronicler
> <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
> <snip>
>>Sitting on the chair by the bed, polished boots on the little table, was a
>>woman, elegantly dressed in black trousers, white blouse, black bustier
>>and
>>black leather gloves. Strapped to the belt around her waist was a
>>shortsword
>>and a holster with a small crossbow.
>
> Sudden thought, this isn't an antipodean pistol shooting champ, is it?
No. It's almost a rocker.
Orjan Westin
news:fqhg1a$2nou$1...@mud.stack.nl...
> Graycat skrev:
>>
>> But travelling and elephants go together, don't they? At least, so I
>> think some people would tell you... Also, there sort of used to be
>>
>
> I was wondering if that was a reference to WA or not...
Well done!
Orjan Westin
news:e2cea9d4-8923-4c92...@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
Good idea, but no. I think we might have misled you here - Kimmi isn't
Kimmi Stock. You'll need to look at the rest of the name, and apply a bit
of creative linguistics.
Orjan Westin
It's actually quite good - especially the score - although nothing as tense
as the original.
Daibhid Ceanaideach
Ah! In T1 the plains dwellers worshipped a burning bush.
Daibhid Ceanaideach
> On Mar 3, 9:57 am, Graycat <rosen.e...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 2008-03-02 20:36:22 +0100, Daibhid Ceanaideach
>> <daibhidchened...@aol.com> said:
>>
>> >Back on the road again, their first stop would be Sir Bolte and Lady
>> >Kimmi
>> >of Truefort.
>>
>> Did anyone get these?
>
> Not that I've seen. Lisa speculated about Locks, which is a clever
> idea but the wrong kind of bolt.
I don't recall anyone on afp with "Screw" as part of their name, either...
>> >El Perro blushed. "Er... yes. They said they got a better deal at
>> >Candy's Door.
>>
>> Or these?
>
> "El Perro" has been identified (and I think we can take his appearance
> and profession in T1 as read), but not "Candy's Door". To be fair,
> that may still be too obscure, although it ties in with one that
> Daibhid identified in the previous episode but couldn't see the
> relevance of. I think that will come to fruition in the next episode,
> or the one after that (I don't have my notes with me).
The "Leader of the Pack" ref? "I met him at the candy store"?
>> >Autopet sat down on the bed. "I thought you were looking for the
>> >Jolson
>> >brothers, Liann."
>>
>> >The woman smirked. "I found them."
>>
>> >"All?"
>>
>> And I think an obvious one might have been overlooked here...
>
> Well, it's always worth going back to the source, too.
Someone mentioned Al Jolson, but *All* Jolson appears in T5E. I've also
found a Mag7 quotes page (which I've bookmarked) and in the original it was
the Johnson brothers.
CCA
wrote:
> On 03 Mar 2008, Orjan <orjan.wes...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
> > Not that I've seen. �Lisa speculated about Locks, which is a clever
> > idea but the wrong kind of bolt.
> I don't recall anyone on afp with "Screw" as part of their name, either...
Skrewtape from #afp?
Okay, I don't actually think this is a reference to him, but you never
know...
CCA
Orjan Westin
"Daibhid Ceanaideach" <daibhidc...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9A58A82F39C9Dda...@130.133.1.4...
> On 03 Mar 2008, Orjan <orjan....@cunobaros.com> wrote:
>
>> On Mar 3, 9:57 am, Graycat <rosen.e...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 2008-03-02 20:36:22 +0100, Daibhid Ceanaideach
>>> <daibhidchened...@aol.com> said:
>>>
>>> >Back on the road again, their first stop would be Sir Bolte and Lady
>>> >Kimmi
>>> >of Truefort.
>>>
>>> Did anyone get these?
>>
>> Not that I've seen. Lisa speculated about Locks, which is a clever
>> idea but the wrong kind of bolt.
>
> I don't recall anyone on afp with "Screw" as part of their name, either...
Well, what do you put on a bolt? (Hint: it's not a legume) (But it's still
not that obvious, unless you're au fait with nicknames and personal
circumstances of some (not seen for some time) afpers)
>>> >El Perro blushed. "Er... yes. They said they got a better deal at
>>> >Candy's Door.
>>>
>>> Or these?
>>
>> "El Perro" has been identified (and I think we can take his appearance
>> and profession in T1 as read), but not "Candy's Door". To be fair,
>> that may still be too obscure, although it ties in with one that
>> Daibhid identified in the previous episode but couldn't see the
>> relevance of. I think that will come to fruition in the next episode,
>> or the one after that (I don't have my notes with me).
>
> The "Leader of the Pack" ref? "I met him at the candy store"?
There you go!
We're trying to get the hang of this foreshadowing thing. Maybe we
shouldn't encourage you to try to find them before the payload, but there's
a certain childlike "Can you guess? Huh? Can you? Can you guess?"
feeling, and, well, it's all right for Terry to put those things that'll
only be discovered on a second reading, when you can see what they're
referring to, in (I think that's a split infinitive or something...), but we
can't count on people reading it a second time - we're just happy you people
read it the first.
>>> >Autopet sat down on the bed. "I thought you were looking for the
>>> >Jolson
>>> >brothers, Liann."
>>>
>>> >The woman smirked. "I found them."
>>>
>>> >"All?"
>>>
>>> And I think an obvious one might have been overlooked here...
>>
>> Well, it's always worth going back to the source, too.
>
> Someone mentioned Al Jolson, but *All* Jolson appears in T5E. I've also
> found a Mag7 quotes page (which I've bookmarked) and in the original it
> was
> the Johnson brothers.
Ayup.
CCA
> "Daibhid Ceanaideach" <daibhidchened...@aol.com> wrote in message
> > On 03 Mar 2008, Orjan <orjan.wes...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
> >> Not that I've seen. �Lisa speculated about Locks, which is a clever
> >> idea but the wrong kind of bolt.
> > I don't recall anyone on afp with "Screw" as part of their name, either...
> Well, what do you put on a bolt?
Padlock?
CCA
Tiny Bulcher
> On Mar 6, 11:24?pm, "Orjan Westin" <nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
>> "Daibhid Ceanaideach" <daibhidchened...@aol.com> wrote in message
>>> On 03 Mar 2008, Orjan <orjan.wes...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
>
>>>> idea but the wrong kind of bolt.
>
>>> I don't recall anyone on afp with "Screw" as part of their name,
>>> either...
>
>> Well, what do you put on a bolt?
>
> Padlock?
Nuts!
Dom
That pretty much covers all afpers... could you narrow it down a little?
--
Dom
Marco Villalta
> Thus cwaeth CCA :
>> Orjan Westin <nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Well, what do you put on a bolt?
>>
>> Padlock?
>
> Nuts!
Indeed. Specifically...
--
Marco Villalta
(No, not me. There is no juxtaposition. Move along.)
Daibhid Ceanaideach
> Tiny Bulcher <alycid...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>> Thus cwaeth CCA :
>>> Orjan Westin <nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Well, what do you put on a bolt?
>>>
>>> Padlock?
>>
>> Nuts!
>
> Indeed. Specifically...
A wingnut!
I played a hunch on "fort" and thought of afpers with names ending in
"burg". I quickly came up with Kimberley Verburg (Kimberly as in "Kimmi",
and "ver-" as in "veracity" - truth) and it was then a quick hop to her
LJ to confirm her partner is called Wingnut.
CCA
wrote:
> On 07 Mar 2008, Marco Villalta <marcos.bitbuc...@spray.se> wrote:
> > Tiny Bulcher <alycid...@btinternet.com> wrote:
> >> Thus cwaeth CCA :
> >>> Orjan Westin <nos...@cunobaros.com> wrote:
> >>>> Well, what do you put on a bolt?
> >>> Padlock?
> >> Nuts!
> > Indeed. �Specifically...
> A wingnut!
> I played a hunch on "fort" and thought of afpers with names ending in
> "burg". I quickly came up with Kimberley Verburg (Kimberly as in "Kimmi",
> and "ver-" as in "veracity" - truth) and it was then a quick hop to her
> LJ to confirm her partner is called Wingnut.
Well done Daibhid :-) I was completely stumped on that one!
CCA
Tale Chronicler
A Tale of Westala and Villtin
by Elin Rosén, Marco Villalta, and Orjan Westin
-----------------------+-----------------------
Episode Fifteen
In which cripples are laid to rest
And tempers are flying high
Competitors are full of zest
And lightning-fast blades fly
-----------------------+-----------------------
The Crips, at least those who were well enough to join the fun, were
exuberant. Why hadn't they thought about this before? Instead of
hanging around in dark alleys in the rain, mugging the rare passers-by
for a few coppers, they could have worked indoors, in the warmth.
The large house of Lord Krissakes was lavishly decorated, and they had
gathered every piece of gold, silver or otherwise shiny material in a
pile on the floor.
Someone had asked if stuff like carpets and paintings could be
valuable, but it was agreed that if they were, they wouldn't be left
out in the open. The valuable stuff was locked away in cabinets,
obviously, even if they were easily opened with an old battle axe.
Finding the wine cellars had proved a distraction, and much fun was
had posing the bodies of the dead guards and servants in amusing
situations - after this, people would know that the Crips were the
meanest bastards in town! - but they finally managed to pack all the
loot into makeshift bags and stagger away from the house, moving as
silently as they could on the deserted streets towards their hideout
in the Pit.
Once they had left Nob Hill behind they began to relax, safe in the
knowledge that no neighbour of the robbed house had sent their guards
after them.
"Tokig will be pleased," one of them said, "this is a fortune!"
"Shame the nobs weren't there," a bloodstained man, groaning under his
load, observed. "There's gotta be a pretty daughter there, with all
those fancy dresses."
"At least we had the maids," another replied.
"Yeah, I bet it was the first time for that young'un." The heavily
laden man laughed. "An' her last!"
"And /your/ last," a commanding voice said in the darkness in front of
them.
The Crips stopped and looked around, drunk and uncertain. A tall man
approached them, wearing a long leather coat and wide-brimmed hat, a
kerchief covering his face.
"The Upright Man is not pleased."
The man who'd bemoaned the lack of nobs dropped his load and went for
his knife, but he wasn't fast enough. The stranger suddenly held a
sword, disabling the Crip's arm with a swift cut.
"We've seen you," he said in a cold voice dripping with contempt, "and
not a single one of you is fit to live. I'll spare you, though."
From all around them, large men emerged from the shadows. What
followed was carnage, and at the end, only the man first cut remained.
"Wh-what, who..."
"As I said, the Upright Man is not pleased. I'll let you live, to
spread the word that he owns the burglaries it this city. But first,
to make sure you remember what you did when the nobs weren't there,
we'll make sure /your/ knob isn't there..."
After it was done, Malindrew prodded the man with his boot. "He's
passed out. Goffild!"
"Here." Goffild looked sick. "Was that really necessary?"
"I'm afraid it was, my friend. Light a torch and cauterise what
remains." Malindrew studied Goffild's pale face. "Are you all
right?"
"Yeah, I guess. That wasn't a pleasant sight, though, and it wasn't
fun watching what they did to the poor maids."
"I know, and I didn't like it any more than you. But the Upright Man
gives the orders, and he says it was a necessary sacrifice. Word will
go out, both about what these monsters did, and about what happened to
them afterwards. That way, we'll prevent it from happening again.
You understand?"
Goffild nodded. "Yeah, I guess. These guys were as bad as a beehive
in the porridge."
"Good man. Take care of him, will you, and then drop him off at,
uh... Arepo Square. There's a market tomorrow, and that'll make sure
there are people who'll hear his story."
Malindrew turned to the rest of the former Turnips. "Well done, lads!
The city's a better place now these creeps are dead!" They cheered
mutedly.
"We're not done yet, though. Ellithon, take a few guys and store
these bodies and loot for the time being, then come and join us at the
Crips' place. I doubt we'll need help taking Tokig and the rest, and
a few of those might be worth keeping, but better safe than sorry."
* * *
Autopet and Ven were just finishing their breakfast, when the approach
of a man made both of them reach for their weapons, since he moved
like a killer. Then Autopet smiled.
"Hagel Tack! Good to see you again. What are you doing here?"
Hagel sat down opposite them. "I, uh, heard you got a contract open."
"Oh, not for a high-stepper like you. It's just eating money, Hagel.
Twenty dollars, room and board. Six weeks looking after some people
in a village."
"Ah, you old iceman!" Hagel smiled. "You don't talk so good, but you
always know what's going on."
"Now, Hagel..."
Ven stood up. "I've got some errands to run. See you later."
Hagel looked after her as she left, then turned back and leaned
forward over the table. "All right. All that's on top. What's
underneath?"
Autopet shrugged. "Only what I told you."
"Really? Why the women? There are only three women mercenaries worth
mentioning, and you worked with one on your last job, and now you've
employed the other two. There's more to this than meets the eye."
"Only what I told you." Autopet shrugged again.
"Oh, sure, sure. Just tell me when you can."
"Hagel, please don't understand me so fast."
"Look, never mind." Hagel winked. "I'm in!"
* * *
Lord Sopracasa closed the ledgers covering most of the fine desk in
front of him and sat back in his comfortable chair with a content
smile. He was firmly back in black.
And speaking of being back... He pulled the cord behind his desk to
call his manservant. After a couple of minutes, the door opened.
"Ah, there you are. Let me ask you--" Lord Sopracasa paused. "Is
that his cane you're carrying?"
"Mm-hmm" Malindrew nodded and proudly held the cane up.
"By the way, where did you find him?"
"We found him at Candy's Door," Malindrew said. "He turned around and
smiled, then stopped what he was doing, if you get the picture."
"Yes, I see. So that's when you fell on him?"
"My men put him down, but we were a bit concerned as we were on the
wrong side of town."
"Ah, yes, that's on Roper's Street, isn't it?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Did you have any problems there?"
"Some. The guards weren't happy, so the lads had to take care of
them."
"Hmm... Well, in that case I think we'll have to offer them our
services. We'll provide them with guards, and ensure the safety of
the girls, for a small percentage of the takings. Oh, and we'll have
a staff discount."
"From what I could see, my lord, all their customers had a staff."
Lord Sopracasa sighed. "No, I meant that our people should get a
cheaper rate. Anyone in the employ of the Upright Man deserves a
perk."
Malindrew blushed. "Oh, they were perky, my lord, I could see that."
"I can imagine. Arrange matters with the madam, will you? I don't
think she's in a position to refuse our help."
"I've already done that, my lord. I remembered you said you wanted to
get into the ladies of negotiable affection."
Lord Sopracasa gave his manservant a long, cold look. "Not /quite/
how I'd have put it, but well done, nevertheless. So the madam is now
working for us?"
"Yes, my lord, although she was a bit upset at first, and quite stiff
with me."
"Really? In that case, Malindrew, we might need a bit of quality
control there - it's not the madams who should be stiff."
Lord Sopracasa stood up and went to pour himself a drink. "Anyway,
this is good news indeed. Let the men know that even the simplest
trinket thief we have will get this discount as an extra reward." He
smiled. "Tit for tat, you know."
* * *
Messy, Fiftyseven and Newra had joined Capulette in her small,
sparsely furnished room. They had been trying all morning to come up
with a workable plan, but had so far been unable to agree on anything,
and now they were all sitting in morose silence.
"OK, here's what we do--" Fiftyseven finally said, standing up and
facing the others.
"Oh do tell us, wise one," Capulette snapped.
"Excuse me?" Fiftyseven looked at her, annoyed at the interruption.
"Well that's mighty prescient of you, knowing what we'll do before we
do it," Capulette said sarcastically.
"You know very well what I mean."
"Do I?"
Messy looked apprehensively at the two women, now standing only inches
apart, staring each other down. "Hey, guys..." she cautioned.
"No, I want to hear this," Fiftyseven cut her off.
"Don't you think it's a bit funny how it's always you who says what we
should do?" Capulette asked Fiftyseven sharply.
"Not really, I'm the one with the military experience after all,"
Fiftyseven replied, condescension dripping like honey from her voice.
"On boats!" Capulette exploded. "Do you see a boat anywhere? Do
you?"
"Strategy is strategy!" Fiftyseven shouted back.
"Yeah? Why don't you go strategize by the pond, maybe there's a
dinghy for you to order around!"'
"So we should just let you decide, then? What's your qualifications,
bossing around your husband?!"
Capulette stepped back, looking like Fiftyseven had struck her across
the face.
"Now, wait, that's not fair..." Newra hurriedly stepped between them
and tried to intervene, only to be spun on by Capulette who almost
spat out, "And you! Sitting there all 'I'm the Moonlight Raider, I'm
famous'!"
"What?" Newra was stunned.
"Yeah, she's right, always got your nose in the air!" Fiftyseven
agreed.
"What?!" Newra, truly incredulous now, asked again.
"Guys..." Messy tried, but no one was listening to her. The other
three women were all shouting by now, and not in the least inclined to
stop.
"Screw you then!" Capulette finished and stomped off.
"Fine!" Fiftyseven and Newra shot back simultaneously and tried to
stomp off too. This caused some trouble as there were three very
pissed-off women and only one door, but huffs finally sorted out they
all stormed off in different directions down the many hallways of the
complex.
Messy sat unhappily by herself for a moment, then stood up and
addressed the empty room. "If anybody wants me, I'll be in the
library." She sighed and left.
* * *
Roi Nimco was enjoying a meal - mutton stew with vegetables - at the
Plump Lamb Inn, reviewing a new play script he had been asked to
direct, when the peace was disturbed. The door slammed open, and a
group of youths barged in, chattering excitedly. Roi sighed and
closed the manuscript.
"Hey, why so gloomy?" A young man flopped down on the bench across
the table, suds flying off the head of his beer tankard. "I'm
celebrating!"
Roi dipped a bread roll into his stew. "So, you're a reveller? What
are you revelling for?"
"Whaddya got?" The youth grinned. "Actually, today, we're
celebrating that the Crips ain't even crippled any more."
Roi paused, bread roll halfway between bowl and mouth. He looked up
and noticed the crimson scarf tied around the upper arm of the young
man. "You Bloods? You won a big fight, then?"
"Yeah, we're Bloods," the young man said proudly, and took a swig of
beer. "But, you know, that's the weird thing..."
"What?"
"We ain't fighted 'em."
"Oh." Roi shrugged. "The Doves, then?"
"Nah, they had a big showdown few days ago."
"I know," Roi said, "I almost got caught up in it."
"No shit?"
"No shit. But if it wasn't you, or them, then who?"
"Dunno. They were badly hurt by the Doves, but not taken out. Word
is a bunch of them were found somewhere on Nob Hill, all dead, like.
An' Tokig's at the gibbet."
Roi dropped his bread roll into the stew. "What?"
"Yeah. Every bone in his body broken, I heard, and hung up like a
sack of potatoes at the old gallows. Someone said there was a note on
'im, saying who dun it, but me an' the lads didn't stop to listen.
He's dead, an' that's reason to celebrate."
"Oh, definitely," Roi agreed in his most cheerful manner. He finished
his meal, toasted with the young Blood and emptied his mug, then
collected his things and calmly left. As soon as he was out of the
door, though, he hurried away, a concerned frown on his face. He had
to find out who was behind this.
* * *
Fiftyseven had stalked angrily through the complex until finally she
ended up at what appeared to be some sort of throne room. It was an
enormous hall, rectangular with a floor that rose in tiers towards the
far end. Every surface was faced with some black stone, with carvings
running in bands along the walls and on the pillars that lined the
room. Green, faintly translucent curtains hung from the ceiling,
obscuring large parts of the room from view.
Drawn by her curiosity, Fiftyseven walked slowly forward towards the
top tier of the floor. The curtains billowed around her as though
disturbed by a gentle breeze, even though she could see no windows.
When Fiftyseven reached the far end of the hall she saw a large black
silk cushion had been placed on the floor. In front of it, a sword
rested in an exquisite red wooden sheath.
Unable to resist, Fiftyseven took the sheath in her left hand and drew
the sword with a soft /sching/. The blade was slender and slightly
curved, and etched with the word "Destiny". She tested its balance
and found it to be excellent. Then, just as she was about to replace
the sword, a slight sound made her turn around. Fiftyseven could have
sworn she'd heard a footstep, but she couldn't see anyone. It did
seem like one of the far curtains rippled, as from someone moving past
it, though.
"Hello?" Fiftyseven ventured. When no-one answered, she carefully
walked towards the suspiciously moving curtain. When she was halfway
there, she heard something behind her and whirled around. Again, all
she could see was the flutter of a curtain recently disturbed. She
sensed more than heard someone next to her, and dove to the right just
as a sword slashed through the air where she had stood. If she hadn't
moved, it would likely have removed her head instead of just nicking
her arm. Fiftyseven rolled to her feet and came up facing a young
woman dressed in the uniform of Valanis' guards. The young woman
nodded slightly in acknowledgement of Fiftyseven's skill, and the two
stood weighing each other with their eyes. Neither one moved, no
feints, no showing off, just carefully waiting and visualising the
fight to come. Every move played out invisibly in the air between
them. Until, in a flash, Fiftyseven drove her sword straight through
her opponent's unguarded belly.
"Wotan Mountain, eh?" she asked. The black-clad woman nodded, blood
trickling out between her lips.
"Unh..." The unspoken question was plain in her eyes.
"Yeah, I went there once. Nice place." Fiftyseven withdrew her sword
and her would-be killer quietly toppled backwards. Then she carefully
wiped the red sword clean and put it back in its place, before running
to find the others.
* * *
Meanwhile, Capulette's ramblings had brought her to the orchard, where
she was now standing under the magnificent trees. The early fall
weather had turned the foliage a uniform warm yellow. Golden leaves
danced in a gentle wind, covered the ground and swirled in the air.
The sheer beauty of the day forced Capulette to reluctantly let go of
her bad temper.
A faint rustle made her turn around just as a slender black-clad woman
stepped gracefully from behind one of the trees. Capulette squinted
against the sun and then stared in surprise.
"Wilkinson?"
"An unworthy name for an unworthy position. I am the Golden Fox,
warrior of Wotan Mountain," Wilkinson replied matter-of-factly.
"Wha--"
"Quiet!" the stern woman interrupted sharply. She still hadn't moved
- head held high, feet slightly apart, sword drawn and pointed toward
the ground beside her. "I was an orphan when I came to Wotan
Mountain. The Master Sake took me in and trained me in the arts
described in the sacred scrolls. One day a woman came to the Master,
asking to be taken on as a student. She wanted to learn the arts to
wreak her revenge on the world of men. She was denied. The art of
Wotan Mountain is not to be used to cause imbalance; in bitterness, in
hate.
"But the woman was deceitful. She stole the sacred scrolls of Wotan
and stuck out my Master's left eye when he tried to stop her. I and
my sisters swore never to rest until we had avenged our Master and the
scrolls were safely brought back to their rightful place.
"For half a century we have searched the lands. For half a century we
have hid, sneaked and demeaned ourselves. We have dishonoured
ourselves in service to that filth Valanis. And then you! You kill
her and burn her house! For half a century I have searched and you
destroy my only link in one day!
"For this you will pay!"
Suddenly Wilkinson sprung into action, blade dancing in the air.
Every slash sent a storm of golden leaves towards Capulette, blinding
her and making her stumble back. Suddenly she backed into something.
A sword, twin of the one in her attacker's hand, stood point down in
the ground. Capulette grabbed the hilt and brought the blade up just
in time to block a fierce blow. She desperately parried a flurry of
strikes before managing one of her own. Wilkinson avoided it easily
by, incredibly, floating, rather than jumping, out of reach.
They faced each other warily, Capulette with the unfamiliar blade held
as one would a sabre. Wilkinson stood crouched, feet wide apart,
sword gripped in both hands high over her head, blade pointing
straight at Capulette. Suddenly she sprung, again flying rather than
jumping, and again Capulette only barely managed to block and parry,
all the time being forced back.
Then, unexpectedly, Capulette felt Wilkinson's palm hit her in the
chest, the force of the blow literally sending her flying backwards
and, with a bone-shattering crash, through the wall of the wooden
privy that stood in one corner of the orchard. Capulette lay gasping
against the far wall, not hearing anything past her own blood pounding
in her ears. Through tears of shock, she saw Wilkinson calmly appear
above her and raise her sword for the kill.
-----------------------------------------------
Your humble,
Tale Chronicler
--
The Tales of Westala and Villtin, both the first one and the ongoing
second one, can be read on the web, at:
http://tale.cunobaros.com/
Sabremeister Brian
ea67202c-dd7d-4ebf...@d4g2000prg.googlegroups.com,
Tale Chronicler <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> said:
> * * * * Return of the Striking Knights * * * *
> A Tale of Westala and Villtin
> by Elin Rosén, Marco Villalta, and Orjan Westin
> -----------------------+-----------------------
> Episode Fifteen
> In which cripples are laid to rest
> And tempers are flying high
> Competitors are full of zest
> And lightning-fast blades fly
> -----------------------+-----------------------
> "Good man. Take care of him, will you, and then drop him off
> at, uh... Arepo Square.
Sator square in Ankh-Morpork uses the first line of the
palindrome: Sator arepo tent opera rotas.
> "Wotan Mountain, eh?" she asked.
I feel sure this should mean something. Wotan is a form of
Odin/Woden, chief of the Norse pantheon, who lends his name to
Wednesday. Mountain ... Hmm, could it be something to do with Cori
Celesti and/or Dunmanifestin?
--
www.sabremeister.me.uk
www.livejournal.com/users/sabremeister/
Use brian at sabremeister dot me dot uk to reply
Literary threat #19:
They say the pen is mightier than the sword -
and I'm pretty handy with both, you know...
raymond larsson
says...
> > "Wotan Mountain, eh?" she asked.
>
> I feel sure this should mean something. Wotan is a form of
> Odin/Woden, chief of the Norse pantheon, who lends his name to
> Wednesday. Mountain ... Hmm, could it be something to do with Cori
> Celesti and/or Dunmanifestin?
It is also similar to Wu Tang, a mountain featured in Wuxia like stories.
hmm Vrando, revel without a cause, motorvikes, ....
ah, no. doesn't bear thinking about.
jester
<chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
<hack>
>
>Autopet and Ven were just finishing their breakfast, when the approach
>of a man made both of them reach for their weapons, since he moved
>like a killer. Then Autopet smiled.
Ah, back to the cowboy movie.
> * * *
>Lord Sopracasa closed the ledgers covering most of the fine desk in
>front of him and sat back in his comfortable chair with a content
>smile. He was firmly back in black.
>
>And speaking of being back... He pulled the cord behind his desk to
>call his manservant. After a couple of minutes, the door opened.
>
>"Ah, there you are. Let me ask you--" Lord Sopracasa paused. "Is
>that his cane you're carrying?"
Would the actual author of this bit like to stand up?
>smiled. "Tit for tat, you know."
Because I'd really hate to *hurt* the wrong person.
> * * *
>Roi dipped a bread roll into his stew. "So, you're a reveller? What
>are you revelling for?"
>
>"Whaddya got?" The youth grinned. "Actually, today, we're
Ditto.
> * * *
<snip>
>
>"But the woman was deceitful. She stole the sacred scrolls of Wotan
>and stuck out my Master's left eye when he tried to stop her. I and
There's your Odin connection, I guess.
>strikes before managing one of her own. Wilkinson avoided it easily
>by, incredibly, floating, rather than jumping, out of reach.
Gah, I hate wire-fu.
--
Andy Brown
I stayed up all night playing poker with tarot cards. I got a full
house and four people died. -- Steven Wright
CCA
wrote:
> Finding the wine cellars had proved a distraction, and much fun was
> had posing the bodies of the dead guards and servants in amusing
> situations
A theme often used in action movies - notably Die Hard, ISTR
> "Tokig will be pleased," one of them said, "this is a fortune!"
Hmmm...has Tokig appeared before? I'm pretty sure he/she is a
reference...
> "Hagel Tack!
Nigel Stapley. Tack - staple
> "We found him at Candy's Door," Malindrew said. �"He turned around and
> smiled, then stopped what he was doing, if you get the picture."
>
> "Yes, I see. �So that's when you fell on him?"
The words of 'Leader of the Pack' by the Shangri-Las.
> "My men put him down, but we were a bit concerned as we were on the
> wrong side of town."
Another reference to the words of the same song.
> "Not really, I'm the one with the military experience after all,"
> Fiftyseven replied, condescension dripping like honey from her voice.
>
> "On boats!" Capulette exploded.
It's been pointed out before, but Esmeraldus used to be in the Navy
> Roi Nimco was enjoying a meal - mutton stew with vegetables - at the
> Plump Lamb Inn,
Is the Plump Lamb a reference to the Slaughtered Lamb in the film
American Werewolf In London?
Don't know about Roi Nimco, other than that Roi might mean King. Or
might be a reference to Rgemini.
> Roi dipped a bread roll into his stew. �"So, you're a reveller? �What
> are you revelling for?"
>
> "Whaddya got?"
Reference to 'Rebel Without A Cause'
> Neither one moved, no
> feints, no showing off, just carefully waiting and visualising the
> fight to come. �Every move played out invisibly in the air between
> them. �Until, in a flash, Fiftyseven drove her sword straight through
> her opponent's unguarded belly.
Reference to The Matrix?
CCA
Daibhid Ceanaideach
> * * * * Return of the Striking Knights * * * *
> Episode Fifteen
> Someone had asked if stuff like carpets and paintings could be
> valuable, but it was agreed that if they were, they wouldn't be left
> out in the open. The valuable stuff was locked away in cabinets,
> obviously, even if they were easily opened with an old battle axe.
This is probably just my pattern-seeking working overtime, but might the
word "axe" after an assumption carpets can't be valuable be a reference to
Axminster?
> Autopet and Ven were just finishing their breakfast, when the approach
> of a man made both of them reach for their weapons, since he moved
> like a killer. Then Autopet smiled.
>
> "Hagel Tack! Good to see you again. What are you doing here?"
The Magnificent Seven equivilent of the character is Harry Luck. The afp
equivilent I'm still working on...
> "We found him at Candy's Door," Malindrew said. "He turned around and
> smiled, then stopped what he was doing, if you get the picture."
>
> "Yes, I see. So that's when you fell on him?"
>
> "My men put him down, but we were a bit concerned as we were on the
> wrong side of town."
And *there's* where those Leader of the Pack allusions were going.
(I'm surprised you stopped there: "Had to be done; those men were too bad
even for us." "They're pretty sad now, my lord.")
> Roi dipped a bread roll into his stew. "So, you're a reveller? What
> are you revelling for?"
>
> "Whaddya got?"
Marlon Brando, "The Wild One" "What are you rebelling against?"
> The blade was slender and slightly curved, and etched with the word
> "Destiny".
Googling for "Sword", "Destiny" produced a *lot* of results. Many of them
referred to an episode of "Arrested Development", but I don't think that's
it...
> The young woman
> nodded slightly in acknowledgement of Fiftyseven's skill, and the two
> stood weighing each other with their eyes. Neither one moved, no
> feints, no showing off, just carefully waiting and visualising the
> fight to come. Every move played out invisibly in the air between
> them. Until, in a flash, Fiftyseven drove her sword straight through
> her opponent's unguarded belly.
I've seen something like this (minus the last bit) in a few places. The one
I remember is a Justice League/Avengers crossover, in which, while the rest
of the teams are engaged in a pointless fight, Batman and Captain America
stare at each other for a while, after which Cap says "You could beat me,
but not easily. Shall we try to find out what's going on instead?" But I'm
sure that's not the reference.
The last bit reminds me of Indy facing a martial artist, or Mad Hamish and
his big peice of teak.
> "Wotan Mountain, eh?"
I think Raymond and jester have this one. Wu Tang Mountain, crossed with
Wotan as a reference to the Master losing an eye.
> She desperately parried a flurry of
> strikes before managing one of her own. Wilkinson avoided it easily
> by, incredibly, floating, rather than jumping, out of reach.
Wire fu or (as I believe the cognoscenti call them) Wuxia movies. The back-
story is the sort of thing you get in those films as well.
Daibhid Ceanaideach
> On Mar 28, 11:59�pm, Tale Chronicler <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>> Finding the wine cellars had proved a distraction, and much fun was
>> had posing the bodies of the dead guards and servants in amusing
>> situations
>
> A theme often used in action movies - notably Die Hard, ISTR
>
>> "Tokig will be pleased," one of them said, "this is a fortune!"
>
> Hmmm...has Tokig appeared before? I'm pretty sure he/she is a
> reference...
Yep, and he's a reference to the *real* leader of the Crips, Stanley
Tookie Williams, as well as being a Swedish word for crazy.
>> "Hagel Tack!
>
> Nigel Stapley. Tack - staple
Thank you, I wasn't getting that at all.
> Don't know about Roi Nimco, other than that Roi might mean King. Or
> might be a reference to Rgemini.
Roi Nimco has also appeared before. Roi as in King as in Eric, and NIMCO
as in "company in charge of British railway lines" as in Jarvis.
Nigel Stapley
> In a speech called
> ea67202c-dd7d-4ebf...@d4g2000prg.googlegroups.com,
> Tale Chronicler <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> said:
>> * * * * Return of the Striking Knights * * * *
>> A Tale of Westala and Villtin
>> by Elin Rosén, Marco Villalta, and Orjan Westin
>> -----------------------+-----------------------
>> Episode Fifteen
>> In which cripples are laid to rest
>> And tempers are flying high
>> Competitors are full of zest
>> And lightning-fast blades fly
>> -----------------------+-----------------------
>
>> "Good man. Take care of him, will you, and then drop him off
>> at, uh... Arepo Square.
>
> Sator square in Ankh-Morpork uses the first line of the
> palindrome: Sator arepo tent opera rotas.
Well, if you're going to do opera in a tent, you'd have to do it by
rotas...especially if it's 'Aida'.
--
Regards
Nigel Stapley
<reply-to will bounce>
Graycat
>On 28 Mar 2008, Tale Chronicler <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>
>> The blade was slender and slightly curved, and etched with the word
>> "Destiny".
>
>Googling for "Sword", "Destiny" produced a *lot* of results. Many of them
>referred to an episode of "Arrested Development", but I don't think that's
>it...
It might help you to consider that this segment is drawn mostly from
one source, or at least one type of source.
>> The young woman
>> nodded slightly in acknowledgement of Fiftyseven's skill, and the two
>> stood weighing each other with their eyes. Neither one moved, no
>> feints, no showing off, just carefully waiting and visualising the
>> fight to come. Every move played out invisibly in the air between
>> them. Until, in a flash, Fiftyseven drove her sword straight through
>> her opponent's unguarded belly.
>
>I've seen something like this (minus the last bit) in a few places. The one
>I remember is a Justice League/Avengers crossover, in which, while the rest
>of the teams are engaged in a pointless fight, Batman and Captain America
>stare at each other for a while, after which Cap says "You could beat me,
>but not easily. Shall we try to find out what's going on instead?" But I'm
>sure that's not the reference.
See above.
>The last bit reminds me of Indy facing a martial artist, or Mad Hamish and
>his big peice of teak.
>
>> "Wotan Mountain, eh?"
>
>I think Raymond and jester have this one. Wu Tang Mountain, crossed with
>Wotan as a reference to the Master losing an eye.
Well done, though Wu Tang wasn't the spelling used in this particular
source.
>> She desperately parried a flurry of
>> strikes before managing one of her own. Wilkinson avoided it easily
>> by, incredibly, floating, rather than jumping, out of reach.
>
>Wire fu or (as I believe the cognoscenti call them) Wuxia movies. The back-
>story is the sort of thing you get in those films as well.
Correct.
--
Elin
The world makes perfect sense, as a black comedy
Graycat
>On Mar 28, 11:59?pm, Tale Chronicler <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com>
>wrote:
>
>
>> Finding the wine cellars had proved a distraction, and much fun was
>> had posing the bodies of the dead guards and servants in amusing
>> situations
>
>A theme often used in action movies - notably Die Hard, ISTR
>
>> "Tokig will be pleased," one of them said, "this is a fortune!"
>
>Hmmm...has Tokig appeared before? I'm pretty sure he/she is a
>reference...
>
>
>> "Hagel Tack!
>
>Nigel Stapley. Tack - staple
Yup.
>> "We found him at Candy's Door," Malindrew said. ?"He turned around and
>> smiled, then stopped what he was doing, if you get the picture."
>>
>> "Yes, I see. ?So that's when you fell on him?"
>
>The words of 'Leader of the Pack' by the Shangri-Las.
>
>> "My men put him down, but we were a bit concerned as we were on the
>> wrong side of town."
>
>Another reference to the words of the same song.
Yes and yes.
>> "Not really, I'm the one with the military experience after all,"
>> Fiftyseven replied, condescension dripping like honey from her voice.
>>
>> "On boats!" Capulette exploded.
>
>It's been pointed out before, but Esmeraldus used to be in the Navy
Yup.
>
>> Neither one moved, no
>> feints, no showing off, just carefully waiting and visualising the
>> fight to come. ?Every move played out invisibly in the air between
>> them. ?Until, in a flash, Fiftyseven drove her sword straight through
>> her opponent's unguarded belly.
>
>Reference to The Matrix?
Nope.
Graycat
Oh but this is guaranteet genooine mystic energies - competely wire
free!
Daibhid Ceanaideach
> Daibhid Ceanaideach <daibhidc...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>>On 28 Mar 2008, Tale Chronicler <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>
>
>>> The blade was slender and slightly curved, and etched with the
>>> word
>>> "Destiny".
>>
>>Googling for "Sword", "Destiny" produced a *lot* of results. Many of
>>them referred to an episode of "Arrested Development", but I don't
>>think that's it...
>
> It might help you to consider that this segment is drawn mostly from
> one source, or at least one type of source.
Aha. More targeted Googling reveals the Green Destiny sword in "Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Which I should probably watch at some point, along
with Mag7.
Checking the Wikipedia entry, this means that Golden Fox is probably
based on Michelle Yeoh's character, Yu Shu-lien, although the name seems
to be a reference to Jade Fox (only she was the one who *stole* the
scrolls).
>>I think Raymond and jester have this one. Wu Tang Mountain, crossed
>>with Wotan as a reference to the Master losing an eye.
>
> Well done, though Wu Tang wasn't the spelling used in this particular
> source.
CTHG has (according to Wikipedia) Wudan.
Orjan
> On 28 Mar 2008, Tale Chronicler <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>
>> * * * * Return of the Striking Knights * * * *
>
>> Episode Fifteen
>
>
>> Someone had asked if stuff like carpets and paintings could be
>> valuable, but it was agreed that if they were, they wouldn't be left
>> out in the open. The valuable stuff was locked away in cabinets,
>> obviously, even if they were easily opened with an old battle axe.
>
> This is probably just my pattern-seeking working overtime, but might the
> word "axe" after an assumption carpets can't be valuable be a reference to
> Axminster?
I think that's just a lucky coincidence.
>> Autopet and Ven were just finishing their breakfast, when the approach
>> of a man made both of them reach for their weapons, since he moved
>> like a killer. Then Autopet smiled.
>>
>> "Hagel Tack! Good to see you again. What are you doing here?"
>
> The Magnificent Seven equivilent of the character is Harry Luck. The afp
> equivilent I'm still working on...
CCA got the afper, and you got the movie name, so well done to both of you.
>> "We found him at Candy's Door," Malindrew said. "He turned around and
>> smiled, then stopped what he was doing, if you get the picture."
>>
>> "Yes, I see. So that's when you fell on him?"
>>
>> "My men put him down, but we were a bit concerned as we were on the
>> wrong side of town."
>
> And *there's* where those Leader of the Pack allusions were going.
There are some advantages to the whole plan-ahead thing.
> (I'm surprised you stopped there: "Had to be done; those men were too bad
> even for us." "They're pretty sad now, my lord.")
Even we have a modicum of shame. Besides, we're not sure if you can be sad
when you're dead.
>> Roi dipped a bread roll into his stew. "So, you're a reveller? What
>> are you revelling for?"
>>
>> "Whaddya got?"
>
> Marlon Brando, "The Wild One" "What are you rebelling against?"
Yup.
>> The blade was slender and slightly curved, and etched with the word
>> "Destiny".
>
> Googling for "Sword", "Destiny" produced a *lot* of results. Many of them
> referred to an episode of "Arrested Development", but I don't think that's
> it...
The answer is crouched in mystery and hidden...
>> She desperately parried a flurry of
>> strikes before managing one of her own. Wilkinson avoided it easily
>> by, incredibly, floating, rather than jumping, out of reach.
>
> Wire fu or (as I believe the cognoscenti call them) Wuxia movies. The
> back-
> story is the sort of thing you get in those films as well.
Yup. By the way, I believe there was a reference back in episode 8 that
might be relevant, too. (The planning-ahead thing is quite cool when we
remember what we've planned, isn't it?)
Orjan
Orjan
news:slrnfus2d3...@angel.jester.nu...
> On Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:59:06 -0700 (PDT), Tale Chronicler
> <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
> <hack>
>>
>>Autopet and Ven were just finishing their breakfast, when the approach
>>of a man made both of them reach for their weapons, since he moved
>>like a killer. Then Autopet smiled.
>
> Ah, back to the cowboy movie.
Ye-haa!
>> * * *
>>Lord Sopracasa closed the ledgers covering most of the fine desk in
>>front of him and sat back in his comfortable chair with a content
>>smile. He was firmly back in black.
>>
>>And speaking of being back... He pulled the cord behind his desk to
>>call his manservant. After a couple of minutes, the door opened.
>>
>>"Ah, there you are. Let me ask you--" Lord Sopracasa paused. "Is
>>that his cane you're carrying?"
>
> Would the actual author of this bit like to stand up?
We sort of agreed we wouldn't...
>>smiled. "Tit for tat, you know."
>
> Because I'd really hate to *hurt* the wrong person.
... and I think we were wise. :-)
Just trying to get back to the roots a bit here, we've been a bit lax on the
whole bad-pun front lately.
Graycat
>On 29 Mar 2008, Graycat <grayca...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Daibhid Ceanaideach <daibhidc...@aol.com> wrote:
>>
>>>On 28 Mar 2008, Tale Chronicler <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>>>
>>
>>>> The blade was slender and slightly curved, and etched with the
>>>> word
>>>> "Destiny".
>>>
>>>Googling for "Sword", "Destiny" produced a *lot* of results. Many of
>>>them referred to an episode of "Arrested Development", but I don't
>>>think that's it...
>>
>> It might help you to consider that this segment is drawn mostly from
>> one source, or at least one type of source.
>
>Aha. More targeted Googling reveals the Green Destiny sword in "Crouching
>Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Which I should probably watch at some point, along
>with Mag7.
>
>Checking the Wikipedia entry, this means that Golden Fox is probably
>based on Michelle Yeoh's character, Yu Shu-lien, although the name seems
>to be a reference to Jade Fox (only she was the one who *stole* the
>scrolls).
Well done. I have to warn you though - iirc this particular segment is
so chock full of references, double references, triple [1] references
and other very obscure annotations that are possibly in some cases
enough of a stretch that the chronicler himself might have trouble
recalling them, that you could probably be at this for weeks...
There are other foxy swordsmen around, and the colour isn't randomly
chosen either.
[1] originally misspelled that as tripe and seriously considered
keeping it that way...
Elin
steveski
>>>>> The blade was slender and slightly curved, and etched with the
>>>>> word
>>>>> "Destiny".
>>>>
>>>>Googling for "Sword", "Destiny" produced a *lot* of results. Many of
>>>>them referred to an episode of "Arrested Development", but I don't
>>>>think that's it...
>>>
>>> It might help you to consider that this segment is drawn mostly from
>>> one source, or at least one type of source.
>>
>>Aha. More targeted Googling reveals the Green Destiny sword in "Crouching
>>Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Which I should probably watch at some point, along
>>with Mag7.
>>
>>Checking the Wikipedia entry, this means that Golden Fox is probably
>>based on Michelle Yeoh's character, Yu Shu-lien, although the name seems
>>to be a reference to Jade Fox (only she was the one who *stole* the
>>scrolls).
>
> Well done. I have to warn you though - iirc this particular segment is
> so chock full of references, double references, triple [1] references
> and other very obscure annotations that are possibly in some cases
> enough of a stretch that the chronicler himself might have trouble
> recalling them, that you could probably be at this for weeks...
Would one of those tripe references be to the ongoing battle in 'Giants of
the Frost' by Kim Wilkins and also to the Tom Holt J. W. Wells stories?
--
Steveski
Daibhid Ceanaideach
> Well done. I have to warn you though - iirc this particular segment is
> so chock full of references, double references, triple [1] references
> and other very obscure annotations that are possibly in some cases
> enough of a stretch that the chronicler himself might have trouble
> recalling them, that you could probably be at this for weeks...
>
> There are other foxy swordsmen around, and the colour isn't randomly
> chosen either.
As far as other foxy swordsmen go; since the plan obviously isn't to kill
off Capulette at this point, is Wilkinson just going to slash a symbol of
some kind?
Esmeraldus
> On 29 Mar 2008, Graycat <grayca...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Well done. I have to warn you though - iirc this particular segment
>> is so chock full of references, double references, triple [1]
>> references and other very obscure annotations that are possibly in
>> some cases enough of a stretch that the chronicler himself might
>> have trouble recalling them, that you could probably be at this for
>> weeks...
>>
>> There are other foxy swordsmen around, and the colour isn't randomly
>> chosen either.
>
> As far as other foxy swordsmen go; since the plan obviously isn't to
> kill off Capulette at this point, is Wilkinson just going to slash a
> symbol of some kind?
The thought of a Kill Bill reference crossed my mind, but I'm not sure.
CCA
wrote:
> Roi Nimco has also appeared before. Roi as in King as in Eric, and NIMCO
> as in "company in charge of British railway lines" as in Jarvis.
Aha, so that would explain him reading through a play he'd been asked
to direct
CCA
Janaina Rudberg
> In a speech called
> ea67202c-dd7d-4ebf...@d4g2000prg.googlegroups.com,
> Tale Chronicler <chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> said:
>> * * * * Return of the Striking Knights * * * *
>> A Tale of Westala and Villtin
>> by Elin Rosén, Marco Villalta, and Orjan Westin
>> -----------------------+-----------------------
>> Episode Fifteen
>> In which cripples are laid to rest
>> And tempers are flying high
>> Competitors are full of zest
>> And lightning-fast blades fly
>> -----------------------+-----------------------
>
>> "Good man. Take care of him, will you, and then drop him off
>> at, uh... Arepo Square.
>
> Sator square in Ankh-Morpork uses the first line of the
> palindrome: Sator arepo tent opera rotas.
>
ITYM "tenet"
/Janaina
Graycat
The what?? That is to say, no.
Elin
Graycat
wrote:
> On 29 Mar 2008, Graycat <graycat.m...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Well done. I have to warn you though - iirc this particular segment is
> > so chock full of references, double references, triple [1] references
> > and other very obscure annotations that are possibly in some cases
> > enough of a stretch that the chronicler himself might have trouble
> > recalling them, that you could probably be at this for weeks...
>
> > There are other foxy swordsmen around, and the colour isn't randomly
> > chosen either.
>
> As far as other foxy swordsmen go; since the plan obviously isn't to kill
> off Capulette at this point, is Wilkinson just going to slash a symbol of
> some kind?
Right person...the event, well, you'll just have to wait for ep 16 to
see about that
Elin
Graycat
That's a good thought, you should keep it. Now, where might it go?
Elin
SteveD
<chron...@tale.cunobaros.com> wrote:
>"Wilkinson?"
[...]
>A sword,
*groan*
-SteveD
Daibhid Ceanaideach
Oh, good catch. The return of that pun to relevence slipped by me
completely.
Geoff Field
[snip]
> After it was done, Malindrew prodded the man with his boot. "He's
> passed out. Goffild!"
I'm back! Old brown-eyes is back!
> "Here." Goffild looked sick. "Was that really necessary?"
And empathetic, too ;-)
One of the few other references I got was the wire-fu business, but
most of the "floating" stuff I've seen was in very old Kung Fu movies.
Geoff
--
Geoff Field
Professional Geek,
Amateur Stage-Levelling Gauge
steveski
Oh . . . 'k . . . s'rry . . .
:-)
--
Steveski
E.S.
wrote:
> * * * * Return of the Striking Knights * * * *
> A Tale of Westala and Villtin
> by Elin Rosén, Marco Villalta, and Orjan Westin
> -----------------------+-----------------------
> Episode Fifteen
> In which cripples are laid to rest
> And tempers are flying high
> Competitors are full of zest
> And lightning-fast blades fly
> -----------------------+-----------------------
>
<snip>
> Fiftyseven had stalked angrily through the complex until finally she
> ended up at what appeared to be some sort of throne room. It was an
> enormous hall, rectangular with a floor that rose in tiers towards the
> far end. Every surface was faced with some black stone, with carvings
> running in bands along the walls and on the pillars that lined the
> room. Green, faintly translucent curtains hung from the ceiling,
> obscuring large parts of the room from view.
>
> Drawn by her curiosity, Fiftyseven walked slowly forward towards the
> top tier of the floor. The curtains billowed around her as though
> disturbed by a gentle breeze, even though she could see no windows.
> When Fiftyseven reached the far end of the hall she saw a large black
> silk cushion had been placed on the floor. In front of it, a sword
> rested in an exquisite red wooden sheath.
>
> Unable to resist, Fiftyseven took the sheath in her left hand and drew
> the sword with a soft /sching/. The blade was slender and slightly
> curved, and etched with the word "Destiny". She tested its balance
> and found it to be excellent. Then, just as she was about to replace
> the sword, a slight sound made her turn around. Fiftyseven could have
> sworn she'd heard a footstep, but she couldn't see anyone. It did
> seem like one of the far curtains rippled, as from someone moving past
> it, though.
Oooh, I love wuxia!
The green-coloured throne room with curtains is from the movie Hero,
in which every scene and sub-story is marked with a certain colour.
The sword "Green Destiny" is from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, as
has been mentioned.
>Neither one moved, no
> feints, no showing off, just carefully waiting and visualising the
> fight to come. Every move played out invisibly in the air between
> them.
Early in Hero, to warriors spend some time doing the same thing.
> "Wotan Mountain, eh?" she asked. The black-clad woman nodded, blood
> trickling out between her lips.
Or Wutang, famed place in martial arts lore.
Can anybody find a hip-hop reference in this segment?
> Suddenly Wilkinson sprung into action, blade dancing in the air.
> Every slash sent a storm of golden leaves towards Capulette, blinding
> her and making her stumble back. Suddenly she backed into something.
> A sword, twin of the one in her attacker's hand, stood point down in
> the ground. Capulette grabbed the hilt and brought the blade up just
> in time to block a fierce blow. She desperately parried a flurry of
> strikes before managing one of her own. Wilkinson avoided it easily
> by, incredibly, floating, rather than jumping, out of reach.
The "flurry of autumn leaves" is also used in Hero, in the fight
between Flying Snow and Moon.
Esmeraldus
> On 29 maalis, 02:59, Tale Chronicler <chronic...@tale.cunobaros.com>
> wrote:
>> * * * * Return of the Striking Knights * * * *
>> A Tale of Westala and Villtin
>> by Elin Rosén, Marco Villalta, and Orjan Westin
>> -----------------------+-----------------------
>> Episode Fifteen
>> In which cripples are laid to rest
>> And tempers are flying high
>> Competitors are full of zest
>> And lightning-fast blades fly
>> -----------------------+-----------------------
>>
>
> <snip>
>> Unable to resist, Fiftyseven took the sheath in her left hand and
>> drew the sword with a soft /sching/. The blade was slender and
>> slightly curved, and etched with the word "Destiny". She tested its
>> balance and found it to be excellent. Then, just as she was about to
>> replace the sword, a slight sound made her turn around. Fiftyseven
>> could have sworn she'd heard a footstep, but she couldn't see
>> anyone. It did seem like one of the far curtains rippled, as from
>> someone moving past it, though.
>
> Oooh, I love wuxia!
> The green-coloured throne room with curtains is from the movie Hero,
> in which every scene and sub-story is marked with a certain colour.
> The sword "Green Destiny" is from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, as
> has been mentioned.
It's well known to the authors that green is my favorite color. I don't know
whether it's relevant, but they definitely know.