Aftermath of the collapse

[Lord Tellurine]

Kliff Fauldergraft stopped a couple of guards who were pulling rocks from the pile indiscriminately. "You're going to cause another cave-in," he pointed out to the Royal Architect.

Archie looked at Kliff with disdain and sniffed the booze on his breath. "Don't tell me my job," he huffed and he waved at the guards to continue what they were doing.

A rumble shook the passage and another section of wall fell. Queen Zelda glared angrily at the Archie.

It wasn't long before the half-dozen guards carefully shifting rocks were taking orders from Kliff. His eyes darted back and forth over the pile, looking for a weak spot that might come crashing down upon them. Kliff's expert knowledge and assertiveness miffed Archie, who was a bitter self-involved man.

Meekal would grab a rock and then ask it how many of his friends were still blocking the passage. The answers he got were varied and he explained it to Queen Zelda that, "Most rocks aren't very good at math."

Queen Zelda gave him a friendly smile then shrugged at Kliff when Meekal turned away.

The work in the dungeon progressed slowly, while the work upstairs was just as grim. Lochinvar's body lay on some cushions on the floor of the great hall. Dr. Julius Abernathy asked Lady Jo to help him remove the fallen warrior's clothes and she did so, blushing furiously.

Dr. Abernathy examined the extensive damage Lochinvar's body had taken, rolled up his sleeves, and looked Lady Jo in the eye. "What a way to end a ball," he said without a smile.

She said back slowly and sadly, "They all end this way."

[ 09-18-2001: Message edited by: Lord Tellurine ]

[DamedEscrime]

Just thinking..strange turn of events. Lady Jo's sister once aided a wounded warrior and was later assinated at the last ball. hmmmm.
Let's not loose anyone this time.

note: Jo and Loch will now move to Jo's Journey for the time being.

[ 09-18-2001: Message edited by: DamedEscrime ]

[ 09-18-2001: Message edited by: DamedEscrime ]

[Zelda]

The Queen smiled gratefully at Kliff as he took over from the incompetent Archie. Archie sat in a corner and sulked. Suddenly the Queen snapped, "I cant take this any more, I'm going to see if I can help the doctor with Loch." and she marched off. As she walked away she told Willow "Send Meekal to get me when you get through."

As the Queen walked back towards the main part of the castle her mind wandered. She smiled as she remember all the good times that she had had with Arcon. The adventures they had had when they were not so much older then Jo and Serena were now.

Both had unconventional upbringings. Arcon was a knight by birth, but chose to ignore it until he realised he could play with swords.

Zelda was the daughter of a noble woman who disguised herself for 7 years as a boy to become a knight. When Zelda was born her mother bent the rules yet again and she was allowed to study both the fighting and the womenly arts.

They had met in a practise yard, and fast become friends. Lochnivar, who was Arcons right hand man became the third of their group when he joined Arcon at court. Between the three of them they had more then once caused King Jonothan of Tortall a few grey hairs.

The scar of which Arcon and Lochinavar talked earlier had come about when Arcon had asked Zelda for her hand in marriage. She had said that she would only marry him if and when he beat her in a duel.

As they duelled, Zelda had cut Arcon's arm while executing a sliding riposte. The tip of her blade had grazed along his arm, causing a scratch which welled with blood. It shouldnt have left a scar, but it did. Arcon claimed it was love that caused a scar. Something to remind him of his commitment to her. The duel had ended in a draw, but Zelda still agreed to marry Arcon, as she did love him, and knew he would treat her as an equal, not as a "trophy" as many men would.

This train of thought had sustained Zelda through the dungeons and the lower levels of the castle. She now found herself back near the royal chambers. The corridors were still oddly deserted, and finding someone to tell her where Loch, Jo and the doctor were was proving difficult.

[Lord Tellurine]

[ed. note] I've got some gigs out of town, but I'll be back on Friday.


As soon as Queen Zelda reached the main floor of the castle she was accosted by the elderly Baron Von Schmect and his equally charming wife the Baroness Von Schmect.

"Queen Zelda!" he said forecefully. "We have just been informed by Lady Mango that the ball is over!" The veins in his neck were visible to the Queen, and the sight of them made her a bit queasy. "Without having a knighting! Without having a State of the Kingdom Address! I must say this was a poor excuse for a ball!" Baroness Von Schmect snorted through her large nostrils as if to show her support for her husband. "As you well know," he contintued, "the Von Schmect lands are adjacent to Muu territory. We have no qualms about giving our loyalty to the King of Muu!" He foot began tapping angrily on the castle floor as if to wait for a response from the Queen.

Before the Queen could say anything, Wooden Bob approached and said, "Dr. Abernathy wants some clean towels."

She turned her gaze to the one-legged trapper and smiled. "Of course. We can get those right now and then you can take me to him." She looked back at the Baron and Baroness. "If you'll excuse me. I have IMPORTANT things to do."

The Baron and Baroness Von Schmect watched the Queen leave.

[Zelda]

"Thank GOODNESS you turned up Kliff," the Queen said as the walked out of sight, "I cant STAND those two....they have designs on the throne, not that either of them probably has the brains for it."

[Iwant2bafencer]

The Lady Rosaline was growing extremely impatient. They had searched every inch of the castle except for the dungeons. When they had started their search Rosaline had suggested to go down there, but the rest of the group desided against it. Now she wished she had gone with her gut, because her fealing about going down was stronger.
Angel was getting worried, and Seranas expretion was impasible.
Rolsaine broke their silence that had followed them from quite some time now.
"That's it I'm going down there." Angel began to protest, but Rosaline cut him off. "no Angel, I'm not going to argue about this. We have searched every other place in the castle with no success. You two stay up here. I'll go, and send someone if I need you." Angel glared at her, and opened is mouth to say something, but then closed it when Rosaline shook her head at him. "I'm going." With that she turned and went the oposite direction. Just before she reached the stairs someone took her hand in theirs. Turning to see who it was she saw Angel looking down at her. His face showed his concern for her. "I'm coming with you." Rosaline squeezed his hand, and nodded.
They desended the stairs side by side.
When they reached the bottom Angel stepped over, and grabed a the only torch on the wall. After turning a few corners they heard voices and shouts coming from the hall to their right. Placing the torch into a mount on the wall Angel drew his sword. Rosaline did the same. When they reached the entrance they paused to look at each other. They both nodded, then charged in.
Stuned they stopped just before they plowed into a land slide of rocks.
"What the. .?" Rosaline looked around the room. Kliff smiled and waved at her. The guards stopped removing the rocks, and Meekal droped the rock he was talking to in fear seeing their swords.
"Meekal! What are you doing here?!" Meekal glanced to the pill of rocks. "I'm digging!"
Rosaline rolled her eyes. "I can see that!" She motioned for Willow to come over to her. "What's going on?" Willow filled her in on the entire story starting from the fight, and ending where he was put in charge of the dig. (Next to Kliff.)
"So who went with the queen?" Rosaline asked when Willow was finished. "Well no one, we were all digging, and she just left. I dont think she could handle just waiting." Rosaline jaw droped. "You mean to tell me that there are men in black cloaks running around the castle. For who knows what reason! Moon is on the other side of this cave in with our king. No one knows if either of them are dead, and the queen is wondering the Place ALONE?!" Willow bit her lower lip. "Well when you put it that way. ." Meekal laughed. "WHAT is so funny?" Rosaline asked. "Oh we were the men in the black cloaks." He said gesturing to Kliff and himself. "Us, Wooden Bob, and Lord. . OW!" Kliff threw a small rock at Meekal hitting him in the arm.
Rosalines temper was flaring.
Meekal could tell he continued wispering to his rock.
Willow could tell she back away.
Kliff could tell he hid behind a pill of rocks.
Angel could tell he took her hand in his again trying to calm her. Rosaline closed her eyes, and counted to ten. Opening them again she stood thinking to herself. "Alright, I'm going to find the queen. You guys are doing a great job. Willow please send someone to find the queen and I when you are done. Angel are you saying or coming?" Rosaline stated. "I'm coming with you. There isn't enough room in this ahll way fro me to help." Rosaline nodded, and pulled him out the door.

------------------
Carpe Diem

[latenight]

Latenight and the lovely Miss Spears enter, laden with rope and levers.

"We must extricate the king at once!!!", says Latenight, removing his Gucci shoes and loosening his tie.

[Willow]

Willow knew that everyone was impatient to get through the wall of rubble. Arcon and Moon had to be running out of air after so long. How much longer could they survive? Meekal was willing to help, but did he have to talk to every single rock that he pulled out? Kliff was cleary in his element. He knew rocks, he knew structures, he knew basic architecture that seemed to have escaped the Royal Architect, who was not pleased to have been usurped of his position by Kliff. Tempers were beginning to rise. Willow was grateful that Zelda had gone to check on Loch. She wouldn't have been able to handle what was going on.

Kliff turned to Willow and said, "My Lady, I believe that we will soon be through the rubble. If my calculations are correct, we only have a few inches left to get through." Willow said, "Oh, I hope you are right. But will we be in time to save the King and my Princess?" Kliff assured her that they should be. He even seemed to know how much air should be behind the rocks.

Just then one of the guards working to clear the cave in gave a shout. He had created an opening into the abyss behind the rocks. Willow called for a lantern. She wanted to be the first to look in and see if anyone was alive back there. The guards tried to convince her to let one of them look, instead of her, arguing for her pregnancy. Willow wasn't worried. She trusted Kliff, that he had worked hard to ensure everyone's safety. She took the lantern and looked through the opening. It was incredibly dark in there. What was that? Swinging over to her right, she saw a small, huddled form. That looked like Moon. Was she breathing? Moon, sensing the light, began to turn towards it. Thank the heavens! She was alive! Swinging over to the left, she made out the King, leaning against the wall. She could tell that his leg was broken, and he had numerous scrapes and bruises on his body. But, he appeared to be breathing, as well.

"They are alive!" Willow called for the guards to finish the job, so that injuries could be assessed. "Someone go get the doctor! He is needed at once!"

[Moonitic]

[ed.note: I closed out the Duel in the Dungeon thread since no more really can be said there. The rest of the story will continue here at the Aftermath. If this is an easier way to keep track of story threads, let Zelda & I know. Maybe that's how we can handle the confusion that arises from ending up in more than one place at one time.]

[Moonitic]

With relief...came fear. With joy...came sorrow. And guilt. After all she had done, Lady Moon could not bear to face her rescuers. Initially, she turned toward the light, but quickly ducked her head again. The shouts from the other side of the rock wall echoed in her ears, yet they did not sound urgent and excited. To her, they sounded angry and hateful. After all, they were really interested in rescuing King Arcon. Not a traitor to the crown.

One by one, the heavy rocks were removed. Carefully, precisely...so that none would cause another cave in. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, a hole large enough to fit a person though had been created. Despite Willow's protests, two guards filed into the small cavern. With swords drawn, they moved toward Lady Moon, ready to take her into custody.

"No!" Arcon bellowed. He launched himself, broken body and all, toward her. "Do not touch this woman!" He wrapped her into a protective embrace, where she sobbed into his chest.

It was then that Willow poked her head in, and saw the scene before her. "Well..." she mumbled. "Isn't this a new development?"

[ 09-20-2001: Message edited by: Moonitic ]

[arcon]

Arcon had the guards take Moon to the Palace.
She would be allowed to remain in her own chambers to rest and recuperate from her ordeal but would remain for now under heavy guard. He would seek out the best physicians
in the kingdom to help her.
Meekal was another matter. Arcon wanted him for questioning. It would be a matter left up to
A.S.S. the Arconian Secret Service to find
Meekal and bring him in.
It was time to make it back to his own chambers. The palace physician had given him
orders to rest before going back to the ball.
He needed to see Zelda, the mood and state of things as of late might call for the cancellation of the remainder of the ball.
He had decided to let Zelda make the call.
His mind was swirling and his body was exausted...life as a king was proving to be
damn near fatal on a daily basis.

[Moonitic]

Lady Moon slept. Nearby, with anxiety pinching her features, Willow watched over her. The princess shook uncontrollably, moaning and muttering about a crow that wanted to peck her eyes out. The only crow Willow knew was the one she used to keep tabs on her friend. It confused her. As the hours went on, and her thrashing trembling continued, Willow could only surmise that this was a horrible dream brought on by a lack of air in the tunnel. She continued her quiet observation, her mind trailing back to what she had seen in the tunnel.

When the rocks had been cleared away, the guards had tried to arrest the princess. But King Arcon would not allow it. When he called for them to take her, instead, to her room to rest, she swooned in his arms. What had happened to make the trauma they suffered so horrible that she would react in such a way? Was it genuine, or another trick? By the look on her friend's face, she knew that it was horribly sincere.

Fire burned Moon. Then, suddenly, a wash of ice cold air. She stumbled, searching, in the darkness of her dreams. Piercing eyes followed her every move. They wanted her. They hungered for her. Give us your heart, little one, they would say, and we will feast on it. Images of what had come to pass in the tunnel played in front of her. She was ready to give up her heart, and her life. Let the guilt have her. She wanted to hurt no more.

But a voice in her dream world whispered to her, sending the horrible voices away. "I will come for you, princess. Rest now. You will be free." It must have been trickery. No one wanted her. No one would ever come for her. All she could do now is sleep.

But the truth be known, a small part of her had been comforted by those words.

[ 09-23-2001: Message edited by: Moonitic ]

[Lord Tellurine]

As leader of the Arconian Secret Service, Angelo had a clear duty: Find out what happened to Lady Moon to make her want to threaten King Arcon, harm her friends, and release Zarcon from his prison cell. The person who might answer this was Meekal the Daft, his brother. Getting the answers he wanted was a mission of futility.

He took Meekal to a room on the main floor of the castle. The windows of the room faced west, but the bright mid-morning sun still lit the room with a warm glow. He sat Meekal in a chair that was in the middle of the room and Angelo paced around it as he tried to get a question, any question, answered.

Once again, Angelo repeated his latest question and once again Meekal answered, “I don’t know.”

This had been the most prominent answer thus far.

Angelo said, “What do you mean, ‘you don’t know’?”

Meekal shrugged from the chair he sat on in the middle of the room. “I don’t know.”

Angelo rubbed his forehead agitatedly. “One minute Lady Moon is fine, the next minute she’s evil.” Meekal nodded. “You blew a powder on her and said these words…” He held up a small piece of paper that was covered with words, dirt, and cheese. “…which you’re not even sure if you said correctly. She left the Royal Ball, changed, and came back to insult her friends and threaten the King and Queen.” Meekal nodded again. “And then she led us all through a wild chase through the forest in a rainstorm, met up with you at your house, and told you and your friends to run through the castle wearing black cloaks so that she could sneak down into the dungeon and release Zarcon. Which she succeeded in doing.” He paused, took a deep breath, and cringed slightly and he repeated his question. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” said Meekal for the umpteenth time.

“I know,” Angelo sighed with defeat.

“You do?” asked Meekal with interest.

“Yes,” he said. “I know you don’t know.”

“Oh,” replied Meekal as he slouched down in his chair.

“And of course, to top it all off, you caused a cave-in down in the dungeon that trapped King Arcon and Lady Moon behind a wall of rocks.”

“It was an accident!” he cried. “Queen Zelda pushed me!”

“Because you were lunging for the King!” Angelo sighed again and placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I know you’re not part of some large conspiracy.”

“Really? Thanks, Angelo.”

“You’re too dumb.”

“Hey!”

“The tricky part will be convincing King Arcon of that. You asked him to order Lady Moon to go to the Royal Ball with you, you put a spell on her, and you help her to release Zarcon from his cell. That’s pretty suspicious.”

Meekal explained, “I like her.”

“Well, maybe you better stay away from her for a while. Until things calm down.”

“But-”

“And that’s an order… Brother.”

“I’ll try,” said Meekal sadly.

“Well, it’ll be easy.” He walked over to the window and looked out at the mid-morning sky.” Right now she’s locked in her room and under guard.”

“Maybe I should visit her and cheer her up?”

Angelo spun around from his window view. “Are you even listening to me, Meekal?!? Stay AWAY from her! Besides, I’ve told the guards not to let you near her.”

“Okay.”

“Now, go home. And stay out of trouble!”

Meekal stood. “Okay.” He made his way to the door and opened it. He turned back to Angel before leaving and said, “Thanks, Angelo.” He left, closing the door behind him.

Angel looked back out the window. “I hope he stays out of trouble.”

As Meekal walked down the hallway he wondered to himself if there were any other way to get to Lady Moon’s room.

[Willow]

Willow watched Moon as she tossed and turned in her sleep, mumbling, sometimes coherently, sometimes not. Sighing, her thoughts turned to Nicholas. When would he return? Would this madness ever end? Something had happened between Arcon and Moon while they were trapped in the cave-in. It wasn't for Willow to know or to judge, but somehow, it had made things both better and worse. One thing was for sure. Willow would not leave Moon until she knew that her friend was ok.

Exhaustion finally overcame Willow. She had been awake for almost 2 days. Uncharacteristically, she began to snore as she dozed off in the chair next to Moon's bed. The guard peered into the room, smiling to himself as he beheld the sight. Later, Willow awoke to find someone stroking her hair. Looking up, she saw Nicholas looking down at her with the love shining in his eyes. As they embraced, Willow felt the child within her womb move.

[Fencing Angel]

Wow.. i really said/did all that... dang i'm good..

thank you thought lord tellurine (sp) i really suck at writeing those types of things.. thanks again.

[three_hundred_fifty_five]

Zelda helped Willow to her feet. "Are you all right?" Willow replied, "Yes, I think so. You?" "Fine, except for some bumps and bruises." They turned to look at Loch. He appeared dazed, blood trickling down his forehead. The counted noses, realizing that Moon, errr.....Buffy, and Arcon were missing. Looking at the pile of rubble, Zelda became frantic. "ARCON!" She began to claw at the mountain of debris. Willow grabbed her, saying, "Zelda, NO! It might be unstable and you might bring more of the walls down. We need help. We can't do this without knowing what we are doing."
Zelda screamed at her, "But, my husband is there! I HAVE to get to him. Moon may attempt to KILL him." Willow didn't want to do this, but she had no other recourse. She slapped Zelda across the face. Both women looked startled. Zelda took a deep breath and said, "Ok, why did you do that?" "My Queen, you were hysterical. We need help before we attempt a rescue. We need more guards, and we need the castle architects. We want to make sure they are ALIVE. Arcon can take care of himself. Maybe Moon got a blow to her head that would take the spell off. I don't know. But I do know that Loch is hurt and needs help, as well." Zelda, a tear trickling down her cheek, said, "Yes, I know you are right. We can't do this alone."

Zelda turned her attention to Loch. She tore off part of her shirt, wrapping it around his head to staunch the flow of blood. Willow turned, recalling that someone had been running for Arcon before the walls had collapsed. She saw a figure in a black cloak, laying still upon the floor. She approached him, kneeling down on the ground. Readying the wrist sheath, prepared to use the dagger if she needed it, she removed the cloak from his head. Shock and astonishment registered in her face. "You?!"

[ 09-24-2001: Message edited by: three_hundred_fifty_five ]

[lochinvar]

Uh, wait...didn't we already see this part of the movie?

Retrospective, 355?

[Moonitic]

Loch, it's a classic play for attention. The old "I'm going to repeat everything you said." You're a dad, you know how that goes. If it continues, it will be taken care of. I've said it before, and I will repeat it again: Troublemakers on this board will not be tolerated...unless it's the good kind of troublemaking. Most well adjusted people know the difference.

Once again: You have a problem with someone? Take it to PM. The public board isn't a place for hissy fits.

Play fair, play nice...have fun!

[arcon]

Arcon stood at the window of his private
chambers overlooking the palace courtyard.
He could see two gaurds exchanging comments
as they made their rounds along the backside of the palace. Moon was resting. At least he
hoped she was. Zelda was preparing for a long trip abroad. There were many in the Palace, but he was uneasy with Zelda leaving at this time. She'd seemed a little distant
lately but he hoped it was only her preoccupation
with the trip. He'd decided he COULD be strong, he'd tend to moon, but it would not be as before ...he longed to erase the memory of the cave in.
This Meekal had caused so much strife. He
would need to address the problem and do it soon. It was time to find loch, angel, and even Latenight. He would seek their counsel.


King Arcon

[ 09-25-2001: Message edited by: arcon ]

[Moonitic]

Each dream, worse than the rest. Each moment within those dreams, torture. But one voice called out to her, soothing her. "It will be all right, princess. You will be safe." But who would make it all right? Who would protect her from the demons in her dreams? Certainly no one in Arconia. They had their own relationships. Their own lives. She knew of no one else. Who had the power to enter her dreams?

Another dream came, this time of a crow. The large bird chased her to the balcony, pecking and clawing at her already wounded skin. It blocked the entry way to her chamber. She had one place left to go. Down. Down to the garden walk below.

Lady Moon sat upright in bed, eyes wide. Willow, who had been dozing, jumped at the sound of a scream. "Lady Moon! You are awake!" She rushed to her friend's side.

"Get me the King."

He'd been in her dreams before. He would know what was happening. Besides, there was the little matter of a very big secret that needed to be discussed between them. It was time.