Bookwyrms

[BrokenDreamer]

The swiftest mode of travel without the use of magical means? Flight. If one is a dragon, of which, Zerdali the Magnificent was.

Out of public view, away from town and tavern, Zerdali would take the form of that which was most natural to her for the second time ever within Myrken borders. A small, copper scaled creature -- one that, perhaps, a lucky few might have spied flying over what used to be the Silver Lake. Those with very good eyesight might even note the rider upon the beast's back. There was no need to keep it a secret anymore, right? It was, after all, already Myrken's worst kept one. Even though she had never spoke a word of what she was to a single soul, they all figured it out on their own. One by one till all knew the truth.

Their destination? Her and Descant, that is ... Drache's lair.

Near the entrance she will land, as smoothly as possible for Descant's sake ... and with the rise of her broad, flat head with it's back swept horns -- she will trill one beautiful and clear triumphant note to announce her arrival.

It was only polite, after all.

[Raven]

To say that it was a unique experience to travel in such a way would be a...understatement. For one who had spent his rather short span of life traveling about via foot or other more mundane, land-based forms of transport, flying was quite out of the ordinary. It helped that he trusted this particular dragon quite intimately with his life, he very much doubted that it'd be something he'd be willing to do with anyone else. All of those concerns quickly bled away once they'd gotten airborne though. His worries seemed as trivial and small as everything had quickly become once Dali had taken off. It was quite breathtaking and over far too quickly.

Far too quickly indeed. Once the bard found his footing upon the ground, he'd look quite miserable. It was just another glaring problem with their pairing, not that he'd let such a thing remain on his features for long. It'd not do to look glum when calling upon someone and so the bard would do what he does best. Slip a pleasant mask over his features and be all casual smiles and stance. Leaning against his beloved and waiting to see if Drache was home to answer their social call.

[Drache]

Social call indeed!

The snow around the Red's Lair didn't last long, which left the ground bare and wet even in the depths of Myrken's harsh winter. The tower nearby seemed fairly deserted, the windows dark and the horse paddock empty. Andre had fled a month ago and Kira was off killing people for a living or whatever the busty mercenary did in her spare time.

Dali's vibrant bugle reverberated off the sheer stone wall and echoed off into the mountain and over the forest, but the sound didn't linger quite as much as it did down in the tunnels beyond the crevice in the front of Dali and her bard. And before it even died away another sound billowed up in reply. A similar clarion call, louder and higher-pitched, excited, welcoming. Yes, Drache was home. There was a brief static tingle and the torches lining the pathway down into the deep lit up one by one. The fire-drake wasn't about to come to the surface and brave the cold to greet them.

[BrokenDreamer]

Permission granted.

A reptilian smile smooths into place -- at both the sound of the Red's returning cry and the feel of her lover leaning into her desert warm scales. There is a brief and tender moment when that heavy head lowers and very carefully presses her nose against his shoulder. There is a shudder from head to tail, a trembling and a groan of discomfort as one skin is exchanged for another. From beast of legend with glimmering scales, to small and petite gypsy of the lovely bottom standing arm and arm with her love.

"I think she is looking forward to some company," she laughs before tugging and pulling on Descant's arm to lead him down into the tunnels.

While she has only been down in the female's lair once, she navigates well enough -- working with both memory and scent. There was a little bounce to each of the false gypsy's steps and a humming of excitement. "I would not be surprised if we did find some answers somewhere within her collection," she burbles. "If her library is anywhere near as impressive as the rest of her home, I really would not be surprised."

[Raven]

That, too, was not something that he would ever get used to. Something that big being all parceled up into such a lovely little package? It defied belief. Except he had the very real proof of it linked at the arm. That smile of his would change by such a subtle fraction, but it'd be something that Dali had noted on other occasions to be much more to her liking. It was rather difficult to be unhappy about anything when the gypsy's good mood was just so damn infectious.

"How lucky for her that we are here to provide it." And then he'd be tugged and pulled in the wake of Dali once again. Seemed to be an all too common trend. At least on this occasion it made sense for him to follow after her. Like he'd have much hope of navigating his way around.

"Here's hoping. I'm glad that we're at least going to do some sort of research before we do anything rash." Like, you know, just jumping right out there and reuniting Catch with his horn with no thought to any consequences. How he had ever managed to become the levelheaded voice of reason, he couldn't even fathom. Myrken was ruining the poor bard. Twisting him into some sort of...responsible adult.

[Drache]

When they arrived in the antechamber of Drache's Lair they would find that much had changed since the last time either of them had visited. The underground complex was a honeycomb. A spiderweb of tunnels. Drache frequently closed some off and opened others. The earthquake had made some changes all on its own, and the battle with the shadow-drake had left some pretty interesting damage on the walls. Somewhere deep in the tunnels a hot spring had opened up, releasing a very faint scent of sulfur into the air.

The antechamber was kidney-shaped with a huge fireplace in the middle of the curve. Tunnels branched off into the darkness all around. The furniture was opulent, including a large chaise lounge near the fire. There were elegant tapestries on the walls and large animal furs and rugs on the floors. The shape of a massive grand piano lurked in a small alcove, its carved darkwood surface such a deep red that it appeared black. It's ivory keys held a loving patina of age. There was a liquor bar next to a dining table covered in stacks of books and sheet music. A faint thrum of magic permeated everything, and of course it was as toasty warm as a fire-drake would want it to be.

The dragoness herself strode forward from the direction of the sideboard where she had set out a bottle of wine and glasses. She was dressed elegantly in a silk handkerchief dress with a thin tie behind her neck. The hems were bordered with copper while the rest of it was black. It left her back bare and the neckline plunged low, leaving plenty of skin bared to show off the large teardrop emerald pendant around her neck. There was more gold and emerald jewelry adorning her person, not enough to be as tacky as the fae she spent so much time with.

"Dali!" she exclaimed fondly, sweeping forward to embrace the other dragoness in her warm red-scaled arms. After a moment she leaned back and held the nomad at arm's length to get a good look at her. "I don't see you often enough. How have you been? I sssaw what you did to the lake. Do you..." and she paused, her voice lowering, "...do you ssstill have it?"

Apparently Drache had recognized what kind of creature had dug up the bottom of the lake. She knew, but she hadn't said anything. Releasing Dali, Drache turned to look at Descant with her one good eye. She was civil to the man, but she wasn't sure how she felt about having him in her home again. One of her hands found her hip. "Hello Des." With a raised brow, she glanced back at Dali.

[BrokenDreamer]

The warmth of Drache's home was a most welcomed thing. If this was purely a social call, Dali would all too eagerly be basking in it and begging for a little Rhin to bounce upon her knee. Oh if only it could be a simple visit with drinks and laughter. Drache would understand the importance of this though, wouldn't she? This was something that affected their home. Their territory.

"Drache, it is good to see you," the copper haired woman would smile -- and mean it!

With a sheepish laugh - "You would recognize the work of one of my kind." With her voice lowering to match the red's volume, "Yes. I still have it. Its safe. Zilliah isn't here, is he? We came here to speak with you about it. I brought Descant with me in hopes that you'll agree to help ... an extra set of eyes will make this all the more swift. The sooner we find answers, the better."

She stops here, inspecting Drache more carefully and her 'one good eye'. "Goodness ... what happened to you?"

[Raven]

"Hello again, Drache. Pleasure as always." The bard, for his part, would apparently be completely unaware of any reluctance on Drache's part to have him there. He'd be too busy following the line of their conversation with one another. The fact that Drache knew that Dali had it and had not said anything about it to any was of immense relief to Descant.

The best kept secret is the one no-one knew, but at least the damage had been kept to the minimum thus far. Speaking of damage, he'd note the piano and would recall a previous conversation requiring it's repair. He'd idly wonder if that was still the case, but seeing as how they had far more pressing things to attend to. Well, it'd have to be a question for another time.

"Answers. Yes. Sooner the better by far." Concern there, within hazel depths. The fact that Dali was in possession of something so dangerous and sought after would cause Descant quite a few sleepless nights. The sooner they found out more about it, the sooner they settled on a course of action, the better.

[Drache]

She smiled, a little self-satisfied. "Of courssse I did." And she shook her horns, one broken. "No, he is not here. I would have warned you before you even came inssside." That Dali didn't approve of the fae was something she respected, even if she didn't quite agree. And it was a small matter in the face of the thing they discussed. Stepping away from them to fetch wine, she checked on her daughter, who was sleeping in a cradle on the bearhide rug near the fire. The piano appeared to have come to some recent use, and it had in fact been re-tuned.

"A pleasure indeed, Des. I hadn't thought to sssee you here again," she said to the handsome Bard as she offered them each a glass. "I had a disssagreement with a shadow-drake," she shrugged her wings nonchalantly. She was missing an eye, she was missing a horn, and the pretty spade on the end of her tail had been shorn clean off. Wounds that had healed over now. "I would be happy to help you, Dali. What anssswers do you think -I- have?"

Gesturing with a wing, she invited them to sit, and watched them both curiously.

[BrokenDreamer]

That Drache would shrug off such an attack would leave the Copper ... bewildered. Especially after he had left her so marked! "I hope the Shadow-Drake got the worst of it," she frowns while accepting the offered drink. Dali shudders to think of every being attacked in such a way -- rightfully so. Her kind were less than impressive in an all out fight without the use of any sort of trickery on their side.

She'll settle into one of the seat gestured to, bright skirts of blues and greens arranged neatly with the jingling of bells before the first sip is eased from the glass. A peek towards Rhin with a sweet little smile before back to the matter at hand. "When last I spoke to Glenn, he seemed to think it best to just pop the corn on to Catch and hope for the best. That was before I got my hands on it."

"We have no idea what will happen ... I don't want to risk it." Another swallow of wine. And another, as if to calm her nerves. "I imagine that you have puzzle pieces that I don't have." Let's begin with that. "I... oh here." She's pulling out a folded bit of paper, smoothing it out and handing it over to Drache. It is perhaps a bit of a rough drawing of the face that was at the bottom of the lake and that of the horn. "Its eyes opened when I took the horn. All I have is this and what Glenn told me which was not much."

"You mentioned that you have a library. If it is anything like the rest of your home. It is huge. And likely has books that one has no chance of finding in Myrken."

With a sigh and a pleading look, "Please, Drache."

[Raven]

The bard could only blink a few times at the...understatement. That was a mild disagreement? There'd be a sideways glance to Dali, to make sure that this wasn't exactly something that was generally so easily shrugged to the side. It'd be a small measure of comfort to see her reaction mirroring his own. "I didn't think it was normal for so many dragons to be in the one place at any one time." Not that he really expected an answer to that. Just idle speculation.

His glass would be nursed within gloved hands. Turned and twisted about but not actually partaken of. A rare thing indeed for the bard to not be so happily downing down offered wine. A likely sign at how unhinged the whole situation had him and how desperate he'd rather have the situation resolved. It was all well and good for them. One of them considered a death match with a shadow-drake to be a disagreement. The other had drained a poisoned lake and taken such a thing into her keeping. And here he was. Very mortal, very small and very much out of his depth.

At least he could read. That at least was something he could contribute to the whole fiasco. For now, well, now that they were getting down to business he'd be all rapt attention.

[Drache]

"He did manage to drag himssself away," she glowered darkly. "And I expect he will be back eventually." It didn't occur to her to make a big deal out of it. Doing so would seem like a weakness, and she had no reason to expect that anyone would want to help her defend her home and her life. Such was what her past had taught her, unfortunately. "It'sss not," she answered Des with a grin. "Though there ssseems to be a fair number drawn to Myrken."

She too settled comfortably onto one of the luxuriantly upholstered chairs, she simple but elegant dress draping around her. She couldn't have looked more regal if she were sitting on a throne. Drache's jewelry was pretty, but her movements were mostly silent. She sipped her wine and listened intently as Dali began, and leaned forward to take the paper from Dali's hand, studying it carefully. She even traced her claw over the drawings.

"I don't know much, but what I have come to sssussspect warns me that thisss horn and Catch are more dangerousss than anyone has begun to imagine. Glenn is a fool. What is he thinking? That he can use the horn to control Catch? Or that reuniting him with it will make him eternally grateful? Or sssane?" The dragoness growled and her tail coiled around with a swish.

"You want to sssearch my library?" Her brow lifted incredulously, and her flat stare made it quite clear the enormity of what Dali was asking. The library wasn't a mere hobby. As a whole, it was the prize of her entire hoard. Des may be easily swayed by Dali's pretty pouting and sweet pleading, but Drache was not so susceptible. Not even Zilliah had seen it. She drummed her claws on the arm of her chair. Eventually she sighed, a great plume of dark smoke billowing from her nostrils.

"If you were anyone elssse Dali, I would sssay no out of princccipal. But thisss is important to me too." She stood up and set her wine aside, no longer interested in it. "We'd bessst get ssstarted."

[BrokenDreamer]

The copper haired woman frowns deeply, not liking the idea of the shadow drake returning. "If you need assistance, you know how to reach me," she speaks softly. "I am not much of a fighter but two stand a better chance ... and there is Rhin to consider." Oh she loathes the idea of getting involved in physical combat. Just the very thought leaves her shifting uncomfortably in her seat and for a moment she is reaching to very carefully rest fingertips upon Descant's knee. Just for a brief moment. Comfort pulled through from that simple contact.

"Glenn is a fool," she agrees. "I knew him when he was more boy than man. A simple mapmaker. He has changed a lot and I am not sure I like the changes." She frowns, again. "At least for now it is within my possession and safe. And it buys us time to seek out better answers."

"You know I wouldn't ask this of you if it was not important. I would not impose myself upon your space and library without you first offering ... circumstances demand otherwise. This is our territory, Drache. We need to insure it's safety. More than that, though. We need to insure the safety of the people that live here. Too much is at stake and we all know too little."

[Raven]

There would be a smile at Drache's offered reply to his largely rhetorical question. He certainly wasn't going to complain too much about the inundation of dragons. So long as they all played nice and didn't drag Dali into anything. Especially when Dali would speak up and offer assistance if it was ever required. She certainly had a knack for getting involved in or offering to get involved in things that were far beyond the bard's limited ability to help with.

While she might only seek that momentary touch to steel her resolve, his gloved fingers would not let her escape so easily. Darting after to hopefully entangle and clasp his hand with her own.

As to the rest? There was very little he himself knew personally of Glenn Burnie and he was already in agreement with finding better answers and taking whatever necessary steps they could to make sure that no disaster befell Myrken by them blundering further into the situation. At least Drache appeared to be accepting of their dire need and had her own interest in helping out.

The fact that she was setting aside her wine and getting up so they could get right on it, would be all the prompting Descant would need to set aside his untouched wine. Clambering to his feet and providing the gypsy assistance with finding her own footing. It'd probably take some convincing to get him to relinquish his hold upon Dali, even after they'd both be standing he'd still be quite happy to cling hand in hand.

[Drache]

"I appreccciate the offer," she said truthfully when Dali offered to back her in a fight against the loathsome male drake who might yet come to call. But even with one eye Drache didn't fail to miss the way her friend became restless and reached to Des for support at the very thought of a fight. It was for that reason Drache wouldn't likely take her up on such an offer, even if circumstances called for help. Perhaps a fatal flaw in the way this dragoness forgot to find strength in allies. As she stood her gaze dropped to the sleeping infant, though her mind was briefly Elsewhere.

It would become apparent shortly that she hadn't just lost herself in thought. A large black cat padded out of the darkness of one of the tunnels, his round eyes alive with the light of all the torches and the significant hearth. His fur was a long luxurious blue-black, his tail high and his whiskers proudly spread. -You called?- he quipped somewhat disdainfully in a tenor mindvoice, speaking publicly to any who could hear such things. He made it sound like she had just interrupted him in some painfully important endeavor, but in reality he'd been merely stalking the hoard scarabs that trundled sedately through Drache's shining wealth, nibbling grime from coins and keeping other small creatures out.

"Yesss," Drache replied, a tiny sneer on her snout at the cat's attitude. "Zerdali, Dessscant, thisss is Wanotreyx, my Familiar. Trey, thisss is is Dessscant and Zerdali, my friends. We are heading down to the Library and I'd like you to keep an eye on the baby, if you're not terribly busy." They had likely all seen each other at some point in the tavern, but Trey's place as her special companion was a rather recent development.

-A pleasure to meet you both, I'm sure.- He said, sounding incredibly bored. -I suppose-, the blackmalkin assented with a distinctly beleaguered tone. In this case anyways, it seemed that Catch hadn't been far off the mark in calling this one a Prince. His very flat face stretched weirdly in a convenient yawn and his bushy tailtip twitched back and forth before he padded over to the cradle and stretched to put his paws on the edge. He leaned over and sniffed at Rhin's pale scales, and once satisfied made his way over to the closest chair and settled himself on the seat. Nearby, Drache smiled a little and gave a slow shake of her ear-frills.

"Dali, Des, if you'll join me," the red dragoness beckoned, and then strode towards the fireplace. But instead of teleporting her someplace new when she stepped foot into the blaze, the fire died almost completely and the stone at the back vanished. A smooth pathway disappeared into the darkness and as soon as they were inside the back of the fireplace returned, blocking the way out. If her friends chose to follow, they would find that it was not a very long or arduous journey. The entire tunnel was one smooth straightaway with no branching tunnels and no lights except for that of the round ball of Magelight hovering over Drache's horns. The temperature dropped significantly, as if the drake's presence no longer influenced the atmosphere.


"It is difficult to find the motivation to insure the safety of the people here when they are quick to vilify me for things I didn't have aught to do with. I mussst have sssaved the lives of dozens of people the night Catch broke out of their gaol, and the homes and businessses of many more but...well I'm sure you've heard the talk. Mossst think I ssstarted the blaze myssself," she grumbled bitterly as they walked along, perfectly at ease in the eerie tunnel. "But I wouldn't be much of a dragonesss if I didn't take an interessst in what was happening outssside my front door. And I will be raising my infant here. In the interessst of that, and showing Myrkenites how wrong they are, I'll help in whatever way I can." And it wasn't simply the monologue of an irritated half-drake. There was expectation out of these two, who moved much more freely among the rest of society, that if they found something that could help, and did help, without causing a mass calamity, that they would bother to make her part known. Zerdali might recognize the tone, the hidden bargain and request, but who knew with the Bard?

They reached a stone wall carved with a large copy of Drache's personal sigil, the one she applied to all of her letters, the one etched by either arcane or mundane means to many of her possessions, the one she had decorated Zilliah's flesh with. She traced it with her claw and there was a flash of orange light before it too disappeared. She swept inside and pulled two soft wool cloaks from a peg inside, one for her and one for Dali. "I keep it cold in here because it'sss bessst for the books."

The magelight, a pale yellow thing, split into many and they spread across the room to occupy brass lanterns high up on the walls. As the illumination grew the full extent of Drache's Library became obvious. The chamber was almost a perfect circle carved out of white marble. Caramel and rosey veins spread through the stone. The ceiling was a dome and the center of the space was largely clear, so that if Drache wanted to rest here in her Dragonshape, she wouldn't be cramped. Bookshelves etched from the wall lined the whole perimeter and there were freestanding rows in front of those as well. A good quarter of the wall was occupied by wooden scroll cases, the silk and satin ribbons tied around the hundreds of scrolls and maps dangling motionlessly from the little cubbies.

The scent of paper and leather was thick. There were many thousands of books in all shapes and sizes. Some were ornate, gold-leafed and embossed. Others were even studded with gems. Others were boringly plain, untitled and barely more than a few sorry sheets of cheap pulpy paper slapped together with a tatty piece of leather on the outside. Most were bound by leather or cloth, but a few had covers of precious metals, or even human skin. Some were so tiny they could have only been written by creatures like the faeries in New Hiberia. Others were so large that Dali could have assumed her true-form and been able to read them with no issue. Much of Drache's collection concerned magic, and a large number of those books and scrolls carried their own enchantments, or curses. The entire chamber had an air of meticulous organization, though with no labels on the shelves it would be anyone's guess how Drache had arranged the impressive collection. The only clutter existed on a wide oak table where Drache appeared to have begun repairs on a couple of severely damaged tomes or else compiling loose sheets of parchment into scrolls. It was not a place she ever expected company, but there were just enough mismatched chairs to seat the three of them.

Drache wrapped the thick cloak around her wings and stood to the side, arms crossed and tail twitching as she watched her friends enter.