Character Alignments: Subtlety Rules

"Alignment has been a staple of many role playing games since the industry's beginnings. It's been the subject of countless essays in fanzines and blog posts. Most people either love it or hate it; some could take it or leave it. I myself have gone from one extreme to another over the years, using it as a weapon against my players in my early-and-inexperienced years as a GM, then later completely banning it from my games for a few years, and finally embracing a balance that allows it to influence the game without getting in the players' way."

REF: RPG Character Alignments

I'm also of the mind to keep Alignment as a Character Guide, rather than a rules-centric system. I do have rules around Alignment, but they're not designed to be obvious in-play. My basic philosophy about Alignment is that deeds have consequences to the Character's Alignment, rather than the other way around. So if Beth the Druidess of Oswaldia is self-declared as Lawful Good, sobeit. She can declare her Alignment at the start of the game. I take it as "her intended Alignment". However, I will not be enforcing her to play Lawful Good. She can decide to do Chaotic things. The result will be that her character goes from Lawful Good to Chaotic Good as her actions mount up a compelling reason to conclude that she is in fact Chaotic Good, rather than Lawful.

So, what do I use Alignment for? Alignment influences a number of sub-surface aspects of the game. Foremost, it can influence how the Elkron of Elthos view the Character. There is an Elkron that is the embodiment of each Alignment (12 mixed Alignments, 4 "pure Alignments").

If Beth is Lawful Good, a worshipper of Minvar, and then commits Chaotic Evil acts, over time her connection to Minvar will fade, as Minvar is Lawful Good and expects her devotees to be the same. The miracles she calls on Minvar for will lessen, and eventually cease. A Chaotic Elkron, such as Omri, may solicit her to abandon Minvar altogether, and join the forces of Chaos, which to them is expressed as "The Cause of Freedom". If Beth does convert then she will continue on her merry way, without Minvar's association, and possibly with Minvar's enmity. And so on.

When Beth encounters a Lawful Good weapon, she won't necessarily able to use it effectively, or it might even counter her purposes. And so on.

There are a lot of ways that Alignment can come into play that are not anything like "Your Character is Lawful Good, so she can not do that action." To my mind, the proper use of Alignment in RPGs is a matter of some subtlety. Granted, the original rules for Alignment did not facilitate that type of usage directly, but those GMs who liked the concept of Alignment, but not the rules themselves, were always free to change them. And so I worked out something that I think is suitable for my world.

Another attribute of Alignment in my world is that most Characters are neutral. It takes a lot to embark on the path toward one particular Alignment, mostly because it requires consistency. And many players do not play their characters with the kind of consistency that leads to a specific Alignment, even if they desire to do so. It is by design that this is the case for Elthos. I have it in mind that Alignment beyond the norm (neutral) is difficult to achieve, and so it takes a good deal of effort to move along the Alignment Axis in any direction constantly. The progress is offset, quite frequently, by the contrary decisions Characters make along the way.

To be a Paladin of a particular Alignment is difficult because it is fairly easy to fall off of an Alignment path. However, the further one goes along the line of a particular Alignment, the more likely it is that Elkron will notice them, and either take issue with the Character, or reward them. Sometimes the Elkron award Powers to Characters who show a propensity for a specific Alignment.

I do have a system for awarding Alignment points. Basically, there are overt actions which correspond with the metaphysical Law-Chaos axis. Murder is Chaotic. Giving Alms is Lawful. Building a town is Lawful. Burning down a library is Chaotic. And so on. Then, on the Good-Evil, or moral axis, the question is one of Motivation FOR the action. Motives can be things like Friendship, Honor, Justice, etc. Thus, for example, Beth might one day steal money from a rich man in order to feed an impoverished family of poor folk. In this case the action is Chaotic (theft), but the motive is good (charity). And so points can be allotted on this basis to the Character's Alignment (measured as a coordinate on the Alignment Grid) through this mechanism.

To go far along any axis line, in Elthos, is difficult, and the further you go, the more difficult it becomes to go further still. Only really devoted heroes make it particularly far in any given direction. And as they do, they mount Alignment specific enemies and allies along the way. This has worked reasonably well for me over the years. I first implemented the Elthos Alignment system in the mid 1980s during California Campaigns. The Players seemed to find it unobtrusive, interesting, and even compelling. So I refined and polished it and put it on the shelf. It's a keeper.

I'm wondering: What do you folks think of Alignment in RPGs generally? Do you use Alignment in your games, and if so, how does it work for you? What success or failures have you seen in relation to Alignment? If not, why not?

-Mark

It's Alive (again)! (elthos web application news)

Ok this post is about the trials and travails of hosting Elthos RPG Web Application out there in the horrible "real world".

First off the hosting company migrated my project to a "new platform" in mid April. Fine. Except: they broke the site in numerous ways that made it all but impossible to work on, or even get to, for quite some time. You have no idea what I've been through with this. Good thing I don't have any users on the system at this time. Whew. Because otherwise I'd have been S.O.L. It took until two days ago (July 19) for them to get the site back online. That was April-July. Wow. That's like totally crappy service! Amaaaazing.

But anyway, after much gnashing of teeth it is online again. Superior! I can now go back to what I was working on. My World.

And now for the good news. I really like the Elthos RPG Web Application. I mean like A LOT. Why? Because it does quite a lot for me. The coolest thing, I think, that I realised today, is that it stores my world information in a nice tidy place so I don't lose stuff. Instead my stuff accumulates over time. In a nice easily accessible-from-anywhere location online. That's pretty sweet. So I can be on go, and see something that gives me cool game-world idea and through the website I can update my world. I can upload photos of places I see along the way from my phone, if I want, and add them to my world, too. That's just freakin cool, as far as I'm concerned.

The other things I like:

1. The math is simple so that even though the computer does the math, with a little effort I could easily do the math too. But the computer is faster, and makes fewer mistakes than I do, so still the computer is a plus on that.

2. The Web Application lets me print out my stuff in quick, but convenient (though not very fancy looking) format. So I can print-n-run to the game, and I know I have everything I need.

3. The Elthos Rules can be played pretty much on a picnic table with minimal equipment or books. That's a plus.

4. The rules are simple enough so that I can be reasonably sure how to build scenarios that balance without struggling with a zillion gotcha-rules. It makes improv-GMing much easier.

5. And it's must faster to generate monsters and NPCs using the Adventure Group Generator. The nice thing is that it gens not only the NPCs randomly, but equips them based on their race or class as well. So minimal post-gen work is needed. It doesn't, for example, assign spells or miracles to the mystical classes.

6. It's kind of fun to use, to. Oh, and if I do the data entry, it also keeps a nice historical record of what has transpired during the campaigns, and what each character did, and even records stuff that lets me determine the alignment of actions taken and adjust the character's alignment accordingly - automagically. It's a neat feature, though I suspect not everyone will use it. It's not necessary, but it's still pretty neat. And for my World of Elthos, Alignment makes a difference, so it works for me.

So anyway, enough about how great this is... the game sessions continue at pace, and we are making good progress through the Game Testing Phase (one of them, anyway). So that's great too. I'm pretty thoroughly psyched.

The bad news: I can not for the life of me figure out at this point whether or not I should throw the doors open to the world and let the Application out into the "wild", or if I should (and must?) get a patent, and build up a legal framework by which I can continue to control it going forward.

There are Pros and Cons on both sides, and I'm having a devil of a time working my way through the details via research and conversation with those who may know something helpful. It's a slow process.

But in the meantime, things are going well. The master is pleased.

:)

The River of Death

The ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ stood in a ten foot wide open gap between the inner tower and the outer wall. Before them were two doors, one near and leading into the tower, and the other was the arched tunnel through which they originally entered from the courtyard before the walled manor. They were furiously trying to decide what to do. They wanted to speak with Thurwulv and calm him down, but they feared that with a man of his sort it would not be possible.

Juliette was meanwhile focusing on her new vision from the “Stone of Seeing”. She was able to sense through things, feeling people and things more than seeing them with her normal vision. Focusing more intensely she suddenly spyed a doorway that she hadn’t noticed before. It was a short squat wide doorway along the outer wall between the first door and the second. It seemed like a doorway, and yet not. It was made of stones. And yet she sensed that it was in fact a doorway. A hidden one. She gave the spiral etched stone to Morgana for her to take a look as well. Morgana also saw the hidden door, and she put her hand into it as well. Her hand vanished into the liquid swirls that had seemed to be stones. Indeed, it was a passageway.

Then Morgana, curious, put her face through the doorway, into the stones which melted away like shimmering liquid. Inside she saw a world which she found utterly indescribable, except to say that it was a room in a hall with two doors, one blue and one red. Other than that she could not find the words to express what she saw there. The room was covered in mystic symbols carved into the stones, in such a profusion of patterns as would have made a butterfly’s wing blush. The symbols were moving, some slowly, and some rather rapidly, in arcs across the walls and floor and ceiling, every which way. She could not imagine how one would ever walk into such a room. Nor how they would get to the other side to open either of the doors. But they had other things of importance to discuss, and so she pulled her head back out and simply mentioned that there was a room with two doors. She also noted that she did not sense that the passage way went through the wall of the tower directly outside, but instead she felt that it went on to someplace quite 'other'.

They decided the best thing to do would be to go to the portcullis and lower the gate so that it would stand between Thurwulv and his men, and themselves. In this way they could talk with Thurwulf and perhaps mollify him.

Brian, Daniel, Morgana, Storm Wizard, Juliette and Laraby were ready to move. Morgana mentioned that Thurwulv, whom she could feel through the wall of the tower, had gone to the second floor where there were some other men. The ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ ran for the portcullis and finding the door locked they got Laraby to try his skill to open it. Out came his little box of tools and the lock snapped open. Storm Wizard entered, and when everyone else was outside the portcullis on the landing at the top of the stairs into the courtyard, he threw the lever and down came the portcullis gate. Storm Wizard then flew up and over the outer wall and landed with the others. He looked quite proud of himself until I thought of something.

"I probably should have broken the Portcullis lever", he said aloud but more to himself than anyone in particular.

Juliette stood in front with Brian and Daniel at her sides. Storm Wizard and Morgana stood behind her, and Laraby stood on the stairs, to the rear. Out came the men running full tilt. There were four of them, dressed for deadly combat. Iron studs dotted the dark leather vests as their swords glinted in the harsh sunlight. Black hats at a rakish angle, and cruel grins flashing, they came running down the tunnel, only to be stopped by the portcullis.

One turned aside and pulled the lever to open the gate. The gears creaked and groaned and the portcullus gate slowly openned. But there was not enough time for the proud band of young soldiers.

Immediately upon determining that these men had no inclination to discuss matters and meant them bodily harm, the ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ went into ation. It was but a few moments before the four men were in critical condition or dead, even before the gate lifted. For in that brief amount of time two lightning arrows had flashed through the gridwork of the openning gate, Minvar’s Wrath crushed one beneath a falling stone from the ceiling, and a dragon stomp kick had disabled the third, leaving him gasping for breath against the tunnel wall. The remaining one standing, looked around with both fear and wrath fighting for supremacy of his soul. In a final blaze of fury and anxiety he lunged at Juliette, for once in his lifetime, with a flick of his wrist and a sudden jab he managed to prick her in the heart heart with the point of his sword.

Down went Juliette in a flutter. Morgana immediately fell toward her as Brian and Daniel exacted a sudden and final vengeance on the hapless, vicious warrior. Into her pockets she reached her hands, searching for the medicines that the Holy Aphid had given her before they left the Temple there. Onto her fingers oozed a green paste which she applied to the red wound. Then she took a twig the Holy Aphid had given her, and put it in Juliette’s mouth. She then took the Tarot Card of Death, and with a hopeful prayer, turned it upside down and placed it over the green paste where her unbeating heart was. And then she took the sacred “Seeing Stone” and placed it on top of the Card of Death, upside down, and prayed fervently. It was as though a sheen enveloped Juliette’s body, and she was held in a state of stasis , her body unchanging. Yet, the stone being on the wound focused her spirit to stay with her body, and she felt then that she could, if she looked sideways, see her surroundings. Her family and friends were there and helping her. She held on to hope.

“We must take her either to the Monastary of the Golden Sheaf, or to the Aphid Temple. We must do this quickly”, said Morgana emphatically. It was decided that Laraby would take Juliette and the others to the Monastary, and that Storm Wizard would stay behind to guard their retreat.

And so Storm Wizard, as the ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ got on their way, flew upward to see what he might spy out. And he found Thurwulv, with his white hair, redish skin, and wry smile, standing firmly atop the inner tower, staring with a mocking tone at Storm Wizard, who remained out of range of Thurwulv’s throwing blades.

“Good. Very Good”, said Thurwulv with a grin.

“I’m glad you think so”, said Storm Wizard in reply.

“You killed my man, Mr. Montague. He was one of my best men”, said Thurwulv with a civil, yet menacing tone.

“Well, we didn’t actually kill him. He died protecting his lover, Morgana. You do know about that, don’t you?”

“Well, he never said anything to me about it”, replied Thurwulv with a look of surprise on his face.

“Yes, and he died saving her life from the Dark Bird of Night”, said Storm Wizard, still flying in a slow arc out of range.

“What Dark Bird of Night is this? I have not heard anything of it.”

“Well, never mind that then. My point is that we did not kill Mr. Montague”, said Storm Wizard emphasizing the word “we”.

“From where I stand, I saw you fighting up on the Tower and I saw Montague fall from there. I must Avenge my friend’s death. It is my duty.”

“Then avenge it on the Black Bird of Death”, retorted Storm Wizard.

“Well, it seems that you lost one”, said Thurwulv with his wry grin, “and I lost one.”

“So we’re finished then?”

“For now. But I have a feeling this is not the last time we shall meet”, said Thurwulv as he backed into the tower’s doorway into the parapet. And then he was gone.

Storm Wizard flew after the party, keeping an eye out behind him. And off through the mountains they went. Laraby worked up a rig that served as a bier upon which they carried Juliette in state. Her soft brown hair entwined with flowers and sweet scented herbs.

When the bier arrived at the Lumberjack’s camp there was a great reaction. The men were all aggrieved that the darling girl, Juliette, should have lost her young life on Black Hill. It added among them a new depth of loathing for that terrible place.

“Again, it always happens, but why Juliette!? She was so innocent and good”, they lamented. “You are lucky to have even come back from there at all, friends. You’re the first to return from there so far. All the others vanished and were never heard of again”, went the tale.

And so they left there, and went on to the Green Dragon Inn, where Lucia was distraught over the death of Juliette. She made many prayers over her, and entwined new herbs into her dress and kissed her on the forehead with many tears. Everyone at the bar drank in somber silence, until one sang a dirge-song about the brave and honest woman, who was a blessing to the land, and all the people she met, great or small.

Staying there but a short time for a meal and a short rest, they marched onward through the snow. As it happened, they found out that all the time they had spent with the Aphids was as if it was no time at all outside the old ruins. It was still winter after all, and Storm Wizard had been proven right – in that strange world of Weeleena’s time may well have simply stayed in the pleasant season, for that was it’s nature. It was certain that time had a strange way of ebbing and flowing in that place. When they looked outward to the forest it seemed time was very fast, and the seasons spinning by. But when they got close to any large being, such as Thurwulv’s foot, it seemed that time moved in slow motion.

They came upon a lonesome stretch of dirt paths and tall outcroppings where they had once met the 'Little Ones' in the cave. This is where they had gotten lost originally and from here had wandered unwittingly into the Black Forest. They were, once again, unsure of the way to the Golden Monastery. So they turned to Laraby, whom they felt had proven his worth in such matters before, and he determined that they should take the Southern pathway, which they did.

Then they came to old Biddy Mable’s shack in the hills. She was so overcome with grief over Juliette’s death that she wept full sore for a long time. And she cried out to the heavens for all her sorrow, and said that Juliette had been her friend. It was something she had not said of anyone in a long, long time.

They then rushed on to Perdu Hill, on which the gallows swing in the cold dark wind. They passed over the hill and descended into the cemetery. They followed a windy little trail between the graves, around little hills and prominences of rock capped by moss. They’d been on the road for two days and were quite tired by then. And they began to feel lost in the cemetery because of all the windy path that was so hard to follow, even for Laraby, who was especially good at that sort of thing.

“Why hello there”, cried Mr. Ebol the caretaker who had been working on a new grave.

“You’ve come just in time. You can put her right in here! It’s all fresh and ready”, said Mr. Ebol with evident cheer. "I just finished it, don't you know!"

“No, thanks. We want to take her for her Rites at the Monastary of the Golden Sheaf, you know.”

“Oh that! What do you kids know about anything anyway?!”, said Mr. Ebol suddenly irritable, but walking along a particular path leading the way as he gesticulated with hand over head.

They came out on the far side of the cemetery, and as a flock of crows flew up into the glowering sky, they emerged into the fields before the Monastery, with its golden dome. It was a pleasant site for sore eyes, to be sure.

The men in the fields came quickly when they saw that a bier was being carried. They were all friends of Juliette, fellow monks of Minvar. Penelope the Abbess was summoned and she arrived swiftly. Her countenance was grave.

“Bring her to the Womb of Minvar”, said Penelope, and they laid here there upon a stone slab.

“We will know in three days if she shall return to us, or pass on away from us”, said Penelope as she worked on applying new herbs and flowers to Juliette’s hair. “We must leave her now”, she said and shut the door so that the room went pitch black and silent as space. There lay Juliette, her spirit near her body, in the cold darkness of the Womb of Minvar.

This she could sense when she looked sideways. However, when she looked straight ahead then she saw something quite different indeed. She was standing on the edge of a black river, the icy water up to her ankles. She could not quite walk backwards onto the shore. Mist was everywhere. There were dead trees in the mist. The river flowed a ways off downstream to a water falls, over which it vanished with a roar. Beyond it was darkness profound.

She decided to stay where she was. But then she saw a boat on the water. It was a small boat. A paper boat. It looked like a small origami boat floating near her ankles on the water. She reached down to pick it up, and it then bobbed away on the water. When she stood up again, the boat bobbed back toward her ankle. She noticed that the boat was bobbing around over a rock just under the surface of the water. On the smooth surface of the stone was engraved the same inverted double spiral pattern as the one on her “Seeing Stone”. Over this the boat kept a steady vigil. On the third try she touched the tiny boat, and instantly found herself on it’s deck.

It swayed largely on the current of the river, and began to float toward the water falls, from beyond which came the sound of a great gong, which sounded three times, very slowly. Juliette grew afraid. She felt that going over the waterfalls was a bad idea. She looked around at the boat for some way to steer it when she noticed that it was beautifully crafted with all kinds of designs and patterns, and engravings of mythical beasts such as dragons and unicorns. It was an amazing vessel. She saw there at the helm a tiller and went to steer the boat with it, but she found that there were six stations for oarsmen that were empty. The oars lay on their benches. Without the oarsmen she could not steer the boat.

Meanwhile, out in the “real world” Storm Wizard was speaking earnestly with Penelope as the faithful Abbess prepared tinctures and gems for the work she would do to help Juliette arrive back in the land of the living.

“We went, you see, the Realm of the Insect King, and met the Holy Aphid in his temple, and we discovered that the Red Locusts of the East are saying that there is soon to come a great swarm called the Grand United Army. It will”, he said, “kill everything in it’s path. The Locust Ambassador claimed it would come soon. But we do not know, given the strangeness of time there, if that is in three weeks or ten years.”

Storm Wizard then outlined the plans that the Aphids and the ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ had agreed upon. It was a masterful plan, she said. “Yes, the need is urgent”, agreed Penelope in amazement at their adventure. “However, I must help Juliette now. I will send an Abbot with you. He shall help. His name is Clarence. He will help you to raise money for your venture, and hire the men you need.”

And so Storm Wizard was introduced to Abbot Clarence and they left the Monastery immediately with Clarence in the lead. Once he learned of the tale, he estimated based on his knowledge of time and the Insect Kingdom (which was not inconsiderable), that they had until the end of the summer to effect their plan. It was a tight schedule. And he did not like the fact that the mountain agreed upon was far beyond the reach of where anyone in Glendale had ever ventured to before. In the Eastern Desert, beyond the Black Forest, which none of them had ever seen.

Meanwhile, Penelope had placed six candles and six stones around Juliette’s body. Juliette could sense these from her peripheral vision, and then slowly the lights showed up along the banks of the dark river. She could see that the stones under the lights each had a pattern. A scorpion by the water falls, then a sword on the other side of the river, then a sun, and a heron, then a salmon, and finally a half man half fish.

It was mystifying indeed. And then, to her surprise, there appeared on each stone a man dressed in a toga. They walked through the water toward her boat. Each was very handsome, with different colors of hair and eyes, but all strong and courageous. When the men entered the boat they were completely dry. They took positions at each oar, and then the closest one with blond hair and cool blue eyes, looked back at her, silently inquiring, “where do we take you, my lady?”

“Take me to the Sun”, said she.

And so the glistening men rowed the boat across the river, while Juliette steered the boat at the till, which took a great deal of effort as the current in the center was strong. Eventually the boat beached upon the shore where the Golden Sun was shining, a face upon a golden shield leaning against the rock. The face was that of a lion, both fierce and yet kind at the same time. It was strange. She stood before the golden Sun and said, “I am not ready to die. My friends are helping me. I still have hope.”

And the Sun-Lion smiled.

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Previous Episode: Down to the Bottom
Next Episode: Escape from Death - Part 1

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Down To The Bottom

In the Great Hall of the Temple of the Aphids, deep within a stone block located on the western rim of an old ruined tower on Black Hill, the few remaining Princes’ of the Aphids gathered with great foreboding at the bidding of the old Holy Aphid. In came two yellow Aphids, two red Aphids, two black Aphids and two green Aphids, the last being Kintin and Tinkin, our heroes’ guides through the Insect Kingdom.

There was a long discussion back and forth among them as to what they should do regarding the threat of the Locust Lord. Soon, he had declared, there would be a famine in the east that would drive the Grasshoppers into a tiny place, which would then initiate the transformation into The Grand United Army of the Red Locusts. If the old Holy Aphid would not advise the King of the Insects that the Ants had stolen their food, and should be recompensed their loss, then the Red Locusts would surely swarm, and destroy the Glendale Region. This of course meant that the Holy Aphid was being asked to lie to the King in order to save the Kingdom. The Holy Aphid was granted three days in which to decide. And so the Locust Ambassador departed, and the Holy Aphid summoned the last of the Aphid Princes to the Great Hall to council and advise him.

The debate among the Aphids took quite some time, as Aphids are slow to deliberate, especially on matters of great importance. They invited the ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ to join the debate as they happened to be unique visitors from the realm of men to the tiny world of the Insect Kingdom, and might be able to offer unique assistance, or advice. Unfortunately, the advice they could offer involved feats of engineering that only humans could master, and that, they decided, would require the ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ to return to their own world and make an attempt to solicit the aid of their own people. The plan they settled on was to direct the Locusts through the desert by tempting them with food in a spiral pattern at the right times of day so that the Grand United Army might spend it’s time circling the desert and in the end devour themselves. It should be noted that the ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ were really simply a bunch of farm children, but to the Insects they seemed veritable Royalty from another world. While the children were not all so sure that they could muster the forces necessary to enact such a grand plan, their part being to bring large amounts of lumber to a certain desert mountain, which would serve as the Locusts Last Stand, into which they would, in the final phase of the plan, collide together, cannibalize each other, and then burn in a huge bond fire. An offering as it were to the Elkron of Fire. It seemed fitting.

In addition, the Black Aphids wanted to attempt to assassinate the Locust Prince, in the hopes that by failing to return from his ambassadorial mission, the Grand United Army might not come at all. This idea was frowned upon, as the others felt it would in all likelihood make no difference as the Locusts would have many more Ambassadors to send, out of the billions of ranks of their Grand United Army. This, thought Ben without saying so much, might not have been the case, as the death of the Locust Prince might have precipitated a dreadful calamity among the Locusts… a war of succession would have broken out, and this might well have eliminated the majority of the threat. Ben considered this in light of the point that the Locusts might have but few Princes among their ranks, and so the possibility existed that their fierce competitive nature as Red Locusts could ignite a conflaguration among their ranks. But Ben thought it too far fetched an idea, and didn’t do more than take note of it in his Journal, and mention it later to Morgana. She thought it might be a good idea, but didn’t know Locusts well enough to be sure.

In addition, none of them felt very confident that they would be able to defeat a Warrior Prince such as the Locust Ambassador, with his shining cooper armor, and brutal countenance. After all, Aphids are farmers by nature, not warriors. Even the black Aphids shuddered at the thought of having to battle the Locust Prince themselves, which was another reason why they agreed to invite the ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’. The Black Aphids had hoped that the members of that party might be brave enough, and skilled enough, to defeat their foe. This however, was not suggested by anyone, and the ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ were among those who thought the effort would prove useless in the end, anyway. And so the conversation went on into the wee hours.

Several times during the discussion everyone noticed shudders in the stone, and dust falling from the ceiling.

“Is this place subject to earthquakes?” asked Juliette.

“No, we do not have earthquakes here”, whispered Tinkin. “Those tremors are most likely the result of a battle within the tower. They are not infrequent, you may well believe. By the sound of it, I would say this is a fiercer one than most.”

Then attention returned to the subject at hand. What to do about the Locust Ambassador. The old Wise Aphid eventually had heard everyone’s opinions, contemplated the suggestions offered, and came to no distinct conclusion. He decided that his best course would be to go to the King of the Insects immediately, and tell him what the Locust Ambassador had said. Based on the King’s reaction the Wise One would advise the King then.

The ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ offered to take him on that distant journey once they had grown large again, but the Wise One knew that this process was not only fraught with perils, but would in all likelihood take longer than the mode of transport he had in mind.

“Prepare the Dragon Fly Chariot!”, he commanded. And two attendants scurried out of the room to do so.

The Wise One then gave leave for Kintin and Tinkin to take the ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ down the Great Ivy Way far, far down to the bottom of the tower, where they had hopes that they would return to their normal size. And so everyone made their good byes and the Princes’ of the Aphids departed to their various distant castles, while Tinkin and Kintin prepared for the dangerous journey ahead. Provisions were secured, the Aphids mounted with their wickerwork saddles, and everyone gathered to wish the adventurer’s a safe journey homeward. The Holy Aphid, now in his humanish form as a withered old man with a long gray beard, offered them his blessings, and all of the Aphids waved their antennae and sang a song in their whirling clicking language. It was quite beautiful sounding.

Having climbed aboard the backs of the transporting Aphids, with Kintin and Tinkin leading, they set out in the early morning at first light. Along the side of the outer wall they traveled downward for a short ways, and then cut a horizontal path along a crack in stone, and then turned to climb straight upward until they got to the top of the stone block that was part of the ruined tower’s inner parapet. They had a glorious view of the Black Forest below, and the air was crisp and clear. Along the top of the stone they traveled until the came to the same bridge they’d crossed earlier to gain entrance to the Aphid Temple. Now they crossed back the other way. Looking over the edge of the twig that formed their bridge, far below them they could dimly see the huge centipede wriggling along a shadow at the bottom of the crack between the stones. It was headed away from them, they were relieved to see, toward some dark shape that appeared to be another large insect, perhaps a spider, or some gigantic beetle. They crossed without incident, and made their way along the top of the grey stone until they came to the first of the leaves that wound their way upward to the main stem of the Great Ivy Way. They kept their eyes alert for any sign of giant mosquitoes, as this was the region in which they had met the last pulsing-eyed monstrosity. None were to be seen.

Upward they climbed until they were swaying in the air on the top of the wide green stem. This was the highest point on the tower they would achieve and so they decided to stop and have breakfast before embarking on the long trek down the Great Ivy. It was a beautiful view.

As it happened from that spot Storm Wizard and Juliette noticed that along the outer wall of the tower, not far below them, there was a kind of cave in which there sat a stone, probably about the actual size of a walnut, which at their current tiny-size was much larger than a house to the 'Steel Wool Sheeps'). The enormous cave appeared to be man made, as it had an arched opening lined by stones, and a level polished floor on which the stone sat. The stone itself appeared to be polished, and from where they were they could barely see that it had some sort of engraved spiral design etched onto the top of it. It looked similar to the stones that they had seen outside of Hamfest. It was all rather mystifying. Why would there be such an alcove with a stone in it on the outside of a tower so high above the ground? None of them could imagine why, and so, unable to get to the stone from where they were, they continued downward.

They passed a large leaf on the north side on which they could see a multitude of Aphids had gathered in concentric circles. They were dancing. It was explained to them that this was the Om Pansophia of the Aphids, a place of higher learning, and celebration. There were thousands of philosophers gathered together to discuss the nature of the universe, and dance in harmony to the Orphic Music of the Celestial Spheres.

Passing by this, in their hurry, they continued downward. On the south side they passed another leaf, on which they saw small brown clumps of dirt that formed a veritable city in the center of the swaying leaf.

“That is the city of the Tiny Ones”, mentioned Kintin in passing.

“The ‘Tiny Ones’?”, said Juliette incredulously.

“I believe you may call them ‘Mites’”, explained Tinkin. And sure enough scuttling all around the leaf were tiny insects no bigger than Juliette’s pinky finger, which meant that they were very very tiny insects indeed! They were brown armored plated little things with ant-like legs and short stubby antennae. There must have been millions of them swarming over the city, into and out of their tiny brown hovels. This was not a leaf that any of the travelers wished to visit, they decided, and agreed that it would be best to get to the bottom of the Great Ivy Way as soon as possible, and so they continued. Only Ben looked back, longing to learn more. Who knows what fantastic teachings the “Tiny Ones” might have? The others were content to continue on their way in the hopes that at the bottom they would indeed turn back to their normal size as old Biddy Mabel had promised. Then they could set about their very urgent business of convincing someone in town of their fabulous story, and the dire warning they bore. They did not know when the Locust Swarm might come across the Western Desert. They feared the worst.

Further down the wide green stem they came upon another leaf to the west side that had five huge lady bugs on it. They were each the size of a house compared to the Aphids they were riding, and so they made for a dreadful sight as they lifted the Aphids they had corralled onto the leaf high in the air with their black mandibles and devoured them while they squirmed and shrieked in mortal terror.

Such a common site among the Aphids was this that Tinkin and his brother Kintin only paused for a few moments to say a prayer, and then forged ahead, ever downward. Juliette and Morgana were horrified, Ben somber, Brian and Daniel amused, and Storm Wizard simply had his mind on other things at the time and barely any notice at all.

Eventually they came to a leaf upon which they found none other than the Locust Ambassador sitting in a lotus position, with his sword laid in its scabbard across his lap. In the swaying breeze only his antennae twitched occasionally as his copper armor and metallic skin glinted in the sun. Springing up suddenly the Locust Warrior leapt a huge distance onto an adjoining leaf on which a black ant was gathering Aphids for some assignment elsewhere on the vine. Landing directly on the Ants’ back, the Locust drove his sword clean through and killed the Soldier as suddenly as that. Then, with a curt bow to the Aphids, he leapt back to the leaf on which he’d been sitting and went directly back into his lotus position sanking swiftly into a deep red meditation. There was some debate as to what to do. Should they go down and challenge the creature? They decided against it. They moved on.

As they made their way from that leaf downward along the wide green stem a small battalion of black ants marched rapidly passed them en route to the leaf on which the Locust Ambassador was meditating. They marched in battle formation, and attempted to surround and attack the Locust. Before they could manage to surround it, however, it leapt into the air and landed on a distant leaf. The ants, who have poor vision, but great sense of smell, were baffled. They could not sense where the Locust Ambassador had leapt to. And so they scuttled around on the leaf in confusion. The ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ took note of this occurrence, but decided to continue downward as quickly as possible. They felt it would be too dangerous to get involved in an insect war. And they were probably right about that.

Further down the main stem the intrepid adventurers came upon a leaf that was entirely empty, but underneath it hung an oblong grey hive crawling with black wasps. They flew in and out of the openings on their myriad of missions.

One black wasp flew directly over head and began to hover over a nearby leaf on which a small gaggle of Aphids were farming plant-sap. Onto the back of one a black wasp descended, and with a quick jab stabbed it in the back, inserting a small black ball into it’s translucent body. The ball, Juliette could see, immediately began to wriggle, and out poked small pointy legs and a jagged snout.

“What in the name of the Holy Elkron is THAT?”, demanded Juliette horrified and incensed.

“That is a black wasp egg”, replied Tinkin matter-of-factly. “In a few hours the poor Aphid will suffer a harrowing death, being eaten alive from within. From his miserable carcass will emerge a new Wasp-Warrior of the Ladybug Imperium”, he concluded grimly.

Again the black wasp landed on another Aphid and did the same. And again. By the time it had planted its hideous seed into the fifth Aphid Juliette was already on her way, coaxing her terrified Aphid mount onto the leaf where the Aphids writhed in pain and terror. Leaping down from the saddle while the others combated the Wasp, she reached her hand into the still fresh hole in the Aphid’s back, and with a strong prayer to Minvar, she withdrew the small translucent green egg in which wriggled a very small black fiend with jagged legs wiggling and sharp teeth gnashing. Sensing the pure and fiendish malice in its tiny jet eyes, she crushed the egg in her two hands with a shudder, and moved onto the next Aphid.

In the end she was able to save three of the five Aphids. The other two had wasp pupae that were too close to important internal organs to remove safely. Nevertheless, Juliette tried her best, and by the time she was done the dark blood of five black wasp pupae splattered her cloths. Meanwhile Storm Wizard had neatly dispatched of the black wasp by means of a spell that rendered the creature senseless. It fell to the leaf with a light thud, and the aphids gathered around it and pushed the thing over the edge so that it fell far down to the forest floor below. With a few prayers and good byes the adventurer’s returned to the main stem and continued on their way.

Once back on the main stem, the party made quick progress the rest of the way down. It was well towards the end of the day by then, and as they approached the towering blades of grass at the base of the tower they began feel a strange sensation. Things around them began to seem smaller than they were, and then smaller still, until as they stepped off the backs of their Aphid mounts, they found themselves standing at their normal human sizes looking downward at Tinkin and Kintin, and Ben who remained on the back of his Aphid.

“I’ve decided to stay with the Aphids!”, he shouted upward as his compatriots began to grow.
“We will need a liaison among the Insects for when you make arrangements to help against the Locusts! And besides, there’s so much that we didn’t have time to learn – I prefer to stay behind at the Aphid Temple”, he concluded in a determined voice.

“Farewell”, said Storm Wizard without sentiment.

“Good bye”, said Juliette, “we will try to get in touch with you as soon as we can!”

“Good bye dear friend”, said Morgana, who had grown rather fond of Ben, as he had always lent a sympathetic word, or tried to find something interesting or humorous for her to take her mind off of her sorrows. Still, Mr. Montague weighed on her mind and memory.

Now that they had grown tall, they found themselves in the wide open segment of the tower between the inner circular wall and the outer circular wall. Above them was the open sky. And high above them was that strange little alcove in which they’d seen the polished stone.

“Well, I shall return momentarily”, said Storm Wizard as he moved his hands with strange gestures, and intoned a deep song, the words of which no one else could understand. Up into the air he rose, and then flying as if born to it, he directed his flight to the hole with the stone. Taking the stone was easy enough. It had a redish hue, and a small spiral design etched into it.

He then discerned the sounds of combat coming from over the edge of the tower’s parapet. Flying a bit higher up so he could peer over the edge of the parapet Storm Wizard saw the same red skinned man with the white hair they’d seen the day before. It reminded him that time flowed a bit differently in the tiny-world of the Insects. Was this the same battle they’d felt during the Council of the Aphid Princes’, or a new battle? How much time had passed since they entered the tiny-world? These were questions that would have to wait.

He flew a little bit higher up so as to see who it was that the Red Man was fighting, and to his great surprise, there against the wall crouched their lost guide Laraby! The two men launched at one another with the fury of raging bulls. They were fighting open handed, and with techniques that rivaled anything Storm Wizard had ever seen. Blows by both fists and feet came fast and furious from both men. Each blow expertly blocked by a leg, an arm, or an evasion. Laraby seemed to be just as expert as the Red Man at this kind of fighting, and the two of them dealt blows that would have floored a normal person. But for each blow there was a block and a counter blow. The battle raged until in one instant the Red Man gained the upper hand and dealt a truly devastating Dragon Fist to Laraby’s solar plexus. Down went the tall lanky fellow into a crumpled ball, gasping for breath. The Red Man stepped forward to level a final death blow. This was too much for Storm Wizard, and he landed on the edge of the parapet behind the Red Man, and with a quick chant and the flicker of his fingers a beam of stunning luminocity blazed toward him, but whatever effect it should have had, it had none at all. The fellow deflected the spell by dint of his own mystic shielding.

The Red Man turned backwards and backed himself against the doorway that lead into the tower.

“Hi”, said Storm Wizard.

The Red Man sprang forward with a Flying Dragon Stomp kick. Fortunately, Storm Wizard was wearing the triangular amulet that had been given to him by Isabella’s Guard. The ferocious kick missed it’s mark, and the Red Man went flying into a wall with a thud. Storm Wizard took the moment to cast his spell again, and this time it hit squarely into the Red Man’s chest and he collapsed into a heap there.

At that moment Laraby stood up with a groan. Looking around he took note of the situation, and spoke.

“Hi John. Am I glad to see you.”

“Hi Laraby. Fancy meeting you here. Anyway, we have about one minute before that man wakes up again.”

“I see”, said Laraby.

As they discussed wither or not to throw the Red Man over the edge, the downed fellow woke up again and stood up.

“Who are you!?” he demanded of Storm Wizard.

“I ask the questions here”, said Storm Wizard in tart reply.

“I don’t think so!” retorted the Red Man, and kicked Laraby again, knocking him to the ground. He then turned on Storm Wizard, who flew up and away out of range. The Red Man flashed out a knife and threw it at Storm Wizard’s throat. It missed by mere inches, and sailed past and over the edge of the outer tower.

Storm Wizard quickly flew down and grabbed Laraby who was gasping for breath, and held onto him as best he could, toppling them both over the edge of the tower. With all his strength of magic Storm Wizard was barely able maintain his flying power enough to keep them both from hurtling down to their deaths. Instead they landed with a crash, but both were no more injured than one might be after falling off a chair. They stood up. Laraby, still breathless, managed a garbled “Thank you”, as Juliette and Morgana attended to his injuries. They called upon the Elkron of the Earth, the Great Mother, Minvar, to heal the man. And this, by luck or grace, changed his countenance so that he then appeared after a few moments to be wholly healed.

Handing the strange engraved stone to Juliette, and turning to Laraby, Storm Wizard looked with a rather baffled eye upon the man he just rescued.

From above they then heard the Red Man his face contorted with rage, yelling down at them, cursing wildly, and then saw him vanish back from the edge of the tower and disappear.

“Laraby”, said Storm Wizard, “we didn’t expect to see you again. We haven’t much time to talk just now, and I should add that I don’t mind having rescued you… but please explain, briefly– Who was that man, and where did you disappear to when we entered this place?”

“Oh yes, well that. That man is Thurwulv, I believe. He is the leader of the Black Wulf Gang, and as far as I can tell, a skilled and cunning criminal. He seems to believe that I had something to do with the murder of one of his henchmen. A many by the name of Montague, I think”, he said rather perplexed.

“As for where I vanished to earlier… I’m very sorry about that. I can understand your frustration”, he replied adjusting his wire rimmed glasses, “but as you were heading up that stairway I noticed something very odd… a stone with a design engraved into it which I’ve noticed in various places around Glendale. It’s of such great significance to my research I had to investigate. I intended to be only a minute behind you, but by the time I went to see where you were, you folks had already vanished into the tower. I couldn’t find the way down to the tower entrance without entering the ruins… and I simply didn’t think that was quite such a good idea, given the dead wolf I found laying in front of that doorway. So I decided to try to find another way in. Then I saw your battle on the top of the parapet, the fall of that man to the tower’s base, and from that point forward I determined that no matter what I would find my way to you. By the time I made my way into the tower, and found the stairs leading to the parapet it had been some time, and when I got to the top, instead of finding you, I found our foe. He immediately attacked me, and we were engaged in that battle when you found me. For which I thank you very considerably. I do not know that I could have defeated him. His Kung Fu is very strong.”

Meanwhile, Juliette had been inspecting the stone with the spiral engraving. It felt very powerful. As she looked at it her vision began to change. She felt that the stone gave her a kind of deeper insight, and she noticed that she could see, or rather sense or feel, but not quite “see”, through things. Through the ground, and through the walls of the tower her senses seemed to stretch. Not terribly far, but quite distinctly. In fact, she could feel the Red Man heading down the spiral stairs inside the wall of the tower next to them.

“It is a Vision Stone”, she thought to herself. These were rare wonders which gave enhanced sight to those lucky enough to be able to unlock their secrets. Not much was known of them as they were ancient, and the majority of their secrets lost in the sands of time.

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Previous Episode: The Encroaching Doom - Part 3
Next Episode: The River of Death

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Encroaching Doom (part 3)

“A Locust?” asked Storm Wizard, surprised.

“I take it you wouldn’t get along with Locusts particularly", he added after a moment's reflection.

“No”, answered the young noble Aphid-Man, Kintin, with a grave finality.

“Locusts don’t tend to get along particularly well with anyone, do they?”, continued Storm Wizard thoughtfully.

“No, not really.”

“Why is he here?”, asked Juliette.

“We don’t know. He has demanded he be brought into the High Council with the Wise One.”

“Can we come?”, asked Storm Wizard after a pause.

“I do not see why not.”, answered Kintin. And so they all went together down the long dark passageways to the Great Hall. At the center was the Wise One on his stone chair, while around the edge of the enormous circular chamber milled the great throng of Aphids, twittering and whirring with a million whispers.

Between the Wise One and the assembly there stood the Locust-Man, his hands on his hips. He exuded headstrong pride and arrogant ferocity. He had long straight shining red hair, and wore a copper vest, leggings, gloves, and a long copper tinted cape. He was tall with large red-brown muscles. He was much like a normal Man, except he had shiny oblong insect eyes, and shining copper antenna, and copper tinted skin. He seemed almost metallic. And the way he stood so brazenly before the old Wise One conveyed a fierceness which was evident from the back of the chamber where Juliette had seated herself, with the rest of the ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’ Adventure Group. All, that is, except for Storm Wizard who saw fit to make his way forward to a seat in the front, bringing Brian with him, the better to see the Locust-Man.

There was a hush upon the hall. The Locust-Ambassador spoke, “I have come from very far. From across the western desert. From beyond the mountains. My people begin to starve.”

At this all of the Aphids murmured.

“The Ants have stolen our food, and for this we demand Retribution,” the Locust-Ambassador concluded severely, pointing a finger at the Holy Aphid. “Wise One, with your help, with your support, then the Ants will have no choice but to submit to the will of the King, and our people shall not starve. Will you help us?”

“But what does this mean? Do you mean that I should tell the King that you deserve the food of the Ants because they stole it from you?” asked the Holy Aphid.

“Yes, that is exactly what you must say,” answered the Locust-Ambassador sternly.

“But that would be a lie!”, retorted the old Wise One. “I can not say it. The Ants have earned their food the way everyone else has, by working for it. They did not steal it from the Locusts.”

“Wise Aphid, beware that the decision you make today will impact greatly the future course of events for my people. We will not take this lightly. I leave you now. I give you three days to decide.” And with a flurry of his cape he turned and walked out of the Great Hall. Avast silence descended upon the crowded chamber.

Having made her way forward to Storm Wizard, Juliette commented saying, “He certainly didn’t seem very nice. Asking for help, but he never even said ‘Please’”.

“I get the feeling that people who ask the Aphids for anything rarely do say ‘please’,” Storm Wizard replied.

“Well, he should have”, answered Juliette.

“It probably would not make any difference, I think, even if the Locust-Ambassador had said ‘please’”, said Tinkin who had been sitting next to them.

“Well it makes a difference to me”, said Juliette.

“So do you know what that was about?”, inquired Storm Wizard of Tinkin.

“I only know as much as you do, more or less. This was … unexpected.”

“Do you actually know that the Ants have not stolen any food from the Locusts?”, Storm Wizard inquired as politely as he could.

“Ants don’t steal food from the Locusts.”, replied Tinkin.

“What if the Ants robbed a Locust silo or something?”, asked Storm Wizard.

“The Locusts don’t have silos, because the do not gather food”, responded Tinkin with a slight exasperation in his voice. How can humans not know the most obvious things, he wondered.

“They eat straight from the vine, as it were?”

“They do.”

“Could they claim ownership of certain plants?”

“That would go against the law of the Insect Kingdom”, said Tinkin. No further elaboration seemed to be required.

“So if he came from so far away, I don’t see how the Ants could have gone so far to steal the food”, commented Juliette, half to herself, as she stroked the back of Ember’s neck.

“Well, it was not his implication that the Ants in this region did the crime.”, put forth Tinkin.

“Its just … The Ants?”, she asked with a dawing realization.

“Yes. The Insect Kingdom spans the entire world”, he said.

“So who is the King?’, asked Storm Wizard as they walked slowly toward the center of the enormous stone Hall. All across the ceiling Ben was noticing the intricate patterns which formed a vast geometric design. He could not comprehend it’s meaning, but felt quite sure that a meaning it had, and a very deep and ancient one. He pointed up at one particularly beautiful area to Morgana who was ambling along in her own melancholy world. She smiled wistfully.

“He is the Lord King of the Insects”, answered Tinkin.

“What species of insect is he?”, inquired Juliette.

“He is … a unique person.”

“Aren’t we all? Or so our mothers tell us”, said Storm Wizard with a wry smile.

“So your mothers tell you”, repeated Tinkin with a wry smile of his own. He was of course aware that Aphid mothers tell their children quite the opposite, and that there is no greater virtue for an aphid than to be exactly like his brothers.

“I don’t trust him”, said Juliette finally.

“I don’t either”, replied Tinkin, “Nevertheless his demand is very threatening.”

As they approached the base of the circle of stone upon which the old Wise One paced in a small circle in front of his tiny throne, they found him scratching his whiskers and whirl-clicking to himself. He was deep in thought.

“If it comes to war between the Ants and the Locusts, who would win?”, Storm Wizard asked.

“The Ants would surely lose. But it would not be not a war between the Locusts and the Ants. It would be a the war between the Locusts and all of us”, said Tinkin gravely. “When the Locusts come, they destroy … every green thing. There shall be nothing left. Nothing. And that is the conundrum for the Wise One.”

“Because if he denies the Locust’s claim he will bring down destruction on us all…”, Juliette thought out loud.

“He’s not really one to give into bullies then?”, asked Storm Wizard.

While the 'Steel Wool Sheeps' considered the facts the aphids in the hall sat quietly listenning. One could have heard a pin drop in that august chamber.

“It sounds to me like you have to meet them on open ground, like the desert he spoke of, rather than let them come so far as to destroy your crops. You could use some sort of flame thrower perhaps.”

“Well, perhaps, but we would need one that could spew a ball of fire five miles wide and eight miles long.”

There was another silence for a while as everyone mulled things over some more. Walking to the front of the hall, Tinkin said, “Wise One, we must make a decision.”

“Let us hold a The Grand Council tonight. Summon the all of the Aphid Nobles here and we shall discuss the matter.”

“It shall be done”, said Tinkin, and turning, he exited the hall, his green cape fluttering, his right hand over his heart, and storm clouds brewing in his dark eyes.

The Aphids began to migrate in a large unruly mass out of the Hall. They were all terrified and trembling. There was no whirring or clicking, but only the hushed shuffling of Aphid feet across the stone floor.

“Meow”, said Ember. Juliette scratched her behind the ears, and so the kitten began to purr.

“Is there a library of any sort here? I’d be curious to know if there is any history of the Locusts we could read here”, asked Juliette of Kintin who had joined them.

“There is a library. I could take you there. I will need to translate the writings for you, but I am versed, and can do so.”

Down a long wide corridor, through archways and around several turns, and through towering halls they eventually came to a long narrow stone chamber whose walls were shelves upon which were many thousands of scrolls made of barkpaper. The chamber was silent, and there was a certain musty smell there. They soon found a librarian, who was sitting at a small wooden desk piled with scrolls. With her assistance they collected a number of scrolls which Kintin rolled out onto the broad reading table.

“Here is a scroll from the early days that speaks of the first coming of the Locusts”, said Kintin.

“Originally the Locusts were Grasshoppers and they lived alone. They dwelled by themselves as individual heroes. But at some time in the distant past the region they lived in became scarce of food, and they became more and more concentrated into a small area where there was still vegetation. They competed more and more fiercely for the food and became more and more aggressive, and transformed into beasts who tore one another from limb to limb and devoured everything in their path, and then they banded into a gigantic swarm and flew into the sky. At this time they transformed into the Red Locusts and they came swarming out of the mountains and devoured everything in their path, including each other. Most forms of life in the region died of starvation after the Locusts came. All that was green had been eaten away down to the roots. And the world turned grey and brown.”

Kintin went on to read that the swarms occurred every few hundred years or so, the last swarm having occurred 800 years before the current day. Kintin also mentioned that the Locust-Ambassador that they saw was a Noble Locust, a human manifestation of his race. A Noble Prince among the Red Locusts.

“If the Locusts swarm in the direction of this valley, there will be nothing left. No green thing will survive. Ten billion Locusts will come in a great black cloud upon the winds.”

“If the Wise One lies to the King then the Locusts won’t come?”

“The last several times the Locusts threatened to come such tactics were used by the former Wise Ones, and this is why it has been 800 years since the last swarm”, replied Kintin. “One might be tempted to think of it as a form of blackmail.”

“I see. So if the Wise One tells the truth, the land will be destroyed, but if he lies then he saves the valley but destroys his own soul. A terrible choice”, said Ben with a frown.

“Isn’t it indeed? Terrible”, added Morgana.

“The difficulty is that the Ants are a very proud people, and do not give away their food lightly to anyone, ever. Without it, they will starve”, Kintin went on. “Of course, to a large degree it is Aphid labor that supplies them with the food, but from their point of view it is still their food.”

“If we were to get big then it would be pretty easy for us to get enough food for the Locusts, since they are so little. We could cut down grasses from the meadow and till the fields and bring them the food”, said Juliette with sudden enthusiasm.

“I don’t think that will be enough for them”, replied Storm Wizard shaking his head.

“Indeed”, added Kintin, “the Locusts are demanding that the Ants give them ALL of their food.”

“But what will the Ants eat then?”, continued Juliette.

“Nothing. That’s the point. The Ants would all starve”, said Kintin.

“Ah. That’s not going to go over well with the Ants, then, is it?”, asked Storm Wizard rhetorically.

“That is why the Ants will not take this lightly”, said Kintin. “This is why the Locust showed up here. They know that the Wise One of the Aphids has great influence, perhaps the greatest, with the King of the Insects. And if he can be persuaded then the Ants will obey him.”

“What influence does the King have on the Locusts? Any?”

“Well, um, the King has some influence, but he can not force the Locusts to do something against their will without a great deal of force being involved. He could rally the rest of the Insect Kingdom, but he has not done that before. It would amount to a great war of the Insects, and there are Many who would very possibly rally with the Locusts against the more peaceful Insect Races, such as ours. In the past when the Locusts have been appeased they remained beyond the mountains. But when they have not been appeased, as happened in the past, then they form their Great United Army, and in a huge black cloud descend upon the land and devour everything. In a few days the whole of the land is picked clean of every green thing, and nothing survives”, pronounced Kintin grimly.

“The King is like a sacred figurehead. He can announce decrees but they are not necessarily followed. He does have loyal followers who will do his bidding. Such as the Ants who believe strongly in Law and Order. But whether they could stand against the Grand United Army, it is improbable”, he continued. “The Locusts are too large and too fierce.”

Kintin continued reading the scroll before him, unrolling the pages slowly, he recited, “When the Locusts came 800 years ago, it took 10 years for them to arrive after the Ambassador his Ultimatum was delivered. The Locusts have Seers who foresee the famines before they come, are forewarned in this way by the Elkron. The distance through time that their Seers can see depends on the conditions of the era. The least is one year. The most is ten years.” Kintin stopped reading there and thought to himself. Then he continued, “Either way, the scribe informs us that the Grand United Army of the Locusts will come on the winds sometime after they deliver their Ultimatum, unless they are appeased. There is nothing else written.”

“If there was some way to prevent the drought or famine then there would be no need to appease the Locusts”, thought Storm Wizard aloud. “So what you really should be doing is building an irrigation system rather than giving them all your food. At least then you do it once and your done.”

“That’s not a bad idea, I guess, but frankly, I don’t know how we would do such a thing. We are insects, not humans who build things.”

“The Ants are marvelous engineers, though”, said Storm Wizard hopefully.

“In any event, I don’t know that the Ants would agree to do it. The Ants and the Locusts have been traditional enemies for many thousands of years. It is hard to imagine them volunteering to build an irrigation system for the Locusts”, commented Kintin.

“Even if the result is that the Ants must give the Locusts their food?”, furthered Storm Wizard.

“Well, their response will probably be simply to refuse”, said Kintin.

“But then everyone will die because of the swarm”, said Juliette dismayed.

“The attitude of the Ants is that if they don’t get to have food, why should anyone else?”, said Kintin. “After all, they expect the King to defend their Right to keep the fruit of our labors. That, they say, is what a Just King should do. So it is not so simple. If the King fails to execute Justice then those loyal to him may lose heart and reject his Reign. This too has happened in the past.”

“So what would happen if their Locust Ambassador never came back?”

“I do not know”, replied Kintin thoughtfully scratching his chin.

“Probably nothing”, thought Storm Wizard.

“Could well be”, concluded Kintin.

“If that one fails to come back, they would probably send another, and another, and so on. Eight billion Locusts could probably send a lot of Ambassadors”, Storm Wizard continued.

“And their Seers might see it, too.”, pointed out Juliette.

“Possibly. But I do not think their Seers can see everything everywhere.”

“But, you might not know if they could”, replied Juliette.

“We Aphids know more than most”, responded Kintin with a bit of annoyance in his tone. It must be difficult for aphids to endure, but most people quite underestimate the tiny little farmers.

“I see”, said Juliette and went back to cuddling Ember who was purring happily in her lap.

Kintin spent the rest of the evening in the Library speaking about these things with the ‘Steel Wool Sheeps’. They learned that the Locusts were not very intelligent, and perhaps could be tricked in some way. Storm Wizard supposed that if the Locusts ate each other, then perhaps if they could be induced to circle around in the desert they might wind up devour one another and eliminate themselves.

“A fascinating proposal”, said Kintin.

That would require a lure, of some sort, suggested Storm Wizard. However, the problem, they realized, was that the Locusts travel on the winds from the East to the West, and so luring them off that path would be very difficult, even if they had such a lure. Perhaps, they considered, they might be able to some how turn the winds so that they would circle around the desert, but this seemed to be something that required a power they did not possess. Perhaps they could pray to the Elkron, but there was no guarantee that this would work. It was then suggested that they might lure the Locusts elsewhere, to another valley perhaps, but this suddenly struck Kintin as somehow immoral, and he was opposed to the idea. He found some sense of justice, however, in the idea of the Locusts devouring themselves in the desert chasing after an illusionary lure. He would, he told them, bring this idea to the Wise One.

They also learned that the Grasshoppers, as individual heroes, are a great people with whom the Aphids got along very well. They are great poets and warriors, Kintin explained. They have great tales of adventure always exploring the world. Sometimes they even help the Aphids. Not to mention, but the Grasshoppers are really very funny people, too. Always quick with a witty line, or a silly limerick. It’s just that when they turn into Locusts they become the threat of the world.

“Why”, said Kintin. “Why this very Ambassador might be someone whom we knew a year ago, but in his Transformed state we do not recognize him, nor will he remember us. He might have saved countless Aphids over the years. It would not be a surprise.”

Juliette suggested that since they might be able to create a large Locust cage in the path of the Locusts and trap them in it. This was mulled over but they decided it might not be entirely practical as the cage would need to be five miles wide and eight miles long.

The notion of burning a great fire in the path of the Locusts was suggested, but how they would get enough wood into the desert for that baffled them. Kintin drew a map of the region for them showing where the desert, mountains and forest were located. They realized that the Locust Grand United Army would in all likelihood swarm over the Black Forest, which is where they happen to be at the moment, standing inside a stone on the top of a ruined tower at the top of Black Hill, which was situated at the far Eastern edge of the Black Forest. It was briefly noted that they could ignite the entire Black Forest itself on fire, in order to save the valley. This was suggested, but quickly put out of mind, as the forest was right there, and for all they knew it might perhaps be listening. And as Kintin said, “The Forest doesn’t necessarily *want* to be lit in fire.” The forest, they realized, would most certainly not take kindly to that plan. An effective lure would be needed. Other plans of varying practicality were discussed late into the night.

“The duty of the Wise One is to tell the King the Truth. And because he does so, this is why the King trusts the Holy Aphid. Thus, you can see the difficulty of the decision.”, Kintin said.

“So essentially it comes down to the Wise One’s word whether the Ants will act or not”, concluded Storm Wizard. “It seems like Appeasement is the best choice, as the only alternative is for the valley to be destroyed.”

“Perhaps”, said Kintin, “But not with this Wise One. The Wise One you met tonight is the greater than all of the Wise Ones that have come before. He knows more of the lore of the plants, and more of the Celestial Song than any before him. Nor will he likely tell the King a lie. Whether it brings down the doom upon us, who can tell? We must wait and see!”

They suddenly realized that quite a long time had passed and remembered the Council Meeting. And so they thanked the Librarian, and departed hastily toward the Great Hall.

And so we leave our heroes as they hurry off to make it to the council chamber on time...

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Previous Episode: The Encroaching Doom - Part 2
Next Episode: Down to the Bottom

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Encroaching Doom (part 2)

The morning was bright and cheerful, and all of the adventurer’s came out of their rooms healthy, well rested, and refreshed. All except Morgana, who though rosy cheeked and healthy, still showed signs of melancholy, nevertheless. Poor dear. She was still thinking of Mr. Montague who died for love of her. Juliette, presenting her most cheerful face to try to help lift Morgana’s spirits, was eager to leave the Temple of the Aphids and continue on their journey home.

“Have you noticed that it’s spring now?”, asked Juliette looking out across the pine forest which no was longer covered in the heavy snows that it had been when they came to the tower the day before. A sense of trepidation was in her voice.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it is always spring here”, commented Storm Wizard absently, as though it might be perfectly normal.

“I think we should go home now”, said Juliette quietly, almost to herself.

“Let’s not rush,” her brother suggested. “Maybe we could stay here for a little while longer.”

“But I’m worried about the black seeds and I want to get home. I mean what if they grew into some sort of man eating monstrosity in our absence and devoured the barn, and the house, and mom and dad?”, she asked suddenly raising her voice with anxiety. “It would be my fault!”

“Well, if so, our arriving one day later isn’t going to make any difference will it?”, Storm Wizard countered.

“Well, what if it would make a difference?”, she countered again. “Besides, we’re so tiny it’s absolutely frightening! Even mosquitoes are gigantic monsters to us now. What if we ran into something gigantic like a hamster or a cat?”

“Well, we’re completely restored now, remember, and we have all of our powers again, so that shouldn’t pose too much of a problem.”

“A hamster would be much larger than the size of a barn to us at the moment”, Juliette pointed out waving her hands high in the air. “Even your magic spells won’t be much use against something that large.”

“Well, I can fly”, stated Storm Wizard triumphantly.

“I can’t fly”, pointed out Ben.

“And neither can any of the rest of us”, Juliette concluded. “And besides, I feel we should be putting as much distance between ourselves and Thurwulv as possible. He does want to kill us, after all, and if that man who came out onto the parapet of the tower last night was him, then he is close by, and a serious danger.”

“Well, even so, he won’t see us at our current diminutive size, will he? I mean we’re all nestled up in a tiny crack in a stone wall on the highest point of the outside of his tower. We’re small enough for us to ride on the backs of aphids. I’m sure he’s not going to see us.”, Storm Wizard stated calmly.

“Well, what if he can also shrink down to tiny-size, just like we did, and is hunting for us that way right now?”, Juliette persisted.

“And, I’m sorry, but what was that about black seeds?”, asked Morgana. “Did you say something about them devouring your barn, and … parents?” She looked as though she only half believed what she heard.

“Oh, well, that, yes, um, well it’s nothing really, I guess” said Juliette. “Well they were just tiny seeds when we left them.”

“And they didn’t devour the McFearson barn”, added Storm Wizard.

“Well of course we don’t know if any had ever been planted there”, said Juliette. “But anyway, that’s another reason for us to head home right away.”

“Also, didn’t Biddy Mable warn us not to leave the Ivy Way, no matter what?”, said Ben. “I mean we’re already pretty far off the track as it is.”

“In for a penny in for a pound?”, offered Storm Wizard cheerfully.

“Noooo… that’s right, Ben. Biddy Mable warned us not to leave the Great Ivy Way and we should go back to it as soon as possible.”

“Maybe, Juliette”, put in Ben, “but my point was that we’re already off the path, and so it’s a moot point, I think. And as it happens, I wouldn’t mind staying at the Temple for a while. There is so much to learn here! And we may never have another opportunity like this again! Seriously. We should try to learn everything we possibly can here.”

“Meow”, said Ember from Juliette’s lap.

At that moment out from the corridor came the two aphid-men Tinkin and Kintin, leading the two large aphids packed with boxes on their backs.

“Good morning people”, said Kintin amiably. “We bring breakfast! Anyone hungry?”

And to that everyone gave an eager reply, and so they all sat down in Ben’s room at the large wooden table at laid the board out. There was plenty of vegetable foods, and a kind of honey flavored milk, and fresh rose water, and it was all very tasty wonderfully nourishing. As they ate Storm Wizard struck up a conversation with their two Aphid Guides.

“So I notice, if you don’t mind my saying so, that you two are human in appearance, and yet you seem to be one with the aphids. Is it the case that you are somehow aphids in the form of humans or something like that? Can you change form back and forth, and can all aphids change form as you do?”, he asked.

“Well, some of us can change form. We of the upper class can do so.”

“So you are a kind of nobility among the aphids then?”

“Yes, that’s a good way of putting it, I suppose, though others of the insect kingdom might disagree.”, says Tinkin with a sigh.

“Like whom?” asked Storm Wizard.

“Like pretty much everyone.”

“Ah. I see.”

“We aphids are not exactly top of the pile, as it were.”

“Well who is top of the pile?”, asked Juliette.

“Oh well the Wasps, naturally! They’re way up there, and the Ladybugs of course, are our liege lords. And the ants, they rule over us with mighty hand…. And well, pretty much everyone is above us, actually… that’s the way it is, you see.”

“Would you like it to be different?”

“Oh it was different long ago, before the Ladybugs came.”, said Tinkin enthusiastically.

“What was it like back then?”

“Oh in those days it was grand. We aphids had rule over all the plant kingdom. There was great wisdom and peace in the land. It was wonderful. We had free reign, and no one told us where to go or what to do… it was all sweetness and light and wonderful.”

“What kind of things do they make you do?” asked Juliette.

“They send us out across the plant kingdom to farm them of nectar, and we transport the nectar of the plants to the silos of the ants, and sometimes the Ladybugs come and devour us.”, he said with a shudder.

“Oh my”, exclaimed Juliette quietly. “Aren’t the bees more capable of transporting the pollen and nectar around than you aphids?” she asked.

“Well of course, the bees are absolutely fabulous at that. But the Ladybugs can’t control the bees, of course! Haha. The bees are powerful, being much larger than the Ladybugs, you see, and they can sting them too! The Ladybugs can, however, control us without any difficulty because we’re so tiny.”

“So you have green aphids, and your nobles that can turn into humans. Are there any other kinds of aphids?”, asked Storm Wizard chewing on a nice bit of salty bark.

“Oh yes, there’s yellow aphids, and grey aphids and … black aphids.”

“These are different classes?”

“No, we would say that each are different races, rather than classes. Each of our races has it’s own noble class. There are very few of us, aphid nobles left, you know. It’s supposed to be a great secret that we even exist at all. None of the other insects are supposed to know about us. We were all supposed to have been wiped out long ago, and nearly were, honestly,” said Kintin gazing out through an archway.

“Killing your noble class would make your race easier to control, I take it”, Storm Wizard deduced.

“Precisely. A great deal of wisdom was lost when the LadyBugs came”, said Tinkin ruefully.

“The wise one, is he like you?”, asked Storm Wizard.

“He is the most noble of all, except for the King.”

“There is a King of the aphids?”

“Yes indeed. He is very wise and mighty. He rules over all the aphid races, and all the aphids revere him.”

And so the breakfast went on in this fashion until all of the food was gone, and all of the milk and rose water had been drunk and all that was left were empty bowls and pitchers.

“I take it you will wish to be moving on soon?”, asked Tinkin.

“Yes!”, chirped Juliette.

“Eventually…”, said Storm Wizard.

“We sense some … difference of opinion?”

“We have some desire to remain here to learn more about your culture”, said Storm Wizard. “I’m wondering, is there anything we might be able to do to help you while we’re here?” asked Storm Wizard.

“I’d be willing to stay to help, if there is something we could do that would help you”, agreed Juliette reluctantly.

“I can’t say off the top of my head at the moment, but I’d be happy to speak with The Wise One, and I’m sure he will have a good idea. Why don’t you wait here for a few minutes… I will go and inquire.”

“Thank you”, said Juliette as Tinkin walked off toward the corridor that lead to the inner chambers of the stone block that housed the Temple of the Aphids.

It was only a few minutes after he left when Ben and Morgana began to notice that a number of aphids, and then a crowd, and then a horde had begun climbing in through the archways and heading into the corridor that Tinkin had disappeared into. This commotion became quite intense as the aphids began to climb over one another to gain entrance to the corridor. The aphids were all abuzz with their clicking whirring speech, and it sounded like a great hum as the great churing mass of green bodies crawled into the corridor. Breathless, Kintin stood up and spoke to the companions in a grave tone.

“The Council of Aphids has been summoned! I must go to the Great Hall with my brethren.”

“What has happened?!” asked Juliette excitedly.

“An Ambassador has come. And we must hear him.”

“Who is it?!” asked Storm Wizard with a sense of foreboding.

“It is the Ambassador of the Red Locusts."

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Previous Episode: The Encroaching Doom - Part 1
Next Episode: The Encroaching Doom - Part 3

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Encroaching Doom (part 1)

It was late at night when Storm Wizard heard a scratching rustling noise at his door. Throwing off his blanket he climbed down out of the soft mossy bed and quietly opened the large wooden door. There before him, barely visible in the moonlight, was a black aphid, horrible to behold, just about as high at its shoulder as Storm Wizard was tall, which is to say, rather large. It bustled it’s way into the room making whirring clicking noises that Storm Wizard now knew was the aphid language, although he could not understand a word of it. The aphid went directly to the night table and deposited on it a sheet of paper, and then without further ado, turned and bustled it’s way back out the door, across the colonnade, over the lip of the archway, and then crawled downward and out of site just as fast as that. Beyond the archway Storm Wizard could see the swaying tops of the pine trees of Black Wood Forest in the moonlight.

Going to the table, he read the note which said, very simply;

Meet me beyond the double doors

- I.

A man of action, Storm Wizard stole out of his room and down the long colonnade toward the double doors at the far end. Earlier that evening there had been two aphids what stood on either side of them in a guard like fashion, but now they were nowhere to be seen, and the doors were slightly ajar. Opening them quietly Storm Wizard stared into the darkness of a long windowless corridor. He returned to find a torch, which he obtained from the provisions that Laraby had so thoughtfully insisted they acquire what seemed now a very long time ago. Brian, who had been porting the provisions, woke up briefly at Storm Wizard’s insistence, and pointed to where the bag lay, and without further questions or comment fell promptly back to sleep. Armed with a torch, Storm Wizard returned to the black corridor. Lighting it he found the corridor was about thirty feet long and ended in another set of double doors. Opening them he entered onto an even more lovely and wider colonnade than the one he left behind. The doors that lined this colonnade were taller, wider, and engraved with elaborate and beautiful designs, as were the pillars that separated the archways that looked out over the forest below. Before the first of the doors along the right hand wall there paced a young girl wearing a red scarf with black poke dots. She was a darling looking girl with large eyes, black hair, and adorable little dimples. When she saw Storm Wizard come through the doors she ran up to him with an anxious expression and insisted he put out the torch.

“A torch!” she exclaimed, “I pray no one saw you!”

Storm Wizard promptly put out the torch and indicated that he didn’t think anyone had. But of course, who could know who might have been watching from the forest? In any event, the young girl said that she was Lady Isabella’s handmaiden and that he should wait briefly while she went to let her Lady know that the Wizard had arrived. She slipped through the elaborately engraved door and Storm Wizard waited pensively outside. In a few moments the girl poked her head out and said that Lady Isabella was ready to see him now.

Entering the suite Storm Wizard was immediately impressed with its size and luxury, which he expected from the quality of the door, but was still nevertheless surprised at the opulence before him. Golden goblets adorned a silver inlaid table, on which were bowls of fruits and carafes of wine. The chamber was lit by glowing orbs that looked like translucent shells in which candles where burning, and was scented by honey and spices. There at the table sat Isabella in her gorgeous red and black dotted dress, and next to her sat the dark haired warrior in his crisp blue uniform. They both stood and bowed, as Storm Wizard returned the graceful gesture.

“Welcome, and thank you for coming,” said Lady Isabella.

“May I ask why you have asked for me?”, inquired the blunt Wizard.

“Why, yes, indeed, but first, allow us to offer you refreshments. Please be seated”, she said, giving a sideway glance to her man who immediately poured wine into the goblets.

“No thank you, my Lady, I am not thirsty at the moment. But I am curious”, he said cautiously.

“Very well then, young man, I shall come to the point directly since you insist. I am a representative of the LadyBug Kingdom, a part of a vast and sprawling Empire. We have noticed you, and have come to the conclusion that you are far more intelligent than your peers.”

“Well, I always thought that was so,” he replied. “But may I ask how you came to this conclusion?”

“Indeed, it is quite true. As for how, you may not remember but when I first saw you it was on the top of the tower as you were about to engage in combat with the wolves who you so gallantly defended yourself against.”

“You were there?” he asked increadulously.

“As I said, you probably don’t remember, but yes, I was. In fact, I landed briefly on your face, and you swatted me away.” She said with a certain subtle yet noticeable trace of indignant intonation. “But I forgive you for that”, she concluded after a slight pause.

“I’m relieved”, he said.

“In any event, I witnessed your powers, and took note of your commanding presence and the innate power of your mentality. We quickly surmised that you may be of great use to us, and so I contacted you shortly afterwards in Lady Weeleena’s Tea House. And I requested an audience with you tonight because we have … need of you, if you will help us.”

“I should be happy to help you, I think, but what could I do for you?”

“We have word that very soon there will come a grave threat to our Kingdom, and we would like you to help us against it.”

“I see”, said Storm Wizard with all due gravity. “And what is the nature of this threat?”

“We do not know for certain, but it shall arrive shortly, perhaps within a day. What we need is for you to take our side and support our cause in the event it should become necessary. In exchange for this we are willing to vastly increase your already prodigious powers.”

“Really. That’s a remarkable offer. And how would you do so?”, asked the young Wizard intrigued.

“You recall that I showed you earlier a certain red pearl? That is an item of power. It will greatly enhance your capabilities. I would be willing to give it to you in exchange for your support.”

“Very interesting”, said Storm Wizard.

“So I can count on you then?”

After brief pause while he mulled the offer over in his vastly prodigious mind, he agreed.

“Excellent”, she said with a bright smile, and pulled a box out from a drawer in the table. In the box was a wax tablet, upon which she placed her right hand.

“Please place your right hand next to mine”, she said. Storm Wizard did so, and as he did their pinky fingers touched lightly, giving him a strangely happy feeling, though all too brief and fleeting.

“I hereby swear that we two shall unite in purpose from this day forward and if either of us fail in our obligation to the other, we shall both fail. Do you agree?”

“I agree” said Storm Wizard, and at that moment the wax seemed to glow briefly, and melt slightly, taking an imprint of their two hands. She quickly handed the wax tablet to her dark haired warrior, and he put it inside a box which he locked with a small key, and slid it into a satchel. As he did this Lady Isabella brought forth a square wooden box and opening the lid she withdrew the red pearl she had shown him earlier. She handed it to him.

“I give this to you as an advance payment. It will help you. When you hold it, the pearl will increase your mystical energy substantially. It has powers of it’s own that you may be able to tap into later on, as you learn how to use it. It is not infinite in power, however, and when it is fully drained of power you must place it between a granite stone, two candles, and recite this invocation”, which she spoke to him. “After eight hours it will be filled with power again. Use it wisely.”

Storm Wizard thanked her, and took the red pearl and placed it into an inner pocket in his vest. Then the dark haired warrior took out a chain upon which hung a small triangular amulet.

“Take this as well. It will protect you from a variety of physical attacks. Do not let anyone see it or know of it”, he said.

“Thank you again,” said Storm Wizard as he slid the chain over his neck and the amulet into his shirt. “No one shall know of it.”

“We must leave on urgent business now, Jonathan Bellowick. Remember your agreement and the vow you have made. We are depending on you.” And with that Lady Isabella and her man stood and bowed to Storm Wizard. He returned the bow, and without a further word followed the young handmaiden to the door, and returned to his room. He was filled with deep thoughts, but quickly fell into a deep dreamless slumber until morning.

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Previous Episode: The Great Ivy Highway - Part 3
Next Episode: The Encroaching Doom - Part 2

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