The Avatar's Journey

[HoopyFrood]

Feeling better now after a large amount of chocolate -- particularly the orange centred one, which was taken with a bow to the small child who offered it -- Hoopy thought it wise to make something known.
"Despite big claws and teeth, I'm actually a vegetarian dragon. But at least you know I'm not going to eat any of you lot, right?" She gave a slightly awkward laugh and pushed her bowler hat more firmly onto her head. "Um...Yeah. So I was actually just looking for a place to live, but estate agents seem to think that only draughty caves are fit for dragons." She turned to look down at the newly arrived Roman. "Mind you, this castle sounds interesting...think the owner might be willing to sell?"

 

[HareBrain]

The hare thought: "Hemlock Castle, that's a coincidence ..."

 

[Moonbat]

Moonbat dives unseen from the leafy trees and catches a small piece of crumbling chocolate as it spills away from the mighty jaws of the vegetarian dragon. Skimming along mere inches above the ground the twin heads squabble over the chocolate. The winning head winks at HareBrain as he swoops past and up again in to the trees.

Moments later a song can be heard.


'Mmmmm chocolate, what a lot of chocolate
I forgot I gotta stop cos the doctor said I'm not
to eat a lot of chocolate, mmm chocolate.
its complicated but the doctor stated.
it could cause my heart to stop
blocking it then popping it
Mmm chocolate.
What could it be about chocolate and me
that makes us such frenemies?'

The Moonbat lands awkwardly, without any of his usual grace and promtly throws up his own weight in (warm regurgitated) chocolate on the bright shiny shoes of....

 

[Parson]

the country parson, who kindly bent down and stroked heads one and two. That's all right he said. We all can get too much of a thing that tastes as good as chocolate. We are forgiven our trespasses by grace.

Now, what a moonbat? know the way to Hemlock Castle? I think I'm going in the right direction but Ace's map makes no more sense to me than it does to him. Maybe some who sees above the trees has a better sense of where to go. I would ask that vegetarian dragon, what a wonder that is! but I'm still not sure I'd be safe around any creature who can take on a pack of hell hounds without really half trying!

Does anyone know the way? Would others like to travel there too?

 

[Grimward]

And, because a Parson's prayer stands as good a chance as any for answering grace (though not necessarily with precision), a glow previously mistaken for the moon(bat) on the horizon grows stronger, comes nearer. It hovers in front of the cleric for a moment, then lifts above the trees, reforming into an arrow pointing North over the moors........

 

[The Ace]

Ah well, now we know. Coming ?

 

[Parson]

I am certainly coming Ace. As a Parson I expect to fare well traveling with a noble armsman like yourself. The Moors are no place for the faint of heart, or those lacking faith. So as we head north to Hemlock Castle what pray tell brings all who are traveling on this quest?

The Parson turns to the people and the odd menagerie of mythic animals and awaits whatever answers there might be.

 

[HareBrain]

'Well,' said the hare. 'I'm coming to Hemlock Castle. Not for any particular reason, you understand!' he added quickly. 'It just sounds like an interesting place. Not that I've heard anything about it!' he added, again rather rapidly. 'But it should be easier to get into now that there aren't any hell-hounds guarding it. Not that there probably ever were!' he continued rabbiting.

 

[The Ace]

"Freda's gone walkabout again," he says over the hare's ramblings. "I think she's looking for a part-time job, forgetting that she turned her back on that life with good reason."

 

[Boneman]

"I'd heard it was the kind of place that adventurers gathered at to tell their tales, and I'm a good listener," said Boneman, using choboska clicking speech.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Hoopy lay draped over a large rock. "I don't think I need to keep going on about my reasons. Looking for somewhere to live that doesn't have bats roosting on the roof and stalagmites as the only decoration," she said, steadily eating her way through the entire crop of apples growing on a nearby tree. "Mind you, I haven't really been having much luck, I might give it up for a while. But I have to admit that all this talk of the mysterious Hemlock castle has piqued my curiosity".

 

[The Ace]

"Yes,that's what drew Freda," offers dragon a shoulder to lean on.

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

Manarion leaps down from a branch, her hands behind her, and stares at the man beside her.
"Must you hold your shield like that?" she asks. "I just hope it can protect you against whatever we might face out here."

 

[reiver33]

The dark-clad man on the horse watched the approaching group with disbelief. Despite the image he was not a natural horsemen and was already saddle-sore, which only added to his frustration.

He half-turned to the raven, which was perched on a branch and inspecting a small hole in the trunk with malign interest.

"You brought me here for this? Well, you had better be right..."

 

[chrispenycate]

Older figure walks in and picks up child, seating hin in a backpack. The front pack, from which the chocolate emerged, is suspiciously small; they had not prepared for a long journey.

"Seems as if we're coming for a castle visit. I'm sorry if he was a nuisance; he's a demi-god, you know, and thus just about indestructable. I'm his uncle on the human side, which makes me very destructable indeed" Deep sigh. "But he's always resurrected me so far.

If the hell-hounds had gone for us they'd have become all puppyish and friendly - which is doubtless why they left us alone, if it wasn't that they were concentrating on the rabbit."

"Wabbit" says a firm, high-piched voive behind his head, proving that the very minor deity can talk "Nice drake. More choc'late?"

"I have no idea what his mother will say when we get home late and dirty - actually, I do have an idea, and it's not pleasant - but if he says we're joining our new friends on a pleasant walk through a countyside rife with monsters and assorted dangers, that's how it goes. She can't throw thunderbolts when she has a tantrum."

 

[Grimward]

The northward pointing arrow waits until the demi-god and his uncle head off, following the growing pilgrimmage, then floats overhead until it reaches the dark figure on the ridge, where it intensifies. Pausing, it makes an observation that the figure is no longer dark.....

 

[Parson]

The Parson is almost overcome as he considers all of the supernatural forces that are aligning. A demigod is being carried?! A north pointing grimward arrow is leading them toward a rider with a sorcerer's familial? All being followed by a Hare Brain, a vegetarian dragon, a two headed moon bat and various fierce warriors.

All he was sent to Hemlock castle for was for the chalice of fine gold promised to the local church if only a Parson would come and offer the blessing on the great feast to be offered at the next new moon. Suddenly his coat seemed insignificant for the wind and his faith was being tested yet again. What was to be revealed?

 

[Boneman]

Now that the Hell Hounds have been dealt with, Boneman put the Hare down, and he scampers off to play with the dragon. Boneman is intruiged by the Parson, it's so unusual to see a man of the cloth (especially one that was too thin for the inclement conditions) in these parts. Manarion was wearing next to nothing and she wasn't complaining. Come to think of it, Boneman was wearing the ultimate in 'nothing': even less than the Emporer's new clothes, and he didn't feel the cold. What was the Parson hiding? They came to the edge of the forest and there was a castle on the far horizon. Ahead lay a wide meadow, and green fields.

 

[Grimward]

From his elevated vantage point over the no-longer dark figure silhouetted against the western horizon, Grim scrutinizes the green fields. Lush and bucolic they appear, but seen from above the hidden traps are revealed. Realizing he must warn the company away from the meadows, he moves further aloft and searches for an alternate route to the castle, then finds a small stream half a league to the East. A towpath follows the stream, running under the drawbridge that approaches the castle's Eastern gate. The flaming arrow shifts, pointing the alternate route's direction to the skeletal figure below.....

 

[The Ace]

"Hmmm, I don't know why he's asked us to change direction but maybe he has his reasons," bears left and shrugs his shoulders to remove the stiffness from hi arms.