Tales of the Ice Harpy from Glacia

Raven would have agreed to take Karla regardless of whether she went with her to Jono's world, but she was just a little bit worried about causing her accidental harm since she was having difficulties teleporting now. She didn't think there was any real danger, other than a bumpier ride than usual, however. She wouldn't risk Karla's safety if she thought she would come to true harm.

"I am tired," she admitted. And dizzy now. Whoa, the keep was spinning. "I thought perhaps it was stress and worry making me feel that way, but now I fear whatever is disrupting the portals might be affecting me as well. But Kaeleer is well known to me and a familiar path, so we were not in any danger by coming here."

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"I wasn't worried," Karla said, grimacing as her stomach churned. "At least, not about me. But you look a little green, darling."

There was a long list of things Raven would do before voluntarily putting Karla in danger, stuff like 'cussing,' 'use contractions,' and 'wear pants.' Karla had no doubt that Raven would have put her foot down (gently and with multiple apologies) if she'd thought that bringing Karla home would have had disastrous consequences.

And these merely unpleasant ones were of no consequence. So long as Raven was all right.

"I think you might want to start limiting your travel, though," she added, offering an arm for Raven to lean on. "You don't look so good."

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"I need to go to Azarath," Raven insisted, leaning on Karla's arm. Talking -- arguing -- whatever it had been -- with Jono the other day had given her the urge to return. She'd been meaning to for some time but kept dragging her feet about it, reluctant to see what she and her father's demons had done. Nothing lived there anymore, but it was still home. She needed to see it hadn't been corrupted like the Azarath of the possible future Raven, Rook's mother.

"But I will be careful," she promised. "It only seems to make me momentarily light-headed when I travel."

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"The ssame could be sssaid for you, Lady Karla." Draca stood before them both, tone crisp despite the sibilance. The Keep's Seneschal eyed them both critically before giving them a slight bow. "Lady Raven, a pleassure to sssee you again."

A very different greeting from the last time they'd seen a Draca, that was for sure.

"I have left orderss for refreshmentss to be prepared. Sssoothing teass and a hearty vegetable sssoup. Come with me and resst a few minutes."

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Karla tried not to show how surprised she was. Draca's ability to move silently and without notice was uncanny. "We would be very appreciative of the food," she said carefully, returning Draca's bow, albeit a slightly lower one.

She wasn't sure what rank or caste Draca laid claim to, but any being who made the High Lord look like an infant was old enough to earn the extra consideration.

"But perhaps we could speak to Geoffrey while we eat? We're on a mission of some importance and the faster we get started, the happier we'll be, I think."

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Draca's reptilian features made her expressions difficult to read, but there was no missing the confusion that past over her face when Karla mentioned Geoffrey.

"Perhapss you may wissh to ressst a bit firssst," she said politely. "I do not know of thiss 'Geoffrey' you mentioned, but I can asssk among the vissiting ssscholarss."

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Raven, on the other hand, started visibly. She hadn't even felt Draca coming. And she was just a tiny bit jumpy given her last visit to the Keep. Even if it wasn't this Keep.

She exchanged an anxious glance with Karla when Draca failed to recognize Geoffrey's name. What in Azar's name was going on?

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Yeah. Karla had noticed that, too. It was a fairly unsettling sign. Geoffrey was ancient and ageless--like Draca, like the bedrock of the Keep, he was a part of Kaeleer and had been for ages uncounted. To discover he was just gone was not an easy idea to digest.

"That won't be necessary," Karla said, giving Draca a forced smile. "I doubt he's here. In that case, then would you mind helping us find some books? I know you're busy, but the matter is dire."

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"Of coursse," Draca said. "I would be happy to assssisst. Pleasse, follow me."

She turned and headed back into the Keep, trusting them to follow.

Once inside, she led them to a pleasant sitting room and bade them sit down and refresh themselves. Tea and soup arrived piping hot mere moments after their arrival and Draca refused to discuss anything until both Karla and Raven were looking a bit more composed and settled.

Fussing wasn't just the province of males, after all.

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Raven didn't have much of an appetite, but she would eat to be polite. And she recognized a "you're going to eat now" look when she saw one (especially since she frequently gave them to Karla).

She scooped up a spoonful of soup, trusting Draca remembered her dietary restrictions and there wasn't meat lurking in the broth. "Thank you," she said after a sip. "It is very good."

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Why did everyone always think that Karla needed to be forced to eat? You know, ignoring all the times when she had.

Okay, it was bean and barley soup. Maybe a few 'you're going to eat now' looks wouldn't go amiss.

"It's very...filling," Karla agreed. Totally not wishing it were something like chicken or beef broth or the like. Really. "And the tea is helping my stomach a bit. Thank you."

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Karla was going to eat her damn soup and like it if she wanted to get anything done. Because other than acknowledging their thanks, Draca wasn't going to do anything than wait for them to eat their soup. And she was betting she had far more patience that Karla did, at least.

"You are looking better," she announced after they'd eaten most of their soup and both drunk a cup of tea. "How are you feeling? I can ring for more soup or tea if you'd like."

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"I am fine, thank you," Raven insisted, trying to chase away her tiredness with a smile. "You have been very kind, but I think we are anxious to find our books, if you do not mind. But more tea to drink while we are reading would not be unappreciated."

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Karla nodded quickly. Thaaaat. So much that.

"Raven is exactly right," she said. "Things are happening back on the island. Well, okay, not on the island, but in universes connected to it. We're trying to find out more about what's going on. And some of what's happening, well...it reminds me a lot of the legend of Zuul. You know, the island that vanished along with all the people and things created there? So we were hoping that the Keep might have some old books about that? Maybe if we had some idea of the cause of that, we can figure out what to do at Fandom."

Edited Date: 2011-11-22 07:43 pm (UTC)

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Draca went very still at that. "Zuulaman," she said, very quietly. "The island'ss name wass Zuulaman."

Abruptly, she stood up. "Let me bring you into the library. There may be a few textsss that you will find usseful."

Her hissing was getting more pronounced. "Thiss way," she said, beckoning them. "There are sssome hissstoriess written about dissappearancesss."

As soon as Draca had shown then to the proper section of the library, she gave them another bow. "Excussse me, ladiesss. There iss sssomething I musst attend to."

If she'd had any less dignity, one would almost be able to say Draca had scurried away.

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Raven watched her take her leave, frowning slightly. "This topic has made her very uneasy," she said.

Raven, mistress of the obvious.

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"Yeah," Karla agreed. "I noticed that, too. And Draca doesn't get nervous. At least, not enough to tell."

Great. They had disappearing Guardians and jumpy Seneschals and the Darkness only knew what all else. This was going to be an interesting day already, Karla could just tell.

And to make matters worse, the bookcase that Draca had shown them to was huge, easily fifteen feet tall and almost as wide. On their way into the library, Draca had referred to 'a few' histories having been written about Zuul--err, Zuulaman's disappearance. Karla should have realized that Draca's definition of 'a few' would differ drastically from theirs.

She stared up and up at all the shelves of books. "I noticed that the books are still shelved in Geoffrey's system," she said. "Separated by subject, then by approximate date written, and finally alphabetical by author. I guess we should start at the top then? Those should be the earliest ones, probably written by people who were alive when the island vanished."

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Raven glanced around for something to stand on. "Is there a ladder we may use to get to the high shelves?" she said. "Or are you able to get them down? This is not as simple as the Great Library of Azarath. All I had to do there was think of the book I wanted, and it would appear in my hands."

Magical libraries were awesome.

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Karla used Craft to pull down the entirety of the top two shelves, setting them down on one of the long tables interspersed among the stacks. "This should keep us busy for awhile," Karla said, sounding distinctly unenthused. "Hopefully Draca's uneasiness won't keep her from bringing us more refreshments as we work. I have a feeling a few pots of very strong tea won't go amiss while we wade through."

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Raven chose a book and sat down, carefully turning the pages. "So we are looking for references to this Zuulaman?" she said, scanning the text. "An island that vanished?"

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"I guess so," Karla said, trying not to sound discouraged already. "That's all we've got to go on."

You know, it would have been helpful if Draca had given them a little more information before hightailing it out of there.

Several hours and a few pots of tea later, they were no closer to finding any answers. There was plenty of speculation about what had happened and why, but no definitive answers. In fact, most of the books were usually thinly-veiled insults about previous authors' findings, with a rehashing of the same few facts that all the others had, just a different supposition.

"Mother Night," Karla said, trying not to sound cranky. "If I read one version of 'with all due respect, my esteemed colleague' followed by a lengthy insult of his mental faculties, I am going to scream. Why don't any of these books have anything useful in them?"

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"Perhaps we are not looking in the right place?" Raven said, frowning at the pile of books they'd already gone through. "Could what we require be somewhere else?"

She turned her head away, covering her mouth as she yawned. She really felt like a nap.

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hells-highlord.livejournal.com

"It would have to be." A voice like soft thunder echoed behind them. "The story of Zuulaman was never written down. What happened is only known to a few people and none of them ever wrote books."

Saetan walked over to their table, giving them both a slow, rather sad smile. He looked very tired.

"Draca contacted me. When she heard what you were looking for, she thought that I should know." He seated himself at the table, taking off his glasses and polishing them.

"She told me you wanted to know about Zuulaman."

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Karla exchanged puzzled looks with Raven. "We do," she said quietly. "Something is happening--not at Fandom, but in universes connected to it. People are vanishing. People and places. In a matter of moments, people are wrenched away, out of the fabric of reality. Forgotten about by almost everyone one. It reminded me of the stories, so I figured we'd come here and try to figure out the truth."

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