Amythra 34

Amythra went back to the Slumbering Borc with Roose, Boose, and Anna in tow and the islander grabbed hr father's olive-wood box. The set of ixxar followed of course to meet the necessary Arrow Mufger, legal smithy of weapons, and Goldeyes followed because...well because she just didn't trust ixxar. Anna's excuse was to keep the islander girl out of trouble. Amythra couldn't care less, as the sun began it's evening rituals, casting a pleasant shadow through her inn room window.

Annalow at night does not grow dark, nor the air thick with mist like other cities around the world. The sea breeze had plenty of time to dry out before it reached up to embrace the impossible plateau, plus the lamps and candles went up in the streets in an hour durring sunset. Shopping hours were not yet over, after all, and there was a festival to continue. Speaking of which.

"What are they celebrating?" Asked Amythra to any of her companions as they side-stepped a parade of children hopped up on sugar cane. One of them fell over.

"We're celebrating the birthday of Mr. Rootsir." Anna said, leaning over to help the poor borc-child up.

"It's just an excuse..." Said Boose. "...for the mumes to party." Finiched Roose.

"No argument, for once." followed Anna. "But it's not such a bad thing, celebration."

Amythra looked down at her map, convinced it would clear the crowd at least from her head. No use. The streets were so think with people, finding street names was difficult and her father didn't give any alternate routes. "Who was Mr. Rootsir?" Anna giggle.

"Rootsir," Boose started, "was a candy smith who made more money than should be possible." Roose said. "We're quite sure he was running a few black markets in the docks." followed Boose. "But we couldn't tell for sure. He was a clever marf." Roose ended.

"In other words," Anna said helpfully, "he started this trend of making really good candies and deserts, then molding them using marf magic. He was called the Candy Marf."

"I thought Marfs didn't like people."

"They don't." Roose and Boose said together.

"He did." Anna replied.

Amythra darted down a back ally, which should be a short cut, but is always regarded as a bad move. "This way."

Amythra 33

"How could ya' know that?" asked Amythra. Maybe this was such a common occurrence that they had a place just for lost maps. What a strange and wonderful place Annalow had suddenly become.

Anna wasn't so enthusiastic. "An excellent question." She said, narrowing her eyes. She had no idea how the ixxar would be able to read minds, that being mume magic, and of course she had no knowledge of Ixxar magic. What a dark and devious place Annalow had suddenly become. Anna was unconsciously tugging on her gloves, pondering how she would sneak a peek into the Ixxar twins minds.

Roose saw it. "Oh, keep your hands sheathed, Red Guard. We just happened upon a map." He told the truth. "And it just so happens this womume has lost a map." Boose followed up. "And we just happened to have eaten at the same tavern." Roose said. "With this map." Boose pulled out the scroll. They unraveled it and showed it to Amythra.

Mandra must have been shining down on this poor islander girl that day because it was indeed the map we all knew would come back to Amythra. It brought a tear to her eye and dilated her pupils. "This is it. THIS IS IT!" Amythra excitedly jumped off her stool and lifted up Roose and Boose in a bear-hug that would have put a borc to shame. This was the first hug Roose and Boose had received from a mume and they found it not all together unpleasant, if startling.

After only a few fractions of a second, they formed the correct response to sudden embrace. "Uh..." They said in chorus.

Meanwhile, Goldeyes, who snatched the map away, was putting her name sake to work, examining it and looking for flaws. Anything that might tip off this being a fake or a trick. Nothing came to mind, which brought up a bigger mystery of, if this was the genuine map, how in the name of the Living Goddess, could it possibly have come into the hands of a couple of Ixxar who stumbled into an argument with them.

Amythra pointed over Anna's shoulder. "See here! This is my father's friend! A borc named Arrow Mufger. He's a sword smith. This is defiantly my map!"

"So it seems." Anna could not stop checking the scroll over and over. She's must be missing something. It was too big a coincidence.

"Thanks you, Mr. Ixxar and Mr. Ixxar. How can I repay you? Please, anything I can do." The Ixxar twins exchanged glances again. This, they knew, was luck in it's raw form.

Roose brush his hair back with his fingers. "Well...It so happens we need a smith." Boose rubbed his nose with his palm. "If you're the daughter of a friend of Arrow, maybe you could introduce us."

Drinks of Annalow

Leaf Juice

We've talked about Leaf-Juice. Very simple, really. Long ago, the Borc had a superstition that if you take the leaves from this certain tree and boil it, then strain out the water, the shape of the leaves would leave a secret message that could only be read by someone who trained to read them. These messages told the borc about their love life, how well a competitor is doing, the relationship of children, and so on. As such, the tree was called a Rumor Tree.

It didn't take long for the Borc to also realize just how good the Leaf juice was to drink and it was served hot in great mugs, or mixed with fermented sugar to make it bite back. Annalow does not share the same freezing weather as the northern lands, so they prefer to chill the juice in their pantries and basements. Sometimes in ice-sheds.

Noon Beer

It's basically fermented Grey Wheat. No one is sure who first thought of letting wheat just sit and rot for a while in a bucket of water, but someone did and it was delicious. Beer is as old as the Ixxar and all races except for the Mume and the Effee claim they invented beer. Noon Beer is a lighter brew mixed with ice from the north. It's also called Chilled-Hot beer. Even tho it goes down cold, it hits one's stomach like a fire-bomb.

Bean Juice

This was an invention of the Felf, and no felf can live without it. One cup in the morning and perhaps one at night. They cultivate Cave Beans, which grow on vines in the ceiling of caves to the west of the Shrinking Mountains. It takes a year to grow and harvest, rather than a season like most crops. But the Felfs love it, so take great care of their harvest. They then grind the beans up to a pulp and boil it in a special pot that keeps the bean pulp out of the finished juice. The effect is a full and warming flavor that mixed will with any kind of cream or sugar. That's right. It's basically coffee.

Annalow has found it's own love for Bean Juice, as well, again serving it chilled, but always freshly brewed. If it sits chilled too long, the grinds at the bottom spoil the taste.

Note: If you find yourself running a game in Annalow and want to add some flavor, do what I do. Take a normal everyday drink, like tea, and just mess with it until it's got a fantasy flair. Annalow is a trade city, after all, and sees food and drink from all over Mash'ta.

p.s. This was supposed to be posted yesterday.

Amythra 32

For a while, the four didn't speak. Roose and Boose busied themselves with food, Amythra marveled over the unending crowd of people in the festival, and Anna Goldeyes fumed over the loss of a family she hadn't seen since she was 13 seasons old. Anna poured the last of the pitcher into Amythra's glass and finally broke the silence.

"Where did your map lead, Ms. Tanglenet?" Anna asked.

Amythra pulled away from the gorgeous population outside to focus. "Uh...I don't know the name. It must've been a sword smith." Roose and Boose exchanged glances.

"There are a lot of weapon smiths, lately, with the war. How do you know it was a sword smith?"

"Because my father's an ivory carver. He was commissioned to master a sword handle by one of his friends here in Annalow. I have it in my inn room."

"Well, if he's working for the military, chances are good he's in the docks. As you heard, most edged weapons are illegal in the city. Swords are barely tolerated under it." Roose and Boose leaned closer to overhear their two womumes.

"Oh no. I was sure it was in the city proper. Is owning a sword still illegal if you're just making one?"

"Yes, but that doesn't stop weapon smiths from working in the city. I know of plenty of black markets that make blades. Do you know if that was what you were..." Anna stopped. It was because Roose and Boose had leaned so far over to listen that they fell out of their chairs. "Something to add, ixxars?"

The twins stood up and brushed themselves off. "Oh...nothing..." Said Boose. "Just something." Said Roose. "This map you lost..." Said Boose. "Did you lose it near the great climb?" Asked Roose. "Was it like charcoal on a Scroll of Papyrus?"

Marf Rules

For the Active Exploits Take Two Game.

Linky

Here are the starting abilities and aspects of Marfs.

Fitness: 0

Awareness: 0

Creativity: -1

Reasoning: 0

Material Magic: 0

Luck: 4

Discipline: 5

Marfs are not pretty creatures to those not of their kind. The Mole-kin are mostly hairless with squat and pudgy features and long noses, sometimes broken at the tip. They are also not very charming to those not of their kin, shrugging off insults and complements alike from non-mole-kin. Their cloths represent this with thick woven strands of burlap and tweed, dusty from their homes under the city floor.

With in their own kind, however, they are quite jovial. They have a great love for family, food, and most importantly, earth. From the earth they came and they mold it with the respect their great Mole god granted them as they were themselves molded. Marf are patient with earth and sing to it as they shape stone, dirt, and even steel into their vision. The only thing Marf love as much as the earth is rain. When it rains, all Marf are called to it as if by a siren, and they dance and jump and roll around and sing and generally make merry. This vision is such of alarming contrast to other races that it comes off as creepy. The non-marf of Annalow keep clear of the streets on rainy nights.

Marf have control over material in two ways. Earth Smiths move and mold matter as they control the density of matter, and Alchemist can transmute one kind of matter to another. When being raised, a marf must choose one path or the other. One who can do both is extremely rare.

Remember that all magic requires physical touch. Also, that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Adding weight to an element requires weight taken from something else. If a Marf wants to damage a foe with their power, it takes a difficulty of 3 + the amount of damage they want. This does not ignore armor.

Earth Smith

Diff-Density:

2- Air

4- Liquid

6- Solid

8- Magic Solid

Alchemist

Diff- Effect

0/1- Sense of what scientific element a substance is up to 15 feet in the earth (like sonar)

2- Detailed understanding of element or mixture of elements and exact weight.

4- Transmutation of one element to an adjacent element.

6- Transmute of one element to another that is 10 atomic weight away.

8- Transmute element into any other element.

[Note: This is the end of the five races one can play. The Ixxar as a race are meant as antagonists. Partly because they are always working toward over throwing the Annalow government and the Church of Mandra, but also because their magic is meant to remain a secret.]

Amythra 31

"Oh, that's not fair." replied Roose who was performing something like the Heimlich maneuver on his brother. "We have no issue against freedom, just..." There was a pop and Boose's food jumped back out of his mouth onto his plate.

Boose Gasped and finished with "...just the excess that mume-kin seems to think freedom leads to. Some choices should not be available for the safty of people kind."

Anna crossed her arms and said "All mumes are free."

"Oh please" Roose said. "Why does no one carry a blade longer then their hand, then? Where are the swords? The Halberds? The 10 foot spears?"

"Ignore them, Amythra," Anna narrowed her eyes. "Everyone knows not to talk politics with Dragon-kin."

"Alright, bad example, Red Guard," Booses words was the first time Amythra realized she was even sitting next to a Red Guard. Up until then, she thought Anna to be just a benevolent womume who got mixed up in the fight outside. Boose continued, "but if a family needs a son, wouldn't it be irresponsible to allow them to join an army not even run by their government?"

"Yeah." Amythra liked the sound of that.

Goldeyes responded with "It's better than being drafted against your will into a war you don't want to begin with."

Roose chimed in, "The draft agents are looking for mume, borc, marf, and even ixxar with combat experience. What does an islander know about fighting?"

"No offense." Boose finished.

"I repeat," said Anna, "All mume are free."

"Nope" Said Boose. "Don't believe it." Said Roose. "Because I see as many mume slaves in the field as any other race. Except, maybe, the Effee."

"As the Effee say, ixxar boys, 'There are many kinds of freedom.' Amythra's brother made a choice. We should respect his decision, as he's submitting to following orders like a slave would, only his service will be to fight and help the Borc armies to the north against he Cross Militia. Even choicelessness is a choice."

"I don't want my brother to be a slave." said Amythra. "I just want him home."

"And in keeping him home against his will, he would be a different kind of slave. One to you instead of to the army of his choosing." Goldeye's words burned a little in Amythra's heart. "Once they are adults, mumes can even choose slavery and the military is just that. Trust me, I know."

"And who's family did you neglect by leaving?" Asked Boose. That shut Anna up. She just turned back to her leaf-juice and shut the hell up.

Amythra 30

"You're brother, huh. Well, he must have volunteered, then. That's something. They don't draft outside of the city, islander."

Amythra turned off of Sad Street onto Angry Ave. "Yes, well he shouldn't have gone. He's thick headed and he shouldn't have gone!"

Anna sighed. "My name is Anna Goldeyes, girl. What's your name?" The way she asked sounded more like a protocol she wanted to get out of the way rather than a friendly gesture. It still took the islander girl aback slightly.

"Uh...Amythra Tanglenet."

"Amythra, if your brother is old enough to be accepted by the Annalow Relief Army, because they do not take children, then your brother is old enough to choose if he wants to fight or not."

The food Roose and Boose ordered finally arrived. Amythra hadn't seen any meat that wasn't fish before, but didn't let it distract her. "Well, he shouldn't of been able to choose, then." She turned back to Anna. "His father needs him and...and..." suddenly, Amythra found a great desire to focus on a tiny pin hole in the window seal in front of her. She turned her eyes downwards, away from Anna's golden eyes. "...so do I."

"I agree." Said Boose, who just put a large bite of steak into his mouth. His brother elbowed him, forcing Boose to swallow before he was ready. Amythra and Anna watch the ixxar choke.

It's no small secret that the Ixxar are not fond of mume communities, but they outright hate the Red Guard, and the Red Guard them. Anna raised a brow as one twin helped the other. "Of course YOU would." Amythra turned to her new friend and made the universal noise of curiosity. "All ixxar," said Anna, "disagree with freedom."