Quinda - Not much to respond to in that past review, but it's always nice
getting one. Thanks for the continued encouragement.
Chapter 6: A weapon and a decision.
The soldier stationed in Tristan Stewart's guard was shocked to say the least. He didn't think he'd find anything new to report to his master, but there was no mistaking her. The glowing skin, the diamonds.the star around her neck. It couldn't possibly be anyone other than Serena. His master would be thrilled to know about this. The second he could, he proudly sent her a message. He neglected to tell her about the diamonds, he didn't think they were important enough.
*~*~*~*~*
"Well, I'm certainly glad that's over," Isis said. Achmed and Grunthor looked up, the two of them were busy going over the meeting, and Isis had just gotten changed back into normal clothes.
"I imagine it must've been horrible," Achmed replied dryly.
"Don' be pokin' fun, sir," Grunthor warned. "If I recall corec'ly, and I usua'y do I migh' add, ye didn' wan' te be wit' him either."
"That's a good point. If it was so simple, Achmed, how about YOU go to the next meeting," Isis added with a smile. Achmed didn't even dignify that with a response. He merely rolled his eyes, rolled up the parchment he was writing on, and put it to the side. Just as Isis sat down, the Bolg servers began bringing in platters of food for that night's supper.
"Ah, yes, dinner time. M'favori'e," Grunthor exclaimed. There were a few Bolg who served the giant commander solely, while the others waited on both Achmed and Isis.
"Really, Grunthor?" Isis asked, wide eyed. "I wouldn't have known. It's such a surprise." Achmed couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped his lips as he began to cut the deer that had just been served to him.
"Watch it miss," Grunthor warned. "I've ne'er tasted Seren meat before. Don' make me try i' on ye."
"You would have to catch me first, Grunthor. While you are quite strong, I am much, much faster," replied Isis as she examined a bun before cutting it. Her eyes shifted from the bun to Grunthor, and she winked.
"That is true, but could you outrun the entire army?" asked Achmed.
"I've done it before," replied Isis defensively. "Tha's true sir," confirmed Grunthor. "We're gonna need some new lon' range weapons if we ge' attacked. Miss Isis here made m'best troops look lik' a bunch of kids chasin' a fast horse. We couldn' hit 'er."
"I'll remember to design something," Achmed said with a nod.
"Actually." Isis hesitated. Achmed raised an eyebrow.
"C'mon, don' be shy. Show 'is Majesty th' design," Grunthor replied kindly.
"Design?" asked Achmed, with his interest pricked up. Isis silently took out a rolled up sheet of parchment, tied with a dark green velvet ribbon, and handed it over to him. Achmed took the ribbon off, and made to hand it back to Isis, who shook her head.
"Keep it, it goes with the design," she replied. Achmed shrugged and unrolled her work. It looked like a large crossbow on wheels. It was different from the similar weapons though, as it was made of different material, and it had different things it could shoot. One was a net, one of the ones that the Bolg made special, except with heavy weights tied to the ends of it. Another was a pouch filled with oil that could easily be lit on fire. The third attachment was the normal grappling hook.
"When did you come up with this?" Achmed asked.
"I just finished the final design for it last night," Isis replied. She opened her pouch again and took out a model the size of her hand. She took out attachments as well, but didn't hand them over yet. "The main secret to this is the materials it's made out of. Most people make them out of steel, but that causes them to be way too heavy. This is made with the lighter wood, and only brushed with the metal. It's easier to destroy, no doubt about it, but it's much lighter. It retains most of the steel's hardness, yet is at least fifty times lighter. It would only take about five Bolg of average strength to operate it. If you look at the distance and precision," Isis took back the model and showed Achmed how to load it, by loading the net. She flipped it around on the table, threw a catch, and the net flew. It flew across the room and trapped a fly near the ceiling. "that will come with the bigger version as well, as long as the ratios of the weights and the balances are correct. The net can be used to capture escaping enemies, and the other two are a bit obvious if I do say so myself.except the fire has a bit of an extra trick to it. The fire will cause the special oil that I created to bubble and become unstable. When it hits the ground, it will not only light things around it on fire, but it will cause a small explosion as well."
"Like a bomb?" asked Achmed. Isis nodded in confirmation.
"The formula's on the bac' of the paper, near the detai' of the fire t'ing," Grunthor interjected helpfully. Achmed flipped the paper over, looked at the ingredients, and looked back up at Isis.
"You can find most of these materials only in Ylorc.and in abundance too," he commented. Isis smiled.
"I created it with that in mind. The oil of the Makis plant, the key ingredient for this oil, can only be found deep within Ylorc, and it has a particular odor that is difficult to cover up. Therefore no one can smuggle the plant or it's oil out of the country easily."
"Hence I would control who gets this, even if the world does find out about it," Achmed surmised slowly. Isis smiled and nodded.
"This is excellent, Isis. I'll get my people working on these at once."
"I tol' ye he'd like it," Grunthor told Isis. She smiled back at him and winked.
*~*~*~*~*
"Rhapsody, I just don't think that you should trust her," Ashe snapped.
"Oh? And why not? Because she fell to my feet needing my help? There are others that I've trusted who've done the same thing Ashe. Not only did I trust that person, I married him." The fire in the fireplace roared in anger as Rhapsody bit back a response.
"But she was servant to a F'dor," Ashe argued back.
"SO WERE YOU!" Rhapsody yelled. She immediately regretted saying it, by the look on her husband's face. She had touched a nerve that after all these years hadn't healed yet. She immediately cooled down and spoke in a more reasonable tone of voice. "I'm sorry I yelled that at you Sam, but you shouldn't be so suspicious. Isis needed my help."
"I know, Aria. And I'm sorry that I'm being so suspicious, but I don't want anything to happen to you. I'd rather not trust her only to lose you."
Rhapsody sighed to herself before continuing. "You aren't going to lose me to her, love. How about this though, I'll invite her down here so you can meet her yourself."
Ashe thought to himself. If she was here, he would be able to meet her and protect Rhapsody in case Isis did turn out to be the enemy. "That sounds good," he agreed slowly, "as long as Achmed doesn't come with her."
Rhapsody's eyes sparkled, a cross between amusement and malice. "Ashe dear, I don't think you could stop him."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Again, short, but I've found that I'm more comfortable writing the shorter pieces. It'll all get put up, don't worry. So tune in next week! Isis and Achmed get the invite! There WILL be Ashe bashing! And Isis will make a confession (though not an unexpected confession) to Grunthor.
After that, I'm warning you, there'll be a chapter devoted to the F'dor. And after that.I'm not telling.
Chapter 6: A weapon and a decision.
The soldier stationed in Tristan Stewart's guard was shocked to say the least. He didn't think he'd find anything new to report to his master, but there was no mistaking her. The glowing skin, the diamonds.the star around her neck. It couldn't possibly be anyone other than Serena. His master would be thrilled to know about this. The second he could, he proudly sent her a message. He neglected to tell her about the diamonds, he didn't think they were important enough.
*~*~*~*~*
"Well, I'm certainly glad that's over," Isis said. Achmed and Grunthor looked up, the two of them were busy going over the meeting, and Isis had just gotten changed back into normal clothes.
"I imagine it must've been horrible," Achmed replied dryly.
"Don' be pokin' fun, sir," Grunthor warned. "If I recall corec'ly, and I usua'y do I migh' add, ye didn' wan' te be wit' him either."
"That's a good point. If it was so simple, Achmed, how about YOU go to the next meeting," Isis added with a smile. Achmed didn't even dignify that with a response. He merely rolled his eyes, rolled up the parchment he was writing on, and put it to the side. Just as Isis sat down, the Bolg servers began bringing in platters of food for that night's supper.
"Ah, yes, dinner time. M'favori'e," Grunthor exclaimed. There were a few Bolg who served the giant commander solely, while the others waited on both Achmed and Isis.
"Really, Grunthor?" Isis asked, wide eyed. "I wouldn't have known. It's such a surprise." Achmed couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped his lips as he began to cut the deer that had just been served to him.
"Watch it miss," Grunthor warned. "I've ne'er tasted Seren meat before. Don' make me try i' on ye."
"You would have to catch me first, Grunthor. While you are quite strong, I am much, much faster," replied Isis as she examined a bun before cutting it. Her eyes shifted from the bun to Grunthor, and she winked.
"That is true, but could you outrun the entire army?" asked Achmed.
"I've done it before," replied Isis defensively. "Tha's true sir," confirmed Grunthor. "We're gonna need some new lon' range weapons if we ge' attacked. Miss Isis here made m'best troops look lik' a bunch of kids chasin' a fast horse. We couldn' hit 'er."
"I'll remember to design something," Achmed said with a nod.
"Actually." Isis hesitated. Achmed raised an eyebrow.
"C'mon, don' be shy. Show 'is Majesty th' design," Grunthor replied kindly.
"Design?" asked Achmed, with his interest pricked up. Isis silently took out a rolled up sheet of parchment, tied with a dark green velvet ribbon, and handed it over to him. Achmed took the ribbon off, and made to hand it back to Isis, who shook her head.
"Keep it, it goes with the design," she replied. Achmed shrugged and unrolled her work. It looked like a large crossbow on wheels. It was different from the similar weapons though, as it was made of different material, and it had different things it could shoot. One was a net, one of the ones that the Bolg made special, except with heavy weights tied to the ends of it. Another was a pouch filled with oil that could easily be lit on fire. The third attachment was the normal grappling hook.
"When did you come up with this?" Achmed asked.
"I just finished the final design for it last night," Isis replied. She opened her pouch again and took out a model the size of her hand. She took out attachments as well, but didn't hand them over yet. "The main secret to this is the materials it's made out of. Most people make them out of steel, but that causes them to be way too heavy. This is made with the lighter wood, and only brushed with the metal. It's easier to destroy, no doubt about it, but it's much lighter. It retains most of the steel's hardness, yet is at least fifty times lighter. It would only take about five Bolg of average strength to operate it. If you look at the distance and precision," Isis took back the model and showed Achmed how to load it, by loading the net. She flipped it around on the table, threw a catch, and the net flew. It flew across the room and trapped a fly near the ceiling. "that will come with the bigger version as well, as long as the ratios of the weights and the balances are correct. The net can be used to capture escaping enemies, and the other two are a bit obvious if I do say so myself.except the fire has a bit of an extra trick to it. The fire will cause the special oil that I created to bubble and become unstable. When it hits the ground, it will not only light things around it on fire, but it will cause a small explosion as well."
"Like a bomb?" asked Achmed. Isis nodded in confirmation.
"The formula's on the bac' of the paper, near the detai' of the fire t'ing," Grunthor interjected helpfully. Achmed flipped the paper over, looked at the ingredients, and looked back up at Isis.
"You can find most of these materials only in Ylorc.and in abundance too," he commented. Isis smiled.
"I created it with that in mind. The oil of the Makis plant, the key ingredient for this oil, can only be found deep within Ylorc, and it has a particular odor that is difficult to cover up. Therefore no one can smuggle the plant or it's oil out of the country easily."
"Hence I would control who gets this, even if the world does find out about it," Achmed surmised slowly. Isis smiled and nodded.
"This is excellent, Isis. I'll get my people working on these at once."
"I tol' ye he'd like it," Grunthor told Isis. She smiled back at him and winked.
*~*~*~*~*
"Rhapsody, I just don't think that you should trust her," Ashe snapped.
"Oh? And why not? Because she fell to my feet needing my help? There are others that I've trusted who've done the same thing Ashe. Not only did I trust that person, I married him." The fire in the fireplace roared in anger as Rhapsody bit back a response.
"But she was servant to a F'dor," Ashe argued back.
"SO WERE YOU!" Rhapsody yelled. She immediately regretted saying it, by the look on her husband's face. She had touched a nerve that after all these years hadn't healed yet. She immediately cooled down and spoke in a more reasonable tone of voice. "I'm sorry I yelled that at you Sam, but you shouldn't be so suspicious. Isis needed my help."
"I know, Aria. And I'm sorry that I'm being so suspicious, but I don't want anything to happen to you. I'd rather not trust her only to lose you."
Rhapsody sighed to herself before continuing. "You aren't going to lose me to her, love. How about this though, I'll invite her down here so you can meet her yourself."
Ashe thought to himself. If she was here, he would be able to meet her and protect Rhapsody in case Isis did turn out to be the enemy. "That sounds good," he agreed slowly, "as long as Achmed doesn't come with her."
Rhapsody's eyes sparkled, a cross between amusement and malice. "Ashe dear, I don't think you could stop him."
*~*~*~*~*~*
Again, short, but I've found that I'm more comfortable writing the shorter pieces. It'll all get put up, don't worry. So tune in next week! Isis and Achmed get the invite! There WILL be Ashe bashing! And Isis will make a confession (though not an unexpected confession) to Grunthor.
After that, I'm warning you, there'll be a chapter devoted to the F'dor. And after that.I'm not telling.