Tales from the Wardrobe...

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[OOC: It _still_ is unclear whether Mrs. Pevensie intended to change her mind and accompany this expedition; so I urge that we all remain non-committal on this for as long as possible. Once Angela _does_ make up her mind, we can all retroactively agree that she was wherever she'll say she was.]

"The Lion's blessing be with you all!" shouted Peter with sword upraised when they were all mounted. Others present cheered; and Chipdolly rushed up just in time to place in the hands of the maidservants brand-new loaves of bread, still warm from her oven.

When the group actually got out the gates and onto its journey, Horatius called back to the High King, "If there IS any trouble, you have my word, sire, that either these with me will all return safely, or I will return as a maimed corpse!"
 
*Edmund to Lucy*
"My dear Royal Sister, there is no one I would trust more, with my life even, than I trust you on this endeavor. It is for because of your gentle, yet valiant heart that Our Lord Aslan chooses to reveal himself to you more than any other being I know. If you are near me, dear Lucy, Aslan is within easy reach. I am honored to have you accompany me on this quest."

*give Lucy a deep bow, kisses her and hugs her as the High King did.*

"By the by, sister, Phillip is glad that Ebony is coming along. He will have someone of his kind to spend time with."
"Is everyone ready?"
 
[For chronological sense, let's figure that Barbarian King's latest post actually happens _before_ my post that occurs just above it.]


They were not even entirely out of sight of the castle when Horatius drew near to the horses and said to Edmund and the queens, "Your Majesties, I smell herbivore's blood from somewhere ahead; body scent with it suggests an antelope. Very fresh scent; could be still alive."

"_Wild_ antelope in Narnia usually range only in the southern grassy areas," remarked Edmund. "So what you smell may be a _Talking_ Antelope. Run ahead and investigate. If it is, or even _might_ be, a Talking Beast, you will render any aid you can while we catch up with you. If it's a dumb animal for _certain,_ give it as merciful an end as you can, and we'll have it for supper."

Horatius loped ahead to investigate. He had not covered half a mile before he had instant confirmation that the creature he smelled was indeed intelligent. The antelope was being dragged along on a large travois by four Satyrs; _their_ scent had been smothered by the rich blood-aroma. Another four Satyrs walked alongside--probably taking turns with the burden. Two of the unencumbered Satyrs brought spears nervously to the ready when they caught sight of the approaching predator; but Horatius hastily exclaimed, "TALKING Leopard! TALKING Leopard!"

Soon the four-footed soldier learned the meaning of this odd procession. The Talking Antelope, Dranvalan by name, had been wounded in one haunch with an arrow, evidently by some other Satyr besides these now helping him. The Satyrs helping him all felt that it must have been merely bad luck that their fellow Satyr mistook Dranvalan for a non-intelligent antelope. Dranvalan, however, insisted that the hunter had acted in deliberate malice with knowledge of what his target was. He had raised a ruckus demanding no less than a royal investigation of the "attempted murder."

When the questing party overtook him, Horatius' first words were, "Your Majesty King Edmund, what you see before you would be a case for your judicial insight, were you not on an errand of importance. As it is, the High King is going to have legal business on his hands."
 
"Yes, I see your point Horatius."
*turning to the first Satyr*
"Master Satyr, have you knowledge of any other Satyr hunting in this area?"
(1s Satyr answers after a short bow)
"No, Your Majesty"
"Anyone of you, good Satyrs, know of any other Satyrs that have been recently hunting in this general area?"
*A young Satyr in the back takes a step forward*
"I heard that Marlax and Arlanat would go hunting, not necessarily in this area, Your Majesty, but very near here."
"Thank you, young Master" -answered King Edmund.
"We will have to send a message to the High King." "Master Horatious, see to it."

*turning to Dranvalan*
"Dranvalan, our faithful subject, it is in the hands of the High King now. You must trust to his wisdom. These good Satyrs will help you get better, do not reproach them for something someone else did, even if it was of their kind."
 
Horatius looks puzzled. Kreechikee, perched on Elena's saddle at the moment, speaks up:

"My King, I of course have writing materials for a message to the High King; but did your order to Horatius mean that you want him to go back to Cair Paravel with these other Narnians? Or will Your Majesty be pleased to entrust the Satyrs themselves with delivering your letter?"

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[It's up to B-King to clarify what his words to Horatius meant. Perhaps someone else will take control of Dranvalan and decide how this resentful, pain-maddened antelope reacts (if at all) to hearing what Edmund commands. And of course, there are other characters present, whose remarks on the situation are yet to be made. Note that for my part I did NOT intend for this encounter to be directly tied to the Hermit quest; rather, as something that would keep King Peter occupied back at the castle--with the involvement of Mrs. Pevensie, IF she is indeed staying behind.]
 
OOC: Well, I wasn't sure. Edmund telling Horatious to "see to it" means he trusts Horatius enough to make a decision, whether to go back himself or to send someone. I think that since Horatius is coming along, he can decide to send someone or even send the message with the good Satyrs.
I think Peter now can decide who delivered the message to him.
 
[Horatius ought not be taken away from the party right at the start; he would feel the same way Reepicheep would feel being told to run away when friends might be in danger. So...]


"I believe, sire, that we can trust these Satyrs with carrying word themselves. _Spoken_ word, in fact, so that Kreechikree's parchments don't get used up too soon. If the Satyrs were treacherous, they could have made an end of Dranvalan somewhere with no witnesses. And _eaten_ the evidence," the old carnivore couldn't resist adding.

King Edmund accordingly gave the Satyrs words to repeat to the High King in the Younger King's name. As the lame antelope and his benefactors resumed their last stretch to reach Cair Paravel, Horatius called after them, "Ask Centauress Yedulia, daughter of Oreius, to look after that haunch. She was wounded that way herself once in a battle against a band of robber ogres."

And soon the quest party was headed inland once more.
 
BarbarianKing said:
*Edmund to Lucy*
"My dear Royal Sister, there is no one I would trust more, with my life even, than I trust you on this endeavor. It is for because of your gentle, yet valiant heart that Our Lord Aslan chooses to reveal himself to you more than any other being I know. If you are near me, dear Lucy, Aslan is within easy reach. I am honored to have you accompany me on this quest."

*give Lucy a deep bow, kisses her and hugs her as the High King did.*

"By the by, sister, Phillip is glad that Ebony is coming along. He will have someone of his kind to spend time with."
"Is everyone ready?"
Click to expand...


"Thank you, dear brother, you dont know how much that means to me. And yes Ebony is glad of Phillip's company too."

"You don't know how bad it is," Ebony said, "to spend time with dumb horses. They never wish to do anything but whip their tails on you."


When the party met the Satyrs and the antilope, Lucy kept quiet until they sent word to Peter and rode off. Lucy then turned to Susan as their horses trotted.

"Susan," she said, "do think that Satyr hit the Antilope on purpose?"
 
Not to interfere with Susan replying, but just to fill in till the person playing Susan rejoins us--


"Satyrs are usually highly conscientious about distinguishing talking beasts from dumb ones," Kreechikree remarked when Queen Susan did not speak immediately.
 
"Perhaps," interjected Horatius, "it really was nothing but an unfortunate accident, with no subtle meaning. It may be that the hunter didn't even SEE Dranvalan, but was aiming at some game animal closer at hand, then the arrow missed its intended target and went on to hit the antelope. The Satyr archer may not even have known that his arrow hit some other creature."

Kreechikree leaped clear of her perch to land squarely on the Leopard's powerful shoulders: a taking of liberties authorized by years of friendship. Then she said to him, "That is good reasoning, save for one thing. You heard how _loudly_ Dranvalan was complaining; when first hit, I'll wager he let out a scream that would awaken the dead. Not that I hold it against him; it was probably his cries that brought those friendly Satyrs to his rescue."
 
"Could have been far worse," replied Horatius. "Your Majesty is aware of the lore of Narnia's earliest years, during which lions and tigers, both talking ones and wild ones, were as numerous in the land as natural conditions permitted. Most of the Talking Lions eventually migrated west, while the Talking Tigers migrated south. In times that followed, as humans and other intelligent beings grew in population, they had no choice but to kill or drive out a large part of the wild lions and tigers. If Narnia now were as Narnia was at the height of wild-predator population, yonder Dranvalan would have been finished off and eaten before any help could have reached him."

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[If the other players don't show up soon, I suggest that we just assume that the other ladies all made this or that appropriate comment, and that then the quest party turned its attention to other things--like, for instance, deciding how soon to seek lodging or make camp.]
 
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"More to the point," said Edmund, "would be deciding on the first stop in our not-very-organized mission. We can reach a roadside inn before nightfall, or we might choose to camp when evening comes."

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[Mrs. Pevensie, we could _really_ use a word from you right now, saying whether you changed your mind about your character staying behind at Cair Paravel! If you are with your husband, he is more likely to want to find an inn and share a normal bed with you; if he is without you for this trip, he'll probably be more inclined to sleep in a camp. I'm confident that Barbarian King will agree with me on this point.]
 
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