The wait seemed long, but it was only an hour before the captain rose from his desk, stretched, and arming himself with a dagger, finally left his office. He shut the door firmly behind him, and Bird heard the snick of the key in the lock.
Now was her chance. flinging herself down from the lintel, she landed on the seat of a chair, marveling again that the fall had not broke every bone in her body, and thankful that this body had no bones. She oriented herself in the landscape of towering furniture and vast space, then gathered her back legs under her and leapt for the desk.
She landed on her side, slid down a curled parchment, and righted herself, trying to peer over the towering stacks and crumpled boulders of parchment. (Which - BTW - smelled delicious! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] ) Where was the list? It had been easy to see when she sat on the lintel, but now she was lost in canyons and cliffs of tan. This would never do. She glanced furively towards the door, wondering how much time she would have, then morphed into woman's shape.
Here it was! There were twelve names on the list, male and female, with a short notation next to each one listing some type of flaw. Some were injured, some "insubordinate", But most just said "aged". Bird wondered just how long a Halfling had to stay in this Void before one was considered "aged".
Next to these names, Captain Tarcil had written dates. The date next to the name Meridoc was tomorrow, as well as a Hobbit named Lobelia. Bird noticed that the name of Holly had been lined out. "He must really like that stew." she thought.
She committed the names and dates to memory, and set the scroll carefully back in place. Then she saw the letter, with the broken seal of a Black Hand.
She opened the letter with trembling hands. It was dated "8 Cermië", and Bird immediately saw the word "dragon". She started to read...
[ October 07, 2002: Message edited by: Birdland ]
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