Variorum of Victoria: Chapter the First: A Twisted Schema

[Arahira]

I urge Father bear to hold up the rotundum for the monkeys to see. If he does I continue speaking.

"This document here,
Fear the fox does, its return,
to your elders wise."

[nijineko]

Father bear seems reluctant, but at a poke from Mother bear, he produces the Rotundum, and holds it up high.


There is an unexpected moment of silence, where the world holds her breath, and time pauses to catch his....


The monkeys utter a low keen, stomp twice and clap thrice in perfect unison, ending with their hands and fingers folded into a peculiar shape. When the echoes fade, the spokesmonkey speaks.

"Bird song broken off,
Danger looms, silence allows...
A single request."

[Arahira]

When the monkeys stomp and clap I wonder if I'd done something wrong all this poetry was making me dizzy. Guessing their current words meant that I get a request I give them one.

"To elders safely,
This tundum and bears must get,
Please guide us safely?"


I'm thanking my mom in my head right now for all the schooling she made me do.

[nijineko]

"Cold buds blossoming,
Bringing anew life from death,
One eternal round,
Old words of snow melt and flow,
New words of budding green grow."


The spokesmonkey turns to the fox, bows, and turns away. At some unseen signal, the monkeys appear from the brushes around and loosely encircle the fox. The line of monkeys approach your little group and the spokesmonkey stops just in front of you, bows, then holds out his hand in a courteous gesture, apparently expecting to take your hand. He comes to about mid-chest on you.

The fox splutters a bit, but seems to be momentarily beyond words.

[Arahira]

I bow back and take the monkey's hand, shaking it if that's what he was expecting or just taking it if not. If it turns out he's looking for some sort of payment then I see what I can find.

[nijineko]

He takes your hand, and tucks it under his arm, turning so that he is standing next to you. He makes a figure gesture, and the remaining monkeys from the line form up into an escort around him, you, and the bears. He leads you off to the other side of the clearing. The fox sits up tall and finally finds his voice, "This will not wash away your tracks in the mud. There will be repayment for this. Enmity!" But for all his haughty speech and down-the-nose looks, he does not move, nor do the monkeys ringing him.

As your little cavalcade passes the fox, he looks you in the eye. "I will remember you, human. We shall see how long you can act like an animal, and when you will revert to your true nature, like the rest of your kind."

[Arahira]

I resist ther urge to stick out my tongue obnoxiously at the fox like I wanted to. I instead turn away and ignore him and let the monkeys escort us off to the elders.

[nijineko]

The spokesmonkey retains his hold on your hand. Ranged around you are the other four monkeys and all about you the rest of the retinue swing through the trees or form a loose ring around the little cavalcade. You noticed scout monkeys ranging ahead and out of sight, only to drop back and report in whispered tones. Straining your ears a bit, you note that all the communications (at least those that you are able to hear) are also in the three line poem format. Apparently these monkeys communicate exclusively in poem.

You pass through large swatches of forest, many meadows, hills, vales, and the occasional stream. At one point everyone is stopped by a small waterfall for a meal. The monkeys, however, eat nothing, taking only a small amount of water, into which each monkey sprinkles a small amount of some ochre-colored powder. You are grateful for the rest, as you have been travelling for some hours.

{{{if there is anything you want to bring up or ask, feel free. it is not necessary, i just like giving opportunity to input actions when i'm carrying on with long chunks of background text. ^^ if not, then i'll just continue on to the next chunk of text.}}}

[Arahira]

I travel at their speed without complaint. When we stop to rest I eat if offered something but do not ask. If I'm not offered anything then I take a drink from the water fall and sit and rest. When everyone decides to move on I do as well without complaint.

((All's good you can continue on. I don't mind if you carry on as long as there isn't any points where its obvious my character would step in and say or do something.))

[nijineko]

You notice that the forest is growing deeper, the trees leaping into the sky, each of a great girth. The light has been growing steadily greener, and dimmer as you have proceeded. Finally you reach something most unusual. A low wall stretching out to either side as far as you can see. (which isn't very far, in the dim primeval forest depths.) The wall is old, and has a few blocks tumbled down in many places, though the wall is largely intact. A few of the giant trees straddle or even partially break through the wall in places. Oddly, there is no other growth upon the stones, not even the ones that have fallen in the moss and lichen strewn tangles.

The bears and the surrounding monkeys, all except the four who are arrayed behind you, and the spokesmonkey who still holds your hand in his leathery one, move forward and line up before the wall. The monkeys bow their heads, but are silent. The bears voices blend in a rough harmony as they chant something you don't follow.

You start to move forward, only to be brought up short by the hand of the spokesmonkey holding you still. His hand has the strength of a gnarled tree root.

The bears finish, and turn and come over to you. Before they can speak, the spokesmonkey does:

"Human shall not go,
Ancient evil long ago,
Flee from winter's snow.
To the elders we have brought,
Now to pay for what we wrought."

[Arahira]

I look at the monkeys and then the bears then back to the monkeys. Their words were so vague I wasn't sure if they were waiting to pay or if they wished payment from me. I hope they accept gold. I'm also unsure if the monkeys are even talking to me and how much trouble I've suddenly found myself in.

" I admit to having limited expertise in their style of speech." I finally speak to the bears quietly." Are they asking for payment or should I be remaining silent?"

[nijineko]

The father bear hmmms deeply. The mother bear looks somewhat worried, and says, "We are not honestly sure ourselves what they mean, most of the time. Ever since.... I'm sorry, dear. You are very nice for a human, but there are just some things that we can't...." She wrings her paws in discomfort.

Father bear places a heavy paw delicately on her shoulder. "We must go on. The Rotundum must be returned to the Elders." He looks at you. "You have been uncommonly good, for a human. We don't understand everything that is going on, but we must do our part, and thank you for yours." He inclinces his head to you briefly, paw touching the sword he wears in a sort of salute.

The mother bear steps forward and enfolds you in a warm herbal-smelling hug. She whispers to you, "There are two paths in this world of ours, all others are illusion. You seem to be one of those rarest of things, a human who follows not the path the rest of your kind do. May the forest-blessing be with you so long as you continue to so walk." She licks your forehead, with a rough rasping tongue and immediately after smears something onto the licked spot with a paw pad. You feel the prick of a claw-tip at your hairline, and then you smell the strong pungent scent of the stuff. It reminds you of spring-time smells.

They pause to give you a chance to reply, and when you are done, they turn and ponderously hurtle a low part of the wall. Mother bear makes it over without incident, but when father bear goes over, something on his harness touches the stones as he passes over them. There is a sudden SNAP! sound and a flash of light, and the harness has a rather large scorch mark. He grunts, but otherwise seems not affected. The bears quickly disappear into the shadows beyond the wall.

A sharp smell reaches your nose, sort of like the after-rain smell, but so strong and sharp as to be unpleasant.


The monkeys remain still and silent until the bears have been out of sight for some time. Then the spokesmonkey turns to you.

"come, now it is time,
this riddle, an end to rhyme,
irony sublime."

He tugs you forward, and leads you up to the wall with the rest of the monkeys. They spread out to make room for the five of you. Looking to your left and right, you see that the monkeys are lined up in front of the wall sections still standing, as are you.

[Arahira]

"I understand and thank you greatly for your kindness and patience." I say to the bears and smile and curtsy.

I suddenly feel lost and alone again. Not to mention unsure of what it is I'm supposed to be doing at the moment so, for now, unless instructed otherwise I stand silently beside the monkeys and wait.

[nijineko]

"Wait to see if comes,
From the bear touch danger foul,
Sentry three still move."

A period of time passes. You are not sure how long it has been, but it feels like it is crawling by agonizingly slowly. The shadowy dim greenness does not help, nor does the unnatural silence. You realize that you have not even seen or heard bugs or birds or anything else moving, except for yourselves, since you approached this wall.

There is a sudden clap that sounds loudly in the stillness. The spokesmonkey humms, and all the monkeys suddenly begin to sing, or recite something you don't understand in a solemn slow cadence with long pauses in between, measured by the simultaneous thump of all the monkey's feet as they march slowly in place. Suddenly you hear a soft whisper from the spokesmonkey in between the sung recitals.

"What was joined as one..."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Must be sundered and undone..."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Be made two from one..."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"By a five-fingered hand won..."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

"Evil slain, or else by none..."

There is some more, which the spokesmonkey does not translate for you. Again, there is silence. After a bit, the spokesmonkey turns and looks at you.

"Questions you must have,
Yet some time before the task,
Think carefully and ask,

Your willing help we must have,
Thus you pay, as we, the past."

[Arahira]

"This child I fear,
Far to many answers sought,
If help is needed
I willingly give to you
Maybe answers later asked?"

I sigh unsure what else to say or if I could even speak normally. All this poetry was unclear and confusing. I was tired, wanted a bath, wanted a new dress and wanted something to eat. I had many many questions I wanted to ask but had no idea where to start or even what would be appropriate to ask. I had no idea the history of these people and no idea if I was even going to live through this. This might just be the last time I help strangers, if I get through this in one piece then I might change my mind.