Researching and Quarks Problem

classic Classic list List threaded Threaded
44 messages Options
123
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Researching and Quarks Problem

The Sword of Gerraxia
    Gerri picked up another book on magic that Krystal had her learning from.  She didn't realize there were so many different types of magic.  Divine, Arcane, Ritual, Natural, Runic, and more.  Gerri was most familiar with Runic magic since that is what her father and the other elves still here used when combating creatures that emerge from the gates without authorization.  Her own powers allowed her access to natural magic or the "Old Powers" as her little brother puts it.  Even then she uses runes to produce the effects she desires.  It was almost a subconscious use.
    EB had asked if she had an idea as to what was going on with Strange Quarks abilities.  To her it seemed to be a strange mix of science and magic.  That being said she looked into what it may be.  To her it seemed a Quantum Lock.  Something that was keeping Strange Quark locked to the plane of existence.  She wanted to try using her powers to unlock it, but Director Nova said it was to risky at this time to try.
    She couldn't help but be bored.  Swords were meant for fighting.  She wasn't a detective, and she wasn't skilled in espionage.  She did have magic, so they put her to work in something they thought would be good for her and helpful.  In truth it was, but it was also boring to her.  She wanted to be out in the field doing what she was good at, fighting.
    Something about those ruby shards reminded her of the last tale of her namesake, Gerraxia Goldenstar.  How the creature she fought was super intelligent and had something she shattered her sword fighting before defeating it at the cost of her own life.  She found mention of this in other lore as well, but it seemed a coincident.  She wanted to bring this to the Director.  Hopefully he would listen.
"Swords are for fighting."
ID: 14367
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Chained Angel
"Gerri...Grow beyond what you have been taught...Do not rely on the past for all answers."

"Who is that?" Gerri spun about and searched the room. The library her father kept his books in only had one door, which hadn't opened since she entered. The voice she heard was no more than a whisper, but she knew she heard it. "What are you talking about?"

Silence replied to her questions with its typical uncertain weight, causing her to strain to listen harder. "I'm not in the mood for games here. Dad, is that you?"

An old grandfather clock ticked away in the corner of the room. Elaborately carved woodworking gave the majestic piece the appearance of a stylized tree with branches wrapping together to embrace the clock's face.

An odd shudder overcame Gerri's body. She knew every piece her father had in his library. The clock was a new addition. She closed in on it and studied it further. The numbers done about the oval inset looked ordinary enough until she realized they culminated in the number thirteen at the apex. Not twelve.

The front panel, where the pendulum swayed clicked and popped open. The ticking grew louder, filling the room with a nearly deafening strikes. Her attention fully drawn into the opening, she spotted a dusty tome slotted into a channel below the swinging half-moon with a long-haired man lounging in the crescent encircled by a glass sphere.

"An invitation ignored is a slight to the host, wouldn't you agree. Don't be afraid to touch if you would care to meet me." The voice echoed over the ticking. "I know secrets, secrets which can set you free. Or is what you are all you wish to be?"
Chained Angel
ID: 20570
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

The Sword of Gerraxia
   "Who are you?" Gerri asked.  There was something familiar about him but she didn't think they had met before.  "I accept your invitation, but I would like to know my host."  
    She had been learning much.  She didn't like all the different kinds of magic but knew it was important to know the different types to defend against them.  She thought she knew all of her family members.  The book of Elvish Lore told her all of her ancestors companions except one who was called a freak and not a true elf.  That woman's name was stricken from the book.  This was obviously not her.  "Are you suggesting the answer might be something new and not in these tomes?"
    "What can you teach me?  I am willing to learn," she said with a bow.
"Swords are for fighting."
ID: 14367
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Chained Angel
"An acorn becomes an oak, tall and strong. The day becomes night, eerie and long. A baby becomes a child becomes an adult as time passes along. What can a sword become if it risks being wrong?" The voice sing-songed its message in Gerri's head.

"I've never been a big fan of puzzles," Gerri said. She reached in and snatched the book out from its housing. "I'd like to know who you are. Are you a friend or foe?"

"I've bid you welcome, I can bid you adieu. The choice is yours, it is up to you. Bring a friend on the journey, maybe even two. But soon you must choose, the hours you have are few."

The door to the clock pulled itself closed and the ticking stopped.
Chained Angel
ID: 20570
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Krystal Fae (Acidburn)
Administrator
Krystal hadn't left her Lab in over 90 hours.

Between searching for a 'cure' for Quark's condition, and remaining vigilant of infiltration by Morganna, she'd pushed herself beyond mere fatigue into near-total exhaustion.

Gerri entered the Lab, only to find Krystal seated on a stool, her head propped on her hand, gently snoring.

As Gerri gently touched her shoulder, she slumped into a full crossed-arm, head down on the table, barely upright position.

"I ought not wake her...", Gerri murmured to no one in particular.  "..., I'd hoped she could help me figure this one out."

As Gerri moved towards the door to leave, she heard a familiar voice, though it seemed slightly indistinct and echoed slightly.

"What seems to be bothering you, Gerri?", said Krystal.

Gerri turned to face her friend and would-be mentor.

"Why are you nude... and sort of transparent?" Gerri asked.  She then noticed that there seemed to be two Krystals, one standing, one slumped in slumber, connected by a translucent silvery cord.

The standing figure looked down, blushed, and was wearing her standard BADGE apparel moments later.

"This is new...", said Gerri.

"Not really, Astral Projection isn't that hard to accomplish if one has a disciplined mind... now, how can I advise you?", said Krystal.
ID# 10962
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

The Sword of Gerraxia
    Gerri set the tome down on the desk.  "An odd man in a clock gave this tome to me.  He told me to not just look at the past for answers.  There was something familiar about him, but I'm sure we never met before."  She was clearly puzzled.
    "Perhaps one of your ancestors companions?" Krystal guessed.
    "I don't think so," Gerri seemed unsure.  "From what I read in the lore, Kossuth, better known as Pyro, was imprisoned after her death.  No one else could keep him from burning things down even with his powers bound.  The freak was banished to another dimension.  We know where the Keebler's are.  That only leaves the healer, what was his name again? Lareniel?" He wasn't mentioned often but was in fact her great grandfather.
    "The freak?" Krystal asked.  "Who's that?"
    "Oh, I don't know.  Her name was stricken from the book.  She had no magic and therefore not a true elf," Gerri explained.
    "That's beside the point," Gerri started.  "He was talking in riddles.  'What is a sword when it risks being wrong?' what's that supposed to mean?"
    Krystal looked at Gerri's ring.  "Shattered and reforged into something else."
"Swords are for fighting."
ID: 14367
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Catalyst
"Well, it seems this one is a bit sharper than the so called Sword." The tome on the table said. "And he didn't give me to you, you took me without asking. How rude!"

Krystal and Gerri took a step back, surprised by the sudden opening and closing of the pages as well as the shrill female voice coming from within the book itself.

"Krystal?..." Gerri turned to the red-haired woman. "Did you do that?"

"She didn't do anything. She's too busy baking." The book flipped up and stood on the table. The pages ruffled as it stretched its spine. "What's wrong with you, girl. Haven't you ever seen an AO before?"

"An AO?" Gerri asked.

"An animated object." The book tilted on its cover from side to side, bending unnaturally as if doing calisthenics. "AO. You're all so interested in creating shiny things like this around you, trying to make an AI, Artificial Intelligence if you didn't know what that one meant, that you've forgotten about us."

 Krystal leaned in closer to study the book while in her astral form. "Technology and magic aren't that different, I'll have you know--"

The book slammed closed, emitting a sharp crack. "Don't disappoint me like that, sweetie. You were impressing me. You well know the difference. Now, as to what is going on with our dear sword here." The book swung to Gerri. "Our mutual...acquaintance has invited you to visit him in his lands. Are you going to ask her to go with you or not? Will there be anyone else?"

A knock came from Krystal's door. "Krystal. Do you have a moment. I have that ultrasound equipment you wanted."

"Just go in, sweetheart. Or follow me. Either way, don't block the road." The door pushed in and a burly man with long sandy hair and red sunglasses walked in. He looked at Gerri and raised an eyebrow. He lifted up a tattooed arm and flexed at her. "I remember you from the space station. The Sword of Gerraxia, right. How you doing?"

"Wyldfyre. I never thought you would show up in my lab unless it was for your autopsy." Krystal rolled her spectral eyes. "What do you want?"

He shrugged. "Hi to you too, sweetheart. I'm looking for Catatonic. By the way, thanks. The jaw works just fine again." He rubbed his chin and worked it about demonstratively.

"You mean Catalyst, I'm sure." Krystal corrected.

"Pototo, Tomato." Wyldfyre started to search the lab. "Have you locked him up here somewhere?"

"We're in the middle of something here, sir," Gerri said. "I think you'd better go."

"Oh, splendid." The book clapped its pages together. "We have our trio for the journey. It's time we left. Sooner begun, sooner ended."

With that, the book flopped down on its spine and opened up fully.

"Oh, no you don't--" Krystal shouted out.

A bright flash of light erupted from the blank page and the three people in the room disappeared.
Catalyst Heroes Rising
ID: 21306
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

The Sword of Gerraxia
   Gerri looked around trying to get her bearings.  "Where are we?" she asked not really expecting an answer.  She could see Krystal and Wyldfyre but that was all.  "Since when did my father own an animated object?"
"Swords are for fighting."
ID: 14367
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Krystal Fae (Acidburn)
Administrator
Krystal, no longer translucent save for the silvery cord that disappeared over a rise in the distance, was standing on a sparsely vegetated hillside, beside Gerri and Wyldfyre.

As the trio spun to face the nearest structure, an extensive wall containing a gate large enough to drive a wagon through, Krystal paled for a moment.

A fairly short, but stockily built man sat on a boulder just to one side of the massive gate.

"Wat kept 'cha?", he grumped.


                   
ID# 10962
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Catalyst
"This can't be real!" Gerri exclaimed.

"Oh, but it is," the voice of the book echoed all around them. "And as a point of fact, your father doesn't own an Animated Object. Or the clock you saw in his office. They were sent for you by the Goblin King."

"Wait a minute here," Wyldfyre said. "I've seen this one before. Legend, right? If you all start breaking out in song, I'm gonna torch this place. Unless its Bowie. I'd love to hear him perform live."

"You're here to help er' out," the bushey-eyed goblin spat. "And it is Labyrinth, you dolt. Not Legend."

"So why recreated the movie for Gerri?" Krystal asked.

"You take everything so seriously, don't you, Krystal Fae," the imitation Hoggle smirked. "Being here might help you out too, don't cha know? Soon enough, you're going ta need ta know how to let yer own hair down a bit."

"Har, har." Wyldfyre chuckled. "You tell her, Hoggy."

Hoggle gave Wyldfyre a sideways glance. "Truth be told, The Sword of Gerraxia here had questions about several things. One being what was going on with Strange Quark. The King owed a favor to her forebearers, so he decided to help her out."

"Why doesn't he just tell me then? Why all this..." Gerri gestured at the landscape around them. "fantasy?"

"Our dear Jareth doesn't do anything without a bit of a price, love," Hoggle said. "If you want the answers, you need to find him in his castle before time runs out." He waved a hand behind him, indicating to the ornate clock from her father's office. One that hadn't been there a few seconds ago. The time read 2:30. "And of course, you need to find him if you wish to leave his kingdom, as well."

"I don't take kindly to threats, bud," Wyldfyre snarled.

"It isn't a threat. Simply a statement of fact." Hoggle walked up to Gerri. "Every realm has its rules. Guests are always welcome here, but they can only leave here before the last chime of the thirteenth hour. The book is a portal in, but not a means by which to leave. If anyone remains here, even ones as powerful as the three of you, past that chime, you will become goblins like the rest of us under his rule."

Gerri looked at Krystal apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't know I was dragging you into this."

"What about me? You dragged me here, too!" Wyldfyre blurted out.

"I'm not sure if I'd be sorry to se you stay here," Gerri replied. "If you keep up with this attitude of yours, I think the world would be happy if I left you."

"Ah, hahaha," Hoggle chuckled. "Good. The sword that isn't a sword still has some steel to it."

"Don't worry about me, Gerri," Krystal said as she straightened her hair. "I'm actually quite curious about this entire shindig. My only concern is there are situations I must deal with back at BADGE headquarters. Morganna is still on the loose. But, at least with me here, my body is getting some well needed rest."

"OK," Gerri said, standing tall as she faced the large gated doors. "Let's get this show on the road. Open the doors."

"What do I look like? A doorman?" Hoggle asked while he rolled his eyes. "Give the muscled one there something useful to do."

The three looked at Wyldfyre in unison.

"Really?" Wyldfyre stared at them with clear surprise. His mouth dropped open. After a few seconds, he shook his head and turned to the door. "Bowie better be back there."

He pulled on the enormous handle and strained to pull one door open. Krystal and Gerri leaned in to spy what laid behind it.
Catalyst Heroes Rising
ID: 21306
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

The Sword of Gerraxia
    "What's to stop us from flying to the castle?"  Gerri asked as she looked behind the door.  "They didn't say we couldn't use our powers and avoid the whole labyrinth."
    "You could try, but Jared doesn't like people trying to get past his fun," Hoggle replied.
    Gerri let out a sigh.  "It's an adventure, so I guess we enter."
"Swords are for fighting."
ID: 14367
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Krystal Fae (Acidburn)
Administrator
Krystal asked Gerri to step away from the door for a moment...

"Before we enter, there is a thought I think you should consider...
 Gerri, you are fond of saying you are a sword, and that swords are for fighting...

 Swords have many uses, depending on the skill one possesses.

 It so happens I have some training in the use of blades...

 A sword can block attacks... is that not the job of a shield?  
 A sword can bind another weapon... is that not the job of a net?
 A sword can bludgeon with the flat of the blade, is that not the job of a club?  
 A sword cuts, but cutting is rarely fatal...
 more often if a sword kills, it is a thrust with the point...

 What I'm saying is that if you are indeed a sword, be everything a sword offers, don't merely be a killing thrust.", said Krystal, with a hand on Gerri's shoulder.

Gerri pondered Krystal's words for a moment, then nodded and said,  
"There is more to a sword fight than the final blow."
ID# 10962
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Catalyst
The three heroes walked through the doors, entering the labyrinth. Hoggle followed behind them. He huffed and panted as they marched through corridor after corridor, taking a left turn at each opportunity. The walls were tall enough that the castle they sought somewhere inside the maze couldn't be seen but light shone down on them from the sky that acted as their ceiling.

After an hour of marching, they came to a junction barricaded by a mass of thorny vines.

"Keep away from those," Krystal said. "They are a nasty species I've seen before. One prick and you'll sleep for years. Some say the Sleeping Beauty tale is based on these pesky vines."

"Heh, heh," Wyldfyre snickered.

"What did I say that was so funny this time?" Krystal glanced at Wyldfyre over the brim of her glasses.

"One prick," Wyldfyre said. "I thought this was supposed to be PG-13 or something family friendly."

Gerri hunched down and balanced on her heels as she rested her back on a stone wall. "I still think we should take to the air and fly over all of this distraction. If the answers are in the castle, the castle is where we should be heading instead of wandering around in this game of his."

"You can do as you like, Miss," Hoggle spoke up for the first time since they entered. He removed a shoe and shook it until a small pebble dropped out. "I think it is a bad idea, but what do I know. I've only been here for my entire life."

"So do we turn around and try a different way?" Gerri asked her companions.

"Why? Because the red-head  is scared of an overgrown hedge?" Wyldfyre laced his hands together and pushed them out palm-forward, cracking his knuckles. "I say 'Ni'!"

A wall of flame appeared and incinerated the vines blocking the corridor, burning all the way back to a t-junction, revealing a door in the middle of a wall of keys.

"I never thought I would see the day you did something useful," Krystal said. She headed down through the ash filled connecting corridor until she stood before the door. "I'd say good job, but..."

"But what?" Wyldfyre asked as he followed her, keeping his blaze burning at both sides of the doorway. More and more keys became revealed as the fires burned away vines deeper down each passage flanking the door.

Krystal stared at a hole in the door where a key should be placed. "I don't care to." She removed her glasses and polished them as she stared to her left and right. "That is a lot of keys."

Gerri and Hoggle followed them up. Above and around the door, a border of hundreds of tiles with runes carved on them shimmered in the firelight. Gerri read the message they spelled out. "Seek and ye shall..." The tile was blank. "The right key you need to pass this way. Golden and crusted with jewels she here will play. The mirror you will need to reveal where it may lay. The Fool and the Fae must keep trouble at bay."

From each side, vines pushed through the fires and headed for the group. Wyldfyre switched his focus to those attacking from the left with bolts of crimson fire while Krystal created magical barriers that the vines from the right shoved against.

"Gerri. I think you need to find the right key if we're going to get through this part." Krystal created a windstorm of frigid polar blasts the shattered the vines as the pushed past her mystical barrier.

Above the walls, vines crept over and blocked the sky and pathway behind them. Wyldfyre created a larger barrier to protect their rear pathway from being overtaken by the hostile plants. "Show yer'self Audrey 2. I'm not going to be plant food for you today or any day!"

Gerri looked at all the keys lining the walls. Golden and with jewels on it. She needed to find it quickly. What was she going to do? The approaching vines were keeping Krystal and Wyldfyre too busy to help her. She needed to make a decision.

Catalyst Heroes Rising
ID: 21306
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

The Sword of Gerraxia
    Gerri began to frantically search for the key when she remembered something.  You usually overlook things in a panic.  She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pictured the rune for guidance.  If her companions were watching they would see the green flames engulf her as she calmly walked with her hand outstretched.  
    She stopped and placed her hand on the key.  She opened her eyes and smiled.  She walked to the door and unlocked it.  The vines stopped attacking Krystal and Wyldfyre.  She entered the next area.
"Swords are for fighting."
ID: 14367
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

The Sword of Gerraxia
    As they entered the next area, they heard a rather menacing laugh.  They needed to catch their breath.  Gerri looked at Wyldfyre, "Nice work with the fire back there," She commented.  She had realized she had been harsh with him earlier.  He was a hero, just a brash womanizer.  He wasn't her James though.  She loved her Keebler Elf.
    "Thanks," he replied.  "How'd you find the key with your eyes closed?"
    "Oh, your eyes can lie to you when your in a hurry," Gerri explained.  "I used the rune of guidance to lead me to it."
    "Magic?" He questioned.
    "Magic," Krystal stated.  "That was clever."  She looked around and noticed Hoggle wasn't present.  "Anyone seen Hoggle?"
"Swords are for fighting."
ID: 14367
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Krystal Fae (Acidburn)
Administrator
As the trio scanned their immediate surroundings, it became apparent that Hoggle was not near at the moment.

Wyldfyre sneered and said, "Well in the movie, he always said he was a coward... at least one thing stayed the same."

They had nearly recovered and were discussing which way to head when they saw a pair of figures pass an opening in the wall in front of them.

Hoggle and another figure walked by, talking as they passed.



 "... Jareth really ought to ask before he 'borrows' Venger... I need him for a scenario I'm constr-... ", said the diminutive figure.

The trio leaped to their feet and rushed for the opening.

When they arrived about two heartbeats later, the small man had vanished... Hoggle stood there alone.

"You comin', or ain't 'cha?"
 
ID# 10962
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Catalyst
As they walked through the next set of corridors, a flare of light from the path ahead caught their attention. A single, fist sized clear sphere sat on the stone path.

"I remember these." Wyldfyre said. "A guy stood behind Bowie in the movie and juggled orbs just like that one. I always wanted to be able to do that as a kid." He brought up his palm stared at it. Three balls of fire appeared in Wyldfyre's open palm and rolled around in a clockwise pattern. "I guess I sorta can now."

"If we take this in the context of the movie, it is most likely a trap of some sort," Krystal said. "Anything that seems that innocuous rarely is."

Gerri nodded. "Yep. Most likely a trap but either we set it off or find a different way. I'd rather deal with it here and now than wait to find the next one."

"There you go," Wyldfyre said as he smirked. "I've always liked the bulldozer approach myself."

"I'll follow your instincts here, Gerri," Krystal said. "But I'll stay prepared just in case."

Gerri walked up the the crystal sphere. A faint image of a humanoid figure waved up at her from within the glass, motioning for Gerri to come closer. She knelt down to inspect it.

With several intricate movements, the image seemed to be signing at her, trying to convey a message.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand?" Gerri shouted. She leaned in closer, trying to see what was trapped within more clearly. "What are you trying to say?"


Catalyst Heroes Rising
ID: 21306
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Krystal Fae (Acidburn)
Administrator
As Gerri leaned closer to make sense of the tiny figure within the sphere, a single strand of her hair brushed the surface.

The sphere vanished, only to be replaced by a pair of booted feet.

As Gerri raised her head, the entire figure came into view.

"I said "How are you enjoying my Labyrinth today, Gerri?", said the figure.

"BOWIE!!!", exclaimed Wyldfyre.

Looking in his direction, Jareth asked Gerri "What is that fool talking about?"

"My name, as you well know, is Jareth.", he said in Wyldfyre's direction.

"Well, how are you finding your little outing, Gerri?", he continued.

Gerri scrambled to her feet and took two backwards steps, then drew in her breath to answer.
ID# 10962
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

The Sword of Gerraxia
    "How am I finding this outing?" Gerri reiterated.  "It's confusing and I was just looking for answers."  She folded her arms.  "I find it hard to believe my father would have worked with you."
    Jareth smiled, "Answers are rarely easy in life, even your father knows that.  You've studied Runes all your life, because that's how your family has used magic for centuries; but that's not how they used to use magic.  You're great grandmother would channel the magic within her through her sword.  She didn't think of runes.  She thought of the effect.  That sword was reforged into your ring and allowed you to tap into that same power, but you think of runes.  I find that interesting as does my distinguished guest.  You have much to learn."
    "You knew my great grandmother?" Gerri asked in shock.
    "And your great grandfather, but you seem to forget him," Jareth replied.  "A shame, he would have been impressed with the healing you did on Krystal.  The person who knows them even better than me is at my castle.  Perhaps you need a guide?"  He laughed and vanished.
    "A guide? where would we find a guide?" Gerri wondered aloud.
    "Let's continue," Krystal suggested.
    "Yes, let's," Hoggle agreed.  "Like I'm not a good enough guide..." he grumbled.
"Swords are for fighting."
ID: 14367
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Researching and Quarks Problem

Krystal Fae (Acidburn)
Administrator
The quartet wandered through this section of the Labyrinth for what felt like hours.
Hoggle would grumble and point if pressed for a direction at an intersection, but otherwise merely
muttered to himself as he tagged along a few yards behind the others.

Gradually they reach an elevated section with shorter walls and could see the castle in the distance.

"We're miles from the castle...", muttered Gerri, in a disappointed tone.

As they descended back into the passages, they could no longer see the castle, but thought they had a bearing to guide their direction.

Turning a corner at an intersection, they saw the broad back of a large furred creature.

"Maybe we should ask it for directions...", snarked Wyldfyre loudly.

The ears of the creature perked, and it spun in place.

The creature was revealed as an ax-toting Minotaur.

                   

 Gerri eyed the Minotaur warily...

"Do you intend to attack us, sir?" she asked.

The behemoth looked puzzled for a moment, then his gaze shifted to the axe he held.  

"No, no...", he said, "... I almost never use this blasted thing.
Jareth makes me carry it... says I don't look right otherwise."

"My name is Thruk.", he concluded.
ID# 10962
123