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Author Topic: Lords of Creation: Part I  (Read 8090 times)

wulfgar

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Lords of Creation: Part I
« on: March 04, 2008, 02:18:50 PM »
It's a sunny spring morning in Pittsburgh and the last week of classes before finals.  Sabrina Kluebottle and Nicholas Graf are seated in their Archeology 204 (Early Mideastern Cultures) class which is held in a large auditorium on the 31st floor of the Keystone Tower- the centerpiece of the campus.




The instructor- Prof. Samuels, is known for giving out really good review notes before the final, so everyone in the class is present and the room is full.



As the prof goes through his power point presentation, the next slide shown on the screen catches Sabrina's and Nicholas' attention.  In vibrant green text on a shimmering gold background what appears to be a poem reads:

The great bear sleeps on, knowing no danger.
Ravens and mad dogs harken to the call.
Without timely help from the four strangers,
The light will fade and darkness will fall.

Three ages of time are guarded by foes.
Vanquish the warrior of blood and fire.
The soldier of steel must reap what he sows.
Gray guardians form a peril most dire.

The path is blocked by a wall of green.
The forest keeper would be death to fight.
A door awaits there, though none can be seen,
Its handle a flowery rose of white.

A candlelight vigil; a dirge forlorn,
The old one washes the shrouds of the dead.
The corpse must yet walk cross the Moor of Thorns,
'Til at last it reaches the Bridge of the Dead.

White becomes black, and black turn into white
The ancient rider will make the path clear,
The river is dangerous; one place is right.
Cross only the ford of the bloody spear.

The immortal minstrel gives help we need.
Listen to the head of the man who died.
The death king, and the blessed one will lead.
The man in green will be our final guide.

Three things will we need to work the wonder;
The whitened bones of Bedivere the bold,
The magic sword known as Exacalibur,
And the guardian bell cast all in gold.

The poem stays on the screen long enough to copy it down in your notebook, and then the presentation advances.  Strangely though, you don't notice anyone else writing it down.  The next slide goes back to covering ancient Sumerian irrigation techniques.  Twenty minutes later class ends and the students begin filing out of the auditorium.  Professor Samuels is down front answering some questions from a handful of students.

Down the hallway, James Kluebottle is hiding in the men's restroom.  A campus security guard saw him shooting marbles out a windwon at some squirrels outside with his slingshot and has been chasing him around the building for the past 40 minutes.  John Harrison is in the hallway waiting for his friend Nicholas to get out of class and go to breakfast.
 

wulfgar

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Lords of Creation: Part I
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2008, 02:21:40 PM »
What are you doing?
 

Makofan

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Lords of Creation: Part I
« Reply #2 on: March 04, 2008, 02:52:45 PM »
As they pack up, Sabrina calls "Hey Nick, wait up!".  She continues "Now that football is over and we have more time, I thought maybe we could, like, you know, study together?  My dad's library is like a wicked cool resource."
 

Brumbar

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Lords of Creation: Part I
« Reply #3 on: March 04, 2008, 04:40:25 PM »
"Just a minute Sabrina." I approach the professor and show him the poem and ask him if he knows who wrote this.
 

wulfgar

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Lords of Creation: Part I
« Reply #4 on: March 04, 2008, 04:44:18 PM »
Prof Samuels takes a look at the poem in Nick's notebook, and says "No, it doesn't look familiar.  Where did you get it?"
 

Brumbar

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« Reply #5 on: March 04, 2008, 05:21:43 PM »
"I't's just something I've seen recently and was trying to identify it. Any Idea who on campus might be able to help?"
 

wulfgar

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Lords of Creation: Part I
« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2008, 06:16:32 PM »
The professor thinks for a moment: "Perhaps someone in the literature department could help you out, or one of the librarians.  Now if you'll excuse me Nick, I enjoy talking with you, I've got to help some of these other students who have questions related to the coursework.  Stop by my office after the finals, I have a research trip going on this summer that I think you might be interested in."
 

kipper

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Lords of Creation: Part I
« Reply #7 on: March 04, 2008, 06:48:09 PM »
James stands on top of one of the toilets, the stall door locked, clutching his skateboard in his hands.

Gave him the slip, what a lamewad!, he thinks after waiting for about 10 minutes with no further signs that he was trailed inside, Classes will be out in a few minutes, then there's no way he'll find me in the halls.

James waits a few more minutes, then hops down off the toilet, and peers out from below the stall door before emerging.

He opens the men's room door with caution, peering both ways before emerging into the crowded hall. Too easy!

Just then, however, his eyes lock with his sister Sabrina, who is coming down the hall with one of her classmates! He freezes for a moment, unable to move. "Hey, Sabrina," he finally manages sheepishly.
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Brumbar

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« Reply #8 on: March 04, 2008, 09:08:29 PM »
"Hey Sabrina. The Prof does not recognize this poem and asked me whereI got it. Doesn't seem strange to you we were the only ones to right it down and the prof does not ackowledge it? Is it possible that we are the only ones who saw it? He suggested taht I ask one of the libarians or one of the literature profs for help with it. What do you think?"
 

Makofan

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« Reply #9 on: March 05, 2008, 12:16:35 AM »
Sabrina checks herself over before replying - pink woman's golf shirt, a white denim mini-skirt, and white tennis shoes with pink-hemmed ankle socks.  Combined with her pink lip-gloss and earring, it presents a soft princess-like look.  Satisfied with her appearance, she focuses on the question. As always, her language gets more formal and less slang when she is concentrating.

"It seems like some sort of mishmash of Arthurian, Norse and Celtic mythology to me. 'The head of the man who died' could be Bran, while the bears and ravens seems Norse. The Arthurian is obvious. It's very strange that nobody else remembers it, while we focused on it enough to write it down.  Could have been slipped into the slides as a prank. We could ask my Dad."

She looks up and sees James, and gives a little grimace, but recovers quickly. "Hey James, what's Dad up to right now? I'd like to show him something"
 

kipper

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« Reply #10 on: March 05, 2008, 09:03:49 AM »
"Uhhh....", James sagely replies to Sabrina.

Dad? Why does she bring him up right now? "No. You won't tell him I was here today, right?", James asks plaintively.
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wulfgar

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« Reply #11 on: March 05, 2008, 11:29:52 AM »
Dr. Kluebottle's office is on the 2nd floor of the Roosevelt Hall of Liberal Arts which is about a 12 minute walk from Keystone Tower.  Dr. Kluebottle teaches two classes one in Roosevelt and the other down on the 3rd floor of the tower.  Sabrina is pretty sure he should be having office hours right now.
 

Brumbar

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« Reply #12 on: March 05, 2008, 11:59:03 AM »
"well let's go see him".
 

Makofan

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« Reply #13 on: March 06, 2008, 10:08:40 AM »
Sabrina, realizing that Nicholas also has a copy, rips the poem out of her notebook and hands it to her brother.

"Here squirt, you read a lot of weird things, see what you can make of this.  We're off to see Dad, and then I'll buy you a greaseburger at Campus Hall for lunch."
 

wulfgar

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Lords of Creation: Part I
« Reply #14 on: March 06, 2008, 10:15:53 AM »
GM: just waiting to see if Coffee wants his character(John) to chime in, and what Nick and Sabrina tell John about what is going on.