Dances With Minotaurs
Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 10:25 pm
Ladies and gentlemen of the WSFA Forums: I give you a new character. And she approves of the following...
DANCES WITH MINOTAURS
She pulled the car up to the side of the one-time roadhouse bar that was now a church building. Bracing a bit against the cold, wintry weather, she stepped out of the driver's side of the copper and red Land Rover Discovery.
She hadn't quite planned on doing this. Her first reaction, when her husband had told her about the party in Minnesota, was to want to stay home and hide under the covers. She'd been even more afraid when she heard that there was going to be a live band – and that there would be dancing.
"It's going to be a 'make-up' reception for Shel and Justin," he'd explained to her. "It was the least the Alexander clan felt they could do for them on their anniversary."
She closed her eyes at the thought. The mess that had been was something she'd been talking to her counselor about for months. She'd seen some of the aftermath of the Machine Shop at Pillsbury. Though she had been busy taking care of little Aeternia at the time, she'd heard the shooting and the screaming.
She hesitated, looking around and into the building. She regretted having mentioned anything to her counselor about the party – of course she was going to suggest trying to take dance lessons. And that's when she blurted out that there was a mutual friend she could talk to about that.
She raised her eyes to the skies, then walked over to the door. She thought for a moment. What was it that Joe said about the door? Her mind blanked for a moment, then it came to her in a flash: I want to talk to Phix.
The door opened on its own accord, something that surprised her. Startled, she stepped back, then – treading on curiously – she stepped through the threshold and into a hallway.
The hallway was somewhat familiar to her – it looked like the entry to a school building. In fact, the doors just ahead of her looked like…
"Park," she said out loud. "The Park High School library."
Cautiously, she opened the wooden doors with opaque, smoked glass. Inside was a statue, sitting on a base – the statue of Joan of Arc from the Park library.
This must have been intentional on Joe's part, she thought. She looked ahead, where there were rows and rows of shelves of books, stacked up seven levels high.
She didn't quite know what to do at this point. She'd never been here before, obviously; she and Joe had just taken the door to another portal in the Library's VORP System – that's the term that she'd heard Shelly call it, anyways.
She turned to the left and noticed a sign that said, TO TRANSPORT SYSTEM. Figuring she'd be able to find Phix that way, she followed the sign.
Two rows over, there was a small opening – a lobby. There was a pair of what appeared to be elevator doors, with a panel in the middle. The two buttons on the panel read "CALL"; the other read "HELP." She hesitated a moment, before pressing the "CALL" button. The doors on her left slid open immediately.
What was inside wasn't quite an elevator. It looked like something out of a Jules Verne adventure, with tall glass walls, elaborate grillwork, and a very well-appointed – and carpeted – floor. The windows looked out to what appeared to be a brick wall.
She turned and faced the door of the elevator. Next to it was a sign on the wall. Just as she read it, the doors to the elevator closed.
State your destination clearly. If you know the wing or floor name, state it now.
"Uh, the librarian's office?" she said tentatively. The lift moved, a brief flash of light filling the interior as it moved upward briefly in what appeared an arc. She reached to grab the handrail, more out of disorientation than anything. She noticed that there was blue sky and a few clouds out the window – but then in a brief flash the lift was ensconced in brick, slowing to a stop.
The door opened. And what she saw made her catch her breath.
She was standing in a huge atrium, with an elaborate marble floor and various balconies that rose up to the ceiling – which she couldn't see. On each balcony she saw the end of book shelves – and those shelves also looked like they rose into the heavens. On the floor she was on, there were a few tables and desks, like you would see in a library – but there seemed an conspicuous lack of people seated at them.
She turned, looking up at a grand, central structure that looked all the world like a cathedral. All of the balconies met at each side of this grand edifice, which also seemed to shoot upwards to the heavens. Its elaborate lamps and windows lit the whole of the atrium, bathing every part with a warm, natural light.
She was just about to take a step towards this central structure when a shadow appeared overhead. She heard the fluttering of wings, and for a moment was terrified. Her terror became petrification when a large, winged beast landed in front of her with a loud THUMP.
"So, asking for the Librarian, are we?" the beast said, settling down on all fours.
Her senses slowly returned, cognition dawning that this beast – winged, with haunches that looked like a cat and an upper torso that looked like a woman – was familiar. But only from the upper torso, as she had never seen Phix in what Joe had called her "feral form."
"Uh, he-hello, Phix, I, uh…" was all she could get out.
"I sense that your husband didn't mention the deal about coming here, did he?" She responded with a head shake. Phix looked up for a moment, then sighed. "I'm going to have to talk to that boy." Phix looked her right in the eye. "As part of you having access to the Library itself, there's a procedure. I have to ask you a few things, first."
She returned a blank stare at Phix.
"First of all: do you seek knowledge, or adventure?"
This question concerned her. What kind of question is that? she thought to herself. She considered for a moment before squeaking out, "Kn – knowledge?"
Phix nodded, then set back on her haunches.
"Well, then, you only need answer a simple riddle. Answer it correctly and Library access is yours."
Before she could ask anything else, Phix touched her hand thoughtfully to her lips – displaying the rather long claw-like fingernails on her hands.
"Ah, I have one for you," she stated finally.
"A child feels safe and secure within,
Kings and paupers all rise from it,
The hand that rocks it rules the world,
For life, the grave it's opposite."
She blanked out completely upon hearing it. What would a child and a king have to do with…
She smiled briefly.
"A cradle. What is a cradle?"
In a blink, the large feral cat-like creature reduced to the female form that she had seen many times before, in a simple blouse and pantsuit.
"You don't need to respond like you're on Jeopardy, Sarah dear," she explained. "Welcome to the Library. You wanted to see me about something?"
DANCES WITH MINOTAURS
She pulled the car up to the side of the one-time roadhouse bar that was now a church building. Bracing a bit against the cold, wintry weather, she stepped out of the driver's side of the copper and red Land Rover Discovery.
She hadn't quite planned on doing this. Her first reaction, when her husband had told her about the party in Minnesota, was to want to stay home and hide under the covers. She'd been even more afraid when she heard that there was going to be a live band – and that there would be dancing.
"It's going to be a 'make-up' reception for Shel and Justin," he'd explained to her. "It was the least the Alexander clan felt they could do for them on their anniversary."
She closed her eyes at the thought. The mess that had been was something she'd been talking to her counselor about for months. She'd seen some of the aftermath of the Machine Shop at Pillsbury. Though she had been busy taking care of little Aeternia at the time, she'd heard the shooting and the screaming.
She hesitated, looking around and into the building. She regretted having mentioned anything to her counselor about the party – of course she was going to suggest trying to take dance lessons. And that's when she blurted out that there was a mutual friend she could talk to about that.
She raised her eyes to the skies, then walked over to the door. She thought for a moment. What was it that Joe said about the door? Her mind blanked for a moment, then it came to her in a flash: I want to talk to Phix.
The door opened on its own accord, something that surprised her. Startled, she stepped back, then – treading on curiously – she stepped through the threshold and into a hallway.
The hallway was somewhat familiar to her – it looked like the entry to a school building. In fact, the doors just ahead of her looked like…
"Park," she said out loud. "The Park High School library."
Cautiously, she opened the wooden doors with opaque, smoked glass. Inside was a statue, sitting on a base – the statue of Joan of Arc from the Park library.
This must have been intentional on Joe's part, she thought. She looked ahead, where there were rows and rows of shelves of books, stacked up seven levels high.
She didn't quite know what to do at this point. She'd never been here before, obviously; she and Joe had just taken the door to another portal in the Library's VORP System – that's the term that she'd heard Shelly call it, anyways.
She turned to the left and noticed a sign that said, TO TRANSPORT SYSTEM. Figuring she'd be able to find Phix that way, she followed the sign.
Two rows over, there was a small opening – a lobby. There was a pair of what appeared to be elevator doors, with a panel in the middle. The two buttons on the panel read "CALL"; the other read "HELP." She hesitated a moment, before pressing the "CALL" button. The doors on her left slid open immediately.
What was inside wasn't quite an elevator. It looked like something out of a Jules Verne adventure, with tall glass walls, elaborate grillwork, and a very well-appointed – and carpeted – floor. The windows looked out to what appeared to be a brick wall.
She turned and faced the door of the elevator. Next to it was a sign on the wall. Just as she read it, the doors to the elevator closed.
State your destination clearly. If you know the wing or floor name, state it now.
"Uh, the librarian's office?" she said tentatively. The lift moved, a brief flash of light filling the interior as it moved upward briefly in what appeared an arc. She reached to grab the handrail, more out of disorientation than anything. She noticed that there was blue sky and a few clouds out the window – but then in a brief flash the lift was ensconced in brick, slowing to a stop.
The door opened. And what she saw made her catch her breath.
She was standing in a huge atrium, with an elaborate marble floor and various balconies that rose up to the ceiling – which she couldn't see. On each balcony she saw the end of book shelves – and those shelves also looked like they rose into the heavens. On the floor she was on, there were a few tables and desks, like you would see in a library – but there seemed an conspicuous lack of people seated at them.
She turned, looking up at a grand, central structure that looked all the world like a cathedral. All of the balconies met at each side of this grand edifice, which also seemed to shoot upwards to the heavens. Its elaborate lamps and windows lit the whole of the atrium, bathing every part with a warm, natural light.
She was just about to take a step towards this central structure when a shadow appeared overhead. She heard the fluttering of wings, and for a moment was terrified. Her terror became petrification when a large, winged beast landed in front of her with a loud THUMP.
"So, asking for the Librarian, are we?" the beast said, settling down on all fours.
Her senses slowly returned, cognition dawning that this beast – winged, with haunches that looked like a cat and an upper torso that looked like a woman – was familiar. But only from the upper torso, as she had never seen Phix in what Joe had called her "feral form."
"Uh, he-hello, Phix, I, uh…" was all she could get out.
"I sense that your husband didn't mention the deal about coming here, did he?" She responded with a head shake. Phix looked up for a moment, then sighed. "I'm going to have to talk to that boy." Phix looked her right in the eye. "As part of you having access to the Library itself, there's a procedure. I have to ask you a few things, first."
She returned a blank stare at Phix.
"First of all: do you seek knowledge, or adventure?"
This question concerned her. What kind of question is that? she thought to herself. She considered for a moment before squeaking out, "Kn – knowledge?"
Phix nodded, then set back on her haunches.
"Well, then, you only need answer a simple riddle. Answer it correctly and Library access is yours."
Before she could ask anything else, Phix touched her hand thoughtfully to her lips – displaying the rather long claw-like fingernails on her hands.
"Ah, I have one for you," she stated finally.
"A child feels safe and secure within,
Kings and paupers all rise from it,
The hand that rocks it rules the world,
For life, the grave it's opposite."
She blanked out completely upon hearing it. What would a child and a king have to do with…
She smiled briefly.
"A cradle. What is a cradle?"
In a blink, the large feral cat-like creature reduced to the female form that she had seen many times before, in a simple blouse and pantsuit.
"You don't need to respond like you're on Jeopardy, Sarah dear," she explained. "Welcome to the Library. You wanted to see me about something?"