Minecraft Museum
This high vaulted chamber is built of skybroom and stone. At the very top a row of windows, half stained glass, half clear glass lets natural light in. Four large electric chandeliers and several discretely hidden electric lights light up the museum floor and the exhibits therin.
Two enormous wooden doors made from hewn oak in a style once seen in Ancient Castles and Cathedrals make a very elegant entry to the main exhibit chamber. The enormous main building has several additions to it. Three of these go underground, one of them is above the underground portion. Another three simple rooms built in the same style as the main chamber are on either side of the main exhibit hall.
The skeletons of Tumultosa Vestatio and Armor Bolt are displayed, entwined in an eternal battle for survival. The tumultosa beached on the sand, its jaws closed on the armor bolt's neck. The armor bolt thrashing for its freedom.
In another area the stone trees from the digsite in Igen are placed in a veritable forest. Cases with ambers from the trees are laid out beneath them, displaying any number of insects and flower petals trapped inside. A couple of leaves discovered from the coal mines are displayed next to the ambers and next to that, fossilized insects as perfectly preserved as if they'd been hewn from stone.
Across the way a case of fossilized shells and small oceanic fossils is labeled near a mounted skullmounted skull of Tumultosa Vestatio.
Beyond this, at the far end of the hall are several arched entrances. One has a sign labeled. "mockup shaft, enter if you dare." one has a sign labeled "specimen storage, minecrafters only" and the third "specimen laboratory, minecrafters only." Three more chambers "Wher kennel mockup", "lecture hall" and "rock climbing room" promise more exciting things to do within.
Aeyric is sitting on the edge of the sand platform for the tumultosa and armor bolt skeleton. He has a fold out tray of three different pies, blueberry, cherry and pumpkin. There's whipped cream in a small bowl off to the side. In addition there's a bucket of meat scraps and several small bowls for firelizards set to the side of one of the jewel cases. Maia is chittering tenderly to her eggs, darting around the miniature egg mound in the exhibit. And the rafters are filled with minecraft owned or minecraft folk owned firelizards. Aeyric himself is unpacking tiny stacks of plates to put the pie on. "It does look like they'll hatch any time now. Desert and a show right Maia?" The queen twitters happily in response.
D'mos left his brown parked outside, though Thauth is always insatiably curious about the Museum and often spends his time mentally trying to see through his lifemate's eyes. If only the museum were big enough for a small brown…! Alas, his melacholy rider walks in looking a bit rougher around the edges than usual. The smell of pie doesn't really stir him, but he makes his way over towards them and the bowls of meat, the eggs, and all. His unattractive, scarred face with its terrible angles and planes looks no better for his weariness and the apparent lack of sleep the Apprentice Miner has had recently. All the same, he nods to Aeyric and says in a deep, gravelly voice, "Seen Lucky round here? Pudgy lil blue flit, not too big or nothin'…" He then blinks and looks /up/, to find throngs there. "Ah. Nevermind," he growls quietly. "Prolly up there somewhere."
Hallac is, in a manner of speaking, lost. The intention of his trip had been to drop a package from Ista off at the mining hall before heading back on his way, but somewhere along the line he'd forgotten to take that proverbial left turn at Albuquerque… The moment he steps into the entry way, his eyes go wide, mouth parting a bit in a properly awed fashion. Well, who'd've thought. Sliding in, the Seacrafter glances around, admiring various things until… wait, were those voices? Edging around the far side of the Tumultosa, Hallac finally spies a pair of men and an entire gaggle of firelizards. And pies! Unlike D'mos, Hal is instantly cheered by the sight, and he sidles closer. "Hi there! Uhm, hope I'm not interrupting anything." Cue sheepish grin.
Aeyric beams. "Of course not. My queen Maia's eggs should hatch very soon." He indicates Maia's fussing with the egg mound. "So I figured open the minecraft museum where her eggs are ready to hatch and offer sweets. We have three kinds of pie. Take your pick!" he says cheerfully.
B'ky is in the minecraft hall, having been on a shipment run or other. He's never gotten a chance to look around the museum, so, having a free moment, the Fort bluerider wanders in, glancing around curiously, and nodding to those nearby in quiet greeting. He can't help but smile softly when he sees the little egg mound in the exhibit, chuckling a little to himself. "That's a lovely place for a clutch," he murmurs, smiling approvingly. He does eye the pies, but he's already eaten, so just returns to admiring the exhibits.
D'mos takes up a single slice. Even that doesn't seem to do much, though he eats it. "S'good," he says with his mouth full. "Got anythin' t'drink with it?" He pauses and then swallows before saying, "Or at least know a good tavern round here?" He does eye the eggs, though. And their dam. "Prolly good that men can't get them golds," he says to nobody in particular. "Couldn't imagine goin' through so many labors when you ain't got the right parts."
"Hatch?" Surprise flickers through Hallac's eyes, but after giving the area a second glance he does indeed spy the egg mound nestled in the exhibit itself. Stifling a snicker, the boy's eyes light up, gaze darting over to the queen in question. "What an… interesting place to lay eggs." The arriving B'ky is given a nod of greeting from the Seacrafter, even as he moves to take one of the plates sat out next to the pies. "Thanks, by the way, I haven't had a good pie in a while." Taking a slice of cherry, he digs in, nearly choking on his mouthful when D'mos speaks of golds and labors. "Ouch. Now that I think about it…" A delicate shudder ripples down his spine. "I mean. It's gotta be different with flits, but to hafta go through that with a dragon… yeck, no thanks."
Aeyric nods. "I don't feel it with Maia. I guess she's too small and she's a lizard not a dragon. Sure, I've got some hot, non hard cider in a thermos in… aaah here we go." he offers a couple of cups of hot mulled cider. "I agree, a very strange place. We were concerned that she would ruin the bones. But she wouldn't let us near her eggs until today. The dragonhealer who normally cares for our whers confirmed that they're almost ready to hatch. So I got some meat scraps just in case." And just in case turns to, wheeeee, they hatch now! For Maia begins to humm, and the firelizards in the rafters above begin to hum as well. The first of the eggs wastes no time in hatching.
I have an ebil, ebil plan Egg wiggle waggles, as if observing the other eggs and the antics of their hatchlings. Then, as if inebriated the egg rolls off the basket, shattering to pieces as a bronze hatchling staggers forth, chirruping cheerfully.
Contemplative Mastermind Bronze Hatchling
Calm and clever, this oddly patterned bronze firelizard is handsomely proportioned. His long, limber porter wings glow with the color of torchlight viewed through the finest of dark liquers. His thin flanks whirl with soft candlelight, and beneath that illumination faint patches of pale lunar gold and brighter solar flames glitter over his form. Thought translates itself from soft pulses of rust to renewed art quality clay over his thin back. His skinny, warmly lit copper frame makes him only appear to be weak. Faint flashes of gunpowder, Saharra sands, ashes and smouldering coals ripple into and out of existance with every movement of his body however, proving that any appearance of vulnerability is a carefully projected illusion.
B'ky blinks a little at D'mos, eyebrows rising somewhat. Though the bluerider has to agree, "Yes.. that's probably a good thing," about men and golds. Yikes. He might grimace a little, at the thought, too. "I imagine.." but then the firelizards are humming and B'ky only smiles softly, leaving his opinion on golds unsaid. He stands far enough away to still watch, while being out of possible hatchling range. "Ah, lovely," he murmurs to himself, "I love watching them hatch." Though he'd never want one of his own.
D'mos tips his head in thanks for the cider and sips it while watching the eggs. As the first one rolls and cracks, then hatches a bronze, he makes a soft, rough grunt and slips out a sliver of meat. "May as well," he says almost fatalistically. "Lil buggers gotta eat, no matter who they want." He crouches and offers out the meat to the hatchling, merely watching it for the time being. It eitehr will or won't come to him, and he can't help the decision.
"Understandably," Hallac nods, adopting a world-wise sort of look. "My brother's a Dragonhealer too, and he's said many times that it's practically impossible to move a gold's eggs once she's got 'em where she wants 'em. Heard about Xanadu's problem, where they had to move the eggs into an incubator? I heard the queen was grumpy the whole time." He nods in a sagely fashion, politely declining the cider for now in order to better devour his pie. The newly-hatched bronze earns a muffled little sigh from the boy, who takes a few scraps of meat for himself before sitting down. He doesn't offer them exactly - D'mos's already on the move, though perhaps unwillingly? - but it's there for the near future.
Contemplative Mastermind Bronze Hatchling is sitting very, very still, observing everything and admitting nothing. Some firelizards are noisy when they first hatch, not he. His creels are quiet, as if he's thinking his next action out with meticulous care. D'mos gets a brief look, so does Hallac, and he turns to his mother, crooning an inquiry to her. When he is encouraged by an ecstatic Maia he seems to sigh soundlessly for a moment and begins to plod carefully around the sands, inspecting everything carefully before he even considers a move.
B'ky just stands back to watch, smiling softly as the first hatchling breaks shell. The Fort bluerider has no food, nor does he make a move to acquire any, leaving meat bowls for the others. His brows come together at the mention of the Xanadu gold, the manmurmuring a soft, "That was a terrible situation," and shaking his head gently, "The gold must have been terribly distraught." He even sounds a little unhappy at just the thought of it.
D'mos remains motionless, not even really wiggling the meat. He merely sips at his cider and looks past the bronze and his gold mother to the skeletal remains of the past. It's the Miner in him, no doubt. The meat drips slowly, though, and dries at the same rate.
Hallac nods towards B'ky, eyes becoming a little sad even though a smile quirks up his face. "Yeah. Guess she was in a bad way for a while, but I've seen one of the weyrlings since, and she's fantastic. Y'wouldn't know anything had happened, so I guess it all worked out." Taking a piece of fruit out of his pie, the Seacrafter munches on it thoughtfully before shrugging and returning his gaze back to the Contemplative bronze. What a curious little fellow… "He isn't a rash one, is he?," he asks of no one in particular, likely just speaking for the sake of it.
Aeyric looks from Hallac to B'ky. "I didn't hear about any problems at Xanadu." The Contemplative Mastermind Bronze cocks his head at Hallac, then at D'mos. Hallac, D'mos, Hallac, D'mos, at the rate he's going he'll become dizzy! So he creeps, creeps, creeps across the sands to D'mos and without any fanfare, leaps on the scrap of meat offered, downing it as rapidly as a fish down a worm. Crooning softly, he insists on more!
Contemplative Mastermind Bronze Hatchling looks into D'mos's eyes. Impression!
The Just can't keep my hands away egg explodes, a happy warble sounds and once the cloud of dust and shards settles a quirky looking pale green hatchling is left sitting sublimely in its place. She looks up at the humans with huge eyes, then warbles eagerly and takes off like a shot, sneaking through the exhibit in a hyperactive bid for freedom!
Hyperactive Thief Green Hatchling
This spring and ice green hatchling is very quirky, her paws seem overlong for her shamrock green limbs. Her celadon and chyrysoprase head seems to have golden blonde streaks beneath it. Vibrant copper highlights that coordinate with her jade neckridges roll casually down her shoulders and across her jewel bright emerald wings. These elegant and bright sails prove her to be more lively than this otherwise pale and muted firelizard's hide would suggest.
D'mos blinks and stares at the little bronze. "You dunno what ya done now, lil one," he intones in his gravelly, deep voice. It's very somber, though. He rises and gets more meat for the tiny creature, offering it with calloused, thick fingers. He's unaware that another flit has hatched, concentrating on the young one in front of him for the moment.
"The generator for the hatching sands failed during a storm, I believe," B'ky murmurs quietly. Despite being a Fort rider, he was in Xanadu when it happened, and he frowns faintly at the recollection. But, shaking his head, the bluerider does manage a smile for the next hatchling, and then the man is turning toward the exit with a distracted look, Avideth apparently calling. B'ky slips out, mumbling something about damp firestone.
