Digging up History

[Porckie]

Porckie looked at the caretaker and his Sidhian friend in amazement. On his many journeys with Toph, every old, bearded man turned out to be someone whose diapers Toph had changed hundreds of years ago. Presently, Toph was negotiating about his teddybear and the rod. It was then that the caretaker turned to him and his flying mushroom...

"You know... We havent had a claimant in many many years... Ah yes. In order to take something from the Trust, you must leave something of similar value behind. Like perhaps that winged mushroom... That would be one of a kind!"

The dwarf blinked, the mushroom shreeked. Porckie casted his eyes down and looked right into Mister Floppy's droopy eyes staring up at him, while hugging his leg...

"Certainly there must be some other way to handle this!"

Still holding the rod, Porckie had a mischievous idea and approached the caretaker, carefully hiding the fishing gear behind his back. Just as he was about to strike the old man, he looked at Toph and saw that the Sidhe was frowning quite angrily.

The dwarf sighed and then began to rummage through his pockets. Within seconds, Porckie put the contents of his pockets on display: three bits of wire, an elephant-shaped floater, a mouldy currant bun, a whip and a bottle of slightly yellowy yoghurt. Both dwarf and mushroom looked expectantly at the caretaker, who, regrettably, shaked his head.

"What a dillemma!"

Porckie rubbed his nose and wiggled his eyebrows. After that, he snapped his fingers and walked up to the caretaker and started whispering something in the man's ear.

Minutes later, Porckie and Toph stood outside of the room, the latter holding the almighty fishingrod, while the first was still being hugged by his mushroom companion. The dwarf was in a joly mood and answered Toph's inquisitive looks with a big smile.

"How did you do it, master Porckie!? Why did the caretaker take that bottle of yoghurt instead of me!?"

" Ah...you know how our friend Toph here is one of the last Sidhes? Well...pffrtt.."

The dwarf looked at his friend's face and burst into laughter...

"...lets just say, mister caretaker over there thinks he has what it takes to spawn a whole new breed of Tophs!"

[Thepheonix]

Toph looked at Porckie for a moment and worked up a wry smile at the Dwarf's trick. If Porckie had been correct that that yogurt he had given Lloyd could lead to more Sidhe, he would have gladly grabbed the Rod and every flying mushroom in all Tonan and traded it back. Ever since the war with the icharii, the Sidhe had had... difficulties... in fostering new children. Never very promiscuous to begin with, the sterilization of most of the race in that final spell-drenched conflict where the Icharii had been completely broken and most of their race killed and the Sidhe and their allies had finally won, had only hastened the slow decline in the Sidhe's numbers. Of course, some Sidhe were born after the conflict, such as Lyssia's ward, Syek, but ever since that battle, the Sidhe had tried, and failed, to reverse the magical curse that afflicted them.

Toph's thought process was broken by the sound of crunching stone coming from behind him. Turning, he saw the clay wall sealing itself back up, hiding the rod-room and the entrance to the Trust. Toph turned back to Porckie.

"What an adventure, hmm? We found the Rod! Let us return home in triumph and place the Rod back in the Temple where it belongs!"

With that, Porckie and Toph, and Mister Floppy too, climbed up out of the dig site, carefully avoiding the commotion surrounding Mellanor, who was lying on the floor of the tunnel panting and gasping for air as his droben work crew tried to calm him down, and left to return the Rod to its home, while Toph made sure he remembered exactly where this place was... he had a feeling he would be back.


[OOC: Well, thats the end of the Rod-Quest in the Trust. Anyone wanting to go after another artifact lost in the annals of time is free to take over Say hi to Lloyd when you do!]