The Starlight Celebration

“You need to come because it’s important to Orabu and he’s our friend.” I said.

“I’m sorry Alison, I can’t. I already have a date with a hot Mithra and I can not tell her I have other plans and ruin it.” Martin said.

“Oh come on, you can bring her with you. This is going to be a lot of fun. We need to support him in this. He’s going to be really upset if we don’t have a good turn out.” I pleaded.

“I’ll talk to her about it but I can’t promise anything. This is really last minute to change plans.” He said.

He was right. I wish I knew what was going on. Willowkarr and I had gone to every linkshell member we could find but the prospects were iffy.

When the night of the party came Orabu was there to great us at the door of the linkshell lobby. I didn’t know what was going on but I knew that he was on edge all week. As he reached out to hug me I whispered, “Are you ok?”

He didn’t get a chance to answer before Kammy bounded up behind us nearly knocking us both over. “Cookies!” she shrieked as she attacked a platter of festively decorated treats. Orabu laughed and left me to greet one of our favorite hyper Mithra.

Willowkarr brought me a strange blue drink with green mist spilling over the sugared rim. It was surprisingly tropical and very very tasty. “My secret recipe.” She grinned. It gave me a sensation of tiny fizzy bubbles in my nose. Very tickly I assure you but absolutely delightful.

Only trouble was I think the tiny fizzy bubbles made a big bubble of my brain. I don’t think that Willowkarr Special was intended for Elvaan. I do recall dancing on the sofa with Orabu and hiding under a bed with Kammy from something that I’m sure was very frightening but I don’t recall much else. Well except fireworks. I’m sure there were fireworks at some point.

Next thing I remembered was Brodie stroking my face and asking me if I wanted to come out now. I tried to sit up and hit my head. Opening my eyes I realized I was under the bed still and the sun was just barely coming up. I whimpered, “Ouch, that was my only head I just busted on that board. Why am I under here?”

“Well you said the rabbits were after you and that under the bed was the only safe place. Kammy assured you that rabbits don’t go under beds. I tried to get you to come out last night but you tried to bite my hand and Kammy scratched me. I think you had too many of Willowkarr’s special drinks. They were very delicious but I think she put some black magic into them for extra punch. Very effective.”

I squirmed out from under the big oak bed and Brodie scooped me up in his arms for the trip back to the linkshell lounge. Willowkarr, Kammy, Jumpingtaru, Clowns and Poptart were all passed out in various corners of the room. Taru really do have a surprisingly loud snore and I’m not sure how but apparently Mithra can sleep upside down.

“Where is Orabu?” I asked as Brodie set me down on a chair in the kitchen.

“He left around midnight. He looked rather upset. He said he was sorry he failed us and it meant a lot to him that we came. He said he wasn’t ever coming back and not to bother looking for him. I think he had too much to drink. I would have stopped him from going out like that but when I opened the door to go after him he had vanished into thin air. He must have warped or something. Really it was a crazy night. I’m glad I came a little later to see the effects of Willowkarr’s special brew so I could keep an eye on you.”

“I think there is more to it than that. He has been acting a bit crazy all month. I want to find him. I’m afraid he’s gotten into some kind of trouble.”

“Well first things first.” He said as he handed me a bag and a paper cup from a Hume bakery down the street. “I’m sorry I can’t cook but I did get you some breakfast.”

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him. “I don’t think I have said thank you yet.”

“You’re always very welcome.” He said as he cast a cure spell over me to help speed my recovery.

Orabu, Before the ThumbMonkeys

“Orabu, where have you been all night alone? You look like you’ve been chewed by a dragon and spit out in the dirt to die.” I said with concern apparent in my voice.

“I’ve been out and I need a bath now. We can talk later.” Is all he said as he stumbled into his mog house and closed the door.

Little did I know what he had done made a night as a dragon chew toy sound cozy.

“Willowkarr, were you with Obaru last night?” I asked over my pearl.

“Nope, Siekarr and I were in Jeuno.” She said. “Is something wrong?”

“Orabu seems to have had an unusually bad night. I was just hoping you might know what’s wrong. He didn’t want to talk to me.”

“We’ll keep and eye one him too. I’m sure if it’s anything he’ll tell us.” She said without concern.

It was true. Orabu wouldn’t keep secrets from us. We had grown into quite the trio over the last few months. It seemed like we did everything together because it was simply more fun that way.

When Orabu immerged again his right hand was wrapped in a bandage that I wouldn’t have even seen if I wasn’t looking for something suspicious. His gloves were pulled over the bandage so it only showed if you looked around them at the wrist.

Something was definitely wrong and I was going to figure it out. I followed him for three weeks with no clues. I would have let it go but he continued to act strangely. He became obsessed with everyone’s location. If we were not on the linkshell he wanted to know why and where everyone else was. It seemed to consume him. He became irritable and wasn’t eating or sleeping well.

“Alison, I have and idea. We need to have a Starlight Celebration party for the linkshell.” He said.

I laughed. “I love the idea. That will be fun. I’m afraid a lot of our members will be away visiting their home towns but those of us left would love a get together.”

A look of crazed rage welled up in his eyes. “If anyone actually cared about this linkshell they would be here! Why isn’t anyone supporting us? I do all this for them! I thought they were my friends.”

He looked exhausted. I put my arms around him and hugged my dear friend. “Everyone loves you Orabu and we’re glad you’re willing to lead the Envy linkshell for us. It’s just that time of year and everyone is busy with holiday stuff. Once the holidays are past everyone will return.”

“That isn’t good enough” he muttered as he pushed me away and turned to leave.

“What’s wrong Orabu? You’re hiding something from us. I know it’s been a hard month for you but there is something more that you are not telling us. It’s not like you to be so unhappy and reclusive.”

He looked up at me with tired hopeless eyes and said, “This is my burden. If you want to help me make sure everyone is here for the linkshell Starlight Celebration party. It’s the last hope for us. If that fails we fail.”

“A little over dramatic don’t you think? I promise, everyone will come back after the holidays.” I said.

He turned and locked eyes with me. “It will be too late. I can not wait that long and I can’t tell you any more than that. Everything depends on that party.”

“I’ll do everything I can.” I said suddenly feeling his urgency.

“I know you will. Thank you for that. I need some time alone to think.” He said as he picked up his sword and left the lounge alone.