The Logs of the TDFS Tindome

Chapter 33: We Are Family

The two of them continue to discuss the make-up of the city as we pass through the tunnels again, and back to the outer gates. Bay and Aldamir continue to help the stricken dwarf keep moving. At the top of the stairs, Mannie trips, and rolls down the entire set of stairs into harbortown.

Eïr races down the steps to his side, and starts to heal him immediately. He sits up on the ground, and decides that, bruises aside, he feels much better now. We make our way back to the ship. There, Teller wants us to tell us what happened. Mandorak refuses, claiming he is going to sleep, and goes off to his bunk.

Teller describes how he spotted eyes at the top of a capital, and watched them watching us in our previous meeting. Eïr in turn describes how there were snakes in the pavement that watched us, and staffs that turned into snakes to watch us.

Teller suggests that we just ask for Sarah, or anyone who has come recently to the temples.

Sam describes her sister to Eïr. She is thirteen and fair, a strawberry blonde. Later, Eïr relays this description to the captain. With a sudden impulse, she suggests that the captain adopt Sam and Micah, so that he can ask for Sarah’s return in the role of her father. “What would I do with a human child?” he asks, startled. Aldamir, in rapid Quenya, demands, “What do you mean? Have you never heard of a changling?” Finwë is indignnt; his clan has never acquired human children by any means.

Reluctantly, Finwë comes around to agree that he should adopt the storm-wrecked waifs. Sam is brought in on this, although she isn’t sure any of this would work. Aldamir asks her pertinent questions, and learns that she is nineteen, old enough to marry, and comes from the United States of America in the year 2005. He decides that since their parents are dead, Sam is the guardian of her siblings, and that by adopting her, Finwë becomes parent to Micah and Sarah. He borrows pen and paper from (who else?) Eric, retreats to his room, and, after popping out to enquire the names of the three, produces a lengthy, formal set of adoption papers in calligraphic Quenya.

Finwë and Sam sign it. Then, Teller adjusted the script, signed it, and adjusted it again. Eïr, as a cleric, signed as the other witness. Teller adjusted it again. This has made it into a true document of Lanthil because, as a Marginalus, Teller is part of what makes Lanthil.

In the morning, Mannie feels pretty crummy, what with the trudging, and rolling down the stairs. He reaches for a psi battery, and tries to top up his personal psi. He then feels better, but still not optimum. He makes it to the galley, where he joins the other is a superb breakfast, made by Teller.

We explain about the adoption of Samantha (and Micah and Sarah) Silvestri by Captain Finwë Cereandil.

Before we go off to find the Captain of the Gate, Eïr decides to teach the parrot to attack anything snake-like. Teller decides to help, and creates a sample snake-like thing – with a head at each end. He makes lots of little snakes for teaching Squawk. He explains that they will melt if sprinkled with water.