From tbutler@birch.net Fri Jun 29 06:49:52 2001 Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 23:51:35 -0500 From: Travis Butler To: Philip J. Moyer , Chris Bremner Subject: [Amber/UnS] Getting Ready to Raid, Ashante Plans Akemi pages, "Okay, I'm trying to remember...where were you last time? You were talking to Travis already, right?" to you. Windir> Beowulf raises an eyebrow wryly. You page, "Right, we were just finishing up breakfast with him and Yumi, which is why I put them first." to Akemi. You page, "Or, in your considered opinion, should we skip all the running around and just get down to business? ^_^" to Akemi. You page, "Though getting Travis' interpretation might be useful before taking on Moebius." to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Well, I've gone over that prophecy so many times with people, my head is starting to spin, but if you want me to, I'll do it again :)" to you. Akemi pages, "As everyone and their dog has asked Travis to go over it with them :)" to you. You page, "Nah, if Travis wouldn't have any new insights that Kanna, Lian and I haven't already talked to death. ^_^" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Y'all pretty much know what he knows; I suggest we start with you talking to Yumi." to you. You page, "Good 'nuff. I remember wanting to know more about who she knew in Chaos; now, I'm just trying to remember why. I think it was something I was going to ask her to do in relation to the musuem." to Akemi. Windir> Cue, scene 38 in 'Yumi and Travis' incredibly crowded morning after Marching'. Somewhere the story editor scrambles like mad, trying to make sure all the scenes actually fit in some coherent order. Windir> Beowulf OOCly chuckles. Windir> Jacqueline says, "OOCLy those two are really busy :)" Windir> Jacqueline says, "OOCly AHEM" Windir> Anyway. Yumi asks Beowulf, "How soon will you be heading out into shadow again?" Windir> Beowulf says, "Let's see... I'm going to talk to Keitaro about coming along with him when he seeks out Moebius, and come along if he'd like; I also need to go to Graceland and trade for the third key from Spellvis, but hopefully that'll be a short trip." Windir> Beowulf says, "I'm guessing Keitaro may take a few days before he's ready to go? Hopefully that'll be time to trump to Graceland and back." Windir> Travis says, "Ahh, heading out to the Black Pyramid?" Windir> Beowulf nods. "If he'll have me, yes. I admit to feeling uncomfortable about pushing my way onto the last two construct-destruct raids, but if I can be helpful..." He shrugs a bit sheepishly. Windir> Travis says, "Well, I'm sure Keitaro will be happy to have you along." Windir> Beowulf smiles. "I hope so." Windir> Travis says, "Have you ever visited Nithia, Beowulf?' Windir> Beowulf asks, "Hm. Don't think I have, though I've probably heard about it in passing. Egyptian-esque culture, strong emphasis on magic, especially that which could be called 'evil' or 'black'?" Windir> Travis says, "Necromantic would be a better term. The Nithians, even in their benevolent phases, are a people obsessed with death and preparing for the afterlife. That magic is not always used for evil or harm, however." Windir> Travis says, "The ones you'll be visiting also use a lot of 'Pyramid Power' to power their magical devices." He pauses. "Have you ever visited the Hollow World itself?" Windir> Beowulf hmms and nods. "Did any of it actually work?" He pauses in thought for a moment. "The only phenomenon I can think of even vaguely related to necromancy that is known to work are the PatternGhosts." Windir> Beowulf says, "I'm afraid I haven't. I suspect Mitsune is the real expert on Mystara among us." Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC Us=the traveling team." Windir> Travis says, "Yes. Within the reality of Mystara and the Hollow World, one can create all sorts of undead, bring the dead back to life, and so on. A classic example of how some shadows possess special magics which don't work outside those shadows." Windir> Travis continues, "While we can, at best, only guess if some life waits for us after death in Amber, in Mystara, there are clearly defined, visitable afterlives full of gods with large amounts of power." Windir> Beowulf smiles slightly. "I'm surprised they don't get a bit more traffic, then. Though I suppose it only works if you die there." Windir> He concludes, "I would assume that they are probably vulnerable to Pattern, but I wouldn't count on anything short of that stopping their powers should you anger one." Windir> Travis nods. "Yes, if you die outside Mystara, your soul doesn't end up in one of the Mystaran heavens or hells for it to be summoned back to a revivified body." Windir> Beowulf says, "I don't plan on going up against one of their Gods, no. At least not without enlisting backup." He smiles. "Of course, it could turn out that Mobius *is* a God by that shadow's standards, which could make things a bit tricky." Windir> Beowulf says, "Perhaps Mitsune should go ahead with her quest to become a God there?" He grins a bit. Windir> Mitsune laughs at that. Windir> Travis nods. "If Mobius is there, I would not be surprised if he's sought to join the ranks of the Immortals." Windir> Beowulf hmms. "I wonder what would happen if he achieved it there, then left the shadow? Presumably the effects wouldn't extend outside of the shadow, but I could imagine there being some interesting consequences." Windir> Beowulf asks, "For example, if he became immortal there, lived a thousand local years, then left the shadow... would he retain the youthful body, or have a thousand years of aging catch up with him at once?" Windir> Travis says, "It depends, I would think, in part on how 'Real' Mobius is. In most such cases, though, he would simply start aging normally. If Mobius is simply a shadow dweller, he may well be unable to leave the shadow at all, if the Immortals have bodies made out of some sort of material which doesn't exist elsewhere. Some Immortals are said to have multiple bodies at once, some mortal, some Immortal, so possibly, Mobius might send out mortal bodies to run his operations elsewhere which aren't dependent on Mystara. Though whether he could retain control across shadow boundaries...I don't know." Windir> Beowulf sighs. "Well, enough speculation, I suppose." He turns to Mitsune. "I think you mentioned visiting Nithia in your essay?" Windir> Mitsune says, "Yes. I didn't spend much time because the Hollow World tends to be full of close minded loser civilizations, although looting that Pharaoh's pyramid was a lot of fun." Windir> Mitsune says, "Since the immortals seem to have set up the Hollow World to keep civilizations that failed around for people to laugh at them." Windir> Beowulf asks, "Well, I suppose that's one way of looking at it." He smiles. "You mentioned special magics that keep them from breaking free of their cultural stasis? What kind of things would that be?" Windir> Mitsune says, "Basically, it's a big river valley, with deserts on both sides that eventually turn into mountains on one side and steppe on the other, full of homocidal maniac nomads called Jennites." Windir> Beowulf asks, "So was this pyramid you raided the same Black Pyramid we're looking for?" Windir> Mitsune says, "Yeah. Basically, Nithians can't ever learn anything that isn't part of their culture historically. Which means that even if you tie iron weapons to them, and demonstrate ow to make them 200000 times and invade their mind and try to force them to learn ironworking, they either won't get it, or they'll insist bronze is better, even when you break their bronze weapons with your iron one a thousand times." Windir> Beowulf chuckles a bit at that. "Oh, my. Hopefully the same thing doesn't happen to visitors." Windir> Mitsune says, "Unless you're really weak-willed, even shadow dwellers can resist if they weren't born there." You page, "Which, not unexpectedly, makes them rather a lot like the reality-bound norms in TORG. ^_^" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Heh." to you. Windir> Mitsune says, "I heard about the Black Pyramid, but I couldn't find it." Windir> Beowulf nods. Windir> Beowulf says, "Can you recommend any good local experts on Nithia? Last I heard, you were still going to help Jacqui, and so wouldn't be available." Windir> Mitsune says, "There's this guy named Franich; I think he's a shadow of our Franich, lives in Darokin. He studies the Nithians, although I dunno if he knows they actually still exist inside his planet. You might just try going to Nithia and hiring a Nithian." Windir> Beowulf says, "Oh, I suppose. Or do both." He grins. "I admit, travelling with a shadow of our Franich should be interesting, at the very least." Windir> Mitsune nods. "Yep." Windir> Beowulf taps his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm. Anything else you can think of?" Windir> Beowulf says, "Oh -- what powers were active inside Mystara when you were there? Any difference inside the Hollow World/" Windir> Mitsune says, "It's a desert, so carry lots of water, and don't wear metal armor, unless you like baking to death. You might want to hire a priest to help keep the undead away." Windir> Beowulf nods. Rod pages, "don't tell me we're both hitting mystara but at different locations." to you. You page, "Apparently so. o.o Though I'd had some doubts about the Black Pyramid, since Anna-as-blood-creature makes most people's research there highly suspect, Travis seems to be taking it as likely." to Rod. Rod pages, "errrrr, okaaaay, that's kinda cool o.O" to you. Windir> Mitsune says, "All powers work, although Sorcery has some weird limitations in the Hollow World." Windir> She continues, "Basically, a lot of individual spells don't work. There's no clear pattern to it, either." You page, "Of course, really funky thing would be if we ended up at the same location. o.o You think it's very likely that Claw would have ended up in Mystara without Mobius trying to get his hands on it, if he's there?" to Rod. Windir> She says, "No fireballs, but you can point at people and make them die, for example." Rod pages, "i'm gonna be so pissed off if mobius gets claw -.-" to you. Windir> She says, "Movement magic often doesn't work, and a lot of kinds of blasting and divination don't work either." Windir> Beowulf says, "That's not good. Though if you can be resurrected, it may not be so bad." Windir> She nods. You page, "Well, if that happens, we can just team up to beat him down. ^_^" to Rod. Rod pages, "what the heck, why not?" to you. Windir> Beowulf asks, "Any idea on conjuration, or conjured items?" Windir> Mitsune says, "Items which simulate forbidden sorcery effects simply won't work. So, say, a conjured wand of fireballs will just sputter" You page, "Reading your log... hit me harder than I'd thought. o.o Damnit, I'd *liked* Anna, a lot. If she *is* still alive, I want to rescue her... but unfortunately I suspect she isn't. ;_;" to Aerianne. Windir> Beowulf nods. "True enough. Your essay mentioned very high tech working there, though?" Aerianne pages, "*nod* Has Bey been told yet? Are you still on day 48?" to you. You page, "Still continuing the breakfast with Travis and Yumi & co, talking about Mystara and Nithia for Keitaro's trip." to Aerianne. Windir> Mitsune says, "Well, there's some ancient starship tech floating around the planet. I don't know if imported very high tech would work." Aerianne pages, "Ah, we're not in synch anymore. 'nm." to you. Windir> Beowulf purses his lips thoughtfully. "Right. Suppose I'll have to test it when I'm there." He chuckles wryly. "At least conjuration should serve as proof of magical ability in places like... Alphatia and Glantri, was it?" You page, "John mentioned having to juggle the timeline around some, given the number of people talking to them that morning." to Aerianne. Aerianne pages, "Heh. Right." to you. Windir> Mitsune says, "You Rod pages, "hm. citing safety in numbers, maye jaq would best start her adventure with beowulf's group....." to you. Windir> Mitsune says, "You'll likely confuse people, as only people who know sorcery can learn conjuration in Mystara. So I'm not sure what they'll think." You page, "If she even knows about it ATM. Mitsune could probably tell her, though." to Rod. Windir> Beowulf says, "Hm, right. Hopefully, won't have to put it to the test." Windir> Beowulf says, "Anything else you can think of, before going back to Mad Smoochies with Moriya?" He grins. Windir> Mitsune says, "The Nithians hate Milenians, so try not to act Greek-like." Windir> Beowulf nods, then looks over at Lily and grins. "No togas there? I'm crushed." Windir> Lily says, "Oh, Togas cover up too much anyway." She smiles back at you. Windir> Yumi rolls her eyes at that. Windir> Beowulf says, "I can... imagine." He blushes a bit as he does. But only a bit. Windir> Mitsune says, "Oh, the Nithians don't know they're inside a planet and if you try to tell them, they'll think you're insane." Windir> Beowulf looks over at Yumi and rolls his eyes in return. "I keep wondering if one of these days she'll rediscover modesty." Windir> Beowulf nods to Mitsune, but then looks back at Yumi. Windir> Beowulf's expression sobers. "After this bit and the situation in Ashante is taken care of... I think I'm going to have to go back down to Chaos, and House Alars." He sighs. Windir> Lily says, "Are you sure that's a good idea? The last time you encountered Lord Alars, he was trying to kill you." Windir> "His wife seems nice enough, but..." Windir> Beowulf says, "I... made a promise to Lady Kodachi to come for tea when I wasn't so busy, and I'd like to keep at least one promisse honored." He turns to Lily. "Motoko trumped me a couple of nights ago..." Windir> Lily says, "Hmm?" Windir> Beowulf says, "She and Moriya had met Lord Alars at the memorial ceremony, and he asked them to pass along his apologies to me for attacking me." Windir> Lily blinks in surprise. "Well, that's good. Yes, that would make visiting them a lot safer." She sounds relieved. Windir> Beowulf gets a very pained expression on his face. "Of course, Motoko told me that after Morgan had trumped me, and I found out that he had attacked Morgan, that Morgan had killed him, and that the Air Blade was lost to Alars during the fight." He twitches. "Which makes going down there quite a bit harder... but even more necessary, I suspect." Windir> Beowulf says, "Sometimes the fates are exceedingly cruel." Aerianne pages, "(and now, Kanna begins a steady mantra of "Morgan You Idiot" in her head.)" to Chris and you. You page, "Uh-huh. Watching this convo, or something you've got going on in there?" to Aerianne and Chris. Aerianne pages, "Kanna's getting the story out of Thoric of what happened." to Chris and you. Windir> Beowulf turns back to Yumi. "In any event... would you mind a somewhat personal question? Several of the people I talked to down in Chaos seemed to know of you -- King Ishmael himself said that I ought to have an interesting time ahead of me, since I was dating your daughter, and I'm wondering how he found out about *that* -- and I was wondering if you'd mind telling me a bit about what things were like for you down there." You page, "Uh-huh. o.o Well, I'd just brought up the subject with Yumi and Travis. o.o" to Aerianne and Chris. You page, "Synchronicity is an odd thing." to Aerianne and Chris. Aerianne pages, "Oh dear." to Chris and you. Windir> Yumi says, "I suspect I have become better known in Chaos since coming to Amber than I was when I dwelt there. It would be better that I not speak much of it; I have many secrets I must keep Windir> She says, "I will say simply that I was born an humble peasant girl, but I had a dream, and I followed it to where I am today." She smiles. Windir> Beowulf smiles. "Very well; I won't pry. And somehow, having you a woman of mystery makes things more interesting." He chuckles. "For one thing, it means I'm going to be even more careful taking care of your daughter." Windir> Yumi laughs. "Good, good." Windir> Beowulf says, "Not that she hasn't 'taken care' of me as well. In several senses." He shakes his head ruefully, then gives Lily a quick one-armed hug. Windir> Beowulf asks, "Anyway, I suppose we need to get going, a lot to do today. See you all later?" You page, "And hopefully she still approves of me as a potential partner for her daughter. ^_^;;;" to Akemi. In a page-pose to you, Akemi smiles. :) Windir> Yumi and Travis say goodbye. Where to next? Windir> Beowulf heads over to see if he can find Tsuwabuki and Saionji. Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC Although if I run into Keitaro first, I'd be happy to talk to him first." Windir> John says, "OOC Okay, Tsuwabuki is likely to be down in the city, Saionji in teh PAlace, so you'll need to decide which to find first" Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC Probably Saionji, then." Windir> Saionji turns out to be in his office. "Good morning, Beowulf," he says. He's wearing his naval uniform, as he did last night. Windir> Beowulf bows. "Good morning, Uncle Saionji." Windir> Beowulf asks, "OOC How's he looking? Still resentful, or wrapped up in the new problem?" Windir> Saionji seems to be deep in thought. Windir> He asks, "What brings you by, Beowulf?" Windir> Beowulf asks, "I'd talked to Lady Yumi last night, after she'd talked to the Ashante ambassador; she'd said that Ashante was currently under attack by ships out of Shadow, with working cannon?" Windir> Saionji nods. "A previously unknown shadow, as usual. We have some intelligence which seems to indicate they've also raided the Sea Peoples' home shadows as well." You page, ""Sea People sounds familiar, but I can't place them. :(" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Norse Style raiders who have attacked Amber and the Isle of Emeralds in the past" to you. Windir> Beowulf nods back. "Interesting; more than just one target, then. I was in Ashante a couple of weeks ago, though just back in the interior, and was wondering if I could give you any useful information." Windir> Beowulf asks, "Do you mind if I look at the material you've gotten back so far?" Windir> Saionji says, "We could use some up to date maps. The Ashante don't make very good ones, and our current ones are out of date." He passes you a copy of the report the ambassador gave him. It spells out names of cities where attacks happened Windir> Sadly, no map is included. You page, "Hmmm. Could Aeris trump-map it, and what would she need before starting if she could?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Aeris has never been there, so she'd need to find it in shadow, then she could easily draw a map." to you. You page, "I'd guess both Lily and I would have psychic impressions of the place; with the two of us to cross-correlate (perhaps with Mitsune to help as well), how would htat affect the chance of her trumping to a shadow of Ashante instead of the genuine place?" to Akemi. You page, "D'oh! Since that's where we picked up the Tardis, wouldn't the Tardis have its past location in a log?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "ooh, good idea, yeah she could use that to work from." to you. You page, "Right. We normally leave the Tardis in the bag, IIRC; could she read it directly from its console?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Yes." to you. You page, "Right. :)" to Akemi. Windir> Beowulf hmmms. "I may be able to do something about that." He taps the badge on his chest. "Aeris? Could you read Ashante's location off the log in the Tardis, then give us a map?" Windir> A little while passes, and then there is a glow of light and a map forms by you." Windir> It shows Ashante in a lot of detail. Windir> Beowulf says, "Ah, here we go." He tries to place the attacked cities on the map, and see if there's a pattern. Windir> You spend a while with Saionji analyzing. The only pattern is that the raiders seem to make sure their next target is always at least a hundred miles from the previous one. Aerianne pages, "(sadly, we can't play Kanna heading to Arden to wallop the clue into Morgan -now-. *wl* Otherwise we would've avoided the Primal Chaos debacle.)" to Chris and you. Rod pages, "oh, yes, another reason to team up with beo... let mo introduce himself to aeris :)" to you. Windir> Beowulf asks, "OOC Hm. Would that be about the normal range of information propagation with animal-powered transportation?" You page, "Heh. Just remember who she's got as 'parents,' before Morgy starts trying to mack on her. Also remember she's still only 8 years old. :)" to Rod. Rod pages, "well, that's up to john RPing mo :)" to you. Windir> John says, "OOC Basically, you think the goal is to ensure that the places they hit can't be reinforced without the use of anything short of massive magic, as with animal-powered transport, it would take days to send reinforcements between the raid sites in time." You page, " Ayup. Talking to Saionji now about Ashante... found out that they're also attacking the Sea People's home shadows." to Aerianne and Chris. Chris pages, "Yay." to Aerianne and you. Windir> Beowulf OOCly nods. Same basic issue. You page, "Though Aeris has proven surprisingly good at map-making. :)" to Aerianne and Chris. Windir> Saionji says, "The thing I am wondering is why these people are crazy enough to raid Ashante, instead of somewhere that isn't allied to Amber. If the Galicians can shadow travel, they have infinite shadow to pick from." Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC Fairly random order? SOunds like they're good enough not to fall into a predictable pattern of attacks." Windir> Beowulf says, "Well, Ashante's got that brewing split between the inland villagers and the costal people, who are getting increasingly soft..." He thinks for a moment. "It's also where I found one of the keys to a spikard, but that was fairly far inland." Windir> From the report, you'd guess they have a fairly good leader, although it's hard to judge, as for the most part, the Galicians have struck where there weren't many defenders, anyway. Windir> Saionji looks thoughtful. "Perhaps someone doesn't know that key is gone and is using this as a prelude to taking over the shadow, or as a diversion." You page, "Hm, can a strategic analysis determine any other possible reason for them coming after Ashante?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Well, they're basically slave raiding. It's possible they don't actually knwo Amber exists, though." to you. Akemi pages, "Ashante is a pretty good distance from Amber." to you. Windir> Beowulf nods. "A diversion, yes... although there were certainly enough people coming after the key without needing such measures." He looks skyward in thought. "Hm... I suppose it's always possible that they don't know Amber exists, or at least of Amber's relationship to Ashante." Windir> Beowulf says, "Though the fact that they can shadow-travel sounds like they know enough that we shouldn't underestimate them." Windir> Beowulf asks, "Do we have any idea how they're doing it, yet?" Windir> Saionji says, "And they just happen to have gunpowder that works in the Golden Circle? It's possible, but it seems unlikely." He frowns. "One possibility I have thought about is that Bloc Rebmaquois may be backing the Galicians as a diversion." You page, "Hm... now that Aeris has a trump-map of the place, I have a thought of something we could do quickly, though I'm not sure how risky it would be." to Akemi. Windir> Saionji says, "We don't know yet, but my working theory is Broken Pattern adepts." Windir> Beowulf blinks. "That's a connection I hadn't considered. It makes a lot of sense, though; the Rebmaquois would certainly want to keep our attention away." Windir> Saionji says, "This will force me to lead most of my fleet away from Amber, after all, leaving only Kozue to defend Amber by sea." His voice conveys that Kozue is only slightly more use than used dogfood. Akemi pages, "Hmm?" to you. You page, "If she can trump-map, she could keep an eye out for the next raiding party... then could she sweep a trump-gate aroudn them and dump them in the middle of the Amber fleet?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "She could try, although creating a giant trump gate like that would tend to make her pretty weak for a while, as trump gates use HUGE wadges of energy." to you. You page, "And how reasonable does his concern sound?" to Akemi. You page, "Right. Something to consider, but not as a first choice." to Akemi. Akemi pages, "He writes Kozue off too much, but his concern is quite valid." to you. Windir> Beowulf nods seriously. "Indeed. Hm, how many ships does a typical raiding fleet have? It seems like capturing one of them would be a good start, for intelligence -- especially if we can figure out how they're making gunpowder that works in the Golden Circle -- but I'm not sure how much fleetpower that would require.." Windir> Saionji says, "I'm going to have to commit pretty much my entire fleet in squadrons to have any hope of intercepting them. The Ashante coast is hundreds of miles long, unfortunately." Windir> He says, "We're pretty much going to have to fight the lot of them to capture one, as they seem to sail in squadrons as well." Windir> Beowulf asks, "How big a squadron?" Windir> Saionji says, "The raiders have about thirty ships. That's about the size of one of my seven squadrons. But I will have to break my fleet up to be ready to respond, as there's no way to predict where they will enter the shadow." You page, "Hm. Could Aeris and I, working together, conjure a device that does trump-scans of the seas around Ashante and detect incoming fleets, then display that information on a map?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Yes. Of course, if the raiders have any way to detect trump use, such continual scanning would likely alert them they were being tracked." to you. You page, "Hm, right. How about something like a SOSUS net that relays its findings back through trump?" to Akemi. You page, "Passive sensors that detect the fleet's movement and then send the info back through shielded trump bursts, only when new info is received?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "The problem is that the trump energy manifested when observing the fleet could be detected by them." to you. You page, "Would probably use Extraordinary Sense plus Greatly Extended sense -- would those be detected?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Putting up something like Spy Satellites with those powers?" to you. You page, "You would drop a series of these devices onto the ocean floor, to establish a coverage network using only passive senses -- no active trump scanning." to Akemi. Akemi pages, "That sounds fairly viable, though it would take some time." to you. You page, "To place 'em?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Yes. To place them. They'd be fairly hard to detect unless someone Pattern/Logruslensed the entire shadow, which is not a common ability." to you. You page, "Right." to Akemi. Windir> Beowulf looks to Saionji. "One thing I could do is create a large number of devices that would use passive senses to watch for the inbound raiding fleet, then trump results when they spot something to a central map device." Windir> Saionji says, "That would be very useful, and I would be very grateful for such a thing." Windir> Autolyca has disconnected. Auto's Pet falls asleep. Windir> Beowulf says, "It would take a while to place the devices, but then they could give you a fair picture of where the fleet arrives and let you track them." Windir> Beowulf asks, "OOC How long would it take to put a network like that in place, especially if Aeris helps?" You page, "Well, Bey may help put up the first Amber SOSUS network. " to Aerianne and Chris. Windir> John says, "OOC You'd need a couple of days. Would eat up most of your time 'afore Keitaro leaves." In a page-pose to Aerianne and you, Chris hehs. "Hope you have fun." Aerianne pages, "Enjoy!" to Chris and you. Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC Hmmm. Will need to talk to Keitaro and find out how much work Bey'll need to do to get ready; could at least put down as much of a network as we can before we leave, and hopefully will have enough time to get the whole thing done." Windir> John says, "OOC Righto." Windir> Beowulf asks, "OOC Since IIRC Bey has trumps of all the shadows he's written on, presumably he'd have a Graceland trump and could visit Spellvis fairly quickly?" Windir> John says, "OOC YEs." Windir> Beowulf bows to Saionji. "Please hold on for just a moment." Windir> Beowulf jumps into the bag, fast-times to conjure the map device and the sensors with Aeris' help, then comes back out and hands the map device to Saionji. "Here's the central locator; I'll try to put in as many sensors as I can in the next couple of days." Windir> Saionji blinks, then nods. "Very good." He puts the device in his desk for the moment. "Let me know of your progress." Windir> Beowulf says, "I'll do so. Thanks for your time, Uncle." Windir> Beowulf leaves Saionji, then goes looking for Keitaro. Windir> You find Keitaro in the library, doing research by himself. Windir> Beowulf says, "Hmm," he says, looking at Lily, "I don't think he looked at you once. Perhaps he is mellowing." Windir> Lily says, "I think he must have been fairly distracted by his work." She smiles. When you reach the library, she waves to Keitaro. "Hi, Keitaro! Did you have fun with Shinobu last night?" Windir> Beowulf smiles at Keitaro. "Hello, Keitaro. How's it going?" Windir> Keitaro says, "Well, over all, life is okay. Naru seems to be mad at me again, but my research is going well." Windir> Beowulf sighs. "Oh, dear; that can't be fun, having her mad at you." He pats Keitaro's shoulder sympathetically. Windir> Lily says, "Oh, she'll come around. She always gets over it." Windir> Beowulf asks, "Did I hear you say something last night about going after a group of Egyptian cultists?" Windir> Keitaro says, "I think the Black Pyramid may be an outsider construct, oneof the ones from the Black Heart Prophecy. The Prophecy is quite clear an empire of sand has a candidate, a construct, and a spikard." Windir> Beowulf nods. "I'd reached that conclusion myself. I was wondering if it might be the same group of Egyptian cultists who attacked Kanna and I on a zeppelin trip to Cape Wes'buryport, a few weeks ago, and was thinking of going after them myself after Marches. I owe them a little something for that attack... and every candidate needs to be destroyed as quickly as we can find them." Windir> Beowulf says, "That group *did* have a construct manifestation with them, and Aunt Nanami was able to analyze it and make a device that tracks the energies it used." Windir> He quotes, "An old evil reborn sees far/ Madman ruling from land of sand and One sided loop/ Rules Ten Empires of Sand and The Black Pharoah escapes his tomb. The Black Pharoah is the name some use for the last ruler of Nithia on the surface world, who was so degenerate and evil that even the Evil Gods were willing to let him be destroyed." Windir> Beowulf asks, "In Mystara, right?" Windir> Beowulf huh's, tapping his chin in thought. "I'd pegged my group as coming from a shadow called the New Empire of the Nile; they were close to Cape Wes'buryport, and the attackers said something about 'in the name of the Nile Empire.' But it's a bit much for coincidence to think that there are two Egyptian cultist groups running around Shadow looking for spikards and using constructs." Windir> Keitaro says, "Well, there are infinite Egyptian cultist groups in shadow, though." You page, "I don't remember, didn't Nanami say that the manifestation we took from the zep raiders was based on Outsider energy?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "YEs, she did." to you. Windir> Beowulf asks, "Granted, certainly. But using Outsider constructs, and seeming to fit the terms of this prophecy? " Windir> Beowulf says, "I did do some research of my own at the time, and narrowed it down from a group of 65,000 Egyptian cult shadows to a group of about half-a-dozen shadows that could have attacked us." Windir> Beowulf says, "In any event... on the chance that it is the same group, I would like to go with you, if you don't mind." Rod pages, "uh oh. wait. keitoaro is going to mystara. shinobu is going to mystara. ooooy veeey." to you. You page, "Heh." to Rod. Rod pages, "that just about guarantees naru and mutsumi are going...." to you. You page, "Naru, yah; not certain about Mutsumi." to Rod. Windir> Keitaro says, "I'd be glad to have you, Prince Beowulf. And you too, Lily." Rod pages, "what the heck, snickers wanted jaq to ask mutsumi, so hey...." to you. Windir> Lily says, "Have you been to Mystara before?" Windir> Keitaro shakes his head. "No. I was hoping Mitsune would come, but she's going with Moriya to Endor." You page, "Heh. :) And Aeris'll probably like having her along, since it'd mean having all three of her 'parents' together. :)" to Rod. Windir> Beowulf blinks. "I thought Jacqui had asked her to go with them to look for the spikard that vanished after she took out the Gaunt Man." You page, "As Mitsune was IIRC with Bey & Co. when Jacqui trumped her..." to Akemi. You page, "Jacqui did ask Mitsune, right?" to Rod. Windir> Keitaro says, "I don't know. She told me she's going with Moriya to Endor." Rod pages, "yes, but in light of her unicorn mission, she's asked moriya to get together with mitsune for some 'quality time' first, before going" to you. Windir> Beowulf says, "Hm. Oh, well; in either event, she won't be able to come." You page, "Ah, so. :)" to Rod. Windir> Beowulf asks, "Who all were you planning on having along?" Mercutio has left. Windir> Tybalt has left. Windir> Keitaro says, "Well, Seta is comng along. And Naru, if she gets over being mad at me. And you two. And Aunt Haruka said she's coming this time." Windir> Keitaro says, "Mom's not going to be too happy if Aunt Haruka runs off into shadow with me, but you know how hard it is to change her mind." Windir> Beowulf says, "Haruka, eh?" He smiles. "It should be an interesting trip. And I admit, one reason I wanted to help is I'd heard you were originally going with Nausicaa, but she had to cancel out to go with Lucien." Windir> Beowulf asks, "I wonder... given that the two we went on had actual Outsiders manifesting at the last moment, do we have anyone along who knows how to seal them out?" Windir> Keitaro says, "Just the people I've listed. I have to admit Outsider lore isn't my specialty." Windir> Beowulf hmmms. "I heard you ran into them in Leng... hm. Anyone you know who might have those skills?" Windir> Beowulf asks, "OOC And anyone I can think of?" Windir> John says, "OOC Well, Kafuin usually supplies Amber with Elder Seal type things when he's up and running. He was down the last you knew." Windir> Beowulf asks, "OOC Hm. Anything I can think of besides Elder Signs that worked to seal them, with my pre-Logrus archeology knowledge?" Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC That's right, someone at Panopticon might know." Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC If we can't find anyone locally." Windir> John says, "OOC Pattern and Logrus energies repel Outsiders. " Windir> John says, "OOC As the Pattern and Logrus were created to keep them out :)" Windir> John says, "OOC So, you'd want to use Pattern or Logrus to mold the shadow appropriately and pray you have enough oomph" Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC Right, figured *that*, but not sure how you could use 'em to *seal*. ^_^ An advanced or exalted pattern/logrus master might be able to do it." Windir> John says, "OOC Yep." Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC Hmm. Naru knows Pattern, but not sure at what level. Mikage might know someone he could recommend." Windir> Beowulf asks, "OOC Anyone else? Or, hm, could Lily use her psyche to help boost Bey or Naru's Pattern-molding abilities?" You page, "Still having fun? " to Aerianne. Windir> John says, "OOC YEs, Lily could do that." Aerianne pages, "Well, discussing political fun with Drake. Ahhhh, conflicts of interests. Arrrgh. :/" to you. Windir> John says, "OOC You know Drake has advanced Pattern" You page, "Bad ones? Oh, joy." to Aerianne. Windir> John says, "OOC Drake also has a patternblade, good for whacking naughty Outsiders." Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC Hm, would be worth trumping Drake, then." Windir> John says, "OOC Juri had high amounts of Pattern skillz, but is missing. " Windir> Jacqueline says, "OOCly well, more like madly Not Available, but... :)" Windir> Beowulf asks, "Drake might be able to help us, as he has advanced Pattern, but I'm not sure what he's doing. Do you mind if I call him?" Windir> John says, "OOC Drake is the most available of the possible candidates, especially since he holds no jobs currently." Windir> Keitaro says, "Go right ahead." Windir> Beowulf tries trumping Drake. Aerianne pages, "Well, Drake intends to see if Lucien's worthy. If not, he'll axe the Rebmaquois and try to put Yuriko on the throne." to you. You page, "And now John just dropped strong hints that we trump Drake and ask him to come along with us." to Aerianne. Aerianne pages, "Go right ahead. Impress him with your mad warfare skillz!" to you. You page, "Hah. More like his mad Pattern skillz and pblade, which might prove very important if we have to seal out an Outsider again." to Aerianne. Rod pages, "now I'm imagining drake by the moat with a fishing rod and his patternblade o.O" to you. Rod pages, "'drake the unemployed'" to you. You page, "Heh. :)" to Rod. You page, "In a way, Drake probably could use the vacation. :)" to Rod. Windir> Drake takes the trump. "Hello, Beowulf," he says. Windir> Beowulf asks, "Hello, Uncle Drake. Not sure if you were going to be busy in the next couple of weeks, but was hoping you might have some time to spare for a little trip." He smiles. "Care to make it three-for-three with Outsider herald-candidates?" Windir> Drake says, "Where are you heading to?" Windir> Beowulf says, "We're going after a group of Egyptian cultists, who appear to be in a place called the Black Pyramid in Nithia, in the shadow of Mystara." Windir> Beowulf says, "They appear to match up quite well with a figure in the Black Heart prophecies, known as the Black Pharoah." Windir> Drake says, "Well, besides some investigation of Bloc Rebmaquois, I'm not too busy, so sure, I can come." Windir> Beowulf says, "Ah, the Rebmaquois. Such lovely people. Remind me to have someone drop a nice, fat High Compelling on them some day, would you?" He frowns. "On a more serious note, their leader apparently has one of the Lion Spikards. I'd kind of like to see them destroyed." Windir> Beowulf says, "And thank you for coming. Keitaro's been planning this expedition; I'll check with him and see when he was planning on leaving, and one of us will let you know." Windir> Drake nods. "Alright. See you then." Windir> Beowulf nods. "Take care, Uncle." He closes the connection. Windir> Beowulf asks, "Well, he seems content to come along with us; I hope you don't mind. What was your schedule looking like?" Windir> Keitaro says, "Planning to leave in three days." Windir> Beowulf nods. "Right. What needs to be done before then?" Windir> Aerianne has arrived. Windir> Keitaro says, "I need to pop home and see my parents, and we're waiting for various desert supplies to come in, mainly. And if we could find a map somehow, that would be nice." Windir> Beowulf hmmms. "I'll check with Mitsune and see if she might have one; she's the only one I know of who's been there. Have you read her essay yet?" Windir> Beowulf quickly fills Keitaro on what he and Lily learned from talking to Mitsune this morning. Windir> Keitaro nods. "Yes, I have." You page, "Unfortunately, I doubt Mitsune's psychic impressions of the place would be enough to give Aeris a starting place for her mapping, and trump-mapping the potential home of an Outsider construct doesn't strike me as the safest thing to do anyway." to Akemi. Akemi pages, "IT would likely lead to disaster." to you. Windir> Beowulf says, "It looks like an interesting little place. I'll try to put together some devices with Lily that will use the magics that have the best chance of working there, anyway." You page, "Worse than I'd thought, then. " to Akemi. Windir> Lily says, "We will probably want to spend a day or two once there simply studying what magic works and what doesn't, so we get no nasty surprises." Windir> Beowulf nods. "A very good idea." Aerianne pages, "Oh god, I -missed- this line from drake:" to Chris and you. Aerianne pages, ""Amber needs a friendly Rebma in order to prosper. If Lucien seems able to retake Rebma and recreate the Water Pattern, I will leave it to him. Otherwise, if I have to lead an army of giant smurfs across shadow to repopulate it, I will."" to Chris and you. You page, "Oh, dear Ghu. o.o" to Aerianne and Chris. Chris pages, "Comment of mine: 'Can I build them!?'" to Aerianne and you. You page, "Not that I don't agree with him about a stable Rebma, but his methods leave something to be desired. o.o" to Aerianne and Chris. Rod pages, "oh good, by the time jaq arrives to claim the dragon spikard you'll have laid down the ground work :)" to you. Aerianne pages, "Well, the smurfs would be needed to flush out the Rebmaquois, I think." to you. You page, "Oh? ^_^" to Rod. Rod pages, "jaq must give unkie beo a thankya smooch for playing cannon fodder :)" to you. You page, "Uh-huh. Assuming we don't run across it first. ^_^" to Rod. Rod pages, "... aaaaargh" to you. Rod pages, "beo WOULD claim the spikard now wouldn't he... *sigh*, ah well, it's a family tradition. I mean, look at nanami, drake and kozue" to you. Windir> Kanna OOCly says, "Ahwell, to beddybye now. *wave*" Windir> Ceitidh OOCly says, "Night." Windir> Beowulf says, "Anything you want me to help with in getting ready? I've got a project I'm trying to finish for Uncle Saionji before we leave, but I don't want to leave anything undone here that I'd need to get ready." Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC Sleep well, Phil." Windir> Aerianne has disconnected. You page, "Well, Bey might not be *that* mean... I dunno. Seriously, Bey's a little touchy on that subject ATM, given Hoard." to Rod. You page, "Which could tip things either way, depending on whether they actually do run across it, and if they have to fight to retrieve it." to Rod. Rod pages, "well, jaq would have to make big googly eyes at Lily then :)" to you. You page, "Fat chance. :) Besides, hasn't Bey given Jacqui two magic rings already? :)" to Rod. Rod pages, "waah!" to you. You page, "Seriously, I'm not going to try to beat you to it. :) If we do run into it, though, it's not something that's safe to leave lying around." to Rod. Windir> Lian has arrived. Rod pages, "anope." to you. Windir> Keitaro says, "If you could dig up a map, or if you have any advice on supplies for desert trips, that would be helpful. And get yourself lots of water." Rod pages, "ironic that i found myself in a similar position wtih moriya and hs damn wood sword :D" to you. Windir> Keitaro says, "Other than that, I can't think of anything." Rod pages, "and in the end jaq gave up on that :P" to you. Windir> Beowulf nods. "Water, I think we can take care of, as long as I've got the bag with me... though we do want to have reserve supplies in case." Windir> Keitaro nods. "Backups are good." You page, "Yah, I know. ;_; Bey still hasn't talked to Moriya about Hoard, but he's not gonna fight him over it, and since he was the one who took position, Bey'll bow out if he pushes on it." to Rod. Windir> Beowulf says, "I'll check with Mitsune on maps, and she had some good advice on desert equipment." Windir> Keitaro nods. "Good, good." Then Mario runs into the room. "I need a plumbing helper. Now." He throws Keitaro over one shoulder. "Good day, Prince Beowulf. See you later." And then he's gone. In the distance you hear Mario saying, "When I find the idiot who flushed growth potions down the toilets again, they're going to be cleaning things with their tongue for a week..." Windir> Beowulf grins at the scene. "Good luck!" he calls after them. You page, "Let's see... how long will the talk with Tsuwabuki (passing along experiences with the inlanders) and the trade with Spellvis take? I'd kinda like to finish 'em tongith if they're gonna be quick, but if they're going to take a while I'd like to cut here." to Akemi. Windir> Nanami appears in the library with Anna in tow. "Oh, hello, Beowulf." Windir> As in 'Bzap, appear from nowhere.' Windir> Beowulf blinks. "Hello, Aunt Nanami... eh?" Windir> Beowulf asks, "What's up?" Akemi pages, "Define 'Quick' :)" to you. You page, "Sometime in the next half-hour or so. ^_^ Though this business may take a bit, depending on what it is." to Akemi. Windir> Beowulf asks, "Um... and why did you just teleport or trump in?" You page, "Does she look normal?" to Akemi. Windir> Nanami says, "Anna was just helping me with a little research." She pointedly ignores Lily's existence. Windir> Anna nods. "Yes, very important research." Windir> Nanami says, "Because it's a very long walk from my office to the library." Windir> Beowulf says, "Hmmm, right." Windir> Lily says, "Hello, Princess Nanami." You page, "Something doesn't feel right..." to Akemi. Windir> Nanami says, "Have you seen Jacqui?" You page, "In my memory, does she casually teleport anywhere?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Nanami often teleports up when she's in her office, so as to avoid losing a two hour round trip. However, now that you think about it, neither Travis nor Anna was here when you arrived, which is somewhat abnormal." to you. You page, "Looking around the library, can I notice anything else unsual?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "You don't see Snickers anywhere either." to you. Windir> Beowulf says, "Hm. What were you looking for? Perhaps I could help." Windir> Nanami says, "Oh, we're all done. I was just bringing Anna back." Windir> Anna looks around, "Did Keitaro-sama leave?" You page, "Hm. Would I arouse suspicion by quietly asking Aeris to trump Travis?" to Akemi. You page, "i.e., could I do it unnoticed?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Yes, you think you could." to you. You page, "Right. Have her trump Travis, and ask why he and Snickers aren't here." to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Travis does not take the call." to you. Windir> Beowulf says, "He had to run off and do something, but he should be back in a little bit." You page, "Hm. Does Aeris know why?" to Akemi. You page, "That is, could she sense why? Blocked, or just not taking?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "HE's just not 'pickng up the phone' so to speak." to you. You page, "Ah, right. Hm. How about Snickers or Yumi?" to Akemi. Windir> Beowulf asks, "What did you find out?" Akemi pages, "They're not answering at the moment, either. Also, you don't have a trump of Snickers :)" to you. Windir> Nanami says, "Nothing I can talk about right now. Good day, Beowulf." And then she blinks out again. You page, "Hm, I thought Aeris had been with me at least once when she was around, but I guess not. This is starting to look very suspicious..." to Akemi. Windir> Anna asks, "Anything you need, Prince Beowulf? Akemi pages, "I don't think so (Aeris meeting Snickers)" to you. Windir> Beowulf asks, "Oh, just checking up on a few things. Have you seen Travis around?" Windir> She has a sudden bashful look." Windir> Anna says, "Well, he was running around with Prince Moriya earlier." Windir> Beowulf smiles gently. "Why are you looking so bashful?" Windir> Anna laughs nervously. You page, "Hm. Can Aeris find Travis, and would it be risky if he's in trouble?" to Akemi. Windir> Lily perches on a table, picking up an abandoned book, then teases, "You're not about to poach on my boyfriend, are you?" Windir> Beowulf asks, "Any idea when they'd be back?" Windir> Anna says, "No, no, it's not Prince Beowulf. Umm, I mean...ahahaha." Akemi pages, "She could Trump-Spy on him, although that's considered rude if you're caught." to you. You page, "If he's in trouble, I'm willing to risk being rude." to Akemi. You page, "Actually, is Moriya taking calls?" to Akemi. Windir> Shizumaru has left. Windir> Moriya has arrived. Akemi pages, "Hey, Shiz, you taking trump calls? Beowulf is trying to call you, back in the morning :)" to Shizumaru and you. Akemi pages, "Moriya takes the call, Beo." to Shizumaru and you. Shizumaru pages, "Moriya blinks. "Hello, Uncle Beowulf."" to Akemi and you. You page, "Moriya? Have you seen Travis around?" to Akemi and Shizumaru. Shizumaru pages, "Moriya nods. "Yes, he was back in his quarters with Yumi-dono."" to Akemi and you. Windir> Anna says, "I got to dance with...um...hahahaha." She rather reminds you of the times you've seen your cousin Jacqueline come unglued over something. You page, ""He isn't in the library like usual, Snickers isn't here, and Nanami just teleported in here with Anna a moment ago, then left; something doesn't feel right." to Akemi and Shizumaru. You page, "He isn't taking trump calls, either, though if he's with Yumi... um."" to Akemi and Shizumaru. Windir> Lily says, "Well, you don't have to tell us if it's too embarrassing." Shizumaru pages, "Moriya is silent for a moment. "Travis-sensei is all right; I just spoke with him now. As for Aunt Nanami, ah...." He smiles and shrugs. "She's been rather busy today."" to Akemi and you. Windir> Anna says, "Well, you see, I didn't have a date, and I didn't mean to go, but I got bored, so I went, and I got to..." She blushes. You page, ""Ah, I see... all right, then. Must be a few nerves left over from last night." He smiles. "Busy helping out Tsuwabuki?" to Akemi and Shizumaru. Shizumaru pages, "Moriya nods. "Among other things, I'm sure."" to Akemi and you. Mike has disconnected. Windir> Potemkin falls asleep. Guido falls asleep. >> Mike wanders off, muttering something about how Cain is for Charlie and Delta is for Cain. You page, ""Ah, all right, then. I'm sorry to have bothered you." He smiles sheepishly." to Akemi and Shizumaru. Shizumaru pages, "Moriya shakes his head and smiles. "It's all right. Take care, Uncle."" to Akemi and you. Megumi has connected. You page, "Beowulf closes the trump connection." to Akemi and Shizumaru. Windir> Anna finally manages to spit it out. "Prince Kentaro. He's really handsome and when he smiles I just get all gooey inside." She looks very embarrassed. "And Prince Beowulf is his brother, so it sort of reminded me." Windir> Beowulf shakes his head and smiles. "Well... I'm glad you were able to dance with him. He does seem to be... I'm not sure, mellower, somehow, ever since coming back from that trip to Leng." Windir> Anna says, "He's just wonderful!" She then begins gushing. You page, "Hm. I'm still worried about Snickers... I've been in here often enough to be familiar with her usual resting spots, right? The real one lying next to my chair right now doesn't count, I know. ^_^" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Yep. And there's no sign of her at all." to you. You page, "Hm. While Anna's gushing to Lily, I'm going to drift away to look around for her, keeping an ear on their conversation." to Akemi. You page, "Actually, is she unique enough for Aeris to look for her?" to Akemi. Windir> Jacqueline OOCly unidles You page, "I'm still trying to figure out why John set this up... *something* sure feels wrong, and Snickers is missing as well..." to Shizumaru. Shizumaru pages, "I can't say anything, I'm afraid." to you. Windir> Damasq exclaims, "OOC: Hot tub! Hot tub!" You page, "I was afraid of that. " to Shizumaru. Akemi pages, "If aeris starts scanning around the palace, she might set something off on herself." to you. Windir> Rod has connected. Windir> Rod has disconnected. Windir> Jacqueline OOCly ahem You page, "Drat. Hm. Well, any luck looking for Snickers on my own?" to Akemi. Windir> John exclaims, "OOC Bouncing Rod Power!" Akemi pages, "You search the library. No snickers." to you. You page, "Keep an ear out to see if anything happens to Lily and Anna." to Akemi. Rod pages, "sooo, i see you're having a word with our dear mind-eaten Anna-chan" to you. Akemi pages, "They just chat about Kentaro, and Lily gives amusing advice on how to snare him." to you. You page, "I'm trying to find it out ICly, and not having much luck. ;_; Snickers is missing, though, and that worries me." to Rod. Rod pages, "oh, beo doesn't know yet?" to you. Windir> Beowulf wanders over, winks at Anna, and bends over to whisper in Lily's ear. You page, "Anope." to Rod. Rod pages, "oh dear." to you. Rod pages, "well, by this time nanami's rewired anna's brain, so, eh." to you. You page, "I've been walking on tenterhooks, trying to find a valid way to find out ICly. Oh, I see." to Rod. You page, "Yah, she poofed into the middle of the library with Anna just after Mario carried Keitaro off." to Rod. Rod pages, "aah, that would be carrying keitaro off to jaqueline's hot tub of love party :)" to you. You page, "Bey whispers to Lily, "I haven't seen Snickers anywhere in the library... is that normal?" to Akemi. You page, "Uh-huh. :p :)" to Rod. Akemi pages, "Lily frowns. "Well, she does wander off sometimes. Or she may be sleeping somewhere."" to you. You page, ""Hm. Somewhere outside of the Library? Oh, well."" to Akemi. Rod pages, "keww" to you. You page, "Anything else I can think of that might be happening? Something just doesn't feel right, but I'm not sure what." to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Perhaps Snickers needed to be treated for fleas or something." to you. Akemi pages, "You can't think of any good explanations. There's no sign of any violence or disturbance in the library." to you. You page, "Right. Oh, well... a lot of fuss about nothing, I suppose. ;_;" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "OOC There is something going on, but none of the people involved are likely to tell you. ^^;;;" to you. You page, "Maybe I'll see Travis later and can ask him. If Moriya just talked to him, he's at least OK." to Akemi. You page, "OOC Right. Well, at least I tried to figure out what happened, but argh, it leaves me frustrated." to Akemi. Megumi has connected. Megumi has disconnected. Windir> Beowulf smiles at Anna. "And are there any messages you'd like me to pass along to my brother?" he asks, stressing the 'you' slightly. Akemi pages, "OOC Well, Lily will likely hear and pass it on to you, once she finds out." to you. You page, "Argh, and having to act ICly like nothing's going on." to Rod. You page, "OOC Good 'nuff. I certainly hope so... and Snickers had *better* be all right. :P" to Akemi. Windir> Anna says, "I...um...uh...ahahaha...I'd sort of like...if he has...I mean...if he has any of his famous parties any time soon, I'd sort of like to go..." Rod pages, "remember, anna's just this sweet little blood creature......" to you. Windir> Beowulf smiles. "I'll see what I can do." You page, "Yah, but *Bey* doesn't know that ICly. Didn't I remember someone saying that there was a real Anna? If so... I'm afraid she's probably dead by now, but I'd want to rescue her if possible." to Rod. Rod pages, "you'd have to capture a more knowledgable taylor to discover what anna's fate is." to you. Rod pages, "and remember, blood creatures have feelings too.... who knows, maybe this anna is one that can be redeemed..." to you. Windir> "Thank you!" You page, "And I'm about ready to strangle John right now. I *like* Anna, quite a bit, and to think that the real Anna's been replaced by a blood creature... :P" to Rod. You page, "I certainly hope so. ;_;" to Rod. Rod pages, "because otherwise jaq will ruthlessly stab her with a silver knife" to you. Windir> Beowulf says, "See you later!" He heads out with Lily to see if they can find Tsuwabuki. Windir> John says, "OOC And we should probably cut you here, Travis, so you can get sleep." Windir> Beowulf says, "OOC and we should probably cut here; wnated to get Tsuwabuki and Spellvis taken care of, but you're right, it's late. :(" Travis Butler tbutler@birch.net ...Cats are the proof of a higher purpose to the universe.