II.101 ECSTASY looks him in the eyes for a second...then bursts into laughter. "My bottle's empty, stupid! That's what's wrong!" CADO's heart sinks. He looks at the bottle. <<Now is not the time for this...>> He sets the bottle on the ground at ECSTASY's feet, and turns to leave. ECSTASY looks down, as if noticing the bottle for the first time. "OH! For ME? Oh, you shouldn't have!" CADO closes the door and descends the steps to the White Room. He pulls out some border line and begins quartering off the back area. People continue to whiz by in a flurry...oblivious to everything. He looks out toward the sea...hoping to catch a glimpse of...anything. Finally, he hauls the extra materials back into the Cafe. As he reaches for the doorknob of the cellar door, something fills him with fear. He closes his eyes momentarily, then opens them, shaking his head. He opens the door and descends the steps... ...when a blunt object connects with the back of his head, rendering him unconscious once again. User: Cado...all yours Max... Date: 15-Feb 08:42 PM 761344963
II.102 Introducing...The Ivory Tower! ------------------------------ TRAVELER mounts the curving stairs from the VVVC Kitchen to his office and the other upstairs areas. _With the Ivory Tower up, we'll need to add some side stairways on to the building_, he muses. _And we could open the south terrace up for dining, in fair weather. But I'll worry about that after the rave..._ He opens the door to the north terrace, above the Red Room. But the door no longer leads directly out on to the roof, because a new structure nestles directly against the circular second story housing Trav's office and rooms...the Ivory Tower. The small room he is in now, at the base of the Tower, has three doors: one which he just came through, and one each on the west and east, leading to the roof. There is also a lighthouse-type spiral staircase, leading upwards. But for the moment, he decides to take the western door and look at the Tower from the roof. It is night outside, but strategically placed floodlights illuminate the spire which now juts up from the VVVC. It is truly beautiful: a facing of white stone, carved in delicate Moorish patterns, covers the Tower. Two narrow bands of dark stone cut the cylindrical shaft of the Tower into three segments; each segment has a narrow window facing the four compass points (except the bottom segment, which has one window, the two doors, and a wall connected to the second story of the main building). At the top, it widens into an octagonal structure, with windows also facing the points of the compass (a light burns in the eastern window), and small decorative battlements on top. A flagpole rises at the very top, with a blue banner that says VVVC. "Splendid! I hadn't got a chance to see it since it was finished," Traveler murmurs. He goes inside and climbs the winding stairs to the chamber at the top. He emerges into a small but comfortable room. Bookshelves line three of the eight walls (the northeast, southeast, and southwest ones); the stairs emerge from below on the northwest side. As he observed from below, there are windows on the other four walls, and now he sees a bar stretches along the western one. Comfortable but elegant sofas sit under the north and south windows; four small polished mahogany tables in the middle of the floor each have three padded, high-backed wooden chairs. The tables are each in the shape of a quarter-circle, and have intricate patterns of inlaid wood on their surfaces; it is apparent that they could be pushed together to make one large round table. Tall brass floor lamps on either side of the bar are set to cast a dim light; a candelabra in the east window casts its light on... ECSTASY: leaning against the bookshelf next to the east window, holding a book of Byron in one hand and a bottle in the other. "Hello, X," says Trav. "You've done a nice job on this place. Not too shabby at all." She merely tilts her head and smirks. "The Coast Guard man says you didn't answer his questions. Now I know they're an awful distraction, but we have to tell them what they want, so we can get on with more important things. You know what I mean--the rave, of course...speaking of which, I was thinking of mounting a laser on top of the Tower here, to project down into the meadow. Oh, and have you seen NORM![tm]? I'm going to prevail upon him to drive the Taco Bus into town as a shuttle service for ravers. I--" But then Ecstasy interrupts... User: TRAVELER Date: 16-Feb 02:23 PM 761408630
II.103 A Few Good Cooks ---------------- VALLEE: Good day, my dearest Daricell, I trust you have been treated well? DARICELL: Are *you* my lawyer? VALLEE: Can't you tell? You constitute my clientele! CHORUS: You constitute his clientele, you constitute his clientele. You've his attention, use it well, For... You constitute his clientele. DARICELL: (Spoken) Why are we singing? And where did the chorus come from? VALLEE: (Spoken) Oh, I thought it would be neat to have all this legal stuff done in song. It's Gibert and Sullivan, you know. DARICELL: (Spoken) I know. It gets a bit annoying, though. CHORUS: It gets a bit annoying, though, Perhaps she'd like for us to go! We'll no such thing, for don't you know, The chorus is quite apropos! The chorus is quite apropos, the chorus is quite apropos. For naught you wish that we would go, The chorus is quite apropos. VALLEE: (Spoken) I see what you mean. But I'd sure like to see the judge's reaction... DARICELL: (Spoken) What if he hates Gilbert and Sullivan? VALLEE: (Spoken) Oh, he'll love Gilbert and Sullivan. Trust me. =) User: Jon Vallee Date: 16-Feb 05:04 PM 761418340
II.104 And back at the VVVC, our Hero, Perigrine, mutters something about Lee's cooking and retreats to the towel room to seek solace in warm, soft cotton. User: Perigrine: What I do in my spare time is my business :) Date: 17-Feb 09:28 AM 761477337
II.105 In the cabin of Ahannos' ship: ------------------------------ "Ye'll come to understand more of who I am by and by. But I would nae confuse you by telling it all too directly. Let me put it in form of a story, just a story told by a strange old mariner, eh?" The captain's eyes glitter in his ugly face, and he grins, showing a few yellowed teeth in the midst of his white beard. "Ye must imagine, now, a time when the world was far younger. In this dawn time, lived a race of men strong, and fearless, and beautiful, in a land that was as bold and wild as they were, full of mountains, rivers, forests. But they were not satisfied there in their homeland, which was in fact an island ringed about with the great Ocean. So they felled timber, and raised ships, and taught themselves the art of seacraft. "The princes of this land ranged over the seas of the earth, taking what they wanted, seeking glory and treasure. Aye, they were proud folk, and did not ask for what they desired from lesser men, but rather took it straightaway. And who was to refuse them? Some in these latter days, with their weak and petty codes o' right and wrong, might speak ill o' these great men, but I feel the truth of it: they got only what they deserved." "That's ridiculous," says ROMANTIC, before she can stop herself. He glowers at her, but does not speak. So she goes on: "I mean, raping and pillaging is always justified to the ones who do it, but what would it be like to be on the other end?" "They never WERE on the other end!" he roars. "Such a high race ne'er could be so dominated. Impossible! So, then, what justice can judge them wrong, and carry out any sentence?" He sits back, his outburst ended, and after a moment, continues. "Well, being not only strong of will and heart but also of mind, my-- these folk of which I speak divined many things. They knew the paths of the stars, the currents of the seas, and soon learned higher arts...the mastery of all forces subtle and gross. They called their knowledge by a word long dead..._noskari_, they called it. But you would call it magic. To them it became as easy as any child's game, and they used their power over the very elements to help them." "To help them do what?" asks Romantic. "To establish dominion over the earth!" he whispers. "I like these people less and less the more I hear about them," she mutters. He leans close and grabs her shoulder with a gnarled hand. "What you like or no makes no difference, girl! None o' your kind matter...except in helping me do what I must do, and fulfill the work of many centuries. Now... I grant you far more than any of your low kind deserve even by tellin' you this story. An' if you will not hear the rest o' this tale without your japing and jabber, I'll not tell it, but rather lock you in that other cabin where ye'll be tied down till we come into port!!" He sits back down, glaring. Romantic says nothing, and looks down. _He wants a captive audience...I guess I'd better give it to him_. "Now...the tale runs thusly: with their magical arts, these mighty folk extended their sway o'er the whole world and all its lesser, savage inhabitants. Truly, the whole globe bowed before the sign o' their empire... the sign o' the Trident. Yes, lass, the Trident...that was the emblem of their race...the emblem of their land... ...The land known to mortals now as Atlantis." User: TRAVELER Date: 18-Feb 11:03 PM 761612642
II.107 ECSTASY looks over at Max and gently sets down her bottle of Absolut. "Dear, I am getting really upset with the lack of academia in Virtual reality. I want to be challenged! I want passion! I want Citron!" TRAVELER looks at his leather-clad partner and sighs. Obviously, she doesn't understand that the rave is coming. He turns to walk down the stairs as she calls to him. "TRAVELER, come back to discuss Irigaray when you have time. I need more...stimulation," murmurs ECSTASY. At that sentence, MOODINIDIGO raises his head from his Fender Mustang to growl at TRAVELER. TRAVELER grins and heads down the stairs. User: Ecstasy Date: 19-Feb 02:30 AM 761625040
II.108 Then suddenly...the ROMULANS attack, and every is mercilessly killed. THE END. User: ENTERPRISE Date: 19-Feb 05:38 PM 761679500
II.109 Every...what? User: ...confused... Date: 19-Feb 05:39 PM 761679572
II.110 On the balcony off of the Blue Room, a slender man named Every ponders the view. Inside the Blue Room, a dark-haired gentleman with a mustache wanders through from the black room, carrying a mid-sized satchel full of jewelry he'd had set up at a corner table during the dancing before the murder...as he glances out the windows, a small detachment of Romulan scouting vessels speeds by, vaporizing the slender Every as he leans upon the balcony. Blinking, the man known primarily as JARETH bursts forth in raw admiration... "COOL!!!!!! Wish I had a shot of that for the Starfleet newsletter... I'll check with SVEN and CADO, maybe a security camera caught a shot I could digitize, and then..." ...He wanders off muttering excitedly... -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- Meanwhile, in the White Room, DIQMAN busily bobs into a utility closet for some clean dishtowels for the kitchen, only to stumble across a somewhat bemused-looking PEREGRINE, vaguely greenish of face, and sweating profusely, muttering something about a towel-room... "Oh no, what did PULSE feed you...? Just what we need, more poisonings just when DARICELL is locked up... I *knew* I should have kept him out of the kitchen...." DIQMAN flags down a waitress, and has her escort the befuddled PEREGRINE to a divan in the Red Room, just as the movie is starting up,...she brings him some Cafe O'lait (sp?) in an attempt to settle his system... User: Fireflyte... ...continuity, where is thy Sting? oh, in two days, then?... Date: 20-Feb 04:07 AM 761717293
II.110 -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- *In the Forest between the Cafe and the Hills* ...INLERAH and FIREFLYTE pause to rest as twilight approaches, glancing up startled as a rapid whooshing sound whizzes by far above them, heading toward the Cafe'....they look at each other and shrug. FIREFLYTE finally breaks the silence that has enshrouded them since leaving the Cafe': "Any Idea what we're supposed to do? When we get there? What we might need to face it?" INLERAH shakes her head gingerly, with a wry smile, "Not a clue, Shauneen,... All I know is I *must* go up there. It's the only way to face him. To face *all* of that..." she pauses, "...all that's built up." she concludes, sounding as if she was going to say something else. "Face *him*? Who...?" FIREFLYTE catches the steel in her friend's eyes, and doesn't finish the question. "Do you need to do it alone?" INLERAH faces her, gaze level... "There's no one else who can, love,...you should know that." It's FIREFLYTE's turn to smile with a bittersweet edge, "It's that bloody Celt in ye...pure stubbornness, I tell ye now,..." Her eyes sober, "You need me, I'm here...I'm heading back 'round toward the Rave-meadow, and then the coastline...you know how to reach me..." INLERAH nods, and the two part in silence, each feeling more and more focused upon the rhythm that seems to pulse under everything now,...tangible. User: Fireflyte... ...focuses, fetishes, and multiple entendre's... Date: 20-Feb 04:35 AM 761719057
II.111 ECSTASY passes out. User: ECSTASY Date: 21-Feb 03:48 AM 761802539
II.112 "Yes, girl, Atlantis. Ye're keepin' silent, but I see you don't believe it." Ahannos shakes his head. "No matter. No matter if you, nor none o' the others believe...my plan will still succeed. And make believers o' you all...all those who live through...what must be done." "Well...assuming what you say about Atlantis is true, that they conquered the earth through magic...so what? I mean, what happened then? Why aren't they around today?" ROMANTIC replies. Ahannos is silent for a long moment, gazing out the cabin's small window. At length, he says, "Why indeed. Long have I sought to answer that very question. It was...it was a total surprise, what happened. Out of the clear blue sky, as they say...ah, but it came not only from the sky, but from the sea and the very land as well. The Fall. The Fall of Atalani the Fairest Isle. A horrible day...the earth exploded, fire rained down upon the cities of Tholos and Azos...a tempest like the world had never seen smote the forests and the mountains, toppling them like a child's toys...and the water, the great walls of water, extinguishing all like the hand of an angry god." His eyes glisten as he speaks, and Rom hears a sadness in his voice that almost humanizes him. "Alas, I was not there that day." _Of course not,_ she thinks. _Even as old as he must be, that was a bit before his time_. "But a very few did escape, and tell their tales of woe. Children of the Mighty Ones, a few wanderers and stragglers, who found shelter in the colonies of Atlantis, the great port cities ringed around the world's seas. Though verily, the deluge was so mighty that it washed away even many of those outposts. In one day, the greatest civilization of time was snuffed out like a feeble candle." "So their magic couldn't protect them against...acts of God?" Rom asks, curious. User: cont'd Date: 21-Feb 12:36 PM 761834195
II.113 Ahannos grits his teeth. "It should have. It SHOULD have! That fair land was ringed about with spells...The craft of the sorcerers' guild was such that there was rain in plenty for the farmers' fields, yet none in the cities save at the King's request. The currents of the winds were diverted, so that the great treasure and cargo fleets might have swift journeys. Invisible elementals and spirits of all species served the princes of Atalani in uncountable numbers, conveying their messages and carrying out their errands to the corners of the globe. And yet...when this great disaster struck, no magic walls of shielding, no spells of safety, no guardian genii could stop it. Not the faintest clear warning was even apparent to the imperial oracles...though I have heard that strange signs, which none could interpret, had begun to appear in the last days. And so the empire sunk beneath the waves." "It sounds like they were almost too dependent on their magic. Could that have somehow--" "What d'ye know about magic, eh? It is an art lost in this later age, and no fool girl like yourself would know an inkling of the Great Craft!!" he snaps. "I've said enough, or too much. Why I told you any of the tale, I don't know." He stands. "Now, we draw near to my harbor. I must prepare. You may stay here or watch from the deck, but stay out of my way." He walks out on deck, and she follows. "But I still don't understand... why am I h--" she starts. "SILENCE! I said stay out of my way. I will speak more to you when we land. Till then, I am occupied." He climbs the ladder that leads up to the forecastle. Standing with his back towards her, he stretches out his arms and begins intoning another magical formula. "Astrolabe et parallax, open gated darkseahold..." His arms move in swirls and patterns, and she thinks she can see corresponding ripples and waves of energy in the fog around the ship. Her hair tingles as invisible forces gather. There is no doubt now that he is a sorcerer of great power. Romantic looks up at the great black sail rustling over her head, with its blood-red downward-pointing trident. She shivers. Ahead of the ship, the fog seems to be clearing. They are gliding rapidly between high cliff walls, and emerging into a dark inlet...and on the far side of the round lake, she sees what looks like a classical temple built into the cliff wall... User: Traveler Date: 21-Feb 12:38 PM 761834291
II.114 The black ship glides across the quiet waters of the mysterious harbor. A perpetual mist seems to hang in the air; the dim, nondirectional light that filters through could be moonlight or daylight--but ROMANTIC believes it is still night, although her time-sense has been distorted by the long, fog-bound voyage. The shores of the circular cove are covered with smooth, round white stones, and littered with driftwood, pieces of ships, and other debris. Some yards back from the waterline, high grey cliffs begin, and march all the way around the cove, which she estimates to be no more than a quarter- mile wide. The only way in is the narrow passage they just sailed through. Now they are heading for the structure on the opposite side: some kind of tall temple or fortress built into, or carved out of, the cliff itself. The damp air is salty and cold; numbed by the chill, Rom goes into the rear cabin, takes the dark blue wool blanket from the bed, and wraps it around herself. Returning to the deck, she looks again at the tall structure, which grows closer with each second. It looks something like classical Greek architecture, but with strong elements of older styles--Minoan or Egyptian, maybe. Columns and pediments rise above each other, with occasional balconies and terraces. The very top projects just above the cliff--a circular, pillared chamber with a roof but no walls. At the foot of the structure and in front of it is a wooden pier, with a couple of small, low wooden buildings at its head. The ship approaches this pier, which Rom can now see is rather decrepit. Several people are waiting there--tall, thin, pale, barefoot, and wearing ragged clothes. Ahannos calls out to them in the same foreign language he has used before; what he says sounds like a command rather than a greeting... User: TRAVELER Date: 22-Feb 09:22 AM 761908939
II.115 The scene: A small, private consulting room in the VPD, with a table and two chairs. The cast: Daricell Copperpot, accused murderess Jon Vallee, her attorney The Deus Ex Machina Chorus VALLEE: (spoken) Wow, with the chorus, it's pretty crowded in here. Now, you say you had no hand in the attack on Zoroaster and Maharet? You are pleading innocent? DARICELL: **clears throat** I'm the VVVC's chef The meals I make are def And customers flock in to buy! But now I'm in jail for Murder and the bail for Me's set at five million and five [Dollars (TM)] I'm called little Copperpot Murderess Copperpot And I have no idea why; But still I'm called Copperpot Though guilty I am not Of attacking Zoroaster, P. I.! CHORUS: She's called little Copperpot Murderess Copperpot And she has no idea why! But still she's called Copperpot Though guilty she is not -- VALLEE: **breaks in, on the beat** But have you got an alibi? (spoken) I'll have to prove that you couldn't have been anywhere near where Zoro and Maharet were attacked. DARICELL: (spoken) I'm trying, but it's hard to make it all fit in the meter. **sings** I went to the kitchen For cookies so bitchin' To feed the Bus-stormers that night! But then when I ate one I came sort of undone And spent several hours outside. VALLEE: (spoken) No one saw you? DARICELL: (spoken) No one. VALLEE: Oh, this is not good. DARICELL: Look, I'm having problems sticking to the meter, and "Little Buttercup" is the only Gilbert and Sullivan song I know by heart. Can we try some other composers? Broadway? Disney? VALLEE: Sure! Variety will be good; maybe it'll get the judges on our side. **sighs** We need all the help we can get. User: Daricell -- second verse! Go Ben! Date: 22-Feb 11:19 AM 761916006
II.116 Ach, after that... um... Rousing song... I kind of like Skippy's Idea of the Romulans blasting them... Anyway, Max, if there is no towel room, I'd wonder how you cleaned up the place, where you dry off from if it's raining, how Ecstasy cleans the blood/sweat/tears/misc.bodilyfluids off her precious leather, how all the ravers are going to make the place smell all sweaty..... I say a towel room is absolutely necessary. If Norm can have a Taco Bus, I want a Towel Hut. Think of the tourist trade. User: Perigrine: How do you think Romantic's going to dry off after this? Date: 22-Feb 12:24 PM 761919930
II.117 Hmmmm...perhaps, perhaps. You know, I've been thinking. I visualize the White, Red and Black Rooms as having high ceilings...but not the Blue Room. Maybe the low ceiling there is because...there's a jacuzzi on the terrace above! (ROARK has just informed me what an egregiously bad choice this is from an architectural standpoint...I say "Bite me, it's virtual reality." :) So:) TRAVELER comes down from the Ivory Tower to his office...where the fore- (wo)man of the workers who have been setting up the rave equipment is waiting. It just so happens that he hired the same contractors to set up the rave AND to do work on the Ivory Tower...in fact, they were the same people who built the Greenhouse above the White Room. Because the VVVC has been such a good customer, they've thrown in a free hot tub and towel room on the Blue Room roof. "The jacuzzi's done, sir," she says. "You'll want to inspect it before you sign off on this form." "Excellent...I could do with a quick dip before closing up the White and Red Rooms for the night. I've got a swimsuit here somewhere." He winks at her. "I don't suppose you brought one..." She unzips her work coveralls to reveal a black and neon green bikini. ;) "As a matter of fact..." User: TRAVELER Date: 22-Feb 01:32 PM 761923985
II.118 Well, folx, for those who have asked...it is at long last available: The entire VVVC story can now be read from my ELM account! I have, so far, 20 files containing all the actual story posts, plus an occasional relevant commentary post. The files are called "cafe#.", the # being between 1 and 20. There is also a file called "cafemap.", and one called "cafereadme.", which you may want to start with. Obviously, this requires you to have an ELM account, and know how to change directories. :) But one of these days, perhaps I can work out a way to make the stuff readable from VAX. User: Traveler, aka cirop55@elm.circa.ufl.edu Date: 22-Feb 04:11 PM 761933534
II.119 "Pssssst." "The hell-?," GHOST thinks to himself. "Psssssssst." "That's it...the gas lines here are leaking. GUARDS HELP *MRPH*..." GHOST begings before a hand clamps over his mouth. The hand belongs to an arm from the adjacent cell. The arm belongs to none other than STEFAN. "Listen, I've got an offer for you. Just sit tight while I explain it. Ok...you may or may not be aware of how the VAF (Virtual Air Force) has been tracking down almost every UFO sighting since it was started. We at the VBI have reason to believe that they have either successfully established contact with other worlders of have gained control of one of their space vehicles. There is a possibiblity that this vehicle can take on other forms. Now, I am coming to you because I think we ca nmake a deal. For your help and info we can bust you out of here...and get rid of a certain ummmm past record. Of course, the descision is entirely up to you...." User: Stefan...this post is up for review and may or may not be relevant :) Date: 22-Feb 04:55 PM 761936199
II.120 Actually, because Max is such a hoopy frood, you can read the first five parts of the VVVC saga at DISK$CIRCA:[CIROP30]VVVC_I_V.TXT - it's about 200 blocks long so if you want it, print it, send file, etc... because I may need that memory someday :). But until then....enjoy! User: Bullwinkle, featuring a party party in a few...it will be interesting Date: 22-Feb 06:57 PM 761943475
II.121 *snif* Ah...memories...the VVVC has seen some really great times... Thanks, BW... Max, in honor of the VVVC's 5-month anniversary, I think everyone should get the week off. ;) (For those of you who aren't catching this...the VVVC made it's first appearance on Oct 5, 1993, at 00:15) User: Cado...*sigh*...hard to believe it's been so long. :) Date: 22-Feb 08:25 PM 761948784
II.122 ECSTASY wakes up with a nasty hangover and sweaty leather. "MOODINDIGO, dear? Could you run downstairs and ask PERIGRINE to bring me towels, TRAVELER to pop up so we can talk about this odd dream I had of Atlantis, and then run back to shower with me?" MOODINDIGO snuffs out his cigarette and heads for the stairs. ECSTASY look out the window and starts thinking about Coleridge. User: ECSTASY Date: 23-Feb 03:57 AM 761975831 Date: Tue, 22 Feb 1994 13:42:00 EDT
II.123 Towels, Mistress? Of course, Mistress. By the way, Mistress. You might want to avoid the new Jacuzzi above the Blue Room, Traveller and that nice for(wo)man are, um... well, let's just say they're making my towel room all steamy... Of course if I videotaped it we might get a free addition to thine Ivory Tower.... and I'm sure Traveller would just love to send you an extra case of Cuervo or Citron... User: Perigrine is happy, he has Towels for all! Date: 23-Feb 09:30 AM 761995873
II.124 Dateline City Animal Hospital "A chance to find a Phoenix for the flame" -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Maharet scretched happily. At last the wraps were off her legs, arms, and back. The doctors had only needed gauze of their own on their hands from the removal. The claws were good and sharp. That was good. "Dance into the fire..." she thought to herself, of broken dreams. It was time, time to find her master, study the weight which hung over his soul. With a casual flick of the tail, she hopped from her bed. She went to the window, checking the door. The hall was empty, the tv in her private ward played the hottest new big band tune.. She stepped onto the ledge, picked a likely spot for descent and shimmied down a drainpipe. Now she felt the pain... Now to find Zoroaster... User: Zoroaster: Sloshy Spam. Date: 23-Feb 10:35 AM 761999722
II.125 Believe it or not, this is how VAXTREK got started. VVVC...the "Vaxtrek" of the future! 8) Good luck, Max. We're all counting on you! Bullwinkle: I'm glad SOMEONE is historically documenting this insanity. 8) User: Enterpoop...still not in the story...but happy. 8) Date: 23-Feb 01:27 PM 762010088
II.126 Peri: hey, hey, hey! The construction lady and I are just going for a friendly dip. Now, get that camera out of here. Hey, I said NO CAMERAS!! *puts hand over lens* Enterspam: we hope you're enjoying the ongoing saga. Maybe you'll find yourself written in one of these days... :) User: Traveler Date: 23-Feb 01:43 PM 762011013
II.127 On the Black Ship: ----------------- As the ship draws up next to the pier, it slows of its own accord. Ahannos turns to face the deck, makes gestures with his hands, and mutters something quietly. Instantly, ropes snake up from where they are coiled on the deck, and leap over the side into the hands of the waiting servants, who then tie them to the pier's posts. Another gesture from the captain causes a gate in the ship's railing to open; the servants lay a gangplank between the pier and the gateway. Through all of this, none of the pale, androgynous people speak. Ahannos descends from the forecastle quickly, enters the cabin below, and comes out with a thick wooden cane. _That's the cane he was carrying when he came to the Cafe_, Romantic recalls. _But he's been limber enough during this voyage...doesn't seem like he'd need it_. He nods his head toward the gangplank. "Off with you, then." She walks towards it, and he follows. As they cross, he says something incomprehensible to his servants; when she steps on to the pier, two of them grasp her arms. Even through the blanket, their hands feel ice-cold. She looks up at their faces, and gasps in shock. Their skin is mottled whitish-grey, smooth but seeming to conceal some internal decay; their eyes are yellow and empty. She senses magic hovering around them. _They look dead...they must be... zombies!_ For the first time, deep, visceral fear grips her insides. "My people will...see to you. Don't resist or try to escape. Resisting is useless, and there aren't no place to escape to." With that, the two undead begin to walk up the pier, pulling her along in between them. She turns back to face Ahannos. "Wait! Please, I don't understand. You still haven't told me why I'm here! Please!" But her lifeless escorts will not stop, and drag her on. She catches a last glimpse of Ahannos, flanked by his pale minions, leaning heavily on his cane, and gazing at her coldly. User: Traveler Date: 23-Feb 01:55 PM 762011743
II.128 Okay, check this sucker out... :) (2-23-94:) Traveler's Virtual Virtual Vax Cafe--Second Level w LEGEND _________________ | | | s<--+-->n -- walls | | | | .. doors : | 1 | e | | | __...__ | _________________| _ -- _..._ -- _ |_________________ | | _-- |--_ | | | ___ | | 5 |6__| | .._ | | 4 .'''. :' 9 : :__.._______..: :10 `| 2 | | `.8.' :.___: : :11: : _.| | | | |_ 7 |_| | '' | |_________________ |_ --_____-- _| _________________| | --__...__-- | | ===== 3 ===== | KEY | ======= ======= | | ======[ ]====== | 1 West Terrace | ======= ======= | 5 TRAVELER's apartment (above Black Room) |_________________| 6 Apt. Bathroom 2 North Terrace 7 TRAVELER's office (above Red Room) 8 Hot tub 3 Greenhouse 9 Towel Room (above White Room) 10 Base of Ivory Tower 4 South Terrace 11 Stairway from below (above Blue Room) 1. The WEST TERRACE looks out over the Bay; generally it is used only by TRAVELER and the employees, as a private retreat. 2. The NORTH TERRACE affords views of the Bay to the west, the Decorative Garden, and beyond that the woods, on the north, and the Produce Garden on the east. 3. The glass-walled GREENHOUSE is where SYLVAR's special coffee beans are grown, as well as a few other unusual plants tended by ALBATROSS. In the center, a skylight allows the sun down into the White Room below. 4. From the SOUTH TERRACE one can look west and south (at the Bay) or east (at the VVVC parking lot across the road, the hills beyond that, and the outskirts of the City beyond that). 5.,6. TRAVELER has gotten in the habit of staying here at his small but functional APARTMENT above the Cafe, rather than his place in town. 7. His OFFICE is, conveniently enough, right next door; it's the "nerve center" of the Cafe. 8. The HOT TUB was recently added gratis by the contractors who did some other work on the Cafe. 9. PERIGRINE presides at the TOWEL ROOM adjacent to the hot tub. 10. The IVORY TOWER is the newest section of the Cafe, an elite retreat for the intellectually minded. By invitation only... 11. And of course none of this stuff would be of any use if there wasn't a STAIRWAY to get to it from the ground floor. Trav may soon add some more stairways for easier access. User: Traveler says "Your tax dollars pay me to do T H I S !" :) Date: 23-Feb 02:23 PM 762013483
II.129 Hmmmm.... Nice Job, Trav... Pass my um.... approval on to the for(wo)man.... I'll have to see about getting a cappuchino machine and and tea maker for the Towel Room, tho... ...and quit throwing your clothes in the Towel Room while *ahem* "entertaining" in the hot tub. Your Snoopy Underoos are not my responsibility to wash. User: Perigrine: Surrounded at last by warm, loving Towels! Date: 23-Feb 06:08 PM 762027081
II.130 Let's get one thing straight: I do not wear Underoos[tm]! And I wouldn't leave them with you if I did... ============================================================================== Now we rejoin Ancient Mariner Theatre, already in progress...this post and the next one should start to clear up a lot of mysteries... :) Ahannos walks slowly up the path from the pier, the facade of the fortress looming over him. He stops for a moment to look up at the building. _The last temple of Atalani_, he says to himself. _All the others obliterated. And this will be where the new age, the new world, begins...where the resurrection of Atlantis starts. After centuries of waiting, the time is almost here._ He feels his legs cramping up, and wearily begins walking again. Mentally, he curses for the millionth time the spell that made him require this cane on land. _But if all goes well, even that blight shall be lifted. Let me not become too giddy with hope yet, though. Much work remains to be done._ He reaches the wide stairs leading up to the great temple's main entrance. Today the staircase is too daunting; he barks an order to the pale servants who have followed him from the ship at a respectful distance. Once, long ago, the reanimation of dead bodies would have been considered beneath an Atlantean sorcerer, but now the corpses of the drowned are the most expedient source for labor. _And damned if they didn't rebuild a quarter of this great temple, under my command_, he thinks as two of the zombies shuffle off to fetch his sedan chair. _Really, it is to my credit. It was my magic that commanded them...my plan which directed them...I, Ahannos, last prince of Atalani...the savior of his race_. He smiles coldly; the thought of his future glory is the only light that has kept him going, alone and hard, through the centuries of searching. The walking dead return shortly with his chair, and bear him inside. Up through great, echoing flights of stairs and across vast, dark stone halls, Ahannos is conveyed. _Once great feasts and revels graced these places...tapestries, torchlight, music, lords and ladies_, he remembers. Now the tapestries are shreds of grey rag, the former inhabitants only the dust of skeletons. _But this place shall live again...that is my vow..._ User: cont'd Date: 23-Feb 06:47 PM 762029276
II.131 At last they reach the highest level, the temple proper, where Ahannos resides and where he weaves the net of his magic scheme. The chairbearers set down their load in a large stone room, whose light and warmth come from a feeble hearth fire of driftwood and several smoky torches. They are hardly effective against the draft and gloom... _But the power to make this place blaze like day is power best saved and used elsewhere_, he reminds himself. _Oh, ten thousand indulgences have I sacrificed in my quest. But soon they shall all be rewarded. I have found the rest of the energy I need, in the reservoir beneath that restaurant; the fools don't realize they're sitting on top of the ruins of a temple to the Atlantean gods! But in time we shall tread on them, instead of them on us...my servant has released enough power to saturate the cafe...enough to trigger the first of the three deaths that the ritual requires..._ That reminds him: it is time to summon his servant again. He hobbles to one end of the room on his cane, to where a large stone altar stands. Ancient brownish stains and scratched runes and symbols cover its surface. Above it, embedded in the wall, is a large crystal hemisphere. Its interior is murky, but flickering lights seem to dart around deep inside. The front of the half-globe has the familiar trident etched into it. Ahannos begins uttering a spell and forming designs in the air with his hands...then he picks up a large, very old-looking iron key, and holds it aloft, concentrating... User: Traveler Date: 23-Feb 06:48 PM 762029341
II.132 Peregrine: Silly man, you don't put a separate cappuchino maker & tea centre in the towel room! You have it delivered from downstairs through the kitchen's dumbwaiter. The Red Room is fully caffeine-equipped for all circumstances... *Meanwhile, within the forest,...* ...A lithe form slips, catlike, through the undergrowth around the rave clearing...pausing, flickering eyes take in the layout of the scaffolding as an owl scouting for trees to gain vantage from,... ...Random thoughts flicker in tandem through her mind, as she narrows her eyes slightly in a random breeze..."Hmmm, salt air,...tide must be in,...those scaffolds like pillars,...no roof, but sky,...the shape--something about the shape,...and why is the beat so strong here, before the music has played?..." ...She moves on through the trees, angling off toward the seaward side of the Cafe'. Moving parallel to the vegetable gardens, she finds a narrow trellis at the join between the Red and Black rooms' outer walls, and clambers up to the balcony... ...She sits facing the ocean, dangling her legs over the edge through the slats of the railing. "It's quiet enough here. People not in the way of thoughts. Can hear better." She closes her eyes as the sun streams in stripes through the railing, glowing red through her eyelids....and she starts to listen... User: Fireflyte... ...scampering through bits and pieces... Date: 24-Feb 03:47 AM 762061664
II.133 ..."...There are no gulls...and the salt smells like old kelp...." She extends her mind's eye, feeling her way around like a blind person walking through a house...she hears the disquiet in the wind, but it tells her nothing,...the sea is merely a babble,...she follows the balcony to her right, and feels a pull between the Cafe' and the clearing...she looks across the Vegetable gardens in her mind, and the paths wind slightly different routes,...in three different directions...one toward the graveyard, one toward the clearing, and one toward...what? Somewhere back around the other side of the Cafe'... The Sun seems cold over the parking lot, as if it were a plastic place between worlds, not really real at all...the Blue Room balcony feels like water, or a mirage,...sort of wavery... She ventures to let her mind wander inside...and winces, as the multitude in the White Room tears like static across her mind's ears...she retreats through the Blue Room, through the low hum it seems to emanate, to the Black Room,...mostly deserted, still, through a mixture of disquiet over the murder, and busywork over the rave...she feels something out of the corner of her mind, in the peripheral, and looks through her mind's eye toward the kitchen... ...Just then, Orpheus looks up, eyes ghostly pale, a fearful melancholy on his face, and shakes his head, appearing to see her, as though she were there...She mentally nods, and returns through the walls to herself... User: Fireflyte... ...wants to have poster back sometime... Date: 24-Feb 04:04 AM 762062658
II.134 ...A shiver runs up her spine as she opens her eyes. Her hands are cold, and the hairs on her neck tingle...She shakes off the feeling, stretches, and gets up...circling along the balcony, she slips in through the Red Room's entrance. ..."No one saw Inle' and I leave together, so no one should have missed me for any reason," she thinks, face passively grim. Just then, she nearly collides with a short, blond waitress... "Ack!!!" "Sorry, ma'am..." The waitress must be new, to be calling *me* ma'am, she thinks, and inquires, "Where's Jon Vallee? I wanted to ask him a few things..." "Oh, he's off helpin' Miss Daricell...set off fer the jail hours ago, he did..." The waitress also sounded local. Odd, that. Odder still, Jon Vallee going to visit Daricell--she needs a lawyer, not an espresso. Fireflyte shrugs, and smiles in parting to the waitress. "Actually, a good shot of caffeine would be awesome right now..." she mutters, and heads toward the kitchen to heat up some water for tea... User: Fireflyte... ...amazing what knowledge one misses by skipping out th'back Date: 24-Feb 04:16 AM 762063425
II.135 Amidst all the hubub going on downstairs in the cafe, LOUCH notices a strange man walk in the door and remembers her job... "Excuse me, sir, how can I help you?" She asks, looking him over, taking in the Star Trek(tm) shirt, the headband with the boingy stars, the mysteriously wrapped package in his hand... The stranger looks at her for a moment, puts down the package, and starts singing "I'm a little teapot," with all arm movements included. Louch gets scared. She tries to remember whether she's heard of anyone recently escaping the insane asylum a few miles down the road. "Sorry," the stranger says with a mysterious look on his face. "I am a friend. I come bearing Spam. I am here to see Traveler. They call me... ENTERPOOP" User: There ya go, Skippy... Louch wrote ya into the story :) Date: 24-Feb 12:27 PM 762092842
II.136 Woo-hoo! Cute, Beth. :) In fact, it gives me an idea for how to involve ENTERPRISE in the story... LOUCH leads the tall, dark, mysterious newcomer-bearing-Spam back to the Kitchen and up the stairs. "Wait one moment, sir...I'll see if he's in his office." She knock, but when no one answers, goes inside. She sees the office is empty, but the door on the opposite side is open. Walking through, she crosses to the VVVC Towel Room, where PERIGRINE peers around a doorway leading out to the jacuzzi on the South Terrace, panting, leering, and sticking his tongue out. "Hubba hubba! Rowr! Woo-woo-woo! TRAVELER's in the hot tub with a foxy lady!" Louch tsks with disgust. "Oh, grow up." She walks briskly out to the tub, where Trav and the Construction Lady, FULLY SWIMSUITED, are relaxing. "Trav, sorry to interrupt, but there's someone here to see you. Calls himself...Enterpoop." "Oh, very well." He gets up, and the giggling Perigrine hurries out to hand him a towel... User: Traveler Date: 24-Feb 04:45 PM 762108346
II.137 In TRAVELER's office, ENTERPRISE looks at his watch. "Uh-oh...I'm about to miss my beam-up window! Can't wait till next orbit...gotta go!" He taps the shiny metal disc over his left breast (it appears to say something about CIRCA), and says, "Energize!" An instant later, Trav walks into the office, wrapped in a towel. "Hi, what can I do fo--" But all he sees is a cloud of sparkling light, and a can of Spam [tm] potted meat product, falling to the floor with a THUMP. A faint voice seems to say, "This stuff just won't go through transporters..." "...the HELL?" says Traveler. Out in the Towel Room, LOUCH and PERIGRINE talk to the Construction Lady. "So, have a nice...swim?" says Perigrine, winking broadly. "Well, yeah...except that all Traveler would talk about was this upcoming rave..." User: Traveler Date: 24-Feb 04:54 PM 762108886
II.138 In the cellar of the VVVC, ALBATROSS stands over the unconscious body of CADO. Somewhere in his mind, he regrets having to knock the bouncer out... but the coin in his pocket is clouding all other thoughts now. He has been summoned here, and it will not do for anyone else to witness what will happen... It was about ten minutes ago that Albatross first felt it: a cool, pulsing touch, seeming to come from the air around him. But gradually he recognized the feeling. He was working late in the gardens at the time, putting away some equipment. But this signal caused him to drop the rakes and hoes he was carrying, and pull out the ancient coin. The instant he touched it, the energy in the air was magnified and clarified--and the rest of the world, even his other thoughts, were dimmed out. The force was definitely coming from inside the Cafe...he stumbled hurriedly toward the side door to the White Room. Inside he almost bumped into PALLAS, who was carrying a tray of what was probably supposed to be food. "Hey, look, it's Albatross! Albatross? You don't even know us! Say, have you--" But he pushed Pallas aside without a word, homing in now on where he felt the energy to be emanating from...the cellar... He passed the last of the police, on their way out after conducting a thorough but still inconclusive investigation of TREKKER's murder...he passed some men in white uniforms, one of whom asked, "Excuse me, do you work here? Where's TRAVELER? He went upstairs a while ago, and hasn't..." But he ignored them all. Through the curtain, behind the Bar, through the doors, into the Kitchen, past a harried DIQMAN, too busy trying to take DARICELL's place and clean up PALLAS' mistakes to notice the gardener... Through the cellar door...and downstairs into the darkness, amid the wine racks. Then he waited, feeling the power build. Something was about to happen; he was going to meet someone, go somewhere, receive enlightenment... But CADO came in at just the wrong moment. Moving so swiftly he didn't even know what he was doing, Albatross silently snuck up on the bouncer and hit him hard. He crumpled to the ground with a sigh. Now the gardener waits again for the coming of...whatever is about to appear. And there, in the middle of the cellar, points of light flicker--is it a trick of the dark-adapting eye? No, real pinprink flashes...and now blazing lines of light carve out a doorway. Wind rushes through the cellar. The doorway blinds with its brilliance. But he must go towards it... He must go through it... User: Traveler Date: 24-Feb 05:15 PM 762110135
II.139 #6A N N O U N C E M E N T #6----------------------- As you know, in the world of the VVVC, TREKKER's dead (The Final Nightmare? Wh-?). Well, now it looks like the story is very soon going to need another corpse...so, this is a general call for anyone willing to take the ultimate one-way trip. Let me know if you're interested in dying a spectacular, possibly bloody death in an upcoming installment of the story; I'll select from among the volunteers (but I'll keep you in suspense as to who I pick until the scene actually happens). You don't even have to be a Cafe regular (I'm sure most regulars want to keep living, anyway). Even if you are, though, I have a way to bring you back later on. So, make your best offer...and prepare to meet your maker... :) User: Traveler Date: 25-Feb 01:52 PM 762184331
II.140 I nominate Recycler in a special one-shot guest appearance User: Bullwinkle, featuring Ashley's :) Date: 25-Feb 03:32 PM 762190425
II.141 As TRAVELER stands dripping on the carpet of his office, the Coast Guard officers enter from the other door. "Excuse me, but where have you been?," the captain exclaims. "We've been waiting to hear from you about your bartender." Trav looks at them distantly. "Oh...sorry. I have so much on my mind... What did you want again?" "Has your bartender told you anything more about the boat accident she witnessed??" the captain says. "Don't you people want us to find your friend ROMANTIC?" "Of course, it's just that..." Traveler stops when he sees ECSTASY walk in behind the Coast Guard. "Speak of the devil," exclaims one of the officers. "Oh, Trav...I just had the most extraordinary dream. Something about an ancient mariner. But as I was trying to recall it, I got a phone call from a man from Porlock. Now it's lost. Oh, bother!" Ecstasy pouts. "I suppose I shall have to take the phone out of the Ivory Tower. We are above such things, after all." She looks at the Coast Guard as if noticing them for the first time. "I have nothing more to say to YOU," she says, turning up her nose. "I give up. You people are crazy," the captain says. He and his men turn and walk out. Just then, LOUCH and PERIGRINE come in from the Towel Room. "Uh, want another towel? I think you've just about soaked that one," says Perigrine, handing a fresh towel to Trav. He takes it absent-mindedly. "Trav, is everything okay?" asks Louch. "You seem distracted." "Oh, I'm fine. I guess it's time to close up the White and Red Rooms for the night. Maybe I can get some more work done for the rave...only a couple nights left to go, you know!" He walks out to change clothes. Louch shakes her head. "Something weird is going on. No one's acting normal...and I feel...I don't know...like there's something wrong with this whole place." At that moment, all three of them feel a draft of cold air from the north door (the one leading to the stairs and to the Ivory Tower). They turn and look in that direction...and for an instant, it seems as if someone is standing in the doorway. Or someone's shadow...a man-shaped patch of darkness, not solid, but like the shadow cast by a human figure...a walking shadow...Then, without a perceptible change, it is just a dark, empty doorway. "What was THAT?" Louch says in a loud whisper. Ecstasy bites her lip and shakes her head (featuring short hair). "I don't know, but I'm going back up to the Tower. This is too much for my delicate sensibilities." She departs. Below in the Kitchen, DIQMAN, cooking the last batch of food for the night, feels the same draft, and from the corner of his eye, it looks like a dark figure runs swiftly down the stairs...but when he turns to see who it is, there is no one. A phrase pops into his head: <<Something wicked this way comes...>> He walks out to the Bar in the Black Room, and surveys the scene from behind the counter. The dancers are beginning to warm up for a night of gyrating beneath the strobes...<<Perhaps I'll join them when I'm done with work>>...and there in a corner, still cordoned off with yellow tape, is where TREKKER was killed. <<That shadow in the kitchen...it was like what people say they saw when the murder occurred. There must be a connection. We're fighting something stranger and more evil now than merely a rival cafe owner. Something dark has settled over this place.>> In the DJ booth, Orpheus rocks back and forth gently in time to the music he's playing: an ambient-techno wash of white noise interspersed with crystal synthesizers and a distant, shuffling house beat. <<He knows, too...he feels the darkness. He communicates what he feels through the music he plays...>> Diq turns and walks back into the Kitchen. <<I think I'll make some garlic bread, with lots of garlic...I feel like I need something to protect against evil.>> Quickly, he absorbs himself in his baking...he'd rather just forget the darkness, and distract himself somehow... User: Traveler Date: 25-Feb 03:44 PM 762191225
II.142 Uh, Max? Could we have another use for the Ivory Tower? You know, come on up, read a book, get whipped by the cat o'nine tails, etc.? I don't think that GENEVIEVE would mind the combination.... User: ecstasy Date: 28-Feb 03:28 AM 762406115
II.143 *whips peregrine, romantic, and traveler with a wet, twisted towel* Warm that, buddy. :) (I just get aggravated, because even then he couldn't keep it straight. There's just soemthing about people going about impersonating me.... badly.) User: ZOROASTER Date: 28-Feb 09:43 AM 762428607
II.144 Ok then... Henceforth, visitors to the Ivory Tower will notice that the bookshelf on the southwest wall, next to the bar, is locked behind glass (the key being on a chain around ECSTASY's neck, to be surrendered upon request, or perhaps upon completion of certain...favors). The books on this particular shelf seem to have a common theme...the Kama Sutra...the A. N. Roquelaire collection...etc.... And the bottom half of the bookcase is actually a locked cabinet, accessed by the same key, wherein are located interesting toys including handcuffs, silk scarves, candles, and various things made of leather... User: Traveler Date: 28-Feb 01:08 PM 762440900
II.145 #6The Virtual Virtual Vax Cafe Update #6----------------------------------- * After preventing ROMANTIC from jumping overboard, and eluding the Coast Guard with a magic fog, Ahannos, the old sailor, has piloted his ancient ship with the black sails into a hidden circular cove, where a temple-fortress is carved out of the cliffs. Romantic has been taken away somewhere by Ahannos' undead servants, while they have borne him up to the temple room at the top of the building (which is in fact a temple of the Atlantean civilization, whose rise and fall he has described to Romantic). Ahannos is now summoning ALBATROSS through a magic portal between the VVVC cellar and his temple. CADO, in the wrong place at the wrong time, has been knocked out (a-GAIN?) by Albatross. * TRAVELER has been up to see ECSTASY in the new Ivory Tower. She is feeling too elitist to cooperate with the Coast Guard, who are asking questions about Romantic's accident; he is too preoccupied with the rave to help them (though he managed a quick dip in the new hot tub, next to the new Towel Room, featuring PERIGRINE). An odd character calling himself ENTERPRISE (or was that Enterpoop?) showed up to see Trav, but then beamed out, leaving only a can of Spam[tm]. * At the Virtual Veterinary Hospital, Maharet has recovered at last from her battle with the Man in Black's cybercat, and is now off to find her master ZOROASTER. * At the Virtual Metropolitan Jail, SYLVAR/Jon Vallee--not only a coffee man but also a lawyer--has arrived to help DARICELL plan her defense against the charge that she tried to kill Zoroaster. GHOST, in the adjoining cell, is harassing VENKMAN, but now VBI agent STEFAN has come to ask Ghost to help him with an investigation into paranormal phenomena (Ghost being a very paranormal kind of guy). * And INLERAH and FIREFLYTE are outside the Cafe in the woods, aware that dark forces (Ahannos' magic, as well as Inle's shadowself Richard) are afoot... Whew...I think that covers everyone... :) User: Traveler Date: 28-Feb 02:20 PM 762445258
II.146 LOUCH, upon hearing of the new additions to the Ivory Tower, goes off in search of ECSTASY (see, spelling that correctly wasn't so difficult, now was it? :) ). "X, I was wondering if you could perhaps lend me some of your supplies, or at the very least let me know where you got them? I would appreciate it," she asks with an evil gleam in her eye... User: Louch... in quite an odd mood... *grin* Date: 28-Feb 02:30 PM 762445835
II.147 ALBATROSS steps from the Cafe cellar into the blinding doorway of light that has appeared in the wall. His form quickly disappears into the blaze, but the light and the noise of rushing wind has begun to awaken CADO, lying nearby. He rolls over in time to see the gardener vanish, and the portal fade away... At the very top of Ahannos' fortress, a similar portal has opened, in the middle of a round stone dais surrounded by pillars and overlooking the misty cove. Albatross steps through, his face blank. The doorway disappears, and a moment later Ahannos, with his cane, limps up the stairs from the temple just below. "Good," he says. "The portal works. I'd only tested it afore now. Come down here with me." He leads the way back down the stairs. In the temple chamber, he goes over to a thronelike wooden chair and sits. "Come," he beckons, and Albatross, now fully entranced, walks over. "You have been under my power since that first day I stopped in at your Cafe. I chose you, boy...I knew you were the right one. Destiny has made a place for you in my great work...the work of restoring the greatest empire this world has known." Ahannos gazes off into space for a moment, contemplating. Then he says, "The coin, boy. You have it?" Albatross mechanically pulls it out of his pocket and holds it out. "That is my link to you...that and the touch I laid upon you that day." He reaches up, and with a bony but surprisingly strong hand, tears Albatross' shirt at the collar. Now part of his shoulder is revealed...including what looks like a splotchy bruise. Ahannos mutters something quietly and makes a sign with his hand--and a glowing tracery of lines appears on Albatross' skin, in the shape of the familiar trident. "'Tis the mark of a servant of Atalani, boy. Be honored that you have been chosen...most of those who serve me here are undead, made from the bodies of the drowned. They are easier to control than living mortals...but also use up my store of magic energy. For this last part of the work I have labored for centuries to achieve, I need living servants...living flesh, and living blood. In fact the ritual which shall bring back Atalani requires the spilled blood of three mortals." The old man grins morbidly. "The energy I commanded you to release into your Cafe, from the reservoir beneath where it had slept since ancient times, 'as already led to one killing...I dunna understand exactly, but it seems the dark-magic field--which acts differently on all people, mind-- caused a split in one of your friends...a part o' her actually 'as broke off, and is walking about, all o' her dark instincts in the shape of a man." He smiles again. "The old books tell of such things happening, so it is no great surprise. But I dunna think I can rely on this walking soul-demon to kill for me again...even though such a death would increase the energy for the final ritual." He picks up a curved ceremonial dagger from a wooden table. "No, this time the sacrifice must 'appen here, in my temple." Albatross, though enthralled, seems disturbed, and steps back slightly at the sight of the knife. "No, not you, boy...you will not be the second sacrifice. You have a different destiny. For now, I need you to help me raise the energy back at your Cafe...today folk'd call it `increasing the psychic force' or some such. But the methods are as old as the sea." A small ceramic pot sits on the table, and he picks it up; a tiny, sickly- looking plant grows there. "See this? The last shoot of the kallostha plant. Once this grew all over the hillsides of Atalani...but this plant is from the last seed on earth." He tears the little shoot from the dirt and places it in Albatross' hand. "You will take it back to the Cafe, and plant it there. You will tend it well...if you give it good soil and water, it will grow quickly. In fact it will bloom with the full moon, in two nights' time. Then you will take the leaves, grind them up, and make sure that everyone gets a taste of them. You can do that, can't you, boy?" Albatross nods, silently. "Good. Now, up the stairs with you. I'll open the portal again, and ye'll go back. I'll summon you again with the coin if need be. And as always, ye'll forget that I have spoken to you..." User: Traveler Date: 28-Feb 06:25 PM 762459979
II.148 ECSTASY grins evily like the cacodaemon she is....."LOUCH, anything for a fellow phi sig. Here's a copy of the key. Just clean anything you use...." User: ECSTASY Date: 1-Mar 03:24 AM 762492252
II.149 More Towels, Mistress? Right away! I'll have them delivered to Ms. Louch's doorstep. User: Perigrine: How else do you clean leather? :) Date: 1-Mar 11:43 AM 762522246
II.150 The kitchen crew is starting to wear down with the double-shifts sometimes necessary since the Dark Lady's incarceration. Even the much-ballyhooed master baker DIQMAN has been at times irritable, sluggish and even... dare we say... bitter! <<*what I need now, more than anything, is a good talk...*>> Of course, all the usual culprits are busy in one way or the other, what with the arrests, murders, strange dark spirit halves, and nondematerializing Spam. Pulling out his VTT card (as a member of the (i) plan), he dials the familiar number of a friend from his past... -lots of somewhat smalltalk, catching up on the last few months, preminiscing about our upcoming class reunion... and other, darker news.- \\You remember Nicole from French class don't you? She was here.. I didn't know it, until recently, but over break, she had been really sick. They took her in for some tests... and found out she had leukemia...// <<That's ... I don't know.... *trying to maintain some calm* Why is it that everytime I talk to you, you have bad news? *mental note: unfair to ask Anna that question... besides there was good news too...* *-flashback: Christy... car wreck... what is happening to us?!-*>> DIQMAN, after finally confronting some fears, finishing the conversation, and attempting to sort out other complex details of life as it has been, starts to walk to TRAVELER's office, not sure whether he is going to ask for a leave of absence, to hand in his resignation, or just seek some sort of escape... <<*I can see the storm getting closer... and the waves they get so high... seems everything we've ever known's here... why must it drift away and die?*>> -the walkman falls silent, as the too-clear nature of the music suddenly becomes too much... and instead of TRAVELER's office, DIQMAN finds himself in the Blue Room, crosslegged in the corner, staring into the wall... User: ...diqman... the white plague strikes again... Date: 1-Mar 02:50 PM 762533643