Xanth--The Call

[Moneytalks]

Tainted...

took in the scene that had just played out her face remaining carefully neutral... and... yes... still damn ugly. She wondered if her plants were behaving. She wondered if her spell was still working on the boy. He was unusually susceptable and even though she was careful he would sometimes go days walking around in that mooney love-sick rapture.

The dragon howled sadly outside and she was brought back to the calling at hand. She stared pointedly at Bismuth hoping he'd get to the point quicker than was his want.

 

[RoseThorn]

Rose

Rose:

Rose sighed and moved her mandolin and pack a bit in the back of the cart to keep them from being trampled by the small child in the back of the wagon with her.

She'd gotten the cart driver to give her a ride, but his over energetic child had been in the package. Finally, growing tired of the comotion, Rose began to let a bit of her power waft over the girl. The child began to look like she felt awful, like she'd done something bad...

Rose sighed as child settled down, looking forlorn. She'd remove the effects before they stopped of course but for now the quite was nice. The call had hit her in the middle of a song. Irrtating. She'd been miles away, but, she reasoned, better late then never....

*****

"Thanks for the ride!" she called as the cart drove off and the beaming child waved. With a sigh she turned and walked inside the cottage...


[Edited by Ravenloft on 11-25-2000 at 10:06 AM]

 

[Roland Gilliad]

*Rolando, Realizing that Everyone was ignoring him for some odd reason, shrugged and kept munching on the Coal Biscuts, Not bad he thought, this guy knew how to treat guests, Rolando Sighed, Downing a little bit of the heating Oil, It was a Decent Vintage, He looked warily at everyone, Wondering If anyone would talk to him or if he should just listen,...*

 

[Angelus]

Cristian walked over to where Ether and Rolando sat and sat down with them. He took his quantlet off of his right hand and put his hand out.
"Hi, I'm Cristian. And you are?"
"My name's Rolando. Glad to meet you."
"You are? I wouldn't be - oh wait, you're the only one that I haven't had my sword to their throat yet. Which means that I should apologize to you. Sorry for what I did, but I didn't know what to expect from you."
Ether took Cristian's hand into his and smiled when he saw the look on Cristian's face. He then looked Cristian in the face and said, "Do you mind if I don't trust you yet. You have threatened mine and Robert's life."
"By all means, I don't mind - I guess that I will have to wait to gain your trust."
"Yes you will," Ether said.

 

[Roland Gilliad]

*Rolando Brought out a Deck of playing cards* Yo, Either of you know how To Play a Lil' Bit of Poker..*he grinned slightly* Good For ya Sometimes, It'd Be Somthin to Do While this Wizard Dude Is Getting his act together, SO whaddaya Say? *He looked at the two who seemed to be in thought*

 

[Ambrosious]

The house shook with a mighty roar as Bismuth changed Slither the dragon back to his original form. Damn dragons! Always so tempermental.

"Alright, alright, AHEM...LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...Would you...HEY!...What I mean is...QUIET!" Bismuth finally got everyone to be quiet, well, at least a little quieter!

"I have been waiting for some time for a few stragglers. However, let us proceed before you guys tear down my walls! The reason I called you is a grave one. If you will all step over to my looking glass, I'll show you. Right over here. Just step this way...come on...over here... NOW!"

The assembled group made its way over to the looking glass Bismuth was standing in front of. The frame was huge, and just inside the frame was a tired worn out piece of glass surrounded by a net. The net held everything in place and was tacked here and there to the wall. It currently displayed a serene picture of a young girl bathing in a stream. Bismuth looked at the looking glass and scowled.

"Damn inner net. Always looking at nubile females! Higgledy Piggledy!"

Saying Higgledy Piggledy had no effect whatsoever and Bismuth smacked the inner net with a resounding blow. The scene instantly changed and changed again. Each scene was pretty much the same as the one before. Every one was of a young child, held in a trance like state. Drool ran down the chins of several children. The group was disturbed by these scenes and wondered if something should be done about the inner net.

"What you are seeing is Xanth's children. Not only are these the children of the Land of Xanth, they also currently belong to ComPewter! WE ARE AT WAR! There is a bloody, vicious, terrible, battle being waged as we speak! explained Bismuth with great show. The group gave a collective gasp as the information just shared sank in.

"Ok...well...it's not really a war per se' it's...ah really like a multi-user fiasco. You see, ComPewter is collecting innocent children's souls in an attempt to monopolize all of Xanth!

"The group assembled here represents the finest in Xanth! Well, ok...not the finest, more like the ones whose names I could remember. No matter though. Your task is to infiltrate ComPewter's lair, steal or win back the souls of our children, and do something about that blasted InterNet... or something."

The group looked at each other then at Bismuth with slack-jawed wonder. Distract ComPewter? Steal souls? Was he serious? There was more than one murmur in the group as they realised that Bismuth was sinking back into his dementia.

"Squawk! Squawk!" he screeched as he ran around the room flapping his arms violently.

Bismuth would be no more help. It was now up to them.

[Edited by Ravenloft on 11-26-2000 at 04:20 PM]

 

[intriguess]

Sandy/ Angelica

Sandy, took in what he said and replied, "I don't have children and I'm not innocent. What is it you need for us to do?"

Angelica was perched outside feathers ruffled watching the Castle, she could smell cats from here. She didn't want to enter and now she was waiting for someone to exit.

[Edited by intriguess on 11-23-2000 at 05:58 PM]

 

[Angelus]

"I agree with Sandy," Cristian said. "I understand that innocent children are being hurt but I don't want to die trying to interrupt a plane of ComPewter's. It is not that I'm scared but there has to be an easier way."

[Edited by Angelius on 11-21-2000 at 09:43 PM]

 

[Roland Gilliad]

*Rolando Grinned, Putting his deck away* Now This is a Mission I can Like! *he gets up, noticing the insane wizard* Ya Know...I Think I should have brought a Mallet or Somthing.....*he chuckles, he had no weapons, he had his playing cards, and those were far deadlyer in this land, He watched them all go nuts, he out of all of them retained his composure, and wondered what he should do next, heading over to the Inner Net, He Grinned at the nekkid Women, Now He was 17, And nothing bad had happened here YET, He figured that either the adult conspiricy wasent watching right now, or They didnt think he was underage, he grinned, making a mental image, then turning away and walking to the table, he frowned at the absence of any more coal biscuts and so just had another flagon of heating oil, watching the rest of them, content to go on his own if need be, if they were all going to go wild across Xanth, There wouldnt be anything good coming out of this..So, Maintaining his Calm self, he watched and waited for THEM to get THEMSELVES Orginized..*

 

[Angelus]

Cristian looked at Bismuth and said, "Well, now that that is out of everybodies system I hope that you tell us what exactly we are doing here. If we have to save the children then I am all for that but I won't go rushing into danger by myself. What we need is a plan and if this computer game is the cause of what you are talking about then we have, no must bust it up."
Everyone looked at Cristian but didn't know what to say.


[Edited by Ravenloft on 11-26-2000 at 04:21 PM]

 

[Roland Gilliad]

*He stepped forward* Look People, Calm Down, This is the way I see it..*he started, Everyone Stared* The Fact Of the Matter Is, We Got No Choice But to Help these Kids, They're Innocent, And Really Shouldnt be Going through this..*He nodded sharply* Therefore, We Gotta Go In And Kick a Lil' Ass... Of Course, we Need more than Brute Force, We Need Cunning, Skill, Teqnique, And *he thumbs to himself* Someone Who Can Gamble Better Than Anyone..Especially When the Stakes are High...*He Threw out a hand dramaticly* I can Do This Alone, Or With Help, But Im Doing It Because I Know I can Pull it off, Now WHOS WITH ME! *He said very heroicly, He was trying to Rouse These Ninny-Hammers*

[Edited by Ravenloft on 11-26-2000 at 04:23 PM]

 

[RoseThorn]

Rose

Rose had stayed quietly in the back as things happened. The images of the children burned quietly into her brain. ComPewter had no right to do such a thing...

Some of the others began to groan about the impossable task and she raised an eyebrow. This certainly wasn't getting off very well. One set calmly and fiddled with a deck of cards. It was how he handled them that got her attention. She'd played enough pubs to know a professional when she saw him.

When he stepped forward to rally everyone, she quietly stepped to his side sending a wave of confedence through him.

"I'm in...." she said looking around at the others.

[Edited by Ravenloft on 11-26-2000 at 04:24 PM]

 

[Silverlily]

Lisarianne & Glory

Lisarianne nodded. "I'm in too. I don't have much experience dealing with ComPewters, but I'll do what I can." Something about Rose's voice made her feel confident.

Glory heard the whole thing from her place under that table. She was pretty sure she had been forgotten and could have crawled away, but Bismuth's description of those kids made her cry. Shaking, she crawled out and stood next to the lady in purple. "I'm in. I know I'm not much help and I will probably mess things up, but someone has to help those kids."

[Edited by Ravenloft on 11-26-2000 at 04:25 PM]

 

[Roland Gilliad]

*He sighed and surrendered to him, leaning back against the wall and fiddling with his deck again, he'd stick to cards thank you very much, Adventuring? bah, Leave that to the brainless brutes who got the physical work done, when it came down to brass tacks, he, Rolando, was the guy who got the Job Done, He nodded to the two who Followed Him, And Walked over to them* this guy's acting like we're going to war, all we want to do is stop and or win a cardgame...We're not out to destroy demons..We're out to beat them at their own game..*he sighed, he hated Physical Violence when it could be easily avoided* so, while he's over there raising an army, we should be here, figuring out how we get to this Game..Agreed? *The Two Nodded aprovingly enough* good, Now...*He taped his chin* where could we find out how to get into this cardgame..

 

[Ravenloft]

Robert Sith:

"Ah hell, who knows if what that ol crasy Bismuth says is really true? The only way to find out is to set out and adventure you younge whipper-snappers!" Robert started to act not so diferent from Bismuth now. Flinging his hands into the air and marching about the room in an odd manner. the moment he saw the little one, Glory, he stopped in his tracks though. Old wizards found it hard to rant when such a sweet thing was about.

 

[Silverlily]

OCC: I'm sorry, but I'm a little confused here.

Cryo - Rose is the one who can change people's moods. Lisarianne is a shapeshifter.

Roland - what two?

 

[Roland Gilliad]

ooc: Lisaranne & Glory And Rose's Char, Those Two, I consider the First To Be One Whole Char. *Grinz*

 

[Silverlily]

Lisarianne & Glory

OCC: Thank you (but they are completely different characters)

IC: Mostly out of curiousity, Lisarianne followed the card player. Was it possible Someone So Young could know anything about a poke-her table? He was Kind of Cute and obviously quite capable with the deck. Taking a seat, she calmly asked him to explain what he had in mind.

Meanwhile Glory was glued to the spot by the wizard with the furry eyebrows. Literally, she was stuck. Apparently there was something sticky on the floor, maybe left there by the dragon and she could not move. "Um, excuse me, but I'm, um, stuck," she said sheepishly to the wizard. SHe scratched her head a minute, "Robert, right? I don't usually get names right, but your's seems to fit you, kind of, something about your nose or maybe your ears. I don't know, but I could use some help. I don't want to be stuck here forever." Out of habit, her bottom lip disappeared as she bit it.

 

[Roland Gilliad]

*Roland tapped his chin* Well, It seems to me trying to STOP The game wont work, We gotta Win the game, and discourage them from playing it anymore, Luckily, I am a master at this game, And nothing has ever beaten me at it.*he grinned at that and pointed his finger up* But I dont know where they're playing, and, when we find it, how im supposed to play the game without any chips, as you can tell, the only soul i have is my own, and thats somthing im certainly not betting, *he said pointedly* so thats what we have to worry about...I am not good when it comes to this, so I will need all the mental power i can get...

[Edited by Ambrosious on 11-26-2000 at 04:43 PM]

 

[Angelus]

"Oh, what the hell, I'm in. It's not everyday you get to see Compewter losing, it might be interesting to watch but there is one thing. You don't exactly look like one of his minions; sorry to point that out but I thought that I would share it with you."
Everyone looked at Cristian as if he were the harbinger of doom but they knew he was telling the truth.
"That is no problem. I can disguise him, he will never know that he isn't a minion, that's no problem for me to do that," Bismuth said.
Cristian shook his head and groaned he doesn't know what I'm trying to point out he thought

[Edited by Angelius on 11-21-2000 at 09:45 PM]

 

[Ravenloft]

Robert Sith:

All it took was Glory's little lip bite to turn Robert into a quivering mass of obedience. He knelt down and offered her a hand. He smiled a doppy smile from ear to ear and his mustache waggled as he scrunched his nose. It gave him the look of a man far beyond his years. Oldish even.

 

[RoseThorn]

Rose

Rose sighed and watched the others talk, just taking things in.

"One question..." she said softly.

"Where exactly is this game at? And how do we get to it?"

[Edited by RoseThorn on 11-18-2000 at 12:16 PM]

 

[Moneytalks]

Tainted...

...chose this moment to speak. "The gel's right... we don't even know which way to start moving! No point having this whole discussion of whose goin' if we don't have anywhere to go..." Her limp hair fell forward and she brushed it back again impatiently.

"I guess.. if ya give us a destination.. I'm in.. you people need all the help you can get if ya really want to help those children..." She twitched her nose just a little and all the men in the room suddenly couldn't keep their eyes off her. "Damn..." she muttered to herself... "I gotta be more careful!" She shook her head roughtly and the men in the room all blinked in surprise at her ugliness.

 

[Roland Gilliad]

Quietly he spoke out lout to himself, "Your right, oh and I DO Happen to know what your talking about, but if i talked about it, those fools at the adult conspiricy Might not Like me..*he grinned a bit and nodded* But I dont know who we're supposed to talk to...And..* We Dont really have a Guide, so Unless we Go Ask...*he stopped, they all knew who he was talking about, but NO ONE wanted to spend a year of service to THAT guy...*

[Edited by Ambrosious on 11-26-2000 at 04:48 PM]

 

[Angelus]

Cristian decided to sit down at the table and allow everyone discuss the mission. He didn't seem to be contributing anything at the moment and those biscuits did look good. He sat back on his chair and watched while everyone argued back and forth with a smile on his face and a biscuit in his hand. Someone handed him a cup with some wine in it and he took it with a smile to see the beautiful woman sitting next to him.