Venefyxatu

I hate handcuffs, hate the idea of not being able to move my hands separately. I almost figured it out, though ... if only they'd give me ten minutes alone I could take them off. Everything has a weakness, and so do these things. Not that it matters much - from the way Steve keeps turning his head to the front windshield I can tell we're almost there. Oh yes, we're definitely as good as there ... a road as full of holes as this one is just has to be the end of any ride. See? Yeah yeah, I know the procedure ... I think I know it better than you guys by now, as often as you've been transferring me after the first three times I got out of those colanders the state calls prisons. Didn't help much, though, did it? At least, didn't help you keeping me locked up ... "So, we're finally ..." "Shut up Clarke." Heh ... when was the last time I said something without getting that answer again? It's almost as if they're scared I'm going to bewitch them or something. Doesn't matter, I can get them nervous without talking as well ... a slight smile and a conspiratory wink towards Steve will do the trick. It's hard not to grin when seeing them eyeballing each other after that, but I can manage ... until I see the dump we've arrived at, that is. They're actually going to try and keep me on the inside of that?? Give me two weeks, and I'm back after turning myself in again. Heh, this looks almost too easy to be true. I wonder if it is ... Hmm, I'd better get out of here before I find out it's actually the place where Frankensteins monster is kept. And I think I know how I'm going to do it, too ... Mr "I-want-to-look-tough-so-I-don't-shave" there has given me an idea. "My God, it IS alive!" "Shut UP Clarke!" Heheheh ... he's so going to keep an eye on me ... probably warn his colleagues as well. Now I just have to get the others to cooperate.

Name : Duncan Clarke Age : 26 Race : Caucasian Gender : Male Marital status : Single Admitted August 11, 2004 In school, Duncan was always the class nerd; the only reason he was left alone by most of the others was that they all wanted to be on his good side during the exams. Generally seen as not very social, nobody ever suspected that it was him who drove the class bully to commit suicide. The feeling of power he got from knowing he could make someone else take their own life was an instant addiction, however. He started hanging out in chatrooms, spending all of his time honing both his acting and computer skills. He loves pretending to be someone else, chatting with someone for months on end, perfecting the lie in every small detail while slowly driving them to commit suicide. It doesn't matter whether it takes months or more than a year, the time spent chatting is time he spends gathering every little scrap of information he can get on his victim as well, both to feel closer to them and to be able to check how they killed themselves afterward. He was caught after the Jelksen twins suicide (which he greatly enjoyed) - a routine check revealed him to carry a folder with detailed information on both of the girls, including some explicit pictures. The officer who found the folder was rather close to the twins, so he got deeper into the matter, pulled some strings and had Duncan arrested. Duncan confessed everything he'd done, from the first to the last suicide, and was the first person ever to be convicted to 1789 years of imprisonment for making other people commit suicide. Assessment of the state : Subject seems sometimes proud, sometimes indifferent to being single-handedly responsible for 43% of suicides in his state and has claimed a few times that it made him feel "all-powerful". He sometimes expresses guilt and regret, claiming that he would never start again if given the chance, and sometimes claims exactly the opposite. Neither claim could be concluded to be false. Should not be left unsupervised with easily influenced persons.

First of all, thanks for explaining! It'll still take quite a lot of thinking on my part (or perhaps sleeping with your printed explanation under my pillow ^^ ) but I might actually understand it in the end. The thing that will take me longest, though, is the part about light being able to travel at the speed of light because, for light, all distances are 0. In my mind, this is disproven by the simple fact that light needs time to cross certain distances. I probably shouldn't take just that single piece of the theory and look at it, though, but rather look at the broader perspective. I'll think on it, and then probably come back with more (and hopefully more intelligent / better funded) questions That's also an interesting idea ... the idea of there being nothingness. Just like infinity, a very hard concept for our human minds By the way, has anyone ever read the Dark Tower series from Stephen King? Not exactly a scientific work, but it had another interesting theory ... that of our universe being only a bit of matter in another universe. I believe this is rather close to another theory I once heard about the resemblance between solar systems and atomic structures. I don't know too much about either, though.

According to my trusty dictionary, infinite means "without limits in space or time". Time is not as easy to explain my point of view for, but I'll try. I'll split it in two parts : past and future.Past : since the universe was, at one point, "started", there was no universe before that. That means that there is a point in time where the universe has an extremity, where there is a clean cut between "no universe" and "a universe". As for the future : so far there is no end of the universe in time at our end of time (fortunately). I'm sure some mathematician could come up with a term like "infinite to one side" or something, but as far as I'm concerned, we may assume that the universe is infinite towards the future until proven differently. So that means that in time, the universe is either half-infinite, for those willing to accept such a term, or not infinite at all since there was a beginning. Next : space. If the universe is expanding, then there must be somewhere to expand into. Which means that there is a space in which there is no universe (i.e. the space into which it is expanding) and a space in which there is universe (i.e. the universe itself). So if there is a space in which there is no universe, then the universe is not infinite in space. What I'm about to say might cause some philosophers / scientists / ... turn in their graves, but apparently that's good against bedsore. All my prevous ramblings would mean that the universe is only infinite in half a dimension out of four (to those willing to accept it being half-infinite in time), or most definitely finite (to those not willing to accept that). Interesting thought! That would make it infinite in space for all practical purposes, but still not infinite according to my previously explained theory though On a related note : I've never understood why nothing would ever be able to go faster than the speed of light. I know, I'll never be a rocket scientist, but that won't stop me from playing with words and ideas as I have here. Edit : I cna tpeay 493 wdsro pr mntiau

Venefyxatu put away a rounded piece of clear quartz and got up from the stone bench as he saw Patham approaching. Leaning on his staff, the necromancer waited for Patham to come near enough before speaking. "Good evening, and a happy birthday to you. I hope you've enjoyed the other activities so far?" When Patham told him that it was indeed so Venefyxatu invited him to follow him, went through the old wrought iron gates and started walking down the moss-covered path. When he noticed that Patham wasn't following, though, he turned around to see him standing at the gates, a little uncertain. "Don't worry, the dead do not rise by themselves ... at least not while I'm around. In fact, that is what I wanted to talk to you about." He smiled slightly when he saw Patham setting aside his uneasiness and entering the old graveyard and, as they walked together, Venefyxatu explained with his characteristically soft voice. "You see... the dead do not rise just like that. It requires careful manipulation of necromantic energies, either by a necromancer such as myself, or sometimes by the soul of one who has died. If they all start rising, the best thing is to get out as fast as you can and however you can. Don't hesitate if you have to ... for lack of a better word, kill one - they are naught but corpses, soulless, mindless and animated much like puppets. If only one of them rises, though, it could be interesting. Whatever the stories say, you cannot know whether it is evil or good just by looking at it, much like a human." Seeing Patham's slightly surprised look, Venefyxatu continued. "Necromancy and undead are not evil of themselves... necromancy can be and is very often used for evil purposes, but on the whole there is a very delicate balance, between life and death as well as between good and evil. The energy ... even though it's very strong and has some unpleasant qualities, it just is. Let's sit down for a few moments." They had arrived in front of a small mausoleum and sat down on one of the marble benches. It was in remarkably good condition, especially compared to the rest of the graveyard. "If the energy isn't used ... well ... in the end, there would be so much of it that it would become sentient. It would start animating corpses itself, it would turn not only against us necromancers, but against everything and everyone, including itself. It is that which is the most important tast of a necromancer, not just raising corpses and fighting wars. We make sure that the energy stays under control, and in doing so we learn a lot because the dead often have interesting things to say and knowledge to share that might otherwise be forgotten." Venefyxatu paused for a few moments, to let it all sink in. "If you concentrate, you might even be able to sense it - it's quite strong around here. Just close your eyes, and concentrate on the energies around you." While Patham closed his eyes, Venefyxatu looked around, enjoying the soft moonlight on the gravestones, his mind carefully manipulating the necromantic energies in such a way that would make it easy for Patham to feel them. When the latter gasped, Venefyxatu looked up and answered the question before Patham could begin to form it. "Yes, that was it. I'll admit that there are probably more pleasant and less dangerous energies to work with but as long as it is kept under control you needn't fear a graveyard. Patham did notice that he didn't feel as uneasy anymore, in fact, he was even starting to feel quite comfortable. "But I think I already kept you here a little longer than I was supposed to and I'm sure Cryptomancer has something really interesting prepared for you. I'll teleport you if you don't mind ... you should be just in time then." When Patham agreed, Venefyxatu got up and went through the delicate words and gestures of a teleport spell. A moment of darkness later, Patham found himself in the Pen Keep. It wasn't until late the next day, however, that Venefyxatu returned to his own rooms.

They had known possibly that, making the examinación, sufficient, that they divide some the coffee of other bathtubs of the bath. Then she is not the remarkable person of the fight due to this material. In other words : You know, maybe there's another bathtub full of coffee somewhere. Then you wouldn't have to wrestle for it. My favourite description of this website so far is : "Oooh, grammar messing up thing!"

I used to do this manually, but now that I have a website to do it for me I'm going to have fun with it Some examples : "I seem to have lost the connection" becomes "I look like connection to destroy." I was already wondering why I looked so ... so ... connection-like this morning! Of course, I had to include this one : "The pen is mightier than the sword." becomes "The program of reading of the matita one is more efficient of the lamierina." Come again? Ohh, idea! How about I mangle this thing completely by combining it with GoogleTalk Revisited? (http://relet.net/gtr) You give the start of a sentence, and this website completes it for you... maybe after translating it 10 times something intelligent will come out I entered "Linux is" as the start of a sentence. What comes out is this : Linux is... more secure, so the description of these formalisms. students sometimes remain confused about how to design your website with microsoft internet explorer. download, now to help maintain your good health. summer 2003. vol. 16, nr. 1, eingegriffen, The last word is German if you ask me, so I'll leave that out. By the way, is that a threat? "download now to help maintain your good health"? After several translations : Linux... is obstructed, to follow the description of these participants of the category of the code of the rest of the formality in the method to understand that its site of the Web with transference of the system centers them for the satellites of Microsoft Internet Explorer, so that the hour helps, its good summer 2003. Volume. 16, NR the end to modernize to the times konfus of the health. 1, Still gibberish ... and improving the punctuation slightly doesn't help at all. Just one more. "I am called Venefyxatu" becomes "They are called Venefyxatu." Close, but no cilindrical smoking thingie ... Oh well, one day I'll find a sentence that translates correctly!

Before I start this you should know a few things. The following story actually happened in a Dungeons & Dragons session. My character, Achib el Assis Ibn Moussif El Rasjid, is a magical item collector. Unfortunately, he also has a knack for finding the wrong people to buy items from. I agreed with the DM that I'd get nothing but "screwed-up" magical items, essentially the real thing but with a twist. I've bought love potions thinking they were healing potions, found the Gloves of Almost Face Punching (which lower my dexterity score ... when I put them on for the first time I nearly tripped and punched my own face, hence the name), bought a Wand of Pffft (fireballs that fade away by the time they reach the target and couldn't even light a candle), gave someone a Bag of Endless Wine (which happened to be sour wine), etc. This character is great fun to play, especially because I play him as having a (badly imitated) Indian accent. The sentence "In my country ... " can be heard several times each gaming night, and he leaves a lot of room for silly interpretation of whatever is being said. One day a party member died and we needed money to pay for his resurrection if possible. So all of us decided they'd do whatever they were best at, and since Achib is essentially a merchant he decided to sell some of his magical items (with bleeding heart, of course ). In case you're interested, I'll quickly cover what *really* happened at the end of this post. In a narrow alley two men are talking, or rather, one of them is talking while the other one is listening. The man doing the listening looks a bit dirty and has eyes that keep darting around as if he's expecting the guards at any moment. The man doing the talking is completely different. Extremely tall, he seems even taller because of his purple turban with a large, ornate feather in it. The long, flowing robes he wears are purple as well and reveal just the curled toes of a pair of comfortable-looking shoes. After getting used to the way he looks, an observer might notice two dull grey stones whirling around his turban. His speech is accompanied by wide gestures and animated facial expressions as though he's telling a story he enjoys very much. Also, in his hands, he seems to be holding something made out of cloth. You see, this robe, isse no ordinary robe, not even an ordinary magical robe. No, this isse a very very very powerful magical item, one that saved the lives of me and my friends not so long ago. So why are you selling it then? The other one interrupts, to which the stranger gets a somewhat pensive look and strokes his mustache. Well, you see, we really really need money and to get it together we all must help, so I am selling some of my favourite items because they are the most powerful ones we have so we will get the most money for them. But this is just a robe of useful items, and one of the patches has been torn off! I'm telling you, you're not getting any more than 1300 gold pieces for it. The other one interrupts again. Nonono, it is worth a lot more than that. You see, because of the patch torn off I know that this is no ordinary robe of useful items. It is a very very very very very powerful robe, with extremely very very very powerful items, too. I will tell you the story of what happened that made me tear of that patch. You see, we were on a boat, my friends and I. For some days everything was juuuust fine, smooth weather, good sailing and all that. But then ... The purple-robed stranger leans forward a bit, widening his eyes and pausing for dramatic effect. Then, a storm came. It was a very bad storm, threw us completely off-course, but the captain, he was a good captain so we did not sink, but even he could not see in the storm because the ship was being thrown around by these huuge waves, you see. The storyteller makes wide arm gestures, indicating just how incredibly big these waves were. And with all the clouds and the rain and the thunder and the lightning we suddenly hit a big rock that hadn't been there before! As the stranger once more pauses for dramatic effect, he notices that the other one is listening with fascination. So we were stuck. On the rock, with the boat. The boat was stuck on the rock and had a hole in it, so it was sinking. There was nothing we could do, you see, because we couldn't fix the boat in that weather and it was sinking anyway, so I tore off one of the patches and threw it on the deck! As he says this, the purple-robed man makes a throwing gesture with his right arm as if he's actually throwing a piece of cloth to the ground. And what did I get? Not just anything, no, the patch magically transformed into ... ... a chicken! But not just an ordinary chicken, oh nononononono. This was a very very very powerful magical chicken! I knew it had to be useful, you see, because it came from the robe of useful items, but what use could a chicken have on a sinking boat in a storm you ask? Well, I will tell you. I picked up the chicken and held its legs, and then all the others formed a chain and held on to me. While I was still holding the chicken, of course. And then, then it happened! The chicken revealed her power, because it flew away with all of us! Of course, it was a bit of a crazy sight, all of us hanging from a magical, flying chicken, but it did save us from drowning in the stormy sea. So the chicken, it flew with us all the way to the land, where it disappeared, poof. So you see that this was a very very very very very very powerful magical chicken, because if it hadn't been so very very very very very powerful it wouldn't have disappeared, because everybody knows that such powerful magical items don't stay in this world for very long. The other one nodded slowly, still impressed by the story. Riight ... you know what, that really was an amazing story, and it's definitely worth more... I'll give you three thousand gold for it. Deal! --- Now, as to what really happened : I did get a chicken, but it was an ordinary, everyday common chicken. While on the boat I tried making it fly away with me (and failed). Fortunately the boat got repaired and we got to a harbour. I immediately decided to use the chicken as a way to advertise for our mage's "knowledge shop" : put some signs on it and having it run around the town. I never saw it again, even though I explicitly told it to come back before nightfall! By the way, while this sale made the most money, the one that had the most value for what I was selling was that ordinary stone I sold for 500 gold pieces. I love this character!

Nathan was a master at blending in with a crowd as was proven once more. Suppressing a proud grin he shuffled along, just another face among the many. That retarded guard captain would never find him, never suspect him, never think some of the beggars were ... but he mustn't think of that now. He had to concentrate on shuffling along, always shuffling, never running, never too fast, always slow, at the same speed as the others, blending in, not standing out. Yes, that was the trick, the con, the way to fool other people. You could kill and hurt and steal and murder and cut and stab and slash and hit as long as you didn't look guilty, didn't run, didn't stare more than anyone else, didn't look as though you knew anything about what had just happened. Nobody paid attention to a shuffler, but everybody would see someone who ran, someone who fleed, someone who was speeding away, see you they would if you did those things. He had almost been too late, too, not on time, too late would've been bad. The Torn One would have been displeased, very unhappy, very angry with Nathan if he'd been too late, too slow, not fast enough. But now he would be happy and pleased, glad to see Nathan, because the traitor was dead, a cold corpse on the street, killed. He would never betray the Torn One again, would never betray anyone again, would never speak again, would never tell anything, would keep his secrets, keep the Big Secret, like Nathan, only Nathan was not dead, he was alive and breathing and suffling along and returning to tell the Torn One that the traitor was killed dead with a dart and poison. Caleb was the only one from the Cult who didn't lead a double life in the village. He didn't mind living in these caves, nor did he miss the village life. Every time he saw one of those bumpkins he wanted nothing more than go into a bloody frenzy and slaughter everything in view. True, some of them had potential, the select few who had been chosen by Netkal Himself. He could stand them, if they weren't around him for too long. That's why he had them hiding in plain view, right under Garrick's nose, where he wouldn't expect them. He cuckled. "Garrick ... you sseek 'ut do not hhind ... you'll neher hhind uss, and e'en ih you do, there 'ill 'e otherss. The Cult o' Netkal 'ill hherssisst." When there was a knock on the door, Caleb turned towards it and crossed his arms across his chest. Standing in the middle of the room, he was flanked by two torches and stood on stones that were a brownish red with the dried blood of victims. "Enter." The door was pushed open and Nathan shuffled in. He hardly looked at Caleb, but that was normal. What was important was that he didn't look very frightened. The corners of Caleb's lifted in a ghastly grin, even though he knew the effect was wasted on Nathan. The poor sod hardly paid attention to his surroundings - it was a miracle he was still alive. "Nathan, you 'ring good news?" "Yes Torn One, the traitor is dead and killed and ..." "Good. You 'ill ha'e a s'ecial role in the next cere'ony." Nathan grinned happily and shuffled out again, already lost in his own little world.

Jack scratched his bottom and sat down on a log with a sigh and started eating a chocolate bar. With a belch he produced his list of items again, trying not to get chocolate stains on it and failing miserably, and looked it over. Right ... so I've finally got the coconut, but still didn't find a coin ... how are we supposed to find the things anyway? It's like looking for a coin on an island! Amused by his own ... let's call it wit, Jack stopped thinking for a few moments to chuckle. Resuming the thought process was difficult, but somehow he managed. So let's see, what else do I still have to find? The sock? I still didn't run into one. I wonder if they mind a sock with holes in it? At that precise moment Jack noticed an odd colour in the brush in front of him. Closer investigation revealed it to be ... indeed, a sock! With renewed courage, he continues his search for the last item on his list, the coin. And hopes that the wrapper of a chocolate bar will do ... OOC : Oops, I guess I was writing while you were posting, Katz Anyway, congrats to the wolves ... you easily-corrupted contestants

"Oh, and Stacy? You happen to know what this is?" With a belch Jack comes a little closer to point out one of the items on his list. As Stacy looks at it she frowns for a moment, then she laughs as she suddenly realizes what it is. "Those little lizards are hard to catch." "Heh ... I once read a book on catching lizards it didn't sound too hard." They discuss for a few moments more before each going their own way. --- Jack grinned broadly at Johnny. "You betcha I won't forget! Hey, when we get back, I know this really great bar we could pay a visit to ... owner is a friend of mine, whaddaya say?" OOC : Catching lizards is a personal joke from a roleplaying group ... I couldn't resist the temptation of working it in here

With a quick nod to herself Tanny produces the bag of gold they had got from Bralak and shakes it slightly, the heavy clang of gold (combined with some metal to make the bag look heavier, although none of the orcs know this) stopping the orcs in their tracks for a moment. Even Stephen can sense the greed radiating off of them as they all look at the bag, thinking how much they'd like to possess that. It doesn't last long, however, as Grashk yells. "That is the gold they took from Bralak in exchange for their worthless potion! They would've done the same to you!" The Nargribs grumble at the thought of these two tricking them out of their gold and start pressing closer again, weapons swinging and ready to kill. Just as Tanny starts executing plan D by tossing the bag of gold coins into the crowd over the heads of some amazed orcs, the heavy thunder of an orc army becomes audible. Stephen hisses a warning at Tanny, and she blinks on feeling the trundling feet through her link to earth. "What the..." There's a big commotion in the center of the Nargrib crowd as they start to grab at and fight for the gold, all of them wanting some of it, their grunts and cries neatly drowning any chance of hearing the approaching army. The ones closest to Tanny and Stephen, who can't reach the gold anyway, are too busy attacking to pay attention to anything besides their prey, so only the ones at the edge of the crowd actually notice the thundering noise. When they look up, they notice a Grushkahn army that's closer to them than they like, with Bralak marching at the front. They gulp and form defensive lines, frantically yelling for the other Nargribs to join them and forget about the humans. The confusion is absolute: Tanny is using her knives for all she's worth, Stephen is dodging axe and club blows while knocking the orcs that come too close back with his staff, and several of the orcs are fighting among themselves to get their hands on the gold. Kahr is starting to work her magic and Bralak is doing exactly the same to protect his army. To add to all this, the Grushkahns charge with a mighty battle cry. "Stephen!" Hearing Tanny's voice to his left, Stephen starts fighting his way in her direction, knowing that she'll be working her way to the forest. Just as he knocks one of the orcs down, he hears a knife whirling past his ear and striking an orc, thus preventing it from hitting him. Turning quickly, Stephen snatches the knife back before the orc even starts to fall and slips it into his belt so he can return it later. Having found a second's respite, Tanny shimmers into her tanuki form adding to the confusion, as several orcs start crying "Sorcerer! Sorcerer, kill the sorcerer!" and the ones to the back, not having seen the transformation, turn to one side and the other looking for the unknown sorcerer. The small figure of the tanuki darts between the legs of the orcs, expertly avoiding the stamping feet, surprising those still looking for humans or sorcerers. Making a circle and seeing that Stephen has managed to clear a circle around him and his edging his way toward the forest, Tanny jumps onto the leg of the nearest orc, who yelps and reaches a hand out. She quickly jumps into the next orc's waistband and scrambles up his back as a fist hammers into the spot she has just left at the orcs' back. "Stupid pig!" Roars the owner of the back, swinging his sword against his attacker while Tanny jumps onto the shoulder of a third warrior. "Not you, brainless idiot! The sorcerer, there!" The orc ducks, pointing at Tanny, who's in the process of jumping onto the head of yet another orc. The ducking causes another orc to lose quite a chunk of malodorous armor and flesh, while a javelin strikes the shoulder where Tanny had been a moment before and a sword dents the helm and dizzies the orc wearing it, missing by inches Tanny's tail as she keeps jumping from one orc to the other, also heading for the forest. Stephen can barely make out the source of the extra confusion, though he guesses that the shouts of "sorcerer" can just be caused by Tanny's changing into one or other form. A shriek to his right calls his immediate attention and he swings his staff into an orc's midriff, making him release Tanny's tail. She falls to the ground, breathless, mentally cursing long tails in bodies small enough to be lifted by the tail. More cries come from another side, as more and more orcs take notice of the engaging army of Grushkahns, and the hesitation of their pursuers gives Stephen time to grab Tanny's tail and drag her protesting form into the forest. As soon as they reached the relative safety of the trees, Stephen lets go and Tanny shimmers back into her human form. "Stephen!" "I apologize, but let's keep the discussion for when we're not near two orc tribes trying to get both us and themselves killed." As they make their way through the forest, they can hear the frantic yells of Kahr who is trying to get the two tribes to stop fighting long enough to go after the humans. From the sound of it, she's actually succeeding as well, although it will probably take them some time to disentangle the fighting orcs. Tanny and Stephen use this time to put more distance between them and the tribes, but by nightfall they have to stop to rest. "Contingency plans..." Tanny pants, trying to get enough oxygen into her brain to make it work again, "We should have gone farther. K is nowhere near enough for Wyvern!" "We were surrounded by... what? One-point-fifteen tribes of orc, and that would be around... 230 orcs..." "Yeah... and we had to get to the other side of them. Which we did." "Against chances of... 1 to 1 million?" Tanny, finally breathing in a calmer way, glares at Stephen even if she knows it's wasted on him. "You really have a penchant for mathematics, don't you?" "A bit. Now, what are our options? From the noise, it seems we may have more than 1.15 tribes hunting us right now." "We're doomed, you know?" Stephen agrees, concentrating his keen hearing into the distant sounds. "One option. The other one is that we're going to die." "Very doomed." Tanny sighs, touching her hand to the earth and looking for its soothing contact. "That's option C. Maybe bribing and talking our way out..." "Not likely. They're stupid, but right now they're enjoying the hunt too much. If all else fails, we'll have to fight our way through..." Tanny starts channeling energy, frowning a bit. "If even that fails, maybe they take us as prisoners and we can escape somehow? What are you doing?" "Because of the chance of us getting out is exactly 1 to 1 million against, both option D and option E absolutely cannot fail, and I think that even option F is still quite good." There's a soft rustle around them, and Stephen turns quickly with his bow ready. "Remind me what option E is?" "Fighting our way out. Don't move, it's just some vines..." Falling into an easy pattern of energy, Tanny touches the vines around them, and slowly they start to move and knit into each other. After getting a tangle placed between two rocks, she makes a small pause and then looks for the vines that hang from the branches. In some more minutes, there's a very net-like tangle of vines dangling between two trees. Even without seeing the results, Stephen grins. From the sounds and the patterns of energy he could feel, he can tell more or less what Tanny has done. "Nice work. That should stop them for a few moments, giving us another few moments go get back to ... " Stephen suddenly stops talking and frowns worriedly. "Stephen? What's wrong?" "We forgot one thing. Where exactly is it that we need to get back to? Is there a way to get back through the portal from this side?" They both sit in dumbfounded silence for a moment, each wondering how they could've missed such an important detail. After a while Tanny gets up. "We're not going to get back by just sitting here, that's for sure. Let's go find the place where we arrived, and see from there." Stephen agrees and they both set off again, trying to maximize the distance between them and the orc tribes. After about an hour, though, they both stop at the same moment, realizing that they'll need to rest if they're going to survive this. As they sit trying to catch their breath, they notice that they can't hear the orcs anymore. "Do you hear that," Tanny asks. "Yes ... absolute silence. We should have time for some sleep. After all, the orcs can't go on forever either." Tanny nods. "I'll take first watch." "No. We'll both need our sleep. They're far enough behind us I think, and if you can create another one of those wards we should be safe enough. I'll check to see how far they are, just to be safe." Stephen breathes deeply and concentrates on Earth, following his instinctive link to her and opening himself for the information he knows is there. Little by little, he feels the heavy thread of Orc feet, and also the faint corrupting touch that involves the Orc Shaman. Stephen's channeling is felt immediately by Tanny, who observes in mild surprise. The pull of his rapport with earth tingles in her mind, and she opens herself to her own link. The Ranger counts softly the number of feet he can feel, at the same time noticing the subtle characteristics of the land around the pursuing party. ::So, far enough from here...:: The soft voice in his mind startles Stephen, and he almost loses control of his link. An alien touch steadies him as he hastily grabs its threads. ::Don't ever do that again!!:: There's a touch of irritation as he glares at Tanny in thought, calming his racing heart. ::Silly wolf...:: Grumbling, he lets his link dissolve. Tanny blinks, surprise making her voice come in a whisper, "Stephen.... do you know what you've just done?" "Got information through earth. It's something..." "No, I didn't mean your link. You snapped at me and I heard that. Clearly." It's Stephen's turn to blink. "Mindspeech? I mindspoke to you?" She nods. "Clearly. And I wasn't in wolf form." They sit and discuss quietly for some minutes, Stephen describing his link to earth as a means to get information and Tanny explaining how sensitive she is to any energy channelling and how she had followed his link. "Earth is the common element for both of us. Through her I work my magic, and you get information. If we are both linked to her at the same time..." "... you think we can mindspeak." Some quick experimentation easily shows them that it is actually so, and also that a deep rapport to earth isn't needed. However, Stephen grins ruefully. "I'm not used that that intermediary level of linking... I'm always lightly linked to earth, and I need a deep link to get information. But going to an intermediary state isn't that instinctive." "We can work on it... but I guess it has to come later. We still need to get some sleep." Tanny nods, geting up to set up her ward while Stephen starts making himself comfortable. Not much later the two lie sleeping peacefully, but subconsciously still aware of the danger that could find them at any moment. A very soft noise wakes Tanny, whose ears twitch to catch its direction while her mind goes over the wards. There's a faint stink coming with the breeze, and then a muffled shriek. She opens her eyes carefully, surveying the camp from her nestling place under some bushes. Stephen, lying down on his side, seems to sleep and even snore, but some subtle tension on his shoulders convince Tanny that he's also feigning. ::Stephen?:: As Tanny had hoped, her friend's current link to earth is enough for her tugging of energy and mental nudge make him go into the right level for mindspeaking. The answer comes as a whisper. ::There's something lurking nearby.:: ::It hasn't come into the perimeter of the wards, and it walks too softly for an orc... Tanny smiles then, finally matching the growing stink with her memory. Ooooh... don't move, Stephen. It'll feel the wards and go away in a minute... though I think I'll speed a bit his way... A deft threading and pushing with earth and water results in an unexpected dousing for the small night visitor, who darts away while Tanny giggles soflty. Stephen's mind-voice is puzzled, and she grins. ::There was a quite big puddle of water collected in a depression of a branch... it needed quite a bit of pushing, but I really didn't feel like risking a spray from our curious friend.:: While Tanny finishes her explanation and sends Stephen in a fit of giggling, the little skunk shakes himself quite angrily, arching his tail high but soon deciding that water wouldn't really count as an enemy. He soon has his attention caught by another scent, and scurries off looking for more food. Danger doesn't find either Stephen or Tanny that night, after all, and after a short breakfast they set off again, moving quickly to regain the time lost. With both of them accustomed to moving through forest they don't hear the orcs anymore until they arrive at that hilltop ...

Jack stops at a brush that's grown so full it almost looks like a natural wall. "Well whaddayasay, Zak? Looks like there's already one wall there ... Back in boyscouts we used to do it that way as well." The two quickly divide the tasks, Jack making sure that he gets more supervising to do than anything else and they get to work, Jack's belching and comments ("No, you're supposed to do it like this", "it'll be easier like that", "where'd you learn that?", ...) not really helping. After some time, though, there are two rough huts there that look as though they might keep some rain out. OOC : Aren't we supposed to vote?

As Jack saw Zak heading in one direction, he decided that it might be a good idea not to trail off by himself, especially after what had happened at the canoes. He grabbed his pack and headed in the same direction Zak had gone, with a belch and a loud, "Hey, Zak, wait up buddy! Think I got some more peanuts here, too!"

That would've been riskier as well ... if even one of the participants decides they don't like this, then the station can forget about the show ....

Sitting on his luggage, Jack turned to Zak, took off his camouflage-pattern cap to scratch his head and accepted that beer with a grin. With an expert gesture he opened the bottle and emptied half of it. Just as Jessica's bag was weighed again, Jack let out one of the loud belches that most of the other contestants would quickly learn to avoid. By the time it was his turn to have his luggage weighed, he'd already finished his beer. As he was waiting, he wondered whether he should've put the peanuts somewhere else than in his pocket - they might get squashed if he sat down in one of those airplane seats. With a satisfied belch, Jack returned to the others when his luggage was found to be exactly the allowed weight ...

Instead of attractive female applicants, however, the first person Johnny saw was Jack. Unfortunately for Johnny, Jack had seen him and decided he'd get to know his competition a little bit. With a complicated gesture that can only be performed by someone who has spent years practicing in bars and philophising while his brains were busy being extremely happy in a large amount of alcohol, Jack used one arm to simultaneously invite Johnny over and order him a beer. Johnny, not one to turn down a free beer, decided to join Jack and almost immediately decided to breathe as little as possible as well. Drinking quickly to prevent his drink from going stale, Johnny did his best to remain polite ... and succeeded somehow. As soon as he could leave without being (overly) rude, though, Johnny excused himself and left the cafetaria while Jack ordered another drink for himself ... OOC : I apologise profusely for messing up your chance to use the cafetaria to talk to one of the attractive female applicants, but this opportunity was just too good to pass up

Regretting it? No way! When I was writing up Jack's application I suddenly got bitten by that writing urge again ... yay!

When the next applicant entered the room the clerk had to look twice to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him. It couldn't be ... this guy looked like he could hardly survive a long bus trip without getting withdrawal symptoms, and he was going to spend the duration of the show on an island? Yeah, right ... he'd be willing to make bets on this guy voting himself out. Preceded by what he tended to call his Liquid Grain Storage Facility (but what other people just called his beer belly), Jack entered the room, dirty sweat-drenched shirt opened a few buttons, worn trousers that were just a bit too short and shoes that looked as though they were made before the wheel was invented. When Jack took the form from the clerk he stopped chewing his bubble gum long enough to let out a belch and grin as if that was the funniest thing he'd ever done. The clerk's eyes crossed before he could restrain himself and point to a table far enough away so that he wouldn't have to smell the guy for a few moments. Jack sat down and started deciphering the form, carefully using his finger to indicate his position, writing slowly in the required fields. When he handed the paper back to the clerk the latter saw that somehow this guy had managed to get several grease stains on it without even eating. With a sigh of relief, he watched the guy enter the interview room after being called in. They wouldn't be crazy enough to accept this guy, would they? ~ The interview ... or at least part of it ~ "So why did you want to be in the show?" Jack hadn't had two questions yet and already his brain was spinning in its beer-bath - the woman doing the interviews should be treated for being hyperactive or something! "Well ... " Belch. " ... I've got this thing about going back to nature, you see?" Belch. The woman's grin had been fossilized on her face by now, but Jack didn't notice. "It'll be like the boy scouts all over, only better, you know? Taught me all about surviving, they did ... I'd make a great asset ..." Beeeeeeelch "... to any team, what wit' all of my outdoor skills." Scratch, scratch. "And of course there's the companionship you develop out there" Chew, scratch, BELCH. ~ When Jack left the room with that "I-knew-they'd-want-me" air, both the clerk and the woman decided to take a break. A long one!

Sorry for taking so long ... I've had quite a lot on my hands. As a matter of fact I have this idea that I still do, but with a long weekend coming up I should have enough time I'll be playing Jack D. Nillebergh, Couch Potato Extraordinaire. He's the kind of guy who always knows better, even though what he's best at is converting beer into belch gases. But hey, who would be afraid of a guy who does nothing but hanging around, giving bad advice and belching, right?

As a matter of fact, I rather enjoy the mix of fantasy and realism. It is intriguing to compare the fantasy setting you describe to the world we live in, and look for possible explanations of all the fantasy references in a real-world setting. If you know what I mean?

Oohh, PM alliances ... now there's something new! Now, to think of a good character for this ... (read all that as : "count me in" )

Whoop! I was right for once! Yay! I had a lot of fun with this game, even though I missed a few phases.

Duke leaned calmly on his crutches. "Yes, I think Ricky had help ... unless he put the powder in her pompoms before he killed himself? The thing is, I don't think we'll find out until it's too late and somebody else gets one of those "accidents". And then ... " He hesitates for a moment before continuing. "I know it's not me causing these "accidents" , and I can't imagine Tiffany causing them. That leaves Sue and you from the nominees ... I think both of you are capable of doing it, even though I'd hate to think it was either one of you." OOC : Not changing my vote ... yet. I can be persuaded

Duke was rather quiet throughout the discussion. He, too, was convinced that somebody else was trying to sabotage things, but he absolutely had no idea about who it could be. Sue? They were right about the fact that she seemed to be feeling too good for them, but would she dirty her hands by injuring people? Tiffany? Out of the question ... you need to be capable of intelligent thought for things like this. What about Meredith? She was always pretty calculating, and she definitely would be able to pull this off. He stayed with the others, just in case someone came up with a brilliant argument. OOC : Vote against Meredith/Dragonqueen. No particular reason other than me feeling like going against the flow.