You are at your workplace, Smidt-Implex.  One of your co-workers comes by with a new gadget for you to examine.  You look at it, and start trying to whip up an eye-catching exterior box to place the tabletop robot soccer player (it uses weighted ping pongs as the ball) in.

Not sure what to do yet, you seek inspiration in watching it work.

For a couple minutes you laugh at its antics as it deftly catches the ball you slide along the table at it.

Then you pick it up, turn it on its side, and smoke pours from it. Worried, you drop it, on your keyboard.

A wild flare of arcs jumps from it to the computer, and you start to rise out of your chair; maybe if you had dove like a madman backwards things would have been different.

The arc strikes you, and you know no more.

=============================================================================

You're drifting.  You smell salt.  You taste salt.

You're going downwards on your left side, wobbling back and forward, head to toe, but gently, gently descending in the cool water.

PT
OOC: Welcome to the game.

My first reaction would be to swim upwards. When I reach the surface I gasp for air and rub the water from my eyes before opening them. Then I look around and I think: "Wow, this gadget sure can do some weird stuff! Witch button did I push again? ... Wait a minute, ... where am I?"

Then I think: "Oh no, my cell phone!"

If there is some place where I can get out of the water, I'll try that.

ooc: should I post in first or third person? What is the easyest for you.

It takes a long time to get to the surface, and your lungs are burning by the time you breach.  Once there, you open your mouth, and spit out a long stream of water.

Then you can breathe.

The sun is above you, and the waters are dappled with floating objects.  You see a football, a toilet, a kite, a McDonalds' hamburger wrapper floats right past you....

You see a nearby island with a beautiful beach, and palm trees, and a protected lagoon where the waves are softer.

Its about two hundred yards away.

Even as you float here, you realize that you are moving toward it.

PT

"Gyaarg! ..."

With a loud groan, or maybe a roar, I break trough the surface.
"My lungs ... They're ... they're BURNING!"
My thoughts are interrupted by heavy breathing. The shock of it allmost causing me to go back under. Frantically I grab around and get a hold on a football that floats around. Not thinking about how it got their I start catching my breath.

Then, suddenly, I smile a surprised smile (frowning eyebrows included).
"Someone is very enterprising here, it seems.", I think, while I drift alongside the toilet. "But you got to hand it to 'em, it sure comes in handy when you gotta go while swimming with some friends, ...", my eye catches the Mc Donald's burger wrapping, "... and even more especially if you happen to be  eating out of that water."

As I feel the current pulling me in I decide to speed things up, and, while holding on to the ball, peddle with my feet, going towards the shore. "Perhaps I can get my toughts togheter there.", I think.

The football helps, and the current pushes you toward the island.  The rush of water tries to push you past the entrance between the reefs, but you struggle against it for several minutes.

Panting you arrive in the gate, and let the surging waves push you inside to the calmer waters of the lagoon.

Once inside, you see a ship that had been hidden by the curve of a peninsula dotted with pine trees.

And then you rub your eyes, or try to.

Its a  three-master galleon about twenty-five feet long.  And foot-long rats in blue and white horizontally striped shirts, and cut off blue jeans, and each topped with a different color or design bandanna are running up and down its spars, and stays, and sails.

And many of them seem to be carrying circular objects.

And then one tosses his overboard, like he was aiming it, and breaks into song.

"Oh, we're the Pie Rats of Pennance/We feel bad for what do/Our evil deeds a black sentence/that we really do rue!"

Flying from the crow's nest(which has several crows) is a black flag with a smiling skull and crossbones--the Jolly Roger!

PT

My mouth falls open in amazement, causing me to nearly choke because I forgot that I was swimming. As I sputter, I wonder just what kind of gadget I was looking at. Good thing I didn't just assume that it was a robotic soccer player, because the design would've certainly lacked information! Smiling, I shake my head in disbelief.

Wondering if this is some kind of next-gen virtual reality game, (Japan really makes freaky stuff most of the time), I plan on swimming towards those pinetrees, trying to hide myself. That pirate rat just said, err, sang, that it was evil. So I think this is the time to get things straightened out in my mind, perferably out of sight.

You swim over to the beach in front of the ship, and quietly clamber up into the pine trees.  There's not much cover.

Its mostly pines, and small bits of grass, and a few needles.

So you quickly see a human-sized figurine made out of what could be amber.  And then it, no her, turns and looks at you.

"Why do you trouble the myhrrmaid on her day of sorrow?"

A wind shakes the needles, and splotches of sap rain down from the trees. One touches your face, and you feel like weeping.

PT

I sigh, softly whiping the sap from my face.
Sighing again I blow my nose, with a handkerchief that is soaked in seawater.
That grieves me, and a tear runs down my cheek.

While I'm doing my best to hold my tears, I ask her this.
"My dear Lady, why Is this a day of sorrow? What has happened, that it is your day of sorrow?"
I try to look as comfortable as possible. "Can I possibly help?"

"I give birth today. And Myrhhmaids always have a core of sorrow despite their laughter."  She shows you a small figurine of amber and some herb.  She is adding pine sap to the outside of it.  "Gather more sap. Once I am done, I will give my sister the kiss of life, and then bring her to the Near-rids who will teach her how to be independent, and how to swim."

You realize she has a fishtail when she flops it about to move her to catch more pine sap.

PT

At the moment she showes me the little one my expression changes from grief to a tender and piecefull smile. "She looks beautifull," I tell her, "congratulations!".

Trying to mimic her, I attempt to gather some pine sap aswell. Suddenly I realize something!
"Erm, I'm sorry, it's probably me, but did you just say that you gave birth to your sister?", I ask her, as I clumsily offer her some pine sap I gathered.

"Sister-daughter. We all are of the same. Children of the Broken Armed Goddess."  She points to the bit of amber in the center of the baby, and to the one in the center of  her pine sap chest.  "Our souls which live forever. I am sure at one time she gave birth to me, and now I give birth to her.  We do not have families as such, but we are all one family together.  When we die, our pine sap washes off, and then someone retrieves our soul from the bottom of the sea, and we live again."

She continues to slather on pine sap, and you help and the baby figurine grows larger.  She continues.  It seems evident that she means to make it fully adult size.

You've been here a good hour, and you and her are weeping together as the under the Pining Trees.

PT

"Oh, like that?" I say. "How wonderfull."

The salt of my tears embraces the salt of the sea on my face, and they dance a swansong in reverse.

The pinesap gently runs into my hands. And as I bring it to the child, I ask the mother who the Near-rids are, and why they will learn her sister how to be indipendent and how to swim. And if she might happen to know more about that pirateship over there, in the sea.

The wind blows and some needles fall frome the pinetrees. I hold my hand over the pine sap, and tears run from my gratefull face. "It's not every day you see a soul being reborn", I silently think.

And a smile full of tears looks upon the myhrrmaids from the surface of my face.

The myhrrmaid smiles, and pats your cheek with her pine resin hand.  She then bends over, and kisses her sister-daughter on the lips.  And the new myhrrmaid twists, and wakes.

You both help carry the newborn to the outer side of the island, and slide it into the water along with the original myhrrmaid.

She then calls out in a fluting tone.

A few minutes later, translucent females swim up out of the water.

"We will train this one as promised."  The quartet sings.  Then they look at you.  "If another time, you wish to learn from the School of the Near-rids, you may come to use, and discuss fees."  They flash their tails and sink into the water.

"We myhrrmaids are not much on planning. We live in the present moment.  So we let others raise our children.  However, I can remember enough to know I owe you a great debt."

She dives into the water as well.

"The Pie Rats are nasty creatures, servants of some woman who lives on the island.  They fight a war with some creatures in the La Goon Lagoon."

PT

I absentatly stike my hand along my cheek, to wipe of the last bits of pine resin. The myhrrmaid left and gave some info. And a promise of a favor still open.

Now I finally sit down to think.
"So ... what happened untill now?", I say to myself.
"That gadget at work did something strange, and suddenly I was in this sea.
Then I came up to the surface and found toilets floating around, and a singing rats infested pirate-ship. A myhrrmaid, or whatever she called herself, appeared and gave birth and everything just went like that.

And I ... cried? That's been years!"

"So how can I explain this?", I think.
"That next-gen game idea I had seems the most probable at the moment, although it still is quite absurd.

I mean, why would it be put in a little robot soccerplayer? That doesn't make sense at all! (Unless it is a secret governement test, and I wasn't supposed to find out...)

Perhaps the exploding gadget knocked me out and I am now sleeping, dreaming. Or perhaps I am in a coma!

Yeah, those two last options seem most likely. A coma perhaps most of all. Since in a dream you can't feel. (Or so I've been told.) And I clearly remember my lungs burning from pain when I reached the surface of the water."

I grin.
"Imagine it being a virtual reality game though. I must've been acting very strange at work then, while I'm seeing this."

I chuckle.
"I can imagine my co-workers faces while I'm trying to swim at the surface and gasping for air ... in front of my desk ... or on the floor! Talking about floating toilets and singing pirate rats, no less."

Another possible cause strikes me.
"No, this is ridiculous, who would bother to fill the watertank with liquid XTC? What a crazy idea! Beats being in a coma though. Ah, we'll see eventually. Now, to find out where I am, what to do, and see if I can get back to the real world."

I look around seeing what the options would be for getting around the place, as safe as possible, or see if I can find an off-swich, if this really happens to be a virtual reality game.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:11, Mon 12 June 2006.

You stand on a thin beach facing the ocean.  Behind you to your left is the Pine Trees, and then the Pie Rats in the La Goon.  To your right is more durable ground (the Pine Tree grove is just sand) with lots of short about three feet tall, a little more, not really sure how much more, its pretty indeterminate...

Another grove of somewhat over three feet tall trees is to your right.  There looks to be circular fruits hanging from the trees.

In front of you in the ocean, you can see two Pie Rat galleons about a hundred feet away, but they seem to be trapped.  They are rowing, and trying to get somewhere, but they are acting like there are roads in the sea that they have to follow.

PT

Looking around, and considering the options, I'm taking the safe way out, and start walking into the grove on my right. I casually pick one of the fruits and look at it, seeing if I can recognise it.

"If I walk straight through all the time, I got to come out somewhere, don't I?", I think, and thus keep walking. I take advantage of the opportunity to make it a prayer-walk.

"Dear God", I start my prayer.
"I don't really know what is happening here, but I know I can count on you. You've got a reason for everything that happens, so I'm putting my trust in You here.

If I'm in a coma, would You please let me get out of it, one way or the other. If You need me in the world, please let me return and if my role there is finished, please let me be with You.

But I don't even know if I'm in a coma. So, if You don't mind, can you please let me know what is going on?

In any case, I want to thank you that I'm safe at this moment, and have been of assistence in a strange situation. Thank you for safeguarding me.

Amen."</i>

You pick off a nine inch wide cherry pie.  You're surrounded by aromas of various warm pies.  Now you know where the Pie Rats got their ammunition--probably.

The dwarf trees are slightly more than 3 feet tall.  But even now, you're not exactly sure how tall they are.  But then they are Pi trees.

You pray as you walk, and with a feeling of an answer, you shortly thereafter you see a white-haired man out walking as you are in the twenty or so acres of Pi trees.  He is gathering pies as well.

From his speed, and awkwardness, you'd judge him to be really old.

PT

My eyes turn big and sparkle ...
"Pie!", I think.
"I'm starting to like it here!"

While almost burying my nose in the plucked pie while smelling it, I suddenly see the old man.

Half out of joy of seeing a human, half out of curiosity, I speed up my tempo a little, and when I've nearly reached the white-haired man I'm coming near to running.

"Hi Sir, I'm Nikolaj, nice to meet you.
I'm lost and don't exactly know where I am, could you tell me a bit of this place? Or how to get to the nearest part of civilisation?"

"There must be civilisation here," I think, "because there was a Mc Donalds burger-wrapper floating in the ocean when I ... arrived here."

"I'll help you out in the mean time, if you want to.", I add to my statement.

"Whoa, whoa there young fellow, or..." His eyes unfocus for a second. "Fellow verser.  People used to call me Captain Cormorant, or Cap, or some of the meaner sort called me Birdbrain, but I showed them a thing or two."

He reminisces for a second on some past victory, and then looks up at you.

"Ah, well, why don't you help me carry an armload of these pies over to my cabin? And I can answer your questions as we walk back."

So saying he starts to more rapidly pick pies.

"Your first two questions are free of charge, cause I'm a nice guy.  You're on an Eye-land." He mimes his eye. "In what everyone calls Aquatica, in the midst of the Bathtub Sea.  And as to civilization, I don't much like it, but I suppose my cabin is the closest, and if you want to go see the Towers of Menhadden off the, hmm, I think, south side of the, no, east, yeah, east side of the Eye-land, then that would be it.  But you have to have gills or magic to get there."

He loads up your arms with pies.

PT

"Thank you mister Cap, sir." I answer him, while my arms are getting more and more pies piled up upon them.
"An Eye-land huh?" I ask with an unsure look on my face.
"In the bathtub sea?".

I glance aside to the little trees, coming near to arm-pit height for me.
Then I glance to our 'harvest' of pies.

"This place is getting stranger by the minute.", I say, partly to myself, and partly to nobody in particular.

After a minute or so walking in silence, with a puzzled look on my face, I break the monotoneous sound of pie-piling again.

"Erm, mister Cap, sir? How did you call me just a minute ago? A fellow vector or something?"

"You're a respectful young chap.  I like that.  But just 'Cap' is fine."  He says as you and him thread your way through the Pi trees which are 3.14 something, something tall feet tall.

More pies are piled up, and you ask him your question.

"Oh, aye, that. A verser. Worldwalker some folk call it.  I heard one girl say we were God's thread to bind the universes together.  Me, I started on a normal Earth, and bought a new depth-finder for my boat. Course it zapped me with lectricity and scriff, and there I am on top of this here mountain of ice. Now, I'm seventy-two lad, so I didn't survive long.  Even though I was more sprightly then than I am now.  Then I went to this place where the Germans, the filthy Nazi's had their Ubermensch flying about over London throwing fireballs.  Well, I got one of them with a bird shotgun, a fowling piece, right in the face.  And he got me. Trust me, being burnt alive is no fun.  Then it was this hellish place, which if I didn't have my faith, why I'd be real scared instead of just trembling.  The Web, I called it. I can't remember it much, but I used to have big muscles, and my brain was as clear as when I was fifty.  Now, I'm a trifle slow like, and I've lost like forty pounds.  Filthy place.  But I land here, and here I've lived for the past oh, fifty odd years.  Its a peaceful sort of retirement.  Occasionally another one of the versers comes by, and I offer them hospitality, and a chance to make themselves useful by building a dock or something.  But I like my little place by the sea.  No wars to fight, and since I don't go no where very far, the Pie Rats leave me alone.  Course that has somewhat to do with that fellow Tadeusz twenty or so years ago.  He burned three of their ships to the waterline.  Not a peaceful type."

PT

"I mean no disrespect Cap," I say, "but that's a strange story your're telling me."
"I mean, switching worlds and stuff." I look around a bit and reflect on what I saw before today.
"But you know what? Everything is quite strange over here. So it might just be true.
But doesn't that mean that you're ..." I silently move my lips while counting, "...122 years old or something? That's quite an accomplishment. And you certainly look younger."

Then my face brightens a bit, and a smile breaks trough. "Say, are you a believer? Am I right? And if so, do you happen to have a spare bible? I'm afraid I lost mine when I ... arrived here, about 8 meters under water or something I guess..."

"Well, sure. I have my Gideon's New Testament, and then this guy, the Architect sent me a copy somehow from another universe.  Course its a Queen Elizabeth translation instead of a King James, but it seems to agree with my memory.  But, I would not be so sure you lost yours.  The Shifting Sands where versers arrive is a strange place, even for Aquatica."

He and you walk out onto the beach, and you see a small hut with a walkway leading up to it of large stones.

"Stay on the stones. I've got some half-trained Sand Flees in the sand.  Their bite would make a brave man flee in terror."

He walks up to his hut, only stepping on the stones, and opens the front door, and steps in.

PT

Following his example, I step on the stones and follow him into his house. A bit more cautious because I'm holding what has become a tower of pies.

Halfway my nose starts to itch. That allways happens. And to make things worse, I suddenly realise that it is high time to go to the little boys room.

Wriggling your face, and cautiously placing your steps you make your way into the house in an increasingly fretful state.  Its with relief that you drop the pies onto a table that is large enough to bear them all.

The table is a checkerboard of over a hundred different colors and materials, and you'd probably love to examine it, but other needs press on you.

And then Cap grabs your hands as you slide away from the table.

"Don't touch that."

"What?"

He points at several of the checkerboard size spots on the table.

"Its mostly safet to touch, but there.  That's Uranium, and that's even worse, Plutonium. Deadly poison.  Touch it, and you go straight to Lord Pluto's realm.  Its a Table of Elements, and so you gotta have those."

He looks at you dancing.

"Go around back.  You'll see a bush with large green-yellow peas on it.  You know what to do."

PT

"Err... Okay..." I say, and start walking around the back

"Err... Okay...", I think as I watch over my shoulder.
"It might just be so that even in this world, that guy is crazy.

If this world is even a world. If that guy is crazy, what he says won't be all that credible... Ah well, we'll see. Let's see if he was right with the bush with green-yellow peas. I should know what to do."

And I walk on the back of the house, half expecting the sight of a giant beanstake.

You see a bush about shoulder high with green and yellow peas about the size of grapefruit on it that smell like air freshener.  It has flowers on one half that look like a man in pants in silhouette, and on the other half, flowers that looke like a woman in a skirt in silhouette.  It has areas that you can walk into, and be relatively hidden.

And suddenly you do know what to do.  You've found the outdoor privy.

Feeling better a few minutes later, and with your hands rinsed in the sea, you ...

PT

After I've been to the little boys room, and washed my hands in the sea, I laugh at myself.
"Ofcourse, that's what I have to do. He put it so strange I had not guessed it."

Walking back to the house, I casually look around and wonder a what I will say.
"I hope I can stay a little there. I still need to be taught alot about that varsing ... vorsing ... wersing ... Worldwalking thing I guess.", I think. "I hope I can find shelter somewhere,
I grab my tummy "... and food. As a matter of fact, it was allmost lunchtime when I got here, in this strange place."

I enter the house again, minding my step, not to get near to the sandflees.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 11:08, Wed 21 June 2006.

You enter, and see Cap cutting out slices of pie and placing them on top of record plates on top of his Table of the Elements.  He points to a chair, and continues slicing with a Swiss Army knife while he whistles from an oddly familiar tune.

Finally, you decide its "Buffalo Girls" or whatever that song is from "Its a Wonderful Life".

He then pulls up his plate stacked full like yours is with slices of cherry, apple, creamcheese, and fish pie.

"I can hear you getting skinnier as my clock spins, so eat up."  He says with a faint, crooked smile.

PT

Thankfull I take a chair and sit befor my plate.
I smell the pies and look surprised as the fish-pie seems to smell nice. I decide that hunger must be the cause of that.

"Hey Cap, who of us has the honours of saying grace?", I ask while folding my hands.

He looks a bit embarrassed.

"I've gotten out of the habit, which I shouldn't have.  Why don't you say it?"

You pray, and give thanks for the food, and ask that it bless and strengthen everyone at the table.

When you open your eyes, the food is the same, but not.  There's an extra something.  It more closely resembles those fancy pictures in a magazine where the food is lusciously arranged for maximum impact.  And yet nothing has moved.

You take a bite, and you can feel strength and energy flood into your body.

OOC: Bless Food for Maximum Nutrient Usage 1@2 (the food is going to do its best for you.)

PT

Purring from enjoyment I let the food caress my tongue. When I've emptied my mouth I praise God.

"Praise God! It's been a while since I've had such a tasty meal! Praise God!" Then I quickly take another bite.

Enjoying the meal I chat a bit with Cap, about random things. What pie he likes most and how he figured everything out here. Coming on the versing topic I ask him for aditional information, and how it all works most of the time...

ooc:
It that 1@2 thingy a skill or something? cool, but I hope it won't get me out of character too much...

And also, I don't know how to spell 'caress', so if it is wrong, please let me know!

"Ah cherry pie is my usual favorite, but my most favorite is rhubarb pie.  But, it grows rarely in the Pi trees."

He finishes, and cleans up.

As he scrubs the plates in the sink, he talks.

"Being a verser is...well, you're immortal.  You'll never age a day.  I look the same I looked when I arrived, except I've gained back a bit of muscle from what I lost in the Web.  And if you do get killed, then poof, you arrive in a brand-new world, a different universe.  The other versers who have been here, they tell me there's millions of them, other universes that is.  Thing is, the rules may be different there, probably are.  You might end up in a world without miracles, or magic.  Or a world where everyone can read your mind.  A world where vampires walk, or a world where star fighters blaze through the darkness. I know some people like to wander the Multiverse, but I like my beach, and seeing all these wonders wouldn't make up for watching the waves come in of an evening."

He coughs and gets a drink of water.

  "Here, I've talked to the Near-rids who are really smart, and the Lady sent me an emmisary one time who taught me things, and I visit the Towers of Menhadden when I really need the big city.  I saw the Impossible Bream once, I did.  Huge, huge fish.  At least a city block long, no longer.  I have friends who come by who tell me things, but I guess I really don't know much about this world here.  I haven't really felt the urge to travel much out of sight of this here I-land.  Now a young feller like you, I could see wanting to stretch my legs, but me, I like it here fine."

OOC: 1@2 means low amateur at a skill.  You've learned to pray and have your food visibly blessed.

Your spelling is correct.

PT

"Immortal huh. Allways ending up in an other world... But how about God's promise of Heaven then? Isn't that possible then? I don't think I can believe that. At least not the immortality thing. There should be at least a way to die effectively, or do we just wait for judgement day?"

I sigh. "Every answer raises more questions it seems. And I think I'm gonna have to do some serious brainwork on my own on this one."
I scratch my chin.

"Oh could you get me water too please?", I ask him when I see him getting water.

"The Near-Rids, I've heard about them! They are the ones that learn the little Myhrr-maids to swim, right?
But as far as I know they live underwater. And if I understood you correctly while balancing these delicious pies, allmost everything here involves crossing or entering the water.
How do you think I could get to them, or anywhere in this world that is? If they are the intelligent ones, they might have some more answers..."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 10:39, Fri 23 June 2006.

"I've heard versers can die forever.  One guy said he almost walked through the Forever Door outside the Tower of Rhodes.  But an archangel told him if he did, he wasn't coming back."

He gets you a perfectly normal glass of water.

"Underwater."  He smiles.  And you see gills appear in the side of his neck.  "The Near-rids should be able to help you get some."

PT

"Right ...", I say, looking at those gills.

"Does it hurt to get those? Man this is really strange.
Oh, I was thinking, you've been trough this before, can you teach me some survival tips?
I'd like to be prepared when I start to journey."

I yawn and stretch my arms.

"And, if it is possible for you, I'd like to be able to sleep under a roof before I get on the road. I'll be sure to repay you on one kind or another. Maybe by getting some more pies in the morning or something."

"It itched. A lot.  But only for a few minutes."

He leans back thinking.

And then he goes over to a small bookcase behind a chair.  He hands you a well-worn book.

"Verser gave this to me. Um, was it Jesse, or Misty, or..the Martian Terra, no well, I can't remember. Doesn't matter."

He hands you a copy.

"Royal Marines Survival in Rough Conditions: Suited for Dessert, Jungle, Artic, and Lunar Conditions."

"Now as to survival, my advice?  My best advice is to take it slow, and keep your eyes open. Worst case, of course, you're a verser, and exit this world, and go somewhere else.  Always stay within a half day of water, and a full day of a food supply. Have a weapon.  Wear a hat that can stand going under water."

He gets out a C-shaped cot, a C-bed, and you drift off to sleep with the feeling of gentle rocking waves lulling you.  The next morning....

PT

...

I woke up with a low groan and look around confused...
Another, more audible groan escaped me.
"So it isn't a dream for sure now... or it is a very confusing dream." Images of the 'Waking Life' animationfilm cross my mind. "What if I'm trapped in a dream?", I thought. "That movie said you couldn't read fine print in a dream ... hmmm"
I reached beside me and fliped open the survival book Cap gave me.

Welcome fresh recruit. You will soon enter potential dangerous situations.
This book will teach you how to deal with these. His Majesty King Henry the IVth has personally assisted in the creation of this booklet, ensuring the astounding quality of the work it contains.

The text went on and I could read it all. No problems with it at all...
"Right, so this is all true then. I wonder how they reacted at home. Would they have been informed of my death, or of my disapearance. Do I even exist there?"

My thoughts went on and on and on... Then I decided that a coffee would be what was neccesairy.

So, that was a second ago. Now I rub my eyes and ask the Lord for guidance in a short little oneliner-prayer. Like Nehemia did before the king he served.

I put my pants back on and shiver a bit. I reach for my shirt, but rub my chin first. "Hmm, it'd be wise to shave for a last time in a while I guess, if I should be wandering as an ... adventurer? Hobo?" What was I going to be now?

Silently I look around to see if Cap is allready awake. I want to ask him a few last things before I go, and surely repay him by fetching some pies...

ooc: Did I go out of line here by inventing the text of the book? If so, feel free to rummage in my post, editing out and changing what you find faulty.

You can read from the book, and it seems dry, but useful information.

As you pray, it occurs to you that if you're going to be travelling to all sorts of really weird places, that getting prepared for that would be a good thing.

When Cap awakes, he takes you to go get another two stacks of pies from the pi trees.  He offers to let you stay with the understanding that you can do a bit of work on some project.

He points to his stone dock that he says some other verser built for him.

"Or come back sometime after you've seen a bit of teh world.  Mostly, I don't mind being by myself, but every couple years I like a bit of company."

OOC: Not only were you not out of line, but you did well.  And what are your questions for Cap?

PT

When Cap takes me to harvest some more pies, I think about the way the Lord warned me for unprepared voyaging. I also decide that helping with a project would be a great way to repay Cap's hospitality.

"I'd be glad to stay some more.", I say to Cap.
"Not only is it a great way to repay you for your kindness by helping you in your project, but you could also help me prepare some more for travelling.
I know you told me to have a weapon, when you where explaining some stuff yesterday. But I wouldn't know how to handle it. And I'd probably wouldn't dare use it either. But I see the usefullness of it as I might encounter wild animals and need to find food too sometimes.

It would be good to live with a Christian too. We could do biblestudy and prayerevenings. And sing Worship-songs togheter!
Do the people in this world know about God and Jesus that you know of?"

"If most don't, then it is quite clear why I am here.", I think by myself. "The Word of the Lord and the Good Message of the gospel must be brought to the end of the world, worlds in this case I think."

Cap smiles a bit.

"I can show you how to caulk my boat. Excellent."

He walks out with you into the beach.

"Weapons. Well, the easiest one to get is a walking stick, a tomahawk, I guess, or a bone club."  He points down the beach.  You see something white.

Once, closer it resolves to be a four foot long, and curved jawbone with teeth on part of it.

"Or we could go walking in the Hanging Bough Wood which is where Bow-wood, Bo staffs, and Bad Boys are found."

He looks thoughtful, and scratches the bristles on his chin.

"I usually only do that once a week, like, but sure. Um, no, I think they worship the Lady, and Someone called the Awe."

PT

Looking at the jawbone my thoughts remind me of Samson. He was one of the judges of Israël. His immense strength was only rivaled by the amount of his hair and his temper.

I don't think he was a good example. In my amount of succumbing to sin I resemble him too much allready.

As we stand there and I hear about the religions here, I decide that I know what to do here. It will be my task to evangelise here. I should pray more about this later, I think by myself. Perhaps this is just my own mind speacking. But I'm quite certain it's not.

"They should know God", although silently said, these words are firm in their solidness. They are said like a fact, like a commandement, an unevitable event.
"They are all doomed like this..."

My eyes seem darker then they were a few seconds before. A resoluteness settles in them and they seem to be seeing something very clear for a moment.

"Unless they know the Love of Christ and His sacrifice, they are lost. They need to know their salvation!", I watch to Cap, "Have you never thought about that Cap, about how lost they are without God?"

After I've said that, there is a bit of a silence.
"But now is not the time yet," I say. "God told me that this morning. I need to prepare first. How unfortunately as it will be, I will need to learn to defend myself as part of it. I think I'll go for the option of the walking stick. It is not designed to hurt, it is designed to walk. ...or to herd."

I smile at that last remark. Herding, pastoring, there is little difference.
I turn my face to Cap again, a relieved and revived smile on my face.

"I haven't caulked a boat before, this should be fun to learn!", I say with peace in my hart.

"I hadn't thought too much about it; seems I should have, but I tend to be focused on me and my problems." Cap replies.

Cap corrects you.  There's only two real religions here.  The worship of the Awe, and the few followers of the Abyss such as the Squi-Id.

He leads you off deeper into the island, leaving the beach behind, and entering a young forest.  Gradually it changes.

You see medium-height trees with plentiful branches extending out from them.  The branches begin about twenty feet up.  Cap pulls out a small handsaw, and hands it to you.

"Welcome to the Boughs Forest.  Watch out for Bad Boys and Bad Boughs."

PT

I check the branches to find a good one, or one that looks good to me in my opinion.
"Hey Cap, is there anything I should be looking for in the branches for a good walking stick? I know they need to be strong and straigth, but except for that I don't know what I should be looking for.
And ehrm ... who are those Bad Boys?", I ask him while I eye at a long and sturdy branch.

"The Awe", I think, "Perhaps that is God's name here, I should check that out. I should know about the religions here too, as to not be in trouble by breaking some unknown custom."

Cap laughs.

"You got me, kid.  I lived most of my pre-versing life in the city, and since then haven't been much to places where I wanted a walking stick."

You pick one that looks to be about the right thickness and length, and relatively free of side branches.  You shimmy up into the tree, getting dirty and scratched.

"Ah, the Bad Boys are..."

"Fun."  You see a three foot tall male, in a black leather jacket, smoking a cigarrette.  He grins at you from the base of your tree.  Both you and Cap are startled at his sudden appearance.

And then you feel something sharply painful smack the top of your head.  You look up. Another Bad Boy is above you holding a spiky nut preparatory to...

"Bombs away!"

PT

I quickly cover my head with my arms.

"Hey, what the? What's this all for?", I utter throuhg the falling 'spikenuts'.
"Is this your idea of fun?", I ask as I try to look for cover behind some tree.
I wonder how Cap is doing?

"Oh yeah! Its fun!"

Cap is retreating, holding up his arms to defend himself, while walking backwards.

Then you look down, and see the Bad Boy at the base of your tree.  He drops his cigarette in the dry leaves, and fire starts licking the leaves, small at first, but...

"Roast Uman tastes good with ketchup."  The Bad Boy above you chortles.

PT

"Allright, now I've had enough.", I think.

I tower over him, raising me in full length, shoulders straight and strickt face.
I smack the little fellow at the head and tell him to stop playing with fire.
"Didn't your parents teach you better? And you shoudn't be smoking when you're just a little boy as well. It messes up your longues."

A schollmastery finger points at him, and then I start stomping on the flames, trying to stomp them out.
"Cap, are you allright?"

"These kids really are the worst."

ooc:
I don't know if they are kids or notn but they are small so that would be my first impression. I figure I'd be allmost double their heigth.

You slide down out of the tree, and slap the little firebug.  It stings your fingers, but he howls.  As you put out the fire, he whines.  And then suddenly he laughs, and dissapears with a pop of air like a small thunderclap.

And then you hear another pop behind you, and as you whirl, you get smacked in the chest by a thrown spikenut.  Another one spins past your head from the Bad Boy in the tree.

"Stay still...," Is followed by an astonishing stream of profanity from above you.

"Yeah, the Abyss is hungry."  The one in front of you says, and bares his spiked teeth.

"Run!" Cap says, suiting actions to words.

OOC:
They're about three feet tall.

I run.
And I run.
And I think.

"Wait, did he say 'the abyss'? The abyss is the one place they cannot take me. And if they are from there they should be scared of the authority I have in me."

Still I doubt. I search my brains for the right bibleverse. The Word is my sword, Paul's letters to the Ephesians says so. Faith is my shield and Justice my Armor.

I confirm myself of my justice, and pray a little prayer for more faith and help. I believe God will come to my aid. Now for my sword, a just use of a bibleverse. One pops in his mind to remind him that he stood in his faith.
Jesus said that Everyone who believes me will be able to do wonderful things. By using my name they will force out demons, and they will speak new languages. They will handle snakes and will drink poison and not be hurt. They will also heal sick people by placing their hands on them.
A smile comes to his face. "I've got the Most High on my side."

I stop, look at Cap.
"Pray!", I yell at him.
I face my enemy and stand firm.
"By the authority that Jesus Christ has invested within me trough His Spirit, I command thee demons, to go back to your Abyss!
In His name I cast the back to the abyss from whence you came!
The God of Glory, the Lord allmighty is on my side! Beware!"

It looks like there is a fire burning in my eyes, my face is intense and my stance radiates pure trust in Gods power. Come what may, I have not let evil get its way. Death is not the end. And in my case not near far it seems. God has placed me here and he has a purpose for me. Running away from injustice isn't one of them.


ooc:
My reaction, be it wise or unwise gamewise would be about so if this would be real life. The power doesn't come from me, but from God.

As for three feet. I live in a part of the world where the metric system is the only sytem in use. I do not know how much that is. *googles* It seems that I'm about 6 feet something tall.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Thu 29 June 2006.

You hold out your hand, and light blazes from it.  Suddenly the Bad Boy in front of you dissappears replaced by a mass of shadow in his shape.

From it comes a voice like the screams of the battle-wounded.

"I will not tolerate more interference from the Alliance.  I have to put up with the Awe, I will not tolerate you and the Most High coming here.  Stand aside, hold your peace, or you will surely die at a place and a means of my choosing. Your God will not protect you from my malice."

Behind you, you can hear Cap stumbling through a prayer for protection.

Your throat is dry and tight with fear as you find yourself swaying as you look into the Abyss on a pleasant morning amidst the trees.

PT

I'm stunned for a minute. I didn't expect it to be this dramatic.
Just some falling on the ground and dissapearing or something.

But I feeel the spirit of God soar trough my body. I am more assured then ever that God is the greatest and that he will stand with me.
"For if I am with you, who shall be against you." the verse flashes trough my mind. The only thing I am worried about now is thinking that the power of God comes from me.

"Be quit dark one!", I say, pointing an angry finger towards him. "You know you've allready lost your fight when Jesus set us free from your bondages with His precious blood. He died for me on Calvary, and now you can't touch me because He has paid the highest price for me. I am His!

My God will protect me allways and everywhere. I only listen to Him, and do as He commands. You have no power here. Begone! In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour of mankind!"

And with that I lift both my hands to the sky.

"God show Your power! Show that You are the greatest, let this not be a mark on Your name. Show Your strenght, as You did with Moses and Elijah! Show Your strength as you did with Daniel in the lion's Den and with his friends in the fiery furnace. Show that You really are the Most High!"

I'm shouting now. My low voice screeming with power and assurance. Cap now screaming prayers behind me. I believe!

Suddenly the whole clearing is filled with light as every tree and blade of grass and fallen leaf begins to radiate light.  The shadowy figure wilts before the onslaught, reaches out one finger, and vanishes.

You hear Cap speaking behind you, with obvious fear in his voice, and then it halts...

He coughs.

Surrounded by light, you turn and see Cap fallen to his knees, black blood trickling out of his mouth.

"He told me in my mind that I was but the first fruits of your pain."

He wobbles back and forth on his knees trying to keep his balance.

PT

"Cap! Hang on!" I say, running towards him.

"You have just seen the power of God, you are with God too. Don't let that devil tell you anything other.
You've just seen the power of God, that power can save you too! Believe in it, believe in Him."

I lay cap down on the ground and kneel beside him. I put my hands on himm on start to pray for healing.
"Lord, you have the power over all, and through Your Spirit you can heal my friend Cap as well. Let your healing come down. Let your healing come down! Heal my friend Lord, heal him."

I fall silent and wait for the power of God to heal Cap. If I don't feel anything I just keep asking the Lord to heal him.

"Cap", I say to him "know that when you are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, and by His ressurection, that the devil has no authority over you. You are one of God's people."

His face relaxes as he listens, and then he looks past you with a sudden smile on his lips.  This is followed by a rueful quirk of those lips, and he speaks.

"Okay."

And then he vanishes out of your arms, leaving nothing but a few sprinkles of dust to drift to the ground.

It seems like you can hear cold laughter echo through your mind.

PT

After Cap has vanished I sit there for a time. Stunned. This is the first time I saw someone die. I was in shock. My hands trembled and my eyes were on the verge of tears.

I remember what little I did know of Cap. What we had done togheter.
Then I realise that this happened because of me. We could have just kept running. We could have. He didn't have to die.

I hope he can forvige me.
Now I am also aware of this great evil in this world. I still have no intent on letting it run free. Certainly not now. I'll tell more about God, more warriors of Christ will rise. The battle will last 'till judgement day.

"Cap, my friend, my brother. We will see each other again, someday. I hope it is before judgement day."
I know he can't hear me, it's more like talking to myself. Thinking out loud.

Now I need to figure out how to go on. Alone again in this world. Yet not alone. God has showed that He is here with me.

I decided to go back to Cap's house and gather what little stuf I've left there and make plans there.
It'd probably be best to go search for those Near-rids and get me some gills so I can get around on this world.

I get my stick from the ground and head to the little cabin again, shrouded in deep and dark toughts.

Nobody bothers you on the way back, and you gather your things in Cap's place, noting that some of his things seem to be missing.  In fact, all of what you would consider 'the nice stuff' is gone.

There's still the shell on a stick hoe for example, but his briefcase is gone altogether.

Outside you wander up and down the beach until a fish in gray scales pops its head out of the water.

"I say, sir, are you all right?  You seem to be deep in thought, or study?"  It has a strong Southern accent.  "Is there anything a gentleman like myself could do.  I am travelling far from home, since I make my home on the Lee side of the I-land, but I do hate to see a man looking so poorly, I surely do."

PT

Before I leave Cap's house I look around a little absently. Some things that left remind me a bit of him.
The table, that stack of pies we just got this very morning. I sigh.

"Right, I think I'll need to get my thoughts together again. I'll still need to do things."

I look around the house and decide I can't stay here. There are too much stuff that remember me of Cap.
Deciding to travel I look if I can find a rucksack or some other kind of bag to put at least the little survival-guide in. My own bag lies at the bottom of the ocean. I'll need to search for that once I have those gills, so I can return Cap's stuff I'm borrowing now. It doesn't quite feel right to just take his stuff.

I search for a map and one of those bibles he was talking about. If there is some kind of notebook and a pencil, I'll take those too. I draw the map accurately in the notebook and hang it back on it's place on the wall. After that I put a pie or two in the bag, after wrapping them in some aluminium foliage that is lying around in the kitchen.


"Don't worry Cap, I'll bring them back as soon as I can." I say.

Then I leave for the beach. To think and get my toughts straightened out.
Suddenly that fish pop's up. Asking me what's wrong.

I start telling the entire story to the fish. About my friend Cap, and how he was killed. Murdered. Not the first dead body that I saw, the first one that I saw dying. The first one that died in my arms.
I told him my outrage, but the need not to make this a personal quest for vengance.

"Vengance is a tool of the devil", I say to him. "If I let myself be controlled by it, he will have won. But it is hard."

I sigh. There is little hope in that sigh.

"And you know what, mister fish? I don't know where to go to now. I need to get to the Near-Rids, I've been told, to be able to get some gills, so I can breathe under water. But I do not know where to find them. The last time I saw them was at that Pirate ship, but they left for the sea."

The fish begins weeping great blobs of tears halfway through your story.

"Aye, we've all heard of Cap, a most courteous gentleman who never meant anyone a speck of harm."

He seems angry.

"I'll go fetch you some Near-rids, lad. Just wait here."

He flips his tail high, and dives into the water.  You sit by the water's edge praying, and struggling with the pain and anger which sometimes shoots through you with eruptions of force that shatter your tenuous self-control.

And then two Near-rids rise from the waves.

"We grieve with you."  The leader of the pair says.

PT

I look at the Near-Rids. My face is pale and worn out and my eyes are dull.

"Thank you." I tell them. A faint smile comes on my face, more out of politeness then out of relief. Yet their is some small relief in it.

"It's all my fault." I tell them.
"It's all my fault. If I ... If .. If...
If I hadn't asked him to pray he would have been able to escape.
That is the worst grief of all. I know he is well now. I know that he is not lifeless. He is of the same sort as I am. We don't really seem to die. And if he is dead he will be with God.
But I miss him so."

I fall silent again.

"If you battle the Abyss, or cross tentacles with the Squ-Id, pain is to be expected.  Cap knew this, but in your company he found a higher calling than wandering the beach."

The closest Near-rid says.

"Now, you wish to have gills?  Then come with me, and I will take you to the Gill-Let Barbershop."  The Near-rid holds out her hand for you to enter the water.

PT

I rise my head at their words. "You are right! It is a higher calling."
Much surer now, and standfast again, I decide to follow the Near-Rid to Gill-Let Barbershop. I have a strange image of razorblades flashing through my mind at that name. "Is it going to hurt?", I ask the Near-Rid as I take her hand and enter the water. Before I go under I take a deep breath.

They take you there to a small I-let covered with white foam.  Its about a mile away as they swim on the surface.

Once there, you wade up through the foam beach to a chair made of coral where a swordfish with different personalities is conducting a conversation with itself as it strops its razor blade on the teeth of its sword snout.

"You wanna I wipe this fellow out, give 'im a second smile?" He asks waving the blade in front of your face, and asking the Near-rid.

"We want to talk to the barber." The Near-rid replies.

PT

"My goodness, what have I got myselves into now ...", I wonder and I wonder if I really should get through with this.

My face is looking as unceartain as my thoughts. It is clear I'm not feeling comfortable. And it is the first time I feel uncomfortable in a barbershop because my wiwter and aunt work in my father's barbershop. And my father's uncle had a barbershop as well. But then, neither of them had the multiple-personality complex, or talked like a maffiosi. And they weren't swordfish either.

I decide to go trough with this. It is required if I want to go anyplace to teach the people of God and to repell evil. As this was the only barber around I figured I'd also ask for a shave and for a bald head. I decided to have all my hair gone as a sign of mourning for Cap. But I would only ask that when the barber showed up.

I took one of the magazines and waited for the barber to appear.

There's more arguing, and several more personalities speak up in the swordfish, and then suddenly the barber is in control.

He listens to your requests, and nods.

He shaves your head slick and smooth, and then gives you a lathered up shave.

"Now, lad, we have to put in the gills. Sit very still, misaligned gills hurt when you swim.  Water needs to flow smoothly over them."

You sit very still as he begins to shave your neck with a crystal blade.

"It will hurt a bit."  And then you feel the blade bite into the side of your neck slightly, like a very long papercut.

"Good. We have first of the four gill cuts on that side prepped."  He reaches for a bottle on his counter, and sprays it on your neck.

"Miniature Dutch fish, of the Coin family of fishes, Gill-ders.  They build the gill after I cut, eh?"

PT
OOC: Are Guilders Dutch anyways?

During the regular shaving I start to talk with the Near-Rids about what I should expect down below. Social rules and behaviour, the King if there is one. If I need to register somewhere as a citizen. And what those Squ-Id are.

After they begin to cut my guils I wince a bit, but I understand that it is neccecairy to reach the people on the bottom with the Word of God. I'm a bit bothered though with the fact that God didn't create me so and wheter or not I have the right to do this. "I wonder if this is cheating on the Creator." I think. But it has started and there isn't really a way back.

Then I await for the rest of the guills to be applied, with a little prayer for painlessness.

"The Lady is in charge, if anyone is.  Citizenship? What's that?  Rules? Be nice, or someone bigger might squash you, or a group of your neigbours might get together to squash you.  They do have police in the Towers of Menhadden, but not elsewhere."  The Near-rid frowns as she replies, trying to make sense of your questions.

"Oh, lad, there is only one Squ-Id, and thats plenty." The barber says as he cuts at your neck again.  "He bathes you in ink, and releases all the evil inside you, your Id or something."

It doesn't hurt very much, and in a few minutes, he pronounces himself done.  About ten minutes later, they ease you through the lather, and slide you down into the water.  And then push you.

You can feel air inside you ease your need for breath.  Although your neck stings.

PT

As I see the Near-Rid frown at my strange questions I explain that I come from a place that has lots of rules. Alot of those rules didn't seem to make sense either.

Then I wonder about the Lady. Sounds like a queen or something.
"Menhadden", I say, "Cap told me about that place to I think. Is it some sort of capital city?" I ask.

I nod gravely when hearing about the Squ-Id. And then I get pushed into the water.
The salt stings my freshly cut guills abit, but I figure that'll get less. I try them out a bit longer and am quite amazed.

"I never thought I'd get gills.", I mused in thought as I swam.
"Lord, I don't know if I did the right thing with the taking of these gills. But now I have them and will use them to spread Your Word in this world that seems to have forgotten You. Use it to Your benefit."

I resurface and ask the barber what I owe him for his services (if it is still the barber I will be talking to).

"Capital city?" The Near-rid says the words, but you can tell they mean nothing to it. Then she smiles.  "A city with a cap on its tallest towers?  No, I think the tops of the Menhadden towers are mostly flat."

You pray and suddenly you remember your bike.  God didn't fit you with wheels, but you spun along the dike roads on it, happy as a lark. Was that wrong?  The question drifts into your mind, not in so much fashion as words, but still...

Once back out of the water, you ask the barber how much you owe him.

"Eh, do me a favor sometime." He says with a shrug.

PT
OOC: Their society and monetary system is really primitive.

"I'll remember it for sure!", I tell the barber and I bow to him. (I really have that quirk in real life)

"So it's like riding a bike ... allright. I guess it doesn't do much harm then, unless I crash into something ..., I think with the last part added as a little joke to cheer myself up a bit.

I thank the Near-Rids for their help. I take my backpack and get ready to take off when I suddenly realise I don't quite know where-to. It seems that the Menhadden Towers are quite famous. I guess most people ... or creatures might be a better word ... live there. I also guess that what happens there will influence the rest over here ... in due time that would be offcource. A bit like our Belgian saying 'When it rains in Paris, it drips in Brussels.'.

I face the Near-Rid again.
"I'm sorry to bother you again. But do you know how I could get to the Menhadden Towers?"

OOC:

I figured the low monetary and social structure. But 'Ingame me' Is only there for two days, and is just gaining the information is a little conversation. I think he should have about figured it out himself by now ...

Oh, and Belgium is different from Holland. We don't have much of a coast-line, and have very little dikes :D
Yet the effort is greatly appreciated!
This message was last edited by the player at 06:48, Thu 13 July 2006.

The Near-rid tells you to walk around around to the other side of the I-land, and head west a few miles.

"You can't miss them."

On the other side of the I-land you see Myhrr-maids singing sad songs in the water and cute Barbie doll-fins about a foot high sunbathing on the beach on special chairs with a slit in the back for the fin while Clark doll-fins rush about to fetch drinks and pillows and suntan lotion for them.

Several Clark doll-fins offer to get you a drink as well on the premise of "If it moves, it must want me to get it something."

All the Barbie doll-fins wave at you in a plastic kind of way, and discuss behind their hands what species you are.

"Uman?"
"Ceeman?"
"Lava monster?"
"Don't be silly Barbie 1234!" All the rest yell as one at the lone offender.

PT

I thank the Near-rid and go further to there and smile as I see the doll-fins. They remind of something.
I take some of the drinks willingly and then tell them I'm fine.

I go sit on some stray rock and raise an eyebrow at the lava-monster mixup. But then I hear the poor doll-fin being corrected by all at the same time. While her face is turning red I laugh and reassure her.
"I'm no lava-monster, don't worry. I'm a human indeed. But I'm quite new here."

They discuss it among themselves, but they're pretty sure you're not a Uman.  You don't have a "U" shape for your hair.

The volcano puffs, and suddenly all the Clark Ken doll-fins are racing to one of the two phone booths on the side of the bathhouse.  The other phone booth is constantly being used by a guy with a seventeen foot long scarf.  Their booth, well, they enter in a long line, and then dissappear.

Soon enough over head you see buckets of sand, gallon sized, being carried by red and blue doll-fins that zoom by.

They are heading to put the fire in the volcano out.

PT

"Well, as you can see I'm not a C-man either. I don't have a C shape for my hair.", I say smiling.

When the volacano bursts and the doll-fins rush over it to ex-thing-uish it I exclaim: "Is it plane? Is it a bird? ..."

The guy with the scarf looks up and yells "No, it's Superdoll!"

I gasp and look at the volcano being ex-thing-uished.
And then I ask a barbie doll-fin if they know where they suddenly come from.

ooc: I hope 'ex-thing-uished' isn't to lame. And be sure to change superdoll to the correct name if neccesairy.

The Barbie doll-fins look at you with bewildered expressions on their faces.

"No." You hear repeated dozens of times.

"Its one of those mysteries of life, like where did my Clark waiter go with my lemon-lime-raspberry slush mocha?"

They all start complaining,a nd then the Clark Ken doll-fins are back, tripping over themselves, and apologizing for the mix-up in the kitchen as they scurry to bring drinks.

You get another drink, and look up to see the doctor in the phone booth toasting you with his.  He has a knowing grin on his face.

OOC: Ex-thing-guished is good, and Superdoll works just fine.  So I'm not going to toss 3.14 pies in your general direction from a pi tree, not at all.  Instead, I'm going to encourage you to "Join the Pun Side!"

PT

I toast my glass with his.

My mind processes everything that was happening.
"There seems to be alot here that is the same as it used to be, yet different.
Now, as far as I can see in these two seconds here that guy can only be two persons. The equivalent of Lex Luthor or the real Superman if he is a worldwalker himself."

"Chears, quite some amazing stuff happening there isn't it?"
I point my hand-with-glass towards where just a second ago there was an erupting volcano.

"I know I'm stretching time here. If he is the equivalent of Lex Luthor here his name should have a subtle yet funny twist to it.I'll have to guess quickly now ..."

"Lex Loather, isn't it?", I say as I toast with him.
I grin back bigger after this introduction.

I hoe I guessed this right, or I could have insulted someone ...


OOC: I try, I try. I hope you got the aluminium foliage from earlier. It was not a typo or language mixup.
btw, the plastic sociëty context here, if you meant that so, is great :p
I got mixed up with the Clark and Ken thing though. When you said Clark dolls I thought they were actually called clark dolls in Amerika. Names often change over language borders.

Oh, the week when you will just have returned I'll be away myself for a week.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:16, Wed 19 July 2006.

"Ah, no. Doctor Whomever.  But indeed, cheers."  He clinks your glass.  "And you are?"

OOC: Enjoy your week off (I hope).  I missed the aluminum foilage--thats a good one.  With this, lets say I'm mixing several different strands together.

Barbie dolls and Ken dolls, and dolphins, and Clark Kent/Superman, and I just added in Dr. Who with his telephone booth.

So out of this we get Babs doll-fins (to avoid copyright annoyances, I'm changing it to Babs.), and Clark Ken/Superdoll doll-fins and Dr. Whomever, and the interpersonal relationship between Babs and CK is defined by the goofy driven to please Clark Kent to Lois Lane in the movies although the setting is more of a Babs setting as a tropical resort club.

PT

My expression changes into a bit of a frown.
"I'm Nikolaj Bourguignon, but you can call me Nikolaj", I say a bit confused.
I realise that I should stop making sudden conclusions without having enough information.

Suddenly my proverbial lightbulb flashes
"Doctor Whomever ...
Telephone booth ...

Well, one assumption more or less won't hurt ... I hope."

"I think I can assume we have some things alike, if I'm not mistaken.
Only you have chosen for it and I have been trown in it without any desiscion of my own." A small grin starts to light my face up again.
"Cheers doctor", I say and I sip from my drink.

ooc: Doctor Who! I like that show but regretfully haven't seen much of it yet.
The week was good. Tiring but good. The last day it rained conversions and redevotions to God among the youth. Next year will show how much were sincere.
Praying is what I should keep doing now.

*gasp* you did a one-liner!
Thanks for the explanations. The stumbling Clarck part I had figured out.
I want to warn you though. I'm not familiar with all things American.

"Right, you're a verser and I'm a time traveller.  I like to come here, its a mostly peaceful world.  I assume you haven't yet been to the Lekostian Star Empire? No? My personal back timeline, but your future one.  I won't go into details, but I was, I am indeed still, grateful for the assistance you were able to offer me."

PT
OOC: Good news then. :)

Despite not being American, you seem to be catching most of the jokes and puns I've been tossing.

The first thought that runs trough my mind when hearing him is this:
"He knows I'm a verser!"
This thought is directly followed by another, but that thought makes it trough my mouth.

"I've been offering you assistence?", I blink for a second. "But doctor, how could I have done that, unless I did it unintentionally. We only just met."

I sniff my drink for a second and bring it to my mouth, ready to hear him out.

"In my past which is your future, and in a different world, you helped me.  I cannot say how, but there it is.  To make things more confusing, the world you helped me in could be regarded as in the future of this world, not that time really has any connection between worlds."

Your drink smells of pineapple and mango juice.  No alcohol because that would be fattening, and the Babs doll-fins are very much against anything fattening.

PT

I shake my head and smile.
"That's probably more then I'm allowed to know.
But I can see how I've made an impact in this world.
First of all I am alien to this place and secondly I've brought the power of God in this world and repelled a demon or an evil force when I entered here.
When believers truly believe in the Power of God trough His Spirit there is little that will remain unchanged."

At this time my smile has turned into a serious and sincere smile that reveales pride of being a citizen of God's Kingdom. And the honour of serving Him. My Eyes are twinkling but steadily fixed on a point somewhere infinitely before me.
My Stance is straight now.

I look at the Babs Doll-fins and wonder wheter I would have to preach in Fin-nish. Then I remember they have answered me allready.

I turn to the Doctor and ask him wheter he has some urgent buisness to do or if that can wait. "I've just remembered something I cannot lose out of sight.", I say, looking at the Doll-Finns again. "They too need to know of the Power of God and the redeeming sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ."

He listens, and inquires as to what you've done in an interested fashion, but you can tell he is a skeptic.  He believes in bravery, goodness, and the power of the mind, but states that he has, in all his travels seen no evidence for a Creator or for gods.

"Although several cultures have me listed as a god, something I tried to get them to stop."

He looks over at the doll-fins who even now are chattering in a foreign language, probably Fin-nish as you say, and shrugs.

"Granted they are unserious, and shallow, but are you sure you need to disrupt their pretty little lives with something that portentous?"

PT

I smile. You probably travelled with your eyes closed then.
"Dear Doctor, you of all persons I have met, should have seen most of God's creative Power.
Every plant and every creature. Every planet, dimension and timeline show of God's power. Do you honestly believe that this all was created by accident? Or that it allways existed? Don't you see an Artists hand in this?
Take even something as small as DNA. As a doctor you should know it has an incredible complexity. People have calculated the possibillities that such a thing would be created by accident. How it actually was done I don't know, but I remember that you Doctor know practically everithing. That research should not be aliën to you. It was something with 10 monkeys on typewriters trying to type an encyclopedia. The odds of it really happening where comparable with the odds of DNA suddenly existing."

I turn my head to the Babs Doll-Fins.
"Sure I have to. Otherwise they'll go to Hell."

"I believe one of your sages said that any sufficiently advanced technology was indistinguishable from magic."  Doctor Whomever says with a smile.

"Are you sure? I mean, they're not human."

He points with his chin towards the Babs doll-fins.

PT
OOC:  I'm not sure how to slice this.  The Doctor Who would tend I think to be a skeptic with some slight doubts.  He would probably have come from a world in which evolution did happen.  Yet on the other hand, I find your arguements to be completely reasonable.  I'm thinking he takes refuge in evasion and obfuscation.

"Yeah, I've heard that before as well. But that still doesn't prove a sudden existence. Technology is a tool, so it needs an Operator. You see, Something or Someone has to have created this all. And logically that Creator will need to be Timeless, outside of time, or otherwise He/She/It would also have to be created and so forth...", I reply at the Doctor's comment.

I realise what a blessing it is that I was thinking and writing about that recently. "If, as Cap said, my stuff came with me, my notebook should be in my bag. So I hope I'll find it some time to think some more about it. This is turning out in an interresting discussion, but I don't want just a discussion ..."
I silently and quickly pray for the Doctor's hart to be opened to the existence of God.
Doctor Whoemever is one in need of salvation!

I push the Babs Doll-Finns issue aside for now since this conversation strikes me more important at this moment. I'll take up the inhuman-ness of the Doll-Finns after this one if it is still appropriate and relevant then.

OOC:
*Actually I can't remember if I wrote my Creation and Creator thoughts down before or just after I started this game ...

*About the doctor: Skeptic with slight doubts seems reasonable, he's seen alot.

*You made me learn a new word! Obfuscation!
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 06:34, Thu 10 Aug 2006.

Sorry, I've got to go. I'll get to you tonight with a potential double post to make up for this.

PT

Dr. whomever shifts a bit uncomfortably, and you're aware you're getting to him.

"Well, among my people there's the theory that we're the starters.  A time traveller went back, started the whole thing, thus giving rise to the possibility of time travellers starting everything.  The Universe wanted to exist, and so it did."

He shrugs.

"After all, the Universe doesn't have to make sense."

PT

Thinking that theory through I take a sip of my drink and wiggle it around in mouth.
I'm refelecting, reflecting on how that would or could be possible. Time-travel on itself is an issue I'd never taken into consideration in my musings before. It seems a possible solution to the riddle of creation at first glance.

The thing that buggers me is that the universe wanted to exist. I can't get my mind around that one in two or three minutes.

"... hmmm ... Thats a good theory I think.", I say after swallowing the now mouth-warmed gulp of the drink I had.
"But doesn't one of your people have to have existed first before one of them came back to start everything?"

"Well, perhaps the universe does make sense, but it is to great for us to understand, so it seems rubbish to us", I reply at his last comment.

I take a more comfortably position on our little rock, more relaxed and laid back. It seems that this conversation is about to end. And evening seems to slowly fall in. This has been quite a full day, but the conversation isn't over yet. And if it gets a little tail I wouldn't mind it at all. A little seed has been planted in the hart of the doctor, a seed of the word of God, a seed of Light. And I'm greatfull tht it seems to have gotten trough to him.

OOC:

*I'm supposing it is credible time-wise that evening would fall in. I kind of lost all time-relation on day two
*As about the slower posting, I've said before that I don't mind that. Qaulity rules over quantity here. ;-)
I just didn't want to say that alone in a post. I know you must have loads of work with us all, and a family and undoubtably other obligations in the mythical realm of 'the Real World'. So don't worry and take your time. :)
This message was last edited by the player at 07:00, Thu 10 Aug 2006.

"Oh no doubt, even for such as I the universe is full of fantastic things that boggle my mind.  I'm just saying that perhaps human or timemaster logic is not adequate..that logic itself is a failure.  The universe is ultimately illogical.  It exists because it exists.  At its base, the universe is irrational or super-rational."

PT
OOC: And yes, I did read a SF book by someone well respected who advanced a theory similar to this.  Once Humanity created a Grand Unified Theory of Physics, a GUT as the acronym goes, Humanity then reached an Aleph Point which enabled the creation of the universe from the quantum soup (ignoring where the soup came from, of course), and as a side point everyone on the planet except for a few who suicided became atheists.

To say I regard this as pathetic nonsense is to be kind.  Its rat poison for the intellect.

"Perhaps the universe is only logical if connected to a Creator and His loving nature.", I say and rub my tummy.
"But for now my stomach is winning the duel for attention with my brains. Can I interrest you in some pie?"

I rumble in my backpack and get out a little package wrapped in aluminium foliage.
"Freshly plucked this morning", I say smilingly.

OOC:
Those are theories you get when starting to fantasize without the right foundation. You get all kinds of nonsense then ;)

You and Dr. Whomever share some pie while he tells you jokes, and chats with you about different cultures and aliens.  He's fascinated by your stories of your time on Earth, and for his part, he's a very good storyteller.

And the pie is pretty nice with a Clark to come by carrying some milk to go with it.

Soon you see the famed tropical sunset which paints the sky orange, red, purple, and yellow.

PT

Looking at the sunset I start to wonder.

I'm only here for two days and I'm allready feeling home again.
I 've allways had that. It looks like I adapt quickly to new surroundings or don't have a real home yet.

After chatting with the Doctor some more I ask him if he knows a place to spend the night. If not I'll ask one of the helpfull and friendly Clarcks.

The doctor thinks about where I might sleep tonight and suddenly exlaims "Aha, I know just the place".
And as if he meant it a black circle suddenly appears underneath me. When I want to ask him what the meaning of this is I hear him telling that he must have a little field bed somewhere in his telephone booth.

"It seems like I will once again face the evil force that took Cap away from me.", I say to the doctor.
"Sorry for the inconvinience that you have now for being with me."

The doctor looks at me with a questioned smirk on his face. He doesn't seem to notice anything of this.

(And I'm off to the toon gather world)

... but in the blink of an eye (at least, to an external observer), you reappear where you were.

The dark circle changes color slightly as you watch, turning slightly darker.  It now looks like a piece of cloth that can be picked up...

OOC: We now resume your regularly scheduled PT world... :D

I turn and look around.

"Ah, I'm back, sorry for the delay, you are still here doctor?"
I check the hole and poke at it, it looks like one of those portable holes like in Roger Rabbit.

"Cool!" I say, and take it, fold it and put it in my trouser-pocket.

"well, where were we?", I finally say as I turn my attention to the doctor again.

He gives you a considering glance.

"Something unusual and portentous happened to you, but at the same time, you never seemed to have left this spot.  I'd be able to spot a temporal manipulation, so that leaves the most likely choice a pschyic event."

He pauses.

"If you need help, or are not feeling well, well, I am a Doctor."

He gives you a crooked grin.

PT

"No, no, I'm feeling allright, although I do have the feeling that I've gained some pounds.", I answer him.

"Now, where where we?", I say as I turn to the doctor again, feeling a bit off balanced because of sudden loss of tail.

"A place for you to sleep tonight.  My good fellow, I'd be willing to extend a cot in my telephone booth for you, or I'm sure these excellent waiters have some beach cabanas, small cabins, they could rent to you."

A Clark is passing.

"We could put it on your tab, if you like." The Clark says. "After all, we try to do our part to help out the Forces of Truth, Justice, and the Vespucian Way."



PT

"Well, what do you pay with?", I ask the Clark before confirming everything.
a night in Dr. Whoemever's phone seems pretty cool as well, if it is how TV portayed him before.

The Clarkc smiles, and says they use shells, seashells.

Dr. Whomever's telephone booth is very nice if way eclletic.

After the Doc show you around, he then points to a room.  It turns out to be fitted with a cot.

I thank the Clark in a friendly manner but decline the offer. I'll be sleeping in the Doctors Phone.

These last couple of days are getting weirder and weirder by the minute.

The Doctor is glad to host you.

He offers you a snap-out (of the wall) water bed or some anti-grav coils which will float you in the air.

There is a variety of reading materials in the bedroom.  These range from "V-E DAY!" Newspaper in bold type to "The Fabrication of Demi-stable Monocrystaline Varieties of the Plestiform Virus." to the "Art of War" autographed by Sun Tzu which is in its original language....

PT

I look at the bed, and the anti-grav material.
I'm ready to believe just about anything I see without flinching at the moment.
"You know, just some minutes ago I was a cartoon-platipus. Have you noticed that? Hey man, it's really big in here for a phone-booth, do you know that?" I say.

"And Then we met this guy, the Animator he called himself, who claimed to have created that world. He called himself a figment. What does that mean? Do you think that it was all just figments of my imagination? A hallucination perhaps. Maybe this fabric has something to do with it."
I say as I get the black fabric out of my pocket.

I also scan the books for Figment related literature, perhaps there even is something written about that Animator, he sure seems powerfull enough.
I will also unconsciounsly search for religion-related literature, or graphic design related literature.

ooc: a portable hole in a bigger-then-it-is space, I sure hope that doesn't give the trouble it gives in D&D, but my character-self is too stunned to think about that now.

OOC: Portable Hole and its effects inside a Tardis; and book selection--both seem apt for a General Events role.

For the first one, if you get a thirty--instant dead.  27 or higher--big trouble.  13 GE--no problem.

14 for the next.

IC:

"Fascinating! No, I saw no platypus.  Oh yes, well we do a few odd things with the local space-time continuum.  One needs closet space after all."

He leans back against the doorway while you test the anti-grav field by gingerly sitting down in it.

"I did think you suffered a psi experience.  It could be it was all in your mind.  Or it could have been imposed from outside.  Are you troubled by it?"

He examines the fabric, and rather excitedly declares that its a mobile wormhole matrix bonded somehow with the molecules of the cloth.  He hands it back most reluctantly.

You find a scroll written in some ancient language.  Also a Bible from the year 2275--the New Alpha Centauri version of the Queen Mary Bible.  There is a Book of the Dead.  A copy of Ethical Issues for Time Travellers.

There is a copy of Design Revolution 2080, a historical overview of the next art phase which overthrew modernism and post-modernism.  Its shocking in the truest sense, you find yourself seeing ideas expressed in jewel like colors and simple lines that you were not aware of, but were buried in your sub-conscious mind.  Its the answer to questions you had not asked yet, but would have wanted to if you could.

PT

"I'm not really troubled by it, it's just that it seemed so real and yet I find it so rediculous to believe. I tought the cloth might have been drugged or something, but now it seems to be a ... whatever you called it."

As I see him letting it go reluctantly I smile. "You seem to enjoy it more then I could understand it. Accept it as payment for sleeping over here.", I say. As I nuzzle through his library I smile at the Alpha Century bible. "So they went faster then light after all!" I tought. Then I turned to the Doctor. "Heh, so, you've got a bible! Have you read it before?" My eye stops at the ethics book. "Ethics of time travel, I would've enjoyed reading that when I tought it was fiction, now I feel like anything is possible and I'm obliged to read this.", I think as I turn the book around to read what's written on the back.

My jaw drops at the design-book. I've found my bed-time story allright! I'll probably read untill I can hardly keep my eyes open. But I'll keep the reading for later, in case the Doctor wants to talk or something.

The Doctor takes the portable hole back.

"No, no, its yours, but if its okay, I would very much like to examine it minutely with some instruments of mine."  You can see he's not really interested in talking, preferring to go study this new thing.

Its a bit awkward, being considered less than a bit of cloth, but it is a very interesting bit of cloth.

You flip through the Ethics book, and can see it hits a number of the obvious and a few of the not so obvious issues a time traveller might face.

And then you start reading the design book.  You find yourself with dozens of ideas, and finding some paper and a pen-like stylus that works on some unknown principle sketch some of them out.

You finally stop when your eyes are red, and puffy.

Sleep comes rapidly.  Not even the novelty of floating in the air changes that.

PT

Gratefull for the roof over my head and the care I have gotten I thank God before I go to sleep and gladly let myself be taken to the lands of sleep.

You wake easily the next morning.  Anti-grav field coils are very comfortable.  You lay there a couple minutes just enjoying being able to press your hand into air and feel resistance, and the sheer comfort of floating on air.

Suddenly the Doctor bursts into the room.

He looks a bit harried, with his hair askew.

"I've been playing around with the hole you lent me.  And I have to say, it has many fascinating properties.  You can go to so many places through it, if you could control it, which is rather like trying to juggle five greased bowling balls while blindfolded, which might explain...."

You hear a crash from outside and he looks out.

"I'll explain later. For now. Run!"  He points at a door on the far wall.

PT

"Oh man, not one day passes for normal out here.", I say and I grab my bag as I wiggle out of anti-gravity rather awkwardly.

As I run to the door I turn around and ask the Doctor what has happened.

You turn and see an eight foot tall, green troll which looks like it stepped out of a video game takes its club and bash the Doctor in the back with it.  The Doctor hits the ground, and is at least temporarily stunned.

Then the troll roars at you shaking its club.

PT

"Oh dear Lord, please help!", I say and I switch to praying in tongues (out load) while running for the Doctor. I smile when I recall the doctor saying that I saved his life once. Perhaps this was that time.

"God, give me the speed to make it, I don't know what to do, it's in your hands right now. This is no demon.", I pray.

I'm not going to fight, I'm just going for the Doctor and getting us out of here. I might remember Philip the Evangelist being suddenly in another place, just as what brother Yun, a chinese believer and preacher thinks happened to him once. I know miricals exist.

OOC: Nikolaj is trying to get out of their fast with the Doctor.  Now he thinks of being whisked away or what we might call being teleported or moved at speeds faster than seeable.

Problem is a Teleport is even with his modest skills in magic a very high rank ability and most likely to botch.

However, he is 'praying' which means he is leaving the precise method of deliverance up to Yahweh.  Obviously the Creator knows this would most likely botch (and knows more than that), and so would try to answer the prayer at something lower on the ability ranks so as to make it less likely to botch.

Level Six-Moving Forces looks promising.

Prevent Movement is 6@1 so Accelerate Movement--we'll put it there as well.

Nik has his Holy Magic Knowledge as a bonus, plus his prior miracle as a bonus, plus speaking loudly in a foreign language, and I'm going to assume he'll be tired after this.  This is very quick, and no body parts needed.

Jumping from a Level One to a Level Six is tricky, but he does have advantages.

And he is in a high magic world which helps too.

No instructor bonus, and the example is weak since Phillip was more of being 'teleported', but we'll grant some.

Still, he's most likely not going to make this.  I'm going with about 35% chance.

"51"--no joy, but not a botch either.

He grabs the Doc, and the Troll kicks the bed into the two of them bruising them slightly.

PT

ooc:
Not exactly trying anything, just praying. The teleport was just a suggestion, more then a desired effect. But yeah, it would've been cool.

ic:
"DOC!", I yell as the bed crashes between us, and images of Cap flash through my mind's eyes. "This won't happen to me every day.", I say with my voice even lower then normal.

I shove the bed out of the way and take Cap ... err the Doctor under his arms to drag him out.

"PLEASE LORD! PROTECT US!", I cry out. This dragging is going to slow, so I'll put one arm under his leggs aswell, carrying him. If I find a place to be out of reach of the beast I'll take cap ... err, the Doctor, on my shoulders like the firemen do to rescue someone.

You find yourself shouting "Be free, in the name of Christ the Almighty!"  with your right hand raised.

Suddenly the troll blinks at you.  Drops its club, and bends over, and begins to graze on the carpet.

Munch, munch.

And on the wooden bookcase.

Munch, munch.

"Its a herbivore.  Mind controlled to be vicious. Fascinating!"  The Doc says in bemused wonder.

OOC: Thats 1@1 Counter Enslavements class--Computer control

PT

I look at my hand, and then look at the troll. My eyes will do that several times. I fall to my knees. "Praise God! Thank you Lord! You have indeed freed us, You've freed us all. You've broken the shackles of enslavement! Thank you Lord!"

I look over at Doc. "Doctor, are you allright?"
This man's curiousity is scaring me.

"Just banged up a bit.  No great problem.  Thanks to you."  He gets up, and examines his jacket which has a small rip in it.  And then he starts to walk stiff-legged over to the troll who is munching on a book about applied statistics.

"Simply marvelous.  You can see the large molars, and no carnivorous teeth, this plus what you or ah, anyways, the freeing, well, it makes one think this came from a place where all such creatures are forced to be vicious.  I believe, I used that hole to tunnel into a dimension of what you might call video games.  Fascinating."

He turns and smiles at you.

"Good thing I didn't open a gate to the Abyss or something, eh?"

Yes, his curiousity does seem worrying....

PT

"Ah yeah, the Abbys. Well theoreticaly they can't keep me, because I'm saved by the blood of Christ. But hey, you just said Abbys, so you believe that it exists, yet you're not certain Christ is real? Yeah, for your sake it is good you didn't open a gateway to there." I say, my face going from a questioning expression through a supprised expression to a worrying expression as I say that.

"Well the Abyss is a formless place which has peculiar physical laws which don't admit the presence of photons, and it does seem as if all its inhabitants are voracious and destructive, but that doesn't mean they are the demons and devils of supernatural superstition."

He grins back.

"A Timelord does have resources, but meeting the Abyss truly that might have strained them more than a bit, eh?"

PT

I look at the doctor, knowing I ain't going to get far with this discussion.
"Well, I wont know about that. I wasn't talking about demons and devils of supernatural superstition. I was talking about the real deal. Real demons and devils. Without Jesus you have no valid protection against them."

He smiles gently.

"Well, I do have a sonic screwdriver.  And I have faced off against such before, way back in my second incarnation with that device and my skills.  They attempted to control my mind, but a Master of Time such as I has natural and taught defenses against such.  But I will admit a hope, inspired by a faith in a greater being is a powerful defense against such.  They hate hope."

PT

"Oh, this ain't working", I say with a frustrated sigh while I place my fingers at my temples in a, as far as I currently assumed, universal gesture of annoyance. I'm bothered that God's power isn't getting through to him.

"Well, how do you explain this then!", I say, pointing towards the grazing beast. "How do you think it was freed from the bonds in its mind and soul? That's the power of God! The power of Jesus' sacrifice and ressurection. He has even destroyed the bounds of death. And when the day of judgement comes I wont be bound by my guilt to the law of God, because Jesus Christ freed me!"

My hands start to gesture again when I speak about Christ, and my eyes sparkle. I smile gratefully and with reverance at the taught of the salvation through Christ.

"Hypnosis..." Doctor Whomever begins tentatively, and then you hear a pattering of small feet at the door.  "The gate is still open..." The Doctor begins with a trace of worry on his face.

And then a chicken, a rather fat chicken with a brown robe enters into the room.  Its about two feet tall.

"Rubbish." The chicken clucks.  "Rubbish. I followed the wormhole looking for a juicy worm, and I hear a manthing spouting the typical manthing nonsense."

Doctor Whomever grins broadly.  "Fascinating."

"I am Fryer Cluck, and you two are...?"

PT

Once again I look from the unknown chicken to the Doctor. "This is getting too much, this is getting too much. Allright God, this is getting very hard to maintain at the moment. I give it all to you...", I think and pray.

"I'm Nikolaj, and this is the Doctor, as far as I know.", I say as I extend my hand for a handshake. "Oh, man, Nikolaj, keep your head at it man, a chicken doesn't have hands."

"Hey Doctor, shouldn't we close the wormhole for now? Who knows what else might come out! I mean, the carebears would rock, but it could just as well be Sauron, as far as I know!"

You feel a wave of calm flood through you.  You feel your heart rate slow, and a chuckle slips your lips.

The Doctor gives you a startled look, a reappraising sort of thing.

You hear some more patter, patter as you and the Doctor make for the door.

In hops a rather large Red-breasted Robin dressed in a green sweater with a v-neck so you can see his red color, and with a set of four darts attached in bandoliers to each leg.

"I'm Mr. Hood, and you two are in big trouble for abducting my Fryer..."  He pauses, blinks.  "Manthings?" He squeaks.

PT

OOC: And you can blame my wife, the Ladyfaire, for this joke.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:40, Fri 03 Nov 2006.

OOC: I don't blame her, I congratulate her. Lovely!

"I'm sorry sir Hood", I say, and I barely suppres another chuckle, "but this seems to be a misunderstanding. If we abducted your fryer, it was by accident only. My friend here got a little too curious for his own good it seems. We were just on our way to fix it, ... weren't we?" I say as I turn from the robin to the Doctor.

"Yes, yes." The Doctor says.

The two of you walk into the main chamber of the Tardis, and you see a gaping rip in space out of which a number of green sweatered giant chickens are walking.

"My Fun-loving Flock."  Mr Hood says.

The Doctor begins to work on the hole, closing it.

A brightly colored parakeet with red and orange feathers steps out.  Hood goes up to him.  "Ah, Trill Scarlett, welcome to the world on the other side of the wormhole."

PT

OOC: If there is a pun in the Trill Scarlet I don't get it. I probably don't have the background knowledge.

"Ah well, the hole is closed. I'm sorry about that. Doctor, if time comes, will you be able to reopen it exactly to the same world or get them back with the Tarsis? I don't know if this world is something suitable for them. It seems to take place under water for the largest part I have been told." I say to the doctor.

"Certainly." The Doctor says with a smile.

Hood walks up to you, well struts would be more like it.

"I ask you, good sir.  Is there sherrifs that need their goose feathers plucked, or honest citizens in need of some tax relief, or even better....a nice Rhode Island Red hen in distress that needs rescuing?!"

This last sets up a general cock-a-doodle-doing which makes the interior of the Tardis ring.  The Fun-loving Flock crowds about you looking for adventure.

PT
OOC: Will Scarlett is one of the second rank characters in the Robin Hood stories.  He's known for dressing in red, among other things.  But you're doing very well; I wasn't sure how much English legend and lore a Belgian would know.

I cock an eye (is that a correct expression?) at the exited reply on that last part. But that quickly turns into a weak smile.

"I've only just arrived myself. On this part of the Island there certainly is alot of trouble, but it seems that it is a very evil force. It is only by the grace of God that I'm still here to tell you about it. That evil is however in a forrest. It isn't Notting-hen forrest, but then again, I don't suppose pies grew on the trees at your forrest, now do they?

Doctor, you've been here before, can you answer them better?"


ooc: Ah, now that you tell it I remember that name. I think I've seen about 5 different films about Robin of Locksley, Robin the Hood or Robin Hood for short.
But I haven't read the book itself.
I'm ashamed to tell aswell that although I like fantasy I haven't read the Legend of King Arthur either.
I am, on the other hand, somewhat familiar with the Keltic believes in England and Ireland. Korrigans, Alfs, Korrigans, Lands behind lakes (Tir na Noch) and others, but only to a certain extend that smalltown libraries give information.

"There is an evil force indeed.  A Squ-Id which lives in the deep water, but is able by force of mind to reach through the folds of space.  Its primary ability, I gather is to release the controls of conscience and mercy on what you and I would call the Id, the darker half of humanity or the Flock.  From your description, I believe it deliberately reached out to you when it had some of its emmissaries, the Bad Boys attacked."

The Flock listens closely, and then Trill Scarlett sings out.

"Well-a-day then, let us go attack these Bad Boys and garner the attention of this foul Squ-Id, and perhaps we may venture it a fatal blow?"

This seems agreeable to the Flock, and Doctor Whomever agrees as well with a look of a desire to repay past harms.

PT

"Wow, wait a second here!", I exclaim.

"To me it appeared as some kind of deamon, if not Lucifer himself, since it didn't want nothing to do with the power of Christ. If that is so, what is it that we can do. Just banish it and then, when it returns, banishing it again until the End of time has finally come? And how do we try to tackle it, physical force? That don't seem logical. All of you ..." and I point to the flock, "... are creatures of the sky, and not of the water. The deep waters are off limits to you for sure. I have been able to get me some gills, and the best way I can think to protect others is by telling them of the power and grace of God that will shield them from harm if they repent their transgressions and follow Him. In Him everyone is protected, because the Lord God is a strong Tower!"

Fryer Cluck stands up from his search for food supplies on the floor.

"Well, then, why are we here?  We are fighters and forresters and dart-throwers who deal with evil.  We are not evangelists to preach, but warriors."

This produces a great amount of crowing from the Flock.

"No, I further have something to say.  Didn't Saint Patrick cast all the snakes out of the Irish lands?  How can we then not cast this foul squid from these waters?  And you say you can breathe water, but I can fly over it, and I wager the Fryer can walk on it."  Trill Scarlett says.

"One should not wager about God's miracles, Trill." The Fryer clucks.

PT

"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord" I let out in a sigh. I consider all the options and decide that God must have let us meet for some reason or another. This might be it, perhaps this great evil needs to be banished right now, and mybe I am the tool for it.

"Let's go then, but I need to warn you that I cannot fight. I dont know how to use a sword or a stick or even my very own fists."

The Flock goes with you, but they stare in dismay at your statement of not knowing how to fight.

"Perhaps!" Robin the Hood says, and then he bellows. "Shut UP!" The squawking stops.  "Perhaps we should teach you how to fight first.  After all, having a good Christian man not knowing how to fight is a travesty, a disgrace to the cause of Christ."

PT
OOC: Heh. I'm not sure if you're a pacifist, but I'm fairly sure the Fun-loving Flock of Sher-pen and Notting-hen are most definitely not.

ooc: Oh yeah, I'm pacifist all the way, although I guess I wouldn't be against animals or monsters that are threatening me. I think I also have some sort of Berseker in me, although it is possible that Jesus took care of that. I haven't seen him since my conversion anyway.

A short, starteled laugh escapes me. When I see the others looking seriously I ask :"How do you mean that it is a travesty, being a Christian that doesn't know the fight? If you mean the spiritual battle I am ready. But in the Physical realm a christian seeks peace and love, not revenge and violence." I exclaim shocked.

"Of course, a Christian does not seek revenge nor violence as ends.  But a Christian is obligated to defend the helpless, and protect the weak.  How else may you do this, but by doing violence to the wicked who seek to harm the poor?"

Fryer Cluck asks.

"I do not know if you know of us, good sir, but we rob from the oppressive rich, and give to the poor, and to the Holy Mother Church.  These rich, they lie and cheat at law to starve the weak, the orphan, the widow woman, and it is not from the pricking of the conscience, but the pricking of our darts that the fat and cruel overlords give them a measley something to let them live through the winter.  How could I call myself a good Christian if I let these poor ones starve?"  Robin the Hood finishes.

PT

"I have heard of you, but then in the for of men, humans, like I am, and I think the Doctor is also on of men. Your deeds have honour in them for sure, but didn't the Lord also teach us not to kill nor to steal? The ten commandements teach us so. There are other ways of protecting the weak. But it will all depend on the situation.", I am a bit confused with this expected call on justice and honour. Values that certainly are good.

"God is the judge in the end, and the only way people are truly saved is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. What if we protect them now from physical and material harm at this instant, but neglect the spiritual devastation that goes on. As far as I know I and you are the only ones knowing of God here. Cap knew Him also and died a martyrs death for it.", I say with a swallow as I grief takes me by the troat once again. I swallow again and continiou. "The greatest injustice is them not knowing true salvation, not knowing Christ! This world will end, and all we have on it. It is then, at the end of time that God will judge us. Where will we be then and where will those people we fought for be?"

"Speak for yourself, primate descended creature.  For all you know, you might have more in common with these Sapient Birds than me."  The Doctor interjects.

The Flock is certainly willing to agree that salvation is most important.  They ask if you would like to learn combat from them, anyways, say to fight off, ah, ah, ah, wild bears, yeah, thats the ticket.

And if not, would you please lead them where they need to go.

PT

I agree with the flock to teach me fighting. "I've got this stick see", I say as I show them the wooden pole from the forest of the bad boys,"because Cap was going to teach me how to fight with it. But I guess I won't allways have a stick near me either, so I'll might want to start by learning how to fight by hand." (and I suspect that I have a slightly above average strength. If 1@5 is nor, 1@6 or 1@7)

And I conclude with facing the doctor and claiming that "I didn't decend from no primate, but that's another discussion".

The Flock is willing to teach you "Good English Brawling" which consists in their version of it of plentiful kicks, and jabbing hand strikes, and shaking up your opponent with sudden wild yells.

It focuses on jabbing an opponent, and then following up with a flurry of kicks,a nd all this interspersed with yelling and screeching to rattle and confuse the enemy.

They also teach you how to throw a dart.

You pick up a bit on the Brawling, but not as much as you'd like.  But you do a bit better with the darts, perhaps because Robin is such a good teacher.  He can make the darts do things you didn't even imagine were possible.

1@1 Brawling--Flock Style.  1@2 Dart Throwing.

PT

Content on the results of the dart throwing (something I was never really good in, but never really practiced aswell), I thank Robin for the lessons. I'm not that surprised that the brawling didn't really went well. It takes me some time to get confident enough to shout. I'm afraid that if I go all out I'll know no boundries. It has happened before. But once I get confident enough my low roars will ring far. My breating is allmost allways abdomen-based instead of longbased and as such I don't shout with the throat but wit my gut. (as we say it in Belgium)

Thanking them for the lessons and rubbing some sore spots I point out the general direction of what I remember to be the bad boy's forest. I also look around for a suitable piece of wood to memorate the martyrdom of Cap at the entrance of the forest.

OOC: We'll make it 1@7 then.

IC: You and the Flock and Doctor Whomever leave the Tardis, and walk across the I-Land to the Bad Boyz Forrest.

What memorial did you want to make for Cap?

And what preparations did you want to do?

PT

I'd like to find some wood to carve some memorial text in and somehow place it near the place Cap versed out.

It will have something like this scratched on it (after some time reflecting):

Here Cap passed away, while fighting and stopping the evils of this world in the name of the Most High. Had he not been there I wouldn't have been able to write this. Let his sacrifice that showed us evil, start in us a roaring flame to do good and resist evil, in the name of God allmighty. He was one of the few who knew Him. Don't let his sacrifice be in vain.

I finish carving it in tears and with a sigh. I stand up resolute. The Flock is right, this must be stopped.

With preparations I take you mean preparations for travel/adventure? I'll pluck some pies from the pie-trees. If I find some aluminium foliage I'll take that aswell, to wrap the pies in.

ooc: what is the 1@7 for, I didn't write that to increase something. I only said I could shout :P.

You're prepared, and you make the memorial cross.

Doctor Whomever nods sadly, although a trifle uncomfortably, and then the Fryer proceeds to a short sermon on the need of Good to confront Evil, and on Good's ultimate triumph, and speaks of Cap with kind words which gets interrupted by a pine cone sailing out of the woods to plop at your feet.

Tittering laughter from a number of voices at the edge of the trees drifts hatefully up to you.

"Well, Captain, my Captain, what shall we do?" Doctor Whomever says pulling out a strange looking device.

"Aye, my lord, instruct us." Robin the Hood says.

PT

I steady my eyes on the darkness in the stirring leaves.

"Although they are merely the tools of the dark force, they are still dangerous. But we know that if God is with us, nobody can be against us."

I lift my voice and speack to the creatures and their masters. "You know in Whoes power I come. You have seen it just some days before. Your evil reign is coming to an end. In the name of Christ, begone!"

At that last shout I stretch out my hand towards the creatures.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:20, Mon 20 Nov 2006.

They shriek, and begin to retreat as Fryer Cluck joins in your prayer.

"The Lord is with us, who can be against us!" He crows.

Meanwhile Robin the Hood and his Fun-loving Flock are bouncing airborne, and chucking darts as fast as they can.  Doctor Whomever is boldly striding forward with a device held out in front of him.

"Get lost, ya' nasty little creeps." He snaps.

And then the Flock and the Doctor fall back a step as black smoke billows from the tree edge.  And a voice like secret hatreds and the plotting of malice in dark places whispers out into each of your ears.

"I am here, and so are you.  Tell me, what is it that you want? What you really want in the deepest darkest place of your hearts.  Revenge upon your enemies?  To see them bleeding at your feet while you laugh in their face?  The Sherriff of Notting-hen to be torn asunder?  The Daleks to be exterminated?"

You feel a wave of loathesomeness, but with a dark pleasure to it surround you...

PT

ooc: nice one!

"You know why I'm here!" I say as I'm trying to shake away the feeling of Hatred. I remind myself of God's Love and Grace to counter It.
"I'm here because of you. I'm here because you are a stain on this Land, world, whatever. I'm here so you'd go away. You have no chance against God."

I smile. "I"'m gonna make him pay, pay for his darkness, pay for all the times I fell, pay for Cap. He's gonna pay .... No! No! No hatred! I don't want any hatred except the hatred of Sin. Not because it has done anything to me, but because of what it is. Evil!

"God, protect us with Your Love, let us not fall into the trick of it's hatred. Show them who You are! Show them Your blinding Light of Love! Cloack us in it so we are safe, I bid You!, I scream to God as I realise how subtle the weapons of the enemy are. My hand's are stretched out to the sky and I have fallen on my knees in humbleness.

Light falls down from the sky bathing the whole area in a brilliance that makes everything glow of its own accord, except for a small patch of smoke beyond the Bad Boyz who have fallen insensate to the ground.

The cross is almost blazing, it glows so much.

"Come and get me then, hero.  Come into the cave of death, and face the Squ-id in the darkness.  I shall enjoy picking the meat from your bones, and sucking the sweet marrow.  Your skull shall be a fine decoration on my wall even as I keep your soul in a gem about my neck."

You can see in the midst of the smoke, a greater darkness, a cave mouth which seems to lead into the ground.

PT

"Heh, hero, good try. Don't try to get to my vanity." I reflect in my mind.
I look to the others and frown.

"Allright folks, it seems that this is the greatest form of evil on this piece of land, if not the prince of darkness himself. I can't sensibly ask you to join me unless you want to support on your own accord. Certainly towards you Doc," I say, "because you haven't put yourself under Christ's protection and grace yet. You haven't accpted Him as your Savior. You will be weak or even utterly helpless against this darkness." I turn to the group again and continou: "God put me here on a very special way, I believe this might be the cause, but there needs to be someone here to spread the gospel if I don't get out here alive."

I grab Cap's bible out of the bag and lay it at the cross-memorial. "God, I know you love all Your creation. Your word has entered this world and is making impact. If I am to die, by Your plan or my lack of trust in Your strength I ask you to let this bible be found by the right person so that new believers can come out of this."

In my toughts a flash comes across.



"After everyone who still is willing to go to their death and become a martyr joins me I'll join them in prayer. "Lord, You are God, and You have a plan with each of us. Protect us with Your Light and Grace ... and let this punk see Who he's up against!"

With that I turn to the cave and walking into it I shout: "In the authority of Christ and by the power of His death and ressurection I clear this area of all evil. In the name of Christ!"
My prayers switch between loud, authoritive prayer and silent but determined praying in tongues.

Doctor Whomever looks at you with a bit of amused irritation.

"I, my faith-filled friend, am a Time Master.  I'm well over four hundred years old.  I've fought things you couldn't even imagine, travelled to other galaxies, dimensions, and up and down the timestream more times than even I can count, and I am not without significant resources of heart and will and perception.  This thing can try to control my mind, but I suspect he will find it a lot more than he bargained for."

The Fun-loving Flock stares at you like you're mad.  Of course, they're going.  They'd probably fight you if you tried to stop them.  And then Robin and the rest begin to pray with you as the whole group advances down into the dark cave.

The evil recedes before you, not even trying to fight, but not without a parting shot.

"How can God cleans the evil from this area if you are there?"

You walk on into the dark, and continue praying, and you continue walking.  You sense evil close by, but its always retreating faster than you can come to close with it.

"I think its luring us." Doctor Whomever mutters.

PT

As we go on I reply the evil prescence:

"I myself have been cleaned by the blood of Christ, God in the flesh, who came down to earth and took my blame. It is entirely forgiven, I am clean. That is why you have no power whatsoever over me. I am in God and He is in me. I am not my own, I am His property, you have no power over me."

I turn myself to Docter Whoemever. "Hmm, that might be true, but how will we be able to get it otherwise...".

I stand still, thinking. "How do you get to an evil creature. How do we prevent it to get away..." I direct myself to the fryer. (Fryer Cluck was it?)
"Father, do you remember the verse that states that darkness conquers light? I suppose it is in one of John's letters or in the gospel of John..."

I direct myself to the evil again and smile. "Our God is Light, pure Light. And Light will allways conquer darkness! Darkness cannot excist in Light. You cannot excist in the prescence of God."

I turn myself to the Doctor. "Are you sure about your choises? Would you dare to be in the prescence of God? Because that's what's going to happen now."

After the Doctor's answer (probably an annoyed one, but I'm willing to risk that, better that then have him lost because of God's purity.) I'll raise my hands to the sky and ask God to come down to here, to fill this place with His prescence and light. All ff it, and to annihalate (?) all evil.

The Doctor smiles.

"I've met beings who claimed to be gods before. I'll chance meeting yours.  Besides, we do need to do something with this creature."

Fryer Cluck nods, and then begins to recite that verse...in Latin.

And then you pray...

And suddenly the tunnel is filled with the Shekinah glory.  The walls of reality shimmer like liquid and an unbearable brightness and laughter shines through.

You hear the Squ-id shriek in mortal agony.

The Doctor gasps.

"Oh well, there goes one of my lives."

The Fun-loving Flock at Fryer Cluck's direction has their heads buried under their wings.

And for a second, you find yourself staring into the face of the Creator.  Its a brilliance that sears your nerves, and shatters your bones even as you find yourself splitting your cheeks with a smile.

"Niko, remember Moses. You are a mortal man, you cannot bear to see My Face and live. But whereever you go, I will always be with you."

PT
OOC: And Nikolaj gets blasted out of that world, although he takes the Squ-id out too....

Filled with tears of joy I let myself be anihalated by the pureness of God. And above all, Doc knows it's true and claims to have more lives. Evil has been annihalated.