Bizarre dreams chase you through a night studded with the lights of oncoming semi-trucks that barely miss you as you run wildly across the slick black tarvery of the endless road being pursued by a Chinese tank commander riding on top of a giant white polar bear, and just as it seems you can't take anymore...

You hear a quiet melodius female voice.

"Peace, peace monsieur.  It will be merci, ah, good."

You open your eyes to see a lovely black-haired lady with her hair hanging across half her face.  She is crouched next to you as you lay on some stone floor in what seems to be some sort of common area, and she is patting your face with a wet washcloth.

Around you are a number of couples in a restauraunt-type setting.  But even from here, you can smell the fear on them, and see the pistols or rifles everyone is carrying.

PT

I inhale a deep breath of air and then set my eyes on the woman in front of my eyes, trying to focus in on her face.

"Where am I?  What happened?"  The guns don't exactly set me at ease and hopefully by feigning complete confusion, which wasn't exactly difficult given the fact that he just woke up on the floor of some strange place after just having his body inundated with a syringe full of death.

I try and recall some of the French that I had taken as a high school student, but French was the one class that I had chheated in because I was so bad at it and so there wasn't a lot that came to mind.

Gray eyes, long lashes, aquilline nose, and a determined jut to her jaw.  You can't quite see through the heavy hair on the left side of her face.

"Monsieur, you are in the Cafe' Vienna on the Seventh Arondisement in Bonneville, in the country of Gallia.  Am I correct in thinking you are an Arcadian?  You have their tone of voice, and just appearing out of nothing, 'tis very Arcadian."

One of the others standing near her murmurs something urging her.

"Monsieur, I know you don't know me, but we really need to go.  You need to come with me unless you wish to discuss things with the zallacswvart."

Another of the crowd, an older man, speaks up.

"He should stay, the Threat Brigade should meet with him."

The lady stands and looks calmly at you.

"I will not stay to talk with the zallacswvart, the Black Pigs with their bonebreakers, but it is up to you."  She smiles faintly. "But quickly, as you Arcadians say...time is money.  You have oh, forty seconds..."

PT

I am a little unsure exactly what is being discussed but words like 'Threat Brigade' don't particularly sound like something I want to be experiencing, particularly given that I still feel disorientated.

"Yes, well staying out here on the street, whether it's with you or with this Threat Brigade you speak of, isn't very appealing.  Why don't we get out of here."

I brush off my clothing with one hand and scratch at an itch on the back of my hand with another for a moment.

"Lead me away, I trust you have somewhere we can go?"

One of her comrades helps you to your feet.  You get a glimpse inside his trenchcoat as you do.  He's carrying more weapons than you can count.

The man lets you go with a small smile.

"No one ever tells me what to do twice."  He says very softly.

"Monsieur, let Jacque be, he is crazy, but good heart." She and five others and you exit the restauraunt.  "Yes, Monsieur I do have a safehouse nearby."

Out in the street, you see cobblestones, old stone houses, and coming around a corner about a dozen young men armed with yard long sticks that have short whips attached to the sticks.

A man from the restauraunt yells at them.

"Stranger. Arcadian."  He points at you.

"Halt." THe leader of the men yells, as the lady whispers "Run".

PT

"Run? I think to myself.  "Where would I run to?  My eyes dart back and forth along the street looking for a place to go, and everything seems to slow for just a moment as I try and process what I am seeing and what I am going to do.

Then it's decided.

I turn on my heel and begin to run as fast and as hard as I can in the opposite direction of the men with the whips, hoping that either the people with the guns will help me out, or I will be able to find some place safe to hide.

You pelt off with the lady and her followers going with you, and the Threat Brigade in full pursuit.  Then you come to a T-section where the road turns right and left with the pursuers still behind you, their boots pounding on the cobblestones.

Beyond the T-section, you see rising into the air what looks like an enormous branch.  You're not sure how far away or big it is, but far away and really huge seem to be the answers as it ascends into the sky,

To your left you see an empty street that goes on for a quarter mile straight, and to your right you see more straight, but also a crowd of young men, perhaps fifteen, that are walking your way from a couple hundred yards away.  They are dressed differently than the blue jeans, boots and black leather jackets of the group that is chasing you.

The lady says "run right." and suits actions to words as she heads toward the new group.

PT

My legs keep pounding beneath me and I wheel around the corner to the right, blindly trusting that the woman leading me isn't planning to have me captured or killed.

"How do I know that I am not running with the 'bad guys', this is crazy."  Despite my reservations I can't help but listen to the nagging feeling in my head that the people chasing me are, at the very least, the greater of two evils.

Your small group sprints down toward the group, and your feelings of trepidation rise as you get closer to the group in front of you.  Only the fact that the Threat Brigade behind you is closing in on your group keeps you running.  And then there's a dumpster ahead, on the sidewalk at the edge of the street.

Its decorated with graffitti including a swastika.

You veer around it with a pain jabbing you in the ribs from the hard run, and suddenly one of the guys with you jerks you to the ground behind the dumpster.  All six of them hide in the lee of the dumpster.

The Threat Brigade pours up, and several people have your arms, and then the new group starts running toward the Threat Brigade which shifts course to meet them.

The two groups, one of ten young men, the TB and the other of fifteen pile into each other and start slinging blows from sticks and whips and fists and kicks at each other.  The Threat Brigade is better armed, but the other group is more numerous.

"The Sassies and the Brig hate each other, although if they knew who we were, they'd both stop their fight to kill us."  The lady whispers, and then motions toward an alley in the kind of gesture that says "quietly, quietly"....

You and the rest slip into the alley...

PT

Trying as best as possible to kepe my breathing slowed, I creep quietly through the alley, keeping my eyes open for any of these Threat Brigae who might stumble across us by accident.  All of this was quite confusing to me, but I figured I'd have time to sort it all out when we had a chance to slow down and talk together.

When the time was right and it looked like I was out of earshot of those who might not like me talking to these people I speak up...

About a half-mile away, they walk down a marble staircase littered with trash, and into a subway station.  There are electric lights, although the design seems a bit odd to you, and the light more yellowish than you'd expect.

They get on a car, and the lady posts with a glance one of her troop at either end of the subway car to keep others from entering.  And then you can see them all relax.

"Ve have a quarter of an hour before we arrive in Marselliase.  From there, we will all disperse.  If we get on together, Arcadian, you can come with me to the safehouse."

She looks at you through her heavy bangs, and waits....

PT

A pit in my stomach lingers, gnawing almost imperceptibly at the inner lining of my being.  Something about swatikas and german accents put together rings an alarm every so quietly in the back of my head.

"So before we take off on this 45 minute journey, I need to ask a few questions.  Forgive me for my ignorance but it seems as if I have been living under a rock.  First off..."  I look around at some of the people and with the palm of my right hand turned upwards ask, "Who are you?  And who were those other people?  I am very confused."

The lady smiles and bows her head slightly, and touches her fingers to her forehead.  She seems to search for something, casting her head about, and then she lifts her head up.

"I am Liselle. There is no reason for an Arcadian to care about the rest of the maimed world--after all, you lot closed the doors on Paradise behind you.  I shan't give you my last name as I wish no harm to my family if I am captured or if you are captured and tortured.  I lead Blind Justice.  We seek a strengthening of the hand of the Seventh Republic of Gallia which totters under the attacks of the Brigade and the Sassies, even though the High Prince is not grateful for our efforts.  The Threat Brigade are the violent young men of this land, united in fear of the invaders, they carry bonebreakers and their symbol is the swastika.  The Brigade worships the Short God.  The Sassies, or Assasins worship the Black Throne and the Dark God and they come from far away to seek peace, but they found no peace, and now they bring war, and knives."

She shudders lost in a private vision for a long second.

"Frankly, you would be wise to leave us.  I have a bounty on my head from the Republic and the Brigade, and the Sassies want to take my other eye."

She flips back her head and the shielding hair to reveal a scar running from forehead to cheekbone, and a milk-white eye.

PT

I raise a hand and stroke my chin thoughtfully, an almsot unconscious action at times.

"If I were to leave you, where would I go.  I don't know anyone and I would be as likely now to be caught and tortured by one of these other groups.  I mean, is there anyone that just lives a normal life around here?"

I glanced around and guaged the reactions of the others to see if I truly thought I might have a chance to actually depart from these people and try my luck elsewhere.

OOC:  Work has me slammed, but it comes and goes in waves.  Looks like Tues-Thurs is going to be crazy for me, but easing up as the weekend approaches.  I decided to not even look into the historical context of this world as it's more fun to stumble around in the dark and try to figure things out on my own, just asmy character would have to do.

"Most people try to live a normal life.  And if you keep your head down, maybe learn a different accent than Arcadian, and live in the right town you may be safe for a while.  Choose a town large enough that you can get lost in it, but not so large that it has Shadow Cities about its perimeter or large ghettos inside it since these are where the Sassy live."  One of the guys says, and then adds. "Stay away from outside concerts, particularly hard rock concerts as the Brigade likes them, and keep an eye on the anniversaries of various martyrs' deaths since riots occur then."

Another down near the end of the car adds.

"Don't live down near the Great Sea.  Personally, I'd take the train for fifteen minutes, hop off at Mordieu, and head west on the M-press train to Villenueve or one of the nearby towns on the Drake's Trough.  Lots of medium-sized and pleasant towns out that way you could get lost in.  You should be pretty safe unless Dame Fortune spits in your eye."

And then the lady speaks.

"But eventually, the Fenris Wolf comes and eats the world.  The Helldaemons in the Greater Pentagrams will one day be loosed, and in that year no one will be safe anywhere.  Except you Arcadians behind your walls, and I wonder if even you will be safe then."  There is some bitterness on her face.

PT

I shake my head slowly as the reports and suggestions from the various individuals flow in.  It was all a bit much for me to comprehend and I was feeling a little overwhelmed.  One thing did need to be cleared up though...

"I believe you are confusing me for someone else.  I am no Arcadian, in fact I do not even know what an Arcadian is.  All of these factions, stories and infighting is quite confusing to me.  I know you must be astonished by this, but I am not lying when I say I do not have any idea what you are talking about in all of this.  I could explain to you why, but it seems as if you are limited in time as well."  I sigh and glance around at the underground room, a tiny flashback of home echoing in my head.

"You met me and took me in and you did so without any hesitation.  You did not know me and had no reason to trust me and yet you did.  I have no ties here, nothing holding me to any particular area or objective.  There is no reason for me to try and get lost somewhere."  I nod quickly and then look straight at Liselle.

"I will assist you in your efforts, but you will need to be patient with me.  I do not have the background and information like you assume I do and will need to be handheld for a while until I understand more of your people and your goals.  That is if you will have me?"

I thought back to my gear, and wondered a little where they might have gotten to.  Some of the stuff would likely have come in quite handy now, but they are long gone.

They are not totally convinced, but their leader shushes them in some flowing language.

"Arcadia is to the West past the Blessed Isle and across the Mighty Deep.  Do not fear, we would not expect an Arcadian to know our culture, and if you are not one, then we understand that as well.  But this is passing strange for you have their accent, and you appear out of nowhere which is something we would have thought only those of their power could accomplish."

Liselle sighs.

"I do not confuse you.  I saw you come before you came.  I saw the powers that you could wield, powers of the mind such as I have rather than powers of the gods and the forces.  You offer a wild card that we could put into play, talents that no one else has, and thus no one has a counter too.  This is why I sought you out."

You can sense your stuff when you relax and think about it.

The train lurches to a start, and is soon whizzing down the rails.

OOC: I also assume you have what stuff was with you.

PT

I raise an eyebrow at all the talk of powers and abilities, although I am suddenly reminded of my training that I received...how long ago?

"I do have a few tricks that others might not have, although it was through some hard work that I received these abilities.  I find it very interesting, and a little unsettling, that you claim to have sought me out.  I, for all intents and purposes, simply woke up and you were there, helping me on my way.  I don't know where I am, although I do know who I am, and I can tell you..." I lean forward so that hopefully only Liselle can hear me. "...I am not from this world.  Not an alien per se, but something entirely different.  It might be more accurate to say not from this time as well, although I havn't figured out yet if that is true either."  I wondered if Liselle would be shocked by my statements, though I suspected someone such as herself who already had a strong belief in strange gods and powers wouldn't be entirely set off by what I had to say.

I lean back in my seat and then turn and look out the window

"So you say that you sought me out, did you also have a specific use for me then?   It seems that you and your group may have some plans already in place..."

OOC:  Not sure how much I'll get to this weekend, although generally you're not around much on weekends either.  Tonight I am at a fundraiser for a youth centre, and this entire weekend I have a marriage seminar put on by Focus on the Family.  So it's going to be busy!  Have a great weekend.

"Indeed, I sought you out.  After the knife opened my brain, I can see the divergent pathways the future may take.  I saw you using your powers in a fight, and determined that it would be better for all if you avoided a desperate last stand.  So then I tracked back and found where you arrived.  You were easy to track, unlike most people."

She nods, and then whispers back in reply to your comment.

"The Alfwood? The God City?  Did you fall from the Tree of Worlds?" She points out the window to the branch which had grown up from beyond the village.  Even at many miles distant, it still is visible as it climbs into the sky. And then she shrugs.  "It matters not.  You are here now."

No, she's not put off by your talk of another world.  She already believes in other worlds.

"I need to ask you a question as to what you would be willing to do to stop a horrible civil war?  Would you be willing to break into someone's house, and steal some records of criminal endeavours they engage in so that we can persuade them later?  The person is a judge who keeps letting street thugs out because they bribe him."

PT
OOC: Focus...cool.

I sigh, and focus my attention on the giant growing branch in the distance as I think.  "An ice age, a world where the world's countries are all topsy turvy, people trained in psychic powers and now this.  What IS going on?"

As my brain runs over all of the different theories, I eventually speak up.

"In a war, often decisions need to be made that a person would never do in a time of peace.  I will need some good information on who this person is.  I have no desire to be used as a pawn in some game.  If this judge truly is doing the things you are saying that I suppose that bribery would be the perfect method of reasoning with him."  I pause and lift a hand to the back of my neck, rubbing it absentmindedly.  "And I need to ask, and this is way out from left field, do you believe in a multiverse?"

The question hangs there and I wait.

"We don't have as much money as the Sassies. And trust me, for me this is no game." Liselle tells you with a bit of irritation, flaunting her milk-white eye, but one of her troop interupts before she can say more.

"We could, L, we could.  Knock over an armoured car, you know the one that brings the gold shipment in from the Sassy countries over the seas to their emmisaries who then dole it out to the Sassy troopers.  We could help ourselves and greatly weaken them."  The fellow with this idea seems greatly enthused.

It soon turns out that they all believe in some type of multiverse.  The various worlds hang off the World Tree, of which that branch out there is one small bit.  And if you know how to, you can climb from one world to the next--that is, if you can survive the great dangers as well.

PT

"I am sorry, I did not mean to offend you.  Of course this is all very serious for you.  I never even introduced myself after everything that we just went through.  My name is Doulos* and I am just an ordinary person who has been through some extraordinary circumstances.  I would like to help you.  But in return I would like to be given as much information as possible on the World Tree.  If it is indeed true that one can climb the World Tree and perhaps reach other worlds, then perhaps there is a chance I can reach my own world once more.  I miss it and I want to be home."  I sigh and look out the window once more, before returning my stare at Liselle.

"So what do you say to that?"


* I'll just use Doulos as my name, it seems much less confusing :)

"We're not learned scholars in the Arts." Liselle says with a smile.  "We're would be counter-revolutionaries.  Now, I do have one High Worker in my organization, but it would take a while to get him, or I could simply send you to another one in the city who is publically listed, and you can make your own arrangements."

One of the guys speaks up with a shrug.

"There's the bookstore."

Liselle nods looking at you.

The train slides to a halt, and Liselle tells you to get off with her while the others go on.  You are in a much smaller town.  She takes you down several streets covered with cobblestones and lined with cafe's.

And then she boldly walks up to a townhouse, and smiles at the next door neighbour.

"This is my cousin, Doulos.  He's got a speech impediment, but the doctors are working on it."

The neighbour tsks at the tragedy, and then Liselle takes you inside.

PT

"A speech impediment?  I guess so my accent doesn't draw attention to myself.  Not a bad idea."  I follow Liselle inside the house and ready myself for whatever information I am about to be given.  I am resolute on finishing the task given me and then finding out as much information on this Tree, and all of these ideas of moving to other worlds, as I can.

"I cannot promise you that I have a great deal of skill in a great deal of things.  I'm no athlete but I have some basic hand to hand skills, a little bit of skill with a pistol.  I can even speak some Arabic if needed.  But let's spend some time really laying out what you expect of me and we'll go from there."

"Do you want to search out a High Worker yourself, or have me send for the one in my organization?"

She searches her house, and comes back with a book suited to ten-year-olds.  She shrugs apologetically.

"It is all I have on the subject."

Inside is a fold-out picture of an enormous tree with distance measurements on it, and hanging from ten of its branches are planets, some smaller that others.  The measurements are in leagues, and it takes some math to work it out.  But it looks like the picture is claiming that the World of Man is eight thousand miles through, and that the World Tree in its entirety is a million miles tall.

But then there is another set of pictures which claims that the World is but one in a section of matroyska like dolls, with each hollow world having another world about it.

The book further claims that both are true.

The various worlds are thus:
1. World of Man.
2. World of the Alfwood.
3. City of the Gods--the smallest world, hence the newest also known as the World of the New Gods.
4. World of the Older Gods.
5. World of the Daemon's also known as the Place of Pain.
6. World of the Waiting Honorable Dead.
7. World of the Wicked Dead.
8. -10. Unknown.

Liselle says, "Arabic? I've not heard of that language."

PT

My heart sinks a little as I flip through the book, its pages offering me little in the way of information that I might need to get me home.  With a shrug I place the book to the side.

"Whatever High Worker you have would be fine for me.  I basically just would like someone as informed on the topic as possible.  I want to try and see if perhaps one of these worlds might be my ticket home."

I nod when Liselle questions the Arabic language.  "It is an ancient language, perhaps one that is no longer used here in your world. Here is an example of it..."

I think for a moment and then say... ن الإنجليزية إلى العربي

She replies in what sounds like Arabic to you.

"But this is the Tongue of the Ifrit and the Jinn, and some say the Tongue of the Angels.  Why do you call it A-ra-bic?"

If you like, we can move forward to the next day when a man knocks on the door.  He is tall, with an ascetic appearance, and a distracted manner.  You see a number of burn marks on his arms and cut marks on his fingers.

He has a number of what looks like grenades, knives, a vest, and a number of guns about his person.

"I am M'sieur Fache, an accredited High Worker."

PT

I stand staring at the man, a little taken back at his armoury of weapons that he is carrying on his person.

"Umm, well hello.  My name is Doulos, nice to meet you I suppose."  I flash a look over at Liselle, some concern on my face.  "Come on inside."

I hold open the door and step over to the side for a moment to allow the man some room to come inside.

"So you are a High Worker.  I expected someone a little more wizened and scholary and perhaps a little less...well...militaristic?"  I shrug, with an odd look of 'I guess?' on my face.  "But I have been told that perhaps you would have information on how I can more between worlds and that is what I am interested in.  I want to get home.

"These are the tools of a High Worker.  The forces I manipulate are held and controlled with these devices."  He looks at you strangely.  "The only High Workers who are not such are the consultants who no longer have the strength to Work."

You clearly hear the "W" in that word.

"Now perhaps, I shall ensure our privacy, and then we may begin with the interview."

He has you and Liselle sit down on kitchen chairs in the center of the living room.  He adds one chair for himself.  Then he takes out a knife, and muttering to himself, he draws a line in the air, a circle about the three of you.  Then he looks back at Liselle who shakes her head.  Grunting, he pulls out a gun, and begins to mutter again.

Flame springs from the mouth of the gun, and he draws this in a circle as well.  It hangs in the air.

"Now, m'sieur, we are protected by Air and by Fire.  It is most unlikely any of my rivals, or the good lady's proliferating enemies would be able to spy on us now."  He wipes some sweat from his forehead.  "I would wish you had not said what you said before I protected us. As to world-travelling, which of the ten worlds do you wish to visit?"

"You are silly." Liselle says.  "You attract attention with your theatrics."

"You, dear lady, put too much faith in your uncanny ability to see the pathways of the future.  Some good wards of protection would be wiser."

They glare at each other.

PT
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:59, Tue 28 Nov 2006.

Sensing the tension in the air, I shift uncomfortably in my seat.  The whole scene is a little odd for my own tastes but if it gives me even the slightest chance of getting back home then it is worth it.

"I understand that there is little known about the final three worlds.  It is one of those that perhaps we could try and get to.  The world I want to try and find is one very much like our own, but where I live in the country of Canada and work in a normal job.  This world is my home, and I believe that it is still out there, waiting for me to get back to it.  Do you think there is any way we could get to 'that' world?"   I stop speaking and stare at the man, inwardly wondering if there is any point to this conversation at all.

OOC:  This looks very much like a dead end, but I am feeling sort of Quamtum Leap"ish" with my character right now.  Want to get home, stop versing etc.

He discusses the particulars of your 'world' for a bit more, and looks befuddled.

"If what you say is true, then your world must come from outside the Ten Known Worlds.  Unless as you say, its one of the three undiscovered worlds.  I could take you to my master at the Frappe Academy.  He's very powerful.  But let me try something first."

He pulls something out, facing away from you, and only too late do you see its a grenade.  After he's pulled the pin, and dropped it on the floor.

PT

Instantly my instincts kick in and I burst out of my seat in the living room and make for the nearest exit.  My mind reacts as well and I reach out trying depserately to possibly do something...anything that might keep the grenade from exploding.

All I have time to yell out is "Fool!"

OOC:  I picture Gandalf hanging from the cliff in Lord of the Rings as I yell this.  That was rather unexpected.  Hopefully I get a good roll or something here...

You run through a flicker of heat, not registering it in your panic.  A heavy wooden chair gets flung behind you with one arm, and you burst into the kitchen, and hit the stone tile floor with hands over your head.

No explosion occurs. Instead, you hear a faint, pleasant chiming noise, the scrape of a chair,and Liselle's shoes pad across the floor to the kitchen.

She stands in the doorway.

"What is the matter? He did not summon a daemon, but a Great Crystal."

She sounds faintly perplexed.

PT

With my heart pouding in my ears I slowly lower my hands and look up at Liselle, exhaling a deep breath as I do so.

"A Great Crystal?  In the world that I come from a grenade - the object that he threw down on the ground - causes explosions and kills people.  I thought I was about to die, and was trying to get as far away from the blast area as possible."

I begin to stand up, my hands shaking slightly from what I thought was going to be a near death experience.

"I apologise for looking the fool, but everything here is so much different then I am used to.  I will return with you to see this Crystal."

I try my best to compose myself and head back into the room, ready to move forward with the Worker's plans and hoping for the best.

"Strange, mon ami. Most strange.  But the mana dust in the crystal holder doesn't explode.  Not even the dust in my wand gun explodes."  She pats the gun she is carrying with a troubled expression on her face.

In the next room, you see the Worker tending to a grenade that has flowered, and is now spinning about its axis.  Dominating the scene is a four foot tall and ten inch thick crystal which hangs in the air, pulsing with light, and making small chiming noises.

The Worker sits you and Liselle down, and redraws his circles with a dark look at you.

"Since you are evidently from very far away, probably a barbarian culture, let me explain.  The Great Crystals know things.  Not everything by any means.  You ask it a series of questions it can answer as yes or no.  Problem is, if it can't answer 'yes' because say you asked a two-part question, or for some other reason, it then answers 'no'.  And after five 'no''s it goes back to where it came from.  Some people think there is a World of Crystal.  There is a limit to how many questions you can ask as well,  even if you get all 'yes'.  I've seen one Worker ask twenty-four questions before suddenly the Crystal said 'No' five times and vanished.  Also, it does not remember previous questions you asked it.  Yes, we think they primarily live in the future, if that makes any sense."

PT
OOC: Ask five questions if you would.

Shaking my head slowly I walk around the crystal, taking in its shape and size and wondering to myself what kind of thing I was witnessing.  Then I stopped and crossed my arms, leaning back in my posture and closing my eyes.  My head tilted upwards in a "stare at the roof" sort of way, and I began to think.

After a few minutes I had thought of my questions...

"Is it possible for me to return back to my own world?"

"Is my world one of the 10 worlds known by the High Worker?"

"Am I immortal?"

"Can I become a god?"

"Do people miss me in my world?"

The lights glow and fade in patterns, and the M'sieur Fache carefully notes them.  He then looks into a book for some notes.

"Okay, I make that a 'No', a 'No', a......"

He pauses and doublechecks.  And slowly he murmurs. "a 'Yes', and a 'Yes' although I could have told you that.  After all, at one time the Short God was merely a man. And a 'No'."

He then looks up at you.

"Since the Crystal doesn't seem to know of your world from the Ten, I'd say that last 'No' means it doesn't know the answer, but I feel certain the answer is 'Yes'."

PT

My face sinks, my stomach feeling a little upset.  I did not really think I was taking the answers from this crystal all that seriously, but the complete despair I feel at the Crystal's answer to my first question has really set me off.

"So I can't return home then..."

The words seem hollow in my ears, and the rest of the answers seem pale and I almost fail to notice them as I sti and stare at the floor, tears welling up in my eyes.

"What value is there to my life if I am never to return home, but only to die and be reborn for eternity?  This all seems so hopeless."  I sit in silence for some time contemplating my life, and what I am going to do with it now.

"I no longer wish to ask this crystal any more questions, thank you for your time sir."

"Thats not necessarily so, sir.  It could well be that the Crystal simply doesn't know."  M'sieur Fache says.

"Besides, we have a good and noble cause on this world to fight for." Liselle says. "Join us.  Help me save all the little families out there who want to live in peace.  You have suffered a tragedy, as I have.  But it has given you the power to help others avoid that tragedy as mine has.  Join us in our fight."

PT

I sit in silence for some time, my head hanging down, tears in my eyes.

With a shrug I look back up at Liselle.

"What do I have to lose really?  I am really struggling with the purpose in my life now.  I might have an effect on this world and this time, but the people I love and know are all gone and I have no way ... or perhaps I know of no way ... to get them back."

I stand now, a huge sigh erupting from my chest.

"Let's get on with this task then.  If I cannot have purpose in my own life then I will do what I can to bring about the best in the worlds that I encounter.  And maybe... maybe one day I can find my way home."

OOC:  Been crazy busy.  Hopefully it's not too disruptive that I pop in and out sometimes.  Still loving this storyline, just so you know I'm not avoiding posting out of a lack of interest.

"All right. In my vision of you in the future, the future that I short-circuited, yes? That one, you were throwing something with your mind.  I wonder if tonight you could come with me, and a special team to invade the judge's home, and search for evidence of Pierre Dalrieux's corruption." Liselle says flinging her hands and head about dramatically.

The worker, M'sieur Fache, gets up, and he hands you a business card.

"Only speak my name, and then burn it, and I will answer you.  This will tire you as it will take of your mana."  He says before leaving.

PT

OOC:
No problem.

PT

I eye the buisness card warily but then jam it away for safe keeping.  I think to myself that I probably will never use it again, but who knows.

"I will accompany you on this little trip and do the best I can to be helpful.  I do not have a lot of experience in collecting intel on someone, but I'll do what I can.  Is there anything else of importance that I should know?  And when do we leave?"

OOC:  Back!

She gives you a pair of dirty work pants, and a t-shirt with the French for "Electric Service" on it, and a brown, tough fabric jacket with the name "Jacque" on it.  Then she adds a utility belt.

"Ok, Jacque. Follow me."

She drives you across town.

"Okay, we have a ladder on the van.  You're going to cut power to the downstep, which is a more advanced transformer, I think.  Zap the whole neighbourhood.  Then you go knock on some doors, ask them some questions, and when you get to the house of the judge, you let yourself in the back.  He forgot to lock the back door today."

She pulls up alongside a telephone pole in a nice section of town.

"I can't do this. You have to. I'm a woman,a nd the Sassies don't like letting woman do men's work."

PT

I nod as my commands get sent to me and then I pause for a moment.

"I hope there are some pretty specific instructions on how to do this, because I certainly do not want to get myself electrocuted.  But I am ready to do this right away.  No sense waiting."

I get out of the vehicle and walk over to the pole, knocking on it with a hard rap, as if that somehow might be an action someone would do if they were working in a situation like this.

She slowly gives you directions, very slowly, and it occurs to you that she's looking into the future to see what works.

You begin to clamber up the pole with a belt around your waist extending around the pole, and by the time you get to the top, you're very tired.  You're legs are trembling.  They are not used to this type of labor.

She has you remove the outer cover of the transformer.

"Okay, you're going to have to wait a few minutes.  There are lots more ways for you to mess this up, than for you to survive it. And I have to sort through them. Also, there's a Sassy patrol moving through the area, and you're going to have to talk to them."

PT

With an aching in my legs already the prospect of hanging up here long enough to engage in some witty banter with some Sassies as well as tinker with a life threatening electroction box, doesn't seem too promising.

It's a funny thing.  My life means nothing now and yet the most basic instincts of keeping myself alive still kick in, preventing me from just flinging myself off of the pole or electrocuting myself just to see what it feels like.

"Alright, anything I should be saying to these Sassies, or just make it up as I go along?  And how long do I have to wait up here, my legs are killing me already!"

I shift my hands first, and then my legs a little bit in an attempt to try and get myself into a more comfortable and efficient resting position.

"Just don't tell them you're with 'Blind Justice'.  They'll use you for a torch.  And, make sure to occasionally massage your right calf, in about two of ten possible futures I see it massively cramping, and then you falling."

And then you see a three young guys who don't need a neon sign flashing "Trouble" to let you know that they are.  Although it could hardly be less obvious if they did have a neon sign floating overhead.

One pulls out a little black statue,a nd kisses it.

"Are you one of us, Mr. Electric Mage?"

PT

I glance down at the car very briefly and then return my gaze back to the Sassies standing below me.  Trying to remember as much as possible I smile and reach down to massage my leg awkwardly.

"I'm with 'Blind Justice' since you're asking.   But my main concern right now is to fiddle with this here thing and see if I can work my magic."  I nod my head towards the pole and wonder if the use of the pun is a good idea.

"And how about you guys today, are things well with you?"

They gape at you in utter astonishment, and babble at each other to make sure their ears heard what they thought they heard.

All three then take out sticks and start beating with a lot of force, the telephone pole you're on.  You can feel the faint vibration in your hands, but you don't see any chips of wood flying off, or hear loud cracks.

And then out of the corner of your eye, you see a four inch tall 'humanoid-ish' ball of electricity with hands, feet and a head climb out of the transformer, and go to the edge of it to shake its tiny fists at the Sassies down below.

"Homewreckers! Stop!"

They laugh, and the guy in charge sends the other two to go find rocks.

PT

The situation was not looking like it was quite under control like I thought it could be.  The look on the sassie's faces, and the banging of sticks made my 'not so spidey' senses tingle a bit.  And this ... thing ... coming out of the telephone pole was certainly a bit of surprise as well.  I was not prepared for any of this at all.  Perhaps I should have asked for a little bit more information on what Blind Justice was.

"Thank you for your help gentlemen, it looks like things are well under control here now."  I reach down and grab at my leg once more, hoping that I will gain a little bit of a better idea what is going on here.  I shoot a quick glance down at the vehicle as well, hoping maybe I can pick up a sign of what I can do.

"They hate Blind Justice. Now they want to kill you.  Its doubtful they would be satisfied with torture.  Its more probable that torture then murder will occur.  The two will be back in a minimum of two minutes, and a maximum of five with armfuls of rock they can use to throw at you until you fall." The lady says in your earpiece.

The tiny humanoid glares at you.

"They're destroying my home.  Or trying to.  Aren't you going to do something?  Do you have a water pistol? I could ride the water down, and zap them good.  What magics do you have human?"

PT

My mouth opens up and my face scrunches together as I try to understand why I was told to tell the Sassies these things when it would only lead to them wanting to kill me.

As the men wander off to grab their weapons of choice I quickly assess whether I will have enough time to make it to the car before they get back.  The catalogue of skills begins to flicker in my head as well, as fast as possible...wrestling, some light telekinesis, hand to hand combat...nothing all that convincing in this situation.

I begin to scramble back down the pole with the intention of getting to the car as fast as possible to get out of the area.  I keep my eyes of the Sassies with the idea to fight them if I absolutely have to.

You think back over what was said...

Just don't tell them you're with 'Blind Justice'.  They'll use you for a torch.

You go down the pole lickety-split, and the van is zipping up alongside of you and between you and one of the Sassies who is charging with a stick.
You dive into the van, and get smacked in the thigh with a strike, and the van burns rubber getting out of there.

Someone tries to block its path, but the driver just pushes the pedal down, and the obstructionist dives wildly out of the way.

PT

OOC:  My gosh, I reread that 3 times and every time I read it as 'Tell them you're from Blind Justice'  Hah what a bonehead I am.  I'll get to replying to this tomorrow...

Head tilted backwards onto the seat, my breath coming into my lungs in gulps I try and settle down a bit before speaking.  Between deep gasps of air I finally turn and speak.

"What in the Fimbulwinter happened there?!  When I told those guys I was with Blind Justice they were ready to lynch me.  Why did you tell me to say that to them?"  I lay my head back again and close my eyes, thinking that I had just narrowly escaped being beaten to death by a few men with a real bad attitude.

"Who are Blind Justice?  Those Sassies clearly don't like them."  I shake my head slowly and then open my eyes.  "I'm not sure what I did wrong there, but I'm sick and tired of people trying to kill me.  Let's get these bastards and do whatever it takes to make them pay.  You've got one solid supporter here now."

I gather myself together for several minutes, waiting for a response and then ask one final question.

"And what the HECK was that ... thing ... that came out of the telephone pole.  I feel quite uninformed about these sorts of things."

OOC:  I'm still finding that quite funny (though almost very lethal) that I read that wrong so many times.  It's good to be back and posting more often, I've missed this game.

"Fimbulwinter? Are you a worshipper of Thor and Odin then?"

She gives you a quizzical glance even as she darts the car around another car.  Her driving is ...insane as she tries to escape the area.  The stripe down the center is completely disregarded, and other cars screech their horns at her.

"I said...DON'T tell them you're with Blind Justice.  They hate us. They hate me.  I have a million mark bounty on my head, dead or alive from the Sassies.  Why in the name of all thats reasonable did you tell them you were with us?  You're lucky they didn't catch you and put a tire around your neck."

She zips down an alley with inches to spare on both sides and runs over a trash can.

"Blind Justice.  I started it.  The TB and the Sassies are both trying to topple the Seventh Republic of Gallia.  The TB want to put all the Sassies and anyone they don't like into death camps.  The Sassies want to put up a statue of their Black God in the square, and force everyone to bow to it.  Don't bow, and they chop your head off.  The Seventh Republic is frankly, a bunch of losers, whiners, and thieves.  But, they also offer something like justice for one and all.  So, I try to help them, even though they don't want to be helped."

She stares at you again.

"That was an electrical sprite.  We've got one in the battery of this van.  How else do you think we get electricity?  High Workers design the spells for city workers to put in place, and set up the light bulbs and what not that are needed.  Without magic, we'd be living in stone caves..."

She keeps on talking as your eyebrows raise.

"You do realize of course, that this van is powered by a minor gas djinn?  And that my gun unleashes celestial fire? Right?"

PT

I lean forward and begin massaging the top of my forehead, just above my closed eyes.  I sigh and then lean back again.

"I thought you said to say I am FROM Blind Justice, what an error that turned out to be.  I suspect I've set our efforts back a bit by my actions, and for that I apologise."

I open my eyes, squinting a little as if the light hurts them.

"I am no worshipper of Thor and Odin, but I know a little of their works," I say vaugely.  "And those sprites are not of Thor and Odin.  It is something completely different from my world.  In my world we use something called electricity, which is a current of nonliving energy that makes things like lights operate.  Sprites do not exist."

Turning my head out the window I feel a little of the nostalgic feeling when talking about home but attempt to push it back down once again.

"So what have my actions done for us now?  I am guessing we will need a new plan, and likely it will be something dangerous.

"Oh no, those sprites are manipulations of the naturo-magico fields.  High Workers of ages past like the Great Magi such as Newton  and Edison discovered how to breed and construct proper sprites, and the rules that confined them.  Its not like the old days when Thor and Odin and the wild elves and dwarves ran free.  Now, we bend the naturo-magico fields to our will in this modern age instead of letting goblins and elves spring forth willy-nilly. And we have modern gods too, what with Odin and Thor turning their backs on the world."

She looks at you with a skeptical glance.

"You sound like a Materialist."

She thinks a bit.

"Okay, let me put it to you.  How would you go about dealing with a judge who takes bribes from the Sassies?"


PT

"A Materialist would be a good way to describe me I suppose, but that's because the world that I came from was based on Material Laws ... if that's how you would describe them.   It is taking some time for me to adjust to the new Laws of this world."

I pause and think for a moment upon the question given to me.

"Well I think your initial plan was a good one, sadly I seem to have botched that one up quite badly.  Is there no system in place to catch and punish corrupt judges?  I suppose if we could get some proof of this then we could get him tossed out of court."

I shake my head slowly as I look down at the floor.

"Aside from that I'm not sure.  Unless we do something that will scare the judge into thinking he is being watched by a power that is greater than him and will do nasty things to him should he accept any more bribes.  Though I am not familiar enough with your world to know who that might be."

Doulos, over the next year, you make strides in learning High Working, and the Gallic tongue, as well as their incredibly complicated system of pantheons layered on each other.  You also advance in your TK, and prove your use to your group several times.  In the process of all this, you help strengthen the Seventh Republic against its many adversaries, and although it is not certain that you have by any means saved it, you have given it life support, and helped stave off the rise of a new Dark Age by some months, at the least.  You also make some very good friends as you find the intense cameraderie that grows up in the midst of combat to be a comfort.

And then random chance gets you....not an enemy, just a driver drunk on too much vin ordinaire catches you with the fender of his car and slams you flying into a wall.  You remember sliding down to the ground, and then...

PT
I think I need a world with less politics, and more hunting, and more the end of the world for you so give me a bit too think of it.

Dang drunk driver!

Looking forward to the next world.  But to be honest this is more of a factor of me as a dud player then the world.  :)