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Dear
Diary
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04-25-06: One by one (except for Dallas) we all met up in a lobby restaurant at the Palace for breakfast. As we were eating, Michael got up from the table and went the bar. When he returned he told us that he'd seen two guys - Indian looking (turned out they're Mestizos) wearing 'uniforms' that looked like the ones the Tribal Police who'd helped us way back when had been wearing, except these two had rainbow-hued capes over their shoulders. The capes were made from the feathers of brightly colored birds. He'd seen them paying the bartender with feathers that looked like the quills were filled with or plated with gold. As he approached them, he overheard them saying something about "Mormons"…"oversized, armored UAV", and "pancakes" (?) Then they said something about the Mormons being as crazy as a virgin in a whorehouse... Michael asked the bartender about the feathers and she told him they're recognized currency from Aztlan. This intrigued Olivia so she nonchalantly followed the 2 guys and caught up to them. She got their attention, and one spoke English. She asked them if they would be willing to trade some of their feather currency for Vegas chips. They thought that was pretty amusing, "But sure why not." They traded her one that was worth 5 chips or 10 Kingdom crowns. (Olivia told me she was going to keep it with her vampire skull.) Then she asked them "What was that you were saying earlier, about the Mormons?" They'd been saying that they don't understand what they're doing here in Vegas, "trying to save souls and convert the sinners" when their own home has been pounded into a pancake. Why aren't they home trying to rebuild and help their own people? Olivia thanked them and returned to the table to report. Michael went back to the bar and offered the bartender chips for all the different feathers she had. (For Olivia) She explained the different 'denominations' that go all the way up to one that's worth 1,000 chips (it's a feather from a quetzal). He thanked her and tipped her for her help. Then he too, returned to the table to report. Then the discussion turned to "What to do next." I said that I wanted to go to the Temple of Corellon. Olivia wanted to see the Klingon war priest about his silksteel armor. So we decided we would visit the Temple and then go find the Klingon. Alfred, Michael and Vesta were all OK with that plan, but Connors, O'Bannon & Carson begged off, saying that they wanted to do nothing more than spend the day by the pool. I told them to use sunscreen; I didn't want to have to be Healing any sunburns! Armani greeted us in the lobby and got us a town car. As we took off I couldn't help myself; I looked at all the Elves in the car and started to sing "The Elf Mobile" song. (Remember that old Disney song - The gnome Mobile? Well, Alfred thought it was funny) We got to the Temple and could see an old sign for the "Little Chapel of Flowers". And seeing how the building has Changed, it seems appropriate. The building itself is now covered with vines and flowers. It doesn't look man-made anymore. The doorway is a curtain of wisteria that parted of its own volition as we approached. As we entered, the keeper of the Temple, a gold Elf greeted us. He was seated in the center of the "hall" in a grotto formed by fully-grown trees with a spring bubbling up from beneath the largest. He bid us enter and gestured at a flat rock near the door and asked us to leave our weapons there. It took us awhile, but he politely said nothing while we disarmed. He introduced himself as Thomas and greeted me as a Priestess. I introduced first the group and then myself as the Priestess of Corellon to the New Kingdom of the Outlands. He laughed, "No need to introduce yourselves, you've stirred up quite a hornet's nest, everyone knows who you all are." He gestured for us to be seated with him in the Sanctuary. When we were all comfortable he conjured up a lite picnic, including wine that looked like antifreeze and had specks of gold floating in it. It was delicious. He also included something he described as a Drow specialty, "For our Dark brother and sister." It had mushrooms with a purple sauce. They both loved it. Then he said something about the glowing green wine being a Drow item too! I was starting to wonder if he knew any food other Elves liked when he passed a pastry that was just Heavenly! He said it was called Waybread, and that it went really well with elderberry jam. Best of all, it's a Gold elf thing! While we ate he asked why were there. I said, "This is the first Temple I've seen besides mine. And my Temple isn't even really built yet, and you're the first other cleric of Corellon I've met." He told me that this is the 1st Temple that had been 'built' outside of Yosemite, home of the Main Temple. I immediately felt something; I must go to Yosemite. I pulled my self back to what Thomas was saying; "…there are now redwoods in Yosemite." He told us that the Temple was started by an androgynous woman who found herself in Yosemite during the change. While she was there, the trees began to speak to her. They told her to build the Temple and to spread the Word. I asked about this woman, so curious I couldn't sit still. "Morning Mist" (a very shortened version of her name!) is still very androgynous. He described her as being "flexible with her sexuality, one minute male, female the next." It was obvious (to me at least) that he found that quite disturbing then and still does. He said that she is able to get in touch with both sides of Nature itself. And that he'd had "The honor and privilege to study with her for 3 weeks before being sent out into the world" The more he said, the more I knew I must go to Yosemite. He asked me where my Temple is located, and I told him, "There is no Temple as such, quite yet. But my followers and I are meeting in a grove outside of Durango." He got up, went to a map on the wall, and marked it with a pin. I followed him and made note of some of the other locations. There's one in SLC of all places! Some in New Mexico, northern Utah, one in Fairbanks (they refer to the Priest there as "Dances With Moose"), quite a few in New Ectopia, more around Yosemite and extending down to (but not in) the LA area, and some in northern Mexico. I asked him if he had any written records of teachings or rituals and he promised to get me a copy of what little he had. He then seemed a bit chagrined, but finally spit out that there aren't many members of the Temple here in Vegas and that it might help attendance if I were to make public my affiliation. I saw Vesta nudge Michael; he nodded and said that they'd been thinking of renewing their marriage vows. Why not here, in a public ceremony, televised by the Overlord of the Bellagio? Vesta asked Olivia and I to be her bridesmaids, and Michael asked Alfred to be his best man. Thomas agreed to conduct the service since I'll be in it. Then we bounced some ideas around. Michael wanted to invite Malcolm and Jesse. Would that be possible? We decided that we should have it on the 2nd, since there are so many other things to do on the 1st. Then Michael and Vesta surprised me even more by announcing their desire to declare themselves to the service of Corellon. They were ready to swear allegiance right then and there! Thomas happily agreed to witness it and had his acolyte escort Michael and Vesta to an antechamber so they could prepare themselves. Then he escorted me to another so we could prepare. He offered me a choice of robes to wear for the ceremony. I chose a deep forest green with gold trim; a fabulous silken material, very nice, very Elven in design. I told him the only 'vestments' my acolyte and I have were scavenged from a religious goods store. He seemed pretty appalled by that. He took something like rubber cement and painted some designs on my face and then applied gold leaf to it. When that was done he gave me a holy symbol - an oak leaf dipped in gold. It was beautiful. He told me it had come from a tree near the main Temple in Yosemite. I had that feeling again: I could Feel the power in it as he put it around my neck. I must go to Yosemite! The Priestess, Morning Mist, had given him the leaf (and many others) before he left the Temple. I must go to Yosemite! Then he handed me a 3 ring binder, a copy of his "liturgical manual". It had some handwritten pages along with some Xeroxed sheets in it. I glanced thru it quickly and noticed that some of the prayers and rituals in it are better than what I've been doing. But on the other hand, some are really, really not. So, while he was busy with something I 'probed' him and discovered that he is only about half as powerful as I am! I tried to think of a way to suggest that I might be able to help him by teaching him some things, but he totally missed my hints. I gave it up for the moment since I didn't want to insult or offend him. We returned to the Sanctuary and Michael and Vesta were brought back in, wearing snow-white robes with silver trim. Thomas invoked a plea for Corellon's Blessing and the spring turned golden and began to glow. He anointed them with spring water and delivered a short but heartfelt speech that was only a little hokey. He gave them each a holy symbol and pronounced a Blessing over them. Then he asked me to speak of their deeds, being their comrade in arms. So I did (keeping it brief, or we could have been there all day), then I Blessed them as well and gave each of them one of the holy symbols (with the crescent moon) that I'd had made up back home, so long ago. When I'd finished Thomas said, "Put in your hands and pull out your link to Corellon. Corellon has decreed that you are to protect the People" They took each other's hand and put them into the spring. When they pulled out they were no longer holding hands - they were each holding a long sword! Both were finely made blades: light, sharp, fast, and easy to handle. These were true Elven blades! Thomas said, "Welcome to the service of Corellon" and told them if there was anything they wanted to test to put it in the spring. They took their Elven armor and put it in the spring; it came out unchanged, proving that it was True. Olivia wanted to try her armor, but not being a follower she was concerned that it might not be accepted. I told her, "Not to worry, Corellon looks after all his People." She tested it, and it too is True Elven mail. I took the sword that I found in Moria and placed it in the spring. I could see pieces of metal floating to the surface. And when I pulled it out, it had Changed. It was remade, better: thinner, easier to handle, less bulky, lighter and glowing with more intensity. Now it's a true Elven blade, while before it was just what Wendell thought was True. The inscription on it is the same, but now it will be even more deadly against the enemies of Corellon - Orcs! As I removed the sword, the Magic light faded and the spring returned to normal. Thomas asked if I wanted some Holy Water. I fetched the silver flask I've been carrying for that purpose and he filled it for me. We all changed from the robes back to what we'd been wearing, I tried to return the leaf he gave me, but he insisted that I keep it. I must go to Yosemite. I tried again, subtly, to arrange a time between now and the wedding to get together with this guy to help him out with some things, maybe further his teaching. And once again he ignored my hints - he seemed to think there is nothing I can teach him. So, I decided to plan something for the wedding; something special to get his attention and the attention of people watching, to help further the word of Corellon. Olivia asked him about the priest of Khaless. He's sharing space with the Orthodox Priest of Crom and a few others at an old gunshop / firing range here in Vegas. We thanked Thomas for his time, told him we'd get back to him about the wedding, and took our leave. Our driver took us to the gunshop where we indeed found the Temple of Crom (Orthodox) along with the Temples of Khaless, Odin and Thor. There was a sign over the door that said "All wimpiness abandon, ye who enter here". As we approached we saw that they've built a fighting salle next door for fighters to practice in and we could hear the sounds of war cries, grunting, and sword on sword. Inside the shop there where lots of heavily armed men - the place is still an operating gunshop with people buying, selling and trading. They had weapons from the antique and archaic to the modern and some that look experimental. We saw lots of dwarves and humans but few elves. Olivia asked for the priest of Crom and were told, "He's working in the back". We went thru a door with a sign that read "Temples and Firing Range" and found him working at a forge at the far end. One lane of the firing range was filled with stacked pews, and another sign: "Temple of Crom, watch your step". We approached the priest and saw he was working on a sword at his anvil. He greeted us and but kept working. Olivia introduced herself and the rest of us. He said something disparaging about a Mage worshipping Crom. "Not just ANY mage." I said and Olivia stripped off her armor and threw a fireball into the air. She's really improved those; it was VERY impressive! The Priest was also impressed and said that he guessed Crom would approve of that sort of thing and he welcomed her with a little more sincerity and told us his name is Ingve. Then the priest of Khaless appeared and chastised him for leaving us standing around, "Have some manners! Offer them something to drink! Show them some respect; they humbled one of the Cats." He introduced himself as Derrik and said that he approved of our methods. Ingve poured wine and we all drank. Olivia asked Derrik about his armor. Specifically, she asked if he could cast while wearing it. He said that he didn't know, since he'd never tried. He offered to let her try and went to go get it. He returned with a small package and when Olivia opened it she pulled out something that was pale gray and looked like sweats. He let us all feel it; it was soft and pliable. She tried it on and Derrik pulled out a huge gun, (a Magnum, maybe?) and shot her point blank in the chest! She went flying. Alfred was outraged and started to charge. It was a good thing that Michael was there; there's no way Vesta and I could have held him back by ourselves. Olivia got up and picked the bullet up off the floor where it had landed. It was flat from hitting the armor. Then she cast a spell and said that she could feel no adverse effects. I asked her to try one of her Clerical spells; she did, and again, no adverse effect. Derrik pointed to a corner where an engine block was hanging - apparently in mid air. We went closer to look, and saw that 2 strands of thread were holding it there. Silksteel thread. "And it's been hanging there for weeks. That's how strong this stuff is." Olivia asked him what he wanted for it. He said. "You know it's not really my style. You can have it. But you must defeat me in hand-to-hand combat. I won't just give it to you." "I've gotten fucked up before, but what the hell," Olivia said . Without warning, he clocked her one right in the face and sent her flying again. (And again, Alfred was most unhappy! But this time he held himself back) She got up and went right for the nads, but he saw it coming and she missed. He swung wildly and missed. She kicked him and made a grab for his hair. She missed the kick but got a good handful of hair and used it to yank his head down to her knee. Bloodied his nose nicely! He said, "Now that's the spirit!" and punched her again, knocking her down. As she got up she swung again and missed. He punched her again and I could feel her calling on Crom for strength. She punched and hurt him pretty good. He got her in a chokehold but she kept fighting, slamming her head back into his face and splitting his lip open. He let go of her and she spun, and planting her fist right on his chin and knocked him cold. Ingve said, "Guess the armor is yours." Olivia threw her head back and shouted a war cry of "CROM!!!!!!!" Ingve got a bucket of water and threw it on Derrik. He stirred and said, "Sky - not a good sign. Good bout! Everyone else has been afraid to fight me for it." He conjured up some disgusting Klingon food (why does all of their food have to MOVE!?) and some blood wine "to celebrate". Olivia was a good sport and drank some of the wine. Ingve got her some beer - "A real drink", he said. She drank that, too. She asked Ingve if he had any written material similar to what I got at the Temple and was given a notebook in almost the identical condition. She thanked him and handed it to Alfred to store in his pack. Then we all sat and Ingve asked, "So, Champions of the People, Defenders of the Oppressed (the way he said it, you knew he was using capitols!), what brings you here?" Olivia told him she wanted to pay her respects and see about the armor. Then she asked him about his set up. He told us that the Mission of the combined Temples here is to train people and give them the skills and tools to fight for themselves. After training they go out to act as guards for farms and caravans around Vegas. They are forbidden to use what they have learned in the combat arena; that would be a misuse of their teachings and is not why they were taught. We told Derrik about Morag back home and he said that he would very much like to meet him. Michael showed Derrik his betleH, and Derrik asked him, "Do you know how to use that or is it just for show?" Michael asked if he would like to spar. Derrik got his betleH and they began. Michael made the first pass and Derrik sidestepped it and kicked him in the ass as he passed. They exchanged some missed swings before settling in for a real match. Michael connected 3 times, causing some injury before Derrik pulled up, laughed and said "Very good! Now let us drink!" The people who'd been watching applauded and Derrik complimented Michael on his skill. Then he told us of a spell they use in training called iron guard. It lets students really FIGHT, with live steel, without hurting one another, and he offered to teach it to Olivia and I. We sat to talk again. They had so many questions. What are we going to do now? How did Dallas win? The answer we gave to that was pretty vague. But as for what next, Olivia said, "You know, the usual, some shopping, check out Manzanar," They told us that we don't want to go there. "It's hot and there's nothing to do. And besides, people who go out there never come back. It's a fool's errand." I said, "Some people would say that talking on an Overlord was a fools errand." Ingve said, "Your friend won't live long, you know. Caesar will take him down. The only time he isn't lying is when his mouth is shut. They only keep their word is when it suits THEM to do so. They will find a way and they will kill you friend. They have no honor you can't trust them. Caesar may have been congratulating you last night but guard your friend well. Either that or get something on Caesar, something to hold over him." We thanked him and headed back to the Palace to place some calls. Our driver must have called ahead because Armani was waiting for us again. He asked us if we'd enjoyed our visits. Then he looked at Olivia and saw a black eye that was visible even on her, but he didn't say a word. I asked for a computer and printer to be set up to my room so I can put down in writing some of the prayers and rituals I've come up with, just in case Thomas ever shows any interest. He said he'd take care of it had someone show us to where our vehicles had been parked. They were very well guarded and we had to show ID before we were allowed near them. But we checked for traps and bugs (mundane or Magical) anyway. Waste of time, there wasn't a thing. We had a group discussion once we were in private. "Are we being set up?" "Will Caesar kill us for killing Excalibur?" The wording in the contract we signed is VERY vague and doesn't cover that. But then Alfred pointed out that their own laws prohibit him from even plotting against us while we were his guests. And if we want to make doubly sure, we should invite him and Binion into OUR home (temporary as it is) and ask for clarification. If they accept it will hopefully allay Michael and Vesta's concerns. Michael then pointed out that even if Caesar isn't out to get us, other Overlords might be. After all, we set a dangerous precedent by showing that resistance of the Overlords CAN be successful. He thinks that we need to leave Vegas now. Olivia told him that we can't do that until after May 1st because she and I have given our word to do something for Caesar; and besides, what about the wedding? So we decided to call Malcolm, and give him an update. We moved Scooby out into the open so we could set up a link. Malcolm came on, sounding very tired, "Are you guys okay? We hadn't heard anything and were worried." Olivia said, "Guess what we did on our summer vacation?" She and I proceeded to tell him (in that way of ours) what had happened. He was speechless for a time and then 'begged' us for mercy. So we (seriously this time) started at the beginning and told him the whole story. When we told him that he needs to meet with the representatives from the Kansas Coalition he asked, "Why? All Kansas has is miles and miles and miles…of………..food" Duh! Then he said, "Please extend to the honored representatives of the Kansas Coalition Our most Royal invitation for their ambassador to be a guest of the New Kingdom of the Outlands at Hawk's Nest". We told him we would do so and then I told him about Olivia beating Derrik in a fight for the armor. Morag (who was also in the radio room) laughed so much he had to leave. Michael and Vesta told Malcolm about the upcoming wedding and asked him if he would do them the honor of attending. They also invited Izzy and Morag. "Tell Morag that the priest here would like to meet him." Morag was back in the room by then and said that he'd like to meet Derrik, also. Malcolm said that he would try to come (for the day, at least) and will talk to Morag and Izzy. But he can't bring them both; one must stay to keep an eye on things in his absence. Then Malcolm told us to make a deal for electricity. Olivia asked, "What happened to our low-tech approach?" He told us, "We have people here who are cold, who are sick, who are hungry. They need some of the things that electricity can help provide. Make the deal." Before we signed off, Michael asked Malcolm to bring two of the Thunderbird feathers he has, as a gift to the Temple of Corellon. Since we had time before we were scheduled to meet with the Kansas guys and radio Jesse, we went in for lunch. Olivia, Michael and Vesta all ordered some exotic meals, but Alfred and I pigged out on cheeseburgers, French fries and chocolate shakes. Olivia shook her head at us, but we didn't care, it had been so long! While we were eating, Eric and Dean showed up. They were clearly nervous and still skeptical about the upcoming call. We asked them to join us for lunch, but no, duty first. So they sat and waited while we finished eating. Michael asked our waiter about the cantaloupe we were eating and was told that it was some of the famous Rocky Ford cantaloupe (WAY out of season! We need to see what the Hell is going on in the San Luis Valley!). We finished and led Dean and Eric out to the Scoobymobile. The radio was answered; "Windhaven" and we ID'd ourselves. They told us to hold for President Ventura. "What do you want?" (His usual gracious self). Olivia piped up, "Guess what we did? We freed all the slaves at the Excalibur AND the Bellagio and all of it for a box full of White House china." That made him angry. "Where did you get that?!" he bellowed. "From Marine Corporal William T. Stewart" "Stewart! From my White House honor guard?" Then he calmed down a bit and got serious. "What happened to him?" Olivia and Michael explained where and in what circumstance we found him and the china. At first Jesse refused to believe that Cpl. Stewart could have fallen on such straights. He was also very upset that we'd given the china away, going on and on about the country's treasures. So I told him that we have something better for him and told him about the documents. He was calmer after that and I tried to get him off that track. "In the meantime, we have some people who would like very much to speak to you. Two members of the Kansas Coalition." Eric and Dean spoke up (they at last seemed convinced that it is Jesse). While they were talking I noticed that Jesse sounded different, I whispered to Olivia and Michael, they'd noticed it too. It was obviously Jesse, but he sounded different somehow. When he'd finished with Dean and Eric, Olivia asked him if he's okay. "I'm fine!" he growled. He went on (to himself mostly) about what must be done to set up a 4-way alliance for mutual protection between Malcolm, Caesar, himself, and the Kansas leader. Then Michael asked him if he would like to come to the wedding since Malcolm, Kansas and the Overlords would all be in the same place. "Find out if I can meet with the head cat." he said. Then he asked us for our impressions of Caesar: what can he expect? Olivia and I took turns telling him what we thought. There was silence for a bit and he told us to see what Caesar would think of his coming and to get back to him. "Keep up the good work." And he signed off. We put Scooby back under cover and headed back inside. And yes, Armani was waiting for us again! Olivia asked him if Caesar would see us. "That's why I'm here, to take you to him." Eric asked him, "With all due respect to Caesar, might we be allowed to accompany these people?" Armani got on his cell phone and switched it to speaker. Caesar answered, (all Overlord attitude) "What do you want?" We explained the situation with Kansas, Malcolm and Jesse and politely suggested a summit. "A summit is a meeting between equals. I have no equals. But if representatives wish to meet with me, and have the proper tribute to present, and if I have time, I might consider it." And he hung up. Eric and Dean both looked pretty nervous so Olivia and I reassured them that he was just doing his "Thing". Armani gestured to the elevators; " Caesar wants to see you NOW." On the way up, he told us that the Mormons in town had been making some noise about coming over and pounding on Scooby. There was also talk of their champion calling out Dallas to answer for his crimes against the Mormon State. Our little Dallas has quite the reputation, it seems. Upstairs we were taken to Caesar's office, past a velvet rope with a sign on it, "Quiet. Filming in process"; they were making an episode of The Palace. Caesar came in (wearing his full Overlord aura) and started off by saying, "You keep throwing yourself into situations you know nothing of." Then he noticed Eric and Dean and roared, "Who are these people?" I tried to reassure them while Armani told them to introduce themselves. They did so with much politeness and formality. Caesar looked at Olivia and I and asked, "Do you speak for these creatures?" But before we could answer, he said, "Bah! I grow weary of this! Take them away to await my pleasure" and stormed out. "Your audience is over." Armani told us. No! Really? He took us to a small room to wait. Dean and Eric said that maybe their coming along wasn't such a good idea. There was a TV showing a documentary on how to capture, flay and cook desert lizards. Thank goodness we were only kept waiting about 15 minutes or so when a hidden panel door opened and Armani beckoned for us to follow him. We went down a maintenance hallway thru another secret door and into Caesar's 'day room'. It was small but set up for comfort, with a couch for napping and a small bar. Caesar entered (sans attitude this time) and welcomed us. He turned to Eric and Dean and welcomed them as well. Then said to Olivia, Alfred and I, "This is not my home, but for purposes of this discussion, consider this room to be my private residence." He turned to put on a robe and some slippers (Bunny slippers! Made from real bunnies!), while Olivia explained to Michael, Vesta, Eric and Dean what he meant by that. Olivia told him about the wedding, and he congratulated Michael and Vesta. Then she told him that Malcolm would like to attend and Michael said, "But he asks your permission to make a state visit." "President Ventura would like to meet with you also." Alfred said. "They'll be here as a wedding guests, but we thought it best to get your leave and if possible set up a summit with Kansas in attendance." Michael added. "What do they have to offer?" asked Caesar. When they hesitated to speak up, I said, "Food. Something you're lacking. And they need able-bodied people to work the land. You have people who need work to do." Caesar thought for a bit, "An alliance could be helpful. Aztlan has been getting covetous of Hoover Dam. They're an up and coming group. A Theocracy based on your Aztec empire, but not bad people. They sacrifice the hearts of prisoners to their sun god, but I think overall they kill fewer people than the Circus does." We'll, isn't that reassuring! "Such a confederation could very well hold off a collapse into total anarchy. If you can convince your King and President Ventura to meet, I would be honored to do so, but I can not meet them, officially." So we threw some ideas around, and decided on a PLAN. They will all attend the wedding and reception afterwards, where they will meet and retire to a private room to continue their 'informal discussion'. Then Caesar will have someone create the illusion that they are still there, while they sneak away to the Stratosphere, and his private residence (we will have to make sure to explain to Jesse and Malcolm what all that means!!!) for serious conversations. Then Caesar said, "And I can present those documents you have to President Ventura." "You listened in on our call to him!" "Yes I did. It was necessary for my self-preservation." Michael told him, "You have to understand that Jesse expended a lot of resources on SLC." "And did us all a favor." Caesar said, and he told us that he'd demanded the presence of the Mormons who arrived yesterday to explain themselves. They hadn't gotten permits to preach and were breaking the law. Michael warned him about the 900 foot Jesus that we encountered in Utah. But Caesar reassured us, "Oh yes we've heard about that. We've found a battlefield hologram projector they use to create images like that." Then he told us what they look like in case we run across one. He
repeated that he would really like to be the one to present the documents
to Jesse. We agreed and warned him that it would be best for all involved
if he greets Jesse and Malcolm as equals. And he should present the documents
"As yours, for safekeeping, in return for discussing the Federal
Government's responsibility for peace keeping." He turned his attention
to Eric and Dean and offered them electricity for food. Then he repeated
the offer that the former Lord of the Bellagio made to us, power for penicillin.
He said, "With allied territories there will be more room for the
'extra' Overlords to expand." Caesar said, "That will probably occur within the next 18-24 months anyway. I'm surprised they haven't moved against New Ectopia yet." Eric spoke up and said, "Speaking of New Ectopia, we were planning on going up there after we finished our mission here. We'd have better luck bargaining with them with an alliance like this under our belt." Caesar offered us the use of his communication setup to call the appropriate people and assured us that all parties have his invitation and guarantee of safety. Michael told him, "In regards to the power for penicillin, we are Malcolm's voice and we agree to the deal." "Done! Tell your King that if he agrees to come meet with me, Durango will have power this evening." "Ridgeway needs it more." Vesta said. Caesar smiled at her and said, "As a wedding gift, to you, it will be done. Now I have to put on my game face to meet the Mormons." We thanked him and he left. "Damn!" said Dean, "That was amazing. On that show of his he plays a ranting madman!" Olivia said, "Well when we first encountered you people we thought pretty much the same thing." So we had to explain the first time we saw them: When they were raiding in Denver, driving a HUGE dump truck with guns all over it. We were also there doing some scavenging, but on a much smaller scale. We
went back to Scooby to use our radio. Caesar may listen in but he can't
get our codes. Alfred suggested that if there is to be a summit that the
SDN Shamans be invited too. Armani said that Caesar has had some difficulty
communicating with them, so it would be a good idea if we could get them
to come. We radioed Malcolm first, of course. He'd been waiting for us. "You are invited to a summit as well as the wedding. The deal is done, there will be power in Ridgeway tonight, as a show of good faith" Michael told him. He had talked to Cordie and she gave him an estimate on how much penicillin she can manufacture if she has electricity. We promised to pass the info on to Caesar. Olivia asked him to bring Jennifer, Cordie and Debbie when he comes out. He said that he'd spoken to Izzy, but she had no interest in Vegas. But she sends her love and will be sending some Refreshments. Morag will be coming instead. Alfred asked Malcolm to speak to the Shamans about attending. I told Malcolm to get some sleep and we signed off. Then
we called Jesse. We'd just started to explain the arrangements that had
been made when he cut us off, "This signal is not secure" (???huh???)
and signed off. A few moments later a small blue sphere appeared before
us and we could see Jesse's image in it. He's Changed again! He's now
a Klingon! We continued where we left off and he agreed, saying that he'll bring a gift for "the cat", "something he's sure to enjoy." I was afraid to ask. Michael told him that Morag will be accompanying Malcolm and would be honored to meet him. Jesse said that he would like to meet "this priest" and signed off. Then Dean and Eric called their people and talked to their General. He said that he wouldn't be able to make it, due to transportation problems. But he gave them the authority to deal on his behalf. Michael suggested that we ask Jesse to pick him up, "He's in you neck of the woods, it would be easy enough." The General agreed, and said that if Jesse would provide transportation he would come. So we called Jesse back and he answered the radio himself, "I knew you'd call back." But he agreed to have someone pick up the General in an Azrael. "One routinely flies over KC anyway." That bothered Eric and Dean. "Just checking out crop growth, making sure you're all behaving. I haven't been real sure of your intentions and needed to make sure I wasn't going to need to use the Hammer Of God" and he signed off. Eric and Dean asked, "Hammer of God?" So we explained it to them. Dean shook his head and said that sometime they would like to hear the whole story. Then we discussed maybe going on to San Diego to look for Leo and then (if we can get our hands on one) taking a boat up to New Ectopia with the Kansas delegation. I had an idea and made one more quick call back to Malcolm. He answered right away. I said "Hey! I thought I told you to get some sleep!" "Hey! If you would stop calling me, I could get some sleep" I asked him to bring Olias when he comes, since he's from New Ectopia, maybe he can help the Kansas guys with some of their questions. Malcolm signed off with "Say goodnight, Jazzy" Dean and Eric said they would see us later; they had some trading they had to do. We thought that sounded good to us so we took Scooby over to the Fremont Market. The only place to park was in a lot for oversized vehicles, right next to all the Mormon UAV's. I felt a little twinge at leaving it there so I asked Olivia to use some of her Magic to lock it up tight. We had to pass the other UAV's to get to the Market, and as we passed we got too close and set off a proximity alarm. An 'angel' appeared and commanded us to step away. Well, we all agreed, that was pretty cool! So we set it off again and the same thing happened, but with a different 'command' this time. How fun! So we kept doing it, and pretty soon we'd attracted a crowd who just kept egging us on. After about a dozen or so 'commands' it started to repeat, so we let some of the local kids take over and moved on to shop. We
saw the guys from Lucky Duck; they had a real nice setup but were busy
so we waved and kept going. Michael was looking for some rum so he can
continue to do his ritual to Bless his betleH. I asked him how much, and he mumbled some more. Something about 'Goat pudding' and 'chipsies'. "Chipsies?" I asked "How many chipsies?" "Deep dark chipsies to cover my hands" - so I asked Alfred (who was carrying the money) to start covering the guys hands with black chips. By the time he was happy I figured it was close to $150,000.00. But hey! $100,000.00 of that was from the CZ's I enchanted with fairie fire, and there should be enough to make something for the whole group. As we were leaving him, a pair of weasely types came up and asked us if we wanted to go back to their Temple to take a personality test. Ugh! Scientologists! First the two-foot cockroaches on the way to Cortez, and now these guys! I asked Alfred to make them go away, so he did his best 'bogeyman' and frightened them away. Olivia bought some computer games and CD's for Debbie and got herself some designer clothes and jewelry. Michael was looking for some surgical grade steel to make a betleH for Jesse. I
found some beautiful material to make some vestments for the Temple back
home and Olivia found someone selling Magic items and got some mistletoe
and a white bull skin for scrying. As we were walking along, Olivia spotted
a dress from the Princess Diana collection. Black, beaded and beautiful.
The guy wanted $100,000.00 for it; he needs to feed his family. He also
had authentication papers for it. Then we got to the slave block where a sleazy guy was selling 12 people. One had a sign around his neck, "Rapist" and another whose sign read, "Murderer". They tried to tell us that they were innocent, that some 'evil wizard' cast a spell on them to make them confess to things they didn't do. Well, after the incident with that bounty hunter in Montrose, I felt compelled to check it out, so I threw a spell to dispel any Magic that might be on them. Nothing happened, so I set up a Zone of Truth, and discovered that they were lying. So we ignored them and bartered for the other 10, all of them Changelings. The man selling them told us they were from Manzanar, "He [Excalibur] didn't claim them. So I'm out my money." We agreed on $30,000.00, and had them follow us so we could take them to the Excalibur. Once there we could have someone look after them; they appeared to have been drugged. On our way back to the Scooby-Van we passed a booth that had a radio playing the station we listened to on the way in. The DJ came on and said, "I am not responsible for this one." He said it again and continued, "this is a special dedication to Caesar, from an old friend". And the song? 'I Just Can't Wait to be King'!! We all looked at each other and said, "Lucifer's in town!" We took the Scooby-Van back to the Palace, where our good buddy Armani was waiting for us. He asked if we wanted to go see Lucifer's arrival. He promised to see our newest freed slaves got to the Excalibur safely and got us a limo. Connors showed up just as we were leaving as decided to go with us. A crowd had gathered out on the tarmac, and we could feel the pressure of the rotor's downdraft as the invisible helicopter landed. One thing about kicking up a lot of dust: it makes being invisible less of an issue! The loading door opened and two guys hopped out and lowered the stairs. One of Caesar's flunkies rolled a red carpet out to and up the invisible stairs; it was a very odd sight. Lucifer emerged wearing a black silk kimono with blood red chrysanthemums on it. Beside me, I heard Olivia gasp. I turned to her and she whispered that that particular pattern (a 36-petal chrysanthemum) was reserved for the Emperor of Japan, alone! Two gorgeous Elven women stepped out behind him and released doves. As they flew away, Lucifer waved to the crowd and started down the steps. Some people (paid by Caesar, no doubt) ran to the steps and begged to be taken into his service. He walked by them, saying, "I accept your service" and Enthralled them without even pausing. Then Vaschanka appeared. He was dressed even worse than the last time we saw him. I told Olivia it looked like they had put Elvis (in his Vegas heyday) and Liberace (in his Vegas heyday) into a time machine sprinkled in some Harry Potter and then let the thing explode! He was wearing silk robes trimmed in mink at the neck, wrists and hem. Sequins and rhinestones were everywhere. On top of that he had a big pointy collar sticking up higher than his head and a fuchsia silk scarf. He was also sporting a ton of gold jewelry, huge "Mr. T." necklaces and at least one big gaudy ring on each finger. On top of all that, he had a walking stick that would have made Freud blush. Hell, it would make John Holmes blush! Caesar went out to meet Lucifer, riding in a palanquin carried by four Alpha male Drow. Her and Lucifer stared at each other for a long moment before Lucifer went down on one knee in 'respect'. With that as their signal, the Drow put the palanquin down and Caesar stepped out of it to take Lucifer's hand; both had their full Overlord aura going. Caesar said, "Welcome back to Las Vegas, our most gracious and loyal of servants." "I am so glad to be home. Tell me, great and mighty Caesar, why did you summon me?" asked Lucifer. Caesar looked baffled. "Did I? I just assumed you returned out of loyalty and respect." One of Caesar's lackeys said in a stage whisper "You did summon him, Mighty One." Caesar turned to us, "Is this true?" Olivia answered him, "Yes, Mighty One, to assume control of the new domain." "New domain? There is a new domain?" Alfred cleared his throat, "The domain of Peace, Mighty One." Caesar waved an arm, "Forgive me, the burden and responsibility of my office weighs heavily on my mind. Yes, people of Las Vegas" he said, looking right into a camera, "The defense of our fair realm has pressed heavily on my thoughts of late. To protect our citizens, I have asked this one, the new Overlord of the Venetian, to assume the responsibility of our safety and peace." There was golf applause from the crowd and the media rushed in and began to ask (pre-approved) questions and take photos. One reporter broke from the script and asked Lucifer "How do you plan on paying for this peace?" Both their tails went straight out! Lucifer answered, "Very simple. Peace is everyone's business. Anyone interested in preserving the welfare of our beloved homeland will pay 5% of his or her yearly income. Of course, anyone who is not interested in protecting our sovereignty and way of life need not pay." The bastard smiled smugly. "Of course, I won't be able to guarantee that in a worst case scenario where something does happen - the Gods forbid! - that they and their property will be defended…" and as he trailed off that threat, Caesar said, "The press conference is over; we have much to discuss. We wish you all 'Good Fortune'!" The press left and Lucifer's entourage was shown to some vans. Lucifer, Vaschanka and Caesar came over to where we were standing by the limos. As Vaschanka approached, Michael's betleH started to glow and twitch. We all exchanged a look - it only does that around the undead! Vaschanka ignored Michael and the betleH and sneered at Olivia and I. "Oh, it's you two. Are you here on business or just working? You know, taking service as Caesar's house…Mages?" Olivia told him that we are here as Caesar's guests. He sniffed at us! I swear! He sniffed and said, "Well, come and see me when you want to learn something useful." Olivia
asked Lucifer, "Are currently using this guy?" "Only for
sex." Oh my God! I was so appalled! Sex with Vaschanka? Bad enough.
Sex with an undead Vaschanka? Ewwwwwwwwwwwww! In the meantime, Michael was getting more and more antsy by the second. Olivia asked Lucifer, "Is your 'friend' dead?" Lucifer gave Vaschanka the eye. "Well Vaschanka, are you?" he asked. Vaschanka dismissed us with a wave; "It is merely their immature and inexperienced reaction to the necromantic spells I have placed around my person." Lucifer told us, "If you are so concerned, there are two limos here; don't ride with us. But get used to the fact that I need him." Olivia said, "We can find you some other companionship." Lucifer looked ruffled. "No! I mean I need him, magically speaking. And if I remember correctly, he out strips you in that." We noticed that the more Vaschanka repulsed us and pissed us off, the smugger he got. We gladly got into the second limo with Armani. He asked us, "So, do you think this guy is a threat to Caesar?" "Well, he's undead, we can tell you that for sure." Then he said, "Caesar would appreciate it if you wouldn't go out of your way to do anything to disturb the Overlord of the Venetian and keep him from performing his duties. Caesar will be extending his hospitality to both Lucifer and his associate. But if one of them should make the first move, you have to do what you have to do." I said that doubted he'd do anything. An overt attack just wasn't his style. He appalled us by saying, "Vaschanka does seem to be awfully talented though, doesn't he? Caesar just might try to hire him away from Venetian. And, when you stop to think about it, the entire city of Las Vegas owes him a terrible debt of gratitude. We should all do what ever is necessary to placate him and make sure that he doesn't desert us in our time of need." I looked at Olivia, Alfred and Connors; they looked equally baffled. This was not the man we'd been dealing with the last couple of days. I threw a spell to undo the influence he was obviously under, but nothing happened. He just continued on and on. Trying to get his attention, Olivia made herself vomit all over his shoes. Nothing! He just went on and on about how wonderful Vaschanka was. So, I conjured up a stronger spell to break enchantments, and this time I could feel it as it broke him loose. Unfortunately, I could also feel that it just barely worked. He stopped in mid-word and looked at his shoes, "What the Hell is that?" Olivia 'cleaned' it up with a small spell, and as she tried to explain, it became evident that he remembered nothing! He remembered everything else all right, but he swore that there was no Magic user. I got on the phone to the Bellagio and Dallas got on the line immediately. I asked him to have all the tapes his reporters filmed sent over to the Palace. He said that he was having trouble getting his reporters off the air. They were all going on and on about Vaschanka and he couldn't get anyone to pull the plug. Olivia told our driver that Caesar was in danger, and to catch up to his car. He floored it, and as he closed the distance, Caesar's driver called, demanding to know what was going on. We told him that Caesar was in danger from Vaschanka, but he responded that Caesar was in no danger because Vaschanka was there to protect him, just like he was there to protect us all. Armani still would not believe us. He told us to shut up and get a grip. Alfred threatened him and he shut up. Caesar's limo stopped at a light and our driver pulled closer and stopped, too. We all get out as Caesar, Vaschanka, and Lucifer got out of their limo. Vaschanka declared, "Stand back mighty Caesar, I will take care of this." Olivia answered by pulling her Glock and taking careful aim at his knee. She hit it square, but the bullet bounced off. Michael had been closing, drawing his betleH. He got close enough, raised the weapon and struck. Vaschanka lazily raised one hand and blocked the blow, and then he wagged his finger at Michael and said, "Shouldn't run with scissors." Olivia aimed her Zapper wand and the charge sent him flying down the street. Michael followed to 'check' on him. By then Caesar's guard had him surrounded and were demanding that we stop our 'hostile' actions. Connors opened fire at Vaschanka, who was still down in the street, and hit him 3 times. Alfred closed in to punch and kick at him. I was still not within arms distance, so I conjured up a spiritual weapon in the form of a long sword. It streaked off and struck Vaschanka solidly. Vesta moved in with me, while Michael drew back to finish him off with the betleH. He swung hard and stabbed Vaschanka in the heart so hard the blade got stuck in the pavement! Vaschanka's eyes flashed open as he jerked up and grabbed at the betleH, but he couldn't dislodge it. As he struggled with it, a green fog spilled out of his mouth. As more and more poured out, he got smaller and smaller, withering up like a raisin.. Finally he gasped, "Best…death…ever!" and fell back to the street. As he hit, what was left of him disintegrated and was sucked into the betleH. We turned to check on the others. As they were exposed to the fog, they were 'freed'. Soon everyone was fine, though Armani was still confused and refused to believe that Vaschanka was ever there. All he saw was us, fighting amongst ourselves. Lucifer and Caesar were having a heated discussion and we stayed out of it! Lucifer finally turned to us and demanded, "What happened?" We explained as best we could, and I asked, "What's the last thing you remember?" He paused and said that he remembered being in the limo, telling Caesar how Las Vegas needs a Lord Mage Protector, and that Vaschanka was the guy. Olivia told them how Armani was -this - close to offering to blow Vaschanka himself to get him to stay. That made Armani even more upset! He and Olivia began arguing again. Caesar interrupted them, "Peace, now! We were discussing the wisdom and need for a Lord Mage Protector. I was so-o-o sure that the people could not endure without him." I bite my tongue, not saying, "Are you telling us that an Overlord fell victim to mind control?" After all, I like my head right where it is. The same thought seemed to have occurred to Lucifer. He said softly, "Mighty Caesar, let us move on and get out of the street. Find someplace to discuss this in private." Caesar asked us all to join him in his limo. It was a tight fit! Armani was still insisting there had been no Magic user. Michael said, "Someone needs to find out if EVERYONE has been freed. To prevent civil unrest, don't you think Lucifer?" Lucifer sighed deeply, "To work already!" The limo took us to the Palace loading docks, where we all got into a panel van that took us to the Stratosphere. We took the opportunity to compliment Lucifer on his entrance. He grinned and said that he was sorry that it had been overshadowed by the 'unfortunate' incident. As we entered the penthouse, there was a wall of TV's showing different news broadcasts. One reporter was weeping and apologizing for his loss of objectivity. Another was saying, "We are trying to reach Caesar to confirm a report of a firefight between his security forces and a group of mercenaries, in a failed assassination attempt. A third was reporting "The Mage with the new Overlord of the Venetian was apparently accused of treason and then attacked by the ambassadorial group from the New Kingdom of the Outlands. The Mage in question was the Protector of the Montrose Free Zone, an ally of the NKO. We are trying to confirm this report." Caesar said, "I need to make a broadcast." Then he turned to us, "Come up with a good story" and left. The story we decided on was this: Olivia and I detected some sort of evil magic device, and when we (and the others) approached the limo, Vaschanka attempted to cast on us and security forces were compelled to intervene. Caesar came back, listened to us, hemmed and hawed, and asked Michael how he killed Vaschanka. Michael explained his commitment to tracking down those who have cheated death. Caesar nodded, "Well, the show must go on" and started to assume his Overlord aura. Alfred started chanting, "Hail Ming! Hail Ming!" Caesar stopped in his tracks and began to laugh. I asked him, "While you're on the air, would you put in a good word for Corellon, who helped me to see thru the enchantment?" "And Crom too?" asked Olivia. Caesar shook his head. "You people have no respect!" He stopped laughing and started trying to put his game face on all over again. He stepped in front of the cameras and addressed his people. "The real Mage Protector of the Montrose Free Zone was slain by treachery, and replaced by an evil replacement that infiltrated the staff of the Overlord of the Venetian. This creature sought to destroy the other Overlords and myself in order to make our fair city its foul feeding ground. Fortunately, our good friends were present and were able to detect the impostor and save myself, the Overlord of the Venetian, and many valuable members of my staff. I am unharmed and we owe them much, not the least of which is our thanks. As a sign of my gratitude, the criminals who were to be executed this afternoon are pardoned. I commute your sentences to life imprisonment." Then he signed off with "My people, you have my love" Behind
the cameras, Alfred and I started throwing kisses. He waited until the
camera had switched off before turning to us and shaking his head with
a small smile. Alfred clapped and said, "Very good Mr. President."
Caesar looked puzzled, so Alfred explained. "You were doing 'Mr.
President' from Death Race 2000." Caesar looked offended and said,
"I was not!" "Ahem?!?!?!?"
He bowed to us. "Forgive me. Former Humans!" Olivia
requested that he close it up and bring it to us. They hopped to, and
it arrived about 20 minutes later. It was a small, black leather laptop
satchel with lots of GenCon and Star Con-type patches (Convention patches
on calfskin! What a geek!) all over it. Olivia did a spell to detect magic
and found some residual magical energies, but very faint. Inside were
some books: Olivia's detection spell worked better on a stack of pages torn out of some TSR books. Every reference to "Khelben Arunson" and/or "Lord Mage Protector" was both highlighted and glowing with magic. There was also an autographed photo of Jeri Ryan and some rare comic books, all preserved and in mint condition. I did a spell to detect anything Evil in the stack. The only thing that glowed was a set of horns. Eight of them, made of latex, painted red and black, with dried spirit gum on them. Alfred said that they looked like Darth Maul's, from 'Phantom Menace'. He guessed they were probably used in the movie. As I picked them up I got a strong Feeling, like the whole natural order of things was being subverted. I described the feeling to the group and Alfred asked if it was possible that they were an embodiment of the 'Dark Side'? Well, why the Hell not? We've already seen the One Ring, or a reasonable facsimile thereof! I put those in my bag to deal with ASAP. Olivia was so disappointed that we didn't find more she kicked the bag. Lucifer came in then to tell us that Hizzoner was on the phone and wished to speak to us. He started off with, "So you killed Vaschanka?" Olivia said, "Yeah. It was a group effort." He sounded pissed. "I know, I was just discussing it with the new Overlord of the Venetian. I have people searching his quarters but they haven't found anything, not even the symbols of power that he used to continually show off." Olivia asked about that potion he'd concocted, the one that made you feel alert and rested. They hadn't found it yet. Then she asked him to have the lady from the Magic shop go over the place using the fairie fire CZ we'd given her. "She already did, but all she found was a well hidden DVD of a movie. 'Zardoz'." Of course, Alfred knew the movie and explained it to us. "Sean Connery plays a mutant human, and worships a big floating head named Zardoz that supplies the mutant humans with weapons so they can kill non-mutant humans. Sean Connery learns to read and discovers that it's all a sham, perpetrated by someone who'd read the Wizard of Oz. He uses the info to destroy the belief that the mutants had in Zardoz and then destroy the people that created the giant head." Olivia and both said, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." Alfred nodded, and did a little 'ah-HA!'-thing with his finger. "Exactly." Olivia suggested to Hizzoner that he contact Malcolm and have a couple of her students go to Montrose. Then she suggested that the Magic shop lady try checking his clothes. We waited for a few minutes until he came back. "Some of the clothes are glowing, in particular a costume from 'Revenge of the Nerds', and two from Austin Powers. All had their provenance and other papers certifying their authenticity. They also found papers regarding some clothes that weren't there…an Elvis stage costume and a Liberace stage cape." He assured us that they would lock up the basement until we get there to search it further and he hung up. Caesar offered us the continued use of his penthouse at the Palace and asked us to meet him tomorrow to continue making plans. Olivia said, "Actually we were thinking about sacking Area 51 tomorrow." He laughed and said, "But I would really like you all to be around for the planned festivities." Then Michael started to ask him a question; something about Excalibur and Caesar got VERY pissed and stalked out of the room. Armani escorted us down and warned Michael to never mention Excalibur again, "Caesar is a good person, but like all of them, he has his pride." Then he told us that, if we're serious about Area 51, we should to talk to McCarron. Olivia asked him to recommend a tattoo/piercing parlor and he did, one that "does all the work for the showgirls." Back at the Palace, we were walking thru the lobby when we were accosted by two guys who immediately barraged us with questions. "What are you guys doing tomorrow? Would you be willing to work with us? Do you have time to talk to us?" Olivia interrupted them, "Who are you?" Turns out they were producers of "The Palace" and they 'needed' our help, our 'input' to recreate the events of earlier today. Michael asked, "How much?" They offered $10,000.00 for each of us. Olivia said she'd do it if they would arrange to have the tattoo/piercing people there to work on her while she helped them out. "Sure! No problem. We'll pick you first thing in the morning." Olivia and I said, "Tomorrow?" "No can do, we have something to do tomorrow." "But we need you. We need you to sit in on auditions, unless you'd like to play yourselves, and that would be really great! And then you have to sit in with the script writers to make sure they've got everything right!" By that time my head was spinning! Both of them kept talking at the same time! I had a moment of understanding how Malcolm must feel with Olivia and I, sometimes! But then one of them went to far! He had the nerve to say, "Do you know what would make my life so much easier? If you could just, please, make peace with Ka, my life would be so much easier." I lost it! I tried to shut him up with a silence spell. I tried to make him stop with a command spell, ordering him to "Freeze". But when I cast, I guess they all sort of happened at the same time. I felt a surge and all the sudden the guy was standing there inside a pillar of ice! Everyone just stared at me in surprise for a moment, then Olivia started to laugh and Alfred stepped up to 'help'. He did a 'Karate Kid' thing to break the ice. He broke the ice all right, and some fingers, too! He grabbed at his hand and said, "Oh shit!" I couldn't believe it. I'd never heard him swear before! That made me feel even worse! Michael said "Want some ice for that?" Alfred glared at him and snapped, "I don't have a finger to flip you off with" Again! I was stunned. The guy, now free of the ice, fell to the floor gasping for air. I felt just horrible and while constantly apologizing, I Healed Alfred's hand. But I totally ignored the guy on the floor. I noticed Armani watching all this and trying not to laugh. The second guy yelled, "That was great. We've got to put that in the show. Get me a writer!" and he ran off leaving his buddy on the floor. We all stepped over him and continued on. Maybe they'll get a PA or a gofer to thaw him out. At
the elevator Armani asked if there is anything he could do for us. Olivia
asked for room service. "Male or female?" he asked. "I've
got that taken care of, I just want some dinner." Olivia told him.
Michael said, "And keep those guys off our floor, who knows what
Jazz might do next time." I was so very embarrassed! Armani said,
(rather gingerly) "You know they're just doing their job, and trying
to keep Caesar happy." I said "I think Caesar set them on us,
trying to keep us away from Area 51." "Well, he's worried about
you. No one has ever come back from there." Upstairs we showered, ate and talked over what we think we can do with the silksteel we have. Michael asked me to go back to Fremont with him for more shopping. I asked Olivia and she took Alfred. (To carry her purse, I joked.) We got to Fremont about 11:00 PM, and things were still hopping. There were several mages on cherry pickers removing light bulbs in the ceiling and creating permanent spell lights in their places. The show must go on! Michael had very little luck finding any more silksteel; all he found was 100 feet of climbing cord with a silksteel base, which he immediately bought. He and I were discussing different ideas for him to get Vesta for a wedding gift when my sword began to twitch. Then we heard a horrible woman's voice "Wedding gifts? What do you think about some of Liz Taylor's diamonds?" We all turned to see a Scro with a huge entourage of Orcs. We recognized her as the 'Queen' we'd seen in pictures. She told us that if we need a wedding gift she could get her hands on Liz's diamonds. She then told us that she's here for the summit, (Hello! Would that be the secret summit?!?) and that she has reason to speak to Jesse. "All those poor people being killed needlessly. All those poor boys out on those ships, being denied contact with the fairer sex. I'm hoping that once President Ventura manages to reunify this country, we can all get back to business as usual." She told us how she intends to speak to Caesar about it. "But all I really want is to speak with President Ventura. That's why I've come to you. Everyone knows you have an unofficial way to him." She continued to go on about business and such and how Ka just wants the freedom to make a profit. So, taking a page from Olivia's book, I puked on her shoes. She paused just long enough to say "You poor thing, your clearly not eating well." Olivia finally promised to tell Jesse that she wants to meet with him if she would just go away! She handed Olivia a small velvet jewelry box; we all expected her to find a ring still on a finger inside it. Olivia opened it with trepidation and inside was a reproduction (in real diamonds and rubies!) of the necklace and earrings that Julia Roberts wore in 'Pretty Woman'. Watching
her leave, Alfred said, "Something she said disturbed me." "That
she knows about the summit?" I asked. "No, that the President
is planning on reunifying the country." Olivia said, "Maybe
she got some bad info?" I thought about it and said, "Maybe
she's just reacting to her greatest fears or her biggest hope?" We tried to dismiss her from our thoughts and did some more shopping. I found a nice Prada gown to wear at the wedding and we headed for the tattoo shop. We were greeted warmly; Armani had called ahead for us. "What can we do for you?" Olivia asked about tattooing her skin. He told her that they could do it, but it's difficult. A Mage who works there would have to change the color of her skin instead of using ink. "But there are lots of interesting things we can do with piercing or scarification. And we've had a lot of luck with your type. Pulling some skin back, placing something under it and then Healing it. We can get some really interesting results" She decided to go with the Magical tattooing. A symbol of Crom on her right cheek, just below and to the side of her eye. Watching, it was really cool. The guy used a paintbrush with nothing on it. He just spoke to it and told it what color he wanted it to be and it would switch to that color! When he'd finished that, she pulled out the medallion that Malcolm gave us all when we were knighted and had the Kingdom's arms put on her left shoulder blade with a banner reading "Mess With The Best/Die Like The Rest"! When that was done he asked Michael, "Anything for you, sweet cheeks?" Michael shook his head, no, and tried to ignore the "sweet cheeks" remark. "I don't think you can match my skin color" and he changed his color, doing that camo-thing he and Vesta know. The tattooist was thrilled. "Cool! Can you do plaid?" He looked disappointed when Michael said he couldn't. Then he turned to me "What about you, Blondie?" I'd decided on a symbol of Corellon on the palm of my left hand. "Not your sword hand." Olivia reminded me. Did I want it applied the old-fashioned way or Magic? "Can the Magic be dispelled?" I asked him. "Yes, but only if it's cast right ON the tattoo." I decided on the needle, just in case. While he was working I asked Corellon if He would allow me to Bless it and use it as a true holy symbol. His answer was that I must let it heal naturally; no cheating, and the rest will depend on how I handle my upcoming dealings with Ka. Before we left Olivia gets her nipples pierced. Ouch! On our way out of the shop we saw some mercenaries, including a tough looking woman with some horrible facial scars and a kill count running down her arm in scarification. Olivia asked, "How many?" The woman smiled, showing that all of her teeth on the left side were gone - from the condition of her face, I think someone nailed her with a sledgehammer. "66", she said. Olivia looked surprised, then a little smug. "That's all?" The woman smiled some more - and I could see steel plates running along her gum line. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww! "Those are only the bodies I could find." She wiped some drool away from the corner of her mouth, and then she and Olivia nodded to each other. She wished us all "Good Business to you" and went on her way. Michael was about ready to give up trying to find a gift for Vesta when something caught his eye. We wound our way thru some stalls to where a man was trying to arrange a medium sized, but very heavy, fur on a display stand. The fur was made of gold! Olivia says it reminded her of the aurumvorax from when she used to play D&D (instead of living the adventure like we do now!). She says they were reputed to eat precious stones and metals, which resulted in the gold pelt and claws, also made of gold. We went in to look. The vendor told us he bought it from a mercenary company who found the creature eating a stack of krugeraands they'd 'liberated' from someone. He also had the claws. Michael asked to see them and checked one for sharpness. It was very sharp! The vendor took one and used it to carve his name in the street to demonstrate how hard they are. Michael bought the whole lot (40 of them) for $20,000.00. The vendor said he was asking $500,000.00 for the pelt, but already had a preliminary agreement with a minor Overlord who intends to give it as a welcoming gift to Lucifer. Olivia asked if he knew where we can find some ceramic tubing or dowels and he suggested a vendor down the way. He said that we would find him by the model of a space shuttle over his booth. "He'll probably have what you need, he helped himself to all kinds of goodies at the JPL on his way here." "Heat shielding tiles!" I said. Those sounded like they would be perfect. We found the guy (and his dog) easily. Olivia told him what we were looking for and he asked us what we intended to use it for. Olivia explained that we need something that we can heat up but still use to work the silksteel. Yeah, he could help us! He said that he had bought some of the silksteel a while back, from the Lucky Duck guys. All this time, he's acting like his dog is coaching him on what to say and what questions he should duck. His dog told him something and he said, "Oh yeah! You need some kind of liquid compound to work the stuff. Plain heat won't do it." Olivia bought the ceramic wand anyway; she might be able to use it for something else. She and the dog (thru his owner) bargained from $2,000.00 down to $1,350.00. As we left Michael said something to the dog, in dog. But apparently he insulted him, since the owner said, "I don't think he speaks dog." Olivia and Alfred went off to look for some more trinkets for Debbie, Cordie, and Jennifer. Since that was the second time Lucky Duck was mentioned in regards to silksteel, Michael and I headed their way. They greeted us warmly, and Michael asked them, "Tiffani keeping you busy?" The old man of the family said, "Oh, yeah, she's a handful!" Then Michael asked about the silksteel. They had none, but put us on their list. They told us that you need some kind of fusing tool to work the stuff after you've applied the fusing compound. They have the tool but no liquid. It's pretty volatile and evaporates quickly if not stored correctly. He went to get the fuser wand and came back with a small bottle with a tiny amount of liquid in it. He tells us that he found at least that much of the compound if we were interested. He and Michael dickered about the price for the fusing tool, the compound and some repair material for Kevlar that Michael needed. As
they were finishing up, they guy told us that the tool we just bought
would work the material but not cut it. For that we'll need an industrial
laser cutter. We thanked him for the goods and the info and went to find
Alfred and Olivia. They were done shopping and we came straight back to
the Palace and to bed. |