09/21/06:

                Alfred announced today that since he has to go to Luxor's funeral, so does Olivia - Caesar insisted.

                Olivia looked at me. "If I have to go so do you."

                "Leo, you know what that means," I said.

                Leo glowered. "If I go - Rodrick goes," he said.

                Before Rodrick could say a word Yasai said, "Don't anyone look at me! I ain't going to no funeral!"

                Rodrick shook his head. "That's fine. When you see me on TV, stylin' and smilin' and surrounded by babes, you'll see the error of your ways."

                So Olivia and I went shopping today for appropriate funeral clothing for ourselves and the boys.

                I love shopping for festive occasions!

09/22/06:

                Olivia was over at New Babylon all day. I slept late and then wandered out to the pool. Found Rodrick already there, rum and Coke in hand.

                Boat drinks! <clink!>

09/23/06:

                We were all awake wa-a-ay before dawn this morning to get ready and to head out to Valley of Fire State Park by sunrise for the funeral service, which began with a full choir singing 'Circle of Life'. Jim and Maisara were sitting next to us and Jim was doing great until the body was placed on the scaffolding; that was when Dallas made an appearance.

                "Good thing he wasn't a Ferengi, we'd have to freeze dry him, chop him up, and put the chunks up for auction." he whispered to us. We stifled ourselves fairly well while Maisara bargained with Dallas to let Jim drive again. He finally agreed and things settled down in time for the eulogy.

                The Seeker got to his feet and stood under the scaffold for his opening prayer. "Oh, You Who We Do Not Know," he intoned, "as in all things Your will is not known to us. Where Brother Luxor has gone, we do not know, but has this been enough bloodshed to be a gift worthy of an answer from you?"

                There was a long silence.

                The Seeker sighed, "Very well, we will continue our search for You." It went on like that for a while. It's hard to get fired up by a religion with "I Don't Know" as a central tenet. After the service had ended, we woke Rodrick up and the schmoozing began.

                Watching it all, I noticed two things. One - many of the Overlords were wearing the same necklace; a silver chain with a silver question mark pendant. Two - there was no real hostility shown towards Olivia but quite a bit being directed at L.V. Hilton. We gradually made our way back to the limos and as we pulled away Rodrick pointed upwards. Vultures were already beginning to gather. The Circle of Life, indeed.

                Driving back to town, the radio came back from a song and relayed an announcement from Caesar, "Anyone interested in the challenge for the Luxor domain present themselves and the $100,000.00 entry fee to Lord Hard Rock to register. The books and property will be available for examination until the challenge begins tomorrow night."

                Olivia picked up the phone and called the radio station. She identified herself and requested 'Highway to Hell', "With a special dedication, please."

                The DJ hesitated and then said, "Oh, what the Hell." Rodrick switched the radio on and we heard, "This next song is for a 'special' person out there - and you know who you are."

                The song played for a bit and the phone rang. It was Caesar. He asked for Olivia. "Did you need to do that?"

                Olivia said, "Did you need to make me go to the funeral? Come on! I did you a favor."

                "True," Caesar conceded, "but need you be so smug about it?"

                "Yes. You have a good day, now!"

                We were back in town by then and as we passed the Luxor we saw a crowd of people in the parking lot. It looked like family groups with luggage and boxes. There were some Cats waiting in a different area and the Cat that they call Josie was wandering between the two groups with a clipboard. We pulled in to find out what was up. As we got out, he came over to greet us. "Welcome to the hiring fair," he said, with all the oily sweetness of a used car salesman.

                "Hiring fair?"

                He nodded, "These people no longer wish to work for the Luxor domain and have hired my services as their employment broker. For $10,000.00 you may enter the grounds and speak to them. If you hire anyone, they give me a cut of their new salary." Olivia got the money from Alfred and then she and I went in. Olivia was looking for employees for the Glitter Gulch or anyone who might be useful back home.

                Many of the people had large debts to be assumed. The person with the largest of those was a pleasure woman who'd had herself altered to look like a cat (not an Overlord - just a cat). Her debt was HUGE! I don't know what she charges for her services, but I don't know how she could ever pay off what she owes. There were other large debts as well, mostly for drug habits. Some of those folks were really strung out.

                Olivia wasn't having much luck until she came across one man and his family. The man was a retiree from the Army Corp of Engineers. His specialty was shelter construction. Olivia asked him, "How would you like to go to Colorado?"

                "Colorado's nice," he said. "What kind of medical situation do they have there?"

                "A good one," I said. "They've got doctors, nurses, clerical Healing and a pretty good hospital. But if I may ask - what kind of treatment do you need?"

                "I'm diabetic and you wouldn't believe the trouble I have finding insulin."

                Josie interrupted, "Do we have a sale?"

                Olivia told him, "I don't know." She turned to the man, "Do we?"

                "So how much?" Josie asked.

                "How much what?" Olivia said. "The card says $8,000.00."

                "He'll just run that up again and more. He can't afford Healing," Josie warned.

                "Yes, but we don't charge for that sort of thing," I said.

                That brought a stunned silence that was finally broken when a little boy said, "Daddy! Their God works cheap!"

                The man looked at me, "Are you serious?"

                "She is," Olivia said. "What's your name?"

                "I'm Henry."

                Olivia shook his hand, "Well, Henry, it's good to meet you. I'll try to cure you, but if I can't do it, I know someone who can. I'm Olivia Mitchell."

                The people started murmuring and one whispered, "She's the one who killed the Boss."

                Josie stepped in again and said, "Okay - we have a deal. $10,500 - $8.000 for the debt plus $2,500.00 for my brokerage fee." Olivia paid and we got Henry, his wife and two children, ages 16 and 17. We took them back to the Excalibur and while Allison was getting them rooms Olivia sat down and cured Henry's diabetes.

                "I don't know how to thank you, ma'am," he said.

                I told him, "When you get to Colorado, serve King Malcolm well."

                Allison had returned, "They're not staying?"

                "No they're not. Can you see to sending them east with the next reliable caravan?" I asked

                Before we could leave to change out of our funeral clothes, Allison handed a few messages to Alfred and a stack of them to Olivia. "And this is for you," she said as she handed me an envelope.

                "For me?" I looked at it - plain manila envelope addressed to Ambassador Hughes. Inside were a uniform shoulder patch with the Hopi sun on it and a piece of paper with a phone number on it. The mysterious Rangers? This should be fun! I excused myself to my room and dialed the number. It picked up almost immediately.

                "Ambassador Hughes?"

                "Yes."

                "We simply wanted to apologize for involving you and your associates in something that was not your concern. But you were sent to assist a mutual adversary."

                "Oh? You don't like Sakkara, either?" I asked.

                "She is not our problem."

                "Ahh, I see. Tell me, how many of those altered humans do you think got out of the facility?"

                "Six dozen, so far, that we know of. The latest ones are easier to track - they have such lower intelligence."

                I asked, "How 'stupid' are they?"

                There was a pause.

                "Something like a ten foot Forrest Gump."

                "That's not so bad," I said.

                "Perhaps I should have said 'like a ten foot Mike Tyson'."

                "Ohhhh. That's bad. Where did they go? Are they just out roaming the desert?"

                "We're trying to find that out."

                "Did Luxor, or anyone else, ever get any of them to Vegas?" I asked.

                "We don't know, but if we find out one way or another, we'll let you know. Now let me explain something. This phone number will be good for the next 24 hours, if you need to contact us. After that - we'll contact you. Luxor was in control of that facility when the first of those things were dumped on the boundaries of our territory for live fire testing."

                "That, among other reasons, is why we wish to stay off of Las Vegas' radar for as long as we can keep our existence from them. The process to create those things is near perfection, or so we understand, but they have another facility somewhere."

                "Do you have any idea where?" I asked.

                "Something called 'Area 12' keeps coming up in our investigations. We don't know where that is, only that it is too close to Vegas for us to handle. We have lost too many resources already because we lack needed intelligence reports. But we do know one thing for sure - that you are not our enemy and that we share enemies."

                "Understood," I told him. "In your dealings with these creatures, how did you manage them?"

                "Lots of ammunition. Do you have any more questions?"

                "Not that I can think of, thank you. If we hear anything in the next day - I'll contact you." I said.

                He hung up and I sat for a moment pondering before Leo cam in. We changed clothes and found Olivia. I showed her the patch and relayed the conversation. She checked out the patch and discovered some Magic on it. It was something to sever all links to who or where it had come from - we couldn't trace it.

                Alfred said, "What about the paper or the envelope?"

                We checked - no Magic there!

                So we sat down to scry the sender - to no success. We were throwing some ideas around when Rodrick came by. He'd been out shopping and had flowers and some candy for Allison. He asked Alfred if there was any chance that she could have the night off.

                "But of course," Alfred said.

                We tried to get him to tell us, but Rodrick wouldn't say what he had planned for the two of them - other than the obvious.

                Then I had an idea, I asked Leo if he'd do me a favor, "Could you go out to Nellis and talk to the radar operators out there? Find out where those planes belonging to the Rangers originated from?"

                He agreed and returned several hours later, "It cost me $50,000.00 but I got your information."

                "$50,000.00?!?"

                "Yeah. Remember cat-girl from the hiring fair this morning? That's her going rate and the guy with the information really has a hard-on for her. Go figure."

                "Well thank you Leo, and I'll pay you back."

                "There are only four or five airfields with runways around here capable of accommodating a C-130. It was accompanied by Air Force fighters that have some requirements of their own. Most likely bet is the 49th Fighter Wing at Holloman A.F.B. Alamogordo," he said. "It's supposedly a Federal Loyalist facility, but there's been no reaction from Omaha. That's odd, to say the least."

                I asked Alfred, "May I invite Walter to join us for dinner this evening?" He nodded and I went to make the phone call.

                At dinner Walter listen intently as we filled him in on all the happenings at Ditronics. When we finished he nodded and said, "The New Albuquerque Republic. They hold pretty much everything from Santa Fe to El Paso and Ciudad Juarez, right along the I-25 corridor. They held an open election a while back and they seceded from the Union. They gave President Ventura one week to get as much as his forces could take. Anything left behind, they would keep. They kept a lot."

                "Some people weren't happy and left to go to Omaha, but most stayed. Including a half dozen Azrael crews and support teams. Some members of the Albuquerque city council are in charge and are reportedly being advised by some ex-Mossad members."

                "More of Sari's people?" I speculated.

                Walter shrugged, "Could be. Neither President Ventura nor the people in Albuquerque want Vegas to find out. All it would take would be six Cats to take over the whole place."

                "Well I promised them that I wouldn't tell anyone," I said.

                Alfred called for dessert and Walter asked for some brandy. That gave Olivia the idea to send a bottle over to Caesar with a note, "Sorry about the carpet."

                "He really should think about ScotchGuard," I said.

                Olivia added that to her note and Alfred called to have someone deliver it to the Stratosphere, "Get a child to do it. Someone young enough that Caesar won't harm them."

                Then we got talking about the challenge for the Luxor - and Olivia was actually contemplating it. She apparently has plans for a harem so big that she needs an entire hotel for it. Alfred suggested one of the high-roller suites at either the Venetian or the Bellagio. She decided to think on it further. After dessert, Jim called, curious if any of us were going to enter the challenge. "No, the whole domain is just too messy," Olivia decided. Then she asked about the suites at the Bellagio.

                "I've only got three in use right now, you looking to move, Honey?"

                "Maybe. I need more room."

                "Well, I'll order a couple prepared for you," Jim said. "You sure about that challenge?"

                She declined again, again citing the evil of the domain.

                "Thanks for the quote - I'll use it tonite. Does Jazz have one as well?"

                "No, thank you, Jim. I'll just go with a 'no comment' for now," I said.

                "Okay then. I'll see y'all tomorrow at the challenge."

                As I was getting ready for bed, a thought occurred to me: If one Overlord can't just visit another without causing a fuss, what will happen when one Overlord's moll moves in with another Overlord?

09/24/06:

                During breakfast today we received our actual invitations to the challenge. There was also a list of contenders: The current Lords of the Aladdin, Rio and the Mirage. There were also a half dozen other Cats with no current domains. Alfred confided, "There's a rumor that a human came up with the money to register, but some Cats paid him a visit and put the whammy on him. Now he's a drooling vegetable."

                Rodrick and Allison joined us then, but declined breakfast - they'd already had breakfast, together, alone. Later, we all gathered again to head over to the challenge. Caesar greeted us and then said, much more quietly, "I express my appreciation that none of you are attempting to profit from this incident. It makes the ramifications that much easier to deal with." We nodded and took our seats as the contenders began to appear.

                One was a lynx - It was Josie!

                The competition began and the first several rounds were really nothing but roaring and posing - very dull and really silly-looking. Then came Josie's turn. He wasted no time on that nonsense - he kung-fu'd his opponents and reached the final round, against the current Lord Aladdin. He's too clever for his own good; the other Cats think human things are beneath them, while Josie is off playing Grasshopper at a dojo somewhere. Caesar seemed pretty concerned at the thought of Josie winning, but it turned out to be no problem. Aladdin kicked his fluffy little tail. He caught Josie's foot on the first kick and proceeded to bounce him around the arena. I guess that while Josie was watching Bruce Lee movies, Aladdin was watching professional wrestling - and thought it was real.

                During all the pomp and circumstance following his victory, Olivia decided that she wanted the Aladdin and asked Caesar, "When will the match for the Aladdin take place?"

                "Soon. Maybe a week. Why, are you going to compete?"

                "I might," Olivia said. "There is a Temple of Crom there, after all."

                Caesar turned and appealed to me, "She's your friend - can't you do something?"

                "You're kidding, right?" I snorted.

                "What is the Aladdin domain?" Olivia asked.

                "Death sports."

                "Ick," she said.

                "Yes, well…they need not be death sports. Officially, on the Decree of Demesne, it's 'Athletic Competitions'. They began with gladiatorial contests, then Aladdin and the previous Lord Bellagio got together and they changed. Better ratings, you know," Caesar explained.

                While they were talking - I got the oddest feeling - like I was 'drifting' away from them. Then I heard trumpets blaring and the sound of banners snapping in the wind.

                Then I saw golden trees and expansive gardens laid out before a great Cathedral.

                Then I heard His voice: "If you build it - I will bring them. This is what I've brought you to do. Build a center. Teach My word." And the building He showed me in those gardens was the Aladdin.

                Back in the real world, I heard Olivia saying, "Okay, I'll do it- I want the Aladdin."

                "And I'm in favor of that!" I said, a little too loudly.

                Caesar looked at me like I was crazy.

                Olivia said, "I'm so glad you support me, Jazz."

                We returned to the Excalibur and Rodrick excused himself - he was off to the War Temples. He was back a short time later saying that he had found someone to teach him something called Wing Chun. At least I think that was it - for a moment I thought he'd joined an '80s retro band. Since we were all together, I told them all about Corellon's 'plan' and Olivia suggested that I speak to the two architects who were working on the Temple in Yosemite.

                Rodrick said that if we were going up that way, he was interested in going to New Ectopia to look for a special item. Olivia's always ready to shop so we decided we could be there and back, no problem. Olivia got one of those Holding bags of hers and started packing up all the stuff that we had been 'collecting' for the past year to sell up there, hoping to get enough to pay the one million she'll need to register the domain should she win it.

                I used her ring to take the three of us to Yosemite. I chose Colonel Nightshade's place - but it was almost entirely deserted! There was a woman who recognized us and she told me where to find everyone. I made arrangements to meet Rodrick and Olivia in the forest at the Temple and they popped off to New Ectopia.

                In the forest, at the Temple sight, there was no Temple - only a rough frame had been erected, but some simple homes had been built in the area. I could understand that would be preferable to living in a tent, and winter's coming, after all. I asked someone where I might find the architects.

                "Up the road."

                Up the road I found a larger Elven encampment built inside a barricade. As I approached, so did a party of Elves coming from another direction. They were carrying berries, nuts, fish, some squirrels and some rabbits. Colonel Nightshade greeted me, "I hadn't heard that you and your friends were back."

                "Just me this time."

                "Well, come on in. I imagine you have some questions."

                "Yeah, what the Hell happened here?" I asked.

                "The stark fist of reality," she said.

                "Why the barricade?"

                "People fleeing the battles between Ka and the resistance hit us hard. Ka pulled back from this area to the L.A. region. That gave us a breather. How did you get thru the sentries?"

                I showed her the ring. "Teleported."

                "Nice. What brings you back here?"

                "Corellon has another job for me and I wanted to speak to the architects who I thought were building the Temple here."

                "They tried - believe me," She said. "But people kept coming thru and robbing us blind. Supplies were always vanishing, sometimes right off the building. That's why we built this up first."

                "Oh, that's understandable," I said. "Day to day living has got to come first."

                "Last week, some newcomers took two unicorn riders hostage. They were trussed up and were about to have their throats slit if we didn't give the newcomers what they wanted. We didn't. They had a Mage with them, all piss and vinegar. I had snipers up in the trees. We got our people back."

                I looked around, "Have you thought of leaving this area?"

                "And go where?"

                "Vegas? Corellon wants me to build this Cathedral. I could use some help."

                "Vegas?" Nightshade asked. "A city? In the middle of the desert? We're Elves. Aren't we supposed to be here, in the forest, doing forest stuff'?"

                "You lived too long under Morning Mist," I said. "Forests are great - but you're not the Lorax - it's not your job to protect the trees. Maybe someday some of the People will return, but first things first."

                She paused before responding, "Okay, Vegas. How do we get there?"

                "How many of you are there?"

                "Close to three hundred."

                "Oh," I said, "that's a lot. Are there any airports that could handle a big plane?"

                "We're in the middle of the forest!"

                "And the forest doesn't go on forever," I said, "You are allowed to leave it."

                Then a deep masculine voice said, "I can take care of that."

                We spun around and there was the man I'd met at Corellon's Temple in Vegas - the one who'd appeared to me first as an Orc. This time he was dressed in leopard skins and a bright scarlet tunic and was carrying a spear. His hair was down to his waist and had jewels in it.

                "You can what?" I asked him.

                "You know this man? The Colonel asked.

                "I do, sort of. What do I have to do?" I asked him.

                "What you are doing right now."

                "Standing? I can stand. I'm a great stander."

                He laughed one of those resonant, big-guy belly laughs that you can feel from across the room. "No! Take care of your people. You once showed me a great kindness. Kindness to one that your religion taught you was the lowest of the low. But you did not see me in that way. As you did me a kindness, so I shall repay you with one. I can help you move these people. Is there anything else you need?"

                "Umm, money - to get them settled."

                "Of course. How much would you need?"

                "Well, let's see, three hundred citizenships plus some seed money… say ten million, Vegas?"

                "No problem!" He laughed again, then got suddenly very serious. "But there is a cost; and the cost for you will be to take care of those that come to you."

                "I can do that," I said.

                "I know! And Suleiman blesses you for it! As you were generous to me, I shall be generous to you and show you kindness. May Allah the Merciful, Adonai the Loving, be generous and kind to us when it is our time to come before Him. I will be back at sundown, be ready." He bowed and vanished. There, where he had stood, were six large wooden chests. Colonel Nightshade helped me open them. What we saw knocked the wind out of both of us.

                They were filled with gems - huge raw diamonds, ruby and emeralds! Silver coins. Gold! Gold coins, ancient ones from different countries, bars and ingots stamped in Arabic. A little Magic allowed me to read, "Suleiman the Magnificent" on some and "There is no God but God" on others. There were these huge rectangular slabs of gold, two feet across with little handles on the corners, marked in Hebrew that read, "All praise to God." My Catholic upbringing kicked in and I realized they were Old Testament talents - a little over 65 pounds each, if I remember Sister Ruth correctly. I tried to lift one - and set it down fast. Oh, wow…

                "Who was that?" the colonel asked.

                I really didn't know what to say, so I settled for, "An acquaintance." She shook her head and posted guards around the sealed chests.

                I Sent a message to Olivia, "If you see anything that will help you in the challenge - buy it. Don't worry about the cost."

                She answered that she'd keep her eyes open, "But right now, Rodrick is getting a new tattoo of some sort."

                She and Rodrick showed up a little before the time we had agreed upon, just as the Elves were gathering with all their belongings (I counted at least eighteen Alpha Drow males - that's gonna make me the popular one with the female Drow of Vegas!), and they brought someone with them, a big, muscular blonde woman named Karyn. Olivia made the introductions.

                "A new one?" I asked.

                "You should have seen the first one," Rodrick said.

                "The first one?"

                "Later," Olivia said, "You ready to go?"

                "No, not so much. Slight change in plans. I'm taking all these people with us."

                "I beg your pardon?" she asked.

                "Well, technically, I'm not taking them."

                That's when the man appeared. Just walked out of the trees, right on cue. "It is time - are you ready to go?"

                Olivia pointed at him, "Him? Again? Here?"

                I nodded, "Him. Again. Here. And he's going to help us out."

                He bowed to Olivia, "I do nothing. It is all God's will, all praise to the Most High. As Allah the Benevolent has commanded me, so do I obey, rejoicing."

                "Pray tell me, sir," I said. "What is your name?"

                "That gift alone I cannot give you, May God commend me for keeping my word. You may call me Hiram of Tyre, ma'am. Do we still have a deal?"

                "We do."

                "You will help the helpless?"

                "I will."

                "You will aid the defenseless?"

                "I will."

                "You will bring kindness to those in greatest need?"

                "I will."

                "Then it is indeed time. Will all of you bow your heads?"

                We did and suddenly there were trumpets blaring and a great light. Then we were all standing in front of the Excalibur.

                "Hiram of Tyre - I thank you for this," I said with a bow.

                He bowed again, "For the gift you are about to give, this was simple."

                "Maybe for you, but for me and these people it was a great thing, indeed and I Bless you."

                I swear he blushed. "Nay, it was but a Mitzvah. All thanks and all glory are for God the Just and Benevolent." That was when I noticed that he was wearing a gold pendant with a lion's head imposed over crossed spears - Hadass' symbol. Before I could say anything more he smiled, bowed and vanished. Probably just as well - he'd have had every Cat in Vegas genuflecting and peeling grapes for him in a heartbeat.

                "Who was that?" Nightshade asked again.

                "That was Hiram of Tyre."

                Allison appeared and I asked her, "Do you have room for about three hundred people?"

                She didn't blink an eye; "I'll have the fifth and sixth floors opened. But feeding them on short notice could be a different story."

                "I'll help with that," I assured her.

                Colonel Nightshade had her people continue to stand guard over the chests while Allison and I went to the main kitchen. But before I could do anything - her people were telling us that all the sudden, the place was full (quite literally) of fish, loaves of bread and some sort of 'white stuff' - like puffy angel food cake.

                "Manna?" I asked. I tried some of it and it was quite delicious. I said to Allison, "Well, it looks like someone is helping us out for a couple of days, anyway."

                Back outside, Yasai and Mitzi had appeared; they'd been upstairs playing video games when they heard that something was going on. Mitzi looked at the crowd, "Is this a party or an invasion?"

                "Refugees," Olivia told her.

                Suddenly, Mitzi was sniffing at the chests like a dog after a pork chop. "What's in here? It smells GOOD!" Her tail started thumping on the ground, really fast. "I WANT SOME!"

                Olivia noticed the chests for the first time, "Yeah - what's in there?"

                I explained and Olivia said, "Mitzi - that's Corellon's treasure to take care of His people. Mess with it and He'll turn you into a shrubbery."

                Mitzi didn't care; she pouted and said that she wanted a tiara. She'd been promised a tiara! Everyone was looking at me like I was Scrooge or something, so I opened a chest and told her that she could pick one item. She picked out a small golden crown and promptly sat on it, "My trove!" she proclaimed. Oh, God it was so cute...but I realized we had to get these chests locked up immediately!

                Yasai said, "That's just a beginning - you need to go and find more, now."

                But Mitzi decided to go back to her video games instead and we moved the chests inside. Yasai and Alfred each took one and Rodrick and Leo combined to move one. Karyn and Colonel Nightshade's people handled the others. Allison led us to the underground vault and assured me that it was 'dragon-proof'. After the treasure had been stored away, Olivia asked Alfred where she needed to go to exchange Federal money into chips.

                "How many do you have?"

                "Ten million," she said calmly.

                "What?!?" When he got over the shock, he explained that Mandalay Bay was the place to do it, but he would charge a 20% fee on the transaction.

                "Leo? What about Jesse, could he do it?"

                Leo was appalled, "I don't think it would be wise to approach the President as if he were a money changer." So Olivia called Phillips, hoping Caesar could help her.

                "Let me see if I have this right," Phillips said, "you have ten million in Federal currency and need to change it to 'real' money. That's a tricky one. I suggest you find someone with a Federal ID and have them exchange them for you at Mandalay."

                Rodrick and I said, "Walter!"

                Olivia thanked Phillips for the advice and called Walter at his offices that Caesar gave him at the Stratosphere.

                "What do you want?" he asked. He sounded like he was smiling, though.

                Olivia explained her dilemma. "You have HOW much?" he exclaimed.

                "Ten million."

                "Plus another million of mine," Rodrick added.

                There was a pause before Walter said, "For a 10 % cut, I'd be happy to do it."

                I asked, "What? No discount for a fellow SEAL?"

                "Not with that hair. I'll be right over."

                Before long he showed up to get the money. Olivia made Leo swear that he would go along with Walter and that nothing would happen to her money. "Oh, and don't let Walter get hurt."

                Olivia then introduced Karyn to Alfred as her future business manager for the Aladdin, then started pacing. She was a nervous wreck until Walter and Leo finally returned with her money. Rodrick told her to relax, but she wasn't falling for it. When they did return, it was too late for Olivia to go register for the contest. Walter thanked both Olivia and Rodrick for their contributions to the US Embassy Construction Fund. For $1.1 million, that was the least he could do!

                With business all taken care of, Rodrick went to the gym to try out the ring he'd purchased in New Ectopia that will supposedly enhance his strength. Then Alfred, Leo and I asked Olivia what all had happened in New Ectopia, and, most importantly: "Where did all the money come from?!"

                She told us that she had left Rodrick getting a tattoo that has regenerational powers to do some window-shopping. She was looking in a shop that was selling mink mage robes and decided to try to sell the proprietor some of the furs that she had taken to sell. They were all laid out on the counter when a little blonde human mage walked by, shrieked, "Fur is murder!" and did some sort of magic that left them all in shreds.

                Olivia was pissed and took a swing at the girl - "The claws were barely even extended!" - but the girl started shrieking about how violence never solves anything. Security showed up then and when the blonde wouldn't stop yelling, one of them used a stimulus wand on her - on the wrong setting. Several minutes and multiple orgasms later, the girl came to her senses. The head of the security detail showed some leniency and had her taken aside so she could clean herself up a bit. When she returned, she was informed that the Market Judge had heard the case and ruled in favor of Olivia to the tune of 25,000 utils.

                "But the young lady in question does not have that amount," the judge said. "Liquidating her assets came up with 12,000 utils. She is now your property."

                Then the girl was be-spelled and Olivia was given a 'control' word. "If she runs, invoke the control word. Is she's within five miles of you, an agonizer spell will take affect, leaving her incapacitated until you find her."

                Olivia told us, "And when they liquidated her assets, they took them all. She was left wearing nothing but her underwear! They handed me her 'worth'. 10,000 utils in cash and a wand of frenzied claws - that was what she used on the furs. It was brand new; that was the one and only time she'd used the thing."

                "Anyway, there I was with her. She told me her name was Cathy and that she was eighteen years old. 'I hope you like Vegas,' I told her. 'What is there to do in Vegas?' she asked me."

                "One of the guards snorted and said, 'It's more like who is there to do in Vegas, girl. You've got a debt to work off.' Then he asked me if I wanted to pay for her shackles, 100 utils."

                "'That's going on your tab, too!' I told her. 'And I'm going to have to buy you some shoes, too.' The guard said, 'I'll give them back to her if I can squeeze her tits.'"

                "I told him, 'I can't let you do that.' But Cathy said, 'I need my shoes, go ahead.' After a lot of squeezing, the guy gave her her shoes back."

                "Anyway, with Cathy in tow, I went about selling the stuff I took with me. After a while a big, bald guy approached me and asked how much I wanted for her, 'I need a new pleasure slave and this one really does it for me.'"

                "So I told him he could have her for 17,500 utils. And do you know what he did? He said, '17,000,' and tried to put a whammy on me! So I told him, 'No, 17,500.'"

                "'Very well, 17,500, Las Vegas.' And he tried to whammy me again!"

                "Then he tried it on Cathy, 'You want to come with me, don't you?' And she fell for it! 'Yes, I want to go with you.'"

                "So I said, 'Fine! Take her' And he tried to give me 17,500 in Vegas chips. 'No! Our agreement was for 17,500 utils.'"

                "'But I don't have that,' he said. 'And you don't have a pleasure slave, either.' I told him. He stalked off in a huff. Once he was gone, I asked Cathy if she wanted to be a pleasure slave. 'Of course not!' she huffed at me. She told me that she's a mage and works in a magic item factory. She got the stupid wand there at a discount and she pouted the whole time she told me this."

                "I went to the booth next that the one guy directed me to. I sold all of the miscellaneous jewelry for 100,000 utils and the 20 diamonds for 200,000 utils. Once I finished selling that stuff, I offered to take Cathy to her place to pick up her personal things to bring to Vegas. Turns out she was about six miles out of town, and the taxi charged 1000 utils per mile. I decided her stuff wasn't worth that."

                "I went to the caravan area next. I figured I would try to change utils to chips with some new arrival. I knew I could give them a better rate than we got originally but I'd still make a healthy profit. I did actually talk to the moneychanger first. They initially offered 100 chips per util. Until I told them how many utils I wanted to change. Then they changed the offer to 20 utils to chip. So I told them to fuck off. Just then a new arrival came up - they had just escaped from the bosses at Reno. They had 3.5 million in chips that they needed to change. I gave them 100,000 utils for the chips. So then I had 209,000 utils and 3.5 million in chips."

                "I had another long talk with Cathy about what to do with her. She was whiney and annoying and I didn't want to bring her back to Vegas, but I didn't want her to get out of the consequences of her actions either. I did have some fun by razzing her extensively about her 'fur is murder' stance while she was wearing leather Birkenstocks."

                "I went back to the shop where I sold the candles and crucifixes. I wondered if he had ever seen the big, bald guy before and knew where to find him. I was getting kind of desperate at that point. But he didn't know the guy. He suggested that I take Cathy to the slave market. He assured me that someone with her magical skill - limited or not - would never end up working in a brothel. Her mage skill was just too valuable. He also told me there are a few mages that make their fortunes doing arbitrage between Vegas chips and New Ectopian utils. His suggested that if I know someone that uses Federal dollars, change my utils to dollars. The dollars are practically worthless, and I remembered that dollars and chips are exchanged on a 1 to 1 basis here."

                "I got directions and went to the slave market. I went to the gentleman that appeared to be in charge. 'Buying or selling?' he asked me. 'Selling,' I told him. He offered to take Cathy's debt off my hands for the 15,000 utils. He asked her where she works and he's going to try to bond her back to the factory and let her work off her debt there. My ring said he was being truthful about it all."

                "I asked him next about the dollars and he admitted that they had about 10 million dollars in their vault. We agreed to a trade of 100,000 utils for the 10 millions dollars. I told him, 'If you're ever in Vegas, look me up. I should be the new owner of the Aladdin in about a week.' He basically laughed his ass off. He wished me good luck and said he wouldn't be taking that bet."

                "Since I had plenty of cash now, I pondered what to do with the remaining utils. I could keep them for future shopping, I could get some bodywork done, or I could see if there's anything interesting here in the market. I wandered back to the slave market. And there, a very muscular blonde woman caught my eye. She was inside a cage and in heavy restraints, too."

                "I asked the guy I sold Cathy to, 'What's her deal?' 'She's in for murder,' he told me. 'I thought people were transported for that.' 'Normally, yes. This one avoided it. She caused enough in damages to make it worth while to try to sell her off. Her bond is for 200,000 utils.'"

                "Now I was curious. That's our range of collateral damage. 'Can I talk to her?' I asked. 'Sure. Just don't get too close.' I walked over to her and said, 'Hi.' The guy reached through the cage and undid her gag. She immediately told me, 'If you try and keep me as a slave - I will kill you.' Damn. She wasn't much of a saleswoman, but I admired the balls. Something told me she has potential."

                "I asked the guy if he'd had any offers on her. He told me no. Everyone so far thought she was too dangerous. I offered 100,000 utils. I had some extra money to gamble on this little venture, but I wasn't going into debt over it. While he was debating it, I told the woman, 'Chill out. I'm offering to take you to Vegas to give you a second chance. Don't blow it.' She gave me the hairy eyeball, but settled down while I completed the transaction."

                "Once loose, she told me that she wanted something else to wear. (I'm just surprised at this point that she didn't run off as soon as the bonds were removed.) She went over to one of the guards standing there and knocked his head sharply into the wall he was standing next to. She took his cloak and his gunbelt. 'That's for squeezing my tits.' It was interesting that none of the other guards stepped up to defend the guy. She put the cloak on and strapped on the gunbelt, 'I'm ready,' she said."

                "I asked her name. 'Karyn.' 'Hi Karyn. I'm Olivia. Olivia Mitchell from the Kingdom of the New Outlands, we don't actually hold with slavery there.' I told her about my plan to take over the Aladdin and finished with my recruiting pitch, 'I'm really going to need some good people around me. And if nothing else, it looks like you could be a great bodyguard. Chocolate and Cherry are kind of cute, but let's be honest, I could kick their ass and they're guarding me.' I took her shopping - got her one of the really nice armored dusters that Jazz and I got last time. That set me back another 10,000 utils. I had 14,000 utils left at that point."

                "I told her that we needed to go pick up my friend. We left to meet Rodrick at the designated place. On the way I informed her that he's an ex-navy SEAL that's been working as a mercenary, and that hopefully she wasn't going to have any problems with military types, since my brother is a SEAL too. She said that she doesn't."

                "At the meeting point, Rodrick said he wanted to look for a ring that would magically enhance his strength. He also had some utils to exchange - 80,000 to be exact. But he had some connections of his own and was able to get a million in Federal dollars for them. Then I took the three of us back to Yosemite to meet you, Jazz."

                Then it was my turn to tell the story of my afternoon. When we were all done, Olivia went to the Temple of Ellistrae to pick up Slash to go clubbing. Walter bid us goodnight and headed back to his place. I told Leo that I was going to be busy for awhile, getting my 300 Elves settled in. He raised an eyebrow at me.

                "Why are they 'your' Elves?"

                "Since I brought them here. They're my responsibility - for now at least."

                "Well, you go take care of them - I'll see you later." He headed up to our room, I went to housekeeping.

                When I got there, I found that Allison's people already had assigned everyone rooms and the head of housekeeping was sorting everyone into work groups and shifts. So with them in good, capable hands, I joined Leo for the evening.

Continued...