From quinn@fazigu.org Mon Jul 21 12:05:35 2003 Return-path: Envelope-to: quinn@fazigu.org Received: from constr1-host1.corridor.net ([66.100.236.130] helo=yami.57thstreet.com) by requiem with smtp (Exim 3.36 #1 (Debian)) id 19edAL-0000uW-00 for ; Mon, 21 Jul 2003 12:05:33 -0400 Received: (qmail 94605 invoked from network); 21 Jul 2003 16:14:11 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO moo.ghostmoo.org) (127.0.0.1) by localhost with SMTP; 21 Jul 2003 16:14:11 -0000 Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 11:14:11 -0400 From: "Quinn@Ghostwheel" To: quinn@fazigu.org Subject: Ghostwheel Message(s) 62 - 87 from *storylines (#5236) X-Mail-Agent: Ghostwheel (moo.ghostmoo.org 6969) Message-Id: Status: RO Content-Length: 37690 Lines: 834 Message 62 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Mon Jun 2 15:48:02 2003 EDT From: Eryn (#22906) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Back again Hot winds blew the sands, obscuring her vision. Which way, she thought, brushing off the LCD screen on her GPS. She turned this way and that, scared to walk blindly forward in such harsh terrain, but scared to stay where she was. The sand storm had lasted for days already. She muttered to herself, bringing her hand back up to try and cover her mouth and nose as she hunkered down to wait out the worst of it. 31/29/0, 31/29/0, 31/2... she repeated what had become her mantra in her head. -------------------------- Message 63 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Tue Jun 3 23:55:11 2003 EDT From: Kijindei (#25075) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: The mess he had to clean. Kijindei watched silently from his cavern as the unknown rider lander on the helipad. The person riding a top of the obsidian dragon dropped a person and he wouldn't have believed his eyes if he'd seen it, Daan'yrrli, perhaps the most peaceful of dragons ripped out the throat of the unconscious man. The rider seemed to be saying something of warning to the person on the dragon's back, but apparently he wasn't listening. A few moments passed as a dead man walked in front of him only to be torn apart by Az'yrri. Kijindei hadn't seen much death, but he was never really afraid of dragons till that moment. He watched the two dragons who had let him ride for a moment, unsure if the blood on their hands was their own or their victims. They said something in the dragontongue... something he never quite managed to understand. With a sigh and a mutter he collected his possessions and left his home. A note was scribbled on the table beside his sleeping mother and father, "I'm going to be exploring the world, and leaving you for a while. Call me if you need anything, but I think I need to live on my own for a while." With a final touch of his pen, he was ready to grow up. -------------------------- Message 64 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Wed Jun 4 16:24:09 2003 EDT From: Grady (#37075) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: family The communicator went flying from his hand as he slammed it down towards the table. "SON OF A BITCH!!", he screamed. He had just finished talking with his sister, Eryn, about her time in the Wastes. "That son of a bitch con artist hitting on her, trying to pass himself off as Father! And she has no IDEA what kind of folks are out there. All the trouble she can get into without me around to look after her. I wonder what mom was THINKING when she sent her out there anyway." It was a bunch of fabled tales. There was nothing left there for any of them. Jamie, his mother, had told them all the stories about their dad. 'He is a saint, that he is' she would say. It was a hard life trying to be the man of the house after his dad had died. He was so young then. Naive. He learned fast to become a man, and now at 17, he had made it. He walked over to a picture of his mother. "Mom, you have been gone for only a day, but already I need to leave here. Eryn needs me now more than you do." He kissed her picture and looked around the room. He grabbed the sword from where it hung on the wall and placed it in the sheathe across his back. "It's you and me now Fang. Just you and me to look after her." One more glance, and his eye caught the comm laying on the floor. His face turned red as he stamped it into pieces. "That old conman will NEVER live to see another moon! Trying to pass himself off as our father. Noone alive could ever live up to HIM! That old bastard will meet the Eagle soon enough, sure as my name is Grady." -------------------------- Message 65 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Thu Jun 5 11:04:25 2003 EDT From: Eryn (#22906) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Want Ad - Posted in whatever local papers that might be read and tacked up around the joint - Wanted : Looking for these people. If you have any information on how they may be contacted, please comm Eryn at #33698 -Rathe -Myst -Mercury -Khyber -------------------------- Message 66 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Fri Jun 6 20:56:23 2003 EDT From: Elendil (#2237) To: Elendil (#2237) and *storylines (#5236) Subject: Employment flier ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Submariner Excavating, Inc, in conjunction with the Rand Corporation and Silent Partner, directs your attention to the following job openings: Excavator: Individuals with blasting or mining skills, or Mech operators with experience in excavation. Engineer: Individuals with drafting, mapping, and other technical skills. Assistant foreman: Individual with good interpersonal skills. Must be physically hardy. Beastmaster: Individuals with the ability to control or dominate TeraMoles. Mage: Individuals with the ability to divine, map, or otherwise detect material items. Bartender: Individual with the ability to sling suds. If you feel you meet the qualifications of one of the above, a lifetime of ease and comfort may soon be yours. A major excavation project is about to get underway. Don't miss your chance to contribute your skills and earn a solid return. Previous digs have generated incomes and recovered valuable pre-Apocalypse technology and materiel far in excess of common hand-to-mouth scavaging.* Sign up today with a dig representative. *SEI and the Rand Corporation are not affiliated with Dynetech Blasting, whose Site 14A excavation released the Fae. SEI averages less than 1.1 site fatalities per 100 man-hours. -------------------------- Message 67 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Fri Jun 6 22:09:57 2003 EDT From: Red_Fang (#5907) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Red's kids and such.. Red paced back and forth in his keep.. Wearing a path in the dusty floor. Geesh this place needs a woman again he thought. But no, damn kids coming back here with tales of how great a old man they HAD!! That bitch!! Leaving with them when I was in the middle of global conquest.. How dare she just up and leave and then spend years lying to the kids. So she was dead, Yeah a big hole was there in Red's heart.. IT was about the size of a Mech's fist since she left.. So the news of her having passed didn't deeping the pain any more.. What took over now was a great anger, she should of trusted me to protect her and the kids.. She should of stayed! The girl child, Eryn.. She was a beauty and just looking at her caused a pain in Red's heart so deep.. She had a lot of her mothers looks.. But she was far smarter than she gave herself credit.. But she'd given up.. Probably knew she was lied to.. Probably suspected it all along but I don't know.. She didn't care much.. Wanted out any way she could find and it seemed she'd even shack up with the first guy to come along who said he had a pocket of crystals. She deserved much better.. And she'd get it if Red had anything to do about it. He'd kill any man who touched her unless he approved.. Right out kill the bastards.. But there was a part of Red that knew he'd probably already blown it with the girl.. She saw right through him.. He was nothing close to the stories she was told and no amount of imagination could make it right.. She thought what Red felt.. He was a washed up old man with nothing but lies to his name. But Red would try to find a way to be her friend if she'd have him. Then there was Grady, damn kid believed himself to be Red Fang's son.. Not me!! The lie his mother told. Kid is going to get himself killed talking like he does. It was wrong to deceive him, but it bought a bit of time. He'll still hate me but he is gonna learn the right way to hate me. Fear! He will learn this world isn't a story book and that his old man isn't a fairy tale hero. Damn woman telling those lies! Dead, Like I could be killed for long. Bastards have tried.. Heck I felt like doing it myself a few times but I came back.. So the kid has to learn what a man has to do to live and survive.. He's going to learn not to be a asshole wanna be like Moon's kid was. He's gonna learn some respect! Red then walked into the bedroom fitting on his armor and strapping wolfblade to his back, time to see what the kids made of.. Daddy's back! -------------------------- Message 68 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Mon Jun 9 22:38:02 2003 EDT From: Grady (#37075) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: THe Reunion Red Fang says, "now just settle down" Grady tries to look around, but still cant see well, Red Fang says, "you are still hurt pretty bad so just relax." Red Fang says, "sorry about that.. I got carried away" You say, "You ready to take back that crack about mom?" Red Fang says, "no, she hurt me very badly" Grady tries to stand, but falls back to the table. Grady [to Red Fang]: you hurt her too old man. You say, "JUst between us." Red Fang says, "and I'm angry and can't understand why she did it." Red Fang says, "what do you mean?" You wince with the pain of your wounds. You say, "Why???? Because she loved us." You say, "I knew you the first day." You say, "COuldnt leave well enough alone could you." You say, "Now Eryn will have to deal with it all." You say, "Mom told everything." You say, "ALL of it." Red Fang grins. You say, "ANd she loved you." Red Fang says, "so tell me the truth" You say, "She learned to love you early on." Red Fang nods. You say, "She would have done anything for you cept one." Red Fang says, "she was the most beautiful woman in the world" You say, "ANd that is allow your kids to be raised in the conditions you left us in." Red Fang nods. Red Fang says, "I figured" You say, "She was. And Eryn is the spitting image of her." You wince with the pain of your wounds. You say, "SHe never let a day go by without talking about how much you loved each other." Red Fang says, "I know, and it hurts me to look at her.. she is in a lot of pain.. she don't know the truth?" Grady Sighs. You say, "no, she dont." Red Fang says, "then we won't tell her." You say, "ANd i prefer if we left it that wya." Red Fang nods. Red Fang [to Grady]: but you knew.. so you know I was a fraud. You say, "I think after all that time, mom beleived her own stories." Red Fang nods. You say, "I knew it when Eryn called and told me about you." Red Fang says, "she will be missed." You say, "Mom wanted you, so much, to come and take us all back." You say, "But you never came." Red Fang says, "I would of." Red Fang says, "I didn't know where she was." You say, "No, you wouldnt" You wince with the pain of your wounds. Red Fang sighs. You say, "I came back once..." You say, "When I was 14." Red Fang says, "oh?" You say, "YOu were still carousing and telling stories and bragging." You say, "You loved yourself too much to come and get us." Grady Spits on the floor. Red Fang says, "Isn't true.." You say, "IT is. It was always about YOU" You say, "And mom gave up everything. HEr name, her past, her future. JUst to be your Jamie. And to raise your kids to be the best they could." Red Fang shakes his head, "no it wasn't. I looked for over 5 years for you. I nearly died doing it I went so far." You say, "We werent far." You say, "We were in N'Orleans." Red Fang says, "you where father than I could find you." Red Fang says, "no you couldn't of been.. I would of had word." You say, "Mom was a waitress." Red Fang growls. You say, "In a tavern. Waiting on all those nasty men. Getting fondled and slapped." Red Fang says, "no" You say, "YES" You say, "Eryn and I were upstairs, we could hear it all." You say, "And mom would come up, tuck us in, and tell us wonderful stories about our dear old dad." Red Fang says, "I won't believe you!!!! I could not find you!!!!!!!!" You say, "She went through hell. SHe gave up everything." You say, "She was there. MAdame Claire's." You say, "But she is gone now." Red Fang snorts, "she could of come home at any time." You say, "And noone will ruin Eryn';s memory of her." You say, "noone. hear me? I will haunt you til you die." Red Fang says, "no, but Eryn has some bigger problems" You say, "NO, she couldnt come back." Red Fang says, "yes she could of, damnit.. I loved her!" Red Fang says, "I lost the world when she left." You say, "She needed us to beleive her stories. And to be away from your 'adventures'." You say, "ANd her world crumbled. DIed. And she had noone to confide in. NOT even when..." Red Fang says, "I destroyed our house, I wandered until I could not go anymore and then I went on. " You say, "Well, not even." Red Fang says, "she could of and it is just making me more mad to hear this." You say, "Mom never went on. SHe wallowed in the memory of what never was." Red Fang says, "I hate her for this." You say, "Dont hate her." You say, "She did it for me and Eryn." You say, "And i wasnt man enough to make her stop." Grady hangs his head and weeps. You say, "I will never be man enough." You say, "Only men I had to look up to were drunks and rapists." Red Fang says, "I do, I hate her.. You would of been a prince among men, and Eryn a princes.. I could of taught you so many things and given you so much.. She destroyed our family for fear." You say, "NO!" You say, "And you know what her last words were?" Red Fang says, "she did" Red Fang says, "no" Red Fang waves his bioscanner around the room, sweeping its scanners across every living being in sight. You say, "SHe said, find Eryn. GO to Red, and beg his forgiveness. Learn from him and make us proud." Red Fang says, "get help with your wounds, I can't stay here anymore.. She went and left a hole in my life and now I have ruined it all.. " You say, "IF you leave, all will be ruined." You say, "REd?" Red Fang slams his fist against the wall, "why can she leave and I can't.. I have to bare this pain!" You say, "I need a dad. A REAL dad. THe real you. whoever that is." You say, "Mom bared so much pain, she finally died." You say, "We need to pull together for Eryn." You say, "So what do you say." Red Fang turns back towards you shaken with tear streaks running down his face, "ok.. We will work together, for Eryn." You say, "Life for all of us has been hell." You say, "SO be it." Grady leans forward and hugs you. THe tears of love finally clearing his blinded eyes and letting him see the new light. Red Fang [to Grady]: I'd like it if you came home to the keep.. It isn't much now but I'm working on it. Red Fang hugs you back tightly, "my son, forgive me." Grady slaps you on the back. "I would like that too." You say, "FOrgive us all." Red Fang nods. -------------------------- Message 69 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Wed Jun 11 17:05:41 2003 EDT From: Dante (#10660) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Dark Tidings. Even a child's pains can be uncovered by the cruelest of words. Dante regarded the small child, daughter of perhaps a neutral ally in the past with a malicious intent. Pain, in its truest form would be used as a conduit of control, through his words he would shape this young girl to despise the very ones she held most dear. But, it was only a start of such things. Of late the riders were of much discussion, seemingly targeted for the most pointless of arguments and reveries. Who was Dante to break the trend, he thought as he chuckled. The dragon whore, who he so aptly named a good two years ago, had brought this fledgling child to face the true pains of reality of the world outside of their Mountain. Dante's cackle filled the halls of the Tower of Chronomancy in N'Orleans. He had not had such much fun in a long time. The foolish child had given him her father's sword, a fetter to the dead yes, but also a very important object of power to the young girl. Physical contact was not a requirement to an adept, such as he, to awaken the memories of the dead long past. The foolish girl had entrusted the blade to him for a long moment, and it was enough time to weave the spells he needed to attach to the old sword. Where the child did go, knowledge, and even dreams would unfold to the Adept. True, limited in his control he could merely brush the surface of her mind now, but it was only a beginning, and Dante had such much time with which to twist and cajole the innocent minds of the youth. A beginning, of somethings was as important as an ending, and if Dante had his way the ending would be glorious and filled with the very agony and pain that would crush the heart of young and old alike. Pain was only the beginning of the end. -------------------------- Message 70 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Thu Jun 12 23:37:56 2003 EDT From: Red_Fang (#5907) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Death to Dragons Red Fumed!! Dragons are to die he snapped the order more to the world than to anyone in particular.. All of them.. Kill every last dragon and their pitiful peace loving riders. Kill them all.. Criminal behavior won't be tolerated from unnatural creatures. Kill them all.. And bring me the dragon mistress.. She will go back into her chains where she will rot with th rats. We go to war. -------------------------- Message 71 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Sat Jun 14 01:12:35 2003 EDT From: DragonBabe (#5288) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Deep Rumblings! The valley shook, trees falling deep in the forest and the sound of rocks falling could be heard throughout the Valley of Drach'Nal in the darkness of early morning. People woke as the gound seemed to ripple violently beneath their homes, wall's showing cracks with the unaccustomed stress, roof tiles and thatch falling to the ground in a clatter and leaving gaps that now framed the dark, starlit sky. People emerging from their homes in the morning find trees toppled around the Village, and any who venture into the forest find more trees toppled, the river level has dropped to a mere trickle and some of the pathways have been blocked off. Huge cracks have appeared in the valley near the edges of the mountains, a sulferic steam rising from them as more deep rumbles are heard. OOC Anyone living in the Valley of Drach'Nal or visiting would have been woken, possibly thrown from their bed, maybe been injured, etc. Lots of property damage also. Have fun with it! More to come... -------------------------- Message 72 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Mon Jun 16 01:02:07 2003 EDT From: Skywalker (#6644) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: B&E Skywalker cracked his knuckles and sighed. In the past few days, he had spent many hours meticulously punching 4-digit numbers into the keypad of the mystery door. Every now and then, he would hear scratching and growling from behind the massive entrance, but he'd grown accustomed to the noises by now. It added some variety since the beeping of the keypad was driving him to the verge of madness anyhow. "The Ranger Victor HQ didn't take this long to crack...although it was pretty hot and dusty out there," he mused to himself. The aging mariner marked a number down on his notepad and stood up straight, causing several joints to crack with relief. He'd been hunched over for far too long, leaning against the doorframe as he punched in number after number. His heavy boots stirred up dust from the tile floor as he walked around to survey his surroundings once more. The chamber he was in seemed to be dozens of metres high, and even his sharp submariner eyes couldn't penetrate the darkness to see the ceiling. He moved to the nearest wall, tracing his fingertips along the long claw mark that had been gouged into the blue plastek surface. "I wonder what made these," he thought, "Because something tells me it wasn't just dragons. I guess I'll know soon enough," the healer concluded, as he looked back to the locked steel shutter. Sighing once more, Skywalker walked back to the keypad and resumed entering numbers from where he'd left off. After another hour, he thought of giving up for the night when the lights on the keypad began to flash green. Removing his finger from the 'enter' button, he took a step back and heard a sharp click as the sealing mechanism for the door disengaged. A rumbling started as the door servo began to run, and a sliver of light appeared beneath the door as it began to rise from the floor. Remembering that he was alone and unaware of what lay on the other side of that door, Skywalker reached out and slammed his palm against the door control. With a creak, the door halted its ascent and reversed its direction, moving far too slowly in the submariner's opinion. A dull thud heralded the closing of the door, and the mariner breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the locking bolts slide into place with a reassuring clang. Without warning, the door suddenly shook with violent force as an object of considerable mass crashed into it from the other side. The shutter held, obviously built for this very purpose, and an inhuman wail pierced the air. It lasted for several seconds, echoing throughout the entire complex for what seemed like an eternity. Involuntarily, Skywalker shivered and backed away a few steps from the door. He stood frozen in place for several minutes, listening for the slightest noise in the darkness, but he heard nothing. As he relaxed, he realized his trident was gripped tightly in his hand, tendrils of electricity coiling up and down the shaft in response to his touch. Lowering his weapon, Skywalker turned and started to leave. He'd come to a decision. "I'll need help," he concluded. -------------------------- Message 73 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Mon Jun 16 16:46:01 2003 EDT From: Ceri (#24980) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: finally! Ceri was spending far too much time in the Ranger Outpost. She wanted to be with the others, standing hand to hand in the combat and adventures. She was hot and tired, and thes heer number of combinations to make the right ammo for the boomsticks was astromical. Hot and tired, she wiped the sweat from her face. It was about time to rest a few hours, before she tried another batch. A smell, like sulphur hit her nostrils and all of a sudden she knew what she had been missing!!! Her training at the Oceanus Clinic brought it all to light. In a frenzy, she got the secret ingredients and put it in the mill with the rest. *plink* *plink* *plink* was the response. Gathering up the shells, she loaded them into her boomstick and headed to the slisssh pit below the R/T. She needed to test the ammo. With a smile, she left thee Station and headed out. -------------------------- Message 74 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Mon Jun 16 18:32:33 2003 EDT From: Red_Fang (#5907) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Posted Wanted: A flying machine, I know it can be done.. I need one or a whole fleet of them.. We must beable to break the bonds of this world and shoot dragons out of the sky. We need flying machines!!!! Build me one and the reward will be more than you could imagine. Red Fang. -------------------------- Message 75 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Mon Jun 16 19:31:57 2003 EDT From: Ceri (#24980) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: The Slisssh Wars Ceri lowered herself into the Steel Bowels, armed with her boomstick. She hadn't fully tried it yet, but she just *knew* it was going to work. Almost immediately she happened upon one idle slisssh. She aimed her boomstcik and *WHAP*, the slissh died! 'Success', she thought as she roamed further into the pits. She shot and killed them, in 1's and 2's and 3's. One shot was all it took. Happy and excited she proceeded to the spawning area. As she turned the corner she spotted at least a dozen. Loading her gun, she took aim. 1, 2, 3, 4 they went down. She reloaded and again, one shot each, they died. 'I Finally got the right formula!' she thought as she entered the next room. This time there were 20. Quickly reloading, she shot them again, she had counted 17 down when she was hit from behind. The last thing she remembered was falling on her gun, to protect it from being taken. OOC- Consider this IC information. Boomshells are now a commodity to be dealt with! See Ceri in the R/T lounge, or comm her if you are interested. -------------------------- Message 76 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Mon Jun 16 23:25:03 2003 EDT From: Devon (#23970) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Posted. Wanted: A submariner, and a magical portal. That way I can move Red's keep underwater, and then blow it up with torpedos. Yeah, I'm not blowing hot air out of my ass, but Red's idea sure is workable. -------------------------- Message 77 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Mon Jun 16 23:31:27 2003 EDT From: Skywalker (#6644) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Billy and the Brontosaurus Skywalker strode through the dense jungle, trident in hand. Droplets of rain fell from the edge of his helmet as he trudged through the underbrush, the muddy soil squishing out from under his booted heels. Pushing away some foliage with his hand, the mariner watched in wonder as a giant brontosaurus tore several branches from a tree in the distance, chomping them into pulp. A small lizard scurried up the arm of the healer's trenchcoat, regarding him for a moment before darting off into the shadows. It had been several hours since the hunting party had entered the heart of the Complex, killing everything without discretion. He'd traded safety for reckless slaughter. But now, with both the predators and the bloodthirsty hunters gone, Skywalker was now free to take a closer look at the strange inhabitants of the abandoned facility. This warrior was still an explorer at heart. Although he was used to seeing the mini-rex's and raptors on Jizo, the creatures here were far more impressive. Although they surely must have been created artificially, they were not the manufactured mockeries that Dakirion had mass-produced. They were real dinosaurs; as real as they could be in a climate-controlled dome. As he made his way back to the entrance, the mariner considered all that he'd seen in the past week. A massive laboratory complex, long since abandoned, had once been home to scientists and their prehistoric creations. But something went wrong, and one or more of them had escaped. In a violent conflict, the lizards rampaged throughout the compound, hunting down their masters. It was unclear who had emerged victorious, but the place was now mostly abandoned -- with the exception of the world sealed behind that door. As Skywalker neared the exit, the air was filled with the calls of strange birds and the flapping of insects. Several loud beeps sounded as his gloved fingers tapped at the keypad, and the massive steel shutter began to open up once again. Glancing over his shoulder one last time, the mariner stepped over the threshold and walked out into the main chamber, his steps echoing in the emptiness. -------------------------- Message 78 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Tue Jun 17 01:27:34 2003 EDT From: Augustus (#18463) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Posted Sorry, the submariners are my friends and allies.. Go find your own friends.. Also, anything from the mount or a mage is blowing hot air. Red. -------------------------- Message 80 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Tue Jun 17 11:05:05 2003 EDT From: Dante (#10660) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Deep thoughts. Dante chuckled at the posted messages, and decided to make his own. Striding over to the R/T he placed a message onto the board and shook his head. "Bunch of wannabes, thinking that if they blow hard enough the house will fall down." He cackled and walked back to his home. "Luckily, I made my house out of blood and souls, lets see them come a knocking." -------------------------- Message 81 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Tue Jun 17 11:52:07 2003 EDT From: Xrara (#16047) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Wonders Xrara sat staring blankly out the huge 'eyes' of her mech; the bleeps and ticks of Raindancer fading into nothingness as she contemplated. Monsters, huge prehistoric beasts. Dead before she even got a chance to look or wonder about them. She had known, the moment the excitement in the lounge had started, that following Sky and watching him open that door was a bad idea. Death and destruction, no amazement or awe left in anyone, just the need to kill everything in sight. She went along, Sky had wanted someone he trusted there, how could she say no to that. The door never should of been opened. Xrara stretched, her neck popping as she tilted her head to the side. She flicked a switch on Rain and after hearing the old familiar whir, pushed a button. The cockpit swayed gently to the side as Rain's huge leg lifted and took it's first step out through the church gates. -------------------------- Message 82 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Tue Jun 17 17:53:37 2003 EDT From: Jak_the_Yak (#20718) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Wonders II Jak The Yak sat staring blankly out the bloodshot 'eyes' of his face: the wafting smoke from his joint faded into nothingess as he contemplated. Wingless Dragons, huge prehistoric recombs. Dead before he even got a chance to let his mushrooms kick in. He had known, the moment he showed up late to the complex, that not bringing rolling papers was a bad idea. Death and destruction, not even the slightest buzz, just the need to smoke one of the prehistoric plants growing on the walls. He got lost, no one actually cared if the yak was around, he could easily say no to that. The door to the hotbox should never have been opened. Jak The Yak yawned, his high was peaking as he rolled about the dunes near his farm. He flicked the roach into a pile of stones. Maybe it was all one big fun hallucination. If not, maybe that was the type of geneticist he needed. -------------------------- Message 83 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Tue Jun 17 19:45:48 2003 EDT From: Elendil (#2237) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: The horror Sweat ran slowly into his eyes, blurring the already glazed backdrop of lush foliage. Alien noises assaulted his ears, faint caws and calls that echoed dully through the dense jungle. He reached one hand behind him, feeling for the reassuring pressure plate of the blast door leading to freedom. Nothing..raw jungle and moist vines, the fetid stench of rotting undergrowth. "Xrara?" he called. Only the tooth-ratting buzz of the tiny lizards answered. "Sky? Owen? Sexy Mirg?" Still nothing. He slipped slowly down into the heavy fern undergrowth. The heavy rubber hilt of the knife seemed slick and unsure in his sweaty grip, his body soaked through with sweat from the superheated air. He could see nothing but green leaves, hear nothing but the eerie calls of the predatory lizards..sometimes nearer..sometimes far. A chill gripped him, ran up his spine, paralyzed him in his defensive half-crouch. At first, he didn't want to admit it, to think of the horrid ramifications. Yet, there was no one around.. for the first time, he was lost, well and truly..completely..utterly sober. "Lies!" his mind shrieked, yet his liver knew it to be true. Honed by many years of hard drink, it was the strongest muscle in his body, a gleaming blue-yellow spear of power roaring in his innards. He knew it gloried in rum, drew fire from the weakest beer, stoked even turpentine like jet fuel..and jet fuel like wine. With that power he could not be defeated, with the pain resistance and deadly breath it lent he could ruin any foe. And when he fell, his monstrous liver would leap from his rent corpse like a revenant of old to slither out for vengeance of its own. It was a pact long since offered and received. He knew who had lured him here, to the world of the terrible lizards and their acid-spitting ilk. Them. The non-drinkers. It was their fault he was sans booze, trapped in the horrible Real/Time of sobriety like some prissy dragonized ninnyford. Something was screaming and suddenly he realized it was himself, mind numbed with the last recollection of near-sobriety he had, some sort of ball gown soiree in N'Orleans. Cravats, cummerbunds, eye-smeared kohl and cigarette holders swirled in his maddened vision, a great maelstrom of affectation. "No no nooooo!" he shrieked, hurtling through the dense underbrush, arms flailing to ward off the imaginary ball gown affair. The dart caught him high in the neck, spun him in a half circle. In slow motion, vision graying, he stumbled back against a tree, saw his blade fall glittering from his hand. Someone loomed in his vision, pistol clicking with another round. "Easy, easy.." the figure murmured, and he knew who it was. "Clock..clock is that you..?" he mumbled, chin drooping forward into stupor. "5000 ccs of Jack Daniels, El..you're going to be ok..ok.....ok.." -------------------------- Message 84 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Tue Jun 17 21:08:51 2003 EDT From: Ceri (#24980) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Primal Screams Ceri couldn't beleive where she was. After Skywalker had unlocked the door, she cocked her boomstick and prepared for death. Instead, she was hit in the face with a jungle scene. It had to be artificial, becasue she knew damn well she was deep in the heart of a mountain. The humidity was high, and the sweat poured from every pore on her body. The lush green scene looked almost idyllic. Except for that winged lizard that ran up and spit acid in her face. The earth started to shake beneath her feet. Instinct told her to run, but her desire to test her new boomshells was stronger than her common sense. The birds that had been shreiking suddenly went eerily quiet. THe winged lizard darted out of sight and another large dinosaur clambered behind the foliage. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up straight and Ceri started to turn very, very carefully. A drop of soemthing wet hit her on her shoulder. The air around her became still, and hotter than ever. As the mariner turned, a darkness came over the jungle. "THis isn't good!", she thought as she prepared to defend herself. The largest dinosaur she could imagine was standing behind her. Standing upright on 2 hindlegs, the head of the monster was as big as anything she had seen on the monitors in the museum in the wastes. Large, menacing teeth, row upon row, gleamed as the monster drooled. The T-Rex snarled as she shot it over and over again. After 10 rounds had been unloaded directly in the head of the monster it finally fell. Ceri jumped out the way as the giant lizard landed near her. Shaken and shivering, Ceri realized for the first time that she had emptied her bladder as well as her gun. It was time to go. TO hell with the rest of the party, they were nowhere to be found. She ran blindly in the jungle, no destination in sight as she looked for that cold steel door. It had to be here somewhere! IT had to! Ceri never found it before something else found her. -------------------------- Message 85 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Wed Jun 18 09:54:04 2003 EDT From: Kijindei (#25075) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: Heart of betrayal. Kijindei slashed his long knife at an invisible foe before him. His eyes focused neatly before him as he continued to switch between the spear and the blade. He'd never felt so angered before, and it felt like the rage inside of him was boiling his blood. The cat had been annoying, but he wasn't the one that Kijin saw as the problem. As far as he could tell Owen had healed him, and Xrara and Elendil had watched on, while removing all of Kijindei's valuables. It was clear who was really his friend in his mind now. He had trusted them all, and even talked with them, but when he was hurt and beaten even Angel herself didn't even come to heal him. She seemed to have her own life, that wasn't even important to the youngster. Taking a deep breath of concentration Kijindei moved with fluid motion, he whirled the blade and the spear around like an extension of his body. The rage would not go away, no matter what he did. His heart had felt betrayal for the first time, and it was clear that the only way to deal with it was blood. -------------------------- Message 86 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Wed Jun 18 11:18:34 2003 EDT From: Xrara (#16047) To: *storylines (#5236) Subject: kids! Xrara fumed to herself, "Damn breeding program on Morlith, spewing out obnoxious brats at an amazing rate." She growled, "Yap yap yap yap, the kid just wouldn't shut up..he was warned, he was lucky he got off so easily. Not next time..no snot nosed, obviously mentally challenged brat, disturbs my drinking like that" She slammed down the last of her vodka, "You don't see kids in the Firezone..maybe there needs to be a nuclear dump on morlith to slow em down" She grinned at the thought and wondered if Red had his flying machine yet. -------------------------- Message 87 from *storylines (#5236): Date: Wed Jun 18 19:32:38 2003 EDT From: Elendil (#2237) To: *storylines (#5236) Elendil tapped out his pipe and folded his paper under his arm. "He whines, he gets attacked. He whines more, he gets KO'd and looted. He whines even more, and gets his stuff back. And then he, just for variety, whines even louder. Boy needs a tannin' and no mistake." --------------------------