A Plethora of Prevarications AKA Greased Lightning

With Delgar back from the presumed dead, many difficulties are solved, but more await. You spend a wonderful evening celebrating with the recovered Prince and his very successfully undercover brother while Delgar admires each and every gift package and expresses his gratitude to all of you over and over.

Morrow makes a patented Mad Goblin Dash through the forest to the Seelie Court, and Termina arrives by enchanted coach at the stroke of midnight, with Morrow sitting proudly beside her, looking much like a puffed up pigeon. (An odd look for a goblin, to say the least.)

You can't imagine Termina in tears, but the finding of the Crown Prince so overwhelms her that she can't help herself. "You are all heroes of the Seelie Realms," she sobs to all of you, "and we promise to all the scope of our craft to return the Wayward Squirrel and the Gearloose Goose to their rightful homes the moment this horrible Unseelie threat is finished."

Morrow is whispering in Winton's ear as Termina finishes. Winton stands up and faces you. "We have some intelligence from the Seelie scouting parties as well. It seems there is an entry point into the Unseelie Realm through a tunnel opening under a root of a TwistDeath tree."

Termina shudders. "We also have heard this, but no humanoid or good Faerie could ever enter. To do so would mean certain death."

"Could we go?" says a brave little voice. It is Lappy, who has been perched on Larianne's lap. "There are many of us here."

The whole saloon is suddenly filled with barks, meows, hoots, growls, and all sorts of animal sounds of agreement. Every companion rises happily, eager to join in the mission.

Termina regards all of them gently, and regretfully declines. "You would all fit, of course, and the Keeper of the Spirit Barge might let you aboard to cross to the Shriveled Forest, but the insides of the root itself would twist wildly around you, and the sap is poisonous by nature.

As the companions look dejected, Hayao, who has been listening to the description, speaks up. "Lady Termina, could you enchant metal tubing into mithril, and would that repel the inside of the root?"

"I can, and it would repel, but where would we find such tubing?"

Thorson glances at Hayao. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Enjoy your night, then rest well!" Hayao leaps to his feet. "Let's go!"

He and Thorson pound down the stairs to the basement.

"Those two can work wonders," Erturde smiles. "That should get us the second key."

"I don't believe the Unseelie have the key," Termina replies, "not since our Prince is alive."

Delgar shakes his head sadly. "I don't have a key. I don't have anything. I only remember being raised in a village of strange, almost ethereal creatures. They called themselves Elders, and told me I would be needed. They cared for me, and taught me, and gave me food unlike theirs, but they were always somewhat detached. It was very lonely, so I spent most of my time in the grove near the portal, but it would never open, even though I tried to enter so many times. It took my brother's horn to open it."

"You have nothing?" Termina asks again.

"Nothing resembling a key. I do have this locket that was on my neck when they found me. I carry it around everywhere. I think I was supposed to die as an infant, but whoever took me couldn't kill me, or get this off."

He pulls a baby locket from the pocket of his tunic and places it in Termina's hand. She blows on it and it glows brightly.

"I gave this to you myself, and enchanted it with the most powerful protections I could manage. After all," she pauses to smile at Delgar, "I am your Godmother. This is what kept you safe all this time. And it is the second key."

"It's a key?" gasps Larianne, and then claps a hand over her mouth. "My apologies, Duchess."

Termina laughs. "Not at all, dear. I was much like you when I was your age. Always curious. Yes, it's a key. Keys don't always look like keys."

Bearman Jack still looks puzzled. "But even if Hayao and Thorson figure out something to make passage possible, won't the companions still need to know how to get though where they won't be seen?"

"We could interrogate that Rosemary girl," Jedro puts in.

"That's the Unseelie murderess we caught," Tony explains to Termina. "We got her to confess to murdering Sunny pretty dang easy. We was forceful."

"Sunny's dead?" Termina's voice cracks. "We lost a Sentinel?"

"Sadly, yes, Auntie," Kelian says sadly. "She did her best to help me, and I'll always blame myself."

"This is war," Ertrude answers softly. "As much as we don't want it, people die, good people."

"Exactly," Termina agrees, "and we must honor them by making it worth their sacrifices. You say this Rosemary confessed?"

"Yes, your mam'ship," Jedro looks pleased with himself.

"By all means then, we should question her first thing tomorrow. I can't wait to hear what she has to say."

The next morning, Hayao and Thorson, accompanied by a bleary-eyed Morrow, climb out of the basement carrying an awkward array of pipes, both straight and curved, some with entrance and exit ends clearly marked in yellow.

Giving an unexpected squeal of delight, Termina claps her hands in merriment. "You did it. You Squirrel people are really the most amazing group of mortals! Here, let me enchant those for you."

She focuses intently on the eleven pieces before her, lifting her hands above them. The sections elevate, spin, and begin to shimmer blue on the outside. At the end of her incantation, the pieces settle back into an arrangement:

"They'll expand or collapse as needed. I've made them small enough to carry, but they'll grow to fit." she adds, sinking back wearily into her chair. Ertrude quietly places a hot mug of tea in front of her.

As the companions gather around, Hayao explains: "The yellow gold locks on the end of pieces 4, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are the only ones that can be used to enter or exit the roots. Any of them can start or finish. We've designated the first root opening as piece 1, but we really have no idea what it will look like. The white sections will allow you to see out to your surroundings, if there is anything to see, but the darker areas provide nothing but an inner glow. Pieces 8 and 11 have a safe communication tube which will allow you to tell us you are safe."

"You may rotate the pieces to your needs," Thorson adds, "or flip them, but no piece can be broken apart or it will become useless. The cap ends are self-sealing for easy attachment to another section. We wish you the best of luck."

"Now all we need is some input from Rosemary," Winton observes.

Just then, Tanaka and Kelian drag in a subdued Rosemary, who seems defiant until she Termina. Her eyes widen at the sight of the Dowager, and she trembles slightly.

"I already told you I killed her!" she blurts out as Kelian flips her unceremoniously onto a bench facing her interrogator.

"Yes, yes," Termina says dryly. "Of course you did, but now I'd like to hear more about that entry point, the one through the TwistDeath root just beyond the Spirit Barge."

Rosemary goes pale, but recovers swiftly. "No such thing."

"You would say that, no doubt, but let us suppose there is," Termina rises and pulls a white feather from her pouch. Rosemary's eyes widen. "Ah, I see you do know what this is. It's a feather from the purest of Faerie Dove, the most innocent, softest, sweetest bird."

Termina slides it over Larianne's cheek, and Larianne laughs with delight. "It's so warm and soft!"

"This dear thing finds it very pleasant," the Dowager nears Rosemary, "but you might not feel the same."

"I killed Sunny. There's no tunnel!" Rosemary snaps defiantly.

The feather slides up one bare arm, and she writhes, beginning to scream as it nears her elbow. A black burn mark appears as a plume trail.

"Shall I go farther up? Shall you speak some more of the murder of a Seelie Sentinel? Or shall we talk about the tunnel?" Termina's voice is deadly soft and the room is around is completely silent. "I think I just might tickle your chin..."

"All right, all right!" Rosemary's hand flies up to protect her face. "What do you want to know?"

Termina proceeds with the questioning, and in the end, you are left with these statements for information:

"That should be enough for you," Termina tells the companions. "Take her away." She gestures at Rosemary, who is then led off back to jail by Tenaka.

"Now, we have another problem," Kelian tells all of you. "Mauve, come on in, would you?"

Mauve, accompanied by his mother, Ms. Miranda, looks like a normal teens in plaid shirt, jeans, and simple boots. He's pretty pleasant overall, and more than willing to help.

"I've been helping Kelian run down Lightning, but he's gone off world. He really confused the trail behind him as well."

"Still," Kelian puts in, "he won't go too far, since the Unseelie invasion is due to start, and he'll be a hero to them with a Sentinel gone."

He unrolls a map in front of you. "We narrowed down his possible destinations to six of the moons, planets, and asteroids reachable by fast flyers.

Pugsy nods. "He grabbed one of the Glowlight Runners from the repair zone. There's no place to refuel if he didn't do it here, and the fuel supplies were untouched. He pulled out in a hurry in a small craft, so these are the only ones within reach."

Tanaka returns. "We'll have to split up," he explains. "Each of you can grab one of these destinations and go in solo."

He places a handwritten sheet alongside Kelian's map. "As Jedro would say, pick yer poison."

(OOC: Well, these are your assignments. Please read the first post on the OOC thread for this chapter and comment/question there. Any OOC posts on this thread, especially without the disclaimer will only be answered on the OOC thread anyway. Both the companion challenge and the individual mission challenge (which is a combo RP and HA challenge) are due by 11:59 Subeta time on July 29th.)

: :

[spoiler=The Stone Cold Rogue Companions Spy On The Unseelie Realm]

Buttercup the Faerie was in a foul mood, again. Dace had been on her case again about her drinking and had done a pretty gor-rammed good job of keeping the liquor out of her reach. Now mostly sober, her loathing of life fueled her desire to get liquored up again all the more intensely. She missed her world, she was neither Seelie or Unseelie, she wasn't even New World or Old World Fae, all she knew was that she couldn't get home and her life was miserable and she took out her misery on her liver. It was just her luck that she found an ancient bottle of cheep port under the bathroom sink. There would be enough high octane booze in that bottle to keep the butterfly blotto for several days, or so she figured. It didn’t matter that the hooch tasted like some sick-sweet cough syrup, alcohol was alcohol.

Dace arrived about an hour later to take Buttercup down to a meeting of all the companions and found the debauched faerie face-down, half naked on the bathroom counter, lying in a pool of what could only be best described as faerie puke, or what some of the uninitiated called 'fairy dust.' Dace was disgusted, plucked Buttercup up and held her under the cold running water of the tap. “Wake up you slobbering imp, you’ve got work to do. Time to earn your keep.”

It took nearly a half an hour of this torture for the faerie to sober up enough to where she could stand and ‘fly’ but she was still not very coherent. Dace dried her off, rearranged her clothing to be more presentable, put her up on her shoulder and strode downstairs to the meeting of companion. “This is swell, just swell. You’re the only other one in this group who can read. You’re going to have to be the spokesperson for the companions and to give them directions.”

Buttercup could care less, “Let me die, bee-otsh.”

“Not today.” Dace tried a bribe. “If you help out in the venture, I’ll buy you really nice dinner at that fancy restaurant you like, you know, the one down river from where we live.” She tried to sound perky.

“Kill me now.” Buttercup was waking up more now. “I don’t want to work with anybody, I want to just go home.” She belched, “I hate that restaurant, they don’t serve booze to underage faeries or butterflies.”

Dace recognized that Buttercup had made a joke, but also sympathized with Buttercup. She wanted to be home too, but they had a job to do, they were under contract and Dace meant to see it through. “Just help the companions, it can’t be all that bad.”

Buttercup didn’t respond, which was her way of not refusing to help. She just didn’t want be agreeable. They arrived at the meeting and Buttercup did her best to listen in-between port-flavored belches, but her alcohol-fueled brain just couldn’t concentrate much on the task at hand.

Lini was sprawled out in their room on her stomach basking in the sun, almost asleep, when she felt her ‘tall one’ come up to her. She snorted, turned a sleepy eye up and uttered a couple of squeaks acknowledging Teislyn’s presence. “Lini, you and the rest of the companions are needed again for an important mission.” she heard Teislyn say. Her ears perked up a bit, she stood and brushed up against the Bard’s legs. She sent a picture into her ‘tall ones’s’ mind and got a laughing response back. “Oh! You’re going to save the day again, huh?” Her hand ruffled the fur on her back. Lini hummed in pleasure and followed her ‘tall one’ to where the others had gathered.

Doom the Honey-Badger

Doom was excited to be part of another adventure with Lini and the others. She had quickly made friends with Pavel the wolf companion of Eren the Ranger, but she hadn’t been able to communicate much with the butterfly faerie Buttercup because she slept a lot, smelled like jet fuel and seemed mean. Snakes were a natural enemy of honey badgers and Kiska the snake was stranger then most snakes had known, so Doom really didn’t see eye to eye with him at all. Still, the big mustellaid was gregarious, sweet-tempered and didn’t take any such insults personally. She sure missed her friend Kiberoth, the big polar bear that she met last year, but she was glad to have also made some new friends. Lady Frieda had brought Pavel along with her, it seemed that his master, Eren, had taken ill with the black sickness. It was now up to Doom to show her new friend the ropes in having adventures.

Doom the Honey-Badger Has A Flashback To Last Year's Companion Adventure

The ‘talking ones’ like Lady Frieda and all her friends had all come up with a plan but it was going to be up to the ‘companions’ to do the work and accomplish the task. Doom knew she was smart, strong and capable of doing a lot of the work, but she also knew that she couldn’t read a map or ‘talk’ like Lady Frieda. It seemed that her role this time was going to be a beast of burden and a laborer. She didn’t mind too much, as long as there was a bath at the end of the day, a prolonged petting and a plate of sausages. She had come to love getting a bath, Lady Frieda was so attentive and kind. She would do anything for Lady Frieda, even let her put a ribbon on her rump. She loved Lady Frieda, almost as much as she loved Miss Kitcher and Mr. Donner. She got a tear in her eye when she thought of the two youngsters and she missed them too. Miss Kitcher had babies now, more little friends to play with when she got home. Doom pawed at her eye as she sat and listened to the 'talking ones' describe the plan. Doom understood most of the plan, but she was unclear on some of the parts that involved magic.

Lini listened as attentively as she could, “Unseelie, pipes, tunnels, and digging” ran through her brain, but she kept getting distracted by Doom’s tail and wanted to bat it or maybe Pavel’s, his was just as fluffy. She sighed a bit and caught the end hearing they had to get going soon. She shook herself to clear the daydream of tail chasing and walked next to Doom to where they had to meet the ferry. Doom was her favorite of the bunch, the rest were okay, but she didn’t know them well enough.

While the humans loaded up the pipes on the honey badger and the wolf, Buttercup curled up face down on the floor. When the group was ready to leave, Dace shook the faerie awake and handed her the map and instructions to assemble the pipes into a tunnel. “Why the frapping hell do I have to carry all this c-(urp)-rap?” She whined.

Dace helped Buttercup up and tucked the maze instruction under her arms and opened the map to the forest in her hands. “Because you can read and speak oral language. Now be a good faerie and lead the way...or else.”

“Or else what?” Buttercup belched again then scratched her rump with her free hand.”

“Or else I’ll kick that itchy little ass of yours all the way to the fence and back.” Dace gave Buttercup a dirty look that demonstrated her resolve.

“Well, crap! I’ve never forgiven you for doing it the last time. Like kicking my ass has ever worked.” Buttercup took flight, lost altitude only a couple of times and headed out the door at a lazy pace. “C’mon com-(urp)-panions, let’s get this the frap over with.”

Doom stood patiently as the ‘talking ones’ carefully tied bundles of shiny silvery pipes onto her back. She and Pavel would be the carrying force for the first part of the quest. When they were all set, Buttercup took the rolled up map and led the troupe out toward the edge of Bordertown where the ferry was. Doom wondered why the butterfly took such a wobbly course, up and down, back and forth. Were they sneaking up on some prey?

Following the faerie proved to be just as much of a trial for Kiska as the others. She wove from side to side, and Kiska wondered if she could even read a map in her state. Lengthening himself, he attempted to read over her shoulder, only to land in an undignified heap as Buttercup accidentally smacked him with an elbow while doing a particularly energetic flutter. Gathering himself together, Kiska gritted his teeth and and attempted to call her down. Unfortunately, Buttercup seemed to mistake his polite requests to lower her height as encouragement to climb higher and twirl around more. Kiska felt his eye beginning to twitch. Now he was sure the others were laughing at him. Just as he had decided to turn around and give them a lecture on serpentine lineages and the superiority of snakes over other lifeforms, they reached the river.

Eventually they arrived at the ferry, and Buttercup paused to check her instructions. She looked at the barge keeper and farted. “OK, (hic) barge per-(hic)-son. I’m supposed to tell you your name. (belch) Which is stoo-(hic)-pid ‘cause you already know it.” With each hiccough she lost a little more altitude and had to flutter faster to regain her previous height. “Your name is the same as the one who lost 14 she cherished.” She looked over at Kiska and observed that the snake was shaking his head ‘no’ vehemently. “What the frick to you mean no?” Kiska tried to explain to Buttercup what it was that they were to say to the barge keeper, but Buttercup got it wrong again. “Who the hell are you talking to, snake? You’re here and I’m here, you twisted green sausage.” When Kiska acted snotty and refused to answer, Buttercup continued explaining to the barge keeper who just looked bored. “Like I was saying, ( snort ) your name must be Lushus Lucy the Plowed, ( giggle ) cause she lost four-(urp)-teen bottles of cheep-ass rum when she crashed her gor-ramned (hic) boat." The last hiccough caused Buttercup to land face down on the dirt with a splat. She got up on hands and knees and giggled. “Oopsie there.” She was fighting to keep her stomach and pointed to Kiska. “Um…the snake has something to say now. Snake! Frapping tell barge-face what we need.”

Before Kiska could get a word in, the irrepressible Buttercup began talking, and making an assortment of other disgusting noises. Kiska rubbed his forehead with his tail, she was making no sense at all and it offended him. He had caught her eye and shook his head, but the faerie seemed confused, or just plain belligerent. When questioned rudely, Kiska restrained the impulse to snap Buttercup right out of the air with his tail and tried to explain. "If the insect winged one will listen, Kiska will tell her that the correct name of the Barge Keeper is...." Kiska soon realised that his mode of speech was perhaps too convoluted for a drunk fairy and stopped. When Buttercup insulted his appearance ( especially since he had just cleaned and polised each of his scales) it was just too much. Kiska clamped his mouth shut and refused to answer, electing to let the faerie solve the problem. When it became evident that it wasn't going to happen, Kiska sighed and slithered forward, deliberately going over Buttercup. "The Barge Keeper's name is Rumpelstiltskin." he said coolly, before giving Buttercup an admonishing look. "Or was it Niobe? Kiska cannot remember because of inebriated insect winged ones blathering and insults. Kiska will now clean scales. Kiska will not tolerate shaming and name calling."

For Kiska, the journey across the river was peaceful enough, and he passed it quite pleasantly by giving the silent Barge Keeper the lecture. He was quite certain it was the most edifying thing she had ever heard.

Lini stayed near Doom and watched the faerie and the snake talk to each, or to themselves from the look of it, in their weird ways. Lini wasn’t sure what was going on just then, so she cocked her head both ways and then stared up at Doom for an explanation. Doom looked to the two and then back at Lini sending an image that sent Lini off in a titter. She choked it off when she saw Pavel staring at them and Lini sent the image to him and he sniggered as best as dog could. After the image was gone, they got themselves under control just as the ferry was about to dock.

Once across the river with the aid of Keeper of the Spirit Barge, it was a short jaunt into the Shriveled Forest to the TwistDeath tree and time to go to work. Doom wiggled free of the harness that held the pipes on her back and then helped Pavel by nibbling off the ties that held his load. They both used their teeth to pull the pieces apart and waited for instructions. Buttercup put the instructions down on the floor of the forest so that all could see and placed small stones at the corners to prevent it from curling back up. She sat on one of the stones and slouched. “Mutha-frapper, I can’t make out a single friggin thing from this frippin piece of fleeping crap.” She scratched herself absently and looked at Kiska. “Do you remember what the flip all these freaking pictures mean?”

Doom tried to follow the drunk faerie’s explanations, but they were making no sense. Pavel had started to growl, but Doom thought that wasn’t going to get them anywhere. She looked over at the wolf and made a snuffling snort, then shook her mane. Pavel put his head down and gave a whine of disapproval. Doom turned her attention to the faerie, snorted and made a yip-like sound in her throat. Startled, Buttercup looked at Doom, then back at the map. She turned it over and a light seemed to go on…it seemed that she had been holding the map upside down.

Kiska's problems started anew when the passage under the TwistDeath Tree had been reached and hollow metal pieces were unpacked. Buttercup once again took charge and started to fire off instructions which were both confusing and contradictory. Unable to make himself heard, Kiska settled himself in a corner and silently contemplated his situation (that is to say, he sulked). It was only when Buttercup calmed down, admitted that she had the diagram upside down that he withdrew and agreed to help, tersely indicating the places with his tail. He watched the others scuttle around with some satisfaction. This was how it should be. Everyone at his beck and call.

Listening to Kiska talk was no picnic, he sounded like he was talking to somebody who wasn’t there and poor Doom kept looking over her shoulder to see if somebody new had arrived and was disappointed each time it was just the snake. She had made a promise to be on her best behavior, but she had thought about snake sausage more then once this morning. Between the smelly, slurry-tongued butterfly and the snotty snake, it was a wonder that they got anything done at all.

Once the pieces had been laid out, it was time to find the root to enter and to dig. Lini hated digging, dirt was horrible stuff and the feel between her nails had her cringing. She sent a humming noise and some squeaks to the others to follow. She felt ahead while digging to make sure they were going the correct way and sooner then she expected she was where they needed to be. Doom followed Lini’s lead, it was time for the ‘four-legged ones’ to show the one-legged one and the insect how real work was done. Although Doom’s nose was extremely sensitive, even better then a dog’s, Lini seemed to excel at this sort of task. The little leaf lure blazed a trail under the root of the TwistDeath Tree and Doom and Pavel dug tunnels wide enough for the others to follow. It was also Doom’s and Pavel’s part to lay out the pipe pieces along the way. It neither impressed or frightened the honey badger whenever a piece of the maze expanded to full size once in place. What impressed her was the way her new friends were fun to be around.

Eventually, the maze was complete and the companions gathered together inside the last piece, the golden door into the Unseelie Realm, ready to take on the next part, exploring and spying. They all looked at it in amazement when the Kiska slithered past, it looked like he wanted to go first. But Doom thought that wasn’t such a good idea, she wasn’t comfortable following any snake down a hole. Doom pounded her paws on the floor of the tunnel and snorted to get the other’s

Rox posted this to the lodge forums for us all. it is there and waiting. ;)

As the day wears on and the companions look at the pieces in dismay and confusion, Ertrude gathers them all around her. OneToo, Twofer, Grumpus, and Lappy gaze up at her with trust as she elaborates on Termina's desires.

"I know the Dowager seems harsh, but she's actually very caring, and wonderful with magicks of all sorts. Still, her explanations may not be enough. Don't re afraid to turn those pieces over, or flip them around, rotate, or do anything else that your little hearts desire. Remember, you are going to have to fit into them right in the center of that root, making your own passage within a passage as it were, and crawl through carefully. It may be that you have to push out the next section ahead of you to fit the twists and turns of the roots. Once inside the beginning of the root, you'll see there are a number of junctures, so there are many ways to make this work. Choose the best for you. Just make sure your starting path is based on the decisions you make about what Rosemary said.

"Now, what we cannot stress enough is that this is a reconnaissance mission, not a combat. Once you reach Unseelie territory, which will be a bleak and desolate "dying forest" area most likely with many rocks, just go in far enough to hopefully learn something about the upcoming invasion. Don't engage in combat in less you absolutely have to. This is all about stealth. Of course, should be ambushed or let a lookout see you, you will have to deal with that, but do so silently. Get in, learn without being detected, and get out. Do you understand better?"

The little heads nod at Ertrude in appreciation.

"Good, come back with exciting tales for us, then." She gives each of them a little kiss.

"We can all learn from my mum," Larianne says, smiling up at Kelian, who is standing near and admiring her. "Dad and I call it 'Hedgewitching 101.'"

As the companions pack up their pieces to move out and you ready for your own adventure, a huge roaring is heard outside. Tony dashes out to look, and stumbles back just a few minutes later, gasping for breath.

"Border Fever cloud! But much worse that I ever see'd, blacker, too."

Everyone runs to secure shutters and pack the openings under the doors. The fury of the cloud races down the sandy street with eerie howling emanating from it.

"Unseelie death magic!" exclaims Termina. "Caniel, blow your horn! Delgar, hold your locket up to the light, and send it out this window as soon as I open it!"

The two brothers rush to follow her order's and Termina whips out her wand, then throws open the front window. The black duststorm tries to enter, but is repelled by the wand, Delgar's directed light, and the blast from Caniel's horn. Almost as soon as the storm started, it is over.

But for some, it is too late. Tony staggers and falls, then drops to the floor. Lirien of the Fellowship sways back and forth slightly, claims she is fine, and then slumps into a chair, burning with fever. Zephy the Reaver follows, letting out only a soft sigh before she faints away. Almost as if she was in a spirit link with Zephy, Kyo of the Whovians drops near her with another sigh.

"We're gonna need to set up and emergency station in the back of my store," Ms. Miranda says. "Pick 'em up, boys. These adventurers aren't going anywhere for some while."

Private Outfit

Outfit Not Found

I changed and got onto a ship called a Caroline that took me to a desolate place called Lone Rock.Jack came onto the speaker and apologized for a really hard landing. Just my luck my stomach got to being worse again. I was ready for anything,being armed with a bolt gun on my belt and having a sword at hand. Having a full charge on the bolt gun would get me through a good few days if necessary.The map of the area gave me a rough idea of the terrain and it was as harsh as they come....I knew that having a breathing mask would come in handy here. I miss Cooper being here .... The asteroid is supposed to be devoid of any inhabitants,so they say...I have a feeling that I'm being watched...or maybe it's my stomach....A couple hours of walking has brought me to a small ghost town of Hallo, it has a few buildings. Nothing too spectacular here. It reminds me of the old wild west stories my Grandparents spoke of on a blue planet once inhab

Here comes the entry for Catnip Thieves. For clarification: The second HA in Dana's post is a daydream picture of her only. Please do NOT count it, it's just part of the RP. Her official entry is the first one in line with the other teammates. ^^ (Puzzle Solution/Image already went by sMail.)

Companions RP

While Catnip Thieves leaves for their missions with a heavy heart, their companions Tab the bat, Scrap the baby dragon and Wyn the stray cat were left behind to go on their own adventure. Seems it's just the 3 of us now. Wyn meowed We need to get to the Keeper of the Spirit Barge to cross to the Shriveled Forest. I can move the mithril tubes with my paws while Tab countersteers them from above. You, Scrap, can lead us with your fire to light up the darker areas. Scrap nodded. Tab? The cat looked around. Tab! Just a sec ago he was here. Gosh, where is he? Did he get cold feet? The dragon companion shrugged. It was clear that they couldn't accomplish their mission with just two of them. Bad enough some of their friends were hit by that deathstorm! Wyn and Scrap shared a mutual look, then the dragon flew high and searched the sky for any sign of the bat. I'm coming. A mental voice arised from the distance and Tab came hurrying along, flattering around Wyns head until the catlady gave him a soft bump to calm down. Sorry. --- Meh. She didn't want to know where he have been. All that was important was that he was here. NOW.

Let's begin. The three unlike friends approached the Keeper, a mysterious figure which smelled off destiny and ashes. Wyns fur stood on end. "Niobe." She murmered and the keeper stood aside as slowly as a living statue, letting them get off the barge and approaching the Twist Death root. All of the animals had a grim feeling. Remember that, with the rules from Rosemary, we need to place the first piece and go left. Scrap flew in front of them, breathing little flames to illuminate the way. Within the magical tube there was only a small glow left from Lady Termina. Tab and Wyn began mounting the first piece together: She was pushing, he was balancing and dropping. Seems to work. No poison is coming through. The catlady stated. The trio reached the end of their first piece. What now? Scrap took a look at their map. Like his mistress he was smart enough to solve the puzzle easily. That way. The dragon flew a curve to the right. Now we need that tunnel here. Scrap pointed on one of the left pieces, which was arranged by Tab and Wyn as practised before. Good job, buddies. Now try the U-shaped one. Bat and cat set the tube. Timeout. Tab gasped for air and Wyn was chuntering something that sounded suspiciously like 'pussy'. No problem. The baby dragon said. This piece is a safe zone where we can communicate with the pack to let them know everything is alright.

As humans tend to understand only miaows from my snout I'm out for that. The catlady licked her right paw. Don't look at me, Wynny. I communicate via ultrasonic sound. Cannot be heard unless you're a mouse. Oh, how he missed his fellow Ratte here! So, it's my part then. Scrap breathed a small firecloud as if he sighed. He wondered if the Seelies would be able to understand his ancient language. Well... He had to try. There was some kind of pad with golden runes engraved in the middle ceiling of the tunnel. Scrap flew by and pressed the button with his claws. There was a swoosh, then Ertrudes warm voice arised. "The base hears you, brave companions. How is it going?" Scrap tried to let them know they were safe so far and half on their way to Unseelie Realm. Be it the hedgewitches magic or whatever drifted through the roots... It seemed to work. Ertrude wished the trio all the best and asked for a second report when they reached the Unseelie territory. I wish we could let ours partners know we're safe too. Wyn purred sadly. I'm sure they could feel it. Tab eased her, thinking of his late goodbye from Reyna, his blood sister. Come on, let us make them proud. The three animals restarted their route, adding small piece and another one that was shaped like a 'L'. After setting up a small tube the trio made rest in a golden one. This is a parting of the ways. Scrap stated, looking up his map. We go left. He flew ahead, lighting their way with his fire breath. Another turn. Here--- The dragon pointed onto the left path of the 'T'-shaped piece Tab and Wyn were moving. Now we enter a single golden piece. The bat was having a hard time getting the named tunnel up. Wyns catpaws seemed to get heavy-weight too. Come on, guys. You can make it. Just a little more.... Wyn hissed. Easy to say, Chief. You tell us what do do while we do all the hard work. Scrap seemed concerned as the catlady said those lines. He left his place from the top and came flying back to help the duo putting up the tube. With the power of three the animals could easily lift the straight piece. Whew, thanks Scrap. The dragon boy made an elusively sound. All for one and one for all, right? Tab giggled. Don't get sentimental, SP. Just one piece left from Termina. We're nearly done.

The companions put the last 'T'-shaped tube onto the Twist Death root. Shortly after, Wyn layed down in the midde of the glowing tunnel, all paws strechted out like a small furry bear-skin which Tabs family used to have in their Lilac Valley hometown beyond the fireplace. He himself hang headover from the control panel, wings folded tight around his body. Only Scrap seemed fit. He looked around, fixing the bats feet which nearly touched the communicator. Let me quickly give Etrude a signal we're alright. He suggested. Not too quick, please. The catlady gently protested from the bottom. Scrap smiled (or better: he raised his 'lips', showing diamond-sharp teeth). No sooner said than done he contacted the base. The other side was happy to hear they were good and warned them to take care as the Unseelie realm wasn't peanuts. Meanwhile Tab and Wyn gained some of their strength back. They were eager to stop the upcoming invasion. Wait--- The stray cat paused. We need a plan of action, don't we? I mean... what if we ran into a bunch of Unseelie warriors on patrol? Tab peeked through the gateway. From his position he could see a wooden space, like the interior from a dead stump. There was a oval opening, ending in darkness. No clue about the surroundings behind. There could be a whole camp of Unseelies, or just wilderness. They didn't know. Damn, he wished for Celestes magic senses now. I guess we need to simply sneak in. The bat summarized. Really funny, Sherlock. And what if we get caught? --- We run. Scrap declared. I mean... it's not if anybody is expecting a living being to enter that way, right? Wyn meowed. Right. She showed her claws. Let's go.

Tab was the first to leave the safe tube and circling the area, while Wyn and Scrap ---who didn't want to leave his friends side--- crawled through the opening and into the shadows. Lucky for them there was a congeries of dead branches next to the roots end so the two animals could go into hiding. With her nightsight Wyn scanned the environment. There was nothing special to see: Thick fog hung here, sucking in most of the silhouettes. There was a creepy purple-ish glow, framing an uncomfortable landscape of dead trees and branches. In Seelie territory this place could have been a beautiful glade. But they weren't in Seelie territory anymore. What now? Scrap gave her thoughts a voice. No Unseelie or any kind of building were in sight. Should they fan out? That very moment they heard a flap-flap and their bat fellow returned from his reconnaissance flight. Of course! With his ultrasonic he could scan the environs much better than Wyn or Scrap. What did you have, Tab? He dived, landing next to his companions. There is a tent, roughly one mile from our place of location. It's abandoned. Maybe an outpost. I couldn't sense any Unseelie around, but there is a battle plan hanging on the wall. Too heavy to be lifted alone, but the three of us could probably move it. I bet those plans have something to do with the invasion. Surely our friends at the Squirrel will have good use for it. What do you think? --- I think this is a trap. The catlady wrinkled her nose. You're paranoid, kitty. Better go and grab this battle plan. The faster we are, the faster we can go home. She miaowed. Not that she really had a choice. Fine. Fly ahead, Tab. We're following close. While the bat safely guided their way through scrub and mist, Wyn hold her breath. She definitely didn't like the Unseelie terrain. It felt... threatening. As if the world watched her with unseen eyes. Her fur stood on end. I can feel it too. Scrap commented her worries in a low voice. Dark magic. We better hurry.

The three animals finally reached the tent Tab was talking about, more a crate than a hut. It was built off a few rotten wood trusses, barely hold by rusty nails. The doorway was buckled and so low only dwarves could enter without getting their heads beaten. Tab already waited on a large pin which hold the battle plan as Wyn and Scrap sneaked into the hut. Here. He began pulling the pin with his teeth. Catlady and dragon hurried to collect the paper as it fell off the wall. Can you two carry it? Wyn weighted the piece in her paws. A lot lighter than the mithril tubes. Let's waltz off, guys. Tab, you fly at the head, while Scrap help me carry the plan. We need your ultrasound to safely cross the fog. The bat nodded and did as told. Silent and wary they moved forward, until the trio found the stump again and entered the golden tunnel on top of the Death root. One last look over the shoulder and Scrap closed the door to Unseelie territory. Hopefully forever. Everybody breathed out. I cannot believe we made it! Tab squeeked happily, fluttering up and down. Don't halloo till you're out of the wood. Wyn sat down, licking her left paw. She gazed over the battle plan in front of her. Call me paranoid once more, but I suggest we take all the tunnels with us so no animal can follow us back. --- Why not? The dragon agreed. Better safe than sorry, right? He began demount the last piece. Wyn, this time you go first while Tab and I will put back all of the tubes. With your cat eyes it should be possible to see the path we went through even if there are darker areas within the root. --- Roger, Chief. With that she left, smirking. You guys coming or what? We don't have all day!

The Catnip Thieves had found the lost prince, and rejoiced. After a long and heartfelt reuniting, the crew gave Prince Delgar a few carefully selected gifts. Everyone went to sleep content. The happiness didn’t last long, as Gavin would unfortunately discover. Gavin was having a nice dream, a dream about floating through the cosmos, sightseeing all the beautiful stardust clouds and galaxies around him. He was just drifting by a crab nebula when his spacecraft started violently shaking. “Turbulence?” He was extraordinarily confused. But there was no ice storm to be seen! The turbulence intensified, shaking the horned boy to the point where he could do nothing but duck under the control panel. He squeezed his eyes shut, silently willing the invisible storm to pass. But pass it did not. Instead, he heard something interesting behind the catastrophic roar of his surely splintering spacecraft. It sounded a little something like: “Gavin? Gavin? GAVIN! Wake up!” What entity was this? Gavin believed in no god, but he felt it was a great time to start praying for his life. “Spare me, I beg of you! Spare me!” But the shaking didn’t stop. “Jesus, Allah, Buddah, Odin, please, save me!” He screamed. The metallic screech of his spaceship was deafening. The horned boy covered his eyes. “Is this really how I will go…?” He moaned miserably. “Gavin!” Dana yelled. “Damnit! Wake up!” With that, the vagabond slapped the sleeping alchemist. “Whuwt!?” Gavin shot up, successfully headbutting Dana. “Ouch!” She rubbed her forehead, and groaned. That would surely bruise later. The pale alchemist hissed in pain, holding his forehead. Blearily, he opened one eye. “Oh! Dana, it is only you. I thought I was going to--” He cut himself off, thinking better of it. “Going to what?” Dana scrunched her brows in confusion. “You sure can sleep like a log. Anyways, Reyna and Celeste and I need your help.” Her expression became grim. “Amalia, Lizzy and Aodh aren’t doing so well. They’ve all got high fevers and aren’t waking up.” The alchemist shot out of bed. “Lead the way.”

“Ms. Miranda helped us put them into a collective room.” Dana commented, stopping at the door where the rest of their teammates were. “Quarantine. That was a very smart idea.” Gavin replied. “Thanks.” She opened the door. They went in. “Oh, thank goodness you’re here, Gavin. We’ve done the usual--keeping them warm and stuff, but it’s four and they’re still not waking up.” She screwed her eyebrows together, concerned. “They’ve all got raging fevers.” “And it’s not any old fever.” Celeste spoke up. “It’s an Unseelie curse for sure.” She waved her small plastic baggie of white indicator powder. Dana had half a mind to tell Celeste how shady her baggie looked but was interrupted by Gavin. “Allow me to have a look.” Gavin said. He proceeded to examine Aodh, Amalia and Lizzy. The whole process took about fifteen minutes. Gravely, he announced his analysis: “It can be nothing other than the deathstorm.” “And that’s…?” Reyna asked. He pursed his lips. “I will not get into the technical details, but our friends will successfully recover with persistent nursing.” “Well, that’s good.” Reyna declared. “We can take shifts.” “Alright.” The alchemist agreed. “I will fetch some ibuprofen and water. Ms. Miranda, could you please get some towels?” Ms. Miranda, who was tending to Amalia, stood up. “Sure, dear.” “We’ll keep watch.” Dana said, promptly sitting at her fellow polymath’s bedside.

The five of them had been deep in conversation when a few sharp raps came from the door. They looked at each other, wondering who it could be. “I’ll get it.” Celeste answered the door. It was none other than Tanaka. “We need your help catching Lightning. He’s escaped on a spaceship. Here.” He thrust a sheet of paper into the mage’s hands. “We’ve narrowed down the possible nearby planets he could’ve landed on. You’ll have to split up. Best of luck.” Tanaka thanked, closing the door after him. Celeste quickly scanned the paper. “Hmm. I’ll take Mageborough. It’s in the job description and all.” “Wait! What about our friends?” Reyna fretted. The horned mage sucked in a breath. “Oh shoot. That’s right. Who’s going to take care of them?” “Don’t worry about it, kids.” Ms. Miranda smiled. “I’ll take care of them.” “Ms. Miranda! We couldn’t let you do all this work by yourself!” Dana insisted. “It’s really fine, Dana. No worries.” Ms. Miranda assured. Dana’s mouth worked, but produced no sound. Finally, she accepted her offer: “Fine. We owe

Edit: I'm an idiot and used # instead of @....let me try that again... and # nightowls

By Dragella [QUOTE] She knew that Vixen didn't like her going off on her own but boy was she excited! Dragella had packed her small bag with a few things, including extra pants as you can never be to careful and well because Vixen told her to. She had been practicing her fire breathing all day and was ready to roar loudly and roast some bad guys. [/QUOTE] By Dax

By Dax

By Dantou

By Wash

: [spoiler=Stone Cold Rogues Split Up In Search of Pale Lightning] Dace, Alphonse and Eren are out with the Bordertown Illness.

Dace managed to make an HA before she fell ill.

Dace the Vagabond Preparing For Heaven's Kitchen Just Before Falling Ill To The BorderTown Illness.

In this RP, we opted to cover all six locations as best as we could with four active members. Each member took a primary assignment and a secondary assignment. We made HAs for each assignment we took. Here are the assignments:

Primary Assignments: Frieda = The Catchment Aicha = Sighorn Shasa = Sighorn Teislyn = Creeque Alley (Dace was assigned to Heaven's Kitchen but later dropped into the Ward)

Secondary Assignments: Frieda and Aicha = The MageBorough Teislyn = Lone Rock

Teislyn the Bard at Creeque Alley

Teislyn looked at the list of places given to them and decided on Creeque Alley and when no one volunteered for the Lone Rock, she raised her hand saying she would. She went upstairs to the room and rifled through the closet trying to find something that would make her stand out at Creeque Alley. Grabbing at a dress, shoes, wig, and a few accessories, she stuffed them in her bag next to her makeup bag and lyre. Zipping it up, she went downstairs in search of a pilot to fly her to the first stop.

Finding someone to fly wasn’t hard and in minutes they were up in the air and away from the Goose. She settled into the chair next to the pilot to rest, while the hum of the craft lulled her to sleep. Awaking to a touch on her shoulder, she saw they were almost there. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and went into the back to change.

She wandered through the streets, in awe of all the noise and lights. Music and voices were pouring from every opening she passed and she couldn’t decide which place to go to. Wandering around some more, she saw a sign that caught her attention. “Coloratura”, once it blinked on again for her to read. Teislyn shrugged, grabbed her bag and went in. She looked around and saw an array of interspecies around the room. All of them colorful in their own way, decked out in their finest sitting around tables filled with drinks and food. The chatter was loud, but the duet on the stage was still heard above the noise and they were given a round of applause at the end of their set. Teislyn applauded them along with the rest and she went in search of whoever owned the establishment.

She found the owner behind the bar with a pad of paper in his hand. Coming up to him, she dropped her bag and cleared her throat to make herself known. “Excuse me, sir. I’m Teislyn and would like to perform if there is room tonight.” He looked her over a couple of times and said, “If you can get past the qualifying round, you can perform. I’m Chase, in case you have any questions.” He went back to the notepad, when she reached out and touched his arm to get his attention. He turned around annoyed at being interrupted again and she quickly asked if another stranger had come to perform. She described Pale Lightening and saw Chase’s eyes narrow. “No one by that description has come in lady, are you going to get up there or what? Quit bugging me.” He turned around and ignored her sputtering trying to come up with something to say.

Teislyn stomped away from the bar and up onto the stage. She took a deep breath and remembering to project her voice said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m Teislyn and would like to play a song from Veta, where I am from. Please sit back and enjoy.” She closed her eyes, breathed deep and let her fingers run over her lyre. Ignoring the other sounds in the room, she let the song take over and an image of Veta came into her mind; the green rolling hills, the majestic mountains high above the valley with views that would take ones breath away if they let it, flowers everywhere sending their subtle scent into the air, and the salty breeze from the sea rolling up onto land incasing anything or anyone that was close enough. The lakes rippling from the wind, while the fowl rested letting the small waves rock them to sleep. The imagery made her miss home, when she opened her eyes, she felt wet spots on her cheeks. She had been crying and she looked out at the crowd, and saw a few of them wiping away tears also. Teislyn played out the ending notes and silently put the lyre down. She stood and bowed, the quiet scared her. “Maybe they didn’t like me”, she thought. She straightened back up and suddenly the room exploded with applause. “Brava! Wonderful darling! Brava! Beautiful!”, where some of the words she heard. She blushed, bowed again, and went down the stairs to the bar.

Chase was standing there with arms folded and when she approached said, “that was something else girl, not many can get them to settle down and listen like that. You have a special talent. The main performance isn’t until next week, stay awhile and play some more for us.” Teislyn blushed again and shook her head. “Sorry, but I can’t. You said the guy I asked about hadn’t been here, so I must go. Thank you again for the opportunity. If time allows, I’ll come back.” She picked up her bag and said goodbye to Chase.

She found her way back to the craft only to find Jack, one of the main pilots was there waiting for her outside of the Caroline. She ran up the plank behind him while he explained the other pilot had to go back, so he was there to escort her to the Lone Rock.

Teislyn at Lone Rock

Teislyn changed back into her normal clothes and was about to sit down when Jack said that the Lone Rock was windy and dusty. “Probably should add that cloth over there to protect your face, I think Lady Frieda added something to help with breathing in the air.”, he said. She went into the back and found the piece of cloth laying on some boxes and put it around her neck. Returning to the front, she sat down and tried to prepare herself for what was ahead of her.

All the preparation in the world wouldn’t have helped her when it came to the Lone Rock. She stared around at the bleak surrounds and breathed deep. She thanked the heavens for Freida, she’d have to give her a huge hug later. The air was like swimming through sludge, hard to breathe and hard to move around in. Slowly she climbed down the rocks and made her way across the land. In the distance, she spied what looked like a small town, so she headed that way. While in thought about what to do when she got there, she didn’t see the shadow come across her own until it was almost too late. Teislyn stumbled a bit, catching her balance, she whirled around and saw a lizard the size of one of the barges back home. She almost froze when her mind yelled at her to run and she took off hoping she could make it to the town before the lizard could get her.

Her chest was on fire along with a painful stitch in her side from the running. The cramps in her calves weren’t helping either. She kept running hearing the lumbering tread of the lizard behind her. The town was so close! Teislyn somehow got a burst of energy and ran harder when suddenly she collided with someone. They both went down in a heap and the person quickly untangled themselves from her and fired off a couple shots from their pistol. The lizard stopped, stared and turned the other way out of sight.

Teislyn sat up and looked at who she ran into. An old man, probably 80 or so, was staring down at her pointing the gun in her direction. “Who be you?” he demanded. She slowly stood and calmly said, “I’m Teislyn and I’m looking for a fugitive. He might have come here to hide.” The man looked her over and asked if she had any weapons on her, when he was satisfied she didn’t, he lowered the pistol and put it back in its holster. “This man, who be he? Important?” She nodded and described what he looked like, the man stared through narrow eyes while she talked. He shook his head and told her no one by that description had been at the town or on the planet. The other inhabitants would have sent messages if there was a foreigner. “Well, thank you for the information Mr.” Teislyn said, “I’ll take my leave…..ummm is there a better way I can go?” He pointed down a path. “That way, don’t come back. Foreigners not allowed.” She made herself walk fast down the path and found the Caroline waiting where she had left.

Once aboard, she told Jack what happened and decided that a nap was in order before arriving back at the Goose. She curled up in some blankets, too tired to fight staying awake and fell immediately asleep.

Lady Frieda the Alchemist / Healer at The Catchment

Frieda listened carefully to the scouting reports and information about the possible worlds they would need to go to in order to capture Pale Lightning. Her obvious choice was the Catchment because of her position as Master Healer and Alchemist. However, because two of her teammates had contracted the Black Sickness, she was also going to need to visit one of the other outposts as well because no one of the Rogues had chosen the MageBorough. She cleared her throat, took a deep breath and proposed a possible solution. “Aicha, somebody is going to need to travel to the MageBorough. I’m heading over to The Catchment first, but I would be willing to go to the MageBorough with you, if you are willing.”

The Mage didn’t even seem to acknowledge the diminutive Alchemist for quite sometime and Frieda prepared to leave without causing a scene. She cleared her throat nervously, “OK then, maybe we can talk when I get back.” She turned and walked away from Aicha and chided herself, thinking that she must have done something to completely annoy her. When Aicha said that would be OK at the last moment, Frieda turned around and nodded, “Very well, I look forward to it. Good luck on Sighorn, let’s meet back here at Bordertown.”

Frieda was formulating her plan in her head and realized she would need the help of some of the folks of the Wayward Squirrel and the Gearloose Goose in order to make her idea work. She was going to need a space-worthy vehicle and a shipment of medical supplies as an enticement to get her paw in the door, so to speak. She would see Pugsy first knowing that the engineer could help her find something that would fly. Pugsy might also help her finds flight suit in her size. Nobody flies through space in a heavy cotton healer’s habit.

Pugsy was more then accommodating and provided Frieda one of her own very comfortable, if not slightly ancient flight suit that fit Frieda perfectly. She also advised Frieda that the Terrapin Glider was not only a very capable space vehicle, but because of it’s unique design, it wouldn’t be mistaken for a stolen commercial or government craft and therefore would pass inspection easier. She assured Frieda that the T.G. as she called it, had a new engine core, plenty of fuel for at least a hundred jumps and had been provisioned for several long journeys. It seems that Pugsy and Dace had spent their time wisely retrofitting the T.P. after it’s disastrous journey into the Forest. Frieda was overjoyed at such good luck and hugged and kissed Pugsy, which made the engineer blush. “Good luck Lady Frieda.” She blushed and touched her cheek.

Lady Frieda enroute to The Catchment ( In Pugsy's Flight Suit )

Frieda thanked the delightful engineer and took off toward the Wayward Squirrel to get her medical gear. She paid a visit to Thorson who helped her produce a fairly large quantity of four of Frieda’s favorite healing potions she thought would be trade-worthy. There was even a version of Kitcher’s healing potion that had been used on One-Two during the last Wayward Squirrel adventure. The new version of this potion would be more suitable for bipedal and humanoid patients near death as it was made with a minimal amount of motor oil. Morrow helped Frieda gather some other supplies like black-market drugs, and some contraband that were frequently available in the rim colonies that might be useful in trades for information once she arrived on-world. Once the crates of bottled elixirs, bundles of rare herbs and other wares were safely stowed on board the Terrapin Glider, Frieda carried her luggage and medical kit onboard and took them down to the lower hold where her small lab and hammock were located. She only hoped that she would have time to change out of her flight suit into the clothes that Miranda had given her.

Flying the Terrapin Glider was not unlike flying her own fighter craft back at home, the control systems were similar as was the navigation system. Very little was automated, just a simple autopilot mechanism which would hold a course, but coordinates had to be dialed in manually. Also, the Terrapin Glider was bulky and cumbersome, much like her cargo transport on Omen Island. It would not do tricks like Frieda’s personal fighter, Passion Flower, did. Pugsy was confident that the T.G. would be fast though, much faster then she looked, and had warned Frieda to be careful.

Frieda waved at the ground grew, engaged the ascent engines and lumbered up through the atmosphere before she activated the forward thruster. Despite it’s bulk, the craft accelerated rapidly and within a few minutes, she had reached escape velocity just as she left the thin atmosphere of the host planet. Frieda gasped in wonder at reaching space, how long had it been since she had piloted a craft into space? The last time she had gone on a solo venture was on her quest to rescue Weldon before they were married. A small tear formed as she recalled the particulars of that journey. “Going to Atebus for Masquerade is nothing like the empty void of space.” she said to herself.

After the initial thrill of piloting an interplanetary cargo ship wore off, Frieda realized that she was exhausted and that a nap would be appropriate. She checked all systems again engaged the autopilot and set the alarms on the ship’s proximity radar to go off if another ship or object came within a hundred kilometers of her vessel. She leaned back in the overstuffed pilots chair and closed her eyes.

She awoke, slightly disoriented after a vividly romantic dream of lying in bed at home with her mate. A klaxon had erupted in a deafening repetitive uproar of sound and she staggered to her feet to find the silence button. A flashing red light on the indicator panel next to the radar screen showed that an object was within 95 kilometers and closing at a rate of 5 kilometers per second. Frieda disengaged the autopilot, took the controls and sat in the pilot’s chair before she looked up and saw the small planet looming large in view of the cockpit. “Holy Moly!” She eased back on the throttle and observed that she was now a mere 80 kilometers above the planet’s surface. “That was cutting it too short.” She punched in the coordinates that would place her craft in a low orbit and hit the accelerators. “Next time, I get my rest on world, not in space.” she muttered to herself. She double-checked to see if her communications system was operational, if she had been informed correctly, she should have received some sort of communique about now.

She didn’t have long to wait, “Unidentified craft, stay on course, state your name, your planet of origin and your purpose.” The message was audio only, no image appeared on the vid screen.

“I am Lady Frieda Brigitta Seraphina Yvonne Wheezle Von Steuben of Terra and I am on a mission of medical research and also to share vital new medical knowledge from some of the outlying planets and colonies.”

The reply took several minutes and Frieda imagined that they were running her name thr

[spoiler=Angelica's Adventure in Sighon!] [quote=Angelica]"Damn it..." I muttered to myself irritably. "Remind me why I'm doing this again?" I seem to be asking myself that question an awful lot nowadays.

I sighed and - with a little more force than was necessary - tapped the auto-pilot setting on the screen, selected the planet Sighon and sat back in my seat to fume while waiting for the shuttle to take off. I had wanted to go to the planet with the music district. Instead, I was stuck with some seedy-sounding "pleasure planet". The others had pointed out that I had the best chance among us when it comes to seduction. Well, I couldn't argue against that. True, I may have the looks to rival even the most beautiful courtesan, but I am first and foremost a singer. Although I have (on occasion) used my appearance to charm and persuade for things to go my way, I would never sell myself. That's simply degrading. And disgusting. Ugh. But they did say that this was a "highly civilized planet". That doesn't sound so bad.

The shuttle took off without much incident and I stopped fuming for a moment to enjoy the unrivaled view of the stars. I had never been to space before so this was a completely new experience. I suppose that's one good thing about being dragged into this. I'm going to places I never thought I would.

"The estimated time till arrival at your destination is E-minus 33 minutes to the planet Sighon." A female automated voice suddenly piped up from some speakers above me.

"Well, I guess I better get ready." I reached for my cosmetics bag to take out my hand mirror and look at my reflection, quickly assessing what needed to be done. I was already wearing the gown I had chosen for the occasion - Brynna and Aria both agreed (rather enthusiastically, I might add) that I would fit in perfectly. All I had left to take care of are the makeup and the accessories. Time to get to work.

Something flashed onto the screen and I looked closer. It was a prompt asking where I would like to visit on Sighon. Great... how am I supposed to find Lightning on this huge planet? Let's see... he seems to be a rather cowardly but flashy individual... I guess a good place to start would be the most prestigious establishment Sighon has to offer and work my way down from there. Maybe they have some useful information.

"Here goes nothing." I selected the most popular and impressive building I could find. It was called the House Voluptas. What a strange name - I was expecting something that sounded more impressive. When my shuttle approached the building however, the word "house" really doesn't do it justice. It was more than huge. It was massive. And it was magnificent.

"Fancy..." I murmured to myself, unable to help but be impressed. Upon landing, I wasted no time in getting out and made my way towards the entrance of the establishment. As I entered, a well-dressed attendant immediately approached me with a welcoming smile. I noticed that he very subtly gave me the once-over with an approving but knowing look in his eyes. Hmph, at least he's got good taste. My guess is, he just worked out whether I was a companion or a client.

"Welcome... to the House Voluptas, Madam." He spoke in a respectful manner. I can deal with that. "How may I be of service?"

"I prefer Mistress." I began rather dryly, watching his reaction carefully.

He bowed his head slightly. "My apologies, Mistress. How may I serve you?"

Oh he's good... I smiled and glanced around the interior of the reception area. It was lavishly decorated and simply oozed money. But there was no sign of Lightning. I had to think quickly.

"I am here to meet a client." My voice was matter-of-fact. As though I live and breathe this lifestyle. "We were to meet here."

"May I get their name?"

Uh oh... Come on, think! "We do not use names. That is part of our arrangement." For a moment, I thought he was going to be onto me. But then understanding lights up his eyes and he nods knowingly as I kept going. "He may be using an alias - Lightning, perhaps." His face was blank. Damn... does that mean I'm in the wrong place? I tried again.

"He has white hair and pale skin. And pointed ears." Let's hope that I didn't just describe the all the people of Sighon. "He should have arrived recently."

The attendant puzzled over my description for a moment before the light bulb visibly went on in his head. "Ah yes! I do believe I welcomed someone of that description not too long ago."

"Excellent. Please take me to him." I said smoothly as I nonchalantly brushed a lock of my hair behind my shoulder. His eyes caught the movement before swiftly looking back to my face. The look on his face became hesitant, spelling trouble.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that, Mistress." He was once again apologetic.

"And why not?" I looked at him more intently as my brows furrowed in displeasure at his response.

He held his ground. "The client has expressed his wish not to be disturbed. Under any circumstances."

I was about to lose my patience with him and just storm through the building to look for Lightning myself but I could see that he was going stand firm. Plus, he looked at me with more than a hint of suspicion now and I felt an increased presence of attendants about. Stern-looking muscle-bound types. Not good. I would probably get dragged out of here before I could get anywhere. So I changed tactics.

"Oh! I should have known!" My eyes widened as though I just had a sudden realization. He looked at me with a little confusion, as though I may have gone off the deep end. I looked him in the eyes and motioned for him to come closer as I spoke quietly in a conspiratorial tone. He cautiously drew closer, obviously a little curious as to what this great revelation was.

"Discretion is key to our arrangement, you understand." He nods, waiting for me to continue. "But under these circumstances, I feel that I must confide in you. Can you keep a secret?" I put my hand on his shoulder and looked in his eyes imploringly. He seemed to soften under my touch.

"Why yes, of course Mistress. Discretion is guaranteed as soon as you enter House Voluptas. Nothing that happens here escapes the confines of these walls." His declaration seemed proud.

"Then I am sure that you are aware of the... many desires you cater to here, some of which may be a little... shall I say... scandalous? Strange, even."

"We do not place judgement on the desires of our clients here if that is what you mean, Mistress."

"Oh good, good. I was hoping you would say that." I tried to act relieved at his words. "Because my client is very... particular... about his tastes. I doubt even you may have come across desires such as his. But to put it simply. My client is a thrill-seeker and loves attention. His occupation, his dress, the way he acts - all points to that."

"There is nothing out of the ordinary about-" I put my finger on his lips to keep him from interrupting me.

"Let me finish. He loves to be treated... how shall I say...? Roughly." Understanding flooded into his eyes as he gazed into mine.

"He loves the attention of adoring fangirls. But what he loves most of all? Negative attention. This whole set-up-" I gestured around us. "

: [spoiler=Stone cold Rogues Split Up In Search Of Pale Lightning ( part 2)]

Chapter 9 part two: The Mageborough of Creeque

Aicha the Mage on MageBorough Frieda the Alchemist on MageBorough

It didn’t take long for Pugsy to refuel and prepare the Terrapin Glider for take off, only a few hours. In the meantime, Morrow and the others had offloaded the huge cargo of medications and other supplies that would be useful in fighting the illness that had swept over BorderTown. After Frieda cleaned up from her trip to The Catchment, she spent quite a lot of the refueling time visiting her sick comrades, Alphonse, Eren and Dace. Why had the illness stricken the strongest ones? Alphonse was delirious with fever, but with Frieda’s tender care, he had revived a little to recognize her. He was embarrassed for being so helpless, but he managed a weak smile and an affectionate pat of Frieda’s paw as she ministered to him. Frieda knew he had a soft spot in his heart for her, and he wasn’t afraid to show it. She checked in with Eren, but he was so ill, his fever so high, that he was unconscious and wasn't responding to her ministrations. Dace just looked like death warmed over, but at least she was talking. She wept softly, disappointed that she was going to miss out on an adventure. She was consoled when she learned that Buttercup had succeeded in her adventure and had managed to stay sober for a few days now.

Frieda managed to visit all of those who were ill and shared with Miranda some of the treatments that Dr. Hoenheim had given them to use on the BorderTown illness. Some of the patients looked gravely ill and Frieda was tempted to be worried, but remembered that Miranda was very skilled at her craft and that Thorson was there too to assist. She was needed in another capacity at this time and she needed to let others do what they could. She was not the only one with healing abilities and her mother would not approve of any attempt by her to take the limelight away from other deserving people.

Returning back to "headquarters", Aicha learned that Frieda had already returned from her visit. It was clear from the look on the faces of the returned Rogues to see they hadn't found their target yet either. A trip to MageBorough would be necessary. With a sigh, the mage swept past the group onto the glider to prepare to leave for MageBorough. Even though Pugsy had assured her he had prepared the ship, the mage insisted on checking for herself - it was her life being carried in this thing after all. She let Pugsy wander off the call Frieda while she worked. Only after a few minutes of checking over the controls did Aicha realize she was still alone. Annoyed, she stuck her head out to find the alchemist was just arriving.

When Pugsy called to say that the T.G. was ready for take off, Frieda grabbed her medical kit and satchel, said her goodbye to Doom, Miranda and the others and ran out to the waiting craft. She hoped that Aicha had not been kept waiting, but at the same time, she hoped that Aicha was willing to pilot, she was very tired and wanted to rest on the way to the Mageborough.

"Are you coming or not?" Aicha snapped impatiently. "I've already got everything ready. Just get on!" Heading back to the controls, the mage heard Frieda board a few minutes later and head towards the end of the glider. With a sigh, she focused her efforts on the controls - it would be prudent to be airborne within the hour.

Frieda laid out her costume before crawling into her hammock in the lower hold. It consisted of a favorite tunic and trousers she wore on her home world as part of her habit as Master Alchemist and Healer. It was sturdy traveling garb that also lent an air of mystery and importance to her craft, and she hoped she would get the same effect at the MageBorough. She had no idea what to expect in reality, magic, mages, supernatural manifestations were something totally foreign to her on her world. She just hoped that she would be able to find out some useful information on this world without having to explain why she wasn’t magical. For the time being, she would rest and with sleep, perhaps more self confidence.

As the glider traveled through the empty void of space, Aicha summoned her wardrobe to the cockpit. Without any obstacles in the way for now, she could leave the glider on auto while she changed. Fingering through the drawers of clothing, she reached for a shiny skirt embroidered with flower petals. Inspired, she grabbed a corset, a necklace, a hairpiece, some heels, and a caplet to wear as well. Aicha piled the new clothing on the side.

Untangling the pearls from her horns took a few minutes but once they were off and back in her jewelry box the flower clips were easy to remove. The necklace, bracelets, rings, arm bands, anklets, belt, and tail decorations she had worn to Sighorn soon joined them in the box. The bra was shed and placed into a small basket for wash followed closely by the sarong. The mage took a moment to wipe the dark lipstick off with a handkerchief before depositing it too into the basket and then banishing the basket, the jewelry book, and the rest of the wardrobe back to her room.

Staring into one of the semi-reflective windows in the cockpit, the mage sighed. Perhaps it would be best to hide her true form for this visit; always best to have a surprise ready, just in case. With a grin, she retracted her tail back and then her horns vanished. With a lazy wave of a hand, she shrunk her hair back to it's normal cut and color. Taking a moment to ensure it looked good, the mage turned to her new clothes and began dressing. Periwinkle heels came first before the mage stepped into the long skirt with the floral print. The semi-sheer corset came next, fading partially into the skirt and giving the outfit the look of being an exotic one-piece gown. Aicha clasped the white beaded choker around her neck, ensuring it was centered, and added the feathery pearl hair clip to the side of her tresses. Finally, she grabbed the caplet and slung it over her shoulders using a nifty little spell to attack it to the front of her corset with invisible ties. The caplet was beaded with pearls and styled to look like wings, a perfect addition to any outfit. With a satisfied smile the mage did her lips in a deep pinkish red before tucking the tube away in a pocket of the dress. After ensuring a certain little package was safely tucked away against her thigh, the mage turned her attention back to path ahead - they would be in MageBorough within the hour.

Some time later as they neared MageBorough, Aicha crafted a spell creature and sent it to go and fetch Frieda for her while she concentrated on the controls. When the alchemist joined her, Aicha laid out her plan for their visit. A combination of experience with fellow mages and the information gained from Sighorn had provided her with a clear idea of the best way to approach the situation.

It was decided that Aicha would seek out the elite class mages and pump them for information about the possible whereabouts of Pale Lightning. From what Frieda had learned, several of the other Rouge teams had returned empty-handed and were also heading back out to other outposts in order to locate the fugitive. It was down to two last places, Mageborough and Lone Rock. Frieda would snoop around the shops, wares-mongers, and lower-level crafters who’s arts supported the mage’s work, but were not necessarily magic. Aicha gave detailed information about what Frieda could expect there and she agreed that her knowledge of alchemy would be best served in the markets, not dealing directly with the mages.

The approach to the Mageborough was anticlimactic compared to the rigamarole that Frieda endured on The Catchment. There were no patrol craft, no petty bureaucrats or threats of inspection. Aicha merely had to call in and be given the port number where they would land. Upon landing, Aicha paid the ground crew in coin and was assured that the T.G. would be ready to take off whenever they needed.

Aicha gave Frieda directions to the lower end of the Mageborough where the markets were located and gave Frieda some final advice about how to comport herself. The worst thing she could do was to back down and appear weak. Frieda understood perfectly, she had spent her entire adolescence being raised by interplanetary pirates and knew the drill. Getting caught in a lie was much more forgivable then backing down and cowering. Frieda took her satchel, waved back at Aicha and headed in the direction of the marketplace.

Aicha made sure the alchemist was headed in the right direction and knew where they were going to meet and when before meandering off towards the upper class areas of MageBorough with a haughty look. Allowing a little of her power to surround her in an aura of sorts, the mage hurried on her way. True to her suspicions, the potency of her aura kept almost everyone away from her as she headed up towards the castle where she knew the elite would be having a get together. Aicha had a momentary delay at the gate when one of the guards informed her it was for 'invited guests only'. One spell and a giant smoking crater in the wall three millimeters to the right of his head later, she was headed up the stairs.

Once inside, Aicha quickly identified the three people she wanted to talk to. Her 'clients' from Sighorn had been all to happy to tell her who was who around MageBorough, even providing pictures along with some scandalizing secrets. With her plan set in mind, Aicha sauntered in and approached her first mark.

Frieda made good time and arrived at the markets on the lower end and began in ernest looking for Pale Lightning. All she had was descriptions of his craft, an approximate arrival time calculated by the top speed that particular vehicle and the distance to the Mageborough, and a rough description of the murderer. At first, she got many refusals for answers and the situation looked grim. But there is one thing that is always in a young weasel-girl’s favor, and that is her tenacity.

Within a few hours, Frieda had managed to find several people who thought that they had seen somebody that fit her description and the train began to warm up for her. One particular talkative shop keeper pointed down the end of the narrow lane and offered her first real clue. “Down the end of the row here…yes at the far end is a large shop, The Mage Depot and Emporium. I believe that your fugitive frequents that establishment. The shop keeper is a friend of mine, goes by The Great Flaco. Ask him and he’ll tell you anything you want to know—for a price.”

Frieda cocked her head, “For a price? What does he seek in payment, anything in particular?”

The shopkeeper smiled, “He is a fool for any trick he may use to demonstrate his mage powers. Of course he is no mage, but many of the mages buy his wares and he seeks to impress his clientele. If you show him a trick, he might share any information he has.”

Frieda thought for a moment then asked the shopkeeper, “Do you have any water of ammonium?”

The shopkeeper looked at her as if she had bounced a rock off his head, “What, floor cleaner? Who calls it that anymore. Yes, I have it, heck, I’ll give you a quart for nothing. If it will help you catch a murderer, that is. Nobody wants a killer around.”

Frieda left the shopkeeper with many thank yous and promises to visit again if she was in the area, took her ammonia floor cleaner and throughout through how she was going to use one of her favorite explosive compounds to impress the Great Flaco.

Aicha scowled to herself as she drank some champagne. She was halfway through her investigation and frustration was beginning to set in.

Mage Borostuy, a rather tubby gentleman who had the audacity to wear brick red, hunter green, and yellow together in one outfit, had been her first conversation. The man had given her the creeps with those beady eyes of his and wandering fingers and it had taken all of Aicha's restraint to NOT hurt him. He had, however, told her that a man matching Lightning's description had been seen in the midtown region, but had none of the particulars she needed.

Next had been Mage Amsted, a young rising star in MageBorough. He hadn't been as easy to charm as Borostuy, but Aicha had gotten him to talk to her. Albiet, her reasons for talking with Amsted had nothing to do with the Rogue's search - Aicha had asked the young man about HIM. This was the typical type he recruited after all, but Amsted had not heard of him or his group at all. He had, however, recommended for her to talk to another when she had asked about rare enchantments. So perhaps the entire conversation hadn't gone to waste after all.

Finishing her drink, Aicha spied her third original mark - Mage Bellowyx. A primped and pampered middle aged spoiled brat of mage, Bellowyx was someone Aicha had known about for a long time. Famous for her family name, mainly for her father, Bellowyx was known far and wide as the nosiest mage in all the known world. She was also mocked among anyone who practiced magic for being the 'bicycle' of MageBorough - there were few men who hadn't had a 'ride'. Walking over with a sneer, Aicha easily maneuvered them onto a small couch to talk. With this one, Aicha wasn't going to play nice.

Frieda arrived at The Mage Depot and was met at the door by the owner, The Great Flaco and a retinue of large, sweaty and possibly very stupid henchman-looking persons. Frieda did a quick count and between the twelve of them, there was one full set of teeth. She didn’t flinch, but tried to do what her mate Weldon was famous for, she observed everything she could and memorized everything. This had suddenly turned into a showdown and she may have come unarmed. The Great Flaco was easily observed because embroidered to his tunic was a patch of cloth that said, “Hello, My Name Is Flaco” He was quite shorter then the others around him, but a few inches taller then Frieda. He was fat and sadly misshaped and reminded Frieda of a cow pie. He continually swatted at flies buzzing around him with a flail.

“Word has reached my ear that you are seeking information about one of my valued customers.” The Great Flaco bellowed as if he were advertising a blue-light special on henchmen. Frieda was impressed that an adolescent alto sounding voice could actually bellow.

“Yes, Great Flaco. I am seeking knowledge of one known as….” she was cut off by a wave of The Great Flaco’s fly flail across her face. “Utter not names here.” he squeek-bellowed. “You will follow me to my warehouse.” whereupon he turned and mowed thorough the pile of henchmen who had gathered at his back.

Frieda was compelled to follow the Great Cow Pie through several walls of curtains and partitions until they came into an large open space almost completely void of any warehoused merchandise. He sat at a small table and beckoned Frieda to sit. “Now, don’t tell me your name, I don’t want to get mixed up in any politics. I may or may not have any information for you.” He looked around suspiciously as if there were others listening in, which there was, unless the eleven henchmen were completely deaf. Frieda doubted that if they were deaf, none of them had the intelligence to lip-read, so she just sat there and waited. “You must pay for my information, then you must leave.” The Great Flaco sat back in his chair satisfied with his demand and looked even more like a cow pie sitting then he did standing. “Do you have some magic for me?”

Frieda observed that there was a plate on the table that had recently seen food, possibly lunch and observed a small crumb that remained on what was otherwise a nearly clean plate. The cow pie licked his plate, she surmised. What was plain to her was that that crumb was particularly interesting to the flies that frequented the establishment. A faint whiff of strong cheese permitted the air and Frieda saw her opportunity. “The Great Flaco, I do indeed have, as you say, ‘magic’ and I can teach it to you.â€

oops let me try it again in another post -_-

Pft.

okay again, I'll re-try. I hate this rule

o.O

edited to add correct text for Aynjell's RP

[spoiler=The Search for Lightning, Whovians Pt 2] The Whovians checked in on Kyo and Sazi, struck down by the Border Fever. "Rest up, guys. We're going to search and bring that Unseelie to justice, don't you worry!"

Raw Outfit Not Found After seeing Sergeant Nutty off and wishing him the best of luck, Raw gathers up her gear and flagged down Jack to secure a ride on the Caroline, not even thinking to see off the rest of the group. She kept the chat to a minimum on the ride out to the Lone Planet, which she chose for the sheer adventure of it all; she was hoping to run into more than a few of those lizards that inhabited the island. On the way out, she also geared up in some of her strongest armor and pulled out a dual shotgun/sword to use.

“Don’t forget that the entry is going to be rough,” Jack reminds her.

Raw takes it and nods at all the information tossed at her and prepares herself for landing. The landing was indeed turbulent and they came very close to crashing into a towering rock formation. The Caroline does manage to make it to the ground intact thanks to Jack’s expert flying.

“My scanners detected some life by that outcropping of rock that we checked out on the way in. I’ll be right here when you get back. With or without Lightning,” Jack says.

Raw grunts her acknowledgement as she hops off the ship and starts walking off towards the large rock formation that almost took them down as it looks like it could house some caves. The weather on the way turns for the worse, and the rocks turn out to be farther than she had calculated. Throwing her hood up, she hunches down, but keeps moving forward even as lightning strikes around her. Seeing as most of the Lone Planet is flat except for the tall rock formations, the safest place for her is the rock formations and faster she can get there, the safer she will be from this storm.

After what feels like forever, she finally reaches the rocks whole, if not caked in mud and debris from the asteroid. She finds herself a nearby cave that she is unoccupied and sets up for the night so she can weather out the storm somewhere fairly safe and dry. Though, later into the night it becomes apparent that the cave isn’t as unoccupied as she previously had thought. A very angry lizard and his mate emerge from farther down the cave. Raw swears to herself and grabs her shotgun from next to where she was sleeping.

The lizards both growl at her, so she growls back at them, riling them up even more so than they already were. Raw’s muscles tensed as she prepared to attack and so did the lizards. For the moment they just stared at each other until the female lizard broke and sprung at Raw. Raw raised her shot gun and shot her twice in the face. She watched as the female lizard dropped to the ground hard and the male let out very loud keening howl. Raw had managed to shoot it in its open mouth.

“One down, one to go,” she eyed the male lizard who was vibrating with rage but smart enough not to rush the crazy halfling with the gun.

Raising the shotgun, she charges at the lizard who hisses at her and does the same. They meet halfway in a flash of teeth and sword. The lizard’s skin is particularly tough and impossible to cut through with just her sword. It is looking more and more like her first shot was a lucky shot. As the fighting goes on, and Raw becomes more tired, she loses her focus for a second and takes a bite on her leg.

“BLAST IT ALL,” she swears as she staggers back and tries to recover before the lizard can take advantage of her momentary lapse. Then she has an idea. She staggers farther back and lands on the wall with her gun fairly limp at her side and waits for the lizard to approach. When he does she looks up and smiles.

“Got ya, Godzilla,” she smiles as she raises the gun and fires two more shots into his open mouth.

After the weather passes she looks around the rocks with as much stealth as possible, trying to avoid having to fight anymore of the lizards. When she finds no signs of Lightning, she limps back the Caroline.

Shrugging at Jack with her empty hands she finds somewhere to nurse her wounds while they fly back to meet the others.Clara

Clara didn't like having to leave Pippi behind, but she knew that she would be safe with the rest of the companions and she had complete faith in their achieving their mission objective. She needed to concentrate on looking for Pale Lightning, that rascal. She decided to start her search on Sighon. It had been a while since she last visited that planet. Clara shuddered at the memory of her last visit. It was nomally a place she would avoid. Sighon was civilized to a certain extent, but far more hedonistic than she liked. She heard her communicator beeping, a sign that she had some messages "oh dear, I've neglected a lot of my clients since I've been on this adventure," she murmured to herself. She figured she had a bit of time before Haneway arrived to do a little houekeeping. Turning it on, she settled down to listen to her messages and return their calls.

There was an interesting one. Coincidentally, there happened to be a rather decadent masquerade ball happening on Sighon tonight, billed as the Best of the Best in all the Verse. "Hmmm... a perfect hiding place for Pale Lightning then. Wth everybody wearing masks, nobody would recognise him." She quickly called Lord Eladrien, who had invited her. Smiling winningly at the screen as Eladrien answered, she accepted the invitation and arranged to meet himat the hangar. "Don't forget the dress code tonight, my dear, can't wait to see you again," he said signing off.

She would have to dress up. Clara hurried to her boudoir in the shuttle. "Too plain, FAR too conservative.." she muttered to herself, flicking through her various gowns. Finally she selected something, much more extravagant than she would normally wear, but perfect for the occasion. After choosing a mask, she sat down in front of her vanity to adjust her makeup while she waited for Haneway to arrive.

Haneway arrived with the rest of the Whovains and an armful of aprons and clothes. She couldn't contain her excitement about traveling to Heaven's Kitchen. She had always wanted to travel there to learn the secret of perfect croissants. Picking through the aprons that Nancy had brought, she focused on the purple one. She knew the moon spent much of it's "day" in the shadow of Sighon, giving everything a lavender hue, and she wanted to match their subtle colors. "Oh, this top is so pretty and matches well!" She tries on the Inure Top from the celebrated designer Vanity, and picks out a sheer lavender bow to hold back her hair. "Grey goes well with this outfit, but can't get hair in the pastry -- that would be a disaster!"

"Don't forget that we're after Lightning!" shouts Raw from across the room. "How pretty you look doesn't matter. It's the stabbing that counts."

"Don't worry, kitchens have plenty of knives! And, if I happen to improve my skills at the same time, then so much the better." She completes her outfit with the Purple Flowery Kitchen Apron and hears another shriek. "Don't worry, the knife will fit in the pocket."

"No, no, no! You have ruined the line of the blouse with that apron." Clara runs over with another sheer piece of fabric. "Maybe this will help?" She pins the shoulders and takes a step back. "Oh, it's hopeless -- take off that apron and put it under the blouse."

"But...it's supposed to protect my clothing!"

"How are you supposed to lure and overwhelm your instructors if you look so...tacky??"

Hane sighed and rearranged her clothes. "There, how's this" She does a pirouette, the blouse flowing out over the apron. "Perfect! You can just see the bottom of that silly apron." Clara nods.

[IMG]http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r287/haneway/apronunder_zpspyupchiw.png[/img]

It was time to set off. Clara and Hane waved at the rest of the group, wishing them good luck in their own adventure and arranging to meet back up with them later, hopefully with Lightning, one way or another. Clara settled into the controls of her shuttle, input the coordinates for Heaven's Kitchen and Sighon and set off. Once they were travelling, Clara set the auto pilot and went to check on Hane, who was in the tiny kitchenette searching the cupboards."I'm afraid you won't find a whole lot there. I haven't had a chance to restock properly" Clara said. "But I know, let me do your hair and finish getting you ready."

It wasn't long before they reached Heaven's Kitchen. Clara landed at the moon's hangar for private shuttles, allowed Haneway to disembark and they prepared to set off again, this time for Sighon.

Finally arriving at Sighon, Clara prepared to disembark her shuttle. With a final glance at the mirror as she passed, she adjusted her cape, made sure her feathers were not drooping and gave herself a little nod of approval. She was ready. "It's so good to see you again, my dear, you must try harder at staying in touch," he teased, "but you look amazing tonight." Eladrien had a car waiting to take them to the mansion, the location of tonight's ball. Taking them through the seedier districts of Sighon, Clara tried not to look at the vast amount of flesh on display. She sighed, so many of these girls could have been Companion material, if only they had been given the right opportunity. They soon found themselves at the venue. It was easy to locate, simply follow the crowds of ostentatious costumes, and the light-bedecked trees. "Eladrien, I wonder if I might be able to convince you to assist me in a matter tonight? I'm on the lookout for a certain person who might be here, and since you will know everybody here.." she placed her hand gently on his arm and described Pale Lightning to him. "Well, I shall certainly keep an eye out for any unfamiliar faces, if it assists you my dear. He sounds like quite a character. Though it might be hard to find him at the beginning since everybody will be wearing masks, but at the stroke of midnight, there will be le grand unveiling where everybody gets to see who they have been dancing with. And speaking of which.." he reached across and lowered Clara's mask into position, caressing her face as he did so, "we are nearly there."

The ball was in full swing by the time they were announced. It was just as Clara had imagined. The hall was magnificently and expensively decorated with lush velvet drapes. A huge table was laid out at one end filled with every imaginable delicacy, not doubt supplied from Heaven's Kitchen. A smaller separate table was off to one side supplying the discerning dancer with the drug of their choice. Men and women were dressed in opulent finery, jewels dazzling in the candlelight. Clara kept an eye out for Pale LIghtning. She knew that it was unlikely he would be dressed in his stage persona, but then, stranger things had happened and this would be the ideal opportunity for him to seamlessly blend in, hidden in plain view as it were.

Clara knew that she was there on a mission, but she decided that she might as well take advantage of the situation and enjoy herself a little. She moved around the groups of people, greeting fellow Companions whom she recognised despite their masks, chatting and flirting. She felt an hand at her elbow. Turning slightly, Eladrien whispered in her ear that a strange pale man had entered the room with women of a certain nature on both arms, surreptitiously inclining his head. Clara looked in the direction he was indicating. Sure enough, a pale looking man had entered, dressed in white and silver emphasizing his paleness. "Eladrien, my darling, I have a plan, although I am afraid I will have to owe you a memorable date. We may have to part soon, but I will be in touch." "My dear, do as you must. The short time we have spent together tonight has been lovely and I shall look forward to a future date."

Keeping one eye on him at all times, Clara continued to mingle and dance. The stranger seemed to know few people, merely preferring to spend time sitting on one of the plush corner sofas with his arm draped over one female or another as they took turns fawning over him. Eventually, he was persuaded up to dance and Clara took her opportunity. Eladrien and Clara waltzed close by, at a suitable point Eladrien smoothly cut between "Lightning" and his partner allowing Clara to dance with her target. She looked up at him, seductively through her mask. Her new partner raked his eyes over her, admiringly. "A stunning new dance partner, what a lucky night I am having" he said in a deep voice, his strong arms enveloping Clara, his natural rhythmic instinct taking over as they danced gracefully across the floor.

As the dance drew to an end, Clara led her partner towards the buffet table where she could start a conversation with him. He was certainly a charming man, Unseelie or not, and Clara could see that if it turned out that he wasn't Lightning, then he was most definitely a potential Client.

As it approached midnight, Clara was still unsure of his real identity, but she knew that soon she would. As the chimes counted down, excitement in the hall was gathering. At the stroke of midnight, balloons and confetti floated down from the ceiling signalling it was time. Against peals of laughter, partners whisked masks of each other, gasping to find they were dancing with enemies, hugging and kissing when it was amongst friends. Clara and her partner looked at each other as they slowly reached over to take off the other's mask. Clara gasped.

Hane

Hane watched Clara leave, and as soon as the shuttle was out of sight, she quickly tucked the blouse underneath the apron. [IMG]http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r287/haneway/apronover_zpss7xebpok.png[/img] She fished a card out of her pocket "Mom's Blueberry Buckle, hope it brings me luck." She proceeded to the Customs area where a grandmotherly woman sat at a large desk. Her bun was so tight Hane wondered how she blinked. The poor man in front of her seemed to be the target of the guard's ire.

"You call this a new recipe?? Hummingbird Tongue Souffle -- bah! The chef to King Erroneous the Fourth served this at no fewer than 3 state dinners. Leave and don't come back until you have something interesting. Next."

The grandma from hell looked up. "Well, at least you're wearing an apron. Last girl tried to hide it under her dress because it was 'ugly'. Well, I'll tell you, a grease stain is much uglier! So what recipe do you have?"

"Blueberry Buckle, ma'am." "Buckle? Isn't that the same as Cobbler?" "No..." "Grunt?" "Pardon me?" "You know, is it like a Grunt or a Slump, or heaven help us...pie?" "No, it's none of those -- it's a sort of cake, with a crinkly top, that, you know, buckles when it cools." "Oh my, a new baked good, Tristina will be quite excited. Proceed to Pastry Street," she said, handing back the card.

Since the woman seemed to like her, Hane asked after her quarry. "You haven't seen an Unseelie man recently, have you? Super-pale, and kinda scary?"

"Oh, there was someone like that, but he didn't even have an apron, let alone a recipe, so we sent him on his way."

"Thanks!" Freed from her responsibility, Hane wandered off to Pastry Street, to learn the secrets of fine desserts. The hours passed quickly, and soon she was headed back to meet the rest of the team. "Hope they were able to find him..."

Sera Outfit Not Found

Sera was at the computer on The Cumberbatch when she received the all clear from Clara's shuttle. She was pretty sure she worked out a path to navigate through the known sky patrols. Thankfully, with as much smuggling as The Catchment sees, it was easy to get her hands on that information. Sera crossed her fingers that it was up to date. After a few very close calls, The Cumberbatch made it's way to the lower docking levels in the main hospital. The Whovians Tranquility Class freighter blended in perfectly to the rest of the vessels around her. Sera was excited, this just might work!

It was time to try her hand at a bit of subterfuge. Clara had been helping to calm her nerves before the mission, reminding her that the best deception lies close to the truth. While it had been a few

I really hate this posting rule

(Would be nice if people see US posting to wait until we are done. ^ )