Scene Two
Scene Three
Scene Four
Scene Five
Scene Six
Chapter Three: Fitness
Scene One: Breakfast at Chet's House
mgrasso> Now, for first, James, you got to take home the map first, and were looking to make a machine to copy chimerical documents.
Mandy> right
mgrasso> Let's do the machine first.
Mandy> sure, extended crafts plus intel
Mandy> Diff?
mgrasso> Diff is going to be 8.
Julias> brb, pretzel time.
Mandy> okay... Now for my neuclear partical accelerator that also happens to copy documents
mgrasso> (heh)
Mandy> !dice 4 8
* DiceWell Mandy rolls 4d10 at difficulty 8. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 1 2 9 8
mgrasso> Good start, one success. Keep 'em coming.
Mandy> !dice 4 8
* DiceWell Mandy rolls 4d10 at difficulty 8. S/He botches the roll.
* DiceWell 1 6 1 10
mgrasso> Ooooh. Ouch.
Sam> Ooh... :(
Mandy> do'h
Mandy> furbinggirbing furking
Mandy> thingymahoozit
*** Mandy is now known as James
Erica> Should we get into .. um.. character? I hate blanking on words.
*** Joe is now known as Chet
mgrasso> Looks like, at least this time around, the machine is a failure. Your plans come up short and the materials fro the cannibalized crossbows are wasted.
*** Sam is now known as Jack
*** Erica is now known as Gemma
James> cryptography?
*** Julias is now known as Ingrid
mgrasso> James: yes: Intel + Crypto, diff. 7.
James> !dice 5 7
* DiceWell James rolls 5d10 at difficulty 7. S/He botches the roll.
* DiceWell 4 1 6 5 4
mgrasso> This is to figure the map out.
mgrasso> Jesus.
James> ah!!!!
James> damn dice not so well
James> wp
Ingrid> furkin dicey.
Gemma> Can't Mandy claim that as a "practice roll?"
* Gemma gives Mike her best doe eyes
mgrasso> Ok, willpower avoids the botch, so James can try again the next day. He's not totally stumped.
mgrasso> One diff. higher, Mandy.
James> !dice 5 8
* DiceWell James rolls 5d10 at difficulty 8. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 2 4 8 10 1
mgrasso> (Remember, we're leaving on Saturday).
James> !dice 5 8
* DiceWell James rolls 5d10 at difficulty 8. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 3 2 10 10 1
James> !dice 5 8
* DiceWell James rolls 5d10 at difficulty 8. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 5 4 3 5 9
mgrasso> James has begun to crack the code, but it's going to be something he's going to have to continue on the trip.
mgrasso> Whoa, James, hold up!
James> okay
James> just going untill you said stop
Chet> !dice 5 6
* DiceWell Chet rolls 5d10 at difficulty 6. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 1 8 6 2 9
mgrasso> No problem.
mgrasso> OK, folks, Saturday shall be coming soon, and we shall follow the mundane AAA map to the location of the gateway to the Dreaming.
mgrasso> Where shall we meet?
Chet> My place, please :)
* Ingrid remembers her mental note to take a closer look at the plaques outside Chet's front door this time.
mgrasso> And I'd like people to tell me what chimerical items they're bringing with them into the Dreaming.
Chet> !dice 5 8
* DiceWell Chet rolls 5d10 at difficulty 8. S/He gets 4 successes.
* DiceWell 10 8 10 7 8
James> X-bow
Ingrid> I'm bringing my frisbee and some of those gold coins.
Jack> my usual wargear
James> are we taking the stone?
mgrasso> James: excellent furkin' question. :)
Ingrid> I don't think we could... it's at the freehold.
James> no it's not
mgrasso> Yeah, James has it.
Ingrid> And this is not Duchy business.
James> I swaid I didn't want to leave it
Ingrid> Oh really?
Gemma> I'm bringing my pencil-dagger and wee Cupid.
mgrasso> The only restriction we had was using it as a team.
mgrasso> As an oathcircle.
Ingrid> Cupid! I was just wondering about Cupid today. :D
mgrasso> You all park your respective cars in front of 144 Euclid Ave.
James> can I make a charisma roll to try and make friends with cupid this time?
mgrasso> If he pops up, James, sure. :)
James> cool
mgrasso> OK, so, we're at Chet's.
mgrasso> Ingrid, you wanted to look at the plaque?
* Ingrid gets out of her Lexus and strlls to the front door, pausing to look at the plaques.
mgrasso> Ingrid is the first to arrive. Who's next?
* Gemma arrives next, but doesn't get out of her car right away
* Jack pulls up right after Gemm.
* Gemma is forraging around her car, bending forward, backward, and down, searching for god knows waht
James> /me pulls in, gets out of his car and looks really, really tired
mgrasso> (I picture the cinematic arrival montage... damn, been reading too much Feng Shui stuff lately. :) )
Ingrid> (hah!)
Gemma> (::shoves a dresser in the corner and a bed by the window::)
Chet> the old, tarnished copper plate to the left of the double door entrance, shines brightly and clearly reads -
Chet> "Literature is the Thought of thinking Souls."
Chet> Underneath it is a much newer brass plate which Chet cast himself and fastened to the brick wall. It reads -
mgrasso> It's early morning, Saturday, May 13. Probably about 8:30 am.
Chet> "Poetry and Hums aren't things which you get, they're things which get you. And all you can do is to go where they can find you."
Ingrid> Ah, so library-ish.
Ingrid> Thank you, Chet. :)
mgrasso> All right. Where's Chet?
Chet> inside
mgrasso> Shall we walk in?
* Ingrid knocks.
* Gemma finally gets out of her car and slips a little black leather backpack over her shoulders. It looks like the kind chic older women wear on vacation.
* Chet answers the door, still wearing his sunglasses.
mgrasso> (Jack, what does Rolando's armor look like?)
Chet> Hey, come on in, we're just finishing breakfast and I'll be ready to go.
Gemma> Chet! INgrid!
* Gemma waves at them as she fairly skips up to the door
Jack> It's full plate, sort of a faerie version of the 15th-16th century style. It's the color of really verdigris-ed bronze.
* Ingrid smiles, "Good morning, Chet. And you too, Gemma."
* mgrasso nods
mgrasso> James staggers up, his glasses fully black in the powerful morning desert sun.
Ingrid> Late night, james?
James> uh, yeah
mgrasso> (Thanks for the info, Sam)
Chet> Would anyone like some breakfast before we go? You know, it's the most important meal of the day.
* Gemma gives James a hug and quick peck on the cheek
mgrasso> (heh Chet)
Ingrid> I had a bagel already, but thank you.
Gemma> Good morning.
* James rests his head on Gemmas Shoulder for a minute, and then raises it wearily
James> morning all
Gemma> Anyone need a sugar rush?
* Gemma digs into her little backpack
* Gemma pulls out a little plastic baggy filled with brown, shrivelled little objects
Gemma> Saladito, Ingrid?
* Gemma waves the bag at Ingrid
James> wazzat?
Ingrid> !dice 3 8
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 3d10 at difficulty 8. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 6 2 2
Gemma> It's a ...candy.
Gemma> I also have some duvalin, if anyone wants to try that.
* Ingrid looks at the little shrivelly things warily.
Ingrid> No thanks, Gem.
* Gemma fishes out some little brown tins that have a brightly colored label of a smiling child eating the chocolate treat
Jack> I'll try one, Gemma.
Gemma> Saladito, or duvalin, Jack?
Ingrid> Duvalin? Isn't that an anti-psychotic drug or something?
James> i could eat... speaking of which, did you say breakfast chet
James> ?
* Gemma smiles
Jack> Um...sure. I mean, the first one.
Gemma> No, no... It's chocolate, Ingrid. Try some.
Chet> !dice 8 8
* DiceWell Chet rolls 8d10 at difficulty 8. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 10 4 8 6 3 1 2 7
* Gemma hands Ingrid a little tin.
Ingrid> Maybe later, thanks. Sugar in the morning makes me sleepy.
* Gemma gives Jack a saladito
Gemma> Take a bite, but watch the pit.
Chet> I do have breakfast if you'd like some James. YOu look beat, trouble with the map/
* Gemma flicks some salt off of her fingers
mgrasso> Jack bites into the saladito, finding it tastes something like salty leather.
* Jack nibbles cautiously.
James> yeah, the wood from my other x-bow was bogus so my invention flopped,
mgrasso> You guys wanna move into the kitchen?
James> but I think I'm starting to peice together the map
Chet> OK, well, habds up, who wants a Belgian Waffle?
James> It's just furking slow going
Chet> I'm sure you'll get it.
James> oh! vt maples syrup?
Ingrid> No thanks, Chet. But I will take some coffee if you have any.
Gemma> Do you have any lemon, Chet?
Jack> I'll have a waffle if you're going to the trouble...
Chet> I do have maple syrup...not sure about it's pedigree, though.
Chet> OK, well, lets all head to the dining room and I can whip up breakfast in a jif.
* Chet turns and walks inside.
* Gemma follows Chet
* Ingrid follows.
James> /me enters, nowlooking both tired and hungry
James> damn
mgrasso> (Sorry, Mandy. Damnserver.)
James> (issokay)
Ingrid> (That's so weird that it's only Mandy.)
mgrasso> (I don't understand it myself)
James> (damn straight, it just doesn't like me)
mgrasso> (furkin devil box)
Ingrid> (cuss at it! :D)
Gemma> (hehe)
James> (amen)
mgrasso> So, we all make it into the dining room.
mgrasso> I'll let Chet set the scene.
Chet> Sitting in the dining room are two of Chet's roommates. One is a tall and lithe woman with jet black long hair pulled into a pony-tail.
Chet> The other is a young man of medium build, well-tanned, with sandy-blonde hair.
mgrasso> (Both are mortals)
Chet> They're sitting at the table talking and finishing up Belgian Waffles.
* James sits down and puts his head in his hands, and abbruptly starts snoring softly
James> (go fig)
* Ingrid smiles hello.
* Jack stands at the doorway to the dining room and gazes at the black-haired woman.
Chet> Gang, this is CJ and Angie. Angie,CJ, this is the gang.
* Gemma waves hello to the two and then sits next to James
Chet> So that was two belgian waffles, one coffee, and what did you want Gemma? Just a lemon?
mgrasso> Angie pushes waffle bits around on her plate, scooping up maple syrup. "Hey, guys. Welcome to the Haven. You were around here earlier in the week, right?"
* Gemma reachers over to massage James' neck
James> /me ' head topples over as he delves into stage 3 sleep
Gemma> Yeah, just a lemon, please. Well, a half of one. I don't need a whole one
James> (grrr)
Ingrid> Yes, we were. Nice place you have here. Very homey.
Chet> Be right back. Make yourselves at home.
mgrasso> CJ busses his plate over to the sink, rinses it, and leaves with a shrug and a mumbled "hey."
* Chet heads off into the kitchen.
mgrasso> (Sorry, CJ goes into the kitchen, and does that)
mgrasso> We are in the dining room.
mgrasso> CJ walks back through the dining room on his way upstairs.
Ingrid> !dice 7 5
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 7d10 at difficulty 5. S/He gets 3 successes.
mgrasso> (the Sims: the RPG!)
* DiceWell 5 3 7 3 7 6 1
Gemma> (har! ::pees on the floor and sobs::)
James> (ha!)
mgrasso> Angie looks up at Ingrid: "Hey, you're Ingrid Kane from channel 4!"
Ingrid> (heh! *spins into jammies*)
* Chet pokes his head back around the corner and flips half a lemon to Gemma.
mgrasso> She kinda notices Jack in the corner.
Chet> Here you go...
* Ingrid smiles modestly and says, "Why yes, I am."
mgrasso> Gemma, dex + Athletics, diff. 5
Gemma> Thanks a bunch, dear.
* Chet disappears again.
Gemma> !dice 3 5
* Jack kind of starts when she notices him.
* DiceWell Gemma rolls 3d10 at difficulty 5. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 2 7 8
mgrasso> Gemma expertly fields the lemon. :)
Jack> Jack Duran, Tucson PD, at your service.
mgrasso> "Your pal over there," Angie says to Ingrid with a smirk, "is a little jumpy."
mgrasso> "Tucson PD? Augh." Angie says. "Well, Chet said you apologized for what you did to our little house."
* Jack shrugs it off
* Gemma bites into the lemon, eating the fruit and rind
mgrasso> (gah!)
Jack> And I extend my apologies once again for the damage my colleagues caused.
* Gemma licks some juice off of her finger
mgrasso> Angie continues, "It doesn't look like we're going to sue," with another smile.
Gemma> You sure, Angie? I know a good lawyer...
Ingrid> I hope not. Jack certainly meant no harm.
Chet> !dice 6 6
* DiceWell Chet rolls 6d10 at difficulty 6. S/He gets 5 successes.
* DiceWell 7 4 7 7 9 9
* Chet reappears after about 3 minutes with two belgian waffles the size of a man's head, one with maple syrup on it.
Ingrid> If you knew him you would know why. He's a verry honorable man.
Chet> One for you...
Jack> I would never want to cause harm to you--to your home.
* Chet hands the one to James.
Chet> and one for you...
* Chet hands the other to Jack.
mgrasso> Angie nods. "Yeah, I could see that." She looks over to Jack. "Thank you, I appreciate the thought."
* Jack takes an extra beat to notice Chet handing him the waffle, as he's watching Angie.
Chet> Did you want anything on that Jack?
* James is still asleep, waffle infront of him
* Jack looks annoyed at the intrusion of the waffle upon this moment.
* Gemma nudges James
Jack> What? Oh, um, just syrup, thanks.
James> huh?
Chet> Eat up James, that's one *hell* of a waffle there.
Gemma> Breakfast, dear.
Chet> How do you take your coffee Ingrid?
* Gemma eats more of her lemon
James> oh, thank's suger.
Ingrid> Just black, thanks.
* Chet heads back into the kitchen.
James> /me digs enthusiastically into his waffle
mgrasso> Jack and James, after topping off their waffles, dig in. These are the best waffles you've ever tasted.
James> (can I make some sort of roll to see how fast I can eat it?)
* Chet returns after a couple of seconds with syrup and a Batman coffee mug.
* Jack eats his waffle in the manner of one who, though hungry, doesn't want to pig out in front of an attractive member of the opposite sex.
mgrasso> James: no. :)
Chet> Whoa, slow down and enjoy the waffles, partner. You're not likely to ever have better!
* Gemma eyes Jack with obvious amusement
James> awsome waffles chet
mgrasso> Jack: Charisma + Etiquette, diff. 6.
* Chet hands the syrup to Jack and the Batman mug to Ingrid.
Jack> !dice 3 6
Chet> Thanks, James.
* DiceWell Jack rolls 3d10 at difficulty 6. S/He botches the roll.
* DiceWell 5 1 5
Jack> Oh crap...
Chet> (d'oh!)
mgrasso> Jack lets a big chunk o' waffle dribble down his chin and into his lap.
Chet> (ha!)
James> spill something Jackie boy?
Jack> (LOL, can't help it)
* Gemma finishes her lemon
* Ingrid hums "nananana nananana nana nana nana nana batman!" under her breath.
Chet> Hey, don't let that go to waste.
Gemma> Hey, Jack, want me to clean that for you?
mgrasso> (oh my!)
* Gemma licks her lips and winks at Jack
* Jack clears his throat and tries to salvage some dignity as he retrieves the waffle-chunk
James> /me polishes off his waffle
* Jack looks aghast at Gemma and turns fairly reddish.
Chet> Would you like me to bring you another waffle Jack? A slightly fresher one?
mgrasso> Angie smiles and takes her coffee and retreats to the kitchen. "It was nice meeting you all. Later!"
Chet> James, sill hungry?
Ingrid> Nice meeting you!
Jack> Jack ignores Chet's question as we watches Angie take off.
Gemma> Hasta luego, Angie.
James> ummm... got any eggs?
Chet> See ya, Angie! Don't forget - Monday afternoon.
Chet> Sure, how do you like them prepared?
mgrasso> Angie says, "Cool, Chet."
James> scrambled, cheddar, on toast with catsup... want any help?
* Gemma crinkles her nose at James
Chet> No, I prefer to cook alone, thanks.
James> that's cool, I prefer not to cook at all
Chet> You stay here and figure out where we're going.
Chet> Be right back.
* Chet disappears once more.
Ingrid> Yes, where *are* we going? Did you figure it out, James?
mgrasso> James is feeling a bit more energetic.
* Chet reappears to top off Ingrid's coffe and disappears once again.
James> /Me puts the map on the table
James> I'm getting there guys
mgrasso> James, let's wait for Chet to come back with the eggs. Then you guys can work together.
* Ingrid sips more of the utterly fabulous coffee.
James> sure... when he gets back I'll fill him in on whatever inklings I've got
mgrasso> Excellent. Chet? :)
Ingrid> I think Chet's making a souffle.
* Chet returns with James' eggs. Scrambled, cheddar, on toast, with catsup in the pattern of a little smiley face on top.
Chet> Here you go.
Chet> Anyone else?
* Gemma outright laughs at the smiley face
mgrasso> *snort*
James> this is way better than poptarts and cold pizza, want to make breakfast for me all the time?
* Ingrid laughs when she sees James's smiley face.
Chet> My kitchen is your kitchen, friend.
Chet> So let's get a look at that map.
James> /me smears the smiley face all over his eggs... any indignity for free food
Ingrid> I think you just uttered the magic words there, Chet.
mgrasso> I have four and a half words for you: Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n' Fruity.
mgrasso> :)
mgrasso> OK, Chet, Int + Enigmas, diff. 8. James: Int + Crypto, diff. 7.
James> !dice 5 7
* DiceWell James rolls 5d10 at difficulty 7. S/He botches the roll.
* DiceWell 2 2 2 1 2
Chet> !dice 7 8
* DiceWell Chet rolls 7d10 at difficulty 8. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 8 9 10 7 7 1 2
Ingrid> wow.
James> wp
mgrasso> Oh, James, James, James.
mgrasso> All right.
mgrasso> Chet works with James for a bit, getting the main path to Grimsley's Inn out of the twisty turns on the map.
Chet> !dice 1 8
* DiceWell Chet rolls 1d10 at difficulty 8. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 7
mgrasso> So, I think it's time to head into the desert.
* Jack sits quietly watching the spot where Angie was last in the room during all this.
Chet> How confident are you that we can get there from here, James?
Ingrid> (Jack is *such* a sucker for female NPCs :)
James> love struck Jackie boy? Is it too early to rsvp for the wedding?
* Chet pulls a cigarette from behind his ear, flicks his Zippo, and lights it.
Gemma> !dice 4 7
* DiceWell Gemma rolls 4d10 at difficulty 7. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 5 1 8 3
James> I think we can pull it off.
James> (dicey is a bitch tonight)
Gemma> (quite... ::offers dicey chocolate::)
* Jack snaps out of it, looks at James and gives him a slight smile but says nothing.
Ingrid> (Just don't offer dicey tose leathery things.)
Chet> !dice 7 5
* DiceWell Chet rolls 7d10 at difficulty 5. S/He gets 5 successes.
* DiceWell 10 7 10 4 3 8 6
James> James smiles fondly and says "you big idiot"
Jack> (DAMN...)
Gemma> (Saladitos are Mexico's great legacy, Yoolia! Or not. :) )
mgrasso> All right. Who shall drive out to the desert? Whoever does it going to have to leave their car there, at the portal.
Chet> Well, James, if you're full-up with food, we can get going. How long til we hit the Dreaming, by your reckoning?
James> I will! nobody steals a "broken" shitbox
mgrasso> Chet: the drive out there is about a half-hour.
Chet> Anyone want a sandwich or anything for the trip?
James> Jameses ears purk up
Chet> James?
Ingrid> Chet, I'm going to start calling you "Denny".
Chet> That's OK, I'm going to start calling you Kramer.
James> Just so you know man, never offe me food if you don't mean it
Jack> Uh, sure, Chet. I'll have a sandwich, thanks.
Chet> PB&J everyone?
Ingrid> Kramer?
Gemma> Hold the J for me, Chet.
James> two?
James> any fluff?
Ingrid> I'll take one too, thanks.
Chet> You're *on* TV Ingrid, don't you watch it...Kramer?
Ingrid> oooh, with fluff!
Gemma> Chet, Chet... don't even try...
mgrasso> (White food for white white people)
* Gemma shakes her head sadly at Ingrid
Ingrid> I get the ref, I just don't get why.
* Gemma loudly whispers, "It's your hair!"
mgrasso> (oh Lord)
Chet> One PB&J, one PB, and Two PB&fluff? Be right back.
James> James laughs hartily
* Ingrid smooths her long lush honey-blonde ponytail.
mgrasso> (Chet's pretty confused. He can't even keep James and Ingrid straight!)
James> three pbjf
James> 2 for me, on for ingrid
Chet> OK
* Chet leaves and returns in about three minutes with five paper lunch sacks with everyone's names written on them.
mgrasso> (Because I believe the Kramer ref was meant for James)
James> (James looks up at his muss of hair and then calls mgrasso a bitch)
Ingrid> (definitely fitting for James. :)
Ingrid> (It's the fridge thing :D)
Chet> (OK, I'm slow tonight :)
mgrasso> (ooh, I'm a bitch? James, take 56 levels of aggravated damage)
Ingrid> (okay, better :)
James> Ahhh!
Chet> All right.
James> /me dies
mgrasso> Let us away to the desert, shall we?
Jack> Kramer vs. Kramer?
* Chet distributes lunch sacks.
Gemma> Are we carpooling at all?
Chet> Let's hit the road.
mgrasso> We're all piling in James' car.
Ingrid> Let's!
Scene Two: The Drive to Willcox
Gemma> Oh! I call James' lap.
Chet> All five of us, in that car?
James> lincoln towncar, 88
Chet> OK. I call shotgun!
Ingrid> Just try not to spin out or anything today, James?
mgrasso> Jack's in back with the girls.
James> Have to be outside 1st, shotgun rules
* Gemma is in the middle
mgrasso> Gemma, between her two favorite people. :)
Chet> Damn...
Gemma> I'm so glad I got to sit with you two.
Ingrid> She probably didn't wear deodornt on purpose. :D
* Gemma gives Jack and Ingrid her cheesiest grin
Gemma> I did too! Care to smell?
James> theres room for 3 upfront if oyu need it Gem
* Gemma offers Ingrid her armpit
Ingrid> Gemma, I think that lemon puckered your grin a little, dear.
Chet> I'll navigate while you drive, James...
Gemma> My grin could never be as puckered as yours, dear.
Chet> Hey, don't make James turn this car around.
James> mrow! cat fight...
Gemma> Oh, great, James!
Ingrid> Sour mouth, sour words, I guess.
James> James smirks
* Gemma pats Jack and Ingrid on their thighs, then climbs over between Chet and James
James> James kisses Gemmas ear. "Glad for the company kitty cat."
Chet> (What kind of radio does this car have?)
* Gemma settles in, then turns around to make a face at Ingrid
* Jack looks a bit relieved at Ingrid.
* Ingrid smiles sweetly back.
James> We've got a casett amfm, with the plugin cd attachment
* Chet digs around in his bag.
mgrasso> All righty. You drive about 40 miles or so east of Tucson. The AAA map leads to an abandoned strip mall. The prof's cryptic instructions, "The Parkway, Unit 3, GLR" are written next to the circled location on the map.
James> and a shit load of cd's under your seat if your interested
mgrasso> Just keep my message in abeyance till you're all done with RP :)
Gemma> Oh, sure. Give them a reason to feel around under me.
Chet> Hey, I've got a tape in here of some of my ex-roommates. Their band is pretty good. Mind if I pop in the tape?
Ingrid> What kind of music?
Chet> They're called the Dance Hall Crashers. Ever hears of them?
mgrasso> "The Parkway, Unit 3, WLR." Sorry. Correction.
James> what style? no country no rap no smooth jazz no r&b in my car
Gemma> Were they ever up for the Tammies?
James> also, no polka
Chet> Kind of pop-rock-ska.
* Ingrid smiles broadly. "I know their drummer! Small world!"
Chet> I'll bet Jack back there would just *looooove* the lead singers, too.
* Chet rummages around some more
Gemma> Just how well, INgrid?
James> oh, you know ingrid, he was just a casual furk sometimes
Ingrid> I did a piece on a local music festival and he and I chatted for a few minutes by the corn dog stand.
* Chet pulls out a small photo of the band and hands it back to Jack.
Gemma> True, James. Probably too dingy a young man to bring around to her "polite company."
Chet> Yeah, the girl on the left and the bass player were roommates of mine.
* Jack takes the photo and looks at it.
Gemma> Wow, Ingrid. the corn dog stand. That's impressive.
Chet> Do anything for you Jack?
* Chet says jokingly
James> I had no idea you were an exhibitionish
James> ist not ish
Jack> (What do I see?0
Jack> 0=)
Chet> What was he doing by the corn dog stand. Last I talked to him, he was strictly prohibited from eating nitrates.
mgrasso> Chet? Picture desc?
Chet> (hold on)
Ingrid> Oh, he just had a soda, Chet. Although he offered to buy me a corn dog.
Gemma> And what did you offer in return, Ingrid?
Ingrid> I gave him a sound bite in my story.
Ingrid> He was a really cool guy.
James> is that what they're calling it these days?
Ingrid> I figured you'd be more interested in the corn dog than the romance potential there, James.
Gemma> Oh, James enjoys a good sound bite now and then, Ingrid.
James> speaking of which...
James> James rummages around near Gemmas feet and finds his lunch bag,on his way up he runs his hand along her leg
mgrasso> Driving through some pretty beautiful desert landscapes, right into the sun. James, your sunglasses are great, but you're still squinting. Dex + Drive, diff. 6.
James> he fishes out half a pbjf and eats it
Gemma> (So now Gemma's leg is full of peanut butter? ;) )
Jack> (hee hee)
James> !dice 7 6
* DiceWell James rolls 7d10 at difficulty 6. S/He gets 4 successes.
* DiceWell 4 10 10 1 10 8 7
Gemma> ("Ooh, baby.. gonna give it to you extra chunky style!")
James> (still in the bag silly)
mgrasso> James doesn't have a bit of trouble with the drive at all.
Chet> (Here's the pic www.dancehallcrashers.com/video/video/112497scu27.html)
Gemma> James, you have a little..
* Gemma leans over and licks a little blob of peanut butter off of James' cheek
Gemma> Mm, got it.
* Gemma kisses his cheek and leans back
mgrasso> As I was saying, you drive out to a abandoned strip mall in a desert town called Willcox. It's marked off as Mile 336 on I-10 East.
Chet> Hey, I'm still here, you two.
* Jack hands the picture back to Chet. "Mmm. Not bad. But you never really know til you meet a lady in person, I'd say."
* Chet puts the tape in the deck.
Gemma> Oh, sorry, Chet.
* Gemma gives Chet a quick, dry peck on the cheek
mgrasso> On your way into Willcox, you pass a huge fenced-off area, which signage says is the Willcox Dry Lake Bombing Range.
* Chet turns his head, slightly embarassed.
James> James reaches his arm over gemma and quickly rubs chets leg
James> better man?
* Chet rubs James' leg in return.
Chet> Sure am big guy.
Gemma> James, we should really invite him over for a meange a trois sometime. He's been so hospitable to us, after all.
* Chet cracks up
Gemma> (menage, I hate spelling)
James> Ha!
Scene Three: Outside the Parkway Mall
mgrasso> You pull into this abandoned strip mall. Unit 3 has large plate glass windows showing the wholly-empty insides.
* Ingrid laughs and whispers to Jack "I guess next time Chet'll be in the back with us."
mgrasso> (heh!)
Ingrid> (whoa! :D)
* Jack Sooner or later, they find out.
* Chet turns around and says, "Oh, I don't know about that"
Gemma> You know, Jack, I want to find out if what they say about trolls' remarkable size is true...
* Jack just smiles and looks out the window.
mgrasso> You've pulled into a spot right in front of Unit 3.
* Gemma laughs merrily
mgrasso> As I said, the strip mall is completely empty. Every storefront deserted.
Gemma> Yeah, it's a lie. Teeny horns, teeny ... horn.
Chet> Are we there yet?
mgrasso> The name of the strip mall is, indeed, "The Parkway Mall."
mgrasso> We are indeed, Chet.
James> what the furk is glr?
mgrasso> WLR, sorry.
* Chet waits for the car to come to a complete stop and gets out, grabbing my lunch on the way.
James> Wlr, my b
* Chet gives the place the once over.
mgrasso> Everyone piling out?
* Ingrid slides out, pulling her bag with the sandwich in it out after her.
James> yeah
* Gemma scoots out of the car
* Chet pulls another cigarette out of his shirt pocket and lights up.
mgrasso> Chet: the inside is dark and there appears to be a lot of open floor space inside. But it's too dark inside (no lights) to get a good look.
* Chet offers around. "Anyone?"
James> can I?
Ingrid> no thanks.
James> get a good look that is
mgrasso> James... sorry, but the outside is too bright to take your sunglasses off, even if you are peering inside.
James> alright
Ingrid> !dice 5 6
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 5d10 at difficulty 6. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 4 2 7 4 2
mgrasso> The front glass door is locked tight.
mgrasso> (Btw, there's nothing chimerical in the area)
* Chet approaches the main door.
mgrasso> Chet goes up, gives it a tug or two, with no effect.
* Chet examines the door more closely.
* Ingrid decides to investigate the property a little.
mgrasso> Ingrid: looking at the other units?
Chet> !dice 5 7
* DiceWell Chet rolls 5d10 at difficulty 7. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 5 7 1 8 9
mgrasso> Or Unit 3?
James> James goes up to inspect "locked how?"
Jack> Got any tricks up your sleeve, Chet, or do we have to break int?
Jack> int=in
Ingrid> How many others?
mgrasso> Ingrid: 6.
Ingrid> I'll startat one end and walk to the other, I think.
mgrasso> Ingrid walks off by herself.
Jack> Let me rephrase that: Can we break in without actually BREAKING anything?
Chet> It's locked up tight, but no alarm that I can see. Any experience busting into houses, besides mine, I measn, Jack?
Ingrid> !dice 6 7
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 6d10 at difficulty 7. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 5 6 7 2 6 7
James> brb
Jack> Well, there's the tried and true "kick the door down" approach.
Gemma> A police favorite.
Chet> Let's wait for a minute.
Chet> Where did Ingrid get to?
Ingrid> But if it's an entry to the Dreaming we wouldn't want to leave it busted open!
Jack> I'd like to avoid that if we can, yeah.
mgrasso> Ingrid: you're not here!
* Ingrid yells from a couple units down.
mgrasso> Hah
Ingrid> oops.
mgrasso> (That's good hearing, babe)
Jack> (heh, nice one Ing.)
Chet> WHAT?
Chet> WHAT DID YOU SAY?
Ingrid> I said "THANKS FOR THE SANDWICH, CHET!"
Jack> (lol)
Chet> Ok. Let's take a good look around, front and back before we just kick down the door.
Chet> (ha)
Jack> Sounds good.
Chet> Jack, you go find Ingrid. I'll walk around back,
Ingrid> I didn't see anything in the front of a building except what looks like tracks from a car to the pay phone overr there.
Chet> James, Gemma, where you go and what you do is up to you.
* Gemma tags along with Chet
Chet> You're back! You guys always sneaking up on me.
Gemma> Constantly.
Ingrid> Let's all go around back.
mgrasso> Together?
Chet> OK, let's head around back and see what we can see.
Jack> Right.
mgrasso> As a group, you head around the back of the strip mall complex.
mgrasso> There's an old dumpster here, as well as back doors to all the units.
* Gemma glances suspiciously at the dumpster
Jack> !dice 5 6
* DiceWell Jack rolls 5d10 at difficulty 6. S/He gets 3 successes.
* DiceWell 8 4 10 3 10
Ingrid> !dice 6 6
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 6d10 at difficulty 6. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 5 5 9 9 9 1
James> James Puzzles over "WLR"
* Chet walks around and starts checking ou the door.
mgrasso> James: I'll let you roll an Enigmas roll when the time is right.
Ingrid> Chet, look.
* Chet looks
* Jack checks out the door to Unit 3
* Ingrid points to a few cigarette butts on the ground by the door.
Chet> Damn....there were smokers here.
Gemma> !dice 5 9
* DiceWell Gemma rolls 5d10 at difficulty 9. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 10 2 3 4 8
* Chet drops my butt on the ground with the rest and puts it out.
Gemma> Damn littering smokers.
* Jack tries the Unit 3 door.
mgrasso> Locked tight, Jack.
James> you know, it takes five years for a filter on one of those tings to decompose
Chet> !dice 4 8
* DiceWell Chet rolls 4d10 at difficulty 8. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 10 1 9 8
Ingrid> I heard seven. No wait, that's digesting gum.
* Chet picks up a couple of the cigartette butts and sniffs them.
Gemma> I love tobacco. The tart, bitter smell. The charming yellow tinge it gives to teeth...
Chet> These are a couple of weeks old. No one's been here recently. No one smoking at least.
Gemma> Thanks, TJ Hooker.
Chet> Chet walks over to the dumpster and hefts the lid.
mgrasso> Well, he knows smokers. :)
mgrasso> Chet: absolutely empty.
James> Chet, you have no Idea where the furk those have been, you're gonna get meningitis or something
mgrasso> (heh)
Chet> Wait until you see me defuse a bomb with just a rubber band, a toothpick, and some jalapeno jelly.
Ingrid> Denny MacGuyver!
Chet> It's not like I licked them or anything, James.
Gemma> That just sounds like one of my tia's hoeur d'ourves
James> alright Macguyver
mgrasso> Does anyone have security?
mgrasso> Security.
Jack> (I do)
Chet> Ok, so where are we? All the doors are locked and no way in?
mgrasso> Jack, you could try to pick the lock with that Skill.
Ingrid> Pretty much.
Jack> (No way!)
Jack> :)
mgrasso> (I didn't think so :) )
Jack> (can I try it)
Chet> Jack, I know that, at least the front door's not wired. Let's try that one.
mgrasso> Jack: back door or front?
Jack> Front, I think Chet's right.
mgrasso> (Oh, I thought you were saying "no Way" to picking the lock. You know, the law and all that. :) )
mgrasso> All right, all, let's go around front.
Ingrid> (Is therr4e much chance anyone will come along and see us trying to break in?
Jack> (No, more of a Wayne's World thing. "No way!" "Way!" etc.)
mgrasso> Ingrid: the occasional car has sped by on I-10 while you've been here.
Chet> Need any tools Jack? I think I have a lockpick kit in here somewhere.
Gemma> Chet, you're such a boyscout.
Jack> Well, that couldn't hurt, Chet. :)
Chet> Just kidding.
Chet> I do have a swiss army knife, though. If that helps...
Ingrid> I have a nail file.
Gemma> A cruel boy scout.
mgrasso> All right, Jack. Here we go. Dex + Security, diff. 7.
Ingrid> In fact, I have several.
Chet> The kind with the toothpick
Gemma> I have ... some rollos. anyone want one?
mgrasso> Remember WP.
Jack> !dice 4 7
* DiceWell Jack rolls 4d10 at difficulty 7. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 3 4 4 9
* Chet proffers a hand for a Rollo.
James> rollos!
mgrasso> Jack works on the lock for about a minute.
* Gemma seems to be on a sugar binge today as she takes out a roll and eats some
Gemma> Want one, James?
mgrasso> Any WP, Jack?
Jack> Yeah, let's spend a point.
* Gemma holds one up to James' lips
James> what was the old rollo slogan... unwrap a smile maybe?
Chet> You can roll a Rollo to your friend...
Gemma> Something like that...
mgrasso> All right. Jack states tersely that he feels like he's getting somewhere.
mgrasso> Jack, same roll.
Jack> !dice 4 7
* DiceWell Jack rolls 4d10 at difficulty 7. S/He botches the roll.
* DiceWell 1 1 10 6
James> James smiles and takes the rollo from her fingertips with his lips
Jack> Dammit.
mgrasso> You need WP that time.
Jack> Yeah.
mgrasso> OK. Next try will be at diff. 8.
James> I remeber the old comercial whre the little kid gave "the thinker" his rollos
Jack> Go for it?
mgrasso> Sure!
Jack> !dice 4 8
* DiceWell Jack rolls 4d10 at difficulty 8. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 5 9 1 4
Jack> Arrgh!
Gemma> Amazing. I remember almost no commercials.
Chet> Hell, just kick the thing down.
mgrasso> WP one more time? Jack's going to be mentally exhausted after this. :)
Jack> All right, third time's the charm.
Jack> !dice 4 8
mgrasso> Dicey?
* DiceWell Jack rolls 4d10 at difficulty 8. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 4 5 8 9
mgrasso> Woo!
* Gemma daintily licks a bit of chocolate off of her fingertip
mgrasso> Jack hears a "click" and the front door swings open.
Jack> But now I have no willpower left and Gemma will molest me...
Ingrid> Yay!
mgrasso> No apparently alarm is set.
* Ingrid claps.
James> hey, gemma, that's my job
mgrasso> (HAH!)
* Chet wipes the chocolate off his mouth with his sleeve.
Gemma> Oh, sorry...
Chet> All right, let's get inside before someone sees us out here.
* Gemma smushes a rollo just to get chocolate and caramel on her fingers
Gemma> go ahead. Clean away.
* Gemma wiggles her fingers at James
mgrasso> You all scuttle inside.
Chet> James, do you want to pull the car around back?
James> James enjoys his "job"
* Gemma practically purrs
James> naw... it's not going any where... look at the front, it doesn't even look like it will run
Chet> I just thought that it might be less conspicuous to any one driving by this deserted warehouse.
James> (James points out to chet that the entire front end of his lincoln is smashed in)
Scene Four: Inside Unit 3
mgrasso> You all are inside the building. As I said, this Unit is basically huge floor space. There are mirrors placed on the walls and a couple of doors at the back of the huge room, about 60 feet distant. It's fairly big.
Chet> You know, if there's *not* a car parked out front.
James> James hands chet the keys- do what you gotta
Chet> Thanks.
* Chet takes the keys and heads out the front door.
mgrasso> So Chet's going around to move the car... what's everyone else doing?
Chet> Anyone wanna come with?
Gemma> Nah, I'll stay here.
Chet> Suit yerselves.
mgrasso> The mirrors on the walls are full length. The floor surface is flat, well-trod grey carpeting.
Ingrid> I'll look around the room.
* Chet heads out the front and pulls James' car around back.
mgrasso> The room is 60 long and 40 wide.
James> lets try, wall, left, rear
Jack> (Hah! Trod.)
mgrasso> (*smirk*)
* Jack has a bit of a look around.
mgrasso> Jack, Ingrid, Int + Invest. diff. 8
mgrasso> James starts knocking on the walls. :)
Ingrid> !dice 5 8
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 5d10 at difficulty 8. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 3 4 4 2 2
Jack> !dice 4 8
* DiceWell Jack rolls 4d10 at difficulty 8. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 2 3 7 8
mgrasso> Ingrid and Jack give the room a once-over.
* Gemma just stands there, cleaning her hands with a squirt from a little bottle of evaporative hand "soap"
mgrasso> Gemma stands around with sticky fingers.
mgrasso> Oops. :)
Gemma> (Sugar Girls come prepared!)
mgrasso> (*grin*)
Ingrid> Could I let Chet in the back door?
* Gemma laughs
mgrasso> Well, you've gotta find it first.
Gemma> Yeah, INgrid. Let him in any way you want.
Ingrid> oh.:)
* Ingrid looks for the back door.
* mgrasso , the gamemaster, glares at Gemma.
* Gemma smiles innocently at the gameMASTER)
Ingrid> (*snortle*)
mgrasso> Ingrid, there are two doorways at the back of the room. Left or right?
Gemma> (You can only toss around "back door" so long before I break, Mike. I'm sorry. Blame ratmm.)
Ingrid> eenie meenie miney moe.
* Ingrid tries the left.
mgrasso> Jack: give me a Int + Athletics, diff. 7
mgrasso> Ingrid hears knocking coming from the left.
Jack> !dice 4 7
* DiceWell Jack rolls 4d10 at difficulty 7. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 2 4 2 8
* Chet walks up to the back of the building and knocks on the door.
mgrasso> (Sorry, Jack, I got nothing for you)
Jack> (ah well)
* Chet shouts "Let me in, you guys!"
* Gemma goes to the door and fiddles with it
Gemma> (Does it unlock from the inside, or is a key needed?)
mgrasso> Gemma: which door?
Ingrid> ahem.
Ingrid> I said I tried the left.
Gemma> The ... back.
mgrasso> WAIT.
mgrasso> WAIT, everyone.
Ingrid> sorry!
mgrasso> There were two doorways in the back of the room, left and right. They are not doors to the outside.
mgrasso> They are open archways leading into thick darkness. Sorry.
* Ingrid has disappeared down a hallway, where she suddenly yells "Hey!"
Gemma> (I thought all the units had backdoors?)
Ingrid> From the one on the left.
mgrasso> (They do, but we don't know where they are. They've gotta be behind this archways somewhere).
* Jack heads towards the sound of Ingrid's voice.
* Chet walks around to the front and comes in.
Ingrid> (in which there is some urgency)
mgrasso> Jack heads into the archway and into the darkness.
Gemma> (oh)
Chet> Where's he going?
* Ingrid isstanding in front of the door to the locker room.
Gemma> To Ingrid's Siren call. Care to follow?
mgrasso> Chet appears, with James and Gemma standing in front of the two doorways.
Ingrid> What the hell is THAT?
* Gemma wanders over to Ingrid
Gemma> What?
James> maybe we should join them..
Scene Five: Men's Locker Room
* Ingrid points into the room.
* Jack joins Ingrid.
* Chet turns around and locks the front door.
* Gemma peeks into the room
mgrasso> Gemma enters the locker room. James, you can see well in the dark and spot a light switch.
mgrasso> It's all dark in here.
James> James walks over to the switch and flicks it
Ingrid> Something flashed... it looked metallic. Like it was moving.
Jack> Chimerical?
Gemma> Jesus, Maria, y Jose. Moving metal. I'm not sure I want to inspect that closely.
* Chet walks over to the doorway to the locker room.
mgrasso> All right. About half the lights turn on above your heads in this locker room. Apparently, this unit used to be a health club, because there is a complete locker room with showers to the left and the emergency exit in the back.
James> probably just cyborgs... i wouldn't worry too much
Ingrid> I don't know, Jack.
* Chet enters the locker room.
* Jack draws his real-world gun.
Chet> What's going on?
Ingrid> !dice 4 4
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 4d10 at difficulty 4. S/He botches the roll.
* DiceWell 2 6 1 1
Ingrid> gah!!
* Chet surveys the room.
mgrasso> Needless to say, everything is covered with a patina of dust and there's a really bad smell of athlete's foot in here.
mgrasso> Ingrid has no idea whether it is chimerical or real metal. It was too dark.
mgrasso> it *was*, rather.
mgrasso> Chet sees there are four rows of wire mesh lockers.
* Ingrid scans the area where she saw the flash.
* Chet looks to see if any have anything in them.
mgrasso> Along with more solid lockers along the four walls. Showers to the left, EXIT to the back.
mgrasso> Chet: there are the occasional lonely sock or jock. Apart from that, nothing.
mgrasso> Ingrid: Per + scan, diff. 6
* Gemma glances around
Chet> (Any of those jocks chimerical :) )
Ingrid> !dice 5 6
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 5d10 at difficulty 6. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 8 2 1 10 1
James> no sauna? what a jip
* Jack scans.
mgrasso> Gemma glances behind her just in time to be hit in the face by something heavy and metallic.
mgrasso> Jack: too late :)
Ingrid> (dicey likes those 1s tonight.)
mgrasso> everyone hold one moment, please. I need to work out damage and such.
mgrasso> Gemma, Stamina roll, diff. 6
Gemma> !dice 2 6
* DiceWell Gemma rolls 2d10 at difficulty 6. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 6 1
mgrasso> Gemma takes five levels of chimerical damage. Here's what you see standing over her.
Gemma> (Is that enough to knock her out? Or is she fine ... er sort of?)
mgrasso> It is a huge creature, about as tall as the real mortal Jack. It is partly flesh, and partly metal. Its eyes are weird: they seem to be red and green LEDs.
mgrasso> (gimme a minute, Mellie)
mgrasso> Its right arm, the one that hit Gemma, is a huge 30 pound barbell.
mgrasso> Its left arm looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger's arm during his heavy steroid years.
Jack> It's a furking Health Club chimera...
mgrasso> The creature's torso is made of clanking heavy weights cranking back and forth. Its legs are also pumped up beyong all recognition, pulsing veins throbbing in the half-light of the lockerroom.
mgrasso> Gemma, you are Mauled. -2 to all dice pools. (2 less dice on every roll)
mgrasso> Wits + Alertness, diff. 4, all.
Ingrid> !dice 5 4
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 5d10 at difficulty 4. S/He gets 4 successes.
* DiceWell 7 2 6 10 7
Jack> !dice 4 4
* DiceWell Jack rolls 4d10 at difficulty 4. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 1 9 4 7
Gemma> !dice 3 4
* DiceWell Gemma rolls 3d10 at difficulty 4. S/He fails the roll!
James> !dice 5 4
* DiceWell 9 3 1
* DiceWell James rolls 5d10 at difficulty 4. S/He gets 4 successes.
* DiceWell 7 3 10 8 7
Chet> !dice 2 4
* DiceWell Chet rolls 2d10 at difficulty 4. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 7 7
mgrasso> Gemma? What are you doing.
mgrasso> The whole left side of Gemma's fae face is one big blue bruise.
Gemma> Whimpering and backing away...
mgrasso> Yes?
mgrasso> Dodging then.
Gemma> Oh, yes.
mgrasso> Jack and Chet. Declare?
Jack> Drawing my chimerical greatsword and attacking this thing before it starts calling us "girly men" in an Austrian accent.
mgrasso> (heh)
Chet> Dodge try to get closer to Gemma, but out of range.
mgrasso> It drones in a dead, near-robotic voice, "You are all inferior. How do you live in such horrible bodies? You must be... improved. All must be... improved."
mgrasso> Ingrid and James?
mgrasso> Declare.
Ingrid> I'd like to Dictum this abomination.
mgrasso> All right. James?
Chet> !dice 7 8
* DiceWell Chet rolls 7d10 at difficulty 8. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 5 10 1 7 10 1 7
James> I'm going to bust in and "toughen" Jack- My bunk will be whisteling the "bonanza" theme as I do it.
mgrasso> Hee!
Jack> (lol)
mgrasso> OK, one second, cantrip people.
mgrasso> What's Jack's Banality, Sam?
Jack> Up one from the raid on Chet's place.
mgrasso> PErmanent.
Jack> Oh, three. Sorry.
mgrasso> James: Intelligence + Fae, diff. 7
James> !dice 6 7
* DiceWell James rolls 6d10 at difficulty 7. S/He botches the roll.
* DiceWell 1 2 10 1 4 3
James> grrrr
James> (can I gain a pt of rage?)
mgrasso> Ingrid: gmme a sec
Ingrid> (heh! Me too! :D)
mgrasso> Ingrid: you're going to have to spend Glamour to get this Difficulty down. And I need a Bunk.
mgrasso> Wait, sorry, Ingrid. I was wrong. Hold on one moment.
Ingrid> oh, okay.
* Ingrid pulls a silvery comb out of her bag, shakes loose her ponytil, and begins combing through her hair.
mgrasso> Charisma + Fae, diff. 7 with a one-round bunk.
mgrasso> Go for it.
Ingrid> !dice 6 7
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 6d10 at difficulty 7. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 8 1 5 7 2 5
mgrasso> Sorry about how slow this is going, guys)
Chet> (it's just fine)
mgrasso> The monster does not respond to Ingrid's commands.
Chet> !dice 5 7
* DiceWell Chet rolls 5d10 at difficulty 7. S/He gets 3 successes.
* DiceWell 5 7 7 4 10
Ingrid> wait! I did one less dice than I should have.
Ingrid> Damn.
mgrasso> Chet is examining the creature. It goes after Chet, running after him as trying to back off.
Ingrid> nevermind.
mgrasso> Chet: Dex + Dodge, diff. 6
Chet> !dice 4 6
* DiceWell Chet rolls 4d10 at difficulty 6. S/He gets 3 successes.
* DiceWell 10 4 7 9
Chet> (take that)
mgrasso> Chet dives out of the way of a barbell hand. It pummels the wall nearby.
mgrasso> Jack: go.
Jack> !dice 6 6
* DiceWell Jack rolls 6d10 at difficulty 6. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 6 5 1 1 6 4
mgrasso> God, we're doing well tonight.
Jack> Dear God.
mgrasso> Gemma hides in the corner. Next round! Wits + Alertness, diff. 4
Jack> !dice 4 4
* DiceWell Jack rolls 4d10 at difficulty 4. S/He gets 3 successes.
* DiceWell 9 3 8 7
mgrasso> Gemma, remember your -2 dice penalty.
Chet> !dice 2 4
* DiceWell Chet rolls 2d10 at difficulty 4. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 4 1
James> !DICE 5 4
* DiceWell James rolls 5d10 at difficulty 4. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 5 2 1 2 2
James> it'a ll dicey's fault
Gemma> !dice 3 4
* DiceWell Gemma rolls 3d10 at difficulty 4. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 2 5 8
Jack> Dag.
Ingrid> !dice 5 4
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 5d10 at difficulty 4. S/He gets 5 successes.
* DiceWell 9 4 7 8 4
Jack> Woohoo!
Ingrid> oh, NOW I get them.
mgrasso> Gemma, initiative.
mgrasso> James, Chet, declare.
mgrasso> (Sorry, Gemma, bad GM)
James> Thwack, with my crossbow
mgrasso> Chet
Chet> Am I near enough to Gemma to try and help her out the door while dodging (assuming she needs the help)
mgrasso> Yes, you are. The two of you, position-wise, are back up against the right wall. Jack, James, and Ingrid are behind the creature.
mgrasso> Chet, Gemma, Wits + Enigmas, diff. 9. No die penalty, Gemma.
Gemma> !dice 4 9
* DiceWell Gemma rolls 4d10 at difficulty 9. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 2 4 6 7
Chet> !dice 5 9
* DiceWell Chet rolls 5d10 at difficulty 9. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 4 7 10 3 3
mgrasso> OK.
mgrasso> Gemma?
mgrasso> Jack-o.
Gemma> I'm going to raise my hands in the air and pray
* Chet swaps his sunglasses for a pair from his shirt pocket, the flip up kind. He flips the sunshades down over his eyes.
mgrasso> Jack?
Jack> I'm going to hack the sucka.
mgrasso> All righty. :)
mgrasso> It's exclusively going after Gemma and Chet.
mgrasso> Ingrid?
Ingrid> Dictum again, 1 point glamour.
mgrasso> Cool.
mgrasso> Ingrid, you first. Charisma + Fae, this time diff. 6
Ingrid> !dice 7 6
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 7d10 at difficulty 6. S/He gets 6 successes.
* DiceWell 6 6 2 7 9 6 10
Ingrid> yes!!!
Chet> (damn)
Jack> hoo...
James> hot damn
mgrasso> What is your wish?
Ingrid> Cease all movement at once.
mgrasso> The thing stops, even its insides stop moving.
mgrasso> Its LED eyes are dead.
Scene Six: Aftermath
Chet> Is it dead?
James> James rushes over to Gemma
mgrasso> Per +Kenning, Chet, diff. 5
Chet> Here James, you hang on to her.
* Chet examines the beastie.
* Jack keeps the chimera covered with his sword, just in case.
* Gemma sighs heavily
Chet> !dice 7 5
* DiceWell Chet rolls 7d10 at difficulty 5. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 3 2 1 10 9 4 10
Gemma> I ... hate ... gyms.
mgrasso> Like I said, Gemma's left side of her face is one huge bruise.
James> he wraps his arms around her and kisses her forehead
mgrasso> Chet: it's not dead. Just not moving.
mgrasso> Fae face.
Ingrid> I'd like to interrogate it.
mgrasso> All right. Do you have Interrogation?
Ingrid> Yes.
Chet> Ingrid, how long til this thing starts coming after us again?
Ingrid> Um, GM?
mgrasso> Ingrid doesn't know.
* Gemma leans against James
mgrasso> How would you like to interrogate it, Ingrid.
James> my poor baby...
Chet> I would strongly suggest that we either secure it, tie it down or something, or dissassemble it *before* it comes after us again.
James> I wish I had an icepack
Ingrid> I'd like to know where the door to the Dreaming is, and then to know how we can have safe passage through the next time we come here.
Jack> I could help with the "disassemble" part, Chet...
Ingrid> Unless the group wishes to destroy it.
Chet> James, can you look at this thing and figure out *how* to disassemble it?
* Gemma nuzzles the unbruised side of her face against James' chest
Ingrid> I'm assuming it's a guard.
Gemma> Don't worry, I'll be okay.
Gemma> Ooh, yes. Kill, James. Destroy. Maim.
* Gemma glares at the creature
James> we should get some sort of cold compress against it, James says, ever practical
mgrasso> The creature's voice starts up again. "The door way to the Dreaming is in the women's locker room." The creature cocks its head at Ingrid. "Mistress, I pray, you could use a little more muscle mass and could afford to bring your body far percentage down about a percent or so."
Chet> Jack, why don't you just bust the thing up enough so that it can't hurt us if it snaps out of this.
mgrasso> (Remember, it's chimerical damage, James!)
Chet> Ingrid, asj if there are any more like it around here.
Ingrid> Just answer my questions, Thing. I need no advice.
James> (oh, that's right)
mgrasso> "Safe passage," says the Thing, "is not within my power to guarantee. Others have been here."
Ingrid> What is your purpose, and are there more like you here?
Chet> James, you want to take a look for nuts, bolts, etc. Anything that we can unscrew to take this thing apart?
James> sure
mgrasso> "My purpose?" It laughs hollowly. "To put specimens like THESE," pointing at Gemma and Chet, "into the proper shape."
Gemma> Hey! I'm *in* proper shape, you fucking -- ugh!
* Gemma grunts
James> Gemma is in great shape you furking asshole
mgrasso> "Look at you," it says to Gemma, "what a flithy fat specimen you are."
mgrasso> "And you, you once were a runner, I bet," to Chet. "Now look where snacking has gotten you."
* Chet looks at his beer belly and pats it proudly.
* Gemma puts her hands on her full hips and glares menacingly at the chimera
Ingrid> Shut uop and answer!
* Gemma approaches it, her eyes cold
Chet> Enough posturing, this thing whacked your face. Let's take it apart.
* Jack holds his battle-ax out to Gem hilt-first, with a look, like "You wanna do the honors?"
Ingrid> Are there more like you?
Gemma> Oh, we're taking it apart.
Gemma> Slowly.
Gemma> Bolt by pinche bolt.
James> James looks at Gemma apraisingly "furk you, thing, Gemma is hot... the word that comes to mind is volumptuous"
Ingrid> !dice 3 10
* DiceWell Ingrid rolls 3d10 at difficulty 10. S/He fails the roll!
* DiceWell 1 10 8
James> problem- killing it is bainal
* Gemma reaches over and snaps off a little led light from the creature's face
Chet> Well, it can start up again as suddenly as it stopped, so et's get cracking. We can leave the head in one piece if you want to ask it questions later.
mgrasso> It winces in pain, but doesn't scream.
Ingrid> I would suggest not getting too close, everyone. This may not hold for long.
Ingrid> In fact, I would suggest slowly moving toward the men's room.
Chet> I'm not suggesting killing it. Take it apart and leave the head alive.
* Chet heads towards the door.
James> eh, some work that way, some don't
James> it might be an intergrated system.
Gemma> !dice 6 8
* DiceWell Gemma rolls 6d10 at difficulty 8. S/He gets 2 successes.
* DiceWell 3 8 9 5 3 3
James> I'll disconnect the arms and the legs though
* Gemma whips out her dagger
Chet> PLease do, in the meantime, I'll be over here.
Gemma> Leave some part of it alive and feeling... however small and worthless
* Chet backs all the way to the door.
James> (can I try to take off it's arms and legs?"
mgrasso> James: Gemma is intent on it right now.
mgrasso> James: Wits + Emp, diff. 7
Ingrid> Are. There. More. Like. You.
Chet> Whatever you're going to do, can we do it. That thig almost crushed mt head with a damn barbell.
* Ingrid says through gritted teeth.
mgrasso> The creature squeaks, "No. I am the only one the Fit Ones created."
* Gemma slowly thrusts her dagger into the creature's eye
Ingrid> All right. Get into one of those lockers, then.
Ingrid> NOW.
mgrasso> Now, it screams.
Gemma> You stupid, filthy, WORTHLESS mierda!
mgrasso> It starts to walk away from Gemma, slowly, towards a locker.
* Gemma ruthlessly digs one eye out, then the other
mgrasso> (Just making sure Sam's till here).
Ingrid> Gemma, stand back please. I understand your anger, but you're putting yourself in harm's way.
Chet> Jack, can you pull up some of these lockers and barricade that thing in. I don't want it sneaking up on us later.
Jack> (yup)
mgrasso> (Cool. :) )
Gemma> Ay, que la...
Jack> Sure, Chet.
Ingrid> Lock it in, quick. In fact, James, can you make a good lock?
* Gemma gives the creature a swift kick in its knee and walks away, muttering under her breath
mgrasso> Okay, wait, first of all, a mortal locker won't hold it.
* Ingrid hands James her manicure kit.
mgrasso> It's chimerical.
James> !dice 9 7
* DiceWell James rolls 9d10 at difficulty 7. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 5 4 2 7 7 4 6 2 1
Ingrid> oh damn. What about a chimerical lock?
mgrasso> Nope. Won't help.
Chet> What about a chimerical ass-kicking. I still say we take the thing apart.
Gemma> I'm with Chet.
Gemma> Destroy it! Now!
James> Only it's arms and legs!
Chet> Jesus, people, just take off the arms and legs.
Ingrid> I can't order it to harm itself, so unless you guys have any ideas, start removing limbs quickly.
Chet> Jack, can you crush the arms and legs so they're useless?
Jack> Fair enough.
* Gemma looks expectantly at Jack
James> No!
Ingrid> excellent!
Ingrid> What, James?
* Jack hacks at a leg joint with his battleaxe.
James> James gritts his teeth
Gemma> Why the hell not, James?
James> ::JUST TAKE THEM OFF::
Chet> Take them off NOW, Jack!
mgrasso> Jack can easily take off the legs.
Ingrid> All right, take them off! Jack, be ready to smash if the Dictum fails.
James> It's a living thing- it's programmed to be the way it is
Ingrid> wears off, I mean.
Jack> Okay, whatever, the legs are coming off.
Ingrid> yes, good idea!
mgrasso> The flesh legs separate from the body cleanly with Jack's axe blows. A brown substance that looks like protein powder spews from the veins and onto the floor.
Chet> Get out of the range of the arms, quickly once they're off.
Chet> (HA!)
mgrasso> It screams in agony, as if it tried to lift 500 pounds in an ill-advised squat thrust.
Ingrid> (Pump [clap] YOU UP)
Gemma> (Aren't all squat thrusts ill-advised?)
Jack> (LoL)
James> (haha!)
mgrasso> (It's a dark humor)
mgrasso> James, I think it's time for a Intel + Kenning roll, diff. 6
mgrasso> Chimera specialty.
James> !dice 7 6
* DiceWell James rolls 7d10 at difficulty 6. S/He gets 1 success.
mgrasso> And after that, we'll end for the evening.
* DiceWell 6 1 4 10 1 4 6
mgrasso> WP, James?
James> !dice 1 6
* DiceWell James rolls 1d10 at difficulty 6. S/He gets 1 success.
* DiceWell 6
mgrasso> Oh never mind. :)
Chet> Holy crap, that was close.
Ingrid> These "Fit Ones" sound like assholes.
Gemma> Of the first stare, Ingrid.
James> they didn't do it on purpose
Ingrid> Self-righteous bastards.
mgrasso> Well, folks, we'll walk through the gateway in the Women's Locker Room (WLR) next time. :)
* Chet lights up another cigarette and blows the smoke towards the beastie.
Ingrid> GAH!
mgrasso> What an awesome game.
Chet> Put that in your lungs, oh Fit One.
mgrasso> Keep talking though.
Ingrid> WLR, you meanie :)
mgrasso> Please. About the chimera.
Ingrid> They didn't do it on purpose?
mgrasso> (I'm not interrupting RP, I never would)
Jack> Damn, that got fairly intesnse for a bit.
* Gemma gives Chet a crooked smile
James> not at all... he was born of misguided dreams of the cronically fit
Chet> You OK there, Gemma?
mgrasso> (well, intense just for a bit, but lots of good RP, Sam :) )
Gemma> I'm cranky. But fine.
James> he's an illness, not an evil
Ingrid> Wow. That's... sad.
Chet> Fitness is the illness, and a big-ass battle-ax is the cure.
Gemma> That barbell in my face felt kind of evil...
Chet> Can I get you some more sugar, Gem?
James> James looks around thunder struck... but I'm not too sure about everyone else in the room
Jack> (yeah, I was thinking more of the group dynamics than the fight, Mike... :))
James> he mutters to himself
mgrasso> (Hmm, indeed. Gotcha. :) )
Gemma> Chocolate, Chet, can cure anything.
* Gemma digs some out of her purse and passes it around
mgrasso> (You guys tell me when you want to end.)
mgrasso> (Because I'm in no rush)
Gemma> Let its soothing sugar calm our frayed nerves and feed our fat asses.
mgrasso> Hah!
* Chet fishes around in his bag and offers Gemma a Hershey's with Almonds.
Gemma> Ooh, almonds!
* Gemma takes it with obvious delight
* Chet gets out another one.
mgrasso> (And we bond in front of the creature, eating chocolate and driving it crazy :) )
James> James looks at Gemma like an illusion has been crushed (obviously not connected to the chocolate)
Gemma> Chet, you darling, darling man.
* Chet toasts Gemma with the chocolate bar "To fat asses"!
Gemma> To fat asses!
* Gemma takes a bite of her chocolate
Chet> Do you think Jean Claude Van Assmunch over there wants a bite?
Gemma> James, you slender stud, care for any?
James> absolutely...
James> he shrugs
* Gemma breaks off a piece of chocolate and flicks it towards the chimera
Chet> I'd offer you one, James, but I'm sure you'd just rather lick the remnants off her fingers.
James> you know, I eat more in a day mostlikely than the two of you have in a week, it's all motabolism
Chet> Hey, I forgot, my snadwiches!
James> can't I do both?
Gemma> If he wasn't working all the time, he could lick a lot more than that.
Ingrid> You know, this chimera didn't ask to be born, as horrible as it is.
Ingrid> Can we not torture it?
* Gemma gives James an odd look
Chet> Anyone want one? Peanut butter, banana, and chocolate chip!
* Ingrid looks kind of sad.
Jack> Hmm, you know you're right Ingrid.
James> James' head purks up
James> I'll take the next week off of work
Jack> Though I'm not too fond of it beating on our Gemma...
Gemma> Mm-hmm. Sure.
Chet> So what's the deal with this thing James? Any clue?
James> what do you mean chet?
Chet> I mean, you gave the thing a good once over, right? Is it a one of a kind?
Ingrid> It said it was, Chet.
Chet> Oops. My bad Ingrid. The adrenaline and all....
James> there could be others born of similar situations in similar gyms with acces to the dreaming, but as with all chimmera it is fundementally unique
Chet> Do you want a chocolate bar, too, Ingrid?
Ingrid> That's all right. Easy to miss in all the excitement.
mgrasso> (I love it when James gets all academic) :)
Ingrid> And thank you, Che. I believe I would.
* Ingrid smiles.
* Chet offers Ingrid a chocolate bar.
James> James takes a piece of chocolate and pops it into his other half of pbjf
James> "now if only i had some banana"
* Ingrid takes the chocolate and slowly unwraps it, taking a bite.
Jack> Guys, I'm gonna bail. I'm dead beat.
mgrasso> This orgy of feasting has obviously got the chimera infuriated. He pleads to Jack, "You, there. Fit One. Tell them the importance of daily exercise! Two or three hours, at the very least!"
Chet> See, I knew there was a reason I hated going to the gym.
mgrasso> (oops, Jack, sorry, one last thing :) )
Jack> (Oh, sorry.)
Ingrid> I know this has turned me off pumping iron forever.
mgrasso> (But then you're free :) )
Chet> Jack, oddly enough, I've got a protein bar in here do you want it?
* Gemma suddenly squeals -- Cupid has crawled out of her backpack and onto her shoulder, tickling her in the process
* Jack looks at the chimera, then back at the rest of the Oathcircle.
Chet> Hey, what's that?
James> Ah! cupid, hey cuttie. James holds out his hand
Jack> I'll try, Thing. But don't get your hopes up...
Gemma> This is Cupid. Cupid, this is Chet. He has chocolate.
mgrasso> (Heh. Thanks Sam/Jack)
Chet> Hi there Cupid.
mgrasso> Cupid is a fuzzy textured stuffed animal sheep that is Gemma's best friend.
Jack> And now I bid you all adieu. Good night.
mgrasso> Cupid nuzzles Chet's hand, rooting for chocolate.
Chet> Can she have some chocolate?
mgrasso> (It's a he)
Chet> Oops, I didn't grow up on a farm, you know.
Gemma> He can't really eat, Chet. But he likes the smell.
Chet> Wow. Can't eat, huh? That would suck.
James> James shruggs, and holds out his pbjfc for him to smell
Gemma> Cupid stares curiously at the pbjfc, then sniffs it.
mgrasso> Well, folks, I'm going to wrap up here.
Chet> Awesome game tonight Mike.
mgrasso> BEcause it's bedtime, and my reaction time and typing in that fight SUCKED.
Ingrid> It sure was.
Chet> I won't be able to look at the gym the same way any more when I'm there :)