The Last Oddetsey

[alex_holt]

George pootles off up the track ahead of Vengeance for a while as the Professor inspects his thoughtsteel pocketwatch - it seems a remarkable substance, although it sits as a handsome engraved watch when not applying any effort to it, a quick bit of focus reforms it into any medium sized object he can come up with - a high quality sword, a lightweight suit of armour, any number of fine tools, essentially any mechanism that doesn't require electricity applied to it, although thats not to say you couldn't create a mechanism and add a separate motor and power source for instance.

George returns a short while later and a series of apologetic bleeps seem to suggest that they truly are in the middle of the forest, and there are none of the amenities a classy gentleman such as Vengeance requires, and he feels very inadequate as a valet robot. Not even a trouser press!

However, there is an ancient crater the other side of this mountain, and in it there is a small mountain hovering a short enough distance off the ground that none would notice it was flying were they not for detailed scanners. It is however, most definitely flying.

[steven_mcg]

Oh, come, come, George! You're still new. You'll learn. Besides, you're still far better company than the riff-raff back in the Thunderdome.

A hovering mountain, eh? Sounds like the place to be. Take the lead, George, and keep your wits about you. I know I'll keep my cane about me. Lord knows what else this forest has in store for us.

This Thoughtsteel stuff really is the business, though. I only have to ponder for a split se-ooh! A perfect bust of Hercule Poirot! Oh, we are definitely taking this gunk back to reality, George. So many ideas, so little time.

[kodster]

(damn you Alex! XP

I literally have no idea what to do >.<)

[playzooki]

"Sorry, but i dont know what dogs eat. I have this furby if you want it."

[NWOWWE]

Gaunt was feeling highly annoyed. The water level had stopped rising, but he was forced to sit on his now floating bed to keep from having to wade through his little private indoor pool. Under other circumstance it might have even been amusing, but he was getting nowhere with trying to get anyone to respond to him. Oh there had been a couple attempts from someone attempting to crack into his brain but he had kept his mental shield up fairly well, and since he had a very strong feeling that it wasn't Dr. Seben he had sent them off with basically the same message both times:

You aren't Dr. Seben, so go take a flying f*** at a rolling doughnut.

Otherwise he sat there puzzling out his situation. Clearly they had no interest in doing anything else with him at the present so there seemed to be two basic options. Either he could try to break out himself (he glanced over at the near featureless door), or he had to hope Eudial would be able to help him break out. That didn't seem any more likely. After all he had no reason to think they wouldn't be doing the same thing to her that they had tried to do to him. And even if they hadn't, she'd be under the impression Gaunt had already left without any reason to think otherwise (if she even cared at all one way or the other his mind added).

With a sigh, he put his special jacket back on and went to take a closer look at the door. Maybe if nothing else he could find a way to open that tiny hatch and shout out into the hall and grab someones attention.

[alex_holt]

PROFESSOR VENGEANCE

After clearing the ridge, the huge floating castle comes into view - or what you presume must be it - while most of the hills here are fairly globular and undefined, this is a sheer pillar of stone rising upwards almost vertically. It is almost entirely covered with green, with the only clue to it's true identity being the peaks of a few spires piercing through the vines and creepers that have engulfed this place, however, you do note that the place seems remarkably intact. Unfortunately there is no conventional way up, as the place looks like it was meant to be accessed straight to the top.

PLAYZOOKI

"Ooh that is good!"

The dog grabs the Furby and shakes it around happily, occasionally throwing it into the air psionically so it can catch it in its mouth.

LELAND GAUNT

Has little luck opening the door that way, though through a force of effort managed to get the hatch open a few millimters.

[kodster]

Suddenly there is a powerful psychic emanation from Dr Seben, and her head screams. But actually that was just a normal headache wasn't it? There was something going on here but she couldn't will the knowledge forward (remember your ability scores :P).

(grr :P)

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?

Eudial fell onto her knees with a sudden tumble. She wasn't used to headaches before... she never got them! Wait... what was she doing again... ?

"Are you alright, you were just about to choose your free training?"

There was something very wrong, Leland had gone back to the city, but she couldn't place her finger on what wasn't right...

Eudial got up shakily, but another ache made her stumble into the wall. She held her head, eyes watering. What was going on?! No, this definitely wasn't a normal headache... it hurt too much! She knew of them but none were supposed to hurt this bad. This wasn't natural... and yet she had no idea how it was happening... her head was aching... and nobody else was... was... wait a second...

Who was the only one in the vicinity?

Eudial's eyes snapped open.

...that's right. Him.

And what kind of people could attack the head directly?

...IT'S HIS FAULT.

"YOU!!!" Without a second thought, Eudial lunged at the doctor, hands blazing with a sudden fury, her face transfigured almost to that of a demon. Niceties were long gone; she was striking to kill.

[alex_holt]

It appears that Eudial's own natural aptitude in psionics was enough to protect her from the hastily blasted psionic attack levelled against her. Seben was not prepared for the onslaught of the raging pyromancer, whose lunged towards the Doctor and incinerated a hole through his chest in a single punch. As Eudial pulled back her fist she realises that her entire body is sheathed in fire - apparently the Doctor was right about that fire-form ability, although it is doubtful that he'd be particularly pleased with the results in this case.

The body slumps to the floor leaving just a spray of soot against the wall behind him to indicate what had gone on here.

More importantly, the headaches and confusion were gone - Leland was trapped somewhere near.

[NFX]

Twitch looked around at the members of the Old Worlds Society for a moment, before his attention was suddenly caught on a gigantic tree standing near the center of the room. That must have been the Night Pine they were talking about before. He was quite surprised he hadn't spotted it earlier, being a massive outdoors thing now indoors. It then occured to him that he had heard a faint groan emanating from it a second or two ago, and it further occured to him that he now knew exactly where to find the spaceship they were after, what it looked like, and what to expect when he arrived there. A telepathic tree. Par for the course, the parrot felt.

At least he had some idea what to do now. Taking a look to either side of the street, he turned back to the room, gave a quick wave and goodbye to the others, before leaping and flying his way off.........only to return exactly eight seconds later. Perching on the window sill, he silently watched the others for a moment, as they silently watched him. The scarlet bird idly shifted sideways a little, grabbing the small bag on the ledge with his feet.

The bag he had forgotten to take with him.

Another couple of seconds passed between the group, still without a word, and the macaw again flew out into the open, climbing upwards into the sky, magic bag now safely in tow. He began scanning the horizon, trying to spot anything that would signify the presence of a large military compound, and trying to erase what had just happened from his memory.

"You're definitely going to get shot", Twitch muttered to himself.

[kodster]

A burning feeling flowed through Eudial as she watched the prone form of the hated doctor fall. It was savage... it was stimulating... but though similar, it wasn't the fire that had suddenly wreathed about her. It was adrenaline... she felt a wild joy in the death of this buffoon, delight in seeing his lifeless body shrivel, seeing the hole she had carved into him.

And then an epiphany came to her. What was it that she was struggling to remember? Yes... Gaunt was here, that was it. She looked down at the corpse of Seben. Thanks for that... fool.

Eudial stood up and disguised the demonic expression previously worn. The door she approached... no, she had to prepare. What if it wasn't Gaunt? It could be more psychics for all she knew... aha... I know.

Eudial stood to the side of the door. She wouldn't let them get her. Perhaps she was being paranoid, but after this encounter she wouldn't be so surprised. She leaned against the wall, and put a hand onto the door, pouring energy into it and intent on blowing it to smithereens, or at least into some others of the evil place who had come to attack her.

[steven_mcg]

After clearing the ridge, the huge floating castle comes into view - or what you presume must be it - while most of the hills here are fairly globular and undefined, this is a sheer pillar of stone rising upwards almost vertically. It is almost entirely covered with green, with the only clue to it's true identity being the peaks of a few spires piercing through the vines and creepers that have engulfed this place, however, you do note that the place seems remarkably intact. Unfortunately there is no conventional way up, as the place looks like it was meant to be accessed straight to the top.

Oh goody. Exercise. Even if I wanted to crawl up that cabbage-covered column, it'd take me till the end of the next universe before I reached the top!

George, stay ahead and clear me a flight-path. It's about time I started putting this new cane through its paces. Chopper mode and away we go!

[NWOWWE]

As Gaunt neared the door he could hear some muffled movement outside the room. Puzzled, he stopped where he was and waited. Next thing there seemed to be a bit of energy pulsing through the door.

Oh what the hell was THIS now?

Whatever it was, it didn't seem like anything good, so Gaunt sloshed his way back from the door, grabbed the mattress from his floating bed and ducked.

[alex_holt]

TWITCH

With the subsonic suggestions of the Night Pine ringing in his head, Twitch quickly locates the base where the spaceship is being held. Things appear exactly as they had been described, and as a plus note, they don't appear to be paying any attention to some non-sentient wild birds and winged creatures flying around. As King Industries is deemed a criminal organization, the chances are they don't want to draw too much attention to themselves.

LELAND and EUDIAL

Even as Leland jumps back, a hand print begins to glow red hot in the metal near the lock on the door. It soon turns to white hot, and small pieces of near liquid metal begin to fall away until a few moments later a flaming hand clasping the lock mechanism appears through the door, and the whole thing opens to reveal Eudial glowing orange with fire. The water floods out of Lelands rooms sending up plumes of steam around her feet even as she cools down.

VENGEANCE

With a whirring of helicopter blades from within his cane, Vengeance soon finds himself ascending the vertical faces of the rock the castle rests upon. It is utterly cloaked in plants, every nook and cranny is filled with creepers or small shrubs or tufts of grasses. At one point he catches the metallic gleam of what must have been the bay doors for aircraft to land in, but there is no way he could cut through without the use of the very cane he requires to stay aloft.

Eventually, he reaches the top of the rock and comes to the castle itself. He lands gently in the central courtyard, and from here can see the architecture of the building - it appears largely a hard stone with odd veins of some pale metal running through it, formed into something which resembles a fairly practical looking medieval fortress if they went back in and added some flying buttresses for effect. The courtyard itself is paved with the same fractal changing mosaic as the grand cathedral, except here, where weeds have established in the cracks the pattern has begun to flow around them as it alters the tide. There are several doors around the courtyard, although one of them is clearly the main entrance, while others seem to go to guest wings.

There is also a large cylindrical stone square in the middle of it, raised up to nearly height, with flowers growing round its base and 7 curious holes in the top - a central one that seems to have something lodged in it, and 6 at equal points around the outside which are shallower and apparently empty.

The whole place looks like no one has been here in a long time.

[NWOWWE]

As the water drained out of the room, Gaunt took in a deep breath and readied himself to lunge at whoever had broken through the door. The blazing light and subsequent sound of steam halted him in his tracks. It was Eudial. She was slowly returning to normal after blazing with fire. Gaunt stared warily at her. After a few moments he broke the silence.

"Hello," Gaunt said, trying to sound as composed and casual as he could. "Still hanging around this garish place as well I see. You might have noticed I've had some water issues with my room. I've been hoping to have a, shall we say, chat with the esteemed Dr. Seben about that. I'm not very pleased with him at the moment."

[steven_mcg]

With a whirring of helicopter blades from within his cane, Vengeance soon finds himself ascending the vertical faces of the rock the castle rests upon. It is utterly cloaked in plants, every nook and cranny is filled with creepers or small shrubs or tufts of grasses. At one point he catches the metallic gleam of what must have been the bay doors for aircraft to land in, but there is no way he could cut through without the use of the very cane he requires to stay aloft.

Eventually, he reaches the top of the rock and comes to the castle itself. He lands gently in the central courtyard, and from here can see the architecture of the building - it appears largely a hard stone with odd veins of some pale metal running through it, formed into something which resembles a fairly practical looking medieval fortress if they went back in and added some flying buttresses for effect. The courtyard itself is paved with the same fractal changing mosaic as the grand cathedral, except here, where weeds have established in the cracks the pattern has begun to flow around them as it alters the tide. There are several doors around the courtyard, although one of them is clearly the main entrance, while others seem to go to guest wings.

There is also a large cylindrical stone square in the middle of it, raised up to nearly height, with flowers growing round its base and 7 curious holes in the top - a central one that seems to have something lodged in it, and 6 at equal points around the outside which are shallower and apparently empty.

The whole place looks like no one has been here in a long time.

Ah, I can see he's being doing the castle up a bit Hm. I don't like it.

Let me guess. That great eyesore of concrete is where he wants me to...urgh, the very idea. So undignified - and more than a little gross. Well, there were always going to be caveats with me becoming housekeeper around here. So long as I have gloves, I suppose I'll be fine. Shudder.

George, pop inside and record me full schematics of the castle, top to bottom. Deathtraps included. I wouldn't put it past old Doomsy to leave me a few housewarming presents. Meet me back here when you're done. I want to take a closer look at what's in this overgrown garden ornament in the meantime.