While the oh so happy picnic went on... our cast spent some time underground

[adalia_krause]

(niknik) [Adalia is waiting by some trees, at the edge of the park]
(niknik) [It's the picnic day. Most of the people are happily eating, playing games. THere is a potato sack race, red checkered blankets, and attractive young couples taking walks]
* L - Michael is trying to avoid the happy, and looking for his friends.
(Aus) [Grant] (is enjoying watching attractive young couples. And looking for attractive young singles.)
* L - Michael today is wearing dark glasses, and a hoodie- looking a little bit like a punk, hah.
(niknik) [Eva] *is sitting off to the side, looking rather grumpy*
(niknik) (Adalia) *waves her friends on over when she sees them*
(Aus) [Grant] (eventually wanders thataway) Wonderful day for a picnic.
(niknik) (Adalia) Yes. The weather is perfect.
(L) [Michael] Hey guys.. *sits down with a slight grunt and wince*
(niknik) (Adalia) *catches that wince* Hello. How are you two today?
(Aus) [Grant] Not bad, not bad. Perfect day for my favorite sport.
(L) [Michael] Been better.
(niknik) (Adalia) What is that?
(Aus) [Grant] Peoplewatching.
(niknik) (Adalia) That sounds like an interesting hobby.
(niknik) [Eva] *eventually makes her way over*
* L - Michael curls up his knees to his chest, resting his head on them.
(Aus) [Grant] (nods) It's my hobby. I like to know things about people. How they behave and such. People have a lot of idiosyncracies.
(niknik) [Eva] Hi. *sits down in the grass*
(jasonbeast) [William]: Some more than others. *moseying toward the group*
(Aus) [Grant] So why aren't you all enjoying the festivities? I hear there's going to be potato balancing later.
(niknik) (Adalia) I took a few pictures with my family earlier. That's all that they needed with me.
(L) [Michael] Don't feel like it.
(Aus) [Grant] And have we decided on a new place for our meetings? One that isn't on a fault line, ideally?
(Aus) [Grant] (smiles)
(niknik) (Adalia) How do you feel about meeting at the community center? Father closed starbucks, So I will tell him it is either that, or I will take over the town hall. Unless someone has a better suggestion?
(jasonbeast) [William]: Well. There's my place ... but it's a bit out of the way.
(niknik) (Adalia) Southeast end of town?
(L) [Michael] Why'd he close Starbucks?
(Aus) [Grant] (grins wryly) Well, meeting at one of our houses is probably better if we have problems getting a community center or whatever.
(jasonbeast) [William]: *nods* It's not that big, but it's homey.
(L) [Michael] Not my house. Never my house.
(niknik) (Adalia) We are not on very good terms.
(niknik) [Eva] Can't meet at my house either.
(niknik) (Adalia) There is my familys house.. It's not a very welcoming place, however.
(Aus) [Grant] I rent a place a few blocks from the Starbucks -- it's no plaza Hilton either, though.
(L) [Michael] So... William's place.
(L) [Michael] Or, um..community center?
(jasonbeast) [William]: *looks to Adalia* Up to you, ma'am.
(Aus) [Grant] (nod) Well, how about we try for the community center, and if that falls through because someone's quilting in there...
(niknik) (Adalia) The community center, and when my father finds a way to close that, we have other options.
* L - Michael fidets a bit, reaching under the right lens of his glasses.
(jasonbeast) [William]: *nods* Okey dokey, then.
* L - Michael rubs his eye a bit with his finger.
(Aus) [Grant] (amused) Is he just in a bad mood with you this week?
(niknik) [Eva] You ok Michael?
(L) [Michael] Yeah.. I um... I think I'm getting pink eye *is a bad, bad liar*
(Aus) [Grant] . O O ( Seems like a theme in this town. )
(niknik) (Adalia) Pink eye?
(L) [Michael] Uh..yeah. Where your eye gets all..um... funky.
(Aus) [Grant] And you become a zombie.
* L - Michael tenses.
(L) [Michael] Look... I didn't do anything, okay!
(L) [Michael] It's just pink eye.
(niknik) (Adalia) I never said you did anything.
(Aus) [Grant] As long as it has nothing to do with worchestershire sauce...
(L) [Michael] Maybe I should..um.. go home so I don't infect you guys...
* L - Michael starts getting to his feet.
(niknik) (Adalia) No.
(Aus) [Grant] Relax, I don't think pinkeye's contagious without getting all contactly.
(Aus) [Grant] So as long as you don't kiss anyone, they'll be fine.
(niknik) (Adalia) To completly change the subject, have any of you read the towns history?
(jasonbeast) [William]: A bit.
* L - Michael sits back down, though clearly nervous.
(niknik) [Eva] This town was founded in blah blah blah, we love our neighbors, blah blah, perfect place to live?
* L - Michael shakes his head no.
(jasonbeast) [William]: *settling on the ground* That's the official story, ain't it?
(niknik) (Adalia) *smiles a little* Yes. It's the approved history. A group of settlers hits the jackpot, and finds the perfect place to start a town.
(Aus) [Grant] (grins wryly) I'm guessing it leaves out the years of painful toil?
(niknik) (Adalia) Actually, no. It's very, very close to the actual history. They left out the myth of the Jotun, of course.
(Aus) [Grant] The Jotun? Are they Indians?
(niknik) (Adalia) No. Jotun are ancient man eating giants, but they could never fit under the town.
(niknik) (Adalia) The natives stayed away from this area.
(Aus) [Grant] Ahhh... the natives avoided it, but the settlers settled just fine.
(jasonbeast) [William]: *smirk* Wonder what they knew that we don't.
* L - Michael shivers.
(niknik) (Adalia) I don't know enough old german to completly translate it.. but there is a myth, that there is a town underneath the town.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Well, now ... that's interesting. What do you know about it?
(niknik) (Adalia) Well.. Michael. There should be what looks like a part of a root in front of you. If you knock on the ground.. it might sound hollow?
* L - Michael reaches out... knocks on it cautiously
(niknik) [yep. hollow. hmm, wonder what's under there?]
* L - Michael starts muttering to himself, mostly incomprehensible.
(niknik) (Adalia) There is an entrance not very far from here. I'm sure there are others- I just don't know what it means yet.
(L) [Michael] Bad things...
(L) [Michael] I saw...
(niknik) [Eva] *who has been very quiet* Bad things?
(jasonbeast) [William]: *q* What'd you see?
* L - Michael slowly raises a hand to his glasses.
* L - Michael closes his eyes and takes the sunglasses off. Promise not to freak...
* L - Michael 's eyes, on the outside, look a little puffy and swollen, slightly bruised.
(Aus) [Grant] (looks intrigued... and here he was quietly suspecting domestic violence.)
(jasonbeast) [William]: *frowns* What the hell happened?
(L) [Michael] *opens his eyes- and in short, they look like every blood vessel in them has been broken*
(L) [Michael] ...went wrong.
(Aus) [Grant] ... (whistle) (revises his theory to include drugs.)
(L) [Michael] Saw too much.
(jasonbeast) [William]: ... damn.
(niknik) [Eva] *is quiet*
(Aus) [Grant] (neutral) Well, that's certainly interesting. And what exactly did you do to go looking?
(L) [Michael] *fidgets, putting his glasses back on* I um.. I can do.. some things...
(L) [Michael] Please, please don't freak out...
(L) [Michael] I looked into.. the weather, and um... the earthquake. This town.. it's not natural, you know. None of it..
(L) [Michael] Itsa spell, keeps everything perfect...
(jasonbeast) [William]: *nods slowly*
(niknik) (Adalia) *leans back against a tree, and listens*
(niknik) [Eva] What kind of spell?
(L) [Michael] Dunno exactly but it got disturbed. That's why the earthquake and weather.. but.. that's not the bad.. that's not the bad I saw...
(Aus) [Grant] . o O ( It's always the creative ones that turn to drugs first... )
(niknik) (Adalia) *q* Was my family involved?
(niknik) (Adalia) I know they are doing something wring.. I just don't know what.
* L - Michael nods slowly.
(L) [Michael] ..I'm sorry.
(L) [Michael] Your father and brother.. they were arguing with a big demon...
(Aus) [Grant] (eyes Adalia, with the 'any time you want to jump in...' look)
(niknik) (Adalia) *is quiet for a moment* They don't discuss what they do, but I've always suspected something. But a demon? I thought.. Maybe father dabbled in dark magic- or human traficking- never demons.. *frowns*
(Aus) [Grant] . o O (Any time now. )
(Aus) [Grant] . o O (Human trafficking... nice touch.)
(L) [Michael] *quietly* I'm not your white knight. I'm not this town's savior. I'm just a boy who wants to go back to New York.
(jasonbeast) [William]: What'd this demon look like?
(L) [Michael] *shakes his head* I didn't get a good look... when I tried to focus on it.. this is what happened. *taps the glasses*
(jasonbeast) [William]: Big, though ... maybe a Jotun. Lot of demons are physically massive, though.
(jasonbeast) [William]: But considering the real history, a Jotun would be a good guess.
(niknik) (Adalia) The books say they live under the town. The tunnels I have found are not large enough to hold demon that large.
(L) [Michael] We should see. The tunnels. We should look.
(niknik) (Adalia) I found four so far. That one, I've known about since I was a kid.
(niknik) (Adalia) There is one by the University, one by Eva's house, and one on the wet end of town.
(niknik) *west
(niknik) [Eva] By- by my house?
(Aus) [Grant] ... (aside, to Eva) Did we both miss the train here, or am I the only one still trying to figure out why my ticket's written in Shuggoth?
(niknik) [Eva] *q* I think we both missed the train.
(jasonbeast) [William]: I think we're gonna need to check these out. Well ... someone will. And I'm up for it. *has his hand over his oxygen cannister ... maybe it's less obvious that way*
(Aus) [Grant] (nods. feels better, heh) ... I'm guessing the university one is the steam tunnel. Yes?
(niknik) [Eva] I sure hope it's not the one by my house.
(niknik) (Adalia) I'll show you how to get into thi one.. follow me. *looks back at the picnic before heading into the trees*
* L - Michael gets up, sticking his hands into his pockets, and follows.
(jasonbeast) [William]: *follows as well*
(Aus) [Grant] (looks to Eva) Sounds like hallucinogenic fun. (follows, though much more wary/less relaxed. Hanging out with crazies does that.)
(niknik) [Eva] How far is this? *follows*
(niknik) (Adalia) *stops at a pile of logs, and goes around to the back of it, where there is a not so concealed trap door* I planned n showing you, before I knew what Michael saw. Usually, it's covered by the logs. *opens the trap door*
* L - Michael looks to see how old the door looks.
(niknik) [The door is really old, rusty, and iron. It does look like its been used alot recently There are even marks, where someone went at it with something sharp]
(L) [Michael] *doesn't seem like he wants to touch it, keeps his hands in his pocket* We going donw?
(jasonbeast) [William]: *tilts his head and examines the door* I'll be damned.
(niknik) (Adalia) I am. *does so. There are stone stairs, that lead to a stone hallway. It's not very well lit, unless someone has a flashlight, which Adalia does, since she planned on showing it to everyone]
(jasonbeast) [William]: *q, to Michael* We're all scared, son. We'll watch each other's backs.
(L) [Michael] *m* Don't want to touch it.
* L - Michael takes a deep breath, and nods to William, before heading on down.
(Aus) [Grant] (fishes for a penlight. He doesn't want to not be holding a light here..)
(niknik) [Eva] *doesn't have a light, but heads down there anyway*
(jasonbeast) [William]: *extracts a Zippo, and zippos it*
(Aus) [Grant] (Maglite Mini! It's good for you.)
(niknik) (Adalia) *to William* ... You do know that you shouldn't have fire around an oxygen tank?
(niknik) (Adalia) *has a nice, normal flashlight*
(jasonbeast) [William]: *smiles* I got it turned off.
(L) [Michael] Don't you need it to breathe?
(niknik) (Adalia) I need to close the door. Hold this. *hands her flashlight to the first person she bumps into, and goes back up the stairs to close the door.*
(jasonbeast) [William]: I like people to think so. Nobody suspects the cripple.
(niknik) [Door closes with a loud clang]
(niknik) (Adalia) Ok. *come back down the stairs* Ready to explore?
* L - Michael nods quietly.
(Aus) [Grant] . o O ( This is all very disturbingly charming. )
(jasonbeast) [William]: *nods* Let's do it.
(niknik) [The tunnel is pretty much.. a stone tunnel. It all appears to be smooth stone.. like it was carved out.]
(niknik) (Adalia) There's not much that I could see in here. *walks traight forward* It doesn't turn or anything until a little ways ahead.
(Aus) [Grant] So... you've been down here a lot, then?
(niknik) (Adalia) I would hide from my brother down here. There's a staircase at this end that leads to a building in town.
(niknik) (Adalia) I always managed to win playing hide and seek.
(niknik) (Adalia) *stops* These stairs lead to the building next to the drug store... there's another passage, but the door is locked. [You see no door there]
(Aus) [Grant] You sneaky little lady.
(jasonbeast) [William]: ... and how d'you get to that?
(niknik) (Adalia) It's some kind of trigger that moves part of the wall out of the way. It's the on the wall next to the fifth stair. *goes upp, and looks silly pushing on the wall, but some stone does move]
(niknik) [there is a wooden door, that is locked]
(Aus) [Grant] Hm...
(jasonbeast) [William]: Nice.
(niknik) [Eva] Ok...
(Aus) [Grant] (takes a closer look at the lock.)
(niknik) [The lock is big, rusty and old fashioned. It's probably not very hard to pick, or to break, if you hit it with something heave]
(L) [Michael] I could open it.
* L - Michael offers.
(Aus) [Grant] Doesn't look like it gets a lot of use. Hell, I could open it with a boot. It'd be a little obvious, though.
(Aus) [Grant] (grins wryly) And lockpicking is generally not considered very polite...
(niknik) (Adalia) I've never tried to open it... If you would like to, you can open it.
* L - Michael looks at it a moment, and tries to telekentically lift the latch inside (if it's the kind of old fashioned lock I'm thinking of where a skeleton key lifts the lock and turns it- sorry, hard to explain)
(niknik) [yep. thats the kind, and the lock opens.. very very easily]
(Aus) [Grant] ... okay, or ... it could open on its own.
(L) [Michael] I did that.
(Aus) [Grant] ...right.
(jasonbeast) [William]: *smiles*
(Aus) [Grant] Shutting up now. (settles back.)
* L - Michael frowns.
(L) [Michael] You don't believe me?
(Aus) [Grant] No, I believe you. I'm just not sure I want to know. Shall we?
(niknik) (Adalia) I haven't been to the other side of that door. *but goes ahead and opens it*
(niknik) [Huh. Another stone tunnel.]
(jasonbeast) [William]: First time for all of us, then.
(niknik) (Adalia) *shines her light all around, and reveals nothing. Its a featureless stone tunnel, just like the one behind you*
(Aus) [Grant] Bet it leads to Eva's.
(niknik) [Eva] This would be cool, except its not.
(niknik) (Adalia) I'm going to see where it leads.
(L) [Michael] Let's go...
(niknik) [Eva] *q* I hope it doesn't lead to my house. *but follows as Adalia starts walking*
(Aus) [Grant] (follows along)
(jasonbeast) [William]: *follows*
(niknik) [well, you find another staircase, excatly like the one that led you into the tunnel]
(Aus) [Grant] Seems terribly familiar.
(niknik) (Adalia) It does... We should see where it led us, right?
(Aus) [Grant] Of course.
(niknik) [Eva] ..I would know if there was a tunnel under my house. *slightly grumpy*
(jasonbeast) [William]: COurse.
(niknik) (Adalia) *pushes the door open, and steps up into the world*
(niknik) [It's not the woods, and unless Eva lives in a large office, it's not her house]
(L) [Michael] Where's this?
(Aus) [Grant] City Hall?
(niknik) (Adalia) ... *nods*
(Aus) [Grant] Right. Let's not hold our writing meetings here, if you don't mind.
(niknik) (Adalia) I don't mind. I'd rather get out of here.
(Aus) [Grant] Back the way we came, then?
(niknik) (Adalia) Yes, unless you'd rather walk out the door.
(jasonbeast) [William]: ... way we came is fine.
(niknik) (Adalia) Ok. I'll close the door after everyone gets out of here. *waits for people to go back into the tunnels*
* L - Michael hurries back in
(Aus) [Grant] (slips back in.)
(jasonbeast) [William]: *heads in*
(niknik) [Eva] *heads in*
(niknik) (Adalia) *heads back on in, and closes the door* Ok. That was strange.
(niknik) [The tunnel seems to be longer]
(jasonbeast) [William]: ... o_O
(Aus) [Grant] ... say, while we're on the subject.
(Aus) [Grant] Are we quite sure that what was up there was City Hall?
(niknik) (Adalia) Yes. I've been in that office before. It used to be my Fathers office.
(L) [Michael] Did we go somewhere weird?
(niknik) (Adalia) ..Did we miss the door? *turns around just to see the tunnel*
(Aus) [Grant] Well, that's odd. Because I distinctly recall there having been a different tunnel here. Mind if I go back and make sure we came from where we came from?
(Aus) [Grant] I seem to have left my chalk at home.
(niknik) (Adalia) I don't mind..
(niknik) (Adalia) There were't any turns...
(Aus) [Grant] (trots back to make sure that the door is what the door was when the door had been a door to City Hall a minute ago.)
(niknik) [it's just a tunnel. There is no door or staircase anymore]
(Aus) [Grant] (dryly) If that's the strangest thing you've noticed about today, then I'm afraid I must inform you that it's just as I thought.
(Aus) [Grant] City Hall isn't that way.
(niknik) (Adalia) What is that way?
(Aus) [Grant] Tunnel. So, seeing as how going the way we were about to be going isn't going to be going where we had been going, I must say that we might as well be going back the way we came that isn't where we came from.
(Aus) [Grant] Try saying THAT three times fast.
(niknik) (Adalia) Ok, you lead the way. Are we going forwards, or backwards?
(Aus) [Grant] (gesturing the way he had just checked) Let's go this way.
(Aus) [Grant] We already know that neither way is a path we're familiar with -- so either way, I suspect we'll find ourselves somewhere we're not familiar with. You haven't seen this happen before, miss Adalia?
(niknik) (Adalia) *follows* I have never had this happen before.
(niknik) [Eva] Uh... this looks the same
(Aus) [Grant] Okay. (walks along, eyeing the walls and floors) That it does.
(Aus) [Grant] If you've got something to mark the walls with, we'd be able to confirm it.
(niknik) [Eva] I think I have a lipstick in my pocket. *she does*
(niknik) [Eva] ..I don't like the color. *hands it over*
(jasonbeast) [William]: *nods*
(L) [Michael] I'm not really comfortable with this...
(jasonbeast) [William]: Well ... not much we can do until we find an exit.
(Aus) [Grant] (takes it, and calmly marks an anarchy symbol on the right wall)
(niknik) (Adalia) Ok... so that's going to help us get out of here, right?
(Aus) [Grant] Well, simply stated, if we see that symbol again, then we're going around in a terminal loop, and doomed for all eternity.
(Aus) [Grant] Or, more likely, that the exit is hidden.
(Aus) [Grant] (wryly) Honestly, I really don't have any better ideas right now - so I figure if we either see it again, or if we check our watches and have been wandering for an hour, we'd better switch to poking and prodding walls, floor, and ceiling and hoping that there's something we missed. Pressure plates or something.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Good plan.
(Aus) [Grant] And if this is some sort of 'things change from far away' stuff... (points at Michael) please direct inquiries to him, that might be more effective.
(L) [Michael] *seems to consider saying something.. hesitates and doesn't*
(niknik) [Well, of you are still in view of the symbol written on the wall, it's not there anymore.]
(jasonbeast) [William]: ... well, I'll be damned.
(niknik) [Eva] ...
(L) [Michael] *looks really freaked out, and reaches for something around his neck - clutching his necklace in hand - and starts muttering under his breath*
(Aus) [Grant] And at this point, I respectfully suggest that someone who knows a reason that would be occurring down here take the lead.
* L - Michael is casting a protection spell, or trying to- he's freaked.
(Aus) [Grant] Because I'm sure the exit is thus obvious to someone who would know. (keeps the lipstick, though.)
(niknik) [Well, you can cast the spell, and be protected. But the stone tunnel is still there, and still only seems to go two ways.]
* L - Michael then, and only then, puts his hands on the wall and tries to get a feel for what's going on there.
(niknik) (Adalia) *looks freaked out*
* L - Michael jumps back, and shakes his hands out.
(L) [Michael] It's...alive.
(L) [Michael] It's tricking us. Moving...
(niknik) [Eva] ..moving? Its a tunnel.
(Aus) [Grant] Charming. Would you mind terribly asking it why?
(L) [Michael] It didn't notice I was touching it... I.. don't want it to notice.
(Aus) [Grant] Well then.
(Aus) [Grant] (gives the wall a good stern kick.)
* L - Michael clutches the necklace around his neck again.
(niknik) [Nothing.]
(Aus) [Grant] For being alive, it certainly isn't very lively.
(L) [Michael] Isn't going to -eat- you.
(L) [Michael] Just trick you.
(Aus) [Grant] (shakes his head) Well, anyhow. I'll go first if you won't, I suppose -- but in all honesty, when someone tells me the walls are alive, I expect they have a better idea where we're going than I do.
(L) [Michael] So we have to be smarter than it.
* L - Michael looks upward to see if the ceiling holds any clue as to location, figuring that that, or the floor, would be separate from the walls.
(Aus) [Grant] Mhmm... and outsmarting intelligent walls is slightly outside of my league.
(jasonbeast) [William]: ... I might have missed that class.
(niknik) [ceiling - is stone, like everything else]
(Aus) [Grant] Anyone have a packet of M&Ms?
* L - Michael glances down at the floor.
(niknik) [floor - is stone]
(jasonbeast) [William]: ... Tic-Tacs? *produces a package*
(L) [Michael] Mark the floor or the ceiling... try that?
(Aus) [Grant] That'll do. (snags the tictacs... fishes one out, drops it on the floor)
(niknik) [Floor - seems to like tictacs. I bet is has minty fresh breath now]
(niknik) (Adalia) *sits on the floor in despair*
(Aus) [Grant] (amused) At this rate, I'm tempted to piss on it.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Huh.
(niknik) [Eva] *blink* Ok, I'm just gonna walk, because I know there is a way out of here.
(Aus) [Grant] (wryly) Alright, let's go back to walking, then.
(niknik) [Eva] *walks*
(Aus) [Grant] If nothing else, walls have to get bored eventually.
(L) [Michael] Gotta stick togehter... come on, Adalia... *offers her a hand up*
(niknik) (Adalia) *takes the hand up, and looks around her* We're never getting out of here, are we?
(L) [Michael] Yeah... we'll figure it out. Come on. It's okay...
(niknik) (Adalia) *follows*
(niknik) [Eva] Why won't this tunnel end? *angry and frustrated at yet more tunnel*
(Aus) [Grant] (shrugs, fishes in his pocket for his keys... starts idly trying to scrape an old key against the sides as he walks.)
(jasonbeast) [William]: *tries to determine if the tunnel is sloping or level*
(niknik) [The tunnel is level, and does not seem to be scratchable]
(niknik) [The texture of the stone is changing a bit however. It's a bit rougher]
(L) [Michael] Maybe we're going where we need to go.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Sometimes magic's supposed to work that way.
(niknik) [Eva] *is quiet, and keeps walking*
(niknik) [Wow, are those stairs?, sure looks like it..]
(Aus) [Grant] Well, there's somewhere. Who wants to go first?
(L) [Michael] I will... *nervous smile*
(niknik) [The door is heavy, but you are able to push it up.. and you are where you started, behind the pile of logs]
(Aus) [Grant] Well, then.
(Aus) [Grant] It's been fun, but I think I'd better be going home now.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Jeezis criminy. *shakes his head*
(niknik) [Eva] *shakes her head* I am not going there, ever again.
(niknik) [Look, company. It's the mayors son!, and he has an evil little smirk on his face]
(jasonbeast) [William]: ... *blink*
(Aus) [Grant] (tilts his head at the guy with the evil little smirk) You remind me of a young Tim Allen.
(niknik) [Hans] - *offers his hand for a handshake* I'm Hans Krause. I hope you have enjoyed the company of my sister.
(Aus) [Grant] Actually, our date is for tomorrow.
(niknik) [Hans] Date? Adaila, you didn't tell us you had a date.
(Aus) [Grant] (cheerfully) You're not one for spontaneity, are you?
(niknik) [Hans] - No. Well, it was fun chatting, please do stop by the house. Adalia, you are needed for the awards ceremony.
(Aus) [Grant] Will do. Tomorrow at 7?
(jasonbeast) [William]: *worried look*
* L - Michael stays very quiet.
(niknik) (Adalia) No. I'll go to the awards ceremony, but I am not going to invite my friends over.
(niknik) (Adalia) And if you try to grab my arm, I will punch you. Let's go, now. *goes off to hand out blue ribbons*
(Aus) [Grant] Fair enough, then - we'll meet at the usual place, then. Terribly sorry to have fretted you, Hans.
(niknik) [Hans] - *goes off with his sister*
(niknik) [hans] - *does not grab her arm*
(L) [Michael] Hate this town.
(niknik) [Eva] New Yotk sounds like a really nice place. I think we all should move there. now.
(jasonbeast) [William]: New York's not nearly this ... what's the word I'm lookin' for, here?
(Aus) [Grant] Fucked up beyond all recognition?
(niknik) [Eva] I've never been outside of this town before.. but today? Today makes me want to move as far away as possible.
(L) [Michael] New York's a great place.. *sigh*
(L) [Michael] I wish my dad wouldn't have moved us here.
(Aus) [Grant] (chuckles a bit) Well, if you really want to go, I can give you a lift. But rent out there isn't cheap.
(L) [Michael] My dad would kill me if I ran away from home.
(Aus) [Grant] Only if he cared enough to look for you. (dry laugh)
(niknik) [Eva] I don't think my family would notice, or care. I'm the middle child.
(Aus) [Grant] (starts wandering off in the vague direction of home)
(niknik) [Eva] *heads on out of the trees, and away from that darned trap door*
(niknik) [wow, nice picnic is still going on, and there is some kind of ceremoney, with awards. Everyone is so happy, and smiling.. so perfect, and yes, Adalia is handing out the awards]
(jasonbeast) [William]: *watches some of the ceremony, then slowly heads for home*
* L - Michael follows Grant, instead of heading towards his own home.
(Aus) [Grant] (doesn't seem to mind -- but does seem to want to be out of the park.)
(niknik) [Eva] *glances at her family, and heads out of the park*
* L - Michael walks quietly behind Grant for a while until they're out of the park.
(L) [Michael] Can I talk to you?
(Aus) [Grant] Mhmm...
(L) [Michael] I don't want to go home right now.
(L) [Michael] Can I go with you?
(Aus) [Grant] Sure... Walk and talk, if you don't mind.
(Aus) [Grant] Endless tunnels are a metaphor sometimes, you know.
(L) [Michael] Metaphor for what?
(jasonbeast) [William]: *lingering near his truck, messing with the oxygen cannister*
(Aus) [Grant] Life. Sometimes, life is a single, unchanging, indifferent path.
(Aus) [Grant] You follow it, and you don't always know where it leads, and you just assume that it'll get you where you need to go when it's ready to.
(niknik) [Eva] *has been dreading the walk home, and notes the guy with the truck* Tex? *approaching him* Can I have a ride home please?
(L) [Michael] I feel less lost since coming here. That's the odd part.
(jasonbeast) [William]: *nods* I think I can manage that. *smiles* Not stickin' around for the festivities?
(Aus) [Grant] (wryly) You open doors without touching them.
(Aus) [Grant] Apparently, that's not weird around here.
(niknik) [Eva] No. I don't like these things too much.
(L) [Michael] Yeah I... I'd stopped trying to tell people about... the stuff about me, 'cause it freaks them out. But you guys... you're okay with it. Well, mostly.
(niknik) [Eva] *is more freaked out about the tunnels than anything*
(jasonbeast) [William]: Can't say I blame you. Hop in, and I'll getcha where you'e going.
(niknik) [Eva] Thanks. *hops on in*
(Aus) [Grant] Honestly, I can't say I'm okay with it.
(L) [Michael] ..sorry.
(L) [Michael] I can..um.. go, if you want me to.
(Aus) [Grant] Nah, it's not you personally.
(Aus) [Grant] There's definitely something fishy going on around here... but I'm starting to get a sinking feeling that I have absolutely no idea what it is, and wouldn't know what to do about it if I did. Ever have that feeling?
(L) [Michael] I don't know why I can do this shit... I just can. That was before here, though. That's been... well, almost all my life. And yeah... I know that feeling.
(jasonbeast) [William]: So. I get the feelin' you're as freaked out about this town as I am.
(niknik) [Eva] Yeah. I was used to the weather, cause it's always been good.. but then the earthquake, and the the rain.. and now the tunnels.
(niknik) [Eva] ..never did like the mayor much.. but my family works with him alot.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Adalia seems like a good girl. I think she's trying to let us all in on something big ... but she has to be careful what she says, and how she says it.
(niknik) [Eva] She led us into that tunnel.
(Aus) [Grant] Well. Since we're in a conversational mood -- I used to be a private investigator. Still have my license, actually. Thought I'd take a nice vacation after I stepped on a toe that was attached to a really big foot in the local culture.
(Aus) [Grant] (chuckle) So you can imagine. Town full of sparkles. Everything looks perfect from far away. And everything looks too perfect up close. And it's like one hell of a puzzle.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Took a big risk in doing so. She's got big ol' brass ... uh, she's brave. *nods*
(L) [Michael] Where'd you come from?
(Aus) [Grant] (as mun forgets and is a spazz) New Orleans.
(Aus) [Grant] Just a tip - if you ever go there, stay out of the way of LaRue Reclamations. Not pleasant people.
(niknik) [Eva] She coulda just told us that there is some weird tunnel under the ground that likes to move around.
(L) [Michael] So you came from a big city, too...
(Aus) [Grant] Yeah. You'd think Mittilagart'd be a great place to lay low, wouldn't you?
(jasonbeast) [William]: She's getting bolder. Did you, uh ... those poems she read, the first night ... they make any sense to you?
(niknik) [Eva] Not at all.
(L) [Michael] Yeah.. but it's not.
(L) [Michael] Though.. it did bring us all together.
(Aus) [Grant] (wryly) I think I've managed to get more stares here than the time I forgot to shave before dressing in drag for Mardi Gras.
* L - Michael blinks.
(L) [Michael] You dressed in drag?
(niknik) [Eva] I thought she just made the group up so she could get people to be her friend.
(Aus) [Grant] Do you want the long story or the short story?
(niknik) [Eva] Nobody really likes her.
(L) [Michael] Got time for the long story? *grins a bit* It's bound to be better than thinking about what we just went through.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Why not?
(niknik) [Eva] She doesn't... fit. She does all the stuff that she's supposed to, and all the community events, but there's something dofferent about her. I think its because she is the mayors daughter.
(Aus) [Grant] Well, it was in connection with a series of unpleasant incidents... this fellow was luring in unsuspecting tourists with bead necklaces - then when they got close enough and were distracted by showing off their attributes, his accomplice would put a knife to their back.
(Aus) [Grant] And they'd be forced to stand there on display while being robbed.
(jasonbeast) [William]: *nods* Could be. Where I come from, you were related to the family in charge, why ... you was royalty. Everybody wanted to be close to you.
(Aus) [Grant] Apparently the cops weren't interested, and so I ended up with it.
(jasonbeast) [William]: But that still made you a little creepy. A little .... separate.
(L) [Michael] Did you make a good looking girl? Did they try to rob you?
(Aus) [Grant] Heh heh... after I remembered to shave, yeah.
(Aus) [Grant] (amused) And you wouldn't believe how many drunk college guys seemed to fall for it... but anyhow, sure enough, eventually, I spot the perp. He's easy to pick out - because he's using the exact same string of beads.
(niknik) [Eva] Yeah.. But I always figured she had a lot of friends, and that she had the perfect life.
(jasonbeast) [William]: What you see ain't always what is.
(Aus) [Grant] So I sashay on up to him - and I raise my skirt. The guy's looking over my shoulder - so by the time he looks at my goods on display,
(Aus) [Grant] he's looking straight at a pistol covered by a ruff of skirt. He turns white as a Klan meeting, and in my best commanding voice, I call out, "Special Agent Marsh. Tell your companion to drop the knife, and lie down on the ground with your hands behind your head, and no harm will come to either of you."
(niknik) [Eva] Why'd you ask about those poems she read? I didn't like them at all
(Aus) [Grant] 'Course his partner, being the dick he is, doesn't want to listen. He can't see the gun, he just knows something's rotten, and so he stabs me in the back.
(L) [Michael] ...holy crap! You got stabbed?
(Aus) [Grant] 'Course I was wearing something other than halter under that top -- hurt like all fuck, though. So I turn and I whip the guy upside the head. Figure it's only fair. I don't want to actually shoot them - PIs don't get that honor, most of the time, and they're just thieves, for Chrissakes.
(jasonbeast) [William]: They weren't poems. They were riddles.
(L) [Michael] Wow...
(niknik) [Eva] Riddles?
(Aus) [Grant] Of course, the first guy bolts.
(niknik) [Eva] Did you solve them?
(jasonbeast) [William]: The first one ... about the circle ... some kind of ritual. A sacrifice, maybe.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Not sure about the second one, yet.
(Aus) [Grant] His partner is clutching his nose, so I cuff him - that, I AM allowed to do. Guy stabbed me, right?
(Aus) [Grant] Anyhow, while I'm handling his partner, the guy is off and running. Now if it were a smart guy, ANY sort of smart guy, he'd do the smart thing. Lay low.
(Aus) [Grant] This guy runs straight up to a cop in uniform and tries to explain his predicament - some wacko broad pulled a gun on him.
(niknik) [Eva] *thinks for a minute* The one about the path?
(jasonbeast) [William]: Yeah. Maybe she's talkin' about how she has to live her life.
(L) [Michael] Whoa.. not a smart guy.
(Aus) [Grant] The cop, being a respectable policeman, finishes his cheese stick and accompanies the guy right back to where 'the crime occurred.'
(niknik) [Eva] She would have written a poem or riddle or whatever about the strange tunnel. ...You seem to know alot about this.
(L) [Michael] *giggles a bit*
(jasonbeast) [William]: The ritual thing ... that jumped right out at me. I study religion ... comparative anthropology with an emphasis in spiritual institutions. Magic, prayer, ritual. That sort of thing.
(niknik) [Eva] I wanted tosign up for your class.. you teach that class, right?
(jasonbeast) [William]: *nods* A few. I have 100 level ... uh ... first-year classes, mostly. Introduction to Anthro, Comparative Religion.
(niknik) [Eva] My family worries about how they look, because they're in the founders society
(niknik) [Eva] So I wasnt allowed to sign up for your class
(jasonbeast) [William]: *smirks* Pesky outside like me ... heh. I usually get the out-of-staters. And my classes are small.
(Aus) [Grant] Naturally, I'm still there handling Bubba. So the cop - and the guy - come on up to me, and I say, 'Glad to see you caught the other thief, officer.'
(Aus) [Grant] And then I looked at the other guy, and told him, "I wasn't kidding - thank you so much for placing yourself under arrest."
(L) [Michael] *giggles more* Oh man.
(Aus) [Grant] The guy freaks and bolts - the cop, figuring out that something's rotten, tags him, and eventually I manage to explain the whole mess.
(Aus) [Grant] But the fun part was, I had to show my PI license - and the cop replied 'Hey, you ain't a man', and I replied with 'I got a pair of balls that beg to differ.'
(Aus) [Grant] For a month after that I always got catcalls and whistles when I visited the station and was recognized... (grin)
(niknik) [Eva] I'm going to sign up for one next semester. If I move away, they can't tell me what classes to take
(jasonbeast) [William]: *smiles* That's true.
(L) [Michael] You have a fun job- it must be really cool being a PI
(Aus) [Grant] Well, there's a lot of 'so and so can't keep their pecker in their pants' sort of cases.
(niknik) [Eva] ... Do you think she knew how to get us out of there, and waited for some reason?
(L) [Michael] I guess they're less interesting, huh?
(jasonbeast) [William]: Wanted us to see the weirdness up close and personal, maybe?
(Aus) [Grant] Yeah.
(Aus) [Grant] And then there's things like checking whether people on disability are faking it.
(L) [Michael] Are they sometimes?
(Aus) [Grant] (nod) New Orleans seems to have a lot of fraud.
(niknik) [Eva] ... I never wanted to get out of a place more than I wanted to get out of that tunnel today. I'm going to ask her about that the next time I see her.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Sounds like a good idea to me.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Maybe now we can actually talk, instead of hinting around at each other.
(L) [Michael] Are you going to investigate what's going on here?
(niknik) [Eva] That sounds like a good idea. It's alot easier to just say stuff- instead of making up bad riddles
(Aus) [Grant] It's definitely interesting.
(Aus) [Grant] On the other hand, I'm not getting paid, and it's something I have absolutely no comprehension of...
(Aus) [Grant] And it involves underground giants.
(Aus) [Grant] (wryly) Heck, I'm suspecting this town doesn't even give concealed carry permits.
(L) [Michael] ... yeah. But... I can't leave. And... well, if you leave... that'd be one less person who knows what's really going on and isn't all.. evil or wrong about it.
(niknik) [ They dont give them.. and peole rarely request them]
(Aus) [Grant] Hold the guilt sauce, kiddo, I didn't say I was leaving.
(Aus) ([Grant] Precisely why I didn't intend on asking for one.)
(L) [Michael] Sorry..
(Aus) [Grant] I just said this is out of my league.
(Aus) [Grant] Sort of like asking a cop if he's ever used a Kalishnikov.
(Aus) [Grant] -- that being one of those Russian assault rifles. Or whatever. Hell, -I've- never seen one. Just heard about 'em in books.
(L) [Michael] I never heard of one.
(L) [Michael] And I can.. um.. well ,I know some stuff. Maybe we all know some stuff, it's just different stuff. If we all share, we'll have more knowledge, y'know?
(Aus) [Grant] Maybe. Right now, I think Eva's freaking. Adalia might be getting sacrificed to the Horned God for all we know. William... don't know about him. And, well, we're walk and talking.
(jasonbeast) [William]: Well. Thisy'here's your stop, Eva. I'll see you very soon ... You know, my office hours are two to four, Monday through Friday. You can stop in if you ever want to talk.
(L) [Michael] Well.. yeah. We can talk now. And when we all get together again, we can talk to them...
(Aus) [Grant] (nod) Heh. I suspect we'll be meeting at William's.
(niknik) [Eva] I might take you up on that. *smiles, and gets on out*
(niknik) [No, you're meeting in the tunnels!]
(niknik) [Eva] *goes on into her creepy big house*
(Aus) ([Grant] Well, at least the ladies are cute.)
(L) [Michael] That's good...
(Aus) [Grant] (chuckle) Definitely. My place doesn't have enough chairs.
(L) [Michael] My place has my dad.
(Aus) [Grant] (wry) And from what I understand that's worse.