Shae_Firewarder

Steel Butterfly threaded her way carefully through the various cars, robots and less identifiable...large stuff in the city's impound yard looking for Heroid. The clerk had said he was here, somewhere. She hoped she could get him operational though. She didn't have the equipment to move a 900 pound robot, so he was either walking out on his own power...or...well, she didn't know how she'd do it but she'd find a way to move him somehow. She bit her lip thoughtfully and peered around looking for a glimpse of red and silver...ah, maybe there. How did they get him that far in and why had they moved the crates in front of him? Urrg. She shifted a couple crates out of the way.

"Dang wooden crates! Ouch." she clenched her hand in pain from the splinter. She made her way carefully to the back of the shed.

"Heroid?... Roy?" The huge silver and red robot didn't move, and she grimaced. She pried the splinter out of her finger, and then pulled a small flashlight from the toolbox she had with her to get a better look at him. She held the tiny flashlight in her teeth and ran her hands over the outside of Heroid looking for any damage to the tiatanium. Nothing. Not even any new nicks in the paint since the last time she had seen him. Just smooth red and silver surface. "Hm..."She moved the flashlight back into one of her hands and tried calling him again, "Roy?"

((ok, this is looong. You have been warned! I didn't edit out everything that was ooc, just most. I corrected a few spelling errors, though I am sure I didn't catch them all. I didn't have NPCs so I was running two characters besides Shae and an imaginary crowd of party folk, so I decided to clean up a few things to make it clearer WHO was speaking in a few spots. ))

((a rescue party arrives through a portal. Vagabond Mage has assembled a team of heroes to rescue a group of Portal Corporation scientists that are overdue.))

((CAST: (roughly in order of appearance) Vesperi, Soviet Shadow, Sea Hawk, Cog Sprocket, Polaron, Vagabond Mage, Wildcat X, Comrade Smersh, Shae Firewarder, Baroness Vionha(boo! Hisss!), The Hand of the Emperor, various partygoers, a troop of Vionha's household guards, and a team of Portal Corporation scientists))

((<laughs> Vags forgive me. Some of your text turned into smilies and I just can't bring myself to pull them out. hehe))

Vesperi walks calmly and aloofly through the crowd
Shae Firewarder < Looking around, you see that you are in a formal garden.>
Shae Firewarder <The grass is bright green and dark green in squares...>
Shae Firewarder <and resembles a vast chessboard...>
Shae Firewarder <with elaborately dressed figures scattered across it like gamepieces.>
Shae Firewarder <one of the figures you recognise as Shae>
Soviet Shadow sticks very close to Comrade Field Commander Yegeny, silent and quite nervous.
Sea Hawk 's demeanor completely changes from rogue to knight.
Cog Sprocket peers around
Polaron: Oh, this is...Unique..
Vesperi seems to be looking around everywhere
Vagabond Mage: Exquisite...
Wildcat X looks extremely curious. blinks at the pieces. "That's one word for it...
Vesperi except at Shae
Comrade Smersh: Through the Looking Glass....
Shae Firewarder notices the newcomers and blinks
Vagabond Mage smiles and tries not to look at all out of place
Shae Firewarder comes over before the other djinni can react
Sea Hawk quirks an eyebrow and his voice is no longer the Irish brogue, but formal RP British, "We are in the land of the Djinn, my friends. This is bound to be a magical experience."
Shae Firewarder: Greetings, friends.
Vesperi finds a seat among the crowd and silently takes a seat among the other party goers
Polaron double-takes at Brian.
Shae Firewarder: I am pleased that I am at least not the last guest to arrive.
Sea Hawk: Greetings Shae
Comrade Smersh: Comrade Shae...
Vagabond Mage: Umm... hullo, Shae.
Polaron: Evening, Shae..
Comrade Smersh: ...guest. Da, of course.
Vagabond Mage: We're expected?
Comrade Smersh nods
Shae Firewarder: Perhaps the invitation was not standard, but...
Shae Firewarder: I am sure you were invited, none the less.
Shae Firewarder: Vionha certainly would not leave a party open to gate crashers?
Polaron: Oh, of course not.
Vagabond Mage: Umm... no! Certainly not.
Shae Firewarder looks around to see how the other djinni are reacting
Comrade Smersh: Clearly not. Where is the host, that we might thank them for their hospitality?
Vesperi: Indeed, the invitiation was delivered in a most fantastic manner by the most curious of elementals
Cog Sprocket: It likes attending parties!
Wildcat X just standing there, an eyebrow arched in a general "this... is... interesting" manner
Shae Firewarder: ((is going to try to catch up with the text a little now. )
Vagabond Mage: ((Heh. ))
Sea Hawk looks around, "Rather wonderful. I'm unsure of protocol around here so I hope you'll guide us, Lady Shae?"
Shae Firewarder seems relieved that her bluff about the invitation was accepted by most of the djini
Polaron keeps giving the now-limey-Brian odd looks every time he speaks.
Comrade Smersh wishes he'd shaved...
Sea Hawk subvocalizes
Vesperi: I believe proper protocol is not to disturb the festivities my friends, and I believe there was a game of chess unerway....
Vesperi nods to the board
Polaron doesn't appear to speak.
Shae Firewarder: let us move aside and not interrupt them <smiles to her friends and leads them away from the board a little>
Vagabond Mage: Most likely correct, Vesperi.
Comrade Smersh nods
Cog Sprocket fiddles with the edge of its cloak
Soviet Shadow takes up position
Shae Firewarder: I expect our hostess will have heard your arrival
Vesperi: Hm, perhaps we should not gather so Shae? You were involved in the game... a pawn, I think, if I interpret the board correctly.
Sea Hawk: So Shae, how is the party? *looks around casually, but is assessing for potential trouble*
Vesperi seems amused
Shae Firewarder: That game is over, but thank you for your concern. I was merely gathering refreshment
Sea Hawk: Shae should at least take the Queen's position.
Sea Hawk smiles
Shae Firewarder: and a place to sit.
Vesperi nods
Vesperi looks around some more letting his eyes drift over the members of the court
Shae Firewarder: Vionha will likely be a few moment...unentangling herself.
Sea Hawk: (Any other Djinn about?)
Polaron raises an eyebrow.
Wildcat X ...large, generally confused eyes seem to be trying to take in everything at once
Shae Firewarder: ((lots of djinn scattered about talking, dancing, discussing the recently ended chess match))
Comrade Smersh tries to look formal in armor that is slightly battered and used
Vagabond Mage: I have a few things I can use as a hostess gift, if that is customary, Shae.
Cog Sprocket peers curiously at a nearby djinn curiously
Sea Hawk quirks an eyebrow, "As do I actually."
Soviet Shadow tries to make make Comrade Field Commander look better by beink a smartly-dressed minion.
Shae Firewarder: Thoughtful of you, but I suspect the hostess will have other protocol on her mind
Sea Hawk: I shall be guided by your wisdom on Djinn protocol, m'lady.
Vesperi perks at the thought of a gift and thumbs what looks like a gold pocket watch
Vagabond Mage: How did you come to be here?
Sea Hawk: Um...what sort of protocol can we expect, pray tell?
Polaron seems to be trying to watch all of the Djinn at once. Unsuccessfully.
Shae Firewarder: I was attempting to get out of an exploding lab, actually...the door I found led...here.
Vesperi keeps his gaze focused on the crowd of djinn, trying to discern persons of importance
Shae Firewarder: I expect i was invited, nonetheless...as it is usually safer to be invited
Sea Hawk quietly stands next to Shae.
Vagabond Mage: Where are the scientists being held? Have you had a chance to learn that much?
Shae Firewarder blinks
Cog Sprocket: There are scientists?
Vagabond Mage nods to Cog
Shae Firewarder: ah...scientists...that would explain things
Vagabond Mage: I assumed they were the bait that brought Shae here.
Sea Hawk: Yes, I did hear there were scientists that were your..."bait"?
Shae Firewarder: I had no bait, but from Vionha's behavior, I would think perhaps she thought they were the reason I was here...
Cog Sprocket: What purpose would magical entities have for scientists?
Polaron: You keep mentioning a Vionha..Who is she?
Vesperi: One would presume she is the hostess
Vagabond Mage chuckles... starts to laugh, but stifles it quickly.
Polaron: *Aside* from that, Vesperi.
Sea Hawk looks at Vags, "Would you care to wager that the scientists were Djinn?"
Shae Firewarder: Y
Vagabond Mage: Oh, no. They are quite mortal, Brian. Their path is how I tracked our way here.
Vagabond Mage: They were intended to bait Shae... but she didn't even know they were here.
Wildcat X ...folds a sleeve a little more, attempting to hide a chemical stain
Sea Hawk quirks an eyebrow, "Hmmmm...so where are the scientists, then?"
Cog Sprocket: The scientists are here for mating rituals? Oh!
Vesperi: Hmm, I suppose Shae's ignorance has left her hostess in quite a stupor over her lack of behavior then
Shae Firewarder: Vionha has been watching me like a hawk for all of the ten days I have been here. waiting for me to do something I think, but what I could not discern
Polaron: Doubtful, Cog..
Sea Hawk: 10...days?
Wildcat X manages not to nearly choke at Cog's comment
Wildcat X ...makes a fairly funny face in the process
Comrade Smersh: Well... there are many 'somethings' that could be done...
Shae Firewarder: ten days here. but not perhaps in Paragon
Polaron: Time here is slightly odd, Brian..I know that much, anyway. *smiles faintly*
Sea Hawk shrugs, "Can't be worse than Underhill
Vagabond Mage: It has been only two or three days in Paragon.
Shae Firewarder: I suspect she has put them in a logical place, such as a dungeon...but I expect there are ways to free them
Vagabond Mage: Ways that will likely get you in trouble, I'm guessing.
Shae Firewarder: It isn't so out of resonance as Underhill, no
Sea Hawk: Well...mayhap we can chat with Vionha, yes?
Vesperi: Hm, now that is a delightful idea
Comrade Smersh waits and watches...
Sea Hawk shrugs, "Just seems logical to me, is all."
Vesperi: Hm, perhaps we should rejoin the party before people get suspiscious
Wildcat X ...keeps her, er, nose open for normal people
Comrade Smersh: Da... conspiring here might be bad, I think.
Sea Hawk follows his namesake and keeps his eye opened
Sea Hawk: I agree. Let us mingle and learn what we can.
Shae Firewarder: The party is still around us, expect to be overheard<smiles anyway> political games are normal here
Comrade Smersh: Indeed.
Sea Hawk: Do they have dancing here, Shae?
Cog Sprocket: *whispers* Cog will create a mild distraction.
Cog Sprocket dances anyway
Comrade Smersh whispers to Sasha, "Eat nothing. Drink nothing."
Polaron: Lovely. Politics. Why can't you just have assasinations like normal beings? *smiles*
Sea Hawk facepalms, "Um, Cog."
Shae Firewarder sees Vionha heading over with a guard contingent. The crowd of Djinni part and whisper
Vesperi turns to their hostess
Wildcat X ...nose wrinkles a bit. blinks at Cog
Sea Hawk stands at Shae's shoulder, preparing to defend if necessary, but draws no weaponry
Cog Sprocket attempts to blend in... clockwork style.
Comrade Smersh does not move an inch.
<Vionha is a wearing her hair up in an elaborate style, and has on a very formal gown in white silk>
Vesperi waits patiently for her to approach
Sea Hawk: Hmmm...reminds me somewhat of the Unseleighe.
Shae Firewarder: Vionha, I had no idea that your gues list included some of Paragon City's finest heroes!
Vesperi bows deeply
Sea Hawk: Greetings, m'lady.
Vesperi: Lady Vionha, a pleasure to make your aqcuaintance at last
Cog Sprocket: Greetings! Thank you for inviting Cog!
Comrade Smersh: Comrade Vionha.
Comrade Smersh nods very slightly
Vesperi: We were thrilled by your invitation, and the festivities are more marvelous than anticipated
Shae Firewarder watches as Vionha stops, somewhat taken aback
Vesperi smiles at her from behind his porcelain mask
Vagabond Mage whispers "Cog... perhaps now is not the best time for dancing."
Cog Sprocket looks at Vagabond Mage, then stops dancing disappointedly
Sea Hawk: Indeed, I am Baron Sir Brian Seamus O'Ballysadare. Captain of the Sea Hawk and Baron of Wenshal, Ireland. A pleasure to meet so beautiful a magical lady. *smiles his most charming smile*
Wildcat X feels like she's in a Dali painting
Polaron under his breath.."Baron?"
Shae Firewarder watches a second djinni step forward and say, "Baroness Vionha, how novel! dancing clockwork? " she smiles at Vionha
Sea Hawk subvocalizes
Vagabond Mage gives Polaron a slight shrug
Cog Sprocket whirrs, muffled by its disguise
Comrade Smersh chuckles inaudibly
Polaron again, doesn't seem to speak.
Wildcat X is jealous of Pol's silent laughter capabilities
Sea Hawk: And these are my compaions, Polaron
Sea Hawk: Vesperi
Polaron nods.
Sea Hawk: Vagabond Mage
Sea Hawk: Comrade Smersh
Sea Hawk: Soviet Shadow
Vagabond Mage smiles broadly and inclines his head
Sea Hawk: Cog Sprocket
Comrade Smersh inclines his head very slightly, his face expressionless
Cog Sprocket corrects, "Cog Sprocket Hunter"
Shae Firewarder notices that several djinni are enjoying watching Vionha discomfitted at her own party
Sea Hawk: And of course, Vesperi
Vesperi glances at the pirate as he introduces him... twice actually
Sea Hawk: We are honored and delighted to be here.
Sea Hawk: (oops)
Sea Hawk: And Lady Wildcat X
Comrade Smersh: Indeed. A wonderful event you have, comrade Vionha.
Wildcat X nods politely with an absent-minded smile.
Vagabond Mage: I love the setting. Truly exquisite.
Polaron: Yes. Absolutely wonderful..
Polaron is totally deadpan.
Vagabond Mage Mental note... Polaron needs acting lessons...
Vesperi remains silent and watchful now, exmining his friends as much as everything else
<Vionha smiles weakly and the guards at her back look at each other>
Cog Sprocket starts bopping a little, trying to stand still and not dance
Comrade Smersh reaches over and puts a hand on Cog's shoulder
Cog Sprocket stands still
Comrade Smersh smiles a small bit at Cog
Sea Hawk: And it was such a pleasure to be joining our good friend, Shae.
Wildcat X seems to be genuinely enjoying the "party" thing.
Sea Hawk: So Lady Vionha, why do you bring guardsmen with you? Expecting problems, perhaps?
Vesperi shoots a glance at Seahawk
Cog Sprocket: Their uniforms are very shiny!
Sea Hawk has a very bland look on his face, very inoffensive
Comrade Smersh: Da.. they certainly are.
<Vionha's eyes narrow at Seahawk>
Polaron: Shiny's a word for it, yes. *grins*
Vesperi: Nonsense, Brian, her retinue is most impressive
Sea Hawk: That it is. I'm just curious is all.
Comrade Smersh sighs, thinking he should try to handle the diplomacy
Sea Hawk: I do apologize if I've given offense.
Vagabond Mage looks sideways at Polaron with an odd expression... but smiles again as he looks back to the hostess.
<Vionha preens slightly at the "impressive " comment and then remembers she is annoyed>
Vesperi: Do not be, if the Lady Vionha has chosen to honor us with such a formal reception then we should be grateful
Wildcat X: They are impressive... I haven't ever seen such a trim group. *sounds rather genuinely awed*
Shae Firewarder smiles at the idea that since half the party thinks that the Paragon folk were invited, Vionha will have a hard time doing anything to them without provocation.
Comrade Smersh: So, comrade Vionha... how long have you known our friend Shae?
Shae Firewarder: I understand, Vionha, that you had other guests arrive earlier, and I have not had a chance to see them?
Sea Hawk thinks, "Uh oh"
Sea Hawk but keeps a bland face on
<Vionha looks at Smersh, and then at Shae, "Other guests, lady Shae?"Vionha tries to not look like she knows where this is heading>
Cog Sprocket: Indeed! We can dance with them too.
Vagabond Mage bites back the instinct to ready a spell...
Shae Firewarder: Other guests.....Vagabond....do you know about when they might have arrived?
Vagabond Mage: Well, by reckoning here, I'd say... a fortnight?
Sea Hawk: By local time reckoning, right?
Vagabond Mage nods
<Vionha looks at Shae venomously, " I don't know what you are speaking of. All my guests are here">
Sea Hawk: Oh...other guests? Perhaps they were from our dimension as well?
Wildcat X sensitive nose wrinkles a bit. tilts her head curiously
Polaron glances at Cat.
<Another djinni aproaches. Shae and Vionha both nod respectfully to him >
Sea Hawk looks around intently
Vesperi eyes the newcomer
Sea Hawk looks to the new arrival curiously
Vagabond Mage bows his head respectfully to the new arrival.
Shae Firewarder: Ah, My lord, may I present my friends to you?
Vesperi turns to the newcomer
Comrade Smersh bristles inwardly at the monarchist forms of address
Sea Hawk bows his head formally, equal to equal.
<The newcomer says, " I believe I heard the introductions earlier. Shae will you please make me known to your friends?">
Shae Firewarder watches Vionha flinch
Sea Hawk smiles ever so slightly but quickly stifles it so that Vionha misses it
Shae Firewarder: Friends, I have the honor of introducing the Hand of the Emperor
Vesperi: A sincere pleasure
Comrade Smersh does not bow.
Cog Sprocket whispers to Smersh, "He does not appear to be a hand."
Sea Hawk tilts his head, "No offense intended m'lord, but what exactly is the Hand of the Emporer?
Vagabond Mage does not raise his head
Sea Hawk: And....greetings to you, m'lord.
Polaron nods slightly, but raises his head back up again.
Vagabond Mage: Fair morning to you, your eminence. We are humbled by your attentions.
Wildcat X nods politely as well, keeping her wide, curious eyes on the hand.
<<The Hand of the Emperor makes allowances for the different customs represented, >>
<the Hand of the Emperor replies, "Greetings to you all "
Cog Sprocket: Greetings!
Cog Sprocket waves
Comrade Smersh: Comrade.
Comrade Smersh nods
Polaron: Hello.
Shae Firewarder: The Hand of the Emperor represents the Emperor himself.
Shae Firewarder decides that the rest of the explanation can wait
Vesperi: Hm, a true honor then.
Vagabond Mage: May the sun shine always on his empire.
Sea Hawk nods, "We're honored to be here, Your Eminence. Our friend Shae is much loved by us and we are warmed by her presence."
Sea Hawk puts his hand on Shae's shoulder briefly and squeezes it, then lets go.
Vesperi gazes at the Hand through his porcelain mask and locks eyes with him for just a moment, smiling behind his mask
Shae Firewarder: I was just asking Vionha when the other guests were going to be making an appearance? I would presume they are guests, as this estate would obviously be warded against invaders....for a party such as this?
Polaron shoots a shocked look at Vags, then snaps his head back towards the Hand.
Sea Hawk smiles woflishly for just a moment
Vagabond Mage: I am quite sure her ladyship's guardians are well-prepared should anyone attempt to break in.
Vesperi: Indeed, the Lady has assembled such a colorful and esteemeed audience, it would be such a shame for anyone of them to go unnoticed
Wildcat X: I'd hate to be someone trying to break in here. *awed tone*
Comrade Smersh smirks
Sea Hawk: Yes, and if they did, I'm sure we'd be of immense assistance in ferreting them out.
<Vionha shoots Shae a look that really should kill her>
Sea Hawk moves just a little bit closer to Shae.
Polaron: Indeed. We have a great deal of experience tracking down intruders..
Vesperi watches Vionha for any flares in magical energy
Vagabond Mage absolutely does not and in no way laughs at 'cat.
Wildcat X is kinda cute in that "extremely curious kitten" way. and isn't laugh-at-able at all, nope.
Sea Hawk looks to The Hand, "Yes, Your Grace, we were all wondering about those guests that seem to be..."not here", as it were."
<The Hand of the Emperor says gently, "Baroness Vionha, if you were saving them to be a surprise, I believe that is unneccessary now," and smiles at her.>
Comrade Smersh: Ah... but, comrade Hand, we can be so full of surprises at times.
Sea Hawk smiles even more wolfishly, his one blue eye glittering
Vagabond Mage looks around, noticing how many of the djinni are watching them without seeming to be staring...
Shae Firewarder watches the djinni watch the scene and knows that it will be the talk of the party
<Vionha surrenders to the innevitable and gives a quiet order to the guards. the guards leave>
Polaron pointedly watches them leave.
Sea Hawk waits patiently, scanning the crowd without making it apparent.
Cog Sprocket looks at everyone really obviously, in its not very tactful way
<Vionha looks at Shae, " I'd hate to have any further surprises tonight">
Sea Hawk: So would we, m'lady. *said levellly*
Polaron: Indeed, m'lady. Surprises are rather...Unpleasant.
Vagabond Mage: So far, everything has been quite lovely. Although... I could be persuaded to partake of some... refreshment?
Comrade Smersh: Nyet... I think no.
<Vionha glares at Polaron, "you have no idea ">
Wildcat X just smiling sweetly at Vionha and the other people, despite all the dirty looks
Polaron smiles. "You'd be...Surprised. M'lady."
Soviet Shadow sighs
Sea Hawk snickers, "Oh but *I* do. As appointed warrior of Danaa, I certainly do."
Vesperi continues examining everyone
Shae Firewarder is happy so far with the surprises tonight.
Shae Firewarder is keeping just a polite smile on her face
Comrade Smersh: A lovely party, to be certain...
Shae Firewarder: So how is the weather in Paragon?
Sea Hawk: Have yer guards gotten lost, Vionha? Perhaps His Lordship the Hand should send some of his personal retinue to assist them?
Polaron: Sunny, Shae.
Sea Hawk: Sunny...of course.
Sea Hawk: But lacking in warmth for the lack of your presence.
Comrade Smersh: Da... we should take you back to see it, I think.
Shae Firewarder: Flatterer
Sea Hawk smiles, "Only speaking the truth, my friend."
Shae Firewarder looks at Vionha, "Our hostess has been offerring only the finest of entertainments."
Sea Hawk: Oh really? Such as?
Polaron: Well, it was a long trip here through the dimensions...Might our hostess be able to offer refreshments? Poor Vags is undoubtedly famished..
Shae Firewarder: She has engaged the finest musicians I have heard in years. The dancing has been wonderful
Vesperi watches the Hand for his reaction to the conversation
Comrade Smersh considers lighting a cigarette...
<The Hand is listening and nodding, and watching Vionha and Shae with amusement>
Wildcat X listens to everything with the utmost interest
Cog Sprocket concentration breaks and it dances again
Sea Hawk: Well, I wonder...would they be interested in Earth-type music? I think I have my harp.
Wildcat X tries not to giggle at Cog
Soviet Shadow looks at Comrade Field Commander Cog with... unease.
Shae Firewarder watches the guards come back with the scientists...hastily cleaned up scientists.
Comrade Smersh: Hmmm.
Comrade Smersh: It appears they have also enjoyed our hostess'.... hospitality.
Cog Sprocket looks at the scientists carefully
Polaron: That took quite a while, m'lady. Perhaps your guards need maps?
Shae Firewarder: (unharmed scientists who look extremely happy to see all of you )
Vesperi: Hm, perhaps they will dazzle us with a tale of what fine entertainments they have seen?
Cog Sprocket: ((What's dirty about them?))
Wildcat X scrutinizes the scientists, still smiling sweetly
Vagabond Mage: Ta havath, Polaron. At ease.
Comrade Smersh: (That's a loaded question...)
Wildcat X: (Augh!)
Polaron: ((Bwahaha.))
Shae Firewarder: (no longer dirty. they've been here two weeks without showers is all)
Sea Hawk looks at the scientist, then to Vionha, "Should any of you become our guests, be sure that we'll treat you with utmost courtesy."
Shae Firewarder: (is that portal still open vags?)
Vagabond Mage: ((Portal is still open, yes.))
Shae Firewarder watches the scientists hurry to get the heroes between them and the soldiers.
Comrade Smersh smirks a little
Vagabond Mage: ((Mostly in case I had to explain a late arrival or someone tripping over us. ))
Vesperi ignores the scientists
Sea Hawk looks to The Hand, "M'lord, should you ever wish t'visit Underhill, I believe that with Danaa's good wishes, you'd be a welcome guest.
Wildcat X (Ironic, I'm in my scientist outfit. =P)
Shae Firewarder watches the scientists notice the portal , and begin edging so not very stealthily towards it.
Vagabond Mage smiles reassuringly at the scientists.
Vagabond Mage: Please, sirs. Allow me to show you some of the delights of the garden here.
Vagabond Mage escorts the scientists toward the portal...
Wildcat X seems to not notice the scientists trying to run like the wind at all
Sea Hawk looks to the scientists, "Just a moment, my friends. We must bid farewell to our hostess. Then we'll be happy to show you the way home.
Shae Firewarder watches the scientists make a break for the portal in a most undignified fashion
Vagabond Mage: Oops.
Sea Hawk chuckles
Sea Hawk: Guests? What can ye do with them.
Vagabond Mage: Well... there's no accounting for some people, I suppose.
Comrade Smersh: I am certain they will be fine, da?
Vesperi watches the guards for a reaction
Wildcat X: I suppose they were becoming tired.
Comrade Smersh: Nyet... just excited, da?
Sea Hawk glances in the direction of the guards as well. Ready to leap between them and the scientists
Wildcat X: I can certainly understand... There are so many things to see here! *smiles absently. though directly as possible between the guards and the portal*
<The Hand of the Emperor says, "Odd, Vionha...they seemed in a hurry to leave? ">
Vagabond Mage: I crave your pardon on their behalf, gracious Hand of the Emperor... dazzling hostess...
Vesperi: Perhaps they were just overcome by all the marvels the Lady has supplied
Sea Hawk: Mayhap
Polaron: That must be the case, Vesperi.
Comrade Smersh: Where I come from, there is an old adage.... fish and guests both stink after three days. They likely wished merely to relieve their hostess of their burden, da?
Cog Sprocket looks at Smersh, puzzled.
Cog Sprocket: It is like taking fish heads to a party?
Sea Hawk smirks at Smersh's comment
Polaron: Exactly like that, Cog.
Comrade Smersh: Something like that, friend Cog.
Sea Hawk restrains a guffaw at that comment.
Cog Sprocket: Fish heads do not like parties.
Polaron: Have you ever asked them?
Wildcat X doesn't burst into a gigglefit at all. nope
Cog Sprocket: They do not socialise.
Shae Firewarder looks at the Hand of the Emperor, "perhaps their accomodations were not as fine as the ones she has provided for the rest of her guests?
Sea Hawk: They don't wear sweaters, either. *deadpans*
Polaron: But they are both rolly and polly *to Cog*
Cog Sprocket nods seriously
Vesperi narrows his eyes at Viohna's dress
Shae Firewarder watches Vionha bristle at the implied insult
Wildcat X ...wonders to herself why Vionha's dress offends Senor Porcelain Mask
Vesperi: Now now, I'm sure Viohna treats all her guests with equal honor. Especially those who are your friends Shae.
Sea Hawk: However, they're free now, yes? So...I think that any insults, implied or otherwise, shall be forgiven, yes?
<Vionha is almost ready to go over that edge and have a fit>
Sea Hawk: At least by us. Whether Vionha has violated any...Djinni Law is up to The Hand.
Vesperi: Were there any insults here, Brian? Surely not, it would be unseemly between two ladies who hold eachother in such obvious high regard
Comrade Smersh seriously considers just grabbing Shae and bolting for the portal, but decides against it
Sea Hawk: But of course, Ves. *in the exact same tone as Vesperi*
Vesperi actually seemed quite sincere
Polaron is having a difficult time figuring out if Vesperi is playing along or off his nut.
Vesperi: Indeed, I would wager that Viohna thinks of Shae most often, and before most others
Sea Hawk is waiting for The Hand's response to all this.
<The Hand of the Emperor considers Sea Hawks remarks, and says, "There has been evidence brought to us of late..." <and watches as Vionha's attention swivels to him >
Wildcat X is either positively off her rocker or a fairly good actor. or both.
Polaron votes for both.
Comrade Smersh allows a small grin to escape
Shae Firewarder: Evidence? <Shae prompts the Hand of the Emperor soflty>
Vagabond Mage: ((The best actors are off their rockers. ))
Sea Hawk quirks an eyebrow and regards The Hand
Wildcat X looks concerned, watches the Hand's reaction
<The Hand of the Emperor says unconcernedly, " The evidence that you helped to uncover, Lady Shae...of the spells that Baroness Vionha has been...learning...">
Sea Hawk: *quietly* Uh oh
Wildcat X ding! something finally makes sense around here.
Shae Firewarder watches as Vionha goes pale
Cog Sprocket: She is an evil magical entity?
Polaron shifts subtly.
Vesperi perks up a bit
Sea Hawk glides up to Vionha, not drawin his sword, but his presence is....dangerous.
Vagabond Mage smiles grimly and readies a spell in case the hostess should try to flee or her guards interfere...
<Vionha steps closer to Shae > "YOU"
Vionha whispers, ' I was warned about you...'
Comrade Smersh steps between them
Cog Sprocket hums as it charges its tesla coils
Vionha says, 'Long ago, I went to an oracle...
Sea Hawk grabs Vionha by the scruff of the neck
Sea Hawk: I don't think so, m'lady. *Irish brogue full on*
<Vionha struggles free>
Vionha says, 'I asked what danger there was to my power.'
Vionha says, 'She warned me of you...'
Vionha says, 'that you and your allies...
Vesperi gets ready to act
Vionha says, 'would be my greatest danger.'
Wildcat X rather immediately shifts from sweet, innocent Kitty to "Stand closer and you'll lose an arm"
Vionha says, 'I separated you from your allies, '
Vionha says, 'You made new allies'
Vionha says, 'I warped your power. You found new ways.'
Polaron: Illusiary decanthe.
Vionha says, 'I tried to make you fall. I fall in your stead.'
Vionha says, 'But I always have a back up plan...'
Comrade Smersh: Bah.
Wildcat X: Well ain't that just a kick in the pants.
Polaron 's magical aura drops.
Soviet Shadow: Initiate transport protocol Theta Tau Two Dash Niner!
Vionha holds up a small wax bottle shimmering with magic
Vionha SHOUTS, 'I know thee, I summon thee, I bind thee!'
Vesperi waits for Viohna to move then fire a targetted bolt at her pocket
Vionha SHOUTS, 'Innarra BladeDaughter Amalia FireHeart...'
Vionha SHOUTS, 'CaptiveSpark WaitingEmber PhoenixFlame...'
Vionha SHOUTS, 'Shae Firewarder!'
Shae Firewarder cries out in pain and sways on her feet...
Vionha holds up a small gold bottle in triumph
Vagabond Mage begins casting a spell to counter VIonha's...
Vionha looks at the humans, smiles cruelly...
Sea Hawk punches Vionha in the head
Vionha tosses the bottle towards the humans.
Polaron: Oh, bloody hell.
The assembled djinni gasp, and hold their breath.
Vesperi reaches for the bottle
Polaron goes airborne and grabs for the bottle.
Wildcat X (and they all crash together)
Comrade Smersh braces himself...
Vagabond Mage: ((Keystone superheroes))
Sea Hawk leaps for Vionha and her throat drawing a very sharp knife
Polaron: ((*plays Benny Hill theme*))
Polaron is still reaching for the bottle....
Polaron and catches it.
Sea Hawk: (*chuckles* Shae gets to figure out what happens to whom)
Vionha vanishes
Polaron: Aw, frack.
Wildcat X growls deeply
Sea Hawk lands and does a clumsy roll
Sea Hawk: Oof!
Wildcat X snkt. the claws slowly slide back into her hands. "Bloody..."
Sea Hawk swears colorfully in Irish
Sea Hawk gets back up
Comrade Smersh: Bah!
Polaron holds the bottle gently. "Drop something, Shae?"
Vagabond Mage: Well... that was... unexpected.
Sea Hawk darn
Sea Hawk: Uh huh
Wildcat X: You didn't expect she'd explode and do something insane? Geez, I;m surprised she didn't sooner
Vagabond Mage: I didn't expect she'd get away with it, 'cat.
Sea Hawk: Well, I didna wanna do anythin' rash, ye know, 'tils she played her hand.
Vagabond Mage: Learned a few new tricks, eh, Polaron?
Wildcat X: I thought her eyeballs were gonna pop out from the pressure before she did anything.
Polaron: A few, Vags..
Wildcat X now there's an image...
Cog Sprocket looks around
Sea Hawk puts a hand on Shae's shoulder, "Ready t'go home, my friend?"
Polaron hands the bottle over. "I think this is yours."
Shae Firewarder: ((ok, more than one person reached for it. pick a number please?)
Comrade Smersh: Is that your bottle?
Shae Firewarder: (between 1 and 20 )
Vesperi: ((17))
Polaron: ((15.))
Shae Firewarder: (Pol is closer. )
Shae Firewarder: Thank you
Shae Firewarder receives the bottle gratefully
Wildcat X ...now that the incident is mostly over, gives a muffled snicker behind a hand
Sea Hawk: Hmmm...Dare I ask what that bottle is?
Comrade Smersh: It is important, comrade...
Sea Hawk looks to 'Cat, "What are you snorfling about?
Vesperi: Don't you ready boy?
Comrade Smersh: Leave it at that.
Polaron gives Brian a look. Somehow.
Vagabond Mage: Really expensive perfume, no doubt.
Shae Firewarder: The bottle is mine...connected to my soul
Vesperi: Anyway, if we are done here.....
Cog Sprocket: What did she do to the bottle?
Wildcat X: That was one of the most bloody insane things I've seen in my life.
Comrade Smersh: This means... freedom, da, comrade Shae?
Sea Hawk: Hey, I didn't exactly have time t'read it, aye?
Shae Firewarder is aware that every djinni in the place just started breathing again
Shae Firewarder: Freedom, yes
Wildcat X: ...Including your little act there, Brian.
Sea Hawk: Hmmm? Act?
Shae Firewarder: Vionha summoned it
Vagabond Mage looks around suddenly... and banishes his armor
Sea Hawk: What, the British thing? That's my 'Diplomatic' mask.
Wildcat X poses in a Knightly manner, bows fancily
Vesperi: Hm, I'm guessing that would be one of the spells she isn't supposed to know
Vagabond Mage: I knew you had it in you, Sir Brian.
Cog Sprocket: Why did she free Shae? That is not a bad thing?
Shae Firewarder: The spell she used to do so...and that she would do so...I expect she will be unwelcome at home now.
Sea Hawk smiles, "Someday, I'll tell ya the story o'how I got me armor.
Polaron mutters. "Icathe Illusiary."
Vesperi glances at Pol
Wildcat X her clothing generally liquifies and turns back to the ol' armor
Polaron shrugs.
Shae Firewarder: She did not free me, she summoned my bottle and tossed it to all of you...assuming that you would take it and use it
Sea Hawk: So...what now?
Wildcat X: Crazy chit.
Comrade Smersh: She does not know us well, da?
Sea Hawk chuckles, "She don't know us very well, do she?"
Vagabond Mage: We get more wishes out of you if *you* hold the bottle.
Sea Hawk: LIke our dearest wish for ye t'return home....to Paragon City.
Shae Firewarder: No, she does not know much outside of her own machinations.
Wildcat X: Obviously not
Vagabond Mage: With the Emperor's Hand's permission, of course...
Wildcat X: When people come to save someone, they don't generally go "Oh hey, let's capture her."
Polaron: She figured we were like her.
Sea Hawk: Well, all she knows o'mortals is that they're a greedy lot.
Polaron: Obviously, she's derranged.
Comrade Smersh: She thought our motto, like hers, was greed and power....
Vesperi:
Vesperi: It's not?
Vagabond Mage: ((PHEENOMINAL COSMIC POWAH!! itty bitty living space.))
Wildcat X elbow
Polaron: . . .
Wildcat X: (AUGH!)
Sea Hawk: Ye have t'remember that that bottle allows us to command her.
Comrade Smersh: Nyet, comrade...
Sea Hawk: (*smacks Vags but in fun*)
Polaron: Hm. I wonder where Vionha's is...
Sea Hawk: An' we didna wanna do that.
Cog Sprocket: Cog's knowledge of those things comes from watching Aladin.
Polaron: What was that spell she used?
Sea Hawk: (In a dark place, plotting and planning)
Sea Hawk snorts, "Teleport"
Vesperi: Hm, perhaps one day we will discuss the nautre of greed and power. Then we will see if you think the heroes of Paragon are truly so virtuous
Comrade Smersh: When Vionha returns, as she certainly will.... I will stand ready to face her.
Wildcat X: *the armor "hums" the Genie song quietly*
<The Hand of the Emperor looks at the assembly and says, " The party will be ending soon, I think. There is not much that would be more exciting than that which we all just saw.">
Polaron: No. The one to get Shae's bottle.
Vagabond Mage: ((Sitting in CoV waiting for the beta to start, I'm sure. ))
Wildcat X: Shh, you. *quietly to the armor*
Cog Sprocket: Thank you for having us Mister Hand.
Comrade Smersh: (Hanging out with the Komisar?)
Sea Hawk: Aye, thank ye, yer Lordship. Suren 'twas a pleasure.
Vagabond Mage: It pleases us to have been such a... central feature of the party, your eminence. We are glad that we were both entertaining and... educational.
Cog Sprocket: Shall we return home?
Vesperi: Hm, well, we should be going now. We're done here
Comrade Smersh: Da... I think a return to Paragon is in order.
Vesperi all pretense of civility is quickly fading from his demeanor
Polaron: Assuming we're done here, yes. God only knows how much time has passed since we left.
<The Hand of the Emperor smiles at them all and says to Shae, " Go, for now, we will discuss this further soon ">
Sea Hawk: Um, Lord Hand? Can we return not long after we departed, please?
Vesperi sighs and just starts walking toward the portal
Polaron: I don't think it works that way, Brian...
Shae Firewarder: Less time may have passed, morelike
Comrade Smersh: Interesting...
Comrade Smersh: After you, comrade Shae.
Vagabond Mage: The portal remained open. That usually stabilizes the time differential somewhat.
Comrade Smersh: Please.
Wildcat X: Brian, she was here for weeks and you thought she was gone for days. Math, hun.
Sea Hawk: True.. Let's rock 'n roll,then.
Vesperi: Gentlemmen... your dawdling
Polaron: Oh, keep your pants on, Vesperi.
Sea Hawk: Let's go, beautiful. *to Shae*
Wildcat X: ...please do, I'm too young to see that
Vagabond Mage: I must leave last to seal the portal. So... after all of you?
Shae Firewarder: Let us go<smiles>
Wildcat X deadpans
Comrade Smersh: Welcome back, comrade Shae.
Shae Firewarder: ((thank you all!)
Comrade Smersh grins
Shae Firewarder: i am glad to be back. things are simpler here
Comrade Smersh: Indeed.
Vagabond Mage: Heh... simpler...
Shae Firewarder: For me at least
Cog Sprocket steps through the portal, and staggers as it reenters Paragon
Vesperi looks behind at the portal
Vagabond Mage: Back to Paragon, you lot. We're wasting magic here.
Shae Firewarder: ((thank you all! I appreciate that. You all made my week =) )
Wildcat X: E'rybody outta the pool
Shae Firewarder goes through
Vagabond Mage: I'll meet you all back by the ferry.
Vagabond Mage: Shoo!
Shae Firewarder takes a closer look at Vesperi
Vesperi: Well, are we through then
Vagabond Mage: Good ol' Paragon City... Eurgh.
Wildcat X gooses Brian suddenly
Vesperi: Well, not that seeing the djinn realm wasn't interesting....
Sea Hawk chuckles
Shae Firewarder laughs
Vesperi: But politics, really....
Vesperi: And there was so much else to examine there
Polaron: Yeah..Couldn't we have just hit her a bunch and been done with it?
Polaron: We all knew it was coming *anyway*..
Vesperi: Yes, mindless hitting, kheldian, always the best approach to new world
Shae Firewarder: Not without getting me exiled instead. I ilke the way this turned out
Vesperi shakes his head
Polaron: "Kheldian"? Forget my name, Duskwalker?
Vagabond Mage: Perhaps we will be invited back some time, Vesperi.
Shae Firewarder: I expect I will encounter her again, but she won't have any imunity to hide behind next time
Vesperi: Hm, perhaps we will, though I think next time I will travel alone....
Shae Firewarder: Possibly, more likely since this went well.
Vesperi: now, if you will all excuse me
Vesperi removes his porcelain mask
Polaron: Icathe Illusiari.
Vesperi: I am through here for the moment. If I have need of any of you in the future I will call.
Polaron: How gracious, Vesperi.
Vesperi stops for a moment to examine the kheldian
Shae Firewarder watches vesperi leave, and frowns
Polaron stares back blankly.
Vesperi: Not very bright in either soul are you?
Vesperi: Vesperi? Ha!
Polaron: Oh, frack.
Polaron: If that didn't just scream "trouble" to you guys..
Shae Firewarder taps her fingers thoughtfully on her thigh
Shae Firewarder: It did
Shae Firewarder: He hasn't been quite himself for a while
Shae Firewarder: But that was...unsettling
Vagabond Mage: Renor has been hinting that there is something seriously wrong there. I should probably investigate further...
Polaron: He just outright said that he's not Vesperi. Unsettling is a mild word.
Polaron: If you need any help, Vags..Well, you may have noticed that I'm not quite as magic blind as I used to be..
Shae Firewarder: I apologize. I am apparently stuck in diplomatic mode still.
Vagabond Mage: No, you've learned quite a bit. I'm pleased.
Shae Firewarder: I am worried. I have been for a while, but I haven't managed to ask the right questions yet.
Vagabond Mage: I'm going to start simple. Ask around. You might do the same, Pol. See what you hear.
Polaron: Ask what? If anyone else has noticed Vesperi being corrupted by a mask?
Shae Firewarder: You are knowledgeable about gates....and other realms...I have a question or two for you
Vagabond Mage: Why not?
Vagabond Mage: Ask away.
Polaron glances at some Carnies. "That's actually a valid question to ask, now that I say it."
Polaron: Anyway. I'll leave you two be. Shae, good to have you back in the city.
Vagabond Mage: See you around, Pol.
Shae Firewarder: First, have you heard of a realm of unrequited dreams? It would be a newish realm...
Polaron: Illusiary decathe.
Shae Firewarder: Thank you Pol. good hunting

((Again, thank you all. I had a fantastic time. Many thanks to Comrade Smersh who happened to be on when I was making some binds for this(the setting, Vionha's monologue, and Vionha's spellcasting). He listened patiently to me gripe about the the binds I was making that seemed properly made, but didn't work yet. Apparently I am TOO WORDY and the binds were, at first, too long to function(Bah, character limit. Yay elipses, and thank you Smersh). ))

((Thank you once more Vagabond Mage for actually making such a fine away team. =) ))

((Thank you anyone who has actually bothered to read this far! <laughs and waves> ))

((You were all fantastic. I just finished reading the log I kept of it and enjoying all the parts I was reading too fast to see the first time through.=) ))

((I was wondering though...what would you all(the participants that is) think of me posting the log? The version that is cleaned up a little for spelling and removal of tells, and some ooc stuff? I'd love to share it, but, I'll let anyone that was there veto it. Send pms or talk to me in game or something.))

((I love you all! That was a fantastic RP, I had a great time, and I appreciate everyone who came and added your spark to it! ))

((Very special thanks to Vagabond Mage for organising the "rescue party." I owe you big time.))

((heading to bed for now. woohoo! thank you all sooo much!!))

Day ten of the party. Shae was tired of being charming, her face hurt from smiling politely, and she still had no idea why Vionha was watching her. She was currently listening to a countess recount her adventures at a party some years ago that had lasted for three months. Shae tried not to let her dismay show and found her eyes meeting Vionha's; She wondered if the flicker of apprehension in Vionha's eyes was a trick of her own imagination or not. Shae wondered how much this party was costing in power and favors, and what it was that Vionha was gaining from it that made the cost worth it, or worth it so far.

Behind her she heard a challenge. Turning, she discovered that a Emir from the Northern desert had challenged the Hand of the Emperor to a game of chess. The dancers moved a distance away to clear the close-clipped grass of the huge chess board. The Hand of the Emperor chose black, and The Emir lead off the choice of players by choosing Baroness Vionha as the white queen. Somehow, Shae was not surprised, nor was she surprised at the pleasure Vionha showed at being chosen to represent one of the most powerful pieces on the board.

Shae found herself some minutes later standing on a grassy square, wearing the insignia of a black pawn. She watched the white king direct one of his pawns forward and relaxed, inwardly. Except that there was an audience for the game, for there were already people lining the edges of the board and more were coming to watch, this was the closest she was going to come to leisure at this party. She kept her expression carefully serene, her posture formal, and gracefully moved as the black king directed her. For a few hours, or possibly longer depending on how well matched the kings were in skill, she would not have to be witty and charming.

Shae found herself intrigued by the ebb and flow of the game. The players were well matched and the game was continuing into the evening, lit by magelights. There were fewer pieces on the board, but both Vionha and herself were still standing. Standing on somewhat sore feet, wishing desperately to sit down, and hiding it behind a smile, but standing. The Emir as the white king used Vionha as the white queen to take the black queen. The woman playing the black queen yielded her place with a look of relief and went off to get a glass of wine and sit down. Vionha smiled and preened, and looked at the black king apraisingly. He seemed to be in a very tight spot. The Hand of the Emperor directed Shae as his pawn one square forward to the edge of the board, and a bystander handed her the black queen's insignia as Shae's status changed. Suddenly, Vionha was beside her in the square, taking the insignia of the black queen from Shae.

"Checkmate," said the Hand of the Emporer, as he looked across the board at the Emir. With the white queen out of position, the black king's remaining pieces had the white king in their power.

The Emir was staring in disbelief and anger at Vionha, who had moved to intercept Shae without being directed to do so.

Vionha was slow to realize what she had done. Her satisfaction in taking Shae blinded her till the Emir was next to her, his face nearly purple with outrage. Shae took the opportunity that their confrontation afforded her to move away to the refreshment table. She was desperately hungry and thirsty.

"A moment of your time, Lady Shae?" the Hand of the Emperor had followed her.

"Certainly, my lord," Shae replied, and followed him into the shadow of the hedge.

"While Baroness Vionha is...otherwise occupied, I thought that I would let you know that a certain package had arrived safely." he said, watching her eyes.

"Thank you, my lord. I am pleased to hear it."

"Also, that the contents of said package have been evaluated...you understand that it is not enough on it's own? That another action on...her part...is needed?"

"Yes, I was expecting it to be so."

"Go ahead and take your ease, my lady, you have earned it," he smiled, "She is distracted for a time, relax a little if you can."

"Thank you again, my lord," Shae curtsied deeply, and left to find herself some food and a place to sit down.

<Shae dreamed...>

She was fighting her way to the center. The polished walls of the rooms curved inward, and each chamber was smaller than the last. The frosty white luminescence and the shape of the building so far led her to think that she was fighting her way into the center of a nautilus shell. She defeated her current opponent and then knelt down and touched the strings of the marionette she had been fighting as it faded into the mist.

She stepped through the next portal expecting another room just like all the others only smaller, and instead found herself in the center of the building's spiral. The room had no doors; turning she checked behind her and saw that the door she had entered by had vanished as well. The other occupant of the room did not seem to see her; There was a woman here, dressed in a white lab coat that reflected the cold directionless light of the room.

Shae stepped forward silently, and watched the woman. The lab coated woman was molding something out of clay. An intricately sculptured doll formed under the woman's hands. Shae watched the woman caress the doll, and speak to it, and then the woman breathed on it and it came to life. The doll blinked up at the woman, and moved. Something about it displeased the woman who had made it, however, and she threw the doll against the wall smashing it to bits amongst the shattered remains of many other dolls...

Then the woman gathered up clay from the mountain of shattered doll parts and began to form another doll, muttering to it, or to herself. Shae looked at the woman who was lost in her loop of madness with her hands coated with red clay that was begining to look more and more like blood, and felt a growing sense of horror. Shae felt a sudden urgency to get out of the room, but remembered the lack of a door. That would not stop someone who knew better, however; Shae created a door and walked through...and found herself in a large formal garden that resembled a chess board.

The White Queen smiled at Shae and invited her to join her guests for tea.

------------------------------

Shae washed the last of the dream away with hot water in the shower. It hadn't been a restful night, and she wasn't sure how useful the dreams were actually going to be. Someday it would be nice if having prophetic dreams actually helped a little. She dried herself off, and pulled her robe on. Then she checked her computer for messages and discovered a message from Chrome Fist. Now she actually had an address for the lab. She smiled in anticipation and got out her maps.

She had a feeling Chrome Fist's call to begin would come soon. It was possible that the dream had been connected to the start of this. It would probably be a good idea to get her own plan moving as well. She sent off an email, coded to look like simple chatter and local news, to a particular email address, and then began to dress for combat. A little while later, an email arrived. It also looked like simply a newsy email from a friend, but it wasn't. Shae smiled, it was nice to have backup, even if the person wasn't technically fighting next to her. She erased the email, and turned off the computer, before picking up her cell phone and a small box of computer disks on the way out.

Then she came back and went into her bedroom; Shae picked up a certain necklace from her nightstand, fastened it around her neck, and then headed back out. She fingered the necklace thoughtfully as she rode the tram from Talos to Brickstown, feeling the spell that she had invested into it, and then tucked it invisibly under her shirt as the tram stopped.

---------------
Shae leaned on the rail of the Brickstown tram station, reading the paper, and doing her best to look like a random bored superhero, not here on any particular business. She thought she might actually be succeeding, as she'd had to turn down three requests for a team, and two offers for a date so far. The last young man to ask had actually looked fairly presentable, and the cockyness she might have found amusing at some other time, but, she really wasn't here for that. He'd taken her refusal in stride and moved on, apparently, as he was currently chatting with a young lady in not-quite-enough spandex over by the newpaper vending machines.

She looked up from the paper at the sound of running feet. An out of breath, purple clad young man armed with a sword sprinted up the street and past her up the ramp with several Freakshow close behind. The Police bots hummed and the Freakshow vanished. The hero half turned, saw that they were no longer following him and bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air. Then he saw Shae and attempted to straighten up into a slightly more dignified stance. Then he gave up on dignity, flopped onto the floor, set his sword down more gently, and looked up at Shae. "Hey," he said when he finally had his breath back, "I'm called the Sword Kid. I don't suppose you are looking for a partner for a while?"
Shae said,"I am not looking for a partner," just as her phone rang.
Shae answered the phone, "Hello? Yes, I am ready."
She disconnected, and then typed in a quick text message on her phone. She sent the short text message off, and then headed down the ramp to the street.
"I won't be any trouble," the young man was following her.
"I wasn't looking for help," she said.
"Please, I could use a few pointers...and this neighborhood is a little rougher than I thought," he looked at the two Freakshow standing on the corner scowling at him.

Shae looked at the Freakshow and thought a moment. She supposed that he could be usefull, and she could do a little street cleaning on the way. Then, even if the sentries at the lab saw her coming, they might think this was only a random patrol and not a targeted raid. He looked about 25, if her judging of human ages was correct, and he was currently looking at her with pleading eyes.

The Freakshow looked at Shae as she stared unconcernedly past them into space, then shifted uncomfortably and looked at each other. They missed seeing her nod to the Sword Kid. The sudden shift in the wind filled their eyes with smoke, possibly from the truck passing by. A few seconds later they were on the ground, bleeding some, and coughing, and Shae was giving the Sword Kid pointers on how to duck their hammers more effectively the next time and where to hit to best disable the Freaks without actually killing them. She had held back quite a bit. These were going to be easy fights along the path she planned, and she might as well let the tiger cub show his stripes. She slapped the teleport tag onto the Freak tank and watched him vanish.
--------------------
Several blocks later, she was listening to the Sword Kid chatter about why he had left his home in California to chase his dream of being a Hero in Paragon City, while she looked at the building that matched the address she had been sent. It didn't look like much on the outside, but, then the hidden labs never did. This one was being hidden not only from the authorities, but also from Crey. For the past two blocks, she hadn't seen any Crey operatives at all, though Shae knew that she and the Sword Kid were being watched by someone.

She stopped on the sidewalk to brush some nonexistant dust off her pants, and take a closer look at the door. A keypad, how nice of them. The unseen partner that she had contacted earlier by email and by text message would have it open for her when she laid her hand on it. Having tech savvy friends to trade favors with was so convenient.

She opened the door, and the Sword Kid realised something had changed. He watched her go in, and then followed her just as she was about to shut the door. The two guards just inside the door went down easily. They had been distracted by the fact that the alarms had not gone off when they had hit the panic button. It took them a moment too long to recover. Shae tagged them for teleport, although she wondered if that was truly a mercy here. These were rogues even from Crey, and if Crey did bail them out of jail, she wasn't sure that was a good thing for the guards here. Jail might possibly be safer.

Shae looked around and listened to the relative silence, only the sound of the airconditioning and their breathing. No alarms. Shae had asked her hacker friend to put the lab's security cameras on a 30 minute tapeloop. The building's alarms were disabled. If they could just keep their targets from actually screaming, they might have the benefit of surprise for a while yet. She looked at the Sword Kid to measure his resolve, and saw his slightly nervous smile. Good. It was good to not be overconfident in here. She nodded at the kid, and together they slipped quietly down the corridor.
-------------------------------------------------
With the kid along, Shae wasn't summoning any fire elementals for the simple reason that the glow and the distinctive hot odor of the fire elementals might be noticed. Sneaking along in the corridors of the lab, the two of them managed to surprise several security patrols.

Finally, the kid asked Shae quietly, "I know we are taking them down fairly easily so far...but why are there so many patrols? Isn't this an awful lot to spend on security, even for Crey?"

"This isn't quite a Crey lab...anymore. In fact, Crey and the person running this lab are currently having a little private war for control," Shae whispered back. "I've been warned that there might be a few unorthodox surprises here as well." Shae peeked around the corner, and then said to the kid,"in fact, I think we have one unorthodox surprise coming up."

A pair of Crey protectors rounded the corner, except that they weren't wearing masks. The cinders Shae threw caught the female one in the face and she started to cough, but the other one flew up to the ceiling, and drew his claws before swooping down on Shae. The Sword Kid was staring in surprise, "but isn't that...I mean...I've seen them before, they're heroes!"

"Clones!" Shae gasped quietly to him as she backed up fast, "Clones of people I know, made without their permission!" She threw a net of magic and drained the clawed protector's energy. The protector wearing Chrome Fist's face dropped to the ground and glared at her with claws ready as the kid finally decided to help and joined the fight. This fight was harder than the earlier fights, and Shae had to use her magic to heal herself and her sidekick as well as replenish their energy. The protectors were hard to subdue, and would probably need more medical attention at the Ziggurat's facility than the guards they had sent earlier.

"If they are clones, why aren't we just killing them? I mean, they aren't people are they?" the kid asked her, rubbing his arm where his skin still itched from the healed claw slashes.

Shae shook her head, "I am not willing to make that distinction here. I intend to leave that to others to judge." She looked at the amount of blood the male one had lost and wondered if even Paragon's technology could save that one. Still, she checked to make sure that the restraints were secure, before setting the teleport tags. She didn't want those waking up and causing havoc in the Zig's medical section.
---------------------
Shae looked quickly around the corner into the next room, and then ducked back. The Sword Kid looked at her from the other side of the doorway. She nodded and they both jumped out at once. The kid intercepted the Crey Tanks, and Shae called fire and sent the several scientists reeling, disoriented from the sudden heat. She missed one scientist at the back of the room who began to hit buttons on the computer display in front of him. One typed sequence and the glass tank nearest him that had been full of liquid and an embryo, probably a clone, was suddenly empty, the liquid flushing out of it all at once. Alarmed, Shae ran forward to stop him. She heard the sound of the katana hitting metal behind her, and the sound of blasting. The scientist flushed a second tank, and then a third. Finally Shae got close enough to intercept him. One spell and a right hook later, and he finally slumped unconscious on the floor.

"Ah..." the Sword Kid called to her." A little...."he dodged the blast from one of the tanks, "a little help here?"

Shae cast the net of energy over the kid and his opponents, and the tide of battle turned in their favor.

After the battle, she looked through the files and the readouts. The dates went back for years. Shae pulled out a few of the files and tucked them into a backpack she found under a desk. She downloaded what she could from the computers onto a couple of disks, and tucked them into the backpack with the files. Then she handed the backpack to the kid.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked.
"Keep it safe. I learned long ago to not keep all my eggs in one basket." Shae replied. "If something happens, it goes to Chrome Fist. You recognised him, so you ought to be able to find him again outside."
The Sword Kid looked even more nervous, but he put the backpack on and checked that it didn't interfere with his movement. "It looks funny with my outfit," he looked at her, "but, you don't care about that. Right." He sighed and followed her down the hallway.


---------------------
One room they found was huge, and held a vat. A huge vat. Larger than the tanks she had recently washed a 900 lb. robot in. Shae sniffed the air carefully, and cast a small seeking spell. When the results came back to her, she frowned.
"Whatever you do...DO NOT fall in the vat." she said to the kid.
He looked at her, "Right, don't fall in the vat." He looked at the vat, "That thing is freakin' huge!"

They continued on, taking possession of the building one room at a time and confiscating information, or downloading computer files. Two more times they had to fight the clawed Protectors. She didn't have to convince Sword Kid they were clones this time, as they had no masks and wore the same faces each time. A few times they had trouble ending the fights short of killing the lab's defenders. Frost's servants seemed determined to protect her lab at all costs.

Shae looked at the kid's watch. They had best be finishing soon, or someone would be noticing the tape loop about now.

--------------
Once the fight for one hospital like room was over, Shae took a closer look at what the room contained, There were clones in this room. They were all of the same person, but not of either of the protectors Shae and the kid had encountered. She looked around at the clones in the protective cases and her imagination superimposed the image of the dolls from her dream. Clones, none of which could ever be perfect enough, doomed to be brought to life and discarded only to be remade from their raw material over and over and over. The one she was standing in front of was the oldest looking of the ones in this room. She stared at him. He was tall. It looked like the unconscious man would stand 7 feet tall if he ever got to do so. There was a resemblance there to Chrome Fist. Was he family? The wires and tubes and hospital pallor couldn't disguise the obvious strength in the man's build. The meaning of the dream she had had was very apparent by now. This woman, Dr. Frost, was clearly mad.

She handed the disks to the Sword Kid and pointed at the computer silently, not sure she could speak through the horror and revulsion she felt in this room. He nodded, and started downloading the information he could get off the computer. Shae went back to looking at the clones. The pattern of the building was apparent now. The one room had had embyos, the earliest forms of the clones, this room held the older clones, the tank (that she had had to keep the kid from falling into despite her warning) was for recycling the failed clones back into their basic material. She could see in her mind the mountain of crushed dolls, their clay being used to make new dolls, none of which would ever be good enough for their creator.

She was startled from her thoughts as a klaxon blared suddenly.

A voice shouted urgently over the intercom,"Shae get out now! One of the researchers was hiding and decided to destroy the evidence. He's set a bomb in the control room, and when it goes, the building will go! You only have 30 seconds!"

There was no time to get to the exit.

She turned fast and triggered the medical teleporter patch on the kid, who had been standing behind her, putting the now filled computer disks into the backpack. Shae watched him and the backpack vanish even as he yelled in protest. Then she put her own teleporter patch on the clone in front of her, and pressed it. The clone vanished. She didn't want that one mixed in with the defeated lab folk, not if she didn't want an "accident" to befall him. As the last few seconds ticked away, Shae felt her way along the magical threads that crisscrossed all the universes she knew of and at last found and pulled open a door.

Behind her the lab burst into a tremendous fireball.

-------------------
As far as Shae could tell, fast plane hopping could be the origin of the phrase, "out of the frying pan and into the fire." The problem with plane hopping of any sort was that places and events had a certain resonance, and anywhere you were leaving was likely to have something in common with wherever you ended up. For instance, if you were leaving a bad situation, you were likely to arrive in something just as bad, but different.
---------------

Shae stood, somewhat disheveled but intact, in front of someone who had her worst interests at heart, and who happened to be stunningly dressed in a shimmering white silk ballgown.

"Shae, darling, how kind of you to drop in on my party," Vionha said with satisfaction. She gestured at the formal garden, decorated to look like a ballroom, with swaths of colorful silk hangings and magical lights hanging in midair. The beautifully dressed dancers paused on the closely clipped, plush grass to look at the new arrival, and the whispers began.

Shae considered her situation carefully. She had started in a physically dangerous situation that she had been certain she could handle and landed in a politically and socially hazardous labyrinth with no idea who else was here.

There was one way to arm herself for the coming contest however. Shae touched the necklace she was wearing, the one she had returned to her apartment for that morning. She had the satisfaction of seeing a split second of alarm in Vionha's face before the other djinn realised that the spell Shae had triggered was not an attack. Shae's outfit shifted and changed in a swirl of darkness and bright spots of light like stars. She heard the swell of whispers change to somewhat impressed murmurs as the spell finished its course and she was dressed and coifed as she once had been in a hall made of dreams. Shae stood in the formal garden dressed in a black silk gown, it's skirts swirling around her and sparkling with tiny bright diamonds. Her dark hair was now smoothly looped into an elaborate style and the pins that held it in place sparkled with diamonds.

Now beautifully armored for the political battle to come, Shae smiled at Vionha, and said, "Baroness Vionha, how could I have missed it?"
--------------
The party was likely to last for days, possibly weeks if the important people stayed that long. There were various entertainments planned to hold their interest, both during the day and during the night. Shae had discovered that Vionha's guest list had included some of the highest ranking Djinni in the land, and a Hand of the Emperor was here as well. Shae wondered how Vionha had managed to keep the news from her; Something this large and expensive she would have expected to hear of even in Paragon City.

Tonight, she and half the notables on this end of the empire were staying as Vionha's guests. Shae didn't feel precisely comfortable, but there was a limit to what Vionha could attempt to do to her inside the empire, and even fewer things she could try against her as a guest. Shae looked at the luxurious room that the servant had led her to, and tapped her fingers thoughtfully on the bedpost. She had scanned the room carefully, and found nothing harmful, just a few easily dealt with spells in the bedding that had been designed to rob her of rest. She was going to need that rest; trying to be charming and witty for hours on end was hard work. Shae was not looking forward to days or weeks of this. The dreams she had been having of home had been light diversions, leaving out all of the politics and social pitfalls. The reality was daunting, and she felt woefully out of practice and behind on the gossip.

The palace and the gardens were new, and though it was night time and overcast, and she had therefore seen no landmarks, there was something about this place that felt familiar somehow. Perhaps she would place this familiar feeling tomorrow. The other thing that was bothering her was that Vionha seemed to be expecting something different from her. Vionha had watched her smugly all evening, like she was expecting Shae to grow spots, or to attack her hostess out of hand, or sneak off and look for something. The thought was growing in Shae that she was missing some important piece of information.

Shae wondered if the temporal distortion between here and Paragon City would work in her favor or against her this time. She had been looking forward to Cog's wedding. At least the gift had been sent, so whether or not Shae herself arrived, the package would. Shae sighed. She missed Paragon. For all it's craziness, it was simpler there.

---------------
Vionha was reluctantly admiring Shae's restraint. She had expected the girl to be more reckless in her rescue of the missing scientists. Up to the point of Shae's arrival, Vionha's plan to trap Shae into discrediting herself in front of half the empire seemed to be working well. Then, instead of insisting on rescuing the mortals, or sneeking around discracefully in her host's home, she had simply settled in to be charming and beautiful, and tell stories of her adventures in mortal lands.

Very frustrating. Vionha hadn't known the girl had such patience. Well, all she had to do was outwait Shae. She was bound to try to sneak off and rescue the mortals sooner or later.

---------------
The scientists were in a cell in the bottom of the palace. It was a new palace, and therefore a new cell, and it hadn't had time to become more uncomfortable than a simple underground stone cell could be. It smelled of nothing more than earth and stone, and two days of unwashed scientists. That didn't stop Dr. Raul Contrerez from complaining at the top of his lungs for about as long as his voice held out. When he could no longer scream at his captors because his voice had finally given out, his fellow prisoners sighed with relief and got what sleep they could on the hard stone floor.

It was only the second night here, and likely Portal corporation didn't even know they were missing yet. There seemed to be a slight temporal distortion between this plane and their version of Paragon City. It was the one thing they had managed to measure before the illusion of forest had dropped and they had found themselves surrounded by archers, in a formal garden. Now they were in a dungeon, that seemed to belong to a woman planning on using them as hero bait.

Hopefully the Heroes of Paragon would come through for them again, and they'd be sleeping in their own beds soon. Perhaps it was time to think about taking that ecological survey job in the Amazon? It might be safer...

<Shae dreamed>

She was playing a game of tag at a masked ball in a large ornate garden. The light from lanterns and magically glowing orbs shone on the players and spectators, gleaming on the fantastic costumes and masks they all wore. Shae's golden gown was decorated with silken feathers, and her mask was in the likeness of a Phoenix. She caught someone and then quickly dashed into the shrubbery maze to loose them. A few turns into the maze and she was thoroughly lost herself, but that was part of the fun as well. The fancy parties and the games were things she had done back home;here in Paragon, she merely dreamed of them.

It was the silence that alerted her to the change in the dream. She could no longer hear the shouts and the laughter of the players. Instead there was only the whispering of the wind through the leaves of the maze. She turned the corner and saw the Gate. It was black obsidian stone, and filled the further end of the corridor she was in.

Suddenly, she felt uncomfortable in the the mask. She untied the silken ribbons holding the Phoenix mask in place and pulled it off. She pulled the pins from her dark hair and shook it loose, before she aproached the gate and examined it. The smooth black surface of the stone Gate absorbed what little light came from the starlit sky. Through the gateway she could see rolling hills of tall grass, but everything was misty grey. Carefully, Shae reached out to touch the gate, but it wasn't there to anything but her sight. She could not touch it or walk though.

Even more curious now, she reentered the maze in an attempt to find the other side of the gate. When Shae found it again, it was once more at the end of a corridor. Once more it led out onto a misty grey hillside. Again, she could not touch it, or interact with it in any way.

When it was clear that she would learn no more, she woke herself.

Shae pulled on the red velvet robe and went into the kitchen to make herself some tea, and to think. She ran through the symbology in her mind: mazes, masks, a Gate of obsidian stone, a misty grey landscape.

Shae set the filled copper kettle on the stove to heat.

The maze, she decided, was probably a construct of her own mind. It was the transition point between the ordinary dream and the other. Possibly it was representative of her feelings towards the other, and that would probably mean that this had to do with something she was aware of already and was attempting to puzzle out. So this was probably not a random dream, but something in some way known to her already.

When the water was boiling she poured the water over the tea leaves in her teapot.

The mask, she decided, was a holdover from the ordinary part of the dream as well. She had felt uncomfortable wearing it once the dream changed, and the discomfort was actually familiar, although lately her discomfort had been because of a different mask...

Shae poured the tea into a heavy ceramic mug, and continued thinking.

A Gate of Obsidian stone, leading out onto a misty grey landscape.

Shae sipped her tea, and thought of Vesperi.

Just in case...since tomorrow is Friday...

Vionha felt the triggering of the alarm spell.

Unfortunately when she felt it she was attempting to be charming and facinating to the Hand of the Emperor, and that took all her concentration. The Hand's mystical connection to the Emperor was a secret that she had not yet managed to make her own, and any clue she might percieve would be valuable in her research. She had to be careful though. In any dealings with the Emperor you had to be careful, and dealing with a Hand was in many ways the same as dealing with the Emperor himself.

It was several hours before she could check the spell.

She tracked the alarm spell to an apartment she had used in Paragon City and frowned thoughtfully. She had used that place to trap several djinni. She tried to recall what might have still been there. The djinni had since been freed and most of them had made their way back home. The trap had kept them away nearly long enough, however, and the disarray and confusion had helped further her own plots nicely. It was a pity that Drina had come back home only to go and study magic under Mathasus. She might have been useful, or amusing, but his stronghold was too remote for Vionha to casually drop by and the old goat had never liked Vionha. Drina was likely out of reach for the moment.

She decided to see what had triggered her alarm in person. It was always possible that her traps would catch something interesting, and her servants, however capable, might have trouble penetrating her trap spells without harm to themselves.

Vionha arrived in Paragon City in disguise. However open Shae and Drina had been about their origin, Vionha was not one to give away the advantage of surprise.

So it was that an old woman came back to a forgotten apartment in King's Row. She let herself in ad looked around. at first glance nothing seemed amiss. Dissapointed at not finding a captive disabled on the floor, or a body to dispose of, she examined the apartment more carefully.

Here was the room she had kept her captive djinni in. It was empty now, of course. The bottles had been tipped over, and the djinni freed a while ago. Some vandal had broken the bookshelves and had feed them all by sheerest accident. She hoped the potions he had broken open had transformed him into a cockroach. She looked up at the nearly invisible runes traced around the edge of the ceiling and smiled. If the spell to steal a Djinni's bottle was her greatest acheivement of research, the spell runes around the edge of the ceiling were her greatest acheivement of theivery. This was the spell that had been triggered when the djinni had been freed, triggered by the presence of more than three beings in the room at the same time. This was the spell that had teleported everything and everyone in the room to random points in Paragon. This was the spell that had kept Drina and Shae from being able to meet face to face in all the time they had been in Paragon. Vionha had copied this spell from the Emperor's own private apartments to use it here for her own purpose. The spell was meant to foil assasins, and therefore the beings affected by the spell were kept apart thereafter by the enchantment. It had been delicious fun watching Shae and Drina living in the same city, having the same friends, and yet unable to meet or to come to one another's aid.

A pity Shae had resisted asking someone to attempt to break the spell; Having her banished for treason for exposing Imperial secrets to foreigners would have been even better.

Nothing looked disturbed in any of the rooms. Carefully, Vionha checked her enchantments, Several had been triggered, but to no effect, no captive, no body. She checked the more mundane traps in the bookcase and on the desk, but found that her poisoned surprises had all been disarmed! She fumed. Someone had been here, someone clever and subtle enough to find and disarm all her traps without taking harm. She closed her eyes and attempted to get a magical or psychic sense of the intruder and found nothing. It might as well have been the West wind blowing through for all the traces left.

She looked around once more to see if she could discover a clue to the identity of the sneak through what valuables were missing.

The rare magic books were still on the shelves.

The antique knicknacks were still there.

A jeweled necklace lay on the desk where she had dropped it 50 years before.

A small bronze idol rested in the corner of the room, still quietly radiating ritual power.

Nothing seemed to be missing or stolen. She walked from room to room unable to discover what could be missing. All the valuables, all the powerful things were still here. The traps were sprung, but the bait had not been touched.

She did feel a faint sense of unease. A piece of the puzzle was missing, but what?

Sunrise was at 5:45. Hopefully, she could get the preparations done in time. Thankfully, this was the second time she had had to do this particular ritual. Also, she blessed her foresight as she had chosen to keep the materials she needed on hand, just in case.

Shaking slightly, she pulled out the black, leather bound book with the ritual in it, and scanned it carefully to make sure it was fresh in her memory.

Then she set out the herbs she needed for the purifying bath.

Then she made a phone call. "Don't speak. You will have to do it without me, " and she hung up.

Even that much, even filtered through the technology of this world, it might compromise him with so much of Her magic poison running through her.

She prepared the ritual, and hoped.

Shae could do nothing but remember: the helplessness, and watching the form of the bottle be slowly replaced by the reality of her imprisonment. It had been a different place, a different trap, and long ago, but the same methods used. Now she recognized them as Djinni sorcery, and she knew the spell being used. It was the very one she had hoped to find the notes on in a certain warded King's Row apartment. She hadn't thought that her Djinni opponent would betray one of her own kind into slavery to a human.

The Carnivale mistress examined the bottle carefully. "What a pretty trinket," she looked from the golden bottle, patterned with rubies in an intricate pattern to Shae, "and what a useful toy you shall be." She released Shae from the now unnecessary shimmering gold binding with a word and a wave of her hand, and while turning, nearly tripped over the returning fire elementals.

Startled, she stepped backwards, into the open air. Opening her mouth to utter a command to Shae; instead she screamed incoherently in pain as the first fire elemental leaped upon her. Then she screamed again as a second elemental attacked her from behind.

And then the Carnivale mistress dropped the bottle....


================

Shae held her own lamp in her hands, and looked at the burning remains of the Carnivale mistress. The smell of burnt hair and flesh permeated the air, but Shae ignored it. Her elementals, healed by Shae's magic and ready again to defend her, stood around on the ledges keeping guard.

Eventually, she recalled her original purpose in seeking out the Carnivale to hunt this evening. Shae saw the white shape of a Carnivale mask on the ground and knelt to examine it. Carefully, she touched it with her fingers, seeking to feel the nature of it. She was tensed, expecting to feel the touch of the souls trapped within and powering it...

She did not expect it to turn into a snake and bite her.

Shae cried out as the venom of it burned it's way into her flesh, and an illusion of her Djinni opponent appeared before her dressed in an even more exquisite gown than the Carnival mistress had worn.
It laughed, "Poor little Shae. Surely you expected me to have a backup plan, should my human tool fail me?" The illusion continued, shaking it's head sadly," Of course you did not. I always have another plan, my dear, always." The illusion appeared to look at the burned body, "She made a lovely distraction, did she not?" The illusions eyes followed Shae as she circled it, examining it.
Shae agreed with it, "A lovely distraction, as you are trying to do now," and she burned the snake to a crisp with her fire, popping the illusion of the other djinni like a soap bubble.

Shae looked at her arm where the serpent had bitten her, detecting a faint green glow in the darkness, and feeling the beginnings of a fever. "How long was the illusion set to distract me for, and how long do I have?" She felt a wave of dizzyness and nausea overtake her and suspected that she did not have long to prepare.

((NOTE: I use the term 'bottle' an 'lamp' in my Djinni stories. They are essentially the same object, but one is sealable, and therefore I use it to represent the prison/trap/shackle, and the other is a lightsource, and therefore more symbolic of freedom/knowledge/willing service. There are several forms for oil lamps. One form is very much like that of a bottle with no lid/stopper/seal(resevoir for oil+wick=lamp, pretty much). This is the form I imagine the oillamps to be for purposes of my Djinni stories))

((edit-I am aware that I don't write in a very open ended fashion. I do make it hard for people to add to my stories(not on purpose, but I somehow manage it), but comments, reactions, and other events are still welcomed by me. If you are still reading this at this point. THANK YOU!))

(Spoiler warning: If you don't want ANY clues about Carnivale arcs, stop here, as I am using one as background for this portion of my story.)



Shae and her small army of fire elementals picked their way through the graveyard. So far they had rescued three ghosts from the Carnivale, and somewhere ahead of her was the one leading this particular Carnivale picnic. In the back of her mind an idea was forming; The ghosts had been grateful for her interference in the Carnivale's plans, and perhaps one of them could help her with the information she sought. As the thought entered her mind, though, she caught sight of a woman in an elaborate, colorful gown, with her hair up in a fashion that hadn't been current since the 1600's. The woman was speaking to her companions on a ledge below Shae and her army, "A soul is a soul, whether dead or alive. They will bend to our will."

Shae Firewarder stopped and motioned for her elementals to stay hidden a moment as she evaluated the strength of the group of Carnivale on the stone ledge below her. Then she summoned a whisp of smoke to hide her army in, and led them forward. Eagerly the fire imps charged; the Strongman managed to get one blow off before he was swarmed and taken down. The woman in the elaborate gown turned towards her as Shae flung cinders into the eyes of the group on the ledge. Several of the Carnivale stumbled blindly to a stop, choking, but the cinders went right through the gowned woman as she calmly smiled at Shae, "You will spend eternity as my slave." The woman held up a shimmering ball that Shae suddenly recognised with a sickening sense of dread. Time seemed to stop as the Djinni made ball dissolved into a shimmering mist of gold and Shae was held securely in place, unable to move or speak. The gowned woman then let her insubstantiality fade, and summoned illusions to keep Shae's fire elementals busy and at bay. The sounds of battle faded somewhat as the illusions and the fire elementals chased each other around the corner, intent on their battle.

Unable to move even her eyes, Shae realised that she was completely at the mercy of the Carnivale woman who was now stepping forward to look her over. Even as that realization struck her, she recognised the item still in the woman's other hand; it was a wax replica of a bottle, shimmering with gold dust and magic. The woman looked at Shae, "I know the scavenger hunt is over,"she frowned slightly and then smiled again,"But why stop when we're having so much fun? Let's see what it takes to frighten Shae Firewarder!"

===============================

"Isn't it lovely?" The woman cooed at Shae while turning the glittering bottle in her hands deliberately in front of Shae's trapped eyes,"almost as lovely as you are...but look! It changes!" the woman laughed delightedly as the magic spell caught and flared, and the bottle began to shift, turning more golden, and flickering with red sparks of flame."Such a pretty gift from an admirer," She looked into Shae's eyes, "Poor Shae, you are frightened; it is true then, is it not? It is summoning your bottle to me, and you will spend eternity as my slave."

Unable to move or speak, Shae watched the powerful magic spell provided to this Carnivale woman by a Djinni traitor as it molded itself to her magic. Shae felt the intimate touch of the magic as it invaded her helpless form and followed the mystical connection from her body to that solid bit of her soul and magic that was her bottle, far away in Founder's Falls in its otherwise secure hiding place. The wax bottle in the woman's hand shimmered and melted and appeared to reform, solidified, into a metallic gold with small red gems set in a pattern resembling flickering flames.

A Castle was being built at the top of a hill, the white stone of it's foundation blindingly bright in the sunshine. Watching the construction was a woman in a silver satin gown, the gems in her hair throwing off false sparks in the sunlight. A dark clad man hurried up the hill and bowed gracefully and deeply to her.

Pleased with his haste and courtesy, she smiled at him, "I can see you have news...is it of Her?"

He shifted uneasily, even when she smiled, she was still dangerous, "I have news of Shae, from the Human lands."

Her eyes narrowed, and her smile became more predatory, "Come with me. I will hear of this in more private quarters."

He followed her to a silken pavilion in a sunny clearing where not long ago there had been the deep shade of forest.

The woman paced across the patterned carpets and sank gracefully into a silk covered chair, and waited for his report, as a servant seemed to materialize at her elbow. She held out a hand and the servant set a wineglass filled with a fragrant white wine into her hand, and then placed a small plate with dainty finger foods on the delicate table beside her chair.

Knowing her well, her messenger did not expect to be offered a chair or refreshment. He began to recite his news, "She has started hunting those they call the 'Carnivale' again. Apparently there is some secret they hold that she wishes to divine. She has become rather absorbed in this task and is examining the masks that the Carnivale wear when she has defeated them."

"Is there more?"

He began to sweat a little, with no idea of how much information she would believe sufficient,"My Lady, I deemed it most important to get this word to you quickly. Events happen swiftly in the Human lands, and Shae may learn this secret she seeks and move on to other things."

The Lady swirled the wine in her glass absently, "I can not move against Shae openly here, as she can not move against me. Our political connections are balanced, for the nonce. However, her association with humans has always been risky. It is a dangerous game to live in the Human lands, for a Djinni, is that not so?" she looked at her messenger and he shivered."I have a connection in the Carnivale; I think that I will send her...a present or two...."

Shae was tired of staring at the computer screen and Thomas was weary of walking all over Paragon City. She plotted the last coordinate on the map and scrubbed at her eyes. Then she hit the com button and spoke to her partner,"I think we have enough points to narrow it to a two block area in the Highpark neighborhood of King's Row...I don't think we can narrow it further this way. The next step is looking at records in city hall I believe." She stood and stretched, and then startled at the sound of the front door of the SG Headquarters unlocking. Alert now, she moved quietly through the two rooms to the entry way, and then stood, surprised.

N i n j a stood in the hallway, pointing out the security measures and handing keys to two of his companions. Night Whisper stood behind him and nodded to Shae.
N i n j a noticed Shae standing in the doorway and smiled at her, "Ah, Shae, this is Blooette, and you remember Sun - Burn?"
Shae smiled and nodded to them, "Greetings."
Sun - Burn smiled back, " Ello"
Blooette waved and said, "Hello."
The party moved into the lounge and she managed to catch Ninja's eye. He let Night Whisper continue the tour, and came over to her. "You needed to speak to me?"
Shae nodded, and shrugged,"You stocked up the secret super group headquarters with a bunch of tech stuff...I borrowed a bit of it to help me find something. It is occasionally useful to know a boy who can afford the best toys."
He smiled charmingly at her,"Flatterer."
She smiled back at him and explained further, "I needed the tracking system...the little whatevers and microphones..and the computer map for the coordinates. I'll get them back in the cabinet soon."
"No rush, no worries..." He looked at her more seriously, "Derrik says you have helped a lot..I am grateful."
"When I could find him. His paths and mine rarely crossed." She paused, uncertain of how things would change with N i n j a back and the headquarters occupied by more than just her and Night Whisper,"I was heading out, as I have an early start tomorrow. Good hunting, and hope to see you more often."

The man in the expensive silk suit stood looking out of his office window at the streets of Steel Canyon, far below. His office was above the legal flight ceiling for Heroes, and occasionally he enjoyed looking down on the superpowered saviors of the city. Right now, though his thoughts were far from the spandex clad flyers zipping past traveling from one end of the canyon to the other. The phone on the expensive mahogony desk behind him rang.

He pressed the button and his assistant's voice came clearly through the microphone,"Dr Contrerez is on the line. He wishes to speak to you regarding the court case. Do you wish to speak with him, or shall I say you are unavailable?"

"I'll speak to him this time, Thank you Jean," he sat down at the desk and picked up the phone, "Raul, how nice to speak with you again."

"About your court case. I hope you realise that the best you will manage with that is to tie her up in court a while?" he listened to his phone and absently picked up the crystal paperweight on his desk, turning it to catch the sunlight streaming in from the window behind him."Raul, even with your assault charges hanging over her, she still rescued you again at the behest of Portal Corporation, this time from the devouring earth; I doubt there is a jury anywhere that would convict her of assaulting you."

He narrowed his eyes and set the paperweight down gently,"No, I think you overestimate my power in that regard, and fixing a jury is not something that I would do, not for you, or for anyone."

He leaned forward and spoke firmly into the phone, "I believe it is time for you to make a choice. I can exert myself somewhat and get you back on active duty at Portal corporation or I can continue to waste my efforts tying up this Shae Firewarder in court."

"I thought so."He leaned back in his expensive leather chair and listened for a while before speaking again, "That world...why that one in particular? The coordinates may be hard to recreate. What can you do for me to make this worth my time and trouble? "

He picked up a pen and twirled it in his fingers. taking mental notes and calculating in his head the worth of what the doctor was offering, and the likelyhood of his success, "For that, I will work on it. Welcome back to active duty at Portal Corporation."

After he hung up on the Dr., he tapped his fingers on the desk and looked out the window at the warwall, shimmering greenly in the sunlight.

Then he picked up the phone again, "Jean, phone the Director of Operations at Portal corporation for me, and call me when you have her on the line. Thankyou."

(I haven't quite gotten to typing up the next part yet. Maybe I'll get to it tonight. )

Shae had felt his eyes on her for some time before she left the park. She turned a few corners, and then stopped, waiting. She crossed her arms and looked at where she knew he would appear.

He came around the corner and she could not help but admire his adaptability. He could blend in anywhere, from the Djinni royal court, to a park in Paragon city and go completely unremarked. She watched him as he took in her stance, and his own posture changed. Suddenly he was obviously a powerful Djinni warrior, though he was still dressed as a Paragon City civilian.

"Why did you tell him so much?" he demanded.

"He needs to know," she replied, calmly.

"He does not need to know so much about you. You let your guard down too far, here, and he cannot help you track what we seek."

She watched him as he glared at her. Then he looked away down the street and sighed, "Shae there are some things that I can not protect you from." He looked back at her and she was surprised at the intensity in his eyes.

"Thomas, I am sorry. I do not mean to make you worry for me. I have my reasons, although I cannot fully explain them."

"Ever mysterious Shae, " he said softly. "I suppose that is part of the attraction. I do trust your judgement. Perhaps I am merely overreacting." He sighed again, "Did you have to speak with him in the middle of such a public place?"

"Would you have preferred that I meet him somewhere more private? My apartment, perhaps? or his houseboat? A secluded spot in Perez Park perhaps?" Shae studied the sudden storm in his dark eyes and said softly, "Thomas, you need not worry about that." She took a step closer and touched his arm.

"I blew my cover did I not?"He murmered softly,"Shae, right now..."

"I know. The middle of a campaign is not the time to start this, and she does not need the leverage."

They stepped back from one another and he put on the citizen demeanor that hid him so well on the streets of Paragon. She looked up at the warwall a moment shimmering in the dusk, and then headed to the tram to Skyway.

((This is basically a heavily edited log from last night in Gemini park. EXTREMELY heavily edited, as it wasn't a slow night there. My apologies to all who vanished from the following text, but I really feel it is long enough as it is.))
((Many, many thanks to Vesperi for having the patience to sit and help me get this story out, finally.))

Vesperi: "Hmn, so, you wanted to talk, when we had the chance...."

Shae Firewarder: "True."

Vesperi: "um, well...." Vesperi trails off.

Shae Firewarder: "There are a couple things."

Vesperi: "Yes?"

Shae Firewarder:" Hm. Well, did you want the questions first...or the story?"

Vesperi: "Hm, how about the questions...."

Shae Firewarder:" Well, to start...I heard you looked at Kelp...a while back because of some headaches he was having."

Vesperi: "Hm, yes, I've examined Kelp."

Shae Firewarder: "Did you recommend a course of action though...or someone else to see?"

Vesperi: "Hm, I don't know if you could really say I recommended a course of action. Rather, I let him know what was going on and left him to decide upon his options."

Shae Firewarder: That's all I wanted on that, thank you."

Vesperi raises an eyebrow

Shae Firewarder: "I'll not pry further"

Vesperi: "Um, ok.... uh, no, that's fine. But uh, well, huh?"

Shae Firewarder: "It had to do with who he chose to ask after..."

Vesperi: "Oh, who was that?"

Shae Firewarder: "Natalia"

Vesperi cringes."Oh [censored], you gotta be kidding me!"

Shae Firewarder: "and though I don't know her, the reactions from others to the name...."

Vesperi: "Um, yeah, I'm gonna take that up with him later."

Shae Firewarder: "So, though I am not...truly involved, I found myself wondering."

Vesperi: "Right, so what's next? before I go yell at Kelp that is...."

Shae Firewarder: "Heh."

Shae Firewarder: "Next...You may or may not be able to do the thing I would have asked you...I once again, want something found."

Vesperi: "Hm, well, you know my limitations. Does it have a soul?"

Shae Firewarder: "But it needs...to be someone that I know and trust that looks for it."

Shae Firewarder: "It's an area protected by a spell...set by a person in particular..."

Vesperi: "So you need to find a place?"

Shae Firewarder: "A place. <sighs> and a well hidden one."

Vesperi: "Hm, and you say there is a spell protecting it?"

Shae Firewarder: "A 'forgetting' spell. It makes it hard to find..."

Vesperi: "Hm, well, normally I probably wouldn't be able to help you in fidning a place. However...."

Vesperi ponders for a moment,"Shae, have you ever heard the saying 'the more we try to hide our steps, the more we show our hand'?"

Shae Firewarder nods, " I have heard something similar."
Vesperi nods

Vesperi: "Right, it seems to me the solution to that problem then is simple. Don't look for the place at all. Look for the spell."

Shae Firewarder: "Then the spell is what I will seek..."

Vesperi nods and then grins, "Right then, next dilemma..."

Shae Firewarder: "Heh. We are down to the story, and past the questions. "

Vesperi: "Well, story time then...." *smiles broadly*

Shae Firewarder: "Long ago there was a young Djinni. She grew up protected in her parents lands."

Vesperi settles in to listen

Shae Firewarder:" When she finally went to court and met other young Djinni of her kind there was a fashion at the time for exploring the human worlds."

Vesperi nods

Shae Firewarder:"A dangerous fashion, to disquise yourself as mortal and forgo magic for a time."

Shae Firewarder: "She took the name 'Amalia' and stayed for a while in a human city."

Vesperi nods again, understanding this is more than just a story.

Shae Firewarder: "doing laundry for a school...a college of sorts, though they used a different term."

Shae Firewarder:" It seemed a grand adventure, and hard work was...novel perhaps."

Shae Firewarder: "She took any opportunity to read what she could, and learned all she could of the area and the history."

Vesperi nods and listens

Shae Firewarder: "The other girls thought her strange, as she gave no thought to marriage, or finding a man to 'keep' her...but then they were mortal, and such things seemed more urgent to them. "

Shae Firewarder: "One day a scholar at the school noticed her, and spoke to her. He became intrigued with her, as she was unlike any girl he had met. Unique in his experience."

Shae Firewarder:" She in turn found him interesting as well, and being young, impetuous...foolish even...She fell in love with him."

Vesperi nods

Shae Firewarder: "And when he asked her to marry him, against the wishes of his family and against her better judgement, she said yes."

Shae Firewarder: "His family...made it hard for her at first. But over the course of the next five years they grew accustomed to her, and she to them. Her love for the mortal man made it seem to be worth the hardships."

Vesperi nods and waits for it all to go wrong

Shae Firewarder: "One day he came to her with the news that he must leave to go to war. His lord was building an army to retake the holy land."

Vesperi starts to piece together how long ago this was

Shae Firewarder sighs and looks at her hands, "She wished to go with him, begged to go with him, but he would not hear of it."

Vesperi: "Hm, and then...."

Shae Firewarder: "To convince him that she would be useful to him at his side she revealed her true identity."

Vesperi sighs sadly

Shae Firewarder: "He did not react as she had thought he would."

Vesperi: "No, no I'm sure he didn't."

Shae Firewarder: "First, he raged at her for the deception, and then he got very quiet, and acted as if he needed to think things over."

Shae Firewarder: "He sent her, and his sister with her on an errand into town....."

Shae Firewarder: "When she returned, the room, the house...had been searched ...ransacked."

Vesperi nods

Shae Firewarder: "She found him sitting in his study, with her lamp in his hands."

Shae Firewarder: "And so she did accompany him to war, but not at his side as his wife, but rather as a slave, and as a weapon."

Vesperi nods sadly and sighs

Shae Firewarder: "He used her for many years. The Holy land was retaken with her assistance, he rose in power...and one day finally he made a mistake."

Shae Firewarder: "After his death, she retrieved her bottle and went back to the lands of the Djinni."

Vesperi: "But that's not the end of the story is it?"

Shae Firewarder smiles sadly, "after I returned home, it took many years to recover from the rage and the betrayal"

Vesperi nods
.
Shae Firewarder: "Finally I began to recover, My sister... among other things she is partly responsible for my reawakening to hope."

Vesperi nods and smiles, "Remind me to thank her later."

Shae Firewarder:" I began to go to court more, and I began to let the young men of my own kind there court me."

Shae Firewarder:" I began to think of finding someone to marry."

Vesperi: "Hm, and did you?"

Shae Firewarder: "Which isn't a light thing for someone who might live for a *very* long time."

Vesperi: "Shae, it shouldn't be a light thing for anyone."

Shae Firewarder: "I didn't marry...I had narrowed my list of possibilities... and then my little sister went plane hopping to find the perfect birthday present for a cousin of ours."

Shae Firewarder:" and vanished."

Vesperi: "And that's when you got drawn back here isn't it?"

Shae Firewarder:" I came here hunting for her."

Vesperi nods and gives her a soft smile, and places a gentle hand over the top of hers,"You owed me no explanation Shae"

Shae Firewarder: "I found her, but she had been used as bait to trap me."

Vesperi removes his hand but continues smiling softly at her

Shae Firewarder: "I was trapped in the bottle for aproximately 50 years."

Vesperi nods sadly

Shae Firewarder: "as was Drina."

Vesperi: "I understand, Shae."

Shae Firewarder: "and...apparently a cousin of mine, and a couple other Djinni as well."

Shae Firewarder: "There is a spell on us...one that was triggered when we were all freed at once in that room."

Vesperi: "And that is?"

Shae Firewarder: "One that prevents us from meeting face to face. The reason I could not *see* my sister in person."

Shae Firewarder:" Initially I was perplexed at how this spell could have ben used here."

Shae Firewarder: "It is a Djinni spell...and one used to protect the emporer in his private apartments. It prevents more than a certain number from being in a room, and is intended to cause disarray in the ranks of assasins."

Vesperi: "Ok...."

Shae Firewarder: "and you can see, I hope, why I have not attempted to find a way to break it?"

Vesperi: Yes, I think so.

Shae Firewarder: "If I did find a way, certainly if I had a mortals help in doing so, I would never be able to go home."

Shae Firewarder: "However, even with this spell on us, we have managed to compare experiences somewhat...over the phones here in Paragon."

Vesperi nods,"Hm, and...."

Shae Firewarder: "The one who trapped us is a Djinni...and I know who, but because of political considerations back home the plan I have to defeat her requires a few things."

Vesperi: "They are?"

Shae Firewarder: "One, is something in an apartment guarded by a forget spell."

Vesperi: "Hm, so that is the place you wish to find....?"

Shae Firewarder: "It is the place I was freed in. I think there may be evidence I could use against her there."

Vesperi nods

Vesperi: "As I said then, don't look for the place. Look for the magic on it."

((Again, thank you Vesperi for helping me get this out. I bless your patience with me.))

Crimson looked out at the waves and crumpled the list in his hands in frustration. All that sneaking around...and he needn't have even bothered. Once again, someone else had the task well in hand. And he had had to sit there under that desk while that man had the nerve to laugh. Well, thinking about it, he supposed that the situation might, eventually, seem funny.

Ah well, he had other things to do. The Malta had kidnapped another diplomat, and he needed to find a hero to send to the rescue.

-------------------------------
In the woods, on a recently visited dimension, a pair of djinni are talking....

"Are you truly going to build here?" the dark haired man says uncertainly."There was an alarm in these woods just recently...?"
"Are you implying that I might not be able to handle a few humans?" The woman turns to look at him, her silver skirts rustling.
"No..not at all...Of course not." he stammers, and starts to sweat a little.
"Actually," The woman looks indulgently at him, and fiddles with the pearl buttons on the sleeve of her satin dress, "the portal that was here is the reason I want to build the castle nearby." she stroked the fabric of her gown. It was totally inapropriate for walking in the woods; an expression of power and wealth displayed to the squirrels and rabbits.
"It will be convenient, really. The humans will be unable to resist exploring...and little Shae will be unable to resist attempting to rescue them. The softhearted wench will walk right into my hands....again." She smiles cruelly, and the man shivers.

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((C'mon...don't you ever wish you could torture your contacts back? ))

The Director was having a bad day. But then, she considered any day that she had to deal with Dr. Contrerez a bad one, and right now, Dr. Contrerez was following her into her office.
" Please sit", she gestured at one of the chairs in front of her desk, "and, before you say another word to me, let me tell you that I don't care to hear it. I know you have powerful connections. You have made that obvious, to me and the rest of Paragon as well."
She looks down at her desk, and then back up at Dr. Contrerez with narrowed eyes, "It doesn't matter who else is suggested for the next trip across a portal, for some reason every list has your name on it...So...to get you and everyone else out of my hair, off you go. You are in. Now. Get. Out. Of. My. Office."

Dr. Contrerez left the Director's office savoring his victory, and the director put her head in her hands and sighed. She was considering leaving the office so that whoever it was that was hiding could leave...but no...they owed her a little discomfort. She decided to keep whoever it was on his knees for a little longer. She set aside the two counterfeit lists on her desk and pulled out some paperwork to pass the time...

Under the table, the two men crouched. One was silently laughing, while the other simply stared at him.

--------------------------------------
Across town, Dr Contrerez's efforts were having slightly less effect, as a long delayed bail hearing was held.

-----


--

Crimson stood in the shadows and watched. He had wanted to help Shae Firewarder, partly because she was reliable and knew when not to talk about her missions, partly because he wanted her to owe him a favor for once.

Unfortunately for him he had been frustrated at every turn. The keyboard was clean, the tape was erased, Portal Corporation wasn't pressing charges for destruction of property... There was only one very vocal doctor still offended by her treatment of him making waves, and somehow he suspected that the good Doctor Contrerez would cease to be a problem somehow ...
------------------------------------------------------

He walked along the corridor keeping his head down. It had been too long since he had attempted anything of this sort..in this kind of setting at least. His skill at looking like an anonymous working man was being sorely tested. He made his way to the office of the Portal Corporation's Director of Operations, and let himself in. He had almost discarded the idea out of hand, but, the oracle had insisted that this plan had the highest chance of a positive outcome for Shae of the available futures. He left the counterfeit personel list on the desk, and was about to pick up and pocket the one he was replacing when the sound of voices outside, one of them the Director herself, alerted him to the danger of discovery. Knowing that being found in here would ruin the plan entire, he scanned the room for a suitable hiding place. Besides the desk, the only only other large piece of furniture in the room was an oblong table pushed up against the wall...It's support was a long panel of some sort of metal attached to an oblong foot, slightly smaller than the top of the table. He made it into the shadow of the table barely in time, and then froze...looking into the face of someone who had clearly been thinking along the same lines as he. The two men stared silently at each other in the shadow behind the table as the Director and her guest came the rest of the way into the room

Brad Peterson was nervous. Very nervous. He'd spilled his coffee once this morning already, and the only reason he hadn't called in sick was because he really did love his job. Well, that and he was dying for more news than the TV and papers had had. Last night he had seen a couple things on the news on Shae Firewarder, but by this morning the news had moved on.

On his way back to get a second cup of coffee, he heard a two of the security guys talking...

"And now I have the cops breathing down my neck about that erased security tape for lab 5 yesterday morning."
Brad stopped to listen in what he hoped was an inconspicuous place. Thinking fast, he stopped and tied his shoe.
"I don't know why they don't switch over to something besides tape anyways. It isn't like they are lacking in the technology."
"Well, the police weren't happy that we had handed over an empty tape, but I told them there wasn't anything I could do."

Brad moved on and breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't need to worry about the tape at least. They wouldn't know he had wiped down his keyboard after she had left.

After her lawyer, Victor Nobles left, Shae lay in her cell remembering...


Shae had been walking in the woods, talking quietly with her contact in Djinni.
"You can't bring that one now." he said.
"No, I understand. They are having a hard enough time with the others. They would never approve the plan with him...them...." Shae sighs in frustration.
"You are thinking on human time now. Be patient."
"It is hard enough to find the ones I trust enough to bring in on this, let alone getting approval from..."Shae stops and listens. There were voices near...where no one should be.

Shae and her companion moved silently closer to the voices, "Oh, Damn..." Shae realised that her whispered curse had come out in English.
Her companion looked at her and whispered in Djinni, " They know not the danger they are in...if they came by portal the alarms will have been triggered. A warband will already be on the way..."
"I know. I can't let them be killed here. Besides the fact that they mean no harm, if they are killed here, more will come to investigate." Shae looks at her companion. "I'll shift them back, but, I can't say how long that will hold them, not now that that the way is open..."
"Shae...what will they do on their side...to you?" He sounded worried for her.
"They won't kill me out of hand."she whispered back to him, "Their laws don't permit that."
"I know enough of human lands to be aware of that....and enough of Djinni know that isn't the worst they could do to you."



Shae stared at the four walls of the cell. Four walls that had started to feel very close and confining, and whispered, "I know...."


((99,999,999,998 bottles of beer on the wall))

No fingerprints were found on the keyboard. None.

Due to a technical snafu, the videotapes of the portal area were erased. Apparently they were on a magnetic type tape, and someone set them down next to a powerful magnet at some point when they were on route to the PPD. We are looking into the circumstances of this. ((erased before the police even touched them.))

Grad student Barbara Newsmith refused to talk to this interviewer at all. She seemed scared, but would not say of what or of who. She is the other person who assisted in carrying Dr Contrerez across to PI.

Technician Brad Peterson recognised Shae Firewarder because of her other trips though the portals. He says she exited the portal after the scientists, though he doesn't recall her going in with them. Then she walked over to him, bumped him and apologized and then he suffered a coughing fit. When he could see and breath again, his station where he controls the coordinates that the portal is set to was nonfunctional, due to the control board having been removed. The control board was found in the wastebasket beside him, melted.