shizaru

I've finished a new arc that I would like feedback on. It is made for levels 30 to 54, and its of nuetral morality so both heroes and villains can play it.

ARC ID 314976
"It's Fundamental"
Description: When a movie producer is captured by a group of androids resembling Frodo from the Lord of the Rings, the mysterious Chessmaster (your contact) asks you to look into it. Soon you'll be fighting other fictional characters, but the creator of these androids is a mystery.

I'd like to know what you think of my new arc.

ARC ID: 314976
Morality: Nuetral
Level Range: 30 to 54
Description: A new villain has appeared in the city with an army of fictional characters from story books. He doesn't seem to be after money or power, but what does he want?

I created this arc for characters that want something to do between the levels of 5 to 17.; Its an odd number of ranges, admittedly, but those are the ranges I get bored usually.

All critiques are wlecome on how to improve it.

Story: That Old Black Magic- The Auctioneer is a villain that outstrips even the notorious black market in Paragon and the Rogue isles in his gallery of ill gotten goods. But his latest auction has gained the attention the Midnighters. He is selling dangerous mystical items and you must stop this. Hero or villain, these items threaten you.

ARC ID: 312664

Please let me know what you think and any ways I can improve the arc!

Darla Mavis, the contact villains meet in Nerva wants to be super powered again. How much havoc can she cause in her quest, and is Doctor Creed helping her?

This arc can be soloed by a MM, and perhaps other characters that can handle tough mobs alone. (Ikmeant for it to be soloable.) I'd really appreciate any feedback on how to improve it. The arc is nuetral...its written for heroes and villains to be able to play)

Testing out an arc I've done, I have this problem:

The first mission involves investigating a Vanguard base where the agents have apparently gone mad. But as soon as you zone into the mission there are a half dozen agents RIGHT THERE. They begin attacking immediately and after testing it with several alts, only once have I survived the initial zone in.

I need to make it so the player isn't attacked immediately. Its not fair for the player nor is it fun. Sure the vanguard NPCs are tough, but the player needs at least to be able zone in, assess where to attack or summon pets/ buff/etc.

I've tried changing maps but the group of enemies always shows up there at the start. Its like being TP'd into a nest of foes. I'll probably work on it when I get back from work. (sigh....got to go to the range today in 92+ heat, high humidity and all that....).

Advice is welcome. If not I may have to rewrite the initial mission a bit.

Do enemies scale up in AE missions? I know that if you have a high level boss that should appear in an AE mission with a lower level player, the boss turns into a leiutenant. But does it go both ways? If a character that should be an LT or a Boss is in a mish with a higher level character will they be an EB or an AV?

IO ask because I want to use some enemies like the tsoo or the family, but I want my mission to be playable for levels 35 to 54. Is this possible?

Hey, X....you're good! They should hire you as a story editor! Thanks for the tips. I went through and fixed most of the typos you mentioned. Seriously I appreciate the help. Some of them were minor, but I still missed them the first time.

The only thing I had a problem with was fixing the lowercase "ally", and making sure only the bosses at the end need to be defeated not all of the minions. (not sure yet how to do that).

I just wanted to thank you again. I'll be trying to improve on the arc still, but your feedback really helped!

Heh. remember the old days when Blind Invites were the DOOOOOOOOM warning and there'd be a dozen threads about it?

This may seem like a silly question, but I need to ask it. I've been away from the game for months and since I came back I've been dinking around with the Architect.

I finished a villain arc that I think is pretty good for a first effort. I need to run through it again and clear up some typos, and one or two other things.

One being, an escort guy doesn't really despawn when led to the door. He just followed me around while I went to next objective in one mission. I think I may have his settings wrong, but it was a bother to see him trhere knowing that he should have been gone.

The second being do ally characters have to set at aggressive to make them fight or is it that my ally was a MM and the AI for them is borked. He didn'rt do anything, no pets, no fighting.

Is it better to fix major problems and publish or not? I believe the tip that says you're your own worst editor. But I need feedback somehow. No matter how many things I fix I know I'll miss some things.

I was just about to ask this very question. Too bad you can't add them. I hope thats changed in the future.

You know what I'd like? New maps. And a few more starting mission options. I've mentioned that before about a year or so ago. I've been away for a long time, but coming back I'm still disappointed in the missions that Kalinda and Burke give.

But I really like the idea of more events, too.

Whats worse is if you get a mission where the target is supposed to run. You know, the one where if you fail to stop them from escaping its automatic failed mission?

Those guys are usually (at least to me) able to resist any holds and disorients you can throw at them (well disorient doesn't matter since NPCs for the most part run at great speed even when disoriented....often without moving their legs.

One thing about running NPCs I've always wanted to ask...have you ever stopped a purse snatching and the guy that was fighting for the bag runs saying "I got it! its mine!"? Ever actually stop him and then defeat his partner? How come the victim doesn't say anything? you just saved them and stopped the guy that *had her purse*. Even if you don't get any influence or a drop it'd be nice to her say "Thanks MegaSuperUltra Man, my kids pictures were in there." or something.

I had two reapers that were +1 to me run away when i attacked the zombies with them. They didn't come back until the zombie were dead, and they walked back as if I were gone...until i attacked them again. Then they kind of stood and fought. (They may have run again, but i put a hold on both of them.)

I always wondered how blue steel got away with it, but maybe when other cops saw the body one of them threw a gun on the floor next to it and whispered "Ok, that was my unregistered, extra non-issue piece, Steel...remember when IA comes you tell 'em he pulled a gun...."

Just another tale featuring my technology blaster and a villain I created with him in mind.

************************************

Many of Paragon City’s heroes worked hard not to become jaded. After dealing with thugs, monsters and the dregs of society everyday it would be easy to stop caring. The trick was to learn to prioritize. Wonder Knight knew that well….the armored hero was streaking through the sky towards Independence Port to stop a reported heist by the Family when a report from Talos Island came over his helmet radio about a robbery in progress by unknown villains at EraChem Pharmacueticals. EraChem was a subsidiary of Crey and Wonder Knight always put a priority on the goings on at Crey. The heavy metal hero changed direction in midair and in a burst of specialized rockets sped off towards Talos.

Tyrone Gibson, the man inside of the Wonder Knight armor had an obsession with Crey. He used to work for them until he found out about their illegal dealings. In frustration he quit his job there and with a friend from MIT designed the Wonder Knight Armor particularly to combat Crey’s superpowered henchmen. Having witnessed firsthand how Crey continued their unethical and illegal activities with impunity, Gibson made it a point to counter them at every chance.

As he neared the docks of Talos Island the rows of warehouses became visible. The Erachem building bordered the warehouse district, and indeed the robbery was taking place in their storage facility there. A firefight was already taking place between several hostile entities and Crey Riot police. A gaping wall was in the side of the EraChem warehouse and parked directly outside of it was an armoured hovercraft of some kind. Wonder Knight came to a quick landing behind the perimeter the Crey Riot Police had set up. Weapons fire from the hole in the wall richoted around them and the Crey security forces fired back.

“Whats going on here?” Wonder knight ducked behind a Crey SWAT vehicle as he asked a field agent. He did note that no normal police units were on the scene, but Crey Security was all over the place. Why were there Crey Riot Control and SWAT teams here? Did they happen to be running a drill when this attack happened?

“Whats it look like!?” A Crey sergeant yelled back as he reloaded his weapon. “We’re trying to keep them pinned down until reinforcements arrive. I don’t even know who they are!” A bolt of sonic energy flew out of the hole in the wall and slammed into a riot policeman a mere 2 yard away. The man went flying fifteen feet into the air, landed with a skid on the pavement. “Medic! Carlson’s hit!” The sergeant cried out. “You here just to watch?” he screamed to Wonder knight as her rolled along the ground firing at the hostiles at the same time. More tightly focused sonic bursts came from the wall. Their impact shattered the vehicles barricading the area. Several men were hit, being blown away like toy soldiers by an angry child.

Wonder Knight was well known for his direct style in dealing with threats. He leapt over the vehicle into the line of fire and a mental command activated his armor’s weapons system s. A chime only he could hear was followed by a computer generated voice in his helmet:

[Computer]: “Information: Particle beam weaponry online. Impact Blasters energized. Warning. Targeting Scanners reduced to 65% by Hostile forces ECM, foo’! Manual targeting is required, crazy man!” Though the voice was a computer it sounded like Mister T. A week ago Wonder Knight had programmed his onboard AI with different personalities just to give it some spice.

The computer was correct though, several men in black and gold uniforms wearing high tech jet packs popped up behind the hovercraft and opened fire on Wonder Knight. His automatic targeting scanners couldn’t pinpoint all of them so he opted to fire a widespread particle beam at the nearest one. Energy spilled out of Wonder Knight’s gauntlets and struck three of the hostile men like a brick wall. They went flying backwards, one of them disappearing into the hole in the wall. But still a half dozen of them were still firing at him. Even as Wonder knight ducked and weaved to avoid being hit he recognized the uniforms they were wearing...just as his computer chimed again.

[Computer, now with the voice of Mister Spock]: ”Information: Hostile forces positively identified as Goldbrickers.Weapons are classified as Standard Boomer Class Sonic Rifles.”

“I can see that!” Wonder Knight spat between gritted teeth. Despite the immediate threat he was regretting the multiple personalities he gave his AI right now. He was outnumbered and the Crey forces were only firing back moderately now. Obviously because they wanted to see what Wonder Knight could do. The armoured hero knew that Crey had him listed as an enemy. Their security forces were probably under orders to consider him hostile or at the very least only render aid if it directly affected Crey facilities. But even before Wonder Knight could position himself to fire an arc of lighting struck from overhead striking several of the Goldbrickers at once. Three more appeared from the hole in the wall carrying secured boxes of chemicals to the hovercraft and another lightning bolt hit one of them. The man screamed and the box he was carrying was split open by the blast. Vials flew every which way.

“Need a hand Wonder Knight?” Wonder Knight looked up and beheld a stunning sight. A lithe figure covered in silver from head to toe dropped out of the sky and landed beside him.

Beneath his Blue and crimson faceplate, the Knight smiled. “Good to see you again, Ms. Shock.”

Ms. Shock was a hero Wonder knight knew little about, but had fought with in the past when the Rikti staged a return several months ago. He knew her electrical powers were potent from that encounter and he was happy to see her now. Without another word, Ms. Shock swung her arm in an arc and a sphere the size of a basketball but composed purely of electricity hit the nearest Goldricker and spread out to his companions in a blast of ice blue lightning like tendrils. Before the men could recover from the shock, Wonder knight was among them, delivering blows and firing his powerful impact blasters. Goldbrickers fell like dominoes before the onslaught, and as the last few struggled a different enemy appeared from the hole in the wall. Wonder Knight’s AI scanner immediately fired off a notification

[Computer, in Sean Connery’s voice]: "Warning. Radiation Flare Shield now activated. Subject positively identified as…”

“Doctor Chaos!” Wonder Knight interrupted as he raised his arms in the direction of his enemy, preparing to fire. Doctor Chaos was faster though. The green haired villain surged with energy and caused an endothermic reaction in the air around Wonder Knight and Ms. Shock. The temperature dropped to well below -100 and a miniature blizzard formed. So cold was it that Crey’s security forces succumbed instantly due to the shock. The heroes staggered and were disoriented. Doctor Chaos quickly grabbed some of the vials that had fallen from the goldbrickers and headed for the hovercraft.

“Next time we meet Wonder Knight, you’ll pay for what you’ve done!” he cackled as only villains usually cackled. Wonder Knight launched a bolt of high powered energy at the tail of the hovercraft, punching a hole through its engine. The only Goldbricker still conscious was the pilot who immediately opened fire on the heroes with forward facing machine guns in the craft. Wonder Knight jumped in front of Ms. Shock, he wasn’t sure if bullets could hurt her, but the heroine was superhumanly fast and cartwheeled out of the line of fire. A blast of radiation energy hit her though, fired from the hand of Doctor Chaos who emerged from the hovercraft still holding a case of chemicals but now sporting a large jetpack. “Curse you to Hades, Wonder Knight.”

A blast of flame and suddenly Chaos’s feet had quit the earth as he flew skyward and away.

“An Emergency Rocket pack!” Wonder knight shouted to Ms. Shock. “Let Crey mop up here! After him!” He took off himself followed by Ms. Shock.

“He’s really moving! How can he go so fast?” Ms. Shock queried as the two heroes matched speed themselves.

“That’s a short range jet pack the Goldbrickers use for pursuit and escape. Its built for speed. But we can’t let him escape. He’s too dangerous!” Wonder Knight explained. Again the chime and the familiar voice of R. Lee Ermey echoed in his helmet.

[Computer]: “Information: Range for firing Particle Beam disrupters within 14 seconds at current speed. Targeting Scanners operating at 97%, marine! Hurrah!”[/b]

Perfect! Outside of the ECM field the Goldbrickers were using his targeting system began functioning. Within seconds he’d be within range to fire. But Doctor Chaos had a different idea. As if sensing that he was in immediate peril, the villain fired a beam of concentrated X-rays at a small passenger plane that was crossing his path. The tail of the plane caught fire instantly and the craft went into a sspinning dive. Not even looking back Doctor Chaos pivoted in the air firing the last of his jet packs fuel and vanished into a sonic boom.

Without hesitation Wonder Knight changed direction heading for the falling aircraft, but it was further way from him than Doctor Chaos was and falling fast. “Emergency Thrusters, 3 second burst, fire now!” was the mental command from Wonder Knights mind to his armor’s systems. Within the space between seconds tiny but powerful jets sprouted from hidden opening in his armor and blasted him forward in a stream of flame and smoke. He quickly overtook the plane as the same time Ms. Shock, who had pushed her speed to the limit, did. Wonder Knight punched out the cockpit window and snatched the pilot out, ripping the man’s seatbelt off as he did so. A slight prayer was thought that there was only one person in the craft. To his credit the single pilot was still conscious Wonder Knight scooped him up. “Catch the plane!”

Wonder Knight yelled to Ms. Shock as he thrusted away from the burning Cessna.

Ms. Shock’s glowing eyes widened behind her shades. "Who do I look like, Statesman?” She replied. She didn’t posses super-strength and couldn’t catch a falling plane, While Wonder Knights hands were full with the pilot, he couldn’t do it either, and the plane was heading straight for a congested part of the highway bridge leading into Talos Island. Ms. Shock could see the cars and several school buses below; dozens of people would be maimed or killed if the plane crashed. She spread her arms wide and concentrated all of her power into a single bolt of lightning. Enough energy to light Talos Island for days hit plummeting craft. She had to make it a powerful blast as to disintegrate any debris from the blast. It worked. For a second the sky above the bridge flashed bright white. People on the ground had to avert their eyes momentarily as the silver heroine displayed her awesome power. Spent, Ms. Shock was momentarily disoriented and out of breath. Erratically she zigzagged downward to the ground where Wonder Knight had already landed with the stunned pilot. Her landing was without grace as her waning strength had only barely begun to return. She hit the ground hard, almost twisting her ankle, causing her to wince.

Several feet away a crowd was gathering. The traffic on the bridge had stopped when the drivers saw the dazzling display. The pilot Wonder Knight had saved was unharmed and was shakily but vigorously thanking the armoured warrior.

“I…I…..I thought I was dead! Thank you! Thank you so very much! I want you to come over to the house for dinner…the wife and kids won’t believe this….” The man continued. Others began to crowd around him and Ms. Shock in a cacophony of congratulations and questions about what had just happened. Even as he fielded the questions and shook hands Wonder Knight sent a mental command to the AI, “Scan area for Doctor Chaos”.

[Computer, in a hollow, but bellowing voice]: "I am the great and powerful Oz….Target is out of range of scanners. Preliminary sensor data suggests heavy electromagnetic interference masking ion and vapour trail. Conclusion: Target has escaped.”

“Damn.” The knight muttered too himself as he backed away from the crowd. He gave a quick glance to Ms. Shock, who returned a nod that indicated that she had recovered from her energy expenditure. At once both heroes took to the air, heading back towards EraChem’s storage facility.

“I don’t mean to pry,” began Ms. Shock, “but what did Doctor Chaos mean by ‘you’ll pay for what you’ve done’? I get the feeling that he didn’t mean this robbery.”

It was impossible to guage Wonder Knight’s feelings by sight alone. His face was covered in his blue and crimson helmet. His eyes couldn’t even be seen through the visors slit. “ When I first fought him he was a run-of-the-mill mad scientist named Doctor Kevin Ossman. He had created a machine that could control the weather and had threatened to use it to destroy Paragon City. When I destroyed it he was caught in a backlash of radiation. That purple suit he wears…it’s not a costume, it’s a containment suit. He’s radioactive and the suits life support system is what keeps his own radiation from killing him or spreading out. He can never take it off and he blames me for his condition.”

“But theres more to this caper…and I know how to find out what it is. Down there.” Wonder Knight continued as he pointed at the collection of Crey Security and Rapid Response teams gathering at the warehouse. Both heroes came to a landing near the ruined Goldbricker hovercraft. Crey officers were taking the defeated Goldbrickers into custody with newly arrived Paragon Police officers. Nearby Crey Hazard teams were cleaning up the chemical vials that were dropped on the ground. A new arrival to the scene seemed to be supervising. In his past dealings with Crey, Wonder Knight had crossed swords with her before….Doris Bellini, a Crey field agent. Officially she was said to be a Hazard Control specialist but her real job was to cover Crey’s backside whenever their schemes became endangered.

“Ms. Bellini!” Wonder Knight shouted to her as he and Ms. Shock came to a landing in front of her. Bellini turned to see him and removed her mirror shades calmly folding them and putting them in her suit jacket pocket. Short, with a stocky but feminine build, Bellini would be considered attractive if not for the aura of corruption that she seemed to emanate.

“Ah…Wonder Knight…and Ms. Shock, I believe. I guess Doctor Chaos gave you the slip, huh?” Bellini responded.

“He gave you the slip too,” accused Wonder Knight. “I know you’ll already have an official story of how Crey was running a drill here…but we both know the truth. These HazMat guys and security forces were here already when Chaos struck. You were waiting for him. You’ve known he would hit this places way in advance and you wanted to capture him yourselves.”

Ms. Shock was silent but as she looked around she could understand what Wonder Knight was saying. The Crey forces were a large number, far more than would have normally been on site at the time of the robbery. At closer inspection of their equipment they seemed to have been prepared specifically for Doctor Chaos. The security forces all had atropine injectors on their belts, and their clothing was made to protect them from radiation blasts. Several Crey research scientists were milling about with scanning devices taking readings of the area.

Wonder Knight continued, “You thought you’d be able to handle Chaos…cocky. You didn’t even bring any of your own voltiac tanks to fight him. What were you going to do? Torture him for information on his Destroyed weather device, maybe? Or dissect him to learn how his powers work? You just didn’t count on the Goldbrickers backing him up. They would have overwhelmed your forces until Ms. Shock and I arrived.” Bellini said nothing, but Wonder knight bent over and picked up one of the vials that Doctor Chaos had dropped. Boldly he held it out inches in front of Bellini’s face. “Quantropine 600. EraChem is the only source of this drug. Its used only for severe radiation sickness. Its highly effective, but repeated use will cause brain damage and insanity. Its also highly addictive…assuming the user doesn’t die from the first use. That’s how you knew Chaos would be here. His life support suit probably can’t keep up with this own radiation. He needs this stuff or he’ll die.”

“The Goldbrickers were a wild card that ruined your little trap. The other experimental drugs they were pilfering could land them a great deal of money on the black market. All Chaos needed was the Quantropine 600.”

Bellini covered her mouth and chuckled. Ms. Shock noticed that her long nails were immaculate. Somehow that angered her, even as Bellini spoke. “What an imagination, Wonder Knight. We were just conducting security drills here. EraChem does belong to Crey after all. Do you really believe that we’d plant information about Quantropine 600 for Doctor Chaos in order to lure him into a trap? That’s slander, you know.” Bellini’s face held a smirk that said ‘you’re right but you’ll never prove it’. She gently took the vial from Wonder Knight. “That’s Crey property…..now if you’ll excuse me, I’m rather busy….it will take days to go through the information on these men are gathering. It should reveal a lot of insights on Doctor chaos by the residual energy signatures. You never know…it may even tell us how your amazing suit of armor works.”

“Ah-Choo!” Ms. Shock feigned a sneeze that blew out a microsecond EM pulse. All of the electrical equipment in the immediate vicinity ceased functioning…with the exception of Wonder Knight’s armor which was heavily shielded. “Excuse me….aren’t you going to say ‘bless you’?” she asked Bellini. “I’m allergic to…well, scum.”

Now it was Wonder knight’s turn to chuckle. “Why, Ms. Shock…you should be more careful. Your Electromagnetic sneeze has erased the hard disks of all of their scanning equipment. You should apologize.” The Crey employees were all shaking their scanners and tapping their watches. Nothing was working.

“Gosh, I’m sorry, Ma’am.” Ms. Shock pretended to apologize. “I’d better go to a real pharmacy and get something for this.” Bellini’s face changed from smug amusement to barely contained anger.

“I’m sure your men can handle it from here, Bellini….but don’t worry. You know I’ll always be around if Crey gets into more trouble. Count on it.” Wonder Knight turned and his unique battlesuit carried him skyward, with a giggling Ms. Shock beside him. Bellini watched them disappear into the blue afternoon sky.

“Next time, Wonder Knight….next time.” Bellini whispered to herself. She brushed strands of brown hair from her eyes and thought “It may be time to activate “Plan: Ms. Shock” soon. Her allergies could get her killed.”

This is just something I wrote to help myself define the personality of one of my Mastermind toons. I hope its at least slightly enjoyable.

Alexander Herbert Kirkland didn’t care for rap music at all. Especially amateurish rap music played loudly as it was in the Club Bobaloo. That was just one of the things he’d like to see outlawed in Paragon City. But he shrugged it off as he made his way to the VIP booth through the throngs of dancing idiots. He didn’t travel all of the way from Sharkhead Isle to Steel Canyon to listen to music.

The door to the VIP room had a sign that said members only. In front of the door stood a swaggering young man with far too many piercings on his face. He wore what some could consider an expensive suit, but really it was just a cheap get up that only looked good in the darkness of the club. As Kirkland approached the young man looked him up and down. He placed a hand on Kirkland’s shoulder and warned “Hey, members only back here, bubba.”

Kirkland grabbed the man’s forearm with surprising strength and removed his hand. “Do you mind? This is a 600 dollar suit. Now get out of my way.”

Kirkland’s steely blue gaze was enough to make the young man back away. His voice was mannered, with his British accent, but carried an underlying threat that anyone would recognize. His years of service in Arachnos had taught him the art of scaring the living hell out of strangers. Kirkland confidently entered the VIP room, closing the door behind him. Thankfully the walls were soundproofed and only the thrumming of the bass could be heard inside.

The room was garish. Expensive but ugly furniture, a gaudy looking free bar and a one way glass looking out into the rest of the club. But on a horrible looking purple couch sat the one Kirkland came to see…Orange Clyde Cade, thug extraordinaire. The only others in the room were a trashy looking girl, dressed in a trashy style with oversized hoop earring and Clyde’s friend and bodyguard *****. ***** stood by the bar, and Kirkland noted that he was absolutely huge. It was as if someone had shaved an ape and threw some leather pants and a tank top on it.

Orange Clyde didn’t seem surprised to see Arachnos Operative Kirkland at all. He put down his drink on a table in front of him and whispered to the girl, “hey baby…we’ll get together later. I gots business with this gentleman.”

The girl stood up, and sized Kirkland up on her way to the door. “Him? He looks like a poor man’s Pierce Brosnan.” She said as she loudly smacked her gum and opened the door.

“Isn’t a school night?” Kirkland dryly quipped as she left. Then he turned his attention to Orange Clyde. Cade was a street thug, pure and simple. He grew up gang banging in Paragon City and got his nickname because he had an affinity for wearing orange clothing. Years ago he landed himself in prison, and got an early release by volunteering for a psi experiment run by Crey. The experiment wasn’t meant to create psi powers, but somehow a quirk in Clyde’s genetic makeup had unexpected results. He gained the ability to create forcefields by concentrating. Of course, Clyde kept this secret to himself until he was released from jail. Then he went to work forming his own gang and doing anything for a big score. He actually owned this club, though he spent little time in it. Nowadays he could be found in the Rogue Isles most of the time. He only visited Paragon City to take care of business…legal and illegal business.

“Mongo, get Mr. Kirkland a drink…rum and coke, I believe is his poison.” Clyde motioned to his henchman, and ***** wordlessly obeyed.

“Thank you,” Kirkland pulled up a chair and sat across from Orange Clyde. “I assume you heard what happened to Billy Chang? His body was found chained to a mailbox in Sharkhead riddled with bullets. Someone stapled a note to his nether regions saying “Please deliver to Tub Ci.”

“How awful.” Clyde feigned surprise. “Funny thing about Billy. He recently got in big with the Tsoo. Was doing a lot of talkin’. Guess he said some things someone didn’t like. Sharkhead can be dangerous.” Clyde picked up his drink and took a large gulp.

Kirkland chuckled as ***** handed him his rum and coke. “I ain’t sheddin’ no tears,” ***** snorted, “Billy shot Grease-Stain Morgan in the back. Grease-Stain was a friend of ours.”

“Ah, but that’s the thing isn’t it?” Kirkland swallowed his drink in one gulp and handed ***** the glass, signaling for another. “Your friend grease-stain is killed by Chang, and 2 days later Chang is found dead. Sounds like retaliation to me. Word has it that the Tsoo want you dead, Orange Clyde.”

Clyde laughed out loud, a real belly laugh, too. “Man, you snuck all the way here to tell me that? The Tsoo have been wantin’ me six feet under for years. Now lets just say that anyone could pin Chang’s untimely meetin’ with the reaper on me and my boys….if the tsoo even try to do anything about it Tub Ci would be getting’ a lot of mail.”

“I’m just here as a courtesy….” Kirkland purred. “I’ll be direct, Orange Clyde. Arachnos commissioned you…I commissioned you to root out the Circle of Thorns in Sharkhead. You’re not done with that job and I’m here to remind you that we expect you to make good on that deal. Lord Recluse is not forgiving of….welchers…”

“And please…don’t insult my intelligence…we both know you killed Chang in retaliation. Before you deny it keep in mind, I like that. You sent the tsoo a clear warning of how you will deal with any affront to your men. You’ve demonstrated to us that you can take care of your own affairs. I have personally vouched to my superiors that you can handle any interruptions from the tsoo. But we want assurances that you will complete the assignment in Sharkhead that we have given you.”

Clyde sipped his drink, and his somewhat cheerful face grew dark and serious. “Day after tomorrow you’ll be knee deep in circle bodies. I promise you that, Mr. Kirkland. And you know I never break a promise.”

***** handed Kirkland another rum and coke which was again swallowed in a gulp. ***** was impressed that this mannered Englishman could drink with such gusto and seem unaffected. “That is all I wanted to know, Mr. Cade. Tuesday, then, I shall expect a report on your progress.” He stood and straightened his jacket. “I assume that you will be at Mr. Grease-stain’s funeral on Monday.”

Clyde merely nodded. It was obvious that the death of his friend upset him. Kirkland moved to the door, but before he left he turned and cocked his head to Orange Clyde. “By the way, I hear that Grease-Stain’s mother and little sister received a large payment due to his death. A very large sum….his sister will have no problem getting into Yale without a scholarship.”

“Gotta have insurance, man.” Clyde responded.

“Grease-stain didn’t have a policy. The money was in cash…delivered in an unmarked orange envelope along with a fruit basket of …oranges. Commendable. Inspiring loyalty…commendable…” Kirkland said as he left the room.

Orange Clyde chuckled as the door closed. “I guess…” he murmured to *****, “I hate oranges. Always preferred apples myself.”