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High Fantasy Modern Storyhour - The Long Road (updated December 7)
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<blockquote data-quote="RangerWickett" data-source="post: 2875918" data-attributes="member: 63"><p><strong><em>Session Twelve, part one</em></strong></p><p></p><p>Terry remembers the uncertainty of when he first met this group, one of the last days of his life. He could not help but dwell on Lin’s death, but walking through a Renaissance Festival had felt surreal. Had there been a point to it?</p><p></p><p>“Gather ‘round. Boys and girls of all ages, gather ‘round and see some the greatest hostile magical territory incursion gear the modern world has to offer.”</p><p></p><p>Terry snaps out of his memories. He’s not at some show now. He’s with the people who fought to avenge his death, in the office of an organization that doesn’t exist, as they get ready to go to another world and see if they can help. It’s still surreal.</p><p></p><p>Tagin is the name of the Bureau tech who is addressing the group. He has a smirk on his face like he doesn’t quite take the situation seriously. He’s a skinny man – looks kinda like Seth Green – and he’s explaining to the others how the equipment he has will help them stay alive on Gaia.</p><p></p><p>There are two other ghosts present. One is Jenny’s, a young Indian man with a gunshot wound in his stomach, dressed like a medicine man or something. The ghost’s stern expression cracks for a moment, and he huffs in amusement at the phrase “stay alive.” Terry chuckles a little, and the ghost nods to him as if to say, “It’s alright to find the world of the living interesting.”</p><p></p><p>The other ghost is bonded with the freelancer the Bureau brought in, Ian. Looking exactly like Terry would have expected a medieval Italian cardinal to look, Ian’s ghost glances at Terry dispassionately, then looks away, somewhat contented. Terry has the feeling Ian’s ghost just convinced itself it could destroy him in a fight if it came to it. Also, he could swear he just heard hints of a Latin choir chanting ominously, but he’s pretty sure it was just his imagination.</p><p></p><p>Occasionally Scarpedin looks at him.</p><p></p><p>Only one living person and the handful of ghosts he runs across can see him. It’s worse even than that Patrick Swayze movie, because at least he still had a girlfriend to watch over. And so this what eternity will be. No wonder most ghosts are insane.</p><p></p><p>It’s surreal. He wonders what the point of it all was.</p><p></p><p> </p><p><em>He said, I’m gonna buy this place and see it go.</em></p><p><em>Stand here beside me baby watch the orange glow.</em></p><p><em>Some’ll laugh, and some just sit and cry,</em></p><p><em>But you just sit down there and you wonder why.</em></p><p><em>So I’m gonna buy a gun and start a war</em></p><p><em>If you can tell me something worth fighting for.</em></p><p><em>I’m gonna buy this place, that’s what I said.</em></p><p><em>Blame it upon a rush of blood to the head.</em></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">“A Rush of Blood to the Head” – Coldplay</p><p></p><p> </p><p>They're on the ground floor of the Bureau office. As soon as they're ready Terry will planeshift them to Gaia, where an equivalent room should await their arrival. The Bureau office on Gaia is supposed to be as large as the Pentagon building, and as far as any of them know it could be filled with hostile magical monsters.</p><p></p><p>With lukewarm enthusiasm Tagin explains how the group can use the specially-made walkie-talkie headsets and magic-detection readers, electronic devices that normally would not work on Gaia without Bureau intervention. He is greeted by the lukewarm enthusiasm of the group. </p><p></p><p>“Are we gonna have to fight things over there?” asks Bonnie, the Irish bouncer.</p><p></p><p>“We don’t know,” Jenny says, “but we’re going to go in prepared for anything. Our-”</p><p></p><p>Ian interrupts, “George wants to know why you’re bringing the chick along.”</p><p></p><p>He’s talking about Bonnie. Since only Ian and the other ghosts can hear what Giovanni actually says, no one realizes that Giovanni actually doesn’t seem to care about Bonnie.</p><p></p><p>“We’re-” Jenny starts, and then she pauses as he ghost whispers to her that Giovanni did not actually ask the question. She half-rolls her eyes, then draws herself up. Everyone’s eyes turn toward her.</p><p></p><p>“If this expedition fails and we lose Terry, it will spell the effective end of the Bureau, which means that within a few weeks we can expect opportunistic magic users to start abusing their power when they realize no one’s around to keep check on them. This mission has to succeed, and so we will gladly accept the help of anyone who offers. Agent Cavers testifies that Miss Bell is a skilled fighter, and she already knows about magic. </p><p></p><p>“Does anyone aside from Ian’s <em>ghost</em> have a problem with bringing her along?”</p><p></p><p>Terry smiles. She makes him feel like he’s actually doing something useful, and she knows how to put a smart-ass in his place.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">* * *</p><p></p><p>Since Scarpedin is busy prepping for the incursion and Robert looks like he’s trying fervently to avoid having to carry a gun, Terry has Scarpedin hand the bracelet over to Robert so the two of them can chat.</p><p></p><p>“How are you handling it?” Terry asks.</p><p></p><p>“Fine,” Robert says. “Wait. <em>You’re</em> asking me this?”</p><p></p><p>“Just ‘cause I’m dead doesn’t mean I don’t care.”</p><p></p><p>Robert shrugs. He starts to say something, then looks like he changed his mind. “You know eventually we might have to hand you over to the Bureau, right? I’m sorry, but <em>this</em> group isn’t going to save the world.”</p><p></p><p>In the background, Scarpedin samples different firearms and magically-enhanced swords. He tests the guns by aiming at John and making ‘bang’ sounds, and for the swords he makes lightsaber noises as he swings them.</p><p></p><p>“I can see your point,” Terry says. “Still, I thought you looked like something was bothering you.”</p><p></p><p>Robert eyes dart in another direction for a moment, then go back to Terry. Before Terry can look at what had Robert’s attention, the man’s smooth denials get him.</p><p></p><p>“Yeah, I’ve got a problem,” Robert laughs. “I, ah, met a nice-looking lady, and . . . well, you were a grown man. I won’t tell you exactly what’s on my mind, but let me just say it’s not some,” he laughs again, “<em>adventure</em>.”</p><p></p><p>Terry nods, then shrugs, figuring it’s something Robert doesn’t want to talk about. Instead he gets quiet, and as he expected, Robert loses interest and treats him like the ghost he is.</p><p></p><p>Unnoticed, Terry finally looks where Robert had glanced. Wiji-wiji, sitting beside a desk covered with ammo clips and utility belts, is eating Oreos.</p><p></p><p>“My team is ready,” Jenny says. “Does anyone need any help?”</p><p></p><p>Jenny has traded out her casual business attire for a long white trenchcoat, but otherwise she looks unarmed. Beside her is Agent Ulwelf Fitzgerald, who looks surprisingly like Lauence Fishburn in his magical disguise, but Terry can see past Ulwelf’s disguise. In truth he’s over six feet tall, broadly muscled with a gray-skinned face like a neanderthal. Under his black trenchcoat is a tactical bodyarmor vest, a pair of guns, and an array of magical charms that jangle as he carefully adjusts his sunglasses over his snout. Balthazaar has his normal vampire-slaying get-up, along with a sword and a gun loaded with cold iron bullets. Lastly is an overweight man in a poorly-fitting bullet-proof vest, with stringy unkempt blonde hair; this is Finagle P. Luckshore.</p><p></p><p>John asks, “These are the only Bureau agents coming with us? You, two agents, and a kid?”</p><p></p><p>Terry wonders if John knows the kid’s name. He doubts it, and chuckles.</p><p></p><p>Jenny looks unconcerned at John’s question. “I’m leaving Agent Cavers here in case we don’t come back. Terry said he wasn’t sure he could get more than ten or twelve people, isn’t that right?”</p><p></p><p>She looks at Robert, but Terry considers that’s close enough.</p><p></p><p>“Right,” he says. “At least I think so. I haven’t actually done more than one at a time since I died.”</p><p></p><p>“Terry says that’s right,” Robert says. “But, ah, he says he’s not positive. I just don’t want to, you know, get stuck there alone when the rest of you are still chilling here.”</p><p></p><p>Jenny says, “I have faith that this will work, but if you want you can stay behind.”</p><p></p><p>Scarpedin thumps Robert in the chest. “Don’t be a b*tch, man.”</p><p></p><p>Robert waves off the concern. “I’ll come, I’ll come.”</p><p></p><p>“Pardon me,” Nathan says. “While we’re gone, are you going to be tracking down the murderer of the police officer?”</p><p></p><p>Balthazaar scoffs. “Get your priorities straight.”</p><p></p><p>Jenny lifts a hand slightly to cut off Balthazaar. “Nathan, if we’re lucky we’ll spend only a few hours on Gaia, and we’ll be able to bring back more resources to help us handle the threats here. There’s also the chance things could be much worse over there, in which case, sadly, a single murdered cop is less important. </p><p></p><p>“Right before the connection was severed the Bureau office was calling for assistance because of an attack. That was two weeks ago.”</p><p></p><p>“I’m just nervous,” Nathan says. “I haven’t gotten any new visions to guide me, and the last one appears to have been a trick.”</p><p></p><p>“We will devote all the resources we can to find him,” Jenny says, “once we get back.”</p><p></p><p>The group continues to discuss specifics, and Terry is left to ponder. Nathan received visions warning him that a Starbucks was going to explode, that a mansion was going to explode, and that a bus was going to explode. He’s picked up hitch hikers, thwarted a violent ghost, and stopped Scarpedin from breaking a leg. But he didn’t have a vision warning him that Adrien Lee was a murdering bastard. Terry didn’t have any help from precognition that time.</p><p></p><p>“Terry,” Robert says. “Do you need anything before we leave?”</p><p></p><p>Terry wonders for a moment if all ghosts get this absorbed in their thoughts. Then he answers. “I’m ready.”</p><p></p><p>Scarpedin says, “Let’s roll,” and tries to dramatically pull back the cocking mechanism of a pistol, but it takes him several tries. Terry hears Jenny’s ghost chuckle, and it makes him feel better.</p><p></p><p>Robert, Scarpedin, John, Nathan, Bonnie, Jenny, Ian, Ulwelf, Balthazaar, and Wiji-wiji. Ten people. He's pretty sure he can get that.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="RangerWickett, post: 2875918, member: 63"] [b][i]Session Twelve, part one[/i][/b] Terry remembers the uncertainty of when he first met this group, one of the last days of his life. He could not help but dwell on Lin’s death, but walking through a Renaissance Festival had felt surreal. Had there been a point to it? “Gather ‘round. Boys and girls of all ages, gather ‘round and see some the greatest hostile magical territory incursion gear the modern world has to offer.” Terry snaps out of his memories. He’s not at some show now. He’s with the people who fought to avenge his death, in the office of an organization that doesn’t exist, as they get ready to go to another world and see if they can help. It’s still surreal. Tagin is the name of the Bureau tech who is addressing the group. He has a smirk on his face like he doesn’t quite take the situation seriously. He’s a skinny man – looks kinda like Seth Green – and he’s explaining to the others how the equipment he has will help them stay alive on Gaia. There are two other ghosts present. One is Jenny’s, a young Indian man with a gunshot wound in his stomach, dressed like a medicine man or something. The ghost’s stern expression cracks for a moment, and he huffs in amusement at the phrase “stay alive.” Terry chuckles a little, and the ghost nods to him as if to say, “It’s alright to find the world of the living interesting.” The other ghost is bonded with the freelancer the Bureau brought in, Ian. Looking exactly like Terry would have expected a medieval Italian cardinal to look, Ian’s ghost glances at Terry dispassionately, then looks away, somewhat contented. Terry has the feeling Ian’s ghost just convinced itself it could destroy him in a fight if it came to it. Also, he could swear he just heard hints of a Latin choir chanting ominously, but he’s pretty sure it was just his imagination. Occasionally Scarpedin looks at him. Only one living person and the handful of ghosts he runs across can see him. It’s worse even than that Patrick Swayze movie, because at least he still had a girlfriend to watch over. And so this what eternity will be. No wonder most ghosts are insane. It’s surreal. He wonders what the point of it all was. [i]He said, I’m gonna buy this place and see it go. Stand here beside me baby watch the orange glow. Some’ll laugh, and some just sit and cry, But you just sit down there and you wonder why. So I’m gonna buy a gun and start a war If you can tell me something worth fighting for. I’m gonna buy this place, that’s what I said. Blame it upon a rush of blood to the head.[/i] [indent]“A Rush of Blood to the Head” – Coldplay[/indent] They're on the ground floor of the Bureau office. As soon as they're ready Terry will planeshift them to Gaia, where an equivalent room should await their arrival. The Bureau office on Gaia is supposed to be as large as the Pentagon building, and as far as any of them know it could be filled with hostile magical monsters. With lukewarm enthusiasm Tagin explains how the group can use the specially-made walkie-talkie headsets and magic-detection readers, electronic devices that normally would not work on Gaia without Bureau intervention. He is greeted by the lukewarm enthusiasm of the group. “Are we gonna have to fight things over there?” asks Bonnie, the Irish bouncer. “We don’t know,” Jenny says, “but we’re going to go in prepared for anything. Our-” Ian interrupts, “George wants to know why you’re bringing the chick along.” He’s talking about Bonnie. Since only Ian and the other ghosts can hear what Giovanni actually says, no one realizes that Giovanni actually doesn’t seem to care about Bonnie. “We’re-” Jenny starts, and then she pauses as he ghost whispers to her that Giovanni did not actually ask the question. She half-rolls her eyes, then draws herself up. Everyone’s eyes turn toward her. “If this expedition fails and we lose Terry, it will spell the effective end of the Bureau, which means that within a few weeks we can expect opportunistic magic users to start abusing their power when they realize no one’s around to keep check on them. This mission has to succeed, and so we will gladly accept the help of anyone who offers. Agent Cavers testifies that Miss Bell is a skilled fighter, and she already knows about magic. “Does anyone aside from Ian’s [i]ghost[/i] have a problem with bringing her along?” Terry smiles. She makes him feel like he’s actually doing something useful, and she knows how to put a smart-ass in his place. [center]* * *[/center] Since Scarpedin is busy prepping for the incursion and Robert looks like he’s trying fervently to avoid having to carry a gun, Terry has Scarpedin hand the bracelet over to Robert so the two of them can chat. “How are you handling it?” Terry asks. “Fine,” Robert says. “Wait. [i]You’re[/i] asking me this?” “Just ‘cause I’m dead doesn’t mean I don’t care.” Robert shrugs. He starts to say something, then looks like he changed his mind. “You know eventually we might have to hand you over to the Bureau, right? I’m sorry, but [i]this[/i] group isn’t going to save the world.” In the background, Scarpedin samples different firearms and magically-enhanced swords. He tests the guns by aiming at John and making ‘bang’ sounds, and for the swords he makes lightsaber noises as he swings them. “I can see your point,” Terry says. “Still, I thought you looked like something was bothering you.” Robert eyes dart in another direction for a moment, then go back to Terry. Before Terry can look at what had Robert’s attention, the man’s smooth denials get him. “Yeah, I’ve got a problem,” Robert laughs. “I, ah, met a nice-looking lady, and . . . well, you were a grown man. I won’t tell you exactly what’s on my mind, but let me just say it’s not some,” he laughs again, “[i]adventure[/i].” Terry nods, then shrugs, figuring it’s something Robert doesn’t want to talk about. Instead he gets quiet, and as he expected, Robert loses interest and treats him like the ghost he is. Unnoticed, Terry finally looks where Robert had glanced. Wiji-wiji, sitting beside a desk covered with ammo clips and utility belts, is eating Oreos. “My team is ready,” Jenny says. “Does anyone need any help?” Jenny has traded out her casual business attire for a long white trenchcoat, but otherwise she looks unarmed. Beside her is Agent Ulwelf Fitzgerald, who looks surprisingly like Lauence Fishburn in his magical disguise, but Terry can see past Ulwelf’s disguise. In truth he’s over six feet tall, broadly muscled with a gray-skinned face like a neanderthal. Under his black trenchcoat is a tactical bodyarmor vest, a pair of guns, and an array of magical charms that jangle as he carefully adjusts his sunglasses over his snout. Balthazaar has his normal vampire-slaying get-up, along with a sword and a gun loaded with cold iron bullets. Lastly is an overweight man in a poorly-fitting bullet-proof vest, with stringy unkempt blonde hair; this is Finagle P. Luckshore. John asks, “These are the only Bureau agents coming with us? You, two agents, and a kid?” Terry wonders if John knows the kid’s name. He doubts it, and chuckles. Jenny looks unconcerned at John’s question. “I’m leaving Agent Cavers here in case we don’t come back. Terry said he wasn’t sure he could get more than ten or twelve people, isn’t that right?” She looks at Robert, but Terry considers that’s close enough. “Right,” he says. “At least I think so. I haven’t actually done more than one at a time since I died.” “Terry says that’s right,” Robert says. “But, ah, he says he’s not positive. I just don’t want to, you know, get stuck there alone when the rest of you are still chilling here.” Jenny says, “I have faith that this will work, but if you want you can stay behind.” Scarpedin thumps Robert in the chest. “Don’t be a b*tch, man.” Robert waves off the concern. “I’ll come, I’ll come.” “Pardon me,” Nathan says. “While we’re gone, are you going to be tracking down the murderer of the police officer?” Balthazaar scoffs. “Get your priorities straight.” Jenny lifts a hand slightly to cut off Balthazaar. “Nathan, if we’re lucky we’ll spend only a few hours on Gaia, and we’ll be able to bring back more resources to help us handle the threats here. There’s also the chance things could be much worse over there, in which case, sadly, a single murdered cop is less important. “Right before the connection was severed the Bureau office was calling for assistance because of an attack. That was two weeks ago.” “I’m just nervous,” Nathan says. “I haven’t gotten any new visions to guide me, and the last one appears to have been a trick.” “We will devote all the resources we can to find him,” Jenny says, “once we get back.” The group continues to discuss specifics, and Terry is left to ponder. Nathan received visions warning him that a Starbucks was going to explode, that a mansion was going to explode, and that a bus was going to explode. He’s picked up hitch hikers, thwarted a violent ghost, and stopped Scarpedin from breaking a leg. But he didn’t have a vision warning him that Adrien Lee was a murdering bastard. Terry didn’t have any help from precognition that time. “Terry,” Robert says. “Do you need anything before we leave?” Terry wonders for a moment if all ghosts get this absorbed in their thoughts. Then he answers. “I’m ready.” Scarpedin says, “Let’s roll,” and tries to dramatically pull back the cocking mechanism of a pistol, but it takes him several tries. Terry hears Jenny’s ghost chuckle, and it makes him feel better. Robert, Scarpedin, John, Nathan, Bonnie, Jenny, Ian, Ulwelf, Balthazaar, and Wiji-wiji. Ten people. He's pretty sure he can get that. [/QUOTE]
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