The World of Pern(tm) is copyright to Anne McCaffrey (c) l967. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Benden Weyr> F'hlan booga. Benden Weyr> Kassima coffees to the Tiffy. :) And swoons at the SHB! Benden Weyr> F'hlan must be all swooned out, 'cause he doesn't even bat an eyelash at Kassima. Benden Weyr> Kassima puts away her catcher's mitt, since she was preparing to catch the batted eyelash and tag someone out before they could make a home run. "Aww, darn." (Yes, I'm definitely in need of sleep if I'm doing puns *that* bad. :P :) From afar, F'hlan burned out his swooning circuits last night, see. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima uh-ohs. Isn't that the Seventh Sign? What could have happened to do such an Armageddon-causing thing? F'hlan pages: 2 consecutive movies' worth of buff shirtless Harrison Ford. MMMMMMMM From afar, F'hlan darned near exploded. 'Course, I'm not sure whether I should be telling you this, 'cause this is sensitive information... Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima oohs and has to admit, that would be a prime causer of short circuits. I don't imagine it burned out all those circuits that cause you to do good, noble things and made you see the glory of true Evil? (Hey, there's no such thing as impossible, right?) F'hlan pages: Nope, but it did drive me to start playing Archaeologists in Nethack. From afar, F'hlan has been in Harrison Ford Swoon Mode all month. Been watching every Ford flick I can get my hands on, in preparation for Star Wars on the big screen next month. :) You paged F'hlan with 'Now there's masochism for you, though I admit starting out with a pickax is handy. Yeah, everyone keeps telling me I need to go see this Star Wars thing, since I never saw the original. :)'. From afar, F'hlan grins. I'm looking forward to it, but then I'm mostly going 'cause the last time I saw it on the big screen, I was eight, and the big screens weren't nearly so cool. ;) Oh, and I'm going to swoon over young swoonful Harrison Ford. :) F'hlan pages: (I mean, he's swoonful NOW, but 20 years ago... WHUFF!) From afar, F'hlan ahemcoughs. But of course, I shouldn't be telling you that. You paged F'hlan with 'Of course not. After all, I could genetically manufacture an LCB who looked like an exact mixture of Ford and that Bronson guy and introduce him to Mehlani, and that wouldn't be a good thing at all, now would it?'. F'hlan pages: Brosnan, dear. Bronson's another actor. ;) F'hlan pages: Of course, we've already got an up and coming Brosnan clone in Devlin, but if we get a Ford clone in this Weyr...! Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima ohs, right. He was Balki, wasn't he? That weird guy from Mepos with all the vests. A combination of him and Ford would probably just be hilarious, not swoonsome. ;) Hmmm... I'll have to see about spying in the Weyrs to find a few good Ford clones-- there must be some, somewhere! From afar, F'hlan simply breathes to himself the assurance that 'Lani IS only 10... she's only 10... she's only 10.... Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima tosses a familiar-looking device recognizable as Ye Olde Bomb of Puberty Induction, and nods solemnly. Ayep, ayep, ayep, she sure is... for now.... ;) F'hlan pages: .oO ('Cause if Mehlani grows up and runs into anybody who looks like Harrison Ford, we're talkin' high danger of spontaneous hormone combustion. *POOF* And little bits of 'Lani go zooming off into the stratosphere...) Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima hmms, and decides to contact Minecraft, the closest thing she can thing of to archaelogy, to see if they have any young Miner lads she could borrow for an evil cause. I've always wanted to see someone spontaneously combust! From afar, F'hlan .oO (If they have any apprentices who wear fedoras and leather jackets, Mehlani is doomed.) From afar, F'hlan realizes, with dismay, that Devlin's now in the Minecraft, too. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima ponders, ponderingly. And a whip, of course. A whip to perform daring rescues with. That'll be easy enough to acquire. Hrm, I s'pose I could always just genetically remake some hapless rider into a Ford-type and then brainwash him into an Indy Jones persona... ah, this idea sounds better and better! F'hlan pages: D'iana, rider of.... (AIGH! Now she's got ME thinking about it...) F'hlan pages: Or is that, D'ana? N'diana? Hrmm. How DO you contract Indiana? You paged F'hlan with 'How else, but I'ndy?'. F'hlan pages: Of course, you realize that creating Indiana Jones only is a stroke for the Forces of Good, doncha? From afar, F'hlan cleverly avoids mentioning how Jones got zombiefied for a little while at the end of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom... You paged F'hlan with 'Of course, if I let him be true to character! But imagine, for a moment, a man with the looks and charisma of Indy working for the Dark Side....'. From afar, F'hlan .oO (Oh dear. This could be difficult...) Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima snickers as she starts re-writing the ToD script to be the Temple of Swoon, and nodnodnods. "Just imagine all the daring acts of villainy he'll be able to pull off!" From afar, F'hlan, having just finished watching Temple of Doom, and who distinctly remembers that Zombified Evil Indy was SPOOKY, shudders... Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima ponders, idly, what a Zombified Evil Indy with the characteristics of a Chaotic-aligned Nethack Archaelogist, armed with Stormbringer and a bullwhip both, would be able to do. From afar, F'hlan shivers. F'hlan pages: Dear Lady, he'd get more Lower Caverns Girls to swoon than I do. You paged F'hlan with 'Yep! Especially if he had a lot of proddy green fire-lizards, I imagine... remind me to equip him with some of those, won't you?'. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima also takes the Voice of Elvis Presley out of the jar she captured it in when he died, and thinks adding this to the genetic mix would really have phenomenal results! From afar, F'hlan's typist acks. (And likes Ford's deep voice. But if he sang with the same skill and talent as Presley.... oh dear...) From afar, F'hlan thinks he'll consider inventing a religion, with convents, just so he can put Mehlani in one. You paged F'hlan with 'Quite a thought, isn't it? And the only religion is the Temple of the ProddyRiderGoddess, but we *do* have convents.... ;)'. From afar, F'hlan shivers at the image of EvilIndy chanting "Kali mal" at the sacrificial blond chick victim. From afar, Mehlani then damns. I can't stick Mehlani in a convent, she's already pure at heart and innocent anyway so it wouldn't help... Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima makes a note to search harder for ToD next time she has a chance to get near a video place, and can just imagine EvilIndy going on a quest to steal that Ring of F'lar so that bronzeriders would no longer be able to call upon its powers to purify greenrider corruptions. In fact, if the Ring itself could be corrupted.... From afar, F'hlan ACK! Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima also gets a wonderful idea to start working on a similar, opposing Ring of Greenriderness, which could be bound to the F'lar's Ring if it were captured to corrupt it beyond recognition. I could weave together hair strands from each Wicked Greenrider, to form a Ring of such incredible Evil...! From afar, F'hlan ohdears, and hastens off to have a conference with his child. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima cackles, and hastens off to write messages to K'nan, Ryialla, Maarie, Meli, Flannery, Thera, and the various other Evil Benden Greenriders. With so much concentrated Dark Green Force in one artifact, the world would be *ours*! (Well, mine, but I'm not going to *tell* them I plan to get rid of them all after we conquer Pern. That would be silly.) From afar, F'hlan sets his child down and explains very earnestly to Mehlani that she should beware of handsome, charismatic men with fedoras. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima pssts. Mehlani. Handsome and charismatic are *good* things. You don't want to wind up marrying an ugly boor someday, do you now? That would be considerably less than pleasant, you realize.... From afar, F'hlan ... Mehlani .oO (I don't wanna get married. I want to take care of Tsornin and Callie and Holl alla time.) From afar, F'hlan hastily interjects to 'Lani that handsome & charismatic are fine, but if in conjunction with a fedora, a bullwhip, a leather jacket, and green glowing eyes, THEN she's got problems. F'hlan pages: Mehlani considers this very solemnly, and ohs. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima ahs, but Mehlani, if you were married, then someday you, too could produce Bronzerider's Descendants to take on the Quest Against Evil and Do the Right Thing and all that other nauseating stuff. Who else could do the job better, I ask you? Think of all the Evil that will run rampant elsewise.... (I can't believe I'm arguing for this.) F'hlan pages: Mehlani protests, "But, but, but, Da isn't married." You paged F'hlan with 'No, he's a rider. But he's weyrmated, and that's close enough, isn't it? Marrying, weyrmated, same difference; the *point* is, wouldn't finding someone handsome, charismatic, and with a great taste in hats be a *plus*?'. From afar, F'hlan suddenly flashes back to Raiders of the Lost Ark, a big lopsided grin and a twinkle in blue eyes, and the line, "Trust me." Oh dear. F'hlan pages: Mehlani solemnly declares that if she ever got weyrmated her weyrmate would have to be Noble an' Brave an' Dashing an' Kind to Small Children and Animals. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima notes that Indiana Jones is definitely noble, brave, dashing, kind to small children, and to most animals. Since tunnelsnakes and snakes aren't precisely the same thing, and there are no rats, probably all animals on Pern. From afar, F'hlan eyes Kassima warily, and whispers in his daughter's ear. Mehlani then says primly, "Father says that if you're trying to convince me of something it must be bad." Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima blinks, and polishes her halo (having chose one made of diamond this time, it's taking a bit longer to corrode and fall into smoking dust than the metal kind, so it might actually last more than .000000042 seconds). "Oh, but surely not! After all, aren't I trying to convince you to *fight* Evil?" F'hlan pages: Mehlani replies wisely, "Yes, but Father says that you lie through your teeth, so even if you are trying to talk about something Good you must really mean something Evil, especially if it has to do with handsome charismatic men with great looking hats." Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima hmmms, and nods. "All right, then. You should definitely stay away from handsome charismatic men with great looking hats. They would only serve the forces of Evil and not good, and you wouldn't *ever* want to do that, nonononono." Yay, reverse- psych! F'hlan pages: Mehlani's head starts hurting, and she solves this little problem by staying away from all handsome and charismatic men entirely. She likes horses and fire lizards and cats a lot more anyway. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima decides to solve this problem by sneaking up to Holl, Wand of Polymorph in hand (and, just in case it's gone dead by now, a Scroll of Charging. Gotta admit, sending all those doomed Elves to the dungeons *has* paid off). She slips a Ring of Polymorph Control around the Wand, in a little-known greenrider trick that lets her choose what to polymorph. Quickly, she thinks out all the specifications.... (And if this works, she'll be Impressed to him, too....) F'hlan pages: Mehlani, after hugging her father, gravely pads about her daily duties. Kitty-scritching, companionship time with Adonith and Dulath, and the necessary Feeding Tsornin an Apple duty, too. Oh, and the Oil Holl's Hide Duty. Can't forget that. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima senses Mehlani's approach (telepathy is a wonderful thing), and finishes off her specifications with a mental reminder of << And don't forget the fedora! >> She zaps the wand, causing black and green lights to shoot towards the unsuspecting fire- lizard. As the flare dims, Kassi squints to see the result from her hiding place. Did it work? F'hlan pages: Holl leaps about six feet up into the air, flitters and flutters, and lets off a startled squeak that proceeds rapidly down to a baritone yelp.... F'hlan pages: Holl tries to land, and discovers that something is very wrong. What the heck happened to his back legs?! Why do his feet look like they're completely covered in boot things like the things Koei and the other greens like to chew on? And his WINGS?! Faranth, where did his wings go?! Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima cackles from sheer glee and twirls her nonexistant handlebar mustache as all good villains do, then reaches for her portable camcorder. *This* is going to be too priceless to miss! With the recorder in place, she fingers the puberty bomb she's also brought along on the journey, watching and waiting for Mehlani to come into range. F'hlan pages: Holl tries to find out what happened to his wings, and stares with eyes that, despite his alarm, seem to have decided to settle on blue, and they're not whirling, they're just wide. With front legs that have changed, too, but far less alarmingly than his back ones 'cause he can at least still see his forepaws, he attempts to creel in dismay to summon his beloved little human! But that comes out wrong, too, for instead of a long drawn out trilled note, it comes out, "AIGH!" F'hlan pages: Mehlani senses a disturbance in the Force (whoops, wait, wrong flick), and bursts into a run. Something's wrong with Holl! She comes careening around the rocks by the lake, and looks around in alarm for her little bronze friend... and comes skidding to a halt at the sight of the tall fellow wearing a fedora, a tattered off-white shirt, and brown breeches and boots. .oO (EEP!) You paged F'hlan with 'And at that precise moment, Kassi throws her Bomb-O'-Puberty with precise aim gained from Turns and Turns of knife- throwing. It lands directly at Mehlani's feet, and the short-range missile goes off in a burst of nacreous green light within a half- second!'. You paged F'hlan with 'As Kassi watches to see what the effect of this explosion, combined with the nearness of the bronze fire-lizard- turned-Harrison Ford clone, one thought nags at her.... .o0(What the heck does nacreous mean, anyway?)'. F'hlan pages: Holl has always been attuned to his beloved little human, and because of this, a split-second before it happens, he senses Imminent Danger! But for some reason, this new bizarre shape he's found himself in is possessed of dramatically improved reflexes, and they immediately propel him to his beloved little human, so that he can knock her out of the way of the Danger! Problem is, though, Holl's still confused by this new shape and he just manages to knock Mehlani down JUST as the bomb goes off and engulfs them both. *BOOM* F'hlan pages: Mehlani blinks. And blinkblinkblinks again. Something is very odd. Green glitters of light are swimming through her head. She's lying on the ground. Something's pinning her. And for some reason she feels weird, too, all stretched and strange, and her head hurts and... HOLL! Her eyes fly open. F'hlan pages: Mehlani, however, finds just above her not the teeny wedge-shaped head of her little bronze, but a craggily handsome face with a scar across the chin, and very worried blue eyes. He doesn't speak, but she can hear in the back of her head a barrage of thoughts that _almost_ manage to sound like a baritone voice asking plaintively, << Are you okay, sweetheart? >> Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima announces in her best sportscaster voice, "Wow, Bob, that was the best flying tackle I've seen in the history of the EGL! Let's get an instant replay." A giant movie screen appears over to one side, and the scene replays in slow-motion before Kassi decides she's bored with TV announcing and decides to pay more attention to what her Plan has Wrought. Now, if only she has that Wand of Wedding still with her somewhere...! F'hlan pages: Mehlani's eyes go huge, and she stares at the worried- looking handsome fedora-bedecked Holl for a long moment before finally blurting, "Who are you and what did you do with my fire lizard?!" Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima hrms, still sorting through her wands. Wand of teleportation, no; wand of probing, no; wand of secret door detection? Thought I got rid of that. She doesn't seem to find the wand, but does yell over, "He *is* your fire-lizard!" F'hlan pages: Holl suddenly bristles, sensing more Imminent Danger out there lurking just beyond the rocks, and his forepaw -- er, hand goes instinctively to the (what is this thing coiled at his side? oh! that's a bullwhip! but how the heck does he know that?) at his belt. But Mehlani doesn't notice, as she calls out, "That's silly! This is a man, and Holl is a bronze fire lizard!" Benden Weyr> F'hlan shakes his head sadly and thinks he's going to be making an addition to the Fluff section of his Pern logs real soon now. Benden Weyr> F'hlan says, "(Indiana Holl and the Temple of Swoon, coming soon to an ftp archive near you.)" Benden Weyr> Kassima laughs! And thinks this one will be even better than the various Logs O' IC Bizarrity I've been putting up on my archive lately. Now, if only I can get him into a kilt.... F'hlan pages: Mehlani blinks three or four more times. Oh dear. Puberty bomb?! Alarmed, she looks down at herself, and realizes she's gotten noticeably taller, because the ground's gotten noticeably farther away from her eyes! Not to mention that she's filling out her clothes in entirely new ways... and eek, maybe this explains why she can't look at the fellow with the fedora without thinking of the word 'irresistible'..... Benden Weyr> Ryialla says, "So what evilness is everyone up to this am?" Benden Weyr> F'hlan says, "Nothing much. Kassima just turned Mehlani's bronze Holl into an Indiana Jones clone." Benden Weyr> Kassima says, "And a marvelous Indy clone he makes, too!" Benden Weyr> Ryialla says, "I didn't think you could get a fedora to stay still on a 'lizard's head?" Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima watches Mehlani with that sadistic amusement greenriders are so famous for, and comments, "Amazing what those ground up bones of a hormonal thirteen-Turn-old can do. Remind me to thank F'nar." Benden Weyr> F'hlan explains, while balefully glaring at Kassima, who is NOT supposed to be missing with his child's hormones (NOT to mention the hormones of his typist) this way, "The fedora only showed up AFTER she polymorphed Holl, Ryi." Benden Weyr> Ryialla says, "Ahhh. I understand." Benden Weyr> Kassima grins completely unrepetantly. Supposed to? If I only did what I was supposed to, it wouldn't be very Evil of me, now would it? ;) Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima also peers at the 'morphed Holl, and nods appreciatively. "That wand works wonders, too, I see. Remind me to use the same specifications on a few LCBs later." Now, to test the Evil component she distinctly specified, in hopes that Evil would leak over the Impression bond to corrupt not only Holl, but Mehlani as well, "Indy Holl, what is your Quest of the moment?" F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl starts to plant himself protectively in front of the young sweetly curved 'Lani, and tells her firmly, << If she hurt you, honey, I swear I'll drop her off the top of the Bowl... >> He trails off, then, as his blue eyes meet Kassima's, and he blinks dazedly. << Wh... what? >> F'hlan pages: Mehlani jerks away from staring in dismay and alarm down at herself and her new, um, endowments, and she yelps as Indy-Holl mumbles obediently, << Um... quest. Right. I gotta go dig up the Ark? >> Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima grins her most evil grin, green eyes bright with wicked glee and other such villainous things. "Well, that depends. What's in the Ark? And can you kill the lagbeast while you're doing that?" She glances at 'Lani and then inquires, "Do you remember... the Quest for the Ring, held in the dread Temple of Swoon?" F'hlan pages: Mehlani, still not quite buying that this... (handsome. VERY handsome. Swoonably handsome. Irresistably handsome. FARANTH, but he's gorgeous) (STOP THAT!)... man is really her fire lizard, scowls and puts in, "What evil are you talking about?" Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima shakes her head at Mehlani. "If you mean killing the lagbeast, I personally think that'd be a favor to us all, Good and Evil alike. If you mean the Ring... haven't you ever read any Tolkien?" A master of the evasive answer, is Kassi. "And by the by, if Indiana Holl here *wasn't* your fire-lizard, how could he speak to you telepathically? Just food for thought." F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl pushes his fedora consideringly back on his head, frowns a bit as his forepaw rubs briefly across an... eyeridge (with hair on it? since when?), and mutters in the direction of his boots, "If that Ring's an important artifact, it belongs in a museum!" F'hlan pages: Mehlani jumps as Indiana Holl speaks aloud, and feels dangerously weak-kneed a moment as that baritone voice hits her. "Um... um... that wasn't, um, telepathy...." F'hlan pages: Indy Holl blinks, looks up, and smiles lopsidedly at Mehlani. << Of course I'm your fire lizard, sweetheart, and I love you a lot, I just feel a little weird right now.... >> Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima considers. In a museum, under strict watch by posted greenrider guards, locked away in a glass case where no bronzerider could ever touch it again... that would work. "You're quite right. This artifact is being held by an irresponsible collector, and needs to be put in a museum for safekeeping." She peers at the now-speaking Holl, then shrugs. "Who has to use telepathy *all* the time?" F'hlan pages: Mehlani stares round-eyedly at Indiana Holl. Oh dear. F'hlan pages: Mehlani points weakly and stammers, "He... he... he talked in my head...!", even as Indy Holl straightens determinedly and declares, "I'll go for it. I'll need ancient maps to decipher, an Egyptian guide, oh, and a horse. I have to ride a horse in every movie." After Mehlani speaks, he flashes her another brilliant white grin. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima nods to Mehlani. "See? He could only be your fire-lizard; who else would talk in your head?" To Indy Holl, she grins, and nods. "Right. I have a black stallion bedecked in Arabian festive livery that should do nicely, and a Marcus Brody clone somewhere for you to travel with for no reason whatsoever... an Egyptian guide? Hmm. That might be difficult. I'm sure there are some ancient maps, though, just full of esoteric writings that leave clues which would boggle the mind of most mortal men." F'hlan pages: Mehlani actually nearly faints at that bright grin, but manages to rally and gasp out weakly, "But, wait... he's... if he's Holl..." She whirls on the transformed bronze and cries, "You can't talk to her! She's Evil!" F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl blinks. "She is?" Confused, he looks back over at Kassima. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima's eyes widen in utter innocence as she protests, "Evil? I?" She is prevented from saying any more by the loud choruses of "YES!" that suddenly erupt from the audience. She yells up to the sound effects guy, "I thought I told you to have them all gagged? Ahem," she adds with a smile when she sees the reformed bronze looking her way. "Certainly, I'm not evil. I believe in the preservation of sacred relics." She doesn't mention that she wants them preserved so that they can't be used for the Forces of Good, of course. "Now, how can that be evil?" F'hlan pages: Mehlani crosses her arms and says petulantly, "I bet she wants to preserve 'em just like the U.S. Government does and stick 'em in a warehouse somewhere. I saw the first movie!" But Indiana Holl, unfortunately, finds himself nodding benignly to Kassima. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima positively beams, something that most Doers of Good would know is *not* a good sign. "Wonderful!" she enthuses. "I knew you were the one for the task. Now, the Temple is a trecherous place, filled with traps that it will require intelligence and cunning to escape. The Ring can be found in the very middle of the ruins. You will have to be noble, brave, and dashing in order to reach it. Are you up to the task?" Knowing well the qualities of the character she has brought to Pernese life, visions of the Ring being locked away forever are already dancing in her head... behind strict mental shields, of course. Never know what those ex-FLs can pick up of one's thoughts. F'hlan pages: "WAIT a darned minute!" yells Mehlani, who strides purposefully up to Indiana Holl. "Before you're going anywhere, I HAVE to know." And with that, she grabs him by his shirt front and peers sternly up into his face, looking for some sign of familiarity. And, more importantly, of that Impression bond and the wonderfully caring mind of her bronze pet. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima, mildly surprised to hear Mehlani say even such a mild epithet as darned, is willing enough to step back to let Mehlani confirm her suspicions. After all, for perhaps the only time ever, not only are they absolutely true, but the discovery of this just may advance Kassima's Evil Cause. F'hlan pages: Indy Holl's blue-grey eyes meet Mehlani's dusky blue eyes, and suddenly both faces soften. There's a faint luminesence between the two -- the Impression bond! And Mehlani breathes, "It... IS you..." Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima keeps the camcorder rolling, and one can just see the thoughts of how sentimentality is good for winning Oscars flash through her head. She gestures to the sound effects guy, who, for once, gets something right and cues the sappy music that's usually appropriate during emotional scenes. F'hlan pages: A sweet sappy melody, indeed, worthy of John Williams himself, swells up between the curvaceous young lass and the bronze- turned-archaeologist. Indy Holl grins crookedly and slips an arm about 'Lani's shoulders, telling her, "I saw Adonith do this with a wing. I'll protect you a lot better!" And Mehlani, entranced, suddenly smiles radiantly. It IS Holl, sweet devoted Holl, who croons to her and nuzzles against her neck and.... .oO (Now WHY in the world does Holl nuzzling her neck suddenly make her knees weak again?!) Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima awwws as she watches the scene, and considers fetching a Harper, but then remembers that married archaelogists aren't so willing to go risking their necks for artifacts. Besides, they're somehow a lot less romantic and dashing, and romance and derring-do are much more likely to get her that Oscar she's been pining for ever since Attack of the Evil Glowing Proddy Zombie Lower Caverns Girls, Part One! "Indeed," she says gravely, "you will have to protect her through many perils as you search for... the Ring." A chilling chord strikes. Kassi gives the sound systems manager a dirty look. F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl straightens, frowning to himself, and then at Kassima. "It's too dangerous for her to go," he proclaims, and is immediately overriden by Mehlani protesting, "I won't let you go alone!" Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima shakes her head. "Dangerous or not--and it will be, trust me--you're still Impressed to one another, and great distances from each other are a Generally Bad Idea. You must go together, because only together can you rescue this artifact from its danger of eventual deterioration due to the unfit conditions it's being kept in!" She hefts an aged-looking leather book-like thing, rather like Henry Jones's diary in Last Crusade. "This is full of all the information we hold about the Temple, but some of it will have to be deciphered. This will lead you to eventual success, though you will no doubt need to piece together more clues along the way. Your horse is waiting. His name, by the way, is Fritz." F'hlan pages: Mehlani starts to try to hug Indy Holl protectively, as she might do her treasured Whereth, but somehow the motion turns into her looping her arms about his neck and whispering urgently, "We can't listen to her, she's evil!" But Indy Holl frowns anxiously, and whispers back, "But honey, we have to rescue the artifact!" F'hlan pages: Mehlani frowns. Something about this entire quest feels wrong to her, but Indy Holl's face is so... handsomely trust- inspiring.... Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima sighs and shakes her head woefully. What a bad reputation she's gotten! She knew she shouldn't have left those few who have escaped her Plans alive. "Aye, the artifact. It should be in a museum!" she proclaims stridently, in the ringing tones of Someone With a Cause. She even smacks her fist against her hand for good emphatic measure. Peering at Indy Holl solemnly, she intones, "You must choose. And choose wisely...." F'hlan pages: In the background, the trumpet section plays a faint rendition of the Raiders of the Lost Ark theme, as the camera zooms in on Indiana Holl's face as he says decisively, "We'll do it!" Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima claps her hands together in sheer glee. "Excellent! Now, we'll just need two more horses--well, three more; almost forgot the Egyptian guide. Yo, Blekhmet!" A rather portly figure in an Egytian headdress waddles up, leading an equally portly Arabian gelding far past his prime. "All right, there's that horse, Fritz, Tsornin for Mehlani, and that leaves me. Hmmm." She eyes the Wand of Polymorph consideringly, then yells, "Oh, Lyyyyyyysseth!" F'hlan pages: Mehlani heys! "You're coming too?" F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl blinkblinks, and checks the script. Are there supposed to be two gorgeous babes along on the same archaeological quest? You paged F'hlan with 'A moment later, an echoing mental grumble of, << Oh, no, not again, >> can be heard as the green dragon flies up to land wherever it is that all this is taking place. << I don't *want* to be a horse, >> she complains. "Hey, horse-shaped lifemates worked for Mercedes Lackey." << All right, all right, but I'm *not* going to turn white, and that's final! >> "Of course not. White? On *you*, Lyss? That would be ludicrous. We'll just hope no one looks askance at a green horse." Zip, zap, zop, and there's now a rather disgruntled looking (not to mention oddly hued) Thoroughbred mare where Lyss was. Kassi turns to Indy and Mehlani and explains, "Of course. Someone's got to run the camcorder."'. F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl peers at the two young women out from under his fedora, and hrmms. "Well, okay, just as long as Kass there can ride." He doesn't question 'Lani's equestrian skills, he already knows them by heart. Funny how he knows a lot about 'Lani, like what flavor of juice she likes to drink and how she pets Callie and that Adonith actually _talks_ to her and how she scritches his head in JUST an exact way to make his heart race and.... "What? Oh, right, Blekhmet, I DO have to get on the horse..." You paged F'hlan with 'Lysseth rolls her now-equestrian (but still, oddly, red-tinged blue) eyes at Indy. << Ride? Ride? Suuure, Kassi can ride. Because she has me, her long-suffering sidekick, to--ow! >> This last is said as Kassi promptly kicks a green side and mutters, "Shut up, Lysseth. So! An Egyptian guide, horses, old maps and clues, the camcorder--have I missed anything?"'. F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl starts to reply.... before he suddenly freezes, as if somebody's just pressed a pause button (as his typist must trundle off to bed. ;) ) From afar, F'hlan bamf! The Next Day.... Benden Weyr> F'hlan oh dears, realizing that if Kassima's thinking about Scotsmen, it's only a matter of time before she thinks of kilts... Benden Weyr> Kassima has been thinking of kilts for a good long time, F'hlan. Trust me, somewhere in the Temple of Swoon, there *will* be a trap that Indy needs to wear a kilt to get through. ;) Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima cleverly doesn't mention that she has, in fact, packed several kilts in Fritz's saddlebags. That's the problem with letting someone Evil be in charge of the packing. Kassi's even included a kilt for poor Blekhmet, just for the amusement value. F'hlan pages: Oddly enough, Mehlani has completely forgotten to check the saddlebags, and so has Indiana Holl. In fact, the two of them have hopped on their stallions and are now charging off merrily on their way. They don't have to check the map that comes in the Temple Diary, because, as they go, the map is superimposed over their track and a bright red line leads from Benden Weyr right to their destination. Easy to follow, neh? Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima rides off after the pair on her still- grumbling green mount, Blekhmet and Butterball following along behind. Kassi writes a note to give the Special Effects department a tip for the map effects as it conveniently allows them to bypass several traps and fatal pitfalls that would lead them to their grisly demise. Grisly demise is fine, but only on the way *back* from the Temple! F'hlan pages: In no time flat, the party appears to have arrived at an exotic city (well, it's where the map took them), and Indiana Holl hauls dramatically on the reins to make Fritz come to a screeching halt. (*SCREEEEEEEEEEECH*) Mehlani simply pats Tsornin and makes her own mount promptly stop right in his tracks, as Indiana Holl proclaims in his thrillingly deep voice, "We're there." Mehlani blinks twice, trying to shake off the effects of the aforementioned voice, then looks around dubiously. So we're there, but where's there? You paged F'hlan with 'Lysseth tries to screech to a similar halt before she, her rider, and probably Blekhmet all run into Fritz and Tsornin. After doing a pretty spectacular 360-degree Turn and with a nice shower of sparks flying up, Lyss manages the trick. "We are," Kassi intones in a voice full of mystery and the wisdom of the ages, "in the city of Alexandretta, near the Canyon of the Crescen--oops, wrong movie." She hauls her script out of her jacket pocket and reads, "We are in the sacred city of Tenochswoonlan, capital of the ancient Aztec Swooning Priests."'. F'hlan pages: Blekhmet utters an ancient Egyptian oath as he goes ] sailing over the head of his fat horse, and lands disgruntedly. Mehlani awwws, and hops off Tsornin to help the fellow up, while Indiana Holl peers critcally around the landscape. "Aztecs, huh?" He rubs his chin, which is sporting a fetching five o' clock shadow, and adds, "Okay, let's see that map." He hauls out the diary and starts studying. F'hlan pages: Mehlani pauses in helping Blekhmet up to steal a maidenly glance at Indiana Holl, as he's hauled out a pair of glasses to study the diary with. 'Gosh,' thinks Mehlani, 'my fire lizard looks awfully... nice, even when wearing spectacles! How intelligent he looks! How professorial!' And she blushes, for she finds such qualities oddly attractive; then, realizing she's blushing, she meeps and tugs on Blekhmet's sleeve to ask himk for the water canteen so she can splash some water on her face to cool her cheeks off. You paged F'hlan with 'Indeed, the close observer may spot among the lush trees, vines, and wildflowers of the rampant jungle, an ancient, rotting skeleton, dressed in a feathered cloak and headdress, impaled upon a spear of wood. The gaping-jawed skull that sags from the neck seems to wear an expression of horror and despair, even after who knows how many years. "These people sure look terribly friendly," Kassi quips dryly. "Something tells me a Plan--" A chilling chord strikes again, and she mutters to Mr. Sound Effects, "Not *now*, you idiot--a Plan will be required to safely wind our way through the midst to find whatever that little book thingamawhatsits says we need to find here!"'. F'hlan pages: A Plan! Yes, a plan! Mehlani straightens in resolution and approaches Indiana Holl, tugging on his sleeve with considerable more shyness than she did Blekhmet's. When Indy turns to smile at her, she tells him solemnly, "Perhaps we should leave Blekhmet here with the horses. It wouldn't do to have them run off while we're not looking?" She doesn't mention that she'd just as soon keep Kasimma with -them- and therefore more easily observed and prevented from doing anything Evil. And in reply, Indy Holl grins widely at the lass. "I appreciate a woman who can contribute to a Plan," he murmurs, and smooches her forehead, which darned near makes Mehlani reel over. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima listens to this and cheerfully goes to tie Blekhment up with the horses, following this new addition to the Plan to the letter. Blekhmet's whimpers of fear go unheeded, though it would probably be otherwise if they could be heard by the Good Duo. Fortunately for Kassi, the gag makes such impossible. "All's secured now," she announces, dusting off her hands. "What does the guidebook say we must do?" F'hlan pages: Blissfully oblivious for a moment to everything except the need to gaze yearnfully at one another, Indy Holl and Mehlani miss poor Blekhmet's ambush. Indy Holl removes his glasses, folds them and sticks them in his front shirt pocket, with one graceful sweep of his hand, and Mehlani tells him softly, picking up on his newly acquired fount of archaeological lore across their Impression bond, "Didn't the ancient Aztecs store all their treasures in pyramids?" Indy Holl beams at her, nods firmly, and agrees, "So we just have to find a pyramid. Probably in the center of the city. C'mon, sweetheart!" And he strides off, Mehlani sprinting a bit to keep up with him. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima walks after them, followed by Lyss, who has (much to her humiliation) been transformed into a small green parrot so that she can tail the party of humans without looking too suspicious. "Legend has it that the Aztec pyramids are used by priests during religious ceremonies," she notes, acting like a good little tour guide. "Sacrificial victims often tended to be enemies, or foreigners to the city." Kassi cranes her head a bit, to try and see 1.) A pyramid, and 2.) Whether there's any Happy Fun Bloodshed going on. Of course, her eyes aren't *that* good, so she'll just have to remain mystified. F'hlan pages: Mehlani finds a measure of satisfaction in the awareness that her longer legs actually make for improved ability to keep up with energetically striding adult males... and since this one is her beloved Holl transformed, that's all the more reason to keep up with him. At Kassima's tour lecture she peers over her shoulder, though, and protests, "We'll be okay, though, since the Aztecs DID die off, right, Holl?" As she speaks, Indy Holl goes around a corner, then lets out a whoop and points off into the center of the city. There, indeed, is a grand pyramid, with steps leading up each side, and artistically arranged cracks in the stones to add versimilitude and a general look of wear 'n' tear. "There!" proclaims the former fire lizard. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima nods vigorously. "Right, right. Of course they did. They were destroyed by Spanish Conquistadors a long time ago, so now all that's left is old curses and things like that. And traps, of course. Dozens of traps to ensnare the unwary...." She peers in the direction of the pyramid, and oohs. "That's it! That's the Temple of Swoon!" F'hlan pages: Mehlani frowns. "Curses?" She doesn't like the sound of that, and she turns to Indiana Holl to confer. He, however, caught up in the excitement of discovery, has moved briskly off down the winding trail, and as he goes, his right boot trods upon a suspiciously smooth-looking rock... You paged F'hlan with 'A faint whir can be heard, as the rock sinks about an inch farther into the ground. Ropes that were disguised as vines, studded with spikes that have suspiciously discolored tips, suddenly swing out of nowhere. It would take a marvelous act of agility to dodge them in time!'. F'hlan pages: Mehlani eeks, and shrills out a warning! "HOLL!" The polymorphed fire lizard jerks his head up and abruptly throws himself forward along the path, tumbling into a somersault that knocks his fedora off... but he's safely further down the path now. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima whistles as she kneels to inspect the rope-vines, picking one up to *very carefully* pull the spikes out. "Never know when centuries-old lethal poison might come in handy," she remarks as she tucks them into one of those many pockets or pouches all people who wander through ancient jungles in search of lost treasures or artifacts are supposed to have. Kicking aside the rest of the vines, she retrieves the fedora, an eyebrow lifting faintly at the long spike stuck straight through the middle. After extricating the lethal thing, she dusts off the hat and returns it to Indy Holl. "Here, you dropped this." .o0(After all, he'd be less swoonable if he didn't have the fedora... definitely don't want to let it get away.) F'hlan pages: Mehlani pauses to catch her breath, not sure which made her pulse race more: the sight of Indy Holl in danger, or the sight of him so agilely overcoming it. She gasps out, "Are you alright?!" As Kassima clears the path, she scurries to catch up with her pet -- er, companion, and Indy Holl grins crookedly at the visible expression of worry. "I'm okay, kid," he tells her assuredly, while taking back his battered hat. Mehlani bobs her head a bit, eyes liquid as the fedora is returned to its place. "Okay," she murmurs, getting her composure back with difficulty. "Onward!" You paged F'hlan with 'The foliage of the jungle rustles as the small party passes through, almost as if something within was watching... and following. But there's no sign of any life besides the insects and avians that one has to expect here. Not even any snakes, since Kassi's made a note to clear the area of them. An intricate pattern of stones appears on the deteriorated pathway before them, covered with Aztec symbols. There is no way around the path, and one can just bet to walk straight through it would be a darned stupid idea.'. F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl scowls annoyedly at the patterned stones, and tells his companions, "This is going to be tough. Can't use the Iehovah trick here..." Mehlani points out helpfully, "Maybe if you can find the stones that spell out Quetzacoatl?" Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima chortles quietly to herself as she neglects to mention that Quetzalcoatl was actually the Toltec god, and the Aztecs instead worshipped his brother--Tezcatlipoca, the Smoking Mirror. Or rather, she neglects to at first... before she remembers that she needs Indy alive to retrieve the Ring. "Try Tezcatlipoca instead," she suggests. "The Feathered Serpent is Toltec, not Aztec." F'hlan pages: Indy smacks his forehead. "Idiot!" he mutters at himself, before he nods firmly, and steadies himself to start trying a pathway across the stones. But Mehlani tugs at his arm and protests, "Maybe I'd better try, Holl? I mean... I'm lighter..." F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl's handsome brow furrows, and he asks of Mehlani, "You sure about this, honey?" Mehlani nods determinedly, and answers, "I can't let you do all the work!" Clearly not liking this, Holl glowers, but finally nods, and steps back to let Mehlani try the path across the stones. The lass places her dainty feet carefully, picking out the letters of the god's name one by one, and taking only a few moments to marvel at the fact that despite her never having seen these symbols before in her life, she seems to automatically be able to read them, because Indiana Holl can. T....E... Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima gets out her Aztec-Pernese dictionary to translate the symbols, blinking as the entire selection of blocks not involved with the name of the god can be unscrambled to spell out 'Beware of the Leopard' by someone with far too much time on her hands. Hmmm. Watching this, she tries to discern what would happen if the wrong blocks were pressed, since she'll need a way to get rid of the goody-goodies once she has the Ring. Maybe she'll just feed them to this leopard thing. Which sounds like a good notion, since a growling noise can be heard far in the distance.... F'hlan pages: As Mehlani's attention is thoroughly focused on making her way across the stones, she doesn't notice any ominous growlings off- camera. Indy Holl frowns warily, sensing something, but most of HIS attention is on 'Lani, too, as he spells out the name of the god for her a beat before her feet find them. He visibly relaxes as the lass deftly leaps off the last stone, and then he starts across, too. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima pulls a big can of OFF out of her satchel and sprays it all over herself and the strange green parrot above, figuring not even a Leopard would want to eat someone who tastes like *that* stuff. Yuck. She also checks the spray-bottles of A-1 she can use on the return trip home... yep, nice and fresh. She cackles quietly to herself as she steps across, warning the Swarm of blue, green, and gold (Mahogany is out negotiating a deal with CBS for a TV movie) fire-lizards following her not to touch anything. F'hlan pages: Once they're safely across the stones -- after one heart- stopping moment when Indy Holl nearly steps on the stone labelled "W" -- Indy Holl and Mehlani embrace briefly, then look up to gauge their distance to the pyramid, which looms ominously.... aided by a couple more chilling chords from the Sound Effects Department. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima presses a black button on a black background on her black cue-remote control, and the wail of some sort of feral beast sounds from a distance. "So that's what that button does," Kassi marvels, stowing the remote back away. "The Temple of Swoon," she announces in a hushed whisper, "was known in Aztec times for being the Temple used in the Rites of the Shardingly Handsome Ones. Priests selected from among the tribes for their sheer good looks would preside over the Rites, causing hapless young Lower Temple Women to swoon and then sacrifice them to their dark deities." In an aside that can only be heard by the audience, she adds, "Pretty neat system, I'd say." F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl proclaims virtuously, "The world is a better place now that that cult's been wiped out," and Mehlani shivers, thinking involuntarily, .oO (I bet those priests weren't nearly as handsome as Holl.... oh dear, why do I keep thinking that?!) F'hlan pages: And with that, the party of adventurers, accompanied by hauntingly trilling violins (which look awfully darned weird making their way along the path), reaches the Temple. "We need to find the way in," murmurs Indiana Holl, keen gaze scrutinizing the ancient walls. "There ought to be a portal, labelled in the traditional manner, something to the effect of 'Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here, 'Cause You're Screwed'..." Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima continues on with, "It is suspected that the ghosts of the priests and their sacrifices still roam this Temple, calling many bloodthirsty curses upon any foreigners who dare intrude. Therefore, we'll need to go in in disguise." She snaps her finger at the Swarm, who obediantly drop a certain pair of saddlebags at her feet. From this, she pulls two long, brocaded robes in dazzling colors of red, blue, and green, and a kilt checked in those colors. The latter, she naturally hands to Holl. Did anyone *not* see this one coming? "This was the traditional wear of the Swoon Priests," she explains. You paged F'hlan with 'Or, maybe not. ;) Hey, cameraman! Cut! Rewind, erase that last bit.'. F'hlan pages: (The film rewinds itself obediently, and Holl and 'Lani take a few steps backwards.) Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima does some quick editing, and warps the Time-Space Continuum so that they get to the gates, *then* Kassi does her little tour-guide spiel, rather than both at once and thus causing utter chaos and paradox. "Yes, but I'm sure that we'll manage to win our way through to fetch the Ring," Kassi blithely says as she hands out costumes. "For we have... the Book!" Another haunting violin chord sounds, reverbating from within the Temple walls. "Ooh. Good effect, Sam." The sound effects guy gives Kassi a thumb's up from wherever he's hidden, then gets back to work. F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl looks dubious about this kilt thing, and he tells Kassima, "This doesn't go with my fedora!" Mehlani is suspicious, too, and she points out, "If you want him to be disguised as a priest, what does that make us?" Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima gestures to the robes. "Priestesses, of course! They wanted Lower Temple Men to swoon too now and then. As to the fedora, of course it does. All you need is to attach this ribbon around it." She hands him a wildly dyed ribbons in the appropriate shades of glowing emerald, turquoise, and blood red. F'hlan pages: Mehlani blinks. "But I'm not swoonable!" she protests modestly, only to prompt Indy Holl to grab her shoulders and tug her to him invitingly. "Who says, kid?" Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima wrinkles her nose. "Don't have to be swoonable, I hope. They're ghosts. Their eyes are bad. Maybe they'll just fall for the costumes." She has to hope that, of course, since there's something decidedly unswoonable about Extreme Evil. Something she definitely thanks her lucky stars for. "But somehow, I think you'll do--see, Indy Holl says so. Now, let's get a move on--after all, do we *really* want to be in here after dark with no torches?" Doesn't bother Kassi, of course, but it might make it harder to find traps to shove them into on the way back from collecting the Ring. F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl and Mehlani blinkblink. Oh, right, the quest! They look up, reminded that they're not supposed to just be standing there grinning goofily at one another, and with that, they set off again. Locating an old bone and rags that he can make a torch out of, Indy leads the way, as the now-disguised threesome makes it way into the stygian darkness of the Temple. Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima ties a few of her glowing greens to a stick (with eighteen greens, at least one is almost *always* glowing) and uses it as another torch, since you never know how many ways there are to have torches mysteriously go out down here. The stygian darkness looms, with the chittering of insects and strange moans coming from deep within. Pictograms and runic writings line the walls, with suspicious drips of long dried reddish-brown leading from them to the floor. A bat or two flies shrieking towards the party as the light approaches. F'hlan pages: Mehlani thinks, 'Ick!' at the sight of bats and bloodstreaks and other nasty things, and has one bad moment when something with a whole heckuva lot of legs drops RIGHT onto her shoulder. Indiana Holl whirls, and is swamped with a brief impulse to hiss and chitter at the threat to his beloved 'Lani, before he realizes that he's not a fire lizard anymore; then, he just knocks the nastycrawly thing off 'Lani, before they head onward. As they go, Indy points at a decrepit skeleton and says darkly, "This is where Forrestal cashed in." Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima lowers her Proddytorch to the skeleton and hrms. "Dr. Forrestal, I presume?" she asks, but the skeleton, oddly, doesn't reply. Kassi shrugs and does a quick check of the area around the skeleton, hoping for more implements of death. "Hmm. This knife is a strange blade," she muses, lifting up the item in question. Engraved on the blade is, 'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here, 'cause you're all screwed.' In Aztec runes, of course. "A meaningless coincidence. Shall we quest onward?" F'hlan pages: The party does, and the stench of age and long-stagnant air fills the slime-encrusted passageway. "Go left," advises Mehlani to Indy, in a low whisper. "The GM always puts the monsters and traps on the right-hand passage in roleplaying games!" You paged F'hlan with 'Well, that makes no sense, thinks Kassima. After all, isn't the Left supposed to be the Side of Evil and all? And people call *me* illogical. But hey, monsters and traps do fall under the catagory of Excitement, Adventure, and Really Wild Things, and those make movies sell, soooo.... "Left's fine by me."'. F'hlan pages: Briskly, Indy Holl and Mehlani continue onward down the next lefthand passage... only to have Mehlani shriek in alarm as the floor collapses out from under her! "AAAAAAAAAAAH!" Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima quickly uses the zoom-in feature of the camera to catch Mehlani's fall, as four dozen fire-lizards and five more organize themselves into an FL-chain. Can't let her die yet, Kassi thinks sadly. Tempting though it is, the emotional trama will be much more if she dies *later* in the movie, after she and Indy Holl have been through so much together... gah, I hate having to help save lives for Evil. With that thought, she tosses the rope over to Indy. She may have to help Do Good, but darn it, she's not going to be the main one at fault! F'hlan pages: Indy deftly catches the rope, wrinkling his nose as the three fire lizards he grabs squeak << OUCH OUCH OUCH! >> -- being a former fire lizard himself, he can empathize. But he empathizes more with the precariously dangling Mehlani, and he yells out, "Catch, honey!" as he tosses the 'lizard rope to her. You paged F'hlan with 'The fire-lizards shriek in surprise as they go plummeting down the pit, causing an ungodly racket as the sound bounces and echoes off of all the walls. Between the bright greens and the little critters' eyes, the rope is faintly illuminated, and its trajectory can be seen... but will even a rope made of over half a hundred fire-lizards be long enough? (And will the FLs resist from clawing themselves to death as they each try to keep from falling? Will John ever regain use of his memory? Will Marcia ever love? Tune in next week, folks, for As the Weyr Turns!)'. From afar, Mehlani squeals in dismay as a good number of the fire lizards, going on fire lizard strike, promptly flitter up and out of the way. 'Lani slips a few feet further down in the pit, making Indy Holl swear -- time to use the bullwhip. He uncoils it, grabbing on to the edge of the pit quickly and hollering, "'Lani! grab on!" Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima reties the escaped greens to the stick, much to their screeched protests, and sits back to watch the show. Heck, even evil people can enjoy watching a Shardingly Handsome Ex- Bronze FL perform daring rescues with a bullwhip. She munches a bag of popcorn that seemed to appear from nowhere, eyes locked on the scene. F'hlan pages: A fast-paced, urgent melody line from the brass section of the orchestra, punctuated by pulses from the tympanis, races in the background as Mehlani desperately grabs first with one hand and then with the other at Indy Holl's bullwhip. The former fire lizard grimaces as the lass's slight weight threatens to unbalance him enough to make HIM tumble into the pit, but, slowly, surely, she hauls herself up towards him! From afar, F'hlan net.bungees. *boing* Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima steps forward as the duo emerge safely, and peers across the pit. "Getting across this may be troublesome. Indy, do you see any way to use the whip?" For she knows that, usually, when something needs crossing, there's some way to swing across on that bullwhip. She also holds up a sign reading '9.2' for that 'Net bungee. From afar, F'hlan's typist takes a moment to go "WHOO HOO!" as he finds an Indiana Jones Plus Pack theme on the Web. :) Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima woos! And notes, BTW, that the freeware Last Crusade IJ game is *way* kewl. ('Course, I did spend $60 on phoning the help line, but.... :P :) From afar, F'hlan grins. Now where the heck were we... Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima thinks she'd just asked Indy about swinging over the pit on his bullwhip or some such. :) F'hlan pages: We'll worry about that when we get the Ring," declares Indy Holl, as he hugs Mehlani protectively. << You okay, sweetheart? >> Mehlani nods gamely, getting her breath back, and the two determinedly resume their course into the heart of the Temple. As they go, the music becomes more ominous... signaling Imminent Danger just around the next bend... Long distance to F'hlan: Kassima sighs at the sound effects guy, who's always *warning* of the danger, but at least the others seem somewhat oblivious. She can live with that. Cobwebs are thick across the Temple tunnels, with marks of people swooned before all across the floor ways. Blade-notches can also be found, and occasionally some knife that Kassi will appropriate as a weapon. "Hist, listen--" Kassi hisses as the music intensifies further. F'hlan pages: Imminent Danger," growls Indy Holl. Mehlani narrows her eyes, and tries to peer around the next corner. You paged F'hlan with 'The corner is dark, with something like the sound of... drums? Yes, drums, emitting from within. Ghosts have taken up drum playing, apparently. Strange, pulsing red lights can be seen, and voices whisper, "Danger... danger... danger... danger...." Ooh. Someone left a broken record playing back there, too.'. F'hlan pages: Indiana Holl frowns and mutters, "Since when do abandoned pyramids have drum players?" Warily, he inches around the corner, with Mehlani at his side, torch held high to illuminate any oncoming danger he might have to smack with the whip. You paged F'hlan with 'As the Imminent Danger music gets even stronger, Kassi plugs her ears. There, much better. She likes some surprises in life, after all. "We might be nearing one of the Altars of the Unstoppable Swoon Cult," she murmurs. "Does the guide have any more useful information to give? Like, say, why all these spiders with strange red hourglasses on their backs have chosen to nest here?"'. From afar, F'hlan's typist pauses right here. ;) Gotta log off. :) BBL! [A fade to black. To be continued, in our next exciting episode...]