*nods thinking about it as they leave*
*when they come back*
"We'll make Sif the goddess"
*when he leaves*
"I know Tessa and Siljonic weren't comfortable with that, and since Sif wanted more, thought it would be wise to raise her representative to a higher level."
*smiles*
"We are about to attack the ping pong balls of doom, would you like to train with us?"
*shows them where they can reside*
"If you wish to stay here, you can have this suite, it has all the trappings of 1970's home, no internet, no atari, but it's refreshing to get one's self motivated to the job at hand."
*doing his normal training and after giving Lady Memory a call*
"Thanks for letting me know they were on their way, I met them a few worlds back, nice people, so how do you know when versers appear, just by video, or do you have some other means?"
*inquiring as to finding someone to teach him to play guitar, when his acoustic and electric and amp come in*
Jhiaxus
"Jhiaxus, I spent the last nine years bathing in a river. The 1970's as you put it sounds wonderful to me." Sif says.
They both train with your team, and Siljonic later tells you about their skill.
"They both favor a practical, simple sword style in contrast to Bladedancing which is more complicated and deceptive a style. And while they are better than you, I am considerably better than them."
You call Lady Memory...
"Video, and a basic computer program to monitor them. And I check every hour for new scriff sources."
You ask around for a guitar teacher...
Later that day, Carl comes in looking a bit dazed. Behind him is a black man with frizzy hair, and a wild looking jacket, and a very nice guitar.
"Hey, Lord Odin, I heard you were wanting someone to teach you how to pick. I'm up here for a month on tour, and I'd be honored." He stretches out a hand for you to shake. "My name's Jimi Hendrix."
*smiles to Sif* "I can relate, two worlds ago, we had all the technology in the world, but couldn't take a 5 minute shower often, or eat fresh food. I've come to appreciate the little things in the world."
*nods to Siljonic* "Well I believe your normal fighter abilities can teach them that, as for Magic, do they have the aptitude, or willingness to learn that too? I don't want to force them into anything they don't want, just giving them options. I have a request I was thinking about things, and with the amount of mages here, we should make a silence spell, I know as a Hackmaster Mage doesn't have any, but I think you would agree, that making a mage silent is an asset. Plus you have vocalize that negates that spell, who knows if the others have it. Just some thoughts."
*to Lady Memory* "Very good, reminds me of a DC Comic Heroine The Oracle."
*smiles and extends his hand* "The honor is all mine, believe me, please call me Jhiaxus, all my friends do. I am a fan of your work. I have wanted to learn how to play instruments for a long time, but I always had responsibilities that prevented that. Now I have the desire and the time."
Jhiaxus
"Yeah, boss, you're right, silence is a big asset in battle. Oh, you mean a spell to silence an enemy mage....hmmm. Let me begin researching that to see what energy patterns are effective for that. Probably an inverse of a sonic attack spell." Siljonic flips open his spell book, and starts a new page. "I'm not sure they are that interested in new magic."
Jimi smiles, and asks to see your instrument, and if you're willing, he's going to put in 1.5 hrs. a day to training you as long as you also put in the same amount of time practising your chords by yourself.
*nods to Siljonic* "Thanks for getting to work on that, I'm sure they have their own magic"
*hands him the custom acoustic and electric guitar* "I will put the time in after you help me, if you and your band need a place to crash that's not the hotel, your welcome to stay here."
Jhiaxus
"You do get tired of sleeping in hotels." Jimi says. "Not that I'm complaining. Its the gig I chose."
He starts you out by testing your knowledge of the guitar, and then by testing your fingering skills.
"All right, Jhiaxus, you know your bass-ic theory, but your fingering needs help." He's being diplomatic. He gets you started on simple chords.
"Unless gods are different than mortals, you're going to have bleeding fingers, and bandages on each finger soon." He says as you finish up.
"Nods, I feel you there, it's nice for awhile, but there is no place like a home that you know is yours."
*nods knowing he is dealing with a n00b, and understands the diplomacy*
"We bleed, all the gods here began life as mortals, died, and now we travel. Some of us are good, some are evil, some are neutral. I personally do not want to be worshiped or served, but want to serve the people here as best I can. Of course if it lets me fulfill one of my lifelong dreams like learning the guitar, I will indulge myself a bit. I always regretted being too cool to learn to play piano as well, that will be the next dream I fulfill. Are there comics here? Growing up, I loved certain comic books, always wanted to be a hero as well. You defiantly have a vibe about you that puts people at ease, it's a rare gift."
*gets some peroxide and bandages ready for when the blisters do their thing*
"I'm just blessed that I have a woman who is worth all the diamonds in the world, and a best friend I know has my back through thick and thin. They say your life experiences shape who you become, and I wouldn't trade any of mine for anything, the good and the bad. Some people never find contentment in life."
*smiles and gets us both a drink*
"I never got to a rock concert growing up, is there room for a guy, his fiance, his friend and his girlfriend to experience one?"
Jhiaxus
He talks about comic books, and you find there are three genres. Viking Tales of loot and plunder. Business Hero genre which sounds like soap operas crossed with tales of derring-do by businessmen. One moment they are climbing on the outside of the skyscraper to spy on their evil rival who's stolen a valuable tech,a nd the next minute they find their evil rival is trying to seduce their wife. There are also War Tales which feature soldiers from the First Global War between the II and the Mandarin Republic. But lately, there is another genre....Deeds of the Gods.
"I thought Odin would be talking of the glory of death in battle, but I have to admit, I find myself agreeing with you. As to the vibe, well, I like people. Almost everyone I meet has something likable about them, even if its just that they eat with their mouth closed. I focus on the good things when I can."
He nods and sips his drink.
"Oh, yeah, we'd be glad to have you. Front row seats. We're having a concert in two days at the Faux Roman amphitheatre north of town."
"I have had my share of deaths in battle, Odin is known for much other than battles, he is know for his wisdom, battle, magic and divination. Interesting, where I am from most of the comics involve superheroes of great powers, but there were gods mixed in."
*wrapping his fingers*
"Dying in battle is honorable, but many times, Odin has employed misdirection, breaking his work, and pitting people against each other for the greater good. Odin isn't the god of battle, he is the god of winning battle. Ares fights because he loves to, Odin fights because he fights to win."
*smiles*
"A warrior fights, the wise warrior prepared and skews the odds in his favor before he fights. If you face opponents greater in number and strength, you increase your numbers and strength. You use your environment to your advantage, pick the time and place of your battle. Wait till your enemy is filled with drink and sleep, history only remembers the victors."
*continues to practice the cords*
"Enough of talk of battle, I am choosing to make myself more wise, and be able to create ballads with my own hands."
((content to let things play out, will attend the concern and continue my training, by now my days are filled up))
Jhiaxus
"Make yourself more wise. It is said that at one point, you sacrificed your eye to gain wisdom and runes." Jimi nods thoughtfully. "I suppose after you lost your eye, you just recreated it, in time."
You press on with your various trainings, and your duties. The rock concert provides a welcome break to everyone, and you find your trio dragged up on the stage for a bit of applause and handshakes.
Siljonic is totally amazed and excited by the whole thing.
The week passes.
*a little embarrassed but getting on stage*
*Happy for Siljonic*
*continuing things as normal unless something happens*
Jhiaxus
Another week passes, and then Shannon stalks in with a newspaper....
Its the Reykavik Imperial Herald.
"Lord Odin and Lady Freya to Marry."
...While the mayor of Reykavik was gladdened by the news, professors at RTSU in the Practical Mythology Department started last year, wondered what was going to happen with his marriage to Frigga....
And another paper, this one a tabloid, the Nordic Eye.
"Odin and Frigga to Divorce! Aesir and Vanir Very Tense. Odin says he wants to marry his true love, Freya. Frigga Devastated. Threatens to Destroy Reykavik in Revenge."
*smiles* "This is actually pretty funny, easily solved though. *Frigga and Freya have long been considered one and the same, Odin is not getting a divorce, just reaffirming his vows in the earthly realm to end the confusion of scholars. The whole Frigga/Freya confusion has gone on too long, and we both wanted to end the confusion for everyone. I love reading the stories in the Nordic Eye, they bring a smile to my face, humor is a great tool to bring people's spirits up.*
*Press release, and news conference*
*will answer the standard questions*
"Yes Frigga and Freya is the same, yes I love her with all my heart, no there is no trouble between the Aesir and Vanir, Reykavik is under no danger. Thor and Sif have joined us down here, and wouldn't if there were any real problems. Yes, We are getting married for the mortal world to see under her official name, to end the scholar confusion. There will be a public and private ceremony, and no divorce papers anywhere."
*confident and content with his answers to the press*
*increases the weights on his limbs to 10 pounds on each, and adds 10 pounds around his midsection, wanting to really work on his weight, building muscle and stamina*
Jhiaxus
((insert real life link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freyja))
It seems to smooth things over, but the Nordic Eye starts doing regular 'investigative stories' on you, and some of the other gods. Wade Denninsky is the lead reporter in this effort.
You get earlier sleep for a couple days until you're used to the extra weight. You're losing weight.
The mayor sends over an aide who asks if you want to use the Harbor Cathedral (now a museum since people stopped going fifty years ago.), or the City Center Auditorium, or the North Amphitheatre for the wedding.
You wake up a week later surrounded by howling winds, comets plunging out of the sky, volcanoes erupting. It lasts for a minute.
Then it halts.
An old man with a staff and one eye is sitting on a rock next to you.
"Now you know what I experienced for an hour....before Frigga deigned to tell me what she was angry about. Now, she's willng to stew in silence....for a while. Until I fix things." He smiles. "I'm not a god much given to quests, but you have one now."
*taken aback by the change in scenery blinking seeing he got a personal visit from Odin and not his messengers*
"Greetings, your not so humble servant is honored by your personal visit. I meant no disrespect to Frigga, or Freya. There has been question for sometime in the mortal world if they were one and the same, due to different regions describing the same features attributed to both goddesses. Are they indeed two separate and distinct goddesses, or two sides to the same goddess? I know the norse gods, aren't like the Greek and Roman gods, always interfering and showing themselves."
*pauses for a response*
"It seems to me Frigga is first and foremost Goddess of Marriage, Motherhood and The Home, perhaps to make amends, by renaming the Harbor Cathedral the Frigga Harbor Cathedral, and opening it for marriages, honoring her duties. A very interesting quest indeed."
*will do his normal training, and get with the mayor to start this, and show him can make some additional city revenue by billing this as such*
Jhiaxus
"There is a scale of complexity," Says Old One-Eye, his eyeless sockett holding dark mysteries. "Matter to living things to the workings of nations to the heart and mind of man, and finally, the most complex of all, the realm of the gods from which all this other complexity is born."
Its a sort of answer.
"We know you are a good warrior for us, and meant no harm. But even in the godly realms, 'if the woman ain't happy, nobody's happy', so I appeal to you as one man to another, help a brother out." He smiles with an easy charm that is immensely likable. "And it will be long until I come to you again, Jhiaxus of the Two Towns. But I will always watch your exploits with interest. As to your proposal, I hope that my ladywife will see it to her liking. It gets cold sleeping out on top of Mt. Everest."
You talk to the mayor and he bows at least half a dozen times.
"My Lord Odin, great is your power and wisdom, and I would certainly love to do this immediately, to put my own hand to this great work, but the Cathedral has a royal patron, the Most Noble Prince Mark, third from the throne, and any such change must receive his blessing."
OOC: And once the Cathedral change is done, if its done, we'll have to roll for the favor of a goddess. Hopefully you don't botch. Granted, the Nordic pantheon is not as freaky or vindictive as the Greeks, but it's still not going to be a pretty thing if you botch.
*about to leave/wake up from Odin*
"Since it will be a long while before we see each other again, I have a favor to ask. I have made many enemies, many of whom have god weapons. It seems for many of them, unblessed weapons have no effect. I am speaking of one in particular, Ralphie, and his cohort The Rules Lawyer who cheated me out of a god weapon through twists of words. Whether your answer is yes or no, I will go above and beyond and lobby for all births, home move in's and marriages to ask for Frigga's blessing. May I ask you to grant my Axe, the finest constructed weapon I have be blessed to deal with all gods and so called gods except the Noridc pantheon? I must admit, that I find myself wanting a weapon like Siljonic has to guide my purpose. Whatever your answer, I will work on mending fences, as is only fair my leige."
*back in the real world*
*to the mayor* "I do not like to impose myself, may you set up an audience with Prince Mark for myself? I would like to talk with him about the Cathedral and a request Odin would like for the royal family to consider. There are some traditions I would like to see reinstated, for blessings and such, and I would not want the royal family to feel as though, they can be bypassed. With the name change, I would want to do it myself, at a ceremony, if Mark would give his blessing. I cannot state enough how important this is to the people here, and myself that this event, and the old traditions are observed."
((OOC: I know, so I will use my blessing of Odin to give myself as many bonuses in the roll, hopefully putting the other blessings in place will give the whole thing a bonus))
Jhiaxus
Odin smiles.
"I will teach you wisdom and power which are so often one and the same. 'Be not treacherous, but strike you the heart of Thor in two.' Unriddle my riddle, and I will grant your boon."
==============
The Mayor bows several more times, assures you he can do that, and then mentions one teeny, tiny favor or two. Like if you could come by and bless the building of a parking garage downtown, and a strip mall.
"Just a small matter for your greatness?" He bows again.
*nods* "I will indeed, you have my thanks."
========
*nods to the Mayor* "It's the least I can do"
*goes to the library and starts doing research on Thor, if this "heart" is real, or any mentions of it in lore, and also asking the Baron is there is anything unusual with his heart. Considering the be not treacherous, so I need to be forthright about what I do when I do it. Thinking this is very interesting indeed*
Jhiaxus
No mentions of Thor's heart in the literature that you find after an hour's search. In a book of short fiction, you read one story where Thor's hammer was embedded in a normal man's chest, and served as his heart. Thor had to kill him to get his weapon back. The story is about the heroism of an ordinary guy realizing he has to sacrifice himself which was totally not his plan for the day.
The Baron shakes his head negatively.
"My heart's perfectly normal as far as I know, not even a heart murmur or anything." He pauses. "Could be poetry or metaphor. The Norse were also fond of spells with seemingly impossible ingredients like 'the last word of a dying man' and 'the east wind's breath'."
*nods I figured as much* "I have to make such a sacrifice to get that boon from Odin, fitting really, well so be it."
*continuing his training, working harder and longer with all aspects, guitar, martial arts style, building up his strength and stamina, his magical abilities and his psionics through the mindmaze, working toward the goal he has set for himself, to not be a pushover when push comes to shove*
*helping Tessa with whatever she needs for the wedding*
*waiting for his meeting with Prince Mark*
Jhiaxus
A week later, a man with touselled brown hair, and a casual ease of person, and a well-lived in elegance of clothing even tho' its just a sweater and pants walks in to your temple. He is followed by two guys you instantly nickname in your head Serious and Beefy, and one other you name Nervous Secretary.
He holds out a hand, and smiles easily.
"My name's Mark. Protocol says we can dispense with the seventeen titles among other royalty. I suppose being King of the Gods counts too."
He clearly doesn't believe in your 'divinity', and it clearly doesn't bother him either.
*smiles and offers him my hand already disliking the hauty swarminess*
"I live but to serve, which is why I called this meeting. You can leave your two guardsman with you, but due to certain people here, I do not have scribes or listening devices in my presence. That is if you wish to talk candidly"
*once he agrees, he really has no choice or leave with a "god" angry at him, and there is no scribes or listening devices, takes him to a sitting room, that I make sure is not and have the Baron use his sonic bubble*
"There are too many ears in this city, and what I have to say is between you and me. The cathedral that is to be used for my wedding, is normally not used for one of it's intended purposes right now correct? It was not meant to be a place where people visit to remember the past. The problem is whether you believe any of us are gods, or not is not my concern, but I pose you a question. If we are here, there is one of three reasons why. The first, either we are the real thing, and I don't need to ask you, your beliefs on that, so we'll skip past that one. The second, is that we are fakes, and that each and every one of us is taking a name of a real god for our own devious purposes. The third is we are all fakes, and most of us is taking a name of a real god for our own purposes, and some of us are agents of the Nordic Pantheon who don't like what is going on here. Your a smart man, you know either two or three are most likely correct. So here we are, I have a problem, and you have a solution for me, and eventually, I will solve your ultimate problem. My more immediate problem is we'll say the third is true, hypothetically. The person who sent the agent acting in his name has a wife, and she's *REALLY* pissed off, so that person yanks the agent to meet with them, and wants it rectified asap. As a sidenote, this was the first time this agent has ever met face to face with said being, usually dealing with Ravens. So basically this wife is not a happy camper, and they have this world on a spotlight now. What I request of you, is to rename the cathedral to include Frigga, and put support behind giving thanks to Frigga for marriages, births and new homes. Since you would be doing me a favor, which in turn is keeping this world from Ragnarok, I will be in your debt. You can take this for what you will.*
*pauses and smiles*
"As for the bigger problem, if you believe either the second or third option, you have certain people that have taken advantage of this world, and those of us representing the new pantheon that appeared here do not like it one bit. We are fewer than number than them, or else we would move against them now. You can either believe me or not, but whether you believe we are gods or not, we do possess godlike powers and abilities, and you do not want us openly warring again each other. So back to you, I hear your third in line for the throne, I'm sure there are those of us here who are pains in your ass, and I would love to go when our job is done. So being one of the first people here who doesn't bow down before us, I pose that hypothetical situation and possible solution to you."
*grins*
"I forgot my manors, may I offer you a drink"
Jhiaxus
He accepts smoothly. Its obvious he's had a lot of diplomatic practise.
You, him, and the Baron sit down in a sitting room inside the Barons' bubble.
He takes in the information about too many ears, and you're not sure if its new or not to him.
"Correct, Odin. Fifty years ago, the old bishop died with no successor, and so the Old Church sold it to the city. A few years later, they began to use it as a museum. I, as do all princes and princesses, got a royal 'interest' at my birth."
He listens then as you continue.
"I'm quite sure you're all fakes. But, one thing you learn as a ruler is to give the people what they need. The people need to believe in some Power looking out for them, giving legitimacy to their laws and government. So, because of this belief, the rulers don't have to strike so hard at rebellion, and the weaker sort are more content."
He smiles in a manner that he no doubt thinks reveals his tolerance and enlightenment.
"Oh, excellent. This is a simple matter, and it will help out enormously. No, you are not in my debt for such a small thing."
He smiles.
"While the existence of gods has been problematical in some respects, in other respects its been useful, so far. We really did not want to go to war with the Mandies recently." He pauses to make sure you're keeping up as you're probably not as smart as him. :) "But, yes, there are certain deities we could well do without. Hades just scares people. Nike is encouraging the 'let's escalate and nuke the enemy now!' crowd. And there is something rather nasty swimming in the waters of the Irish Sea. Its fast, has a lot of tentacles, and it has broken the back of a number of ships."
You hear the Baron gulp just a tiny bit, and the Prince turns to him.
"Just got the drink down the wrong pipe." He says smoothly.
*smiles at this buffoon and plays along, always having a disdain for "I'm better than you types", scans his mind with each of my responses and his, time to use my new found strengthened psionic abilities to my advantage*
"Well, you do understand that you can't just pick and choose which ones to get rid of, they are like ants, you kill one and disturb the colony, they all are on you. I understand certain ones are better than others, I don't play favorites. I'm here to make sure those that stay play nice, don't kill the innocent, and most of all do not take advantage of this world like they did in the previous three. Two of the three previous worlds were wiped off the map.
*smiles*
"Well I do thank you for granting my request, and I do urge you to not rely on the "gods", they are here for their own purposes, and this world if a drunken frat party for most of us. Me, this is a world on the brink, you cannot have this many of us on a world at the same time without something bad happening."
*gets up*
"I do thank you for the use of the Cathedral for my marriage, and perhaps you will get more people who will wish to emulate the "gods", meaning more money in your pocket. Thank you for your time.
*walks him out of his temple and waits a minute for him to leave and be out of earshot*
"Entitled, smug little bastage isn't he, let him think what he wants, if he thinks he can keep them in line, he is in for a rude awakening."
*turns to Baron*
"You acted like you knew what he was talking about in the sea, what or who is it?
*with the immediate crisis hopefully settled, getting back to training, knowing something bad is coming soon*
Jhiaxus
He really is kinda friendly. But he finds your belief in gods to be ridiculous and the sign of an inferior mind. He is definitely alarmed when you mention other worlds destroyed, but then he reminds himself it could be a lie, and you are 'an inferior mind'. Still, it needs to be checked out. He'll tell Simon, Grey Man. And this bit about a drunken frat party...well, he was pretty good at that himself at one time. Maybe he can insinuate himself in, and find out. That way, the Emperor might see fit to moving his status up.
Money in his pocket...meh. He's already so rich. Only the nouvelle rich care about money.
A simple problem with the Cathedral. If only all problems were so simple.
========
"Indeed. He comes from a line of kings that goes back twenty crowns. He is the very definition of 'entitled'. But, he thinks he understands versers, but there are some versers who would kill him simply for being a noble. He lacks the imagination to see we are not like his people." The baron says, his hands beginning to move more and more.
The baron walks back and forth on the spot, and then hammers a fist into the wall.
"Long time ago. I was just Bill, not the Baron. New to versing. Hadn't met my dearest heart." He gasps and looks agonized out over the city. "Small village by the shore. Its winter. They're being terrorized by a sea monster. I can tell its a verser. I was confident in my powers, after all, I could do a few party tricks and knew which end of teh sword to stick in someone."
He hammers his fist into his hand. His eyes look wild, and his hair is damp.
"The villagers, some wanted to flee over the mountain. Many would die in the snow. I convinced them not too. I'd deliver them from the monster."
He stares for a long moment, absolutely still.
"In the end, I was the last one alive, except for him, adn then he finally came for me."
His natural personality, or learned skills reassert themselves.
"He is an eighty foot long cephalodopodic alien with a boron-carbon body structure. He has eight primary limbs, and four minor limbs used for eating. The minor are ten feet long, and the primary are sixty, with a width of ten feet at the top, and eight feet at ninety percent of their length.
He can create electrical discharches from the tips of his main limbs. His speed at sea is approximately a hundred miles per hour.
He goes by the name 'Blackheart' as at one point I yelled at him 'Come to me, you blackhearted beast.' His kind do not ordinarily take names, but he found it amusing to follow human custom. He is telepathic.
I am not sure if it is his species nature, or if he is an aberration, but he is sadistic and vengeful to a clinical degree if he were a human."
*considers what the Baron says*
"Well it's time to alert the frat boys about Blackheart and see what they want to do, I truly hope they haven't accepted him into their little scheme. Either way, another variable that will need to be dealt with one way or another. Thanks for being here to enlighten me about it."
*puts a call into the "gods" to inquire as to the nature of Blackheart, their knowledge of it, and its current status*
*goes back to his training and duties*
Jhiaxus
"We sensed him by the typical scriff sensing, and so I sent one of my demigods. A nice kid. He vanishes. It was only his third verse." Hermes frowns. "So I get ticked off, and ask Whisp for a favor. Blackheart toys with him, running circles around him, and Whisp gets tired of it, and blows me off."
"There are some things you just can't reason with, my suggestion is send a ship out with no crew, get Lady Memory to rig a remote control, she seems to be adept at that, and pack the hold with a nuclear bomb, if you need help with that I will build one, and only one and will be the one to set it off. If we know what it feeds on, put that on board the ship to lure it. I don't care if your Boron or Carbon based life, a nuclear blast point blank is game over. That's my suggestion, your mileage may vary."
Jhiaxus
He curses, but its in admiration.
"I like how you think. I'll put it up to the Council of Gods."
"It's killing innocents, and is a coward, two things I don't stand for, I am loathe to use such devices against another verser, but sometimes you just have to put the needs of the many before the needs of the few or one. Let me know what the council decides, you know where to find me."
*shakes his head, thinking all that power and not the reason and intelligence to do the right thing with it, and goes back to training, thinking if there was a way to challange it to a melee, would have no problem sacrificing himself using his axe to cut a hole in it's hide and plunging the scale inside it's body, putting those thoughts to the back of his mind while he gets back to training*
Jhiaxus
You go back to training, and Siljonic starts sparring with you for a few minutes every day. You're also starting to attack the ping pong balls of doom while your feet are being ambushed by the old tires of terror. That is, you have to lift your feet, and step from tire hole to tire hole to move around. It makes it a lot harder.
As to magic, well, you're learning the Light spell by listening to ABBA and doing it blindfolded and balanced on top of two chairs stacked on each other. You're gaining a lot of bruises, and Siljonic is regarding this as his practise on healing spells.
Tessa comes in as you do the mayor's blessing. Surrounded by a half-dozen attendants, she waves them off of you and her.
"I have Hector, I think, problem. Remember how he had three goddesses wanting him to judge a beauty contest. He chose the one who promised him Helen, and thus gained himself two goddesses as enemies. Well, I have three really good wedding shoppes that want to make my dress for me. Donovan's, Vivian's Apparrel, and the Wedding Way."
*tired, sweat rolling off of him with the increased weights and new acrobatics in training, drinking a jug of water*
"Hector didn't have negotiating skills, nor could he best Achilles, which isn't a knock on his fighting ability. Easy, be honest with them all, have each one design a dress, veil and a train for the back, tell them it wouldn't be fair to pit them all against each other, and that you will pick a piece from all, and have all three of them make it together. At the end, say you will publicly thank all three makers. It's my best solution for the problem, but it is likely to have some complications*
*towels off and starts strumming on the guitar and singing, waiting for Jimmie come down, working on his take on Hurt as done by Johnny Cash, who covered it from NiN, using his Ipod to work through it*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go
Jhiaxus
Tessa kisses you, and runs off.
Four days later, you find a note on your desk with a florid 'H' on the outside of it.
"Odin, make the nuke. We're going to teach Blackheart a lesson in who it can mess with. H."
Your TV turns on.
"Three guys incoming from the harbor."
You look out the balcony onto the street, and you see a bow-legged and sligtly wobbling sailor with a shock of blonde hair and dark skin, and a four foot long sword strapped to his back. Next to him is a huge man dressed in plain blue jeans, who is holding a box in front of him with both hands. And next to him is a figure of military decorum, and ramrod straight, kick the leg out march dressed in gray with some sort of energy carbine slung on his right side.
"Jeff Morgan aka Odysseus, Ezekiel aka I forgot, and Major Franz Hauptmann of the SS and the Nazi Multiverse Conquering Project aka Strife."
*turns on the laptop and looks for the best configuration for the conventional explosives and the ratio of it to nuclear material. Will also get the best shape for both, to get the maximum effect with minimal blowback into the atmosphere, looking at a annihilate radius of 500ft*
*putting the request for a case, conventional TNT, and the amount of nuclear material he needs, in exact sizes, weights and shapes, figuring he will have the set off receive a signal from his Starsong Comm in text mode, giving him sole ability to set it off, with maximum distance, and keeping the frat boys from getting a clear picture of how to repeat the process. Will confirm they will handle the ship and remote control with Lady Memory's help*
*nods and gathers his friends, heading out to greet the three of them*
"Greetings and welcome to Reykjavík, I'm Jhiaxus, this is Tessa, Siljonic, She-who-is-gold and Baron Coranado. Did you just arrive? If you'd like I can get some of the local food, relax and converse if you would like."
Jhiaxus
They stumble over each other a bit, until the Major gets his way.
"No, I have been here a year. But I am not thirsty." He gives She-Who-Is-Gold a glance.
"I would welcome some land food. I just ported at the harbor in my single cat, and while I love fish, fish for the last two weeks for every meal is a bit much." Jeff says, a bit uneasy. He relaxes a bit when he sits and takes off his sword now that he doesn't need to concentrate on his land legs.
"A drink would be most kind." Ezekial says. Up close, he's even more massive. Seven feet tall, and three hundred twenty-five pounds of muscle. "I'm a friend of the Gardener. He wanted to send you a message to ask you to visit. Also, in honor of your upcoming wedding, I have a gift." He holds out the large box which is wrapped in blue velvet."
"Yes, the wedding, we were wondering when invites were going to be sent out." The Major says.
*nods to them all*
*gets one of his friends to order from the same place as last time, about three times as much, if he is any judge of hunger.*
*welcomes them into his parlor, and gives them choices of spirits, juices, sodas, wine, tea, coffee and different types of water from mineral to crystal clear tap*
"We are a bit sheltered up here, Hermes hasn't really given us the rundown on who everyone is, so I am sorry for not knowing if you were brand new, been here for awhile or a mix of the two."
*to Jeff* "A sailor, very interesting, one of the passions I hope to indulge in someday myself."
*to Ezekial* "We appreciate the gift and will definatly have to arrange to visit him, being so kind and thoughful. If it is ok, if what inside is perishable, might we open it now?"
*to the Major* "To be honest, Tessa has been handling most of the arrangements, if we have a set day, I have been worrying about other matters, but decorum is important. I will consult with Hermes for a list of VIP's of both our kind and the mortal world, and get on that personally.
*Tessa and myself will open the box if given the ok by Ezekial, curious as to what is inside*
Jhiaxus
You judge well by hunger.
"The leaders of this thing don't tell everyone that info. They know some don't get on well with others, and no need to rub everyone's nose in it." Jeff says with a laugh. "And I'll be glad to take you out sailing any time in the next few weeks. I have a sweet little catamaran with a glassine hull."
Ezekial gives a little bow, and smiles.
"Its best to open it when the two of you are alone." He laughs at your face. "Its not what you think."
*trying to read his mind to see if there is anything he needs to worry about opening it, since he is obviously thinking about it. If I don't find malice, no need to probe further*
"I will have to take you up on that, so aside from the gift, is there an official reason for this visit?
*looks at the rifle on the major* "Interesting rifle, haven't been to a high tech world yet that has energy weapons, I have plenty of toys, some high tech weapons but nothing Star Wars ish. Did you aquire it or build it? I collect plans and designs for when I do get to a world where I can build or improve such objects. I have to ask, just because it's my curiosity speaking, how did the Germany do in WWII. I'm running a theory, and wanted to confirm what I think.
*Interested in the Majors reaction, reading his mind, trying to get any information he can about this Nazi multiverse conquering project. Hoping it's his one person project and not from a timeline where the Nazis know about the multiverse and are sending agents in.*
Jhiaxus
Its peaches from the Gardener's garden, and the way most people react to the presence of one of his peaches is to DEMAND some, so unless you really want to irritate your friends or find yourself done out of most of your food, you eat them in private.
"Just to extend an invitation, and to visit. I like to meet other versers, talk..." He grins shyly. "Spar with staff or fist." Ezekial grins.
"For me," Jeff grins at Ezekial whose less than socially aware. "Much the same. I like to port once in a while to remind myslef of other humans until I can't stand them any longer. Besides, a verser wedding is a big thing."
"Star Wars Ish? No. It is an energy carbine used by officers of the Terran Infantry during the Bug Wars. I earned it."
He's baffled by your 'Star Wars' reference. He has an image in his head of desperate land battles with energy weapons against wave after wave of six-legged cyborg spiders. He was a low-level officer. A flash and he's ripped apart by a spider. Later, he wakes in a hospital, and he's now a cyborg.
He smiles.
"We won. Not only against the mongrel natons of the West, but also against the Orientals. And then came this verser to our world. He tried to stir up trouble, but our telepaths tracked him down. We drained blood from him, and his secrets. So yes, Jhiaxus, we did institute a deliberate plan to conquer the Multiverse by creating versers."
::Fair's fair, 'Lord' Odin. You really need to learn some mental defenses.::
And suddenly you're outside his head.
OOC: Because Nazi cyborgs are such a cliche' one should have one.