You take off the ring, and are momentarily disoriented by the sudden darkness which is broken by freshly lit cigarette in your hand and the taste of it in your mouth. You are supine, with your head on a pillow, nude, slick with sweat, hot and sore from exertion.
Dawn is laying against you at your side, her normally pale, emotionless face fraught with the pink tinge of afterglow, in the same state as you are, only panting to catch her breath, as are you. No one else is in the room.
The surroundings do not resemble those of your building.
I'll look for the bathroom. Shower and dress. I'll look for the ring and make sure it gets secured in my pocket. I'll search for any weapons of mine, and if found, don them. I'll look out the windows, if any, and see what kind of outside environment I've wound up in.
You've got your sword; your guns are not anywhere to be found. Other than the scriff senses inside this building, there are no others.
Dawn asks you, "What's wrong?" Her voice sounds different; it sounds to have concern in it, which is nothing like her. She's wearing a white bathrobe, standing now, looking unsure of herself.
"Nothing, Dawn. I just like to look and see where I take control again. I can only imagine what he's done this time. So, you want to save me a lot of trouble and fill me in on what disastrous mayhem I'm responsible for this time? And is the rest of our merry band accounted for?"
"You called me Dawn!" She smiles excitedly.
"The rest of us?" she asks in confusion. Her face is the complete opposite of the sociopathic killer you're used to. "What are you talking about, Lord Ishmael?"
"I'm not Ishmael. And what's with this "Lord" crap? The rest of us meaning Lily, Bob, Miralla, Bron, Ringo, etc. What in the blue Hades is going on? Status report."
She looks even more confused. "I've never heard of any of those people. If you're not Ishmael, who are you?"
As for the status report, she seems to have dismissed it as being completely unintelligible.
"Ok. Never mind. Just give me some time."
What did I see when I looked out the window. I will exit this room and start to explore my new environment.
It appears that you're in a forest, with no other living person for miles. Dawn follows you as far as the door, and asks in alarm, her voice tense, "Where are you going?"
"To look around. What are you so worried about?"
She answers, "I thought you were leaving me alone again." She seems to be in a state of great distress.
"No, not at all. Join me if you wish, but I'm taking a walk and a look about."
She quickly gets dressed and accompanies you; her hand finds yours as you walk.
In spite of her emotional differences, she still seems as strong as she was.
I'll just play it by ear. What is this building?
It's a log cabin. It seems to have been built from local wood. There are no clear trails here.
Hmmm. I'll look around inside the cabin and see if Ish kept a jouurnal, or left me any salutations.
You find sunglasses, a top hat, and a fancy cane.
It seems the only other salutation you were left was the little girl who was once one of your greatest assets. Still holding your hand, she smiles up to you, and asks, "Wanna go another round?"
Your best guess as to where all your other things are is that Ishmael must have destroyed them, probably by filing them down into dust and then disowning the dust. The sword he probably would not have been able to do suc a thing to; like the ring, it was crafted by Ringo.
(I just remembered that you've got a whole f'ing collection of swords he made for you; something in the number of five hundred and one, one for you and five hundred for your elite shock troops. They're all here; not a gun in sight, though.)
Your Pyronics 2000 =(
O.O.C. - That guy, is a douche bag.
*Sigh*. Oh well. Sometimes the blessing of loosing everything is starting over again with new things. I will miss the Pyronics 2000.
"Not right now, Dawnie. I need some time to get my bearings. Just give me a little space for a bit."
I will take inventory of everything in the cabin and on my person.
O.O.C. - I'll need a list Ky.
List for you.
The Ring.
One carton Marlboro reds.
A zippo lighter.
3 pair blue jeans.
3 white tees.
501 magic swords.
3 pair socks.
3 pair undergarments.
1 top hat.
1 pair shades.
1 lost little girl who was bears a striking resemblance to a certain sociopathic killing machine you know.
All those things have a scriff sense.
There is also a cache of salt cured smoked dried meat, some dried fruit leather, and a large bag of dried hemp. That, and a bed, with sheets, a blanket, two pillows; the matress itself seems to be wool-stuffed cotton, with so support springs, although the workmanship of the frame is quite good.
I'll take my sword and strap on another. Time to go for a walk about outside.
Dawn accompanies you.
You find a woodcutter's axe and saw which appear worn; there is no other evidence of such work here other than those two items and the cabin. There are no trails to speak of; I presume you're simply exploring, not setting out.
There are live animals out here; you spot several deer, bears, racoons, birds, and squirrels.
During your wandering, you investigate the sound of a river, and find a fairly large one. The water is muddy and murky, but clearly teeming with life.
"How long have we been here?'
She answers you, "Twelve hours, thirty seven minutes and sixteen seconds. Seventeen. Eighteen. Yeah." She blushes slightly, forcing herself to stop counting off the seconds to you. Apparently she's still katana sharp.
... replied!
"Very well. I suggest we take time to explore our current surroundings. I want to know as much as I can concerning the environment."
Using scriff sense, can I detect anything at all?
Only your possessions you hae left in the cabin, those you have on, and Dawn.
"Do you remember when I was in jail?", I'll ask and keep walking.
Dawn asks, "When was that?" She's walking at your side, having no trouble keeping pace.
Hmm. Something is definitely wrong here. I am considering that hits may be a form of psychic prison, or something along those lines. But this reality seems a tad off.
Your exploration of the environment comes up fruitless of any other sort of useful information.
Dawn asks what you're looking for.
"Well, do you know our surroundings? I don't. In fact i don't remember a damn thing. So you'll forgive me for trying to reacquaint myself with my memories. Now either be helpful, or be quiet while I think, please."
She says to you, "You lost your memory? The same thing happened to me in the last world. You told me your name was Ishmael and that I belong to you for whatever purposes you have in mind. There were a lot of people there with magic; you eventually destroyed the world and we were seriously hurt in the process, I thought we died, but we came here. You told me to wait and built the cabin, then you left me here while you left for a few hours. You came back with food and we ate and then I serviced you and then, well, then I guess you had amnesia, because that's when you started treating me differently."
Long story." I will explain the tale of the Ring, of Ishmael, of our currently missing friends, etc. The whole Magilla.
You're telling her about herself?
Yep. Everything.
You can tell she believes you completely. She breaks down and starts crying. Once she's composed herself, she dries her eyes and says to you, "So, Ishmael is in that ring, and he's the one who did this to me. He has great power.
"I don't remember ever using any weapons as you say. Do you think I stll can?"
"I'm not sure. All we have are swords. So grab a pair if you like. If you don't know how to use them, I'm fairly sure I can passably teach basic sword use. Let's see how you do."
She does pick up the sword use; she's remarkably good, but clearly an amateur.
I'll give her pointers as we walk. I don't want to get too far from the cabin, but I want to get an idea of the countryside.