"What do you mean 'on'?" Nestor frowned, now even more puzzled by the man's demands. "...I don't see why you need an little box to talk to the people in charge of the city, but I'm afraid I haven't heard anything about a game. I got here last night, and got very...." He cleared his throat. "Drunk." He admitted. "What...whats this game anyway?" Maybe it was some thing for merchants, the man sounded like he might be some kind of trader. He never talked trader talk so maybe that was what all this 'Merger' business was all about.
===
The staircase, and especially the dome, which he tilted his head back to examine, letting out a slow exhilation. "Wow...thats something else." He was actually talking about the dome, but he thought it might be for the best to let Kevin interpret it as amazement on the indoor plumming. "Fairy Dust?" He asked, finaly looking over from his upward gaze to study Kevin. "Which will do...what?"

Michael only half listened to Hilbert's description, nodding every once n a while as he started to work on the box that would soon, hopefully, contain a power source to keep the little containment field up to power. It was Hilbert's description of the spinning magnetic stones and copper plates that caught his attention. That sounded familiar to him, almost like...
"A dynamo?" He stopped his work breifly to look back at Hilbert. "These gnomes of yours built a dynamo?" Michael made a few last connections, turned the whole thing on, then stood up. It was then that he realized that he was now teathered to the amplifier box. This isn't going to help me... "Maybe we could use their help.. if they can still build that thing. What do you suppose they'll take in trade?"

Conrad just laid there letting the water warm him as she scrubbed dirt off of him. It was hopeless. This Nestor guy, if he really was a guy and not a programmed bit of reactions, was not going to help him. He would have to look elsewhere for that. But it couldn't help to talk with him.
"The game is that you are put into a medieval world, get to fight monsters, go on quests and find treasure. The usual high adventure stuff." Said Conrad. Then in a lower voice he said, "Or at least that is what it was supposed to be."
He looked at Nestor again, "But as you can see, I have no great treasures, fought no great monsters and the closest thing I can find for quests is cleaning out some guys stalls. Pretty crappie game don't you think?"
=========
"What won't Fairy dust do?" said Kevin as he found his bottle of the stuff. "101 uses, though I think you will only be interested in the one."
With that Kevin recited some arcane words as he sprinkled the sparkly fairy dust over each of the wheel of Falco's wheel chair.
"and there you go. You should be able to wheel your self right up there now. and the fairy dust should last until tomorrow morning. Just remember to lean back to go up. And I am sure I don't need to tell you about steering."
Kevin pointed at a door off the third floor landing. "That will be your room. I'll be right up. I just have to check and see how Vesta is doing with her chores."
=======
Hilbert stopped in his pushing of the sphere and turned to Michael "You're honestly thinking of Trading with them Michael Lester? Well, I suppose they would find all of this valuable. They are like raven's attracted to shiny things. Anything new that they have never seen before. but if you deal with them keep your wits about you. For they will try to come out of this with the best deal."
At that moment with a rush of hot wind the iron dragon they had flown here in landed on the hillside with a mighty thud. A moment later two men with white hair, beards and long noses rushed towards the pile of spheres rubbing their hands and chatting rapid fire with each other. They stopped short when they saw HIlbert, Britany and Michael.
One bowed low. "Greetings fine gentlemen and lady, I am Targen Third Half Torilson Dodger June Boy Moon Day Kratchix and this is my associate Flatblap Jug Norfids Gilson Hammer Lock Hill Binder Lord Nordfia. Which one of you belongs to this?" said Targen Third Half Torilson Dodger June Boy Moon Day Kratchix

Nestor gave the other man a slow and appraising look as he rubbed his fingers over his beard again, scratching his chin, and then offered. "No offense, but you don't look like you could fight me, let alone an monster." He wasn't in BAD shape. Not really...but he didn't think the man had the look of someone who knew how to handle himself in a fight. "Do you know how to fight?" He asked, frowning in curiosity. Great treasures indeed. Did the man plan to go fight a dragon? He must be -mad-. If great treasures and glory were that easy to come by, they'd hardly be glorious or great. "But for a game, I'd say cleaning out a stable sounds pretty..." he chuckled at the joke. "Crappy. I'd stick to dice."
===
Lean back to go up? Falco bit back the comment that sprang to mind, which was rude, and grumpy about having sparkly powder poured onto the wheels of his wheelchair. What was it supposed to accomplish anyway? Some kind of mystical placebo affect to make him less tired from jerking a chair up three flights of stairs?
"...If you say so. Here goes nothing I guess...." he noted, uncertainly, rolling forward and giving the wheels a tug, leaning his weight back into a 'wheelie' position. "Like this??" He asked, giving the man another incredulous look. "...I'll flip over backward!"
He knew the man wanted to check on his daughter, though how that worked he wasn't sure, since hadn't she said she couldn't see him? Or something prohibative like that, but he wasn't planning on breaking his neck to go with his back.

"I've studied Karate" Said Conrad. "In fact I am a brown belt." He said this last part with no small amount of pride. Truth was he was about to test for his brown belt but this guy didn't need to know that. Then it occurred to him. He was thinking of this 'Nestor' as a real person.
Then Conrad thought about the mention Nestor made to dice. THis was what drove him mad. Every time he thought it was a computer program producing the dialog it would through in something like that. But if that was an actor why didn't he break character when he knew Conrad needed help. But the Dice in this setting sounded too much like that Dungeons & Dragons game his younger brother used to play. Hell maybe this was a fellow player. One like his brother loved to stay in character and *shudder* dress like them. If he stuck close to this guy when he got out maybe Conrad could get out to.
Conrad pulled himself up out of the tub and took a towel from the attractive girl who was currently averting her eyes.
"Hey Nestor, you seem to have a better handle on things. Mind if I buy you a" What was it his brother used to say. oh Yes. "Flagon of mead down at the local tavern? Maybe we can talk and you can give me some pointers so I don't end up cleaning stalls."

=====
As Falco first started to lift the front wheels off the ground he felt a slight rise almost like he was rolling up a ramp. The chair was now sitting almost an inch off the floor.
Kevin smiled a big smile knowing what would happen. "Have a little faith in your local wizard" he chuckled "Now just start turning the wheels and you should start to gain some forward movement to go along with your lift. Should you wish to level out and fly in a straight line just level out your wheels."
With that there was a loud knock at the front door behind Kevin.
"Who could that be at this hour?" He asked as he scratched his chin and walked to the big oaken door.

Ka-rah-tay, Brown Belt....why the heck did it mater what color the guy's belt was? "What has your belt got do so with anything?" He asked, frowning in transparent confusion. His expression flickered between interest and concern at the idea of having someone buy him a drink, the very idea almost overriding memories of the previous night.
Maybe not a mead but some ale might taste really good right about now....

Then he remembered Cara, which was something the equivalent of having cold water thrown over him.
"Oh uh...that's...where that lady's about..." He added, looking crest fallen and feeling thirsty. "I'm pretty sure I don't want to go back there unless I know her and her troll-kin husband are gone.
---

Falco gawked, clutching his arm rests for a moment in shock as his chair actually rose off the floor. He wasn't quite sure how to describe the sensation of it hanging there. "Oh, Geeze..." he sputtered, though he let the wizard wander off, testing cautiously rolling back and forth over empty air, looking over his shoulder in curiosity to see who came through the door, and hoping it wasn't Gilbert. Although with this stuff on he could get away from him easily enough.
"This is whacked out..."

"It's not the color of the belt per say, but what it represents. Your passage to the highest level of your discipline." Conrad couldn't decide if this guy really didn't understand Karate or was still putting him on. But for the purpose of sticking close to him, Conrad would play along. He finished toweling himself off and then handed the towel back to the girl. She smiled at him while continuing to avoid having to look at Conrad's manhood on full display right there.
Conrad looked down at his still filth clothes and with a resigned sigh picked them up to put them back on again. It seemed awfully pointless to bath and then have to put back on the filthy clothes. As he held the pants in his hands he dug into a pocket and and pulled out a coin. He then flipped it to the girl.
"For your troubles. Buy yourself something sweet." He said with a wink
The Lisa stared at the coin for a moment before looking back at Conrad. The coin he had flipped her was two days worth of her wages. She stared at Conrad as he put back on his pants. The only people she knew who earned money like this worked in the brothel down the street. And if he thought that was what she was going to do for the coin why was he putting his pants back on? Her face started to flush red and her cheeks got hot. It wasn't as if he wasn't a handsome man, for he certainly was handsome. She had rolled with uglier, like Tilfel the Smith's son.
"Sir?" She said holding the coin back out to him. She looked between Conrad and Nestor, not knowing what to do. It wasn't the first time she had received extra, mostly for scrubbing the male, and a few older female, guests. But did her really want sex? Here? In front of this other man?
Conrad turned back to her and looked at her completely oblivious to her confusion. "Yes, it's for you. And if you keep up the good service there will be more." This made Lisa blush further red and made Conrad smile as he turned to Nestor in the tub. "So care to join me? Or would you like to soak longer? I'm sure we can find a tavern with out the troll and his wife."

=======

Rosalyn stood at the doorway, hooded cloak puled up around her to protect herself from the wind. She was waiting for an answer to her first knock and contemplating knocking again. She had heard about the Wizard Kevin in town and had hoped he could provide her with the herbs she needed for her ill comrade back at the Inn. She was about to knock again when the door swung open and a man fitting the wizard's description stood in the doorway.
"Are you the Wizard Kevin?" She asked formally. The man sized her up for a moment.
"Yes, and you are?" He asked.
"The Paladin Rosalyn of the crystal sword. I have come in search of your aid and your knowledge of plants and herbs. May I come in out of the night air?" she said. She had little time for pleasantries and needed to get right to the point.
"Come in Paladin Rosalyn." Said Kevin stepping to one side. As she stepped in she saw another man floating in mid air in a chair with wheels on it.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were busy" She said
"Ah this is my Vesta's guest, Falco. Falco, it appears we have another guest. May I introduce Paladin Rosalyn of the Crystal Sword."
As Kevin said this Rosalyn removed her hood revealing her face, cheeks dotted with freckles, green eyes sparkling, and flaming red hair pulled back into a bun with a few ragged locks hanging out here and there.

Nestor stared at the man as he gave the girl the coin, then climbed out of the bath himself, toweling off quickly and getting dressed in his dirty clothing with an air of it being a normal thing for him.
"You're uh...confusing the young woman." He pointed out, clearing his throat slightly as he tugged at the sleeves of his shirt. Of he hadn't been listening to the man he would also have assumed that he was propositioning the girl, but really, he was just so clueless... "...Do you know how much that's worth?" He asked.
The belt thing was still terribly confusing, were they using belts, where he came from, in place of shields and titles?"

Falco stared. Oh he knew her...just...not as Rossalyn. It had been some time since he'd seen her in person of course, since the break up, but he still had every freckle memorized. Even the way her hair did that funny little curl when she tucked it behind her ear.
His first thought, after the initial thought receded, was to snap something cold, about how he knew her under a different name, and that damn did she look ridiculous in that get up, but...she didn't. She just looked amazing, hell, better than ever. She looked like she'd come into her own. Had she been lifting weights?
"Laura??" He blurted out the name in confusion, blinking as he turned the chair around to face her. So much for witty intros. He never would have thought she would be caught dead in a game like this.

((Hope I got her name right, I think thats the name I gave the 'real world' version))

Conrad looked back at the young woman then at Nestor as he walked towards the door. In a low voice he said to Nestor "did I give her too much? I still haven't gotten the hang of the local currency." He flashed the girl another confident and charming smile before moving on. At least she would remember him next time.
He continued through the doorway into the hall. It felt good to be clean but he felt weird being back in the same dirty clothes. Maybe he could come back later and get the girl to clean them while he bathed. If what Nestor implied was correct, he could expect a little extra next time he came back.
He was about to turn back to Nestor and ask about the drink when he was run down by a fabulous woman. She had fire red hair, ample bussom and buttocks, and all she wore could be best described was fur boots and a chain mail bikini. As she collapsed atop him and he could smell her recently washed skin he thought to himself, "now this is more like it"

======

Both Rosalyn and Kevin looked up Falco. Then Kevin turned to look at the face of Rosalyn and then back at Falco. Rosalyn looked puzzled but Falco had the look of seeing someone he knew but did not expect to se here. Kevin decided to prep some spells in his robe sleeves "You know each other?" asked Kevin. He stepped form between the two of them just incase something happened, though Rosalyn/Laura seemed to show no recognition of Falco and only confusion.

[Nestor]-
"Er...yes. You gave her far, far too much." He wasn't sure if he should tell the man what she'd expected if he hadn't figured it out. Oh she'd remember him alright. By all the gods would she. What he wasn't expecting, but remembered for much the same reasons that the woman would remember slow witted, very generous Conrad and his belts, was the woman in the pointless armor, who he gawked at as she fell heavily on top of Conrad.
Gods why couldn't that have been HIM? A small voice in the back of his mind demanded.
"Are you alright??" he demanded out loud, glad the other alternative question hadn't slipped through.
---
[Falco]- "I uh..." Falco sputtered, uncertain suddenly in the face of Laura's complete failure to recognize him. It looked like Laura. Wasn't it Laura? It had to be Laura, he'd just been looking at her picture, but he could feel his ego shriveling up into something like an raisin, and getting smaller at her blank, confused expression. "....Wait...you said Rosalyn?"
He was going by his own name, why would she go by something different? I mean changing your last name was one thing, but changing her first name. "... She uh..." What the hell was going on? Was it some kind of a joke? It wasn't damn funny if it was. "... Looks... like my ex. Really. Like her." He stammered awkwardly under the confused stares.

Red Jane fell hard on top of the fool in her path. He was scrawny and pale skinned. No battle forged muscle and tawny brown skin. Were there no real men in this town? was she forever forced to be sorrounded by pathetic excuses like this one who attempted to clumsily grope her muscular frame while pretending to get her off of him. And And this one besdie her reaching down to help her up. When she knew all he was doing was attempting to get a better view of her figure. She had seen him earlier leering at her as she came into town. Were there no real men in this town worthy of the fire that burned in her loins? For only a man truely worthy of her would lay with her.
"Get off of me unclean fool" She sneered as she pushed Conrad own while regaining her feet. "How dare you lay a hand on the Red Jane? Warrior Maiden of the Glamazons of the fabled land of Columbia." ((Heather: Nestor has never heard of her or any ogf the things she has mentioned))
She struck a pose upon saying that, her long wavy red hair falling down her back to where the first link of chain mail covered her rear. Her body was lean, muscular and athletic. There was an arrogance to her face that ruined an otherwise beautiful face.
Conrad reached out for Nestor and used him to pull himself to his feet. He stared at Red Jane not sure to consider himself blessed to have been that close to that body or call her what he thought of her.
Red Jane stared at both of them for a moment, though disgusting they might be able to provide good guidance to the streets of the city as most beggars and cut purses could.

=============================

"really?" Said Kevin raising an eyebrow. So Vesta's new beau had an ex-girlfirend out there some where. Maybe somethign he should look into more.
Rasalyn was greatly taken aback by all this confusion as she made her way inside. She pulled back the cloak revealing her sword with a crystal pommel, leathers and tunic. She looked at Falco for a moment. Between the fact that he floated in the air, and that for the briefest moment he acted like he knew her threw her. But she had a mission and no time for the mysteries of a wizard's house.
"I'm sorry to have confused you" she said in a voice gentle yet having a commanding presence. "But I can assure you I am not our Laura. I am Paladin Rosalyn of the Crystal Sword." She smiled at him sweetly and flicked a loose bit of hair back behind her ear.

"..." Nestor gaped for a second, trying to figure out if he'd heard the woman right, and finally concluding that perhaps she's been struck in the head perhaps once too often. Something that was perhaps inevitable after wearing so little armor, though still. "Can't be that unclean, he just took a bath." He pointed out, though he stopped short of pointing out that if she'd been watching where she was going...
Armored or not she seemed pretty fit for a mad woman. Why exactly DID the city seem to be over run by lunatics anyway? was there a full moon or the like?

--

Rosalynn. Got it. Rosalynn. He did his best to try and force himself to think of that name, though he still wanted to refer to her as Laura. Was it a joke? Was it her or just someone that looked incredibly like her? If she'd had that kind of acting skills, wouldn't he have known about it?
"Sorry about the confusion." he apologized again, feeling awkward, confused, and wanting to retreat until he figured it out. "I'm uh, Falco. Falco Marks, no... titles really. Or crystal swords...or anything like that."
Great. way to sound like the CHAMPION of idiots.

"I'm not..." Falco started to explain, though he turned the chair back toward them. "Not...really a wizard." Of course trying to explain to either of these two what a racer was, given how hard it had been to get these guys to get their heads around a wheelchair, which you;d think was something akin to rocket science. Trying to put an combustion engine and the speeds of the track into 'Dungeon Crawl' speak, he didn't think he could do it. "...I mean...I'll try but, I'm not sure how helpful I'll be."

Red Jane's stare switched from man to man. She tried to determine which one was the smarter of the two in hopes of getting the town information she needed.
"I will accept in apology of the effrontery you have committed giving you the permission to guide me to the nearest Tavern where I may feast and gather up men for the battle I intend to undertake. But if either of you find your hands trying to take liberties with my body without my permissions, you shall find yourself separated from them." She said in a haughty and commanding tone. She put the exclamation point on her comment by grasping firmly the hilt of her sword.

Conrad pulled Nestor to him placing him between red jane and himself so that he could whisper in his ear with out threat of being heard.
"The way she grips the hilt of that sword could really make a guy stand at attention" Said Conrad beside himself. Up till now he hadn't taken the women he'd seen too seriously as they were all part of the game. But that one felt pretty damn real to him!
"I'd suggest Taking her with us to the bar you were about to take me to, but I'm not sure there's enough alcohol in the word to defrost that refrigerator, if you get what I mean." He nudged Nestor and winked his way.