[tshiggins]

We had another session of Facets not long ago, and we’ve got another coming up, soon, so I’d better get this done. Also, the group achieved the goal they’d worked for, for months – but it cost them.

Characters Present

Dr. Henrietta "Indiana" Johnson -- A personable, age 29-and-holding Anthropologist who specializes in the pre-Columbian indigenous people of the American Desert Southwest. A Native of Apache Junction, AZ, "Indiana" is good with people and has been fascinated by American Indian religion and folklore since she was a child. Henrietta speaks Apache fluently, and not-so-secretly wishes archaeology could be more like Raiders of the Lost Ark and less like digging in a trench with a trowel and a toothbrush -- Played by Debbie S.

Dr. Arthur "A.J." Jamison -- a retired NASA scientist with a home in one of Moab's nicer canyon sub-developments, who volunteers for 4CSAR because he needs to do something to get out of the house. Considers himself responsible for Sunmi Jones, who is enough of a science-geek that the two of them can actually hold a conversation. -- Played by Anten S.

Aurelia R. Lockrin -- A young woman with a shady past who teaches History at Grand County High School (Home of the Red Devils!), and volunteers for 4CSAR because she's a bit of an adrenalin junkie, and likes the companionship. -- played by Bennie Rae P.

Dr. Belody "Doc" Bascher -- a local veterinarian for both large and small animals, who frequently fixates on her job and uses 4CSAR as her primary social outlet. -- played by Samantha H.

Beatrice "B" Lawrence -- U.S. Army veteran who works for a local air charter service as a helicopter mechanic. She recently lost the lower part of her left leg in a fight with a sorcerer from an opposing lodge, and now wears a high-tech prosthetic. A cynic about men, she is accompanied by "Grunt," the biggest, best-trained pit-bull anybody has ever seen (purchased as an ally, and a totally badass dog, even before it was possessed by what appears to be a benign “foo” spirit) -- played by Bernetta W.

Claudia Abigail Tavulari, member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, and an old friend of Arthur Jamison’s. The team has been helping Arthur research the portal physics, on the sly. – Played by Tisa T. (Not available, this time.)

Stephen Mack, another member of the NASA Quantum Physics Research Team, a former U.S. Marine Corps test pilot, and outdoors enthusiast. – Played by Jeff T (Not available this time).

Frank Moses -- A former Marine who quit his job as a trooper with the Utah Highway Patrol (UHP). Moses formerly volunteered with 4CSAR and has an interest in Doc Bascher. Frank has spent the past several months living in the Dark Canyon base camp on the 1918 side of the portal. -played by Mike H.

NPCs Present

Grunt: Beatrice's ally, a large pit-bull possessed by a protective "foo" spirit.

Amanda Gagnier: A professional airship crewmember and native of the Orbital Realm of Jupiter, hired as a guide as the Paradise neared the borders of territory controlled by the Nieuw Haarlem company.

Hops About: An enthusiastically lethal nunnupi, a 6-inch tall fairy girl with black wings, pale skin and American Indian features. Currently dressed in the colors of the Unseelie Court, with a bow and knife, she frequently takes the form of a magpie four times the size of a normal bird and can go invisible.

Twirls Thrice: A laconic and lethal nunnupi with a dry sense of humor, also dressed in the cool colors of the Unseelie Court. Apparently the sister of Hops About, she bears similar weapons that can inflict elf-stroke, also appears as a large magpie, and can go invisible.

##

After the kekeko left, the weather cleared out for awhile, although the skies above still had the vast cloud-deck from the recent gales. The wind settled down to a steady blow, that eventually petered out as the Paradise continued to fly in the direction indicated by Henrietta’s spell lay toward the gate to the (now) 1712 world.

By the end of that second day, A.J. noted that the wind had shifted around to blow lightly form the direction of the rear of the airship, instead of the front.

Based on what he’d learned about the wind patterns in this world, A.J. suspected that an undiscovered Fountain of Life lay ahead. As a rule, winds blew in freezing gales away from the portals to the Elemental Plane of Air, but toward the hot chimneys of air that formed the hearts of the fountains.

With that, A.J. decided to drop the Paradise down the 100 miles, or so, and within 30 minutes the air became noticeably warmer. By the time they reached the new “altitude,” the temperature had risen from about 70 degrees F to 80 degrees, and the air felt as thick as a humid day in Lousiana.

After about 42 or 43 more hours of steady travel, during which the tail-wind slowly grew in strength, Henrietta said the portal lay immediately ahead. At that point, Frank went down into the hold and came back with a large case and crate.

With the help of the crew, he rapidly assembled a two-person dirigible rickshaw similar to the cab he and Aurelia took. Aurelia joined him in this small airship, too, and the two of them undocked from the Paradise and went to scout the portal.

The two of them quartered the area for awhile, and Henrietta shouted that they should have gone through the portal at least a couple of times. A.J. checked the clock and confirmed that it was night time on the other side, and the group tried to figure out why the portal remained shut.

Suddenly, the astronomer and former NASA engineer noted the date as the evening of January 31 to February 1, and realized the problem.

According to what they’d learned about the forces that governed the portals to the Orbital Realm of Jupiter, they only opened at night, when the planet Jupiter could be seen in the sky. In January, Jupiter lay on the far side of the sun from Earth, which meant it would never be visible.

In fact, it had no chance to be seen at night until mid to late March, at the earliest – two and half or three months away.

However, the group had taken that possibility into consideration. During the long hiatus during the construction of their platform at Nieuw Haarlem, Frank had studied the Gate college in the books they’d gotten from Oliver McShane. He’d prepared a spell to force the portal open, if needed.

So, under the circumstances, Frank decided to cast the spell to open the portal – only to have it fail, as he had so little experience with the college.

Aurelia commented that had been “anticlimactic,” and A.J. wanted to know if Frank had prepared a second opening spell. Frank admitted he had not, which utterly flabbergasted everybody – especially A.J.

It turned out that A.J. had gambled everything on a final run at the portal. The tanks of the Paradise had only about enough fuel to go from New York to Britain, but Deventer lay more than 6,000 miles behind them, and 100 miles up in altitude.

They couldn’t make it back.

At that point, early heard a small, high voice behind also say, “That was anticlimactic,” and turned around to see Hops About and Twirls Thrice sitting on the weapon rack, swinging their legs in the open air.

Hops About observed that the group seemed to have found themselves with a problem – which she and a grinning Hops About could solve for them.

In exchange for another favor owed to both of the nunnupi from the members of the Red Rocks Lodge, the two magpie faeries would force the portal open.

This triggered a tremendous argument amongst the group, in which Beatrice dug in her heels and absolutely refused to make any deals with any faeries, ever again. She favored using some of the remaining fuel to find the Fountain of Life and scout it for bio-materials they could distill into bio-diesel and open up options.

Frank, Doc Bascher and Aurelia leaned toward taking the deal, albeit reluctantly. A.J. did also, but acknowledged that Beatrice had a good point. A.J. told Hops About that the same caveats would apply on this deal as the last deal (nothing that would qualify as certain suicide, and nothing that would require they murder anybody).

Moreover, A.J. said, the nunnupi clearly had something in mind and A.J. wanted to know what it might be, before they took the deal.

Hops About and Twirls Thrice communed silently, for a moment. Twirls Thrice then said that, soon after the group entered a world in Assiah, the Material Realm, they would receive a message from the person to whom the two magpie faeries had sold the first favor.

Before the group went and fulfilled that favor, Hops about said, the mages of the Red Rocks Lodge would have to take the two nunnupi across the Pearl Bright Ocean to a destination they’d disclose at the start of the journey.

A.J. replied that, under those circumstances, he’s shift his vote to taking the deal, rather than risk a journey into the unknown, towards who knows what, to find supplies that might not exist.

Beatrice bitterly objected but, as the only holdout, acknowledged she was outvoted. However, she insisted that she not be held as part of any deal with the faeries – she was to be excluded.

Hops About agreed to that additional condition readily enough, and the rest of the crew took the deal. With that, the two faeries streaked out toward the location of the portal, and a few minutes later, indicated they’d opened the way.

(continued...)