[8-bit]

Chino accepts the pen, and then looks at the paper. The letters are the same, but the pen felt strange in his hand. He puts his name down as "Gary Cline". The letters are jagged, but readable. Clearly, he didn't have much practice doing this. He sighs and puts the pen back on the podium. It will have to do.


Once shown to his room, Chino switches all his gear to wireless off. He didn't get a signal anyway, but might as well be a good guest. Looking in the mirror, Chino grimaces. He definitely needed a shave. He looked away from the mirror, and idly wondered what he was going to do. Ohanzee needed some time off, and everyone else seemed to be busy, as well. There wasn't anything for Chino to fix, to work on. It was going to be a long day or two.

[Tecumseh]

Ivana grabs her bag from the apartment, plus Ace's. She follows Jacquez up the steps into the basement, then up another flight up stairs onto the main floor. Jacquez wordlessly pushes the guest registry book to her. The faux elf taps her chin with the pen before settling on "Nadja Daviar", to whom she bears a passing resemblance in her current form.

Ivana joins the rest of the group just as the tour is concluding. Kimama pauses for a moment to scowl at the elf before wordlessly dropping a key into her hand. Ivana delivers Ace's bag and then turns to the rest of the group.

"What do we want to do?" she asks. "Should we clean up, get some rest, then meet for dinner in an hour or two?"

She eyes Ohanzee, wondering if he'll be able to wake up in an hour or if he'll be out like a light. "Or we could meet now then sleep for the night. The obelisk is in a cave and should be relatively concealed from the astral."

[Zweiblumen]

"I'm partial to getting Ohanzee a couple of hours of rest first.  Then meeting up for dinner and discussing things.  Only thing I can do while here is fix objects and people.  I should be able to finish both of those things today.  I'm okay staying here a day or two.  I've a little bit of money I can throw at the problem, but I'm gonna start running out soon at these rates."

[Poindexter]

Sam is not happy with leaving the obelisk unattended, and moves quickly through the safehouse, taking little time to admire its fine furnishings or homey atmosphere. He only stops briefly at the book, signing "Uncle Sam" before moving off to his appointed bathroom. That bed looks quite tempting. He shakes the thoughts of comfortable slumber from his head. I'm just here to shit, shave, shower, and clean the blood from these clothes. Then it's back to the van. Realizing that cleaning blood from an armor jacket is probably not a speedy process, he also figures perhaps he'll have some food while he waits as well.

After about 20 minutes in the bathroom alone, the giant troll emerges back into the common area clean shaven, shampooed, and wearing nothing but an enormous troll-fit white terry cloth robe and a pair of matching fuzzy bath slippers. He's almost smiling as he says to whomever is present "What's the food situation like here?"

[Malevolence]

"How 'bout we meet in the dining room in a half hour. Change, clean up, relieve yourselves, whatever. I want to get some plans solidified before I get some sleep, and I don't want to put that off much longer."


The party breaks to go about their business, and Ohanzee heads to his room. Once inside, he eyes the bed longingly, then moves to the bathroom. Pit stops have been few and far between, and he was actually a little surprised he hadn't wet himself when he passed out earlier. After using the toilet, he eyed himself in the mirror. He rather liked the beard he was growing - the wild look rather suited him, he thought. The grime - and other stuff - that caked his body and clothes were not a good look he decided, and so he stripped out of his clothes and hopped into the shower, where he spent nearly ten minutes just enjoying the hot water. In another five minutes he had washed from head to toe and exited the shower to dry off. He threw on the provided robe - the only change of clothing he had - and combed the tangles from his hair. His power focus never left his neck.


By now, he was short on time to get to the dining room, so he shoved his commlink and a few essentials into his pockets and headed to meet the rest of the team.

[Tecumseh]

Kimama leaves you to settle in. As she descends the stairs, she calls back to you, "No weapons on the dining table!" Evidently this has been an issue in the past.

Ivana sees a little more light in Ohanzee's eyes than she expected. She nods to the plan. "I'll get started on dinner. We'll use what's in the cooler to avoid, uh, charges."

She disappears into her room to clean up, conscious that the afternoon was not necessarily a sanitary one. In the shower, she scrubs hard, envisioning the remains of the enemy mage that Wolf tore apart. "Out, damned spot," she hisses to her bloody gloves before realizing that there's absolutely no natural light present in the house: she can traipse around in her undies without fear of sunburn. She gives up on the gloves and turns her attention to her hair, where she was cut by the falling dishes in the RV. After washing out the dried blood, she tosses her hair up in a towel and emerges from the bathroom in a bathrobe, only to find Uncle Sam wearing the same. She sighs, unable to overcome the social taboo of wearing the same thing as someone else, and retreats into her room to change.

Shortly thereafter, Ivana is in the kitchen. Having shooed away the resident Manservant drone, she stands in command of the pots and pans. She feels reasonably comfortable here and is almost certain that she used to do some cooking... before. Before the amnesia, certainly before becoming a vampire. Throwing open the lid to the cooler, she grabs out the frozen entrees and begins to cannibalize them for ingredients. Most of this is going to have to be done by scent and a vague memory of what smells right. Luckily she has a heightened sense of smell that helps compensate, and shortly thereafter she has a presentable dinner of chiftele (pan-fried meatballs), served with mămăligă (a cross between corn bread and polenta), ardei umpluţi (stuffed bell peppers), and plăcintă cu (a thin pastry filled with apples) for dessert.

She brings the food out to the dining room and looks around uncertainly, not knowing what people's tastes are. "I had to use what was in the cooler," she says preemptively, just in case someone doesn't like it. She pours beer and wine as people begin to eat and talk.

[Zweiblumen]

With the decision made, Doc nods and moves off to his room.  He his clothes from the RV fight and puts the clothes Ace and Katsina bought for him on the bed.  Walking into the bathroom he turns the shower on and gets the steam going while he quickly shaves.  Then he steps into the luxory of the hot shower, washing away the last two days of stress and anxiety.  For once he almost feels safe here.  There's no outside communication, which makes him naturally nervous as a resident of the Matrix, and hidden from anyone looking for them.  If it wasn't for the usurious prices, well deserved though they may be, he would stay here forever and forget the world.  Alas, that is not his lot in life.  Getting toweled off and changed into the nicer clothes he feels like a new man.

As he walks out to the dining room he smells the delicious foods that Katsina has once again prepared for them.  Seeing both Sam and Ohanzee in their matching bathrobes, he can't surpress a belly busting gufaw.  After everything they've been through seeing the giant in fuzzy slippers standing next to the dwarf in matching attire just sends Doc over the edge.  Blushing brightly as he knows he's not at the top of Sam's friend list to begin with, he quickly apologizes and points out the levity that the situation lends to their overall situation.  Trying to quickly brush that under the carpet, he looks more seriously at Ohanzee.  The shower and shave, odd on a dwarf, have obviously helped a great deal, but it's obvious to Doc that the diminutive man still desperately needs rest.  In a surprisingly authoritative tone Doc says, "We need to get some food in you and then rest as soon as possible.  We should go over immediate plans, but leave the long term stuff for after breakfast.  You," he looks sternly at the dwarf, "really need to sleep."

He looks up just as Katsina brings him a beer, which he downs in a single large gulp while thanking her in the same motion.

[8-bit]

He stripped off his layers before heading into the shower. There was time to kill; nothing else to do. He only spends a couple of minutes in the shower; he had the feeling that he wasn't used to long showers. He then takes a few minutes to shave; taking care not to cut himself.

Quickly drying off, he tosses the towel on the floor and looks at his clothes, laying on the bed. He sighs, picks up the charred, slightly bloodied, jumpsuit and folds it up. It would still be useful because it was armored, but wearing it to dinner was probably a bad idea. He slipped on the "normal" clothes that he had been wearing earlier. No blood on these. Picking up his commlink, he checked the time. 10 minutes had passed. Well, I've got nothing better to do. Might as well see what we're eating. He starts toward the door, then notices the towel he left on the floor. He picks it up, and hangs it up. Opening the door, he glances back at the eerily pristine room. He shrugs and heads towards the dining room.


He enters the room; only Katsina is there. He nods in greeting, and takes a beer from the cooler. Pulling out one of the seats, he pops open the beer, sits back, and silently sips the beer. Everyone else starts to filter in; Sam and Ohanzee in bathrobes. Chino smiles at the sight; a Troll and a Dwarf in the same attire, it was almost comical.

Everyone sits down, and the food is brought out. Chino starts filling his plate and eating, as the others start to talk.

[rednblack]

In the shower, Ace scrubs and washes with the efficiency of a military man.  Once, out of habit, he cuts the water after wetting his skin and begins to lather up.  Interesting.  Maybe I was born SINless . . . or was a Navy man.  SINless doesn't fit.  How would I have that memory of the lake? Ace turns the water back on, and enjoys the heat for the rest of the shower.  Upon exiting, Ace checks out the shaving accouterments.  In keeping with the old feel of the hotel, a boar brush, shave cup, and safety razor have been set out for him.  He does his best to work up a good lather, but doesn't add nearly enough water to the cup.  Still, the shave is pleasant, and it does more to bolster his spirits than the shower does, in the end.

Showered, shaved, and dressed in the terry cloth robe, Ace exits his room to join his companions, taking in the scent of Katsina's cooking. 

[Zweiblumen]

As Katsina puts the food out, Doc starts digging in.  Chugging another beer and taking all the carbs he can get his hands on.
In between one of his beers Doc looks to Ohanzee and says, "This is pretty much your meeting at this point.  Given that, I'd like to propose for tonight we get you healthy and let me finish repairing my deck.  I can also see what we can do about Ace's data lock tonight.  Also the rest of us get a good night sleep.  As for what we do after that, I'll throw my lot in with which ever what Ohanzee wants to go.  He's gotten us this far, so until that stops working I'm good with it."

[Poindexter]

As the masked woman and Sam briefly run into one another in the common area, identically dressed, she's obviously embarrassed by the situation enough to leave so as to rectify it, but before she can be off, Sam says, Wait!" then, taking his tone down a notch, adds, "please, wait." After a short pause, he looks her straight in the eye and asks, "Is this your real face or another mask?"

[Malevolence]

I'm not sure my leadership has necessarily been a good thing, but we are alive. Except APB, but that was a pretty freak occurrence, and one could hardly consider him rightly in control of himself, much less the team at that point. He finishes chewing the food he was enjoying before standing to speak.

"Largely, I think we are all already on roughly the same page as far as where to go next. In broad strokes, we want to hand over the obelisk to one of a handful of trustworthy organizations" he used air-quotes as he said the word "trustworthy". "The short list so far is the Draco Foundation, DIMR, and the Atlantean Foundation, which Ivana mentioned this morning. Beyond that, I think the general consensus is to head to Denver. I think Chino has some plans for getting across the border there. After that? Maybe try to fix our nanite problem and figure out who we were - I think most of us don't have any strong desire to return to our old lives, but knowing what skeletons might turn up to haunt you just makes good sense."
Ohanzee paused to look around the group, making sure that there were no obvious signs of disagreement. He continued.

"While all of the organizations we are considering likely have offices in Denver, Sam has suggested making them come to us out here to make the exchange. He makes some good points, so I'll let him detail his plan. Sam?" Ohanzee then sat down after gesturing to the Troll.

[Poindexter]

"While all of the organizations we are considering likely have offices in Denver, Sam has suggested making them come to us out here to make the exchange. He makes some good points, so I'll let him detail his plan. Sam?" Ohanzee then sat down after gesturing to the Troll.

Giving the dwarf a frustrated look, he speaks nonetheless. "I have no details. I only wish to head out into the cold wild places to have meetings with these men. Easier to defend against potential treachery and more difficult for injury to innocent bystanders." Then, as an afterthought, he adds. "I also plan on sleeping in the van as I don't like leaving that thing out of sight."

[Tecumseh]

As the masked woman and Sam briefly run into one another in the common area, identically dressed, she's obviously embarrassed by the situation enough to leave so as to rectify it, but before she can be off, Sam says, Wait!" then, taking his tone down a notch, adds, "please, wait." After a short pause, he looks her straight in the eye and asks, "Is this your real face or another mask?"

Ivana stops at Sam's call. She turns and listens.

"It's a mask," she admits. "A spell."

Then, an apologetic (?) smile. "For what it's worth, I don't even remember what I look like. Can't see my own reflection."


Ivana listens to the dinner table discussion before adding her thoughts.

"I think Sam is right," she says. "I don't see any benefit to going into Denver and dealing with the borders. Make them come to us so that we can choose the time and place. We can scout in advance, know the terrain, and be better prepared for contingencies."

She looks around to see if Kimama or Jacquez are within hearing distance. They probably hear all sorts of things, many of them very profitable, but there is no need to tempt them unduly.

"We must remember that the obelisk is worth at least a million nuyen for the precious metals alone, aside from its worth as an artifact. Even if we are dealing with a trustworthy" - she vocally mimics Ohanzee's air quotes - "organization, we must acknowledge the fact that it would be far cheaper to hire a team - multiple teams, even - to kill us and take it, rather than to pay for it. Unless, of course, we just give it away instead."

She scans the room, looking for reactions.

"I would certainly rather be paid for it. Whoever we were before, and whatever means of making money we had, are gone now. The obelisk is our payday, our fresh start. Unless we want to keep stealing and squatting for the rest of our lives, we need to make some money. At some point the obelisk may represent more risk than it is worth, but until then I think we should try to get paid. As much as it is a burden now, it could mean freedom for our futures.

"If we go this route, we need to find a buyer and set a price. I don't really know how to do either."

Ivana falls silent to let others voice their opinions. She sits back and contemplates the wisdom of allowing Sam to spend the night alone with the van. She presumes that the cave will be locked-in, just as the house is, so there's no danger of him running off with it, but what if he decides to destroy it once and for all? The thought gives her a cold shiver. But is he becoming attached to it? He doesn't like to leave it out of sight. Is he bonding with it? Is this the artifact's magic still at work? Is that why she herself does not want to destroy it? The feeling seems rational to her, not emotional, but would she even know if she were being manipulated? She would like to think so but her understanding of magic is nothing compared to the artifact. Is is nuclear fusion, and she is a peasant girl striking a piece of flint.

[Zweiblumen]

Doc listens to the others as they voice thier ideas and opinions.
"Selling in the woods works for me.  Would be nice to get ourselves a satalite uplink from somewhere so we can have some kind of matrix overwatch, as we can be damn sure whoever comes out will have it."  He sits back for a moment, casually drinking his beer for once instead of chugging it, in thought.  "As for a payout, I'd be fine with a new identity at least a few months rent somewhere... far from here, preferably warm.  Possibly even help in identifying what's going on with the nanites? But even if we don't want to advertise that, just enough resources to get their on our own works for me.  But we should really keep this particular metting short.  Ohanzee needs sleep, and we may be able to get some more info literally out of Ace's head."