City of IF

[Kalanna Rai]

Rai was returning to her original hoard in Jester Park when she noticed the small explosion, looking down she was livid. Yes, Jester Park was supposed to be messy but in a wacky sort of way. What presented itself below her looked like something straight out of Skiffy. It didn't take much to spot the miscreants responsible.

Thundering above them she landed with a thud that knocked them all flat. Her eyes narrowed to red slits, magical energy gathering like shadows on her red hide, the dragon stuck her massive face down at the motley bunch. "I want this mess clean, CLEAN!, you understand before I fly back over you. I've got something to take care of...it'll take me five minutes. If this isn't looking funny and park-like by the time I get back I'll see what happens when we splice all of you together."

Leaving the group to clean up their mess, Rai landed by the old aHEM guildhall...walking inside she found her hoard and rummaged around until she found what she was looking for. With a chuckle, after verifying it was what she thought it was, Rai decided to nap. "Give them a little more time."

[D-Lotus]

Kalanna suddenly appeared out of nowhere and landed with an incredible thump that shook even the trees, who were being slowly consumed by the fire.

"I want this fixed, you miscreants!" she thundered. Then, without recieving an answer or assent, she flew off.

How the hell are we supposed to do anything? We might even die here! Why had Kalanna scolded them, intead of helping? There was something mysterious about that too- or maybe it was just a lack of interest.

D looked around him. They were surrounded by the outside walls of the tunnels and the fire. They'd regained Masterweaver, but it seemed he and the rest were doomed anyway due to the blazing inferno.

Yet the cliff wall wasn't so high at this point- a tall ladder would relieve them from danger and the burning valley.

Meanwhile, there was a possibility of reaching the lake a short distance away. Of course, the problem was, the adventurers would need to bliezkrieg through the burning woods to reach it. But if they hurried enough, they could jump into the lake without suffering too much from burns.

Was it time to split up and try luck? At least, if one method didn't work, the other would, and not all the adventurers would die.

[Kalanna Rai]

Rai thought better of her nap, not because she didn't want it, but because the moment she closed her eyes she saw the whole of Jester Park going up in flames. Winging her way back over the Park she saw the entire group surrounded by burning forest. Lofting herself up she beat her wings with a fury, blowing the massive fire out.

Landing with a sigh Kalanna shook her massive head. "I suppose I was too harsh on you...afterall you are traveling with Masterweaver. I should have delt with it the moment I saw the problem, since this is my district and all, but I've been a bit stressed lately. Other concerns on Council Hill..."

Making sure the damage was minimal she nodded to them. "Speaking of concerns, once again I've got to be going." Dropping a small red disk on the ground she took a running leap and went skyward. "Use that to call if you need me."

[Xansta]

About that time, Crunchyfrog noticed something strange about a section of fire to their left. It seemed to be waving at them.

"You see that?" said Crunchyfrog to D-Lotus.

"What?"

"That section of fire," said Crunchyfrog, pointing hesitantly. He did not want to seem foolish if it was just his overactive imagination.

"It looks like a body made out of flames, or something," said Masterweaver.

"Wait, if you listen closely, you can hear the crackling and hissing of the flames modulating into something like speech," said D-Lotus.

They all listened intently for a couple of minutes. Then they clearly heard "Follow me" from the apparent flaming female at which point a gap opened up in the walls of flame where she had been as she ran away from them.

"This may be our best chance to get out of this place without being dipped in BBQ sauce for somebody else' feast," yelled Crunchyfrog as the flames drew nearer.

[Crunchyfrog]

Without any further hesitation, Crunchyfrog leapt through the hole in the flames, closely followed by D and Masterweaver.

"Wait a minute, Wheres Sasuke?" said D, whirling round, trying to account for everyone.
"Here!" yelped the youngster, as he leapt through the closing hole in the flames, clutching the disc that Kalanna had dropped on the ground.

"Give me that..." D demanded, holding out his hand. Sasuke shrugged and tossed the disc over to D, who deftly caught it in his left hand.

Crunchyfrog caught D's eye, as he examined the disc. Even though Crunchyfrog was new to IF - and did not know anyone that well, he saw doubt and worry in D's body language. It was true that Kalanna's behaviour of late had been self contradictory. Was she hiding something? D knew her better than Crunchyfrog did...

[D-Lotus]

D-Lotus would be lying if he'd said that he wasn't extremely suspicious at the moment. Everything he was surrounded with seemed untrustworthy. He jumped out of suprise when a tree went down, consumed by flames. Kalanna had managed to turn the fire down so as to ensure it's death in time, but for now the adventurers were still partly trapped. He noticed Crunchyfrog observing him.

"What?" asked D testily.

"Well, are we going to tell Kalanna about the phony map or not? Now we can call her whenever we want, thanks to that red disk you're holding." Crunchyfrog said, gesturing at the object in D's hands.

"I think perhaps...perhaps we should contact another council member...Kalanna's been acting somewhat strangely of late." D said hesitantly. Crunchyfrog, however, understood his meaning and assented in agreement. There was a moment of mutual understanding and then they turned towards the rest.

Masterweaver was speaking to Xansta whisperingly in the middle of the smouldering forest. Masterweaver was summarizing their adventure's events for the fire-covered entity; knowing Masterweaver, that was likely to confuse Xansta. Sasuke, meanwhile, was looking lost amid the subsiding fire. He was waiting uncomfortably for somebody to take direction away from his natural habitat.

"All-right, everybody!" shouted D above the crackling fire, "Anybody know how to get the hell out of here?"

He noted that the lake could still transport them to safety, but that was probably not a viable path for the fire-creature who seemed to have joined their group. On the other hand, the group was becoming too large. Perhaps they should split up- one side to investigate whomever caused the forest fire, and the other to contact a City council member other than Kalanna.

[Xansta]

"Thanks for rescuing us... But who are you?" asked D-Lotus.
"I'm supposed to be your everyday normal denizen of IF," said Xansta, "but that all changed during the mass exorcism that made the Well. I've been stuck down in those caves since that time and only recently was able to get out. I've had no interaction with IF folks during that time. Needless to say, I was a bit suprised to spontaneously combust upon my exiting the caves. That's what I call a destructively-non-terminal case of BO."

Masterweaver looks at Xansta quizically.

"Dont worry. This flame thing is not painful, but I'd like to figure out how to undo it and attempt to get back to what passes for normal for me in IF." continued Xansta.

"Well then," says Crunchyfrog, "let's get out of here."

"How are we gonna do that, fly?" asked D sarcastically.

[BStheGreat]

Meanwhile...

BStheGreat stared at the small arsenal of weapons lying in the closet of his IF City apartment. There were frag grenades, smoke grenades, flash bangs; there were hand guns, revolvers, and automatic handguns; there were various assault rifles, and even a rocket launcher. He cared little about these, they were the weapons he used to hunt normal people. Who he was about to go up against was D-Lotus, whose power was unimaginable. But fate was on BS' side; D-Lotus did not even know he had any power, his memory failure consumed much knowledge of his past, including the two's previous battle.

No, the weapon needed by BS was hidden in a trap door under a rug. He lifted the trapdoor and picked up the beauty; at first sight, it seemed to be nothing more than a normal sawed-off shotgun. But if you looked at it real closely a slight aura surrounded the gun where the magic inside of the gun let off its steam. The shutgun, nicknamed "Ludesa" by BStheGreat, had the ability to shoot bullets that were hotter than a blacksmith's furnace. And even better, the gun had the magical ability to never run out of ammunition. All he had to do was point and shoot, no reloading. What BS did to recieve this gun was unthinkable; because of it he could never step inside a church again.

BS grabbed the gun and left the apartment, the real hunting was about to begin...

[Polokin]

Polokin slowly crept away from the group without them noticing.

"Phew," he thought to himself, "that was close, I'm glad Masterweaver didn't come any earlier or everything might have gone wrong."

He spied a place where the fire looked thin. He jumped through the flames with his hands infront of him and braced himself for the pain. But as he jumped through, the pain he had expected never came.

"Strange..." He thought, "There's something bigger going on than what I expected. I'll think about this later, right now I'd better get to BS and tell him what I've decided."

Polokin turned back and looked at what damage the fire had caused. Some large trees had burnt down and a lot of smaller ones had been charred black too. Most of the grass was black and there was sparks and ashes flying everywhere. Well, that was what he saw, but if the flames didn't hurt him... This had to be some sort of illusion.

Polokin remembered the object in his hand and quickly slipped it into his pocket. Nobody could find out about that... Not the D and the group, nor BS.

[Kalanna Rai]

On her way back to her hoard, Kalanna heard the screams of the party of adventurers. Figuring that since they were in her section of the city and it was her duty to keep things 'slightly' organized, Rai turned towards the party. The blades on her tail lashed out just in time to split a falling tree down the middle.

"I give you people a direct line of communication and you won't even use it to save your lives...figures." Crunchy shrugged.

"Well being an 'assassin for hire' doesn't really inspire much confidence in you really. Implies that you're more likely to serve our heads on a silver platter than you are to save our skins." Rai tapped a talon on the ground.

"Depends on how much I've been paid to deal with you. Besides, I can't kill D...I'm enjoying Confession Box too much." She flicked a talon causing gooey custard to dump onto the raging flames, smothering them flat. "Besides...if I'd wanted to kill you all you'd already be dead. Comforting thought isn't it?" Flicking custard off themselves the rest of the party only stared.

Rai sighed. "Since I think you've caused enought problems here in the park, Din's going to have a field day with her cleaning tools, I'll offer you a lift back into the Open Forum. I'm headed to the Council Hall anyway so it's really no trouble." Extending a massive hand Rai thumped her tail on the ground. "Let's get moving...I do have things to do."

[Lebrenth]

Breathing in the cool sea breezes, sipping the milk of a coconut, while laying in the shade on a hammock, Lebrenth is completely disconnected from the rest of IF. In the giant satellite dish of Skiffy, that casts its shadow over haunted mansions and graveyards, Lebby found a perfect place to move the Fabled Island. In the middle of the large dish, he can see none of the rest of the city, and can blissfully conduct his storygame in peace.

For a while he watches his airplane circling like a seagull over the island with its large banner in tow reading “SHAMELESS ADVERTISING”. Then Kalanna Rai flies over the edge of the satellite dish and into his sight.

“Oh, not again.”

With a tremendous breath, Rai consumes the plane in fire, which spirals with its banner aflame and crashes into the sea. Lebrenth sighs. He also notices she’s carrying passengers. He pulls out his telescope and focuses in.

“Wow, that’s a lot of people,” he says, counting everyone. “D?”

He can tell they’re heading toward Open Forum, but what they would want there is beyond him. He puts on his moderator’s ring with the 6 swirling gemstones representing the 6 principle parts of IF. A flood of summonses and warnings overwhelm him.

“Oops!” he blurts and scrambles to find the remote. It seems the lava from Fabled Island’s volcanoes is flowing off the edge of the satellite dish onto Jester Park…. He laughs uncomfortably as he points the remote in the air and presses a button. The satellite shifts and the lava stays where it’s supposed to.

Now to answer the summons.

[Crunchyfrog]

The Hangover - The Story So Far

As the sun rose on New Years day over the City of IF, it was evident that all was not well.
During the New Year party, under cover of Smee's firework display, the Master Map of the City of IF had been stolen. The King and Mayor were most upset, because it contained the location of things.... and in particular, the Soul Well, something that had been created after the Mass Exorcism of the Soulless IFians.

That morning the city was under a veil of smoke. Crunchyfrog and D-Lotus (Private Investigator) had been inexplicably displaced from the streets of the City during the midnight celebrations after a humungous flash of light, to find themselves clinging to the entrance of a labyrinth of tunnels, high up on a cliff ledge. In a bungled attempt to rescue them, Masterweaver quickly found himself stuck on the ledge too. Masterweaver had not been at the party but he had witnessed from afar, hundreds of IFians fleeing the city.

It appeared that the Master Map that had been planted on Crunchyfrog during his hours of amnesia, looked like it could help them navigate through the tunnels to safety. But it was only after Kalanna Rai snatched it from them, to return it to the City, that they discovered that the parchment was an inaccurate fake. They felt duty bound to let her know somehow.

What our three intrepid adventurers were unaware of, though, was Kalanna had retrieved the map for Lordofthenight. What Lordy wanted with the map is not yet clear, but Kalanna seems uncomfortable with her involvement in his plot, and has decided neither to return it to the Mayor nor to Lordy, but instead sit on it, at least for now.

It appears she is still unaware that it is a fake.
Kalanna was also acting rather mysteriously about some other object in her lair, that she kept checking back on.

Meanwhile, in the tunnels, Masterweaver, D-Lotus and Crunchyfrog discovered a young character called Sasuke. Sasuke claimed that he had been locked in the labyrinth by his mother six years previously, for reasons as yet unrevealed.

On discovering that Sasuke's knowledge of the history of IF was too recent to match his six year incarceration, and backed up by some time keeping markings on the walls, D-Lotus deduced that Sasuke's time spent in the tunnels was probably much shorter, probably dating from around the time that Key became King. But it is still far too long to be left alone without natural light eating nothing but mushrooms.

Nevertheless, Sasuke did tell a story that rang true... the appearance some time previously, of a character matching the description of Chinaren, IF's mayor, in the main cave full of pools. He appeared to have navigated his way in using the Master Map... Apparently he emptied a box of terrible forces into the pools, with the use of a special instrument.

Sasuke claimed that the pools had never been the same since. Indeed, our intrepid adventurers had witnessed monsters, portals, and ridiculous events in the vicinity of the pools, that could only be
blotted from the mind by eating the mushrooms found growing in the caves.
Had Sasuke witnessed the Ceremony of Release? How did the pools and the map tie in with the Mass Exorcism?

On their escape from the tunnels, the companions found themselves in or near Jester Park, which seemed to be very much on fire. They stumbled over Polokin, who was waiting serenely on a bench, having been placed in a dilemma. BSthegreat had asked him to help get his revenge on D-Lotus, but had not revealed to Polokin why.

Separately, and prior to the beginning of this story, D-Lotus had asked Polokin to watch his back as he had a feeling that someone was out to get him. As he got momentarily caught up in the group, Polokin was the first to notice that the fire might just be an illusion. His allegiance still not clear, he conceals an object in his pocket that must not be seen either by D or BS, and he slips away from the group to tell BS his decision.

It is in Jester Park and the burning forest that they encounter Kalanna again. From the POV of the other characters, Kalanna is acting suspiciously, sometimes leaving them in precarious situations, sometimes saving them. They are still not surewhat her motives are, and feel that they should instead advise another Council member about the fake map. They are also uncomfortable about why the fake map was planted on Crunchyfrog, as if somebody meant to get them out of the way.

Amongst the fire, they encounter Xansta. Xansta claims to have been an everyday denizen of IF. But all that changed during the Mass Exorcism that made the Well. He has only just recently managed to exit the caves, and was surprised to suddenly spontaneously combust.

Masterweaver believes he knew Xansta from outside IF, but
Xansta insists he has him mistaken for someone else, and that he was an IFian from before the Mass Exorcism, and has only been able to interact with IF folk from now.

And what of BStheGreat? Who knows what terrible deed D-Lotus has done in the eyes of BS. D's apparent amnesia from before the party may hide more than he thinks, about his own abilities, as well as his deeds. BStheGreat is currently arming himself for a hunt...

Lebrenth, the Skiffy mod discovered the cause of the forest fires around Jester might just have been his fault, and has fixed it. Now he's off to attend to his duties, blissfully unaware of what he's about to find.

Currently Kalanna is rescuing our heroes, and glides on towards the open forum with Masterweaver, Xansta, D, Crunchyfrog and Sasuke on her back.

They have:
A disc from Kalanna, which can be used to summon her.
Some mushrooms from the cave
BSthegreat's arrow with a violet ribbon.


Chapter 3 - Fog, Conspiracy, and a Search for Key...

[D-Lotus]

The view from Kalanna's back was impressive. The Open Forum, indeed, was not enclosed by any walls. It was simply a beautiful valley surrounded by trees, lakes, flowers and draped by a gorgeous sun. Only a mile away, the waves from the sea crashed onto a beautiful white-sanded beach.

Throughout the entire valley, however, there were hundreds or thousands of small stalls, big stalls, shops, restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, clothes shops, ice-cream parlors, video-renting, book stores, etc. The green valley was mottled in large splotches by the brick or wooden commercial buildings. And surrounding these buildings, was of course, a huge tourist population- a mass of people sifting like sand back and forth throughout the street, shouting and laughing and making a big racket in the peaceful valley. They seemed like ants, scurrying everywhere, carrying their souveniers or bags with them.

Finally, Kalanna began descending. The people pointed at the sky and laughed or took pictures. But as Kalanna came speeding down towards them, a large space quickly formed among the masses. The buildings on both sides of Kalanna shook and wobbled. The shop owners or clerks ran outside worriedly, but retreated into their shops again when they caught sight of the group.

Everybody descended from Kalanna's back quickly. But as soon as they had, people began walking all around them again- women holding hands with their husbands, children enjoying ice-cream, fathers consulting the map as they marched. They had seemed to forgotten about the dragoness and the group- only another tourist attraction to them. D-Lotus began to find this a problem. People were streaming all around him, pushing and nudging. He was trying to speak to the group, but he kept being pushed away by the crowd. He tried to push against the stream, but he was only carried farther away from the group. He saw that everybody else except the dragoness and Xansta were experiencing the same problem. He shouted out towards them, but received no answer except the rumbling of the crowd.

Finally, he managed to jump into a side-street without people. Then he suddenly caught view of Crunchyfrog being carried much in the same way he had. Rushing in, he took CF's hand and managed to pull him back to the sidestreet. D-Lotus noticed that they had left the red disk with the group, and were therefore unable to call Kalanna, who they had completely lost sight of.

"Now what?" asked D.

[Crunchyfrog]

"Do you think the others are safe with Kalanna? She seems in friendly mode right now..." ventured Crunchyfrog.
"I still think we should alert another counsellor about the phony map." insisted D. "Even if they do decide to tell her, we should be wary."
Crunchyfrog nodded in agreement.
"This way." said D, and he beckoned to Crunchyfrog. They started at a brisk trot down the sidestreet, until they saw a horsedrawn taxi. D hailed it, and the pair climbed up onto the cart.
"City Central, please!"
City Central was where the Council Hall, Mayoral Mansion and many of the more upmarket residential areas were located.
"I aint goin' there." said the driver, flatly. D and Crunchyfrog exchanged glances.
"Why not?" asked D.
"I aint sayin'..."
D waved a 50 fable note at him.
"Okay, I'll take you part of the way." mumbled the driver, and he shook the reins. The horse moved forward. The ride to City Central was quite a distance, so they were glad of the lift.

As they left the buzz of the Open forum behind them, and moved through the narrow streets of the residential areas towards the City Central, they noticed a strange fog thickening. They also noticed an eerie silence around them.
"I aint going much further..." warned the driver. "It aint been right since last night... since those fireworks... Everyone ran. And they aint come back. An' there's this smoke. Here's where I stop..."
He snatched the 50 fable note from D, who then climbed down from the cart, followed by Crunchyfrog. They thanked the driver, who turned the horse and cart around, and hurried back to the Open Forum.

They looked about them.
"This place is deserted!" exclaimed Crunchyfrog.

[Masterweaver]

Back in the more crowded area of the Open Forum, there was a sudden disturbance. Men with chains ran through crowds, carrying makeshift weapons and shouting, "Down with the tyrants! Down! Down!"
The otherwise peaceful crowds shrieked and backed away as more of them assembled.

"It would appear we've encountered some sort of slave revolt," commented Xansta wryly. "I vote we run!"

"Seconded!" replied Sasuke, whirling after him.

"This is why I never wanted modship," cried Masterweaver, as the angry slaves engulfed him and the pyrokenetic.

[Sasuke]

Sasuke thought quickly. His companions were in trouble, and he had to help them. Ah well, he'd have to show his true nature, at some time or other. Nobody had noticed his scales up until now, as they were mostly covered with clothing.
Mustering all the strength he had, Sasuke, the half-breed dragon, bared his fanged teeth, and breathed a small flame from his mouth. But sadly his powers were not yet mature. He was too small, and his efforts did little to scare off the mob.

[Kalanna Rai]

"Oh dear," sighed Rai in a sarcastic tone. "Whatever will I do?" With a thump her tail landed between her charging companions and the charging workers...both sides skidded to a halt. "One moment." She said to the other party members.

Turning to the workers, clearly Idearium miners, she cleared her throat. "What can I do for you ladies and gentlemen?" The revolters looked around completely confused by the fact she was being polite and solicitous. There was a bit of shuffling and finally one dirty worker was nudged forward.

"Iffen ye please yer Modship...we've been working long hours for little fables. There are greater demands than ever on the Mines and, well, we're being strained to the utmost. It seems all well and good for, erm, some of youse but for us it flat out stinks." Rai nodded her head.

"I see your point. I suppose I've been a bit taxing on you myself." There were many nodded heads. Rai knew she was notorious for having many SG's running at the same time. "But I recently made a donation back didn't I?" Again some nods.

"I can't really say how many new members will create new SG's but I suppose I can at least offer you this...I won't start anything new for, oh, a month." Smiles beamed.

"Thank'e yer Modship. But what about pay." Kalanna gave an evil grin.

"You'll have to talk to the Mayor and the High Lord Chancellor. I don't do funds. And you'll need to fill out a petiton...none of this revolting." With that the workers grimly filed off, determined to fill out forms.

[Masterweaver]

Half the crowd, mollified, dispersed. The remaining started chanting, "No more slavery! No more slavery! No more-"

Rai whirled back around. The crowd went silent.

"...And what do you want?" she asked ever so sweetly.

A haggerd but still pretty young woman shuffled forward. "Well, it's just we attend to all yer palace things, marm, and yer kind and all that, but you kill us at a whim, and we don't like that."

"I think you have Rai confused with Chinaren," volunteered Masterweaver.

"Be quiet," murmered Xansta.

The lady looked up suddenly. "Yer right! It is that orange beast! KILL HIM AND WE STOP THIS WHOLE THING!!!"
"He lives right down the road," said Masterweaver, pointing. "Not the big palace on the corner, but the one next to it."

"Come on, my good fellers!" yelled a voice from the crowd. "We have a fuzzball to kill!"

Shouting and chanting, the crowd ran off down the road.

Rai shook her head. "Chin's going to have his hands full..."

"Why did you do that?!" cried Sasuke. "They're going to kill the mayor!"

"How'd you know he was Mayor?"

"Never mind that now," said Kalanna. "Where's D and Crunchy?"

"They went towards city central," replied Xansta.

[Idea master]

IM sighed. He would need a whole truck's worth of cleaning fluid to get his traps working properly again!

Ever since those bloody fireworks, all sorts of strange things had been happening. Fortunatly, he was sober enough to come home and activate the traps AFTER he'd gotten into his mansion's main control room, but drunk enough to collapse without hitting any particularly devestating buttons.

"Clean these as well as you can. I'll fix up what's left," IM said to his mutated servants. He then began a long, slow plod through the Open forum to the Games sector to make sure it was still tidy. Maybe on the way he could ask Key or Chinaren why he had aquired moderation powers over City Central in his bout of the RL's. What he hadn't expected was to see D-Lotus in the distance. "D! What are you doing here?" IM asked while waving.

[Kalanna Rai]

Rai walked off, leaving the companions to do whatever necessary, as IM hailed D from a distance. Not wanting to head to Council Hall just yet she tapped a talon on the sidewalk, debating her options.

"Humm, maybe I should just go elsewhere for a while...lay low somewhere I'm not known." She glanced down at the small gem that hung on a chain around the base of her neck. Of course by small she meant something the size of a small Volkswagon.

"Then again I could just dump this in some little corner of the Internet where it's unlikely to be found." Walking forward the gem caught the light, drawing glimmering replies from the matching jewels on each of Rai's feet. She bobbed her head to a few citizens as she passed, heading toward Fantasy Forest. Something darted between her feet.

Looking down she recognized Sasuke who was trying to get her attention. "Need something?"

[Crunchyfrog]

"Hey, IM!" D yelled.
"Who's that?" whispered Crunchyfrog.
"Idea Master." explained D, beckoning to IM, to get over to the quieter, foggy sidestreet.
"Cool!" said Crunchyfrog. "He was listed in the Auditorium as a City Central mod when I first signed up, that means he's a Council member, right? Can we tell him about the phony map?"

Before D could answer, they were pushed against a wall as an angry mob of respectable citizens rampaged past them, yelling "Kill the fuzzball! Get his orange pelt, yeah!!!"
"Whoa, who are they?" asked Crunchyfrog.
"Ah. Of course, you wouldn't know. Apparently they think that Chinaren will kill them at a whim. Masterweaver kindly directed them to the Mayoral Mansion, where they are about to turn Chinaren inside out. Excuse me..."

D casually tripped up a mobster as he passed. Picking him up by his jacket, D demanded:
"Since when have you been under the impression that Chinaren is out to kill you?"

The man looked haunted.
"Since the party last night." he said.
"And exactly what makes you think that?" enquired D.
"Whispers...Voices...Rumours...."

D let the man rejoin the mob, who were busy smashing their way into the Mayoral Mansion.

"Something isn't right, Crunch." said D. "This fear of Chinaren has something to do with the Mass Exorcism of a few months ago, I'm sure...There was never fear before. Why now?"

Presently, the mob charged past them again in the opposite direction, yelling "Find the Mayor! Coward!!!"

"Chinaren's evidently not at home." observed Crunchyfrog.

The eerie, silent fog swirled in the wake of the crowd.
The way it moved made them all feel uncomfortable. Crunchyfrog understood why the taxi driver didn't want to drive this far. He felt he could hear whispers... It was so eerie. The three of them stared at one another...

IM walked towards D and Crunchyfrog.
"So what are you doing here?" IM repeated.

[Idea master]

"And for that matter, why can't I do anything about this blasted fog?" IM raised his hands and attempted to use his newfound powers to mod away the fog. If anything, it pressed down harder.

"You? Do something about the fog?" ChrunchyFrog was bemused to say the least.

IM sighed. "Long story very short, I somehow have mod powers over all of City Central except this newfangled PPP area. So unless we're in that, then I don't see why I can't get rid of this...It makes finding my way horribly complex, and I didn't have a good sense of direction to begin with!"

[Polokin]

Polokin made his way towards BS's house, when suddenly he saw a figure in the distance holding what looked like a big stick. As he came closer, he saw what he was really carrying. Polokin dived to the side of the path as a small ball of fire came towards to him.

BS was about to fire another shot at the young man with Ludesa when he realised who it was.
"Polokin!?" He yelled.

Polokin took the bow off his back and notched an arrow to it in the same movement.

"He has to be drunk... Who else would shoot a fire ball at someone...?" He muttered to himself.

He heard him call his name. He loosened the arrow and lowered the bow.

"BS?! Is that you? Why in IF did you shoot a fire ball at me!?"

"Sorry about that, thought you were somebody else."

"Well, that's alright, at least it missed. Anyway, I've made my decision."

"And?"

"I've decided to join you, whatever D did, it must deserve revenge."

"Well, come with me, I'm heading to the ledge where I saw D earlier."

"A ledge? I saw D half an hour ago in Jester Park... He said he was heading to the Open Forum."

"Right, to the Open Forum it is then!"

[D-Lotus]

"I'm investigating." D-Lotus stated.

"As always." replied IM. "But be careful. I heard BS is after you. It's your business, you should know."

"This is different, yet alike." reflected D-Lotus.

"Whaddaya mean?" inquired Crunchy.

"It's like I've lived through this before," D said with a faraway look in his eyes. "Like Dejavu." he laughed.

"How do you plan to get rid of BS?" IM asked while leading D and Crunchy towards his strangely crooked and somber house. "Are you going to use your powers again?"

"What powers?" asked Crunchy.

"I don't know. He always keeps them a secret." IM said.

"Ah, yes, I might." D answered, somewhat puzzled but silent. IM opened the door to his house and one of his servants lopsidedly shuffled towards them. "But first, IM, may ask you if I could have your assured secrecy?"

[Idea master]

"Naturally, one Mod to another and all that. Though we should go to my inner chambers so that we can't be overheard."

Thus saying, IM pushed a hidden button, and the floor beneath the group of people shook and began to slowly fall.

"Not to worry, it's just the elevator."

After about two minutes of a careful descent, they came level with a small drawing room. IM pushed another button after everyone was within the room and the elevator began to rise again.

"Now. What is it?"

[Crunchyfrog]

IM indicated for them to sit down.

"Things have been strange since last night." D began. "Both Crunchyfrog and I have been afflicted by several hours of amnesia following a large flash of lighting, after Smee's firework display."

He hesitated at this point, he had the feeling he was making an severe understatement on his own account, but went on, anyway...

"We came to at sunrise, at the entrance to a hidden labyrinth, high up on one side of the gorge. Crunch discovered a map had been planted on him. The map turned out to be of the labyrinth."

"Go on," said IM.

"During our adventures in the tunnels, and with the help of Masterweaver, we think we stumbled upon the Soul Well, and deduced that the map was a fake representation of the Master Map of IF.

"How did you know you found the Soul Wells?" asked IM.

"We found a young dragon halfbreed, who claims he was trapped in the tunnels for six years. From his story I believe he witnessed the Ceremony of Release, when Chinaren committed the exorcised souls into the Wells... the description he gave of the event seems accurate enough..."

Again, IM nodded.

"Later we met Xansta, claiming to be an IFian since before the Exorcism, having escaped the caves very recently.... I have a theory he was once an exorcised soul, but have not questioned him to verify..."

"So where is the fake map now?" asked IM.
"Kalanna took it. She said the Master Map was stolen, and she our map and returned it to the city."
"Of course, you've told her by now that the one she has is fake?"
"No."
"Why not?" asked IM.
"Kalanna has been acting strangely of late. We dont know why the fake map was planted on us in the first place. It was like someone wanted us to follow the map part of the way, get lost in the tunnels, and then she snatched it from us. She saw us on that ledge and even nudged me back onto it, and did not rescue us from it, as if she wanted us to go into those tunnels. Weird, really. And then she was less than friendly to us later on when she encountered us again in Jester Park, although more recently she's
been ok. To be honest, we dont really trust her, and felt that someone else ought to know what is happening."

A cloud of concern passed over IM's face....

[Polokin]

Polokin and BS stuck close the the shadowed parts of the Forum, searching for D.

"Soon... Soon I will have my revenge..." BS thought to himself, "You can't hide D, it will only be a matter of time before you're found."

Polokin tapped BS on the shoulder, breaking the trance he was in. Polokin pointed to a certain person in the crowd.

BS nodded...

"They could help us find him..." BS mused. "But we would need to make them an offer they couldn't refuse..."

[Idea master]

IM looked D and Crunchyfrog in the eye. "This is serious. Where is my direct orb line to Key?"

IM rummaged around in the drawing room's many cabinets for a few minutes, tossing sheafs of paper around, along with other...erm, items. Needless to say, he used the drawing room for entertaining people other than the ones currently seated in it.

"Aha! Got it!"

IM pulled out a dusty sphere and blew carefully to remove all the dust from it, making CrunchyFrog cough a few times. Then IM made a few gestures at the orb. After a few seconds of blue swirling smoke, the orb printed these words:

We're sorry, but the orb you requested was not found.

"Argh. Key probably sat on it again."

IM once more rummaged about in his drawing room, withdrawing a huge tome-looking thing.

"Cool!" said CrunchyFrog. "That tome contains all sorts of ancient spells that will protect us on our quest, doesn't it?"

"No, that one does." IM pointed to a smaller book that he had already picked up and set down on the table. "This one contains something even better."

IM opened the book and withdrew three Stupidium-fueled guns and passed one to D and the other to CrunchyFrog. "Careful that you don't keep your hands on the fuel chamber for too long. We ought to be safe now. If it looks threatening, shoot it and it'll evaporate." IM pocketed his gun and book of ancient spells and gestured towards the elevator again. "I'm off to find Key. Anyone care to join me?"

[Sasuke]

Finally Sasuke had attracted Kalanna's attention. It had taken long enough. Now freed from the caverns containing the Soul Well, he had the opportunity to question a dragon about his parentage. Before he could speak, she peered closely at him.
"Wait you're Maiyasa's child aren't you...? She said that you had..... " she stopped midsentence and changed her approach. "Where have you been? " she asked suspiciously.

"My mother locked me in the place that apparently contains the 'Soul Well,' " Sasuke replied. "And I only just escaped. I want to know why she did it..."

"Odd behaviour. I have no idea why, either. Unless she was covering something up. Your father was obviously human. Do you remember him? Maybe he would know..." replied Kalanna.

"No, I've got no idea. I've been in there so long I cannot remember much of him at all... just a vague memory of what he looks like..."

"And??"

"He looked kind of like D, in a way. But of course, that can't be possible..." Sasuke answered
Kalanna shook her head, slowly.

"Show me the inside of your shirt." she demanded.
On pulling down and turning out the neck of his shirt, Kalanna noticed a tiny motif embroidered on it, in the shape of a lotus.

[D-Lotus]

The path from IM's house was relatively quiet. Once, a lost Idearium miner rampaged forward towards them, but IM pulled out his gun and the man turned around mid-way. Suprisingly, D-Lotus also reacted by expertly withdrawing his gun and immediately aiming at the worker's head. He couldn't remember ever having done that before, but there were a lot of things he couldn't remember. For a while after, Crunchyfrog walked in wondering silence besides D. The instinctive drawing of the gun, like an expert, had caused shivers to course throughout Crunchy's back.

"We're going to have to borrow a car." IM finally concluded, without noticing CF's thawing coldness.

"What do you mean?" asked D, "Don't all mods have cars?" A vague memory surfaced in his mind, from when he himself had been a mod. Slowly and with effort, he remembered; he'd been a mod, but then he'd quit, or he'd been destituted.

IM smiled uneasily. "Well, mine's in the garage for repairs. It was a dark night, and the light post seemed to come out of the darkness. But...let's not inform Key, will we?" he grinned.

"Who will we borrow a car from?" asked CF somewhat nervously.

Just then, they reached the deserted house of Saxon215, the Ify co-host who had recently lost his life in an epidemic or RL. His house was trashed and littered with broken alcohol bottles and syringes. A broken window revealed a dingy cot. Of course, it'd been that way when he was alive, too. IM withdrew his gun and blasted the garage door. To the astonishment of D and CF, inside the garage waited patiently the most beautiful car in existence. A red and yellow and blue fire design covered the front and backside, stretching out around the whole car. A smell of expensive perfume lingered still under the removable top of the sports car. The seats and wheel were covered in soft leather, and the wheels gleamed hungrily.

"Let's go." IM said.

[Idea master]

I turned the key, which had been amazingly left in the ignition. The car roared into life, making me feel like I had suddenly won a trip to outer space and was just now taking off.

"Awesome!" ChrunchyFrog said in the back seat through chattering teeth. "Hey, what does this red button do?"

Before I could say "No" "Don't" or "Stop" there was a small 'beep.'

Instantly, the radio slid back to reveal a weapon panel. I grinned insanely.

"D, I'm in love with this car already and I haven't even left the garage yet. I think I'll be keeping this one." And with that, the band of adventurers roared into the otherwise quiet IFian night.

[Lebrenth]

Lebrenth entered the ancient abandoned library of Skiffy wearing the Cloak of Forboding, a little something he found in the city when he first came to IF. Wearing the dark tattered cloak, Lebrenth appeared much taller and his voice grew loud and malevolent or else just a whispering murmur that seemed to come from all directions. His face and body was mere shadow, protected in the illusion of the cloak. And that was all it really was, illusions, but it was effective for traveling through IF without appearing to be a small mortal an inch away from Death’s sickle. Lebrenth passed through the library easily with the cloak, ignoring wraiths and creatures akin to zombies.

In the center of the library, there shone a green light. The source is a T-shaped object that resembles a push knife. The protective field vanishes as Lebrenth points his ring at it. Then he steps forward and takes hold of the Index.

Rings of yellow light wash over Lebrenth’s form, and when they are done, he is gone. The power of the Index teleports him to the his choice of several designated locations, but when he reappears, he is not where he intended to be. He attempted to teleport directly into the council hall, but the index has malfunctioned somehow. Instead he finds himself standing beneath the starry sky, surrounded by rolling mists. He nearly loses balance as the ground rolls with the mist. He takes several steps backward and bumps into something… someone!

Laying on the ground as though in a peaceful sleep, he sees a furry white stoat. Her features are unmistakable.

“Shady!” Lebrenth says, his words echoing as though in a large room. As the clouds roll, other figures appear, such as the lion-like form of Reiso, the twins Raven and Wing, and a figure covered in mounds of soil, Solomon Birch (gasping between holding his breath, even in his sleep). “The Dream Chamber,” Lebrenth says aloud. He had heard of it… these are the lucky ones. Too beloved to be eradicated, they were spared the fate of the Soul Well, but none of them awake at the sound of Lebrenth's voice. Perhaps they never will. He covers his face with his hands, trying to contain his sadness, but not only at the sight of lost friends. He does not need to search to know that his brother is not amongst the sleeping. Composing himself, he realizes he must be inside the palace… but why did the Index take him here?

He begins looking for a door, but can not see one. As he yawns he realizes his eyes are feeling heavy…. The startling realization does little to combat the weariness….

[Kalanna Rai]

Rai looked at Sasuke and shook her head in disbelief. It seemed that the son of the Lotus had just walked into her hands. Whether that meant it was actually D-Lotus or not, she had no idea, but whoever his father was, it was clear that he was still going to be in danger around her. It was then, however, that her mod gems began to glow, urgently at that.
"Sasuke," she announced, "I've got something to do that I can't do with you. I'm going to have to reunite you with Crunchy and D.... the hard way. Brace yourself..."

[Crunchyfrog]

....And so the sun set on the City of IF, as it reeled through its first day of turmoil, and was about to plunge into its first night of sinister suspense.

The strange, smoky fog began swirling more thickly through the streets, like a serpent, and spread to greater areas of the City. It seemed to have a life of its own, almost sighing as it slowly wrapped itself around the buildings, and up around IF's city central spires.


The tourists left the Open Forum for the day, the market stall holders packed up their wares. Masterweaver and Xangsta stood in a shadowy sidestreet just off the Open Forum, having just witnessed the sudden disappearance of Sasuke, and Kalanna taking off. They were unaware as to why.

Polokin and BS stood in the shadows, watching, and waiting. Had they seen MW and Xansta? Who knows.

The rampaging mob of respectable citizens continued to stampede about the city streets, looking for Chinaren. But Chinaren was so far nowhere to be found.

Far off in another quarter of the city, in Skiffy, Kalanna waited quietly, as Lebrenth struggled in and out of conciousness at the edge of Gadiri Harbour on the Fabled Island storygame. She found herself reasoning that by bringing him here his power would be at his strongest for recovery, or at least, she hoped so.

In the back seat of Saxon215's car, Crunchyfrog was examining his Stupidium gun. Bored by the Mod talk going on between IM and D in the front seats, he wondered what it would actually do to someone if he fired it. Make them stupid?
Suddenly there was a lot of bashing and clunking coming from the trunk of the car...
"Hey, what's that noise?" he asked, turning to look behind him.

[Crunchyfrog]

As the car containing IM, D and Crunchyfrog sped on through the foggy city, the thumping from the trunk got louder, and was now being accompanied by muffled shouts.
"Er, guys, dont you really think we should get out and find out what's making all this noise?" suggested Crunchyfrog.