Fantasy Oz: The Heart of Emerald - Always Accepting New Adventurers!

IC: Krinkle Plaus
Conscription Office, Emerald City

The magical creature, Krinkle Plaus, who was sitting on his very large behind, rose and turned to leave the office since he had no further questions and the General seemed bored and wanted his space. The old "I know when I'm not wanted feeling" had overtaken Krinkle's body and the Panda went back to the lobby and out the door, sure that his team would follow soon.

Looking at the cart, Krinkle opted to walk for a couple miles. Had to keep his lean physique, plus, his weapons would probably take the spot of his place anyway. He dumped them in the cart and stretched. His back popped and the creeping feeling of Oldness crept upon his paws as shivers ran all over his body. Having a job was great and aiding the Empire had been, by far, one of the best things he could've done for his career. It was like being married. He took care of the Empire and the Empire took care of him. At least, that was what he thought marriage was like.

"Hello beautiful." Krinkle muttered as he eyed the small pleasure his eyes took of the much larger city. She was fantastic and he could see why a war was being fought over it, but Oz would scream if the war was brought to her kingdom. Nobody would hurt this place, Krinkle was sure, nodding his head in resolve.

"Any of you boys ever been to the Festival before?"

Tag: Penguinator, Beast, BSSL

 

Luke Glass
Lufthansa Flight 534

As the plane jolted about, Glass reached for the flask of scotch he normally kept in his pocket. Then he remembered that due to some new regulation regarding liquids, the scotch, like his pistol, was not allowed on board the aircraft. Apparently airport security was out to make his flight as miserable as possible, and the turbulence wasn?t helping.

?We might as well keep occupied,? Howard said, ?So do you know anything about American sports??

Luke laughed. ?I didn?t think there was anything worth knowing.?

Tag: Lukes_Apprentice

 

GM's OOC: Next set of posts come tomorrow. If you want to be included, get em in!

-I_H

 

ic: Maya Yubari
Lufthansa Flight 534

Just as the stewardess handed Maya her Gin & Tonic the plane moved into turbulence sending half of the drink down her blouse.

"Well that's just great." She grumbled as the stewardess moved the cart away. The seat belt light flicked on as Maya tried in vain to mop up the clear liquid with a small paper towel. After noticing to her dismay that the spillage had left a large portion of her shirt translucent she reached for her jacket to save her modesty even if she had lost a little of her pride. The plane continued to shake and Maya looked out of the window to see great storm clouds getting closer, it seemed they were to go straight through them. She couldn't help but feel this was similar to the beginning of one of her screenplays where the plane crashed into the sea and the survivors were forced to build a raft from the unlucky ones bodies... unsurprisingly Hollywood didn't pick that one up!

They had been on the plane for a few hours now and Maya's nicotine cravings were really starting to kick in so she reached to her bag and took out her nicotine inhaler, generally a tool to help you quit but in a long-haul flight these things were a smokers best friend. After taking a long drag she looked to the stewardess. "Excuse me Ma'am, how long will this turbulence last?"

Tag: Outsiders.

 

IC: Umbros Astrum

"You know mocking people isn't very polite." Umbros said quitely to then other Tottenhot in the wagon. "Though imitation is the sincerest form of flattery mockery is not." he said. He then looked over to her his bright eyes drawing onto her form where she lay. "Then again I can't really blame you, these floks have become a bit annoying." he added, he then returned himself to his silent rest.

TAG: Alera

 

Alera Blueflare
Inside a Tottenhot wagon caravan near Center Munch


Alera peeked out from her hiding spot, and once more began to look around. She amused herself, by making faces to go to the voices she was hearing outside. Maybe if she listened very carefully, she could latch on to some juicy piece of gossip.

A deep voice from the other side of the wagon caught her attention.

"You know mocking people isn't very polite." Umbros said quitely to her.

"Humph." Alera stopped making her faces, and turned her eyes towards the strange being.

"Though imitation is the sincerest form of flattery mockery is not." he said.

A goodie goodie, not so fun. No, he could not be the same as she. He was too much like the Yunamatas..or something else. She pouted, staring at him. He then looked over to her his bright eyes drawing onto her form where she lay. "Then again I can't really blame you, these folks have become a bit annoying." he added, he then returned himself to his silent rest.

This made her grin wildly. "How do you know, if its mocking true, you we dont know how they look, do you?" She asked softly in a sing-song voice, smiling slightly. "The bigger ones make so much shout, but at least their true form, we know about...."

With a fast flicker, she dived back down into her pillows, giggling softly. Oh yes, this big one was NOT like the others. This might be a fun festival afterall.


TAG: Traveling wagon Tottenhot people

 

GM's OOC: This post represents my best attempt at keeping the active people active without totally leaving behind those that haven't posted.

---

[b]IC: Lufthansa Flight 534 ? Direct Service to Sydney Australia[/b]
[i]Location: Over an increasingly stormy Pacific Ocean[/i]

As the plane neared the ominous cell of thunderstorms, the shaking started to become severe and sustained. There were some shouts from the other people in the plane and the lights flickered on and off for a second. A particularly strong jolt released the oxygen airbags, but cabin pressure was still maintained.

Above the rumbling, the sound of a stewardess over the intercom sounded. She was still strapped in to her seat, as was the rest of her group.

"Please everyone remain calm." she said with a well practiced voice, not betraying a hint of panic. "We should be out of this turbulence momentarily. Again, please do not panic."

The plane gave another heave, as its mighty jet engines fought furiously to keep the plane aloft in the stormy sky. This storm seemed quiet strong, almost.... abnormally so....

[b]TAG: Flight Folks ? Twinky, Lukes_Apprentice, Hammurabi, Chukles, Joesha, Qui-Gon, and Dubya [/b]

[hr]
[b]IC: The Yellow Brick Road[/b]
[i]Location: Near Center Munch[/i]

The blustery soldier inspecting the University cart did not care to be kept waiting.

"Name, Purpose, and Declaration of Cargo." he said in a louder voice. He noticed Bill sitting next to Bengel.

"Hey you," he said, "Munchkin. Name, Purpose, and Declaration of Cargo. I got a long line of carts waiting to be processed and I don't got all day."

If he had to ask again, he would detain the cart and tear through it personally.

The soldier with the Tottenhott cart was more satisfied. He was writing on his notepad when he saw Alera poke her head out of the cart from the corner of his eye.

He smiled, seeing that the Scrow was telling the truth and began talking to him.

"Alright," he said, "You're clear. If you are staying for the festival, you and your passengers are advised to be careful and report suspicious activity to any figure of authority answerable to Emerald City. Signs to look for are anyone hailing from Quadling or expressing loyalty to the Three Harpies: Ozma, Glinda, and Jinjur."

The soldier motioned for the cart to go forward, and so it went. They would be in Center Munch by sundown.

The Tintown cart drew closer to the checkpoint. Soon they would be up for inspection.

[b]TAG: Trimaj, Ramza, Reynar, Ktala, Prenn, Chanbill, HanSolo29[/b]

[hr]
[b]IC: Imperial General[/b]
[i]Location: Emerald City Conscription Office, Emerald City[/i]

The people sitting before him didn't mention any questions, and the Panda actually wandered off from the group. Loner he had guessed.

"Dismissed then," said the general, waiving them out. He didn't leave the room, just in case they came up with something. He didn't have anywhere to be anyway.

As Krinkle Plaus waited outside the cart for the rest of his comrades, a well dressed Emerald City local walked up to him.

"Excuse me my fine Bear," he said, looking up at him, "I am looking for the Green Garland Inn, but I can't seem to find it. Do you happen to know where it is?"

[b]TAG: BSSL, Fisto, Blubeast, Peng[/b]

 

Zvezda Utra (Klaus)
Conscription Office

The Demon followed his new compatriots out of the office, into the city proper. It was a case of "damned if you do, damned if you don't," it seemed, and Zvezda didn't like it one bit. If he refused, he'd be re-branded a prisoner and a traitor. If he accepted, he'd most surely fail, despite his best efforts, and be back in the same situation. As he left the building, he noticed Plaus talking to a local. Zvezda didn't feel much in the mood for talk, thank you very much, and decided that if he was going to do this assignment, he wouldn't hide himself away. He'd done it for too long.

As the sunlight hit his eyes, he squinted, stretching his wings and giving them a few flaps. There was nothing more he'd like to do right now than catch a thermal and soar for a few hours, but duty called.

Tag: Fisto, BSSL, Beast, Imp

 

Alera
Tottenhot Wagon, near Center Munch


Alera ignored the other, and listened to the guard outside.

"Alright," he said, "You're clear. If you are staying for the festival, you and your passengers are advised to be careful and report suspicious activity to any figure of authority answerable to Emerald City. Signs to look for are anyone hailing from Quadling or expressing loyalty to the Three Harpies: Ozma, Glinda, and Jinjur."

Ohh! Calling them Harpies..that wasnt nice. Then again, saying anyone from Quadling was bad was not good either. Alera fluttered her wings slightly as the wagon began to move forward, weaving back into its nice comfortable pace.

Alera dived back down into her comfy pillows. The sun was still to high in the sky for her taste. She dived back to her safe corner, and curled up, pulling a warm blanket near her chin, as she relaxed once more.

"Stuffy, wuffy non-totten rottennn..." she muttered softly to herself as she fell asleep.

TAG: Traveling wagon Tottenhot people

 

IC: Annie
Lufthansa Flight 534 ? Direct Service to Sydney Australia
Location: Over an increasingly stormy Pacific Ocean

The jolting of the plane made Annie grab the armrests of the seat in panic.
"What's happening?" She screamed and the plane carriage rocked about. Looking out the window all Annie could see were storm clouds raging.
There was something not right about this storm. But Annie couldn't dwell on that as another jolt almost threw her out of the seat.

TAG: any

 

Reno Plati
-Emerald City

Saluting to the General, Reno hastily made his way out of the office and into the fresh air of the city. Reno was not accustomed to being carried on a cart, that was not what he had went through in his military training. He was trained have great stamina and be fast getting from one place to another. But, since the situation was not really calling for those particular skills, he thought he would allow himself to be spoiled and not such a hard arse in front of his comrades.

The panda seemed to be having a conversation with a civilian and the demon, who scared the bujillerkers out of Reno, was seemed to be mentally preparing himself for the trip. Keeping his weapons on his person, the Captain meandered about in the general vicinity of the cart until he finally mustered up his wits and confronted the Demon, Zvezda Utra.

His gaze scanned the demon over and he was a bit...strange. But Reno was looking at him with the untrained eye of a military human. He had seen demons before, just not in daylight and not up close, unless he was fighting them.

"Mr. Utra." He started with a leveled controlled voice. "I feel that you are somewhat uncertain about this trip." The Captain looked around at the cart and at the panda bear, but his eyes were not focusing on anything particular.

Tag: Peng

 

IC: Jeremiah "Bill" Brannigan Fitzgerald
Yellow Brick Road, Near Center Munch

---

"Hm...?" Bill glanced at the soldier for a moment before realizing that [i]he[/i] was being addressed.

"Oh, um, my apologies. I'm Professor Jeremiah Fitzgerald, and this is Professor Antioch Bengel, both of Shiz University. We're on our way to the Shiz University Alumni Booth at the festival. The cargo contains, in no particular order: banners, flyers, a rather nice tablecloth, some beakers, a very low energy particle accelerator, electron microscopes, very thick books, an autographed copy of my latest treatise for one lucky boothgoer, and.. er... I'm sorry, Antioch, what was it you had again...?" He turned to Bengel nervously.

"Well, um... In any case, my good sir, it's mostly research equipment and booth niceties."

Bill just hoped this particular guard wasn't familiar with the whole tree incident from last year. Tensions were high in the merry old land of Oz, and the last thing he needed was to be arrested on suspicions related to [i]foliage[/i].

[b]TAG: Prenn, Hammer[/b]

 

IC: Howard Johnson
Lufthansa Flight 534 ? Direct Service to Sydney Australia
Location: Over an increasingly stormy Pacific Ocean

The man across the aisle had said something but he half heard it being as possible comment on American sports. His mind was on the turbulence it was ruff this had to be large storm they were fling through. He looked over to the window and saw that he was right. Is this pilot was a dope he doesn?t seem to be going around the storm this has to be some sort of cosmic joke, he thought. As the plane jolted and jostled, Howard clinched his fist in anger not at the storm, but at the general incompetence of the pilot. The stewardess said something over the intercom about staying calm, and Howard muttered a few choice words under his breath.

?I?m sorry Luke, but I seem to have lost interest in keeping busy,? Howard said.
TAG: Hammurabi

 

IC: David Borkshaw
Tottenhot Wagon, Yellow Brick Road

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Tag: Tottenhot Wagon folks

 

IC: Antioch Bengel
Wagon, near Center Mucnh

Antioch watched the conversation take place between his short companion and the burly guard. While he did feel a little sorry for accidentally ignoring the guard from the beginning (though getting lost in his own thoughts had become more frequent occurrence of late), the ensuing exchange between an academic munchkin listing off the absurd wares of their wagon to a mildly irritated and rather bewildered military man was well-worth the momentary lapse in courtesy. Yet again, the young professor was struck with the complete and utter absurdity of his present situation.

I'm traveling on a wagon...full of ridiculous scientific novelties...with a munchkin...in a glorified traffic-jam...trying to gain entrance into a carnival...within a world that nobody from my previous life would even consider as having any possibility to exist.

Something tells me that when mom said I'd be 'going places', she certainly didn't think it to mean 'Center Munch, on the Yellow Brick Road, in a wagon, with a Munchkin.

And then, as if on cue, he snapped back. There was a question being directed at him.

"I'm sorry, Antioch, what was it you had again...?"

"Ah, er...yes. Sorry. I've just some simple books and picture-displays," he said, looking and trying to calculate if he'd be one of those who was around for the tree incident. "Also some informational pamphlets, coupled with the usual academic propaganda. Don't worry, nothing relating to foliage, this time around."

A light chuckle left Antioch's belly, as he stole a glance as Bill, his partner in crime for the past incident.

TAG: Imp, Ramza

 

IC: Mike Biccum
The airplane...

"Holy ****!" he swore as the plane jerked wildly. The lights flickered and the oxygen masks dropped. "Oh no no no no..." Mike muttered almost uncontrollably as he grasped for the mask.

He tried to remember how the mask was supposed to go on. He fumbled with the head-strap, but it ended up falling out of his hands as the plane jolted again, harder this time.

Looking at the dangling mask, Mike didn't even hear the stewardess over the PA system. All he could hear was the creaking of the metal cabin...not to mention the scary noises being made by the engines. The engines! That's what's supposed to keep the plane in the air...

TAG: Anyone on the plane...

 

IC: Jeremiah "Bill" Brannigan Fitzgerald
The Yellow Brick Road, Near Center Munch

---

Bill nearly cringed. Obviously Professor Bengel had not picked up on the fact that he wasn't too keen on bringing up that particular bit of dirty laundry. However, perhaps the guard wouldn't follow and assume it was an inside joke.

It had been funny at the time. [i]Almost[/i]. There was something rather comedic about making an entire tree spontaneously combust using only a microscope, some chemicals, and one particularly ill-placed match. Nonetheless it had gotten him a few chides back at the lab, and the fact that the Ozian media had sensationalized it as an out-and-out disintegration had made it perhaps the most infamous mishap of last year's festival, save, possibly, rival Wogglebug's College's exploding case of "school pills". Bill was often amazed at what could be accomplished with a little nitroglycerin and proper precautionary measures.

But for now, there was the guard to attend to. "Yes sir, no foliage in the cart, didn't want to risk carrying possible contraband. You know those students and their botany projects..."

[b]TAG: Impy, Prenn[/b]

 

ic: Maya Yubari
Aeroplane

"****ing hell." Maya cursed under her breath. Suddenly her wet blouse seemed the least of her worries. The plane continued to shudder and sway in a worrying fashion. She was not going to die today. Plane crashes were extremely rare she kept telling herself and she'd had enough bad luck this year. She began sucking on the nicotine inhaler harder than before, she felt her ears pop under the pressure but still she did not feel the calm that usually followed... her heart was still pumping a hundred times a second. She saw other passengers crying and praying, damn how she wished she believed in a god to pray to, that could really relieve a bit of stress.

As the fallen oxygen mask smacked her head she couldn't help but think to the beginning of Fight Club and wonder if it was true that the only reason they had oxygen masks was to get you high before you die. She decided that it probably was and grabbed her mask.

tag: Plane people.

 

Luke Glass
Lufthansa Flight 534

---

[blockquote]Luke held tight and gripped his cane as the plane flew on through the storm, lurching about more and more the deeper it went. On the other side of the aisle, the pilot seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated. [i]?I?m sorry Luke, but I seem to have lost interest in keeping busy,? Howard said.[/i]

?Right,? Luke muttered. He understood what was going through Howard?s head; sitting aboard the plane, helpless while another man screwed up a job he could?ve easily done better. For two decades Luke had been in a similar position, watching as the world became steadily less stable. Terrorist attacks in New York, Madrid, London, Mumbai. Russia returning to Soviet-style aggression. Complete instability in Iraq and Afghanistan, now spreading to Pakistan. It wasn?t just a failure in politics ? that would be nothing new, the Western world hadn?t seen competent leadership since the 1940s. More importantly, now there didn?t seem to be anyone competent cleaning things up.[/blockquote]
[b]Tag: Lukes_Apprentice[/b]

 

IC: Alisha "Wraith" Kayla/ Yellow Brick Road/ Near Center Munch
Checkpoint near Center Munch

Tonn was rather wistful, his mind obviously somewhere else. She sighed softly, growing bored of sitting there doing nothing. Absently Wraith watched him lean back against the wallboard of the wagon. Alisha thought about the way he looked, and wondered what it was about this shaggy haired man that drew her to him. The eyes were one, their piercing color hidden by the angle he was resting at. Then there was the calm assurance, that he knew what was going on and where he was going.

Ikrsomely, Kayla did agree with him about the need to lay low, which was a major result of her boredom. It was NOT a smart thing to steal something basically in front of guards. It wasn't that she hadn't done that before, it was more that the current state of affairs was even more touchy than normal. A rather obvious result of the rebellion going on in the southern part of the country. To some degree Alisha wondered how Vae was doing, since he had been born near Glinda's palace. Odds were he was being watched, whether he knew it or not. But then, why would he make that known to anyone but those he trusted? The Fox was too smart for that.

A foot tapping her side drew her attention back to the other thief at her side. The comment on further soured the current situation, but he was right again. She shouldn't have taken the purse, but this trip had taken the last of their money. Pouting slightly she looked up at Tonn, "You know I only took it because they were going the other direction. There's no chance they'll know chance who took it." Muttering slightly to herself, it was almost like Denroth didn't trust her to make a smart decision at the moment. Bah, I'm just jumpy. Tonn's not really being more cautious than normal. This whole trip is just wearing. Along with the uncertainty about Vae. We have to find him. He HAS to be here. If the Fox wasn't there... well, that didn't bear thinking about.

When the wagon started moving, Alisha layed her head on Tonn's arm trying to appear just like any other young couple would. Maybe the guards would be bored and not pay that much attention to a stressed out young woman? Sure that Tonn realized it she closed her eyes, and tried to look completely average and boring. Being smallish helped.

TAG: HS29, HAMMER

:snoopy

 

co-GM OOC: Keepin things moving...

---

[b]IC: Lufthansa Flight 534 ? Direct Service to Sydney Australia[/b]
[i]Location: Over an increasingly stormy Pacific Ocean[/i]

The lights flickered.

Oh, dear.

[b]TAG: Flight Folks ? Twinky, Lukes_Apprentice, Hammurabi, Chukles, Joesha, Qui-Gon, and Dubya [/b]

[hr]
[b]IC: The Yellow Brick Road[/b]
[i]Location: Near Center Munch[/i]

The Tottenhott cart trundled on.

The young soldier that had inspected it stepped up to the next one, the cart from Tintown. He stepped up to the driver seat, flipping to the next page of his notebook. ?Name, purpose, and declaration of cargo?? he asked, cheerfully businesslike.

The blustery soldier's eyes narrowed as he looked from one passenger to another, but clearly, nothing in the Munchkin Professor's recitation was against the rules. Neither did he get the reference to foliage, happily for them - if he had, he'dve likely jumped at the chance to make an arrest.

"All right," he grumbled finally, seemingly annoyed for not being able to book them for anything. He made a notation on his notepad and stepped back, waving them on. "You can go. But no [i]funny business[/i], ya hear?"

[b]TAG: Trimaj, Ramza, Reynar, Ktala, Prenn, Chanbill, HanSolo29[/b]

[hr]
[b]IC: Emerald City Local[/b]
[i]Location: Near Cart, Emerald City streets[/i]

The well-dressed local glanced from Krinkle to Reno Plati and back again. He wasn't close enough to hear what Reno said to Zvezda, but he did pick up on some ... well, animosity. Not enough to make him turn tail and run, but enough to wonder about, apparently.

But he stood his ground, waiting expectantly for Krinkle or any one of his companions to reply. Surely, he thought, one of them knew where the Green Garland Inn was?

[b]TAG: BSSL, Fisto, Blubeast, Peng[/b]

 

IC: John O?Neil
Over the Pacific

The athlete draped his muscular arm carelessly over the back of his chair, absently scratching at his wrist with the other hand.

"Ah, business," Mike answered. "I played minor league hockey for a few years and I'm trying to work my way on to the roster in the `pro's`. The National Hockey League sent me out here to Sydney for an exhibition hockey game."

Just as he finished the word `game`, the plane started to jolt a little. "Whoa! There's the turbulence the pilot was talkin' about."

?Turbulence,? John sputtered. ?It?s more like--?

With a rapid, powerful lurch, John was thrown violently against the biting fabric of his seat straps, the unyielding lengths of fastener digging mercilessly into his chest. Gasping quietly, he thrust his hands between his torso and the blue straps in an anxious attempt to relieve his throbbing chest.

A sharp cry ripped through the fabric of the plane as passengers shrieked in horror, their eyes widening as oxygen masks descended from the metal ceiling with a jolt.

?Bloody hell!? wheezed John, his eyes bulging slightly. The Canadian turned toward him as if to respond when the crackle of an intercom broke through the increasingly frantic calls of the passengers.

"Please, everyone remain calm," she uttered with a voice dripping with soothing composure. "We should be out of this turbulence momentarily. Again, please do not panic."

The mighty steel of the airplane groaned in agony as its body gave another enormous heave, its engines pulsing with an almost palpable urgency against the strange solidity of the wind.

TAG: other passengers

 

For Ktala.


IC: Lufthansa Flight 534 ? Direct Service to Sydney Australia
Location: Over an increasingly stormy Pacific Ocean

The intercom clicked. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to descend to a lower altitude to avoid the storm." It was the captain, and he sounded harried. "Please stay in your seats and don't panic." With that somewhat uncomforting note, the intercom clicked off again.

The plane began to descend. The frequent flyers among the group might notice they were dropping a lot faster than planes generally did ... fast enough, in fact, that those who had not fastened their seatbelts might find themselves abruptly out of their seats. And on the ceiling.

TAG: Flight Folks ? Twinky, Lukes_Apprentice, Hammurabi, Chukles, Joesha, Qui-Gon, and Dubya

 

IC: Jordan Carlisle
En Route to Australia

Jordan was thinking about replying when the man on the other side of the hockey player engaged him in conversation, which suited Jordan just fine. He tried to relax as the two carried on in conversation, but an increase in turbulence made that quite hard. It was flights like this that made Jordan hate flying.

His discomfort grew as the lights flickered, and the plane began to shake violently. The two next to him made various comments on that, but Jordan was trying to block them out. The pilot then came on the intercom, his voice sounding stressed, ""Ladies and gentlemen, we're going to descend to a lower altitude to avoid the storm. Please stay in your seats and don't panic."

Jordan closed his eyes and clutched his armrests. His breathing accelerated, though he tried to slow it. The plane began to descend. Although Jordan hated flying, he had done a good deal of it, and the plane was definitely losing altitude too quickly. His thoughts were increasingly disjointed as his mind began to race with all the possibilities that loomed ominously before him. I thought flying was supposed to get BETTER the more you did it. Everyone quotes the statistics... what were they, something about crashing cars more than planes crashing. Am I gonna die? This was supposed to be a stress free vacation. Getting some sun, relaxing, maybe hunting up a girl.... not this. The captain sounded rather worried. Mom and Dad.... what are they going to think? I just got a new job, why now? It's the job of my life, couldn't I die some other time... maybe in twenty years?

His thoughts began to grow ever more confusing, and after a while he simply tried not to think as the plane quickly lost altitude.

TAG: Outsiders