[IC] The Echo Game! Something Different! Always Recruiting! Exclamation Marks!

[SpookySquid]

Player #4- Chuck

The two bodyguards looked at each other. One trained his pistol at the goblin and the other kept it aimed at Chuck. "I'm sorry, but do you mind if I see what's in the bag?" he asked before Chuck could open it, clearly suspecting it to contain a weapon. If Chuck reached in there, they would probably fire.

Player #3- Lachlan

Lachlan was inside of a helicopter. There were two gnomes piloting the helicopter and two standing next to him dressed in black uniforms displaying the letters INCG. "What are you doing private! We've got seven civilians down there!"

There was a large red building under the helicopter enveloped in flames. Suddenly a parachute was thrust into Lachlan's arms

"GO GO GO GO GO!!!!" shouted two of the gnomes as they jumped off of the helicopter with their parachutes

Player #21- Jac

Eleanor rushed over to Jac. "Please hurry up and sit in the empty chair! No time for questions!" before there was time for a response, Jac was almost forced into the machine by Eleanor. Seconds later, she was within the simulation.

There weren't many backpacks left, but the competitors left were fighting ferociously for the last few. A few competitors had their necks snapped only to reform in the starting room, mad at the world. It was utter chaos. None could hold of a bag long enough to teleport to the regular simulation. Suddenly, a large man picked up a table and flung it right at Jac!

[SimplyJohn]

@SpookySquid "I'm sorry, but do you mind if I see what's in the bag?"

Rising up to his full height Chuck glared over at the bodyguard. "How dare you take that tone with me? Who is your employer anyway, and what right do you have to insult me after I've been accosted by this ruffian?" As he spoke Chuck carefully moved his hands away from the bag, making sure to keep them in plain sight as he gestured towards the end of the alleyway. "Is it your job to pursue innocent victims in this way? If so I demand to speak with your employer at once."

With that Chuck stepped towards the guards boldly, lifting his leg high as he strode over the goblin, ignoring its pained shriek as he trod down heavily on its paw. Before the guards could stop him Chuck was walking at a brisk pace towards the now unguarded casino, his eyes glancing over at the gaggle of women still hanging around on the street corner. "You ladies, yes you there. May I ask you to be witness to this? I've just been assaulted by some lowly little cretin and now these guards are accosting me in the street! Is this really the way people behave in your country? No wonder my government wants nothing to do with you."

[SpookySquid]

Player #4- Chuck

Suddenly, the goblin ran off. One of the bodyguards fired off two shots, but they were very wide. They almost seemed to be warning shots to scare away the goblin.

The other elf began to speak. Neither of the two bodyguards was aiming at Chuck now, but they both had their weapons out. One of the elves, the least comfortable of the two said, "you can never be too safe sir. You were just displaying strange behavior. Could you please show us what's in the bag? I'm sure you know about the bombing two weeks ago..."

"...Not that we think you would want to do that," chimed the other elf. "But our employer would be upset if we let this go without looking at your belongings. If you want, feel free to speak with our employer yourself."

The women that Chuck had shouted at vanished into the night, ignoring Chuck.

Chuck's backpack had come open, but only Chuck could currently see what was inside. However, he couldn't examine most of the contents because of the poor lighting. The backpack contained-

-An envelope with Chuck's name on it
-800 ICPs (AKA International Currency Papers)
-A glass eye
-A book with an indigo colored cover
-A box with cupcake drawn on it
-A jar of peanut butter
-A pair of sandals

[SimplyJohn]

"you can never be too safe sir. You were just displaying strange behavior. Could you please show us what's in the bag? I'm sure you know about the bombing two weeks ago..."

"...Not that we think you would want to do that, But our employer would be upset if we let this go without looking at your belongings. If you want, feel free to speak with our employer yourself."

@SpookySquid

Watching them closely Chuck tried to examine every detail in order to gauge his best response before saying anything. The guard was either a laughably terrible shot or he'd been intentionally trying not to kill the goblin, for whatever reason. And if they weren't willing to kill a goblin then the chances of them wanting to kill Chuck seemed even more remote, if what the little creature had told him was true. As they turned back towards him Chuck puffed out his chest and tried to look as noble as possible. "As I told you, I'm a Zambian envoy on a diplomatic mission, I know nothing about any bombings, and this bag is diplomatic property."

Reaching up Chuck rubbed his eyes through the slits in his mask for a moment, he tried to think how any of the items in his bag may be any use to him right now. The money was an obvious choice, but without any frame of reference how would he know what it was worth. If he tried to offer the guards 100 ICPs would that be insultingly too little, or insanely too much, and would they be interested in something which wasn't local currency at all. It never crossed Chuck's mind that they may be entirely honest and incorruptible, after all everyone had their price.

Holding both hands up in front of himself Chuck sighed heavily in resignation. "Fine, considering the circumstances, I think it would be best to speak with your employer after all. Take me to your leader." He replied with a chuckle. "But first, I think I'm going to need your names. Both of you."

[Genni]

With the backpack now empty CC quickly stomped out the last of the flames still clinging to it, and quickly stuffed everything but the surfboard back inside the now not burning bag. Quickly lifting the board as high she she could CC began waving it madly over her head as she stepped clear of the now huge inferno behind her, signalling to the brown Jeep, hoping the driver was as cute as she was, and just as poorly clothed.

"Hey there, half-naked woman in distress," she shouted at the top of her lungs, wiggling her hips to cause her assets to jiggle from side-to-side, just in case the driver hadn't spotted the big right yellow surfboard against the dark green backdrop of the jungle.

For a moment she found herself reminded of the game series Crypt Raider, where the plucky young Laura Cronk had often found herself stranded helpless in jungles, deserts and lost ruins. Gulping CC realised that perhaps the driver of the Jeep wasn't a cute brunette with stunning green eyes come to whisk her away to a bathhouse for a friendly rub down after all, but it was already too late. As she watched the Jeep veered in her direction, before turning sharply and skidding to a stop right in front of her.

As she gazed into her own reflection in the shiny driver's window CC held her breath as she waited for the glass to drop, revealing the face of her new companion. "_{Please be a hot brunette, please be a hot brunette, please be a hot brunette...}" she muttered to herself, crossing her fingers her thighs and just about every other part of her that she could.

@SpookySquid

[SpookySquid]

Player #4- Chuck

The elves introduce themselves as Joel, who had been the one who had offered to take them to their boss, and Craleeti, the one that seemed the most distrusting. They quickly brought Chuck through the casino that was crowded with well dressed elves, men, and women. It seemed out of place, to have an establishment this fancy in a city that seemed so poor. Chuck noticed that there was nobody but elves, humans, and a single dwarf who was shouting at a slot machine in another language that Chuck had never heard. Finally, they took Chuck to a small room in the back of the casino.

"Aaahhhhh... welcome to my office friend. I'm Mateel! How can I help you?" said a smiling elf with slick blonde hair and a tuxedo. Joel left the room as quickly as he'd entered it, yet Craleeti stayed in the room. It seemed like Craleeti was the superior of the two. "This man claims to be a Zambian envoy," said remaining bodyguard dryly.

"Aaahhhh... it is been so long since I have seen a Zambian. I just got off of the phone with a man from Zambia telling me to expect a Zambian diplomat to come here. You have the package... correct? For Kleesh?" the blonde elf gestured to the brown backpack.

Player #13- CC

Unfortunately, the jeep only had two brown haired individuals, and while they both would probably enjoy a make out session with CC, the two men were probably not her type.

There were seven people in the jeep. There was the driver, who had a large hat on his head and scruffy brown hair. He looked far too drunk to be driving and barely stopped the car before it collided with a tree.

Next to him sat an innocent looking blonde girl with sad blue eyes. Even though she was pretty, she was much younger than CC and probably wasn't even twenty years old. There was a cat sitting in her lap.

Behind the man with the hat sat a kind looking old lady with a black sundress. She stood up in the vehicle and said, "good heavens dear! Are you all right?" Next to her sat a rough looking man with brown hair and a beard that put the jungle CC was in to shame. He had a black leather sleeveless jacket that displayed his arm's tattoos.

There were two small red haired boys with blue jeans and yellow t-shirts that matched her surfboard. They looked completely identical down to their last freckle.

Finally, there was a women in the back of the jeep wearing a yellow t-shirt and a faded unbuttoned red jacket thrown over it. She was wearing jeans and an expensive watch on her wrist. Her wavy blonde hair fell elegantly over her shoulders and made her look beautiful. Despite her old worn out clothes, she could have been a model. She was about CC's age.

[SimplyJohn]

@SpookySquid "Aaahhhh... it is been so long since I have seen a Zambian. I just got off of the phone with a man from Zambia telling me to expect a Zambian diplomat to come here. You have the package... correct? For Kleesh?"

"I'm afraid you must be mistaking me for another perhaps, Lord Mateel." Chuck said, dipping down into a deep bow with one arm outstretched at his side while the other rested against his chest. He had no way of knowing whether the formal customs of the real world translated over to the Game or not, but it was best to play things out as best he could for now.

Straightening himself up, keeping his noble persona as best he could, Chuck realised his luck was playing tricks on him. While his ruse had allowed him access this far, the idea that another real envoy was also on his way could complicate things unless he could gather some more information and quickly. For instance, was this 'Mateel' the same person as the 'Macheel' the goblin had told him about? He certainly seemed to fit the vague description the little creature had been able to give. Either way, this was a man with power, and that was something Chuck could work with.

"My business is a little more... private than my contemporaries." Chuck continued, his eyes shooting over to where Craleeti was standing, watching him carefully. "Am I to understand we are in trusted company?"

[SpookySquid]

Player #4- Chuck

The elf smiled as Chuck bowed. "Aaahhhh yes... You may trust this man, he is an old friend of mine. And no need for the formalities. I may be Macheel's brother but even he would be humbled!" He said as he ran a hand through his greasy hair.

[Genni]

...a kind looking old lady with a black sundress ... said, "good heavens dear! Are you all right?"

@SpookySquid

Leaning in through the driver's window CC quickly surveyed the peoiple. All of them looked friendly enough, and none of them were obviously armed, or at least they weren't drawing weapon at the sight of her in her jungle savage outfit, which was still a good sign. Even better, at least one of them spoke English, which would help out a great deal. No hot brunette, but I suppose I can make do with two blondes, CC thought to herself with a wicked grin.

Pointing back over her shoulder to the blazing jungle she quickly said "I need to stop the fire, quickly. Do you have anything that could help?" She directed her words to the older woman, but really she was speaking to everyone in the Jeep. And her eyes kept wandering to the beautiful blonde sitting in the back, carefully shifting her position to make sure the blonde could get a nice view of her outfit, I wonder if she's into girls...

[SpookySquid]

Player #13- CC

"There is a fire extinguisher-" started the driver only to be interrupted by the old women. "I'll call the fire department. They will be out soon. In the mean time, why don't you hop in the back of the truck? You can come with us, you'll be much safer" she gestured to the far back, where the blonde was sitting.

The women barely had enough room in the back of the jeep and it looked like the area where she was sitting hadn't been made for passengers, however she quickly scooted out of the way to make room for CC. CC couldn't tell whether or not the blonde was into girls; She was too focused on the fire to pay much attention to CC.

[Genni]

"There is a fire extinguisher- I'll call the fire department. They will be out soon. In the mean time, why don't you hop in the back of the truck? You can come with us, you'll be much safer"

@SpookySquid

"Are you sure they'll be able to deal with it?" Looking back indecisively CC was torn, she'd hate to leave the fire raging when really it was her responsibility to deal with it, but at the same time she didn't want to risk her life if the emergency services could make it in time. As she turned back towards her new acquaintances the older blonde opened the Jeep invitingly, leaning over to push the door open and giving CC a wonderful view straight down her top. Dammit... CC thought to herself, How often am I likely to get an offer like that!

Quickly tossing her pack over the back of the seat, piling it on top of the others already there, and strapping her surfboard to the roofrack CC squeezed herself in tightly beside the older blonde with an happily embarrassed smile breaking across her face. Struggling a little CC pulled her arm across offering a handshake to the beautiful woman, their breasts rubbing together as she did. "Hi there, my name's Celeste, but everyone calls me CC." The woman took her hand and shook it politely with a smile of her own. CC couldn't quite tell if she'd actually understood the introduction or not, or whether she was just being polite.

Suddenly CC remembered the packages addressed to her that were in the backpack. Wriggling herself around she bent over the back of the seat and reached into the pack to find them, her barely covered backside jiggling in the beautiful stranger's face for a moment before CC turned back around and dropped the parcels in her lap. Carefully she turned the packages over, trying to decide whether it would be safe to open them. Lifting them to her face she sniffed the packages and held them to her ear to see if anything was amiss.

[SpookySquid]

The smaller of the two packages had no smell and made no noise as she shook it. The other one smelled like strawberries... and then oranges... and then... sawdust? The smell changed too frequently. The large package also made a clanging noise when she shook it. The smaller package also had a two extra words in small print written next to her name: "open first."

As she fiddled with the packages, the girl fiddled with a golden necklace wrapped around her neck and looked shyly at CC. One of the twins turned around and said, "don't mind her! She has just got trouble talking!" said the one. The two looked like they were about nine years old. "She only knows a few words, she just doesn't like to learn," says the other one. Suddenly they say in unison, "so are you going to play croquet with us?"

As they spoke, a firetruck which seemed to have materialized out of thin air appeared behind the jeep and started spraying water towards the fire.

[Genni]

"don't mind her! She has just got trouble talking!"
"She only knows a few words, she just doesn't like to learn,"
"so are you going to play croquet with us?"

@SpookySquid

"_{Just as long as she can do other things with her tongue, that shouldn't be a problem,}" CC muttered mostly to herself, quickly giving the shy but beautiful blonde a playful wink.

"I'd love to play croquet with you," CC said in a more conversational tone as she turned her attention back towards the twins, her hands carefully working the way along the seams of the smaller package, breaking the seals and unwrapping the paper cautiously. "That's the game with the balls and hoops, right?"

CC was painfully aware that while she was unwrapping the package her arms was rubbing against the beautiful blonde's breast, teasing the woman's nipple through her tight t-shirt. For a second she considered shuffling around in her seat a little to change her position, but the woman didn't seem to mind the contact and hadn't made any complaints about it so CC carried on as though she hadn't even noticed the intimate contact.

Glancing back over her shoulder CC sighed gently as she saw the fire truck quickly take charge of the blaze. Soon firefighters were scurrying through the jungle, axes chopping at the trees as they quickly cut a firebreak through the foliage while the hosers dampened the plant life on the far side of the inferno, preventing it from spreading any further. The professionals seemed to have everything under control and as the Jeep pulled away the flames were already beginning to shrink behind them, while a few of the local wild animals dashed alongside the road, keeping pace with them.

[SpookySquid]

"Yeah! Croquet!" said the two in unison. Then they both began explaining the rules of croquet. Soon they began arguing about the specifics and started to ignore CC and the blonde haired women.

"You see that? I told you those firemen had things under control," said the old women, who seemed to be talking more to the driver than CC.

"We don't need firefighters!" responded the drunken driver as he made a short series of sharp turns which caused CC's arms to bump away from the blonde. "It rains 99% of the time!" said the man. Suddenly as if on cue, there was a light drizzle.

The package opened, revealing a small slip of paper and a brass key. The paper was a note. It read:

Ms. Middleton,

I hope the contents of this backpack help you. I knew that this would be the one you would select! Unfortunately, it looks like your money was destined to burn, but hopefully the contents of the next package will make up for it. Feel free to sell the surfboard, but you may want to inspect it more closely before doing so. Try not to open the next package unless you are in an open area.

Your's truly,

A----

Before CC finished reading the letter, a rain drop fell onto the name, blotting out everything but the first letter. Suddenly, it began to rain even harder and the passengers became drenched. The blonde struggled to make enough room to move her arms and take off her jacket to use as a shield to protect her from the rain. The delay made her yellow shirt become wet and, to CC's delight, easy to see through. The blonde then lifted the red jacket slightly, clearly offering CC the cover from the rain.

[Genni]

@SpookySquid

"Thanks," CC said with an honesty appreciative smile, trying not to stare too much at the blonde's gorgeously suntanned thighs as they revealed themselves through the woman's soaking dress. It wasn't hard to spot the thong she was wearing though, already CC tried really hard not to. Honestly, she did. Well, maybe not too hard, otherwise she might've missed the sinfully tempting view. Dammit, I really hope she's into girls...

Wrapping her arm around the blonde's back CC snuggled as close as she could to the beautiful stranger, her head resting on the woman's cleavage as she squeezed in tight beneath the red jacket, reaching her free hand up to take her side of it, to let the blonde's arm drop down around CC's waist. "So, this may sound weird, but where exactly am I? I kinda got lost in the jungle and found myself here by accident." She asked the car in general as her fingers gently played against the hot blonde's side.

[Eklispe]

Player #16- Jack

The suspicious man smiled at Jack and softly said, "Ah... we are brothers then... we both have no money, nothing to provide for ourselves, but that will soon change... long live Jabrawl! The bowl of tears drips on the dry soil..." the man quickened his pace rushing towards the children. Jack could now see a gun holstered at the man's side...

@SpookySquid

"Hey!" Jack shouted as he instinctively took a step back from the man when he saw a gun. What the heck? Was this guy some kind of fanatic?. Whatever, it looked like he was going for hostages and that would cause all kinds of trouble for everyone, especially with children hostages. Jack still didn't know how well physical ability translated to this world but the man wasn't sprinting yet so Jack could still stop him. Jack broke into a run and attempted to tackle the man, one arm wrapping around the stranger's arms and one grabbing for the gun.

[SpookySquid]

Player #13- CC (sending you a country card)

Surprisingly, it was the younger blond haired girl that was sitting in the passenger seat that spoke up and talked about the country they were in. The old women provided a few of the details, yet the bearded man remained completely silent. The rough looking man had actually pulled out an umbrella, but was holding it open above the elderly women and not himself. He was the most soaked of everyone and water dripped from his messy beard.

They seemed to be exiting the jungle and the rain suddenly stopped. Suddenly they were in a large open field covered with grass. "Linus and I will get the game of croquet set up. The rest of you may change into dry clothes. I know that we were the only two who managed to stay dry." It seemed Linus was the man with they beard, because he got out of the jeep and followed the old women to the back of the truck to help gather the equipment for the game of croquet. His boots made large sploshing noises as he walked.

CC saw two tents in the distance. It seemed like those were the changing rooms. One was designated for men, and one for women. Just when things were looking up for CC, she discovered that each of the tents were sectioned into different changing rooms for each person by flaps hanging from the ceiling.

Player #16- Jack

The man was completely unprepared for Jack's tackle. He dropped the gun in the sand but stretched out a few fingers to grasp it from the ground. He wasn't trying to aim the gun at the children. He was trying to aim it at the man surrounded by beautiful women. "THE TEARS! THE BOWL OF TEARS!" shouted the man clutching the pistol with his hand. Suddenly, the man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped the gun. The people fishing near the hot dog stand started to scream. Suddenly, a police officer ran towards Jack. "What happened?" he asked, pulling out a gun of his own and aiming it towards Jack. "That man was trying to kill me!" said the man surrounded by women. He pointed to the man laying in the sand. "But this hero stopped him. I owe him my life."

The man got up and the women that were surrounding him followed. "You can go officer." The police officer put the gun down and then barked a few words into a radio. Moments later, the man that Jack had tackled was taken away. According to the paramedics, Jack hadn't killed him. The potential threat had died of malnutrition.

"So," said the man who was now beaming at Jack along with the women that were accompanying him, "I'm Al! It's nice to meet the man who saved my life! I owe you mister..."

[Genni]

@SpookySquid

Before heading into the changing tent, having noticed that the older blonde was busy sorting out some clothes from the back of the Jeep and decided to wait a while herself as well, CC moved away from the others while clutching the larger package against her chest. Making sure she was a safe distance from anyone, in a clear portion of the field, CC carefully peeled back the wrapping paper and opened the package within...

[Eklispe]

Jack quickly raised his hands when the police officer aimed at him, Luckily he was saved by whoever the rich guy was. The Bowl of Tears? None of this made any sense, he would have to investigate that later. As soon as the police officer left he made a show of dropping to tie his show and pocketed the gun. Right now, "Sure, I'm-" he nearly paused considering if he should give out his real name, but figured that it didn't matter really, in theory no one should know him anyway so he could change his name at any point. "Jack, glad I could help." he said offering the man a smile and a handshake of his own. He briefly debated the merit of asking the man about whatever the bowl of tears was but since the stranger had wanted to kill Al for it, it might be a touchy subject. "Although i'm afraid i'm new to town, I don't suppose you could offer a place at least for the night?" Jack inquired seeking to sound as though he didn't want to trouble the man. Of course he had no doubt that Al would at least let him stay for the night but it never hurt to act modest.@SpookySquid

[SimplyJohn]

@SpookySquid "Aaahhhh yes... You may trust this man, he is an old friend of mine. And no need for the formalities. I may be Macheel's brother but even he would be humbled!"

Eyeing the guard carefully Chuck turned his attention back to Mateel. So, a second son clutching at power where he can. Interesting... he thought, weighing up the options Chuck quickly devised a plan before proceeding. "My lord, in truth it is only merry coincidence which brings me to your halls. I happened to have been accosted in the street outside this very establishment by some green-skinned thug and while fighting him off you brave guards chose to step in and assist me," as he spoke Chuck gestured over in Craleeti, never looking away from Mateel as he continued, "At the time I thought they were simply interfering but now I see fate's hand at work."

Pausing for a moment to let the words sink in Chuck watched Mateel's expression carefully to see if the rhetoric was succeeding. "My business here was to be with your brother and I represent a patron whose name I'm not at liberty to divulge, but I'm sure a man of your social grace would be able to guess," Chuck smiled ingratiatingly, hoping the fool would fall for the old Emperor's New Clothes trick, "My orders were to provide your brother with counsel and guidance to help him break the rebellions and civil disobediences which have plagued your country since you... annexed it from the goblins."

Taking a step closer Chuck reached into his bag an pulled out the glass eye, holding it with exaggerated caution as though it were some holy relic, "As a sign of my patron's good faith he sent with me this bauble, whose importance he assured me any great man of worth would understand. It was to act as my passport and proof of identity for your brother, as I hope it will do for you."

Reaching out Chuck placed the eye down carefully on the edge of Mateel's desk before stepping back, once more dropping down into a bow. With his outstretched arm he discreetly slipped the stolen dagger into his palm, making sure to keep the act hidden from Craleeti's sight as he readied the weapon to be used should his ruse fail.