A Conversation for Crater Labs, Inc.

The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 81

Amos the Ranchhand (and Driver)

Here, lad, put yer feet in the stirrups.

Did you ever see a movie called Galaxy Quest. Right funny, it is. But remember the helmsman who couldn't actually steer a ~real~ ship until he just sort of relaxed and imagined that he could?

This is magic, Mr. Zomnker. Let it work and you'll be riding as well as any cowboy.

Shamrock (speaks): Dude, I ain't here to hurt you. There's a knob on the front of the saddle you can hang on to. Be glad I'm not a camel, OK?


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 82

Good Doctor Zomnker (This must be Tuesday," said GDZ to himself, sinking low over his Dr. Pepper, "I never could get the hang of Tuesdays.")

Just really not used to this experience. I'll get over it, in good time.


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 83

Amos the Ranchhand (and Driver)

*nods approvingly and walks back over to Bonnie and vaults back on*

Ladies and gennlemen, take good care of yer horses and they'll take good care of you. Them groombots has already organised hay drops, and Miz Amy can scout for foraging places, but remember it's winter and the animals can't just drop their heads and find an easy meal.

*looks around* It's only a hundred years ago now that there wasn't any choice but a horse if you wanted to travel, and horses can still go where wheels and engines can't.

Miz Solnushka, you can kindly pass that vodka round, and we'll toast for good luck and good hunting.


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 84

Good Doctor Zomnker (This must be Tuesday," said GDZ to himself, sinking low over his Dr. Pepper, "I never could get the hang of Tuesdays.")

*Reaches over his shoulder and unhooks one of his canteens.*

I got whiskey here if anyone prefers.


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 85

Coniraya

Whisky makes me cough! I'll have a shot of the voddie, please.

*pats Tommy, who has decided to wait patiently*


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 86

Amy the Ant - High Manzanilla of the Church of the Stuffed Olive

*lands on the tray of vodka and puts a surprising amount before wiping her front left claw across her mandibles*

Got to keep the cold out somehow smiley - biggrin.

*looks at the tree* her eyes narrow and she extracts a fishing net from the Infinite Capacity Storage compartment of the dragonFLYbot* she swoops fast and low over the prostrate tree as it lies on its cargo net*

smiley - zoom
smiley - spacesmiley - tit
smiley - xmastree

Got 'im! *holds up the fishing net containing an animatronic bluetit* This one must have escaped capture when the decorations were taken down. *hands the fishing net to a nearby bot*

*lands and attaches the ring of the cargo net to the hook on the underside of the DFB* takes up the slack* the DFB's motor makes a slight whining noise as the tree begins to lift*

I'll meet you somewhere along the trail. *presses some buttons on the DFB and a small flat-screen monitor pops up* I've linked the nose camera to the monitor in the library and I'm also going to try out the onboard computer navigation system. It's a CLI product, so what could go wrong?

*lifts the tree in to air* waves* sets of in a southerly direction*

smiley - spacesmiley - zoom
smiley - spacesmiley - space/smiley - xmastree


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 87

Titania (gone for lunch)

~waves~

Are we off then? Are we?

Tallyho!


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 88

Asteroid Lil - Offstage Presence

*has a swig of vodka* To a successful quest!

*mounts Ferrari* What could go wrong indeed.


Hoofprints come from that direction, so it must be the road to the farm, and that road will join up with the mountain road. The novices can use this patch of road to get used to horse movement.

Let's ride!


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 89

Asteroid Lil - Offstage Presence


Oh, and welcome to real adventuring, GDZ! Why is a crossbow your weapon of choice?


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 90

Coniraya

I've never had much luck with my crossbow, hence the carameliser! I nearly set the kitchen alight once, I was aiming to caramelise a creme fraiche and fruit concoction, turned round to do something with the flame lit and singed the oven cloth!

I have retro fitted a maglight torch to it, so that I don't need to light the flame to see where I'm going.

*notices Lil moving off*

Giddy up, Tommy, but not too fast if you don't mind as it's been awhile since I was in the saddle. Not since we were after the webjello gang, in fact.

*with a shake of his mane and mild snort, Tommy steps as gently as a Clydesdale can*


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 91

Garius Lupus

*Walks over to Zomnker*

Good to have you along, mate. I'm sure you'll do fine. If you want a primer on adventecette (I just made that word up!) just head over to my home page. About half-way down is a section called "Continuity". Read that and you'll be all set.

*Sees the others moving out and turns back to Zomnker.*

Now, don't be startled. I have the power to turn into a wolf at will and I recently gained another shape-shifting power in a Panto that some of the others here also participated in.

*There is a "poof" sound and suddenly there is a bat where GL was standing. The bat starts to flutter off after the others.*


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 92

Witty Moniker

*Hangs her tote bag on the pommel and gives Aladdin a pat on the shoulder.*

Okay, Aladdin, let's stay in the middle of the pack for the time being.


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 93

Afgncaap5

*Waves at GDZ*

Hey, there! Glad to see you made it!smiley - smiley

Okay now,....Clyde, is it? Um,....

*Lowers the reins to begin moving with the other horses*

Man, it's been a while since I've ridden on a horse....

*Notices that Ampton is literally riding circles around him*

....showoff....

Garius, a wolf *and* a bat now? Couldn't some vampires go to wolf form as well?smiley - silly


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 94

Garius Lupus

*The bat flys over to Affy's horse and suddenly, GL is sitting behind Affy.*

Yes, Affy, there is at least one vampire that can turn into a wolf now. You see, in the panto, there was a dark tunnel. My panto character went in with another panto character who was being played by a vampire. Several bites occured in the dark and, well, some powers and appetites were exchanged. smiley - biggrin I'm still getting used to the bat thing, though. I find that my arms are tired after a long bat session.

Oh, by the way.


I didn't bring the supersuit this time because, get this, it said it needed a rest! As soon as I got back, it undressed itself off of me and hung itself up in my closet. It was a bit disconcerting to be left standing there in my underwear.


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 95

Good Doctor Zomnker (This must be Tuesday," said GDZ to himself, sinking low over his Dr. Pepper, "I never could get the hang of Tuesdays.")

*Takes a pull off his canteen and starts the horse forward.*

Lil, I favor the crossbow for several reasons: It's powerful, it doesn't take as much room as a standard bow, but the most important reason I carry this particular crossbow is because it was my father', grandfather's, great-grandfather's, etc, etc.

GL, no need worry about me. Wolves and bats are just fine in my book.


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 96

Asteroid Lil - Offstage Presence

*Ferrari throws a few just-for-play bucks and then settles into a springy trot a few yards to the side of the main group*

Ah, a traditional weapon! Well, the more adventures you participate in, the more inventory you'll pick up. We got our best haul off the Roswell Project, which is where I got this nanogun, but then, that ~was~ a scavenging, I mean archaeological expedition.

*shades her eyes* I can see Amy. Well, I mean, I can see the tree.


GDZ, Amos started this expedition, so he is the host, so to speak. We wait for him to introduce events and whatever we find along the way. But once he has established a fact or event, you can embroider around it as long as you don't violate continuity. Maybe someone can provide an example from the past.

Oh, and no bookmarks or calling cards! If you have nothing new to post, just say "rides along" or "watches the sky" or something like that. Garius and Affi will tell you about PAG gum smiley - smiley


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 97

Amy the Ant - High Manzanilla of the Church of the Stuffed Olive

*Amy makes steady progress over the snowy landscape towards Mt SandEverest despite having to battle with a lively westerly breeze* in the distance, the Sun glints on the Sea*


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 98

Afgncaap5


Wait, you used the suit earlier? Wow, that must've been so cool! Did you try out the whistles we added? How 'bout the bells? And, uh, when and why did you use the suit during my absence?


*Reaches into one of the pockets of his adventuring vest and pulls out five sticks of unopened gum marked PAG. He offers them to GDZ*

Here, this is a CLI invention that almost no adventurer goes without nowadays (it even sells better than our Calcu-Gators). PAG stands for "Prolonged Absence Gum", and it's a handy way to tag along with adventures while you're still not presence. If your life outside of h2g2 interferes with active presence here, you can just stick a piece of PAG into your mouth. Because you're chewing PAG you can't possibly be expected to speak (it expands a bit), so your interaction with the story is understood to simply be that of following the main story around.

Take these sticks on the house. We've got plenty.smiley - winkeye

*Affy looks up at Mt. SandEverest. His vantage is just right for making out Mt. SandCastle as well. Thanks to the unusually clear weather, he can even see Joanna's Donut Stall and the Snow Cannon on Mt. SandCastle*


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 99

Asteroid Lil - Offstage Presence

Affi, Garius used the suit when he heard you had been kidnapped, and it was thanks to that suit that he defeated the Ancient One in a series of contests! We had ringside seats, in a manner of speaking.

Affi, what did you do with that magic orb from Amos's wagon? I remember seeing it on the bench when we all arrived at the Magic Lab. *gestures back toward the buildings that are gradually disappearing behind a rise as the horses move along*


The Goo Spruce Trail

Post 100

Garius Lupus

*Watches Affy pass the PAG.*

Oooooo, roasted chestnut flavour! Very rare!


Yes, I used the suit when we all went off to find you. I didn't actually get to use the whistle we installed, and the bells got to be a bit annoying, so I took them off. I mean, they're fine for reindeer, but a bit of a nuisance for adventurers. Kinda blows any idea of stealth. Anyway, the suit worked great. Takes a bit of getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, it's hard to beat. I even won a contest with the Ancient One! It has a cool pop-up display that really helps, even though it is evidently used to working with, uh, higher intellegences. I'll tell you all about it later.


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