Part Three

areleth - 08:14am Oct 5, 1998 MST
Knight Baron of the Round Table

Areleth steps out onto the balcony wearing strange Armor painted in greens and browns, a big cigar in his mouth and a russian-made AK-47 Broadsword over his shoulder, he calls to the people below. "El Presidente is gone!! Viva Gorditas!!!"

areleth - 10:52am Oct 6, 1998 MST
Knight Baron of the Round Table

Looking over the balcony, Areleth notes the apathy in the people's eyes to his cry of Viva Gorditas!! Scratching his head and thinking, the idea hits him square between the eyes.. "Ow! That idea hurt!" and with that he rushes of to the stables, grabs some clippers and gives Buford a quik hair cut and shave then rushes back up to the balcony to try again
 

~Raven~ - 08:33pm Oct 7, 1998 MST
Wandering Outrider

Raven stood in the shadows of the dank hallway. El Presidente's goon squad had just marched by on a routine patrol. In the midst of wondering if last night's mutton was a wee bit overdone, and genuine concern over the sanity of his Round Table friends, he did the only thing a patriot of freedom could think of.

"I'll safeguard the most valuable treasure in the keep." He flashed a wolfish grin thinking of his daunting task. Stealthily he moved into the crowd to make his way to his ultimate destination. "VIVA GORDITA!!" He heard a familiar voice raise the cheer. Looking upon the balcony he spied his friend Areleth dressed in his "coup" garb.

In a moment he was past the chaotic scene. He crouched in a corner as another of El Presidente's goons walked by. Suddenly he felt a furry tail brush over his hand and a slight "Meow" drew his gaze down. A reverse Siamese cat sat curled up at his feet.

"Shooo kitty...go 'way...danger." He spoke the words as if expecting the cat to understand. The cat looked up, as if understanding, and rolled his eyes as if to say.."right." As he moved down the hall, the cat shadowed him. Soon man and cat had made their way to the entrance to the wine cellar. Two men stood guard at the door.

"Great, here I am to save the supply of Murt's Red, and these goons are in the way." He muttered to himself as his brain whirled with ideas to get past the guards. Whirled. Whirled some more. The cat let out an exasperated "hiss" and walked towards the two men. The men seemed to know the cat and one reached down to pet him. In a "cat like quick move" (yeah...it could happen) the furtive feline ferreted a ring of keys from the man and bolted down the hall.

"Cali!! You come back with those!!" Both men bolted after the jingle-jangling cat. Raven grinned thinking of his good fortune. "Ooof! Locked." He threw his shoulder against the door a few times to no avail, the door was quiet sturdy. The sounds of the chase came closer and closer. His desperation to enter the wine cellar and safeguard the precious contents grew to a fever pitch.
"Must...not...fail."

"Jingle jangle jingle." Raven looked down and saw Cali sitting up on his haunches with the key ring in mouth. "Lifesaver!!" He whispered to the cat as he grabbed the keys, unlocked the door and stepped in. "Well...come on you." He spoke again to the cat. As he closed the door he tossed the keys upon the floor outside. "That should throw them off." Raven locked the door from the inside by turning the latch. A  moment later her heard two panting lungs outside the door. "Hey, that crazy cat dropped the keys here." The two men laughed and resumed their post.

Cali growled at the word "crazy" and Raven could have sworn he started for the door. "Now now...I know you are not crazy. Well...crazy like a fox!" He struck a match and lit a nearby oil lamp to survey his newfound"Freedom Fighter Headquarters."

Excalibur - 07:08am Oct 8, 1998 MST
Just call me "Cali", Lady Felena's Notorious Cat

Cali perched on a barrel in the courtyard, out of sight of "El Presidente" as he gazed with squinted eyes toward the balcony. Then poof El Presidente vanished...to be replaced by another of the humans...this one in camoflaged armor. A movement to his left caught his practiced eye. The one called Raven was making his way to the front of the crowd, picking his way carefully. As Raven ducked into the shadows near the balcony, he jumped from the barrel and sauntered over to him.
Tail raised like a flag, he made his presence known by rubbing against Raven's legs, tail curling slightly to brush across the exposed flesh of the human's wrist. He then plopped down at Raven's feet, and looked up at him with eyes full of interest as if to say "What's up dude?" "Shooo kitty...go 'way...danger," he said, glancing down and ducking from another of El Presidente's patrols. Cali merely blinked and got to his feet, glancing up again with his best "bored" look, and rolled his eyes. "Yeahsuright," he thought.

The one called Raven silently made his way into the hallway of the keep, ducking into the shadows to escape the notice of El Presidente's patrols. Cali shadowed him, impressed by the stealth of this human, and anxious to see what he was up to. They stopped in an alcove adjacent to the entrance to the wine cellar.

"Great, here I am to save the supply of Murt's Red, and these goons are in the way." Cali looked up at the human as he continued to mutter to himself, obviously trying to think of a way to get past the two guards. "Hrmmmph," he thought. "Well...I know how to get past them. With a hiss of exasperation in the direction of Raven he moved out of the shadows and made his way nonchalantly toward the guards. Weaving his way between their legs, he rubbed against them to get their attention. Then, as was his habit, he reached up, standing on his back feet to stretch his body up as far as he could, which just so happened to be above the beltline of the big one. The man chuckled and reached down to scratch him behind the ears, turning to the other man to remark at how friendly the cat had become. In a flash of a whisker, Cali caught the ring of keys clipped to the man's belt, pulled them free with a quick yank, and bolted down the hallway. He could hear them pounding behind him, yelling his name as he zigzagged through corridors and under chairs, keys jingling from his mouth.

As luck would have it, the furnishings had been pulled from the great hall to facilitate a good floor scrub and waxing. Cali continued to lead the chase, through the makeshift obstacle course to buy him enough time to get the keys to Raven before the two made it around the corner. At the door, he found Raven throwing his shoulder against the reinforced wood. Cali sat back on his haunches, willing the man to look down and take the keys, but Raven was so intent upon breaking in the door, that he hadn't noticed Cali's return. The cat's sensitive hearing could make out the muffled curses of the guards as they looked under tables and turned over chairs looking for him. Knowing it was just a matter of time before they gave up and resumed their posts, Cali shook his head, causing the keys to jingle on the ring.

A surprised Raven reached down, took the keys and whispered, "Lifesaver!" as he ducked in the door. Turning to Cali, he urged, "Well come on, you." Cali moved with an air of boredom into the room, and watched Raven toss the keys I into the corridor before closing the door and locking it from the inside. Within moments, the two were back, huffing and puffing. "Hey! That crazy cat dropped the keys here!" said one voice. Cali growled deep in his throat.

"How dare he call me crazy," he thought, pulling himself up to his full height and starting for the door. Raven spoke then, quietly saying, "Now now...I know you are not crazy. Well...crazy like a fox!"

Cali turned toward Raven as the man lit the oil lamp, nodded his head in acceptance of his presence, then took up his post guarding the door from within. No one would take the "Freedom Fighter's Headquarters", not while the infamous Cali was on the job!