The Board (Conc)

Raven-Kat -- Rae turns around and stares at Kay

"Go ahead." she tells Bialar. "I'll be along."

He nods and walks on.

"Hey." Kay says, grinning. "What's up?"

"The Scoobs ALWAYS come out on top, hon." Rae says with a laugh, taking her arm and walking on.

"Huh?" Kay blinks in surprise. "How did you..."

"You shouldn't think so loud." Rae mutters. "These kinds of places have some pretty wierd effects on me..."

"You can read my thoughts?" Kay asks, surprised.

Rae nods. "It takes a concentrated effort. Unless you're thining loud."

"Oh. So, what's coming?"

Rae smiles enigmatically. "Adventure..." She pats Kay on the shoulder and rejoins Crais at the head of the column. "Hey, Chryse! Pick some of those poppies for me, will you?" she calls over her shoulder.

Chryse74 -- Looking up

Chryse smiles at Rae and picks some poppies for her.. and herself.

"Yes, that was a good adventure. I'm glad we were able to make things better for them." she said as she handed the flowers to Rae.

Rae smiled broadly, "Over course we could help them. We're the Scoobies!"

The scoobs raised a cheer as they heard Rae. They walked along the road, taking their time and enjoying the day. When all of sudden.....

Lurkingghost -- A storm sweeps down on them

Kay mutters something like, "Me and my big mouth . . ."

Rea adds some rather colorful invectives in several languages.

"We'd better get to shelter before this gets worse," one of the IQs suggests.

Raven-Kat -- “Everyone get over here!”

Rae shouts over the thunder. For someone who usually speaks in a pretty low voice, she has quite a set of lungs on her when she needs to be hear. "Gather around!" she shouts. "MOVE!"

The Scoobs huddle around her, and, after muttering a few words to Raegun, she aims him into the air. She fires, and the Scoobs suddenly find that the rain has stopped.

"What did he do?" Jila laughs, squeezing water out of her hair.

"Level seven force-shield." Rae explains, still holding Raegun over her head. "It's a highly temporary disk of energy hovering about 50 feet over our heads. Look."

The Scoobs look up and see a shimmering blue disk above them.

"Unfortunately," Raegun says, "at this size, it is not going to be possible for me to maintain it for more than a couple of minutes before I reach total exhaustion."

"Translation," Crais mutters, "We'd better find shelter damned quick or we're all going to catch pneumonia."

"You heard the man." Rae calls. "Let's find a cave or something..."

IQ #4 mutters, "Gods. NO MORE CAVES, Rae!"

JilaCosa -- “20 degrees West” Raegun whispers

"and 5 kliks out. Sorry people, but you're going to get wet before you get there."

Ah well, the Scoobs sigh. It wouldn't be the first time they got wet on this little adventure.

"Move It People!" Rae shouted starting to run in the direction Raegun had given them. "If we hurry maybe we can get there before the shield gives out."

Pacing themselves so that nobody falls behind, the Scoobs follow Rae to shelter. After about 3 kliks the group stops short. Already they can see the buildings of the next town.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"C'mon people!" Rae urges "If we don't get going we're Going to be Wet! Raegun won't last much longer."

So, run they did. And wet they got. During the last klik, Raegun finally ran out of power.

As the Scoobs walked into the village, they get the feeling of being Ants. Well, no, not that small comparatively speaking, but perhaps a bit like Jack in "Jack and the Beanstock". They walk down the main street for a bit, not even thinking about the weather, until a huge crack of thunder brings them back to important matters, getting out of the rain.

Oddly enough, there is a picnic type table in one of the yards and the Scoobs run for that and duck under it.

Raven-Kat -- Rae stares at Jila.

"You're species has some WHACK children's stories!" she hisses. "What the frell is this place?"

"Good question." Crais agrees, staring up at the huge buildings all around. "And, perhaps more importantly, are the inhabitants hostile?"

"Fee-fi-fo-fum..." Raegun chants, "I smell the blood of an English-man. Be he alive or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread."

"Frell me dead." Rae groans, looking, for all the world, like a man who has just been kicked in the family jewels. She seems disinclined to recover quickly, so Crais takes over.

"A species of gigantic calcivores?" Crais sighs, looking only slightly more composed that Rae.

"Judging from the size of the dwellings," Raegun contributes, "I would say that they measure at least-"

"NO!" Rae cuts him off. "I do not want to know HOW big! I can handle big, I can, really. I just don't want to know HOW big."

Unshouldering her pack, she begins dumping hardware onto the table and is soon retro-fitting Raegun, who soon looks like a shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft rocket-launcher.

"What do you know..." Crais snickers. "The girl can handle big."

Lurkingghost -- “Um, Rea? Are you sure.....

that Reagun can handle all that? He looks pretty tired. Why don't you guys dry off for a bit, while I go scout?"

Not waiting for Rea to say "NO," 'Ghost floats outside and fades out, after catching some rain on her tongue.

said Kayde looking around her. Now, this was not something they had ever had to deal with before. (Thinking somewhere in her brain that most of what they did fell into that same category.) Just then the ground shook.

The Scoobs looked at each other in what resembled fear, and then Kay said in shaky voice, "Uh, guys,,,,,Loooook." and she pointed her finger to a figure coming down the street wrapped in some sort of rain gear. But, the figure was towering a couple stories above them.

"Oh frell!" said the Scoobs in unison, as they tried to make themselves as invisible as possible under the table.

Raegun -- Fortunately,

the giant seems about as interested in getting out of the rain as the Scoobs themselves were. He walks on without even glancing in the direction of the picnic-table, and soon ducks into a doorway.

"That was way too close." Rae sighs, unshouldering Raegun.

"Um, Rae..." Raegun whispers. "This may not be the best time, but Ghost was right. I'm suffering some serious fatigue. Can we dispense with the hardware?"

Rae sighs and nods. She quickly field-strips him down to his base components. The others are standing in small huddles, talking. Jila and Crais have their heads together, and Rae faintly hears Jila say "Fee-fi-foe-fum."

Kay walks over to Rae. "What's going on?"

"Um, we have no functional weapons." Rae tells her steadily. "And very little in the way of defensive capabilities. It's time to leave."

Kay nods. "I agree."

Crais and Jila walk over. Crais says, "Frell the rain. A little water won't hurt us. If half of Jila's story is true, we do NOT want to be caught here."

Rae nods. "Raegun, how far to the other side of the village?"

"About 3 klicks, Rae." Raegun yawns. "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, baby. I've been overworking you. I'll clean and oil you as soon as we get back, get you a new chakan-oil catridge..."

"Three clicks is a bit far to go without expecting to be seen." Crais notes. "Unless we plan to go at an all-out run, which some of them won't be used to."

Rae nods. "And some of us are as fatigued as Raegun."

Crais raises an eyebrow. "You, Rae?"

Rae nods sharply. "So, we need to chart a route that allows us to avoid open spaces."

"It shouldn't be too hard." Crais tells her. "We'll scout ahead."

Rae nods and hands Raegun off to Jila. "You two let the others know what we're up to. Stay safe."

"That's an order." Crais adds, shaking hands with Jila and Kay. To Jila, he adds, "I want my wife in one piece when I get back."

As Jila and Kay laugh at this, Rae and Crais set off on recon.

Crais Mandroid -- “Bialar, you told a joke!”

Rae laughs as the two set off. "Very well done."

"Really?" Crais smiles. "Thanks, Riv."

Rae smacks him on the shoulder and walks on. "You know, between Jila and Grack, you're growing yourself a reputation..."

"A WHAT?" Crais laughs.

The two walk on, chatting casually about life in the mansion, the mandroid's group-therapy, erp's socio-political climate, everything EXCEPT the giants.

In less than half an arn, they had charted an appropriately covered route to the end of the village. Crais handed Rae a pair of occulars.

"Do you see any cover outside the village, Riv? Somewhere we can wait the storm out maybe?"

Rae scans the horizon. "I see trees about ten clicks off, and just beyond that a flat field... Frell me dead!"

"Nothing." Rae shakes her head. "Let's get back."

She turns and starts back towards the others at a run. They manage to cover the distance in half the time it took them to cover it in the first place.

"Frell!" Crais snaps as they approach the table. "Get down, Riv!" He grabs her and pushes her to the ground, falling over her.

"What?" Rae looks up. "What is it?"

"There. Under the table!"

"Frell..." Rae stares at about a dozen creatures, each over eight feet high, that resemble nothing more than black ants. They surround the Scoobs "Oh, sweet Kahleen!"

"They'll be eaten alive." Crais mutters, crawling towards the table. "And here we are without a side-arm between us."

Rae pulls a long knife (or short sword?) from her boot and hands it to Crais. "We'll just have to hope we can scare them off with a show of force."

Crais nods. "On three. One..."

"THREE!" Rae belows, clambering to her feet and running towards the closest ant.

"Riv!" Crais shouts, starting after her. "What happened to two?"

Rae lets out a battle-cry as she approaches.

"Rae, don't!" Kay shouts, running towards her. "It's okay."

Rae stops dead. Crais takes a moment longer to stop, and consequently all three end up on the ground. Rae shoves Crais off and climbs off of Kay with a hasty apology.

"It's okay." Kay tells her. "It's okay. The ants are friendly."

Rae stares at Kay. "What? Ants?"

"Yeah. Jila talked to them." Kay nods.

"Oh, that's right... She can do that." Crais muttered.

Kay nods. As the three start back towards the group, Kay explains. "Jila has explained our plight to the ants, and they've agreed to convey us as far as something called the checkered plains."

Rae nods. "We saw it. It's about 15 klicks off. Saves us one hezmana of a walk."

"Way to go, Jila!" Crais adds, smiling. He bends over, panting. "I think if Rae had her way, we'd be running there."

"In formation, Bailar." Rae added seriously. "As it is, I'd say the cavalry has it covered..."

The Scoobs settle themselves and what supplies they have on the ants, and surprisingly enough, are carried at a brisk pace towards the checkered fields. Glad to be off their feet, sighs could be heard all the way around. Jila kept the communications going with directions.

At one point, the Scoobs held their breath, as one of the giants, also in a hurry to get out of the rain, came dangerously close to them with a boot. It was in general agreement that as drenched as they were from the rain, it was a blessing in keeping more people off their path.

After what seemed like hours, the ants carrying their passengers came to the edge of the checkered field. By now, the rain had stopped and the sun was peeking out. Still though, there were parts of the field that they could see, where the water had not yet settled into the earth, that seemed like streams to them, in their current size.

Oddly, the ground didn't seem unpassable to them. Where they would have expected blades of grass as tall as them, there were none. It seemed fairly close cropped. And, there were some sort of old statues covered in moss and vines.

Jila thanked the ants for their help for all the Scoobs, and they wearily set off across the checkered plain. How much further would they have to go.

"Wait!" said Rae. All the fatigue was instantly gone from her voice, and there was a gleam in her eyes. "Does anyone notice what I notice?"

Everyone looked around them, and then back at Rae, confused.

"What does this remind you of?" she asked waving her hand around.

"Um, I don't know. A huge checkerboard." Kay chuckled.

"Oh my gosh!" Jila yelled. "Or a chessboard! Look at those statues! They are chess pieces!"

There were gasps as the others noticed, that, indeed, They were standing in a field, that was in fact, a huge outdoor chess set.

"Not unlike the one that got us into this place to begin with." IQ said thoughtfully rubbing his chin.

Lurkingghost -- ‘Ghost reappears......

with a chunk of meat the size of her head held tightly in her arms.

"Whew! You have no idea how hard it was to carry that with me. Hope you enjoy it. I'm going to go rest now."

'Ghost disappears with a soft "pop."

Mouse2000 -- Mouse stepped off an ant

and said "Thank you". It was still hard for her to realize that she was really on a big ant. She shivered, and then regained her composure. She cautiously looked at the big statue and realized it was just a pawn. *If this is a pawn, I wonder what the King looks like* she thought.

Mouse turned towards Rae and Crais, and said with a smile, "Is this the time when we're supposed to say, 'There's no place like home!' and click our..."

Before she could continue her sentence, she was transported up in a beam of white light.

BUMP - *Ow!!* she thought as she landed on her eema. She looked around and saw she was back. Home. In the Treehouse. The chessboard was still glowing. But being tired and dirty, Mouse opted not to return back through and stay at the mansion for a while. She was certain the whatever her friends decided to do, they could now return back home whenever they wanted to (like she did, she assumed) and the decision was up to them. After a brief snuggle in her favorite Papasan chair, she headed toward her room.

Raven-Kat -- “That was interesting.....”

Rae mutters, staring at the place where Mouse had been standing moments before. "Crais, give it a try."

"Why ME?" he demands, shaking his head. "Come on, Riv! You know how I feel about magic..."

"It's not hard. Just say what Mouse said."

Crais takes a very deep breath and nerves up. "Um, there's no place like home?" Nothing happens.

"Wierd." She points at IQ #4. "You try it."

"There's no place like-" IQ #4 disappears in a flash of light.

"Must be a phrase of some cultural significance..." Crais mutters. "Imtheochaidh soir is siar-" Crais is gone in a flash of light.

Rae grins. "Clever mandroid..." She turns to the other Scoobs. "After you."

"What did he say, Rae?" Jila asks.

"I will go East and I will go West." Rae explains. She looks around, mildly surprised to find that she is still there. "Guess it's got to be in the right language. After you guys, please. Before the giants come..."

Lurkingghost -- ‘Ghost “pops” in

frightening the ants a bit. She tells them thank-you for taking care of her friends, and indicates that they should eat the meat she brought. Then she touches a pawn and starts singing in a language nobody can quite understand. With a flash, she disappears.

JilaCosa -- One after the other the Scoobs repeat

"There's no place like home." and vanish. Some with big smiles, others with a sigh. It's been an incredible adventure. Soon only Rae, Jila, and IQ #1 are left standing on the checkered plain. Jila and IQ hesitate to say the words. Jila looks at IQ and begins to smile. She believes she knows what he's thinking.

*If only there were more time to find out how it all works.*

"Come on you two." Rae says, keeping an eye out for unwanted visitors. "We need to go, Now."

"Do me a favor Rae?" Jila asks "Give us just a few more minutes?"

"Do you promise me," Rae says slightly annoyed "that if we even Think we see a giant coming you'll say the words and get the Hezmana out of here?"

"Promise." Jila says happily. "Quick IQ! Dig out those sketches that you've been making along the way!"

The scientist in IQ takes over and he takes out his notebook, rips out the pages with the drawings, and lays them out on the ground.

"Forgot one thing Jila." IQ says picking up all the papers again. "The last piece."

"The exit sign?" Jila laughs.

"Yes," IQ grins "I guess you could call it that. C'mon Rae, help us look."

"Frell." Rae grumbles "Why did I ever agree to this."

So, around each piece the three go. Through the pawns, then down the row to each piece. On the tallest pieces, the King,Queen, and Bishop, Rae stands a few yards back and uses her occulars to scan from the "waist" up.

"Here it is." Rae says motioning to IQ and Jila. "Here on this one."

"The King." IQ notes

"Of course." Jila agrees. "Who else but the King could give permission to travel."

"Make these marks on your paper." Rae said studying the marks on the King. "And Hurry!" The ground begins to tremor, and Rae knows that it is a Giant approaching. She describes the marks on the King as quickly as she can knowing that IQ doesn't have to write, only draw. As she finishes the last description the Giant steps onto the checkered plain

"There's No Place Like......." Jila and IQ say together not stopping to hear what phrase Rae has picked as her means of travel.

".......Home!" they say as they appear in the Treehouse, and just a second or two behind them Rae appears also.

"Damn!" Rae says emphatically. "That was Way too close. Never Again!"

"I thought Nothing was too close for you Rae!" kay laughs at the look on Rae's face.

"Yeah, well," Rae begins. She's caught. She knows it. "I'm headed for the hot tub."

"I would ask you if you wanted some company Rae," Jila says with a big grin and a wink, "but I think I might spend some time with my 'Husband'." and walks over and puts her arms around Crais.

Crais' eyes open wide for a second or two, then he pulls her in closer for a hug, and also winks at Rae.

Rae gives a muffled snort and chuckles. "Yah."

"Mind if I join you Rae?" Kara says. "I could use a good soak in a hot tub after all that."

"What does everybody want to drink?" Chryse asks. "Kay, you want to help me get some drinks from the bar and we can All hit the hot tub."

"Sure!" kay smiles. A soak in the hot tub sounds Great.

"Where's Mouse?" Four asks looking around

"Think about it." Seven says, shaking his head. "How long have we been gone? She's undoubtedly gone to find the Mouseling. Ladies? A distinct possibility?"

"Absolutely!" The Scoobettes said.

"HEY!" Jila yells as a swirling gold mass wraps itself around her neck. A small face appears directly in front of her nose. It's Pandora, and Jila can tell she's been worried sick. Pandora's eyes are yellow, and the color swirls with the speed of a tornado.

*Nice of you to let us know where you were going.* a voice growls in her mind.

*Geradan. I am so sorry. If I could have gotten word to you I would have. You know I wouldn't leave you and Pandora without telling you where I was going.*

*And the children think you've abandon them.*

*Tell them to meet me in the Ballroom. I'll be right there.* The swirling in Pandora's eyes settle to a slow spin and the yellow fades to a contented green then blue.

In the meantime Sweetie has felt the returning of the Scoobs and points Honey in the proper direction. As Honey runs as fast as her legs will carry her, Sweetiepie flies along behind her down the hallways. Oh he's a tough talking bird but in his heart he's been just as worried as Pandora and Honey.

Bounding into the room Honey Leaps at kay. Honey barks, whimpers, licks kays face, and wiggles all over with happiness. Her mommy is home and the world is right again.

"It's about time." Sweetiepie says gruffly.

"We missed you too, Sweetie!" Rae and Kara laugh.

"Who says I missed you?" Sweetie says indignantly. "I was just concerned for Pandora and Honey. Leaving them hear without even a by your leave."

This time All the Scoobs laugh.

Hot Tub! <sigh> It's been a Long trip.

Raven-Kat -- Epilogue

After a long period in the hot-tub, and endless rounds of discussion and speculation over their adventures (and, of course, after Raegun’s promised cleaning/recharging), Rae and Crais return to the treehouse.

The entire treehouse has been scrubbed and polished, the murals have been restored, and every portion of the treehouse has been rendered dust-free. Except for the corner with the chess-set. Fluffy and the other DRDs flatly refuse to approach the chess-set, and they have contented themselves to place warning beacons in a perimeter around the table with the board. Laughing, Crais begins to take down the beacons, while Rae bends to examine the chess-set.

“Well, I don’t get it. There’s no trace of magic left to it at all.”

“None?” Crais frowns. From what Rae has told him of magic, once an item is rendered magical it always retains some traces of that transformation.

Rae shakes her head. “Whatever was there, it’s gone now. No clue of how the chess-set got here or why it acted as a portal-key.”

Crais frowns thoughtfully. “You once told me that the real magic of this place was not in the place itself, but in the people. Perhaps Jila and IQ did something to activate it.”

Rae nods. “They must have. It’s not entirely uncredible, anyway. I’ve long suspected that Jila may have some real-world talents in addition to the ones she so freely displays in the other ones we visit.”

Crais nods and smiles proudly. “That’s my wife.” He shakes his head. “So, what do we do with this thing?”

“My choice would be to chain it up, put it into a lock-box and bury it not less than fifty feet under-ground.”

“Dropping it in that lake there might be a better option.” Crais points out. “No one in the mansion swims there anymore. Hezmana, even YOU won’t go near it…”

Rae nods thoughtfully. “Yes. We’ll chain it, lock it up, and drop it in the lake. We’ll add a few more warning beacons, too. Can’t hurt, certainly.”

A few hours later, Rae and Crais have closed the chess-set up, wrapped it in a piece of blue silk, chained it tightly shut, and put the whole thing in a small lock-box. The water will short out the electric lock, but leave the other safety-features in-tact. The two consider how best to get the thing from the treehouse to the ground below and finally settle on dropping it.

Jila, Kay and IQs #4 and #7 walk over to see what they are up to see what they are up to. Between the six of them, they manage to heft the absurdly heavy thing into the lake. As they watch, it bobs like a cork for several seconds before sinking to the bottom.

Rae sighs. “Kitchen, everyone. Now. Cocoa and cookies on the house.”

As they turn to leave, none of them notice as the lake briefly glows a faint blue.