Ragnar rekindles the fire

Taking the same seat he had the night before Ragnar stirs up the coals of the fire and adds a few twigs. Soon it is returning to its comforting warmth.

He wonders to himself. "I wonder if it's too soon to think about how big a box it takes to hold eight tiny reindeer?"

Ragnar is staring into the flames, watching occasional encountered gas pockets in the locks ignite. He hears the tread of hard soles on the stone floor echo through the grotto. He turns around with traditional wariness, the action of the past few days still being shaken out of his sinews. He sees a dark figure approach, belt buckles jingling.

"I was asking myself, "SWORD, if you were a big viking, where would you bit sitting right about now?" and the answer kept coming back as in the grotto," SWORDandMUG says as he enters the fire light. "Want some company?"

"Oh, a little," SWORD says as he sets things down and prepares to cook some doggies. "My idea was that the acoustics in here would be so good that even I would sound half decent. You won't here anything intricate like ArtistStudio would play for you, but I can sing a rousing drinking song or three."

Silently creeping, making sure none hear her approach, the form glides silently on little cat feet, lured by the glow of the fire, and the flickering shadows cast on the stone walls.

First one foot. Ball first, knees bent to absorb the sound,then the other. Closer she slinks. They have not seen her.

She is so close now to the two men who are unaware of her proximity. She can smell the roasting meat and she must feed. Slowly she crouches, and readies for the pounce, the excitement building. Her eyes narrow as she spys the object of her pursuit. She steadies. She is ready.

Stopped in her tracks, a now frowning Annisette scoots up the rest of the way. How long did you guys know I was here?

Ragnar digs around in the gunny sack he'd brought along. It was one of the ones they'd drug along on the trip."Do you think the girls are doing alright?"

Swords busy sharpening a stick to spit a dog. Ragnar watchs out of the corner of his eye. His friend seems pretty normal now but he's had a shaky time. Sword shruggs."Yeh I think so. Things will look better in the morning."

Ragnar chuckles "Usually does, more light and all that." He draws a fist full of papers out of the bag and glances at them. Phantom wanted posters."Guess we won't be needing these."He tosses them in the fire.

Sword's aim is true that doggie doesn't have a chance."Need what?" He leans foreward to see what his buddy'd tossed. A small ball of fire swirled up singing his brows, lucky for him not badly.

"Sorry Sword one of the PUNCH bottles mustof broken, well...or...ate thru, and spilled in here. Some of it must have gotten on the papers." He throws a pack of In2scifi needs you posters on the flames as well.

Sword looks for a hot spot and shoves the hotdog in."What are you looking for anyway?" With his free hand he takes a sip of beer.

Ragnar's still rattling around in the bag. Glow in the dark silly putty, and flouresent aerosol cans spill out. He carefully knocks them away from the fire. "Ah here it is!"

"Don't worry Sword it takes a while to perk but it'll be ready by the time the beers gone." Now if he could only remember where he left the coffeepot...

gunny sacks full of spare clothing and fixs Annisette a better seat. He gives her a blanket to lay across her lap.She smiles up at him "Thank you Raggie?"

"No problem friend. There's a bit of chill in the air tonight. I'd hate to see you catch cold after all that time spend in the river earlier."

"Brownie coffee?" SWORD asks incredulously, "Sounds like a dangerous combination! ...although I am fond of an Irish Mocha..."

Ragnar continues to busy himself looking for the coffee pot. SWORD pours some Chimay for Anni who has borrowed his jacket and curled up beside the fire with a brew and warm glow in her eyes.

"...really Ragnar, do you think we should subject the house to a Punch induced SWORD so soon? Shouldn't we let them have one night of rest? I have no idea who I will turn into next... Charleton Heston, Sean Connery, Pee Wee Herman..." Ragnar shudders for a moment. "The whole concept is so damn frightening!" SWORD continues as he prepares a weenie for Anni. "I can sometimes almost understand why the GREAT KAHUNA put an APB out on me and Anni--and she was just watching my back."

"Oh, nothing... just sighed... feeling a little tired after all of that running around..." Anni says trying not giggle.

"Friend, are you developing a conscious?" he asks. SWORD just narrows his eyes in one of those 'you'll get yours' expressions.

SWORD himself sighs, hoping against hope that somehow caffeine can counteract PUNCH OF DOOM Magic Love Brownie crumbs.

"Yeah," Anni tells him, "sing something." She seems sleepy, possibly from drinking some of a Trappist Triple. "Sing something moody, like a love song."

"And stop with the contra malocchia stuff, I am not giving you the evil eye." Sword had twisted his fingers into the pattern Mrs. H had told him warded off evil spirits, at least it was supposed to.

Annisette shifted on the makeshift cushions and pulled the borrowed jacket around her. I really have got to bring more clothes on these adventures, she mused.

The grotto had actually warmed from the fire's gentle glow. The soft pale yellow light just gently brightened their faces and softened the outlines of the stone walls.

"Swing softly my love....hmmm...hmmm..hmm,hmm..." Sword strummed the guitar gently and continued to croon out the soft song. He had done his best to answer Anni's request and had drifted through an entire littany of songs. Ragnar hadn't known his friend was such a ballideir. Anni contentedly dozed, lulled to sleep for a while by the music, the river, and the fire.

Ragnar stired the fire again, he'd seemed to have found a job. He and Sword looked at Anni, then at each other smiling. Dawn was not far off, a new day was dawning.Pouring himself another cup of coffee he passed one to Sword.

The coffee hadn't turned out too bad. TickTick must have found the bag of crumbs and diluted them some how, that or the two big oaffs were just getting used to it. No mayhem had arrose all night. "Thanks." Sword whispered setting the instrument aside and grasping the cup. Even he was glad for a quiet eve. This place would be loud enough by the time the pertiers arrived later. In fact the morning crew could be heard stirring about in the kitchen.

SWORD plays a few songs, all of the lyrics and rhythms following in a familiar theme--"I'm Irish, I got drunk, I had more fun than you did, oops there are the authorities..." When prodded, he can occasionally play something more mellow, with a usual familiar theme--"I'm Irish, I fell in love, I got into trouble, I got drunk, oops there are the authorities..." Still, most of the songs have easy choruses that are easy to jump in with, many of them sporting Irish gibberish.

"Hey now! I was a quiet lad until In2scifi gave me that kill shot of PUNCH OF DOOM..." he mutters back with a smirk on his face.

Anni grumbles lazily in her seeming sleep for something soft and quiet. She seems on the verge of dreaming. SWORD takes an sip of the rich chocolate brownie coffee concoction and picks the guitar back up.

"I'm running out of tunes," he says. "I'm usually the guy that jumps into to give the real bards a break. Hmmm... okay..." He moves his capo and uses a mixture of strumming and figure picking and begins softly singing "Spancil Hill," a sad Irish song without any drinking that takes place in a dream. By the end of the song, Anni has nodded off. SWORD quietly puts the guitar away.

"...I think she has the right idea..." he whispers. He stretches and settles himself so that he can catch of the heat from the fire.

"Perhaps you are right," Ragnar says as he puts a couple more logs on the fire. He stares at it for a few minutes and then rustles into soft speech. "Our recent efforts have had me thinking..." he begins and looks up at his friend lying beside the fire with his eyes closed. "SWORD?" he asks. There is no reply.

Ragnar chuckles at his friends. Picking himself a spot he stretchs out. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to catch a nap at that. Tonight was likely to be another long one.

Message from in2d3: Lets stay off the main board. Too many serious Scapers who want to ruin our fun. Let the return of the Phantom be our little secret. SHHH!

Ragnar stirs as the breeze blows over him, a breeze with a chill all it's own. A cautious eyelid slowly opens."Was that????..."

Sitting part way up he looks around. Was he dreaming or did he actually hear something? Did the others hear it? What would they think if they did?"

Looking over at them he sees that they have yet to stir.From his position he cann't see their faces. What to do? What to do?

Sword stirred at the sound and wiped his hand over his face trying to clear the sleep from his eyes. He propped up on one elbow.

"Nope. Heard it too." Ragnar could just see Sword's face in the dim light. He looked at Annisette's form blanketed and still.

There was no response. Ragnar thought she looked unusually still, even for a person asleep. He looked across the fire at Sword who was now pulling himself free of his own blanket.

Sword grabbed a lantern, quickly struck a match, and the grotto flooded with more light. The glimmer shown more distinctly now.

"But, if she went to bed, what's it doing here, and why was is cut from her hair?" Ragnar's face now showed great puzzlement.

"She said she was going to take it out, but her room is the other way." Sword looked back in the direction from which Anni had first come through the house and down the winding stair.

"Oh my God." The men exclaimed in breathless voices." Did the Phantom take Anni?" They could hardly give form to the thoughts.

Ragnar took a quick scan for signs. It looked like it was going to be down the river Scifi again. "Sword get our gear together and I'll go see if I can catch Mrs. H. before she leaves. In2 was going to send a car to take her to the airport, but I might be in time!"

Passing through the ballroom, he skidded to a halt, noticing all the freshly hung halloween decorations. He stood dumbfounded for a second. When had this happened? Had the place gotten a new housekeeper?

"Focus, Ragnar, Focus." With haste he bounded up the stairs to the second floor.Dogding around an idle cleaning cart he raced to the end of the corridor and without knocking burst into the room.

Standing by the bed the dapple old Phantom Hunter was carefully folding a new sweeter and placing it in her satchel. It was amazing the number of things she could get in there. Ragnar started to grab her by the arm then in a moments sanity thought better of it. "You've got to come Mrs. H. quickly! We've got a problem!"

"Now, now Ragnar calm yourself." Mrs. H. turned without a hurry in the world, "Take a breath and tell me what's got you so excited dear." She took him by the arm and was guiding him to the sofa.

"My now that is interesting." With one hand she began to idlelly rub her chin, her eyes squinting in thought.She turned to face Ragnar "That's quite a developement."

She blinked, "Oh my..." Her fingers tapped her lips. "OH my..." She grabbed Ragnars arm and began to pull."Yes we must hurry!"

Sitting up she looks around. She's in a small room just off the basement (the upstairs was crowded and she was forced to make her home here). What was that noise? Is someone out there? she thinks to herself.

She rises slowly and quickly grabs her leather coat. Pulling it over her pajamas, she slips her feet into her pointy toed boots and tiptoes to the door.

There were three Phantoms at one time, weren't there? she thinks nervously. Reaching back, she grabs the only weapon she can find...

"OW!!!" Ragnar yelps. The jug bounces off his arm and hits Sword on the head. Sword drops to the ground as if hit with a Pantac Jab.

"The Phantom has returned. We think he has Annisette," Mrs. H explains. TickTick nods dumbly as she cradles Sword in her arms.

SunAeryn said knocking on Annisette's door. "Hey Annisette, you awake?" Sun whispers...so as not to wake any one else.

Reaching for the knob, Sun's hand is a little shaky and she has that tight knot feeling in her gut....the one that tells her that something is wrong.

"Anni? You there?" Sun asks as she opens the door. The room is dark....Sun(against her better judgement) goes into the dark room. She reaches for the light switch....and nothing happens.

"Dangit! Why didn't I bring my flashlight?!" SunAeryn mumbles as she goes further into the room. "Anni?" Sun asks again.

"Sorry about that, man...but after seeing that "Blair Witch" thing....I take no chances when I hear someone behind me." Sun explains.

"Sun, you're right Anni is missing. She was down in the grotto with us and then Poof, she was gone!" SWORD tells Sun as he started looking around the room with his flashlight. " Ragnar, TickTick & Mrs. H, are checking out the rest of the house tryingto find her. I was elected to search her room." SWORD further explained.

SWORD shakes his head and realizes a woman is holding him. "Hmmm, how'd this happen? My head hurts..." he says thinking, should I really be complaining? Then he remembers Anni.

"Imsosorryswordididntknowitwasyouandragnarandwassoscaredthatthephantomwasbackandseeingmorephantomswasreallyworriedandjustthoughtiwouldpophimherittheythemonthehead..." TickTick says in a rush.

"Ragnar!" he says. "oh... hello, Mrs. H," he interrupts himself to be polite. Turning back to the matter at hand, "Ragnar, I just came from Anni's room, but there is no sign of her. I could not find any sign that she had been there and gathered anything either."

"This Phantom, although very cunning, possesses a flaw common to all Phantoms--his fascination with and desire to relive the works of those before him/her. He has gone up the river to his secret hideaway. I believe this is where he has taken Anni."

"Well, I'm not sitting still for this," SWORD says, fire in his eyes. "Ragnar, gather the rest of the Gang and any munitions you deem wise. Meet me at the longboat."

"Yeah, I realize that," SWORD says as he backs away and start down the hallway, "but I've seen a couple things around SciFi that will help take care of that problem..."

SWORD stops at his room and grabs his gear--his large stein, his flint lock, Brown Bess, his fighting cloak, and the rapier his brother gave him when he entered the Academy. He nods to himself and grabs the special ammo, dons his hat and gloves, and heads towards the ARCHIVES. He knows he must move fast. Yes, this will definitely solve the problem of a crew, he thinks to himself as he runs through the vast complex.

He rounds the bend and sees SunAeryn up ahead of him. "Well, we all seem to up," he thinks to himself as he reaches to tap her on the shoulder.

The inrush of cool moist air sweeping across her face caused Annisette to awaken from her quiet slumber. A smile traced across her face as she first thought of the last evening in the grotto. She heard the sound of water dripping onto the stone...ploink......ploink and opened her eyes.

With a sudden realization that she was no longer in the grotto with her friends, Annisette looked around at the darkly paneled walls, hung with tapestries, the passementerie on the ornate golden brocade drapery tied with silken cording.

"What is going on here?" A startled Annisette whispered to the empty room. A large heavily carved baldachine chair stood guard, empty of its normal occupant, near the arched door frame, the dark wood door firmly closed.

The heavy grating in the mantled fireplace placed glowed with almost spent embers of a once large fire. A silver candelabra laden with candles sputtering with their last efforts shone from a gateleg table in the center of the room.

Placed on the smallest of the many oriental carpets scattered on the cool grey stone floor, the table was within reach of the chair. An open leather bound volume was overturned at its center, left turned to its recently read pages.

From her place across the room and farthest away from the door on a deeply cushioned chaise longue, the heavily emroidered fabric pleated and tufted, Annisette was becoming quite frightened.

Spying the large French style armoire by a huge and canopied bed, still made and covered also with tapestries, Annisette exclaimed," And where exactly am I now?" Swinging her feet under her, she padded to the door.

Pulling on the large brass door knob, Annisette encountered resistance."Locked, okay, that's great." Backing away she began scouring the room for another exit when she heard..................

"I already searched this room," SWORD whispers as he approaches the closet. "I thought I would double check in case I missed a clue. It seem like I have..."

SunAeryn feels about the dark room and grabs a lamp to use as a weapon. SWORD draws his blade and motions for SunAeryn to open the closet door. She slowly turns the door knob and stands back as she opens the door. An avalanche of stuffed animals pours fourth. Behind this is a shadowy figure bound and hanging within the closet. A box sits upon the floor, a crank on its side. Suddenly it begins to move. Music pours forth.

The tune finishes, and the tops pops on the box releasing a spring loaded pie. Once again, SWORD executes a passato sotto, this time allowing him to drop beneath the trajectory of the flung pie, his sword stabbing forward in completion of the move and thrusting through the head of the Phantom figure cresting of the spring. The music dies. He withdraws his blade and knocks over the box. Snickersnack, he cuts down the figure in the closet and drags it forward into the lit hallway, SunAeryn taking a warry stance to guard them. Once in the hallway, they examine the bound figure.

"Leaped?" SWORD exclaims quietly when regarding his friend bound and gagged with duck tape. SunAeryn grabs the tape and rips it from his face.

"Well, I was walking down to the grotto," leaped explains. SWORD nods his head, having noted his friends absence during the evening. "When that old familiar feeling came over me."

"...the one of 'oh, I'm going to be ambushed by the Phantom because I just felt a breeze blow' feeling. I never saw him. Or her. Got slammed by a knock out pie. I woke up in there."

"SWORD, leaped, we have another problem," she says. SWORD leans in the room and looks at the pie splatter on the wall that she is examining. Despite the dim light, the smoke arising from the splattered filling is quite evident.

SunAeryn approaches the computer and begins tapping in possible passwords. Very quickly, he manages to uncode the doors.

SunAeryn smiles. "Simple--the most common universal password in SciFi is Gene Rodenberry. Trekkies control everything, you know."

"Not Farscape," SWORD coments as he enters the chosen vault. He enters and removes covers from several figures. "Here is our ship crew..."

"No, they are fully charged," he says as he turns the switch on several robots. "Say hello to Robbi, Robot, and two of the extras from Short Circuit. I would say we have our backup now."

"Leave that one alone," he says. "That is the real Gort. He's too hard to control, so leaving him here is the best bet."

SWORD shakes his head and realizes a woman is holding him. "Hmmm, how'd this happen? My head hurts..." he says thinking, should I really be complaining? Then he remembers Anni.

"Imsosorryswordididntknowitwasyouandragnarandwassoscaredthatthephantomwasbackandseeingmorephantomswasreallyworriedandjustthoughtiwouldpophimherittheythemonthehead..." TickTick says in a rush.

"Well, I'm not sitting still for this," SWORD says, fire in his eyes. "Ragnar, gather the rest of the Gang and any munitions you deem wise. Meet me at the longboat."

"Yeah, I realize that," SWORD says as he backs away and start down the hallway, "but I've seen a couple things around SciFi that will help take care of that problem..."

He knows he must move fast. Yes, this will definitely solve the problem of a crew, he thinks to himself as he runs through the vast complex.

He pauses and considers that he should double check Anni's room. He rounds the bend and sees SunAeryn entering the room up ahead of him. "Well, we all seem to up," he thinks to himself as he reaches to tap her on the shoulder.