Wapsi Held Hostage - Day 14 (was Castela Notice 2015-07-05)

[GlytchMeister]

Glytch narrowed his eyes, several instincts within him battling over his decision. He wanted to play the game because it's a game, and he liked to play.
He also liked learning new things.
Plus, he's always wanted to test out his poker face in an actual game of poker.
But... He couldn't lose his stuff. He had bought very little of it, having either found it or gotten it as gifts in his youth. And he liked his pipe; it had saved his life on more than one occasion.
Greg had yet to say yay or nay to his suggestion of bragging rights.
"What about this: I'll play. If, at the end of the game, I lost my stuff, I have one chance to get all of it back... If I can teach you a card game none of you know. Does that sound fair?" Glytch leaned forward, setting the tips of his fingers together to form a series of gothic arches.

[Sgt. Howard]

"Bragging rights works for me," said 'Toons as he fished a small folding knife out of a back pocket. Tossing it on the table, he said "Careful, it's gots tweezers. The BAR is over there in the backpack, if anyone needs to know." and leaned back into his chair.

"We are NOT playing for money or property- I'll explain in a mo- 'Toons, I agree- a BAR takes up too much room for a poker table- Nice cane there, Louis- C'mon, Glytch, the presentation of hardware is to show that nobody is aiming beneath the table... it's a common Western courtesy. Besides, those Walkers were not really comfortable where they were sitting. I think you ought to know, it's not WHERE I travel as much as WHEN I travel that makes such things... handy...on occasion. Besides, modern Police ballistics have a hard time with a soft round ball from a ball & cap revolver. As for stakes... (here he produced a box filled with neat stacks of chips in red, blue and off-white) I think we can dole these out and you play until you have none. White is one, red is five and blue is ten... they are ceramic, so treat them well, they chip easily... but they sound lovely when you 'trill' them,"
He pulled out a stack of the off-white ones and lifted them slightly off the tabletop, allowing them to fall rapidly one right after the other... this created the classic ceramic 'RIP' that you hear in the old western movies.
He then passed out enough ceramic for everyone to start with 250 'points' and a modest amount in the bank. Glytch nervously sat down, placing his pipe and knife on the table as the cards were dealt out, five to a hand.
'Ante up' declaired Greg as he threw two points into the center of the table- all other followed suit as each player contemplated his hand.
True to his warning, some of the cards displayed what could only be bullet holes... and such holes would transfer from one card to another with impuny. Glyitch suddenly noticed Greg looking expectantly towards him-
"What?" he asked.
"How many cards do you want?"
"Uh, I don't really know,"
"Will you pass then?"
"What does that mean?"
Greg smiled- "You examine your hand and see what you want to keep and what you don't want to keep- then you either declair how many you wish to draw or you may pass- if you pass, once I take or do not take any more cards, you may draw- but never more than three cards,"
He looked again at his hand- Uh... I'll take two,"
"Two to the Glytchmeister- Louis? How about you?"

[DinkyInky]

((Sorry folks, real world issues all day, from tailoring to cleaning and rearranging cabinetry, and providing understanding narrations for some tough life lessons))

*Sneaks in and replenishes trays before vanishing into the shadows again. "Snacks and tea for anyone left, next stop...manning the confusion corners snack bar."*

[Gyrrakavian]

Gyrre gathered his things, stowing that which couldn't fit in his bag in the storage lamp. He looked around at the acquaintances he had made over the last two weeks, nodded, and smiled inwardly. Fishing around for the square spiral door device, he hesitated. Should I make my way back home, or keep exploring? He stroked his beard thoughtfully as he looked around the room. A short quiver went through his gills. "You know, I forgot to ask if any of you all have gills, like me, or any other biological quirks amongst your home dimension's type of human." Gyrre reached down and removed a sandal and flexed out his toes. "I've also got webbed toes and and venom barbs on my wrists. Well, I've still got the left one at any rate." He unsheathed the glistening translucent barb from just below the base of the palm heel. "As far as I can tell, most of the oddities I've seen are more related to magic use. Just be careful with that stuff. It's pretty frikkin' dangerous."

Gripping the SSDD, Gyrre had finally made his decision. There was still much to learn and many worlds to explore. He pu;lled out the SSDD and keyed in a new set of coordinates. The teal and vantablack spiral opened once more. Gyrre waved at everyone before turning back to the dimensional doorway in front of him. "Good luck and good travels, everyone!"

Once Gyrre was through, the impoissibly flat lines undrew themselves back into the nothingness from which they came. Gyrre leaving nothing behind but a pack of terrorbird jerky and a piece of paper with some website links written on it.

[TazManiac]

Having rethought the Ice Cream and being out of Rock Salt anyway, Taz set about making a fresh pot of coffee. It was going to be a bit on the Strong side, but not so's the spoon would stand up straight by itself...)

He noticed the card game seemed to have been going awhile, damn Interdimensional Time Sync Displacments...

[illiad]

"But it seems our time here may be drawing short, I'm starting to hear the song of the autobahn calling me."

♪ Wir fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf der Autobahn... ♪

In our kleine GTI?

fixed..:p

didnt you mean this??? (whole album ,there, too! )

autobahn

[kingklash]

Having made vague note of the commotion of Paul's getting back to Business, and a meantime of making sure his own Home connections finally got the ten window upgrade he'd been waiting on, kingklash finally had his mental ducks in order.

Getting up and looking around at the stragglers, he gave a sort of shake that cleaned up the remaining lines that had still clung to him from his sojourn outside. Good, there's still some hanging about. he thought. Just enough of an anchor to allow my own contribution to this establishment's establishment.

After all the technobabble from the experienced Travellers, and the various mindgames that served to solidify the little home away from home the Hall had become over time, it really wouldn't do to have it dissipate after the last one to leave turned out the lights. Or even revert back to whatever pen and ink place it was before the unusual encroachment the Wapsiholics had made. If he did it right, there might be at least a place within the space to hold a nexus for the pocket dimension to maintain it's stability when unoccupied. Like a certain ship's cook had said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take the third path." He checked his dimensional map, and added the Wapsiverse coordinates to the "Frequent Locations Visited" list, with a subset for the Pocket. He noticed that there were already new commands in the Door's glyph patterns, ensuring that the machinery was at optimum cruising speed. It sure wasn't going anywhere. All the people going back to their home dimensions (or nearest convenient parallel universes) had set up more connection points for the buffer memory to chew on. But king was going to leave something more personal here. He quietly sang an old Kiowa Medicine song, as he took a small buckskin pouch from around his neck. He sang the song three times. He took a small red sandstone out of the bag, and rubbed it on his palm. He placed his palm on top of the Door's frame, and said, "Ah-Ho, Daw-Kee Thank you, Creator, for allowing us to come together in common fellowship. May we always find our way back here, and always find each other." Looking back towards the room, he saw that the card game had stopped while he did his thing. "Uh, the stronger a mental connection someone feels for this place, the easier it will be to come back, y'know, because we all do have a stake in what we believe in. And we all do believe in Wapsi Square, right?" They nodded. "Yeah, well. I really need to get along myself, and since I have my own way to go, the Door has no info on me. I just needed to keep my own way of holding this place in my thoughts." Suddenly, there was that lightless flash again, and kingklash was wearing his armor. "See you guys around! Next time, I'll bring a lot more frybread, and maybe a big pot of grape dumplings!" Opening the key panel on his arm, he tapped out a command, and a large hexagonal portal opened near his feet. "Instead of the normal report, maybe I'll just give the Elder Programs a link to the Wapsi Forum..." And he dropped into the swirling energy of the Interface Vortex, which snapped closed. Glytch turned back to the others, "You get the feeling he's just fine with wherever he finds himself?" And another hand was dealt.

[Leak]

didnt you mean this??? (whole album ,there, too! )

autobahn

Eh, I prefer Senor Coconut's version...

(who happens to actually be a certain Uwe Schmidt...)

[Hansontoons]

didnt you mean this??? (whole album ,there, too! )

autobahn

Eh, I prefer Senor Coconut's version...

(who happens to actually be a certain Uwe Schmidt...)

About fell out of my chair laughing! The car "start" at the beginning was priceless.

'Toons stands up, stretches, and scratches at a week or so's worth of stubble on his face. "Well fellers," he says, "it's been a sincere pleasure spending time with ya'll," he paused and then said with the raise of an eyebrow (which by the way rival those of a certain well-known wizard) "it's been quite interesting."

"But my 'phone's been buzzing like a nest full of angry hornets and I've spent more time talking with the office than winning. One of our customers did something that wasn't by the book and now we are scrambling to set things right, or at least better despite having to work within their limitations. Don't ask me what it is, can't tell you. But if things go right it won't make the papers." With that, he shook hands around the table and walked over to pick up his backpack. "If ever in the Houston area," he said as he slung the pack over a shoulder, "drop me a line and I'll buy you a beer or whatever you prefer to wet your whistle." He walked to the door which opened on its own as he approached, then turned and said with a wave, "See ya!" As he stepped past the threshold a gust of wind blew a cloud of dust around him, a second gust scattered the cloud and 'Toons was gone.

[jwhouk]

The long dark teatime of the soul enters now... since I won't get Wednesday's strip until sometime tomorrow afternoon.

[Dave]

Eh, I prefer Senor Coconut's version...

(who happens to actually be a certain Uwe Schmidt...)

About fell out of my chair laughing! The car "start" at the beginning was priceless.

That was definitely good for at least one day's Minimum Daily Adult Recommended dosage of Vitamin S(urreal)

[Sgt. Howard]

Greg looked up at the scene- he, Louis and Glytch were all that remained of the crew.
"Well," he announced, "Been some mighty interesting hands... but I suspect it's time to pack it in. You pull a mean bluff there, Louie- and Glitch, yer cottoning on just fine. I've already tagged this place so's that we can find it again, should ever the need arise... I think we ought to call it the 'Recovery Room,' unless somebody comes up with better," He started gathering his cards and chips, along with the minor arsenal that he had spread before them (Glyitch seemed fascinated by the Walkers- 9.5" of barrel on a 4.5 pound revolver that dates back to the Mexican--American War). Standing up, he waved his right hand over his frontside- immediately, his shop togs were replaced with a complete WWII jump uniform in olive drab/#5 khaki with the old steel pot helmet. Over his LBE he wore a T-10 parachute with Mk. II reserve. Strapped to the reserve was an M-1 Garand. A cable appeared overhead, leading from the far wall to the door.
Greg stood under the cable, reached up and latched his 'C' strap to it, checked his harness and shuffled to the door... which suddenly became a (more or less) oblong opening of aluminum with a high wind whistling outside. A Red light next to the door changed to green, and he jumped. The strap snapped tight, then blew listlessly in the wind.
Glytch ran to the door to see for himself- and there he saw a multitude of light green parachutes floating down in a daylight jump over a very flat terrain with elevated roads. Several gliders were already on the ground, spilling their contents... the original door re-appeared providing the linear sketch work that had been witnessed before.
"Marketgarden- he just jumped into Marketgarden!"

[Hansontoons]

Greg looked up at the scene- he, Louis and Glytch were all that remained of the crew.
"Well," he announced, "Been some mighty interesting hands... but I suspect it's time to pack it in. You pull a mean bluff there, Louie- and Glitch, yer cottoning on just fine. I've already tagged this place so's that we can find it again, should ever the need arise... I think we ought to call it the 'Recovery Room,' unless somebody comes up with better," He started gathering his cards and chips, along with the minor arsenal that he had spread before them (Glyitch seemed fascinated by the Walkers- 9.5" of barrel on a 4.5 pound revolver that dates back to the Mexican--American War). Standing up, he waved his right hand over his frontside- immediately, his shop togs were replaced with a complete WWII jump uniform in olive drab/#5 khaki with the old steel pot helmet. Over his LBE he wore a T-10 parachute with Mk. II reserve. Strapped to the reserve was an M-1 Garand. A cable appeared overhead, leading from the far wall to the door.
Greg stood under the cable, reached up and latched his 'C' strap to it, checked his harness and shuffled to the door... which suddenly became a (more or less) oblong opening of aluminum with a high wind whistling outside. A Red light next to the door changed to green, and he jumped. The strap snapped tight, then blew listlessly in the wind.
Glytch ran to the door to see for himself- and there he saw a multitude of light green parachutes floating down in a daylight jump over a very flat terrain with elevated roads. Several gliders were already on the ground, spilling their contents... the original door re-appeared providing the linear sketch work that had been witnessed before.
"Marketgarden- he just jumped into Marketgarden!"

Outstanding exit! When you have a chance, check out "That's All - Brother!", the C-47 that led the airborne invasion on D-day. Rescued from a conversion facility, will be rebuilt as close as can be to June 6 condition and flown again.

[Dave]

In the moments that followed, there was only the sound of the wind, and the faint chirping of a lone, lonely cricket. A couple of small tumbleweeds, sketched lightly in #2 pencil, rolled in through the portal to the Wapsiverse and lodged themselves under the table beneath the jumbled remains of the buffet. A very sensitive radiation detector might have detected faint traces of natural uranium ore and fission daughters in the dust they carried with them.

A patient silence settled into place in the Recovery Room, and the lighting slowly faded down to a dim monochrome. The coffee pot sputtered gently to itself, mildly annoyed that no one had bothered to disconnect or clean it.

[GlytchMeister]

Glytch breathed a sigh, hands on his hips. "Well, unless I've missed anybody, it's just you and I, Louis. And poker's no fun with just two, I think."
Louis peeked at Glytch, one particular thing plainly on his mind.
"No." Glytch smirked.

[Opus the Poet]

A quiet voice spoke up from behind the bicycle rack with its lone bike. "I'm still here. And the sideboard seems to be self-stocking. I'm still chugging pint mugs of Irish Breakfast Blend. And the scones are wonderful."

And I'm still here too. Don't forget that some of us bicycles are sentient.

[louisxiv]

Glytch breathed a sigh, hands on his hips. "Well, unless I've missed anybody, it's just you and I, Louis. And poker's no fun with just two, I think."
Louis peeked at Glytch, one particular thing plainly on his mind.
"No." Glytch smirked.

Pouts. “Spoilsport.”

[DinkyInky]

*A voice floats out from the shadows.
"I was keeping everything stocked until the place was empty...because Emerauld cannot ever stop cooking. And she's pathetically shy."*

*A second, faint voice rises from within the shadows.
"Well, sorry for trying to be productive, Sis!"*

*"We'll discuss this later, Sis. Time to hunt."*

*Peering out into the emptying room:"To anyone left...Catch you on the dark side...maybe."*

[AmriloJim]

Not that I expect to get the last word, but...

Finally! Finally, we have internet. I'm so drained.