And so, somewhat recovered from the last battle, Our Heroes (and Heroine -  what do you call one which is gender neutral?) are hanging about the Chancel doing various things.  Zack is exhibiting "issues" with his time in ElfLand, and now has a pet rock (which as Ry explains *is* alive and *can* die).

We start the day with holding Court.  After all, there are only three of us (Didi, Zack, Takaeo) so it should be easy Dynasty Points, right?

Case 1:  Our favorite lawyer is representing the Power of Cheese, who has managed to fall into a black hole and hence is dead from the Power's perspective but not from the universe's.  It's Rage's case, and he decides that it is not within our jurisdiction, despite Didi and Zack's thoughts that we should let the Power die because the power is dead in his/her reference frame and because we don't want Cheese to be undefended.

Case 2:  A ghost comes to complain that she is condemned to haunt a dorm "And like, it's totally unfair..."  When prodded about the details of her death, it turns out that she died when a dumbwaiter hit her.  "Like it was so totally the dumbwaiter's fault.  I mean, they put it in the hallway."  Her main complaint, however, was not the haunting per se, but that it was boring "They're all dorks, I mean totally freshman..." and so Didi ruled, after input from the others, that when her friends died they would haunt the place with her - with the stipulation that if THEY wanted to pass on to the next life, they could do so.  She was happy because "Of course they would totally want to hang with me..."

Case 3:  Ah, our dear brother CJ.  Represented, for some reason, by our favorite Lawyer.  The only successful case pleaded by him thus far, in fact.  After some academic debate, Zack decided that CJ was allowed to come back with the stipulation that he must in fact deflower Xen-Wu to prevent paradox, and if he does not, he will spend the rest of his death haunting ElfLand.

Case 4:  CJ comes back and handles the next case - one of Time's anchors committed suicide at Michelle's orders to bring us a message that our "current course" is dangerous and will end all of existance, or some such similar dire prediction.  Didi discovers that the woman's time stamp is 5 years from now, and CJ sends her back to the living.  Of course she didn't know anything about what "current course" Michelle meant, and of course we were a bit skeptical anyway, although Didi points out that she wasn't aligned with Hell or Excrucians...

After the ghost leaves, we are told that Azrael would like to speak with us.  So of course we head off to the control room, where Azrael awaits.  He tells us that there is another Excrucian who is against us (in specific...) and Ze wants us to find out Which Excrucian, and also could we Please get some of it's Essence into this little box, so Ze can study it.  Oh, and we can use the door through the Weirding Wall which is located in the lowest level of Hell to get there.  Here are some contacts I made for you for a disguise.  They will not disguise against a deep probe but should work for light probes.  Oh, and please leave one anchor in the Chancel so that it is not undefended.  We tell Azrael about our warning, and he makes a note of it, although says (pretty much what we thought too) that we don't know what side she's on so will have to wait on that.

...

SO.  We get ready.  Neil and Zack's computer as well as his apparently en-anchored Elves (who Zack promptly shoved into the basement, and Didi after we determined that there was an Elf down there arranged for at least some food and drink to be brought down to it - Didi also asks Neil if he has the time to find an Elven dictionary and figure out what "Queeble" means.  She strongly suspects it means "help!"), and one of Takaeo's anchors head to the chancel.  CJ, however, having been recently dead, no longer has anchors.  So what does he do?  "Well, it worked last time..."  He goes and gets drunk/drugged up and wakes up having anchored a woman named Denise.  She's gorgeous, but doesn't believe that what she's hearing is real.  Of course CJ, after asking nicely, commands her to go to the chancel so of course she does.  Turns out Neil knows her, and so they chat a bit, as per Didi's request that he tell her about being an anchor (CJ did a rough overall introduction but she figured it would be good to tell the girl some of the finer points).

And so, we leave on our Quest.  Down to Hell we go.

At the Gates of Hell, we request admittance, and the demon requires us to speak in rhyme when we speak to it.  Fortunately CJ and Takaeo seem to manage this ok [OOC:  I had a headache so wasn't much help] and Zack makes the poor creature cringe.  We get inside, by letting the demon have a vacation - Zack's Elven anchor comes down to take its place.

We head inside.  Didi and CJ, being Immortal and Durant, have no trouble with the fires of Hell.  Zack and Takaeo on the other hand, both manage to take a Deadly Wound before running back outside.  Perhaps not surprising for their two personalities, Zack does his "there's nothing to see here" trick and stealthily sneaks past the fire spirits.  Takaeo - well, he berserks at one of them, tearing it to itty bitty bits.  He continues to berserk, but the fire spirts stay out of reach.  And so, we head in, Didi looking for a guide.  We come to a wall, with an incomprehensible map on it.  The map spirit is there and we ask directions - and discover that both it and the map lie (also interesting point, it does NOT serve Hell).  We ask if it can help us find a guide, and that at least rings true.  But then it says it won't help us because it doesn't like us - particularly CJ (lie).  Didi looks sad and says "That's too bad, because we like you."  Eventually it convinces us to pry a brick out of it, and in the space is a piece of paper with an arrow to the left.  [CJ discovers that a date with Didi would make the spirit happy *hehe*]

We head over and find the faceless demon who had been to our court (whom we actually intended on finding in the first place).  Turns out that she got married and had kids, and so doesn't want to die any more.  Since we can't change the fact that one kid is burning in Hell, but we offer to help the other one but she doesn't seem to be too interested in that "You leave my kid alone...".  She's about to dismiss us when she says "Well it seems there's nothing you can offer me that I want.  I'm a creature of pain, and so I want nothing.  Because if I wanted something, and I got it, then I'd be happy."  And a lightbulb goes on in Zack's head.  He creates the nothing that she wants and gives it to her.

That seems to do the trick, and she looks at Zack with a look.  "How did you do that..."  She also gives him her number and says "Call me..."  CJ seems to think that the fact that she has three tongues is a good thing and completely encourages Zack "C'mon when was the last time you saw any action?"

So we head down to the lower level of Hell, to find the door.  Surprise of surprises, we find the Well which the one root of the World Ash dips into and the creature which Gnaws upon the root there.  It seems to think it's ok for us to go down the well (i.e. it will not attack us) but won't let us back up.  It also seems to think (we put in our contacts there) that the disguises were pretty good.  So, Takaeo, Zack, CJ, Xen-Wu and lastly Didi, who acquires a torch from the dragon, slide down the well, landing on a road the color of moonlight [note: not the color of the lit moon.  The color of moonlight.]

And thus, we follow said road.  To a gate.  Upon which an Excrucian sits, and asks us our name.  "Takaeo," says Takaeo.  "Gonzago," replies CJ.  It doesn't know any Takaeo, but it does know Gonzago, and with the four of us (CJ, Zack, Didi, Xen-Wu) says that's the right number, and we claim Takaeo is with us.  He lets us through after we determine we'd like to go to "the city" (his suggestion).

The moment we step through, we no longer are in a world of different colored nothing (the road, the gate, and everything else) but in a City.  Nothing starts babbling about stuff, pops some speed (Oh yes, as we prepare he says "I take the weapons, (something else), and two years worth of speed.").  We got to the library (*hehe*).  The city is basically made of things which ... were taken by the Excrucians, I presume.  So the city is different, has different transportation, all sorts of things.  The Library appears to have books on stuff that is gone as well.

Nothing finally gives in to the voices and asks them where the Excrucian we're looking for is and we are led to a house-that-is-not-a-house.  By this point, everyone is starting to wonder if Zack is playing with a full deck of cards.  Xen-Wu speaks to Didi about this and Didi agrees, and also asks if Xen-Wu would like to be anchored for some protection.  She replies that it is rather dangerous here... but we leave game there, and Didi has not in fact anchored her - yet.


----
Nothing realized that the large dragon we needed to talk to (and get
the essence of?) knew we were coming. Sanctitas anchored Xen-Wu. After
arguing, we went inside. 

Each of us (excluding Nothing) went through a duel with an oriental
gentleman (later revealed to be the Noble of Spirits) who did not
serve Excrucians, but who wielded an Excrucian blade. Each of us got
nicked, each of us got changed into the Power of our
opposites. (Corruption, Adhesives, Happy Serenity, and Fate) Some of
us had more fun with this than others. 

We got Realm Alarms, discovered that Azrael was greatly hurt, and
Nothing's domain alarm went off. We snagged Excrucian Essence, and
made a fast getaway to an exit through Chancel Bogus. There we picked
up the Nobles of Premature Ejaculation, Drugs, and Bong Water. Nothing
and Happy Serenity went with them to save the Chancel. Fate went alone
to save the Chancel. Corruption and Adhesion went to Locus Hazazel (an
ally!) and got help from Chaos and brought Games with them back to the
Chancel to save it. 

Fate's anchor Denise had turned the place into a Nazi haven,
basically, taking advantage of a corrupted mystery cult. We have two
banes as well, Politics and Weapons. To make a long story short, via
many ways (including demon hordes, stoned guards, and a very stupid
use of a powerful new gift), we eventually triumphed. Nothing went to
join the Excrucians (he liked it there), we gave the Excrucian Essence
to Azrael, and ze told us to retrieve our former domains (which had
been won by the Excrucians) and save Nothing. 

(That's not such a big task, is it?)





This Thursday . . .

In a special July 4 edition of the Game of Blood and Dust, in the marathon conclusion of part 2: Belly of the Beast, our Nobles, their anchors, and their allies find themselves . . .
Leaving a Chancel in ruins, with two banes screaming in the sky and a corrupted anchor scheming in the basement . . .
Searching through a world without purity, where no one rages, nothing is severed, nothing is left to chance, and no one dies, in a desperate quest for the Ultimate Brothel . . .
They must find a Warden that none of them likes . . .
They must rescue a brother who desires no rescue . . .
They must restore themselves to a state which some of them now detest . . .
And, perhaps most important, they must save the concept of Nothing before their Imperator withers and perishes, and in so doing become somthing none of them ever could have predicted . . .

VACUUM CLEANERS