The Adventures of Sancreek Bold, or, The Trials and Tribulations of Hugo Makewar's Editor
\tSancreek locked the door.\n\t"Damn Octosects," said The Voice.\n\t"Eye-Mantises," Sancreek said, trying to be Firm. She was, after all, Editor-in-Chief. She turned slowly.\n\tSod Kale, Society Reporter, stood quaking behind his desk. His chair was overturned. His huge glasses, which were large even by Goggle standards, still held the after-glow of images, though he had, apparently, decided to power them down under the extraordinary circumstance of a monster attack. Or was it extraordinary? Kale seemed upset, but he was not actually unconscious and/or gibbering. From what Sancreek had heard of Kale's Adventures Among The Nobs, he generally fainted under stressors. He had disgraced himself at Ascot during the bombing, and had had to be brought round with smelling salts.\n\tThe creature thudded against the office door. A terrible cry, redolent of aggrieved hunger, came from whatever the thing used for a voice-box.\n\t"Help me shift this," said Kale, attempting to tip over his desk.\n\tA green claw, encrusted with eyes, flashed into the room from the gap between the door and the floor. Sancreek just managed to get her ankles out of the way of the attack. The eyes scowled balefully at the ankles; Sancreek raised her foot high, preparing to deliver a Crashing Blow. The claw was hastily retracted.\n\tKale shuddered. "Quickly," he said.\n\tThey got the desk in front of the door.\n\t"What," said Sancreek, "do we do now?"\n\t"Drink," said Kale, removing, with a certain amount of panache, a tray with two tiny glasses and a bottle of green-gold, particulate-choked liquid, all neatly centered upon a doily, from a drawer in his old-fashioned painted metal filing cabinet. "And wait." \n\tAnother howl came from beyond the barricade.\n\t"This," said Kale, holding the bottle up to the light, "is the '65 Jane, dissolved in reconstituted Napoleonic brandy. My grandfather laid it down when he received the news of my birth. A thoughtful man."\n\tMore shrieks and howls rent the air.\n\tKale, with a flourish, dragged a side-table into the middle of the room, and set the tray fussily down on top of it. When he'd gotten that to his liking, he produced two folding chairs from behind the filing cabinet, and placed them by the table. With a sigh, he settled into one, and gestured Sancreek politely into the other. She sat, eying Kale warily. He smiled and poured some of the liquid into their glasses. Then he did an iMudra in the air, and the blinds upon the window in his office door rose.\n\t"Is something going to happen?" Asked Sancreek. "Besides our eventual bloody devourment by Eye-Mantises, that is?"\n\t"Oh yes. Yes." Kale sighed contentedly. "The man is, of course, a dangerous lunatic. But I do like to watch him do his stuff. No-one can say," he continued, "that he doesn't have flair."\n\t"Hugo Makewar?" Asked Sancreek. He was the one one thought of when one heard the phrase 'dangerous lunatic.' Though Sancreek was starting to wonder if Sod Kale was a challenger for the title.\n\t"Mmm-hmm." And Kale sipped his drink, his eyes riveted upon the square of glass.\n\tA tentacle, covered in eyes, flicked languidly over the outer glass of the window. The eyes scowled at the cozy scene within.\n\t"All I see," noted Sancreek, dispassionately, "are horrors that Should Not Be, cluttering up the hallway." If Kale could be cool and unflappable, so could she. Editors-In-Chief couldn't be out-unflapped by Society Reporters.\n\tAnd then another howl, this time an ape-like war-cry, shook through the hall. Kale smiled delightedly. "He's getting to be a bit of a prima donna about it," he said, "takes him longer to go into action every time."\n\t"I don't see-" But then Sancreek did. A man in armour, sword flashing in the florescent light, came, screaming, down upon one of the Eye-Mantises, which chittered angrily and tried to take the man's head off with a scissor-slash of its claw.\n\t"Yah! Whack! Take that, why don't ya?" Hugo Makewar's voice was strangely distorted by the helmet, but it was still unmistakable, at least to Sancreek. It was, she reflected, the fact that he actually said 'whack!' that gave the game away. Only Hugo Makewar would make his own sound effects.\n\tAnd then Hugo's blade did something to the creature, and green blood bubbled everywhere. Hugo's sword glowed with strange light. Sancreek really, really hoped that this was due to the Jane in her drink. "If he's stolen Excalibur," she thought, "I'll..." Well, she couldn't decide what she'd do. Not precisely.\n\tThe creature screamed, and vanished in a flash of light. \n\t"Oh, well, played, sir!" Kale cried, clapping in his affected way, striking his fingers against palm. "Well played!"\n\nTo Be Continued...\n\t
Congratulations!\n\tYou have died! Or, rather:\nCongratulations! \n\tYou have killed Sancreek Bold!\n\t\n\tPerhaps it was your choices. Or perhaps it was the mysterious workings of Fate.\n\tIt is, I hear, Inscrutable. \n\n\n\t\t\t\tTHE END
Sancreek fled.\n\nTo Be Continued...
Congratulations! Sancreek has reached Hugo's office. She isn't happy about this, but that is, in part, because she does not know what Perils she has avoided.\n\n\tHugo Makewar, Ace Reporter, preened himself in front of an elaborately scrolled and gilded mirror that he almost certainly stole from The Past, possibly setting off a Chain of Events that Changed Everything, or, then again, Possibly Not Doing That.\n\tHe was wearing an antiquated Formal Suit. It had Tails.\n\t"Hugo, we need to talk," Sancreek said, severely.\n\t"You can't fire me," bragged Hugo Makewar, "I am an essential asset to Atherton's Magic Vapour. And, I have reason to believe, I am also the illegitimate great-great-whatever-great-grandson of our illustrious Foundress."\n\t"Yes. You mention that regularly. In your articles. And at office parties at Atherton Manor. And I once found you explaining your genealogy to a homeless man with whom you were drinking in an alley," Sancreek said, soothingly.\n\t"My point is," said Hugo, polishing his monocle, "you can't fire me." \n\t"I didn't say anything about firing you," Bold said, carefully, "I said we need to talk. About the whole time-travelling thing."\n\tHugo Makewar squinted at his reflection in his mirror, looking dissatisfied. He pulled his cigarette case out of his pocket and opened it on the side with the face-powder (the other side had cigarettes) and the little poof-thing. He applied a smattering of powder to his manly nose.\n\t"Help me out, here," he said to Bold. "I need your honest opinion."\n\tBold was totally ready to give him her opinion. She gave him both barrels. "I think that your constant time-travelling and your willingness- nay, eagerness- to Interfere with past events may quite possibly bring about the end of the world as we know it. I think-" she said.\n\t"Bold," Hugo said, holding up a hand, "That is not the point at issue at the moment. What I want your input on is my personal appearance, not all this you-are-going-to-destroy-the-world nonsense."\n\t"Your personal appearance?" Sancreek could Hardly Believe What She Was Hearing. \n"I'm going to a party," Hugo explained, helpfully. "I've got a hot date."\n\tSancreek looked at Hugo more carefully. \nShe took in his antiquated gent's outer-wear, his topper, his brilliantined hair, his spats. Suspicion dawned in Sancreek, and rapidly became horrified certainty. "You are going to a party," she said, slowly. "In the past."\n\tHugo nodded. "And I want to look my best," he said, solemnly.\n\t"You have made an assignation with a woman from the past. You are escorting her to a party she was probably supposed to go to with someone else." Sancreek spoke slowly.\n\tHugo nodded. "Yeah, she was all set to go with the Hon. Freddie Wilberforce, but I punched him out, and that impressed her, so now she's going with me. I'll write it up for the paper, if that is what is worrying you." It wasn't. Hugo saw that it wasn't, and tried to help. "I've told her I'm from the future, if you're worried I'm leading her on," he added.\n\t"He's told her he's from the future," Sancreek's head swam. She spoke to no-one in particular. Hugo saw that she was speaking to no-one in particular, and turned back to his image in the mirror.\n\t"You told her that you are from the future. Does she believe you? I don't think," Sancreek said, "I would believe you. In fact, I still kind of don't believe that you can travel through time. No-one else can. They replicate your methods, and they just vanish and never come back. We never see them again." Sancreek's voice crackled with the emotional strain of Not Thinking about Aura Lee.\n\tFinally satisfied, apparently, with his appearance, Hugo Makewar draped himself in a shimmering cloak of black plastic and took The Device from his waistcoat pocket. He began to wind it. Sancreek knew she didn't have long. Soon, there would come the flash of light, and Hugo Makewar would be off causing trouble in the past.\n\t"Wait!" Sancreek cried. And then, she...\n\t\t\t[[Pleaded with Hugo Makewar not to go (this is unlikely to work)]]\n\t\t\t[[said, "you can't go! Have you forgotten our duel?" (this will be news to Hugo; it may, however, arrest his attention)]]\n\t\t\t[[Tackled Hugo Makewar in an attempt to wrest The Device from his grasp]]\n
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\nSancreek Bold was not having a good day. \n\tThere were various reasons for this. \n\tShe was the Editor-in-Chief of Atherton's Magic Vapour (aka AthMagVap), the Blaugh and News Vendor that PeopleMag had voted "Most Popular Thing of That Sort" in 2212. It was now 2213, and the People people were being evasive about whether or not this coup was likely to be repeated. She'd just had a very unsatisfactory iDictaBrain Convo with Idio Mapp, PeopleMag's Liasoneer. He had Refused To Commit Himself. It was Not Good.\n\tMs. Bold was also Not Thinking of Aura Lee. She spent a lot of time Not Thinking of Aura Lee, although she varied this by spending some time Not Brooding about Aura Lee, and the occasional bout of Not Sobbing Hysterically Into Her Pillow. \n\tAura Lee had once worked at AthMagVap. She and Sancreek had met while they were both up to their elbows in Editorial Labours. Aura Lee was a very attractive woman, and, well, in short... AHEM! We shall tactfully blur the details: we will simply say that Romance Happened. \n\tAt the time of Aura Lee's disappearance, the Bold-Lee Wedding ("Bold-Lee going where no man has ever gone before" headed the invitations; they'd been slightly drunk when they'd designed them) was decidedly looming on the horizon. \n\tAnd then, Aura Lee had disappeared. She'd stolen Hugo Makewar's time-travel device, and, presumably, Travelled Through Time. \n\tBut she hadn't come back.\n\tNo-one except for Hugo Makewar had ever come back from a Time-Travelling Mission.\n\tAnd this brings us to the primary blighter of Sancreek Bold's day. Hugo Makewar, Time-Travelling Reporter for AthMagVap. An asset for the Blaugh, sure, but Hard/Impossible To Manage, and Very, Very Dangerous. Sancreek was increasingly alarmed about Hugo Makewar's cavalier attitude about interacting with The Past; he didn't seem to care that he might, by punching the faces of, and fornicating freely with, the population of The Past, he might change or destroy The Present.\n\tAnd Sancreek needed to have another little talk with him.\n\tThis would blight any editor's day.\n\tBut it had to be done. She had to try to save The Universe As We Know It.\n\tSancreek sighed, did a minute of Deep Breathing, and then started the journey to Hugo Makewar's office.\n\n\t\t[[Take The Teleporter]]\n\t\t[[Take The Stairs]]\n\t
Finally satisfied, apparently, with his appearance, Hugo Makewar draped himself in a shimmering cloak of black plastic and took The Device from his waistcoat pocket. He began to wind it. Sancreek knew she didn't have long. Soon, there would come the flash of light, and Hugo Makewar would be off causing trouble in the past.\n\t"Wait!" Sancreek cried. \n\tAnd then, the air behind Hugo flickered. And there were two well-dressed Makewars in the room.\n\tMakewar Two put Makewar One in a choke-hold.\n\t"Ta," whispered Makewar Two into Makewar One's shell-like ear. Makewar One struggled feebly as Makewar Two put a finely-wrought revolver to Makewar One's head - and pulled the trigger. There was a splatter of gore, and then a flash of light. Hugo Makewar's body hadn't quite finished crumpling to the floor when it disappeared in a flash of light.\n\t"You- murdered- you?" Said Sancreek, cogently.\n\tHugo nodded encouragingly. "Yes," he said. "Very good! That is exactly what you just saw." He went to put his gun away in a cabinet that, when opened, turned out to be an armoury, and scowled with displeasure at the revolver, one of a pair, that already occupied the slot to which his hand had gone. He shrugged and tossed the revolver into an unzipped duffel bag on the cabinet floor. Something clanked as the revolver fell into the bag. He turned to Sancreek and smiled.\n\tHe took The Device from his waistcoat pocket. \n\tHe began to wind it.\n\t"Wait!" Sancreek cried.\n\tHe eyed her expectantly. \n\tAnd then, she...\n\t[[Pleaded with Hugo Makewar not to go (this is unlikely to work)]]\n\t\t\t[[said, "you can't go! Have you forgotten our duel?" (this will be news to Hugo; it may, however, arrest his attention)]]\n\t\t\t[[Tackled Hugo Makewar in an attempt to wrest The Device from his grasp]]
\tUsually, Sancreek took the stairs. It was good exercise, and Hugo Makewar's office was only two stories up from hers.\n\tBut she felt too tired to face stairs today. \n\tSancreek stepped into the crackling blue light of the teleporter and indicated that she would like to be re-constituted two floors up.\n\tShe stepped out of the Re-Constituting Pod and started down the hall towards Hugo Makewar's office.\n\tAnd her day abruptly got even worse.\n\tThere was an odd thrumming noise in the hallway, but Sancreek had long ago accepted that, when you had a floor, and Hugo Makewar was on that floor, you had inexplicable noises as a sort of natural by-product.\n\tThen she heard the chittering. \n\tIt was coming from behind her.\n\tAnd it was moving towards her, rapidly.\n\tMost Editors in this situation would have turned around to see what was making the noise, with a view to firing it, if at all possible.\n\tMost Editors would therefore have died.\n\tSancreek was, however, not most editors.\n\tShe had been Hugo Makewar's theoretical boss for over a decade.\n\tShe had, therefore, certain Instincts denied most editors of a more sedentary habit.\n\tShe saw that the door she was passing was slightly ajar, and she dove inside.\n\tAnd so the Creature's killing blow missed her almost completely, merely grazing her shoulder.\n\tShe slammed the door in the thing's face. As she did so, she was glad that she only got a glimpse of it. Or, rather, she was glad in a kind of a way. It was Something. It was Not Quite As Bad As It Could Have Been.\n\tOf course, what she had seen would probably give her nightmares for the rest of her life. \n\tShe did not care much for Praying Mantises.\n\tOr for things with tentacles.\n\tOr for things absolutely covered in eyes.\n\tAnd the thing had been very big. While not absolutely opposed to big things (Sancreek was completely willing, for example, to accept a mountain as a friend and a brother), she was opposed to big things shaped like much smaller things. Like 5-foot Eye-Mantises.\n\tIt was, she noticed, scrabbling at the other side of the door now, though with what limb she did not like to think.\n\t"Lock it," a voice said from behind Sancreek.\n\t\t\t\t[[Turn Around To See Who Is Speaking]]\n\t\t\t\t[[Lock The Door Immediately]]
Sancreek's feeble pleadings fell on deaf ears... and then on no ears at all... as Hugo Makewar vanished in a flash of light.\n\tThe rest of Sancreek Bold's day, though it had its ups and downs, was not sufficiently action-packed to merit further recording.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTHE END
[img[M Crepusky.jpg]]\nSancreek waited politely to hear what this forest-dwelling vagrant had to say to her.\n\t"My name," said the woman, "is Madame Crepusky. I am a Spiritualistic medium. The past and the future, both lie before me as open books. Only..." The woman trailed off, looking confused. "Only I didn't expect you. I know you'd be here, and yet I didn't expect you. Odd." And the woman stared at Sancreek with a strange intensity.\n\t"That is odd," said Sancreek, and as she spoke, she realized, with a thrill of fear, that she was Interacting With The Past. She must be careful. In fact, careful probably wasn't good enough. She must- she must- well, ultimately, she must not be here. At all. And she was. Sancreek thought of ripples spreading over the still surface of a pond- and shivered. \n\tIt was especially worrying, Sancreek thought, that this woman, the first native of The Past that she'd interacted with, talked of the past and the future within the first minute, and seemed to be mixed up about both of them. What have I done? Thought Sancreek. Or, rather, what has Hugo Makewar been doing? \n\t"Yes. Odd." Madame Crepusky brooded on this for a time, and then seemed to shake it off. "Come!" She said. "You are expected." She smiled, in a way that Sancreek found deeply unsettling. "Probably." And, without another word, the woman turned her back on Sancreek and walked back towards the clump of trees from which she had emerged.\n\tSancreek...\n\t\t[[Decides to flee, now, before it is Too Late and she is like eaten or something]]\n\t\t[[Follows Madame Crepusky]]
Sancreek followed Madame Crepusky through the hanging branches. Eventually, they reached a camp in a clearing, where a few campfires already burned, and men, women, and children milled around in cheerful confusion. \n\tMadame Crepusky led Sancreek up to a brightly-colored wagon and knocked on the door. The door creaked open. Madame Crepusky wandered off through the crowd. Sancreek, rather reluctantly, went up the stairs and peered inside. In the darkness of the interior, she could but dimly discern a human form, lying upon a tumbled pile of rugs and things. \n\tThe figure Beckoned.\n\t"Come to me," said A Voice.\n\tSancreek's heart beat faster.
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3DQEBAQUABIIBACbuFURnmAI+9GlpTFey6DlDL2wowhGcfhHtgBhaDf87UHgrG3UBW5E3utsYpnGFNhtdXvegM/p0pnaV3js67rMEhrzcN2xcbpQ7FxXo+4ArQOwSyD5ZSLEX5Hm0xf6QIL0Uwz6H6iVYh/euRJRmFZZQniWj3CoCih7zRhUWSdQMInxPVhn1ptOhYPcp29w4FAE8IoFQ4nduhkagkLKw9Pt7X4nDdJQkPdQRMLfW/oE8Aj916COdwtfxliFDOgD2UXXsTALGPI0uOls3C52Ww7N2obVQEtbxl8WPrWxQzmTmJGKUK2MCsr6bbYTgEhoB+2ktlgW7AJ9NZ4wk3TvvqGOhggILMIICBwYJKoZIhvcNAQkGMYIB+DCCAfQCAQEwcjBeMQswCQYDVQQGEwJVUzEdMBsGA1UEChMUU3ltYW50ZWMgQ29ycG9yYXRpb24xMDAuBgNVBAMTJ1N5bWFudGVjIFRpbWUgU3RhbXBpbmcgU2VydmljZXMgQ0EgLSBHMgIQDs/0OMj+vzVuBNhqmBsaUDAJBgUrDgMCGgUAoF0wGAYJKoZIhvcNAQkDMQsGCSqGSIb3DQEHATAcBgkqhkiG9w0BCQUxDxcNMTQwMzA3MDQ1MzExWjAjBgkqhkiG9w0BCQQxFgQUdppMK8jC5l93YxqjHPP6wedGunMwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQAEggEAfSFEbMPlYDDv+0WOOZRypxpGHJ8Q+h8WX+k130Y4+l+PKLpLTosoex8TQR60xLW3sNiwINOtVkGMgtHXu5DH/e9D1AsYDbL2FGoK3rCPo9F2l6HFMzScHOu05lOiLyYtDDPaY4Ymlm4JZfLzBYzRJ1uzpgT98PlFbyJPxt3LtV4F3H430bvJdOYz73dDfxQ2iB/LYKy+mVxGSvk6QZKJkhd5spYWnaGgb1T8+LPUS3LMw+uuKGkvgWpeGCBMRTWI8SsYh3YZPfyh5V5c/9maG0TMcHXRPLI+rpOpsWm5vZe3Fc0G6h6VIKy93tqQLpQ8PLaoHe2HlWjW1B77zUh1GwAAAQAEAgABAQEIRXJhc211cwABAQEo+BAA+BsB+BwC+BwD+B0E+0MMA5/7khwGEvnABfdYD/eJEaocGwYSAAMBAXN6gENvcHlyaWdodCAoYykgUGF1bCBMbG95ZC4gQWxsIFJpZ2h0cyBSZXNlcnZlZC4gRGlzdHJpYnV0ZWQgdW5kZXIgbm9uLWV4Y2x1c2l2ZSBsaWNlbnNlIGJ5IDEyOGJpdCBUZWNobm9sb2dpZXMgTExDLkVyYXNtdXNOb3JtYWwAAAEAAQYAaAAACQQApgAADzEAfAAAQh0AeQAAQQAACAAAaQAAdwAAdAAAYgAAZwAAcwAAaQIAAQAlACcARgBIAKkA7QElAi8CMQIzAjUCjgK2AsECzALVAukC6wMWA0kDiQP5BEkEhQTLBTwFdgWHBZkFvAXNBe8GRQbOB6kIUwhxCN8JGQlCCYAKNQpTCqoLHAtbC9sMIgxSDNkNQQ3ADigOgQ8GDzkPvRByEN4RVhFYEW0RbxGTEaERshHGEgMSHBJHEn8SuxMLEygTURN+E9QT4hQaFCgUKhRyFLsU6BUSFUUVnxXGFiUWahasFzcXORdMF04XhRedF58XoRejF6UX5BhpGNcZO/cji7P4s7MBs7P4GrMD+JIW+QP8av0DB7P42xX4Gvyz/BoGDqUO+zuL9wb5QneXCgNGCrX48hWyrJQKT/sgd08f/OymCikKYYvjSXbGp92nb9yKdxITdJ/HFckGE5RzTwWtBhN0o8cF2wZzUAWtBqPGuQqs3bkKE4igwAVpBhOUdlYFOwagvwVpBnZXBU0Gf28FyQZqOQVNBhN092XdFWo5BTsGrN0FDpQl9wF1cAp29weKCov3DRNY9058Fa8GcgrvqHygY5Jnjhmn6wVPBhOobi0FR4j7DWlUGhOkZwqbZ7B7vIYZby8FyQYO+CJ8cAr3UHAKigr3DfchYvch9w33IRP7+NsnCvwA+HZkCh8T/SYK+zb9UhX3Fgb4u/llBfsWBg4cBI+jCol2+dOf90igEp/3HPdL9yDV9yH5cPcUE3/353cVikOI+zP3qooI9xj3CKO36B8Tv2vX2GnaG/fQv/dE927jdN9e2h9e2k/RQMdAxzS7Ka4IriklnSEb/Gn7j/sr+5kj1PsZ9xh1H7GpBUqWYfXTGvfu9+7g94Dy6Xhk4B7gZNNax07HTrlIrEAIrECcQkMa+1FP+1H7SEZRsKxSHvPI1OO09wf7FWUYcERbSUdXQsNI3lL3CQhs33He1hr3F8fT8Ou1ZiHIHpMKO6c6G/tH+w/7APsUYJRdmlwf+w9j+wdR+yka9yAW67nFzrQe2Ps59wIk9wlMPl4qbvsBjAj7CXr3Is4fDkUKIQojCvsr+Nd294Z3AaT4/xWSgKqQsJwIYJCVbpgbl5WntJAfsnqqhJKWkJZ3o2emsKajpISWhJZrhmN4CLaHgKp+G36Aa16HH2OcbJKEgIaAoHOscmtzdnOSgggOKJt29wyn9wx3AfchpwP3IfebFfsM+w1v9w37DKf3DPcLp/sL9wwHDvt3S3bgSQqzgRgOKPdepwGf916dCg77d4upCgNGCg52oXb5tXcBn4wVyQb3sPm1BU0GDjMKIYv3josKA/dw9z4Vsq2UCkSG+wt8RW2KdxioqnVkH2QHZHN1Zx55CuQHDrGgdveBoAGg9yH3B/cnA/c7mgofUPuUoiwadwf3HZf3Goj3GIIIm7v7qnagxveab+KGCof7Xnb3z/cloHYS93D3J/sX9xf7F/cnE8j3EpoKYfskikNoH/cBggWTn5OLkxsT0EsKU5szjx4TpNSW4pe+hgqqowqMdvd4oPeOdxL3bfcgE7j4NoUVd452jHeMCPeP+yAHQkNIMlL7AYxwGMiczZPQjAj7KAdkaXZwHhN4dweqwZGYtx8TuHy3w4arG58HcmifrB/3LAfIiAX7rKIVl7yiurewCPsUB3CKcohwiggOf/tedvfP9xiLpRL3cPcnE9D3FcsVk5+Ti5MbSwpSnzRscYqKch6fuJi7k7oIhp2Jrower4y3jb+OCBOwk58whCqJKJQZg0xyUGhU9wGCGA6vfHAK9713AYcK9xD3HgP3cfeWFXd5iYZ7H5v2u/cG3N5dhxj7ASv7CPtJePs+CIqDioSDGkoKRwoedgp2+052AbP3jhWGfoOFhH4IoPcJrX2wG4eIiIeKhjD7z4FuU0mugRj3EN7Z9wHh950IigaJBnyKf4d/jjqb+w6FOIMIjQYOr3yBCp/3b5+KCjPjM/Ll7zr3HhPq92/4hBU6Sjk4UKp4uoQfZX5sdHJsCBPxcmx/a2gaSgpzCq99om+WHnCWaJBgjAgT8sCosM7IGtxJjDoej/uXFRPxLwqJ94MVE+ajoDVQUnZ/c3J33MbGn5qkHw6vmQr3f2wK9w2tCvdM+3kV9zP3Gdr3GYz3GQh0CjUKnJyNj5sed0hYPDIsCPcE+HsVraQuTExxJAoO+3eL9wb3P6kKA0YK97EEfwr7d0t24PcG9z9JCgi/+G4Vfwr7dcp290J3AcT3FBX0zQWhB/sfSQWKB4iNBWAH9yBJBaEHDin3Fqe3pwGg916dCoonnQoO+3XLdvdCdwGhzBV1B/cgzQW2B4iJBYwH+x/NBXUH9EkFDvdLi/cG+S+fAfdP9yDxrQr3sTsKte4VpJahoqAeoqCknaWaCNq7w9H3Dxr3J/sP2ftHOD1vPjQevFEF9ci1sOsb8sVB+xv7A2I9QG4fQm9WTEMaRKYK+IJ/ofd8cAr3nKEBoPcx0/ch9xD3I/X3CQP5Jvg9FVgKpwqFBjUKv7Kjlrof9zNZ9xnL9yQa93X7K/ch+5D7kPthOvva+7D3YfsO95D3B/OvytseKaEFTlZEZT4b+zr7Gvc/92n3afca90D3Ovc59w37JvtpX4UrY4gfZ4dzpbIa+2H3MBUvCg74+ft3dvqaowGf9xgD95SOFZinjAqkV9R+6l6PoBhnpH6qk88IjAac9wuRruuj3Mz3EH4ZrPuCBWSQdpEKjncFmK9wgJMfsFfdcvZfiaAYW6d2q3/fJPltGLKGn8GmG4ieBaf7DPsBnyQbVE+FgEofS4BPeFRvVG9eZWZaCGZbeU1AGvsN9zD7Gvc4cx6ARwVkhHCRCve5+PgVkLKyrKiWjp8YaH9QcVtsXohTfGuAiHcYp5apgIZmVPwNGCCoMur3KRr3i/dnw/dx6LJPLJgevvwLJJ4xWSh4GQ75cfuQoPgysJKm+KKnEp/3JfdX9yH4JfcIZPchE/34ifdoFZOss5K/G/dL429cth+2XodMRxpoi/tA+x0esgr7IYoVKAp3B4UK0IrBlbCgsZ+nopymnKaVpY6kCI6kjZuUGsN5u2a0Hme0S6swoQgT/tKw1O/jGveY+1jx+2+QHoIK9yH4R00K91j3Ffcc9+D3H/cdLfuJQYIuOl0flFZZnDwbUmOEhmsfDvfoowr6hZ8Bn60K+UT7IBVbemliRhuPCh9gCqAKDvlx+5Cg+Ciw+M2fAZ/3JfdX9yH4cq0K+In49E0K91n3C/ck99z3vdH72Pth+zWL+9T7HR+yCvcMB5yPnZeihpOKpJWHomyKc4drgwj7Xft8FYUK96mM99H3Tfek+3j3qfuxiIqKix+CCi8HKAoO6/uOonTn+j6fEtv3IROw93H3ehWRBl0KQQp3Cgj7I/dF912eCp6coKYbE3CfBxOwU/sSeld7H64KDsmrCgHbrQr3cfllFUEKmK2MCrj7ActQ8F8IoAdfp3qr3xr3z5EHXQoO+AijCnb3ZPnKn4oK+KH3IBN4+gr7ehVlCroHx/sgn08eQApzBxO4WFhrSI8KHmAKH5wGjwa345KYsB9qCg74FZkK+Am6+PafjHcS+M73IRPo+M6BFSgKdweYrYwKqFfbclAK+bkHOQpoCvxsBzCAaEsqiHKKc5F0krj4rhgT2LKOrqGmG42fBWtShnxeHxPommBWj2wbiZsKqXdkiB9h/IMFjn9+jH4bZlZxUJsflJiZkpyNCI2dmoyYG5KSi4qSH4Q0BWSIcZEKincFmKmMCqlX1X7tXo2gGGCnfq2S35X3BhiGo6SFpBvws9ug3x/7fgcOIqsKincS2/chE9D3cflkFTkKE7BoCv0TYgr5uQcO9+ijCvqEoBL3/fch3/chF/fC+Z8Vpqp1Zowf+7kH+6P3dWP7Fxr7H0RA+3RGabS7eh77K8MFRZvDK/dbG/eF91fA90of9zH7daf3lRr3uQc5ChPwawoO9/H7enb6r3egdxLb9yL3n/cHE9jb3RVCCuAa91gHp4Cuia+O9w/7bk4K+0733Bjcs9LVlOyT9Jz3ZvWWiaAY+ywvMvtcSmZCV1Qf+0b3zwXiBxO4sqyhKwoT2FMKqndkjB/3bvxtFXKCcYdykAj3IwcORvuOonTn+j+fincS2/chE6j47ft3Fa4K+RMHWAoTmEQKdwoI+yP3RfddngqenKCmGxNonwcTqFP7EnpXex8O+HD7eHYB2/ci+EutCvdy+NMV0DjM+327+0aeSJScnsbA9zS/9zz09yUI/NAHKAp3B5KVhoGXH5eBk4OOhqpX13LySAr5uQeyrZQKYJBhfWRqZGtmYmlYallsVW9QcFFzVndceE+Eh3zKV/d7+y334PtbP7EK/N8HQgrfGviLBw73xJkK+pmgAdv3IvefrQr5R/m0FT0KaAr85wf7APeI+xv4o/t1K7EK/RMHQgrfGviaB/cZ+12p/Fz3xvsXNgr5uQeyrZQKDvf/owr6BZ/2oAGzCgOf93oVuAr3W/D3P/da+HT7CPddcQr34/e1Mgr7v/sBXUZSCvkH+3V2+DS++MKilwqwCviE+OsuCoSMZgj8aoQK9wVN8JwK9zIHt2rQesOKCPc4iPdN9xD3Mhr3K0viNL4eYKVdnFmTCJRZXY9hG/uhiPu9P/ucGiP3B/sS9xG2CvsG3XjLxRr3WfcE9y334Pcw9x47+5H7HvsYN/sSiB5eik2XZqMI9+sHDvgtowqJdvocn/agErMKE376Wft7FTWOU+wj0wigwJXHzBr4j/sI90JxChO+uAru1rTOvB4Tfkze81z0G/z2+ZcyClyIY4ZoH5tgWZVPG3cHp8dwgJYfl3yXe5p+CBO++xBoQnRcG1IK+bSZCvqZogGf9yWwCviJ+Pg0CvwbhAr3A03ynArQB6iAroS2iLaIsouwkPcN+2tOCvtL99gYup+zp6yuCKyum7a8Gve1+3rL+04e+6eI+8g2+5waI/cNI/cQtgr7B955ycYa91n3Efcg9+D3IfcgNvuM+077llr7JLAe+AAHDvg/owr6hZ8Bwfch+HL3IAP3+PmgFeu1ZiHIH5MKPac4G/tH+w89+ycf/Cr4//c8+/YaR3f7JPsJMT6aqkweTKpcwm3b+ya5GPt23fd2VvdkG/eqivc20h/4Afz++3D4Txr3G8XV8h4O+AuZCviwovh7dwGHCvd79yH3N8wD9+AWKgr5uQeyrJWyhh67hLaDXBpygHhwih6kcwWsuKmyH+OI+0SV+wNaCvtlBygKx/e5FfsQIMT3K/cfz+/3AJMftAr3w5kK+pmhincSo/ciNOI09yL3n/chE7L4wvmgFZhfVZFsGxPKogqqdWaMH/0SB/sRivth+xKeHk6UXKhovQhovXrL2BoTxvcrun2T954eivegBTkKE6pTCqp3ZIwf+4kHE7L7s1SX+ysaMcr7OfegYx6Iop6Jnhv3T6X3Megf+WQHOQoO+HarCox3EhPA9475ZBVXCveE/RMFqAp0b4Nyhx6Rd+L7Hr1K9yxcVQoToFQK+134qwUO+a6ZCvqXoox3Evir9xT7Afc1E9D3MPmeFWYK95D8xwWoCnVYenAeknfr+znvZfcJYGMKnrycu564vvscGKgKdH1/bh6Sd9v7PNtk9wpgVQoTsFQKO/dotPC28Lf3DBmJChPIa2OEfVofVgo6+1ND91QFVwr3HvwEXiFvCvtd+HYFTwoO9/j7eHb6rXegdxIToPiEghVkn3+RCpV3BZm6cICWH8NX5nL3EF+BoBhumXKcd594n3aqdrX7iPhsGPcx9+AFsp63oaYblJ8FbmSDfFofmmRjkGwbgpsKoHdkeh/7Avt6+wX3fAWyeKKgphuBnwVrVYZ8Zx8TwJpXU49sG5WbCrV3ZJ8f90v7+/sa+8KCd3p8dIAZgHR3hnkbl3jk+wDGjeR2GXyfbKVhsrLeGfb3dfcX+5IFDvjEmQr6nZ+KdxL4MPchE9D4MNwVOgr3+Qf3r/hXBbKjuqCmG5ifBWtdgnxWHxOwmmhhk2wbf5sKm3dkdh/7cvvx+3T38AWwdpuhpht/nwVsWIV+aB+aVFGQaxuYmwq6dmSjH/et/FMF+1YHDve+owr6hKCMdxIToPkQ+3kV+2OX+6/J9wj3gffW+RMYsp63oJYKa1KHfFcfE8CbaCONaBv7GgZBOwWmBrK4sJ+nG8gGqdJ0Z3kf+9b9EwVkeGiRCoF3poSIepp7GfsA588l+HYbyga+t6eglgpT+xp5WGAfh4kFDiEKdp92+bV3AffEihXJBvuw+bUFTQYOIwpD+Up29xV3Afc6+ZUV9wQrBbAG+wT3EwWKBo2NBUMG+wReCg64VKwBn1QV+DCs/DAGDvuU+UqYCgHn+bQVQwbVXgoO8H1sCvcQ9yMDWwriB1gKpwqHOArqfKH3ercK9xD3HgP3rPeWFZUKH/hqB8f7IJ9PHkAK/RIHL+OH9wRHCh6fCqcuTExwgGhrbdTYyqacrh8ORHxsCgP3c/eBFZWVg3uUH5AKNQqNCiUKDvB9cAr4np+Kd4oK9xL3IRPsWwr5EwdYChPcUwqsdmQf/GoHkIJpj3QbdgpkfGwK7uMD90LWFYKnh6amGsqonKyok1drZ250UngeujEVjQp7fJ+mgB/WmOfEwBq/aaguNQoeDm6L9453n/iloKwKE3Db93oV+yoHKAoTsHkKE3D3KcifTvhVB8qmnK6VlYN7lB6QCvsEMzUoH/wBT3cHDvD7enb3gYEKn4x3igr3EfciE+z3YveWFSODOTk1GkoKo6CPkp8e+zxRCvcZ0MD3Gx/3fQeyrJ8rChPcpwqFBhPshoeKhhsT3ImMBRPsnTgK9y6Ln/dttwq7CgM+CvhqB8f7IJ9PHkAK/RKSCg4gi5/3nfcGiwoD96yfFWUK5QfH+yCfTx5ACjCSCn63wISqGyX4IxV/Cvs7mQr4q/cGiwoDn/uOFfcZzr73HB/3fgfH+yCfTx5ACvvpBygK9zL5ChV/CvdepAr4058VZ2ShsnIfUOWGlICUgJMZjIwFo7PHkpIbnwdo+w6OdV8fP2UF+KNfCmoKZ3Ohsh+aB9e4s04FZKSCkQqYeAWrwJCarB9+wsOEqht9nwUOIKQK9yyfFVkK+RJfCg74NI4KuwoT3C0K8AfAjqabqxt8Ch+fB2twm6of8gfSMJz7A3RHiHtzHppmWI9QG5UKH4wHE7xcCvcujgoT2D4KjAcTuFwKMwrrmQr3f34K2/cg9xH3HgP3rfeWFWJjfndrH3SUcZJujwiPbnSNeXsK++lRCvcZzr73HB+8B4qeoIugG/cD5uvk4jCM+wMfdgrt+3p294BsCvcQ9yAD93H3lmQKoaCPkqAfTwf7HMxY9xsenqoK9+kHsqyUCnJkh4NmH55mUIxIG58Kpy5MH4AHVohwgWsbJQoOhqB2oXb3gKB2r6wKE6gxCqCcgnmWHr6sBZJrbpNiG5UKH4wHE1hDChOoeAoOlHxwCooKi/cNE+D3/fd1FaxyOItnG0j7FmdTHxPQZwoFUqPahukbcgoOIYv3jnef+KZ3rAoTcNv3ehX7KgcTsDj3LI67Hp+qChNw9ynIn074pgf7IE8F/GpPdwcO90GDoPeBdwHb9yL3HvcgA/fGgxW2spyWsx98t8OGqxufhgdzbKWmH5IH5Aeyo6GvHp4HX/swjUAfOAdidGRkS3/ny7OnoKosCphfVZFsewozB0T3AXn3Ax4O91+gdvePdwH4fPc/FbKgt6BhCmDYBcdr+y6fUW4KlJaDCmd+oaUK+FiRdveed6B3EhPA+XX3PxWyoLegTAqhd2p8H70KYNgFyGv7LZ5QG5Z3BZ+qf3SiH4WKhYiFHr0KYNgFE6DHavssn1BuCpaUgwpsfZyolh+2WOx79xR8laAYZ4OvpQr3F4uf92afAZ8WxfcChsncH03c9wKQxRt4nwVnX6GyZh9gubS3Ba8KWPsIfmBJH7VJ+wyZWBuemwq3d2SvH7RfYF0FoQr3X/t2dvhynwH3nPc/Fcdr+y6fURuWmwq2dmSiH/cI+1Q8+yYFZHZnkQqBeAX3Geu89x/WH/cR93oFs6K2n2EKBQ73C4ufd9zj3HefEhNgnxbb9yOLkpofhJqci5obyfcUjNuWH/shBhOQZGp1cHx5jJCAHoZ+c4p0G6SUopefm6eimp2mqLS3GK8KgQZD+wmLhXUfkHxyjHgbE6BO+xOKO34f9yEGE1CwqaCkjh6goIqGlh+QoLOMphtqgmyAcntyeGpof35gXRgToKEKIQr7im0Kn/cNA5+MFfcN+bL7DQYOIwqS+PXBysABrvk3FbSbpZWqxrf7CckbqcWOvqsfjLkFXWB3i2VgZvcI+wIbXGtvX4gfioyaagUO9oupCqb3IKb3IBRwRgr3OxYgCvc7Fn8KRQpFCikKKQr7CPd5dve8dwH3JfiMFWhufW5yH3Nuf2hiGmKXaKNuHm6kqH2uG66omaikH6Sol660GrR/rnKoHqhybploGw73ffuOovqDnwH3p/d6FZEGp6d3Y5sfoQaOp4yjf5+inpOhk6YIdgZjaGV3bxuHBuj4OAWxk6/TvBvHBqehd2OcH6YGfNsF+xoGLPsHZTB2H/sh/OIFZIJtkQqHd6iEj3ucehn7I/cj902eCqqhoKYbkJ8FUvsTeVhtH/tllvsuysP3fwgO9/OjCvf6qbGp+L2fAe6tCqv3WRXPBo1lBUsGeW0F4gb7y7j3mkf3fRugClt6aWJGG/t4+yXd96huH/c+BpmpBftOBoqXipiYGvdkBp2pBft3jgb3DJn3Ha72HvcArsPZ4ht6CjunOogKH4haBw74Qvt9dvi0ovhXr2urigr3e/ch3fchE+75iPlgFTkKoERAjkdaCi5iCvlFB6ihmqKfnXtrih5pCpKVhoGXH5iBkoOOhrr7AcdQ8kgK/AD4JhX7ECDE9ysfE973H8/v9wCTHrQKi4v3kJL4sosG+4+LB6AK9yELoI3mDAz3qRT4KxWqEwCeAgABAA0AQwBHAHwAgQCLAJUAnACiALgAxADIAM0A2QDzAPwBBQEcAVwBaQFwAXgBggGJAY4BlAGbAaABpgGtAboBwAHHAeUB/QIMAhUCHwIkAikCLQJNAlMCfAKPApoCwALVAtkC3wMDAwwDFQMlAzkDPgNEA0wDbwOFA44DsAO2A8QD0wPdA+ED8gP2A/wECwQnBDAENQQ8BEUESgRRBGgEdgR6BJIEqgSwBLYEugS9BMQEywTSBNsE3wToBO4E8gT1BPgE/AUPBSIFLQU7BUsFTwVZBWMFZwVsBXEFgQWNBZ0FrQWxBbYFvAXABcYFzAXRBdYF2gXoBewF+QYBBgkGDgYaBiMGJwYrBjQGPQZGBk0GVAZZBl0GYwZoBmwGdgaABooGjgaYBqEGqQaxBroGwQbKBtMG1wbcBuEG5jAKssSazaqIjWQfC20Kn/cYA/dD+Z8VJvsVVfsR+xMa+wy7+w/z+xse4HgFRPcjafcb9xca9xyw9xXP9xAeOXcFDhUgCgttCvcR9xgD8aAV8PcVwfcR9xMa9wxb9w8j9xseNp4F0vsjrfsb+xca+xxm+xVH+xAe3Z8FDoBqJQoLaW/iysqonKwfCzwKpC5MTHEkCgv3lmQKJgoLZHN1Zx4L+0z5NfcTIpgKEhOAPwoTYPcW9xSACpitjAq4+wHLUFAKC6YsCgt1Cj0KCzEKfAp1Cmtwm6ofCxWyrbGmmHUKa3tTbF9nX4NVd2x8CKIKmKoLracuTExuJAoLZFBtWGyQibIL9yygFXy3wYW8Cmpynq6IH94HyqacrgsVgrqEsasalqamkKcbp56AdJYflnSRcW4aY4Jhf2wezrEFj5iNmZsa2W7hKm9wiYdxHvOTypSnG/cos/vA+/8Lr3xsCvcNrQr3cScKDi4KhoxkCAv7AzEzMkoKCwigB1+neqvfGgsVQwabXgoLdhUvCg6yraArCgsoCncHKgoL9wYiCgtHCh+fCgtrU4Z8Xx8LLQryB9IwnPsDlQoeC+f5tDcKC6IKrHZkHwuyrJ+mHscGp6Z3Y6UfpgZp2wX7GgZrU4d8Xx9ECgsoCncHmalwgJMfr1fUf/FdCKAHX6d6rQued49yHl5CdGZ7CjJRCgtTCqx2ZB9pCgv7u/lKmAoBPwoO9wo7CgtzCnQKC182CgupCgP1NhWwvJvEjMcIqoiNZDAKl5mMj5oeg298cHtyCy/lh/cDC6emYl5B+wU1Q2gfrn2bkqOXrJwZrJysnqygrKCooqSiCKSimKCfGtILlgprUoZ8Vx+aZliQaxuAdgWkCzQK+98HKCv3EPMLGGSjfZEKl3cFmL1wgJYfx1fncvcTX36gGG6Zcpx2n3efdapztQuIkoqTkhqkoJigHoSfBWtThnxmHwvwSAoLBygKeAcL+xFCz+diH3a4fr2EwAiFwYi9uhr3N7P3G9vSHox9jXyOewgOml9Vj2wbogoLVgr7XfyibwoLYwr3oPlkBYkKa2OEfVofC5pkc5JrG4R3BaKefnKEioOIhB8LTwpmCguyrKArCgtqCmdzobIfCxtjXYmGVx9YhlqAXHhceGRva2YIa2Z7WEoa+0X3WVX3Qx4L93H3l2QKv7KjlroffLfAhasboKoKC0MKq8OQmrcfDqesd2OkH6EGh6eHo3qfnp6OoYymCHYGY3Brd28bh/hrBgv7EwWwBgsHx/sgn08eQAr9E5IKC3oKPac4iAr8I/e2OveWC0wKn3dqfh+9CgsHOgoLGYSgBWylZ8y5GqePq5esHgsVNQoLZ3Ohsh8LmFpTkWwbkpsKsnVmmx8LNPeayFAaeYh6hnsefIZ8g3QbZoSmunwf+ydpC2sKpqp1ZowfC30KdwcLfrfAhLwKC5hfVZFsG3cHC34KhwoLoXb5sncBCxuWmwq4dmSgH74wBWSifpEKlXgFvMYLBXCAfnmCG4OCl6KCHwuBCqAL+1JeJHH7DHsePHVMXlxHCFxIcyr7ERoLyNquw6gft+L7plnEGrinoaeil3pzlB4L9wPm6+QL4jCM+wMLHp8HC404CqqEk3ugegurw5Catx8LeAd4ClkKC+rAYSa+H5MKCxtACgvLly9LN/OO2gv9EwcoCgtwCgELIAoONwoOofd6C/unkPvILvucGvsx9yP7CPdZHguzH56GpIeohgiHqKWJoRuWnwULBygKdwd3CvcHLgt3Cgj7I/dF9z1G9xwbCxrfOpP7DVpWdm5oHt1/BQ6f9yELG/t/+xn7jfvVC7Kbsp+mG5KfBQsShwoLAdv3IAtwgJAfC7uvnq+WH1iPBWuCg4ZyGwuLn/dtoHavrAq7Cgv7kPsv8ff594TC98n3QIwLuqmGkYCPeI0ZjXl9jIAbC3VnGwtRCngKC7zFBdg0C6C6Cgt2d4iFeAumG5WfBQsBn/cgC3b3E3cL+3l2C/dYFa6QppGiG6emYl4LdwWmC2sInwf7C69G3fc/GgsV96Cn+6AGC0j3axvKBr4LjXYVrQv3W8Pr0Zsf+ytTBQtkZl+RCnh3BQ53B6YL+46gC4uf+Z93iwoDC7KgH7rlBYwGDgewpLWfyH8IDpZecZ5RGwuPgY2ChBoL9waXCgsHZQoLmQr6mp8LEtv3IAv3IQML+2iW+zzK938aC7Kvs5+mG56fBQv3V/ch+Cb3CAMLCLUKC/tnlvsWzvd/GguHCvfjv9v3DgumjqZ9jGYIDqIKqndkjB8Lfh6jj4WakB8LoPixd4sKC/u090D7VPeWCwXFBpenBVEGC6Z1Cgv3HvcQC6obnwcLiIVjPgsA);\n}
Sancreek turned and fled.\nShe didn't flee far before she found herself among the brightly-colored caravens of a camp, of the sort she had occasionally encountered in Interactive Fully Immersive iDictaGames (IFIis) but had never expected to actually encounter in actual actuality. Romans? No, that wasn't quite right. Sancreek couldn't remember.\nAnd there was Madame Crepusky, smiling mysteriously at Sancreek.\n"It is Fate," said Madame Crepusky. \nSancreek decided that it was too much of a bother to do more running. "Yes," she said, "it seems like it is."\n"Follow me," said Madame Crepusky.\nMadame Crepusky led Sancreek up to a brightly-colored wagon and knocked on the door. The door creaked open. Madame Crepusky wandered off through the crowd. Sancreek, rather reluctantly, went up the stairs and peered inside. In the darkness of the interior, she could but dimly discern a human form, lying upon a tumbled pile of rugs and things. \n\tThe figure Beckoned.\n\t"Come to me," said A Voice.\n\tSancreek's heart beat faster.\n\nTO BE CONTINUED
Melanie Atherton Allen
"Yes," said Hugo, returning The Device to his pocket, "I had." \n\tSancreek felt a certain relief as she watched The Device disappearing. This relief was tinged with a certain new anxiety, as she had just committed herself to a duel against Hugo Makewar, a dangerous lunatic, but, on balance, it seemed the lesser of two evils. She smiled. "I rather thought you had."\n\t"Tell me," Hugo asked, "what was the cause?"\n\t"Oh, I grievously insulted you," said Sancreek.\n\t"Really?" Hugo looked surprised, yet intrigued. "Huh. So I challenged you, eh?"\n\t"Yes. Making it my choice of weapon."\n\t"Madame, my chivalry would grant you that privilege in any event," said Hugo, easily falling into the new, shiny role she had presented him with. "What weapon do you select? I have several available." And he opened a wall-cabinet with a flourish, revealing a well-stocked armoury. Swords of all descriptions, a musket, a spear, a cross-bow, a beautifully-made pair of revolvers... and, in an unzipped duffel-bag under the weapon-rack, what looked like a full suit of armour.\n\t"A battle of wits, my dear Hugo," said Sancreek.\n\tHe looked at his weaponry with longing. "That sounds boring. What was the forfeit?"\n\t"Time-Travel. You were going to give up Time-Travel if I won. And- and- if you won..." it would have to be something commensurate. And, for the chance at no more Time-Travel, and thus no more risking Sancreek's very existence and the destruction of the Universe, Sancreek would risk much. "If you won," she said, slowly, "complete freedom of action, with respect to your column. No more editorial meddling, to use your own ungentlemanly term." She knew she'd win, though. Because Hugo Makewar was, in many ways, kind of an idiot. One thing that he was especially an idiot about was chess. And Sancreek was Grandmaster on the AthMagVap Chess Board. "Chess."\n\t"Fine."\n\t"Goggle-Chess."\n\t"Oh, come on!" Hugo whined. Hugo had a fetish for Reality.\n\tSancreek was Firm. "Get your Goggles on," she said.\n\tHe did it. Not with a Good Grace, but he did it. They sat down at a folding table and got down to it.\n\t"You may have white, if you like," said Sancreek, with an appearance of generousity. \n\t"Hey, thanks!" Said Hugo, and made his first, bone-headed move.\n\tThe game was short and brutal. Hugo attempted feeble concentration-breaking techniques by switching the board colors and piece designs wildly. But Sancreek did not find it disorienting to find that her Queen had switched to a dragon with a tiny crown in her hand; she was a chess player, after all. Hugo was not a chess player, being incapable of that sort of sustained thought, so he couldn't really understand why his diversionary tactics weren't working. It was distracting him, so, he assumed, it must be distracting Sancreek. \n\t"Check-mate!" Sancreek declared, after about five minutes. In triumph, she pulled off her Goggles. "No more Time-"\n\tBut Hugo Makewar was no longer across the table from her. His Goggles lay there, flickering at her. \n\tHe was, Sancreek observed with a strange detachment, over by his armoury, loading one of his revolvers. Seeing that she'd seen him, he smiled, rather ruefully. "I'm almost sorry about this," he said, pointing the gun at her head. "But you see, there never was any duel set between us for today. You made that up on the spot, to distract me and stop me from Time-Travelling, which you seem to be irrationally phobic about. I'm going to fix it. But first- I'd hate to leave you stranded here- if that makes any sense-"\n\t"It doesn't!" Sancreek said.\n\tHugo shrugged. "I'll see you in a moment," he said- and pulled the trigger.\n\tSancreek died.\n\t\t\t[[Click Here To Continue!]]
\tSancreek tackled Hugo Makewar just as he pressed The Button on The Device.\n\tThere was a flash of light.\n\tThen, nothing.\n\tThen the sound of crickets.\n\tSancreek opened her eyes in The Past.\n\tShe hadn't been expecting that.\n\tHer first action was to vomit on History. \n\tHistory was, in this case, represented by a clump of grass, some mud, and a dead worm, floating on the greasy surface of a puddle of water.\n\tIt is strange to reflect how often History seems to assume this form.\n\tSancreek got to her feet slowly. There was Hugo Makewar, removing his travelling-cloak, and grinning broadly at her mud-stained garments.\n\t"See, this is why I travel in these," he said, waving the travelling-cloak at her. "Time-travel seems to have a kind of sense of humour. Likes to put you down in the most disgusting muck it has available."\n\tSancreek stared down at herself. Yes, she was indeed covered in mud. That was not, however, the worst problem she had with what she saw. She had a terrible suspicion that her attire was going to rock the course of History with its extreme incongruity. Her shiny plastic red jointed thigh-high boots, her tight black pants, and her white peasant blouse... her white peasant blouse... it had, when she'd been in Hugo's office, been red with black and white flowers. What the hell? She did the re-set garment iMudra, frantically dancing her fingers through the familiar pattern. Nothing happened.\n\tHugo Makewar watched all of this with amusement. "That won't work here," he said. "No cloud."\n\tOf course, Sancreek thought, and felt a creeping dread growing within her. No cloud. Her mind was full of silence. She realized that she'd been, for the minute or so that she'd been in The Fucking Past, using the meditative technique that nudged iDictaBrains into activity-- and that nothing had happened.\n\tSancreek had once, on the advice of her therapist, gone on a three-week retreat in a Cloud-shielded wilderness area. She had thought that it would be nice to get in touch with nature and the Essential Man. She'd had vague images of Roughing It, of having long conversations with other retreaters that she'd enjoy, of learning - something - about herself and/or The Meaning of Life. Heck, she'd thought, she might even come out of this with a Philosophy. \n\tWhat she had come out of it with had been a headache and a howling sense of utter loneliness and desolation. She'd come out of it after a single week, and she'd only stayed that long because the shuttle only came at weekly intervals and the hike to civilization would, the monks who ran the center had assured her, be fatal. There was a healthy mountain range between her and civilization, and, when they said healthy, what they meant was that it would kill her.\n\tAnd the whole past, Sancreek thought, trying to stop clawing mentally at her unresponsive iDictabrain, was going to be just like that, full of silence interspersed with tedious conversation.\n\tAnd she was still in garments that were utterly anachronistic. "When are we, anyway?" She asked Hugo. He had, she noticed, already started to stride away from her. He turned, with irritation. She ran to catch him up.\n\t"1900," he said. "I'm going to be late for my date. And if you think that I'm going to let you tag along," he said, aggrieved, "you're wrong."\n\t"But - but-" and then she looked at the travelling-cloak Hugo had discarded. "Is that-" she searched her mind for the right phrase, "a waste-disposey thing?" She finished, lamely.\n\t"Garbage bag. Yes. I get them from the 1990s whenever I run low. Best travelling-cloaks available for this kind of work. Inherently disposable. Why?"\n\t"Do you have any extras?" \n\tHugo raised an eyebrow, opened his mouth to ask a question, glanced at his Device (which, Sancreek noted with interest, apparently also told the time), and reached into his jacket. "Here, take 'em. I've gotta go."\n\t"Where are we?" Sancreek called after him.\n\t"Hampstead Heath. Which is in London." He called as he sprinted off.\n\tSancreek made a terrible face at his retreating back. Then she ripped a garbage bag carefully along the bottom seam, pulled it up to her waist, and cinched the yellow plastic pull-strings until it fit her fairly snugly. Then she tied the string into a festive bow, sat down, and cried.\n\t"Hey Lady," said a musical, deep, and thickly-accented voice behind her. She turned to see a woman with a huge mass of dark brown hair coming towards her out of a copse of trees. "I've been looking for you." And the woman laughed, in a way that sounded slightly unhinged. "Didn't expect to find you, though."\n\tReader, choose! Does Sancreek flee the crazy woman, or wait to hear her out?\n\t[[Flee!]]\n\t[[Wait!]]