Elkae links in facing the beautiful
fountain. Hypnotized by the silky blue water, she
hesitates for just a moment then takes a quick step off
the link-in spot, knowing that Almech will follow
shortly.
Cordelia's influence is everywhere she
looks. The fire marbles are lined up neatly and standing
at attention. Eddie, who tends to be a bit rambunctious,
has obviously been put away somewhere. Easter
decorations still hang from the balconies.
"What
a lovely, lovely place," she says to Almech as he links
in.
"Yes, thank you. I won't forget. Where
could I go to get one?" she asks. "Is there somewhere
here at the Institution or should I wait until my Relto
book dries and go back to
Gahreesen?"
Cordelia arrived back at the Institution
just as all the excitement seemed to be dying
down.
"What happened? What did I miss?" she asked
anxiously.
She looked around and saw Almech
showing Elkae into her new private room.
"Elkae,
is that you? Great to see you back. How's tricks? I
heard a lot of commotion going on just as I arrived back
- did I miss anything
interesting?"
Cordelia Personal
Assistant to Professor Thietris Squirrel, CEO,
President and Managing Director, Institution of
Advanced Exploration of Myst Worlds
Elkae thanks Almech and enters the room.
She muses to herself how small it is and wonders what
all the buttons on the wall by the door do. No bed or
desk, either? Well, first things first, she decides. She
grabs a hairbrush and her waterproof makeup kit from her
black bag and begins to freshen up. She can't wait to
get back to Relto to get out of these soggy
clothes.
"Oh hello, Cordelia! It's good to
finally be here. I'm afraid I don't smell very nice,
what with the algae still stuck to me. I'm waiting for
my Relto book to dry so I can get home and change.
You've done a marvelous job with this place! I'd hug you
but ..."
The two friends laugh and Cordelia runs
off to dutifully take care of some thing or
other.
Elkae begins to roam the Institution
Neighborhood and eventually stumbles past the DISCO.
"Wow! What does the Professor have in mind for this
place? I'm going to like it here!" She walks in, looking
for the bar and dance floor, but instead finds Veronica
sitting behind a counter by a cash register munching on
a Danish. Behind Veronica is a coffee pot.
"Hello
again," says Elkae with a big smile. "Veronica, is it?
Could I trouble you for a cup of that coffee?" She leans
over the counter and whispers, "I'd prefer a cup of
Jade's finest Irish Coffee right about now, but that'll
have to do."
Grizz comes out of a distant aisle, see
Elkae, and runs up to her, grabs her in a big Grizz hug,
and swings her around. Then, a little embarrassed by his
own exuberance, he puts her down gently and
says...
"Ummm....sorry! I'm just so happy to see
you safe and in the institution at last!"
He
turns to Veronica.
"Give her some of what's in
that thermos under the counter there. It has a little
something extra in it that'll warm her up!" he says to
Veronica.
Turning to Elkae, he whispers, "That
thermos contains some of Jades's finest, and it's still
pretty
fresh."
_______________________________ Prop.
D'ni Internal Supply Co. "If we don't have it, you
don't need it!"
Veronica pours a large cup of coffee for
Elkae. She wonders briefly if she should warn her of its
potency first, but is distracted by the lake stench
emanating from Elkae's clothing.
"I say, Elkae."
She holds her nose as inconspicously as possible. "Would
you care to change your
clothes?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm no
longer a danger to
society. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Almech links into his relto. He grabs
the nexus link he had dropped earlier. He then links
over to Gahreesen, retrieves a KI for Elkae, and places
the nexus book on the stand.
Elkae's so startled by Grizz that she
nearly passes out. She never heard him
coming.
"Aw, my big Grizzly Bear ... I've missed
you soooo much!" She plants a big kiss on his cheek.
"Don't tell me this is your place? My goodness it
looks as if you have something of everything in
here!"
She's grinning ear-to-ear until she stops
to take a sip of Jade's finest.
"Would you care
to change your clothes?" asked Veronica in a way that
some might have considered impolite under other
circumstances.
"Oh yes, yes, please. You seem to
be about my size. Do you have any Kathie Lee I
could borrow?"
Grizz looks down at himself, realizing
that Elkae, who was still damp from the lake, has left
some aromatic traces of the lake on his own shirt,
thinks he'd better change too.
"Um...ladies," he
says, "You can use Veronica's room. I'm just goin' down
aisle 10 to the men's dressing room and freshen up a bit
myself."
_______________________________ Prop.
D'ni Internal Supply Co. "If we don't have it, you
don't need it!"
Jade is one of the
proprietor's of the Age and Country Hotel. You really
should drop in some time. You'd have a lot of fun there,
Veronica. It's a very civilized place to hang
out.
Experimental Program
1
Glad you managed to find
your way back.
Supplier of umbrellas to the D'ni for
Centuries.
...no
worries...
