Chapter 16

"This is it, this is where I want to adventure!" crowed Freaky.

"No, we are NOT going to adventure in Gor!" stated Hardcase. "I won't be a slave girl, I will NOT be branded, and I am NOT piercing my nipples!"

"Aww..." protested Freaky weakly. Sigh, it had been worth a try, anyway. Axorie changed the screen without comment.

A desert caravan, dusky robed guards wielding massive scimitars, overloaded ill-tempered camels trudging along single file. "Too hot." said Hardcase. "Too boring" said Steetch "Too far to walk." said Freaky. Axorie changed the scene.

A medieval village of central Europe style, on the Sein, Rhone, Rhine, or Danube. It looked promising until the cart piled with bodies was wheeled through the street to the ringing of bells and the cries of "Bring out your dead!". Axorie displayed her next offering.

A beautiful well-kempt city of palpable staid age, cobbled streets clean and tidy, high walls on all sides, a glimpse of a lush courtyard through a high wide arch, narrowing and blocked by the thick massive wooden door. Very few people about, and either unobtrusively scurrying along on their business, or carried in palanquins ringed about with armed guards. "Way for the Pah of Poobah" cried the captain of the guard of one such group. "No, way for the High Priest of Snookum" cried the Head Warrior Priest of the other group. They both refused to give way, and soon the street was filled with combatants, maces and swords flashing, blood flowing into the central gutter, the sweat and stink of exertion, the bitter scent of death, the choked gurgles of the dying.

"I don't think so." said the adventurers in unison. Axorie tried again.

Arctic wastelands, white icy blizzard winds. Axorie patiently tried again.

Squat dark-haired folk dressed in leather, leather tents clustered together against the vast plains, herds of horses, small ponys to match their herders, the folk looking large on their backs. A group of young men were playing some kind of game, riding their ponies and using long handled wooden mallets to strike their grizzley trophy as it rolled over their playing field, attempting to force it into or away from the goals, it's blond hair glinting amongst the flashes of white bone and blackened purple neck meat as it rolled along the ground.

"Pass." waved Freaky. Axorie tirelessly changed the view.

Another medieval town, the view showing a thriving marketplace, with barter as well as silver money changing hands, one rich merchant in a shop at the side of the square had gold rings on his fingers. The people could have passed for the population of any california town, if dressed in modern clothing. Many of the richer dressed folk carried swords, some armed guards had crossbows on their backs, even the poorer had knives at their belts. One of the guards was a strong looking woman, her short hair and stern look giving her an air of one who brooked no nonsense. Some of the other women shopping wore dresses, and some of the women selling produce wore trousers. Only one man wore a kilt, but he looked manly, and noone looked much askance at him. Perhaps it was his stout cudgel that forbare their tongues.

The group of would be heros looked at eachother and grinned. "Yes" said Hardcase. "Yes." agreed Steetch. "Absolutely" afirmed Freaky. "Looks pretty good to me, too." said Axorie with relief. "So, when do you want to go? We can have a few weeks adventure here in only a night. If we wait until the weekend, we can spend half a year there, and still make it back in time for school on Monday."

"I would like to arrive there in the night, then I could find some gold and silver to outfit us with." planned Freaky. "Perhaps Hardcase can create some kind of temporary clothing for us to wear long enough for us to purchase gear." he hoped aloud. Hardcase laughed and teased "Yeah, you wouldn't want to wear bark underwear for very long, would you?"

The adventurers decided to embark on their journey on friday night, as soon as it was dark in the other world, in order to have time to find shelter and obtain the wherewithal to equip themselves. Some of them were thinking about wearing a version of their costumes. Steetch thought perhaps something like his buckskins would be better than his costume. He also wondered about the advisability of Freaky advertising his magic abilities before they knew how the locals would react to such things.