Patrick

I'm taking a train in ... *checks watch* ... an hour's time to visit a friend who lives near Compiègne, to the North of Paris and for one week shall not have any internet access. See you all when I come back!

Happy Birthday! Hope it was a good one.

I have just noticed the error in the topic title about the 'y' missing from Mighty. Could an Elder edit the title for me please? I have also updated the list of participants.

So, so far we have: Sweetcherrie - Dana - Dreaming - Stages 1, 2, 3 Appy - character to be determined - Current Age - Stages 1, 2, 3 Katzaniel - character to be determined - Computers/Technology or Words ending in X - At least Stage 2 Venefyxatu - Venefyxatu - Horoscopes - Stages 1, 2, 3 Gwaihir - Gwaihir - Plants - Stages 1 and 2 That is 5 participants so far. For easy organisation of the Stage 2 tournament 8 would seem to be an ideal number to go for, but I can work with a minimum of 6 participants. I have someone who has agreed to take part if I can't find enough participants, so I can attain the 6, would be great to get to 8 though.

Happy Birthday both of you!

I don't need to know now, since the stages shall come one after the other whenever one starts you can see whether you have time for it or not. I'm in no hurry, if the QQ takes time, then that shall be the way it shall happen.

Louis had arrived with his parents from France three months ago, and ever since had had a hard time fitting in to his new school. He was two classes lower than he would have been in France, because one subject wasn't the same. So basically he was bored senseless every day in school, and to add to his pain none of the boys here wanted to talk to him, and the games they played were also different. The first bright point ever since he had arrived here was the announcement of this "story telling at the pen". He arrived just as Wyvern made his suggestion, and then had to wait for Tanny before it was his turn. "So, what would you like me to make the story about?" - the lady asked him. "I ave been sinking. You know I am french. I was wondering whezer you could tell me about ze mys of ze fromage, err... sheez I mean." OOC: that is a bit exaggerated french accent in english. z or s=th and h-es are removed. sheez=cheese

As Christopher walked away from the cafeteria he dialled Sweetcherrie's number on his phone, and with his other hand he switched the taperecorder off. The next cigarette he lit as the phone was ringing. "I've just interviewed Marissa and I've found out a few interesting things, but I don't want to steal your time, I was just wondering whether you could help me with something..." - he said in reply to Sweetcherrie's "hello". He was walking back towards the newspaper's building, eager to get started on this story. "Since I need an interview from Wyvern and I've only been able to reach some gnomish assistants on his phone I was wondering, seeing that you ran off with him, whether you could ask him whether he would be available for an interview." He listened to the reply. "Thanks, I guess I'll see you later then." - he started pulling the phone away from his ear, then remembered to add: "Oh, and I hope that you have fun." As he put down his phone he thought he heard Sweetcherrie saying something more, but dismissed it as being a goodbye. OOC: Sweetcherrie's answers can be found: here

The meeting had been arranged between Christopher and Marissa in a small cafeteria downtown. When he got there Marissa was already sitting there. Introducing himself, he sat opposite here. After a few casual sentences Christopher took his notepad from his pocket, switched on the tape recorder slightly protruding from his other pocket and nodded at Marissa signalling that he was ready. Twiddling nervously with a lock of her hair, Marissa looked with big eyes at the tape recorder. After all it hadn't been that long, that she had still been singing in shady nightclubs, and she still couldn’t believe how fast it had gone. She suppressed a nervous giggle, and nodded that she was ready whenever the journalist would be. Christopher stubbed out his cigarette, and then offered one to Marissa with one hand, while with the other he lit his next one. "No, no, I shouldn't really, my manager says it could damage my voice." - she said. "Oh, ok." - he said putting the pack away. "You don't mind if I smoke?" - he asked. Marissa looked at the cigarette, she did mind, but it would have been impolite to say so, and after all her mother had always raised her to be polite. "No, go ahead." With the cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, Christopher glanced at his notepad, which had the list of questions. As he started speaking the cigarette bobbed up and down. "All right then. First question. What made you want to try a singing career?" For a moment she had trouble focusing on the words, and all she saw was that cigarette. Would he even realize how stupid it looked? Then the words formed a sentence in her head, and she concentrated on finding an answer. "I've always wanted to sing, when I was 4 years old I was already entering contests." As she says this Marissa smiles with the memory. "What was your first contest like?" - asked the journalist. Marissa giggled, "A disaster, my mom had made a hula skirt for me, and halfway through the dancing that went with the song, the skirt dropped at my ankles. All the other 4 year olds thought it was hilarious of course, but I was devastated. Thought I'd never sing again." "I heard that you also had some problems at a show last month. Would you mind giving your own version of the events? Something about a rogue microphone?" - he asked, his face betraying no emotions at all. Marissa gave him a blank stare; she'd sang in so many clubs, and she'd encountered more problems than other people would have in a life time. "Err...which club would that have been?" "The one where you got offered the contract for being an Almost Dragonic Nightingale." - Christopher said. He showed her a crumpled piece of paper. "I managed to get this at the rubbish heap outside that club." The paper was her contract offer from Wyvern. "Ah.." She wondered how on earth he had gotten his hands on the paper, but thought back to that evening to find a reply to his question. "That evening was....not so nice." "Could you possibly elaborate?" "I was nervous, I always am. But, it went pretty ok, that is until the equipment started to lead its own life. People walked out, and I tried to reassure them to come back in, but it was no use....and then that weirdo offering me a contract like that....well, he just didn't seem like anybody that I would want to work with even if the contract had been decent. It's all in the past now though..." "You have a manager nowadays, I have heard. Is that right?" - he asked while stubbing out his cigarette. He reached for the pack, but seeing a fleeting expression on Marissa's face he did not complete the movement. "Yeah, I do. He's taking care of business, and is good at it as well. I never have to worry about a thing, I simply get up there, and do my thing." "When is there a chance for you to have an album out?" - he asked, not pressing the issue of who her manager was. All in due time he thought. "We're working hard on the recordings, and well, we hope to finish it within the next couple of months." "There have been rumors of a new single coming out soon. Do you have any additional information to offer on that?" "I'm sorry, but I'm affraid that I can't say you anything about that...but-" She seems to think here, and then grins, "But I can say that it will be good." Marissa gives him a wink confiding this information to him feels right, plus that he is handsome enough, if only....but no, she couldn't afford to do that. "Any timeline on when the single shall be available?" - he asked noticing the wink, and storing away the information for later. "You'd have to ask Mi," barely noticeable she quickly changes her words, "My manager." "Who is this Mi...?" - Christopher asked, flashing her a smile. She felt her face flush red, he had noticed. Suddenly Marissa found herself looking at her shoes, as if she would find a plausible answer to his questions there. She decided to go with the half-truth, "Mike is my manager, we work so closely together that we've become friends." This was already good gossip material, but Christopher was nearly sure that he could get some more. He decided to go the friendly way, since it seemed to be working. "Now, now. You don't need to see this as you slipping up and letting information slip. If you ask me to not write about something, then I shall not write about it." - he smiled. "Now, is there more than friendship between you and your manager?" Marissa was just about to take a sip from her glass of water, and almost sprayed it over the reporter. How on earth did he know? But he couldn't know, could he? Her mind raced to find an evasive answer, and she decided that offering him a drink might be a good distraction, after that she might be able to change the subject. She quickly finished her glass, and got up to refill it. "Would you like something as well?" Christopher nodded and asked for a coffee. Once the waiter took the order he turned back to Marissa. "You were saying?" Like a bulldog thought Marissa, and suddenly she didn't like the reporter too much anymore; cute as he may be, he was getting too close now. She was no good at lying but knew she had too, if it would come out that she and Mike were together they'd never have a moment of rest ever again. "Strictly business. Besides, we were here to talk about my career, not my private life." "That's ok. As I said, if you feel I'm going too far just stop me." He took his camera out from his bag. "I feel you are getting tired of my questions so, in order to take a pause do you mind if I take a few pictures?" "Pictures?" This was the part she absolutely hated about being a rising star, everybody wanted to have your picture. Marissa sighed, "Sure." Christopher clicked with his digital camera only twice, then nodded mumbling that it shall do. "I only have a few more questions left now. What do you expect the future of your career to be?" "I'm hoping that my fans will allow me to keep at it. The fans are all you know, without their support I'd be nowhere." Christopher nodded absentmindedly, he was already thinking about how he would write about the gossip material in his article. "Of course." - he said. "Last thing. Is there anything else you would wish to add, or a message you want to send someone through our newspaper?" Marissa thought about this question for a moment, people read nowadays what she said, and even put weight to her words, so it was important that whatever she said, it would have to be something good. "Follow your dreams, take your responsibilities, but never...never give up on your dreams." "Thank you." Christopher said and paid her bill along with his. "I wish you a succesfull career!" "Thank you, and maybe we'll meet again."

How the QQ shall happen: When signing up I ask everyone to give a topic, this topic shall be one of the topics from which questions can be asked during the quiz. (I shall also be adding some topics) You can add a topic without needing to participate in the quiz. There shall be three stages as described below: Stage 1: Free rp, backstage before the start of the Quiz Show, during which Fred and Heather shall be interviewing the contestants one by one, to introduce them to the spectators. Even non-contestants would be able to rp here. The interview is not obligatory for Stages 2 and 3, as the host and organiser might not have enough time to interview everyone before the start of the show (read: if you don’t want to do the interview but want to participate in the quiz, go ahead). Stage 2: This is the stage, which would require the participants to be the most active. In this stage some (preferably 8 or 12 (16 if a lot of interest in it)) contestants would battle it out for the title of winner. This shall happen in the following way: There shall be several rounds (depending on the number of participants) and in each round people shall be paired up against each other one vs. one. At the start of each one vs. one quiz both of the participants chooses one of the proposed topics, questions during their match shall mostly come from these two topics (4 questions from the first topic, 4 from the second and 2 from other topics, determined by me). Topics can be non-conventional ones also, I just ask that they not be too specific, so that I can find a fair amount of questions to ask on them. Now, in order for the competition to be fair, I shall pm the list of the questions to both of the participants and shall wait for them both to send their replies. This reminds me of another thing. I would very much like that google and other search engines not be used to find the answers, because it ruins the whole idea behind the quiz. Of course, I can’t check that people don’t use them, but I ask you not to. Once I have the replies of both participants, their quiz shall be played out in a co-written post by me, and the two of them (if due to different time zones this isn’t possible then it might be broken into several posts). After the match is finished a winner is announced, who then goes on to the next round. This all continues, until there is only one left standing, who is announced the winner. The winner shall get an item, along with a possible monetary prize (geld), which is being negotiated at the moment. The item the winner gets: Cryptic Musings Cryptic Musings is a rather tattered looking book written several centuries ago, by someone who's name was never recorded. Cryptic Musings isn't the real title of the book, as to what that might have been no one has a clue as the title page is missing. It might look old and worthless, but for one who knows how to use it the book can give valuable advice. The only text in the book is "Write and then think about the answer." written in a scrawling writing on the first page. A small note accompanies the book, explaining how it works. Write a question inside the book with any ink, the pages shall absorb the ink. An answer shall appear on the pages, and fade soon afterwards. Depending on the hardness of the question the answer is easier to understand or harder. For very complex questions deciphering the answer can take years. Stage 3: Team Competition! Those who wish to participate in this stage can sign up independently from Stage 2. For this stage the participants shall be divided into two groups for a team quiz. This isn’t intended as a serious competition, more like a fun competition, and the questions shall also reflect this. I shall post all of the questions at the beginning directly in the quiz thread. The teams shall have to divide amongst themselves, who replies to which question, after which that person is free to make his/her reply whenever he/she wants to. (there shall be as many questions as team-members). Whoever gives the more funny/witty/humorous reply nets his team 1 point. In the end the team with more points is declared the winner. Brief descriptions for the two characters I shall be using for the QQ: Fred Jickson Fred Jickson is 42 years old, and has a bald patch at the front of his head, which he usually combs his hair over to hide. He is a short man, and has started lately to gain some weight. Although his physical appearance does not show it, he is one of the best show organisers, albeit he has a few quirks of his own, like his like of colorful things. But he always gets the job done. Heather Monsley A 26 year old student, who is majoring in art, she has many hobbies. She likes to dance, has a small talen for singing and likes to take part in beauty competitions. Last year she took part in the Miss and Mister Student competition, one part of which she won, partly due to her physique and partly due to her charming smile. She has shoulderlength brown hair, which she lets flow freely. Her brown eyes match the color of her hair nearly perfectly.

The idea had taken some time to materialize in his head and working out the details wasn’t the easiest, but he was by now pretty sure that he was ready. Fred Jickson only had to stick up a few posters on the walls and then wait for contestants and spectators. He sat down in front of his computer and typed out the poster. He tried several different variations, before finally settling on one, which he considered not too obvious, but still noticeable. It said in a mixture of light blue and light green ink: The Mighty Pen Quiz! Original idea by Christopher Malcolm Individual and team competitions! Spectators also welcome! Soon to begin in the Conservatory. He printed out the poster about a dozen times, and then admired the result. Fred Jickson was a professional show organiser and was going to be backstage during the whole show, while others got their moment of fame. Only one more thing was missing. A crucial element. One without which a quiz show could not happen. A host for the show. He had earlier asked Christopher whether he wanted to take the role, but the journalist-photographer (and God knows what else) had to turn the offer down due to his participation in a new newspaper, some Gazette or other. He didn’t have much time to find a host for the show. He scanned over a long list of possibles, knowing full well that most of them definitely weren’t show host material. Some were too young, some too old, some too ugly, some too good looking and others were not of the right type to be quiz show hosts. He needed someone new, someone fresh, not yet known in a wide circle. It took him the best part of an hour to sift through the names before he found one, which seemed to be perfect. Heather Monsley was a student of art, and was going to finish in a few months time. And not negligibly, she had won the Miss Student competition last year… A phone call later it was all arranged. He was going to meet her that night, to go over the details. In the meantime he had to go and decorate the Pen Keep with his “magnificent” posters.

I've already told you in MSN, but I'll also add my voice here. Congratulations on your promotion!

Happy belated birthday to all of you!

Is it just me, or can't the AVV be seen now?

Christopher went into his office to do a bit of research on the star he had to write about. Just as he was about to begin a wastebasket came up to him. A few minutes later with rats taking pictures of Wyvern and Sweetcherrie down in the container Christopher laughed to himself. It seemed that he would have to interview the star first, since Wyvern seemed to be otherwise occupied. He made a few notes of the questions he wanted to ask, all the while puffing on his cigarette in the privacy of his office and when he felt ready, left the building. He wanted to already have something done by the time Sweetcherrie got back, so as to show her that she had made a good choice in employing him.

Patham shook hands with Katzaniel, then Black and sat down on his chair. He listened intently to what Black said in his introduction then when his turn came he stood up and faced the onlookers. "I shall not start with trying to counter everything that Black has said. I'll leave that for later. Let me present my own arguments first." He glanced down at the sheet of paper in front of him, where, in his scrawling handwriting, which only he could read, he had written a few keywords. "As we all know, the ancient saying says that strength lies in diversity. You might say that applying this to the present case of a cricket being more dangerous than a slug is a bit too far fetched, but the fact remains that there are more species of cricket than of slug. It is not easy to see why this makes crickets dangerous, but let us suppose that you come up with a method of defense against one species of cricket, but this might not work against all the other species. Having more species of cricket, means that you need to be much more prepared when facing an unknown cricket as opposed to facing an unknown slug." He paused, once again glancing at the paper. "About defenses: slugs have soft bodies, which can easily be squashed even among the hands of a young child. On the other hand crickets have strong, chitinous bodies, which are much more resistant to shock." "Slugs are slower than crickets and can only exist in moist environments, otherwise they dry out and die. Crickets can exist in both dry and moist environments and are more resistant to variations in temperature than slugs. Crickets have long antennae, which are much better sensors than the crickets sensory organs, as the scientific study, the data of which I have here" - he said holding up a sheet of paper, with several graphs and a few lines of text on it. "shows. And crickets eyes have a better resolution than the optical sensors of slugs." Patham sat down and ticked off several of the points on his list, then suddenly remembering that when he spoke next he was not really supposed to bring up any new points he stood up again. "Oh, and I nearly forgot. The chirping sound crickets produce is an instantaneous means of communication between them, which allows them to coordinate their movements, while the method of communication slugs use, notably the use of their slime trails as indicators is a much slower method." He sat down once again, and crossed off the last point on his list.

Patham nodded to his opponent's arguments. They had some merit, but he felt that he could pick them apart bit by bit. "Before I counter your arguments, Black, let me introduce a few more points of my own." "Firstly." - he said taking a deep breath. "Slugs might be slow as you said, but that can also be an advantage. Take crickets for example. They rush too much and give off chirping sounds before you even see them and thus you can easily detect them from far away. With slugs you can only spot them when you get really close and once you're there it is not their speed which matters the most." "Second. Slugs can come back from defeat. When they lose their smell or light sensors they can regrow them in a short period of time. A slug once defeated is not defeated for good, however the same thing is not true of crickets, who I'm afraid don't have these regeneratory capabilities." "Also, when slugs are attacked, they are capable of contracting their body. They also produce mucus the taste of which is repulsive. Having a good defense is the best start to an attack. If the enemy can't defeat you during his attack, it is only a question of time while you achieve victory. And believe me, slugs keep trying until they succeed, or success becomes impossible." "Now about the points you made. You said that in battle only speed and skill matter. You can be a lightning fast warrior, but you shall not be able to defeat an archer on open terrain, because an arrow moves faster than any human can. Your vanishing attack, you said saved you many times. Slugs can also vanish much more easily than crickets, who as I just pointed out have that unfortunate chirping, which gives away their presence." He opened his mouth, then closed it, rather keeping what he wanted to say for his conclusion. He motioned to Black, that it was his turn.

Patham tried following the naked mage even after he lost her from sight, but eventually had to stop, because even his hearing could not detect her anymore. If he had been lost before, then now he was even more lost. He had absolutely no idea where he was. Luckily the fog was starting to lift. He shifted to his owl form and flew above the trees, in an attempt to scout the area around him. All around he could see only trees. He flew back in the direction he had come from, but was unable to find the place where he had entered the forest. It took him ten minutes of straight flying until he reached the edge of the forest. Here a small spring splashed water over the rocks before forming a small flow of water over the grasslands. He bent down to have a drink, when he heard the voice from behind him. "You left me!" Patham whirled around to see a ghostly form, which resembled his uncle. "I took you in after your parents died, and then you ungratefully left! I had plans for you, you young prat." By now Patham had managed to recover his senses. "That was the only reason you had taken me in. To be able to use me, wasn't it?" The ghostly shape did not reply, and Patham realised that it only existed in his mind. This was not really his uncle, but his own guilt at leaving him come to assail him. What he had said was the way he had always tried to force away his guilt, but he knew that one day he would have to face it. Now was not the time though. He wished the ghostly form to disappear and it did. He still had to somehow get himself unlost though.

Happy Birthday! Hope it is/was a good one!

I'll see what I can do when I get back from classes.

Christopher took the coffee from where the woman had indicated it was, thanking her with a nod of his head, which she, still busy taking pictures, did not notice. He was just lighting his third cigarette since arriving, when Appy was running to remount her skippy-ball. As she ran past Christopher, she was enveloped in a cloud of smoke and started coughing. She looked back and scowled at Christopher who did not notice. He was busy drinking his coffee. When he took the next puff on his cigarette Appy was already looking at Sweetcherrie again, and was caught from behind by the blown out cloud of smoke. She whirled around and frowned at Christopher while softly coughing in an attempt to try and get his attention. He looked at her with an inquisitive glance. "Yes?" "Could you blow the smoke in a different direction?" - she asked, slightly annoyed. "Sure." - he replied and walked over to the window, opened it and stayed there to smoke.

Actually Black has already removed that post from the old thread.

Errr...where has the debate, which Black was supposed to start gone?

Patham had been just outside the house when the fog had descended. It had come so suddenly, that in his confusion he had no time to check which way the others were. He moved a few paces about but couldn't find the house, which had been only a few meters away from him. "Mynx! Tanny! Stephen! Anyone! Where are you?" - he asked. He did not want to get lost in the fog. "We're here." - drifted a voice from the fog. Patham moved several minutes in the direction he had heard the voice from, but still could not find the house. Was someone trying to trick him? He called out again to the others. He got a reply from the right hand side and went in that direction. Again, several minutes passed and he still could not find the house. He called out, and got no reply this time. Panic started seizing him and he shouted louder and louder, to no avail.

I did not know about the timeline and shall hang onto this character now. The moved OOC part of my post is: Christopher has not seen the coffee passed to Abby.