McBish's Plots

[McBish]

[Heaven's Gate Apartments]

Besides the scattered art equipment around the apartment is pretty empty. There don't seem to be too many personal effects laying around, which makes sense since she is visiting friends, not moving here. The apartment itself is fairly nice and spacious. It has all the modern conviences of heating and cooling, and looks like the carpet and paint are all pretty new.

Vel grins remembering that. "Well once I get a rough sketch I can postion you and put whatever background I want there. So while I don't have a pile of treasure laying around I could put you on one. What do you think, would you look good atop a pile of treasure?"

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"I don't really know. I mean I have the treasure with me if you had the room, so I thought I'd ask." Rein shrugs. "But I don't want to impede on artistic creativity if you can create any background you want."

[McBish]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

Vel raises an eyebrow when Reinholdt claims to have a pile of treasure on him. She looks a bit skeptical but doesn't call him out on it. "Well we could shove the couch over a bit, make some room there. If you have the treasure I would love to see you atop it. I usually work better if I am painiting something I have really seen."

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"All right I guess." Reinholdt says, standing and looking the couch over to make sure nothing gets in the way before they move it. Or he moves it if it can be shoved easily enough far enough.

[McBish]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

Vel helps him shove the couch. It isn't too hard to move and she shoves anything in the way with her foot. Then she digs through one of the piles of paper digging out a sketchbook and some pens and pencils. "Alright so let's see your pile of treasure."

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"Right." Reinholdt starts pulling bags of treasure out of his hammerspace and dumping it on the floor. Gold, silver, gems, jewelry, platinum, baubles, rings, beads, pearls and whatever else randomly belongs on a treasure pile. Mostly sticking to coin though.

"Ugh. It's going to take forever to get that back in there and sorted properly." Reinholdt says, half-way through, realizing an error in this plan.

[McBish]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

Vel is impressed, actually overwhelmed is probably a more accurate description. She watches him pull out more and more treasure, occasionally picking up a piece to check to make sure it is real.

"I would be more then happy to help you sort it out when we are all done." Yeah sure Vel, Reinholdt has seen your messes it seems unlikely that she will be very helpful with any sort of cleaning. "Or you could just leave it here." She says grinning.

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"Yeah... that's not happening." Reinholdt sticks out his tongue at Val. "I'll let you keep a piece if you want." Rein says, holding up a pearl necklace. Just an option.

The treasure's all real.

[McBish]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"What you mean you aren't going to pay me for my art in piles and piles of money?" Vel puts on a pouty face which quickly disolves into giggles. When he holds up the pearl necklace she grins and nods. "That would be lovely, thank you. Here put it on me." She says turning and backing up into him so he can place the necklace on her neck.

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

Reinholdt hesitates for a moment before stepping up behind her. "All right." He'll unclasp the necklace, move to bring it over her head and reclasp it behind her neck. "And... there we go."

[McBish]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

Vel steps away running her hands over the necklace. "Oh my. You are precious, thank you so much." She looks at the pile of treasure that has accumulated on her floor. After a few seconds of a blank look on her face she goes and climbs on top of it adjusting and shoveling the treasure into the rough chair shape. "All right, take a seat up here."

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"You're welcome." Reinholdt says with a small smile before watching her move the treasure around.

"Are you sure YOU don't want to be the one sitting there with your portrait drawn?" He kids. But takes a seat where she indicates all the same.

[McBish]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"Oh I don't think so, it seems fairly uncomfortable. I think I will stick for pillows and blankets for my bed." She moves a stool in front of the treasure for her to sit on. She also adjusts the curtains to let in more light. With a few minor adjustments to the treasure to catch the light just right.

She gathers a pad of paper and a few pens and pencils that were scattered around the room. Then she fetches a mug of coffee bringing it back and handing it off to Reinholdt. "Don't worry about holding still, I just need to see you in the space for awhile."

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"Well I wish I could say I was unused to discomfort..."
Still isn't fun. He thanks her for the coffee.

"So no specific pose I should be in?" He considers asking about the clothes too. Probably should have thought of that before coming over. Might take the jacket off at least to have something to sit on, but that'd probably ruin the point anyways.

[McBish]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

Vel thinks about it for a few seconds. "Sit like you are enjoying a good conversation with a friend." A grin spreads on her face. "Just try to imagine you are in a giant wing-back chair." She takes a seat on the stool putting pencil to paper and starting to sketch. She holds the pad so that Reinholdt can't see what she is doing. "Do you always carry around this much treasure? Or did you bring it to impress me?"

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"... A good conversation. Ok." Reinholdt's at least had enough time in the Nexus to get used to conversation. He sits up and a little forward as best he can. "A what back chair?"

"My personal pocket dimension holds all my treasure. I always have it available to me." Reinholdt explains.

[McBish]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"You know a wing-back. With the high tops that stick out." She holds up her hands over her head, making a gesture almost like a referee making a field goal sign rocking back and forth in the wind. If they were playing pictuanary I wouldn't guess wing-back chair.

"That is a handy trick. Must make packing for vacations a breeze." She says picking her pad back up and continuing to sketch. Taking long pauses to sit and stare at various parts of Reinholdt and the treasure pile. Honestly it is a bit intense and probably makes pretending to have a good conversation hard.

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"Oh. Didn't know they were called that."

Reinholdt gives a... tense smile at her stares. Probably just an artist thing. The best ones need to concentrate after all, right? "It's proven to be the most invaluable magic at my disposal, yes. Particularly in the treasure hunting field."

[Deathkeeper]

Woods

"I'm fine, we scared off those things, I doubt they will be back." Says a clearly not entirely fine young man. He does have a point though, the two that fled were pretty wounded, and there is the dead one still laying in the grass where Calvin killed it. "Though maybe it would be smart to move camp. Something else might come sniffing around."

"Right." says Arty, grabbing his bags, which are draped over his back where his torsos meet so he can reach their contents easier. He'll grab Calvin's bag too as he walks over to him.
"You are in no condition to be walking, so you're either leaning on me or riding. Take your pick."

[McBish]

Woods

"I can walk. There is a road off to the east of here, a river up to the north. I'd say we head up to the river, but there is a better chance we run into the animals there then the road." Calvin would normally try to avoid the road and any people on it. Still it seems with circumstances like these it would be better to be away from wild animals.

Calvin will lean up against Arty for support whichever way they go. He would try not but he is feeling quite weak, stumbling over his own feet before they get to far.

===============

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"I can see why you are the treasure hunter extraordinaire. I have never seen a pile of gold this big." She doubts this is all his gold either. Who would dump all of their earning on a near strangers floor.

"What is your favorite piece of treasure you have ever found?" She asks curiously flipping to a second page to continue to sketch.

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

Someone who has a lot more stashed away. "Why thank you."

"My favorite piece of treasure would probably be the Brightheart. But that thing got passed around so many times it was a candidate for a Zelda fetch quest series."

[McBish]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"Brightheart? Sounds like either a sword or a gem, am I right?" As she keeps drawing she starts to stare less and less. She spends more time looking down at her pad of paper drawing, only glancing up occasionally.

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

That's a relief.
"Mmm... more like a magical orb energy source. Flooded with positive energy. Kinda lost track of what happened to it though." Gone forever Rein's pretty sure.

[Deathkeeper]

Woods

Arty shakes his head. "If they'd attack a campsite a road won't be a deterrent. We'll go by the river.
And he starts to go, until Calvin makes it evident he's become able to trip over his own feet. Arty puts on a stern face, which he actually pulls off despite his normal, slightly timid demeanor.
"Calvin, face it, this isn't working. You can barely walk, and this won't end well if things pop out again I have to stop to grab you. Get on my back. Me offering was kind of a big deal, and now I'm telling you for the sake of keeping both of us alive."

[McBish]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"That's too bad, too loose you favorite treasure." She says with a shake of her head. "Good thing you have so much other treasure to keep you distracted."

She continues to sketch grabbing some nearby colored pencils to add some color. She seems pretty well practiced at following a conversation while appearing to only focus on her drawing.

----------------------

Woods

Calvin nods meekly. A geasture that would surprise most people who know Calvin. "Yeah. Thanks." Calvin climbs on top of Arty's back. Without Calvin slowing them down they should make it to the river in only a few minutes. Of course in the dark woods it takes a bit longer to get through the brush since there isn't a trail for them to follow. Several moss covered trees have fallen over the years creating large lumps in the ground, where the soil and plants have covered them. There are no signs of the creatures following them, as they approach the river the normal sounds that fill a woods at night surrond them.

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

Well Reinholdt suspects she's done portraits several times in the past.

"Well it's more one of my favorite Nexus adventures than it was the most useful treasure. Still rather nice to have though." Rein shrugs a little. He's lost a fair bit of treasure in the past, using it up.

[McBish]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

"What was the adventure like? The one that you got the orb in." She asks as she flips to a third piece of paper continuing sketching.

[Deathkeeper]

Woods

Calvin will likely have to wrap his arms around Arty's waist since it's unlikely that he can grip with his legs properly. Arty's discomfort at this would be obvious if he could see the centaur's face.
"You ok back there?" he asks as he checks his surroundings, including how deep the river looks.

[Reinholdt]

Heaven's Gate Apartments

Why does she keep flipping papers? Rein finds that weird.
"Ah well. There was a book that wrote to a small group of us telling us about the Darkheart and Brightheart located at this paladin fortress. We used a traveling time machine phone booth to go there. Anyways, I largely played distraction, hissing and clawing and causing a ruckus down below while the others grabbed the two orbs. We had to jump onto the flying phone booth at the last second and use lasers to shoot the fortress into small pieces in order to survive and get away. But then the book backstabbed us and tried to take both orbs when it said it would leave one as payment. So I went back in time and replaced both of the orbs with bowling balls and tricked our employer. It was great cause it was one of the few times I didn't even have to split the loot." It was ALLLL Rein's. Mwahaha!

"It's a more exciting story if you were there, I'll admit." And it's been years, so the story's probably about as inaccurate as you'd expect.

[McBish]

Woods

Calvin will indeed wrap his arms around Arty to avoid falling off. "Yeah I'm alright just tired." And if Arty could see Calvin's face he might disagree with the teen about him being OK. Deathly pale he can barely keep his eyes open he looks like he is about 5 days into a week long flu.

The river doesn't look too deep. There are a few spots where you wouldn't be able to see the bottom, and it wouldn't be surprising to find some deep holes in it. But with a little searching Arty could easily find a spot that would be easy to cross.

====================

Heaven's Gate Apartments

She giggles a bit when he explains switching the orbs with bowling balls. She obviously finds the whole story somewhat humerous grinning throughout. "A book betrayed you huh? Should have skipped to the end to have seen how it was going to turn out."