[ic] Packing List

[whydidithavetobemummies]

Okay, here's what I've got.

• Clothes.
• Thompson.
• Colt one.
• Someone's ridiculous Derringer. Actually, I'm not carrying that around in public.
• Colt two.
• BAR.
• New gun bag. Some nine-thousand-year-old thing came back from the dead long enough to eat my old one.
• Sandwiches.

Anyone else got any bright ideas? Evy, suggestions?

Comments

[proudofwhatiam]

No--well, it's the French spelling, but not of that sort of cocaine. This is a different vice altogether. [She glances over at him, grinning.] Cockaigne was--well, it was like Atlantis or El Dorado to medieval Europeans. Mythical land where nobody works and food rains from the sky.

[whydidithavetobemummies]

[Rick looks up and frowns.] Were there mummies in this Atlantis?

[proudofwhatiam]

[She shakes her head.] Imagine you're a peasant in...oh, let's say the 1300s. And you work in a field all day, backbreaking work. When you're done for the night, you tell stories about a place where you never have to work, just feast all the time. Mummies would be a bit intrusive in your fantasy.

[whydidithavetobemummies]

[And Rick begins to listen in earnest, nodding along and considering the concept.] Huh. No mummies. Any ancient warrior guardians?

[proudofwhatiam]

Not one, unless the truth was substantially different from the stories. Of course-- [and she looks back at the building, the neon graveyard, the scrub, and the dusty, pebbly earth] --it wasn't described anything like this.

[whydidithavetobemummies]

What was it described like? Besides really... shiny?

[proudofwhatiam]

Less shiny, more...rolling fields and houses made of food. It was medieval Europe, none of them had ever seen a desert.

[whydidithavetobemummies]

Lucky them. [But he puts his gun back into his pocket. Gun safety indeed.] Might as well have a look around. I wouldn't say no to a food house right about now.

[proudofwhatiam]

Neither would I. [It sounds rather better than standing around outside in the blazing sun--and oh, look, the grand entranceway awaits.] Shall we?

[whydidithavetobemummies]

[Rick nods his head forward,] Ladies first. [He pulls one of the colts out as a safety precaution.]

[proudofwhatiam]

That's not so gentlemanly of you when we've got no idea what we're getting into. [She's kidding, though, and smiling as she heads towards the doors.] Once more unto the breach.

[whydidithavetobemummies]

[Rick harrumphs a little and steps in front of her. The doors open, and he looks inside, gaping a little.] Oh... [Don't swear in front of the pretty lady.] Wow. Swanky digs you've got there.

[proudofwhatiam]

[And she just smiles beatifically and walks in. And then her eyes widen as she stares up at the chandelier above the empty reception desk.] Oh, my. This is lovely. So...it's an hotel?

[whydidithavetobemummies]

I've never seen a hotel that looks like this... [Rick wonders idly if he could turn this into something romantic. But she probably doesn't want to be swept off her feet, right now, he's a bit sweaty anyway.] You like it?

[proudofwhatiam]

It's gorgeous. [This could lead to a romantic interlude, Rick! But it'll require some pretty straightforward hinting, because she's in curiosity mode right now.] But there's no staff...I wonder where everyone is.

[whydidithavetobemummies]

[Rick is wondering how he'd manage to pull the gear for rrrrromance. Smoke may as well be funneling from his ears.] Maybe they're all on vacation. It's certainly summer outside. [He strides ahead.] C'mon, kid, let's go exploring.

[proudofwhatiam]

What a peculiar time for an holiday. [But yes, let's go exploring. Evy is all in for this prospect--and oh, look, a map! She goes over to read and frown at it.] It's...it's a casino.

[whydidithavetobemummies]

A casino, huh? You know how to play poker?

[proudofwhatiam]

No--I was in Monte Carlo once, but I never went to the casino. And that's not all they've got--shops and restaurants, it's like a little city all in itself.

[whydidithavetobemummies]

An indoor city. [Sounds a lot like an underground city... okay, not at all.] Well, at least we're not stranded. Let's get some food, first off? [He looks to her for her approval-- or veto.]

[proudofwhatiam]

Let's. That's the...fourth floor. [Sounds exciting--there's even a swimming pool on one of these floors! Evy is intrigued and, though she'd like to believe that she's not strictly in need of some luxury, it's hard to say no after so many days in the desert.] And it looks like there's a lift down this hall.

[whydidithavetobemummies]

A li-? Oh, right, an elevator. [Rick puts his gun away again, just in case there's anyone else in this place. Wouldn't want to frighten a tourist.] Lead the way.

[proudofwhatiam]

It's rather eerie, no one else around. [Not even a lift operator, but they manage. And soon enough, they're stepping through to the fourth floor, which is, to Evy's sight, a few fancy little bistros and at least two four-star restaurants. What else would a girl expect after that chandelier? Not a buffet in sight, by her reading of the scene.] Almost like "Beauty and the Beast." Oh--I think we might be a bit underdressed today.

[whydidithavetobemummies]

[Rick looks around too, and feels similarly underdressed, but...] Doesn't seem like there'll be anyone around to judge. This place is like a ghost town.

[proudofwhatiam]

And if no one's here, we'll be in the kitchens anyhow. [She tries to guess which restaurant would be the most accommodating to a dusty librarian and treasure-hunter and points to a cafe called Le Poisson Rouge.] What do you think of that one?