I had a request to start a blog where you could weigh in on thoughts about a movie based on The Merchant of Death and to discuss casting. This isn’t to say that a movie is imminent. It isn’t. But I’m working with some folks to develop one now, so you never know. (Just don’t hold your breath!)
So, here’s the blog. Have fun.
Robert Pendragon says:
Gunny. You and Mark drive ok?
Saint Dane says:
OOC: Is it too soon to kidnap somebody?
Saint Dane says:
The Travelers wake up in the morning, feeling refreshed and ready to drive to Iowa. It takes only a few seconds after getting out of bed to realize something’s wrong.
“Something’s wrong!” Bobby screams, “Gunny didn’t wake me for the second watch!”
Nevva adds, “Mother is missing!”
“Gunny!” Loor spots Gunny in a corner of the room, barely conscious. His head is bleeding, and his arm is covered with more blood.
“He’s hurt!” Loor shouts. “What should we do?”
“Shorty… I tried to stop him…” Gunny coughs. A trickle of blood runs from his mouth.
“How did we not hear this?” Mark asks. Mark and Loor crouch next to Gunny. Aja runs out to get help.
“My mother…” Nevva whimpers.
Those who are not caring to Gunny begin looking for Elli. Nevva starts to cry. “She’s gone!”
“No! Look at this.” Siry holds up a note. Bobby snatches it from him and begins to read.
“Dearest Travelers,
“Yes, it is I who has taken your friend from Quillan. I have little use for her in Iowa, but it looks like I misjudged Bobby’s concern for Courtney’s well-being and another motivator was needed. Until Pendragon agrees to join me on this quest for Halla, they both will be spending a bit of time with me.
“Signed, S.D.”
Bobby crumples the note into his fist.
“Pendragon? What are you thinking?” Loor asks.
“I’m thinking this is a trap” was Bobby’s answer. “He wants us to follow him to Iowa. First Courtney, now Elli.”
Loor whispers, “If Saint Dane wants us to go to Iowa…”
Mark completes her thought. “That’s exactly where we’re not going.”
“We have to!” Nevva intercedes. “It’s my mother! Saint Dane could hurt her!”
Aja re-enters the room, only hearing Nevva’s last comment, and remarks, “He won’t hurt anyone.”
“What?!” Everyone shouts at once.
“Remember on the bridge? He said, quote, ‘I hate to have blood on my hands.’ I don’t think he wants to hurt any of us.”
Bobby seems to have difficulty understanding this. “But, he’s evil.”
“I think he’s using Courtney and Elli as… bait, almost.”
Siry gasps. “That’s right! Bobby, you care for Courtney. She’s your girlfriend. You love her, right?”
“Yeah, but-”
“And Nevva! Elli’s your mother. You would never want anyone to hurt her, would you?”
“No, I wouldn’t,” Nevva says.
“Then that’s it!” Siry throws his hands into the air, exclaiming his discovery. “Saint Dane is leading us to Iowa!”
Saint Dane says:
“I think we know that, Siry,” Aja says, sounding more than a bit annoyed.
“No, I mean, he WANTS us to go to Iowa, right? He’s leaving all these clues and such. But the question is, WHY does he want us to follow him to Iowa, if he doesn’t want his scheme to be thwarted?”
Siry raises a good point. Why do I want you in Iowa?
…Back in my Evil Lair, Iowa, I laugh an evil laugh and pet my monkey, Keke, who has become Nevva’s replacement. Elli and Courtney sit in a large jail cell, both looking awfully pathetic, with big puppy-dog eyes and pouting lips. Keke runs over to them and makes that little monkey sound.
“That’s right, Keke,” I say. “They’re trapped.”
“What are you trying to do? Why are you keeping us here?” Elli asks softly.
“I haven’t told you?” I ask. “How very rude of me.
“The plan,” I say, clear enough for *ahem* everyone to hear me, “is to draw Pendragon to Iowa to poison the corn crops. The state of Iowa produces the most corn in all of the US, in case you were wondering. Once the corn crop is poisoned, and I think I said this already, Earth will crash. It’s unbelievable- Unbelievable!- how dependent the human race is on corn. I will be able to provide an alternative substance similar to corn, which I will sell at incredibly high prices, become rich, and rule the economic system. Then, from there, I will be able to run for president!”
“So, this is all just a scam to run for executive office?” Courtney asks. I reach through the bars in the jail cell and twist her head around so we are eye-to-eye.
“Bobby will never help you,” she says through clenched teeth. “He’ll come here to save us, but he’ll never poison the corn for you.”
“And, that’s where you seem to have misunderstood me. Pendragon already has the poison on him. All it takes is simply being here, in Iowa, to start the chain reaction.” I let go of Courtney and take a step back. She rubs her cheek, where I left a deep gash. Good. Keke scurries back to me and climbs onto my shoulder. “And I know he might not come for YOU, Courtney. But Nevva? She’s stubborn. I would know.” I look to Elli, cowering in the jail cell. “And she will definitely come to save her mother.”
Gunny says:
Saint Dane did say something when i was just about to loose consciousness. He said that someone will be next after Elli. He said it was… Aja.
Gunny says:
OOC: I have a secret love for Aja. So it sets me over the edge when she is taken.
Nevva Winter says:
What are you waiting for?
we should go to lowa!!!!!
my mother is there and I have to save her!!
Gunny says:
Alright. Let’s go. I drive one, Mark the other.
Saint Dane says:
OOC: Kk. Aja, you better watch out!
Mark says:
OOC: ok so am I with you guys?
Mark says:
Ok let’s go!
Mark says:
OOC: ok I’m cOnfussed if there are ten territories then are First Earth, Second Earth, and Third Earth considered one territory?
Saint Dane says:
There are ten territories; First Earth, Second Earth, Third Earth, Denduron, Cloral, Veelox, Eelong, Zadaa, Quillan, and Ibara.
However, there are only seven “worlds” or “planets;” Earth, Denduron, Cloral, Veelox, Eelong, Zadaa, and Quillan. Ibara is set about three hundred years in Veelox’s future, and Second and Third Earth are just future First Earths.
Gunny says:
OOC: Yes Saint Dane just about said it. One thing is bugging me though. Would Solora be considered a territory or is it just everything. And I was thinking for our Rp that Gunny could be like the new Nevva.
Gunny says:
OOC: As of now though it would be secret.
Saint Dane says:
We will see about that, Vincent.
I think Solara is not a territory, because it is only available to Travelers. A territory, as Press would have put it, is a certain time and place in Halla where an important turning point takes place. Nothing ever happens in Solara.
Mark says:
OOC: ok thanks.
Saint Dane says:
OOC: If Gunny wants to join Saint Dane, I feel like there needs to be something else involved too. Of course, the other Travelers won’t find out until the end, but I think Saint Dane learned his lesson after Nevva betrays him in the last book.
Saint Dane says:
OOC: Maybe Gunny isn’t really Gunny, but Saint Dane’s doppelganger who is also after the destruction of Halla.
Gunny says:
OOC: I like that. And Gunny has been dead ever since you were defeated the first time.
Robert Pendragon says:
OOC: Sorry. My internet was out again. It seems everything went well without me though.
Robert Pendragon says:
OOC: I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed before but. Where is Spader?
Gunny says:
OOC: Wait there was a Spader!
Robert Pendragon says:
OOC: I know, but Spader hasn’t spoken in awile. Do you really think Spader of all people would stay quiet at a time like this?
august says:
d.j you should most definetly make a movie because you have experince with this stuff and we all know that it would be a smash hit… so how good of a chance is there?
Gunny says:
OOC: Was he in this RP too?
Robert Pendragon says:
OOC: He was in the beginning yes, but everyone forgot about him. Mark was Vo A.K.A. Vo Spader.
Saint Dane says:
OOC: Is Patrick dead, or alive? I forgot. I thought he was killed by the quigs, but I might be wrong… wasn’t he on the bus with the other Travelers?
Gunny says:
OOC: Yeah he was included in the bus. But I am not sure if he is alive or not.
Saint Dane says:
OOC: I remember he was eaten by quigs when Courtney ran away a while ago… Let’s pretend he’s still alive.
Robert Pendragon says:
OOC: Saint Dane you said you didn’t know what had happened to him but said he had escaped with Courtney, who you hinted at as being eaten by the quigs.
Saint Dane says:
OOC: Alright. Time to kidnap Aja? I can assume she’s riding with Gunny. Or should I wait until you arrive in Iowa?
Robert Pendragon says:
OOC: Right before we arrive at the border to Iowa.
Saint Dane says:
OOC: Say when.
Gunny says:
The travelers near Iowa, only an hour away to their. I sit near Aja, staring at her blankly, making her feel uncomfortable.
OOC: I think Gunny is a creeper 😛
Gunny says:
OOC: Meant to say away from their destination. Sorry.
Saint Dane says:
As the Travelers cross over the border, Mark, who is driving, notices a shadow pass over the car and then a black shape streak by. He alerts Gunny and Aja, who look out into the sky. Nothing.
Moments later, the Travelers hear a thud on their car. Mark screeches the car to a stop and climbs out, worried about what- or who- they could have hit.
“Oh, no!” Gunny says. “This was a rental!”
“Guys, we hit somebody!”
Gunny and Aja hurry over to the front of the car, where Mark is kneeling over a young man. The man is obviously hurt, and knocked out.
“It’s like… he fell out of the sky…” Mark says. He looks up again, to check. Nothing but a few clouds floating lazily by.
Pendragon, whom was driving the second car, stops next to where Gunny, Aja, and Mark are. Loor, Siry, Spader, and Patrick join him. Everyone is staring at the man, whispering questions like, “Who is he?” “Where did he come from?” “How did we not see him?” No one, however, has any answers.
After a few minutes, the guy opens his eyes, sees the group who has huddled around him, and lets out an ear-piercing scream. He jumps up, ready to run, then grabs his side and falls again.
“Calm down!” Loor shouts. “It will be alright. Who are you?”
The man stares back at her with sad eyes.
“Do… you…. understand us?” Patrick asks. The man nods and turns away.
“I think he needs help,” Aja says.
“How many people have to get hurt on this trip?” Siry throws his arms into the air. “First Courtney and Elli are kidnapped-” Nevva groans at the mention of her mother, “-then Gunny is beat up at the motel. Patrick is nearly killed by quigs. We were stuck on a bus with some guy who wanted us dead…” Siry continues listing all the dangers the gang has been through as Gunny and Loor try moving the injured man off the road.
“Wait,” Pendragon says. Loor and Gunny stop. Siry stops. “Check his eyes. It might be Saint Dane.”
Loor studies the man’s face. “They are blue,” she concludes, “but not Saint Dane’s.”
“We can’t be sure. Make sure he’s okay, then we’re going.”
No one has ever heard the lead Traveler say something so cold. They knew they couldn’t risk this man being Saint Dane, and they knew they were running out of time until Iowa.
“He needs help, Bobby,” Mark says. “We can’t leave him here.”
“I know,” Pendragon says.
“We can take him with us,” he suggests.
“And watch him very closely,” Loor adds.
“I’m not sure. We don’t have any extra seats.”
“Besides, he’ll get blood all over the rental car. Look at him.”
“Bobby! Are you really so cruel?” Nevva places a hand on the man’s shoulder. “This is not Saint Dane. Why would Saint Dane be referring to himself in the third person? He’s crazy, but not that crazy.”
“Nevva,” Patrick whispers, “we’re going to need a better reason than that. Now is not the time to be breaking the fourth wall.”
“His eyes, for one. The fact that he can’t- or doesn’t- speak. What’s up with that? Besides, if this was Saint Dane, I think he would have revealed himself by now. I can guarantee-”
“Nevva! Duck!”
Not a second to late, Nevva screeches and ducks as I fly past. The man grabs onto one of the raven’s wings and transforms back into Keke the monkey.
“I told you it wasn’t Saint Dane!”
I swing around a second time, this time, allowing Keke to snatch an unsuspecting, unprotected Aja.
“Aja! Aja!”
“Caw!”
The third Traveler has been taken.
Saint Dane says:
I tried to write something humorous for the mortals. Nevva shall be next. Her mother has been missing her much.
Saint Dane says:
OOC: Gunny? Creeper? Yes.
Gunny says:
Aja!” I scream as I frantically try to get her out of Keke’ s grasp. Yet Keke is to swift and makes it away. Gunny falls to the ground beaten.
“Aja….. they took Aja. How could I let them? This is my foult!” I scream, pounding the ground.
Gunny says:
#Fault
Nevva Winter says:
We should go to lowa as soon as we can!
Hurry up! 🙁
Robert Pendragon says:
Yes. We need to hurry. Get back to the car! OOC: Originally there were two cars. but it now seems there is only one from what Saint Dane said.
Saint Dane says:
No, there are two. I think Mark and Gunny were riding together with Aja, and everyone else was in the other.
Does anyone want to guess where Keke the monkey came from?
Gunny says:
OOC: Hmmm, Keke. I don’t know Africa, Asia, Zadaa!
Saint Dane says:
I found him, abandoned, on Zadaa. See? I do have a heart.
Then, I impersonated a ring master and taught Keke to be a circus monkey on First Earth. Keke looks like Nevva which is why I taught him to travel and shape-shift. However, he is still unable to fly.
Gunny says:
OOC: Nice story.
Robert Pendragon says:
We head farther into Iowa when we realize, We don’t even know where to look for Saint Dane.
Nevva Winter says:
Saint Dane! you’re saying that I look like your monkey!?!
Gunny says:
Alright. This is pointless. We don’t even know where he is never mind Courtney!