nick_garou | Road trip: time extended! (Reply)

The trip to Seattle was a bust. I couldn't find the Euthanatos who used to work as an orderly in one of the hospitals there. I have to admit, I'm kind of glad I couldn't find him. Euthanatos creep me out a little bit, and I was really hoping to not get another "come join us" recruitment speech out of him. Still... I hope he's doing well, wherever it is he might be--if he's still even alive. After a few days loitering in Seattle, I headed down to that cabal down in San Fran.

It took some wheedling, but I finally got a chance to talk with Tyler and his cabal--though I had to promise them all dinner at a nice restaurant. They really put away the wine. $725.19 dinner bill (before the tip)!!! Sheesh. Jane, a Cultist, threw out a low-ball offer for the bramblefruit popsicles--offering to trade an assortment of books and old cassette tapes for my library. I declined and stuck to my guns: I wanted a talisman, and if I'd traded a portion of what I had to Jane (I bet I could have talked her down to about 7 units of bramblefruit for those books/tapes), that'd be less for me to work with if someone turned up with a talisman. I offered a middleman fee of 2 units of tass if someone could hook me up with a buyer via their contacts. They agreed to look, which meant I got to wait in San Fran longer than I'd been hoping.

I spent my down time touring the city. The cable car museum. The Golden Gate Bridge (which I walked across from one end to the other--exhausting!). The Exploratorium (kids/science museum) (FUN!). The Asian Art Museum (interesting styles). Musee Mecanique (museum of mechanical games--interesting). California Academy of the Sciences (a planatarium/acquarium/zoo type thing), and The Castro to do some (very alternative) people watching. Tyler called me while I was in The Castro, on a cafe's patio, sipping a divine espresso, while watching a transvestite dressed up as a nun peddle past on one of those old-school bicycles that have a huge wheel in front and a little one in the rear. (San Fran can get a little offbeat sometimes.) Tyler pointed me towards a woman in San Diego. She pointed me to another mage who lives about 100 miles south of Boulder, CO. Two days of travel, and I'm there.

This guy--Pavel--is not someone to mess with. He's gone full hermit. Probably because he positively reeks of ozone and he's... hazy. As if maybe not entirely contained within this dimension. Seriously: don't dick around with this guy. Ever. I made my offer of 14 bramblefruit popsicles in exchange for a talisman--preferably one that allows me to get in and out of the spirit world. He thought about it, disappeared into another room, and came out about 10 minutes later with a delicate little talisman. It's a cats-eye marble, polished to a shine, and it has a wispy, moving strand of smoke inside it. Pavel claims it can take the user to and from the spirit world, but it's weak and can only be used once a week. More than that will cause the magic to fray and weaken the talisman further. (Sounds like someone damaged it sometime in the past via misuse.) Also, it's fragile, so be careful with it.

Pavel offered to trade the Talisman for all of the bramblefruit popsicles--and a Favor. (Shit.) But this guy? Hell no, I'm not going to haggle with him. I asked what the favor was. Delivery of a sealed, warded box (which has something that occasionally moves/scratches inside) to the woman in Sand Diego.

LetmethinkaboutitSOLD!

Of course, my Toyota MR2 is NOT built for hauling a crate around. I rented the smallest enclosed U-Haul truck and a car tow dolly so I could haul my MR2 behind it. I used Dreaming to give me a decent working knowledge of truck driving skills. Everything is now packed up. Road snacks and drinks acquired. It's an 18 hour drive to San Diego, and this is going to be a non-stop trip (except for gas), let me tell you.

If need be, I will pee and crap in the cab, just like a long-haul trucker. I'm not letting this vehicle out of my sight. No telling what's in that crate, and there's no way I'm going to look either.

Thou shalt not disappoint Mr.-Pavel-Sir.